Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Zealous for Christ

  STRENGTH FOR MY DAYS 

A Daily Devotional by Bishop David


Zealous for Christ

Wednesday, 30 October

 

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Revelation 3:19

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: 1 Kings 19:10-14 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. 11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: 12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. 13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? 14 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

 

MORE LESSON: Revelation 3:19-21 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

 

Zeal is the tireless devotion to a person, cause or ideal. It comes with an ardent determination to see to the furtherance of what you are zealous about. Zeal is an expression of your deepest hunger and greatest pursuit. Aheart searching question today is, 'What are you zealous in?' A lot of people serve God but are not really zealous in their pursuit of God. Many are zealous in the pursuit of wealth, fame, knowledge, certificate and even ministerial success but few are passionate for Jesus Christ Himself. What you ardently seek is what you love the most. Elijah said in 1Kings 19:10, And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. Elijah was a man of zeal for the Lord; no wonder he did unusual exploits. There are levels of impact that are reserved only for men of zeal.

Zeal is not merely a human affair, even God has zeal. The Bible severally talks about ...the zeal of the LORD of hosts.... Isaiah 37: 32. God fights battles with zeal. Zeal is one of the attributes of God. The Church of Christ has known about the merciful, faithful and gracious God. It is high time we discovered the zealous God. 2 Corinthians 7:11 says, For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. Zeal approves a man before God. It was zeal that approved Phinehas (Numbers 25: 1 – 13). If zeal approves, then lack of zeal disapproves. Can you see why so many people have not been approved by the Lord? It is not enough that you sing in the choir, preach the Word, give to God or even witness to sinners. It is only enough when you do them zealously. Prayerfully check your zeal gauge. Are you zealous enough for the Lord?

Zeal is doing everything you can to make things right. According to Revelation 3:19, zealousness is a requirement from God for those who will make Heaven. Today, pray for the zeal of the Lord to consume you once again.

 

Prayer/Action

* Ask for mercy in every area of your life, where you have lost zeal for the things of God. 

* Ask the Holy Spirit to reignite your zeal for God more than ever before. 

* Come against everything that kills the zeal for the things of God.

 

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: Hallelujah, my days of limitations are over now. Thank You Jesus.

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

God, the Owner II

 STRENGTH FOR MY DAYS 

A Daily Devotional by Bishop David


God, the Owner II

Tuesday, 29 October

 

I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. Ecclesiastes 9:11

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Ecclesiastes 9:11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

 

MORE LESSON: Genesis 21:1 And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.

 

If you have been told that your season  and time has passed, that is not correct information because it is God who owns the seasons and times that can decide whether one’s season has passed or not.

1. For instance, Abraham and Sarah had passed their child bearing age. Men thought it was over for them but they forgot that He who owned them also owned the times and seasons of their life. When He decided to visit them, Sarah conceived and bore a son just as she had been promised (Genesis 21:1).

God owns both the situation you expect to happen and the time. So when the time seems to have passed, He can take time from the back to meet up with the situation in front or He can bring back the situation to meet the time where you are because both are in His control and He can use them to your advantage. Your battle is about time and you don't need to fight that battle because God owns times and seasons.

So do not listen to the enemy's deceit that your time has passed. That is a lie from the bottomless pit. How do you believe the calendar more than the owner of the calendar? You must choose to look beyond your situation and believe God who owns times and seasons. God can reverse the time or fast forward it all in your favour.

2. The Sarafoenician woman is another good example. She came pleading with Jesus to heal her daughter and at a point, His disciples told Him to just say something to her so she could go. Jesus said it is not good to give the children's bread to the dog, she said the woman responded that it is true while the children are eating, the dogs do not compete with the children on the table, but they can eat the crumbs that fall beneath the table.

What Jesus was saying in essence was that He came to die so that He could redeem the seed of Abraham and all those who would later come to believe, to whom belongs the healing. But the woman said that healing belongs to You (Jesus). What You can do post Calvary, You can also do now. Jesus explained, I have never seen such faith and instantly her miracle was delivered to her because she believed that Jesus owned the times and the seasons. Today, times and seasons will change in your favour, in Jesus’ name amen.

 

Prayer/Action

* Thank God because your life and times are in His hands. 

* Declare that times and seasons are not against you but they are in your favour. 

* Pray that all things shall work for your good because you love God and I expect His is return.

 

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: Hallelujah it's The Master's Convention again. A new season, here we come. Let the shout of hallelujah now rend the heavens, in Jesus' mighty name.


