GREAT WOMEN OF FAITH TWO
Mark 16:1-4

The women purchased the spices on Saturday evening when the Sabbath had ended so they could go to the tomb early the next morning and anoint Jesus' body as a sign of love,devotion and respect. So many odds were against these women.

-How could they reach the body of Jesus when there was a large stone rolled at the entrance?
-The Pharisees had sought permission from Pilate to seal the stone covering the Tomb so that the disciples do not steal the body and fake a Resurrection.       Matt 27:62-64.

-Pilate ordered four guards to be placed at the tomb.Matt.27:65,66
These were the odds facing this women.This could have easily unsettled the disciples and make them give up because looking at the facts, there was no way they could reach the body. 

So what did this women expect achieve that early Sunday morning?  These women showed a peculiar attitude of faith and urged by love, unity and devotion they still made their way to the tomb. Though were aware of the impossible odds. What great faith? and God will never let such faith go unrewarded.

The mission of the church is to send the gospel to all the world and its faced with a lot of overwhelming obstacles. Any of them appears devastating. Against human stubbornes,disease,danger, loneliness,poverty etc.

We shouldn't put our eyes on the fact on ground, but on the truth & faith that with God all things are possible. Keep on spreading the gospel no matter what, never loose faith...(We are saved to serve).

YOU HAVE TO BE RIGHTEOUS TO LIVE RIGHT

...They which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17).

Many don’t understand the difference between righteousness and right living. Being born again, you’ve been made righteous by God, and that’s the only reason God would expect you to live right. He wouldn’t expect someone who isn’t righteous to live right. Religion teaches the opposite: that if you would live right, then God would make you righteous. That’s not what the Word teaches. Some say, "If you would just live right, then God will accept you"; that’s also inconsistent with the truth of God’s Word.

Righteousness gives birth to right living. A man can only live right when he is righteous. A dog barks because it’s a dog. A cat can’t bark, because it’s not a dog. A dog will bark because that’s its nature. In the same vein, after being born again, righteousness is no longer something you’re looking for or trying to attain, but something that you put to work. It’s the nature you were born with in Christ, which now gives you the ability to do right and live righteously to the glory of God.

By virtue of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have been made righteous. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." You’ve been declared righteous by faith: "Therefore being justified (declared righteous) by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). This is the Gospel: that an ungodly person can become righteous by having faith in that which was done by Jesus Christ for us on the Cross.

PRAYER
Dear Father, I thank you today, for giving me your righteousness as a gift. I reign and rule as a king today, as I boldly take advantage of my right standing with you, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY
Romans 5:18-19
Amplified Bible (AMP)
18 Well then, as one man’s trespass (one man’s false step and falling away led) to condemnation for all men, so one Man’s act of righteousness [leads] to acquittal and right standing with God and life for all men.
19 For just as by one man’s disobedience (failing to hear, heedlessness, and carelessness) the many were constituted sinners, so by one Man’s obedience the many will be constituted righteous (made acceptable to God, brought into right standing with Him).

BE FOCUSED

Sometimes we lose our focus. We can be walking in love all day, going along fine, until someone comes along and offends us. As soon as we forget our focus of love, we stop making progress and come to a standstill - aggravated, upset, and offended.

Understand that the mind is a battlefield. If you don't stop Satan when he gets into your thoughts, you are not going to stop him from getting into your life. Stay focused. Ask God to help you remain full of love, no matter what comes your way today.

Be Confident in God. Jesus knew where He came from, He knew what he was sent to do, and knew where he was going. When you get that confidence of knowing God and His purpose for your life, you will not be afflicted by the judgments or criticisms of other people.

You should know you belong to God. You should know His hand is on you. You should know His anointing is on you. You know should what you are called to do. You should know that with every breath you take, you are trying to follow Him, and  where you are going when you are all finished. 

Say, "Nothing that happens today can separate me from God's love and His purpose for my life."

