Monthly Archives: October 2019

MEMORISE:
For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. Mark 5:28

READ: Matthew 8:5-13

8:5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 8:6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 8:7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. 8:8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 8:9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 8:10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 8:11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 8:12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 8:13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour..

MESSAGE

I am pleased to announce to you today that just one encounter with the Almighty, with whom there is no impossibility, is all that you need to make all your problems a thing of the past. Not only will your problems be dealt with through an encounter with Him, you will also receive the mother of all blessings, which is eternal life. The story of the centurion who encountered Jesus Christ is a good example of the possibilities that a divine encounter brings. Incidentally, this centurion was not a Jew. Nobody can tell how he got to know about Jesus, but suffice it to say that he was singled out for this encounter by divine arrangement. Typical of a soldier, he went straight to the point in his communication with Jesus, and the Lord offered to come to his house to grant his request. Amazingly, even though he was not a Jew, this centurion demonstrated great faith in the Messiah of the Jews. He declined Jesus’ offer to come to his house, saying that the Master just needed to speak a word and his servant would be healed. He believed that whatever Jesus said would definitely come to pass. The Lord was touched by this demonstration of faith, commending it as the sort He had not seen in Israel.

Beloved, let us learn from the centurion. He was out to get healing for his servant and this led him to Jesus. This encounter produced results because he had great expectations. Whenever you come before the Lord’s presence, you will be wise to come before Him with a pure heart that expects significant things from Him. Go before the Lord believing like the centurion did. You will notice that the centurion applied what he knew about authority as a soldier to connect with a profound spiritual principle. It is unfortunate that instead of allowing God to use their professional background to help them understand divine principles, some people rather allow the devil to convince them that there is no God. The reality of human efforts being futile without God is what convinced Peter, an experienced fisherman, that his catch of fish at the Lord’s direction was not ordinary (Psalm 127:1, Luke 5:8). He therefore bowed to the divine supremacy of the preacher who knew more about fish than any experienced fisherman. This encounter changed Peter’s life permanently, making him famous in almost all the nations of the world. The woman with the issue of blood, who declared the words of today’s memory verse, also had a divine encounter with Jesus, which put an end to pain, shame and waste in her life. In order not to miss your day of visitation by the Lord, never get too familiar with His works. Always appreciate His miracles and let your heart be full of expectation of a divine encounter at all times. I pray that you will not miss your day of visitation, like the children of Israel did, in Jesus’ Name (Luke 13:34-35).

PRAYER POINT:
Father, cause me to encounter You in a special way today.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
2 Chronicles 24-25, Revelation 17:1-14

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

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MEMORISE:
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Psalm 23:4

READ: Luke 1:70-75

70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,

75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

MESSAGE

Today’s Bible reading should inspire confidence of absolute security in those who are children of Abraham through faith in the Son of the Living God (Galatians 3:7-9). The question is, are you a true child of Abraham? As a child of Abraham, David’s confidence in the protection of the God of Abraham moved him to make this exuberant declaration of faith in Psalm 23:4:
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
In order to put our minds at rest and leave us with absolutely no doubt of His commitment to our security, several passages of the Bible re-echo God’s promise of divine safety to us. The Lord guarantees that He will defend us for His Name’s sake (1 Samuel 12:22, Psalms 106:8, Psalm 23:3). This is significant and very reassuring because we know His Name does not change nor can He deny His Name (Psalm 135:13, 2 Timothy 2:13). It is highly comforting when you realize that your Ally is the Almighty God, but then, you must have a relationship with Him- a Father-child, Shepherd-sheep and Lord-disciple relationship.

The Almighty God recognizes that we are surrounded by enemies in this world, and for that reason He has put a plan in place to save us from them all, through the power of the new covenant in the Blood of Jesus. Why has God done this for us? Luke 1:74-75 answers this question, saying:
“, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.”

