THE AUTHOR OF PEACE

MEMORY VERSE: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Gen. 4:16- 5:32

One of the names of our Lord Jesus Christ is 'Lord of Hosts' (Revelations 19:11-20). The 'Lord of Hosts' simply means the Commander in Chief i.e. the Supreme Commander of all the forces in heaven, on earth and underneath the earth. Philippians 2:10 says: "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth." Even, Satan, the head of demons, bows at the mention of the name of Jesus. Another name of our Lord Jesus is the 'Prince of Peace'. Isaiah 9:6 says: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” The word 'Prince' means 'Ruler'. Therefore, Jesus is the Ruler of Peace or the Author of Peace.

The moment Jesus steps into a man's boat, peace steps into the man's boat. The moment Jesus departs from a man, peace departs from the man. What is peace? Peace is the absence of disturbance. In Mark 5:21-43, a woman with the issue of blood met Jesus. Not only was she sick, she was disturbed. She was of marriageable age and no brother had come to propose to her. Also, she was poor and had no food to eat. She didn't even know where her next meal was going to come from. Mark 5:26 says: “And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was noting bettered, but rather grew worse. bettered, but rather grew worse.” To make matters worse, her disease was incurable. One day, she met Jesus (Author of Peace) and she breathed a sigh of relief.

The impotent man at the pool of Bethesda was sick,sad, weak and stressed (John 5:1-15). The pool of Bethesda was like a war zone. The angel of the Lord comes once a year to stir the water. Anyone who steps into the pool first after it has been stirred will automatically be healed. As a result, people will start rushing to get into the pool when it is stirred.  This man had done this for 38 years;  someone stronger, faster and more powerful had always jump into the water first. John 5:7 says, “The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” What really disturbed him was he had no helper. There were opportunities but no means of taking advantage of the opportunities.  One day, he met Jesus (Author of Peace) and peace came. Nicodemus was not only confused, he was troubled ( John 3:1-5). He wanted to know about how to get to heaven. One night, he came to Jesus and that questioned was answered . Friend, only Jesus can give you peace. All you get outside Jesus is a temporary peace.

QUESTION: What is troubling you? What is causing you sleepless night? Take it to Jesus.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

DON’T GRIEVE THE HOLY SPIRIT

MEMORISE: And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 29-32

After a man gives his life to Christ, God puts His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, inside him. First Corinthians 12:13 says this: “for by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is the seal of salvation for all those who believe (Ephesians 1:13-14). The Holy Spirit acts like a conscience in that, He warns us when we are about to do something wrong and convicts us when we sin against God. He also assures us that we belong to God. Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” He leads and guides us - believers. Romans 8:14 says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” The Holy Spirit does not lead a man to disobey God. The Psalmist says, “He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3b). The Holy Spirit leads a man into God’s will for his life.

The Holy Spirit does far more than I have mentioned. Some years back, a colleague at work misplaced his bunch of keys which contained his car keys, home keys and locker keys – I think. He searched everywhere and didn’t find it, so he came downstairs to inform us. As he spoke, the Holy Spirit told me where the key was and I told him. He doubted me, so I went to where the Holy Spirit told me it was, and he followed me. When I got there, I lifted a particular chair up, lo and behold; the key was underneath the chair. Sometimes last year, I, a pastor, and another colleague of mine were looking for a particular document. We literally turned the office upside down and didn’t find it, so I told them that the Holy Spirit will find the document and they said amen. We checked the office again and we found the document where we had checked 4 times! The value of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer cannot be measured.

Ephesians 4:30 says, “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” The first thing I want you to know is that the Holy Spirit can be grieved. Secondly, if a fellow continually grieves Him, He will take His leave. Can the Holy Spirit leave a man? Oh Yes! After Saul repeatedly disobeyed God, the Holy Spirit left him. First Samuel 16:14 says, “But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.” This brings us to the question, how does one grieve the Holy Spirit? We grieve the Spirit by living like pagans (Ephesians 4:17-19), by lying (Ephesians 4:25), by being angry (Ephesians 4:26-27), by stealing (Ephesians 4:28), by cursing (Ephesians 4:29), by being bitter (Ephesians 4:31), by being unforgiving (Ephesians 4:32), and by being sexually immoral (Ephesians 5:3-5). The moment He, the Holy Spirit, warns one not to do something, and the fellow goes ahead and does it, He becomes grieved. When a man continually grieves Him, He will leave.

QUESTION: Are you grieving the Holy Spirit by the way you live your life? Does your conscience still convict you when you tell little white lies?

