Sunday Mornings

Psalm 100:1-5 ASV [ 1] Make a joyful noise unto Jehovah, all ye lands. [2] Serve Jehovah with gladness: Come before his presence with singing. [3] Know ye that Jehovah, he is God: It is he that hath made us, and we are his; We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. [4] Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, And into his courts with praise: Give thanks unto him, and bless his name. [5] For Jehovah is good; his lovingkindness endureth for ever, And his faithfulness unto all generations. God has seen us through the year 2015. Today, being the last Sunday of the year, we ought to reflect on what He has done for us and give Him thanks. Happy Sunday

Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest.  Matthew 11:29 These are the words of Jesus speaking of Himself. God has set Him as the spectacle of living on earth. The bible confesses that Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God. He is the first-born Son, superior to all created things. Colosians 1:15 In our day to day activities, God brings us across several persons that he intends for us to learn from; yet we must be careful to note that they are not the pattern. As a matter of fact, they have a pattern they are also following. That is why Paul was particular to tell the church in Corinth "Imitate me, then, just as I imitate Christ." 1 Cor 11:1 . In other words, "The moment you notice (by decerning of spirits) that I have drifted from following Christ, at that point stop following me". The aim of their labour over our lives and as God will help us, our labour on the lives of seve

Many of His followers heard this and said, “This teaching is too hard, who can listen to it?”. John 6:60 ( GNB ) The Word of God is His instrument for changing lives. For this change to occur, there has to be a turnaround from former ways, from former lifestyles. When the Word comes and is pointing at these areas of your life, it usually appears as though “this is becoming too much, this is not what I signed up for. I better sign out now before I become a piece of rag”. When these hard times come, Jesus will never be insisting you stay back. It is a choice we have to make. In verse 67 Jesus turned to His disciples and made the floor open. The answer they gave in verse 68-69 is something that is an indelible mark of discipleship. Simon Peter answered him, “ LORD, to whom would we go? You have the Word that gives eternal life. And now we believe You are the Holy One who has come from God.”. Peter and the other disciples were not going to leave Jesus, no matter how hard His dealings

His disciples asked Jesus what this parable meant, Luke 8:9 ( GNB ) Jesus had just finished telling a parable as was usual of him. Note that the audience was a large crowd as emphasized in verse 4, but majority of the crowd went home after the long sermon, probably satisfied because they were healed, or they were fed, but the gravity of the sermon that Jesus was trusting their ears to heed (verse 8b) fell on deaf ears. They all went home the same way they came as far as heaven was concerned. Those who would stop at nothing till they got to the bottom of the gist that Jesus was speaking about were called disciples . One of the characteristics of Jesus’ disciples was that they would always draw back and ask for the interpretation of the parable as we see in our anchor text. How many times do we read the bible in our quiet places and entreat God for the underlying meaning of what He is bringing your way? After church service, do you have an alone with God moment where you ask God to c

When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O LORD!”. Luke 5:8. There are moments in life when the glory and supremacy of God is revealed to you as a human, and you can perceive your emptiness and woes. At this point, we have to be careful how we handle this feeling. If not handled properly, it could lead us to further destruction. Can you compare the response that Peter gave in verse 8 with the one he gave in verse 5? But Simon answered and said unto Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing, NEVERTHELESS AT YOUR WORD I WILL LET DOWN THE NET” In both verses it was clear to Peter of his short comings. Peter must have been a very honest man. He was never beating around the bush, but in v5, after being honest, he still left room for the Master to have his way. A repentant heart always leaves room for the NEVERTHELESS (in spite of what proceeded; yet) of God’s power that saves lost souls. Thank God that Jesus was

But the Spirit produces…patience… Galatians 5:22 (GNB) I like the way the Good News Translation introduces this verse of scripture. The regular way we quote this scripture is to say that “the fruit of the Spirit is…patience…”. This means that fruit is the product or consequence of something done; in this case being baptized and led by the Holy Spirit of God. This particular manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit is something worthy of note especially when you look up the meaning of patience. Patience is the capacity for waiting: the ability to endure waiting, delay, or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset, or to persevere calmly when faced with difficulties [Microsoft® Encarta® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.] Going through scriptures from Genesis to Revelation, we see several promises that are meant for us, but our present situation is an opposite of what God has promised for those who love Him. Today God is telling us that in all our leadin

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14 9-10: Besides being wise himself, the Quester also taught others knowledge. He weighed, examined, and arranged many proverbs. The Quester did his best to find the right words and write the plain truth. 11: The words of the wise prod us to live well. They're like nails hammered home, holding life together. They are given by God, the one Shepard. 12-13: But regarding anything beyond this, dear friend, go easy. There’s no end to the publishing of books, and constant study wears you out so you’re no good for anything else. The last and final word is this: Fear God Do what he tells you . 14: And that’s it. Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it’s good or evil.

