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Scripture Text: 2 Corinthians 8:9

People have been living under the curse of law (sin, death, sickness, and poverty) ever since Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden. Being poor is a curse!

Thanks be to God, who saved us from the curse of the law, which included being poor, through our Lord Jesus Christ's death on the cross to pay for our sins.

Through Christ, there are ways to get out of poverty, and we will look at them today.

- To get out of poverty, you must first believe in God's Word, admit it, follow it, and make God your first priority. Matthew 6:33 in God's Word tells us how to get rich. It says, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and its Righteousness," and "everything else will be added to you." How can you first seek the Kingdom of God and what is right in it? By putting God first in everything you do and making sure that your thoughts and deeds are always in line with how to build the Kingdom of God.

- Being "broken" is the second key. Brokenness means giving up everything and submitting to God in every part of your life. In times of trouble, God will give you His wealth and put it in your hands. Because He is sure that you will follow God's directions for how to use the money.

- The third thing a man can do to get out of poverty is to give. Giving people who are happy bring open heavens, not just for money problems, but for all kinds of problems. Being kind to people, generous to God, and welcoming brings God's kindness of givers that creates netbreaking wealth.

- Having strong faith is the fourth key to getting out of poverty. If you believe with all your heart that being born again in Christ has brought you divine benefits, then you are already free from poverty and can enjoy wealth through Christ in you. Every day, claim this gift and enjoy it.

- To be reliable is the fifth key. The Holy Spirit makes people faithful. If you do what God tells you to do with the little things He has given you, He will give you bigger things (1 Corinthians 4:2).

- Prayer is another important key. Like Jabez did in 1 Chronicles 4:10, you can pray that you will not be poor. When Jabez got tired of being poor, he cried out to God in prayer. God saved him by blessing him and making his coast bigger.

- God's anointing frees people from poverty. In Isaiah 10:27, it says that God's anointing has the power to break every chain. Every day, ask God to give you this anointing.

- Sowing is the seventh strategy for getting out of poverty. In the Kingdom of God, the rule of sowing and reaping is still very important. Give God your life, your time, your money, and everything else you have, and you will be free from poverty (2 Corinthians 2:9; 9:6–9).

- Offering sacrifice is the eighth key to getting rid of poverty in your life. As God's Spirit tells you, if you give what will cost you a lot, you will get a nice gift from heaven.

- Ninth, break any promises of poverty that are holding you back. If the agreement was made by you, someone else, or passed down from generation to generation, it must be broken by the power in the blood of Jesus in the name of Jesus Christ.

- You can get out of poverty by daily claiming the blessing that Abraham got through Christ. You can get Abraham's blessing through Christ if you've already been born again. All you have to do is stand up and take what is yours.

- If you have prayed a lot but haven't seen any effects, go for deliverance. So that the strongman of poverty can let you go, you need a group of people with more Godly power to pray for you.

- Cleanse your surroundings, where you work, live, or do business with the Blood of Jesus to get rid of any evil spirits that have made it impossible for anyone to succeed there. Pray for healing to happen in these places.

—Invest with hope and good sense. Anyone who wants to start a business or spend money should first pray to God and ask for His blessing. He will certainly bless it if He agreed with it. If not, it could make people poor.

- Pray for poverty-destroying prayers and prayers that bring wealth. Prayer makes things different! The powerful prayers of the righteous help a lot. This will cause God to open the clouds and give you your wealth, and evil banks will throw up your money.

—Ask God to help you figure out how much to give. Before you give your money away, think about it and ask God to bless it. Being wise is a good thing to do. Before you give someone money, you should always cover it in the Blood of Jesus Christ, the Fire of God, and the name of Jesus Christ.

- Stop saying bad things about yourself like that you are poor. This is what kills wealth. If you keep telling people you're poor, you might always be poor.

- Use the Blood of Jesus Christ to protect your possessions, money, or goods from all kinds of wasters, devourers, and emptiers.

- Always ask God's guidance and grace to lead you to hidden wealth through Christ Jesus.

- To make your business successful, ask God to give you good ideas, the ability to handle your time well, divine wisdom, the spirit of excellence, divine bargaining skills, good management skills, and the ability to make good decisions. This will help you hire the right employees who will understand your vision and be fully committed to it. With God's help, you can get out of poverty if you have the right tools and the right people.

- Finally, tithe consistently according to Malachi 3:10-12. Do not eat the seed. Giving back to God, who gives you life and everything you need, shouldn't be hard for you. Be smart!

God bless you, in the mighty name of Jesus Chrsit! Amen!

If you would like to give your life to Christ just say this short prayer:

"Lord Jesus, I come to You now, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world. I say bye-bye to the devil, I enter into the Kingdom of Light. Thank You Lord Jesus Christ, in Jesus anme I pray, amen"

Congratulations!!!

Peace!

Also read: https://flatimes.com/mfm-devotional-24-september-2023-believers-v/

Scripture Text: John 4: 35-36

Soul winning reconnects men to God. Evangelism reproduces heaven-bound souls. All true children of God must undergo this spiritual task with heavenly help. God's heartbeat and redemption plan depend on soul-winning. However, God requires certain traits in soul winners.

Mark 16:15 insists that Christians must be sure of their call to gain souls.

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- Soul winning is mostly for Christians. You can't win souls if you're not saved. Repent and surrender to Jesus first.

- Second, admit you owe. Paul demonstrated this in Romans 1:14. He responded, “I am a debtor both to the Greek and the Barbarians; both to the wise and the unwise.” As Paul, your salvation, calling, and gifts from God need you to preach God's message to all creation and win souls for His kingdom.

- Third, soul winners must be God-fearing. Paul claims in 2 Corinthians 5:11 that his and other apostles' fear of God succeeded in transforming men's hearts and consciences. The Holy Spirit will assist you win souls if you fear God.

- Fourth, you must love Christ (2 Corinthians 5:14). You can't love lost souls and gain souls without Christ's love. Christ sacrificed His life for His flock. Every soul winner must emulate Him.

- Fifth, understand Jesus Christ's sacrifice for sinners.Christ's blood redeemed sinners, according to 1 Peter 1:18-20. A huge sacrifice!

- Believing in Christ's redemption is the sixth soul-winning trait (Romans 1:16; 1 Timothy 1:16). The gospel of Christ and God's kindness give it power.

- Discipline, persistence, and tact are the seventh qualities (Proverbs 11:30: Daniel 12:3).

- The eighth quality is commitment and self-denial (1 Corinthians 9:19-27). God appreciates self-denial.

- Courage and passion are the ninth qualities. Jeremiah 1:17-19 says God told him to be brave. Because Jesus Christ, your Royal Master, is with you everywhere you go to win souls. Elijah bravely overcame the 450 Baal prophets on Mount Carmel and turned the Israelites back to God. Courage helped the apostles harvest many souls. Please pray these traits into your life today, beloved.

[/b]

Brethern, pray these traits into your life today.

- Above all, have an intimate relationship with the Lord, pray earnestly for soul-winning, let the Holy Spirit direct you, and believe God for results. Yours to sow and Holy Spirit waters. Increase comes from God.


In Matthew 4:19, Jesus declared, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Today he's saying the same thing to us. Soul-winning is everything to Him.


If you would like to give your life to Christ, Just pray this short prayer : "Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now, enter into my life, take control, and change my world. I leave the devil and enter the Kingdom of Light. Amen, Jesus, thank you.


Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Also read: https://flatimes.com/mfm-devotional-16-september-2023-qualities/

Luke 9:1-2, Mark 14:10–11, John 12:4-6, John 13:27–30, Ezekiel 33:14–16, Luke 22:1–6 and Acts 1:20–25.

From all of our Bible readings today, we will be able to figure out what kind of person Judas is. This is meant to make you think about yourself and to help you choose and be careful about who you hang out with. Most importantly, for anyone who has done wrong to turn around and be saved from what happened to Judas.

Who exactly is this Judas?

Judas means "praise" in Hebrew, but no one wants to give their child that name because of how he died.
When Jesus Christ, our Saviour, was on earth, he had 12 followers, and Judas Iscariot was one of them. He was picked to be in the Lord's inner circle. Once he was saved, he quit his job and went to follow Jesus Christ, just like the other eleven. He worked with Christ in his ministry and was given spiritual gifts and power. He helped Jesus Christ spread the Good News, did miracles, healed the sick, and cast devils away. He went to the place Master Jesus told him to go. He was in charge of the group's money, which is a job that would only have gone to someone who was trusted. This means that our Lord Jesus Christ probably put his trust in Judas. Alas! Judas betrayed Jesus.

Where did Judas go wrong?

Something went wrong with Judas, who was trusted and liked by everyone. One of his flaws destroyed him. He didn't do anything about his weakness, so it ate away at him until it was too late. He was a thief!

Judas was a thief, and this one flaw made him have many other flaws and bad traits. He went from being loyal to not being loyal. He got money so that he could betray Jesus and give his Master to the people who would kill Him. He had a great start with the Lord, but he ended badly. He did something that made heaven sad.

Signs You Are A Judas

1. You know you're backsliding, but you still use your Christian title because you want to be seen as unique.

Judas thought that the fruit of the Spirit was the same thing as the gifts of the Spirit. He really was blessed by God. He and the other disciples were given power, did miracles, and drove out demons. His spiritual life was tiring, though. He was turning away from the Lord, but he couldn't accept it because he had a big job and a big title among the friends of Christ. Maybe the signs and miracles he was still doing led him to think he was still standing, even though he had already fallen. The devil got into him because he liked money, and he did something bad. He went from being good to being bad.

We must be very careful so that the devil doesn't get us, in the name of Jesus Christ. Devil is not sleeping and just waiting for the right time to attack Christian. Just because you're a worker in a church doesn't mean you will go to heaven. Salvation is an individual thing. After being reborn, you need to work out your salvation by letting the fruit of the Spirit do its full work until Christ's image is made in you. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray that the Lord will keep us safe from the devil. Amen!

2. You care so much about money.

You can't have two bosses at the same time; you have to pick one. The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil. Mammon is the love of money.
Money is good, and God wants us to have a lot of it so we can live well and even do what we came to the world to do. Poverty is a sin, and you should never want to be poor. God wants us to be richly blessed, and He told us that would happen. The Lord says, "Silver and gold are mine." However, if you think badly about money, you might end up like Judas. Sad to say, many Christians today will do anything to make money, even if it goes against their beliefs. It's for their own good and selfish gain but not God's Kingdom. Judas sold his Master, Jesus Christ, for 30 pieces of silver, money that he never got to spend. He loved money more than he loved Christ.

3. Choosing to make a bad prophecy come true in your life.

No name was given, but it was said that someone would be a "son of perdition" to Jesus Christ. Judas wasn't meant to be that son of destruction, but he chose to make that prophecy come true.

Even if someone tells you something bad will happen, you can and must pray it out of your life and future. Some people in the Bible rejected bad prophecies by asking God to take them out of their lives.
Because of a prophecy, Jabez had to go through pain, poverty, and sadness because of his name. But because he prayed hard to God, God changed the way his life was going (1 Chronicles 4:10). If you want to, you can do the same thing. Jacob didn't bless Esau, but he did say that Esau would always have to beg from his brother Jacob. One might have thought Esau begged Jacob his whole life, but that wasn't the case. He didn't let fate happen to him. Instead, he worked hard to change his fate. Genesis 33:8–9 makes this clear: "He also said. What do you mean by all this chaos I've seen? And he said, "There is to find favour in my lord's eyes." Esau replied, "I already have enough, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself." Another person who was supposed to die but didn't because he prayed to the Lord was King Hezekiah. The Lord changed the promise and gave him fifteen more years.

No matter how spiritual the person who told you the bad or negative prophecy was, you don't have to fulfil. What can't be changed by prayers doesn't exist! Once you decide you don't want anything bad or evil, you can get on your knees and ask God for help to change your life.

4. Giving the devil a place to start by committing sin.

Through his unconfessed sin, Judas gave the devil a place in his life. As the treasurer, he was still in charge of Jesus' and the disciples' money. He did something bad that he didn't want anyone to find out. He would have told Jesus and the other followers what he had done and asked for their help so that they could pray with him to save him. He tried to hide his sin, fought his fight alone, and died in the end. Beloved, don't forget that the Bible says that a person who tries to hide their sin will not do well. Don't let the devil have a place to start in your life. Now is the time to admit your mistakes and change your mind. Jesus Christ will indeed set you free.

5. Giving up on yourself quickly.

Even when he had the chance, Judas never thought about changing his mind. This is because God knows how weak we are. You can always change your mind, but Judas gave up on Jesus Christ and killed himself. Beloved, there is no sin that God can't forgive, and no matter how far you've fallen in life, God can bring you back. If Judas had changed his mind and gone back to Christ, he would have probably been saved. Nothing in this world should make a Christian want to end his or her life. Suicide is not a choice; only fools, idiots, and people without faith do it. Don't think it's too stupid or embarrassing to go up to the Throne of Grace. God will always be ready to forgive you. Don't listen to the voice of the devil. I pray that the devil doesn't get us, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

God bless you in the mighty name of Jesus Christ! Amen!

If you want to give your life to Christ, just say this short prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now. Come into my life, take control of my life, and change my world. I tell the devil goodbye and enter the Kingdom of Light. Thank you, Jesus! I pray in Jesus' name, amen!

Congratulation!!!

Peace!


Also read Mountain Top Life Daliy Devotional by Dr. D.K. Olukoya, Vol. 8, 9–15 September 2023.

Scripture Text: Proverbs 3:5-6

I've heard God's voice so clearly so many times that I learned to trust what He told me, and it always came true.

But I also know what it's like to not understand what He's saying. There have been a lot of times when I thought I heard the Lord's voice, but nothing ever happened. It didn't work out.

Many people who follow God have been through what I'm talking about. Other voices come from inside us to confuse us. These voices are so clear and sweet, but they say nothing. You may have thought that the Lord told you certain things about people, events, and situations, but they didn't turn out the way you thought they would.

