Sheep or Goat?

Thursday 19 January
READ: Matt. 25: 32 – 46
MORE LESSON: Psalm 23:1 - 6

Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Psalm 23 is a popular scripture that shows what the Good Shepherd has in store for His sheep. The blessings of the shepherd are for the sheep and not the goats. Goats make life difficult for the keeper but sheep are easy to lead. Goats are difficult to gather and lead while sheep are known for hearkening to the guidance and counsel of the shepherd. No parent wants children that are goats; such children are stubborn, rebellious, never at home and always causing trouble around the neighbourhood. Pastoring is problematic when goats are the ones gathered under you. It is a very worthy prayer for parents, leaders and pastors that those under you will not be goats but sheep.
I was surprised when I once saw a man taking pieces of water melon fruit with pen-knive and feeding them to a sheep. If you take water melon with knife and try to feed a goat, it will eat it all; water melon, knife and your hand. Psa 23: 1 – 2 says that the good Shepherd makes the sheep to lie down in green pasture. The problem with goats is that they never lie down in a place, even if the grass is green. They roam to someone else's house for foodstuff to steal and eat. The Good Shepherd willingly laid down his life for the sheep but the goats kill their keeper by the stress they give him. Sheep lie down in green pastures.
This talks about sustained relationship between the sheep and Shepherd. As sheep maintains good relationship with the shepherd; a sheep in the sheepfold of God also maintains good contact and relationship with the under-shepherd that the Great Shepherd has placed over him. This means that a sheep has good relationship and contact with God and with his/her pastor. Goats are not in good relationship with the fold; they don't lie down; they always wander around. Sheep stay with other sheep in the flock while goats roam solo. A believer, who isolates himself from the shepherd and the sheepfold, is becoming a goat and satan is at the verge of destroying such.
A church member who is always complaining about the church and not contributing his quota to the development and progress of the church is not a sheep. One who only subtracts from the church and does nothing to add is a goat; he is not useful to the church, he has become useless. I pray that you will be relevant and useful in your home, church, workplace and nation. In today's text, we see that the Kingdom of God is for the sheep and not goats. Jesus kept the sheep by the right hand side and the goats by the left. The goats were marked for eternal damnation. I pray that you will be a sheep and not a goat.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God for grace to be a sheep-like Christian, in Jesus’ name.
* Ask God to separate you from habits that can question your faith, in the mighty name of Jesus.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
I prophesy, lines will fall to me in pleasant places in glorious heritage, in the name of Jesus.

Responsible Children II

Wednesday 18 January
READ: 2 Kings 6: 1 - 7
MORE LESSON: Neh. 2: 3 - 5

We are examining the life of Prophet Elisha and how the sons of the prophet that were with him displayed a good sense of responsibility. Kings, generals of armies and great men were among people that used to visit Elisha. He didn't take things from these great men that came to him to gratify himself. He stayed in a humble house and all these great men came there. It could be that his sons felt that the prophet, who was teaching about the great and mighty God was living in a place which didn't reflect the greatness of the Almighty God. So they took it upon themselves to put the lessons he taught them about the greatness of God to practice by starting from the place where the man of God lived.
I remember one of my spiritual fahers told me that at a point if he went shopping and he looked too much at something, by the time he got home, it would have followed him home. This was because he had some sons that went around trying to study what he likes so that they can quickly buy it for him. It is similar to what the sons of Elisha the prophet did. Some exceptional children always take it upon themselves to see that their father has the best. Note that being a responsible child is not limited to buying things. Spiritual children can show responsibility by always praying for their parents. As a child to your biological parents, spiritual father, pastors and in the household of God, do not join those that pull their parents down with words? Look out for problems and solve them; don't be the problem. Children that condemn their parents always find out in a matter of time that they cannot do better than their parents; many times, they can't even do as much as them.
Responsible children in the church understand that God has brought them to the place for contribution and not mere collection. These are the two categories of people in every church; those that add and those that subtract. Choose the adding part; that is, the part of responsible children. In fact, this is not limited to the church but everywhere you find yourself. Don't just be an onlooker in your location, add to the place you are. A responsible child takes charge everywhere he gets to and adds value. This is the reason some people are successful anywhere you put them. Greatness is not in a location, it is in the person. You could live anywhere and be great; all it takes is taking responsibility. Responsible children sooner or later become an object of celebration wherever they are. Receive more grace to display a high sense of responsibility, in Jesus’ name.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God for grace to invest in your spiritual and biological parents, in Jesus’ name.
* Ask God for more responsible children in our homes, church and society, in the mighty name of Jesus.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, this year I shall outshine every enemy of my advancement in every way, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Responsible Children I

