Topic: How to Have a Successful Courtship

Dear Reader,

I welcome you again to this unique platform in Jesus’ name! This month, I will be teaching on “How to Have a Successful Courtship.”

Today, I want to show you The Keys to a Successful Courtship. Courtship is the period when you get more acquainted with your would-be spouse. Despite the fact that you are getting closer to each other and getting to know each other better, the period is not the same as marriage. You can’t move in or sleep with your would-be spouse, in order to know each other better. It is unhealthy and doesn’t make for a good foundation in your marriage.

What, then, is courtship?

Courtship is the period between when two people agree to marry and when they actually do. Courtship is the process of selecting and attracting another for an intimate relationship. Remember, a successful courtship is a necessary step towards a successful marriage. The reason many people experience misunderstandings and all kinds of trouble in marriage is because they did not have a successful courtship.

Keys To A Successful Courtship

• Spend quality time together: To have a successful courtship, the man and woman must spend quality time with each other deliberating on issues such as their dreams, interests, view points, callings and assignments, etc. This is why it is very important that you spend time in meaningful discussions, not just looking at each other and saying, “Oh you are so beautiful. I love you so much.” If you want to know a serious Christian, listen to him when he talks. It is impossible to separate an individual from his words. For instance, if your fiancé/fiancée only talks about money, it is an indication that he or she is a money-minded person. If on the other hand, he is only interested in your physique, you will hear him speak of nothing else but your physical features. Your words reflect your thoughts. The Word of God says: How can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh (Matthew 12:34).

When my husband and I were in courtship, every time I heard him speak, I knew where he was heading for. I knew his convictions, which were my convictions also. So, it became easy for both of us to flow together. It is very important, therefore, that you create time for your would-be husband or wife to discuss about issues pertaining to your future.

• Public appearance: This is very simple and significant if you want to have a successful courtship. As an intending couple, you must be seen together in public meetings. These are limited only to church services, wedding, matriculation and graduation ceremonies, public lectures, academic seminars, etc. However, be careful how you conduct yourselves in public. For example, how your partner responds to issues such as reactions to annoying situations and the way he/she relates to people is very important. This will be a sign of what the future holds. For instance, if he or she lacks Christian character, you’re heading for trouble by going into marriage with such a person. If you find out that, for any social reason, such as height, age, educational differences, physical defects, personal carriage, eating manner, etc., you are ashamed to appear in public with your future husband, you may never make a good couple. Be real and do not go through courtship with the eyes of your mind closed!

• Having pleasure in common things: You must know that courtship is not just a time of prayer, fasting and studying the Word of God. Although these are of great importance, courtship is also a time of enjoying common things together. For instance, both of you may enjoy taking pictures. It is okay! Have fun, but avoid anything that will lead to sin. Such pictures can be kept for future references. The other day, I saw some pictures that my husband and I took before we got married more than thirty years ago! It was a lot of fun! Those times help you discover whether you are actually meant for each other or not.

• Good communication: The basis for a fruitful and lasting relationship in any family is a good and effective communication. Lack of communication in a relationship is the reason for so much tension in many homes. Good communication is the “mortar” that cements the marital relationship. Communication is the key to a successful courtship and marriage. A wise man said, “If you talk together, you stay together.” I believe it is true, and you know, marriage is all about living together!

One of the easiest ways to communicate during courtship is through letters. This becomes very handy, especially if the individuals involved are not in the same city or town. There are also other means of communication such as telephone, etc, especially in these days of fast electronic media revolution.  We have e-mails, facebook, twitter, instagram, etc., as other fastest means of conveying messages.

The first step to take, in order to have a successful courtship is to give your life to God through His Son, Jesus Christ. Giving your life to Christ entails confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Lord and personal Saviour. That is what being born again is all about. If you want to give your life to Christ and be born again, please say this prayer: “Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins and cleanse me with Your Blood. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for delivering me from sin and satan to serve the living God and thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom.”

Congratulations, you are now born again! If you prayed this simple prayer of faith with me, 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 to share your testimonies with me through [email protected], 07026385437 OR 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).

Pastor Faith Oyedepo is the wife of Bishop David Oyedepo, the founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide a.k.a. Winners’ Chapel, and Senior Pastor of Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, Nigeria.

Topic: The Enemy Is Totally Defeated — Tuesday September 5, 2017.

