Bitterness to Sweetness

Monday 8 February
READ:Ruth 4:14-17
MORE LESSON:John 9:1-6

Many times, Christians are faced with unpleasant situations and experiences. Even in the path of obedience to the Lord, there may be losses, suffering, pain, death and injustice. No child of God is without trouble, but God always solves them, Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all: Psa 34:19.
Troubles and trials are not to make us bitter, but better; God allows them because He knows they will end in sweetness. What is considered a loss now often leads to gain for God's children. Do you know that a believer's major goal in life is not to be comfortable, satisfied or even happy, but to glorify God? (see Job 5:17-21). A man was born blind in the Scripture and the disciples asked Jesus, “Why was this man born blind?” Jesus, replied, “It is that God might be glorified”. Your situation is allowed so that God can be glorified. He knows you can bear it and that you will not deny Him because of the pain. Jesus endured the cross, and Paul the apostle endured much persecution. Also, bitter herbs are used in the Passover meals (Exo. 12:8, Num. 9:11). All these analogies should prove to you that the bitterness you are experiencing is not taking God unawares; He wants to use it as the stepping stone to your celebration and victory.
Unpleasant experiences, persistent
problems and unexplainable tragedies may happen but we must know that God uses trouble to purify and refine men. Hannah was barren, Bartimeus was blind and Naomi suffered so much loss that she wanted her name changed to 'Marah' which means, 'bitterness'. In fact she said, for the Almighty has afflicted me....: Ruth 1: 20-21. At the end, all these people mentioned testified of sweetness; Hannah, Bartimeus and Naomi all became subjects of testimony. Naomi's testimony was that a son was born to her in old age (Ruth 4:17).
Bitterness, however, does not turn to sweetness on its own. It usually takes spiritual authority and the anointed ones to stand over one to have it (Exo. 15:23-25). The solutions to all the problems of church members largely depend on the priest that God has placed over them. James 5: 14 -15 says, Is any one sick? Let him call for the elders and let them pray over him anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
Marah water was made sweet by Moses in Exo. 15:23-25. Elisha also ended the bitterness of the people of Jericho by divine directional prophetic act. God has placed the cure for every bitter water of your life in His vessels. You must honour and connect with these vessels. I prophesy sweetness to you today, and through God declare that you are free, in Jesus' mighty name.

Prayer/Action
* Oh Lord, turn my bitterness to sweetness, in Jesus' name.
* My pathway will no longer be that of Marah, but of sweetness, in Jesus' mighty name.
* Let the travail of Jesus on the cross make a way for me, in Jesus' mighty name.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Today, I release the power of life and good living into my destiny, in the name of Jesus.

A Fresh Anointing

Sunday 7 February
READ:Psa. 92:10-15
MORE LESSON:Psa. 23:5-6

One of the things God does when He wants to move His people forward is to anoint them with fresh oil. Psalm 25: 3 says, You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over: Psa. 23:5 (NKJV). It is not possible to enjoy a running-over-cup in the presence of the enemies without the anointing of the Lord. This is because if the enemy is present and you are not empowered with fresh oil by the Lord, satan may steal your cup. Today, God will anoint you with His Spirit and you will be secured and make progress, in Jesus' name.
When a man is to be promoted and exalted, He needs to be anointed afresh. Psa. 92:10 says, My horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil (NKJV). Anointing with fresh oil is needed for victory over the enemy so that his desires will not be fulfilled over you. This is why verse 11 says, My eye also has seen my desire on my enemies; My ears hear my desire on the wicked Who rise up against me. I prophesy to you today that everyone risen against you will fall for your sake, in Jesus' mighty name. Spiritual prosperity and fruitfulness is another great advantage of the anointing. You will not dry up; you will not stop growing and you will be green and prosperous all the days of your life.
When a man is anointed with fresh oil, he is planted and he cannot be displaced; he is fixed, settled and flourishing. He experiences limitless fruitfulness till old age, and that is to say that a man that is anointed has broken the barriers of old age. What a young person cannot do, he can achieve because of the oil; the oil of the Lord on your head will not run dry, in Jesus' name. Similarly, the psalmist says all of this will happen to you to prove that the Lord is upright; He is a rock and there is no unrighteousness in Him. The Lord will make you a show and a proof of His grace and power. May you prove His strength and uprightness as you journey from earth to Heaven, in Jesus' name. This is why you must always crave for the oil of the anointing. The believer must be anointed constantly by the Holy Ghost and by His priest. Go for the anointing each time you have the opportunity and cherish it.
Moreover, when a man is anointed by the Lord, he walks in goodness and mercy all the days of his life as recorded in Psa. 23:6. As you continue on the path of daily freshness by the Spirit, your heaven is sure. What a journey, what a destination! Your journey today will end in goodness, and may God bless you abundantly.

