It is a Race

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SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Hebrews 12:1-6

1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. 4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. 5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

MORE LESSON: 1 Timothy 6:12

12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

Wednesday, 8 October

Memory Verse: But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Matthew 24:13

Apart from the fact that the Christian faith is a journey, it is also a race that comes with a prize. The Bible says the race is set before us, meaning we cannot evade it. It is a race that is heavenly in nature and despite the many distractions that exist believers can look up to Jesus for triumph. This race is not a sprint where the fastest runner wins; rather it is a marathon that requires endurance. We see Jesus our Master and perfect example enduring the Cross and thereby showing us the way to go.

 Some quick lessons can be gleaned when we read Hebrews 12:1 in NLT, Since we have such a huge crowd of men of faith watching us from the grandstands, let us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back, and especially those sins that wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and trip us up; and let us run with patience the particular race that God has set before us (NLT). Clearly, there are things that slow us down and there are those that hold us back in this race. The wisdom is to do away with all such things. Sometimes the things that slow us down are not outright sins, but weights (weaknesses) such as too much sleep, too much talk, too much food etc.

Sin is not a friend and as such must be jettisoned by heavenly minded people. We may not come out with a list of sins here, but we know that anything contrary to the commandment of God is sin. In striving to keep the word of God we are kept from sin by the same Word. To enhance his heavenly race the psalmist said, Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee. Psalm 119:11. We can take a cue from the above and make the word of the Almighty the cornerstone of our lives. As for Jesus, His staying power in His race while on earth was, He loved righteousness and hated wickedness Hebrews 1:9.

As we look up to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, the believer's life should be characterised by a love for righteousness and a hatred for wickedness.

Prayer/Action

* Ask for the strength to run the heavenly race today.

* Declare, Satan, the Lord rebuke you over my heavenly race, in the mighty name of Jesus.

* Pray that by God's grace, you will endure to the end in this race.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: Goodness and mercy shall follow me daily this month and I shall excel in the things of God, in the excellent name of Jesus.

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

Loving God

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SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Deuteronomy 6:1-5

1 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it. 2 That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

MORE LESSON: Revelation 2:4–5

4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

Tuesday, 7 October

Memory Verse: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Matthew 22:37

Perhaps the most important factor for successful human existence on earth is loving God. The moment humans become aware of their existence on the planet they begin to fall in love with many things. People can fall in love with their environment, a particular sport, fashion, food, culture and a host of other things, but the greatest is to fall in love with the Maker of all things.

Someone approached Jesus with a question intending to know the greatest of all the commandments and the Lord replied him saying, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy might. Matthew 22:37 As a follow up, Jesus added that there is a second commandment as great as the first, which is to love one's neighbour as dearly as oneself. Amazingly, these two commandments are interconnected. 1John 4:19 – 21 confirms that you cannot claim to love God while hating your brother. In other words, our love for Divinity is directly transferred to humanity.

In another place Jesus says, If ye love me keep my commandments. John 14:15. The acid test of our love for God is keeping His commandments and we know that His commandments are not burdensome because we obey them in love. It is therefore obvious that the absence of love will make life and living a burden. The clarion call for us as believers is to do everything within our abilities to walk with the understanding that love conquers all. It is definitely a wise decision to always 'up our love level' for God.

Living in this end time, one of the strategies the enemy uses to limit our strength is to ensure that he engages us in such a way that our love for God will grow cold. The daily struggles, difficulties and challenges we face are meant by the devil to diminish our love for the Lord and the things of God. Iniquity abounds before our very eyes and the love of many is waxing cold (Matthew 24:12). The time to cry out to God for help concerning our love for Him is now. The cry should be that Jehovah must restore us back to the place of our first love for Him.

Prayer/Action

* Ask the Holy Spirit to help you not to let your love for God grow cold.

* Declare, I receive oil in my lamp to keep me burning for God.

* Pray against every fire extinguisher in your life.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: This October, my path shall shine more and more to the perfect day, in the wonderful name of Jesus.

