DEVOTIONAL:

GET MOTIVATED

Anchor Passage: Proverbs 6:6-8, Galatians.6:9


       Many believers read or study the bible but never meditate on it. If only you can find adequate time to ponder on the word, you will realise that the solution you need for every issue of life is found in it. Find some time to ponder on the recommendation in the anchor passage for today, because anyone who wants to know anything significant in life has a lot to learn from the ants. Are you already giving up or fainting before time? Then you have a lot to learn from the ants. The reason why some people with great potential will not go far in life is that they are not self-motivated. Motivation has nothing to do with your height but with your mind. Whatever is missing in your mind cannot be found in your life. If prosperity is not in your mind,it cannot come into your life. If complaining is always your mindset, possibilities will be far from you. There is no limitation or barrier that can stop you from becoming all that God wants you to become, except the one you place on yourself. You have to make up your mind to lay aside every weight and the sin which easily besets you (Hebrews 12:1). You must run with patience the race that is set before you. You must not be weary in well-doing because in a short while, if you faint not, you will reap that which has been sown.

           One big lesson you can draw from the ants is that they are self motivated. You have to stay motivated to give your best against all odds. In the midst of other animals, the ants do not struggle to live; they live comfortably. When a man of God does his work the way it should be done, what he will eat will not be a prayer point. As a minister, you must see God as your employer because that is what He is. With this mindset, you will put your trust in God whenever you are dismayed. If you will ever make it to your goal in life, you have to stay motivated. You have to devise a strategy gor staying on top of yout game because what you choose as your motivation is central to the achievement of your goals. Hope brings motivation. Hebrews 6:19 says;

"which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil".

      If you lose all your earthly possessions but retain your hope of a better tomorrow, you will be fine. May your anchor of hope remain intact in Jesus Name. The result you get from your effort at anything is at most a function of the motivating force driving you. Motivation is the forerunner of any tangible achievement in life. There are people who have good and strong expectations from life, but when the winds of adversity, doubt and fear arises quite a number of them may drift away due to weariness and a fainting spirit. Is your motivation for a glorious tomorrow still intact? Do you believe all is well with you despite the reports you are getting today? Keep your hope alive and it shall be well with you.


     

  

NEWS:

JUSTIN BIEBER APOLOGIZES FOR PAST MISCONDUCT, ASSOCIATES WITH CHRISTIANS

      Canadian-born pop singer Justin Bieber
claims that he is finished with his bad-
boy persona and wants to change. Bieber recently appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and later posted a video where he apologized to his fans. In the video, Bieber said,


"I wanted to make a video because I wanted to express how I feel right now. Today, I
was on 'Ellen' and it was a lot of fun.
She's amazing. But I was really nervous, and I think I was nervous because I was afraid of what people are thinking about me right now. It's been a minute since I've been in a public appearance and I didn't want to come
off arrogant or conceited — basically
how I've been acting the past year or a
year and a half."


      The singer apologized for his past
behavior and said, "I am not who I was
pretending to be...I'm not that kid. I'm a
person that genuinely cares. And
although what's happened in the past
has happened, I just want to make the
best impression on people and be kind
and loving and gentle and soft."

       Since posting the video, Bieber has
donated several signed items to a
Christian charity to auction off. The
singer gave House of Blessing, a food
bank based in Ontario, his size 7 Nikes,
and Toronto Maple Leafs comforter,
pillowcase and ceiling lamp;
The donated items’ starting bid is at $500.
Bieber professed his Christianity last
year when he was baptised in a bathtub.

       Reports have it that the singer
used the unusual location for his
baptism when he could not find a
church to baptise him privately.

WEEKEND SPECIAL:

FIVE STAGES OF RECOVERY by BISHOP 
T.D JAKES

        Hello readers, how's the weekend going? Its the last Sunday in the month of February and this one is a perfect way to sign off on the weekend.

Have something to reach for:

     My past cant kill me if i have something to fight for. This is your year to reach. Break your routine and get out of the box.

Stretch yourself:
        Sometimes the best in us isn't revealed until we stretch ourselves beyond our our yield point. The difficulties of our past sometimes serve a good purpose of refining us to reveal our latent potentials.

