Here Am I

Today : Here Am I

TODAY’S VERSE
“Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.’” Matthew 9:35-38 (NLT)

TODAY’S MESSAGE
Matthew gives us a glimpse into the ministry of Jesus. He heals a paralyzed man, raises a dead girl and gives sight to two men. He is exhausted feeling cramped in by all the throngs of people coming to Him for help. And yet, after all this, Jesus goes from town to town teaching, preaching and healing every disease and sickness. But then there is a dramatic shift in strategy – Jesus sees all the people harassed, helpless and needing help and then tells His disciples to pray that God would send you and I to help Him do His work. I wonder if we see the significance of Jesus’ request? He is saying that He did not come here to help and heal everyone by Himself. He came to redeem mankind, begin the process of helping mankind find the way, truth and life and then commissions you and I to take His power and ministry to the rest of the world. He has empowered you and I to aid Him in bringing His message of salvation and healing to a desperate world. The world where you and I live out our existence. Might our response be like Isaiah when he wrote, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’”

TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear Lord, I thank You for Your tireless mission of love that reached out to me. Today, I hear Your voice saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go?” How else can I respond to Your love but say, “Lord Jesus, I want to join You in Your work. Here am I. Send me!”
AMEN

TODAY’VISUALIZATION & MEDITIATION
I will serve God
Today picture Jesus after a long hard day of ministry finding you on the road as He is going to retire for the evening. He is looking for others to join Him in ministry and He looks at you and says, “Will you live for me? Will you serve others and love them as I do?” Feel the seriousness of what Jesus is asking. Let His call build up in your heart and then say, “Jesus, here I am, I will serve you!”

i Will Not Fear

 I Will Not Fear

Today : I Will Not Fear

 

TODAY’S VERSE
“The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalms 27:1 (NIV)

 

TODAY’S MESSAGE
Sometimes we just need to answer the questions. It may seem that the answers should be obvious. “Who should I fear?” It should  be rhetorical, but so often our eyes are blinded to the truth. I remember seeing a little boy who thought he was lost, start screaming. He cried hysterically and yet his father was only a few feet away. Thinking he was alone the little child was overcome with the fear of abandonment. Because of his fear he cried hysterically, so much so that he could not see his father right in front of him. It wasn’t until the dad picked him up and hugged him for a few moments that the boy took comfort in his father’s arms. Fear is like that. When we fear, it blocks out all other reality. God is with us, He is our light and salvation, and yet we act as if we are lost in utter darkness. We are in the stronghold of God’s love and yet fear blinds us from the reality of our salvation. Is this your reality? What is it that you fear? Rebuke it right now. Look into the eyes of Jesus, let His light penetrate your mind and heart. Let Him be your stronghold. Arise and walk in peace.

 

TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear Father, I admit that I let my emotions overwhelm me. I do not allow myself to fully understand what it means that You are my light, salvation and stronghold. Forgive me Lord. I want Your peace. I want Your joy. I want to know You more fully. Even today let me experience Your presence in my life. I ask You to make me fully aware of Your love and power. In Jesus’ name.
AMEN

 

TODAY’VISUALIZATION & MEDITIATION
I will not fear
Fear is a mighty emotion. Today see yourself in fear. Picture you coming to God with it and asking for His peace and joy. Sense His strength, His power and His desire to help you. As you give Him your fear, you can feel His presence and peace come over you. With confidence you affirm, “I will not fear!”

WAIT FOR GOD’S APPOINTED AND PERFECT TIME!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY JANUARY 08, 2022.

SUBJECT : WAIT FOR GOD’S APPOINTED AND PERFECT TIME!

Memory verse: "For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie: though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” (Habakkuk 2 vs 3.) 

READ: Daniel 8 vs 16 - 19:

8:16: And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, “Gabriel make this man understand the vision.”

8:17: So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.”

8:18: Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he touched me, and stood me upright.

8:19: And He said, “Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation, for at the appointed time the end shall be.

