CONFESS IN CONFIDENCE
Psalm 91 

The Psalmist confessed in confidence, “I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” (Psalm 91:2) Refuge is a shelter or protection from danger. Fortress means any place of exceptional security. In this world of challenges the only place of refuge and fortress indeed and in truth is in the Lord. The Psalmist thought it and said it right. It is a statement of confession and confidence that can only be declared for no other god but the One and the only King of kings and the Lord of lords. The Psalmist later testified in the same Psalm, “For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.” (Psalm 91:11) For any believer that has come to the understanding of God as our refuge and fortress, nothing works better than meditating: “Lord give your angels charge over me, to keep me in all my ways” When there is a security in all ways, there will be a safe and final arrival at every expected end of journey. It does not matter how troubled a journey is when there is consistent confession for God, who alone is the true refuge and fortress, will not fail in giving His angels charge over every confessing believer. Peter was marked and set for an imminent death in the hand of King Herod who earlier killed James, the brother of John. While Peter was bound in chains, sleeping at night between guards and awaiting for his time of execution the following occurred. “Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. 8 Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.”” (Acts 12:7-8) An angel was charged to keep Peter away from the trap of death. Peter was lead away from his untimely death to the ground of safety and security. Is there any situation that has placed you out of His place? Is there any way that you have been reduced to a point of no way out? The same God who was is the same God that is today. If you will begin to confess and confide in Him as your refuge and fortress, He will not fail you. In His covering over you, no evil shall bring you down neither shall there be plague near your dwelling place. God is faithful and He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Prayer for today: Lord God, I confess that you are my refuge and my fortress, cause me to trust in you all the days of my life.   

OBEDIENCE IS FULLY FOLLOWING

1 Samuel 15:1-23

In your following there is no excuse; there is no distraction. When there is a confession to follow Him, there has to be commitment in following Him. Commitment will build up to consistency and then continuity will have its place. In the journey of life, continuity is the rule of the race. There is no giving up on following when storm rises. When you follow Him, you do not have to walk how others walk, you do not have to see like they see, and you do not have to hear what they hear. The way to follow is in keeping focus on the leading Master. Some went to Him voluntarily and ended up with excuses. He called some, but they could not handle the weight of the cross. In following Him, there is a route of escape and it delivers from dying a cheap death. When the general population is dying a cheap death, true followers will be driving away from cheap death. It is amazing how He led some through the Red Sea in the face of their enemy. He led them through but they cannot get through to their promise land because they failed to follow Him fully and continuity was not in place. Obedience should be in full compliance and whenever it is short of full compliance it becomes disobedience. Thousands of the children of Israel followed Him but only two (Caleb and Joshua) were able to follow Him fully. A half obedience is worst than no obedience. Saul entered into the role of demonstrating half obedience. God commanded Saul to go and attack the Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they had by not sparing them. God wanted Saul to kill all including animals because of what the Israelites suffered at the hand of the Amalek when they were on the way from Egypt. Saul took command into his hand in 1 Samuel 15:9, “But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.” It is disobedience in it is own class when there is a failure to fully comply in His word. Half-obedient makes hypocrites out of those that come to the Lord, and do not follow him. The children of Israel, because they were not following Him fully, journey was terminated in the wilderness. To obey God is to follow His Word. Following the Word of God is obeying God.

Prayer for today: This day, ask God to deposit in your life the spirit that makes man to follow Him fully, completely and consistently.

RIGHT PLACE AT RIGHT TIME
John 5:1-15

To be in a position to serve the living God is the right place for a believer. However, it is possible to be in the right place and remain trapped. The man with thirty eight years of infirmity was at the right place for his healing (the Sheep Gate a pool) but yet he remained trapped. All that God wants from His children is to serve Him with all their heart, soul and strength.  Remember the children of Israel when they were coming out of bondage: God required them to serve Him. However, their service was incomplete. As a result all that left Egypt above twenty years of age failed to complete the journey. They were trapped in the wilderness because their service failed and they were terminated. Your service can fail, you can be trapped, and you can also be terminated. To serve God is not enough to carry you through if you do not follow Him in your service. Not to mention all, many are committed servers but not followers of Christ. Answering as a prayer intercessor, choir leader, usher, Sunday school teacher, deacon, and elder in the church is not an evidence of service. Title is not task. Whenever service to God is not on following fully, they have missed the engine that is transporting the vehicle of their service. Matthew 16:24, “Then Jesus said to His disciples, if anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” You have not denied yourself; your serving Him is a conceited. Your service is not recorded in heaven; Jesus will declare later that He did not know you. Have you actually denied yourself for the Lord’s service? It is not only when you see believers around you that you should be acting unselfishly. You know it is not true and it is false humility. Man can be deceived but God sees the heart and cannot be deceived. Is there anyway for you to hear it better so that you can understand and know that in serving Him, you have to follow Him? John 12:26, “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me: and where I am, there my servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.” That is clear enough for those who have a hearing ear. To serve the Lord you have to follow Him. Ignorance is not an excuse. Ignorance will only make a destitute out of a believer and it could ridicule a believer’s journey.