The confrontation: You've got to go back to the source. Conquest without confronting your issues is false sense security. There is the 'inner me' enemy. You cannot have full recovery if you cannot confront yourself. To not confront isn't healthy, it makes the situation worse.

Be honest: Every person remembers things well, especially wrong done to them. People will always give the version of their story to their advantage.

The conquering: Anything you cannot confront, you cannot conquer. Real victory requires sensitivity. Its not just intellect, its instinct.

RELATIONSHIPS;

WHAT ABOUT SEX?

      Now, this is one of the most discussed issues of our society today. It is one of the salient issues that has formed the bane of several other societal ills. Its a subject that stirs the attention of any audience. The young people want s to know what it is, the old people wanna learn more about it. We hold different views that justifies our various longings for sex and sex-related issues, but a large part of such views were myths our society passed across to us subconciously. I must mention here that even the church has not played a functional role in passing the right message across, especially to the youths.

      From the entertainment industry, to literature and music, all the way

down to a basic car commercial or advertisement for a bar of soap—we use sex for pleasure, for money, for Intimacy, for power, for manipulation, and all sorts.It’s clear that we are a culture completely immersed in sex, First and foremost, it’s
telling in that our culture’s obsession with sex is really a symptom. It’s a sign that we were made for relationships, because, at
the heart of it, our desire for sex reflects our desire to connect. We were made to connect, by a God who made us for relationships; with
Him and with the community He has given us. But as beautiful as this may seem, we have largely misconstrued the essence and true value of sex. Here are simple but dangerous lies our culture is feeding us about sex:

That sex doesn't really matter;
     
     This is a really dangerous lie because it fails to take into consideration the power of sex. There is a reason God’s word
clearly warns us of the dangers of having sex outside the context of a loving, respectful, committed marriage. According to modern science and psychology, sex is like a drug. It’s
powerful because it is both a binding and addictive experience. It’s physically binding in that as we engage in sex, our bodies release a powerful neurochemical that
neuroscientists call the “bonding chemical” that triggers feelings of connection.When our society takes the power of sex out of the context of marriage and into temporary relationships, we’re left with heartbreak, pain, trauma and wounds that can be very hard to heal


That sex is an act of taking, rather than an act of giving;
     Our society tends to portray sex as
an act of self-service.This perspective on sex
perpetuates a consumerist mentality where it’s all about what you can do for me. This is a starkly different perspective on relationships compared to what we’re offered in Scripture. As pleasurable as sex is meant to be, a huge part of the pleasure is in learning to give, rather than to receive. It’s in learning to find pleasure through the pleasuring of the spouse that God has given us to love. Its more about an atmosphere of trust, security and intimacy guided by biblical principles. We'll never get sex right, unless we learn to give it right.


   
     The earlier we learnt the true value and essence of the sacred art, the better it is for us.

MESSAGE DOWNLOAD:

HUMILITY AND LEADERSHIP

       Hello Readers, here is another wonderful message by the senior pastor of the Daystar Christian Centre, Pastor Sam Adeyemi. This one is titled 'humilty and leadership'.

Click HERE  to download

VALENTINES SPECIAL:

WITH LOVE...

"And though i bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though i give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing".
                                             1Corinthians.13:3

     Giving sometimes isn't a display of love.As being nice and charitable isn't too. Whenever we give or render an assistance to someone,it isn't really the action that matters but the motive, "are you doing it out of love?". No matter how great our show of kindness is, or no matter the amount of help we have rendered in gifts or kind,the right motive remains doing it out of love. It is not everyone that is nice to you that really loves you. Some people don't give you gifts out of love, they do so to forestall their own favour later in the future. If we take our time to analyze most of our show of kindness,we'll find that it's directed towards this end.Which makes it unacceptable in the sight of God.

           Today is Valentines day and we all celebrate love. We express our love in different ways to people who are dear to our hearts. Relationships of all kinds thrive on the principle of "giving love and getting life back" in return. So if you must show love today, please do it with the right motive. Some people are givers who aren't recognized by God. God Himself is love, so He knows when it's genuine. The bible says in 1Samuel 2:3b;

..."our God is a God of knowledge and by Him actions are weighed".

