This is not a criticism or partisan statement. America’s political history shows that notoriety is not essential for success.
From 2 percent to the White House
Jimmy Carter’s name recognition was at 2 percent when he launched his presidential campaign. Congressman Gerald Ford was largely unknown outside his Michigan district before he became vice president and then president.
Few believed first-term senator Barack Obama stood a chance against Hillary Clinton in 2008. When Donald Trump announced he was running for president in 2015, how many people thought he would win?
Notoriety is not always essential to success in other areas of life as well.
We may never be household names, but we all want to be special to someone special.
God made us social creatures: from Adam to today, “it is not good that man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18 NKJV). The human story is a long narrative centered on interaction, from spouses to families to tribes to cities to city-states to nations to multinational alliances. Across our history, we have connected with each other through speaking, art, music, writing, printing, radio, movies, television, and now social media.
Our sedentary lives are evidence of the digital nature of contemporary connectivity. Unsurprisingly, researchers have discovered that we…
A police official said teams from three different police agencies are entering the monument to take samples and search for clues as to what caused the fire.
Police made a preliminary visit last week but were not able to conduct a thorough examination until the cathedral’s structure was secured.
Officials believe the fire was possibly caused by a short circuit linked to renovation work under way before the fire.
The Paris prosecutor’s office says all potential leads are being pursued.
The cathedral will remain closed to the public for years after the fire destroyed its roof and knocked over its spire.
Earlier this week, the French weekly newspaper Le Canard Enchaine reported how some scaffolding workers involved in the renovation had sometimes smoked on the site, despite a ban.
On Tuesday, Reuters news agency reported that the family owned Le Bras Freres scaffolding firm had ruled out a stray cigarette butt as a cause of the blaze.
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EASTER CELEBRATION SERVICE – 21ST SERVICE 2019 ANCHOR SCRIPTURE(S): ISAIAH 53:1-7 MESSAGE TOPIC: THE CELEBRATION OF THE CRUCIFIXION AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST ENUE: DUNAMIS INTERNATIONAL GOSPEL CENTRE
SERVICE OBJECTIVE: Understanding what we celebrate at Easter
THINGS TO NOTE:
The Crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the bedrock of Christianity (1 Cor. 15:14, 17)
The Crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the demarcation of Christianity from the religions of the world.
The Crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the basis of the liveliness, vitality, and dynamism of Christianity (Rom. 6:4)
The liveliness, vitality and dynamism of Christianity is in the life of the vibrant Saviour
WHAT THE CRUCIFIXION AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS OFFERED US:
1. Rescue from eternal damnation (John 3:16; Rom. 6:23)
You have the guarantee that you can escape hell and end in heaven because Christ came
2. Reconciliation with the Father (2Cor. 5:18-19)
The religions of the world are man looking for God but in Christianity, it is God that looks for people.
If you can find your way to the Cross, you can find your way to your destiny
3. Restoration of access to God’s Presence (Gen. 3:23-24; Heb. 4:16; 10:19-20; Matt. 27:50-51)
By the Blood of Jesus, we have access to God’s Presence.
Anybody at any time can now lift up their voice and God will hear
4. Renovation of character (victory and triumph over sin) (2Cor. 5:17, 21)
5. The relegation of sorrow and depression (Isa. 53:3-4)
The same way Jesus carried your sin and sickness, in that same way He carried your negative emotions – your melancholy, and depression
6. Rescue from infirmities and diseases (Isa. 53:5; 1Pet. 2:24)
7. Rescue from curses and bondage (Gal. 3:13-14; 1Pet. 1:18)
8. The release of peace and deliverance from crisis (Isa. 53:5) Anything that was fighting our peace, Christ took it, so we can live in peace.
You are not permitted to live from crisis to crisis.
9. Rescue from scarcity and shortage (2Cor. 8:9; Rev. 5:12)
You are not permitted to struggle for survival; Calvary took care of your welfare.
1. Be born again (Heb. 6:9) Until you are a child in the house, you don’t have unrestricted access.
When you are a stranger in the Kingdom of God, there is a limit that God can go with you
2. Be lighted with insight (Deut. 29:29)
3. Walk in faith (Mark. 9:27-29)
PRAYER:
Father, on this resurrection Sunday, I ask that You give me a resurrection gift, something I will use to remember today Lord, in Jesus’ Name.
PRAYER FOR STUDENTS:
Father, release upon these students, their teachers and leaders the fear of the Lord. Let them grow up in the fear of the Lord, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, in Jesus’ Name.
Father, raise among these children generational leaders, leaders that will influence and impact their generations – presidents, governors, senators, apostles, ministers, inventors that will impact their generation, in Jesus’ Name.
