crying to God

James 5:16 says Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

There is nothing that moves a parent like the cry of their children. The same thing applies to God. When we cry to Him, things definitely happen. One of the reasons why the children of Israel stayed so long in Egypt was because they were quiet. Immediately they cried to God, He moved. This shows there is a disadvantage in been quiet because one might suffer unnecessarily. If ten people lined up to seek for help or to see the doctor , the one who cries most is likely to be attended to first. There are many of us who still think suffering is God’s way of testing us. There are many who still believe it is ok to suffer. It is ok to endure temptation actually James 1:12 says blessed is the man who endures temptation but the next verse which is James 1:13 says God does not tempt His children with evil actually God does not tempt anyone. Many still believe that been sick is good. Many still believe they need to be poor to get to heaven. Sickness is not God’s plan for your life, 1 Peter 2:24 says by His stripes we have been healed. Poverty is not a criterion to go to heaven, Salvation and living a life of holiness takes a man to heaven not bank balances.

Why do we have to cry to God in prayers? Crying gets the attention of God and makes Him to remember His promises – Exodus 2:23-24. From studying Exodus 3:7-22, one will come to the conclusion that crying causes God to pay us a visit

, causes God to make up His mind to help us, causes Him to be an enemy to our enemy, causes Him to send us help, causes Him to bring us in favor with our enemies, causes Him to be with our helpers so that they will not fail in their attempt to help us and many more. Crying to God causes Him to arise on our behalf and we know from reading Psalms 68:1 that when God arises, all His enemies are scattered. When we cry to God in prayers, we should not do it like a gentleman or a lady. Our prayers should be hot and aggressive. James 5:16 says the effective fervent prayers of the righteous avails much. Matthew 11:12 says and from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. The prayer that causes one to sweat is not a gentleman’s prayer, talk less of sweat becoming like drops of blood. If Jesus who was the son of God, prayed fervently until His sweat became like drops of blood what is our excuse not to pray that way today. Before we go to God in prayers, let’s make sure our standing with God is good. Psalm 66:18 says if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

ACTION POINT: Cry to God today over that issue and I can assure you He will send help.

Not ready

2 Timothy 4:5 -But you watch in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fully carry out your ministry.

I have always loved the Boys Scout Motto which says “be prepared”. The cost of been un-prepared or not ready is very high because costly mistake is inevitable. Been unprepared can deny one of everlasting joy. If you do not believe me please ask the five foolish virgins in Matthew 25:1-13. The opportunity they had waited all their life came and because they were unprepared i.e. failed to bring extra oil for their lamps in case the bridegroom delayed they lost the opportunity of a lifetime. I pray that the lack of adequate preparation will not deny us of the opportunity we have been waiting for in Jesus name, Amen.

Been ready implies preparing oneself to receive the blessings of God. By preparation we mean working on oneself, shedding the weights of bad habits or character defects in our life. Hebrews 12:1 says therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. From studying the life of Gehazi you will notice although he desired to take the mantle of Elisha that will fall later, he was not ready. Why? Because he failed to take care of the character defects in his life and he had so many. One of them was love for worldly materials another one was his uncaring and unloving nature. In 2 kings 4:27 a woman whose only son had just died held on to the feet of Elisha to please help her, what did Gehazi do? He started pushing her away, the fact that the woman had just lost her only son did not bother him. God will never use such cold people or people who don’t show sympathy at all .Anyone in ministry must be extra caring and loving. The reason why God has not released the blessings of some is not because they do not desire it; it is because they are not ready yet. There are one or two things they need to deal with first and most of the time they are character defects or little sins. Anyone praying for promotion or expansion and his not ready to put extra effort or work harder is not ready . A man that is stingy, lazy, can’t take decisions or not responsible is not ready for marriage. He can desire it and pray all night but he is not ready. So also is a woman who is not submissive, lazy, and impatient or gets angrily easily. Such woman will spend the rest of the marriage fighting with the in-laws. A fellow still suffering from pride or anger or believes tribalism is not ready to be a leader. Anointing in the hands of a fellow who cannot forgive or gets angry easily is disaster. Anointing in the hands of such a man or woman is like giving a rocket launcher or sub-machine gun to a fourteen year old. Many of us talk of heaven and want to go to heaven but we are not ready, how many can beat their chest that if they stand before the throne of God this minute God will not find any fault in them? 1 Peter 1:13 says Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