     When we give out of love, we do so without expecting anything in return.That's when we give to people who can hardly pay us back.
     The same principle applies when we give to God. Giving to God out of love make it worthwhile and acceptable. That's the only reason we don't hold God to ransome whenever we experience challenges and problems. It helps us to maintain an attitude of gratitude even in times of scarcity. So if you want to be sure of an accepted offering, give it out of love. Nothing done with love can ever be wrong, because love itself cannot be wronged.

       Happy Valentines Day!!!!

ARTICLE:

HE'S BEEN THERE

"I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure".                                                                Gen.33:14

          What a beautiful picture of Jacob's thoughtfulness for the cattle and the children! He would not allow them to be overdriven even for one day. He would not allow them to be driven on pace faster than his, but only according to what they were able to endure. He knew exactly how far they could go in a day; and he made that his only consideration in preparing for the journey. He had gone the same wilderness journey years before, and knew all about its roughness and heat and length, by personal experience.

And so he said,

 "I will lead on softly." "For ye have not passed this way heretofore" (Josh.3:4.).

       We have not passed this way heretofore, but the Lord Jesus has. Most times, it seems so uncertain and unknown ground to us, but He knows it all by personal experience. The stormy seas that rock our boats, the endless temptations and inner battles to be conquered, the rushing rivers that we have to pass through -- Jesus has gone through it all before us.  Hebrews 4:15 says

"We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin".

   He was wearied with his journey." Not some, but all the many waters went over Him, and yet did not quench His love. He was made a perfect Leader by the things which He suffered.  Psalm 103:14 says "He knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust." Think of that when you are tempted to question the gentleness of His leading. He is remembering all the time; and not one step will He make you take beyond what your foot is able to endure.
     Never mind if you think it will not be able for the step that seems to come next; either He will so strengthen it that it shall be able, or He will call a sudden halt, and you shall not have to take it at all.

NEWS:

ADEBOYE, OYEDEPO AND OTHERS REJECT OSINBAJO, SUPPORT JONATHAN

FOR SECOND TERM

        Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) has failed to endorse the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Muhammadu Buhari and his running mate, Prof. Yemi Osinbanjo for the February 14 presidential election, which has now been postponed to March 28.
         Rather, Adeboye has queued behind
President Goodluck Jonathan in the electio
Adeboye made his postion known during a
meeting of leaders of the Christian
Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the
Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) held
at the Redemption Camp.
The leaders of the two bodies had convened
the meeting to pray for the country and for a
successful general elections

    The meeting, however, turned out to be for
secret endorsement of Jonathan’s
candidacy. In attendance at the meeting were Adeboye, Bishop David Oyedepo of the Winners Chapel; Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, CAN
President; Rev. Felix Omobude, PFN
President; Pastor Paul Adefarasin, PFN Vic
President; Pastor Wale Adefarasin of the
Guiding Light Assembly and other key
Christian leaders in the nation.
 
      Pastor Osinbajo was also at the meeting to
seek their blessing to support him and the
candidacy of Muhammed Buhari.
Pastor Paul Adefarasin was said to have
broken the silence when he asked Adeboye
who they should support since his ‘son’,
Pastor Osinbajo is vying for the vice
presidency with Buhari.
They wanted Adeboye to say something and
Osinbajo was watching as he believed that
Adeboye will certainly ask other leaders to
endorse him, but he was disappointed.
Adeboye was said to have told them that he
is a man under authority and that since he i
under the authority of CAN and PFN, whoev
they endorsed, he would support and go wit
them.

    It was then that Oyedepo stood up and said
he had prayed and that God was leading hi
to endorse and support Jonathan and that
was the script the Christian leaders adopte
at the expense of Osinbajo.
Instead of the meeting being for prayer for
the nation, it was gathered that it turned ou
to be for the secret endorsement of Jonatha
as all the leaders present except Osinbanjo
agreed that CAN and PFN should go with
Jonathan.

