HORM Devotional

EXODUS 14::28 ‘And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.

DAILY READING 1 Corinthians 1:1-17; 1 Kings 12:32-13:34; Joel 1

The white-tailed deer has many enemies, these includes leopards, lions, dogs, bears, tigers, coyotes, wolves, and even humans. Therefore, to survive the deer has had to learn many different tactics. They have different styles of escape when being pursued by a predator, which includes high speed sprints, remaining hidden until the predator is very near, and then make an explosive escape; slinking away on their bellies or crisscrossing their own paths to create a confusing trail. The white-tailed deer can swim, run, hide, and fight to stay out of trouble. And one of its very remarkable survival strategy is to hide deep in the water.

When a deer is chased to water, it knows what to do. This is one place the deer knows it will win the battle. The deer runs into the water and swims to the deepest part. The deer will go deeper into the water to the point where its pursuers cannot follow them. And if a stubborn predator still follows, the deer will kick and thrash until the predator drowns or walks off wounded.

A deer can also hide by submerging itself in the water, leaving only their nose on the surface, using their noses like snorkels , to breath, just as a scuba diver would. A lion or tiger in pursuit would risk drowning by following them into such deep waters.

Likewise, there is a depth you can get to in the Word where the enemy cannot follow you to.

When pharaoh and his army tried to follow Israel into the depth of the sea they were drowned. Wisdom is to reside in this depth, where you become inaccessible to evil.

Dwelling in the depth of The Word guarantees freedom from every affliction. When you dwell in the deep, you dwell in the place where God is and every evil departs from you.

When you dwell in the depth of God’s Word, you are in a place where any Egyptian after you will drown because you have gone too deep for them to follow. The depth of The Word is the place of great faith and faith is the victory that overcomes the world.

When Faith comes alive in you, victory is assured. And the way to get faith is not by hearing the Word once or just occasionally. It is determined by hearing the Word repeatedly until something happens on the inside.

As fear of plagues and diseases grip the world, we can escape by going into the depth of God’s Word. Spend time in The Word until faith arises in your heart. When you are in the place of faith, you are in the place where all things are possible.

Mark 9:23 says ‘Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth’

Indeed it is unto every man according to his faith. What you believe and speak is what you will see. Therefore today, as you dwell in the depth of faith, begin to declare what you want to see, declare the covering of the blood of Jesus over your household. Declare your escape from every plague and disease. Declare that the rod of the wicked shall never rest upon your lot, as the righteous. Declare indeed that your case is different and it is continually well with you and your household. Certainly what you say is what you will see, and as you dwell in the depth of God’s Word, through faith your escape from every enemy is guaranteed.

PRAYER: Lord, please help me to go into your Word until I can get to the depth, where covered by Your glory, I become invisible to every force of darkness in Jesus Name.

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Your heart needs to be filled with The Word of God to the point of overflow. – WORDBITE 222.

Mathew 28:18-19  “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”

DAILY READING    Mark 16; 1 Kings 12:1-31; Hosea 14

Billy Graham is said to have shared the gospel with more people than anyone else in history. As of 2008, Billy Graham’s estimated lifetime audience, including radio and television broadcasts, topped 2.2 billion. In other words approximately 2.2 billion people have heard the gospel from Billy Graham’s mouth.
However, it is interesting to note the chain of events that  culminated in this great harvest of souls under Billy Graham’s ministry. The chain of events started a century even before Billy Graham was born.
In the mid-1800, a Sunday school teacher, Edward Kimball decided to personally visit and share the Gospel with the boys in his Sunday school class. One young man, in particular, who didn’t seem to understand the gospel was a concern to Kimball. So one Saturday he went to the shoe store where he was stocking shelves and spoke to him about the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  That young man was Dwight L. Moody, that day he received Jesus Christ as his Savior. In his lifetime, Moody touched two continents for God, with thousands professing Christ through his ministry.

