It's our move (Kenneth E. Hagin)

The Book of Luke records the story of a paralytic man whose four friends tried to bring him before Jesus. However, when they reached the home where Jesus was, the place was so crowded that they couldn't get in. So they carried their friend to the top of the house, broke through the roof, and lowered him in front of Jesus (see Luke 5:17-26).

Now this paralytic man was not, as is commonly supposed, healed through the faith of the men who brought him to Jesus. No, he was healed through his own faith. His healing was the result of his own exercise of bold, obedient faith.

The paralytic man was not healed the moment Jesus said, "Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house" (Luke 5:24). It wasn't until the man made an effort to rise up off his mat that the power of God was released. The faith of the paralytic man's friends brought him to the feet of Jesus, but it was his own faith that took him off his bed of affliction.

At times I have been led by the Spirit of God to tell people to arise and walk. And as some of them attempted to rise, we had to hold them up. I had to encourage them to keep their eyes on Jesus. "Don't walk in your strength," I would tell them. "Walk in His strength." It takes faith to do that.

One time in 1943 my wife and I went to the home of a woman who was on her deathbed. Her husband had taken her by ambulance to three different clinics in three different cities. The doctors in all of the clinics said the same thing: "Nothing more can be done for her."

This woman was so weak that you had to put your ear just above her mouth to hear what she was saying. It took all of her strength to speak in a barely audible whisper.

When my wife, Oretha, and I went to pray for her, I knelt by the head of her bed and Oretha knelt beside me. As I laid my hands on her and began to pray, the Word of the Lord came unto me, saying, "Take your hands off of her. Stand up and say to her, 'The Lord told me to tell you you're healed. Arise and walk.'"

After I stood up and told the woman what the Lord had said, she had only enough strength to kick one foot out from under the covers. Two of her neighbors were also in the room. I stepped outside while one of the ladies went to the closet and got her robe and slippers, and my wife and the neighbor ladies helped her put them on. Then they lifted her out of bed and called me back into the room.

This dear woman had wasted away to almost nothing. As the neighbor ladies held her up, her knees sagged almost to the floor.

Well, what do you do at such times? It looked as though nothing had worked. I said, "Let's all lift our hands and praise God, because she is healed." The neighbor ladies lifted up her hands while holding up their own hands to praise God. A time or two the woman began slipping out of their grip and almost slid to the floor. My wife tried to help them as they pulled her back up.

We all praised God for a few moments, and then they quit and looked at me with pitiful expressions, as if to say, "What next?" I said, "The Lord said she is healed. Lift up her hands and praise God, because she is."

My wife tried holding her up by putting her hands around her tiny waist, and the two ladies pulled her up by her arms. And we all started praising God again. As we did, His power came upon this dying woman. She jerked loose from my wife and the neighbor ladies, kicked off her slippers, and started dancing barefoot before the Lord! The next Sunday, she was in church testifying about being raised up from her deathbed.

But you see, we made the first move. This woman used what strength she had to act on God's Word. And we praised God by faith for her healing when it hadn't yet appeared.

We have to cooperate with God by believing in Him and doing what we can to act on His Word if we want to get His blessing.

It may seem as if it is impossible, but if we will make the effort, His power will meet us and take over from there. Just as the paralytic man in Luke chapter 5 and the bedfast woman given up by her doctors to die arose from their impossible situations, we, too, can "arise and walk" in the mighty Name of Jesus.


Source: rhema.org

Raising a Strong Family (Oretha Hagin)

When the Lord told Kenneth to begin traveling in ministry, we decided that I would stay home and provide a proper home atmosphere for our children. Raising children is a calling in itself. And there are many challenges involved.

I had to be both mother and father while my husband was gone. I kept the children in school and provided them with a good home. I also made sure they had a good church family.

Even when Kenneth was away ministering, I took Ken Jr. and Pat to church practically every time the doors opened. We attended church faithfully, and our children never put up a fuss. They had been trained all of their lives that attending church was not an option!

The Right Company

My children weren't perfect, and I didn't know everything they did, but I did my best to see that they were keeping the right company.

If children begin socializing with the wrong crowd, they will start picking up bad habits that can be very harmful to them. That's why I made it a point to know the friends my children were associating with. And I usually knew where my children were and what they were doing, because they would often invite their friends over to our house for fellowship!

There were many, many weekends and afternoons after school that our house was full of young people! But I liked it that way. I always told Ken Jr. and Pat, "Bring your friends here for fellowship. Anytime you want to have them over, the house is open."

That's what a home is for . . . to be lived in and enjoyed. After all, who was I making a home for if not for my family?

I also let Ken Jr. and Pat have fun when they brought their friends to our house. I wasn't afraid the house was going to get dirty, and I didn't constantly nag them about it. Yes, sometimes the house got a little messed up. But I taught my children how to clean up their messes, so that was never a problem!

