REJOICE IN LOWLINESS OF HEART

_”Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:”_(James 1:9)

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Our memory verse for the day is very clear and transparent for all of us. It is a biblical verse which eschews selfishness and promotes love for God with humility, for our neighbors and also for all classes of people. In Christ, we are all one without any social stratification.

A brother of low degree is the one that God is seeking to exalt. God wants all of us to be humble and meek in all our days here on earth because He is willing to exalt those who in low degree, will obey His Word and surrender their lives to Him without turning back. People hypocritically humble themselves because of what they want from someone in authority but that is wrong.

Before God, both rich, poor, small and great are presented with the same requirement which is to humble ourselves before our Maker. People will despise you and underrate you as an unfortunate personality but rejoice. Always bring yourself lower for Christ’s sake when people are getting higher, and you will be surprised to see how God will lift you above their heights.

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*PRAYER*: Lord Jesus, make me humble for your sake. AMEN*

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SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS KILLS

_”If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.”_(Job 9:20)

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Self righteousness is equally as sinful as all other sins. It is very dangerous to live with such mentality in mind because it is a way of rejecting counsel and setting a standard to overrule the sovereignty and authority of the God who created you to obey Him under every condition. A self righteous person is always incorrigible and perfect in his own right.

Biblically, perfection is the aim of every child of God who is saved by the precious blood of Christ to exhibit the perfection and holiness of God. The question here is that, Who marks your perfection? Perfection is to be flow from the heart which is the soul of a believer. For it to manifest inside out, the soup must not be with any spot of blemish.

We can show forth the perfection of our souls when our souls receive inspirations from our daily reflection on the Word of God, and on top of that, share with our outward conducts. In this case, we will put the perfection of the souls into our daily practices, whereby words and deeds will become constituents of genuine perfection from God. The Spirit of God will perfect your soul for every good work that God has given you as a purpose to accomplish. Be careful not to kill your souls eternally in the lake of fire because of self righteousness.

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*PRAYER*: Lord, I need your excellent Spirit to perfect my soul to translate into other realms of my life in Jesus name.  AMEN*

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PASS THE TEST

_”Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder? who can say unto him, What doest thou?”_(Job 9:12)

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God testified to Satan about the righteousness of his servant Job. He was a perfect and upright man who feared God with a clean heart and due to that, God blessed him materially. Satan thought that if Job’s blessings should be withheld, he will deny the Lord but it was not so. After God had allowed Satan to destroy his affluence and family, he still endured and steadfastly depended on the Lord God of Israel without loosing his soul yo Satan. Thus, Job was inflicted with sores all over his body but he knew that God had to be worshipped in and out of season. 

Beloved, what would we have done if we faced the challenging times Job had to overcome with perseverance and gratefulness to God? In each and every day, God tests us to separate our hearts from evil and cleave to him in our hard and perilous times. It could be that, we may lose our jobs, cars, positions, houses, family, loved ones, wealth and many other genuine blessings from God. This is a test which most Christians have not encountered.

Nobody can query God about the way and manner he should ho about His test of the one He loves. Yes, God tests those He loves. One can battle with joblessness and a particular sickness, and suffer persecutions but it’s all meant to glorify the Lord at the end and refine us. We shouldn’t blame God or see ourselves as unfortunate people who have to go through sufferings even when we have not offended anyone to deserve.

Since all our good things came from above, then no one can say to Him, “What doest thou?”. That will be a wrong question to ask the right person. Apostle Paul advised Timothy to do the work of God in and out of season, and we are hereby told by this same Holy Word of God to love God unconstitutionally with our whole perfect heart even like Job. It is a training or test that will elevate you in your spiritual growth and physically make you prudent in all facets of life.

Count it a great joy when you face such a difficult moment in life even when you wholeheartedly serve  Lord Jesus Christ. He doesn’t want you to rely on your wealth before thinking that you love him. His love is unconditional. He is faithful without any disappointment, and His thought for you are excellent and not to harm you. Love to be tested by God, and bountiful blessings with advancements will follow your endurance like the case of Job.
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*PRAYER*: Lord Jesus, I desire your test to make me promoted and successful. AMEN*

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LOVE THAT MUST SHOW IN A CHRISTIAN HOME

*👤MINISTER: _PASTOR FRANK ADDO_*

👉MEMORY VERSE: “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.” (Genesis 2:18) 

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One of the things that makes mankind different from animals is that man has love. A person without love is a person without a heart. Marriage is to be built on our Lord Jesus Christ whose love is the source of sustainability in marriage. In a home, there could be a lot money, and many other assets but without love, the marriage will surely be in crises (Genesis 29:31-35).

