DEAL WITH TODAY’S PROBLEMS -TODAY

MEMORY VERSE: Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Ephesians 4:26

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Leviticus 4-6

That recent incident (where you were wronged) doesn’t have to destroy the relationship that you have built over the years. I learnt this from a great man of God: “there are no permanent enemies and there are no permanent friends. That fellow who wronged you today could become your life-saver tomorrow. ” As we discussed yesterday, let’s be honest with our anger. There is no point pretending or denying our anger. This does not help resolve the matter in any way. Also, let's avoid the blame game. Watch your words when you are angry. Remember, with our tongue we can start a war and also with the same tongue we can bring an end to war. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” We say, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me,” but it’s not true. A person can die of a crushed spirit, and the one who spoke the words can live to regret the damage that they inflicted and may never get a chance to undo it. On the other hand, anger properly handled never needs to be repented of.

Keep your anger current. Storing anger in our hard drives only hurts us. Some of us are angry with one of our siblings or a friend for something they did or said in the past. The fellow who wronged you or made you angry probably can’t remember the incident but you are still angry and hurt. You are the one who is losing emotional energy, not them. They are living life with zest and you are still hurt. Why not let go. There are some of us who are angry with the dead. The dead doesn’t know you are angry, unfortunately, he or she can’t return to apologize for the wrong done. Why not let go and ask the Lord to help you get over it. What happens when we download old resentments and start to rehearse them is that we grow bitter. When you are angry deal with it quickly. Don’t passively allow time to decide your options or sit around hoping the other person will see the light and apologize. Problems do not go away. They must be worked through or else they remain, forever a barrier to the growth and the development of the spirit. Matthew 18:15 says, “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.” If someone offends you, try to resolve it and restore the relationship. When you repress it you add one more skeleton to your closet. Sooner or later, doctors say it’ll be at your stomach lining, attack your immune system, and predispose you to heart problems, cancers, and other physical, social and emotional disorders. In the meantime, it’ll preoccupy you, dissipate you to heart problems, cripple your creativity, and hinder your fellowship with God, your friends and fellow believers; not to mention that it denies the offender an opportunity to clear their conscience, repent and get right with God and you. Lets’s stop dragging up the past, trying to blackmail the guilty by hauling skeletons out of closets at “auspicious” moments, plotting revenge, and passing down resentments for the next generation to carry.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please give me the humility and courage to deal with today’s problems – today.

twitter@BroOluwatoki

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

“GOD SAID, IT IS NOT GOOD THAT THE MAN SHOULD BE ALONE”

MEMORIZE: and the LORD God said, it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. Genesis 2:18 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 1- 5 

Our God is all knowing i.e. omniscient. Job 37:16 says, “Dost thou know the balancing of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge?” God knew Adam before He created him. Jeremiah 1:5a says, “Before i formed thee in the belly I knew thee.” He knew what his needs were going to be so He made provisions for them. He knew Adam would need food so He created lots of trees in the Garden of Eden. He knew Adam would need to drink water after eating so He put a river in the midst of the Garden (Genesis 2:10). He knew Adam would not need clothes because His glory was going to be his covering so He didn’t bother to give him clothes. Whatever Adam needed, He created them either before creating him or after creating him. God in His wisdom knew that Adam was going to be alone in the Garden and would need a wife. The question is why didn’t He create a woman from the man immediately after He created the man? He obviously knew that the man He had created would be in need of a wife, why wait a while before giving him a wife? 

Adam went through several stages in his life and every man or woman reading this – especially single people- are presently in one of these stages. We find ‘stage 1’ in Genesis 2:7 – “and the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Adam – at this point – did not know where his life was going. He had no job or responsibility. God had not even showed him His purpose for his life. He was more like a floater in the Garden. At stage 1, God did not talk about giving him a wife because he was not qualified to be any woman’s husband. Then Adam moved to ‘stage 2’ in Genesis 2:15 – “and the LORD God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” Adam now had a job – he was responsible for dressing and keeping the Garden. If it was today, i would have said Adam was now earning salary. Yet at this stage, God did not give him a wife. He did not even consider it. Why? Although Adam was now gainfully employed, he still cannot be a husband because he had not learnt to walk with God. The fact that a man has a job does not mean he is a marriage material. The fact that he can put food on the table does not mean he is God's will for your life. Shortly after this, Adam moved to the next level, ‘stage 3’, in Genesis 2:16-17 – “and the LORD God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Adam now had a proper relationship with God. He was able to hear the voice of God and talk back to God. God was giving him instructions and he was following it. His relationship with God was growing. It was at this point God said, it is not good for the man, Adam, to be alone. Genesis 2:18 says, “And the LORD God said, it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” The man was already in ‘stage 3’ before God decided that it was not good for him to be alone. The time of waiting on God for a marriage partner is not a time to go from party to party hoping to meet a man. It is not a time to give your mobile number to every random guy that speaks to you on the bus. It is a time to work on your relationship with God. It is a time to develop your spirit man because you will need it in marriage. 

