Category: 2018 Blackboards

Genesis 26:12

Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him.

If you sow apple seeds, you get apples. If you sow seeds of friendship, you get friends. If in the natural, you receive in the area in which you sow, how much more will you receive in the supernatural when God blesses you! The Bible tells us that when Isaac sowed in the land, he reaped a hundredfold even though there was a famine in that land. (Genesis 26:1) The reason was that “the Lord blessed him”.

So if you are believing God for a breakthrough in a particular area, sow in that area and watch as God, “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think”. (Ephesians 3:20) Whatever money or time you give to the Lord, He will multiply it back to you. For example, in a 24 hour day the Lord can make your day very fruitful. And even after doing all that needs to be done, you will find that you still have time left to rest. Even if you have nothing to give but prayers, your prayers will not return to you void. God can answer them exceedingly above what you have asked. When Job lost everything that he possessed, he prayed for his friends, and the Lord not only restored his losses, but He also “gave Job twice as much as he had before”. (Job 42:10)

So start sowing seeds in the area that you are believing God for, and know that before long, you will be reaping your harvest!

Psalm 91:11-12

For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.

You are about to step onto the road when something pulls you back just in time to avoid being hit by a speeding car. You are shocked. When you come to your senses, you ask yourself, “Could it be that an angel just saved me from a fatal accident?”

I believe that angels walk with us. The verse tells us that God has given His angels charge over us to keep us in all our ways. And in their hands they will bear us up, so that not even a stone will trip us up. But we may not know it when we encounter an angel. (Hebrews 13:2)

God tells us that we have an innumerable company of angels. (Hebrews 12:22) And He has given them charge over us to protect us from accidents, natural disasters, terrorist bombings and other dangers. So don’t fear these things and lock yourself at home. Go for that holiday! Go for that lunch appointment! Believe that God loves you, and thank Him for His angels who walk with you and watch over you!

Ephesians 1:4

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

Imagine walking through a field and coming across a small boat laying upside down. As you approach, you decide to turn it over so it’s right side up. As you begin, would you be cautious not knowing what had crawled under it? Every creepy crawly thing you could imagine has probably taken refuge under that boat. Now as you turn the boat right side up, all the creepy crawly things start to come out from under it and begin to leave.

Our lives are very similar to that boat. If we live a life that is upside down in sin, we allow every creepy crawly thing to enter and take refuge. We see examples of this everyday in the world. People that live upside down lives are filled with hate, immorality, violence, lying, and self-contentedness just to name a few.

When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, all the creepy crawly things leave, and no longer have a hold on us. Paul tells us that God “chose us in Him” to emphasize that salvation depends totally on God. We are not saved because we deserve it, but because God is gracious and freely gives salvation. We can not and did not influence God’s decision to save us; He saved us according to His plan. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine how God could accept us. But because of Christ, we are holy and blameless in His sight.

If you find yourself living a life upside down, it’s time to accept the free gift of salvation and live the life God has intended for you. To accept God’s free gift of salvation (click here)

Proverbs 12:28

In the way of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death.

God does not want us to worry about anything that happens in the world. We don’t need to be affected by whatever is causing the world to be afraid because we are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). And the Bible says, “In the way of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death.”

The patriarchs of the Old Testament did not suffer during the famines that occurred during their lifetimes. Abraham remained very rich in livestock, silver and gold (Genesis 12:10, 13:1-2). Isaac reaped a hundredfold in the land he sowed (Genesis 26:1, 12-14). Joseph, with his entire family, was richly provided for in Egypt (Genesis 47:11–13, 27). They weren’t just spared from suffering – they prospered exceedingly!

So even if our nation or the world enters a recession, we need not suffer. As long as we keep our eyes on Jesus, our righteousness, we will thrive!

In the midst of fearful news such as terrorist attacks, deadly pestilences and natural calamities, God says, “In the way of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death.” In fact, He protected an entire coastal town in South India during the Asian Tsunami in 2004. A pastor who lived in that coastal town was praying that morning when he felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to plead the blood of Jesus over his entire town. So he did just that. When the tsunami struck, his town was untouched while five other towns, which were further inland, were wiped out by the devastating flood.

