God's love

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: GOD'S LOVE

1John 4:7-12
I find this as very interesting and I wish to share it with you today,
Are you still wonder if God love you or not, are you thinking God's love is not seen or extend to you.
How much do you know of God's love?
Let me quickly show you little of it.
GOD'S LOVE IS DESCRIBED IN THE CONTEXT

A. It Is Unspeakable - I can't understand it, or why, but I know I have experienced it and I can never be separated from it - Rom. 8:38-39

B. It Is Unending - Jer. 31:3…I have loved you with an everlasting love! God's love is eternal!

C. It Is Unselfish - Ill. It asks for nothing in return! However, it leads man to repent and turn to God in love - Rom. 2:4; 1 John 4:19- We love him because He first loved us!

D. It Is Unmerited - Cannot be earned or deserved!. (His love is based in His grace!) (Matt. 23:37.)

E. It Is Unconditional - It is not based on what we can or cannot produce, it comes from the heart of God. Man can never reach a place when he will not be loved by God! God loved us first, He loved us anyway and He loves us eternally!

F. His love is Supernatural, it is Sacrificing, it is Satisfying!

As a man if you are in love you know and understand some Things you do for your love that make other people sees you as crazy, you are not crazy you are just expressing your love to your lover.
Something I want you to know with God's love. Look at this verse spiritually and meditatively. John 3:16 KJV
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.
Can you imagine God be in love with us and gave us all he has. (Only Son)

LET US PRAY
GODS LOVE UPON YOU SHALL NOT TURN TO HIS WROUGHT, IN JESUS NAME, GODS LOVE WILL TAKE YOU TO YOUR DESTINATION OF WEALTH.

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Be Humble

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: Be Humble

Romans 12:16 KJV
Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

We can say it more directly. Don’t be a snob! The word translated “conceited” means “wise in your own thinking.” Don’t get the big head. Don’t think you are too good to hang out with people who are not in your social class. One translation says, “Make real friends with the poor.”

Say what you will about Jesus, but he was no snob.
He associated with tax collectors, prostitutes and drunkards. And he reserved his harshest words for the Pharisees who robbed widows’ homes and claimed to be serving God.

Jesus wasn’t a “front runner.” He was a true “friend of sinners” who welcomed everyone who wanted to be with him.

Someone told D. L. Moody, “Sir, I am a self-made man.” To which Moody replied, “You have relieved the Almighty of a great responsibility.”

It's time you learn humility and let God exalt you, remember Luke 18:14 KJV
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

LET US PRAY
MAY THE LORD CLOTH US WITH GARMENT OF HUMILITY AND HUMBLENESS IN JESUS NAME.

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Be kind

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: Be Kind.

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them"
Romans 12:14

There are two parts to this that we must consider:

1. WHAT HAPPENS TO US.

2. HOW WE RESPOND.

We will be persecuted. We will be hated, mistreated, misunderstood, lied about, gossiped about, and there will be those who go beyond this to hurt us deeply, leaving scars that last for a lifetime.
Sometimes the attacks come from those closest to us, sometimes from within our own family, often from our circle of very close friends, and sometimes from people we thought were our best friends. There is no escaping this reality, and to deny it is like denying the sun comes up in the east and sets in the west. Sooner or later people we loved and trusted will let us down, and some of them will turn on us. We can’t predict how or when it will happen or who it will be, but it will happen, and what will we do then?

How do you bless someone when you would rather curse them? Here’s a simple way to do that. When faced with someone who has mistreated you, ask God to do for them what you want God to do for you. Seek the blessing for them that you want God to do for you.
Think of it this way: The greater the hurt, the greater the potential blessing that will come when we bless those who curse us. Remember that your enemy is a gift from God to you. Though you don’t know it and often can’t see it, the person who has hurt you so deeply is a gift from God to you. To say that is not to excuse evil or to condone mistreatment. It is to say exactly what Joseph meant when he said to his brothers, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20).

Our enemies humble us, they keep us on our knees, they reveal our weakness, and they expose our total need for God. Just as David needed King Saul to pursue him, to persecute him and repeatedly attempt to kill him, we need the enemies God sends to us. If we didn’t need them, he wouldn’t send them. Therefore, we thank God who knows best, and we love our enemies the best way we can. Often God raises up an enemy to see if we really want to be like Jesus. He will keep our enemies alive and well as long as we need them.

LET US PRAY
I PROPHECY IN TO EVERY UNPLEASANT SITUATION OF YOUR LIFE TO CEASE AND LET THERE BE PEACE ALL AROUND YOU IN JESUS NAME.

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PURSUE HOSPITALITY.

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: PURSUE HOSPITALITY.

