Growing in All Areas

Text: Luke 2: 40
More Lessons: Psa.18:32-34
Bible Reading in One Y ear: Philippians 1-4

Jesus grew into the greatness we see in Him today. There is no sin in being small or being a child; the only crime is choosing to remain a child. Some believers are always complaining about people and the church not giving them enough attention and care, so they move from one church congregation to another. Everybody needs attention but there is a degree of attention that a man looks for and you know that he is still a child. If you are a new convert in Christ, there is nothing wrong with always needing people to visit you, buy a Bible, books and devotionals for you. But a time should come for you to grow and start doing those things for somebody else. If you always need to be followed up and encouraged before you attend church services, you need to grow. It is a child that always looks for attention and wants to be carried; an adult gives attention and carries others.

The major defining point in growth is assuming more responsibility and less dependence. When you start taking responsibility, then you become mature. It is a sign that you have refused to grow up when you don't stop complaining of not being taken care of by people. An evidence of growth is that you learn to handle some things for yourself and have a personal vision and target for your life physically, financially and spiritually.

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man: Luke 2:52. Jesus grew and waxed strong in spirit. Growth and advancement must be all round. Any man who grows in one direction and doesn't grow in others is not growing. If you see a human being with one part of his body growing while the others remain the same, such a person is obviously sick. Kwashiorkor is a medical problem in children in whom you could see just the belly growing big while other parts of the body are emaciated. If you concentrate only on making money and doing well in your career but your spiritual life is going down, that is not growth. At the same time, if you are growing spiritually and there is no growth in other physical aspects of your life then something is wrong.

Remember the Bible says” Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth: III John 1:2. So as you prosper in spiritual things, there must be corresponding growth in physical and material things. Advancement is growing physically and spiritually, and may this begin to find expression in your life from today, in Jesus’ Name.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God to train your hands to battle so that you can break the bow of steel
* T ell God that you surrender to all His will and plans to make you grow.
* Pray that you will grow and increase in all areas like Jesus did.
* Resist every anti-growth agent in and around you.

Like and share!

God is not a Failure II

Text: II Kings 7: 1-20
More Lessons: Isa 55: 8-1 1
Bible Reading in One Y ear: Ephesians 4-6

Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the TLORD, T o morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria: II Kgs. 7:1. One day Prophet Elisha said that by the next day the famine in the land would end and there would be overflowing provision. But a man looked at the prophet and said it was not possible even if God would open the windows of heaven. The prophet told him that it would happen but the man would not partake of it, and everything happened just as Elijah declared. The unbelieving man was wondering how on earth the supply would come; he didn't know that before God makes a promise He already has excess of the provision needed to meet the promise.

Nothing can compete with the faithfulness of God. He will always make good His Word; as long as you stay with Him you cannot end up a failure. It is only if you turn back from serving and trusting Him that you become a failure. It is the lie of the devil that makes you think that you will fail when you are with God. But I want you to know that no matter how long a lie lives, the truth will catch up with it. The faithfulness of Jesus is the truth. According to Evang. Reinhard Bonke, 'You can't kill the truth; even when you do, it will resurrect on the third day.'' The lie of the devil that says you will be a failure is about to expire in your life. Just keep holding on to Him who is the Truth and you will see that every failure in your life will turn to success.

If you believe that you will not fail, then you should always live in gratitude and thanksgiving to God, regardless of what you are going through. Even when you seem to meet failure face to face, just keep giving God praise, knowing fully well that with God involved something will happen to change the situation. Do you join those who complain? If so, it shows you have accepted failure. Rather, be like the three Hebrews who insisted on the faithfulness of God even in the face of the fiery furnace (Dan 3: 1-30). They were so confident that God would deliver them, but even if He did not, He was still not a failure.

Have a permanent consciousness of thanksgiving whatever happens or does not happen, Do not allow doubt and double mindedness in your heart. If you have not received what you are praying for, stay on with God. God is not a failure

Prayer/Action
* Ask God to help you trust His faithfulness even when there are no signs.
* T ell God you believe He is the God of miracles.
* T ell God nothing you believe Him for will fail, in the name of Jesus.
* Give God thanks because He cannot fail.

