Topic: You Can Have Daily Victories! (Part 1) [Friday June 30, 2017]

2 Corinthians 2:14 says, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.” The words, “always” and “every place” connote that daily victory is possible. You may not be enjoying that level of victory right now, but you have the potential and what makes it a realty is faith.

If you must enjoy daily victories, you must live by faith because according to scriptures, the just shall live by his faith (Habakkuk 2:4). The quality of life you live is determined by the level of your faith. The word ‘live’ primarily means survival, so the just shall survive by his faith. In the world they talk about survival of the fittest. So also it is in the realm of the spirit, it is faith that makes you fit to survive every attack of the enemy. We are told in Hebrews 11:33-34 that through faith the elders subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire and escaped the edge of the sword. The Bible also tells us that faith is a shield with which we can quench every fiery dart of the wicked one (Eph. 6:16). So, faith is the answer to daily victorious living. It is however important for you to understand how this faith is expressed.

– Meditate on these: 2 Cor. 4:18, Jer. 1:11-12

Topic: God’s Righteous Friend [Friday June 30, 2017]

For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by his goodness]. — 2 Corinthians 5:21

I cannot think of anything more awesome than being a friend of God. There is nothing I would rather hear God say than, “Joyce Meyer is My friend.” I do not want Him to say, “Joyce Meyer—knows all the prayer principles; she can quote dozens of Bible verses; she sounds very eloquent when she prays; but she really doesn’t know Me at all and we are not really friends.” I want to know that God thinks of me as His friend, and I believe you long for Him to think of you that way, too. Through Jesus Christ, we have a right to be comfortable with God, to hear His voice, and to go boldly to the throne of grace to get the help we need in plenty of time to meet our needs and the needs of others (see Hebrews 4:16).

One of the best things you can ever do is to develop your friendship with God. Jesus has made you righteous through the blood He shed at the cross, so there is no reason you cannot approach God as boldly and as naturally as you would your best friend on Earth. Remember, friendship with God takes an investment of time and energy to develop. But also remember that as your friendship deepens, your ability to hear God’s voice increases. A growing, vibrant, increasingly intimate friendship with God will naturally lead to increasingly effective communication with Him.

Topic: The Pathway to Royalty [Friday June 30, 2017]

Scripture: But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 1 Peter 2:9

Thought For The Day: The Anointing is key to stardom and royalty.

It is very clear from our anchor scripture that we have been destined by God to be kings and men and women of influence upon the earth. God’s purpose for your life is for you to occupy the high places of the earth. You are destined for the throne. This can be seen in the lives of Joseph, David, Daniel, Esther, Mordecai, etc.

However, we have been destined by God for the throne; many have died as servants and paupers on earth owing to lack of the understanding of the pathway to authority.

Now, what is the pathway to the throne?

It is access to the Anointing!

When the Anointing came upon David, he gained access to the palace. It was the manifestation of the gifts in the lives of Joseph and Daniel that gave them access to royalty.

The Anointing is key to stardom and royalty. It is the access route to authority. The anointing gives a person access and audience before people in authority.

Beloved, I counsel you to connect the power of God in order to influence men in power for God.

Remember this: The anointing is key to stardom and royalty.

Assignment(s):

1. Ask God for the deployment of your potentials.

2. Connect with the power of God in order to manifest your potentials.

Prayer: O LORD, I ask that You lift me up to the place of authority. Help me to deploy my potentials in order to influence my generation for You, LORD, in Jesus’ Name.

FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: THE POWER OF THE ANOINTING.

Daily Reading: 2 Kings 17:1 to 18:12, Acts 20:1 to 38, Psalm 148:1 to 14, Proverbs 18:6 to 7.

Quote: Principles are behind the making of principal people. Culled from 30 SECRETS TO THE TOP by Dr Paul Enenche.

Amazing Fact: A healthy human hair emits sound.

Today In History: 30/6/1960 – Congo gained independence from Belgium.

