May 03

When God Fights For You

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There is so much truth in the saying that “if God is all you have, then you have got all you need.” This is because if we allow God have full control of our lives, He will manifest His power in every area of our needs.

 

“And the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Bethhoron, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah” (Joshua 10:10).

 

Israel, on their way to the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua, encountered many hostile nations. But they prevailed against all. News of their incredible victories made kings to panic.

 

Indeed, Gibeon, a great city of mighty men, found it expedient to submit to the superior power of Israel even under tough terms.

Adonizedec king of Jerusalem feared Israel and was incensed with Gibeon for submitting and signing a pact with them. Panic-stricken, he arranged a confederacy with four neighboring kings against Gibeon. Gibeon handed the battle to Israel who routed the confederacy of five Amorite kingdoms.

 

Notice how the event was captured in verse 10: “And the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Bethhoron, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah.”

 

This string of victories did not come to Israel by dint of hard work or military might; God fought for them. As long as Israel was in good standing with Him, the Lord of hosts remained their Banner.

 

God still fights for His people. For those who through repentance and faith in Christ have submitted their lives to God, He is the Source of their victory. When God fights for you, no confederacy of demons or men can withstand you.

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: A city set on a hill cannot be hid.

 

 

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May 02

What Do You Know About God?

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In an age of distressing crises and sundry pressures of life, many people are often hesitant in relating with strangers. Some even adopt the extreme position of showing suspicion towards those they do not know.

 

In fact, conventional wisdom tells us that the more aware and acquainted you are with a person, the more likely you are able to relate well to him. It follows then that spiritually speaking, the reason many people do not have a flourishing relationship with God is because they really do not know Him.

 

Bible writers were different. They knew only little about God, of course, for no one can ever successfully unravel all there is about the Almighty. Yet, they spoke about Him with so much reverence and awe.

 

“The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted” (Psalm 47:9).

 

The Psalmist in the scripture above best illustrates this. In obvious wonderment, he urged all people to clap their hands, shout with the voice of triumph in praise and worship of the almighty God, the great King over all the earth.

 

  • He points out that God has power to subdue nations and peoples under Him;
  • He desires to be praised, honoured and worshipped.
  • He reigns and rules in holiness over both good and bad people.
  • He has power over all. No wonder the people who know Him, “even the people of the God of Abraham” unite in extolling His greatness and exalting His Name.

 

God, indeed, is so awesome; we can never capture all His essence in words. But this must not stop us from describing Him in glowing terms.

 

We should excitedly tell others about Him, especially what He has done for us, and what we know personally about this “God of Abraham”. And like Abraham, what we know about Him should make us obey Him without reservation.

 

This way, we can become, not just God’s children but His friends and spiritual inheritors of all the promises that He made to Abraham.

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: If you know God more, you’ll trust Him more.

 

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May 01

Great Revelation

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Charles Swindoll, an evangelical Christian pastor and radio preacher, in the course of studying the Scripture, worked himself up with a feeling of finding examples of early believers, whose lives were marked by rigidity, predictability, inhibition, dullness and caution.

 

But his research could not get him anywhere. Instead, Swindoll said: “The examples I find are of adventurous, risk-taking, enthusiastic, and authentic believers whose joy was contagious even in times of full trial.

 

Their vision was broad even when death drew near. Rules were few and changes were welcome. The contrast between then and now is staggering.”

 

“Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength” (Daniel 10:8).

revelation

Daniel’s vision, from the scripture passage above, opened up detailed prophecy about Israel’s future. He was particularly concerned about this and he prayed and fasted for three weeks. By the twenty-first day, a man appeared to him, giving him a revelation.

 

Prior to this, the prophet had had some visions, which he could not clearly understand. But this one was clear enough to him. The vision startled him!

 

The man in the vision clothed himself in linen, which symbolized purity, and girded his loins with fine gold of Uphaz, which equally symbolized high position. His body also was like the beryl, which symbolized royalty, and his face as the appearance of lightning, which also symbolized truth.

 

His eyes were like lamps of fire, which symbolized judgment, while his arms and feet glistened like polished brass, which symbolized power, and his voice like the voice of a multitude, which also symbolized power.

 

Even though those with Daniel did not see the vision, what they experienced made them to run into hiding, leaving Daniel alone.

 

The prophet, who had completely lost all his strength by the virtue of this vision, was terribly afraid as well. He was so afraid that he fell down and started to sleep. This shows that nobody can comprehend God.

