TAKING LITTLE THINGS FOR GRANTED?

MEMORY VERSE: Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Ephesians 5:20

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Corinthians 3-4

Recently during one of our mid-week services in church, the Lord used an unfortunate incident that happened, to wake every one of us present that evening ,to the fact that we have been taking some of the little things we enjoy (as a result of God’s goodness) for granted. It was time for the service and none of the brothers in the media department was around. The brother who was going to lead the opening prayer went into the media room, picked a microphone, stood by the altar and began to lead prayers. Suddenly, we started hearing a high pitched static sound coming from one of the speakers. One of the brothers went into the media room to check what’s wrong and see the possibility of fixing it. The brother tried and tried but the noise persisted. At this point, we could barely hear anything as the noise was deafening. After a lot of removing-this-cable, plugging-that-cable, tuning-the-mixer, adjusting-the-amplifier, the Lord took control and the noise stopped. The service continued but we had all learnt something valuable. Firstly, you don’t know the value of a thing until it is gone or develops a fault. Although we appreciate the selfless work the brothers in the media department are doing, the Lord used that opportunity to show us all, their worth. Every one of us, minister and the congregation, are used to a 'functioning’ media equipment. Do you know those equipment don’t function well without an expert, like those brothers in our media department, standing by them, tuning them to get the perfect sound and preventing that high static sound during a church service? 

Secondly, don’t take things no matter how little for granted. Every one of us at that service – and many more Christians – is guilty of taking little things that are functioning in the church for granted. After that incident, the Lord opened our eyes to see how we, all, have been taking little things that are functioning in our lives (as a result of God’s goodness) for granted. A lot of us take it for granted that after every meal, we don’t have to inject our body with insulin. Sometimes last year, a friend and i went to greet another friend. When we left the place and got back into car, he took out a machine to inject himself with something. Out of curiosity i asked him, what are you injecting yourself with and why? He told me his body can’t produce insulin so whenever he eats, he has to inject himself with insulin to break down sugar. I pray for everyone sick person that the Lord will heal you in Jesus name. Some of what could happen if he does not inject himself after eating are kidney damage, stroke, eye damage, heart attack, etc. A lot of us take it for granted that we can hear. I heard about the daughter of a millionaire who had to quit her job to look after her dad who lost his hearing. One thing she said that touched me was her father can't hear anything even if you put him beside a loud concert speaker. Even If he is about to walk into fire and you shout at the top of your voice, he won’t hear. A lot of us take it for granted that we can bathe ourselves or brush our teeth or feed ourselves. There are many who have hands but can’t use them because they are paralyzed. Don’t take it for granted that you can control yourself when you want to urinate or defecate. Always remember to thank God for those little things. Ephesians 5:20 says: “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;” That you are able to sleep is something to thank God for. Psalm 4:8 says: “I will both lay me down in peace and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.” There are lot of people who can’t sleep no matter how tired they are. That you slept last night and woke this morning is a cause to thank God for. Psalm 3:5 says,” I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.”

CONFESSION: Father, i thank you for those little things that you have done for me.

ACTION: Thank God for those little things you have. Most of the 'big' things you are asking God for will mean nothing to you, if you have them without little things like the ability to see, to hear, to speak, to feel cold and hot, to move your hands, to move your legs, to bath yourself, to stand and sit,etc.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

60 seconds with Jesus

Someone sent the piece below to me on email and it really blessed me. It is a very important message and it chimes with our God-given objective to share Christ with the world. I pray that as you read it, the Holy Spirit will speak to your heart. Please feel free to share it with your friends and family.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Job 19-20

THE (SCIENTIFIC) DEATH OF JESUS:

At the age of 33, Jesus was condemned to the death penalty.

At the time, crucifixion was the "worst" death. Only the worst criminals were condemned to be crucified. Jesus was to be nailed to the cross by His hands and feet.

Each nail was 6 to 8 inches long.

The nails were driven into His wrist, not into His palms as is commonly portrayed. There's a tendon in the wrist that extends to the shoulder. The Roman guards knew that when the nails were being hammered into the wrist, that tendon would tear and break, forcing Jesus to use His back muscles to support himself so that He could breathe.

Both of His feet were nailed together. Thus He was forced to support Himself on the single nail that impaled His feet to the cross. Jesus could not support himself with His legs because of the pain, so He was forced to alternate between arching His back, then using his legs just to continue to breathe. Imagine the struggle, the pain, the suffering, the courage.

