Tuesday 20 November 2012
DWELLING IN THE LORD
John 15:7 if you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done.
What does it mean to dwell in Jesus? The best way to explain this is using the analogy of an unborn baby and the pregnant woman. The unborn baby dwells in the womb of the mother. People who dwell in Jesus are like an unborn baby in the womb of the mother. The unborn baby has little or no worry. The unborn baby does not worry about food, security or protection. To touch him one needs to touch the mother first. To harm him one needs to harm the mother first. The same thing applies to us when we dwell in Jesus. Our safety, protection, food or other necessities of life becomes the responsibility of Jesus because we are in the womb of Jesus. To starve the baby in the womb, one needs to starve the mother. To starve anyone who dwells in Jesus of anything good thing , one needs to first starve Jesus of good things and we know that is impossible because everything have been given to Jesus - Matthew 11:27. To stop anyone dwelling in Jesus, one need to stop Jesus first and we know from studying Isaiah 25:8 that Jesus is able to swallow anything that wants to stop Him, e.g. death. For problems to overcome anyone dwelling in Jesus, that problem needs to first overcome Jesus and we know from studying John 16:33 that Jesus has overcome the world! Whatever cannot conquer Jesus cannot conquer anyone dwelling in Jesus because Romans 8:37 says nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
The unborn baby is invisible to the world. The same applies to those that dwell in Jesus. When you look at them instead of seeing men and women, you will see Jesus. In Acts 11:26, when the citizens of Antioch looked at the disciples of Jesus, instead of seeing men they saw Jesus. Instead of calling them by their names they began to call them Christians meaning Christ-like. When you see a Christian, you do not see a man or woman but Jesus Christ. No matter what anyone dwelling in Jesus has achieved in life, no matter the wealth, no matter how beautiful or handsome, no matter how spiritually gifted they maybe, once you look at them all their life achievements become invisible, the only visible thing you can see is Jesus. When they open their mouth all you hear is Jesus talking. When something happen their reactions is the same as that of Jesus. This brings us to the question, when people see us what do they see? Is it our achievement or Jesus? When we talk, do people hear Jesus or us? Can unbelievers who have never seen Jesus look at us and get an idea of what Jesus was like. I once heard a story of a young boy who ran to his mum claiming to have seen Jesus. The mum asked what did Jesus do to you when he saw you, He said Jesus came and tied my shoe lace that was loose. The mother was baffled so she asked the young boy to describe how Jesus looked. By the time the young boy finished describing Jesus, the mother knew it was the visiting pastor that tied the loosed shoe lace. The young boy had never seen Jesus but he has heard of the good works Jesus did. After the pastor tied this shoe lace, the young boy decided that it could only be Jesus who would take interest in his shoe lace while everyone else is too busy to notice such.
PRAYER POINT: Father, help me to fully dwell in you.
Monday 19 November 2012
THE LORD’S ATTITUDE TO THE WEAK
Isaiah 35:3 says strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.
After Elijah had executed 450 prophets of Baal, Jezebel arose and sent
dead threats to him. Immediately Elijah received this in 1 Kings 19:1-8,
he began to run for his life. The mighty man of God who had just called
down fire from heaven was threatened by a woman and He began to shake
–his faith in God grew weak. He ran to God and began to complain. He
began to boast to God how he had been faithful and all that. He prayed
that the Lord should kill him. Instead of killing Elijah, He sent him
food. It was shocking that Elijah who had been praying for death saw
food and ate – one will expect him to reject the food but he didn’t.
After He ate and drank, He slept. The Lord sent an angel again to wake
him up and eat and the prophet ate and drank again and strength
returned. After strength returned ,by the time we get to 1 Kings 19:18
we see God pointing out to Elijah that there were at least 7,000 men who
had not bowed their knees to any other God ; from that day Elijah never
boasted to God about his faithfulness again. In this story, we learn of
God’s attitude to the weak. When the faith of Elijah grew weak instead
of rebuking him strongly or blaming him or discarding him and picking up
someone else or making fun of him or get angry at him, He simply fed
him. The Lord is not a user and He looks after His servants.