Roman 12:9-16
“Seek to show hospitality” (v. 13b).

The Greek word for hospitality is philoxenia, a compound made up of two other Greek words –philos, which means “kind affection” or “love” and xenos, which means “stranger” or “foreigner.” Literally, philoxenia means “one who loves strangers.” Hospitality means “showing kindness to strangers.” This command shows up in various places in the New Testament because hospitality was a central mark of the early church.

In the first century they didn’t have Holiday Inns, Red Roof Inns, Executive Suites or Hilton Hotels. When Paul came to Corinth, he couldn’t check into the Airport Marriott because it hadn’t been built yet.

The few inns they did have were ill-kept and dangerous. Many were little more than brothels and havens for brigands and robbers. As Christians traveled from place to place across the Empire, they didn’t have the option of staying in a motel. The only way the Christian message could spread would be for Christians to open their homes to others. The only way an evangelist from Antioch could make it in Ephesus would be for a family in Ephesus to open their home to him. The only way a teacher from Caesarea could visit Cyprus would be for someone from Cyprus to open his home and say, “My Brother, you are welcome to stay with me.”

God is the original “lover of strangers.” For while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). While we were estranged from God, He sent his Son to the earth. And we who were once strangers and aliens on the earth have now been brought near to God by the blood of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:11-13).

We are no longer strangers, no longer aliens, no longer orphans, no longer far away from God. We are now as near to God as His own Son is, for through the blood of Jesus we are brought into His family. Because He loved us when we were strangers, we are strangers no more.

That same thing happens today when we show hospitality to others. We are only doing for others what God did for us.

LET US PRAY
MAY GOD MAKE YOU A SOLUTION TO OTHER PEOPLE'S PROBLEM AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU TO BLESS OTHERS IN JESUS NAME.

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LOVE MUST BE GENEROUS.

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: LOVE MUST BE GENEROUS.

Romans 12:13 KJV
Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

“Contribute to the needs of the saints” (v. 13a).

The word translated “contribute” is the verb form of the word koinonia, to share with others. On one level it means sharing in the hurts and heartaches of others. On another level, it means opening our pocketbook and giving so that the poor believers will have their needs met.

Here is a true measure of your Christian faith. What are you doing to meet the needs of those who have less than you? We can extend this to supporting God’s work around the world.

Do you give “off the top” or “off the bottom” of your paycheck? Your answer says something important about the state of your soul.

LET US PRAY
Lord help us to be responsible in all you have call us to and make US a blessing to others in Jesus name,

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UNDERSTANDING GOD'S LOVE

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: UNDERSTANDING GOD'S LOVE

Psalm 103

What do I know of God's love?
GOD'S LOVE IS ALL CONSUMING

God's love touches every part of our life. Nothing - no calling or circumstance, no adversity or advancement, no pain or promotion, no status or station - escapes the brush strokes of God's love.

God's love bleeds into every fabric and fiber of our lives.
The number of times the three-lettered word "all" is used in this text reminds us that God's love is all consuming. His love touches every area of our lives. There is nowhere we can go to escape his love. There is no problem that we will encounter that is not touched by his love. There is no advancement that we will make where God is not already there. Even when our world falls apart, we can say, "God, I don't know why this is happening. I don't understand it, but I'm sure glad to know you love me."

We are like the little boy who got separated from his mother in the mall. He was looking around for his mommy, and getting scared. He began to cry because everyone was a stranger and everything looked so confusing and every store was packed and he didn't have his mommy. But all of a sudden, his mother found him and picked him up. He is eyes began to dry, not because his surroundings were changed, but because of whose arms he was in.

When you have someone who loves holding you, it doesn't matter anymore what everyone else does or what the circumstances are or what the future holds.

When you are in the arms of a loving God, when you have been consumed with his love, you share in his benefits. It's all right.

LET US PRAY
TODAY GODS LOVE WILL FIND YOU, WIPE YOUR TEARS AND RAP YOU WITH BLESSING YOUR HEART DESIRE IN JESUS NAME.

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BENEFITS OF GOD'S LOVE

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: BENEFITS OF GOD'S LOVE

Psalm 103

The Psalmist uncovers all the phases of life that God's love has touched and in turn benefited and blessed the recipient.

A. SPIRITUALLY (v. 3, 12)
Spiritually God's love removes the barrier that separates us from him by canceling the debt of our sin so that we can enjoy a loving relationship with him. God's love removes our sins as though they never existed.

B. EMOTIONALLY (v. 3)
Much of our physical and emotional illness is due to moral failure. In removing the sin and guilt from our lives God's love brings healing to our emotional life.

