Topic: Do You Like Yourself? [Saturday July 1, 2017]

Let him search for peace…and seek it eagerly. [Do not merely desire peaceful relations with God, with your fellowmen, and with yourself, but pursue, go after them!] — 1 Peter 3:11

Have you ever thought about your relationship with yourself? For years, it never occurred to me that I had a relationship with myself. In fact, I never thought about it until God began to teach me how to improve it. Maybe the idea that you have a relationship with yourself has never entered your mind, either. But the truth is, you spend more time with yourself than with anyone else! So getting along well with yourself is vital to your well-being.

Do you like yourself? Many people don’t. Self-rejection and even self-hatred contribute to many of the struggles we have in life. Think about it: Rejecting or holding hatred toward others causes all kinds of problems in relationships with them, so why wouldn’t rejecting or hating or disliking yourself cause the same kind of problems in your relationship with yourself?

Today’s scripture urges us to pursue and go after peaceful relations with God, others, and ourselves. I encourage you to embrace and accept yourself because God created you just the way He wants you to be and made every unique thing about you. He loves you tremendously, so let that truth empower you to not only like yourself, but also to love yourself. As you grow in this way, you’ll notice that some of your problems will decrease and eventually go away.

Love Yourself Today: Make a list of your good qualities. Take a moment to think about how these positive attributes are a blessing to you and to others. Thank God for making so many good things about you!

Topic: Later Is Here! [Saturday July 1, 2017]

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household? – Matthew 24:45

The Word tells us that God shows Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are “perfect” toward Him (2 Chronicles 16:9). That word perfect doesn’t mean that we have to do everything just right and live without making a mistake. Thank God, we don’t have to do that. It means “devoted”—a heart consecrated, dedicated, loyal and faithful to God.

The mistakes we make will not stop God from working in our lives. Only our lack of faithfulness can do that.

Who is faithful? The one who spends his time doing what God has called him to do. Or as Jesus put it, the one who takes up his cross and follows Him. The one who denies his fleshly desires and spends his life on the things God desires him to do.

Maybe God has been urging you to spend more time in His Word and in prayer or dealing with you about ministering more to the people around you. He may be calling you to pray for the sick or to teach the Word. But you’re busy, so you glide on with good intentions and tell God you’ll do it later. Well, later is here!

Decide today that you are going to be the faithful and wise servant. Find out what is stealing your time from the Lord. Serve His interests instead of your own.

Do you want to be a ruler in the household of God? Do you want Him to show Himself strong for you? Then take up Jesus’ thoughts today. Take up His purposes and His plans. Now is the time to be faithful!

Scripture Reading: Matthew 24:42-51

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: Neglect Not The Little, It Is All You Need [Saturday July 1, 2017]

“And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.” – 2 Kings 4:2 (KJV)

A widow came to Elisha and said man of God, have mercy on me. My husband died and left a lot of debt for me. Elisha, did not throw a pity party because of the gravity of the challenge the woman was facing, rather asked “woman what do you have?” Can you imagine that? A woman came crying for help and you are asking her what does she have? Naturally, the woman answered “I have nothing”. Is that not like many believers? You are so overwhelmed with the challenge that what you have in your hand looks like nothing. The prophet said, woman I can’t help you until you show me what you have because God’s word functions by sowing and reaping. She then suddenly remembered that she had only a cruise of oil. Beloved, that little is all you need to jump start the miracle of God in your life.

What you consider little is nothing but a seed. No one knows the power of a seed. Don’t underestimate the gift of God in you. There is no one that is totally useless. There is something you have. There is something you can contribute. There is a gift in you that the world is waiting for. But like the widow, God will do nothing if you cannot see and appreciate the little you have. Don’t go around throwing pity parties. Your challenge is only as big as you make it. You are as important as you see yourself. If you think you are nothing, a nobody, a no-good, there is nothing any one can do about it. But if you see yourself as the extension of God here on earth, if you see yourself as the success that God has made you, then there is absolutely nothing that can stop it. Don’t neglect the little, because God is going to enlarge your coast beyond your wildest imagination.

Further Reading: 2 Kings 4:1-7

Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Job 20-21; Evening- Acts 10:24-48

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: Damned By Pride [Saturday July 1, 2017]

Text: 2 Chronicles 26:1-21

Key Verse: “But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense” (2 Chronicles 26:16).

