ALAS! THE AXE IS LAID UNDER THE TREES

MEMORY VERSE: And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Matthew 3:10

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 56-61. 

Please pay very close attention to coincidences in your walk with Christ. In my personal life, i have come to realise that there are no coincidence in Christ. Matthew 10:29 says: “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.” Have you ever pondered on the fact that God can make good come even out of our mistakes? Roman 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Some missionaries went to Argentina for evangelical outreach during the regime of Dictator General Juan Domingo Peron. It was a time of great unrest and parts of the country were in open revolt. As these brothers moved around, from town to town, sharing tracts and preaching the good news, they came to a town with this large notice: ‘Missionaries, keep out!’ In view of the unrest in the nation and the band of armed gangs roaming the streets of this small town, it was prudent for them to withdraw back to their base. 

Now it happened that they had ordered a consignment of tapes consisting of a series of expositions on Romans which Pastor Willie Mullan was delivering. (I will encourage you to get his books.) A tape dealing with a chapter at a time was sent to these missionaries as soon as the message was delivered. They had already received tapes of the first eight chapters and among their possession was a small, unopened parcel supposedly containing a tape on chapter 9. Tired and frustrated, they decided to pass the night by listening to the tape inside the unopened parcel. To their surprise and initial disappointment, they heard the man of God describing the Israelites approaching the Red Sea. Someone back in Pastor Mullan's office, in Ireland, had slipped up and dispatched the wrong tape. This address was based on the words of the Lord,' Speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward.' They listened in silence and when it ended the silence deepened. Each of them realised that God had spoke to them that night. Their problem had disappeared. God was telling them to go forward and share tracts! They returned the next morning to that little town with fresh zeal and boldness and began sharing tracts. Guess what... no one said a word to them. God had used someone’s mistake in Ireland to encourage some group of missionaries in far away Argentina!

God, like every farmer, expects fruits. He expects each and every of His child to bear fruits. What type of fruits is He expecting to see? Firstly, the fruit of the lips or praise and worship (Isaiah 57:19). Secondly, fruit meet for repentance (Matthew 3:18). Thirdly, fruit of souls (John 15:16). Fourthly, the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). What will happen if a tree fails to bear fruits? The Lord has said that He will abandon such trees (Isaiah 5:1-7). God will not abandon you in the mighty name of Jesus.  In 1 Kings 13, we see what can happen if God abandons a fellow. A prophet disobeyed God and God abandoned him. A lion came out of the bush and killed him. What if a tree is not bearing good fruits? Well, such trees will be cut down and cast into fire. Matthew 3:10 says: “And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” 

QUESTIONS: Are you bearing fruits? What type of fruits are you producing? 

PRAYER POINT: Father, please help me to continue bearing fruits.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

HAVE YOU TURNED?

MEMORY VERSE: And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.Exodus 3:2-4

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Lamentations 1-3

From the moment Moses turned, his life and ministry never remain the same. Let us take a brief look at what happened after he turned away from the goat and cattle (issues of the current moment), to behold the glory of God. Firstly, God spoke to him. The bible says: “and when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am i.” Not until Moses turned, the Lord did not say a word. When you study the book of Exodus, you will observe that after he turned; the ministry he had tried and failed at received a new life. Moses knew deep within himself that he was born to deliver the children of Israel from the bondage of the Egyptians. He was convinced that, that was the purpose of God for his life. He made an attempt to deliver his people in Exodus 2:11-15, and got into trouble. After he turned, his ministry received a touch from above. Not only that, where he had failed forty years earlier, he succeeded there.

