My cup overflows with Blessings

Bible Text: Psalm 23:5

You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honour me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. (vs 5)

"There is more from where that came from". We may have heard or said this to someone, perhaps to a little child whose eyes was still wanting more of that toffee you gave. Thats how it is with God. There is more from where that blessing came from.

God is not a one time God. Who blesses us once and thats it. He makes sure that our cup overflows. In Geography when a river overflows its banks, it is when the water it holds is higher than the capacity it can take.

The Psalmist did not have the capacity to contain all the blessings God bestowed upon him. There was no room left, there was an overflow. My cup overflows, my cup runneth over. Our lives as children of God will experience an overflow of God's blessings. He will prepare a table in the presence of our enemies. This is to mean although the enemies sees how blessed we are they cannot hinder this blessing.

To experience an overflow, we must put our trust in this God of Overflows. David despite his tribulations, never gave up on God. His sworn enemy, Saul, on several occasions was a danger to David's life. He devised all schemes to kill David because he saw God was with David. Saul tried to nail David to the wall with his spear. But David dodged it, and Saul’s spear struck the wall. David fled, escaping from Saul that night. (1 Samuel 19:10). Even in the midst of this David experienced an overflow of God's blessings. He escaped death, won battles against his enemies and was King over all Israel.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit my life in your hands. Let my cup overflow with blessings, rain down your overflow blessings. 

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!

Power over the enemy

Bible Text: Luke 10:19

As children of the Most High who have chosen the path of life, Jesus, we are in battle.  We wage war not against flesh blood but against principalities, powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places, all representing Satan and his cohorts.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12)

Just as soldiers are equipped for war, we are instructed to put on the full armour of God that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the enemy. (Ephesians 6:11)

As long as we are in Christ we are the targets of the enemy, however we have nothing to fear as our Commander in Chief has given us the Power over the enemy. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. (Luke 10:19)

Christians should therefore not be afraid of the enemy, the Devil and his agents. We have been given power. As stated in Psalm 91:13, we will tread on the lion and the cobra; we will trample the great lion and the serpent.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit my life in your hands. Thank You Lord for the Power you have given me over the enemy. 

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!

Repeat Your Works

Bible Text: Habakkuk 3:2

When faced with setbacks we seem to feel overwhelmed and unable to cope. This was the state of the Israelites in captivity in Babylon. Habakkuk did not understand why God's own people should go through such a tribulation.

He must have heard of the Wonderful things God had done for his children. He had brought them out of Egypt on Eagles Wings. Fed them with manna and provided water out of a rock. Given them victory over their enemies. And here they were captives in a foreign land
LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, LORD. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. (Habakkuk 3:2)

We like Habakkuk have our many Whys?. Lord Why? Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? (Habakkuk 1:13)

The Lord's answer to Habakkuk dwelt on a central them of Faith. See, the enemy is puffed up;
his desires are not upright—but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness (Habakkuk 2:4)

It is often said that when you reach a point that nothing seems to work, you should be ready for a breakthrough. To Habakkuk the captivity of Israel was an end in itself, but he had no idea that God was still in control. Our faith in God is what we should hold on to. It is this faith that reminds us of the Omnipotence and Omniscience of our God, that in all things, he is still at work all for our good. That indeed he will repeat the good works of old in our present time and circumstance.

Hold on to this God, for he alone can make a way where there seems to be no way. 

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit my life in your hands. Repeat your works in our days. Show yourself mighty in our lives. 

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!

We will be clothed with immortality

Bible Text: 1 Corinthians 15:54

The subject of the resurrection is one that is met with a lot of controversies. To some who find it hard to believe that there life after death the total rejection of the resurrection is what puts their hearts at rest. Others believe but as the Corinthians they do not know exactly how it is going to happen.

Paul painted a very vivid picture of the resurrection. He illustrates it with the analogy of a seed being planted and taking on a new form. The process of germination which signifies death took place before the seed was transformed into a plant.  How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. (1 Corinthians 15:36-37)

Death has no power over us, and it will be totally destroyed at the resurrection:  When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? (vs 54). To us as God's children death is merely a step in our resurrection process. We are planted so that we may germinate and rise again, this time around to live a life of eternity with our Lord Jesus in heaven. 

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit my life in your hands. We will not all sleep, but we will be changed. Thank You Lord.

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 snatched us from death

Bible Text: Psalm 107:20

He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave (Psalm 107:20)

We were destined for eternal death through one man's sin, Adam. The wages of sin is death, therefore our end was an eternity in hell. But God who so loves us does not want us to die but have everlasting. He sent his only begotten son to rescue us, snatching us from the grave.                       
 This act of snatching was borne out of love. For he loved us even before we loved him. He snatches us right on time from the claws of death.                       