Sacrifices

I never did bemoan the fact that we were in the ministry and that we had to make sacrifices. Yes, there were times when we had no money and very little food and the children didn't have many clothes to wear.

But we never failed to make it through the hard times. The hard times were never greater than God's grace for us. And we taught our children that it is wonderful to serve God.

I never told our children we couldn't afford to buy them the things they needed. Kenneth and I continually told our children that God would meet our needs. So if I told them we couldn't afford the things we needed, they would think God didn't come through for us. I didn't want them to think that way because God will always come through for us when we look to Him and trust Him. He is faithful.

Spiritual and Natural Training

We did our best to raise our children according to the Word of God, and from the time they were very young, we began teaching them about their Heavenly Father. I remember before our children ever started school, Kenneth would read Bible storybooks to them. Later, when he was away, the children and I never failed to read the Bible and pray each day before they went to school.

You see, children need to be taught how to live the Christian life, and they need to learn how to believe God's Word for themselves. They don't learn those things automatically.

We also trained our children in natural things. For example, I taught Ken Jr. and Pat how to do housework when they were young. I would put them to work helping me wash and dry the dishes. Children should be taught how to handle responsibility because that builds confidence in them. And they need to be prepared to get out on their own when they grow up.

Set the Example

I think one reason some children are disobedient and rebellious is, they don't see the right example set in the home. They don't see the God-kind of love demonstrated by their parents.

If a husband and wife don't show love to each other, how can they expect their children to show love to others? And children need affection too. It's a sad thing for children to be raised in a home where no love and affection are shown.

Kenneth and I have always shown love to our children, and he and I have always been deeply in love with each other. The day we were married, the first thing Kenneth said to me after we left the church was, "We'll always be sweethearts." And it has been that way with us because we want it to be that way, and we work at it. 

You Can Be Successful

Raising children is a big responsibility, but with the Lord to help you, you can be successful. There may be sacrifices you will have to make, but whatever you do, don't sacrifice the wellbeing of your children. Any sacrifice you make is not too great a price to pay to be sure they have the best life possible.

I have found that if you let Jesus guide your life, and walk closely with Him, you will set the right example for your children, and things will go well for you and your family. Even if you make a mistake and the circumstances don't look good, those circumstances will change if you will keep your attitude right and trust God to work things out for you.

I've also found that if your spiritual life isn't what it should be, then your physical life and your emotional life will sometimes suffer too. Your physical energy will be low when your spiritual life is low.

But life is just so much sweeter when you're walking closely with the Lord, loving Him and doing what He wants you to do. And life will be sweeter for your family too!

Source: rhema.org

Investing God's Way (Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin)

"My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." -Phil. 4:19

There is a law of sowing and reaping in both the natural and the spiritual realms. And it's a law that works! Yet from my experience, more people fail when it comes to faith for finances than for anything else. The reason is that they're trying to exercise faith for finances, but they haven't planted any seed! They want God to bless their finances even though they haven't sown anything.

The Bible plainly states, "GIVE, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete[measure] withal it shall be measured to you again" (Luke 6:38).

The Bible also plainly says, "He which SOWETH sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully" (2 Cor. 9:6). If you want a bountiful crop, you've got to sow bountifully.

You can't reap a crop without sowing seed. You can't go out into your backyard and say, "I'm going to pick some tomatoes," if the ground hasn't been prepared and the seed sown.

The first step, then, toward getting your financial needs met is to obey the Bible.

MALACHI 3:10 10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

God said we are to bring our tithes—10 percent of our income—into the storehouse, and in return He will open up the windows of Heaven. "Prove me now herewith," he said.

So just go ahead and obey the Bible in the area of finances. Pay your tithes and give offerings. Act on God's Word in faith, and God will bless you because He's faithful and true to His Word.

Then beyond cooperating with God's laws concerning tithing and giving offerings, be open to receive further light from His Word concerning giving to others. Also, be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, Who will very often direct you specifically to give.

Now don't do something just because somebody else did. Don't operate on someone else's experience. Operate on what you know the Bible says, and operate on what the Holy Spirit is saying to you.

You don't have to have any "leading" to pay tithes and give offerings. You don't need to be led to give and sow. The Bible tells you to do those things, so just do them. But when you get out beyond that, it's when you obey the Spirit of God that things happen.

Start where you are. Be faithful to obey the Word by paying your tithes and giving offerings. And be obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit when He directs you specifically to give. You can't out-give God. If you sow seeds bountifully in faith and obedience, you will reap an abundant harvest of blessings!


Source: rhema.org

Question of the Day

Question: What is God's plan for intimacy in marriage?

Answer:

Marriage and the intimacy that goes along with marriage is a blessing to husbands and wives, a gift from God Himself. Yes, God made sex for procreation, but He also created it as a physical pleasure to be enjoyed as part of His plan for the marriage covenant. Sex with your spouse is something you can not only enjoy today, but something that you can look forward to becoming better and better over time as you grow closer to each other.