Jesus endured this brutality for over 3 hours.

Yes, over 3 hours! Can you imagine this kind of suffering?
A few minutes before He died, Jesus stopped bleeding. He was simply pouring water from His wounds.

From common images, we see wounds to His hands and feet, and even the spear wound to His side... But do we realize His wounds were actually made in His body. A hammer driving large nails through the wrist, the feet overlapped and an even larger nail hammered through the arches, then a Roman guard piercing His side with a spear. But before the nails and the spear, Jesus was whipped and beaten. The whipping was so severe that it tore the flesh from His body. The beating so horrific that His face was torn and his beard ripped from His face. The crown of thorns cut deeply into His scalp. Most men would not have survived this torture.

He had no more blood to bleed out, only water poured from His wounds. The human adult body contains about 3.5 liters (just less than a gallon) of blood.

Jesus poured all 3.5 liters of his blood; He had three nails hammered into His members; a crown of thorns on His head and, beyond that, a Roman soldier who stabbed a spear into His chest.

All these without mentioning the humiliation He endured after carrying His own cross for almost 2 kilometers, while the crowd spat in His face and threw stones (the cross was almost 30 kg of weight, only for its higher part, where His hands were nailed).

Jesus had to endure this experience, so that we can have free access to God.

So that our sins could be "washed" away. All of them, with no exception!

Deuteronomy 30:19 says, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:” The way out of eternal damnation is Jesus. Accept Him as your personal Lord and saviour and live.

HIS RETURNS

MEMORY VERSE: Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD. Haggai 1:8

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Mark 1 - 2

God, like every other businessman, expects 'returns' on His investments. He has invested a lot into our lives. He gave us mouth to speak, nose to breath, eyes to see, legs to walk, ears to hear, a sound mind, functioning brains, etc. What kind of 'returns' does He expect from us? Praise and thanksgiving. Psalm 139:14 says, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” How often does He expect these 'returns'? At all times. Psalm 34:1 says, “A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed. I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” The fact that you bathe yourself this morning is a reason to thank God. The fact that you are able to feed yourself is a cause to thank God. The fact that you have children that are always making the house dirty is a reason to thank God. Sick children don’t make the house dirty because they are always in the hospital or lying down on their bed. Praise and thanksgiving is one area we are all lacking. We spend little or no time thanking Him. We praise Him too little and when we do it, we are in a haste to get it over and done with as soon as possible. Whenever one brings Him the returns of praise and thanksgiving, He makes them whole. Out of the ten lepers that were healed, only that leper who returned to give thanks to God was made whole (Luke 17:11-19).

Another investment He has made into our lives is the power to get wealth. Deuteronomy 8:18 says, “But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.” That you are gainfully employed is God. That you have a job at all, even if it is part time, can only be God. Asides these, the strength needed to work comes from Him. A sick person cannot run a ministry or a business. In addition, no employer wants a sick staff. This is why employers sometimes request for HR files of those they want to employ (which contains their sickness record) from their former employers. What kind of 'returns' does He expect from this investment? Offering and tithes. Malachi 3:10 says, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” He has promised to open the windows of heaven and pour down His blessings to those who bring these 'returns'. And to those robbing Him? A curse (Malachi 3:9). Another ‘returns’ He expects is payment of building funds. Haggai 1:8 says, “Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.” Do you owe building funds? Pay it up. We build God’s house by being faithful in the payment of our building funds. You can also buy a microphone, a speaker, musical equipment, etc. Neglecting God’s work or the building fund can cause every effort made in other areas not to yield results (Haggai 1:4-7). Also, out of the much He has given to us, He expects ‘returns’ in the form of helping the poor and needy around us. Deuteronomy 15:7 says, “If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:” It is our duty to help the less privilege around us. For all He has given to us, He expects something back. One major ‘returns’ He expects is soul winning. Someone preached to you and led you to Christ, you have to preach to someone and lead them to Christ.

NOTE: A lot of people find it difficult to witness because they are shy and they don’t know how to go about.

