KEEP UP HOPEEsther 3

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

You are having or facing some challenges that are way beyond your power, but you have refused to let your challenges have you by focusing on the name of God. The children of Israel were having insurmountable challenges in the city of Shushan, yet they did not allow their challenges to have them by refusing to bow to any god or man. An evil guardian by the name of Haman, the son of Hammedatha, who had just been given promotion to a higher position, put a decree in place. Haman wanted all to bow, ÒWhen Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was filled with wrath. 6 But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him of the people of Mordecai. Instead, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of AhasuerusÑthe people of Mordecai.Ó (Esther 3:5-6) Haman had all the resources that would be needed to carry out his evil agenda against the children of Israel: money, power, speed, position and all that one can think of as a weapon of carrying out  successful evil plans. If you will trust in the name of God, every representative of Haman in your life will not prevail in the name of Jesus Christ. When evil works look for you, they will not be able to locate you. Esther 3:13, ÒAnd the letters were sent by couriers into all the kingÕs provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their possessions.Ó All was set and put in place against the children of Israel, but God upset every plan and purpose of the wicked Haman. It does not matter at which level of government, or speed of operation or power of the devil that has been put in place to destroy you. The plan and purpose of God for your life will not fail over you in the name of Jesus. Thank God for God. Before the entire wicked plan of Haman was even conjured up, God had raised help for the children of Israel by making Esther to become the queen. It was a miracle for Esther to turn out and be the channel of salvation for the Jews in Shushan. With man all is impossible, but to God nothing is impossible when He turns around to use man in changing impossibilities to possibilities. Haman, the evil agent, was forced to honor Modecai. It is miraculously amazing how God turns situations around to favor those who trust in His name. Keep up hope and God will not let you down for His name to be glorified.

ABIDE IN THE WORDJohn 15:1-11

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

ÒHe sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. 21 Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! (Psalm 107:20-21) He sent His Word; it is not written that He will send His word. The word that was sent to them in the Bible days is the same word we are receiving today. The word of God is sent for our use and advantage over every circumstance because there is no circumstance that is bigger than the living word of God. All that is to be done with the word on our side is to be made use of and we are to give thanks for His goodness in sending us His word. God sent His word to us as power that brings wonderful works to life. Is the word working as much as it should be working for the all the claimed receivers of the word? The word of God will only work when we walk in the word; not just when we work the word. Many are walking in the word and they are reaping the results, many others, however, are working where the word is being preached but the word is not working as expected. It is not enough to be entering where the word is being preached when there is a failure to abide in the word. ÒI am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.Ó (John 15:5-7) Jesus stated clearly here that abiding in Him and the word abiding in us is what will make the difference and it will also build the relationship that makes the word work. Any failure not to abide but just to enter in is not enough and it will not work. The word is entertained in the heart before it over takes in the physical, but a heart that is not simple will have no way of abiding in the word. Psalm 119:130, ÒThe entrance of your words give light; it gives understanding to the simple.Ó What is it that you are doing to disqualify yourself from abiding in the word of God? It is not enough to know to quote the word in the mouth. It is not enough to be fluent in the language of the word. If there is no abidance in the word of God, there will be no abundance of His work in the life of the acclaimed believer. God cannot be deceived. God knows what He expects and He will give back in the same measure for His name to be glorified. Abide in the word and He will abide in you.   

MIGHTY NAME< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>Exodus 6

After Pharaoh had rejected GodÕs request for the release of the children of Israel as presented by Moses, Moses went back to the Lord to question why the Lord had brought trouble on the children of Israel. The expectation of freedom became dim as Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters to inflict more labor on the people. God reassured Moses that a strong hand will surely prevail and the children of Israel will be let go. ÒAnd God spoke to Moses and said to him: ÕI am the LORD. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD I was not known to them.ÕÓ (Exodus 6:2-3) Out of all the names He answers to, no other god shares or answers to the same name with God. He alone is the Almighty. All that Moses, Aaron and the children of Israel needed to hang or hold onto was the name of the Lord, but by His name He was not known to them. What you do not know will not work for you and when it is working, you will not know. This will cause you to struggle where you need to remain settle; it will cause you to rust out where you should be full of rest. The children of Israel did not know Him by His name The LORD. Proverbs 18:10, ÒThe name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe.Ó The writer of the Book of Proverbs was not talking about a different Lord God who repeatedly introduced His name to the children of Israel at the time of their coming out of bondage with a limited understand. He is talking about the same God who was before all the beginning; the same God who is and the same God who will always be. His name is the LORD! Have you consciously called on the name of the Lord in regards to your circumstances? It is not about emotional calling, but a call of expectation for manifestation. Asa, a king in Judah, once in a confrontational war, did not hesitate to call on the name of the Lord, ÒAnd Asa cried out to the LORD his God, and said, ÒLORD, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O LORD our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!Ó (2 Chronicles 14:11) Can you get the understanding now that the name of the Lord is the entire weapon that will make you to become an over-comer? When you call on Him, He will not only remember you, but He will rescue you from bondage and redeem you with His outstretch hand. When you know to call on His name, He will deliver you and defend you. Calling on His name requires knowing Him and knowing Him can be challenging. Know to call on the Lord in the name of Jesus Christ and you will be known as a winner to the glory of God.

