HORM Devotional

Psalm 91:1-2 ‘He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.’

DAILY READING; Mark 3:1-19; 2 Samuel 6; Daniel 3

David Ray Wilkerson was an American Christian evangelist, best known for his book The Cross and the Switchblade. This book written in 1962 was about David Wilkerson’s street ministry to young drug addicts and gang members in New York.
In the book, Wilkerson tells of the conversion of a notorious gangster named Nicky Cruz.
When David Wilkerson met Nicky on the streets of New York in the 1950s, Nicky was reputed to be the most ruthless gang leader of his time. He led a fearsome gang called the “Mau Maus”, which controlled a section of Brooklyn New York.
Even the police were afraid to enter Nicky’s gang-owned neighborhoods. However it was in that very place that a skinny preacher, David Wilkerson went to preach the love of Christ.
When David Wilkerson stood in front of Cruz and told him that “Jesus loved him and would never stop loving him”, Cruz responded by slapping Wilkerson and threatening to kill him. However that didn’t deter Wilkerson from continuing to tell Nicki Cruz about the love of Jesus.
Though he thrust his knife at David several times, Nicky was totally unable to hurt David. Every time he lifted the knife David just said, “You can cut me into a thousand pieces and every piece will still say, ‘I love you and God loves you.'”
No matter how Nicky tried, he couldn’t get his knife close enough to David to hurt him. A supernatural force always stopped it short.
When David Wilkerson held an evangelistic crusade in Nicky’s neighborhood, surprisingly, a large number of gang members came to the crusade ground and gave their lives to Christ, including Nicky Cruz.
Afterwards, these converted gang members went to the police and turned in all of their weapons shocking the police officers in the station.
Nicky Cruz would eventually attend Bible college and later became a great evangelical preacher and author of several Christian books.

When we walk in obedience to God’s will by relentlessly showing love to people, God’s supernatural power will protect us.
When God is with you, though you may walk through the valley of the shadow of death you shall fear no evil.
Indeed when we walk in love, there will be no room for fear because perfect love casts out fear.
When we abide in God’s will by walking in love, we dwell in the realm of His divine security.
Truly, even the most dangerous path is safe if you are walking in God’s will, but the safest path will be dangerous if you walk outside of His will.

In these last days, we have been called to take the Gospel to the world. Proof of our love for God is passion to see people saved, established in the faith and living a new life in Christ.
As we spread the message of God’s love, even the most hardened hearts can be changed.

However, unfortunately, there may be those who will interpret meekness to be weakness. Just because you are walking in love, there may be people who would decide to take you for granted and treat you badly. However, as long as you are walking in obedience, God knows how to take care of such situations. As you hold your peace, God will fight for you.
No matter how anyone tries to attack you, don’t take satan’s bait and get offended. Stay in God’s Will, and always walk in love.
Walking in love gives you spiritual defense. Because God is love, as you dwell in love, you dwell in God and if God be for you, who can be against you?

An intimate love walk makes you the apple of God’s eye. This is why in Zechariah 2:8, God says, anyone that touches you touches the apple of His eyes.
Indeed as God’s anointed, we have become a ‘touch not’ and “unharmable” to the forces of wickedness.

Let us therefore endeavor to always walk in the love of God because it is our guarantee of God’s divine Presence, His protection and preservation.

PRAYER: Lord, thank You for the grace to go forth and share Your message of love to the world. As I do, I thank You for Your divine protection upon my life. Certainly, I am under Your divine cover and inaccessible to every force of wickedness in Jesus Name.

QUOTE
The truth of God’s Word in the life of a believer is always reflective, the results can never be hidden. – WORDBITE 222

 

