Mercy for a Manasseh

Tuesday 30 January
READ: 2 Chronicles 33: 1 – 20 
MORE LESSON: Psalm 89: 30 - 37    

Manasseh was one of the most wicked kings in Israel's history. He led Israel astray into idol worship and, of all the kings before him, did evil beyond measure. He went as far as building altars for idols and placing them in the Holy of Holies of the temple of Jehovah. He thereby turned the tabernacle of God to a shrine for idols. Manasseh burned his sons as offerings to devils and gathered sorcerers and magicians as his court advisers. Manasseh is believed to be responsible for the death of Prophet Isaiah and many other men of God during his time. This king of Israel actually killed prophets as he was out to abolish the memorial of Jehovah from Israel. Manasseh was a man that can be rightly termed a stout enemy of God. The Lord spoke to him many times but his heart was hardened like Pharaoh’s.

God then sent Assyrian troops to conquer Israel. Manasseh was bound with chains and carried as a slave to Babylon. In the anguish and pain of slavery in the dungeon of Babylon, Manasseh pleaded with Jehovah for mercy. 2 Chron 33:12-13 records, And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God. When Manasseh prayed to God in affliction, the Lord did not only forgive him but took him out of the prison of Babylon, returned him to Israel and set him back on the throne as king. In fact, the prayer of Manasseh is one of the Apocryphal books that is recorded in some Jewish texts. This means that the prayer of repentance that the evil king prayed was documented and read as scripture.

The story of Manasseh is a testament of the depth of the mercy of God. There are 'Manassehs' in our world today and the Lord has not given up on them and neither should we. No matter the evil a man has done, he can obtain mercy and acceptance from God. If God can forgive and restore Manasseh, then there is no person that cannot find mercy. The mercy of God turns the vilest sinner to the greatest saint.

Another thing the Lord must have considered in restoring Manasseh was His covenant with David. God had promised David that even if his children go astray, He will punish them but He will not take the throne entirely from the seed of David. Manasseh was a seed of David, so he obtained mercy. This is a lesson; we should start sowing seeds of covenant with God that will give a harvest of mercy to our children when we are gone.      

Prayer/Action
* Ask God for His mercy for any sinner in your family (nuclear and extended).
* Ask that by God’s mercy, your long standing problems will give way.
* Ask that by God’s grace and mercy, every long standing judgement on you be averted.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Thou everlasting God, as long as You remain on the throne, my place cannot be empty in destiny, in the name of Jesus.

Desiring More of His Glory

Monday 29 January
READ: Exodus 33: 18-23       
MORE LESSON: Psalm 63:1-8  

Moses started a journey to a greater dimension of God's glory by making a request that nobody before him had ever made. Many of his fore fathers had encountered God but his divine encounter was different as  He saw God face to face (Exo. 24:10). The reason Moses was able to go far  in his encounter with God was that he was a man that  always desired more of God. Moses had experienced God at the burning bush (Exo. 3:2); he had spoken to God one on one as a man with his friend (Exo. 33:11); he had seen and performed miracles, signs and wonders but he was still not satisfied; so he asked for more and said, “Lord, show me Your glory”. Glory starts when a man desires and pursues the right thing which is the knowledge of the glory of God. I pray that you will make the right request to God today.

It is what a man desires that he attracts to himself. If he desires money, he  will always think, talk and attract money. However, the man that desires God and pants after Him will get God. When you acquire the glory of the Lord , you will attract every other thing to your life.  Therefore, the best desire a man can have is to know God more and partake of His glory. God granted Moses' desire  and he saw  God's face. After seeing the face of God, his own face began to shine and the children of Israel could not look at his face anymore but began to bow before him. When you contact God's glory, your countenance will shine and people will bow to you. He who kneels before God can stand before men.

It is time to desire God above all material things. Like Moses, become a man who is always hungry for more and more of God. Remember Matt. 5: 6, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Those that hunger and thirst for God are the ones that will equally receive the precious gifts and material blessings that people run after.
Steps to finding more of God
1. Accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
2. Accept that there is more of God than you have seen, Phil. 3:10.
3. Like King David, ask for more of God, Psa. 42:1.
4. Spend more time in the study of the Word and prayer, Jude 1:20, 2 Tim. 2:15.
5. Be sensitive to things of God and His workings, Lk. 24:15-16, 30-32.   

Prayer/Action
* Ask God to increase your thirst and hunger for Him.
* Ask God to reveal His glory through you.
* Receive the grace to be sensitive to God and His workings.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Thank You Jesus, my path shall drop honey, honey and honeycomb throughout 2018, in the mighty name of Jesus.   

