Topic: Spiritual Armour — Thursday 10, August 2017.

Memorise: Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. – Romans 8:37

Read: Ephesians 6:10-18 (KJV)

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Bible in One Year: 2 Kings 5-6; Ezekiel 22:17-31, Hymn: Sing hymn 18: Onward Christian Soldier

Open Heavens 10th August 2017 Message:

Weapons of war usually fall under two major categories: offensive and defensive. Body armour can be classified as defensive weapons of war against missiles, projectiles and handheld combat weapons; they work as protective covering, designed to safeguard vital parts of the body. Today’s Bible reading talks about spiritual warfare, revealing how the different parts of physical body armour mirror the spiritual armour available to us as believers in Christ. We have at our disposal invisible weapons of spiritual warfare that are potent against the wicked assault of the enemy. In Ephesians 6:11, our spiritual armour is referred to as the armour of God, which implies that it possesses divine attributes, making it indestructible by the power of the devil. We are invited to “put on the whole armour of God”. However, this armour is inaccessible to those who have not accepted the Lordship of Jesus Christ over their lives.

Click HERE to Read: “Open Heavens 11 August 2017: Friday Daily Devotional by Pastor Adeboye – Tricks of the Devil I”

Putting on the armour of God is equivalent to putting on Jesus, and He is more than enough to protect us against all evil and temptations we may encounter. Romans 13:14 says,

“But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”

Putting on Jesus involves accepting Him as Lord and Saviour, meditating on His word day and night, living a life of holiness, and spreading His gospel. I pray that in the heat of the battles of life, the armour of God will be your strong defence in Jesus’ Name.

The Bible used the imagery of physical warfare to communicate a powerful spiritual message to us in Ephesians 6:10-18. Firstly, we are asked to gird our waist with the sturdy belt of truth. It’s with this same belt that our sword is fastened to our body. In the days of old, a soldier girded in this manner was recognised as being on active duty. We are expected to gird ourselves with truth as the foundation of all our spiritual activities. Next, we are to find our protection in righteousness by putting on the breastplate of righteousness. Also, our feet should be ever ready to move with the gospel of peace. We should then arm ourselves with the shield of faith to quench all the fiery arrows of the enemy. To protect our head, the most important part of our body, we must put on the helmet of salvation. The helmet of salvation is required to protect our spiritual destiny. Finally, as soldiers of Christ, we are to wield the “Sword of the Spirit”, which is the spoken word of God. As the only offensive weapon mentioned, this is the soldier’s most important weapon, and it is supplied by the Holy Spirit. I decree that God will fortify you and make you untouchable to the devil in Jesus’ Name.

Prayer Point: Father, please prepare and equip me for battle as a good soldier of Christ in Jesus’ Name.

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.

iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.

Topic: Tricks of the Devil I — Friday 11, August 2017.

Memorise: Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. – Proverbs 16:18

Read: Isaiah 14:12-16 (KJV)

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

Bible in One Year: 2 Kings 7-8; Ezekiel 23:1-21, Hymn: Sing hymn 7: O Jesus, I Have Promised

Open Heavens 11th August 2017 Message:

A trick is a cunning act or scheme intended to deceive or outwit a person. One of the greatest tricks by which the devil deceives men today is to cause their hearts to be lifted up in pride. Through pride, the hearts of mankind have rebelled against the knowledge and authority of God. Pride comes with arrogance, pomp, presumption, conceit, self-satisfaction, boasting, high-mindedness and haughtiness. It is especially dangerous because of its silence and the stealth by which it operates. When pride is well seated in the heart and has taken full charge of a person, it becomes extremely difficult to pin down. However, we thank God because the light of God’s word is bright enough to expose it in all its forms. To understand pride, we need to consider the first entity in whom pride was found: Satan. Isaiah 14:13-14 reveals the thoughts of his heart that made God depose him from his exalted position in Heaven:

“13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”

A careful consideration of the above scripture shows that pride is basically a sin that has its roots in the attitude of the heart. Hence, Proverbs 21:4 speaks of “a haughty look” and “a proud heart” as sin. The first thing to watch out for in a man or woman with pride in their heart is the emphasis on their person in their speech. The speech of such people is normally laden with the personal pronoun ‘I’. In a single short statement, Satan made reference to himself five times: “I will ascend, I will exalt my throne, I will sit, I will ascend above, and I will be like the most High.” Secondly, the proud displays an unwarranted attitude of confidence and inordinate ambition, such as displayed by Satan. He was not satisfied with where God placed him, and he actually wanted to supplant God Himself. He was so confident of himself that he thought he could ascend into Heaven and exercise dominion over all the angels of God, all by himself.