PRAYER POINT: Father, help me never to grieve you again.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

HE GOT IT BUT LOST HIS PEACE

MEMORY VERSE: And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer- Sheba.Genesis 21:14

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Timothy 2-4

BIBLE STUDIES: Genesis 21:8-14

Genesis 16:1 says: “Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children…..” Sarai was barren. Despite the fact that Sarai had everything money can buy, she was unhappy. She had all – servants, fame, prestige, influence, wealth, a good husband - but lacked a child of her own. Mr and Mrs Abram tried repeatedly, for several years, but all to no avail. Although they made several efforts, yet they had nothing to show for it.

One morning, Sarai got up and told her husband “dear, I have an idea.”  Genesis 16:2 says: “and Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go into my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.” Mr and Mrs Abram decided to disobey God so that they can have children. They threw their salvation away to get solution to their problem. All because they wanted a child, they abandoned God’s promise and pursued human solution to their problem.  Anyway Sarai spoke to Hagar and she consented to become Abram’s second wife. Everything was fine until Hagar conceived. Genesis 16:4 says: “…..when she saw that she had conceived her mistress was despised in her eyes.” She began to disrespect her madam. Mr and Mrs Abram began to quarrel over petty things. By this time, God had stopped speaking to Abram.. He found himself in the middle of two angry women – the mother of his unborn child and his wife. Abram’s world literally began to crumble. The problem continued even after Ishmael was born. The birth of Isaac did not help matters.Friend, Big problems await anyone who throws away his salvation for piece of bread. Loss of peace of mind awaits anyone who throws God away for things. Never ending challenges awaits anyone who compromises to please men.

At a point, Sarah demanded that Hagar must leave. Genesis 21:14 says: “And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer- Sheba.” Abram had no other choice than to send Hagar packing. The moment Hagar left, peace returned to Abram now Abraham. Friend, I hope you are not holding unto something God did not give to you. For the sake of peace, you better drop it.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: A man will eventually loose whatever he disobeys God to achieve.

PRAYER: Father, please let Your peace never depart from me.

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

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PURSUE PEACE WITH ALL MEN

MEMORY VERSE: pursue peace with everyone, and holiness—without it no one will see the Lord, Hebrews 12:14

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deut 17, Ps 104, Isa 44, Rev 14 

Matthew 5:9 says blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Why are peacemakers referred to as sons of the living God? Peace makers are referred to as sons of God because God is a God of peace, Romans 15:33. Everything that pertains to God has an element of peace. The dove is the symbol used to depict His Spirit – the Holy Spirit. His residence – Heaven is the most peaceful place. Romans 14:14 says for the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Nine of ten when God speaks there is always this feeling of peace in your spirit. Anywhere peace is absent, God is absent.

How do you know a child of God? A child of God always seeks for peace. Any believer who is always fighting or quarrelling will be deluding himself if he thinks he is a child of God. Romans 14:19 says let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. As believers we are not to desire peace but pursue peace. Pursue means to go after something or run after a thing. We are not to segregate when it comes to who to pursue peace with. We need to seek peace with all men including those who do us wrong.

Hebrews 12:14 says pursue peace with everyone, and holiness-without it no one will see the Lord. We must do everything to make for peace even when we are well within our rights and the other party is on the wrong. A fellow who is pursuing after peace will not mind being the first to apologize even when the other party is at fault. When you say sorry, you are making for peace. Many will rather justify their actions than say sorry. It is pride to be at fault and still refuse to apologize. Most of the conflicts between couples could have been resolved with a simple sorry but because both party refuse to apologize and say sorry, things get out of hand if care is not taken it could lead to divorce. It takes a loving husband to say sorry when he is wrong. It takes a submissive wife to say sorry when at fault. In the course of pursuing peace you could be insulted but don’t worry because your heavenly father will reward you. For the sake of peace say sorry when you are at fault. Even when you are not at fault, so that the glory of God will be visible in your life, say sorry.

PRAYER POINT: Father , help me to leave in peace with all men.

