Overcoming the Waster

Monday 16 May
READ: 2 Kings 5:1-14
MORE LESSON: Exo 18:19

There is the story of a general in the Syrian army named Naaman. He was a great man of great exploits who conquered cities and won battles. He was a mighty man of valour and honourable in the esteem of the king and people of Syria. However, he had a little 'but' in his life. The Bible says but he was a leper. Leprosy is a waster, it causes a destiny to deteriorate. Leprosy wastes a man's flesh, finance, material and resources. So Naaman was a great man with a waster in his destiny. It was an advice from a little Israeli girl that opened the door to Naaman's healing. The girl told Naaman's wife that her husband could be healed if he would go to the God of Israel. In overcoming a wasted destiny, you must be sensitive to the instruction of the Lord and He can use anyone or anything to speak to you. When the Lord is speaking to you even through someone that you look down on, it is your meekness in obedience that will give you deliverance.
So Naaman approached the king, who sent a message to the king of Israel asking him to get his general healed. The king was greatly troubled as he thought that Syria was looking for an opportunity to instigate a war. How could you send a man to another man to get him healed? But when Elisha the prophet heard the story he asked the king not to worry, that General Naaman should be sent to him. Prophet Elisha asked Naaman to come but when he arrived the prophet didn't even come out to see him. He just sent him a word to go and bathe in River Jordan seven times. When the general heard the message, he was angry. He felt insulted that they brought him all the way from Syria to go and bathe in the muddy water of Jordan. I am surprised that the general didn't feel insulted by leprosy but he felt insulted to go and bathe in Jordan. His servants spoke to him and asked him that if the prophet had told him to give or do some great thing, wouldn't he have done it willingly? They advised him to do the seemingly little thing that the prophet asked of him. At least, if he had to wash in the river and there was no healing, he would be refreshed from the long distance journey.
I realise that one of Naaman's greatest strengths in overcoming the waster in his destiny was that he took good counsel, even when the counsel came from people below him in status. It is humility that makes a man take to counsel. A proud man doesn't listen to anyone; he believes he knows it all. He humbled himself to bathe in Jordan. Today, the instruction that will destroy the waster in your destiny can come from any where. As long as it conforms to God’s Word, take it in all humility and do it and your life will be filled with good things.

Prayer/Action
* I rebuke the power of the waster over my life and destiny today.
* Lord, I receive today the instruction needed to recover all my wasted years and efforts, in Jesus’ name.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
This year, my hope shall not be dashed, every promise made to me shall be sure and fulfilled, in the name of Jesus.

Esteeming the Word

Sunday 15 May
READ: Job 23: 12
MORE LESSON: Psa. 119: 97

There was a time I travelled out of Nigeria to far South Eastern Asia for ministry work, and I was there for almost a month. Because communication technology was not as advanced as it is now, for almost a month I had no contact with anybody at home in Nigeria. I began to long so much for any contact from home – a letter, phone call, e-mail, anything. It was at such a point that I was able to access an email from someone at home. Can you guess who sent me the e-mail? You guessed right - my wife, of course. Do you know what I did with that email? I printed it out and began to carry it about. I noticed that I would read it in the morning when I woke up. When I had a little break from ministering in the afternoon, I would quickly go through it. In the evening before I went to bed, I would read it. It wasn't a long document that I needed to read in instalments and I didn't plan or premeditate reading it every now and then. However I just found myself reading the same letter every one or two hours. No matter how many times I read it, each time seemed fresh like I just received it. In fact, I didn't notice that I was reading it so frequently until I got back home and was with my wife and it dawned on me that it was the same letter I had been reading so many times. I could almost recite the content of the letter by that time. I love my wife so much that I was so excited and unconsciously drawn to reading her letter repeatedly.
Believe it or not, how much you read the Word of God is a sure indicator of how much you love Him. The psalmist says, The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold: Psa 119:72 (NIV). If the Word of God in the Bible could become as dear as that to you, everything and everyone in the world will respond to it in your mouth. A preacher that doesn't love God’s Word has no power in his message. He can only stand on the pulpit and tell stories. A believer that is not in love with the Word of God is dry and empty for he is in constant lack of power. Many people are giants at reading novels, textbooks and newspapers but when it is about reading the Bible they are dwarfs. Such a lifestyle cannot lead to a life of exploits. You are not only to read the Word, you are supposed to fall in love with reading it. Then you can say, How sweet are your Words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth: Psa. 119:103 (NIV).

