Strength for Your Day
Giving Thanks to the Lord Monday, 1 July
TEXT: Psa.71:12-15. MORE LESSONS: Psa.35:27-28
It is indeed a great thing to live a life of
gratitude, thanking God for all that He does. But it takes only those who think
to be able to give thanks. The psalmist is a practical example of how to give
thanks to Jehovah. The New Living Translation edition puts our scripture today
in a clearer and more exciting way,
I will tell everyone about your righteousness. All
day long I will proclaim your saving power, though I am not skilled with words
Psa. 71:15.
Have you ever thought of how much God has done for you?
Have you ever considered how good God has been to you? Think of it. You are
alive and well, you have a family, job, good health, and peace of mind! Give thanks
because you have received what you cannot buy or work for. Above all, you have received
the gift of eternal life.
Now think back, aren't you overwhelmed by the
goodness of God to you? Take time off to give Him praise. It is the least you
can do. The psalmist in today's text does two things to show gratitude to God.
One, he expresses his gratitude in thanksgiving, and second, he tells everyone
what the Lord has done, …all day long I will proclaim your saving power....
Psa.71:15. We all must emulate the psalmist by telling others what God has done
for us, and thereby invite other people to God's Kingdom so that they can taste
the goodness of the Lord. In essence, you must turn your testimony to a tool for
soul winning, perhaps some of the people that hear you will follow you to the
Saviour. That way God is honoured by your praise and will
surely grant you more.
Prayer/Action
* Give thanks to God for His goodness to you.
* Ask for God's wisdom, boldness and grace to
effectively share the goodness of
God with other people.
* Pray against anything that can stop you from giving
thanks to God and bringing souls to His Kingdom by your testimonies.
Strength for Your Day
The Wisdom from the Lord Tuesday, 2 July
TEXT: I Kings 5:12a, MORE LESSONS: James 1:5
Wisdom is a gift of God that you cannot do without. The
presence of wisdom in a man's life will be glaring to all the world while its
absence will also be clear for all to see. The Bible speaks eloquently about
wisdom and what it does in a man's life.
Here are examples of what wisdom does:
1. Wisdom makes the face of a man to shine - Ecc.8:1.
2. Wisdom is better than strength - Ecc.9:16.
3. Wisdom is better than weapons of war -Ecc. 9:18.
4. It is by wisdom that kings reign - Prov.8:14-15.
5. It is by wisdom that a house is built - Prov.24:3.
6. Riches and honour come by wisdom - Prov.8:18.
It is very clear from God's Word that wisdom is not
an act, it is a spirit. When the spirit of wisdom rests upon an individual, it
shows in everything he or she does. May the spirit of wisdom rest upon you.
Even Jesus our Lord did not operate without the spirit of wisdom,
And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit
of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge
and of the fear of the LORD Isa.11:2.
I am glad that wisdom is a gift from God and it is available
to everyone who desires, pursues and asks for it. Solomon got it by asking and
if you too ask today, it shall be given to you.
However, possessing wisdom does not come just by asking;
it begins with walking in the fear of God, The fear of the LORD is the beginning
of wisdom….Prov.9:10. Therefore, if you want God to send the spirit of wisdom
upon your life, then make sure you:
* Desire it.
* Walk in the fear of the Lord.
* Ask for it like Solomon did.
Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom:
and with all thy getting get understanding Prov. 4:7.
Prayer/Action
* Ask God to pour upon you today the spirit of wisdom
and might.
* Ask God to baptise you with wisdom to do exploits
within and outside His
Kingdom.
* Declare that the wisdom of God at work in your life
will positively affect your generation and beyond as Solomon did.
Strength for Your Day
Honour God with Your Firstfruits Wednesday, 3 July
TEXT: Neh. 10:35 (NLB), MORE LESSONS: Ezek 44:30
In our text, Nehemiah confesses the sins of Israel in
backsliding from the Lord. He prays and pledges a complete return to the Almighty.