PRAYER POINT; Father , help me to lay aside every weights and little s

Profit in all Labour

Proverbs 14:23: In all labor there is profit, but idle chatter leads only to poverty

Asides pride and lukewarmness, one thing God does not condone is laziness. The scriptures says that if anyone will not work; neither shall he eat - 2 Thessalonians 3:10.  In 1 Thessalonians 4:11 , Paul admonished the Thessalonians  to work with their hands. Proverbs 10:4 says the only thing lazy hands bring is poverty. There are many of God’s children who are yet to fulfill God’s plans for their lives because of laziness. God has opened doors for so many but through laziness they have not been able to take advantage of these open doors.  Many have lost their destinies because of procrastination, something they should have done today they postponed it to a further date by the time the date comes they further postponed it and before you know it is too late. A man who took advantage of his open door was Jeroboam in 1 Kings 11:28. He was just an ordinary laborer in the king’s court but he worked so hard that Solomon noticed and promoted him. Jeroboam’s hard work so much impressed God that He made him king over Israel in 1 Kings 14:7. Hard work can turn common a laborer to a king. There were princes in Israel at that time but Jeroboam became the king. Hard work gives you things that belong to the kings. There are many of us who God has opened doors of employment to or for. Through hard work God can make us the CEO of the organization we are working for. There are many business owners who God is ready to bless to the extent that they will lend to nations; all these are functions of hard work.

Proverbs 14:23 says in all labor there is profit. Hard work brings result but the result varies with  field. 1 Timothy 4:8 says for bodily exercise profit a little; but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. If there is anything to labor in, it is in the things of God. If we can work hard for God, we will see great results in every other areas of our life. Matthew 6:33 says seek first the kingdom and His righteousness and other all these will be given to you as well.

ACTION POINT: If  you are not in any group in your church please join one, if you are in one already you can join another or strive to be the best in your current group remember been the best in anything requires putting more efforts than others.

Gold in the mouth of fish

Proverbs 13:2 – A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth, but the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence.

In Matthew 17:24-27 Jesus was asked to pay temple tax so He told Peter to go the sea, cast in a hook, and take the first the fish that comes up . There are several lessons from this passage. Firstly, through Jesus our needs are met. Ephesians 3:20 says He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. Secondly, With Him nothing is impossible. Luke 1:37 says for with God noting will be impossible. Jeremiah 32:27 says I am the God of all flesh, is there anything too hard for me? Thirdly God is all-knowing. He knows the location of our breakthrough; He knows what you need to do to breakthrough in your endeavor. Hebrews 4:13 says nothing is hidden before God but all things are naked and open to His sight. Deuteronomy 26:6 says before Him, Death is naked and destruction has no coverings. Jesus has the key to every information in the world. Fourthly, God’s word is settled. Once God speaks nothing on earth can change it. Psalms 33:9 says He spoke and it was done, He commanded, and it stood fast. If there is anything He has promised you, I can assure you that He will bring it to pass. He told Peter inside the first fish is money and so it was when Peter caught the first fish.

Lastly, present in every fish are resources to meet our needs. By fish, we mean soul meaning according to Luke 5:10. For every soul we win for Jesus, heaven releases resources to meet our needs. Proverbs 13:2 says a man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth. You want God to take you to the top, you want Him meet your needs, you want hunger to be a strange word to you? Use your mouth effectively for Him. Use it to win souls. Proverbs 11:30 says He that wins soul is wise. Proverbs 3:35 says the wise shall inherit glory or honor. When we combine both scriptures it means He that wins soul will inherit glory.