“He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.” (Colossians 2:15 MSG)

Our Lord Jesus Christ has stripped the devil of his rights over us. However, that’s not the end of it. The victory that Christ wrought for you as a believer did not stop with him stripping the devil of the rights to waylay and harass you. He went further to strip all the spiritual tyrants of their sham authority as captured in today’s text. Did you see that? The Bible calls them “spiritual tyrants”, having “sham authority”. And they were all disgraced publicly by Jesus Christ.

In the old Roman tradition, whenever victory parades were conducted after the soldiers returned from the war, their captives were dragged on the streets, naked and bound in chains to show complete dominance over their enemies. That is exactly what Christ did to the devil. He completely shamed and disgraced the enemy. What does that tell you? The enemy that you are afraid of, is totally defeated and is afraid of you. Jesus has won total victory for you, and there is no more battle to fight. Rather, all that you need to do is to stand on the existing victory that Christ wrought for you, and enforce it. Enforce your victory over the devil in all areas of your life.

The devil plays on the ignorance of believers and deceives them. This is why you must know and enforce what Christ has done for you. Stand your ground against the enemy in whatever shape or form he comes against you, and enforce your victory. I declare over your life that you will win in all competitions of life. No devil will steal or truncate the plan of God for your life. The God of All Sufficiency will manifest himself in your life.

Further Reading: Colossians 2:13-15, 1 John 5:4-5

Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Psalms 146-147; Evening- 1 Corinthians 15:1-28

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: Start Speaking Faith Now [Tuesday September 5 2017]

…Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. – Matthew 12:34-35

Words won’t work without faith any more than faith will work without words! It takes them both to put the law of faith in motion.

Many believers don’t realize that. They’ll continually speak words of doubt and unbelief, then they’ll jump up one day and say a couple of faith words and expect mountains to move—and to their dismay, they don’t.

Why not?

Because as Matthew 12:34-35 says, it’s the words that come from the heart that produce results. The person who just throws in a couple of faith words now and then isn’t speaking them from the abundance of his heart, so they’re not effective.

Does that mean you shouldn’t start speaking words of faith until you’re sure you have the faith to back them?

No! Speaking words of faith is good spiritual exercise. If you want to receive healing by faith, for example, fasten your mind and your mouth on the Word of God where your health is concerned. Instead of talking about how miserable you feel, quote Isaiah 53:5. Say, “Jesus was wounded for my transgressions. He was bruised for my iniquities. The chastisement of my peace was upon Him; and with His stripes, praise God, I was healed!”

If you’ll continue to meditate on those words and continue to say them, the truth in them will begin to sink in. They’ll take root in your heart and begin to grow. And eventually you really will be speaking from the abundance of your heart.

When that happens, it won’t matter what the circumstances look like. You’ll know you have what you’ve been believing for and the devil himself won’t be able to talk you out of it. You’ll cross the line from hope to faith, and you’ll start seeing those mountains move!

Scripture Reading: Matthew 12:33-37

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: The Mighty Displaced — Tuesday September 5, 2017.

Text: Joshua 15:21-47

Key Verse: “Ashdod with her towns and her villages, Gaza with her towns and her villages, unto the river of Egypt, and the great sea, and the border thereof” (Joshua 15:47).

Sun Tzu, a Chinese General and philosopher once said that: “Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win”. Joshua, in dividing the promised land by lot before the entire territory was conquered militarily, had a winning strategy.

From our text, the portion given to the tribe of Judah remained the very largest in proportion to the inheritance of the other tribes. The boundaries and the territories are described in Joshua 15. The territory was divided into four sections, including pasture land, valley or plain fertile land, the hill country or the mountains of Judah; and the wilderness, near the Dead Sea.

The resources of the soil were great. In describing the territories given by lot to the tribe of Judah, many cities were named with the Philistines popular towns of Ekron, Ashdod and Gaza and their surrounding villages. There was almost perpetual war between the Philistines and the Israelites with both conquering and losing at different times. The hostilities did not cease till the time of Hezekiah, when they were entirely subdued. The allocation of territories by Joshua was therefore a powerful precursor to Israel’s dominion over those enemy nations. Believers must be mentally and spiritually prepared to displace the giants in God-appointed areas of ministry by faith.

The battle is no longer physical but spiritual, against principalities and powers. In the mind of the overcomers, the giants are defeated long before the battle starts. Truth is, we do not live in a land of giants now but there are things that seek to exalt themselves above God or present themselves as hindrances between us and where God wants us to be. We can conquer by faith in God if we fight manfully in the name of our Lord.

Thought for the day: That which you keenly believe, you receive.

