Treasure House I

STRENGTH FOR MY DAYS 

A Daily Devotional by Bishop David

Treasure House I

3 November

 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 2 Corinthians 4:7

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY Matthew 25:14-18:  14 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money.

 

MORE LESSON 2 Corinthians 4:7: 7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

 

The dictionary defines treasure as wealth (such as money, jewels, or precious metals); wealth of any kind stored up. It also refers to something of great value. God wants to open your eyes to things that would otherwise remain unseen, in order for you to claim them. God is not trying to hide treasures from us; He's hiding them for us. The treasure within us makes us unique and adds value that others celebrate in us. May the Lord open your eyes to see things you cannot ordinarily see so you can claim them.

The world will be willing to give their wealth in exchange for the treasures that you carry. The value of your treasures is seen when they are identified, polished and put to use (Matthew 25:14-18). Talents are specials abilities entrusted to a man to yield profit and benefits for others. Here are several ways the Bible considered these treasures:

✓ According to 2 Timothy 2:20-21, treasures are like vessels found in a great house which should be clean to be found useful, But in a great house, there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purges himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.

✓ Treasures are abilities and skills acquired and developed over time. David's use of a sling and the skill of strings were acquired and developed. 1 Samuel 16:16 says, Let our lord now command your servants who are here before you to find a man who plays skillfully on the harp; and when the evil spirit from God is on you, he shall play the harp with his hand, and you will be well.(AMP). Also, 1 Samuel 17:36,40 testifies, Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them.  And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.

✓ Treasures could also be in the form of inner good treasure or character like seasoned and edifying words as shown in Matthew 12:35, A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. Also as goodly characters as James 1:4 teaches, So let it grow, and don't try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete. (TLB)

 

Prayer/Action

* Ask the Lord to open your eyes to see things you cannot ordinarily see so you can claim things that would otherwise be unclaimed.

* Pray that like the fragrance from the alabaster box, the treasure in you will find expression for a global recognition.

 

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: Today I step into an unlimited glory because I serve a limitless God. Hallelujah, it's a new year, new season and fresh testimonies, in Jesus' conquering name.

Divine Settlement II

 STRENGTH FOR MY DAYS 

A Daily Devotional by Bishop David

Divine Settlement II

2 November

But the Lord is faithful, who shall establish you and keep you from evil. II Thessalonians 3:3

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY II Thessalonians 3: 1-5: 1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, 2 and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. 4 And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, both that you do and will do the things we command you. 5 Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.

 

MORE LESSON II Thessalonians 2:15-17: 15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.

 

We continue our meditation on how to be divinely established.

ii) Be willing to “suffer” a while. This entails a lot; and personal in its dimensions because we have different callings and destinies. Everyone’s “suffering” differs; but we all must pass through to reach our divine settlement. This involves training under God and man, it involves enduring hardship like a good soldier of Christ, it involves learning and applying knowledge; making mistakes; failing and correcting mistakes and trying again and again. Anyone who will not “pass through” will not “get to”. Don't shy away from this; you can't get divine settlement without suffering. Even Jesus, the sinless Son of God passed through to become the author of salvation for mankind as Hebrews 5:7- 9 . Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, was heard in that he feared; though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.

Suffering here does not just connote enduring hardship but also having resilience,  pursuing  your  goals empowered by God till you attain. It involves refusing to give up even in the face of challenges. This word is so relevant in today's world more than before, due to the economic downturn and high costs of living globally. We must be ready to navigate and succeed despite all by being humble, teachable, flexible, all in the spirit of fervent prayers knowing God is there to see us through and establish us.

The issue of time cannot be overlooked in the path to divine settlement. Experiences are gathered over time, training involves time, divine establishment involves time therefore, patience obedience is required to be established by God. Just stay close to Him and allow the leading of the Holy Spirit day by day and you will be settled.

 

Prayer/Action

* Praise God because the experiences you are going through will lead to your divine settlement

* Ask God for grace to obey the leadership of the Holy Spirit daily.

* Ask for strength to overcome in the pursuit of being established by God.

 

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: Hallelujah, no more limits. It's time to fly beyond bounds, in Jesus' mighty name.

Divine Settlement I

 STRENGTH FOR MY DAYS 
A Daily Devotional by Bishop David

Divine Settlement I

1 November

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you. I Peter 5:10

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY I Peter 5:7 -10: 5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

 

MORE LESSON Isaiah 54:11-14: “O you afflicted one, Tossed with tempest, and not comforted, Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, And lay your foundations with sapphires. 12 I will make your pinnacles of rubies, Your gates of crystal, And all your walls of precious stones. 13 All your children shall be taught by the Lord, And great shall be the peace of your children. 14 In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near you.

