Wednesday, 21st October 2015

Bible verse: Morning coffee/tea
1 Kings 19:5
And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.

Lesson
The challenges facing Elijah was beyond his control. He need to run for his life.
Likewise, the very situation and challenges you are facing right now might seem unresolvable.
Do you believe it could be a trial of endurance and change or testing of your faithfulness like Job?
God never forsakes or leaves behind His children. He is a compassionate God. He makes a way where there is none.
He sent his Angel to feed Elijah in his ugly situation in the wilderness.
That same God will see to your challenges.

God is working through your problem, to His own glory & towards the goal He has set for your life.
Make God your source of hope, rely on the Lord, consult and seek His will before any human aid is pursued.

Prayer
Oh Lord, you fed Elijah in the wilderness; do the unusual in my life in Jesus name.
Open the doors of opportunities, bless and move in my life in a special way that I will be a blessing to your children in Jesus name.

Tuesday, 20th October 2015
Bible verse: Psalms 37:7
Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

Lesson
God wants us to rely on him and make him our first choice in pursuit of our daily activities.
Mary and Martha waited patiently on Jesus when Lazarus died.
Naturally, David was the most unqualified person in his family to be king. He was busy keeping his father's sheep in the bush.
Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, was imprisoned in Egypt for crime he did not commit.
He can't get out of prison, he can't appeal his sentence, and he certainly can't escape - No hope.
Mordecai saved the life of king Ahasuerus and was not rewarded for his deed. Yet, he without bitterness, remained faithful to his duties.

All these men waited patiently on the Lord. And the favor of the Lord located them.
Waiting on the Lord is perhaps the hardest discipline of a Christian life especially when those guys or friends who built their life on the values of this world have "made it".
Know that whichever challenges you are going through, it is designed to help build your character and prepare you for the tasks that lay ahead.

Waiting patiently on the Lord and be obedient to His word will release unmerritted blessings upon our lifes.
God's delays are not God's denials.

Prayer
Oh Lord give me the strength and ability to learn to wait on you, reject activities contrary to your laws and to endure the pain of rejection, false accusation, imprisonment of the mind, betrayal and anything that will let me loose my focus of you and your word in Jesus name.
Knowing Lord that you are never in a hurry, never late and never behind schedule; I pray that you, at your appointed time, stretch your hands over my situation and grant me the reward of faithfully waiting on You in Jesus name.

Monday, 19th October 2015
Bible verse: Micah 3:4
Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.

Lesson
This warning are for those who:
- hate good and love evil
- love darkness more than light
- strip off the skin of God's people and break their bones in pieces for their selfishness
- are blindfolded with the things of this world.
In as much as God loves us yet He will not tolerate disobedience, unrighteousness and hardening of heart and in-compassionate.

The perversion and adversities of the children of God can be traced to the misguidance, self-indulgence, selfishness of many servants of God, to whom he has delegated authority, to teach us of his wrath and the repercussions of our disobedience, behaviours and unholiness.
Instead, they compromise false prophecy and preach solely on the promises of God forgetting the conditions of those promises.
Yes! it is encouraging and motivate to hear the positive side of the coin. But will this alone qualify us to have eternal life?

Remember that righteousness bring God's protection, favor and blessings while unrighteousness tears down God's curse and is the easiest road to hell fire.

Prayer
Oh Lord, send your consuming fire to destroy every manipulative and evil spirit trying to influence and/or blindfold me away from your ways and righteousness in Jesus name.
Cause every mountain, every Goliath hindering my obedience to you and my holiness to be casted into the sea in Jesus name.
Thank you Lord for your mercies and compassion.

Sunday, 18th October 2015
Bible verse: Micah 4:4
But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree.; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.

Lesson
What can create fear in us? Nothing! Unless our unrighteousness disqualifies us.
But we are inheritance of that sit under his vine and fig tree of our Lord.

After 400 years of slavery, God set the sit of the Israelites under his fig tree.
Guess what? The spirit of fear and poverty vanished overnight.
They were no more afraid to ask for gold and silver from their masters who they terribly feared.

God said that He would judge the Egyptians. He did exactly what He said He would do.
Yes! God is not a man like us that will lie or forget.
He changeth not and He always keeps His promises.
Whoever sit under his vine and fig tree will lack nothing.
Grace, mercy, peace from God has been programmed for that person.
No more crying, no poverty, no pains and no more fear.
What a wonderful God.