In fact, you may have been frustrated and confused for a while because so many things didn't work out. Maybe you went through a hard time when it came to hearing God's words, and you wondered if you had ever heard it at all.
Many people have prayed to Him:

"Lord, why am I hearing so many wrong voices? Why can't I hear You clearly? I was so sure it was Your voice, but it wasn't! In fact, often things have turned out the exact opposite of what I thought You'd told me. After walking all these years so sure, I don't think I know Your voice anymore. What's going on?"

In fact, this is happening to me right now, and the Holy Spirit was kind enough to tell me that I have let my own thoughts and plans take over. He told me in a whisper that though this is not where God wants me to stop, He wants me to learn something out of this situation to make my life more beautiful. He plans something better for me, and I need to let Him take me there. God can never be wrong! The Holy Spirit told me to talk about this subject, and I'm glad He led me to the right source.

The Bible says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and don't lean on your own understanding. Honour Him in everything you do, and He will guide your steps" (Proverbs 3:5).
The Lord knows that our own way of thinking is wrong, that we are selfish and only care about ourselves. It doesn't matter that we've been reborn and had the blood of Christ put on our hearts. Our thinking is still not good!
God has said, "My ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Some of the dangers of relying on your own knowledge—World Challenge Org.

1. Most of the confusion about hearing God's voice comes from putting our trust in our own understanding.
There is a lot of confusion in the church about how to hear and know God's words. People say "The Lord told me..." and "The Lord said..." everywhere you go, but very little of what they say is really from God.
Many Christians do something I think is very dangerous: they want quick answers, but they don't know that getting to know God's words takes a lot of time and getting close to Him. It takes honest soul-searching so that God's will is the only thing on your mind. But they don't want to spend time alone with God and let go of themselves.

Instead, they spend time thinking. They clear their minds, putting them in neutral, and become passive. And that empty, passive mind is easy for the flesh and the devil to control. Satan can come in and say anything he wants there.

When these lazy Christians hear something, they don't put it to the test with God's Spirit or His Word. They haven't learned how to recognise His voice, so they think that anything that comes to mind is from God.

Our knowledge of the world can come to us as a clear-speaking angel of light. But it is our flesh, which pretends to be God.

In 2 Kings 7, when Elisha was in a place called Samaria that was suffering from a famine, the Lord sent him a message. There was no more food or water. Things had gotten so bad that two mothers had become cannibals and agreed to eat each other's children!

Elisha then stood up and spoke a prophecy in front of the king and the people:
"A measure of fine flour will be sold for a shekel tomorrow around this time, and two measures of barley will be sold for a shekel in the gate of Samaria" (2 Kings 7:1).



That was God speaking! But the word was too offensive for the officer of the royal court who was in charge of the city gate. Barley and flour that don't cost much? Were these to appear overnight, when there was nothing else in sight, not even a cup of grain?
The gatekeeper's common sense kicked in, and he said, "Look, if the Lord were to put windows in heaven, could this be?" (v. 2). In other words, "For this prophecy to come true, God would have to open the heavens and make it rain grain on us. That's impossible!"
Often, when God speaks to us, what He says is so wonderful, amazing, and life-saving that we can't take it all in! So our flesh—our human understanding—rises up and starts to speak. Instead of resting and putting our trust in what He says, we start to rely on what we think. We ask, "How could this ever happen? It's not possible from a human point of view!" Suddenly, we've set limits for God and hemmed Him in on all sides.

Beloved, our human understanding of God will always be limited! God told Sarah, who was an old woman, that she would have a child and become the mother of many countries. What a wonderful, amazing word! But Sarah's common sense told her, "I can't be a mother at 100. My womb is dead, and my husband is old. It's impossible!" She laughed at the idea.


Has God ever told you something that didn't make sense? Did you believe Him and trust that He would do what was best? Or did you laugh at the idea and rely on what you knew and what was going on around you instead of His Word?


Dear saint, you need to believe what God has told you again. You shouldn't forget what He told you, because it once gave you life. God is even bigger than the promise He gave you. He is smarter than everything you've heard so far!


In fact, it makes Him happy to let His saints into heaven. He is in the business of sending wonders and making things happen that can't be done. "Test me now with this," says Malachi 3:10, "and see if I won't open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing so great that there won't be enough room to hold it."

2. When we rely on what we think we know, we make bad judgements about other Christians.
Paul said, "We are sure that God's judgement against those who do such things is true" (Romans 2:2).
God judges based on what's in a person's heart, but people judge based on what they see and their own flawed, human knowledge. And Christians are so quick to judge other Christians wrong. Most of it is cruel, bad, and totally pointless.

Many have done this before. A young woman came to a pastor's office for help a few years ago. Her eyes were full of darkness. Her voice was quiet and flat. The pastor's first thought was, "She's a lesbian. Her eyes look evil and ominous. He'd seen this look before. She must have done something very wrong to have this look!"
But this pastor started was crying inside within five minutes because he realised how wrong he had been about her. He had been judging her by how she looked, but her dark eyes showed that she had been through a lot of hard times. She was a prayer warrior who believed in God and had never done anything sexual. Christ was her husband. He felt so embarrassed!

A young woman preached about Jesus to a man who take dangerous drugs. As she was praying for him the Holy Spirit told her that the man had only few days to live. Meanwhile, this man already had a dream that his family members were attending his funeral. He was so desperate when  he got home that he fell on the floor of his living room and cried out, "Oh God, I'm helpless against this hellish crack. It's overwhelming me! If You're real and what she says is true, You have to show Yourself to me. Please help me!"
Suddenly, there was a lot of light in the room. He knew it was out of this world! He could feel God's presence all around him. When the light went out, he knew he had to go back to his room, but he didn't want to see those burning strange symbols anymore. So, he chose to hang pictures on the walls where the symbols had been.
He took a nail in each hand and picked up a hammer. When he looked down at the nail holes in his palms, he heard Jesus say, "My nail-scarred hands give you power over your addiction. Trust Me; it's no longer your battle, because I've already won it at the Cross. You can be free!"
His urge to use crack was taken away right away. And for the past two years, that young man has been growing in his faith by going to our church. What an amazing thing to say about God!
A few months later, this same man was walking by a pub without a roof when he felt a strong urge to go in. But it wasn't a desire for something physical. He told me, "I knew it wasn't the devil, so I went in. I thought, "What am I doing here? God can't be like this!"'
A young performer sat down next to him and said, "You don't look like you fit here. They started talking because she said, "You're different." He set up a time to meet the lady performer outside, and they went for a walk. He told her about how Jesus had set him free from crack, and they talked for a while. The lady "I hate what I'm broke down and confessed she didn't enjoy her job at the pub but took the job because she was broke and had no other way to make a living. She did quit, and she gave her heart to the Lord. Soon after, she and the young man got married, and now they go to church and are on fire for God.

One could relate the story of this young man to prophet Hosea's:
"The Lord told Hosea, 'Go, take a wife of adultery and children of adultery.'" "Love a woman who is loved by her friend but is an adulteress" (Hosea 1:1, 3:1). In other words, God was telling him to go find a harlot and marry her."This girl wasn't a harlot, but she was in a place where harlotry is common. There went my whole opinion!

How true it is that God's ways are higher than ours and that we can't figure out what they are.

Paul tells us, "Why do you pass judgement on your brother? or, why do you ignore your brother? Because we will all stand before Christ's judgement seat... So, each of us will have to answer to God for who we are" (Romans 14:10, 12).
Paul is telling them, "It's hard enough for you to judge your own heart. Stop thinking about everyone else's problems!"
I don't want to stand before Christ's judgement seat and cringe as I see people I misjudged being called to Him as His chosen. I have thought of many saints, "There's something about his spirit that doesn't witness with me. I don't feel comfortable around her!"But when God opens the books and judges me, what will He say about the fact that I trusted my own judgements, which were based on human fears and wrong conclusions.

The Scribes and Pharisees got everything wrong about Jesus.

They said that the Son of God liked to drink a lot of wine and go to parties, and that he was working with the devil.



Christ knew how blinding this kind of judging could be, so He said, "Judge not by what you see, but by what is right" (John 7:24).



We are to judge with righteous judgement, not the thought of our flesh. When God shows us something, we are to think about it in our hearts and pray about it.



God does give some people a strong sense of insight. Those who are close to Jesus know by His Spirit, "when evil is present in someone, it registers in their spiritual mind."



But the gift of discernment should never be used to tell others about their sin or ruin their image. Doing so makes the one with the gift a worse sinner than the one with an evil spirit!

"All women have a natural intuition," I've heard. A woman once told me, "I'm never wrong! When I'm around a fake, I always feel like an alarm is going off.
I'm sorry, but I don't buy that. The Bible says, "Don't trust it; it's just your own human understanding!""

Jesus asked, "Does our law judge anyone before it hears what he does?" (John 7:51) This means that we shouldn't judge someone before we get to know them, talk to them, and find out what they're about.

"Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. " This is another warning from Jesus that really gets to me. For the way you judge will be the way you are judged, and the way you measure will be the way it is measured back to you" (Matthew 7:1-2).

When you question someone else's faith and sincerity, someone else will do the same to you. You can be sure that you'll get what you give out.

3. When we rely on our own understanding, we get a wrong idea of how God works in our lives.

Right now, a lot of God's best workers are going through very hard tests and trials. Maybe you're one of them, and you're being overwhelmed by sudden troubles, fiery trials, and incredibly stressful times. Your trial could be spiritual, financial, or emotional.

Maybe as you've been reading this message, you've come to believe that you're under God's anger and rod of correction. You keep thinking, "You're going through this because you've failed God!" You're in the fire of trouble because He gave you to the devil to teach you a lesson."

Beloved, you shouldn't trust your own understanding when you're going through fire or water. You can't reason your way out of hard times. Your own thoughts about your tests will trick you.
What does God's Word say about the problems you're facing right now?

The writer of Psalm 66 said, "This is all God's doing! He has a reason for putting you through this trial. This is not the work of the devil; God is testing you."


No matter what you're going through, you can be sure that the Lord is behind it—He's testing you. He's testing you to bring out something beautiful in you—a complete trust in His trustworthiness.

But then the psalmist says, "Thou broughtest us into the net; Thou laidt affliction on our loins" (verse 11). He says that God led you into the net and put this heavy burden on you. He is the one who weighed you down.

"Thou hast made men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water" (v. 12). God let people walk over you and take advantage of you. The Lord let you go through fire and water. It's all God working in you.

Our logic tells us, "The devil is trying to kill me! He has made me suffer and given me a lot to do. He is trying to sink my ship."

But from cover to cover, the Bible makes it clear that all of our purgings and tests come from the Father and not from Satan. "And I will turn my hand on you and purely purge away all of your dross and take away all of your tin" (Isaiah 1:25).

 God tells us, "Do not think it strange about the fiery trial that is to try you, as if something strange had happened to you, but rejoice" (1 Peter 4:12-13).

Dear saint, stop trying to figure out why you have to go through hard times. Stop asking God, "Why do I have to go through this?""Leave your human thoughts behind and rest in this: "God is doing something in me. God is at work here!"

You may not like the testing you're going through, and it may seem overwhelming. But God has never left you alone in your testing, even when you feel like you've failed Him.

The person who wrote Psalm 66:9 said, "He holds our soul in life and doesn't let our feet move." He meant, "God is holding my soul in His life!" He won't let me lose my balance. He is keeping me steady until this is all over."



He came out of his trial with a strong faith and said, "Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I'll tell you what He's done for my life" (v. 16). This means, "Gather around! I've been saved in a great way. I want to talk about how great God has been to me."

"Thou broughtest us out into a wealthy [fruitful] place" (verse 12) is the testimony of those who don't panic but believe God through it all.

Beloved, don't listen to what your fears tell you. Stop trying to figure out what's going on and just stand still, trust, and watch God work.

He'll get you out of it and put you in an excellent place, and you'll be on fire with praise for how true your God is! Hallelujah!

If you would like to give your life to Christ just say this short prayer:

"Lord Jesus Christ I come to You now, forgive me my sins, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world. I say bye-bye to the devil, I enter into the Kingdom of Light. Thank You Jesus, in Jesus name I pray, amen!

Congratulations!!!

God bless you!

Peace!!!

Also read https://www.worldchallenge.org/danger-leaning-your-own-understanding#:~:text=The%20Lord%20knows%20that%20our,my%20ways%2C%20saith%20the%20Lord.

Scripture Text: Psalm 34:2

What is Divine Direction?

Divine direction simply means:
- Listening to the leading of the Holy Spirt.
- Being fully guided by God and bringing Him fully into your paths.
- Getting full help from God on earth.
- Referring to God to tell you what to do, how to do things and when to do things.
- Seeking God's Will in your decisions.
- Knowing what to do at the next moment as guided by God.
- Following God's path to do things.
- Allowing God to lead while you follow, without questioning Him.

Why You Should Get Divine Direction
There are so many benefits attached to getting divine direction. Some of which are:
- It brings Divine Presence- Psalm 139:6-12.
- The Almighty backs you up- Isaiah 40:10
- It guarantees Supernatural breakthroughs- James 4:10
- It guarantees security and divine protection- Ps. 91:1
- It guarantees divine peace and divine confidence- Philipp. 4:6-7
- It guarantees divine rest- Mathew 11:28-30
- It guarantees victory in battles- 2 Samuel 5:18
- It guides you to be at the right place and and the right time for the right thing.
- It convicts you of your sins- 2 Sam 24
- It renders your enemies helpless- Ps 23:5
- God will always manifest in all that concerns you.- Ps 138:8
- It gives you facilities to connect to the Power of God.
- It makes you profit in life, as you will not have to struggle and all fears will be destroyed- 1 Sam 30:7

What Are The Keys To Divine Direction?
- Be born again and be a friend of God.
- Humble yourself before God to direct you in all things- Ps 25:9
- Avoid doing things on impulse. Seek the Lord's face first.
- Have faith in God and continue in your fellowship with Him.
- Be quiet to hear from God.
- Walk in love, for God is love.
- Engage well in praise and worship.
- Be spiritually minded- Romans 8:6
- Crave, pray and fast for the Lord's leading before taking a step or decision.
- Be a Word addict.
- Continue to pray and fast until you receive answers from God.
Ask God to reveal Himself to you in visions and dreams.
- Develop a serene environment around you to enable the presence of the Holy Spirit.
- Listen and teach the Word of God. You can get divine direction through this.
- Witnessing the Holy Spirit.
- Pray enquiry prayers like David 1 Samuel 30:8
- Rejoice always and be full of joy, so that the presence of God can dwell in you heart.


