Forgive and Rise Again

Saturday 21 May
READ: Matt. 26:31-35, 69-75
MORE LESSON: Micah 7: 8

Peter was an influential figure in Jesus' team. When Jesus predicted His suffering and death, Peter boasted and vowed that he was going to die with Jesus but all it took was a little damsel to question him; he swore and denied ever knowing Jesus. He fulfilled what Jesus had prophesied: Before the cock crows thou shalt deny me thrice . . .and he went out and wept bitterly: Matt 26: 75. He did what needed to be done: he wept bitterly in repentance. He told God, “I thought I couldn't deny You but I did, I'm sorry.'' After crying, Peter forgave himself and continued with God; and later in the book of Acts we saw the same Peter became a preacher.
Peter was not the only one who missed it during the trial and suffering of Jesus. Another person was Judas Iscariot who led people to arrest Jesus. He sold Jesus for thirty shekels of silver; he allowed satan to get him inside. A theologian suggested that may be Judas thought that after betraying Jesus into the hands of the enemies, Jesus would be too powerful to be arrested and then he would have made away with the money without any guilty conscience. This still shows that Judas was being ruled by the love of money. However, he was disappointed when Jesus allowed Himself to be taken. Destiny had already determined for the Son of man to go as it is written concerning Him but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed (Matt 26: 24). After Jesus was crucified Judas also repented: ...I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood....: Matt 27: 4. He refused to spend the money. He went to buy a plot of land: …and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out: Acts 1: 18. He committed suicide.
It was Peter that stood up and selected a replacement for Judas (Acts 1:15-20). Was Peter not also guilty? Yes he was, but he accepted forgiveness; and rose again. What about Judas; would God have forgiven him? Yes. But he didn't accept the forgiveness; rather he killed himself! The difference between the two of them is that one forgave himself while the other one refused to forgive himself. When a man refuses to forgive himself in destiny, he is digging a grave for himself. Learn to forgive yourself so that you will not go the way of Judas. It's time to forgive and rise again. If you can just forgive the mistakes of yesterday and face tomorrow, there is hope for you. If your destiny is cut down, don't just sit down weeping; don't commit suicide. Begin the process of healing by first forgiving yourself like Peter did. That's what the Word of the Lord says-forgive.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God to help you break the siege of unforgiveness over your life and others.
* Command destruction upon every weapon of guilt intended to destroy your destiny.
* Ask that the blood of Jesus will cleanse you of every wrong doing and give you grace to go on.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, in the name of Jesus, I shall not fail but succeed in all things I do this year

Never Forget

Friday 20 May
READ: Psa. 106:7-13
MORE LESSON: Psa. 89:1

Psa. 106 is a summary of how God led Israel out of captivity in Egypt and brought them to Canaan. The chapter has some lessons for the believer. First is the reason why the Israelites consistently rebelled against God in the wilderness. The psalmist says it was because as soon as God gave them a miracle and they celebrated they forgot the miracle and began to either lust for another thing or murmur about their latest challenge, Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea: v7. The people forgot the miracle of the killing of the firstborn in Egypt in order to free the Israelites. The moment they saw the Red Sea, they lost the memory of yesterday's great acts! Even then, the psalmist says God overlooked their ingratitude and went ahead to divide the sea, He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness. ... And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left: vs 9-11. They soon forgot this also.
The miracle of yesterday is the key to unlock today's miracle but when you forget it, you lose its worth and purpose. The miracle of old helped David to deal with Goliath, Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them .... The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion... he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine....1 Sam 17:36-37. Such is the power of testimony that King Saul was no more afraid for little David when he heard David’s testimony. Saul affirmed, ...the LORD be with thee: 1 Sam.17:37. Truly, David triumphed over Goliath in the encounter.
There also came a day when David's city was invaded by the enemy and they made away with all that David had. The Bible says David and his men were discouraged and they wept publicly. However, ...David encouraged himself in the LORD his God: 1 Sam.30:6. One of the easiest ways to do this is to remind yourself of God's great acts in your life. There is strength in the knowledge of God’s acts in the past, keep them alive. Satan will always want to make you forget or dispise your great days so as to weaken you and make you hate God; but never forget. Write them down, tell others about them, remind yourself often about them and they will make you find strength for your journey, especially in the days of trouble.

Prayer/Action
* Call back some of God's goodness of old to you and give thanks to God for them no matter how you feel now.
* Ask that God will do these great things again in your life.
* Rebuke the spirit that makes you forget or doubt God's goodness to you.
* Share with a friend/colleague at least one testimony of God's goodness.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Like Daniel in Babylon, I receive the spirit of excellence, preference, faithfulness, diligence and error-free living, in the name of Jesus.

Do not lean on your Understanding

Thursday 19 May
READ: Prov. 3:7
MORE LESSON: Psa. 37:3; 118:9

A lot of people, including believers, are master schemers. They are experts at sitting down to scheme out how to get everything they want. It is not wrong to plan but you should never scheme God out of the equation of your life. When you know what, where and how to do to get everything you want and you forget to factor God into the picture, then you are trusting in yourself. Many times, believers would have gone ahead to map out strategies and make connections before they even remember to pray. They only remember to pray to appease their conscience with God, not out of trust. A person really trusting in God will first think about God and come to Him before mapping out any line of action. It is in the place of prayer that he will develop strategies and plans on how to go about the situation. I want you to know that even when you trust in God, you will work with plans and take actions, but those plans and actions should be developed from a posture of trust in God and from the place of prayer, not mere mental calculation.
Prov 3:7 says, Be not wise in thine own eyes.... There are so many people that claim to trust God but truly they have their own arrangements and gimmicks that they have schemed. Whatever you are doing contrary to the Word puts you out of the place of trust in the Lord. The Bible says, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding: Prov 3:5 So each time you allow your senses to prevail and you are scheming up things that are not in accordance with the Scripture, you are not trusting God.
Do not lean on your understanding; do not look for alternative methods to what God has said. Do not scheme out methods contrary to the Bible. You do not need to run helter-shelter seeking for men when you say you are trusting God. Stay calm, God will bring the person He has ordained to help you. To fully trust, you must have stayed from fear because fear and trust do not work together. Prov 29:25 says, The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.
Finally in trusting God you must stay and abide by the conditions of the Word of God. A person who is living in sin cannot claim to be waiting for and trusting in God. You must rid yourself of sin that nullifies your claimed trust in God. You do this by accepting forgiveness through the blood of Jesus and henceforth align your life with the principles of God. Then will the Lord rise for you and hear you when you call Him.

Prayer/Action
* Father, help me to always wait on You in all my decisions and no more will I take a step ahead of You, in Jesus’ name.
* Father, I subject my reasoning and scheming to You to be aligned with Your will, in Jesus’ name.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
By the blood of Jesus, I decree that regular, repeated tragedies shall not be my portion this year, in the name of Jesus.

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.