INTIMATION:

God is our Creator, and is 'All-Knowing’—perfect in knowledge. The end of all things are known to Him from the beginning (Isaiah 46 vs 10.). Even when we are yet unformed in our mother’s womb, He knew us and everything about us. God created all things, and planned all things according to His purpose and timing; "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”

(Ecclesiastes 3 vs 1). And at the fullness of His time—at His appointed time—He will cause things to happen according to His predetermined purposes. For this reason, He is always on time. He planned the time, and does His bidding at the fullness of the planned time, in accordance with His purposes and knowledge of us. 

God is perfect (Matthew 5 vs 48), and consequently, everything about Him is perfect. 

He knows us better than we know ourselves, and He knows us perfectly. We may sometimes wonder if God will ever respond to our prayers. But we must never doubt Him or give up hope. At the right time He will respond. Trust His judgement and trust that He has your best interests in mind (Jeremiah 29 vs 11). God is omnipresent—He is present everywhere. Consequently, you can never escape from His Spirit. 

From our perspective, God sometimes seems slow to intervene on our behalf. But what might appear slow to us is good timing from God’s perspective. It is easy to become impatient while waiting for God to act, but we must never give up on Him. When God is silent and you are in deep anguish, be patient and know that “all things work together for good to those that love God, to those who are the called according to His “ (Romans 8 vs 28). All you need do is sit down and review your life; what God has done for you, and also review the great acts of God throughout biblical history. This will remind you that God is at work, not only in history, but also in your life today.

God will act when He is ready. For instance, children have difficulty grasping the concept of time. “It’s not time yet” is not a reason they easily understand because they only comprehend the present. And as His children, and as limited human beings, we can’t understand God’s perspective about time. We want everything now, unaware that God’s timing is better. When God is ready, He will do what needs to be done, not what we would like Him to do. We may be as impatient as children, but we must not doubt the wisdom of God’s timing. Wait for God to reveal His plan. Don’t take matters into your own hands.

God’s answer doesn’t always come the moment we want it. but God answers us when He knew the right time had come. God knows the best time to act. When you feel that God has forgotten you in your troubles, remember that God has a time schedule we can’t see. God may have seemed slow to you when in distress, and every day longed to be delivered. But God is not slow, He is just not on our timetable. God is not limited by time. It is easy for us to get discouraged when years pass and the world doesn’t get better. But for God, He can never be discouraged, and at the appointed time the change will come.

We sometimes wonder if God is able to see the future. But don’t assume that God has our limitations. God is completely unrestricted by time. Because He is eternal, we can depend on Him. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently for it, for surely it will take place, if God has assured about it. Of course, it isn’t easy to be patient but, “though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come.” (Habakkuk 2 vs 3.) We must trust God even when we don’t understand why events occur as they do.

For instance, who will imagine the Savior of the world working in a small-town carpenter’s shop until He was 30 years old! It seems incredible that Jesus would have been content to remain in Nazareth all that time, but He patiently trusted His Father’s timing for His life and ministry. Like Jesus, we need to resist the temptation to jump ahead before receiving the Spirit’s direction. Are you waiting and wondering what your next step should be? Don’t jump ahead—trust God’s timing.

Jesus in His ministry walk on the earth, demonstrated God’s timing in events when His friend Lazarus was sick and died. He loved this family and often stayed with them. He knew their pain but did not respond immediately. His delay had a specific purpose. He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” (John 11 vs 14.) God’s timing, especially His delays, may make us think He is not answering or is not answering the way we want. But He will meet all our needs according to His perfect schedule and purpose (Philippians 4 vs 19.) Patiently await His timing. 

God is with us through every situation, in every trial; protecting, loving, guiding us (Psalm 46 vs 1; 59 vs 16), and has promised He would never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13 vs 5), and will be with us always, even up to the end of age (Matthew 28 vs 20). He knows and loves us completely. 

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my Faithful Companion, and Loving Father. I know You have the best plan and time for me. Let it be to me according to Your appointed and perfect timing, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD! 

