Topic: God Made Flesh [Wednesday June 21, 2017]

John 8:58 “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”

John 8:57-59

Jesus didn’t seek to clarify the Jews’ misunderstanding of His previous statements. Instead, He made a new statement that those who would not accept that Jesus was God in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16) could not possibly understand. “Before Abraham was, I am.” He not only said that He existed before Abraham, but He was again associating Himself with the great “I AM” statement of Exodus 3:14. This statement could leave no doubt that Jesus was claiming deity in the highest sense of the word.

Jesus proclaimed “I am.” This is how Jehovah identified Himself to Moses in Exodus 3:14. When spoken under the anointing power of God, Jesus’ pronouncement that “I am he” knocked all of those who came to arrest Him backwards to the ground (Jn. 18:5-6). Jesus was the great “I AM THAT I AM” of Exodus 3:14 manifest in the flesh!

When the Jewish authorities heard Jesus call God “my (own) Father,” they immediately understood that Jesus claimed for Himself deity in the highest possible sense of that term. That claim was either blasphemy to be punished by death, or Jesus was who He claimed to be.

The purpose of the fourth gospel is clearly stated, “that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (Jn. 20:31). The object of John’s gospel was to show that Jesus is “the true God” (1 Jn. 5:20) who was “made flesh” (Jn. 1:14).

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: Tears of Repentance [Wednesday June 21, 2017]

Now change your mind and attitude to God and turn to him so he can cleanse away your sins and send you wonderful times of refreshment from the presence of the Lord. — Acts 3:19 (TLB)

There is a certain amount of sorrow involved in repentance that we don’t see much of today. That word means moaning and even groaning. I don’t mean that we have to have a great emotional experience, but I do believe that we need some tears of repentance. We need to be sorry for our sins, and to say, “Oh, God, I have sinned against You, and I’m sorry.” I am not an emotional person. I don’t know why, but I don’t cry easily. But of the few times I have cried in my life, some of them have been over sin that I committed many years ago.

The night I came to Christ, I didn’t have any tears. But later I went home and I looked out my window at the North Carolina sky and I cried over my sins. I said, “Oh, God, forgive me.” And the most wonderful peace swept over my soul. From that moment on, I’ve known that my sins were forgiven.

Prayer for the day: There is sorrow in my soul when I remember how I fail You, loving Lord. Forgive my frailties.

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: Mode and Method of Divine Revelation [Wednesday June 21, 2017]

Scripture: For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little. Isaiah 28:10.

Thought For The Day: One of the greatest tragedies in our time is lack of the knowledge of God and the understanding of His modes of operation.

God has a program and plan for everyone under the sun. However, one of the greatest tragedies in our time is lack of the knowledge of God or the understanding of His modes of operation. Men who were great in their generation did not only know God but also understood God’s way of doing things.

That was why great men in scriptures would always wait on God and follow His steps in all their endeavours.

One vital mode of divine operation is that God does not reveal every detail of one’s life and destiny at once. Rather, He does so in bits; line upon line and precept upon precept.

For instance, when God gave Joseph the dream of greatness, He did not show Joseph the pathway of the prison in realising that dream (Genesis 37:5-8). God did not tell Abraham from the beginning where to go when He asked Abraham to leave his father’s house (Genesis 12:1-4).

Knowing this is very important because there are many people who are frustrated because they want to know everything at once which is not God’s way of doing things.

My counsel is, always be connected to God to know what He is saying one day at a time.

Remember this: One of the greatest tragedies in our time is lack of the Knowledge of God and the understanding of His modes of operations.

Assignment(s):

1. Make up your mind to be sensitive to the will of God.

2. Always be patient to work with Divine timing.

Prayer: Help me LORD, not to miss Your direction for my life. Open my eyes to know You and understand Your mode of operation, LORD, in Jesus’ Name.

FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: MAXIMIZING YOUR LIFE.

Daily Reading: 2 Kings 1:1 to 2:25, Acts 13:42 to 14:7, Psalm 139:1 to 24, Proverbs 17:19 to 21.

