Forgive

Forgive

Friday, 13 December

Memory Verse: And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. Mark 11:25

TODAY’S FASTING FOCUS: Insured by the blood of Jesus; Mathew 26:28; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:20

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Ephesians 4:31-32 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

MORE LESSON: Colossians 3:12–15 12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

There are many people who carry offences and bitterness around. A believer may be outwardly serving diligently and passionately and it looks as if everything is alright. However, God who searches the inward parts looks inside his heart and He is turned off. Unforgiveness turns God off a life and destiny. The reason many people do not experience miracles, lifting and breakthrough is because they abhor unforgiveness in their hearts. Until there is forgiveness, there is no answered prayer. Mark 11: 24 -25 says, Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive.... Scripture directly links answered prayers to forgiving people that have wronged us. Unforgiveness kills; many times people die suddenly and we start asking God questions. Men can only see the outside; only God sees the inside. A lot of people carry subtle killers like unforgiveness, bitterness, pride and resentment on the inside and until its result materialises, we may not know. This doesn't imply that everyone who dies suddenly carries such. The truth however is that many kill themselves and then people question God. Why give yourselves high blood pressure and mental problems because someone offended you? Unforgiveness is the reason many people do not experience break-throughs but only break-downs.

There are people in the Church who cannot speak to the person sitting next to them because of offence. Some hate others so badly that they don't look the direction of the person anymore. They are not free to look around; you can't be so offended by a person that you subject yourself to suffering. It is cheaper to forgive and live in peace and health.

In Matthew 5:23–24, Jesus admonished that if you have anything to offer to God and you know that there is someone that you have offended or has offended you, go and make peace with the person before you present that offering. We must personally make the choice to go out to forgive and ask for forgiveness. Never find it difficult to apologise and ask for forgiveness. It is unavoidable to offend and be offended while relating with people; mutual forgiveness is the way out. Living in unforgiveness is like swallowing poison; a person cannot drink poison and expect someone else to die in his stead. One can't carry bitterness, anger, unforgiveness and expect the object of his anger to be affected. We only affect ourselves with our unforgiveness; the other person is bouncing around joyfully. This is why you should set yourself free and let it go by forgiving. Receive today the grace to forgive.

Prayer/Action

* Reflect for the next few minutes: if you are still holding unto any negative event or keeping malice with anyone - let them go now. release them.

* Ask the Lord to show you mercy if you have erred in any area.

* Pray that God will flood your heart and life with His peace that passes understanding.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: By divine insurance of the blood of Jesus, I declare this December safe on every side, in the powerful name of Jesus.

© Strength for My Days by Bishop David Bakare - All Rights Reserved

Above Offence

Above Offence

Thursday, 12 December

Memory Verse: Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. Colossians 3:13

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Colossians 3:13-14 13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

MORE LESSON: 1 Corinthians 10:32

32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:

You cannot go to play at the river and then complain when someone splashes water on you. It is impossible to play at the river and not get splashed with water. In relating with people in any community, one of the things that we cannot avoid is being offended. Whether at home, school, work or church, people will do things that we do not like. The reason is that everybody cannot behave the same way in a community. Offences result from differences in behaviour. Has someone ever done things and you wonder how on earth anyone could behave like that? Well, the reason is because he is not you; if he were you, he would never behave like that. People are different and so they will behave differently.

The Lord Jesus Himself in Luke 17:1, said unto His disciples, ...It is impossible but that offences will come.... He realized that there will always be people who will offend us. Therefore our quest is not to look for a place where we will not be offended but to seek to live above offences. Do you know that one cannot be offended until he decides to take offence? You can refuse to take offence when it is offered to you. The New Living Translation of Colossians 3:13 says, Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

We must learn to make allowance for people around us. Give room to people when they do things that you do not like. Probably you like quietness while he likes noise and turbulence wherever he is; you have to learn how to make room now that both of you are roommates or else you will fight every day. Life is about recognising people for who they are and learning to overlook their faults.

Everyone loves to hear that he is a rare gem who is unique and uncommon in every way. It is pleasing to know that no other person in the whole earth has the same fingerprints as yours; you are specially and wonderfully made. The other side of this pleasant news is that no one else is like you so they will not behave like you. Therefore, grow up out of complaining that a person behaved in such and such a way. If you insist on relating with only people that are like you then you will relate only with yourself.

On the other hand, there are people who delight in causing offence and then claim, 'That is who I am; you must learn to live with me.' The truth is that no one causes offence anyhow and goes scot-free. People around may be spiritually mature enough to overlook it but the one involved will suffer the consequence ahead. We should not take offence and we should not cause offence.

Prayer/Action

* Pray against the spirit of offences.

* Pray that the love of God will guide you at all costs and at all times.

* Ask God for a fresh spirit of love to stay above offences.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: On this twelfth day of the twelfth month; I dispatch monitoring angels of the throne of heaven to supervise the rest days of this year for defence and victory, in the wonderful name of Jesus.

