Temple of God

Thursday 6 April
READ: I Cor.6:13-20
MORE LESSON: I Cor.3:16-17

Man makes great presumptions about the issues of possession. Many times man does not think deeply about the issue of divine ownership. This attitude is common with the issue of man’s body. Several say, “ It is my body, I can do what I want to it, put what I want on it, go where I like with it and use whatever I want on it; after all it is my body”. This is a great contrast to what today's texts tell us about the body, Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot?.... know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's: I Cor.6:13b,15,19-20.
This is the declaration of God concerning our body, which calls for carefulness, especially as God warned, If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple you are: I Cor. 3:17. An attempt to destroy the body leads to judgment and destruction by God. This also implies an automatic curse upon evil spirits sent to destroy your body by demonic illness and affliction. This morning I decree the judgment of God by fire on anything that attempts to destroy your body, in Jesus’ name.
What do I do to keep this body holy for God?: (1.) I must glorify God with my body, that is, use the body to do things that please God, that bring glory to God whether by sight, hearing, perceiving, eating or acting. Things that please God that I must use my body for include singing to Him, praises, prayers, testifying of His works, evangelism, godly visits, working in God's house and doing good (Acts 10:38).Check yourself daily, do you glorify God with the things you do with your body? (2.) I must not allow the body to break down through carelessness or presumptuousness in what I eat, wear, touch or handle. I must play my part in the preservation of the temple of God by eating correctly, avoiding things that destroy the body such as alcohol, tobacco, excess sugar or salt and unhealthy foods; exercise, rest and disallow negative emotions that open doors for physical breakdown, especially through worry and anxiety.
Because the Lord is for your body, He is under self-imposed obligation to preserve His temple and He is able to keep whatever is committed into His hand with accurate precision. Commit your body to Him this morning and He will preserve it blameless to His second coming (I Thess. 5:23).

Prayer/Action
* Lord, I dedicate my body to You afresh as Your holy habitation, preserve it for me all the days of my life, in the mighty name of Jesus.
** Take a little moment to reflect on how you handle your body, discard habits that are destructive and make resolutions for health-preserving habits for your body.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Defeat or loss shall not be found in my life anymore, in the name of Jesus.

He gives Strength

Wednesday 5 April
READ: Acts 9:18
MORE LESSON: Isa. 40:29-31

Saul, who later became Paul the apostle, had an encounter with God. He was directed to God's servant, Ananias, so that he could be filled with the Holy Spirit, and that his eyes be opened. He had become blind as a result of the Light from above that appeared to him and was very weak because he had not eaten for three days. Acts 9: 19 says, ...when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus (NKJV). Just as food strengthens a man in the natural, what brings strength in a man's spirit is the Word of God. The Word of God is the meat of the spirit; it is the nourishment of the spirit. When a man constantly takes in the Word of God, he becomes strong. Similarly, it is the Word of God that opens your eyes and makes all blindness to give way. You need to eat the Word so that you may receive strength for each day of your life. According to Jer. 15: 16, Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.
Psalm 29:11 says the Lord will give strength to His people. This is just as a parent wakes up in the morning and naturally thinks of what to put on the table for the children. Just as the mother wakes up early to get ready lunch packs for her children as they go to school each morning, so also the Lord daily serves His children with strength. The Bible says, the Lord will give strength unto his people, the Lord will bless his people with peace. The Lord blesses His people with peace. He serves them with strength on a daily basis, The Lord daily loads His people with benefits: Psa. 68: 19.
The Lord does not leave His people weak; one of the benefits He gives to His people is strength. This is the reason why whenever you notice weakness in your life, you must reject it because it is not the will of God. God desires that you will be strengthened daily. Whatever strength you desire, be it spiritual strength, physical strength, strength of wisdom, strength of the mind, strength of direction, the Lord will abundantly make it available to you, in Jesus’ name. He will replace every weakness of your life with His own strength, in the name of Jesus.

