The Land that the Lord Cares for

Tuesday 15 August
READ: Deut. 11: 11 -15
MORE LESSON: Psa. 92: 12 – 15

There are lands that the government specially cares for and invests more resources there than in other places. This might be because they get more resources from such places. Beyond the care of the government, there is a land that the Lord cares for. The text of today describes a particular land which drinks water from Heaven. This means that it is not the waters of the earth that irrigate that land but the water from Heaven. So if there is drought on the earth and all the water dries up; this land still receives water because its source of water is from Heaven, not earth.
The Bible also says that the eyes of the Lord are upon this land from the beginning to the end of the year. Security men and military personnel can be watching other lands but this land is watched by the eyes of the Lord to ensure security and prosperity. When the eyes of the Lord are upon a land, there is favour upon that land. So in that land there is plenty and abundance throughout the year. As you sow your seed, plenty will follow you. Isa. 35:8 says that a highway shall be there, which shall be called the highway of holiness, The eyes of the Lord cannot be on the land where a sinner stands and He does not care for it. May be that is the reason you have been
struggling and sweating without results. You will witness a change if you give your life to Jesus and walk into the land of plenty. Mercy is the key to the land of plenty.
This land is your life and destiny, it is not merely a country somewhere on the earth. The Bible is talking about you and your family when it describes the land that the Lord cares for. So declare confidently that 'I am the land that the Lord cares for.' You do not need to be afraid of the problems in the land because you are cared for by the Lord Himself. The destiny of the righteous is a life that the Lord God cares for. In Psa. 1:1-5, David said such righteous life shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water; obviously it shall not see drought. Also, Moses wrote in Deut. 8:7-9 referring to the promised land (Canaan), For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land...wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it.... Beloved, you are that promised land, you are God’s canaan, rise up now and claim those promises for the land (your destiny) that the Lord cares for.

Prayer/Action
* Proclaim that your life /home is the land that the Lord has blessed, in Jesus’ name.
* Declare that you will walk in abundance all the days of your life, in Jesus’ name.
* Tell the devil your life is a land that God cares for, in Jesus’ mighty name.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
From this time on, thou grace of God, answer all my enemies at the gate, in the name of Jesus.

Because You are Blessed II

Monday 14 August
READ: Gen. 39: 7-21
MORE LESSON: Psa. 105:17- 22

Righteous men go through difficult times and they wonder 'why me?' At such times people might even point at what sin they must have committed. However, it is possible that the adversity is not because of sin but because the blessing of God is on your life.
Joseph was the well-favoured and highly blessed child of Jacob. However, from childhood, it was always the story of one trouble or the other for him. He escaped death narrowly from the hands of his brothers only because they decided at the last minute that they were better off making money from selling him than killing him. He landed as a slave in Potiphar's house and God's blessing began to find expression on his life so much that his master noticed that his household was blessed because of Joseph's presence. All of a sudden, his master's wife lied against him because he refused to compromise his righteousness. Thus Joseph landed in prison.
In all these seeming calamities, there is a testimony that was constant about Joseph. From his father's house through the house of slavery to the prison, the Bible says ...the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper: Gen 39:23. Therefore all the adversity and difficulties were not because the Lord had forsaken him, rather it was because the Lord was with him. He passed through difficulties because he was blessed, not because he was cursed.
You would notice that in spite of the difficulties, he prospered. Everything he laid his hands upon prospered despite all the opposition. This is the evidence that God was with him and was working out something in his life. The Lord will not leave you without a memorial of His blessing. If you look diligently, you will see evidence that you are blessed in spite of the challenges.
Joseph was thrown into prison because he was blessed. In the prison, he prospered and was in charge of fellow prisoners. It was through his prison experience that he met the person that mentioned his name to Pharaoh. In one night, Joseph moved from the prison to become the prime minister.
Anyone who saw Joseph as prime minister of Egypt would exclaim that he was such a fortunate and blessed young man. But they wouldn't know what he went through to get to the place of blessing. He didn't start becoming blessed on the throne of Egypt. He was blessed all along in the pit, prison and as a slave. I want you to know that you are blessed in spite of your situation and it will soon be obvious for all to see. What you are going through may not be pleasant but it is because you are blessed. So refuse to be distracted, don't concentrate on the pains and the questions, just keep a close walk with God in all situations and your sweat will turn to sweetness.

Prayer/Action
* Pray that in all you go through in life, the presence of the Lord will not leave you.
* Pray that you will be conscious of the abiding presence of God all your days.
* Declare that you are too blessed to be cursed, in Jesus’ mighty name.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, I receive grace and favour for unusual preference wherever I have a request this month, in the name of Jesus.

