BE WISE

JUNE 20TH

Text: Psalm 53:1-3 King James Version (KJV)

1.    The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.

2.    God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.

3.    Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

It is true that life is full of a lot of unexpected twists and turns, but often than not, it is our preparation ahead of such challenge that determines our victory or defeat. When the evil one desires to cut off a Christian from the place of victory, he will often cut them off those who will keep them from misbehaving. This is often when things seem difficult and people come to the conclusion that it is useless serving the Lord with a holy life. We must be careful how we draw conclusions because of certain ugly situations in our lives.

God’s word has assured us that all things, be they good or bad, will eventually work out for our good. But many have forgotten that we do not belong to the same kingdom with unbelievers, even though it may look like they are prospering in sin. We must remember that we belong to a different kingdom and that our Lord will always come through for us. The real blessing of God is His grace released upon your life, not the house, or car you own. As long as you have His grace, you can overcome anything, no matter the opposition. Don’t fall for a cheap blackmail by the enemy to depart from God and godly people because of hard times. Go beyond the shallow waters in your walk with the Lord and in no time God will overwhelm you with His blessings.

Deciding to live outside the word of God, is equal to walking away from the protection and blessing meant for you. Be wise and make the right choice. 

HYMN – CHRIST AROSE

JUNE 19TH

TEXT: MATTHEW 27:5-66; JOHN 19:41, 42:1; 1 CORINTHIANS 15:4
Memory Verse: Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. For we know thar since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. (Romans 6:8, 9)

“Alleluia, he is Risen!” “Alleluia, he is Risen Indeed!” If you and I had been living during the early Christian era, this undoubtedly would have been our greeting to one another as believers on a Easter Sunday. For the past century, however, many evangelical churches have been inspired anew in celebrating this triumphant day by singing “Christ Arose”, written and composed by Robert Lowry in 1874.
Robert Lowry is a highly respected name among early gospel hymn writers. He served for a time as a professor of literature at Bucknell University, pastored several important Baptist churches in the East, and then became the music editor of the Biglow Publishing Company. It has often been said that the quality of Lowry’s numerous publications did much to improve the cause of sacred music in this country.
During the Easter season of 1874, while having his devotions one evening, Robert Lowry was impressed with the events associated with Christ’s resurrection, especially with these words recorded in Luke 24:6, 7:
He is not here, but he is risen; remember how He spoke unto you when He was in Galilee, saying, the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
Soon Robert Lowry found himself seated at the little pump organ in the parlor of his home, and in a very spontaneous fashion, the words and music of “Christ Arose” gave expression to the thoughts that had been uppermost in his mind. The hymn was published the following year and has been an inspirational favourite with God’s people ever since.
Low in the grave He lay – Jesus, my Saviour! Waiting the coming day – Jesus, my Lord!
Vainly they watch His bed – Jesus, my Saviour! Vainly they seal the dead – Jesus, my Lord.
Death cannot keep his prey – Jesus, my Saviour! He tore the bars away – Jesus, my Lord!
Chorus: Up from the grave He arose, with a mighty triumph o’er His foes; He arose a Victor from the dark domain, and He lives forever with His saints to reign: He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!

ACTION POINT: Allow the truth of Christ’s resurrection to thrill your new life. Sing with triumph as you go
TAKEN FROM “AMAZING GRACE; 366 INSPIRING HYMN STORIES FOR DAILY DEVOTION”

THE FRAGRANCE OF HIS PRESENCE (PART 2)

JUNE 18TH

Text: Numbers 6:22-27 King James Version (KJV)
22. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
23. Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,
24. The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
25. The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26. The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
27. And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.

I once heard Benny Hinn say what I am about to share with you. He said in a particular Christian conference, a man came up in the morning session to sing a song titled “The Lord is My Shepherd” and when he was done, the ovation was thunderous. During the evening session, an older man came up to do the same song, by the time he was through, there was serious weeping all over the hall and people could not understand, because it was the same song they both sang. When the older man was asked why the difference, he said the other man knows the song, but he knew the Shepherd.

CONTEMPLATION
When people spend time with you what do they leave with? Do you think they got better or worse? It is true that you can’t give what you don’t have, and only the original will last. By the fragrance of God, many like Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Elijah and others, were able to positively affect their generation for God. If you are able to spend quality time in the presence of God on a continuous note, you are bound to accomplish great things to His glory. It is in the presence of God your abilities and grace to excel are released upon you. Don’t look for excuses, just do it.

PRACTICAL ISSUES
When Daniel and his friends denied themselves the meat that was dedicated to the gods of Babylon, they consecrated themselves to God and became outstanding in their generation. What do you need to give up to carry the fragrance of glory?

DON’T FRUSTRATE GOD’S PROMISE FOR YOUR LIFE

JUNE 17TH

Text:Deuteronomy 28:1-2 King James Version (KJV)
1. And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
2. And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.

