FRIDAY FEBRUARY 13, 2015
HOW TO ACCOMPLISH GREAT THINGS (2)

…If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favour in his sight….’ Nehemiah 2:5 NIV

Pray for favour with the right people. When you study the lives of successful people, you’ll find they had vision, patience, determination, character and talent. And you’ll also find one more thing at work—favour. There are some closed doors that will open when you approach them in faith, and there are other doors that’ll open only with help from the right people. That’s when you need favour! Alex Haley, the author of Roots, had a picture in his office. It was of a turtle sitting on top of an eight-foot-high fencepost, and the caption read, ‘You can be sure he didn’t get up there by himself’! Nehemiah needed an army to protect him, and resources to enable him to build. So he prayed, then went to the one man who could provide what he needed: the king. He said, ‘If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favour in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.’ And the king did. There’s an important lesson here: when your heart is set on promoting God’s kingdom, He will give you ‘kingdom connections’. But be careful; your help may not always come via the people you expect, agree with, or even like. God used a heathen king to help Nehemiah, and He used a penniless widow to feed the prophet Elijah. Don’t dictate to God who He can and cannot use. Just pray for favour, expect it, and accept it with thanks in whatever form He sends it.


Joel 2: 12-13, Matthew 4: 1-17, Mark 2: 18-22, Luke 9: 23-26

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 12, 2015
HOW TO ACCOMPLISH GREAT THINGS (1)

‘When I heard these things, I sat down and wept...’ Nehemiah 1:4 NIV

In spite of impossible odds and implacable enemies, Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem in just fifty-two days. It was an incredible accomplishment! And he wasn’t even a builder; he was a waiter in the palace of King Artaxerxes, a heathen monarch. Robert Goddard says, ‘It’s difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.’ So before you say, ‘It can’t be done,’ or ‘I don’t have the qualifications,’ examine Nehemiah’s story. In fact, that’s what we’re going to do for the next few days. The first lesson we learn is: you must find a need that moves you. ‘They said to me… “The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire." When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned…fasted and prayed before…God…’ (vv. 3-4 NIV). And what did Nehemiah fast and pray for? ‘…Give your servant success…’ (v. 11 NIV). When you find a need that moves you to tears and causes you to say, ‘Something must be done about this!’ the chances are that God’s calling you to do something about it. You may be a leader like Nehemiah, or you may simply be like one of the followers who helped him. Either way, when God stirs your heart about a need, He’s calling you to get involved and take action. If you’re willing to say ‘Yes!’, He will place the resources of heaven at your disposal. When your heart says, ‘This is what I was born to do,’ you may have found your life’s vision.

Jonah 1-4, Matthew 14: 1-12, Psalm 141, Proverb 4: 18-19

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 11, 2015.

GIVE GOD THE ‘FIRST-FRUITS’ OF YOUR TIME

‘…I require…the first-fruits and the choicest of your contributions….’Ezekiel 20:40 AMP

In the Old Testament, the first part of the harvest was to be offered to God in gratitude. So when God says, ‘…I require…the first-fruits and the choicest of your contributions…,’ it means instead of fitting Him into your agenda you must put Him at the top. Notice: He wants your ‘first-fruits’, not your leftovers. One Bible teacher put it like this: ‘I’ve trained myself to start each day by giving God the first-fruits of my time. I’ve realised that I’m not going to get through the day peacefully if I don’t…So, each morning I get coffee, and usually while still in my pyjamas, I spend as much time with God as I need to in order to feel I can behave properly and walk in the Fruit of the Spirit throughout the day. I’ve learned to use the best part of my day to give God the best part of my heart.’ Giving God the first moments of the morning helps keep my priorities straight for the rest of the day. Don’t use this gift of time with God to meditate on your problems…set your heart as the Psalmist did: ‘…I trusted in, relied on, and was confident in You, O Lord; I said, “You are my God. My times are in Your hands’’’ (Psalms 31:14-15 AMP). Note the words ‘my times are in Your hands….’ Each day will bring times of joy, times of testing, times of challenge, and times of temptation. That’s why you need to pray, ‘Lord, each hour of this day I’m depending on You. Let my words, my attitudes, my decisions, and my actions bring glory to You.’

