Tuesday 28 February 2017

Monday 27 February 2017

Devil's 12 Step Program

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Twelve Step Addiction Recovery programs are designed to help people draw closer to God and be free from their addictions and compulsive behaviors. Healthy recovery starts with a decision – acknowledge you are powerless over your addiction and need God’s power to get over it.
The enemy of our souls takes the same approach – his plan starts with a decision too – exactly opposite from any healthy life-changing program. He wants people to DENY they’re powerless over anything. Since the beginning of time, the devil’s agenda has been to trick man into thinking he doesn’t need God. Satan knows he’s already got a foothold on you if you have an addiction, and he NEVER wants you to get better.
If you think about it, if you’re not working through the process to get free from your addiction or compulsive behaviors, you might be working these steps – opposite of any recovery program – the devil’s 12 step program:
Step 1 –  Believe that we can stop our addiction anytime we want to;  we’ve got control over it.
Step 2 -  Don’t need help from God or anyone else. We are fine.
Step 3 – Determine to live our lives however we want to and deny that God needs to be involved in it.
Step 4 – Refuse to take a good look at our lifestyle and morality. No need to – it’s not so bad.
Step 5 – Challenge God and any other human being who is finding fault with our lifestyle. Deny any wrongdoing.
Step 6 – Be filled with pride in ourselves. Deny there’s any need for change.
Step 7 – Don’t back down – what we are doing and how we behave are just fine.
Step 8 – Ignore those who say we’ve hurt them somehow with our choices. (If they would just act different, maybe we wouldn’t have reason to turn to our addiction in the first place.) They aren’t really hurt.
Step 9 – Saying you’re sorry is a sign of weakness. Never apologize.
Step 10 – Lie and deny any wrong we may have done.
Step 11 – Do not pray, do not seek God, have no interest in how God might want us to live or his life-changing power.
Step 12 – Having used these steps to defend and continue our lifestyle, we encourage others to stick with their addictions and questionable behavior.
The devil’s program doesn’t exist in any organized manner, but people meet in small and large groups on a regular basis just like recovery groups – it’s wherever they gather to drink and/or use their drug of choice. Instead of passing a collection plate for a few dollars to cover the coffee, snacks and meeting place expenses of a true recovery program, people are laying down hundreds of dollars to keep feeding their addictions. They pay for their drinks, their drugs, their ____________________ (fill in the blank with your addiction). When their lifestyles put them in trouble with the law, their relationships, and/or their health, they pay money to lawyers, courts, doctors, mental health professionals, child support, alimony, etc.
Then there are emotional expenses. As the addicted person continues to seek the lifestyle that wants to destroy them, they face all sorts of relationship problems. They have consequences for their behaviors that make them feel sad and guilty. They may have stolen, betrayed someone’s trust, said  hurtful comments, or maybe even were physically abusive or abused. When you add it all up, the costs of staying in your addiction continue to multiply.
And the devil? He just laughs. He absolutely loves it when people don’t acknowledge they have problems. He delights in suffering when people mistreat others and seek to please themselves above all else. After all, he’s after one thing and one thing only – all of us.
If you’re tired of letting the devil lead you through his life-destroying program for your life, there’s always hope for you. It starts with a decision also – that decision is to turn away from your sin and your selfish ways and turn to Jesus Christ. He has already won the battle for our souls. He wants to teach us all how to live in the victory he so freely gives. He wants to show you how powerful he is to save you from addiction. Believe in him today. Let him lead you away from destruction and into the life he purposed for you.
So you will be saved, if you honestly say, Jesus is Lord, and if you believe with all your heart that God raised Him from death. God will accept you and save you, if you truly believe this (Romans 10:9-10).
Dear Jesus, you see me where I am this very moment. You know my sins and they are many. Your word says if I confess my sins, you are faithful and just to forgive me my sins. I confess my sins and ask you to forgive me, Lord Jesus. I don’t want to live the rest of my life like this. I want a new life. Please begin a change in me Lord.
Source: Beth Livingston

Selah Monday. Living by Faith 2

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We began this series last week, read the first part here
Now Faith is being sure (without a doubt) of what you hope for and certain of what you have not seen (Heb.11:1 emphasis added). Thus, sight cannot function hear, faith has nothing to do with what you see now. The now may not agree with what you belief that’s why you have to hope for it.

