HORM Devotional

2 Corinthians 4:17  ‘For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;’

DAILY READING     Luke 24:13-53; Genesis 44; Psalm 35

The destructive force of typhoons and hurricanes is a serious matter. In the onslaught of such strong winds, human structures are torn to shreds and regions are flooded in the blink of an eye. Trees generally lose their branches, break or are uprooted by the strength of such winds. However, it is interesting to note that, despite such destructions, the palm tree often remains unaffected and soon bounces back once the storm is over. What would completely shred an oak tree sometimes seem to barely ruffle a palm tree.  But how does the palm tree survive  such violent storms?

Lack of conventional structure is what gives the palm its flexibility. Unlike traditional trees, palm trees are not made of wood. While the palm tree is technically a tree, they are actually more closely related to grass, corn and rice, than they are to other trees. Some of its cells are malleable, and others can easily flex and then return to their original position. This arrangement has helped the palm tree flourish in windy tropical areas. After hurricane Katrina , which was one of the worst hurricanes that ever devastated the U.S, many palm trees survived unaffected. While bigger trees snapped like toothpicks in the hurricane wind , the palm trees remained unbroken. This is because of their genetic make-up of strong roots and flexibility. The palm tree can bend, even flatten almost horizontal to the ground, yet not break. The main stems of some palm species can bend as much as 40 to 50 degrees but once the storm is over, it just pops back up to its original position.

The same can be true of us as believers when we trust in God. When David said in Psalm 92 that the righteous will flourish like the Palm Tree, it means that despite the storms of life, they will survive, rise again, and keep prospering. In fact, the storms only come to make them stronger. They may bend, but they are getting right back up again! The dictionary describes  resilience as  the power or ability to return to the original form, position, etc., after being bent, compressed, or stretched.

God knew that we would experience times of being stretched and being compressed. But despite the tough times, we will come back—even stronger than we were before. Oftentimes, God uses the challenges and trials that come our way to prepare us for the unveiling of His glory in our lives.

2 Corinthians 4:17 says  ‘For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;’

Sometimes, the reason for the storm, is because of the glory about to be revealed in you. When an airplane is about to rise higher, it often experiences turbulence. Many times, God uses those turbulent experiences to refine us and take us higher. Through great storms, the palm tree not only survives but thrives stronger.

Psalm 92:12 says  ‘The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.’

And like the palm tree, you will keep flourishing despite oppositions. Therefore see challenges as opportunities to grow. Trust that God is too faithful to allow you to be tempted more than you are able to handle. To survive the storm, keep your heart strong through diligent study of God’s Word. As The Word dominates your heart, your faith will be strong, and you will be like the house built on the rock. And though the rain, wind and storm, come, you will remain standing and never fall. Indeed you are indefatigable. You are built to last. The stronger one lives in you, and because He lives, you shall live also.

PRAYER: Lord, please help me to stand strong despite the fierce winds of oppositions. I thank You for the grace to diligently study Your Word, so that through faith in You, I will always rise stronger and better through every storm in Jesus Name.

QUOTE:

True success is not verifiable in the fact that a man has never fallen before but in the fact that he did not only fall but also got up.

Revelation  12:11 ‘And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.’

DAILY READING      Luke 24:13-53; Genesis 44; Psalm 35

Medicine defines the blood as a vehicle for transporting nutrients, cellular wastes, hormones, electrolytes and other substances throughout the body. The blood is a stream for feeding and cleansing each cell in the body. It also acts as a kind of post office, carrying special biochemical messengers to special destinations in the body.

Blood is also the body’s immunological watchman, circulating white blood cells, enzymes and other immunity factors, which are on 24-hour-a-day ‘search-and-destroy’ missions against invaders. Human blood never rests. It never stops cleansing and feeding each cell in the body from the moment a person is born until he dies. Each cell is bathed in this cleansing stream throughout its entire life span, and owes its moment-to-moment existence to this never ending supply stream. No cell in the Body can pull back from this nourishing stream and hope to survive. Every individual cell in the human body is dependent upon the bloodstream for its nourishment and life.

This is also true in the Body of Christ. God has designed His Body so that all of us are forever dependent upon His Blood for our spiritual life. We as individual believers are all cells in the Body of Christ, we need to be washed and fed by the Blood moment-to-moment just like the cells are in the human body.

