Evie’s Decision

September 10, 2016

Read: Acts 1:1–8 | Bible in a Year: Proverbs 8–9; 2 Corinthians 3

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Mark 16:15

Evie was one of 25 American teenagers in a high school choir who traveled to Jamaica to sing, witness, and show God’s love to people of a different culture and generation. And for Evie, one day of that trip was particularly memorable and joy-filled.

That day, the choir went to a nursing home to sing and visit with the residents. After they sang, Evie sat down with a young woman who lived at the home, a woman in her early 30s. As they began to chat, Evie felt that she should talk about Jesus—who He is and what He did for us. She showed her verses in the Bible that explained salvation. Soon the woman said she wanted to trust Jesus as her Savior. And that’s just what she did.

Effective witnesses not only know their faith but show their faith.

Because of Evie’s decision to start a conversation about Jesus, our group celebrated a new birth into God’s family that day.

Mark 16:15 tells us that what Evie did is what is expected of all believers. Here’s howThe Message paraphrases that verse: “Go everywhere and announce the Message of God’s good news to one and all.”

May we never underestimate the wonder of what it means for anyone, anywhere to hear the good news and to say yes to our Savior.

Lord, it’s not easy to strike up a conversation about the gospel. Please allow the Holy Spirit to work in me so I will be willing and able to mention the good news to anyone who needs You.

Effective witnesses not only know their faith but show their faith.

INSIGHT:

The book of Acts is penned by Luke, who also wrote the gospel of Luke. Both are addressed to Theophilus. Acts begins, “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach” (Acts 1:1). The literal rendering of Theophilus is “he who loves God.” This may be the name of someone Luke knew or a generic name that addresses any reader who loves God and wants to learn about Him. Both Luke and Acts describe what Jesus taught and did. What did He do? He healed the sick, raised the dead, and walked on water. The signs and wonders Jesus performed confirm that His message should be taken seriously.

Faith Food Devotional

September 10

CUSTODIAN

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. — 1 CORINTHIANS 6:19,20

Some have said, “Brother Hagin, our spirits belong to the Lord all right, but our bodies haven’t been redeemed yet. So we have to go on suffering sickness and disease in the physical realm.” But in the text above, God’s Word tells us that not only your spirit, but your body as well, is bought with a price. Therefore, we are told, “. . . glorify God in your body . . . .” Does God get glory out of the devil dominating us physically? Does God get glory when the temple of the Holy Spirit is being defaced with disease? No, certainly not. Why does God permit it, then? Because you are the custodian of your body, the temple of God’s spirit. God said to you to do something about your body. Learn to stand against anything that attacks your body just as quickly as you stand against whatever attacks your spirit. Simply say, “Satan, you don’t have any right to put that on my body. My body belongs to God.”

Confession

My body is the temple of God. I will be a good custodian. I will glorify God in my body.

Above Only Daily Devotional
http://cgmglobal.org/aboveonly

Saturday, September 10

Our Discipleship Journey

Matthew 4:19, Luke 14:27, 1Corinthians 11:1
And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.*Those who do not carry their own cross and come after me cannot be my disciples. *Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
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Our new birth in Christ is the beginning of our discipleship journey. In our discipleship journey, we follow Christ and we also guide others in their walk with Christ. As we follow Christ, we let go of our former way of life and instead, receive more of Jesus' way of life. More of Christ's nature and power are developed in us and in those we are discipling. There are a lot of sacrifices involved in discipleship; sacrifices that are worthwhile and eternally rewarding, such as laying down our will and desires and taking up God's will and desires for our lives and others.

Discipleship requires passion. Jesus was passionate about discipleship and we should be passionate about it as well. Discipleship involves teaching God's Word and learning God's ways. Jesus said we should teach all nations to observe everything He has commanded us, Matt.28:19-20. Teach the foundations of our faith. Teach them about the Holy Spirit. Teach them about loving God and hating sin, teach them to study God's Word, to fast and pray, to give, and to serve God whole heartedly. Also teach with your exemplary life.

Discipleship involves prayers. Jesus watched and prayed for His disciples. He also prayed together with them and taught them how to pray. Discipleship requires faith and patience. It took Jesus three years to raise His disciples. Discipleship requires the continuous empowerment and reliance on the Holy Spirit. Love and care for those you are discipling. Ensure they are baptized in the Holy Spirit. Your disciple is mature when he or she is passionate about following Christ's ways and is passionate about discipling others also.

PRAYER FOCUS: Ask God to make you a better follower of Christ and receive His grace to help others know and follow Christ also.
BIBLE IN A YEAR READING PLAN: EZEKIEL 44-45

Empowered to Occupy Till He Comes...