If you would like to give your life to Christ, just say this short prayer:
"Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world. I say bye-bye to the devil, I enter into the Kingdom of Light. Thank You Jesus, in Jesus name I pray, amen"

Congratulations!!!

Praise the Lord!!! Halleluyah!

God bless you!

Peace.

Message by Dr.D.K Olukoya, Eagle Hour.

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Scripture Text: Isaiah 61:1-3

The slaves who adore their chains will stay in servitude. Terrible spiritual bonds. It's stupid to underestimate the devil's knowledge. Satan exploits any weakness in us. The enemy now disguises his chains as innocent and appealing.

When a man is addicted to a habit, he becomes a slave who loves his chains. Chains are rings used to secure or pull loads. Becoming a slave is bondage. Spiritual bondage is spiritual slavery.
Who's a slave? A slave works for free at the owner's property. A slave is anybody under their master's control. Slaves have no rights, choices, or property.Any master can sell or keep a slave. What he has belongs to his master. Nobody worries about their life or death. A slave is perpetually enslaved after he is marked (Exodus 21:2-7). According to Exodus 21:28-32, slaves are worthless.

Humans can become slaves for several reasons.

1. Immorality: Immorality enslaves men. Shun immorality, beloved, to avoid slavery. Every other sin is outside the body, but immorality is inward, a sin against your own body.
2. Unchecked inherited wickedness will lead to enslavement. Any sin is a chain that binds its victim forever. Run from sin.

3. Worldly pleasures enslave people. Bible warns against loving the world (1 John 2:15).

4. Unbreakable curses and covenants bind their victims. Incomplete delivery also binds people.

Take a personal decision today to break free from bonds. Use deliverance if needed. Remember Jesus died to free you. God bless you as you accept Him as your personal Lord and Saviour, in Jesus’ name.



Just say this short prayer:

Lord Jesus, I come to You now, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world. I say bye-bye to the devil. I enter into the Kingdom of Light. Thank You Jesus, in Jesus' name I pray, amen!

Congratulations!!!

Peace!

Also read https://flatimes.com/mfm-devotional-22-august-2023-slaves-chains/#:~:text=MFM%20Devotional%20For%20Today%202023,of%20our%20foe%2C%20the%20devil.

Scripture Text: James 1:19-21

1. Choose to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Saviour. Your new birth must be beyond controversy. The foundation of everything is new birth- 2 Corinthians 5:17

2. Read and meditate on God's Word- 2 Timothy 3:16

3. Grow to love and worship God- John 4:21

4. Obey Christ 100%- 1 Peter 1:2

5. Be filled with the Holy Spirit- Ephesians 5:18

6. Resist the world, the flesh and the devil so thay you can grow- James 4:7

7. Be in fellowship with other Christians- Hebrews 10:25

8. Always be in prayer before God- 1 Thess. 5:16-18

9. Always come to the Lord's Table- 1 Corinth. 10:16

10. Have a place of service and share the Gospel- Matthew 28:18-20

11. Give generously- 2 Corinthians 9:6-8

12.Hunger and thirst for righteousness- Mathew 5:6

13. Walk with God- Genesis 5:24

14. Live by the fruit of the Spirit- Galatians 5: 22-23

15. Put on the whole aromour of God- Ephesians 6:9-11

16. Seek for wisdom- James 5:1-6

17. Practice love and commitmment- Proverbs 16:3

18. Be patient and trusting - Eph 4:2

19. Practice humility - 1 Pet 5:6-7

20. Recognise that you've already got victore in Christ Jesus.

God bless you.

If you would like to give your lif to Christ just say these prayers:

"Lord Jesus, I come to You now, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world.I say bye-bye to the devil.I enter into thr Kingdom of Light. Thank You Jesus, i Jesus name I pray.

Congratulations!!

Peace!

Re: D.D.K Olukoya

Scripture Texts: 1 Corinthians 6:15-20 (KJV); Romans 12:1

In Genesis 2, after God made man out of dirt, he breathed the breath of life into him. This made man a living soul. Here, it's important to remember that God is the one who made man. God, the Potter that He is, shaped this clay carefully and correctly to make man. This body wasn't enough to be called a human being. Only the box was there. God had to breathe on it to make it alive, and this is what gave man life.
There are three parts to a person: the body, the mind, and the spirit. God cares about these three things, so they shouldn't be changed. The mind and spirit live inside the body. 3 John 2:2 says that God wants us to be healthy and happy in body, soul, and spirit. This is all-around well-being and wealth.Just as our health is important, so too is the cleanliness of our body, soul, and spirit. Can someone be healthy in a body that has been polluted and defiled? No! Can we keep sinning and still say grace should be plentiful? No! To enjoy total health, all three of these things must be holy.

The place where God's Spirit lives is in our bodies. In the New Testament, the Bible tells us that tabernacles are no longer where God lives. As He said He would do in the book of Ezekiel, God has chosen to live inside of us and make our hearts His home. Do you now understand why a Christian's body, in particular, needs to be kept holy and clean, free of all dirt, so that God can live in it? God cannot look at evil. He hates everything that is bad. A dirty vessel and a dirty body are both disgusting to God. The Holy Spirit would leave such people alone.

Learn from Samson's story. Even though he was so strong, he was in love with a Philistine woman, and she finally sold him to his enemies. Even though he cried out to God for forgiveness and killed more people when he died than he did in his whole life, he still died with his enemies. They laughed at him and made fun of him because he didn't respect God with his body. His eyes were swollen shut. He messed up God's house of worship to please his own lust. He wanted to use God's power as normal, but he didn't know that the Spirit of God had left him. If you keep doing these dirty things, God will not answer your prayers, heaven will close, and you will become an enemy of God.
 
In our Scripture texts, God makes it very clear what will happen to anyone who messes up God's temple: God will destroy him.
 
I'm sure you don't want to be ruined. If you are still in a business where your body can't be a living sacrifice for God, I beg you to turn away from it today and ask God for forgiveness and mercy. He will clean you up and bring you peace. He'll live in you, and you'll live in Him. You will become a safe place for God to be. But it's up to you to decide! If you are ready, so is God.

What things pollute the body? They include dirty thoughts, dirty ideas, dirty words, and every other kind of sin. People who haven't accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour do these things. Should a child of God take part in these things? Some people do, and it costs them their lives and their chance to be saved. If you do any of these things publicly or secretly, you need to pray to God right now. God can still show you kindness.

But the person who hides his mistakes will not do well.All kinds of sexual filth, like masturbation, bestiality, homosexuality, lesbianism, prostitution on different levels and in different ways, etc., make the body polluted. These bad things have demons that go with them to make sure that the people who do them stay in servitude. How would you explain a God-fearing person who keeps stumbling into sexual sins and doesn't feel bad about it? These are the sins that keep coming back—the ones that steal, kill, and destroy. What a slap in the face of God! Jesus sent the people who were selling and buying things out of the Temple of God. Why? Matthew 21:12–17 says that they had turned the Temple of God into a market. In the same way, the devil sets up a satanic shopping mall and uses these bad things as hooks to catch his target. The effect is ruined lives, different kinds of trouble, and maybe even an early death.
What about people who drink a lot of beer, smoke a lot of different things, and do drugs a lot? All of these things will pollute the body and, in the end, kill the soul. Have you thought about people who act holy but aren't really hooked on these bad habits? Hidden sins! Some people use the word "trending" to describe it. This is very important! The devil's plan for the end of the world is to steal the lives of men, especially young men, before they get too serious about God. Sad to say, the older ones are getting really good at hiding hidden sins and bad habits. Remember that when the Spirit of God leaves, a person is quickly cut off from the divine source, and their life gets worse.
 
Joseph knew the devil's secret. He didn't wait to beg, bargain, or make Mrs. Potiphar happy. Instead, he ran away. Even the Bible tells us, young and old, pastors and laypeople, to stay away from sexual sin. No one is too spiritual to end up in a bad situation. Polluted places can do long-term damage if you stay there for too long.
 
Do you want to be a vessel that brings praise to the Lord? Then run away from all body, soul, and spirit defilement. Seek God's power to clean you up through the blood of Jesus. Psalm 119:9 says that you should want to eat the word of God often enough so that it stays with you and can cleanse your life. Don't give in to temptation. He is the one who tempts us, but the hope of glory is Christ in us. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with his power. As you walk in the Spirit, you won't do what your body wants.

God bless you.

If you would like to give your life to Christ just say this short prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world. I say bye-bye to the devil, I enter into the Kingdom of Light. Thank You Jesus, in Jesus' name I pray, amen!

Congratulations!!!

Peace!
 
Aslo read https://flatimes.com/mfm-devotional-27-july-2023-defile-not-body-i/

Scripture Texts:

1 Samuel 18:2; Genesis 29:14

Relationship refers to the condition of being connected or related, as well as association by blood or marriage; kinship. It refers to the interactions, ties, or feelings that exist between two parties, nations, individuals, etc.

There are numerous distinct types of relationships, including familial, platonic, acquaintance, and romantic.

Regardless of the form of relationship we have, there must be four essential components. These include, but are not limited to:
1. affection: concern, liking, benevolence, attraction, affection, and generosity;
2. understanding;
3. Respect: esteem, acknowledgment, admiration, affirmation;
4. Trust: confidence, loyalty, honesty, bravery, dependability, and consistency.
 
Failure of any of these causes a relationship to fail, resulting in a damaged relationship.
 

Signs of a Damaged Relationship.
A damaged relationship is characterised by the absence of any of the aforementioned elements, which include but are not limited to:

Cruelty (physical or spiritual); dislike; rejection; withdrawal; coldness; ingratitude; envy/jealousy; needless attitude; regret; indifference; betrayal; breach of confidence; disloyalty; unfaithfulness; dishonesty; unreliability; inconsistence; rudiness; carelessness; thoughtlessness; moral breakage; moral meekness; infidelity to withstand pressure; not moving together in one spirit.

The Effect of Damaged Relationships

Hurt, suffering, self-justification, rationalisation, sadness, confusion, resentment, bitterness, depression, hostility, anger, jealousy, guilt, regret, remorse, condemnation, fear, anxiety, withdrawal, avoidance, apathy, and completely fleeing away from each other in secret are the results of a damaged relationship. All of these are the origins of breakdowns around the world.
Restoration Of A Damaged Relationship
When relationships are broken, we all require intervention, particularly divine intervention.
 
Here are some suggestions for mending a broken relationship:
 
- Admit that you have erred against one another and offended the Holy Spirit in your relationship.
- Admit that you have erred by reacting and acting unlovingly towards one another.
- Confess your transgressions and seek God's forgiveness.
- Request forgiveness from one another.
- Accept by faith that your reconciliation will result in a new beginning in Christ, as opposed to a dead end as before.
- Accept one another as Christ accepts all of us.
- Submit yourself to prayer and salvation.

God bless you! Amen!
 
If you wish to devote your life to Christ, simply recite this brief prayer:

"Lord Jesus, I come to You now; enter my life, take control of my life, and transform my world." I bid farewell to the devil and enter the Kingdom of Light. Thank you, Jesus; in the name of Jesus, I pray, amen!"
 
Congratulations!!! You are now liberated!
 


Peace!

Also see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MteRKuuE48

Scripture Text: Proverbs 8:13

Pride is when a person is too focused on himself or herself. That is, when you can't find anything good in anyone else but yourself. Self-glorification is what happens when a proud person talks about and praises himself or herself. God doesn't get the credit and honour of a proud person. He instead gives himself credit for what God has done. Pride is putting yourself first. It is a lie and hurts people. Pride doesn't help anyone in any way. It doesn't care about anyone but itself. Pride is wrong and it's a destructive habit..

Isaiah 14:12–15 talks about how arrogant and self-centred Satan is, and how he wants to be like God. Pride made his heart hard, and God sent him out of heaven and away from him. This is why many people's hearts have grown too hard to accept Christ. Others do bad things without getting caught, including some so-called Christians who say they know too much about God. It's just being proud! When pride takes over a man, he can't see the Truth or do what is right. Then, how can a proud man accept Jesus as his Lord and Saviour unless he puts himself down?

Are you puffy of what you possess, what you've done, your job, your looks, or your spiritual status? You are quickly falling into the sin of praising yourself and thinking you are good. You need to get out of there and be free. Don't give yourself too much. Pride is the cause of all your harsh and quick opinions, impatience, irritation, bad moods, anger, and so on. Pride is one of the things that come from the flesh. Galatians 5:19–21 makes it clear that people who do these things will not get into the Kingdom of God. Choose to get out of this prison you've put yourself in. If you give yourself over to God, he will make you humble and set you free.

God bless you.

If you would like to give your life to Christ just say this short prayer:

"Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world. I say bye-bye to the devil, I enter into the Kingdom of Light. Thank You Jesus, in Jesus name I pray, amen.

Congratulations!!!

Peace!

Ref: Dr. D.K Olukoya, MFM Mountain Top Life Daily Devotional, Vol 8., 2023.

Scripture Text: Psalm 85:10

God created marriage more than any other institution. God gave Adam and Eve the gift of marriage. They were made to go together perfectly. Marriage wasn't just for convenience, and no society made it happen. It was set up by God, and there are three main parts to it: (1) The man leaves his parents and offers himself a wife in front of everyone - Genesis 2:24. (2) A man and a woman are joined together when they take care of each other and love each other more than anything else. (3) The closeness and commitment of physical union, which is only done in a marriage, make the two people into one body.

For a marriage to be happy and a little piece of heaven on earth, God's plans for it must be carefully followed. The keys to a happy marriage are to respect God's word, which says in 1 Corinthians 7:5 that you must not cheat on each other. Spouses sometimes say things like "I have a headache" or "I'm very tired because I had a busy day at work today" to avoid having sex with their partners. Beloved, if you want to enjoy your marriage, you need to be aware of how your partner feels. Try to make your partner happy, even if it means sacrificing your own comfort. The happiest homes are ones in which the husband and wife enjoy each other sexually (1 Corinthians 7:3-5).

