Prayer for new week

For every thing lost, there shall be unusual discovery. God is replacing your ashes with His beauty.

The years that the locusts have eaten shall be restored. You will recover all in Jesus name.

Whatever you lay your hands on shall prosper, anyone you touch most surely be blessed because you are a blessing. 

Good morning and have blessed week. God will send you help from far and near. You will not be stranded, neither will your foot slip. Against all odds, you are going forward in Jesus name.J

Happy New Week from us ASB-World. 

Aim to break your own personal records, go for the BEST

* Start giving new people you meet a chance. – It sounds harsh, but you cannot keep every friend you’ve ever made. People and priorities change. As some relationships fade others will grow. Appreciate the possibility of new relationships as you naturally let go of old ones that no longer work.

Trust your judgment. Embrace new relationships, knowing that you are entering into unfamiliar territory.

Be ready to learn, be ready for a challenge, and be ready to meet someone that might just change your life forever.

* Start competing against an earlier version of yourself. – Be inspired by others, appreciate others, learn from others, but know that competing against them is a waste of time. You are in competition with one person and one person only – yourself. You are competing to be the best you can be. Aim to break your own personal records.

* Start cheering for other people’s victories. – Start rejoicing about other people’s victories. Having an appreciation for how amazing the people around you are leads to good places – productive, fulfilling, peaceful places. So be happy for those who are making progress. Cheer for their victories. Be thankful for their blessings, openly. What goes around comes around, and sooner or later the people you’re cheering for will start cheering for you.

* Start looking for the silver lining in tough situations. – When things are hard, and you feel down, take a few deep breaths and look for the silver lining – the small glimmers of hope. Remind yourself that you can and will grow stronger from these hard times. Focus on what you have, not on what you haven’t. Surrender everything to God. Count on Him to see you through those moments.

* Start forgiving yourself and others. – We've all been hurt by our own decisions and by others. And while the pain of these experiences is normal, sometimes it lingers for too long. We relive the pain over and over and have a hard time letting go. Forgiveness is the remedy. It doesn't mean you’re erasing the past, or forgetting what happened. It means you’re letting go of the resentment and pain, and instead choosing to learn from the incident and move on with your life.

* Start helping those around you. – Care about people. Guide them if you know a better way. The more you help others, the more they will want to help you. Love and kindness begets love and kindness. And so on and so forth. Have the spirit of empathy. Love your neighbor as yourself as our Lord Jesus Christ admonished us.

*Start being attentive to your stress level and take short breaks.– Slow down. Breathe. Give yourself permission to pause, regroup and move forward with clarity and purpose. When you’re at your busiest, a brief recess can rejuvenate your mind and increase your productivity. These short breaks will help you regain your sanity and reflect on your recent actions so you can be sure they’re in line with your goals.

GOD IS A COVENANT KEEPER

After these things, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I Am Your shield, Your exceedingly great reward." - Genesis 15:1

God made this promise to Abram after he emerged victorious from a great battle. He came out of the battle with great spoils and was met by Melchizedek, a High Priest of the Most High God. 

In appreciation for God's protection in the battle and the subsequent victory, Abram tithed a tenth of all the income from the spoils of battle to Melchizedek.
As a response to His offering, God appeared to Abram and affirmed His promises to him.

I Am Your Shield: That referred to protection in time of battle. In the days of Abram, people fought constant battles both to acquire property and to defend their property and so protection was crucial.

As a result, people formed alliances with stronger individuals whom they called upon for help.

God entered into battle alliance with Abram and joined Himself to Abram's army.

I Am Your Exceedingly Great Reward: God promised Abram He would fight not only in his army but would also reward his work. He did not promise just a reward but exceeding great reward.These are all blessings associated with entering into a covenant of tithing with God.

When we tithe, Jehovah becomes our partner in battle. In these days, we do not fight with literal swords and shields, neither do we as individuals battle with nations but the principle is the same.

