Category: July 2015

Psalm 91:14

“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.”

Jesus was in a house in Bethany when a woman came to Him with an alabaster flask containing very costly fragrant oil. She poured the oil on Jesus’ head. (Matthew 26:6-7) This woman loved the Lord. She had set her love upon Him. But those who were present considered what she did a great waste because the oil could have been sold for an amount equal to one year’s wages, and the money given to the poor instead. Even Jesus’ disciples were indignant and asked her, “Why this waste?” (Matthew 26:8) But Jesus defended her, saying, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me.” (Matthew 26:10) Not only that, He accorded her the highest honor when He added, “Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.” (Matthew 26:13)

Two thousand years have passed since this woman anointed Jesus with the expensive oil. She never expected in her wildest dreams that her act of love would be told down through the ages. Many kings and rulers have come and gone. Their great acts have faded from the memories of men. But what this woman did for Jesus is still told today around the world as a memorial to her!

When you get a revelation of how much Jesus loves you, you will set your love upon Him. And when you act out of love for Him, though others may see it as a waste of time, energy or money, He will defend you and deliver you from your critics. He will also set you on high. Your ministry will become powerful and life-changing. Your work will be highly esteemed among your peers. Your company will be prominent and highly successful. And it will not just be a job that you have, but a position of influence to impact many lives.

So set your love upon Jesus. Make Him the love of your life today, and He will defend, deliver and set you on high!

Luke 17:21

“For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

When you were younger, were you often scolded for not finishing all your food or leaving the lights and fan on when you left your room? Were you reminded that there are people starving in the world, that electricity costs a lot of money and that money doesn’t grow on trees? Now, do you find yourself telling your child the same things? We are naturally conscious of lack, but Jesus isn’t. Even in the midst of lack, He was always conscious of abundance. Remember the little boy’s five loaves and two fish? What did Jesus do when these were placed in His hands? Did He say, “What do you expect Me to do with so little?” No, His eyes were not on the natural, the visible, the lack. His eyes were on the kingdom of God where there is always abundance. So in His hands, the little boy’s lunch was multiplied, and 5,000 men, not counting women and children, were fed that day! (John 6:1-13)

God doesn’t want you to be conscious of the lack in your natural circumstances. He doesn’t want you to live by how much you earn or how much you have in the bank. Now, I am not encouraging you to spend foolishly beyond your means. I am saying that God wants you to be conscious of the abundance of resources in His kingdom. Now you might say, “Where is that kingdom?” As long as you have received Jesus as your Savior, that kingdom is in you!

Jesus said that “the kingdom of God is within you”. This means that the kingdom of God is not some physical place. It is within you and it is where the abundance of resources is. So if you want to experience abundance in your life, be conscious first of the abundance inside you. Then, what is inside you will become a reality on the outside.

God doesn’t want you to be conscious of the lack you see outside you. He wants you to be conscious of the abundance within you because His kingdom is within you!

Psalm 105:37

He also brought them out with silver and gold, and there was none feeble among His tribes.

When the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt, they lived in poverty and faced daily hardships from their cruel taskmasters. Scars and fresh lashes from their masters’ whips covered their bodies. The blistering heat of Egypt caused excruciating sores to fester. Many of them were bent over because of the long hours spent carrying tons of bricks and mortar. Slaving away for long hours under harsh conditions added years to them. And with no proper nourishment, many of them were feeble and emaciated.

But something happened to them on the night of the Passover. (Exodus 12) With the blood of the lamb applied on their door posts, they came under God’s protection. And inside their homes, as instructed by God, they ate the lamb roasted in fire. And when morning came, something new and miraculous happened to them. They went forth with God no longer as slaves but free people. They were no longer poor and needy, but possessed silver and gold given to them by the Egyptians. And none of them , about 2.5 million of them , were feeble or sickly! If this was what the children of Israel experienced after partaking of the Passover lamb, which was only a shadow or type of Christ, how much more will we who have come under the covering of the holy blood of Jesus, the true Lamb of God, experience such blessings?

When you put your trust in the Lamb of God who was burnt by God’s fiery judgment meant for us, you will go forth daily, neither poor nor feeble, but abundantly supplied and divinely strengthened in Christ!

Ecclesiastes 9:11

…the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.

God’s Word tells us that being faster, stronger and wiser does not automatically make you a winner in life. No, it is actually being at the right place at the right time that causes you to receive blessings. And God, who holds time and chance in His hands, is the only one who can put you at the right place at the right time.

