Born for all Seasons

Monday 25 December
READ: Isa. 9:1-7  
MORE LESSON:  Lk. 2:1-14

One of the greatest things about Christianity is that unlike all other religions and religious leaders, we have a leader that lives forever. Christmas was yesterday, but Christ is yesterday, today, tomorrow and forever. Jesus was born to live eternally as Isaiah the prophet said concerning Him, Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this: v. 7. One of His names is the everlasting Father, meaning He that does not expire. Kingdoms rise and fall, men live and die, things begin and end; indeed all things expire with use or time but the gift of God, Jesus of Nazareth, lives forever! He sees the beginning of all things and seasons and sees their end. He rules all seasons and is beautiful in all.

Wisdom demands that we celebrate Him because He was before any man, and at the end of all men He will still be. He is awesome! Let all the people of God rejoice today because we have a Master that the whole world, time and situations bow to, And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men: Lk. 2:10,13-14. Thank God we are celebrating the birth of Jesus our Saviour this great season. We join Heaven to say it loud, Glory to God in the highest.

But beyond this as we celebrate Christmas, one challenge still stands tall against us. It is the issue of the purpose of today, the gift of salvation, for which Jesus was born. In the account of the birth of Jesus in Luke 2, the angels and the entire hosts of Heaven were celebrating but only a few on the earth were aware of what was happening. Even at the manger where the baby was and above which the star rested, there was no indication that a King was born. Over two thousand years after, how many on the earth have heard, known and partaken of this great gift that is being celebrated? Whatever the statistics, obviously there is still much to be done. So, to celebrate the King that is born, “let us go a fishing”. 

Prayer/Action
*  Tell God you want all your seasons to be filled with Jesus always, in Jesus’ name.
*  Promise Jesus you will be His ambassador for life, in Jesus’ name.
* Pray that the joy of this season will fill all hearts as the kingdom of our Lord rules in all men, in the mighty name of Jesus.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Jesus, You are my life, hero and champion, I celebrate You today and forever with all that I own, in the name of Jesus.

Product of Light

Sunday 24 December
READ: Matt. 5:14-16 
MORE LESSON:  Lk. 10:30-36

It is a common saying that light is good. The world is unimaginable without light. Light heralds the day, assists in rain formation, assists in biological processes of plant and animal life, it is convertible (solar power) for domestic and industrial use. The generated light is significant in our daily life.
In our text today, Jesus the light of men declared that His children are the light of the world. Salt sweetens and preserves. Therefore, children of God are the salt of the earth also. We are the joy and hope of the world to bring men back to God. Where there is light, it dominates. As the Lord shines His light in our lives, we shine it to the world to show the light of life.

Christ is the light of the Church and the Church is the light of the world. The problem with believers is that we tend to hide our light. That should not be the case. Naturally, darkness bows to light and anywhere light is, there is life. The question then is, “How do we show forth the light in us?”
1. Point men and women to God for salvation.
2. Stand against ungodliness and injustice.
3. Live in obedience to the Word of God.
4. Don't compromise your faith.
5. Speak out against evil.

And above all, in word and deed, let God be glorified. We must desire like the song writer, “Lord I want to be like Jesus inner my heart”; “Lord, I want to be more holy inner my heart”; “Lord I want to be a Christian inner my heart”. Believers must arise and shine! We must take the light of Jesus to the market place by what we do more than by what we say. The world will see Jesus more in us by our work than by our speaking in tongues. The New Living Translation puts it this way, ...let your good deeds shine out for all to see...: Matt. 5:16 (NLT). Like Jesus in Acts 10:38, the anointing upon Him made Him to do ...good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil...(NLT).

Feeding the hungry, providing for the poor, strengthening the weak, clothing the naked, caring for the orphan and widow are ways that we the light are called to shine. Jesus did it that way, the apostles followed suit, it must not stop with us. Preaching salvation begins with the forgiveness and cleansing of sins but does not stop there. The Church and her people must preach the compassionate, caring Jesus both within and without the assembly. Shine the light by your work.

