The Crooked Path Straightened

Wednesday 3 June
READ: Isa. 42:16
MORE LESSONS: Psa. 139:7-12

When the Almighty God decides to lead the way in destiny, the result can be awesome and unpredictably great. This is because Jehovah created the paths and He knows the ways. The forest, the sea, the oceans are all open routes to Him. Therefore, He cannot miss the way or get lost as the psalmist says, If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there, ...in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me Psa. 139:8-10. Again, God declares, For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. Psa. 50:10-11. Such is God's knowledge of all things that there is no better guide beside Him. And now this great “map” of the universe has made a promise, …I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known…. Isa. 42:16.
There is no reason to be confused, no excuse for missing your way or making costly mistakes anymore, except you refuse to choose God’s way or despise His instructions. The believer must not be afraid of missing the way in any area of life. All that is needed is to seek the God who knows the way for direction in marriage, career and other vital issues of life. Often, we consider the way of God as tough, difficult or slow and thus many choose their own ways and the consequences usually are disasterous. God cannot be blamed for any of such sorrowful endings because He has promised that even if you are blind, He is able and willing to lead you in the way you don’t know.
Friend, patiently seek God for all decisions in life and the darkness will become light before you and crooked things straight. Isaiah 42:16 ends with an assurance, These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them. Jacob, David and Hannah are examples of people who patiently sought God and found Him. You too must seek Him by prayer, fasting, godly counsel and by His Word and all your crooked things shall be straightened out, in Jesus name.

Prayer/Action
* O Lord, straighten out the crooked path of my life.
* Lord, take confusion out of my destiny and lead me on life's pathway.
* Ask God to help you follow and patiently wait for His direction always.
Read Psa. 32:8. At regular intervals today, ask God to instruct, teach and guide you this year.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, I lift my eyes to You; do not let the enemies triumph over me this month, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Be Great – Your God is Great

Tuesday 2 June
READ: Job 5:25-27
MORE LESSON: Job 8:7

Everything about God is on the greater side. God doesn't do His things small: whatever God does, even if it starts small, will never remain small. As big as the earth is, it is not the biggest planet God made. The planet Jupiter is about 20 times bigger than the earth. This is not to talk of the sun and stars which are created immeasurably big and vast, even though they look smaller to us than they are because of great distance. The entire universe is simply beyond description for magnitude. All these are just minute pointers to the greatness of God. God is beyond great and, as His offspring, so should you be. It is said that the human brain has the capacity to generate 3 million ideas per day, and one idea is sufficient to make you great in life. Every provision needed by man for greatness has been deposited in Him by the Great One. You have no reason to be small in destiny.

All the Patriarchs in the Bible that served God ended up great. Abraham, who was given up on to have a single son, ended up having eight biological children. But that was not all; through the covenant, Abraham's spiritual and biological offsprings keep multiplying in millions up to date. That cannot come from a small God. Abraham was a great man but Isaac became even greater till he waxed very great. (Gen 26: 13) Israel also became so much of a force in Egypt that Pharaoh was afraid that they would take over the land from him. When Israel was coming out of Egypt, King Balak of Moab saw them and was afraid because they were too great for him. (Num 22:1 – 5). Joseph went to a country as a slave and grew to become the prime minister there. The great man Job also, after being tested and cut down, rose and became great again. He eventually had seven sons, three daughters and twice the wealth he had before he was struck by the enemy.

David was so great that the nations around him were subdued under him. Solomon had wisdom and wealth greater than any earthly king before or after him. Esther also went to a kingdom as slave and rose to being the queen in the palace. Mordecai, from being a gateman, became one who rode on the king's horse and eventually he became the second in command in that country. These people are a collective testimony of men becoming great because they served a great God. You are serving the same God they served. Compare who you are today with whom your God is and you will realize that you need to be more. Compare what you have achieved to what your God is able to do and you will realize that you have not scratched the surface of His possibilities. Rise up and take your place. Your were created great by a great God, refuse to be small.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God to increase your greatness on every side.
* Rebuke every force of smallness in your destiny.
* Ask that you will be a god on earth as God is in heaven.
* Prophesy on seven altars of your life to become great from today.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Oh God of my help, let this new month be filled with the rain of fulfilment on every side.