Like and Share!

God is not a Failure I

Text: Num. 23:19
More Lessons: Heb 6: 13-18
Bible Reading in One Y ear: Ephesians 1-3

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.

God has no single precedent of failure. He who created the heavens and the earth from nothing in six days cannot be a failure. He alone is the One who made promises before the world began, when nobody was there to hold Him over His Word and still fulfilled them because He cannot lie. In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began: Tit. 1:2. He definitely cannot fail.

I don't have a single experience in all my life of when God failed me and no man can ever prove that God ever failed. Somebody asked me if I had ever prayed before and didn't receive an answer. I replied, ‘Yes’, and then he remarked that it means God failed me. No, God didn't fail!! I only failed to receive an answer. The book of Hebrews talks about the fathers of faith who had the promise but did not receive it till they died, yet they knew that God did not fail but He only had better plans unknown t o t hem. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect: Heb 11:40 (NIV).

God gave Isaiah the prophecy of the coming Messiah which did not come to pass hundreds of years after. But today we are witnesses that God cannot fail because the promise has been fulfilled. Someone might say God has failed him and so he wants to give up on God. Another might lament, ''I’m giving offering, paying tithes and pledges and nothing is happening. I'm not giving again” With or without your offering God is God and He is not a failure. Who will dare judge the Almighty or examine Him? With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of judgment, and taught Him knowledge, and showed to Him the way of understanding?: Isa. 40:14.
Today God is saying to you, Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?: Jer. 32:27. There is no promise that He cannot and will not fulfil. Never doubt God anymore; I make proud to tell you that He will not fail you. He is not a failure. He is faithful. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; Heb. 2:2.

Prayer/Action
* Take a worship song and give God thanks for being the God who never fails.
* T ell God you believe in His unfailing power and remind Him of your requests.
* Ask Him to help you never to be moved by the issues of your life that are pending before Him.

Like and share!

The Believers Growth

Text: Acts 17:10-12
More Lessons: Lk. 11:1-2
Bible Reading in One Y ear: Ecclesiastes 10-12

The eternal truth for today is that anyone who sincerely desires to grow in the Christian faith must do more than whatever others are doing. Given the circumstances surrounding the end time Church today, the general food from the pulpit will not be sufficient for the proper growth of any believer. The Church today is confronted with two problems: (I) That of a congregation that is too restless to sit and learn and a congregation more interested in survival prayer than revival, in some cases people even tell the pastors what to preach and what not to. (ii) The problem of the Church not being focused, some have outgrown their capacity to pastor effectively by their slumber and of course the end time spirit that is working so hard to weaken the Church of Jesus by sin, money, politics, distractions etc.

It is therefore important for every growth conscious believer to go an extra mile beyond the pulpit to personally develop himself / herself. If you don't ensure a growth in your Christian life, you will gradually die off although you may still be sounding like brass. The church ought to provide the learning materials, the inspiration and skill, while the individual picks from that point to develop himself. The Berean church exemplified this when, after learning from Paul, they created time to read over what they had been taught and to study further whether those things were true. Also, after Jesus’ public teaching, His disciples came back to Him privately to seek further clarification of what they had been taught in public. Any believer who truly wants to grow must create time for extra  information, reading and asking leaders questions like the disciples did (Lk. 11:1) on healing (Mk. 9:29), and on Jesus’ parable( Mk. 4:10). Every believer must learn to create time beyond church sermons to study the Bible, fast and pray alone, and do night vigil with their family.
You  have a responsibility for whatever you want to become in life and destiny, do take up the challenge today.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God to lead you to everything you need to become what you need to be in Christ Jesus.
* Pray that the negative spirit and forces of the end time will not be your portion.
* Pray that you will find all it takes and you will give all it takes to grow in your Christian faith.
Examine yourself critically, locate areas where you need to do more and what you need to do to grow into maturity, and do them.

Like and Share!