THE TRINITY OF MAN

READ: JOB 1:6-9

The battles of life must first be fought in the spiritual realm before you can experience victory in the physical realm. Every believer should seek to understand the secrets of victory in spiritual warfare. An understanding of all the components which man is made of is crucial to the understanding of what it takes to overcome the devil. Man is a trinity, made up of spirit, soul and body. Or, better put, Man is spirit with soul, living inside a body. The body is just a house inside which we live. Our souls can be called our minds or our reasoning faculties. Our spirits are actual persons. We can take an analogy by using the example of how football used to be like in the olden days. In those days, football was made up of an outside jacket, with a tube inside it. When air is pumped inside the tube, the leather is able to bounce. One can safely say the air is the football. The moment you release the air, all the other components are useless. Our spirit is like the air in the football. When someone dies, he breathes the last breath and what we have left is a lump of flesh. The spirit is surrounded by, as it were, the soul. Both of them are house in the body. The spirit is mentioned first in our above Bible passage because the spiritual controls the physical. Whatever happens in the physical has already been settled in the spiritual. A good example in found in Job 1:6-19. There was a discussion in the spiritual between God and the devil. God called Job a perfect man, and the devil said Job was perfect because God had prospered him, and that if all that he had were withdrawn, Job would change. God then permitted the devil to try Job. It was after this that lightning began to fall, raiders began to raid and walls of houses began to collapse. How then can we handle spirituals attacks, you must locate the enemy’s hideout and attack the problem from the root. If you win the war in the spiritual realm you will win it in the physical realm.

MEMORIZE: JOB 1:10 –Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

HELP FROM ABOVE

READ: PSALM 121:1-4
            PSALM 23:1-6

It is crystal clear than man will always need help on this side of eternity. Although many of us crave for independence, we are highly dependent on help or assistance from God and our neighbours. The source of your help goes a long way to determine whether your needs will be met or not. God is the only source of genuine, endless help. Today, we shall examine how David, the Psalmist, consistently made God the source of his help in all situations. When David said, “From whence comes my HELP,” he was making a very important point. He was drawing attention of the One who had been his help from ages past. He remembered the One who had been with him when he was in trouble. When he was alone on the farm, he fought a lion and a bear. Who helped him? The Lord. Who is your helper? This is a question we should ask ourselves. Who has been helping you in the past? It might be very difficult for many of us to answer the question properly. Maybe the fellow who has been helping you all along is your big uncle. Maybe you were not raised in a polygamous home. Maybe you come from a Christian home where there are no witches at all. However, some of us come from families where we knew the meaning of danger right from our youth. Who is your helper? You must answer this question definitely. In Psalm 90:1-2, David said, “LORD, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or over You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” David knew what he was talking about. When he was speaking to Saul, in 1 Samuel 17:34-37, he stated that since he had killed a lion and a bear, Goliath would also meet his waterloo because the God who gave the lion and the bear into his hands would give him victory. On whom do you place your confidence? Does your help come from above or from beneath? You may have a new problem but I want to assure you that there is no new God. The God who helped you solve the problems of the past will help you to solve the new ones. David asked a crucial question and he went ahead to provide a timeless answer. “My help comes from the LORD.” My prayer for you today is that God will take you to a level where your expectations will come from Him and Him alone.

MEMORIZE: PSALM 90:1 –LORD, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.

HOLISTIC LIVING

READ: PROVERBS 7: 1-9

A lot of believers often believe there is a dichotomy between the physical and the spiritual aspects of their lives. God is interested in your physical life as much as He is interested in your spiritual life. Many believers are guilty of neglecting the physical aspect of the lives. Hence, many have died prematurely while others have continued to suffer ill health. However, God expects us to exercise sanctified common sense when it comes to dietary principles. If you eat the wrong food, you may be digging your grave inadvertently. God is interested in what you eat. God is interested in our being wise, too. Your body needs plenty of pure water, protein, calcium, minerals and vitamins, more than fat. You need pure water to clean your blood. Seventy percent of your body is water. You must drink, at least, six cups of water daily. Sugar and starchy foods are to the body what petrol is to a car; but you do not need too much of petrol to run a car. Likewise, you do not need too much starch to run your body. Too much sugar causes teeth decay. Our teeth will drop off if our blood is full of sugar. Beans, peas, vegetable, nut (almonds, groundnuts, walnuts), onions, fruits, milk and tomatoes are good. Sunshine is also good for you. Excessive coffee and eggs are very dangerous for you. A cup of coffee has an average of one and half grins of caffeine. For a heart patient, doctors use two and a half grains of caffeine as shock treatment. This make the heart to work faster than it ought to. This means that when you drink more than two cups, you are telling your heart to run a race. If you compel your heart to run a race, it will divide your body into two to be able to handle it properly. This is when stroke occurs. Eggs contain cholesterol. Too much of it will give you heart problem. Eating fried food is like feeding o ashes. Many of the so-called dainties of the rich are deceitful meals. If you live on the so-called “foodless food” you may be travelling on the opposite side of longevity and good health.

MEMORIZE: PROVERBS 7:1 –My son, keep my words, and treasure my commands within you.

ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE

READ: 1 TIMOTHY 6:11-16

God is raising up a special breed of Christians. They are champions who believe that all things are possible. Come rain, come sunshine, they are bent on achieving their God-given goals. Divine champions are people of rugged determination. Once they set their minds on certain goals, nothing would make them change their minds. They pursue the goals relentlessly until they arrive at their destination. Like Paul, they forget those things which are behind, and press forward. You will never find a champion retreating. A champion is like a river. A river will always look for a way round any obstruction to get to the ocean. For example, David decided that not one of the sheep given to him by his father would get lost. David faced the lion fearlessly and killed the lion. He was a Divine champion. Many of us have lost our miracles because we stopped too soon. We are not determined enough. Devine champions never use the word, ‘impossible’. Impossibility is a challenge to a Divine Champion. In my little work with the Almighty God, I have had several challenges. The moment you ay something is impossible, I would want to show you that it is possible. It could take some sweating, fasting and vigils and a little extra effort. Whatever Divine champions want from God, they get it. Divine champions are never discouraged. They would not allow relatives and friends to discourage them. When David asked what would be done to the person who would take away the reproach on the people by getting rid of Goliath, he was almost discouraged by his brothers. He was, however, undaunted. Many of us have lost our miracles because friends and relatives discouraged us. They say we pray too much. Divine champions are not discouraged by their leaders. God have mercy on us pastors. Many times, we discourage our congregation. We teach them about faith but when the time comes to exercise it, we waver ourselves. Divine champions do not put their trust in leaders. Do not put your trust in any human being. Put your trust in God. He is the only One who cannot fail.

MEMORIZE: 1 TIMOTHY 6:12 -Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

SATAN’S STRATEGY

READ: 1 KINGS 22:20-23

Satan is a cunning strategist. He uses several antics to attack men and women. The Bible says, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Ephesians 6:11. It is clear, therefore, that there is devil. This devil is alive and active, even though we know how to deal with him. In Job 1:6-7, the Bible says, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.” Satan was present at the gathering of the children of God! Satan can pay you a visit because he goes to and fro on the whole earth. The devil has wiles. Wiles men corrupted wisdom. This is the wisdom by which you get somebody into trouble. Initially, Satan had divine wisdom. This became corrupted after the fall. In Ezekiel 28:12, the Bible says Satan was full of wisdom. In beginning, the devil had good wisdom, but it became corrupted when he fell. The attacks of the devil are not always direct. They may not come from the direction you expect. When the devil wants to attack, he uses his wiles. He can use methods you are not even thinking about at all. A good example is found in Joshua 7:1 and 12. Joshua had been victorious all the time. Jericho had just been taken and Joshua was beginning to feel confident. Then the enemy came from behind. It entered into one man who took what God said they should not take. Joshua though God was till with him, so he went against a small town called Ai. The Israelites had to flee from this small town. The enemy has used a new method. It was an indirect attack. David was obedient to Saul. He behaved himself wisely. He became Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Many people loved him but the devil came in with an indirect attack. David did nothing wrong. The devil used wiles. He got women together and taught them a song...”Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” This turned Saul against David. I counsel you to watch and pray today. Be alert. Do not be a victim of he devil’s strategy.

MEMORIZE: 1 PETER 1:13 –Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

A LESSON FROM AN INDIAN

READ: ATCS 10:34-44

God is good. He is ready to lavish his blessings upon those who are willing to pattern their lives according to His word. In John 14:14, Jesus said, “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” The first time I read this passage, I paused. As a mathematician, to me, ‘all’ means ‘without exception’. Anyone who promises to do everything you ask from him is either crazy or the fellow is the Almighty. I then remembered that, in John 14:6, Jesus Christ said He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. If He is the Truth, it means He can never lie. I remember the day I told God to heal me of incessant malaria attacks and that, in return, I would serve Him for the rest of my life. God kept His own part of the bargain; now it is my turn to keep mine. He would do whatever you want but you must keep His commandments (John 14:15). You must do whatever He wants. I believe this is very simple bargain. How much does He want from you? Very little. How much do you want from Him? Quite a lot. Let us conclude today’s quiet time with the illustration of the story of an Indian who, when he became born again, decided to make God happy. I think, in his dream, he presented a gift of his blanket to God and wanted God to smile to show His happiness. God did not smile. He went back and gave hi precious horse to God. God did not smile. He then presented his bow and arrow, which were his means of livelihood. Yet God did not smile. Finally, he came to God and said, “Indian brought blanket, Indian brought horse, Indian brought bow and arrow, now Indian brought Indian.” It was then that God approved of his gift. The summary is that God wants you. Because He gave Himself for you, He wants you to yourself to Him. Are you willing to do so? Once He owns you, He owns whatever you have. Once you surrender yourself to Him, it becomes very easy to do whatever He asks. The moment you are willing to do whatever He asks, you will receive miracles with amazing ease. The joy of it is that, whatever you ask Him, He will do.

MEMORIZE: Revelation 3:20 –Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dime with him, and he with Me.

SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE

READ PSALM 119:33-40

One of the greatest benefits of sonship is spiritual guidance. Without it, life can become a trackless wasteland. Those who traverse such a wilderness will become confused, weary, and tired. The need for divine guidance is pronounced in some areas of life. Spiritual guidance is extremely important in the area of marriage, for example because marriage can make you or break you. You have to take your case to the Lord in prayers. It is a dangerous thing to move without the Lord’s green light. If God does not give you the green and you move, you are asking for trouble. In Psalm 25:9, the Bible says, “The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way.” God will guide only the meek. There are the ones who are ready to listen to God. There are some who would rather stampede God. A sister once invited me to her wedding. I was delighted to go but, unfortunately, the date of the wedding coincided with another programme I had to attend in Britain. The sister insisted that God had told her that I would be at her wedding. I said very good, but I could not see how I would be in London and also be at her wedding at the same time. Another sister invited me to her wedding. I said no problem. She asked me to choose a date that would suit me. When i told her I had already been booked for the whole year. We chose a date, one year ahead and she waited. Some days to the appointed date, my mother died. She was buried on a Friday. Many people did not know that she was buried on Friday because the Saturday we would have buried her was the day we had scheduled for the sister. She asked me to fix the date and I did. I could not now turn round to change it and disappoint her. After my mother’s burial on Friday, people who came to greet me on Saturday were surprised to hear that I had gone to attend a wedding ceremony. God will guide only the meek. If you are meek, the type of person God may show you to marry may not be choice but God knows what is best for you. Let God guide you. Do not choose first and then ask God to ratify.

