ECWA Children's Ministry Official

25/01/2024

My search for Christianity in Switzerland...

When I landed in Switzerland, I searched for Christianity in places where I was used to finding it.

I did NOT find large billboards and posters announcing life changing programmes with pictures of prophets/bishops/pastors.

I did NOT find TV/Radio preachers on Swiss TV/Radio sharing the gospel on Sundays or any other days of the week.

I did NOT find Swiss mega charismatic churches with pictures of Swiss General Overseers anywhere.

I did NOT find Crossover, Flyover or Jumpover Services on 31st December night.

I did NOT find many Swiss people dressed in their best going into the churches on Sundays or any other days.

I did NOT hear "God bless you" and "By God's grace" in every sentence the people spoke.

So I realised I was probably searching for Christianity in the wrong places. I decided to change where I was searching for Christianity.

I FOUND the values of Christianity living in most Swiss people.

I FOUND most Swiss people keeping to their word.

I FOUND most Swiss people orderly and decent and as a result, creating one of the most orderly and decent countries in the world.

I FOUND high levels of safety and security generally as many sought to do the right thing and police those who did the wrong thing.

I FOUND out that the best expression of Christianity is in our lifestyle as humans and not in the physical things around us.

I FOUND that honesty and integrity are not extinct words. To most of the Swiss people, this is what life is about.

I had to unlearn and relearn that the true measure of Christianity is in its application in life on a daily basis and not in the size of our churches, cost of our gowns worn to church, loudness of our prayers, promotion of our programmes, or visibility of our General Overseers.

I FOUND that even though most Swiss will not be in church on this Sunday, or the next, the values of Christianity lived within them. This was very different from societies in which people spend much more time in church but the values of Christianity often lives outside them. If I had to chose one of the above, the former makes much more sense than the latter.

May we understand that the value of Christianity is in its application.

Credit: Kofi Amekudzi

13/05/2023

✝️THE WORD FOR TODAY✝️

SATURDAY MAY 13, 2023.

"CHANGE YOUR THINKING, CHANGE YOUR LIFE (1)"

“Let God transform you…by changing the way you think.” Romans 12: 2 NLT

WHEN YOU think creatively, you’re thinking like God your creator. But not everybody will welcome your creative ideas. Jesus wasn’t crucified because He worked miracles; He was loved and applauded for those. He was crucified for having ideas that challenged the status quo. God is the giver of great concepts, truths, and ideas. So when He gives you one, don’t let anybody talk you out of it. Don’t let the fear of rejection or failure kill your idea either. After all, you can’t do something new and exciting if you force yourself to stay in the same old rut. Don’t just work harder at the same old thing; make a change. And the first thing you will have to change is how you think, what you listen to and believe. Take a look at the following phrases: “I’m not a creative person. Follow the rules. Don’t ask questions. Don’t be different. Stay within the lines. There is only one way to do it. Don’t be foolish. Think of your image. That’s not logical. It’s not practical. It’s never been done. It can’t be done. It didn’t work for them. We tried that before. It’s too much work. We can’t afford to make a mistake. It will be too hard to administer. We don’t have the time. We don’t have the money. Yes, but…” Paul writes, “Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (v. 2 NLT). The word for you today is—change your thinking, change your life.

Bible In A Year: Heb 5-8, Mark 6:30-44, Ps 18:30-50, Pro 11:22.

Courtesy Grace So Amazing Foundation

24/04/2023

*Sound of Revival Devotional*
..from the desk of GOODHEART OBI EKWUEME (Apostolic Lead-HORM)

APRIL 24, 2023
MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY MOMENT!

Ephesians 5:16-18 [NLT] ‘Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit’.

DAILY READING; John 6:22-59; 1 Chronicles 24; Zechariah10

The invention of modern clocks we use today is credited to Peter Henlein a clockmaker from Nuremberg, Germany.
Events in his life might have prompted Peter Henlein to value the use of time and invent a way for easily measuring it.

He was born in 1485, and it appeared that in his early adulthood, while working as a watch maker, he had lived a reckless life. The result of his unstable life resulted in his getting eventually married to three different women.

However an event that happened on September 7, 1504, drastically changed the course of his life. On that day, he got involved in a brawl and during the fight a person was killed. As one of the accused, Peter asked for and received asylum in the Franciscan Monastery of Nuremberg. There he lived for the next four years.