Jesus said to them, “Because you do not believe enough. I tell you the truth. If your strength to believe were as small as a little mustard seed, you could say to this hill, “Go, move over to that place!” and it would move. Nothing is too hard for you to do.” Matthew 17:20   Sometimes the Bible comes as simple as can be, and its simplicity could be enough reason to doubt its legit possibility. For example, how will you tell a sinner that if he believes in the mystery of the cross, that Jesus is ever ready to forgive and make him a new man? But that is the simple only way to salvation. When we are reading the Bible, sometimes we just have to accept the simple principles and steps that are being required, and God will prove His Words to be true. Jesus was speaking in this verse concerning faith . He ended by saying confidently that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE. And when you read earlier, Jesus was even saying that you don’t need to believe so much. Faith as

Jesus was in the back of the boat, sleeping with His head on a pillow. The disciples woke Him up and said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are about to die?” Mark 4:38. The common story of how Jesus showed Himself to be LORD over even the seas, and the winds, and storms, was in fact the product of unbelief from the disciples. When Jesus woke up and calmed the storm, he turned to His disciples and said “why are you so frightened, have you still no faith?” (vs 40) Actually if you look at our anchor text, you should begin to wonder, “but was it not because of their faith in Christ’s saving power that prompted them to call on Him in the midst of the storm?” It therefore means that they ought not to have gone through all those troubles of getting him from his sleeping place. Jesus was trying to tell them that if indeed they had faith on Him, then knowing that He was In the boat was enough to make them to be assured of a safe landing. God is an All Knowing God, so the fact that He is the o

So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. Genesis 32:24 This is the common story we all know that Jacob encountered God and his name was changed, and his destiny was set clear. Due to the nature of the promise on the life of Jacob, God had been looking for several means of getting his attention. In Genesis 28:12-16, God went as far as engaging him in a vision we all know of, where angels were descending and ascending on a stair way linking heaven and earth. God spoke eventually to Jacob, but the man of God was not sensitive enough to engage God back. In fact, when he woke up, he was shocked to have found out that God was there and he knew not. God had been looking for several other opportunities to engage Jacob, and 4 chapters later, another encounter was on stage, but Jacob was going to miss out yet again. God came to Jacob when he was alone according to our anchor text, and suddenly a struggle began. Some of us are also engaged in this struggle with Go

“ What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. “Teacher,” the blind man answered, “I want to see again.” Mark 10:51 Last week, God was showing us practically how we can experience Him. This week, He is taking us further through this very dramatic story of the blind man that He healed by the way side. The way that this blind man, just like everybody that ever had a recorded encounter with God got his is similar to that of Moses and his burning bush experience. Jesus was passing by [just as Jesus has always been passing by in our daily devotion periods, in our several churches during service and bible studies and prayer meeting] ; unfortunately and sad enough, Jesus passes by and never gets noticed by us most of the time. The blind man would have no rest till he cried OUT . This is the first issue that God wants to point to us from this experience. Many a times, we cry, but we cry to ourselves, but God is challenging us from this passage to cry OUT and catch Jesus’ attention as

So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses”. Exodus 3:4 Just like Moses, we have all had our “burning bush” experience. When we think about divine encounters we are always expecting God to come down in clouds of fire and visit us, but do you know that there are everyday activities that occur that God wants to use our “ curious ” nature to attract us to Him. When Moses saw the burning bush, he wanted to turn aside to see the great side, but that is not when the call of God was voiced out. God began to speak when “ He [the LORD] saw that he turned aside to look”. Faith without works is dead [also]. James 2:26b Without faith it is impossible to please God, but James is telling us that faith is not complete without works. That was the significant of the step that Moses made by actually turning aside, and not just perceiving it in His heart. As we go through this week, God wants us to be sensitive to experiences

Romans 7: 21-25 21-23. It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. 24. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question? 25. The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different. Jesus is the only one that can save us from the power of sin. If we surrender our lives completely to him; letting go of those pleasures and evil deeds (immorality, envy, pride, drunkenness, lust, lies, covetousness, unholy speech etc), HE will set us free from the chains of sin. Romans

“those who come to me cannot be my disciples unless they love me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and themselves as well.” Luke 14:26 ( GNB ). It will be shocking to know the group of people that Jesus was talking to in the verse of scripture that God is challenging our hearts with today. This on its own makes it a very sensitive matter that I feel everybody that is running this race of faith should be careful of. Luke 14:25 tells us that a large crowd was walking with Jesus, so he definitely was talking to the members of that crowd. The first issue that God will be bringing to us this week is the crowd syndrome. Most men that became heroes of faith that we refer to today in scriptures were never men of the crowd. They were not following Jesus in the crowd manner . It is very simple to be satisfied with the collective anointing in a crowd experience , and just because you are there, you benefit from heavenly out pouring, yet when you ar

