FEET OF JESUS
John 11:26-37

The time Martha welcomed Jesus to her house, her sister, Mary, “…Sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.”(Luke 10:39) While Martha was doing the serving, Mary remained at the feet of Jesus. Martha’s complaining of not having Mary’s help in serving Jesus, prompted Jesus’ response to Martha, “And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, 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.”(Luke 10:41-42) Mary must have discovered a place of security, a place of hope, and a place of undeniable miracles in Jesus when she sat at the feet of Jesus. When Lazarus was dead, when all hope was lost, when there was nowhere to turn for help, Mary knew where to go. When it was most definite that Lazarus was dead, and all of his remains had begun to stink, Mary knew where to connect with Jesus, the Healing healer. When the whole population could not see any chance of bringing Lazarus back to life, Mary knew where to go, and how to settle her self. In the midst of mourning for the death of Lazarus, Mary received a message from Jesus, through Martha. The message that was received by Mary was, “…The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” (John 11:28) The same message is sounding in your direction today if you will answer Him. The calling of the Almighty Teaching Teacher is of hope, deliverance, and of restoration. “As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him” (John 11:29) Mary did not hesitate, or doubt, when the message of Jesus’ call got to her. Mary, by virtue of her previous experience at the feet of Jesus, knew exactly where to connect with her miracle. John 11:32-34, “Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. 34 And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”” Again, Mary was at the feet of Jesus. It was a place that her miracle could not be denied. It was a place that caught Jesus’ undeniable attention. The same feet of the Lord was where John sought for help when he was afraid, due to lack of understanding, “And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.”(Revelation 1:17) At the feet of Jesus there is an answer to all situations.
Prayer for today: Lord, cast Your look on me and lay Your hand on me while I am at your feet. I ask for deliverance and restoration.      

UNDERSTAND THIS
Job 1:1-8

In the beginning of the book of Job (Job 1:1), Job is described as a blameless man and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. Later in the same chapter, God testified of Job, “Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” (Job 1:8) What else could be said when God testifies for a man just like He did for Job? With this description, and the testimony, of God about Job, it is possible to think that a man like Job has arrived in the things of the LORD. However, in the last chapter of the book Job, he confessed a lack of understanding. He said “I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.(Job 42:5) It could be hard to believe that such a man that God, Himself, testified about as a servant that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless, and upright man, one who fears God, and shuns evil (Job 1:8) will come out, and confess lack of understanding. With Job’s confession, it is clear that whenever a man thinks he has arrived in the things of the LORD, he has ultimately checked out into deprivation from entering where God is taking him. Paul clearly nailed it in his warnings in, 1Corinthians 12:12, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” When a believer assumes to have arrived, that believer will resume to be deprived. Paul could not have spelled it out better than he did in different ways. The apostle Paul, as much as he was a general in the field of God’s mission, did not pretend or assume to have arrived at the goal of calling. Paul declared in Philippians 3:13-14, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, for getting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” The point here is for believers to know how to lower to their shoulder, and not allow it rise above their head. If you have been privileged enough by God to give two or three revelations that came to pass in deed, and in truth. It is not a liberty for you to go on thinking that you have arrived or taken the place of God’s glory. God is still God, and He can bring you back, and beyond, from where He has brought you.
Prayer for today: Father, I ask this day that You open my eyes, my ear,s and every area of my life that I may fully understand Your ways.

SLEEPING?
Matthew 25:1-13

There is only one way to heaven. It is not possible to walk two ways at the same time. No one can walk as a sinner and be righteous; or walk as righteous and be a sinner. As a believer who wants to stand on the ground of calling, it is impossible to be asleep and be alive at the same time. Whenever a believer is spiritually asleep, there is great tendency to be spiritually at risk. To be spiritually asleep will cause prayer to cease and entering into failure will become active. The ten virgins were all purposeful in their agenda. They all went out to meet the bridegroom. Matthew 25:3-5, “Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.”Having gone that far in their pursuit to see the bridegroom, sleeping should have been avoided by getting busy in their waiting. They fell asleep and foolishness became their identity. How are you waiting? Can you tell if and when your oil is running out? You have come too far in this journey to begin to entertain foolishness. How would you have known that your oil is running out when you are asleep and not awake? A believer that goes down and away from prayer is having a sorrow sleep. At Gethsemane, where Jesus went to pray, “When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”(Luke 22:40) They all slept and could not hold on in prayer as requested by Jesus. He came back and questioned them, Luke. 22:46, “…Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.” Are you awake? The only way for you to avoid temptation is to be awake in the Lord. The life of Peter reveals how sleeping can be dangerous for a believer. Peter slept on when he was with Jesus on Gethsemane and he slept in the prison when his life was at stake in the hands of Herod. Acts 12:5-6, “Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. 6 And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison.”It does not matter how long you have been walking in the Lord, you need to stay awake and alive.
Prayer for today: Deliver me O Lord from sleeping my life away.

