HORM Devotional

Job 14:7-9 ‘ For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.’

DAILY READING      John 4:1-26; 1 Chronicles 15:1-16:6; Zechariah4

For thousands of years, the date palm was a staple crop in the Kingdom of Judea, as it was a source of food, shelter and shade.  Thick forests of the palms towering up to 80 feet and spreading for 7 miles covered the Jordan River valley from the Sea of Galilee in the north to the shores of the Dead Sea in the south.

So valued was the tree that it became a recognized as a symbol of good fortune in Judea.  It was the cure for a wide range of diseases including cancer, malaria and toothache. However, its value was also the source of its demise and eventual extinction.  The tree so defined the local economy that it became a prime resource for the invading Roman army to destroy.  Once the Roman Empire took control of the kingdom in 70 AD, the date palms were destroyed in an attempt to cripple the Jewish economy. They eventually succeeded and by 500 AD the once plentiful palm had completely disappeared, driven to extinction for the sake of conquest

But all was not lost, because in 1963, this tree  was rediscovered when archaeologists unearthed a small stockpile of seeds during their excavations at the site of Herod’s palace in Israel. These seeds were found in a clay jar dating back 2,000 years. Believing that the seeds would be no good after all that time, the archaeologists abandoned them in a drawer at Tel Aviv’s Bar-Ilan University.

But then after four decades, in 2005, a botanical researcher decided to plant one of the seeds and see what, if anything, would happen. And amazingly, the multi-millennial seed did sprout. It produced a sapling no one had seen in centuries, becoming the oldest known tree seed to germinate.

The sprouting of this 2000 years old seed is indeed amazing. Despite how long it had been dormant, it simply came alive through introduction to water. This validates what the Bible says in Job 14:7-9 ‘For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant’

“Water” in the above verse refers to the Word of God, because Ephesians 5:26 says ‘That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word’. So water speaks of The Word of God. And just as that 2000 year old seed sprouted, once it encountered water, the same way, an encounter with God’s Word will cause any dormant situation to come alive.

The Word of God can bring about new beginnings.

God’s Word is indeed pregnant with wonders.  Anything can happen at the instance of The Word. Miracles, signs and wonders can spring forth from any dead situation once The Word of God is introduced. There is no situation so dead that The Word of God cannot revive it. In Ezekiel 37, in the valley of dry bones, the situation had looked utterly hopeless.  But once the prophet began to release The Word of God, there was a shaking. At the coming of The Word of God, things began to move. Suddenly, those age old dry bones came alive and became a mighty army.

The Word of God is indeed full of wonders. But for us to experience these wonders stored up in the Word for us, we must take up the responsibility of consciously studying it daily. And today, as we feed on The Word, through faith, we shall experience our desired miracles of restoration, revival and rejuvenation in Jesus Name.

PRAYER: Lord, by the power from your Word let every dead situation  in my life be revisited and revived, let the good seed You have planted within me come alive for manifestation in this season in Jesus Name.

QUOTE

The study of The Word will keep  shame and disgrace far from you.

Psalm 67:3, 7

‘Let the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise Thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.’

DAILY READING – John 3:1-21; 1 Chronicles 12; Zechariah 2

Dr. Harry A. Ironside was one of the greatest Bible teachers the world has ever known. For over 50 years he traveled as a home missionary, evangelist, and Bible teacher, preaching the Word of God. He published over sixty books and pamphlets and became well known as pastor of the Moody Bible Church. He held meetings continually under the auspices of Moody Bible Institute, going often as visiting faculty to Dallas Theological Seminary.

During his time at the Dallas Theological Seminary, shortly after the school was founded in 1924, an amazing incident of divine provision took place. At that time, the Dallas Theological Seminary was almost at the point of bankruptcy. On a particular morning when all the creditors were going to foreclose, the key leaders of the seminary met in the office of the school’s president, to pray and praise God. Dr. Ironside was one of the men leading the prayers. When it was his turn, he prayed in his characteristic manner: “Lord, we know that the cattle on a thousand hills are Thine. Please sell some of them and send us the money.”

