Topic: Form New Habits [Joyce Meyer’s Devotional Monday April 23, 2018]

Men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on the earth.” — Psalm 58:11

God’s Word teaches us that when we receive Christ as our Savior and Lord, He gives us a new nature. He gives us His nature. He also gives us a spirit of discipline and self-control, which is vital in allowing us to choose the ways of our new nature. He gives us a sound mind (see 2 Tim. 1:7), and that means we can think about things properly without being controlled by emotion. The way we once were passes away, and we have all the equipment we need for a brand-new way of behaving.

God gives us the ability and offers to help us, but we are not puppets and God will not manipulate us. We must choose spirit over flesh and right over wrong. Our renewed spirits will then control our souls and bodies or, to say it another way, the inner person will control the outer person.

Without God’s help we have difficulty doing things in moderation. We frequently eat too much, spend too much money, have too much entertainment, and talk too much. We are excessive in our actions because we behave emotionally. And after the thing is done and cannot be undone, we regret doing it. But we can choose to form new habits, not doing something just because we feel like it but instead doing what will produce the best result in the end.

We do not have to live in regret. God gives us His Spirit to enable us to make right and wise choices. He urges us, guides and leads us, but we still have to cast the deciding vote. If you have been casting the wrong vote, all you need to do is change your vote. Forming new habits will require making a decision to not do what you feel like doing unless it agrees with God’s will.

Prayer Starter: Father, thank You for constantly changing me and making me more like You. Help me today to obey Your direction and make wise choices. Help me to form healthy habits that will produce good results in the future. 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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Topic: Accessing divine plans for our lives!

Welcome to another impactful week. I hope you were blessed by last week’s teaching. May God engrace us to unveil our heritage in Christ through His Word, in Jesus’ precious name! Today, we shall focus on Unlocking Divine Plans for our Lives!

From scriptures, we discover that our glorious destinies begin with the discovery of His divine plan. The Bible 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 (Jeremiah 29:11). In other words, God is saying, “I have defined your end; come and locate it. I have defined where you belong; come and find it” Understand that every true plan is accompanied with fearlessness. That is, it is devoid of fear, doubt and anxieties.

How then, do we Discover Divine Plans for our Lives?

Through Heavenly Vision: By heavenly vision, I mean God speaking to us directly. Prophet Habakkuk showed us how to receive a heavenly vision when he said: I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry (Habakkuk 2:1-3). For instance, the Liberation Mandate of our Commission, Living Faith Church Worldwide, was delivered through a heavenly vision. However, before that encounter, I had always thought I would remain in the ‘helps ministry’ where I could sponsor God’s Kingdom through giving and service but God had something else in store for me. In the same way, God can speak to anyone in the Kingdom.

By Recognition of the Burning Passion Within us: In this context, passion means what turns us on. Mike Murdock once said ‘Your passion, in most cases, is a pointer to the problem you are created to solve’ David had no vision whatsoever; however, he could not stand the assault of Goliath against the army of the Lord. With passion, he went after Goliath and by the death of Goliath, he was enthroned. (1 Samuel 17:23-51). Also, Nehemiah had neither vision nor revelation but he was restless about the state of Israel. His passion was a pointer to his assignment (Nehemiah 1:3-6).

Through Our Innate Talents: The Bible says: A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men (Proverbs 18:16). In the parable of the talents, we saw how the nobleman gave talents to each of His servants and told them to do business with them until His return (Luke 19:11-20). That means there are certain divine investments in us that are capable of engaging us productively and maximally until Jesus returns. Thus, we must identify God’s gifts in our lives and maximally trade with them so they do not lie fallow.

In conclusion, without a vision from heaven, a burning passion, or identification of the gifts of God in us, we may never know where we belong. However, it is not enough to know where we belong; we must endeavour to put our best into it in order to actualise God’s plan for our lives. No matter where we belong, it is expedient that we invest in it, because that is what will determine our ultimate rating in life. However, this cannot be actualised until we are born again. Are you born again? If you are not, this is an opportunity to do so. Simply say the following prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Today, I accept You as my Lord and personal Saviour. Thank You Jesus, for saving me! Now I know I am born again!”

For further reading, please get my books: In pursuit of Vision, Following The Path Of The Eagle, The Breakthrough Power of Vision and Understanding Divine Direction.

I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have five services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:50 a.m., 9:40 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 1:20 p.m. respectively. I know this teaching has blessed you.

Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 01-4548070, 01-4548280; or E-mail: [email protected]; Face book: www.facebook.com/davidoyedepoministries/; Twitter: @DavidOyedepoMin

Please click to read other inspiring MESSAGES by Bishop David Oyedepo

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Topic: Beware Of Marriage Destroyers (Part 3)

Dear Reader,

Calvary greetings to you in Jesus’ name! I am sure you have been enjoying peace and God’s blessings, after letting go of every bitterness and anger as taught last week. Nothing will tie down your blessings again in the name of Jesus!

