LOCKDOWN DEVOTION SERIES – THE INVITATION

Hi Lovelies! How’re you doing today? How’s the lockdown? 😂😂😂😂

So an idea came to mind ‘Lockdown Devotion Series‘ and i think it’s not a bad one at all. It’s not an online worship or service. To be honest i think I don’t have any plans (big or small) about this. Immediately the idea dropped i prayed about it. I needed to be sure that this isn’t my flesh trying to do something simply because i can or if it’s something that God inspired.

So after praying, i still don’t have any plan😂😂😂😂 Isn’t God wonderful? All i keep hearing is ‘Pray, Pray a lot… Reach out and just talk about Jesus ‘… if that’s the plan then i’ll go with it.

Just join me, let’s do this together. The Church needs much prayers. You need to pray a lot. This isn’t the time for netflix and chill or relaxing but rather an opportunity to spend day, noon and night with the Holy Spirit. I strongly believe God is about to POUR into us and we need to be in the right posture to be FILLED. God is about to re-ignite our fire, fan into flames our passion for Him alone. Such a good God!

A person revival will happen in our lives before the lockdown ban is lifted. God bless you very much as you open up your spirit to be filled.

Yours Ever,

Sheila Naana Oppong

COVID-19 BLESSINGS. LESSONS. TIMINGS

Our lives certainly won’t be the same after this pandemic and this means alot to us as children of the light. We have been advised to practice social distancing as much as we can, frequent handwashing and hygienic respiratory system practices. I thought i’ll highlight seven ways Christians can get through this pandemic

.7 THINGS YOU CAN DO IN THIS SEASON

.1. PRAY.The recent initiative from the President of Ghana,His Excellency Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo Addo to declare a day for national fasting and prayers was indeed a brilliant. Not because he declared it but the eagerness and desire to see people from every part of the country to spend time talking to God about anything and everything and pleading His blood over the land. The young, the old, the churched,the unchurched. Everyone had something to tell God and it was a delightul time.This is a very crucial time. These are no longer ordinary times. Much much much prayers need to be lifted up. The Church needs to spend so much time in prayer. The church needs to focus on prayer and live by prayer. Despite the statistics, pray. Despite the news pray. Just spend alot of time in prayer. If there is one thing that this pandemic has made known, it is that alot of people look up to the Church to exude it’s power. I think sometimes they expect too much but it feels great to know that people believe that when we pray miracles can happen.It’s not the time to ask God to increase your ministry or membership or spread your fame across the shores immediately the pandemic is over but rather interceed. Step in the gap, wrestle it out in prayer. Pray that God intervenes and brings to a halt every plan of the enemy to use this pandemic against the Church and children of the light. Fast as much as you can but pray so much too.Pray for families who have lost someone. For some they have lost a breadwinner, a spouse, a guardian. Life won’t be the same for them after this pandemic. Pray that God brings His peace into their lives and comfort them.We have heard so so many testimonies of people miraculously recovering. God is doing it! Keep praying that God releases His healing virtue in their bodies. The church will not loose its power. Pray that people in coma, critical conditions, intubations begin to miraculously get healed by God’s prayer.Pray for the frontliners. The healthcare practioners. They are physically fighting a battle and a common enemy. Many have already lost their lives and left families behind. Pray that God protects them, God sanitizes them with His blood. God keep them safe. God strengthen them with His might.Lastly, our leaders. They will be faced with hard decisions. Many national econonies will be crumbled. God should revive the African Economy and cause us to bounce back mightily in such a way that we might never face hunger or famine.Don’t forget, the Church hasn’t lost its power

