NOW OR NEVER!

Memorise:

I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. John 9:4

Read:

2 Corinthians 6:1-2

On earth, certain things are urgent and as a result, must be attended to immediately. Among such things are kingdom assignments. When God gives you an assignment to do, the realisation of the brevity of life should compel you to hasten its performance. 1 Samuel 21:8 says the king's business demands haste. If the errands of earthly kings require haste, how much more that of the King of kings. While on earth, the Lord Jesus never wasted time while attending to His Father's business, hence He said in John 9:4:

"I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work."

You can hear the sense of urgency in the voice of the Master. Souls must be saved now not tomorrow. You must give now. That tithe must paid now: That convert must be visited now. That praying and fasting must be done now. Working with a sense of time means operating a NOW philosophy, just like it is done in Heaven. In the Heavenly planet, you do not have tomorrow appointment but a now appointment.

"For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted,and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."2 Corinthians 6:2

Certain heavenly priorities cannot wait for earth's time schedule. Everything has its appointed time and season (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Anything done outside its season may be completely void of its supposed benefits. The soul you fail to win to Christ this moment, may be called home to face an eternity without Christ the next moment.

DESTINATION OF SIN

DESTINATION OF SIN 

Memorise: But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whore mongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. 

Revelation 21:8

READ: Romans 6:21-23

Bible in one year: 1 Kings 13-15

This season, all will be well with you if you allow the Lord Jesus Christ to take charge over your life and situation. Are you poor or desperately in need? Poverty will soon become a thing of the past in your life because Philippians 4:19 says God will supply all your needs according to His heavenly abundance. In other words, even when your personal, local or national economy is out of shape, God's heavenly economy continues to bubble: it never goes out of shape. If somebody tells you that you cannot achieve your God- given goal because you are out of funds, tell the fellow that the One who commissioned you on that assignment never runs out of funds. The Lord will provide for every task He has given you to do this season. He will also supply the needed strength because Philippians 4:13 says you can achieve virtually anything because of the strength Jesus supplies. You shall not lack both spiritual and physical strength with which to serve the Lord this year.

Our assurance that all will be well is also hinged on the fact that the Lord deals with problems starting from its root. Romans 6:23 says,

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord?

The immediate or remote destination of any act of sin is death. A thief who is caught stealing may be shot dead. A fornicator who sleeps with one who is not his or her spouse could contract venereal diseases or even the AIDS virus, which can culminate in death. What of anger, malice and bitterness? If you take stock of those who died prematurely, you will be shocked to know how many people are victims of these sins. Hypertension, high blood pressure, heart failure, heartache, and some other sudden death dispensers have their links with such emotional sins. Even lies, no matter how small, tiny or insignificant will keep the sinner from heaven and cause the fellow to die the second death (Revelation 21:8). So when God says you should keep away from sin, He is only making a clarion call to life; He wants you to live. For you to live, you must deal with the problem of sin in your life. Any sin that is present in your life is simply leading you to hell. Break away from it today!

Prayer point: Father, according to Romans 6:12, Let sin no longer reign over my spirit, soul or body. Lord, terminate sin's death mission in my life.

MOVE YOUR SPOUSE ALONG

MOVE YOUR SPOUSE ALONG

Memorise:

We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please. ourselves. Romans 15:1

Read:

Job 2:8-10

It is not everyone who starts a race that reaches the finishing line, no matter how skilful they may be. 1 Corinthians 9:24 says,

"Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one

receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain."

The race we are called to run is a peculiar one, hence Ecclesiastes 9:11 says the race will not necessarily be won by the fastest, nor the battle won by the one adjudged the strongest. Why is it that one way or another some people will fall by the way side? It is because that is Satan's special assignment.

There are certain ways the devil could get a Heaven-bound believer to derail from his trip. It could be through one's spouse or partner. In Genesis 16:1-3, Abraham got into big trouble when he took the counsel of his wife. Today, the problem we are having in the world between the Muslims and the Christians is as a result of that advise. Before accepting an advice from your partner, cross check it with the Word of God. This is why ministers of the Gospel must encourage their wives to grow spiritually as they move up the ecclesiastical ladder; otherwise, they can become a drag on them. When a pastor is going up but fails to carry his wife along, the day he crashes, he will find himself at the level his wife is. As a righteous and God-fearing as Job was, he could not carry his wife along. The aftermath was that when he was going through his trial, instead of encouragement, his wife discouraged him, advised him to curse God so that when God kills him, she will be free to marry someone else. That was the level Job left her.

Thank God he did not heed the evil advice of his wife. Beloved, this simply shows that your true level is that of your wife. Take time to work on her prayerfully, patiently with everything you can use to motivate her to climb up the spiritual ladder. If you can do this, if you crash, she will help you up.