To husbands, the Word of God teaches us to give honour unto our wives in the knowledge of God (1Peter 3:7, Ephesians 3:7). Love that is to show in the family, must be an everlasting love without lust. Love covers a marriage of sins in the sense that you will have to accommodate their weakness but root out sin from the marriage. A husband that loves his life must treat her as human who needs affection,and not as a caretaker.

Let us hereby expand the meaning of the previous statement. The husband’s urge shouldn’t only desire for sex before the wife will be seen as useful. Where love overflows, there is a sweet fragrance and the spirit filled life, that surpasses mere declaration of love to each other. The Man’s love for his wife,can be compared to the church. The purpose for loving our wife shouldn’t be based on the help that we have from them.

We have to make sure that,she is happy,health and holy to God. Coming down to the love that should be expected of a wife, let us read from 1Peter 3:4-6. Every woman in marriage is told by the Lord to manifest meekness and teachable spirit in the marriage. She is not to nag or complain about any uncomfortable situation but she needs to humble herself and endure  under all circumstances. (Romans 7:1-2) Your husband is your Lord and need to control affairs in the house,including his reception of message from God,and let him build up the family on a solid spiritual foundation. As your Lord, he is the one to direct you to God who is your spiritual leader (1peter 3:6).

In the book of Titus 2:4,we are hereby admonished to love our help mates and our children but we shouldn’t love our children more than our husbands. If you really love your husband, you will have to listen and obey every divine instruction he gives you.(Romans 13:10)(1John 4:17-21)(1Corinthians 13:4-7). When love is in a family,none of the spouses has to despise or underrate the other with the money, status or properties that they have.

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*PRAYER: Lord Jesus, let your love abound in my family life. AMEN*

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WHAT WILL BE YOUR ANSWER?

_”And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?”_(1Kings 19:13)

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“What are you doing here?” That will be the first question to ask your child, after giving him every thing he needs for school and coming back from outside to meet him at home. You knew from the morning that he wasn’t sick, you had paid his fees and even on that faithful day, you gave him money for upkeep and saw him transported by the school bus. 

Let us bring ourselves into the picture by facing this reality. God has offered us His greatest gift of love in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, who came to die for the remission of our sins, and gave His Spirit of holiness to us. By His grace all our needs are taken care of, and He has taught us to be knowledgeable about the ways of the devil, our nemesis. The Spirit of God in us will never lead us into the hands of the devil by allowing us to share in the company of unbelievers and sinners.

We have no business attending dancehall programs or night clubs to listen to secular songs, mingle with prostitutes, drunkards and lustful youths. A child of God has no business in the watching idolatrous festivals or ceremonies of fetish background, or attend pool parties under any circumstance. Our justifications will be inadmissible because the Word of God doesn’t permit us to act as sinners and unbelievers (Psalm 1:1-6, 2Corinthians 6:14-18).

Will God be wrong if He should ask you this question, *”What doest thou here, my child?”* Not at all. We are not suppose to be there in the first place, and there is no way such environments can help us to grow spiritually in Christ. They will only provide lusts of the eyes and of the flesh, for us and nothing better. Know where to be. Belong to the right place at the right place at the right time.

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*PRAYER*: Lord Jesus, let my responses please you. *AMEN*

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DIE IN CHRIST

_”A GOOD name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.”_(Ecclesiastes 7:1)

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Comparison between biblical verses is a way of coming to the incontrovertible truth, that the Word of God is in agreement and harmony with Himself. People of the world will wonder why the Holy Bible will be counting the death of Christ’s saints as more important than the birth of an individual. It is all because they are ignorant about the eternal joy and cozy living in Heaven. 

