Topic: Building Community [Monday July 24, 2017]

Read: Ephesians 2:19–3:11, Bible in a Year: Psalms 35–36; Acts 25

This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 3:6

“Community” is the place where the person you least want to live with always lives, says Henri Nouwen. Often we surround ourselves with the people we most want to live with, which forms a club or a clique, not a community. Anyone can form a club; it takes grace, shared vision, and hard work to form a community.

The Christian church was the first institution in history to bring together on equal footing Jews and Gentiles, men and women, slaves and free. The apostle Paul waxed eloquent on this “mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God.” By forming a community out of diverse members, Paul said, we have the opportunity to capture the attention of the world and even the supernatural world beyond (Eph. 3:9–10).

“‘Community’ is the place where the person you least want to live with always lives.” —Henri Nouwen

In some ways the church has sadly failed in this assignment. Still, church is the one place I visit that brings together generations: infants still held in their mothers’ arms, children who squirm and giggle at all the wrong times, responsible adults who know how to act appropriately at all times, and those who may drift asleep if the preacher drones on too long.

If we want the community experience God is offering to us, we have reason to seek a congregation of people “not like us.”

Prayer: Lord, remind us that the church is Your work, and You have brought us together for Your good purposes. Help us extend grace to others.

The man who lives in a small community lives in a much larger world.  G. K. Chesterton

This message was written By Philip Yancey [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]

Topic: God’s Word, The Ultimate [Monday July 24, 2017]

Text: Psalm 119:149-160

Key Verse: “Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever” (Psalm 119:152).

Arlington Nation of Cemetery boasts of stunning mementoes, one of which is the so-called eternal flame. An innovative feat of burning gas constantly aglow amidst profuse adornment, it is quite thought-provoking. Designed in memory of JFK, the 35th President of United States of America (USA), slain in Dallas Texas in 1963.

It was a fallout of the national angst and anguish that trailed his senseless assassination. Still, any mischief maker or a natural disaster can wreck it, putting out the fire. It is really not eternal. David recognised a flame that is genuinely eternal: the flame that the word of God lights up in our hearts. Wrestling in prayer day and night, he averred that prayers are answered, if he trusted in the word. For him, the hope of victory over moral weaknesses and the mischief of his adversaries remains a forlorn one but for his dependence on the word.

The word for him was an elixir for all of life’s challenges. The Bible is the word of God. It does not change. It reveals God: His character, works and eternal essence to any sincere seeker. The call has gone out to fallen man to rise in salvation and righteousness, ready for fellowship with him in time and eternity. The end-time battle rages on and the devil is digging deep, fighting fast, furious and dirty.

Faith and obedience to his unchanging word are veritable panaceas for all of life’s challenges. Do not be a scoffer. Doubt not its veracity. Repent and receive forgiveness. God is mighty to save.

Thought for the day: God’s word is the road map for all pilgrims.

Bible Reading in one Year: Exodus 26-29

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: Unending Life [Monday, 24th July 2017]

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 1 Peter 1:23

The life that we have is everlasting and does not have an end. Nothing can end it, nothing can cause it from being in existence. Why is this so? It is because of the source of the life. The source is God’s Word. It was through the Word of God that we heard that the life of God was birthed in us. Jesus said in John 6:63 that “the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” And spirits never experience death. They keep living forever, even in the afterlife. The life of God in us will never experience an end, neither will it cease from us.

The seed that birthed life in us is incorruptible. A corruptible seed does not have the ability to produce or birth life, neither can it cease from existing. A corruptible seed has been susceptible to external corruptible influences. But it is not so with the life that we have. We are not susceptible to external corruptible influences. The Holy Spirit has sealed up the life of God in us eternally. Ephesians 1:13 says: “in whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.”

A corruptible seed is only good for destruction, because it is useless. But the incorruptible seed, the eternal Word of God cannot be destroyed. Even when we are bent over by the wind of challenges, that threatens to strangulate the life of God in us, Jesus Who is the Living Word will keep His life in us alive. Scriptures say in Jude 1:24 “now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.” This is the kind of life that you have. It’s unending. Glory to God.

