Breasting the Tape

Monday 25 June
READ: 1 Corinthians 9: 24 – 27
MORE LESSON: Hebrews 12: 1 – 4

In a race, it is not the first person to start that is awarded the prize but the first to finish well. This means that no matter how well a man starts, it is only when he finishes well that he gets a reward. There is usually a tape at the end of the race to spot the first to cross the finish line, who is then declared a winner. No sport puts the tape at the beginning of the race because success is not as much of starting strong as it is of finishing strong.
The Christian journey is an earthly race to the heavenly tape. Like all races, it is not those who start the race well that gets the heavenly reward but those who finish well. As recorded in Matt. 24: 13, it is the one who runs the race to the end that gets saved. In a race, if a person takes off well and is leading the race, but just a moment before the finish line he suffers an injury or allows a distraction and falls down while others cross the line, he will not be reckoned to come first. An athlete who has been leading all along till just one step before the finish line will not be awarded the medal based on his previous performance. It is the one who crosses the line that is rewarded. Thus, all the labour from the beginning of the race can be lost at the verge of the finish line if you allow someone to suddenly overtake you. The first can become the last in a race and the last can become the first. It is not over until the tape is breasted and the finish line crossed.
There is a prize for running a race but the prize is not for everyone who runs. It is reserved for those that breast the tape. Jesus also ran a race when He lived on the earth. The tape for Him was the Cross. When He offered His life on the Cross and rose up again, He received the reward of a name that is above all names and He sat at the highest position in all universe. In the Christian journey, you are running for a prize, therefore, run till you finish well. Do not allow any distraction or stumbling block to knock you off before you breast the tape. The tape is breasted when Jesus comes or when a man is translated from the earth into eternity by death.
Be devoted to the Lord to the very end. The Bible says, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him: 1 Cor. 2: 9. However, these things are not for starters but for finishers. So, don't give up on the race until you breast the tape.

Prayer/Action
* Declare that in the race of life, you will start strong and finish strong.
* Prophesy that you will not be distracted, you will finish well.
* Declare that as the Lord lives, you will not quit, you will breast the tape.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: Every creation shall hear and testify of “the manifestation of the sons of God” in my life this year, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Reigning by Grace

Sunday 24 June
READ: 1 Kings 1: 5 – 39
MORE LESSON: Romans 5: 15 - 17

It is only through grace that a man can reign in life because by strength shall no man prevail (1 Sam. 2: 9). The opposite of grace is merit. It is either a man merits the throne of life through his works or he receives it through God's unmerited favour. It is only those who have decided to receive the throne through the grace that is in Jesus Christ that will reign in life. If you must qualify through works for everything you get in life, you will never get by in life and eternity. We must put our faith in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and reign through Him.
Even in the Old Testament, the throne was by grace and not by works. This is perfectly portrayed by the story of Solomon. He was born by Bathsheba, the woman about who there was a lot of wrong doing and controversy surrounding her becoming David's wife. There were many other 'more legitimate' sons of David who deserved the throne more than Solomon did. Solomon was young, inexperienced and born through the back door' into the family of David. Absalom, the handsome and charismatic son of David, had rebelled against his father and fought to reign as king but he didn't get it, rather, he lost his life. Adonijah was another of David's sons who tried to set himself as king. He connived with some bigwigs in the kingdom to be made king but he also didn't get it. Solomon didn't deserve the throne but King David set him as king to reign because of a covenant he had made that Solomon would reign after him.
Solomon was not qualified for the throne but he ended up on the throne; what is more, his reign surpassed all reigns before and after him in glory. Grace is the way to the throne. This is the reason Rom. 5: 17 says that those who have received the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through Jesus Christ. Through the finished work of Christ on the cross, we have access to all that pertain to life and godliness. Salvation is by grace, healing and prosperity are obtained by favour. Dominion and reigning in life are accessed by grace. It is only through the work of grace that we can be sure of making Heaven. According to Heb. 4:16, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Prayer/Action
* Ask the Lord to break protocol and place you where your merit cannot.
* Ask the Lord to confound the devices of your enemy and cause you to reign by grace.
* Declare that by the grace of Jesus, you have access to all that pertain to life.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: Good news angels, visit me this sixth month as you visited Elizabeth and Mary in the sixth month and end every delay and shame in my life as You did for them, in Jesus’ name.