1 Samuel 2:27-30 King James Version (KJV)
27. And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?
28. And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?
29. Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?
30. Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

Whenever we read or hear about a promise from the word of God, suddenly our hope rises and we begin to look forward to the fulfillment of that promise in our lives. Many will go on to continually confess that word over their life and circumstances but only a few take time out to ensure that nothing frustrates that from becoming a reality. Some times, divine decrees and prophetic declarations have been cut short from some lives because we allowed some other persons to toil with our destinies. There are lot of such cases in the Bible, a pathetic example is that of Eli and his sons. Eli was blessed to be from the Levitical family of Aaron, and as the high priest of Israel he had the honour to approach the presence of God. This honour was also extended to his sons who were automatically made priest by reason of the divine decree of God. But it is unfortunate that they threw away the opportunity. Even though God had promised that Eli and his family would serve Him forever, when they refused to live according to His word, God cut them off from His service (as in 1 Samuel 2:27-30).
God has placed us here on earth to serve His own purpose and we must not ignore this. Beloved, you are not here by chance, God has a plan for your life. God will always do what He has promised, and will bless us if we will do our own part as touching that promise.
It is amazing that it was not the sin of Eli that led to his untimely death, but the sins of his children. But the truth is that the failure of Eli to carry out God’s instruction of rebellious children was actually his own sin against the Lord (read 1 Sam 2:15-17 and Leviticus 22:2-3). By the passage from Leviticus, the penalty for the actions of Eli’s sons was death, but he did not carry it out hence the prophecy against him in our text for today.
Many have suffered as a result of the sins of others that were under their authority. When Saul failed to ensure that the command of God to destroy the Amalekites was well obeyed by his men, he paid dearly for it. One of the greatest challenge of spiritual leaders and fathers is the issue of discipline of those under them. Refuse to allow those under you bring the judgment of God upon your life. Stand firm for the word of God always and you will position yourself to see every one of God’s promise concerning your life become a great reality.

ACTIVATING A WORD OF PROPHECY

JUNE 16TH

Text: Deuteronomy 28:1-8 King James Version (KJV)
1.     And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
2.    And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.
3.     Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
4.     Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
5.    Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
6.     Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
7.    The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
8.    The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy store houses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lordthy God giveth thee.

It is always a thing of great joy to receive a word of prophecy promising us great and glorious things, but not many of us know how to position ourselves to see it come to pass.
When someone gets a prophecy, what he does between that time and the supposed time of its fulfillment, does play a crucial role in its fulfillment or not. So, it is not just enough to say “Amen” to a prophetic declaration. After the declaration, it is time to align your life with the conditions in the word of God that will activate the fulfillment of that prophecy in your life.

From our text for today, we are introduced into the glorious blessing our heavenly Father has in store for his children. These promises are so weighty and reassuring but we need to pay attention to the opening statements of this text. A closer look at verse 1 and 2 will reveal to you that there are conditions attached to these blessings. The word “if” there tells you that there are conditions that you have to meet to become eligible for these promises.
We are expected to listen diligently to the voice of the Lord and become very observant to see that we do all his commands. This is where most people miss it. When they heard the prophecy, they went to sleep thinking because it has been declared it will come to pass no matter what.
Please be wise. When you get a word of prophecy for your life, it is time to get to work. Do everything to keep watch over your heart and become sensitive to be able to line up with heaven’s agenda.
God has great and glorious promises waiting to be made manifest for you, don’t let them go unfulfilled by your carelessness. Stand on the promises of God and keep standing and you will see every one of them become a great reality.

GRACE FOR THE RACE

JUNE 15TH

Text: Psalm 31:13-16 King James Version (KJV)
13.   For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life.
14.   But I trusted in thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my God.
15.   My times are i thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.
16.   Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies' sake.

The Bible says to everything there is a season.  May you not miss your season of blessing in Jesus name. I sense that this is a season of great opportunity to rise to greatness, the economy notwithstanding. Make up your mind to rise up and shine.
By the favour of God upon your life, where you have been rejected, they will be waiting to celebrate you. Just don’t give up. Dogged faith will cause men to look up to you where they have looked down on you.

Most times, the enemy makes use of delay to cause us to miss our divine timing. He would place people against you who will slow you down and delay the manifestation of your blessing if he cannot stop you. But right now, there is divine enablement for you to overtake by the grace that releases supernatural speed upon our lives.
Whatever the enemy has done to disfavour you, it is replaced right now with the divine favor in the name of Jesus.
People may have talked about you to make you feel less important. They may even slander you, but today God is turning all around in your favor.
 It will become obvious that His goodness is great over your life. From now on, the enemy will wait in vain to see you fall. You will succeed because great is the goodness of the Lord towards us.
It is the dawn of a new beginning for you. Your soul has escaped like the bird out of the snare of the fowler. Your testimony will manifest in full and the Lord will give you multiple manifestations of the miracles you desire in Jesus name. Congratulations!

RUN WITH THE GLORY

JUNE 14TH

TEXT: Numbers 6:22-27 (KJV)
22.   And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
23.   Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,
24.   The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
25.   The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26.   The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
27.    And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.

Success in life is much more than your abilities, skills and experience. Let the grace of God decorate your life on every side. When God’s face shines on you, you receive His favour that is beyond explanation. Too many people spend their time struggling to succeed but what they truly need is grace.
When God told Moses to bless the children of Israel, He instructed him to pray, decreeing the face of God to shine upon them. This is to ensure that they do not step out to face the challenges of life in their own power. By reason of this decree, they carried the glory of God everywhere they went.
If you truly want to excel in life never step out without the release of the blessing upon your life. Don’t start the business before you ask God’s servant to release the blessing upon you. When you step out with the release of this blessing upon your life, strange favours will greet you everywhere you go because the Lord’s face will shine.
When His face shines on you, you cannot be defeated or rejected. Your enemies cannot have an edge over you, ensure His favor and glory is with you.

 When the Lord’s face is shinning on you, wherever you go, you will see limitations and stronghold crumble. Instead of your face, people will see His glory upon you and His dread will come upon them that are against you.

This is for somebody, you have been desperately waiting for so long for your breakthrough, please be patient and keep your focus on Jesus. Refuse to follow or depend on man, something is about to break forth and you will see it if you will just trust the Lord.
God is sending your rescue and salvation. Refuse to give up because your times are in His hands.