Today's Psalm

Today's Psalm:
O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the
LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully
rewardeth the proud doer.
Psalm 31:23

Prayer For Today

Give us patience, O God, in the hour of trouble;
humility in the hour of success and constancy in
the hour of temptation. Grant us thankfulness
for your benefits, fear of your judgement and
hope in your enduring mercy; now and for ever.
Amen.

Asisat Oshoala wins 2014 Fifa U20 Women’s World Cup Golden Ball

Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala
has won the Golden Ball
award as the best player of
the 2014 Fifa U20 World
Cup and Golden Boot
having scored seven goals and provided two
assists.
France midfielder Griedge Mbock-Bathy was
awarded the Silver Ball while her compatriot Claire
Lavogez, the Bronze Ball winner.

CANADA 2014 TOP SCORERS
Player Team Goals Penalties Assists
Asisat Oshoala Nigeria 7 1 2
Paulina Bremer Germany 5 0 5
Sara Daebritz Germany 5 1 2
Claire Lavogez France 4 1 5
Paulina Bremer of Germany scooped the Silver Boot
with five goals and five assists to her credit.
Another German Sara Daebritz scored five goals
with two assists to win the Bronze Boot.
German goalkeeper Meike Kamper won the Golden
Glove award as Canada took the Fair Play award.

Germany Wins Female U20 World Cup

Germany have won the FIFA U-20 Women's
World Cup for a record-equalling third time
after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Nigeria at
Montreal's Olympic Stadium.
Lena Petermann scored the title-winning goal
eight minutes into extra time to settle a match
that, like the semi-final against France, had
seen the Germans outplayed for long stretches.
For the second match in succession, though,
the Europeans' will to win shone through, as
did the quality of goalkeeper Meike Kamper -
again named player of the match.
This clash of styles and football cultures was
always expected to produce an open, engaging
final, and so it proved. Nigeria quickly gained a
foothold and went on to dominate the first half,
creating the better and more numerous
chances. An inability to convert those chances
was their only failing, and the most guilty party
was tournament top scorer Asisat Oshoala.
The in-form striker, who had scored four times
in the semi-final win over Korea DPR, was lively
throughout but missed her first golden
opportunity after 22 minutes. In fairness, she
created the opening out of nothing, robbing
Margarita Gidion, outpacing the German
defence and rounding Kamper in a stunning
display of speed and strength. She could not,
however, find the finishing touch, managing
only to shoot into the side-netting from an
acute angle.
With Nigeria's superior physical attributes a
telling factor on the big Olympic Stadium pitch,
it wasn't long before more chances arrived, with
Oshoala again given a sight of goal seven
minutes before the break. Again, though, her
sights were out, with the ball flashing wide
after Chiwendo Ihezuo had done well to snatch
possession from Rebecca Knaak at the byline
and cut the ball back.
These were nonetheless worrying times for
Germany, whose best effort had come from a
Lina Magull free-kick comfortably saved by
Sandra Chiichii. But Maren Meinert's side
began the second half brightly, with Theresa
Panfil and Lena Petermann combining to tee up
Sara Daebritz for a powerful left-foot shot that
skidded into the arms of Chiichii.
Oshoala remained a constant source of danger,
though, and she again came to life three
minutes later, jinking in from the left wing past
two German defenders. All that was lacking was
the final touch, with the No4's first effort
striking a team-mate before the rebound was
sliced high and wide.
However, missing chances wasn't restricted to
Oshoala and Nigeria. Germany also spurned
their opportunities, with Pauline Bremer
stealing in unmarked on a Sara Dabritz free-kick
only to head wastefully wide. The Super
Falconets then had to call on the bravery of
their keeper, with Chiichii racing from her line
to dive at the feet of Lena Petermann, picking
up a bruised jaw in the process.
Play still tended to rage towards the other end,
though, and with five minutes remaining
Nigeria had the ball in the net only for their
celebrations to be cut short by the assistant
referee's flag. That left extra time to settle this
pulsating affair and, after Oshoala had again
gone close for Nigeria, it was Germany who
found a breakthrough.
Petermann scored it, slotting home from six
yards, but the plaudits went to the energetic
Bremer, who had robbed left-back Gladys Abasi
before driving towards the byline and delivering
the perfect cutback.
Nigeria, who had given so much to the match,
proved unable to respond. Germany saw out
the remaining minutes with a degree of comfort
and can now savour the familiar feeling of being
crowned champions of the world.

PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING

Dear Heavenly Father,
I thank You for this day.
I thank You for my being able to awake
once again, to see, and to hear this
morning.
I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God
and an understanding God.
You have done so much for me and You
continue to bless me.
Please forgive me every day for anything I
have done, said or thought that was not
pleasing to You, and I ask now for Your
forgiveness.
Please keep me safe from all danger and
harm.
Help me to start this day with a new
attitude and plenty of gratitude.
Let me make the best of each and every day
to clear my mind so that I can hear from
You.
Please broaden my mind that I can accept
all things.
Let me not whine and whimper over things
I have no control over.
Let me continue to see sin through Your
eyes and acknowledge it as evil.
And when I sin, let me repent, and confess
with my mouth my wrongdoing, and
receive Your forgiveness.
And when this world closes in on me, let
me remember the example of Jesus -- to slip
away and find a quiet place to pray.
It is the best response when I'm pushed
beyond my limits.
Continue to use me to do Your will.
Continue to bless me that I may be a
blessing to others.
Keep me strong that I may help the weak.
Keep me uplifted that I may have words of
encouragement for others.
I pray for those who are lost and can't find
their way.
I pray for those who are misjudged and
misunderstood.
I pray for those who don't know You
intimately.
I pray for those who don't believe, and I
thank you that You are in my heart and
that I do believe and have true faith in You.
I believe that You change people and You
can change all things.
I pray for all my sisters and brothers, and
for each and every family member in their
households.
I pray for peace, love, and joy in their
homes that they are out of debt and all their
needs are met.
I pray that every eye that reads this knows
there is no problem, circumstance, or
situation greater than You.
Every battle is in Your hands for You to
fight.
I pray that these words be received into the
hearts of every eye that sees them and every
mouth that confesses them willingly.
This is my prayer... and I pray in the name
of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, Amen

Prayer for This Morning

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Prayer of the day
24 August 2014
O God, who has prepared for those who love you,
such good things as pass our understanding:
pour into our hearts such love towards you, that
we, loving you above all things, may obtain your
promises, which exceed all that we can desire;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Happy Sunday to u all

Today's Prayer

Great, O Lord, is your kingdom, your power and
your glory; great are your works, your wonders
and your praises;; great also is your
wisdom, your goodness, your justice and your
mercy, and for all these we bless you and
magnify your holy name, for ever and ever. Amen.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Father, daily we flow in Your divine nature, living
out Your great and precious promises, blessed
with all the provisions of Your benevolent and
bountiful Providence. We are blessed. Thus
Father, we say Thank You, we praise Your Holy
Name, we worship Your Magnificence in the
Beauty and Glory of Holiness, Selah!
Father, humbly we bow before You in all
contrition, beseeching Your tender mercies once
again for the forgiveness of all of our sins,
penitently placing all of our transgressions at
the foot of Calvary’s Cross, leaving them there,
accepting from Your faithful forgiveness all the
blessings of Your amazing grace, the outpouring
of Your gracious goodness, the complete and
total absolution from the stains of sin, washed
and cleansed in the Blood of Jesus. No greater
intercession in all the universe, Hallelu YAH!
Father, today we live out all of Your purpose and
will for us, as we grasp the reality of The
Crucifixion by ourselves dying in obedience to
Your Word, in Holy Communion we find ourselves
located in You, living in You and in power
praying in You. For Father, we are no longer
alive, but Christ lives in us, Selah!
Father, empowered by the Holy Spirit, living in
us, sealing us until the day of redemption, we
ask that You help us to walk out the Word of
God for our lives, that it may live in us as a Holy
seed, an infectious germ, that we might be
contagious Christians, infecting every person,
place or thing we come in contact with. Father,
may Salvation spread like a tidal wave moved on
by the mighty rushing winds of the Holy Spirit,
that no part of this planet be left untouched,
and all the earth sings Your Praise, Hallelu YAH!
Father, make us as light in the dark places,
freedom in the bowels of captivity, healing in the
face of disease, liberation in the valley of
oppression, ultimately dismantling and tearing
the devils kingdom down. Father may the
vanguard of Your kingdom, the ministry gifts,
operate in all the power of Your kingdom,
blessing and touching every where their feet set,
may the spiritual gifts find fertile ground in each
and every Saint, growing and developing in
service, thus glorifying You. May Your Kingdom
come, Your will be done, now and forever, Selah!
Father, bless all the prayers of Your Saints this
day, and most especially our prayers of
intercession, as we present them faithfully and
faultless before Your throne in Glory, eternal in
the Heavens, in the mighty and matchless name
of Jesus The Christ, YAHUSHUA ha MASHIACH,
the Holy One of Israel, and in the potent power
of His most precious shed blood, Hallelu YAH!
Amen