As the redeemed of the Lord, there should be no fear in us concerning the enemies. We are the triumphant Church of Jesus Christ, sitting with Him in heavenly places in dominion. We do not walk in fear because fear has torment (1 John 4:18). Fear has pushed a lot of people into doing several abominable things like witchcraft, sorcery and joining all sorts of occult groups. Needless to say, a child of God cannot be found with such, as there is no holiness in occult groups, neither is there righteousness in the company of diviners. Behold, the Lord has made up His mind to defend you if only you will trust Him. Are you in any secret society in order to protect yourself physically or financially? You need to quit today because they cannot help you on the fearful day of the Lord (2 Peter 3:10-13). If you are a child of God, you have no reason to fidget, Jesus is Lord and the Lord of Host for that matter. Therefore, cheer up!

PRAYER POINT:

Father, I thank You for this assurance of my safety and security. Please don’t let me stray away from under Your divine protection.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Chronicle 21-23
Revelation 16

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 8: MY FAITH LOOKS UP TO THEE
1. Yes, I know i am a victor
For the Bible tells me so
God made me more than a conqueror
Much stronger than all my foes.

Chorus:
Jesus loves me and i love him
Together we rule the world
Christ with me I will overcome
By his blood, his Name, his word_

2. Yes, I know i am a victor
Stronger than sickness, disease
By his stripes I am superior
Far above infirmities

Refrain:

3. Yes, I know i am a victor
Stronger than demons i am
To satan i am a terror
I am free, o yes, i am

Refrain:

4. Yes, I know i am a victor
Stronger than lack, poverty
All my needs Jesus provides for
I have life abundantly

Refrain:

5. Yes, I know i am a victor
Barrenness no more indeed
Fruitful is the God i live for
All my dreams shall be fulfilled

Refrain:

6. Yes, I know i am a victor
By his strength i shall succeed
No more loss and no more failure
Glory to glory proceed

Refrain:
7. Yes, I know i am a victor
No more sorrow, no despair
Jesus Christ is my own succour
Tomorrow is joy and cheer

Refrain:

8. Yes, I know i am a victor
very soon I’ll reign with him
His promise is my sure anchor
He’s coming to take me home

Refrain:

9. Jesus loves me and i love him
We rule this world together
as He is so right now I am
Hear me shout Halleluyah

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MEMORISE:
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Isaiah 53:4

READ: Isaiah 53:4-5
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

MESSAGE
A burden is a heavy load that attaches itself to a person, whether the person likes it or not. Such a load accompanies its bearer wherever he or she goes, and cannot be freely given up. In essence, a burden is not willingly picked up, because any load picked up willingly can also be relinquished by choice.

Naaman was a man who knew what it feels like to have a burden in one’s life (2 Kings 5). Although he was famous, successful and prosperous, he was a leper and there was nothing he could do about it. All his possessions and achievement could not relieve him of the burden of leprosy he was carrying all around. Do you have a burden in your life like Naaman? Perhaps it is a problem that not even your own making and you have no solution for it. I have good news for you today: there is a person called the Burden Bearer and He is available to take all your burdens away from you. I therefore rejoice with you today because there is no burden too heavy for Him to bear.

To access the help of the Burden Bearer, you first need to admit that you have a burden. In Revelation 3:17, the Lord mentioned how some people thought everything was okay with them, but in reality, they were blind and naked. You have to acknowledge your problem before you can be helped. Also, you must be willing to be helped. Jesus Christ asked the man who had been sick for 38years if he was willing to be made whole (John 5:6). Furthermore, if you want your burden to be lifted, you have to cry to the Burden Bearer for help. Mark 10:46-52 tells of how Bartimaeus cried for Jesus’ help. He kept on crying till Jesus answered. Some people are too proud to ask for help; they just want to do everything themselves. If God helps such people, they might ascribe the glory of what He did to their own efforts. You must be willing to pay the price of persisting in the place of prayer till your burden is lifted.