In The Successful Family, Dr. Creflo and Taffi Dollar teach that everything you need to know about sex is in the Bible, and it is very specific (Hebrews 13:4; Genesis 4:1; Proverbs 5:15-20; Song of Solomon; 1 Corinthians 7:1-7). One of the first things God commanded Adam and Eve to do was to be fruitful and multiply. He wanted them to enjoy one another physically and in the process, have children. Because God believes that sex is good, this means it is good within the framework of marriage. The intimacy that takes place between a husband and wife reinforces the commitment between them, while also providing pleasure and satisfaction.

The Dollars also teach that God’s love is focused on giving. It says, “I want to please you more than myself. I put your needs ahead of mine.” A key to intimacy in marriage is effective communication. Therefore, sexual fulfillment starts with the understanding that men and women differ in their basic sexual and emotional needs. For a man that often means:

    Satisfaction of his sexual drive
    Fulfillment of his manhood
    Enhancement of his love for his wife
    Reduction of friction in the home.

For a woman it provides:

    Fulfillment of her womanhood
    Reassurance of her husband’s love
    Enhancement of her love for her husband.

If you’re married, the enjoyment of sex is a gift God has given to you and your spouse as a couple. When you married one another, you became one—and the marriage bed is a pure and good gift from God. Enjoy the gift!


Source: Kcm.org

Question of the Day

Question: When is it appropriate to end a friendship?


Answer:

You should let the Spirit guide you when you begin a friendship as well as when you end it.

The basis for a close friendship should always be common faith and beliefs. A friendship will thrive when both parties are on the same life path.

When the path begins to go in different directions regarding things of faith, it may be time to seek close friendship with others. Again, this is a matter between you and the Spirit inside you. Seek His guidance.

Of course, we don’t ever abandon friends unless the relationship has become detrimental to our own well-being. We never give up on friends who may be headed down a destructive path. We continue to pray for friends in faith and love. And we should always walk in forgiveness toward our friends.

Give the Spirit of God opportunity to guide you in the selection of friends. Whether they are forever friends or for-a-time friends, with the Spirit as your guide, you can know He has placed them in your life for a reason…and that reason is to give them the love of God!


Source: kcm.org

Preparing for Promotion (Joel Osteen)

God Sees the Very Best in You

There’s nothing quite like that feeling you get when your boss, or maybe a coach or someone who’s important in your life says, “I believe in you, and you’re doing a fantastic job. I see so much potential in you that I’ve got a higher position for you.”

The great news I have for you today is that God sees the very best in you. He wants to promote you! He desires to take you to a new level of joy, productiveness and fulfillment.

I want to help you prepare for promotion. I want you to be successful in your work...enjoy a satisfying, loving marriage...see your finances grow...build meaningful relationships...and experience victory over any circumstance! Here are the key, biblical principles that will help you get ready for promotion:
Have faith that God can help you rise above any adversity.

When you’re in a difficult situation and something is going on that you don’t like, very often this is simply a test of your faith. If this is you, I hope you will find some comfort in the fact that God has your best interest at heart. Regardless of your current circumstances, let me encourage you to follow Him faithfully. As you do, God will begin to turn things around for your good and His glory.


Every day we receive hundreds of letters from friends who share with us how God has used this ministry to encourage them and help them stay strong in their faith during tough times. One testimony came from Greg, who shared how God honored his commitment to keep a positive, faith-filled attitude even after he received crushing news that his boss had changed his mind about a raise he had agreed to give Greg:

“His words were like a stranglehold on my throat. I went home and prayed. I asked God to allow me to feel peace and not anger toward my boss. The next morning I was sharing with my wife how I needed to be more thankful, and the phone rang. It was my boss, saying my raise had been reinstated! I was speechless. This is a new chapter in my walk with the Lord. Thank you for your words of hope and encouragement. They’ve helped me more than you know!”

What a great reminder that when God is ready, no man can stop Him! No circumstance can keep you down! When God says it’s time, it’s time. “Because of your faith it will happen” (Matthew 9:29, TLB).

When God says it's time, it's time
Live with a soft heart and teachable spirit.

If you’re going to be ready for your promotion, it’s so important that you have a teachable spirit. We should always be willing to learn. Stay open to new ideas and new ways of doing things. If others are critical of you, don’t get defensive — take the opportunity to do a self-evaluation and use it to motivate yourself to grow and improve.

A big part of being teachable is to be humble, especially with those God has placed in authority over you. Greg could have gotten mad at his boss for canceling his raise. But Greg humbly accepted the lesson God wanted him to learn, and the situation turned around.

That’s a soft heart and a teachable spirit! When you say, “God, I don’t really understand this or agree with it, but I’m going to follow You anyway,” you’re passing the test and putting yourself in a position for God to promote you. “God’s strong hand is on you; he’ll promote you at the right time” (1 Peter 5:6, The Message).
Get involved: Serve others and be a blessing.