1 Peter 3:1 has another important key to a happy marriage. It says, "Likewise, wives, be submissive to your own husbands." If you want to be happy in your marriage, you must be totally submissive to your husband. In a happy marriage, submission is not a choice but an order. Wives, remember that a smile and a kind attitude will go a long way towards winning your husband's heart.
God set up marriage, and His goal is for us to enjoy it, not to have to go through it. We also learned what makes a marriage work.

Proverbs 21:9 says that another important thing for a wife to do is to be a healer in the home. A wife who can bring everyone together is a winner. When a wife likes to argue, it makes life hard for her husband. When a man knows that his wife will be happy and calm when he gets home, he is eager to get there on time.

Another key to a happy marriage is to talk to each other. Every couple should make it a point to talk to each other well. Don't make it a habit to talk to your partner by texting, using WhatsApp, or leaving a note under the pillow. Because of this one habit, a man lost a big deal that could have helped him and his family. A husband sent a message to his wife, but because she didn't get along with her husband, she wrote back and put it under her pillow. When the husband finally saw the message, it was too late.

Your marriage will be happy and peaceful if you and your partner can talk to each other well. If you talk about everything with your partner, you'll be happier in your relationship and fights and disagreements will happen less often. If a couple wants to be able to talk about problems well, they should learn how to be specific. Saying things like "that's all you ever do" is not helpful or good for a marriage. Still on the topic of how to talk to each other well, if you are angry or upset about something, try to tell each other so that things can change. But try as much as possible to say what you don't like in a way that isn't hurtful or critical of your partner. Also, for good conversation and a happy marriage, both partners need to be able to listen to each other's complaints without getting angry or upset.

Another important key to a happy marriage is being gentle. It means being kind, respectful, accepting, and interested in peace. In Proverbs 15:1, the Bible says that it's hard to win a fight with someone who always answers in a soft voice. When you raise your voice or say something rude, you will always get an angry reaction. The best way to avoid anger and find peace and happiness in your marriage is to speak quietly.


Another important part of a happy and successful marriage is for the two people to try to work out their differences before the end of each day. Ephesians 4:26 says that you shouldn't let the sun set on your anger.
Wives, learn to be wise with whatever money your husband can give you. Remember the woman in Proverbs 31 who worked hard to help her husband. So it's not surprising that the Bible called her a good woman whose worth is much more than diamonds (Proverbs 31:10). A woman with a strong sense of who she is, a lot of knowledge, many skills, and a lot of kindness. Proverbs 31:33 says that because of how she lived, her husband was respected and known by the older people in the land.

When a marriage is happy and going well, the two people don't take each other for granted. No one likes to be put down. Everyone likes being praised. If you take your partner for granted, he or she may act in a way that makes it hard for you to be happy together. Proverbs 17:22 says that you must make enough room for laughing.

Learn to forgive each other and pray together every day are also important parts of a happy marriage. This is a key that is very important. (3) Give each other your trust. (4) Learn to let each other off the hook.

In the name of Jesus, my hope is that God, who created marriage, will make all Christian marriages and homes full of joy, success, and happiness.

God bless you.


If you would like to give your life to Christ, say this short prayer:

"Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world. I say bye-bye to the devil, I enter into the Kingdom of Light. Thank You Jesus, in Jesus Christ mighty name I pray, amen!"

Congratulations!!!

Peace!

Ref: Dr D.K Olukoya, Mountain Top Life Daily Devotional; Vol 8, 2023.

Scripture Text: Romans 10:14-15 (NKJV)

As a Christian, leading people to Christ should be your top goal. Evangelism should be every Christian priority!

The church of Jesus Christ is a ship, not a boat for fun. We neither need nor want entertainers. When evangelising stops being a top priority in the church, it starts to die. A church that doesn't try to save the lost soul is itself lost, and when we say "church," we mean you. When evangelism is your top concern, you make it possible for people who aren't Christians to find their way to Jesus Christ and save a life for all time. You are saved so that you can save others. You are to tell others that Jesus can forgive their sins, just as you have been forgiven.

As a Christian, Jesus Christ told you in Matthew 28:19–20 to go out into the world and teach others. This is a way to share the gospel and make disciples. It is a must and can't be skipped. The lesson of John 3:16 is important and needs to be spread. It is, in fact, the most important message. The first sign that you are moving from being a Christian to becoming a disciple is that you can share your faith with other people. Christians who do a lot of evangelism always become better disciples. This is because it's hard to commit the sins you teach against when you do a lot of evangelism. Evangelism is as easy as telling people how God saved you (John 4:25–29).

 As an evangelist, you can work in three different ways:
1. A groaner: Groaning and praying for lost souls
2. A sower: Give money to preaching and missionary work.
3. A goer is someone who is always out in the world spreading the Word of God.

Every Christian should make evangelism a top concern. You get closer to the Lord when you do this. Make bringing someone to Christ your top goal every day, and watch how your focus changes for the better. Jesus has a profound message for the whole world, and you must help spread it.

Evangelism isn't just a side thing. It is a way for someone to become a true disciple of Christ. If you try to tell someone about Christ every day, you'll be surprised at how many lives you'll have won for Christ in a year.

You might be wondering what you can do to help with evangelism. Some of these ways are:

-Giving out tracts.Groan in prayer for lost souls.
- Take part in open-air evangelism and talk to people about Christ using both spoken and unspoken Bible verses.
- Do one-on-one preaching by following up with just one person who needs to be saved.
- If you can afford it, share Bibles and other Christian books.
- Share God's Word on social media and spread the word of Christ and repentance all over the world.
- Take part in all of the evangelising events that your church might plan from time to time.

Luke 15:7, Matthew 6:33, and Luke 12:31 all say that if you do these things, you will get a reward from Heaven.

But you cannot do this evangelism well without the Holy Spirit, who sends you and gives you the courage and faith to do it. Without the Holy Spirit in you, evangelism is just making noise or another action that doesn't change people (Acts 3:1–10).For the Holy Spirit to give you the power to share the good news, your heart must be right with God. You must be a living example of Jesus Christ and a representative of Christ. Let your life be the message and the letter from God. In other words, always do what you say you're going to do.In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray that the Lord God will help us all. Amen!

God bless you.

If you've read this word and you're still a sinner who hasn't accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, you need to do that right away. Now is the time to do that! It could be late tomorrow. Just say this short prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now. Come into my life, take charge of my life, and change my world. I say goodbye to the world of sin and darkness and enter the Kingdom of Light, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Congratulations!!!

Peace!
 
Ref: Mountain Top Daily Devotional Vol. 8, 2023 by Dr, D.K Olukoya.

Scripture Text: Proverbs 16:7

God is the Epitome of "the One who Has it all." It can be difficult to find an offering that will be accepted by God. Thankfully, the Bible not only informs us of what God despises (such as in Proverbs 6:16–19), but also what God loves.
What is most pleasing to God is also what will provide us with the greatest joy and contentment. Because God loves us and desires what is best for us eternally, we will find the greatest satisfaction in living out God's plan for us.

Ways You Can Please God

1. God loves it when people have faith.
"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).
Faith, defined here as trust in God and confidence that He will carry out His promises, is listed as a precondition for gaining God's approval in this chapter. It also provides a shining illustration of this type of faith: (Verse 5) Enoch Before the Flood, Enoch experienced life in a world where evil was on the rise, but he chose to avoid that path. To the contrary, Joseph "walked with God" (Genesis 5:24) and "he pleased God" (Hebrews 11:5).
Not only did Enoch have faith in the God who created the universe, but he also anticipated that God would one day return to Earth with "ten thousand of His saints, to execute judgement" (Jude 1:14–15). Godly deeds, or walking in God's ways, must replace immoral deeds if this world is ever to know true peace and joy, as Enoch understood.

2. It pleases God when we have faith in Him and accept His promises.
God appreciates those who keep a spiritual perspective."For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the spirit is life and peace. Because the fleshly mentality is hostile to God and cannot be made submissive to God's law. Therefore, it is impossible for human beings to attain God's approval (Romans 8:6–.

3. The Bible makes a distinction between the natural, human mind (called "fleshly" or "carnal" in the text) and the mind guided by the Holy Spirit (called "spiritual" in verse 9). As a result, having the Holy Spirit indwell us and guide us is a further requirement for gaining God's approval.
The apostle Peter summed up God's instructions for receiving the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:38: "Repent, and let every one of you be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
Paul had previously described his own encounters with the two philosophies in the context leading up to the passage in Romans 8. Even though the process of transition is shown to be difficult by Paul in Romans 7, he assures us that Jesus Christ will save us (verse 25) and that as a result of the transformation we are adopted as "children of God" (8:16–17). Does God approve of this? Yes! According to Jesus, there is "joy in heaven over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:7). God delights in expanding His clan.

4. Having reverence for God is something He values.
The LORD delights in those who fear Him and in those who hope in His goodness (Psalm 147:11).God does not take pleasure in our fear of Him. One of God's attributes is that He "heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds" (Psalm 147:3). In verses 4-6, God's compassion, omniscience (He knows the names of all the stars! ), and ability to rescue the meek are lauded. The Bible instructs us to fear God, not because doing so benefits God but because it benefits us to realise that He is superior to all other powers. Respect for Him demands that we recognise this.

5.To avoid sin (Exodus 20:20), we must have a healthy respect for and fear of God. It's a sobering reminder that God will eventually punish our wrongdoing.
We can grow in our adoration for the Almighty God who bent down to rescue a frail human being like me because we fear Him and rely on Him because of the reverence we have for Him.
See "Fear of the Lord: What Does It Mean?" for more on the meaning of this phrase.
To please God, it is necessary to learn from and imitate Jesus Christ.In this, My dearly loved Son, do I take great delight. Observe Him! (Matthew 17.5).
God made Jesus Christ's superiority clear to Peter, James, and John during the transfiguration, a glimpse of the future Kingdom of God. Jesus was the only person God was ever genuinely delighted with because he was the Son of God. We would be wise to listen to Him and learn from His teachings.
By reading the four Gospels, we might learn how to follow Jesus' example and do "those things that please Him" (John 8:29). Look at our pieces on "Gospels" and "How to Study the Bible."

6. God is pleased when we obey Him.Does the Lord take as much pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as he does in those who listen to and keep his commandments? Obedience is more important than sacrifice, the Bible says (1 Samuel 15:22).
In this chapter, the prophet Samuel condemned Israel's first monarch, Saul. Saul's justification for disobeying God's explicit order was that "the people" preferred to offer what should have been destroyed to God as an offering. However, God does not want our physical talents if we disobey His rules in order to give them to Him.
Deuteronomy 10:13 reminds us that God's commands are not given because they benefit God but because they benefit us. His instructions are good for us, and when we follow them, we develop a godly, upright character and become more like Jesus Christ. The way to God's favour is like this:
Throughout the Bible, God makes it clear that obedience is a source of joy for Him. God will reward people who "keep My Sabbaths and choose what pleases Me" (1 Chronicles 29:17; Isaiah 56:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:1–3), "abstain from sexual immorality," and do not disobey any of God's commands.
6. Nothing makes God happier than carrying out his will.Through Jesus Christ, to Him be glory, now and forever, "May  God make you complete in every good work to fulfil His will, doing in you what is well pleasing in His sight." Hebrews 13:21 says this.
What does God want? All of God's wants, all of God's commands, and all of God's plans are spelled out in the Bible. The Bible was given to us so that we could learn His will and, in a way, His thoughts. To better comprehend His will, it is necessary to devote time to study, meditation, and prayer on the Scriptures.

7. Understanding God's desires is only the beginning of doing God's will. Doing "every good work" (Matthew 5:48) means striving for spiritual growth and holiness.
Jesus Christ, though He knew He would be scourged and crucified for our sins, established the standard for obedience to God's will when He prayed, Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42). To prove His devotion and carry out His Father's desire, He was prepared to sacrifice everything.
To gain God's approval, we need to ask for His guidance in doing what is right.

8. We can please God by offering the offerings He requests.
So let us consistently bring God the sacrifice of praise, the fruit of our lips, praising and glorifying His name, as instructed to us by Him. Keep doing good and giving to others, for it is with these kinds of offerings that God is most pleased (Hebrews 13:15–16).
Earlier, we saw that God would not accept offerings that were the result of disobedience. But there are sacrifices that He is "well pleased" with, and those include sharing what you have with others and praising God. These represent His teachings on love as summarised in the two major commandments:

9. To love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind is the greatest commandment. This is the most important rule of all. You must love your neighbour as yourself, which is similar to the second. The entire Holy Scriptures rest on these two commandments. The words of Jesus in Matthew 22:37–40

10. Worshipping God and not manIt's human nature to want to be liked by those around us. Focusing on pleasing God, Whom we cannot see, can be challenging.
To strive to please both God and man at the same time is a recipe for disaster, as Jesus pointed out. Remember what He stated in the Sermon on the Mount: "Do not perform your acts of charity in front of mankind in order to be praised by them. Otherwise, there will be no reward for you from your heavenly Father (Matthew 6:6). Both in verse 5 and verse 16, he made similar remarks about the efficacy of prayer and fasting in gaining the favour of men.
We should instead do these things in secret, "and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly" (verse 4).

Paul offers a fascinating concept to characterise actions taken primarily for external validation: eyeservice. As the Bible instructs, "bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God" (Colossians 3:22).

