God wants your Home to Succeed (Part 4) by Pastor Faith Oyedepo

Topic: God wants your home to succeed (Part 4)

Dear Reader,

Welcome once again to this column. It has been indeed a great time of refreshing. This week, I shall be looking at: Satan’s Loopholes in the Family.

Every successful home is a threat to satan’s kingdom; which is why he would do anything to destroy it. Unfortunately, he gains entrance to many homes often through the woman. Remember, he gained access into the first home through Eve, and history always repeats itself.God’s Word says:But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3).

For this reason, men should protect their wives spiritually, to ensure that they do not engage in private discussions with hell, which can send them out of their “garden”. Once the woman is effectively shielded from satan, he will have difficulty in trying to penetrate the home.

Women are more susceptible to the attacks of satan, because of their roles in the home. She is usually more at home than the man; so she is more available to satan. He creeps in on her and tells her, “What makes you different from the man? Are you a slave? Have you forgotten that you are also educated as he (husband) is? Have you forgotten your placement in your office? There is no Jew nor Greek, male or female; the same Lord is rich over all.” If unguarded, the woman would be tempted to agree with him.

Somehow, satan is able to easily secure the attention of women, particularly when they are idle. He barrages them with all sorts of negative information, which in turn makes them unhappy. He often arrests them by painting a deadly picture of calamity and woe, which they readily accept. But unfortunately, some women claim that it was God that revealed such information to them, not recognizing that it came through “the prince of the power of the air.”

Woman, please learn to prove the source of the information that comes to you. Find things out for yourself from the Word of God, because nothing anybody says can make the Word of no effect. The destruction many families have experienced today came from information that had satanic sources.

Man, it is time to awake and chase satan out of your garden! Until you say, “Get thee behind this family, satan”, he will keep hanging around. As man’s eternal enemy, satan has vowed to pull down the family unit. God’s Word says: How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up? (Deuteronomy 32:30).He wants to stop you from destroying his kingdom.

In the covenant, one can deal with 1,000, two, especially in marriage, are empowered to put 10,000 to flight! Satan knows this and wants to keep his kingdom, so he launches attacks on the family, to prevent them from destroying his kingdom. Since one family can destroy 1,000 demons, satan aims at destroying the 10,000 capacity destroyers. If he succeeds, he has preserved more demons to run errands for him.

Another reason the devil wants to gain entrance into families is found in I Peter 3:7; Likewise, ye husband, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

When a man and his wife are at variance with each other, their prayers are hindered, and they are disconnected from God. They may pray all the time, but there will be no response from heaven. Heaven will be shut, making it impossible for them to enjoy the harvest of whatever seed they may have sown.

The man, who opens up his home to malice or discord, has blocked his access to God’s blessing. Satan knows this, so he does all he can to see that there is rancour and strife between a man and his wife. Anytime you sense any animosity rising within you against your spouse, know that satan is seeking an entrance. Therefore, resist him steadfastly in the faith. Tell yourself that since you have no intention of having another home, you will not give satan a foothold in your family!

In case you are not yet born again, this is another opportunity for you to do so today. If you want to overcome satanic loopholes in your family this year, don’t miss this golden opportunity. You are born again by confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Saviour and Lord. If you are already born again, rejoice because your case is settled. If you are not yet born again and you desire to do so right now, please pray this prayer with faith in your heart: Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins and cleanse me with Your Blood. I accept You as my Lord and personal Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for delivering me from sin and satan to serve the living God and thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom.

Congratulations! If you prayed this simple prayer of faith with me, you are now born again and a child of God. He loves you and will never leave you. Read your Bible daily, obey God’s Word and seek Christian fellowship (John 14:21).

With this, you are guaranteed all-round rest and peace in Jesus’ Name! Call or write to share your testimonies with me through [email protected], 07026385437 OR 08141320204.

For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Building a Successful Home and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored).

“Please click HERE to read other inspiring articles by Pastor Faith Oyedepo”

Pastor Faith Oyedepo is the wife of Bishop David Oyedepo, the founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide a.k.a. Winners’ Chapel, and Senior Pastor of Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, Nigeria.

Topic: The Fast Pace of Life [Joyce Meyer’s Devotional Saturday September 1, 2018]

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] — Matthew 11:28 (AMPC)

We really do live in a time-crunched world; just about everything we do seems to be urgent. We live under incredible pressure and run from one thing to the next—to the point that we may neglect the things that are really important in life: family, our health, God, and building up our spiritual lives.

