Topic: Getting Away with It [Monday July 10, 2017]

Read: Genesis 4:1–12, Bible in a Year: Job 41–42; Acts 16:22–40

By faith Abel still speaks. Hebrews 11:4

In June 2004, at a Vancouver art gallery, Canadian cross-country skier Beckie Scott received an Olympic gold medal. That’s interesting, because the Winter Olympics had been held in 2002—in Utah. Scott had won bronze behind two athletes who were disqualified months later when it was learned they had used banned substances.

It’s good that Scott eventually received her gold, but gone forever is the moment when she should have stood on the podium to hear her country’s national anthem. That injustice couldn’t be remedied.

God cares deeply about justice, about righting wrongs, and about defending the powerless.

Injustice of any kind disturbs us, and surely there are far greater wrongs than being denied a hard-won medal. The story of Cain and Abel shows an ultimate act of injustice (Gen. 4:8). And at first glance, it might look like Cain got away with murdering his brother. After all, he lived a long, full life, eventually building a city (v. 17).

But God Himself confronted Cain. “Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground,” He said (v. 10). The New Testament later recorded Cain as an example to avoid (1 John 3:12; Jude 1:11). But of Abel we read, “By faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead” (Heb. 11:4).

God cares deeply about justice, about righting wrongs, and about defending the powerless. In the end, no one gets away with any act of injustice. Nor does God leave unrewarded our work done in faith for Him.

Prayer: Father, as Your Son taught us to pray, we ask that Your kingdom will come, Your will be done to change this broken world. Thank You for redeeming us.

Sin will not ultimately be judged by the way we see it, but by the way God sees it.

This message was written By Tim Gustafson [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]

Topic: The Power of Hospitality (2)

Dear Reader,

What a wonderful week and what a unique opportunity to share with you the thoughts of God for the now!

In the last edition, I began sharing on the theme, “The Power of Hospitality.” I said that hospitality is a virtue from God. God’s plan for you includes hospitality. God’s divine design is to open the hearts of people everywhere it is practised.

Hospitality connects your heart with God’s heart. It is a hidden power reserved by God, for those who dare to practise it. In this unique edition, I shall be looking at “Our Motivation to Practise Hospitality.”

What is our motivation for practising hospitality? Does it come from a memory of the past and a hope for the future? Leviticus 19:33-34 says: And if a stranger sojourns with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

The instruction that God gave them was to love strangers “for you were strangers, in the land of Egypt.” Why should a person love strangers just because he has been a stranger? Perhaps he shouldn’t, but that’s not the point. The point is that they were strangers in Egypt, but aren’t any more! Why? Because, the Lord your God has been so good to them.

Hospitality, according to Apostle James, is an act that gives substance to our faith. The Bible rightly puts it this way:  What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? (James 2:14-16). Your profession of faith will not benefit anyone you could not reach out to physically.

Looking Back

When you look back, you remember that you owe your life to God’s act of hospitality. When you remember the point you started from, you will not grumble at helping others, who might be at that your starting point. As a born again Christian now enjoying the benefits of salvation, remember that you were once an alien in the ‘Egypt’ of sin and death. But God sacrificed His Son as the Passover Lamb on the cross (1 Corinthians 5:7), to give us eternal life (Ephesians 2:5). Thus, the Lord has blessed you so that you can bless others. Open the door of your heart to welcome those that are cold out there. Let the heat of the love of God keep them warm. The Bible says: Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid… (Matthew 5:14-16). Your light will shine, if you are hospitable.

Looking Forward

Then, you can look forward to the future and see yourself in the hands of the God of love who will meet all your needs in the wilderness of life. Also, look forward to the time your children will be aliens in a strange land, will need someone to take them in and they will eat of the harvest of your sown seed of hospitality.

What Happens When You Practise Hospitality?

When you practise hospitality, you experience the joy of becoming an extension of God’s hospitality; which will be the other way round if you lack hospitality. Also, when you practise hospitality, you experience the thrill of God’s power conquering your fears, stinginess and self-centeredness. The liberating power of God’s hospitality makes us new and radically different kind of people, who love to reflect the glory of His grace in the lives of others.

Hospitality is born out of love and God is love. You need to know God to be hospitable to people around you. Are you born again? Are you ready to accept Jesus Christ into your life? If you are set to become a child of God then, pray this prayer of faith with me: “Dear Lord Jesus, I come to You today acknowledging that I am a sinner who needs Your forgiveness. I believe You died for me and rose again on the third day. Forgive me my sins, wash me with Your Blood and write my name in the Lamb’s Book of life. Thank You Lord for saving me.”

If you prayed this simple prayer of faith with me, congratulations, you are born again! 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], 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).