Two women, in Shanghai discussed Hudson Taylor, a radical missionary, who believed that China would never be won for Christ by quiet and ease-loving Christians. The women wondered if he was ever tempted to be prideful of his many accomplishments.

One of them inquired from Taylor’s wife, Maria, who asked her husband if he was ever tempted to be proud. With surprised he asked, “Proud about what?” His wife explained: “About all of the things you have done.” Taylor responded, “I never knew I had done anything.” From our text, Azariah, who was also called Uzziah, did not know how to manage his life. He began to rule together with his father, but he actually became the king after his father’s death. The Scripture gave an in-depth description of his life in 2 Chronicles 26 and revealed that a man called Zechariah, taught him a better understanding of the Lord, This is an indication that at any time, God, out of His mercy and love, will always position people to teach others about

His righteousness. At the inception of his reign, Uzziah pleased God, except that he could not remove the places where the people worshipped false gods. However, when success crept in, he became full of himself. He felt that because he had built tall buildings to protect Jerusalem and achieved much in agriculture, among others, he could downplay God’s principles. He attempted to do the priest’s duty by trying to burn incense in the temple, which was a terrible sin. The priests tried to stop him, but he was unyielding and angry. Immediately, he became afflicted with leprosy and was hurriedly removed from the temple.

For the rest of his life, he lived an isolated life because of the illness. He never entered the temple again. To credit oneself with any recorded feat in life is an open and flagrant repudiation of God’s benevolence and kindness. It is at once an ungodly demonstration of pride and carnality. This was the undoing of Uzziah spiritually, from whom the haughty and the proud, so-called Christian must learn.

Thought for the day: A man’s pride can be his downfall

Bible Reading in one Year: Genesis 1-3

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: In The Days Of His Power [Saturday July 1, 2017]

Scripture: Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, though has the dew of thy youth. Psalm 110:3

Thought For The Day: To stand in holiness is to attract the attention and power of God.

A closer look at events in the world clearly shows that we are in the end of the age. Every sign is indicative of the fact that Jesus is about to come again. Interestingly, the time prior to His second coming is a time for the escalation of power, and that time is already at hand (Psalms 110:1-3).

This implies that the Church worldwide must experience God’s power and glory in dimensions like never before. We are about to maximally humiliate and molest the forces of darkness. Principalities and powers are about to experience the kind of damage they have never experienced since creation.

The days that precede Christ’s second coming are days for the escalation of power – conviction power, life-transforming power, deliverance power, liberation power, judgemental power, etc. Jesus is about to stand, and before He stands up from the throne to commence His journey of second return; His enemies must be made His footstool (Psalms 110:1).

Now, who are the people that are qualified to manifest this power?

1. Those who are desperately willing to manifest His Power (Psalms 110:3): Willing people are carriers of power. Unwilling people can never manifest supernatural power. So, power belongs to men and women whose wills have been united with the Will of God.

2. Those who live in holiness: In Psalms 110:3, the Bible says thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauty of holiness…. So, holiness is attractive (beautiful) as far as the power of God is concerned. The meaning of that is: to stand in holiness is to attract the attention and power of God.

Remember this: To stand in holiness is to attract the attention and power of God.

Assignment (s):

1. Surrender your will to the Will of God

2.Avoid things that can stain your spiritual garment.

FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: IN THE DAYS OF HIS POWER

Prayer: LORD, I surrender my life to You; let me be useful to You in this end time, LORD in Jesus’ Name.

Quote: You do not maximise your life until you understand the season. Culled from MAKING FULL PROOF OF MINISTRY by Dr Paul Enenche.

Daily Reading: 2 Kings 18:13 to 19:37, Acts 21:1 to 17, Psalm 149:1 to 9, Proverbs 18:8.

Amazing Fact: Butterflies cannot fly if their body temperature is less than 86 degrees centigrade.

Today In History: 1/7/1879 – Charles Taze Russell published the first edition of the religious magazine – The Watchtower

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: Cleaning House [Saturday July 1, 2017]

Read: 1 Peter 1:22–2:5, Bible in a Year: Job 20–21; Acts 10:24–48

Rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 1 Peter 2:1

Recently, I switched rooms in the home I rent. This took longer than expected, because I didn’t want to simply transfer my (extensive) mess to a new room; I wanted a completely fresh and uncluttered start. After hours and hours of cleaning and sorting, bags of stuff sat by the front door to be thrown away, donated, or recycled. But at the end of this exhausting process was a beautiful room I was excited to spend time in.

