HYMN- GOD MOVES IN A MYSTERIOUS WAY

JAN. 31ST.

Memory Verse: Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his Judgments…… (Romans 11:33)

TEXT: PROVERBS 16:9; 19:21; ISAIAH 40:28; MATTHEW 10:30

“Good when he gives, supremely good, nor less when He denies,
Even crosses from His sovereign hand are blessings in disguise” – Unknown

The hymn “God Moves in a Mysterious Way” has been acclaimed as one of the finest songs ever written on the theme of God’s providence. This label is made all the more amazing by the fact that the hymn text was written by an English poet who lived a lifetime of mental distress. William Cowper’s emotional upsets included an 18-month stay in an insane asylum and later several attempted suicides. During his time in the asylum, Cowper began reading the Bible. At the age of 33 he had a genuine conversion experience. Yet he was periodically haunted by deep depression, voices, and vision, and the overwhelming thought that God had forsaken him and would doom him to hell.

But between these times of mental melancholia, William Cowper was a gifted decades he worked closely with John Newton in Olney, English, and eventually their combined talents produced the famous Olney Hymns hymnal. In this ambitious collection of 349 hymns, 67 were written by Cowper, including such favorites as “O for a Closer Walk with God” and “There is a Fountain.”

“God moves in a Mysterious Way was originally titled “conflict: Light Shinning out of Darkness.” It is thought to be Cowper’s final hymn text and a reflection of God’s leading throughout his own lifetime. There is even speculation that it was written following a failed attempt at suicidal drowning. Regardless of bring much comfort to God’s people for nearly two centuries:

God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants His foot steps in the sea and rides upon the storm.  You fearful saints, fresh courage take: The clouds you so much dread are bring with mercy, and shall break in blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust Him for his grace; behind a frowning providence faith sees a smiling face. Blind unbelief is sure to err and scan His work in Vain; God is His own interpreter, and he will make it plain.

PRAYER POINT: Thank God for the various and perhaps unusual ways he has directed your life to this very moment. Resolve to trust Him more fully in the days ahead. “AMAZING GRACE; 366 INSPIRING HYMN STORIES FOR DAILY DEVOTION”

OVERCOMING HINDRANCES OF PROGRESS (PART 1)

JAN. 30^TH.

TEXT: Revelation 12:10-11King James Version (KJV)
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

One of the reasons the move of God fades quickly from our lives is because we did not put anything in place to sustain it.  Some people are unnecessarily making shipwreck of their souls through poor decisions and their unwillingness to completely obey the leading of God. Many have died before their time, and others have suffered serious setback and pain. This is not the will of God. 
When this happens, it becomes the responsibility of leaders and those around to help the person recover quickly, in the spirit of love. It is important for this to be in the spirit of love because the Church has become too legalistic and judgmental. In a legalistic setting, when someone confesses his/her sins, most people in the church make it impossible for such persons to play any significant role in that church. There is more of condemnation than love in such places. The person caught in the act is crowned the biggest sinner. But the one who sins in secret, walks in as a saint and is considered to be more holy than the one who sincerely confessed his sins. 
When people sin, they should be confronted with the truth of the word of God, but all of such discipline becomes mere legalism if the overall goal is not to redeem and restore the fellow. When we get angry with those who miss the mark, put them through the disciplinary and restoration process with the mindset that God can never use them again, we join the enemy to frustrate God’s purpose. So, even when that individual settles with God and is restored by Him, we still think God has written him off. 
Beloved, we must understand that we are not God. One of the most anointed men in the Old Testament was David, when he sinned and repented, God forgave and restored him. When someone misses the mark, though we may be disappointed and angry because we do not condone or encourage sin, we should not make it look like we are working with the enemy to destroy their destinies. Nobody is proud of their sin, please let’s consider one another. 

