Arinze Okafor Nwachinemelu

Meditation.

TOPIC: DO YOU KNOW JESUS?

MEMORISE:
“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.” - (Job 13:15)

READ: Luke 7:2-10 (KJV)

MESSAGE:
How well you know Jesus has a lot to do with what you can get from Him. In Matthew 8:1-3, the Bible says a l***r (note that humanly speaking, leprosy was an incurable disease) came unto Him and said, “I know that you can make me clean”. He did not say, “I believe”, He said “I know”. He knew Jesus could heal him without any doubt and he got his miracle. In Mark 5:25-34, the woman with the issue of blood was saying, in essence, “I know that man, I know there is enough anointing in his clothes to take care of my problem”. In Luke 7:2-10, the centurion more or less said, “I know that when you command sickness, it obeys you”. When you know the kind of person you are talking to when you are praying, you can get anything you want.

After the successful completion of one of our annual conventions in The Redeemed Christian Church of God, I was extremely tired, so I told my wife and children that I was going to bed and did not want any disturbance. A woman came from the North just around the time I got into the bed and asked my children, “Is Daddy at home?” My children could not lie, so they said “Yes”. “I need to see him” she said. “He is not coming out again today” they replied. “Who is talking about today? Since he is in, no problem; I will stay here until he comes out”. She stayed by the door. They gave her food, but she did not leave that spot. She just sat there by the door.

At some point, my wife had to come and wake me up and I reminded her I had said I shouldn’t be disturbed at all. She eventually got me to climb out of the bed to attend to the woman. She requested that I should just touch her head as she was confident that her situation would turn around for good. She knew and she got her miracle.

When you go to God, praying in the name of Jesus, do you really know that God hears you? Do you really know that the God who can hear you has the ability to do whatever you are asking Him for? Do you really know that He wants to solve your problem? If you know, then congratulations, because your problems are already over.

ACTION POINT:
Approach God in prayer now, knowing fully well that He can hear you and solve all your problems. Go ahead and ask Him for whatever you want.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Leviticus 11-13

HYMNAL:
Hymn 27 - What a friend we have in Jesus

Install the Open Heavens 2023 devotional app on play store.

Open Heavens 2023

I have reached 500 followers! Thank you for your continued support. I could not have done it without each of you. 🙏🤗🎉

This week, I decree that, your desires for positive good news in any area of your life shall be granted to you by God. God will give you result that will cancel insult in all areas of your life. I pray for you, receive grace to press in and secure your end of year good news without stress in Jesus name.

Wherever you are going through physical, spiritual and emotional pain or pain as a result of any ailment, I decree, receive the touch of God that will give you total healing today. Every evil stronghold, preventing the rain of God's best from falling upon your land, scatter by fire now. Every evil hand pulling back your progress, breakthrough and blessings will wither now and be consumed by fire.

I prophesy to you today, God will help you beyond your expectations this week and beyond. God will take up your case where you are helpless, He will deliver your enemies into your hands and you will be victorious over them no matter their numbers in the name of Jesus Christ. Happy Sunday to you

Thank God It's Friday! Welcome To The Beginning Of Another Weekend. Hallelujah!

2 Corinthians 4 vs 17 - For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

Beloved, it does not matter what we have passed through all these years, even in this month, whether big or small.
The scripture assures us that they will not only come to an end as we move gradually with this month to it's end, but that more glories await us as we move into September.
Our moments of struggles, troubles and afflictions are indeed coming to an end, because, God has prepared for us, greater testimonies.
He will glorify us this day, week, month, year, and make us have double honours(Isa 61:7) in the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

NB : There Is A Greater Honour In Eternity, If You Do Not Give Up. Remain Steadfast, Rapturable!

Good Morning! Have An Awesome Weekend! Stay Blessed! Shalom!

That garment of shame and pity put upon u spiritually,, I tear it from ur body by fire in Jesus Christ name.. Amen...

May God bless u

*PLEASE KEEP CORRECTING*

Please read this carefully and get your son or daughter to read it too.
This post is about what happened in a typical middle-class household.

The son didn’t like living in his father’s house. This was because of his father’s constant "corrections"
“You are leaving the room without switching off the fan”
“The TV is on in the room where there is no one. Switch it off!”
“Keep the pen in the stand; it is fallen down”

The son didn’t like his father correcting him for these minor things.
He had to tolerate these things till yesterday since he was with them in the same house.

But today, however, he had an invitation for a job interview.
“As soon as I get the job, I should leave this town. There won’t be any frequent corrections from my father” were his thoughts.

As he was about to leave for the interview, the father advised:
“Answer the questions put to you without any hesitation. Even if you don’t know the answer, mention that confidently.” He gave him more money than he actually needed to attend the interview.

The son arrived at the interview centre.
He noticed that there were no security guards at the gate. Evenr though the door was open, the latch was protruding out probably hitting the people entering through the door. He put the latch back properly, closed the door and entered the office.