Paul himself realised the value of seeking God's approval rather than human approval. The Bible says, "But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts" (1 Thessalonians 2:4).
When we stop to consider it, we see that God is the ultimate giver of every blessing in our lives, including those bestowed upon us by our loved ones.
Everything we have, even life itself, comes from him. And as His children, we have the promise of eternal life (1 John 3:1). He is worthy of our utmost respect.
I will bless You every day, and I will laud your name for all time, as King David said. "The LORD is great and greatly to be praised, and the depths of His awesome power are beyond calculation." (Psalm 145:2-3).
The angels who surround God are aware of this. They threw their crowns before the throne of God and said, "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, honour, and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created" (Revelation 4:11).
What if we've been disobeying God all along?What offends God and causes us harm is explicitly described in the Bible. Its primary descriptor is "sin." Since every person on earth has sinned (Romans 3:23), everyone on earth has angered God.
God's love for us is so great that He provided a means for our sins to be forgiven and we can begin again. Jesus Christ's atoning death made this possible, and His instructions for doing so are laid down in the Bible. In Acts 2:38, the apostle Peter provided a concise summary:
It says, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

To be converted is to go from disobeying God to obeying God with God's assistance. Read our free pamphlet, Change Your Life! for a summary of the scriptures that outline this procedure.
The wonderful thing about repentance is that it brings God joy, even in the smallest ways. "There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:10), Jesus declared.
Gaining God's favour and its benefits

It is impossible for us to repay God for all that He has done for us, let alone all that He desires to accomplish for us. In this life, He provides tremendous advantages, such as the following rule of thumb:
"When a man's ways please the LORD, He even makes his enemies be at peace with him" (Proverbs 16:7).

Christians may still encounter hardships in this world, but Jesus promised, "These things I have told you, that in Me you may have peace. Yes, here on earth you will have trouble, but take heart; I have overcome the world.

And in the future, He will give His faithful flock an enormous reward:
The kingdom will be given to you because it pleases your Father (Luke 12:32).
King David, a man after God's own heart, recorded one of the most exciting descriptions of the utopian Kingdom of God. He declared, "You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11).

If you would like to give your life to Christ, just say this short prayer:

"Lord Jesus Christ,I come to You now; come into my life; take control of my life and change my world. I say bye-bye to the devul; i enter into the Kingdom of Light. To You Alone be the Glory, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray, amen". Hallelujah!!!

God bless you.

Congratulations!!!


Peace!

Also read: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/god/who-is-god/how-to-please-god/

Scripture Text: Acts 2: 1-8

The third person in the God Head is the Holy Spirit. When Jesus Christ left the world, He promised to send the Holy Spirit to teach us all things (John 14:26). Our Senior Partner and a source of comfort is the Holy Spirit. It's important to work with or get to know the Holy Spirit because He will tell you when you're doing something wrong and show you how to do what's right. God uses the Holy Spirit to make sure His people are ready and able to do all good works.

If you work with the Holy Spirit, you can help God's plan for your life come true, and you can also give credit to God the Father and God the Son. The Holy Spirit will be your prayer Partner, work Partner, business Partner, career Partner, marriage Partner, finance Partner, academic Partner, salvation Partner, Bible or Word Partner, investment Partner, and most importantly, your Partner in the path of Righteousness towards the Kingdom of God,

What does it mean to work with the Holy Spirit?

First, you have to wait on the Lord and make room for Him to fall on you, just like the apostles did in the Upper Room (Luke 24: 45-49) NLT.

When the apostles were baptised in the Holy Spirit, they got the power to spread the good news. Peter, who was afraid and had denied Jesus Christ three times, got the courage to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that day, three thousand people joined the church. If you want to be a life winner and have the power of God come over you, you must work with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2).

Second, if you spend a lot of time with the Holy Spirit, He will give you the strength to be more than a winner (Romans 8:37). When He is with you, trouble will shake when you come near.

Third, when you work with the Holy Spirit, Christ's knowledge will flow through you (Acts 4:13).

Fourth, you will have a supernatural breakthrough and a permanent relationship with the Holy Spirit. He will make you a star forever (Daniel 12:3).

Last but not least, your work with God will be supported by miracles and signs (Mark 16:20). Paul's life was so amazing that even handkerchiefs and aprons he wore could help people (Acts 9:11–12). People who were sick were healed by Peter's shadow (Acts 5:15–16).

You can also carry God's power if you're willing to work with Him. You can only work with Him if you give your life to Jesus Christ and become His. Amos 3:3 says that two people can't walk together if they don't agree.

But first you have to give your life to Christ for you to qualify to work with the Holy Spirit.

If you would like to give your life to Christ just say this short prayer:

"Lord Jesus Christ, I come to you now, come into my life now, take control of my life and change my world. I say bye-bye to the devil, I enter into the Kingdom of Light, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray, amen!

Congratulations!!!


Now, begin to tell the Lord Jesus Christ to wash you in His Blood and the Holy Spirit to overshadow you, in the name of Jesus Christ.

God bless you.

Peace!

Ref:
Dr. D.K Olukoya: Mountaion Top Life Daily Devotional, Vol.8, 2023.
Also read: https://www.thedevotionals.com.ng/mfm-daily-devotional-for-tuesday-27th-june-2023-why-you-should-partner-with-the-holy-spirit/

Scripture Text: Luke 3:7-9

John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”


Repentance means having a change of heart or feeling bad about things you did in the past. It is turning around and going the other way to show that you are sorry for your sin. It includes admitting wrongdoings from the past and deciding not to do them again. Repentance also means to turn away from sin, disobedience, or revolt and turn back to God.

Have you turned to the positive? If so, have you really changed your mind? Turning away from wrongdoing and dead works is what it means to repent. With the help of the Holy Spirit, a mind that has truly changed will bear some fruit. Love, hope, self-control, patience, and so on are some of these fruits. Men should pray and not give up. A person who wants to change prays always, whether it's the right time or not.

You no longer have to cheat or lie to people with whom you do business. You have to be honest, whether they are Christians or not. As the Spirit of God comes over you, righteousness, joy, and peace are also fruits of repentance. Repentance shows itself in ways like being kind and gentle. Do you always tell the truth, or do you sometimes lie? Today, you have to do a U-turn. Today, walk in love and decide to let your gifts show so they can change lives and the world. People will know you have changed based on what you do now.

Without being truly sorry, there is no good fruit in you and may be hewned by your ingenuine repentance. True repentance is the way to become holy. When you decide to follow Jesus, you must also decide that you will always have a repentant heart. God makes us holy, and the benefits of true repentance are the reward we get here on earth. Restitution must also be done to complete a true repentance.

God bless you!

If you would like to give your life to Christ just say this short prayer:

"Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now, come into my life, take contol of my life and change my world. I say bye-bye to the devil, i enter into the Kingdom of Light. Thank You Lord Jesus, in Jesus' name I pray, amen!

Congratulations!!!https:

Peace!

Also see //flatimes.com/mfm-devotional-20-june-2023-fruits-of-true-repentance/

Scripture Text: 1 Corithians 15:1-5

The Gospel is also called in the Bible a "word," a "doctrine," a "seed," the "good news," and "the truth." Because God uses the word of the gospel to bring people back to himself, it must be taught, heard, understood, believed, confessed, and defended.

You might wonder what the word "Gospel" means when you want to learn more about God or tell other people about Him. And how do you make sense of it? Here are 10 things about the Gospel that you should know.

1. Meaning of the Gospel
It is also called "Good News"? The meaning of "Good News" can be found in 1 Corinthians 15:1–5, the Apostle Paul wrote, "I want to remind you of the gospel I taught to you, which you accepted and on which you have built your lives. By this faith, you will be saved if you stick to what I told you. Otherwise, you have trusted in vain. For what I learned, I passed on to you as the most important thing: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve [disciples]." Christ also showed up to other people, but the most important thing is that He died for our sins and rose again so that we can live forever.


2. The Gospel is very Simple
You will notice right away that the Gospel has two parts: Christ died for our sins, and then he came back to life.

3. The Gospel is not a Religion
Religion is how people try to find God. The Gospel is the good news that God is looking for lost people through Jesus Christ. Religion can only change how people look on the outside. The Gospel changes how people feel on the inside.

4. The Gospel is Free
No one can buy their way to God. It is a free gift from God, given to us when we put our faith in Christ.

5. The Gospel is for Everyone
It is called the "Gospel of our salvation" because it is "the power of God that saves everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16).

6. The Gospel will set you Free!
It's called the "Gospel of peace" because it brings peace between a criminal and God through Christ. Christ is the way for us to get to God.

7. The Gospel is Once and for All Time
It happened only once, and it will never happen again. It was a one-time thing that gives us a way to live forever now and always.

8. The Gospel is Unique
The most important thing that sets our faith in God apart from other religions is that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

9. The Gospel Has Been Fulfilled
Through the Gospel, Jesus Christ made peace with God by dying on the cross 2,000 years ago, and we are just living in that peace. We need not do anything more but to just submit our lives to Christ and serve Him alone.

10. The Gospel can be Received
If you accept Christ, He will accept you, and you will find that this Gospel, which talks about His death, burial, and resurrection, is the power of God for eternal salvation. "He gave the right to become God's children to all who received Him and believed in His name" (John 1:12).

God bless you in the name of Jesus Christ.

Do you want to accept Jesus Christ? The Gospel is presented to you today for you to receive wholeheartedly.

Just say this short prayer:

"Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now, come into my life, take control of my life, and change my world. I say bye-bye to the devil, and I enter into the Kingdom of Light. Thank You Jesus, in Jesus name I pray: amen!

Congratulations!!!

Peace!

Also read https://goingfarther.net/basics-of-christianity/the-gospel/

Scripture Text: John 3:1-21

Another common question asked by people during evangelism is : If you are already alive, how can you be "born again"? You're only born once, right?

Being born again is not a physical rebirth. Instead, it is a mental rebirth. It means that our hearts have changed from being indifferent or hostile towards God to loving Him and wanting to do what is best for us.
But how does it happen?


First, we need to know where we are as people right now. We all have the same problem, and Jesus said it starts in our minds. Sin is the trouble, which means missing the mark or not doing what we should do. We try to fix this problem on our own, whether we know it or not. We try to make up for it or put it out of our minds, but deep down, we still feel like something is missing. Nothing will make us happy unless we have Jesus in our lives and find out that we can spend eternity with Him.

In the Bible, there's a story about a man named Nicodemus. He was a religious leader and a good person. One night, while talking to Jesus, Nicodemus asked Him what he needed to do to get to heaven. Jesus said to Nicodemus, "You must be born again" (John 3:7). In fact, Jesus said, "Unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).


Jesus was telling Nicodemus that he needed to change on the inside, no matter how good he was on the outside. That can only happen when God's Holy Spirit convicts us of wrongdoing and gives us new life from the inside out.


So, what should we do?

First, we have to recognise that we are sinners and can't live up to God's perfect standard on our own. Then we have to ask for forgiveness for that sin and change, which means to do everything we can to stop doing that sin. The last thing we do is ask Jesus to be a part of our lives.

The Spirit of God comes into our hearts at that time to guide us and make us more like Him. We start over again at that point.

God says it this way: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you" (Ezekiel 36:26). From that point on, He gives us new goals and a new reason to live. We don't live for ourselves anymore; we live for God (2 Corinthians 5:15).

You can have a spiritual rebirth today:

YOU CAN BE BORN AGAIN

God bless you.

If you would like to give to Christ, just say this short prayer:

"Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world. I say bye-bye to the devil, I enter into the Kingdom of Light. Thank You Jesus Christ, in Jesus' name I pray! Amen!

Congratulations!!!

Peace!

https://goingfarther.net/common-questions/what-does-it-mean-to-be-born-again/

Scripture Text: John 10:30

Some people say that Jesus Christ was just a person or a great teacher. He was and is a lot more than that, though. The Bible says that Jesus is special because of who He is and what He came to do. During His time on earth, He wasn't just a spiritual person. He was both God's Son (John 3:16) and God (God in a human body, 1 Timothy 3:16). He was both fully human and fully God (Colossians 2:9).

Jesus' Claims

He said that He was God. It might be hard to understand how this could be true, but it's important to remember that God is much bigger and stronger than we can understand. We do know that Jesus said in John 8:58 that He was around before Abraham. He said that He and His Father are the same (John 10:30) and that He is the same as His Father (John 5:17–18).Not only did he say he was God, but he also said he had God's power. (Matthew 25:31–46) He said that he has the power to judge the people. He says he has the power to bring the dead back to life (John 5:25–29) and forgive sins (Mark 2:5-7), which are things only God can do (1 Samuel 2:6; Isaiah 43:25).

Jesus also says in John 14:13–14 and Matthew 28:20 that He has the power to hear prayers and that He will always be with those who follow Him. Jesus is compared to the creator of the world in the New Testament (John 1:3), and in John 16:15, He says, "All that belongs to the Father is mine."

But what's the evidence?

Even if someone says they are something, like Jesus said He was God, that doesn't make it true. What proof is there that He is God? What Jesus does, not just what He says, tells us about who He is. He has left behind a lot of proof that He is God. Some of these pieces of proof are fulfilled prophecies and written accounts of Jesus doing miracles that broke the rules of nature. He also didn't do anything wrong (Hebrews 4:15). No one else has ever done that.But His rising from the dead after dying on the cross was the best proof of all that He was God. No one has ever come back from the dead on their own.Did Jesus ever tell anyone, "I am God?"If someone told you, "I am God," would you believe them? Many people who believe in one God would think the person was blaspheming. Even if Jesus had said, "I am God," in those exact words, many people would not have believed Him or even listened to what He was saying. He didn't say these words, but he did give us reasons to believe this claim.

In Luke 4:8, Jesus says, "The Bible says, 'You must worship and serve only the Lord your God.'" Many times, He said and did things to show that He is the Lord. Jesus, for example, says that He is "the first and the last" (Revelation 1:17; 22:13), which is what God the Father says in Isaiah 44:6. But maybe you are looking for a place in the Bible where Jesus says, "I am God; worship me," in those exact words. If we say that Jesus could only claim to be God by saying that one line, we might also ask where He says, "I am a great teacher, but I am not God," or "I am just a prophet; don't worship me." That's also not what the Bible says.The good news is that Jesus has told us many times that He is God. He has made it clear that He and God the Father are the same (John 10:30), and in John 14:6, He says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Who else but God could say these things?Does this mean that there is more than one god?Even if you believe Jesus is God, that doesn't mean there is more than one god. Followers of Jesus think that there is only one God who has three parts."God has shown Himself to us in three ways: as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit," Billy Graham once said. Each one does something different, but they all work together as one God."Let me show you what I mean. Have you ever thought about how some things we see are both three and one at the same time? St. Patrick taught the Irish about this many centuries ago by showing them a clover leaf, which has three leaves but is still only one leaf. Or consider water. It doesn't matter if a quart of water is ice, water, or steam—it's still a quart of water."

