Topic: Joy in the Waiting [Friday June 9, 2017]

Key Scripture: Proverbs 16:9

“A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure.”

We think and plan in temporal terms, and God thinks and plans in eternal terms. What this means is that we are very interested in right now, and God is much more interested in eternity. We want what “feels good” right now, what produces immediate results, but God is willing to invest time. In fact, God is an investor; He will invest a lot of time in us because He has an eternal purpose planned for our lives.

God sees and understands what we don’t see and understand. He asks us to trust Him, not to live in constant reasoning and be frustrated because things don’t always go according to our plan.

Without abundant trust in God, we will never experience joy and enjoyment. We have ideas about how and when things should happen. Not only does God have a clearly defined plan for our lives, He also has the perfect timing for each phase. Psalm 31:15 assures us that our times are in His hands. Fighting and resisting the timing of God is equivalent to fighting His will.

Often, we fail to realize that being out of God’s timing is the same thing as being out of His will. We may know what God wants us to do, but not when He wants us to do it.

Final Thoughts and Action Items

Once God speaks to us or shows us something, we are filled up with it. It’s as though we are “pregnant” with what God has said. It is very much like the birth of a child. First, the seed is planted in the womb, then come the nine months of waiting, and finally, a baby is born. During those nine months, there is a great deal happening—but everything on the inside is hidden from view.

And just like parents are “expectant”, they aren’t just standing still—a lot of preparation is happening—they are very active! Clothes are being bought, nurseries are being painted, even routes to the hospital are being carefully planned. Essentially, this time of “waiting” is filled with joy because of what’s to come. I think this is what God is looking for out of His kids. That although the promises haven’t quite been born yet, we are in the active state of preparation, eagerly anticipating what’s to come. That we rely on His timing to fulfill the thing He’s promised for our lives.

Action Items

What are some of the things God has promised to you and how are you in the active state of waiting?

Are you not just waiting on those things, waiting on God’s timing, but are choosing to live in a state of joy?

What other ways can you decide to enjoy the life Christ died to give you? Look up scriptures regarding what it means to live in God’s will and how you can be a successful Christian.

Topic — God: A Wonder [Friday 9, June 2017]

Memorise: For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.– Isaiah 57:15

Read: Isaiah 57:15-16 (KJV)

15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

16 For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.

Bible in One Year: Joshua 12-14, Jeremiah 45:1-46:12, Hymn: Sing hymn 3

MESSAGE:

“Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? – Exodus 15:11

One amazing thing you need to know about our God is that He is a wonder! For example, In 1 John 4:8, the Bible says that God is love, and yet in Hebrews 12:29, the same Bible says this God is a consuming fire! When you hear that God is love, you will think of embracing Him, but just then, you also hear that He is a consuming fire and you freeze, asking yourself if you want to embrace fire! Another wonder of God has to do with His size or form. The Scriptures says God is so big that the heaven and the heavens of heaven cannot contain Him (1 Kings 8:27). It also says that Heaven is His throne and the earth is His footstool, meaning that as He sits in Heaven His legs touch the earth (Isaiah 66:1). Just imagine how great and long those legs are! What of His arms? The Bible says His arms are everlasting and so long they can reach any distance (Deuteronomy 33:27). When you try to picture how super-massive this God is, then you will begin to wonder how such a God can become small enough to reside inside of you. 1 John 4:4 says,

“Ye are of God little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

God is truly awesome and a wonder we cannot comprehend. As massive as God is, He can still relate with us at our tiny, very little level. As high as He is, He can still reach down to those who are lowly placed or have a heart of humility. In fact, from the height of heights, God is able to see those who are of a humble spirit. And He relates with them while ignoring the proud. Are you like God? Is the position you occupy not distancing you from those who are not as fortunate or as privileged as you are? If you are truly of God, your privileged status will not hinder you from reaching out to those who are impoverished. Recently, the wife of one of the richest men on earth visited an African country and identified with the poorest people there by trekking a good distance to fetch water like the poor women there. She carried a bucket of water on her head and trekked all the way back. She also joined in washing the dishes in a very poor neighbourhood. That is a minute example of what Jesus did by leaving His heavenly throne and becoming a man (Philippians 2:5-8). Can you leave your throne to reach out to the lowly?

Key Point: If you have truly encountered Jesus Christ, there is nobody that you cannot relate with.

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.

Sleeping seems like such an unremarkable event, but there is so much more to sleep than we realize. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 5 interesting things that happen when you sleep.

You Sleep in Stages

When you first fall asleep, you typically have a sleep cycle that starts with the NREM (non-rapid eye movement) stage, before you progress into a deeper NREM 2 and then NREM 3 (also called slow wave sleep). You finally land in the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep, which is the stage most of your dreams occur. All these stages happen between 90 to 120 minutes, after which you wake up for like a second (most times without even realizing it) and then begin stage 1 again.