The truth is, we cannot handle life apart from God. We cannot handle the pressure, the confusion, and the stress without Him. Our marriages will suffer, we will experience financial pressure, and our relationships won’t thrive if we do not study God’s Word and take time to pray.

But there is good news to be thankful for—God will strengthen us and enable us to handle life peacefully and wisely if we start praying about things instead of merely trying to get through the day. God will renew our strength and enable us to handle life and not be weary (see Isaiah 40:31).

Prayer Starter: Father, I am so thankful that You give me peace and rest even in the midst of a busy life. Help me to lean on You today and use wisdom in setting my schedule. You are the strength of my life, and I totally depend on You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read “Joyce Meyer Daily Devotional HERE’’

From Joyce Meyer’s Ministries.

Enjoying Kingdom Wealth by David Ibiyeomie

Topic: Enjoying Kingdom Wealth

Matt. 11:5-6 -The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

A blind man needs sight, a lame man needs legs to walk, the deaf needs ear to hear, the leper needs to be clean and the dead needs life but the poor needs THE WORD OF GOD. When it comes to poverty, prayer is not needed; it is the Word of God that is needed. That is Jesus’ prescription.

When it comes to kingdom wealth, there has to be ‘hearing’ of God’s word but unfortunately, many Christians want prayers instead of hearing God’s word. They don’t pray to come out of poverty; you hear God’s word. For instance, if a patient disregards a doctor’s prescription and goes for a road-side chemist’s prescription, the patient will be heading for destruction. The gospel must be preached to the poor for him to come out of poverty. You can fast when it comes to miracles but not for poverty.

Enjoying kingdom wealth is a state of being blessed by God and in turn, you become a blessing to others.

Gen. 12:2 -And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

Deut. 8:7-10 -For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.10 When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.

It is not God’s will that you go through poverty. No good father will wish his children to go through struggles and hardship.

3John 2 -Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

The soul is made up of the will, the emotions and the mind. This means that the prosperity of your soul is proportionate to the prosperity you will encounter here on earth. The level of your mental capacity will determine the level of your financial coast and the level to which you enjoy divine health. How you prosper from God’s word in your mind determines how you prosper on earth. That is why a wise man said –Wealth is a function of man’s capacity to think. If your mind is upgraded with the word of God, you are bound to prosper. You cannot enjoy health and wealth without an upgraded mind. God’s word is our principal tool for upgrading the mind.

The person of Jesus guarantees your eternity but the principles of Jesus determines your success on earth. Many people know about the person of Jesus but only a few operate His principles. Anyone who is not interested in the principles of Jesus will not go far in life because success is determined by His principles. This is the reason many born-again Christians suffer financial hardship because they don’t operate the principles of Jesus. Though Lazarus made heaven, he went there as a pauper because he did not operate the principles of Jesus. Abraham obeyed the principles of Jesus and made heaven still. So, it is left for you to either go to heaven like Lazarus or Abraham – Prosperity is a choice. The truth is that if you are not prosperous, your gospel will not have power; it will even be difficult to win your loved ones to Christ.

There are covenant factors to observe if you must enjoy kingdom wealth and the foundational factor is to love God.

Matt. 22:37-38 – Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment.

Giving without love is a complete waste. Every giving that must produce must be love-motivated. The wealthiest man in Bible history, Solomon, had access to unfathomable wealth because of this factor.

1Kings 3:3 – And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. 4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. 5 In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.

Solomon loved the Lord before he gave.

1Kings 3:12-13 – Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.

Solomon did not ask for riches. So, you don’t ask for true prosperity; you walk into it. You don’t pray for money; you walk into it by loving God.

2 Cor. 8:8 – I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.

Love is provable. The sincerity of your love for God must be proved. If you cannot prove your love for God, then your love is fake. God proved the sincerity of His love for humanity by giving His only begotten son. The sincerity of your love is proved through your giving. Solomon loved the Lord and He gave a thousand burnt offering. Read through the Bible; everywhere God talked about love, there was giving. For God so loved the world that He gave.

Check yourself: you always like to give to the person you truly love. You cannot say you love God and don’t give to Him. It is the depth of your love for God that determines your level of access to His resources.

1Cor. 13:3 – And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

When you demonstrate your love in giving, you become a financial sign to your world.