This monastery had a history as a center of scientific and astronomical knowledge and it afforded Peter Henlein the opportunity to seek deeper knowledge of the craft of clock making.
His time at the monastery must also have been spent in sober reflection, which prompted him to take a decision to make judicious use of his remaining time on earth. After a year of being at the monastery, in 1505, Peter Henlein invented the world’s first watch, a fire-gilded pomander.

When he came out in 1508, by the following year, in November 1509, he became a master in the city’s locksmith guild, making portable expensive ornamental clocks for the nobility of his day. The rest of his life was spent in making remarkable strides in his career which established him in history as “the father of the modern clock” and “the originator of the entire clock making industry”. Due to his invention, today, it is easy to see what time it is by just checking your cellphone or your wristwatch.

To get control of your life you must first get control of your time. Rather than living unfocused and undisciplined lives, we are to redirect each minute of our lives toward a worthy purpose.
The truth is that we are on earth to fulfill a particular destiny and calling, within a limited space of time. Therefore in this world, time is one of our most valuable commodities. Time is more valuable than money because while you can make more money, you can’t make more time.

You’re either investing time or wasting it.
Wasted time is very costly because every lost minute is gone forever.
Those who accomplish great things are those who have learned to utilize their time and set their priorities in order.

Ephesians 5:16-18 [NLT] ‘Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.’

If you’re going to reach your highest potential you have to be an on-purpose person. While we may have options of various pursuits in life, what is most important is investing our time to run in the path of our divine calling.

Proverbs 4:18 says ‘the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.’

This means that the path God has ordained for us is already programmed to keep shinning, brighter and brighter.
Therefore when we follow God’s preordained path, making wise use of our time, we will keep experiencing greater open doors and ascending higher heights of glory.

PRAYER: Lord, please help me to begin to make good use of my time. Help me to focus on what matters, and not on frivolities. Let being obedient to Your instructions be always top priority in my life in Jesus’ Name.

QUOTE: There is something that God has placed within you that the world is eagerly awaiting to see. WORDBITE 222.

21/04/2023

Sound of Revival Devotional
.from the desk of GOODHEART OBI EKWUEME (Apostolic Lead-HORM)

APRIL 21, 2023
GOD IS ALWAYS ON TIME!

Isaiah 65:24 ‘Before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.’

DAILY READING; John 5:1-18; 1 Chronicles 18-19; Zechariah7

Bob Gass, international minister and author of ‘The Word For You Today’ shared a remarkable testimony on January 13, 2017. He told the story of Wilda Lahmann, who experienced an amazing timely divine intervention.
Wilda’s husband, Randy Lahmann had woken up in the small hours of the morning suffering a massive heart attack.

There wasn’t time to wait for an ambulance, so Wilda got him into the car and drove franticly to the hospital.
But with the hospital about fifteen miles away, and Randy’s condition getting worse, Wilda realized he would probably die before they got there. In desperation, she prayed and cried out to God for help.

Moments later, she saw what looked like an ambulance parked by the roadside. She wondered if her eyes were playing tricks on her. But it was indeed an ambulance with a paramedic standing beside it. As she slammed on the brakes and screamed for help, the paramedics immediately responded. They ran to Randy and started emergency treatment.

Thereafter, he was rushed to the hospital where for the next three days he was in a very serious condition. When he eventually recovered, Wilda was very grateful for the amazing timely arrival of the paramedics which had saved Randy’s life.

However, she was amazed to find out that the paramedics had been there due to a mix up of location. They had responded to a call that there was an accident at the road intersection, but when they got there and found no accident, they had parked by the roadside to get clarification from their headquarters. Then seconds later, Wilda drove along with Randy in a critical condition.
However, Wilda knew that the paramedics had not been there by accident or due to an address mix-up, but rather God had arranged for them to be there ahead of time, to save Randy’s life.

It is good to know that God says, ‘Before they call I will answer, and while they are yet speaking I will hear.’

In Genesis 37, when the brothers of Joseph threw him into a deep pit and were contemplating killing him, a caravan of Ishmaelite merchants came along in the nick of time. Joseph’s life was spared when his brothers saw the merchants and decided to sell him off rather than to kill him.
But the interesting thing is that long before Joseph was thrown into the pit, the Merchants’ caravan had been on their way coming, traveling towards Egypt.
Long before Joseph had the problem, God had already activated the solution . When it looked like the end of the road to Joseph, God had already set in motion the plan to take him from the pit to the palace.