Prayer/Action
* Ask the Lord Jesus to help you to be more like Him as a shining light, in Jesus’ name.
* Pray that the light of Jesus will shine to the unsaved world through you, in Jesus’ name.
* Pray that your life will shine for the world to see, in the mighty name of Jesus.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Jesus, if Your pregnancy could not be aborted, and King Herod could not stop Your birth, connected to Your loins, my destiny, even if delayed, can never be stopped; I rest my case, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Walk in the Spirit

Saturday 23 December
READ: Gal. 5:16-26 
MORE LESSON:  Acts 10:38

Sometime ago, I counselled a young man in his mid-twenties to make him stand in the Christian faith. Unfortunately, he kept falling and rising, and one day he came to me to say he could no longer continue in the faith.  He asked,  “Sir, how can I make it?” I was glad at his question. I showed him Matt. 7:13-14 to confirm his feelings about the Christian race, Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Jesus’ admonition in this passage attests to the fact that the gate to eternal life (the Christian race)is narrow and the road is difficult.

But He has not left us to go through the rough road alone. He provided a carrier to bear us: the person of the Holy Spirit. The Scripture reading today gives us a guide on how to enjoy the services of this great carrier. The summary of the guideline is: Live in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit (v. 25). To live in the Spirit entails being alive (fully awake and excited) about the Holy Spirit, hearing and understanding His instructions and directions for your daily living.

To walk in the Spirit involves being obedient to (respect and carry out) His instructions and directions. The Holy Spirit is resident in every Christian and He is ready to instruct, guide and direct every single step of his daily life. When you practise this, you will find the Christian race easy and sweet to run. Walk in the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Jesus did not come to the earth as a spirit. He walked and lived on the earth as human, with flesh and blood, and was tempted and confronted with the same issues as men are but was victorious in all because He submitted Himself completely to the Spirit of God from arrival to departure.

That was why when He was leaving the earth He left nothing behind for the believer than the same Holy Spirit that helped Him triumph. Whosoever therefore will listen and obey the Holy Spirit’s directives on the earth will not do less than Jesus did. In fact, he will do greater than Jesus did.
To achieve these, do the following:
1. Ask the Holy Spirit to come upon you fully.
2. Learn to pray in tongues for a minimum of one hour everyday.
3. Ask the Holy Spirit for approval before you do anything.
4. Ask God to renew His Spirit upon you today.

Prayer/Action
* Ask the Lord to grant you grace to live and walk in the Spirit, in Jesus’ name.
* Ask for the help of the Holy Spirit in your daily walk with Him, in Jesus’ name.
* Receive the grace to understand the directions of the Spirit every time, in Jesus’ mighty name.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
My prayers will not go unanswered, my fire shall not be quenched, and my glory shall stand like the sun, which no man can challenge, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Living by Faith

Friday 22 December
READ: Heb. 11:1-40 
MORE LESSON:  Psa. 44:1-3

The Bible tells us that we are saved by grace through faith. It is through the exercise of faith that a man is saved. However, it is not enough to be saved through faith and abandon the faith that is responsible for our salvation. George Muller is remembered for his ministry of supporting thousands of orphans without advertising his needs to man but God alone. At times, lacking the very bread to give the orphans, their needs were always met at meal time. Muller believed in the literal necessity of praying, Give us this day our daily bread: Matt. 6:11. As exceptional as Muller was when compared to contemporary Christians, he only did what all true Christians must do, which is to live by faith. Living by faith is the secret of extra-ordinary life.

There are two ways to live, living by sight and living by faith. The book of Hebrews says without faith it is impossible to please God. The greatest tragedy of man on earth is to live without pleasing God, that is, living without faith. Living by faith draws you closer to God, which takes the burden of daily struggles from you. The faith way of living does not stop your work, but adds value to your work. Considering the wind before sowing is one way to walk by sight. Thank God for the life of Isaac who sowed in a dry land in the year of famine. Because his sowing was an act of faith, he reaped in the same year a hundred fold. God's Word is the root of faith. No man can have faith without the knowledge of God's Word as faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). Without faith it is impossible to please God and without the Bible, it is impossible to have faith. So it is God's Word that produces faith in us and our faith makes us to please God and because we please God by faith we obtain good report (Heb. 11:2).

Therefore, faith is the key to a successful living because by it we please God and He in turn gives us good report in life. God gave good report about Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Daniel, Joseph, Moses, and all who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouth of lions, quenched the violence of fire (vs. 33-34). All these set examples for us that living by faith gives great results without struggle.

Prayer/Action
* Ask for the grace to walk by faith and not by sight, in Jesus’ name.
* Pray that you will be filled with the knowledge of God and that your faith will be built on His Word, in the mighty name of Jesus.
* Ask God to increase your faith in Him, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
I shall dwell on high, my place of defence shall be the munitions of the rock: bread shall be given me! My waters shall be sure, in the mighty name of Jesus.