Tune In | Gloria Copeland | Bro. Suresh

"He that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries." (1 Corinthians 14:2)

Have you ever looked around at your own life or the life of the Church and wondered why it's taking the Lord so long to get things in order?

If so, let me tell you something I learned a few years ago. He's not the One who's slow. We are! It's not God's fault that the Church still has spots and wrinkles. It's not His fault that we're not living in total victory. He's always ready. He's the great "I AM." We're the ones who fall short.

Compare it to turning on a radio. If you don't have it tuned to exactly the right frequency, you won't be able to hear the station. It's not the

station's fault. It's sending out signals perfectly. The problem is, you haven't tuned in to it. That's what's happening with you and me. We haven't fine tuned our spirits enough to pick up the voice of the Spirit. Oh, we pick up a few things now and then, but mostly we just fade in and out. We don't stay on God's wavelength all the time.

How do you adjust your spiritual tuner?

By praying in the Spirit. Praying in other tongues is the fastest, most effective method I know of to tune in to God--because instead of praying your own thoughts and plans, you're praying His! The Bible says that when you pray in tongues, you're speaking mysteries to God. In the Spirit, you're calling forth parts of God's plan you don't even understand with your natural mind. By the unction of the Holy Spirit, you're praying the perfect will of God.

You see, God knows how to deliver His people. He knows how to turn us into the glorious Church without spot or wrinkle. He has a plan that

will do it. And if we'll tap into that plan and start releasing it into the earth by praying in the Spirit, praying according to His will and not our own, this age will draw to a close quickly. If we'll all get our minds and hearts in tune with what God's doing, there will be an explosion of the power of God that will turn this world around!

Start adjusting your spiritual tuner today. Spend an hour praying in other tongues. Set your spirit on God's wavelength and just see how

quickly the spots and wrinkles begin to disappear from you.

Gloria Copeland

SCRIPTURE READING:  1 Corinthians 14:1-19

LEARNING NOT TO DESPISE PEOPLE | Zac Poonen | Sis. Shumadhi

“Jesus spoke this parable to some people who viewed others with contempt” (Lk.18:9).

There are various reasons why people view others with contempt. They may have been taught by their parents from childhood to look down on others who are inferior in social status, or wealth, or education, etc. Or, if you are very intelligent and top your class in school, you can begin to view others in your class with contempt. If, in addition, you are unfortunate enough to have foolish parents who make you imagine that you are a genius, then matters could be even worse.

Let me plead with all parents: If your children are intelligent, please don’t ruin them by boasting about them. I made it a rule in my house that my sons were never to tell anyone about their rank in class or the prizes they got anywhere. I knew that if they became proud, they would lose the grace of God immediately. Then they would fall into sin, and never be able to fellowship with ordinary brothers. I fear that many parents have ruined their children thus.

It is a common habit among children to make fun of someone who cannot speak English (or whatever their mother-tongue is) with a good accent. Beware of encouraging that in your home. Did any of us come out of our mother’s wombs speaking with a good accent? We should thank God for any ability that we have. But we should never be proud of it. Do you know what accent they speak with in heaven? The accents of humility and love. Let us learn those accents clearly.

Perhaps you are a woman who keeps your house spotlessly clean, with everything in its proper place. Then you see someone else’s home untidy and slipshod – and you despise her. You are then a Pharisee; while the person whose house is untidy may be a godly person.

Some brothers have very poor music sense, and if they start singing a chorus in an open time of praise in the church, they will invariably sing totally off tune. Don’t despise them, because God doesn’t listen to the music; he listens to the words. And that brother singing the wrong tune may be more sincere than you, who can sing the right tune. Personally, I have thanked God for such brothers, because they humble all the clever musicians in the church.  It is Pharisee musicians who destroy the church, not the non-musical brothers. God loves non-musical brothers just as much as anyone else - but He rejects Pharisees. Many a surprise awaits such Pharisees when the Lord returns.

I am not saying that you shouldn’t come first in your class, or that you shouldn’t keep your house tidy, or that you shouldn’t sing in tune-Not at all. By all means let us do all these. But let us be humble about them – and not despise anyone else who cannot do what we can.

There are many areas like this where we can despise others quite easily. It says in Job 36:5 that “God is almighty, but He doesn’t despise anyone”.  The more we become like God, the more we will value people and never despise anyone – for anything.

So let us cleanse ourselves and learn to look at people as God looks at them. “What do you have that you did not receive from God? How can you boast then about anything or despise anyone else?” (1 Cor.4:7).

A Powerhouse of Protection | Kenneth Copeland | Bro. Suresh

"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord." (Isaiah 54:17)

No weapon formed against you shall prosper. Isn't that great news! Isn't it good to know that no sickness, no circumstance, no problem that rises against you can successfully bring you down? Some years ago, one of our friends was facing a lawsuit. He and I prayed together according to this scripture and agreed it was the final word in the situation, not the allegations against him. We stood in faith, believing that lawsuit had to fail.

Sure enough, when my friend went to court, they just couldn't beat him. He didn't win that case because of his keen and witty lawyers. He won because he was innocent and because he had believed that powerful promise of God. Follow his example. When the devil attacks you in some area of your life, don't sit around crying and begging God to save you. Open up your Bible to Isaiah 54:17 instead. Remind yourself of what God has promised you. Use that promise to strengthen you against sin and every other evil work the devil would like to use to keep you bound.

Then establish yourself on it through prayer. Say, "Lord, I refuse to be afraid of this weapon the devil has brought against me because I know that according to Your Word, it cannot prosper. I trust You to protect me, and I thank You for it now. In Jesus' Name. Amen."

