WHY HE WAS GIVEN

Memorise:

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will
come again, and receive you unto myself; that
where I am, there ye may be also.
John 14:3
Read: John 14:1-3
1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in
God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it
were not so, I would have told you. I go to
prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will
come again, and receive you unto myself; that
where I am, there ye may be also.
Message
What is life? In simplistic terms, we can define
life as the opposite of death. When you travel to
a far country, say for a period of three months,
you will experience a temporary separation
between you and the people, things and locations
you are familiar with. But when death occurs, it
permanently separates you from the things you
love, from your loved ones and from the places
you are familiar with. God gave Jesus to us to
give us life, and to destroy the one who had the
power of death - the devil (Hebrews 2:14). For
this reason, wherever the process of death has
been activated, Jesus can terminate it and restore
life fully. In John 11:25, He declared Himself to be
the Resurrection and the Life. God's gift to us in
the person of Jesus shows how much God loves
us - to the point of giving us the gift of life (John
3:16). With Jesus, death cannot permanently take
hold of you (1 Corinthians 15:54).
Also, Jesus came so that we would not die
financially. To be financially dead is to be
financially bankrupt. Have you experienced this in
your business? The Lord will bring your finances
back to life. Jesus became poor so that you can
be financially free (2 Corinthians 8:9). Because of
the price Jesus has paid, financial freedom is
yours from today! Jesus is our Shepherd so that
we would not lack anything good (Psalm 23:1).
In addition, Jesus was given so that we might not
die mentally. A mentally dead fellow is one who
has lost control of his or her mind. 2 Timothy 1:7
says:
"For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but
of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
Even for the mentally sick, Jesus can restore the
intellect. You can regain your mental wholeness.
Whatever is wrong with you mentally, the Lord
will put right today in Jesus' Name.
Moreover, Jesus was given to us so that we can
have a permanent relationship with the Almighty
God for the rest of our lives. Through Jesus, you
have access to your heavenly mansion after your
sojourn on earth. This is one reason why you
must not break the relationship between the Lord
and yourself. Nothing on earth is worth separating
you from Christ. Never allow anything, no matter
how alluring, to break you off from the love of
Christ. He was given generally for everyone but
specifically for you. Ensure you respond positively
to God's love so that you can maximally enjoy
the benefits of knowing Him. It is well with you.

Prayer Point:
Father, grant me grace to remain in Your love till
Your Son returns to take me home.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: DEUTERONOMY 32:48-34:12
and 1 THESSALONIANS 1:1-2:16

TREADING ON SERPENTS

Memorise:
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Luke 10:19
Read: Luke 10:17-20
17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
Message
Holiness makes you a weapon that God can use. As long as sin dwells in you, it makes you loathsome to God and unsuitable for His use. Hence, 2 Timothy 2:21 says:
"If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work."
If you truly want God to use you to heal the sick, raise the dead and perform signs and wonders, then you must run far away from sin and live a life of holiness unto God. It is important to note here that if you lay your hands on the sick, nothing will happen unless Jesus the Healer lays His hands on yours. So, it is not your hands doing the healing, but His. If your hands are stained with sin or with blood, Jesus will not lay His hands on yours. How clean are your hands?
Moreover, holiness empowers you to fight on God's side against the devil and his demons. Imagine the same fellow who was a slave of sin and a prisoner to the devil, now confronting him face to face and facing the forces of evil in battle. This is just great! God in Isaiah 41:14-15 said:
"Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff."
Holiness empowers God's people to fearlessly confront any satanic agent and to paralyse his or her powers. By holiness, you become strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. It clothes you in God's armour and protects you from the missiles of the enemy (Ephesians 6:14).
Holiness makes you stand tall in the midst of opposing forces (John 14:30-31), and positions you in Christ so that satanic forces are all kept under your feet (Ephesians 1:20-23). Sin puts the sinner under Satan; this is why he can tread on them at will (Romans 6:16). Holiness reverses that order and places the believer above the devil. No wonder Jesus in Luke 10:19 says:
"Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
Anytime you dare demons when sin is in your life, you can be sure you will suffer some injuries; but if you are living holy, you can trample them under foot.
Key Point:
A person's lifestyle determines his or her position in the spirit realm. While sin puts you under the devil, holiness puts you above him.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: DEUTERONOMY 29:1-31:13 and COLOSSIANS 2:16-3:17

FINISHING THE RACE.

