Topic: Choose to Surrender [Monday June 19, 2017]

For those whom He foreknew . . . He also destined from the beginning [foreordaining them] to be molded into the image of his Son . . . — Romans 8:29

According to the verse for today, one of God’s goals in our lives is to make us become like Jesus. He wants us to continue to become more like Jesus in our thoughts, in our words, in the way we treat other people, in our personal lives, and in our actions. Becoming like Jesus does not happen overnight; it’s a process we have to choose to embrace.

Romans 12:1 says I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication… This means we have to make a deliberate decision to give ourselves to God. God has given us a free will, and the only way we will ever belong to Him completely is to give ourselves freely to Him. He will never force us to love Him or serve Him. He will speak to us, lead us, guide us, and prompt us, but He will always leave the decision to surrender up to us.

God created human beings, not robots, and He will not try to program us to behave a certain way because He has given us the freedom to make our own choices—and He wants us to choose Him. He wants us to willingly put our lives before Him every day and say, “God, Your will be done, not mine.” That short, simple prayer is extremely powerful when we really mean it, and it represents the kind of full surrender God requires.

If God has been speaking to you or dealing with you about anything, I encourage you not to put off surrendering it any longer. Choose to obey His voice and surrender today. Ask Him to be your Strength and remember that through Him you can do all things.

Topic: Mother of Nations! (3)

Dear Reader,

I welcome you again this week to a most exciting teaching time. I started this topic by laying the foundation from the Word of God that fruitfulness is God’s will for you. I said that God has designed your marriage for fruitfulness which should be natural to man because God has declared it to be so.

Also, I have shed light on the channel through which this blessing of fruitfulness can be realized. Faith is still a potent force.

Today, I shall be showing you what to do when you are putting your faith to work – Change Your Countenance.

Hannah was a woman of many sorrows in the Bible days. She was barren and her darling husband took another wife. The new wife was fruitful; she did not stop at that, but she went ahead to afflict Hannah. Now there was a certain man… And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children… And her adversary also provoked her sore… therefore she wept, and did not eat (1 Samuel 1:1-7).

May be your story is like that of Hannah, I have a good news for you. God of Shiloh will make you fruitful. But see the step that Hannah took to defeat her adversary:  And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore… Eli thought she had been drunken… And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit… So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad… and the Lord remembered her… she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord.

Hannah the sorrowful became Hannah the joyful. She became praiseful and her womb began to yield her increase. The Word of God says: Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him (Psalms 67:5-7).

Stop murmuring, God is not against you. Stop complaining; He is not the cause of your trouble. Stop paying attention to distractions; look unto your God. When you look up to the sun, you don’t see the shadows. Look unto the Sun of Righteousness, and let your healing and deliverance from the bondage of barrenness come speedily.

When you wake up in the morning, let joy fill your heart and soul. Sing His praise and thank Him for the fulfillment of His promises. Thank Him for His Word that can never fail in your life. Thank Him and thank Him again. As you keep rejoicing in Him, everything that the devil has stolen is being replaced, and sooner than you even think, you will carry your baby. God did not give Hannah only one child as she requested, but many more children followed. This shall be your portion.

Serve God with Gladness

This is a covenant between God and you. When you fulfill your own part of the agreement, you are automatically free to enjoy its benefits. As you serve God, you can never remain barren. The Word of God says: And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee (Exodus 23:25). Check the Scriptures. No one who served God and was initially called barren remained so for life. God always intervened.

Remember Zechariah (Luke1:5-17). He was in the service of God, when his captivity of barrenness turned. Even though, he and his wife had passed the normal child-bearing age, the covenant of God – via service – will never be broken. As you wait on God for your own child, serve Him with your time, means and your life.

Fruitfulness is an inheritance that you have, if you are a child of God. Being born again is the gate-way to fruitfulness. If you are yet to surrender your life to Jesus Christ, you can do so now. By confessing your sin and accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. If you would want to give your life to Christ, you can say this prayer of faith: “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 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, Success in Marriage (Co-Authored) and You Shall not be Barren – David Oyedepo

Topic: A Miracle Inside You [Monday June 19, 2017]

Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. – Zechariah 4:6

I remember the first time I went with the Oral Roberts crusade team to a healing meeting. I was a student and a member of his aircraft crew. I had been a believer a little over four years and knew so little about the things of God, especially meetings like these. However, I was part of the team and eager to learn.