John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” –

DAILY READING• Mark 2; 2 Samuel 4-5; Daniel 2:24-49

On February 3, 1943, Four U.S Chaplains carried out an amazing act of heroism that saved many lives, even at the peril of their own lives.
During World War 2, an American ship, carrying about 920 soldiers and civilians across the Atlantic Ocean, was hit by a German torpedo. The massive explosion caused the ship to begin sinking rapidly.
While some of the men had been killed instantly, the survivors sought desperately for an escape from the sinking ship.
Amidst the chaos, four chaplains on board the ship, worked frantically to help the men make it to safety. They guided the frightened men to lifeboats, while speaking God’s words of encouragement to the wounded and dying.
It would take the ship less than thirty minutes to sink, yet within that little window of time, these four Chaplains succeeded in getting as many men as possible into lifeboats.
Working against time, the Chaplains passed out life vests from the lockers to the men.
When all the life jackets were gone, and yet many men had not received, all four Chaplains took off their own life jackets and put them on the men around them. Together they sacrificed their last shred of hope for survival, to ensure the survival of others.
Having helped as many people as they could, as the ship finally began to sink under the frigid ocean, the four chaplains linked their arms together and lifted up their voices in prayer. They sang hymns and prayed “Our Father, which art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done…”
And with those last words, the four men went into eternity.

As a result of their heroism, the four chaplains have been posthumously awarded many Honors by the US government. In 1988, the US Congress established February 3rd as the ‘Four Chaplains Day’ in America. This day is observed with official proclamations and, sometimes, flags flying at half-mast.

John 15:13 says “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

Over 2000 years ago, Jesus willingly laid down His life at the Cross to save humanity from drowning in the sea of sin and death.
Jesus was the ultimate expression of love.
He loved us so much that He laid down His life by dying in our place so that we could live.
Today, we are to follow the example of love Jesus set for us by laying down our lives for each other through always putting others before us.

1 John 3:16-20 [NIV] says ‘This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.’

Severally in the Scriptures, Jesus emphasized the need for believers to love each other fervently.
Especially in this end-time, we need the power of love to be strongly at work in our lives. This is important because love is the foundation of God’s kingdom upon which all other laws hang. No matter what you do in God’s kingdom, if the love is not involved, it is all in vain.
I Corinthians 13:3 says even if you give all your possessions to feed the poor, and if you surrender your body to be burned, but do not have love, it does not profit you at all.

In God’s kingdom nothing counts without love. You can’t go anywhere spiritually or in your relationships until you get your love walk right!
Not walking in love is one of the hidden traps the enemy often uses to hinder the progress of many believers. Not walking in love can stop prayers from being answered and cause stagnancy is certain areas of a believer’s life.
Living a life ruled by the love of God is what opens us up to live in the highest measure of the blessing and power of God!
We are in the days of fierce spiritual battle against the forces of wickedness and love is our defense against the wiles of the enemy. When we dwell in love, we dwell in God and we thus become inaccessible to the arrows of the wicked.
Indeed love is non-optional for any believer who will walk in victory in these end-times.
Let us therefore daily plead the Blood of Jesus against anything that will try to hinder our love walk.
Love is the nature of God; the closer we walk with God, the more of His nature we manifest. Today, let us receive the grace to walk in love by maintaining a close relationship with God through fervent prayers, intimate fellowship and diligent study of the Word.
Indeed through the Blood of Jesus, we receive the power to follow Christ’s example of love in all that we do.

PRAYER: Lord, please grant me a deeper revelation of the power of Your love. Through the Blood of Jesus, I receive the grace to fervently love others and always walk in line with Your Word at all times in Jesus Name.
Quote
When you apply The Word of God, it will work for you, anywhere and anytime- WORDBITE 222.

Galatians 6:9 “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.’

DAILY READING; • Mark 1:21-45; 2 Samuel 3:2-39; Daniel 2:1-23

Over five decades ago, the U.S. Supreme Court removed prayer from their public schools.
On June 25, 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court declared school-sponsored prayers unconstitutional in America.
Public outrage was immediate and widespread as millions of Americans protested against the rulings of the court.
Eliminating school-sponsored prayer, they argued, set America on the road to moral and spiritual ruin. This has eventually proved to be true.
Indeed over the years, the absence of “school prayer” has led to a drastic increase in many social ills in American schools; from schoolhouse shootings to drug addiction and teen pregnancy etc

Starting from the 1960s when prayer was stopped in public schools, within a 30 year period in America, (1962-1992) there was a 560% increase in violent crime; more than a 400% increase in illegitimate births, more than a 200% increase in teenage suicide rate, and a drop of almost 80 points in the School examination scores.