THE WORD FROM THE BIBLE FOR TODAY

Welcome to 15/08 and the IMPORTANCE OF
YOUR HEART BEFORE GOD is in Acts 15/08-
"And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare
them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost,
even as he did unto us"
The greatest gift that anyone can and must
get from God is the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
This inestimable gift was also given to the
Gentiles when the all knowing God searched
and found their hearts right and perfect before
Him.
The omscient God will never withhold any
good thing from any one with an upright
heart-"the Lord will give grace and glory: no
good thing will he withhold from them that
walk uprightly" Psa.84:11
The state of your heart determines your right
into the very heart of God for undeniable
blessings and greatness just like-:
1.Noah-"But Noah found grace in the eyes of
the Lord. These are the generations of Noah:
Noah was a just man and perfect in his
generations, and Noah walked with God"
Gen.6:8,9
2.David-"he raised up unto them David to be
their king; to whom also he gave testimony,
and said, I have found David the son of Jesse,
a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil
all my will" Acts 13:22
3.Job-"Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not
thou made an hedge about him, and about his
house, and about all that he hath on every
side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands,
and his substance is increased in the land"
Job 1:9,10
But Simon the sorcerer was outrightly denied
the gift of the Holy Spirit despite being a
believer in Jesus because his heart was not
right-"Thou hast neither part nor lot in this
matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight
of God" Acts 8:21
Your heart is your greatest asset to access the
highest blessings from God unto grandest
accomplishments
O LORD, create in me an upright and perfect
heart to access and possess your highest
blessings, gifts and revelations for utmost
accomplishments in Jesus name.
MAKE YOUR HEART RIGHT AND PERFECT
BEFORE GOD
Good day
GOD'S UPRIGHT HEARTED AND UNDENIABLE
ONE
# ORACLE FOR THE DAY # tunde-ogunsina#

World Health Organization(WHO) insight on Ebola and how to deal with it

- The suspected reservoirs for Ebola are fruit bats.

- Transmission to humans is thought to originate from infected bats or primates that have become infected by bats.

- Undercooked infected bat and primate (bush) meat transmits the virus to humans.

- Human to human transmission is only achieved by physical contact with a person who is acutely and gravely ill from the Ebola virus or their body fluids.

- Transmission among humans is almost exclusively among caregiver family members or health care workers tending to the very ill.

- The virus is easily killed by contact with soap, bleach, sunlight, or drying. A washing machine will kill the virus in clothing saturated with infected body fluids.

- A person can incubate the virus without symptoms for 2-21 days, the average being 5-8 days before becoming ill. THEY ARE NOT CONTAGIOUS until they are acutely ill.

- Only when ill does the viral load express itself first in the blood and then in other bodily fluids (to include vomit, feces, urine, breast milk, semen and sweat).

- If you are walking around you are not infectious to others.

- There are documented cases from Kikwit, DRC of an Ebola outbreak in a village that had the custom of children never touching an ill adult. Children living for days in small one room huts with parents who died from Ebola did not become infected.

