Topic: A Living Presence [Sunday September 24, 2017]

A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. — Luke 2:32

If we could look through mighty telescopes or listen to electronic soundings, we could hear and see the metallic stars which both Russia and America have put into space in the past years. None of these synthetic stars have brought peace to the world. But God’s star promised peace to the whole world, if man would believe and trust.

Too often man’s synthetic stars bring fear and anxiety. Our gadget-filled paradise, suspended in a hell of international insecurity, certainly does not offer us the happiness of which the last century dreamed.

But there is still a star in the sky. There is still a song in the air. And Jesus Christ is alive. He is with us, a living presence, to conquer despair, to impart hope, to forgive sins, and to take away our loneliness and reconcile us to God.

Prayer for the day: Your peace reaches all who love and trust You, living Lord Jesus. Beloved Savior, I praise Your holy name!

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: Understanding Truth – Sunday September 24, 2017.

Luke 20:44 “David therefore calleth him Lord, how is he then his son?”

Text: Luke 20:41-44

Jesus took an apparent contradiction in scripture and through combining these paradoxical statements (concerning the humanity and deity of Christ) brought forth the truth that Christ is God in human flesh. Both assertions (the fact that Jesus was David’s son and yet David’s Lord) were right at the same time.

It was correct that Christ was David’s son and it was also correct that Christ was David’s Lord. This meant that Christ also was God. However, Christ was not exclusively David’s son nor was He exclusively David’s Lord. These two truths had to be combined to arrive at the whole truth. No truth of God’s Word stands independent of the other truths in God’s Word.

A lack of balancing truth with truth is usually the cause of much contention among men when interpreting scriptures. Some argue that everything is by grace, while others emphatically state that without faith it is impossible to please God. The Bible teaches us that we need both grace and faith to be born again – not one without the other. The same is true of faith versus works, and many other truths in God’s Word. Error can simply be truth taken to an extreme at the expense of other truths.

One of the concerns of many Christians is, “How can I know I’m thinking and acting properly?” If we seek the Lord with a pure heart and singleness of purpose, then the Lord will show us anything we need to change. In other words, all we have to do is focus on the Lord with a pure heart, and He promises to show us any error. The only people who need to fear that they might be deceived are those who are not seeking the Lord with a pure and single-minded heart.

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 Tents — Sunday September 24, 2017.

Read: Genesis 12:4–9, Bible in a Year: Song of Solomon 4–5; Galatians 3

From there he went on towards the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent. Genesis 12:8

Growing up in Minnesota, a place known for its many beautiful lakes, I loved to go camping to enjoy the wonders of God’s creation. But sleeping in a flimsy tent wasn’t my favorite part of the experience—especially when a rainy night and a leaky tent resulted in a soggy sleeping bag.

I marvel to think that one of the heroes of our faith spent a hundred years in tents. When he was seventy-five years old, Abraham heard God’s call to leave his country so the Lord could make him into a new nation (Gen. 12:1–2). Abraham obeyed, trusting that God would follow through on His promise. And for the rest of his life, until he died at 175 (25:7), he lived away from his home country in tents.

We may not have the same call as Abraham did to live nomadically, but even as we love and serve this world and the people in it, we may long for a deeper experience of home, of being rooted here on earth. Like Abraham, when the wind whips our flimsy covering or the rain soaks through, we can look with faith for the city to come, whose “architect and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10). And like Abraham, we can find hope that God is working to renew His creation, preparing a “better country—a heavenly one” to come (v. 16).

Prayer: Lord God, You are our shelter and our foundation. May we trust You in the big things and small.

God gives us a solid foundation for our lives.

Insight:

Abraham is included in the list in Hebrews 11 of those who were “commended for their faith,” but did not receive “what had been promised” (v. 39). This chapter is a reminder that the only way to live and to please God is by faith (v. 6). Those living by faith were those who chose to live as “foreigners and strangers on earth”—people who had refused to return to the life they had left behind and who “[longed] for a better country—a heavenly one” (vv. 13–16).

Because of what Jesus did on the cross, we “are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household” (Eph. 2:19).

Ponder the way Jesus changed our status from foreigners and strangers to citizens of heaven and God’s children.

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

Topic: The Important Factor — Sunday 24, September 2017.

Memorise: And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. – Colossians 1:18

Read: Matthew 6:31-34 (KJV)

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Bible in One Year: Nehemiah 9, Ezekiel 46:1-12, Hymn: Sing hymn 3 – How Great Thou Art

MESSAGE:

First thing first, so the saying goes. As a believer in Christ, when you come before God’s presence, the most important person is not you but Him. Also, unlike most of us believe, at God’s Throne of Grace, the most important thing is not your request, but rather the worship you offer to Him. If you fail to get this right, and you fail to adjust your approach and attitude to reflect this truth, you will always have issues with God. Do you know that every time you approach God’s presence, it is like facing a test? Believe it or not, when you come before God, there are two crucial people at the meeting: God and you. One of these two must take pre-eminence. Similarly, God has a need and you also have a need; one of these two needs must be more important.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” – Matthew 6:33

Coming up next: Open Heavens 25 September 2017: Monday daily devotional by Pastor Adeboye – No Skipping Details