     Osinbajo was not allowed to address the
Christian leaders, giving the excuse that
since the other contesting party was not
present, they would not allow him to addres
the audience. He was said to be downcast as his own
rejected his aspiration.

NEWS:

PHOTOS AT THE WEDDING CEREMONY OF PASTOR POJU OYEMADE

 

       Pastor of Covenant Christian Centre, Lagos, Pastor Poju Oyemade has finally tied the knots with heartthrob, Toyin  Fajusigbe. The wedding took place yesterday,7th February, 2015 and it was graced with various dignitaries both from the secular and the gospel circle alike.

    Scroll down to view photos...

NEWS:

ENTHRONEMENT ASSEMBLY, LAGOS TO HOLD SECOND EDITION OF PRAISE CONCERT

        The senior pastor of the Enthronement Assembly Lagos, Pastor Deji Olabode and his wife, Pastor Seun Olabode, invites you to the second edition of their special praise concert tagged "lagossings". The first edition of the programme was awesome featuring the popular gospel act, Efe Nathan as the special guest. Now here"s the second edition, featuring the monumental 'olo mi' crooner, Tosin Martins.

   This sunday, being the first in this month of love, Pastor Seun Olabode will be talking extensively on intricate issues of love alongside ministrations in songs by talented gospel artists

      It sure promises to be another awesome session of praise and worship.

Date: Sunday, 8th February, 2015

Venue: Hall 4, Silverbird Cinemas, Shoprite, Ikeja.

Time: 7:30 am prompt

Ministering: Pastor Deji and Pastor Seun Olabode, alongside other gospel acts.

     Come and have a wonderful time of refreshing in God's presence...

NEWS:

