Becoming like Christ

Sunday 2 July
READ: Phil. 3: 10 - 21
MORE LESSON: Acts 4: 9-13

As disciples, we must resemble our Master in every way. The most wonderful achievement for us is to be compared to Jesus in word, deed and attitude though Jesus is beyond compare. When Jesus was to be arrested by the Pharisees, they needed someone to point Him out among His disciples. This was because He and His disciples all lived, dressed and talked alike so that outsiders could not easily differentiate one from the other except someone very close identified Him.
This is a lesson for all leaders in the Body of Christ; we need leaders that will so much mix with the people in humility that we cannot easily see the demarcation between the leaders and the led by positional differentiation. God wants us as disciples of Jesus to be so much like Christ that people would have a hard time differentiating between us and Christ. From the Bible, we know that the disciples were first referred to as Christians in Antioch.
This was because they behaved so much like Christ in every way that they had to refer to them as 'People who are like Christ'. The moment people see us they should know we are followers of Christ. In fact, they should know we are from a living church of God. It is a great thing for us to do wonderful things and people ask, ‘Are you from so and so church? we have noticed that people from there have this unique attribute’. Our lives should be a testimony of the glory of God and not a reproach to the Lord. We must live for the Lord and be like Him. Becoming like Christ is the hallmark of the Christian experience.
Christianity is not about prosperity and success even though God blesses us with those as we serve Him. Christianity is not about marriage and having wonderful family though they are part of the blessings obtained in Christ, nor is it about greatness and becoming prominent though it is part of His blessings as we follow Him. If there is a summary of what genuine Christianity is, it is becoming like Christ in word, work, nature and lifestyle. When we become like Christ, the things that we struggle for will naturally come to us. We must make becoming like Him the highest pursuit of our lives.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God to make you more like Jesus, in Jesus’ mighty name.
* Pray that you will be a worthy epistle of Christ for the world to read, in Jesus’ name.
* Pray that the pursuit of the presence of Jesus become your burning ambition.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
My Father and my God, I declare that the second half of the year is for my advancement above every force of darkness, in the mighty name of Jesus.

The Path of the Just

Saturday 1 July, 2017
READ: Prov. 4:18
MORE LESSON: Psa. 1: 1 - 6

The Scriptures say, But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The first thing to notice from this verse is that the just has a path. Whenever you see a just man, there is a way he behaves and does things. Shining more and more denotes recording success upon success. Therefore, success has a path. Men do not succeed by chance; you don't sleep one night and wake up the next day to discover that you are now a success. There must be something you have been doing to become successful. Those who will be successful tomorrow are doing something today. Your success today is a product of your labour of yesterday and your success tomorrow will be a product of your labour of today.
The just man is an organised man. He knows that he will not succeed by mistake or by trial and error. The just is very deliberate in his pursuit of shining. He is a hardworking man; he knows he will not succeed by carelessness and laziness. A just son is not waiting for his father's certificate and laurels to be handed to him; he is making his success just as his parents' are making theirs. The just man has a path and way of life that is responsible for his shining.
Failing is the easiest thing to do in life. All it takes to fail is to do nothing. This is the reason a lot of people are failures; they don't do anything. Every time you ask them what they are doing, they say they are still praying. They do nothing and when nothing happens, they blame everyone, including God, for not doing things for them. The only one they don't blame is themselves. Prayer is essential to success; it is the condition for God to be involved in your matter. However, if God is to be involved in our matter, we too must be involved hands-on. Pray hard but you must also work hard at it. That is the path of the just.
Psalm 1 tells us more about the path of the just that leads to success. The just man practices righteousness. Righteousness is not something to confess only; it is something you do. You can't hang out all night with sinners and expect success the next morning. You don't cheat and expect genuine success to come. You can't spend all your day sleeping, and wake up successful. A just man has a path; it is his path that is responsible for his shining. The Bible doesn't say that the just man shines more and more; it says that his path shines more and more. No path, no shining. It is what you are doing and how you are doing it that determines your success.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God to teach your hand to profit and grant you wisdom to be successful in life.
* Pray that you will walk the path of success today.
* Pray that you will not be distracted from the path to your greatness.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father of life, You deserve the glory and honour for the gift of the seventh month, I give You all the praise, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Give Simply

