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The Cure of offences Today 30: 03: 2016

THE CURE TO OFFENCES

Today: 2016-03-30

These things have I spoken unto you that you should not be offended.

John 16:1

Offence is a master-killer.

Living in offence is living with death without knowing.

At first it looks friendly in satisfying your emotional need but suddenly turns into an unfriendly killer-cancer. Hebrews.12:15

The cure to offence is knowledge.

To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

Knowledge prepares us against every form of offence.

Knowledge will grant to you unexplainable peace and cheerfulness in the face of offences.

To be filled with knowledge is to live less and free of offence.

You cannot be filled with knowledge and at the same time be filled with offence.

So go for knowledge to go off offence lane. Increase your knowledge to decrease in offence.

A WITNESS OR A BETRAYER? – Wednesday March 2nd 2016

A WITNESS OR A BETRAYER? 

Memorise: Now he that betrayed gave them a sign, Saying, whomsoever I shall kiss,

that same is he: hold him fast.

Matthew 26:48

Read: John 1:20-34, 20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.

21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?

23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.

25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;

27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.

31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.

32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.

33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

 

Bible in one year: John 6:60-8:30, Job 31:5-15

A witness is someone who bears record that Jesus is the Son of God for heavenly objectives to be realised, while a betrayer is also someone who bears the same record but for destructive reasons; so that the objectives of the Devil can be realised. I have a strong conviction within me that when Judas Iscariot was carrying out this destructive goal, he did not know what it would end so badly. He felt he knew Christ through and through. He was a very smart guy who believed that Jesus as usual would find a way of escape from the Roman soldiers, but unfortunately, the story did not end the way he envisaged. Are you a betrayer or a witness? There are many people that started out as witnesses but ended up as betrayers. They were portraying signs which they did not see as too bad. They thought it was not dangerous. They believed that they knew how to help themselves, till they met their fall. May this not be your portion in Jesus’ name.

The kiss of Judas was a customary form affectionate greeting among the Jews, and this was the same gesture that Judas used in identifying Jesus to the band of officers and Pharisees. The act of betrayal came from someone who was a companion of Jesus in His ministry. A betrayer could be one of your equals who is not happy with what God is doing in your life. Your betrayer may be your guide or your acquaintance, like we saw in the story of the false prophet and the younger prophet. Those who are most likely to betray you might not be far from those you take counsel from, and walk to the house of God with. This is why you must never allow anything to stand between you and God, because He is the only one who can deliver you from their wickedness and mischief. If you don’t know how to call upon God who alone can save you from the hands of betrayers, then you are in trouble.

Amidst the opposition of the unbelieving and disobedient Jews, John the Baptist decided to be a witness. John was not in the palace, his ministry was in the wilderness, yet people were going there to hear the Word of God because he was
a true witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Though John was not the Elijah they wanted to see, they saw him witnessing about the person of Jesus with the zeal and the power of a prophet. As a witness he was a lone voice in the wilderness. The happenings of his day did not alter his message, and lives were being changed and transformed. He preached repentance and he alerted the minds of the people to the presence of God. Such messages are scarce on the Pulpits of 21st century Pastors and Evangelists. No wonder some are beginning to doubt what they once believed, which is eventually leading them to becoming betrayers rather than witnesses.

Action Point

 

Are you a betrayer of or a witness the gospel? Pray for me on this my special day, that God should continue to strengthen me as I take the gospel to more nations of the world.

CHILDREN! FELLOW THE WAY – Monday February 29th 2016

CHILDREN! FELLOW THE WAY 

Memorise: My son, hear the instruction of thy father, And forsake not the law of

thy mother: Proverbs 1:8

Read: Ephesians 6:1-3, 6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;

3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

 

Bible in one year: John 4:30-5:18, Job 30:16-23

The Bible teaches that children have mandatory responsibilities to their parents. As a matter of fact, Children owe their parents certain important duties that include the obligation to respect honour and obey them. Children are the heritage of the Lord and God has a special interest in their well-being. Meanwhile God is a disciplinarian as revealed in Revelation 3:19

“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”

God has decided to commit the discipline of children to their parents as caretakers for Him; therefore, children must cooperate with their parents to make easy for their own benefit. Obedience in this respect attracts long life and prosperity.

If you invested so much in your children, but have retired and they are gainfully employed, yet they ignore you, will you be happy with them? Some fathers have placed curses on their children for neglecting them. A righteous child will not neglect his parents at any time. He will make sure that those of them that are not saved are led to Jesus. After al, that is the greatest gift he can give them. Besides that, he will ensure that they have a roof over their heads and their needs are met in the area of feeding, clothing, healthcare, etc

 God has joined children to their parents as partners in progress. For two people to work in agreement, they must see and mind the same thing. They must be focused on the same goal.

God’s focus is that children have parents that will be godly examples to them, while making efforts to bring them up in the way of the Lord. God wants parents that will introduce their children to Him at very tender ages, so that they may learn to obey God and become familiar with His commandments, worship and fellowship. Children should be careful not to be a source of sorrow and pain to their parents. Proverbs 17:25 says:

“A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him.”

