BE CONTENT WITH WHAT YOU HAVE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY DECEMBER 11, 2020.

SUBJECT: BE CONTENT WITH WHAT YOU HAVE!

Memory verse: "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13 vs 5.)

READ:  Numbers 11 vs 4 - 6:

11:4: Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat?

11:5: We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic;

11:6: but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this man’s before our eyes!”

INTIMATION:

Be content with what you have, and be grateful to the Great Provider. Discontentment comes when your attention shifts from what you have to what you don't have. Relishing what you have engenders thankfulness. Resenting what you are missing brings about complaining and ingratitude, and such things are unpleasant to the Lord. When this happens you begin to forget what God has done for you, and is wrapped up in what God hasn't done for you. Consequently, your attitude will make lose your sense of thanksgiving.

The the passage we read today, the Israelites murmured, and were dissatisfied with what God has done for them. At the instance of that they forgot to give thanks to God for all He has done for them, and is still doing for them. They didn’t seem to notice what God was doing for them—setting them free, making them a nation, giving them a new land—because they were so wrapped up in what God wasn’t doing for them. They could think of nothing but the delicious Egyptian food they left behind, forgetting that the brutal whip of Egyptian slavery, which the Lord had saved from, was the cost of eating the food. 

We become satisfied when we realize God’s sufficiency for our needs, and be thankful to Him continually. When we are discontented with what we have, we are indirectly saying that God has been unfair to us or that He can’t take care of us—or at least that He won’t take care of us the way we want. That is doubting the integrity of God who already said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” and only Him can supply all your needs (Philippians 4 vs 19).

Contentment brings about happiness, and happiness is associated with an attitude of gratitude. Against this backdrop, let us self-evaluate ourselves by thinking of what occupies our attention most of the time. Are we content with what we have—grateful for what God has given us, or are we always thinking about what we would like to have? We should not allow our unfulfilled desires to cause us to forget God's gift of life, food, health, work, friends etc, and be thankful to Him.

In every circumstances we face in life we should be content with such things that we have, or what God is doing in our lives, and reasonably be thankful to Him. We should take a cue from the apostle Paul who knew how to be content, happy and rejoicing in the Lord whether he had plenty or whether he was in need. He said, “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need” (Philippians 4 vs 11 - 12). The secret of contentment lies in your knowing God, trusting in His promises, and drawing on His power for strength to face the challenges of life. He will supply all your needs, but in a way that He knows is best for you.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my Loving Father, and Faithful Companion. Endue me with the spirit of contentment in all things, knowing that You have promised that You will never leave me nor forsake me, and will supply all my needs according to Your riches in glory by Christ Jesus, and  in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

WORD AFFIRMATION AS A LIFESTYLE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY  DECEMBER 10, 2020.

SUBJECT : WORD AFFIRMATION AS A LIFESTYLE!

Memory verse: 

"This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men." 

(Titus 3 vs 8.)

READ: Revelation  12 vs 11

:

12:11: And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to death.

INTIMATION:

Living your life in the Word involves believing, confessing and affirming the Word of God. Affirmation is the last part of the process of this living. To affirm is to make firm. An affirmation is a statement of truth that you make firm by repetition. The Scripture, in our memory verse! says, "This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly....." The bold declaration or affirmation of the Word is indicative of the inherent truth, and your trust and believe in it. In the first five Books of Moses, God's expression of "I am the LORD" occurred more than two thousand five hundred times, indicating the truth, and lays credence to the fact, and the value of affirmation. 

That should be the lifestyle of every child of God; confessing, and affirming the Word. You should constantly affirm to your own soul the great, and outstanding facts of redemption, reminding yourself constantly of your identity in Christ Jesus, confessing and affirming the fullness of Jesus Christ and His finished work in the presence of your enemies; in the presence of your weakness; in the presence of your adversary. They may not mean much the first time you repeat them, but constantly reaffirm them. By and by, the Spirit will illumine them, and your soul will be flooded with light and joy.

Every time you repeat what God has said about you as an individual, about Himself—The Trinity, and the church, these truths reach down deep into your inner being with strength, courage, joy and victory. Our spiritual lives depend upon our constantly affirming what God has declared, what God is in Christ, what we are in Christ, and what we are before the Father in Christ. It is for this reason that the apostle Paul, in Philemon 6, says, "That the sharing of our faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus."