IF YOU HEAR MORE FROM GOD, YOU WILL SWEAT LESS

MEMORY VERSE: Isaiah 30:21 says and thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, this is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ex 27, John 6, Prov 3, Gal 2

 

If there is anything to earnestly seek, it is the ability to hear from God. When you hear from God, your faith grows, Romans 10:17. The whole world may be panicking but your mind will  be at rest because you have heard from the controller of seasons, Daniel 2:21. Not only that, every time He speaks life is injected into your situation. According to John 6:63, His words are life. I remember several years ago when I was given a month to produce a thing or two and attend an interview or leave the country. It was certain that I was going to leave the country because I stood no chance under the heaven if I attended the interview. While I was fasting, crying and praying, a voice thundered from heaven saying   ‘what are you, O Great Mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain’, Zechariah 4:7. Today I am still in the same country where I was giving a month to leave several years ago. The reason why most people sweat and struggle in their endeavor is because they have not heard from God. Isaiah 30:21 says And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. When God begins to speak to you, you will never miss a turning in life again. The reason why many struggle today is because they have missed a major turning in their life. They have studied medicine instead of studying law. They have married brother A or sister X instead of marrying brother B or sister Y. They end up struggling to survive. When you hear from God, missing a major turn becomes impossible. The more you hear from God, the lesser the wrong turns you will take in life.

 

There are one or two reasons why people do not hear from God. Firstly, they do not spend time with God. They are too busy with work, family, career e.t.c. If you want to hear from God, go close to Him. James 4:8 says draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Secondly, they disobey God in little things. There are many who God have been asking to do a thing or the other for years and they have not done it. If you are not ready to obey little instructions, what are they chances that you will obey instructions that will turn your life around? Has the Holy Spirit been nudging you to preach to someone at work or in the college? Stop ignoring the Holy Spirit and witness to them. If you continue to ignore the leadings of the Holy Spirit, He will stop leading you. Thirdly, lack of gratitude. No one loves to talk to an ungrateful fellow let alone a fellow who is always complaining. Instead of complaining of what the Lord is yet to do, thank Him for what He has done.

 

ACTION POINT: Spend more time with God praising Him. Not only that stop ignoring the leading the Holy Spirit.

CHRIST’S DOVES

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Gen 22, Matt 21, Neh 11, Acts 21

Song of Solomon 6:9 My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, they praised her.

Songs of Solomon is a love song that allegorically pictures the church as the bride of Christ. The Shullamite is the church and the Beloved is Christ. As brides of Christ, we are His doves. We are expected to exhibit the characteristics of doves. What are the characteristics of doves? Doves are docile birds i.e. very submissive. As His doves, we are expected to be submissive to Him.James 4:7 says submit yourself to God. Not only to Him but to authorities also. 1 Peter 2:13 says submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme. According to Matthew 10:16 doves are harmless. As His doves we are expected to be harmless. Philippians 2:15 says that ye may be blameless and harmless, sons of God, without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as light in the world. Another characteristic of doves is that they are humble. Been gentle is not humility. There are many gentle people with proud heart. Humility is a thing of the heart. As Christ's doves, He expects us to be humble. Psalm 138:6 says though the Lord is high, yet He respects the humble: the proud He knows from far. Doves by behavior are monogamous. While every other birds mate with any bird they see, doves sticks to only a partner all the days of their lives. According to Proverbs 6:32 anyone committing adultery or fornication lacks understanding , he may think he is having fun but he is actually destroying his soul . While dogs go around pleasing everyone, His doves are interested in pleasing Him alone. According to Jeremiah 48:28 doves make their nest in the sides of the hole’s mouth .For fear of birds of prey, she makes her nest in the side of a hole or cleft of a rock , that she and her young may be safe from them. His doves make their nest way from danger– pride, haughtiness, arrogance, self exaltation, fury and futility. Proverbs 16:18 says pride goeth before destruction, and haughty spirit before a fall.

The dove is a symbol of peace. Brides of Christ are expected to be symbols of peace not contentions or discord. 1 Corinthians 7:15 says God has called us to live in peace. Romans 14:19 says follow after the things which make for peace. We are expected to not to only seek peace but to pursue it, Psalm 34:14. The dove is also a symbol of purity. 1 Thessalonians 4:7 says for God hath not called us unto uncleanness but holiness. Whiles pigs dwell in uncleanness - dirty environment, doves stay far away from anything that can stain their white feathers. His doves are expected not to only run from sin but everything that appears as sin, 1 Thessalonians 5:22 . When you look at the fruit of the spirit , love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness e.t.c you will notice that this are all character traits of the dove. His doves are expected to bear the fruit of the Spirit

PRAYER POINT: Father, please help me to begin to bear the fruit of the Spirit.

GIVE, IT WILL COME BACK TO YOU

Ecclesiastes 1:7 – All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; to the place from which the rivers come, there they return again.

