*THE DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL.* CHURCH OF NIGERIA
_(ANGLICAN COMMUNION)_

*DATE:* FRIDAY, 3RD FEBRUARY, 2023 *THEME:* TURNING THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN
*TEXT:* ACTS 17: 1-16

*BIBLE READING* (NKJV)

1. Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.
2. Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
3. explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and [saying,] "This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ."
4. And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.
5. But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.
6. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, "These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.
7. "Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king -- Jesus."
8. And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things.
9. So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
10. Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.
11. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily [to find out] whether these things were so.
12. Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.
13. But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also and stirred up the crowds.
14. Then immediately the brethren sent Paul away, to go to the sea; but both Silas and Timothy remained there.
15. So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed.
16. Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.

*MESSAGE:*

In our Bible reading today, we see Paul, Silas and Timothy in Thessalonica and Berea. In fact, the effect of the work was felt everywhere. Once Paul and his team entered a city, those that accepted him would start to rejoice while those that opposed him would begin to wail and scheme against him. In verse 6, the opposing Jews attacked Jason and cried out, “..These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.”Paul and his team left for Berea where they preached the gospel and later left for Athens.

Do we have men like Paul that when they enter a city everywhere will quake because they brought the Good News? Why has the Gospel not reached the whole world to usher in the Lord (Matt. 24:14) despite the years of preaching it? If we all like the brethren in Berea hunger for the word, preach it sincerely and live it, people will declare -“these people who turned the world upside down have come here too.” Let us all wake up and preach the undiluted word to a hungry and dying world. Preach to someone today!

*PRAYER:*
Dear Father, give us the burden to take the Gospel to the unreached of the world to quicken Your return. *Amen.*

*QUOTE FOR THE DAY:*
God says

_"I knew you before you were born and I designed you for My purposes."_ *Jeremiah 1: 5*

*THE DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL.* CHURCH OF NIGERIA
_(ANGLICAN COMMUNION)_

*DATE:* SATURDAY, 4TH FEBRUARY, 2023 *THEME:* THESE TIMES OF IGNORANCE
*TEXT:* ACTS 17: 17-end

*BIBLE READING* (NKJV)

17. Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there.
18. Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this babbler want to say?”
Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection.
19. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak?
20. For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.”
21. For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious;
23. For as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:
TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:
24. God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.
25. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.
26. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
27. So that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
28. For in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’
29. Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising.
30. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,
31. Because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
32. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter.”
33. So Paul departed from among them.
34. However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

*MESSAGE:*

It is very unfortunate that our generation will be counted in the times of ignorance of the Gospel more than 2000 years after Jesus left the earth.
When Paul arrived in Athens, he was burdened by what he saw-the level of idol worship in the place, to the extent of dedicating an altar to “THE UNKNOWN GOD.”This gave Paul the opportunity to preach about this “Unknown God” to them and many believed. Even some philosophers wanted to find out this 'new doctrine' that Paul brought.

Are we still like ignorant Athenians in this 21st Century? The way the youths are embracing idolatry, cultural revival, kidnapping, money rituals and cultism makes one wonder if the gospel is being preached. The Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword...” (Heb. 4:12). This is manifested when the Word is spoken in the power of the Holy Spirit. Anything short of this may not make the needed impact in a world that places learning, science, technology and artificial intelligence above God. We must fight this ignorance by preaching the gospel zealously as the Day of the Lord fast approaches. Preach the gospel today.

*PRAYER:*
Use me Lord to pull down every spirit of idolatry in my generation in Jesus Name. *Amen.*

*QUOTE FOR THE DAY:*
God says

_"You are holy and free from blame because of Jesus Christ’s death."_ *Colossians 1: 22*

*THE DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL.* CHURCH OF NIGERIA
_(ANGLICAN COMMUNION)_

*DATE:* MONDAY, 6TH FEBRUARY, 2023 *THEME:* JOSEPH: THE AMBASSADOR

*TEXT:* GENESIS 46: 26-47: 13

*BIBLE READING* (NKJV)

26. All the persons who went with Jacob to Egypt, who came from his body, besides Jacob's sons' wives, [were] sixty-six persons in all.
27. And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt [were] two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy.
28. Then he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out before him [the way] to Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen.
29. So Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while.
30. And Israel said to Joseph, "Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you [are] still alive."
31. Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, "I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and say to him, 'My brothers and those of my father's house, who [were] in the land of Canaan, have come to me.
32. 'And the men [are] shepherds, for their occupation has been to feed livestock; and they have brought their flocks, their herds, and all that they have.'
33. "So it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, 'What is your occupation?'
34. "that you shall say, 'Your servants' occupation has been with livestock from our youth even till now, both we [and] also our fathers,' that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd [is] an abomination to the Egyptians."

_*Genesis 47: 1-13*_
1. Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh, and said, "My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they [are] in the land of Goshen."
2. And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.
3. Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What [is] your occupation?" And they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants [are] shepherds, both we [and] also our fathers."
4. And they said to Pharaoh, "We have come to dwell in the land, because your servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine [is] severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen."
5. Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, "Your father and your brothers have come to you.
6. "The land of Egypt [is] before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know [any] competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock."
7. Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8. Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How old [are] you?"
9. And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my pilgrimage [are] one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage."
10. So Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
11. And Joseph situated his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
12. Then Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father's household with bread, according to the number in [their] families.
13. Now [there was] no bread in all the land; for the famine [was] very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine.

*MESSAGE:*

Joseph played the role of God's ambassador in Egypt: He represented both God and Jacob's family in Egypt. He had been given a free hand to run the economy and to settle his father's family which came to Egypt. When he requested Pharaoh to allow his people to settle in Goshen, Pharaoh replied, “The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land...” (v.6). Jacob was 130 years when he came to Egypt and settled at Goshen.

Most times, we abuse little privileges given to us. We undermine those that trusted us and it may lead to our disgrace or dismissal. In Luke 19: 11-27, a nobleman called ten of his servants and gave them a pound each to do business till he returned. Luke 19: 13 states clearly, “Do business till I come.” That is, be working till I come. Two were faithful while one was a disappointment. Are you faithfully representing Christ where you are? Be a good Ambassador for Christ in your home, office, Church, place of work or business. Let us change our ways by preaching and living the gospel. Be a good Ambassador of Christ today.

*PRAYER:*
Dear Lord, help me to be a good Ambassador of Christ in my nation in Jesus' name, *Amen.*

*QUOTE FOR THE DAY:*
God says

_"I have sealed you with My Spirit to guarantee your coming inheritance."_ *Ephesians 1: 13 & 14*

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Feb-07

🎯TOPIC: BLESSINGS OF JOSEPH IN EGYPT


✝️TEXT: Genesis 48: 1-12(AMP)
1. Some time after these things occurred, someone told Joseph, Behold, your father is sick. And he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim [and went to Goshen].
2. When Jacob was told, Your son Joseph has come to you, Israel collected his strength and sat up on the bed.
3. And Jacob said to Joseph, God Almighty appeared to me at Luz [Bethel] in the land of Canaan and blessed me
4. And said to me, Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make you a multitude of people and will give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession. [Gen. 28:13-22; 35:6-15.]
5. And now your two sons, [Ephraim and Manasseh], who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine. [I am adopting them, and now] as Reuben and Simeon, [they] shall be mine.
6. But other sons who may be born after them shall be your own; and they shall be called after the names of these [two] brothers and reckoned as belonging to them [when they come] into their inheritance.
7. And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died at my side in the land of Canaan on the way, when yet there was but a little way to come to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem.
8. When Israel [almost blind] saw Joseph's sons, he said, Who are these?
9. And Joseph said to his father, They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place. And he said, Bring them to me, I pray you, that I may bless them.
10. Now Israel's eyes were dim from age, so that he could not see. And Joseph brought them near to him, and he kissed and embraced them.
11. Israel said to Joseph, I had not thought that I would see your face, but see, God has shown me your offspring also.
12. Then Joseph took [the boys] from [his father's embrace] and he bowed [before him] with his face to the earth.