The question is, have you and I turned? Some of us call ourselves a Christian and still accept bribes. Some do not accept bribe but give bribe. When I hear of people fornicating to get a job or for one favor or the order, I wonder if these people have really turned to Christ. The sad thing is, they come to youth fellowship and lift up holy hands. Lord, have mercy! Have you turned? Some of us call ourselves tongue speaking Christians and yet we keep malice. To make matters worse, some keep malice with their pastors. Is your own turn partial or full? You do not smoke but you consume alcohol; you do not fornicate but you touch ladies at inappropriate places; you do not miss church services but you indulge in exam malpractice; you do not fornicate but you masturbate; you do not commit adultery but when no one is around, you know how you do it with your toys. Is that how to turn to Christ? The reason why a lot of us are suffering is because we have not turned. We turn with our lips not with our hearts. Not until Moses turned, the Lord did not speak. The moment he turned, all changed. God has been waiting for an opportunity to speak to some for over three years, because they have refused to turn , He has decided to keep quiet. If you will turn today to Him, He will speak. There are a lot of us owing vows, pledges, robbing God in tithes and offerings, not until we turn from these things, He will not speak. Turn from beating your wife; turn from not looking after your children; turn from cursing your children when you are angry; turn from being hard headed, and the Lord will speak.

ACTION: Pray for revival, a lot of believers have grown cold in their service to God.

Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.

SACRIFICE WHILE AGAG IS STILL ALIVE?

Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God. 1 Samuel 15:30

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 64 -66

Saul’s rejection story is one any reader of this devotional will be familiar with. As instructed by God, Samuel told King Saul to go and destroy the Amalekites. He said yes sir, and left with his armies. When he got to Amalek, he destroyed all the worthless things – sick goats and sheep, lame donkeys and camel, and left the good things – fat sheep and goats, well fed donkeys and horses. He destroyed everyone except King Agag. When he returned, the prophet rebuked him for his half obedience (not destroying all). Instead of Saul to repent and set things right by killing Agag and destroying all he brought back, he said it is true i have sinned against God but come with me to sacrifice to the Lord. 1 Samuel 15:30 says Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God. What is more important, sacrificing to God or obeying God? Saul wanted to disobey God and still offer sacrifice to God. Will God accept such sacrifice? He spared the fellow who the Lord asked him to kill and still had the audacity to offer God a sacrifice.

Saul was more interested in offering sacrifices than pleasing God. Thank God for Samuel, immediately after the sacrifice, he killed wicked Agag (1 Samuel 15:31-33). There are many of us like Saul today, we want to disobey God and offer Him sacrifices. We want to keep Agag alive and yet offer sacrifice to God. Many want to fornicate and still be in the choir. Many want to steal from their employers and still lead prayers in Church. Saul’s sacrifice was a wasted effort because he intentionally spared the life of wicked Agag. Are you and I like Saul in anyway? We want to secretly flout God’s commandment and yet at the same time be a worker in the house of God. Unfortunately, things do not work that way. Saul wanted to be seen offering sacrifices to God in the public and yet secretly keep Agag alive. Are you and I like Saul in this way? We want to openly mount the altar and preach powerful messages and yet in our secret closet live a life that Christ disapproves of? We want to openly play guitar in the church and secretly commit adultery with another woman. We want to publicly sing a special number to the glory of God, yet lie on our time sheets. We want to openly invite people to our church programs and yet secretly speak against the man of God. Are you and I trying to be openly loving at church and secretly wicked to our spouses? Because Saul wanted to openly sacrifice to God and yet, secretly spare wicked Agag, God distant Himself from him and publicly rejected him.

PONDER: In what ways are you secretly hiding Agag and openly sacrificing to God?

Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.

ALL CHANGE PLEASE

MEMORY VERSE: he answered and said, whether he be a sinner or no, I know not; one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see, John 9:25 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Sam 9, Rom 7, Jer 46, Luke 14

When you search through the scriptures, you will find out that every one Jesus met experienced a change in one area of their life or the other. In Luke 13:10-17, Jesus met a woman who could not walk well because her back was bent. Immediately she was healed, her walking pattern and posture changed. In the Matthew 8:1-4 Jesus met a leper who had sore all over the body. I do not need to tell you that the clothes on him were torn and the parts that were meant to be covered were exposed. From the day he was healed, his clothe and the way he dressed changed. In John 5:1-16, Jesus healed a man by the pool of Bethesda. This man had been sick for over thirty years, but after spending a minute or two with Jesus his location changed. Jesus met two terribly violent boys – James and John, Mark 3:17. They had so much anger in them that Jesus called them sons of thunder but by the time He was through with them they became advocate of love and peace. John was so transformed that he wrote a 1 John, 2 John and 3 John. Peter on the other hand was not interested in the things of God. He was so bad even Jesus had to call him Satan, Mark 8:30-33. The same Peter became one of the pillars of the early church.

