CONQUERING FEAR!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2024.

SUBJECT : CONQUERING FEAR!

Memory verse: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind.” (Second Timothy 1 vs 7.)

READ:  Exodus 14 vs 10 - 14:

14:10: And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were very afraid: and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD.

14:11: Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt?

14:12: Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, “Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than we should die in the wilderness.

14:13: And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see them again no more forever.

14:14: The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”

INTIMATION:

Fear is the feeling of of great worry or anxiety or apprehension about something caused by knowledge of danger. We often build up events in our minds and then panic over what might go wrong. Fear is the greatest weapon of the devil. Fear neutralizes our effectiveness for God. Several places in the Bible God has told us not to be afraid . The reason is that God does not ask us to go where He has not provided the means to help. When you follow God’s leading, trust Him to supply courage, confidence, and resources at the right moment.

Fear is a dark shadow that envelops us and ultimately imprisons us within ourselves. Everyone has been a prisoner of fear at one time or another; fear of rejection, misunderstanding, uncertainty, sickness, or even death. But we can conquer fear by trusting in the Lord, who brings salvation. If we want to dispel the darkness of fear, let us remember that the Lord is our light and our salvation.

Throughout the Bible we find this phrase ‘Do not be afraid!’ God isn’t trying to scare the people. He is showing His mighty power so the people would know He is the true God and would therefore obey Him. If they would do this, He would make His power available to them. God wants us to follow Him out of love rather than fear. To overcome fear, we must think more about His love. First John 4 vs 18 says, “Perfect love casts out fear.” 

When new situations or surroundings frighten you, recognize that experiencing fear is normal. The pressure of the situation can cause us to freeze and do nothing. To be paralyzed by fear, however, is an indication that you question God’s ability to take care of you. Fear can immobilize us. Don’t let the fear of what might happen cause you to miss an opportunity. One remedy for fear is found here: don’t focus on the fear; instead, get started. Getting started is often the most difficult and frightening part of a task. 

When we allow fear to rule us, we make fear more powerful than God. God is greater than all your fears. Recognizing why you are afraid is the first step in committing your fear to God. When you experience fear, don’t try to deal with it yourself, rather let Jesus deal with it. In times of fear and uncertainty, it is calming to know that Christ is always with you (Matthew 28 vs 20.) To recognize Christ’s presence is the antidote for fear.

We often face spiritual and emotional storms and feel tossed about like a small boat on a big lake. In spite of terrifying circumstances, we should trust our lives to Christ for His safekeeping. When you fear what lies ahead, remember that God will stay with you through difficult times and that He has promised you great blessings. He will give us peace in any storm. The power of the Holy Spirit can help us overcome our fear of what some might say or do to us so that we can continue to do God’s work.

In any struggle, fear can keep us from taking a stand for God and from participating in God’s victories. Face your fear head-on. Find other believers along the way who are worth standing beside through thick and thin. If you are grounded in God, victory will come when you hold that ground.

Have you ever felt surrounded by the “enemy” or faced overwhelming odds? God is never intimidated by the size of the enemy or the complexity of a problem. With Him, there are always enough resources to resist the pressures and win the battle. The way to bringing peace to a troubled heart is to focus on God’s promises. Trust Him to do what He says. Faith is a mind-set that expects God to act. When we act on this expectation, we can overcome our fears. When we follow God regardless of the difficulties, we demonstrate courageous overcoming faith. 

Fear of opposition or ridicule can weaken our witness for Christ. Often we cling to peace and comfort, even at the cost of our walk with God. We should fear only God who controls eternal, not merely temporal, circumstances. God is with us as we face our new challenges. We may not conquer nations, but every day we face tough situations, difficult people, and temptations. God promises, however, that He will never abandon us or fail to help us. By asking God to direct us we can conquer many life’s challenges.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my light, my salvation, and the strength of my life, in You I live, and move, and have my being. Endue with the spirit of boldness and courage, that I may stand tall in Christ, being an active and effective witness of Jesus Christ. Give me the grace to finish strong in my journey of life in You, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

OUR NEED TO PRAY ALWAYS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 26, 2024.

SUBJECT : OUR NEED TO PRAY ALWAYS!

