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DON'T FORGET

“29. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.”
(Matthew 14: 29, 30)

That is the Focal Scripture of Streams of Joy Devotional today.

When Peter first walked on the waters, it was because he heard a word from Jesus. Jesus asked him to come, and he walked on the water. One word from Jesus laid the foundation for his exploit. Peter walked on water because Jesus commanded him to do so.

The moment Peter saw that the wind was boisterous, he feared and began to sink. He lost sight of what was responsible for his initial success, and failure became his lot. He forgot the instruction that helped him to conquer initially, and what he earlier conquered began to conquer him. Peter forgot his success secret and failure came.

Friend, don’t forget your success secret. Don’t forget the things that helped you achieve success in the past; don’t forget the sort of preparation that helped you succeed in your past assignments; don’t forget the prayers and seeds that birthed your past miracles; don’t forget what you did differently that opened doors for you in the past.

Don’t forget the promises of God that changed your story in the past; don’t forget the messages you heard that comforted your soul and made your faith strong. Whenever you lose touch of what you could easily and readily achieve in time past, look inwards, there just might be something you used to pay attention to that you have begun to play down on.

Remind yourself of your success secrets, and God will cause you to succeed again and again. If it is positive and worked for you in the past, remember it and it will help you succeed again.

Prayer : Lord, help me not to lose sight of the things that helped me succeed in the past, in Jesus’ name!Amen
Enjoy A Wonderful Wednesday.

DIVINE PURPOSE

“And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.”
(Matthew 14: 29)

That is the Focal Scripture of Streams of Joy Devotional today.

In our Focal scripture, Peter stepped out of the ship to go to Jesus. He stepped out of his comfort zone in order to get closer to his Master. He moved towards divinity. He was Jesus’ disciple; so he moved in the direction of his purpose. He made a movement towards his purpose; he stepped out to follow Jesus.

As Peter stepped out, he walked on the sea. He walked towards divine purpose, and he achieved something he ordinarily couldn’t have achieved. No other person was ever recorded to have walked on water in the scriptures; so following Jesus and focusing on purpose helped Peter to accomplish something supernatural.

Friend, in your pursuit of divine purpose, you will accomplish supernatural things that people around you can't accomplish. If you continue to follow Jesus, you will eventually step into higher grounds that your human efforts would not ordinarily bring you to. If you continue to run after God’s will for your life, God will bring you into mighty, amazing experiences.

Peter may not have set out to walk on water, but as he followed Jesus, he walked on water; he accomplished what he never even planned to achieve because he was running after Jesus. Get set: as you run after Jesus, you will achieve mighty things you may not have planned to achieve.

No one would have known if Peter had the capacity to walk on water, if he didn’t dare to follow Jesus on the sea. If you don't follow Jesus and pursue your purpose, you may end up unsung: people won’t know what you could have been or what you could have done.

Pay attention to Jesus, pursue divine purpose and eternal relevance will be your portion.

Prayer : Lord, I choose to follow hard after You; keep my eyes on divine purpose, in Jesus’ name!Amen
Enjoy A Splendid Tuesday.

TAKE YOUR CHANCE

“And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.”
(Matthew 14: 28)

That is the Focal Scripture of Streams of Joy Devotional today.

When Jesus’ disciples saw Him walking on water, they thought it was a spirit, but when Jesus identified Himself, Peter requested for a chance to walk on the waters. Peter saw a chance to walk on water too, and he took it. Others may or may not have seen the chance, they may have analyzed or talked about it, but only Peter took the chance.

Friend, God says, take your chance. When you see an opportunity, don’t analyze or discuss it, don’t hesitate, don’t find out who is interested or not, don’t always try to see if it will work or not, just take your chance and you will be distinguished. Open your eyes to see opportunities, and when you see them, take them and God will do the rest. Seize your God-given opportunity speedily.

Peter didn't wait till the next day before taking his chance; he swung into action immediately and he walked on the water while other disciples watched. Be prompt in taking opportunities; if you waste time, the opportunity may pass you by, and someone else may even take it while you watch from the sidelines.

One enemy of progress is procrastination. If you postpone actions you should take immediately, you may end up a spectator in life, watching endlessly as other people take their chances and make progress. You may end up watching several success stories unfold while you have none, if you slack in taking action.