 KING UZZIAH TO DIE?
Isaiah 6:1-8

Something must die before something else gets life. As a new believer old-self must die before the new birth in the Lord. Until the death of King Uzziah, Isaiah could not see, hear or receive God’s call of duty. What could the reigning time of King Uzziah represent in the timing of the calling in the life of Isaiah? Could it be have a time of hindrance? Hindrance is a possible weapon of the devil. The devil has no limitation in his attempt to deny the purpose of God but there is a limitation as to how much he can do to delay or deny whom his victim is. Before Isaiah heard the voice that sent him out as a representative of God, a number of things happened. The first of all was the death of King Uzziah. It wasn’t until King Uzziah died that Isaiah could see what he saw. It was his seeing that set him up for God’s calling. This is why it is important to ask God to destroy whatever represents King Uzziah in our life. The Bible declared in Isaiah 6:1, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.” Isaiah went further to describe what he saw after the death of King Uzziah. Does this relate to your situation? Do you know if your hindrance is still well, alive, and active? Prayer unto God will definitely move your hindrance; the one that represents King Uzziah will die a permanent death. After Isaiah had been able to see, he recognized himself as one that needed a cleansing touch. He said, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the king, The LORD of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5). Isaiah cried out in repentance when he saw all that was in the presence of the LORD of host. Isaiah cried for the Lord’s cleansing in his life. Isaiah’s cry sent for a needed refinement. Isaiah 6:6, “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it and said: Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.” With the death of King Uzziah, Isaiah began to see, he was able to repent and he received cleansing. Isaiah also heard from the Lord. With repentance, cleansing and seeing, Isaiah got to the position of hearing. Isaiah 6:8, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.”’
Prayer for today: Ask God to sentence every representative of King Uzziah in your life to a permanent death.

TURNING ASIDE
1 Samuel 15:1-23

Turning aside from the Lord is an evidence of covenant laziness; it is convenience and lack of commitment. Turning aside is an indicator of not serving Him with all the heart, with all the strength, and with all the soul. It is not possible to serve God reasonably when you turn aside from Him. Serving God demands a reasonable service. Turning aside is also a lack of responsibilities toward God. Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” When a man is conformed to this world, it is not possible to be in good or right form with the Word of God. The love of the world has quietly sneaked in, taking over the place of the Word of God. Can you actually tell if you love the world or the things of the world? The word of God warned against loving the world or the things of this world.1 John 2:15, “Do not love the world or the things in the world, If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him.” Indeed and in truth, if the love of the Father is in every acclaimed believer, loving Him with all heart, all strength and all soul should be in place. When you love Him so much, no sacrifice will be too difficult for you to give unto God. Talking about sacrifice now is talking about obedience. As a believer, are you obedient to the Word of the Lord? Are you the same when you are inside or outside a group of believers? Man can be deceived, but God cannot be deceived. Have you turned aside or are you in the process or turning aside? Obedience to the word of God is what makes one to be qualified as giving reasonable service or sacrifice. Saul’s incomplete obedience was a turning aside from God. God directed him to one side; he went to the other side from God’s direction. God directed Saul to go and attack the Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they had. Saul went as God directed and he made selection of what to spare (when God told him not to spare) in the name of sacrificing unto God. Saul played God. Whenever God calls for a stop, and disobedience takes the place of stop, it is right to call it playing God. Have you been playing God in any area of your life? Playing God is turning aside from Him. Turning aside from Him will is returning to the way that seems right to a man. Remember, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 14:12)
Prayer for today: O Lord my God, have mercy Lord and direct my heart to the true love of your holy name.