However, pride cannot remain internalised and hidden. It often finds expressions: through speech (such as boasting), through looks and through behaviour, such as acts of impatience and contemptible treatment of others. The Bible highlights the inevitable downfall of a proud person, and we should learn from what happened to Satan (Proverbs 16:18, Ezekiel 28:16-19). The proud will not escape God’s terrible judgement; therefore, be warned!

Prayer Point: Father, please expose every hidden tendency of pride and related attitudes in my life and completely destroy them, in Jesus’ Name.

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.

iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.

Topic: Intimacy with God and the Fulfilment of Destiny [Thursday August 10, 2017]

Scripture: Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. James 4:8

Thought For The Day: The greatest attack on anyone’s destiny is iniquity.

We live in a generation with diverse forms of resistance and confrontation against the fulfilment of human destinies. One of the greatest attacks on one’s destiny is iniquity.

God is interested in the fulfilment of our destinies, and He has given us what it takes to fulfil destiny. All you need to do is to follow His precepts and you will fulfil your destiny.

We shall be looking at factors that assist the fulfilment of destiny and how those factors can be attacked by iniquity. In today’s study, we will look at one of those factors which is Intimacy with God

Intimacy with God is required for the fulfilment of our destinies on earth. This entails closeness to God, high spirituality, the capacity to feel the Presence of God, the capacity to commune with God. You cannot be intimate with God and miss it in life and in destiny because it is God who has the masterplan of your life; He knows everything about you.

It is important to note that nothing attacks intimacy with God like iniquity. How easy would it be for a person to feel God’s presence after falling into sin? What assurance of answered prayer would such a person have? It is not easy for a person to pray to God when he/she had fallen into sin, let alone having assurance of answers to prayers. A person who falls into sin will feel defenseless and fearful, losing his/her audacity to command demons.

Thus to lose intimacy with God is to end unfulfilled in life and destiny. So, guard your intimacy with God.

Remember this: The greatest attack on one’s destiny is iniquity.

Assignment (s):

1. Avoid the trap of falling into sin and iniquity; dissociate yourself from every ungodly relationship.

2. Maintain intimacy with God always by living a life of praise and worship, study of the Word of God.

FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: FACTORS THAT ASSIST A MAN TO FULFIL DESTINY

Prayer: O LORD, draw me closer to You. Help me to always walk in the paths of righteousness, in Jesus’ Name.

Quote: The closer you get to God, the more secured your life will be. Culled from 15 KINGDOM STRATEGIES FOR SURVIVAL by Dr Paul Enenche.

Daily Reading: Ezra 10:1 to 44, 1 Corinthians 6:1 to 20, Psalm 31:9 to 18, Proverbs 21:3

Amazing Fact: The strongest muscle in the human body is the tongue.

Today In History: 10/8/1675 – The foundation stone of the Royal Greenwich Observatory in London, England was laid.

Dunamis International Gospel Centre (DIGC), is a powerfully anointed church, headquartered at Abuja, Nigeria, with Dr Paul and Dr 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.

Topic: Mean What You Say [Thursday August 10, 2017]

Text: Matthew 5:33-37

Key Verse: “But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil” (Matthew 5:37).

In our clime, time keeping is not always what it is in other places. There is the African time phenomenon. Wikipedia says African Time is “the perceived cultural tendency, in parts of Africa and the Caribbean toward a more relaxed attitude to tim… as opposed to the more clock-bound pace of daily life in Western countries.” To keep to African time therefore is to make an appointment you will not honour on time; to say what you do not mean and to mean what you have not said.

In His discussion with His disciples, Jesus drew their attention to the integrity of His words. The third commandment stated clearly that “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain” (Exodus 20:7). They must respect the use of the name of the Lord and must not use it for fun. So they must not tell lies in God’s name, but respect commitments made and stop the habit of swearing altogether.

He wanted His disciples to stand by their words. When you make it your lifestyle to speak the truth at all times, you will not need any prop to convince people to believe you. Heaven-bound saints must be men and women of their words. Our words must be our bond for that is what the Lord requires. People who swear in the name of God or any other name for that matter merely do so to convince their listeners that “This time around I am speaking the truth.” If you do not tell lies before, you will not need to prove to anybody that you are now telling the truth. Your appointment must be kept sacred. Your confessions must be your commitment and whenever you say yes or no people can believe you that you have stated what is really in your mind.

Thought for the day: What you say portrays who you are.

Bible Reading in one Year: Jeremiah 15-18

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.

Topic: You Have a Dominion Mandate — Thursday August 10, 2017.

