DONÓT GIVE UP< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Luke 1: 1-17

The Bible described Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth as, ÒÉboth righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.Ó Despite their stand in the Lord, they were barren. Zacharias and his wife were not just barren but they were also advanced in years. Their case was complicated and by medical standard, they have no hope of having a child. After prayer upon prayer for breakthrough, you have lost hope and accepted bareness as destiny. Does this sound like you? Bareness is not because God did not hear your prayer, neither is it an evidence of unrighteousness. However, if you have been waiting on the Lord for one hour a day, you might want to consider waiting for two hours from now. God has not forgotten you, but He does have a plan for you and it does not matter how well advanced in years you are, He will remember you with favor at His own time. God remembered Zacharias whose name means, ÒJehovah remembersÓ and he received his breakthrough miracle. Zacharias, while he continues to serve God in the temple of the Lord, and despite his area of lack, encountered a visitation from the presence of God. Luke 1:11-13, ÒThen an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, ÔDo not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.ÕÓ The angel from God came to pass on a message of miracle unto Zacharias. The first thing mentioned to Zacharias was that his prayer has been heard and he was going to have a son. Only God knows how Zacharias had been praying for a child. The answer did not happen at ZechariahÕs time, but at the LordÕs time, when Zacharias was at the center of his assignment in the LordÕs temple. Even so, Zacharias did not quit and he refused to slow down in doing the work of God. The Lord visited him and bareness ceased. It does not matter if your barrenness is financial, health, or whatever area of life. Only the grace, goodness and mercy of God will make the difference. Zacharias and Elizabeth were late in having their breakthrough, but their miracle was not late to bring to pass the plan and purpose of God. They were late, yet they had the best: John the Baptist who identifies Jesus as the Messiah. It was also John who bears witness to Christ. He was also the one who baptized Jesus. Just keep on waiting on God and your testimony will be glorious. God is a faithful God, He will remember you in JesusÕ name. 

OBEY YOUR PARENTS< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Luke 2: 41-52

Jesus our Lord and Savior lived an exemplary life. Everything that He did and all that He said was to teach us and mold us to have a Christ like life that will get us through from this earth to Him when the time comes. From His young age till He departed this world, He lived obediently so we can learn to live the same. There was no excuse to disobey in the Name of God. Parents were seeking for Jesus having been away from them for three days in one of their trips to Passover in Jerusalem. ÒNow so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.Ó (Luke 2:46) At a young age, He was found at the center of His assignment and His response to the parentÕs search for Him was, ÒAnd He said to them, ÒWhy did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My FatherÕs business?Ó (Luke 2:49) Despite His response, He did not refuse His parents but went with them. There is a time and purpose for every step in the direction of GodÕs assignment. The Bible said, ÒThen He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart.Õ (Luke 2:51) Jesus responded to all the directions of Joseph and Mary in going back to Nazareth. All of His doing when He was on the face of earth was a teaching and example to be emulated so as to produce the kinds of result that He produced. JesusÕ going was an indication of subjection to the parents and it was  evidence of obedient. Obeying parents is not by age limit; obeying parents is obeying the command of God that states in Exodus 20:12, ÒHonor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.Ó Jesus lived by example because He was on purpose in all of His verbal and non-verbal communication. As long as parents are alive, obedience to parents should not cease. After Jesus had gone with parents and being subjected to them (despite the fact that He was the Lord then and now), it was written, ÒAnd Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.Ó (Luke 2:52) This increase that Jesus had is rooted in obeying parents because obeying parents is obeying GodÕs command. Every line of documentation about Jesus from birth to the time of resurrection is a meaningful message that demands a meditation, which will bring forth the ability to be able to observe and do accordingly. Have you been consciously or unconsciously disobedient to your father and mother lately in the Name of serving God? Avoid curse and enter the blessing because obeying parents is not limited by age neither by spiritual growth.  