ACTUALISE YOUR DREAMS AND VISIONS (PART 6)

Jan 29^th

TEXT: Eccl 9:10-11

¹⁰ Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

¹¹ I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

When a man is dedicated to obeying and following the principles of the kingdom of God, he receives the grace to achieve and sustain success. He also receives the wisdom to be prudent with the resources of heaven upon his life, and he is able to avoid all unnecessary spendings. David succeeded because he was a man after God’s heart, and in turn, God blessed him with a strong administrative strategy. He was able to divide his army into groups with captains over 10, 50, 100, 1000 etc. Such leadership strategy made it less expensive to administer his oversight function, and made accountability for every soul easy. By it, they were also able to quickly disseminate information and to ensure that all is well with his troop spiritually and otherwise. This also ensured that there was no loss; it was less expensive, more effective to manage, and everyone was carried along as they were able to grow together spiritually. In this place, there was healthy competition among the people, and at the same time it promoted deep love and a strong sense of harmony among them all. This wisdom gave great comfort as set goals and objectives were achieved.

A true leader does not live for himself. He is concerned about the lives of his followers; how to get them out the place of struggle for survival. In their spiritual walk, he is able to get them out of the flesh, to continually live by the spirit.

A lot of troubles can be avoided when people are well cared for and they know that they have someone they can easily access in times of challenge. Nobody wants to destroy his or her life knowingly, but the devil has succeeded in employing the strategy of isolating people to frustrate their destinies. If you truly wish to succeed in life, take serious divine principles and see what will follow. 

ACTUALISE YOUR DREAMS AND VISIONS (PART 5)

Jan 28^th

TEXT: Eccl. 9:10-11

¹⁰ Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

¹¹ I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

It was Bishop Oyedepo who said “Prosperity does not answer to prayer, but to the principles of giving.” I believe this is so true, for I have seen it proven again and again.

Sometimes when you fast and pray, but do not get the desired results, you have to do something to activate the answers you are looking for. As you do, you will see the hand of God moving in strange ways for you. This year, things will not be impossible for you. But before you can get to this point, you would have to position yourself to activate it. Do not see money as something to be worshipped, for that would be a form of idolatry.

When it comes to the beginning of the year, only wise people obey God in the giving of the first fruit of their first income (salary or profit in business). Some people are so scared of this and they hope this is not a Biblical command, but it is, according to God’s word in Deut. 26, and Prov. 3:9. Any giving that touches you deeply and costs you dearly, will often provoke strange blessings from the Lord. As you practice giving your first fruit in obedience to the word of God, doors that you never thought would open, will be opened unto you.

Also, to be able to actualize your dreams and visions, there is a great need for you to apply wisdom in the managing of the resources heaven blesses you with. Ask God for help so you can save enough to be empowered to embark on any project to help actualize your dream. When the hand of the Lord is upon you, people will begin to wonder how you are able to execute projects without much stress. Saving enough of your income enables you to start off ventures that will provide you more income and also empower others, but giving dangerously releases strange favours and blessings beyond what you can save money for. Do something unusual this year.  

ACTUALIZE YOUR DREAMS AND VISIONS (PART 4)

Jan 27^th

TEXT: Ecc. 11:6, Prov. 11:24

Eccl. 11:6

⁶ In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.

Prov. 11:24

²⁴ There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.

The secret of prosperity is not how much you have in your bank account, but how much of a blessing you have become. Whenever you take time out to be a blessing, you activate that which releases the blessing of heaven over your life. In this place you cannot experience lack, because, you have activated some spiritual laws that can only be released by being a giver.

One of such laws as established by our Lord Jesus himself is “Give and it shall be given unto you…” and that verse closes with the words “shall men give unto your bosom”. So, if people are not giving to you, it may be very possible that you are tight fisted.

The fact that you are a Pastor does not exonerate you from the principles of the word of God. If a pastor refuses to give, he is not qualified for this blessing.

 If you see someone whose life bears evidences of the grace of God that you desire, wisdom demands that you sow into his life, especially financially, and in so doing, you connect into and activate the release of that grace into your life. This may be with or without the knowledge of that individual. You cannot do this and stay stranded in life. Some aspects of your life will begin to experience strange favours as the Lord will ensure that you are well taken care of.

The blessings that follow this principle can be in different forms. For example, obeying the laws of giving saves you unnecessary spending on sickness and disease. There are those who went through a year without stepping one foot into the hospital.