On both sides of the pathway he could see beautiful flower plants. The gardener had kept the water running in the hose-pipe and was not to be seen anywhere. The water was overflowing on the pathway. He lifted the hosepipe and placed it near one of the plants and went further.

There was no one in the reception area. However, there was a notice saying that the interview was on the first floor. He slowly climbed the stairs.

The light that was switched on last night was still burning at 10 am in the morning. He remembered his father’s admonition, “Why are you leaving the room without switching off the light?” and thought he could still hear that now. Even though he felt irritated by that thought, he sought the switch and switched off the light.

Upstairs in a large hall he could see many aspirants sitting waiting for their turn. He looked at the number of people and wondered if he had any chance of getting the job.

He entered the hall with some trepidation and stepped on the “Welcome” mat placed near the door. He noticed that the mat was upside down. He straightened out the mat with some irritation. Habits die hard.

He saw that in a few rows in the front there were many people waiting for their turn, whereas the back rows were empty, but a number of fans were running over those rows of seats. He heard his father’s voice again, “Why are the fans running in the room where there is no one?” He switched off the fans that were not needed and sat at one of the empty chairs.
He could see many men entering the interview room and immediately leave from another door. There was thus no way anyone could guess what was being asked in the interview.

When it was his turn, He went and stood before the interviewer with some trepidation and concern.

The officer took the certificates from him and without looking at them asked, “When can you start work?”

He thought ,”is this a trick question being asked in the interview, or is this a signal that I have been offered the job?” He was confused.

“What are you thinking?” asked the boss. “We didn’t ask anyone any question here. By asking a few questions we won’t be able to assess the skills of anyone. So our test was to assess the attitude of the person. We kept certain tests based on the behaviour of the candidates and we observed everyone through CCTV. No one who came today did anything to set right the latch at the door, the hose pipe, the welcome mat, the uselessly running fans or lights. You were the only one who did that. That’s why we have decided to select you for the job”, said the boss.

He always used to get irritated at his father’s discipline and demonstrations. Now he realized that it is only the discipline that has got him his job. His irritation and anger at his father vanished completely.
He decided that he would bring his father too to his workplace and left for home happily.

If you are a parent, keep on talking to your children about what is right despite their frowns. They will thank you later.

If you are teacher, kindly remember that you could be the only father's voice that boy or girl hears, so don't withold it from them. As Clergies too, don't keep quiet. Talk to your members about things they are doing wrongly and shape their unconscious world for the life ahead.

It is not in vain, *let's keep on keeping on!*

_Happier days ahead 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

(A true life story)
by
Praises Chidera Obiora

A pastor who was praying in his church, received a call from his wife. She told him the kids were all sent home from school for their school fees. She told him she had gone back to the school to beg the management for some more time to pay up, but they had refused.

The pastor had some amount of money with him - thirty thousand naira in total. He told his wife to wait at the school while the children returned back to class.

"I am coming to pay something. Give the principal the phone let me talk to him." He instructed.

The phone was handed over to the principal and the pastor told the principal to allow his children attend lessons.

"I am coming to drop something sir. I am on my way please. Let them return to class. I do not want them to miss classes." He said.

The principal agreed.

Quickly the pastor picked the amount of money and flagged down a taxi. He announced his destination to the driver and the journey began.

While in the taxi, a conversation was raised by a passenger about the situation of the country. The pastor told the passenger that he was on his way to pay his children school fees and he didn't even have the complete fees yet. The driver also complained about his inability to pay his own children school fees.

"I haven't even finished feeding my family not to talk of raising school fees. Just yesterday, my wife just delivered of a baby, and I do not have money to pay her hospital bills. My rent would soon be due. I do not know what else to do." The driver spoke bitterly.

Everyone spoke at random about the country's situation. While they spoke, the pastor heard a voice clearly. It had come through his right ears.

"Give him the money in your hands."

The pastor laughed to himself. The passengers in the car wondered why the pastor was laughing.

To the pastor, the message sounded funny, considering the fact that God knew he needed the money to pay his children fees. God couldn't possibly ask him to give out his children school fees to a man he never knew from Adam.

"O devil you are liar." The pastor muttered to himself and blurted in tongues.

Half way to his destination, he heard the voice a second time. This time, it was louder and clearer.

"Give him the money in your hands."

The pastor became sad. He knew it was the voice of God. But then, he thought about his children. He thought about the commitment he had made to the principal. He thought about the way his wife will feel when he tells her he had given out his children fees to a random driver he had met in a taxi to solve his problems, while he was still left with his unsolved.

When the driver arrived at his children school, instead of paying his transport fair, he pulled out thirty thousand and handed over to the driver.

"Take this. Pay your wife's hospital bill. And settle your rent. It is all I have." He announced.

