Mr. Self II

Thursday 27 July
READ: Gal. 5: 19 - 24
MORE LESSON: 1 Cor. 13: 1 – 8

As I worked among students in my early days in ministry, I noticed that when you go to rooms where believers lived together, you would meet everywhere untidy and scattered, whereas some that kept a separate room had it tidy and clean. I began to wonder what was responsible for this. On pressing a bit further, I began to hear from those that stayed together, “I cleaned the room yesterday, he does not even arrange the shoes. Does he think I'm a fool?” Even though they were Christians, self began to take its toll on them.
When self enters the home, it brings troubles along. This is the reason you must make sure you give no room for selfishness in your life and home. One of the things that self introduces is anger. It makes you angry with the other person; you believe the other person is the problem. However, the problem is the self - seeking nature in you. This is because even when the person does wrong, if you are selfless and full of love, you will overlook the faults. Self brings bitterness and strife. You can't even smile at a fellow believer any more. It is self that makes a sister avoid speaking to another in the church because of ill feelings. Self brings envy and it is rooted in pride.
In the kingdom of sin, there is a kind of chain reaction that happens. No sin works alone; it is linked to other sins and drags them in wherever it is given opportunity. If you are angry with someone, you might become bitter about the person and so you begin to backbite or slander the victim. Before you know it you have hatred in your heart and then you behave badly towards the person that even you are surprised at yourself.
This is the reason why you must nip sin in the bud before the chain reaction starts. The way to do it is that whenever you see any manifestation of self that wants to suggest wrong to you about a person, quickly silence it by the love of God. When you don't even feel like loving the person because of something he/she has done, you have to make yourself walk in love. The love of God is the cure for selfishness. Let love find expression through you. Love both those that deserve and those that do not deserve to be loved. The Bible says that love covers a multitude of sins. So if you are walking in love towards someone and the other person takes you for a ride, you just keep walking in love. It is not because you are a fool; it is because you have crucified self. Do not let selfishness rule you, rather dominate self by God's love.

Prayer/Action
* Pray that the true Christian character will be seen in all that you do, in Jesus’ name.
* Ask God for grace to live a crucified life, in Jesus’ mighty name.
* Destroy the manifestation of flesh you have been battling with, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
As the Lord lives I shall not be a slave in destiny, I shall rise and not be beneath, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Mr. Self I

Wednesday 26 July
READ: Phil. 2: 3 – 12
MORE LESSON: Luke 12: 17 – 20

Selfishness is the source of all sins in a man's life. At the root of every sin is the desire to gratify self. Col 3: 9 says, Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds. Self is the 'old man' - the selfish nature that makes man to sin. When self is exalted in a man's life, he always thinks of himself above others and wants to be seen as number one. Self is that unregenerated part of a man that is unhappy when he sees another person with something better than what he has.
Selfishness is the root of all wrongdoing. Sin has its source in a man thinking of himself only without giving a thought to what the other person or God wants. This is the reason a man will take another man's property without giving thought to how the owner would feel. It is why a politician would embezzle billions of naria and use it for himself and his family while countless others are left in poverty and lack. That is why a man would leave his wife and children at home and be pursuing young girls. The man is only thinking of gratifying himself; he is not thinking of his wife or the children. Selfishness can be seen even in ministry when the desire to be seen as a powerful minister is what drives a man and not the desire to see people helped and God glorified.
The rich fool in Luke 12: 17 – 20 was so full of himself and didn't care about anyone else. In his monologue recorded in the Bible, he used the words 'I' and 'my' more than ten times without taking a thought for anyone else. It was because of selfishness that he was destroyed. Phil 2:3-4 says, Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. All works of the flesh (Gal 5: 19 - 21) are the manifestation of selfishness in a man's life.
So how do you get out of selfishness? Love is the solution. You should not think of yourself only, you must think about the well-being of others as well. You should not live for self only, you must love your neighbour as yourself. When you love God with all your heart and your neighbour as yourself, you will not do things that will hurt God or harm your neighbour. Thus you will stay away from sin.

Prayer/Action
* Declare that the old man is crucified in you and you will no longer live to gratify its desires, in the name of Jesus.
* Ask God to help you walk in true love towards all men, in Jesus’ name.
* Bind self in your life and release yourself to God's leading, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, every covenant of terminal disease known and unknown to me, I terminate it over my life and family, in the mighty name of Jesus..

