Billy Graham Devotional 15 October 2018 — Experience Jesus

Topic: Experience Jesus [Billy Graham Devotional 15 October 2018]

The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. — John 6:63

To one of the most religious men of His day, Jesus said, “Ye must be born again” (John 3:7). Nicodemus could not substitute his profound knowledge of religion for spiritual rebirth, and neither can we. I have read a book on water skiing, and it did not take long for me to learn that I could never learn to water ski by reading a book-I would have to experience it.

I have read a number of books on golf, but none of them seems to improve my game; I must get out on the golf course and play. You may study theology and religion, but there comes a time when you must experience Christ for yourself.

Prayer for the day: Lord, You have given me life and I praise You!

“If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read Billy Graham’s Daily Devotional HERE

Written by Billy Graham, Founder of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association(BGEA). BGEA exists to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ by every effective means and to equip the church and others to do the same.

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Open Heaven 15 October 2018 – Learn To Trust God

Open Heaven 15 October 2018 Monday Daily Devotional by Pastor E A Adeboye – Learn To Trust God

Topic: Learn To Trust God (Open Heaven 15 October 2018)

Memorise: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Read: Psalm 37:4-6 (KJV)

4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

Bible in One Year: Isaiah 65-66, Luke 6:46-7:17

Open Heaven 15 October 2018 Monday MESSAGE:

Trusting God is one of the best things a child of God can ever learn to do. The moment you learn to trust God, life will become beautiful because you will begin to experience a kind of peace you never knew existed. Initially, it can be quite hard for us to trust God due to the fact that His ways are higher than our ways, and until we get to know Him well, His instructions and commands might seem strange. Nevertheless, as a child of God, it is important that you learn to trust God blindly. Even if you cannot see around the bend, you should trust Him enough to know that He will always lead you aright. No matter how unconditional God’s ways are, one thing is sure: He has your best interest at heart. Jeremiah 29:11 says:

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

Trusting God involves taking the backseat and letting God handle the major decisions and situations in your life. It involves letting your will be so lost in His will until you start to see things from His perspective and feel things through His heart. It takes a lot of trust in another individual to be able to let go of your own will and let that person’s will prevail in your life. You can only trust someone that you love; so if you don’t love God genuinely, you cannot trust Him.

There was a day I was driving down from Ilorin to Lagos and the fuel tank was almost empty. Unknown to me, a fuel scarcity was on, and so all the filling stations I saw along the way had no fuel. I cried to God and He asked me to take my eyes off the fuel gauge and continue driving to Lagos. Although my fuel tank was already on reserve at the time He told me to do this, I said to Him ”Yes Lord”, and I kept driving. To the glory of God, I kept on driving till I got my house in Lagos. After I parked the car, I looked at the fuel gauge and it read empty! If I did not trust God completely, I would have parked my car in a safe place along the way and gone through the stress of finding an alternative means of getting home, instead of taking the risk of getting stranded along the way.

The devil specializes in sowing seeds of doubt in our hearts so that our faith in God will diminish, because he knows that the moment you start doubting God, you will not be able to receive anything from Him (James 1:6-7). For this reason, it is very important to remind yourself of the good things God has done for you and others in the past. Encourage yourself with these testimonies in order to rekindle your faith. Learn to trust God, because it shows your love for Him!

Open Heaven 15 October 2018 Monday Key Point:

If you don’t learn to trust God, then don’t expect anything from Him.

Also Read: Open Heaven 14 October 2018 – Mercy Prevails Over Judgement

Open Heaven 15 October 2018 Monday Hymn 11: O God Our Help In Ages Past

1. O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.

2. Under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.

3. Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.

4. A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.

5. Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the op’ning day.

6. O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home.

Open Heaven 15 October 2018 Monday Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC. Open Heaven 15 October 2018 Monday Daily Devotional.

Flatimes Notice Board: Until you are born again, God ever abiding presence will never be with you. You must be born again to enjoy continuous victory. Please say the displayed prayer below in faith:

Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus name Amen.

If you just prayed the prayer of salvation online please send your testimonies and prayer request to [email protected], 07026385437 OR 08141320204.

The post Open Heaven 15 October 2018 – Learn To Trust God appeared first on Flatimes.