“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” Genesis 1:28 (KJV)

Man was able to rule and control his world when Adam was made. Whatever thing he spoke that was what it was. And God never said it was wrong. But when man fell, he lost that dominion mandate. Thank God, in Christ Jesus, the dominion mandate has been restored. The challenge we are now having is to accept that it has been restored. Due to the fall and because of the curse on man when he fell, it appears that we have been used to sweating. We find it difficult to receive the provision that Christ has made on the cross.

You are not meant to labour or toil. Adam did not do anything to have all he had? He did nothing! All that happened was that he simply received. God put everything in place before creating him and He gave all to him. If Adam did nothing but only received why then do you want to struggle for what Christ has paid for?

In Isaiah 54:17 the word of God concluded by saying ‘this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their righteousness is of me saith the Lord’. Your righteousness is of God; it is not of you. It is not a function of how much you have performed or how much you have struggled to make it happen. It is not your effort. It is simply of God! And if this is the heritage of servants how much more of sons.

Child of God, you are a son! In the spirit realm, there is no male or female. And as a son, you are loaded. The Bible says you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a peculiar people and a holy nation set aside to show forth the praise of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light. Which were not a people, but now you are the people of God.

Further Reading: Genesis 1:26-28, 2:19, Isaiah 54:14-17

Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Psalms 79-80; Evening- Romans 11:1-18

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: Our Father’s Face — Thursday August 10, 2017.

Read: Psalm 80, Bible in a Year: Psalms 79–80; Romans 11:1–18

Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved. Psalm 80:3

I remember my father’s face. It was hard to read. He was a kind man, but stoic and self-contained. As a child, I often searched his face, looking for a smile or other show of affection. Faces are us. A frown, a sullen look, a smile, and crinkly eyes reveal what we feel about others. Our faces are our “tell.”

Asaph, the author of Psalm 80, was distraught and wanted to see the Lord’s face. He looked north from his vantage point in Jerusalem and saw Judah’s sister-state, Israel, collapse under the weight of the Assyrian Empire. With her buffer state gone, Judah was vulnerable to invasion from all sides—Assyria from the north, Egypt from the south, and the Arab nations from the east. She was outnumbered and outmatched.

Asaph gathered up his fears in a prayer, three times repeated (80:3, 7, 19), “Make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.” (Or, in other words, let me see Your smile.)

It’s good to look away from our fears and search our heavenly Father’s face. The best way to see God’s face is to look at the cross. The cross is His “tell” (John 3:16).

So know this: When your Father looks at you, He has a great big smile on His face. You’re very safe!

Prayer: Ask God to shine His face on you. For further help in prayer, try praying this Psalm or others.

God’s love for us is as expansive as the open arms of Christ on the cross.

Insight:

Today’s psalm asks God to restore Israel—to make His face shine on them so they may be saved. Where have you seen God’s hand saving and restoring you and your loved ones?

This message was written By David H. Roper [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]

Topic: No Longer Two But One!

Dear Reader,

I welcome you to this glorious edition of Family Success. I strongly believe that this month will be an era of abundant blessings for you in Jesus’ Name! All your heart desires and aspirations for this month will find fulfillment in Jesus’ Name!

In the course of the month, I shall be considering the Theme “No Longer Two But One!” God’s Word says: …And they twain shall be one flesh… (Matthew 19:5-6).

A man and a woman are designed, in the “miracle of marriage”, to become one flesh. This is heavenly arithmetic. The oneness of the couple spells harmony! The vigour of unity is a very powerful one. Even after creation, God…called their name Adam… (Genesis 5:2). It was Adam who called His wife, Eve. This will tell you how important oneness is. It has a lot of advantages if couples practice it. The oneness of the man and the woman in marriage is supposed to affect all realms: spirit, soul and body. Spiritually, they should belong to the same Kingdom. In the realm of the soul, they should be able to think and speak with one accord. Physically, they should be able to freely share their bodies together. These makes for perfect union in marriage.

The importance of the theory of oneness in marriage cannot be overemphasized. God’s Word says: Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity (Psalms 133:1). If it is good for brethren to dwell together in unity, it is much more important for a couple to be united. When unity exists between a couple, tremendous power is made available and the impossible becomes possible to them.

It is the original concept of God in marriage that couples should enjoy the benefits of oneness. The perception of oneness teaches believers that if you are truly one with your spouse, you will treat him/her as yourself (Ephesians 5:29).

If for any reason, you hate your spouse, it is a sign that you are not united. Whatever you cannot do to yourself, you will not do to your spouse. An understanding of this will chase away selfishness from homes. It will put an end to fighting and misunderstandings.

The concept of oneness also makes it easy for husband and wife to share their bodies freely with one another. It will also make it possible to derive a greater degree of pleasure from their physical union, which is their procreative power.