MEMORISE : I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith :

2 TIMOTHY 4 : 7.
READ : 2 TIMOTHY 4 : 6 - 8 :
6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: DEUTERONOMY 28 : 15 - 68 AND COLOSSIANS 1 : 24 - 2 : 15.
The moment you became born-again, a race was set before you (Hebrews 12 : 1 ) . This implies that until a person becomes born-again, he or she has no destination to go with God. It is the new birth in Christ Jesus that gives you a destination in God. Are you saved? If you are, there is a divine destination you have been called unto. Religion and being religious can never give you a destination in Christ. If you are born-again, you are going somewhere glorious, prepared for you by the Lord Jesus Christ, both in this world and in the world to come; but if you are not born-again, you are heading nowhere. You shall arrive at your God-given destination in Jesus' Name.
Moreover, it is one thing to start a race and another thing to finish it. While it is a great thing to finish the race, it is more glorious to finish it with joy. The devil will do everything to stop you from starting the race, but when he fails, he will try to hinder you from reaching the finish line. When he sees that he is not able to stop you from finishing the race, he will do everything possible to make you miserable, sad, depressed and unhappy along the way, so that you will end the race with grumbling, regrets, in tears and, if possible, even accusing God. These are all satanic wiles, but by the grace of God, you shall overcome.
One Bible character who was very conscious of the race he was called to run was Paul the apostle. In our Bible reading, towards the end of his race, he looked back and assessed his performance. He assessed himself against the backdrop of the rewards he saw reserved for him in Heaven. Paul knew exactly what he wanted. He had set his goal right from when his race started, and had worked assiduously towards achieving it. In Acts 20 : 22 - 24, in spite of the difficult situations he had already gone through for the faith, he acknowledged that several unpleasant events were awaiting him even as he headed for Jerusalem. Nevertheless, he was completely detached from them, because he was totally sold out to the Lord; the devil was therefore not able to get his attention. He had to do all these so that he could finish his race with joy. If you truly want to finish your race with joy, you must die to self. Satan will do everything to get at you, but if you are dead to self, you will not be moved. However, if you allow self to control you, you will take offence and finish in sorrow, and you may even get derailed. Are you ready to pay the price to finish this Christian race with joy?

PRAYER POINT :
Father, help me finish with joy the Christian race set before me.

HELP FROM UNWILLING HELPERS.

MEMORISE : Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
1 KINGS 17 : 9.
READ : GENESIS 32 : 24 - 32 :
24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.
32 Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : DEUTERONOMY 26 : 1 - 28 : 14 AND COLOSSIANS 1 : 1 - 23.
One lesson about the workings and operations of God from today's Bible reading is that prayer compels blessings out of unwilling helpers. There are some people who can help you but who deliberately refuse to do so for one reason or the other. If you fail to pray, you might be denied their help; but if you pray, your prayers can force them to have a change of heart, and move them to help you. Why did Jacob have to wrestle with God? Why did he say he would not let go until his desire was granted? It is because there is the possibility of unwillingness from destiny-helpers. In the Name of Jesus, all destiny-helpers who have refused to help you will have a positive turn-around and render help to you from today.
You need to understand the reasons why a destiny-helper may refuse to help the one he or she has been appointed to help. Many factors may be responsible for this, and one of such factors is sin. The greatest helper of destiny that anyone can have is God. God wants to help you, but sin ties His hands ( Isaiah 59 : 1 - 2 ). Some people have maltreated their helpers unknowingly, only to later realise that the person they had treated badly has a significant role to play in their lives. Never oppress anyone, particularly those who appear to be in a disadvantaged position, because you don't know what they will become later. Besides, if you are always antagonising your helpers, others who were meant to help you will soon take their flight from you.
In addition, prayer makes your helpers remember you and review your situation in your favour. Jacob wrestled with God all night, and this moved God to remember his plight and review his situation. This is why God asked Jacob, "What is your name?" From that moment, things changed for Jacob. You may want to ask: "What if Jacob had not prayed?" The answer is that his story would have ended prematurely. Esau, his vengeful brother, who was very militant, would have taken revenge on him. This tells you that if not for the prayers you had prayed, and if not for the intercession of others to God on your behalf, you may not be where you are today. You need to pray so that you can arrive at God's ordained destination ahead of you.
PRAYER POINT :
Father, in Your mercy, reverse today, whatever is making my destiny-helpers withdraw their help from me, in Jesus' Name.