✝️🗒️STUDY: Joseph was only a teenager when he was sold into Egypt, however, he grew to become a man in Egypt and married Pharaoh's daughter (Gen. 41: 45),so that he would be more responsible. On hearing that his father was sick, Joseph went with his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim to see him. Jacob related how God promised to bless him and his children and thereafter adopted Joseph's two sons as his. As his father Jacob confessed, he never expected to see Joseph alive, but now he saw even Joseph’s children. He requested Joseph to bring them close for his blessing.Christians should visit their parents regularly and be helpful to them. Every good and perfect gift comes from above. God blessed Joseph with two sons because He will show mercy to whom He will show mercy and have compassion on whom He will have compassion on (Rom. 9: 15). The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong (Eccl. 9: 11).When God decides to bless someone, no one, no force and no power can stop it. God has a blessing for you today. That will be your portion in Jesus' name. Amen.

✝️🙏 PRAYER: Father; help me to count my blessings one by one and be surprised at what the Lord has done.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Feb-08

🎯TOPIC: GOD'S ELECTION


✝️TEXT: Genesis 48: 13-22
13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. 14 Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the ofirstborn. 15 And he blessed Joseph, and said:
“God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has fed me all my life long to this day,
16 The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil,
Bless the lads;
Let smy name be named upon them,
And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
17 Now when Joseph saw that his father ulaid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”
19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly whis younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”
20 So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’ ” And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand aof the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”

✝️🗒️STUDY: Joseph brought his two sons - Manasseh and Ephraim, for his father to bless them. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Jacob placed his right hand on the head of Ephraim (the younger) and his left hand on the head of Manasseh (the elder). Joseph tried to exchange the hands, believing that because his father's visual impairment, he did not know what he was doing. However, Jacob refused, blessed them and told Joseph that God will bring them back to Canaan.God is sovereign and can bless whosoever He wants. He preferred Jacob to Esau. He preferred Joseph (the 11th) to his elder brothers. God shows mercy and compassion upon whom He decides. You cannot query God's choice or his election. “No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, 'what have you done?'” (Dan. 4:35). If God decides to bless you above your siblings, it is His choice. It should humble you and make you grateful to him. It does not call for disrespect to your elders. As parents, let us ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we pronounce blessings upon our children or grandchildren.

✝️🙏 PRAYER: We thank you Lord for You know the reason why You prefer us to others better than us. Help us to be grateful. Amen.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Feb-10

🎯TOPIC: A GUILTY CONSCIENCE


✝️TEXT: Genesis 50
1 And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.
2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.
3 And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.
4 And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,
5 My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.
6 And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.
7 And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,
8 And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.
9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.
10 And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.
11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan.
12 And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them:
13 For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.
14 And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.
15 And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
16 And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
22 And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years.
23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph's knees.
24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
25 And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.
26 So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

✝️🗒️STUDY: We notice in our text today that the brothers of Joseph were still feeling guilty for their past actions against Him. Despite the fact that Joseph had earlier forgiven them (Gen. 45:5), they were not yet free in their minds. Immediately their father was buried and they came back to Egypt, they sent a delegation to Joseph claiming their father demanded he forgives them for their trespasses. Of course, Joseph only saw their action then as part of God’s plan to save lives through him. Joseph played his part very well before bowing out.

Many do harbour guilty consciences from their activities in the past. Some try to quench their guilt through illicit sex, drinking alcohol or engaging in many activities to divert their attention. Those things are temporary solutions. Only Jesus can take care of your innermost guilt permanently. The practical solution is to confess the guilt, ask God for forgiveness and promise not to go back to what brought the guilt again. Invite Jesus into your life. Forgive yourself and free your mind from any guilt by trusting in the redemptive power of Christ. Try it today - it really works!


✝️🙏 PRAYER: May the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ cleanse us from all guilt both in the past and in the present. Amen.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Feb-11

🎯TOPIC: THE PHARAOH THAT KNEW NOT JOSEPH


✝️TEXT: Exodus 1(AMP)
1. THESE ARE the names of the sons of Israel who came into Egypt with Jacob, each with his household:
2. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
3. Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,
4. Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
5. All the offspring of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt.
6. Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation.
7. But the descendants of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, and the land was full of them.
8. Now a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.
9. He said to his people, Behold, the Israelites are too many and too mighty for us [and they outnumber us both in people and in strength].
10. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply more and, should war befall us, they join our enemies, fight against us, and escape out of the land.
11. So they set over [the Israelites] taskmasters to afflict and oppress them with [increased] burdens. And [the Israelites] built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.
12. But the more [the Egyptians] oppressed them, the more they multiplied and expanded, so that [the Egyptians] were vexed and alarmed because of the Israelites.
13. And the Egyptians reduced the Israelites to severe slavery.
14. They made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar, brick, and all kinds of work in the field. All their service was with harshness and severity.
15. Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, of whom one was named Shiprah and the other Puah,
16. When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, she shall live.
17. But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded, but let the male babies live.
18. So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, Why have you done this thing and allowed the male children to live?
19. The midwives answered Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; they are vigorous and quickly delivered; their babies are born before the midwife comes to them.
20. So God dealt well with the midwives and the people multiplied and became very strong.
21. And because the midwives revered and feared God, He made them households [of their own].
22. Then Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son born [to the Hebrews] you shall cast into the river [Nile], but every daughter you shall allow to live.


✝️🗒️STUDY: Joseph was Governor and second in command of all Egypt (Gen. 41:41,45c) under Pharaoh. Later a new Pharaoh arose that knew not Joseph. Biblical evidence and Egyptian history point to the fact that this Pharaoh could be a foreigner of Syro-Palestinian who were known as the Hyksos who invaded Egypt and ruled only the Northern part from 1664-1555 BC.(True Watchers:Evidence for Joseph from Egypt).This Pharaoh felt threatened by the Israelites and decided to make the Israelites serve as slaves with hard labor. God was with the Israelites as they grew and multiplied. Pharaoh ordered the midwives: Shiphrah and Puah to kill the male children at birth, but they feared God and saved them alive. They gave excuses to Pharaoh (Exo. 1:19).God therefore dealt well with the midwives and provided households for them.God knows what you are going through. Is someone greater than you persecuting you? Trust God and He will change your situation. No matter the plans of the enemy against you, he will not succeed. Continue to obey God always. There is reward for fearing and obeying the Lord, so shun evil and do the right. Get to know Jesus Christ today and know victory.

✝️🙏 PRAYER: Dear Father, grant me boldness to stand for righteousness in Jesus name.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-02-12
(Sexagesima)

🎯TOPIC: JESUS HAS POWER TO FORGIVE SINS


✝️📖TEXT: Mark 2:1-12 (NKJV)

1. And again He entered Capernaum after [some] days, and it was heard that He was in the house.
2. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive [them,] not even near the door. And He preached the word to them.
3. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four [men.]
4. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.
5. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."
6. And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts,
7. "Why does this [Man] speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
8. But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?
9. "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, '[Your] sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?
10. "But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic,
11. "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."
12. Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw [anything] like this!"

✝️🗒️STUDY

Sexagesima is two Sundays before Lent. Our Bible reading today reveals that some sicknesses are a result of sin while some are not (John 9:1-4). Forgiveness of sin paves way for healing and that is why Jesus told the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you", The Scribes thought that Jesus was speaking blasphemy knowing that it is only God that can forgive sins. Jesus challenged them and healed the paralytic. Jesus saw the faith of the paralytic's four friends who noticed the crowd, went to great lengths to let their friend down at Jesus' feet. They were not disappointed.

