Topic: Eternal Security: An Illusion I [Open Heavens 1st July 2018, Sunday Daily Devotional]

Memorise: Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. – Revelation 2:20

Read: Revelation 2:18-23 (KJV)

18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;

19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.

20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

Bible in One Year: 1 Chronicle 21-22, Acts 20:17-35

MESSAGE:

One deadly error in some quarters of the Christian faith is the doctrine of eternal security. Those advancing this doctrine use the scriptures to convince their followers that once you are saved, you are forever saved, irrespective of the type of the life you live after receiving salvation. It is therefore not surprising that in circles where this doctrine is taught, a loose lifestyle of sin is the norm. In order to appease the conscience of their followers, some modern day teachers of this doctrine have tried to repackage it by redefining what sin is. Some even teach that a Christian cannot sin. It is unfortunate that some people still fall for this old deception of the devil which resurges from time to time.

When you critically examine the life of those teaching this doctrine, you will observe that they themselves fell into the error of this falsehood because of secret sin in their lives which they could not overcome. Instead humbling submitting themselves to God in an environment of accountability for their character to be built up, they proudly developed another “gospel” to justify themselves and deaden their conscience. The unfortunate thing is that several innocent souls who genuinely want to serve God end up being destroyed by these teachers. Because they see such teachers exhibiting the gifts of God, they believe that whatever is coming from their mouths is sanctioned by God. These beguiled souls forget that Romans 11:29 says:

“For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.”

Based on the principle established by this verse of scripture, a person who received the gifts of God’s spirit while teaching the truth of the gospel will continue to manifest these gifts after they fall into the error of another “gospel”, even if it’s for a while, it is for this very reason the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 7:22-23 clearly said:

“22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

From the words of the Master Himself, it is obvious to any serious student of the Bible that the working of miracles or manifestation of the gifts of the spirit is not a wholesale stamp of approval by God. Therefore, beware! Any teaching not founded in the totality of the truth in God’s word should not be accepted, irrespective of the charisma of the teacher. When it is all said and done, you will stand alone to give account of your life before God.

Action Point: Minister the truth of God’s word to those who have ensnared by the false doctrine of eternal security.

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click HERE to read Open Heavens 30 June 2018 – Meek But Militant 

Hymn 12: Take My Life, And Let It Be

1.Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise,
Let them flow in endless praise.

2.Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee,
Swift and beautiful for Thee.

3.Take my voice and let me sing,
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee,
Filled with messages from Thee.

4. Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose,
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.

5. Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne,
It shall be Thy royal throne.

6. Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee,
Ever, only, all for Thee.

Open Heavens 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.

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: Arranged Marriage [DCLM Daily Manna Sunday July 1, 2018]

Text: Genesis 24:61-67 (KJV)

Key Verse: “And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel” (Genesis 24:64).

MESSAGE:

Marriages were arranged by parents in ancient days because it is assumed they know better than their children in deciding the best partner for them. This act is still common in many parts of the world where women are not allowed to express their own preferences for marriage partner.

In our text, Isaac left the task of choosing a wife into the hands of his father, who in turn committed the project into the hands of Eleazer, his servant. After much prayers, Abraham believed God would send an angel to lead Eleazer and aid him in the selection of a good wife. Everything apparently worked out well for Eleazer. Soon, Rebekah was on her way to Isaac. But she hadn’t seen him until she got to the outskirt of the town.

Though Abraham and the servant prayed for guidance before selecting a good wife which is akin to praying to know God’s will in marriage, it is unwise for a sister-in-Christ to commit to marrying someone she hasn’t even seen before or know his spiritual convictions and goals in life.

A successful marriage is one laced with prayer and dependence on God for guidance. Believers should not marry unbelievers (Deuteronomy 7:3,4). Time should be set apart for courtship where intending couples trash out sensitive matters that could jeopardise their marriage. Meanwhile, parents should not insist on choosing life partners for their children but allow them pray to know God’s will. Even so, it must be done in pursuit of God’s glory alone.

Thought For The Day: A marriage made in heaven is better than one made by parents.

Bible Reading In One Year: Obadiah; Psalms 82-83

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read Deeper Christian Life Ministry, DCLM Daily Manna HERE

DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.

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: Later Is Here! [Kenneth & Gloria Copeland, Sunday July 1, 2018]

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household? – Matthew 24:45

The Word tells us that God shows Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are “perfect” toward Him (2 Chronicles 16:9). That word perfect doesn’t mean that we have to do everything just right and live without making a mistake. Thank God, we don’t have to do that. It means “devoted”—a heart consecrated, dedicated, loyal and faithful to God.

The mistakes we make will not stop God from working in our lives. Only our lack of faithfulness can do that.

Who is faithful? The one who spends his time doing what God has called him to do. Or as Jesus put it, the one who takes up his cross and follows Him. The one who denies his fleshly desires and spends his life on the things God desires him to do.

