WHY WE FAST AND PRAY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY JANUARY 19, 2021.

SUBJECT : WHY WE FAST AND PRAY!

Memory verse: "However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” (Matthew 17 vs 21.)

READ: Luke 2 vs 37; Acts 14 vs 23:

Luke 2:37: And this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

Acts 14:23: So when they had appointed them elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they had believed.

INTIMATION:

A fast is a voluntary abstinence from food or drink or both for the purpose of calling on God to respond to one’s request. It is a period of time when no food was eaten and people approached God in humility, sorrow for sin, and urgent prayer. Fasting is noble and difficult. It gives us time to pray, teaches us self-discipline, reminds us that we can live with a lot less, and helps us appreciate God’s gift. Fasting is both an outward sign of humility and regret for sin, it is a sign of mourning for sin, and an inner discipline that clears the mind and keeps the spirit alert. 

Fasting indicates our seriousness with God. By separating ourselves from the daily routine of food preparation and eating, we could devote that extra time to considering our sin and praying to God for help. Hunger pangs would reinforce our penitence and remind us of our weaknesses and our dependence upon God. Fasting is always helpful as we seek God’s will in special situations. People often fast during the time of calamity  in order to focus their attention on God and to demonstrate their change of heart and their true devotion. 

Fasting is an understood practice of the disciples of Jesus. Jesus said to His disciples, “When you fast,” it is not if the disciples would fast. Fasting is the natural response of those who respond with discipleship to the lordship of Jesus. It is the response of those who depend on God’s work in their lives, for in fasting one is calling on God to respond to his pleas for help. Fasting is done in order to to take one’s mind off the physical needs of the body in order to concentrate on the spiritual needs of the inner man. 

Fasting not only strengthens our self-discipline, it also helps us to focus our attention on the work of God in our lives. The purpose of fasting is to inwardly humble oneself before God in order to proclaim one’s dependence on the work of God in his or her  life. In humbling ourselves before God, we manifest our dependence on God in order to plead for His work in our lives. 

Prayer is an expression of one’s most inner feelings of thanksgiving to God and request  for His help. In the Bible prayer is often combine with fasting on the part of the one who prepares his or her mind in prayer. Praying is to speak reverently to God in order to express thanks or make a request. It is earnestly entreating God in sincerity of your intention, always rendered "supplication." Prayer is one of the greatest opportunities given to man by God. It is one of the greatest privileges and ministries available to all Christians. Indeed, everyone who seeks to take his or her place in the Kingdom of God should seek or learn how to pray effectively. 

Fasting and praying are spiritual preparations necessary for seeking the face, and help of God in our journeys of life, especially in situations beyond our control. It also shows our dependence on God for protection and leading, indicative of our faith that God is in control, and our affirmation that by our strength we cannot prevail. When we take time to put God first in any endeavor, we are preparing well for whatever lies ahead. It’s also an indication that we are not taking God’s promises to us for granted. God’s blessings are appropriated through prayer, and fasting humbles one because going without food is a reminder of our complete dependence on God. It gives one more time to pray and meditate on God. Prayer and fasting increase the faith of the believers. Therefore, Christians who wants to grow in faith must give themselves to prayer and fasting. 

Prayer: Abba Father, engrace me with spirit of supplication, and total dependence, loyalty, and complete trust, in You. For I know the thought You think toward me, thought of good and not of evil, to bring me to the expected end. You created me for Your purpose here on earth, and let the purpose, expressed in Your Will for my life, be accomplished in Jesus Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

DO THE RIGHT THINGS AT THE RIGHT TIME!

 Do the Right Things at the Right Time! 

“Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.” 1 Corinthians 4:5 (KJV)

The children of God are guided by principles, and one of the principles is to judge at the right time; the saints will even judge angels (1 Corinthians 6:3). The time for judgment awaits Christ Jesus who is Lord of all. When He has come, He will judge Christians first and those who deserve praise will be rewarded accordingly (1 Peter 4:17). Nothing is hidden before Him; even the secret of the heart is naked before Him. Now is the time for the children of God to judge their own selves or actions to know whether they are still doing what is expected of them. They are the hope of the hopeless, comfort for the brokenhearted, courage for the discouraged, light for those in darkness, a channel of blessing for the needy, and leaders for the world. Praise the Lord! Let us rise to the occasion and do what is expected of us, to give glory to our Lord Jesus Christ who has called us into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). Dear beloved, are you doing the right things at the right time? Doing the right things at the right time leads to success. Remember that when the right time is missed, loss cannot be avoided. Let us take advantage of the time we have to judge our own actions while we are alive and make sure we are right with God before the coming of our Lord Jesus, and we will be happy and rejoice in His presence. Hallelujah! God bless you!

Prayer Point: My eternal Father, I’m so inspired by Your Word today. Please give me the ability to discern and judge my thoughts and actions while I’m alive, get right with You, and be blessed in Jesus’ name. Amen!

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THE GREAT OBJECTIVES IN REDEMPTION!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY JANUARY 18, 2021.

SUBJECT: THE GREAT OBJECTIVES IN REDEMPTION!

Memory verse: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His Name.” (John 1 vs 12.)

READ: John 3 vs 3 - 8:

3:3: Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." 

3:4: Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"

3:5: Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 

3:6: That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. 3:7: Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' 

3:8: The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

INTIMATION:

Restoring relationship, and fellowship with God are two great objectives in redemption. Redemption is rescuing us in Christ from the conquest of sin which has separated us from God from the days of Adam. Restoring our relationship is the first while restoring fellowship follows thereafter. The fellowship was lost after Adam and Eve committed the felony at the Garden of Eden and were driven out. God is working to the end that the relationship and fellowship are restored and man may legally becomes His child, a partaker of His very nature, so that he will be a genuine heir and joint-heir with Jesus (Romans 8 vs 17).

The sin problem must be settled on legal grounds so that God will have a perfect right to impart to man His own nature, thereby making this man an absolute “New Creation.” The sin nature in man must be driven out by the nature of God coming in. Man's spirit must be in perfect harmony with the Father. Man is made up of spirit, soul and body. The part of man that had to be recreated was the spirit of man. Man must become an actual child of God, as truly as was Jesus Christ in His earthly walk. This can only come by a re-birth of the spirit of man, a real new creation of which Jesus speaks in John 3 vs 3 - 8. 

Spiritual re-birth is all God’s work through the Holy Spirit. Jesus explained that we cannot control the work of the Holy Spirit. He works in ways we cannot predict or understand. Just as we cannot predict the wind that blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. As we don't control our physical birth, so we cannot control our spiritual birth. It is a gift from God through the Holy Spirit.

The second objective of redemption is to restore to man his lost fellowship. This can only come as righteousness is restored to him. Fellowship with God can never be possible if we have sin imputed to us. It was God’s design in the beginning to be in constant fellowship with us hence He visited Adam and Eve daily at the Garden of Eden. But when they sinned, they were separated from Him and lost that fellowship. 

To restore that fellowship, God sent His only begotten Son to the world to take away sin, because He is Holy, and cannot behold sin. We therefore, have to be cleansed, and made righteous to have fellowship with Him. Consequently, God gave us His own righteousness in Christ Jesus. The Scriptures in Job 33 vs 26 states that "....For He restores to man His righteousness."

The whole redemptive process has been to the end that He might have children, and that these children should live in the closest fellowship of love and freedom with Himself. Because He is a just God, sonship, then, must be on legal grounds. There must be no question as to man's legal standing in the family of God. There can be no fellowship unless man can stand in the presence of God the Father without the consciousness of guilt, of sin, or of inferiority. There can be no fellowship of the type that the Father craves unless man is utterly free from sin consciousness and free from the fear of Satan's dominion. 

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for all You wrought for us in redemption. I remain ever grateful for the awesome privilege of adopting me as Your son, heir, and joint heir with Jesus. Endue me with the spirit of complete obedience to You in all things, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

IS YOUR FAITH ALONE?