 The New Living Translates reads "snatching them from the door of death". And this Christ did just for you and me.                       

 How then do we respond to such love. We do so by living each day for him. Responding to his love with love. We are to love the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind. And we are then to love our neighbour as ourselves. (Matthew 22:37-39)

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit my life in your hands. Thank You from snatching me from the door of death, Help me to live a life that pleases 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!

Sing Praise to the Lord

Bible Text: Psalm 30:4

Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name.

We are tempted to grumble and complain when we do not receive what we earnestly pray for. When things take a wrong turn and nothing seems to be going right. The confessions of our mouth are mostly negative, because to us we see no reason why we should praise God.

Our praises to God should however not be dependent on circumstances. There is time for crying out to God, laying our request at his feet and there is time for Praising him despite whatever we face. As Hannah's countenance changed after praying at the temple she then wiped away her tears and was no longer downcast. She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast. (1 Samuel 1:18)

Praise God through songs. Praising God from our hearts. When we do this we confuse the enemy who expects us to always expects to be down. Praise God. Declare his wonders to all the earth.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit my life in your hands. I will praise you Lord as long as I live.

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!

Let God Arise

Bible Text: Psalm 68:1

Let God arise does not mean to suggest God is idle and has a time he is active.                       
Let God arise was the proclamation made when the ark of the covenant was being moved in the journeys and battles of the Israelites..                   
In our day to day, we may not visibly experience the hand of God, his power and his majesty. It is impossible to experience him when we do not believe he will make a difference when called upon.

The ark represented the presence of God. The Israelites believed that as long as they had the ark of God they will have victory over their enemies.                       


By this they consciously lifted this ark into battle. They believed in the power and majesty of a Great God. And the difference he would make in their battle against their enemies.

Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. (Exodus 33:15)  Moses acknowledged this fact and knew how dangerous it is when the presence of God does not go with us. Nothing works, we lose battles that would have been won if we had lifted up our ark into battle.

This presence brings us peace. We know that we are safe and secured as long as he is with us.          When God arises, his enemies are scattered. No one can contend with this Great God.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit my life in your hands. Mighty God, the One whose Power has no beginning or end, Arise in our lives and give us the victory.

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!

Be Ye Holy

Bible Text: 1 Peter 1:15-16

When the subject of holiness is brought up, many move away because it is preconceived that it is impossible to be holy in the world we live in. Some even go to the extent of quoting things like "God knows am human"

Verily he knew you were human when the command was given. "Be ye holy as I am holy."
We have been called to be part of God's kingdom. He has separated us from the world and all its profanity.

A call to holiness simply means you have been set aside from the world therefore do not be like those in the world but live your lives to please your heavenly father who is also holy.
Holiness is required in all we do. In all our endeavours. What we say, hear and do. Holiness that draws others to God.

In being holy we actively live as strangers in this world. Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. (1 Peter 1:17)  Our aim is not to fit in to the world is to stay fit for heaven. To be holy we have to get rid of all things that draw us away from God for we cannot serve two masters. It's either we are for God or we are for the devil. There is no in between or balancing between Holiness and Unholiness. No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew 6:24)
                   
As the switch is either on or off.  We are either on for God or off for God. Let us remember to be holy as our heavenly father who has called us is holy.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit my life in your hands. Help me Lord to be holy, even as you are holy. Let me live my life as a living sacrifice, pleasant unto 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 holds the future

Bible Text: Psalm 31:15

My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies,from those who pursue me.(v15)

 We have a father in heaven who watches over us. Our every step, move, breathe, laughter, tear, smile are in his hands. He knows our yesterday, he knows our present and he knows the future.

The fear of what may happen in the future keeps us from fully enjoying every bit of our lives. The stock prices, inflation rates and bank interest rates. The fear of getting into an accident, suffering from a terminal illness and losing a loved one. We are faced with the fear of so many uncertainties in life.

To calm all fears we have a soothing word from our heavenly father. He says : I have your times in my hands. I will provide you with everything you need. I will deliver from the hands of your enemies and from those who pursue you.

How amazing it is to have the Master of the Universe as a loving father. He has our times in his hands. Nothing happens to us without him being aware of it. It is all in his grand plan for our lives.

Put your trust in this Amazing God and let him take the wheel of your life. He will make it all beautiful for you.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit my life in your hands. Thank you for I know you are working it all out for my good. You indeed hold my future so I can face my tomorrows with confidence.