Bible in one year:

1 King 9-12

KEY POINT:

In ministry, if you relegate your wife to the background, all in the name of being head, you are shooting yourself in the foot. 

EVANGELISM: WHAT PACKAGING?

Monday 25th February,2

Memorise:

The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. John 4:15

Read: 

John 4:7-15

In today's bible reading, we see that our Lord Jesus Christ while sitting by a well asked for water from a woman that came by the well to draw some water. In other words, Jesus asked her for a favour. He used this approach to start a conversation with her. The lesson here is that although there are several approaches in evangelising, there is a right approach for each person that can easily deliver the message and win that soul to Christ. This requires you to be led of the Holy Spirit in order to know the right approach for everyone you meet.

In addition, we see that even though the Samaritans and the Jews had no dealings with each other, the Lord Jesus broke the ice when it came to evangelism. John 3:16 says He came for the whole world and consequently He does not want any of His creatures to be lost. There are some Christians who have the opportunity to share the good news of the Gospel with certain unfriendly folks, but deliberately refuse to, because they prefer they died in sin and went to hell than hear the Gospel, become saved and go to Heaven. They are the brothers of Jonah! Don't forget that the gospel should not only be preached to our friends and relations but also to our enemies. As far as the Gospel is concerned, there is no enemy other than Satan and his cohorts. Any enemy you preach to that yields to your message becomes your friend.

Moreover, we can also learn from the way Jesus packaged the salvation message. He made salvation so attractive that the one who had something with which to fetch water, soon began asking the One who had nothing to fetch water, to give her water. Jesus made her to know that there was superior water that could quench one's thirst permanently. On hearing this, she began to salivate. Many people fail to lead unbelievers to Christ because there is nothing attractive about the Gospel they are presenting to them. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to help us repackage the Gospel message in a way that it becomes irresistible to the hearers. On the other hand, in a bid to make the Gospel attractive, some people tell lies by saying: if you come to Christ, you will have no trouble, and you will have a smooth ride in life. It is not true! Problems will come but Jesus will help you to overcome. How attractive is that Gospel you preach?

Bible in one year:

1 King 5-8

ACTION POINT:

The Gospel eradicates lines of enmity. Lead someone at war with you to Christ.

PLAYERS IN THE SPIRIT WORLD

Memorise:

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12

Read:

Daniel 10:10-14

The third gift under the revelational gifts is the gift of discerning of spirits. The presence of this gift provides the ability to identify the particular spirit in operation, and the ability to see into the spirit realm. John 4:24 says God is a spirit. Believe it or not, there is a spirit world where angels and demons operate. This world is very real even though we may not be able to handle certain things there physically. This spirit realm largely controls or affects the physical realm. Therefore for you to be successful on earth, you must be an active player in that realm. When you are born-again, your spirit man is recreated in Christ Jesus. This provides you the platform to operate in the spirit world. Witches and wizards, the occult and negative supernatural powers, all play active roles in the spirit world.

The operation of the spirit world is different from what we are used to in the physical world. The value system in the spirit world is quite different from ours. The laws are different from the laws of men and so are the goals of actors in this realm. You must know that both the positive supernatural world of God and His heavenly hosts, and the negative supernatural world of Satan and his cohorts are very organised. Both realms want to control the human plane, and the one you yield to will determine how you will end up. If you operate in either of these realms, you will be superior to those operating at ordinary human level.

But thank God that the positive supernatural is far more powerful, and long lasting than the negative side. For instance, while the positive supernatural realm is an eternal kingdom whose operation Is not subject to the control of time and space, the negative supernatural is very limited and their operations is in time and space. The Devil, who is the head of the negative supernatural world, has a specified period to operate, after which he will be cast into the lake of fire to serve his eternal judgement. But our God and His Heavenly Kingdom continue forever (Revelation 20:3, 10). Righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost characterise the positive supernatural realm, while evil, wickedness and hatred are the hallmarks of the satanic kingdom. In Satan's kingdom, the more wicked you are, the higher your use will be, while in God's Kingdom you only rise when you are holy, willing and obedient. Any of these kingdoms you allow into your life will compel you to accept their values, priorities, laws and goals. Which of these realms do you want to be active in?

Bible in one year:

John 18-21

ACTION POINT:

Have you said: 'Good morning Holy Spirit' today? Consciously cultivate fellowship with Him.

SAY NO TO DISCOURAGEMENT!

Friday 22nd February,2013

SAY NO TO DISCOURAGEMENT!

Memorise:

And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. 1 Samuel 30:6

Read:

1 King 19:4-17

There is time for everything. There is a time for war and a time of peace. There is a time to be at the vanguard of the Gospel and a time to retreat in order to re-lunched at a later time. As you work with the Holy Spirit and follow His leading, you will not miss out what to do at the right time.