A popular song says ”Hold not your peace, O Lord, Rise up for me, O Lord! It is time for you to establish me, O Lord, And make me a praise in the earth”. Indeed God wants us established but there is a process. To be settled or established means to have firm roots in the land, to be firmly fixed and securely entrenched; to cause to grow and multiply; to be accepted and respected by those in your community; to be successful for a long period of time and to be widely known. These are sweet and highly desirable definitions; they become phenomenal when you add the divine dimension to them.

 

Divine settlement is God's hand performing all these in a man's life. God's hand dealing with obstacles to settlement, connecting one to helpers of establishment and giving favour. May we be divinely settled. May the Gospel of our Lord be divinely established and entrenched in our land. Divine establishment or settlement will not just jump to one from the air; there are steps to being settled. In the first reading, Apostle Peter spoke about some of these steps one has to go through before being settled or established.

 Things to note in his injunction to everyone pursuing settlement:  

i).   Recognise and accept the call of God into glory by Christ Jesus. Do not put the cart before the horse: Only a person that has heeded the divine call can be divinely settled. Come to Jesus, accept his call by surrender our life to Him and be a child of God. Then you can be divinely settled because you are now part of God's family. Some say but there are many established people who don't have Jesus. The establishment of such people is temporal and can vanish to thin air without God's hand. They are only piling up for another to eat; then their blessings will not really be full or complete. Also as they amass, they lose their peace and can't sleep well because they are not secure in God. They are not shielded on earth and not eternally secure. Having Jesus in your heart and ruling your life is what secures a person on earth and eternally. That is why the first step in the pursuit of divine settlement is to have Jesus as Lord and Saviour. He said in John 14:6, ...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Ensure you are right with God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Prayer/ Action

*     Ask for the Lordship of Christ in your life, you are called to glory through Christ our Lord

*     Ask for divine settlement by God's hand in all areas of life.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: The God of my new beginning, I give you the glory for the eleventh month out of twelve. Take the praise Lord, in Jesus' mighty name.

 

TODAY’S FASTING FOCUS:  A new thing Isaiah 43:19; 42:9

As the Father has Sent Me

STRENGTH FOR MY DAYS 

A Daily Devotional by Bishop David

As the Father has Sent Me

Thursday, 31 October

 

Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Luke 10:19

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: John 17:1-22 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. 6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. 7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. 8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. 9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. 10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. 11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. 12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. 20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

 

MORE LESSON: Mark 16:14-15 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

 

Jesus’ resurrection is an opportunity for the Church to manifest glory. It's wrong to sit and mourn Jesus' death. What will you do with the post resurrection power? The agenda of God after resurrection is for the Church to preach the Gospel, heal the sick, cast out demons and ensure that the enemy is made the footstool of the Body of Christ. This is why the Bible says, in Psalms 110:1, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Here God is referring to Jesus; God's desire is to see that the enemy is beneath the feet of even the least in the Kingdom. Heavens rejoiced after the disciples began to manifest the power of God in them.

There is power in you and Heaven is waiting for you to do something with it. The post resurrection power is for the manifestation of the sons of God. Until we do, it we are just gathering in church and fellowships for nothing. You don't call your pastor when the enemy is striking; you first deal with it before calling him. Jesus has already resurrected and the next person to resurrect now is you. Resurrect from your cold Christian life (Mark 16:15–18). You are activated for signs and wonders. The grace upon your life should not be under-utilized.

All that the Father endowed Jesus with to enable Him fulfil His assignment has been given to us too. This is why Jesus confidently said that, as the Father has sent Him, so He sent the disciples. Also after He resurrected, just before He ascended to heaven, he said, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen: Matt. 28:18-20.

God does not send a man for a job He has not equipped him for. This therefore means that for Jesus to make such commands, He had already given all that was needed. He understood that they needed power to carry out the assignment and that there would definitely be challenges so He asked them to wait until they had received power. When that happened on the day of Pentecost, the disciples stepped out and the world is yet to recover from all that they did. You and I are products of their exploits because if they messed it up, there would have been nothing like Christianity today.

That same power has been passed to us and we must use it to bring the world to the obedience of Christ. We must not allow the grace of God in our lives to be of no effect. I encourage you to labour more and put to use the power that the death of Jesus has made available to us.

 

Prayer/Action

* Pray in the Holy Ghost for at least ten minutes. 

* Command the grace and glory of your life to begin to manifest. 

* Terminate every thing that is stopping your light from shining and bringing glory to God.

 

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: Hallelujah to the Lamb of God who sits upon the throne without limits. October is done gloriously.