ACTION: Ask the Lord to give you the spirit of boldness and ideas on how to witness. Speak to your pastor or the outreach leader in your church about evangelism. I want you to know that not everyone you witness to will give their lives to Christ the first time you speak to them. It took me up to six months to win a particular sister to Christ.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

TRUST HIS WISDOM

MEMORY VERSE: And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. Genesis 12:5

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Genesis 24-27

Don’t marry a brother or sister out of pity. You don’t marry a brother because a lot of sisters have disappointed him. Also, you don’t marry a sister because a lot of brothers have broken her heart. It will be a naive thing to do. It is never too late to stop a relationship if you are not sure if it is God’s will. It is not a pleasant thing to do, actually, it can be very demanding and a lot of emotions are involved. But, if you have prayed and you are convinced that the brother or sister is not God’s will for your life, stop the courtship. It does not matter how far you have gone in the relationship, as far as you are not married and there are no kids between the two of you, i will advise you both to go back to the prayer room. Don’t marry a brother or sister because of what you can see in that brother or sister’s life today. When it comes to the decision of who to marry, wait to hear from God.

Genesis 12:1 says, “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:” Abram moved out of his country, his kindred i.e. his tribe or clan, but not from his father’s house. Genesis 12:5 says, “And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.” There was a reason why God told Abram to leave his nation, his kindred and his father’s house. There is always a reason behind God's instruction. The reason(s) may not be obvious at the time of the instruction, but i want you to know that God will never ask you to do something without a reason, and most likely it is always for your benefit. In the case of Abram, God saw what Abram could not see. The Most High saw the future; He saw the fight between Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen even before Lot was born (Genesis 13:4-6). He knew Lot was going to turn against his uncle, Abram, so He told Abram to move out and take no one with him – including Lot. Abram didn’t understand God’s instruction.  To him, Lot was just a boy. Actually, at the time God spoke, Lot must have been a well behaved young man for Abram to have taken him along.

Abram never envisaged that Lot was going to turn out to be an ingrate.  It never, for once, crossed his mind that Lot will become a thorn in his flesh.  When God warns you against a particular relationship or a fellow, please take heed. At the time of warning, you may not see anything wrong in the relationship or with the fellow. Actually, the person may appear very hot for the Lord and you think the fellow is a saint. It is until later that you will realise that God was right. John 7:24 says, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”Trust God’s judgment of a fellow or a situation, because He knows more than you do. If you don’t take heed when He warns you, you will have yourself to blame. I hope you will take heed so that it will be well with you.  God knows what people will do at a time in the future, so He warns us in advance. Abram thought He knew Lot but He didn’t. God knows that sister more than you do. God knows that brother more than you do. God knows that business more than you do. By the time the real Lot came out, Abram was dumbfounded.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: When you allow people who are not meant to be in your life into your life, what is not meant to happen to you will happen.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please uproot every tree you have not planted in my life.

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TAKE YE AWAY THE STONE

MEMORY VERSE: Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead for days. John 11:39.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Romans 11-12, Matthew 17-19

There are three basic attitudes to work. Attitude one, you delegate work to people, competent or incompetent, sit back and relax. This is full of disadvantages. Firstly, you get what you inspect not what you expect. If you give out tasks to people and you don’t inspect it as they are carrying it out, you will be disappointed at the end of the day. Recently, a friend, who is into photography and media business, was sharing with me how he gave a job to a cameraman, to cover a show. When the cameraman got the job, he promised heaven and earth. Thank God, this friend was diligent enough to be at the show before time. The cameraman who was meant to be at the show by 10 am did not turn up and did not pick up his call until 5pm. His excuse was he went to club the previous night and overslept. If all a man wants to do, as the leader, is delegate tasks, sit back and relax, the work will go on forever. People generally love to work at their own pace, which many a time is at snail’s speed, in their own way and if care is not taken, one will end up paying ten people for a job that two people should have done.

This is what informs ‘attitude two’ to work which is, 'do everything yourself'. One of the advantages of this attitude is that you complete the work in record time without any complains. Also, none of your staffs will be able to hold you to ransom because they know that without them, you can manage quiet well. In addition, the quality of the work will be to your taste. This has few disadvantages and one of them is you will experience a burn out. A lot of people are being treated for exhaustion as we speak. Also, this could affect one’s marriage. This could affect one’s service to God. There a lot of ministers of God, who labour so much on ministry that they no longer have time to minister to God. To wake up at night to pray is now an uphill task because they have worked and worked - visited this family, settled that quarrel, spoke at this event, travel to another part of town to give a speech, and so on. Many a time, they rarely spend time with their family – their number one ministry. There are a lot of wives who are experiencing a burn out too. Although they have grown up children, they are the one who does the cooking, the cleaning of the house, the laundry and so on. Added to this, they support their husbands especially by praying for him, and still go to work.