 

This is why we all need to fear, reverence and adore Him. Our finite minds can never comprehend God. But our praises and adoration of Him can attract His manifest presence.

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Finite man cannot fully comprehend the infinite God.

 

 

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Apr 30

Can Money Buy God?

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Key Verse: “They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him” (Psalm 49:6,7).

money

 

Today’s text explains the ephemeral nature of riches, with a warning to those who pride themselves in it. The psalmist notes the attitude of some rich people who are not only unkind to the poor, but also exploit them.

 

The psalmist explains that none of the rich people could ever buy life and that it was only God who could stop anybody from dying. He cautions the poor against being agitated with what the rich use their money to do since they cannot use it to buy themselves longer lives from God.

 

Though wealth acquired genuinely is not a sin, yet the love of it is. The power of money casts a snare and makes men proud and pompous, igniting the assumption that a man could live without God.

 

Some rich people put their hope and trust in their money. This is a foolish thing to do because money can only buy pleasure, but not peace; it can buy men, but not God.

 

Whether rich or poor, wise or foolish, everybody must die, and whatever anybody has accumulated on earth will not be buried with him or her. Everything would be left behind, “for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out” (1 Timothy 6:7).

 

Only faith in God and His promises can sustain anyone till the end.

 

Believers need to be strongly admonished against the push and pull of money. Some believers get subsumed under the claptrap of money because of their loss of heavenly vision. They forget that they are mere pilgrims on earth.

 

Saints of God are to hold the things of this world loosely. The Scripture enjoins us to lay our treasures in heaven so that the heart is not bogged down by the pursuit of fleeting earthly treasures.

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Do not clog the heart with transient gratifications.

 

 

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Apr 29

Damning Sin Of Pride

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A lawyer sued a big company for a breach of contract. In the court, he demanded a very large sum of settlement money that outraged the judge who wanted to know why the lawyer asked for so much.

 

He responded: “I’m doing this for one reason.” With pride and utter contempt for his colleagues, the lawyer declared: “I am, you understand, the best attorney in the world.”

 

At the end of the case, a friend confronted the lawyer. “Why did you brag about yourself the way you did?” With more vainglory the lawyer said: “There was nothing else I could do. After all, I was speaking under oath. I had to tell the truth.”

 

Obviously, this man was not aware of God’s word in Romans 12:3 that a man should not think of himself more highly than he ought to think but to think soberly. It was the same problem the daughters of Zion had during the ministry of Isaiah the prophet. “…

 

The daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet” (Isaiah 3:16). What judgment was waiting for them? “Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secrets” (Isaiah 3:17).

 

Pride is addictive attention to self and an exaggeration of a person’s self-worth. Pride leads to spiritual decline that manifests in immorality, oppression of the poor, materialism and worldliness (Isaiah 3:16-26) which attract divine judgment.

 

Unless the proud repents and turns to Christ for salvation who alone gives grace for humility, modesty and heaven-mindedness, he will remain rejected by God. No proud person is believer as God resists (rejects) the proud, while He gives grace to the humble.

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Pride goeth before destruction.

 

Key verse: “Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go… the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts” (Isaiah 3:16,17).

 

 

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Apr 28

The Servanthood And The Apostleship Of Appointed Ministers

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“Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ…” Paul the apostle introduced himself both as a servant and an apostle. Formerly a blasphemer, an injurious person, a persecutor and chief of sinners whose sole aim was to destroy the churches, he heard the voice of the Lord on his way to Damascus to persecute the church there and became converted.

 

His conversion was significant in the Kingdom because he laboured much among the Gentile nations and raised other ministers for the Lord.

 

Genuine conversion will lead to true commitment.

 

Paul’s uncompromising conviction, his untiring commitment to God and the glorious gospel was an undeniable evidence of his conversion. Called and commissioned to preach the gospel he once opposed, he laboured more abundantly than those who were apostles before him.

 

Paul introduced himself as “a servant of God”. The word “servant” means a bond slave.

As a highly educated Jewish scholar, he knew that a servant or bond slave was the most servile person who willingly submitted to the will and rule of his master.

Paul accepted the authority and leadership above him. Now, he was a willing servant unto God. This means that he had no life of his own; he had no will of his own; he had no plan of his own; he had no purpose of his own.

 

Every thought, plan, act or relationship was subject to and under the control of his Master.