Memory verse: "Men ought always to pray and not faint." (Luke 18 vs 1.) 

READ: Matthew 26 vs 41; Luke 21 vs 36:

Matthew 26:41: Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Luke 21:36: Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.

INTIMATION:

Prayer is to make supplication or petition to God. It is the voice of faith to the Father, and the call of love of the Father to come and fellowship with Him. Prayer is our need crying out for help. Prayer therefore, is born out of the sense of need, and the assurance that the need will be met.

The Father's heart is hungry for the companionship of His children. His heart hunger is the reason for man and his redemption. God wants a constant fellowship with His children. It was His plan from the beginning hence He visited Adam everyday in the Garden. He loves us and that love impels Him to call us to prayer. It is the desire of the Father that His children approach Him in prayer.

It is God's Will that His children will come to His 'Throne Room,' to stand in His presence  without reproof or condemnation. It is for this reason that Jesus Christ, while teaching His disciples how to pray, said, "When you pray" (Matthew 6 vs 5), and not "if you pray." It is God's intention that His children will always be with their Father, and the children coming joyously into the presence of their Loving Parent are welcome. He  taught us to pray, He is one with us in this prayer life. Prayer is part of God's program for us.

Prayer is calling constantly for the leading of the LORD, and such leading helps us avoid temptation, and deliverance from evil (Matthew 6 vs 13). It helps us overcome the weakness of the flesh, and empowers us to escape all the things that will come to pass, making us worthy to stand before Christ.  Prayer is the natural response of those who realize their need for the help of God in their lives.

Prayer is the vital contact with the Father, and we are near enough to breathe in His very presence. Prayer means that we have come boldly into the ‘Throne Room’ and are standing in the presence of the Father and Jesus in an executive meeting, laying our needs before them and making our requisitions for ability, and grace to meet whatever our needs may be.

Therefore, to remain in the presence of God, and be led by Him always calls for persistence in prayer. To persist in prayer and not give up, or praying without ceasing, does not mean endless repetition or painfully long prayer sessions. Emphasis here is not on a continued action of prayer, but on a continued attitude of prayer. In other words the Christian should be in a state of mind that he or she can at all times take part in the action of praying to the Father. This is an attitude at all times that is conducive to offering prayer to God.

Always praying means keeping our requests constantly before God as we live for Him day by day, believing He will answer. When we live by faith, we are not to give up. As we persist in prayer we grow in character, faith, and hope. Christians should maintain a lifestyle that lends itself to prayer. It is through prayer that not only the inward man is strengthened but also the work of God is called upon by the disciple to function in his or her life.

When we pray, we are in constant communication with the Father and it enriches us spiritually. We touch the Father through our prayers, and there cannot be any touching of the Master without the Master knowing it. When our need touches Him, it makes a demand upon His ability and grace to meet that need (see Luke 8 vs 40 - 48). It is the nature of spiritual life to maintain communication with God. Christians should not allow themselves to be trapped in circumstances of mental attitudes that would hinder their communication with God.

Prayer: Abba Father, give ear to my words, and to the voice of my cry consider my meditation, my King and my God. To You will I pray, my voice You shall hear in the morning, and at all times I will direct it to You, and will look up to You, from where my help comes, O LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. Endue me with the spirit of continual supplication to You in all circumstances, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Live Confident in God’s Sovereign Power

 Live Confident in God’s Sovereign Power

The immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe . . . (Ephesians 1:19)

The omnipotence of God means eternal, unshakable refuge in the everlasting glory of God no matter what happens on this earth. And that confidence is the source and power of radical obedience to the call of God. 

Is there anything more freeing, more thrilling, or more strengthening than the truth that God Almighty is your refuge — all day, every day, in all the ordinary and extraordinary experiences of life?

If we believed this, if we really let this truth of God’s omnipotence get hold of us, what a difference it would make in our personal lives and in our ministries! How humble and powerful we would become for the saving purposes of God! 

The omnipotence of God means refuge for the people of God. And when you really believe that your refuge is the omnipotence of God Almighty, there is a joy and a freedom and a power that spills over in a life of radical obedience to Jesus Christ.