Number 34-36, Matthew 13: 47-58, Psalm 138, Proverbs 4: 14-17

Thanks for the update Odunharry ....God bless !

Happy New Month my people . May God's protection. Be upon us as we navigate through this delicate,turbulent period in the history of our nation !

Monday FEBRUARY 2, 2015.

SEARCHING FOR SIGNIFICANCE (1)

‘…You are Mine.’ Isaiah 43:1 NKJV

Do you remember the hit song by Dean Martin, ‘You’re Nobody till Somebody Loves You’? Such lyrics show up our deepest concern. We want our lives to matter, to mean something. Our deepest fear is of coming and going—and nobody knowing! We strive with our lack of education, our spot on the financial totem pole, and our looks. That’s why it bothers us when a friend forgets to call, or a teacher forgets our name, or a colleague takes credit for something we have done. We crave attention, drop the names of important people in conversations, and put flashy hubcaps on our cars. Fashion designers tell us, ‘You’ll be somebody if you wear our jeans.’ So we go out and spend half our wages on a pair of Italian jeans. But then—horror of horrors—the style changes from tight to baggy, faded to black, and we’re left wearing yesterday’s jeans, feeling like yesterday’s news. Simply stated: you can’t gain significance from the outside. It’s an inside job. Your sense of significance must come from someone you trust, someone you know will never change, someone who knows the worst about you and always believes the best. And there’s only one such source: God. So read on: ‘Thus says the Lord, who created you…who formed you…Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned…For I am the Lord your God…you [are] precious in My sight’ (vv. 1-4 NKJV).

Number 16-18, Matthew 12: 15-21, Psalm 107: 33-43, Proverbs 3:27-28

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 1, 2015.

A HUNGER FOR GOD’S WORD

‘As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word …’ 1 Peter 2:2 NKJV

How does a newborn baby desire milk? With an intensity you can’t imagine unless you’ve heard the midnight cry! The fact that you’ve worked hard all day and are tired, or that you fed the baby just an hour earlier, doesn’t matter. An infant’s agenda is about as focused and uncluttered as you can get. He or she wants to eat—right now! When was the last time your spiritual stomach growled so much at midnight that you just had to get up and feed your soul on God’s Word? Here’s how Peter addressed the issue: ‘Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious’ (vv. 1-3 NKJV). Note the words ‘if…you have tasted’. When you’ve tasted the real thing you can’t get by on junk food. Your spiritual taste buds won’t let you. Note, not only can you not ignore a baby’s hunger; you can’t fool their sense of taste. When you start mixing stuff into their formula that wasn’t meant to be there, their taste buds and stomach will reject it. Have you ever heard the phrase ‘projectile vomiting’? Junk food is designed to fill a need with a quick fix that may satisfy you for a while, but it doesn’t provide any real nourishment. You can tell when you’re spiritually malnourished and underdeveloped. Peter says the symptoms are malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and evil speaking. So open your Bible today and pray, ‘Lord, give me a hunger for Your Word.’

Numbers 14-15, Matthew 12: 1-14, Psalm 107: 23-32, Proverb 3: 25-26

SATURDAY JANUARY 31, 2015.

WHAT DO YOU HAVE?

‘What do you have in your house?’ 2 Kings 4:2 NIV

When you pray, God can answer in two ways: 1) He can use somebody you know. Who do you know? Who knows what you don’t know? Jesus said, ‘Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom’ (Luke 6:38 KJV). Note the word ‘men’. When God blesses you, He often does it through people. So who should you be listening to and walking with? ‘He who walks with wise men will be wise’ (Proverbs 13:20 NKJV). Observe the word ‘walks’. Wisdom comes when you’re moving forward, not resting on your laurels. You must be teachable, discerning, relational, and responsive. 2) He can use something you have. In 2 Kings 4 a minister’s wife was in trouble. Her husband had died, the bills were piling up and the creditors took her sons to work off the debt. When she turned to the prophet Elisha for help, he asked her, ‘What do you have in your house?’ She answered, ‘Just a little pot of oil.’ He replied, ‘Find every empty pot you can and start pouring oil into them. If you do, you’ll have enough to pay off your debts and live well’ (2 Kings 4:3-7). With God you always have enough to create what you need! He can do ‘immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us’ (Ephesians 3:20 NIV). Where’s the power? Within you! Your resources are in your gifting, your tenacity, your relationships and your connection to God. So the word for you today is: What do you have?