Keep winning daily.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, thank You for the unending life that You’ve given me. Nothing can stop Your life in me from living forever. It is an incorruptible life and with it, I live in victory always, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Topic: Accessing Word Revelation through Value and Obedience [Monday July 24, 2017]

Scripture: Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee…. Deuteronomy 4:40

Thought For The Day: It is not memorizing the verses of the Scripture that changes your life but encountering the Voice behind the verse.

Our anchor Scripture has established that the Word of God is designed to enhance both the welfare and progress of man. Jeremiah 7:23 also corroborates this. The question is: why is it that many continue to come in contact with the Word without any observable progress in their lives?

Psalm 62:11 reveals the answer: God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God. That is, God spoke once (What is written or the verse), twice have I heard (What is revealed or the Voice). It is accessing both what is written and what is revealed that guarantees the welfare and progress of man.

It is not memorizing the verses of the scripture that grants access to insight and a change of life but encountering the Voice behind the verses.

We shall be looking at having access to the revelations of the Word by:

1. Obeying the Word: Obedience brings insight. God gives more light and insight to those who hearken to the ones he had already given (Mark 4:24). God will never give you a new revelation beyond your level of obedience to the last instruction.

2. Placing value on the Word: Value brings insight. God does not give precious things to people who do not value them (Matthew 7:6), and the Word of God is precious. A person who does not value insight has no future. A wise person would always be with a pen and paper to document what he or she learns from the Word in the course of study. So, write down the revelations you receive while studying the Word, generate action steps and carry them out.

Remember this: It is not memorizing the verses of the scripture that changes your life but encountering the Voice behind the verses.

Assignment(s):

1. Have a consistent schedule for the study of the Word.

2. Approach the Word of God with a sense of value and expectation.

3. Write out every received revelation, generate action steps and carry them out.

FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: ACCESSING AND PROFITING FROM THE WORD.

Prayer: O LORD, I receive the grace to value and obey Your Word. Open my heart to the light in the Word that will change my life, Lord, in Jesus’ Name.

Daily Reading: 2 Chronicles 11:1 to 13:22, Romans 8:26 to 39, Psalm 18:37 to 50, Proverbs 19:27 to 29

Quote: The level of revelation you have in your possession determines the extent of victory you will experience in your life. Culled from, 22 LAWS OF LIFE (VOL. 2) by Dr Paul Enenche.

Amazing Fact: Your brain consumes 25 watts of power while you’re awake. This amount of energy is enough to illuminate a lightbulb.

Today In History: 24/07/1823 – Slavery was abolished in Chile.

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: What God Expects [Monday July 24, 2017]

He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much . . .  — Luke 16:10

What God expects, and all God expects, is that we dedicate completely all of our talents and gifts to Him. That is the meaning of the parable of the talents in Matthew, chapter 25. Read this parable, and you will see that we are always rewarded because of our faithfulness.

You can be just as faithful as anyone and have the commendation of the Lord. Take the one talent you have and invest it in eternal things. Some talented people lose their reward because they do things to be seen of men. Some untalented people lose their reward because they fail to dedicate what they have, because it is not noticed by men. Both have sinned equally.

Prayer for the day: Let me not be concerned with the praise of men, but may my talent be completely yielded to You, Lord Jesus.

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.

Topic: R.S.V.P. [Monday July 24, 2017]

Luke 14:16, 23 “Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: …And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”

LUKE 14:16-24

The man who made the supper symbolizes God who has invited “whosoever will” to come to Him. The parable teaches that it is not God who fails to offer salvation to everyone, but rather it is the invited guests who reject God’s offer.

These people had feeble excuses just like the excuses of those today who don’t accept God’s offer of salvation. Therefore, the Lord’s Marriage Supper of the Lamb will be furnished with “undesirables” from the world’s point of view, not because God rejects the upper class, but because they reject Him.

