Created and Re-Created for Glory

Friday 27 November
READ: 1 Col. 1: 27
MORE LESSON: Eph. 2: 10

God wants to glorify you and He has many reasons why He wants to do that. The first reason is that He created for you for glory. When God created man, the Bible says, …God blessed them, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Gen. 1:28. By the mere fact of being God's creation, there are five glories that He expects you to exhibit. He wants you to be fruitful, to multiply, to replenish, to subdue and to dominate. To be fruitful means to produce, bring forth and have good results to show for everything you do. To multiply means to increase. To replenish is to fill again or to renew used things. To subdue means to bring all the enemies and their works under your feet. To dominate means to be in charge and in control of everything. I pray for you today that all these glories will begin to manifest in your life.

When Adam, the first man, sinned and fell from the Garden of Eden, he was robbed of the glory of God by the devil. Thereafter, every man was born a sinner. This is the reason the Bible says, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God: Rom 3: 23. But we thank God for Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who came, shed His blood, died and rose again so that by His accomplishment, the glory of the Father might be restored to man. Any man that accepts Jesus as Lord and dedicates himself to Him is entitled to this glory.

This is the summary of the matter: by the reason of being created by God, you are entitled to five different levels of glory. Sin came and robbed you of this glory. But then Jesus came and re-created you so that you can be doubly sure of glory. A man that accepts Jesus is a new creation; he has been recreated for glory. 2 Cor 3;17-18 says, but we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Every child of God who genuinely accepts Jesus will experience the glory of God. The above Bible verse says but we all… it means all who accept Jesus Christ. If you have not accepted Him, you have to do so today. If you have not fully dedicated yourself to Him, you have to do so. Jesus is the glory that you seek. Christ in you is the hope of glory: Col 1: 27.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God to forgive you all the sins that robbed you of your glory and let all your glory be restored today.
* Pray that all the glory ordained for you from creation begin to find expression in your life.
* Ask God to move you from glory to glory.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
My cutting edge shall not go blunt or be broken and I shall wax stronger by the day, in the name of Jesus.

All Things New

Thursday 26 November
READ: II Cor 5:16-21
MORE LESSON: Ezek. 36: 25-27

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new: v17. This is an expected outcome of any man who has repented of his or her sin and confessed Jesus as his Lord and Master as I found in today’s text. When a person has confessed Christ and accepted Him as his Lord and Saviour, he becomes a new creature. One missionary's daughter said: “Having new clothes was something special to me when I was growing up because my parents were home missionaries. I got many of my clothes from a missionary barrel; actually this had its advantages. I had many more clothes than I might have had if my parents had to buy everything I wore”. The way most people desire new things (clothes, cars, phones, shoes etc) is actually the way God desires newness of life from a believer.

How can one know when either he or another person has become new in Christ Jesus? One great evidence of newness is a concern for those who do not know Christ. A new man in Christ recognizes his position as an ambassador for his Saviour and so develops an insatiable desire for the salvation of lost souls. In this way, God provides a way for individuals to be reconciled to Him. It is the will of God that we share this news of reaching the unreached with others because that is the major reason why we are alive.

Moreover, other evidences of new life in Christ include the following:
1. Growth (1Pet 2:1-2) 
2. Change (Rom 6:4-11) 
3. Knowledge (1Cor 2:12-16) 
4. Fruitfulness (John 15:1-8)
5. Daily victory (1John5:4)
6. Holy life (1John3:9).

Dearly beloved, all these things and more must be found in your life before you can be said to be a new creature in Christ Jesus.

Prayer/Action
* Today, I receive the grace to reach out to more sinners, in Jesus’ mighty name.
* Father, I receive Your power to live the new life in Christ everyday.
* I am a new creature in Christ, the yoke of sin is broken off my life.

PROPHETIC PRAYER. 
I command the doors of abundant provision to be opened to me, my family, business and my destiny, in the name of Jesus.

Great Command

Wednesday 25 November
READ: Gen. 37:25-36
MORE LESSON: Zech 8:16-17

Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,..: Eph.4:25. God's commandment and basis of every good relationship is found in Eph. 4:25. When truth, honesty and trust are lacking in a relationship, either with God or man, such togetherness is weak and will not be long lasting. High on the list of God's tough commands for us is telling the truth.
Telling lies can be so easy. It often seems like the best way to avoid a problem or to protect ourselves from the results of our bad choices. Note however thar it always backfires. Lying covers a multitude of sins but only temporarily. In Jewish culture and belief, it was a common thing for the heathen teachers to declare that a lie is better than the truth when it is profitable and less hurtful. Lie seemed profitable for the brothers of Joseph, that was why they sold their brother and lied to their father that an evil beast slayed him. But it is very clear that they spent the rest of their lives worrying about the consequences of their lie (Gen 37:31-33; 50:15).

Not telling the truth about things or people has great consequences as it did for the brothers of Joseph. Let us consider some of them.
I) Psa. 62:3-4 - How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence. They only consult to cast him down from his excellency: they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah.
ii) Psa. 101:7 - He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.
iii) Prov 19:5,9 - A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape. A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.

iv) Jer.14:14-15 - Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart. Therefore thus saith the LORD ... By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.
v) Ezek. 13:9 - And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
The instruction, ‘Don't lie’ looks like the toughest commandment from the Lord, but it is the best way to please Him and win the respect of other people.

Prayer/Action
* Today, I repent of all forms of falsehood I have been involved in, in Jesus’ name.
* Let the spirit of truth and uprightness fully possess me now, in Jesus’ name.
* I am not a liar; I refuse the spirit of lies and I will always tell the truth, in Jesus’ name.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
I command every resistant wall to my joy to lose its strength and collapse now, in the name of Jesus.

Encourage Yourself

Tuesday 24 November
READ: Psalm 42:3-11
MORE LESSON: Deut. 3:27-28

The psalmist talking to himself even before he talked to God about his depressed soul, asked; Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me hope thou in God...:v5. Then he talked to his depressed soul about God, ...hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance: v5. David was talking to himself, but he certainly was not losing his mind. His words sound like those of someone in touch with reality.
When you are overwhelmed or depressed, remember to take advantage of the spiritual anti-depressant in today's psalm. Question your soul, testify about God's goodness, and admonish yourself to hope in the Lord. After testifying to others about the change that Jesus has made in your life, minister to yourself as David did by personally applying the very encouragement you have given to others.

Moreover, it is very clear from today's text that anyone can be discouraged; prophets, kings, servants, believers and unbelievers. David the King got his courage by talking to himself and with God. In addition, courage can also come through friends and when we care to talk to our loved one's about our situations. Consider the examples recorded in 1Sam. 23:16-18, And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into the wood,...And he said unto him, Fear not…. 
The promise of God in His Word can be a sure strength when we are depressed and troubled, …the LORD spake unto Joshua… Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them… Be strong and of a good courage... Only be thou strong and very courageous…: Josh. 1:1-9.

However, when the unexpected happens, the greatest courage and strength comes from within as it is written also about King David.
And David was greatly distressed for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters; but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God . 1 Sam. 30:6. 
Think about it. When do you get discouraged? What Bible verses give you hope when you are down? You Use them to pray now!

Prayer/Action
* As one that is from above and above all, I will win over every negative situation, in Jesus’ mighty name.
* By the power of the Holy Spirit, I overcome everything that is trying to overcome me, in Jesus’ mighty name.
* Father, let heaven be at work in my situation so that it will not end the way the enemy wants it, in Jesus’ mighty name.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
No hidden or public agenda of the enemy over my life shall see the light of the day, in the name of Jesus.