Lev 17:11 says that the life is in the blood. When the blood is drained from a body there is no more life left in it. Likewise if spiritually we are drained or disconnected from the Blood of Jesus, there will be no more spiritual life in us. The Blood of Christ also gives us the power to be overcomers in life.

Revelation  12:11 says ‘And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.’

As believers, we have guaranteed victory in life through the blood of Jesus. Indeed  through Christ we can do all things, but without Him we can do nothing. Our connection to the life of Christ is what gives us spiritual relevance, and we connect to His life through His Word.  The more we feed on God’s Word the more His life is imparted into us to do exploits. The more we receive the Word, the more we ae given the power to become the sons of God.  Just as the blood must be warm for a person to stay alive, there is an impartation of fire from The Word that keeps us spiritually alive. The Bible says where no wood is, there the fire goeth out. If you are disconnected from The Word, the spiritual fire in you would gradually go out. Therefore to stay spiritually alive we must remain connected to the Word. Indeed God’s Word, His life and His blood are our source of spiritual well being. If you lack The Word, you will lack His life, and you will lack His blood. But when we are connected to His life via His Word, we have unlimited access to His Blood. And though His Blood we are empowered to become overcomers and more than conquerors in every situation of life.

PRAYER: Lord, I thank You for the power and the many benefits available to me through the Blood of Jesus. Indeed by the power in the blood I have the victory in every area of my life in Jesus Name. .

QUOTE

God is preparing you for the season He prepared for your breakthrough WORDBITE 222.

2 Corinthians 2:14 ‘:Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.’

DAILY READING – Luke 24:1-12; Genesis 43; Psalm 34

It is interesting to note that one of the greatest revivals in America known as the ‘third great awakening,’ began through a noon time prayer watch started by a lay businessman. Jeremiah Calvin Lanphier was a member, of the North Reformed Dutch Church who was hired by the church to be a lay missionary to the city of New York. Among the various outreach ministries that Lanphier started was a noon-time prayer meeting. God used that simple prayer meeting to start a revival that would spread across the United States, and eventually to many countries around the world.

At the first prayer meeting on September 23, 1857, only six people showed up.  This could have discouraged Lanphier, but he persisted. The next week the attendance grew to twenty, and by the third week forty people were meeting for prayer. Eventually prayer meetings were held in other locations across the city. By March of 1858, the 3,000-seat Barton’s Theatre was crowded with people praying. Similar prayer meetings were held in churches, printer’s shops, fire stations, and even police stations. Incidentally, on September 25, just two days after Lanphier began his prayer meetings, the Bank of Pennsylvania collapsed, and a few weeks later on October 10 the New York stock market crashed. The financial shockwave sent many businessmen to their knees, not only in New York but in cities all across the nation. God drew these people to Himself as they  sought consolation at the noon-time prayer meetings. All across the nation, the results of the prayer meeting revivals were overwhelming. City crime dropped dramatically. A report from Atlanta, Georgia, said the prayer meeting revivals were so influential that the Atlanta police department had to let half of its force go because there simply was not enough crime for them to deal with. Across the nation bars and brothels shut down. Bar owners poured beer and liquor out in the street and shut down their establishments. The revival resulted in the start of many ministries. The ministries of men like Dwight L. Moody and Ira Sankey sprang from this revival. The effects of the Third Great Awakening also spread to Britain and abroad, as the Holy Spirit began to move in many other parts of the world.

Indeed sometimes God presents opportunities that look insignificant, or rather ordinary. Initially you may not see how they fit into the big plan for your life. But God has a purpose for every assignment He calls us to. And though you may not see it initially, when you’re diligent in handling the little things, God can increase and multiply it in ways and means you never could have imagined. When that businessman started the noon prayers, he probably did not know that God was planning a revival that would sweep through the nations and across the world.

We cannot put limits on God! If we’re going to accomplish the things that God wants for us, we have to be single-minded about His Word and power. We have to remember who He is and not limit Him in anyway! David did not limit God when He took a sling in his hand and went after Goliath whom the whole army of Israel could not dare. It was his confidence in God’s ability that brought down Goliath. God is moved by faith. When our trust is in God, we are empowered by Him to triumph in every situation.