Brethren, we cannot meet Jesus and not experience a change. The moment we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and savior, people around must notice the change or difference. The moment Jesus becomes the captain of our ship, the way we carry our self must change. Do you know that once Jesus truly comes in, you begin to feel uncomfortable to wear some clothes you used to wear or dress the way you used to dress? Once Jesus comes in, you become a lover of peace.

The man that was healed said something, ‘whether he be a sinner or no, I know not; one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see (John 9:25)’. In other words before I met Jesus I lived in darkness i.e. I had no love inside me. According to 1 John 2:11 anyone who hates resides in darkness and the darkness blindfolds them. But after I met Jesus, light came i.e. the love of God has now been shed abroad in my heart. Once Christ comes in, there is no room for hatred anymore or unforgiveness or bitterness or malice or envy. All must change when He enters. The reason why many of us do not experience these changes is because we ask Him to come in and put Him in the store or basement. For that change to take place, Jesus must occupy the whole house – the room, sitting room, e.t.c. of your heart. We must allow Him free access not only when we are in church on Sundays or during weekly service.

TO PONDER: Until He truly takes over, the world will not see His presence in our life.

Bro Samuel - Reaching the world for Jesus

GOD DOES CHANGE HIS MIND

MEMORY VERSE: wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before for me ever: but now the Lord saith, be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honor; and they that despise shall be lightly esteemed, 1 Samuel 2:30.

 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deut 33-34, Ps 119:145-176, Isa 60, Matt 8

 

Malachi 3:6 says for I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. When God said I change not, what did He mean by that? It simply means He is the same i.e. His character remains the same. According to Hebrews 13:8, He is the same yesterday, today and forever. The Character of God is love. His character is not informed by circumstances or events.This is why He gives rain to the just and the unjust. Numbers 23:19 says God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Once God speaks it is as good as done. Psalms 33:9 says for he spake, and it was done; he commanded and it stood fast.

 

When you study the scriptures carefully you will find out that God changes His mind. Psalm 115:3 says but our God is in the heavens; He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. The same God, who said no, can change His mind and say yes. In Isaiah 38:1-5 God sent a prophet to tell King Hezekiah to put his house in order because he was going to die. When Hezekiah got the message, he went before the Lord. He said in heaven there are over a million angels praising You, on earth the numbers of those that praise You daily are few do you want to reduce the numbers by one ? The Lord told the prophet to return and tell the king that He has added an extra fifteen years to His days.Who says God does not change His mind?  Isaiah 48:22 says there is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord. The same God says in Ezekiel 18:27 if the wicked repents and changes his way, he will live. God changes his mind. He is sovereign; He can decide to show mercy.

 

God is sovereign.  He can change His mind and this is where we all need to be very careful. 1 Samuel 2:30 says wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house , and the house of thy father, should walk before for me ever: but now the Lord saith, be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honor; and they that despise shall be lightly esteemed. The same God who said Eli and his children will serve before Him forever changed His mind and said they will be beggars in His house. I pray this will not be our portion in Jesus name. It does not matter what promises God has made to you if you dishonour Him in any way, He can decide to put those promises on hold until you change. At times He can even withdraw His promises; I pray this will not be your portion in Jesus name.

 

PRAYER POINTS: Father, please bring those mighty promises of yours to pass in my life.

