Becoming like Christ

Wednesday 24 May
READ: II Cor.3:16-18
MORE LESSON: John 1:12

One major purpose for the creation of man and the new birth is to make us to be more like Christ. This cannot be done in one's own strength. Today's reading, especially II Cor. 3:18, is very clear about this, But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. The Holy Spirit is the one who gives us the power to make the changes that God wants to make in our lives. This working of the Holy Spirit is not in loud noisy ways but in quiet daily walk; He daily nudges us with the Word of God and urges us to do the right thing in every situation. The more we yield to His promptings and obey His leading, the more Christ like we become. The only thing is that the Holy Spirit will not force but prompt, we must learn to cooperate with His working by simple daily obedience. In the spiritual, efforts are required to grow and become like Christ; that required effort is the prompt obedience to the Holy Spirit.
Other personal responsibilities to become like Christ include:
1) Let go of the old ways of life such as lying, fighting, exaggerating and the likes.
2) Change the way you think, get a transformed mind by renewing your mind daily with the Word of God. The more renewed you are, the more Christ like you become.
3) Put on the character of Christ by cultivating new, godly habits. One's character is the sum of one's habits.
In becoming like Christ, God uses not just His Spirit and His Word to mould us; He also uses people and circumstances. He uses people to provide the support of training and care that we need to grow. He uses the circumstances to provide the environment that helps us practise Christ likeness.
Becoming like Christ is ensuring that whatever one does, it must be done in a Christ like manner and as this is done, godly character is achieved and the Lord is fully glorified.

Prayer/Action
* Father, help me to fulfil the ultimate purpose of becoming Christ like and thereby promoting godliness on earth, in the mighty name of Jesus.
* Teach me Lord to be sensitive to Your Spirit's training that I may by obedience accomplish all that You want me to in this world, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
In the name of Jesus, this day, this week, this month, this year, the sun shall not smite me by day nor the moon by night.

Pray for one Another

Tuesday 23 May
READ: James 5: 14 - 16
MORE LESSON: Job 42: 10

There are blessings that accrue to you when you pray for other people. This is the reason we encourage people to pair up and pray for each other during meetings. This is also why having prayer partner is encouraged. Everyone in the church of God should have prayer partner with whom they share burdens and pray for each other. Even pastors should have prayer partners. The pastor carries more load than anyone else, so if anyone needs people to pray for him, it is the pastor. The Bible says, Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much: James 5:16.
This scripture encourages us to confess our faults to one another. This is one thing that seems to have been lost in the church today. It is now difficult for people to confess their faults to one another. We have to be non-judgmental and loving so that people won't have problem confessing faults to one another. If a believer treats others as sinners and makes them feel condemned with his holier-than-thou attitude, when they fall into a mistake or sin, they will not be able to come to him to be helped. You must be loving and accommodating even though firm and uncompromising. We must also know that as people confess their faults to one another, there are things about people's privacy that you must not disclose to anyone. As a minister, when people come to confess their faults to you, don't go to the altar and use it to preach. In fact there are some private things about people's lives that you don't even tell your spouse. This doesn't mean we must hide everything in the name of privacy but we must know what to keep as secret and what to tell.
The Scripture says to confess faults to one another and to pray for one another. In Job 42: 10, we see that Job was blessed by the Lord only after he prayed for his friends. Even though they had wronged him, he forgave them and prayed for them and the Lord blessed him abundantly and restored all that he had lost to him. Your blessing is in praying for people. Do not judge or condemn people, rather pray for them. Praying for others includes praying for the sick. James 5: 14 says if anyone is sick he should call for the elders of the church to pray for him. There are many people in church that complain that they were sick and the pastor didn't call them. However, the Bible says that the sick should call the pastors. So it is his duty to call while it is the pastor's duty to pray. Let the pastor pray for his congregation and let the congregation pray for the pastor. Pray for one another so that you all may be blessed.

Prayer/Action
* Ask the Lord to receive your altar of intercession, in the mighty name of Jesus.
* Silence every accusation against your family and loved ones, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Every noise and voice of confusion and depression in my mind and spirit, stop now, in the name of Jesus.