In the Book of Job, the Holy Bible informs us that the days of man are few, yet full of troubles. Who amongst us would like troubles to befall him or her? Here lies the truth that every faithful saint of Christ wouldn’t love this world for any reason or for any perishable thing. Life is an opportunity to win for us a comfortable eternity in Heaven. A saint of Christ wouldn’t like to live long on earth, in order to make it possible for him not to offend God with the passage of time.

Good name in the context of our memory verse, is to testify of the good works of a follower of Christ Jesus. The good name of Christ our Saviour, has brought glad tidings of salvation to our souls. He had this name which makes Him more powerful for eternity: the name had to come only after paying the price on it with works which fulfilled the Scriptures (Philippians 2:8-11). Perishable things will pass away but the name of saints who will be able to overcome the world, will never depart from the records in the heavenly Book of Life. These saints will live in the Kingdom of Heaven for ever and ever.
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*PRAYER*: Lord Jesus Christ, let my good deeds offer me the name of a holy saint. *AMEN*

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SAME GOD OF DIFFERENT CONTINENTS

_“And there came a man of God, and spake into the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.”_(1Kings 20:28)

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Favoritism is not part of the identity of our Omnipotent God. His presence is every where but He never changes from one place to another. Irrespective of our locations or continents of residence, His standard of holiness cannot be lowered under any circumstance. This presence of God is teaching us to be content with what He has given us, without paying attention to any racial sentiments and the underestimation of one’s origin. No race is superior to the other as the same God made us in His image and likeness.

Many are the times that most Africans and Asians think of themselves as unprivileged and inferior. We mostly seek greener pastures and better living conditions pertaining to continents like North America and Europe. Apart from touring, youths are traveling to those places by fair and foul means, to find jobs or enrol in their schools for better conditions that are absent in our continent. This devotional is teaching  us to be content with the environment in which God has raised us to succeed in life by serving Him and receiving His blessings. Nobody is speaking against the fact that some countries are already developed or advanced than others.

God wants us to remember that we can make our continent or country, better with the payment of the price on  godliness, attainable goals, diligence and integrity. People are deported to their countries as over stayers, fake documents are unveiled and many other scandals exist as a result of inferiority complex on the part of travelers. Let us write off the misconception that it is impossible for God to help us in the development of our countries: we have to do what will make us patriotic as God’s children. God of America and Europe, is the same God of Africa who will never change from time to time and from place to place.

Are you also a settler in any of the developed countries? Then serve our Lord Jesus Christ with all that His death and resurrection has brought to you as blessings, and never rely on the blessings ahead of His Word.

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*PRAYER*:  Omnipotent God, make me a better person responsible for making my nation great and strong, in Jesus name. *AMEN*

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ONLY IN JESUS, WE CAN BE PERFECT

*👤MINISTER: _PASTOR MOSES AMETEPEH_*

👉MEMORY VERSE: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) 

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God created every thing in perfection in order to be suitable for every good work. Nobody can find any mistake about the nature of His creatures. Every thing has a purpose to accomplish on earth. Take water and other liquid substances like soft drinks for example. Both of them have perfection to show in different ways; because they have distinctive purposes to make them perfect.

The Lord has made humankind perfect. The secret is that, man will become perfect again only after allowing the Spirit of God to live in us after coming to believe in Christ Jesus. This standard is unchangeable under all circumstances. God is a perfect Creator who created humankind in a perfect way to be in His likeness in order to perform the perfect  purpose of God. On that note, creatures such as humankind, cannot change anything about our physical appearance or change what we think as wrong in our own right.

Beloved, our Lord Jesus Christ came for us to be translated from imperfect and sinful people to perfect servants of God. He is the completeness of perfection; His birth, death on the cross, as well as His resurrection and ascension are all clear indications of perfection. He came to do all that for our salvation in order for us to manifest His perfection in our lives. This perfect Saviour of ours will come again to rapture His saved saints, destroy the world at last to judge the righteous and sinners. God wants us to be complete in His perfection (Leviticus 19:1-2, 1Peter 1:13-16, John 3:16-17).

