Honour for Honour

Monday 10 August
READ: Matt.15:4-9
MORE LESSON: Eph.6:2-3

A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? Mal.1:6. One of the greatest sins a man can commit against God is despising His name. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain: Exo. 20:7.
God wants the work of His hand to honour Him because He is worthy, and when we do so God has a booty for us. So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine: Prov. 3:9.

Moreover, it is not only the LORD the believer should honour. There are so many other relationships that require honour. These include our relationship with:
1. Christ – That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him: John 5:23. 
2. Parents – Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;): Eph. 6:2.
3. Aged – Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; Honour widows that are widows indeed: 1Tim 5:1,3.

4. Church officials – Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation:: Phil. 2:25,29
5. Other persons – Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another: Rom. 12:10
6. Priests and pastors – Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.: 1 Tim. 5:17
7. Wives – Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered: 1 Pt. 3:7.

8. Fathers –Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: Lk. 18:20.
9. Mothers – Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: Matt 19:19.
10. Kings and rulers – Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king: 1Peter 2:17.
11. Widows indeed – Honour widows that are widows indeed: 1 Tim 5:3.

Dearly beloved, honour begat honour. When you begin to honour God and man, you also begin to receive honour from both God and man.

Prayer/Action
* I receive the spirit of humility to honour all people always, in Jesus’ mighty name.
* Father, help me to honour You by the way I live my life, in Jesus’ mighty name.
* I receive the grace to work in honour as I honour others, in Jesus’ mighty name.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, in the name of Jesus, I command the foundation of every affliction over my destiny to collapse today, in Jesus’ name.

When your Friend says ‘No’

Sunday 9 August
READ: Luke 11:5-10
MORE LESSON: Luke 18:1-7

There are three lessons to learn about relationships from the Scripture reading today.

1. Getting answers to requests from dear friends may not be instant. Although true friends are not known to refuse to grant one another's requests in very difficult circumstances, the passage reveals that there could be times when dear friends could be at crossroads in attending to needs. Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'? (vs. 5-11). Let it be registered in your heart this day that there could be times in your life that dear friends may neither come out to see you nor even refuse to open their doors to let you in. When such happens, you must manage the situation with wisdom. At such times some people may easily get discouraged and go away angrily to tell others nasty stories about their friends. Others may react by destroying the relationship or plan vengeance against their friend.

2. This passage shows us the way to get as much as you want from a friend who is reluctant to grant you your request. Sometimes you carry other people’s burdens in the way the friend in this passage did in order to meet the need of a friend to his friend who visited at an odd hour. The desire to meet his friend’s need, moved him to go to another friend who answered from within, and gave excuses. What do you do when you are humiliated for a good deed you sought to do for someone? Do you give it up or refrain from doing the good? What extent can you go in pursuing other people's needs even when you are being insulted?

3. When this friend was refused his request at first instance, he did not give up. He did not consider his friend's remark as insolence; he stood there knocking and pleading. Jesus thereafter remarked: Though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs: Luke 11:8.

When you persist on your request, you will get as much as you need. Whatever you may not get based on relationships is made very possible when you persist. Know for sure that the toughest of men will give in to your request in the face of persistence. This was the message Jesus passed across in Luke 18:1-5. Next time someone says, ‘no’ to your critical request, don't be perturbed, rude, frustrated, or compromise; only be persistent in righteousness. As Jesus admonished in Lk. 11:9-10, I also say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Prayer/Action
* Lord, help me to persist in righteousness until my answer comes.
* Father, help me to be a true friend who stands for others in their critical hour of need.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
This month, every power in custody of my original glory and every thief of glory shall surrender them by fire, in the name of Jesus.

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.