YOUR THOUGHT CREATES YOUR REALITY

MEMORY VERSE: For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. Job 3:25

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 122-124

Job 3:25 says, “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.” There are one or two things we can learn from Job’s statement when the enemy attacked him and he lost all he had. There is a connection between your thoughts and your reality. There is a connection between your dominant thought or what you think about most of the times and what will happen in your life. If your dominant thoughts are sickly thoughts, you will fall sick. Everything was falling perfectly into place for Job, and instead of rejoicing he began to wonder when disaster would happen because life couldn’t be so good. One day disaster finally struck and he was shattered. Many of us are exactly like Job. When things are falling perfect into place in our lives instead of rejoicing we begin to wonder when something terrible will happen to us because life couldn’t be so good. When some couples have not quarreled for a month, they begin to wonder when the next quarrel would take place, who will offend who or who will say what and all that, because marriage couldn’t be so peaceful. Instead of expecting something to go wrong why not thank God for what He is doing in your life and marriage. 

There is a connection between your present situation and your mentality. If you are fearful, everything God has created will intimidate you. And, where you are supposed to occupy, you will manage there. The Lord created Gideon to be a mighty warrior. Judges 6:12 says, “And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.” Yet, he was scared of his own shadow. He had the potential to deliver a whole nation, yet he was found hiding by a wine-press threshing wheat. Worst of it all, he was hiding from the same enemy he was created to deliver his people from. He had all it takes to be a great leader. Judges 6:14 says, “And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?” Yet, he was far from that. When the Lord sent him to deliver his people, he began to give all sorts of excuses. The Lord had to literally push him before he went. Gideon saw himself as a weak person and his life bore a testimony of this. 

Also, your greatest fears have way a coming to pass. You attract what you fear. How? Fear is in a thing of the heart. Luke 6:45 says, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” If you are afraid or you abhor fear in your heart, you will begin to make fearful confessions. You begin to make confessions like “i don’t think i will do well in my exams”....”i don’t think i will marry a good woman”.... “i don’t think i will ge that job”... and so on. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” The moment your fear begins to find expression in your confession you begin to call your fear into reality. Job admitted that he had been in fear about his family and had been speaking that fear for some time – out of the abundance of heart the mouth speaks – which gave Satan the opportunity to come in and steal his goods and kill his children and servants. Thank God Job later realized that Satan is energised by his words of fear. Friend, the same way God is energised by our words of faith, the enemy, Satan, is energised by our words of fear

NOTE: Your dominant thoughts will become your reality.

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LIKE A FLINT

MEMORY VERSE: For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. Isaiah 50:7

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: II Chronicles 25-28

Two things are needful if you are going to become who God created you to be: Decision and Determination. Once these two are in place, one becomes unstoppable. Why are these two very crucial to success? God abhors 'sitting on the fence'. Revelations 3:16 says, “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” As far as God is concerned, it is better for a man to be cold than to be lukewarm. Lukewarmness is a form of indecisiveness. You want to be the best you can be for Jesus? Make a decision today. Make a decision today that you will be different in this generation. Make a decision today that you will read your bible daily. Make a decision that you will fast once a week. Make a decision that you will do one personal night vigil every month. A decision to do the right thing will put you on the path to greatness but determination – a strong one- will keep you on the path. On your route to greatness, you will find a lot of road blocks, ups and downs, disappointing moments, stressful moments, etc. Without  strong determination, you may turn back. 

Isaiah 50:7 says, “For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.” Certain things happen the moment a man make up his mind to do something or achieve something, and he is determined. One of them is God backs such fellow up. Daniel made up his mind not to eat the king’s meal. He was so determined that he told the eunuch in charge that he will not touch the food offered to idols (Daniel 1:8-14). What did the Lord do? He backed Daniel and his friends up and gave them favor in the presence of the eunuch. Verse 14 says, “So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days.” In addition, things/ circumstances suddenly begins to work in your favor. Doors suddenly begin to open. Doors that have refused to open to others will begin to open to you as a result of your determination. 

In addition, fire loses his ability to consume you. The three Hebrew boys (Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) decided not to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's image. When the king threatened to throw them into the fiery furnace - because they were so determined- they told him “be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up” (Daniel 3:18). They threw them into fire, and the fire did nothing except burn the ropes that were used to tie them. When you are determined, instead of the fire to destroy you it will  burn the ropes that have been used to tie you and you become a wonder. The moment a man makes up his mind to do something and he is determined in his heart, God strengthens the fellow to do the thing - even at times when it is very difficult. Because Ruth determined in her heart to remain with Naomi all the days of her life, God gave her the strength to carry on even when Orpah looked back and returned to her people. According to our bible text,  when a man sets his face as a flint, shame leaves his boat and glory enters. Shame left Ruth’s life and glory came in; she married and became the great grandmother of King David.  