Godly Friends

Tuesday 25 July
READ: Prov. 18: 21-24
MORE LESSON: Dan. 2: 14 – 19

One of the secrets of success in life is having the right association. You must surround yourself with the right people if you want to go far in life. Among the people around you, your friends have a lot of influence over you. This is the reason having godly friends is not just for good companionship, it is one of the principles of success in life. Decisions are vital in the school of success, and your friends considerably influence your decisions.
As a child of God who is filled with the Spirit of God, you must develop friendship with people of same Spirit. They are the ones that can make the right contribution to your life. If you surround yourself with unbelievers, in the day of trouble, they will counsel you with the wisdom of the devil and sink you deeper in the quagmire of trouble. If you have friends that are filled with the Spirit of God, when you need help, they will speak words of God into your life and you will be lifted. To a large extent, your association determines your destiny.
Daniel had a problem because the king had instructed that all his wise men and counsellors be killed because they couldn't give him the answer to his puzzle. When they got to Daniel’s house to kill him, he begged them to give him time and quickly ran to meet his friends. He didn't start looking for godly friends that day; he had developed a viable relationship with them earlier. Don't think you can be hanging around with the wrong guys and then on the day of trouble, you look for emergency spiritual friends, it won't work. Daniel called his friends and they prayed all night. The mystery was revealed to them as they prayed and the Lord saved Daniel and his friends.
It is important to have the right friends, therefore be careful about your friends. Many times God uses your immediate companions to counsel you and satan uses your immediate companions to destroy you. Your friends are closer to you than everyone else and they are the first people to identify that you have a problem and they can influence you positively or negatively. Make good friends. Make friends with God's children in the house of God where all of you believe the same thing and are brought up to hold on to the same truths. You need godly friends in the journey of life.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God to surround you with godly people, in Jesus’ name.
* Ask God to deliver you from relationships that take you far from God.
* Pray that you will be a God sent companion to people around you in their time of need, in the mighty name of Jesus.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
I command the forces of good news to show up for me and fill my day, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Divine Problems

Monday 24 July
READ: Rom. 8: 28
MORE LESSON: John 21: 1 -19

I have discovered that God sometimes takes advantage of problematic situations to reveal His will to people. God can use situations – even negative ones - to help give directions and instructions. When you pass through such situations, you must be submissive and sensitive. Submissive, not to fight God's will and insist on your own way; sensitive, to pick the message the Lord is passing across and not unnecessarily delay the process. In Luke 5: 1 -11, Peter and some other would-be-disciples were fishing and they laboured for long but caught nothing. Then Jesus showed up at the river and asked to use Peter’s boat. If Peter was having a good catch, he probably would not have released the boat to the Master. However, the lack of a catch made him promtly release his boat to the Lord and the Lord used it, blessed him with a good catch and called him into ministry. It was the situation of the day that worked out God's purpose in Peter’s life.
Later in John 21: 1 – 11, Peter returned to fishing after the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus and some of the disciples followed him. Then something happened again; he laboured and didn't catch anything. The Master showed up and instructed him to throw the net on the right side. The instruction of the Lord gave him both a good catch and restored him to ministry.
It seems whenever God needed Peter's attention, He allowed a hard time in his fishing business. Peter loved fishing and having challenges in it made him to seek the Lord who, in turn, used the opportunity to bless and restore him. The truth is that some people will not seek God passionately until they have difficulties here and there. The Lord in His love allows them to experience things that will make them come home to Him. The intent of the Lord is to use the opportunity to solve their problems and more importantly, reveal Himself to them.
By the time the Lord is revealed to them beyond the solution to their situation, they become grounded in the Lord and stand for Him irrespective of situations. For Peter's call and restoration, the Lord needed a troublesome situation to get his attention. After Peter grew and became Spirit filled, he was a rock and was established both in good and adverse situations. We should grow to the point that it is not trouble that makes us seek God; rather seek Him for who He is.
This is why Apostle Paul said, ... all things work together for good to them that love God...: Rom. 8:28. Note that all things work together only for those who love the Lord, not just anybody. When one may think one has done something wrong and is being afflicted as a consequence, Paul the apostle says God can still make it to work together for your good.

Prayer/Action
* Pray that your present situation will turn out to the praise of God, in Jesus’ name.
* Ask God to reveal Himself to you in your situation, in Jesus’ name.
* Pray that the situations of life will not turn you away from the Lord, in the mighty name of Jesus.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
I decree strength into my new week, I shall not be weak, I shall not faint, I shall live in good health, in the mighty name of Jesus.