STEALING BY LIES: NOT ALLOWED

Memorise:

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Revelation 21:8
Read: Revelation 21:7-8
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Message
In a particular church, some children and teenagers were asked to contribute some money for a specific purpose to their coordinator. After a while, the money contributed disappeared into thin air, and what was promised was never delivered. That is stealing! Such fraudulent actions can take Heaven away from its perpetrators. If you are guilty of such an act, go back and restitute, even if you have moved from that place to another. Do you know that some people need to restitute some items (for example, church-owned hymn books) and money to the churches they once attended in the past? Wherever you have a restitution to make, go and do so for the sake of making Heaven.
Moreover, stealing comes in different shades. Have you lied while filling your tax forms by declaring less than what you earn? You have defrauded the government. Do you have something that belongs to the government in your custody? Return it! Did you join others to share the proceeds of bribery, illegitimate deals and extortion in your office? Return it! Have you stolen a position from the rightful candidate through lying or mudslinging? Go and restitute your ways. Anything you fraudulently acquired must be returned to the rightful owner.
"The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death."
Proverbs 21:6
As a dealer in used cars, do you tamper with the mileage figures of cars you sell just to deceive potential buyers? Repent. When asked to supply some goods in a contract, do you look for fairly used ones, refurbish them and present them as brand new? Restitute! When you go for a course outside your place of residence, do you lie that you lodged in an expensive hotel, whereas you stayed in a cheaper hotel or even lodged with a friend or relative? Do you falsify figures? Some pastors manipulate attendance to enhance their periodic performance assessment. If you can deceive man, can you deceive God? Even if you succeed with that deception and get what you wanted, does God's silence equal divine approval? Restitution is putting to rest something that is experiencing unrest. Until you restitute a pending matter, there can never be rest, no matter what else is done. God wants you holy. It must be His way and not yours.

Key Point:
Every lie told is not gone into oblivion; rather, it is only waiting somewhere to implicate the liar.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: DEUTERONOMY 21:15-23:14 and PHILIPPIANS 3:1-4:1

"What does the Bible say about a Christian’s responsibility?"

Answer: Without question the greatest reason that we live for God is our unwavering belief in the resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. It is through His resurrection from the grave that we have hope and the promise of life eternal with him. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, the apostle Paul explains that, because of these promises of a future resurrection and of living eternally in the kingdom, believers have not only the motivation but also eternal responsibilities for our lives here on earth.

The apostle Paul touches on such responsibilities in his concluding statement in the 15th chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians. He declares that, if we really believe and if we are truly thankful that our resurrection is sure, we should “therefore” demonstrate our assurance and our thankfulness by “standing firm, letting nothing move us” and “always giving ourselves full to the work of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). This, then, is the believer’s responsibility: to stand firm in the faith and give himself completely to the Lord.

The Greek for “standing firm” is hedraios, which literally refers to “being seated, being settled and firmly situated.” The Greek for “letting nothing move you” is ametakinetos, and it carries the same basic idea but with more intensity. It means “being totally immobile and motionless,” indicating that we should not even budge an inch from His will. And with our being totally within the will of God, we are to be “always giving ourselves to the work of the Lord,” being careful not to be “tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming” (Ephesians 4:14).

Why did Paul give us this warning? Simply because, if our confident hope in the resurrection wavers, we are sure to abandon ourselves to the ways and standards of the world. Therefore, if there are no eternal ramifications or consequences of what we do in this life, the motivation for selfless service and holy living is gone. In other words, our eternal responsibilities are abandoned.

