Topic: Good Problems [Teens Open Heavens 23, May 2018]

Memorise: And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net broke. Luke 5:6

Read 2 Chronicles 20:20-25 (KJV)

20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.

21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.

22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.

23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.

24 And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.

25 And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.

Bible In One Year: 1 Chronicles 8-10, John 8:37-59

MESSAGE:

There are good and bad problems. If a church becomes too small to take the congregation, that is a good problem. This is the type of problem God says we will experience when we are faithful in tithing (Matthew 3:10). When God’s blessing on you has not posed fresh challenges, it means you are yet to experience a thorough breakthrough.

In Luke 5:1-7, Peter who could not catch a single fish got a boat sinking catch. The catch was so much that the net began to break, and two ships were filled and began to sink. God can enlarge your brain capacity that you will begin to be sought after by other students who would like you to see them through their own academic difficulties. Be faithful to God and seek His face in all situation, and you will receive your own good problem.

Prayer Point: Lord, like Peter and the sons of the prophets, let me experience good problems from today.

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

Hymn 6
1. Our 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 your throne
Your saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is your arm alone,
And our defense is sure

3. Before the hills in order stood
Or earth received its frame,
From everlasting you are God,
To endless years the same.

4. A thousand ages in your 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,
Soon bears us all away;
We fly forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.

6. Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Still be our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home!

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.

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Topic: Nurturing Your Relationship (3)

Dear Reader,

I thank for God for another opportunity to write you from the platform of Family Matters. It is my prayer that you will be abundantly blessed today. I know you have been blessed with the previous teachings. Two weeks ago, I began teaching on the subject, ‘Nurturing Your Relationship’. The first week, we examined what relationship is all about and one of the factors that can help you to nurture and grow your relationship, which took us to the subject of commitment.

Today, we shall equally be looking at another powerful factor that can help you to nurture and grow your relationship as a married man. This article will teach you the qualities you need to possess for you to be a man of your wife’ s dream. You want to know what qualities your wife expects from you? ‘Be the Man of Her Dreams!

Before marriage, many women lay out the kind of qualities they want their future husbands to possess. In this section I want us to look at the typical characteristics of a “dream” man.

He is loving

This ‘dream man’ is loving. Following the example of Christ and the Church, this man does not wait for his wife to be perfect before he loves her. He is steadfast in his demonstration of love for his wife, believing that love is not love until it is expressed. He hugs, touches, buys her gifts and generally is caring and goes to great lengths to convince his family of his love.

In expressing his love, he consciously ignores the negative and unattractive things about the members of his family. He thinks no evil of them. He calls his wife a virtuous woman and so motivates her to live up to his expectations. He calls his children gifted and intelligent children but disciplines them in love when necessary.

He is Caring

The typical dream man must be caring. He must be concerned at all times about the welfare of members of his family. He cherishes, nourishes and ravishes his family members with care. He makes time to be with them and is always there when he is needed; he is not too busy to listen to them.

He is a Worker

Every woman’s dream man is a worker! He is one with working hands not collecting hands. He doesn’t collect foodstuff from his mother, money from his father, clothing’s from his uncle. He does something productive to sustain his family.

“But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel”1 Timothy 5:8.

He is a Provider

In providing for his family, the dream man puts his total trust in God, not his salary (Psalm 62:5). He recognizes that he has absolute covenant responsibility to provide for the needs of his family and does so with delight. Like my husband would humorously say, “God is Jehovah Jireh, while the man is ‘Home Jireh.’ Jehovah is the Almighty provider, the family man is the home provider” he does not send his wife begging for what to eat, wear or drink.

He is a Giver

This dream man recognizes the importance of Kingdom investment and the hidden covenants of blessings (being a blessing to one’s parents). He diligently invests in the Kingdom of God and is liberal to members of his extended family. In addition, he gives to those in need.

He is an Intercessor

Like Jesus who is presently praying for the church, this dream man invests time praying for his family. He recognizes that prayer is the means by which the power of God is released to the believer so he faithfully prays for them.

He does not find it hard to say, “I am Sorry”

Some men find it hard to say, “I am sorry, please forgive me,” because of their ego. But, the dream man does not let his ego stand between him and his wife or children. Man, don’t give room to the devil to bring problems to your home. Learn to say “I am sorry” when you offend your wife. It works! If you do that, eyeball-to-eyeball, you will see her countenance change! You will make it!

For you to be able to possess good qualities that will make you relationship to last, you need a good relationship with Christ. If, peradventure, you, the reader, is 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 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.

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Topic: Become an Aggressive Encourager [Joyce Meyer’s Devotional Wednesday May 23, 2018]

He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future]. — John 16:13 AMPC

One of the easiest ways to express love to others is to help them feel valuable. Mother Teresa of Calcutta ministered in the midst of appalling poverty, hunger, and disease, yet she said, “Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody…is a much greater hunger…than the person who has nothing to eat.”

I’ve discovered that most people we meet do not have a sense of their infinite value as children of God. The thought that God loves them and sees them as precious has never entered their minds. I think the devil works very hard to make people feel devalued and worthless, but we can neutralize his lies by building people up and encouraging them. One way to do this is with a sincere compliment.

A compliment does not have to be something major. Little remarks such as, “That color really looks good on you”; “I like your hair that way”; or “I’m glad you are my friend” are very effective and meaningful.

Most people are quick to compare themselves with others, which means they often fail to see their own abilities and worth. Making another person feel valuable doesn’t have to be time consuming. Let’s train ourselves to be aggressive encouragers. Find some way to encourage every person you come in contact with throughout your day. Making people feel valuable won’t cost any money, but it gives them something worth more than anything money can buy.

Prayer Starter: Father, open my eyes to the ways I can encourage those around me today. Help me to be sensitive to others even in the midst of my busy schedule. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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

From Joyce Meyer’s Ministries.

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