God protects us when the world is experiencing evil because we are the righteousness of God in Christ. So establish yourself in His Word that declares “in the way of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death”!

Job 42:5

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.”

You may have heard of God from a friend or colleague. Perhaps you continue to hear of Him in church services on Sundays. Like Job, you say to God, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear.” But God also wants you to be able to say to Him, “But now my eye sees You.”

When Job told the Lord, “My eye sees You,” he was not saying that he saw God physically. He was referring to the moment when he had a personal revelation of God.

Why was it so important for Job or us to have a personal revelation of God? You see, God wanted Job to know that without a personal revelation of Him, the devil could easily steal from him. But from the moment that Job had a personal revelation of God, things got a lot better for him, with God restoring to him double of everything that he had lost. (Job 42:10-16)

Having a personal revelation of God will change the way we think. We don’t just need to hear of a God who “so loved the world”. (John 3:16) We need to know the God who so loves us!!

When you are reading your Bible or hearing God’s Word being preached, and suddenly you exclaim, “I see it, Lord!” that is when your personal revelation of God has come. And you are now in a position to receive all that He has for you!

Exodus 13:13

Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you…

On the night of the first Passover, many of the children of Israel were probably very nervous. Imagine the conversations like, “Did you hear that the angel of death is passing through tonight?” “Yes! We were told to put the blood of the lamb on the door posts of our home and everything would be all right. Is that true?”

Like the Israelites, you might be wondering, “Can the blood really protect me? How much blood do I have to put on my door posts? Will the angel of death get me if I am fearful?”

Don’t add to God’s conditions. He said, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you.” He did not say, “When I see the blood, plus your understanding, efforts, obedience, faithfulness and refusal to give in to fear, then I will pass over you.”

It is the blood of Jesus alone that delivers you. If you think that it is because of your faith, then you will always be wondering, “Do I have enough faith?” It is the blood of Jesus alone that saves. And when you see that it is the blood alone that saves, God calls that faith in the blood, and every plague will pass over you!

God wants you to know that it is Jesus’ blood alone that saves because every time you think that your deliverance depends partly on God and partly on you, you will not have a settled peace in your heart. But when you know that it is the blood alone that saves, you will have an unshakable peace.

It was the blood that saved the children of Israel from the destroyer on that Passover night and it is still the blood that saves today. And all you need to do for the blood to avail is to say, “Father, I thank You that the blood of Jesus alone covers me and my family. No evil, plague or disaster will befall me or my family because of the blood!”

Leviticus 1:5

He shall kill the bull before the Lord; and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

When the children of Israel were in the wilderness, God instructed them to set up a tabernacle as a place of meeting between Him and them. Near the door of the tabernacle was an altar. It speaks of the claims God makes on the righteousness of man. For this reason, an offering had to be killed, its blood sprinkled all around on the altar and its body burnt on the altar before one was counted worthy to go into God’s presence.

The sprinkling of the blood of a bull or goat all around on that altar meant that the Israelites were under the covering of the blood of that animal. Even when they sinned, their sins were covered by the blood until the next sacrifice.

The blood speaks of Jesus’ blood shed for us at the cross. Yet, His blood is worth so much more than the blood of bulls and goats because His blood is effective forever! In fact, His blood has met every single claim of God on man to the point that God is so completely satisfied that He now enjoys the savor of rest in what His Son has done.

You too can rest knowing that God is fully satisfied with you because of Christ’s perfect sacrifice. Even if you fall into sin, you can turn to the blood of Jesus. Your sins are not merely covered by His blood, like how the blood of bulls and goats covered sins. No, your sins have been washed away by His blood! (Revelation 1:5) In fact, your sins and lawless deeds God remembers no more! (Hebrews 8:12; 10:17)

Jesus was your perfect offering placed on the altar of sacrifice. By just one offering of Himself, “He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified”. (Hebrews 10:14, KJV) Jesus has not only sanctified you or made you holy, He has perfected you forever! Today, you can enter boldly into God’s presence because He sees you the way He sees Jesus. He sees you perfected forever because you are in Christ!

