YOUR FAITH PLEASES GOD

MEMORY VERSE: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deuteronomy 13-15

BIBLE READING: Romans 4:16-22

There is nothing as insulting as your children doubting you or your ability to take care of them. Imagine for a second that you overheard one of your children expressing his doubts in your ability to look after him or meet his basic needs – cloth, food and shelter- with his friends. How would that make you feel as a loving, responsible father? It will hurt; i mean you will feel really disappointed especially if there are no bases for such. The same thing happens when we doubt the Most High God. There is nothing as insulting to God as doubting His ability or His words. Firstly, He does not tell lies. He has never told one and He has no need to tell one. 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?” Secondly, He is limited by nothing. He said to Jeremiah: “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me (Jeremiah 32:27)”? Thirdly, once He says something consider it done. Psalm 33:8-9 says, “Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spake and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.”

There was a great famine in Samaria that lasted so long resulting in people eating bird’s faeces and only the rich could afford it (2 Kings 6:25-2 Kings 7). Things were so bad that women began to eat their children. I pray you will never experience famine of any kind in Jesus name, Amen. And, if you are experiencing one at the moment the good Lord send provision your way in Jesus name, Amen. In the midst of this famine, God spoke and promised to turn things around within 24 hours. Everyone will have so much that there won't be need to buy anything, as such the price of food items would drop. One of the king’s advisers, a special adviser in God-knows-what said it was impossible. “Even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens”, he said, “Could this happen?” This man called the Most High God a liar in the presence of all. The man of God said to him, “Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.” What caused the famine was Benhadad (king of Syria) besieged Samaria; no one could go in or come out thereby shutting off food supplies. The Lord caused Benhadad and his men to hear a strange noise and out of panic, they ran away leaving their horses and all they had acquired from their raids. The people heard the news, rushed out and collected spoils for themselves. To manage the situation, the king appointed that man who doubted the words of the Lord to manage and oversee the whole affair. As the people where rushing out they trampled on him and he died. He saw it but did not eat from it as the word of the Lord.

On the other hand, there is nothing that pleases God like faith in Him or His words. Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Your faith pleases God. A man whose faith pleased God was Abraham. He was not just old, the bible says “He was well advanced in age”; so was his wife. The Lord said to Him, “I have made thee a father of many nations” and he believed God. As old as he was, coupled with the fact that his wife had stopped producing eggs as she had now reached menopause and passed it - if there is something as such, he believed God and God was pleased with him. Romans 4:22 says, “And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.”

NOTE: No matter how impossible it may seem, if it is coming from God don’t doubt it. Remember, doubt is an insult to God’s personality.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

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