Another lesson this concept of oneness teaches is that divorce is not part of God’s programme for the home. The husband in the home is likened to the head, while the wife is likened to the body. Even in the physical, you don’t separate the head from the body; else it will result in death.

God’s concept is that you do not put asunder what He has joined together (Mark 10:9). If this concept is perfectly understood and followed, it will reduce the problems experienced in homes today and eventually make marriage a happy institution as God ordained it to be.

A couple got married some years ago and they were married for over 10 years; but there arose a problem in their home which resulted in a divorce. At that time, both of them were unbelievers, but God did a miraculous thing in their lives. After some time, they both became Christians, and after being divorced for about five years, they are now happily reunited. God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). What He has done for them, He can do the same for you. Believe God for a miracle! You will be the next to testify in Jesus’ Name!

To enjoy oneness in marriage, you have to first be in a oneness relationship with God. You secure this oneness relationship with Him by confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Lord and personal Saviour. If you are set for this, say this prayer of faith with me: “Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins and cleanse me with Your Blood. Deliver me from sin and satan to serve the living God. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom.”

Congratulations, you are now born again! If you prayed this simple prayer of faith with me, you are now 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).

Topic: Understand His Love — Thursday, 10th August 2017

And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. Ephesians 3:18

God really wants us to understand Him. It is not just enough to know someone but you must understand them for you to exploit all the benefits of your relationship with them. From human angle, no one can fully grasp God, and understand how much love He has for us. People say God cannot be fully understood or known. But I feel if scriptures say we can, as recorded in Ephesians 3:18, then God can be fully known and understood. It is just that we are not making enough effort to get to that level.

It is important for us to understand the love of God in all its dimensions. Jude 1:21 (TLB) says: “stay always within the boundaries where God’s love can reach and bless you.” We need to stay in the boundaries where God’s love can reach and bless us, and we can’t do that if we don’t understand each of its dimensions. We all have experienced the blessings of the love at some levels and dimensions, but there is more to what you’ve experienced. And the Lord expects us to be voracious enough to delve into more understanding of this love, so we can experience the blessings of His love.

So Paul says, “and may you have the power to understand…” (Ephesians 3:18). Which means there is a power to understand God’s love. And if you study Ephesians 3 from verse 14, you will know that this power that enables us to understand the dimensions of the love of God, is the Holy Spirit. He is called the Spirit of love, and He is the one Who infuses the love of God in our hearts (Romans 5:5). He makes us understand everything about God, including His love (Ephesians 1:17-20, 1 Corinthians 2:9-16). This is why we need to keep a constant interface with the Holy Spirit. He wants to make you understand all the dimensions of God’s love. Give Him free course.

Keep winning daily.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, I desire to understand Your love and stay in the boundaries where Your love can bless me. Help me, by Your Spirit, to understand Your love in all its dimensions and manifestations, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Topic: A Living Example of Love — Thursday August 10, 2017.

And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. – Romans 5:5

Don’t ever worry about not having enough love inside you. The Word says God’s love is shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Ghost. God’s love is in you. What you need to do is make a decision and let it flow.

Pray this prayer today.

In Jesus’ Name, I make a fresh and strong commitment today to live the life of love, to let the tenderness of God flow through me and heal the wounded hearts of those I meet.

Father, teach me to love even when things go wrong. To be patient and kind when the children are underfoot. To overlook the spiteful words of an angry spouse. To rejoice when someone at the office gets the raise that I thought I needed. Teach me to talk in love, to lay gossip quietly aside and to take up words of grace instead.

Lord, Your Word says that Your love is already inside me…that it has been shed abroad in my heart. So today, I resolve to remove every obstacle that would keep that love from flowing freely into the lives of others. I put resentments behind me, and I forgive all those who’ve done me wrong.

In the days ahead, cause me to increase and excel and overflow with Your love. Cause me to be what this world needs most of all…a living example of love. Amen.

Scripture Reading: 1 John 4:7-17

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: A New World — Thursday August 10, 2017

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. —1 Corinthians 2:9

At the close of the Bible we encounter these words, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away.” A new world is coming! Each time we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come,” we should remember that that prayer will be answered.

Heaven is described as a new creation in which we shall move in new bodies, possessed of new names, singing new songs, living in a new city, by a new form of government, and challenged by new prospects of eternity with social justice for all. The paradise that man lost will be regained, but it will be much more. It will not be the old one repaired, patched up, and made over. When God says, “Behold, I make all things new,” the emphasis is on all things. One day we shall live in a brand-new world. Centuries ago the apostles greeted each other with the word, “Maranatha”—the Lord is coming.

Prayer for the day: Use me, Savior, to hasten Maranatha, as I tell others that they, too, can be made new through Your divine love.

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.