Under Moody ministry, one man’s heart was touched for God, Wilbur Chapman, who later became an evangelist and preached to thousands. In one of his meetings a professional baseball player named Billy Sunday got converted. Deeply touched by the Gospel Billy Sunday quit professional baseball and became part of Chapman’s evangelistic team. Later on Billy Sunday began his own evangelistic crusades, and under his ministry, another young man was converted whose name was Mordecai Ham.  Mordecai who would also become a preacher, one day went to Charlotte, North Carolina to preach, a lanky young man, who had heard some people planned to go and interrupt the meetings, out of curiosity, decided to also go to see what would happen. This young man was Billy Graham, that night Billy was intrigued by what he heard. Returning another night, he responded to the invitation and was converted.

The truth is that you never know what impact that one person you are preaching to now can make eventually in the chain of God’s plan. Now imagine if the Sunday School teacher, Edward Kimball had decided not to personally visit and share the Gospel with Dwight Moody.
Let’s be obedient to preach to anyone and everyone God leads us. He alone knows the end from the beginning. Indeed The Lord of the harvest has the full plan for the expansion of His kingdom.

It was The Spirit that brought Philip to the Ethiopian eunuch who was reading the Scriptures and needed someone to help him understand. (Acts 8:26-35). The Spirit gave Philip the right words to say, to bring the eunuch to salvation. The vibrant church growth witnessed in Ethiopia in the early centuries after Christ, is linked to this Ethiopian Eunuch’s conversion. .

God has a well mapped out strategy for the building of His Kingdom, each time we obey The Holy Spirit and share the Gospel we are connecting those chains, we may not immediately  see the larger picture, but we trust that God is at work, connecting the dots together,. And each time we are disobedient to preach we may be breaking the chain and frustrating God’s grand agenda. Think about it. Everyone has an important part to play in the overall plan. Let’s not be the weak link, Let us not break the chain.

Let us be sensitive and obedient to move and obey each time The Holy Spirit is prompting us to preach to someone. We may never know the vital role such persons may eventually play in God’s overall plan. But as we obey, we can be sure God is bringing His grand plan to pass.

PRAYER: Lord, Please help me to be obedient to the promptings of The Spirit to preach The Gospel to those you are leading me to. May I never be ashamed of your Word, May I preach The Gospel always in season and out of season in Jesus Name.

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Whenever God places a demand on you, He is only positioning you to receive more from Him. WORDBITE 222

Galatians 6:10 ‘As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith’.

DAILY READING:   •           Mark 10:32-52; 2 Samuel 24; Hosea 4:1-11a

Stormie Omartie is the author of several bestselling books. In 2002, her book ‘The Power of a Praying Wife’ broke a 21-year industry record by claiming the number one spot on the Christian Booksellers bestsellers list for 27 consecutive months. It stayed on the bestseller’s list for over 14 years. She is also a successful Gospel musician and prayer warrior.

However, Stormie was someone who was saved by the power of love. She grew up in a  home full of poverty and abuses. Her mother had a mental illness and she severely abused Stormie physically and emotionally, often locking her up in a closet for hours at a time and sometimes even forgetting that she was there. Because of this treatment, Stormie grew up with deep feelings of rejection, fear, depression, loneliness, and hopelessness. She tried to commit suicide in junior high school. In a bid to overcome depression, she became active in school activities and when she graduated from the university she began to work in Hollywood on several TV variety shows. Yet her life continued to be filled with emptiness. She turned to drugs and entered several relationships, yet that didn’t help. As her first marriage failed, again she contemplated suicide. But this time she had a friend named Terry, who shared Jesus with her. Because of the love and concern Terry showed to her, Stormie listened to the message of salvation and accepted Jesus as her personal Savior.  Stormie started attending Church and felt the love of God immediately. Soon Stormie saw her life change for the better as she grew to become a frontline Christian leader, mightily used by God to touch many lives across the world.

Indeed simply showing people love can make all the difference in their lives. All around us are hurting people who need our love and encouragement. Many people are dealing with unresolved issues, some have major problems of anger, resentment and pain they are trying to cope with or overcome. The last thing they need is for us to respond negatively over their shortcomings. When God puts love and compassion in our heart toward someone, He’s offering us an opportunity to make a difference in that person’s life.