They refused to see the crowd as an obstacle. They were undaunted and indomitable. They believed in the God who makes a way where there seems to be no way. The Lord had mercy on the paralytic and commanded him to pick up his bed and walk and he went home healed! Are you carrying a load of sin? Come to Jesus for forgiveness. Are you sick? Christ can heal you today if you come to Him. In whatever situation you are right now, the Lord will grant you an open door of healing in Jesus' name. Amen. Just call on Him!

✝️🙏 PRAYER: Thank you Lord for forgiving my sins and healing my infirmities.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Feb-13

🎯TOPIC: THE PARABLE OF THE WEDDING FEAST

✝️TEXT: Matthew 22: 1-15(AMP)
1. And again Jesus spoke to them in parables (comparisons, stories used to illustrate and explain), saying,
2. The kingdom of heaven is like a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son
3. And sent his servants to summon those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they refused to come.
4. Again he sent other servants, saying, Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have prepared my banquet; my bullocks and my fat calves are killed, and everything is prepared; come to the wedding feast.
5. But they were not concerned and paid no attention [they ignored and made light of the summons, treating it with contempt] and they went away--one to his farm, another to his business,
6. While the others seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and put them to death.
7. [Hearing this] the king was infuriated; and he sent his soldiers and put those murderers to death and burned their city.
8. Then he said to his servants, The wedding [feast] is prepared, but those invited were not worthy.
9. So go to the thoroughfares where they leave the city [where the main roads and those from the country end] and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.
10. And those servants went out on the crossroads and got together as many as they found, both bad and good, so [the room in which] the wedding feast [was held] was filled with guests.
11. But when the king came in to view the guests, he looked intently at a man there who had on no wedding garment.
12. And he said, Friend, how did you come in here without putting on the [appropriate] wedding garment? And he was speechless (muzzled, gagged).
13. Then the king said to the attendants, Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the darkness outside; there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.
14. For many are called (invited and summoned), but few are chosen.
15. Then the Pharisees went and consulted and plotted together how they might entangle Jesus in His talk.

✝️🗒️STUDY: In our text today, a king prepared a wedding feast for his son and invited special guests. He even sent servants to remind them, but the people refused to attend and treated his servants spitefully and some were killed. The angry king sent his army to destroy those murderers and burn their city. The king out of his love, sent his servants to invite other people from the highways to the feast.The king here is God. He has prepared a feast and a place for us in heaven (John 14: 1-3). The invitation has been sent out by his ministers through the Gospel, first to the Jews, but they treated it with levity and then to the Gentiles. However, there is a condition: You must have a wedding garment. Anyone without this wedding garment will be cast into outer darkness for punishment. Only the Lord Jesus can give that wedding garment when one surrenders to His Lordship and becomes born again. Whosoever believes will not perish but have everlasting life (John 3: 16) Only the blood of Jesus can wash away sins (1 John 1: 7). Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? If not call on Him now!

✝️🙏 PRAYER: Father thank you for your love for mankind. May my garment always be white!

Is there still active collaboration between the Anglican church of Nigeria and the church of England given recent developments?

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Feb-14

🎯TOPIC: THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT


✝️TEXT:Matthew 22: 16-41(AMP)
16. And they sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that You are sincere and what You profess to be and that You teach the way of God truthfully, regardless of consequences and being afraid of no man; for You are impartial and do not regard either the person or the position of anyone.
17. Tell us then what You think about this: Is it lawful to pay tribute [levied on individuals and to be paid yearly] to Caesar or not?
18. But Jesus, aware of their malicious plot, asked, Why do you put Me to the test and try to entrap Me, you pretenders (hypocrites)?
19. Show me the money used for the tribute. And they brought Him a denarius.
20. And Jesus said to them, Whose likeness and title are these?
21. They said, Caesar's. Then He said to them, Pay therefore to Caesar the things that are due to Caesar, and pay to God the things that are due to God.
22. When they heard it they were amazed and marveled; and they left Him and departed.
23. The same day some Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection [of the dead], came to Him and they asked Him a question,
24. Saying, Teacher, Moses said, If a man dies, leaving no children, his brother shall marry the widow and raise up a family for his brother. [Deut. 25:5.]
25. Now there were seven brothers among us; the first married and died, and, having no children, left his wife to his brother.
26. The second also died childless, and the third, down to the seventh.
27. Last of all, the woman died also.
28. Now, in the resurrection, to which of the seven will she be wife? For they all had her.
29. But Jesus replied to them, You are wrong because you know neither the Scriptures nor God's power.
30. For in the resurrected state neither do [men] marry nor are [women] given in marriage, but they are like the angels in heaven.
31. But as to the resurrection of the dead--have you never read what was said to you by God,
32. I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead but of the living! [Exod. 3:6.]
33. And when the throng heard it, they were astonished and filled with [glad] amazement at His teaching.
34. Now when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced (muzzled) the Sadducees, they gathered together.
35. And one of their number, a lawyer, asked Him a question to test Him.
36. Teacher, which kind of commandment is great and important (the principal kind) in the Law? [Some commandments are light--which are heavy?]
37. And He replied to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect). [Deut. 6:5.]
38. This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment.
39. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself. [Lev. 19:18.]
40. These two commandments sum up and upon them depend all the Law and the Prophets.
41. Now while the Pharisees were still assembled there, Jesus asked them a question,

✝️🗒️STUDY: In our text we see Jesus disgrace the Pharisees and the Herodians on payment of taxes. He later confounded the Sadducees on their ignorance about marriage on earth and in Heaven. Jewish leaders in Jesus’ day often fought over the relative importance of commandments. Hence the Pharisees approached Jesus and their lawyer asked Him which was the greatest commandment in the Law. Christ reveals that the love of God is the first and great commandment, and the second is to love neighbor as oneself.

Jesus said loving God is linked inextricably to loving other people. John echoes this statement when he says, “If anyone says he loves God but hates his brother, he is a liar” (1 John 4:20). Work is the primary way through which we love other people. Our work fulfills the Great Commandment (Mark 12:28-34) and the Good Samaritan lifestyle - Loving your neighbour as yourself (Luke 10:25-37). And we must love our neighbour as truly and sincerely as we love ourselves. In many cases, we must deny ourselves for the good of others. Do you love God wholeheartedly? This will cost you time, talent and treasure. Decide to show love to someone today. Will you do so?

✝️🙏 PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to love you with all my heart, soul and strength. Amen.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Feb-15

🎯TOPIC:JESUS IS LORD


✝️TEXT:Matthew 22: 42-23: 13(AMP)
42. Saying, What do you think of the Christ? Whose Son is He? They said to Him, The Son of David.
43. He said to them, How is it then that David, under the influence of the [Holy] Spirit, calls Him Lord, saying,
44. The Lord said to My Lord, Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet? [Ps. 110:1.]
45. If then David thus calls Him Lord, how is He his Son?
46. And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day did anyone venture or dare to question Him.
47. THEN JESUS said to the multitudes and to His disciples,
48. The scribes and Pharisees sit on Moses' seat [of authority].
49. So observe and practice all they tell you; but do not do what they do, for they preach, but do not practice.
50. They tie up heavy loads, hard to bear, and place them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not lift a finger to help bear them.
51. They do all their works to be seen of men; for they make wide their phylacteries (small cases enclosing certain Scripture passages, worn during prayer on the left arm and forehead) and make long their fringes [worn by all male Israelites, according to the command]. [Exod. 13:9; Num. 15:38; Deut. 6:8.]
52. And they take pleasure in and [thus] love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues,
53. And to be greeted with honor in the marketplaces and to have people call them rabbi.
54. But you are not to be called rabbi (teacher), for you have one Teacher and you are all brothers.
55. And do not call anyone [in the church] on earth father, for you have one Father, Who is in heaven.
56. And you must not be called masters (leaders), for you have one Master (Leader), the Christ.
57. He who is greatest among you shall be your servant.
58. Whoever exalts himself [with haughtiness and empty pride] shall be humbled (brought low), and whoever humbles himself [whoever has a modest opinion of himself and behaves accordingly] shall be raised to honor.
59. But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces; for you neither enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are about to go in to do so.

