BEWARE OF THE DEFEATIST PRAYERS.

MEMORY VERSE:

“Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God, and die. “ Job 2:9

BIBLE READING: Judges 16:24-31.
24. And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.
25. And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.
26. And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.
27. Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.
28. And Samson called unto The LORD, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
29. And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.
30. And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.
31. Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.

MESSAGE
A. Prayer was established by God as a means of dialogue between Himself and His Covenant People.
1. Our Lord Jesus Christ engaged in prayer in His Lifetime and also taught His Disciples how to pray (Matthew 14:23, Matthew 6:9-13).
2. As His Disciple today, we pray with the assurance of His Promise in Matthew 21:22, which says: “ And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”
3. The fact that Our Lord engaged in all night prayer shows how significant prayer is (Luke 6:12).
4. In Matthew 17:21, He revealed to us that some challenges in life may not be overcome without fervent prayers and fasting, God’s Attitude and Response to prayer differs based on the identity of the person praying.
5. 1 Peter 3:12 says: “For The Eyes of The Lord are over The Righteous, and His Ears are open unto their prayers: but The Face of The Lord is against them that do evil.”
6. Based on this verse of The Scripture, only those who are in standing with God should expect answers to their prayers.
7. If you have not received The gift of Righteousness which comes from being Born Again, I implore you to give your life to Jesus today. 8. I pray that every request you make to God as from today shall be answered by fire in Jesus Name. Amen 🙏!

B. Despite The Obvious Power of Prayer and the various examples of answered prayer in the Bible.
1. Certain circumstances threaten our very existence and shake the foundation of our faith, causing us to render defeatist prayer to God.
2. A defeatist prayer is the kind of prayer made with an expectation of imminent failure, assumption of hopelessness and a resignation to fate.
3. Defeatist prayers carry a belief that God cannot intervene in the situation at hand.
4. May you never doubt The Ability of God to save you in the time of trouble in Jesus’ Name. Amen 🙏!
5. In Job 2:9, Job’s case got so bad that he was given a defeatist option of cursing God and choosing death.
6. Similarly, after great exploits for God, followed by victories and celebrations, Elijah’s life was threatened by a wicked queen called Jezebel.
7. He became so distressed that he prayed this defeatist prayer in 1 Kings 19:4: “……..It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.”
8. In like manner, after The Lord departed from Samson, he lost everything, including his eyesight, and he began to grind corn for his enemies in captivity.
9. This situation forced him to pray a defeatist prayer in Judges 16:30, saying “let me die with my enemies.”
10. Irrespective of what you are passing through, I encourage you to never render a defeatist prayer to God.
11. Although it might not be easy, remember that your faith is toughened when it passes through fire.
12. Therefore, have faith in God and hold on to Him. Please don’t ever give up on God!

ACTION POINT:
Father, Please don’t let my faith fail in the day of adversity in Jesus’ Name. 🙏!

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 45-47, Luke 3:23-4:13

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE.

THE WILL OF GOD.

 MEMORISE:

He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. Matthew 26:42

READ: Matthew 6:9-10

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

James 4:13-15

13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:

14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

MESSAGE

Because God is the creator of all things in heaven and on earth, He holds supreme authority over everything, and He does whatever pleases Him (Psalm 135:6). His desire is that every creature in heaven and on earth should do His will. The will of God is God’s plan and purpose for each entity in His creation at any given time. Only those who have submitted themselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ can readily do God’s will from their heart (Psalm 40:8). There is only one person on earth who knows the will of God at any particular time and 1 Corinthians 2:11 reveals that person:

“For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.”

Therefore, anyone who does not have the Holy spirit dwelling in him or her can neither know nor be submissive to the will God (1 Corinthians 2:14, Romans 8:7). Even if such people attend church meetings and worship service, they will still find the word of God and the lifestyle of His kingdom questionable, burdensome and even offensive.

Whenever an unconverted person is confronted with the will of God as revealed through His words, an antagonistic tension develops in their heart, which the conviction of the Holy Spirit works to douse. Because the corrupt carnal nature of man sees itself as the master of the universe, human beings love to exercise their freewill over everything, including the forces of nature and even God’s divine power. This has led some people to erroneously see the power of the human freewill as being superior to God’s divine authority. However, children of God do not walk in this folly. As children of God, we recognize that the exercise of freewill outside the will of God is false freedom which leads to slavery and captivity to worldly pleasures, addictions, pride, inordinate ambition, immortality, and the like. These are the very same things that Jesus sacrificed so much to deliver us from. Therefore, we submit our freewill to God in the process of discovering and following God’s purpose for our lives. Any exercise of freedom that gives a person the liberty to live recklessly without due consideration for divine purpose and life after death is actually the freedom of fools. God’s will for His children is always good and in their best interest (Jeremiah 29:11). It is the essence of life and the only way by which we can fulfill our destiny. You can continually know God’s will for your life by discerning it in the place of prayer (Ephesians 5:17, Colossians 1:9). Your Heavenly Father expects you to ensure that His will be done in your life, family, church and community (Matthew 6:10). Are you doing this?