Lastly, Mark 10:52 tells us that after Jesus took away the burden of Bartimaeus, he followed Jesus in the way. From his example, we understand that after the Burden Bearer has taken away our burdens, we must abide with Him. Many of us come to Jesus when we have a problem, but as soon as the problem is solved, we stop being committed to Him. It is laughable when mere mortals think they can outsmart God. When Jesus takes your burden away, please remain in Him and it will always be well with you.

ACTION POINT:
Cry to the Burden Bearer today about any burden in your life.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Chronicle 17-18
Revelation 14:1-13

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 8: MY FAITH LOOKS UP TO THEE
1. My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Savior divine!
Now hear me while I pray,
Take all my guilt away,
Oh, let me from this day
Be wholly Thine!

2. May Thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart,
My zeal inspire!
As Thou hast died for me,
Oh, may my love to Thee
Pure, warm, and changeless be,
A living fire!

3. While life’s dark maze I tread,
And griefs around me spread,
Be Thou my guide;
Bid darkness turn to day,
Wipe sorrow’s tears away,
Nor let me ever stray
From Thee aside.

4. When ends life’s transient dream,
When death’s cold, sullen stream
Shall o’er me roll;
Blest Savior, then in love,
Fear and distrust remove;
Oh, bear me safe above,
A ransomed soul!

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MEMORISE:
And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled at him. Mark 12:17

READ: Romans 13:1-7
1Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:

4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.

7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

MESSAGE
There are some characters that portray children of God in a bad light today. For example, some of us want to enjoy the social amenities provided by government but don’t want to pay taxes. Those who manifest such behavior are only trying to reap where they did not sow. Contrary to this, Paul admonishes us in today’s Bible reading to be patriotic enough to pay our taxes and perform other civic responsibilities that are expected of us. Our obedience to civic laws should not be by coercion but voluntary, as unto the Lord. The Holy Spirit describes those who are in authority as ministers of God, looking out for our own good (Romans 13:4). It is therefore surprising that some Christians despise their political leaders through their “holier-than-thou” attitude. Christians who defraud the government by not paying their taxes are no better than the government officials whom they despise for stealing government funds. They will all definitely be judged according to their evil deeds on the last day. A government worker who is expected to put in eight hours of work but does just three and uses the rest for his or her personal activities is as guilty as those who loot the government treasury with the pen. As an employee, do you really work for the expected amount of time for which you are being paid?

What do you understand from what the Lord is saying in today’s memory verse? Many people erroneously think that giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar means bribing their way into Caesar’s favor. This is not true! Caesar takes receipted tributes, such as taxes, dues and levies and not bribes. When you pay your taxes, God is happy with you because you are contributing to the wellbeing of the community you live in. this does not however exempt you from paying your tithes, offerings and first fruits to God. Caesar does not take tithes and offerings, but he must also not be denied his dues and taxes for the construction of roads, bridges and other social amenities. Notwithstanding, let it not surprise you as I say today that if you pay your tithes and offering but default in paying taxes, you are guilty of reaping where you did not sow when you enjoy social amenities being provided by the government you refuse to pay taxes to. If you are guilty of this, repent today and begin to go the extra mile of giving back to your community through Christian social responsibility (CRS).

PRAYER POINT:
Father, give me all I need to play my role in the society and in Your house, through the payment of my taxes to the government and my tithe and offering to You.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Chronicle 11-13
Revelation 12

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 3: TRUST AND OBEY.

1. When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
o Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

2. Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.

3. Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey.

4. But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.

5. Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.

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20

MEMORISE:
For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after. Jeremiah 30:17

READ: 2 Samuel 19:11-15

11 And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why are ye the last to bring the king back to his house? seeing the speech of all Israel is come to the king, even to his house.

12 Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh: wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king?

13 And say ye to Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab.

14 And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man; so that they sent this word unto the king, Return thou, and all thy servants.

15 So the king returned, and came to Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to conduct the king over Jordan.