I am not a lover of dogs, but I am a firm believer of the saying that a dog is the only animal that doesn’t have to work for a living. A hen has to lay eggs, a cow has to give milk, and a canary has to sing but a dog makes his living by giving you nothing but love. Dogs greet people with their beautiful bright eyes, they wag their tails, and they run around breathlessly with leaps of joy and barks of sheer ecstasy. People see them in this mood and want to play with them, pat them on the head and so on. When people see a Hyena or wolf (from the same dog family) the first thing that comes to mind is run! The wolf or Hyena never smiles; their eyes are neither beautiful nor bright. If they are lucky to still have a tail they never wag it. The same thing happens in human life. Ecclesiastes 1:7 says to the place where rivers come, there they return again. Humans are in the habit of returning good deeds, kindness, smiles, respect, and love to where it came from. People we channel rivers of kindness, respect and smiles to return the same rivers back to us. At times, we receive these rivers back from unexpected sources. A friend was once stopped by the traffic police for over speeding. His explanation was he was late for work, the traffic police saw this excuse as flimsy and he proceeded to issue a fine and deduct points from his license. As the police was about to hand out the fine he asked what do you do? My friend said i am a traffic warden. The police then asked, do you give second chance? He said everyone deserves a second chance. The Police man said “there you go, your second chance”, he tore the fine and left. What if my friend was the type that never believed in giving second chance?

The rivers of good deeds that flow from us might not flow back to us directly but indirectly. By indirectly we mean to our families. A man I work with has this habit of bringing sweets, cakes and biscuits and all sorts to work for everyone to eat. People took his kind gesture for granted but he did not care. This man told me about his grand pa of blessed memories. He lived in the countryside of Montserrat. The old man had the habit of giving people gifts, buying them drinks, giving fish and all sorts. After his death, this man went back to Montserrat to put one or two things in order. He said when he entered a cafe to buy a cold drink, someone he had never seen before approached him and said you look like Pa X (X to be the name of the grandpa). He answered in the affirmative that Pa X was his grandfather and the man decided to pay for his drink. Everyone in the countryside began to give him fish and all sorts of gifts all because he was the grandson of Pa X. This old man wasn't really rich and could not afford to leave a million in the bank for his grand-children but he left something money cannot buy-kindness. One question we need to ask ourselves is this, can people because of us decide to show our children or family kindness or mercy? What if Pa- X was a wicked man? What would have been this man’s story? This man decided that day that he will always be kind and good to people so that his children and grand-children can reap from it. It is what flows from us that will return to us directly or indirectly .

ACTION POINT: Let the rivers of good works begin to flow from you.

Cost of anger

Proverbs 15:18 - A wrathful man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger allays contention.

Anger is very costly. It is able to turn a prince in to a fugitive. In Exodus 2:11-17, Moses-a prince in Egypt became a fugitive in the land of Midian courtesy of his anger. He saw an Egyptian beating up a Hebrew, instead of simply reprimanding the Egyptian or better still ask what happened and resolve the matter, he got angry and before he knew it he became a murderer. The boy who was once favored by Pharaoh suddenly became an enemy courtesy of the result of his anger. Anger can bring curses. In Genesis 4:3-11, Cain got angry because God rejected his offering .Out of anger he killed Abel and that action brought God's curse on him. Many marriages are on the rock today as a result things that were said in anger. There are so many who have destroyed their own labor due to anger. Something they labored for all their life, in anger they destroyed it. Many parents out of anger have placed a curse on their children. There was a slight misunderstanding between a sister and her fiancee and out of anger this sister took the expensive watch this brother bought for her as a gift and destroyed it in the presence of this brother. The brother simply called off the wedding .The sister who was meant to get married in few months suddenly became single again.

Worse is uncontrolled anger. The anger that led Moses to kill the Egyptian in Exodus, made him to disobey God in Numbers 20:1-3. The instruction was speak to the rock but out of the anger he refused to control, he hit the rock and the Lord decided Moses was not worthy of leading Israel into Canaan. Studying the live of Moses we will come to the conclusion that uncontrolled anger leads to untimely death - Moses who was meant to die in Canaan died in the desert before his appointed time; uncontrolled anger brings disfavor - Moses who God appointed as the leader in Israel was suddenly found unworthy of been a leader by the same God who appointed him because of the anger he refused to control ; Uncontrolled anger rubs us of our destinies - the destiny of Moses was to lead Israel to Canaan but he could not out of anger. Why is anger bad? in anger one thinks irrationally. Proverbs 14:17 says He that is quickly angry deals foolishly: and a man of wicked intentions is hated. Proverbs 16:32 says He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that rules his spirit than he that takes a city.

Brethren anger can cost us heaven if we do not do something about our anger. James 1:20 says for the anger of man works not the righteousness of God.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please rid me of every form anger today.

God is in control