The omnipotence of God means reverence, recompense, and refuge for his covenant people. 

I invite you to accept the terms of his covenant of grace: Turn from sin and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ; and the omnipotence of God Almighty will be the reverence of your soul, the recompense of your enemies, and the refuge of your life The immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe . . . (Ephesians 1:19)

The omnipotence of God means eternal, unshakable refuge in the everlasting glory of God no matter what happens on this earth. And that confidence is the source and power of radical obedience to the call of God. 

Is there anything more freeing, more thrilling, or more strengthening than the truth that God Almighty is your refuge — all day, every day, in all the ordinary and extraordinary experiences of life?

If we believed this, if we really let this truth of God’s omnipotence get hold of us, what a difference it would make in our personal lives and in our ministries! How humble and powerful we would become for the saving purposes of God! 

The omnipotence of God means refuge for the people of God. And when you really believe that your refuge is the omnipotence of God Almighty, there is a joy and a freedom and a power that spills over in a life of radical obedience to Jesus Christ.

The omnipotence of God means reverence, recompense, and refuge for his covenant people. 

I invite you to accept the terms of his covenant of grace: Turn from sin and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ; and the omnipotence of God Almighty will be the reverence of your soul, the recompense of your enemies, and the refuge of your life — forever.

— forever.

Marriage Partner.

 Today, we're praying for God's ordained marriage partner. Marriage is institution ordained by God. God knows best for us.

Prayer Points.

 1 Holy Spirit of God, empower my marriage to manifest physically, in the name of Jesus.  -

2.  - Every power that want my man to think that I am the one responsible for her downfall, die, in Jesus name.

3.  - I refuse to marry out of desperation, out of pity, in the name of Jesus.

4  - Any power that want my man to feel that I am a witch, die by fire, in the name of Jesus.

5  - Every evil dedication and covenant working against my marriage, break and release me, in Jesus name.

6  - With the blood of Jesus, I cut off myself from every evil inheritance hindering my marriage, in Jesus name.

7  - You the door of my marriage that has been shut, be opened to me now, in the name of Jesus.

8  - Whosoever that is bringing bad luck to my relationship with this person, be exposed by fire, in Jesus name.

9  - Every evil pattern covering my face and the face of my destiny lover from seeing me, I set you on fire, burn to ashes, in the name of Jesus.

10  - Every wicked curse that want me to prepare for marriage but not to experience it, break, and release me today, in the name of Jesus.

11  - Every foundational bondage holding down my destiny partner from locating me, break and release her / him, in Jesus name.

12  - You that strongman that is making my search for a husband/wife a wasted efforts, be frustrated.

13   - Every evil chain tying down my marriage break and scatter, in the name of Jesus.

14  - O Lord, make a way for me concerning my marriage, relationship with my partner, in Jesus name.

15  - My Father, arise and locate a marriage partner to me, in Jesus name.

Life Hangs on the Word of God

 Life Hangs on the Word of God

He said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” (Deuteronomy 32:46–47)

The word of God is not a trifle; it is a matter of life and death. If you treat the Scriptures as a trifle or as empty words, you forfeit life.

Even our physical life depends on God’s word, because by his word we were created (Psalm 33:6; Hebrews 11:3), and “he upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3).

And our spiritual life begins by the word of God: “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth” (James 1:18). “You have been born again . . . through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Peter 1:23).

Not only do we begin to live by God’s word, but we also go on living by God’s word: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3).

So our physical life is created and upheld by the word of God, and our spiritual life is quickened and sustained by the word of God. How many stories could be gathered to bear witness to the life-giving power of the word of God!

Indeed, the Bible is “no empty word for you” — it is your life! The foundation of all joy is life. Nothing is more fundamental than sheer existence — our creation and our preservation. 

All this is owing to the word of God’s power. By that same power, he has spoken in Scripture for the creation and sustenance of our spiritual life. Therefore, the Bible is no empty word, but is your very life — the foundation and kindling of your joy!

THE GREATEST NEED OF MAN.

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 25, 2024.

SUBJECT : THE GREATEST NEED OF MAN.

Memory verse: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6 vs 33.) 