THE WINNER IS?< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>2 Chronicles 16

The winner in the race of life is the one who runs accordingly to the end. The race of life is not about running to some extent, but about running it to the end mark. It is not all who start are winners, but the one who runs it to the end will be declared as winner. It does not matter how far and good you run, but it does matter to complete the race. Many started well and good, but halfway through or during the last leg, they failed in getting to the end of the race. The title that you carry will not represent a pass mark, but it is rather the task that you engaged yourself with. The race of life is a very serious issue and it is worth checking everyday if we have crossed outside the line or if we are still within the line. Crossing outside the line for long and failure of not crossing back into the line will cause one to be permanently disqualified. Asa, king of Judah, started his race wonderfully and he was way above and ahead in every footing in the race. God intervened and blessed him with rest and he was right on top of the crowd. Asa did all that was right before God and he did not allow even his family to contaminate all that he was doing to the glory of God. 2 Chronicles 15:16, ÒAlso he removed Maachah, the mother of Asa the king, from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah; and Asa cut down her obscene image, then crushed and burned it by the Brook Kidron.Ó This testifies to how far Asa went for the Lord.  Asa was running the race so well and did not experience war until his thirty-fifth year as the king of Judah. In the thirty-sixth year when Baasha, king of Israel, came up against him he sought help outside of God who was the One that had been keeping him in all areas for years. Asa sought help rather from the king of Syria. As a result of him seeking help outside of God, he lost his footing inside of God and could not recover in the race. God sent the seer to Asa, ÒAnd at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him: ÒBecause you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the LORD your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand.Ó (2 Chronicles 16:7) How could Asa faltered after going so far in the race and never turned to check to see how he was running the race of life? It is a puzzling question and it demands a constant meditation. A man who has done so much nevertheless had much challenge to keep up in the race of life. What is it that you are doing to keep yourself in check as you continue in the race? We cannot afford to shift focus, priorities and purpose of running. The race of life is for the one who gets to the end mark. Let us run this race in such a Godly manner so that we too can say as the Apostle Paul said, ÒI have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faithÓ. (2 Timothy 4:7) God will have mercy in Jesus name.

REST ON GOD2 Chronicles 14

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

At the early reign of Asa through a reasonable long period, he had rest from God. As a result of the rest from God, Asa was able to build and to prosper. 2 Chronicles 14:7, ÒTherefore he said to Judah, ÔLet us build these cities and make walls around them, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us, because we have sought the LORD our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.Õ So they built and prospered.Ó  There is absolutely nothing that can be compared to having the grace of being at rest. With the rest of God upon onesÕ life, every other force that causes man to be rusted will have no place in the life of the one who is having the grace of rest. Asa, the king of Judah, at a point in time during his reign had rest from God. AsaÕs blessing of rest was not accidental, but it was rather directly rooted in the steps and move that he took in direction to the Word of God. The Bible records that, ÒAsa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God.Ó (2 Chronicles 14:2) Are you having the rest of God in your life? Having rest can be measured with how you are building and how you are getting prospered. Building and getting prosperity can be summarized as not lacking in any area of life. The Apostle Paul had the rest of God; he built and prospered in the calling of God for his life. He was able to encourage others with his testimony by saying, ÒAnd my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.Ó (Philippians 4:19) Are you thinking of building and prosperity in material? God is bigger than materials! If you will seek Him; you will reap from Him the grace of no lack. All that Asa did to gain the grace of rest is recorded in 2 Chronicles 14:3-5, Òfor he removed the altars of the foreign gods and the high places, and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images. 4 He commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandment. 5 He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom was quiet under him.Ó Asa had rest all around him when he placed God and all that pleases God first in his position as king of Judah. What are you doing to enter into His rest? What is it you are doing to be restless in your living? God has not finished with the business of answering prayer and if you will call on Him to intervene in you life, He will surely lead you to the way everlasting. Today, settle down and learn from Asa because it is written for our learning and the difference will become glaring for you and to all who know you. The rest of God will become your portion in Jesus Name.