MEMORIZE: ROMANS 8:14 –For as many as are led by the spirit of God, these are sons of God.

BLAMELESSNESS

READ: EPHESIANS 4:22-32

God places a high premium on perfection. He expects all who belong to Him to be holy, through and through. The Bible says, “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” God gave me two illustrations to drive home the meaning of perfection. Supposing a little bit of faeces from a baby’s pants drops into a bucket of pure water, will the water still be pure? Also, 70-year-old man who had never flouted the law mistakenly killed his wife through anger on his birthday celebration; would he be set free because he had been holy for 70 years? In 1 Corinthians 5:6, the Bible says, “Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven the whole lump?” Ecclesiastes 10:1 says, “Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment, and cause it, to give off a foul odor; so does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor.”
A little mistake can destroy a whole life long achievement of perfection and blamelessness. You have to be blameless all the way. We can refer to the story of Moses in Numbers 20:12. For 40 years, he had been in charge of the journey of the Israelites out of Egypt into the Promised Land. He kept on being a wonderful leader in the face of harassment by enemies and the people he was leading. However, he made just one mistake and because he was God’s favourite, his punishment was that he would get to the Promised Land. Many of us equate God’s standard with our own standard. This is mistake. God is not man. He has decided that nothing unclean shall enter Heaven. You can deceive your pastor but you cannot deceive God. Remember, the Bible says, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13).
Therefore, you must exercise yourself unto blamelessness in the sight of God. The closer you are to God the holier you will become. God has stated that anyone who hungers and thirsts after righteousness will be filled. Make blamelessness your goal today and God will fulfil the desire of your heart.

MEMORIZE: Ecclesiastes 10:1 -Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment, and cause it, to give off a foul odor; so does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor.

LOOKING UNTO JESUS

READ: HEBREWS 12:1-13

Today, let us focus our attention on the importance of making the right choice. Whenever your are confronted with a situation baffling you, the next step you have to take is ask for the grace to look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Every problem that confronts you will make to either look up or look backward. Don’t ever allow the devil to make you look backward and turn away from the path of righteousness. Those who look back become pillars of salt, like the wife of Lot, in Genesis 19:26. God had already delivered the whole family from destruction but one person decided to look back because she decided to perish. Many people look back because they had not really suffered before they come to Jesus. I remember the very first year of my salvation, a Pastor called me and said I was doing fine but that I should make sure did not backslide. I just smiled. If somebody has just come from fire, into an air-conditioned room, you do not need to plead with him not to go back there. You can look to the right or to the left, as you wish. In Matthew 14:25-30, we read the story of Peter when he walked on water to meet the Lord Jesus Christ. He was actually walking on water but when he looked at the storm, wind and waves, he began to sink. There are many things to look at around, particularly in our country today. You can look at the economy, increase in crime wave, and focus your attention on newspaper reports. If you focus on these troubling circumstances, you will sink. I will not sink because the word of God makes it abundantly clear that we live by faith and not by sight. In Mark 2:1-11, the Bible tells us of four men who brought a man to Jesus. When the got to where Jesus was, the way was blocked and the windows were jammed. They had a choice. They could have gone back home; they, however, refused to look back. Also, they refused to look at the situations around them because they must have gone from door to door trying to find a way in. They instead looked up and found that there was room at the top. There is always room at the top. Jesus is above whenever all doors are shut; look unto Jesus.

MEMORIZE: HEBREWS 12:2 –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 has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

ABRAHAM’S JOURNEY

READ: GENESIS 12:1-20

Many people make grievous mistakes as they journey through life. A lot of people hardly examine the direction in which they travel, until there is accident. When things go wrong, such people shift the blame to others. You must own up to your shortcomings if you do not want to lick the wounds of a terrible accident. If you try to cut corners or short-change others you will discover, sooner or later, that those who sow the wind will surely reap the whirlwind. In Genesis 12:1-3, God talk to Abraham and told him to do three things. One, to get out of country, two, to get out of his kindred, three, to get out of his father’s house. “Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.” God told Abraham to get out of his kindred but he took his brother’s son. He complied with only two of God’s instructions. What happened to him when he got to his destination is recorded in Genesis 12:9-10. He was supposed to meet blessings, according to God’s promise, but he met a grievous famine. Instead of staying where God would bless him, he went to Egypt where he met a greater problem than famine. He should have asked God what was happening. Perhaps God would have told him that he was suffering because he obeyed Him half way. Many Christians are suffering today because the have not obeyed God completely. It is not enough for you to give your life to Christ. Your surrender must be total. If you do not surrender today, you will suffer here on earth and suffer in Hell too.

MEMORIZE: 2 CORINTHIANS 10:6 –And being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.  