2 Corinthians 2:14says: Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

When we trust and obey God, He causes us to triumph always. Do not limit what God can do in your life. If He used a layman to start the third great awakening. God can use anyone who yields to Him to accomplish His will on earth. What we need to do is to prepare ourselves through diligent study of God’s Word and a prayerful lifestyle, so as to be sensitive to the promptings of The Holy Spirit as He leads us.

Proverbs 3:5-6,  says “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (NKJV)

Today,, take the limits off by trusting God. Whatever He has asked you to do step out in faith and do it. And as you move in obedience, God will do for you exceedingly abundantly above all you could ever ask or imagine.

PRAYER; Lord please help me to be obedient to Your Word and to focus on Your promises over my life. I know that You are in perfect control and as I continue to trust in You, You will exceed all my expectations 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

Psalm 34:5

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

DAILY READING – Luke 23:26-56; Genesis 42; Psalm 33

By the early 20^th century men were beginning to question the authenticity of the Bible. Naysayers were having a field day by claiming that the Bible was full of errors because there were no more ancient scripts that supported its originality.  This was so because from the original first copies of the Bible that ever existed, men had made newer copies of it by hand. And over the centuries as men continued to make new copies, the older copies have somehow either been lost or destroyed. As a result  by the 20th century none of the old original scripts of the Bible were anymore in existence. People then began to argue that the newer versions of the Bible contained errors and were not in synch with the original ancient scripts. These arguments sought to overturn even the authenticity of Christianity itself.  However in 1947 God began an orchestration of events that astounded the world and firmly shut up the mouth of these naysayers.

 In 1947,  a Bedouin shepherd boy was looking for his lost sheep and threw stones into a cave where he thought the lost sheep might be hiding. To his surprise what he heard was the echo of the stones hitting jars. Curios, he went into the cave. There he discovered ten tall jars with scrolls carefully placed in them. Not knowing what it was, he took some of the scrolls and initially wanted to sell them to a shoemaker to use for the inner lining of shoes, but he later sold them to an antique dealer, who realizing their value took them to the Jewish authorities. This was the opening chapter to the astonishing discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. What is amazing is that those scrolls had been lying in that cave undisturbed for 1900 years! And just when it mattered most God caused these ancient scripts to be discovered.  Their discovery would be one of the most important finds in the history of modern archaeology. Eventually some 800 different manuscripts would be found in eleven other nearby caves. The discovery of the dead sea scrolls proved the arguments of the naysayers wrong. Though these scripts were at least a thousand years older than the oldest Bible Script at that time, it was amazing to discover that their words were the same words as those found in the modern Bibles. This indeed proved that there were no errors in the modern Bible, and it brought to a halt the argument of the naysayers. 

The truth is that we can always trust the faithfulness of God. He knows how to defend His Name and how to defend His people. He knows how to show up at the right time. In John 20, Jesus had just been crucified and risen from the dead. One evening the disciples were huddled together in a room behind locked doors for fear of being arrested. They seemed to be at their wits end. They had become a mockery now that it seemed their master was no more.  It seemed all hope was lost. But then suddenly Jesus walked through the door.  He was alive! And in the events that followed He proved to the world that His disciples had not believed Him in vain.

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

The truth is that those that put their trust in God are never put to shame.  Perhaps you have been believing God to vindicate you over certain issues. Though it may seem to be taking long, it doesn’t mean that it’s not going to happen. Perhaps it may seem you have become a mockery among men as they continually ask ‘where is your God?’. But your God is about to show up. He will  do things in your life that will let men know that this can only be the finger of God. Indeed God is able to prove Himself alive and well in your situation. Just remain faithful and trusting. Stay in faith and keep on confessing God’s Word. Stay encouraged. Your time is coming. The enemy doesn’t have control or the final say. People don’t control what happens to you. The Most High God 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 are about to see God move in amazing ways to prove you before men. You can’t explain it, but suddenly things will happen that will put to shame your detractors and authenticate your testimony as a child of God. Suddenly the tables will turn in your favor. In this season, get ready to see unusual happenings as God steps in to fight your cause and undertake for you.