In the passage we read today, Satan, our accuser, was defeated when the Lamb, Jesus Christ, shed His blood for our sins. The victory is won on our behalf by that supreme sacrifice, that is, Christ's death in our place to pay the penalty of our sin, and the sacrifices we make because of our faith in Him; testifying of Him as our Lord and Savior, and affirming what He wrought for us in redemption. These good works of believe, confession, and affirmation, in faith, are all good and profitable for Christians. 

The Bible includes hundreds of passages that speak about the power of the Word. Locate as many as you can, and confess, and affirm them. They will be more effective as you speak them with volume, feeling, conviction, and enthusiasm. Words weakly spoke have minimal results. I encourage you to speak some of these affirmations as many times as you can, but at least, three to five times a day. 

Prayer: Abba Father, forever Your Word is perfect, and settled in heaven. Endue me with the spirit of bold declaration of Your Word at all times, that I may reap their manifestation in my life, in Jesus” Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

ARE YOU STILL DEMEANING YOURSELF?

 Are You Still Demeaning Yourself? 

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (KJV)

The value of a product is usually determined by the cost that went into its production. In the same vein, the value of a born again Christian is the precious blood of Christ. It cost God His only begotten Son to redeem mankind from the penalty of sin. His giving of His only begotten Son for the sin of mankind is undoubtedly the proof that God indeed loved the world of sinners (John 3:16). Thus, as a Christian, never demean yourself or give people the opportunity to look down on you. Any time you feel a demeaning spirit around you, rebuke it and quickly declare, “I’m worth the blood of Jesus Christ. I’m very precious to God.” As you keep declaring it, that feeling will give way to confidence in you. Now that you are born again, you are righteous, so be bold to declare that you are righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21). Never say that you are a sinner or a sinner saved by grace because you sometimes commit sin. When you sin and are convicted by the Holy Spirit, confess it quickly and ask God to forgive you and He will forgive you (1 John 1:9). Dear beloved, now that God has demonstrated His love for you, make up your mind to also love God and your fellow human beings, and sin will not have dominion over you. If your job is making you look down on yourself, change it into something you love and that will draw you closer to God, and He will make you a blessing. Hallelujah! Be an overcomer!

Prayer Point: Dear heavenly Father, I love You for feeding me with Your Word today. If while I was a sinner You demonstrated Your love for me by sending Jesus Christ to die for me, now that I’m born again I know Your love for me will be much more. Please lead me to also love You and show love to my fellow human beings in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Were you blessed by today's message? Kindly go to the comment section and share your comments, and testimonies. Let's also know your challenges so that we can pray for you. 

WHAT DOES PRAYER MEAN TO YOU?

 What Does Prayer Mean to You? 

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Philippians 4:6 (KJV)

Prayer is vital in the life of every child of God. It is the point of communion with the Lord. In other words, making time to fellowship with Him, where you speak to Him by sharing what is on your heart with him and He intends to share what is on His heart with you. The opening scripture says in everything we must pray; this shows the relevance of praying in our relationship with the Most High. Jesus Christ knew this, so He spent time in prayer with His Father every day before beginning the day (Mark 1:35). Even in the course of doing His work in the day, He prayed, and this accounted for several miracles that characterized His ministry (John 11:41–44). Dear beloved, what does prayer mean to you? One of the things prayer does for us is to cure our anxiety or worry. After we have shared with God everything bothering our minds, He gives us His peace to sustain us till we finally receive answers to our requests (Philippians 4:7). Beloved, don’t only pray because you want something from God. Pray because it is the moment of sharing fellowship with Him; to worship, praise, and thank Him for who He is in our lives. Let prayer be so important in your life that you cannot do without it, and make time for your personal prayers and the corporate prayer in church, and you will be amazed at the outstanding miracles in your life. Hallelujah! Pray without ceasing!

Prayer Point: Dear heavenly Father, I’m excited to know that I cannot live a meaningful life without prayer. I’m also delighted to know that You are God, who answers prayer. Please lead me to prioritize prayer and make time to fellowship with You in prayer every day in Jesus’ name. Amen!

DO YOU WANT TO BE BLAMELESS AND HARMLESS?

 Do You Want to Be Blameless and Harmless? 

“Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;” Philippians 2:14–15 (KJV)

The Word of God is truly the light of God. He is bold to tell us the state of the current generation or nation. He calls it crooked and perverse because this current generation is becoming too familiar with sin and devising so many ways for corruption (Matthew 16:4, Luke 11:29). Thus, the child of God must be sober and vigilant to identify the enemy’s craftiness regarding sin and avoid it. The opening scripture highlighted two things we shouldn’t do in order to be blameless and harmless in our corrupt generation: murmurings and disputing or arguing. We murmur to show disapproval, and dispute or argue to express our view when we feel we are being misunderstood. Remember that the children of Israel were fond of murmuring and disputing, which rekindled the wrath of God and He punished them (Numbers 14:2, 16:41–48). Beloved, He punished them because murmuring and arguing show a lack of faith. The God we serve rewards faith; therefore, He is pleased when we walk with Him in faith (Hebrews 11:6). No wonder His Word said the just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17). Beloved, let us not compromise our faith in this perverse generation but shine in righteousness, trusting the Lord in His Word, and we will have lots of testimonies to share. Hallelujah! Glory to God!

Prayer Point: My precious and loving Father, I have learned to stop all murmuring and arguing. Thank You for this admonition. Please let me continually trust You in Your Word so I may enjoy all the promises You have for my life in Jesus’ name. Amen!

DO NOT WORRY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY  DECEMBER 9, 2020.

SUBJECT : DO NOT WORRY!

Memory verse: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." (Philippians 4 vs 6.)

READ: Matthew 6 vs 25 - 32:

6:25: Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
6:26: Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of much value than they?
6:27: Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
6:28: So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin:
6:29: and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
6:30: Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
6:31: Therefore Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or, ‘What shall we wear?’
6:32: For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that ye need all these things.
6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.

INTIMATION:

Worry is being overly concerned, anxious, fearful, dreadful or distressed about a thing or circumstance. Naturally we worry about a lot of things in and around our lives; the cares of this world—we have worries on the job, in our homes, at school, the lure of wealth, the desire for things and so on. Imagine never being worried about anything! It seems like an impossibility. But worry is pointless because it can’t fill any of our needs. 

Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? 

The worries of this life plague many people today, even believers. In these worries, it is easy for the daily routines to become overcrowded—thinking of a lot of things at the same time. A life packed with materialistic pursuits crowds out God in our lives, especially His Word, and leaves us unfruitful for Him. Stay free so that you can hear God when He speaks. One must not be overly anxious about the things of this world. One must come to an understanding that life does not consist of those things that are empirically beheld and possessed. 

Although, in anxiety, we may start out with good intentions, but along the line our faith in God falters. When you are apprehensive about the troubles around you and doubt Christ’s  presence or ability to help, remember that He is always with you and is the only one who can really help. Therefore, whenever you start to worry, stop and pray. To worry less, pray more. Turn your worries to prayers! Worry is foolish because the Creator of the universe loves us and knows what we need. He promises to meet all our real needs but not necessarily all our desires.

Christians should put their trust in God, for it is He who is working all things together according to His purposes. Christians must not worry, for to worry is to doubt God’s ability to take care of all things and to work all things together for the good of the Christian. In order not to worry about the environment and events that are happening, Christians should communicate with God in prayer. Prayers and petitions are to be made in a spirit of thanking God for all that He has done in our lives. Thanksgiving should be the motivation that encourages one to pray.

Carrying your worries, stresses, and daily struggles by yourself shows that you have not trusted God fully with your life. It takes humility, however, to recognize that God cares, to admit your need, and to let others in God’s family help you. Sometimes we think that struggles caused by our own sin and foolishness are not God’s concern. But when we turn to God in repentance, He will bear the weight even of those struggles. Letting God have your anxieties calls for action, not passivity. Don’t submit to circumstances but to the Lord, who controls circumstances. 

Jesus commands us not to worry because of the effect of worry on us; (1) it damage our health, (2) disrupt our productivity, (3) negatively affect the way we treat others, and (4) reduce our ability to trust God. But how can we avoid it? Overcoming worry requires simple trust in God, our Heavenly Father. This trust is expressed by praying to Him rather than worrying. Only faith can free us from the anxiety caused by the cares of the world, greed and covetousness. 