.2. DISTRACT YOURSELF FROM THE MANY CONSPIRACY THEORIES.Try staying away from the news for a few days. Distract yourself from the news statistics for a while so you don’t panic and get disappointed. Everyone has something to say. Everyone is being calculative and predictive. Alot of conspiracy theories are flying around. Some people believe God told them this is the end of the world, others will tell you God sent this to punish the world. Mind you, they will back it with believeable evidences but right now you need to distract yourself a little from the ‘them say, them say’,.Try creating a music playlist that is speaking to you in this season. Try writing a book. Oh, ahaa you can actually create a diary or a journal about your daily experience,your thoughts ,emotions, throughout this whole pandemic. I bet your kids would be grateful to read this wonderful historic piece when they grow up. Try cooking. Personally i’m looking forward to trying new recipes…hehe…Try reading a book. Try your hands on fashion. Now will be a perfect time to clear out your wardrobe and re-arrange the home. Work on a music piece

.3. STUDY THE BIBLEYou know how you have been complaining of not having time to study the Bible so you read just two pages and pray? Yeaaaaahhh.. God heard you wai…lol do your best to study the Bible, get revelation out of every page. God is definitely seeking to speak to everyone in this season and you wouldn’t want to miss out on this. If you haven’t started yet i could recommend starting with the Gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Really powerful books and they actually let you know Jesus for He is. Like you get to know a person from their birth to their death and everything in between, and oh, you’ll get to experience JesJesus’s sense of humour in there too. Interesting huh?

4. FELLOWSHIPDunsin Oyekan’s song ‘Breathe’ keeps reminding me of what fellowship is and why i should constantly desire it.You can read your Bible, you can pray but if you don’t have fellowship with God especially in such a time like this you will easily fall for any plan of the enemy. The enemy is still roaring and seeking for whom to lie to and will use any means available including a pandemic.Crave God’s presence so much. Even in the midst of the storm, you will feel His peace. Set an alarm,just to spend time with the Holy Spirit. You’ll be amazed at how much He will pour His heart to you.Also, try and fellowship with other Christians as often as you can. Have blastful virtual worship experiences and Bible studies

.5. FAMILYSo many dysfunctional familes have used this time to resolve, forgive and create memories. For a wife, her prayers to see and spend time with her husband has been answered. For a husband, his wife finally has time off work to rest and get well from an illness. For Children, as for them they have no worries😂😂. They are ‘coming to continue the Christmas holidays’. Families will be healed. Broken homes will be restored.Now will be a great time to create amazing memories with family whilst social distancing ooo yoo. Lol.

6. STRANGERS.A great time to actually get to know other people. A great time to be there for others. A great time to live the ‘love the neighbor as yourself’. Try and reach out to people grieving somewhere on the globe and offer your shoulder to lean on. As it is now, the whole world is actually going through this together. We are practically a family now. On your social media timeline if you know anyone grieving just offer your care and support. Make a friend in a different country. Let this bring us together.If you also can, try and get a sanitizer or send a little token to people you know will find it difficult to get by this season. People won’t forget this gesture in a hurry. Everyone is thinking about stocking up for themselves and family meanwhile you went out of your way and made sure you made a total stranger feel loved in this season. God bless you richly in advance.

7. LEARN A NEW HOBBYLearn how to make DIYs,(Do it yourself). Painting, writing with a left hand, lol..anything. a new language, anything.Just learn something new this quarantine season.This will soon pass too.Keep practicing safe social distancing strategies, wash your hands. Cooperate with the government. 2020 is still a really really great year.

Yours Ever,

Sheila Naana Oppong.

PRAYER : A PLUG. A SHIFT. A ROOT.

We have heard prayer like a zillion times. As a topic, it’s not overrated or underrated in a way. Prayer is just what it is.
PRAYER; Our weapon that causes heaven to meet earth. Such a powerful force right? It’s ours

Prayer is a plug.
A plug is like that ‘go-to-person’ who has links and connections to people and places that can get us sorted out when we need anything.
That’s how prayer is. You tell someone that ‘Yo! I really need a better paying job, they go like ‘Let’s pray into it’
‘I need this’ they’ll say let’s pray
‘I need that’ – ‘Let’s pray’
Yo! I need a wife’ – Let’s pray.
Prayer is a plug- solution to everything.
(We even Google prayer) ahaa you see.