Prepared for Glory

Monday 1 June
READ: Exo. 19: 1-11
MORE LESSON: Gen. 35:1-3

There is a responsibility for anyone who wants to attract God's presence and make His glory manifest in his life. Studying the Bible, you will discover that there is always a responsibility for anyone who wants to be a carrier of God's glory. Glory is by grace; free but not cheap. We can never pay for it but there is something expected of men to do to access it. Salvation is free by grace but you have to believe and confess the Lord before you get it. The same is true in the natural. If you are offered an appointment you have to write a letter of acceptance before assuming office. So to get the glory there are always responsibilities and when the glory comes there are still responsibilities attached for you to maintain the glory.

Anything you don't have commitment to will not last in your hands. So God wants to see your committed actions before He releases His glory on you. He will not give the glory to a man who will be careless with it and waste it without meeting his responsibilities. The expectations of God for those who desire to be carriers of His glory are to ascertain that when the glory comes, the carriers can value the glory. The cost and the responsibilities attached to glory are not because we have the capacity to pay for the glory but so that we can have a consciousness that we must not be careless with it.

In the text, God was to visit the people, so He told them to get ready and prepare themselves for the visit. The first responsibility for a man that will experience glory is that he must deliberately prepare himself or herself for glory. The first preparation demanded by God was that the people should sanctify and wash themselves. Righteousness and holiness are prerequisites for glory. Don't be carried away with the gospel that tells you that you can do anything because we are in the period of grace. The Scripture says the people should be sanctified for the glory to come; to be sanctified is to be set apart. If you want to get God's glory, you must be ready to give up certain things that a lot of people indulge in without any qualm.

It matters to God what you do; it matters to God how you live. Christ has paid everything on our behalf and by His grace and finished work we can enjoy glory. However, grace demands that we must live the holy life that Christ died to purchase for us.

Prayer/Action
* Ask for grace to help you in all areas of preparation needed for your glory.
* Pray that in all that you do from today, you will stand out in righteousness and holiness.
* Pray that you will not fail in the responsibility and expectation of God for you.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Blessed be your name oh God, for making the sixth month a reality for me among the living. Take the glory, Oh Lord!

Personal Development for Growth

Sunday 31 May
READ: Acts 17:10-12
MORE LESSONS: Lk. 11:1-2

The eternal truth for today is that any one who sincerely desires to grow in the Christian faith must do more than whatever others are doing. Given the circumstances surrounding the end time Church today, the general food from the pulpit will not be sufficient for the proper growth of any believer. The Church today is confronted with two problems: (I) That of a congregation that is too restless to sit and learn and a congregation more interested in survival prayer than revival, in some cases, people even tell the pastors what to preach and what not to. (ii) The problem of the Church not being focused, some have outgrown their capacity to pastor effectively by their slumber and of course the end time spirit that is working so hard to weaken the Church of Jesus by sin, money, politics, distractions etc.

It is therefore important for every growth conscious believer to go an extra mile beyond the pulpit to personally develop himself/herself. If you don't ensure a growth in your Christian life, you will gradually die off although you may still be sounding like brass. The church ought to provide the learning materials, the inspiration and skill, while the individual picks from that point to develop himself. The Berean church exemplified this when, after learning from Paul, they created time to read over what they had been taught and to study further whether those things were true. Also, after Jesus’ public teaching, His disciples came back to Him privately to seek further clarification of what they had been taught in public.

Any believer who truly wants to grow must create time for extra information, reading and asking our leaders questions like the disciples did (Lk. 11:1) on healing (Mk. 9:29), and on Jesus’ parable( Mk. 4:10). Every believer must learn to create time beyond church sermons to study the Bible, fast and pray alone, and do night vigil with their family. You have a responsibility for whatever you want to become in life and destiny, do take up the challenge today.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God to lead you to everything you need to become what you need to be in Christ Jesus.
* Pray that the negative spirit and forces of the end time will not be your portion.
* Pray that you will find all it takes and you will give all it takes to grow in your Christian faith
.---Examine yourself critically, locate areas where you need to do more and what you need to do to grow into maturity, and do them.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
I shall remain grateful and hopeful in God, I shall not turn back (spiritual or physical) and I shall reach my goal, in Jesus’ name