ASK DON’T TAKE For Wednesday August 5th 2015

 Topic:ASK DON’T TAKE 

Memorise: Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, it is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer. Proverb

 28:24

Bible Text: Matthew 7:7-12

Bible in one year: Esther 1-3, John 8:48-9:12

It is common for people to re-brand a particular evil act by giving it a more tolerable name. They do this so that the fall weight of that evil act is not felt by their conscience. However, re-branding prostitutes as commercial sex workers or calling sexually transmitted diseases “gentleman’s disease” does not change them from being what they are before God. In the same vein, describing stealing as “taking” does not stop it from being an evil act. Anything you take without the permission of its rightful owner, especially with the intent of keeping it, is stealing, irrespective of who you took it from.

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HOLD ON TO THE TRUTH For Tuesday August 4th 2015

Topic: HOLD ON TO THE TRUTH 

Memorise: Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. John 17:17

Bible Text: John 17:13-17

 Bible in one year: Nehemiah 12:27-13:31, John 8:31-47

Hosea 4:6 reveals that that knowledge is an indispensable commodity if one is to become relevant in God’s scheme of things. It also tells us that contrary to what some people believe, what is responsible for the destruction of God’s people is not the devil; rather, it is their ignorance. This means that the enemy capitalizes on what you do not know to plunder you. If you fail to recognize and act on your kingdom rights for instance, the devil will definitely take advantage of you. If you do not recognize that good health is your right, Satan will definitely shove sickness down your throat. The devil loves those who rob themselves of their rights through a false sense of humility, because they are helping him to do his dirty work. If you believe that poverty is part of godliness, or that you do not need to fight or resist the evil plans of the enemy, or that being sick is part of the cross you are to bear in the Christian faith, Satan will definitely celebrate your ignorance. To this end, the devil will do everything to keep such a fellow in the dark concerning the truth.

Do you know that there is a difference between stating the facts and knowing the truth? The facts are what can be physically perceived in a given situation. Facts are a product of the natural human senses. Satan tries to control his victims using the prevailing circumstances. Most times, he controls manipulates and distorts the things we can see. As long as you choose to believe what you can see, you may likely end up as a victim of sight and a prisoner of the devil. This is why 2^nd Corinthians 5:7 says:

“(For we walk by faith, not by sight)”

On the other hand, the word of God is truth (John 17:17). Facts can easily change, hence, it is wrong to base your victory or joy on them. Rather, base it on God’s word which is settled in Heaven forever. For instance, when you have prayed for healing and you are standing in faith to receive it, you must be prepared to discountenance the facts that sight brings to you. You must be ready to ignore or resist the pains, discomfort and weakness you can still feel. You must confess the healing and good health which the word of God has promised you, even if you are yet to experience it. As you keep on insisting on what God’s word says, eventually the truth will swallow up the facts.    

Key Point:Every situation that confronts you introduces a conflict between facts and truth; what prevails is a function of your choice.

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HELP FROM SUBORDINATES : Friday August 7th 2015

Topic:HELP FROM SUBORDINATES 

Memorise: And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. Isaiah 61:5

Bible Text: 2^nd Kings 5:1-4, 10-14

Bible in one year: Esther 8-10, John 9:35-10:21

God had His agenda already set out before the foundation of the world. When the right time comes for Him to unfold a specific plan in His agenda, He looks out for those He can use to achieve His purpose. For example, when the time came for God to accomplish an earlier plan to turn a Syrian army general into a worshipper of Jehovah, God sought the vessel to use, and He found a young captive girl who was serving as a maid in the house of Naaman. She cooperated with God and told Naaman’s wife of a highly anointed prophet of God in Israel who could cure the incurable leprosy that was a blemish upon Naaman’s life.

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RETARDED PROGRESS For Monday August 3rd 2015

Topic RETARDED PROGRESS 

Memorise: For when for the time you ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. Hebrew 5:12

Read: Genesis 49:1-4

 Bible in one year: Nehemiah 10:1-12:26, John 8:12-30

A state of progress in which forward or upward movement is so slow, sluggish or negligible, to the point of becoming an embarrassment, can be referred to as retarded progress. When a 13-year old teenager is still being fed with a feeding bottle or is behaving like a two-year old child, growth in such a case is referred to as retarded. Sometimes, it is better not to make any progress at all then to make the type of progress that brings embarrassment. Retarded progress can also be seen as a trapped destiny. When Jacob was about to die, he called all his children together and began to make certain pronouncements over each of them depending on how they had lived their lives. When he was the one supposed to receive the double portion generational blessing, it would be denied him. Jacob categorically stated that he would not excel. From that day, the future of Reuben that looked so bright and promising became bleak. His destiny was trapped.