Looking at the story of Elijah and how after two outstanding victories, he fled for his life, requesting to die, as recorded in 1 King 19:4-8, you will discover how he moved from hopelessness to hope. He asked for God to take his life because he had reached the peak of discouragement but instead of death, God sent him food. From this we learn that discouragement can make you pray amiss. Every negative prayer you have prayed against yourself as a result of desperation, disappointment and discouragement shall be ignored by God in Jesus name. While discouraged, some people have decided to ask God to wipe them out and even their entire family. While discouraged, the thing that gave them the greatest joy suddenly turned into something totally bereft of pleasure. Also, while discouraged, you can take some wrong decisions. At the height of discouragement,­ you can begin to help the devil do his work. You can get to a point where you will begin to hinder God's will in your life.

Are you discouraged? Is your present state clouding God's earlier promises to you? Are you taking or about to take some wrong step? Are you discouraged because you met with disappointment over a promise for marriage 4 or 5 times, and it was so devastating to you that you have decided to call it quits with anything called marriage? Don't! What you are going through is just a passing phase. If you hold on to God a little longer, the coast will be clear again. There is a user of this Devotional who has been disappointed by several suitors that after the last disappointment,­ you have decided to call it quits with marriage. You have resolved to have a baby by all means and live as a single parent for life. The Lord is saying that you should not give up. Your husband is around you. Those who disappointed you were wrong suitors. If you will hold on to the Lord and praise Him, thank Him and serve Him more, your husband will meet you in the place of service and your wedding will come.

Bible in one year:

John 14-17

KEY POINT:

The intensity of discouragement is one way to determine what is ahead. If it is very intense, do know that there is something great ahead of you.

BE TIME CONSCIOUS

Thursday 21 February 2013

Memorise: So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Psalms 90:12

Read: Psalms 90:12-15

When Job approached God’s Throne of Grace amidst his trial in Job 10:20-21, he was open and down-to-earth. There was nothing to hide. He asked God, ‘How many days have I on earth that I will continue to go through these evil times without ending? Let me have a break so that I can recover from my trial’. One thing to note here is that because our days are few, whatever problem we go through, are timed and must come to an end at some point in time. Are you going through a persisting negative experience? Or are you hit on all side like Job, and you are thinking of giving up? Don’t! that problem has come to pass. No problem can extend its life span hence, Ecclesiastes 3:1 says everything has its season. Every problem that God allow you to go through as a trial of faith, whose duration the enemy wants prolonged shall lose its hold over you. I command it to expire now in Jesus Name. Besides, when God allows you to go through a trial of faith, He also allows some temporary suspension or reliefs to enable you endure it. Are you going through a trial of your faith, God shall give you the grace to overcome. That trial will take you to a higher level.

However, because of the brevity of life on earth, there is a need to be prudent with time. Moses prayed in psalm 90:12 that, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”

To get the best out of life, you must operate daily with a sense of time. This is wisdom. Life is all about what you can achieve for your creator within the time you have been given. You do not have eternity to perform any particular task; hence you should attend to issues with a sense of urgency. Each time you do a particular assignment at the appropriate time, Heaven applauds you. If you continue this way, at the end of your time on earth, you would have achieved all God wants you to achieve within the time you were given. The truth is: God may not extend your time on earth like King Hezekiah so make sure you fully utilise every fraction of time at your disposal. Don’t waste that second or minute! Every second or minute you waste today will become wasted years tomorrow. Profitably engage your seconds and minutes from today! 

ACTION POINT

If you do not know that your trial of faith is for a moment, satan will make it last for a lifetime. Resist any unauthorized extension of your trial.

THE UNBROKEN CHRISTIAN

Thursday 21 FebruaFebruaryes

Memorise: Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off. Psalms 138:6

Read: Psalms 138:6-8

“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,”
Ephesians 4:1
Paul was a good example of Christ’s bond servant. He was also His friend. He was able to achieve great heights for the Lord because he was broken. Every believer has been called to brokenness to enable us fulfil the purpose of God for our lives. The truth is, until you are broken, you may never fulfil God’s plan for your life. Whether you like it or not, God will have to take you through the path of brokenness for you to reach the peak point in Christ. If you cooperate with Him, you will get there, but if you refuse to be broken, you may like Moses, see the Promised Land but not be able to enter it.
Today, there are young converts who are broken and believers of several years, even those occupying ecclesiastical positions who are unbroken. How do we identify the one who is broken and the one who is unbroken? One way of identifying an unbroken believer is if the fellow harbours pride, or still boasts or shares in God’s Glory. One fellow God cannot stand is the one who is proud (Psalm 138:6). If you cannot humble yourself under the leadership of the church, to obey lay down rules and guidelines, and to be disciplined when you err, you are not broken. If you have a proud look and thereby feel you know it all, or feel too big to learn from others, you are not yet broken. If you feel you are always right, you are not broken. If your earthly possessions, achievements and status in society are making you think that you are more superior to others, then you do not know what it means to be broken. Do you in any way share God’s Glory with Him when He performs some miracles or work of grace in and through you? Then you are not broken. If you are boastful you are not broken. Some Leaders are so full of what they have achieved for God that they are blinded from doing more. It is because they are not broken. What are the traces of un-brokenness in your life?
PRAYER POINT
Father, every trace of un-brokenness in my life, please uproot today. Break me, mould me and make me what you want me to be.

