Different Responses to God - Open Heavens 3 March 2017: Friday daily devotional

Memorise: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. - John 3:16

Read: John 3:16-17 (KJV)

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Bible in One Year: Genesis 30:31 and Isaiah 49:8-23

MESSAGE:

Our Heavenly Father expects us all to grow in our Christian faith (2 Peter 3:18). If you refuse to grow, you may end up keeping God in an endless state of waiting for you to grow. Unfortunately, while God waits for you to grow, you may end up losing certain crucial things to others who grow up faster. For how long will you remain a babe? How long do you expect God to wait for you? Keeping God waiting can definitely affect His original plan for the life of some of His children. The night is far spent, and the Lord’s return is around the corner; therefore we cannot afford to slow down the growth process.

Your level of maturity determines the level of relationship you have with God, and in turn, the level of your relationship determines the communication channels that are open to you from heaven (Numbers 12:6-8). It also determines your understanding of and response to God’s word. As a result of this, you can expect different responses to the same word from God by different children of God. Take for instance, if you tell three Christians at different maturity levels that God loves them, they will see it in different ways. When a baby Christian hears “God loves you” he will rejoice because this reminds him of his triumphant state. He will rememberRomans 8:37 which says,

“Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us”

When you tell an adult Christian “God loves you”, he will inquisitively ask why you are saying this to him, because this reminds him of responsibility: for whosoever the Father loves, he chastises (Hebrew 12:6). On the other hand, when you tell a bone-cracking Christian “God loves you”, he will be a lot more apprehensive. He will say “Amen; may God have mercy.” He is saying this because it reminds him of sacrifice: for whosoever the Father loves, He sacrifices (Genesis 22:2, Ephesians 5:2). God the Father was so pleased with Jesus that He sacrificed Him to redeem the world (John 3:16). When God wanted to prove to the world that there was no God above Him, what did He do? He sent His outstanding sons, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, into fire. When He wanted to show His supremacy over lions, what did He do? He allowed His loved Daniel to go into the lion’s den. How will you respond now when I say to you that God loves you? Can God trust you enough to send you to tough assignments that will bring honour and praise to His Name?

Action Point: God can be patient, but not to the detriment of His timetable. Wherever you need to say “yes” to God, do it now.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.

iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.

Two Portraits - Our Daily Bread Devotional, March 3, 2017

Topic: Two Portraits [Friday March 3, 2017]

Read: John 16:19–24, Bible in a Year:Numbers 28–30; Mark 8:22–38

Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. John 16:22

Clutching two framed photographs, the proud grandmother showed them to friends in the church foyer. The first picture was of her daughter back in her homeland of Burundi. The second was of her grandson, born recently to that daughter. But the daughter wasn’t holding her newborn. She had died giving birth to him.

A friend approached and looked at the pictures. Reflexively, she reached up and held that dear grandmother’s face in her hands. All she could say through her own tears was, “I know. I know.”

And she did know. Two months earlier she had buried a son.

There’s something special about the comfort of others who have experienced our pain. They know. Just before Jesus’s arrest, He warned His disciples, “You will weep and mourn while the world rejoices.” But in the next breath He comforted them: “You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy” (John 16:20). In mere hours, the disciples would be devastated by Jesus’s arrest and crucifixion. But their crushing grief soon turned to a joy they could not have imagined when they saw Him alive again.

Isaiah prophesied of the Messiah, “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering” (Isa. 53:4). We have a Savior who doesn’t merely know about our pain; He lived it. He knows. He cares. One day our grief will be turned into joy.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for going to the cross for us. We certainly know trouble in this world, but You overcame the world and took our sin and pain for us. We look forward to the day when our sorrows will be turned into joy and we see You face to face.

When we put our cares into His hands, He puts His peace into our hearts.

Insight:

It was necessary for Jesus, who is fully God, to be made in every respect like us—fully human—so that He could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. Only by becoming a human being could He die, and only by dying could He break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. While on earth, the Lord Jesus “walked in our shoes” and, therefore, He fully knows and understands us. We are now to walk in His “shoes” and imitate His example of compassion and care. “In your relationships with one another,” Paul tells us, “have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5). How can you bring comfort to others today by walking in Jesus’s shoes?