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: The Word Makes You Wiser [Friday June 30, 2017]

“Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies:..” Psalm 119:98

Psalm 119:96 says, “I have seen an end of all perfection:” In other words, whatever the wisdom of man can create there is an end. “But thy commandment is exceeding broad” Whatever man can create, manufacture or invent has a limit. That is why Paul said your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. He said we speak wisdom to them that are perfect but not the wisdom of this world or the princes of this world that comes to naught. He said my speech is not in the enticing words of man’s wisdom but in the demonstration of the power of God, so that your faith will not stand on man’s wisdom because there is a limit to man’s wisdom.

For instance  a doctor can come to you with a negative result of an examination and say your condition is bad. That is the reality of the situation, but that is not the truth. Verse 97 of Psalm 119 says, “O how I love thy law!  It is my meditation all the day.” I love your law! It  is what I think about! I think through it!  I am in agreement with it so that I can function in it. I love your law and I speak it out so that I can become what it has said. “Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies:”

Your enemies are there and they want you destroyed. They want to stop you and hinder you. But God is saying that he has made you wiser because he knows they are there. And so he has provided a way of escape. He says I have given you my word. They can’t understand it. When others are saying grab what you can grab, kill and destroy so that you have more to yourself,  I am saying release so that you can have abundance. The world can’t understand it because it only knows how to grab. If care is not taken you will look at your immediate circumstances and say, I don’t have and why should I give? Beloved, stay in the Word.

Further Reading: Psalm 1:1 – 3, Joshua 1:8

Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Job 17-19; Evening- Acts 10:1-23

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: Sin Destroys [Friday June 30, 2017]

Text: Ezekiel 20:1-9

Key Verse: “Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you” (Ezekiel 20:3).

Matthew Henry, a nonconformist English minister and Bible commentator, once said, “No attribute of God is more dreadful to sinners than His holiness.” That is why our text reveals that when the Israelites wanted to inquire certain issues from God, He outrightly refused to listen to them.

They had completely entangled themselves in sin and deserved no communication with God. Sometimes, when God keeps silent when we have prayed, there could be a reason. It is required of us, therefore, to do a thorough soul-searching examination to find out the cause. The Israelites had been in captivity. When they came to Ezekiel, they probably wanted to find out whether God would use the Egyptians to rescue them or they would soon return to their own country. But God ignored them, asking Ezekiel to inform them that there was no basis for it.

As against their inquiry, God instructed Ezekiel to tell them about their depravity, which had put them at contrary purposes to Him. Today, quite a lot of people have forgotten God. They hardly count God’s blessings upon their lives. Instead, they mesmerise themselves with unprofitable things, getting entangled with sins. They forget that sin brings negative things. If it were positive, God would not have been concerned about it and there would not have been any need for repentance. But because of its injurious nature and Satan being at the crux of it, God commanded that we should come out of sin.

Sin could destroy your innocence, tarnish your integrity, destroy your deeds and will, put you into slavery, produce sickness, pain and degeneracy in your life and put you to death. That is why you must come out of it today. Delay may be dangerous.

Thought for the day: Sin is an entanglement; free yourself from it.

Bible Reading in one Year: Esther 6-10

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: Prayer Is a Conversation [Friday June 30, 2017]

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. — Matthew 21:22

Prayer is a two-way conversation; it is our talking to God, and His talking to us. As a Christian, you have a heavenly Father who hears and answers prayer. Jesus said, “All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Every man or woman whose life has counted for the church and the Kingdom of God has been a person of prayer. You cannot afford to be too busy to pray.

A prayerless Christian is a powerless Christian. Jesus Christ spent many hours in prayer. Sometimes He spent the night on a mountaintop in solitary communion with God the Father. If He felt that He had to pray, how much more do we need to pray!

Wondering how to pray? Or why God isn’t answering? Read Prayer 101.

Prayer for the day: There is inexpressible joy as I come to You in prayer, my heavenly Father.

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: Time to Flourish [Friday June 30, 2017]

Read: Luke 13:1–9, Bible in a Year: Job 17–19; Acts 10:1–23

“Sir,” the man replied, “leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it.” Luke 13:8

Last spring I decided to cut down the rose bush by our back door. In the three years we’d lived in our home, it hadn’t produced many flowers, and its ugly, fruitless branches were now creeping in all directions.

