Thoughts of Our Fathers (TOF)

For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us . . .
—1 Thessalonians 5:9,10

Look at Christ’s death. In one biography of the great American, Daniel Webster, 863 pages deal with his career and just five pages are devoted to his death. In Hay’s life of Abraham Lincoln there are 5,000 pages but only 25 are devoted to the dramatic story of his assassination and death. In most biographies the deaths of the subjects are mere incidents at the close of the books. But when we come to the four “biographies” of Jesus, the four Gospels, we are confronted with a strange fact. One-third of Matthew is given to a description of the death of Christ. One-third of Mark, one-fourth of Luke, and one-half of John are given to His death. All these pages are devoted to the last 24 hours of His life. The death of Jesus Christ is a significant fact in human history, because Jesus Christ came for the express purpose of dying for sinners. When He left heaven, He knew He was going to the cross.

READ: Genesis 14:18-24; 15:1-6

Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase...

Proverbs 3:9

Do you have power? Money? A husband? A wife? Cars? A position? You must remember that these things are from the Lord. Abraham knew that secret. He knew that he had to acknowledge God for his success in life so he gave tithes. He gave a significant chunk of his money to the Lord.

I want you to notice a great blessing that came to Abraham after he paid his tithes. God was stirred to give more blessings to Abraham.

This was the first time that God specifically told Abraham that he was going to have his own special child which would not be his servant's child. Abraham had everything in the world but he didn't have a child. God knows what you don't have. He knows where your need is greatest. He gave Abraham what he could not buy with money.

Please read your Bible and see for yourself whether what I am saying is true or not. In Genesis 14 Abraham paid his tithes and then in Genesis 15 in the very next few verses, God told him that he was going to have his miracle. God blesses those who pay tithes. Miracles are for those who obey the principles of God's Word.

God gave you the job you have. The first fruit is for the Lord. Paying a tithe is not something that you must be reminded of. The fact that you are alive must remind you to pay tithes. When you give tithes to God, you become more spiritual. It makes you more committed. When your treasure is in the house of the Lord, you become interested in the church.

Galatians 3:5

Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?...

Imagine that you are at a healing service. An alcoholic walks into the church reeking of alcohol. He sits behind the pianist, a nice elderly lady who has been serving in the church for 50 years. Both of them are suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. The healing power of God is present. In an instant, the alcoholic, who has never been in church before, gets healed. The pianist does not.

Most people, on hearing stories like this, would get upset and confused. They might ask, “Shouldn’t God heal this nice, old lady who has been serving Him faithfully all these years, and not that debauched drunkard?” You see, many people still believe that God heals only the deserving.

But that is not how God works. God looks at faith, not works. His power is made manifest in those who trust His goodness instead of their good behavior. So if we go back to the above example, God wants to heal both the alcoholic and the nice elderly pianist. All they need to do is to receive by grace, or unmerited favor, through faith.

You see, we cannot earn the blessings of God. We receive them by believing God’s love and grace toward us. If we receive the greatest blessing—salvation—by simply believing that Jesus did it all for us and not by working for it, what makes us think that the other lesser blessings can be obtained by our works?

So if my daughter Jessica falls sick, I don’t go to the Father and say, “Father, heal my daughter because I am Pastor Joseph Prince and I preach healing to the people.” No, I go to Him by the blood of Jesus and say, “Father, I thank You that 2,000 years ago, Jesus bore Jessica’s sickness in His body. On that basis alone and by Your grace, I pronounce her healed in Jesus’ name.”

When you simply believe that you receive your blessings based on Jesus’ finished work and by His grace alone, you will receive your blessings!

Now these [Jews] were better disposed and more noble than those in Thessalonica, for they were entirely ready and accepted and welcomed the message [concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God] with inclination of mind and eagerness, searching and examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
—Acts 17:11

One of my much-published writer friends taught a series of classes at a writers’ conference on beginning writing. He wanted to reach people who felt God had called them to write and show them how to get their articles and books published.

At the beginning, he asked the attendees how long they had been writing and if they had ever been published. Two women, who sat in the front row, said they had both been writing for almost twelve years, but had not yet published anything.

At the end of the first lecture, my friend overheard one of the women say to the other, “Oh, we know all of that. We don’t need to come back to this class.”

They may have already known the things he was teaching, but there was no evidence they had applied what they knew. He also commented that the most eager students in the classroom were those who had already begun to publish. They wanted to learn and improve. Only people who are humble enough to continue learning will ever succeed.

That incident makes me think of an event in the book of Acts. The apostles Paul and Silas preached in Thessalonica, and the people tried to kill them, so believers helped them flee. From there, they went to the city of Berea. Luke records that the people there were fair in their thinking. They received the message “with all readiness,” or, as I like to say, they had ready minds.

