Today’s Scripture: “Since we have the same spirit of faith…we also believe, and so we also speak.” – (2 Corinthians 4:13, ESV)

Topic: Say What? [Monday May 22, 2017]

Scripture says, “The spirit of faith is in our words.” My question today is, “What’s coming out of your mouth?” Are you talking about how big your problems are, or are you talking about how big your God is?

As believers, our attitude should always be an attitude of praise—“Father, business may be slow, but I want to thank You that You’re supplying all of my needs.” “My circumstance may seem impossible, but thank You, God, that all things are possible with You!” We should always find a reason to give thanks!

This is what Jonah did. After complaining for eight verses, he had a change of heart in verse nine. He said, “God, in spite of my difficulties, I’m going to offer unto You the sacrifice of praise with a voice of thanksgiving.” While sitting in the belly of the whale, instead of complaining, he began to worship. The next verse says that the whale spit him out onto dry ground, and he went on to fulfill his destiny.

If you feel like you’re in the belly of a whale, if you feel trapped, if things seem dark, remember, praise always precedes the victory! Open your mouth and declare His praises! Say what the Word says and watch the breakthrough come to pass!

A Prayer for Today: “Father God, I humbly come to You in the precious name of Jesus Christ. I commit my words and thoughts to You. I choose to say what the Word says. I choose to speak the truth and trust that You are working for my good in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Topic: Consequences of Defiling the Marriage Bed (3)

Dear Reader,

I welcome you again to this beautiful week. By the special grace of God, all that you desire concerning your marriage and home will come to pass. In the past two editions, I shared on Understanding the Marriage Bed and Causes of Bed Defilement. This week, I shall discuss: The Consequences of Defiling the Marriage Bed.

Every violation of a covenant attracts due penalty. It has been earlier established that marriage is a blood covenant. So violating it has its own consequences. One of those evils that infidelity attracts is: Shame. Here is a picture of a young man and a single lady that would not wait until they are married, before going to bed. The young man here tells her, “Come on, let’s do it. We’re going to be married anyway.” She agrees to it… becomes pregnant…goes to him and says, “I am pregnant. Let’s get married quickly,” He looks at her and says, “No way, girl!”. He walks away, leaving her in that condition, because he never loved her, he only lusted after her!

This simple narrative may sound funny, but in reality, it is not. It is a thing of shame to carry a baby that has a controversial father. It does not only bring shame to the girl, but to her family. According to the Law of Moses, such a woman must be either stoned to death or burnt with fire (Leviticus 21:9; Deuteronomy 22:20-21).God takes sexual sin very serious and do not be deceived to think that He has changed His standards. The Bible says: Be not deceived; God is not mocked… (Galatians 6:7). Also, it says: Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity (2 Timothy 2:19).

Bed defilement could lead to chaos in the family. David, a man after God’s heart, was caught in the web of adultery. He slept with Bathsheba, a legal wife of Uriah, one of his subjects. He did not stop at sleeping with her, but he went ahead to kill the man (2 Samuel 11).This evil attracted the judgement of God as stated in 2 Samuel 12:9-10 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

This caused the death of the baby and other evils in David’s family. Amnon, his eldest son, raped his half-sister Tamar and Absalom killed Amnon, the apparent heir to the throne for the evil he did to Tamar. All these could have been averted, if David did not indulge in the sin of adultery.

Check out your life, perhaps the reoccurring evil that you are experiencing is self-inflicted as a result of the immoral act you have indulged yourself in. God is a God of mercy; He will reach out to you and deliver you if you will repent and obey His Word.

Sexual immorality could attract sickness and disease which can lead to death. In today’s world, there are numbers of sexually transmitted diseases through which the devil is causing health havoc. Apart from the money wasted on treating such ailments, some are deadly and incurable. The Bible says in Proverbs 6:27-29: Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished (NIV). Sickness is one of the effects of fornication and adultery. Stay away and you will enjoy a fulfilled life.

Perhaps you have defiled your bed at a point in time; there is a place of mercy that allows for repentance. First, you need to acknowledge your sin and be ready to forsake them. Do you want to be born again? Why not say this prayer in faith and you shall be born again! “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.”

If you prayed this simple prayer, congratulations, you are born again and 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, and share your testimonies with me through [email protected]; OR 07026385437 and 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).

