HORM Devotional

Psalm 71:7

‘I am a wonder unto many but though art my strong refuge’.

DAILY READING   -Acts 4:23-37; Deuteronomy 21-22; Job 14

Oak trees are known to be massive. They can grow to 100 feet in height. Yet, the key to the oak’s imposing stature is what lies beneath the soil out of view – its root system. Its roots are the source from which the visible tree’s greatness springs. And the oak’s root system is just as impressive as its visible features. The Oak’s taproot can reach 60 feet deep, to search for groundwater. Some of its roots extend out more than twice the drip line. The oak tree’s extensive root system anchors it against storm conditions and allows it to absorb water and nutrients from the soil.  Another tree also that owes its greatness to its roots is the sequoia tree. It is one of the world’s largest and most enduring trees. It can grow to 300 feet in height, weigh over 2.5 million pounds, and live for about 3,000 years. However this majestic tree owes its towering height and astonishing weight to its root system. It’s longevity is also due to its twelve to fourteen-foot-deep matting of roots, spreading over as much as an acre of earth. such complex root system keeps these tree firmly grounded and stable.

This can be likened to what occurs in our walk with God. Before attaining great heights there are seasons of preparation when we develop deep roots in God A hidden season of spiritual preparation must precede a period of visibility or outward  prominence.  And the deeper our spiritual roots, the more we can be prepared to attain great heights.

Through the life of David for instance, we can see how God first prepared him in the hidden season before taking him to greatness.  It was in the bush, in a time of prayerful devotion, a season of serving unseen and unknown, that God prepared David for the throne. In this place God expanded his root system.

When David defeated Goliath he became a wonder to his world. Men hailed him and the women sang his praises. Many thought he was an overnight success, but nobody saw the lonely years in the shepherd’s fields where he fought the bears and lions in secret and learned to trust God and make God his strong refuge.

It is the same way God prepares us. Some of the things you are passing through now is God training you. Before you ascend the throne God has for you, you must first pass through processes that  prepare you  to trust God and become totally dependent on Him. Preparation is the mother of manifestation. This season of preparation, is a hidden season of life, where it may seem you are alone fighting the bears and the lions. But God is using the things you are passing through to develop your spiritual muscles, and an unshakeable faith in Him.

They say an exclamation mark is only a question mark straightened out. Men may exclaim and wonder at you when you finally ascend the throne, but then they didn’t see the hidden places of preparation where God trained you.

And most of this training is done in the place of prayer. Every endeavor that will succeed must be established in the spirit through a hidden season of  prayer, before it can manifest physically. The reason why endeavors fail is because people try to do things only in the physical without considering the importance of the spiritual. So like a house built without foundation at the first gust of wind everything comes tumbling. Things are first established spiritually before they can manifest in the physical realm. A hidden season of spiritual establishment and preparation is crucial to our outward manifestation, just as the root is crucial to the tee’s outward growth.  That is God’s order of things. Therefore lets learn to release ourselves to God to train and prepare us as He deems fit. Our concern should be ensuring we are in His perfect will and plan at all times. For we know that all things work together for good, to them that love God.  And if we faint not, in due season we shall surely reap.

PRAYER: Lord,I submit myself, my plans and everything about my life to your perfect will. Lord  have your way in my life, and  please  grant  me the grace to always submit to you, so as to  be prepared when Your foreordained season for me comes, in Jesus Name.

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Everything that ultimately  has a glorious ending usually has a humble beginning.

[ADAPTED FROM THE BOOK FAITH CLASSICS]

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    Acts 5:17-42; Deuteronomy 25-27; Job 16

Edward Payson was an American Congregational preacher in the 18^th century. One Sunday, when there was a storm, he found he had only one person in his audience. That still didn’t deter him from preaching.  He must have preached down fire and brimstone, because his one audience got quickly converted. This convert later told Payson, “For whenever you talked about sin and salvation, I glanced around to see to whom you referred, but since there was no one there but me, I had no alternative but to lay every word to my own heart and conscience!”