Galatians 6:10 says “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men…

We do good to men when we shine the love of Christ on them. We should learn to show love to people in our everyday actions. It may be your listening ear. It may be your arms to encourage. It may be your smile to uplift. Love is seen through our actions.  And when we show love, we are showing God to the world, because God is love.

People will know we are true Christians by our fruits, not by the scriptures we can quote or the many Christian bumper stickers on our cars. People will know that we’re true believers when we bless them with our words and our actions.

Today, somebody needs the overflow of God’s love from your heart.  When you take your mind off your own needs and, instead, seek to be a blessing to others, God will indeed do for you exceedingly, abundantly above all you could ever ask, think or imagine.

PRAYER: Lord, please help me to love You totally and to also share Your love with all that come my way. Please also grant me the grace to give expression to Your love in my heart through the continual flow of Your praise from my lips in Jesus Name.

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Praise always guarantees you power for a raise, learning to praise God in season and out of season is key to fulfilling destiny. – WORDBITE 222.

I John 4:18 ‘There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear’’.

DAILY READING •   Mark 10:1-31; 2 Samuel 23; Hosea 3

During the days of the Nazi rule in Germany, there lived a young shoemaker named Janez Rus. He publicly supported the Nazi regime in hopes of gaining recognition. But after the Nazi regime fell, those who had supported them came under public criticism. Fearing punishment for his pro-Nazi activities, in June, 1945, Janez Rus fled to his sister’s farm in Slovenia and hid in the barn.

He had hoped to hide there just for a brief period, but gripped by fear, the time of his hiding extended into weeks and months and then years. Even long after the war was over, Rus continued his self-imposed captivity and remained hidden. Incredibly, he ended up hiding in that barn for thirty-two years, without so much as a visit to town or interaction with guests.

He couldn’t even attend  his mother’s funeral. Throughout those years of hiding, he never left the house,  he went nowhere, visited no one, and lived a sad life of regret. He  allowed fear to keep him captive for thirty-two years until one day, someone discovered him and reported to the authorities and his story was captured by the media.  After he was brought out of hiding, none of the punishment he had feared came upon him, because the world had moved on. In fact it turned out he had only kept himself in a self-imposed prison for 32 years simply by imagining fears that were not real. He would later tell reporters that he was happy to have been discovered and would have continued to be in hiding had he not been fished out.

Indeed fear can be paralyzing. Regrets over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow are twin thieves that rob men of their destinies. The Bible says that fear has torment and people often become victims of what they fear.

Job 3:25  says “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.”

Job became victim of satan’s attack because of fear.

The truth is that whatever you meditate upon is going to become your reality. If your  mind dwells on fear, then it will take root and eventually become your reality. Fear is not a psychological state; it is a spirit.

2Tim 1:7 says -“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”

As believers in Jesus we have victory over fear. God has given us the spirit of love  to conquer the spirit of fear. Ultimately, it’s God’s perfect love that drives fear out of our lives.

I John 4:18 says ‘There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear’’.

When you have the Almighty God with you, there will be no room for fear!

When you embrace the Truth of God’s love for you, every grip of fear will be broken. Give no room to fear in your life. Fear tolerated is faith contaminated. Rather feed your faith and starve your fear. Always remember, fear is not from God.

Fear is the thief of opportunity! Many people are missing out on God’s abundant joy, peace and victory because of the spirit of fear. Therefore if you are facing fear today, search out God’s amazing love for you through His Word.  Let the truth of His love sink into your heart and give you confidence. Indeed you can cast out fear by focusing your mind on the glorious promises of God. Faith from The Word is answer to fear. God’s Word is truth that sets you free!

Also if you’re feeling fearful or anxious today, tune into praise! Praise begins to shift your perspective and sets your heart on God, not your circumstances. Fear and anxiety cannot thrive in an environment of praise.

Today, receive God’s love and let it empower you to soar to greater heights of glory. Indeed find safety, peace, and joy in Christ’s love and never ever let fear hold you back!