How Can God Choose to Save Some but Not All? Pastor Responds

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“How can God choose some and not all?” A Baptist pastor has attempted to answer this age-old question of salvation.

Clint Archer, who pastors Hillcrest Baptist Church in Durban, South Africa, which is an Evangelical Reformed Baptist Church, said the question has come up when discussing the topic of salvation.

Some believe it’s “unfair for those not chosen” and that those who are chosen seem like “robots without free will, and that takes away our responsibility and lays it squarely on God,” some would tell him.

Archer pointed to several important Bible verses on his blog earlier this week, such as 1 Timothy 2:3-4, which reads “… God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

At the same time, the words of the apostle Paul in Romans 9:20-23 suggest that God makes “vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,” he noted.

Seeking to explain how it is accurate to say that God “desires all to be saved,” he positioned that God does not always get what He wants.

“God states that he desires for you not to gossip, lust, covet, be impatient, lose your temper, be discontent with your finances, etc. God expresses His will that people abstain from immorality, love their neighbor as themselves, and love Him with all their…

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John Wesley Comes to America, Martin Luther Earns His Doctorate

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Detroit Remains a City of Stark Contrasts

(Photo: Dennis Lennox)The streets of Detroit.

It can be difficult to recognize Detroit these days.

After all, it has made a remarkable transformation in the five years since city hall filed the municipal bankruptcy heard around the world.

Growing up and then coming of age in the late 1990s and early 2000s I never really knew Detroit. Yes, I went downtown for the occasional professional hockey or baseball game but in those days you arrived not long before game time and then afterwards got the heck out of town before the crowds dispersed. It wasn’t uncommon to see the suburban dwellers run stop signs and red lights on their way home over fear of getting carjacked. You also wouldn’t have seen someone stop within city limits at a gas station.

The only Michiganders who can remember a different Detroit are now in their 60s or 70s. My father, who graduated from high school in 1960, knew the city when it epitomized the American Dream.

Flash-forward to today and the city has an ever-changing downtown.

After years of leading the charge in revitalizing Detroit and renovating empty buildings — ranging from 1920s and 1930s art deco to early 1960s modernist — billionaire Dan Gilbert is erecting a 62-story skyscraper of the kind Toronto and other big cities long ago grew accustomed to having in its cityscape. But this is Detroit and Detroit hasn’t had a new skyscraper since 1977, when the hideous monstrosity that is the Renaissance Center was built along the riverfront.

Gilbert’s skyscraper hardly compares to the over-the-top buildings of Dubai or Abu Dhabi. It also doesn’t take a page from the

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‘Unfriended’ Author Shares Harmful Impact of Social Media, How to Get Back to True Community

(Photo: J.O. Media)Author Joe Battaglia on the set of “In The Mix with Jeannie Ortega” on TBN Salsa, Sept, 10, 2018

When people seem to have more of a relationship with their cell phone than they do with other people, there’s a problem. And when social media becomes a place where people dump their garbage — all things mean and ugly — there’s a problem. Popular Christian Media leader Joe Battaglia addresses those issues in his new book, Unfriended: Finding True Community in a Disconnected Culture, and shares the effects living in a digital world is having on the human race and its need for true face-to-face community.

Battaglia is the president of Renaissance Communications and for decades he’s been a household name in marketing, broadcasting, journalism and more recently as an author. His first book, The Politically Incorrect Jesus, received wide acclaim and now his new book is on course to do the same with a very timely message.

In Unfriended, the New Jersey native wishes to help readers shake off their digital fatigue and get back to “real-life, real-world relationships with real people.” Battaglia uses research, personal insight, and biblical truths to help people trade the anonymity of the internet and get up close and personal with God’s workmanship.

“Get out from behind your screen and enjoy God’s creation,” Battaglia states in the book’s description.

The Christian Post interviewed Battaglia, who explains the importance of real-life community in a digital age. Below is an edited transcript.

Christian Post: Tell us about Unfriended and why you felt compelled to write…

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Russia hints at tough response to Ukrainian church split

Bartholomew I, the ecumenical patriarch, last week effectively granted Ukraine the right to be independent from the Moscow Patriarchate. 

