Give Simply

Friday 30 June
READ: II Cor. 9:6-10
MORE LESSONS: Prov. 11:24-26

Giving and receiving are essential parts of the cycle of life. For example, the rains give the earth water, which it receives and produces food for man and others to eat and live. Man receives energy and strength from food to be able to give back in different areas of productivity to his immediate environment, family, community and society at large.
Giving is indeed essential and is so much built into our entire existence and daily survival that it must be done without expecting applause and accolade, especially when done in obedience to God's commands and instructions, Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me an offering; from every man whose heart makes him willing you shall receive the offering for me: Exo. 25:2.
In the world, when men give sums of money for projects or charity, they are applauded but for us Christians, our attitude should be different. We must learn to give cheerfully and with simplicity, without expecting human applause or appreciation. Remember Jesus’ words, 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: Matt. 6:1.
Even when men forget to applaud or announce your donations, be sure of greater reward that your heavenly Father will surely give you. The windows of Heaven will open on you such that there shall not be room enough to receive the blessing (Mal. 3:10). The staleness of financial stagnancy is removed out of your life and replaced with the freshness of prosperity as you obey the Word and simply give.
Believers must learn to stop giving with strings attached. We must give without expecting back and it must be simple enough for our reward to come without complication; only then will we qualify for a full reward, You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure. "For God loves a person who gives cheerfully": 2 Cor 9:7 (NLT).

Prayer/Action
* Surrender afresh all your ungodly endowment to God.
* Ask God for grace not to withhold anything you ought to give out, in Jesus’ name.
* Give out something worthy to someone outside your family members today.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, thank You so much for the free gift of the first six months of 2017, I step into the seventh month on the pedestal of unusual expansion, I shall spread from coast to coast beginning from today, in the mighty name of Jesus.

No Divorce

Thursday 29 June
READ: Matt. 19:3 - 9
MORE LESSON: Gen 3:12-21

One of the major crises in the world today is breakdown of marriage. We must declare war on this problem in the Church of God by every means. The forces of prayer must be engaged against every marriage destroying force. The strongest remedy for the decay of the home that is ravaging the world today is for us to build our homes on the principles of God's Word. We must operate by the dictates of the Word of God in our homes. Singles that are not yet married must also be determined to run courtship according to God's Word. If your partner insists that you do anything that is contrary to God's Word before marriage, then you should break that courtship. A broken courtship is a thousand times better than a broken marriage.
There is no going back once you are married. The Scripture doesn't permit divorce. A lot of people are full of complaints about their spouse. It started with the first man Adam who complained about his wife (Gen. 3: 12) but even at that, the Lord didn't permit divorce for them. Adam and Eve continued together after the fall. In fact, God promised that the seed of the same woman that caused the problem for the man would bring salvation for mankind. They continued together and the Lord clothed their nakedness (Gen. 3: 21). People have said, 'if you know how my wife/husband behaves, you will know that I am justified to fight and divorce'. All those excuses do not work with God; if you must make it to Heaven, you have to stay by God's standard and continue loving and submitting in that marriage.
A man insists on divorce and claims that it is easier to live with the devil than with his wife. But that statement is not true; if a man lives with a real demon for one day, he will run back to his wife and start calling her a true angel of God. Your wife is not a witch and your husband is not a killer as you claim, both of you should rather prayerfully work through it so that you will not go to hell for keeping grudges and bitterness against each other. However, if you insist that your wife is a witch and she will kill you if you don't divorce her, don't you think it is better to die in the hand of 'the witch' and go to Heaven than to disobey God and go to hell?
God's desire is for our homes to be havens of love and peace. Marriage is to be enjoyed, not endured; therefore we must build our home on God's principle of love and submission. Don't make life unbearable for your spouse. Be informed that if your spouse goes to hell because of you, you can't escape it. Don't prevent your spouse from serving God, living a righteous life and fulfilling their purpose in life.