What is the solution? How did Jesus, the most hardworking man that ever lived, the most effective man that ever lived, the most successful man that ever lived, managed to do all He did within a space of three years and the bible never recorded that He experienced a burn out or could not go out to minister as He was too tired? Firstly, it is the Holy Spirit. There are other secrets too; if the Lord permits we will touch them. One thing He usually does when there is work is that, He did bulk of the work especially praying and fasting, and delegated some out to his disciples. This is attitude three. Jesus never tried to do everything by Himself. For instance, when He wanted to raise Lazarus from the dead (John 11:39-44), He delegated tasks out. When He got to the tomb, He told some people to roll away the stone at the mouth of the tomb. After praying and calling out Lazarus from the grave, He told another set of people to lose him and him go. Also, when He wanted to feed five thousand (Mark 6:36-43), He didn’t do all the work by Himself. He got some people to make the people sit down. After praying, He got the disciples to share the bread. After everyone had left, He got another people to clean the whole field and pack the remnants.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: If Jesus, our role model, delegated tasks, there is nothing wrong in delegating task. Also, whilst Jesus delegated the tasks, He did bulk of the work and supervised the tasks.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please strengthen me and give me the wisdom to use the resources you have given to me.

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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, 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” (Psalm23:3b). 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 16:14says, “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 (Ephesians4:26-27), 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, 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 convicts 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.

MAN’S REVIEW VS GOD’S REVIEW

MEMORY VERSE: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Joshua 16-20

I was informed, recently, by my Mobile Network Provider that i was due for an upgrade. Since i had two mobile phones in mind but i wasn't sure about which one to pick, i went online to see what experts and users of both phones had to say. I also spoke to some colleagues at work who owned both phones to get their opinions. As i considered what everyone had to say about these phones, this dropped into my spirit, “you have checked man’s reviews of both phones, how about God’s review of both phones?”

As this question sank in, i realized how little i depended on God. It dawned on me that i only run to Him when i am about to make a big decision like the choice of where to reside. For one reason or other, i just felt that God was not in interested in trivial matters like mobile phones. Is it not disturbing how technology and the internet have in one way or other reduced our dependency on the Holy Spirit? When we don’t understand a bible verse, instead of asking the author which is the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16), we check Google. There are a lot of good materials on the internet but be careful of the wrong interpretations too. We are eager to hear what people – experts, business associates, friends and families – have to say concerning a particular move we are about to make not what the Holy Spirit has to say. A fellow, who wants to relocate to an area, will first inquire from the people who have lived in that area or who live in the area not the Holy Spirit before making the move. One thing he does not know is that the Holy Spirit knows that area even more than the residents. Many have missed their ‘God-sent helpers’ simply because they made the right journey at the wrong time. A man wanted to buy a plane ticket for his junior brother who was coming from abroad. Whilst booking, he saw that the flights on 26th December where cheaper than those on the 24th December. Rationally, he would have booked the flights for 26th December but he didn't. As he prayed, the Holy Spirit told him to book the flight for 24th December and he obeyed. Unknown to him, his God-sent helper was also coming from abroad on the same flight. Whilst he was waiting at the airport, something let to another and he got talking with a man. Later they both shared contact details and left. His ministry and life changed that day forever because a lot of big things happened in his life as a result of that meeting.

Back to my story, as i pondered on the question, i remembered a major incident that happened last year. One of the biggest car companies in the world recalled 1.75 million cars in England alone due to faults in their break systems, faults in the fuel deliver pipe systems and faults suction plates. Anyone who knows about cars will tell you that a faulty fuel deliver pipe system could cause leakage which increases the risk of the car catching fire. Had it been the owners sought for God's reviews, they probably would not have bought that particular model at that time. But as usual, people always prefer what experts write in car magazines not what God has to say. A similar one occurred in Australia where a mobile phone company had to recall a particular model of phone due to technical faults. Many who were not good with phones lost contacts, pictures, files, etc. God's review on this particular brand would have saved one a lot of hassle. In these two instances, we saw the limitation of human reviews. God’s review is always better as it not only focuses on the present but on the future too.

THOUGHTS OF THE DAY: The length of time we are willing to wait on God determines how dependent we are on Him. Those who really depend on God are willing to wait on Him no matter how long it takes. It is those who wait that end up with a meaningful achievement (Isaiah 40:31).

QUESTION: How much do you depend of God?

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.