It is obvious that the stoppage of prayers, spiritually paved the way for many things to begin to go wrong in the American society.
Ironically, those students of the 60’s who were reared in prayerless schools are no longer students. They are now professors, members of Congress, judges, school board members, and presidents of the United States. The Moral relativism of no absolute truth, which they were taught continues today to affect their far reaching decisions, not only in America, but also across the world.

Indeed consistent prayer is necessary to stop the gates of hell from prevailing in our lives.
As believers, prayer is our way of life. If you don’t want to see spiritual decay and decadence, then you must keep the fire always burning on your prayer altar.

There is no alternative to prayer.
There is an enemy who is on the prowl looking for whom to devour; as long we keep praying, our environment will be too hot for him to gain access.
Indeed we must be constantly vigilant. Spiritually we can’t afford to go on a ‘holiday,’ not even for a moment. We must always be conscious that we are in a warfare, with an enemy who will attack at the slightest show of negligence.
Therefore, we must discipline ourselves to pray without ceasing.

Any believer who is walking in power is a person who is always renewing their oil and fire through periodic fasting and praying.
Indeed we must travail in prayers in order to prevail in life. We must kneel in prayer to stand in victory.
If we refuse to grow weary in praying, we will reap the promises of God in our lives.

Certainly, it is our year to see wonders, but there is a price of prayer to pay because we must war with prophesies to see them fulfilled.

Galatians 6:9 “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

To see the manifestations we desire, we must be persistent in spiritual exercises. We must be consistent in our Word study, fasting and praying, praise and worship, sacrificial giving etc. When you refuse to be weary in well doing, you will surely reap victory and miracles in due season. We serve the miracle-working God who is able to exceed our expectations. And as we tirelessly seek Him in the place of prayer in this season, we shall certainly see mighty manifestations of His wonders in our lives. .

PRAYER: Father, please grant me the grace to seek greater intimacy with You through consistent prayers and the study of Your Word. Please, help me not to grow weary in spiritual exercisesr, but to press on to victory in Jesus’Name.

Quote :
The treasures of God are never on the shallow end, but are always buried in the depth of God’s Word. It takes a personal discovery to get there. – WORDBITE 222.

Romans 13:8 ‘Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law’

DAILY READING; Mark 1:1-20; 2 Samuel 2:1-3:1; Daniel 1

During the transatlantic slave trade, many black slaves rejected Christianity because of the oppressions they suffered at the hands of white slave masters who claimed to be ‘Christians’.
However God used a young black girl named Rebecca Protten, to bring the truth of the Gospel to these skeptical black slaves. Rebecca Protten helped to found one of the earliest African Protestant churches.

Rebecca was sold into slavery at a very young age around 1718, in the West Indies. However when her white master came to truly know Christ, he also converted young Rebecca to Christianity and freed her from slavery.
With her new found freedom, young Rebecca was determined to take the Bible’s liberating message to people of African descent. She joined a group of German missionaries from the Moravian Church in 1736, who taught her more about Christ.
Rebecca’s travels took her to many black slave quarters where she proclaimed salvation to the domestic servants, cane boilers, weavers, and cotton pickers.
She also taught at a church that held popular nightly meetings where black men and women thronged to hear the gospel.

In the course of her work, Rebecca faced a lot of oppositions from the white slave masters. More painfully, she suffered injustice and maltreatment from her fellow black people, some of whom were jealous of her status as a ‘free’ slave. She was maligned, maltreated and spoken against. However she responded with love to those who opposed her.
She never allowed the attacks to deter her rather she remained focused on her mission and was able to inspire the rise of black Christianity in the Atlantic world.
Her missions work brought her to the Gold Coast in 1756. She worked with her husband in Ghana until her death in 1780 at the age of 62. The movement she inspired led to the conversion of many black slaves to Christianity. She would come to be known as the “Mother of Modern Missions” and also the “Mother of the Black Reformation.”

If Rebecca had minded the oppositions she would have lost her position in history today.
To fulfill your course you must keep focused on your mission. Don’t get involved in battles that are not between you and your destiny.
The truth is that most of the conflicts that come our way are distractions. The enemy often tries to use contrary people and situations to get you off-course. If you keep focusing on who is speaking against you, or who doesn’t like you, you will eventually lose sight of your vision and miss your mission in life.