While they were still praying, a Texan cattle trader came to the business office of the Dallas Theological Seminary and said to the secretary, “I just sold two carloads of cattle and I feel compelled to give the money to the seminary. I don’t know if you need it or not, but here’s the check!”  Knowing how critical things were financially, the secretary took the check and went to the president’s office and presented it to the leaders. Amazingly, the check was exactly the amount they needed to pay off the debt!  Turning to Dr. Ironside, the president jokingly said, “Harry, God sold the cattle!”

Indeed, God owns the cattle on a thousand hills; and He is able and available to supply all our needs according to His riches in glory.  The earth belongs to the Lord and the fullness thereof and He is able to do exceedingly abundantly, above all we could ever ask or imagine. Divine Supply is real; it is Heaven’s timely provision that defies human reasoning. And one of the fastest ways of experiencing divine supply is engaging the power of gratitude.

In John 6:5-12, when Jesus fed 5,000 men, thanksgiving was what multiplied the loaves of bread. Thanksgiving has multiplication power that naturally draws supernatural provisions to us. When you are a thanks giver, nothing ever finishes in your hand. The earth will continually yield its increase to you when you engage in praising God.

Psalm 67:3, 7 says, ‘Let the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise Thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God shall bless us.’

It is true we are often faced with challenges. Every child of God carries enviable destiny that attracts opposition from the enemy, but a heart of gratitude is our fastest escape out of any tight situation. When you are grateful, you wouldn’t need to fight to win your battles, because God takes your place in battle, while you just watch.

Gratitude is a spiritual force that empowers us to scale great heights. Indeed, it is your gratitude that determines your altitude in life. You cannot stop gaining altitude unless you stop expressing gratitude; and you will never drop in altitude unless you drop in gratitude. Let us therefore decide today to engage the covenant weapon of gratitude to win our battles. Whatever you may be faced with today, instead of complaining, decide rather to give God thanks. And as you do, God will indeed turn your pressures to pleasures.

PRAYER

Lord, help me to be always full of gratitude, no matter how tough things may sometimes seem. I know indeed that as I remain grateful to You, I shall never be grounded in Jesus’ name.

QUOTE

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

Joshua 1:9 “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”

DAILY READING – John 2; 1 Chronicles 10-11; Zechariah 1

In 1947, Vladimir Zenchenkov, a government accounting clerk in Russia, returned home from a night of drinking to discover that he had misplaced 400 ration cards owned by his boss. This was not a good thing. Ration cards were a prized commodity in postwar Russia. Since the possible punishment for him was imprisonment, Mrs. Zenchenkov advised her husband to make himself scarce. The next day she told his coworkers that he had run off with another woman. And for the next 22 years, according to the newspaper reports, the terrified Zenchenkov never once left his house.

In 1969 Mrs. Zenchenkov died, and her husband was forced to come out. He then went  to the local police station to turn himself in. After narrating his story, to his greatest shock, he was told that the missing ration cards had turned up in his desk drawer the day after he disappeared in 1947. So out of fear this man had imprisoned himself and wasted years of his life in hiding.

The truth is that most defeats in life are traceable to the spirit of fear. The fear that often plagues the heart of men has gotten many destinies grounded.  One of the greatest mountains anyone can conquer is fear. You cannot reach the pinnacle of success without overcoming fear.

 As a believer, when you are faced with any intimidating situations, always remember that your God is greater and higher than any mountain you may face. Whenever you are confronted, remember that the greater One lives in you. In Isaiah 41:10 God says, ‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.’

It is through faith in God that you can overcome the plague of fear. And faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. The more you seek God through His Word, the more you are delivered from fear. Psalms 34:4 says, ‘I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.’ It is through seeking the Lord that you are delivered from fear. The more you know God, the bolder you become. It is through the consciousness of God’s presence, stemming from an intimate walk and fellowship with Him, that you can conquer fear. Indeed the righteous are as bold as a lion.

Through constant study of the Word, your heart is inoculated with faith. And faith is the ultimate answer to fear. When your heart is filled with faith, there will be no room for fear. It is only then you can say, “The Lord is the strength of my life” of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1. When you are truly full of God, then you are truly free from fear!

PRAYER

Father, please grant me a renewed zeal to always fill my heart with faith through in-depth study of Your Word. For I know that when I am full of faith there will be no room for fear in Jesus’ name.