For faith to be productive it has to be developed growing from one stage to the other. To learn how to develop faith we go to the life of the one described as the father of faith, Abraham. For “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him...” Rom. 4:3, Gen15:6. How did he get to this stage with God? I observed three stages I call The Faith Development Process.

Faith Development Process


1)      The Word: every of Abraham’s early steps and decisions began with God speaking to him. Gen12:1,” The Lord had said to Abram” so he left his household on God’s instruction. Gen15:1 “the word of the Lord came to Abram”.  It all begins with the word of the Lord. For faith to develop the word needs to be heard. What is God saying about what you believe for? God has a word for every situation. You cannot develop faith on any issue when God has not spoken for “faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word” Rom 10:17

2)      Vision/ Clear Focus (Gen 15:5): God took Abram outside to look and count the stars if he could, stating that as numerous as they were so shall his descendants be. God was helping capture with his eyes into his mind a vision for what he believed for. This was also God focusing his mind to the final picture of numerous children even in the midst of none. You need to see in your mind’s eye what you believe God has said to you in the word. There is great power in visualization, your ability to see clearly with your mind (not eyes) what your believe God said in His word. Capture it in your mind thus being sure of what you hope for.



3)      Speaking (Gen17:5): God had to change his name from Abram (Exalted Father) to Abraham (Father of many nations). This is so that Abraham’s speech will come in agreement to his belief. Your belief cannot be saying something else while you words/ speech says otherwise. You have to capture you vision into words that are spoken out through your lips to ensure that your see of vision is well watered by your words. Even if it seems there is no way for it to happen just as Abrahams case when you begin to speak about it creation begins to form for “there is hope for a tree if it be cut down, at the scent of water (the word) it will sprout again”. 

Sunday 26 February 2017

Friday 24 February 2017

Thursday 23 February 2017

Dying Pastor Reflects on His Legacy

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Four years ago, Buddy Hoffman, the founding pastor of the Grace Family of Churches, experienced a catastrophic aortic dissection. Doctors expected this to be fatal, but by God’s grace, he lived.
In October of 2016, Buddy received an epidural steroid injection to relieve pain from a ruptured, bulging disk in his back. The injection went well, but over the following three months, he experienced significant pain and health challenges.
On Thursday, January 12, Buddy gathered the staff from Grace’s campuses to discuss his declining health. Among his words of encouragement, he offered these thoughts:
The kingdom is bigger than any momentary pain. Distractions come and go, but the bigger issues of the heart are what we can never afford to overlook. Love well; cover one another in grace for the sake of the kingdom. Don’t let a bulge in a relationship suck you away from the greater story, nor the rupture of your plans take your eye off the prize. It is a temporary pain; it is not going to kill you. But ignore your heart and relationship with God, and it will kill us and it will kill others.
Later that night, he returned to the hospital and learned that his pain was caused by an aneurysm in his aorta. Doctors also discovered a terminal infection at the site and explained that Buddy likely had less than a month to live. He was moved from the hospital into home hospice care.
Soon after his terminal diagnosis, we spoke with Buddy about his ministry at Grace, the legacy he hoped to leave, and his anticipation to experience what he had preached about for so many years. Buddy’s wife, Jody, and two of his children, Gabe and Joy, joined in the conversation.
Source: Christianity Today

Wednesday 22 February 2017

Tuesday 21 February 2017

Bible Found Fused to World Trade Center with a message to Christians

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The World Trade Center was attacked by Islamic terrorists on the 11th of September 2001, months later  a firefighter in New York City found steel from the Twin Towers which had a single page of the Bible fused to it. 

The steel was discovered under a temporary true route called Tully Road  by a photographer who captured the message.The readable page of the Bible had a shocking and  great message for all.

The passage was Matthew 5:38 from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount it read:

Retaliation.”
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.”