We may not be able to preach to the entire world, but we can start where we are with who we can; one person at a time.  It has been said “Every soul with Christ is a missionary; every soul without Christ is a mission field,”

In preaching the Gospel to those around you or serving in the church, you may often wonder if you are really making any real difference. This can be so especially if we are not seeing any immediate effect of our spiritual labor.  But you have to know there is a grand plan God is working out. Though we may not see the immediate effect this side of Heaven, Lets us trust that God is working out His grand plan.

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.

it is interesting to note the chain of events that  culminated in the great harvest of souls under Billy Graham’s ministry. Part of the chain of events that led to this great harvest of souls 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.

You never know what impact the one person you are preaching to now can make eventually in the chain of God’s plan. Let us therefore trust The Lord of the harvest who has the full plan for His kingdom. Let’s be obedient to preach to anyone and everyone He leads us. He alone knows the end from the beginning.

The Spirit 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.

[ADAPTED FROM THE BOOK FAITH CLASSICS]

Mathew 24:9  ‘Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.’

DAILY READING    – Acts 5:1-16; Deuteronomy 23-24; Job 15

On February 15, 2015 a gruesome video was released showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians by Islamic fanatics in Libya. As they were being executed, cries of “O Jesus” could be heard in the background. The video shocked the world, but it was also a wakeup call for the church. .

It can be easy to forget the blood and the price paid through the ages, by Christ and martyrs.. In our comfortable pews, and fun fare activities, the cry of the blood can seem farfetched. But the truth remains that as Christians we are in a warfare and not fanfare. And even today, in parts of the world Christians are still shedding their blood for the sake of the Gospel. In many countries the Gospel is being suppressed and repressed. North Korea is the most repressive nation in the world.. This country has detained more political and religious prisoners than any other country. The Christian persecution watchers, ‘Open Doors’, estimates that hundreds of Christians have been killed there, while tens of thousands are currently suffering in the prison camps where they face cruel abuses, torture and death. Saudi Arabia holds the second spot on the list of persecuting countries. Religious freedom does not exist in Saudi Arabia where citizens are allowed to adhere to the islamic religion. Apostasy, conversion to another religion, is punishable by death. Other repressive countries include, Iran, Somalia, Maldives, Bhutan, Yemen, Vietnam, Laos, China etc Many Christian Churches in Nigeria have been victims of bomb attacks in the escalating campaign of Boko Haram. Attacks against Christians continue to be reported in Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Iraq and other nations. The Coptic Church in Egypt is dwindling in numbers, systematically under these attacks.

In countries like Russia the door is fast shutting against the preaching of the Gospel. Under Russia’s set of surveillance and anti-terrorism laws, Christians there cannot even email their friends an invitation to church or evangelize in their own homes. This law places broad limitations on missionary work, including preaching, teaching, and engaging in any activity designed to recruit people into God’s kingdom.

All these are part of the persecutions Jesus warned us would characterize the end-time. And it should be a wakeup call and a warning to us that there really is not much time left. We just have a narrow window of opportunity to fulfill the great commission before every door, finally shuts permanently. Let us not therefore squander the grace available to us at this hour. Let us do all we should, while we still can, to preach the Word of life to a dying world.

In Mark 16, Jesus commanded us to go into the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. It is not an option, it is a commandment. It means we are mandated to preach to every one we can while we can. Let us  begin to take the great the commission seriously. Let us by the help of The Spirit device ways and means to reach family members, neighbors, friends, colleagues with the Gospel. If people are dying in other countries for the sake of the Gospel, what price are we really paying? Let us therefore not hoard the Word of God but share it with everyone we can. Jesus spent His days going from place to place sharing The Word and so should we now with every available voice.

 PRAYER: Lord, Please enable me to obey the great commission, let me not hoard the truth I know from the dying world around me, Grant me the boldness to preach Your Word to all that You bring my way today  in Jesus Name.

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God has made salvation available to all, but not all have received it..