That means those were people who were open to God—they were willing to hear what God said, no matter whether it was good news or bad.

If I asked any group of Christians, “Are you ready-minded?” they would immediately say that they were. That’s what we assume being a Christian means—ready, open, willing to hear God, and to be obedient to what He says.

For many people, being ready-minded means that they are ready and open if the message is what they want to hear. If it’s not what they want to hear, they don’t try to kill the messengers like the Thessalonians, but they say, “Oh, we know all of that,” and stop listening.

What does it really mean to be ready-minded? It means being willing to turn away from every lie and deception that Satan offers. It means being willing to say, “I was wrong.” It means that instead of listening only for what we want to hear, we listen for what we need to hear.

To be ready-minded means we discern the source of the voice. We love to hear words that make us feel good and encourage us, but we don’t like words that make us aware of our shortcomings. In Satan’s battle for our minds, one of his tricks is to convince us that a message isn’t important or that we already know it. He may even say that the message is not correct, and by doing so, he prevents us from hearing what we really need in order to gain our own freedom.

For example, a pastor preached a sermon against gossip one day. He aimed his message at one woman—who delighted in telling people tales about others. What she didn’t know, she allowed her imagination to fill in. At the end of the service, she said to the pastor, “That was an excellent message. A lot of people in this church need to hear that.”

The pastor said she wasn’t being sarcastic or hypocritical. She simply didn’t get the message. She didn’t have that ready mind—the mind that was open to receive a message of grace and help from God. It never occurred to her that she needed the message. To have a ready mind is not always easy. In fact, the more seriously the Holy Spirit wants to deal with us, the more Satan tries to convince us that we already “know all that” or it’s not something we need to hear.

Lord Jesus, please give me a ready mind. Enable me to hear You clearly and easily. Enable me to say, “Yes, Lord,” no matter what Your Spirit has to say to me. I want to have a ready mind that pleases You in everything. I ask this in Your name. Amen.

This cup is the new covenant [ratified and established] in My blood.
1 Corinthians 11:25, The Amplified Bible

New Covenant. It's a familiar phrase to most of us. But do we really know what it means?

No we don't. Because if we did, every one of us would be faith a giant. Instead of struggling, "trying" to believe the promises of God, we'd be like Abraham: "Strong in faith...fully persuaded that, what [God] had promised, he was also able to perform" (Romans 4:20-21).

That's the kind of confidence that welled up in Abraham when God cut the covenant with him. It was an inferior covenant to ours, made with the blood of animals. Yet it transformed a doubting Abraham into the very father of faith. Why? Because, Abraham understood the significance of it.

He knew that entering into the covenant of blood meant you were totally and forever giving yourself away to someone else. Once you did it, nothing would ever be exclusively yours again. All that you were, all that you had or ever would have became the equal property of your covenant partner.

During the covenant ceremony in Abraham's day, the partners exchanged coats, each one giving their authority to the other. They exchanged weapons as a way of saying, "Your enemies are now my enemies. I'll fight your fights as if they were my own." They walked through the blood of slain animals, pronouncing their loyalty to one another, even to the death.

When God made covenant with him, Abraham knew there was no longer any room for doubt. God had proven how intensely He desired to be God to him. He'd given him everything He had and bound Himself to Abraham in a relationship that could not be dissolved. Abraham comprehended the gravity of a covenant agreement. It convinced him once and for all that God's promises could be trusted. It became an anchor to his soul.

Do you want to be a faith giant like Father Abraham? Then dig in to the covenant you have with God. Study it out in the Word. Let the Holy Spirit show you what really happened when Jesus became the sacrifice that ratified your covenant with God. Let Him show you what it meant when He gave you His Name (John 16:23), His authority (Matthew 28:18-20), His armor and weapons (Ephesians 6:10-17).

Once you realize what Jesus actually meant when He said, "This is the New Covenant established in My blood," your life will never be the same again.


Scripture Reading:

Hebrews 10:1-23

The woman behind Luna Juice Bar embodies her unique name – Summer Shine – but that wasn’t always the case.

(Photo: Luna Juice Bar)

The woman behind Luna Juice Bar embodies her unique name – Summer Shine – but that wasn’t always the case.

A few years ago, Shine was homeless in New Orleans with a husband about to leave her, a son who wouldn’t take her calls, and a mother who was planning her funeral. The path to become her shining self again, and a successful business owner has been years in the making and included a painful, dark relapse.



