Friday Devotion and Prayer – June 30, 2023
By: Bishop Dr. Etta Mhoon-Walker, PhD., DDiv. Friday Devotion and Prayer. June …
Month: June 2023
Thursday Devotion and Prayer – June 29, 2023
By: Bishop Dr. Etta Mhoon-Walker, PhD., DDiv. Thursday Devotion and Prayer. June …
Wednesday Devotion and Prayer – June 28, 2023
By: Bishop Dr. Etta Mhoon-Walker, PhD., DDiv.
Wednesday Devotion and Prayer. June 28, 2023 “Enduring Marriages”
“However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband”—Ephesians 5:33
Sadly, marriage is under attack. It’s being devalued, avoided, redesigned, and mocked. But God designed marriage as a sacred union to be respected and revered, holy before Him. Unlike current cultural trends, marriage is not a legal contract but a covenant with God. It’s His idea, design, and set of laws surrounding it. Human laws do not trump His ways, and He has not given us the freedom to reinvent it. Marriage is vital to God’s plan because it represents the relationship between Jesus Christ and the Church. The breaking down of it on earth is the enemy at work to try and destroy God’s will for the Church. Revelation 19:7 paints the picture of what is to come with Christ and His Church. “Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.” Marriage is something to fight for, just like the Church of Jesus Christ is worth fighting for. If Christians are unwilling to fight for their marriages, how can they stand up and fight for the Church?
Marriage Is God’s Mystery
Believers in Jesus Christ must consider their earthly marriage covenants with reverence and commitment. Ephesians 5:25-33 explains the mystery of earthly marriage, designed to form an unbreakable bond between husband, wife, and God. He reveals the mystery of His Bride, the Church. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through word and to present her to Himself as a radiant Church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” Ephesians 5:25-27
Marriage is our God-designed model for what the Church is to become, which is the body of Christ on earth. Ephesians 5:28-30 explains, “In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the Church—for we are members of His body.” Ephesians 5:31 explains God designed marriage as a profound mystery that reveals His eternal plan for Christ and His Church. “For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the Church.” Like a physical, earthly marriage, God calls us to purity, as it is key to becoming one with our spouse and with the Church becoming one with Jesus Christ. “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” (Hebrews 13:4)
Heavenly Father,
Marriage is Your sacred, holy design under Your authority alone. Today holy matrimony, Your vision for the relationship between Jesus and the Church is under attack. But You, O Lord, can strengthen and bind us as one in our marriages so that the enemy cannot tear apart what You have joined together. We ask You today to embolden us to stand up against his assaults and remain faithful to our vows to You and each other.
It’s not by our might or our power that we can stand, but by Your Spirit, who empowers us to withstand the enemy’s attacks against our marriages. Thank you, Father, for daily strengthening and encouraging us to be holy as You are holy. Let us be a picture to the world of Jesus’ unfailing faithfulness to His Church. In Your son Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
Weekly Message 6-26-2023
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Weekly Message from General Chief Overseer Bishop Dr. Calvin Worthem
Date: 06/26/2023
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and to Him be the Glory, Power, and Dominion forever and ever and to the Holy Ghost that is yet abiding in the body. This week’s key phrase is “How to Live With Eternal Life in Mind”. The three things we need to remember is: Our life is temporary, Some are facing life and death without hope, and believers can live in hope of heaven.
Our life in this world is temporary. 2 Corinthians 4:18 tells us, “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal”. We cannot live our lives believing we have years to do all we want, but the reality is none of us knows how long we have left. Our life is fleeting, so like the psalmist our prayer might be to ask the Lord, to “teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12). We must consider the brevity of life, not knowing what will happen tomorrow, as our life is but a vapor. “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James 4:14). As Christians, we are just pilgrims passing through this world; it’s not our home, nor our final destination. Hence, we must keep in perspective that our momentary troubles will pass and we must not become attached to the things of this world.
Some are facing life and death without hope. Romans 1:16 reads, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek”. My brothers and sisters, death is not the end of the story for any of us as there will be an eternal outcome, whether in the presence of God or out from His presence for eternity. “Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;” (2 Thessalonians 1:9). Jesus Christ has made a way for all people to come into His Kingdom through the cross on which He died for our sins.