 QUOTE

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

Exodus 12:13 “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.”

DAILY READING: John 1:35-51; 1 Chronicles 9; Haggai 1:1-2:23

On Christmas Day some years ago, the well-known minister of the Gospel, Kenneth Copeland was faced with a serious situation. His 11-year-old granddaughter was diagnosed with neisserian meningitis. At that time there was a wave of spinal meningitis in their area which had been killing young people. Kenneth and his wife, Gloria were away from home when they received the call telling them that young Lyndsey was hospitalized with the meningitis. Immediately they returned back home and headed to the hospital. There, the doctors said Lyndsey was so sick, they were afraid she might die before morning.

Despite the negative report, the Copeland Family refused to fear. They stood together for Lyndsey’s healing—applying the blood of Jesus, and taking Communion together. The family had been pleading the blood of Jesus over their lives, for a number of years, and at this time of trial, they began to speak the covenant of the blood of Jesus. They laid claim to the finished work of Christ on Calvary and invoked the blood against the meningitis disease. At midnight, Lyndsey who had been lying, delirious for over 12 hours, and who hadn’t said anything that made sense all day—suddenly gritted her teeth and declared, “I’m healed in the name of Jesus.”

And sure enough, Lyndsey was healed by the blood of Jesus! When the doctors came the next morning she was perfectly well; and was soon discharged.

Indeed, there is deliverance power in the blood of Jesus. When God instructed the Israelites to take the blood of a lamb and paint it on their doorposts and they did, the angel of death passed them by.

Exodus 12:13 says, “And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.” The blood on the doorposts provided divine covering for the Israelites from the death angel. The blood on the door posts was a type of the blood of Jesus. The blood of the lamb foreshadowed the shedding of the blood of Jesus who was slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).

Today, as New Testament believers, we don’t need to rely on a token because we have the real thing; the precious blood of Jesus that was spilled on Calvary. Now, if the shadow of the blood of the Lamb could deliver the Israelites from the death angel, imagine what the real blood will do for us when we believe and apply it!

No human blood flowed through Jesus; His blood was divine. And in His blood is great power for any deliverance you may need. His divine blood has the cure for cancer, heart trouble, diabetes, AIDS, or any other disease and sickness. His blood delivers from sin, and every form of addiction. Therefore if you are faced today with any form of affliction, bring it under the blood. The blood is sufficient. It has not lost its power. Indeed, the blood of Jesus has all the power of God in it to establish deliverance for us.

PRAYER

Lord, I thank You for making available to me the blood of Jesus to rescue me from every form of captivity. Indeed, by Christ’s blood shed on Calvary, my deliverance and victory is established forever in Jesus’ name.

QUOTE

Nothing liberates like truth, the truth you know and act upon will set you free.

James 4:6 ‘But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.’

DAILY READING – John 1:19-34; 1 Chronicles 7-8; Zephaniah 3

During the time of the American slave trade, the Slave masters used various forms of discipline and punishment to break the spirit of the slaves. Because many of the slaves were of African descent and proud of their heritage, it became difficult for slave masters to bring them to the point of total submission. To achieve the breaking of the spirit of these slaves, a number of methods were employed by the slave masters. Whipping became the main form of corporal punishment on most plantations. Also imprisonment and the withholding of such necessities as food and clothing were used to control slaves. In severe cases, slave collars, made of iron, which had three prongs that helped intensify the grip and pain, were put on the neck of slaves to especially deter them from fleeing. Also slaves were branded with hot iron, which imprinted the names of their masters on their skin. All these methods were used by Slave masters as a way of managing slave behavior and to ensure maximum production as well as cooperation among the slaves.

A definitive description of slaves is that they are owned by their masters. And Paul says to believers clearly in 1 Corinthians 6:19–20: “You are not your own. You have been bought with a price.” Indeed we have been bought with the price of the precious blood of Jesus. And if we have been bought with a price, then we belong to the One who has paid that price. However, though we belong to God, He does not have to subject us to harrowing conditions to make us submissive. Rather, He draws us close through love. Through sacrificing His life, Christ proved His love for  us. And in return, we prove our love for Him, by willingly obeying Him.

Jesus said in John 14:15 ‘If ye love me, keep my commandments.’

