The Repentant Heart

Saturday 14 January
READ: Ezek.11:19-21
MORE LESSON: John.8:36

A repentant heart is one which has turned to God from satan, through the name of Jesus, to serve the living and true God (1Thess.1:9). True repentance is not just about being sorry for your sins and mistakes and becoming personally determined not to commit sin again. It is not just about telling God or someone that you are sorry, and will not repeat such sinful acts again. True repentance is about your spirit man (the man's heart) being rescued from the control and dominion of the power of sin; the force that makes a man to do what he knows he is not supposed to do and yet he keeps doing it (Col.1:13; Rom.7:18-19, 22-25).
A repentant heart is one in which Jesus is in control; therefore unclean thoughts, wickedness, immorality and all such do not dwell there. When satan brings these things to the heart of the man, they are repelled by the Spirit of God who now controls the man. A repentant heart is one that is cleansed by the blood of Jesus, and the Spirit of God now resides in him. He is regenerated (Titus 3:5), made alive (Eph.2:1), and full of the life of God (Eph.2:12). The conscience of a repentant heart has been made alive; so he is conscious of sin and the fear of God. He has also been empowered to rebel against sin and follow after righteousness by the Spirit of God (Titus 2:11-13).
A repentant heart has passion for God and the things of God only because the Spirit of God dwells in him. He has positioned himself under God for the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus. The attractions of a repentant heart are those things that are Heaven-wards (Col.3:1-3). His former ways of life no longer appeal to him, and he can indeed say, ...[I am] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. When a man admits that he is a sinner and acknowledges Jesus the Son of God as God's provision to take him out of the power of sin, God's Spirit takes hold of that man's spirit, sets him free and empowers him to live a sin-free life. You can enjoy that today if you want to. Will you ask the Spirit of Jesus to do that for you right now?

Prayer/Action
* Jesus, I repent of all my sins. Give me a new heart that thirsts after God and His righteousness, in the mighty name of Jesus.
* I proclaim I am a new creature. Old things have passed away, all things have become new in me, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
2017 is bright and beautiful for me, I shall testify, in the name of Jesus.

The Heart of a Sinner

Friday 13 January
READ: Matt.15:17-19
MORE LESSON: Jer. 17:9

In biblical context, the heart does not just refer to the organ of the body which is responsible for blood circulation. The heart refers to the spirit of man, which is responsible for the actions, response, conduct, and behaviour of a man (Matt.15:17-19). It is this heart that actually controls the real man who lives inside the body. As the state of the physical heart which circulates blood determines whether the body lives or not, so also the state of a man's spirit determines whether he has eternal life or not.
When a man is not born again, his heart is under the control of the forces of darkness (Eph.2:2-3); as a result he does not have eternal life. Eternal life means the life of God. A man who is not born again is separated from the life of God (Eph.2:11-12), God is not in his heart; rather satan has full control and residence of that man's heart. Therefore, his thought, language, affections, and conduct are always filthy and impure; and such is the heart of sinners.
If a man's heart (the spirit man) continues in that state up to the time when he comes out of the physical body (which is death), he cannot go to live with God in Heaven because God is pure and holy; the man can only go to hell, which is the abode of satan who is the lord of impurity and filthiness.
The sinner's heart is doomed for destruction except it is submitted to be washed clean by the blood of Jesus. When you sincerely give your life to Jesus, satan's control over your heart is broken and your spirit man then receives the life and power of God to live to please Him. Will you give your life to Jesus today?

Prayer/Action
* Ask the Lord to retrieve your heart from every ungodly influence, in Jesus’ name.
* Ask the light of God to lighten up your light, in the name of Jesus.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
The power that rolled away the stone at the tomb of Jesus and crushed death to raise Jesus back to life will crush every barrier to my greatness and give me breakthrough this year, in the name of Jesus.