I followed the team inside this huge auditorium. It was filled with sick people. The place smelled, it was so full of disease. Just walking in there sent chills of fear up my spine.

I turned around and headed for the side door as fast as I could, talking to God under my breath. “Listen, I don’t belong here,” I told Him. “I’m getting on a Greyhound bus and heading home right now. They can get that airplane home without me.”

Once I was outside the door, I started talking louder. Then suddenly, I froze. My feet wouldn’t move. I knew it was God who’d stopped me because, inside, I was still on my way to the bus station. But outside, I was stuck to the sidewalk.

I looked up and hollered, “Turn me loose!” But I couldn’t move.

Desperately, I prayed, Please, let me go! I don’t have anything for those people.

That’s when God spoke back to me. Every cell in me heard it. He said, I know you don’t have anything to give them. But I do and that’s why I baptized you in My Spirit.

My feet suddenly turned loose and I knew I had a choice. One was life and one was death. So I turned around and went back.

I was ready to run. But God stopped me. He knew He was in me, and if I’d just stay and stir up what was in me, miracles would happen—and they did.

You have that same miracle-working God inside you. And there are people all around you who need Him. So quit waiting to feel like you have the power to do it and get out there. Once you do, you’ll discover that the power you’ve been waiting on has been right there inside you all the time…waiting on you!

Scripture Reading: Exodus 3:1-14

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: Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder [Monday June 19, 2017]

. . . set your sights on the rich treasures and joys of heaven . . . — Colossians 3:1 (TLB)

Have you ever been separated from someone you love? A boyfriend or girlfriend whom you have not seen in three or four months? Wait until you see each other! My wife and I have said goodbyes to each other; but when we met again, it was a honeymoon all over again. And that is what it will be like on that glorious day when Jesus Christ comes. We will be caught up in the air to meet Him, and it will be like two lovers coming together. What hope we have!

Prayer for the day: Lord Jesus, when You come again, how many hearts will rejoice. Until then, with expectant anticipation I eagerly wait for that glorious day!

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: The Old Man Is Gone [Monday June 19, 2017]

John 8:44 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do: he was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”

John 8:39-47

All of us were born in sin and were therefore “by nature” the children of the devil. That’s the reason we sinned. Our sins don’t corrupt our nature, but our corrupt nature makes us sin. That’s why we must be “born again” and become new creatures (or a new creation) in Christ.

The scriptures teach that everyone was born with a sin nature or old man. For the Christian, the old man is dead. We do not have a nature that is driving us to sin. If that is the case, then why do we seem so bound to sin even after we experience the new birth? The reason is that our old man left behind what Romans 6:6 calls a body. Just as a person’s spirit and soul leave behind a physical body at death, so our old man left behind habits and strongholds in our thoughts and emotions. The reason a Christian tends to sin is because of an unrenewed mind, not because of a sin nature.

Our old man ruled our thinking before we were born again. He taught us such things as selfishness, hatred, and fear and he placed within us the desire for sin. The old man is now gone, but these negative parts of his body remain. Until renewed, our minds continue to lead us on the course that our old man charted.

To experience the resurrection life of Jesus, we have to know that our old man is dead. Then, through the renewing of our minds, we destroy the body that the old man left behind. The end result is that we will not serve sin any longer.

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: Spiritually Blinded? [Monday June 19, 2017]

Text: Job 34:18-30

Key Verse: “For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings” (Job 34:21).

Lucie Eddie Campbell, the writer of the song, “He’ll understand and say well done”, carefully scripted about Jesus Christ, thus, “Misunderstood, the Savior of sinners, Hung on the cross; He was God’s only Son; Oh! hear Him call His Father in Heav’n, “Not my will, but Thine be done.” If there was anyone greatly misunderstood by the Jews of His time, it was Jesus Christ. They did not know His mission on earth; neither did they know the kingdom He was talking about that He would reign over.