Conversely, when our hope in the resurrection is clear and certain, we will have great motivation to be attending to the responsibility we have to “always giving ourselves to the work of the Lord.” The Greek for this phrase carries the idea of exceeding the requirements, of overflowing or overdoing. A good example of this is found in Ephesians 1:7-8 where the word is used of God having “lavished” upon us the riches of His grace. Because God has so abundantly provided for us who deserve nothing from Him, we should determine to give of ourselves abundantly in service to Him, to whom we owe everything.

The Bible teaches us that our responsibility as believers is to work uncompromisingly as the Lord has gifted us and leads us in this life. We must fully understand that until the Lord returns there are souls to reach and ministries of every sort to be performed. We are responsible for our money, time, energy, talents, gifts, bodies, minds, and spirits, and we should invest in nothing that does not in some way contribute to the work of the Lord. James tells us, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:26).

Our work for the Lord, if it is truly for Him and done in His power, cannot fail to accomplish what He wants accomplished. Every good work believers do has eternal benefits that the Lord Himself guarantees. Jesus tells us, “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done” (Revelation 22:12).

Simply put, our responsibility lies in working for the Lord, whether it is in “looking after orphans or widows in distress” (James 1:27), giving to the hungry, the naked, visiting those in prison (see Matthew 25:35-36), serving in our workplace (see Colossians 3:22), or doing whatever we do (Colossians 3:23). And our motivation is that we have God’s own promise that our work “is not in vain” in the Lord “since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:24).

"What does the Bible say about obedience?"

Answer: The Bible has much to say about obedience. In fact, obedience is an essential part of the Christian faith. Jesus Himself was “obedient unto death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8). For Christians, the act of taking up our cross and following Christ (Matthew 16:24) means obedience. The Bible says that we show our love for Jesus by obeying Him in all things: “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). A Christian who is not obeying Christ’s commands can rightly be asked, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46).

Obedience is defined as “dutiful or submissive compliance to the commands of one in authority.” Using this definition, we see the elements of biblical obedience. “Dutiful” means it is our obligation to obey God, just as Jesus fulfilled His duty to the Father by dying on the cross for our sin. “Submissive” indicates that we yield our wills to God’s. “Commands” speaks of the Scriptures in which God has clearly delineated His instructions. The “one in authority” is God Himself, whose authority is total and unequivocal. For the Christian, obedience means complying with everything God has commanded. It is our duty to do so.

Having said that, it is important to remember that our obedience to God is not solely a matter of duty. We obey Him because we love Him (John 14:23). Also, we understand that the spirit of obedience is as important as the act of obedience. We serve the Lord in humility, singleness of heart, and love.

Also, we must beware of using a veneer of obedience to mask a sinful heart. Living the Christian life is not all about rules. The Pharisees in Jesus’ time relentlessly pursued acts of obedience to the Law, but they became self-righteous, believing they deserved heaven because of what they had done. They considered themselves worthy before God, who owed them a reward; however, the Bible tells us that, without Christ, even our best, most righteous works are as “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). The Pharisees’ external obedience still lacked something, and Jesus exposed their heart attitude. Their hypocrisy in obeying the “letter of the law” while violating its spirit characterized their lives, and Jesus rebuked them sharply: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear beautiful outside, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so you also appear righteous to men outwardly, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (Matthew 23:27–28). The Pharisees were obedient in some respects, but they “neglected the weightier matters of the law” (Matthew 23:23, ESV).

Today, we are not called to obey the Law of Moses. That has been fulfilled in Christ (Matthew 5:17). We are to obey the “law of Christ,” which is a law of love (Galatians 6:2; John 13:34). Jesus stated the greatest commands of all: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:36–40).

If we love God, we will obey Him. We won’t be perfect in our obedience, but our desire is to submit to the Lord and display good works. When we love God and obey Him, we naturally have love for one another. Obedience to God’s commands will make us light and salt in a dark and tasteless world (Matthew 5:13–16).

courtesy of http://www.gotquestions.org/