One of the easiest things to do when you’re facing trials is to turn inward and become self-focused. But every day we should look for opportunities to do good and make a difference in other people’s lives.

A good way to wake up each morning is to ask, “Where is there a need that I can meet? How can I bless someone today?” If you take time for others, God will look out for your needs. Think of Jesus. He came as the Lord of heaven who could have demanded that everyone serve Him. But Jesus said He did not come to be served, but to serve (Mark 10:45). Live a lifestyle of giving — God promotes givers!

If you live by biblical principles, your life will be transformed like those of so many others who have already committed themselves to live above their circumstances.

You Believe It, Then Do It (Rick warren)

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22 NIV).

Yesterday, we looked at Mark 12:30: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength” (NLT). And one way to look at this verse is to focus on loving God with all your talk, all your feelings, all your thinking, and all your acting. God shaped you to be primarily a talker, a feeler, a thinker, or a doer.

Talkers love God with their hearts. Feelers love God with their souls. Did you know that you can also love God with your intellect? Thinkers love God with their minds. When you’re developing and strengthening your mind, it is an act of worship.

Thinkers love Bible study. Psalm 119:97 says, “How I love your law! I think about it all day long” (GNT).

People who are thinkers fall in love with the Bible when they become believers. There is no other book in the world like it! It has the answers to life’s questions, including: Why am I here? Where am I going? What is the purpose of life? Does my life matter? What’s the past? What’s the future? Where did I come from?

We need thinkers, because the world needs consideration. Somebody has to be thinking through complex issues and the implications of what the rest of us are doing. We need people who think through tough problems and bring solutions to the table. That’s why we need scientists, writers, philosophers, and innovators.

But thinkers have to be careful to practice humility. The Bible says, “Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom” (Proverbs 3:7a NLT). Why? Because God is God, and you’re not.

Humility is a choice. Not once in the Bible are you ever told to pray for God to humble you. It says to “humble yourself before the Lord.” It’s a choice. Humility is something you do to yourself. Nobody else can do it to you. They can humiliate you, but they can’t make you humble. In essence, humility is total dependence on God. It’s not denying your strengths; it’s being honest about your weaknesses.

Thinkers also need to be careful to practice what they know. If you know it, then do it! James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (NIV).

God’s Word is our manual for life and that’s why he wants us to do the things he ways we should do. He’s our Creator, and he knows the best way we should live. The great news is that God is always right there with us, helping us to follow his instructions.


Source: pastorrick.com

The Wife of your Dreams (Ramson Mumba)

Ephesians 5:25-27

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Every day that you wake up, God will give you a fresh Word. If you will spend time with Him and linger in His presence for just a little while, He will speak to you, and the Word He speaks will cleanse your soul. It will wash off the anxiety that you woke up with and strengthen you for the day. It will be the download of wisdom that you need to win.

That is His strategy for presenting to Himself a church filled with glory. Notice He is not coming back for a broken down, desperate, weak and diminishing church. He is coming back for a glorious church. That means that you and I have an appointment with glory – not in the age to come, but right here on Earth.

This isn’t just about the church however. It’s about marriage. The time for running our relationships according to the movies and the TV has to be over. We have access to far greater wisdom so that our marriages are not broken down or weak either.

Husbands, the only way you will ever have the wife you long for, is if you make it your responsibility to love her unconditionally and without pressure to change, by the same strategy that God plans to raise up His church. You don’t need to find a different woman, you need to understand how to wash the one you have with the water of the Word and present her to yourself as the woman of your dreams.

There is no special case. Every woman will respond to being loved and spoken to like she is the apple of your eye. If she is all twisted and bitter and angry, and you have been married for more than five years, you should have washed all that mess off by now!

It’s not about quoting the scripture to her, and correcting her with a verse from the law! It’s about telling her how unique and special she is. It’s about reassuring her, comforting her and letting her know she is beautiful, because that is how God treats us. It’s about bringing a fresh Word of faith, encouragement and vision to her day by day. Whatever your situation, if you will start today, you can turn it around with the Word. Watch and see what the Lord will do!

Pray

Heavenly Father, thank you that you are such a GOOD FATHER! Thank you for feeding me by your Word every day. Your Word washes me and cleanses me of the things that hold me down. I expect your glory in my life!

Thank you, too, for wisdom for my relationships. I turn away from getting my relationship wisdom from the world. I set my faith for a marriage that is filled with glory and I receive the wisdom of God to bring it to pass, in Jesus’  name!

Question of the Day

Question: What is the prayer of agreement and how do I pray it?







Answer:

First of all, a prayer of agreement is one that is based on God’s Word. Whether it be for salvation, healing, finances or deliverance, God’s Word addresses every life issue.

Once you locate the scriptures that apply to your situation, you simply declare those scriptures over it, always thanking the Lord for His answer according to His Word.

Second, according to Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:19, you should find a partner in prayer who has complete faith in God's Word and believes that He will perform it! Jesus said in those verses, “I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.”

