Know who You are 1

Wednesday 13 January
READ: Exo. 3: 13 - 14
MORE LESSON: Mk 14: 58 - 62

The first step in success and greatness in life is in knowing who you are and what you have. Self-knowledge born out of self-discovery is the foundation of greatness in life. So ask yourself, 'who am I?'', 'what am I here on earth to do?' and 'what abilities do I have to achieve my purpose in life” Even when God wanted to achieve success in leading Israel out of Egypt, He started from the point of self-knowledge. God said to Moses, I am that I am; in other words, He was saying that it doesn't matter what somebody feels or says about Him, He knows Who He is. If the atheist says God doesn't exist or another person says He is not Three-in-One, God says 'I am not disturbed; I am who I am'.

Jesus also lived by that principle; He knew who He was. He would be ministering and demons would be shouting, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.' Jesus told them to shut up, He knew who He was, He didn't need any demon tell Him He was the Son of God. The problem with many people today is that it is demons and false prophets that tell them who they are. If you don't know who you are, people will tell you who they think you are. The first basic step in attaining greatness is to know who you are. People may not know who you really are and may have their own opinions of you but what ultimately determines your success in life is what you know you are, not what someone else thinks you are. The disciples of Jesus didn't even know who He was; they were saying different things about Him. Even Peter who said that He was the Christ; the Son of the Living God (Matt. 16: 16), didn't really understand what he was saying, it was the Holy Spirit that spoke through him. The only thing going for Jesus throughout His life is that He knew who He was.

Today I charge you to prayerfully reflect and discover who you really are. Write out your self-identity, life vision and purpose. Do not let your situations tell you who you are. Let God be the One to tell you who you are. Situations might find you a janitor today but if God says you are a business owner; then know who you are and start working towards it. Search the Word of God by the Spirit of God and discover who you really are. Self-discovery is fundamental to greater heights in life.

Prayer/Action
* Father, help me to discover every potential in me and let them find full expression, in Jesus mighty name.
* Father, I reject every lie of the enemy that makes a man to lose his God-given identity, in Jesus’ name.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
From today, I’m blessed and highly favoured; whatever works against my greatness shall die for my sake.

Exceptional Help

Tuesday 12 January
READ: 2 Sam 5: 6 – 10
MORE LESSON: Psa 18: 29

In today’s text, David led his army against the Jebusites who lived in the rocky fortress. When they heard that David was coming, they mocked him and told him their habitation was so fortified that a weakling like David can't defeat them. In fact, they told him that even if the lame and the blind in the land were to form the army to fight against him, they would defeat him. Obviously, David was still small and had not attained all the greatness he later had. So they under-estimated and mocked him. Everywhere you have been washed down and mocked, the help of God will lift you up and place you above your mockers, in Jesus’ name.

It was like my story in secondary school. One of my teachers once looked at me and said, 'You, even if they give you the answer script and ask you to copy, you will still copy wrongly and fail'. They believed that I would not amount to anything. But today, the Lord has brought me to a great place. After the mockery done to David by the inhabitants, he invaded that city, defeated the people of the land and took over the land. I am particularly impressed with what David did after he took that city; he named it after himself and made it his headquarters: So David dwelt in the fort, 
and called it the City of David...: 2 Sam 5:9. That is the city called Jerusalem today; the capital city of the reign of David and the headquarters of the nation of Israel. He turned the place of his mockery to an eternal memorial of his greatness. That is what God is set to do for you today.

It is the exceptional help of God that made David to prevail where he had been disdained. He stated this secret of his success in Psa. 18: 29, For by thee, I have run through a troop; and by my God, have I leaped over a wall. Today, the help of God will locate you and you will amaze critics and enemies to record an astounding victory.

I pray for you today that where people have said there is no place for you, you will become the head. That office that refused to give you a job because you are a child of God will soon be bought over by you. When you enter that office, you will enter as the CEO. An exceptional help is on the way for you this year. God will do for you what you cannot do for yourself. Lift up your hand and shout Amen!

Prayer/Action
* Father, give me honour and praise in every place where I have seen shame, in Jesus’ name.
* Lord, let me have exceptional help as I go out today.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
He that is from above is above all, so shall be my testimony this year; I shall stay above all situation, in the name of Jesus.