Numbers 8-10, Matthew 11: 10-19, Psalm 107: 10-16, Proverb 3: 19-20

FRIDAY JANUARY 30, 2015.

FOCUS ON WHAT IS ‘ABOVE

‘Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.’ Colossians 3:2 NIV

Today we’re big on the concept of instant gratification and acquiring more stuff. But ‘earthly things’ lose their appeal once the bill arrives and the interest on your credit cards starts piling up. When that happens, blessings can turn into curses and rob you of the joy of living. One pastor says: ‘Materialism doesn’t satisfy because it’s tyrannical and human beings were born to be free…We find we don’t own the house—the house owns us. We’re married to a mortgage. We become slaves to gadgets and garments. After they’re purchased, delivered and installed, we enjoy a fleeting sense of pleasure, but they still dominate, dictate and demand, ‘‘Press me, polish me, patch me, paint me, prune me, plaster me!’’ We spend our best years and the bulk of our money working for ‘‘things” until…we’ve no time left to pursue life’s really enjoyable vocations: visiting friends, having fun and going to church…no time to do good deeds, see places, or visit the people who give us the greatest inner joy. Paul says, ‘‘Godliness with contentment is great gain’' (1 Timothy 6:6 NIV). And to experience that contentment you need to count your blessings every day and thank the One who made them all possible.’ Jon Walker writes: ‘Assume there’s an imaginary line dividing what you can see from what you can’t see—the temporal from the eternal. Our objective in Jesus is to look upon the things ‘‘above”, so we can understand that what we see and feel is not a full and accurate measurement of God’s reality…people are eternal beings, and decisions that seem insignificant now, when seen in the fullness of reality, are of eternal significance.’

Number 7, Matthew 11: 1-9, Psalm 107: 1-9, Proverb 3: 13-18

MONDAY JANUARY 26, 2015

QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASK YOURSELF (1)

Though it cost you all you have, get understanding.’ Proverbs 4:7 NIV

Like any good parent, God wants His children to succeed. But to succeed in life, you must periodically ask yourself two questions: 1) Am I committed to personal growth? ‘Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.’ Keep reading, keep learning, keep asking questions. A Chinese proverb says, ‘He who asks is a fool for five minutes; he who doesn’t ask remains a fool forever.’ Some of us are like the little girl who thought she’d exhausted the subject of mathematics once she learned her twelve-times tables. When her grandfather asked with a twinkle, ‘What’s 13 times 13?’ she scoffed, ‘Don’t be silly, Grandpa, there’s no such thing!’ Your hunger for wisdom and knowledge determines your future. In order to keep giving out, you must keep taking in. 2) Am I enjoying what I do? You’ll never fulfil your destiny doing something you despise. Passion lies at the core of true success and fulfilment; it’s the spark for your fuse. It energises you when those around you grow tired. It helps you come up with answers when others cease to have creative ideas and strengthens you when they drop out. It gives you courage to take risks while others crave security. When you lose your passion, two things happen: first, you fail to pursue excellence; second, you jeopardise your integrity, because you’re tempted to take shortcuts and compromise by settling for less than God intended. One leader says, ‘What generates passion in you is a clue to your destiny. What you love is often a clue to something you can achieve.’

Number 3:1 - 4:33, Matthew 10: 21-31, Psalm 104: 1-23, Proverb 3: 9-10.

SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

‘Don’t try to disclaim responsibility.’ Proverbs 24:11 TLB

A woman went shopping one day and came home with a very expensive dress. Her budget-conscious husband was very upset and demanded to know what on earth possessed her. ‘The devil made me do it,’ she replied sweetly. He asked, ‘Well, why didn’t you say, “Get thee behind me, satan?” ‘I did,’ she replied. ‘But he said it looked great from the back as well—so I had to buy it!’ Satan is an expert at distorting the truth by getting us to blame circumstances and other people for our mistakes; that way we never have to take responsibility. But as Albert Ellis observed, ‘The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You don’t blame them on your mother, the ecology or the government. You realise you control your own destiny.’ Florence Nightingale, hero-nurse of the Crimean War, said, ‘I attribute my success to one thing: I never gave or took an excuse.’ When a winner messes up, they admit they were wrong and ask for forgiveness. When a loser makes a mistake, they immediately look for somebody or something to blame. The Bible says, ‘Don’t try to disclaim responsibility by saying you didn’t know…God…knows you knew! And he will reward…according to [your] deeds.’ David constantly prayed about his shortcomings, and his honesty helped make him ‘a man after [God’s] own heart’ (1 Samuel 13:14 KJV). Instead of denying and defending your mistakes, take responsibility, learn from them and move on. That’s how you grow!

Numbers 1-2, Matthew 10: 11-20, Psalm 100, Proverbs 3: 7-8

Happy Sunday my people !

Thanks for the update Odunharry .

TUESDAY JANUARY 20, 2015.

THE RISK AND THE RETURN

‘Cast your bread upon the waters.’ Ecclesiastes 11:1 NKJV

The Bible says, ‘Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.’ Notice two things in this Scripture: 1) The risk requires faith. At first this verse doesn’t make sense. When you ‘cast your bread upon the waters’, the best you can hope to get back is mushy, waterlogged bread. Its meaning becomes clearer, however, when you realise it was written in a culture where seafood was the basis of trade and economic survival. Throwing bread into the water attracted fish, which you could then catch. There are important spiritual principles at work in this Scripture. For example, catching fish depends on the current flowing in the right direction, the sun, the moon and other elements only God can control. But when you do your part, God promises to do His. George Müller said, ‘Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man’s power ends.’ 2) The return requires patience. ‘After many days you will find it again.’ You ask, ‘When will it happen?’ When God is ready, when He knows you are ready, and when it all fits into His plan. The Bible tells us to ‘imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised’ (Hebrews 6:12 NIV). You need faith and patience to receive what God has promised. And even when you don’t know what’s ahead, you can be sure of one thing—God will be there. Today He’s calling you to choose faith, even when you don’t know what’s on the other side.

Exodus 20: 7, Isaiah 29: 22-24, Matthew 6:9, Phil 2: 5-11

SUNDAY JANUARY 18, 2015.

PRAYER (4)

‘Seek his face continually.’ 1 Chronicles 16:11KJV

A good relationship is based on being sensitive to the other person’s needs, and to do that, you must make the relationship a priority and spend time together. The difference between ‘catching a few moments’ with the Lord and spending quality time with Him is like the difference between driving through McDonald’s and spending the evening at a fine restaurant. At McDonald’s you drive up, shout into a microphone and drive around to a window where they hand you a bag of food. In a fine restaurant you sit down, savour every bite in a relaxed atmosphere, and leave satisfied and nourished. Too many of us live on spiritual fast food and never experience the banquet God has for us. The Bible says, ‘Seek his face continually.’ Have you learned how to stay in God’s presence and enjoy it? When it comes to prayer, we all face two challenges: 1) Lack of desire. We complain about lack of time, but the truth is we make time for what we truly care about and enjoy. If you want to build an effective prayer life you must be willing to forfeit some things. 2) We don’t know how. Find a place with no distractions. Take your Bible and a notepad with you. Use a CD player with worship music to help you. Worship will change the atmosphere around you. Just do what works for you. And be patient! Sometimes it takes weeks or months before you develop a pattern, so stick with it—the rewards are worth it. And remember, prayer is a two-way street. It’s not about seeing how much you can tell God; it’s about learning to hear from Him as well.

Daniel 3-4, Matthew 8:18-27,Psalm 84, Proverb 2: 16-19.

We ask and receive not because we ask not in faith and we ask and receive when we ask in faith and great expectations !

THURSDAY JANUARY 15, 2015.

