THE LORD MY FORTRESS – Saturday April 30th 2016-01-03

THE LORD MY FORTRESS 

Memorise: And he said the LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer. 2^nd Samuel 22:2

Read: Psalms 91:1-8, 91 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

² I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

³ Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

⁴ He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

⁵ Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

⁶ Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

⁷ A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

⁸ Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

Bible in one year: 1^st Kings 12-13, Proverbs 17:15-28

MESSAGE

The experience of David concerning divine protection is worthy of study. In our memory verse for today, he said: “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer”. Whoever experiences these attributes of God in his life can be rightly described as the inheritance of the Lord. The Psalmist further wrote.

“They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. Psalms 125:1

One point to quickly note is that this Bible verse talks only to those who put their trust in the Lord, not those who have alternatives.

David trusted totally in the Lord and he was never disappointed, that’s why he made such statements as this;

“As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever. Psalms 125:2

In other words, the Lord builds walls of protection round about his people. This is ‘food for thought’ for double-minded people who are still in doubt of God’s ability to totally protect. Some people are even afraid of prosperity, because they feel they will be prone to attacks from their enemies if they get rich. They obviously do not know that the Almighty God that prospers is the One that protects as well.

“Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence…. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day.” Psalms 91:3, 5

One is thrilled by the assurance with which the Psalmist tells us about the Lord’s protection over His people. David’s experiences, first with the lion and the bear, and later with Goliath, are testimonies that should make a doubter believe that our God is indeed Jehovah-Nissi.

I assure you that if you put your trust in the Lord, your protection is guaranteed. Our Lord never fails, He watches over his elect so that His name will not be blasphemed. Also, He fights on behalf of His elect so that they may not be discouraged by the battles of life.

My prayer is that the Rock of Ages will continue to protect you and your loved ones in the name of Jesus. However, ensure that you have no other god beside the Almighty God.

Action Point

Father, please deliver from the nets of the fowlers in Jesus’ name.

God bless you...

OVERCOMING TRIALS II – Friday April 29th 2016

OVERCOMING TRIALS II 

Memorise: Submit yourself therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

Read: James 4:7-10, ⁷ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

⁸ Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

⁹ Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

 Bible in one year: 1^st Kings 10-11, Proverbs 17:1-14

MESSAGE

Submitting to the perfect will of God is a great weapon against trials and temptations. It is wisdom for us to submit to the One who is our present help in time of trouble. Jesus Christ is our closest ally in the battle of life. This is why those who do not have Him as their personal Lord and Saviour are vulnerably disposed to sorrow, frustration and death.

For us to enjoy the support and the defence of our great Ally, Jesus Christ, Apostle James wrote to say that we should submit ourselves to God, resist the devil and then he will flee from us (James 4:7).

The Bible says that pride goes before a fall. Many people fall into temptation because of pride. This is why the scripture enjoins us to live soberly as we fight the good fight of faith.

“For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” Romans 13:3

Humility and sobriety are great instruments of defence in the face of temptation. We are encouraged to humble ourselves in the sight of God so that He can lift us up. Once we are lifted up above principalities and powers, no temptation can floor us, because the Almighty is our Ally. People easily fall prey to trials and temptations because of their failure to live soberly. Over two thousand years ago. Apostle James gave us a key to solving this problem. He wrote:

“But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished bringeth forth death.” James 1:14-5

To overcome trials and temptations, we must run to Jesus afresh today with sober hearts and humility. He will come to our aids, just on time.

Action Point

Examine your life; see where and how you have exposed yourself to trials and temptations and make amends with the blood of Jesus Christ.

God bless you...

OVERCOMING TRIALS I – Thursday April 28th 2016

OVERCOMING TRIALS I 

Memorise: Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which he Lord hath promised to them that love him. James 1:12

Read: Proverbs 1:11-15, ¹¹ If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:

¹² Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:

¹³ We shall find all precious substance; we shall fill our houses with spoil:

¹⁴ Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:

¹⁵ My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:

Bible in one year: 1^st Kings 8:22-9:28, Proverbs 16:20-33

MESSAGE

The irony of the spiritual realm is that the tempter is the prosecutor. The Bible says:

“And the great dragon was cast out that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceieveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” Revelation 12:9-10

The above scripture points to one bitter truth; trials and temptations are characteristics of life whether we believe it or not. It is, however, better to believe it because it is then we can preparedly overcome it. The Bible also confirms it by attaching a blessing to overcomers of temptation:

“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” James 1:12

It takes genuine love for God to be able to overcome temptation. Joseph was able to overcome the temptation of sleeping with his master’s wife because of the love he had for God. This love was what produced his victory. He said:

“There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” Genesis 39:9

As said earlier, there will always be temptations as long as we are on this earth. Temptation is not a sin but falling into it is the sin. The bad thoughts that the devil flashes at you are not sins until you begin to hatch and execute them.