In response, the Russian Orthodox Church suggested they wouldn’t attend gatherings by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople

Many in Ukraine want their church to separate from Russia because they fear political influence from the Kremlin. Russian clergy oppose they idea as it would see the biggest split in the church for thousands of years. 

During a visit to Minsk on Saturday Russia’s Patriarch Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, said: “We are aware of how difficult the current situation in the brotherly land of Ukraine is,” he said. “But we believe that secular forces that aim to destroy the church will never succeed.”
Russia’s Holy Synod will meet on Monday to discuss it further and Patriarch Kirill urged prayer for the gathering: “It will be a very important meeting, during which certain decisions regarding the situation in Ukraine will be made,” he said.

On Thursday, a synod meeting of Bartholomew I decided to move towards granting Ukrainian ecclesiastical independence.

They revoked an 1686 letter which allows the Patriarch of Moscow to ordain the Metropolitan of Kiev, made the head of Ukrainian church answerable straight to Constantinople and not Russia and also lifted the anathema on two church leaders…

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Pray for Carlisle Baptist Church

Location: Panama City, FL

Pastor: Vacant

Weekly Worship: 10:45 am, EST

Fast Facts: Carlisle Baptist is but one of many churches in the panhandle of Florida who was impacted by Hurricane Michael earlier this week. Here are before and after pics:

The church is currently without a pastor and now without a building. Please be in prayer for not only those in the church, but for the community in which they live. Carlisle Baptist represents dozens and dozens of churches who suffered great lost due to Michael. Be in prayer for those churches as well. For those looking to help churches and residents in their time of need, you can find information at SendRelief.org.

Website: CarlisleBaptist.com


“Pray for . . .” is the Sunday blog series at ThomRainer.com. We encourage you to pray for these churches noted every Sunday. Please feel free to comment that you are praying as well.

If you would like to have your church featured in the “Pray for…” series, fill out this information form..

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Date set for evangelism court hearing in Algeria

Algerian Christians are requesting prayer for four believers, including three from the same family, who are being put in court because of potential evangelism and will appear in court in Province of Bouira, in the Kabylie region of Algeria. 

They are accused of “inciting a Muslim to change his religion”, a criminal offence, and “performing religious worship in an unauthorised place”, which goes against Algeria’s Law 03/2006, commonly known as Law 03/06 – a law that governs non-Muslim worship. 

Christian argue that the 03/06 law is unconstitutional, citing the Algerian constitution’s Article 42, which guarantees freedom of belief, opinion and worship.

The charges follow accusations made in July 2018 by a woman,40, whose husband, 50, had converted to Christianity.

She and members of her family filed a complaint against her Christian husband, and also against a Christian family that had tried to mitigate a conflict between the wife and husband, accusing them of “wanting to pressure her to become a Christian.”

She said they took her to church tried to persuade her to leave Islam. 

The defendants were meant to appear before court 9 October, but the hearing has been postponed to 6th November. 

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your…

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Pope makes El Salvador’s Oscar Romero a saint

Pope Francis has praised two of the towering figures of the 20th-century Catholic Church as prophets who shunned wealth and looked out for the poor as he canonised Pope Paul VI and martyred Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero.

Francis declared the two men saints at a Mass in St Peter’s Square before tens of thousands of pilgrims, a handful of presidents and some 5,000 Salvadoran pilgrims.

Tens of thousands more Salvadorans stayed up all night at home to watch it on giant TV screens outside the San Salvador cathedral where Archbishop Romero’s remains are entombed.

In a sign of the strong influence Paul and the archbishop had on history’s first Latin American pope, Francis wore the blood-stained rope belt that Archbishop Romero wore when he was gunned down in 1980 and also used Paul’s staff, chalice and pallium vestment.

Paul presided over the modernising yet polarising church reforms of the 1960s, while Archbishop Romero was murdered by El Salvador’s right-wing death squads for his fearless defence of the poor.

In his homily, Francis called Paul a “prophet of a church turned outwards” to care for the faraway poor.

He said Archbishop Romero gave up his security and life to “be close to the poor and his people”.

And he warned that those who do not follow their example to leave behind everything, including their wealth, risk never truly finding God.

“Wealth is dangerous and…

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