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.

STATE OF THE HEART
Numbers 14

How are you keeping your heart? The word of God commands, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” (Proverb 4:23) Just as the issue of life springs out of heart, so the issue of death springs out of heart. How are you keeping your heart? Heart operates as the manufacturer and whatever it manufactures the mouth delivers. This is indicated in the statement of Jesus “…For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34) Keeping the heart with all diligence is directly important to your deliverance unto your breakthrough in the journey of life. The children of Israel came out of the bondage of over four hundred years, they had miracle upon miracles in their journey but yet, they completely forgot in their heart. Despite the promise of God to take them to a land that flows with milk and honey, they allowed their mouth to terminate their promised land. After the spying of the land that the Lord had planned for them, they spoke from their heart, “…We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” (Numbers 13:31) How can the people that have overcome a giant task be speaking forth with such negativity? Out of the abundance of their heart they spoke out and God responded through Moses, “Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you.” (Numbers 14:28) What is your heart manufacturing for you mouth to produce before the perfect Creator? Determination will not help you in keeping you heart with all diligence because determination failed Peter. However, the Spirit of God is what will help to keep your heart with all diligent. How can the Spirit of God keep your heart for you? The word of God encourages us in John 6:63, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” The word of God which is life will give you life and not death in the journey of life. Here is what the book of Proverbs commanded if you desire to keep your heart with all diligent, “…Let your heart retain my words; keep my commands and live” (Proverbs 4:4) Can your heart retain the word of God? Whatever is your desire is what the Lord God will deposit in your life and it will give you life. Get into thinking positive and confessing positive because as you think in your heart so you are (Proverbs 23:7).
It is a new month, depart from confessing negative and adapt to confessing positive.
 
Prayer for today: My Lord and my God, I ask today, circumcise my heart to love you with my entire all so that I may live.        

ALL ABOUT DOING GOOD
Genesis 24

It is not good enough to know about doing good. It only becomes good to know and to do good when situation demands doing good. If doing good brings blessing, knowing to do good and not do it could possibly generate a curse. Abraham, in his attempt to get Isaac a wife said, “…To the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; 4 but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” (Genesis 24:2-4) Abraham’s servant held to the command of Abraham. Having got to Abraham’s country, the servant said, “…O LORD God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”(Genesis 24:12-14) Just as the oldest servant had finished in his request, Rebekah showed up and the servant approached Rebekah asking her for a drink. Out of the goodness of her heart, she responded, “…Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. 19 And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.” (Genesis 24:18-20) Rebekah’s delivery of good beyond the request of the servant was a demonstration of an abundance of a good heart. Rebekah gave beyond the imagination of the servant and that left the servant in a wondering position, “And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.” (Genesis 24:21) Rebekah’s doing good was out of a good heart and it was beyond the imagination of the servant. Rebekah’s doing of good tied her to a family with generational blessing from God. Pay attention to doing good with no excuse. Doing good can be very challenging while its blessing can be unimaginably great and rewarding.

Prayer for today: Father, I pray this day for the grace of enablement to do good where the situation demands. 

BE SPECIFIC
Matthew 6:5-14

Through all the pages of scripture, every of God’s command came with specificity, orderliness and with details. When He was going to bring the earth to end with a flood, in the days of Noah He gave the command, “Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. 15 And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.” (Genesis 6:14-16) Just as details and specificity are evident in His command to Noah, so it is when He gives command. God constantly and consistently expects full compliance to every detail of His command. Also, when God sends a message through His messenger, He wants the details of His message to be delivered and not more or less than what He requests from His messenger. After giving Jeremiah the message for His people, He commanded him, “Therefore prepare yourself and arise, And speak to them all that I command you.” (Jeremiah 1:17) God that is consistent in giving commands in details will expect His children to respond and comply obediently in detail. The point here is, God that gives command with specificity and details will also expect us to ask Him with specificity and in details so He can respond to us in full. He is a God of order and He does not settle for disorder. Evidently, this must be one of the reasons why the word of God encourages us that, when we ask in prayer, we should avoid repetition. Jesus specifically said in Matthew 6:7, “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. ” At every time there is addition to His word, the one that adds to His words becomes exposed to the devil. God gave instruction in the Garden of Eden, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) When the serpent approached Eve, Eve responded by adding to the command of God, “…Nor shall you touch it, lest you die.” (Genesis 3:3) The word of God cannot be reduced neither should it be added to. God is a God of order and you shall approach Him or respond to Him with specificity or orderliness.
 
Prayer for Today: Ask Him to help you in responding to all of His instruction and teaching in the way you should go.