STAY CONNECTED

August 14th, 2015

TEXT: Luke 15:11-19Amplified Bible (AMP)

11 And He said, There was a certain man who had two sons;

12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the part of the property that falls [to me]. And he divided the estate between them.

13 And not many days after that, the younger son gathered up all that he had and journeyed into a distant country, and there he wasted his fortune in reckless and loose [from restraint] living.

14 And when he had spent all he had, a [a]mighty famine came upon that country, and he began to fall behind and be in want.

15 So he went and forced (glued) himself upon one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed hogs.

16 And he would gladly have fed on and [b]filled his belly with the [c]carob pods that the hogs were eating, but [they could not satisfy his hunger and] nobody gave him anything [better].

17 Then when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father have enough food, and [even food] to spare, but I am perishing (dying) here of hunger!

18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight.

19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; [just] make me like one of your hired servants.

There are too many who like the prodigal son think they know how to manage their lives only to end up living riotously. They need to come to their senses and tell themselves the truth, if nobody will.

The prodigal son rose up and said to himself; I will return to my father and say to him make me one of your servants. When he left home, he felt he was made and thought he was okay. But after he lost all he had, he came to his senses, and said to himself; “I will go back to my father and say to him , I am not worthy to be called your son, make me one of your hired servants. The problem of many, is that they fail to recognize the people who have certain graces they need. As long as you are functioning under the wrong atmosphere, your potentials will be locked in and will not find expression. If like the prodigal son, you have left someone who has the grace you need to fulfill your destiny, then, you too need to return and say “make me” to that person. You need to go and apologize to persons who should be your mentors who you walked away from rebelliously. This is for your own good, because as you do, you release your own destiny. Let God lead you 

YOU ARE SPECIAL

August 13th, 2015

TEXT: Ephesians 2:10Amplified Bible (AMP)

10 For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), [a]recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].

Every one of us is destined to be great and to excel, God has a great plan for you and there is  a strong confirmation of this because He took time to put you together and make you unique. During creation, God Almighty spoke and things came to be, but when He wanted to create man, He stooped low and with His hands He took clay and formed man. He could have spoken and man would have come to being, but He wanted an intimate relationship with you. This tells you that there is something special about you, even though those around you may not see it, you are a classic master piece on display upon the face of the earth. But you don’t forget, the enemy is so good at messing up things, that is why he tries to corrupt your mind to turn you away from God’s purpose. The enemy can do this by introducing someone or something into your life, this just to take you from continuing on the path of glory. If you choose to stop and attend to it, in the process you will loose focus of God and lost your pace with Him. If you have lost rhythm with the Almighty you can go back to Him today, talk to Him and things will begin to change.

God created you special, don’t end up as a caricature. God bless you. 

DOING GREAT THINGS FOR GOD (PART 6)

       AUG. 12^TH.   

TEXT: 1 Chronicles 11:12-14King James Version (KJV)

12 And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighties.

13 He was with David at Pasdammim, and there the Philistines were gathered together to battle, where was a parcel of ground full of barley; and the people fled from before the Philistines.

14 And they set themselves in the midst of that parcel, and delivered it, and slew the Philistines; and the Lord saved them by a great deliverance.

Every true follower of Christ who is determined to do great things for God is so conscious about pleasing the Lord than in accomplishing selfish interest. Those who are like this need no man to motivate them to play their role. They know what their assignment is and the scope they have been assigned to cover. They know they have been assigned a spiritual territory and they must not fail. Such men are so committed to keeping their territory and stand strong even if they have to stand alone.  The mighty men of David were men who could stand alone and they were also able to stand with him and together they defended the land at all times.

 Do you know where you have been assigned to defend? You need to tell yourself the truth and find out if you know where your spiritual territory is and what ground you have been assigned to defend. Starting from your physical location to your family and other areas of your life, you have a territory to command authority over. Stand your ground and see to it that the kingdom looses no ground for any reason.

The enemy is launching attacks every now and then, but have you been able to stand your ground to defend the territory assigned to you? It takes the hand of God upon a man to grant him extraordinary victory. It is not skill nor years of experience but the hand of God upon a life that counts.  Put your trust in the Lord and you will receive the grace to attempt great things for God today.  

DOING GREAT THINGS FOR GOD (PART 5)

1     AUG. 11^TH.   

TEXT: 1 Chronicles 11:12-14King James Version (KJV)

12 And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighties.

13 He was with David at Pasdammim, and there the Philistines were gathered together to battle, where was a parcel of ground full of barley; and the people fled from before the Philistines.

14 And they set themselves in the midst of that parcel, and delivered it, and slew the Philistines; and the Lord saved them by a great deliverance.

Except your effort and service with any man truly amount to serving the purpose of God you may be wasting your time and your life for nothing. There are services we render to man that has nothing to do with promoting the cause of the kingdom of God. Such service are often rendered to take care of our personal needs and ambitions and they can be easily identified.  Whatever you do at all cost to serve the need of your stomach is strong enough to take you out of the purpose of heaven. Those who value food more than a divine assignment are likely to sell their birth right like Esau without realizing it. Whatever we do because we are afraid of losing our job or position are often far from serving the purpose of heaven. Such kind of person are never stable because they have their interest to protect. Therefore, their loyalty is whoever is on the seat of power and not the interest of heaven. They are like the politicians in Nigeria who quickly decamped from their political party when the opposition won the election. They have no serious commitment that can be depended on because they are only passionate about protecting their interest. When we are like that, such loyalty to the leader is often than not for ourselves and not for the kingdom.

