Take Freedom

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SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Matthew 11:12-15

12  And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. 15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

MORE LESSON: Luke 16:15 

15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

Wednesday, 24 September

Memory Verse: And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. Matthew 11:12

Freedom is not a product of pity but the prize of spiritual violence. Nothing in the Kingdom is handed to you passively. You must rise with boldness and take what God has already provided. Freedom is never given; it is taken. Where independence is given, it is a complete falsehood; only those who take it enjoy it more. You must stand your ground to confess that what is purchased must get to you.

Jesus paid for your redemption but you must walk in the knowledge of this. Freedom is not cheap, even though it is free. The Cross paid it all, but ignorance still enslaves many. You must know what belongs to you before you can take it. Know God’s provision and build the necessary knowledge; you must know. You can’t claim what you haven’t discovered.

Stop explaining your bondage away. stop justifying failure and don’t romanticise your affliction. The fact that you are in a bad place doesn’t mean God put you there. Never accept academic, spiritual, material or business failure. That you are failing does not mean that God cannot make you succeed; what you need to do is to find out what the problem is and solve it. Don’t justify failure; otherwise, you will remain a failure. Micah 7:8 says: Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall arise. The enemy may knock you down, but he cannot keep you there unless you stay down.

You must insist that what God said is final over your life. Whether it's sickness, poverty, delay or defeat, don't accept it. Don’t spiritualise what God has already nullified. God did not ordain you to fail, so don’t settle for failure. If something isn’t aligning with Scripture, confront it!

Take your place through prayer, fasting, declarations and study of the Word. Freedom is yours but you must break the door if someone has locked it. Insist that your inheritance will not be denied you. You don’t wait for freedom; you rise and take it. Freedom is your covenant right. Claim it boldly!

Prayer/Action

* Declare that you will not accept anything less than what Jesus has paid for.

* Command every form of bondage around you to break now.

* Receive revelation and strength to take what is yours.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: I decree an endless rising for me this month, spiritually and in all spheres, in Jesus' super name.

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

Eyes on Victory

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Eyes on Victory

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SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

MORE LESSON: Proverbs 24:15-16

15 Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place: 16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

Tuesday, 23 September

Memory Verse: For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief. Proverbs 24:16

The present situation is not your destination. What you see now is not the whole story, so keep your eyes on the finish line. 2 Corinthians 4:17says: For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. Don’t let the pain of the present rob you of the promise of the future.

It is great wisdom to learn from those who have passed the way we are presently going through in life. If you want to walk in dominion, learn not to fall from those who fell, and how to rise from those who have risen. Ask questions, study patterns. Trace testimonies. There is no wisdom in mocking what you admire. You won’t increase by running down those who have already made it. Instead, draw close, observe, launch your move and exceed them (Proverbs 24:15-16).

Please don’t complain about what others have; connect to them and learn. Hebrews 13:5 admonishes us: Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” (BSB) Let wisdom guide your attitude. Humility is a ladder, and pride is a pit.

Even your taskmasters, those things that once dominated you, must come under your rule. In Exodus 7:1, God told Moses, “See, I have made you a god to Pharaoh” This means that what used to instruct you now takes instructions from you. That addiction, that depression and that limitation must bow, in Jesus’ name.

You are not under; you are above all. You must see yourself as God sees you—an overcomer, not a slave. You don’t conquer by focusing on where you are; you must rise by seeing where God is taking you. Rule what once ruled you!

Prayer/Action

* Ask God to help you fix your eyes beyond your struggle and fix them on His promises.

* Ask God to teach you wisdom and surround you with mentors who will guide you.

* Pray that every former oppressor will bow to your authority in God.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: Father, none of your promises shall fail or fade in my destiny ever, in the wonderful name of Jesus.

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

Covenant Meal II

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SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Mark 14:22-25

22 And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. 23 And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. 24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. 25 Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

MORE LESSON: John 6:53-58

53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. 58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

Monday, 22 September

Memory Verse: The Spirit can make life. Sheer muscle and willpower don't make anything happen. Every word I've spoken to you is a Spirit-word, and so it is life-making. John 6:63 (MSG)

God, being a Covenant-keeping God, has made provision of covenant meals to strengthen us as we commit to the Covenant of life in Christ Jesus. Covenant meals include: the word of God and the Holy Communion.

The written word of God contains the terms and conditions of His covenant; the spoken word releases the Spirit that sustains the covenant. We can go further and farther on the strength of God's word, following the principles of the Kingdom: righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Jesus made it clear that feeding on His word is feeding on the Spirit and Life. To annul death and its manifestations (sicknesses, disease, poverty, sorrow), we must grow our word bank, which is our life bank.