Prayer/Action
* Father, help me to love and long for Your Word daily.
* Father, create a thirst in me that only Your Word can quench.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Today, every curse of back-to-square one working in my life and destiny: break now, in the name of Jesus.

The Outstanding Life

Saturday 14 May
READ: 1 Cor. 15:40-41
MORE LESSON: Matt. 5:14-16

Did you know that the stars are out there in the sky in the day time, but you cannot see them? The reason is that the sun shines so brightly that it makes everything else in the sky but itself to be unseen in the day time. The sun rules outstandingly in the day, so the glory of the other heavenly bodies are hidden during the daytime. The glory of the moon is not seen during the day because the sun is more outstanding. This fact is portrayed in the Scripture which says, There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory: 1 Cor 15: 40-4.
When you are not outstanding, whatever you do or know is not regarded no matter how much effort you put into it. It is only an outstanding man that has a voice. No matter how hard a man works, until he hits the outstanding mark, it just looks as if he is not doing well enough. Sometimes it is not as if a man is not good enough or even doing it right, it is just that his results are covered and not getting the right expression. A man may be doing all right and making efforts but as long as the outstanding result has not manifested, it will look as if he doesn't know how to do it. This is the reason the issue of getting outstanding results and living an outstanding life must not be taken for granted, as Christ advised, ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house: Matt 5:14-15.
I believe that God's children should be outstanding wherever they are found. An outstanding man is the man who is able to stand out in everything he does. You cannot be doing what everyone else is doing and achieving the level of results they are getting and expect to be outstanding. There is the outstanding Spirit and mindset that you need to contact today and I pray that you will contact it. It is the outstanding man that is conspicuous. He is celebrated and regarded as superior. Today, I want to create a desire in your heart to become outstanding. My prayer is that the Lord will make you outstanding in every area of life this new year.

Prayer/Action
* Father, like Abraham, cause me to encounter You today
* Let my heart be transformed for the better today by Your encounter with me, in Jesus’ name.
* I receive grace not to dishonour God’s call upon me, in Jesus’ name.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Every evil personality my family, office or neighbourhood sent to report my progress to witches and occultic forces, your time is up, die by fire, in Jesus’ name.

The Cure for Ignorance

Friday 13 May
READ: Psa. 119:9
MORE LESSON: 1 John 2:14

Ignorance kills. When a person is ignorant of the truth, he can go into slavery for life. Ignorance makes a man engage in self-destructive actions that he may regret for the rest of his life. Hosea 4: 6 says, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
The cure for ignorance is not mere knowledge, it is correct knowledge. It is accurate knowledge that is called 'truth.' There are many forms of knowledge in the world today, but what men need is true and accurate knowledge. John 8: 32 says, you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. The Word of God is the truth that cures ignorance (John 17: 17). The Bible in your hand is the treasure you need to find solution to every problem in life. People run helter-skelter looking for answer to life's questions whereas if they can stay on the Word of God, they will discover everything they are looking for.
Young people are commonly seen to be ignorant when they make hasty and wrong decisions. It is possible to be young and wise, all it takes is a youth that is full of the Word of God. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed there to according to thy word: Psa. 119: 9. The young; male and female, may face many different temptations in school, at home, work and other places. With the Word of God in you, you overcome temptations. The devil is interested in young people because of their strength which he wants to channel to achieve his pervert ends. God also sees the resources in young people and wants to harness such to conquer the devil. It is the Word of God that makes a young person a weapon in God's hand. According to 1 John 2:14, I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
You need to read the Word of God, commit it to memory, meditate on and live according to its dictates. Do not read God's Word merely as a religious exercise devoid of the life , rather study it with the whole of your heart and open your spirit to ingest the substance that is in it. Psa 119: 10 says, With my whole heart have I sought thee: oh let me not wander from thy commandments. You will not wander away like the ignorant when you make the Word of God the priority in your life. Stay strong in Jesus’ name.

Prayer/Avtion
* Lord, let Your Word which is the truth give light and life to me today, in Jesus’ name.
* Lord, give me understanding of Your Word to expose every lie of satan in my destiny, in Jesus’ name.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Every stubborn power assigned to keep me in perpetual bondage of failure be disgraced out of my life now, in Jesus’ name.