THE UNBROKEN CHRISTIAN

Memorise: Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off. Psalms 138:6

Read: Psalms 138:6-8

“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,”

Ephesians 4:1

Paul was a good example of Christ’s bond servant. He was also His friend. He was able to achieve great heights for the Lord because he was broken. Every believer has been called to brokenness to enable us fulfil the purpose of God for our lives. The truth is, until you are broken, you may never fulfil God’s plan for your life. Whether you like it or not, God will have to take you through the path of brokenness for you to reach the peak point in Christ. If you cooperate with Him, you will get there, but if you refuse to be broken, you may like Moses, see the Promised Land but not be able to enter it. 

Today, there are young converts who are broken and believers of several years, even those occupying ecclesiastical positions who are unbroken. How do we identify the one who is broken and the one who is unbroken? One way of identifying an unbroken believer is if the fellow harbours pride, or still boasts or shares in God’s Glory. One fellow God cannot stand is the one who is proud (Psalm 138:6). If you cannot humble yourself under the leadership of the church, to obey lay down rules and guidelines, and to be disciplined when you err, you are not broken. If you have a proud look and thereby feel you know it all, or feel too big to learn from others, you are not yet broken. If you feel you are always right, you are not broken. If your earthly possessions, achievements and status in society are making you think that you are more superior to others, then you do not know what it means to be broken. Do you in any way share God’s Glory with Him when He performs some miracles or work of grace in and through you? Then you are not broken. If you are boastful you are not broken. Some Leaders are so full of what they have achieved for God that they are blinded from doing more. It is because they are not broken. What are the traces of un-brokenness in your life?

PRAYER POINT

Father, every trace of un-brokenness in my life, please uproot today. Break me, mould me and make me what you want me to be.

GIVE LIFE TO YOUR FAITH!

Memorise:

The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to

labour." Proverbs 21:25

Read:

Proverbs 21:25-26

Most people on earth believe in something but many do not have living faith. Your inability to back up your faith with commensurate work kills your faith and turns it into dead faith. Today, many people are perishing with their faith. You desire to have a good job and you have faith that God can give you one; where are the works to back up your faith to transform your expectations into reality? You are trusting God for a good job that will pay you so well and yet you have refused to further your education and acquire a good degree or post graduate degree? You expect to take up a job as a top management officer in a blue chip organisation with your secondary school certificate, OND or NCE? You may wait for a long time! You want God to give you a near-perfect spouse but you have not invested time and money in books, messages and counselling on how you can be a perfect wife or husband? Or do you want to succeed and come out in flying colours in your examination, yet you have not invested in attending on classes, ensuring you understand all you were taught, coping or developing your notes, studying both note books and text books, seeking answers or clarification of areas of doubts; how then will you 

fly?

"The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to

labour." Proverbs 21:25 

Lazy people may be lazy but they have desires: this implies they could also have some measure of faith. The problem with the lazy is that they lack works so their faith dies.

You want to be a king in Heaven, yet you make excuses for not serving God or winning souls to Him: such fellow will end up as an ordinary citizen if he ever makes it to Heaven. You want to be a great leader, where are the works of service, love and humility done to your subordinates? You desire God to open doors for you to earn in dollars and pounds, where are the seeds you have sown in God's house in dollars and pounds? Always back up your desires, expectations and faith with the right kind of works.

Bible In one year:

Joshua 19-21

KEY POINT:

With God there is no cheating. If there is a harvest - good or bad, you can almost always trace it to a seed somewhere along the past.

UNVEILING THE UNKNOWN GOD

Memorise:

For as I passed by, and behold your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. Act 17:23

Read:

Act 17:16-23

We have seen that one great time to preach the word is when you are tired or weary. Most people would rest at such times, but the truth is: whenever your body is too tired to preach and an opportunity presents itself, there may just be a breakthrough of souls at the corner. The Lord Jesus Christ knew this and that was why He did not allow tiredness to rob Him of that great harvest. May you not lose your hidden harvest in Jesus name.