Friday 30 June
READ: II Cor. 9:6-10
MORE LESSONS: Prov. 11:24-26

Giving and receiving are essential parts of the cycle of life. For example, the rains give the earth water, which it receives and produces food for man and others to eat and live. Man receives energy and strength from food to be able to give back in different areas of productivity to his immediate environment, family, community and society at large.
Giving is indeed essential and is so much built into our entire existence and daily survival that it must be done without expecting applause and accolade, especially when done in obedience to God's commands and instructions, Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me an offering; from every man whose heart makes him willing you shall receive the offering for me: Exo. 25:2.
In the world, when men give sums of money for projects or charity, they are applauded but for us Christians, our attitude should be different. We must learn to give cheerfully and with simplicity, without expecting human applause or appreciation. Remember Jesus’ words, Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven: Matt. 6:1.
Even when men forget to applaud or announce your donations, be sure of greater reward that your heavenly Father will surely give you. The windows of Heaven will open on you such that there shall not be room enough to receive the blessing (Mal. 3:10). The staleness of financial stagnancy is removed out of your life and replaced with the freshness of prosperity as you obey the Word and simply give.
Believers must learn to stop giving with strings attached. We must give without expecting back and it must be simple enough for our reward to come without complication; only then will we qualify for a full reward, You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure. "For God loves a person who gives cheerfully": 2 Cor 9:7 (NLT).

Prayer/Action
* Surrender afresh all your ungodly endowment to God.
* Ask God for grace not to withhold anything you ought to give out, in Jesus’ name.
* Give out something worthy to someone outside your family members today.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, thank You so much for the free gift of the first six months of 2017, I step into the seventh month on the pedestal of unusual expansion, I shall spread from coast to coast beginning from today, in the mighty name of Jesus.

No Divorce

Thursday 29 June
READ: Matt. 19:3 - 9
MORE LESSON: Gen 3:12-21

One of the major crises in the world today is breakdown of marriage. We must declare war on this problem in the Church of God by every means. The forces of prayer must be engaged against every marriage destroying force. The strongest remedy for the decay of the home that is ravaging the world today is for us to build our homes on the principles of God's Word. We must operate by the dictates of the Word of God in our homes. Singles that are not yet married must also be determined to run courtship according to God's Word. If your partner insists that you do anything that is contrary to God's Word before marriage, then you should break that courtship. A broken courtship is a thousand times better than a broken marriage.
There is no going back once you are married. The Scripture doesn't permit divorce. A lot of people are full of complaints about their spouse. It started with the first man Adam who complained about his wife (Gen. 3: 12) but even at that, the Lord didn't permit divorce for them. Adam and Eve continued together after the fall. In fact, God promised that the seed of the same woman that caused the problem for the man would bring salvation for mankind. They continued together and the Lord clothed their nakedness (Gen. 3: 21). People have said, 'if you know how my wife/husband behaves, you will know that I am justified to fight and divorce'. All those excuses do not work with God; if you must make it to Heaven, you have to stay by God's standard and continue loving and submitting in that marriage.
A man insists on divorce and claims that it is easier to live with the devil than with his wife. But that statement is not true; if a man lives with a real demon for one day, he will run back to his wife and start calling her a true angel of God. Your wife is not a witch and your husband is not a killer as you claim, both of you should rather prayerfully work through it so that you will not go to hell for keeping grudges and bitterness against each other. However, if you insist that your wife is a witch and she will kill you if you don't divorce her, don't you think it is better to die in the hand of 'the witch' and go to Heaven than to disobey God and go to hell?
God's desire is for our homes to be havens of love and peace. Marriage is to be enjoyed, not endured; therefore we must build our home on God's principle of love and submission. Don't make life unbearable for your spouse. Be informed that if your spouse goes to hell because of you, you can't escape it. Don't prevent your spouse from serving God, living a righteous life and fulfilling their purpose in life.

Prayer/Action
* I declare war on the spirit of divorce in my family, and church, in Jesus’ name.
* Whatever causes divorce, I destroy it, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father in the name Jesus, as the sixth month walks away, I command all evil patterns to walk away from my destiny, in the mighty name of Jesus.