But life got busy, and my gardening plan got delayed. It was just as well—only a few weeks later that rose bush burst into bloom like I’d never seen before. Hundreds of big white flowers, rich in perfume, hung over the back door, flowed into our yard, and showered the ground with beautiful petals.

God’s patience is good news for all of us.

My rose bush’s revival reminded me of Jesus’s parable of the fig tree in Luke 13:6–9. In Israel, it was customary to give fig trees three years to produce fruit. If they didn’t, they were cut down so the soil could be better used. In Jesus’s story, a gardener asks his boss to give one particular tree a fourth year to produce. In context (vv. 1–5), the parable implies this: The Israelites hadn’t lived as they should, and God could justly judge them. But God is patient and had given extra time for them to turn to Him, be forgiven, and bloom.

God wants all people to flourish and has given extra time so that they can. Whether we are still journeying toward faith or are praying for unbelieving family and friends, His patience is good news for all of us.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5).

God has given the world extra time to respond to His offer of forgiveness.

Insight:

Right before the words of today’s passage, Jesus described how His coming causes division between those who accept Jesus and the new reality He brings and those who reject Him (Luke 12:49–56). Words like these could have led some to interpret tragedies like lives lost in a collapsed tower (13:4) as God’s judgment. But Jesus rejected this way of thinking (v. 5), teaching that we should not condemn others, but instead look at ourselves. The parable of the barren fig tree (vv. 6–9) illustrates that although God is merciful and has given the world extra time to turn to Him (v. 9), a choice to live in Him must be made. That’s the only way to live fruitfully.

How can you, instead of condemning others, focus more deeply on your response to Christ?

This message was written By Sheridan Voysey [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]

By BGEA

Whether you’re searching for God or a longtime believer, there’s a good chance you have questions about prayer. How exactly are you supposed to pray? And why should you do it? Here are some guidelines from Billy Graham.

How do I talk to God?

Billy Graham: Prayer is simply talking to God—and the most important thing I can say about this is that God wants you to talk to Him! He loves us and He has promised to hear us when we pray. How can you learn to pray? First, understand why prayer is possible.

Prayer is possible because Jesus Christ has removed the barrier between us and God—a barrier caused by our sins. You see, sin separates us from God, and because of that we have no right to come before Him. But by His death on the cross, Christ paid the penalty for our sins and removed the barrier. God then gives us the privilege of coming into His presence when we commit our lives to Christ.

The Bible says, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). If you have never done so, ask Christ to come into your life today.

Then understand that God now welcomes you into His presence and promises to hear you—and He cannot lie. The Bible says, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us” (1 John 5:14). Trust His promises and learn to bring every concern to Him in prayer.

Does God only hear us when we pray out loud or does He hear silent prayers also? Please forgive me if this is a dumb question, but I didn’t grow up in a religious home and have just become a Christian.

Billy Graham: Don’t be embarrassed to ask questions when you don’t understand something about the Christian life; after all, God wants you to come to know Him more and more each day. Jesus’ disciples repeatedly asked for His help, and so should we. On one occasion they said, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).

Yes, God hears our prayers on all occasions, whether we’re praying out loud or praying silently in our hearts and minds. After all, He knows all about us and knows what is going on inside us—both good and bad. The Bible says that God “judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). The Bible also says, “The Lord detests the thoughts of the wicked, but those of the pure are pleasing to him” (Proverbs 15:26).

God even hears our prayers when we can’t even put them into words—times, for example, when our hearts are too burdened or confused even to speak. The Bible says, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express” (Romans 8:26).

One of God’s greatest gifts to us is the privilege of prayer—a privilege that is possible because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Thank God for the privilege of prayer and learn daily to “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

Does God really answer prayers?

Billy Graham: Prayer is one of our greatest privileges as God’s children, and even if God doesn’t seem to answer your prayers at first, don’t stop praying. God loves you, and no prayer goes unanswered.

Jesus once told a story about a poor widow who repeatedly asked a corrupt judge to do what was right. (You can read it in Luke 18:1-8.) Repeatedly the judge refused—not because her request was wrong, but because he just didn’t care.