As the photographer explained, “This shredded, burned, and rubble-covered Bible came to me from the loving hands of a fireman who knew that I was the record keeper of ground zero.” And, “My astonishment at seeing the page that the Bible was open to made me realize that the Bible’s message survives throughout time, And in every era we interpret its teachings freshly, as the occasion demands.”
America is a Christian nation, and under President George W. Bush’s leadership we responded forcefully in the Islamic world. However, this is something to consider.
What do you think of this incredible Biblical passage infused on World Trade Center metal? Please leave us a comment (below) and tell us.



Monday 20 February 2017

Motivation Tuesday- Tyler Perry

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On this forum we share various stories and articles that gives you a boost on life to get motivated. Today we share the story of world-renowned producer, director, actor, screenwriter,playwright, author, songwriter, entrepreneur and  philanthropist Tyler Perry.

Tyler Perry Story

As a young child he suffered a background of harassment and abuse and he wanted to take his life to escape the beatings of his father but his mother on the other hand took him to church every week where he sensed a certain refuge and contentment.

At 16 he changed his name from Emitt to Tyler in other to distance himself from his father. Years later after seeing the film "Precious", he was moved to relate for the first time accounts of being by a friend's mother at age 10; he was also molested by three men prior to this and later learned his own father had molested his friend.


Due to the abuse and frustration, Perry could not complete high school. He eventually discovered his ability to write after watching  after watching an episode of the Oprah Winfrey's show where someone talked about the corrective effect writing an have on a person. His first play ‘’I know I’ve been changed”was financed with his life savings of $12,000 at the age of 22 years and even though discouraged, went  bankrupt, lost several jobs, slept in his car, went hungry,and was super convinced to give up on his dreams, he didn’t,  he never gave up.



As at now, Perry is known for both creating and  As at now, Perry is known for both creating and performing as the Madea character; a no-nonsense, tough black woman. Perry also creates films, some produced as live recordings of stage plays, and others professionally filmed using full sets and locations with full editing. Perry is estimated to have earned around US$75 million by 2008.  Many of Perry’s stage-play films have been subsequently adapted as professional films. Perry has also created several television shows, his most successful of which is Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, a show that ran for eight seasons on TBS from June 21, 2006, to August 10, 2012. On October 2, 2012, Perry struck an exclusive multi-year partnership with Oprah Winfrey and her Oprah Winfrey Network. The partnership was largely for the purposes of bringing scripted television to the OWN network, Perry having had previous success in this department. Perry has created multiple scripted series for the network, the most successful being The Haves and the Have Nots. As of 2014, The Haves and the Have Nots has given OWN its highest ratings to date. The series has also been referred to as being “one of OWN’s biggest success stories with its weekly dose of soapy fun, filled with the typical betrayals, affairs, manipulations and a bitch slap or two.

SELAH MONDAY- LIVING BY FAITH

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LIVING BY FAITH 2nd Cor 5:7


The life of a Christian is such that is totally different from any other phase of life on earth because every other aspect of life is built on it. It is a life hinged on faith in God. All parts of the walk is faith dependent for, “we are saved by grace through faith” (Eph 2:8), “we are made righteous through faith” (Rom3:22), “we are justified (made right) through faith” (Rom 5:1), “we are called children of God through faith” (Gal3:26) and “we receive the promise through faith” (Gal3:2). Thus, Christian Living is a life, born out of faith, lived by faith and based on faith.