Another lesson from John 4:1-42 has to do with the location. Jesus went to a historical site that had great significance with Jewish history. It was the city of Sychar, on a piece of land that belonged to Jacob which also had Jacob's well. When Jesus got there, He sat on a well connected with history and began to preach to the woman. From this we learn that there is hardly anything that cannot be used in evangelism. National or local historical monuments can be used in preaching the Gospel. Today, in various countries, there are historical spots or monuments that symbolise independence, democracy, or some from of common struggle for the people. Such places can become great leads into the salvation message. Even folklores, local anecdotes and humorous stories of creation and life in times past, can easily be exploited by the evangelist in order to win souls. You can begin with. An African story of how the tortoise got his wife and end up with a salvation message.

Local temples, gods and goddesses are not left out. One great evangelist who could easily connect with local beliefs and tie it up with the Gospel was Paul. While in Athens, He went to observe how the Greeks worshipped their gods. They had several alters for each god, and thereafter dedicated an alter to any other god that might exist which they are yet to know. On that altar, they inscribed: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. When Paul was brought before them, he immediately told them he served that unknown God that they had a shrine for, and he used the opportunity to preach Jesus Christ to them. By the time he finished, he had converts who immediately followed him and became disciples. When you use what people are familiar with to preach the gospel of Christ to them, they will find it easier to accept the Gospel. Exploit such opportunity today! 

Bible in one year:

Joshua 16-18

KEY POINT:

Some people see artefacts, shrines and monuments as demonic and therefore avoid anyone associated with them, while others use them to evangelise to those who are associated with them.

TIME TO HIDE

Memorise:

Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand, John 10:39

Read: 

John 10:30-40

Elijah descended from mount Camel where he had called down fire and rain, and ran by the power of the Spirit ahead of the king's horse-driven chariot. Then he heard that Queen jezebel was out to kill him and ran. He kept running until his feet could carry him no more. Tired and exhausted from his flight, he told God to call him to glory. While sitting under a juniper tree, he slept off from his exhaustion. An angel came to wake him up, giving him food and water. He ate, drank and slept again. Later the angel came again and set food before him, waking him up from his sleep. He took the meal and was revived. His hope arose and he embarked on a journey which took him 40 days and nights non stop until he encountered the Almighty God on Mount Horeb (1 King 19:4-8).

This story is an interesting one we can learn several things from. Here was the most dreaded and highly respected prophet of God who had been mightily used of God. Only recently, he defeated and destroyed 450 Baal prophets and turned backsliding Israel back to God. But now he was in a dilemma. The first thing we learn from this story is that the higher you go in the faith, the bigger your temptation and trials. Also, the more anointed you are, the greater the forces of darkness that will be released against you. Yet, no matter the opposing forces or level of depression or discouragement, there is victory for you in Christ Jesus. We also learn that if you defeat the kingdom of Satan in any contest, do not rest on your oars: expect reprisal attacks from any Satan's standing army.

Another lesson here is that in the midst of intense opposition calling for your head as a child of God; it is sometimes a wise thing to retreat temporarily in order to re-attack the kingdom of darkness subsequently. If you look at the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, there were several attempts to seize Him and take Him before the appointed time. He resisted such attempts. When the Jews were so incensed against Him that they wanted Him dead, He sneaked out of their midst to another location; and when an area became too hot, He went to a far away location so that He could continue the work of the Father. We need to apply wisdom and work very closely with the Holy Spirit on this matter so that we do not retreat when we should continue to fight, or continue the fight when we should retreat. Ask for God's wisdom at all times even in the midst of doing God's will. It is essential.

Bible in one year:

Joshua 7-9

PRAYER POINT:

Father, grant me the grace to rest when I should and to fight at the right time.

OPENNESS BEFORE HIS THRONE

Memorise:

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Read: 

Job 10:20-21

The relationship that exists between you and the Lord will determine quite a lot of things, including how you will pray to Him. Where there is considerable distance between you and God, you cannot come before Him in the time of prayer and allude that you are close to him. Some believers can barely afford 10 or 20 minutes to fellowship with God daily, while they spend most parts of their day with men at work. When such people come before God to pray, the distance that exists between them and God will definitely show.

"Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, 

that I may take comfort a little,"

Job 10:20

Job had a intimate relationship with God. When things were going well, it showed in his prayers and when God allowed him to go through his trial of faith situation, it also showed in his prayers. He told God, 'Lord, I am confused: why are you pursuing me? He told God exactly how He felt. Can you be so open to God?

Righteousness and obedience increase your boldness before the Throne of Grace, while sin erodes it. If God leads you to marry a particular fellow, contrary to your personal desire, if anything goes wrong, you will be able to hold on to God with all boldness. You will be able to ask God to fix it because He 'caused' it by bringing you both together in the first place. But if when He led you to His choice, you ignored Him and went ahead to marry the spouse of your choice, when anything goes wrong, you will be too ashamed to call upon God to salvage it.

