WHEN HE BECKONS TO YOU : Saturday August 29th 2015

Topic:WHEN HE BECKONS TO YOU 

Memorise: In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. John 7:37

Bible Text: Exodus 3:3-4

 Bible in one year: Genesis 47-48, Romans 1:18-2:11

When a king beckons to you, it means you have caught his attention. In Esther 5:1-3, when King Ahasuerus saw Esther standing in the inner courts of the palace, he immediately raised his sceptre towards her. By so doing, he was inviting her to come nearer. When God beckons to you, you can be assured that things are definitely taking a new turn from that moment. This was the experience of Moses. For 40 years, Moses was at the back side of the desert looking after his father-in-law’s sheep; but one day, this well-read and once very promising heir to the throne of Egypt (now turned shepherd boy) encountered the burning bush which was not consumed. He heard God beckon to Him saying “Moses, Moses”. From that very moment, his story was never the same. God beckons to you when the day of your favour dawns. There is a user of this devotional: you have invested so much time money in acquiring several degrees but you have not been able to use them. It appears God has forgotten you for some years, and you have been wondering when the opportunity will ever come for your certificates to work for you. Rejoice! Your time of favour has just dawned. God has just remembered you and is presently beckoning to you. Within the next three months, your life will go through a transformation, to the extent that it will be difficult for you to believe this is happening to you. When the Lord does this for you, do not forget to appreciate Him and testify of it.

In 1969, while doing my postgraduate programme in Mathematics, a friend of mine was doing his research on the coastlines of Lagos, and so he needed to visit all the coastlines and take samples from them. He decided to go to Ebute Metta, Lagos, for some samples. Because we were friends and I was available, I accompanied him. At Ebute Metta, we saw a very large signboard which read “The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG)”. Looking to see what the big signboard was referring to, we only saw a very little church. I turned to my friend and said “The big name killed a small dog! We laughed and left. Four years later, somebody invited me to the same RCCG for the first time, saying “There is a small church at Ebute Metta where God is performing miracles.” I told him I had seen that church before – the small church with the big signboard. Imagine what God is doing today after beckoning to me. May you heed God’s beckoning in Jesus’ Name.  

Action Point:What you look down on today may be your saving grace tomorrow. Ask for divine guidance min all you do.

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HE STILL SENDS BIRDS : Friday August 28th 2015

HE STILL SENDS BIRDS : Friday August 28th 2015

Topic:HE STILL SENDS BIRDS 

Memorise: And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook: and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 1^st Kings 17:4

Bible Text: 1^st Kings 17:2-6

 Bible in one year: Genesis 45-46, Romans 1:1-17

Our God is awesome, and His ways are beyond finding out. Nobody can box God into 

a pattern or regimen. He can use anything He chooses to achieve His purpose on earth. God uses those who are lowly placed, and He also uses the rich. Luke 8:1-3 tells of 
some wealthy women who ministered to Jesus from their resources. Mary Magdalene 
and other women blessed by the Lord resolved to serve Him with the resources they had. Are you rich or wealthy? Do you serve the Lord with your substance? Experience has shown that those who have little are the ones who dare to give their all to God. This 
was the case with the widow who dropped her mites (Mark 12:41-44). Usually, the rich only give a fraction of what they have because they believe they are giving something 
big. However, God does not judge the size, He judges by proportion. Hence, the poor 
can give more than the rich in the sight of God, even if what they give is not as much as what the rich have given in quantity. Justifying why the widow’s gift was more than 
what the rich gave, Jesus in Mark 12:44 said:

“For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that  
she had, even all her living.”

Moreover, not only can God use humans to accomplish His purpose, He can also use animals. In 1^st Kings 17:2-6, God sent ravens to deliver food to His servants, and they obeyed. We have equally seen Him use birds too. When we began to build the 
Redemption Camp in those early years, there were some trees that provided shade 
which I instructed the workers to preserve. Some little birds came in their hundreds of thousands to perch on these trees. Whenever they descended on them, there would be 
no leaves left on the trees the following day. They were also very noisy. I wondered if 
they were demonic birds. Some of my children who had guns would enter their midst and fire some shots; yet, they refused to go away. Some birds were hit by the fired bullets and dropped dead, but the rest stayed on. At some point, it appeared the more they were 
killed, the more they multiplied! The situation became unbearable. I therefore called on God to help us one morning. That evening, several eagles came and began to eat them 
up. Within hours, there was not a single one of them left. God has not stopped using 
birds! If He needs to send birds to meet your needs, He will do so; but you need to show Him that you can serve Him with all He has given you. How faithfully have you served God? To what extent can you risk your life and all He has given to you for His service?   