This scripture tells us about a divine order that must be followed. It also talks about God’s need and man’s need. It tells us that God has already provided for all man’s needs. In other words, God already has all you would need at any time in your life. For you to receive them, all that He requires from you is to simply meet His needs. Give Him what He wants. Put Him first and your needs last. Give Him quality thanks, praise and worship. When you follow Heaven’s protocol, you will easily receive a favorable answer to your requests. God expects you to come before His presence with thanksgiving, praise and worship, leaving your request as the last thing. Do you know that one way to know how important something really is to you is to measure the amount of time you give to it? When you pray for one hour and you use 50 minutes of the time presenting your request, you are telling God that you and your request are more important than Him and His desires. How do you think this makes God feel? In any case, He has already expressed His thoughts about this in 1 Samuel 2:30d, where He said:

“for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.”

Also, what you focus on becomes magnified. If you focus on your problems, they will be enlarged. But if you focus on God and what He wants, He will be magnified to the extent that your problems will fade into insignificance. By the time you eventually remember them, you would discover that they have been swallowed up by His Almightiness, leaving you with the answer to your prayers.

Key Point: If you make God your priority, He will make you His priority.

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 — There Is Honey In Every Lion: Be Positive! [Saturday, September 23, 2017]

(Psalm 92: 1-10).

A 92 year-old woman lost her husband of 70 years and she decided to move to a nursing home. Despite her age, she made sure that she woke up in the morning fully dressed by eight o’clock with her hair fashionably curled and make-up perfectly applied. Just before she entered the nursing home, at the lobby, she was joking and was as excited as an eight year-old that had just been presented with a new puppy. Even she was told that the rooms remaining were not so comfortable, hear her reply:

“That doesn’t have anything to do with it. Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not does not depend on how the furniture is arranged. It’s how I arrange my mind. As I grew older, I already decided to love this place. I have a choice: I can spend every day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift and as long as my eyes open, I ‘ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I ‘ve stored away…….Just for this time in my life. Old age is like a bank account; you withdraw from it, what you ‘ve put in. So, my advice to you is to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of life. Be positive!”

Great! No matter how life has been to you, refuse to give up! Be positive like this 92 year-old woman! Note that this world will not get better ( Daniel 12:10)! Problems will increase! Betrayals will be skyrocketed; disappointments will blossom, but in the midst of all these, listen to Oscar Hammer: “I know the world is filled with troubles and many injustices. But reality is, it is as beautiful as it is ugly. I think it is just as important to sing of beautiful mornings as it is to talk about slums.”

Hope in God! Be courageous/positive about life! In this last half of 2017 and beyond, your life will disgrace your adversaries!

THE LAGOS MOUNTAIN SEPTEMBER ANOINTING SERVICES AT LEKKI On Sunday September 24th. TIME: 7:00am. THEME: SATANIC EMBARRASSMENT MUST STOP. (Bring your oil & any point of contact. I shall lay hands on you and your oil). VENUE: Oando or Chisco B/Stop, Besides Oando Filling Station, Lekki, Lagos. Call: +234-706-3324-784, +234-909-0393-966 for more information.

Prayer Points: Take Song 2: Stand up for Jesus……….

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

2. Cancel every Satanic arrow of confusion, self-pity, fear or discouragement in Jesus Christ name.

3. I command today to bring greater grace, favor, mercy and special promotion in Jesus Christ name.

4. Pray any other prayer(s) as led. See pages 7-9 now.

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

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

Topic: God Isn’t Glorified Through Our Suffering [Saturday September 23, 2017]

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed and commissioned me to bring good news to the humble and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up [the wounds of] the brokenhearted, to proclaim release [from confinement and condemnation] to the [physical and spiritual] captives and freedom to prisoners. — Isaiah 61:1

Many Christians live under the false idea that God wants them to suffer. This creates a nonstop victim mentality.

Suffering is inevitable, but God does not find joy in our suffering. It blesses God when we have a good attitude during our suffering—and He wants us to be victorious! So why would we choose to remain bitter, angry, and wounded or depressed?

There’s one surefire way to overcome suffering with the right attitude: Set your mind, and keep it set, on things above, not on things of the earth. You must be armed with right thinking, or you will give up during hard times.

Set your mind and be fully aware that moving from being a victim to being a victor will not be a quick process. It will take time, but your experience will make you stronger and enable you to help others who are facing similar battles.

Get excited about your future and realize that going through something with God means that you will come out on the other side with a victory that cannot be taken away from you.

Prayer Starter: God, I need Your help to overcome a victim mentality. I choose to set my mind on things above so that I can have the right attitude. With Your thoughts and truth inside me, I know I can overcome.

From Joyce Meyer’s Ministries

Topic: End Time Deceivers — Saturday September 23, 2017.

Text: Mark 13:1-13

Key Verse: “And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you” (Mark 13:5).

On November 18, 1978, in what became known as the “Jonestown Massacre,” more than 900 members of an American cult called the Peoples Temple died in a mass suicide-murder, under the direction of their leader Jim Jones (1931-78). In the 1970s, following negative media attention, the preacher moved with some 1,000 of his followers to the Guyanese jungle, where he promised they would establish a utopian community. On November 18, 1978, while armed guards stood by, Jones ordered his followers to ingest poison-laced punch.