Because You are Blessed I

Sunday 13 August
READ: Gen. 39: 21 - 23
MORE LESSON: Gen. 49: 22 – 26

Joseph was a blessed man but the story of his blessing is a rare case. He was blessed but he passed through very difficult situations that made it look like he wasn't blessed. In actual sense, it was the outworking of the blessing upon his life that made him pass through those adverse situations in life. The good thing about Joseph is that he maintained a good attitude through it all. He understood that the reason he was persecuted was because he was blessed and not because he was cursed. Many times you pass through difficulties not because you are not blessed but because you are blessed.

Joseph had lost his mother as a small child and his brothers were jealous of him because his father loved him. Right from childhood, he knew adversity. The brothers tried to kill him and eventually sold him to human traffickers. Looking at his life on the surface, one would think that he is a child who had ill-luck. On the other hand, all the things he went through were all because he was the one that the Lord had chosen to be blessed more than his brethren. All the difficulties you are going through could be because you are blessed.
Joseph was sold as a slave to Egypt but, in the house of his slave master, the Bible records, And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian: Gen 39:2. Can you imagine a slave being called prosperous? that was Joseph for you. He was a slave but he was prosperous. In fact, it was the blessing upon his life that made his master to prosper. Joseph was doing well until the wife of his master started to entice him to commit adultery with her. He refused and persecution started again. He eventually ended up in the prison. Why? Because he was blessed! The blessing on Joseph's life was so obvious the woman wanted him to sleep with her. The woman would have partnered with the devil to corrupt and destroy the blessing on Joseph's life.
This is a lesson for all; Joseph was blessed but he needed righteousness to sustain the blessing because the Lord will not be with a sinner. The prosperity of the Lord belongs to the righteous. Joseph passed through a lot of hardship and persecution both of which were an outworking of the blessing upon his life. If it was someone else, he would have become bitter and started complaining, 'Why are all these happening to only me?' However Joseph maintained a right attitude from the pit to slavery and from slavery to the prison till he finally got to the throne. So all that he passed through was because he had a blessing upon his life that was on its way to happen. He ran the race with patience, godliness and commitment to his God-given dream and he made it to the throne. The pathway to the throne can be thorny but the godly will not turn back.

Prayer/Action
* Give God thanks for choosing you for the blessing, in Jesus’ name.
* Pray that the blessing of God in your life shall be sustained and nothing will rob you of it, in Jesus’ name.
* Prophesy that all adversity is working for your good, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
By the efficacy of the blood of Jesus, no litigation against me and my family in hell shall stand; I declare them null and void today, in the name of Jesus.

Vainglory

Saturday 12 August
READ: Phil. 2: 3
MORE LESSON: Matt. 5: 13-16

When men seek self glory it is vain. Vainglory is the glory that a man seeks for himself without allowing God to bestow it on him, ...so for men to search their own glory is not glory: Prov. 25:27. It is when a man does things to be seen and praised by men. Whatever you do to get praise for yourself will not attract the praise of God. If you seek your own glory, you will not see the glory of God on your life.
There are people who give money in church and they are offended because the pastor did not announce, “we thank God for Brother X who the Lord used to meet this need”. The pastor is in trouble if he acknowledges and praises the input of many in the church anonymously. The question is, 'Are they doing it for man or for God?' If you are doing it for God, then you don't need the praise of man. Do not let men give you all the reward you will get because they have praised and blown your trumpet; rather let God who sees in the secret reward you openly. Some brethren even complain, “Our church shows no appreciation, you come for meetings, contribute to the work and serve in the workforce and no one even says thank you.” Are you doing it to be thanked by men or to be rewarded by God?
Gal. 5:26 says, Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. Vain glory stems from pride of life; it is when self wants to be seen and praised. Pride is a terrible destroyer as demostrated in the fall of Lucifer from Heaven to hell to become the devil. He was a beautiful angel who said in his heart that as attractive as he was, he was not getting due attention because God was always the subject of attraction. So he wanted to be seen and praised as well and he thought the best way to do it was to exalt himself above God so that all the attention that God got would come to him. Consequently he was cast down to hell. Pride always precedes a fall and vain glory will always lead to loss of God's glory.
If you want to amount to anything great in the hands of God, pride and vain glory must be cast out of your life. You must learn to do everything to the glory of God. This is not to say good deeds should not be appreciated in church or anywhere but that appreciation should not be the motive and purpose of doing anything for God, so that if you are praised give glory to God who enabled you to do what is praised and if not there should be no offence, all must be to the praise of God. Showmanship has no eternal reward, only a clap is its reward. All things should be done that God be praised, not us; that is the will of God.

Prayer/Action
* Pray that your service shall not be to seek vain glory nor the praise of men, in Jesus’ name.
* Pray that you will not miss the reward for your services in God’s vineyard.
* Ask for grace to be spiritually minded in your spiritual service, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, the mercy You have shown me shall be extended to all my family members, none shall see death before seeing You, in the name of Jesus.