Your Body Temperature Drops

This is why it’s so easy to fall asleep when in a cool room or after a cool shower. This coolness actually mimics what your body is doing naturally, making it easier for you to immediately sleep off, because while you sleep your core temperature drops. In addition, during the REM stage of your sleep, your body is unable to thermoregulate, so if you get cold, your body won’t shiver to build up inner warmth, until you’re awake.

You’re Temporarily Paralyzed

But only for a few minutes – like 20 minutes. This paralysis usually happens during the REM stage (where most of your dreams occur). It’s what sometimes prevents you from acting out your dreams. So you might be an action hero in the dream world, jumping up and down, fighting here and there, but in the real world you’re curled up on your side, sleeping like a baby. However, the paralysis doesn’t last for very long.

Your Body Regulates Hunger Hormones When You Sleep

This is why you feel hungry when you wake up after having poor quality sleep. Unfortunately, you tend to eat higher- calorie foods when you feel this hunger, leading to weight gain. Hunger-regulating hormones are unable to work as they should when you don’t sleep well, this is why sleeping well is recommended for those who either want to keep fit or lose some weight.

Hypnagogic Jerk

This is the feeling of falling you get as you’re falling asleep or sometimes when you’re even asleep. Sometimes you can start dreaming before your body has reached the REM stage, and these jerks might occur then, in response to you acting out a dream of falling on or tripping over something. Hypnagogic jerks are more likely to happen when you’re overtired, sleep-deprived or stressed, when your brain can aggressively enter into sleep cycles before your body has had a chance to catch up.

By Damilola Ojo
PR Associate Jumia Travel
+2348101556883

Topic: Grace Is Enough [Friday June 9, 2017]

And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me. – 2 Corinthians 12:7

The devil has used the traditional teaching of Paul’s thorn in the flesh to talk believers out of the blessings of God for years, to try to convince us to settle for everything from sickness to sin—and to do it of our own free will.

It is perhaps the most destructive and the most widely accepted misinterpretation of Scripture that exists in the Body of Christ today. I’ve gone into countries to preach to people who hardly had any knowledge of the Word at all and still I have found that somehow they’d been taught about Paul’s thorn.

And most of them have been taught wrongly.

Tradition says that God gave Paul the thorn in the flesh. What’s more, tradition makes the “thorn” into some great mystery. But the Scripture doesn’t say that at all!

It says that the thorn in the flesh was a messenger of Satan. Not God—Satan! The thorn was quite literally just what Paul says it was—a “messenger sent from Satan.”

You see, everywhere Paul went, he preached the gospel and every time he preached, he destroyed a little more of Satan’s kingdom. So, Satan sent a messenger, an evil spirit, to stop him.

When Paul sought the Lord concerning this thorn (look at 2 Corinthians 12:8-10), God didn’t answer Paul in the negative. God said, “My grace (or, My favor) is enough. It is sufficient for you. For My strength is made perfect in your weakness (inability to produce results)” (W.E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words).

In other words, when Paul didn’t have enough human strength to overcome, God’s miracle-working power was sufficient for him. It enabled him to be an overcomer in spite of his weakness.

Don’t allow the devil to talk you out of your victory. Throw tradition aside and dare to believe the Word of God. Fight the fight of faith, and just like the Apostle Paul, you will see the salvation of the Lord!

Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

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: A Reason to Sing [Friday June 9, 2017]

Read: 2 Chronicles 20:14–22, Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 32–33; John 18:19–40

Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. Psalm 47:6

Singing changes the brain! Some studies show that when we sing, our bodies release hormones that relieve anxiety and stress. Other research indicates that when a group of people sings together, their heartbeats actually synchronize with each other.

The apostle Paul’s writing encourages the church to speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19). And the Bible repeats, “Sing praise” more than fifty times.

Praising God has power to change our thoughts, our hearts, and our lives.

In 2 Chronicles 20, we read a story of God’s people demonstrating their trust in God by singing as they marched into battle. Enemies were heading toward the people of Judah. Alarmed, King Jehoshaphat called everyone together. He led the community in intense prayer. They didn’t eat or drink, but only prayed, “We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you” (v. 12). The next day, they set out. They weren’t led by their fiercest warriors, but by their choir. They believed God’s promise that they would be delivered without having to fight at all (v. 17).

While they sang and walked toward the conflict, their enemies fought each other! By the time God’s people reached the battlefield, the fighting had ended. God saved His people as they marched by faith toward the unknown, singing His praises.

God encourages us to praise Him for good reasons. Whether or not we are marching into battle, praising God has power to change our thoughts, our hearts, and our lives.

Prayer: God, we praise Your everlasting love and faithfulness! You protect and guide us, and we trust You with our lives.

Hearts in tune with God sing His praises.

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

Topic: Not Child Abuse [Friday June 9, 2017]

Text: Proverbs 23:13-25

Key Verse: “Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell” (Proverbs 23:13,14).

It is disheartening to see how the world is making every attempt to set aside biblical principles and values that have been the bedrock of the family and the society over the years. The biblical pattern of child training and upbringing which recommends disciplining an erring child to save him from complete ruin is now being seen as child abuse. If we are to save our world from total disintegration, then we must go back and embrace the values we have neglected. One of such is the practice of disciplining the child through the use of the rod of correction.