Christ was asked questions in our text concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, the signs of His Second Coming and of the end of the age. In reply, He warned about false prophets coming in His name to deceive many as a sign of His second advent. Wars and rumors of wars will characterize the period with earthquakes happening in quick successions in divers places.

The persecution and killings of believers will then increase as the world demonstrates more hatred towards Christ’s followers just before He returns. He spoke about the gospel message reaching all nations before the end of the age comes.

False prophets have been existing right from Bible days. They teach destructive heresies. Scripture tells us that false teachers introduce or bring in damnable heresies deceptively, quietly and secretly. False teachers are very active in every part of the world today and have penetrated the Christendom. These are the very last days indeed. And the signs are pointing to the imminent return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Believers must rise to preach the pure gospel truth to counter the error being peddled by false prophets.

Thought for the day: False teaching is the poison of the soul.

Bible Reading in one Year: Hebrews 1-4

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: Enjoy God Every Day [Saturday, 23rd September, 2017]

….in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Psalms 16:11

The most important thing that a Christian must always be conscious of is the presence of Christ in his or her life. Christ in us is what makes us who we are. Not just having the life of God in our spirit, but having the very presence of God living in and within us, through the habitation of God’s Spirit of our bodies. God’s presence in us is what matters most than anything in the world, and God wants us to enjoy Him daily, to enjoy His presence in and within us. To enjoy the serenity and peace, the love and joy that His presence brings to us.

God’s presence in us is what makes all the difference. It is a mark of honour to us. It elevates us to a place of honour and glory. God’s presence in and within us is for our daily enjoyment, to explore the ambience, grandeur and fragrance of God. To revel in the beauty of His holiness and to bask in the eternal pleasure that His presence brings. God with us is the best thing that has ever happened in human history. The sweetness of God’s loving presence is for us to enjoy daily. The Holy Spirit within us wants us to experience God and enjoy Him daily. When you spend time with God’s Spirit in worship, the fullness of joy that is available in His presence is made available to us. No wonder we get so excited when we have corporate worship in churches.

But, you see, God’s intention is not just for us to enjoy the pleasure and joy of His presence from corporate worship in church, He wants us to enjoy it personally everyday. This is why personal time of worship and reverencing God and just enjoying His presence is important. The same joy and pleasure you get from corporate worship, you will also get from personal worship. But this time, it becomes more intimate. You’ve got all of God to enjoy yourself. Guess what. This is the craving of God Himself. He longs for this kind of worship, He wants to get so intimate with you and just literally hold you in His embrace and whisper sweet words to you. Wouldn’t you rather enjoy God every day?

Keep winning daily.

Wise Action:

Create time to enjoy God in pure heartfelt worship. Don’t make any requests, just worship God.

A Promise For You From Bible Promises:

Topic: You Need To Restitute In This Area. Pt One [23/09/2017]

And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. Luke 19:8. Read: Lk 19:1-10

Both in the old and new testament, the bible teaches or emphasises restitution. Restitution simply means, making wrong right. Restoring back what has been ignorantly, forcefully or cunningly collected from a person. Today in Christendom, many of our ladies are guilty of this, in fact, they need to restitute to some Christian brothers they’ve cunningly exploited.

You are asking how? As a Christian lady, you dupe a Christian brother when he approached you for a marriage relationship and deep within you, you know that you cannot marry the brother, and out of his love for you, he kept bringing you gifts in anticipation that you will agree to his proposal and you kept collecting them. What it means is that, you are deceptive and covetous. You are just like someone who said, I don’t like this food yet he kept inhaling the aroma of the food. I know you did not force him to give you gifts, but your conscience bears you witness why he is bringing it. As a child of God, you don’t need to collect it from him, turn it down from him to know you don’t need him and his gifts. If you have been involved in this act, you must restitute as a sign of a genuine Christian and if you have not been involved, don’t!. You must be different from the world, don’t exploit your fellow brethren.

#BiblePromisesThought

Don’t start what you can’t finish. If you don’t love him, don’t collect his gifts.

Topic: How to Handle Temptation [Saturday September 23, 2017]

. . . who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able . . .  — 1 Corinthians 10:13

It is Satan’s purpose to steal the seed of truth from your heart by sending distracting thoughts. It should encourage you to know that the devil considers you a good enough Christian to use as a target.

The difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is: though they both may have good and evil thoughts, Christ gives His followers strength to select the right rather than the wrong. You see a man going to prayer meeting with a Bible under his arm. That man was undoubtedly tempted to stay at home, go bowling, or to some other activity. But, as these diverse thoughts came to his mind, he made the right selection, and headed for the church.

Another man walks through the night to a bar. It no doubt occurred to him that he had best stay home with his family. But he yielded to the negative thought, and gave in to his lower appetites.

It is not the temptations you have, but the decision you make about them that counts.

Prayer for the day: Decisions will have to be made each day, Lord. With Your strength and wisdom, help me to make the right ones

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.