So, a prayer of agreement agrees with God’s Word and gets in partnership with someone else who believes and will agree with you according to the Word.


Source:kcm.org

Under Pressure? Plant! (Kenneth Copeland)

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Galatians 6:7

If you feel like you’re under pressure these days, you’re not alone. Satan is putting more pressure on more people right now than ever before. He’s pressuring us mentally, financially, emotionally and every other way he can. The pressure has gotten so great everywhere that governments don’t know what to do. Businesses don’t know what to do. Families don’t know. Churches don’t know.

But praise God, Jesus does! He says we can give our way right out from under any pressure the devil brings to bear.

Giving is always Jesus’ way out. Whenever there’s a need, He plants seed! In fact, in Mark 4, He compares the entire kingdom of God to a seed. Just think about the importance of seeds for a moment. Every living thing on this earth came from a seed. You came from a seed. Then you were born again from the seed of God’s Word. Jesus Himself was The Seed planted by God. God sowed Him in sacrifice. He came forth and grew up into many brethren.

So, when Satan puts you under pressure, go to Jesus and let Him tell you how and where to plant. If you’ll do it, that seed will grow up until it breaks the powers of darkness and lack. It will release you from the pressure the devil’s been putting on you.

I’ve seen it happen. When Jerry Savelle first began to work for my ministry, he didn’t have but one suit of clothes and one shirt with a pair of slacks to his name. He wore one, then the other, night after night to every service we held. He didn’t have the money to even think about buying another suit. I’m telling you, he was under pressure where clothes were concerned!

Then he found out about the principle of seed-faith and harvest. So, he went downtown in the city where we were in a meeting and found a fellow on the street who needed clothes and gave him some. Immediately people started giving Jerry clothes. It started in that meeting and they’ve been doing it ever since. Today, there are many preachers in Africa wearing Jerry Savelle suits! (Even if the sleeves and pant legs are way too short!) He’s still sowing and reaping the greatest clothes harvest I’ve ever seen.

If the devil’s pressuring you, don’t panic…plant! Plant your time. Plant your money. Plant the clothes off your back. When your harvest comes in, you can laugh and say, “Hey, Devil, who’s feeling the pressure now?”
Scripture Reading:

Mark 4:1-20



Source: kcm.org

Embrace Your Past Experiences — Good and Bad (Rick Warren)

“Remember today what you have learned about the Lord through your experiences with him” (Deuteronomy 11:2a GNT).

You must embrace the experiences of your life — the good ones, the bad ones, the shameful ones, the right ones, the wrong ones, the happy ones, and the sad ones — and stop running from your past if you want God to use it for good in your life.

Galatians 3:4 says, “Were all your experiences wasted? I hope not!” (NCV).

Don’t run away from your past! Because of pain, many people deny their past, ignore their past, discount their past, regret their past, or resent their past. They revise their past and make up stories because they’re happier dealing with the lie than the pain of the past. But if you’re in denial, God can’t use your experience for good.

God can use every experience in your life for good, but you’ve got to stop running from those experiences. You have to embrace them. Maybe your parents weren’t that great, maybe you weren’t that hot in school, maybe you weren’t the football captain or the prom queen — so what? They’re your experiences. Own them.

Stop pushing the bad experiences out of your mind. You’ve got to remember them. Deuteronomy 11:2a says, “Remember today what you have learned about the Lord through your experiences with him” (GNT).

That verse is saying that the important thing is to remember the lessons. How do you do that? The best way to remember the lessons and experiences of your life is to keep a journal. I’m not talking about a diary. A diary is a list of what you did: “Today I went to the store and bought milk.” You don’t necessarily write in a journal every day. But every time you have an important lesson, you write it down so you won’t forget it: “That was painful. I learned that the hard way. I don’t want to forget that.”

To remember what you’ve learned about God, keep a journal. Then you can look back and remember what God taught you so you can be encouraged in the dark times of your life and know that God is still working for your good.




Source: pastorrick.com

Biography of Reinhard Bonnke

Reinhard Bonnke (born April 19, 1940) is a German Pentecostal evangelist, principally known for his gospel missions throughout Africa. Bonnke has been an evangelist and missionary in Africa since 1967.

Bonnke has overseen 75 million recorded conversions to Christ. He was born again at the age of nine after his mother spoke with him about a sin that he had committed. He left for missionary work Africa at the age of 10 and says that he had the experience of Baptism in the Holy Spirit. He is the son of a pastor and ex-serviceman in the German Army.

Bonnke studied at The Bible College of Wales in Swansea, where he was inspired by the director Samuel Rees Howells. In one meeting after Howells spoke of answered prayer, Bonnke prayed, "Lord, I also want to be a man of faith. I want to see your way of providing for needs." After graduation, he pastored in Germany for seven years. He began his ministry in Africa, with which he is principally identified, preaching in Lesotho in 1967. He has subsequently held evangelical meetings across the continent.