- You cannot contract Ebola by handling money, buying local bread or swimming in a pool.

- There is no medical reason to stop flights, close borders, restrict travel or close embassies, businesses or schools.

- As always practice good hand washing techniques, but you will not contract Ebola if you do not touch a dying person

- Hotlines for Ebola in Nigeria: 08097979595, 08023169485, 08033086660, 08033065303, 08055281442, 08055329229

Ebola outbreak may have started with 2 year old boy in Guinea

The largest outbreak of Ebola in history was
likely started by a 2 year old boy in a remote
village in Guinea according to researchers. The
boy, called Patient Zero in this outbreak, died
on December 6th 2013 after suffering from
fever, black stool & vomiting. That illness has
now been found to be Ebola
Before he died, he infected his mother, his 3
year old sister, his grandmother and a mid wife
who was caring for him when he was ill. His
mum and sister died before the end of
December 2013 after suffering bleeding
symptoms. His grandmother died January 1st.
The mid-wife died by February 11th but before
dying, she had passed the virus to her family
members who died the following month in
March 2014. Continue...
The virus spread from the Southern Guinea
village to other parts of Africa after villagers
from Sierre Leone and Liberia, who share a
border with the village, attended the
grandmother's burial. Two of the funeral
attendees fell ill and the virus spread from
their families to their villages and to health
care workers and family members taking care of
patients. And one Patrick Sawyer brought it to
Nigeria!
How the child became infected is a biggest
mystery as scientist who have traced the the
outbreak this time say they don't know how the
toddler got infected.
So far, 960 people have died from the virus
while 1,779 people have been infected..

Aregbesola of APC Wins Osun Governorship Election

Osun state governor and the candidate of the
All Progressives Congress APC has been
declared winner of Saturday’s governorship
election.
The Returning Officer, Professor Bamitale
Idowu Omole, who made the pronouncement
at the INEC collation centre along Abere road,
said “I hereby declare Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola,
having satisfied the provision of the Electoral
Act, is hereby declared the winner of the Osun
state governorship election.”
The APC candidate won elections in 22 out of
the 30 local government areas of the state
scored a total of 394684 to beat his main rival
and candidate of the People’s Democratic
Party, ODP, Senator Iyiola Omisore.
Omisore, who won in eight local government
areas, scored 292747 votes.
A breakdown of the final results shows that
Sen Sunday Fajimi of the Alliance for
Democracy scored 1982; Aregbesola of the. APC
scored -394684, Alhaji Fatai Akinbade of the
Labour Party scored 8898, Senator Iyiola
Omisore of the PDP scored 292747, while the
candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Elder
Sunday Akinwusi scored 534.

BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF OSUN IS TODAY(GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION)