If you do, it might be His turn to say, 'it is your mess, clean it up', except where you ask for his mercy. With what confidence will a believer who is sinning secretly pray to God? All such a fellow can say is 'Lord have mercy on me'. However, if you are in right standing before God, feel free to tell Him exactly how you feel. Be open to Him. Tell Him what you think is happening. Tell Him how you have assessed the situation and invite Him to intervene. God is happy to assist the righteous. He does this as a thing of joy. Are you in any situation of need? Open up to the Most High today and He will send help to you.

Bible in one year:

Joshua 4-6

KEY POINT:

Distance always gives room for mistrust, fear and suspicion. Leave no distance with God.

BROKENNESS POWERS SERVICE

Memorise:

Verily, Verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

John 12:24

Read: 

John 12: 23-26

Another reason for you to be broken is to enable you serve the lord acceptably.

"Then said jesus unto his disciples, if any man will come

after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross,

and follow me".

Matthew 16:2

If you are not broken, you cannot truly follow the Lord. If you are not broken, serving the Lord will be such a struggle. You will be making excuses and explaining away your inability to fully serve him. Today's memory verse gives us a good picture of brokenness. For jesus to be able to give His all and bring in a great harvest of souls into the Kingdom, He had to die. Until you are broken, you may never attain your peak in Christian service. Several things daily compete with our time, financial resources, talents and abilities, etc. How you allocate what you have is a function of your priorities which are directed by your level of brokenness. If you are not broken, you will serve God selectively. There are some Christian workers who cannot be transferred to a department or new parish because they are not broken. If you are broken, you are ready to go anywhere and to do anything gladly for the Lord Jesus.

Moreover, you need to be broken to enable you carry more of God's power and presence. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says

"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

The level of the anointing you can carry would be determined by your level of brokenness. The more broken you are, the more of the fruit of the Spirit shows in your life. The more Christ-like in character you are, the more you attract the power of God. Everyone who has received Jesus has been called to brokenness. How broken are you?

Bible in one year:

Joshua 1-3

KEY POINT:

Father, help me to put my flesh under my spirit so that I will no longer be seen but Christ

DEFYING TIREDNESS

Memorise: Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 2 Timothy 4:2

Read: John 4:3-7

As bona fide children of God, we are expected to live our lives like He lived and copy Him in every area. 1 Peter 2:21 says, “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:”

The Lord Himself said in Matthew 11:29, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

If you want to be like Jesus, you must be prepared to study Him and copy His deeds, actions, inactions, speech, silence, lifestyle, recreation, work principles, etc. To what extent have you learnt from Him?

One area we can learn from Him today is the way He evangelised. When we look at the popular story in John 4:1-42, the first thing we see there is a man led of the Spirit. He was on a particular journey but began to feel the need to go through Samaria. This was impressed on Him but He did not just waive it off like many of us do today. He confirmed that the Holy Spirit wanted Him to go by Samaria and He went to one of the villages. This tells us that the greatest, easiest and sweetest victories in evangelism can be recorded when the evangelist completely follows the leading of the Holy Spirit. When last were you lead of the Spirit to win a soul you knew nothing about? You must be totally yielded to God. If you frequently shun the impressions of the Holy Spirit in your spirit, a time will come when you may no longer hear from Him.

Another lesson here is that as tired as Jesus was from His journey, He still preached. We are commanded to preach in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2). If we were in Jesus shoes, do you know that, the woman at the well would have been lost? Consequently affecting the big harvest of the Samarians – they too would have been lost. How? We would have used our excuse of tiredness to defer the evangelism. Another lesson here is that God purposely sends some loners to you so that through them you can have a major breakthrough in evangelism. If you miss them for any reason, you would have lost a greater harvest. Never look down on anyone as you go out to preach the Gospel. You can never tell who they are connected to. Have you ever won a soul when you were tired? If you have not, then follow the steps of Jesus and reach out to souls in your tiredness and experience uncommon strength from God.

KEY POINT

Everyone has a circle of influence under a divine network of relationships. Leading that loner to Christ may mean leading a crowd to Christ.