OUR FIRST LOVE

Revelations 2:4 - Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

In Revelations 2:1-5 God expressed His disappointment in the Church in Ephesus. At the beginning they were very passionate for Jesus. They were committed in the things of God, they loved holiness and righteousness. Out of their zeal to please Christ they worked extremely hard at keeping the church free from false prophets. Somewhere along the line, their commitments to the gospel of the cross began to come into question. Their passion and love for their saviour began to dwindle at an unbelievable speed. The state of this church can be compared to the walk of many in Christ at the moment. Many of us when we first gave our life to Christ, we were very hot for Jesus. We will not miss church services. We will get to the church before the door of the church was opened. When some first gave their life to Christ, they were so pure they will never look at any man or woman lustfully. They will never entertain any rude joke or give place to ungodly thoughts in their heart. They will never swear or curse anyone. They were always busy witnessing on the buses, in the streets, at college, university even at work. Many used to wake up at night to pray and intercede. They will do morning and evening devotion. They will take time out to spend quality time with Jesus just singing praises and worship .They never miss bible study or any other mid week service in the church. Today many no longer serve God the way they used to serve God when they first gave their life to Christ. They have forgotten their first love. When you ask them why? They will tell you they have been busy.

I was taking my bath one morning when the Holy Spirit began to remind me how i used to spend at least an hour singing praises and worship. He reminded me how at times i will spend lunch singing praises but i no longer do that. I began to give flimsy excuses of how i had to this and do that. He apologised for my so – called busy life. I immediately knelt down and i apologised to Him. I forgot that that the dead are not busy neither are the sick. Are you like me who became so busy that He forgot to say thank you? Thank God i am wiser now. Never be too busy to say thank you Jesus. Is yours different in that you have forgotten your first love? You no longer witness as you used to; you no longer wake up to pray; your punctuality is not as it used to be. Are you a shadow of what you used to be in the Lord – holy and pure? Or is yours completely different in that when you were seeking the face of God over your life partner or job or promotion you were fervent but today you are no more. You were a choir before the Lord provided the brother, now you are too busy to even attend choir practice talk less of minister or you were an usher before the big contract , now you have a car and a big house , you are too big to usher in the vine yard of God. Please repent today! The Lord is calling us to go back to our first love.

KEY POINT: Repent and go back to your first love.

Foxes in the vineyeard

Songs of Solomon 2:15 :Catch us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.
Anyone who know foxes will tell you they are opportunistic feeders. Everything about them is destructive.They kill for fun for example they might go into a poultry and kill the birds just for the fun of it.They kill pets like cats just for the fun of it. One thing about them is they are very intelligent.A place you do not want them is in your vineyard. Just a visit is enough to destroy the whole vineyard.The good thing is you can decide not allow them and put measures in place.
In our lives too there are little foxes that spoil the vineyard the Most High has prepared for us.They are character defects or bad habits we permit.No matter how small  they may be,  they are able to destroy us if we do not do something about them. They are like untreated wounds that begins to fester if not treated . For Moses it was anger ,the display of anger that robbed him of the promised land in Numbers 20:8-12 started in Exodus 2:22 when he killed an Egyptian. Judas Iscariot started with stealing from the money bag ,John 12:6 and before you know it he sold Jesus his mentor and father in the Lord in Matthew 26:14-16 . By the time he realized his error it was too late so he committed suicide.
For Samson it was indiscipline ,he started with disobeying God on a small scale(judges 14:8-10)  and he graduated to sleeping with prostitutes(Judges 16:1), in the end both of his eyes were plucked out(Judges 16:21). In the case of David, it was women ,Abigail was still grieving her husband when David forced her into marriage(1 Samuel 24:1-44) this lust for women grew to the extent David finally killed a soldier to take his wife(2 Samuel 11:5-27) and that almost cost him his kingdom. His son Solomon inherited this habit from him.
Many of the bad habits we have today started very little, habits like pedophilia, masturbation, fornication started from watching pornography tapes, looking at naked pictures and all.Most of the people who lack integrity today started with telling little white lies. There is a poem i will like to share with you.
Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become your character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.
Lets do something about those little bad habits before they destroy us.Lack of integrity and coming late to church finally destroyed Ananias and Saphira in Acts 5:1-11.
PRAYER POINT: Father in heaven, anything that could cost me Your plans for my life please take it away today.

