No other gods

Bible Text: Exodus 20:3

The Ten commandments was given to the children of Israel as a guide so they live according to God's standards and enjoy blessings from doing so.

The first two commandments places emphasis on  our relationship with God and its importance. You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below (Exodus 20:3-4)

We mostly hear of a man telling a lady that she is his number one. This sometimes implies that there are others he has but only that she is the number 1. No. This is not how we should treat God. God should not be our number 1 among the many other gods you have, He should be the only One. For he is a jealous God and will not share you with anyone else. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God (Exodus 20:5)

In our present times however things other than wooden or golden idols have taken God's place in our lives. We tend to worship these things and cannot imagine a life without them. These "idols" could be our spouse, children, properties and other things we place our all on. 

Once we bow down to these idols, worshipping these things our love for God grows cold and colder each time. God knows we need these things and he will gladly supply our needs but when we worship the creation instead of the creator we destroy our relationship with the only One we cannot live without, God. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

Let God be our only One, and he will surely bless us and the generations after us. the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. (Exodus 2:5-6)

I

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit my life in your hands. You are my God and have called me by name. Lord help me to have no other gods before you. 

And unto Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we could ever ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.

Amen!

A Call to Prayer

Go, make disciples

Bible Text: Matthew 28:19

The Great Commission has often been misconstrued to be solely directed to Pastors, Bishops, Priests and all other Spiritual Leaders.
This last command of Jesus to His disciples after spending time with them after His resurrection, was to all His disciples, men and women just as we are.

Obedience to the Great Commission signifies our response as true workmen in God's Kingdom.
Christ has redeemed us and set us free from the chords of death, and we are then to go forth and preach this Good news to those who are perishing. We have freely received and therefore we must freely give.

The Great commission should be the foundation of all believers. Our lives must be lived in a such manner as to draw people to God. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. (1 Peter 2:12)

To fulfil the Great commission we must make a conscious effort to speak of Christ and His sacrifice for our sins on the Cross of Calvary. We must speak of Him as the only Way to the Father. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)

We must also speak of obedience to God as a mark of a true believer. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them." (John 14:21)

Jesus who gave us this command has promised to always be with us, day by day even to the end of time. He is with us to be our strength, our guide, our protector, our provider and our friend even as we obey the Great Commission.

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,

Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave;

Weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen,

Tell them of Jesus, the mighty to save.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit my life in your hands. You have saved me and have commissioned me to be a fisher of men. Help me to keep this command even as I await your second coming.

And unto Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we could ever ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.

Amen!

Everywhere He Went

Bible Text: Acts 10:38

The ministry of Jesus had tremendous impact. From His Baptism by John the Baptist to the healing of the ear of the servant of the high priest, He was doing good.

It is stated that if all of Jesus' miracles were to be listed in the Bible there would not be enough room for that. Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. (John 21:25)

Jesus was sent to this world for a purpose, to die that we may have life and have it abundantly. His works however were not limited to the sacrifice on the cross. His manifesto in Isaiah 61 states the many works Jesus came to do.

He came to preach good tidings to the meek, to heal the broken hearted, to set the captives free, to set the prisoners free, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to give beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. (Isaiah 61:1-3)

Jesus came to be that shoulder you need to lean on when all seems lost, Jesus came to heal that sickness that has derailed your life, Jesus came to take away those burdens and to give you beauty for ashes, Jesus came to wipe away all tears that all who mourn may put away that heavy dark cloak and pick up garments of praise.

He was doing good through out his ministry here on earth and today he is calling out to us to invite him into our lives that he may abide in us and we abide in him and he will continue the good he started on the cross of calvary in our lives today.

Everywhere He went

He was doing good

Almighty Healer

He healed the leapers

When the cripples saw Him

they started walking

Everywhere He went my God

was doing good

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit my life in your hands. Let me experience your goodness in my life and let the whole world accept you that you may do good to all who call upon you.

And unto Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we could ever ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.

Amen!