PRAYER: Lord, I thank You for Your Spirit of love at work in my life. By Your grace I have overcome every form of fear.  Thank You Lord for empowering me to keep soaring from glory to glory in Jesus Name.

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

Galatians 3:13-14 ‘Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ;’

DAILY READING – – Mark 9:2-50; 2 Samuel 22; Hosea 2:2-23

The Auschwitz death camp was a place of evil, where Hitler killed many people. Yet in that dark place also, some amazing acts of heroism and self-sacrifice took place. One of these was the sacrifice made by a priest named Maximilian Kobe. Ordained a Franciscan friar, Maximilian earned a PhD in philosophy and travelled widely building monasteries. When the Nazis invaded his native Poland, Maximilian began to criticize the Nazis through his books and essays. As a result in February of 1941, he was arrested by the Gestapo and his monastery was shut down. Within a couple of days, he was transferred to the infamous Auschwitz death camp, as prisoner number 16670.
While in the camp, in July 1941, Maximilian came to his ultimate test of faith. Ten prisoners had succeeded in escaping. In order to deter other outbreaks, the Nazi guards picked ten other innocent prisoners to be starved to death in an underground bunker. One of the men chosen cried out that he had a wife and children. On hearing this Maximilian, offered to take the place of this man among the condemned. So, along with the nine others, Maximilian was thrown into the bunker and left to die a slow, agonizing death. While in the Bunker Maximilian led the condemned men in prayers. Without food or water, after some days, these men eventually began to die off. Maximilian was the last to die, remaining alive even after two weeks, until the Nazis gave him a lethal injection that killed him. The man whose place Maximilian took in death would later live on to be 93 years old. And for the rest of his life, he never forgot what Maximilian did for him. This man dedicated much of his life in telling the world about Maximilian’s act of kindness and sacrifice.
Galatians 3:13-14 says ‘Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ;’
The greatest event in the world’s history was the drama at Calvary where Jesus took our place in death. Jesus suffered a horrible death so that all of mankind could be reconciled to the Father. We have all sinned and deserved judgment. Yet, God, the Father, sent His only Son to satisfy the demands of justice and take the punishment we deserved. His death on the cross is God’s statement of love to the world. On the cross, Christ became our replacement. He became a curse for us so that the blessings of grace might come upon us (Gal 3:13).
In His body, Jesus took on the sin of the world and paid the price of all humanity.. The spiral of sin that began in Genesis 3 was stopped by the blood Jesus shed on the cross. And with His victory at the cross, Christ commanded us to go into all the world and tell everyone the good news of redemption. We now have the responsibility to tell the world about what The Lord has done for us.
In Luke 8:39. Jesus told the man He had healed, “‘Return home and tell how much God has done for you.’ and so the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him”. Also the woman at the well immediately after her encounter with Jesus began to tell everyone in the city about Him. And so should we. We should go about telling everyone about what our savior has done for us.
Indeed Jesus has done great and mighty things for us. Therefore we should not keep quiet, rather we should continually tell the world of His goodness, His kindness and faithfulness in taking our place in death and giving us the gift of eternal life. Indeed by His Blood shed at Calvary, we have been ushered into a new life and new season of unending glory.

PRAYER; Lord I thank You for the price You paid at the cross for my deliverance and salvation. Please grant me the grace to continually share the good news of redemption with everyone that comes my way in Jesus Name.

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For you to enjoy victory in the Kingdom of God, you need to develop a Kingdom mindset, that thinks in line with the Word of God. – WORDBITE 222

1 Corinthians 2:9 ‘But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.’

DAILY READING –• Mark 8:22-9:1; 2 Samuel 20-21; Hosea 1:1-2:1

At the 2016 National Day of Prayer for Defence event in Canberra, Australia, Psalm 91 was read and referred to as the soldier’s psalm. Indeed Psalm 91 has often been celebrated by soldiers all over the world as their favorite prayer of divine protection. Especially during World War I, many soldiers recited this psalm daily. Perhaps one of the incidents that took place during this war was what helped strengthen the belief in Psalm 91.

