HIS BURDEN IS LIGHT

MEMORY VERSE: For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:30

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Numbers 25-28

Ezekiel 44:17-18 says, “And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.” One thing is very clear from studying this verse; God does not want His laborers (1 Corinthians 3: 9) i.e. ministers, to sweat whilst carrying His work. As such, whenever He calls people into service, He anoints them for the task ahead. Not only that, He makes their burden light so they can bear it without sweating. Matthew 11:30 says, “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” What a caring Master we have.

Sadly, His light burden i.e. work, has become so heavy that many are now struggling. Actually, many now have high blood pressure as a result of His burden. Why is this so? Why is it that many who were very zealous for the Lord at the beginning now secretly wish they hadn't sign for so much. They are now envious of many who do less. Many ministers want their children to be professionals not ministers as a result of their experience. One of the reasons why the burden has become so heavy is because we are the one bearing the burden instead of Christ. We don't trust Him enough to truly cast all our cares on Him, and leave it there. How sad that many of us bring our burdens to His feet, and instead of leaving it at His feet, we take it back with us after praying. The burden becomes lighter the moment we throw up our hands up and say "let thy will be done." Stop worrying about how God’s work will be done. It is His work not your work. Ever since I stopped worrying about what to write daily,  preparing the daily devotional has become so easy. All i need to do is listen to what He has to say. Stop worrying for Him. Stop doing His job for Him. You are not built to do it.

Many worry if they are the right person for the job. The Master-workman surely has a right to use any tool He pleases for His own work, and it is plainly not the business of the tool to decide whether it is the right one to be used or not. He knows; and if He chooses to use you, of course you must be fit. And in truth, our chief fitness is in our utter helplessness. Remember, His strength is made perfect not in our strength, but in our weakness. Our strength is only a hindrance. Many worry about results. The work is His, so is the responsibility. Commit everything to Him and ask Him to guide you from moment to moment. Trust Him completely for each moment's needed supplies of wisdom and of strength. Remember, you are not responsible for all the work in the world but a small share. Also, not every act of service is a perpetual obligation. Let the Lord guide you to do the things He wants you to do. Because it was right for you to give tract to one person on the bus, for instance, does not mean you have to always give tracts to everybody. There are times the Lord may want you to speak to people. Besides it is an impossible task to give tracts to everyone you meet. This applies to every other work. The fact that the Spirit of the Lord laid something on your mind does not make it a perpetual obligation. Put yourself under the Lord’s personal guidance as to your work, and trust Him to point out to you from time to time what He wants you to do.

PRAYER POINT: Father, I cast all my cares at your feet by faith.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

BE DELIBERATE

MEMORY VERSE: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Romans 10-14

In Matthew 5:14, Jesus said:“ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Friend, our lights must shine not dimly but brightly.  Non Christians around us must know that we are different. The way we carry ourselves must be different. As lights we must be modest in our dressing not flamboyant or sexy. 1 Timothy 2:19 says, “in like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array.” The way we talk, our choice of words, our choice of music, must be different. How can the favourite song of a born again, regenerated, spirit filled believer be ‘sexual healing’ or ‘Mr Bombastic’? How can the ringtone of a believer be ‘Get rich or die trying?” Friend, old things must pass away and all things must become new (Second Corinthians 5:17). Astrology and palm reading must pass away. Playing lottery must pass away.

Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works.”  That they may see your ‘good’ works not ordinary works. Friend, I want you to know this, letting your light shine is work. One thing with ‘work’ is that, you do it, not because it is convenient, easy or pleasant, but, because you have to do it. There are times you wake up in the morning tired, especially after night vigil, and do not feel like going to work. Despite the tiredness, you still go to work because you have to. Some times, letting your light shine before men is not easy or pleasant. If someone betrays you, letting your light shine before such fellow is not very easy. This is where the ‘work’ bit comes in. Letting your light shine before a fellow who has just testified falsely against you is not pleasant. This is where the ‘work’ bit comes in. Whether it is easy or not, whether it is pleasant or not, whether it is convenient or not, our lights must shine.

In doing good works, we must be deliberate. That fellow may not deserve it, but do good to him or her. In letting your light shine, be deliberate. Deliberately greet that sister that is keeping malice with you. Deliberately pray for that fellow who has wronged you and mean the prayer. Deliberately refuse to swear and curse when you are angry. Deliberately refuse to buy cigarette and beer for your friends. Be good to people. Deliberately refuse to be nasty to people evenwhen they are nasty to you. You have nothing to gain by being nasty and you gain everything by being nice. Deliberately refuse to pay people back in their own coin. Deliberately refuse to start a big quarrel any time that man comes home drunk or late at night. Instead of shouting and asking, “where have you been,” greet him. When he is asleep, wake up and ask the Lord to touch his heart. Instead of flaring up over petty things, deliberately smile and say, “it is well”and mean it. Be deliberately nice to fellow road users. The next time that fellow wrongs you; deliberately refuse to remind him of how he has wronged you  fifteen times in the last two weeks. The next time Angie, at work, leaves the kitchen dirty; deliberately clean it up without making fuss about it.

NOTE: You have a lot to lose by being nasty.

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

INTERCEDING FOR THE ‘HEAD’

MEMORY VERSE: When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn, Proverbs 29:2.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deut 9, Ps 92-93, Isa 37, Rev 7

The most important part of the body is the head. The head is responsible for vision. Proverbs 29:18 says where there is no vision the people perish. The head is responsible for hearing. Romans 10:17 says faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Romans 14:23c says whatever that is not of faith is sin. The head is responsible for making decisions. To make wise decisions, wisdom is required. The head is responsible for intercession. Matthew 7:8 says for everyone that asketh recieveth. The reason why God created the head is to serve the body.
The body greatly depends on the head for a lot of things. If the head succeeds, the body will succeed but if the head fails, the body will fail. If the head makes a mistake, the body will pay dearly for it. This is why we need to always intercede for our ‘heads’- Pastors, Bishops, Teachers, Governors, Presidents, Heads of States, General Superintendent or Overseas e.t.c. The enemy knows the importance of the head to the body and he understands that once the body is separated from the head, the body will die. Anytime he wants to destroy a fellow, he encourages the fellow to rebel against his head i.e. leader. When he wanted to destroy Judas Iscariot, he encouraged him to rebel and betray his master –Jesus; we all know the end of Judas. This is why we need to ensure that we are not part of any rebellion or we don’t make friends with rebels.
There is a real need to intercede for world leaders today. The problem of recession all over the world is a result of our heads - finance ministers, chancellors, specialist e.t.c. getting it wrong. The only way out of recession is just to pray for them so that they will get it right. Without the fear of the Lord in their hearts, getting it right will be impossible. Psalm 111:10 says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Increase in crimes, high rates of unemployment, corruptions e.t.c. are all end products of wrong decisions made by our heads. We need to pray for the salvation of our heads. Many of us would rather curse them than pray for them. The truth is this, if they are saved we will all enjoy. Proverbs 29:2 says when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.
PRAYER POINT: Father, please have mercy and save the souls of world leaders.