Without Faith

Bible Text: Hebrews 11:6

When little children place demands on their parents they do not put into consideration that their parents may not be able to provide what they wish for, they just ask and are in expectancy of their requests.

This is how faith in God should be. God's children should put their faith in God trusting that all he does is for the best because he makes all things work together for our good. (Romans 8:28)

Noah was commanded by God to build an ark. His obedience to God must have brought much ridicule. He was to build and ark for a flood he had not seen. (Genesis 5:32-10:1)

Noah's faith in God is what caused him to obey God's instruction and in so doing Noah and his family were saved from the flood.

It is often said seeing is believing but with God we must believe without seeing. We are to walk by faith and not by sight. For we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)

Faith is what sets a child of God apart from the lot. Hebrews 11 states many people in the Bible whose faith set them apart and aligned them to receive from God. By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,(Verse 17)

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days. (Verse 30)

Having faith in God leads us to full submission and obedience to his will. We lay aside all doubts and anchor our hope in him. When we exercise this faith we fully trust in him and this saves us a lot of heartache about the uncertainties we have about our lives.

Once we have faith we believe that he is always with us and we have peace even in the midst of our storms.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit my life in your hands. Help me have faith in you even if it is as small as a mustard seed.

And unto Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we could ever ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.

Amen!

His hands are not too short

Bible Text: Isaiah 59:1

There are times when we experience a disconnection from God. We feel a sense of seperation.

When we lead a life that does not please God, we hand over the seat of our hearts to sin. God and sin cannot dwell in the same heart. This causes a seperation between us and God.

Mostly in these situations we think that God is the one not acting to deliver us in certain situations. According to Isaiah it is we who have allowed sin to seperate us from our God.
"Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to ear. But your iniquities have seperated you from God; your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear." (Isaiah 59:1-2)

We can see in a clear example of when the presence of God leaves due to sin. Eli had not dealt properly with the way his sons misconducted themselves in the temple. God through Samuel had revealed what was to take place due to this sin. Israel would lose drastically in the battle they were to fight. Eventually when the war came Israel was defeated, The Ark of the covenant was captured and Eli's sons Hophni and Phinehas were killed. Upon hearing this news Eli fell backwards and died. and the wife of Phinehas died after giving birth to their son.(1 Samuel 4) She named him Ichabod for she said: "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.” (1 Samuel 4:22)

It is indeed a dreadful thing when God's presence departs. There is a good news however. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all iniquities. (1 John 1:19)

God's hands are never too short to save us nor his ears too dull to hear us. Let us ask God daily to examine us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Search me, O God, and know my heart!

  Try me and know my thoughts!

24 

And see if there be any grievous way in me,

    and lead me in the way everlasting!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit my life in your hands. Search my heart O Lord, and lead me in the path that leads to you.

And unto Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we could ever ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.

Amen!

He has made all things beautiful

Bible Text: Ecclesiastes 3:11

We often reminisce on the times we were younger. Having no cares basically playing all day. Life was so much fun we would think.
We cannot get back these times unless we built some sort of time machine to transport us back to these times.

This clearly shows that there is time for everything under the sun. There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die a time to plant and a time to uproot, (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2)

These times do not however happen by chance. There is a God who controls these times. He has times and seasons in his hands. He is the creator of times and seasons: And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, (Genesis 1:14)
He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. (Daniel 2:21)

There is no one better that can put your times and seasons into perfect harmony than the one who created you and these times and seasons. In Jeremiah 29:11 God says : For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

It is only God who can make all things in your life beautiful in its time. When we commit all things in his hands and seek to do His will in our lives only then do we allow him to make all things in our lives beautiful. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit my life in your hands. You have my times and seasons in your hands. Lord make all things in my life beautiful in its own time.

And unto Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we could ever ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.

Amen!

When Praises Go Up

Bible Text: Joshua 6

The Lord spoke to Joshua that He had given them Jericho. However there was something they had to do to take possession of the city.