Prayer/Action
* Oh Lord, anoint me with fresh oil now, in Jesus' name.
* I shall flourish in the court of the Lord; I shall not go back to the world, in Jesus' mighty name.
* My days, weeks, months and years are anointed with fresh oil and I will see the goodness of the Lord in them, in Jesus' mighty name.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
I command every gang up of wicked spirits against my advancement, in 2016 to be scattered now by fire, in the name of Jesus.

Stop the Robbery

Saturday 6 February
READ: Mal 3: 6-12
MORE LESSON: Zech. 5: 3-4

All-round prosperity and total well-being is the plan of God for all His children. Sickness, affliction and every negative thing are signs of ungodliness. In Luke 9: 1-2 Jesus called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the Kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. The believer has been given authority over all the works of the devil, so no child of God should live a miserable life.
When a believer begins to see the activities of the devourer in his life, then something is wrong. When you notice that it is when you plant that rain doesn't fall, or it is when you invest that there is problem and all the investment is lost; or probably, you even manage to get a harvest, but then it is blown off, you should know that satan is gaining an upper hand. You have to quickly return to God.
In the text of today, God told Israel their calamity was due to their backsliding. Israel had forgotten God and failed to offer unto God what was due Him. In Mal 3: 8, the Lord asked, Will a man rob God? Yet ye say, wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offering.
When a man robs God of what belongs to Him, God allows the enemy to rob the man in return. But if we return to our first love and serve God adequately, He will avenge us of the enemy. Rev 2: 4 says, Never the less I have some what against thee, because thou has left thy first love. When you return to love God in giving tithes and offerings, He will open the window of Heaven for you, pour you a blessing, rebuke the devourer for your sake and all nations shall call you blessed. If robbing God allows the waster to waste you, it is wise to return to the Replenisher so that He can replenish you. As God said in Joel 2: 24-25, And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the Palmer worm , my great army which I sent among you.
Our God is a restorer and He will restore what the enemy took from your life when you left Him and yielded to the enemy. All you have to do is retrace your steps back to God. Repent of your backsliding, ask for His mercy and He will return to you, as He promised, Return unto me, and I will return unto you saith the LORD of hosts…Mal 3: 7. Return in holiness and with the tithes and offerings. I decree that everything that the enemy has stolen from your life is restored a hundred fold as you obey the Word of the Lord today, in Jesus’ mighty name.

Prayer/Action
* Father, I repent of any backsliding today; let Your mercy reach me now.
* I receive the power and grace to remain in the Lord to the end.
* I rebuke the activities of the devourer over my life, in Jesus’ name

PROPHETIC PRAYER
I command every obstacle on my way to glory to be evacuated now, in the name of Jesus.

Rule over your Enemies

Friday 5 February
READ: Psa. 110: 1-3
MORE LESSON: Gen 42: 3 - 26

When God wants to give a man rest, He empowers him to reign over his enemies. The Bible clearly expresses in Psa. 110:1-2, which is a prophecy over your life as a member of the body of Christ, that there is a spiritual empowerment that enables a man to rule over his enemies, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies: Psa 110:1-2.
God is determined to give you rest in spite of your enemies. According to the Scripture, God doesn't want to achieve this rest by an annihilation of your enemies: He will not make them to cease to exist, but He will give you rest by making you rule in their midst.
The following are the implications of ruling in the mist of your enemies:
1. You have superiority over your enemies. Just as Jesus prevailed over satan, sin, death and sickness and they can never do Him any harm but they panic and flee at his presence, so also will you prevail over your enemies when God makes you rule over them.
2. Anybody that chooses to be your enemy becomes your slave. When God gives you the rod of strength, any one that chooses to be your enemy has signed up to be your subject. Your enemies may increase because some people will just choose to be your enemies out of envy as the blessings of God increase in your life. but you don't need to worry as enemies abound because you will rule over them. In fact, the more they hate you, the more you rule over them and the longer they choose to be your enemies, the longer your year of reign.
3. You stand while your enemies bow. God will lift you so much that the people who hate you will always have to come to you to beg you for help. This is what God did for Joseph in the Bible; his brothers hated him but they eventually had to bow to him and beg him for food. Anyone that chooses to be your enemy will be for your comfort; they will bow to beg you.
4. It means power to take decisions over your enemies. Your enemies will find themselves at the mercy of your decisions from today. Joseph had the power to decide over his brothers; he even put some of them in prison and later released them at will.
5. It means that the fate of your enemies will be in your hands. From today, the fate of your enemies is in your hands, in Jesus’ name. Rule thou over your enemies.

Prayer/Action
* All my enemies shall serve me, I shall rule over them all.
* Father, let the fate of my enemies be determined by my hands.
* The rod of the wicked shall not rest upon my lots, in the name of Jesus.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
This month, I receive the good news of the termination of every satanic agents working together against me, in the name of Jesus.