PLACE IN TIME< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Luke 2:1-7

There was a man and location in time for the Word of God to come to manifestation for the provision of GodÕs Grace to be born. Also, the least expected became the agent of manifestation. Caesar Augustus (recorded as the first Roman Emperor) made a decree that brought Joseph and Mary to the place of JesusÕ birth. When Caesar Augustus was making his decree, it was not because he knew what he was doing neither was it because he heard from God. God alone is God and He does have ways of bringing his Word to pass regardless of who the instrument could be. When Caesar Augustus made a decree that all should be registered, ÒSo all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. 4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. 6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. (Luke 2: 3-5) Caesar Augustus was doing his own thing not knowing that God was actually using him to bring His Word to pass. It was the decree that took Joseph and Mary to the city of Bethlehem, the place that has been foretold as the birthplace of our Lord and Savior. Micah 5:2, ÒBut you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old From everlasting.Ó The Word of God is true and His Words always come to pass. As it is recorded in the book of Micah (Old Testament) so it came to be as recorded in the book of Luke (New Testament).  There are so many ways that God is to be feared by virtue of the move of His hands. He said it and He brought it to pass; using someone that did not know what he was doing in bringing the Word of God to pass. If Caesar Augustus had known, he probably would have taken a stand of making sure that no one that is expecting should be allowed to come to register. Caesar Augustus was a man in place and time for the manifestation of the Word of God while Bethlehem of Judea was also the place in time. There is a place in time where your breakthrough miracle will be delivered unto you, today pray for every agent that is to bring forth your breakthrough miracle be activated just like Caesar Augustus was activated to make a way for Joseph and MaryÕs going to Bethlehem of Judea. Ask God for every agent of your breakthrough miracle to become activated in Jesus Name.

SERVING HIM< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Luke 10:38-42

ÒBut Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, ÒLord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.Ó (Luke 10:40) Martha was busy serving the Lord, yet she was worried and troubled. She wanted to find out from Jesus why that was allowed and how Jesus could ignore the fact that she was doing the entire running around in preparing for Jesus. Martha was actually the one that invited Jesus into her house and now she was feeling burdened of being alone in serving the Lord. MarthaÕs concern can be identified as an attempt to do it all, as a result she was missing all that was being fed at the feet of the Lord. In your serving the Lord are you being fed at His feet? There are so many kinds of servers in the business of the Lord, but they are not being served by the word of God. Many servers have taken serving personally by positioning themselves in the center of attention and it turned out to be an invitation of distraction for them. It is a suggestion that, no server should take severing before the Lord personal but it is always good to personalize Christ in our service. Serving the Lord when the Lord is in the house is not self-determination or a self-calling. Many serve where they were not called to serve, many also serve at the area of convenience not commitment. Many servers are missing it when distraction by way of attention sneaks into how service is being delivered. However, when a server knows his or her role of service that server will still be at the feet of the Lord regardless of his or her serving role. In your service are you tuned unto the Lord or it is a distraction? Serving before the Lord is a great blessing, and it does not take away, but it adds blessing unto the server. Serving is not the actual problem as noted in the case of Martha, but serving with much distraction is the problem. When seeking attention is eliminated serving with lots of distractions will cease and all good that flows from the Lord will not be missed. MarthaÕs problem was that, she was distracted with much serving not with the serving. Jesus responded to MarthaÕs questioning, ÒAnd Jesus answered and said to her, ÒMartha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.Ó(Luke 41-42) Are you worried or troubled in your service? To be worried and troubled is an indication of missing the good part that is needed. Allow your service to Him with intention for His attention not to the worldÕs attention for your distraction.

DEADLY BITE< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>Numbers 21:4-9, John 3:1-21

A deadly bite can be devastating and fatal indeed and in truth. A deadly bite is a sin, generated and it has its entire root from sin and sinning to the name of God. Today you want to look up to God for His goodness and mercy in every area that a deadly bite has taken place in your marriage, and finances, in your health, and the life of the children that God has placed in your care. A deadly bite is the result of sin and sinning against God. The children of Israel in one of their consistent rebellious act of complaining in getting everything they needed, they positioned themselves for a deadly bite. In the case of their deadly bite, it was complaining against the quality of bread provided for them by the Almighty God. Numbers 21:5, ÒAnd the people spoke against God and against Moses: ÒWhy have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.Ó They have complained for lack of water and bread a number of times, but this time around they were complaining against the quality of the provision of food by calling GodÕs provision worthless. Indeed a worthless complaint will bring forth a death that is not worth it. This type of complaining provoked the hand of God, ÒSo the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.Ó (Numbers 21:6) Do you complain in any way before God? It is a deadly way of approaching God for needs do not take to the way of complaints directly or indirectly. The way out of a deadly bite was faith-based prescription. The children of Israel cried out for deliverance, ÒThen the LORD said to Moses, ÒMake a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.Ó (Numbers 21:8) The healing and deliverance from a deadly bite requires looking up at the hanged up serpent on the pole. Just as there was a provision for healing in looking up to the pole of the bronze serpent, so we have been provided healing and deliverance by looking up at the cross. John 3:14, ÒAnd as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.Ó He was lifted up for our healing and deliverance only if we would look up at Him. There is no foolishness in looking up, but foolishness is achieved by taking a stand of not obeying the command of proven evidences in the infallible proofs of the name of Jesus. Remember you cannot be foolish to GodÕs command, ÒBecause the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.Ó (1 Corinthians 1:25) You must believe and look up to Jesus.