The Bible here tells us that we will be doing the child a great deal of good when we apply the rod when necessary. Correction takes foolishness from the child and saves him from future ruin. It is known that a child that is left to himself without the loving corrections of his parents is left to his own doom. As Christians living in this modern age, we must be careful that we do not allow the teachings, principles and practices of the age to make us abandon the teachings and values of the Scriptures, especially with those having to do with family life and child training. Those who see physical beating of a child as child abuse miss it completely. No Christian parent is expected to get involved in the act of abusing anybody, let alone his own children. Spanking of a child should be done mildly and in love.

Its purpose should be to reform and not to deform the child. It is recommended that parents should not correct their children in anger. Be in control of your emotions when trying to discipline the child, the gravity of the offence notwithstanding. When discipline and correction are properly applied in our homes, we will have children who will grow up to become well-disciplined adults with sound moral values that will help build a very strong and sane society.

Thought for the day: Don’t spare the rod so you won’t spoil the child!

Bible Reading in one Year: Job 5-8

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: Growing Your Faith [Friday June 9, 2017]

Scripture: So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17.

Thought For The Day: The level of your light in God’s Word determines the growth of your faith.

It has been confirmed that the mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds which becomes one of the biggest trees in the forest when planted. The question is, how does it translate from being small seed to becoming a big tree? It is by the process of growth! One character of the mustard-seed faith is its ability to grow just like the mustard seed.

Now, how does the mustard-seed faith grow?

It is by being nourished continually by the revelations of the Word.

Beloved, everyone has a measure of faith. Feeding your faith with the Word of God determines its increase from one level to another. The level of your light in God’s Word determines the growth of your faith. Trust God for the revelation of His Word that is heavier than what you already know.

It is the knowledge of the truth that fuels your faith and also sets you free, and the Word of God is the truth. So, if freedom is lacking in any area of your life, it only means there is the lack of the knowledge of God’s Word.

My counsel, therefore, is: grow your faith by feeding continually on God’s Word.

Remember this: The level of your light in God’s Word determines the growth of your faith.

Assignment (s):

1. Ask God for the grace to grow your faith.

2. Develop a growing appetite for God’s Word.

Prayer: O LORD, I ask for a growing appetite for Your Word in order to develop a growing faith, in Jesus’ Name.

FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: THE MOUNTAIN-MOVING FAITH.

Quote: If you are not hopeless, then you cannot be helpless. Culled from 30 SECRETS TO THE TOP by Dr Paul Enenche.

Daily Reading: 1 Kings 5:1 to 6:38, Acts 7:1 to 29, Psalm 127:1 to 5, Proverbs 16:23 to 30.

Amazing Fact: A blue whale’s heart weighs up to 2,000 pounds. Their heart can be the size of a Mini Chopper.

Today In History: 9/6/1959 – The first ballistic missile-carrying submarine, the USS George Washington was launched.

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: Limitless Forgiveness [Friday June 9, 2017]

Matthew 18:33 “Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?”

Matthew 18: 21-35

Peter thought he was being very generous by offering to forgive his brother seven times in one day, but Jesus said he should forgive him 490 times in one day. It would be impossible to have someone sin against you 490 times in one day. Jesus is actually saying that there should be no limit to our forgiveness.

When we are offended or hurt, we often feel justified in holding a grudge. The Old Testament law expressed this when it stated, “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (Ex. 21:23-25). Until the offense was paid, we did not feel free to forgive. However, God dealt with all men’s offenses by placing sin upon the perfect Savior who was judged in place of every sinner of all time. To demand that others now earn our forgiveness is not Christ like. Jesus died for every man’s sins, extending forgiveness to us while we were yet sinners, and we should do the same.

The main thrust of this parable is that when we have people who wrong us, we should remember the great mercy that God has shown to us and respond in kind. Any debt that could be owed to us is insignificant compared to the debt we were forgiven. We should have compassion on others as Christ had on us.

If God expects us to forgive our brother who has trespassed against us 490 times in one day (actually an unlimited number of times), certainly He who is love will do no less with us.

The forgiveness that we have received from the Lord is infinitely greater than any forgiveness we could ever be asked to extend toward others.

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: Gladness on Sunday [Friday June 9, 2017]

I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. — Psalm 122:1

A lot of people get what I call “Sunday-itis” on Sunday mornings. Do you know what Sunday-itis is? It attacks the victim shortly before breakfast on Sunday morning. It is accompanied by a feeling of weakness and lethargy. Sometimes the victim has a slight headache which is aggravated by the ringing of the church bells in the community. But the disease is of short duration, usually disappearing about noon, when the victim is able to eat a full dinner and play golf in the afternoon. But the symptoms usually appear again about 7:30 Sunday evening, and then disappear until the next Sunday morning.

Prayer for the day: May I always have the gladness that David had, as each Sunday I prepare to worship You in Your house, heavenly Father.

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.