WORD FOR TODAY
THE GREAT WOMEN 1

Luke 23:55,56,
These women could do very little because of the Jewish setting. They couldn't stand up before the Jewish council or the Roman governor to testify on His behalf...but they did what they could.

They stayed at the cross whiles most of the disciples who claimed they loved him had fled, they followed Jesus body to the tomb and made preparation to anoint his body. If not for them the disciples wouldn't no where the body of Jesus was laid. Some makes us feel we can't do much for Jesus but we ought to learn from this great women and take advantage of the opportunities we have and do what we can and not worry about what we cannot do.

Because they used the opportunity they had, they were the first to witness the Resurrection and evangelize about it. Women were the first to take the word of resurrection we preach now to the world.

God rewarded them for their devotion and diligence. Don't focus or be concerned about what you can't do instead just do what you can and be diligent in doing it.

Bishop Mike Okonkwo
RETURNING GRACE

Gen48:8-11 Isaiah51:9-16
God does not react but rather God acts and the devil reacts. There is nothing like total failure for a believer. You can always rise up again.

Those that know their God shall be strong and do exploits. There are things you have to know. Everything God starts, He will surely finish it. He doesn't abandon His project without completing them. Its what you know that separates you from the others. 

You must have a revelation and mentality of Heaven. Sometimes the devil knocks you down but there is always a returning space. Christians must start to see themselves in the reality of who we are and not let the pressures of life get to us.

Jacob struggled his whole life even though he had a blessing on his head. Grace is God giving you preferential treatment, Grace is saying you don't qualify but I qualify you. Everywhere Grace is, there is Mercy and they move together.

God gave the law so we see how sinful we are and how we can't keep the law, so that when Grace comes we will value it and hold on to it. You don't have to see yourself in yourself, you must see yourself in Christ. Every time you are about to break into somthing great God has been preparing for you, all hell breaks loose.

But God does not lie & can never lie so once He speaks you can put your life on it.Whenever your moment comes it first gets bad before it gets better. When God speaks, you don't need to understand, you just obey, The devil is under our feet and we are not the ones running, he's the one on the run. 

Anything God does he does it in abundance. There is no material of failure in us. We have the power. Jacob sent his sons with sacks and they came back with wagons. He was weak but his strength revived because of the knowledge and revelation that Joseph is alive.

He who descended is the same one who ascended.If u have descended then get ready to ascend.

 SAD STORY FOR GHANA

President of Ghana. 

John Evans Atta Mills  Died this afternoon at the 37 Military Hospital.

WORD FOR TODAY

Jesus is our Lord. He being our Lord means He owns us.He made us, we didn't make Him. He made us for His purpose but we tend to think that God is there for our purpose.

We are to be of service to Him and not the other way round. So how come most of us treat God like a servant? Instead of we going to Him every morning asking "My Lord what can I do for you today "We rather go to Him with a list of things we want Him to do for us, like He's a servant.

We have to seek to please God first in all steps we want to take, no matter  what is going on, in all endeavors and serve him whole heartedly.

  When we do this, he will also put at first in al aspects of life and the blessings that will follow is beyond measure, just like the ocean and the sand of the earth.

 The Living and Dead Word of God!

The Word of God is living and active, it is spiritually discerned. But the Word can also be Dead. When the Pharisees threw down the prostitute in front of Jesus, and stated that the Law required her to be punished, they were using a Dead Word of God. Though it was from scripture, the Holy Spirit did not prompt them to say that, and the Holy Spirit did not confirm to Jesus that she should be punished. 

Scripture in the Hand of a person who does not have the Holy Spirit or is not listening to the Holy Spirit can be dangerous and misleading. The Devil will often use the Dead word of God, though the Word is still valid, he uses it at the wrong time. Like a parable in the mouth of a fool, or a rifle with the wrong type of ammo, it will only backfire.
Be careful with moral accusations against your brother, if a time arises to rebuke your brother, be sure to only use the living Word of God.