Call it by Name

Monday 22 May
READ: Gen 1: 5
MORE LESSON: Gen 2: 19

One of the greatest privileges that God has given man is the authority to give names. We name our children, pets and even possessions. However, we must be conscious that the power to give name is not merely the power of nomenclature; it is the power of death and life. When you give a name to something, you give it a nature and identity. Gen 2:19-20 says, ...out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. So Adam gave names to all cattle, the birds of the air, and every beast of the field. Whatever you call, it will become.
There was a boy that was born with a hole in his heart. The doctor had said he would die in a few days and so all family and friends were weeping and speaking in tongues. They sent for me to come pray and so I went there. When I wanted to start praying, I asked for the child's name and the parents said that they had not named the child. They probably thought what would be the use of naming a child when he would die anyway. The Lord told me not to bother myself praying but merely to name the child. So I asked for the name they would like the child to bear. They told me the name and I pronounced the name three times as a witness to Heaven and earth. I knew that the child must be alive to answer that name which has been given to him. The child is still alive till tomorrow.
It is time for you to engage this power of naming to change your life and destiny. You have been praying for a child, give that child a name and begin to call him/her forth by name. You have to stop crying that you are not married, give your wedding date a name and begin to call it forth. For everything that God created, He called them by name even when they didn't yet exist. He already had a name for each one and called them by name. Call what you want by name and bring it into being. Do a naming ceremony for your heart desire before it manifests.
Similarly, if there is something you do not want in your life, give it a name of expiration. Are you trusting God for a better job, then this job becomes your 'former job' – that is its name. The job you are expecting is now your 'new job'. Do this in the presence of Him whom you believe — God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did (Rom 4:17).

Prayer/Action
* I renounce every name that God has not approved for my life, in Jesus’ name.
* Call forth your desires by name and receive them, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
I command the potency of negative words and prophecies spoken to my life to die, in the name of Jesus.

High Cost of Stubbornness

Sunday 21 May
READ: Exodus 5:1-11
MORE LESSONS: 1Sam.15:23-25

Stubbornness is a character of the devil. Unfortunately, some people magnify stubbornness presuming that they are strong and tough as Pharaoh was seen by all Egyptians as a tough, no-nonsense leader, a mighty man of valour, one who could not be cowed to submission by the miraculous display of Moses and his God. Pharaoh's magicians encouraged him in his stubbornness when they went on to repeat some of Moses' miracles. They turned water to blood (Exo.7:22-23) and brought more frogs on the land (Exo.8:6-7). They did all that to prove to Pharaoh that all that Moses was doing was not impressive.
To be stubborn means: 1) to be unwilling to obey or do what you know is the right thing to do; 2) to deliberately set yourself against the truth; 3) to wilfully continue on the path you know or have been told is wrong; 4) to determine to do the wrong, damning the consequences. God hates stubbornness. In His sight, stubbornness or unwillingness to repent is as iniquity as idolatry (1Sam.15:23). Stubbornness is to say, What can authority do to me? What a man reaps from the sin of stubbornness and non-repentance are plague, affliction, sickness, pain and destruction of property, business and children, just as it happened to Pharaoh, his magicians, and the entire nation of Egypt. Pharaoh in his stubbornness said to Moses, ...Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go: Exo. 5:2. Even if Pharaoh did not know the God of Moses, he knew the power of the gods. But blindfolded by stubbornness, he dared the God of Moses. Stubbornness blindfolds and makes you see only yourself. It makes you rate yourself above your worth, and you become proud. Unfortunately, behind pride and haughty spirit is a monster lying in wait to override you, Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall: Prov.16:18.
It is not the desire of God to send plagues to your life. His desire for you is to bless and multiply you, If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: Isa.1:19. But if you continue in your pigheadedness, you can jeopardise your future and destiny. I plead with you to repent and come out of that sinful way, and you will enjoy the great harvest that God promised us this year.

Prayer/Action
* Ask the Lord to rid you of all secret stubbornness and seed of pride, in Jesus’ name.
* Pray that as you become willing and obedient to God, He will satisfy you with the good of the land, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
I agree with God that the prevailing forces of sin shall not have dominion over me, in the name of Jesus.