✝️🗒️STUDY

In today's reading, the Lord Jesus posed a question to the Pharisees; "What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They said to him, “The Son of David.” Then If Christ be David's son, “How then does David, in spirit, call him Lord” (v.43)? They had no answer to that. In order to prove to them that, the expected Messiah is God. Now, to prove that He quoted Ps. 110:1, “The LORD said to my Lord, sit at My right hand till I make your enemies your footstool.” Jesus said of the Pharisees, “they sit in Moses' seat” (Matt. 23:2); do what they say but not what they do. Jesus called them hypocrites who teach what they never practice.

The Pharisees did not accept the Lordship of Jesus. They sought to destroy or get Him killed. Are you a hypocrite like the Scribes and Pharisees? Who is Jesus to you? Is He your Lord and personal Saviour? As Lord, Jesus rules every aspect of our lives if we give Him space. Do not be a hypocritical leader but rather be humble. Receive Christ into your life; so that you can be a leader of integrity.

✝️🙏 PRAYER: Dear Lord, Jesus Christ, you are the Lord. Make me a true leader that people can trust. Amen.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Feb-16

🎯TOPIC:WOE TO THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES

✝️TEXT:Matthew 23:14-end

14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?
18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.
19 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.
21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.
22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.
23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

✝️🗒️STUDY: Our text today contains seven layers of the condemnation by Jesus of the religious leaders of His era. Each condemnation was introduced with the word,"Woe." Pronouncing God's judgment on the men, He repeatedly described them as "blind" and "hypocrites." Convincing others of their views only adds victims to hell. They follow the letters of man-made laws, but miss the real meaning of Scripture: God's heart for justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Their outer appearance of righteousness hides inner lives full of greed, self-indulgence, hypocrisy, and lawlessness.We shall pick two of the acts of the Scribes and Pharisees (i)“For you devour widows' houses”; that is, their goods, leaving but little to support them and their children; (ii) “And for a pretence make long prayers”: As if they were very holy, or pretended that the substance of those widows, was a reward for their long prayers. Jesus declared on them, “therefore, you will receive greater condemnation”; both on account of their plundering and distressing the poor, the widows, and the fatherless; and also because of their hypocrisy in doing this under the cover of religion and holiness. Relations of husbands of widows who afflict widows should beware! Treat widows kindly.

✝️🙏 PRAYER: Father, help me to show mercy to the needy, oppressed and voiceless. Amen.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-02-17

🎯TOPIC: GET READY:JESUS IS COMING SOON!


✝️📖TEXT: Matthew 24:1-29(NKJV)
1. Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.
2. And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not [one] stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."
3. Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what [will be] the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"
4. And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you.
5. "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.
6. "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7. "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
8. "All these [are] the beginning of sorrows.
9. "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.
10. "And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
11. "Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
12. "And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
13. "But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
14. "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
15. " Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand),
16. "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
17. "Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.
18. "And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.
19. "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!
20. "And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.
21. "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22. "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.
23. "Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here [is] the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe [it.]
24. "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
25. "See, I have told you beforehand.
26. "Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; [or] 'Look, [He is] in the inner rooms!' do not believe [it.]
27. "For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
28. "For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
29. " Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

✝️🗒️STUDY: The response of Jesus to the disciples’ questions about his Second Coming and end of age led to the prophecy in our text today. The prophecy includes: the destruction of Jerusalem which was fulfilled in AD 70, the end of the Jewish Church and State, the calling of the Gentiles, and the setting up of Christ's kingdom in the world. It also talks about the general judgment.

From when the Jews rejected Christ, and he left their house desolate, the sword never departed from them. Christ foretold the ruin coming upon the Jews. He also foretold the global spreading of the gospel.

See what becomes of those who refuse the gospel:Those who will not hear the messengers of peace shall be made to hear the messengers of war. The greatest earthly judgments are but the beginning of sorrows. It is comforting that some shall endure even to the end (vv. 12-13). Christ's disciples, in times of public trouble, should be fervent in prayer in season and out of season. Let us give diligence to make our calling and election sure (2 Pet. 1:10)as we await His return. Jesus is coming soon! Get ready!

✝️🙏 PRAYER: Lord, make my love you more as I preach the word in season and out of season. Amen.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Feb-18

🎯TOPIC:THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST


✝️TEXT: Matthew 24:30-51(NKJV)
30. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and beat their breasts and lament in anguish, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [in brilliancy and splendor]. [Dan. 7:13; Rev. 1:7.]
31. And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect (His chosen ones) from the four winds, [even] from one end of the universe to the other. [Isa. 27:13; Zech. 9:14.]
32. From the fig tree learn this lesson: as soon as its young shoots become soft and tender and it puts out its leaves, you know of a surety that summer is near.
33. So also when you see these signs, all taken together, coming to pass, you may know of a surety that He is near, at the very doors.
34. Truly I tell you, this generation (the whole multitude of people living at the same time, in a definite, given period) will not pass away till all these things taken together take place.
35. Sky and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
36. But of that [exact] day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
37. As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
38. For just as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, [men] marrying and [women] being given in marriage, until the [very] day when Noah went into theark,
39. And they did not know or understand until the flood came and swept them all away--so will be the coming of the Son of Man. [Gen. 6:5-8; 7:6-24.]40. At that time two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.
41. Two women will be grinding at the hand mill; one will be taken and one will be left.42. Watch therefore [give strict attention, be cautious and active], for you do not know in what kind of a day [whether a near or remote one] your Lord is coming.43. But understand this: had the householder known in what [part of the night, whether in a night or a morning] watch the thief was coming, he would have watched and wouldnot have allowed his house to be undermined and broken into.
44. You also must be ready therefore, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him.
45. Who then is the faithful, thoughtful, and wise servant, whom his master has put in charge of his household to give to the others the food and supplies at the proper time?
46. Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) is that servantwhom, when his master comes, he will find so doing.
47. I solemnly declare to you, he will set him over all his possessions.
48. But if that servant is wicked and says to himself, My master is delayed and is going to be gone a long time,
49. And begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunken,
50. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour of which he is not aware,
51. And will punish him [cut him up by scourging] and put him with the pretenders (hypocrites); there will beweeping and grinding of teeth.


✝️🗒️STUDY: Yesterday, we discussed about the tribulation and great tribulation in the events of the end time. The next event will be the appearing of the Son of Man in the sky, the trumpet sound and the gathering of the dead and living saints in the air. This is called the rapture. We should learn from the fig tree (Israel) to know when it is near. However, only God knows the exact day and time. Life will be going on as usual and Christians should watch and be ready for Christ’s return. Only faithful servants of Christ will be blessed and rewarded.

Jesus will surely come the second time and all eyes will see Him. Some people may think that the Master is delaying His coming. As you do not know when the Master will return what should you do? We need to be watchful, prayerful, and spreading the gospel before He returns. Avoid distractions of sinful living and be a faithful servant. If there is any time to be more careful as we await his return, it is now. Examine your life and make amends now so as to be ready for the second coming of Christ.

✝️🙏 PRAYER: Father, help me to follow you daily with zeal until we see you face to face. Amen.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Feb-19
(Quinquagesima)

🎯TOPIC:JESUS DINING WITH SINNERS


✝️TEXT: Mark2:13-17(NKJV)
13. Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them.
14. As He passed by, He saw Levi the [son] of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him.
15. Now it happened, as He was dining in [Levi's] house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.
16. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How [is it] that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?"
17. When Jesus heard [it,] He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call [the] righteous, but sinners, to repentance."