Early on, Bonnke encountered poor results from his evangelistic efforts and felt frustrated at the pace of his ministry. Bonnke claims to have had a reoccurring dream featuring a picture of the map of Africa being spread with red and heard the voice of God crying "Africa Shall Be Saved". This led him to adopt large-scale evangelism, rather than the traditional small scale missionary approach. He rented a stadium in Gaborone, and preached with little cooperation from local churches. Beginning with only 100 people, the stadium meetings grew.

In 1974, Bonnke founded the mission organisation 'Christ For All Nations' (abbreviated CfaN). Originally based in Johannesburg, South Africa, the headquarters were relocated to Frankfurt, Germany in 1986. This was done primarily to distance the organisation from South Africa's apartheid policy at the time.

Bonnke began his ministry holding tent meetings that accommodated large crowds. According to an account published by the Christian Broadcasting Network, in 1984 he commissioned the construction of what was claimed to be the world’s largest mobile structure – a tent capable of seating 34,000; this was destroyed in a wind storm just before a major meeting and therefore the team decided to hold the event in the open air instead. According to this account, the event was subsequently attended by over 100,000 people which is far greater than the 34,000 seating capacity the tents could contain.

 After graduating from the Bible College of Wales and returning to Germany, Bonnke led a series of meetings in Rendsburg. He began receiving speaking invitations from all around Germany and the rest of the world. Bonnke met Anni Suelze at a gospel music festival, and admired the grace with which she recovered from a wrongly pitched music performance at the expense of losing the competition. He offered to preach at the church she attended one Sunday and fell in love with her. They married in 1964 and have three children and eight grandchildren.


Source: Wikipedia

Question of the Day

Question: What do I do if my spouse views pornography?

Answer:

Assuming your spouse realizes the detrimental results of pornography use to his/her own spiritual well-being and the harm it does in his/her relationships, your responsibility is to stay in faith for your spouse.

Pornography is one of Satan's tactics to trap men and women and fulfill his ultimate intent to kill, steal and destroy lives (John 10:10).

So what do you do? Pray God’s Word over your spouse. First John 5:4-5 says, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” God wants your spouse to walk free from those things that would be a hindrance to life, and Jesus has made it possible to do so!

So, pray for your spouse like this:

“Father, ________ (spouse’s name) has sinned against You and right now I intercede on his/her behalf, declaring he/she will choose to turn away from that sin and leave it behind. I thank You for Your forgiveness for this sin, and by faith I stand for his/her cleansing from all sin by the blood of Jesus. I confess over him/her Your empowerment to live a holy life right now, in Jesus' Name. Amen!”

And a key to your answered prayer, according to Mark 11:22-25, is that when you stand praying, you forgive. So your stand of faith includes forgiving your spouse for this sin against you and your relationship.

Now, let God work in your spouse’s life. Your job is to daily thank Him for deliverance according to the Word you have prayed and believed!

Source: kcm.org.

Following God’s Plan

Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin explains the importance of following God’s timing once you have received God’s plan.

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Sometimes when God says something to believers about His plans for their lives, they try to make them come to pass by their own efforts. When they do that, they can muddy the waters, so to speak. In other words, they can hinder God’s plan for them so God isn’t free to do what He wants to do. They need to just stay in faith regarding God’s plan and let God bring to pass what He has told them. To fulfill their part, they need to prepare themselves according to the Word and the Holy Spirit’s leading.

I muddied the waters of God’s plan for me more than once when I was young in the Lord. Sometimes when the Lord said something to me about my ministry, I would try to jump out immediately and do it. Every single time I did that, what the Lord told me to do didn’t work out right.

Now someone might think, Well, that just shows that the Lord didn’t really speak to you. But the Lord did speak to me; I just didn’t get the timing right, so I hindered God’s plan.

Jesus told me once when He appeared to me in a vision, “I’d rather you were too slow than too fast when you are trying to follow My leading. At least when you’re behind Me, you can still see Me out ahead of you. But if you’re too fast and you jump out ahead of Me, you won’t be able to see Me any longer, and you’ll get off track.”

I can give you an example from my own life of stepping out ahead of God. By the mid-1940s, God had already put in my heart much of what I am doing today in ministry. I knew in my spirit God had something besides pastoring He wanted me to do.

So in 1944, I left the church I was pastoring to go into field ministry, thinking God’s timing for my next phase of ministry to begin was right then. But I jumped into field ministry out of God’s timing. Therefore, things didn’t work out right.

Don’t misunderstand me; God blessed my year in field ministry as much as He could. We had some good meetings, and people got saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit. But I knew I had stepped out prematurely into the next stage of God’s plan for me. So I backed up to where I had missed it and went back to pastoring.

Although God really had talked to me at that time about my ministry, it wasn’t time yet for those things to come to pass. For example, God’s timing for what He had put in my heart about going into the field ministry was five years later. (Some of what He told me came to pass much later!)

