BETHEL: HEAVEN’S GATE

And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Beth-el. Genesis 35:15

Read: Genesis 35:1-7 (KJV)

1 And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.

2 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:

3 And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.

4 And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.

5 And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.

6 So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him.

7 And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.

MESSAGE

Bethel is the house of God, a place where God dwelled with His people. Over time, the Bible redefined the true place of worship to be the heart of man. Today therefore, Bethel could be said to represent the house of God, the true place of worship, or the dwelling place of God. The Samaritan woman by the well asked a million-dollar question from Jesus about the location of the heavenly approved place of worship. Jesus answered by saying that the time has come when the location is not of utmost importance to God anymore. John 4:23 says:

“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.”

The realization that man is the dwelling place of God should be taken seriously by every Christian. Several passages in the Bible confirm this truth. 1st Corinthians 6:19 says:

“What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”

The freedom and liberty granted to Christians at conversion does not translate to ownership and absolute authority over ourselves as some erroneously think. Brethren, you are not your own, you belong to God your creator, you owe your allegiance to Him and you will do well to live your life with that consciousness. This will help you to be conscious of what you do with your body. It will help you to avoid anything that could abuse the body such as sexual immorality, indecent exposure, drug abuse, alcoholism, etc. it will also help you to watch what you consume or take into your body such as literature, audio and video contents. Realizing that your body is the temple of God will also affect the type of company that you keep and where you go.
More importantly, 1st Corinthians 3:17 says:

“If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”

Children of God should avoid doing anything that can defile them. In addition to the things mentioned above, engaging in any form of cosmetic reconstruction of the body in order to change or improve one’s complexion, sexual orientation, or appearance, is a defilement of God’s temple.

Prayer Point:

Father, please let Your fire wake me up to my responsibility in Christ.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : Exodus 30:22-33:6 and Psalms 119:49-64

IT IS TIME TO OVERFLOW II

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 JOHN 

1 : 2.

READ : EXODUS 23 : 25 :

25 And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.

MESSAGE :

From our Bible reading for today, we see a positive relationship between our service to God, what we eat and our health. Christians are supposed to overflow in health, so much that when we touch sick people, they become healed.

Many Christians joke with their service to God, no wonder they fall sick. I thank God and give Him all glory for my life; ever since I sold myself out to the service of God, He has been my only Doctor. I remember vividly well how I used to battle with malaria helplessly, until one day when I decided to enter into an agreement with God, I told Him to heal me of malaria permanently and I will serve Him, and malaria has been a stranger to me since then. When you serve God wholeheartedly, He will ensure that no sickness stays in your body.

Another reason why some Christians are sick is because of what they eat. Our Bible reading for today says that God will bless your food and water and you will not fall sick, but many don’t ask God to bless their food before eating it. Also, God cannot bless what He has not approved of. Our Body is His temple, and anything that can destroy His temple is not approved by Him. We must keep away from junk food, over eating, unhealthy eating habits and the likes. God does not approve of food or drinks that are injurious to our health. Eat more of fresh vegetables and fruits. Eat the right quantity at the right time of the day. Stop overeating. Stay fit, exercise regularly. Some Christians quote Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 4 : 8.

“For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”

Yes it is true that bodily exercise profits a little, however, that little must not be done away with. We must take care of God’s temple so that it can be available for Him to use when He needs it.

KEY POINT : Pay attention to your health, God prefers you healthy than sick.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : EXODUS 29 : 1 - 30 : 21 AND PSALMS 119 : 33 - 48.

IT IS TIME TO OVERFLOW (I)

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3rd John 1:2

Read: 2nd Samuel 6:10-12 (KJV)

10 He was not willing to take the ark of the Lord to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.

11 The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed him and his entire household.

12 Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing.

MESSAGE

God is not a poor God, He is wealthier than we can ever imagine. He owns all the natural resources on earth, all the gases in the air and all the elements in the universe, just to mention a few. Can you imagine if scientists are able to get a tiny piece of the sun. Imagine how much they will sell it at an auction. The Almighty God owns the entire sun and all elements in the universe. A God as rich as this will definitely give His children more than enough resources to take care of their needs. He lacks nothing, so His children should lack nothing too. However, this is not the case in reality. We see many Christians these days wallowing in poverty for years, in fact, many unbelievers don’t want to become born again because they are afraid of poverty. God is not happy with this. More often than not, these Christians are the cause of their own predicament.

God in His Word has given us several instructions and principles that will guarantee our wealth, but He will not force us to practice them, we have to do them ourselves to see them manifest. For example, in Luke 6:38, Jesus Christ Himself said:

“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measure to you again.”

Whenever I see Pastors trying hard to convince people to give, it hurts me, because if every Christian has the understanding of this passage, they will constantly complete to give the biggest offering. The Bible says also in Proverbs 11:24:

“There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.”