All of us need Jesus Christ before we can put things right and be perfect enough to make Heaven. One may be very kind and people can be talking in commendation for his or her good works; if such a person does not accept Christ and obey His commandments, it will not end well with them. Without Jesus Christ, nobody can ever be perfect. The Old Testament was to cast a shadow of the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ who came to fulfill the Holy Scriptures.

In Genesis 3:14-21, we saw that just sin came into this world through Adam. Until mortal man comes into reconciliation with God, he will continue to be the food of Satan who was cursed to eat dust. So if any person comes into this world without knowing Christ Jesus, he or she will be destroyed. Abraham became the father of many nations, the father of faith and the friend of God. He had faith in God and walked in his ways. God called him into living a perfect life.(Gen. 17:1) In spite of his righteousness, preached to him in hades before he could make it to heaven. The people of Israel under the leadership of Moses, needed the rock of salvation (Jesus Christ) to provide them with water (John 7:37-39). Keep on talking about David was a man of God after God’s heart but when he committed adultery, he needed Jesus Christ to save him. No wonder he saw our Lord Jesus Christ seated at the right side of God. Someone like Elijah had to be baptized in River Jordan as our Lord Jesus taught us about baptism by immersion. In Jeremiah 18:19-23, the Prophet cursed his enemies and he was fortunate enough to encounter Jesus Christ in hades before His resurrection. Fortunately for us, we have encountered Him while we are alive, and not after our death. 

We shouldn’t desire to have any thing apart from willing to be like Him. He is the only one who can present us perfectly before our Heavenly Father. 

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*PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, make me perfect according to your divine standard. AMEN*

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CHRIST IS TO BE CHERISHED

“What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?”
Song of Sol. 5:9KJV

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The confidence that the bride of Christ has in her beloved is so incomparable to any other. The excellencies of the beloved—Christ Jesus, supersedes all. There is something in Him that none other have it. The power of His love is so powerful to illuminate souls to fall in love with Him. And once your heart truly falls for him, you long for him diligently, seek him passionately, and cleave to him dearly.

Our verse today is a question that the daughters of Jerusalem asked the Bride when she sought for him. They were desiring to know what the bride has seen in Christ that she is so much into him and searching for him. So they queried, _”what’s in your beloved that makes him so different from the others? What have you seen in him which the others don’t have that you should pant and search for him this way? Why do you love him more than anyone or anything?_

There are glowing beauties and outstanding qualities in Christ that none other have it. Therefore, He is to be cherished more than anything. Have you yet encounter Christ? Have you seen His loving face and amiable disposition? If others ask you about the excellency of Christ Jesus, will you be able to vividly expatiate to them? What are you telling others about Christ? Do you even know Him personally? Are you ready to describe Him to others now?
*It’s one thing accepting Christ and quiet another knowing and cherishing him.*
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*PRAYER:* Thank you Lord Jesus for your love and mercy. Please help me to know and encounter you all the days of my life in your name I pray.
*AMEN*
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For more info. Contact:

Pastor Moses Ametepeh: (+233243940743)

Pastor Johnson Addae: (+233549430709)

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CHRIST, MY BELOVED

“His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.”
Song of Sol. 5:16KJV

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The bride, with regards to what the daughters of Jerusalem queried her and in answer to that, showed them she is very proud of Christ. She lovingly and vividly described Him to them in a most intimate way, for she was acquainted with Him and knew Him in a familiar way. His name is the sweetest name she knows on earth. He is the only love she has in this world. Her heart is for Him, she has dedicated her whole life to the obedience of His words.

The bride was able to describe Christ Jesus because she had an intimate relationship with Him in a most endearing way: His mouth is sweet, his voice is charming, his eloquence is magnificent; His words are sweeter than honey and anything in this world. He is altogether lovely than anyone on this earth. There is none she desires to live with apart from Him. Others can love the world and be moved by the things of it, her heart isn’t in anywhere than her beloved. Christ is who she loves and will spend her life with. Even death can’t do her and Christ part. For death will usher her to the kingdom of her beloved in heaven.

Lovely child of God, can you also describe Christ like this? Are you living your life for Him? Where is your heart? Is he your friend? Are you sharing your love with Him? Do you even cherish His words?
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*PRAYER:* I know you love me, Lord Jesus. Please help me love and live for you.
*AMEN*