Serve the Lord with Gladness

Wednesday 28 June
READ: Psa. 100:2
MORE LESSON: Acts 2:41

The Bible says that those who received the Word were baptised and added to the Church. In the early Church, those that gladly accepted the Word made up the bulk of the congregation, so there was quality and not just quantity. One of the problems of the contemporary Church is the quality of the congregation. The congregation is the foundation of the church from where the workers, leaders, elders and pastors are drawn. So it is important that the congregation of the church be made of people who are glad in receiving the Word and serving God. As a part of the congregation of the children of God, do you pay attention to the quality of your service to God?
Your place in the Church of God is dependent on your passion and joy in serving God and not the money or certificate that you have. Some people believe that if they have money, then they should be well recognised and promoted in the church of God. In fact that is the practice in many contemporary churches but God's standard remains that it is those who receive the Word of God gladly that are added to the Church. So don't just make up the number, add to the church by your glad and passionate service. In the days of the apostles, the congregation of the Church was passionate and joyful in accepting the Word of God and serving Him.
This is the foundation that needs to be built right so that our churches can be strong. Check your life, do you gladly serve God?
A time came in the early Church when there was a mixed multitude. People like Ananias and Sappihra thought they could manipulate the Church but God knocked them out because He wanted all to know that righteousness, holiness and glad service are the standard for His house. God is not a respecter of persons. The question He asks you is, “Have you gladly received the Word of life? Are you serving the Lord with gladness?”
When the military was in government in Nigeria, during each Supreme Council meeting, all the officers were to remove their caps and put them on the table. Titles like general, brigadier or colonel were all suspended so that decisions to further the affairs of the nation could be made. In the same manner, in the Kingdom of God, social status must be suspended so that the work of God can move forward. Professor, doctor, business tycoon, rich man are good titles but we must be ready to remove those caps and become brothers and sisters in serving the Lord.
The important thing in the Kingdom is not social status but serving the Lord with gladness. If you have arrived, serve the Lord with gladness. If you have not arrived, if you are married or not, rich or poor, just serve the Lord with gladness. Let no situation or privilege prevent you from serving the Lord.

Prayer/Action
* I pledge to serve the Lord not minding the prevailing situation of my life, in the name of Jesus.
* Lord, I will serve You with my time, substance and energy, in Jesus’ name .

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Woe to the power behind testimony failure in my life and destiny, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Unity in the Church

Tuesday 27 June
READ: Psa. 133: 1 - 3
MORE LESSON: James 3: 16

The place of unity is the place of the commanded blessing. In every family, church and nation one of the things that should be a top priority is sustaining oneness and unity among the people. In the house of God, no matter how much people pray if there is no unity, there will be no blessing. This is why you must never be part of people running down others and causing dissension within the church. It is not enough that you are not part of discord, you must rebuke it. When a person comes to you to sow a seed of discord, you should correct him/her.
Tell the pastorate and leadership about any one creating disunity through his words and actions in the church. This is important so that the issue can be promptly resolved and the person corrected. When you keep quiet about disunity being sown, you allow it to grow and it will destroy everything, including you. Does someone see cancer in any part of his body and hide it from the doctor, saying he doesn't want anybody to know? No, it should quickly be exposed so that it can be curbed before it becomes malignant. It is possible to have a misunderstanding with someone in the church; after all, it is humans that are in church; so there will be imperfection. However, you should settle it quickly and solve the problem and not turn it to an instrument of disunity.
The spirit of witchcraft rides on the wings of disunity. Witches are always looking for who to fight, gossip about and talk evil of. In the church of Christ, there is only one person you are permitted to gossip about – that person is Jesus Christ. Just as there is a blessing commanded on the place of unity, there are curses in the place of disunity. James 3:16 says, For where envy and strive is, there is confusion and every evil. When you see people dying in a church, things not working and every manner of stagnation, check the unity of the people. Competition, jealousy and strife in a place bring evil such as death, sickness, affliction, sack from job. There is a spiritual hedge that disunity breaks which makes all kinds of evil to come into the house.
In the satellite church system, the unity of the whole Body of the Church must be preserved. We must not seclude or divide ourselves but rather see ourselves as part of the whole; the oneness of the church must be maintained. Corporate meetings and accountability to the head should be much honoured. The unity of the entire Body of Christ must be promoted and no denomination should cause division within the Body. Don't partner with people that the devil wants to use to break up the Body of Christ. Don't allow anyone to bring you under a curse.

Prayer/Action
* Today, I come against every spirit of disunity at home, work and church, in Jesus’ name.
* Lord, expose every agent of disunity in our camp, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Oh Lord concerning that matter (mention it) let me hear joy and gladness, in the name of Jesus.