This implies that if you want to increase, sow seeds. Also, the second part of this verse tells us that there is a certain amount that is necessary to be withheld. Many Christians don’t save.

They eat like every day is their last day on earth. This is wrong; if we want to lend to nations like the Bible promises, then we must learn from Joseph’s strategy, he saved 20% of everything they got in Egypt, after a few years, nations from all over the world were coming to Egypt for food.

Key Point:

God’s plan for us is that we overflow in wealth, we are to control the world economy, but if we don’t read and follow His instructions, that may be impossible.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : Exodus 27-28 and Psalms 119:17-32

PARENTS! LEAD THE WAY

Train up a child in the way he should go: And when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

Read: Psalms 127:3-5 (KJV)

3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

MESSAGE

Discipline in the family happens when parents lovingly correct and train their children in accordance with the Word of God, so that they may grow up in the way of the Lord. The type of relationship that exists between parents and their children determines whether the children will be disciplined or not. When a servant misbehaves, you may ignore his offence but when a son or daughter commits the same offence, they should not get away with it. God.

It is the goal of every reasonable parent to ensure that their children are better versions of themselves. On the other hand, some parents are extreme; they don’t discipline, but crush their children. Being high-handed is applying discipline the other way round. Matthew 5:48 says, we should be as perfect as our Heavenly Father; God wants us to be as good as Himself. Jesus, the Prince of Peace wants us to be even better; hence, He says we will do greater works than He did. My joy as the General Overseer of the RCCG is in seeing my spiritual children excel and achieve greater heights than myself. I decree into the lives of everyone using this devotional right now, you will excel in all that you lay your hands on and you will achieve greater heights than myself in Jesus’ name.

Meanwhile, children are naturally naughty, that is why Proverbs 22:15 says:

“Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; But the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.”

Since Adam’s fall, this has been the trend. You do not need to teach a child to be angry before he or she manifests it, even at infancy. It is innate. So when a father wants his child to become like him, he would have to employ his rod of correction. How often do you correct your children? Proverbs 29:15 says any child left to himself will bring shame to the parents and Proverbs 29:17 says the child that is disciplined will give joy and peace to the parents.

Don’t over pamper your children. Don’t spoil them by using love as an excuse. Many ladies do not know how to cook or handle domestic chores because their parents left everything to the house-help. You are undoing your children if you deny them good home training and discipline. You owe it to your children to discipline them. If you fail to give it to them, the result of their indiscipline will haunt you here on earth and you will have a case to answer in heaven.

Prayer Point:

Father, please don’t let me disappoint You over my children in Jesus’ name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : Exodus 25-26 and Psalms 119:1-16

DON’T BURY YOUR TALENT

But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 2 Corinthians 9:6

Read: Matthew 25:24-29 (KJV)

24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:

25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.

26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.

28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.

29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

MESSAGE

God ordained seedtime and harvest not just to mark time, but as a life principle. He also gave varying degrees of talents to every human being as a form of heavenly investment. Consequently, every legitimate human task, however menial it may seem, is of intrinsic worth and a potential means of glorifying God.

God expects us to use our God-given talents and abilities profitably. I once told my children that if they understand the natural farming process with the scriptural principles on sowing and reaping, entering into their harvest will be a work-over, because they will know what to sow, how to sow it and how to water the seed sown in order to have their desired harvest. In essence, they will know how to profitably use their talents for the progress of God’s kingdom. When the Holy Ghost Service congregation grew beyond what I could handle all by myself, I chose seven elders to assist me. I gave each of them a neck tie I had used during previous ministrations, and asked them to wear them as mantle from me. Each time they wore them while ministering, there were records of miracles, signs and wonders. But then, I also observed that I began to harvest neckties from close associates and friends who travelled to South Africa, London or America. I became curious about the fact that whenever anyone brought me a gift, it was a neck tie. So I asked God why. The Lord said; “Son, if you sow ties, you will reap ties.” Then I realised that I was receiving the harvest of the ties I gave out. So I began to sow shoes to pastors who shared the same shoe size with me. After giving out several of them, some of which were my best, I waited the first and second months but no shoe gift came from anywhere. Worried over the delay, I asked God why the harvest was yet to come and He taught me another lesson. He said; “Son, if you plant maize, you can harvest it within three months, but if you plant yam, you will have to wait a little longer. Shoes are more valuable than ties; the greater the quality of the seed you have sown, the longer you will have to wait for its harvest. Since you have planted shoes, you will have to wait a little longer, but the moment the harvest begins, it will not stop.”

When the harvest came, I got shoes of different sizes, colours and levels of sophistication. Have you sown a seed? Your harvest will come. If you have sown quality seeds, give it time to mature, if you are impatient with your seed, you cannot obtain its full potentials. On the other hand, sow quality seeds; sow only what you want to reap. It is wrong to expect a harvest from where you have not sown. Have you sown towards your desired harvest?

