JOY CONSISTENCY
Luke 19: 1-10

“Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Jesus for you 19 Do not quench the Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-19) Word of God made us to realize that joy is what gives us access to the presence of God. 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.” It has to be a full joy not a facial joy (that is teeth exposure). It becomes a full joy with consistency. The apostle Paul reiterated in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” God will only survive in a joyful environment. In Zacchaeus’ seeking of Jesus, he gained the attention of Jesus, “…When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”” (Luke 19:5) Just like He offered Zacchaeus so He has made Himself available to every man that will respond the same way Zacchaeus responded. The Bible recorded, “So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.” (Luke 19:6) Can you respond to Him joyfully when He comes to locate you at your sycamore tree? The Bible is not telling us just for the fun of it that Zacchaeus received Him joyfully, but it is telling us so we can observe to do what is written. Prayer, the calling of God’s attention, is to be without ceasing not only when there is need. A prayer-less life is equal to a prevail-less life while a prayerful life provokes prevailing life. Paul and Silas, they prayed, they sang and the Holy Ghost came down. 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.” Above all, giving thanks is the ultimate because the word recorded it as the will of God in Christ Jesus. The will of God is for us to have life and to be able to have it abundantly. Having life and having it abundantly is being accessible to the presence of God and overcoming life just like Paul and Silas did. Failure to rejoice is a challenge to pass into a praying session. Thanksgiving will only flow where there is a flow of joy and the Spirit of God will respond to demonstrate the presence of God. The word of God is true to the core if you will incorporate yourself in the word.

Prayer for today: O Lord my God, I ask that You fill me with Your word and let Your word have its way in all of my life and undertakings.

PLACES IN TIME
2 Samuel 11

To be at the right place at the right time will always produce a positive result. In the other hand, being at the wrong place at the right time or the right place at the wrong time can be exceedingly destructive without the word of God in place. To be at the wrong place at the wrong time is evidently a sure way to self destruction. Being at the right place at the right time is the only right way. King David, as greatly as he was used by God, was once on the roof of the king’s house. For King David, it was a right place to be but at the wrong time. It was a time to be at battle. The Bible recorded, “It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle…” (2 Samuel 11:1) While David was suppose to be out in the battle field like other kings, he “arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold.” (2 Samuel 11:2) King David’s standing at the right place was at the wrong time and it caused an outstanding mark of pain on him all the days of his life. To King David, it was the mark of adultery that had such a negative impact on his life journey. As an acclaimed believer, are you conscious of your present location? Avoid taking chances that can change your life for the worse. You cannot hide from God and His presence will always locate you. As an acclaimed believer, where are you standing and what do you stand for? Where or what you are standing for can usher you into an unending journey of pain.  King David made a wrong stand when he ordered Uriah’s killing at the battle field. It is recorded, King David “…Wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah 15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, ‘Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die’” (2 Samuel 11:14-15) David setup Uriah’s death in order to cover up his adultery that brought forth unexpected seed.  David’s adultery brought to life a child that he did not expect. King David’s standing was not acceptable to God because he violated the command of God. Later on King David repented and was forgiven. God is a forgiving God but His word declares in Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” God will forgive sin, but the consequences will remain. Being at the right place at the wrong time was disastrous for King David. What we can learn from this story is that every attempt to cover up an evil act will uncover you beyond what you can handle.
 
Prayer for today: Ask God to instruct you, teach you and guide you with His eye.

LEPROSY OF THE INSIDE
2 Kings 5:

