RECOGNIZE YOUR SALVATION
Joshua 2

The testimonies of God are wonderful! They are delight and they are everlasting. The Psalmist testifies, “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart!” (Psalm 119:2) Keeping the testimonies of God will stir the heart into seeking Him. Evidently, if and when an unbeliever keep His testimonies, blessing is certain. Once God disposes His blessing, it either goes from generation to generation or impacts a lasting blessing in the life of the blessed. At the time when Joshua was leading the children of Israel to the Promised Land, the need to conquer Jericho called for spying Jericho because of Jericho’s powerful defense. Joshua resulted into sending spies. Two spies who were sent came to the house of a harlot named Rahab. When the king found out about the spies in Jericho, he sent for them but Rahab hid the two spies from being taken away to the king. Rahab’s action was not based on intimidation from the spies; it was rather based on the testimonies of God which she had been keeping. Having kept the spies from the king’s men, she revealed to the spies the reason behind her actions by stating, “…I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. 10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 11 And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.”(Joshua 2:9-11) Absolutely, nothing but the testimony of God stirred the heart of Rahab, the prostitute, and she sought the kindness of God. Rahab could not be quiet but requested from the spies, “…I beg you, swear to me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token, 13 and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.” (Joshua 2:12-13) As a believer or unbeliever, when you see salvation ahead of destruction will you recognize salvation and embrace it with your heart like Rahab did? Rahab’s life of sin did not blindfold her mindset from embracing salvation. Rahab’s story is a blessing as she became a mother in the line of Jesus. Cling to the testimonies of God and not be ashamed.

Prayer for today: O Lord, let me not miss out in my day of salvation.    

TOUCH ME
Isaiah 6:1-10

The hand of God is mighty and cannot be reduced or denied in any area of life. In the hand of God there is deliverance and there is preservation. If there is anything to ask from Him in this season, it should be for His hand. The operation of His hand cannot be separated from that of His Word. When the Lord called Jeremiah, it was through the operation of His hand in combination with His Word. Jeremiah 1:9-10, “Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me: ‘Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.10 See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.’” In the calling of Jeremiah, the hand of God went forth before the Word sounded in Jeremiah’s direction. The Word of God was there to be activated for Jeremiah to answer and live for the fulfillment of his calling. Without the touching of God, he would not have been able to see. The Lord put forth His hand to call his attention to what had been deposited in him. It was the touch of God’s hand in the life of Jeremiah and the grace for Jeremiah to hear that caused Jeremiah’s eyes to be opened up and see. Jeremiah truly saw that day and his life was never the same. Has the Word God located you but you are yet to get a touch that will cause you to become on fire for Him? The hand of God and His Word can be likened to matches that spark fire in the hand of one waiting for the spark from the ignition of fire. Isaiah also testified in Isaiah 6:6-7, “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. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.’” Isaiah could not hear until he had been touched. As a result of the touch that came into his life, Isaiah became a flaming torch for the purpose of the Kingdom of God. The Book of Isaiah is referred to as the miniature Bible. Just like the Bible, his first thirty-nine chapters are compared to the first thirty-nine books of Old Testament while the last twenty-seven are compared to the last twenty–seven books of the New Testament. By His touch, Jeremiah and Isaiah carried out great exploits to the glory of God. Answering to the calling of God is great deliverance and reservation that keeps man from answering to wiles of the wicked world.

Prayer for today: Ask and ask consistently for the mercy that will cause His hand to touch you for His Name to be glorified in your life.