Open Heavens 10 September 2016:- You need Encouragement

Open Heavens 10 September 2016:- You need Encouragement

YOU NEED ENCOURAGEMENT – Saturday September 10^th 2016

Memorise: These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33

Read: 1^st Kings 19:1-6, (KJV)

1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.

² Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.

³ And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.

⁴ But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.

⁵ And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.

⁶ And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.

 Bible in one year: Jeremiah 33:14-35:19, Psalms 55:1-15,

MESSAGE

Based on human experience, life is generally believed to be hard, laborious, burdensome, and full of sorrow. A combination of several factors may be responsible for the dilemma faced by human beings. First among these factors is recorded in Revelation 12:12:

“…Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath….”

And 1^st Peter 5:8 followed up by saying

“….your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” 

 Furthermore, Genesis 3:17 says,

“… Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;”

The implication of these passages on unregenerate human beings is so great that Job 14:1 had to say,

“….Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.”

When a higher responsibility such as marriage, parenthood, civil or spiritual leadership is added to the ordinary troubles of life, the result is better imagined than experienced. For the above reasons, every human being needs divine encouragement and support daily. In the Name that is above all other names, beginning from today, you will receive divine support and encouragement to carry on in life in Jesus’ name.

Indeed, God promises continual support for his people, particularly when they become weary, depressed or disillusioned. Several passages of the Bible affirmed God’s encouragement for His children. Moses, Joshua, Abraham, David, kings and prophets of Israel, our fathers and mothers of faith were not abandoned at critical moments in their lives. God was always there to give the required support and encouragement when it mattered most. This could be seen clearly in God’s pronouncement inIsaiah 41:10 that says,

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: Be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

However, Bible records show that we have a responsibility to carry out in order to merit God’s encouragement. You must first be born again and make meditation on the Word of God a habit (Joshua 1:8-9). Then you must invite the Holy Spirit who is the counsellor, into your life. Thereafter, you will begin to experience God’s encouragement. Isaiah 40:30-31, says that God’s encouragement brings renewed strength and an ability to do exploit. This is the secret of my success as the General overseer of the RCCG. I enjoy tremendous support and encouragement from the Almighty God always. It is only by His support and encouragement that any man can succeed.

Prayer Point

Father, please encourage and support me so that I may fulfil my destiny in Jesus’ name.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional, written by Pastor E.A Adeboye

Faith Food Devotional

September 9

DOMINION

 . . . He [God] raised him [Christ] from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. — EPHESIANS 1:20-23

Once we are new creatures in Christ Jesus, Satan’s dominion over us isended. Jesus is the Lord and Head of this new Body — the Church. We are the Body. Christ is the Head. The Church is the Body. Christ is the Head. The whole Body of believers — all the born-again ones — are new creatures in Christ Jesus. Then each of us individually is a new creature, too, because all of us are members of that Body. Satan has no right to rule over the Body of Christ — and he has no right to rule over us individually either. Christ is the Head of the Body. He is the One who is to rule and dominate the Body of Christ. Satan has lost his dominion over our spirits, our bodies, our minds, our finances, and the circumstances of our lives, because God has put all things under Christ’s feet.

Confession

God has put all things under Christ’s feet. I am a member of the Body of Christ. The feet are in the Body, so Satan is under my feet!

What Matters Most

September 9, 2016

Read: 1 John 4:7–19 | Bible in a Year: Proverbs 6–7; 2 Corinthians 2

He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 1 John 4:9

As Jesus’s beloved disciple John grew older, his teaching became increasingly narrowed, focusing entirely on the love of God in his three letters. In the book Knowing the Truth of God’s Love, Peter Kreeft cites an old legend which says that one of John’s young disciples once came to him complaining, “Why don’t you talk about anything else?” John replied, “Because there isn’t anything else.”

God’s love is certainly at the heart of the mission and message of Jesus. In his earlier gospel account, John recorded the words, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Thank You, O Lord, that Your love is rich and pure, measureless and strong!

The apostle Paul tells us that God’s love is at the core of how we live, and he reminds us that “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38–39).

God’s love is so strong, available, and stabilizing that we can confidently step into each day knowing that the good things are gifts from His hand and the challenges can be faced in His strength. For all of life, His love is what matters most.

Thank You, O Lord, that Your love is rich and pure, measureless and strong!

God’s love stands when all else has fallen.

INSIGHT:

In 1 John we see what characterizes a life that exhibits God’s supernatural love. The Greek word for this kind of love is agape, a self-sacrificial giving of one’s self in time, money, or energy. At the root of this divine care is the idea of esteem. God values human beings because we reflect His image.

Feels About You

BY RICK WARREN — SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

“Long before he laid down the earth’s foundations, [God] had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love”(Ephesians 1:4 MSG).