We
need to all learn from this story. The moment of weakness is not the
time to blame a person or rebuke them or make fun of them. It is not a
time to point out to them why they failed. It is a time to help them
back to their feet. Just as the Lord showed pity on Elijah, so also
should we show pity on those who are weak or have failed not blame them
for their failure. When people fail or backslide as a result of their
own doing or disobedience instead telling them that serves them right,
let’s first help them get back to their feet before later in a wise away
advice them. When someone is low in self esteem, it is not the time to
show off your own high self esteem. When a man of God makes a mistake,
it is not a time to call our friends and gossip about them. It is not
the time to make fun of them or begin to talk bad about them. It is a
time to be sober and cry to God for mercy over their soul. Any one party
to making fun of men or women of God when they fall is toying with
God’s fire .James 5:19 says if anyone wanders from the truth bring him
back. God was disappointed in Elijah but He did not show it to him at
his weak moments. When your husband or wife makes a mistake or has a
weakness or two, it is not the time to compare him to other husbands or
her to other wives. It is not the time to remind him or her how she
always makes the same mistake. It does not help! When our children comes
back with results that are below our expectations instead of calling
them names , let’s put measures into place to ensure that they will do
better in the next term or semester. Another thing is He kept on feeding
Elijah until He received the strength. Isaiah 35:3 says strengthen the
weak hands and make firm the feeble knees. It is wickedness to make a
weak hands weaker and feeble knee feebler. When you see people on the
path to destruction instead of wishing that God will destroy them, lets
pray for them. Remember, only the merciful will obtain mercy from God-
Matthew 5:7. If you have ever made fun of anyone who has fallen or made
mistakes, go to God and ask Him forgiveness.
ACTION POINT: Look for someone weak today and offer them words of
KINGDOM EAGLES
Isaiah 40:31 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.
The eagles are very bold birds. According to Proverbs 30:19, Eagles fly in the sky. While chickens remain permanently on the ground the eagle flies high in the sky. While other birds fly not too far from the ground, the eagles soar in the heavens. 2 Timothy 1:7 says our God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. One of the reasons why you will never see a chicken fly is fear of failure. They do not want to fail at flying. Other birds summon a bit of courage and fly but not too high to avoid the wind currents presents at great heights. The eagle is neither afraid of flying nor worried about the wind currents at great heights. While other Christians practice their Christianity in the secrets, Kingdom eagles are bold about their Christian lives. They do not hide it. While others are scared of evangelizing, Kingdom eagles go out and witness. At the end, chickens remain on the ground, other birds remain at the same level all their lives but the eagles go from heights to heights because of their boldness.
Eagles fly alone. Chickens are crowd followers. If a chicken sees a bunch of chicken running across the chicken yard, he will take off after them. It does not matter that he does not know where they are going or why they are going there. He follows along because he does not want to miss out on anything the majority is doing. While other birds are migrating together in large groups the eagle flies alone. These birds that fly in groups or always in the company of another forget they have a destiny to fulfil. They forget they are on this earth for a reason. They ignore their divine assignments and wake up in the morning and begin to sing. After singing they join other birds to fly all day but the eagles are conscious of their assignments and they set their hearts to it. They are so committed they do not permit other eagles to come and waste their time. While other birds are busy with pettiness, the eagle is found on top of a high mountain busy studying the wind current. While other christians are sleeping at night, Kingdom eagles are awake praying and watching with God. While the vultures gather to feast on carcass, the eagles stand alone not to touch unclean things. When everyone around them is getting civilized and compromising their faith, Kingdom eagles stand alone not to compromise their faith. Kingdom eagles stand alone for Jesus. At the end other birds die and fall to the ground, the Eagle goes to the top of the tallest mountain. He looks straight into the sun and dies on the high mountain.
PRAYER POINT: Father, please give me the spirit of boldness today so I can stand for you all the days of my life and end my christian race well.
Friday 16 November 2012
GOD’S ATTITUDE TO DEBTS
Deuteronomy 23:21: When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God,
thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require
it of thee; and it would be sin in
thee.
In 2 Kings 4:1 –
7, is the story of a woman who was in big debt. The creditors told her
they were going to take her two sons as slaves to cater for her debts.
She ran to meet to the man of God- Elisha, who gave her an instruction
to go and borrow some vessels and fill it with the oil left. After she
did she came back to the prophet and he advised her to go and first pay
her debts and live on the rest. This passage shows God’s attitude to
debts. The woman was advised to first go and pay her debt which means
God took the business of paying her debt as urgent and a priority. Today
we should learn from this. When we owe people let us make every effort
to pay the debts even if it means we will not eat! If the money is not
available lets still be in contact with those we owe money to and
re-assure them that we will pay, not ignore them or begin to run. When
people out of mercy lend us things or money, when they ask for their
money back let us not do the wicked thing of getting angry at them. Many
do that , they get angry when the people who have lend them money ask
for the money back and some take it to another level by deciding not to
pay the money. According Psalm 37:21, it is an act of wickedness to
borrow and not pay back! When you owe financial institutions please pay
them back. Also when people lend us things let us endeavor to return
them back on time and in good condition. It is not nice when people lend
us things and they have to beg to get them back from us. Do you know it
is a debt not to testify to the goodness of God in your life? Every
time God does something for us, we owe Him a thank you and the thank you
He expects from us is to share the testimony.