About one million voters in Osun State will
today elect a new governor to pilot the affairs of
the state for another four years, but this will be
done amid tight security and tension.
The last one week has seen an unprecedented
influx of security operatives in the state and the
number keeps rising in the build-up to the poll.
Heavily armed security operatives from the
Nigerian Army, the Department of State
Services, the Nigeria Police and the Nigeria
Security and Civil Defence Corps have been
arriving in Osogbo, Osun State capital and other
major towns in the state in large numbers.
Meanwhile, the presence of the security
operatives, particularly military personnel, at
major junctions and entry points into the state
has led to apprehension among residents.
A resident, Mrs. Bunmi Ogunkeye, told Saturday
PUNCH that many voters would shun the poll
because of the heavy security presence in the
state. She said the activities of the security
operatives had been creating fears in the mind
of people.
She said, “Sometimes when the security
operatives are passing in their convoy of
vehicles with sirens, they harass motorists on
the roads and shoot into the air for no just
reason. It is good to have adequate security
during elections but there is a limit. We all
know the excesses of military men.”
Another resident, Mr. Oladeji Okanlawon, said
he would not vote for fear of being hit by stray
bullets.
Okanlawon said he would pray for his preferred
candidate in the comfort of his room.
He said, “With the way things are going, I will
not go out to vote and I will tell my family
members to do the same. With many guns
around, anything can happen. A bullet that is
not targeted at you could hit you even if you
have done nothing wrong.”
However, there are some residents who have
described the heavy security presence in the
state as better than having touts take over the
electoral process like it has been done in the
past.
Twenty candidates are vying for the Osun State
governor’s seat and last minute preparations
were in top gear ahead of the election on
Thursday and Friday.
Some of the candidates include the incumbent
governor, Rauf Aregbesola of the APC; a former
Deputy Governor of the state, Senator Iyiola
Omisore of the PDP; and the Labour Party
candidate, Fatai Akinbade.
According to the residents, the three candidates
are considered the strongest and the ones with
biggest shot at the keenly contested seat.
On Thursday morning, the Independent
National Electoral Commission began the
distribution of electoral materials to local
government areas ahead of the election.
INEC Public Relations Officer, Mr. Kayode Idowu,
told Saturday PUNCH that the “law provides
that a candidate must have 25 per cent in at
least two-thirds of the state and have the
highest number of votes to emerge the winner.
Meanwhile, on the streets of Osogbo, the main
subject of discourse was often centred around
politics and the chances of the candidates in
the poll. Often, residents were sighted in
clusters discussing their preferred candidates.
Findings by Saturday PUNCH showed that
Aregbesola had a stronghold in Osogbo but
Omisore was expected to keenly fight for votes
there too.
Findings by our correspondent who felt the
pulse of residents there showed that Aregbesola
had an edge over Omisore in the capital city,
also considering that his deputy, Grace Tomori,
is from the city.
Aregbesola is also said to be strong in his
hometown of Ilesha, which has two local
governments, Ilesha East and West.
Omisore’s strongest areas are in Ife town, which
has four local governments – Ife Central, Ife
North, Ife East and Ife South. His running mate,
Rafiu Bello, who is from Ede town, is expected
to deliver Ede North and South to the PDP.
In spite of Aregbesola’s suspected stronghold in
Osogbo, residents expect the final results in the
state to be close, considering that Osogbo and
Ife have the largest numbers of registered
voters.
While Osogbo has 110,670 registered voters, the
four local governments in Ife have a combined
figure of 266,891.
Akinbade is said to have a stronghold in his
hometown of Ogbaagba and the neighbouring
Iwo town.
The dynamics of Nigerian politics played out on
Tuesday with the defection of a former governor
of the state, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, an indigene
of Okuku in Odo-Otin Local Government Area,
from the PDP to the APC. But generally,
Oyinlola’s stronghold is in Osun Central
Senatorial District. His influence also extends to
Osogbo.
However, the PDP has been playing down
Oyinlola’s influence in Osun politics in the
build-up to the election.
The Zonal Chairman of the Peoples Democratic
Party, South-West, Chief Ishola Filani, on
Thursday dismissed the defection, saying it
would not affect the party’s fortune in the
state.
Speaking at a news conference in Osogbo, Filani
said, “He left the PDP in Osun State, but the
question is what effect will this have on us on
Saturday?
“And our submission is this. It will have no
effect whatsoever on the fortunes of Omisore
becoming the next governor of Osun State.
Where Oyinlola is coming from, there are many
people to fill whatever gap, if any, that he is
leaving behind.”
Filani expressed confidence in the PDP’s
chances in the election, saying the party had
gone round “the 30 local government areas in
the state”.
He also said Osun residents were tired of the
current government and needed change.