But because of her persistence, he eventually gave in and granted her what she deserved. In a far greater way, Jesus said, God (who is righteous and does care for us) hears the prayers of His people, and we must never give up.

But let me add two things. First, realize that sometimes God is actually answering our prayers when we don’t realize it—and the reason is because His answer may be “No” or “Wait.” Yes, we think we know what’s best for us—but God sees the whole picture, and sometimes He lovingly refuses to give us what we request, because He knows it isn’t according to His perfect plan.

Second, remember that we have the privilege of coming to God only because Jesus Christ died for our sins. Have you given your life to Him? If not, let your first prayer be one of confession and faith, asking Him to come into your life as your Lord and Savior.

Topic: Wonderful Protection [Friday 30, June 2017]

Memorise: Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; – Psalm 91:5

Read: Psalm 91:5-7(KJV)

5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

Bible in One Year: 1 Samuel 6-7, Lamentation 2:14-3:6, Hymn: Sing hymn 2

MESSAGE:
[June 30, Friday 2017]
Besides being a God of wonders who does wonders, God can also turn you into a wonder. A young man gave a profound testimony during one of our monthly Holy Ghost Services some years ago. He testified that during a prior Holy Ghost Service, the Lord instructed me to inform the congregants that the clothes they wore to that programme had just been anointed and had therefore been special. Unknown to him, some hired killers had been sent to kill him. Coincidentally, on the day marked for his assassination, he was wearing the very clothes that had been anointed during the Holy Ghost Service. As he passed by the assassins on this fateful day, he heard them say, “This is the fellow”, and immediately, they opened fire on him. Six bullets passed through the front of his clothes and came out at the back, but nothing touched him. He brought the clothes he wore and showed us the bullet holes in front and at the back. He said he could not explain how that could happen without affecting his body. Indeed, there is a God who can turn someone into a wonder! As people looked at him, they saw someone who by all standards should have been dead, but who was alive because God miraculously protected him from weapons of destruction. This season, God will turn you into a wonder! He will miraculously protect you from every weapon of death formed against you. Open Heavens 30 June 2017: Friday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye- Wonderful protection
Moreover, God can perform wonders through you! He can turn you into an instrument that performs wonders. For instance, on one ordinary day, Peter and John were going along the way when they encountered a lame man who asked for alms, but God used them to heal him (Acts 3:1-11). This same man who had sat at a gate of the temple for years suddenly rose up, began to walk, leap and praise God. He became a wonder to everyone who knew him, and the duo that God used to perform the miracle also stood out as wonders. Acts 3:11 says,

“And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.”

Beloved, God wants you to be a wonder. He also wants to use you to perform wonders. Are you ready to cooperate with Him? Can you pay the price to become a conduit for sings and wonders to flow through? How concerned are you about God’s Kingdom? How consecrated are you? Are you prepared to give it all it takes?

Prayer Point: Father, as You used Peter and John to perform miracles, use me and my family to perform spectacular miracles today.

Today’s Scripture: “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” – (Romans 8:11, NIV)

Topic: Same Spirit, Same Power [Thursday June 29, 2017]

When you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit makes His home inside of you. That’s God Himself, the same Spirit with the same power that raised Jesus from the dead! His resurrection power can bring back health, strength and life to your physical body. He can restore hope and breathe life into your dreams. In fact, He can resurrect any area that may seem dormant on the inside of you!

The next time you feel overwhelmed by sickness, challenges or despair, remember, the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in you through Christ Jesus. You may have been burdened by an addiction, fear or worry, but there’s nothing that can stand against the power of God. Rise up and declare by faith, “He whom the Son sets free is free indeed. I am restored and healed in the name of Jesus! No weapon formed against me can prosper!” Receive His truth, declare the Word, and activate His power within you!

A Prayer for Today: “Father in heaven, thank You for filling me with Your power by the Holy Spirit. I choose to feed my faith by declaring Your Word. I choose to walk in Your ways and honor You in everything I do in Jesus’ name. Amen.”