My housecleaning project gave me a fresh perspective when reading 1 Peter 2:1, as paraphrased in The Message: “So, clean house! Make a clean sweep of malice and pretense, envy, and hurtful talk.” Interestingly, it’s after a joyful confession of their new life in Christ (1:1–12) that Peter urges them to throw away destructive habits (1:13–2:3). When our walk with the Lord feels cluttered and our love for others feels strained, this shouldn’t cause us to question our salvation. We don’t change our lives to be saved, but because we are (1:23).

Heavenly Father, thank You for the new life You are building in us through our Lord Jesus.

As real as our new life in Christ is, bad habits learned do not disappear overnight. So, on a daily basis, we need to “clean house,” throwing away all that prevents us from fully loving others (1:22) and growing (2:2). Then, in that new, clean space, we can experience the wonder of being freshly built (v. 5) by Christ’s power and life.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the new life You are building in us through our Lord Jesus. Help us to daily turn to You for cleansing and renewal.

Every day we can reject destructive habits and experience new life in Jesus.

Insight:

The Scriptures include both the good and the bad of Peter’s life. After Jesus’s arrest, Peter denied even knowing Jesus, but later proclaimed Him to be the Son of God. Peter struggled to be consistent in his relationship with Christ. Perhaps that is why we can relate to his story.

Writing to an audience of Jews and Gentiles, Peter encourages growth in salvation. Once we are saved, our journey has merely begun (1 Peter 2:2–3). Therefore, Peter encourages us to live an examined life, ridding ourselves of things that hinder our growth (v. 1) and keep us from loving each other (1:22). But this is only half the journey; the other half is “craving pure spiritual milk”—desiring and partaking of spiritual food through God’s Word, which results in developing good habits.

Are there habits you need to “rid yourself” of? What can you replace them with?

This message was written By Monica Brands [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]

Topic: Salvation Comes First [Saturday 1, July 2017]

Memorise: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. – 1 Peter 2:24

Read: 1 Peter 2:21-25 (KJV)

21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:

23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:

24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

Bible in One Year: 1 Samuel 8-9, Lamentation 3:7-36, Hymn: Sing hymn 11

MESSAGE:
[July 1, Saturday 2017]
Just as the repercussions of sin can affect every facet of life, so also can salvation become the platform of recovery for every area of life that has been devastated by sin. When a sinner comes in contact with the lamb of God and His blood, his or her sins are washed away, and all the devastating effects of sin can be reversed in one day. Take for instance the impotent man in John 5:2-14, who was sick for 38 years. Immediately he came in contact with Jesus, he was healed. From that moment, he stopped failing, hope came to his hopelessness, he was able to fellowship with people in church, peace came to his life and joy returned to his heart. All these happened in one day. When you give your life to Jesus and He saves your soul, peace and joy will suddenly flood your heart. From that very moment, you have access to all the precious promises of God. You can claim them and they will become reality in your life. Open Heavens 2017: Saturday July 1, Daily Devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Salvation Comes First
“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” – 1 Peter 2:24

God’s process for healing is revealed in the above scripture. First is the transfer of your sins to the crucified body of Jesus Christ by faith, and thereafter comes healing. Many people want God to heal them but they do not want God to first roll away their sins. It doesn’t work that way! Any prophet, man of God or pastor who promises to heal you without the experience of salvation from sin must be avoided like a plague. Why? It is because instead of a miracle from God, you might be getting magic from Satan, and you can be certain that Satan is a very wicked taskmaster. Moreover, quite a number of sicknesses and diseases are caused by sin. The moment you settle the issue of sin at the cross of Jesus Christ, healing will then be released. Are you sick and still wallowing in sin? Give your life to Jesus now! Renounce every link with the devil, break every covenant with demons and commit your life to Christ. Ask God to forgive you for your life of sin and promise never to return to that life. Ask Him to come into your heart as Lord and Saviour today. If you have truly done these from your heart, I command every sickness or disease hibernating inside your body to be uprooted now in Jesus’ Name!

Action Point: Use every opportunity to pray for the healing of the sick, but first lead them to Christ.

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.

It’s important to know basic facts about the human body for health reasons, because ignorance can be costly. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 5 basic facts you should know about the human body.

