Like a Thief in the Night

Sunday 4 December
READ: I Thess 5: 1-4
MORE LESSON: Amos 4:12

The second text says, Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel: Amos 4:12. The Lord says that there is something that He has decided to do and it will surely be done. You cannot prevent it from being done. The only wise thing to do is to prepare for it. What you cannot avoid, you prepare for and what you must live with, you learn to accommodate. The coming of the Lord is inevitable, the only wise thing is to prepare for it.
The Bible says that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night. All things being equal, a thief will not tell the time he is coming to rob a house. He would want to arrive at an unexpected time so that the owner of the house will be caught unawares. The coming of the Lord will meet many unawares. But the Lord has no interest in coming when His own children are unawares and unprepared. The coming of the Lord will catch the world unawares - like a thief in the night. But the children of light will be prepared. According to 1 Thess. 5: 4 -5, But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. The Lord doesn't want to catch His children unprepared. He doesn't want His coming to be like a thief in the night to His own. This is the reason He told us the times and seasons and gave several signs.
The Lord is calling in Amos 4:12, prepare to meet thy Lord. If a man is prepared, he will not be caught unawares. It is not the Lord's joy that He comes and everyone is not ready. He is not looking for the most unguarded moment when He will show and everyone will be unprepared. In fact, His desire is that you are ready for Him. This is the reason He is beseeching today that you should prepare for His coming because even if it meets the world as a thief in the night, it should not meet you as a thief in the night. The question is, How prepared are you? What will you say to the Lord if He comes and you can't go with Him because you are unprepared? You can't tell Him He didn't give you enough notice and signs. Jesus will come and if He tarries, death will come. As it is written, It is appointed unto a men once to die and after that judgment: Heb 9: 27. I pray you will not be caught unawares, in Jesus’ name.

Prayer/Action
* Ask the Lord to keep you in constant remembrance of His return, in Jesus’ name.
* Tell the Lord that rapture will not catch you unprepared, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
As the waters cover the sea, so shall my December be covered with recovery, victory and success, in the name of Jesus.

The Urgency of His Coming

Saturday 3 December
READ: I Thess. 4: 17
MORE LESSON: I Thess. 5: 3

One of the things noticeable in the life of the early Christians is that the coming of the Lord was so real and urgent to them that they expected it to meet them alive. Even Apostle Paul who lived nearly 2000 years ago talked like he expected the rapture to happen in his lifetime. Paul, writing in 1 Thess 4: 17, says, ...we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. He didn't say that those who will be alive when we are gone will be caught up with the Lord. This shows the urgency that the early believers attached to the coming of the Lord. In fact, the very disciples of Jesus expected that some of them would not see death until they see the coming of the Lord (John 21: 23).
If the coming of the Lord was this urgent on believers 2000 years ago, then you should be challenged to carry the message of His coming with greater urgency today. If these men declared about two thousand years ago that the return of the Lord was close, then how much closer it is right now. The missing link in the coming of the Lord is the urgency of the Church in preparing and carrying this message, The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely: Rev 22:17. The Church is the Bride of Christ; you are the bride, your urgency in His coming is important.
All the signs for the return of the Lord as declared in the Bible have been fulfilled. From Matt. 24: 6 – 31, we see signs like nations arising against nations, kingdoms against kingdoms, earthquakes, famine and noisome pestilence, deceit and the increased preaching. In the media, we see so much preaching going on in fulfilment of this prophecy. This prophecy was made more than 2000 years ago and all the predictions that were written have come to pass. The coming of the Lord is upon us.
The only thing that we need to add is a sense of urgency in approaching the issue of the coming of the Lord. This urgency should show in the way we talk about His coming, the way we witness and the way we live on a daily basis in preparation for His coming. The coming of the Lord is upon us; give it all the urgency it demands.

Prayer/Action
* Father, because the time is short, help the Church to spread the gospel faster, in Jesus’ name.
* I command today that every closed door against the gospel be opened, in Jesus’ name.
* Father send labourers and make me one, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
December, I prophesy to you, in the name of the Lord, whatever belongs to me that you are still holding today, release them, in the name of Jesus.