Father, help them to be change agents in their generation; help them to fulfil their days and fulfil their destiny; help them to fulfil the purpose for which You created them, in Jesus’ Name!
PROPHETIC DECLARATIONS FOR STUDENTS:
I prophesy high frequency mentality – no child here shall be a dullard!
You shall be the head and not the tail, above and never beneath!
Great men and women like Daniel and Esther shall be raised from among you!
You will not be cut short before your time! Your destiny will not be aborted!
God will use you to touch other lives!
PROPHETIC DECLARATIONS:
By this time next year, you will not only own your own house but estates!
Every devil that is trying to make you depressed, today is the end of their assignment!
Any disease that followed you from your mother or father, by the power of the Cross, it is arrested!
Anything in your body that is not of God, by the power of the Cross, it is arrested!
Your battle, from today is finally over!
Every cycle of temptation, today is the end of it forever!
Anybody marked to die before your time, today, that mark is deleted!
The full bundle of Calvary’s package is landing on your life and destiny today!
The Celebration of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ by Pastor Paul Enenche
Anyone receiving an email purportedly from CAP but sent from a free email service, such as Google or Outlook.com, is being urged to be suspicious.
Posting on Twitter, CAP said: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so the saying goes and, it turns out, there are scammers pretending to be CAP.
“The vast majority of this is happening online. Here’s how to spot you are really dealing with the genuine CAP.”
Warning signs include requests for money in US dollars or references of orphanages, the charity says.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so the saying goes and, it turns out, there are scammers pretending to be CAP. The vast majority of this is happening online. Here’s how to spot you are *REALLY* dealing with the genuine CAP. Thread incoming!
The advice also said: “We are Christians (with an S) Against Poverty. If it reads Christian Against Poverty – fake! There are loads of us.
“We will never unexpectedly directly pay an individual who is not a client. Sorry about that!
6. Be suspicious of any emails saying they are from CAP, if they are arriving from email hosts such as hotmail or outlook rather than official ones. If in doubt, ask us to check it via [email protected]
The complaint would concentrate on his response to a letter sent to him in 2009 by Warrington vicar Charles Gordon Dickenson which confessed to abuse.
Dickenson was jailed last month after admitting eight counts of sexual assault against a boy during the 1970s.
Accepting that they failed to act on information they had received concerning Dickenson, bosses at the Diocese of Chester subsequently issued an “unreserved apology” to Mr Dickenson’s victim.
An independent review of the Diocese of Chester by the Church of England’s National Safeguarding Team was investigate what…
The Trussell Trust said the number of three-day supplies given out across the UK had “soared” by 73 per cent in the past five years.
The main reasons for people turning to a food bank were benefits not covering the cost of living, or delays in payment of benefits, said the Christian trust.
Almost half (49 per cent) of food bank referrals made due to a delay in benefits being paid in UK were linked to Universal Credit, according to the charity.
It said the Government should end the five-week wait for a first UC payment to help reduce reliance on food banks.
The number of food parcels handed out at the trust’s 1,200 sites totalled 1,583,668 in the year to March, a near-20 per cent increase on the previous twelve months, and the most since the charity opened 20 years ago.
“More & more people are struggling to eat because they cannot afford food. This isn’t right.” Today, our network’s latest #foodbank figures show a record 1.6m emergency food parcels were handed out last year. Enough is enough – #ThisCanChange. More here > https://t.co/QOnqiMlKZnpic.twitter.com/ZwWYWLjjqE
The trust’s chief executive, Emma Revie, said: “What we are seeing year upon year is more and more people struggling to eat because they simply cannot afford food. This is not right.
“We know this situation can be fixed – that’s why…
Do all things without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining [against God] and questioning and doubting [among yourselves]. — Philippians 2:14 (AMPC)
You and I have many opportunities to complain on a regular basis. But complaining doesn’t do any good; all complaining does is open the door for the enemy. It doesn’t solve problems; it just creates a breeding ground for greater problems.
Instead of complaining, let’s choose to respond to the Lord each day by developing an attitude of gratitude. This is not just an occasional expression of thanks, but a continual lifestyle of thanksgiving. The person who has developed an “attitude of gratitude” is one who is thankful and grateful for every single thing that God is doing in his or her life day by day.
Prayer Starter: Father, thank You for the way You provide for every area of my life. Instead of complaining about what I want or about what I don’t have, I choose to be grateful for everything I do have. You have been good to me—thank You for Your goodness. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
READ: I Corinthians 15:1-11 King James Version (NKJV)
Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,
by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.
After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.
After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.
Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.