God's Favourites 3

Monday 11 January
READ: John 11: 3 - 5
MORE LESSON: Jer. 31: 3

Three were many sick people in the Bible that Jesus healed. Some were healed by Him sending His word to them, some touched Him, some came to Him and prayed Him to come touch their loved ones at home. However, when Lazarus was sick, Mary and Martha merely sent word to Jesus, Lord, the one you love so much is sick. Martha, Mary and Lazarus had taken the extra effort to have a close relationship with Jesus. Jesus always went to their house and whenever He did, Mary would sit with Jesus and let Jesus talk at length with her while Martha would be in the kitchen to cook for Jesus. When Lazarus was sick, they didn't care how busy Jesus was with His great assignment to the whole world, they just sent word to Him. In the text you will see that they even didn't tell Him to come, they merely told Him that Lazarus was sick. They expected Him to know that He should leave everything He was doing and come to help them. That is relationship speaking for Mary and Martha with Jesus. When you cultivate relationship with the Lord so much and become His favourite, He bypasses many to attend to your case.

Eventually Jesus arrived two days later and then both Mary and Martha met Him and said the same thing, Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died: Jn. 11:32. In other words, ''Where have You been? What took You so long? Now he is dead!”

Lazarus was already dead! But dead or not, Jesus wanted to see Lazarus. So He asked them where they buried him and He went to the grave side. When Jesus got to the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus wept: Jn. 11: 35. He then went ahead to call Lazarus from the dead and bring him back to life. Lazarus was not the only person that Jesus raised up from the dead in the Bible. But Lazarus' case has become a memory verse for all today. This is because of the special attention Jesus gave him due to the favour of intimate relationship. How many others did Jesus cry before raising them from the dead? None. When you become God's favourite, when everybody comes asking, He will give special attention to you. And even when He does something generally for people, He adds an extra touch to yours.

You need to get intimate with God to the point that you become a favorite with Him. I emphasise again that God has favourites, everybody is not the same with Him. He loves the whole world and wants everyone saved but when you talk about God giving attention to people, He has favourites. When you become His favourite, your trouble becomes His trouble and your pain becomes His. When you take it upon your heart to win God's heart, you become the envy of men.

Prayer/Action
* Pray that your matter will attract Heaven to rise up for you.
* Pray like Esther, David and Solomon so that Heaven will select you for favour, in Jesus’ name.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
The windows of heaven shall not be shut against me this year; the dew and the rain shall come to my land in their seasons and my harvest shall not fail, in name of Jesus.

God's Favourites 2

Sunday 10 January
READ: Isa. 3: 10 - 11
MORE LESSON: Mal 1: 2 -3

In Isa. 3: 10 -11, God made a remarkable statement, Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, For the reward of his hands shall be given him. This leaves one wondering whether it is not God that created all humans. Why would He look at some and say it shall be well with them and then look at others and declare that it shall be ill with them? This shows that where a person stands with God depends on what he or she does. Being God's favourite is not a chance happening and it is not a right reserved for some. It is a gift from God based on the level of relationship with Him.

It is like what obtains between parents and children. It is not right for parents to have favourites among children but it is eventually a child that determines whether he wins the parent' s heart so that the parent would go an extra mile for him. A man can have children and there is one who serves at home; helping the father and the mother. He wakes up in the morning and cleans the house, assists in everything and obeys the instructions that he is given, whereas there is another who gets up in the morning and escapes from the house to hang out with peers. He then comes home to see if food is ready, eats and steals out again. He might even cause trouble outside and they come and summon the parents that are peacefully staying at home. The parents will give him food and even pay his school fees because of a sense of responsibility but such a child will not get the same level of tips and gifts as the one that pleases the parents.

This is the same with God. Many Christians are not going out of their way to please God and become His favourites. God is merely blessing them because of faithfulness to His word - a sense of responsibility. God so loves the world (Jn. 3: 16), however there are great heights of favour and love that God bestows upon you when you pay the price to become His favourite.

I find this easy to understand when I remember that I love everybody but the access my wife has to me and everything I have is not the same that everybody else has. My wife has a right to everything I have but someone else, even though I love him/her with the love of God, will only get a part of all that I have. There are favourites with God and you can get so committed to the Lord that you come into the class of His favourites. Make your choice now!

Prayer/Action
* Ask God for grace to please Him always.
* Lord, I choose to be Your favourite. Please help me.
* Pray that you will find favour with God and men.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
As the Lord liveth, 2016 will not record my obituary or any evil memorial about my destiny, in the mighty name of Jesus.