Soldier of the Cross II

Saturday 15 April
READ: II Sam. 11:8-17
MORE LESSONS: II Tim. 2:1-5

Another strong lesson from the story of David and Uriah is Uriah’s loyalty and commitment. That is the mark of a true soldier, physical or spiritual. As a committed soldier, when Uriah was shortlisted for battle, he did not argue, decline or escape. Again, when King David invited Uriah home from the battlefield, loaded him with a mess of meat v8, the Bible says, But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house v9. When confronted by the king and the commander - in - chief of the army, ...Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing: v11. That is a true and committed soldier who regarded God's assignment above his person and comfort. Do we still have such soldiers today? As if that was not enough, the king made Uriah drunk but Uriah ...went not down to his house v13. Can a man be intoxicated and still keep character? Uriah did!
Let us examine Uriah as a loyal soldier, And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. ...Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die: vs 14-15. Uriah carried his death sentence(letter) in his hand and it did not bother him to open and read the content especially in the light of all the strange things his boss had done earlier. Uriah chose not to suspect his leader, nor was he disobedient for any reason; he chose to live as a soldier, always obedient and ready to die at his post.
Uriah seemed to have died a foolish man's death but not so; he was just being a true soldier. Jesus also was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, He opened not his mouth. That is the true mark of a soldier indeed, obedience and loyalty at all costs. I pray for you as I pray for myself today, May we be true soldiers of the cross, ready at all times to say ‘YES’ to the cross (pain) of our faith. A song writers says, ... I will do as he bids me, no matter the cost, I live as a soldier, I die at my post. That is the testimony I want to die with. A soldier of the cross.

Prayer/Action
* Father, make me a true soldier of the cross, in the name of Jesus.
* Pray that character of truth, loyalty and commitment will not be lacking in your life, in the mighty name of Jesus.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
I shall walk in the light of God's Word and nothing shall by any means offend my destiny, in the name of Jesus.

Soldier of the Cross I

Friday 14 April
READ: II Sam. 11:1-4, 13-15
MORE LESSONS: Psa. 51:1-5

There are many lessons to learn from the pathetic story of King David and Uriah the Hittite, that true and exemplary soldier of David's (Israel) army. That was the soldier whose wife Bathsheba David the king impregnated while the man was on the battlefield to defend the territorial integrity of the kingdom. In fact, verse 1 ends by saying, …But David tarried still at Jerusalem. For me, there is a serious lesson here. May be, if David had been at the battle front as expected at that time, he would have been spared this shameful story. May be grace to help him at that hour of temptation could have been available if only he had been at the right place. Obviously, one sin will always lead to another until there is courage (grace) to say no.
There are lessons to learn from this story. First, David didn't go to war and then he fell to adultery, then to cover the first sin, he attempted to make Uriah go back home in time of war (v 8) and when that didn't work, he went for the worst. He arranged for Uriah a faithful soldier to die at the battle front, so David committed murder. Our first lesson today among many is that every attempt to conceal a sin will lead to a greater sin. Only mercy can cover iniquity, nothing else! Truth, when spoken, can cause an initial pain, shame and embarrassment, but in the long run truth is a healer, deliverer and it brings honour.
Lying does not offer permanent joy but a false hope because every secret will eventually be revealed. King David eventually faced the truth, terminated the guilty conscience, went through the punishment and is today in Heaven with Jesus.
No matter what we say or write about this story, David is with Jesus and the temporary setback eventually became a glory, because he settled with the Lord of his life. Stop the secret act, brace up for the truth; it is the only mark of a soldier of the cross! Jesus' blood has paid for and covered the past. Enlist in the army of the truthful soldiers now! A truthful soldier does not seek to cover the evil he has done, rather he will seek to be forgiven. He does not call black, white or vice versa, he can say it as it is, no diplomacy by lying. A true soldier is more interested in pleasing his commander in chief - Jesus, and truth is his greatest pleasure, so let us fear the Master, not the men around Him and stand in the truth. Man may never forgive or forget when we tell the truth, but God will, so be a true soldier of the cross; stand in the truth always.

Prayer/Action
* Ask for mercy and cleansing by the blood of Jesus wherever any sin exists, in Jesus’ name.
* Declare that sin shall not have its grip over you, in the name of Jesus.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
The sound of unending joy and jubilation shall characterise the rest of my year beginning from today, in the name of Jesus.