We have heard
this saying from time to time, Promise is a debt. A promise is not only a
debt but unfulfilled promise is a sin! Deuteronomy 23:21 says when thou
shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it:
for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin
in thee. When you make promises to people, do everything in your power
to fulfill them. The same thing applies to God. Many of us have made
vows to God that if only He will let us pass an exam we will do this for
Him, If only He will give us a child, If only He will get us a job, if
only He will get us the promotion, if only He will get us the visa, If
only He will deliver us, if only He will do this and that …. The
shocking thing is many of us have not redeemed the pledge we made to Him
years ago. So as not to hold it against us as sin, He reminds us from
time to time and what do we do? We say it is true and never do anything
about it.
ACTION POINT: Put measures into place to pay your
debts, if you have been running from people you owe money to, contact
them and let them know you are making efforts to pay the debts.
Thursday 15 November 2012
OFFERING STRANGE FIRES
Numbers 3:4 And Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, when they offered strange fire before the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children: and Eleazar and
Ithamar ministered in the priest's office in the sight of Aaron their father.
What is a strange fire? Strange fire simply represents practices that are either not biblical or God is not happy with. The Most High God abhors strange fires in His presence. Today in the body of Christ there are so many strange fires offered unintentionally. It is true that ignorance of law is no excuse but we thank God for His mercies. One of the most popular strange fires offered before God is in the area of eating Holy Communion. Holy Communion is not to be eaten in the morning or afternoon but midnight. Eating it in the late evening is permitted but not morning or afternoon. There is no record of Holy Communion been eating in the afternoon or morning in the bible starting from the first day it was eating by Moses and the children of Israel (it was called Passover then) to the night Jesus was betrayed.
Also been rude to a man of God or prophet is offering strange fire. If you do not believe me please ask Saul in 1 Samuel 15:1-35. Samuel rebuked Saul on an issue, as he turned to leave Saul grabbed the prophet’s garment and it tore ,right on the spot God tore his kingdom gave it to another man! In Acts 5:1-10, Ananias and Sapphira ganged up to fool the man of God and right on the spot the Lord struck them dead. Maybe we should add the story of Uzziah in 2 Chronicles 26:1-23. There was no doubt that this man had spiritual gift. The gift of vision made him one of the greatest kings that ruled in Israel and at very young age but what happened? Because of his gifts, he began to over step his boundary by trying to offer incense on the altar – a task solely for the Levites. Been a king the priest tried to ask him politely not to do so but he would not listen and from heaven God struck him ;right on the spot he became a leper. I pray that none of this will happen to anyone of us in Jesus name. Do you also know that been rude to elders in the church or calling them nick names is offering strange fire? Oh yes it is! Some youths began to make fun of the baldhead of Elisha in 2 Kings 2:23-25, the man cursed them and the Lord said amen in heaven. From nowhere, two female bears came out and mauled forty-two of the youths. Also abusing one’s position as a pastor or prophet or worker or leader in the church is offering strange fire. The sons of Eli –Hophni and Phinehas, sons of the prophet used their position to satisfy their evil desires. Because they were leaders and prophets, they began to use the church to enrich themselves; they used the offerings to make themselves fat- 1 Samuel 2:12-17.They graduated into using their positions to sleep with beautiful women in the church – 1 Samuel 22-25. God warned Eli to warn his children but no one listened to God. One day God got tired and decided to take off his hands from their life. The next minute the enemies killed them – 1 Samuel 4:11. Sending blackberry messages to our friends during church services or sermon is offering strange fire. It is not good. Send messages, picking calls, talking to our friends during church services or sermons is not good. When we are in the present of God we must behave our self not to court His wrath.When we are in the presence of our earthly parents or bosses at work , we do not ping our friends or chat on the phone ,why do that before the One who created heaven and earth ?
PRAYER POINT: Father, please forgive my ignorance and help me not displease you again.
Wednesday 14 November 2012
PRAY WITHOUT CEASING
1 Thessalonians 5:17: pray without ceasing
In 2 Kings 13:14- 19, a king was given an opportunity to permanently
deal with his enemies –the Syrians. Elisha told him to strike the ground
with an arrow; each time he struck the ground stood for a victory over
the Syrians. The foolish king struck the ground three times and began to
look. Even when he was rebuked, he did not even make any more attempts.
The attitude of this king could be compared to our attitude in prayers.
God inspires the pastor to lead a particular prayer point, after
praying for five minutes, we stop. At times we pray for two or three
days over a matter ,if we do not get a response we stop praying. 1
Thessalonian 5:17 says pray without ceasing. John 16:24 says we should
ask until our joy is full. If your joy is not full over a matter please
do not stop praying. At times when ask God for one or two things and we
do not get an answer within days we get angry at God. The truth is if we
petition the president of our country, he is not obliged to answer
immediately and we have no choice than to exercise patience. How much
more God? He is not our servant or our employer. He can decide not to
answer and nothing will happen but thank God He is merciful and He has
promised in Isaiah 65:24 that while you are praying, He will answer
Hallelujah.
