Take heed lest you Fall II

Sunday 29 November
READ: Matt 4: 2 - 11
MORE LESSON: 1 Cor. 10: 12

To succeed in life and ministry, we need to give constant attention to our weakness and make sure we receive grace from God to help us stand at points of weakness. 2 Cor. 12: 9 says; My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Don't cover your weakness as if it doesn't matter, take them to God and cry for him to give you victory and help you stand. Our areas of weakness need attention if we must get to where God has destined for us.

But friends, our areas of strength also need attention as Paul said, let him who stands take heed lest he fall: 1 Cor. 10: 12. The reason he falls is because he thinks he is standing. There is a popular assertion that he that is down needs fear no fall. A person that is down already will not fall but he that is up and knows he is up needs a lot of care lest he falls. It is the areas where you think you are strongest that are never to be overlooked if you must fulfill God's vision for your life.

Jesus fasted 40 days and nights to start His ministry. And the devil came to face Jesus after 40 days of fasting. One would have thought that the devil should have come when Jesus was not fasting or at the beginning of the fasting. The devil did not even come at the middle of the fasting to tempt Jesus to break the fast. He could have come three days to the end of the fast when it had become so difficult and tempt Jesus to command the remaining three days to turn to one day. But Jesus probably was expecting all those. So the devil patiently allowed Jesus to finish His fast and at that point of spiritual euphoria when He finished the fast, the devil showed up.

Do you know that it is when you finish a three day marathon, and you look at yourself and say, 'no demon can face me now', that you need to be most careful? It is at the time you just finished a momentous project, a crusade or convention for the Lord that you should be careful. It is at such points that the enemy can come and tempt you with pride, lust or greed and make you fall. Do not be overconfident, always stay on your kneels before He that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy; The Only Wise God our Saviour . . . . Jude 1: 24 -25.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God for continuous flow of strength from the Holy Spirit.
* Pray that you will never be disconnected from the source of your strength.
* Pray that you will not be ignorant of the devices of the devil over your life.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
When the roll is called up yonder, my family, friends, relations and I shall not be missing, in the name of Jesus.

Take heed lest you Fall I

Saturday 28 November 
READ: Num. 20:8-13
MORE LESSON: 1 Cor. 10: 12

In moving from Egypt to the Promised Land, Moses did not make it to his destination. This is because the Israelites made him angry and he reacted. The children of Israel murmured and complained when they didn't have water to drink, and God told Moses to go speak to the rock so that water would flow out for the Israelites. The devil got Moses into anger and so Moses, faced the people and said, You rebels, now will water be provided for you from this rock. (Verse 10). He then smote the rock. God told Moses to speak to the Rock but the devil got him angry and made him strike the rock. God then passed judgment on Moses that he would not enter the Promised Land (verse 12). However, we have to remember that the Bible had earlier said in Num. 12: 3 that Moses was the meekest man on the face of the earth. So the meekest man was finished by anger; his area of strength was the weak-point that defeated him.

Do you know that a person's most powerful area is also his/her weakest point? The Bible says Moses was the meekest of all men on the face of the earth but the devil still got him on the point of meekness. A meek man never gets angry but the devil tempted Moses with anger. This is the reason the Bible says, Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall: 1 Cor 10:12. You might be confident that you can never fall in an area of strength and be negligent but I want you to know that you have to be careful even in that area so that the devil will not get you where you think you are strongest. For example, a brother who thinks that lust is not a problem for him as he is strong in that area and carelessly stays around ladies at odd times and places, should take heed. Moses might have been careful in other areas of life; praying that he would not fall into adultery or that he would not steal God's money. But as the meekest man on the face of the earth, he might have felt that if the devil would get him, it will not be in the area of meekness.

So he may not have prayed against anger in his life because as the meekest man he should ordinary not get angry. But friends, the very area of his strength was where the devil chose to launch an attack. Pray and ask God for grace not to fall. Don't even leave your areas of strength uncovered in your prayers.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God for help to be vigilant and sensitive in all areas of your life.
* Ask God to uproot today every unseen root of weakness in your spirit man.
* Pray that you will not become a victim of any hidden weakness.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
The door of eternity with God shall not be shut against me, I shall make heaven at all cost, in the name of Jesus.

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.