MESSAGE

God’s desire is to completely restore all those who apply His principles of restoration to any aspect of their life wherein they suffer loss. The degree of restoration a person experiences depends on their level of adherence to the details of these principles. For example, Samson only experience partial restoration because that was what he asked for. He prayed to God in Judges 16:28, saying:
“O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.”

Sadly, he died with his enemies. You will not die with your enemies in Jesus’ Name. in contrast to Samson, Naaman experience total restoration. Speaking on how God restored wholesomeness to him, 2 Kings 5:14 says:
“ Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.”

Naaman’s example is a model for those who want their restoration to be compete. The first thing to note about his restoration in 2 Kings 5:14 is that he went down before restored. We must get off our high horse of self-importance if we desire complete restoration after suffering any form of loss. The next thing to consider is that Naaman dipped himself seven times according to the instruction of God’s prophet, not five or six time. In other words, our obedience must be complete as we wash in the Blood of the Lamb. We must forget our self-righteousness if we want to experience complete restoration spiritually or physically. Many Christians who fall from grace are never completely restored because they did not thoroughly confess or restitute their ways completely, some have been caught in extra-marital affairs that produced children out of wedlock, and under the pretext of taking care of the children produced by such illicit relationships, they still involve themselves in semi-polygamous lifestyles with their mistresses. There is no way such Christians can be fully restored, and as a matter of fact, they are gambling with eternity in hell. Some so-called children of God are even still riding cars they stole before their new birth! They have not completely repented of their old ways and therefore cannot experience the restoration described in today’s memory verse, like David did in our Bible reading. Beloved, you can also be totally restored if you completely return to God. Your health that is failing because of your extra-marital wandering will return if you dismiss all your concubines and other strange women in your life. Have you fully restituted your ways?

PRAYER POINT:
Father, I believe in the possibility of complete restoration; please restore me to wholeness in all areas of life today in Jesus’ Name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Chronicle 9-10
Revelation 11

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 8: MY FAITH LOOKS UP TO THEE.

1. My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Savior divine!
Now hear me while I pray,
Take all my guilt away,
Oh, let me from this day
Be wholly Thine!

2. May Thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart,
My zeal inspire!
As Thou hast died for me,
Oh, may my love to Thee
Pure, warm, and changeless be,
A living fire!

3. While life’s dark maze I tread,
And griefs around me spread,
Be Thou my guide;
Bid darkness turn to day,
Wipe sorrow’s tears away,
Nor let me ever stray
From Thee aside.

4. When ends life’s transient dream,
When death’s cold, sullen stream
Shall o’er me roll;
Blest Savior, then in love,
Fear and distrust remove;
Oh, bear me safe above,
A ransomed soul!

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20

MEMORISE:
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. John 15:2

READ: John 13:21-33

21 When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.

22 Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake.

23 Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.

24 Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake.

25 He then lying on Jesus’ breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it?

26 Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.

27 And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.

28 Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him.

29 For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.

30 He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.

31 Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.

32 If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.

33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.

MESSAGE

The words of today’s memory verse should be sobering for every sincere child of God. In it, we are told that the Father Himself does the cutting of the unfruitful branches from the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the True Vine! In other words, it is a mistake to think that the devil is responsible for cutting people off from the Body of Christ. It is important to note that these branches being cut off are already in Jesus Christ, meaning that they are believers and part of Him. As part of the Church, they are right there within the Master’s sanctuary, causing havoc within the household of God and occupying positions without doing anything with them, apart from preventing others who want to serve the Lord from doing so.

It is terrifying to know that right from the time the Lord was here on earth, betrayals have always been found among those close t Him. This might be the reason why the Father cuts many of them off before their time.
My father in the Lord, the founder of The Redeemed Christian Church of God, cut off some people from the fold before he finally left to be with the Lord. Some of us did not know why he was doing what he did back then, but people like me now know better. Jesus Christ tolerated Judas Iscariot for three and half year, giving him ample opportunity and time to repent of his stealing habit that would eventually lead him to betray his Master for money. However, very close to the time appointed for Him to go to the Cross, Jesus realized the Judas Iscariot had chosen to fulfil the prophesy of Psalm 41:9, which says:
“Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.”