[ADAPTED FROM THE BOOK ESTABLISHED BY THE WORD ]

Psalms 127:1 

Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

DAILY READING   -Acts 4:23-37; Deuteronomy 21-22; Job 14

In 1912, there was a ship called the Titanic. At that time, the Titanic was one of the largest and most luxurious ships in the world. Besides its other great features, it had 16 compartments that were presumed to be watertight, in fact, four of these compartments could be filled with water and yet the ship would not sink. Experts at that time considered the Titanic unsinkable. And before its maiden voyage, the captain was quoted to have boasted ‘even God cannot sink this ship’.

Well, the captain represented the many who think God is not a necessary component of success. He was wrong. On its maiden trip shortly before midnight on April 14, the ship collided with an iceberg. And at 2:20 am, on April 15, against all expectations the ship sank, killing about 1500 passengers.

Psalm 127 says, ‘except the Lord watches over the city the watchmen watcheth but in vain.’

Indeed without God, man truly is helpless. It doesn’t matter how fast one may seem to be racing on the path of life. Like the rich fool in Luke 12, who gathered wealth, and yet couldn’t live to enjoy it; without God all of man’s labour is in vain.

Success is not only just about making all the right moves, it is about God backing you up. Even after you have pressed all the right success buttons, you still need God to make it work. It is for man to dig a well, but it for divinity to fill it with water.

For anyone to think they can ignore God and push on to success, it is dangerous. Because just like the Titanic with all the right technology, you could still ‘sink’ unexpectedly.

In 1966, John Lennon, leader of the music group, the Beatles said in an interview that the Beatles will be more popular than Jesus, and that Christianity will vanish and shrink away in no time. However just a few years after his statement, the Beatles broke up and vanished and  John Lennon was killed. And Christianity? Well, still very far from vanishing and Jesus is still very popular.

How can a man ever strive against his maker?  How can a man ever think he can do anything Without God’s help? Without God  we are helpless and nothing.

It is only by His grace we exist. Romans 9:16 says ‘So then, it is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.’ It is only because of The Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed.

When king Nebuchadnezzar woke up one morning and declared that his hand had built his great kingdom, God sent him to the school of animals to learn humility. And after seven years in the bush, Nebuchadnezzar recovered and came back to declare that God rules the Heavens and the earth.

We must continually acknowledge the hand of God in our affairs. We must always proclaim Him the doer of every good thing in our lives.

No man can keep himself. We are all kept by the mercy of God. Any day God withdraws His hand we cease to exist. This is why we give Him praise, knowing He is our keeper and protector. All the glory belongs to God, and He will not share His Glory with any man. Let us therefore today give God deliberate praise for His hand of goodness and protection upon us. Because if it had not been for The Lord on our side, where would we be? But despite all our frailties, faults and shortcomings, we have been kept by His mercy, we have been preserved by His love. And for this we are eternally grateful.

PRAYER: Lord, please grant me the  grace to know that without You I can do nothing, Help me to know You  personally and to always be  totally dependent on Your  help 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.

[ADAPTED FROM THE BOOK DIVINE ORDER FOR A  LIFE WITHOUT LIMITS]

Ecclesiastes 3:11  

He hath made everything beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

DAILY READING  – Acts 4:1-22; Deuteronomy 19-20; Job 13

Often in the race of life men worry about the passage of time. They fret about their pace, and how late they are in the race. They ponder and wonder  about  how little of their goals have been achieved. But really when we trust in God we have to be patient to walk according to His times and seasons. Destinies are not the same, like flowers, some bloom early, some bloom late; Yet each one is beautiful in its season.

Ecclesiastes 3: 11  says God has made everything beautiful in His time:

This is why we wait upon The lord until we come into the full manifestation of His season for us.  As Job said ‘all the days of my appointed time  will I wait until my change comes’ There is coming a change of story at an appointed time  for you , but there is also a  process, a pattern, a plan that God has ordained for you to attain that season. You must be willing to wait and be processed  for your season. In Hebrews 12 apostle Paul asks us to run with patience the race set before us.