Worship Him

 Worship Him

Today : Worship Him

 

TODAY’S VERSE
“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” Psalms 27:4 (NIV)

 

TODAY’S MESSAGE
Have you ever went somewhere and hated to leave? Have you ever enjoyed something so much that you did not want it to stop? Is there anything in your life that has become that “one thing”? This is what David felt about his relationship with God. If we had to choose a word to describe David, it would be  “worshipper.” David really loved God. He was sold out to Jehovah. So much so that if he had to choose just “one thing,” it would be to worship God all the time. What about you? What role does the worship of God play in your life? Is it just an hour of church on Sunday? That wasn’t enough for David. If he could, he would have stayed in the Temple of God worshipping all the time! The good news is that we don’t have to go to a Temple to worship God. We are the temple. Our body is His temple and our heart is an altar for worship. We can stop anytime, anywhere and gaze upon His beauty in the quietness of our own soul. Bring your praise and adoration to Him in your own temple throughout the day and night. Let loving God and living for Him become your “one thing.”

 

TODAY’S PRAYER
Lord, I admit I have been preoccupied with so many things that worshipping You has taken a back seat in my life. I am so sorry. I do love You. I really do want to get my priorities right. Help me know and love You more and more until worshipping You becomes the “one thing” in my life. In Jesus’ name.
AMEN

 

TODAY’S VISUALIZATION & MEDITIATION
I will mediate on God and all that He is
Picture yourself like David in the temple. Quiet yourself and “gaze” upon His beauty. See Him with your heart. Focus on His love, His power and His majesty.  Let the presence of God fill you as you sit quietly and worship Him. How beautiful, how kind, how loving, how mighty, how compassionate, how understanding God is. Affirm, “I will mediate on God and all that He is.”

MONEY STEWARDSHIP IN GODLINESS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY JANUARY 07, 2022.

SUBJECT : MONEY STEWARDSHIP IN GODLINESS!

Memory verse: "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.” (Luke 16 vs 9.)

READ: Luke 16 vs 10 - 13:

16:10: He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 

16:11: Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 

16:12: And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?

16:13: No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

INTIMATION:

Godliness is likeness to God; it’s to be devout, and denotes that piety which is characterized by a Godward attitude—doing those things that is well-pleasing to God. Money relates to financial matters, while a steward is one entrusted with managing of another person's property or affairs. Money stewardship comprises of handling or management of money matters. 

There are Scriptural principles on money stewardship in godliness. The importance of this subject is reflected in how much the Scriptures teach about it. The Bible has more to say about money than most Bible doctrines like heaven and hell or faith and prayer. The influence of money in our lives is very real, so it isn't surprising that Jesus taught more on the subject of money than any other single topic. He taught more of managing resources than He did on prayer or even faith. As you will learn, seeing yourself as a steward of God's resources is the only way to true financial freedom.

I know that money is a sore subject that a lot of people want to avoid, but in my considered opinion, learning how God views money and possessions is basic Christianity. Our integrity often meets its match in money matters. Jesus used money and people's attitude towards money to reveal their hearts. We are to make use of the money opportunities we have in a godly manner. God is the Owner of the world, and all its fullness. He gives you power to get the wealth. Therefore, all that you have is entrusted to you by the Owner—God. It’s rational and right to manage those resources entrusted to you to the benefit of the Owner. 

God established the earthly kingdom for His purpose. He created us to serve and obey Him. Wisdom demands that you serve Him even with the resources entrusted to you. Therefore, spend your money unselfishly; in advancing His kingdom; helping those in need, to help others find Christ. When it is used rightly as God wills, then your earthly investment will bring you eternal benefit. Use your resources which are temporal, to gain those things that are eternal. Investment in kingdom advancement programs is investing in the vineyard of God; it helps you to build your heavenly treasures that are eternal.

