Topic: Power Of Hunger [Teens Open Heavens 21, June 2018]

Memorise: Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6

Read: Matthew 20:20-23 (KJV)

20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.

21 And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.

22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.

23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.

Bible In One Year: Esther 1-3, Acts 5:1-16

MESSAGE:

In Matthew 5:3, Jesus said the poor in Spirit are in the category of the blessed. The poor in spirit are those who are never satisfied with their spiritual state. They are always hungry for more of God; His love, the fruit of His Spirit and gifts of the Spirit. Their delight is in Christ. One major characteristic of the poor is that they have a large capacity to fill. They are insatiable for their quest for Heavenly things, and would not rest until they are filled.

Hunger plays a major role in the distribution of Heavenly blessings. God cannot fill you beyond your capacity or container. If you think you are okay the way you are, you will never move an inch beyond that point. If you do not hunger to know more about God, you will be limited to the little you already know and have of Him. Your hunger will determine your growth level and pace. Ask God to give you real hunger for eternal things.

Action Point: Ask for hunger pangs for the things of God.

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read “Teen Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor Adeboye’’ 

Hymn 7
1. I am Thine 0 Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith
And be closer drawn to Thee.

Chorus
Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.

2. Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the pow’r of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.

3. Oh, the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God
I commune as friend with friend!

4. There are depths of love that I cannot know
Till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach
Till I rest in peace with Thee.

Daily Devotional for Teen’s 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.

Topic: Commitment In Marriage (Part 2)

Dear Reader,

It is another wonderful time in God’s presence! It is my prayer that at the end of this teaching, you will be saddled with all it takes to be committed to your spouse. Last week, I shared with you how your commitment to God enhances your marital commitment. This week, I want to teach on: Treat Your Spouse as Yourself.

It is important that you to know that as husband and wife, God sees you as one. Two becoming one is God’s own arithmetic. An understanding of the mystery of one flesh will make husband and wife treat each other the same way. The Word of God says, “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise” (Luke 6:31). What you cannot do to yourself, don’t do to your spouse. Treat your spouse the same way you want him or her to treat you. Mike Murdock, a renowned man of God says, “What you make happen for others, God will make happen for you.”

If you want your spouse to be kind to you, then you have a responsibility to be kind to him or her too. If you want respect from your spouse, you also need to sow respect. It is important that husband and wife foster the development of each other, promote each other, treat each other with affection and tenderness, hold each other dear, and keep each other fondly in mind. An understanding of the mystery of one flesh will help a great deal to be able to treat your spouse as yourself.

The Word of God says, “For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourished and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church” (Ephesians 5:29). The word ‘nourish’ means to provide with food or other substances necessary for life and growth. It also means: To foster development of or promote.” It also defines “cherish” as “treat with affection and tenderness; hold dear; To keep fondly in mind.” What you sow is what you reap. You must not maltreat your spouse, if you do not want to be treated the same way. What you put into your marriage is what it will give back to you!

Love is reciprocal. To love your spouse is to love yourself, and to hate your spouse is to hate yourself. Some couples so maltreat one another to the point of physical combat. But when you understand the mystery of one flesh, you will never dare to maltreat your spouse. Read this sister’s testimony:

“My husband deserted our two children and I and stopped giving us feeding allowance. He would even beat me whenever he was in town. At a time, he didn’t come for six months. I got to know where he was from the company calendar, and when I got there, he said he didn’t tell me to come. He left me there for three days! I started seeking help from everywhere I could think of – both from churches and ungodly avenues. But things just got worse!

Then an elderly couple invited me to this church. I was touched when the Bishop’s wife ministered on forgiveness and forgetting the past. I prayed and things turned around completely! My husband returned and asked for forgiveness. My marriage is restored and there is now peace in my home.” – Philips, T. (Mrs.)

Most times, I cannot understand how and why a couple should beat each other. That is an extreme case of a person absolutely out of control emotionally. My husband would often say, “A man that beats his wife will be construed as being mentally imbalanced, because he is actually beating himself.” The Bible says’ “For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh”(Matthew 19:5-6).