Tuesday 17 January
READ: 2 Kings 6: 1 - 7
MORE LESSON: Psa 127: 3 - 5

The sons of the prophet called their father Elisha and begged him to let them a build bigger place for him. The explanation of the story in the text is that the sons of the prophet were ministers in training staying with Elisha and learning from him. They came to Elisha and told him that they noticed that it was getting too tight in his house where all of them were staying. They begged him to allow them go and build a bigger place for him so that it could conveniently contain them and he would also have a bigger space. You would notice that it was not Elisha that complained that the house was too small and jam-packed; they beseeched him to let them build a bigger place. These sons of the prophetic showed themselves to be responsible children.
It is always pleasing to parents when they have responsible children in the house. Such children identify problems and take initiative to solve them without anyone pursuing them around. Identifying and solving problems by self-initiative shows a sense of responsibility. It is always a thing of joy for a man to have grown to a point that the children he raised can solve his problems. Even if he has what it takes to solve the problems himself, he doesn't get as much fulfilment as when children solve them. It is not about the solution, it is more about the fulfilment and joy of having responsible children.
The sons of the prophet begged their father to go with them to the work site and Elisha left his tight ministerial schedule to follow them. Responsible children will always have the backing of their father. When they were at the site, the axe of one of them fell into the water. Thankfully, Elijah was around so he stood in his office as the prophet of God and commanded a miracle there and then. Responsible children also enjoy the miraculous because the grace of the father is released with the whole of his heart when they have a need and he prays for them. How will the grace of God on the life of Elisha not be stirred, when one of his spiritual children comes to tell him that he borrowed an axe to build for the prophet and now the axe has fallen into the water? The man actually went out of his way to borrow in order to get a bigger lodge for the prophet and he was in trouble. Miracle must surely be commanded. My prayer for you today is that you will be a responsible child of God in His church and of your parents, both biological and spiritual.

Prayer/Action
* Lord make me responsible to my spiritual and biological parents/guardian, in Jesus’ name.
* Ask God that the blessings of a responsible child shall not elude you.
**Do something memorable for your parents today.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Jesus, light of the world, illuminate my destiny today, in the name of Jesus.

What’s your Name?

Monday 16 January
READ: I Chron. 4:1-10
MORE LESSONS: Hos. 1:2-11

There is so much about a name; it tells one’s history or heritage. Jabez was so named because his mother bore him in pain. Jabez did not like it so he asked God to bless him, enlarge his coast and keep him from evil (1Chronicles 4:10).
When Phinehas' pregnant wife heard the sad news that the ark of God had been captured and that her husband, his father, and brother were dead, that the army of Israel suffered heavy losses and fled before the Philistines, she went into labour and gave birth to a boy whom she named Ichabod because of the bad events surrounding his birth (1 Samuel 4:17-22). Jesus was named Jesus because He was born to save His people from their sins and Emmnauel because God came to dwell with man (Matthew 1:20-25).
What is your name? Is your name a memorial of pain, an epic of sorrow, despair, frustration, rejection, doom or a symbol of faith, hope and abundant life? We have many examples in the Scripture of how a man's name can determine his destiny; some had the name from birth, others had theirs changed. Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Peter, all had a change of name, while Jesus, John the Baptist and Isaac had their names from birth. All of them had their destinies influenced by their names. Although Jabez had a bad name, he did not drop the name but had a change of the influence of the name. The Bible says, …And God granted him that which he requested: I Chron. 4:10.
The point is that names have effect and influence on one’s destiny, negative and positive. But unlike what many believers think, the first thing to do about a name with a negative influence is not to change it but to pray for deliverance and a divine instruction on what to do with the name. You need not rush to change your name, rather give prompt attention to the force behind the evil name. Even names that come out of negative events will respond when there is a change of force behind the story. When the power of God breaks the yoke, and the story of barrenness, lateness, failure, sorrow etc. changes, obviously the forces behind the evil name will go. I agree with you, that every evil force working against you by your name is broken. Receive power for a greater life now.

Prayer/Action
* Decree that your name will influence your life positively.
* Declare that whatever evil force is associated with the names in your lineage be destroyed, in Jesus’ name.
*Pray that your name shall be heard in great places, in the name of Jesus.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
The daily rising of the sun in 2017 shall carry on its wings my next level without fail, in the name of Jesus.