Prayer
Oh Lord, take away from my life, everything that will disqualify me to sit under your vine and fig tree in the mighty name of Jesus.
Teach me your ways so that I may walk in your paths and be obedient to your Word.
Glorify yourself in my live as I seek to mirror your compassion and love in Jesus name

Saturday, 17th October 2015
Bible verse: Mark 4:14-20
14 The sower soweth the word.
15 And these are they by the way side ...
16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground;...
18 And these are they which are sown among thorns;...
20 And these are they which are sown on good ground....

Lesson
God wants us to seek him, hear His word, be obedient and doers of his Laws, having a forgiving and compassionate heart.
Are you up to the challenge?
Which category of hearer do you count yourself to be?

1) The wayside hearers:
- hear instruction but before they could digest it Satan quickly snatches it away.
- love darkness more than light and love praise from men more than God
- let the god of this world blinded their minds.

2) The stony ground hearers:
- get excited to hear truth, are enthusiastic but with shallow faith.
- have no real commitment to truth
- value friendship and peace more than truth and wisdom
- fall easily away when persecution, opposition, challenges or temptation comes their way!

3) The thorny ground hearers:
- believe and obey the word but then remain baby Christian - stagnated and never to mature, because they love the world and are preoccupied with the cares, riches, and pleasures of this world
- appreciate hearing truth, but are rendered fruitless due to pursuit of materialism
- the love of money and pleasure blindfold them in seeking holiness and eternal life

4) The good ground hearers:
- approach hearing like hunting for treasure
- are committed, dedicated, diligent, obedient and are crowned with good noble heart
- pursue righteousness and eternal life
Yes! we are not perfect but we can ask God for forgiveness of our unfaithfulness and disobedience, for a transformation & renewal of mind, and the strength to pursuit holiness.

Prayer
Dear Lord, grant me the spiritual appetite to be hunting for your presence and your word.
Open my eyes to see, love and seek things of eternity and not to be blindfolded by the love and pleasure of things of this world in Jesus name.
Touch and teach my heart to hear instructions, be wise, and not to refuse them in Jesus name.

Friday, 16th October 2015
Bible verse: Proverbs 8:33-34
Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.
Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.

Lesson
Naaman was cleansed of his leprosy because he heard instruction and refuse it not.
The blind Bartimaeus received his sight because he heard that Jesus was passing by and with eagerness he waited at the post.
To hear the Word is the way to have the knowledge of Christ and receiving your miracles.

Which type of hearer are you - the wayside, stony ground, thorny ground or good ground hearer?
Do you:
- seek God with your whole heart?
- fervently delight in Him?
- watch for your spiritual edification and establishment in the truth?
- give attendance to reading, exhortation and to God's doctrine?
- live a life filled with the Spirit of God and in fellowship?
- like Job, stand firm on the Lord, when encountering oppositions, challenges and the road is rough?
- like Jonah, hear instruction, run away to hide yourself?
Are you doing what is right and hating what is evil?

Your future blessings depend on your preparedness to seek the Lord, with excitement to hear & obey His word, through commitment and faithfulness to watch, daily, at His gates.
Remember, those who diligently seek God, hear & serve Him with gladness, in truth and spirit will have as rewards the blessing of life, knowledge, wisdom and favor.

Prayer
Aber Father, I pray you don't leave me helpless and hopeless when the road is rough and I encounter challenges.
Crown me O Lord, with the eagerness to be watchful for spiritual light and comfort, to wait upon your word, ordinances and at your throne of grace for your presence, performance of promises in my life and for answers of prayers in Jesus name.

Thursday, 15th October 2015
Bible verse: Lamentations 3:22-24
It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Lesson
It is the compassion of the Lord that always prompt Him to manifest His mercies in a way consistent with His glorious perfections.
That compassion was demonstrated by Jesus in Matt 14:14 "Jesus was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick" and when he fed the 5000.
His compassion is not limited and can never fails.

Do you know that everything God says and does is certain and His faithfulness is inexhaustible?
Even though we have sinned and walked away from His presence, rejecting Him and taking more confidence in the world yet He shows compassion on us.

Yes! He is able to do exceedingly & abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.
Let us always show our thankfulness, trust and gratitude to the Almighty for His care, love, compassion and mercies.

Prayer
Thank you Lord that you did not allow my ungratefulness, disobedience, selfishness, daily provocations,
and constant hardheartedness to block your compassion towards me.
I am very grateful Lord that you woke me up this morning and gave me eyes to see a bright new day, my lungs that inhaled air yesterday inhaled new air today, my tongue can sing praises to you and you provides all that I needed.
Let the fear of the Lord compels me to show compassion to others and let me receive, morning by morning, new mercies in Jesus name.