NOTE: Success in any endeavour is not for those who want it. It is simply for those who are determined i.e. those who are willing to pay the price. Everyone wants to succeed but only the determined and diligent end up succeeding. Success is for those who will continue long after others have quit. 

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THE POWER OF FASTING

MEMORY VERSE: And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. Luke 4:14

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deuteronomy 4-6

One spiritual activity that is fast becoming unpopular today is fasting. Yet, fasting is one of the most important spiritual activities that a believer must engage in. The body of Christ have been so weakened as a result of our lack of fasting. There are certain things you need to know about fasting. Firstly, fasting is a must for believers. Jesus told His disciples, “But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face” (Matthew 6:17). Take note of the phrase “when thou fastest ”. It is ‘when’ you fast not ‘if’ you fast, in other words Jesus expects His disciples (believers) to fast regardless of whether they have a need or not. You should fast when things are not going as planned. Also, you should fast when things are going as planned. Another reason why you must fast regularly as a believer is that there are some things you can’t get done without fasting. As i said recently, anyone who does not fast is limited. The disciples of Jesus loved God. They left all, followed Jesus and served Him with all their heart. They obeyed God; they were righteous men living a life of holiness. Yet, they were limited. They brought a child possessed by a demon to them and they could not cast the demon out (Mark 9:14-32). If you leave fasting out of your spiritual activities, you will be limited and that’s the gospel truth! 

One of the advantages of fasting is that it increases your spiritual capacity to receive spiritual power. Our spiritual life is like a pipe. Food is like a sponge that blocks the pipe so that the power of God is not able to fully flow through us. The power of God may flow through us but it will be very limited. Fasting drains that pipe. Fasting makes you completely open to God and His power is able to flow through you in an unusual manner. Some years back a great man of God shared how after a long fast, he hugged one of his friends and that one fell under the power of the anointing. The man was flat on the floor for over 5 minutes. 

Fasting is also a means of sharpening your spiritual senses so that God can get through to you. When Moses wanted to receive the Ten Commandments, what did he do? He fasted. When Jesus wanted to start His ministry, what did He do? He fasted. You want to be able to hear God when He speaks? Fast. When you fast you become spiritually empowered. After Jesus fasted for forty days and forty night, the bible records that He returned in the power of the Holy Spirit. Luke 4:14 says, “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.” I had been witnessing to a particular sister for a while and nothing happened. One day, i saw her in the rain outside her house shaking. When i asked what happened, she told me her husband locked her out of the house due to a misunderstanding and walked off. I used that opportunity to witness to her – i told her Jesus is able to resolve the whole matter and bring the man back home. She gave her life to Christ and we said a simple prayer. An hour later, the man who had been gone for over 7 hours returned.  A week later, she told me that she had just attended a job interview but she was scared. We prayed again in the name of Jesus and she got the job – after several years of unemployment. You want power to be released every time you mention the name of Jesus? Cultivate a lifestyle of fasting and praying. 

NOTE: There are also medical benefits of fasting. Fasting helps weight loss. It promotes longevity. Believe it or not, the less you eat the longer you will live. It improves your brain function.  It improves immune system because it reduces free radical damage, regulates inflammatory condition in the body and starves off cancer cell formation. Also, fasting helps clear the skin and prevent acne. 

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AS YOU ARE

MEMORY VERSE: With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward. Psalm 18:25-27

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Acts 9-10

There are certain basic things you need to know about God. One of them is He is love. 1 John 4:8 says, “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” He is so loved the world that He gave Jesus, His only begotten Son, to us. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Jesus, Himself, said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13)”. God is love. Another one is He is full of mercy. Psalm 103:11 says, “For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.” According to Psalm 145:8, “The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.” Thank God for His mercies. Lamentations 3:22 says, “It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.” I don’t need to tell you that He is kind. Another thing you need to know – in case you don’t know – is that God is never late. How can the One who owns time and controls seasons be late (Daniel 2:21)? One important thing you need to know about God is that is He is holy. In heaven, the angels are always singing, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of the Heavenly Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!” Because He is Holy, He wants everyone associated with Him to also be holy. 1 Peter 1:16 says, “Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