 Is Your Faith Alone? 

“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” James 2:17 (KJV)

The Holy Scriptures give a good definition of faith: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is therefore a substance and evidence. A substance is something that can be seen and touched; evidence is something that can be seen and attested to. Therefore, if your faith as a child of God does not have a scriptural backing, it is dead. In addition, if your faith cannot be touched with your heart it is dead. Moreover, faith deals with the present and must be fueled with the declaration from God’s Word daily. Faith must not exist or abide alone; if it abides alone it becomes dead or unfruitful. Dear beloved, what are you believing God for? Do you have the faith for it? Does the Word of God or Holy Scriptures back your faith? If the Word of God backs it, then be patient and your faith will be rewarded. David backed his faith with the Word of God and acted on it to defeat Goliath (1 Samuel 17:45–50). King Saul and all Israel were afraid of Goliath, so they couldn’t gather the courage to fight him (1 Samuel 17:11). Fear, doubt, and worry are arrows that the enemy uses to neutralize our faith (Mark 11:22–24). However, if we sense them, cast them out, and act on God’s Word we are equipped with boldness to press on till our faith is rewarded. Beloved, God is a rewarder of our faith, so let us keep our faith alive by declaring His Word as many times as possible, to stir it up till it is finally rewarded. Hallelujah! Glory to God!

Prayer Point: My dear heavenly Father, thank You for stirring my faith. As I search the Holy Scriptures, please lead me to find scriptures to back my faith and keep declaring them and act on them to receive the manifestation of my faith 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. 

THE HOLY SPIRIT—OUR HELPER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY JANUARY 17, 2021.

SUBJECT: THE HOLY SPIRIT—OUR HELPER!

Memory verse: “

But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of Me

.” (John 15 vs 26.) 

READ: John 16 vs 12 - 15:

16:12: I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

16:13: However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak of His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak: and He will tell you things to come.
16:14: He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine, and declare it to you.

16:15: All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of mine and declare it to you.

INTIMATION:

The Holy Spirit is a distinct Personality in the Godhead, the Third Person in the Godhead—God the Father, God the Son, Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit. The Three Personalities are united as One the, and work together. 

When you become a Christian, you gain all the privileges and responsibilities of a child in God’s family. One of these outstanding privileges is being led by the Spirit (See Galatians 4 vs 5 - 6). We may not always feel as though we belong to God, but the Holy Spirit is our witness. His inward presence reminds us of who we are and encourages us with God’s love (Romans 5 vs 5). He is a very gentle Person, and allows us to take our choices in all things. A leading of the Spirit engenders perfection in walking in consonance with God’s commandments, and is assured of exploits in your life’s endeavors.

The Holy Spirit is very active in His operations in the world. He is in the church, haven been sent at Pentecost by the Father and by Jesus Christ (Acts 2). 

He is the Enabler of the personalities involved in the production of Holy Scripture. 

Jesus said the Holy Spirit would tell His disciples “things to come”; the nature of their mission, the opposition they would face, and the final outcome of their efforts. They did not fully understand these promises until the Holy Spirit came after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Then the Holy Spirit revealed the truths to the disciples which they wrote down in the books that now form the New Testament.

To the believer, the Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of truth.” The truth into which the Spirit guides us is the truth about Jesus Christ and His mission on earth. The Spirit also helps us through patient practice to discern right from wrong. 

The Holy Spirit is the agent of change in people when they believe the gospel. When we tell others about Christ, we must depend on the Holy Spirit to open their eyes and convince them that they need salvation. God’s power—not our cleverness or persuasion—changes people. Without the work of the Holy Spirit, our words are meaningless. The Holy Spirit not only convicts people of sin but also assured them of the truth of the gospel. 