How do I make request known to God? Acts 4:24-30
shows us how to do this. The early Christians had challenges in the area
of boldness and evangelism. They went to God in prayers. They started
by praising the name of the Lord – Acts 4:24. After that they proceeded
to thank Him for the things He had done in times past – Acts 4:25-27.
After this they reported what was disturbing them to Him – Acts 4:28.
They concluded by telling Him what they wanted Him to do for them – Acts
4:30. By the time they finished praying, the bible records in Acts 4:31
that there was an earth quake. If anyone will go before Him in prayer
and start by spending time to exalt His holy name, calling Him the King
of Kings, Lord of Lords, Most High, other lovely names. Then spend time
again to thank Him for the things He had done in past. Then proceed to
report everything disturbing them to Him and conclude with what they
want to Him to do there will be an earthquake. Also when we make
requests to Him, it should be in the name of Jesus. John 14:13 says and
whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may
be glorified in the Son. And also when we ask let’s do so through the
spirit of God (i.e. speak in tongues) .Romans 8:26 says for we know not
what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh
intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered. When God sees
our prayer request in heaven signed by Jesus (when ask in the name of
Jesus, we are stamping our request with the signature of Jesus) and our
requests packaged by the Holy Spirit (when we pray in the spirit), He
will say yes! I pray that the Lord will say granted to all your
petitions in Jesus name.
ACTION POINT: Start your request by
praising God, then thank Him for the things He has done in times past ,
bring to His attention everything disturbing you and ask Him what you
want Him to do with them.
Monday 12 November 2012
WISDOM WITHOUT THE FEAR OF GOD
Proverbs 4:7: Wisdom is a principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all your getting get understanding.
You can call the devil any name that will be fine. You can call him a liar that will be fine. John 8:44 calls him the father of lies anyway. You can call him a thief, murderer and destroyer that will be perfectly fine because John 10:10 says he steals kills and destroys. You can call him any name in the world, you are have the perfected right to do so but do not ever call him a fool because he is not. Jesus says in Matthew 10:16, behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves which suggest that the serpent (referring to Satan) Is wise .2 Corinthians 2:11 says we should not be ignorant of his devices. One of the wisest men that ever lived was Adam. This man was full of wisdom. He had a mental ability that exceeded all the modern day geniuses
combine together. For a man
to have given names to all the animals, organism, microbes, fishes and
birds in the world it takes a considerable amount of wisdom and
understanding. Asides this, Adam had a very close relationship with God.
God usually visited him regularly, for Adam to have had this kind of
relationship with God, he must have been really wise because if there is
anything the Lord cannot stand, it is the foolish. Psalm 5:5 says the
foolish cannot stand in the presence of God. Yet the devil outsmarted
him, despite all his ability! Solomon operated at a level higher than
that of Adam. According to 1 Kings 4:33 , he was so intelligent that he
became an authority in the branch of science dealing with trees,
animals, birds, fish and all other living things. He was so wise the
bible records in 1 Kings 4:32 that he spoke 3000 thousands proverbs and
wrote 1005 songs! Despite all this, the devil still managed to outsmart
him and make him sin against God.
This brings us to the question of how the devil managed to cause them to sin against God despite their wisdom. How was he able to trick them? Were they careless? They were certainly not careless, they all lacked one small thing; the fear of God. It is impossible to fear God and still disobey Him. It is impossible to fear God and still court His wrath. By wisdom kings reign – Proverbs 8:15; Wisdom brings riches and honor – Proverbs 8:18; those who find wisdom can be compared to he who finds life – Proverbs 8:35. The moment the fear of the Lord is missing in all these, one becomes a toast in the hands of the enemy. The only fellow the enemy cannot bring down or outsmart or cause to offend God is that fellow who truly fears the Lord. One reason why the devil could not outsmart Jesus while He was on earth was because Jesus had the Spirit of the fear of the Lord – Isaiah 11:3
POINT; Father, Please give me the spirit of the fear of the Lord
This brings us to the question of how the devil managed to cause them to sin against God despite their wisdom. How was he able to trick them? Were they careless? They were certainly not careless, they all lacked one small thing; the fear of God. It is impossible to fear God and still disobey Him. It is impossible to fear God and still court His wrath. By wisdom kings reign – Proverbs 8:15; Wisdom brings riches and honor – Proverbs 8:18; those who find wisdom can be compared to he who finds life – Proverbs 8:35. The moment the fear of the Lord is missing in all these, one becomes a toast in the hands of the enemy. The only fellow the enemy cannot bring down or outsmart or cause to offend God is that fellow who truly fears the Lord. One reason why the devil could not outsmart Jesus while He was on earth was because Jesus had the Spirit of the fear of the Lord – Isaiah 11:3
POINT; Father, Please give me the spirit of the fear of the Lord
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