Since faith is an important factor of our lives as Christians, it is pertinent we consider how it is applied in our walk. In our scripture of consideration 2nd Cor5:7 we are charged to walk (live) by faith and not by sight, thus one who is not walking by faith is clearly living by sight.
To live by faith is to allow our lives and the decisions we make in life be based upon our faith (belief) in God while living by sight is to make life decisions based on what we see, feel and touch (the realm of the physical). In our world today, sight seems to be a better option because the sights we see tend to counteract our faith. We see things that negate our faith yet we ought to live by faith not by sight. This begs the question; what is the problem with living by sight?
The problem with living by sight can be learnt from Jesus’ encounter with Thomas Didymus as described in John 20:19-29 and God’s dealing with Abraham and Lot in Gen13:10-11 and listed below:
  1)  It is a limitation (vs 27-28): Thomas believed because he saw, felt the nail marks and touched the sides of Jesus. His mind was reduced to these three dimensions; seeing, feeling and touching. These are not bad in themselves because they make one sure of what he or she is doing but they come with a limitation. They make belief in the supremacy of God and supernatural impossible. They makes you live in the realms of men and not the heavenly, thus making you live in total disbelief of the word of God. Dr Yongi Cho in his book “The Fourth Dimension” teaches that man lives in the realm of three dimensions but God, His Spirit and works exist in a dimension he called The Fourth Dimension. Living by sight (Seeing, Feeling and Touching) does not recognize this fourth dimension and cannot live by it and anyone who come to God must come believing that He exist.

  2)   Miss the blessing of Living by Faith (Vs29). : There is a blessing (an impact from the divine) attached to living by faith. This, I believe, is seen in the quality of the decision made when made in faith compared to that made by sight. This blessing eludes anyone who chooses to live by sight. Every decision has its own consequences. Decisions made based on sight (see, feel and touch) no matter how carefully made lacks the blessing of the most High thus its quality when tested never stands.

  3)  Leads to destruction (Gen 13:10-11, Gen3:6): Lot Abram’s nephew was to make a choice on where to live and he LOOKED around casting HIS EYES on the plains of the Jordan and choose it. He never knew that was Sodom and Gomorrah a place that had a stench before God. The land he chose already had an outcry reaching God and God was going to destroy it a few chapters later but at the moment it appeared watered and Lot chose it based on what he saw. Sometimes we make life decisions based on what we have seen without consulting anyone even God, not knowing we are headed to destruction. In Gen 3:6, Eve LOOKED and SAW that the fruit on the tree was good for food and PLEASING to THE EYE then, she concluded that it was desirous for gaining wisdom. A decision that led to fall of all mankind made on sight.

 SELAH!

Holydynamite.

Sunday 19 February 2017

Friday 17 February 2017

HYMNAL FRIDAY

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ALL HAIL THE POWER


1. All hail the power of Jesus' name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all.

2. Ye chosen seed of Israel's race,
ye ransomed from the fall,
hail him who saves you by his grace,
and crown him Lord of all.
Hail him who saves you by his grace,
and crown him Lord of all.

3. Sinners, whose love can ne'er forget
the wormwood and the gall,
go spread your trophies at his feet,
and crown him Lord of all.
Go spread your trophies at his feet,
and crown him Lord of all.

4. Let every kindred, every tribe
on this terrestrial ball,
to him all majesty ascribe,
and crown him Lord of all.
To him all majesty ascribe,
and crown him Lord of all.

5. Crown him, ye martyrs of your God,
who from his altar call;
extol the Stem of Jesse's Rod,
and crown him Lord of all.
Extol the Stem of Jesse's Rod,
and crown him Lord of all.

6. O that with yonder sacred throng
we at his feet may fall!
We'll join the everlasting song,
and crown him Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song,
and crown him Lord of all. 

Thursday 16 February 2017

Wednesday 15 February 2017

Tuesday 14 February 2017

Monday 13 February 2017

Sunday 12 February 2017

Thursday 9 February 2017

Travis Greene and wife celebrates 5 years of marriage

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Grammy award nominee and gospel singer Travis Greene and his Jacqueline Greene celebrated five years of marital bliss.Today, Greene shared his bliss about his wife he called his "African woman", his rock and his first ministry in a post via social media. The post reads:

No greater compliment than to have my wife’s constant support. She always challenge me to rise above negativity & choose love. With her, I can’t lose.” #My1stMinistry #MyRock#MyAfricanWoman


Two weeks ago, his African woman had also shared a message 

The past two days have been incredible!!!!! It was such an honor to stand beside this Courageous Man! God is soooooo faithful and it’s a true privilege to share the love of God and represent Christ Well!!!! @travisgreenetv you’re my inspiration! You lead our family well!!

Wednesday 8 February 2017