Running for the Prize

Friday 2 December
READ: I Cor. 9: 24-27
MORE LESSON: Phil. 3: 13-14

If you are pursuing nothing in life, you will surely get nothing. In fact, if you woke up this morning and there is nothing you want to achieve, it is better you go back to sleep. There are broadly three categories of people in life; goalless people, goal setters and goal achievers. Age, gender or physical look notwithstanding, each man is classed in life by which of these categories he chooses to belong to. The Bible says, Where there is no vision, the people perish...: Prov 29:18. A goalless man is like someone without a purpose and goal in destiny. Such a man lives carelessly and might self-destruct. You must have a goal you are working towards in life.
It is not enough to have a goal, you must follow the discipline to achieve it. Paul the Apostle wrote to the Church in Corinth, Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain: 1 Cor 9:24. He was encouraging them not to be mere goal setters but goal achievers. He said, I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway: verse 27. His goal was to preach to others and also make Heaven; and he disciplined himself to achieve it. Without disciplined pursuit, goals set will never be actualised.
This is why you have to avoid things that seek to distract you from the pursuit of your vision. Wherever you find yourself, in the church and in your secular place of enterprise, there is a vision and goal being pursued; you must do your part to contribute to the achievement of this corporate goal. Do not be distracted and do not be a distraction to any--work for your team to win. As you work for the actualisation of the goal of your church or workplace, it is necessary that you have a personal goal that you are working towards as well. People with personal visions have more to offer to corporate visions because they are self-motivated and don't need to be cajoled before they do things. You don't have to be the head of an organisation before you pursue the vision and contribute to the achievement of the goal. A wise man once said, If you are a street cleaner, be the best so that every man who passes that street will say that here lives a street cleaner that makes a difference. Your goal should be to do what you do so excellently that it will count no matter how little it is.

Prayer/Action
* Today, I choose to see the best in all I do, in Jesus’ name.
* As I run the race of life, I come against distraction, in Jesus’ name.
* I put myself under subjection for the sake of the prize.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, having brought me gracefully into December, every day of it shall be for joy and celebration, in the name of Jesus.

Resist the Devil

Thursday 1 December
READ: Jam. 4: 7
MORE LESSON: Isa. 14: 12 -15

The devil's history is full of defeat upon defeat. In Isa. 14: 12 – 15, we see how he was defeated. When he tried to raise himself against God he was cast down to hell. He was defeated by Michael and his angels (Rev. 12:7-8). Jesus gave him an eternal defeat at the cross. At resurrection, Jesus took the keys from his hands and crushed him underfoot (Rom 16: 20). The devil has suffered much defeat but he needs to suffer more defeat in your hands as well so that his defeat can be full. When you give your life to Jesus, you defeat the devil. Each time he makes any attempt and you rebuke in the name of Jesus, you add to his woes and defeat. This is the reason the Bible encourages us to resist the devil and that he will flee from us (Jam. 4: 7).
The Lord defeated satan and He gets happy seeing you heap more defeat on his head. The people of the world say that when you eat with the devil, you should eat with a long fork. But then people with understanding say that you should not eat with the devil at all. Eat your own and let him eat his own separately. However, I add that you should not even allow him to eat at all. Eat your own and if he wants to eat, look for him and scatter his meal. Do not allow the devil a breathing space (Eph 4: 27).
Jesus went about looking for those that were oppressed by the devil and freeing them (Acts 10: 38). He went around destroying the works of the devil ( 1 John 3: 8). So also you should go around causing pain to the devil. You do this by getting souls saved, people healed, devils cast out, men delivered and the gospel advanced. The Bible says that you should submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Don't regard satan as a threat, treat him as the defeated person. When your life is in submission to Jesus Christ, when you confront satan, it wouldn't be you fighting him but Jesus in you. The same Lord Jesus who crushed the head of the devil lives in you. So when you resist the devil in the name of Jesus, he remembers his defeat on the cross of Calvary by the blood of Jesus. He sees that same Jesus in you, and he therefore takes to his heels.
The devil cannot rule over you, except you submit yourself to him. However, when you submit to Jesus, you become the master over the devil because Jesus the Master Himself lives in you. As you walk confidently in the light of your position in Jesus Christ, I proclaim you more than victorious over every satanic wile, in Jesus’ mighty name.

Prayer/Action
* I declare I am more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus.
* Oh God, destroy every work of satan in my life, in the name of Jesus.
* Release fire against satan and his cohorts over your life and destiny.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Jesus, thank You for the love that kept and sustained me from January to December, I praise You to the high heavens, in Jesus' name.