The Pilgrimage

Sunday 7 June
READ: I Cor. 10:1-6
MORE LESSONS: Heb. 12:1-2

The Israelites’ journey out of Egypt, through the wilderness, to the Promised Land is a type of Christian pilgrimage. Our Christian journey has such a striking resemblance to the Israelites' journey that it is important for us to study it, learn from their experiences and avoid pitfalls as we move towards the heavenly Canaan. As Apostle Paul exhorts, Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition...: 1Cor. 10:11. The lessons from Israel’s experience are many. The Israelites were chosen by God to be His peculiar people but God had to raise a deliverer to lead them out of the bondage of Pharaoh and Egypt (Exo. 2:23-25; 3:7-10). This compares favourably with our need to be free from the bondage of sin and Satan, Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son…: Gal. 4:3-4.
To escape from this bondage, one must accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour (Jn. 3:16). This is about creating a Father-son relationship with God through acknowledging that you are a sinner, and accepting Jesus' offer of forgiveness through cleansing in His blood. If you are already born again but you still struggle with your old sin, this can be compared with the stubborn act of Pharaoh who even after he had released Israel to go, still pursued them to the Red Sea, where he perished with all of his army. In that same manner all your enemies shall perish, in Jesus’ name. As long as you don't give up the battle, your old life will bow to your new Saviour.

Here are some few things you must do to permanently win the battle over your old sin habits.
1. Attend a good convert/follow-up/foundation/discipleship class in a Bible-believing Church, immediately.
2. Begin to give more time to reading, studying, memorizing and confessing God's Word.
3. Go for deliverance and don't hide anything from the man of God, including your old habits.
4. Spend more time praying in the Holy Ghost.
5. Ask God to sanctify you wholly – spirit, soul and body - (I Thess. 5:23).
6. Never give in to satanic blackmail of being a sinner. You are not; God loves you with an everlasting love. (Rom. 8:36-37).
7. Be assured of your victory over Satan, sin and the world (I Jn. 4:4). God is faithful who has begun a good work in you and will perform it until the day of Christ (Phil. 1:6).

Prayer/Action
*Pray that your sojourn on this earth will not terminate in hell.
*Ask God for grace to be a full time Jesus chaser.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Even if darkness and gross darkness cover the whole world, God’s light and glory shall be seen upon me, in the name of Jesus.

Power Packed

Saturday 6 June
READ: Heb. 4:12
MORE LESSONS: Acts 19:11-20

The writer of Hebrews has given us fresh revelation on the mystery and efficacy of the Word of God at work in us. In today’s passage, three major things are evident about the power of the Word of God. Firstly, it is quick, which means that when you receive the Word of God, it quickens you. The reason why the Word of God is given to us as a 'quick' capsule is because the enemy wants to poison us until he can slow our lives down completely. Satan and his cohorts are out to stop every good thing that God is doing in and through our lives.

They start out by slowing down our faith in God for miracles and breakthroughs. Then they slow down our zeal for the things of God and our desire to be in the assembly of the saints of God. Thereafter, they slow down our ability to tarry with God in prayer and deep communion. And as soon as communion with God is withdrawn, we lose direction and divine guidance and the spirit of fear sets in, followed by all manners of sin and lawlessness. But the Living Book declares in II Cor. 2:11, Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Then comes the ministry of the word in us; it quickens, revives, awakens and activates us unto the things of God. This is why we must continue to live by the Living Book, which provides quick capsules that insulate us from the poison of the enemy that can slow us down completely, and make us inactive and unresponsive to the things of God.

The next major assignment of the Word of God in us is to release immense power. Indeed, the Word of the Lord is powerful enough to save us from anything and everything that stands in our way. This is so, because the enemy’s device is not only to slow us down but also to leave us disarmed and weak. If you have ever noticed any area in your life that is weak and maybe a part of your body that is sickly, apply the power capsule in the Word of God and see the anointing of God's Spirit restore and re-invigorate you with the fullness of life. I dare to say that a wordless life is a powerless life. As you stand firm on the Word of God today, every slow and blunt area of your life is being quickened and empowered right now by the living Word of God, in Jesus’ mighty name.
Thank God for the Living Book. Thank Him for the Word of God.

Prayer/Action
* Pray that God’s Word will quicken, revive and awaken you to who God is.
* Ask that the power of God’s Word will strengthen you in all areas of life.
* Release the power in the Word to re-invigorate your destiny in God.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
I declare that every snare is broken today, I have escaped from the fowler and no weapon shall prosper against me.

