Divine Pardon

Sunday 23 July
READ: 2 Sam. 24: 1 - 24
MORE LESSON: 1 Jn. 1: 7 – 9

David was a young shepherd when the Lord picked him up and made him king. The Lord increased him and he waxed greater and greater till he became very great. One day, when David had become very mighty, he decided it was time to take a census of all the people in his kingdom so that he could have an idea of how great he had become. After he counted the people, the Lord was angry with him and the Lord gave him three punishments to choose from. Either the land faced seven years of famine, or he fell into the hands of his enemies for three months or the Lord struck the land with a plague for three days. All these three were disastrous but David had learnt a lesson in his relationship with God; he had learnt the depth of the mercy and compassion of the Lord. Therefore David said, ...let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man: 2 Sam 24:14.
It is important to have an understanding of the mercies of the Lord. God is full of compassion and forgiveness. Even if you have committed a blunder and you are suffering the consequence, there is mercy for you in God. When someone suffers because of the mistake he made, men may say that it serves him right but God looks at the blood of His Son and feels compassion. God is merciful; you can always run back to Him when you err.
David chose to be struck by plague from Heaven instead of famine or for his enemies to afflict him. As the angel of the Lord went around striking people dead, David went beseeching the Lord for mercy. Then the Lord told him to sacrifice an animal on an altar. The sacrifice of the seed of that land was what broke the siege of death. The Lord saw the blood and stayed the hand of the angel of death.
David understood the mercy of the Lord and the power of the seed, so the angel of death was stopped before he destroyed all the people of Israel. The blood of Jesus also has been shed as a seed for you and every plague, pestilence and death is stayed from you. The seed of the Blood breaks the siege of death. If the blood of an animal could appease God, how much more the blood of His Son. That lamb in any case is symbolic of the Lamb of God that took away the sins of the whole world. Verses 1 and 3 tell us it was the anger of God that moved David to do this evil, that even the counsel of his army commander could not stop him. However, by a single sacrifice God reverted the evil. In the same way we are sometimes moved into acts mysteriously, but the blood of Jesus is the antidote for all errors. By truth and mercy iniquity is purged (Prov. 16:6). Never argue or justify sin, rather truthfully seek for pardon by the blood of Jesus, and bounce back again.

Prayer/Action
* Pray that God will not use your enemy’s cain as a tool of discipline for you, in Jesus’ name.
* Pray that God’s mercy will never depart from you, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
I prophesy never again to have repeated tragedy and evil patterns in my life, family, and church, in the mighty name of Jesus.

God of Preparation II

Saturday 22 July
READ: 2 Kings 6: 8 -12
MORE LESSON: Psa. 23: 5

In 2 Kings 6: 8 – 12, Israel was at war with Syria and God prepared Israel ahead of every attack by prophetic prior information. Prior information prepares and preparation makes you smarter than your opponents. God revealed the enemy's plan ahead of time and made His children to be prepared. The reason for prophecy is so that you might be prepared. Our God is a God of preparation. He has fore-knowledge and so can inform us ahead to make us prepared. Don't follow a god who has no fore knowledge of what would happen. There are some people whose god is as surprised as they are when some things happen to them. Our God has the power of fore knowledge, prior information and preparation. It was preparation that brought victory to Israel in the war with Syria. Each time the enemies laid an ambush, they waited in vain because the Lord had prepared His people. Today, God will give you the prior information that will save you from destruction. Privileged information that will make you prepared to cash in on rare opportunities will also come your way today, in Jesus’ name.
Individuals must learn to prepare, the Church must learn to prepare and the nation must also learn to prepare. Economic down-turn happens because when a country is in surplus, there is no preparation ahead. Even natural disasters can be well-managed when there is preparation. On one of the occasions I was in the United States, I discovered that if a tornado or earthquake is to happen, they would start announcing it weeks before. They would start moving people away from the likely target places and putting emergency measures in place. In fact, in Israel, they are so militarily prepared that they have bunkers in every vicinity in the event of attacks. They have prepared rooms that are air tight, internally ventilated and secure, in case of a chemical attack against the country. The strength of a man is his preparation and the strength of a nation is her preparation.
So when David said, Thou prepareth a table before me in the presence of my enemies: Psa. 23:5, he was making us to understand that God gives victory over enemies by the power of preparation. This is the day when you must start preparing spiritually, mentally, academically, financially and in every way for the future that you picture. Greatness in life is at the mercy of preparation. God prepares; so if you are a true child of God, you must also learn to prepare.

Prayer/Action
* Tell the Lord to always prepare you ahead of your adversaries.
* Decree that whatever is preparing against you shall never prevail.
* Declare that honour, beauty, favour and appointment with greatness are your portion today.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father in fruitfulness I shall be fruitful, in prosperity I shall prosper, nothing that works against me shall prosper, in the mighty name of Jesus.