PRAYER (1)

‘Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe…and it will be yours.’ Mark 11:24 NIV

When you pray: 1) Use your faith. William Ward says: ‘We stamp and address an envelope and send it on its way with complete confidence that it will reach its destination. Yet we wonder and even doubt if our prayers will be heard by an ever-present, ever-loving God.’ Wrap your prayer in expectation. God doesn’t respond to your need, He responds to your faith. 2) Don’t worry about using the right words. Jesus said of the Pharisees, ‘They think they will be heard because of their many words’ (Matthew 6:7 NIV). Ever heard the lawyer’s version of ‘Give us this day our daily bread’? (Matthew 6:11). ‘We respectfully petition, request and entreat that a due and adequate provision be made, this day and date first above and inscribed, for the satisfying of petitioners’ nutritional requirements, and for the organising of such methods of allocation and distribution as may be deemed necessary and proper, to assume the reception by and for said petitioners of such quantity of cereal products (hereinafter and herein called “bread”), and shall in the judgment of the aforesaid petitioners constitute a sufficient amount.’ That’s eighty words! Jesus used only seven! Sometimes the most effective praying is brief and to the point. 3) Be specific. Jesus said, ‘You will be given whatever you ask for in my name’ (John 16:23). The great thing about being specific is that whenever God answers, you know it. The loved one you prayed for was saved. The illness was cured. The more explicit you are, the more alert you’ll be for answers—which means you can be more specific with your thanks to God.

Leviticus 26-27, Matthew 7: 15-29, Psalm 74: 12-23, Proverb 2: 7-8

MONDAY JANUARY 12, 2015.

UNITY WITHOUT UNIFORMITY (2)

‘Have fervent love for one another.’ 1 Peter 4:8 NKJV

In working for unity: 1) Consider your motives. Only God knows the motives of a person’s heart, and only God is qualified to judge them. ‘No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit’ (1 Corinthians 2:11 NLT). We’re externally-oriented creatures; we ‘judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’ (1 Samuel 16:7 NLT). It’s not necessarily what people do that causes us to judge them; it’s what we tell ourselves about what they’re doing. We’re quick to attribute negative motives: ‘He meant to hurt me. She’s selfish. They never consider others.’ The church in Rome was sabotaging its own unity over outward issues, so Paul reminded them that even though their behaviour was at odds, their motives were similar. ‘He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God’ (Romans 14:6 NIV). Unity doesn’t depend on outward conformity, but understanding hearts! 2) Consider your impact on others. We say, ‘It’s nobody’s business but mine, as long as I don’t violate Scripture.’ Wrong! You can follow the letter of the Word but violate its Spirit. Paul said, ‘Everything is permissible—but not everything is beneficial’ (1 Corinthians 10:23 NIV). Yes, you can do it, but somebody else may end up being hurt. God has a higher law than that of ‘my rights’; it’s the law of love! He cares ‘when you use your freedom carelessly in a way that leads a Christian…to be thrown off track’
(1 Corinthians 8:9 TM). What should you do? ‘Do nothing from selfishness…regard one another as more important than yourselves’ (Philippians 2:3 NAS).

Lev 21: 1- 23: 25, Matthew 6: 19-34, Psalm 71: 17-24, Proverb 2: 3-5

SUNDAY JANUARY 11, 2015.

UNITY WITHOUT UNIFORMITY (1)

‘May they be brought to complete unity.’ John 17:23 NIV

The last prayer Jesus prayed before His crucifixion was that we would come together in unity. That’s a tall order! We’re a thoroughly diverse assortment, differing denominationally, doctrinally, politically, emotionally, intellectually, socially and materially, often to the point of enmity and division. So how can Christ’s prayer be answered and His people united? We can start by acknowledging that unity is God’s will and committing ourselves to work toward it. Next, we can learn as Paul teaches the principles of unity to the divided church at Rome: 1) Unity demands that we don’t judge one another. ‘Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls’ (Romans 14:4 NIV). God alone is authorised to hand out verdicts. Even when you’re right, or you’re the more knowledgeable party, you still have no right to judge. Your job is to ‘make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit’ (Ephesians 4:3 NLT). Discuss it with God, then trust His wisdom. 2) Unity requires us to respect each other’s convictions. ‘Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind’ (Romans 14:5 NIV). Personal convictions, not the enforced opinions of others, are what Paul is referring to. The desire to make someone else over in your image is a form of idolatry and pride that destroys any possibility of unity. God reserves the right to bring up His own children without your interference! He’ll mould and lead them where and when He decides, because He understands their needs and capacities. So trust Him with His job, and do yours by loving and respecting others.