C. ETERNALLY (v. 4)
The pit is the pit of death. God's love rescues us, fallen humanity, from our own bent on destruction, and grants us eternal life.

D. AUTHORITATIVELY (v. 4)
God's love places a crown of royal glory and authority on us. God's love ". . . made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father" (Rev. 1:6). He have been crowned with his love and given a new citizenship on this earth and in heaven.

E. PHYSICALLY (v. 5)
Like a father he desires to give us good gifts of strength and endurance. Jesus, the embodiment of God's love came enjoying life, and he wants his children to do the same.

F. JUDICIALLY (v. 6)
Here we find a major difference between divine love and what so often passes for love among people. Often, love is expressed as that virtue that accepts everything. But, God's love always makes judgment calls. Divine love hates what is wrong and embraces what is right.

LET US PRAY
AS FROM TODAY, YOU WILL CONTINUE TO ENJOY GODS LOVE IN ALL YOUR WAYS IN JESUS NAME. AMEN

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God loves you

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: GOD LOVES YOU

Psalm 103

THE DESCRIPTION OF GOD'S LOVE (vv. 8, 11, 13, 17)
How do you describe a rose to a blind person? How do you describe Handle's Hallelujah Chorus to a deaf person?
How do you describe the impeccable, infinite love of God to impure, finite humans?

One of the most vivid characteristics of God is that he is a God of love.

The Psalmist was descriptive in recording the love-nature of God. He stated that he was "full of faithful love" (Psalm 103:8), "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His faithful love toward those who fear Him" (Psalm 103:11), "As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him" (Psalm 103:13), and "But from eternity to eternity the LORD's faithful love is toward those who fear Him" (Psalm 103:17).

THE DEFINITION OF GOD'S LOVE (v. 2)
The point is not simply that God "loves," but that he is love itself.
Love is not merely one of his attributes, but his very nature. The Scripture say, "And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him" (1 John 4:16).

To say that God is love, means that God wants the very best for you. God has your best interest in mind. He wants to give you good gifts and provide you with "all his benefits" (Psalm 103:2, NIV).

LET US PRAY
TODAY, GOD'S LOVE WILL BE SEEN IN YOUR LIFE IN JESUS NAME. AMEN

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LOVE OF THE CROSS, BELIEVERS LOVE

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: LOVE OF THE CROSS, BELIEVERS LOVE

Christianity is different from the way non-believers live. Instead of revenge, anger, hatred, the believer takes the higher road, the road of love. Why do we love? Because Christ loves us.

If I take offense easily, if I am content to continue in a cool unfriendliness, though friendship be possible, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If I feel bitter towards those who condemn me, as it seems to me, unjustly, forgetting that if they knew me as I know myself they would condemn me much more, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

Honestly, loving others is hard. People have a hard enough time loving themselves but as Believers, love is not optional.

We are looking at Ephesians 5:1-7, the love of a believer,

Believers are called to…

1. Be Imitators of God. Paul gives the Ephesians these instruction in verse 1, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children.”

The essence of God is love so as imitators we need to love as God has loved us. 1 Peter 1:3-4 says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”

LET US PRAY
EVERY SPIRIT OF HATRED IN US THAT WANT TO SEND US TO HELL. LORD DELIVER US OF IT IN JESUS NAME.

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He Has Risen

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: HE HAS RISEN

Matthew 28:6
The resurrection is the cornerstone of our faith – our faith is predicated on the belief that Jesus Christ not only died on the cross but that He rose from the dead

If it were not a reality, there would be no Christian faith

There are things I want you to meditate on today as we celebrate the resurrection of Christ

I. Jesus rose bodily from the grave

a. When the believers first came to Jesus’ tomb, His body was missing

i. It had not been stolen as the Jewish leaders asserted

1. This would have been impossible because of the guard set at the tomb by Pilate

2. Matthew 27 tells us that he placed a seal on the tomb and guards to protect it

3. There was no way the disciple’s who wouldn’t stand next to Jesus at His crucifixion would risk their lives simply to steal His dead body

ii. His body was not stolen, God had raised Him from the dead

b. It was not just Jesus’ influence, His Spirit or His energy that rose, but His actual glorified body

i. When Jesus met with His disciples after His resurrection, He met them in bodily form

ii. Many new-age religions and mysticisms try to say that Jesus did not rise bodily, but He rose only spiritually

iii. But listen to Jesus’ own words in Luke’s Gospel

iv. Luke 24:39 “Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have."”

c. Jesus rose from the grave as not just a Spirit, not just a force, not just an energy, but as a glorified body of flesh and bone

