Follow after Abraham

Wednesday 18 May
READ: Heb 6: 12
MORE LESSON: Rom. 4: 17 -22

The Bible recommends that we look into the life of Abraham and live after his example, Look to Abraham your father, And to Sarah who bore you; For I called him alone, And blessed him and increased him: Isa. 51: 2. Each time you see a man that God has commended, you should look at his life and pick secrets of greatness from him. Some people only hunt for faults in the lives of men of God, such an attitude only leads downhill in destiny. When God lifts a man for whatever reason, examine his life, overlook his imperfections and faults and pick those things that have made him find favour with God. You should know how to glean secrets of greatness in the lives of men of God without amplifying or repeating their own mistakes. According to Heb 6: 12, That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Abraham trusted in the Lord and became great for it. Abraham grew up in an idolatrous environment. God called him out to follow Him and promised to bless and make him great. God changed his name from Abram to Abraham- meaning 'father of many nations'. As at the time God changed his name, he did not even have a single child; yet Abraham accepted to bear a name that had not yet become obvious - that is trust. People must have been mocking him when he declared his new name. Today, we see God’s reward for Abraham still continues even when Abraham is gone from the earth. The Bible now tells us to follow after Abraham, this shows that when you follow God, men will follow you. When you trust God, you will be rewarded in life and after you leave the earth.
Abraham's trust in God was borne out of a very personal knowledge of God. Several times he built altars to God and God appeared and communed with him. One of the things you must learn from Abraham is a deep and intimate relationship with God. Abraham is the man that believed and waited on God for many years for the promise of a son. You must learn to be patient and have the ability to wait for the promises of God to be worked out in your life. Eventually when God gave him a son, he didn't hold back from God when the LORD demanded for his son. Sacrifice, giving and love for God are things to learn from Abraham in your walk with God. The Bible, ...If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham: John 8: 39. Trust the Lord like your father in the faith, Abraham, did. You will be rewarded just like he was. Don't give up on God, follow the example of men that have made the mark with God and as you do, you are the next testimony that men will study, in Jesus’ name.

Prayer/Action
* Lord, I receive the grace to follow after the good examples that have been written in Your Word.
* Father, let my eyes be opened to the godly principles I find in Your servants around me today.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
I violently uproot every tree of backwardness and stagnancy planted in my destiny by the enemy, in Jesus’ mighty name.

Peace through the Word

Tuesday 17 May
READ: Psa. 119: 165
MORE LESSON: 2 Pet 1: 2

The Word of God is the power that a man needs to be an achiever in life. The text for today is an incredibly great scripture, great peace have they that love thy law and nothing shall offend them. This scripture means that for loving the Word of God, a man is signed up for perpetual peace. Everybody wants peace in his life. The rich, the poor, the young, the old, the strong and the weak want peace. As a matter of fact, peace is so important that Jesus came solely for the purpose of making peace between man and God and He brought peace to the world. Peace is very vital and desired by all. Now God is saying that by finding the Word of God, you find peace. Staying with the Word of God is subscribing for a life of uninterrupted peace, You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You: Isa 26:3.
Beloved, that crisis that has broken your heart and afflicted your life will give way if you can start today and develop a lifestyle that is dedicated to the Word of God. Take the Word, read it and I assure you that in reading, loving and living by what you read, you will find peace. Peace cannot be purchased in the marketplace. There is no amount of money that you have that can buy you peace. That is why there are rich men whose lives are devoid of peace. The study of a book in your shelf can impart peace into your heart and make you full of peace. You do yourself a great service when you devote yourself to reading that great Book.
Great peace have they that love thy law and nothing shall offend them: Psa. 119: 165. Nothing will offend them. That means nothing can trouble a man that is filled with the Word of God. There is absolutely nothing that will prevail over a man that loves the Word of God. Nothing will afflict, disturb or subdue the man that loves the Word of God. Note that this wonderful promise is not just for the church goer or the Bible carrier. It is for the lover of the Word. When reading and living by the Word becomes your desire at all times, you will be at peace in all aspects of your life. Nothing shall offend, afflict, hurt or prevail over you. You will always be on top in life because you love the Word of God, Acquaint now thyself with him and be at peace thereby good shall come unto thee: Job 22:21.

Prayer/Action
* Lord, as I continually read Your Word, let me find peace all around me.
* As I speak the Word today, let peace reign in my life, in Jesus’ name.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
On the authority of God’s goodness, I refuse to be enrolled in any register of misfortune this year, in the name of Jesus.

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.