Prayer/Action
* I declare war on the spirit of divorce in my family, and church, in Jesus’ name.
* Whatever causes divorce, I destroy it, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father in the name Jesus, as the sixth month walks away, I command all evil patterns to walk away from my destiny, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Serve the Lord with Gladness

Wednesday 28 June
READ: Psa. 100:2
MORE LESSON: Acts 2:41

The Bible says that those who received the Word were baptised and added to the Church. In the early Church, those that gladly accepted the Word made up the bulk of the congregation, so there was quality and not just quantity. One of the problems of the contemporary Church is the quality of the congregation. The congregation is the foundation of the church from where the workers, leaders, elders and pastors are drawn. So it is important that the congregation of the church be made of people who are glad in receiving the Word and serving God. As a part of the congregation of the children of God, do you pay attention to the quality of your service to God?
Your place in the Church of God is dependent on your passion and joy in serving God and not the money or certificate that you have. Some people believe that if they have money, then they should be well recognised and promoted in the church of God. In fact that is the practice in many contemporary churches but God's standard remains that it is those who receive the Word of God gladly that are added to the Church. So don't just make up the number, add to the church by your glad and passionate service. In the days of the apostles, the congregation of the Church was passionate and joyful in accepting the Word of God and serving Him.
This is the foundation that needs to be built right so that our churches can be strong. Check your life, do you gladly serve God?
A time came in the early Church when there was a mixed multitude. People like Ananias and Sappihra thought they could manipulate the Church but God knocked them out because He wanted all to know that righteousness, holiness and glad service are the standard for His house. God is not a respecter of persons. The question He asks you is, “Have you gladly received the Word of life? Are you serving the Lord with gladness?”
When the military was in government in Nigeria, during each Supreme Council meeting, all the officers were to remove their caps and put them on the table. Titles like general, brigadier or colonel were all suspended so that decisions to further the affairs of the nation could be made. In the same manner, in the Kingdom of God, social status must be suspended so that the work of God can move forward. Professor, doctor, business tycoon, rich man are good titles but we must be ready to remove those caps and become brothers and sisters in serving the Lord.
The important thing in the Kingdom is not social status but serving the Lord with gladness. If you have arrived, serve the Lord with gladness. If you have not arrived, if you are married or not, rich or poor, just serve the Lord with gladness. Let no situation or privilege prevent you from serving the Lord.

Prayer/Action
* I pledge to serve the Lord not minding the prevailing situation of my life, in the name of Jesus.
* Lord, I will serve You with my time, substance and energy, in Jesus’ name .

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Woe to the power behind testimony failure in my life and destiny, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Unity in the Church

Tuesday 27 June
READ: Psa. 133: 1 - 3
MORE LESSON: James 3: 16

The place of unity is the place of the commanded blessing. In every family, church and nation one of the things that should be a top priority is sustaining oneness and unity among the people. In the house of God, no matter how much people pray if there is no unity, there will be no blessing. This is why you must never be part of people running down others and causing dissension within the church. It is not enough that you are not part of discord, you must rebuke it. When a person comes to you to sow a seed of discord, you should correct him/her.
Tell the pastorate and leadership about any one creating disunity through his words and actions in the church. This is important so that the issue can be promptly resolved and the person corrected. When you keep quiet about disunity being sown, you allow it to grow and it will destroy everything, including you. Does someone see cancer in any part of his body and hide it from the doctor, saying he doesn't want anybody to know? No, it should quickly be exposed so that it can be curbed before it becomes malignant. It is possible to have a misunderstanding with someone in the church; after all, it is humans that are in church; so there will be imperfection. However, you should settle it quickly and solve the problem and not turn it to an instrument of disunity.
The spirit of witchcraft rides on the wings of disunity. Witches are always looking for who to fight, gossip about and talk evil of. In the church of Christ, there is only one person you are permitted to gossip about – that person is Jesus Christ. Just as there is a blessing commanded on the place of unity, there are curses in the place of disunity. James 3:16 says, For where envy and strive is, there is confusion and every evil. When you see people dying in a church, things not working and every manner of stagnation, check the unity of the people. Competition, jealousy and strife in a place bring evil such as death, sickness, affliction, sack from job. There is a spiritual hedge that disunity breaks which makes all kinds of evil to come into the house.
In the satellite church system, the unity of the whole Body of the Church must be preserved. We must not seclude or divide ourselves but rather see ourselves as part of the whole; the oneness of the church must be maintained. Corporate meetings and accountability to the head should be much honoured. The unity of the entire Body of Christ must be promoted and no denomination should cause division within the Body. Don't partner with people that the devil wants to use to break up the Body of Christ. Don't allow anyone to bring you under a curse.

Prayer/Action
* Today, I come against every spirit of disunity at home, work and church, in Jesus’ name.
* Lord, expose every agent of disunity in our camp, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Oh Lord concerning that matter (mention it) let me hear joy and gladness, in the name of Jesus.