This message was written By Tim Gustafson [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]

Called to Be Peculiar - Kenneth Copeland’s daily devotional March 3, 2017

I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. -John 17:15-16

Being peculiar. That's not something most of us work to achieve, is it? But, you know, we should.

God has called us to be peculiar—to stand out from the rest of the world as living proof of His power and His love (1 Peter 2:9).

He doesn't, for example, want us to share the ailments of the world. He doesn't want us to share their sickness and poverty and failure. He's never wanted that for His people.

He gave us a physical illustration of that during the time the nation of Israel was held captive in Egypt. Pharaoh had refused to set the Israelites free, so God had allowed a thick darkness to cover the whole land. The darkness was so dreadful throughout Egypt that no one moved for three days.

"But," says Exodus 10:23, "all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings."

What a thrilling example of how God wants us to live. We should be glorifying God by the miraculously victorious lives we lead. We should constantly have people telling us, "I've heard how God healed you," or "I've heard how God prospered you and saved your children!"

So don't hold back. Put the Word of God to work in your life and dare to receive the rich blessings that belong to those who believe. Start using the Word to draw boundaries around your life, to paint spiritual warning signs for the devil. Signs that say:

Off Limits! According to God's Word, I don't belong to you anymore. My family doesn't belong to you. My health doesn't belong to you. My money doesn't belong to you. My ministry doesn't belong to you. I belong to a different kingdom. Now, back off in Jesus' Name!

Does that sound a little peculiar? Good. That's exactly what God has called you to be!

Scripture Reading: Exodus 10:20-29

This message was written by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, the leader of the Kenneth Copeland Ministries (www.KCM.org) that specializes in teaching principles of bible faith - prayer, healing, salvation and other biblical topics.

Learn From Mistakes - DCLM Daily Manna March 3, 2017

Text: Ezekiel 23:22-36

Key Verse: "Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side" (Ezekiel 23:22).

Many times, what get people into trouble are not big, but little things. They omit to do what is right. They indulge in little careless or reckless acts, including those they knew spelt disaster for other people. With the passage of time, they become self-confident in their ability to tackle issues their own way.

They dismiss pointers in their own lives, to things that caused misfortune for others, on the hollow belief that, ‘it cannot happen to me’. In the process, they seal their own misfortune. Aholibah or Judah in Israel, had witnessed judgment that came on Samaria (or Aholah) for turning away from God and embracing the nations that did not know the Lord. They were shipped into exile. Instead of learning from God’s retribution on evil nation, Judah became more sinful before God. They connived, formed alliance with heathen nations, exposed their treasure to them and served their idols.

God paid them in their coins: He turned their new friends against them who plundered their wealth and exposed them to shame, humiliation and disgrace. It is only reasonable to learn from the mistakes of other people and avoid things that brought them down. Where we find that the pursuit of power, wealth and pleasure took them away from God, we must flee from such. The lives of those around us who fell out with God should be a lesson to us to shun their ways.

Anything that will lull our minds in sinful enjoyment must be avoided. We must not wait to taste the judgment of God. Anything we must do to live right before God and avoid His rod of punishment, must be done now.

Thought for the day: Sin is deceptive and deadly, and those that toy with it have bitter tales to tell.

Bible Reading in one Year: 1 Samuel 10-11

DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.

Defeat Your Giant - Kenneth Copeland’s daily devotional March 2, 2017

Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? - 1 Samuel 17:26

You may be facing a giant today. He may be a giant of sickness or failure, of financial shortage or another kind of trouble. But don’t let him scare you. You have a secret weapon. A weapon that once turned a shepherd boy into a bear-busting, lion-killing, giant-slaying champion. That weapon was a blood covenant with Almighty God.

Back in David’s day, circumcision was the sign of that covenant. So, when he called Goliath uncircumcised, David was saying: “This guy may be a giant; he may be strong; but he has no covenant with God and that’s why I will defeat him.”

Just like David, you, too, have a covenant. But yours is better. You see, the covenant David had, offered a wealth of blessings to those who kept it, but it also included curses for those who broke it.

Yours doesn’t. Yours is a new covenant that Jesus bought with His own blood. It doesn’t depend on your ability. It depends on Him and what He has already done. He has done it all! All you have to do is believe it and receive it.

Right now, read Deuteronomy 28:16-68. That’s a list of the curses Christ has freed you from. You might even call it a list of the giants Jesus has already slain for you. It contains every diabolical thing the devil could ever use to destroy you.