✝️🗒️STUDY: Quinquagesima means fifty days to Easter. It is the next Sunday before Lent. Our reading today indicates how Jesus met Levi (Matthew), the tax collector, on his way to some place. Jesus called him to follow Him and he did. This gave Jesus the opportunity to minister to publicans and sinners who gathered at the party called by Levi. The Scribes and the Pharisees asked Jesus' disciples why their Master ate with sinners. Jesus answered them that He came to call sinners to repentance.The word of God declares that all has sinned (Rom. 3:23). Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). People may have written you off but Jesus has not done so. Your decision today can change your story like that of Levi and his friends if you will follow Jesus today. People of all walks of life are welcome to dine with Master Jesus. Come as you are. You are not too bad to be changed and saved. Jesus ate with sinners. He is a friend of sinners. Do not feel unwanted. Come to Jesus today! He will save your soul.

✝️🙏 PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I open the door of my heart to let you in forever from today.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Feb-20

🎯TOPIC:BITTER WATER MADE SWEET

✝️TEXT: Exodus 15:22-16:11(NKJV)
22. So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.
23. Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they [were] bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah.
24. And the people complained against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?"
25. So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast [it] into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them. And there He tested them,
26. and said, "If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I [am] the LORD who heals you."
27. Then they came to Elim, where there [were] twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters.
28. And they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt.
29. Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
30. And the children of Israel said to them, "Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat [and] when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
31. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not.
32. "And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily."
33. Then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, "At evening you shall know that the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt.
34. "And in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD; for He hears your complaints against the LORD. But what [are] we, that you complain against us?"
35. Also Moses said, "[This shall be seen] when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the LORD hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what [are] we? Your complaints [are] not against us but against the LORD."
36. Then Moses spoke to Aaron, "Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, 'Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your complaints.' "
37. Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.
38. And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,


✝️🗒️STUDY: The story in our text today started with the people not being able to drink the bitter water of Marah and ended with God promising to rain bread (Manna) from heaven. On both occasions, the people murmured due to the challenges they met but Moses looked unto God to solve the problems and God directed him to a tree which when he cast into the water, it became sweet. Later Moses summoned a meeting of the people with God in the Wilderness of Sin.Many a time we murmur and complain than crying unto God when things go wrong. We thank God for a leader like Moses who knew what to do in times of crises. He never chided the people but called upon God fora solution. You may not have a Moses to stand for you, but you have Jesus. What ugly experiences are you passing through now?Call upon God like Moses. He will come to your rescue and you will have cause to glorify Him. Murmuring and complaints annoy and do not honour God. Cry to Him today and there will see a miracle in your life.

✝️🙏 PRAYER: O God my Father, I do know you have the power to turn bitterness to sweetness. I hand over my case to You. Amen.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Feb-21

🎯TOPIC:GOD THE PROVIDER


✝️TEXT: TEXT: Exodus 16:12-36(NKJV)
12. "I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I [am] the LORD your God.' "
13. So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp.
14. And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, [as] fine as frost on the ground.
15. So when the children of Israel saw [it,] they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it [was.] And Moses said to them, "This [is] the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.
16. "This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: 'Let every man gather it according to each one's need, one omer for each person, [according to the] number of persons; let every man take for [those] who [are] in his tent.' "
17. Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less.
18. So when they measured [it] by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one's need.
19. And Moses said, "Let no one leave any of it till morning."
20. Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.
21. So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted.
22. And so it was, on the sixth day, [that] they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.
23. Then he said to them, "This [is what] the LORD has said: 'Tomorrow [is] a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake [today,] and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.' "
24. So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it.
25. Then Moses said, "Eat that today, for today [is] a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field.
26. "Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, [which is] the Sabbath, there will be none."
27. Now it happened [that some] of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none.
28. And the LORD said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws?
29. "See! For the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day."
30. So the people rested on the seventh day.
31. And the house of Israel called its name Manna. And it [was] like white coriander seed, and the taste of it [was] like wafers [made] with honey.
32. Then Moses said, "This [is] the thing which the LORD has commanded: 'Fill an omer with it, to be kept for your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.' "
33. And Moses said to Aaron, "Take a pot and put an omer of manna in it, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations."
34. As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.
35. And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.
36. Now an omer [is] one-tenth of an ephah.


✝️🗒️STUDY: Despite the murmuring of the children of Israel, God mercifully provided them with meat and bread (Manna). This manna lasted throughout their journeys in the wilderness. They were given strict instructions on how to handle this new food – take as much as will last for a day. They were allowed to collect for two days in the day preceding the Sabbath Day, to ensure they did not come out on that Day in search of it as it was a day of rest. Some greedy ones took more than they could finish in a day. It got spoilt and wasted.

God still provides manna for His people. Many good things we enjoy in life are free manna. Do we pay for air except in the hospital under emergency? Complaints are not the best way to get God’s attention. God gives daily bread if you ask Him (Matt. 7:7). Sometime ago, we were to have an accreditation team visit our department, but we had nothing to present as equipment. God in the course of our prayers provided a helper who gave us the bulk of the items needed at a reasonable cost. This was manna from heaven. Nothing is impossible with God.

✝️🙏 PRAYER: Our Father in heaven, give us today our daily bread from your throne above. Amen.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Feb-22

🎯TOPIC:FAST UNTO GOD ALONE


✝️TEXT:Matthew 6:16-21(NKJV)
16."Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
17."But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
18. "so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who [is] in the secret [place;] and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
19. " Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
20. "but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

✝️🗒️STUDY: Today is Ash Wednesday and it is the beginning of the 40-day Lenten Season. Lent is a period we humble ourselves and seek the face of God. It is a period of calmness, self-denial, sober reflection and solemn assembly. Our text today discusses on fasting and prayer. It advises that fasting and prayer should not to be done in hypocrisy, “To be seen of men” (v.16). Such people already have their reward. Fasting and prayer are to be in secret, between one and God. The text also warns Christians not to lay treasures on earth but to lay them in Heaven. This is because your heart stays with your treasure.This Lent, we are expected to pray and fast, but we must not do it to be noticed by people. Fasting is a heart issue. If we must fast, we must do it dedicatedly. Isaiah 58:5-11 identify the kind of fasting that pleases God: the requirements as we fast and the benefits that accrue from fasting. Let there be a remarkable difference in this Lenten Season fasting. When you fast dress up neatly and have a cheerful look so that only God will know what you are doing. He will reward you.

✝️🙏 PRAYER:Lord Jesus, please teach me the appropriate way to fast and pray, Amen.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Feb-23

🎯TOPIC:GET SATISFACTION FROM THE ROCK


✝️TEXT:Exodus 17(NKJV)
17:1. Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the Wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped in Rephidim; but [there was] no water for the people to drink.
17:2. Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, "Give us water, that we may drink." And Moses said to them, "Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the LORD?"
17:3. And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, "Why [is] it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?"
17:4. So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!"
17:5. And the LORD said to Moses, "Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go.
17:6. "Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
17:7. So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"
17:8. Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
17:9. And Moses said to Joshua, "Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand."
17:10. So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
17:11. And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
17:12. But Moses' hands [became] heavy; so they took a stone and put [it] under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
17:13. So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
17:14. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this [for] a memorial in the book and recount [it] in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven."
17:15. And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-LORD-Is-My-Banner;
17:16. for he said, "Because the LORD has sworn: the LORD [will have] war with Amalek from generation to generation."

✝️🗒️STUDY: As usual, the people murmured when they got to Rephidim and there was no water to drink (vv. 1-3). They forgot the recent turning of bitter water to sweet water. They forgot the provision of meat and manna. They murmured against Moses. The people so wearied Moses that he also began to complain; not to man but to God. The people were even ready to stone him. God asked Moses to strike the rock for water to come out. Moses obeyed and water came out in abundance. Amalek came to fight Israel but Joshua and his chosen men defeated them.
Are you thirsty and wearied? Go to the Rock of Ages for the water of life, to be refreshed. As Moses cried out to the Lord for help so we should do when we face challenges in life that we do not have solutions to. God is always ready to give us a solution. Do not join the group of those who patronise idolatry for solution where it does not exist. As the solution came from the rock through the intervention of God, so will your miracle solution come from the Rock of Ages. Do not give up hope.