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!

We cant make it Without Jesus

Bible Text: Acts 17:28

Total reliance on Jesus guarantees success. This reliance means trusting and obeying.

We can see this illustrated on several occasions in the Bible. It is depicted in the account of Jesus walking on water and Peter being able to do same because Peter was focused on Jesus and responded to his call to walk on water as Jesus was doing. (Matthew 14:22-33)

Peter began to sink once his focused shifted away from Jesus, he was no longer trusting that Jesus could make him do the impossible but his attention and reliance was on the storm.

‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’  

Without Jesus we can do nothing. Our trust should be in Jesus and our faith in him will clear all doubts we have. For in doubt we cannot fully experience the greatness of God. We miss out on many good things when we spend all our time doubting in the Able God.

Our motto should be "Lord I will trust and obey you, for I know I can do nothing without You"

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit my life in your hands. Help me Lord to put my trust in You, focusing on Jesus, obeying his commands. 

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!

Wisdom comes from God

Bible Text: 2 Chronicles 1

Irrespective of which situation we are faced with, we need wisdom.

Solomon who was now King in his Father's place, David, needed wisdom to govern his people. For a success of a nation, it requires a leader who leads with wisdom.

Upon God's request, Solomon asked for wisdom. Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?” (2 Chronicles 1:10)

In the course of Solomon's reign he led his people with wisdom and this brought him success as a king and to his people. God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. (1 Kings 4:29-30)


To have a successful life, we need wisdom which only God can give. Just as God gave Solomon wisdom, he has promised to give us wisdom, all we need to do is ask and believe we have received it.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit my life in your hands. I ask for Wisdom in all i do, that I may be successful in everything I do.

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!

Victory in Jesus

Bible Text: 1 Corinthians 15:57

 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Through out scripture it is evident how the God factor changes everything.

When we isolate ourselves from the bible stories and the many ways God brought victory to the Israelites, we will not fully understand who we are in God.

Jesus always makes a difference in all situations.

We mostly want to see a grand, majestic intervention to situations we face. But God works in even the little , unnoticeable ways to bring us the victory.

God worked out a plan to save us from the chains of sin. This plan was through a virgin birth in the most lowly way, a manger. No one believed that a saviour of the whole world could be born in a manger.

There is no way we can be on God's team and suffer defeat. We may not see anything working out now, but in due time as long as we are in Jesus we have the victory.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit my life in your hands. No matter how it may seem now, Lord I know in you I have the victory.

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!

Ask and shall be given!

Bible Text: Matthew 7:7

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7)

God is all-knowing, yet why doesnt he give us what he knows we will ask for?

This is a mind-boggling situation. God knows I need this, and this and that. But why must I ask before He gives it to me?

We ask for what we need, want, desire because it reaffirms our faith in God, our Father.

When we ask God for something, we are telling God : "I know you are Able because you are God"

Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? 

Our heavenly father is ready and waiting for us to ask him what we want, need and desire. When we put our trust in him, doing his will and being careful to obey his commands, he will not withhold any good thing from us. There is no need to worry, just ask and believe and you will receive it.

Ask him of what we need today. He is waiting!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit my life in your hands. I lay my request at your feet Lord, Do it all beautifully for me according to your will.

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!

The Lord is my Shepherd

Bible Text: Psalm 23

In life a sense of security is always needed. We always want to know we are safe, that someone cares and has our back. That no matter what, we will be catered for. 

A shepherd provides these care for his sheep; Food, shelter and safety from predators. 

The sheep then says to itself. I have a shepherd; what shall I want.

We have a shepherd who cares for us. His name is Jesus. Not only is he a shepherd but a good shepherd; he laid down his life for us.

With Jesus as our Good Shepherd, we are assured of the following:

1. He makes us to lie down in green pastures 

2. He leads us beside the still waters.

3. He restores our soul

4. He leads us in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

5. His rod and his staff they comfort us

6. He prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.

7. He anoints our head with oil; 

8. He causes our cup to run over.

9. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives

10. We will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

(Psalm 23)

 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. (Acts 17:28) This Shepherd, Jesus, is our everything. Without him we cannot do anything. When we have him, we have everything we ever need. He provides all our needs, he gives us peace, he restores us each day, he protects us, he blesses us with good things, he directs our path and many more. With Jesus as our shepherd we have no cause to want, because we have everything we need.  

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit my life in your hands. Shepherd of my soul, Let me never forget that I have the Master of the universe as my Shepherd. My great provider and protector.

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!