Power to Forgive Sins

Monday 26 June
READ: Luke 5: 17 - 25
MORE LESSON: Psa. 32: 1 - 5

A man was brought to Jesus for healing. Invariably, his sickness was as a result of a sin he committed. Sin causes sickness and every kind of calamity. It was after the first man sinned that death, sickness and every other form of suffering entered into the world. Many times the troubles that a man faces are as a result of the sins he has committed. A person who lives in sexual immorality contacts HIV/AIDS and the toll of sickness begins to tell on his/her body. Sin has gross repercussions.
However in the text, we see a man who was suffering from sickness as a consequence of the sins he committed. When he was brought to Jesus, contrary to what many men would have said, Jesus didn't tell the man, “That serves you right. You committed sin and now sickness is ravaging your body. Good for you.” The compassionate Jesus looked at the man and said, ...Man, thy sins are forgiven thee: Luke 5:20. The religious guys were angry because He attributed to Himself the ability to forgive the man's sins. Jesus told them, But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house: Luke 5:24. Jesus healed the man as a proof that He had actually forgiven the man.
No matter how numerous or grievous your sins are, Jesus has the power and willingness to forgive you. Even if your suffering today is a consequence of the mistakes and sins of the past, Jesus is ready to forgive you and remove the consequence of your sins. If you have contracted a disease because you lived in immorality, Jesus is not one of those people who will stigmatise you and say that your condition serves you right. He wants to forgive your sins and heal your diseases. You will no longer be judged by the mistakes of yesterday, the Blood of Jesus will wipe your slate clean. His blood washes all your sins-past, present and future. The accuser might still be looking for your sins, but the blood of Jesus washes you.
There are only two things He requires of you. First, He wants you to come to Him in utter repentance. He has promised that whoever comes to Him, He will by no means cast out (John 6: 37). Come to Him and He will forgive you, wash away your sins and their consequences by His Blood. The second thing He demands of you is what He said to another man that had diseases as a result of his sins; Jesus said to Him and to you, ...Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee: John 5:14.

Prayer/Action
* Father, whatever is happening in my life as a consequence of my lifestyle, have mercy Lord, in the name of Jesus.
* Father in Heaven, forgive me my past and present sins, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Every dark stain on the horizon of my glory, by the blood of Jesus I decree them removed, in the name of Jesus.

The Heart, not the Message

Sunday 25 June
READ: Luke 8:4-15
MORE LESSONS: John 8:31-36

A friend once asked me why there are so many churches and powerful preachers in Nigeria, yet unrighteousness abounds. Before I could give an answer, he concluded, I think there is something wrong with the messages that are preached. It is either the preachers are not preaching the right stuff to change the people or the messages lack power to convict men of sin, righteousness and judgment. My friend may be right, but I also think there is something more as the Scripture reading explains. The sower planted the same seeds at different locations, but what influenced the different performances was the nature of the land.
Those which fell by the way side were trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured the seeds. Some fell upon a rock and as soon as they sprang up, they withered because there was no moisture. Some fell among thorns and were choked up by the thorns that sprang up with it. Yet others fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bore fruit a hundredfold (Luke 8: 4-15).
In the explanation of the parable, Jesus says the seed is the Word. No one can doubt the potency of God's Word. If the Word fails to produce result, it is not the inefficacy of the Word or of the sower, but the land, and in this case it is the heart of men that influences the performance of the seed. It is unfortunate that some listeners in church have the hearts that are
vulnerable to birds of the air. Such hearts are those that wonder about when preaching is going on.
They hardly hear anything in church. Even if they hear, the Word does not get home with them. The enemies of their souls simply pick everything. Others have hearts that cannot stay upon God's Word for a season. Although they hear and even respond to altar call, when their flesh demands for things contrary to the Word they hear, they easily submit to their flesh. These are believers who cannot resist temptation because they are not deep rooted in the Word. Some believers have hearts full of the cares of this world. Although they seemingly love God, they also love the world. They are those who use the Word as a cloak for covetousness. You never can be a friend of the world and please God in anyway, as the Scripture cannot be broken (1John 2:15-17). The cares of the world will stunt the growth of the Word.
It was the same seeds that fell on fertile ground and produced fruit in thirty, sixty and hundred folds. Anytime God's Word finds a fertile ground, the fullness of its potential will manifest. God's Word is perfect, converting the soul. It is a lamp to the feet of men, and a light to the path of them who believe. Make your heart ready today for God's Word, and the preaching you hear daily will produce positive effect in your life.

Prayer/Action
* Bind the forces that destroy the seed of God's Word in you.
* Decree that your heart will be receptive to God's Word.
* Pray that you will not miss any Word of God meant for you, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
In my life, work and family, I reject backward motion and lack of testimony, in the mighty name of Jesus.