It takes commitment to God to be committed to your spouse. To be committed to God, you need to surrender your life to Christ. If, peradventure, you are not born again and you want to accept Jesus as your Lord and personal Saviour, then say this prayer in faith: 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: Building A Peaceful Home

Crisis in families in not a satanic invasion but a wisdom deficiency. Temptation comes to must families that is capable of tearing them apart but they are still living in peace while others with similar temptations are having their marriages and families rocking left and right. What has made some people divorce is what made some marriages stronger by application of wisdom.

1Cor.10:13 – There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Challenges come to every home but wisdom handles the challenges. It is wisdom that you need to handle challenges in your home. There is what to do to enjoy a peaceful home.

You need wisdom to enjoy peace in your family. Peace will not come by wishing; it will come by conscious application of the wisdom of God. The church of Jesus Christ is made up of families and the degree of peace each family enjoys affects the body of Christ.

If you want to have a tension-free family peace, God’s word is the answer. God instituted marriage and family. He left His manual on how to enjoy a peaceful home which is the Word of God. If you ignore the instructions in the manual of God, your family will face challenges. If you want peace in your family, you must go back to the word of God.

John 16:33 – These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

One of the offspring of wisdom is peace; that is why Solomon had peace despite all the adversaries against him more than David his father who fought war all through his life. Solomon operated in wisdom while David operated more in strength.

In case your family is experiencing one challenge or the other, or at the verge of collapsing, I decree peace! I decree supernatural reconciliation in the name of Jesus Christ! No matter what is trying to break you, God will not allow it to happen in your family! There shall be restoration in the name of Jesus!

God’s original design is for you is to have ‘Home, Sweet Home’. That was why He created the first man and woman and left them in a garden; not in a forest. God kept them in a place where they can have the sweetness of life. May you enjoy sweetness in your family in the name of Jesus –Amen!

God bless you

Click HERE to 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: God Wants You Healed [TREM Devotional Thursday June 21, 2018]

“Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw”. Matthew 12:22

God wants you healed. Many times, people have believed that they are suffering from an ailment or the other because God is punishing them for one sin or another. Beloved, that is a lie from the pit of hell. God does not punish with sickness. When Jesus died, He paid the full price for your redemption. He paid in full for your past, present and future sins. Every sin you can ever commit was nailed to the cross with Jesus and when Jesus arose, He arose triumphant over everything the devil had to offer, nothing and I mean absolutely nothing escaped. Jesus nailed it all to the cross just for you.

Yes, I know Christians get challenged with sicknesses and diseases. Yes, many times the health of the believer fails. That does not mean the price was not paid for your healing. However, you can only walk in the knowledge of what you know. The day you get illumination in the area of healing, then you will learn to walk in the full health. The fact that a believer died of a sickness does not mean the price has not been paid. The fact that someone’s health is challenged does not make the Word of no effect. When you come to terms with the full payment made by Jesus, you will walk with your head high and indeed no sickness or disease will be able to hold you down.

Is your health challenged? Dig up as many scriptures as you can concerning your health and say it to yourself as many times as possible every day. Don’t let the symptoms overwhelm you. Speak the Word out loud and as you speak it, faith rises in you and before long, the sickness will give way to divine health.

Further Reading: Isaiah 53: 1-5; 1 Peter 1:25; 1 Peter 2:24

Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Esther 3-5; Evening- Acts 5:22-42

“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.

Topic: Judging Or Teaching? [Open Heavens 21st June 2018, Thursday Daily Devotional]

Memorise: My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. – James 3:1

Read: Acts 28:1-6 (KJV)

1 And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita.

2 And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.

3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.

4 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.

5 And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.

6 Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.