Those who have an abundance of this world’s possessions don’t tend to recognize their need for God as much as those who are without.

Jesus’ parable could also be applied to the Jewish nation. God offered salvation to the Jews but they, as a whole, refused Him. Therefore, the Lord sent His servants to the Gentiles to fill His kingdom.

This very parable proves that the Lord is not advocating us using force to convert people to Christianity, because this man accepted the decision of those who rejected his invitation. Therefore, it must be understood that the Lord is admonishing us to compel them to come in by our persuasion or entreaty. The word “compel” denotes aggressiveness, even in persuading of people. The Church, as a whole, and all of us as individuals are not supposed to simply hang out our “shingle” and wait for the world to come to us. We are supposed to be aggressively going into all the world with the Good News. We have an urgent command to be a witness because the time before our Lord’s return is short.

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: Living in Fear? [Monday 24, July 2017]

Memorise: There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. – 1 John 4:18

Read: 1 John 4:17-18 (KJV)

17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

Bible in One Year: 2 Samuel 23-24; Ezekiel 14:12-23, Hymn: Sing hymn 9 – On A Hill Far Away

MESSAGE:

If you have God as your Refuge, you have a priceless treasure because this gives you access to help in times of trouble. With God as your Refuge, irrespective of what is happening around you, you have no cause to panic. As unlikely as this may sound, it is possible to be under God’s cover and be unaffected by every satanic missile flying around both day and night (Psalm 91:5-6). Due to negative influences from their environment, some people have grown up with a particular phobia for the last quarter of the year. Between January and August, they go about their normal business activities with boldness, but as the month of September approaches, fear envelopes their hearts. As they read or hear of various accidents happening here and there, their fear is heightened. Some people allow this condition to degenerate to the extent that fear redefines all their remaining activities for the year. They may have to cancel all their air travel for fear of air crash. Even their road trips would be seriously reduced for fear of road accidents. They try as much as possible to confine themselves to their houses and will therefore give all kinds of excuses for not accepting any assignment or invitation during that period. Such people are just being manipulated by fear!

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” – 1 John 4:18

If you live in fear, you are in Satan’s bondage (Hebrews 2:15). Your love for God and fellow brethren cannot be perfect if you still create room for fear. When you live in fear, you give the devil so much attention, thereby empowering him over your life and destiny. Whatever or whoever you fear controls you. Luke 1:74 says we were saved to serve God without fear. So if you say you are born again but you still live in fear, you need to know who you are serving, because you should not live in fear of anything while serving God. You cannot have the fear of God in your heart and the fear of the devil at the same time. The moment you begin to fear the devil or his agents, you drift into bondage. If you are sure of your salvation but still live in fear, check yourself; it is likely you are ignorant of who you are in Christ. Also, as a child of God, when you engage in disobedience or harbour a secret sin in your heart, you lose your confidence and fear sets in. if this is your case, repent of your sin and fully turn to God!

Action Point: If your heart is always filled with fear, invest time to study who you are in Christ from the book of Ephesians.

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: Power of Attitude [Sunday July 23, 2017]

Man’s attitude defines His ratings.

It determines His placement, your attitude attracts or repels people from you, your attitude is your real representation.

You cannot subdue it, it will naturally reveal who you are.

Change your attitude to change your altitude.

In the second half of the year, initiate a new thing every day! You either change things for the better or they change you for the worse.

Topic: Press On! Press On! Press On! [Sunday 23 July, 2017]

(Philippians 3:1-10)

Welcome to today’s devotional hour! You can start small and end big, but you can never remain static(sitting down or giving up) and end big. Keep desiring to press on, despite the difficulties or obstacles. You cannot get better things until you do bigger things. So press on from where you are and from what you have achieved to your next level. To be humble over a little is no virtue! True humility in spite of greatness! Press on to greater heights.