Heaven is real, and there's only one way to get there—one way to be free of your sin and have a connection with God. This is because of Jesus Christ.

If Jesus is God's Son, how can He be God?

Does the fact that Jesus is God's son mean that God had a wife?God's never been married. Jesus' status as God's Son is evident from the title. Jesus, unlike us, did not have two parents on earth. Instead, he was miraculously born to a woman who had never been pregnant. He was born holy and sinless. Even Jesus' mother, Mary, asked, "How will this happen?" (Luke 1:34), but God is all-powerful and made a way for the holy Jesus to be born as a person. In Matthew 1:20, an angel tells Joseph, who is engaged to Mary, that what she is carrying "is from the Holy Spirit." God and Mary did not have a sexual relationship that led to the birth of Jesus. Instead, God performed a miracle through the Holy Spirit that led to the birth of Jesus. Jesus was fully God and fully human at the same time.Luke, a doctor, wrote the most detailed gospel account of the birth of Jesus without a father. This is also important. Luke knew that a baby being born without a father was impossible, but after doing a lot of study, he came to the conclusion that it was true. The same God who had enough power to make the universe also had enough power to bring Jesus into the world without a human father. His birth was a miracle, which is just one more sign that He is God.What's the point of knowing who Jesus is?

Heaven is real, and there's only one way to get there—one way to be free of your sin and have a connection with God. This is because of Jesus Christ. Acts 4:12 says, "No one else can save you, because there is no other name under heaven by which you can be saved." You must trust in Jesus if you want to live forever in heaven. This is why: We all sin, which means that none of us measure up to God's perfect ideal. Romans 6:23 says that because of sin, people die. That means being cut off from God forever. But because Jesus never did anything wrong in His life, His death on the cross was the best way to pay for our sins. Because He overcame death by rising from the dead, we can have Eternal Life with God if we believe in Him.

Want to believe in Jesus?

After His death and resurrection, hundreds of people saw the risen Christ and believed in Him. Over the past 2,000 years, millions of people have learned that only Jesus can satisfy the deepest desires and wants of the human heart. Colossians 2:3 says that "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ."What the Bible says about Him—can we trust it? We have a lot of reasons to think that the Bible is true, and many people find that God speaks to them when they read it—maybe not audibly, but through His words.Even though the Bible is written in many different ways, the main lesson is always the same: God loves us and gives us eternal life for free if we accept Jesus as our Saviour. There are different versions of the Bible to help different people understand it, but the main teachings and the person of Jesus Christ stay the same.Read the Bible's book of John if you want to know more about Jesus or what the Bible says about Him. It's a great starting point.

Also see https://goingfarther.net/common-questions.
 
God bless you.
 
If you would like to give your life to Christ, just say this short prayer:
"Lord Jesus, I come before You now; I acknowledge that I am a sinner; I repent from all my sins; I believe and accept You today as my Lord and personal Saviour; I confess that You are the Son of God; come into my life and take control. I say bye-bye to the devil, and I enter the Kingdom of Light. Thank You Jesus; in Jesus' mighty name, I pray, amen!

Congratulations!!!

Peace!

Scripture Text: Luke 18: 1

Calvary greetings Brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our Bible reading for today tells us how Jesus Christ told us why we should pray and not give up. But even though Jesus Christ told us to pray, there are some rules about how to pray. Even though I think that God answers prayers because of his mercy and grace, we still need to do certain things when we pray to him.

The first rule is to have nothing to hide from God. Make up with God for any sins you've done, and be sorry for them. Tell Him about your known and unknown sins so that you can get His forgiveness and the cleansing He promised in John 1:9: "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all our righteousness".

Second id to accept that we are sinners and never try to justify ourselves whenever we come to God in prayer. 1 John 1:8 says: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us". This Bible verse may be talking to people who say sin doesn't exist or who think their bad actions aren't really sin but just a way to show how they feel.

Another principle is praying to God without wavering faith. Hebrews 11: 1,6 says: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evident of things not seen...but without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Faith is simply putting all of your trust and reliance on God to answer your prayers, even if what you think He will do doesn't happen right away. God will answer when it's right for Him. Believe, because it can move mountains.

The fourth principle is to get rid of any idols you have in your heart when you pray. Idols are things that you put ahead of God in your heart. Ezekiel 14:1-6 tells us that some of Israel's most important leaders had idols in their hearts and turned away from God's plan to live their own sinful lives. God wouldn't help them or answer their prayers because of this. To pray to God and do anything else, you have to get rid of all the idols in your life.

We must abide in Christ and the Word of God to answer our prayers. This is the fifth principle. John 15:7 says: "If you abide in me and my words abide in you, then you shall ask what you need and I will do it unto you". To stay with Christ, we have to be a branch on His vine. This is the only way to live.

The sixth principle of prayer is to love our neighbours as ourselves. John 15:12 states: "This is my command that ye love one another, as I have loved you. " For prayers to be answered, we need to love our neighbour as ourselves.

Another principle of prayers is the golden rule in Mathew 7:12 which states that we should do to our neighbours what we would like them to do to us. This is good for all relationships.

The seventh principle of prayer is to be clear about what you want from God. This is clear from the question Jesus Christ asked Bartimaeus, a blind man who got his sight back in Mathew 10:51 "And Jesus answered and said unot him, what will thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight". He didn't talk around the subject. He told Jesus what he wanted, and Jesus gave him what he wanted.

Last, when we pray, we shouldn't give up on God. Luke 18:1–8 tells the story of a dogged widow who kept bugging a bad judge to take care of her or her enemy. The bad judge finally gave her what she asked for. If we ask God for something and He doesn't give it to us, we shouldn't give up. Instead, we should keep asking, and the merciful God will do more for us than we could ever think. Paul asked God three times to take the thorn out of his side, but God didn't do it. He told Paul, "My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corithians 12:9). Paul was happy to hear what God said. God won't always do what we ask if He doesn't think it's best for us. After praying in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before He was arrested (Matthew 26:44), Jesus Christ finally gave in to God's Will.

God has a lot of kindness. When we know how to pray, God can answer us more quickly. In the name of Jesus Christ, let's put our trust in Him. He will never let us down.

God bless you.

If you want to give your life to Christ, just say this short prayer: "Lord Jesus, I come to You now. Come into my life, take control of my life, and change the world. I'm leaving the devil behind and moving into the Kingdom of Light. Thank you, Jesus. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.


Congratulations!!!

Peace!

Dr. D.K Olukoya: Mountaip Top Life Daily Devotional, Volume 8: 2023.

Scripture Text: John 15: 11-17

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends"- John 15:13 (AKJV)

Our Scripture reading for today shows how far love needs us to go. This kind of love is called "agape" love, not "worldly" love. This is the kind of "agape" love that Jesus Christ told us to have for each other (John 15:12).
Jesus Christ showed us how much He loved us by giving up His life for us so that we wouldn't be destroyed or die. So He told us to put our lives on the line for our friends. He called this "The Greater Love."

So, does Jesus literally want us to die for our friends? No! Jesus did all of the dying so that we could enjoy all of the living. He died once for all of us, so no one else has to die for anyone else. Jesus Christ is just telling us to die to ourselves by putting someone else's needs ahead of our own.

Jesus Christ makes it clear that a friend is someone who deserves this kind of love. As Jesus told us in the story of the Good Samaritan, a friend is not just someone close to us but also the person next door who needs help and love. Jesus Christ didn't die just for the people He was close to. He died for everyone, no matter how broken, bad, or evil they were. Even though none of us were good enough to deserve His death, He died for us while we were still bad.

Most of the time, we miss what John 15:13 really means. We think a lot about what we should do for ourselves, but the most important thing is what we can do for others, just like Jesus did for us. Jesus died on the cross for us. We should do the same for the people around us.
This means we have to give up our own wants and needs for the sake of those around us. We don't fight for our rights or what we earn. Instead, we give these things up for the good of others, just like Jesus Christ did for us on Calvary.

Think about how much the church could change if we did this. How beautiful would it be in the Church of God if we gave up our lives, our rights, and our wants for the sake of others instead of fighting for what we deserve? What if we did our best? What if we loved each other? What if we gave up something? Think about how these things could have changed the world for the better.

Jesus led us to the right path. He had the right and the power to stand up for Himself and fight back when people tried to hurt Him. Yet He didn't. Even when His followers tried to fight for Him, He told them to stop. He gave up His right to save us, and this made the world different for the better.

If Jesus was able to do it, so can we! He says that in this world, we will do more greater than these (John 14:12).
Are you willing to give up your life? Go do it! In the name of Jesus Christ, God's kindness is enough for us. Amen!

God bless you.

Please, say this short prayer if you want to give your life to Christ:

"Lord Jesus, I come to You now. Come into my life, take charge of my life, and change my world. I'm leaving the devil behind and moving into the Kingdom of Light. Thank you, Jesus. I pray in Jesus' name, amen."

Congratulations!!!

Peace!

Also read: https://www.rethinknow.org/meaning-of-john-15-13-no-love-greater-than-this/
Dr. D.K Olukoya: Mountain Top Life Daily Devotional Vol 8. 2023.

Scripture Text: Hebrews 10:26-31

"26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[a] and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”[b] 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."- Hebrews 10:26-31

"For if we choose to sin after knowing everything there is to know about the truth, there is no more sacrifice for sins." The sin of apostacy is talked about in Hebrews 10:26–29. Apostasy is when someone chooses to leave their faith. Apostates are people who move towards Christ and are on the verge of saving faith because they hear and understand the Gospel, but then reject what they have learned and turn away. These are people who may even be aware of their sins and say they believe in God. But instead of growing spiritually, they start to lose interest in Christ and become more interested in the things of the world. Eventually, they stop caring about the things of God and turn away. The second and third grounds in Matthew 13:1–9, 18–23, show how these kinds of people act. These are the people who "receive with joy" the things of the Lord but who are turned off by the worries of the world or the problems they face because of Christ.

In this text, "willful sinning" means that a person rejects Christ on purpose. To turn away from God's way after knowing it, hearing it taught, studying it, and thinking of oneself as a believer is to become an apostate. Willfully failing means that you do it over and over again and on purpose. This kind of person doesn't sin because they don't know any better, and they don't give in to short-term temptations because they are too weak to fight. Willful sinners sin because they have a set way of thinking and acting that they don't want to change. On the other hand, a true Christian is someone who sins and temporarily falls out of touch with God. But he will finally repent and return to God because his heavenly Father will keep trying to win him back and show him the truth until he can't stay away any longer. The real apostate will keep on sinning on purpose, gladly, and with no shame. John says in 1 John 3:9, "No one who is born of God sins, because His seed lives in him, and he can't sin because he is born of God."


Apostates know things, but they don't know how to use what they know. You can find them where Christ's light is shining, which is mostly in the church among God's people. Judas Iscariot is the best example of this. He knew a lot, but he didn't have real faith. Judas saw God's love and kindness more and better than anyone else who didn't believe the truth. He was one of Jesus' closest friends and ate, slept, and travelled with Him for years. He saw Jesus do miracles and heard Jesus, the best teacher the world has ever seen, speak the words of God, but he didn't follow Jesus. In fact, he helped plan to kill Jesus.

The apostate is beyond salvation because he has turned his back on the truth and continues to sin even though he knows better. He has also refused the only true sacrifice for sins, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. If Christ's death is turned down, there is no way to be saved. If you turn away from this sacrifice on purpose, there is no sacrifice left. There is only sin, for which the punishment is death for all time. This text isn't about a believer who stops believing, but about someone who says they believe but really doesn't. If you give up your faith, you show that you never had it in the first place (1 John 2:19).

The verdict of God for apostates is written in Hebrews 10:28-31 "28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[a] and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”[b] 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

Repent today for the judgement of God is at hand.

Say this short prayer if you want to give your life to Christ:

"Lord Jesus, I come to You now. Come into my life, take charge of my life, and change my world. I'm done with the devil. I join the Kingdom of Light. Thank you, Jesus. I pray in Jesus's name, amen."


Congratulations!!! Now that you've been reborn, you have a new life in Christ.

God bless you.

Peace!

You can also read: https://www.gotquestions.org/Hebrews-10-26.html

Scripture Text: Romans 13: 3-7

"It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness. For a throne is established by righteousness.- Proverbs 16:12 (NKJV)"

Leadership is simply the intentional act of having a good effect on people's character, development, or behaviour without using force or direct power. It's not a title, but a job, because the leader has to be many things to many different people. Godly leadership means supporting good and staying away from bad, even though you have been giving certain authority over people.

Are you a godly leader?

Godly leaders usually possess positive attitude and embed the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5: 22-23) in their leadership skills.

- A godly leader is the one must do what he says he will do and be consistent and reliable. People should be able to look up to a leader and get godly and valuable information from him.
- He must be able to solve problems and make decisions. A leader needs to be able to keep track of people and resources and not mess them up.
- He must be humble, making himself available to his people and avoiding being arrogant or proud.
- A godly leader shouldn't get angry quickly, but should be patient.
- He can't be mean, but he must be aware of what his people need by being loving and kind towards them.
- He must be able to bring out the best in his people and not put them down. He can't just leave people the way he found them, people should have faith in him.
- He has to help his team, build it up, teach them, and really care about them, not just ignore or look down on them.
- He must be able to point people in the right way and never lose his balance.
- He should set an example by taking the lead instead of sitting in the back (2 Samuel 11:1).
- Nehemiah 2:17 says that a leader should not mislead or take advantage of people. Instead, he should set out a goal, share his plan, and inspire others to work towards that vision. Nehemiah pushed his people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem without fear.
- A leader shouldn't think that everything depends on him or her. He must be selfless. If he doesn't understand the idea of "service before self," the people he leads won't trust, respect, and stick with him.
- He must take responsibility for things that go wrong while he is in charge (1 Samuel 15:21).
- He should be honest and good at what he does (Psalms 78:72).
- He should listen to what people say and think about him to find out if his actions and life are hurting other people. At one point in His life, Jesus Christ wanted to know what people and His friends were saying about Him. Self-evaluation is a key part of being a leader.