It is written, “Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper.” (2kings 5:1) Naaman was a remarkable figure. Naaman was filled with phrases that described his character and his ability. All of Naaman’s great remarks were in the eyes of his master and not in the eyes of God. Just like Naaman, are you a man of great remarks in the eyes of your pastor and among brethren? How do you fare in the eyes of God? What you are in the eyes of God is that which matters. At the time he came to Elisha he did not know God and his great exploits did not have weight in heaven but only on earth. In the life of Naaman, there was a “but” and his but was leprosy. Naaman needed a cleansing that would get him to know God. What is the “but” in your life that needs the kind of cleansing that will cause you to know God and not just know about God? The “but” in Naaman’s life that needed to be cleansed was leprosy on the outside and pride in the inside. The pride in the inside was exceedingly destructive. More than the “but” that is visible in Naaman’s life. Pride is the opposite of humility; pride kills; pride does not give life and pride goes before destruction. At the juncture of Naaman’s healing, “… Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’” (2 Kings 5:10-11) The pride inside Naaman almost denied him his healing when he became furious and left in rage. Pride has many branches such as, anger, rage, malice, bitterness and all could operate as a silent killer. Silently, Naaman could have walked away because of his pride and died as a leper. As God would have it in Naaman’s life, he was persuaded by his servants to go back and act according to the word of the prophet. Naaman responded and went and got cleansed in the Jordan River “And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, “Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel… “(2 Kings 5:15). The leprosy of the physical and the “but” of his inside gave up and Naaman testified to knowing God.

Prayer for today: Ask God to deliver you from every thing that is representing leprosy inside and outside of your life.

RAIN OR SHOWER
Genesis 6, 7

The Bible recorded in Genesis 7:11-12, “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. 12 And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights. ” The rain that flooded in the time of Noah was the result of sin. Genesis 6:1-2, “Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.” When God allowed multiplication and increase, His creation multiplied in wickedness and all kinds of ungodliness that provoked the hand of God against man. “… LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth…” (Genesis 6:6-7) Sin disqualified man from His grace, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:8) The same eyes that spotted sin during the time of multiplication and beautification of the sons of man are still the same eyes today, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him…” (2 Chronicles 16:9) God’s eye is the same as it was, He is forever consistent and He will not overlook sin. There is always sin and there is always forgiveness. However, forgiveness does not take away consequence. Has He increased you by multiplying you and adding beauty to what He has blessed you with? It is not time to dance away from Him. Do not allow blessings to blow you away from the One that blesses. God alone can send showers of blessing or showers of destruction. The shower that fell in the time of Noah was in two fold. To the wicked ones, it was a shower of destruction while to Noah it was a shower of grace. At the time of shower, while the wicked population was experiencing destruction, Noah was experiencing deliverance. The shower that flooded the whole population receded when God remembered Noah and sent forth the wind of preservation. “Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided.’” (Genesis 8:1) Sin will always bring forth showers of destruction but to the ones obeying His commands it will always be showers of blessings.

Prayer for today: Ask God to guide you so you will not miss out in His shower of blessing.

MOVE BY HIS WORD
Psalm 143:7-12

So many challenges in the world today are bringing forth all kinds of struggle and challenges calls for the word of God to overcome. For every believer that chooses to hear the word of God, it is important to know that, just a word of God is enough to terminate all kinds of struggle. What you have heard in the word of God and what you are now hearing in His word is what will carry you through every of your journey. The word of God is direction, deliverance, protection and preservation. When you hear Him right it will be right for you. When you fail to hear, you have also heard Him wrongly. You do have a need to hear Him on a daily and regular basis. Psalm 143:8 “Cause me to hear your lovingkindnesss in the morning. For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to you.” The Psalmist demonstrated here that hearing Him in the morning is what makes the difference for the day. When you begin to make time to hear from the Lord first in the morning, trusting Him will be activated in your daily endeavors and what you heard in the morning will be your compass for the day. What you heard from Him first in the morning will be showing forth the way to walk through the day and it will be your weapon of deliverance and preservation from the enemy. There is none that have walked in the way of God that ends up in failure. As a believer, do not walk in anyway that seems right unto you because the word of God warned against it. Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way that seems right to a man. But its end is the way of death.” It is wisdom to walk in the way of God. Evidently, it is also a demonstration of trust in Him not to walk in your own way. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding: 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him. And He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) To many believers, these are well memorized and often quoted scriptural verses. However, memorization without meditation will bring forth no manifestation. Meditation is what will cause you to observe in every step as you take them in the direction of the word. Those who walk in His way always arrive at their expected end. Also, those that are still hearing Him and walking in His way are set to end up in His divine schedule and rest. As a child of God, what are you hearing early in the day? In all that you hear, hear Him right and that will have a direct impact on how you move. He is faithful God, when you gain understanding in His word you are set to overcome in every step of life.  

Prayer for today: Ask God for understanding in your hearing.