When my three children were small, I used to sneak into their room at night and sit down by the side of their bed and just watch them sleep. I got so much joy from it! I’d watch their chests rise and fall. I got so much pleasure out of watching them sleep peacefully because I was their father. They were created simply out of my love.

That’s the way your heavenly Father is toward you. God looks at you, and he loves you simply because he made you.

The Bible says, “Long before he laid down the earth’s foundations, [God] had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love”(Ephesians 1:4 MSG). Before God even created the universe, he thought of you. The Bible says that the entire universe was created simply so God could create the human race so he could love us. We are the focus of his love, unlike anything else in creation — unlike animals or angels or stars or anything else. We were created to be loved by God.

If you ever grasp the profound truth I just shared with you and let it sink into your soul, you will never again have a problem with insecurity or low self-esteem. Because when you realize that God created the entire universe just so he could create the conditions so that human beings could exist so he could create you and love you, it will take away all those feelings of insecurity. God created you in order to love you.

In Hosea 6:6 God says, “I don’t want your sacrifices — I want your love; I don’t want your offerings — I want you to know me” (Hosea 6:6 TLB). That’s the first purpose of life. The most important thing you can know is that God created you to love you. And the most important thing you can do in life is to know and love him back. That’s the number one purpose in life.

The tragedy is most people go through their entire life missing the purpose of it. They know all kinds of things — stock quotes, sports scores, who’s on the cover of Peoplemagazine — but they don’t know God.

You may know about God, but do you know him personally? Do you have a friendship, a love relationship with God? That’s the first step you need to take today.

Talk It Over

• How can you give God more of your love?
• What do you need to do so that you can know God better?

Above Only Daily Devotional
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Friday, September 9

The Stability of God's Wisdom

Isaiah 33:6, Matthew 7:24-25
And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure. *Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

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Wisdom is a powerful stabilizer in trying times. Being stable and knowing what to do in trying times has a way of strengthening and positioning you for increase and promotion once the trying times are over. That is why after referencing having joy and being patient in trying times, James 1:2-6 talks about asking God for wisdom if one is lacking it.

It is good to be a hearer of God's Word, but if you are a hearer of His Word only and not a doer, you are deceiving yourself, James 1:22. Hearing and doing God's Word makes us wise in God and stable in life. Jesus said that hearing and doing His Word will cause us to be like a wise man who built his house on a rock. When the rain, floods and winds came, the house remained standing. Your decision to receive and practice or apply God's Word to your life is building strength and stability into your life. Today is a good time to receive God's wisdom concerning any area of your life that seems unstable.

Christ is the power and the wisdom of God, 1Cor.1:24. Believe and stand upon everything God has said about you and be humble to learn Christ's ways, Matt.11:29. Walk in love, walk in the Spirit and walk in faith. Love righteousness and hate iniquity, Heb.1:9. Be prayerful. Deny yourself the pleasures and lusts of the flesh, take up your cross and follow Christ. Yield to the Spirit of God that is in you.

PRAYER FOCUS: Ask God to fill you with His wisdom and give you His grace to keep hearing and practicing the words of Jesus.

BIBLE IN A YEAR READING PLAN: EZEKIEL 42-43

Empowered to Occupy Till He Comes...

Open Heavens 9 September 2016:- Godliness and Contentment

Open Heavens 9 September 2016:- Godliness and Contentment

GODLINESS AND CONTENTMENT – Friday September 9^th 2016

Memorise: But godliness with contentment is great gain. 1^stTimothy 6:6

Read: 1^st Timothy 6:6-10, (KJV)

⁶ But godliness with contentment is great gain.

⁷ For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

⁸ And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

⁹ But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

¹⁰ For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Bible in one year: Jeremiah 32:1-33:13, Psalms 53-54

MESSAGE

Godliness implies a kind of reverence for or devotion to God which produces a practical awareness of God in every aspect of life. True godliness is a way of life that permeates every aspect of life, from appearances to actions. A godly person cannot help but transmit and radiate godliness in a way that anybody who comes in contact with him or her will immediately feel the presence of God. Consequently, deceptive godliness in speech or action is not compatible with the Word of God. According to 2^nd Timothy 3:5, apparent godliness may not be genuine; the passage calls it “Having a form of godliness”. Meanwhile Titus 2:11-12 says:

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;”

From the above passage, it is clear that godliness can be interpreted as a measure of the level of sanctification of a child of God. The Bible in a few cases used the term “walking with God” to indicate the level of godliness of some fathers of faith. Examples of godliness in the Bible include Enoch in Genesis 5:24: 

“And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him”

And Noah in Genesis 6:9:

“…. Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.”

God demanded godliness from Abraham in Genesis 17:1

“… I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.”