Prayer is a shift
(Acts 16:16-40)
You remember the famous Paul and Silas story?
Sincerely, this is a living example of when Heaven meets the earth.
Paul and Silas were in prison.
At midnight, they began praying and singing hymns whilst in prison.
Yes, the angel indeed appeared but it was the prayer of Paul and Silas that fetched the angel!
Their prayer caused a shift on earth.
Such a force!

Prayer is a root, the fountain, the mother of a thousand blessings
-Saint John Chrysotom
By far my favorite quote on prayer. It helps me think of a million things that a prayer can do.
I marvel anytime i see a fountain, be it at the mall, a hotel etc. I stopped seeing a fountain as something ordinary without having an active imagination of what it really communicates to me. Water flows nonstop, it even overflows but stops once the plug is taken out of the switch – That’s how i see prayer.

Here are some few tips on prayer that i put together that will definitely be a blessing to you as much as it blessed me.

1. PRAY FROM A PLACE OF VICTORY.

praying from a place of Victory is the most important posture during prayer. You can kneel, lie down, pray your heart out, cry, shout your voice away, clap till your hands get swollen and still pray and miss it.
Praying from a place of total confidence.
Knowing your authority
Knowing the power your words carry.
Knowing that you are praying to a God who has never lied nor failed. Not even once, not ever!
Wow!!

Praying from a place of Victory knowing that God’s ears are just eager to hear you and act accordingly.
Not praying with a ‘Maybe God will’ attitude but rather with a ‘God has already done it’ attitude.
That is a place of Victory
That’s our authority.

2. GOD IS NOT A GENIE!

It’s sad enough that a 5 minute prayer has like a 100 wishlist on it. Things you need from God, things you can get from God.
Try just talking to God, no wishlist, no petition. He is your Heavenly Father who is excited when He hears from you. Just talk to him about everything, about anything. How you are feeling today, about what you are thinking about, about anything at all. Just talk without the asking for this and that.
It’s exciting to do.

3. PRAY IN THE SPIRIT.

I know you’ve heard and read about this so many times but what i mean in this text is praying Holy Spirit inspired prayers.
Allowing the Holy Spirit to lead your spirit, mind and soul into the realm of prayers
This has little or nothing to do with the Latin Jargons people throw about just to appear spiritual on the outside. You can pray in the Spirit with or without speaking in tougues as long as it is Holy Spirit inspired.
Praying in the spirit means letting your inner man partake in the prayer feast as well. Don’t just pray with your lips. Pray with your inner spirit, pray with your heart, pray with everything you’ve got in you.

4. PRAY THE SCRIPTURES

Pray the promises of God over your life, over your situation.
Kenneth Copeland’s testimony and prayer for healing not only challenged my faith but it taught me how to pray scriptures over my health when i wasn’t feeling too well.
After being stressed out from a very tight preaching schedule, Kenneth Copeland had lost his voice and could barely whisper. He had a Church to preach to in the next few hours. He didn’t call to cancel, he decided to go ahead with it.
Whilst in his hotel room, he prayed and said
‘God i thank you for healing me, Bible said that by your stripes we are healed from our sicknesses and diseases.
My body may not feel like its healed but it has no choice than to succumb to the word of God.
My voice may not sound it’s healed but it has no choice than to obey the word of God because i’m already healed by your stripes.
Thank You Jesus.

Kenneth Copeland mounted the podium when it was time for him to preach, his voice was still not back but he took the microphone anyway.
He whispered a prayer of Thanksgiving once more and started preaching. Minutes into his sermon, his voice was restored!

Pray scriptures into your life.
Pray the promises of God.
For everything in life, there is scripture and there are promises for us in there.
That’s how intentional and well thought God has made the world and made us.