Same Standard

Tuesday 7 August                                                                Bible in one year :Joshua 4-6

Memorise : For i am the Lord , i change not;therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.Malachi 3:6

Read: Malachi 3:6-7

Immediately Elisha smote River Jordan , he asked for the God of Elijah.Though his spiritual father and mentor was gone,he knew the God of his father was still around.

And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him,and smote the waters, and he said , Where is the God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted and hither and thither: and Elisha went over . 2 Kings 2:14

There is a thin line between reverencing men of God and Idolatry. When your spiritual father dies, it is either you look for him expecting him to come back from grave to attend to your needs or you look out for his God. If you look for him, you will fall into error of Idolatry where many have fallen,but if you look for his God then you are on the right track. Who are you looking for:the dead or living God? Why do you think that after Moses died God buried on the mountain all by Himself? Nobody knew his grave. Why ? It was so that many Israelites will not start looking up to a corpse as their God and forget about the living God.Leaders must be very careful never to point the flock to themselves but to Jesus their Owner.

When a bona fide man of God passes on , remember that the God of that man remains.Our God is eternal,immortal and invisible (1 Timothy 1:17). Even when you cannot see Him, He is there. Elijah may be gone but God is still there. Malachi 3:6 says He does not change with time or with the fleeting customs of men. This is why i tell people that God is the most conservative Person in the universe. The dress(light) He has been wearing since the beginning of creation is still what He is wearing today. It is what is not good enough that is constantly changed, but if it is perfect there is no need for change.God does not bend His rule to suit anyone.Once He has spoken, it is a settled case. Many of us still believe that God needs to learn from modern man so as to adjust His standards. For instance,some people think that stress,traffic jams and modern challenges of urban cities are good enough reason for not meeting up with God’s expectations. Sorry to disappoint you, the word of God is settled in heaven and His foundations stands sure. Simply ask for grace to comply

PRAYER POINT: Ask God for grace to keep to His standards.

Open Heavens by Pastor E.A Adeboye

change

CHANGE

Wednesday 1 August                 Read the bible in one year : Proverbs 22-24

Memorise: And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed; but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail . Hebrew 1:12

The only constant thing in life is change. God’s covenant moved from the Old testament to the New.That was a profound change that shaped the whole world. When Jesus came, the Old Testament was in force. He introduced the New Testament during His ministry on earth , giving men a glimpse of the change to come and reorienting their understanding. After His death,burial and resurrection , the New Testament in His blood was established. Those who fail to go with the change end up blaming themselves. They will be cut off from so many benefits. For instance, during the days of the early church, when Paul travelled to Ephesus , he met some disciples who were baptised by John the Baptist. Based on what they knew, they were still expecting the Messiah who John had come to usher in . Unknown to these, the Messiah had come, affected their world and gone. One would wonder where these disciples were when great multitudes thronged the meeting organised by the Lord.  However , they were receptive to change based on the new information they heard, so they were baptised again as commanded by the Lord, and they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

We need to recognise that God is at the centre of several changes all over the world because He rules the affairs of men.Daniel 2:21 says He changes times and seasons to suit His purposes.But while He effects change, He does not change.He is the same ( Hebrews 1:10-22). He introduces changes so as to make room for a difference. When a piece of cloth is dyed and turns grey, it is said that it has changed colour.Change can also mean replacement, for instance when you change the tyres of your car. Change give room for variety, yet not all changes are desirable. When you change from good to bad, that is a negative change and undesirable. Equally bad is moving from success to failure. God expects positive change from you. Change from being a bench warmer in church to an active worker or minister. There are certain areas in your life that require change. Some things need to be dropped. You would also need to acquire healthy habits and behavioural patterns.Change now!

KEY POINT:  Life is all about change. If you do not adapt to change , you might be rendered irrelevant.

Open Heavens by Pastor E. A Adeboye