REBELLION
Deuteronomy 1:19-36

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11) When God said this in His Word thousands of years ago it was meant to speak to us and not just to the people of His creation back then. If that was the case, then why would the children of Israel that left Egypt ended there life in the wilderness (with the exception of Joshua and Caleb)? The coming out of the children of Israel from the bondage of over four hundred years was meant to take them up to the Promised Land. God is a God who does no evil, He only does good. Rebellion robbed the promise of God in the life of the generation that came out of Egypt. Rebellion is a silent killer that hides under for gradual processes that needs a consistent attention before it leads to the termination of a believer. Inside the ladder to termination, complaining is the first step. When a believer begins to complain about confronting situation in the journey of life the believer will not escape from getting discouraged. Instead of complaining, being encouraged is rooted in plugging oneself into the Word of God that is fire. Evidently, lack of encouragement will lead to discouragement. With discouragement from the heart, fear will no doubt take root. Fear is the opposite of faith. To be fearful, is to be afraid or terrified and it will cause one to loose faith. In having fear, faith will sink because faith and fear cannot be in the same place at the same time. Also, without faith, God is not pleased. As a result of lack of faith, negative confession will overtake such a believer. Rebellion in the life of the children of Israel converted an 11 days journey into a 40 years journey. Are you in a stage of any journey or assignment that seems to be facing challenges despite the promises of God that He will see you through? There is a need for you to be vigilant by watching out for the development of the spirit of rebellion. Always remember, rebellion starts with complaining, discouragement, fear and it ends with negative confession. God’s response to the rebellion of the children of Israel was stated by Moses in Deuteronomy 1:34-35, “And the LORD heard the sound of your words, and was angry, and took an oath saying, “Surely not one of this evil generation will see that good land of which I swear to give to your fathers.”  Rebellion is evil and you are to abhor what is evil clinging to that which is good.

Prayer for today: Have mercy O Lord. Let it be that spirit of rebellion will not have any place in my life.

MIND AND CONSCIENCE
1Timothy 1

As a believer there is a need to be conscious of your own conscience. Twice in Paul’s letter to Timothy, the issue on conscience was mentioned and this should be a call for attention to every believer. AmericanHeritageCollege dictionary defined conscience as, “The awareness of a moral or ethical aspect to one’s conduct together with the urge to prefer right over wrong or a source of moral or ethical judgment or pronouncement.” Conscience is the operation that is rooted in the mind set of every man. Paul wrote to Timothy in 1Timothy 1:5-6, “Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, 6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk.” It can be said that conscience is what will drive home faith. Having and operating good conscience cannot be separated for a believer to live a life of testimony. Later in that first chapter, Paul wrote again, 1Timothy 1:19, “Having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck.” The issue of good conscience became an emphasis that has to constantly be in place for faith to have its way. Paul also pointed out that some have suffered a ship wreck in their journey because they did not operate in faith and a good conscience. Is your ship shaking or being moved beyond what you can control? Have you been carrying the Bible, the container of the Word of God around while turning away from doing the good that is coming from your conscience? To lack and not operate in good conscience is an evidence of a mind that has been debased. A mind that does not operate in good conscience is a mind that chooses not to retain God in what they know. A mind that chooses not to retain God in what they know will be engaged outside of God. This is what the book of Romans 1:28 says, “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful.” Retain God in all of your knowing. It is evident from the testimony of Paul that faith and good conscience operate together and they cannot be separated. An attempt to separate a good conscience from faith will lead to a ship wreck in the journey of life.

Prayer for today: My God and my father take all the days of my life and let it all be concentrated unto You in the name of Jesus.