Life’s race is run with patience. It is a marathon race, not a 100 meter dash. If you try to dash across life, you may end in a crash. Patience is required. There is always an appointed time for each season of life. The  bible says in the book of Ecclesiastes that there is a time for everything,  so we wait for  our own season. When you are due, you will not be denied. As long as you are following God’s plan it is never too late.

Colonel Sanders may have started out late by the world’s standards. He was 65 when he went into business. Prior to then he .had been a restaurateur and  after running a restaurant for several years, he found himself penniless At an age when most men have retired that was when he decided to re-fire and begin life anew. He had a fried chicken recipe, which he loved and believed people would also love. With the little means at his disposal, Colonel Sanders traveled door to door to houses and restaurants all over his local area, wanting to partner with someone to help promote his chicken recipe in exchange of certain percentage of profit. He was turned down by almost everybody he approached, he was humiliated, mocked & ridiculed at every turn. Colonel Sanders heard 1009 “no”s before he eventually heard his first “yes”. He was turned down continuously  before his chicken recipe was finally accepted, and from there he went into partnership for the franchise of his fried chicken.

In a matter of few years his recipe became an enormous success, and well accepted across the nation. He became world famous by marketing of his chicken recipe, and ended up building a global empire out of fried chicken called Kentucky Fried Chicken [KFC]. Sanders a devoted Christian in his later years, used his wealth for the promotion of the kingdom of God.

Often while we may feel that life is passing us by God knows every experience we pass through has been to position us ultimately for the due manifestation of His glory.  So when we trust Him and are walking in obedience to His commands we shouldn’t  be bothered about time, because in one day He can do for us, what we  could not have achieved for ourselves in a thousand years; just as overnight He made Joseph a prisoner and slave, to become a ruler in Egypt. What matters is being obedient to His divine instructions,

God has everything in perfect control and nothing takes Him by surprise. Not a sparrow can fall to the ground without Him knowing. He dwells outside the realm of time and is  not moved like we often are by the passage of time because He controls time and already knows the end from the beginning. He knows the plan He has for each life and that every destiny is different, just as each plant blooms in its own season.

He knows the appointed time, season and plan. And while we may think time is passing, He only sees His plans coming together and situations working out for the culmination of His eternal purpose.  And He just wants us to be patient and trust Him at each stage as His plan unfolds.

This is why we do not fret, but rather wait on Him to receive His plan and timing. We trust Him enough to know that whatever He has purposed for us, is always the best for us.

PRAYER: Lord, please help me to wait for your appointed times and seasons in my life,  I know that you are indeed working out everything for my good, help me to patiently wait for your will to manifest.

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

 [ADAPTED FROM TRIUMPH OF LIGHT OVER DARKNESS]

John 6:63

It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

• DAILY READING –  – Acts 3; Deuteronomy 17-18; Job 12

It is perhaps one of the most baffling discoveries of modern science; Finding coded messages within the Torah. But it is also undeniable and undisputable, forcing scientists to agree that there must be more to the words of the bible than meets the ordinary eye.

Recent researches have shown messages hidden underneath the first five books of the Bible, known as the Torah. By skipping certain number of letters coded messages that reveal future events are found in the bible. These are called Bible codes.  Scientists in Israel are leading the research in this amazing phenomenon. Many important events in history have been discovered hidden inside this codes; Events such as the comet that hit Jupiter in 1997, Gulf War, the outcome of many Presidential Elections, many assassinations like President Anwar Sadat of Egypt on Oct 6, 1981 (Even the name of the assassin was imprinted in the codes) and description of AIDS. Historical details connected with the names of Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, Hitler and many others; also World War II, Watergate, the Holocaust, the bombing of Hiroshima, the United States moon landing, the fall of communism. etc.

In 1994 Michael Drosnin, author of the book ‘The Bible Code’, found from these codes that Yitzak rabin Israeli prime minister would be assassinated. He flew from America to Israel to warn the prime minister, but his warning was not taken seriously. In 1995, the next year Rabin was assassinated.