5. PRAY TO GET RESULTS.
Being a prayer warrior is not about being a person who can pray from 10pm to 4am.
It’s being a person who can pray for 15minutes and get results.
It’s about being able to pray for 5minutes and heaven will meet the earth.
It’s about praying and causing a shift. That’s what being a prayer warrior is all about.
To get results from your prayers, you need to be specific in your petition.
If you need a new job, be specific in your prayers. Tell God you need a job at Harvard University as an administrator that pays $5000 a month with bonuses and includes health insurances, paid leaves.
Be so specific with your prayers.

6. PRAY AS OFTEN AS YOU CAN.

That’s the pray without ceasing attitude bruh!
You don’t need a timetable to pray.
Like pray 3 times a day
Pray at 3am
Pray at 12am
Pray as often as you can
If you can pray 10 times in every hour, do it.
If you can pray every 5minutes for it.
Don’t go for 20minutes without talking to God.
That’s fellowship and relationship.

7. PRAY AS LONG AS YOU CAN
For anyone called to Ministry, its highly recommended that you are able to spend very long times in prayer.
Reading about William Seymour inspired me to actually desire to spend long times in prayer, the results can impact generations.
William Seymour spent 5hours in prayer daily.
The result of that daily 5 hour prayer sessions was the famous Azusa Revival that we are still benefiting from
Jon Bevere spends 2 hour a day in prayer and his revelation about the word of God has blessed many lives including mine.
Push in, travail for long periods. Keep pushing in prayer
Just keep pushing. You’ll make generational impact with your Ministry.

8. ENJOY CORPORATE PRAYER AS YOU CAN

Get the most out of Corporate prayer.
There’s so much untapped power in unified prayer.
Don’t be shy to call 5-9 people and meet them with them and ask them to pray with you over a situation.
During prayer meetings, make your prayer requests known and ask that they pray with you and journey with you on a fast.
Having a faith family to fellowship, pray and travail with is very much important.

9. HAVE A ROBUST PRAYER LIFE.

Let me guess. Errmmm it’s one of your 2020 goals right? Lol
It’s very rewarding and very achievable
It won’t be easy like that. There would be days you just don’t want to pray but mind you those are the days you should actually pray so hard. Call a friend for help when such days come.
Having a robust prayer life is an intentional decision.
Everyday, you have to decide to pray.
Write prayers if you can. Just decide to pray.
Having a robust prayer life is a must. Imagine the joy of having to cause a shift on earth with your words each time you open your mouth to pray. Such joy! Such divinely given authority!
It’s a discipline. Getting started is actually the hardest part, but once you start, you’ll keep going.

I hope this blesses you. Selah.

Greetings,
Sheila Naana Oppong.

“MY TREASURE, MY ASSIGNMENT”

It was a sunny sweaty saturday afternoon as I juggled between the ever popular “trotro” in a bid to reach the wedding before it closed. I was about an hour and half late. Gladly, I reached the venue a few minutes before the exchange of vows which is almost always the emotional part of the entire wedding ceremony.

Seated in one of the back pews at the church auditorium, the solemn ceremony progressed and soon it was time for the pastor to give a sermon. This is the part of the solemn service I believe most wedding guests don’t pay much attention to. I must say I really enjoyed the message. A part of the message kept echoing in my head throughout the weekend. This is the part I want to share with you. However, I have extended the boaders of the message a little so as to cover other issues.

The preacher in his message admonished both groom and bride that they are each other’s TREASURE AND ASSIGNMENT all at the same time. This is the part I kept regurgitating throughout the weekend. The bride, groom and by extension the wedding guest were told that, whoever you are married to or in a relationship with is your treasure you must cherish and value and at the same time an assignment for you to work on because no one is perfect.

I want to talk about relationships and the fact that they are treasures and at the same time they are assignments for you to work on. By relationships, I am not referring to just romantic relationships but also platonic ones as well. Each party involved in any of these relationships must understand that, they each are a treasure to be cherished and at the same time an assignment to be worked on.