✝️🙏 PRAYER:My Lord Jesus, you are my own rock, and I will always run to you.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Feb-24
(St Matthias Day)

🎯TOPIC:WHY MATTHIAS, WHY YOU?

✝️TEXT:Acts 1:15-26(NKJV)
1:15. And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty), and said,
1:16. "Men [and] brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus;
1:17. "for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry."
1:18. (Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out.
1:19. And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem; so that field is called in their own language, Akel Dama, that is, Field of Blood.)
1:20. "For it is written in the book of Psalms: 'Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it'; and, 'Let another take his office.'
1:21. "Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
1:22. "beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection."
1:23. And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
1:24. And they prayed and said, "You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen
1:25. "to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place."
1:26. And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

✝️🗒️STUDY: Today is St. Matthias' Day and the day of the inauguration of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) in 1979. A vacuum was created by the absence of Judas Iscariot which had to be filled. Judas chose to fulfil a prophecy predicted a long time before he became an Apostle, by being greedy (Ps. 41:9). His greed cost him his life and his place among the chosen, spiritually and physically. Judas died not just shamefully, but even before the Lord Jesus he betrayed. Matthias was duly nominated together with Justus (Joseph) by the people. God approved Matthias to replace Judas. Why Matthias and not Justus? Only God knows.
Why Matthias, why me, why you? Why is it you that was chosen and not the others to occupy that position, or to do that job in the office, church, family, government, market place, etc.? Do you feel you are more qualified than them? No, it is just a privilege which the Lord never expects you to abuse. God looks up to you, not to betray Jesus like Judas, but to glorify Him in all things. Be faithful in the little assignment given to you. Do not trade His glory for fame.

✝️🙏 PRAYER:Dear Father, help me to fulfil your heart's desire concerning me in Jesus' name. Amen.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Feb-25

🎯TOPIC: IT'S NOT RIGHT!


✝️TEXT:Exodus 18(NKJV)
18:1. And Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people -- that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.
18:2. Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back,
18:3. with her two sons, of whom the name of one [was] Gershom (for he said, "I have been a stranger in a foreign land"
18:4. and the name of the other [was] Eliezer (for [he said,] "The God of my father [was] my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh";
18:5. and Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness, where he was encamped at the mountain of God.
18:6. Now he had said to Moses, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her."
18:7. So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and kissed him. And they asked each other about [their] well-being, and they went into the tent.
18:8. And Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardship that had come upon them on the way, and [how] the LORD had delivered them.
18:9. Then Jethro rejoiced for all the good which the LORD had done for Israel, whom He had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
18:10. And Jethro said, "Blessed [be] the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, [and] who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
18:11. "Now I know that the LORD [is] greater than all the gods; for in the very thing in which they behaved proudly, [He was] above them."
18:12. Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt offering and [other] sacrifices [to offer] to God. And Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God.
18:13. And so it was, on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening.
18:14. So when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, "What [is] this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?"
18:15. And Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God.
18:16. "When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws."
18:17. So Moses' father-in-law said to him, "The thing that you do [is] not good.
18:18. "Both you and these people who [are] with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing [is] too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself.
18:19. "Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God.
18:20. "And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do.
18:21. "Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place [such] over them [to be] rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
18:22. "And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be [that] every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear [the burden] with you.
18:23. "If you do this thing, and God [so] commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace."
18:24. So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said.
18:25. And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
18:26. So they judged the people at all times; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case thems

✝️🗒️STUDY: Moses believed that he alone could settle all disputes of the Israelites. He threw his full weight into doing that, sitting from morning till evening. He spent all day and kept the people all day leaving no time for himself. That must have been stressful. Moses had a good, observant and caring father-in-law, Jethro, who after observing him, proffered a godly solution. He gave Moses room to obey or not. Moses took his advice wholeheartedly and also implemented it. The result was awesome. This is what is called division of labour in modern parlance.

You cannot do it all alone, all the time. No one human is a compendium of knowledge and wisdom. Our gifts are for the common good (1 Cor. 12:7), but the truth remains that each of us is just an integral part of the whole body (1 Cor. 12:12) and we all should function for the benefit of the body of Christ. Do your part but also remember to give them a chance to showcase their abilities by delegating duties whenever the need arises. This will allow the leader time for rest and more will definitely be achieved in the end.

✝️🙏 PRAYER:Dear Father, provide a Jethro for me to enable me finish strong and well, to your glory in Jesus' name. Amen.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Feb-27

🎯TOPIC: URGED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT


✝️TEXT:Mark 1:1-21(NKJV)
1:1. The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
1:2. As it is written in the Prophets: "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You."
1:3. "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.' "
1:4. John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
1:5. Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
1:6. Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
1:7. And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.
1:8. "I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
1:9. It came to pass in those days [that] Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
1:10. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.
1:11. Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
1:12. Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.
1:13. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.
1:14. Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
1:15. and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."
1:16. And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
1:17. Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."
1:18. They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
1:19. When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the [son] of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also [were] in the boat mending their nets.
1:20. And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.
1:21. Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.


✝️🗒️STUDY: STUDY: After the baptism of Jesus by John, Jesus saw an open heaven and the Holy Spirit descending on Him. There was an open declaration by Heaven as to who Jesus is. Immediately after this "advertisement, the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where He stayed for forty days and nights. Satan did not know the purpose for Jesus' wilderness experience so he thought he could trick Jesus into obedience.
The wilderness is a place for preparation devoid of distractions. Though Jesus is divine, he became human when he came to the earth. He therefore needed to be adequately prepared. The Holy Spirit needed to give Jesus the blueprint of what he came to do - TO RECONCILE ALL MEN unto God. Jesus would achieve that within the short period of His assignment by raising a team of men whom He would teach and disciple to continue the work after Him. Jesus grasped this teaching/training by the Holy Spirit and launched out in power. As soon as Jesus called His disciples, they left everything and immediately followed Him. May the Holy Spirit urge you and fully prepare you for that ministry/work to which God has called you to go and manifest.

✝️🙏 PRAYER: Dear Father, may your Spirit urge me into a closer relationship with you.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Feb-28

🎯TOPIC: THE RESULT OF ADEQUATE PREPARATION

✝️TEXT:Mark 1:22-45(NKJV)
1:22. And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
1:23. Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,
1:24. saying, "Let [us] alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"
1:25. But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"
1:26. And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.
1:27. Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? What new doctrine [is] this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."
1:28. And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.
1:29. Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
1:30. But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.
1:31. So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.
1:32. At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.
1:33. And the whole city was gathered together at the door.
1:34. Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.
1:35. Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.
1:36. And Simon and those [who were] with Him searched for Him.
1:37. When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."
1:38. But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."
1:39. And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.
1:40. Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."
1:41. Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out [His] hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."
1:42. As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.
1:43. And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once,
1:44. and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."
1:45. However, he went out and began to proclaim [it] freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.


✝️🗒️STUDY: After spending time in the wilderness receiving the blueprint for his mission on earth, Jesus stepped out fully prepared to do the purpose of His coming and to fulfil it. Jesus did not prove who He was by bragging about it. He knew the real thing was in "the doing" and not in "talking." From the moment Jesus started forming His team, He set out working, there was no wasting of time (John 9:4). He went where the "lost" were - to preach and heal. Jesus amazed the people that they wondered who He was that taught with such authority. As if that was not enough, Jesus commanded an evil spirit out of a man, and it obeyed. Even evil spirits obey him? Jesus did not need to advertise himself, his works did. And as many as heard and went to Him, whatever their problems were, received solutions.
God has called each of us to do specific things for Him. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to adequately prepare us and from time to time, revert to him for refuelling. It is not by our power and not by our might, but by His Spirit. Give Him place today.