PRAYER POINT:

Father, I submit myself anew to the Lordship of Your Spirit. Please let Your will be done in my life in Jesus’ Name.

Refuse to be Hopeless

Memorise: Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. Romans 15:13

Bible Reading – Ezekiel 37:11-14

11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.

12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.

13 And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,

14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.

Bible in one year: Isaiah 28-29, Luke 1:1-25

Message: Hopelessness or despair is a state marked by great difficulty, doubt, desperation, heaviness and embarrassment, causing one to be confounded, to give up hope or to be at a loss on what to do. Shame is also implied, as hopelessness leads to hanging one’s head low in a daze or confusion.

What do you do when life leaves you with no money, no source of livelihood, no food and no place to lay your head? What do you do when there is no way of providing for your family, especially if you have little children?

What do you do when you are faced with medical, financial or physiological problems that seem to defy all solution? What do you do when calamity or devastation comes against you unexpectedly and you have exhausted channels of resolution without respite?

Many in such situations have chosen the dark path that eventually leads to death, either by way of murder or suicide. I pray for anyone who may be passing through difficult times at this moment: the Lord will help you, He will make a way for you out of your troubles, and you will live to share your testimony with the world in Jesus’ Name.

So much evil comes forth from situations of hopelessness. In 1 Samuel 31:4, after King Saul had been badly wounded, he lost every hope of divine intervention or recovery, and he committed suicide by falling on his sword.

Similarly, in 2 Samuel 17:23, the moment Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed he was filled with shame and embarrassment, so much so that he took his own life.
After Judas Iscariot had betrayed Jesus, his heart was stricken by guilt, and he hanged himself (Matthew 27:3-5). I pray that the type of hopelessness that drove these men to commit suicide will never be your portion in Jesus’ Name.

Are you confronted by a hopeless situation, or are you stricken with deep sorrow and pain? I want you to encourage yourself in the Lord your God, just like David did after he lost everything he had ever laboured for (1 Samuel 30:6).

The Almighty is our hope, our salvation and our peace. In your deepest sorrow and greatest moments of despair, please avoid temptation of seeking respite in alcohol, hard drugs or any other mind bending substances.

Always turn to God for help, because you can always count on Him to console you and make a way out of that hopeless situation. I pray that no matter what you are passing through, you will not take any step that will lead to destruction in Jesus’ Name.

Prayer Point - Father, please turn every hopeless situation in my life around for good in Jesus’ Name.

What do you think?

1). Never raise your voice for any reason to your husband. Its a sign of disrespect.(Prov 15v1)

2). Don't expose your husband's weaknesses toyour family and friends. It will bounce back at you.You are each other's keeper.(Eph 5v12)

3). Never use attitudes and moods to communicate to your husband, you never know how your husband will interpret them. Defensive women don't have a happy home.(Prov 15v13)

4). Never compare your husband to other men, you've no idea what their life is all about. If you attack his Ego, his Love for you will diminish.

5). Never ill treat your husband's friends because you don't like them, the person who's supposed to get rid of them is your husband.(Prov 11v22)

6). Never forget that your husband married you, not your maid or anyone else. Do your duties.(Gen 2v24)

7). Never assign anyone to give attention to your husband, people may do everything else but your husband is your own responsibility.(Eph 5v33)

8). Never blame your husband if he comes back home empty handed. Rather encourage him.(Deut 3v28)

9). Never be a wasteful wife, your husband's sweat is too precious to be wasted.

10). Never pretend to be sick for the purpose of denying your husband sex. You must give it to him how he wants it. Sex is very important to Men, if you keep denying him, it is a matter of time before another woman takes over theat duty. No man can withstand sex starvation for too long(even the anointed ones) (SS 7v12)

11). Never compare your husband to your one time sex mate in bedroom, or an Ex-lover. Your home may Never recover from it if you do.(SS 5v9)

12). Never answer for your husband in public opinion polls, let him handle what is directed to him although he may answer for you in public opinion polls.(Prov 31v23)

13). Never shout or challenge your husband in front of children. Wise Women don't do that.(Eph 4v31)

14). Don't forget to check the smartness of your husband before he checks out.(Prov 12v4)

15). Never allow your friends to be too close to your husband. Only the wise man tells you the truth. God bless you

EATING YOUR PARENT’S SOUR GRAPES?*

*MEMORISE:*

The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. Ezekiel 18:20

READ: Jeremiah 31:29-33

29 In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge.

30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.