1 Cor. 2:9 – But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

Enter into a frequency of love for God and you will not struggle to prosper. From this day, may God give you a heart for Him! When you seek the kingdom of God first, every other thing including wealth shall be added unto you. When you begin to show love towards God, you will see how He will so bless you that even those who don’t like your face will have no choice but to appreciate God’s hand upon your life. Just have a heart-seated love for God before giving to Him. The moment God sees your heart is set for love, He will give you wealth because He is the one that gives power to make wealth.

Today, I admonish you to sincerely ask the Holy Spirit to put the love of God in your heart. If you have genuinely entered a covenant of love with God, I pray for you today, begin to experience financial signs from now! Between now and the next three months, there will be a proof that God has distinguished you in the name of Jesus-Amen!!!

God bless you

Also Read: Other Inspiring Messages by Pastor David Ibiyeomie

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.

Topic: The Necessity of Faith [Seeds of Destiny 1 September 2018 Daily Devotional]

Scripture: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Hebrews 11:1-2.

Thought For The Day: The quality, dignity and longevity of life are all anchored on a person’s faith in God.

It is very critical to know that faith is a non-negotiable necessity for the Christian’s life and adventure on the face of the earth. Faith is also one of the most valuable assets of a visionary leader; the faith-way of life was the way of leaders like Nehemiah, Joseph and Daniel, etc. Therefore, it is very important to look at the necessity of faith.

Now, why is faith necessary? Let me give you three reasons:
i) We live by faith
The quality, dignity and longevity of life are all anchored on a person’s faith in God. This is why the just can only live by faith (Hebrews 10:38). If the just shall live by faith, it therefore, means that the just shall die without faith. To put it in another way, a person’s dignity (or quality of life) is compromised without faith in God.

ii) Faith is our profession and vocation (Hebrews 10:23).
It is important to know that the Christian life is a profession or vocation of faith. It has been confirmed that in order to be successful in any profession or career in life, you must understand how it works. This means, just as a lawyer must understand Law in great details in order to be successful in it, a Christian must understand how faith works in order to be successful in the Christian life. So, to be successful in the Christian journey is to understand faith as a subject.

Beloved, make up your mind to study, understand and apply the principles of faith in your life.

Remember this: The quality, dignity and longevity of life are all anchored on a person’s faith in God.

Assignments:
1. Make up your mind to study the subject of faith in great details.
2. Decide to live the Christian life by absolute trust in God.
3. Provoke your faith in God by taking practical actions steps on the basis of the Word of God.

Prayer: O Lord, I ask that You show me the faith-way of life. Give me the grace to live by faith by taking faith-based action steps, O Lord, in Jesus’ Name.

FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: THE WAY OF FAITH.

Amazing Fact: Eagles are admired the world over as living symbols of power, freedom, and transcendence.

Today In History: 01/09/1884 – The Thomas A. Edison Construction Department and the Edison Company for Isolated Lighting merged.

Daily Reading: Job 40:1 to 42:17, 2 Corinthians 5:11 to 21, Psalm 45:1 to 17, Proverbs 22:14

Quote: The strength of your faith in God determines the security of your destiny; when your faith is weak, your destiny is not secured. Culled from 15 KINGDOM STRATEGIES FOR SURVIVAL by Dr Paul Enenche.

Don’t Forget To Attend: The six over-flooded Destiny Recovery Services tomorrow by 6:00am, 7:20am, 8:40am, 10:00am, 11:20am and 12:40pm.

Also Read: Seeds of Destiny by Pastor Paul Enenche

Today’s devotional was written by Pastor Paul Enenche of the Dunamis International Gospel Centre (DIGC), headquartered at Abuja, Nigeria, with Pastor Paul and Becky Enenche, as the Senior Pastors. It is a power-packed arena where God’s Presence, Principles and Power are at work for the salvation, healing and restoration of human destinies and dignities

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.

Topic: Perseverance Gets Results [Kenneth & Gloria Copeland 1 September 2018 Daily Devotional]

I tell you, although he will not get up and supply him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his shameless persistence and insistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. – Luke 11:8, The Amplified Bible

If, as God tells us in 1 Timothy 2:4, it’s His will for all men to be saved, why aren’t we seeing more of the masses of lost people born again every day? Have you ever wondered that?

I have…and as I’ve sought the Lord about it, I’ve come to realize that, for the most part, it’s because those of us who are already saved don’t pray persistently for those who aren’t. Instead of persevering—staying before the Father, praying for them to receive the bread of salvation—like the man in Luke 11:8 did for his friend, when we don’t see immediate results, we simply give up and go home.

What we don’t realize is this: Perseverance is the key to success in intercession!