Truly amazing! The Bible in addition to being the oldest book in existence is also the most mysterious book known to man. Even before the discovery of the bible codes, the scientist Isaac Newton suspected that the Word of God could decode the universe, and he began to research this before he died. There is indeed so much more contained in the word of God that men are yet to discover.

Yet, as intriguing as the Bible codes sounds, we don’t need science to decode the bible. All we need is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit holds the key to the mysteries of the word of God. When we come to Him He gives us the needed revelations.

However discoveries such as the bible codes confirm that The words of the bible are not ordinary words. They are mysterious Words upon which creation is founded. Even Jesus was careful to speak exactly the words that God gave to Him to speak. In John 12;49 Jesus said ‘I have not spoken of myself, the father which sent me He gave me a commandment what I should say and what I should speak., And I know that His commandment is life everlasting, whatever I  speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.’

The Word of God is not ordinary. It is both powerful and mysterious. It is the scepter given to us by God to dominate and rule our world. The word of power in our mouth is what guarantees our  victory in every battle.  It is the faith that overcomes the world.

Every word of scripture carries the breath of The Spirit. Holy men spoke as they were moved by The Spirit of God. These are living Words coming from the Living God. It carries power which no enemy can resist. Jesus said whosoever falls upon this word shall be broken, and on whosoever it shall fall it shall crush to powder.

Knowing this, let us therefore begin to engage these words of mystery and power in dealing with the issues of life. Let us know that God has given to us the most lethal weapon available in defeating the enemy. Therefore open your mouth wide and declare the word of God over your life and all that concerns you. Whatever you are confronted with today, declare The Word over it. As you speak, be conscious that you are not just  speaking  mere words, but making declarations of power.  And as you declare every enemy must bow in Jesus Name.

PRAYER; Lord I know there is Power  stored up in your Word for me, help me to access it, and declare it with boldness, so that by your Power I can deal with every  issue confronting me in Jesus name.

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God’s Word is ever unchanging; Changing everyone who truly comes in genuine contact with it. WORDBITE 222.

[ADAPTED FROM THE BOOK FAITH CLASSICS]

John 14;29 ‘And now I have told you before it come to pass, that when it is come to pass  ye might believe’

DAILY READING – Acts 2:14-47; Deuteronomy 15-16; Job 11

Recently in the news there has been reports  that Russia is building  massive nuclear bunkers. These are meant to provide shelters to people in Moscow in the event of a devastating nuclear war. This confirms News carried a decade earlier on April 16 1996, by the New York times. According to the report Russia is building huge underground nuclear bunkers and weapons production facilities inside a region of mountains in Russia called the Ural Mountains. This is the largest nuclear-secure project in the world. It has been built to resist a half dozen direct nuclear hits. It is believed this will be the hiding place of the rich and prominent in Russia in the case of a nuclear warfare. Not only Russia, other western countries  are also are preparing against nuclear war by building underground bunkers.

Now it is interesting to note what the bible says in Revelation 6:15-17, ‘ And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;’

So even before these projects commenced the Word of God had predicted it.

However from what we read in the book of revelations, none of this manmade structures can save man in the end.

Man’s salvation is not in building structures but in building a lasting relationship with Jesus Christ. So while they make plans to hide in the mountains, let’s us decide to hide deeper in the rock of ages, the ark of safety, called Christ. He is the only hiding place from trouble.

Just as Noah built an ark of deliverance from the flood, Jesus is the ark that will deliver men from the wrath of the last days.

In Mathew 24: 7, Jesus was speaking to His disciples telling them what would take place in the world to indicate that the end is near.

He said ‘for nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against, and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places.’

These signs are coming to pass as conflicts heat up across the globe. Jesus said the last days will be like the days of Noah when the earth was filled with violence..

Mathew 24:6. Says ‘And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled:  for all these things must come to pass’

Wars and rumors of wars are rife today, hyped greatly by media outlets.