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of contentment, and complete faith in You, for I hold tight to Your promise to supply all my needs already known to You at Your own time and will. Give me the grace not to be engulfed in the cares of this world, but rather put You first in my life; feel my thoughts with You desires, take Your character for my pattern, and serve and obey You in everything, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

GOD’S HELP IS THE ULTIMATE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY  DECEMBER 8, 2020.

SUBJECT : GOD’S HELP IS THE ULTIMATE!

Memory verse: "Our help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth." (Psalm 124 vs 8.)

READ: Psalm 121 vs 1 - 8:

121:1: I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from whence comes my help?
121:2: My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

INTIMATION:

God is the Creator and Maker of all things. He is a purpose-driven God, and has made all things according to His predetermined purposes, and Will. Therefore, it’s only in Him that perfect answers concerning our situations and worldly circumstances can be obtained. It’s only in His help we have the assurances of good success. No matter how desperate your situation may seem, if you call out to God in faith, He will help you. When we need extraordinary help, God offers extraordinary resources. He is All-Knowing, and All-Powerful. We should not hesitate to ask Him for assistance. 

Do you ever feel trapped by overwhelming odds? With God, there is always a way out because He is the Creator of all that exists. No problem is beyond His ability to solve, no circumstances is too difficult for Him. When we face difficult or frightening situations, we must be willing to let God help us. We can turn to the Creator for help in our times of need, for He is on our side. God will provide a way out, we need only trust Him and look for it.  “Is there anything too hard for the Lord?” The obvious answer is, “Of course not!” This question reveals much about God. Make it a habit to insert your specific needs into the question. “Is this day in my life too hard for the Lord?” “Is this habit I’m trying to break too hard for Him?” Asking the question this way reminds you that God is personally involved in your life and nudges you to ask for His power to help you. 

In our lives only Christ can make the difference when it seems difficult or too late for anyone else to help. He can bring healing to broken relationships, release from addicting habits, and forgiveness and healing to emotional scars. If your situation looks hopeless, remember that Christ can do the impossible. Because Jesus lived as a man, we know that He fully understands our experiences and struggles (Hebrews 4 vs 15 - 16). Because He is God, He has the power and authority to deliver us from sin (Colossians 2 vs 13 - 15). We can tell Jesus all our thoughts, feelings, and needs. He has been where we are now, and He has the ability to help in any circumstances.

It is noteworthy that God can miraculously and instantaneously change your life. Usually, however, He chooses to help you gradually, teaching you one lesson at a time. Rather than expecting instant spiritual maturity and solutions to all your problems, slow down and work one step at a time, trusting God to make up the difference between where you should be and where you are now. You’ll soon look back and see that a miraculous transformation has occurred. Therefore, be patient with Him, though it might tarry, wait for it, because it must surely come. He makes all things work together for our good, provided the love of Christ is in you.

God is alert to our needs. He will not allow the feet of those who trust in Him to slip. He is the help and the hope of the needy. Jesus affirms His concern for the poor and afflicted (Luke 4 vs 18 - 21; 7 vs 21 - 23). In His uniqueness, He does not separate the physical needs from spiritual needs but attends to both. While God, not man, is the hope of the needy, man is only His instruments to help here on earth. God has help where we least expect it. He provides for us ways that go beyond our narrow definitions or expectations. No matter how bitter our trials or how seemingly hopeless our situation, we should look for God’s caring touch. We may find His providence in some strange places. It is noteworthy and ironic that God turned to ravens (unclean birds) and a widow (a foreigner from Jezebel’s home territory) to care for Elijah, His prophet (First Kings 17). 

All of us want God to help us when we are in trouble, but often for different reasons. Some want God’s help so that they will be successful and other people will like them. Others want God’s help so that they will be comfortable and feel good about themselves. However, when you call to God for help, consider your motive. Is it to save yourself pain and embarrassment or bring God glory and honor? Our best quest for God’s help is to bring glory and honor when He helps you out of your situation.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my very present help in times of need and trouble. Only You has all solutions to every problems, and situations, and Your help is perfect, and complete. I will call upon You for help, and I already have the assurances from You that if I ask, I will receive, if I seek, I will find, and if I knock, the door will be opened up to me. I have no other source outside of You. Anything You cannot give me, may I never have it, anything You cannot do for me, may it remain undone, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!