Why? It’s certainly not because you have to change God’s mind. He never changes. His mind’s made up. He wants all men saved. The reason you have to persevere in intercession is to put pressure on the demonic forces that are trying to keep God’s will from being accomplished. Those forces must be broken down through prayer so that strongholds are destroyed and spiritual blinders are removed from the spiritual eyes of the people you’re praying for.

You see, God will not go against the will of any person. But He will move through your intercession to reveal Himself to them. Through your persistent prayers, He will bring them to the knowledge of their need for Him. Then they’ll reach out for Him and spiritual rebirth can take place!

If you’re sitting around waiting on God to save Aunt Mary or Uncle Jim or your best friend…stop sitting around! Get busy interceding for them. Persevere in prayer. Pray the prayer in Ephesians 1:16-23 for them, refusing to give up until they’re safely inside God’s kingdom.

Jesus has already laid down His life so that they can be saved. The question is, will you?

Scripture Reading: Luke 11:1-10

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read “Kenneth and Gloria Copeland’s Daily Devotional Here’’

This message was written by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, the leader of the Kenneth Copeland Ministries (www.KCM.org) that specializes in teaching principles of bible faith – prayer, healing, salvation and other biblical topics.

Topic: Officer Miglio’s Heart [Our Daily Bread 1 September 2018 Devotional]

Read: Matthew 18:1–10, Bible in a Year: Psalms 135–136; 1 Corinthians 12

See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. Matthew 18:10

Back at the police station, Officer Miglio slumped wearily against a wall. A domestic violence call had just consumed half his shift. Its aftermath left a boyfriend in custody, a young daughter in the emergency room, and a shaken mother wondering how it had come to this. This call would wear on the young officer for a long time.

“Nothing you could do, Vic,” said his sergeant sympathetically. But the words rang hollow. Some police officers seem able to leave their work at work. Not Vic Miglio. Not the tough cases like this one.

Officer Miglio’s heart reflects the compassion of Jesus. Christ’s disciples had just come to Him with a question: “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1). Calling a small child to Him, He told His disciples, “Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (v. 3). Then He gave a stern warning to anyone who would harm a child (v. 6). In fact, children are so special to Him that Jesus told us, “Their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven” (v. 10).

How comforting, then, that Jesus’s love for children is connected to His love for us all! That’s why He invites us, through childlike faith, to become His sons and daughters.

Prayer: Remind us always, Lord, to love children as You love them, even as we come to You with the trusting faith of a small child.

Our earthly families may fail us, but our heavenly Father never will.

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read “Our Daily Bread Devotionals HERE”

This message was written By Tim Gustafson [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]

Topic: The Blessings of Abraham Are All Yours [TREM 1 September 2018 Daily Devotional]

“That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Galatians 3:14 (KJV)

When God looks down from heaven, He sees three categories of people: Jews, Gentiles and the Church. That is why when you read the bible, always know that there are things He said to the Jews, which are not meant for us. However, we can benefit from them. They are written for us to benefit from, but were not really addressed to us. For instance, if I am advising someone and you happen to be around listening, you can receive benefit from the advice. There are things God wrote to the Jews that do not address the Gentiles. You are not a Jew. You were a Gentile, who has now become part of the Church, since you received Christ. Therefore, you should live your life in the epistles in order to discover, understand and appropriate your benefits in Christ.

There are things God wrote to the church. We are the church – the new creation. God deals with the Church on a different level and it is called the “Grace Level”. This means that God deals with His church entirely under grace. However, we still fall short from time to time, why doesn’t God punish us? Because He has punished Jesus already for it all. If He did, it will contravene the “Law of Double Jeopardy”, and God is a just God. That is the reason Christ became a curse for us that the blessing of Abraham may come upon the Gentiles through Him that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

What are the blessings of Abraham? You will see some of them in Deuteronomy 28. It opens by saying that “if thou shall diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all that is written therein, then these blessings will come”. If you are not careful, you will remove your name from those entitled to the blessing because it says you have to obey. Beloved, it is no more your obedience. Christ has obeyed. Therefore, your part is the blessing. God knew you couldn’t obey. For that purpose He sent Christ to obey so that the blessings will become yours. All things are yours, Hallelujah!

Further Reading: Galatians 3:3-4, Deuteronomy 28:1-13

Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Psalms 135-136; Evening- 1 Corinthians 12

“If you missed yesterday devotional click HERE to read TREM Daily Devotional by Dr. Mike Okonkwo’’

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.