The Man-Child

Wednesday 27 June
READ: Isaiah 66:7
MORE LESSON: Isaiah 66: 7 - 11

The Bible talks about the man-child in several places. There are a lot of meanings attached to a male child. First, it represents continuity of a family name. It also denotes strength and joy. The man-child is therefore anything you birth that brings joy, celebration and excitement. It is what gives you courage and strength and creates an assurance of a secure tomorrow. The man-child represents glory, fame and a worthy achievement. These meanings are not to affirm the superiority of the male child over the female. All children are from God, and can be used mightily in the hand of God and worthy of celebration, irrespective of gender. If God has blessed you with female children, then celebrate. They will fulfill destiny and make you proud. However, in the spiritual context, we use the man-child to represent a major achievement which is worthy of celebration. It is not limited to childbearing but includes feats of all kinds in all areas of life. In the name of Jesus, it is time for your man-child to be born.
Isaiah 66:7 says, Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Travail stands for the labour pangs a woman experiences when she is about to deliver a child. The intense pain and sorrow of the labour is always swallowed up by the joy of the child that is born. This shows that no matter how hard and painful the labour process is, there is always joy that something substantial came out of it. For every effort and labour you put in to any project, the Lord expects a joyful result to come out of it. You shall no longer labour in vain, in Jesus’ name. Something tangible and worthy of celebration shall come out of every effort you exert, in Jesus’ name.
In the text, God said that even though there is sorrow in labour, when the man-child is born, the joy swallows up the memory of the pain. This shows that there is something that the Lord can do in your life that will make you forget all the pain and hardship of yesterday. Your joy will be born today, in Jesus’ name. The Lord says in Isa. 66: 9, Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God. This shows that barrenness, miscarriage and abortion of all kinds are not from the Lord. In the name of Jesus, every area where you have suffered barrenness and miscarriage, whether in your vision and dreams, in productivity and finance, in your spiritual life or in giving birth to a biological child, the power of the Word of God break that siege. Go and bring forth your man-child, spiritual and physical.

Prayer/Action
* Declare that the due season to birth your man-child is now.
* Ask for strength to bring forth your man-child.
* Declare that you will not labour/travail in vain, you will bring forth.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: I am not a dumping ground for demonic activities; Holy Ghost fire burn them to ashes in my life, in the mighty name of Jesus.

A New Name in Glory

Saturday 23 June
READ: Rev. 2:17
MORE LESSON: Rev. 20:10-15

It is obvious that in many cultures, names are not ordinary. Some do not like the names they bear, but like Jabez, you can ask God to change your name. Why do we desire a new name? It is amazing how in newspapers some people change all their names without any explanation. For some, you can guess that the change is due to marriage/divorce, conversion from one faith to another, or just mere conviction that the name no longer suits them. While these changes may be sincere and true, they do not free one from the liabilities or encumbrances of previous names.
In the Bible, some people changed their names. Examples include: Abram to
Abraham (Gen. 17:5-10), Sarai to Sarah (Gen. 17:15-16), Jacob to Israel (Gen. 32:28-32) and Saul to Paul (Acts. 13:9- 12). Each of these instances signified a turning point and an establishment of a new covenant relationship between God and the bearers of the names. No wonder when a person gets born again, he becomes a new creature (II Cor. 5:17; Rev. 3:20, 21:17), old things are passed away (Psa. 103:12). God becomes your Father by a relationship with Christ who paid the price for our redemption by His sacrificial death on the cross. He is our repudiation for adoption into sonship and a relationship with His Holy Spirit; God seals us as His property. We become God's stewards for every good work. He writes our new names in the Lamb's Book of life,
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it Rev. 2:17.
Do you have a new name in glory before the Father? Whatever name you bear on the earth (negative or positive, good or bad) must end here one day. There is only one place where the enlisting of your name is most important, and that is in the Lamb's Book of life. The qualification for this new name is cleansing and forgiveness by the Blood of Jesus. This is made possible by personally acknowledging your sins, asking God for forgiveness and accepting Jesus as the Lord and Saviour of your life. Let me remind you that no matter who you are and what you have done, God loves you and wants to give you a new name written in the Lamb's Book of life.

Prayer/Action
* Pray that you will not miss a new name in glory.
* Pray that everyone in your family, whose name may not be in the Lamb's Book of Life, will find mercy and grace before it is be late.
* Pray that God will change your old name to a new name in glory.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: I refuse to labour in vain or bring forth for trouble, in the glorious name of Jesus.