BE GUIDED BY GOD’S WORD!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 2020.

SUBJECT: BE GUIDED BY GOD’S WORD!

Memory verse: "Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path." (Psalm 119 vs 105.)

READ: Matthew 4 vs 7 - 10: 

4:1: Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
4:2: And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was an hungry.
4:3: Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
4:4: But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
4:5: Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,
4:6: and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written, ‘He shall give His angels charge over You,’ and, ‘in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”
4:7: Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”
4:8: Again, the devil took Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory,
4:9: And said to Him, “All these things will I give You, if you will fall down and worship me.”
4:10: Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shalt worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.”
4:11: Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

INTIMATION:

It is not within man to direct his own behavior in order to be pleasing God. Therefore, the word of God is the Map by which man directs his life. Being guided by the Word of God is the sure and shortest way to your ‘Promise Land.’ God’s guidance or direction is contained in His Word. Not adopting God’s guidance nor recognizing them, is the cause of your delay in arriving at your God ordained promise land and achieving His purpose for your life on earth, and consequently, not receiving His promise. Satan, God's greatest enemy, and the accuser of brethren, is a master at turning us away from God’s guidance or turning them around to deceive us, thereby keeping us away from receiving God’s provisions for us. 

To walk safely in the woods at night we need a light so we don’t trip over tree roots or fall into holes. In this life, we walk through a dark forest of evil. But the Bible can be our light to show us the way ahead so we won’t stumble as we walk. It reveals the entangling roots of false values and philosophies. Study the Bible so you will be able to see your way clear enough to stay on the right path. 

The travail of Jesus Christ, in the passage we read today, clearly illustrates the concept of Satan's plan of action. Satan tried to twist the word of God when Jesus was in the wilderness through a series of temptations. Each time Satan tempted Him, Jesus responded, "It is written." Satan twisted the Scripture, trying to keep the Son of God from fulfilling His mission at the cross. If Satan twisted Scripture with Jesus Christ, he will most assuredly twist Scripture with you. The false doctrine taught in many churches today is nothing less than the prince of darkness turning the word of God around using willing preachers to lead people away from God's purpose, and prevents them from entering into His provision for their lives.

If you will follow God's word, you will shorten the time it takes to reach your promise land. The word clearly gives the road map for our travail on earth, and our preparation for our union with Christ in eternity. How you conduct and direct ourselves with the road map, determines how well you navigate yourself through life’s challenges and how long you stay in them. 

The children of Israel were in their problem for forty years. Jesus was in the problem for forty days. What made the difference? The answer is this;  Jesus walked straight through the wilderness by following the guiders found in the Words of His Father found in Scripture. The children of Israel made a career of their wilderness experience by refusing to obey the Lord's direction. Even after they walked out of the land of their captivity, their hearts remained full of idolatrous habits and negative attitudes, formed by four hundred and thirty years of slavery. They were out of Egypt, but Egypt was still in them.

Jesus said the following statements of Himself: "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner" (John 5 vs 19). "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgement is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me" (John 5 vs 30). "....When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as the Father taught Me, I speak these things" (John 8 vs 28).

Jesus never failed to look at God’s word. He obeyed fully, without equivocation, the words of His Father. He stayed focused and the Scripture said this of Him, “...He humbled Himself, and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2 vs 8.) And as Christians we should be like Christ.

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to function in all my ways being lead by Your word, in the mighty Name of Jesus I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

 

NEW HEART NEW SPIRIT

 NEW HEART NEW SPIRIT

"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26" 

Devotion : The promise in the opening scripture was fulfilled by our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. On the cross he declared, "It is finished", John 19:30. When a person receives Jesus as his Lord and Saviour, he is given a new heart and a new spirit. His stony heart is replaced with a heart of flesh. This is a total transformation called being born again: the spirit of the person is reborn and this gives a person an obedient heart to understand and obey the Word of God. The Holy Spirit who is the seal of salvation is also given to the person who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. What the Christian should aim at is to always appreciate God and strive to please Him. He also has the best chance to succeed in life, since he has God as his Father, who will direct him along the path of success. Dearly beloved, how did you feel when you became born again? Share your comments here!

DRAW NEAR TO GOD IN YOUR LIFE!

 

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 2, 2020.

SUBJECT: DRAW NEAR TO GOD IN YOUR LIFE!

Memory verse: "But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all Your works." (Psalm 73 vs 28.)