As believers, our lives are marked by our total obedience and singular devotion to our master. Exclusive ownership implies complete submission. Therefore, we are not the masters of our own destiny nor the captains of our souls. The apostles often referred to themselves as slaves of Christ. In the book of Philippians Paul identifies himself and Timothy as slaves of Christ Jesus (Phil 1:1). Now, most of the English versions have “servants” or “bond-servants” there, but the Greek word is ‘doulos,’. Which is properly rendered “slave.” The term is used at least forty times in the New Testament to refer to the believer, and the Hebrew equivalent is used over 250 times to refer to believers in the Old Testament.

Indeed we cannot truly say we love God unless we are completely submitted to him. And we cannot be completely submitted except we are broken. Indeed we are in an unprecedented season of seeing the glory of God revealed like never before. But that glory has its root in grace. And grace is released by God only to the humble and broken. James 4:6 says: ‘God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble’.

Let us therefore continually humble, ourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt us in due season.

PRAYER: Lord, I thank You for Your commitment to unveil Your glory in my life this year. Please grant me the grace to always humble myself under Your mighty hand so that You will exalt me in due season in Jesus Name.

Quote :

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

Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

DAILY READING – John 1:1-18; 1 Chronicles 5-6; Zephaniah 2

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the thirty-second president of the United States and the only person to be elected to four US presidencies. However, his journey to the presidency seemed to have started off badly. With a dream to be the president of the United States, he entered public service through politics. He won election to the New York Senate in 1910 and was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy in 1913. In 1920 he was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 1920. Even though he lost the election, Roosevelt was considered by many to be an effective campaigner and a potential future president.

As he prepared to fully pursue the path to the presidency, tragedy struck. In the summer of 1921, at the age of 39, Roosevelt suddenly became ill and was diagnosed with poliomyelitis. He virtually lost the use of his legs. However, Roosevelt was a Christian who believed that with God anything was possible. So undeterred, he decided to move ahead with his political career. With the corroboration of his family, close associates and members of the press, his inability to walk was hidden from the public. Despite the paralysis, in 1928 he became governor of New York. And finally in 1932, he became the 32nd President of the United States. He was so loved by the people that in 1936, 1940 and 1944 he was re-elected and thus became the president with the longest time in office in the United States.

Roosevelt never allowed paralysis to stop him, though initially a very tragic situation, Roosevelt pushed past it to become one of the most effective presidents the United States ever had.

Though Easter is ultimately a triumphant story, it certainly did not start out that way. It started with what appeared to be the worst possible defeat—the death of Christ on the cross. For Jesus, going to the cross was not easy, but on the third day when He resurrected triumphantly, He turned what seemed a bad situation around for good.

The truth is that God sometimes, uses difficulties and disappointments to accomplish some of His greatest works in us. In the darkness when we cannot see Him, He is still in control. Paul endured a great deal of hardship and persecution for his faith, yet Paul had a resurrection mentality. He knew that despite the present difficulties, God was at work. In Romans 8:28, he said, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”

The resurrection story is an assurance that God is at work to turn around bad situations in your life. No matter how initially discouraging things may look, His plan is still working. Just as it worked the day Christ was raised from the grave, it is still working for us today. Though sometimes, we may have to agonize at night in our Gethsemane, let us never forget that God is at work to bring about our resurrection morning. Though weeping may sometimes endure for the night, surely joy comes in the morning!

PRAYER

Lord, I thank You for the victory Christ has won for me at Calvary. By His resurrection power, I see every contrary situation turning around for my good in Jesus’ name.

QUOTE

It takes a heart for God to make a mark in the sands of time. – WORDBITE 201.

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Psalm 102:13 KJV  ‘Thou shall arise and have mercy upon Zion, for the time to favor her, yeah, the set time has come.’

DAILY READING –  2 Corinthians 13; 1 Chronicles 3-4; Zephaniah 1

The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast side of South Africa. It has long been of special significance to sailors, many of whom refer to it simply as “the Cape”.