ACTION POINT: Use everything within your power to win souls for Jesus.

The power of thoughts

THE POWER OF THOUGHT

Proverbs 23:7a – For as he thinks in his heart so is he.

Our thoughts play a major role in the events of lives. Our thoughts determine our confession, Luke 6:45 says out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. Our confession decides our destiny. Proverbs 18:21 says life and death are in the power of the tongue. Numbers 14:28 says “says to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you”. Our confessions are so important the Lord advises the weak to say they are strong in Joel 3:10.Our thoughts also determine our action .The elders have a saying, they say the ancestor to every action is thought. Our actions determine our rewards both in heaven and on earth. Revelations 22:12 says and, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. Jeremiah 17:10 says I the LORD search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. Romans 2: 6 say God will render to each man according to his deeds. Also our thoughts say a lot about us.

According to Proverbs 23:7, we are our thoughts. Someone might ask how? Others may say why? Well thoughts precede action and our action defines us. 1 John 3:7 says little children, let no man deceive you: he that does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

The good news is once our thoughts changes, our life changes also. How can we change our thoughts? By changing what we feed our minds. The reason why so many Christians still struggle with sexual sin is because of the dirty jokes or conversation they engage in, dirty movies they watch, dirty songs they listen to – songs talking of sex and all that. These are where dirty thoughts emanate from. According Mark 7:15 the product of our thoughts is able to defile us. Titus 1:15 says to the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. Feeding our minds with spiritual materials like reading the bible, Christian literature will do us a lot of good. Romans 10:17 says faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God. Reading success stories and autobiographies of people who overcame one difficult or other also helps too. These are good for the mind; success thoughts and positive thoughts emanate from them. Before feeding our minds with positive and spiritual materials, we need to purge ourselves of dirty stuff and the purging is done through fasting and praying.

PRAYER POINT: Father, purge me off every thought that is destroying me and causing a gap between you and me.

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.

Whom the Father Loves

Psalm 94:12 - Blessed is the man whom you instruct ,O Lord , and teach out of Your law.

Love is very powerful. When you watch parents of new born babies ,you will marvel at the power of love. They will do anything to make the new born baby comfortable. They do unbelievable things for example in the part of the world where i come from where medical science is just developing , i have seen fathers use their mouth to suck mucus out of the nose of their new born when they have catarrh .They do this to clear the blocked nose.It does not stop there , as the babies grow up they ensure that the baby eats before they eat.They ensure the baby sleeps before they sleep and before the baby wakes they are awake. Even when they are unlearned , they go out of their way to make sure the child goes to school. They might not be able to afford shoes for themselves but they ensure the kids have shoes. Why does these parents go through all of these ? it is out of love for that child. Many of them can not remember the last time they bought gifts for themselves but they buy gifts every birthday. No wonder Colossians 3:20 says Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. God disapproves of any form of disobedience to our parents - physical or spiritual. Please If there is anyone of us not in talking terms with  our parents please before the end of the day lets ensure we put things right .

We will also notice that these parents out of love still disciplines this child. While other children are playing football , they might ask this child to sit and read not out of hate but love. They want such child to succeed in  life.They same thing applies to the Most High God, According to John 3:16, He gave His only begotten son to die on the cross for our sins. This is the greatest act of love .When He chastises us or instructs us to live a holy life it is not out hatred or make life hard for us but out of love.Revelations 3:19 says Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.Whom the Father loves He expects obedience to His word from , He expects 100 per cent commitment from . The rebuke may come from our earthly parents , spiritual parents or through a sermon . Regardless of the source , if the Lord is asking us to do something , it is for our own good  and out of love.

ACTION POINT: Do everything to please God ,this include get back into talking term with our parents if we are not in talking terms.