REVELATION TO THE CHURCH

Then Jonah continued, “When you fall short of the Lord’s grace and sin entangles you, it is hard for you to come to Him. You must learn to always run to the Lord at such times, not away from Him. When you go through that door, you will enter the times when the Lord’s power and glory will be released on the earth such as He has not done since the beginning of time. All of heaven has been waiting for the things that you are about to see. It will also be the time of the greatest darkness. You cannot endure either the glory or the darkness without His grace. You will not walk in His ways without coming to Him daily. You must not only seek His presence, but you must abide in His presence continually.

“Those who have tried to follow Him by just seeking Him once a week in a church service while they spend the rest of the week seeking the world will soon fall away. Those who call upon His name thinking that He is their servant also will soon fall away. He is the Lord of all and all will soon know this! First, His own people must know it, so the judgment is going to begin with His own household.

“It is presumption to only call upon the Lord when you want something. You should call on Him to ask what He wants, not what you want. Many of those who have some faith also have great presumption; the line between the two can be very thin. When God’s judgments come to His own household, His people will learn the difference between faith and presumption. Those who try to do His work without Him will fall away. Many have faith in the Lord, but only know Him from a distance. These do great works in His name, but He does not know them. Those who have known Him from afar will soon weep over their folly.

“God does not exist for the sake of His house—His house exists for Him. In His patience, He has been waiting outside of His own house, knocking, calling, but few have opened to him. Those who hear the Lord’s voice and open to Him will sit with Him at His table. They will also sit with Him on His throne, and they will see the world as He sees it. Presumption cannot sit with Him at His table, nor on His throne. Presumption is the pride that caused the first fall, and all of the darkness and evil that are about to be reaped on the earth have come because of it.

“When Satan saw God’s glory, he turned to the way of presumption. Satan dwelt in His presence and still turned from Him. This is the greatest danger for those who see His glory and know His presence. Do not become presumptuous because of what you have seen. Never become proud because of your visions: This will always lead to a fall.”

WORD FOR TODAY

OBEDIENCE BEFORE FEELINGS
Obedience is a key to God's heart. Just like every King, Leader, Father or Overseer God loves to be obeyed. But unlike most of these earthly examples, God does not use any force. He wants us to obey Him willingly.

He tells what to do and not to do, leaves us to choose like He did in the Garden Of Eden. for you to be able to obey, you need to 1st submit yourself and accept that you are under someone. Therefore for you to be able to obey, you need to be Humble...God blesses the humble but opposes the proud.

(James4:6)Obedience does not come easily to man, because man always want to have things his way and sees submission as weakness.

Obedience is tested when it goes against your will...When you don't feel like it...When it will cost u something... But that's the obedience God wants and not the superficial ones. As a Son Of God your obedience will surely be tested... 

Abraham surely didn't feel like leaving were he as been living all His life neither did he feel good about going to sacrifice his only son but he...obeyed and by putting obedience above his feelings, God honored  and blessed him greatly. Moses also had to put obedience above his feelings, because the last place he wanted to go was back to Egypt where He is wanted for murder. He tried to give many excuses but still exercised  obedience.

In your Christian walk God will require you to do a lot of things and allow many things you hold dear to go. Just remember to put obedience above your feelings...Thats the way to God's heart...thats the way to be like Jesus...He surely didn't feel like going to the cross.  He put obedience to the Father above his flesh(feelings)...He said we should love our enemies and those who persecute us...

If you can't feel such love u rather obey and show it...

Obedience before Feelings

WORD FOR TODAY

Pastor Parks revelation(www.spiritlessons.com)
  The Lord then asked me five(5) questions.
-How much time did u spend reading the Word ?
-How much did u give as offerings?
-How many times have you evangelized to people?
-Did u tithe properly?
-Hw much time did u spend in prayer? 

Ask yourself this questions and take steps to restore your relationship with God.
I could not answer the 5th question. The Lord rebuked me for the 5th question.

After you had become a mega church pastor, you had become very lazy with prayer. Being busy is no excuse to Me!

The Angels will show you many places in Heaven & of Hell.The Angels 1st took me to 3 different places in Heaven. In the first place, I saw little children living together. 

