Saturday, 19 January 2013
Friday, 18 January 2013
THE POWER OF DIALOGUE
Gen 19, Matt 18, Neh 8, Acts 18
Isaiah 1:18 come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
BIBLE STUDIES: Genesis 13:6-10
Dialogue is the most effective way of solving or dealing with human relationship problems. The absence of dialogue breeds many problems. When you study the relationship between Lot and Abram , one thing you will notice is the absence of dialogue .From the moment Abram decided to take Lot with him in Genesis 12:5 to Genesis 13:7 where fight broke out between their herdsmen , the bible did not record any dialogue between them. The absence of dialogue between Abram and Lot led to strife between their herdsmen. Both parties were aware that the land was not able to support them because of their possessions, instead of talking about it they kept quiet. Because they kept quiet the relationship between the two began to suffer. One of the causes of problems in relationship is that people shy away from issues; before you know it the relationship begins to suffer. The absence of dialogue hinders the realization of the potentials in a relationship. The relationship between Abram and his cousin – Lot had a lot of potentials. In Genesis 14:1-6, we see one of the potentials when Lot got into trouble and Abram mobilized kings to come to the rescue of his cousin. Both parties would not have been able to realize this potential if they had not dialogued when there was strife between the herdsmen. The absence of dialogue also gives room to unhealthy assumption. Before any strife, there would always be give away signs that all is not well. Before fight broke out between Abram’s and Lot’s herdsmen, there must have been give way signs that all is not well. Because there was no dialogue, they just assumed all was well between the herdsmen. The fact that people are quiet in a relationship does not mean they are happy in the relationship. Lastly, dialogue creates an atmosphere for providing lasting solutions to the problems at hand. The dialogue between Abram and Lot provided solutions to the problems between the herdsmen. Not only that, it also birthed a way forward. During the dialogue, a suggestion came up that the land should be divided into two: Lot will pick a portion and Abram will pick the other.
Humans are in existence today as a result of the dialogue between God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit in Genesis 1:26. In Isaiah 1:18, we see the Almighty God encouraging a dialogue between Himself and man. He said ‘come now, and let us reason together’. Why would God want to dialogue with man? Because He understood the power of dialogue. From the day Abram and Lot sat down to dialogue, their relationship took a positive turn. From that moment onward, there was no record of any contention between them again; the bond between them grew stronger. In that relationship with your spouse encourage dialogue so as to ensure that everyone is happy. In that relationship with your children, encourage dialogue so as to know what they are going through and provide the necessary assistance. In that business relationship encourage dialogues to avoid assumptions.
ACTION POINT: In relationships, encourage dialogue.
Isaiah 1:18 come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
BIBLE STUDIES: Genesis 13:6-10
Dialogue is the most effective way of solving or dealing with human relationship problems. The absence of dialogue breeds many problems. When you study the relationship between Lot and Abram , one thing you will notice is the absence of dialogue .From the moment Abram decided to take Lot with him in Genesis 12:5 to Genesis 13:7 where fight broke out between their herdsmen , the bible did not record any dialogue between them. The absence of dialogue between Abram and Lot led to strife between their herdsmen. Both parties were aware that the land was not able to support them because of their possessions, instead of talking about it they kept quiet. Because they kept quiet the relationship between the two began to suffer. One of the causes of problems in relationship is that people shy away from issues; before you know it the relationship begins to suffer. The absence of dialogue hinders the realization of the potentials in a relationship. The relationship between Abram and his cousin – Lot had a lot of potentials. In Genesis 14:1-6, we see one of the potentials when Lot got into trouble and Abram mobilized kings to come to the rescue of his cousin. Both parties would not have been able to realize this potential if they had not dialogued when there was strife between the herdsmen. The absence of dialogue also gives room to unhealthy assumption. Before any strife, there would always be give away signs that all is not well. Before fight broke out between Abram’s and Lot’s herdsmen, there must have been give way signs that all is not well. Because there was no dialogue, they just assumed all was well between the herdsmen. The fact that people are quiet in a relationship does not mean they are happy in the relationship. Lastly, dialogue creates an atmosphere for providing lasting solutions to the problems at hand. The dialogue between Abram and Lot provided solutions to the problems between the herdsmen. Not only that, it also birthed a way forward. During the dialogue, a suggestion came up that the land should be divided into two: Lot will pick a portion and Abram will pick the other.