This southernmost point of Africa is a place which for centuries has experienced tremendous storms. For many years no one even knew what lay beyond that cape, for no ship attempting to round that point had ever returned to tell the tale. Among the ancients it was known as the “Cape of Storms,” and for good reason. The first European to see the Cape was Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias, who was searching for the southern limits of the African continent. He later successfully sailed around that very point and found beyond the wild raging storms of the cape, a great calm sea, and beyond that, the shores of India. The name of the cape was then changed from the ‘Cape of Storms’ to the ‘Cape of Good Hope.’

Until Jesus Christ rose from the dead, death had been ‘the cape of storms’ on which all hopes of life beyond had been wrecked. No one knew what lay beyond that point until, on Easter morning when Christ rose from the death. And through Him today, we have the hope of eternal life.

The hope of eternal life, —that man can escape the power of the grave—has set Christianity apart from other first-century religions and philosophies. At the time when Jesus was on earth, the world was heavily influenced by the culture of the Greek and Roman empires. The Greek and Roman religions held little hope for the dead.

The general belief was that once the body was dead, the soul lived in a miserable twilight existence of sadness, silence and hopelessness. Thus death was to men of those days the ultimate disaster. Against this dreary backdrop, the resurrection of Christ brought to men the great light of hope. And just like those ancient explorers, through Christ, today we can see beyond the storms of life, to the hope of eternal life. On the cross, Christ took our sin and shame, and paid our debt in full. Therefore we don’t have to ever live a defeated life. We don’t have to be stopped by the storms and billows of life. We have crossed from death to life. From the cape of storms, we have indeed come to the cape of good hope in Christ.

Psalm 102:13 says ‘Thou shall arise and have mercy upon Zion, for the time to favor her, yeah, the set time has come.’ Indeed on this resurrection morning, the set time and season for God to favor us has come. And the risen Christ says to us, “Because I live, you shall live also.”

PRAYER; Lord please help me to be a partaker of the goodness  and redemptive package You have won for us at Calvary. Indeed on this resurrection day, I receive a positive change of story in every area of my life in Jesus’ name.

Quote

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

Psalm 69:30-31 ‘‘I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.

DAILY READING: 2 Corinthians 13; 1 Chronicles 3-4; Zephaniah 1

Twice in the scriptures God says that in King David he had found ‘a man after my own heart.’. (1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22). David loved God deeply and ended up a trans-generational celebrity, immortalized by God in history.

1 Corinthians 2:9 says ‘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’.

Those that truly love God become celebrated on the earth. Every certified lover of God ends up as a living wonder. God is a God of love. And we are commanded to love Him with all our heart mind and soul. But most importantly we must remember that God first loved us.  It is because of God’s love for us that He sent Jesus to the cross to die for us. Death on the cross was not an easy thing for Jesus to do. At that time in Palestine, crucifixion was the most shameful way to die.  In those days, the Romans crucified pirates, and bandits — or terrorists as we would call them today. The cross was first reserved only for slaves, it was then extended to the lowest classes, or humiliores — the humble folk as they were known then. Death on a cross was public, shameful and took between a couple hours and a couple days before the person died. The condemned would die from heart failure, asphyxiation, dehydration or even sepsis, as the infection from the nails and elements would settle in.

And yet Jesus went through all that pain and shame because He loved us enough to pay any price for our salvation. Truly in return He deserves all our love. And He wants love to be the real motivation in our relationship and our service to Him.

1 Corinthians 13 makes it clear that whatsoever we do outside of love in service to God, it will profit us nothing. God wants us to serve Him  out of the overflow of the love for Him already in our heart. When we love God our aim will be to please Him always. And one key way we please God is through Thanksgiving and praise. David was also a man who greatly praised God. And in Psalm 69:30-31 he says ‘‘I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.’

Let us learn to love God totally and also give expression to that love through continual praise.  Indeed God is good and worthy of our extravagant love and praise. And when we truly love God, He ensures we become celebrated on earth.

PRAYER: Lord, please help me to love You totally, please birth afresh in my heart a deep and abiding love for You. And also grant me the grace to give expression to that love through the continual flow of Your praise from my lips 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.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

DAILY READING – 2 Corinthians 12; 1 Chronicles 1-2; Habakkuk 3

Today is a special day! It’s the Passover, marking the night the lamb was slain and it‘s blood put on the door posts, and Good Friday, marking the evening Christ was crucified. Both events took place today, the 19^th of April. Today therefore becomes historically significant to both Jews and Christians.