II. Jesus rose eternally from the grave

a. Jesus was not the first person to be resurrected from the dead

i. Elijah and Elisha saw people raised from the dead

ii. Paul raised the young man from the dead who fell out of a window

iii. Jesus also raised others from the dead Himself

1. Jairus’ daughter

2. The widow’s son at Nain

3. Lazarus at Bethany

b. What separates Christ’s resurrection is that all of these others eventually died again

i. He is called the ‘first fruit’ of the resurrection

ii. I Corinthians 15:20 “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

iii. This is not because He was the first to be raised, but because He was the first to be raised ‘eternally’

c. Jesus came forth from the grave, “alive forevermore”

III. Jesus rose victoriously from the grave

a. When Jesus walked out of that tomb death and the grave lost their sting

i. I Corinthians 15:55 “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?"”

b. The Bibles says that He came forth from the grave with the keys of death and hell in His hands

i. Revelation 1:18 “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”

ii. The grave could not hold Him

iii. Death could not harm Him

iv. The stone could not darken the Light of the world

i. On Good Friday it seemed the message was "Christ defeated"

ii. But three days later we discover that the message had not been receive in full.

iii. The resurrection reverses what we initially thought and declares "Christ defeated the enemy”

LET US PRAY
IN JESUS NAME, THE DEATH OF JESUS WILL NOT BE INVAIN IN YOUR LIFE.

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tetelestai

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: tetelestai

Everything is complete!

It was three o’clock. Jesus called for water. He could hardly speak. A soldier fixed a sponge on a spear and held it up to his lips. It was terribly bitter but it was enough. He strained to raise his head and look up to heaven. "It is finished," he cried and then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

At the time, the moment was filled with too much emotion for those words to sink in and to ponder what they meant. But later as the early Christians read John’s Gospel and heard again those words, it dawned on them just how powerful these dying words of Jesus were. John wrote his Gospel in Greek, and those last words of Jesus are just one word in Greek – tetelestai (pronounced te-tel-es-sty).

The expression "It is finished" or tetelestai was well known to them. It was a part of everyday language.

When a servant had completed a difficult job that his master had given him to do, he would say to the master – tetelestai - "I have overcome all the difficulties; I have done the job to the best of my ability. It is finished".

When the Jewish people went to the temple with their sacrifice, the High Priest would examine what was brought. Most likely, he didn’t speak Greek but he would use the Hebrew equivalent of tetelestai – meaning, "Your offering is accepted; it is perfect".

"tetelestai – the deal is finished, complete. The price has been paid in full. I am satisfied"

Jesus is saying that his job of saving the world has been completed.
He has finished the task and nothing can be added to what has been done.

Jesus has paid the price in full – he has cancelled all debt.
His sacrifice has been a perfect one, acceptable to the heavenly Father who, looking down on his Son hanging lifelessly from the cross, said, "Well done, this is my dear Son with whom I am well pleased".
Tetelestai – it is finished. Everything is complete!

What is it that is finished when Jesus says, "It is finished"?

Reconciliation is finished.

Sin has a devastating effect on our relationship with God. Sin separates us from God and if we want to have any hope of going to heaven to be with God, then someone had to deal with sin and restore our relationship with God. So God sent his Son into the world for this very purpose.

Jesus died on the cross to get rid of the power of sin to condemn us. His death bridged the deep gulf between God and us. "Salvation is finished", Jesus cried. The restoration of the friendship between God and humanity has been finished. The task for which God's Son came to earth has been completed.
He has won forgiveness for all people.

Nothing else needs to be done.
Salvation is complete. "It is finished".

That’s why we call today "Good Friday". It certainly wasn’t a good day for Jesus. He endured pain, soul-wrenching agony, hanging by the nails in his hands for hours, death on a rough wooden cross, for our sakes. We call today "Good Friday"

LET US PRAY
IN JESUS NAME, YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN, SALVATION COME TO YOUR HOME TODAY.

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IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES GIVE THANKS

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES GIVE THANKS

Lamentations 3 : 22-23
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

We must give thanks for God’s presence in our lives. The Lord has never left us or forsook us. People may have deserted us when we needed them. But the Lord has been with us at all times and in all situations.
His presence has given us peace and rest. Christ lives in us and He is the hope of glory . Without the presence of God our lives would be meaningless and miserable.

We must always be grateful for the presence of God in our lives. His presence with us makes all the difference in every situation that we face.

We must give thanks for God’s protection in our lives. We are not destroyed because of His mercies.
There are so many dangers and hidden snares in this world and yet God has protected us so far.

We must realise that it is God’s protection that has kept us alive so far.
We must remember the dangerous situations that we have faced in the past and how God protected us and be grateful to Him. The Lord has watched over us constantly and protected us.