Jesus introduced Himself as the 'bread of life', and gave this bread to us to commemorate His sufferings, partake of His death and resurrection, and participate in the “victory march” against the prince of this world and the agents of darkness. Yet again Our Lord Jesus shows us a mystery in John 6:53 that eating His flesh and drinking His blood typified by the communion bread and wine indicates having faith in Jesus, His work of salvation on the Cross of Calvary, living for Him, while obtaining spiritual nourishment from Him alongside the hope of eternal life. The covenant meal goes beyond a ceremonial ritual in remembrance of Christ. When we eat, we go beyond eating with spirits (as spiritualists glory in) to eating life-giving spirit; for the life of a being is in its blood.

Life is transactional, i.e. it runs based on a system of exchange. Working/striving for the word is working for eternal life. Simon Peter said, the disciples had decided not to depart from the One that has the words of eternal life (John 6:68). Some individuals live to work for daily earthly bread, while the call of God is for “transactions” for the souls of men, fishing them out of sin of the world system and translating them into the Kingdom of God. At that level, the disciple asked God in the Lord’s prayer, to give them access to their daily bread. while contending for the things that pertain to life by feeding on God's word, meditating on it, declaring it, and partaking in the Holy Communion in faith. The Covenant meals of the Word of God and the Holy Communion bring life to us. We can eat to the point that we become so full of life, and that life swallows up.

Prayer/Action

* Thank God for His Word, His body and His blood which He has given to us.

* Receive grace to be a partaker of the covenant meals continually.

* Ask for mercy in any area you have fallen short of upholding covenants with God.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: Every word ever spoken to me contrary to God's plan over my life begins to catch fire now, in the powerful name of Jesus.

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

Covenant Meal I

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SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: 1 Kings 19:1-8

1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time. 3 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. 5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. 6 And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. 7 And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. 8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.

MORE LESSON: John 7:37-38 

37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Sunday, 21 September

Memory Verse: The purpose of my covenant with the Levites was to bring life and peace, and this was what I gave them. This called for reverence from them, and they greatly revered me and stood in awe of my name. Malachi 2:5 (NLT)

A Covenant goes beyond a binding agreement to a hallowed, purposeful relationship characterised by conditional blessings or curses. For instance, in Genesis 2:16-17, the conditions for the covenant of life versus the death penalty were introduced to Adam, and tied to the sources of meals he could and could not eat. The dire consequence of contravening this changed the trajectory of man's relationship with God and introduced mortality to the human race.

Fast-forward to around 2,630 years later, Elijah was commissioned as God’s prophet to uphold the covenant between God and Israel, turning them away from the worship of Baal. 1 Kings 19:1-8 gives a narrative of Prophet Elijah's experience as he fled from Jezebel. The day's journey (estimated at 18-30 miles), the wilderness experience, being alone, resulted in the dissipation of strength to the point that he became so weary and slept under a juniper tree. The tree of the cedar family, is one of the oldest living tree species, surrounded by several myths and believed to represent a place of renewal, rejuvenation and healing. Unfortunately, his weariness went beyond the physical to the fabric of his spirit (his intellect, awareness and consciousness of God as his source). Alas, rather than cry to God for help, he cried to God for death.

God did not lead Elijah into the wilderness; he chose to move to escape for his life. We should navigate negative experiences by running into the Strong Tower (the name of the Lord), for therein is sustained strength. Loneliness is more than a physical experience, for you can be alone but not feel lonely. Elijah felt alone, not only physically but also spiritually (verse 10). There is indeed strength in companionship, both physical, mental, and spiritual.

The journey of life cannot be accomplished without adequate spiritual strength. We must continually feed on meals to sustain our strength. Therefore, the angel woke up Elijah a second time to eat and in the strength of that meal supplied to the Prophet by God, he journeyed 40 days and 40 nights. Imagine a man who was wearied after a day's journey on normal food but could travel 40 days and 40 nights on a divinely supplied meal. You can not feed on grass and manifest grace. Receive wisdom to feed fat on divine resources.

Prayer/Action

* Thank God for the privilege of covenants.

* Thank God because you are a part of the covenant of Abraham and also the New Covenant.

* Ask for grace to fulfil your obligations in your covenant with God and never be a covenant breaker.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: I prophesy to the giant in me to rise today and begin to do greater things, in the matchless name of Jesus.

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