✝️🙏 PRAYER: Thank you Father for the Holy Spirit, our teacher and guide, in Jesus' name. Amen.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Mar-01

🎯TOPIC: THE PRESENCE OF JESUS CHRIST


✝️TEXT: Mark 2:1-23(NKJV)
2:1. And again He entered Capernaum after [some] days, and it was heard that He was in the house.
2:2. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive [them,] not even near the door. And He preached the word to them.
2:3. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four [men.]
2:4. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.
2:5. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."
2:6. And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts,
2:7. "Why does this [Man] speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
2:8. But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?
2:9. "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, '[Your] sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?
2:10. "But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic,
2:11. "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."
2:12. Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw [anything] like this!"
2:13. Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them.
2:14. As He passed by, He saw Levi the [son] of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him.
2:15. Now it happened, as He was dining in [Levi's] house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.
2:16. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How [is it] that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?"
2:17. When Jesus heard [it,] He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call [the] righteous, but sinners, to repentance."
2:18. The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"
2:19. And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.
2:20. "But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.
2:21. "No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse.
2:22. "And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins."
2:23. Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain.

✝️🗒️STUDY: Today’s reading narrates what Jesus did and peoples response when He visited many places. When Jesus is present "in the house", His gracious words impacts faith upon men’s hearts to believe that all things are possible with God. The four men in our text demonstrated faith by breaking through the roof to lay the man sick with palsy before Jesus. The sick man was forgiven and healed. His visit to the house of Levi brought the gospel to tax collectors and sinners. Unfortunately while the presence of Jesus brought the gospel and healing, the Scribes were engrossed with faultfinding and criticisms. Do you act like the Scribes in the presence of Jesus during bible studies, prayers, programs and church services? Your motive in the presence of Jesus will determine what you will get from God.

When Jesus is "in the house," no sinner is neglected; for the conversion of one notorious sinner could be a gateway to the conversion of others. Levi would have felt so unworthy, when Jesus said "follow Me." What a lowly Savior, coming after sinners! Excited, Levi hosted Jesus and many publicans and sinners in his house. Can God count on you, a vessel through whom men can touch the reality of Christ’s saving power?. Are you lowly? Do you have passion for souls that you can reach out to notorious sinners?


✝️🙏 PRAYER: Lord, make me a carrier of Your presence, that Christ be magnified in my life.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Mar-02

🎯TOPIC: THE MINISTRY OF MERCY


✝️TEXT: Mark 2:24-3:1-13(NKJV)
2:24 And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"
2:25 But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him:
2:26 "how he went into the house of God [in the days] of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat, except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?"
2:27 And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
2:28 "Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."

3:1 And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.
2 So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might [a]accuse Him. 3 And He said to the man who had the withered hand, [b]“Step forward.” 4 Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. 5 And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored [c]as whole as the other. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.
7 But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea 8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him. 9 So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. 10 For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. 11 And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, “You are the Son of God.” 12 But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.
13 And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him.

✝️🗒️STUDY: Religious activities amount to nothing before God if they are void of mercy.“For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice”(Hos. 6:6a). The Pharisees in our text condemned the disciples of Jesus for plucking the ears of com and Jesus for healing the man with a withered hand on the Sabbath day. Plucking ears of com belonging to one's neighbour was not condemnable (Deut.23: 25), but doing that on a Sabbath day was a violation of the law. Sometimes, we close the doors of mercy on the religious grounds; they have not met this or the other requirement! Unfortunately, some of such defenders of religious are laden with sins like the Pharisees who condemned acts of mercy and yet began plotting to kill Jesus on the same Sabbath day. What a contradiction!. The right heart disposition places mercy over religion. Be a minister of mercy!
The Lord was grieved for the hardness of the hearts of the Pharisees because they vehemently condemned healing the man with a withered hand on the Sabbath day. Do you know that you cannot be a vessel in God's hand to minister to the needs of men, until you possess a merciful heart? How do you feel when you see the physically challenged or the poor? Is your heart hardened or compassionate towards them? Repent today from a dual nature of religion and hypocrisy.

✝️🙏 PRAYER: Lord, please help my heart! Give me a compassionate heart towards those You bring my way. Amen.

Sorry everyone, I have been having phone issues lately.. reason why I haven't been updating our daily devotionals..


Bear with me

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Mar-06

🎯TOPIC: COHABITATION OF THE RICH AND POOR


✝️TEXT: Leviticus 25: 1-18(NKJV)
25:1. And the LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying,
25:2. "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a sabbath to the LORD.
25:3. 'Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit;
25:4. 'but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the LORD. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard.
25:5. 'What grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine, [for] it is a year of rest for the land.
25:6. 'And the sabbath [produce] of the land shall be food for you: for you, your male and female servants, your hired man, and the stranger who dwells with you,
25:7. 'for your livestock and the beasts that [are] in your land -- all its produce shall be for food.
25:8. ' And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years.
25:9. 'Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth [day] of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land.
25:10. 'And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout [all] the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.
25:11. 'That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee to you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of its own accord, nor gather [the grapes] of your untended vine.
25:12. 'For it [is] the Jubilee; it shall be holy to you; you shall eat its produce from the field.
25:13. ' In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his possession.
25:14. 'And if you sell anything to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor's hand, you shall not oppress one another.
25:15. 'According to the number of years after the Jubilee you shall buy from your neighbor, and according to the number of years of crops he shall sell to you.
25:16. 'According to the multitude of years you shall increase its price, and according to the fewer number of years you shall diminish its price; for he sells to you [according] to the number [of the years] of the crops.
25:17. 'Therefore you shall not oppress one another, but you shall fear your God; for I [am] the LORD your God.
25:18. ' So you shall observe My statutes and keep My judgments, and perform them; and you will dwell in the land in safety.


✝️🗒️STUDY: Our bible reading today reminds us of a time in Israel when some people were compelled to sell their ancestral possessions because of poverty and others were separated from their families in bond service. To this end, God charged them to hallow the year of Jubilee, in which each person was to return to his ancestral possession and to his family from where he was separated for bond service. This way, each man's ancestral possession was preserved.
God's people must be considerate, and merciful. 1 Timothy 6: 17 says, "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. "Often times, when a brother is compelled to sell his property to us in order to meet his needs, we take advantage of his situation to cheat him. That is unrighteousness! Are there people who are owing you, who have nothing to pay their debt? Have you considered cancelling their debt, thereby releasing them? If you desire to dwell safely in the land and to enjoy the blessings of God, then you must be merciful to the poor. (read Psa.41: 1-3)Also, the bargaining of landed properties must be done in righteousness, without cheating each other.

✝️🙏 PRAYER: Help me Lord that to support the poor around me, so that your nature of mercy will be portrayed through my life in Jesus name. Amen.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Mar-08

🎯TOPIC: WHOLEHEARTED DEVOTION TOWARDS GOD


✝️TEXT: Leviticus 26: 1-21(NKJV)
26:1. 'You shall not make idols for yourselves; neither a carved image nor a [sacred] pillar shall you rear up for yourselves; nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land, to bow down to it; for I [am] the LORD your God.
26:2. You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I [am] the LORD.
26:3. ' If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them,
26:4. then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
26:5. Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.
26:6. I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make [you] afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land.
26:7. You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you.
26:8. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you.
26:9. ' For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you.
26:10. You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new.
26:11. I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you.
26:12. I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.
26:13. I [am] the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that [you] should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright.
26:14. ' But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments,
26:15. and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, [but] break My covenant,
26:16. I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
26:17. I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you.
26:18. ' And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
26:19. I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze.
26:20. And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.
26:21. ' Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins.