During World War I, the 91st Infantry Brigade of the U.S. Expeditionary Army was preparing to enter combat in Europe. Most of the men were “green’’ soldiers who had never seen combat. It was obvious that faced with real battle many of these soldiers would most likely not survive. Their commander, a devout Christian who believed in the power of prayer then called an assembly of his men. He gave each a little card on which was printed the 91st Psalm. He commanded each of the soldiers to recite the psalm daily and many of these soldiers voluntarily agreed to do so.

As a result of the soldiers’ daily recitation of this psalm, the 91st Brigade experienced amazing divine protection. They were engaged in three of the bloodiest battles of World War I, which took place at Chateau Thierry, Belle Wood, and the Argonne. However, while other American units similarly engaged had up to 90% casualties, amazingly the 91st brigade did not suffer a single combat related casualty! These soldiers believed they had been divinely protected because of their daily recitation of Psalm 91.

Apart from this, during the war, other similar stories of soldiers experiencing divine protection through reciting Psalm 91 also emerged. These stories made the Psalm to become a real fascination in military circles. Today, Christian soldiers going into operations are often given bandanas to wear on which is printed Psalm 91. The Psalm has also often been put onto military dog tags.

However, while the praying of Psalm 91 has indeed kept many people safe during all kinds of dangers and wars, it is not a lucky charm that automatically guarantees protection.

Psalm 91 is God’s covenant for divine protection and like every other covenant, it has conditions attached to it.

Psalm 91:14-15 says ‘Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.’

From the above verse, we discover that setting our love upon God is what qualifies us for His divine deliverance. When we truly love God sincerely from our heart, He commits Himself to divinely protecting us. When we set our love upon Him, then we enjoy the wonder of His divine protection. And we do not just love God by words alone, we express our love to Him through our obedience to His commands.

John 14;21 says ‘He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.’

Through obedience we prove our love for God. God does not validate a man’s love until he validates his action. Let us therefore not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

We are living in a time in the world when we truly need divine help. With the spread of danger and diseases we certainly need the promises of Psalm 91 at work in our lives. Psalm 91 covers every danger—sickness, disease, assault, crime and any other threat to our safety and well-being. Indeed when we dwell in the secret place of the most high and abide under the shadow of the Almighty, God becomes our refuge, and our fortress. He becomes our deliverance from plagues of diseases, the terrors of the night and the arrows that fly by day. But these benefits of divine protection are rewards that emanate from our love relationship with our Heavenly father. Indeed God’s benefits are reserved for those who truly love Him.

1 Corinthians 2:9 says ‘But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.’

Let us therefore commit ourselves to loving God like never before. However, the depth of our love for Him is fueled by the depth of our insight into His Word. You cannot love someone you do not know. The more we know God through His Word the more we will love Him. And the more we love Him the more His divine benefits are released to us.

PRAYER: Father please grant me renewed appetite for Your Word, so that through study of Your Word I can know You more and love You more. Thank You Lord for the grace to always be obedient to Your every command in Jesus Name.

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Faith is more than just believing, it is acting upon The Word that you believe. 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         •       Mark 8:1-21; 2 Samuel 19; Daniel 12

When you truly love God, and are committed to serving Him, no matter what comes your way in life, everything will ultimately work together for your good.

Oswald Jeffrey Smith was a great man of God, who made a profound  impact on Christendom in the last century.  However this great man of God would have been unheard of had he not known the power of prayer.

In 1920, as a young man, Oswald Smith, wanted to go to the mission field and serve as a missionary.  This dream greatly dominated his heart. Over and over again, he prayed, “Lord, I want to go as a missionary for you. Open a door of service for me.”

One day he was finally able to stand before an examining board for selecting missionaries.  Standing before the board he felt his prayers would be answered. But when the examination was over, the board had turned Oswald Smith down.  He had failed the test. However he refused to accept the verdict of the missionary  examining board and  rather chose to seek God’s face. As Oswald Smith prayed earnestly, he sensed God wanted him to take another course. This new vision drove Oswald Smith. And he was eventually able to pastor The People’s Church in Toronto, Canada, which sent out more missionaries than any other church at that time. Through prayers, God transformed his detour into a main thoroughfare of service.