© Strength for My Days by Bishop David Bakare - All Rights Reserved

The two Men and their Names

The two Men and their Names

Wednesday, 11 December

Memory Verse: There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: Luke 16:19

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Luke 16:19–31

19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: 28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

MORE LESSON: Revelations 20:15

15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

The story in the text is about two men; a poor and a rich man. The poor man had a name that Heaven recognised; the Bible records that his name was Lazarus. The name of the rich man, on the other hand, was not recognised in Heaven; he was merely referred to as 'the rich man'. In the world today, to be called 'the rich man' seems to be a very good name. But, no matter how nice a name sounds, if the name is not recognised in Heaven, it is not yet a good name. The Bible says, a good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of one's birth: Ecclesiastes 7:1. We should pursue a good name. Really, the best name that a man can have is a name that is written in the Book of Life. It is good to do things that give you a good name on earth but beyond that, the best you can do for your name is to get it into the Book of life. The issue of your name being in the Book of life becomes more and more crucial even as the day of a man’s death approaches with every passing second. Lazarus had a good name written in Heaven while the rich man's name was unknown in Heaven. For the two men in the story, it was death that eventually revealed the true value of their names. Similarly, for every man, it is death that will reveal whether you have a good name or not.

The two men in this story died; just as everyone reading this will, if Jesus tarries. The rich man died and he was buried with fanfare with which a rich man's burial is always associated. Lazarus died and the Bible doesn't say how he was buried or not buried. But the Bible tells us that Lazarus woke up in Abraham's bosom while the rich man found himself in hell. We must never forget that, ...it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment: Hebrews 9:27 (NKJV).

There is life after death; and all that makes the difference is where your name is written. It doesn't matter the name you bear here on earth as much as where your name is written in Heaven. If a man's name is 'governor' or 'president' here on earth and the name is written in the Government House but it is not written in the Book of life, the man is in a very precarious situation. The timeless questions that you have to answer are: “Is your name known in Heaven? Is it written in the book of life?” Accept Jesus into your life today, confess your sins and receive forgiveness through His Blood. Then ask Him to write your name in the Book of Life. As you do this, your eternity is secure in Jesus.

Prayer/Action

* Pray that you will have a name before God.

* Pray for forgiveness if you have been making name only here on earth and not for eternity.

* Ask the Holy Spirit to lead, guard and teach you how to make a name in eternity.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: Any evil altar that dares to mention my name and family this month must catch instant fire, in the mighty name of Jesus.

© Strength for My Days by Bishop David Bakare - All Rights Reserved

Silent Labourers

Silent Labourers

Tuesday, 10 December

Memory Verse: And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity. Luke 2:36

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Luke 2:36-38 36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; 37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

MORE LESSON: Matthew 6:1-4 1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

It is common for workers in the vineyard of God to desire to be in positions where they can be visible to all. But the Lord actually esteems those who can humbly labour in the secret place where no one sees them. Such people obtain great rewards from God who sees in the secret and rewards in the open (Matthew 6: 1 – 4). In the Bible, Anna was an old woman who had been a widow for 84 years. Instead of complaining, she stayed in the temple day and night for all the years fasting and praying to God to send the Deliverer of Israel. Her silent labours were part of what ushered in Jesus Christ (Luke 2: 36 – 38).

Dr. Yongi Cho, the pastor of one of the largest congregations in the whole world, shared a testimony about his church in South Korea. He noticed that each time he conducted a miracle meeting, miracles would happen on a particular row, another time it would be another particular row. The rows are very long as it is a massive church but whichever row the miracle was taking place, nothing would happen on the other rows in a particular service. So he was curious and wanted to know why it was so. He asked God what the matter was and God led him to go to the church as early as 5am one morning. He saw a sister that came around and was cleaning the chairs in a particular row and praying in tongues over them. She prayed and cried till tears flowed on the seats and after she was done she left. That particular day, when the meeting started, miracles took place on the row that the woman cleaned. He then realised that it was the silent labour of that woman that was responsible for opening the Heaven for the people on that row.

Another great servant of God in Nigeria also shared the testimony of a young lady in the choir. He noticed that each time she led a song, the spiritual atmosphere became so charged with God’s presence that he could hardly preach. In fact, the people would have been praying before he came up. One day before service he was praying round the church and saw someone crying and praying at a corner in the church. He went and tapped her and discovered that it was the lady. He asked her if everything was okay and she said it was. After trying to get her talk and the lady insisted that she was fine, he left. It was later in the service that the girl climbed up to sing that he realised what happened; Heaven opened as she sang.

Whether your service is in the secret or in the open, you can be a silent labourer. The success of your ministry is dependent on the quantity of your labour in the secret place.

Prayer/Action

* Ask for grace to labour effectively in the secret place.

* Pray that your labour will not be wasted and that in due time, you shall be rewarded.

* Pray for every labourer that they will be the first partakers of the blessings and that they will not lose their rewards.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: He that sows an evil seed against me this month shall harvest it a hundred fold, in the victorious name of Jesus.

© Strength for My Days by Bishop David Bakare - All Rights Reserved