Taking God by His Word

Saturday 30 June
READ: Genesis 21:1-7
MORE LESSON: Isaiah 34:16

Sometimes, when you look at the promises of God, you wonder whether they are not too big to be real! Let us consider a few examples.
To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you: I Pet. 1:4.
In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also: Jn. 14:2-3.
The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, and the transgressor for the upright: Prov. 21:18.
I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins: Isa. 43:25.
These are indeed no small promises and there are truly a thousand and one others like these. But we can take God by His Word because, God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Num. 23:19.
Friend, men are known for lying, but not God. Again, we have enough precedents that assure us that God will not fail, no matter how incredible the promise seems. One of such is the prophecy of the virgin birth in Isa. 7:14, … Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. In the days of Isaiah, many must have doubted it, yet today it is a reality. Moreover, Heb, 6:18 says, That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie. It is just impossible for God to lie so you can take God for whatever He says.
Finally, one of the reasons why men’s promises cannot be trusted is because they make promises that are bigger than them but this is not so with God. He can therefore not fail. What a faithful God He is. He visited Sarah as He had said and did to Sarah as He had spoken (Gen. 21:1). He promised to take Israel out of Egypt; although the promise lasted for 430 years, He did not forget to do it (Exo. 12:41). Isaiah said concerning the Word, ...thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth: Isa. 25:1.
In the same way, you will not be forgotten. God's faithfulness will extend to you today. Just keep holding on to whatever God has said concerning you. Don't lose focus; don't give up. The Lord will not fail you.

Prayer/Action
* Pray that God's Word will prove true in your life.
* Command all that oppose God’s promises in your life to give way in Jesus name.
* Take God’s promise to you back to Him in prayer and ask for its performance.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: Jehovah You are faithful, I am a witness, You have rescued, delivered, strengthened, empowered, kept, sustained and helped me in these six months of 2018. Thank You Jesus forever.

God's Standard

Thursday 28 June
READ: 2 Timothy 2: 19 – 20
MORE LESSON: Acts 20:16-24

I met a woman in Accra, Ghana, who told me that she had lived in Kaduna, Nigeria, before. I became interested, being a resident of Kaduna state myself. So I asked her, 'What is your name?' She gave me a Christian name and then added, “But I didn’t go by that name in Kaduna”. I was intrigued and asked more questions. Then she told me that when she was in Kaduna, she assumed a Muslim name so that she could get job, appointment, government loans and other benefits. So everyone in Kaduna knew her with the assumed name but her real name was a Christian name. I asked her why she did that and she answered, 'Sir, you know we need to make ends meet and be able to put spirit and soul together'. She smiled as if what she was about to say was really funny and said, 'You know sir, it is only when one is alive that one can think about keeping the gospel running'.
The standards of God remain unchanged. If people compromise on righteousness, God never does and never will. A man that does wrong because he wants the body and the soul to stay alive, has just rendered the spirit dead. Sin kills the spirit and if the spirit is dead, what is the use of the body and the soul than for them to burn in hell? Survival or making ends meet is never a reason for anyone to go against righteousness. We are in perilous times when people throw away salvation to get job, scholarship, appointment and spouse.
God's standard and purpose are more important than success. It is better to stick to God and be denied than to compromise the standards of God and make headway in life. What is the use of making progress if the way leads to hell? God's purpose and assignment are more important than our life. So even if a man dies maintaining God's purpose and standard for his life, it is worth it. 2 Tim. 2:19 says that the foundation of God stands sure. This means that God's standard remains unchanged. God's standard is that anyone who will be His must stand for Him and depart from iniquity. God doesn't condone compromise of any kind, so let us know what we have believed and hold on to it lest we trade eternal life for the mundane things of this world. The Lord will help you to stay true to Him come what may, in Jesus’ name.

Prayer/Action
* Confess that you will not trade Jesus for silver or gold.
* Declare that you will not bow to any idol, money, position, or wealth but to Jesus only.
* Declare that you will rather live without a blessing that is not from God.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: Father, standing on Job 22:27-28, any blessing meant for me since January 2018 that is being held down by any prince of Persia till now, I command them vomited now, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Cleansing Leprosy

Tuesday 26 June
READ: Mark 1: 39 – 45
MORE LESSON: 2 Kings 5: 1 - 15

One of the repeated miracles in the ministry of Jesus is the cleansing of lepers. As a matter of fact, when Jesus sent His disciples out in Matt. 10:8, He commissioned them, Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Cleansing lepers is a very important issue to God. Naaman was an example of a leper cleansed by Jehovah in the Old Testament. The striking thing is that Naaman was a Gentile from Syria. There were many lepers in Israel but it was the Syrian that found healing; this was because he was the one that recognised and responded to the grace of God.
Naaman's maidservant preached the good news about the God of Israel to him and he travelled all the way from Syria. When he got to Israel, Elisha didn't come out to see him but rather sent word to him to go and bathe seven times in the muddy River Jordan. A few days before then Naaman was on the throne in Syria, then he was in the territory of an enemy nation begging for help. It seemed like an abomination to the Syrians who had conquered Israel to see their general go to Israel for help. Every abomination that causes shame in your life is over, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Anything that causes shame and makes a man beg his enemy for help is a form of leprosy. Sin, bad habit, sickness and poverty are forms of leprosy. God's desire is that leprosy doesn't stay on any man, Jew or Gentile, believer or unbeliever. However, there is a condition from the Lord for any man who wants to be cleansed of leprosy: he must, of his own volition, come to the Lord. As the Scripture says, ...and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out: John 6:37.
A leper came to Jesus and besought Him, ...If You are willing, You can make me clean. He knew Jesus had the power to heal him but he wasn't sure Jesus was willing to. Jesus was moved with compassion, put forth His hand, and touched him, and said to him, ...I am willing; be cleansed: Mark 1:41 (NKJV). The Lord is always willing to remove anything that causes shame in your destiny. He is ever willing to cleanse sin, heal sickness and cleanse all forms of leprosy if you will come to Him. Naaman bathed seven times in the river as he was told. Seven is the number of perfection. So he needed complete obedience to have perfect restoration. If any man will come to take a bath in the river of the blood of Jesus, all forms of leprosy in his destiny will be washed away. There is power in the Blood.

Prayer/Action
* Ask for grace to obey God’s instructions even when they don't make sense to you.
* Ask the Lord to help you to be humble enough to accept God’s counsel.
* Ask the Lord to help you recognise your destiny helpers.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: Oh earth, hear the word of the Lord, I am the face and model of God, God's latest mighty act, in the name of Jesus.

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.