Prayer Point:

Father, please help me sow towards my desired harvest.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 20:1-22:15 and Psalms 117

DEALING WITH UNCLEAN SPIRITS

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Mark 16:16

Read: Matthew 10:1

10:1 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

MESSAGE

Demons are fallen angels that were driven out of heaven because of their rebellious acts. The Bible presents demons as the authentic source of every manner of immorality in this world. Also, demons are the foot soldiers that the devil uses to steal, kill, devour and wreck all manner of evil against humanity. I pray that you will not become an easy prey to the devil and his demons in the Name of Jesus.

However, demons were subject to the authority of Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry and subsequently in the ministry of the Church. Demons and idols bow in the Presence of our God. If you study how demons related with Jesus Christ and His disciples in the Bible, you will observe that they recognized God’s Presence in Jesus Christ and his disciples, and they surrendered without argument. I have always told my spiritual children that if we have enough of His Presence in us, demons will flee when they sight us, how much more when we command them to go out. In Mark 5:1-6, when Jesus stepped on the shores of the Gadarenes, a very notorious, heavily demon-possessed mad man immediately reported to Him even before He said a word. It is very easy to cast out demons when your life is full of God’s glory. When Jesus came to earth, He brought with Him the glory and dominion of Heaven. Consequently, if demons see that same glory of God in you, they will have no choice but to submit to the King of Glory whose Presence you carry.

Until you carry a higher level of His Presence in your life, you may not realize the activities of demons in your environment. Believe it or not, they are everywhere, performing their negative assignments. But as God increases His Presence in your life, there will be commotions, because demons recognize the Presence of God and they won’t be at rest. Even in the church, while God’s anointed Word is being taught in power, demons will not be able to withstand that power. One day, Paul and is co-labourers in God’s vineyard were on their way to a prayer meeting when the spirit of divination in a young lady became restless because of God's Presence. If only you carry a higher level of His Presence, the demons around you will manifest from wherever they are hiding. Ask God for more of His Presence upon you.

Prayer Point:

Father, please baptize me with Your power today in Jesus’ name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Exodus 15-16
Psalms 115

FEARLESS MESSENGER

Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee saith the Lord.

Read : Jeremiah 1:4-10

4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.

7 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.

8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.

9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.

10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

Message

There are different ways by which God can send His word to His people. The Word Of the Lord came unto Jeremiah telling him to fear not the faces of the people He was sending him to bless the message He has given him would not be pleasant message for them. Same was the account of Jonah when he was given a message to the people of Nineveh. The message of God to his children is always in various form. It contains doctrine, reproof,correction and instruction on righteousness ( 2 Timothy 3:16 ). It is always difficult for man to be confronted with his errors and wicked ways, and this was the assignment that God gave prophet Jeremiah.

How I wish there are many prophet Jeremiahs in our land, there would be more revival in our land. Prophets like Jeremiah who will call a spade a spade and not water down the Word of God because of the faces of the people. You cannot entangle yourself with the affairs of this world and still deliver the message of God without bias. There are many men of God who are afraid of the people God is sending them to. The God we serve has not given us the spirit of fear but of boldness and soundness of mind. You have to be fearless in preaching the Word of God. You must be instant in season and out of season.

We live in a time when people do not listen to absolute truth of Gods Word. People are very selective about the kind of messages they listen to. Do you receive the Word with gladness each time the Word points you to the cross? 2 Timothy 4:3 says : For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; God wanted Jeremiah to warn the people about the punishment to come if they would not repent from their ways of wickedness. God told Jeremiah to inform those who were proud and wicked, that the rod of affliction was coming on them.

The essence of this message to the people was for them to purge themselves from unrighteousness. Each time the Word of God comes to you, it is an opportunity to amend your ways before it is too late. God wants you to be a vessel unto honour, sanctified and meet for His use so that you can be prepared for every good work. Whatever assignment God has given to you,do not be afraid. You will meet oppositions and enemies but you can be sure God is by your side. They may look big, but they are not bigger than the One who sent you. God will always deliver you out of the hand of persecutors. He will not only stand by you as you deliver the Word, He will deliver you from every trouble in the course of the assignment. When God sends you a message, He also backs you with His power. They may not like your face, but you can be sure that once you have declared the counsel of God to them, at the point of judgement; you will not be responsible for their blood. He that covereth his sins shall not proposer: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

Another factor that can earn you mercy in the place or judgment is your Love for God. This love you have for God will prevent you from continuing in sin against Him. Exodus 20:5-6 says : for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Our Lord Jesus Christ corroborates what His Father says in the scripture above when He demands love and practical demonstration of it from his followers. He said in John 14:21: He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall love my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Beloved, if indeed, you prefer mercy to judgement, you will choose to love God. To love God requires keeping his commandments.

Finally, if you want mercy in the place of judgment, you need to humble yourself before God, acknowledging the fact that you are nothing without Him.

Key Point :

If God be for you who can be against you?

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : Exodus 6:14-8:32 and Psalms 110-111