The truth is that the things you may be worried about today, God already has them sorted out.
When we are in a covenant relationship with God, we can be sure He will always go ahead of us to make the crooked places straight.
Even before trouble comes, He has already organized a rescue and orchestrated things to work for our good.

Therefore each time the enemy tries to get you into a fix, always remember that you serve the God who is always on duty, He never sleeps nor slumbers and nothing takes Him by surprise. He has your life in perfect control.

However, it is only through the eyes of faith that we can see God at work even in the midst of the storm. This is why it is important to ensure that we are always filled with faith through diligent study of the Word, because victory in battle belongs to those who know their God.

God says in Psalm 91:14 -15 “Because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.”

When we love God and truly serve Him, there is no mountain that He cannot move for us and no door He cannot open for us. Instead of fretting over negative situations, let us switch to prayers and rather than worry, let us start to worship.
Certainly, God is watching over us and He is able to abundantly exceed our every expectations.

PRAYER: Thank You Lord for always hearing me when I call and answering me speedily. Please help me to make Your Word top priority in my life, so that I can be filled with the faith to always see You working in my favor in Jesus Name.

QUOTE: You will never need more than God to experience the impossible in life. – WORDBITE 222

12/04/2023

Sound of Revival Devotional

APRIL 12; BOUGHT BY THE BLOOD.

1 Corinthians 6:20 “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

DAILY READING; John 1:1-18; 1 Chronicles 5-6; Zephaniah 2

Hanging in a museum in Munich is a painting titled ‘Ecce Homo’ or “Behold the Man”. It is the work of a 16th century Italian artist named Domenica Feti, who was known for painting moving Biblical scenes.

His painting “Behold the Man” showed Jesus after he had been sentenced, scourged and presented to the crowd by Pontus Pilate. In this painting, Jesus wears the crown of thorns, with Blood dripping on his face and His hands rest on a block etched with these words in Latin: *‘This have I done for you; now what will you do for Me?’*

Domenica Feti’s painting and the powerful question it posed has radically transformed lives over the centuries.

One of those deeply affected was the great hymnist, Francis Havergal,
After seeing the painting of “Behold the Man”, she was moved to pen the words to the beautiful hymn “I Gave My Life For Thee.”

Another person impacted by the painting was the German nobleman Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf who thought he was committed to Christ because he had been raised in a strong Christian home.

At age 19, while on a tour of Europe, he visited an art gallery on May 20, 1719, and saw the somber painting of “Behold the Man”. The question it posed, so stunned and convicted Zinzendorf that right there in that art gallery, Zinzendorf dedicated the rest of his life to the service of Christ. As a result, he led the moravian Church movement that sent missionaries to many nations of the world.

After considering all Christ has done for us, we need to ask ourselves, what are we doing for Him?

Psalms 116:12-14 [NLT] says ‘What can I offer the LORD for all he has done for me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and praise the LORD’s name for saving me. I will keep my promises to the LORD in the presence of all his people.’

We can never thank Christ enough for our salvation. Expression of our deep gratitude is to live to continually bring glory to Him. We have been chosen, delivered, anointed and sanctified to show forth His praises to the world.

1 Peter 2:9 says “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”

We have been bought with the price of Blood to live to please God. This means we are no longer living for ourselves and cannot afford to do whatever we like.

1 Corinthians 6:20 says ” For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” Also 1 Corinthians 7:23 says “Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.

Having been purchased by God, we are no longer to be men-pleasers, but to be God-pleasers. We have to live in the consciousness that we are God’s property.

And we are to bring glory to Him by living a life of holiness, power, victory and dominion, which is what Christ died to purchase for us at Calvary.
Let us receive the grace today to indeed live a life worthy of the great price paid in Christ’s Blood to purchase us..

PRAYER: Lord, please help me to conform my life to Your Word and to begin to manifest the benefits of redemption in my life so that I can bring glory to You always in Jesus Name.

QUOTE: You will never need more than God to experience the impossible in life. – WORDBITE 222

28/03/2023

22/02/2023

*Sound of Revival Devotional*

FEBRUARY 21, 2023

WHOSE REPORT WILL YOU BELIEVE?