PRAYER: Lord, Thank You for arising for me and manifesting Your goodness in my life to such a degree that no one will be in doubt of Your good hand upon my life. Thank You Lord for turning things around in my favor 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 8:18 ‘For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us’

DAILY READING  Luke 23:1-25; Genesis 41; Psalm 32

It is fascinating how the childhood environment and, more specifically, the relationship with one’s close family members, can have a long-lasting impact on character development. A book called ‘Cradles of Eminence’ written by the couple Victor and Mildred Goertzel, is a unique study on this fascinating topic. Initially published in 1964, the book contains interesting insights about childhood development, based on the authors’ review of thousands of books and biographies on 400 famous individuals in the US and abroad. In later editions the sample was extended to include more than 700 eminent people.

Victor and Mildred Goertzel spent years attempting to understand what produced such greatness, what common thread might run through all of these outstanding people’s lives. Surprisingly, the most outstanding fact was that virtually all of them, had to overcome very difficult obstacles in order to become who they were.

Indeed the path to greatness is a path often fraught with challenges. And it is only through overcoming those challenges that one truly becomes a winner and achiever in life.

As we go through the scriptures, we find also that most of those greatly used by God, were those who first passed through fire.

Joseph went through slavery and imprisonment before mounting the throne of Egypt. For David, most of his Psalms were written in very difficult times. Apostle Paul, wrote most of the Epistles from prisons. Even today, most of the present day great men and women have had to pass through various physical and spiritual oppositions to bring the Gospel to people.

God does not tempt anyone, nor bring these trials, but when the enemy does, God uses them as trainers for our spiritual muscles. Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through trials and challenges, can the soul be strengthened, faith inspired, and success achieved.

The believer’s life is an overcomer’s life. It is a life of continually triumphing over challenges and moving from victory to victory. And our victory comes through the faith imparted to our heart by God’s Word.

This is why in times of  trials, we do not  focus on the negative things, rather we focus on  Christ Jesus. No matter the trial, we keep looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

2 Corinthians 4:17 says ‘For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory’.

When you’re in a   challenging situation, very often this is for greater glory to be revealed in you. Regardless of your current circumstances, keep following God faithfully. As you do, God will begin to turn things around for your good and His glory. That difficult  situation will bring such glory into your life that the enemy would wish he never brought that situation your way.

Romans 8:18 says ‘For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us’

In other words your sufferings will not be in vain. It will culminate in greater Glory in the end. The difficulties you are passing through are only preparing you for something better. This is why you must hold on to God’s Word, no matter how fierce the battle. That is why you must keep living right and doing right because your labour shall never be in vain.

Jesus said ‘In the world you will have challenges; but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.’ Indeed Jesus has overcome for you. Whatever may come your way, you will always come out on top because the greater One lives in you. Christ in you is the hope of glory. Therefore in every situation, keep giving praise to God, because   greater glory is coming your way 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 Glory is being revealed through me, in  Jesus Name.

QUOTE

When God is on your side anything is possible. WORDBITE  201

Psalm 91:4 ‘Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day.

• DAILY READING – Luke 22:39-71; Genesis 40; Psalm 31

Wars are constantly being fought in one place or the other in the world. Already the world has seen two major world wars where over 70 million lives were lost.  Even now there are still many ongoing conflicts in different nations of the world. Though wars seem to be rampant on the earth, what is happening physically is simply a reflection of what is going on spiritually.

Both spiritually and physically, there are wars going on in the world. Everyday spiritually, there are darts flying up and down in every direction.

While the physical battles have specific locations and specific people involved in it, the spiritual battle has no specific location, it is being fought everywhere on all fronts, and everyone is involved. But in this battles God has promised protection to His children. Indeed, no weapon formed against you shall ever prosper.

Psalm 91:4 says ‘Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day.

Though these arrows are flying God is saying we should not be afraid of them, because we are under divine cover.

Arrows fly by day, in form of evil manipulations, incarnations, and enchantments. Psalm 64:3 says ‘Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:  Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:’

From this scripture we find that, bitter words, evil words are shot forth as arrows. This is why we must daily take up the shield of faith, to quench any of these fiery dart of the wicked.

Ephesians 6 says above all taking the shield of faith wherewith you shall quench darts of the wicked.

The shield of Faith is formed by surrounding ourselves with the Word of God. We must always fill our heart with the Word, and confess it with our mouth.

Life is essentially a battle of words. The stronger the words you speak, the more you dominate over the enemy.  The Word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two edged sword. And it is by God’s Word that we dominate over negative situations and circumstances that challenge us.