READ: James 4 vs 7 - 10: 

4:7: Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 

4:8: Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 

4:9: Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 

4:10: Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

INTIMATION:

God has promised His presence in our lives. However, the condition applied to us is that we must come close to Him, and only in doing so He draws near to us. How then do we come close to Him? The passage we read today in the Scripture clearly shows us how to come close to God: 

1. Submit to God by yielding to His authority and will, commit your life to Him and His control, and be willing to follow Him. Be "Born-again." God’s presence is in His kingdom, being part of the kingdom is personal, and it’s entrance requirements are repentance and spiritual rebirth. This kingdom has already begun in the hearts of believers (Luke 17 vs 21). It will be fully realized when Jesus returns again to judge the world and abolish evil forever.

2. Resist the devil. Don't allow Satan to entice and tempt you or deceive you with his subtleties. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom He may devour.” (First Peter 5 vs 8.) The sober and vigilant Christian is constantly listening to the roar of the hungry Satan. One can identify how he works. However, if one becomes ignorant of God’s word, or enticed by the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life, one will be ensnared by Satan and consumed (First John 2 vs 15 - 16). 

Christians must be cautious in their lives lest they will be tempted to forsake their confession. Satan has no power over the one who voluntarily keeps himself or herself close to Jesus. Christians can withstand the temptations that are presented by Satan by exercising faith in God through prayer, Bible study, and good works toward others. With the power of the Holy Spirit you will resist him. 

3. Cleanse your hands and purify your hearts. That is lead a pure life. Abstain from evil, and do good. Be cleansed from sin, replacing your desire to sin with your desire to experience God's purity. Those who have made their hands dirty by becoming friend of the world must repent. Let not your heart seek the things of this world. Be pure with the wisdom from above in order to remain in the grace by which you are saved.

4. Lament, mourn, and weep. Don't be afraid to express deep heartfelt sorrow for what you have done. Let your remorse over your sin be obvious through your mournful behavior. One will not come to repentance if he or she does not recognize his or her sinful condition. One must recognize his or her spiritual poverty in order to seek the riches of God’s grace. 

5. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up in honor. Humbly obey God regardless of present circumstances, and in His good time, He will honor you. It is our responsibility to take the initiative to deal with our pride. We cannot exalt ourselves before God on the basis of our works. Man’s pride detours him from submitting to the will of God. In order to be lifted up by God, we must come to God with a humble heart (Matthew 23 vs 12). God cannot lift up those who feel that they have lifted themselves up apart from Him.

We often worry about our position and status, hoping to get proper recognition for what we do. However, it is better we are not recognized by men, while putting our best to be recognized by God in our obedience and humility which counts in eternity. 

So many of us get worried regarding our experiencing God presence in our lives. Many wants obvious happenings or feelings to confirm God's presence in their lives. It's actually more than just a feeling or happening, but more of your believe and faith in God and trust in His Word.

A little boy of twelve years became born again during a revival. The next week at school, his friends questioned him about the experience. One of them asked him, "Did you see a vision?" Another asked him, "Did you hear God speak?" The young convert answered no to all the questions. They then asked him, "Well, how do you know you were saved?" The young boy scratched his head and looked up to heaven and finally said, "It's like when you catch a fish with your hook, you can't see the fish or hear the fish; you just feel it tugging at your line. I just felt God tugging on my heart."

When you make one small step toward Him, He makes great steps toward you, so great that He sent His Son to die for you. It is only in forgetting ourselves that we can draw near to Him.

Prayer: Abba Father, my utmost heart desire is to have an intimate relationship with You, where I will be a vessel of honor in Your hand. Give me the grace to lead a life of absolute humility and obedience to You in all things, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD! 

GRACE IS A GIFT

 GRACE IS A GIFT

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Ephesians 2:8" 

Devotion : Grace is the unmerited favor of God: it is a special ability given to the born again Christian to get things easily from God and to get things easily done. Grace cannot be purchased or borrowed; it is a gift of God. It is a gift that the Lord Jesus Christ gave to all men, especially those who believe in Him (John 1:17). Grace was given to all men to give mankind the opportunity to be saved; that is why the Law of Moses has been abolished. The Law of Moses would have put many people to death if grace had not been given to mankind. The law gave instant justice to sin without room for repentance, but grace gives mankind the room to repent and be saved. After being saved you can ask for more grace to accomplish a particular task, but without the saving grace God will not listen to your prayer because you are not His child. Dear beloved, are you saved? If you are not, take advantage of the saving grace and get saved so that you can enjoy the inheritance of God. Hallelujah! Share your thoughts here!