But today, Shine’s juice bar employs fifteen people and grosses over $30,000 per month serving delicious juices and smoothies at locations in and around Waco, Texas. Shine got back on her feet with the help of Center for Peace, a Victoria, Texas-based social enterprise that helps women rebuild their lives. After nine months of sobriety, Shine and her husband, Ronnie, reconciled and began to pursue their long time dream of starting a juicing business.


#Repost @lovelyenterprises ・・・ Did you know that you can pick up fresh, cold-pressed Luna Juice in our Lovely shop? We carry their four Signature juices-Beetlejuice, Liquid Sunshine, Green Goodies and Hangover Cure! #shoplocal #drinklocal #socialenterprise #waco

A post shared by Luna Juice Bar (@lunajuicebar) on Mar 24, 2017 at 10:29am PDT



They approached the business volunteers at the Center for Peace, a social enterprise of Perpetual Help Home in Victoria, TX for a micro-loan to launch Luna Juice Bar – and received it.

“We’re the most risky population of people you could hand a check to,” Shine told the Waco Tribune last year. “The crazy thing is, I took that $5,000 and I spent it on exactly what I said I’d spend it on. I didn’t buy crack or go back to New Orleans.”

Shine paid off the micro-loan ahead of time, then pitched to Center for Peace – and a few other potential investors – for an equity investment to expand Luna Juice Bar.


What a beautiful day! Come see us at the Silos and #getalljuicedup #wacotown

A post shared by Luna Juice Bar (@lunajuicebar) on Jan 20, 2017 at 9:12am PST



The pitch was successful: Luna Juice Bar secured a $40,000 investment with each of four investors owning 5% of the company. People one step away from incarceration and addiction don’t appear to be the most likely group of entrepreneurs. But Cheryl Miller, leader of Center for Peace, and her team see every person as created in God’s image and talented in unique ways, recognizing that some women are entrepreneurs at heart.

Shine says Luna Juice Bar played a “huge role” in her recovery. The first six to nine months are the hardest and most vital to recovery, Shine says. Resurrecting a business idea she has had since 1998 gave her purpose, with her faith in Christ strengthening every step of her journey.

The success of Luna Juice Bar, and the impact it has had on Shine’s life, highlight the opportunity we all have to serve others by helping them achieve their dream.

Memorise: He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. Psalm 72:8

Read: Psalm 72:4-9 (King James Version)

4 He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.


5 They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.


6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.


7 In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.


8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.


9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.




Bible in one year: 37-38, Jeremiah 4:19-31, Hymn: Sing hymn 4
MESSAGE:
Beyond fruitfulness, part of the first mandates of God to mankind is to subdue and have dominion over all creatures He has made. Genesis 1:28says,




“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”




To dominate is to be in charge or to take control. If God did not want you to take charge, He would not have mandated you to dominate. By the time God stepped into the appalling slavery situation of the Israelites, Pharaoh, who was once in control, became the one begging for help (Exodus 12:30-32). He even asked Moses to pray for him. In that situation where you have been the underdog, God is turning things around and putting you in charge in Jesus’ Name. It is now time for you to suppress your oppressors and tormentors, and to subdue under your feet those who had earlier taken you captive. I command the tables to turn for your good today in Jesus’ Name!



Meanwhile, it is good to know that since God has once turned around the situation of the oppressed, He can do it again. Even if nobody has ever had dominion before in your family, it will start with you. Fear not! In Joshua 10:12-14, while fighting the Amorites, the sun was about to set when Joshua interrupted it. The problem is that most of us from the enemy rather than confront him. David did not run away from the lion, the bear or even Goliath. Rather, he confronted and fought against them all. In January of a particular year, I went to preach in Denver, Colorado. At that time it was very cold, and I don’t like it cold. Maybe that is partly why God made me a Nigerian. I prefer the Nigerian weather. On receiving the invitation, I asked my Daddy if I should go, and He said yes. I asked Him, “What are we going to do about the cold?” God then assured me that He would go with me. From the first day I arrived until the day I left, people were wearing T-shirt because summer replaced winter. To know that this was not just a coincidence, within two hours after my plane took off at 5pm, more than 10cm of snow fell. You too can tap into God’s mandate to dominate situations and circumstances around you from today. You will dominate sin, your passions, your body and your finances from today in Jesus’ Name.



Prayer Point

Memorise: He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Psalm 2:4

Read Daniel 6:10-17 (King James Version)

10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.


11 Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.


12 Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king's decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.


13 Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.


14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.


15 Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.


16 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.