We belong to a generation where people are quick to drop relationships because they consider certain parties and their actions as “toxic”, “bad energy”, ” negative energy” or better still “negative electrons”. What we forget is that, inasmuch as we consider others to be toxic, we in ourselves are toxic.

Treasures are costly and often require much work in keeping them. In most of the “pirates” movies we watch, you realised that treasures are hidden (usually under sea or an isolated Island). This demands lots of work and patience in searching them out. If it is a treasure, it surely will take some time and work. Treasures don’t come by easily. And for that matter, when God hands over a treasure to you, you must relentlessly work out in ensuring that it is kept. Treasures in themselves are assignments that need to be carried out. And when assignments are carried out faithfully, it reveals the treasures hidden in them.

The friends, spouses and partners God gives us have sides that make them treasures to behold and keep. When we pay attention to these treasures buried in them, we begin to appreciate them. These treasures makes them glow and attracts people to them. It takes extra work to identify these treasures and appreciate them. Whatever you appreciate, appreciates.

Lazy people usually do not find them. Treasures are usually buried under the dirt and so if a partner, a friend or a spouse isn’t ready to dig, they may not find these treasures. All they will see is the dirt. And when they see the dirt they are most likely to give up.

“However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves.”

2 Corinthians 4:7 (AMP)

The earthen vessels containing these treasures is you and I. We therefore must appreciate these treasures for what they are. The relationships we have around us therefore must show forth the glory of God. Learn to treasure people and commit to working on each other, that way we will well complete our assignments a on our treasures.

Always remember, whoever you choose to be in any kind of relationship with becomes your TREASURE AND ASSIGNMENT.

By Paa Kwesi Blessing.

RAYMOND WINS A SOUL

This is Raymond. A 10 year old Sunday School member of Grace Citadel Church.

Raymond attended one of our adult midweek services where I preached on the impact of soul winning. After hearing the message this young lad got so convicted that he decided to attempt what I preached, he set out into the community very early Sunday morning to evangelize to 40 people and guess what? all 40 successfully followed him to church that same morning. Wow!!

Your Church members become what you teach them, they catch the Spirit and the heart you posses regardless of their age. The pastor is the mirror of his members. What a blessing to be a soul winner!

🔥♥️

FUEL, OXYGEN AND A SPARK.

FUEL, OXYGEN AND A SPARK .

Joshua 24 :15
Colossians 4 :12-13.

Epaphras was only only mentioned 3 times in the New Testament but he was a man with a story.

Epaphras had a spark, oxygen and fuel.

EPAPHRAS WAS A MAN OF PRIORITY.

God is looking for people who will let Him be their priority.
He is looking for those who allow his preeminence to become their sole mission.
In a time like this where we focus on getting more degrees and the best of jobs, where pursuing our big dreams have been our topmost priority and focus. We actually decide the number of sundays we give to God in a year,

God is looking for people that amidst having huge dreams and everything, their topmost priority is still GOD.
Its a matter of a spark-Decision to always be in the position of Epaphras.
Like, a daily spark -Decision that no matter what you are going to pursue today , God will come first, the Kingdom will be first.
God needs many people like Epaphras today and now.

EPAPHRAS WAS A MAN OF PASSION.

There is an uncommon type of passion for God i have been praying, desiring and yearning to have. I want to be so passionate about God that i don’t mind being obsessed about HIM at all. It’s a place i want to be.
Epaphras was a man of passion. Not necessarily the emotionally type of passionate but Christ’s vision became his Vision. He wanted to see the people he was in charge of (The people of Colossians) excel spiritually.
If he was a pastor, he studied so diligently and preached with power.
If he was a musician, he was all in and did nothing half heartedly.
If he was a cell leader, his group’s spiritual growth was all that ever mattered.
He had a zeal and passion that Paul the apostle always commended him for.
We need many more people like Epaphras.