Lev 18-20, Matthew 6: 9-18, Psalm 71: 1-16, Prov 2:1-2

SATURDAY JANUARY 10, 2015.

LET GOD TRANSFORM YOU

‘Be transformed by…renewing…your mind.’ Romans 12:2 NKJV

Our self-image is formed early on, based on feedback from parents, teachers and other authority figures—and changing it isn’t easy. It doesn’t come from inspiration (or perspiration), but from letting the Holy Spirit transform you. How? ‘By…renewing…your mind.’ Recalling when his boys were young, one preacher says they were playing with a toy lorry, complete with the sounds of grinding gears and roaring engines. ‘I didn’t pay much attention as I unwound from the day’s stresses. Distractedly, I glanced down and noticed the boys were now running an aeroplane down an imaginary runway. ‘What happened to the lorry?’ I asked. ‘Daddy, this is a transformer. It can be transformed into whatever we want!’ they explained. God made the first transformer. He created man in such a way that He could pull a woman out of him. From one creative act God transformed the man into a marriage, the marriage into a family, and the family into a society. He never reached back into the ground again because the power to transform was intrinsically placed in man. All kinds of potential are locked into your spirit. And for the Christian, transformation at its optimum is the outworking of the internal. God placed certain things in you that must come out…and when you’re tired of trying to unlock your own resources, allow Him to release in you the power to become whatever you need to be.’ ‘But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God’ (John 1:12 NKJV). Christ empowers us to slip out of who we were forced to be, and transforms us into who He created us to be.

Lev 15-17, Matthew 6: 1-8, Psalm 46, Prov 1: 32-33.

Welcome to the new thread Alwaystrue !

SUNDAY JANUARY 4, 2015.

YOU MUST EXERCISE FAITH

‘He couldn’t do any miracles among them…And He was amazed at their unbelief.’ Mark 6:5-6 NLT

God answers prayer in a manner directly related to our level of faith. ‘According to your faith be it unto you’ (Matthew 9:29 KJV). Yet sometimes in spite of our doubts and human reasoning, He comes through for us anyway. The believers praying for Peter’s release from prison were amazed when he suddenly appeared on their doorstep (Acts 12). When Jesus returned to His home town and began to teach in the local synagogue, the people were amazed by His wisdom. Because He lacked formal education and credentials they wrote Him off as ‘just a carpenter’ (Mark 6:3 NLT). And the result? ‘Because of their unbelief, He couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place His hands on a few sick people and heal them.’ Question: How often does your unbelief tie God’s hands? The truth is: a) sometimes our faith is so weak that we don’t expect Him to answer at all; b) we fail to pray with confidence;
c) we don’t prepare ourselves for what He wants to do for us. You can’t ask God for forgiveness, then continue to live under condemnation over sins He has put under the blood. Or pray about your financial situation, then worry yourself sick about how He’s going to meet your needs. You can choose to live by your feelings, or in a way that reflects total trust in God. The Bible says, ‘Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He…is a rewarder’ (Hebrews 11:6 NKJV). So you must exercise faith.

Leviticus 1-4, Matthew 4: 12-25, Psalm 10: 1-11, Prov 1: 10-16

SATURDAY JANUARY 3, 2015.

YOU’RE NAMED IN GOD’S WILL (2)

‘The word…which can…give you an inheritance.’ Acts 20:32 NIV

Someone’s last will and testament lets you know what you have inherited. In the Old Testament the benefits were rich, but the conditions proved too restrictive. So God gave us a New Testament. But instead of laws that are virtually impossible to keep, this ‘testament’ is based on grace: favour you don’t deserve, can’t earn and don’t have to work for because it’s given freely. And when you discover you are personally named in this ‘testament’, reading the Bible becomes a real source of joy. You start asking, ‘What’s in God’s will for me? What’s my rightful inheritance?’ You realise your salvation, as glorious as it is, is just the starting point. Suddenly the idea of searching the Scriptures, standing on the Scriptures and speaking the Scriptures in every situation no longer feels like a duty, but a delight. When you pray according to Scripture, it’s like going to the bank of heaven and saying, ‘This cheque is made out to me. It’s issued and endorsed by Christ, and I’d like to cash it.’ You have two options: You can live a Christian life and die without ever having accessed your account because you never discovered your inheritance and the benefits of God’s will for you. Or you can pray: ‘Father, Christ’s last will and testament names me personally. It says that all my needs will be met, my steps will be directed, my sicknesses will be healed, and that I don’t have to fear satan because You gave me power over him’ (Luke 10:19). Now can you see why satan doesn’t want you reading your Bible?