FAITH AND GOD’S PROMISES!

 

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 2020.

SUBJECT: FAITH AND GOD’S PROMISES!

Memory verse: "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised;)" (Hebrews 10 vs 23.)

READ: Romans 4 vs 19 - 20; Hebrews 10 vs 35 - 36: 

4:19: And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body,,already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. 

4:20: He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened  in faith, giving glory to God." 

Hebrews 10:35: Therefore do not cast your confidence, which has great reward. 

10:36: For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the Will of God, you may receive the promise.

INTIMATION:

Faith is reasoning with God in the Word until you are persuaded that what He has promised He will do. Therefore, it is a display of confidence in God until you obtain your promise or your desired result. Consequently, without faith, it becomes impossible to please God or obtain His promises. Faith is an asset of inestimable value, it is worth to you what you perceive it to be. Faith is not feeling, but rather a force that invade the invisible world and delivers to the physical by moving the hand of God to deliver His promises. It implants humanity into divinity and gives dominion to the faithful. 

Hebrews 11 states that faith has substance. Faith is real. It is measurable, hence we have all been given a measure of faith at the new birth. Substance, in the case of faith, means that we have an assurance that God will do for us today what He has done for His people previously. What God has done in the past, He can do in the present. God's past performance gives us absolute assurance for our future. God said in His Word, "I am the LORD, I do not change." (Malachi 3 vs 6.) Scripture also says that Jesus Christ is "the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Hebrews 13 vs 8.)

Our faith is not mysticism. Our faith is not positive thinking or religious psychobabble. Our faith is rock solid, based on the historical evidence that God in heaven will faithfully perform what He has promised. The faith that pleases God is the faith that moves the one who possesses it into action and confidence in the promises of God. It is a faith that does not give up hope in what God has promised as a reward for the believer. Know it that faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible. Our anchor Scripture clearly instructs us to continue declaring our faith in God’s promises without wavering, and in so doing obtain His promises.

Your feeling has nothing to do with your faith. You can walk into a hospital room and see someone you dearly love suffering on a bed of affliction and cry emotionally for an hour. Your tears may give you emotional relief, but will do nothing for your loved one. Nothing! Yet one minute of faith released in prayer to a loving God can stop sickness and disease in its tracks. In whatever state, or circumstances you find yourself in life, your greatest asset required to bring God into your circumstances is your faith. Therefore, recognize that your faith is a substance proven and validated by what God has done in the past.

We know that God answers prayer with supernatural and miraculous manifestations. For instance, God answered the prayer of Elijah, who called fire from heaven in Mount Carmel, God heard the prayer of Joshua and held the sun in place, and time literally stood still. No matter how intimidating your problem happens to be, God is ready to hear and answer your prayer right now. He is ready to release your miracle, but first you must expect a miracle! Therefore, have the confidence that God will bring about His promises because He has made them on the basis of His existence and His oath (Hebrews 6 vs 18 - 19). 

Prayer: Abba Father, my unshakable faith is in You and Your Word. You have not said a thing and didn’t do it or has spoken and didn’t make it good. Therefore, my faith is solidly anchored in You because ai know Whom I have believed. May nothing take away my trust and confidence in You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

BE STRONG

 BE STRONG

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Ephesians 6:10" 

Devotion : Christianity is about living up to expectation and responsibility. To be strong in the Lord comes with responsibilities: prayer, speaking in tongues, studying the Holy Scriptures, worship and praise must not be taken for granted. Also put on the whole armor of God on a daily basis. The armor of God comprises the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the boot of preparation of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. All the above mentioned weapons will arm you as a Christian to be strong and filled with the power of God. Dear beloved, are you fortified with the weapons mentioned in this gospel? How do you find them? Share your comments here!

PRAYER

 In job11:20 the words of  God says: the eyes of the wicked shall fail, their hope shall be as giving up to ghost! I stand on this word of God and I decree:: every monitoring mirrors monitoring ur destiny, family or marriage shall fail in the name of JESUS! Every wall  OF jerico blocking ur destiny helpers shall fall in the name of JESUS! In this ember month, there shall be no more tears; no more sorrows; no more pains; the lord shall favour u in the sight of ur enemies! It is well with U in JESUS name. Amen! Happy new month.

In this EMBER MONTH may you remember for good, favour and prosperity in Jesus Name.