Whatever battle you fight, God becomes your shield and rewards your efforts exceedingly when you covenant with Him through the tithe.

Prayer: Lord, as I honour You with the tithe, I receive my full covenant blessings in Jesus' name.

Scriptural Reading: Genesis 15:1-21

THE WORD WORKS But Empty words don't do much hmmmm!

Empty words don't do much. Even God the creator of heaven and earth watches over His words to bring it to pass.

So many of us have been taught the power of POSITIVE CONFESSION.....when we confess and confess and profess and confess again and yes as though nothing is happening, before you know it....I know becomes , I think, then I think becomes maybe, then Maybe becomes I thought and then we go back to level zero.

I wonder how many times we start a a warfare and we back out of the war before we have the chance to celebrate and declare victory?

A story , out of many , in the bible teaches about persistence in the place of prayers.

Elijah....the man who defied kings and authorities...backed up by the word of God..He could confront anyone, anyone at all...even an army!
Elijah spoke to Ahab.....he told the king that rain was coming. Then he went to work! He said to the king...I hear the rains coming......he proclaimed. He declared it .....the kind heard him and took what he said to heart .....but still there was no actualization just yet!

Here is the story!
Elijah said to Ahab, "Up on your feet! Eat and drink celebrate! Rain is on the way; I hear it coming." Ahab did it: got up and ate and drank.
Meanwhile, Elijah climbed to the top of Camel, bowed deeply in prayer, his face between his knees.
Then he said to his young servant, "On your feet now! Look toward the sea." He went, looked, and reported back, "I don't see a thing." "
Keep looking," said Elijah, "seven times if necessary."
And sure enough, the seventh time he said,
"Oh yes, a cloud! But very small, no bigger than someone's hand, rising out of the sea." "Quickly then, on your way. Tell Ahab, 'Saddle up and get down from the mountain before the rain stops you.'"
Things happened fast. The sky grew black with wind-driven clouds, and then a huge cloudburst of rain, with Ahab hightailing it in his chariot for Jezreel. And God strengthened Elijah mightily. Pulling up his robe and tying it around his waist, Elijah ran in front of Ahab's chariot until they reached Jezreel. (1 Kings 18:41-46 MSG)

After Elijah declared, he went unto the mountain and prayed earnestly.....after you have released your words...are you watering it or just watching it. Empty words not backed up by power and prayer ....get blown away so easily!
They are weightless!

A lot of empty words are flowing about in the spiritual waiting for action to back them up. For serious prayers to give them wings.
Some people will type prayers and post them , some other will be typing amen , if answers were that cheap no one will have a problem in this life.....NOTHING COMES FOR FREE...If the prophets of old had to chase it up, you don't think that going from one website/ group to another and typing amen on every prayers will give an answer..do you? ...naaaaaaahhhhhhh
..YOU NEED TO GIVE SOMETHING TO GET SOMETHING....even spiritually, nothing is free...the salvation that we claim is free today, someone paid for it..with their life!

Start by giving good prayer backing to all the amen you type, otherwise, it's a waste of Internet bandwidth!!!

He kept sending the servant...GO AND LOOK....WHILST HE PRAYED THROUGH.

If he did it and got result....you can.
Whilst he prayed, he watched for results! It was obvious to everyone, imagine the poor servant, he must have thought that the master had finally lost his mind! UNTIL.....BOOMMMMM....HE SAW THE CLOUD.....as small as the hand of a man.....it was......it was something....the beginning of a downpour...looked like the hand of a man...to the ordinary eye, it's a common cloud. To the rating Elijah....that s the downpour he requested from God! When you are waiting and expectant, it's easy to know....

The bible says things happened fast!

Your persistence will give speed to the materialization of your desire....even the devil knows that he dare not stand in the way of someone who , armed with the truth of the word of God...has a reckless persistent faith!

Don't talk empty talk. Pray a heart wrenching prayer!
Jesus paid for it, you got to get up and get it .....