A POTENTIAL CHAMPION

READ: ACTS 2:1-4

The greatest discovery in life is the discovery of your potentials. Your present status does not matter; what matters is what you will become tomorrow. In every one of us, there is that potential to become a Divine Champion and become mighty men and women of God. Your age has nothing to do with it at all. Your greatness can come when you are a little child like Samuel or when you are eighty years old like Moses. It is a question of God’s timetable. What will turn the potential in us into reality? The divine touch. Water has great potentials. You can drink it, use it to bathe and wash your clothes with it. There are, however, many other things that water can do. Water can cook the toughest meat to make it soft. Water can move a train. What must happen to the water before it can realise that great potential to cook and move anything? It must be exposed to fire. It is when fire comes in contact with water that it becomes steam. When water becomes hot it can cook, kill germs and move mountains. This is why Jesus Christ said we would receive power after the Holy Ghost has come upon us. David was an ordinary shepherd boy until the oil that represents the Holy Spirit landed upon him. Elisha was an ordinary servant until the double portion anointing landed on him. Peter was an ordinary fisherman until Jesus called him to become a fisher of men. Peter did not win many souls when Jesus was around; however, after the day of Pentecost, when fire fell on him and the water in him got heated up, he preached one sermon and three thousand souls were saved. For months, I was asking God for power. One day he told me to shut up. He asked me why I needed power. I said, “To do your work.” He asked me what I had done with the power I got when I was baptised in the Holy Spirit. I said I did not feel any power. He referred me to Acts 1:8 and asked me whether I believed the Bible or not. I said His words are forever settled. That day brought a new beginning and the Almighty God is still doing wonders. It is when you catch fire that your greatness begins. Petrol can do quite a lot. However, it can do nothing until it catches fire. If you are not born again, you cannot catch fire. If you are already born again, thank God then for making you a potential Divine Champion.

MEMORIZE: ACTS 1:8 –But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

THE PROTECTIVE ARMOUR

READ: PSALM 90:1-6

Wise people protect themselves and their property. Good things need to be protected. God shall do a lot of good things in your life. Those good things are going to start happening right from now. When good things happen, we have to defend ourselves. When your house is full of treasures, you have to guard it very well. Proverbs 1:32 says: “And the complacency of fools will destroy them.” We are going to prosper, but we should not let our prosperity destroy us. I know my prosperity will not destroy me because I will put on the whole armour of God. Because God has made provision for the whole for our protection, when an enemy penetrates to attack us and he succeeds, the fault is most likely to be ours. If you do not put the whole armour and the enemy penetrates, you must not blame God. To render the attack of the enemy on us ineffective, the onus is on us to put on the whole armour of God. If you find that, in spite of all the promises of God, the enemy still penetrates, and you are still a tail and not a head, and poverty is overtaking you, then you should ask yourself some questions. You should ask whether you are putting on the whole armour of God. You should examine yourself. God is not a failure. He is not a liar. He will perform whatever He promises. God wants us to be victorious all the time. He said we should put on the whole armour of God to be able to withstand in the evil day. Having done this, we must still be on our feet.

MEMORIZE: PSALM 90:1 –LORD, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.

A GODLY HERITAGE

READ: GALATIANS 4:1-8

Those who come from royal families generally wish to be identified as men and women with royal blood flowing through their veins. They are always proud of their heritage. When a prince passes through a street, members of the community would likely say, “Here goes the prince”. Some people might even go ahead to wish that they also could lay claim to royalty or nobility. Although earthly princes and princesses are accorded lots of respect, there is a greater honour for those who can lay claim to divine heritage.
God so loved you and me that he gave us Jesus Christ, but there are certain things that follow. One of those things is that we can become children of God (John 1:12). If you receive Jesus Christ, you can now cal yourself, without any doubt, a child of God.
The blood of your father flows in your veins. There is a link between the blood of a father and the blood of his son. The blood of the Almighty God begins to flow in your veins the moment you become born again. Jesus Christ said He is the Vine and we are the branches (John 15:1-2). It is the same liquid that flows through the vine that flows through the branches. Whether you believe it or not, from the day you become born again, you undergo a blood transfusion. This is why any witch that tries to kill you will die as she will taste the blood of God and die. 2 Peter 1:2-4 confirms that we are partakers of the very nature of God: “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” The very nature of God becomes available to you the moment you become born again, meaning that your nature becomes the same with that of God. What a glorious heritage!     

MEMORIZE: JOHN 1:12 –But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.

THE NEED FOR PROPER PREPARATION

READ: GENESIS 24:46-54

In our devotional study today, we continue our lesson on marriage. Marriage can be likened to a journey. The starting point of any journey is very important. If your start on a wrong note, you will surely arrive at a wrong destination. I am conscious of the fact that there are lots of unmarried ladies and men in the Church of Christ. These bachelors and spinsters need help. Therefore, the first question you must ask is this: When can I marry? In discussing the journey to marriage, our first focus is on coming of age that is maturity. The journey into marriage begins when a man or woman matures. However, the age of maturity differs from one person to the other. Some people mature faster than others. Several things could delay maturity in the sense of being ready for marriage. Two of them are enumerated below:
EDUCATION: One of the things that could delay your marriage is education. You may be healthy, strong and capable for producing children, but then you may still be in the secondary school. In this case, you are not mature enough for marriage.
FINANCE: Another thing that can delay marriage is finance or a secure job. In 1 Timothy 5:8 the Bible says “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” I have met with some young men, who said I should pray for them so they could get married. When I asked what jobs they were doing, they said they were trusting the Lord for jobs. It is awkward to think of marriage when you are unemployed. The first thing that God provided for Adam was not a wife but a job. As soon as God made Adam, He told him to start working on the farm he was given. It was long after that a wife was given to him. If you do not have a job and you want a wife, you are an infidel. You are not even a Christian. Marriage is a costly business. You cannot just approach a father to seek his daughter’s hand in marriage and he gives you his consent without first finding out some things about you. You may be matured physically, but if you are not matured financially, you are far from being ready for marriage. As you look up to God for a good home you must not lose sight of the need for proper preparation. 