Don't let the powerhouse of God's protection go to waste. Put it to work in your life. It is your rightful heritage as a servant of the Lord.

Kenneth Copeland

SCRIPTURE READING:  Isaiah 54:10-17

Devotion for Today - December 10, 2014 | Sis. Asha

Ruth: The Power of a Right Choice

Read Ruth 1:1–18

Your people will be my people and your God my God. Ruth 1:16 What it means to be a devoted disciple of Christ is summarized clearly in the lyrics of the beloved song “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus”: “I have decided to follow Jesus . . . / No turning back, no turning back. / The world behind me,the cross before me . . . / No turning back, no turning back. / Tho’ none go with me, still I will follow . . . / No turning back, no turning back.” In today’s passage, Ruth epitomized this spirit of wholehearted commitment. She chose Naomi, her people, and her God, and there would be no turning back. Ruth was a Moabite, that is, a descendant of Lot. She had married into a Jewish family that had come to Moab during a famine. While it wasn’t forbidden for an Israelite to marry a Moabite, it was problematic (see Deut. 23:3). Then all the men of the family died, and the mother, Naomi, and her two young daughters-in-law tragically became widows. Under the circumstances, Naomi told them they were not obligated to return with her to Bethlehem but should stay in Moab and marry again. Why did Ruth refuse this offer (vv. 16–17)? No doubt she sympathized with Naomi, who was bitter about her suffering (v. 13). Perhaps she was a woman of kindness, loyalty, and courage. But there was more than that to her choice: Ruth had seen something in Naomi’s family that led her to choose God and His people above her own people, culture, and gods. Remember that this was during the godless days of the Judges, when “everyone did as they saw fit” (Judg. 21:25). Even during such times, it’s encouraging to know there were Israelites who still followed the Lord. It is no accident that Ruth, her eventual second husband Boaz, and his ancestor Rahab (see yesterday) became part of the genealogy of Christ (see Matt. 1:5).

In the narratives of Rahab and Ruth, the magnitude of God’s grace is clearly on display. They became part of the spiritual heritage of David and of Jesus. What about your own spiritual heritage? Did some on your family tree show you the way of pilgrimage? Or did God save you despite an unbelieving family? This issue is worth some reflection and prayer today.

Moving Forward or Slipping Back? | Kenneth Copeland | Suresh, PCR

"Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip."(Hebrews 2:1)

It's happened to all of us. We get a little of the Word of God under our spiritual belts. We have a few victories. Our lives are going great for

the first time in years. Then suddenly we slip and it all falls apart. We find ourselves having to start all over again. Hebrews was written to a people like that. They made such great spiritual progress that they got to the place where they should have been teachers. Then they slipped back so much, they needed baby food again. (See Hebrews 5:12.)

What caused them to fall so far? They let other things get in the way of their faith. They let the promises of God slip, so they slipped. That's happened to a multitude of believers in the last several years. "Well, Brother Copeland," they said, "we're tired of that faith stuff." Or, "We just don't have time to spend that much time in the Word." They turned their attention away from the promises of God. It's not that they didn't believe them anymore. It's just that they directed their attention to other things. They let their Word level drop and since low Word level equals low faith level, they soon began suffering defeat in areas where they once had victory.

Don't let that happen to you. When things are going well, don't just ride the tide of God's blessing. Dig deeper into what God has for you.

Give more earnest heed to the promises of God. Concentrate on moving ahead, on becoming so strong in the Spirit you can not only get your own needs met, you can meet others' needs as well!

Remember: Low Word Level = Low Faith Level = Slip.

Don't get so busy enjoying today's victory that tomorrow ends up in defeat. Look into the things you've learned. Give the Word more of your

attention--not less. Keep moving from faith to faith. Instead of trying to trip you up, Satan and his bunch will be crying, "Oh no, that faith

man is coming after us again!"

Kenneth Copeland

SCRIPTURE READING:  Hebrews 5:11-14, Hebrews 6:1-12

Phoster 'The Radiance of HIS Presence' The Light has come | 05 December 2014, Friday @ 7pm

Worship, Word, Fellowship & Celebration

Worship - Pas. Nirmal Kumar, Hightway Tabernacle Ministries
Word - Bro. Joshua Madhan COO -Covenant Consultants

Christmas carols, Gifts sharing, Mission updates and much more

Venue: Railway Auditorium, Sterling Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai

(Highway Tabernacle Ministries)

Glory to the Lord [Testimony] | Pandiaraju, Shumadhi

I want to share a testimony with you, that will encourage your Christian faith and renew your zeal for the lord.

This is a testimony of how the lord gave me my current job. It’s almost a year I’m here. 

The “Manna Today” that you see below is what I received on July 21 last year. I was exactly in the same mindset as written there, during that particular time. The Lord’s word spoke with me that day and made me realize ‘I have a Master in heaven, who knows my heart and he will create new beginnings’. I surrendered my situations and took courage in the lord. The Lord’s word was so comforting for me, that I sent my testimony the next day to the ‘Manna Today’ team.

The Prayer answering god miraculously opened the ways, and within a week I got an opportunity to attend an interview with my present company. And on the next week I got the offer. 

Today when I look back I realize, I had no symptoms of a new beginning on July 21 but within a 2 weeks time, I really had a beginning blessed by the living god.

Our Lord is an awesome god. Today while reading this you might not have a hope or any clue about your future. But remember, our Lord is an author of new beginnings. He will never let you down.

He knows everything and as the bible says “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me”. He knows the right time to give each and every blessing to his children.

May our lord enable us to wait for him with a complete faith.