By the time five more years had passed, I had learned enough to say, “This time I’m not moving unless I get the witness in my spirit that it’s time to move.” So I continued to pastor my last church until the Holy Spirit quickened to my spirit in early 1949 that it was time to move out into the field ministry.

As I grew in the Lord, I learned not to jump out ahead of Him, but to just allow Him to bring to pass His purposes for me as I stayed faithful to prepare myself. I also learned to get not only the what of God’s plan, but to continue to pray until I also received the when and the how.

Over the years I’ve learned to operate that way in every area of my life. I don’t move until I get the signal from the Holy Spirit to move. When I get that signal and act on what God has told me, I have found that God’s plan always works smoothly.

I learned long ago not to try to figure out with my own natural understanding how and when God’s plan will come to pass. For instance, during my last three years of pastoring in the late 1940s, I waited upon God in prayer for hours and days at a time, seeking Him and His will for my life. As I waited upon God, I saw in the Spirit different aspects of my ministry. I had no idea how God was going to fulfill what He had shown me, so I just left the whole matter in His hands. And as I’ve been faithful to obey Him step by step, in His own time, He has brought to pass what He revealed to me.

God has prepared a plan for your life, but you aren’t always ready to fulfill the next step of that plan. So God will take whatever time is needed to develop and train you before He brings to pass what He has spoken to your heart.

Days of preparation are never lost time. There may be important lessons or truths that you still need to learn in order to successfully fulfill God’s plan for you. And it takes time to prepare and establish yourself in God’s Word (2 Tim. 2:15).

SOURCE

Faith’s Foundation

Faith is like a house; it must be built on a strong foundation if it is going to stand tests and storms. Faith’s foundation is the Word of God. You cannot build a great faith life without it. The best part about this truth is that the Word of God will never fail. Its success rating stands at 100 percent.

Solomon knew the power of God’s promises. He saw the Lord keep His Word to his father, King David, with the completion of the Temple (Israel’s house of faith) in Jerusalem. Solomon declared at its dedication, “Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses” (1 Kings 8:56 NIV). God’s own Word—His promises to the children of Israel—became the foundation for the Temple itself.

Nothing has changed since that time concerning the promises of God. God wants to be the foundation of your personal house of faith, and He is still fulfilling His promises. Therefore, you can trust Him to do what He has said.

In Hebrews 11, The Amplified Bible describes faith as “. . . the title deed of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see . . .” (v. 1). If I have the deed to a house, you can stand on its front porch and threaten me all you want to keep me from trying to enter the house. But it won’t make any difference what you say or do, because I have every legal right to grab you by the nape of the neck and throw you out into the yard. If I have the title deed, it’s my house, and I am going in! In the same way, faith will give you all the assurance you will ever need in this life to take what is yours according to the Word of God.

If you build your faith—your title deed—on God’s Word, it won’t matter if the devil hits your body, attacks your finances, or tries to steal your peace. You can kick him off your property because your faith will be the proof of ownership you need. With that assurance, absolutely nothing can stand in your way. So build that house of faith and move in! God’s Word promises that He gives “. . . everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him . . .” (2 Peter 1:3 NIV). So find out what His Word says—gain the knowledge you need to take hold of your title deed. As a deed enables you to lay claim to property that belongs to you, so your faith enables you to lay claim to God’s promises that belong to you.

Therefore, it is an absolute necessity that we know God’s promises so that we can begin to build our houses of faith, for “. . . faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). It is only as you and I hear God’s Word—His promises— concerning us that our faith will grow and be stable. That same Word then becomes all the evidence we need until the manifestation comes.

I challenge you to take the Lord at His Word. Since the Bible is God’s Word to you, choose to believe Him. When you do, amazing things will begin to happen in your life.

SOURCE

PRAISE HIM! (pt 2)

PRAISING GOD IS A COMMAND

Throughout the Bible, the commands to "praise the Lord" are too numerous to mention. Angels and the heavenly hosts are commanded to praise the Lord (Psalm 89:5, 103:20, 148:2). In fact, all inhabitants of the earth are instructed to praise the Lord (Psalm 138:4, Romans 15:11). 

Now, How do we praise God? We can praise Him with singing (Isaiah 12:5), with shouting (Psalm 33:1), with dance (Psalm 150:4), musical instruments (1 chronicles 13:8), and so on. But what you actually use is your heart. Your heart must be involved, it must be connected to heaven, worshiping the King of kings. It must be genuine, filled with joy. 

However, there are those times when God did not come through the way we thought He would; The medical test comes back positive, the spouse wants a divorce, a child is wayward, the mortgage company calls in the loan. God seems so far away and praise is the last thing to bubble up from our hearts. We cannot see His goodness, and circumstances scream that He has forgotten us. To praise God in those times require personal sacrifice. That is when we bring a 'sacrifice of praise' (Hebrews 13:15), we chose to believe that, even though life is not going as we think it should, God is still good and can be trusted (Psalm 135:2). When we choose to praise God in spite of the storms, He is honored and not only that, our faith also grows deeper.