MEMORIZE:  1 Timothy 5:8 -But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

CALL UNTO HOLINESS

READ: 1 CORINTHIANS 6:14-18

In the physical realm, men and women are willing to put in great sacrifices in order to cope with the demands of their callings or professions. A medical doctor spent several years in training and is always ready to be called to duty, even in the midnight. The divine call is one which outweighs secular calls in glory and honour. As believers, we are called unto holiness. The God of heaven and earth has called to be partakers of His divine nature. He has called us to be holy as He is holy. The Bible says in Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” As a child of God you are the bride of Jesus. You must be holy to be the wife of the King of kings. Once you are holy you will be qualified to sit beside the King and behold Him in his radiant splendour. The fact that the sanctified wife is always beside the king shows us that the standard expected of her must be very high, for several reasons. For instance, if you can get the favourite wife of the king to co-operate with you in your bid to kill the king, the king is as good as dead. The favourite wife knows everything about the king. Thus the king has to be sure that his favourite wife is absolutely loyal. She has to be one with the king in inspiration, hope, ambition, and in every thing. If you want to be God’s favourite, you have to be as perfect even as He is perfect. In 1 Peter 1:15-16, the Bible says: “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, Be holy, for I am holy.” You are to be holy because God is holy. In John 14:30, Jesus Christ said: “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.” God wants us to be perfect like Jesus Christ. You have to be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect. Are you living according to the standard of holiness? Examine yourself.

MEMORIZE: HEBREWS 12:14 –Pursue peace with al men, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.

RESOLUTE DETERMINATION

READ: PSALM 27:1-8

Success and victory do not come on the platter of gold. We need to manifest certain qualities of character in order to get the best in time and in eternity. One of such qualities is resolute determination. You need resolute determination in order to possess your possessions. David often spoke with determination whenever he spoke of the things of God. In PSALM 57:7, he said: “My heart is steadfast, O God my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise.” The word ‘steadfast’ can be used to describe concrete cement that has solidified. When concrete is still soft, you can still work on it whatever way you like; but when it has dried, it has become solid. David is saying, here, that his heart is as solid as concrete. In PSLAM 27:4, he says he is only seeking after one thing, to dwell in the house of the Lord: “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple.” This is the language of a man of determination. Apostle Paul followed in his footsteps when he was talking in PHILIPPIANS 3:13-14: “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” when someone says he is pressing on, he is saying that any obstacle in his way will be pushed off. Those who desire to succeed in their walk with God need strong determination. It takes strong determination to press on and serve the Lord, especially in the face of temptations. Those who will take the kingdom of God will take it by force. It takes rugged determination to be able to make it to heaven. You must seek the face of God until every tendency towards vacillation disappears from your life and you begin to set your face as a flint towards your God-approved goals and objectives. Be resolutely determined today to be assured of a very bright future.

MEMORIZE: PSALM 57:7 -My heart is steadfast, O God my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise.

PARTIAL OBEDIENCE

READ: JOSHUA 1:5-9

A week ago we began an incisive devotional journey into the subject of obedience. Let me remind you again: those who are obedient are blessed while disobedient have divine judgment hanging above their head. Today we shall focus our attention on the problem of partial obedience.
The problem of most born again Christians is not outright disobedience but partial obedience. There is no half measure with God. You cannot be married to God and be married to the devil at the same time. God will not tolerate you holding on to Him with one hand and holding on to the world with the other hand. You are either totally for Him or totally against. This is why He regards partial obedience as being worse than disobedience. MARK 12:29-30 says: “Jesus answered him,The first of all the commandments is:  Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” As far as God is concerned, you have to love completely. If you look through the scriptures, you will see that those who suffered most, after Adam and Eve, were those who obeyed God half-heartedly. They include, among others, Abraham, King Saul, Ananias and Sapphira, and the disciples. As for King Saul, God asked him to wipe out the tribe of the Amelekites and to destroy everything in their country. But he went there and killed everybody except the king and the cattle. When God spoke to him, he said he had obeyed God. God said he did not obey totally. This attracted serious punishment. He and all those who could have succeeded him perished the same day. Ananias and Sapphira sold a piece of land and brought half of the proceeds to God, claiming that it was the whole. If they did not bring anything to God, they would not have died. The two of them died on the same day. These examples teach us that partial obedience is as heinous as disobedience. Are you manifesting partial obedience in any area of your life? Repent today.