Humans are in existence today as a result of the dialogue between God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit in Genesis 1:26. In Isaiah 1:18, we see the Almighty God encouraging a dialogue between Himself and man. He said ‘come now, and let us reason together’. Why would God want to dialogue with man? Because He understood the power of dialogue. From the day Abram and Lot sat down to dialogue, their relationship took a positive turn. From that moment onward, there was no record of any contention between them again; the bond between them grew stronger. In that relationship with your spouse encourage dialogue so as to ensure that everyone is happy. In that relationship with your children, encourage dialogue so as to know what they are going through and provide the necessary assistance. In that business relationship encourage dialogues to avoid assumptions.
ACTION POINT: In relationships, encourage dialogue.
Thursday, 17 January 2013
GIVER OF GOLD OR THE GOLDEN CALF
Gen 18, Matt 17, Neh 7, Acts 17
Luke 12:48 but he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
God is not just giver of gifts, according to James 1:17 He is a giver of good and perfect gifts. One of the things that give God pleasure is blessings His children. Proverbs 35:27 says let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of His servant. One of the good gifts He gives is life. 1 Timothy 6:13 records that He quickeneth all things i.e. give life to everything. Something He gives daily to all His children is His blessings. Psalm 68:19 says blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. He is the giver of strength, opportunities, chances e.t.c John 3:27 says a man receives nothing, except it be given him from heaven. The most important gift He gave over two –thousand years is salvation through death of Jesus on the cross of Calvary. John 3:16 says for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. God has been in the business of giving since He created the world.
When the children of Israel left Egypt, the Lord handed the possession of the Egyptians, their riches, their gold e.t.c to them courtesy of His generosity. That day the Lord handed the economy of the greatest nation in the world at that time to little Israel. Israel moved from been a slave to become a wealthy nation in a single day. One will expect this little nation to serve God with all their strength but what did they do? They used all the possessions to make a golden calf, Exodus 32:1-6. Out of the resources God gave to them, they made an idol and began to worship this idol. What the Israelite did back then could be compared to what many are doing today. Many have created an idol out of the resources God has giving to them. Many now miss services because of the jobs gave God gave to them. Many now miss worship or fellowship with the Lord because of the business, the marriage, the opportunities, the connections God has given to them .They worship the golden calf instead of the Giver of the gold. The result of their action was God got angry with them. The Lord’s anger is something no one should wish to see. Hebrews 10:31 says it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. The question is what are you serving, the golden calf or the Giver of gold. The resources He has committed into your hands, are you using them for His glory or to create an idol to replace Him with. There is no one living the Lord has not giving something to. The fact that you can talk is a gift, use it to witness for Jesus. That strength, use it to serve God in one capacity or the other. A day is coming we will all give accounts to Him. The more resources at our disposal, the more we have to give accounts for. Luke 12:48 says to whom much is given, much will be required.
PRAYER POINT: Father, please forgive me for all your resources I have wasted and as from now onward give me the grace never to waste any more of your resources again.
Luke 12:48 but he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
God is not just giver of gifts, according to James 1:17 He is a giver of good and perfect gifts. One of the things that give God pleasure is blessings His children. Proverbs 35:27 says let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of His servant. One of the good gifts He gives is life. 1 Timothy 6:13 records that He quickeneth all things i.e. give life to everything. Something He gives daily to all His children is His blessings. Psalm 68:19 says blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. He is the giver of strength, opportunities, chances e.t.c John 3:27 says a man receives nothing, except it be given him from heaven. The most important gift He gave over two –thousand years is salvation through death of Jesus on the cross of Calvary. John 3:16 says for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. God has been in the business of giving since He created the world.