Read them and rejoice. Those are the things God has healed you of and delivered you from!

Don’t let any giant intimidate you. You have a blood covenant with Almighty God. There’s no uncircumcised circumstance on the face of this earth that can take your victory away from you.

Scripture Reading: Galatians 3:13-29

This message was written by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, the leader of the Kenneth Copeland Ministries (www.KCM.org) that specializes in teaching principles of bible faith - prayer, healing, salvation and other biblical topics.

The Comforter - Open Heavens 2 March 2017: Thursday daily devotional

Memorise: But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. - John 14:26

Read: 2 Corinthians 1:3-10 (KJV)

3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

6 And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.

7 And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.

8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:

9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:

10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;

Bible in One Year: Genesis 28-29, Isaiah 48:12-49:7

MESSAGE:

In addition to knowing God as the Father and as the Son, you also need to know Him as God the Holy Spirit. There are many marvellous things to know about the Holy Spirit. For example, He is the Source of our power (Acts 1:8), a wonderful Teacher(John 14:26) and a Revealer of secrets and of the future (John 16:13). Although all these characteristics are wonderful, one characteristics I find so fascinating is that He is the Comforter (John 14:26). If you have experienced Him as the Comforter, you will be able to comfort others in their time of distress (2 Corinthians 1:4). If you have not experienced sorrow, you cannot be of much use in comforting the sorrowful. When we encounter tragedies and sorrowful situations, the best people can do is to say comforting words like “take heart”, “sorry”, etc. in such situations, the ministry of the Comforter is needed to heal the hurt felt deep inside. Are you presently going through a sad circumstance? Are you so sorrowful that all human attempts at comforting you have failed? The Holy Spirit will reach out and comfort you today in Jesus’ Name.

In times of sorrow, people do not expect some of us who occupy certain positions to express sorrow. This should not be so. I once visited a family who suffered a great loss, and I began to shed tears after seeing what they were going through. Some people began to say, “You are the General Overseer, you are not supposed to cry. We have come here to comfort those who are mourning; we should not be mourning.” I simply told them, “Leave me alone. In a similar situation, Jesus wept. If Jesus can weep, I am free to cry also.” One of my sons lost his mother, and it was extremely difficult to comfort him. His mother had suffered to train her three children and these children had plans to take good care of her. She however passed on while they were still trying to find their feet. This brother began to ask God why He called his mother home at a time when they had not been able to do anything for her. The Lord simply replied, saying “Your mother has come to be with Me. Can you take better care of her on earth than I am doing here in Heaven?” On hearing these words, he dried his tears, apologised to the Lord and moved on. Are you in a situation where you need the comfort of the Holy Spirit? He will reach out and touch you today. He will dry your tears, calm your fears and give you a greater hope.

Action Point: Pray for believers going through sorrow everywhere, asking that they receive the soothing of the Comforter.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.

iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.

Dealing With Falsehood - DCLM Daily Manna March 2, 2017

Text: Deuteronomy 13:1-18

Key Verse: "Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deuteronomy 13:3).

God hates falsehood and any attempt to contaminate and adulterate His holy standard. Moses warned the children of Israel against false prophets, false teachers and fake dreamers who might come with new dreams and revelations to divert their minds from the true God. Israelites were warned to guard against listening to any self-acclaimed prophets or anyone else who might get them to worship any other god even when the individuals could be close friends or family members.

In the Old Testament period, such fake prophets and teachers were to be stoned to death to safeguard the sanctity of true godly worship. The battle for truth and war against falsehood demands conviction, courage and concern for the glory of God. Believers must uphold Bible truth above ego trips and personality cults. False prophecies, fake dreams and revelations in any assembly easily engender disunity, discouragement, discord, fear, suspicions and unnecessary bondage where true freedom and sincere brotherly love should exist.

A true child of God must make clear his stand especially when biblical convictions are at loggerheads with mere emotions and fantasies that have no root in the Scriptures. When people claim to speak for God today, we need to confirm whether they say the truth. False prophets and dreamers of dreams still abound today. Wise people must therefore test their claims with the word of God and take a position for God’s glory alone.

Thought for the day: "Buy the truth, and sell it not".