And Abraham in turn confirmed compliance in Genesis 24:40 with the statement

Other examples of godliness include Simeon in Luke 2:25, Anna in Luke 2:37, and Cornelius in Acts 10:2. Therefore, godliness is mandatory as an evidence of knowing God and being known by Him.

According to 1^st Timothy 6:6, godliness should be accompanied by contentment. The Bible teaches that sorrow for sin is a sign of godliness and godly living demands self-discipline. The benefits of godliness cannot be over emphasised, 1^st Timothy 4:8 tells us that godliness is profitable unto all things, both in this life and in eternity. Today’s memory verse emphasises that godliness with contentment brings great gain. It is also a sure defence against covetousness and all manners of trials and temptations which is the main source of backsliding and apostasy in the Church of God today. May the Lord have mercy!

Prayer Point

Father, please give me the grace to live above covetousness and greed in Jesus’ name.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional, written by Pastor E.A Adeboye

Don’t Just Learn from the Bible. Remember It!

BY RICK WARREN — SEPTEMBER 7, 2016

“Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body”(Proverbs 4:20b-22 NLT, second edition).

The Bible says this about wisdom in Proverbs 22:17-18: “Listen, and I will teach you what the wise have said. Study their teachings, and you will be glad if you remember them and can quote them” (TEV). Notice the four verbs in that sentence: listen, study, remember, quote. Those are marks of wisdom.

You can’t just learn something and become wiser; you’ve got to remember it. And you can’t just remember it; you’ve got to reinforce it. Because if you don’t remember and reinforce it, you end up having to learn the same lesson over and over.

You have to retain it to remember it so you can review it so you can apply it.

People say, “I can’t remember anything!” Oh, yes you can. You remember what’s important to you. You remember what you love. You remember what matters to you.

For instance a lot of you say, “I can’t memorize the Bible.” But you remember every baseball or football statistic for the last season. Or you say, “I can’t remember the Bible,” but you can quote all kinds of lyrics to popular songs or every step to a favorite recipe or something else you care about. You remember what’s important to you.

If the truth becomes important to you, you will remember it. You will remember and you will rehearse it and you will reinforce it and you will review it in your life. Then, it can change your life.

“Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body”(Proverbs 4:20b-22 NLT, second edition).

Talk It Over

• Why is it important to memorize Scripture?
• What is one thing you could do to help you memorize Scripture?

Everything Comes from God

September 8, 2016

Read: 1 Chronicles 29:14–19 | Bible in a Year:Proverbs 3–5; 2 Corinthians 1

All of it belongs to you. 1 Chronicles 29:16

I was 18 years old when I got my first fulltime job, and I learned an important lesson about the discipline of saving money. I worked and saved until I had enough money for a year of school. Then my mom had emergency surgery, and I realized I had the money in the bank to pay for her operation.

My love for my mother suddenly took precedence over my plans for the future. These words in the book Passion and Purityby Elisabeth Elliot took on new meaning: “If we hold tightly to anything given to us, unwilling to let it go when the time comes to let it go or unwilling to allow it to be used as the Giver means it to be used, we stunt the growth of the soul. It is easy to make a mistake here, ‘If God gave it to me,’ we say, ‘it's mine. I can do what I want with it.’ No. The truth is that it is ours to thank Him for and ours to offer back to Him, . . . ours to let go of.”

Everything belongs to God.

I realized that the job I had received and the discipline of saving were gifts from God! I could give generously to my family because I was sure God was capable of seeing me through school another way, and He did.

Today, how might God want us to apply David's prayer from 1 Chronicles 29:14, “Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us”? (nlt).

Lord, we know there is nothing that we have that we obtained on our own. It’s all Yours. Help us to have open hands for You
to give and take as You please. Increase our faith.

Everything belongs to God.

INSIGHT:

Today’s reading puts the true object of worship front and center. David’s prayer in 1 Chronicles 29:14–19 appears nowhere else in the biblical account and focuses the reader’s attention on God rather than on the temple or on King David. This makes perfect sense given the timeframe and audience of the book. Although we cannot be certain, Jewish tradition identifies Ezra as the chronicler. And it’s believed he wrote between 450 and 400 bc, with his primary audience being those who had recently returned from exile in Babylonia. The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles are unique in that they are historical accounts written long after the events they describe. About half of Chronicles is material repeated from earlier Old Testament books.

THE GREATEST INHERITANCE

Bishop David Abioye

Today: 2016-09-08

Money is good but it is never the best inheritance to leave behind for your children. The greatest inheritance to leave behind for your children is name. Money may bring you fame but can as well lead into flame. It is not so with name. A good name will bring you grace that will take away shame. A name will attract to you grace (favour). You may loose money and recover the same and even more but if you loose your name you may never recover it. Protect your name to preserve your future.