The Holy Spirit is a powerful person on our side, working for, and with us. He will never leave us. Though the world at large cannot receive Him, but He lives with, and in the believers. He teaches us; reminds us of Jesus’ words (John 14 vs 26; 15 vs 26), convinces us of sin, shows us God’s righteousness, and announces God’s judgement on evil (John 16 vs 8); He guides us into truth and gives insight into future events (John 16 vs 13); He brings glory to Christ (John 16 vs 14). 

The Holy Spirit has been active among people from the beginning of time, but after Pentecost (Acts 2) He came to live in all believers. Many people are unaware of the Holy Spirit’s activities, but to those who hear Christ’s words and understand the Spirit’s power, the Spirit gives a whole new way to look at life.

Jesus uses two names for the Holy Spirit—“Helper” and “Spirit of truth.” The Word “Helper” conveys the helping, encouraging, and strengthening work of the Spirit. “Spirit of truth” points to the teaching, illuminating, and reminding work of the Holy Spirit. He ministers to both the head and the heart, and both dimensions are important.  Jesus promised the disciples that the Spirit would help them remember what He had been teaching them. This promise ensures the validity of the New Testament. The disciples were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ life and teachings, and the Spirit helped them remember without taking away their individual perspectives. We can be confident that the Gospels are accurate records of what Jesus taught and did. And the Spirit helps all believers in the same manner. As we study the Bible, we can trust Him to plant truth in our mind, convince us of God’s will, and remind us when we stray from it. 

In witnessing for Christ, the Holy Spirit would give us the appropriate words in our time of need. As His followers, our testimony might not make us look impressive, but it would still point out God’s work in the world through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. We need to pray for opportunities to witness for Christ, and then trust Him to help us with our words. This promise of Spirit’s help, however, does not compensate for lack of preparation. Scripture teaches that we are to make careful preparations, and thoughtful statements (Colossians 4 vs 6). 

We need to study God’s Word, t

hen the Holy Spirit will bring the truths to mind when we most need them, and help us present them in the most effective way. 

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You very much for the gift of the Holy Spirit. I call Him my ‘Senior Partner’ because He is my Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Comforter, Counselor, Standby, Strengthener, 

Encourager, and Empowerer

. O Lord, give me the grace never to miss, or quench the leading of the Holy Spirit in my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

GOD IS STILL IN THE CREATION BUSINESS!

 God Is Still in the Creation Business! 

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalms 51:10 (KJV)

Knowing that God is still in the creation business puts an end to all anxiety. The Psalmist came to a point in his life where he needed a clean heart to be created for him. Why was he asking for a new heart? He had committed a grievous sin and the only way to be restored was to have a new heart to fellowship with God again. He saw God as the creator of all things and could still create a new heart for him. Hallelujah! In the New Testament, Jesus Christ introduced a new revelation to mankind: the born again doctrine, where a person’s heart or spirit is created anew after accepting Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and Personal Savior (John 3:3). Therefore, the prayer of the Psalmist in the opening Scripture was totally or fully fulfilled in Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Praise the Lord! God is still in the creation business. Beloved, what do you need as a child of God? If God is capable of making you born again, and you become a new creation, then He is capable of creating something which is not already in existence for you (2 Corinthians 5:17). Therefore, cheer up Beloved, and worship God with all your heart, soul, and might. Ask what you want according to His Word and He will create it for you even if it is not yet in existence. He knows how to give good gifts to His children, so be patient with Him and always find a good reason to rejoice in the life He has given you. Live a life of purpose and He will supply. Hallelujah! Be an overcomer!

Prayer Point: Gracious Father, I’m so happy to hear that You are still in the creation business. I have made up my mind to live a life of purpose. I’m also patiently waiting for the supply of all my needs according to Your riches in Christ Jesus. I receive them by faith, and I know they will manifest in due time 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.

A MUST READ BOOK FOR EVERYONE.

 Seeing&Hearing the Access to Divine Direction

SEEING

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Mike .C. Boniface 

 

 

PREFACE

The moment a man fails to see the purpose he was created by his Creator that man will end up without making an impact on his generation and generation.....

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