You can be Forgiven Now!

Saturday 8 August
READ: Rom. 3:9-28
MORE LESSON: John 3:16-18

And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance: Lk. 5:31-32. This verse is good news for sinners. God has not withdrawn His offer of forgiveness for sin. However, many people who are still living in sin don't seem to see themselves in need of salvation.

This is evident when you hear people say: 
-My good deeds outweigh the bad ones.
- I'm not as bad as some people.
- Usually, I'm a good person.

What such comments imply is that their shortcomings don't jeopardize their standing before the Almighty God.

Imagine a person was brought to trial for several charges of stealing and he appealed to the judge by saying: “Don't forget, my good deeds outweigh my bad ones. I am not as bad as many others”. It is sure the offender will be judged according to the offence, not according to previous good deeds. If justice must be done, someone must pay, and that should be the offender unless another person is allowed to bear the penalty instead. That is exactly what Jesus’ love did for sinners, which we all are For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God: Rom. 3:23.

Don't let false reasoning keep you from the one who died and rose again for you. He is waiting for you to admit your need for salvation and ask for pardon. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness: 1John 1:8-9.

Beloved, God will forgive you right now as you bow your heart and ask Him for forgiveness. You can pray like this; “Lord Jesus, I ask for pardon today. Please forgive my many sins; I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Make me Your own, write my name in the Lamb’s Book of Life and give me the joy of salvation now, in Jesus’ mighty name, I pray”.

Prayer/Action
* Father, forgive my sinful life-style, in Jesus’ name.
* Today, I receive the grace of God to obey Him in all things.
* Lord Jesus, wash me, clean me and live in me.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, in the name of Jesus, I declare that I shall not lose my inheritance in destiny and another man will not take my place.

Isaac's Success Key II

Friday 7 August
READ: Gen. 26:12
MORE LESSON: Ruth 1:1-5

Yesterday, we emphasized that investing in productive ventures is a major secret of prosperity. It is not impossible that some persons may have tried investing in one venture or the other and there was nothing to show for it. For such persons, just asking them to invest may never appeal to them. They may want to know one or two more secrets of Isaac’s success and why they have failed. The following points from today’s Scripture passage contributed largely to Isaac’s success.

1) Isaac received word from the LORD about the place he invested in. God specifically instructed Isaac to stay in Gerar and promised to bless him. (vs 2 and 3). There was famine in the land of Canaan, occasioned by drought. The right thing for a herdsman to do was to migrate to where there could be water for his animal, and Egypt where you have the delta of the River Nile was the nearest. While Isaac was contemplating going over to Egypt, he sought God's face. God then instructed him to stay in Gerar and promised to bless him. Isaac did not only hear God, he obeyed and terminated his match toward Egypt. Some people plunge themselves into businesses without seeking the face of God on where to start it. They base their judgement (their feasibility studies) largely on certain permutations and combinations induced by human wisdom. As promising as that may be, you still need to seek the LORD's face and hear from him.

(2) Isaac took his time to settle in Gerar before he began to invest. Though how long it took him was not stated in the passage, there was obviously a period of time between when he began to sow and when he received a hundred fold increase. What transpired within this period? Isaac subdued the powers of the land and put them under his control. The highest authority in the land put a restraining order that anyone who touches him or his family shall die (vs 11). At that point, no power in the land could stop him, then Isaac sowed in the land and prospered (v12).

Some people have invested hug resources in a land they have not subdued spiritually and others entered territories they had not subdued on their knees to start ministry. Therefore, they have very little to show for their labour because the negative forces in the land will not let them prosper. Your venture in that location is not thriving not because the location is not the best for it but because there are forces which a higher authority must put under check on your behalf. The Philistines would have killed Isaac if the King had not put a restraining order on him. Arise in prayer and fasting! Also go to your Church Pastor or any other genuine spiritual father in the land. A word of prayer from that leader may be all you need. Like Isaac, begin the investment, continue and, become very prosperous, in Jesus’ name.

Prayer/Action
* Lord, please speak to me as I wait upon You for instruction over what to invest in.
* I renounce every human permutation that makes me rush into ventures without hearing from You.
* Lord, put a restraining order over the forces of my land that I may prosper abundantly therein.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
In the name of Jesus, what belongs to me will reach me this month and I shall celebrate.

