Fruits of Repentance

Wednesday 6 July
READ: Luke 3:8-14
MORE LESSON: II Cor. 7:9-10

Repentance is an essential part of the Christian faith. Repentance literally means to turn. It is the commitment to personal change and the resolve to live a more responsible life. It results in confession and changing of our minds about Jesus Christ, about God and about self. You must accept Jesus as the only Saviour and not just as one of the prophets. You must know that it is impossible to please God outside of Jesus Christ. Admit that it is through Jesus that you can access God who is always ready to forgive any type of sin and that you can live a sinless life in this world.

Genuine repentance ought to produce the kind of character change that results in a qualitative difference in the way we live. Biblical repentance will show itself in the believers’ life by its fruits as we can see below:
1. Repentance must result in a real hatred for sin and not just for its consequences. It is manifest in hatred for all sins and particularly of the root itself which is self will.
2. It must result in godly sorrow for sin (Prov. 28:13, Psa. 32:3-4, I Jn. 1:9). We must know what sorrow consists of, when we sin, who is the sin against.
3. Repentance results in an actual turning from sin (Acts 3:19, II Tim. 2:22).

Moreover, both inward and outward sin must pass away for you to be called a true Christian. Repentance involves more than mere “sorrow” for the wrong act. It entails a resolve to stop the wrong conduct, replacing it with godly living. and making things right personally with the victims (Exo. 22:1, Luke 19:8b).
Proof or fruit of repentance is required in genuine repentance in order to discourage mere profession and outward show. It is actually a desire for righteousness and holiness; the desire to put into practice what the Scripture says and deep desire to please God in everything (Eph. 4:24, Titus 3:8, Heb. 12:14).

Fruits of repentance must show supremacy over the following:
1. body of sin
2. power of satan
3. lust of the flesh
4. world
5. vile affections
6. lust of the eyes
Manifesting the following fruits of the Spirit as listed in Gal. 5:22-23 (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness etc) is a proof of repentance. Beloved, to what degree are you experiencing each of these fruits of repentance? He who truly repents, truly believes.

PRAYER/ACTION
* Loudly say, Lord Jesus, I repent of all my sins today; forgive me for doing so much wrong, and make me Your own today, in Jesus’ name.
* Lord Jesus, give me grace never to sin again and write my name in the Lamb’s book of life now.
* Father, thank You for accepting me as Your child forever.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, in this second half of the year, redeem my times and seasons from the hands of the wicked.

Divine Restoration II

Tuesday 5 July
READ: : Isa. 1:21-31
MORE LESSON: Eze. 16: 7 - 23

God is a specialist in restoring men. God wants to restore every dimension of man's existence: spirit, soul and body; including your health, finance, family, possessions etc. Today, the focus is on a kind of restoration which is of particular interest to God; that is, the restoration of a soul that is in a backslidden state. Often it is not easily noticeable to a man as he gradually falls away. This is the reason the Bible says, ...let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall: 1 Cor 10: 12(NKJV). It is dangerous to have lost touch with God and not know; such a man is beyond the reach of the divine restorer.
In the text of today, the Lord wonders how the faithful city has become a whore. How does a man lose the sense of inner life and yet feels unashamed and unaware? In describing this backslidden state, the Bible introduces a term that has to do with marriage. Faithfulness is a matter that is paramount in every marriage and it is expected that the husband will be faithful to his wife and vice versa. The Lord reckons lack of marital faithfulness as whoredom. This is the reason everyone that divorces his spouse and gets married to another is counted by God to be an adulterer; a whore. This means the spouse is no longer keeping his part of the covenant and he has been drawn away by a strange lover.
A man drifts when his object of love is changed. As it is in the marital covenant so is it in our covenant relationship with God. When a man begins to love other things, other than God, his faithfulness will diminish; he will only love one and hate the other. So Jesus said in the last days, which we are in now, the love of many shall wax cold. Friendliness with the world will breed enmity against God; love not the world or anything that is in the world, if any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. When your affection is beginning to shift away from God, know surely that the faithful city is drifting towards becoming a whore. Allow the Holy Spirit run a heart check on you today by answering the following questions:
1. What is your love level with God? How much time and resources have you dedicated to Him? Are you increasingly getting drawn towards Him or you are getting withdrawn from Him?
2. How faithful are you to the things of God? What priority do you give to money, career, and other legitimate things that pertain to you? Is anything ahead of God in your life?
In case your answer is below satisfaction, or you are unsure, God- the divine restorer-says He is more than willing to return you to the height from which you have fallen.