MEMORIZE: EPHESIANS 6:14 –Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

THE DIVINE TIME TABLE

READ: 1 KINGS 19:19-20

God is a great planner. He has a divine time table for all men as well as for all events. Things would never be on course without a divine time table. Do you that God has drawn a time table from every stage of your life? With this divine time table, all things will work together for your good, according to ROMANS 8:28. When you read 1 KINGS 19:19, you will discover that God rose up Elisha when Elijah threw his mantle on him as a farmer’s boy. As soon as Elijah threw his mantle on Elisha, Elisha’s life changed drastically. He became so powerful that his dead bones raised the dead. It was God who chose Elisha and not Elijah who chose him. Before Elisha was born, God had purposed for him to succeed Elijah. In LUKE 5, we meet Peter, a fisherman who failed, even in his profession, but God saw in him somebody whose shadow would, someday, heal the sick. On the day that Jesus met Peter there two boats. One belonged to Peter and the other to other people. Jesus chose the boat belonging to the fellow who was born to be great. From that day onwards, Peter’s life was never the same again. If you read Peter’s epistles you would know that he was not a learned fellow. He once confessed that he found Paul’s letters difficult to understand. The Almighty God, however, grabbed him and decided that his shadow would raise the dead. Before Peter was born God had settled everything. Before you were born, God has settled it that you would be great. Saul de Tarsus was a murderer. Nobody would have thought that he would become great. God arrested him and changed his name to Paul. However, before God finished with him, his handkerchiefs were casting out demons. God had already chosen him from his mother’s womb. You may be a ‘nobody’ but, one of these days, God will shoot you into the limelight. The moment God unveils His time table; your ordinary moments will become supernatural events. God will turn the attention of everyone in your country to you, and you will begin to shine as the stars of the firmament.

MEMORIZE: PSALM 3:6 –I will not be afraid of tens thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.  

THE SPIRITUAL ARMOUR

READ: EPHESIANS 6:10-13

We must consider something very deep today. All earnest Bible readers and seasoned prophets are agreed on the fact that we live in the most perilous hour of human history. Serious warfare is raging. It is, therefore, unwise to live without protection. Of course, the only sure protection is spiritual amour.
When we are told to put on the whole armour of God, one thing becomes clear, instantly. This is the fact there is God. If there is no God, we cannot be talking of the amour of God. In PSALM 14:1, the Bible says: “The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. There are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good.” Anyone who thinks there is no God is a fool. If He has not made Himself known to you, you have to pray about it. It follows immediately, from our Bible passage for today, that there is an “amour of God.” The armour is made up of several parts, otherwise we would not be told to put on the whole armour of God. This armour of God is not built into us simply because we are children. The armour is not built into every child of God. It is external and we have to pick it up in order to be able to put it on. The armour is available to us. We have to put it on, like a dress. You may however choose not to put on the armour of God. DEUTERONOMY 30:19 say: “I call heaven an earth as witness today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessings and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.” Choose whether you will put on the whole armour and live or refuse it and face the consequence. We have the choice element. Make up your mind about putting on the armour or not. If you fail to put on the armour of God, you will be in trouble. We are entering an era in the history of Christendom where those who do not follow the word of God will pay very high prices. Those of us who are disciples of Christ have not choice but to put on the whole armour of God. Certain thing will begin to happen very soon that will show clearly that we need the armour of God more than ever before.

MEMORIZE: EPHESIANS 6:11 – Put on the whole armor of God,  that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

GOD’S GIFT

READ: 1 CORINTHIANS 12:1-10

There are gifts and there are gifts. However, the greatest of all gifts comes from God. Material gifts lose their value or worth with time. Let me ask you: where are those gifts you received twenty years ago? Perhaps they are no-where to be found. Maybe most of them now litter the junkyard. That is the ephemeral nature of physical or material gifts. Today, I shall share the word of God with you on what I call ‘eternal gifts’. God loved us and He gave us a Gift. This gift is the gift of life. In fact, Jesus Christ also said in JOHN 10:10 that He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. What then is life? It is easy to define life as the opposite of death. Death is permanent separation from things, people and places. Jesus Christ was given to us so that we would not die, physically. He said in JOHN 11:25 “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” Jesus Christ was given to us so that we would not die financially. Jesus will raise you up. He became poor so that we might become rich. PSALM 23:1 says; because He is our Shepherd, we shall not want. He was also given to us so that we might not die mentally. A man who is dead mentally is crazy. The Bible in 2 TIMOTHY 1:7 that the Almighty God has given sound mind. In JOHN 14:27, Jesus Christ says He has given us peace. In JOHN 15:11 He says we must ask till our joy be full. He was given to us so that we would be dead spiritually. Spiritual death means separation from God. When we sinned, we were separated from God. Adam used to have fellowship with God before sin came and they became separated. Jesus Christ came that we might be re-united with God and never again be separated from Him.

MEMORIZE: 2 TIMOTHY 1:7 –For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound mind.

WHY WORRY?

READ: 1 CORINTHIANS 7:1-9

The totality of your success in life rises or falls on the issue of marriage. Marriage is such an important issue that if you fail in that area you must be a rare achiever to succeed in other areas of life. One thing I give thanks to God for is the fact that God graciously gave me a good woman to marry. After my relationship with God, I cherish my relationship with my wife. I thank God for making my home a little heaven on earth. I want to pay close attention to today’s devotional study. Don’t ever jump into marriage as you may never be able to jump out of it. Like me, start by accepting that not everybody will marry. Please let this point be clear from the beginning.  Marriage is a very beautiful thing, but when you think seriously about the matter, the one who does not marry is better than the one who does. Almost all the mighty men tremendously used by God never married. Such people include Elijah, Elisha, Paul, Jesus Christ, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Stephen. Somehow, they did not get into the “trouble”. I am happy being married because my wife has been a tremendous help to me. I always miss her anytime I am out of the home. Marriage, like somebody said, is like a trailer: it drags you. The Bible says clearly that those who are not married mind only the things of God, while those who are married mind the things of their husbands and their wives (I CORINTHIANS 7:34). I have a rough idea that when we got to Heaven, those who are not married will score higher marks, than those of us who are married. Your first step towards marriage, therefore, should be to ask God if He wants you to marry or not. If the answer is negative, then pray to God to let you settle down and begin to work for Him. You could argue that it is God’s desire that we should increase and multiply. Yes, but do all those who marry get children? There a barren sister whom we have prayed so fervently for, but up till today she has no children. However, through this sister, several souls have been saved. She has even led many people to become pastors. You will therefore discover that when we got to Heaven, some barren women will have more children than those who produced while on earth.