Revelation 1:8

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord…

The doctor has just told you that you have an incurable disease. The X-rays and blood tests confirm it. Your worst fears have come true and you feel like your future has been sealed. The doctor’s report is not final. Jesus declares to you, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.” (Revelation 1:8) He has the first word as well as the final word in your situation. The experts and medical reports don’t!

Alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. But Jesus did not speak Greek, He spoke Aramaic or Hebrew. So He would have said, “I am the Aleph and the Tav.” Aleph and tav are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. So what Jesus is declaring to us is this: “I have the first word in your situation. And I have the final word in your situation!”

Each Hebrew letter has a corresponding picture. Interestingly, aleph is associated with an ox and tav, a cross. Together, they make up a beautiful picture of what Jesus did for us – He is the sacrificial “animal” on the cross. It was for us that He suffered, bled and died.

When Jesus hung on the cross, He took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses. (Matthew 8:17) That is why your sickness does not have the final word in your life, Jesus does, because He took your sickness upon His body and paid for your healing with His blood.

When Jesus hung on the cross, He took our curse. (Galatians 3:13) We were supposed to be cursed because of our sins, but He took our place and the curse fell on Him. Today, we take His place and His blessings fall on us!

So why settle for the curse of sickness or even poverty when the price for your healing and provision has been paid by Jesus? Sickness and poverty do not have the final word in your life. Jesus does because He redeemed you from every curse!

When man says that it is impossible, Jesus says that it is possible. The Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, has the final word in your situation!

Isaiah 48:17

…an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

God does not play a game of counterattack with the devil – the devil does something bad, then God steps in to bring something good out of it. The truth is, when something bad happens, it is the devil reacting to something good that God has started. I think that if you want to understand what God is doing, just look at what the devil is doing and see it in reverse.

I see this truth in the Bible. When Christ was born, soldiers were sent to kill all baby boys under the age of two in Bethlehem. The folks in Bethlehem then would have seen only evil. But there were those like Mary who saw God’s goodness. They knew that God had sent a Savior into the world! The killing of the infants was just the devil’s reaction to the gift of salvation that God had sent.

Matthew 6:26: “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” If God takes care of the birds, how much more will He take care of you! So, if the devil attacks the birds with disease like the bird flu, the devil is reacting to God’s provision for His people. In other words, he saw that God’s provision had already been released on His people in a big way!

With every new virus that the devil throws at us, you must discern that the devil is trying to pervert and reverse what God is already doing. Then, you will know that something good is going to come out of it. You see, every new strain of virus tells us that God has already released a new anointing of health for His people. And I believe that He releases new levels of increase for His people too. So don’t just see the evil. See the good that God is already doing!

Isaiah 48:17

..”I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go.”

God instructs us for our own benefit. He wants us to profit in every area of our lives – health, finances, career, marriage and even family relationships. The Bible says that it is God who teaches us to profit. And it is He who leads us in the way that we should go.

God always has our best interests at heart. We only have to sit at His feet, listen to His Word and just have fresh, daily communion with Him, and He will make our way fruitful.

The problem is that we are constantly bombarded with things to do every day, like sending the kids to school, attending a business meeting or making a sales presentation. Likewise, in church, there are just as many important things to attend to – ministering to the needy, reaching out to the lost and healing the sick. But all these things will be taken care of when we sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to His Word.

What was the Lord’s response to Martha’s complaint that her sister was sitting at His feet and listening to Him, instead of helping her with the many tasks? “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)

Yet, many of us are like Martha. We worry about many things. And we are so busy that we have no time to sit at Jesus’ feet to listen to His Word and enjoy communion with Him. When we fail to draw from Him, we end up running on our own strength, and relying on our own flesh and wisdom to get things done. Did you know that you can never have a plan that is better than God’s?

Do you want to be led by God’s wisdom and timing in your decision-making? Then, make it a point to choose the good part like Mary did. Spend time with Jesus, open your Bible and say, “Lord, speak to me.” You will find that your heavenly Father will take care of your troubles, and He will teach and lead you to profit!