People have a right to their opinion. You also have the right to ignore it. Your calling is not to focus on people’s opinion, your calling is to look unto Jesus and run the race before you. When your focus is right, God will take care of the critics and the naysayers.
The only thing we owe people is to always show them love.

Romans 13:8 says ‘Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law’

As believers, we must do everything we can to share the love of Christ with all who come our way. However, no matter what you do, there are still those who will oppose you.
The truth is that in life, not everybody is destined to like you or be for you. If you don’t understand this, you may go through unnecessary pain and feelings of rejection wondering why some people just won’t like you.

In the drama script of your life, people have been assigned different roles to play. There are those who will love you and there are those who will oppose you.
In the life of Jesus, the role of opposition and betrayal was assigned to Judas.
Without the betrayal of his brothers, Joseph would have never made it to Egypt to help preserve the Israelites during the famine. If King Saul had been supportive of David, there may have been no throne for David to ascend.
Though Sanballat and Tobias constantly opposed and insulted Nehemiah when he was rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah refused to be upset, rather he continued to seek God and focused on his assignment until the walls were rebuilt.
In the same way, if you will learn to ignore the oppositions and focus on obeying God’s call, you will eventually walk into the fullness of His plan and see the manifestation of the glorious destiny He preordained for you.

Always remember that when the story of your life is told, what will matter most will not be the oppositions you faced, but rather how well you ran your race and finished your course.

PRAYER: Lord, I thank You for the grace to always share Your love with all who come my way. Please help me not to be distracted by oppositions, rather by Your grace I will run my race well and end up as a wonder this year in Jesus Name

Quote
God knows how to work everything together in your life for your own good. WORDBITE 222.

1 John 4:7 ‘Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.’

DAILY READING; • Romans 16; 2 Samuel 1; Psalm 72

In 1936, King Edward VIII of England was in a forbidden relationship. King Edward had met and fallen in love with American socialite Wallis Simpson. He wanted to marry her but the problem was that she was already married. The only way he could go ahead and marry her was by giving up his throne.
On June 10, King Edward shocked his subjects by abdicating the throne and giving up his rights as king of England, so as to marry Wallis Simpson who would later divorce her own husband. In King Edward VIII’s place, his younger brother Prince Albert would become king, who is the father of the current queen Elizabeth.
As a result of abdicating the throne both King Edward and his new wife were exiled from Britain for the rest of their lives. Though King Edward seemingly had everything, he willing gave it all up in the name of love.
However, today, historians continue to ask the nagging question: was it worth it?
A new book titled “Wallis in Love: The Untold Life of the Duchess of Windsor” by famed royal biographer Andrew Morton, provides fresh insight into the life of Wallis Simpson, the woman who changed the history of the monarchy.
The biographer delved into unearthed letters, diaries, photos, and witness accounts that showed that though the former king was always besotted with Simpson, she eventually grew weary of him. As her relationship with King Edward VIII deteriorated, she was often cold and dismissive of her husband. Indeed, during his final moments on earth in 1972, as King Edward VIII lay dying, Wallis was nowhere to be found.

Looking through history there has been other stories of people who made great sacrifices in the name of love.
Even in the present, men continue in the quest for true love. And there are still those who will pay the highest price for what they perceive to be true love.
Indeed nothing warms the heart of men like the topic of love. Love is sweet, love is thrilling, and one of the sweetest music on earth is the beating of two hearts that truly love each other.
Today, as the world celebrate a day centered around the concept of love, many people will declare undying love for each other. But then, the question is: how much of that love is indeed true?
Human love may start out well, but because it is the product of imperfect hearts, it will often end in disappointment.
No matter how grand, or how sincere human love may be, as long as it lacks the foundation of God’s love, it will end up as fickle and selfish.
It is only through Christ that we can receive the power to truly love. The closer we draw to Him, the less we will see the shortcoming in others and the more we can love unconditionally.
If you’ve been looking for perfect, true love in your life, there’s only one place to find it—through Christ Jesus.
Indeed if you ever want to know what true love looks like—look to the Cross where God proved His love by sacrifice.
The truth is that only the love of God can meet the deep longings of our heart. While human love may sometimes fail you, the love of God will never fail you!
You may be rejected, and betrayed, and abandoned by people, but God will always love you with an everlasting love. He will never give up on you.
In the darkest night, He will be right there with you. He will never leave you, nor forsake you.
Truly God is love. He does not try to love you, He cannot help but love you, because that’s who He is.
Therefore today, our celebration of love should be in the fact that God so loved us, that He gave us His only son, to cleanse our hearts from sin and give us the ability to love each other with true love.