“you are that man,” Nathan said to David. II Samuel 12:7a ( GNB ) Many times when we read the scriptures, it has no effect because we are not reading it as a medium through which God speaks to us as a man speaks with another man. We read the Bible like a regular novel. One of the potent ways that God speaks to us is via His written Word in scriptures. God’s Word is His comprehensive equipment for changing lives; meaning that God’s Word is for changing lives, but only at the point that you comprehend it. The Word of God was coming to David, and David was feeling that it was about a ‘certain man’, but through the help of God’s prophet, he was able to be corrected in his perception of the message. He got to know that he was that man. And God is pointing to us today, that it is us He is referring to on a daily basis when we study scriptures. The days of Abraham and Moses, and Paul are over. Reading about them, and just ending at knowing how their lives went is taking and using the Bibl

“…In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 ( GNB ) What a responsibility on the head of every believer- to be a light. Light is only needed in darkness. Light makes a difference. The preceding verses, as illustrated in The Message Bible shows the depth of the responsibility more clearly. It is as though God is speaking emphatically to us, saying : “the place that you are is your “mountain”, the very mountain that I [the LORD] placed you on, what you are to do is just shine.” This mountain may include our intellect, our charisma, our beauty, our substance, our skills and talents, our place of work, our department, school, and so many to name; just anywhere you find yourself. It means that every place, and position that we find ourselves in (by God’s grace) is a strategic stand point that God has placed us, so that we can affect lives. How is God going to achieve this? The verse

And He went on to say to them all, “watch out and guard yourselves from every kind of greed; because a person’s true life is not made up of the things he owns, no matter how rich he may be”. Luke 12:15 (GNB) Here goes a warning that our LORD was giving out to anyone who would care to listen. The same warning is coming to us today in our weekly devotion. This matter must have been so pressing on the LORD’s mind, as we can see from the stern warning that He was giving. So what was it about greed (or covetousness, as other bible versions put it)? To covet means to have a strong desire to possess something that belongs to somebody else; or to want to have something very much [Microsoft® Encarta® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation]. The more you think over this definition, the more you wonder why our LORD is giving a stern warning against it. Actually, the world defines a man by what he has. If a man is handsome, is a lady is beautiful, if a man is rich, if he has a first class res

… all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalms 139:16b (NKJV) The world system hangs on a lot of regrets. Regrets about “why I did not read last night”, “how I did not school abroad”, “why I did not do this and do that”, because they believe that “had I done that, the outcome I am facing now would have changed”. This concept of the past affecting the future, or the future dependency on the past is known as THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT. The theory believes that a hurricane wind experienced now is the aftermath of the flapping of a butterfly wing some miles away and at some distant time in the past. God is saying today that the only regret you should have is concerning the SALVATION STATE of your soul. If any man is in Christ he is a new creature, the old has passed away, (and has nothing determinate on my future any more). The psalmist here brings to light that there is nothing that comes across the path of a believer that is a surprise to G

… when these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your head, because your redemption is drawing nearer . Luke 21:28 (NKJV) The preceding verses to this verse were describing the series of events that would occur before the coming of the Son of God. From vs.26 the events described look very disheartening, it will look as if it is finished. As a Christian waiting for the second coming of Christ, you may want to give in because of the pressures on every side, yet Christ ended this message of “despair” with a hope -“your redemption is drawing nearer” , this brings to heart first that it is not a time to give up, but to hold fast with our heads up. The evil one is very strategic in his evil plans, and that is why as a Christian, you have to be very vigilant . You should keep saying “God could not have brought me this far to leave me alone” . Usually, these are points when your salvation is nearer. Imagine a time to give up. Something that if narrated is very pathet

…and I will dwell in Your Presence now and forever more. Amen . Psalms 23:6  This was a simple, yet necessary cry from the heart of the psalmist-David. One would ask why this proposition, but God in the light of His Word is bringing illumination to the matter. I have thought much about Your Words and stored them in my heart so that they would hold me back from sin . Psalm 119:11 The psalmist would only for certain have got the Word of God [even so much in excess to store in his heart] in the presence of God. Practically, I have noticed that when I am in the gathering of brethren, no evil thought comes nigh , but in my secret-quiet place, I begin to craft out evil . This may be a true story for you too. I believe it was the same for the psalmist, and so he was not just satisfied with feeling the presence of God momentarily (in the gathering of brethren). He felt the only way out of the strong hold of sin was dwelling in the presence of God. So closing of fellowship should