Oswald when he received the news of not being accepted to be a missionary, could have decided to sit and bemoan his fate. Rather he sought God for a way out.  And by  following divine counsel, was able to fulfill his destiny.

Often times, things happen in life, which you may not initially understand it, but if you’ll keep the right attitude, you’ll find that those things end up pushing you further into your destiny. Anyone who is getting ahead in life will be confronted by setbacks at one time or the other. As long as you are getting up and trying to do something with your life you will sometimes face disappointing situations. But the difference between the winners and losers is the way they react to such situations.

We can always see a way out when we come to God in prayers. Prayer is essential for us to walk in God’s divine will and plan. The bible says that with every temptation God makes a way of escape. Often hidden in that seeming disappointment is a seed of equivalent benefit. Through prayers you can find it. And when you find it there shall be a reward and your expectations shall not be cut off. As you apply the direction God gives you in the prayer closet, you will find that what the enemy meant for evil in your life, God will turn around for your greater good.

Sometimes it may seem as if you are in a night season of life and everything looks dark and hopeless, but there will be always a way out when you go on your knees and seek God’s face. When you persevere in prayers and keep seeking God’s counsel, that situation will eventually be turned around for you. When you don’t know what to do, do what you know, get on your knees. Keep your gaze on Jesus, keep looking unto Him, keep seeking His counsel and His guidance. Soon you will receive an answer and locate the way out of that situation. Through prayers, God will work it all out for your good. No matter what things may look like, always remember God is still on the throne. He is in control. He  alone has the final say over your life. Weeping may have endured for the night but your joy is coming. And as you continue to trust in God, He will surely turn it all around in your favor.

PRAYER:  Lord, please strengthen me to persevere in prayers and help me to always keep my focus on You. May I never allow setbacks to weigh me down, but rather by Your grace I shall remain fervent in prayers. Surely everything will work out for my good in Jesus Name.

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As a child of God you have to recognize that you are in the middle of an ongoing battle. WORDBITE 222.

1 Peter 4:8 [NLT] ‘Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.’

DAILY READING Mark 7:14-37; Samuel 18; Daniel 11:21-45

In his book, ‘You Can Win with Love’ Dale Galloway talked about John D. Rockefeller’s ability to cover offenses with love.
John D. Rockefeller though the richest man in America in his time, was also a devotedly religious man and one of America’s greatest philanthropists. Regarding his Christian faith, Rockefeller would read the Bible daily, attend prayer meetings twice a week and even led his own Bible study with his wife. He also tried to inculcate his biblical beliefs into the practice of his business.
One day one of his executives made a mistake that cost the company two million dollars. Word of the man’s enormous error quickly spread and finally one of the other executives decided to go and talk with John D. Rockefeller about it. As he approached the oil monarch’s desk, Rockefeller looked up from the piece of paper he was writing and said. “I guess you have heard about the two million dollar mistake our friend made, well I have been sitting here listing all of his good qualities and I’ve discovered that in the past he has earned for us many times the amount he lost today. His good points far outweigh this one human error. So I think we ought to forgive him.”

In Luke 17:3 Jesus says “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.”’
We must learn to look at the fault of others through the eyes of love.
Indeed in the journey of life, hurtful things may happen to us. People will disappoint us and sometimes do annoying things, but if we allow offences to lodge in our hearts, it can keep us from God’s best. Rather we insulate ourselves from the damage of offenses by releasing God’s love.
1 Peter 4:8 [NLT] says ‘Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.’

There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.
Every time we decide to forgive people, it is like covering that offense with a beautiful layer of love. It’s not easy to get to that place where you easily forgive people, but it is such a powerful place to be, because it frees you. Without forgiveness a man’s life will be governed by an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation. But when you release love in the place of hurt, you are actually setting yourself free from that vicious cycle. It has been said that to forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you. indeed forgiveness is a gift you give yourself because it liberates you.