EPAPHRAS WAS A MAN OF PRAYER.

Amongst his many attributes, this is his most notable.
Epaphras was in charge of the Christians in Colossians. He toiled over them before God, He cried to God for their spiritual success.
Many miles away with Paul the apostle on missions, he still prayed and groaned for them.
‘This guy prays hard’ Paul must have have thought to himself because he describes Epaphras’s agony in prayer.
‘Creation groans, Spirit groans, Epaphras groaned’.

God has given us ‘people of Colosi’ (ministry) and put us in charge of their spiritual successes. How hard do we groan and toil in prayer that they may excel spiritually? Be it through being an instrumentalist or sound engineer, we have people whose spiritual successes depend on how hard we pray and groan. They are the people God put you in charge of.

To be like Epaphras you need a Fuel, Oxygen and a Spark.

Fuel- Bible
Oxygen – Prayer
Spark – Decision.

God bless you.

Sheila Naana Oppong

WHAT IS YOUR BRONZE?

BRONZE OR GOLD

Isaiah 60:17
“Instead of bronze I will bring gold,…”

At morning devotion at church today, I learnt something very powerful from my Pastor Rev Randy Osae Bediako.

God has promised in Isaiah 60:17 that he will give us gold instead of bronze.
I learnt that, bronze in your life signifies anything that seems good but isn’t the perfect will of God for you. Bronze signifies any situation that you’ve accepted just like that because you don’t know what else to do. Bronze is that thing you are holding on to because you are afraid of loosing out in life

Dear Woman, what is the bronze in your life at this moment? Are you in a relationship which you know is not the best or you? Are you being abused in a relationship just because you think you are too old to find another man? Are you dating a married man just because you think you won’t get any one to shower you with gift? Have you settled on your husband’s negative character and given up praying for him because you think it won’t change? Are you tagging along a bad relationship because you think you don’t deserve any better because of your past life?
Have you given up praying for a child because you feel God is punishing you for all the abortions you’ve done?

Have you settled for less in your life because you think moving forward will be too difficult? It can be your education or career goals. Have you given up aiming higher because you feel limited by the comments of people or standards of society?

What is your bronze? What are the things you feel the need to just settle for even though you know that’s not the limit or that’s not what you really want or deserve?

Sometimes, you may even not be aware that what you have is bronze. You must earnestly pray to God to show you all the bronze in your life so He can direct you to your gold.

The story of Joseph in the Bible (Genesis 37,39,40) is a real example of Bronze and Gold. When Joseph was made manager of Potiphar’s house, wow, that was a breakthrough. He was a mere slave who had been given the opportunity to manage the affairs of a great leader in Egypt. That looked like the end of his issue. But that was bronze. It wasn’t God’s perfect will for Joseph.

When he was sent to prison and he later found favor in the sight of the prison officers, he would have thought that was ok. Because at least, in prison, he was enjoying some privileges. However, when he interpreted the dream to the Kings butler, he told him to remember him when he was released from prison. Why? Because Joseph knew that was not his gold, it was his bronze!

When Abraham had Ishmael, God told him to let Ishmael and his mother Hagar leave as demanded by Sarah and that Sarah would give him a son. Ishmael was his bronze, Abraham thought Ishmael was God’s promise. He was happy about Ishmael and felt that was God’s perfect plan, but God said no! His gold was yet to come!

Dear Woman, pray. No matter where you are now, pray. Ask God, is this my bronze or gold?
If you know what you have or the situation you find yourself in is bronze, quickly let it go and pray for gold! Don’t keep holding on to bronze and think you will let t go when god comes. If your hands are already full, you can’t receive more. You must let one go before. If you are not so sure if what you have is your gold or bronze, ask the Lord! He is a loving Father, He will show you what to do.

God bless you.

Rev. Mrs Lois Osae Bediako