PRAYER: Father I thank You for the price You paid to give me a new life and a new heart in Christ. Today, I receive from You the divine ability to truly love others unconditionally even as You have loved me in Jesus Name.

QUOTE :
Illuminate your world for you are a star destined to shine. WORDBITE 222

Psalm 34:5 ‘‘They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.’

DAILY READING – • Romans 15:14-33; 1 Samuel 29-31; Psalm 71

Nora Lam was a Chinese Protestant minister who is among the most famous Chinese evangelists.
Her remarkable life story is the subject of the major motion picture ‘China Cry’.
Nora grew up in China, during the terrible reign of the Communist Dictator, Mao Tze Tung.
Nora was singled out for interrogation because of her affluent background, as the daughter of a wealthy doctor.
This was in the 1950’s, when a Cultural Revolution was occurring in China and everyone was required to come under one class of people–the working class.
People like Nora’s family, who belonged to the upper-class of society were arrested, tortured and even killed during this revolution. Also the fact that Nora was a Christian made her of special interest to the Chinese government.
When she refused to repudiate her Christian beliefs and faith, she was imprisoned and sentenced to death. She was to be executed by a firing squad.
However the day she was to be killed, a truly astonishing miracle occurred.
In an inexplicable event, God showed up and gave her amazing deliverance.
As she cried to God, the bullets fired at her failed to hit her. Nora was totally unharmed as God miraculously protected her.
Scared by the experience the soldiers made no further attempt to kill her, rather she was taken back to prison. And later through divine intervention Nora was finally released from prison and later travelled around the world sharing the story of God’s amazing love and goodness..
Her story of survival and faith in the face of Communist oppression is recorded in her autobiography, ‘China Cry,’.

We indeed serve the God of sudden divine intervention.
Nora Lam’s story shows that God is in total control of our lives. No hair can fall from our head without God being aware of it.

Nothing can happen to us that doesn’t pass through God’s providential fingers first.
This mindset should help us to respond with faith to life’s challenges.
As believers, God is intricately, intimately involved in every detail of our lives.
Indeed no matter how tight or tough the corner you may find yourself, God is able to miraculously intervene, even at the last moment.
As long as you put your trust in God He will never allow you to be ashamed.

Psalm 34:5 says ‘‘They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.’

In every situation we keep our eyes upon Jesus. We must keep walking by faith, no matter how fierce the battle.
Perhaps you have been believing God to intervene over certain issues. Though it may seem to be taking long, it doesn’t mean that it is not going to happen.
God is about to show up and do things in your life that will let men know that this can only be the hand of God.
Just remain faithful and keep blessing God.
The enemy doesn’t have the final say over your life. People don’t control what happens to you. The Most High God alone has the final say over what happens. He’s in control of your destiny. And just when men think the case is closed, He will show up to vindicate you.
You can’t explain it, but suddenly things will happen that will authenticate your testimony as a child of God. Suddenly the tables will turn in your favor. God will arise for you, the enemies will be scattered and men will know indeed, that you truly serve the living God.

PRAYER: Lord, I thank You for Your divine intervention in my life. Please help me to always remain strong in faith, no matter how difficult things may sometimes look around me. I thank You Lord for giving me total victory in Jesus Name.

QUOTE
God’s promises in Christ in your life may appear delayed, but never forget that delays are not denials. WORDBITE 222.

ROMANS 8: 28  –“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose.”

DAILY READING; Romans 15, 1 Samuel 27- 28, Psalm 70.

Fanny Crosby, was one of the most prolific hymnist the world has ever known. She wrote more than 8,000 hymns and gospel songs, with more than 100 million copies printed.
Crosby was known as the “Queen of Gospel Song Writers” and as the “Mother of modern congregational singing in America”.

She was also known for her teaching and her rescue mission work.
By the end of the 19th century, she was a household name.
However, the amazing thing is that she accomplished all of these while being blind.

