No Evil

Text: Psalm 91: 1-10
MORE LESSONS: Psalm 91: 1-16
Bible Reading in one Year: Nehemiah 1-3

With all the evil and terrifying events around, we need assurance of security and safety more than anything in the world today. The media is full of reports of disasters and terrible occurrences that can create fear and panic but I want you to know that fear will not help you, For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power , and of love, and of a sound mind: 2 Tim 1:7. If a man takes all that is going on around him to heart, he will begin to doubt the promises of safety and security in the Scripture. Therefore, I encourage you not to doubt because doubt will make you vulnerable.

We need faith in the Word of God now than ever before. You need the knowledge of God's Word and faith to stand on the Word. When predictions of evil are everywhere and threats and r u m o u r s t h a t c a u s e p a n i c a r e predominant, that is the time to believe and stand on the Word of God and confess, A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked:v7. Stand on what the Word says and nothing else. This is the victory that overcomes, even your faith.

Even if there is any evil prediction about your life, your family , the church or the nation, I want you to know that faith overcomes evil predictions. Faith in the Word of God is superior to the predictions and analyses of men. By faith in the Word of God no evil shall befall you and no plague shall come near your dwelling, in Jesus’ name.

When God visited the land of Egypt with ten plagues, He told the children of Israel to anoint the lintels of their houses with the blood of the animals that were sacrificed so that when He saw the blood, He would pass over them. This simply means that they were not meant to partake of the afflictions of Egypt, but if any Israelites refused to do as the Lord said they would suffer the same afflictions as the Egyptians suffered. Jesus taught us that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. So it does not matter what evil lurks in the day , the Word of God for each day is our security . God gave a word to the Israelites and they obeyed and were delivered.

If you hear God's Word to you each day and obey , it shall also come to pass that a thousand shall fall by your right and ten thousand by your left but no evil shall come near you; with your eyes only you will behold the recompense of the wicked. No evil is permitted in your life this year, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Prayer/Action
* Thank God for His promises to defend you in the days of evil.
* Pray Psa. 91:10-16 on your life.
* Declare that you will ever dwell in safety in the remaining days of 2014.

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Break that Box

Text: Mark 14:3-9
More Lessons: Prov.18:16
Bible Reading in one Year: 2 Corinthians 10-13

In the reading above, Jesus was in a house and a woman brought an expensive alabaster box of ointment or perfume. She broke the box and anointed the head of Jesus with it. The sweet fragrance of the perfume filled the whole room. It was only poured on Jesus but everyone in the room felt the impact of the fragrance. Some people started complaining about why she broke such expensive perfume and poured it on Jesus but the Lord commended and blessed her, 'V erily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her. Mark 14:9. All the while she had the box closed, the fragrance didn't come out and she didn't get the blessing but immediately she broke the box and poured the ointment, the fragrance from the box spread round You are a special alabaster box containing very precious and expensive ointment. But until you break the box, the fragrance and the glory will not come out. Don't be boxed in your thinking, living, expectations and prayers; break out of the box. You might have ideas but unless you put those ideas to use, you might be poor for life. There is a skill inside you that is actually the key to the glory you are looking for all around. That is the ointment inside your alabaster box.

Use that gift! What you need to become a celebrity on earth has been deposited in you by God before you were born; just locate it and bring it out. God has deposited in every human being a measure of glory; what you need to do is discover the glory in your inside and put it to work.

There is a glory locked up within every one. You have to bring it out. Like Daniel, your glory could lie in your wisdom and ability to untie knotty matters. Like Joseph, it could be in your ability to have a dream and vision and also interpret dreams. Like Esther, it could be in your God-given beauty and attractiveness. Like David, it could be in skills and the anointing. God could have given you a parental pedigree that can open doors for you. It could even be in your certificate. Don't lock up whatever God has given you; put it to use. Break your alabaster box, your glory is within.