Believers can live in hope of heaven. 2 Corinthians 5:1 reads, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens”. As believers we have secure hope that we will one day be with God. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has made a way for sinful mankind to be reconciled to a Holy God. 1Thessalonians 4:17 reminds us, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord”. The gospel needs to be proclaimed clearly and truthfully (Colossians 4:3-6). If we fail to understand the gospel ourselves, it can have eternal consequences as it shapes our view of eternity. What we do in this life affects what happens in the next. Second Corinthians 5:10 sums it up, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad”. We all will have to come face to face with God and be judged at the appointed time. If we reject Jesus in this life, our next life will be an eternity without Him.
In closing, an eternal view gives us the perspective to remember that Jesus will return. We must keep running the race in faith daily. No matter what happens in this life, whether good or bad, we must never lose sight of the cross of Jesus Christ and how it opened up the way for us to come before our Heavenly Father. Until next week, remember, “… with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).
In His Service,
Bishop Dr. Calvin Worthem
General Chief Overseer/Senior Bishop
Friday Devotion and Prayer – June 23, 2023
By: Bishop Dr. Etta Mhoon-Walker, PhD., DDiv.
Friday Devotion and Prayer. June 23, 2023
“For the Busy Day Ahead”
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.” – Psalm 37:23
Busy days often leave us feeling overwhelmed. With a mountain of tasks in front of us, it can be challenging to know where to start. Long to-do lists scramble our thoughts and leave us feeling stuck in place, but we can turn to the One True God who delights in every detail of our lives. As it says in Psalm 37, He will direct our steps. When was the last time you prayed over your to-do list? Does this challenge you as it does me? We might quickly pray about the big things in life, but do we try to shoulder the seemingly small stuff ourselves? What would our day look like if we surrendered the details to Jesus?
As I paused in a moment of anxiety this week, I pondered my familiar pattern of overwhelm. The lack of clear direction was leading me once again into distraction and avoidance of tasks. As time pressed in, my thoughts began to jumble. “Where do I start? What comes next? How will I ever finish?” I felt alone and defeated in my struggle, yet that is not where God calls His children to live out their days. We may fall, but Jesus will help us get back up again. The Holy Spirit reminded me that I could ask for guidance, and I prayed a simple prayer: “Lord, help me. I don’t know what to do first.”
It wasn’t a major project or accomplishment. God simply met me in the middle of a busy day. God’s Word wisely counsels us against procrastination. As it says in Proverbs 6:6, “Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise!” In addition, Colossians 3:23 instructs, “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”
We don’t have to let our to-do lists get the best of us–we can bring glory to God in our busy days ahead. God wants a personal relationship with each of us and wants to be part of our day! In our restless and confusing moments, He calls us to His side. He invites us to seek His counsel through prayer and His Living Word. Never in the Bible does God tell us to spare Him from the trivial stuff. Philippians 4:6 tells us, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”
We can pray about anything and everything even our busy days! He delights in every detail. Jesus is our peace and direction, and He will direct the steps of the godly. Being godly isn’t about being perfect and always knowing what to do next. It’s about obeying God and surrendering to His grace and lead. The Lord directed my steps on my busy day, and He will direct yours too. Peace filled my heart and mind as I prayed through the list of tasks. Confidence and purpose-filled my body, and I began to put one foot in front of the other, tackling the duties with His help. Does your mind feel cluttered with tasks today? Whether you are tackling a big project or just a daily to-do list, God wants to be part of your day.
Heavenly Father, I confess my need for your peace and direction in my daily activity. I am easily overwhelmed, and I ask you for clarity and motivation today. Lord, I want to honor you in my work and be a good steward of your blessings. Break any chains of procrastination and fill my steps with your purpose. Renew my strength to accomplish what is set before me today. Thank you for loving me and delighting in the details of my life. Remind me often to seek your counsel and to enjoy dwelling in your wonderful presence. In Your son Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen.