Frances Jane Crosby was born on March 24, 1820. At only six weeks old, she became blind due to a doctor’s wrong prescription.
Instead of seeing the blindness as a disadvantage, Fanny grew up seeing it as a blessing in disguise. She felt blindness freed her from the distractions of sight and helped her focus on Hymn wrirting.
Rather than become bitter, she continually blessed God for His many blessings upon her life.

Her positive attitude gave her an optimism that helped her conquer the challenges that arose from her condition.
By age fifteen, she began attending an Institution for the Blind in New York City. Fanny proved herself an excellent student and wrote poetry with great passion.
Fanny had a way of attaching the message of Jesus into daily life, which gave worshippers something to relate to. And besides writing hymns, she also contributed her ministry and preaching to several local missions and through her, many souls came to Christ. She actively served God until her death in 1915, at the age of ninety-four years. Uptill today, several of her hymns are popular and sung all over the world. Some of these hymns are ‘Safe in the Arms of Jesus’, ‘I Am Thine O Lord’, and ‘To God Be the Glory’
.

The story of Fanny Crosby shows that when God is with you, no matter how weak or disadvantaged you may be, you will surely succeed against all odds.

Romans 8: 28  says “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Those that love God and put their trust in Him shall never be ashamed.
As long as you love God, it doesnt matter what may come against you, it will all work together for your good. What was meant to be a disadvantage, God will turn it around to become an advantage.
Where you were meant to stumble, God will cause you to soar.

This is why in every trial we count it all joy. No matter what has happened in your life, no matter the disappointments, keep thanking God for everything. Keep praising Him in every situation.

Because you love God, things are bound to work together for your good.
Though you may not see how initially, but as you keep blessing God at all times, you will see every disappointment eventually  turn into a blessing for you.

Praise is verbal expression of our love for God and our faith in Him. Love never fails. As you keep expressing your love for God, He will work to exceed your expectations.
Indeed, God is fearful in praises. When you magnify Him above your problems, He will lift you to unimaginable heights.

God’s best is reserved for those who will love and trust Him at all times. Even when you can’t trace Him, keep trusting Him.

Even if you can’t fathom Him, keep following Him. He is too faithful to fail you. He has never failed and He won’t start with you.

Therefore in every situation keep blessing Him, keep judging Him faithful.

As you keep celebrating the finger of God in your affairs, He will soon reveal His strong and mighty arm to you.

There is nothing God cannot do. The setback or disappointment that seems to be working against you, God knows how to turn it all around to work for your good.

When you face adversity, you need to remind yourself that whatever is trying to defeat you could very well be what God will use to promote you.

Just as blindness couldn’t stop Fanny Crosby, negative situations will not stop you.
What the enemy meant for evil, God will turn it all around for you. He will turn your test into a testimony.
He will turn your mourning into dancing. He will put off your sackcloth and gird you with gladness and joy.

PRAYER: Lord, I know that through Your power  I am overcoming every opposition against me. I thank You Lord that even right now, You are turning negative situations around and turning every mourning into dancing for me in Jesus Name.  .

Quote;
When God places His hand upon a man in life, nothing can come against him, this is because the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Wordbite 222

Lamentations 3:21-23 [RSV] “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.’”

DAILY READING – • Romans 14; 1 Samuel 26; Psalm 69

Recently CBN news featured the story of Brittany Bakenhaster.
Brittany was a 3 years old child who loved the Lord and sang a lot in church. She also loved to recite her Scripture verses.
But one morning her mother suddenly heard a choking sound from her room and when she ran in to check, she found Brittany having a grand mal seizure. When her parents rushed her to the hospital, Brittany was diagnosed with epilepsy.
Incidentally her mother, Jamie, had also suffered the same condition earlier in life. However her condition had been controlled when she was placed on medications. And so Jamie thought Brittany’s case could also be controlled with medications, just like hers.
But as doctors started Brittany on the first of many medications, the seizures only got worse. Over the course of the next two years, Brittany needed 24 hour-a-day care due to constant seizures.
Though outwardly Brittany continued to get worse, her parents found comfort in God’s word and claimed His promises. Eventually the hospital gave up and they discharged the now five years old Brittany to go home and die.
When they got home, that night Jamie cried out to God all night long for a miracle.
When the morning came, the parents were amazed to hear Brittany who had not spoken for a year, suddenly begin calling ‘Jesus, Jesus.’
Brittany, told her parents she had seen Jesus, describing that He had eyes like fire and there were bright lights and angels surrounding Him.
When they took Brittany back to the hospital, the medical team were amazed. Brittany was totally healed! Even more surprising was the fact that doctors also found that Jamie’s own epilepsy had disappeared. Both daughter and mother have remained healed, whole and hearty ever since.