Money and material possessions within themselves are not wrong. What can be wrong is how they were acquired and idolized. It is not the money that is evil, but the love and selfish use of it. It is not wrong to be rich, but riches are wrong when they lead one into sin. Your attitude toward it determines your godliness in its use. Lovers of money and possessions are not faithful to God in what they acquired. They could not be good stewards of God’s heritage because they had proved themselves dishonest with what is entrusted to them by God. 

If one cannot be trusted with the correct use of material things, he cannot be trusted to do right if entrusted with the care of the flock of God. Therefore, one’s correct use of material things will determine one’s right to eternal life. God calls us to be honest even in small details we could easily rationalize away. A man’s faithfulness is measured by what he does with what he has. 

Heaven's riches are far more valuable than earthly wealth. But if you are not trustworthy with your money here (no matter how much or little we have), you will be unfit to handle the vast riches of God's kingdom. Most people are enslaved by money; instead of money serving them, they serve money. Money has the power to take God's place in our life. It can become your master. How can you tell if you are a slave to money? (1) Do you think or worry about it frequently? (2) Do you give up doing what you should do or would like to do in order to make more money? (3) Do you spend a great deal of your time caring for your possessions? (4) Is it hard for you to give money away? (5)Are you in debt?

One cannot take his possessions with him into the dwelling of the new heavens and earth, but he can take the results of his giving. Money is a hard master and a deceptive one. Wealth promises power and control, but often it cannot deliver. Great fortunes can be made and lost overnight, and no amount of money can provide health, happiness, or eternal life.

Prayer: Abba Father, my utmost heart desire is to serve You, even with the resources You entrust to my care. Engrace me with the wisdom to manage all entrusted to my care in a godly manner, that I may be rewarded with eternity with You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Perfect Peace

 Perfect Peace

Today : Perfect Peace

 

TODAY’S VERSE
“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” Isaiah 26:3 (NLT)

 

TODAY’S THOUGHT

Perfect peace. I have a hard time comprehending that. Perfect peace. I take a deep relaxing breath just thinking about it. That is what God is promising us if we trust in Him. Why? Because He is trustworthy! He can be trusted. But trusting is more than just saying we trust Him. Isaiah qualifies the kind of trust we need to have perfect peace. It is the trust that keeps our thoughts fixed on God. Fixed on His love. Fixed on His compassion. Fixed on His grace. Fixed on His provision. Fixed on His promises. Fixed on His almighty power. Today, let’s experience that perfect peace. We can start right now by fixing our thoughts on Him and keeping them there throughout the day.

 

TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear Lord, I desire Your perfect peace! Please help me trust in You by focusing my attention on You and all that You will provide to get me through this day. Please, Lord, when my thoughts wander and peace starts to flee, nudge me and help me to refocus on You again. Thank You. In Jesus’ Name.
AMEN

 

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION & MEDITATION
I will focus on God with all my heart
Take a deep breath and see yourself alone with all the time in the world. No deadlines, no pressures, no responsibilities. You have the time so you begin to focus on God. You let Him fill your mind. You think of His love, His peace, His purposes for you. You begin to see His power, His might, His infiniteness. As you think on Him you begin to sense a peace and joy. You sense His love for you and you want more. You want more of God so you focus on Him again. Today let this be a taste. Let this be the beginning of focused attention on God.

SURRENDER TOTALLY TO GOD IN FAITH!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY JANUARY 06, 2022.

SUBJECT: SURRENDER TOTALLY TO GOD IN FAITH!

Memory verse: "My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him." (Psalm 62 vs 5.)

READ: Genesis 22 vs 1 - 10:

22:1: Now it came to pass after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

22:2: Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I shall tell you.”

22:3: So Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and split the wood for the burnt offering, and rose and went to the place of which God had told him.

22:4: Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

22:5: And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”

22:6: So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it on His Son Isaac; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and the two of them together.

22:7: But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father, and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

22:8: And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.

22:9: Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.