I pray that God in His mercy will visit every Christian home and intervene in the life of every wayward child today in the Name of Jesus.

Prayer Point

 

Father, please help me to always accept correction joyfully in Jesus’ name.

COUNTING YOUR BLESSINGS I – Friday January 29th 2016

COUNTING YOUR BLESSINGS I

Memorise: Praise the Lord; for the Lord is good: sing praises unto his name; for it

is pleasant. Psalms 135:3

Read: Psalms 103:1-5, 103 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Bible in one year: Matthew 12:9-13:43, Job 12:13-25

MESSAGE!!!

Ingratitude is dangerous, particularly when it is directed at God, the Almighty. There are many things we enjoy from God’s benevolence, but we take for granted. As we saw in the Bible reading for today, when David seemed to be forgetful of the goodness of the Lord, he decided to preach to his soul. He took his time to list the blessings of God upon his life so that his soul could be grateful for each of them.

The first thing he mentioned was the benefit of forgiveness he enjoyed from the Holy One of Israel. Modern day Christians do not appreciate the blessing of forgiveness like David did. We often take the work of redemption for granted. Anyone who appreciates the agonising death of Jesus Christ on the Cross for the sin of humanity wouldn’t want to indulge in sin any more, the apostle asked rhetorically:

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?”

Romans 6:1

Only those who take the issue of sin lightly would say, “Let us sin the more, so that we may enjoy

the grace the more”, and they shall not be guiltless according to the scriptures:

“For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for a judgement and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.”

Hebrews 10:26-27

Another blessing David listed in his collection of God’s benefits is divine healing. The Psalmist blessed the Lord for healing, whereas, some of us who enjoy divine health have never said thank you to the Giver of good health. The Lord promised that He would not allow us to be plagued with the kind of sicknesses and diseases that the Egyptian suffered and He made bold to say:

“… I am the Lord that healeth thee.”

Exodus 15:26

My prayer for someone using this devotional is that the Lord will grant you divine health which is far superior to healing in Jesus’ name. However, we must not take God’s grace and blessings for granted. We must endeavour to show our appreciation by living for God alone and by glorifying Him in our bodies.

Action Point

Take some time to count the blessings of the Lord upon your life and give Him adequate gratitude in return.

PECULIAR GENERATION – Monday 18th January 2016

PECULIAR GENERATION (Open Heavens daily for teenagers 2016)

Memorise: Beloved, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we

should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 1st John 3:2

Please Read: 1st Peter 2:9-10, 9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Bible in one year: Isaiah 51-53; Acts 10:24-43

 

Message!!

There are some examples in the bible which explains this topic very well. One example is Joseph who refused to compromise godliness and was very loyal to God (Genesis 39:7-9) in the 21st century; there are those who have decided to treat the Bible as outdated literature. Such do not see witchcraft, sorcery and sexual perversion such as homosexuality as evil.

Although the peculiar generation might be marginalized, they are undeterred. One good thing about them is that they never suffer defeat, not even when demonic people try to attack them, because what the Bible in Numbers 23:23. May God bless you as you decide to belong today in Jesus’ Name.

Action Point

Pray this prayer, Father help me remain steadfast in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.

WHAT IS NOT – Monday November 23rd 2015

WHAT IS NOT 

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: Luke 12:15-20, 15 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.

16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

 

17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

 Bible in one year: Psalm 17-20, Titus 1

MESSAGE!

In the materialistic world we live in today, not many people have the right understanding of what life is. An example here is the farmer in today’s Bible reading, who experienced a major breakthrough in his farming business, to the extent that he decided to go on a leisure spree for the rest of his life, because he could afford it. He thought he had finally made it; he therefore wanted to enjoy life and the fruit of his hard work, but little did he know that he was just being foolish. John 17:2 tells us about the life which Jesus gives:

“As thou has given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.”

The moment you receive the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart, you receive life. This life is not a temporary form of life that will pass away; rather, it is eternal life. The nature of this life is such that it is sustained by growing in the knowledge of God and in the knowledge of His Word (John 17:3). May you never lose the eternal life of God that is within you in Jesus’ Name.

Today, so much time and focus is placed on the acquisition of wealth and material things, but in our memory verse, the Lord Jesus Christ said that the worth of a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things that he has. Having 100 exotic cars, 100 houses spread across the world and billions in your bank account is not true life. Also, life is not to be defined by the level of physical charm or beauty that you exude, because Proverbs 31:30 says beauty is simply vanity, beauty without the fear of God is vain, but adding the salvation of God in Christ Jesus and meekness to your physical appearance will make you truly beautiful. In addition, power is not life. In 2nd Kings 5:1, we read of Naaman who was great and powerful but a leper nonetheless. Power belongs to God and is transient. If you have power or you have attained greatness in this world, but you do not know Jesus personally, it is all vanity. That is not life! Life is also not in achievements. In Daniel 4:29-33, after a world ruler, King Nebuchadnezzar, finished boasting about his achievements, God asked him to go and eat grass in the bush for seven years. Life is not about how many academic qualifications you have acquired, nor is it about worldly wisdom; if it was, the wisest man to ever live on earth would not have called life vanity (Ecclesiastes 2:17, Ecclesiastes 9:9). What do you think is life? Have you encountered the true life?