You Must be Born Again

Thursday 12 January
READ: John 3:1-7
MORE LESSON: 2 Cor. 5:16-21

Everyone on earth was once born. The only way into this world is through birth. However, the Bible talks about a second birth, ...except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God: John 3:3. Natural birth doesn't qualify a man for God's Kingdom. It doesn't matter whether the man was born into the hand of church midwives in the mission house or into the hands of a prophetess in the church hospital, until he makes a personal decision to be born again, he is not qualified for the Kingdom of God. Being a worker or leader in the church will not compensate for a person who is not born again. Serving in the church or giving will not cover up; they are all irrelevant if a man is not born again. In my opinion, the strongest statement in scriptures is 'except a man be born again, he cannot . . .' This means no matter what you do, there is no compromise on this matter; if you are not born again, no Heaven for you; you must go to hell. I think this statement is much more serious than people think.
Getting born again is a conscious act and it involves certain steps. First, you need to acknowledge that you are a sinner, confess your sins, ask for forgiveness; accept Jesus as the Saviour and Lord of your life, and confess Him publicly and continue to live your life for Him. It is the result of these steps that is called being born again. It is very true that many people merely assume that they are born again; especially those that are in the church environment. Being in church doesn't mean you are born again, you must be able to pin-point a definite time when you made the decision for Christ and you acted on it thereby giving your life to Christ.
It is only those that are truly born again of the Spirit of God that will inherit the Kingdom of God. If one lived this earth and missed eternity, then all his life and everything he did on earth was a very big waste. This is the reason we appeal to all men not to take the Word of God for granted, you must be born again if your eternity is to be sure. Leaving the earth without being born again is a very dangerous experiment, Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences: 2 Cor. 5:11.

Prayer/Action
* Today, I confess the lordship of Jesus over my life (if you have not done it before), in the name of Jesus.
* I re-dedicate my life to Jesus today, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
2017, I shall not fail, I shall not fall, I shall not be trampled underfoot, in the name of Jesus.

All-round Prosperity

Wednesday 11 January
READ: III Jn. 2
MORE LESSON: Gen.39:1-6

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospereth: III Jn.2 is God’s golden Word to you this morning. God wants you to prosper in all areas of life. Some say that God will not bless you all-round so that you will stay humble, or that God gives you one good thing and takes another good thing from you in exchange. These are just human postulations; the Word of God says God wants you to prosper all-round. Consider how the Amplified version puts that same verse, Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in every way and that your body may keep well, even as I know your soul keeps well and prospers. Say to yourself, “I will prosper in every way, in every area of my life because this is God's will for me. My spirit, soul and body will prosper. I will not settle for less, in Jesus’ name”. Divine prosperity is full and all encompassing; it affects the spirit, soul and body.
How can you enjoy all-round prosperity? 1)Be connected and stay connected to God. Deut.8:18 says, But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. Therefore true wealth is only gotten by connection to God. 2) Find something doing; God made all that Joseph did in his master's house to prosper as clearly seen in the second reading for today. If you are not doing anything and you expect great prosperity, you will not have your wish. What has God put in you? Put it to use and He will bless that thing. No one is created empty, everyone is a solution for someone somewhere and people will pay for solution.
Locate what God has put in you to bless humanity and sell it and it will bring wealth your way. 3) Have a giving life. Pro.11:24 says, There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The secret to breaking tightness in finances is not to hold unto money or hide money somewhere, it is to put money to work or invest it in valuable ways. Part of investing is spending for God's kingdom. Sacrificially give to God's projects and building of His kingdom, bless God's servants and people in need especially those that are close to God's heart like His servants on the field, missionaries, widows and orphans.
Obey these principles rather than envy the wicked that use evil and ungodly means to get wealth. Such people do not have all-round prosperity because wealth in this brief world without spiritual prosperity is equal to eternity in hell, what will a man give in exchange for his soul? No prosperity must jeopardise a man's eternal abode and placement in Heaven.

Prayer/Action
* My heritage in Christ is all-round prosperity, I connect permanently to God for all-round prosperity, in Jesus’ name.
* Help me Lord to practise the principles of abiding wealth. I will not just be blessed but will be a blessing to humanity, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
There is the glory of the sun, moon and star, I shall shine this year in the greater glory of the sun, in the name of Jesus.