When the children of Israel left Egypt, the Lord handed the possession of the Egyptians, their riches, their gold e.t.c to them courtesy of His generosity. That day the Lord handed the economy of the greatest nation in the world at that time to little Israel. Israel moved from been a slave to become a wealthy nation in a single day. One will expect this little nation to serve God with all their strength but what did they do? They used all the possessions to make a golden calf, Exodus 32:1-6. Out of the resources God gave to them, they made an idol and began to worship this idol. What the Israelite did back then could be compared to what many are doing today. Many have created an idol out of the resources God has giving to them. Many now miss services because of the jobs gave God gave to them. Many now miss worship or fellowship with the Lord because of the business, the marriage, the opportunities, the connections God has given to them .They worship the golden calf instead of the Giver of the gold. The result of their action was God got angry with them. The Lord’s anger is something no one should wish to see. Hebrews 10:31 says it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. The question is what are you serving, the golden calf or the Giver of gold. The resources He has committed into your hands, are you using them for His glory or to create an idol to replace Him with. There is no one living the Lord has not giving something to. The fact that you can talk is a gift, use it to witness for Jesus. That strength, use it to serve God in one capacity or the other. A day is coming we will all give accounts to Him. The more resources at our disposal, the more we have to give accounts for. Luke 12:48 says to whom much is given, much will be required.
PRAYER POINT: Father, please forgive me for all your resources I have wasted and as from now onward give me the grace never to waste any more of your resources again.
WATCH YOUR EXPECTATIONS
Gen 17, Matt 16, Neh 6, Acts 16
Proverbs 23:18 for surely there is a future hope; and your expectation shall not be cut off.
Mark 9:23 says everything is possible to them that believe. Belief is a
very strong force. With your belief, you can attract anything. The
difference between faith and fear is that faith is a strong belief that
something positive will happen whilst fear is a strong belief that
something negative will happen. When you entertain fear, you are
indirectly pulling the negative results towards yourself. This is why
fear is bad. Fearful people always proof themselves right; their
greatest fear always comes to pass.
There is no one presently
alive who has no expectations. You are either expecting something good
in life or the opposite. Fear is a negative expectation and faith is
positive expectation. This is why the righteous needs to stop fear in
its track because whatever they fear, they indirectly expect and the
bible assures us that their expectations shall not be cut off. Despite
all the measures God put in place to protect Job, he still managed to
put himself into trouble because of his fears. Job himself said the
thing I greatly feared has come upon me, Job 3:25. Jonathan on the other
hand expected victory and he got it. Jonathan and his armourbearer
believed that nothing restraints the Lord from saving by many or by few,
1 Samuel 14:4-16. The two went into the camp of the Philistine
expecting victory and the bible records that there was a trembling in
the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and the
raiders also trembled; and the earth quaked, so that it was a very great
trembling. Peter and John asked the lame man at the beautiful to look
at them, Acts 3:1-8. This man did not just look at them, the bible
records that he looked at them expecting to receive something from them.
He looked at them with a positive expectation, guess what? His
expectation was not cut off. He left that scene walking on his two legs.
What you expect is what you will get. When David faced Goliath, what do
you think He expected? I can assure you he was not expecting defeat, 1
Samuel 17:26- 51. From his confession we can deduce that he was
expecting to severe the head of Goliath from his body despite the fact
that he did not have a sword on him. At the end he severed the head of
Goliath from his body with Goliath's sword.Ignore the resources at your
disposal and begin to expect things to walk in your favor. Begin to
expect good things to come your way in life. Remember your expectation
will not be cut off. With your expectation you can make your dreams
become a reality.
ACTION POINT: Begin to expect good things to happen to this year.
Wednesday, 16 January 2013
WOMAN THOU ART LOOSED
Gen 16, Matt 15, Neh 5, Acts 15
Luke 13:12 and when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.