Prayer for today: Lord I ask for the understanding to know what is right to do in serving you all the days of my life.

Be Strong

2 Timothy 2

“You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”(2 Timothy 2:1-2) The book of second Timothy was regarded as Paul’s last words from a Roman prison. At this time of writing, Paul knew it could be his final contact with Timothy because his execution was most likely imminent. Are you experiencing a painful or prison time although not physically in prison? Does your root of pain need a source of strength? It is always important to know what gives hope in the face of a painful death like the one Paul encountered. Paul, in his letter to Timothy, gave two points that will keep a believer strong: gaining strength in the grace of Jesus Christ, gaining strength in all the testimonies in the Word of God. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is the sweet fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Also, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is the love of God. In this world of challenges, knowing that the Holy Spirit of God is our strength gives the ability to draw strength from the sweet fellowship of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the comforter and when comfort overtakes weakness and challenges, peace will evidently reign and weakness will become strength. The love of God is Jesus and God testified, “Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:11) God sent His son to deliver us from the bondage that causes weakness unto death. Jesus declared the grace that is in Him when He stated, “…I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) There is no source of being strong such as having life and having it more abundantly. Being strong comes in the ability to be testifying and witnessing Jesus Christ. When a believer steps out in going around witnessing and teaching others about what the Lord has done, what the Lord can do and what the Lord will do, strength takes its place in the life of such believer. The Apostle Paul was there. He went through it, he saw it all and he knew exactly what he was saying when he gave his admonishment to every gospel believers then and now, through Timothy by stating, “…My son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:1-2) Conscious and consistent steps into the Word will deliver a competent and complete manifestation of His Word.

Prayer for today: O Lord my God and my Creator, let Your mercy and Your Word overtake me in every area of my life.

STRUGGLE FREE JOURNEY
Philippians 4

Complete and consistent obedience to the Word of God is the only source of a struggle-free life for any true believer of the Word of God. Also, disruption, frustration and every other forces of concern is inhabited in the ability not to trust and hold on to the promises that are given by God. The ability not to trust in the Word of God is an evidence of disobedience. The Word of God says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”(Philippians 4:6-7) It is easy to memorize and quote this verse but when a challenge shows up in an unexpected way, it is very difficult to remember not to be anxious. It is easy to read and tell or teach how Father Abraham engaged in a journey of faith; a journey that requested for his son Isaac to be used for sacrifice. (Genesis 22) However, it is not easy to relate such a journey into one’s life. The point here is that through the journey to the ground of sacrifice, there was no record of complaint, pain, and neither was there any evidence of anxiousness demonstrated by Abraham. The record of the journey to MountMoriah sounded so smooth and unscratched. Abraham’s engagement in the journey was rooted in his obedience to the Word of God. As a result of his obedience, the journey became a struggle-free journey instead of it being a journey of all kind of pain and struggle. Abraham obeyed God because he trusted that the One who gave him a child at a very old age of ninety-nine must have something in store for him. As a believer, what area or part in our journey of life has become painful, disruptive and offsetting to our comfort? How are we dealing with it? Is there any sign of anxiousness in our response? Are we struggling with the confronting situations? As a believer, is there any obedience to the living Word of God? “…For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) Many words of God have been deposited in our life and many still are being deposited in our life. The Word will only operate in the hearts that are simple. The simple ones are the ones who have the understanding to allow the Word to become light. The profitability of the Word is when it operates as light. Hebrews 4:2, “For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.” Abraham had peace because he mixed the Word with faith by walking in trust.
Prayer for today: Let your Word have its place in my life O Lord.