17 And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.








Bible in one year: Exodus 26:27, Jeremiah 1, Hymn: Sing hymn 4
MESSAGE:
The Lord of hosts never loses a war. If He gives up a battle, it is because He wants to use that medium to win a war. Our God is always full of surprises. When Daniel’s enemies were plotting against him, God knew about it but He kept quiet. By the time Daniel fell into their trap and was thrown into the lion’s den, God did nothing about it. After the entrance to the lion’s den was shut behind Daniel, everyone thought he was finished. By the following morning however, God sprang some surprises on them all. The fellow they thought was dead and digested in the bellies of the lions came out alive. You are coming out from wherever the enemies placed you – alive, stronger, richer and better! All the mischief makers who thought Daniel’s case was closed received a rude shock: his case was reopened, and what they thought was in their favour turned against them. That case that was decided against you in your office or in your extended family shall be revisited in Jesus’ Name! What they thought was closed shall suddenly be reopened. The Lord will spring surprises on your enemies this season! In addition, the table turned for Daniel’s enemies. Not only were they now to become food for the lions, so also were their family members. This season, all those plotting against you shall be completely wiped out! None of them shall escape in Jesus’ Name!


Another surprise God sprang on the enemies of Daniel was that, by the reason of Daniel’s miraculous deliverance from their lion’s den, the God of Daniel became officially recognised and feared all over the kingdom as the true and living God. In Daniel 6:26, the king said,


“I make a decree, that in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.”


Beyond this, after the coast was clear, Daniel prospered in the kingdom. He remained relevant in the corridors of power in successive governments and was recognised as a man that could not be ignored. 24 March 2017 Open Heavens 2017 download reopening closed cases.


Daniel 6:28 says,


“So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.”


If you are prepared to pay the utmost price for the Kingdom of God, you can be sure you will receive divine compensation beyond your imagination. How are you living today? Can you take a stand for the Lord in righteousness and refuse to compromise with sin?

He who, being often reproved, hardens his neck shall suddenly be destroyed—and that without remedy.

Proverbs 29:1, The Amplified Bible

Some people have the mistaken idea that when the direction of the Holy Spirit comes to them, they can just ignore it for a while if they want to and then obey Him later in their own good time. They think to themselves, I know what I'm doing is wrong. I know my lifestyle isn't right, but I'm just going to do it a while longer. Then I'll get things straightened out with the Lord.

Let me warn you, that is an extremely dangerous thing to do. Because God says that when you refuse His guidance, your heart grows hard. It's not that God's grace doesn't extend to you anymore. It's not that He wouldn't forgive you if you turned to Him. It's just that sin will callous your heart to the point where you can't hear Him calling.

That's what happened to the children of Israel. God would tell them what to do and they wouldn't do it. When He was trying to bring them into the Promised Land and He told them to go in and possess it, they flatly refused.

Of course, they thought they had good reasons for refusing. They were so full of fear and unbelief that they actually thought if they did what God said, they'd be destroyed. But, you know, it doesn't matter how good your reasons are for disobeying God. That disobedience will still cost you. It will still harden your heart.

The children of Israel ignored God's leading so often that He finally just sent them into the wilderness. They were so stiff-necked, He couldn't lead them into the blessings He'd planned for them, and He had to just let them wander around until all but two of them had died. He had to raise up a whole new generation of softer-hearted people before He could take them into the land.

Take a lesson from that and don't play around with sin. When God tells you what you need to do, don't put Him off thinking it will be easier to do it later. It won't be. It will be harder!

When the Spirit of God comes to correct you, follow His instructions—and follow them quickly. Keep your heart tender. Obey the Lord!


Scripture Reading:

Nehemiah 9:6-37

If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one.
— Mother Teresa of Calcutta

I don't have to tell you that the world is full of problems. Hunger, disease, poverty, the oppression of women, and the exploitation of children are taking place in every country on earth right this minute. Heartbreaking stories are unfolding while you and I drink our morning coffee. I’ve seen so much of the world's anguish in my ministry travels, and it is truly overwhelming. I have also committed to do whatever I can do to relieve suffering and make the world a better place in any way I can. I challenge you today to do the same.

You may be thinking, Joyce, what I can do won't even make a dent in the problems we have in the world. I know how you feel, because I once felt the same way. But if we all think that way, nobody will do anything and nothing will change. Although our individual efforts may not solve the problems, together we can make a major difference. God won't hold us accountable for what we could not do, but He will hold us accountable for the things we could have done.

I realize that you can't do everything; I don't question that at all. You must say no to some things or your life will be filled with stress. I think the question each of us must answer is, "What am I doing to make someone else's life better?" And perhaps a better question is, "What have I done today to make someone else's life better?"

Nothing good ever happens accidentally. If we want to make the world a better place, each of us must say: Change begins with me!

Loving Others Today: Go ahead and say it: "Change begins with me!"