The 2nd place was where the adults lived. The 3rd place was where the souls had barely made it to Heaven.Even though dey made it to Heaven, dey had made it shamefully(1Cor3:13)

I want you to that if you are arrogant & prideful, you will bring curses upon yourself. That was what struck me down (James 4:6)

  PRAYER

Almighty Father creator of Heaven and earth and everything in between, We humbly come before you with thanks giving in our hearts, asking for your never ending mercy.

We lift your name on high, above any name that has ever existed, our father and creator, we ask you to bless, protect and to pour your supernatural favor upon us, our children, spouses and friends. 

God we ask you today for divine intervention in our lives, we ask for your touch in all areas of our lives, be it a new job, promotion, freedom from debt, rebuilding of our relationships with our spouses and friends.

Father any situation you touch, we believe it can never remain the same. Father in heaven, let your will be done in our lives as your decision in our lives is the best and will always be the best, please send double portions anointing and blessings in the quickest time to the person who will forward this.. as your name is being worshiped and glorified by multitudes In the name of your only son, our personal Savior, Jesus Christ. AMEN!!! 

God is going to shift things around for you today and let things work in your favor. If you believe, send it. If you don't believe, delete it. God closes doors no man can open & God opens doors no man can close. If you need God to open some doors for you....send this to as many as you love to be blessed

 WHAT A TOUCHING STORY

I was walking around in a Big Bazar store making shopping, when I sawa Cashier talking to a boy couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old..

The Cashier said, 'I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buythis doll. Then the little boy turned to me and asked: ''Uncle, are you sure I don't have enough money?''

I counted his cash and replied: ''You know that you don't have enough money to buy the doll, my dear.'' The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand.

Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to. 'It's the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much . I wanted to Gift her for her BIRTHDAY.

I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there.' His eyes were so sad while saying this. 'My Sister has gone to be with God.. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister...''

My heart nearly stopped. The little boy looked up at me and said: 'I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall.' Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing. He then told me 'I want mommy to take my picture with her so my sister won't forget me.' 'I love my mommy and I
wish she doesn't have to leave me, but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister.' Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly..

I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. 'Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll?''

'OK' he said, 'I hope I do have enough.' I added some of my money to his with out him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money.

The little boy said: 'Thank you God for giving me enough money!'

Then he looked at me and added, 'I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that mommy could give It to my sister. He heard me!'' 'I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll
and a white rose. My mommy loves white roses.'

I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started. I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind. Then I
remembered a local

news paper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl. The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine, because the young woman would not be able to
recover from the coma. Was this the family of the little boy?

Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the news paper that the young woman had passed away.. I couldn't stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see and make
last wishes before her burial. She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest. I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed for ever...

The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine. And in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver had taken all this away from him.

Please DO NOT DRINK & DRIVE.
Now you have 2 choices:
1) Forward this message, or
2) Ignore it as if it never touched your heart.

For those who prefer to think that God is not watching over us.... go ahead and delete this. For the rest of us..... pass this on.

The value of a man or woman resides in what he or she gives, not in what they are capable of receiving.

WORD FOR THE DAY

If u find yourself to have a hard heart then the only doctor who can perform the surgery to soften them is God. Only God can replace hearts of stone with hearts of flesh.

When we give our lives to God,He puts a sense of right in wrong deep within our conscience. But if we rebel against our conscience too many times, we can become hard - hearted. 

If that happens,we need to let God soften our hearts so that we can be spiritually sensitive to that leadaship of d Holy Spirit. God regularly He softens your heart and makes you much more sensitive to His voice.Without a heart sensitive to the touch of God, we will not recognize many of the times he is spoke to us.

A hard-hearted person is also in danger of hurting others people and not even being aware that they are doing so. This grieves the heart of God. Those who are hard-hearted and busy doing their own thing" will not be sensitive to God's will or voice.God wants to soften our hearts with His Word so we can hear from.

                    Soften our Hearts Lord!!!