Forgiving others is proof that we are obeying God’s command to love. When we can love people despite their faults or wrong doings, it is evident that The Holy Spirit dwells in us. Because He is the one that sheds abroad the love of God in our hearts. And God Himself has shown us the example of how to love; Despite the many times we have sinned against Him, He has freely given us His grace, forgiving and covering all our failures and all our mistakes. No matter how many times we fail and mess up, God never gives up on us. He is ever patient and His love will never run out. And as we have freely received His love, so also let us freely release to others.
1 John 4:11-12 says ‘Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us.’

PRAYER: Lord, please help me to manifest Your love wherever I go. No matter the offences or irritations that may come my way, grant me the grace to continually release Your love rather than being offended in Jesus Name.

QUOTE :

Your attitude always determines your altitude in life. -WORDBITE 222

1John 3:17-18 ‘But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.’

DAILY READING; Mark 7:1-13; 2 Samuel 17; Daniel 11:1-19

‘Schindler’s List’ is a 1993 American historical drama film based on the true life story of Oskar Schindler.Recently in 2018, the movie ‘Schindler’s List’ was remade and released by Universal Pictures, and already it has won several Academy Awards and Oscars. Oskar Schindler was an ethnic German and a Christian, who protected over a thousand Jews during the holocaust, by employing them in his factories during World War II.  As Adolf Hitler began killing Jews all over Europe, Schindler bought a Jewish-owned enamelware factory in 1939, and began to employ Jewish workers as a way of saving them from the holocaust. Schindler went to great lengths to ensure his workers were protected. He added an armaments manufacturing division to his factory so that he could claim his Jewish workers were essential to the war effort.

He even let his workers stay safe within the walls of his factory to avoid being arrested. Later, Schindler convinced the Nazis to convert his factory into a branch of Plaszow concentration camp, and brought in Jews from other camps as well, protecting them from the brutality of the holocaust at great personal risk. During this time, he was arrested three times by the Nazis for his clandestine activities—but they could not find enough evidence against him. He only shut down operations of his factory the day  Hitler was defeated and the local concentration camps were liberated. Schindler’s act of kindness saved the lives of over a thousand Jews.  Yet, interestingly, Oskar Schindler was not the only rich Christian in Germany at the time of the holocaust. There were many others too, but they decided to look the other way while many Jews perished. Today no one remembers their names, but the name of Oskar Schindler and his acts of kindness continues to resonate throughout the world. Indeed Schindler continues to be honored for choosing to have risked his life to save others.

Jesus asked us to lay down our lives for others. In Luke 10:25-37, Jesus told the story of the good Samaritan who took care of a man wounded by thieves, while  the priest, and the Levite saw the man in need but took to the other side of the road.

Often times like the priest and Levite, we like to take the other side of the road, we don’t just want to get involved with people’s issues. We would rather observe from the distance. But in the scriptures, Jesus continually told us to show love one to another. The world is full of hurting people, even in the church. They need someone to reach out in love. Love is practical, it is what we do.

James 2:15-16, says ‘If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?’

We need to reach out to others in love, especially those who are of the household of faith. Let us not love in words, but in deeds.  Let us be physical manifestations of Jesus to our world.  Let us indeed love our neighbors as ourselves.

1 John 3:17-18, says: ‘But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.’

Giving is the biblical way of proving the sincerity of our love. Our claim to love God or humanity will not be sincere if we are not givers. Meeting the need of humanity is what gives dignity to destiny. And the truth is that you can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.

And one of the ways we can be a blessing to people is by sowing towards the preaching of the Gospel. Many people in the world today are experiencing spiritual holocaust, many are suffering in the regions of death and darkness, under one demonic bondage or the other, simply because they lack the light of the Gospel. When we give towards sending the Gospel all over the world, then in practical terms, we are helping to set the captives free.  And every seed you sow enlarges the coast of God’s blessings in your life. Indeed, you can’t give yourself wholly and not experience God fully.

PRAYER: Lord, please enable me to love people as You love them. Help me to shine Your love wherever I go. I receive the grace today to love practically by giving towards the deliverance and salvation of men in Jesus Name.