True believers have been bought with a price and are bond slaves of God. Paul the apostle also described himself as “an apostle of Jesus Christ”.

An apostle is a special messenger sent by a master of greater, divine authority with a specific message that can neither be changed nor modified.

The message or service appointed by the king was always greater than the life, security and convenience of his servants.

The apostles were aware of the compelling authority of the message entrusted to them to deliver to the world and to the Church.

Necessity was laid upon them to be committed and faithful to God even when they were hated and persecuted by the world.

 

Paul’s commitment and submission to the Lord was absolute, not gradual. Our commitment, devotion and dedication to the Lord must also be absolute.

Titus 1:1; 1 Corinthians 6:19,20; Exodus 21:2-6; Galatians 6:14-17; Romans 1:1; Galatians 1:1,10.

Apr 27

The Purposeful Commitment Of Divinely Appointed Ministers

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“Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth … which is committed unto me.” Titus 1:1-4

 

The Lord calls and appoints ministers into ministry in the church to save souls, edify and mature converts, seek and restore backsliders, perfect the saints, encourage, equip and strengthen persecuted believers, minister to the needy and prepare His people for the rapture.

 

It is certain He will not appoint the blind to lead the blind, sinners to call other sinners to repentance, unconverted people to convert hypocrites, ignorant people to lead unbelievers to the Saviour, hirelings to shepherd His flock, hypocrites to proclaim His holiness and enemies of righteousness to be the ambassadors of His righteousness.

 

God cannot appoint a stranger to lead His people to the Promised Land, wolves in sheep’s clothing to watch over His flock, unclean spiritual lepers to serve as agents of cleansing, dogs to be the steward of holy things and swine to handle the pearls of the mystery of the Kingdom.

 

He appoints those who are saved to reach out to the unsaved, the sanctified to be His vessels of honour and the Spirit-filled to transmit His power through the gospel to the world.

 

God wants believers to understand their calling in Christ and purposefully commit themselves to fulfilling it.

 

Apostle Paul understood his calling as one appointed to preach, teach, evangelize, edify the body of Christ, and prepare the people for the Lord’s coming. And he did it faithfully.

I Pray the Lord give us His Grace to always go after the lost soul and convert them to the kingdom. Amen!

 

 

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Apr 26

Encounter With The Spirit Of Faith

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The spirit of faith is one of the components of the Holy spirit. The spirit of faith happened to be the master key to a world of unlimited possibilities. 2 Corinthians 4:13, Jude vs3, Hebrews 11:33,34

 

It is the spirit of faith that establishes our dominions on earth. “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” Ephesians 6:16 . It is the only way for our heaven on earth mandate can be a reality.

 

What Is Unique About The Spirit Of Faith?

 

  • The spirit of faith empowers us to believe all things. “so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets” Acts 24:14b. It takes the spirit of faith to believe all things. It is what you believe that you are empowered to become.
  • The spirit of fear cannot survive where spirit of faith is domicile. The testimony in the book of Hebrews chapter 11 is a testimony of spirit of faith in action.
  • The spirit of faith is a speaking spirit. “For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.” Matthew 10:20
  • It has a transferable virtue. There is a wide gap between a “word” of faith and the “spirit” of faith. “And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.” 2 Kings 2:15
  • The spirit of faith has no feelings.
  • It subdues the forces of darkness. What it says it never doubts cos it will come to pass.
  • It is an ever winning spirit. 1 John 5:3. No matter the fierce of the challenges we might be encountering, we must acknowledge the spirit of faith is an ever winning spirit.
  • It releases upon us the wisdom that passes all understanding. Hebrews 4:3,9-11.
  • It brings us to the realm of unexplainable rest. ‘The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” Exodus 14:14, Psalm 46:10. The state of rest here means, a state of signs and wonders.
  • The spirit of faith triggers the supernatural.

 

How To Encounter The Spirit Of Faith?

 

  1. There must be a desire and thirsty for it, before you can encounter it. “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.” Psalm 63:1,2
  2. It is our strength and staff in the days of battle and trial.
  3. It puts you on top of all issues of life.
  4. It is a driving force “And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness” Mark 1:12

 

It is not enough to have the spirit of faith, but we have the responsibility to keep it alive always. By staying with the right word. you must feed it with the right word and by studying the word at all times.

You must feed it with the word or you quench it. Cos it draws its strength and energy from the word. It’s likened to a spiritual aircraft, it must be maintained or it will be granded. Leviticus 6:12,13.