God is not a respecter of persons. Romans 2:11 says, “For there is no respect of persons with God.” He is a respecter of principles not a respecter of persons. As such, He deals with people individually. Revelations 3:20 says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Jesus addresses Himself to individuals not multitude. He said, if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. He didn’t say if any group hear my voice. The Psalmist says, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life ( Psalm 23:6), not goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives. Jesus addresses Himself to individuals. Not only that, He deals with people as they are not as they claim to be. According to 1 Samuel 16:7, He sees the heart and He knows who people really are. Psalm 18:25-27 says, “With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.” This is why He is always blessing those billionaires who spend a lot on charity. Although, most of them are not believers, because they are generous to the poor, the Lord is generous to them. And to those who are wicked to the poor, especially dictators and tyrants, He deals with them the way they are. The good news is you can change the way He deals with you. If only you will become more kind, He will be kind to you. If only you become more patient with people, He will become more patient with you. 

NOTE: Matthew 6:15 says, “But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” If you are not willing to forgive those who have offended you, the Lord is also not willing to forgive you. Actually, don’t bother to ask Him for forgiveness if you have not forgiven those who have offended you. If God does not forgive you, how do you expect Him to grant your petitions? It is impossible. Why not forgive today, and let Him forgive you and grant your petitions

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DON’T LEAVE YOUR DUTY POST

MEMORY VERSE: In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. Psalm 18:6

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Hebrew 11-13

Someone once asked, “why is it that only believers face challenges; unbelievers don’t.” This is a lie from the pit of hell. Challenges are part and parcel of life. Everyone (believers and unbelievers) go through difficult times. The only advantage believers have is they have Jesus in their boat (life). And, as far as you have Jesus in your boat, storms may arise but you will never sink. Psalm 34:19 says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.” The fact that you are serving the Lord faithfully and living a holy life does not mean you will not face challenges either. Let’s look at God’s testimony of the Zechariah’s. Luke 1:6 says, “And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” Despite the fact that they were both righteous before God, walking in all the ordinances of the Lord blameless, verse 7 says “And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.” So your service or labour of love does not exempt you from challenges. However, those challenges shall turn to you for a testimony (Luke 21:13).  

When storms of life arises, how you respond matters. Many of us respond by blaming God. We accuse him as if He is responsible for what we are going through. We complain and murmur and some of us even stop attending church. The truth of the matter is this, staying away from church will not still the storm in any way. Also, alcohol is not the solution either. You can drink from today till tomorrow, that will not solve the problem. Backsliding only compounds the issue. It is better to remain in the presence of God than to head back to Egypt (enemy camp). The time to serve God like never before is when you face challenges. The time to cry to God like never before is when the storm of life arises. Psalm 18:3 says, “I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.” The time of challenges is not a time to murmur or cry. When you cry, your emotions get the better part of you and you are not able to think clearly. At times, God may even be speaking to you but you will not hear because you are all over the place. 

The Psalmist says: “In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears (Psalm 18:6)”.  David cried to God in the temple, during his challenges, and the Lord heard his voice. This is why you must never stay away from church for any reason when you are going through challenges. The bible records that Hannah prayed in the temple and the Lord heard her in the temple (1 Samuel 1:9-15). In Luke 1:8-11, God visited Zechariah whilst at his duty post in church and told him that he was going to have a child. The old man could have stopped serving God but He didn’t. He kept on serving in the vineyard of God and the Lord met him whilst he was serving. Friend, have you stopped serving in the vineyard of God because of a thing or two? Have you stopped serving because of your current situation? Have you stopped serving because nothing seems to be happening in your life? For several years nothing seemed to happen in Zechariah’s life but he remained in church and continued serving. One day God visited his church, checked at his department and found him. If you have stopped going to church, you better return so that when God visits He will find you. If you have left your post to chase money you better return so that in the day of God’s visitation you will not be missing.

COUNSEL: Return to your duty post because God may visit at any time. 

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“FOR A TIME SUCH AS THIS”

MEMORY VERSE: Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Esther 4:13-14 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Nahum

Haman, a wicked man with an evil heart, wanted Mordecai dead because he refused to bow to him (Esther 3). What did he do? He hatched a plan to exterminate all the Jews in the land. He went to King Ahasuerus, told him that the Jews were working against him and asked for permission to conduct an ethnic cleansing. He even volunteered to personally foot the bill. Which king wouldn’t want to see the end of those working against him? None. So, the king gave him his blessings ; Haman spoke with the law makers and they passed a bill that says all the Jews must be exterminated on a certain date. Mordecai heard this news and passed it on to Queen Esther, his adopted daughter. At first, Esther began to give excuses but the tough old man said to her “Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