Monday, October 28, 2024

God, the Owner I

STRENGTH FOR MY DAYS 

A Daily Devotional by Bishop David


God, the Owner I

Monday, 28 October

 

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:32

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Psalm 24:1 The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

 

MORE LESSON: Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

 

God owns everything in the world. It is not strange to people that God owns everything created because Psalm 24:1 says, The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. Notice that the second part of that scripture which talks of the fullness has to do with the fact that God does not just own the things we see but also those things we cannot see; signs, wonders, days, years and seasons. He can turn anything to the direction He wants to accomplish His purpose on the earth, and in the life of anyone He chooses at any time.

The reason why some people constantly knock at the gate of Heaven is because there is a conflict between the times and seasons of their life. Certain things you expected to happen at certain times/seasons of your life did not happen It looks like the seasons and years are working contrary to your expectation. That is called waiting. You wait because things do not work or do not happen at the time you expect them to happen. In fact, for some, they have been told that their season has passed. But I tell you that the God who saved you, redeemed you and forgave you is your Father, the Shepherd and the Bishop of your soul. Men might say that your time and season has passed but your time is not in their hand. God your Father owns and controls your seasons to your advantage.

God has you in one hand and days and seasons in the other hand. This is good news because when you discover that the one who loves you has what you are looking for, it is game over because you are sure that it will eventually be given to you. This is what Jesus meant when He said that our heavenly Father already knows that we are in need of these things so we need to focus our attention on seeking His kingdom while He focuses His attention on attending to the issues that concern us. It is good news because He who owns the sheep also owns the grass, so there is nothing to be afraid of. It's like the popular African saying that you have both the knife and the yam in your hands, so there's no reason to be afraid of hunger. I have good news for you today, your Maker and the Owner of your soul is also the Owner of the seasons and times of your life. So there is nothing to be afraid of and He will make it good, in the name of Jesus Christ.

 

Prayer/Action

* Give God thanks because he has the season and times of your life in hands. 

* Decree that your life will play out according to the way God has planned it. 

* Ask the owner of life and time to satisfy you with your heart desires.

 

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: To the great God of JAWOM, our Shepherd and Helper, thank You for the year 2024. Oh Father, thank You is not enough. Glory be unto Your name Lord Jesus.

Sunday, October 27, 2024

Power to Create II

  STRENGTH FOR MY DAYS 

A Daily Devotional by Bishop David

Power to Create II

Sunday, 27 October

 

And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. Genesis 2:19

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Genesis 2:19-20 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

 20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

 

MORE LESSON: Jeremiah 1:6-10 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. 7 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. 8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. 9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. 10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

 

The whole world was created by God in six days and He rested on the seventh day. Notice that God did not stop creating, He only rested. From then on, the job of creation was handed over to man. In order to prove to the man that he could do this task, God brought all the animals to him to see what he would call them and the Bible says that every single name Adam gave was the name designated by God for the animals in the original blue print. It was as though there was a register that contained the names of all the animals and Adam simply called names. By this, God proved to Adam that he had in him the capacity to continue with the work of creation.

Everyone, born again or not, has this ability inherent in them. This is why we see all manner of witty inventions all over the world today by believers and unbelievers. In fact, it seems like those who are unsaved have tapped into this creative dimension more than the believers. The Bible says in Psalm 82:6-7, They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.…Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. Unbelievers have discovered their creative ability and have deployed it to make the world a better place. It is high time believers rose to the occasion as well.

But the question is, Where does this creative power lie? What are the weapon and the instrument of creation? When God came on the scene and everywhere was chaotic, He activated the creative power by speaking the Word. So, creation is done by the words that we speak. That little organ called the tongue is your weapon to either create or destroy. Some persons have lost control of their tongue and have made a shipwreck of their destinies while others have maximised the use of their tongue to get ahead and out of every negative situation.

This is why Proverbs 18:21 says, Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. What do you create with the words you speak? Do you create life or death? Do you build with your tongue or destroy what you have laboured to build all the years because of challenges that you face? Remember that inherent in you is the power to create and also to destroy. Choose to create what will build your destiny and destroy whatsoever stands in the way of God's purpose for your life.

 

Prayer/Action

* Ask the Lord to release divine ideas for word creation upon your life. 

* Pray for Grace to be able to make creative utterances that will fashion your destiny to greatness. 

* Cancel every negative thing you unknowingly created in your life.

 

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: Oh God, because greater is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof, I decree that October will end on a greater note for me than the beginning thereof, in the mighty name of Jesus.