BIBLE STUDIES: Luke 13:11-13
God does not make people sick or put them in bondage to test them. James 1:13 says for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man. God does not use trials and tribulations to tempt His children. It is the devil that brings sickness or challenges. He is responsible for every theft, death and destruction, John 10:10. In our bible studies, we read the story of the woman who was bent over and could not fully straighten herself for eighteen years. To bend over for just an hour is very painful talk less of been bent over for twenty- four hours. She was in that position for eighteen years. Many of us do not appreciate the fact that we can stand upright, instead of been thankful we keep complaining to God. The last thing on the mind of this lady was marriage, promotion or financial breakthrough because she was in great pain. Standing was an issue for her, sitting was unbearable, lying down was worse. Asides the constant pain she was in, joy was a strange thing to her. Not only that, she knew unhappiness like the back of her hand. Many look forward to a great future, but this lady look forward to a future of pain because the pain increased with her age. While Jesus was preaching, He saw the lady and out of compassion He called and said “woman thou art loosed”; that marked the beginning of her healing.
There are certain questions we need to answer. Firstly, who said woman thou hath loosed from thine infirmity? It was Jesus. We receive salvation through Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5 says for there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Acts 4:12 says neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Not only that, all power in heaven and in earth has been giving to Jesus, Matthew 28:18. Philippians 2:10 says that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth , and those under the earth. The only One who can lose what the enemy has tied is Jesus. Luke 11:22-23 says a strong man guards his house and his goods are in peace but when a stronger man than he comes, he overpowers him , takes from him all his armor and divide his spoils. It takes a stronger man to overpower a strong man. Only Jesus can deliver those under the bondage of addictions, sickness e.t.c Secondly, who was the statement directed at? It was directed at a woman facing some challenges. The name of the woman was not mentioned which meant that it could have been anyone. Jesus could have been speaking to either you or me. Thirdly, what was the name of the infirmity or sickness or challenges? The bible did not specify it, which meant that it could have been any form of challenges- challenges in career, in finance , relationship , in business to mention a few. When we replace the word ‘woman’ with our name and ‘thine infirmity with our challenge, it becomes e.g. Jesus said unto him, Olusamuel thou hath loosed from every challenges in 2013. Go ahead and replace the word woman with your name and add whatever challenges you are going through. When you look at it from another angle, it becomes a prophesy “olusamuel thou hath loosed from every challenges”. Remember it is what God hears you say that He will do, Numbers 14:28.
CONFESSION: Your name (Olusamuel) thou hath loosed from every challenges in 2013.
Luke 13:12 and when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.
BIBLE STUDIES: Luke 13:11-13
God does not make people sick or put them in bondage to test them. James 1:13 says for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man. God does not use trials and tribulations to tempt His children. It is the devil that brings sickness or challenges. He is responsible for every theft, death and destruction, John 10:10. In our bible studies, we read the story of the woman who was bent over and could not fully straighten herself for eighteen years. To bend over for just an hour is very painful talk less of been bent over for twenty- four hours. She was in that position for eighteen years. Many of us do not appreciate the fact that we can stand upright, instead of been thankful we keep complaining to God. The last thing on the mind of this lady was marriage, promotion or financial breakthrough because she was in great pain. Standing was an issue for her, sitting was unbearable, lying down was worse. Asides the constant pain she was in, joy was a strange thing to her. Not only that, she knew unhappiness like the back of her hand. Many look forward to a great future, but this lady look forward to a future of pain because the pain increased with her age. While Jesus was preaching, He saw the lady and out of compassion He called and said “woman thou art loosed”; that marked the beginning of her healing.