READ: Mark 8 vs 34 - 38:

8:34: When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take his cross, and follow Me.

8:35: For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.

8:36: For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 

8:37: Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

8:38: For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."

INTIMATION:

Human beings have always seen their greatest need as financial. Governments and their leaders, businesses, families, even churches get trapped into thinking in the same manner, and that money is the answer to every problem. Though, the Bible states that "Money answers everything" (Ecclesiastes 10 vs 19), it is not the greatest need of man. The greatest need of man is God's kingdom, and His righteousness, and all other of man’s needs, including financial, will be added to man (Matthew 6 vs 33).

God should be first in all things. In the passage we read today, Jesus said, a man's soul is worth more than the entire world. The exchange of your soul for the world's possessions is a huge loss. Invariably, the soul is worth more than the whole world. And to ensure the safety of your soul, you must come to the point where you are willing to give up everything to follow God. The profit to be gained from doing God's Will is more than just spiritual; it is total, and in all aspects of life, and to eternity. 

Our willingness to lose our lives for the sake of the gospel, is not because our lives are useless, but because nothing—not even life itself—can compare to what we gain with Christ. Jesus wants us to choose to follow Him rather than to lead a life of sin and self-satisfaction. He wants us to stop trying to control our own destiny and to let him direct us. This makes good sense because, as our Creator, our Maker, Christ knows better than we do of what real life is about. He asks for our submission, not self-hatred; He asks us only to lose our self-centered determination to be in charge, instead of yielding to Him.

To "seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness" means to put God first in your life, to fill your thoughts with His desires, to take His character for your pattern, and to serve and obey Him in everything. Obviously, in our lives, people, objects, goals, and other desires all compete for priority attention. Any of these can quickly become most important to you if you don't actively choose to give God first place in every area of your life. Therefore, never allow your natural human desires and feelings overshadow God's purpose in your life.

Jesus said, however, that worldliness, which is centered on possessions, position, or power, is ultimately worthless. Whatever you have on earth is only temporary, and will one day be burned away: "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up." (Second Peter 3 vs 10.)

Realizing that the earth is going to be burned up, we should put our confidence in what is lasting and eternal, and not be bound to earth and its treasures or pursuits. We should strive to develop Christlike character, rather than spend more of our time piling up possessions. Whatever you have on earth is only temporary; it cannot be exchanged for your soul. Your greatest need is not possessions culminating in pleasurable living, your greatest need is your relationship with your Creator, and it is the only thing that follows you and qualifies you for abundant life here on earth, and to have eternal life with Him as well.

We are left here with a choice; reject Jesus now and be rejected by Him at His second coming, or accept Him now and be accepted by Him then. Rejecting Christ may help you escape shame for the time being, but it will guarantee an eternity of shame later.

Prayer: Abba Father, life in You engenders abundance, and culminates in eternal life with You. Help me, in my utmost heart desire, for an intimate relationship with You, that You will be first in life in all things, and at all times, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Jesus’s Pursuit of Joy

 Jesus’s Pursuit of Joy

[Look] to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)

Does the example of Jesus contradict the principle of Christian Hedonism? Namely, that love is the way of joy and that one should choose it for that very reason, lest one be found begrudging obedience to the Almighty or chafing under the privilege of being a channel of grace or belittling the promised reward.

Hebrews 12:2 seems to say fairly clearly that Jesus did not contradict this principle.

The greatest labor of love that ever happened was possible because Jesus pursued the greatest imaginable joy, namely, the joy of being exalted to God’s right hand in the assembly of a redeemed people: “For the joy that was set before him [he] endured the cross!”

In saying this, the writer means to give Jesus as another example, along with the saints of Hebrews 11, of those who are so eager for and confident in the joy God offers that they reject the “fleeting pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25) and choose ill-treatment in order to be aligned with God’s will.

It is not unbiblical, therefore, to say that at least part of what sustained Christ in the dark hours of Gethsemane was the hope of joy beyond the cross. This does not diminish the reality and greatness of his love for us, because the joy in which he hoped was the joy of leading many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10).

His joy is in our redemption, which redounds to God’s glory. We share the joy with Jesus and God gets the glory.