Amazing Fact: An octopus has three hearts, nine brains and blue blood.

Today In History: 21/6/2006 – Pluto’s newly discovered moons were officially named Nix and Hydra.

Quote: Illumination facilitates distinction. Culled from 30 SECRETS TO THE TOP by Dr Paul Enenche.

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: Sharing a Cup of Comfort [Wednesday June 21, 2017]

Read: 2 Corinthians 1:3–11, Bible in a Year: Esther 3–5; Acts 5:22–42

Our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:7

A friend mailed me some of her homemade pottery. Upon opening the box, I discovered the precious items had been damaged during their journey. One of the cups had shattered into a few large pieces, a jumble of shards, and clumps of clay dust. After my husband glued the broken mess back together, I displayed the beautifully blemished cup on a shelf.

Like that pieced-together pottery, I have scars that prove I can still stand strong after the difficult times God’s brought me through. That cup of comfort reminds me that sharing how the Lord has worked in and through my life can help others during their times of suffering.

We can be comforted in knowing that the Lord redeems our trials for His glory.

The apostle Paul praises God because He is the “Father of compassion and the God of all comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3). The Lord uses our trials and sufferings to make us more like Him. His comfort in our troubles equips us to encourage others as we share what He did for us during our time of need (v. 4).

As we reflect on Christ’s suffering, we can be inspired to persevere in the midst of our own pain, trusting that God uses our experiences to strengthen us and others toward patient endurance (vv. 5–7). Like Paul, we can be comforted in knowing that the Lord redeems our trials for His glory. We can share His cups of comfort and bring reassuring hope to the hurting.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for using us to provide comfort, encouragement, and hope to others who are suffering. We praise You for all You’ve done, are doing, and will continue to do to comfort us through our own afflictions.

God comforts others as we share how He comforted us.

Insight:

The Greek word for comfort (paraklesis) means “to come alongside and help.” Jesus is called our parakletos (advocate) in 1 John 2:1. The Holy Spirit is another advocate or comforter (John 14:16). Paul asserts that God is “the God of all comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3). The triune Godhead—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is there with us in our pain. By saying God is the “Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (vv. 2–3), Paul thereby reminds us that coming alongside to help each other is a family duty and privilege (v. 4).

To whom can you be a parakletos—a comforter—this coming week?

This message was written By Xochitl Dixon [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]

Topic: Why Hunger? [Wednesday 21, June 2017]

Memorise: My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: – Psalm 63:5

Read: Proverbs 19:23-24 (KJV)

23 The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.

24 A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.

Bible in One Year: Judges 12-14, Jeremiah 51:12-26, Hymn: Sing hymn 10

MESSAGE:

One of our benefits as the sheep of the Great Shepherd is the assurance of provision. If you are a sheep of Jesus, you will definitely be fed and hunger will be alien to you. Psalm 37:3 says,

“Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.”

If God has promised that we shall be fed, why then are some of us hungry and even starving today? Several factors are responsible for this, first of which is that some people have erroneously mistaken poverty for righteousness and wealth for sinfulness. Some people have chosen to be poor so as to make Heaven. This is a fallacy! Do you know that so many poor people on earth, after suffering here, end up in Hell, whereas many believing Christians who were rich on earth continue to swim in eternal riches in Heaven? The choice is yours. Do not choose what will destroy but what will deliver you. Abraham was rich on earth, died and continued to live in God’s abundance in Heaven. What is your choice? If you are still holding onto such negative beliefs or stereotypes, then you need to have a change of mindset.