To be victorious in life’s battles you must learn to speak to your mountains. A closed mouth is a closed destiny. That is why you must rise up vehemently against stagnation, sickness or any other anti-covenant thing that is trying to hang around you. The enemy is shooting forth arrow of words, you can’t afford to keep silent. Release The Word of God against the things fighting your destiny. Stop watching situations silently.  It is time to begin to speak. Speak God’s Word to silence every spiritual opposition. Never forget that it is when the strangers hear your voice that they will fade out of their close places. So arise and begin to declare the counsel of God over you, And as you do, every tongue that rises against you, shall surely be condemned in Jesus Name.

PRAYER Lord help me to speak Your Word boldly against the things fighting my destiny. In this season, may I never lose out through a closed mouth. By Your Word I have the victory  in Jesus Name.

QUOTE

Faith is more than just believing, it is acting upon The Word that you believe.

Psalm 34;1-2 ‘I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad’

DAILY READING    Luke 22:1-38; Genesis 39; Psalm 30

One of the ancient ways of measuring time was the use of the Candle clock. This  way of measuring time also demonstrated how time could be lost irrecoverably. A candle clock is a thin candle with consistently spaced markings, usually with numbers, that when burned, indicate the passage of periods of time. The candle clock could be easily transformed into a timer or alarm by sticking a heavy nail into the candle at the mark indicating the desired interval. When the wax surrounding the nail melts, the nail clatters onto a plate below. The sound would alert a person of the time.

While no longer used today, candle clocks provided an effective way to tell time indoors, at night, or on a cloudy day. As the wax burned away it was also indication of how time burned away never to be recaptured again.

Ephesians 5:16 says “redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”

There is a need for us to use our time on earth judiciously to the glory of God. We must realize that we are truly living in the last days, and it has become crucial that we do the most we can with the little time left. God has entrusted us with 24 hours each day to use as wise stewards.  If you had a bank that credited your account each morning with $86,000 that carried over no balance from day to day…Allowed you to keep no cash in your account, and every evening cancelled whatever part of the amount you failed to use during the day, what would you do? Draw out every cent every day, of course, and use it to your advantage! Well, you have such a bank, and its name is TIME! Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it rules off as lost whatever of this you failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balances, it allows no overdrafts. Each day it opens a new account with you. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against tomorrow.

We must use our time judiciously, constantly focusing on what God has called us to do. The salvation of our souls and what we do now for the Kingdom of God is what will matter most in eternity.  And we must not mistake activity for productivity. Always ask yourself, ‘what is the eternal value of what I am doing now? How is it impacting the Kingdom of God?’

Someone said ‘live everyday as if it is your last because one day you will be right.’ That is so true! Living everyday as our last places an urgency on our use of time. When we realize that we don’t have forever, it helps us to focus on what matters most.. Time is fast running out on earth. Eternity is counting. You may delay, but time won’t. The clock is always ticking, the hours are always silently going by, many times unnoticed, even as the past increases and future possibilities recede. Unlike the wind, time cannot be felt. Unlike the sun, it cannot be seen; yet, of all nature’s forces, time has the most profound effect. If we don’t use it well, we end life in regret. Someone once said, ‘run the day or the day will run you.’ So let us do what we can while we can.

And one way to redeem time is to be thankful. David  said in Psalm 34:1 ‘I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.’

When we bless The Lord at all times, we are placing our life and times in His hand. And what we commit into God’s hands He is able to keep.

2 Timothy 1:12-says ‘for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.’

When we are thankful and bless The Lord continually at all times, He sees to it that our time on earth is used to His glory. Indeed top on the priority of our time investment is our relationship with God which is the very bedrock of our existence. Time spent with God helps us to focus rightly on the necessary things that need to be done. It is while in God’s presence that we receive specific instructions on what to do. And His instructions lead to our distinction in life.

PRAYER: Lord, please help me to begin to make good use of my time. Help me to focus on what matters, and not on frivolities. Let blessing You at all times and being obedient to Your instructions be top priority for me in Jesus’ name.

Quote

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.