Brittany’s story is a testament of God’s awesome love and power. Though weeping may sometimes endure for a night, surely, joy comes in the morning.
As Jamie cried to God all night long, by the morning His mercy showed up.
Lamentations 3:21-23 says “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.’” [RSV]

Indeed great is God’s love and faithfulness. He will never give up on us as long as we don’t give up on Him. No matter how hopeless any situation, as we persist in faith, God is able to intervene and do the miraculous. He is our ever present help in time of need.
God has assured us that when we go through the fire of trials He will be right there with us.

In Isaiah 43:2-5 God says “When you go through deep waters …I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God…you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.”. [NLT]

God loves you with an everlasting love. He is in control of your destiny therefore it is never over in your life until He says so. Even if it seems too late to men, it is never too late for God. When the 3 Hebrew boys faced the fire, it looked as if it was over, yet God showed up right there in the midst of the fire and brought deliverance to them.

Therefore, regardless of the circumstances before you today, keep your faith strong in God’s ability to deliver you. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Because God loves you, He will give you a miraculous turnaround and supernatural change of story. God will take the very thing that looks like a total disaster in your life and turn it into a wonderful victory. He will turn your tears of sorrow into tears of joy. Therefore keep thanking Him and praising Him. Greater glory is coming your way. God’s grace is at work in your life and no matter what you may face today, surely it will all end in praise in Jesus Name.

PRAYER: Lord, please help me to always remain strong in faith, no matter how difficult things may sometimes look around me. I thank You because in every situation, Your Grace is at work in my life to give me total victory in Jesus Name.

QUOTE
God’s promises in Christ in your life may appear delayed, but never forget that delays are not denials. WORDBITE 222.

Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”

DAILY READING; Romans 13; 1 Samuel 25; Psalm 68

The Sinjar massacre, which took place in August 2014 in Iraq, marked the beginning of the genocide of Yazidis by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [ISIL, also known as ISIS].
The Yazidis are a Kurdish religious minority in Northern Iraq, who were regarded by ISIS as sub-humans who must be cleansed to turn Iraq into a pure Islamic state.

In this massacre in Sinjar city, thousands of Yazidi men were killed, while their women were taken hostage in the largest single kidnapping of women in this Century. The homes of these captured women were turned into prisons, where they were held hostage.
Some of these Yazidi women and their children were later sold as slaves by the ISIS fighters. The horrors they passed through made them to prefer death, as some ended up killing themselves.
However in the midst of this darkness and despair, one Yazidi man decided to risk his life to begin a rescue operation for these captured women.
Khalil al-Dakhi was a lawyer who initiated an underground rescue network that worked to help the Yazidi women escape. Through Khalil’s work, hundreds of Yazidi women were eventually rescued from captivity. However in the process of rescuing them some members of Khalil’s team were killed by ISIS.
‘Escaping ISIS’ is a documentary film that provides first-hand accounts of Isis’ brutal reign and the efforts to rescue the captives. Though the joy expressed by these escaped women were indescribable, however it had come at the great cost paid by Khalil’s rescue team, some of whom had lost their lives in the process.

Spiritually also, many of us were in a state of bondage and slavery, but Christ paid the ultimate price of His precious blood to set us free.

Ephesians 1:7 says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”

The word “redemption” means “the act or process of buying back.” The blood of Jesus is the cost of our redemption. Jesus paid the price for us to be free from the shackles of spiritual enslavement. Through the blood of Jesus we are truly set free from every form of suffering, shame and reproach.

Zechariah 9:11 says, ‘As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.’

By the Blood of Jesus we have been brought out of every imprisonment. Spiritually, every affliction is a type of imprisonment. Disease, infirmity, poverty, sin, etc., are all demonic bondages that hold people in spiritual slavery.
This was reflected in Luke 13:16 when Jesus said: ‘And ought not this woman…whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond?’