It was at this point that Jesus detached Judas Iscariot from himself as the True Vine. Describing what happened after that, John 13:27 says:
“And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.”

What can be more terrible that Satan himself possessing a person’s body! Noticeably, it was after Judas Iscariot had been torn away from the True Vine and left to carry out his destructive mission that Jesus began to reveal to His real disciples some deeper things about His mission. Beloved, the consequences of being cut off from the Lord’s Body are too dire to be contemplated. I therefore pray that the Master will not tear you away from Himself in Jesus’ Name.

PRAYER POINT:
Father, please remove from me whatever will cause me to be torn away from the True Vine, in Jesus’ Name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Chronicle 7-8
Revelation 9:20-10:11

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 12: DEEPER, DEEPER IN THE LOVE OF JESUS.

1. Deeper, deeper in the love of Jesus
Daily let me go;
Higher, higher in the school of wisdom,
More of grace to know.
o Refrain:
Oh, deeper yet, I pray,
And higher every day,
And wiser, blessed Lord,
In Thy precious, holy Word.

2. Deeper, deeper, blessed Holy Spirit,
Take me deeper still,
Till my life is wholly lost in Jesus,
And His perfect will.

3. Deeper, deeper! though it cost hard trials,
Deeper let me go!
Rooted in the holy love of Jesus,
Let me fruitful grow.

4. Deeper, higher, every day in Jesus,
Till all conflict past,
Finds me conqu’ror, and in His own image
Perfected at last.

5. Deeper, deeper in the faith of Jesus,
Holy faith and true;
In His pow’r and soul exulting wisdom
Let me peace pursue.

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20

MEMORISE:
For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: 1 Peter 3:10

READ: 2 Kings 2:23-24
23 And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.

24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.

MESSAGE
He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes; Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm. Psalm 105:14

When a wise person comes across this scripture, the first thing he or she will try to find out is, how can one touch God’s anointed? One way to harmfully touch God’s anointed is by slandering or speaking evil of a minister of God. Doing this can cause God’s anointed so much grief and might even be worse than slapping him or her on face. It is a dangerous thing to persecute a Christian, because Jesus personally feels the pain of such acts of wickedness, and as the Lion of Judah, He will surely defend His own. Saul of Tarsus was a man committed to persecuting Christians until Jesus met him as he rode to Damascus in furtherance of his sinister objective. In Acts 9:5b, Jesus said to him:
“I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”

Even if the Lord’s anointed is as humble as Moses and would not respond to the evil and slanderous comments against him or her there are self-pronounced curses upon whoever speaks evil of God’s prophets, as seen in the case of Miriam and Aaron (Numbers 12:1-10). They were driven by jealousy to speak against Moses and God heard it (Numbers 12:2). The Lord hears every evil word spoken against His ministers, and when he chooses to respond, the result can be severe, the result can be severe, as recorded in Numbers12:9-10 which says:
“And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed. And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.”

From Moses’ story, we see that it was God who fought for His servant. Amazingly, the rebels who stood against Moses were his own siblings (Exodus 4:14, Exodus 15:20). More surprising is the fact that Aaron was also the high priest of God. Why would a high priest be caught in the act of rebellion? What greater position or fame was he angling for that made him speak evil of his brother, who was chosen by God to lead the people? This is food for thought for us today. Unlike Moses who was meek and did not respond when persecuted, Elisha was of a different persuasion. In today’s Bible reading, the children who mocked him were not as luck as Aaron and Miriam were. He cursed them in the Lord’s Name and they all suffered gruesome death immediately. Those who speak evil of the Lord’s anointed should be warned that they might not get away with it someday. Beloved, a word is enough for the wise.

PRAYER POINT:
“Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the doors of my lips” (Psalm 141:3).

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Chronicle 5-6
Revelation 8:13-9:19

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 3: TRUST AND OBEY.