It is our resistance to temptation that makes us overcomers. The Bible says:

“Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” Hebrews 12:4

My prayer for someone using this devotional is that you remain an overcomer over sin from now on in Jesus’ name.

Prayer Point

Father, sanctify me wholly from every besetting sin by the Blood of Jesus shed on the Cross.

God bless you...

KNOW YOUR ENEMY II – Wednesday April 27th 2016

KNOW YOUR ENEMY II 

Memorise: O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Romans 7:24

Read: Romans 7:18-25, ¹⁸ For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

¹⁹ For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

²⁰ Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

²¹ I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

²² For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

²³ But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

²⁴ O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

²⁵ I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Bible in one year: 1^st Kings 7:1-8:21, Proverbs 16:6-19

MESSAGE

The flesh is another deadly enemy of man. The flesh attacks the soul through its poisonous activities. These activities are listed in Galatians 5:19-21;

“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

The above listed activities of the flesh are deadly, primarily because they prevent a man inheriting the kingdom of God. An enemy is not a serious one if it can only kill you, but cannot prevent you from making it to heaven.

Jesus Christ said:

“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both souls and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28

Consequently, the flesh and its activities are very dangerous, but Christians have become so complacent that they sit back and allow these activities drag them off the track of heaven. The Bible says:

“Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? So he that goeth into his neighbour’s wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent… But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destoryeth his own soul.” Proverbs 6:28, 32

 The works of the flesh can be destroyed through only one means and that means is Jesus Christ. Beloved, I encourage you to give you life to Christ totally today, and do away with all works of the flesh.

Action Point

Read Colossians 3:5 and pray with it.

God bless you...

KNOW YOUR ENEMY I – Tuesday April 26th 2016

KNOW YOUR ENEMY I 

Memorise: My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. Proverbs 1:10

Read: Genesis 3:1-5, 3 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

² And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

³ But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

⁴ And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

⁵ For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Bible in one year: 1^st Kings 4-6, Proverbs 15:25-16:5

MESSAGE

One of the earliest weapons of the devil against both the spiritual and physical well-being of man is enticement. He has, from time immemorial, been successfully using this weapon against humanity. The first time He used it was in the Garden of Eden.

 “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Genesis 3:4-6a

 As a matter of fact, the fruit was not better looking than other fruits of the garden, but the mental picture that the devil painted about it suggested to the woman that the fruit was better than the ones God had generously given them to eat. Today, there are many good things of life that God has provided for humanity and His children in particular, but the enticement of the enemy has robbed many people of the joy and contentment in God’s benevolence. For example; if a man goes about chasing a woman who is not his wife, he is deluded and enticed to think that the strange woman possesses something that his wife does not have. It is the lie of the devil when you think that a second marriage will give you the joy that you did not have in the first. Read this confession of the first polygamist in history:

 “And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah… And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.” Genesis 4:19, 23

Through we may not have the full details of Lamech’s lamentation in this passage, the fact remains that an increase in the number of his wives did not spare him from the agony that instigated this lament.

Beloved, in what areas have you been deceived through the enticement of the devil? I pray that the enticement will loosen its grip over you from today in Jesus’ name.

Prayer Point

Father, when sinners come around to entice me, may I not consent in Jesus’ name.

God bless you...

BELATED OFFERING? – Monday April 25th 2016

BELATED OFFERING? 

Memorise: Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. Luke 24:1

Read: Luke 24:1-8, 24 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.

² And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.

³ And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

⁴ And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:

⁵ And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?

⁶ He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,

⁷ Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

⁸ And they remembered his words,

Bible in one year: 1^st Kings 2:13-3:28, Proverbs 15:11-24

MESSAGE

Some offerings are acceptable while some are not; some offerings are given at the right time while some are belatedly offered. On the morning of the resurrection, some people brought spices to the sepulchre of Jesus, meanwhile, a few days to His crucifixion, a woman anointed Jesus Christ’s feet with expensive ointment. This woman’s kind gesture was just in time.

“When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, why trouble ye the woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; but we ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.” Matthew 26:10-12

Incidentally, when Jesus Christ died, no one was there to perform the customary anointing before burial for Him. It was in lieu of this that certain disciples came to the resurrection morning that they may anoint Jesus in arrears. However, He had resurrected!