Stomach Acid Can Dissolve Metal

Yes, your stomach acid is in fact that acidic. The only reason the acid in your stomach doesn’t eat right through your body is because your stomach cells are renewed faster than they are destroyed.

Weight Affects Ability to Conceive

Being malnourished can negatively affect ovulation, because a minimum of 22 percent body fat is necessary for ovulation and reproductive competence. On the other hand, being overweight can also alter hormone chemistry and negatively affect ovulation. Not only does weight affect fertility, it also affects pregnancy. Thankfully, weight-related fertility issues can easily be remedied by shedding or gaining the required weight. So, if you are of an ideal or reasonable weight (a BMI between 19 and 25), you shouldn’t be going on crash diet or unnecessarily trying to lose weight.

Men Also Have a Biological Clock

Age can affect a man’s ability to conceive, it might not be as profound an effect like with women, but it’s an effect to consider nonetheless. Recently, researchers at Bristol and Brunel universities evaluated 8,500 couples to determine the impact of age on the length of time it takes to conceive. They discovered that while only 8 percent of the men failed to impregnate their partner after a year of trying, the number grew to 15 percent after age 35. Considering factors like the fact that a man’s sexual drive drops with age causing the frequency of sexual intercourse to drop, the study suggests that paternal age can also affect a couple’s ability to conceive.

After Eating Too Much, Your Hearing is Less Sharp

Surprising right? Another reason why you should avoid eating too much.

Birth Control Choices Have Fertility Implications

The method of contraception a woman has used can affect her fertility and impact conception. Therefore, it’s important for a woman to consult her doctor on the best birth control choices for her body. She should, in other words, carefully consider birth control choices before she decides she wants to get pregnant.

By Damilola Ojo
PR Associate Jumia Travel
+2348101556883

A Promise For You From Bible Promises:

Topic: Evil Associated With Darkness [30/06/2017]

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. John 1:5. Read: 3:19-21

Everything God Almighty created  is good and very good. While one is beneficial, the other can be unfavorable. For instance, the day (light) is to the advantage of the sons of men to engage in physical activities while it’s may not be helpful to evil doers because they cannot do their evil works. But while men use the night as a time to rest from their daily routine, the evil doers see it as a time to execute their evil works. Darkness is associated with all kinds of evil works, hence, Jesus said, “But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way”. Matt 13:25.

Those tares represent the troubles men wake up to meet in their lives and family. Some as a result could not make it to life, they sleep the sleep of death while others wake up with all kinds of diseases. The earth was without form and void in the beginning because darkness was upon the face of the deep. First thing God did was to command light to come and chase darkness away. You must dispel darkness before it will overwhelm and consume you out of the earth.

Men that hate the truth operate in darkness, all their wicked ways are planned in the dark and executed during the day. But no matter how long darkness tarries, light will always overcome because when light comes, darkness disappears. Light is the antidote to darkness and its works. For you to overcome the darkness and its evil works, you must deliberately allow the light of God’s word to dwell richly in your heart and life. You need enough light from God’s word to put darkness to flight.

#BiblePromisesThought

* Father, every works of darkness within and around me, I command them to leave now in Jesus Mighty Name.

Today’s Scripture: Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has delivered from the hand of the adversary.” – (Psalm 107:2, AMPC)

Topic: Say So [Friday June 30, 2017]

Notice that today’s scripture doesn’t say, “Let the redeemed of the Lord think so.” Or, “Let the redeemed believe so.” Of course, it’s important to think right and believe right, but something supernatural happens when we open our mouths and declare a thing. You don’t even have to say it to anyone else. You can just say it to yourself—driving to work or in the shower— say, “The economy may be low, but I am blessed. I am prosperous. I will lend and not borrow.” “I may have had some setbacks, but I know those setbacks are a setup for a comeback! This is still going to be my best year so far. The favor of God is turning things around.” You are prophesying your future.

Remember, when you say what the Lord has done for you, when you declare that you are redeemed, you are opening the door for God to move on your behalf. The scripture tells us that He watches over His Word to perform it. When you declare His Word, when you speak His promises, He is faithful to fulfill them and lead you into victory all the days of your life!

A Prayer for Today: “Father in heaven, thank You for delivering me and setting me free. I will declare Your goodness. I will declare Your promises. I will declare Your favor so that I can live the good life You have prepared for me in Jesus’ name. Amen.”