Maybe God has been urging you to spend more time in His Word and in prayer or dealing with you about ministering more to the people around you. He may be calling you to pray for the sick or to teach the Word. But you’re busy, so you glide on with good intentions and tell God you’ll do it later. Well, later is here!

Decide today that you are going to be the faithful and wise servant. Find out what is stealing your time from the Lord. Serve His interests instead of your own.

Do you want to be a ruler in the household of God? Do you want Him to show Himself strong for you? Then take up Jesus’ thoughts today. Take up His purposes and His plans. Now is the time to be faithful!

Scripture Reading: Matthew 24:42-51

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: What Is God Like? [Our Daily Bread 1 Sunday July, 2018]

Read: Hebrews 1:1–10, Bible in a Year: Job 20–21; Acts 10:24–48

The Son is . . . the exact representation of [God’s] being. Hebrews 1:3

To celebrate a special occasion, my husband took me to a local art gallery and said I could choose a painting as a gift. I picked out a small picture of a brook flowing through a forest. The streambed took up most of the canvas, and because of this much of the sky was excluded from the picture. However, the stream’s reflection revealed the location of the sun, the treetops, and the hazy atmosphere. The only way to “see” the sky was to look at the surface of the water.

Jesus is like the stream, in a spiritual sense. When we want to see what God is like, we look at Jesus. The writer of Hebrews said He is “the exact representation of [God’s] being” (1:3). Although we can learn facts about God through direct statements in the Bible such as “God is love,” we can deepen our understanding by seeing the way God would act if He faced the same problems we have on Earth. Being God in human flesh, this is what Jesus has shown us.

In temptation, Jesus revealed God’s holiness. Confronting spiritual darkness, He demonstrated God’s authority. Wrestling with people problems, He showed us God’s wisdom. In His death, He illustrated God’s love.

Although we cannot grasp everything about God—He is limitless and we are limited in our thinking—we can be certain of His character when we look at Christ.

Prayer: Dear God, thank You for making a way for us to know You. Help us to grow closer to You by looking at Jesus.

Looking at Jesus shows us God’s character.

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

This message was written By Jennifer Benson Schuldt [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]

Topic: Sharing God‘s Love [Andrew Wommack Sunday July 1, 2018]

Luke 10:2 – “Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.”

It is commonly thought that an evangelist is someone who has a passion to lead people to the Lord. But every believer should have a passion for souls. When presenting the Gospel, we are not just presenting a theory about God but the factual account of God’s dealings with man as revealed through His Word, with the ultimate witness being the bodily resurrection of Jesus. Our personal witness of the reality of Jesus being alive in our lives brings Christ from theory to reality.

The early Christians had experienced the love of Christ in an intimate and life-transforming way. This motivated them to reach their known world with the Gospel of Christ more than any generation of Christians has done since. They didn’t have the benefits of our modern technology, but they did have the benefit of being full of the love of Christ. Experiencing the love of Christ causes us to be filled with the fullness of God (Eph. 3:19) and makes us a witness that the world cannot resist (John 13:35).

Today, much of the emphasis of the church is placed on techniques of evangelism or spiritual warfare. We motivate people to witness through feelings of guilt or punishment if they don’t. Much of our evangelism has become as dead and non-productive as that of the cults who knock on doors and argue people into their way of thinking. The early Christians had a much greater impact on their world because they were full of, and motivated by, the love of God. The church today needs a revival of our personal relationship with the Lord. When we can say with Paul that the love of Christ constrains us, then we will impact our world for the Lord too. You can’t give away what you don’t possess. We need to personally know the love of Christ in an experiential way before we try to share it with others.

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

This message was written by The Association of Related Ministries International (ARMI) is an extension of Andrew Wommack Ministries (AWM). ARMI is a unique partnership committed to providing resources to help like-minded ministers succeed in a spirit of excellence and to draw from the experience and expertise of both the AWM and Charis Bible College staff. (www.awmi.net).

Topic: A Global Best-Seller [Billy Graham’s Devotional Sunday July 1, 2018]

His every word is a treasure of knowledge and understanding. — Proverbs 2:6 (TLB)

It is small wonder . . . the Bible has always been the world’s best-seller! No other book can touch its profound wisdom, its poetic beauty, or the accuracy of its history and prophecy. Its critics who claimed it to be filled with forgery, fiction, and unfulfilled promises are finding that the difficulties lie with themselves, and not the Bible. Greater and more careful scholarship has shown that apparent contradictions were caused by incorrect translations, rather than divine inconsistencies. It was man and not the Bible that needed correcting. And yet—in many homes and among so-called educated people—it has become fashionable to joke about the Bible and to regard it more as a dust-catcher than as the living Word of God. . . . Too many families have used the Bible as a safe storage place for old letters and pressed flowers, and have overlooked entirely the help and assurance that God intended this Book to give them.

Prayer for the day: Almighty God, I praise You for the authority of Your Word, which speaks to me of my redemption, life as it should be lived, peace and eternal life with 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.