ONLY HIS HAND
Psalm 16:9-11, 20:6-9

When it was time for the deliverance of the children of Israel from the bondage of over four hundred years, it was the hand of God in action that set them on to their deliverance ground. God testified before sending Moses: “But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go.” (Exodus 3:19-20) God is a righteous Judge. Besides the fact that the hand of God is righteous, there are number of places in the Bible that points out what the hand of God is all about. Psalm 16:11, “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” At His right hand are pleasures forevermore! Psalm 20:6, “Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.” Here, it is evident by the testimony of the Psalmist that the right hand of God is a saving strength. Pharaoh tried to deny it but he was destroyed. Isaiah 41:10 declares to us to “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Again, it is testified that the right hand of God upholds. As a believer whose righteousness is the Blood of Jesus Christ, all of your needs that will get you to the expected end are in the consistent and diligence asking for the right hand of God to move in every area of your life. The Word of God is true and He has said He will honor His Word more than His Name. Also, the Word of God never comes back void and will always perform what it stands for. Above it all, after His resurrection and when it was time for Him to be received in Heaven, Jesus took a seat at the right hand of God. Mark 16:19, “So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.” The right hand of God is the hand to be prayerfully desired and that which is desired is what the Lord deposits. Nehemiah, in his attempt to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, exhorted the people by claiming that King Artaxerxes grant him his entire request by the good hand of the Lord upon him (Nehemiah 2:8). The hand of God will get you to your expected end in this journey of life.
 
Prayer for today: Ask God for His right hand to overtake you in all areas of your life.

LINE IN THE SAND
John 8:1-12

The world today is full of sin and sinning but yet the world is always quick in passing judgment instead of being judged. The story of an adulteress woman in the book of John 8:1-12 is a clear example of the world rushing into passing judgment instead of the world being rushed into facing judgment. The story of this adulteress woman depicts an adulteress woman facing the Light of the world while the world is attempting to phase out the adulteress woman from the Light that came to save the world. Jesus, the Light of the world, stated in John 10:10, “…I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Jesus already came and He is here to give life; not that He is just coming. The scribes and Pharisees attempted to disrupt His teaching in the temple when an adulteress woman was brought to Jesus. “…And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caughtin adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?’ 6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him…” (John 8:3-6) In the case of adulteress woman, the world wanted to rush into judgment. As it has often been, the world that needed to be put under judgment attempting to be the judge. Jesus responded to the world (the scribes and Pharisees) when He, “…stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. 7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.’” (John 8:6-7) Jesus drew a line in the sand to identify those who had never been a sinner and those who were sinners. Among the world, none could cross the line of “never had been a sinner”. No man has been assigned to be a judge and Jesus spoke specifically to this when He stated in Mathew 7:1-2, “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”” Evidently, since no one could cross the line that was drawn by Jesus, no one was qualified to cast a stone of condemnation on the adulteress woman. Jesus, our Lord and Savior, declared to the woman, “…neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”(John 8:11) Have you been condemning or have you rather been under any condemnation? It is good to take to every word of Jesus. Jesus commanded the adulteress woman to go and sin no more and if you will live by His command, you too shall be free indeed.

Prayer for today: Ask the Lord to keep you away from taking any position that is outside of your calling for your life.

IDENTIFY YOURSELF
1 Samuel 17

For forty days, morning and night armies of the living God (children of Israel) suffered assault from the Philistines as they gathered for battle. The Bible referred to the leader of this assault as the champion, the Philistine of Gath, named Goliath. 1 Samuel 17:10-11, “And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.”What is that situation in your life that has kept you so low in fear and you cannot remember who your God is? For forty days!! The armies of the living God were crawling before armies that do not have a living God. So sad! Does this sound like your case? As a believer, have you failed to remember who you are serving? When you fail to remember, you will not to enable yourself in the Lord God. Fleeing will not solve your case until you identify yourself in God and face the case. Yes, everything in the physical is pointing you out as looser of this case but all that you need to do is identify yourself in the Lord your God. Like King Saul, King Jehoshaphat faced a confronting situation with no way for escape, “And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.” (2 Chronicles 20:3-4) Jehoshaphat refused to sink in fear but he rose in faith to seek his God. Having sought God, God responded, “You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you.” (2 Chronicles 20:16-17) David a young man; not a listed army; saw and heard the giant that was defying the armies of the living God. He decided to stand up to Goliath. He could reach that decision because he remembered his God that delivered him from the paw of lion and the paw of bear. By being able to remember the greatness of his God, he was able to identify himself in God. His identity was his testimony that, the same God will deliver him from the hand of Goliath. The battle is not yours, let God fight for you and you will win. Jehoshaphat claimed God and won with praise while David claimed God and won by the testimonies of God. In every confronting situation of life, focus on God, phase out fear and faith will reign.

Prayer for today: Enable me O Lord to remain focus on You against every confronting situations of my life.