If God is your protection, give praise.

LET US PRAY
FATHER LET YOUR PRAISES BE LOAD IN OUR MOUTH IN JESUS NAME.

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A GRATEFUL HEART

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: A GRATEFUL HEART

Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness
and for His wonderful works to the children of men!
(Psalm 107:15)

Have you ever noticed that some people seem to recognize more things to be grateful for in their lives than others?
This is not primarily caused by having more good events actually occurring for that person.

In the story of the ten lepers being healed by the Lord, the same miracle occurred for them all, but only one returned to thank Him.
The other nine must have noticed the miracle of their healing. What was going on in their minds that they did not return to Jesus to thank Him?

A person’s thankfulness depends significantly on his or her state of mind.
For example, four people might receive exactly the same benefit. One could be too busy focusing on something else to even really notice.
A second could be so frustrated and angry that he hadn’t already received the benefit that he is still resentful when it happens.
A third might feel discouraged or depressed because he is so needy. But the fourth could feel a deep sense of gratitude. The benefit might be the same, but the reactions would be quite different.

think of the lords blessing in your life and have a deep thought over and over again not to keep quiet but to bust into thanksgiving

LET US PRAY
FATHER LET YOUR NAME BE PRAISE ALWAYS IN OUR LIVES IN JESUS NAME,

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APPRECIATION
THANKS TO GOD ALMIGHTY AND TO YOU ALL FOR THE BIRTHDAY WISHES. GOD BLESS YOU IN JESUS NAME.

I Am Fearfully And Wonderfully Made.

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: I Am Fearfully And Wonderfully Made.

You knit me together in my mother’s womb… I thank you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made Psalm.139:12

Years ago, I was born, like every human being knit together in my mother’s womb, and today i thank God for the way in which i, like every human being, is fearfully and wonderfully made.

Before we ever come to light, God marks our journeys. No one who is reading this morning meal today knew for what I was destined at birth. But Today we recognise that God knew it from the beginning.

You encompass me behind and before and lay your hand upon me [Ps.139: 4]

I am writing this today to worship God who made and formed me, I thank God for the way in which his hand has been so uniquely evident in my life.

Psalm 139 explores fear and wonder, and the connection between them.

In life there is much to fear. Over and again the Psalm describes those things we might be afraid of – the fears we harbour individually as well as the fears we share corporately. Fear makes us want to flee – from God, from one another, often even from ourselves. But over and again that fear is turned into wonder as we see that God is before, behind and beyond it.

Over the years there has been much to fear: at times of personal challenge or spiritual crisis. But just as the psalmist sees through fear to something more stirring and more extraordinary, so i look back with deep wonder and profound gratitude. Through war and hardship, through turmoil and change, i have been fearfully and wonderfully sustained.

The one who turns fear to wonder is Jesus. The story of Jesus shows us that God enters into the most fearful places imaginable in our lives – of sin, betrayal, violence, rejection, even death – and turns each one of them from horror into glory.

Nothing is outside God’s understanding. Nothing is beyond God’s grace. Nothing is too broken for God’s transformation. No one can flee from God’s redeeming goodness or finally escape God’s loving attention.

‘Consider the lilies, how they grow,’ says Jesus. They too are the handwork of God who clothed them in glory, from the overflow of his love and care. How much more does God care for and clothe each one of us.

Today i rejoice for the way in which God’s loving care has fearfully and wonderfully sustained me.

I PRAY LORD JESUS CHRIST, HELP ME TO KNOW YOU MORE, TO SERVE YOU FAITHFULLY AND TO END IT WELL AT YOUR FEET IN JESUS NAME.

I Am Fearfully And Wonderfully Made.

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: I Am Fearfully And Wonderfully Made.

You knit me together in my mother’s womb… I thank you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made Psalm.139:12

Years ago, I was born, like every human being knit together in my mother’s womb, and today i thank God for the way in which i, like every human being, is fearfully and wonderfully made.

Before we ever come to light, God marks our journeys. No one who is reading this morning meal today knew for what I was destined at birth. But Today we recognise that God knew it from the beginning.

You encompass me behind and before and lay your hand upon me [Ps.139: 4]

I am writing this today to worship God who made and formed me, I thank God for the way in which his hand has been so uniquely evident in my life.

Psalm 139 explores fear and wonder, and the connection between them.

In life there is much to fear. Over and again the Psalm describes those things we might be afraid of – the fears we harbour individually as well as the fears we share corporately. Fear makes us want to flee – from God, from one another, often even from ourselves. But over and again that fear is turned into wonder as we see that God is before, behind and beyond it.