There are certain questions we need to answer. Firstly, who said woman thou hath loosed from thine infirmity? It was Jesus. We receive salvation through Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5 says for there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Acts 4:12 says neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Not only that, all power in heaven and in earth has been giving to Jesus, Matthew 28:18. Philippians 2:10 says that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth , and those under the earth. The only One who can lose what the enemy has tied is Jesus. Luke 11:22-23 says a strong man guards his house and his goods are in peace but when a stronger man than he comes, he overpowers him , takes from him all his armor and divide his spoils. It takes a stronger man to overpower a strong man. Only Jesus can deliver those under the bondage of addictions, sickness e.t.c Secondly, who was the statement directed at? It was directed at a woman facing some challenges. The name of the woman was not mentioned which meant that it could have been anyone. Jesus could have been speaking to either you or me. Thirdly, what was the name of the infirmity or sickness or challenges? The bible did not specify it, which meant that it could have been any form of challenges- challenges in career, in finance , relationship , in business to mention a few. When we replace the word ‘woman’ with our name and ‘thine infirmity with our challenge, it becomes e.g. Jesus said unto him, Olusamuel thou hath loosed from every challenges in 2013. Go ahead and replace the word woman with your name and add whatever challenges you are going through. When you look at it from another angle, it becomes a prophesy “olusamuel thou hath loosed from every challenges”. Remember it is what God hears you say that He will do, Numbers 14:28.
CONFESSION: Your name (Olusamuel) thou hath loosed from every challenges in 2013.
Tuesday, 15 January 2013
GETTING THE ATTENTION OF GOD
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Gen 15, Matt 14, Neh 4, Acts 14
1 Kings 18:38 then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt
sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up
the water that was in the trench.
BIBLE STUDIES: 1 kings 18:31-39
There are several ways to get God's attention. One of it is by living a
life of righteousness. Psalm 11:7 says for the Lord is righteous, He
loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright. Psalm 4:3 says
but know that the Lord has set part for Himself him who is godly; the
Lord will hear when I call to Him. Another way to get the attention of
God is through giving - giving to the poor and the needy. Proverbs 19:17
says he who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay
back what he has given. Also supporting kingdom projects. Luke 6:38 says
give it will come back to you, for with the same measure that ye mete
withal it shall be measured to you again. Another way is through
prayers. James 5:16 says the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man
availeth much.
In 1 Kings 18:31-39, we see an effective way of
attracting God's attention. After the whole nation had gathered, Elijah
stepped forward, repaired the altar and began to Eulogize God. He began
to call Him names like Lord God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Israel
and before you know it, fire fell from heaven and consumed the
offering. If you study the passage carefully, you will notice that
Elijah did not even request for fire. According to Numbers 14:28, it is
what God hears you say that He will do. If you call Him the great
Physician, He will heal you. If you call Him the Help of the helpless,
He will help you. Elijah knew this, so he started by calling God “Lord
God of Abraham". According to Genesis 18:1-15, with the God of Abraham
nothing shall impossible. The impossible happened because fire came from
heaven and consumed the offering. He went further to call God "God of
Isaac". According to Genesis 26:12-14, the God of Isaac is the God of
steady greatness. The family of Elijah was nothing to reckon with in
Israel. The bible did not even make mention of his family but from the
moment fire fell; the whole nation began to look up to him. He now ended
by calling God “God of Israel". According to Genesis 30:41-43 , the God
of Israel is the God of exceeding greatness. Elijah ended up as the
only man in history who rode on the chariots of fire. When you worship
God, He gives to you what you did not even ask for. All Hannah asked for
was a son, 1 Samuel 1:9-17. After she got the son, she praised God to
the extent that God gave her another three boys and two girls, 1 Samuel
3:21.
ACTION POINT: The more time you spend worshiping God, the less time you will need to make your request known to Him.
Sunday, 13 January 2013
TAKE NOW THY SON
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Gen 13, Matt 12, Neh 2, Acts 12
Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.
BIBLE STUDIES: Genesis 22:1-19 The way God expresses His love is different from the way we express love. He does not like, He loves.
John 3:16 says for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son. He does not dislike, He hates. Proverbs 6:16-17 says these six things the Lord hates, yes seven are an abomination to Him; A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood. There are two levels of God’s love; there is the general love and special love. Under general love, He loves everyone – the good and the bad. According to Matthew 5:45, He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. This love costs nothing; all that is required is for you to take it. He gives light to everyone. He gives the rain even to farmers to who publicly confess that there is no God.