And for us, this is the time to go deeper in our relationship with Christ. During the time of Noah things seemed normal, people were still eating and drinking until the last moment. So it is now. Things may appear normal,  usual, but there is a groundswell in the realm of the spirit. Things are gradually coming to a climax. God is calling us as He called people in the days of Noah to run into the ark now.

It is no longer Christianity as usual. There must be an urgency now to our pace. People may wonder while you are serving God so seriously. They may even mock you or call you a fanatic, as they did to Noah. But don’t be deterred. Truth is that things are really on the fast track now, gradually racing towards the end of the age.

It is time therefore for us to sit up and begin to run the race before us, knowing that one day we will be asked to give account.  And more than ever before let us seek to know God personally for ourselves. Intimate knowledge of God is what will grant access to eternal life. Jesus said in John 17 ‘For this is eternal life, that they might know Thee The Only True God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.’

In Mathew 7;23 Jesus says ‘then I would profess to them, I never knew you, depart from Me, ye that work iniquity’.

Lack of personal knowledge of God, lack of intimacy with Him, is what will cause many to be turned away on the last day. Let us therefore begin now to invest time to know Him more and more. In revelations 2:4, Jesus acknowledged the church of Ephesus for laboring for the kingdom, but rebuked them for leaving their first love, which is intimacy with Him. Our love relationship with Him must precede our service. Our love for Him is what matters most. Knowing Him is our guarantee of eternal life, it is our passport to Heaven. So while men build where to hide, Let us build what will last; an intimate love relationship with Christ. .

PRAYER:  Lord, help me to keep focused on knowing you more and more, even as we draw to the end of this age. Help me to hide deeper in You, to do all that is required of me at this time, so to gain access to Your Kingdom at last, in Jesus Name.

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

WORDBITE 222.

[ADAPTED FROM THE BOOK TRIUMPH OF LIGHT OVER DARKNESS]

Jeremiah 17:11  KJV

‘As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.’

• DAILY READING –  Acts 2:1-13; Deuteronomy 13-14; Job 10

The famous billionaire John D. Rockefeller, suddenly found himself on the verge of death! And he was only 53 years. Despite being the richest man in his time, and astronomically successful, he was faced with a problem he couldn’t solve. He suffered various digestive disorders which money could not alleviate. He lost his hair, lost weight and his shoulders sagged. With his curved back, he looked like an old man who could hardly maintain his balance. His life was being destroyed, and he nearly experienced a total collapse. Close to death, he eventually came to the realization that his life was meant to serve God and bless humanity.

Consequently, he decided to obey the biblical injunction on giving, and began to give away his wealth. Then he discovered that surprisingly the more he gave away, the better his health got. He gave away over 500 million dollars and lived to be healthy. He lived on to the ripe age of 98 years, before he died.

Ecclesiastes 7:12  says ‘For wisdom is a defense, and money is a defense: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.’

Rockefeller, being the richest man in his time, had money as a defense, but the money could not buy him life. It took the wisdom of God to preserve his life. It is only the God kind of wealth that guarantees life. Indeed the blessings of God makes rich and adds no sorrow with it. Solomon whom God made the richest man, in his time, God also gave him rest all round, so that there was neither foe nor adversary. But those who seek wealth by their own power, ignoring God in the process do so to their own detriment.

Just like Rockefeller, many who gather wealth, ignoring God, end up suffering all manner of complicated sicknesses, which money cannot deliver them from. They spend their accumulated wealth  travelling to different countries for medical treatment. That is to say if you seek money alone, you may have it eventually, but it cannot guarantee your life.

In Luke 12, after the rich man had gathered all his wealth, built new structures and then decided to relax and enjoy his money, God came to him and said ‘Thou fool, your soul is required tonight, now who is going to enjoy all this wealth you have  gathered’

Why did God call him a fool? Because psalm 53:1 says ‘The fool hath said in his heart there is no God.’ Anyone who will not acknowledge God in his affairs, and try to strive only by his own strength, is regarded by God to be a fool.

Why work hard all your life, suffer, strive and struggle to lay up wealth and yet, have no guarantee you will live to enjoy it? That is foolishness.