For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
THE MESSAGE:
Our study this morning will be focusing particularly on verse 10. Grace means unmerited favour. What does this mean for us today? We may not be able to understand what this means unless we try to understand what it meant for the Apostle Paul in his day. Saul, later Paul, was a Pharisee who believed that God’s salvation must be achieved through tedious human efforts (Philippians 3:1-7). He eventually became one of the harshest persecutors of the early Christians. In fact, he described himself as the worst of all sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). Despite all, God still forgave him! Not only did God forgive him, but God also took him and shaped him into a great apostle.
This is unmerited favour!
God is willing to do the same to each one of us who truly turns to Him. The unmerited favour of God does not, therefore, give room for pride, as Paul himself points out here: but by the grace of God, I am what I am (verse 10a, ESV).
A prideful person is a person who does not really understand the workings of God’s grace. God’s grace is meant to humble us (no matter who we are) and to motivate us towards selfless living and service, as Paul says in verse 10b. Knowing and encountering the grace of God should motivate us to hard work and selfless service.
Prayer: Lord, fill me with the spirit of humility and service.
“David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.” 2 Samuel 5:4 KJV
David became anointed but Saul would not allow him to sit on the throne. Have you been there? The time of the anointing is not the time for the sitting. David did not sit on the throne until he was thirty. You may be anointed today but it may take longer for the product to come out. It is a process! But many people don’t wait for that process.
Has God made a promise to you? Yes! But it is in the process of time. In the early days of this commission when it had no beauty that anyone should desire it, there were many things God said about the ministry of TREM that I even found very difficult to believe then. But what did we do? We decided to do what we could faithfully. Whatever our hands found to do, we did it faithfully, serving God with all our hearts. Then, we began to see God unfold His plans step by step. And every step by a miracle. You see, God will only tell you where you are going. He won’t tell you the challenges; because if He told you the challenges, you would run away.
David was anointed but Saul would not allow him to sit on the throne. If God has anointed you and there is a ‘Saul’ that is trying to stop you, let him have the throne. It is just a matter of time, he will surely come down. I decree that every ‘Saul’ in your life is coming down. He is an illegal occupier of your throne and a usurper of authority. Therefore, he must come down. When you notice any ‘Saul’ that is hindering what God has ordained, all you need do is to just stay clear. After all, you did not ordain yourself nor did you anoint yourself. It is God who decided to choose you. He saw you in your weakness and shortcomings and called you. He paid the price! And so, if He has paid the price for your redemption, get ready; because He will ensure that every ‘Saul’ in your life is dethroned.
Further Reading: 2 Samuel 5:1-10
Daily Bible Reading: Morning- 2 Samuel 21-22; Evening- Luke 18:24-43
Written by Dr. Mike Okonkwo; Is the Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM); a versatile man of God with over 30 years of dedicated service unto the Lord.
2.Father, in anyway I have fallen short of your glory, please, have mercy and forgive me, in Jesus name.
3.Father, let every spirit of unbelief, laziness and procrastination, in my life, be consumed by Your fire,, in Jesus name.
4.Father, please, release upon my life and destiny, the spirit of diligence and hard work, in Jesus name.
5.Father, help me to discharge my duties well and finish strong, in Jesus name.
6.Father, as I diligently and consciously serve You, please, take me from obscurity to limelight, and from the wilderness to the palace, as You did for David, in Jesus name.
7.Father, by Your mercy, let there be a restoration of all the years that I have wasted in the wilderness of life and sin; take me by Your grace to where I am supposed to be in life, in Jesus name.
8.Father, when I shall appear before Your throne of judgement, please, don’t let me be found wanting, in Jesus name.
9.Father, please, keep my eyes from beholding vanity and help me to live through today, without committing a single sin, in Jesus name.
10.Father, bless all the labours of the hands of Your son, Pastor E.A.Adeboye, and let them endure forever, in Jesus name.
11.Father, bless Your son, that You have been using to prepare these prayer points, beyond measures, and all those who have been rebroadcasting them, in Jesus name.
12.Father, let every challenge, hindrance and obstacle of getting these prayer points across to Your children, timely, and on daily basis be removed, in Jesus name.
13.Your Personal petitions. (Philippians 4:6)
14.In Jesus name I pray. (John 14:13-14; 15:16)
15.Thank you Father for answered prayers. (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
These prayers have no expiry date! Please, pray them, irrespective of the time they get to you. Remain blessed, in Jesus name.
Kindly, purchase your own hard copy or online version of the Open Heavens devotional & buy for your friends too, as a potent evangelism tool. God bless you, as you sow, into Pastor E.A. Adeboye’s book Ministry, in Jesus name.
Prayer Points on Today’s Open Heaven 25 April 2019 – There Is Work To Do
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