Are you a leader who has nothing good or holy about them? You need to repent. You need to show God's people how to live by getting reborn. Leaders who are based on Christ don't rely on what they know (Proverbs 3:5–6). Most of the time, the Holy Spirit tells them what to do and what to avoid doing. For them to do well as leaders, their whole heart is set on God. Until you become God's friend, you won't be able to hear what the Holy Spirit has to say. To become God's friend, you have to give your life over to Jesus Christ, who is the Author and Finisher our faith.

Say this short prayer if you want to give your life to Jesus Christ:

"Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now. Come into my life and redeem it. I'm sorry for all my sins, I'm leaving the devil behind, and I'm entering the Kingdom of Light. Thank you, Jesus. I pray in Jesus's name, amen.


Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!



Also Read:mfm-devotional-2-may-2023-leaders-are-a-terror-to-evil

Scripture Text: Mathew 23

Identifying Pharisee spirit today is crucial. We must avoid them since Jesus Christ says so much about them. Pharisees were stereotypically preoccupied with holiness. They didn't care about heart holiness or God's law, just external compliance to their own rules. They weren't righteous enough, according to Christ. He also states that we must "exceed" the Pharisees in righteousness to "enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20).

The Pharisees, known as Perushim in Hebrew, were a Jewish "sect" that strictly followed the Law and were often portrayed as "holier than thou" in church pulpits.

Pharisees and scribes made considerable efforts to appear holy. The truth is that they only made conscious of external compliance (Matthew 5:21) and even then, only in connection to some commandments (Matthew 15:3).

But most of us are Pharisaical. Legalists become Pharisees. We all think we deserve heaven. Because grace says terrible things about us, we oppose grace from birth. John Piper defines legalism as “the conviction that law-keeping is the ground for our acceptance with God — a failure to be amazed at grace.”

How Can You Tell If Someone Is a Modern Pharisee?

1. You think that going to church every Sunday will make God happy with you.
2. You talk more about what you're against than about what you're for.
3. You think God really does need you. The Pharisees of today think that God needs them on his team. They think that the church needs them to keep going.
4. You don't turn away from sin because you think you haven't done anything "serious" enough to turn away from.
5. You see things in a black-and-white way. In many ways, the Bible is not clear. But Pharisees of today don't live in a world of grey. They need everything to be clear-cut. Come in or leave. Yes or no. Either way.
7. Your safety depends on what you do, not on what Jesus did.
8. You read the Bible to prove what you already believe, not to become like God.
9. You think that people outside of the church should live a certain way before they can be called "Christian."
10. You don't know that a convert is different from a move.
11. Everyone you know who is a Christian looks and acts just like you.
12. You get angry and hurt when someone tries to correct you.
13. You like seek honour among men
14. You are easily angered.
15. You live out your faith so that others can see it.
16. You urge moral duties without the Gospel.
16. You care about how you look than how you act.
17. You love status and celebrity
18. You mix religion with selfishness.
19. Pharisees use their own ideas to define sin.
20. Pharisees will go to hell if they don't change their ways.

Are you on your way to becoming a Pharisee? Do you recognise yourself in any of these signs? You need to repent now before it's too late.

God bless you.

If you would like to give your life to Christ just say this short prayer:

"Lord Jesus, I come to You now, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world. I say bye-bye to the devil, I enter into the Kingdom of Light. Thank You Jesus Christ, in Jesus' name I pray, amen!

Congratulations!!!

Peace!

Ref:
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-making-of-a-modern-pharisee

Scripture Text: John 19:30

What was Jesus' mission on earth?

Jesus Christ's mission was extensive, and when He completed it, He declared, "It is Finished!" (John 19:30).


Let's examine the many missions accomplished by Jesus Christ so that we can daily appreciate Him more.

-To proclaim the good news to the impoverished (Luke 18:14).
-He came to give us a fuller existence (John 10:10b).
-He was sent to proclaim the truth (John 18:37).
-He arrived to convey fire to the earth (Luke 12:49).
-He came as the Lamb of God to atone for the sins of the world (John 19:30).
-He consented to being pummelling and wounded; blood flowed from His incisions; water flowed from his side; a crown of thorns was placed on his head and caused blood to flow from it; and the nail in His feet caused blood to flow. All of these had significance for the Lord's redeemed who accepted His death, burial, and resurrection (John 19:33–39).
-He removed all of our tribulations and carried them all (Isaiah 53:4).
-With His stripes, we are cured physically, spiritually, and emotionally (Isaiah 53:5). He provided healing for all of our ailments.
-His sacrifice was ONCE AND FOR ALL TIME; even future generations will benefit from accepting Him as Lord and Saviour.
-By His sacrifice on the cross, He has given us a new lease on life.

What is your attitude towards Jesus Christ? He paid the price for your sin with His own life on Calvary's cross. He completed everything. Then, is your spirit in the proper place with Him?

If not, now is the time for repentance. If so, by "His Grace," persevere in His excellent task. We must rely on Him, not on our own fortitude or righteousness (Isaiah 64:6, Romans 5:19). What physical, mental, and spiritual burdens are you currently carrying? Now, Jesus can remove them. Just say:

"Now I come to You, Lord Jesus Christ. I recognise that I am a sinner, but I have repented of my crimes. I acknowledge You as my Lord and Saviour. Come into my existence, rule my universe, and complete me. Thank You, Jesus, and I pray in Your name, amen!

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Ref:
Dr. D.K Olukoya, Mountain Top Life Daily Devotional: Vol 8, 2023.

Scripture Texts: Colossians 3:20-25; 4:1-6

A Christian household is Christ-centred. Christian households are not religious. It is not ruled by a "restrictive" religion. Instead, it is a place where family members live under the "bright shadow" of the presence of the Son of God, speaking, acting, and relating to one another in the knowledge that Jesus Christ is intimately connected with all they do. In this family, "Christ is the head of this house, the unseen guest at every meal, the silent listener to every conversation."

Christian households have huge traits. These distinguish Christian families from secular ones. Christian families are joyful. Every marriage and family has challenges, but nothing can take away our delight in the Lord. Christian households are organised. God does not confuse. (1 Corinthians 14:33). All Christian households are simple, holy, and tyrant-free. Grace defines Christian homes. Christian households are places of refuge, respite, and healing despite the world's hostility. Christian homes also serve. Christ is first, and serving God requires compassion, respect, humility, and love. All things are sacred, including basic tasks like washing, housework, and lawn mowing. Christian households also practise spiritual discipline. Studying the Bible, praying, meditating, and spending time with God are how we live. A Christian family also follows God's plan for each member. Their dreams of meeting Jesus Christ reflect God's purpose.

Rules for Christian Households
Our Scripture verses today outline Christian home rules:

- The Lord requires wives to submit to their husbands.
- Husbands must love their lives.
- Obeying parents pleases the Lord.
- Fathers should not anger their children to avoid discouraging them.
- Servants must follow their lord without eyeservice or menpleasers, fearing God. They must do everything for the Lord, not mankind. All actions are rewarded.
- Masters should treat their subordinates fairly, knowing they have a Heavenly Master.
- Christian families must pray and watch with thankfulness.
- Christians must pray for God's men (pastors, apostles, prophets, preachers, teachers, etc.) to keep sharing the secret of Christ and making - - - Christ's words clear in them.
- Redeeming time, Christian households must act wisely towards the unwise.
- Christian homes must speak with grace and salt to know how to respond to everyone.

God bless you.

If you would like to give your life to Christ or redicate your home to Him just say this short prayer:

"Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now, I know that I'm a sinner, forgive me all my sins and have mercy upon me. Take control of my life and members of my household, as i I hand it over to You now. I say bye-bye to the devil, I enter into the Kingdom of Light. Thank You Lord Jesus Christ! In Jesus' precious name I pray, amen!

Congratulations!!!

Peace!


Holy Spirit
focusonthefamily.com
Dr. D.K Olukoya: Mountain Top Daily Devotional Vol 8, 2023.

Scripture Text: John 3:16-17

Memory Verse- "Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved"-Acts 4:12.

Has anyone told you about Jesus, God's one and only Son, and how he atoned for your crimes by dying on the cross? If that doesn't happen, the gospel of John will be presented to you. Because "God so loved the world," He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him might not die but might have eternal life.

Some people are unhappy, so they find the idea of eternal life repulsive. Dearly beloved, everlasting life is not merely a continuation of the wretched existence of earthly man. There is no end to eternal existence. There is no suffering, no evil, and no guilt in the afterlife. Eternal existence consists of spending all of eternity with God, where you will experience unending bliss beyond your wildest dreams.

In the absence of Christ, we tend to treat this world as though it were the only one. This existence is really just a warmup for the next. Therefore, to be truly adored, to believe in Christ, and to accept the gift of eternal life, the only way to access the eternal pleasure that comes from trusting in Jesus as your personal Saviour is by embracing Him as your Lord and Saviour. As we see in today's Scripture memory, He is the only one who can save us.

Putting one's faith in Jesus Christ means that a person knows they can only be saved by Him. It means making Christ the focus of your existence and letting Him direct your actions and decisions. To believe is to have faith that what He says can be relied upon. That's also trusting in His ability to bring about transformation. If you have never put your faith in Christ, now is the time to do so. Say this simple prayer:
"Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now. Come into my life, take control of my life, and change my world. I leave the realm of darkness and make my way into the realm of light. In Jesus' name, I pray, amen!

Congratulations!!!

Peace!

Dr. D.K. Olukoya, Mountain Top Life Daily Devotional, Volume 8: 2023 .

Scripture Text: 1 John 1:4-10

"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[b] sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us."-NIV.

Memory Verse: "Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour."

Sin is the one thing that God hates more than anything else. And the Bible tells us to be like our Father, who is perfect. "Be perfect, then, as your heavenly Father is perfect," says Matthew 5:48. You can't become closer to God if you enjoy things that He dislikes. So, sin is not something to mess around with. Sin is our worst adversary because it lets the devil into our lives and causes trouble.

Sin is so strong that you can't beat it with your own strength. Thinking you can beat sin is like playing with fire if you're sure you can. Whoever plays with fire gets burned, and whoever gives in to sin in any way will be destroyed. Consequently. God says that we should try to live holy lives. In other words, do all you can to stay away from sin. He advises us to ask for forgiveness when we sin so that we won't catch fire from it. Sin will carry you deeper than you want to go, because if you let it, it will take you to hell fire, which is a place where you will be forever separated from God. In the name of Jesus, you won't have to deal with it.

The way out is to focus on things above instead of things on this earth. Col. 3:1-3 says that if you have a heavenly mentality, you will do all you can to please God. Look for God, and don't give up until you discover Him. When you are focused on doing what is right and won't let the joys of the world take your attention away, you will develop spiritually.

Sin will keep you from getting closer to God and will put you on the road to hell. Do you want to have a close connection with God? You can get out of this. First, read 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and right to forgive us and wash us clean of all wrongdoing."

Repent today! Tomorrow may be too late.

God bless you.

Say this simple prayer if you want to dedicate your life to Christ: "Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. Come live with me. Take charge of my life and make it different. I'm done with the devil. In the name of Jesus Christ, I join the Kingdom of Light. Amen!

Congratulations!!!

Peace!


Ref:
Dr. D.K Olukoya: "Mountain Top Daily Devotional: Vol. 8, 2023.

Scripture Text: John 6: 48-48

Making Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior is the first step to spiritual growth.

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away; behold all things are become new"- 2 Corinthians 5:17

You must give your life to Jesus Christ before you can talk about spiritual growth. You won't be able to grow spiritually if you don't choose to follow Christ and put Him first. So, being born again in Christ is a very important part of spiritual growth.

How do you surrender to Christ? Romans 10:9-10 says "That if thou confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shall be saved. For with the heart a man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation".

You must not only say "Lord Jesus Christ" with your mouth and heart, but you must also feel strongly about it. Only then can you stay true to Him until the end. If your conviction isn't strong enough, you won't be able to make a firm decision to follow the Lord to the end. If you're not careful, this could throw you off track on your Christian journey. You have to turn away from the world and towards the Lord Jesus Christ.

Another is for you to abide in Him so that He can abide in you. You can abide in the Lord Jesus Christ by dwelling in His Prensence every day, thereby growing deeper in Him as you seek Him more. John 15:4-5 says: "Abide in me, and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I an the Vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for wothout me you can do nothing."

When you give your life to Jesus Christ as Lord. He takes over and becomes the Commander-in-Chief, the person who everyone must listen to. So, are you a new person? As such, start a new life, and as you keep looking for Him, you will grow closer to the Lord Jesus Christ. Have you taken a step back or turned cold? Now is the time to turn back to Jesus Christ. Jesus is always ready and willing to take you back into His flock.
God bless you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen!

If you want to give your life to Christ, just say this short prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now. I confess You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I confess my sins to You. Please forgive me and accept me as Your Child. Step into my life and take charge of it. I tell the devil goodbye and enter the Kingdom of Light. Thank you, Jesus. I pray in Jesus's name, amen.

Congratulations!!! You're safe now!

Peace!

Ref:
Dr.D.K Olukoya: Mountain Top Life Daily Devotional Vol 8: 2023.

Scripture Texts: Genesis 12:5-20 (KJV); 1 Peter 3:1-6 (KJV); Genesis 12:11-20 (KJV); Genesis 16:1-6 (KJV); Genesis 21:1-7 (KJV).

MEMORY VERSE: “Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.” – Isaiah 51:2

Sarah teaches submission and trust first. The matriarch's faith and complete devotion to God's plan are unusual in our age. Following someone who claims to have heard God but is unclear takes confidence. Sarah accompanied her husband who had heard from God to leave his father's land but wasn't sure where (Hebrews 11:8-11). She complied. Our generation's faith is unusual. Sarah followed Abraham everywhere to Canaan. That wasn't a perfect trip. Not all women can! Because God didn't speak to her. Abraham alone heard God. Why would she kill herself chasing her husband around? She deserves praise. Unlike Moses' wife Zipporah, who returned when the path seemed unclear.