Isaac's Success Key I

Thursday 6 August
READ: Gen. 26:1-25
MORE LESSON: Prov.22:29

The Bible passage today tells the story of a man who began to prosper, continued prospering until he became very prosperous, so much so that his enemies envied him. How did he begin? What did he do to grow and sustain his prosperity? The story about Isaac's prosperity is very often used by preachers to take offerings and tithes in Church. While it may not be out of context to use the passage to encourage believers to sow into Kingdom work, we must also come to terms with what Isaac really did to enter unlimited prosperity. Isaac actually invested his time, labour and material resources in a productive venture. Then Isaac sowed (planted) in that land, and received in the same year a hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him: Gen.26:12.

One of the fundamental secrets of financial and material prosperity is being involved in productive ventures. The man who produces what others consume will always increase financially. You must stop being a consumer only; get engaged in providing goods and services. You must immediately get involved in producing goods or providing services that others can come to you for.

There was famine in the land. The Philistines who were the original dwellers were idling away, while a stranger came and re-opened all the wells his father Abraham once dug around the territory to irrigate his crops and water his animals. I guess he was producing fruits and vegetables which an average Canaanite was longing for. In a short while, Isaac took over the market and there was no need for importation of fruits and vegetable from Egypt to Gerar. The buyers were the same Philistines because they loved to eat such.

Friend, what are the things your community cannot do without? These are the things to sow in the land. Even if others are already doing it, join them to produce more. For example, the market for sachet and bottle water can never be saturated because people must drink water. Eateries can never be too many in a city that has a working class population. Only be more innovative, and the customers will switch over to you. Isaac did not give in to the jealousy, intimidation and harassment of the indigenes who engaged in an unhealthy competition with him over the wells he dug nor did he pack up the business. He simply relocated each time the competitors came to harass him, and soon, he wearied them. So, the man began to prosper, continued herein until he became very prosperous. Do you want to enter into prosperity? Start investing your time and resource into productive ventures.

Prayer/Action
* Lord, inspire in me the resourceful spirit that will enable me to always meet the needs of others. 
* Ask the LORD to lead you into a productive venture that you can invest in from today,

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father cause me to have an encounter with your glory and may this month befilled with evidence, in Jesus’ name.

Discipline of God

Wednesday 5 August
READ: Heb. 12:5-11
MORE LESSON: Prov.29:15

As a young man in Secondary school, I never liked to hear the word “discipline” because it was most often used when you are to undergo punishment for an offence. At that time, discipline meant receiving strokes of the cane on your buttocks, or kneeling down with hands in the air for a period, or cutting grass. At home, it was also punishment; you were deprived dinner or made to kneel down or stay inside the house while your mates played outside.

When I first read the Scripture passage of today some years ago, I was not comfortable because of my concept of discipline. How can it be that the one God loves He chastises (discipline)? We are punished, whether at school or home, because we are seen as “bad” boys/girls or stubborn children. Those who discipline us are never our friends, and we run away from them because we think they don't love us. If God will also punish me, why should I endure it and see Him as my Father? But with maturity and better understanding, I have come to appreciate this scripture and what our parents, elders and teachers were doing to us when I was in school. I have come to understand that discipline is actually meant to make you conform to set patterns that will make your life orderly and meaningful.

The rod is applied to drive away the “foolishness” that abound in the heart of a child (Prov.22:15). Discipline is meant to inculcate behavioural patterns that will make you a better person to yourself, society and humanity in general. I have also come to know that those who discipline us actually want the best in us to come to limelight. They do so because they believe in us and truly love us. Those who are robbers, vandals and perpetuating violence on our streets today were either not disciplined (corrected, chastised) when they were young, tender and malleable, or they did not take to discipline.

God's chastisement is much more encompassing in accomplishment. Today’s Bible passage tells us why God chastises His children. Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but later on it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it (Heb 12:10 -11 NIV). Note the following benefits of discipline and remember them for life:

1) God's chastisement makes you share in His holiness. 
2) It is a training that will produce a harvest of righteousness and peace for you. Will you still resist chastisement today?

Prayer/Action
* Lord, please forgive me of hating those who disciplined me in time past; bless them and their children wherever they are today.
* Lord, do not hold back Your discipline and help me to respond appropriately.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, in your mercy, use my life to advertise your glory this year, in the mighty name of Jesus.