When your motivation is not principally for the good of the kingdom, chances are that we will fall by the way side. You cannot attempt great things for God as long as your personal interest is your priority. 

DOING GREAT THINGS FOR GOD (PART 4)

 AUG. 10^TH.   

TEXT: 1 Chronicles 11:12-14King James Version (KJV)

12 And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighties.

13 He was with David at Pasdammim, and there the Philistines were gathered together to battle, where was a parcel of ground full of barley; and the people fled from before the Philistines.

14 And they set themselves in the midst of that parcel, and delivered it, and slew the Philistines; and the Lord saved them by a great deliverance.

Without doubt, David’s men were sincere and loyal to him, and this can be seen from their service to him. These guys were able to find their life in the assignment given to David by God so they sowed their life to it. When these men sowed their life to this assignment heaven reserved a special place for them in the history of mankind.

 A lot of people sow seeds just for the sake of sowing, but no amount of seed you sow, without first sowing your life to God, will be effective or good enough.

Except a life is sown as a seed to God it will lack the fruit of glory. First and foremost, your life must have been sown as a seed to God, because the Bible says, except a seed falls to the ground and dies it abides alone. Unless the outer shell is broken, your potentials cannot be ignited, and not much will happen through such lives.

 Do not waste your time for that which you would not get any eternal reward for, plant yourself in the service of God in the right place and at the right time. Do all you can to make sure that at the end of the day your effort will amount to something that heaven will count useful to the agenda of God. Let your life and effort be invested into that for which the Lord will say to you “Weldone”. Shalom!

HAVE THINE OWN WAY, LORD

        AUG. 9^TH.   

Memory Verse: Yet, O Lord, you are our Father, We are the clay, You are the potter; we are all the works of Your hand. (Isaiah 64:8)

TEXT: Psalm 27:14; Romans 6:13, 14; 9:20, 21; Galatians 2:20

An elderly woman at a prayer meeting one night pleaded, "It really does matter what you do with us, Lord, just have your way with our lives." At this meeting was Adelaide Pollard, a rather well-known itinerant Bible teacher who was deeply discouraged because she had been unable to raise the necessary funds for a desired trip to Africa to do missionary service. She was moved by the older woman's sincere and dedicated request of God.

At home that evening Miss Pollard meditated on Jeremiah 18:3, 4:

Then I went down to the potter's house, and behold, he wrought a work on the wheels, and the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Before retiring that evening Adelaide Pollard completed the writing of all four stanzas of this hymn as it is sung today. The hymn first appeared in published form in 1907.

Often into our lives come discouragements and heartaches that we cannot understand. As children of God, however, we must learn never to question the ways of our sovereign God-but simply to say:

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Thou art the potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me after Thy will, while I am waiting, yielded and still.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Search me and try me, Master, today! Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now, as in Thy presence humbly I bow.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Wounded and weary, help me, I pray! Power, all power, surely is Thine! Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Hold o'er my being absolute sway! Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see Christ only, always, living in me!

PRAYER POINT: Breathe this ancient prayer: "I am willing Lord, to receive what Thou givest, to lack what Thou withholdest, to relinquish what Thou takest, to surrender what Thou claimest, to suffer what Thou ordainest, to do what Thou commandest, to wait until Thou sayest 'Go.

TAKEN FROM “AMAZING GRACE; 366 INSPIRING HYMN STORIES FOR DAILY DEVOTION”

DOING GREAT THINGS FOR GOD (PART 3)

      AUG. 8^TH.

TEXT: 1 Chronicles 11:12-14King James Version (KJV)

12 And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighties.

13 He was with David at Pasdammim, and there the Philistines were gathered together to battle, where was a parcel of ground full of barley; and the people fled from before the Philistines.

14 And they set themselves in the midst of that parcel, and delivered it, and slew the Philistines; and the Lord saved them by a great deliverance.

At one point or the other in life we are called to serve under somebody to help accomplish a given assignment to the glory of God. While at this point of service it is required that we give undivided commitment to the task on hand as this can define for us our place in the program of God for us in the future. David’s 3 mighty men became outstanding among others because they sowed their lives as a seed to him to accomplish a divine mandate and in the process they themselves became great. The truth is that the greatness and relevance of many in life is tied to the assignment of God upon some persons. When David’s men followed him there is no way they would have been able to comprehend that thousands of years after people will read about them, know their names and the exploits they did for God.

It is very possible that without following David these men may have been able to succeed in life but the truth is that the chances of them being heroes up till now would have been very slim. There were many great people in the time when these guys were with David but it was only those who identified with this kingdom agenda through the life of David that are still being celebrated today. Life is full of choices and only those who can perceive and value the purpose of God are good enough to share in the glory stored up for those who are willing to do great things for God.