There several lessons we can learn from the old man’s response. Firstly, “whatever” position you find yourself in life you are there for a reason. Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy Jewish man who secretly followed Jesus, was a member of the Sanhedrin for a reason. God deliberately put him in the Sanhedrin– a position that gave him access to Herod - so that He would use his contact, connection and position to collect the body of Jesus Christ from Herod after His crucifixion (Mark 15:42-64). That young slave girl was in the house of Naaman, waiting on Naaman’s wife, for a reason (2 Kings 5:1-19). God deliberately had her there so as to use her to bring healing to Naaman, one of the high ranking officers in the Syrian army, which will in turn mend the relationship between the Syrians and the Israelites- God wanted to use an Israelite prophet to heal a top brass in the Syrian army. Sadly, Gehazi’s conduct hindered it as he took money from Naaman for his healing. 

Secondly, “whatever” position you find yourself as a child of God, you are there for a "particular time". This translates that you will not be there forever. Also, you are there for a particular purpose. As such, “whatever” position you find yourself as a child of God, you must behave yourself in a way that will not jeopardize the fulfillment of your purpose there. Thank God that young slave girl behaved well whilst waiting on Naaman’s wife. Had it been she was a lazy girl or a thief, Naaman’s wife would not have listened when she spoke to her about the prophet in Israel. Thank God Joseph of Arimathea was a responsible man. Had it been he was irresponsible, Herod would not have granted him audience talkless of release the body of Christ, a treasure of inestimable value, to him. We thank the Lord for the life of Queen Esther. She was a humble woman who never took the king for granted. Had it been that she behaved like her predecessor Vashti, she would not have been able to save her people. Please note that all we have been talking about only applies to children of God. As a child of God, if you find yourself in a position you don’t like i want you to know that your Father in heaven knows about it, and He will work things for your own good (Romans 8:28). However, if you are yet to give your life to Christ or you are living in sin and you find yourself in a situation you don’t like, it could be the devil punishing you for fun since you are in his camp. Today, you can change camp by confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in your heart that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9).

QUESTION: How are you behaving in that position God has put you? Are you behaving in a way that will jeopardize the fulfillment of God's purpose for having you there? 

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THE PRINCIPAL THING

MEMORY VERSE: They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. Matthew 22:21

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Proverbs 31

Proverbs 4:7 says, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” The word “principal” means first in order of importance; main. There are a lot of important things. One of them is knowledge. They have a saying in the secular world “Knowledge is power “. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” To destroy means to damage or to ruin. Hosea 4:6a says, “My people are destroyed (ruined,damaged) for lack of knowledge". This should give you an idea of how important knowledge is. Yet, the bible says wisdom is the principal thing. Another important thing is vision. The elders have a saying, “In the country of the blind, the one eyed man is their king.” In other words, it is better to have little vision than no vision at all because a man with little vision will rule over a nation of blind people. Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” To perish means to die, especially in a violent way or sudden way. This definition summarises the importance of vision. Yet, the bible says wisdom is the principal thing.

There are several reasons why wisdom is the principal thing. For instance, you need wisdom to make difficult decisions. Two women, who had just put to bed, brought a very difficult case to King Solomon (1 Kings 3:16-28). While they slept, one of them rolled over her baby and the baby died. She picked the other woman's living baby and claimed it was hers. Mind you, at that time there was nothing like DNA test. Solomon ordered a soldier to divide the baby into two. The real mother begged the king to give the baby to the other woman because she didn't want the soldier to kill him.  The fake mother, on the other hand,  wanted the child to be cut into two at all cost. Solomon automatically knew who the real mother was and gave the baby to her. You need wisdom to avoid the traps of the enemy. In Matthew 22:17-22, some Herodians asked Jesus, "is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" They asked this question to trap Him. If He said it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, the Pharisees would accuse him of being against the Jews. If He said it was unlawful to pay taxes to Caesar, they would accuse Him of being against  Caesar and report Him. He deployed wisdom; He requested for a coin and asked whose inscription was on the coin. Matthew 22:21 says, “They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.” Also, you need wisdom to get out of tight corners. The Pharisees brought a woman caught in the adultery to Jesus and said the Law of Moses commanded us to stone such women to death but what do you say (John 8:1-10). If He told them to stone her, He will be working against Himself because He came to save sinners. If He told them not to stone her, they would accuse Him of going against the Laws of Moses. He said to them, “he that is without sin let him cast the first stone”. On hearing this, they all left quietly. The real reason why wisdom is the principal thing is this: you need the wisdom of God to make heaven. Jesus is the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:24 says, “But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” Jesus is the way to the Father (John 14:6).

PRAYER POINT: Father, please fill me with your wisdom. 

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