Filani said, “Aregbesola’s government has no
touch with the people. There is nobody in Osun
State who feels the impact of the APC
government just like it is everywhere, in Oyo,
Ogun and Lagos states. And there was a
demonstration of the rejection recently in Ekiti
State.”
He described the PDP candidate as a person
with a track record of success as a former
deputy governor of the state and as a senator.
Filani said, “We want to be in the mainstream of
Nigerian politics and that is why we have
started recovering our lost grounds. We started
in Ekiti State and we are now going to Osun.”
At a separate news conference in Osogbo on
Thursday, Akinbade urged security to pay more
attention to areas he considered hot spots in
the state. He said such local governments as
Atakunmosa East and West, Ife North and South
usually witnessed violence in past elections.
He said, “I want to appeal to the security
agents to monitor flash points to prevent
violence there. Places like Atakunmosa East and
Atakunmosa West, Ife South and Ife North
should be monitored.
“The security agents should also concentrate on
villages where hoodlums used to rig elections.”
Efforts to reach the spokesperson for Osun State
Police Command, Folasade Odoro, for comments
were not successful as she neither picked her
calls nor responded to text messages sent to
her mobile phone.
However, the Acting Inspector-General of Police,
Suleiman Abba, has vowed to crush attempt by
mischief makers to create problems on the
election day. He also defended the deployment
of huge security personnel in Osun State ahead
of the poll.
He, however, created fears among stakeholders
when he asked them to beware of the numerous
electoral offences they could easily fall into.
Citing relevant sections of the Electoral Act,
Abba said, “There are many offences that can
easily be committed. You must beware so that
you don’t fall victim of any of these offences.”
He noted that security agencies would be on
the look out to arrest electoral offenders who
within 300m radius of a polling unit, breach
any of the laws.
“Three hundred metres is a wide area and you
may handle a stone in your hands and it could
be interpreted as being armed, so beware.”
Meanwhile, there has been an influx of people
into Osun, particularly Osogbo, giving hotel
business in the city a major boost.
In the build-up to the election, customers
scramble for accommodation as most hotels in
the town are fully booked or occupied. The
visitors range from journalists to the
Independent National Electoral Commission
officials, election observers and officials of non-
governmental organisations.
The manager of White Plain Suites and Towers,
Ogundipe Bamidele, described the increase in
patronage as a “drastic change”.
He said, “For the past one week, our rooms have
been fully occupied. We are fully occupied in
terms of indoor and outdoor activities. Today,
we have served over 200 people in our banquet
hall.
“Normally, our hotel is one of the highly
patronised facilities in Osogbo with an average
booking of 60 per cent of our rooms, but now we
are fully occupied. People have been begging
us for rooms in the last one week but we cannot
manufacture rooms. We wish we could give
them rooms.”
Bamidele added that the hotel management
had maintained its room prices in spite of the
pressure.
“Our room prices range from N8, 000 to N20,000
and that is what we still charge,” he said.
At Yetty Hotel, Odi-Olowo, also in Osogbo, where
some renovations were ongoing in some of its
25 rooms, all the available rooms had been
occupied during our correspondents’ visit.
The hotel manager, Mr. Akin Oyerinde, regretted
that the management picked the election
period for the renovations.
He said, “We are the new managers, previous
people didn’t manage the hotel very well for
the owner. It was in a very bad shape when we
came in. But all the available rooms have been
taken by some officials who are in Osogbo for
the election.”

Copyright PUNCH

China plans its own 'Christian theology'

China says it may try to create a theology
based on Christianity - that integrates the
religion with Chinese culture and is compatible
with the country's socialist beliefs, it's been
reported.
Wang Zuoan, a senior official for religious affairs,
says China supports the development of
Christianity within the country. But "the
construction of Chinese Christian theology
should adapt to China's national condition," the
state-backed China Daily website reports. His
comments came at a conference for Sinicization
of Christianity in Shanghai.
It's thought there are about 23 million to 40
million Protestants in China - 1.7% to 2.9% of
the total population - and that each year, about
500,000 people are baptised as Protestants. But
China's ruling Communist Party is officially
atheistic and relations with the church have
sometimes been strained. People are only
supposed to worship in places approved by the
government, but many underground churches
operate in China too.
In Wenzhou - sometimes called China's
Jerusalem, where more than one in 10 people
are Protestant - state authorities are cracking
down on what they say are illegal church
buildings, taking away or threatening to remove
crosses at more than 130 Protestant churches
and demolishing some entirely, the Taipei Times
says . It cites experts and church leaders saying
they believe the authorities are alarmed by the
quick growth of Protestantism in the area, and
are trying to suppress it.