He did this for Ruth. She trusted God for favor when she went looking for a field in which to glean. (Ruth 2:2) Then, the Bible tells us that “she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech”. (Ruth 2:3) Of all the fields in Bethlehem, she happened to end up in Boaz’s field, and he was a close relative of Elimelech, her father-in-law. This meant that Boaz was her potential kinsman redeemer, someone who could redeem her from her plight as a young, childless widow in a foreign land. Boaz also happened to be “a man of great wealth” (Ruth 2:1), and as it turned out, he was willing to redeem Ruth. (Ruth 4:9-10) All these right happenings could only mean that God had placed Ruth in the right place at the right time.

The very day Ruth told her mother-in-law that the God of Israel would be her God (Ruth 1:16), God took note of it and made everything happen right for her. Today, God also wants you to know that because you have said, “God, You are My God,” He will be your God of divine happenings. He will place you at the right place at the right time, where you will meet the right people, do the right things and even escape danger!

You may not know where all the great opportunities are, but God does. He was the one who put in you the skills, talents and gifts that you have, and He knows where you need to be, when you should be there and what you need to be doing to be truly fulfilled!

Today’s Words of Encouragement

Isaiah 60:1

Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.

People might have said to you, “Why are you so lucky?” or “You seem to be looking younger and younger,” or “There is so much bad news these days, yet you seem untroubled by them.” Now, the people of the world don’t have spiritual discernment. They can only go by physical appearance, behavior and what happens. In other words, if they notice something different about you, it is because they see the evidence of God’s glory on your life – in your family and work life, health and finances. Your friends and colleagues may have told you that you stand out from the rest as though a spotlight were on you. Indeed, this is so because of Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27) When God’s glory rises upon you, your words carry weight, even if you are not eloquent. So when your words change people’s lives, you know that it is not you. It is the Lord!

You don’t have to be a straight-A or someone able to speak the Queen’s English. You may be foul-mouthed like the disciple Peter, but when God changes you and His glory rises upon you, and you stand up and preach, 3,000 people get saved! (Acts 2:14-41) What is important is that God gives weight to what you say. You might be a nobody like Joseph, a slave cast aside and forgotten in a dungeon. Yet, the greatest king on earth at that time sought Joseph out to have him interpret his dreams. In other words, God will give to you answers that the people of the world do not have. Maybe it is your hands. When you lay hands on the sick, they recover. Maybe it is your ability to give counsel that is spot on, or your ability to speak into their future with a word of knowledge or word of wisdom from God. “The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” (Isaiah 60:3) When you see this happening, it is because the people of the world are drawn to the glory of the Lord which has risen upon you!student

Hebrews 4:9

There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.

In the healing of the paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-16), Jesus knew that for 38 years, the man had been flat on his back, unable to do anything for himself or others, no matter how hard he struggled. In the case of the woman oppressed with a spirit of infirmity (Luke 13:10-13), Jesus knew that the woman had been bowed over for 18 years. And in that condition, she saw very little that was beautiful in life, only the dusty ground, dirty sandals and bruised feet. What about the man with a withered hand? (Luke 6:6-10) Jesus knew from His carpenter days how a useless hand could have easily given the man a very poor sense of self-worth.

All three of them must have struggled for so long to get back on their feet, to try to lift themselves up, to attempt to do something about their situations, only to be disappointed each time they failed. In fact, they got so frustrated with striving to get better that by the time they met Jesus, they had probably given up trying to change their situations. It was then that Jesus came and extended His offer to turn their situations around. And when they embraced His offer, they received the miracles that they had sought for so long.

You too may be struggling to get back on your feet, or to lift yourself out of the problem that has sorely weighed you down. You may have attempted to do whatever you could, hoping that it would amount to something, but you have been frustrated time and time again. God wants you to cease from all your struggling and accept the offer He extends to turn your situation around. It is no coincidence that all three of the people mentioned above received their miracles on the Sabbath, the day of rest for the Jews. God’s Word says, “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.” The day you cease from your own laboring and striving, and rest in the finished work of Christ, is the day you will receive your miracle.

Jesus has done all the work. Whatever you need has been provided for at the cross. So just be at rest and receive your miracle!