✝️🗒️STUDY: In our reading today, God was preparing His people for the inheritance of the land flowing with milk and honey. He knew their human tendencies to make idols out of His gifts and warned them ahead of time. He assured them of His all-round blessings upon them, if they would follow Him wholeheartedly. He also warned them of the impending judgment that would come upon them mercilessly, if they became idolatrous.

The drifting nature of the heart makes it hard to know exactly, whether or not, one is beginning to make an idol out of what seems to be a gift to him/her from God. God commands man not to make idols. This is a call to guard our hearts from drifting from the Living God unto things created and given to us by Him. To this end, John warns "keep yourselves from idols"(1Jn.5:21). Paul also warns strongly, “Flee from idolatry" (1 Cor. 10:14). Whatever and whosoever takes the place of God in your heart is considered, an idol whether they be carved things, the social media, powerful personalities and connections to solve your problems, money, education etc. We need to place our hearts on a constant check before God to ensure that it is not departing from the LORD (Jer.17:5)? Repent from any form of idolatry before it is too late.

✝️🙏 PRAYER: Lord please, search my heart and make it perfect towards You in Jesus’ name. Amen.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Mar-09

🎯TOPIC: CHASTENING FOR REFORMATION


✝️TEXT: Leviticus 26:22-46(NKJV)
26:22. I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number; and your highways shall be desolate.
26:23. ' And if by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me,
26:24. then I also will walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet seven times for your sins.
26:25. And I will bring a sword against you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant; when you are gathered together within your cities I will send pestilence among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
26:26. When I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back your bread by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.
26:27. ' And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me,
26:28. then I also will walk contrary to you in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.
26:29. You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters.
26:30. I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and cast your carcasses on the lifeless forms of your idols; and My soul shall abhor you.
26:31. I will lay your cities waste and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the fragrance of your sweet aromas.
26:32. I will bring the land to desolation, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it.
26:33. I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste.
26:34. Then the land shall enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you [are] in your enemies' land; then the land shall rest and enjoy its sabbaths.
26:35. As long as [it] lies desolate it shall rest -- for the time it did not rest on your sabbaths when you dwelt in it.
26:36. ' And as for those of you who are left, I will send faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a shaken leaf shall cause them to flee; they shall flee as though fleeing from a sword, and they shall fall when no one pursues.
26:37. They shall stumble over one another, as it were before a sword, when no one pursues; and you shall have no [power] to stand before your enemies.
26:38. You shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.
26:39. And those of you who are left shall waste away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; also in their fathers' iniquities, which are with them, they shall waste away.
26:40. ' [But] if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me,
26:41. and [that] I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt --
26:42. then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land.
26:43. The land also shall be left empty by them, and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; they will accept their guilt, because they despised My judgments and because their soul abhorred My statutes.
26:44. Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I [am] the LORD their God.
26:45. But for their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I [am] the LORD.' "
26:46. These [are] the statutes and judgments and laws which the LORD made between Himself and the children of Israel on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.


✝️🗒️STUDY: Reformation is often born out of chastening as evident in our text today. When God chastens His people, it is with the intention to bring them to the place of reformation. The more hardened they are despite the chastening, the fiercer the punishment until they acknowledge their sins, and humble themselves before God in repentance. Verse 23 says, "And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me; then I will smite you seven times for your sins." God however assures His repented people of His mercy for the sake of the covenant He made with their ancestors.

The calamities that have befallen our nation seem to fit the description of the punishments in our text that were meant to bring reformation. Unfortunately many in the family, church and society remain stubborn and unrepentant. In their evil ways. According to Prophet Jeremiah, " Thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return" (Jer. 5:3). Beloved, personal reformation can lead to national reformation! Are you not tired rebelling against your Maker? Arise now, forsake your evil ways and turn to the LORD. He will receive you.


✝️🙏 PRAYER: O LORD, rebuke me not in Your wrath; neither chasten me in Your hot displeasure in Jesus’ name. Amen.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Mar-15



🎯TOPIC:THE GLORY OF HIS PRESENCE



✝️TEXT: Mark 9: 3-30(NKJV)
9:3. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.
9:4. And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.
9:5. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" --
9:6. because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.
9:7. And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!"
9:8. Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.
9:9. Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
9:10. So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.
9:11. And they asked Him, saying, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"
9:12. Then He answered and told them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt?
9:13. "But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him."
9:14. And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them.
9:15. Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to [Him,] greeted Him.
9:16. And He asked the scribes, "What are you discussing with them?"
9:17. Then one of the crowd answered and said, "Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit.
9:18. "And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not."
9:19. He answered him and said, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me."
9:20. Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.
9:21. So He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood.
9:22. "And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."
9:23. Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things [are] possible to him who believes."
9:24. Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"
9:25. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!"
9:26. Then [the spirit] cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, "He is dead."
9:27. But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.
9:28. And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?"
9:29. So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."
9:30. Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know [it.]

✝️🗒️STUDY: At the mount of transfiguration, a cloud of glory covered Jesus, Moses and Elijah. Moses represents the Law, Elijah the Prophets. Peter in awe, requested to build three tabernacles for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah respectively. They heard the voice of God instructing them to listen and obey Jesus which shows the superiority of Jesus over the law, prophets or any other thing. Spending time in God’s presence, gives ability to see a ‘transfigured Jesus,’ gain a deeper understanding about Him and hear God’s voice distinctly. His presence becomes so sweet that we would not want to leave like Peter. We gain understanding about the relationship between the law, prophets and the ministry of Jesus. When they came down from the mountain, Jesus cast out a dumb spirit from a boy whose deliverance had defied every attempt by the disciples.. Jesus taught that fasting and prayer was the key to cast out that type of demon.

Beloved, Jesus expects believers to utilize His surpassing power to break different bondages.. He needs you to spend time in His presence in prayers and fasting to enable you deal with different challenges. Will you by faith tackle unseen forces in your life, family, church, business and work place? Don’t disappoint God by being a disciple who cannot utilize His power to change situations in your generation. Determine to set someone free today.

✝️🙏 PRAYER: Help me Lord to spend time in your presence, to understand you more and hear you distinctly. Amen.

✝️📗DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
Date: 2023-Mar-16


🎯TOPIC:THE HORROR OF HELL


✝️TEXT: Mark 9: 31-50(NKJV)
9:31. For He taught His disciples and said to them, "The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day."
9:32. But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.
9:33. Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?"
9:34. But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who [would be the] greatest.
9:35. And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."
9:36. Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them,
9:37. "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."
9:38. Now John answered Him, saying, "Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us."
9:39. But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me.
9:40. "For he who is not against us is on our side.
9:41. "For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.
9:42. " But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.
9:43. "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched --
9:44. "where 'Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.'
9:45. "And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched --
9:46. "where 'Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.'
9:47. "And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire --
9:48. "where 'Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.'
9:49. " For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.
9:50. "Salt [is] good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another."
✝️🗒️STUDY: In today's passage, Jesus enumerated important behaviours expected from Christians. He emphasised the need for Christians to be peaceful, humble and willing to serve others. Humility is the pathway to greatness. He taught about the need to accommodate other true children of God who preach the gospel from other organisations. Jesus warned Christians not to be stumbling blocks or cause new believers to sin. The punishment of such a behaviour will be worse than being drowned with a huge stone tied on the neck. He finally warned about the reality and horrors of hell It is better to have eternal life deformed than go to hell intact. It is as serious as that for hell is a horrible place!. Hence it is important to cut off anything that will be a stumbling block to making heaven.
Unfortunately, our generation has played down on sin and its ability to send one to hell, because we are living in the era of grace. Sin and its consciousness should be preached by Christians. We live not under the law, but we are not saved to be lawless; for we must face God's fiery judgment. God's standards are unchangeable even in a changing world. The reward for sin is still eternal death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. Therefore, hate sin and love righteousness to avoid hell.
✝️🙏 PRAYER: I pray for grace not to be careless with sin, but to look unto Jesus the author and finisher of my faith