CHRISTIANS IN MEXICO DEPRIVED OF THEIR HOMES FOR REFUSING TO RENOUNCE THEIR FAITH

           In one of at least three instances of
persecution of Christians in southern
Mexico’s Chiapas state last month,
village leaders reneged on their
agreement to allow 47 evangelicals who
were expelled for their faith to return to
their homes and land.
        In accordance with the agreement
arranged by state officials, Protestants
from Buenavista Bahuitz village on Jan.
20 tried to return to their community
after syncretistic Catholics expelled
them in 2012 for their faith. When the
Protestants and Chiapas officials
accompanying them reached Buenavista
Bahuitz, community leaders again
refused entry until the Protestants
convert to Catholicism, according to
advocacy group Christian Solidarity
Worldwide (CSW).
“Traditionalist” Catholics of the village
who practice a blend of Roman
Catholicism and indigenous customs
involving drunken festivals have been at
odds with the Protestant minority for
years. Local authorities who are such
syncretistic Catholics told them they
could come back to their property only if
they became Catholic and took part in
their religious activities, including
paying for the costly celebrations that
involve large amounts of alcohol.
In November those expelled from
Buenavista Bahuitz together with other
forcibly displaced Protestants from
other Chiapas communities protested
their plight with a peaceful sit-in at the
state government building in Tuxtla
Gutierrez, the state capital. After state
government officials gave the
Protestants verbal commitments to
address their concerns, the displaced
ended their month-long action on Dec 1. Chiapas officials had assured the
displaced group that they had
negotiated their return, said Luis
Herrera, director of the Coordination of
Christian Organizations of Chiapas
(COOC), in a CSW statement. The
officials had told the Christians their
freedom of religion would be protected.
But when the Christians and state
officials arrived in the village by bus on
Jan. 20, Buenavista Bahuitz leaders told
the former residents that they must
convert to Catholicism in order to stay.
When surprised state officials then
intervened with the village leaders, the
syncretistic Catholics at last offered to
allow the Christians to stay if they paid
a high fine.
         The Christians declined the offer. They
returned to church property in Comitán
de Domínguez, where they’ve lived as
displaced persons for two and half
years. The continued expulsion of the 12
families is among 30 active cases of
faith-based persecution that CSW is
tracking in Chiapas, an analyst from the
organization told the press.
         The cases range from early pressure
applied to villagers, such as having
water or electric power cut, to local
authorities denying children the right to
attend school, said the analyst, who
requested anonymity.
Other cases, she said, include removing
Protestants from a government benefits
list. Extreme cases include bans on
worship, forbidding even home prayer
gatherings, destruction of houses and
church buildings and outright
expulsions.
       Exacerbating the problem is impunity in
Mexico for religiously motivated crimes.
“We know of almost no cases where
somebody has been prosecuted for
criminal acts in the name of religion,”
she said. “In Mexico, if you commit a
crime, destroy your neighbor’s house,
and you say it was religious, suddenly it
becomes an exempt crime for some
reason, [as if they] can’t touch that.”
The government also has an unhelpful
practice of granting persecuted people
land outside their community for
resettlement; she said this is
tantamount to saying to victims, “We’ll
relocate you rather than deal with the
root issue.”
          The roots of the inaction lie in a culture
holding that the majority has the “right”
to decide the faith of the entire
community.
“The government has allowed the
persecution to develop and become
entrenched,” she said. “If the
government doesn’t intervene, it almost
always ends with expulsion.”
Violations of religious freedom and
forced displacement of religious
minorities have been common for
decades in Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guerrero,
Hidalgo and Puebla states, where there
are large indigenous populations,
according to CSW. Local political
bosses or caciques resort to Mexico’s
“Law of Uses and Customs,” which was
designed to keep the government from
interfering with local indigenous
customs but which syncretistic
Catholics use to force evangelicals to
pay for and participate in
“Traditionalist” Catholic rituals.
The Law of Uses and Customs thus has
been used to allow local authorities to
violate, with impunity, religious rights
guaranteed in the Mexican constitution,
CSW noted.
“We continue to call on the state
government to meet its obligations
under Mexican and international law
and urge the federal government to
intervene if the state government is
unable or unwilling to fulfill its
responsibilities,” CSW Chief Executive
Mervyn Thomas said in the statement.
Recent expulsions in Chiapas include
that of 10 Protestants whom leaders of
La Florecilla village in San Cristóbal de
las Casas municipality forced to leave
on Jan. 14 after the Christians refused
to renounce their faith, according to
CSW.
Also in Chiapas, on Jan. 8 about 25
armed, hooded individuals believed to
be caciques reportedly attacked
evangelicals in Las Ollas community in
San Juan Chamula municipality for
refusing to take part in a Virgin of
Guadalupe festival in December.
Although they objected to the drunken
festival on principle, the impoverished
evangelicals reportedly said they were
willing to pay but simply could not
afford the 250 pesos (US$16) per family
that village leaders demanded of them.

DEVOTIONAL:

SATAN'S ATTACK OR THE LORD'S CHASTENING?

Bible Reading: Hebrews.12:4-6
 
   Christians are spiritual soldiers. We engage in constant warfare against principalities, powers and wicked spiritual forces that operate in high places. Ephesians.6:12 says that;

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places".

       There is a tendency among Christians therefore to view anything unpleasant that happens to them as emanating from spiritual warfare. When a difficult situation arises, many immediately ask God to remove their distress. It is worth noting that not all problems that we face as believers have something to do with the devil or the spiritual warfare we are engaged in. In Galatians.6:7, the scripture says,

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

       Some hardships,difficulties and unpleasant happenings arise as a result of sin, disobedience, pride or other shortcomings that call for disciplinary action from our Heavenly Father. Sin frequently attracts punishment. Sin can be defined as trangression or non-conformity to the law of God in our inward and outward conduct of life, whether by omission or commission. The bible indicates that sin justly deserves punishment and that it calls down the righteous judgement of God (Romans 6:23). Various kinds of sins are mentioned in the scriptures. These include presumptuous sins, secret or hidden sins and sins against the holy ghost.