Keep going, until you get what you want.

Hannah went to Shiloh year after year. The more she went, the more she got mocked by her adversary.

The more she got mocked, the more weary and discouraged she became. But you know what. ...she was bent on going again and again until her change came....

God is not tired of hearing you talk to Him...go on.....back up your positive confession with word-based prayers. Results are inevitable. THE WORD WORKS.

By sis Bola

Prayer For New Week

You are blessed in your going out and coming in, God is breaking asunder every gates of wickedness, sickness, hardship, oppression and afflictions holding your life back. The Lord shall transform and restore your destiny! Where others have dug empty wells you will find water In Jesus Name.  

I decree that every area of your life will move forward In Jesus name! Regardless of any obstacle in your way, because God has said it, as you move forward your obstacles have no choice but to give way! Expect favour and miracles today J

Happy New Week from us ASB-World.

Just One Big Fight Doesn’t Mean the End of Your Marriage

How many times have you been involved in a fight with your wife, left the situation unresolved and

felt like the easiest thing to do would be to end the marriage? Get where I am going?

Here are a few of my typical thoughts I used to have immediately after a dispute with my wife:

"Why do I put up with this time and again?"

"Divorce would put a quick end to all of this stuff."

"There has to be an easier way than this."

Just because these are my typical first thoughts, it doesn't mean they need to be the first course of action I take after the fight. Never forget that we have an enemy and he lurks daily in our marriage (1 Peter 5:8).

So, let me share what I use to do and what I now do. If you're with me so far, then you might want to keep reading.

Before our wedding day, we didn't receive a whole lot of training for our marriage. We did have to go through some marriage counseling, but I'm pretty sure my ears were turned off half of the time. Blame it on my age and immaturity. I mean, I had been through verbal disputes with family growing up and with other people throughout my years. How hard could solving disputes in marriage really be?

They were much harder than I thought. And when disputes did come up, I was typically left standing in an empty field that smelled like a freshly loaded dumpster. I was completely oblivious as to what I needed to do, how to handle the conversations and how to seek a resolution. This didn't make for a great start to marriage, and for those of you who read Manturity often, you know what I'm talking about.

So here are a few ways I handled disputes with my wife early in marriage and some ways I've seen other men handle their issues. If you can relate or have your own old ways, please share them after the article in the comments.

• Shutdown and want to leave her
• Shutdown and wait for her to speak up
• Shutdown and seek attention elsewhere

Leave Her
Leaving her was typically the first thing that would come to mind after a tough verbal dispute. It didn't matter what the issue was or what was being discussed, I just felt like being on my own and away from her would be the best option. If we couldn't work it out, I would want to at least just leave the house. Go somewhere! Anywhere! I was never sure what to do or where to go, but I don't think it ever really mattered.

Shutting down and leaving your wife after a tough dispute is never the right answer.

Wait for Her to Speak Up
Again, it didn't matter what the issue was or about, I would assume it was up to her to bring it back up and apologize. I would typically give her the silent treatment until she decided to realize how wrong or disrespectful she had been to me. It never occurred to me during this earlier years that it was my responsibility to take the lead and seek the resolution.

Shutting down and waiting for your wife to speak up first does not show leadership in your role as leader and husband.

Seek Attention Elsewhere
Porn, masturbation and seeking another woman all sounds pretty extreme until you are shutdown due to a tough marital dispute with your wife. Quite frankly, these three are the most damaging activities a husband can engage in after a fight.

Porn happens because during the ongoing dispute, a man knows he won't be having sex anytime soon. He defaults to fantasy and suffers greatly from it. Masturbation happens for similar reasons. Again, sex and pleasure are most likely out of the question, so he takes matters into his own hands.

And finally, husbands who are shutdown are suddenly open to the idea of maybe another woman is the best option. Maybe a co-worker or a neighborhood friend can be a better fit for you? This isn't the answer and you'll destroy everything you've built with the woman you vowed your life too very quickly.