There is a higher level of love called special love. Those He specially loves enjoy special benefits. In 2 Kings 2:10-11, we see God sending a chariot from heaven to bring Elijah-His prophet home. God loved this man so much he did not want him to see death. When He wants to bless this group of people, He blesses them until their barns can no longer take the blessings. Take for instance the case of David in 1 Samuel 16:1, God told Samuel to fill his horn with oil and go and anoint him. The question is why fill a horn with oil just to anoint a man? Is that not wastage? The oil could have been used to anoint at least a thousand men. That is God for you. When He loves, He cannot stop giving. He anointed David with the Holy Ghost until his cup run over. Also this group of people enjoys special favors from Him. In Genesis 18:1-16, God Himself left heaven to come and eat in the house of His friend – Abraham. What is required of me to enjoy God’s special love? You need to love God. Proverbs 8:17 says I love those who me. John 14:21 says he that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love, and will manifest myself to him. This special love cost something. It might cost you your time, resources or things special to you. That is why it is special. You will be required from time to time to demonstrate that you really love God. In Genesis 22:1-19, Abraham was required to demonstrate His love for God. God told him to go and sacrifice his son and he obeyed. Because he loved God, God loved him back and mightily blessed Him. Peter also demonstrated his love by leaving his fishing career and following Jesus and in return, God filled him mightily with the Holy Ghost to the extent that his shadow was healing the sick, Acts 5:15. I have always nursed the ambition of studying abroad but for one reason or the other it never materialized. During that period, our church was preparing for its annual convention and there was a lot of brick laying works been carried at the convention ground. I joined the brick layers and worked for free for Jesus. Few months after the convention, I found myself on the plane to abroad to go and study. I loved Him and He reciprocated the love back!
ACTION POINT: Demonstrate your love for Him today, by working for Him and watch Him deal with your channges.
Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.
BIBLE STUDIES: Genesis 22:1-19 The way God expresses His love is different from the way we express love. He does not like, He loves.
John 3:16 says for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son. He does not dislike, He hates. Proverbs 6:16-17 says these six things the Lord hates, yes seven are an abomination to Him; A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood. There are two levels of God’s love; there is the general love and special love. Under general love, He loves everyone – the good and the bad. According to Matthew 5:45, He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. This love costs nothing; all that is required is for you to take it. He gives light to everyone. He gives the rain even to farmers to who publicly confess that there is no God.
There is a higher level of love called special love. Those He specially loves enjoy special benefits. In 2 Kings 2:10-11, we see God sending a chariot from heaven to bring Elijah-His prophet home. God loved this man so much he did not want him to see death. When He wants to bless this group of people, He blesses them until their barns can no longer take the blessings. Take for instance the case of David in 1 Samuel 16:1, God told Samuel to fill his horn with oil and go and anoint him. The question is why fill a horn with oil just to anoint a man? Is that not wastage? The oil could have been used to anoint at least a thousand men. That is God for you. When He loves, He cannot stop giving. He anointed David with the Holy Ghost until his cup run over. Also this group of people enjoys special favors from Him. In Genesis 18:1-16, God Himself left heaven to come and eat in the house of His friend – Abraham. What is required of me to enjoy God’s special love? You need to love God. Proverbs 8:17 says I love those who me. John 14:21 says he that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love, and will manifest myself to him. This special love cost something. It might cost you your time, resources or things special to you. That is why it is special. You will be required from time to time to demonstrate that you really love God. In Genesis 22:1-19, Abraham was required to demonstrate His love for God. God told him to go and sacrifice his son and he obeyed. Because he loved God, God loved him back and mightily blessed Him. Peter also demonstrated his love by leaving his fishing career and following Jesus and in return, God filled him mightily with the Holy Ghost to the extent that his shadow was healing the sick, Acts 5:15. I have always nursed the ambition of studying abroad but for one reason or the other it never materialized. During that period, our church was preparing for its annual convention and there was a lot of brick laying works been carried at the convention ground. I joined the brick layers and worked for free for Jesus. Few months after the convention, I found myself on the plane to abroad to go and study. I loved Him and He reciprocated the love back!
ACTION POINT: Demonstrate your love for Him today, by working for Him and watch Him deal with your channges.
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