1. When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
o Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

2. Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.

3. Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey.

4. But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.

5. Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey

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MEMORISE:
But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 2 Corinthians 9:6

READ: Genesis 26: 12-14
12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.

13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:

14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.

MESSAGE

Seeds are a small part of the fruit produced by a plant from which new plants spring forth when planted. The power inherent in a seed is the ability to reproduce. Therefore, the more seeds one sows, the greater the harvest of seed one will obtain, which is why 2 Corinthians 9:6 says:

“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”
Isaac’s experience in today’s Bible reading teaches us the reward of sowing seeds. After the Lord commanded him not to go down to Egypt in search of “greener pasture”, he settled in Gerar in spite of the famine raging there and got to work sowing seeds. Beloved, every work you do in line with God’s word will be blessed by Him. On the other hand if you do nothing, God will bless nothing! This is a steadfast divine principle. Every time God performed miracles of multiplication in the Bible, there was always something for Him to bless (Matthew 14:14-21, Matthew 15:32-38, 1 Kings 17:9-152 Kings 14:1-6, 2 Kings 4:42-44). The good news is that everyone always has something at his or her disposal that can serve as a springboard into the realm of supernatural multiplication. Before feeding the five thousand through the miracle of multiplication, our Lord Jesus Christ asked the disciples, “How many loaves have ye? Go and see.” After verifying, they told him that they had five loaves and two fishes. One can imagine Jesus saying, “That’s more than enough!” He blessed the loaves and after more than five thousand people had eaten from them, they had twelve baskets of fragments as leftovers! The seed in this miracle are the five loaves of bread and two fish. Likewise, the widow of Zarephath had a seed of only a little flour and oil in a cruse, but when God blessed her seed, it became a bumper harvest of cakes for three and half years. A similar thing happened to the widow of a man from the company of prophets. She ran to Elisha concerning the debt left behind by her husband. In response to her cry for help, Elisha said to her in 2 Kings 4:2a:
“……..What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? ”

The widow replied that she had nothing at all except a little oil. Little did she know that what she had was enough seed to get her out of poverty, beloved, find out what God has deposited in you as a seed that He can use to perform the miracle you need. After you have discovered the seed, be ready to surrender it because there is power in that seed if only you can sow it (John 12:24). Unless your seed leaves your hand, you cannot unleash its power to bless you. So, release that seed today and you will witness its power in bringing blessings to your life.

PRAYER POINT:
Father, open my eyes to identify the seed You have deposited in me for my desired miracle of multiplication, and help me to sow and not eat it.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Chronicle 1-4
Revelation 8:1-12

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 4: TAKE MY LIFE.

1. Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
*Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise.

2. Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.

3. Take my voice and let me sing,
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee.

4. Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.

5. Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne.

6. Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.

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MEMORISE:
So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD; that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. 1 Kings 2:27

READ: 2 Kings 2:19-22

19 And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren.

20 And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.

21 And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.

22 So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.

MESSAGE

There are foundational problems which have the capacity of hindering the progress of a person’s life. Some people ignorantly struggle with such problems and are unable to overcome them until they die. This will not be your portion in Jesus’ Name. the story in today’s Bible reading is a good illustration of foundational problems and their consequences. The men of the city of Jericho confessed to Elisha that the situation of their city was pleasant, but its water was bad and its ground barren (2 Kings 2:19). Jericho’s problems started when Joshua cursed it after its fall (Joshua 6:26). However, God divinely intervened through Elisha, His prophet, and life was restored to it. Are you a victim of foundational problems? I decree that an end has come to those problems today in Jesus’ Name. another example of foundational problem is seen in the case of Abiathar, who was a descendant of Eli. He was stripped of his priestly office because of the sin he knew nothing about. Narrating his plight, 1 Kings 2:27 says:

“So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD; that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.”

As a result of errors made by Abiathar’s ancestors, Solomon removed him from being a priest and sent him on forced retirement to his home town on Anathoth.