Shutting down and seeking attention from another source will only bring you pain and despair.

So what is the answer? How can a fight with your wife not lead you to one of the three areas mentioned above?

Here are the top ways I seek resolution after a dispute in my marriage these days:

Stop and Pray
That's right, no matter what the situation is now or no matter how mad I get at the fight, I turn to Jesus first. Now, it's not going to sound like a sweet lullaby or a quiet prayer, instead I typically start with these questions. Why God? Why is this happening in my marriage right now? What do you want me to do or how do you want me to react?

Father, show me how I can be a good husband and leader through this situation. These are just a few things, but you get the idea. So the next time you and your wife are going at it, stop and pray. Either pray with her or pray alone, but talk to God first. And stay there as long as you need.

Seek Resolution
In the past, our marriage issues could go on for days, even months! I'm sure you can relate to that timeline and agree that there is nothing fun about that time. I now try to seek resolution quickly. For example, my wife and I were at a baby skills class before our little dude was born and something happened to where she embarrassed me in front of everyone in the class. Granted, I didn't know anyone, but it still crushed my spirit. I gave her the look of "what did you just do", and went on with the class.

Afterward, I had a choice to make. I could either let the issue sit for days or I could bring it up in a loving way to her. Well, I swallowed what little pride I had left and spoke in a very soft tone. I mentioned that I didn't appreciate the way she treated me in the class and was very embarrassed. I told her that I was trying my best and didn't feel like I deserved that kind of treatment. Because I addressed it quickly and in a loving way, she was able to understand my side of things and we agreed to work on it in the future. That was the end of it.

I understand that there are many types of issues and mistakes that can be made in marriage, but I encourage you to not give up on your spouse or your marriage, and especially your children. Prayer must be your first priority. Accountability with another man or your Pastor could be another option. But please, don't default to one of the top three scenarios mentioned above.

Are you struggling in your marriage? Let's talk about it and seek a resolution.

Have you overcome big disputes in your marriage? Share your tips and ideas with the community!

Manturity

Give Thanks

TEXT: LUKE 17:11-19

Key verse: “And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?” (Luke 17:17).

Those who bear the stigma of HIV/AIDS know the sorrow they go through every passing day even though society has come to realize that not all sufferers came by it through careless lifestyles. Those who have received their miracles from such embarrassing condition know what it means to be free.

Likewise, the stigma of leprosy in Bible days was so strong that the victims were isolated from all forms of social associations and interpersonal relationships to avoid any possible contact, because it was a deadly contagious disease. Those who received the divine intervention of being cleansed owed it a duty to give thanks to God. Giving thanks to God for His kindness, mercy and goodness is a function of individual heart’s condition and capacity to reflect correctly.

Our text today is an eye-opener to the danger of forgetting to offer praises to God after miracles of healing, deliverance, salvation and breakthrough in life. Ten lepers cried to Jesus for healing and cleansing. In answer to their plea, Jesus sent them to the priest for a confirmation of a gracious healing received. Their miracle was based on the simple principle of asking and receiving. Unfortunately, only one of them, a stranger, came back to give thanks. The rest nine went their ways. Jesus then asked with concern, “where are the nine”?

It is common in modern days to receive great miracles of healing, deliverance, provision and escape from danger with an ungrateful disposition. Those who do not sit back to count their blessings will not see sufficient reasons to thank God.

Of course, refusal to thank God for all the benefits received does not diminish His divine attributes of showing mercy and compassion on His creatures; yet, giving thanks to God opens more doors of greater miracles and benefits from Him. He that offers praises glorifies God. Grateful Christians grow in grace and understanding. How often do you remember to say “thank you Lord”? Those who have received God’s love, mercy and salvation with other physical and spiritual blessings must endeavour to come back to Him with grateful hearts of praises.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY : Praise is comely for the upright.