They felt He had come to struggle with King Herod over the rulership of Jewish kingdom at the time. They railed against Him. They really did not understand because their eyes were blinded to His mission on earth. In our text, Elihu was sincerely moved by the plight of his friend, Job, and felt he needed to tell him some truth. He spoke as a man and very carnally too.

He felt Job’s misery was a result of his sins. His conclusion was that everyone who claimed to be righteous, but was suffering, was actually sinful. Although Elihu was right in his observations, he was, however, not privy to the cause of Job’s calamity. Believers must be slow to come to conclusion on issues they do not really understand. We must always ask God to reveal His mind to us, so that we would be able to apply our words in wisdom.

Today, many people’s faith have been destroyed by uncharitable words against fellow brethren and by sheer manifestation of costly ignorance. Whereas, we should be channels of blessing to all people and to fellow believers. As we go about our duties today, we must totally depend on God, whose eyes are upon the ways of man and restrain our tongues from rash and hasty outbursts.

Thought for the day: Be a channel of blessing and not a channel of destruction!

Bible Reading in one Year: Daniel 1-2

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: God Never Gives Up [Monday, 19th June 2017]

…for God is love. 1 John 4:8

Love – God – is so enduring that His endurance stretches beyond the limit we can’t ever imagine. This is a true picture of God. There was a time when it seems like God has given up on the whole human race. He said in Genesis 6:7 that “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.” This statement, looking intently into it, sealed the human race’s fate, right? No, it didn’t. God could not give up on the human race and through Noah He preserved the human race.

Scriptures say in 1 Corinthians 13:7 that “love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” God was always hopeful and never lost faith that the human race will turn to Him again, and that faith has been rewarded with billions of people turning their hearts to Him. Love never gives up, not even when the odds are not in its favour. Why? Because Love knows He is the strongest force on earth.

God will not give up on any man, no matter how lost that man is. Love – God – will go all out for him. The parables of the lost sheep and coin emphasizes this point. Love will always find the lost and bring him back to the fold. God never gives up, loses faith, become hopeless, and endures through every circumstances. Be like God. Don’t ever give up, lose faith, become hopeless,  endure through every circumstances.

Keep winning daily.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, thank You for not giving up on me, even when I rejected You several times. By the working of Your Spirit in and through me, I will never give up, lose faith or become hopeless, and I will endure through every circumstances, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Topic: Secrets of Accessing The Voice Of God [Monday June 19, 2017]

Scripture: Delight yourself in the Lord your God and He will give the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4.

Thought For The Day: God does not reveal His Will to people who have not surrendered their own will to Him.

The scriptures make it clear that accessing the Voice of God is key to becoming a voice on earth. People must listen to the man who listens to God. Access to Divine direction, therefore, is very important in the journey of life. When this access is lost, many people waste their lives in confusion and darkness.

Beloved, life is too precious to gamble with. For example, many people have gambled into marriage and gambled out and ended up battered, shattered, scattered in life, all because they missed Divine direction.

Now, what is the secret of accessing the Voice of God?

It is developing the passion to know and do the Will of God. Making up your mind not to take a step without God attracts His Voice and direction to you. On the other hand, existing with the mentality of having your will superior to the Will of God robs you of knowing the Will of God. God does not reveal His Will to people who have not surrendered their own will to Him.

Beloved, make up your mind not to do anything over a matter until you have heard from God.

Remember this: God does not reveal His Will to people who have not surrendered their own will to Him.

Assignment(s):

1. Make up your mind not to have another option to the will of God.

2. Desire God’s Will above everything else in your life.

Prayer: Give me the grace, LORD, to deny my will. Help me to align my will to Yours, LORD, in Jesus’ Name.

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

Quote: To hear from God is to be on Top on earth. Culled from 30 SECRETS TO THE TOP by Dr Paul Enenche.

Daily Reading: 1 Kings 20:1 to 21:29, Acts 12:24 to 13:15, Psalm 137:1 to 9, Proverbs 17:16.

Amazing Fact: A flamingo can only eat when its head is upside down.