This week, I will be teaching on COVETOUSNESS as another thing that destroys marriage and family. Covetousness is a strong urge or desire to possess something, especially something that belongs to someone else. You see something on someone and you immediately start scheming and planning to collect it. Discontentment is what usually drives people into covetousness. Many people are possession possessed. They are never satisfied with what they have per time; nothing is ever enough. They always want more. Life means much more than the abundance of your possession. The Word of God says: …Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth (Luke 12:15).

Covetousness is a sin that destroys and destabilizes many families and homes. It is the devil’s trap which always leads to dissatisfaction, anxiety and unholy comparison. People who are covetous are always anxious. Gehazi in 2 Kings 5:20 suffered the punishment of leprosy, when he yielded to anxiety caused by his lack of contentment.

The cure for covetousness is contentment. The word of God says: And having food and raiment, let us be therewith content (1 Timothy 6:8) and 1 Timothy 6:6-7 also says: …But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. I have never seen a man buried with all his possessions – no matter the quality of possessions he has! Lusting after material things so much that it takes the place of God in you is covetousness that must be replaced with contentment. Anything that takes the place of God is idolatry. Be contented with what you have. Anything you do not have now, you do not need. My husband always says, Life is in phases and men are in sizes, this is true.

You must learn to live your level per time. As a family, eat, drink, sleep and wear your size per time. Be assured of the fact that where you are today is the least place you will ever be. Your path is destined to shine brighter and brighter every passing day, until you get to God’s ultimate for your life (Proverbs 4:18). Just accept the place you are now. God’s Word says: Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit (Ecclesiastes 7:8). Nobody climbs a ladder from the top; rather a ladder is climbed rung by rung from the bottom to the top. Your future is bright, do not despise it like Esau, and eat your tomorrow today. Later Esau sought for his inheritance with tears, but it was lost eternally (Hebrews 12:16-17). It was too late for him; may it not be too late for you!

Be excited about where you are now; your future is colourful and bright and you will get there. You don’t have to steal or cheat to have more, just be contented and accept your present position. Some singles base their choice of life partner on the abundance of things the man has. They want a man with a big car, a high paying job, a house etc. Any marriage that is founded on material possession is on a shaky foundation and will soon fall apart. Don’t be blinded by material things. My husband and I had to start out at the first rung of the ladder in marriage and ministry, many times eating beans and garri for supper, so that we wouldn’t need breakfast the next day. Some other times, we didn’t know where and when the next meal was coming from! But God has always been very faithful. We are not at that point anymore.

Remove your heart and affection from being fixed on material things, as this will cause you to lose out on God’s placement for you. A covetous person, who is never satisfied with what he or she has per time will run into dubious people and do criminal things. Material things come and go. You cannot afford to tie your life to them.

As a woman, do not compare your husband with your friend’s husband. Do not compare or nag your spouse for not possessing what your friend or your friend’s spouse has. Don’t push your spouse to do evil just to please you. When the punishment for that evil comes upon your spouse, you will suffer it too since you are the one married to him. Covetousness goes together with idolatry and pride. The ultimate end of this is destruction (Proverbs 16:18). God’s Word in Proverbs 28:16(b) says: … but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days. This means that covetousness can rob you of long life!

Shun covetousness and embrace God’s Word in contentment; this is the cure for covetousness. To embrace God, you need to confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Saviour. 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: Making Faith Work [Andrew Wommack Monday April 23, 2018]

Luke 8:46, “And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.”

Text: Luke 8:43-48

Is it possible that Jesus, who was God manifest in the flesh, and therefore all-knowing, did not actually know who touched Him? Yes! Although Jesus’ spiritual man was divine, He took upon Himself a physical body with its limitations. Jesus drew on His divine ability through the gifts of the Holy Ghost, and so can we (Jn. 14:12; 1 Cor. 12:7). Before His resurrection, He operated as a man (sinless) by receiving from His Father through faith. Luke 8:47 says that the woman “saw that she was not hid.” It is evident that Jesus received a word of knowledge from the Holy Spirit and had singled out this woman. However, this was after He felt the power of God flow out of Him and heal her. The woman was healed before He discerned her by the law of faith.

The law of electricity has been here on earth since creation. Man has observed it in such things as lightning and static electricity, but it was not until someone believed that there were laws that governed the activity of electricity that progress began to be made in putting it to use. Likewise, you don’t deny the existence of faith, but it is only when you begin to understand that there are laws that govern faith, and begin to learn what those laws are, that faith will begin to work for you.

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).

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