        Presumptuous sins refer to defiant acts of sins. These are the sins committed on the basis of assumption. Some people steal, tell lies, commit fornication and adultery, forge documents or engage in other evil acts. When such people are confronted with God's view on their waywardness and its implications, they argue that God understands. They assume that God is too holy and kind to send a sinner to Hell-fire. Presumptuous sin is dangerous. God is a God of both love and of judgement (1John 4:8, Hebrews 10:31). King David wisely prayed that God should keep him from presumptuous sins (Psalm 19:13). Secret sins are sins that escape the notice of the soul. Many people commit sins without being conscious of it. They also attract divine judgement and chastisement. What such people need is repentance and deliverance. David also prayed that God should cleanse him from secret sins (Psalms 19:12). The last but not the least is sin against the Holyghost or what is referred to as "sin unto death" (Matthew 12:31-32, 1John 5:16). This is willful rejection of grace. Are you facing unpleasant happenings? Look inward. God's expectation from chastising is repentance.


Culled from r.c.c.g open heavens devotional.

NEWS:

BOKO HARAM SAYS THE LORD TOLD THEM TO ORCHESTRATE BAGA ATTACK

         

            Boko Haram militants have claimed

responsibility for the attack on Baga

that killed at least 150 people. The Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau says that the terrorist group orchestrated the attack and warns that more violence is coming.

        The Nigerian government maintains that

the attack on Baga killed 150 people,

though witnesses of the attack said that

as many as 2,000 people were

slaughtered in the massacre.

  "We killed the people of Baga. We
indeed killed them, as our Lord
instructed us in His Book," Shekau said
in the video obtained by the AFP news
agency.
"We will not stop. This is not much.
You'll see."
Shekau then challenged authorities to
stop the group’s violence.
"The kings of Africa, you are late. I
challenge you to attack me even now.
I'm ready," he said.
          The Nigerian officials have claimed Shekau was dead multiple times, but videos featuring the leader appear afterward. It is unclear if Shekau is alive or if a militant is
imitating him in the videos.  

ARTICLE:

WHAT GETS ME INTO HEAVEN (Sharon's story)

       
      "She was alone, dying and in pain. None of her family or friends was left. She asked the nursing home staff to call someone to minister and pray with her.

It was dinnertime when my phone rang. The caller said it was urgent that I get there.

I didn’t personally know the elderly woman lying in that bed. We’d never met, but instantly, love bubbled up inside me for her. I looked into her eyes, but she couldn’t see me — she was blind. I held her weak hands in mine and asked a few questions. Then she said, "I’m dying. I want you to pray for me."

"What do you want me to pray?" I asked. Then I paused and waited. Her cloudy blue eyes welled with tears that trickled onto our hands. She said nothing. I said nothing.

After a while of silently waiting for the Holy Spirit to direct me, I spoke: "Tell me about the day you accepted Christ." She didn’t say anything. I knew to be quiet as she processed. Finally, she answered, "I don’t know. I went to church when I was little; I was always a good person. But I never really knew Jesus."

       It was clear where God was leading us. Bertha understood that simply being good wasn’t the same as living for and obeying the Lord. We had to take it a step further.

"Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God?" I asked.

        She nodded and tears streamed down her cheeks as I shared today’s key verse, John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (NKJV).


      We prayed a simple prayer together. She acknowledged Jesus as her Savior and asked Him to forgive her of her sins. Bertha passed away shortly after our conversation. She didn’t have the opportunity to do more good deeds. Nor did she need to. That wasn’t necessary for her to receive Jesus’ gift of eternal life with Him".

       There are plenty of opportunities throughout the year to do good: Donating money and material possession to the motherless babies home, helping a neighbour in need or comforting the bereaved families. One thing,I know that visiting the sick in nursing homes or welcoming the lonely around our dinner table (or any other good deed) won’t earn me a place in Heaven.

What will get me into Heaven? Just Jesus, the only begotten Son of God.

And believing that His birth … His death … and His resurrection actually happened are the greatest gifts ever. So priceless, we could never buy them.

You see, it’s not about what good things we do, or even the bad things we avoid, but about what Jesus has already done. Two thousand years ago, He gave His life in death on the cross so we could have life after death. Like Bertha, that is the best gift we could accept in our lifetimes!

     MjClick HERE to accept Jesus as your Lord and personal saviour.

MUSIC DOWNLOAD:

DARA- GRACE FT FRANK EDWARDS

      Here's another wonderful piece from U.S based psalmist, Grace and the rocktown boss, frank edwards titled "dara".

Download and enjoy HERE