Bible Reading in one Year: 1 Samuel 8-9

DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.

Sowing in Tears - Open Heavens 1 March 2017: Wednesday daily devotional

Memorise: They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. - Psalm 126:5

Read: Psalm 126:5-6 (KJV)

5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

Bible in One Year: Genesis 27 and Isaiah 47:14-48:11

MESSAGE:

More often than not, we associate sowing with giving of money. For this reason, some people who do not have money believe they do not have anything to sow. This is far from the truth! If you do not have money, you can sow your time or talents into the work of the kingdom. Be it through praying, using your natural talents or your acquired skills/training, there is no one who has nothing to sow. Even if all you can do is smile, you can apply this in making new comers to church feel welcome. If you are a dramatic person, use it for the propagation of the gospel. Everyone has something to sow; all you need to do is to identify what you have. Romans 12:6-8 says,

“6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; 7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.”

When you sow a seed in tears, you will reap its yield in joy. Moreover, what you reap will be determined by what you have sown. You can sow towards the salvation of a loved one, telling God that he or she must not go to hell. To this end, you can sow prayers, fasting and witnessing to the fellow. The day such a soul eventually becomes saved; you will definitely reap the joy of heaven (Luke 15:7). I cannot forget the wife of one of my friends; I was his best man at their wedding. My friend’s wife would say to me, “Please give your life to Christ and be born again.” But I would tell her “I am already a Christian, and my Christian name is Enoch.” She would reply, “That is not what I am talking about”, and then she would begin to cry. I would look at her and wonder what was wrong with her, saying “I am not the worst fellow around; at least you can ask your husband. He knows I am a good person. “However, she kept on praying and crying, sowing in tears for my salvation. Today, she is now laughing. When last did you sow towards the salvation of a loved one – family or friend? Some of us attempt to preach to such a fellow once or twice, but after being rebuffed, we say “I have done my best; if you like, refuse to repent. Your blood can no longer be required from my hands.” Yes, you have made attempts, but you have not yet done your best. You have to keep at it, and in Jesus’ Name, you will reap in joy.

Action Point: The salvation of some people requires great sacrifice. Ask God for the grace to pay the required price of the salvation of all your loved ones.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.

iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.

YOUR ANGELIC GIFT FROM GOD’S ALTAR - EaglesDevotional by Ayo Oritsejafor

“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee.” (Genesis 12:1)

An altar is where exchange takes place – good for bad and bad for good. It is a place for divine exchange. If it is an altar of the LORD’s, bad things are taken away and good things are given. But if it is Satan’s altar, good things are taken away and bad things are given.

God never created any human being to suffer. Many suffering people are living  scripts designed by the devil. Every evil script is given a life on an altar. Whatever must be done to rewrite the evil script must be done on the holy altar of God where bad things are taken away and good things are delivered.

Job 17:12 makes it categorically clear that you can change darkness to light and night to day. It happens on God’s altar. Upon God’s altar, you can change anything or situation you do not like. The book of Genesis shows that Joseph exchanged some things for others.

“And they brought their cattle unto Joseph and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.” (Genesis 47:17)

Joseph gave bread as exchange for many things, including horses. A horse is symbolic of hard work, strength, food, and speed.

What do you want from God’s altar today? The job, food, strength, and speed you need are on it. Go and get it.

WORD OF WISDOM: Ignorance is the most expensive commodity in the world.

PRAYER/CONFESSION: Father, I have come to Your altar to exchange weakness for strength and poverty for prosperity. Give them to me now, in Jesus’ name.

FURTHER READING: Job 17:12

Eagles Devotional is a daily revelatory and inspirational Publication by Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, the founder and presiding Pastor of Word of Life Bible Church, Warri, Nigeria

Precursor to Mercy - DCLM Daily Manna March 1, 2017

Text: Amos 7:4-9

Key Verse: "Then said I, O Lord GOD, cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small. The LORD repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord GOD"(Amos 7:5,6).

God prompts His people to pray because He is the living God; He hears because He is the Loving God; He acts because He is the Covenant keeping God. The sinful world is rushing to a precipice of everlasting judgment. There should be an Amos who will preach to men and plead with God! Israel, the chosen one, had incurred the displeasure of God by going into sin and departing from the Lord. The rod of judgment had repeatedly visited the land, yet His people did not return to Him.