PRAYER/ACTION
* Lord, restore my first love for You, in Jesus’ name.
* Father, rekindle my fire and zeal for Your service today, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Oh God my creator, my eyes look up to You in this month of July, cause that my dreams and expectations will not fail to see the light of fulfilment, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Divine Restoration I

Monday 4 July
READ: Isa. 61: 7
MORE LESSON: Joel 2: 23 - 27

God has provided us with several scriptures where He promised to restore to us double and in Isaiah 61:7: He said, … for your shame I will restore to you double…. This is directly to you and for you; for your sake and in whatever area of your life you have suffered pain-your family, career- He said for your shame He will give to you double. You will go out today and discover that the shame you have suffered for so long is no longer there.

I perceive God wants to do a quick work in your life today. God is concerned about your shame because He has not called you to shame but to glory; not for disgrace but grace. Therefore, from today on wherever you have been disgraced, you shall be celebrated and wherever you have been rejected, you shall be embraced. Joel 2:25-26 says, And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten.... And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. The Word of the Lord today is a deliberate attack on every area of shame in your life.

God is into the business of restoration because He is aware that our arch enemy, the devil, comes not but to steal, to kill and to destroy (John 10: 10), but God through Christ has come to restore all that the enemy has stolen and will ever steal from God's children. So, child of God, it is not over yet. You may have lost some battles, a job, a life partner, an admission and whatsoever name it might be called, but the God of restoration is saying today that He will restore. He restored all that Job lost and gave him double, restored Lazarus to Mary and Martha, He restored the son of the widow of Nain, He restored the eyes of blind Bartemaues, He restored the glory that man lost in the Garden of Eden when Jesus died, rose, ascended to Heaven and is now seated at the right hand of God. I dare to say to you therefore that there is nothing you have lost that will not be restored to you. Receive divine restoration today, in Jesus’ name.

PRAYER/ACTION
* Lord, restore to me anything that I have lost, in Jesus’ name.
* I receive a divine restoration of everything concerning my destiny, in Jesus’ name.
* I command a stop to the activities of palmerworms and catterpillars in my life, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
My Lord and my God, let Your works and plans in my life be perfected in this month of July, let none fail, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Breaking Barriers II

Sunday 3 July
READ: Exo. 14: 15 – 16
MORE LESSON: : Zech. 4: 7

The word of the Lord had come to the children of Israel while in Egypt that it was time for them to move forward from slavery to the land of freedom. They were rescued from oppression by the mighty hand of God on the Passover night and they were moving excitedly out of Egypt, thinking that they were in for a fast and easy ride to Canaan. However, the first thing that confronted them the very next morning after their deliverance was the Red Sea. They got to the Red Sea and faced a mighty barrier to their progress. It was there they started crying and wailing because the Red Sea stood as a barrier before them while the host of Pharaoh approached as a destroyer from behind. They had the option to go back to Pharaoh, beg him to forgive them for leaving him and resubmit to his bondage or to progress despite this barrier of the sea. However the Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward: Exo. 14:15 (NKJV).

The only way God knows is forward. Retrogression and backward movement is not in the nature of God. Increase, advancement and progress are the language He speaks. Barrier or no barrier, God says to Israel 'Move forward!' The implication of this is that they were to break right through the barrier and make progress. In the midst of impossible situations; the noise of the host of Egypt and the roars of the Red Sea, the Lord says just use the Rod to part the barrier and take a step by moving on even into the sea. The Rod is the Word of God in your mouth; speak the Word with your mouth. Then move with your legs even in the face of the sea. Moving demands taking steps into the sea; the water parted only after they moved, after they took steps of faith. Do not stay in one place crying that there are barriers; take steps despite the barriers.

You might have decided to make progress and barriers make it look as if you cannot move on anymore. Child of God, moving backward is not an option: break through the barrier and move forward. The good news is that the same God who says to move ahead despite barriers has in mind what to do to the barriers, Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided: Exo. 14:21 (NKJV). The Lord caused the sea to part! That means the Lord caused the barrier to break. The presence of God destroys barriers and makes a way for you to move forward. All you have to do is use the Rod and take the move.

PRAYER/ACTION
* I declare that every red sea hindering my progress part way for me to cross, in Jesus’ name.
* I command that as I cross the red sea, my pursuers shall be swallowed up by the sea, in Jesus’ name.
* I break every barrier of my destiny, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, if Your labour at creation did not extend to the sixth month, my rest must come this very month, in the name of Jesus.