Separating Light from Darkness II

Thursday 13 April
READ: Gen. 1: 1 - 5
MORE LESSON: Isa. 60:1-2

God created light in the beginning and saw that light was good, so He separated light from darkness. God doesn't want good and bad mixed together; He wants your life filled with good. God didn't stop at separating light from darkness, He pronounced a verdict on both light and darkness. The Bible says, And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day: Gen. 1: 5. Thousands of years have passed since creation and night is still associated with fear, danger and evil while day is associated with lively activities, sunshine and good. According to the psalmist, ...weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning: Psa. 30: 5.
God separated light from darkness, He called light day and called darkness night. This is a form of declaring judgment on light and darkness. He sentenced light to a life of day and darkness to a life of night. This shows that we should not only separate light from darkness in our life, but also sentence the light and the darkness to where we want them to be as far as we are concerned. You can sentence light to come to your life and darkness to stay away from you. This is what the Bible calls executing the judgment that is written (Psa. 149: 9). A written judgment is a publicly acclaimed statement that cannot be changed for as long as it stands. If a judgment is merely verbal, it can be misconstrued and someone can later claim that it is not exactly like it is.
The written judgment cannot be misconstrued; there is evidence in writing to back it up. It is time for you to declare judgment on every form of darkness in your life. Separate darkness from your life and sentence it as far as you want it to be from you forever. It is your duty to execute judgment on darkness in your life; you need to enforce what God has said about you. Refuse to accept negative things. Separate your destiny from darkness and pronounce judgment on it. The fact that you have not overcome a sin, sickness or poverty in your life doesn't mean you should settle down with it. Never accept darkness as normal. Execute judgment on it.
God executed judgment by proclamation, God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night: v5. One of the strongest ways to keep darkness away from your life is by your confession. Job 22: 28 (NKJV) says, You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways. Child of God, do not allow darkness in your life. Separate light from darkness and declare judgment on every form of darkness in your life. You are the light of the world, so ascertain that no shade or form of darkness manifests in your life.

Prayer/Action
* Announce that the light of God will chase out every darkness in your life, in Jesus’ name.
* Tell God that darkness will have no representative in your life, in the mighty name of Jesus.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Whatever operates against me this month by flying shall lose their wings, the ones that walk shall be crippled and the ones in the waters shall be dried up, in the name of Jesus.

Separating Light from Darkness I

Wednesday 12 April
READ: Gen. 1: 1 - 5
MORE LESSON: Gen. 1: 17 - 18

The first thing that God created in the beginning was light. Darkness was reigning until God commanded light to be. However, after God created light, the darkness didn't disappear, it was only swallowed up. This means that after creation, light was present and darkness was also present. God had to divide the light from darkness. Sometimes, light and darkness are all mixed together in a man's life. Good things are symbols of light and bad things are darkness. Many believers are suffering from a lot of darkness; it is only that the light present does not make the darkness to be obvious. There are silent tears, hidden pains and other problems covered by the good house and nice clothes that many wear. Sickness and poverty may still be punishing a man while the only consolation he has is the joy of salvation and the fact that he will make Heaven when he dies. God doesn't want partial light and darkness mixed up in your life. He desires that there should be a total separation of light from darkness.
According to 1 John 1: 5, This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. God is all light and no iota of darkness. In the same manner, there must be no room for darkness, no matter how small, in your life. Sickness, demonic oppression, nightmares, sinful habits and poverty are darkness. You must separate between light and darkness and send the darkness away.The very first step in separating from darkness in your life is to know what is light and what is darkness. I have realised that some of the things people celebrate as light are actually darkness. Some people celebrate some problems in their lives and say that it is the cross that God has given them to carry. Some believers actually feel spiritual bearing problems. It is not God that heaps problems on you, it is darkness that makes you celebrate problems. Separate light from darkness and condemn darkness. No matter how many scriptures men try to use to justify lack, what is bad is bad; poverty is darkness.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness: Gen 1:4. God saw that light was good and that darkness was bad, so He separated light from darkness and chose light for Himself. Today you must step out of any theology that makes you celebrate darkness. Even if religion wants to make you see something that is darkness as acceptable, refuse to be taught into accepting it. Don't accept sickness, failure, poverty, smallness or obscurity; you must shine as light. Don't accommodate and pamper your problems and limitations, you are light and darkness has to be separated from you.

Prayer/Action
* Speak condemnation upon every agent of darkness around you, in Jesus’ name.
* No activity of darkness will survive my presence, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
I banish the hands of the enemy from this day and I release God's mighty hand upon it, in the name of Jesus.