The Bible says when you tithe, God will rebuke the devourer and open the heavens to you with blessings, that there will not be enough room to receive them. Ish 1:19 says if you are willing and obedient you will eat the good of the land. Beloved, you have to understand that recognition of spiritual principles, and living your life in obedience to them, activates the release of heavenly blessings. Do something to move your destiny forward today!

ACTUALISE YOUR DREAMS AND VISIONS (PART 3)

Jan. 26^th

TEXT: Eccl 9:10-11

¹⁰ Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

¹¹ I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

When we talk about actualizing your dreams and visions, most people are oblivious of the potency of giving. So many things in life are activated by the various principles that govern life. There is the giving to widows, orphans, less privileged, poor, parents, family members, churches, pastors and others. But it is so important that we do our giving with understanding because not all soils are fertile enough to cause your seed to germinate. From Biblical examples we can tell that each time we give, we are actually sowing seeds. If we truly understand that we are sowing our seeds when we give, we will be very careful to ensure that we are giving to a ground that will not waste our seeds. When the Lord said, Give, and it shall be given unto you, He did not limit the giving to just money, He simply said “give.”  Therefore, whatever you give, it shall be given unto you, and it is coming back as good measure, pressed down, shaking together, running over. But the amazing thing here is that you don’t have to trouble yourself on how it will be done. Once you have done your part, the Lord will stir up men to give it unto your bosom. So when you give to a church or ministry, whatever is happening there will determine what is coming back to you. If the ground is not fruitful, it will affect your harvest. In the same vain, when you give to any man of God, you must see and then believe that there is the grace of God upon his life deserving of your seed, otherwise, your giving will be like you throwing your money away.

There are some things you cannot get by skill or by perspiration, they are intangible and have to be transferred, like grace. You cannot buy or pay for it, but you can attract it, for example you can attract grace to be released upon your life. Each time you choose to sow a seed into the life of someone filled with grace, your life cannot remain the same. The privilege of giving does not imply that you must have a huge sum of money saved up somewhere. Greatness does not mean or come by how much you store. According to the Scriptures, withholding what you should give will tend to poverty. God blesses you so others can be blessed; He makes you a channel of blessing. If you want to be poor, be tight fisted. 

ACTUALISE YOUR DREAMS AND VISIONS (PART 2)

Jan. 25^th

TEXT: Eccl 9:10-11

¹⁰ Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

¹¹ I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

It is amazing how most of us limit the power of God in our lives by limiting ourselves to a particular status quo. There are many ways people earn a living in life. Some do so through their skills or ideas, while others do so by being impactful through their spiritual endowment, by the grace of God upon their spirit. So you can earn a living with your body, soul and spirit.

People who earn a living by their skills include craftsmen, footballers and other sport men, hair stylists, carpenters, etc.  Others make their earnings through their minds or ideas; they include writers, film producers, counsellors, psychologists, comedians, motivational speakers and the likes. While others can earn a living through the grace of God upon their spirit, spiritual leaders fall into this category by virtue of the impact they make in lives around them. This category is real, and if the ministry is genuine and of God, it is unlikely that such persons will lack because God will not fail to take care of His own.

It is therefore important to mention that any serious and focused individual should be able to earn a living making the most of their God given abilities in at least one of the three ways God has empowered us to make a living. Those who desire to excel in life are able to make use of two or all three divine graces to earn a living. So many people are waiting to get a job with their certificate, while others without a certificate are making great progress in life. Don’t limit your success in life to just one dimension of life. Ask God for the wisdom to make the most of the divine opportunities around you. If we will open our hearts and eyes to the divine guidance of God, we will be amazed the ideas the Lord will give us. When we do so with a sincere and pure heart, we will not defraud our employers or do anything shady. It will not be robbing ‘Peter’ to pay ‘Paul’ because it will be clean and clear. Your vision for yourself and your family can become a great reality if you will open your eyes and heart to God’s leading. Don’t try to be unnecessarily smart, let God lead you. Time and chance happens to everyone. It is not by might.