Peter took his chance and Jesus did not refuse him. If you dare to take your chance, God will play His part and cause you to succeed. If you do nothing, or if you just analyze and talk about opportunities, just know that you are making yourself a spectator. Take your chance and God will distinguish you.

Prayer : Lord, I choose to take my opportunities with speed, in Jesus’ name!Amen
Enjoy A Blessed Monday.

KNOW JESUS

“But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.”
(Matthew 14: 27)

That is the Focal Scripture of Streams of Joy Devotional today.

When Jesus’ disciples saw him walking upon the sea, they thought it was a spirit. They had a vague picture of Him. They had no distinct perception of their Master. They were close to Jesus, but it seemed that their understanding of Him was not precise enough. They knew Jesus, but when He walked on the sea, they couldn’t recognize Him.

Friend, God does not intend that you see Him as a spirit that cannot be reached; God does not want you to see Him as a vague person who cannot be effectively related with; He does not want your knowledge of Him to be hazy; He does not want you to relate with Him without having a good recognition of Him.

God desires deep intimacy with you; He wants you to know Him personally for who He is; He wants you to know Him in spirit and in truth; He wants your knowledge of Him to be insightful and clear; God wants you to know Him as a person who has feelings and wants attention too, just like everyone does.

Know God as One who can share in your grief; know Him as One you can confide in through prayers; know Him as One who cares about your struggles and pains; know Him as One who is interested in who you are and who you become; know Him as One who loves you and cherishes His relationship with you.

If you treat God shabbily, be careful, He won’t be impressed by your shabby treatment. If you have no time to speak to Him, and if you care less about spending time alone with Him, you are making a grievous mistake that can take your destiny down the drains.

In Philippians 3:10, Apostle Paul said: “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death”

Prayer: Lord, help me to know You more, in Jesus’ name!Amen
Enjoy A Super Sunday.

UNDER YOUR FEET

“...Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.”
(Matthew 14: 25)

That is the Focal Scripture of Streams of Joy Devotional today.

When Jesus came to His disciples in the midst of the stormy sea, He walked on the sea. The waves and contrary wind were yet to cease, the challenge that wanted to sink the ship was yet to be taken away, and Jesus walked on the sea. Jesus walked on troubled waters, and the waters did not drown Him. The troubled water was under Jesus’ feet.

Friend, God says, every storm around you is under your feet. The wicked plots of your adversaries are under your feet; the satanic gang up and negative gossip against you is under your feet; the wishes of the enemy against you are under your feet; whatever the enemy wants to use and sink your ship is under your feet; the waves may threaten your ship, but God says, it is under your feet.

The storms in your life may threaten to consume you, but God says, walk on your troubled waters; you can make progress despite the harsh operating environment; you can be lifted despite the haters around you; you can be great despite the obstacles under your feet.

The waves and the contrary wind were not in Jesus’ favour, but they did nothing against Him. Hear God’s prophetic word: even if the storms are against you, nothing will go wrong in your life. Even if everyone around you is a hater, their hate won't reduce your destiny.

Arise in prayers and spiritual warfare; trample upon every storm that wants to consume you, and every wickedness launched against you; prayerfully tread on ‘snakes’ that want to bite you, and crush every physical or spiritual force that wants to sink your ship.

Luke 10 vs. 19 sums it up: “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

Prayer : Lord, every challenge against me is under my feet, in Jesus’ name!Amen
Enjoy A Restful Saturday.

JESUS IS COMING

“And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.”
(Matthew 14: 25)

That is the Focal Scripture of Streams of Joy Devotional today.

While Jesus’ disciples sailed in a ship, they faced turbulent waves which tossed the ship around in the sea. The waves were a challenge to the ship and Jesus’ disciples who were in the ship. The waves came as an opposition to the movement of the disciples. The waves came to truncate the disciples’ journey.

At the fourth watch, Jesus showed up and eventually, the wind ceased. The wind may have been turbulent, but the Master showed up. The wind opposed the movement of the ship, but Jesus showed up and the opposition gave way. The disciples may have struggled in the ship, but Jesus showed up and ended their struggles.