A Nazarite

Sunday 28 January
READ: Judges 13:3-5    
MORE LESSON: Exodus 28:35-36

A man can be specially set apart unto the Lord. There is no greater blessing than when God lays claim on a person to be His own. To be the chosen one of the Lord is a rare privilege that is to be treasured and guarded with all of one's strength and life. There have been people whom God has specifically claimed for Himself. An example of such in the Bible were the Nazarites, set apart by God unto Himself. Any man that wants to be used mightily of God needs to be set apart.

According to the text, Nazarites were not allowed to live anyhow. Holiness of life is God's expectation for those that are set apart for Him. Nazarites were not permitted to drink wine or similar strong drinks, no unclean thing could be allowed near them, no razor should come upon their heads. They were to be wholly dedicated to the Lord. In return, the Lord endowed them with power and might so that they could accomplish the extra-ordinary tasks that the Lord placed before them.

This is a lesson for us today. To be a people of power, we need to be Nazarites unto the Lord. The secret to a life of exploits is total consecration and dedication to the Lord. One cannot live anyhow and expect to be a special vessel in the hand of the Lord. There are several ways one can do this. Moses was predestined by the Lord to be the deliverer of Israel and Aaron and his descendants were chosen by the Lord to be set apart as priests unto Him. As priests, they were given special conditions of living which demand holiness unto the Lord. We also are to be set apart as kings and priests to the Lord, therefore our watchword should be holiness unto the Lord. In Samuel's case, it was the mother that made a covenant with God that her seed would become a Nazarite unto the Lord. David, on his own part, positioned himself to be found of the Lord (Psa. 89: 20). David went after God with all his heart and positioned himself through service, worship and love for God till God's heart was stirred and He chose David for Himself and put His anointing upon him.

God has called you to Himself, it is left for you to set yourself aside specially for Him. Whoever you are, whatever you do and wherever you are found, you must realise that you can be a Nazarite unto the Lord. With God, there is a chosen place, a chosen nation, a chosen tribe and a chosen people. You can be God's chosen person in your generation.

Prayer/Action
* Consecrate yourself afresh for God’s service.
* Ask the Lord to use you greatly from today.
* Ask the Lord to cleanse your life of every filthiness that can hinder your total surrender to God.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, in 2018, my sun shall not go down; neither will my moon withdraw itself, in the mighty name of Jesus.   

Enlargement

Saturday 27 January
READ: 2 Kings 6: 1-2    
MORE LESSON: Psalm 118: 5    

Enlargement is becoming more, doing more, going forward and expanding; enlargement is about advancement. For there to be enlargement, one must confront and overcome whatever stops one from going forward. Enlargement therefore is making all-round progress.  A good way of understanding the definition of something is to define its opposite.  To know what enlargement means therefore, we need to understand its opposite, that is, reduction. The opposite of being enlarged is to be reduced, which is to go backward, to suffer subtraction, to lose.

The key to enlargement is to refuse smallness and deal with it. In 2 Kings 6:1-2, ...the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, "See now, the place where we dwell with you is too small for us. Please, let us go to the Jordan, and let every man take a beam from there, and let us make there a place where we may dwell".... (NKJV). If you want to be big in life, you must keep dealing with smallness; rebuke it, reject it, plan against it, work against it. Don't dream small because smallness is a disadvantage. Job 36:16 says, Indeed He would have brought you out of dire distress, Into a broad place where there is no restraint; And what is set on your table would be full of richness (NJKJV). If you ask to partner with God for enlargement, He will bring you out of your present narrow place into a broad place where there is no restraint.

From Psa 66: 12 we know there is a place called the wealthy place, Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place. The wealthy place is the place of enlargement. The Living Bible calls it the place of great abundance. Where is the place? Locate where it is and go for it. The place where the sons of the prophets were staying was too small for them. They had a challenge and they faced it.

The first thing anybody, who wants enlargement, should know is that for there to be enlargement, there must be challenges. If you want enlargement in life you should prepare for confrontation and challenges. It is conquering challenges that brings enlargement. Even though the sons of the prophets were spiritual people, they were confronted by a natural problem. The challenge they had was smallness. The way they dealt with it was by taking the initiative to resolve the problem. The prophets were mighty people of prayer but they came up against little things that could mess them up if they did not advance beyond their challenges. This shows that it is not only spiritual steps that need to be taken but also natural steps for there to be enlargement. Today, the place where you are is too small for you, go and get a bigger place, in Jesus’ name.

Prayer/Action
* Ask the Lord to bring you to your wealthy place.
* Declare that you shall not be small in destiny.
* Ask God to bring to your way challenges that will provoke enlargement for you.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, the Creator and Owner of 2018, grant that mercy, help, advancement and unlimited joy flow to me this year, in the name of Jesus.