Bible Reading in one Year: Leviticus 15-17

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: The Good Side of Wealth [Tuesday 5, September 2017]

Memorise: “The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” – Proverbs 22:7

Read: 1 Chronicles 4:9-10

9 And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.

10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.

Bible In One Year: Ezekiel 33-35. Hymn: Sing Hymn 11

MESSAGE:

Wealth is generally interpreted as the abundance of goods or money. The New Testament occasionally mentioned wealthy individuals such as Joseph of Arimathaea, the rich man in Like 16:1, Cornelius in Acts 10, Prisca and Aquila, etc. However, positive examples of wealth are few in the Bible, references to personal wealth almost always carries some negative result.

Jesus made mention of a few. For instance, in Mark 10:23-26, He said it is extremely difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. In Mark 4:19, He said the quest for wealth chokes God’s Word. However, there is good side of wealth, having material prosperity or being wealthy is not a ticket to hell fire after all. God has created an abundance of good things for human enjoyment, but those who have material wealth should understand the true nature of earthly riches and acknowledge God as the source of all blessings. Hence, riches should be thankfully received, and Christians must value heavenly riches more than earthly wealth.

Prayer Point: Father, please send poverty far away from my family and make me a divine treasurer.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional for Teen’s 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.

Topic: With God’s Grace Comes Great Ability — Tuesday September 5, 2017.

Text: 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 (NIV), Ephesians 3:7 (NKJV)

For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them — yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. *… I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.

The grace of God is so powerful that it is accompanied by divine enablement and empowerment. The enablement that comes with God’s grace causes you to function beyond your human ability. You function just like God. After we are saved by receiving God’s grace, we are empowered to do good works, Eph.2:8-10. This is why, in Philippians 4:13 (NKJV), Apostle Paul boldly declared, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Child of God, the grace of God is strengthening you right now. You too can also do all things through God’s grace which is at work within you. 2Peter 1:3 reveals to us that in Christ, God has given us all that pertains to life and godliness. In line with this, you must stop thinking that you do not have the ability to live or serve God in a certain way.

God has given you all of that ability in Christ. If you are ready to receive it abundantly like many people like Apostle Paul did, you will do great exploits. There is grace upon grace available for you in Christ, (John 1:16); all manner of grace. In the New International Version, 2Corinthians 9:8 says, “and God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” This verse doesn’t say it will happen sometimes or only in certain areas of your life. It says at all times and in all things. As you put God’s grace to work today by faith, you will have great testimonies of exploits.

Faith Declaration: The abundant grace of God that I have received in Christ Jesus is filling me with God’s great power and ability right now. I shall do the impossible and accomplish great exploits today.

Bible In A Year Reading Plan: Psalm 146-147; 1 Corinthians 15:1-28

Empowered to do exploits…

CGMI Above Only Daily Devotional, was written by Most Rev. M.E. Benson-Idahosa, Archbishop of Church of God Mission International, CGMI.

Topic: A Little Bit of Paradise — Tuesday September 5, 2017.

Read: Romans 8:18–23; Revelation 21:1–5, Bible in a Year: Psalms 146–147; 1 Corinthians 15:1–28

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Revelation 21:5

Gazing out my open study window, I hear birds chirping and hear and see the wind gently blowing in the trees. Bales of hay dot my neighbor’s newly tilled field, and large, white cumulus clouds stand out in contrast to the brilliant blue sky.

I’m enjoying a little bit of paradise—except for the almost incessant noise of the traffic that runs past our property and the slight ache in my back. I use the word paradise lightly because though our world was once completely good, it no longer is. When humanity sinned, we were expelled from the garden of Eden and the ground was “cursed” (see Gen. 3). Since then the Earth and everything in it has been in “bondage to decay.” Suffering, disease, and our deaths are all a result of humankind’s fall into sin (Rom. 8:18–23).

Yet God is making everything new. One day His dwelling place will be among His people in a renewed and restored creation—“a new heaven and a new earth”—where “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Rev. 21:1–4). Until that day we can enjoy the bright splashes and sometimes wide expanses of breathtaking beauty we see around us in this world, which is just a small foretaste of the “paradise” that will be.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You that in this world that can seem ugly with sin and decay You allow us to see glimpses of beauty.

God is making all things new.

Insight:

In Revelation 21:1–5, the word new means “of a new kind,” which is different from an updated version of something. The impact of the Revelation 21 kind of new is that when God makes “everything new” (v. 5), it will be unlike anything we have ever seen or experienced!