Jeremiah 17:11 says  ‘As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.’

God is not against our success, He just wants us to  seek Him first, so that He can guide us aright and preserve our lives. The road to success is full of pitfalls, and downfalls. It is not a journey a man can make by his strength alone. Anyone  struggling and forcing his way through this road, while ignoring God. may fall and crash in the process.

In 1 Timothy 6;9, apostle warns those who seek, wealth outside of God’s will, that they would fall into temptation, snares, foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

We are not to seek wealth, we are to seek God first and then He will guide us to the wealthy place  He has ordained for us. It is in His plan for us to have a good and successful life, but that will come after we have made Him our priority. Therefore in the journey of life, let us engage the help of God and  allow Him to be the one to guide us. He will go ahead of us and make the crooked places straight. He will break the gates of brass and cut the bars of iron asunder for us. Promotion comes from Him alone. He will give us wealth and give us health with it. He will give us life and peace of mind to enjoy His blessings. That is true success. His blessings will make  rich and add no sorrow.

PRAYER:  Lord please help me to build my life upon the solid foundation of Your Word and prayer. Let my focus be always on You and not on money, help me to pay the required price to lay the needed spiritual foundation for my endeavors by seeking your kingdom first in Jesus name.

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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.

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[ADAPTED FROM THE BOOK FAITH CLASSICS]

Isaiah 1: 19  KJV

‘if you be willing and obedient  you shall eat the good of the land , but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured’

• DAILY READING Acts 1; Deuteronomy 11-12; Job 9

Oil is the biggest source of power generation in the world. It has been one of the most massively produced, consumed, and traded commodity for many years. It is like oxygen in the lifeblood of the world economy.  Oil powers over 99% of all the transportation in the world. Its  production and consumption have been influential factors in the rise or fall of many nations. The middle east controls a sizeable  percentage of oil in the world, in this region alone is found four of the top eight oil-producing countries.

In the old testament God laid out the boundaries of the land He originally gave His people. Looking at the map in modern times, it is an area far bigger than what the modern nation of Israel is occupying today.  And parts of it are rich in oil deposits. But due to disobedience and being cast out of the land through God’s wrath, Israel is not in full possession of its allotted inheritance today.

In fact ironically, the land being occupied by Israel today seems to be the only patch of land in the middle east that is not oil rich. While its Arab neighbors revel in oil wealth, Israel has had to look to other source to boost its economy; such as Agriculture, armament  and technology.

Certain Bible verses hint at the oil reserve in the land God originally promised Israel. Jacob, speaking in Gen 49:22 ,he says Concerning his son Joseph, ’The Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath [Genesis 49:22, 25- 26]. Another prophecy by Moses over Asher whose land adjoins Joseph’s, says ‘Asher is most blessed of sons; let him be favored by his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil [Deut. 33:24.] Some Bible scholars believe this refers to oil beneath the ground.

Had Israel been fully obedient they would have possessed oil rich lands today; a land flowing with milk and honey as God promised. Disobedience can be costly.

However God in His mercy has made available other sources of income, so that relatively the Israeli economy is not doing badly. And as finding oil has become a major agenda in Israel, perhaps someday too, oil will be discovered. The point is; God knew there was great oil deposit in the land when He gave the original map to Israel. He had the future all planned out for His people and though He wasn’t giving the full picture, they just had to trust Him.

God says in Jeremiah 29, that He knows the thoughts He thinks towards us, thoughts of good to give us an expected end. When God makes promises we don’t have to really see it all before we become obedient. We have to trust that He knows the end from the beginning and is indeed leading us into a good land. Walking initially on the path of God’s will it may look like things are not working, but in the end we will find it is the best path to have followed. It is a matter of trust. God has good plans for us, He has good thoughts for us, all we have to be is obedient as He leads us on the path of life.

Psalms 16:11   says ‘Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.’