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    Luke 21; Genesis 38; Psalm 29

F’rances Jane Crosby was born on March 24, 1820 and was the only child of her parents. Her father died shortly after, leaving her mother a widow at age twenty-one. When six weeks old, Fanny had a minor eye inflammation. But when the doctor was called to help, his visit had a reverse effect. He placed hot poultices over the infant’s eyes, insisting it would draw the infection out. Instead, Fanny became blind. And while it might have been the end of her sight, it was only the beginning of God’s great work through her. At age fifteen, she began attending a newly established Institution for the Blind in New York City. Fanny proved herself an excellent student and wrote poetry with such great excellence, that she was dubbed ‘The Blind Poetess’. Fanny had a passion for hymn-writing and was soon writing three to six hymns a week for Sunday School publications. Fanny’s talent made her to be often engaged to write hymns for publishers and by the 1870’s, her number of compositions exceeded six thousand! Fanny had this 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 people made the decision to follow 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 truth is that when God is with you no matter how weak or disadvantaged you may be, you will surely succeed against all odds. The story of Fanny Cosby reflects this. Blindness couldn’t stop her from fulfilling her destiny. , and what the enemy meant for evil, God turned it all around for her good.

The fight and resistance against our destiny actually begins even from the womb. However, with God’s help it doesn’t matter what may come against you, you will not only  survive, you will also  thrive despite the resistance. This is why we draw close to God so that by His help we can  overcome all oppositions and arrive at our glorious destiny. No matter how negative any situation, Jesus is able to turn it all around. Indeed with God all things are possible. Despite the raging of the storm, you will overcome.  Serving God does not mean that you will never have challenges, it however guarantees that you will overcome them all.

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. It doesnt matter what may come against you, it is all working out 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. He will lift you up, He will turn your mourning into dancing. He will put off your sack cloth and gird you with gladness. He will turn your test into a testimony.

PRAYER: Lord, please help me to be totally dependent upon You, so that by Your power  I can overcome the oppositions against me. I thank You Lord that even right now,  You are doing for me exceedingly abundantly above all I could ever ask or imagine 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.

1 Peter 1:18-19  ‘Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”

DAILY READING –     Luke 20:27-47; Genesis 37; Psalm 28

Like the story of many African cities, slavery in Sudan began in ancient times. However it had a resurgence during the 1983 to 2005 Second Sudanese Civil War. During this time, the Arab Muslim government of Sudan began using slave raids as a weapon in its war against the Christians in Southern Sudan. The government armed Arab Muslim militia groups, and encouraged them to raid Southern villages, steal their property, and take their women and children as slaves. In these process tens of thousands of people were captured and enslaved. Though this modern day slavery was kept secret by the Sudanese government, however, by the early 1990’s news of the horror began to filter out to the international community and by 1995, humanitarian groups such as a Swiss group called Christian Solidarity International [CSI] began to work with a local network of Africans and Arabs to help retrieve some of those abducted into slavery. Often they were liberated in exchange for cash paid to their captors. In 1999, the New York Times covered the story of Mr. Eibner, an official with the Christian Solidarity International. They witnessed how in one week, he paid 26.8 million Sudanese pounds, [about $27,000 at that time], to buy freedom for 1,783 slaves. The stories of these freed women and children, as recorded by the New York Times was quite horrifying. Among the slaves redeemed that day was a 27 years old woman named Achol Tong Nyan. She said she had been captured about a year earlier by men on horses and in uniforms who had stormed the village. She was among 250 people who were marched north. Ten died of thirst on the way. Another 20 were shot. After spending time in a camp with other slaves in the town of Muglad, she said, she was sold to a master who subjected her to inhuman treatment. However, after about a year, one day someone who worked with The CSI visited and after talks with her Captor, paid some money for her redemption after which was released to be taken back to her people.

It is not hard to imagine the joy that must have filled this woman’s heart when she heard the news of her redemption. Eventually a peace treaty in 2005 put an end to the slave raids, and paved the way for Southern Sudan to become an independent country in 2011.

1 Peter 1:18-19  says  ‘Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”

It is unimaginable what life would have been like, if Jesus has not paid the price to redeem us. We were without hope, held captive by a vicious and wicked enemy. Yet, Jesus went to the cross, and took upon Himself the curses due to us by our disobedience so that, in turn, we might enter into the blessings He earned by His obedience.