Also, some believers are hungry today because they have violated God’s financial principles. For instance, if you are not faithfully paying your tithe, you are inviting devourers to drive you into hunger. If you fail to pay your first fruits, you will be giving the enemy legal grounds to contest your job, open doors or breakthrough, and this could lead to hunger. Similarly, when you eat up the seeds you are meant to sow after every provision that comes to you, you will lose the harvest that could keep you from starving tomorrow. Some believers are in hunger as a result of reckless spending. They want to spend everything they have in one day. lf you eat up a month’s provision in one week, you may have to spend the remaining weeks in hunger. In addition, some believers do not really trust in God but in the quality of their certificate, wisdom, knowledge and skill. This attitude has resulted in God stepping aside from their affairs in order to make them realise how little they can achieve by their limited strength. Hence, such people have ended up in disappointment and lack. Beyond this, others are in hunger because of laziness, as they have refused to take up opportunities to gather wealth. Lack and poverty may also be as a result of satanic manipulation and control. Are you hungry? Is it caused by your actions or inactions? Arise and put things in order today and turn away from hunger and lack!

Key Point: The child of a billionaire cannot be starving for what to eat. You are the child of the richest person in the universe. You should not lack any good thing.

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.

A Promise For You From Bible Promises:

Topic: The Empowered Minister. Pt Three [20/06/2017]

Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. Acts 5:15. Read: Ac 2:1-14

One of the things power does is to turn an ordinary man into an extraordinary person and the timid to a bold fellow. It brings upon a man supernatural strength to outrun even a man on the back of a  horse. It gives turbospeed to a man to accomplish a task in a very short time. It makes you pursue, overtake and recover all that you’ve lost in the past.

Power helps you to stand up to defend your destiny in the face of fear. For instance, before the Pentecost, the outspoken Peter denied his Master thrice in the face of fear of death. Through fear, he followed Jesus from a far distance until he finally denied Him. It was through this same fear that he gave up on his ministry of becoming a fisher of men. But when power came upon them on the day of Pentecost, just a sermon from him won about three thousand souls. In his latter life, because he was so full of God’s power, people preferred his shadow to go through the sick and they all were healed. You can be empowered by God if you are willing to love Him with all your heart and desire to help His oppressed children. Are you ready for His power? It’s coming upon you now in Jesus Mighty Name

#BiblePromisesPrayer

* Father, I am ready to help Your children with your power, empower me now in Jesus Mighty Name

Today’s Scripture: “And Jesus answered them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith (a firm relying trust) and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will be done.” – (Matthew 21:21, AMPC)

Topic: Speak Favor to Your Mountains [Tuesday June 20, 2017]

Everyone goes through seasons when the challenges of life feel overwhelming. During these times, it’s easy to be tempted to talk about how bad things are. Maybe you are facing a situation right now that looks impossible. Don’t get discouraged and give up because God wants to do something awesome in your life. Instead of talking to God about how big your problems are, talk to your problems about how big your God is. Be bold and start speaking favor to that situation. Every day say, “Father, thank You that Your favor is turning this around. Thank You that Your favor is making a way even though I don’t see a way. Lord, thank You that Your favor is doing remarkable, astounding, overwhelming things.” When you release your faith like that, you’ll see God show up and do amazing things that you’ve never seen happen before!

Remember, even if you don’t see how things could ever work out, God does. Just do your part and keep speaking to those mountains in your life. Declare favor over those situations and get ready to move forward in the victory and blessing God has prepared for you!

A Prayer for Today: “Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word which is life to my spirit. I receive Your strength today and choose to speak favor to the mountains. Thank You for preparing a path of victory as I keep my heart and mind stayed on You in Jesus’ name. Amen”

Topic: Take Steps, No Matter How Small [Tuesday June 20, 2017]

The easiest thing for any man to do is to talk about some beautiful visions and great plans of what he desires to do. Taking steps to actualize those plans is where the real work lies. Proverbs 14:23 says, “In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.”

You can’t tell how much you can do until you start doing it. Your capabilities are revealed only when you take steps. So, start taking steps, no matter how small. Anyone who succeeds in taking small steps is automatically qualified for big steps. Unfortunately many people want to take big steps when they have not succeeded in taking small ones. I am not against your dreaming big, but the truth is, no big dream is ever born in a big way, every big dream must first be conceived, be born as a babe, go from crawling to walking, and then start running before it will eventually fly. So, stop complaining about what you don’t have, do something with what you have! There is always something you can do, no matter how small!