Not Just a Cloud

Text: Gen. 15:1-18
MORE LESSONS: Exo. 19:9
Bible Reading in one Year: Nehemiah 4-6

Glory is a divine currency for getting the good things of life. You need a better understanding of what glory is beyond the religious understanding of glory as a cloud. Glory has passed the stage of being a cloud, it is the manifestation of God such as favour , help, honour e.t.c that makes things happen in an unusual way. Even when glory appeared to the Israelites as a cloud in the wilderness, it was a manifestation by which the Red Sea was parted, the Egyptians were drowned and the Israelites walked on dry land in the sea and ate manna in the wilderness. Each time God was about to reach the people, the cloud descended and God began to demonstrate the very act. And the moment the people saw the cloud they knew that God had descended and something was about to happen. So the manifestation of the glory is a release or sign that God is about to show His power. .

The cloud itself was not the glory; it was the symbol of a presence that made something happen. So the moment you know that there is a release of God's glory upon you, it is a divine manifestation that makes things happen. Gen. 15 is an account of an occasion when God came down and had a crucial discussion with Abraham on His entire plan for him. It started in verse 1 with a vision. In verse 9, Abraham wanted a proof that God would do what He promised and God asked him to prepare a sacrifice on an altar . Then in verse 12, God visited the altar but first a dark cloud fell upon Abraham and God spoke to him. It was beyond a cloud for Abraham because he heard God.

As God visited Abraham, God will visit you beyond the cloud. He will reverse your misfortune. He will clear your doubt and establish His promises for you. In verse 17, the cloud returned in the form of a smoking fire pot. God’s visitation to you will not be limited to one time. You will see the glory . I prophesy to you right now that your destiny will not be over until you taste glory . A life without glory is a wasted destiny . When you lack glory , you can’t enjoy the good things of life. Glory is the thing that makes things happen in your life, it is that very atmosphere that attracts the good things of life to you without struggle; it is the realm of rest. Therefore a life without glory is a dead destiny . Glory is not just a cloud, it is about walking in God’s acts.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God to visit you in a special way today.
* Ask that God's visitation to your life will not be limited.
* Pray against hindrances to divine visitation.

Like and Share!

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.

Like and Share!

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.

Like and share!

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.

Like and share!