Though we were held in the bondage of spiritual slavery, Christ paid the ultimate price through His Blood to set us free.  The Blood of Jesus is the Blood Covenant that redeemed us from the curse of the law to enjoy the blessings of grace. 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; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith’.

Indeed the Blood of Jesus is the divine provision for man’s freedom from every satanic enslavement. The blood is able to give us an instant, on-the-spot deliverance from any form of affliction. There is no attack of the devil that can cross the bloodline.

I Corinthians 6:20  says “You have been bought with a price: (the Blood of Jesus) therefore glorify God in your body, and your spirit, which are God’s.”  The price of Christ’s Blood has been fully paid for our liberty and a glorious life. Through His death and resurection  we have been ushered into a life of dominion and liberty from every demonic captivity. Through Christ’s sacrifice God delivered us from the slavery of the kingdom of darkness to become heirs of the kingdom of light.

PRAYER: Lord, I thank You that I have victory by the blood of Jesus. Indeed today I declare my freedom from every form of spiritual slavery/ By the Blood of Jesus I have entered into the glorious liberty that Christ won for us at Calvary in Jesus Name. .

QUOTE

The battle you are faced with today is a good warfare because God has already foreordained a victorious end for you. WORDBITE 222

Proverbs 4:23 ‘Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.’

• •          DAILY READING –      Luke 19:28-48; Genesis 34; Psalm 26

At the start of World War I in 1914, Germany was a powerful nation, poised to win the war. However, it eventually lost partly due to the attack on the minds of German soldiers. One of the most powerful aspects of warfare is that of psychological manipulation. Psychological warfare is the planned tactical use of propaganda and other non-combat techniques during wars to demoralize or negatively influence the thinking or behavior of an enemy. It has been said that psychological warfare is actually capable of defeating the enemy without even engaging them.

One of the famous methods of psychological operations is Airborne leaflet propaganda. This is a form of psychological warfare in which leaflets  or flyers with negative messages are dropped from the air into enemy terrritoy. Aerial leaflets were first used on a large scale during World War I. The British dropped packets of leaflets over German trenches containing negative news about the German government.  In these leaflets the British accuse the German government of being inhumane and using their soldiers as mere fodders for war. By the  end of the war, the British had distributed almost 26 million leaflets. Though the German military leaders strictly warned their soldiers not to read these papers being dropped by the British, many still secretly read it. As a result many of these German soldiers became demoralized and disillusioned. Realizing the spreading negative effect on their soldiers, the Germans began shooting the leaflet-dropping pilots, prompting the British to develop unmanned leaflet balloons that still carried the leaflets into the enemy territory. These leaflets became so effective in demoralizing German soldiers that despite the fact that Germany was a powerful country at the start of the war, it eventually lost the war.

Proverbs 4:23 says ‘Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.’

In spiritual battles, the enemy greatly employs the use of Psychological warfare. With negative words, he often attacks the minds of men to make them believe that situations are hopeless. Especially on the mainstream media, negative news are often prevalent. And indeed negative words can be demoralizing. If you constantly listen to negative news, you may get so demoralized to easily want to give up. The battle of the mind is real. Therefore we should not take lightly the propaganda the enemy often sends to our minds. And filling our hearts with The Word of God is the way to overcome, the war against our mind.

Ephesians 6:16 says ‘Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.’ The shield of faith is what quenches all the fiery darts of the wicked. Faith comes by hearing and hearing The Word. So the more we hear The Word the more we are lifting up the shield of faith over our hearts against the enemy’s darts. Isaiah 59 says when the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of God will lift up a standard against him. The standard The Spirit lifts is The Word of God. If you have taken the time to constantly fill your mind with The Word of God, during times of challenges, The Holy Spirit will keep quickening Scriptures to your heart. And as you hope in God’s Word and hold on to it, your heart will be strengthened to overcome.

It is the entrance of the Word that gives light and as that light shines, the darkness cannot comprehend it. It is unto each man according to his faith. What you believe is what you receive, let us therefore build up our faith through keeping our hearts filled constantly with The Word. Indeed when the light of God’s Word dominates our heart there will be no room for darkness.

PRAYER: Lord, please help me to keep my heart constantly filled with Your Word, so that there will be no room for any negative word to grip my heart. I thank You Lord for a renewed appetite for Your Word, and renewed fire on my prayer altar in Jesus Name.

QUOTE :

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