The story was told of a slave woman who was maltreated during her pregnancy by the freeborn women of the household. After she was delivered of her child, these women lied to her that she must not eat food seasoned with salt for a certain period of time. Although she sensed it was a gang-up to further maltreat her, she agreed not to eat salted food for the stipulated period. She however pronounced a curse that from that time forward, every woman newly delivered of a child in that household would also not eat salted food for a stipulated amount of time, otherwise such a woman would lose her child. The freeborn woman took her words lightly, thinking it was a joke. Some of them were delivered of their children and went ahead to eat meals with salt, only for their children to die the following day. From then on, no woman who married into that household could eat salt after having children until a certain amount of time passed. They automatically became victims of a foundational problem. However, when one of such women became born again, the power of the Blood of Jesus Christ destroyed the yoke of this curse and she was able to eat slated food after delivering their children without and evil consequences. This is what Jesus Christ can do for whoever believes in His Name. if you will believe today, you will no longer be a victim of foundational problems,

ACTIONPOINT:

Apply Colossians 2:14 to break the hold of every foundational problem in your household.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Chronicle 28-29

Revelation 7

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 4: HAVE YOU BEEN TO JESUS FOR THE CLEANSING POWER.

1. Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing pow’r?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
o Refrain:
Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

2. Are you walking daily by the Savior’s side?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

3. When the Bridegroom cometh will your robes be white?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Will your soul be ready for the mansions bright,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb?

4. Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb;
There’s a fountain flowing for the soul unclean,
Oh, be washed in the blood of the Lamb!

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MEMORISE:
And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. Luke 12:15

READ: 2 Kings 5:15-27

15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.

16 But he said, As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.

17 And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules’ burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD.

18 In this thing the LORD pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon thy servant in this thing.

19 And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way.

20 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but, as the LORD liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him.

21 So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well?

22 And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there be come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments.

23 And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare them before him.

24 And when he came to the tower, he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house: and he let the men go, and they departed.

25 But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither.

26 And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?

27 The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

MESSAGE

It is sad but true that some people love gifts more than their very lives. In other words, they are covetous and love to reap where they did not sow. In order not to be caught in this devilish snare, our Lord Jesus Christ warns us against covetousness in today’s memory verse. One man who loved gifts exceedingly was Elisha’s servant, Gehazi. His master rejected the gifts offered by someone who God had healed through him, because he understood the principle of “freely ye have received, freely give,” which led him to say in 2 Kings 5:16a:

“As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none.”

However, greedy Gehazi was not happy with this response, so he decided to run after the rejected gifts. He went and collected them in secret, not knowing that in the realm of the spirit, “there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known” (Luke 12:2). Imagine the shock he felt when Elisha said to him in 2 Kings 5:26:

“………Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?”

Dumbfounded, Gehazi could not answer these questions. You need to learn some critical lessons from his experience today. Gehazi did not know that the spiritual eyes given to his master followed him as he executed his devious scheme. If Elisha’s spiritual eyes could see the things Gehazi did in secret, how much more will God’s eyes which runs to and fro the earth, see those who secretly toy with sin? Also, learn that there is a time for everything. There is a time to receive gifts and there are times they must be rejected. Elisha asked Gehazi whether it was the right time to receive gifts. Gehazi did not consider this when he went ahead to demand and not just receive gifts from Naaman. However, this earned him God’s judgement, and he instantly became leprous. Beloved, it is vain to run after gifts that are not approved of God, Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 says:
“He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?”

Beware of the love for gifts be cause some gifts are ill-motivated and can destroy your future, like it happened to Gehazi. May the Lord spare you the agony of gifts from ill-gotten wealth in Jesus’ Name.

PRAYER POINT:

Father, please deliver me from the snare of covetousness in Jesus’ Name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Chronicle 26-27

Revelation 6:3-17

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 4: TRUST AND OBEY.

1. When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
o Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

2. Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.

3. Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey.

4. But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.

5. Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.

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