Friend, hear God’s word of grace to you: for every struggle in your life, Jesus is on the way. For the challenges that have made you shed bitter tears, Jesus is about to show up with solutions; Jesus is about to show up with solutions for every problem that wants to rock the ship of your life; Jesus knows all about your trouble, and will soon do something about it.

That trouble is not forever; God is about to show up to pull you out of it. God is about to pull you out of your health issues; God is about to pull you out of your marital issues; God is about to calm the storms that want to put your career, business, ministry, etc out of circulation.

The men in the ship were Jesus’ disciples, and Jesus was not about to abandon them to the waves and contrary wind that wanted to sink their ship. He rescued them expectedly because they were His disciples. If you are a true disciple of Jesus, He will show up when your storms arise.

God will not abandon you if you walk closely with Him; Stay connected to Jesus and He will show up to calm your storms.

Prayer: Lord, calm every storm in my life, in Jesus’ name!Amen
Enjoy A Fantastic Friday.

HIDDEN ISSUES

“But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.” (Matthew 14: 24)

That is the Focal Scripture of Streams of Joy Devotional today.

When Jesus’ disciples were tossed about in the midst of the sea, the real problem was not the waves. There was a contrary wind that created the waves. Ordinarily, the waves of water in a sea can be seen, but the wind can only be felt but not seen. The real problem of the ship was an unseen wind; something that was not easily visible was behind the trouble in the middle of the sea.

Jesus eventually came into the ship and the wind ceased; the moment the wind ceased, nothing more was heard about the waves. The root of the problem was dealt with and the problem disappeared. The foundation of the problem was destroyed and the symptom disappeared. Jesus silenced the wind and the waves had no option but to walk away from the sea.

Friend, ask God to address the hidden issues behind your visible challenges. Ask God to destroy the foundation of every challenge in your family, marriage, finances, career, business, neighbourhood, etc. Pray against every unseen hand responsible for your troubles; pray against the root cause of every problem in your nation; pray against the root of pain, shame, disappointments, etc in your life and in the lives of those connected to you.

Ask God to show you the root of the stubborn challenges that are tossing your life around. Ask God to open your eyes to see the root of your challenges; ask God to open your eyes to see the hidden issues that are tormenting your destiny; ask God to reveal the source of your challenges to you.

If you focus on the symptoms of your trouble without dealing with the root cause, the trouble will remain. Fight your troubles from their roots and the troubles will disappear.

Prayer : Lord, reveal and destroy the root of every challenge in my life, in Jesus’ name!Amen
Enjoy A Blessed Monday.

YOU WON'T STOP

“But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves…”
(Matthew 14: 24)

That is the Focal Scripture of Streams of Joy Devotional today.

At the middle of the sea, the ship in which Jesus’ disciples travelled was tossed with waves. The waves didn't arise at the beginning of their journey; it arose in the middle of the sea. The waves came to stop them from completing their journey. The waves wanted them to stop in the middle.

Eventually, despite the waves, the ship continued to sail. The waves couldn't stop the ship in the middle of the sea. The waves couldn't truncate the journey of the ship. Jesus’ disciples had a purpose for being in the ship, they needed to arrive at the other side of the sea, and the waves did not stop them. They didn't stop middle of the sea.

Friend, hear God’s word of grace: you will not stop in the middle. Your life will not be cut short in the middle. The destiny of your family will not stop on the way. Your greatness will not stop in the middle; your testimony will not stop on the way; your marriage, finances, career, business, ministry, academics, etc will not be halted by satanic forces. Your progress will not be cut short. No power of hell will truncate your movement.

Jesus’ disciples began a journey and completed their journey. God says, you will complete every journey you started; you will complete every project you began; you shall achieve everything you set out to achieve; you won't be counted among those whose journeys ended without results. Whatsoever your hands have begun, God will give you grace to complete it.

Jesus was involved in the journey of His disciples. He sent them to the other side of the sea, and He wasn't about to watch them sink in the sea because of waves. If Jehovah is truly involved in your life, then no demon of hell can stop you in the middle of your journey.

Prayer : Lord, I will not stop on the way, in Jesus’ name!Amen
Enjoy A Super Sunday.