Beloved, there are many lessons to be learnt from this resurrection story; whenever the Holy Spirit asks you to do something, no matter how illogical it may sound, do it immediately. The reason is that if you do it later, it will be a belated offering or service. The disciples who came to anoint Jesus went back with their perfume because the Master was no longer in the grave. James, an apostle of Jesus Christ wrote:

“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be nakedm and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit.” James 2:14-16

If I may answer the apostle; there can be no profit whatsoever. There could, however, be a loss of that person in need, and it may be a physical or spiritual loss as the fellow may die of hunger or backslide. In this same vein, whenever the Holy Spirit asks you to do something and doing that thing attracts criticisms from men, be undeterred, go ahead and do exactly as you were told. Your critics will soon realise that they were wrong to have criticised you. May the Holy Spirit continue to guide us, and may we continue to obey Him as we journey from the world to our eternal home above.

Action Point

Listen to the Holy Spirit and do all that He asks you to do immediately. 

God bless you...

IDENTIFYING WITH JESUS? - Sunday April 24th 2016

IDENTIFYING WITH JESUS? 

Memorise: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death. Philippians 3:10

Read: John 19:38-42; ³⁸ And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.

³⁹ And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.

⁴⁰ Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.

⁴¹ Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.

⁴² There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.

Bible in one year: 1^st Kings 1:1-2:12, Proverbs 4:32-15:10

MESSAGE

From the beginning of the New Testament Church, identifying with Jesus takes dogged determination. Jesus Himself said it in Mark 8:34;

“And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

In the above passage, Jesus Christ demands total commitment from His followers. Whoever will not totally put himself under the Lordship of Christ does not belong to him. John 8:31-32 says:

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, if ye continued in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed: And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”

Identifying with Jesus is identifying with the Word from above. In the Bible reading for today, we read about two secret disciples, Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus who came forward to claim the body of Jesus for burial. This is noteworthy, because it must have taken very important personalities to go to the governor to demand the body of a ‘condemned criminal’. On the other hand, it must have taken someone who did not only love the so-called criminal but also believed in his innocence, to go through the trouble of asking for Christ’s body and burying it.

Identifying with Jesus has to do with believing and living by His ideals. Many so-called born-again Christians have become so nominal that the Word of God is of no effect to their lives any more. Some pastors have tuned the Christian faith to a mere vocation. 

One wonders whether they mean to go to the same heaven that apostles like Paul worked hard for. Our Lord Jesus Christ said to his disciples:

“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” John 15:18-19

Therefore beloved, let us take the yoke of Jesus Christ upon ourselves with all seriousness and steadfastness. We will all make it to heaven in Jesus’ name.     

Action Point

Decide to follow Jesus all the way in spite of the hospitality of the World around you.

God bless you. 

UNGODLY SORROW – Saturday April 23rd 2016

UNGODLY SORROW 

Memorise: And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. Luke 27:5

Read: Matthew 27:3-8, ³ Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

⁴ Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.

⁵ And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

⁶ And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.

⁷ And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.

⁸ Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.

Bible in one year: 2^nd Samuel 23-24, Proverbs 14:18-31

MESSAGE

The type of sorrow that Judas Iscariot experienced is undesirable. I pray that you will not experience such a sorrow in your life in Jesus’ name. We need to know why the sorrow that Peter experienced is seen as godly and why that of Judas Iscariot perceived as ungodly.

When a man thinks he can outsmart his creator, the results is usually ghastly, and it is only when that person has godly sorrow for his acts that he can be saved.

Greed and materialistic tendencies can make a man think he can outsmart God. It is unfortunate that some so-called Christians are not spared for his monster called greed (or the love of material things.) The Bible says:

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us be therewith content. 1^stTimothy 6:6-8

Judas Iscariot thought he could swindle the Jewish leaders by betraying Jesus, he thought Jesus could not be arrested because he had, before then, witnessed Him escaping from the hands of the Jews. However, he didn’t know that Christ escaped then because His time was not yet up.

“And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city as built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he passing through the midst of them went his way.” Luke 4:28-30

With the background knowledge of what Christ could do, he felt that once he had collected the money and showed them who He is, Christ would disappear and life would continue as usual. To his surprise, Christ surrendered Himself. The type of sorrow he had does not lead to repentance; rather, it leads to despair, frustration, and eventually suicide as seen in today’s memory verse.

Beloved, let us fear the Lord and abstain from all forms of greed and the love of money. These things drown men in destruction and perdition.

Prayer Point

Father, please don’t let the love of money drown me in Jesus name.

God bless you.