 

You need the word everyday to keep the fire burning. “And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me” Ezekiel 2:2

 

Every encounter we have with the word of God will release His power upon our lives for triumph at all time. Jeremiah 33:20-25, Genesis 8:22, Deuteronomy 8:18

 

May God help us to acknowledge His spirit of faith and remain with the zeal it propels in Jesus name.

Amen!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Apr 25

Faith In God’s Spoken Word

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Faith is necessary, essential and indispensable to life – eternal life, abundant life, happy, healthy and holy life, fruitful and fulfilled life. Hebrews 11:3

Faith – true, vibrant, dynamic, positively productive faith – must be in the true and living God. Faith in dead gods and deceptive, impotent men is disappointing and damning.

 

Faith in self is deluding and destructive. Faith in man-made system and Satan’s falsehood is dangerous and deadly.

 

God, the true God, the living God, the eternal God, the mighty and powerful God, the faithful God, the unchanging and infallible God, the loving and caring God must be the object, foundation and focus of our faith.

 

This is the only true God, who “framed,” formed, made, created “the world” by His Word. The “things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”

 

Man has to use material things, which already exist to make or manufacture new products. God created all things out of nothing. He is God of all power, of infinite ability.

 

God is who He is, whether we know Him or not. God can do all things; will do what He can do, whether we know it or not.

 

A father is who he is and can do whatever he can do, whether his child knows it or not.

Knowing what the father can do, who he is and what he is willing to do gives the child trust, confidence and peace of mind. Knowing who God is, what His power and authority can accomplish, what He has done and promised to do, how faithful, loving and caring He is grants His child trust, confidence and faith.

 

We have full assurance, firm confidence, unshakeable persuasion that our God will do all He said He will do.

 

Faith permits its possessor to rejoice in firm assurance while waiting for the accomplishment of the promise given by God. Knowing who God is, the believer is “fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He [is] able also to perform” (Romans 4:21).

 

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Apr 24

Compelling Necessity Of Personal Evangelism

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Personal evangelism is a compelling necessity for every believer. It is not the will of God that anyone should perish: He wants all men to be saved.

 

The Lord Jesus Christ was not only involved in personal evangelism but also sent out His disciples to do so. They were to preach to every creature everywhere.

 1 Corinthians 9:16; Jeremiah 20:9; Matthew 9:36; John 9:4; Acts 4:20; 18:5; 20:22-24; Ezekiel 3:17-21; 2 Corinthians 5:11a; John 4:35; Romans 9:3; 10:1; 1 Corinthians 9:22; Psalm 90:12; Mark 5:18-20.

 

Paul the apostle said, “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16). To him, souls are more valuable than any other thing in the world.

 

It is an obligation for every believer to personally bear witness of Christ and the task is urgent in view of

  • Shortness of time
  • The brevity of life (Psalm 90:12; John 9:27-29)
  • Reality of eternal judgment of the lost (Psalm 9:17), and
  • The need for believers to be free from the blood of all men (Ezekiel 3:17-21; 33:1-16).

 

Concern for our loved ones, members of our families, tribesmen, friends, co-workers and neighbors requires us to witness to them (Romans 9:3; 10:1).

The vastness of the harvest field that is waiting for laborers should compel us to assist before they are wasted.

 

Commitment Needed For Personal Outreaches. 

Isaiah 6:5-8; John 9:4; Luke 4:43; John 18:37; 1 Corinthians 9:16; Acts 4:13-20; 19:15-19; 20:20-24; Romans 1:14-16; 2 Timothy 2:3,4; Psalm 126:5,6; 1 Corinthians 15:58.

 

Commitment is an act of devoting oneself entirely to a given cause until the goal is achieved. Personal evangelism requires individual commitment.

Our Lord Jesus Christ was personally committed to it. He said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4).

 

Believers must be determined to preach to all men till the end of their lives on earth. In spite of trials, hardship and afflictions, a soul-winner must never give up.

 

Every spiritual effort must be made in order to sustain the zeal and fire for personal evangelism.

 

This could be done through constant praying, yielding to the promptings of the Spirit to preach, regular reading of literature and listening to messages on evangelism, making deliberate plan to preach the gospel every day, and maintaining the freshness of the Spirit (Acts 8:23,24; 1 Timothy 4:13; Romans 10:17; Acts 17:17).

 

May God give us the Grace to be a partaker of His mandate to preach the gospel.

Amen