A Promise For You From Bible Promises:

Topic: Light Expels Darkness. Pt One [22/05/2017]

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Genesis 1:2. Read: Gen 1:1-3

When God began the work of creation, the earth was without form and void. This means that, the earth was formless, without shape. It was not only formless but also empty, everything was in confusion, disarray and in disorder. Why? Because of the presence of darkness on earth. Wherever darkness exist, confusion, disorder, pain, untold hardship, barrenness, poverty, sicknesses and worries are bound to be the order of the day. When God saw these confusion, He wasn’t perturbed but commanded the cause (which was darkness) to depart through the introduction of light. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. Gen 1:3.

Light is a powerful force that (no matter how thin) can expel darkness. Which means, as a bona-fide child of God who has His light inside, you must not allow the above mentioned to exist in your life, family, community, local church, business, studies and your career, you must command them to leave through the power of light present in your life. The above mentioned are works of darkness, you must expose them through the light of God.

#BiblePromisesPrayer

* Father, every work of darkness in existence within and around me, I command and expel them now in Jesus Mighty Name.

Topic: He Won’t Change His Mind [Monday, May 22nd 2017]

God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. Hebrew 6:17

One thing you should never forget is that, God’s blessings for you will always be for you. Nothing can change His mind about you. Some folks may think that, since they’ve messed up their life by sinning, they’ve missed out of God’s blessings. Well, sorry to disappoint you. Nothing will stop the blessings of God from your life, unless you are exhibiting a lack of faith.

Before you were born, God has already decreed your blessings. Now, this is not saying we should live in sin. Not at all. Sin cuts us off from experiencing God’s blessings, as it chokes our faith. But that won’t make God change His mind from blessing you. You still need to receive the blessings by faith. Only you can activate it. And that’s when your state of mind, especially living holy comes into play.

Scriptures says in Hebrews 6:18 “so God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.” When you turn to God, His blessings will always be yours as long as your capacity to receive them is not compromised. God wants you to experience His blessings. It is His utmost pleasure. And this is why He will not change His mind from blessing you.

Keep winning daily.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, thanks You for the promise of Your blessings. Help me to always have the capacity receive them, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Make yourself at home.

Topic: How To Access Your Part [Monday May 22, 2017]

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. – Matt.5:6

Pant for God to access your part in God.

You cannot become a part of God until you pant for Him.

David’s panting heart for God was what upgraded his status from just been a king to a priest and a prophet.

You can use your panting for God to enhance your part from God. Phil 3:10

It is those who long for God that will go long in accessing His treasures.

Your yearning for God is what determines your earnings from God.

It is as men desires more of God that they deserves more from God.

Topic – Faith & Grace: Working Together [Monday May 22, 2017]

For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God. — Ephesians 2:8

Let me give you an illustration of the way that faith and grace work together to bring us the blessings of God. In my meetings I often take along a large electric fan that I set up on the speaker’s platform. I call up a member of the audience and have her stand in front of the fan, telling her that I am going to cool her off. When the fan doesn’t run even though I turn it on, I ask the audience, “What’s wrong? Why is this fan not running?”

Of course, the audience sees right away what’s wrong: “It’s not plugged in!” they yell. “That’s right,” I say, “and that’s exactly what’s wrong many times when our prayers are not answered.” I explain that we get our eyes on faith (the fan), expecting it to do the work, but we fail to look beyond the fan to its source of power, which is the Lord.

Jesus had faith all the time He was suffering. He had faith while in the Garden of Gethsemane. He had faith before the high priest and Pilate. He had faith when He was being ridiculed, abused, and mistreated. He had faith on the way to Golgotha. He had faith while hanging on the cross. He even had faith while His body lay in the tomb; He had absolute faith that God would not leave Him there but would raise Him up, as He had promised. But do you realize that for all His faith, nothing happened until the power of God came forth to bring about the Resurrection?

His faith kept Him stable until the Father’s appointed time for His deliverance. We can have all the faith in the world; but it will avail us nothing until it is “plugged in” to the source of power, which is the grace of God. Keep your eyes on God to deliver you—not your faith.

Topic: Asking for Nothing? [Monday 22, May 2017]

Memorise: Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. – John 16:24

Read: Luke 15:25-32 (KJV)

25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.

26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.

27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.

28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.

29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:

30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.

32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

Bible in One Year: Acts 3-4, Jeremiah 33:12-26, Hymn: Sing hymn 10

MESSAGE:

The benefits you derive from a person depends on how much that individual has and on how desperate you are to receive. If God is the One you need something from, then you are dealing with the Almighty God who has all things and who can do all things. Before approaching God, you need to first determine what you want and how much of it you want from Him. If your response is to ask God for nothing, I am afraid you will leave empty-handed. James 4:2 says,

“Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.”