It is quite remarkable that Easter Celebrations, and the Jewish Passover, both take place in this month of April. Indeed, Easter and Passover, in nature and history, converge with a resounding message of hope. Also, the period of Easter and the Passover mark a new beginning of change and renewal. While the resurrection of Christ marks a new day for Christians, the Passover is considered a ‘new year’ for the Jews.

In Exodus 12:1-2, The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘This month shall be for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you.’  And it indeed became a New Year and new beginning for the Jews as they came out of 430 years of bondage in Egypt. The deliverance from Egypt was part of God’s plan in preparing the world for its Messiah. Centuries later, Jesus came and died on the cross and shed His Blood for the salvation of all of mankind.

Today, therefore, marking Good Friday, when Christ’s blood was shed and the Jewish Passover, when the lamb was slain could also spiritually signify deliverance and new beginnings for us. It is a day that symbolizes hope and new life. It doesn’t matter what your story could have been like in the past, you can tap into the spiritual significance of today and declare a new beginning for yourself. It doesn’t matter what happened yesterday, last week, last month or last year; today is a new day!

With God, anytime is a time for a new beginning. God continually wants to do something new in our lives. New beginnings therefore are major elements of our Christian faith, because periods of renewal and newness continue throughout our Christian life. In our journey, we often come to new levels and new heights as God elevates us. Therefore, determine for yourself that the significance of today will not elude you. The price of the blood paid today, must usher you into new levels and new heights. Stay determined to rise out of every grave of limitation and to escape every bondage and oppression. It is indeed a new day for you. Old things have passed away; behold, all things have indeed become new for you.

PRAYER

Lord, thank You for the price of the blood shed by Christ for my salvation. Through the price Christ paid at Calvary, my life shall continue to experience new beginnings into new heights and greater things in Jesus’ name.

 Quote

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

Romans 8:19 ‘For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.’

DAILY READING    2 Corinthians 11; 2 Kings 25; Habakkuk 2

Christians, have often been the targets of persecution and martyrdom over the centuries. Early Christians were persecuted for their faith at the hands of both the Jews and the Romans. And even up till today, Christians are persecuted by various governments including atheistic states such as the Soviet Union and North Korea.

North Korea, especially has been ranked the most oppressive place in the world for Christians.. Yet despite all these efforts to eradicate Christianity, the church on the contrary has been growing and waxing stronger. And despite the oppression, in many of these repressive countries, Christians continue to serve God even at the risk of their lives.

For those of us who do not live in such repressive countries, the question is; are we living a life that measures up to our claim as Christians? A popular church marquis posting reads, “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” This is certainly a thought-provoking and soul-searching question!  Did you know that Jesus actually went through six different trials the night He was arrested? Three Jewish trials and three Roman trials – none of them were really legal. All of this takes place in about eight hours. He had done nothing wrong. He had committed no crimes. But finally they found one accusation that stuck. Jesus was found guilty of being the son of God.

1 John 2:6 says ‘Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.’

In this resurrection season let us take a decision to consciously  begin to live and walk as Jesus did. Enough of being a secret service Christian. It is time to live in such a way that there will be no doubt to the fact that we are the sons of God. Indeed the world is waiting for our manifestation.

Romans 8:19,22 says ‘For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.’

The whole creation  is groaning and travailing in pain together until now, waiting for the sons of God to show forth their identity. There are cries of oppression as humanity groans in pain, looking here and there in search of emancipation and a way out. The world is waiting for men and women who will, by the power of God, bring deliverance and liberty  to mankind. The world is waiting for these sons of God who will disarm the forces of wickedness and bring the creature out of the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. The world is waiting for saviours, to rescue them out of shame and reproach.

The price Jesus paid at Calvary for our manifestation cannot be in vain. Let us decide today to begin to live and walk as Jesus did. It is time for us to begin to live in a way that if put on trial there will be enough evidence to prove we are sons of the Living God.

PRAYER: Lord, Please help me to conform my life to Your Word and to begin to manifest the character of Christ. Help me to live a life that will always bring glory to You in Jesus Name.

quote :

The study of The Word will keep  shame and disgrace far from you.