This message was written By Alyson Kieda [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]

Topic: The Truth Sets Us Free — Tuesday September 5, 2017.

Come unto me, all ye that labor . . . — Matthew 11:28

The mark of a true Christian is found in his personal relationship to the Person of Jesus Christ. Christianity is Christ. Christ is Christianity. I speak reverently when I say that Jesus is more than His ideas. All that He said was true, but without Him even the truth would have been powerless. Men know the power of truth, and truth is that which sets men free. Jesus said, “I am the truth.”

Prayer for the day: Thank You, Jesus, for the shackles that have been broken in my life!

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: God’s Voice – Tuesday September 5, 2017.

John 12:28 “Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

Text: John 12:20-28

This is the third time recorded in the gospels that the Father spoke in an audible voice to or about Jesus (First, at Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River and second, at the transfiguration of Jesus).

This verse makes it clear that it was a voice that the Father spoke in; however, there were different reports of the same event. Some people heard a voice and thought it was an angel who spoke. Others thought it was thunder.

This illustrates “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14). A carnal man with a hardened heart will always find some natural explanation for the supernatural even if he heard an audible voice from God.

A hard heart keeps us from perceiving spiritual truths and stops us from understanding. When a person doesn’t understand God’s Word, Satan finds no resistance when he comes to steal it away. A hard heart keeps us from remembering. This isn’t to say that facts or scriptures can’t be recalled, it’s the spiritual lessons learned that have been forgotten. Likewise, some people can quote scripture or remember what the sermon was about, but they can’t perceive the spiritual life in it or retain what they did perceive, because of a hardened heart.

Jesus didn’t need to hear this audible voice of God because he had a more sure word of prophecy than the audible voice of God from heaven (2 Pet. 1:18-20). Jesus knew the “voice” of the Old Testament scriptures that spoke of the Christ being glorified and He could also hear the Father’s voice in His heart as He had on so many other occasions. This audible voice didn’t come to reassure Jesus, but it came to those who had ears to hear, so that they might believe.

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: Desperation Generates Overflow — Tuesday 5, September 2017.

Memorise: And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD.  – 1 Samuel 2:21

Read: 1 Samuel 1:9-18 (KJV)

9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD.

10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.

11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.

12 And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth.

13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.

14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.

15 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.

16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.

17 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.

18 And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.

Bible in One Year: 2 Chronicles 9-10, Ezekiel 36:16-32, Hymn: Sing hymn 5: The Great Physician

MESSAGE:

If you have a heart desire which you have asked for, but you are yet to receive it after a long time, it might just be that you are either not yet desperate or you are not desperate enough. The truth is, desperate people break all barriers, respect no decorum and refuse to take ‘no’ or ‘wait’ for an answer. In the end, desperate people often even get more than they bargained for, while the non-desperate sometimes barely receive the minimum desire they crave. Hannah’s experience serves as an example of what desperation can produce in the life of a person. She was barren and she prayed for the fruit of the womb for several years but nothing happened. Instead, her mate mocked her even more; she then became desperate. In her desperation, she made a vow which provoked her miracle. Although she only asked for one child, her desperation gave her an additional five. She experienced an overflow! If you can take your desperation to the limits. You can get beyond your request today.

Moreover, desperation can cause you to ask for the impossible. When you are desperate, you are not bothered about processes or possible means. You could ask for what most people will consider difficult, and you will get it. Elisha is a case in point. Elisha was desperate for the power of God, and so when he tendered his request, his master told him he had asked for a hard thing. What did he ask for? He requested a double portion of the Spirit upon his master. Elijah said that was a difficult request, but Elisha got it because he was desperate (2 Kings 2:9-15). How desperate are you? Do you believe God can do all things? Do you really believe that your request will not be difficult for God? Are you sick and trusting God for healing? My God has enough power to heal a whole nation in just one night. When the Israelites were leaving Egypt, none of them was feeble. Speaking about this, the Holy Spirit in Psalm 105:37 said:

“He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.”

Can you imagine that? These people had been beaten, tortured and bruised; yet, in one single night, all of them were healed! If He can heal a nation in one night, can’t He heal your whole family at a go? Yes He can! However, how desperate is your desire for Him to do this? Are you ready to hold on to Him today and say, “Father, if you do not heal me, I won’t let You go?” The Lord will visit you today, and your story will change for the best.

Key Point: Desperate people are too hot to handle; even the devil gets out of their way.

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.