Praise God! That why we are alive!

Hallelujah!

PRAISE HIM! (pt 1)

PRAISE GOD!

Christians often speak of "praising God" without really knowing either the meaning or the mystery behind it.

In this article we are going to be studying together and searching to know the origin or the mystery behind praising God. Sit back, read, understand and Enjoy the sweetness in knowledge!

First of all, the Bible instructs all living creatures to praise the Lord (Psalm 150:6). Let's see what the Bible meant. 

One Hebrew word for "praise" is Yadah, meaning Praise, give thanks, or confess. 

A second word often translated as "praise" in the Old Testament is Zamar, meaning sing praise.

A third word translated as praise also in Hebrew is Halal (the root of hallelujah), meaning to praise, honour or commend.

All three terms contain the idea of giving thanks and honour to the one who is worthy of praise - God!. 

Wow!

MEANING AND INSTANCES OF PRAISES TO GOD

Praise is the joyful recounting of all that God has done for us. We might have suffered hurt in some area of life, you may feel the world is crumbling on your finances, your marriage, your career, whatsoever. Don't you forget that God is the reason you are still alive.

I can recall the story one of my Pastor told me; He said "A lady came to my office crying so hard that her makeup were being washed down by her tears. When I asked what the problem was, she started sobbing and explaining saying; "Pastor, I am of marriageable age, I have done my first degree and my Masters, I have a good job. Every of my friend are married now, despite the fact that I have prayed and fasted vigorously God still refused to give me a husband". I immediately knew her problem. I shouted at her "shut up", "so you know your age - meaning God have kept you for that number of years, and you are educated. So you have a good job and you even have eyes to see that your friends are all married." "God has done this much for you, yet you use the mouth he has given you for no charge to complain?" she was silent. She came to her senses and now she is happily married".

WAIT! Think before you complain, because complaints only complicates your issues. The best time to Praise God is when you are in a mess, then you see his mercies.

Therefore, start giving God thanks now, He deserves it and more (Psalm 18:3).

Continues tomorrow......

Stay blessed.

A CALL TO PRAYER

PRAYER?

If we can understand and use the power of prayer as Christians and especially as men of God, our lives will take on great meaning, and we will see our spiritual life soar like never before.

An outpouring of God’s Spirit is coming to the earth. But before the outpouring that many Christians have been looking for, there will be a revival that many aren’t looking for—a revival of prayer.

In Luke chapter 21, Jesus gives us a glimpse of what is to come in the end times, and He tells us why we don’t have to be afraid.

Luke 21:25–29 (NKJV)

25 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;
26 “men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken.27 “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28 “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”

In verse 28, Jesus makes a statement that is most pertinent to us as Christians. He tells us to “lift up our heads, because our redemption draws near.” What is our redemption? It is the day when Jesus comes in clouds of glory and every eye shall see Him. Then we who are alive shall be caught up together in the clouds, and so shall we ever be with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:16–18).

God has plans for you. And if you will take your place in prayer, you will produce those plans not only for yourself, but also for your friends and family. And when it’s all said and done, you will see the coming of the Lord.

• If you are ready to dedicate yourself to a life of prayer, say, “Father God, I want to become a person of prayer. I don’t want to operate in the flesh but in the realm of the Spirit. I want to fulfill Your divine destiny for my life. I ask You to deposit in me a desire to pray like never before. May I take my position seriously and be ready for the coming of the Lord. In Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen.”

God bless you...

www.rhema.org

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR DAY 32 (Morning session)

Learn From The Past (Daniel Kolenda )

    Some people live with terrible regret over the past. Everyone makes mistakes. Some of those mistakes may be the result of disobedience to the known will of God. But most are a result of a lack of prayer, a lack of wisdom, immaturity, impatience, or misunderstanding of the facts. If we could have known in the past what we know today, most of us would have made different decisions in some area of our lives. As the saying goes, “Hindsight is always 20/20.” The reality is that we cannot go back in time and undo things that have been done. But what we can do, and must do, is stop moving in the wrong direction, acknowledge our mistakes, repent, and then move on.

     When the Jewish authorities brought to Jesus a woman caught in the act of adultery, she was clearly guilty of the sin she was being accused of.Under the law adultery demanded death. Justice required that this woman pay the price for her sin. But Jesus had compassion on her. And after her accusers left, Jesus said, “‘Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more’” (John 8:10-11, nas).

     Although we are emotionally moved by this story, let me ask you a practical question. What gave Jesus the right to contradict the demands of the Law of Moses? Justice must be served and lawbreakers must be punished. But you see, Jesus did not simply dismiss this woman’s adultery as though it were unimportant. When He said these words, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more,” He was already on His way to the cross where He would pay for that woman’s adultery with His own sinless blood. Justice would be served, and every debt would be paid.