Humility

Friday 5 June
READ: Eph. 4:1-3
MORE LESSONS: Jam. 4:10

The Christian life is a walk; we progress a step at a time. Walking requires life, strength, freedom and balance, and a day by day progress towards a God-given goal. We should live as people who have been set apart by God and not do anything that would discredit the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Apostle Paul admonishes and pleads with us on how we should walk as Christians:
With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; v2.
This describes the quality of being humble and the absence of pride or self-assertion.
Humility makes unity possible and visible and today’s text brings out clearly some evidences of genuine humility. Before a man can say he is humble, he must possess the listed characteristics.
Lowliness: anyone who is lowly in mind will not think of himself alone but will see other people as more important. As it was reported of Jesus in Phil.2:1-11, Paul also served the Lord with all humility (Acts 20:19). This should be the attitude manifested by anyone who is humble.
Gentleness: It is another word for meekness. Meekness is not weakness; it is power under control. The meek person does not deliberately hurt others, even though he has the power to do so. Those who are meek keep their power under control. Num 12:3 tells us, Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. In Matt.5:5, Jesus said, Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Longsuffering: Being able to suffer long: in other words, ability to bear with people. The ability to bear with one another is also important for Christian unity. When we bear with others in love, it builds and gradually changes them.
Humility: We need to put on the cloak of humility because God resist the proud and gives grace to the humble person. Someone has said that humility does not consist merely in a person's thinking of himself in low terms but rather it is not thinking of himself at all. The Lord Jesus perfectly exemplified this attitude. He never considered His own desires. He only did the Father's will. He did not go to the cross because of Himself, but because of sinners. He was beaten for our transgressions, He went to hell to set us free because we were bound to life imprisonment there. He was born so that you and I can be saved from sin and He is sitting at the right hand of the Father today, interceding for you and I. Can you work for others? Can you suffer because of your neighbour?

Prayer/Action
* Pray that God will clothe you with the garment of meekness and selflessness.
--Sacrifice something very precious to you today by giving somebody who may need it as much as you do.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I shall be singled out for glory and praise this month, in the name of Jesus.

Fasting

Thursday 4 June
READ: Matt. 4:1-10
MORE LESSONS: Isa. 58:6-9

Fasting is one of the fundamental pillars of the Christian faith. Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ gave us a sound example in fasting when He did so for forty days. What do you think Jesus was looking for? Power? Which power? It was not for power and I think it is erroneous when people tell us that Jesus fasted for forty days and it was only after then He was able to begin to manifest power; that is an error. Jesus didn't need a fast to move the earth. At 12 years of age, He sat down with doctors of the law answering questions to the amazement of His hearers. If on that day He wanted the earth to shift, it would have obeyed Him. It is not to say that we don't find power when we fast; there are a lot of manifestations of the power of God when we fast.
Jesus taught us two basic lessons by His fasting; first to give us a pattern that fasting is one of the ways we can touch the heart of God and bring things to happen on the surface of the earth. And secondly, He wants us to see the connection between prayer and fasting. Prayer is easier in the place of a fast. You have less energy to pray but you have faster penetration when you fast and pray.
There is what is called power habit. Power habit means, the kind of things a particular person does to have the power of God move upon his life. It differs from person to person. For some people, they cannot preach a major message except they have run three days fasting and prayer. That is how they are activated. There are ministers that if they have not sung songs, they can't push out. So when they get to the pulpit, they must sing and worship, then you kick- start them. Don't copy people anyhow; just find out which area you are gifted. It is the same thing about fasting. In the Old Testament days, people fasted and got wonderful results. Moses fasted for forty days twice, Esther and the entire Jews in exile fasted for three days (marathon), kings and prophets fasted and they all got God's attention.
In fasting, you are not bribing God by staying off food for a while; rather, as my father in the Lord once said, you are telling God that you desperately need His attention over certain issues so much that what the flesh needs do not matter to you but the spiritual communion with Him. If God answered people in the Old Testament, you are better placed today for answers if you don't give up. May God grant speedy answers to your prayers and fasting.

Prayer/Action
* Pray for strength to seek the LORD's face in fasting.

* Ask God to increase your strength through fasting and prayer

Take a day or two this week and fast over any matter that has bothered you for long.

Isaiah 58:8 gives us certain things that we can use a fast to achieve, list them out from this verse and ask God for them one by one

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Lord, in the month of June, give no one the opportunity to sympathise with me, in the mighty name of Jesus.