Prayer/Action
* Ask the Lord to make your point of weakness your point of strength.
* Ask that the power of God will swallow up your areas of weakness, in the mighty name of Jesus.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
As the sun does not struggle to shine and the day does not struggle to break, so is my destiny this year, it shall not struggle to advance, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Money is not Enough

Tuesday 4 April
READ: Eccl. 7: 12 - 14
MORE LESSON: Luke 12: 20 - 21

Eccl 10: 19 says that money answers all things. In the natural, when a man is strong financially, he can do almost everything. Money equips one to buy everything he needs and to solve a lot of problems. It is because money is essential that some men have made the pursuit of money the essence of their lives. Even some believers have imbibed this mindset and they run after money at the expense of God and His Word. The people of the world say that money makes the world go round, but we all know that there are many people that have money and their world still stops going round. As important as money is, there are things that are more important than money in life.
There are some spiritual things that require more than money. There are things in life, at the face of which money is helpless. In the face of death and eternity, only your relationship with God can speak and intervene; money does not have the answer. Even in the face of some life situations, only the spiritual can answer for a man. You must therefore place your spiritual life far above money. Relationship is more important than money; do not lose your family and loved ones to unbridled quest for money. Your relationship with God is far weightier than money. Do not lose eternity because of money.
In this Information Age, people seem to have access to information on virtually everything. This is the age of internet doctors, counselors, churches and pastors. Many people are therefore trying to do away with all spiritual accountability. They sit in the comfort of their houses and pay for data, online consultation and materials. They ask themselves: “What is the use of a church?' 'Why do I need a pastor?' Why do I need to labour, reading the Word of God, when I can quickly search up a sermon from the internet anytime I need one?” However, be informed that you can pay for a message online but you cannot pay for a vibrant relationship with God. Money cannot buy that one.
There are spiritual matters, questions of life and destiny battles that can only be addressed by the Word of God, the Spirit of God, the servant of God over your life and the family of faith to which you seriously belong. If a man does not have spiritual connections to God and to the people placed over him in the Body of Christ, when tough questions of life come, there will be no answers no matter how much money he has. This is the reason my prayer for you is that you will prosper financially and you will be blessed with money. However, beyond that, you will have all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 1: 3) and not lose connection with God.

Prayer/Action
* Ask the Lord to provide you all spiritual and physical resources for your prosperity.
* Tell the Lord that you will not lack what money can buy and what it cannot buy, in the mighty name of Jesus.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Today, every bow of steel is broken by my hands, my warfare is ended, I declare peace in all my territory, in the name of Jesus.

Giving to the Lord

Monday 3 April
READ: Psa. 50: 10 – 12
MORE LESSON: Mal. 3: 10

In several portions of the Scripture, God calls His children to give to Him. He asks men to give offerings, tithes, vows, sacrificial gifts and seeds. In all these givings, we must never forget that God has not called us to the place of giving because He is in need but because He wants to bless us. God created and owns everything in all universe and all resources are at His disposal. In Psa. 50: 10 – 12, God says, For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
God is never stranded because of needs; rather, He invites men to give to Him so that it can be an opportunity for them to be blessed. The Kingdom principle is that you can only receive after you have given. You do not qualify for a harvest from God until you have first given to Him. So God always creates opportunities for people to give and in fact, makes demands on them to give to Him so that He can have a platform on which to bless them. We must never forget that even that which we give is given to us by the Lord. So God provides for us so that we can give to Him in order to receive more from Him. This is captured by the scripture that says God gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater (Isa 55: 10). God knows that you can't have a harvest until you sow a seed, so He gives you seed. He then calls on you to give the seed to Him, so that He can multiply it and bring it as bread for you to eat and also have more seed to sow. Therefore, actually it is what God gives that you are giving back.
The only way to receive from God is by giving to Him. Your giving is the rail line on which the train of your provision runs. Any man who refuses to give to God shuts the door of provision to himself. Giving is a bridge to cross to the land of your provision. When you give, a bridge is built to connect you to where the provision is. The work of God is fully provided for by the Lord Himself who is the Possessor of Heaven and Earth. The reason why God invites people to give in church is because He wants them to get access to His blessings.

Prayer/Action
* Appreciate God for the privilege of giving.
* Ask the Lord never to let your giving go unnoticed, in Jesus’ name.
* Ask for the heart that gives the best to God, in the name of Jesus.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
My glory shall shine globally like the sun in 2017, prevail over darkness like the stars and burn my enemies like fire, in Jesus' mighty name.