Thursday 7th February 2013 - CHOOSING YOUR INHERITANCE

Memorise: He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved.
Psalms 47:4

Read: Psalms 47:1-9

In addition to bringing comfort to the distressed, prayer can determine who is chosen and who is not. If you can pray, if you have not been chosen, God will choose you; and if you have been chosen before, God will choose you again. In Zechariah 1:17, God had to choose Zion all over again in spite of her ruins.
“So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.”
Matthew 20:16
Sometimes, the difference between those who are called and their counterparts who are chosen is the prayer that has been invested by either of them. Is there an opportunity to rise to the top of your department in your place of work? Is there a vacancy at the topmost echelon of your establishment? Whether you will be chosen or not can be determined by your prayer life. Although merit and hard work are vital criteria for being chosen to occupy a vacancy at the top, however when prayer is engaged, it will produce mercy which will reoganise the situation in one’s favour. If you have 100 qualified candidates for a particular vacancy, prayer is very key to standing out in such a situation. This season, as you pray, the Lord will choose you for uncommon positions. Positions you never worked for will be decided in your favour.
Not only will prayer determine who is chosen, it also determines what we inherit or possess. How a need is met can be determined by the type of prayer that is made. Psalm 47:4 says “He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom He loved.”
If you need mobility, the type of car you will be given will be determined by the quality of your prayer of faith. If you need a spouse, do not just ask for any spouse, but invest quality time in seeking God’s best – God’s ideal choice for you. If you fail to invest in seeking God’s face concerning that particular blessing, be prepare to receive just anything. But if just anything is not good enough for you, then pray, pray and keep praying. Prayer has a way of selecting what comes to you from the Heavenly planet. This season, as you pray, the Lord will choose your blessings for you. Only special, choice blessings will come to you this season in Jesus name.

PRAYER POINT
Prayer is Heaven’s currency for purchasing your blessings. The blessing you take from Heaven’s storehouse will depend on how much you paid by prayer.

ESTABLISHING MERE STATEMENTS

Memorise: Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways. Job 22:28

Read: 2King 2:19-22

If you compare the old with the new anointing, although it is the same Spirit, yet you will notice that there is a divine intent to do things better, deliver faster and give God a greater level of glory. The New Year, the new anointing will make uncommon miracles possible through you in Jesus name.

Another attribute of the new anointing is that with it you can decree something and it will be established immediately. In 2 Kings 2:19-22, Elisha poured water mixed with salt at the spring of some bad river, and decreed an end to death and barrenness and it was so. We had a Holy Ghost rally recently in America. During the time of testimonies, one of my daughters testified that several years ago, while still seeking admission into the university, she met me for prayers, but because I was very busy, I told her to go and that she will get the admission. She was disappointed because she felt I had no time to pray for her; but a few weeks later, she got her admission. Some years later, she was pursuing her admission into a particular university which was not easy to secure. She said I simply looked at her and said congratulations­! Then she recalled how God used a simple comment from me to give her that admission earlier, so she went home rejoicing. On arrival, she told her son and not long after, her admission letter into that university was received and it started with: ‘Dear Mrs. So and so, congratulations­!’ Have you been struggling with getting admission into a school of higher learning but have met with disappointments­? The era of disappointment is over in your life. In the name that is above all other names, you shall receive your admission letter into that preferred course of study as you make another effort. Have you made several efforts with your spouse but you have not been able to have a child? This season, your next attempt will result in pregnancy and your baby shall be made manifest. Have you been finding it difficult to make ends meet? Have you been living from hands to mouth? From today, the Lord is opening new doors that will deliver abundance to you. Tap into new anointing with faith and it shall be well with you.

KEY POINT

The anointing turns mere statements into law. If you are God’s anointed, be very careful with your words, particularly your jokes and comments when provoked.

SACRIFICIAL DELICACY

by Pastor E. A. Adeboye 

Memorise: AND LET THEM SACRIFICE THE SACRIFICES OF THANKSGIVING, AND DECLARE HIS WORKS WITH REJOICING. psalm 107:22

Read: psalm 107:21-22

Bible in one year: Esther 1-4

When you give thanks to God, it is analogous to serving Him Food. The way this ‘food’ is served is important to God. Not many husbands will like food prepared a day before or cold, stale food. If you are casual about thanking God, it is synonymous to serving Him cold food. Although this is a meal, He is not compelled to ‘eat’ it. When you thank him grudgingly, you can be certain He will not eat that food. In most homes, if the wife set the table and as her husband settles down to eat, she begins to complain or nag, most men will leave that food and possibly leave that house just have to just to have peace of mind. No wonder proverbs 17:1 says, 

“Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than a house full of sacrifices with strife”

At any time you offer God thanks and mix it with bits of complaints, you make it difficult to for him to take such meal.

some people allow the passage of time to affect the fervency of their thanksgiving over a subject matter. That is, if the good deed God has done to them occurred a long time ago, they will serve their thanks cold; but if it is fresh, they will be full of life and serve their thanks hot. This should not be! Even if he subject of your thanks occurred 20 or 30 years ago, you should be fervent while thanking Him. Dig into your memory and get a vivid picture of what He has done and present thanks to Him as if it is just occurred. This He will receive from you. Moreover of all thanksgiving specials, the best ‘delicacy’ you can serve God, of which you can be sure God will accept unquestionably, is thanksgiving that involves sacrifice.