Psalm 118:8 ‘It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.

DAILY READING; Mark 7:14-37; Samuel 18; Daniel 11:21-45

For 50 years, a stunning masterpiece painted by the legendary artist Van Gogh, was ignored and kept hidden in an attic..
Considering that Van Gogh’s paintings are greatly sought after, it is incredible that an owner of such valuable artwork could keep it in obscurity for so long. But the reason was because he thought it was worthless.
This painting was bought by a Norwegian industrialist named Christian Nicolai Mustad, in 1908.

Few years later, when Mustad wanted an affirmation of the painting’s originality
he decided to show it to a fellow business man named Auguste Pellerin. At that time, Auguste Pellerin was the owner of Astra Margarine in Norway and was Mustad’s business rival and direct competitor, but he was also a respected art collector, considered to be an authority on artworks.
When Mustad showed him the painting, Auguste Pellerin, took one look at it and said it was a fake and not a painting of Van Gogh.
Mustad accepted the opinion of Pellerin and became highly disappointed. He took the painting off his wall and banished it to the attic.

The painting remained in the attic for the next fifty years until Mustad died in 1970. The painting was then auctioned off and over the next four decades, it remained unrecognized until 2012, when an art expert applied technology to determine its authenticity. He used a computer to count the thread separations in the painting’s canvas and discovered that it had been cut from the same canvas as another work of Van Gogh.
In addition, the Van Gogh Museum found reference to the particular artwork in a letter written by Van Gogh to his brother.

The discovery of this hidden artwork thrilled and astonished the art world. When it was unveiled by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, experts called the work “absolutely sensational”. It was valued at £30m.
Interestingly, this was the same painting that Nicolai Mustad had thought to be worthless because he depended on another person’s opinion, not knowing he had owned an original Van Gogh all along.

We cannot always depend on the opinion of others. It is better to find out the truth for yourself and be certain of what you believe.
If you accept the negative opinion of the world you will think what is of great value is worthless.
Instead of concluding based on what men have said concerning our situation, it is wisdom to seek God’s superior opinion from His Word.

Don’t go and hide your potentials because someone downplayed its value. Don’t give up on the ideas and visions God has given you just because experts says it is not practicable.
Statistics and situation report may say you can never achieve your goals, but that is only man’s opinion. Have you sought the report of the One who created the universe, hung the earth on nothing and flung the stars into space? Have you sought the report of the ocean-divider who created a path through the red sea and makes a way where there seems to be no way?

Certainly it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man [Psalm 118:8].

In every situation we are to seek out God’s original opinion concerning us. His Word is infallible. His opinion can never be disputed, His verdict can never be overturned. He says what He means and means what He says. His Word is settled in Heaven forever. Men’s opinion is subject to change but God’s Word abides forever.
The doctors may have given their opinion , but as a covenant child of God you have access to the great Physician.
That negative health report, from highly respected doctors in their field, is nothing in the eyes of the One who has wonderfully and fearfully made you.

While the ‘experts’ may be saying there is no solution to the health challenge, God’s Word says you are healed by the stripes of Jesus. The simplicity of the Gospel is what confuses the experts. But God has used the simple things of the world to confound the wise. By simply building up your faith through focus on God’s Word, you can overcome any situation no matter how complex or complicated.

As long as you believe, nothing shall be impossible to you.
Your family may have a history of poverty, sickness, untimely death, failure, delayed marriages, afflictions etc, but whose report will you believe?
God calls you blessed, prosperous, a light of the world, a city set on a hill, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.
Rather than depend on the opinion of men, let us assume spiritual responsibility and search out God’s opinion from His Word. Jehovah alone has the final say over your life. When He opens a door before you, no man can shut it. When He lifts you up, no man can bring you down.
Certainly, when we can see our true worth and value through God’s eyes, we will never be moved by the opinions of men.

PRAYER: Lord, I thank You for You are always faithful. No matter the negative opinion I may be faced with today, I know that You are re-writing my story. I thank You for the grace to stay in faith until I see the eventual manifestation of Your Word in my life in Jesus Name.

QUOTE: As we face life’s battles, the joy is that our faithful God is both our coach and referee. God will not blow the last whistle until you win. WORDBITE 201

Religious organization

15/02/2023

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