The Blessing was theirs but they had to perform an act of faith to receive it. It was strange however, they were to march around the city seven days and on the seventh day instead of drawing swords they were to blow trumpets.

God was demonstrating his awesome power. He did not need them to attack the city but rather just go round for seven days and on the seventh day the priests were to blow the trumpets. Giving him praise, worshipping Him. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.” (Joshua 6:3-5)

What a simple instruction. Just go round the city. Praising me and I will do it. - God

When we give God praise in expectancy of his wondrous works in our life, we are exercising our faith in Him. This faith is what opens doors for us because without faith we cannot please God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

At the blast of the trumpets and the shouts from the army of Israel, the walls of Jericho came crashing down.
At your shouts of Praise to God, the walls of Jericho in your life will surely come down and the whole world will know that there is a God whose name is YHWH.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit my life in your hands. Creator of the Universe what cant you do. As I our praises go up , open the gates of heaven and rain down blessings on us.

And unto Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we could ever ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.

Amen!

He Knows My Name

Bible Text: Jeremiah 1:5

When people know our name and try to get to know something more about us we feel special. This shows how important our name is to us. It is our identity. More amazingly, the creator of the universe says He knows you by name. He did not just start knowing you, he knew you even before He formed in your mother's womb. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)

The Saviour knowing you by name signifies that he has a purpose for you. He formed you for a reason. You are not a mistake and in order to fulfil this purpose you have to abide in the creator.

 We were created for God's glory: everyone who is called by my name; whom I created for my glory,whom I formed and made.” (Isaiah 43:7)

We have all been given gifts in order to serve the body of Christ. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a]faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. (Romans 12:4-8)

God who created you and called you by name, and gave you a purpose to fulfil will not just leave you helpless. He has put everything in place to guide and protect you whilst you fulfil his purpose. “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. (Isaiah 43:1-2)

We then must seek God and pray for him to show us our purpose here on earth. We cannot take our talents and hide in the ground as the wicked servant did to his master. We have to diligently use our talents and give back much more than what we were given. For on that day we will hear him say: 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' (Matthew 25:23)

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit my life in your hands. Even before you formed me in my mother's womb, you knew my name. Help me to fulfil the purpose you have set aside for me. Equip me to fully give myself to your work that on that day you will call me into your kingdom.

And unto Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we could ever ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.

Amen!

Taste and See

Bible Text: Psalm 34 

The Psalmist begins on a note of praise to God for the things he had done. The Lord had delivered him from his fears. He was thankful to God, telling of His goodness to everyone. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.

Thanksgiving should be an integral part of God's children. Most people do not see the need to publicly tell of the wonders of God in their lives. I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. (Psalm 34:4-5)

Here we see how a word of encouragement is brought out of giving thanks to God and testifying about His goodness. We are to testify of God's goodnesss no matter how small we think it is. There may be someone struggling to keep up his faith in God. A word of thanksgiving telling of God's marvelous works would encourage such a person that God can also come through for him.

 In verse 9 we see that it is only those who fear the Lord who receive something from him. In thanking God a word of advice is brought out. A call to fear God is made. Noting clearly that those who fear God will lack nothing. They too will eventually have a cause to Give God thanks.

The Psalmist who had experienced God's goodness calls on us to likewise Taste and See that God is good. In order to taste we have to trust that the one we call upon is able. When we taste we let go of all doubts, closing our eyes to the world and focusing on Jesus, ready to enjoy the delicious flavor of his goodness. Tasting is believing in the amazing Power of the I AM.

When we taste, we will see that he is good. There will be physical evidence of this goodness. Moses tasted and the Red Sea was divided (Exodus 14), Joseph tasted and he was released from prison to be placed in charge of Egypt (Genesis 41:41-43), Elijah tasted and the Lord answered him by fire (1 Kings 18:16-39).

Do not delay, open up your heart, taste and see that the Lord is good. 

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit my life in your hands. You are God and there is none like you. Help me to put my trust in You that I may taste and see your goodness.

And unto Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we could ever ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.

Amen!