Prayer/Action
* Receive grace not to die with any un-utilised glory, in Jesus’ name.
* Ask God for the wisdom and grace to do the works that will stand as memorial for you before God.
* Command every gift of God in you to burst forth from obscurity to limelight, in Jesus’ name.

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No Alternative

Text: I Sam. 28:1-7
More Lessons: 2 Kgs. 1:1-6
Bible Reading in one Year: 2 Corinthians 7-9

A very heart-breaking story is that of King Saul. Saul had once been anointed by God; and the day he was anointed, the Bible says that he prophesied. God gave him a new heart and he led the children of Israel in victories. However, he began to step out of the boundaries God gave him; he began to lose it till finally , ...the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him: 1 Sam 16:14.
In 1Samuel 28, we find a story that bothers me. King Saul was in a crisis; Samuel had died and Saul needed to hear God on a matter. Saul, the man that was chosen and anointed by God, became a man who said, ...Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor: 1 Sam 28: 7.A king ordained with the oil of God began to consult witches and familiar spirits as if there is no God in Israel any longer. He began to seek alternatives to God. No matter what happens, please do not ever consider an alternative to God. Many believers start patronising all forms of ungodly and unscriptural places in search of solutions to their needs. Some ministers of God do all sorts of diabolical things to move in power and anointing or gather crowd.

That is the way of Saul; it is the way of destruction. Another King named Ahaziah fell sick and he sent messengers to Baalzebub the god of Ekron to inquire. Then God told Elijah to go and send a message to the king that he would surely die because he was consulting with an alternative instead of the living God. Friend, when things happen, you may see many 'advisers' suggesting several alternatives and trying to justify their action. Some will tell you that 'heaven helps those who help themselves' but the truth is that God helps those who have come to the end of themselves because if you can help yourself, you don't need heaven's help.

No matter what you are going through, know there is a God in Israel. A good example of a man that refused to consider an alternative to God is the man Job. Many people including his wife, suggested several things to him but he said, Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him: Job 13: 15. For such a man and for you, there is no alternative to God.

Prayer/Action
* Renew your commitment to God that you will never seek any alternative to Him.
* Ask God to deliver you from anything that can make you walk away from Him.
* Ask that the Lord will keep you from evil.

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Life Without Stress

Text: Gen 3: 1-19
More Lessons: Matt. 11: 28-30
Bible Reading in one Year: 2 Corinthians 4-6

If you go to a very busy township market, you can't but notice the whole lot of activities and stress that take place there. In such a market, you see different people shouting, screaming, haggling, running, carrying loads and sweating under the heat of the sun. A person might be stressed, running helter-skelter, in the market from morning till night in order to make some money which is just a token. If you go there to buy or sell something, you might get it done but with a lot of stress. Let us compare and contrast this scenario with the Central Bank and Stock Exchange Market where all you hear is the humming of air-conditioners and the clicking of computers while people are seated comfortably transacting business in billions without stress. The point is that stress is not an indication of result.

When God created man, it was all good and comfortable. But when man sinned, God cursed the earth for man’s sake: ' . . . cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return: Gen 3:17-19. God said man would eat out of his sweat. Sweat is a symbol of stress because when you see a man sweating it is an indication that he has laboured. Stress is not the original intention of the Creator; it came after man broke the commandment of God. God didn't create man to toil throughout life. Even when men design machines, they make a provision for maintenance break when the machine will rest and be serviced. Your destiny is not designed without a provision for rest and comfort.

Jesus came to redeem man from the curse of the law and return man to the state of blessing before the curse. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith: Gal 3:13-14.
Today, Jesus is calling you to believe and accept His provision of a life free of stress. I see God terminating your labour and bringing you into comfort. You shall not live by your sweat anymore but by the provisions of Heaven, in Jesus’ name.

Prayer/Action
* Thank God for making provision for a stress free life for you.
* Declare every stress and labour ended in your life and destiny.
* Proclaim that the blessing of the Lord that maketh rich and add no sorrow is a reality in your life from today.

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