God of Preparation I

Friday 21 July
READ: Psa. 23: 5
MORE LESSON: Matt. 25: 1 – 12

Preparation is everything. A prepared man cannot be easily defeated. When a student that is prepared walks into an examination hall, you can see confidence ooze from him. Also, an unprepared student is not difficult to identify; you can see him physically fidgeting, panicking and looking around. If you don't want to see shame in life, you must learn to prepare. Preparation makes for orderliness and beauty. When good preparation is made, you see everything well set in its place and beautiful in its season. Preparation is the reason we spend time to dress up: we prepare to look good when we go out. Some people spend time to prepare to look good for the day but do not spend time to prepare for destiny.
I have noticed that a lot of believers don't prepare. They don't prepare for the Lord's coming; they don't prepare for examination; they don't prepare for marriage; they don't prepare for their financial future. They always want to cover everything with spiritual gymnastics. Note a man who was not saving and investing money but wasting all his resources on unnecessary things. When economic challenges and needs pile up, he starts fasting and praying. He could have avoided trouble by good preparation. Similarly, a student who didn't read and attend lectures, may wait to bring his pen to be anointed when it is exam time. No matter how anointed a pen is, if the head of the student is not anointed or is empty, there is nothing for that pen to write.
In the parable of the ten virgins, what actually differentiated the wise from the foolish was simply preparation. The five wise virgins were prepared but the five foolish virgins were unprepared (Matt. 25: 1 – 12). Eventually the five foolish virgins were trying to use prayer and emotion to do what they should have used adequate preparation to do. It is only when you prepare that you will not see shame.
Even God prepares. The Bible says about God that, Thou preparest a table before me...: Psa. 23:5. This shows that God prepares ahead of needs; God never allows Himself to be caught unprepared. Before an incident occurs, He prepares. In 1 Kings 17: 3 - 4, during the time of famine, God said to Elijah, I have prepared the brook Cherith and I have prepared ravens to bring food to you. When the brook was about to dry, God prepared a widow in Zarephath to feed Elijah. (1 Kings 17: 7 – 9). God prepared the earth and all the food that man would need before He created man. Our God is a God of preparation, and as His children, we must also learn to prepare for things ahead of time.

Prayer/Action
* Lord, prepare me as a vessel for Your glory, in Jesus’ name.
* Ask for the presence of the Lord in all that you prepare to do even today.
* Pray that you will not miss out of God's preparation for your life.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Today I receive new ideas, grace, and renewal of strength to advance in destiny from glory to glory, in the name of Jesus.

The Glory for the Story

Thursday 20 July
READ: Psa. 3:1-4
MORE LESSON: Judg. 11:1-5, 12:7

Every man has a story. Some people’s stories have broken and shattered their lives while others’ stories have drawn them closer to God who is able to change a man's story into glory. When God wants to end the mysteries of a man, He gives him glory, which is much more than the story of pain, sorrow, failure, and troubles he has gone through in life. The psalmist had a story to tell; those that troubled and rose against him increased. Because of the stories around his life many told to him he could not find help even in God. No matter the troubles you have gone through in life, be sure that the glory that shall follow is greater than the story; For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory: 2 Cor. 4:17.
Stories of different people’s lives range from those of difficulties and challenges faced in life; challenges associated with different stages of life, the good and the bad times. This makes some to believe that life has not been fair to them. The experience you may be going through could be the process that you need to get into your glory. Let not the present process or the path of life distract you from the glorious destiny ahead. The Bible records concerning Jesus Christ that for the glory that was set before Him, He endured the cross despising the shame and is now sitting down at the right hand of the throne of God.
To journey from story into the glory God has ordained for you, you must do the following things.
1. Have the picture of the glory you desire. Many times we lose sight of the glory ahead of the story at hand (Heb. 12:2).
2. Ask the Lord to end the negative story with His glory. There is always a role which God plays in every story that will end up in glory (Psa. 42:8).
3. Change the script of the story by your confession and words of prophecy upon your life. No matter what the enemy desires, it will not end as the enemy has planned. Speak a positive ending to your story. Rehearse the day of your testimony and prophesy the counsel of God for your life (Est. 9:1, 22).
4. Hope in the Lord; Why are you cast down, oh my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him: Psa. 42:5.
From our text, the psalmist had a testimony of God becoming a shield for him, his glory and the lifter of his head. In the name of Jesus, your story will end in glory.

Prayer/Action
* Declare that your story will not end as the enemy desires, in Jesus' name.
* Ask God to change the story of sickness, pain, failure, and endless waiting to a glorious testimony, victory, great beauty and triumph, in Jesus' name.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
I command the love of God for my life to swallow up every force of hatred and bad luck over my destiny, in Jesus' name.