2 Thessalonica 1-3, Matthew 4: 1-11, Psalm 90: 7-17, Proverb. 1: 5-9.

To God be the glory for making us to see the new year !

TUESDAY DECEMBER 30, 2014

ACCEPTING OTHERS

‘Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you.’ Romans 15:7 NIV

Sometimes people don’t make it easy to accept them. They can be bad tempered, selfish, critical, irritating, dismissive, aggressive and pompous. Sometimes you want to give them a piece of your mind; give them what they deserve—anything but acceptance. The command, ‘accept one another’, is inconvenient. And if Paul had stopped there we might dodge the directive by saying he obviously meant good, reasonable, acceptable people. Alas, he goes on, ‘just as Christ accepted you’. Were you good, reasonable and acceptable? No, but He accepted you—flaws and all—and He still does! You say, ‘Somebody has to straighten these people out and require them to act right!’ You mean like Jesus required before He accepted you? Roman Christians had difficulty accepting their less experienced brothers, and Paul corrected them: ‘Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment…for God has accepted him’ (Roman 14:1-3 NIV). Straightening people out isn’t our department; accepting them is. God calls us to accept messed-up, unspiritual, carnal, obnoxious, doctrinally misled, ‘just plain wrong’ people. You don’t have to approve of, like, or agree with them, but accepting them isn’t optional. There’s no elite, privileged, insider class. We occupy level ground because of two realities: our sin and the cross! Jews and Gentiles despised each other, even after salvation. Each wanted the other to change and become like them. But Paul took the axe to the root of that tree: ‘For Christ Himself…reconciled both groups…by means of His death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death’. (Ephesians 2:14-16 NLT). Our job is to accept people—and let God adjust them.

Job 38-39, Matthew 2: 16-23, Psalm 139: 13-24, Ecclesiastes 11: 7-10.

MONDAY DECEMBER 29, 2014.

GOD CAN LIFT YOU UP (2)

‘All things are possible to him who believes.’ Mark 9:23 NKJV

In order to access power, you have to go to the outlet and plug in to the source of it. That’s what happens when you pray in faith; you plug in to God’s power. Picture a boat trapped in mud and stuck on the bottom. If you can get it to the dock, you can repair it and send it back out to sea. The trouble is you can’t move it. So what’s the answer? Bring in high-powered tugboats, connect steel cables to the sunken craft and wait for the tide to rise. Are you getting the idea? When you feel so low that you can’t lift yourself up, tap into God’s power and let Him lift you up to the place where He can repair, restore and recommission you. If you keep that picture in mind, you’ll never think about prayer the same way again. Instead of seeing it as an obligation, you’ll start seeing it as an awesome power that works for you in all circumstances of life. And you’ll see reading the Bible in a different light as well. Paul says, ‘So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up’ (Acts 20:32 NKJV). Your problems may be great, but the tide of God’s Spirit is greater, and if you let it, it’ll lift you out of your troubles. Will they suddenly vanish overnight? No, but you’ll be above them looking down instead of underneath them looking up. At that point you’ll be operating from a position of faith instead of a position of fear. It can happen for you. God can lift you up: ‘All things are possible to him who believes.’