In John 16:24, after several years together, the Lord addressed His disciples one day and said something that should shock us:

“Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”

They lived, ate and slept with the Fountain of living waters, yet they failed to drink from it. Some people take contentment to the extreme. They think it is covetousness to ask God for anything decent, whereas God is waiting for them to ask. How much have you asked from God? Are you like the disciples who asked for nothing? They asked for nothing at a time when others, who were not even walking with Jesus, were already using His Name to get benefits from Heaven (Luke 9:49-50). Even God knows that having nothing is not good for you. The container of joy of the fellow who asks for nothing will always remain empty, whereas God wants it to overflow.

In the parable of the prodigal son, the senior son is another example of those who swim in abundance but hardly ever ask for a bit of it. When his younger brother returned and his father declared a feast, he was annoyed. How could his father slaughter a cow to celebrate his brother’s return, whereas he had not even had a ram to celebrate his birthday with his friends? This was one major difference between the two brothers. While he never asked for the least of all he was entitled to, his brother did not mind exceeding his limits. The younger brother had asked for all he could get from his father and wasted it, and yet on his return, the father kept spending on his account. Whose cow was being slaughtered for the prodigal son? It was definitely that of the elder brother. This teaches us that what you fail to ask for may be taken over by those who ask. God gave you a mouth with which to ask. Ask and ask big! From today, as you ask, God will answer you speedily in Jesus’ Name.

Key Point: When we get to Heaven and some people see what they asked for in comparison with what they could have asked for, they will feel seriously cheated.

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: Blink and Think of God [Monday May 22, 2017]

Read: Deuteronomy 32:1–12, Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 16–18; John 7:28–53

He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye. Deuteronomy 32:10

“God is like an eyelid,” my friend Ryley said, and I blinked in surprise. What could she mean by that?

“Tell me more,” I replied. Together, we had been studying surprising pictures of God in the Bible, things like God as a laboring mother (Isa. 42:14) or as a beekeeper (7:18), but this one was new to me. Ryley pointed me to Deuteronomy 32, where Moses praises the way God takes care of His people. Verse 10 says that God shields and protects His people, guarding them “as the apple of his eye.”

But the word we translate apple, Ryley told me, literally means pupil. And what encircles and guards the pupil? The eyelid, of course! God is like the eyelid, which instinctively protects the tender eye. The eyelid guards the eye from danger, and by blinking helps remove dirt or dust. It keeps sweat out of the eye. It lubricates the eyeball, keeping it healthy. It closes, allowing rest.

As I considered the picture of God as an eyelid, I couldn’t help but thank God for the many metaphors He’s given us to help us understand His love for us. When we close our eyes at night and open them in the morning, we can think of God, and praise Him for His tender protection and care for us.

Prayer: Thank You, God, for using surprising metaphors to help us understand You better. Thanks for guarding us just as the eyelid guards the eye.

When you blink, remember to thank God for His protection.

Insight:

Jesus Himself verifies the truth of God’s protection when He tells us not to worry about our lives: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. . . . You are worth more than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:29–31; Luke 12:1–6).

In what situation do you need to remember that God protects and provides? How can you remind yourself and others of our worth in God’s eyes?

This message was written By Amy Peterson [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]

Topic: Silence the Critics [Monday May 22, 2017]

For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. – 1 Peter 2:15

I know from personal experience that when people start to criticize you and persecute you because you live by faith, your natural human response is to want to strike back. You want to start dishing out a little criticism of your own. Maybe if they get a taste of their own medicine, they’ll shut their mouths, you think.

But you know what? They won’t. Your words will just add fuel to their fire and they’ll criticize you harder and louder than they did before.

According to the Word of God, however, there is a way to silence them. Not by arguing with them. Not by defending yourself. But by keeping quiet and continuing to do the good works God has called you to do.

Jesus was highly criticized by the religious establishment of His day. But He never fought back. Instead, Acts 10:38 says He simply went about doing good.

When people start riding you about living the faith life, be like Jesus and just keep on blessing people. Keep on praying for folks who are oppressed by the devil and get them delivered. Keep on laying hands on the sick and getting them healed. Keep on doing what God has called you to do.

That will aggravate the devil because his primary purpose is to make you ineffective for the kingdom of God. He wants you to get wrapped up in the criticism. He wants to distract you, to get your mind off the job God has given you. He really wants you to quit.

Don’t do it! Instead, follow the instructions in 2 Timothy 3:14 and “continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of.” Silence the ignorant criticisms of men by continuing to do good and by continuing to live by faith. And when all their foolish words have faded away, you’ll still be standing strong.

Scripture Reading: Luke 23:1-9

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.