Over the years there has been much to fear: at times of personal challenge or spiritual crisis. But just as the psalmist sees through fear to something more stirring and more extraordinary, so i look back with deep wonder and profound gratitude. Through war and hardship, through turmoil and change, i have been fearfully and wonderfully sustained.

The one who turns fear to wonder is Jesus. The story of Jesus shows us that God enters into the most fearful places imaginable in our lives – of sin, betrayal, violence, rejection, even death – and turns each one of them from horror into glory.

Nothing is outside God’s understanding. Nothing is beyond God’s grace. Nothing is too broken for God’s transformation. No one can flee from God’s redeeming goodness or finally escape God’s loving attention.

‘Consider the lilies, how they grow,’ says Jesus. They too are the handwork of God who clothed them in glory, from the overflow of his love and care. How much more does God care for and clothe each one of us.

Today i rejoice for the way in which God’s loving care has fearfully and wonderfully sustained me.

I PRAY LORD JESUS CHRIST, HELP ME TO KNOW YOU MORE, TO SERVE YOU FAITHFULLY AND TO END IT WELL AT YOUR FEET IN JESUS NAME.

Forgiveness

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: FORGIVENESS

Be willing to forgive: striving for grace (Micah 7:18; Luke 6:27-37; Luke 15:11-32).

Micah 7:18 gives us a statement on why God forgives: “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.”

God forgives because He delights in showing mercy. God does get angry. He does have wrath. But that is not the way He wants things to be. God delights in showing mercy.
Do we?

Let me ask you to be honest with yourself and honest with God: When you release somebody-when you tell him or her that you forgive-do you walk away with steam coming out of your ears, or do you, yourself, feel released? If we really have forgiven, we will feel released as well. Now that may take time, but the decision to forgive will set us on the right path.

In Luke 6:35, Jesus sets the high
standard of kingdom living:
“Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

Being merciful really happens-only when God’s character is impressed on the crookedness and hardness of our character.

Again Confront the problem:

striving for truth (Luke 16:3-4).
Often the letting go of forgiveness happens only after the truth of a problem has been confronted and put squarely on the table.
Confronting someone may not come easy for you, but it may be the most merciful thing you do for someone you care about. Jesus said in Luke 17: “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.”

Now that’s the ideal situation we’d all hope for: a mistake, a confrontation, an apology and forgiveness.
And we should hope for the ideal, while realizing sometimes we’ll have to let go of someone even if he or she isn’t convinced he or she has done anything wrong.

LET US PRAY
MAY GOD GIVE US A NEW HEART TO DO HIS WILL IN JESUS NAME. AMEN

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Forgiveness

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: FORGIVENESS

Be willing to forgive: striving for grace (Micah 7:18; Luke 6:27-37; Luke 15:11-32).

Micah 7:18 gives us a statement on why God forgives: “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.”

God forgives because He delights in showing mercy. God does get angry. He does have wrath. But that is not the way He wants things to be. God delights in showing mercy.
Do we?

Let me ask you to be honest with yourself and honest with God: When you release somebody-when you tell him or her that you forgive-do you walk away with steam coming out of your ears, or do you, yourself, feel released? If we really have forgiven, we will feel released as well. Now that may take time, but the decision to forgive will set us on the right path.

In Luke 6:35, Jesus sets the high
standard of kingdom living:
“Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

Being merciful really happens-only when God’s character is impressed on the crookedness and hardness of our character.

Again Confront the problem:

striving for truth (Luke 16:3-4).
Often the letting go of forgiveness happens only after the truth of a problem has been confronted and put squarely on the table.
Confronting someone may not come easy for you, but it may be the most merciful thing you do for someone you care about. Jesus said in Luke 17: “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.”

Now that’s the ideal situation we’d all hope for: a mistake, a confrontation, an apology and forgiveness.
And we should hope for the ideal, while realizing sometimes we’ll have to let go of someone even if he or she isn’t convinced he or she has done anything wrong.

LET US PRAY
MAY GOD GIVE US A NEW HEART TO DO HIS WILL IN JESUS NAME. AMEN

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THE FORGIVER RESPONSIBILITY.

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: THE FORGIVER RESPONSIBILITY.

Continue from where we stopped yesterday...
Now, let’s turn the tables. What about when you are the forgiver?

Analyze the problem: when to forbear and when to forgive

(Colossians 3:13).
The first thing to do when you think you should forgive someone who has wronged you is to make sure that it really rises to the level of forgiveness.

Colossians 3:13 says: “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

There is forgiveness, and there is forbearance.

You can think of forbearance as a kind of low-level forgiveness, or more simply as exercising patience and tolerance in the face of the idiosyncrasies of the people in your life.