Matthew 6: 5-15, Matthew 26: 36-46, Jas 5: 13-18, 1 Thessalonica 5: 16-18.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 28, 2014

God Can Lift You Up (1)

‘He will lift you up.’ James 4:10

The Bible says, ‘Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.’ It works this way: when you try to exalt yourself, God brings you down, but when you humble yourself in His sight, He lifts you up. He does it because you’re His child and He loves you. You may feel like a nobody right now, but in God’s eyes you’re a somebody. Who but God could reach behind a hedge, find a Gypsy Smith and use him to win multitudes to Christ? Who but God could go to Old Comiskey Park in Chicago, find a baseball player called Billy Sunday and use him to impact the world? Who but God could look in a Galilean fishing boat and find Peter, call him, transform him and use him to build the church? God loves to do things like that. And since He ‘does not show favouritism’ (Romans 2:11 NIV) you’ve every right to believe He will do it for you too. The Bible says, ‘As he thinketh in his heart, so is he’ (Proverbs 23:7 KJV). When that little voice inside you whispers, ‘You’ve no talent and you’ll never amount to anything in life,’ that’s not God. It’s satan—and the Bible says he’s a liar (John 8:44)! That’s why you need to tell him, ‘I don’t believe a word you’re saying. You can’t put me down because God is raising me up.’ God’s plan for you was established long before you were born, and He hasn’t changed His mind. So you need to discover His plan, then make sure your feelings, thoughts, actions and words line up with it. 

Isaiah 40:1-31, John 9:1-39

SATURDAY DECEMBER 27, 2014.

ACCEPTING YOURSELF

‘Predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.’ Romans 8:29 NIV

Studies show that many of us don’t like ourselves. A poll of college students confirmed that over 50 per cent suffered from low self-acceptance, with the majority citing their looks as the source of their unhappiness. ‘My nose is too long. My eyes are too small. I’m too fat here—too thin there. I’m too short—too tall. I’ve got freckles.’ And the beauty industry is more than willing to darken it, lighten it, accentuate it, lift it, tuck it and cover it up in an attempt to sell us a self-image we can accept. A little improvement might indeed be beneficial, but not as a basis for self-worth. Here’s how God sees the issue: ‘Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘‘How clumsy can you be?’’’ (Isaiah 45:9 NLT). You are God’s personal creation. And He makes no mistakes, overlooks no details and leaves nothing unfinished. You need to accept yourself because He created, redeemed and accepts you. In an age of media overload, we’re bombarded by images of perfect-looking people, with the inference that we need to look like them if we hope to amount to anything. But Paul says: ‘We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise’ (2 Corinthians 10:12 NIV). The God Who made you who you are has a plan for perfecting you. You’re perfectly acceptable, if not yet acceptably perfect. You’re ‘predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son’. So you’re a work in progress!


Job 32-34, Mathew 2: 1-8, Psalm 97, Ecclesiastes 10: 20-11:3.

FRIDAY DECEMBER 26, 2014.

ACCEPTED BY GOD!

‘He made us accepted in the Beloved.’ Ephesians 1:6 NKJV

There’s no pain worse than rejection and no pleasure greater than acceptance, which helps explain the length some people go to in order to avoid rejection and earn acceptance. But the good news is, with God you’re already accepted. J.B. Phillips translates Ephesians 1:6 like this: ‘He…has made us welcome in the everlasting love He bears towards the Son.’ And that’s not limited to those who appear worthy because of their good deeds and a flawless moral record; it’s for every believing child of God, lock, stock and barrel! Cromwell once commissioned a self-portrait. The artist, courting Cromwell’s favour, portrayed him without his obvious imperfections. Cromwell was livid. ‘I said paint me, man—me, warts and all!’ You’re accepted by God, ‘warts and all’. But note: 1) God’s acceptance doesn’t equal His approval. He accepts sinners, but He can never accept our sin. Indeed, His free gift of acceptance is our greatest motivator to renounce our sin and live to please Him (Titus 2:11, 12). 2) God’s acceptance is unconditional. He doesn’t say, ‘You’re accepted if you clean up your act.’ In the words of Jeremiah, ‘Can a leopard take away its spots? Neither can you start doing good, for you have always done evil’ (Jeremiah 13:23 NLT). God’s acceptance has to be unconditional, because it’s impossible for us to merit it. 3) God’s acceptance is because of Jesus. You’re ‘accepted in the Beloved’. The doomed Mephibosheth was accepted because of David’s relationship to his beloved friend Jonathan (2 Samuel 9). And as long as God accepts Jesus, and you trust in Jesus, you’re accepted as well.

Job 29-31, Luke 2: 8-20, Psalm 117, Ecc 10: 15-19.

Merry xmas friends ! May the light of Christ shine brightly in our lives in this season and through out our lives !