2 Corinthians 10:5

…casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

Have you ever felt condemned because of a bad thought you have had? You could be in the middle of church when suddenly a dirty thought enters your mind. Actually, it is the devil who puts such thoughts in your mind. Then, he steps back and puts another thought into your head, saying, “How can you call yourself a Christian and still think such thoughts?”

If you feel that you have to confess every bad thought and seek God’s forgiveness, remember that is not what God’s Word exhorts us to do. You see, God wants us to bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”. Now, whose obedience are we to focus on? We are to focus on Christ’s obedience and not our own obedience! So what is “the obedience of Christ”? It is His obedience at the cross, where “by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous”. (Romans 5:19) Jesus shed His blood for us on the cross. This means that when our thoughts condemn us, we are to focus our thoughts on Jesus’ obedience at the cross.

The devil can only make inroads into our minds when he gets us to focus on our obedience. His strategy is to point us to our obedience or the lack of it to determine our standing before God. But just as our position as sinners is not based on what we do, but what the first Adam did, in the same way, we are forever righteous today not because of what we do, but because of what Christ, the last Adam, did on the cross.

So the next time your thoughts seem to condemn you, say, “I am righteous whether I have good or bad thoughts. My righteousness has nothing to do with my obedience. Jesus’ obedience at the cross made me righteous.” Then, go ahead and pray, knowing that you have access to God and His favor, and that He hears the prayer of the righteous. (Proverbs 15:29)

Romans 14:17

…the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Do you find yourself troubled by many things at times? For example, are you concerned about your rebellious child? Perhaps you see them as your problem, so you do your best to discipline them, only to end up with a heart full of worries and pain. And they is no better!

God says to you, “Don’t focus on controlling your rebellious child. Instead, seek first My kingdom, which is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Be conscious of the righteousness you have as a gift from My Son. Keep your inner man flowing with My peace and joy, and I will take care of your child.”

We tend to think that the people around us are the problem. When we don’t get the promotion we want, we blame our bosses and colleagues. When we lose our temper, we blame our wives and kids. However, God wants us to stop looking outside and to start looking within because His kingdom is within us. (Luke 17:21)

The abundance of the kingdom of God is already inside you. As you seek first God’s kingdom, and follow His righteousness, peace and joy, the abundance within you will flow out and become a reality in your circumstances.(Matthew 6:33) You will find that God has not only taken care of what is troubling you, but has also added blessings to you, be it a promotion, well-behaved kids or a loving wife.

You might say, “how do I keep my inner man flowing with righteousness, peace and joy?” Be conscious of your righteousness in Christ. Don’t be conscious of your sins and problems. Listen to anointed sermons that remind you of how righteous you are because of the perfect sacrifice of Christ. Peace and joy flow when you know that all your sins have been forgiven because of Jesus’ finished work.

So the next time something troubles you, don’t focus on correcting the problem. Instead, seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness. Make it a priority to have your inner man flowing with His peace and joy, and He will take care of that problem for you!

Hebrews 10:12

But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.

Do you know that we once owed God a huge debt? No, it was not a money debt, it was a sin debt. We owed God a sin debt which we could never pay. But God so loved us that He came up with a plan to pay the debt – He gave us His Son to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus was without sin. So when He went to the cross as punishment for our sins, He paid for us a debt He did not owe. The reality is that our sin debt has been more than paid in full. In fact, Jesus overpaid it! Jesus’ sacrifice was an overpayment because it was not just a good man, revered for his saintly qualities and good character, who died for us. It was the Son of the living God, the Creator of the universe, the perfect Man, who died for us! Because Jesus is God, His sacrifice is greater than the sacrifices of all good men of the past, present and future put together. His sacrifice avails for all who lived in the past, all who are currently alive and all who will live in the future. And His one sacrifice forever took away all our sins.

Jesus’ sacrifice was also an overpayment because His blood is of far more value to God than the blood of bulls and goats used in the past to atone for the sins of the Israelites. His blood is the blood of God Himself, not of animals. Because His blood is eternal, His blood cleanses us forever, so we have eternal forgiveness! The next time you are mindful of a bad deed, remember that Jesus, your sacrifice for sins, not only paid 100 per cent for your sin, but His sacrifice was also an overpayment. You can therefore truly and completely rest in the presence of God, knowing that He is fully satisfied and completely at rest concerning you. He is not going to find some sin you had committed that Jesus’ blood failed to cover.

God can righteously give you His blessings and you can expect to receive them because Jesus!