22:10: And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

INTIMATION:

Surrendering totally to God in faith means to yield completely to Him in faith. Surrendering to God is not passive resignation, fatalism, or an excuse to relax, or laziness. It is not accepting the status quo. It means the exact opposite: sacrificing faithfully your life to God. It can occasion suffering in order to change what needs to be changed. Surrendering totally to God in faith makes an overcomer in all aspects of life because your life is lived by the Owner and Sustainer of that life. 

God often calls surrendered people to do battle on His behalf. Surrendering is for soldiers of Christ, not for cowards. Likewise it does not mean giving up rational thinking. God would not waste the mind He gave you! God does not want robots to serve Him. It is not repressing your personality. Rather than its being diminished, surrendering enhances it. 

The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become because He made us. He invented all the different people you and I intended to be. It is when we turn to Christ, when we give up ourselves to His personality, that we first begin to have a real personality of our own. 

Surrendering is best demonstrated in obedience. You say, "yes, Lord" to whatever He asks of you. Surrendered people obey God's Word, even if it doesn't make sense. For instance Peter demonstrated the act of surrender in faith when he obeyed the instruction of Jesus, after a whole night of toiling without success: "Master, we have toiled and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net." (Luke 5 vs 5.) 

Another aspect of a fully surrendered life is faith or trust. Abraham followed God's leading without knowing where it would take him. In the passage we read today, there was no debate with God from Abraham. There was no sleepless night, for he rose up early in order to carry out the introductions of the command. Sarah, the wife, was not informed of the matter, for Abraham told no one what transpired. He simply prepared for the journey and for the sacrifice, and then headed for the God-appointed location. 

When Abraham looked up after three days journey and saw, at a distance, Moriah, the appointed place of the sacrifice, he told the servants to stay back while he continued with his son Isaac, and said to them, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” Take note of the “We.” Though Abraham had no previous experience of a bodily resurrection, he trusted that God would resurrect the body he would put to death hence his use of the word “we.”: In Hebrews 11 vs 19, the Scripture says of Abraham, “He concluded that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also figuratively received him back.” 

Again when Isaac wondered concerning what animal they would use for the sacrifice, Abraham’s response was, “God will provide.” Abraham’s faith, therefore, went to the limit of trusting that God in the final minute would provide the sacrifice. And so He did. In his obedience, he demonstrated raw faith and total surrendering to God and His Will.

The supreme example of self-surrendered life is in Jesus. The night before His crucifixion Jesus surrendered Himself to God's plan. He prayed, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will." (Mark 14 vs 36.) Jesus didn't pray, "God, if you are able to take away this pain, please do so." He had already affirmed that God can do anything! Instead he prayed, "God, if it is in your best interest to remove this suffering, please do so. But if it fulfills your purpose, that's what I want, too."

The most difficult area to surrender for many people is their money. Many have thought, "I want to live for God but I also want to earn enough money to live comfortably and retire someday." Retirement is not the goal of a surrendered life, because it competes with God for the primary attention of our lives. Jesus said, "You cannot serve both God and money" (Matthew 6 vs 24), and "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6 vs 21). 

We live in a materialistic society where many people serve money. They spend all their lives chasing after money, collecting, and storing it, only to die and leave it behind. Their desire for money far outweighs their commitment to God and spiritual matters. Whatever you store up you will spend much of your time and energy thinking about. I advice that you do not fall into the materialistic trap, because "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" (First Timothy 6 vs 10). Can you honestly say that God, not money, is your master? One test is to ask which one takes more of your thoughts, time, and efforts.

Genuine surrender in faith says, "Father, if this problem, pain, sickness, or circumstance is needed to fulfill your purpose and glory in my life or in another's, please don't take it away.” This level of maturity does not come easy. In Jesus' case, He agonized so much over God's plan that He sweat drops of blood. Surrender is hard work. In our case, it is intense warfare against our self-centered nature.

Prayer: Abba Father, I surrender totally to You. Yours I am, and Yours I want to be, do with me as it is pleasing to You, and give me the grace to follow with raw obedience of faith, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen

PRAISE THE LORD!