A Promise For You From Bible Promises:

Topic: Devilish Influenced Pt One [10/07/2017]

And the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? hath not David rather sent his servants unto thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it? 2 Samuel 10:3. Read: 2 Sam 10:1-19

A wise man said, no man is an island of wisdom or knowledge. That is true because we depend on one another to survive in this world. Proverbs 20:18, Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war. Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. Proverbs 11:14. Counsel act as a guide to where you are going, this is because, many people have been where you are going, so their experiences would help you to avoid pitfalls. Godly counsel will help you to make war in the right direction and become victorious in life.

But in all these, you must be careful of where or who you seek counsel from because there could be demonic influenced counsel. Devilish counsels have actually destroyed nations, homes, kingdoms even the Church has also fallen victim of this disease. When David heard of the death of his friend, Nahash King of Ammon, he sent comforters to comfort his son Hanun who reign after his father. The princes of Ammon misinterpreted David’s intention, dealt shamefully with David’s messengers, ignited a war and eventually lost his kingdom. The Bible says, test all spirit whether they be from God. Test all counsel before sailing with it. Don’t destroy your life, kingdom, Church and your home because of evil counsel.

#BiblePromisesThought

* Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

Topic: The Lord Our Refuge [Monday 10, July 2017]

Memorise: But he passing through the midst of them went his way, – Luke 4:30

Read: Luke 4:16-30 (KJV)

16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

22 And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?

23 And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.

24 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.

25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;

26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.

27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.

28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,

29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.

30 But he passing through the midst of them went his way,

Bible in One Year: 1 Samuel 24-25, Ezekiel 5:1-12, Hymn: Sing hymn 9

MESSAGE:

God has several names and titles that will definitely benefit His children who have an understanding of the purpose and power in these names. It is one thing to know the names and titles of God and another thing to have the revelation behind them. When you receive the revelation of a particular name or title of God, you are brought into a covenant relationship with Him on the basis of that name, and as a result, you gain access to the benefits that such names or titles confer. May God reveal Himself to you by His Name today!

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” – Psalm 46:1

One of God’s powerful titles is that He is our Refuge. A refuge is a kind of shelter or a place of protection from harm, danger, trouble or pursuit of the enemy. Why is God a refuge? It is because He knows that in this evil world, people will encounter lots of dangerous situations and circumstances at some point in their lives. Do you know that even our Lord Jesus Christ faced dangers many times? However, because God the Father was His refuge, He was protected from them all. One instance of this is recorded in today’s Bible reading. After hitting the people of his childhood town of Nazareth with the truth, they became very angry with Him and decided to kill Him. Luke 4:29 says,

“And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.”

This was just one of the several failed attempts made on the life of Jesus Christ until He voluntarily surrendered Himself to die at Calvary (John 10:17-18). From today, every attempt on your life shall fail in Jesus’ Name! You shall not die before your appointed time! Every plan of premature death against you and members of your family shall be disappointed! God is our refuge because of the dangerous and evil times we may have to live through. One fellow who knew God as his Refuge was David. Boy, did he face great storms! Although his eyes saw troubles and great dangers, he could still say that while passing through treacherous valleys, he would not be afraid (Psalm 23:4). He could say this because he knew God as his refuge. God is our Refuge because He knows that the enemy will definitely pursue His children, and so they will need a place to hide. From today, you will hide safely in the Lord! The Lord will be a sure Refuge for you in Jesus’ Name!

Prayer Point: Father, in these perilous times, hide me under the shadow of Your wings.

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: How to Maintain Relevance [Sunday July 9, 2017]

Standing firm and fast at your God ordained duty post is the only way to maintain your relevance.

Refuse to be attracted to what is popular.

Stay at your appointed place if you don’t want to suffer disappointment in life.

If you don’t want to loose your defense, stay in your place.

Your safety, defence and security is in your place.

Rather than looking for position abide in your already found place. Your stardom is tied to your place.

Instead of looking for recognition, maintain relevance. Relevance is far more important than recognition.

Your fruit is tied to your root, remain rooted to remain fruitful.

Everyone has his God given capacity to shine in his place of assignment. Therefore, stand in your place, take root downwards and bear fruits upward.

Topic: The Spirit of Adoption [Sunday July 9, 2017]

For [the Spirit which] you have now received [is] not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship] in [the bliss of] which we cry, Abba (Father)! Father!  — Romans 8:15

The apostle Paul teaches us that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of adoption. The word adoption means that we are brought into the family of God, even though we were previously outsiders, unrelated to God in any way. We were sinners and separated from God, but God in His great mercy redeemed us, purchased us, and brought us close to Him once again through the blood of His own Son.

We understand adoption in the natural sense. We know that some children without parents are adopted by people who purposely choose them and take them as their own. What an honor to be chosen on purpose by those who want to pour out their love on them.

