JUDAS
Luke 22:1-6

Jesus declared in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” The thief that Jesus was talking about was active then and is still active and alive today. Jesus was not talking about imaginary thief but the thief that is moving around and looking for one to devour, regardless of that one’s stand in the Lord. The thief is actively active more than ever before. Two things a thief will put in place before his strike are: A thief will not announce time or the way he will take in his attempt to strike. Secondly, when a thief comes, he will have a need for an entrance into the ground of his strike. In order for thief to gain an entrance, an opening will have to be in place or he will create the opening if you allow him. That thief is the Satan himself. When the thief visited the disciples of Jesus, he was looking for whom to use in selling Jesus. In Judas, the thief was able to locate an opening that granted him entrance for his agenda, Luke 22:3, “Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.” Satan was able to enter Judas because there was an opening for him in Judas. Judas, a disciple of Jesus, left himself opened for Satan. Are you having any opening that Satan could enter into? It does not matter who you are or how long you have been following Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior, when the thief locates an opening, he will hesitate to operate from your inside until you loose your number among those that are called. The effect of Satan’s gaining entrance into Judas is stated in Luke 22:4, “So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.” Satan’s entrance caused Judas to go out of the Way into his own way. The entrance gained by the thief made Judas to step outside of the Way into the way that seems right to him. There is only one way that leads to life and every other ways, including the one that seems right to you does not have life to offer but death. Proverb 14:12, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Judas took to his own way and he conferred with Satan and his agents on how he was going to betray the one and only Master of all masters. Are you seriously paying attention to your self so that there will be no any conscious or unconscious opening that will give a place for the thief? Stay close and not walk outside of the Way He will lead you into life.

Prayer for today: Ask for God’s presence to fill every opening in your life.

BE RELEASED
Luke 19:28-36

In every area of life, when there is a tied down situation in place, stagnation will have its way and it will reign. Without motion, to become a vehicle of service is impossible. This applies to every moveable or moving object. This is can also be said of a believer that is not available to serve in the area of calling. Jesus was to ride into Jerusalem and the vehicle of service was somewhere tied down. A colt on which no one had ever sat on was the vehicle that was to take Jesus on His glorious ride into Jerusalem. Jesus sent His disciples in Luke 19: 30-31, “saying, “Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. 31 And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you loosing it?’ thus you shall say to him, ‘Because the Lord has need of it.’” Jesus knew that the colt was tied down and without Him speaking to the direction of the colt; it would have not been possible for the colt to serve as destined. The word that Jesus sent in the direction of the colt was a word of deliverance and breakthrough for the colt to enter into divine agenda. Have you been rejecting His word of direction? Jeremiah 13:10, “This evil people, who refuse to hear My words, who follow the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing.” Does this speak of you? There was a need for the colt to be able to fulfill divine schedule. The colt was released and the glory and honor that was rendered to Jesus during His ride became part of the colt. As a believer, do you have an idea where the Lord is having a need for your service? Can you identify if you have been tied down from moving forward in your area of service unto the Lord? Just at the Word of Jesus, the colt was loosed. Luke 19:34-36, “And they said, ‘The Lord has need of him.’ 35 Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. 36 And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.” He is having a need for our service and He has made provisions for us to enter into serving Him.

Prayer for today: Ask God today for the word of deliverance and the word of release to sound in your direction so that your serving Him will be manifested.