I met a particular man of God sometime ago. We had last seen each other some five years before. I asked him, “How are things?” “All is well” he replied. “How is your church?” I asked. “Oh, the church is good”, he said l, and so I asked, “What is your attendance like presently?” desiring to know how the church was actually doing. “We are now about 105”, he replied. Surprised, I said “I thought the last time we met some five years ago; you said your attendance was about 100? So five years later, it has only grown by 5 people? Even if you were winning a soul per month that period, you should have added at least 60 members.” Then he replied, “Please pray for me; I think I am suffering from the spirit of retardation.

One unfortunate thing about retardation is that in some cases, because of the negligible growth or improvement that has been recorded, the victim may be considered to have made some progress. As a result of this false progress, consideration will not be given to putting on the type of effort that would have been required to salvage the situation if there was no progress at all. Is your progress being impeded? Is your destiny boxed? Is the sight progress you have recorded becoming an embarrassment to you? Call on the Lord today for help. Every power that has retarded your progress or destiny is destroyed today in the mighty Name of Jesus.

Prayer point:Father, fast-forward my progress that has been slowed down by the enemy today.

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HOLINESS DELIVERS PEACE For Sunday August 2nd 2015

Topic: HOLINESS DELIVERS PEACE 

Memorise: I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him. Isaiah 57:19

Bible Text: Isaiah 57:19-21

Bible in one year: Nehemiah 8:13-9:38, John 7:40-8:11

Long life and mercy are two benefits derivable from living a life of holiness. In addition to these, peace is another dividend of a holy life. A fellow living a sanctified life enjoys God’s peace at an optimum level. If you are saved and still lack peace, ask God to sanctify you wholly. The moment He does this, you will begin to enjoy peace that is way beyond human understanding. After interpreting King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, Daniel gave him this piece of advice.

“Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.”

Daniel 4:27

While great peace is available for the upright, there is no peace for the wicked (Isaiah 57:21). There is a user of this devotional, you lost your peace sometime ago and you have tried everything possible to get it back without success. Your peace disappeared after you were mean to a particular child of God, and you made life unbearable for this fellow. If you ask God for forgiveness and make restitution to this fellow, your peace shall be restored.

Moreover, a call to holiness is a call to peace. Our God is the Author of peace (1^st Corinthians 14:33), and Jesus is declared to be the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). A father can only give whatever he has to his son. If you have God, you will definitely have peace. That peace will grow ad you live holy. It is possible to be wealthy and not have peace. It is also possible to be healthy and lack peace. Peace cannot be bought with money. One of the attributes of God’s kingdom is peace (Romans 14:17). If you therefore want peace, you must first seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness. In Psalm 29:11, God promises to bless His own with peace. This really means that after God has blessed His children, He will add peace to it. If you are blessed and no peace is added, those blessings can transform into a curse at some point. Some people are “blessed” and yet, sorrow, pain, regret and trouble are added. Such blessings are already cursed! Do you have the peace of God?   

Key Point:Sin always brings trouble. If you want peace but you are still living in sin, you are responsible for your own troubles.

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FAVOUR FROM A DISTANCE For Saturday August 1st 2015

Topic:FAVOUR FROM A DISTANCE 

Memorise: And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Isaiah 60:3

Bible Text: Exodus: 3:1-4

Bible in one year: Nehemiah 6:15-8:12, John 7:25-39

When your day of favour dawns, favour will locate you wherever you are. Sometimes ago, we went to hold a crusade in Italy. While we were preaching, the message was being aired over the radio. Suddenly, the Lord said that there was a man listening to me via the radio who was impotent. The Lord asked me to tell the fellow that his virility was restored. Meanwhile, the man in question was lying on his bed in his house, far away from where we were. As soon as he heard the word, his manhood was restored. Favour located him at home. By the time he tried to locate us at the crusade ground, we had closed and left for the hotel where we were staying. When he

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