SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Job 14:7-9
7 For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. 8 Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; 9 Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.
MORE LESSON: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Friday, 10 October
Memory Verse: If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Job 14:14
TODAY’S FASTING FOCUS: Satan is permanently defeated; Genesis 3:15; 2 Corinthians 2:14; 1 Corinthians 15:57
We live in a world where things can get so bad sometimes; and when that happens, there exists a high tendency to lose hope. The truth however is that even in the most hopeless situation there is still hope in God. The situation with David got so bad one day that the enemies concluded that there was no help for him in God (Psalm 3:2). It is a lie of the devil and a wrong conclusion to say there is no help or hope for a man in God. Believing this lie is suicidal.
Job 14:7 says there is hope for a tree that is cut down. It is certainly not a good testimony for a man to be cut down, but if that happens, it may not be the end of the story. The story of Job is well known; he was down when the devil sought occasion against him and attacked him from every angle by God's permission, but the end of the most righteous man (Job) in his time became most glorious.
Our Bible passage recognises the 'scent of water' as what is needed for a tree that is cut down to sprout again. In spiritual context water symbolises two things - the Word and the Spirit. Ephesians 5:26 talks about cleansing the Church of Jesus with the washing of water by the word and John 7:38 -39 mentions the Holy Spirit as 'rivers of living water that flows out of the believer's belly'. It means that the hope of a tree which is cut down can revive with the activity of the Word and Spirit of the Lord.
For us believers we know that even if death is the matter of hopelessness, there is resurrection. The word of God encourages believers not to mourn as those that have no hope (1Thessalonians 4:13). The question from our memory verse is, If a man dies, shall he live again? The answer is yes, through Christ Jesus he shall live again. It is comforting to know that there is hope of eternal life beyond the struggles of life and that we will reunite with loved ones who have gone ahead on the resurrection morning.
Prayer/Action
* Declare, I have hope, and I have a future in Christ.
* Declare that the hope of eternal life is alive in you and the hope remains alive until You see Jesus.
* Thank God for the hope you have in Christ Jesus
TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: I decree that Satan is defeated permanently in my life and destiny this new month, in the mighty name of Jesus.
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