There is a path God has ordained before us. It is a good path, filled with all that we require to excel in life. If we are willing  and obedient we shall eat the good of this land. The laws of God laid out in the scriptures are for our long term benefits. His commandments are not grievous, they are for our good. Perhaps Mary preached the greatest Gospel in John 2:5, when she said ‘whatsoever He says unto you, do it’.

Whatever God says we are simply to obey. Whenever we are confronted  by a fork in the road,  let us always go the way of God’s commandment.  The Holy Spirit will always lead us in line with The Word of God. In psalm 19, we are told there is great reward in keeping His Word.

Let us therefore decide today to obey every Word of God so that we can enjoy the reward of obedience. Let us follow the leadings of The Holy Spirit as He guides into the fullness of God’s plan. Let us be determined not to miss our portion, but to experience the fullness of the blessings. We will not dwell in a corner of our promised land but will possess the full  inheritance. We will not miss out through disobedience or partial obedience but will follow God fully to take spossession of  what has been promised us, a land flowing with milk and honey as mapped out for us by God. .

PRAYER: Lord, I thank you for guiding me in your perfect will today, please help me to obey every of your commandment so that I can access the fullness of the inheritance you have mapped out for me. May I never miss or forfeit any allotted portion of my inheritance in Christ, in Jesus Name. .  

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When you obey God’s instruction you are delivered from destruction

[ADAPTED FROM THE BOOK TRIUMPH OF LIGHT OVER DARKNESS]

Ezekiel 37;3 ‘

“Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD’

DAILY READING – Matthew 28; Deuteronomy 9-10; Job 8

When God took Ezekiel to a valley of dry bones, the bones were dead and very dry. Yet God asked Ezekiel to prophesy His Word to these bones. Why would God ask him to do that? Well, because The Word of God has the ability to revive anything that is dead or dry or written off.

Job 14:8 says ‘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. That means that no matter how old that situation, or how dead it is, by the scent of the water, which is the Word of God it must come back alive. There is no situation so hopeless that the Word cannot reach and restore. If the Word can touch the dead and dry bones in the valley and turn them into a living army, what then can The Word not do? So what is that looks dead around you right now, is it your business, career, marriage, health, academics? Whatever it is, by the Word  it must come back to life in Jesus name. Every dead or dry situation answers to the Word of God. Jesus said in John 5:28 ‘Marvel not at this:  for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth;’

Therefore whatever looks like it’s in the grave, and has not been working, by The Word of God that has come to you, it must begin to work now.. You are the prophet over your life, speak the Word of God now to your situation and things must surely turn around for your good in Jesus Name.

When Ezekiel prophesied over the fry bones something began to happen.

Ezekiel 37:7 says ‘So I prophesied as I was commanded:  and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.’

The noise and shaking was the sound of the bones coming alive and moving. But then don’t  forget that before Ezekiel began to prophesy, it must have very quiet in that valley. You know they say it’s as quiet as a graveyard. Now stop and think, could that perhaps describe your life? Has it been very quiet around you because of dead situations?. Has there been no sound of joy and rejoicing, no child dedication, no car or house dedication, no wedding bells, no job promotion, no contracts being signed? Has it all been very still and very quiet as if you are in a grave? Well, Jesus said in John 5:28 ‘..all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth;

So by the hearing of the voice of God things in the grave can come forth. When Ezekiel spoke The Word of God in prophesy there was a noise and a shaking, the dead bones began to come alive. The same way, by the Word you are hearing now there is coming a noise and a shaking, and everything not working will begin to come alive in Jesus Name. Suddenly your situation will turn around for good, there will be the sound of joy and rejoicing in your home, People will gather to celebrate with you, there shall be congratulations and announcements of good things concerning you. From now on your mourning shall be turned into dancing in Jesus Name.

.PRAYER: Lord, help me to be filled by your Word,  so that by the Power in Your Word,  I can overcome the oppositions against me, so that every dead situation around me  will come alive again in Jesus Name. . .

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The tests you are going through in life today is not for your destruction, it is for your testimony. – WORDBITE 222. 

 [ADAPTED FROM THE BOOK FAITH CLASSICS]