 Key Point:God can mobilise all of His resources to satisfy the needs of those who can give Him their all.

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WEAPONS FOR GOD’S SERVANTS : Thursday August 27th 2015

Topic:WEAPONS FOR GOD’S SERVANTS 

Memorise: And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. 1^st Samuel 3:19

Bible Text: 1^st Samuel 3:19-21

 Bible in one year: Genesis 43-44, John 21:15-25

There are some principles of God that can be used as weapons by everyone, regardless of their faith. Divine principles relating to the natural world are given to all to harness the power inherent in them. For example, the principle of sowing and reaping falls into this category. However, there are some weapons of God that are exclusively for those who have believed in Jesus Christ. In this subset, there are some weapons designed for the use of God’s servants; one of which is prophecy. The Bible in Amos 3:7 says,

“Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”

God attaches great importance to the words of His servants. In fact, if you walk closely with God, He will personally honour your word, just as He did with Samuel (1^st Samuel 3:19). If only you can work on your relationship with God as His servant, He will become the backbone of your words. In other words, whenever you speak, people will tremble because they know God will back you up. In Ezekiel 37:1-10, God asked Ezekiel if dry bones could live, and he replied that only God could tell. Thereafter, God told him to prophesy: to make simple pronouncement from his month. He did, and God backed up his words. The result was a mighty army raised from dry bones.

Another weapon available to God’s servants, closely linked with prophecy, is decrees. Job 22:21-28 reveals that if a servant of God can satisfy certain conditions, he will decree a thing and it shall be established. When you go through scriptures, you will discover that those who skilfully used this weapon were mainly prophets of God. A heavily indebted widow ran to Elisha in 2^nd Kings 4:1-7, and he gave her certain instructions, decreeing that the little oil she has would continue to multiply until all available vessels she had were filled up. It happened just as he decreed. Notice that He did not say “Thus saith the Lord”. Similarly, a very rich, elderly and barren woman who had consistently taken care of Elisha was told “Madam, nine months from now, you will have a son.” She did not believe it, but it happened as Elisha decreed (2^nd kings 4:16-17). When you hear a prophecy, you need faith in order to receive it and see its manifestation; but when it is a decree, even your doubts cannot stop it. As a servant of God, have you been using those weapons that God has made available to you? 

Action Point:After worshipping God today, decree good things into your life, family, workplace, ministry, etc.

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CRUELTY, EXPLOITATION & STEALING:Wednesday August 26th 2015

Topic:CRUELTY, EXPLOITATION & STEALING

Memorise: Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Ephesians 4:28

Bible Text: Ephesians 4:25-29, 25

 

Although God loves the sinner, He hates their sins. For example, because God hates stealing, He commanded us not to steal (Exodus 20:15). In spite of God’s commandment however, there is still so much stealing going on at workplaces these days. One way employees steal from their employers is by inflating the cost of items they are sent to buy in order to make some profit for themselves. If you were sent on an errand and you have some money leftover, it is your duty to return that money to the one who sent you. Today, many people corner such money into their pockets. =N=2000 for petrol and he buys =N=1500 worth, pocketing the rest. It is also wrong for you to ask for a bribe from your clients or customers before carrying out a task you are paid for. If you do so, you are stealing from your organisation’s reputation, goodwill and position as a credible workplace. What the organisation stands to lose is far worse than what you stand to gain from such a bribe. Are you a thief?

On the other hand, some employers are cruel, exploitative and they steal from their employees. If you detain your employee beyond the normal closing hours and you fail to pay them the stated amount for extra hours of work done, you are a thief. If you pay your workers below a liveable wage, you are exploitative. If you fail to pay salaries when due, it is cruel. If you take advantage of your staff by paying them peanuts just because there are no jobs around, you are exploiting them. If you fail to keep promises made to your staff, you are a thief. Organisations that fail to give their staff at least one day off from a week of work are cruel and exploitative. If you are using your workers without caring about their welfare, family and even the time they have to serve God, you are cruel. When you fail to promote hardworking staff at the pre-agreed time, you are a thief. An employee who goes into an extra-marital affair with a member of staff is exploitative and is a thief. There are some employers or top company executives who recruit young ladies only after they agree to sleep with them. This is cruel, exploitative and amounts to stealing. Are you cruel to your staff or are you stealing from them? Do you exploit your employees or subordinates? As a pastor, are you abusing your ecclesiastical authority over the inheritance of God under your care? It’s time to repent of these before the judgement of God comes knocking.

Action Point:Examine your relationship with your employer or employee(s). Carry out restitution on any act of cruelty, exploitation or stealing.

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An Error from 21st-26th

We want to say sorry to all our post followers, there was an error in our post from 21st-26th of August

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