Key Point

 

A wrong perspective of life has misdirected so much of people’s time, efforts and money towards things that are eternally irrelevant.

GOD: AN ENCOURAGER – Thursday September 10th 2015

GOD: AN ENCOURAGER

Memorise: I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly. Psalm 85:8

Read: Psalm 85:7-9, 7 Shew us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.

8 I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for he

will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.

9 Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.

  Bible in one year: Exodus 22:16-24:18, Romans 11:1-24

MESSAGE

“Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”

Psalm 27:14

After you have suffered a major loss, or when everything around you appears gloomy and bleak, turn your focus on the Lord. When those you look up to fail you, look up to God. He is the only One who will never fail you. Have your friends in the Christian race turned their backs on God? Are you becoming discouraged and wondering whether to continue with Christ or to join your backslidden friends? Focus on Christ and He will sustain you. Has your pastor done something so painful to you, to the extent that you are thinking of either leaving the church or going back into the world? Look up to Jesus! Remember, the Christian race accommodates everyone who has repented, but it is still a very personal race. If your friend or pastor chooses to go to Hell, must you go with them? No! Never be discouraged from doing the work that God has assigned to you, irrespective of contrary pressures from human and demonic forces.

Several years ago, just after I became a pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, there was a misunderstanding among the ministers of the church. Some people I highly respected disappointed me, so much so that I became depressed and discoura

ged. As I returned from the headquarters of the church at Ebute-Metta, to the University of Lagos where I was lecturing, a traffic warden stopped my car at St. Agnes junction. While I was waiting, I said to myself, “If this is what they call the gospel, and it is not taking me forward, then I will go back to where I am coming from.” Almost immediately, the Lord spoke to me saying “Son, why are you so sad?” My reply was “Lord, You know all things. You saw all that happened.” Then He said “True, this fellow disappointed you, but have I ever disappointed you?” With that word, courage, hope and joy flooded my heart, and I moved from the valley to the mountain top. I went my way, singing “I have a God who never fails”. God is your greatest antidote to discouragement. Look up to Him and He will send you the right words that will terminate sorrow and discouragement in you. Are you disheartened? Feed on God’s word, remember His promises and recall how He has answered your prayers in the past. After doing all these, place your hope and trust in Him.  

Action point

Open-Heavens-2015-22-23

When God encourages you, no discouragement can hold you back. Ask for His encouragement today.

 GOD: AN ENCOURAGER

Memorise: I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly. Psalm 85:8

Read: Psalm 85:7-9, 7 Shew us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.

8 I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.

9 Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.

  Bible in one year: Exodus 22:16-24:18, Romans 11:1-24

MESSAGE

“Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”

Psalm 27:14

After you have suffered a major loss, or when everything around you appears gloomy and bleak, turn your focus on the Lord. When those you look up to fail you, look up to God. He is the only One who will never fail you. Have your friends in the Christian race turned their backs on God? Are you becoming discouraged and wondering whether to continue with Christ or to join your backslidden friends? Focus on Christ and He will sustain you. Has your pastor done something so painful to you, to the extent that you are thinking of either leaving the church or going back into the world? Look up to Jesus! Remember, the Christian race accommodates everyone who has repented, but it is still a very personal race. If your friend or pastor chooses to go to Hell, must you go with them? No! Never be discouraged from doing the work that God has assigned to you, irrespective of contrary pressures from human and demonic forces.

Several years ago, just after I became a pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, there was a misunderstanding among the ministers of the church. Some people I highly respected disappointed me, so much so that I became depressed and discouraged. As I returned from the headquarters of the church at Ebute-Metta, to the University of Lagos where I was lecturing, a traffic warden stopped my car at St. Agnes junction. While I was waiting, I said to myself, “If this is what they call the gospel, and it is not taking me forward, then I will go back to where I am coming from.” Almost immediately, the Lord spoke to me saying “Son, why are you so sad?” My reply was “Lord, You know all things. You saw all that happened.” Then He said “True, this fellow disappointed you, but have I ever disappointed you?” With that word, courage, hope and joy flooded my heart, and I moved from the valley to the mountain top. I went my way, singing “I have a God who never fails”. God is your greatest antidote to discouragement. Look up to Him and He will send you the right words that will terminate sorrow and discouragement in you. Are you disheartened? Feed on God’s word, remember His promises and recall how He has answered your prayers in the past. After doing all these, place your hope and trust in Him.  

Action point

When God encourages you, no discouragement can hold you back. Ask for His encouragement today.