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

Consider the Lilies

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SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Mathew 6:25-34

25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

MORE LESSON: Matthew 6:33

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Monday, 6 October

Memory Verse: And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin. Matthew 6:28

All through the Scripture you will come across God as loving and caring when it comes to His creatures. It comes as no surprise when the lilies of the field are pictured as beautiful and effortless in their growth because God is behind them. The surprise is in the fact that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed as the lilies of the field. The question really is, If God cares for flowers and the birds of the air, won't He care for His creatures made in His image and likeness?

The message in our text is weighty; the Almighty will always care for His own people. This understanding should take away worry from believers. The problem with worry is that it empties you of strength. In order to forge ahead in life the Bible says, 'consider the lilies of the field….' In considering the lilies of the field, we behold first their beauty. In the same way that lilies are beautiful, Jehovah has made our lives beautiful. Our beautiful lives alone, made possible on Calvary tree, should give us joy and defeat worry permanently.

Another thing to consider in the lilies of the field is that they are in the open field. Anything beautiful and tender like the lily should not be in the open for every tom, dick and harry to toy with, but because the flower is under the Lord's care it has nothing to worry about. No one called by the name of the Lord is without His defence. The admonition is to look up to God even when we find ourselves in the most dangerous of places.

One more thing to consider is how the lilies grow: they neither toil no spin. Yahweh is committed to our growth and will ensure we grow as the lilies. Since there are biblical verses that encourage us to work, we must not fold our hands with the expectation of growth. However, it is important to note that like in the case of the lilies our growth is dependent on God and not our labour.

Prayer/Action

* Declare that there will be no more worries in your life from this day forward.

* Pray that as you labour, God will ensure your growth in life and in destiny.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: Thus said the Lord to every Pharaoh of hindrance to my Canaan, let (your name) go today and now, in the powerful name of Jesus.

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

Renewable energy

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SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Lamentations 3:22-24

22 It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 24 The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

MORE LESSON: 2 Samuel 7:15

15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.

Sunday, 5 October

Memory Verse: I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 89:1

I renewable energies such as solar and wind. The need for these energies to power the world cannot be overstated. It suffices to say without energy there will be no physical world. Similarly, in the spiritual world there is a renewable energy that God has put in place to sustain the world, it is called mercy. The mercy of God that is renewed every morning is the reason why the world still exists today, despite the wickedness that is in it. Who dares ignore God's mercy and carry on well in life?

If for any reason we wake up one day and discover that the Almighty did not renew His mercy for the day, it will surely be the end of the world. What the sun is to the physical world is what the Lord's mercy is to the metaphysical world. Each day the Master of the Universe renews His mercy, it is an allowance to make things right and correct wrongs. Therefore, it is important to align ourselves with the mercy of Jehovah as a people of understanding.

There is what is called the sure mercies of David and this came into being when the heavenly Father swore not to take His mercy from the second king of Israel. This was what differentiated between King Saul and King David in a way. When God shows mercy to a person nothing can stand on the way of such a man. This is the reason why judgment is averted when mercy speaks. As for the apostle Paul who was one time injurious to the body of Christ, he became a builder of the Church when he received mercy, thus proving that there is nobody that mercy cannot change and there is no situation that mercy cannot turn around.

It is actually no surprise that Yahweh is called the Father of mercies (2 Corinthians 1:3). This understanding should appeal to our conscience that we must be like our heavenly Father in showing mercy. It is actually doubtful if anyone claims to be a believer and he or she is without mercy. One essential thing to remember is that the merciful shall obtain mercy. Indeed, it is a high calling for us to live a life of mercy and to keep renewing it for people on a daily basis as a reflection of the divine nature that we carry.

Prayer/Action

* Ask the Lord to make you a candidate of His mercy for all your lifetime care.

* Declare that as a seed of David for whom the Lord kept His mercy, He will keep His mercy with you and your generation.

* Pray that God's mercy will resolve your difficult matters.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: I am a light to my world, nation, family and church and I shall not be reduced or removed, in the wonderful name of Jesus.

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