UNSTOPABLE CHANGE
Acts 9:1-22

The conversion from Saul to Paul was the enablement of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul testified to this in 1Timothy1:12, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.” Before Paul was counted faithful by Jesus there was enablement in place. Paul’s enablement took place when Jesus’ name sounded in his direction. Acts 9:4-6, “Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Saul was an established persecutor and a hard hearted man that wanted to deny the mission of the Lord Jesus by all possible means. Saul heard the voice of Jesus, but he questioned the voice. At the sound of the name of Jesus, Saul questioned the name of Jesus but he did not have the power to resist. Saul was also astonished because the name was not for him to resist. “It is written, at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth. (Philippians 2:10). Saul went beyond just bowing. He trembled with reverence and awe, and he was filled with astonishment. Only God alone knows what the future holds for us. God wanted to use Saul, but Saul wanted to depend on himself. Saul needed to begin to see where the Lord wanted him to see from. As a result, he lost his sight for three days and could not eat or drink for three days. Having lost his sight, God gave him a new sight that leads him into a new direction and a new purpose in life. Saul received a new direction to the center of his divine assignment. All this happened on his way to Damascus in an attempt to disable the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Saul was disabled from answering Saul and became enabled to be answering Paul. In the life time of a man, nothing could be compared like serving in the center of God’s divine assignment for every man.

Prayer for today: Ask God to sound His name in your direction. His name, not just His voice will terminate all that doesn’t represent the calling of God in your life. Saul the persecutor became Paul the apostle. He is a faithful God.

ALL ABOUT ENCOURAGEMENT
Jeremiah 17

As a believer, you are not immune from seeing your good work turned to worse before man. However, a good deed that is true and genuine before God cannot be altered for worse. It is also important to know that challenges will come, affliction will prevail but deliverance is certain. Psalm 34:19, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” God is faithful to His Word. God meant what He said and He will do all that He has promised to do. Why not stick to His word in the pages of the scripture. The Word of God is true and they are encouraging to those that will take heed to it. In looking back to where you have started and where you are, can you make a claim to have sincerely embarked and engaged yourself in doing good and not evil? It can never be too much in doing what is good; neither can it be too late to reap the fruitfulness of doing good. Be encouraged if you have been doing good in dealing with a wicked and desperate world. Jeremiah 17:9-10, “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.” These two verses speak to encourage you. The Word that is directly from God has never failed and He will never be late in carrying out His Word. Be encouraged if all that you are doing is sincere to the glory of God, and with no hidden agenda for self-glorification. In your meditation, add the word of Jeremiah 32:19, “You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for Your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.” He that has eyes and ears does have eyes to see and ears to hear. Let nothing or no one stop you from doing what will bring glory to God. There is nothing under heaven or earth that is too difficult for Him to do. All your mockery will be converted into miracle. You have to make up your mind and be encouraged and know that you will be rewarded according to the fruit of your good works. Do not think about or worry how long it will take, but rest assured that it won’t be long.

Prayer for today: O Lord my God, You are great in Zion and You are high above all the people. I ask that You open the eyes of my understanding to all that is good before You and let me not be a vessel of failure.

THE FEAR OF GOD
Job 1:6-20

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. (Ecclesiastes 12:13) In every increasing or decreasing matter that can rise against man, the fear of God is all that man needs to prevail and overcome. Job prevailed because he fear God and God testified when Satan came up. “Then the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” 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?”” The testimony points to the fact that the business of Satan is to come and witness against every believer. God testified on behalf of Job as a blameless and upright man. Job was blameless and upright because of the fear of God in his life. By being able to fear God, he was a man that shunned evil. The fear of God was the garment in the life of Job. When Satan comes to accuse you, will you be found standing for God? Job 1:9, “So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not made a hedge around him around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.” Satan’s headache concerning Job was the fact that Job feared God. The wisdom that is rooted in the fear of God has turned everything in the life of Job into blessing and Satan must have tried to destroy Job’s entire blessing before actually showing up in the gathering of the children of God. The fear of the God that elevated Job also built an impenetrable hedge around all the blessings in the life of Job. How are you living your life under heaven? Do you realize that all the blessings of God in your life need to be protected by a hedge that is impenetrable to any force of the wicked? Satan is real and he is all out to steal, kill and destroy. You do have a need to constantly protect all that the Lord has blessed you with by living a life that is embedded in the fear of God. Job proved that Satan was wrong and that the Lord was right in His testimony. How will you protect the hedge around your blessings? Fear God and evil will not overcome you.

Prayer for today: O Lord my God, I ask for a heart to fear You. Allow the fear of Your Holy name to reign and rule my life in Jesus’ name.