Just before this revelation of a more severe judgment on Israel to Amos, 1000 talents of silver had been gathered and paid to assuage Assyria. Even then, they returned not to the source of their blessings. God was looking for a man to stand in the gap so that He might not destroy the land. He found Prophet Amos, and showed him in quick succession the judgment coming on the people. In each case, Amos interceded on behalf of the people, and the Lord stayed His hand.

God is not willing that any should perish but that all would repent and be converted. There is a ceaseless clarion call for all sinners and backsliders to read the signs of the times concerning the impending judgment and cry mightily unto the Lord for mercy.

Thought for the day: Take care to pray for prayer will take care of everything else.

Bible Reading in one Year: 1 Samuel 6-7

DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.

All of Me - Our Daily Bread Devotional, March 1, 2017

Topic: All of Me [Wednesday March 1, 2017]

Read: Matthew 27:45–54, Bible in a Year:Numbers 23–25; Mark 7:14–37

Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1

Young Isaac Watts found the music in his church sadly lacking, and his father challenged him to create something better. Isaac did. His hymn “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” has been called the greatest in the English language and has been translated into many other languages.

Watts’s worshipful third verse ushers us into the presence of Christ at the crucifixion.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

The crucifixion Watts describes so elegantly stands as history’s most awful moment. We do well to pause and stand with those around the cross. The Son of God strains for breath, held by crude spikes driven through His flesh. After tortured hours, a supernatural darkness descends. Finally, mercifully, the Lord of the universe dismisses His anguished spirit. An earthquake rattles the landscape. Back in the city the thick temple curtain rips in half. Graves open, and dead bodies resurrect, walking about the city (Matt. 27:51–53). These events compel the centurion who crucified Jesus to say, “Surely he was the Son of God!” (v. 54).

“The Cross reorders all values and cancels all vanities,” says the Poetry Foundation in commenting on Watts’s poem. The song could only conclude: “Love so amazing, so divine demands my soul, my life, my all.”

It is our privilege to give everything we have to the One who gave us everything on the cross.

Insight:

When the Lord Jesus Christ hung upon the cross, cosmic events accompanied by signs and wonders occurred between heaven and earth. A supernatural darkness came over the earth midday. Many theologians believe that for the first time in eternity past the fellowship between the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—was interrupted. As Christ took our sins upon Himself on the cross, His Father could not stay in fellowship with Him. An earthquake opened the tombs of some Old Testament believers, who were brought back to life. So dramatic were these events that even a Gentile, such as the Roman centurion who oversaw Jesus’s crucifixion, made a declaration of faith.

This message was written By Tim Gustafson [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]

Let God Rub Off on You - Kenneth Copeland’s daily devotional March 1, 2017

For those whom He foreknew [of whom He was aware and loved beforehand], He also destined from the beginning...to be molded into the image of His Son [and share inwardly His likeness]. - Romans 8:29, The Amplified Bible

As a believer, you're destined to be molded into the image of Jesus, to grow in spirit until you look just like Him. God's supernatural power began that process the moment you were born again. You were changed on the inside instantly. How successful you are in allowing this change to progress to the outer man is mostly up to you. We grow up spiritually just like we grow up physically.

What can you do to speed this growing process along?

Spend more time pursuing the things of the Spirit than you spend pursuing the things of the flesh. Become dedicated to the Word of God and to fellowship with Him. Be willing to pull aside from the busy things of life and get alone with Him, so He can guide you, teach you and share His likeness with you.

Have you ever noticed that if you spend time around people who have strong personalities, you will automatically be affected by them? You'll find yourself doing the things they do. Their mannerisms will rub off on you. You can't help it. They just influence you, especially if they are people you respect and admire.

The same thing is true in your relationship with God. If you spend enough time with Him, He's going to rub off on you! His ways will become your ways.

So make yourself available to Him by praying in the spirit and worshiping and loving Him. Hang around His Word and the people who love His Word and live it.

Before you know it, you'll begin to notice yourself changing. You'll find your character becoming more like His. You'll begin to think like He does and talk like He does and even act like He does. His image will begin to shine forth in you!

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:5-18

This message was written by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, the leader of the Kenneth Copeland Ministries (www.KCM.org) that specializes in teaching principles of bible faith - prayer, healing, salvation and other biblical topics.