However, submission isn't subjugation. Subjugation—forced control—is tyrannical. Marriage doesn't oppress. Submission is not a woman agreeing on everything, placing her husband's will above Christ's. Surrender is not sacrificing her mind. She's not afraid. The woman draws power from God, not man.

What is Biblical submission? It's heavenly advice for married women. According unto the Lord, a woman must honour and support her husband. As the church is subject to Christ, so should women submit to their husbands in everything (Ephesians 5:24). Sarah, the matriarch, modelled Christian wifehood. "She honoured him as "lord." Likewise, wives. For in this fashion in ancient time, the holy women likewise, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:” Virtuous women respect and honour their husbands. Proverbs 31 describes a virtuous woman who respects and honours her husband (v. 11-12,23,28).

Today, Christian marriages are falling at an alarming pace. No one wants to submit to anybody—husbands, wives, children, or anyone else. Everyone wants their way. This is disrespectful of God's marriage and family rules. We received a different gospel. Home order is not heavenly. To have happy homes and marriages, many Christian spouses should return to God and obey Him. In Jesus' name, may God help us return.

Mother Sarah's beauty, cleanliness, and humility are another striking trait. Sarah was so beautiful at 65 that Egyptian princes praised her before their lord. This spiritual lady must have taken care of herself to look that lovely at that age. Pure women are lovely. She didn't focus only on spirituality. She didn't focus on spirituality when her surroundings were messy. She was well-rounded.
As heaven-bound virtuous women (and men), we must learn to live a balanced life so that while the spirit flourishes, the body does not deteriorate and vice versa (3John 2). Souls need bodies. Consuming the correct nutrients may enhance scripture comprehension (1 Kings 19:. A well-decorated house and properly dressed clothes may set the mood for togetherness. Sleep would help! The body must be valued and maintained. Sarah excelled at this. She proved godliness and beauty are possible. Sweetheart, take care of yourself.

Sarah was barren. She felt she might have children by having her maid sleep with her husband. She erred badly. She tossed her pearl out cheaply, a mistake the world is now dealing with. Although waiting long, she should have been more patient. She should have stayed with God. Her flesh took control, causing the big error.
She wanted a child with Hagar, but all she received was shame and contempt. "When she realised that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her," the Bible states. Hagar, like everyone else, considered her position a right to insult her employer. She was carrying Abraham's child. She could speak and act freely. Sarah contacted an Egyptian for aid (Isaiah 31:1). Impatience costs. The globe still struggles with Ishmael's descendants. Beloved, you may have waited long for a desire, and it is possible you are thinking that God is coming too late. You are thinking of trying a plan-B. Don’t do it! Please hold on to God and trust His timing. He will come through for you. A little more patience, a little more prayer, and your Isaac will arrive in grand style. It shall end in laughter, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Let's discover what God can achieve in apparently impossible circumstances as we conclude Sarah's life study. Our God never loses. In Ezekiel 37, God inquired whether the bones could live. “O Lord God, thou knowest,” Ezekiel said. He stated this because everything seemed hopeless, but with God, nothing is impossible! He will follow His word. Jesus always keeps His word. Our God is powerful! The Lord visited Sarah and did as he declared. Beloved, God will keep His word. His word never fails. Sarah had Isaac, symbolising laughter, at 90. Lazarus, who was rotting, was resurrected after four days. When all hope was gone in Samaria's famine, God provided abundantly. Even now, God visits His people and fulfils His promises. Miracles! God still performs miracles.

What challenges are you experiencing? In Jesus' name, that issue and disgrace will stop today. In Jesus' name, you shall laugh, and others will laugh with you. God will accommodate you. He will expand your coast and tongue to surpass your opponents and mockers. Start mocking your foes right now by laughing at them! God still performs miracles! Believe Him!

You need to give your life to Christ as your own way of showing total submission to God. If you would like to repent confess your sins, just say this short prayer with great faith: “Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world. I say bye-bye to the devil, I enter the Kingdom of Light, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen!

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.
Peace!

Ref: Dr. D,K Olukoya: “Mountain Top Life Daily Devotional”: 2023 Vol 8
https://flatimes.com/mfm-devotional-13-march-2023-life-of-sarah-v/

Scripture Texts: Proverbs 4:20-23; Jeremiah 37:17

Are you tired of your health issues? Goodnews! Read this Prescription carefully, connect and make use of it. It is 100% effective and Has never failed.

A prescription is a direction written by a physician to the pharmacist for a patient to use for healing of any medical condition.
It is a written order by a doctor. It's like a formula, instuction, specification and remedy to medical conditions.

Today, the best Prescription we offer for your healing is God. God, through the Bible and His Word, offers us the special and best prescription to all ou problems and challenges.

God, through His Son, Jesus Christ- The Great Physician, gives us the best prescription and divine healing.

There are reasons why Jesus Christ is called the Great Physician through the Power of God- The Great Presciption.

Reasons are:
- The Great Physician never sends anyone away unhealed.
- He heals immediately with just one "Word". He sents His Word and heals our diseases (Psalm 107:20).
- He heals all those who come to Him.
- He heals permanently.
- He heals without cahrging you any money.
- He heals without medicine or operation.
- He heals emotional diseases.
- He heals physical diseases.
- He heals spiritual diseases.
- He heals generational diseases.
- He heals financial diseases.
- He heals career diseases.
- He heals national diseases.
- He heals 'PERFECTLY'.
- His Clinic name is 'WHEREVER WE GO'.
- He Has a complete Pharmacy. There is no prescription you can't find there, none!
- He heals demonic diseases.
- He touches the untouchable.
- He Himself is touchable.
- He is a 'Persistent Healer'.
- He can raise the dead to live.
- He heals whether you have faith or not.
- He examines His patients without mesical tools.
- He helas every wound completely.
- His Diagnosis is always accurate.
- His Consulting Hour is "ANYTIME, ANYDAY".
- He Alone Has unfailing Prescription.

Now that you have known these? Why can't you come to Him to receive total healing and be made whole?

However, He only needs one thing from you- commitment. Jesus needs you to be available to Him for your own healing. You have to present and submit yourself to Him first so that He can heal you. He Has given you freewill to chose, but He needs your cooperation with Him so that He can heal you. That is why He used to ask people He Had healed in the past: "Will thou be made whole?", "what do you want?" and so on.

So, to commit yourself to Him is to give your life to Christ, if you have not done so. And this is a simple process. Having acknowleged that you are a sinner, now say this short prayer:

"Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now, come into my life, take control of my life, change my life and make me whole. I say bye-bye to the devil, I enter into the Kingdom of Light. Thank You Jesus! in Jesus' name I pray, amen!

Congratulations!!! Please, don't go back to your vomit-sin (2 Corthinans 5:17)

God bless you.

Peace!

Ref: Dr. D.K Olukoya: Culled from Manner Water Message, 1st March 2023.

Scipture Text: Luke 10:38-42 KJV

"Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

Brethren, if we look at today's Scripture text, we may conclude, ordinarily that Martha wasn't entirely wrong about being hospitable or concerns that she needed he sister's (Mary) help at the kitchen to entertain Jesus Christ who is a guest in their house. However, when it comes to the things of God, we need to set our priorities right. God's Way is entirely different from our ways, and that is why self-righteousness is very dangerous. We need the Holy Spirit to always fill us and direct us to do the right thing at the right time, so that we don't waste time doing things necessary but unneedful in the eyes of God.

A lot of the things people do in their lives are not important. Because of the wrong choices and decisions they have made, they are busy doing things that won't help them in the long run. Luke 10:42, which is about Martha and Mary, backs up this point. Jesus stayed at the house of the two sisters. Each made a choice and was busy with something to try to make Jesus Christ happy. The Lord told Martha, "Martha, Martha, you worry about a lot of things." But one thing is important: Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her (Luke 10:41–42). Martha was busy getting food and drinks ready for Jesus to eat and drink. She also told Jesus that her sister, Mary, left her alone to make food and do chores around the house while she sat at Jesus' feet and learned from Him. Jesus praised what Mary was doing and said it was the "one thing" that was both important and rewarding.

Beloved, this story has important lessons to teach us. First, the Lord wants us to put spiritual things ahead of physical ones and give them more importance. The physical comes from the spiritual. Many Christians today are so busy with their jobs, businesses, and trying to make money that they've stopped doing things that are important for their spiritual growth and development, like quiet time or Bible study, fasting, prayer, evangelism, and giving. You are told to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Your salvation or redemption should be the most important thing to you because the world and everything in it are temporary.

Mary made the right choice! By making that decision, she was expressing, like the Psalmist, her belief that God will always be her portion (Psalm 73:26).She put His word first, which is the source of salvation, eternal life, and a lot of other spiritual blessings. She chose hope, faith, and love. She chose Jesus Christ! I suggest that you do the same.

Anyone can be taken away from their everyday things. They only last for a short time. Their reward won't go anywhere else in the universe. If you choose Jesus Christ, no one will be able to take you out of His hands or take your place in the kingdom.

If you want to make things right with God, you must first give your life to Christ by saying this short prayer:

"Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You right now. Please come into my life, take charge of it, and change it. I tell the devil goodbye and enter the Kingdom of Light. In the name of Jesus Christ, I say "Amen."


Congratulations!!!

Peace!

Mountain Tope Life Daily Devotional, Vol. 8, 2023, by Dr. D.K. Olukoya
https://flatimes.com/mfm-devotional-28-february-2023-needful/

Scripture Texts: Psalm 127:3; Psalm 2:8; Psalm 16:6; Psalm 136:22-23; Matthew 25:34

How is the "Heritage" of God explained?

"And if you are children, you are also heirs, both of God and of Christ." (Romans 8:17)

Christians are God's children. We are God's children, and at the same time, this makes us sharers in Christ's inheritance or heritage. Along with Jesus, we get what God the Father wants to give away.

What do you think this gift will be, dear reader?

God gives us a lot in the New Testament: eternal life, the Holy Spirit, redemption, and many other blessings. In reality, the real heritage is the Kingdom of God. God has made it ready for the righteous, but they won't get it until the end of time: "Come, you who are blessed by My Father, take possession of the kingdom that was made for you before the world was made!" Matthew 25:34 says: But God has given His children the Holy Spirit as a "down payment" on their inheritance. God is already setting up His rule through the Holy Spirit, and He will finish it at the end of time. So, Christians already have a taste of what God's kingdom will be like one day.

The Legacy of the Community of Jesus

God's Gift to Israel

The word "heritage" is used in the Old Testament in two different ways:

1. God told the people of Israel that they would live in the land of Israel (Canaan/Palestine). This is the land that the State of Israel calls home again today (Psalm 136:22–23). This land was given to Israel as a gift. That doesn't mean that God doesn't care about the other nations. On the other hand, God only gives Israel a certain amount of land, but this makes room for other nations to also get their share. In this way, everyone can get along and live in peace.

2. God thinks of Israel, both the people and the land, as His own inheritance. In Jeremiah 10:16, it says, "For He is the one who made everything, and Israel is His tribe." Israel is owned by God. In other places, God's "heritage" is sometimes seen as the people and sometimes as the land. So, when other countries attack Israel, which is God's property, they are punished (Joel 4:1–3). No one should even try to touch it.

"Christ has become a servant to Israel to make God's promises come true. This shows that God keeps the promises he made to our forefathers.

God's gift of heritage to Israel in the New Testament

God has promised His people a new covenant. This means that one day, God will forgive His people's sins and write the Torah on Israel's heart. When the judgement is over, Israel will go back to its land and be God's nation for all time (Jeremiah 30-33). Israel reaches its destiny!

The author of the Letter to the Hebrews makes it clear that Jesus, the Messiah of Israel, is the one who made the new covenant possible: "Christ, the mediator of a new covenant." For what? So that "those who have been called" may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For Israel, the land that God had already promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the inheritance that will last forever. This means that Israel joins the new covenant through Jesus and is brought back as a nation to the promised land. As the prophets have always said, this is Israel's land.

Paul says in Romans 15:8 that Israel's inheritance is tied to her Messiah: "Christ has become a servant to Israel to make God's promises come true." This shows that God keeps the promises he made to our forefathers (translation T.K.). This means that Jesus is the way for Israel to finally take possession of the land that is their inheritance.

This is not a new idea. Because every Jewish child knows that it is the job of the Messiah to bring Israel together and fix it. Paul only says things that are clear.

"Ask me, and I'll give you the nations as your inheritance and the ends of the earth as your possession."

The Global Dimensions of God's Kingdom as Messiah's Legacy

On the other hand, Jesus is not only the King of Israel but also of the whole world. Not only does Israel belong to him, but so do all the other countries on earth. Even in the Old Testament, this is how the inheritance is seen by everyone. In Psalm 2, God says to His Messiah, "Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as your inheritance and the ends of the earth as your possession" (verse . The Messiah will not only rule over Israel but also over the whole world. because the whole world is his (Daniel 2 and 7).

When does this happen? simple answer: when Jesus comes back. Then He will give Israel back its kingdom (Acts 1:6). And he will spread God's kingdom over the whole world. In 1 Corinthians 15:20–28, this is talked about in more detail. Jesus, the Messiah, will first do a full "clean up." He will save the world from sin, the devil, death, and the fact that everything changes. After that, Jesus will give God control of the kingdom. God will then be "all in all" (1 Corinthians 15:28). Then everyone will get their share of the money, and everything will be fine. for Israel and the rest of the world. for everyone who lives in the kingdom of God. Forever.

Brethren, the question is: are you a child of God? Are you qualified to partake in this portion of God's inheritance? Only those who are heirs to the throne of God can inherit it. And no sinner will ever stand before His throne.Therefore, it is better to repent of your sins today and give your life to Christ so that you can have access to the "heritage" of God in eternal life.

If you would like to give your life to Christ, just say this short prayer:

"Lord Jesus, I come to You now. Come into my life, take control of my life, and change my world." I say bye-bye to the devil, and I enter the Kingdom of Light. Thank You, Jesus; I pray in Jesus' name, amen.

Congratulations!!!

You are now in Christ, a new creature. So, don't return to your vomit and old ways that you've just abandoned.Accept the new life in Christ, which is infused with joy.

God bless you.

Peace!

Ref: https://www.c4israel.org/_teachings/the-heritage-of-god/