MEMORIZE: GENESIS 2:18 And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone;  I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

THE GOOD OLD DAYS

READ: ACTS 12:11-16

There is a very wide gap between the good old days and the present modern era. Modernity, we all know, is often characterised by a lot of shine and allurement. However, the old wine is better. I have been a Christian now for over thirty years, but I have discovered that what we were taught in the good old days cannot be compared with the present day emphasis in many religious circles. I counsel you to return to the old path today. If you can return to the old path, you will get instant answers to your prayers as they were getting in those days. The men of God were praying for Peter. He got released and went to where they were praying for him. He knocked at the door and one little girl who heard the knock went to open it. She ran back to the people to tell them that it was Peter at the door. The people did not believe her. They said it must be his ghost. When you pray and God answers instantly, you be surprised. The first time I prayed fro a lame and the lame walked, I nearly jumped out through the window. You can go to the Lord and tell Him that you want to be close to Him as possible. Tell Him that you want to love Him, pray and study His words. Tell Him that you want to praise Him, serve Him and witness. Tell Him that you want to be His friend. If you are not yet born again, you have not even started the journey. In your own case, repent from all your sins and tell Him that, from now on, you will serve Him. I have a word, today, for those who have been in the Lord for quite some time. It is possible that, with the passage of time, you have allowed some of your virtues and the values, which you once cherished, to slip through your fingers. You must repent and go back to Bethel. You must pray until virtues like humility, tenderness, child-like confidence in God, faithfulness, possessing a heart that trembles after hearing the word of God, etc. are restored into your life. Leave no stone unturned as far as what it takes to experience the dews of heaven is concerned. Make up your mind today to rediscover the pristine experiences of the good old days. “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him.”  

MEMORIZE: LUKE 14:27 –And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

CUSTOMISED FAITH

READ: PSALM 121:1-8

The extremely wealthy often order customised cars from renowned automobile manufacturing companies. The customised car is specially made for the owner. In the same vein the Bible teaches us that faith can be customised. You can manifest faith in a unique manner. One of the most beautiful chapters in the Bible is PSALM 121. It is rich and full of assurances to the pilgrim. The Psalmist started by using the word, “I” and not “we” or “you”. David discovered very early in his life that God is interested in you as an individual. The way God deals with you may be different from the way He deals with anyone else. As a matter of fact, backed by Bible references, we know that God deals with people individually. We all know that Jehovah was the Shepherd of all Israel but not all Israel regarded themselves as sheep. God was willing to take care of the whole of Israel but there were some people in Israel who preferred to worship the idol Baal. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” I cannot speak for you when it comes to doing the will of God. I cannot speak for you when it comes to living a life of holiness. I can only make up my mind about what I want to do and the way I want to relate with my God. You may want to add some things to the name of Jesus. This is up to you. It is your choice. When you speak about decisions concerning the things of God, the only people you can include are those people you have absolute control over. These include your children (if they are the type you can control). Joshua said in JOSHUA 24:15, when he was talking to Israel: “And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD,  choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” He did not even say “as for me and my tribe” or “as for me and all the children of my father.” He was only sure of himself and his immediate family. Today, you can take a cue from the Psalmist by personalising your faith.

MEMORIZE: PSALM 121:2 –My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

CONSEQUENCES OF DISOBEDIENCE

READ: EPHESIANS 6:10-13

Your attitude to today’s topic will determine whether you will experience God’s favour or His wrath. Obedience brings blessings while disobedience brings judgment. If acts of disobedience go on unchecked the culprit will surely reap the consequences.
Great consequences trail every act of disobedience. Disobedience is not a simple sin. It is a compound one because it is the fruit of doubt and unbelief. The original sin in the Garden of Eden came because Eve disobeyed the word of God. If you disobey God, it means you doubt Him and do not believe Him. Nobody ever disobeys until there is doubt. The punishment for disobedience is very severe. These punishments include (i) Curses from God (ii) Divine wrath (iii) Divine vengeance. If you disobey or kick against God’s commandment, you are God’s enemy. We can fight all the forces of demons in this world and win convincingly but if you decide to fight God, I don’t know who will protect you. Anytime you disobey God, you challenge Him to a combat. EPHESIANS 5:6 “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” The wrath of God is coming upon the children of disobedience. God shall use flaming fire to take vengeance on those who disobey. I wonder how many people like to walk through the
fir e of God that consumed stone and water on Mount Carmel. You know what is to face the wrath of a man, not to talk about the anger of God. When God vows to revenge, whoever is on the opposing side is in trouble. Look at HEBREWS 2:2 “For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward.” we have disobeyed God for a long time and the Bible says there will be a just reward for every act of disobedience. However, thank God for the salvation brought by Jesus Christ. The blood of Jesus cleanses from all sins. Those who ignore the salvation that Jesus has brought must get ready for the reward that God will give for disobedience.
If you are a sinner you can receive salvation now. Get saved today and you will experience a happy day.   