Today In History: 19/6/1910 – The first Father’s Day was celebrated in Spokane, Washington.

Dunamis International Gospel Centre (DIGC), is a powerfully anointed church, headquartered at Abuja, Nigeria, with Dr Paul and Dr Becky Enenche, as the Senior Pastors. It is a power-packed arena where God’s Presence, Principles and Power are at work for the salvation, healing and restoration of human destinies and dignities.

Topic: Driven by God [Monday June 19, 2017]

Read: 1 Kings 8:54–63, Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 12–13; Acts 4:23–37

May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in obedience to him. 1 Kings 8:58

A few months ago I received an email inviting me to join a community of “driven people.” I decided to look up the word driven, and I learned that a driven person is someone highly motivated to succeed and who will work hard to achieve his goals.

Is it good to be a driven person? There is a test that never fails: “Do it all for the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). Many times we do things for self-glory. After the flood in Noah’s day, a group of people decided to build a tower in order to “make a name” for themselves (Gen. 11:4). They wanted to be famous and avoid being scattered all over the world. Because they were not doing it for God’s glory, though, they were erroneously driven.

Father, give me the desire to obey You and do everything for Your glory.

In contrast, when King Solomon dedicated the ark of the covenant and the newly constructed temple, he said, “I have built the temple for the Name of the Lord” (1 Kings 8:20). Then he prayed, “May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in obedience to him and keep the commands” (v. 58).

When our greatest desire is to bring glory to God and walk in obedience, we become driven people who seek to love and serve Jesus in the power of the Spirit. Let our prayer echo Solomon’s. May our “hearts be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands” (v. 61).

Prayer: Father, give me the desire to obey You and do everything for Your glory.

Do everything for the glory of God.

Insight:

As you work hard to achieve your goals, ask God to give you a humble and obedient heart that is fully committed to Him.

This message was written By Keila Ochoa [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]

Topic: Lust Pulls Its Victim [Monday 19, June 2017]

Memorise: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. – James 1:14

Read: James 1:12-16 (KJV)

12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.

Bible in One Year: Judges 9, Jeremiah 50:31-43, Hymn: Sing hymn 6

MESSAGE:

Many people have been taken captive in different ways. Some have become captives of war, while some others have fallen prey to traps set by the enemy. May God deliver us from satanic booby traps! However, you really need to exercise caution if you do not want to fall prey to the devil. Watch those things you take pleasure in because sooner rather than later, they can become the very things the tempter will use in enticing you! Today‘s memory verse tells us that temptations start with us: they emanate from what we secretly or openly long for. Some people nurse some unvoiced thoughts and ideas and do not really care whether those thoughts agree with the standard of Philippians 4:8. This standard states:

”…. whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. ”

For nonchalant Christians, the devil soon sets them up to reveal exactly what is in their heart, and thereafter they are confronted with temptations. An example here is Esau, who loved good food. He loved eating so much that the devil decided to use food to secure the loss of his destiny, and he fell for it. If you secretly admire the opposite sex, the devil will find out about it someday, and before long, you will be battling with sexual lust or some other form of immorality.

Men are drawn by their own lustful thoughts. Lust pulls the one lusting into further sin. Do everything possible to avoid lust because before you know it, it will bring you into the pit of sin. If you lust after money, before long, you will find yourself in a situation where you will be tempted to sell out on your salvation or betray someone who is close to you in exchange for money, like Judas lscariot and Joseph’s brothers did. What do you secretly lust after? If you ignore it, you will later regret it by the time the tempter is through with you. This is the time to prayerfully check and cut off any seemingly harmless pull from lust. Where there is a pull, it continues until there is a build-up. When the build-up has become formidable, it will become too difficult to resist its compelling force to sin. Therefore, do everything possible to love only those things that are good, and feed your mind on the word of God. Also, avoid the tendency for a build up by resisting the subtle lure of lust. Prayerfully keep your thoughts in check and closely monitor what you allow into your heart.

Action Point: To prevent sexual sins, covetousness, murders and the likes, stop it at the thought stage. Don’t allow it move from thought to lust.

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.