QUOTE

There is something that God has placed within you that the world is eagerly awaiting to see.

Jeremiah 29:11 ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.’

DAILY READING – Mark 6:30-56; 2 Samuel 16; Daniel 10:1-21

On April 17, 2018, Flight 1380, of Southwest Airline miraculously escaped what would have been a devastating plane crash. The pilot of the plane Tammie Jo, has been hailed in the media for having nerves of steel. But Tammie has openly given God the credit for the miracle.

On that day, as she normally does before each flight, she had done her devotion; read her Bible and prayed  for her crew and passengers and committed the journey into God’s hand.

After takeoff, as the plane headed from La Guardia to Dallas, everything had seemed fine. But as the aircraft reached 32,500 feet, without warning, a piece of a turbine fan blade in the left engine broke off causing an explosion and catastrophic engine damage. The shrapnel from the explosion ripped a panel open underneath the wing, and severed hydraulic lines around the engine. The aircraft then began to shudder violently and the cockpit was filled with smoke and a deafening roar. As this went on, Tammie Jo had just about 60 seconds to make some important decisions before they became oxygen deprived. Already the aircraft had rolled over and began initiating a dive toward the ground. In the cabin passengers screamed, cried, prayed and began to text last messages to loved ones. However, in the midst of this chaos, when it seemed all hope was lost, Tammie Jo made a cabin announcement, boldly declaring “We are not going down. We are going to Philadelphia”.  Passengers would later share how that one simple message made all the difference because it gave them hope.  As they began to prepare for landing Tammie Jo knew she had one shot at landing the crippled aircraft. And God helped her to make that right landing. When they finally touched down at Philadelphia, the cockpit voice recorder captured her crying out, “Thank you Lord. Thank you, thank You, Lord.”

Of course Tammy knew it had only been by the help of God that she was able to escape what would have been a devastating crash. She would later say her habit of spending daily time with God gave her a stillness and peace beyond reason.

Indeed the more we come daily to God, the more we know Him intimately and this is what gives us boldness and confidence in the times of battle. Surely those that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits.

The battles of life have no time table, they often come suddenly. This is why it is important to maintain a daily fervent connection to The Spirit of God. When we seek God daily we are making deposits in our spiritual bank account that we can withdraw from in the day of trouble. The difference between winners and losers in life’s battles is the level of daily spiritual preparedness. The truth is that we prepare for war in the time of peace.

And one of the ways we prepare is by giving God thanks always in everything. Really we have to give God credit for our lives.  If it had not been for the Lord on our side, where would we be?  God is good and very faithful. This is why we appreciate and praise Him. Indeed it is because of The Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed. This is why we praise Him at all times and in all things. God is always good. In every situation God is always working behind the scenes, to manifest His goodness towards us.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says  “In everything give thanks.” Notice it doesn’t say to give thanks “for” everything, rather it says “in” everything. In other words, we should have the attitude that no matter what is happening, we choose to be grateful. We are to continuously thank God, for His many blessings and miracles in our lives.  Even in the midst of challenges, when it seems we may not trace Him, yet we trust Him, because we know that no matter what, God is working everything together for our good,

In Jeremiah 29:11 God says ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.’

Indeed God has an expected end in mind for us. That end is glory. In every situation God is always working to manifest His glory in our lives. It is very clear from the Scriptures that God will not keep us from battles, but He has guaranteed that as long as we are in Him we will always have the victory. As long as we remain constantly daily connected to The Holy Spirit through The Word, fervent prayers and passionate worship, God will always cause us to triumph. Indeed in every trial  and in every battle we are more than conquerors, through Christ that loves us.

PRAYER: Lord, I am truly grateful for Your faithfulness in my life. You are the reason why I am alive today. Please help me to always praise You in every situation, because indeed You are good and Your mercies endure forever in Jesus Name. .

QUOTE

Praise always guarantees you power for a raise, learning to praise God in season and out of season is key to fulfilling destiny. – WORDBITE 222.