JOURNEY
Exodus 15:22-27

“Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. 3 For the LORD is the great God, And the great King above all gods.” (Psalm 95:1-3) Our Lord God is worthy of all praise and adoration for years past and privilege of life. The Lord God is good and He remains consistent despite our inconsistency. Days, weeks, months have passed and the Lord God is still God over all of His creation. What could a creation have against is creator? God alone is God and He will be God from everlasting to everlasting. He alone has brought you this far in life and it is only He who can take you further. It is worthy to take time out and count blessings and see if there will be enough places to record the blessings of God. The same God that brought you this far will take you further if you will leave complaint outside of your journey. God is a perfect God and He will supply all your needs as you proceed in the journey of life. The children of Israel came out of bondage of over four hundred years in Egypt and entered a journey to the Promised Land. The children of Israel, “…When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah” (Exodus 15:23) Have you got to your the Marah of your journey? If you are not yet at your Marah in the course of your journey you will surely get there. It is a place where temptation will come but it will not be enough to terminate you. It is a ground where it is better not to complain during any experience of lack. The children could not hold against complaining. In there journey, when there was no water, “And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet…” (Exodus 15:24-25) All that God deserves is praise, worship and honor because He will not fail to complete what He starts. He has brought you this far and He will see you through another year. The children that laid complaints did not travel far when, “Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters.” (Exodus 15:27) Focus on God, do not be discouraged at your Marah because your Elim (your ground of abundance) is not far from where you are. God will make you up for His glory.
 
Prayer for today: Enable me O Lord to focus on you and not to fail as I continue in the journey of life.

UNDENIABLE WORD
Matthew 2:19-23

God Himself spoke with distinct clarity that requires no translation in Isaiah 55:10-11, “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, 11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. ” What He said He will do had been done at the time He was saying. The word of God cannot be more true than the prophecy of the Messiah’s birth in Isaiah 9:1-2, “…By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, in Galilee of the Gentiles 2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.” The prophecy that came from God through Isaiah was spoken years and years before the birth of Jesus. In that prophecy, forces of the wicked and the agent of untimely death with King Herod as the chairman and the managing director fashioned against the prophecy but they could not prevail. Just as Jesus’ birth was prophesied is exactly how it came to be. Joseph, after his time expired in Egypt, headed back home to Israel in an attempt to settle at home but his situation took a different turn in direction for God’s prophecy and not for Joseph’s plan, “…When he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. 23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.” (Matthew 2:22-23) Joseph turned towards the direction of the word of prophecy that was released before the birth of Jesus and that made Jesus came to be of the city of Nazareth in the region of Galilee. It does not matter where, when and how the prophecy concerning your life was released; it will come to pass except your prophet is not speaking from God. In this season of celebration, begin to celebrate all the positive prophecy that has been released into your life, knowing that the One that spoke the prophecy of Jesus to come to pass will not fail in yours.
 
Prayer for today: My God and my father I pray that Your Word that is blessing and favor, the words that have been released in my life will come to pass to the glory of Your holy Name.

PRIME TROUBLE
Matthew 2:1-18

King David stated in Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.” Wickedness is rooted in pride. Pride is the prime avenue where every evil vehicle passes through to execute its evil agenda. Why would King Herod want to terminate a new born King? Pride was his prime problem. Where there is pride there is hate, deception, bitterness and anger. Right after the birth of Jesus, King Herod deceptively wanted to get hold of the newly born King when he said to the wise men, “…Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” (Matthew 2:8) God at work knew about king Herod’s deception. The wise men, being wise in listening to and obeying the word of God responded to God’s direction, “Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.” (Matthew 2:12) Every attempt of King Herod was driven by pride. God at work made available a route of escape and deliverance that lead Joseph, Mary and the new born King to Egypt. Herod became angrily aggressive in his attempt to deny the new born King of kings. King Herod’s arrogant intention exploded and the anger that was rooted in his pride became evident, “Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.”  (Matthew 2:16) God is still in the business of answering prayer, it is never too late to rise up after a fall. However, not to rise but to remain fallen is permanently destructive. As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, it is good to remember the reason for His coming. The Son of God, King of kings did not come for religion; His coming was not to introduce a commercial holiday. Jesus’ coming was to give life and this life is not obtainable until there is confession and repentance of sin. The angel that visited Mary declared the purpose of Jesus’ coming when he stated, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) In this season of celebrating His birth, relegate your pride to celebrate the present from God. Jesus is the present from God to deliver us from sin.
 
Prayer for today: My Father and my God deliver me from all of my anxieties, flush out every wickedness in me, let me not miss out in the way of everlasting.  

IS IT TIME TO FLEE?
Matthew 2:1-18

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” (Matthew 2:1) After Jesus’ birth, His star stood out among many other stars. It was Jesus’ star that announced Him to the wise and the wicked ones; it was His star that pointed Him out among all those that were born at His time. All that represents a star in your life, the ones that the Lord in His goodness and mercy has set up for your greatness for His name to be glorified shall remain untouchable by the force of the wicked ones. During this season of celebrating Christ, just as you acknowledge Him as your Lord and Savior, it shall no longer be possible for the enemy to bring you down through all that represents a star in your life. When the enemies look for you to bring you down, to intercept the purpose of God in your life or to hurt you, they will not be able to locate you in the name of Jesus. God is a living God and a prayer answering Father. As He continues to live and answer prayers, this season of celebrating the birth of Jesus will mark you for deliverance and preservation. This season of celebration will mark you with a reason to be celebrated for the glory of God. In an attempt to preserve Jesus at birth from the devices of the wicked there was a need for Jesus to be carried and flee from the agent of death. Matthew 2:13, “…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.” In every deliverance and preservation there is a need for the application of wisdom and direction to run or to walk just as the Lord leads. Joseph was able to hear and respond to the Lord’s command that called for him and Mary to flee to Egypt. Are you on God’s side? Is the Lord calling for you to run or to walk? As you celebrate, wait on Him for your divine direction and hear from him just like Joseph was able to hear and flee. In every running or walking, the word encourages, “But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

Prayer for today: O Lord, as I celebrate the reason for the season, cause me to be open to every direction that leads in the way of my deliverance.