ADVISE: If you have a friend, a brother, a sister or child that is of marriageable age who is yet to be married, please do not put pressure on them. A lot of us indirectly put unnecessary pressure on single people and these causes them to fall into the wrong hands. The best way to help our single brothers and sisters is to pray for them not put pressure on them or remind them that they are getting old. 

PRAYER POINT: Father, please provide our single brothers and sisters with the bone of their bones and flesh of their flesh. 

twitter@BroOluwatoki 

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus. 

DON’T TAKE IT FOR GRANTED

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Gen 42, Mark 12, Job 8, Romans 12

Mark 6:3 is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us? And they were offended at him

Bible studies: Mark 6:1-6

Mighty signs and wonders were happening in the ministry of Jesus. Everywhere He went to preach, people received major miracles. One day He decided to visit His own country to bless them, heal their sick, raise their dead, perform mighty signs and wonders, fellowship with them and spend a nice time with them. When He got there, He could not heal them or render much assistance because of their unbelief. Instead of exercising their faith they began to doubt and look down on Him. They said ‘is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us? And they were offended at him, Mark 6:3. Because they knew the family of Jesus, they took Him granted. Because Jesus grew among them instead of taking Him as a prophet, they took him as the son of an ordinary carpenter. They did not even listen to Him and because of this they missed out on their blessings. They took the relationship they had with Jesus for granted and they missed out on the benefits of that relationship. The relationship that could have resulted in having unlimited access to Jesus was taken for granted. Because they took the relationship and visit for granted, the bible did not record Jesus going back to His country again after that incident. People who take their relationship with people for granted end up not benefiting from that relationship. Do not take your husband or wife for granted. There are many single who crying to God day and night for a husband or wife. Do not take your children for granted. Do not take your Pastors for granted. Do not take your friends for granted. There are people who are looking for a shoulder to cry on and there is none. If you have people who care about you and call you from time to time to check on you ,please do not take them for granted.

Judas Iscariot did not value the opportunity to be the disciple of Jesus so he exchanged Him for thirty pieces of silver, Matthew 27:3. At the end he regretted and committed suicide. People who take opportunities for granted lose them. Maximizing the benefits you can get from a relationship will be impossible if you take it for granted. Please never take anything for granted. Thank God for everything you own. Please do not take your spiritual gifts or your advantage for granted. I know of a sister who did dry fasting for fourteen days for the gift of speaking tongues, if you speak in tongues don’t take it for granted. Do not take your employment for granted, there are people who will do anything to get a job. Do not even take your freedom and liberty for granted, there are many innocent people in the prison.1 Thessalonian 5:18 says in everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ concerning you. You might be looking to God for one thing or other, thank God for the gift of Life because only the living has needs.

KEY WORD: Opportunities taken for granted are lost. Benefiting from a relationship taking for granted is impossible.

HOW TO CULTIVATE A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

Amos 3:3-can two walk together, unless they agree?

There was a man who owned a small farm. He worked on this farm year in year out and got very little out this farm just to feed himself and his family. Unknowingly or knowingly to this man, underneath this farm was oil. If only he will dig deeper, he will become very rich and would be able to afford good things of life. This man represents many believers today, and the farm represents the Holy Spirit. The oil represents the riches in Christ. If only we will dig deeper, instead of been Christians in poverty we will be Christians with the riches of God. The Holy Spirit is God, acting like God, been Himself God, always is God. He has the same attribute as God. He is God the Spirit; Jesus is God the Son and the Father is God the Father. He is not a force or power but a personality. He speaks and hears; thinks and reasons feel and has emotions; and decides, has a will, a self –determination. Because He is a personality a relationship with Him can be cultivated. The mistake we make is we think one experience of been filled with the Holy Spirit is sufficient and that is enough to know Him. Just like it is impossible to know a man just by shaking hands with him. It will be true if the man is a tree or lamp post but since he has a personality a relationship can be developed to know him. The same thing happens with the Holy Spirit, We can know the Holy Spirit better every day of our life.

Amos 3: 3 asks a rhetorical question; can two walk together except they agree? No. For two people to walk together, they need to agree on certain things. There needs to be agreement on direction, destination and route. If a man is going north and the other is going south it is obvious they cannot walk together or if they are going to the same location but each of them prefers to use different routes. To walk with the Holy Spirit we need to go the direction He is going. Not only that we must ready to go to His destination following His route. The Spirit filled way must be a holy way. A spirit filled life must be a holy life. He will not dwell in an unholy life. The good news is the Holy Spirit does not require a holy place to come in but He requires you be willing that the place should be made holy after He comes. The Holy Spirit does not come to a life to make him famous or make a celebrity out of him. He comes to make a man holy, give him gifts and enable him to witness, Acts 1:8. The greatest gift of the Holy Spirit is a meek, docile heart. He will transform you to a meek, humble, trusted, domesticated person. The result of this relationship is oneness with Him. One in outlook, hope and thought. Two people cannot walk together if they do not have anything in common. Once we become one with Him, He begins to release the riches of God to us. To achieve this oneness with Him , we must surrender to the Holy Spirit to transform us .

PRAYER POINT: Father, I want to be one with you, I surrender my life to you please transform me.