In repentance, the people promise to always bring the first part of every
harvest to the Lord's temple. The first part of a harvest is what the Bible
calls the firstfruits.
When a believer begins to backslide, his/her giving
to God is the first casualty. To forget to give to God your tithe and first- fruits
before spending out of your income is a proof that your love for God has gone
cold. To become stingy in your giving to God shows that excitement for God and His
household is now a secondary matter and many believers are in the backsliding state
(Prov.14:4).
But when a man's heart is burning with love for God
he will give with great excitement, he will tithe and honour God with his
firstfruits. Your salary in a new employment, the first profit in a new
business, the first produce of your farm, the difference in your new and old
salaries when you are promoted, the first money you earn in a new year, these
are all examples of firstfruits. You are to bring your firstfruits to God’s servant
in the house of God. He will receive them and command the blessing of the Lord
to rest upon you and your work. It is this blessing of the Lord that will make
you rich with no sorrow added (Prov.10:22).
Giving your firstfruits opens Heaven upon your life.
When you give your first-fruits, you are working in obedience to God's Word and
He will make you to eat of the good of the land (Isa.1:19). Two, when you put
God and His Kingdom first in the affairs of your life, He will surely add other
things to you (Matt.6:33). Third, honouring God with your substance connects
you wi th abundance (I Sam.2:30). Finally, when you give God your firstfruits,
you trigger the release of His blessings upon all the work of your hand. He
will see to it that you become rich (Prov.10:22). Give God the firstfruits always
and He will defend and preserve the remaining harvest from wasters
(Prov.3:9-10).
Prayer/Action
* Give thanks to God because He is the One who gives
strength to His people.
* Ask God to help you obey Him in all things.
* Ask God to forgive you any act of disobedience in
your financial responsibilities and restore all the blessings due you.
* Ask God to stop devourers that could be working
against you because of a weakness in the area of finance.
Strength for Your Day
Vows and Promises Thursday,
4 July
Text: Ecc.5:4-5, MORE LESSONS: Psa.50:14-15
Vows in the Scripture are always about asking God to do
something you critically need, promising to do or give something in return to
God. There are many examples in the Bible. Hannah vowed that if God would give
her a child, she would give him back to God. God did and she fulfilled her vow.
Jephthah vowed that if God would give him victory over the Ammonites he would sacrifice
the first person coming out of his house to meet him to God (Jud. 11:35). It was
his precious daughter, his only child, that came out to welcome him and he
offered her to the Lord. God always honours such vows and it is better not to
vow than to vow and not fulfil it.
A promise is different from a vow. A promise could be
to a man or to God or to an organisation. Unlike a vow, a promise is not made
in return for your need being met. Although in giving a promise you may not be
expecting something in return for your action, God expects you to keep your
word. Be a promise keeper and walk in integrity. By so doing you will find
favour with God and with man.
The point is, a vow is different from a promise. A
vow is asking God to meet a need with a promise that you will do something in
return when the need is met, on the other hand, a promise is a commitment to be
part of something like a church project, or even an individual project, for
which you are not expecting anything in return. You just want to be a part of fulfilling
a vision that is dear to your heart. Whatever it is that you promise, whether in
form of a vow, a pledge, or a commitment, be a man/woman of your word. Make
sure you keep the promise and the Lord will bless you. God has been too
faithful to us to be denied anything, and when we are faithful to Him, He will
be faithful to us.
PRAYER/ACTION
*Repent of all commitments, vows, pledges or promises
you made in the past that you have not redeemed. Ask the Lord to forgive you
and to provide for you to fulfil them speedily.
*Ask for divine provision, ability and strength to
fulfil your *vows, promises, pledges and commitments.
Ask for the wisdom and discipline not to be rash in
making promises.
*Ask for the favour of the Lord upon the works of
your hand and the restoration of all that might have been lost to not keeping
promises and vows to the Lord.
0 comments:
Post a Comment