For example,
if your spouse is chronically late in getting ready to leave the house for an engagement, that doesn’t really rise to the level of mortal sin. It may be irritating, but it just doesn’t say in the Ten Commandments, “Thou shalt not wait until the last minute to put thy makeup on.”
And it doesn’t say in the Ten Commandments that table manners are a matter of spiritual life and death.

You may have to forbear someone who talks too much,
someone in your house who chews with his or her mouth open or who leaves towels on the floor, someone who seems incapable of replacing the toilet paper roll.

You may need to smile and tolerate some of the weird opinions of others or if they have no opinions or are opinionated about everything-but that probably is more about forbearance than forgiveness.

If you don’t see the necessity to forbear, then you may be living a narcissistic life, as if your way of living and thinking is superior in every way to that of others.
No, we have to live with the assumption that we live in an imperfect world surrounded by imperfect people, and not every bumping of heads means someone has sinned.

None of this is to say that we should take our sins against each other and minimize them, expecting others to just put up with our major mess-ups just because “none of us is perfect.”

I’ll say it again: Forgiveness is the gutsiest thing a human being can do because real people do real damage to each other all the time-but it can be solved.

And so here are our marching orders: “Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

LET US PRAY
FATHER IN JESUS NAME, GIVE US A FORGIVING SPIRIT AND HELP US TO LOVE EACH OTHER IN JESUS NAME.

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THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PERSON SEEKING FORGIVENESS

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PERSON SEEKING FORGIVENESS

(Psalms 32:1-5)
Psalm 32 is a landmark passage about the way forgiveness works:
“Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD’ – and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”

First, to be forgiven is to be blessed beyond your wildest dreams, knowing that your Creator, the gracious Father above, is willing to forgive your mistakes and offenses. God is willing to not hold our sins against us. One’s record is wiped clean. No debt owed. Account settled.

We’ve got to comprehend the blessing of forgiveness because if we take God’s forgiveness for granted with an attitude that says: “Well, what else is God going to do? Isn’t that His job?” then we’ll never understand or appropriate the forgiveness of God, and there is not a chance we’ll be forgiving of others.

Notice the progression of the person’s heart in this passage: “my bones wasted away… my strength was sapped.” This is a person being “eaten up on the inside” as we sometimes say. Guilt will do that. And though it is hard to believe, the tortured conscience is a gift.

WHAT's THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PERSON SEEKING FORGIVENESS?
Verse 5: “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said,‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD -and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”

When was the last time you tried to cover up your transgressions? Covering up is the unfortunate instinct of fallen human nature. Denying our faults and mess-ups seems to be the way of least pain, but it only adds pain to pain.
We are supposed to confess our wrongdoings. But to whom? The simple answer is: the person or persons whom we’ve wronged. Now in every instance, that is God. In Psalm 51, David’s heart-rending confession of his adultery with Bathsheba and arranging the death of her husband says: “against you, you only, have I sinned.” Of course, he had sinned against people-but the epicenter of the earthquake of our sins is always our detachment from God Himself. And so we confess to God.

We’re also supposed to confess our wrongdoings to the people we’ve wronged in many, but not all, circumstances. You have to judge the outcome. To say to your sister-in-law: “You know, I used to resent you all the time because I thought you were arrogant, but I’ve really learned how to tolerate you and to forgive your many shortcomings” may not be the most constructive thing to do. To confess to someone in your office that you’ve been attracted to him or her even though he or she is married is a confession best made between you and God.

But there are many times when a flat-out, humble-pie, heart-felt apology is the right thing to do. And if you know it’s right-don’t hold back.

Think of the sins you have to confess Now and take the right step.

LET US PRAY
TODAY GOD WILL SET YOU FREE FROM EVERY SINS THAT IS HOLDING YOU CAPTIVE IN JESUS NAME.

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FORGIVENESS IS A DECISION AND A PROCESS

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: FORGIVENESS IS A DECISION AND A PROCESS

forgiveness is a decision and a process. You can release someone from obligation to you personally, even though the smoldering fires of resentment keep burning in you for some time to come.

Let look at How Forgiveness Works

We would be terribly mistaken if we thought forgiveness was a kind of soft feeling certain soft-hearted people are capable of, and they cushion the blow that others of us with a harder edge aren’t good at.

Remember-the boldest act of forgiveness the world has ever seen was in the bloodied and beaten and torn body of Jesus Christ.

To forgive is the gutsiest thing you can do in life. Forgiveness is not for the faint-hearted. Forgiveness is the mark of the true man and the true woman of God.

If you and me confess to be a true man and woman of God, then Lets shows fruit of forgiveness and demonstrate it physically.