31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:

33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

MESSAGE
One of the blessings of the cross of Jesus Christ is the removal of generational curses that have been the bane of mankind since the great fall of Adam and Eve. The Holy Spirit reveals this to us in Colossians 2:14, saying:

“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;”

The work Jesus did on the cross of Calvary brought about the fulfillment of the prophecies that came through Ezekiel and Jeremiah in today’s memory verse and Bible reading.

These prophecies foretold the nature and character of the New Covenant under which we are now operating. I encourage you to take out time to read these prophecies in full, so that you will have a full understanding of your place in the New Testament under the Blood of Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit through Prophet Jeremiah prophesied that a time would come when everyone living under a new covenant would be responsible for their own actions and inactions. The good news is that we live in that time.

Through the new covenant in the Blood of Jesus, we are empowered to individually, live our lives to the glory of God and be accountable for the way we live our lives. Speaking on this new covenant in Hebrews 8:10, the Holy Spirit says:

“ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:”

Through this verse of Scripture, we understand that it is the Almighty God who helps us keep His new covenant through the Holy Spirit.

This is an awesome provision which you must key into. With God’s help, we are also able to escape the impact of divine judgment invoked by parental sins. Nevertheless, we will not escape the consequences of our own sins if we continue in them.

The new covenant however opens the door of opportunity for God to wipe away and forget our sins as we confess and forsake them. Hebrews 8:12 says:

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”

Even if some people are still experiencing the destructive power of generational curses, its evil effects can be rendered powerless over you by the new covenant. The Blood of the new covenant makes all the difference. Are you a partaker of the new covenant?

PRAYER POINT: Father, as I grow in knowledge, let me grow in grace to correctly apply this knowledge wisely, in Jesus’ Name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 73-77
Matthew 26:26-46

Learn how to forgive

Unforgiveness is like a poison & bitterness in your soul. Your life will always be bitter until you get rid of that poison

Are tattoos bad ?

When we start searching for answers to the question in the headline, a number of related questions would arise:

1. Are tattoos bad?

2. Will I go to hell for having a tattoo?

3. Can I have tattoos and still be a Christian?

4. Are there such thing as “Christian Tattoos?”

Tattoos are a widely debated topic among Christian culture. Look at the questions below:

1. Why would I get a tattoo? or Why did I get a tattoo?

2. Who will my tattoo glorify? or Who do my tattoos glorify?

3. What would my tattoo say about me? or What do my tattoos say about me?

Although these questions may seem silly, they are going to play an important role in your view on tattoos in reference to God’s word. Why? Because the answers to those questions may just be the answers you’ve been looking for.

In Leviticus 19:28, you can see what most people say is a pretty clear-cut answer as to what God thinks about tattoos.

“Do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the LORD.” -Leviticus 19:28.

But as clear as this text may seem, without the context and background, this text can be taken out of context in many ways. And it usually is.

This text is directed towards pagan nations who would violently cut and mark their bodies as a sign of worship to their gods. The tattoos or “markings” one would find on their body would resemble which god or gods their were worshiping.

Pretty different from the tattoos we see today, right? Yup.

Markings or tattoos that resemble worship to anyone other than God are sinful, however that 99% of the tattoos we see in today’s culture are not due to idol worship, but more creative expression and artistic value. It’s not the actual tattoo or marking that is sinful, but the motives in which each tattoo or marking is obtained.

Tattoos are not for everyone. A person has to realize the motives of its heart mean more to God than the ink on the skin. But also realize that this doesn’t mean your body is a free for all canvas to be filled with mindless and ill-thought clip art.

Your body is still a temple, and to treat your body with disrespect is to treat God the same way. Whether you are debating getting your first tattoo or your fiftieth, I pray you will seek God for wisdom, guidance, and evaluate the motives of your heart.

Remember those three questions? Well, it’s time to ask them again.

1. Why would I get a tattoo? Why did I get a tattoo?

2. Who will my tattoo glorify? Who do my tattoos glorify?

3. What would my tattoo say about me? What do my tattoos say about me?

We may not all reach the same conclusion, but that doesn’t mean we are not all loved by the same God.