In the second half of the year, initiate a new thing every day! You either change things for the better or they change you for the worse. Refuse to be stagnant! Doing the same thing over and over again does not keep you on the same level. It relegates (demotes) you to a lower level. What a man needs to do is to put in continuous effort to achieve more, or else he will achieve less. Put in more effor to to pray or else, you will get drier. Put in more effort to read the Word or else, you will drop lower. Apply the principle of “No Bible no Food” to your life daily.

As a Pastor/elder, determine to be more indepth in the Word. Close with this bombshell: “There was a very cautions man, who never laughed, played, risked, sang or prayed ‘big’ prayers. And when he one day passed away, his insurance was denied. For since he never really lived, they claimed, he never really died.” Paul said: “Press on.” Do the same, for until you press, you cannot impress your generation. Press on! Press on!! Press on and hold on!!!

If you need deliverance, see your pastor or be at the Manna Mountain this week Sunday 8am (OGUDU) or 10:30am (LEKKI)!

When life goes ZIGZAG, ODM brings peace and sanity. Give out copies.

Prayer Points: Take your best worship song now.

1. Thank God for today’s word and pray as you are led!

2. Ask for the grace to desire higher than where you are, and risk much more than you can.

3. Ask for the grace to press on; grace to take bigger decisions.

4. Pray seriously about the second half of the year! Cancel every end of the year regret.

5. My life will never end up in shame and regret. I shall live in boldness and confidence in Jesus Christ name.

6. Pray as led on any other issue(s).

Get my new books: “Blasting Down Your Walls Of Jericho” and “My Womb Must Open by fire” from any bookshop nationwide.

By Bishop (Dr) Chris E. Kwakpovwe (Cek)
Publisher/Writer Of ODM And

Rev (Mrs) Flora E. Kwakpovwe (Fek)
Co-Publisher/Writer Of ODM.

Topic: A Magnet of Insight [Sunday July 23, 2017]

Scripture: Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. 1 Timothy 4:13,15

Thought For The Day: Where there is no interest, there can be no insight.

From our anchor scripture, we see that the Word of God is calculated for the evidential profit of God’s people. If you have been in contact with the Bible for twenty years for example, then you are twenty years in contact with Divine profit.

It is an abomination to carry the Bible without a profit to show for it. You should come to a level where what you are seeing out of scripture is reflected on you as evidential profit for your generation to see.

The question is why is it that the Word does not produce profit in the lives of many?

Psalms 119:130 gives us the answer: The entrance of thy words giveth light….

It is not the reading, the memorization, or the hearing of the Word alone that gives light; what gives light is the entrance of the Word. It is not the Word you read that changes you but the Word that enters you. The smell of food does not cure hunger; the food must enter the body system and be digested.

So, let us look at one of the things to do for the Word to enter us.

Be interested in the Word.

Hosea 6:1-3 says, Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: That is, we shall know if we are interested in knowing. So, where there is no interest, there can be no insight. Interest brings insight.

Beloved, crave to know and do God’s Word. Let your soul and spirit be involved when you study, hear or read the Word of God for the guarantee of your profit.

Remember this: Where there is no interest, there can be no insight.

Assignment(s):

1. Be passionate about knowing God’s Word.

2. Meditate on the Word of God; make demands on the Holy Spirit to reveal the hidden things in the Scripture to you.

3. Have a consistent schedule for the study of the Word.

FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: ACCESSING AND PROFITING FROM THE WORD.

Prayer: LORD, thank You for making Your Word available to me. Open my eyes to the life-transforming revelations from Your Word and let it profit me in time and in eternity, LORD, in Jesus’ Name.

Daily Reading: 2 Chronicles 8:11 to 10:19, Romans 8:9 to 25, Psalm 18:16 to 36, Proverbs 19:26.

Quote: You cannot be knowledgeable and not be marketable. Culled from, 10 PRINCIPAL SECRETS OF PRINCIPAL PEOPLE by Dr Paul Enenche.

Amazing Fact: Dragonflies are capable of flying sixty miles per hour, making them one of the fastest insects. This is good since they are in a big hurry, as they only live about twenty-four hours.

Today In History: 23/07/1903 – The Ford Motor Company sold its first car.

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.