This is exactly what God did for us as believers in Christ. Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, we are now eternally part of His family, and His Spirit dwells in our spirit and cries out to the Father. God the Father decided before the foundation of the world was laid that anyone who loved Christ would be loved and accepted by Him as His child. He decided He would adopt all those who accepted Jesus as their Savior. We become heirs of God and joint heirs with His Son, Jesus Christ.

It is the knowledge of our family relationship to God that gives us boldness to go before His throne and let our requests be made known.

Topic: God Is Hungry For A Relationship [Sunday July 9, 2017]

“for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Revelation 4:11

In Genesis chapter one, God created the sun and the moon. He separated the night from the day. He made the waters, the firmament, the oceans and the seas. He puts everything in place. The mineral kingdom, the vegetation kingdom and the animal kingdom. And in verse 26 God says, “… Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” In chapter 2:18, “….the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.”

Those two scriptures tell us how God views relationship. First, he established a relationship between himself and man. He said let us make man in our image. In other words, let me make somebody I can relate or identify with. That means that God enjoys relationships. There is something that we give to God through our relationship.  We bring pleasure to God such that when he looks at us he shakes his head and say this is the work of my hands. This belongs to me. He enjoys it. That is why whatever you do in life, always think in terms of how it will affect your relationship with God. How will he look at it? Will it add joy to him?

He established right away that he was hungry for relationship. He created all the fishes and animals and did not say let us create them in our image. But he said let us create man in our image so they can be able to have emotions and be able to identify with me. Having created man in his image he turned around and said I am not yet done with man. It is not good for man to be alone. He went ahead and established another level of relationship through marriage because relationships are in levels.

Further Reading: Genesis 1:26-30, 2:18-24

Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Job 38-40; Evening- Acts 16:1-21

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: Losing Ground [Sunday July 9, 2017]

Text: 2 Kings 16:1-9

Key Verse: “At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day” (2 Kings 16:6).

Every society has its crop of deviants, even where the best of rules and regulations are installed. Ahaz, the 11th king of Judah proved himself one of the worst kings of the land. Despite having many good examples, both immediately in his father Jotham and historically in his ancestor David, he rejected these godly examples and walked in his own way.

He multiplied sins and brought Judah into full-fledged idolatry. He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, who worshiped before the calves made by Jeroboam. As if that was not enough, he made his sons to pass through the fire in open worship of Molech, contrary to God’s command. Ahaz, did not only reject the godly heritage of David, also, he embraced the ungodly ways of the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel. His impunity and lack of reverence for God led to monumental losses for Judah both geographically and politically.

They also became economically impoverished. The silver and the gold of the temple as well as those of the national treasury were given to the king of Assyria. Judah also came under the indirect rule of the king of Assyria. Eventually, Ahaz lost the promise of long life and peace. Ahaz lived a life that totally displeased the Lord and courted the anger and wrath of God. Biological attachment to a godly family or affiliation to a holy assembly without a personal encounter with the God of salvation cannot avail.

Those who are called by the name of the Lord, yet are full of their own ways and disregard the word of God or the gentle warnings of the Spirit will suffer loss, both here and in eternity, if they refuse to consider their ways and repent. Just like Ahaz and Judah, so is the lot of those who remain in hypocrisy, lust, extortion, pretence, lies, deception, greed etc. Examine yourself thoroughly today and repent, so that iniquity will not be your ruin.

Thought for the day: Sin breeds slavery and eternal damnation.

Bible Reading in one Year: Genesis 26-28

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: Keep the Weeds Out [Sunday July 9, 2017]

So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground. – Mark 4:26

Jesus compared the kingdom of God with the planting of seed and reaping the harvest. It’s a simple concept. One all of us understand. Why, then, aren’t all of us producing bumper crops every season? Because we’re sitting around waiting for God to do all the work.

He doesn’t operate that way. He’ll work with you, but He won’t do it all. There are some essential things you must do by faith if you want to have a crop to reap at harvest time.

First, you must sow the seed of the Word in faith, expecting it to grow. You must find precious promises from God in His Word, plant them in your heart and in your life.

Next, you must water the seed. Water it every day with praise. Water it with the spiritual water of the Word. That Word contains life and those seed promises can’t grow without it.

And finally, you have to keep the weeds out! When the weeds of unforgiveness, doubt, fear, discouragement (and all the other junk the devil tries to sow into your crop) try to enter in, get rid of them. They’ll choke the Word.

That’s going to take some diligence on your part. No one else will do it for you. You’re going to have to weed your own crop. So get tough about it. When a little weed pops up, kill it! Don’t hang on to it for even a moment. Pull it up by its roots. Spray it with the Word. Don’t be tempted to keep a wildflower when you can have the best—God’s best.

Don’t sit around waiting for God to produce your harvest. Start planting. Start watching over your land (your heart and your mind) to keep it moist, watered with the Word and free from weeds.

Commit to do your part and trust God to do His. You will have a bumper crop this season!

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4:22-32

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.