The driver collected the money with tears in his eyes. He immediately came down from the cab and knelt down to thank the pastor who had done him such great favour. The pastor lifted him up and helped wipe his tears.

As a means to keep contact, and one day attend his church with his wife, the driver collected the pastors number before driving off.

The wife of the pastor who had seen from a distance all that had happened, ran up to her husband. She saw the look on his face and immediately knew her husband had done something that would both affect them.

"Where is the fees?" She asked.

"I gave to the driver. His wife is in the hospital." He replied.

"How much." She inquired.

"Thirty thousand."

The wife broke down in tears.

"Thirty thousand? In such a situation and time when we need money the most you gave out thirty thousand?"

"It was the voice of God."

"I do not think you know the voice of God and the voice of the devil any longer. God cannot tell you to make such a drastic sacrifice. God cannot tell you to give thirty thousand to a common stranger, while our three kids are being sent home for school fees. Even God knows we need the money more than him. Why will you allow the devil use you to put us to shame? Why?" She shouted bitterly.

The children were brought out of their class rooms and made to go home with their parents until they were able to settle their fees.

It so happened that the driver that same day, was driving back home. He picked a random passenger who was just standing in front of the airport gate.

During a random conversation with the driver, the passenger announced that he was a pastor who was new in the country. He told the driver that he was sent by his church to supervise a big project which was suppose to begin in the country. But he has no one to trust who could show him around, and help him execute the project.

"I know a man. I know a man who is trust worthy. A good man. A man who had just helped me moments back. He is a pastor like you. See, he gave me thirty thousand to pay my wife's hospital bill and also settle my rent. He gave me this money, yet he had no money to pay his children school fees. You can trust this man sir. I collected his phone number. I believe if you call him and speak with him, he would be able to help you." The driver spoke confidently.

The pastor was convinced. He requested for the number of this pastor, whom this driver had spoke of.

"Give me his number, and I shall call him right away to meet me in my hotel. If he is trust worthy as you say, he shall handle all projects in this country, while I return back to my church. He shall be paid handsomely too."

The call was made. The meeting between both pastors took place. An agreement was reached. A contract was initiated and signed. The pastor who had listened to the voice that spoke to him, was awarded the contract to supervise the establishment of 17 churches in the country. The pastor was also invited by the visiting pastor to come to his country to preach to his congregation too.

The life of one struggling pastor was changed in one day, because he listened to a voice and made a sacrifice.

How many times have you heard the voice speak to you, only for you to ignore it? How many times have you had that urge and feeling to help someone and you turned it down? Many have missed an opportunity that would have changed their lives forever, just because they refused to listen to that voice. They failed to make that sacrifice because they felt they needed it more. They felt the urge yet they ignored it.

May God help us not to miss that opportunity that will secure our future and destiny in life.

Don't let this message end with you alone.

Do well to mention someone to read this story as well. Like and share the story.
Let a life somewhere be touched.
*Inspiring people to be better*

*Great lesson on how you treat others*

Jiboye is the first son of a very rich man and that made him very obnoxious. He treated every one of his father’s slaves with disdain and respected no one.

One day, he went to his father and asked, “Dad, how many slaves do we have in this house?”
His puzzled father looked at him and replied: “I have got so many slaves that I don’t know how many there are but what do you need the information for?”
Jiboye replied, “I think we should count the number of slaves we have so that everybody will know how much influence you really have.”
“But don’t you think that would hurt their feelings, being counted like goats?” His father asked.
“Who cares, they are slaves, aren’t they?”, Jiboye countered.
“Alright”, his father said with a sigh. “Summon all the slaves for a headcount this evening and it will be done in the presence of all the family members.”

Later that evening, when everybody was seated, the rich man started to call the slaves one by one to introduce themselves. After every slave had introduced him or herself (a process which took some time as the slaves were rather many), the rich man declared: “Everybody seated, thanks for your patience. By now, all my slaves have introduced themselves but there is a particular slave here who has not introduced himself and whom I will introduce. He pointed at Jiboye. “This young man here is the son of a female slave who died at childbirth. When he was born, God had not yet blessed my wife with the fruit of the womb. So, we adopted him and reared him as one of ours. Jiboye is a slave and not my son at all.”

All eyes suddenly turned on Jiboye who bursts into bitter tears. In a tearful voice, he cried: “But master, how could you do this to me?” His master replied: “remember what I told you; when slaves are counted, their feelings are always hurt.”

MORAL: Every human being, regardless of stature, is a creature with feelings that can be hurt. Avoid saying hurtful words or doing hurtful things to people simply because you are better off. Every human being deserves his/her dignity and self esteem.

Very great moral lesson...May God give us wisdom to be humble.

👆🏾👆🏾👆🏾👆🏾👆🏾👆🏾👆🏾one of the best stories I have read in a very long time. 👌🏾👌🏾