While thanking God for what He has done is a special meal, thanking Him when situations are going contrary to your expectations is such a great delicacy. Can you thank God after the loss of a job, a loved one, or after a demotion? Can you thank God when there is no food to eat? Can you thank God after been victimized or when you have not been able to bear children? Doing such is a sacrificial delicacy. It attracts God’s attention – so don’t be found without it!

ACTION POINT: throughout today, serve God a fresh, hot sacrificial thanksgiving ‘delicacy’ over your disappointments & inadequacies.

Monday 4 Feb. 2013 -VICTIMS OF NATURAL

Memorise: Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners 1Chorintians 15:33

Read: 2 Samuel 13: 1-14

One unfortunate trend we see around us today is how so many people have become victims of their needs. There are very legitimate needs but some people have used this as an excuse to do something wrong. For instance, in every human being, there is a drive called thirst. This is natural and can be satisfied through wholesome, healthy and legitimate means. However, using this drive as an excuse to indulge in alcohol is an abuse of the body from which this drive emanates. So also is the sex drive. This is natural. It is natural for those of the opposite sex to feel attracted to each other. Yet, this drive is not to be consummated except after marriage. Anyone who engages in premarital sex, saying that if it is wrong, why did God put the drive in man in the first place, is only a victim of his need. In what way are you becoming a victim of your legitimate needs? Ask God to deliver you today!

Similarly, a Christian who needs a spouse and decides to marry an unbeliever or just any Christian will definitely become a victim of legitimate need. A certain brother who had been separated from his wife for years was becoming so lonely that he began to associate with unbelievers. Before long, he

regularly visited beer parlours and went back into smoking and drinking until some members of the church led him back to Christ. No matter how highly pressed you are, never yourself to become a victim of your need! Ammon was influenced by his friend to satisfy his sex drive through an incestuous rape of his-sister Tamar. Who should you make friends with? Choose fellow believers as your friends and pray partners. Not every believer should be your prayer partner if you are unmarried. Prayerfully, choose someone who is spiritually compatible.

Prayerfully, choose someone who is spiritually compatible. Also, your partner must be someone who does not willfully sin but lives holy. Let it be someone you can confide in, with whom you can pray prayers of agreement with. Take time to ask God to choose your friends for you. Above all, let Jesus be your partner. If you allow him, He will help you with the grace, strength and wisdom to do all that you should. Remember that you cannot achieve much without him. Your success in life is dependent on Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Give the Lord the space, time and energy due Him. Your need for friendship is truly satisfied in Christ.

Prayer point: father let me not be a victim of legitimate thirst, hunger and sex drives. Help me that these needs might be satisfied within the bounds of your laws.

Bible in one year: Nehemiah 10-13

HE KNOWS EVERYTHING

Memorise: He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.
Psalms 147:4

Read: Psalms 147:4-5

According to 1 Corinthians 12:7, one major reason the Holy Spirit releases one, some or all of His nine gifts on an individual, is to bring profit to the Kingdom of God. If you are using God’s gifts to amass wealth, popularity and favours from your beneficiaries, you are simply abusing the gifts. Some believers are praying and fasting for certain gifts of the Holy Spirit but they elude them because the ones they have, have not delivered profit to God’s kingdom. How well have you utilised God’s gifts to enhance God’s kingdom?
Let us start with the revelational gifts. The first under this category is the gift of word of knowledge. Isaiah 40:28 says,
“Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.”
God is so knowledgeable that man cannot scratch a billionth speck of His knowledge. Can you imagine what God knows when Matthew 10:30 says He knows the total number of hair stands on the heads of all the billions of men that He has created? Bible scholars say that each one of them has a special number. This information is valuable to police in highly developed countries as they have used the different hair configuration of people to successfully apprehend criminals. Even when the different strands of hair look alike, there are still remarkable differences. God knows the details surrounding the birth, life and death of every creature He has made. Even the billions of stars, God has a name for each of them in the galaxies.
“He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.”
Psalms 147:4
Whenever God takes a bit of what He knows and reveals it to a man, this is referred to word of knowledge. God knows everything about everyone and everything in Heaven, on earth and beneath the earth. Nothing is missing from God’s knowledge. God is so full of knowledge that He longs to share a bit with us from time to time. If only you can link up with the Holy Spirit, worship Him daily, cultivate His friendship, and obey Him in all areas of your life, He would hardly do anything that pertains to you or yours that He would not have earlier revealed to you.
ACTION POINT
Ask God to entrust you with the knowledge you need to have an edge over situations, enemies and colleagues.