SEE RIGHT
Exodus 2:1-10

“And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. 2 So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months.” (Exodus 2:1-2) The child was born at a time when every other parent could not see beauty because of the killing of the Hebrew sons. As a believer, it is important to know that out of the abundance of the heart not only does the mouth speak but the eyes see. Speaking, seeing and every other provoking agent of blessings should be rooted in faith. Whatever is seen with the eye is processed in the heart and the heart is where God holds us responsible. This can be confirmed in the word of Jesus, “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Mathew 5:28) What Jesus is saying here is like see with your eyes and sin in your heart. However, if one could get on the bad side (sinful side) of the Lord just by looking, one should also be able to get on His good side (blessed side) just by seeing. How do you see when all are seeing ugly? At the time Moses was born, Pharaoh had commanded the killing of every male born by a Hebrew family in Egypt. The mother of Moses saw that her son was a beautiful child. She saw him as, unqualified for death and found it unacceptable for him to be killed. The mother had faith in what she saw and hid him from untimely death. Unlike every other woman that must have lost her child or children, she refused to give up her beautiful child. After she could no longer hold on to him in hiding, she set him up in an ark in the direction of where he was picked up by the daughters of Pharaoh. At the time he was picked up every identity revealed that the baby belonged to a Hebrew family yet Pharaoh’s daughter had compassion on the baby. “And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” (Exodus 2:6) Moses that was supposed to be killed was raised and cared for by the house of Pharaoh. Have you been marked for a situation that is not your portion, and there is no way out for you? God that changed the command of Pharaoh over Moses, from death to life is still on the throne. If you will begin to see life in the place of death, whatever is bringing down tens and hundreds around you will not touch you in Jesus’ name.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace of enablement to constantly see right and not wrong in every situation.

GOING IN HIS WAY
Proverbs 16

After the dedication of Samuel unto God, Hannah stated in her prophetic prayer, “Talk no more so very proudly; Let no arrogance come from your mouth, For the LORD is the God of knowledge; And by Him actions are weighed.” (1 Samuel 2:3) Hannah was saying that God cannot be deceived. He cannot be mocked and He sees from where we are coming from to where we are going. Which way are you taking? Any way outside the way of God is a way into self- destruction. God has His way and His ways are in His word; they are written in the pages of the Bible. It has not been documented of anyone that has taken to the way of God and ended up in destruction. It has been documented and it is evident that all who has taken to their own way ended up in destruction. When there is a will or desire to walk in His way, He will guide your feet to walk in His way. I Samuel 2:9, “He will guard the feet of His saints, but the wicked shall be silent in darkness. For by strength no man shall prevail.” Walking in His way is not by determination; it is only by His grace. Have you considered which way you have been taking recently? There are so many ways to be taken but not all leads to life. The ones that seem right are definitely outside of the way of God and this is confirmed in the word of God, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 16:25) The ways you have taken in the past will not matter compared to the ways you are taking now. Take to the way of God and God will take you beyond your expectation. He is a faithful God. A time of self- examination is not a time of self-deception, give yourself a self examination and avoid self destruction. All that surrounds you can be deceived by virtue of the way that you are taking but God cannot be deceived. Proverbs 16: 2, “All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the spirits.” Will you be sincere with yourself and let God redirect your steps into His way? God wants to be pleased with how we walk in the way. Proverbs 16:7, “When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” The Lord God has given us His word and it is left for us to encourage ourselves in the word of God. Encouragement is a take-able force.

Prayer for today: Ask Him to enable you to begin to take to His way that gives life. 

Faith and Praise
Acts 16:25-34

This is God speaking about fear, “And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.” (Jeremiah 32:40) Jesus also spoke about fearing God in Matthew 10:28, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” How can you love Him without the fear of fear of Him? You can only praise the one you love and the one that you have faith in.Fear God, allow faith to raise you, and praise Him with understanding. In your praise, understand that He will raise you and you will overcome. Understand that the faith-generated praise is a vital spiritual weapon for winning impossible battles in the journey of life. Paul and Silas, in the prison of termination, stagnation, and destruction, prayed and sang praises God. Acts 16:25-26, “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.” King David testified in his thanksgiving, “I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.” (2 Samuel 22:4) Jeremiah could not have won the battle when he was confronted by Moab and Ammon. He sought the Lord for help and the Lord promised to take over the battle. (2 Chronicles 20:17) The Bible recorded, “Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.”(2 Chronicles 20:32) Today and in the coming days, weeks, months or years, reject fear that is not of God; fear only God, call upon His Holy name just as David testified. In your calling, let Him know that He alone is worthy to be praised and you shall be saved from all your enemies. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word. (Romans 10:17) When faith rises, fear will sink; when fear rises, faith will sink. Let your faith rise. Praise Him and fear will fail. Let this month be your month of praise and God will fight your battles, He will ambush all your enemy in Jesus name.

Prayer for today:O Lord my God and my King, the ancient of days, the great, merciful, and everlasting God, cause you fear to overtake me and reign in every step of life in Jesus name.