MEMORIZE: EPHESIANS 6:11 –Put on the whole armor of God,  that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

SEEDS OF GREATNESS

READ: LUKE 1:5-17

Beloved, I have something unique to share with you today. It centres on what I call the Seed of Greatness. In agriculture, when a good seed is sown a bountiful harvest is sure, all other things being equal. God has a divine purpose for your life. To ensure the fulfilment of His divine purpose, He has planted a seed of greatness in you. The important information which I have for you is that there is a seed of greatness in you. However, you may not know this. It is my prayer that God will open your eyes as we examine the life of John the Baptist. John the Baptist was born to be great. Before he was born, his greatness has been prophesied. He was greater than all that came before him. According to Jesus Christ, of all men born of women, he was the greatest. However, the Bible says those of us who are born again are greater then John the Baptist. The least of us is greater than him. This convinces me that I am born to be great. Everyone who is born again has greatness in him or her. In the scriptures, we find that the Almighty God picked people who never thought they would be great and made them great. For example, God went into bush, grabbed a shepherd boy, and turned him into a King. God knows the end from the beginning. Before He formed David at all, He had decided to make him a king. He told Jeremiah that He knew him before He formed him in the belly. God never does anything without a plan. Before you were born, God has planned what you would become. You were born to be great. You may be unknown right now but a day would come when you will become known. In 1 KINGS 17:1, we are introduced to Elijah:”And Elijah the Tishbite,o f the  inhabitants of  Gilead, said to Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word .” The fact that his father’s name was not mentioned means that his father did not matter. However, within one day, this unknown person became someone who could call down fire from Heaven anytime he wanted. Some people came to arrest him, he called down fire to roast them, and they became ashes. It was not the day he was brought to the presence of the king that he became prophet. He is born prophet. The Bible says, in 1 SAMUEL 2:8 that God can pick a beggar from the dunghill and put him on the throne so that he can sit with princes. There is a seed of greatness in you. Nurture it and let it grow.  

MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 11:11 –Assuredly, I say to you,  among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

DIVINE EXPECTATION

READ: DEUTERONOMY 10:12-22

When there are two partners in a business, the roles of each are clearly defined. If you were in a partnership and you resigned without creating any vacancy, it means you were not really a part of the partnership. When a worthy partner leaves an enterprise, a vacancy must be created. We are in a partnership with God in which our own part can be divided into two major sections: basic and secondary. Our two basic assignments are recorded in our text for today. We are commanded to fear the Lord, walk in all His ways and love Him. We must fear the Lord, as the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). You cannot have an encounter with a little bit of God’s power without fearing Him. This is a good kind of fear. God is love, no doubt, as David said, “Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4). The rod is for correction while the staff is for protection. Additionally, you are to walk in all His ways, and not in some of His ways. Some of us pray but ignore holiness. Some of us give but do not witness. Some of us study the Bible but do not praise God. Finally, you must love Him. This should pose no difficulty for anyone to do. When you think of how much love He has for you, loving Him in love. God loves us so much that He gave His only begotten Son. He expects us to reciprocate by loving Him with all our heart.

MEMORIZE: 2 KINGS 2:11 –Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

THE DIVINE CHOICE

READ: PSALM 91:1-8

There are many categories of blessings. There are general blessings while there are special blessings. Today, we shall focus our attention on what is called selective blessings. For example, I know I have been selected specially blessings. Verse 7 and 8 of our text says, “A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked.” You must have heard of cases of motor accidents where everyone died with only one survivor. In a gathering of one thousand Christians, it is certain that some people would be more blessed than others. They have a fixed purposed at the back of their minds. Such people believe that they will not go back hoe empty-handed. There are instances of selective blessings in the Bible. Joseph was a member of a family of twelve brothers. He was neither the first-born nor the last born, yet God picked him out for a special blessings. God said that all his brothers would bow down before him. David also had seven big elder brothers. In fact, when Samuel came and saw the first-born, he was sure he was the one whom God had chosen (1 Samuel 16:6), but God said no. God rejected all of them until it got to the turn of David who was not even recognised by his father, Jesse. Why would God select some people for special blessing? This happens because such selected people have satisfied certain conditions. Joseph, for example, had the fear of God right from his youth and hated sin. When the wife of Portiphar invited him to sleep with her, he refused because he did not want to sin against (Genesis 39:9). He did not say that he did not want to sin against Portiphar. Many of us do not wish to sin against the pastor but are willing to sin against God. This shows where we have placed our priorities. If God discovers that you possess the requisite qualifications for receiving His favour, He will bless you beyond your wildest imagination.

MEMORIZE: GENESIS 39:9 –There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

DIVINE PAYMENT

READ: JOHN 14:1-14

Time equals life. Time wasted means life wasted. Every time you waste a day of your life, your life gets wasted. Any day that is not usefully spent for the Lord is a fraction of your life wasted. You cannot bring back the days you have wasted, no matter your anointing and holiness. So do any assignment given to you with all your strength. Let there be no more wasted time and opportunities. Remember, God is a rewarder. We cannot find a better partner than the Lord Jesus Christ. He rewards with money, divine health, strength, wisdom; and, if you really want it, He can reward you with popularity. The fact that the Lord is a rewarder is stated several times in the Scriptures. Psalm 34:10 says: “The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.” Psalm 84:11 says: “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” Psalm37:25 says: “I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread.”He will not only pay you but also pay your children. He will take care of your future. The Bible says: “Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” (2 Kings 2:11). When the time comes for you to retire, He will send His chariots to bring you home. John 14:1-3 says, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were no so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” He has provided a beautiful retirement home for you. It is worthwhile to be in partnership with Jesus Christ; it is a tremendous privilege. Today, the lord is calling you to invest your life and time in His work. This is an opportunity of a lifetime. Any divine investment you get into will yield you great dividends.

MEMORIZE: JOHN 5:17 –But Jesus answered them, My Father has been working until now, and have been working.