Bible in One Year: 2 Kings 23, Acts 14:19-15:11

MESSAGE:

In a bid to evade the verbal chastisement of the word of God coming from the mouth of fellow believers, some Christians quote these words of Jesus in Matthew 7:1-2:

“1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”

Such Christians conveniently forget the words of 2 Timothy 4:2, which says,

“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”

While it is true that some Christians today are quick to judge others for the situation they are passing through, it does not mean we cannot declare the counsel of God whenever we are so moved by the Spirit of God to do so. The question is, what is the difference between having a judgemental attitude and declaring the whole counsel of God through teaching or preaching? Just like vengeance, judgement also is the prerogative of the Almighty God. As demonstrated in the story of the adulterous woman, He alone is the accurate and righteous Judge. From that story, we see that man’s judgement can be faulty, because the one judging others may be guilty of the same sin (John 8:7-9). Only God is without sin, therefore He alone is competent enough to pass judgement. Indeed, He has passed judgement through His word, and He will confirm this judgement through the Lord Jesus Christ on a day He has appointed (John 12:48, Romans 2:16).

To be judgemental is to judge wrongly. Many are prone to doing this, and this is the reason why we were warned not to judge. Paul’s experience in today’s Bible reading is a typical example of the error of man’s wrong judgement. The Lord had just spared the lives of Paul and those whom he was travelling with on account of Paul’s right standing with Him. While the apostle was gathering sticks to increase the heat of the fire that was keeping them warm, a poisonous snake caught him by the hand. Some of the native people of the land where they were shipwrecked jumped into the conclusion that Paul was evil and that was why nemesis was still after him, even though he had managed to survive shipwreck (Acts 28:4). How wrong they were! Let us therefore be cautious before drawing connections between events because our knowledge is limited. Let us allow the word of God speak the judgement of God by itself and not insert our own speculations and motives into the fray.

Action Point: Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click HERE to read Open Heavens 20 June 2018 by Pastor Adeboye

Hymn 7: Wonderful Story Of Love

1. Wonderful story of love;
Tell it to me again;
Wonderful story of love;
Wake the immortal strain!
Angels with rapture announce it,
Shepherds with wonder receive it;
Sinner, oh, won’t you believe it?
Wonderful story of love.

Chorus:
Wonderful! Wonderful!
Wonderful, wonderful story of love.

2. Wonderful story of love;
Though you are far away;
Wonderful story of love;
Still He doth call today;
Calling from Calvary’s mountain,
Down from the crystal-bright fountain,
E’en from the dawn of creation,
Wonderful story of love.

3. Wonderful story of love;
Jesus provides a rest;
Wonderful story of love;
For all the pure and blest,
Rest in those mansions above us,
With those who’ve gone on before us,
Singing the rapturous chorus,
Wonderful story of love.

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: Don’t Hide The Light [DCLM Daily Manna Thursday June 21, 2018]

Text: ACT 13:14-44 (KJV)

Key Verse: “But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down” (ACT 13:14).

MESSAGE:

According to a German national weekly newspaper, Zeit, a number of refugees in Hamburg said they felt unsafe and feared for their safety because of their faith. A particular Christian convert from Iran, spent years attending illegal Bible groups in her homeland. After making her way to Germany, she said she still lives in fear. Christians are heavily persecuted in many places in the world. But that is no excuse to hide one’s faith.

Paul and other Christians with him had come to a foreign land. Being a day of worship, they went into the Synagogue and sat down with others without revealing their identity until the ruler of the synagogue asked if they had any words for the people.

Paul stood up for Jesus. He quickly took the initiative to preach unto them the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. Are there not many Christians who change their environment and hide their identity?

Are there not some who, because of fear of persecution, wrap their Bibles in bags and envelopes? Others disguise so that no one will know them in their communities. God counts these as denial (Matthew 10:22,23). We are admonished to stand up for Jesus and confess Him to everyone we meet at every place.

We should never hide the anointing to preach or live the Christian life. We have around us people who, though religious, have not believed that Jesus Christ had come to save them. Our lives are their epistles. We must beam the light of the Word so we can win them.

Thought For The Day: Live and tell the whole truth; and hide it not.

Bible Reading In One Year: 1 Kings 10-11; 2 Chronicles 9

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.