It is Jesus’ desire to deliver us from every bondage of the enemy. By His blood, ‘Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, that the blessing of Abraham might come upon us’ (Galatians 3:14).
While Jesus was being beaten and later hung on the cross, our freedom was being paid for and the curses on our lives were being averted. Therefore today we have a comprehensive redemption in Christ and as long as we serve The Lord, we are entitled to total liberty. However it takes knowledge of the truth to walk in freedom.

Lack of spiritual knowledge is what keeps men in captivity. If you remain a babe in knowledge, you run the risk of spiritual enslavement. Galatians 4:1-2 says that a child is no better than a slave because he remains under governors and tutors until he is able to grow up and take charge. There is, therefore, a need for us to grow in knowledge of God’s Word to establish our freedom.

God’s Word is able to cut away all shackles of slavery in our lives. Indeed it is only when we know the truth, that we are truly set free. [John 8:32].

PRAYER
Lord, I thank You for purchasing my freedom through Your precious Blood. Thank You Lord for the grace to diligently study Your Word so that I can walk every day in the full consciousness of the victory You won for me at Calvary in Jesus’ Name.

QUOTE
The study of the Word will keep shame and disgrace far from you. – WORDBITE 222

Psalm 25:14 ‘The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.’

DAILY READING; Romans 12; 1 Samuel 23-24; Psalm 67

Dr. George Washington Carver was a black American scientist whose accomplishments in the field of botany-chemistry are legendary. He developed over 300 innovative uses for the peanut, as well as breakthroughs in the use of sweet potatoes, pecans and soybeans. The products Dr. Carver invented include printers ink, shaving cream, plastics, adhesives and much more.
In his day peanuts were often used for little more than animal feed, but his efforts in chemistry and food science paved the way for the growth of the peanut industry to become worth billions of dollars today.
The secrets of his success came from his deep connection to God. He said he asked God to reveal to him the mysteries of the peanut and God showed him the many products that could be derived from it. He worked from a laboratory at Tuskegee institute, that he affectionately called “God’s Little Workshop,”
In 1921, when he was invited to address the U.S. House Committee in Washington DC, his testimony was so enthralling that though he was initially given only ten minutes to speak, the committee chairman gave him unlimited time. He spoke for an hour and forty five minutes expounding on the potential of the peanut. At the end of his address the chairman asked him how he had learned all these things, and Dr. Carver told him it was from the Bible.
The Chairman inquired, “Does the Bible talk about peanuts?”
“No, Sir” Dr. Carver replied, “But it talks about the God who made the peanut. I asked Him to show me what to do with the peanut, and He did.”

God alone knows the secrets of life and where hidden riches are found. Who could have known that over 300 innovative uses could come from peanuts, but God revealed them to Dr. Carver.
Indeed it is the secrets of God that make stars of men.
God knows where all the treasures of the earth are located. When we listen to His guidance He will show us where to strike oil in life. One idea from God can catapult you to amazing heights of destiny.
The ways of God are higher than our ways and when we operate by His instructions, we will attain distinctions in our endeavors. Truly when you give attention to God’s instructions, the world will pay attention to you.
It is access to Heavenly information that guarantees our earthly manifestations.
From the Bible God unfolds the heavenly insights and mysteries that guarantee our earthly victories.
This year, if we desire to see signs and wonders we must seek access to divine secrets through diligent study of God’s Word. The secrets things belong to God, but when they are revealed, they belong to us.
Proverbs 25:2 says, It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings to search it out.
Through diligent search of God’s Word we will receive the understanding that will cause us to be outstanding. We also need to walk in the fear of the Lord to gain access to His secrets.

Psalm 25:14 says ‘The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.’
Indeed to see the wonders of God in our lives we must become committed to a deeper walk with Him. Through the revelations from God’s Word, we will gain divine insights and uncommon wisdom to achieve signs and wonders this year.

PRAYER: Lord, I receive the grace to spiritually position myself to receive Your revelations that will lead to outstanding achievements in my life. Thank You Lord for giving me the wisdom that will turn me into a wonder this year in Jesus Name. .

QUOTE
When you obey God’s instruction you are delivered from destruction. WORDBITE 222