LET US PRAY
MAY THE BLOOD OF JESUS WASHES US CLEAN AND MAKE US HOLY IN ALL OUR DEALINGS.

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FORGIVENESS IS A NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT OTHERS.

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: FORGIVENESS IS A NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT OTHERS.

Forgiveness is a new way of looking at others. It’s a radical and counter-cultural perspective on life. If you believe in forgiveness-that God forgives, even though He is not obligated to, and that we’ll have the best kind of life if we hold other people in our lives with a loose grip-then here’s how you’ll view other people.

You will see people for what they can be and what they were intended to be, rather than simply as they are.
You’ll learn to not focus on people who simply irritate you. You can focus on them, of course, if you choose to, and keep yourself in a continual state of irritation; and you end up irritating the living daylights out of other people around you.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Forgiveness means looking at people who really have wronged you and deciding that you’d like to set things right-but in the end, you’re not going to play God.

And forgiveness means that you view the deranged people who shoot up school rooms and then turn the guns on themselves as people who are going to be standing before the judgment seat of God. They will answer to God.

if you and me know that we will answer to God at the end then you need not to hold people in your mind.

LET US PRAY
WHATEVER EVIL THAT IS ATTACKING YOU FOR NOT FORGIVE, YOU ARE SET FREE TODAY IN JESUS NAME.

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FORGIVENESS IS RELEASE

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: FORGIVENESS IS RELEASE

TEXT Matthew 18:27, Matthew 18:32)

Meaning of forgiveness?

Try to forget for a moment everything you have ever heard or assumed about forgiveness. Let a single word impress itself on your mind, the biblical word, the new covenant word. In Greek it is aphesis, in English, release.

Now just for a moment, don’t make it any more complicated than that. Release. To forgive means to choose someone whom you have been holding in your debt, holding in resentment and bitterness, and release him or her.

Forgiveness is not calling something that someone else did that was immoral or destructive OK.
It is not turning a blind eye toward injustice.

Forgiveness simply means that you choose to release somebody from personal obligation to you-even though that person will have to face the justice of God.

In Matthew 18, Jesus disciple asked:“How many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” (Matthew 18:21).
Jesus answers in a parable in which a man owed a king ten thousand talents (Today’s equivalent? Millions of Naira.) and was on the brink of having to sell his wife and children into slavery to pay the debt. But the pleas of the man to the king resulted in a canceling of the debt. Forgiveness. Release.

But the same man turns on a man who owes him merely a hundred denarii (for us, #20 or so). And when the king hears of it, he is incensed, saying, “You wicked servant, … I canceled all that debt of yours. …Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant?” The king rescinds his forgiveness. And Jesus closing words are these: “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

Forgiveness is release-being released by God, and then we are able to release other people in our lives.
Before you go out today, make sure that you release someone you are holding in your heart.

LET US PRAY
TODAY GOD WILL REMEMBER HIS SON'S DEAD ON THE CROSS AND FORGIVE ALL OUR SINS IN JESUS NAME,

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FORGIVENESS IS RELEASE

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: FORGIVENESS IS RELEASE

TEXT Matthew 18:27, Matthew 18:32)

Meaning of forgiveness?

Try to forget for a moment everything you have ever heard or assumed about forgiveness. Let a single word impress itself on your mind, the biblical word, the new covenant word. In Greek it is aphesis, in English, release.

Now just for a moment, don’t make it any more complicated than that. Release. To forgive means to choose someone whom you have been holding in your debt, holding in resentment and bitterness, and release him or her.

Forgiveness is not calling something that someone else did that was immoral or destructive OK.
It is not turning a blind eye toward injustice.

Forgiveness simply means that you choose to release somebody from personal obligation to you-even though that person will have to face the justice of God.

In Matthew 18, Jesus disciple asked:“How many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” (Matthew 18:21).
Jesus answers in a parable in which a man owed a king ten thousand talents (Today’s equivalent? Millions of Naira.) and was on the brink of having to sell his wife and children into slavery to pay the debt. But the pleas of the man to the king resulted in a canceling of the debt. Forgiveness. Release.

But the same man turns on a man who owes him merely a hundred denarii (for us, #20 or so). And when the king hears of it, he is incensed, saying, “You wicked servant, … I canceled all that debt of yours. …Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant?” The king rescinds his forgiveness. And Jesus closing words are these: “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

Forgiveness is release-being released by God, and then we are able to release other people in our lives.
Before you go out today, make sure that you release someone you are holding in your heart.

LET US PRAY
TODAY GOD WILL REMEMBER HIS SON'S DEAD ON THE CROSS AND FORGIVE ALL OUR SINS IN JESUS NAME,

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