As a believer of the living Word of God, what kind of situation is considered as no hope by all that surrounds you? Your situation is clearly defined as no hope and all that surrounds you are only waiting to see you get over the grief of your situation. Also, in your response and behavior, there is demonstration of no hope and that all is lost. Today, do not take the Word of God only as an advice but rather take it as the prophetic living Word of God so that your situation is not of death but to the glory of God. Lazarus was not sleeping but he was dead. Lazarus was dead cold and there was no evidence of life in him. Lazarus had been prepared and positioned among the dead. Sorrow, grief and pain had taken over the popular position among the family and neighbors in regard to the death of Lazarus. Your situation has not gone down to the place of the dead just like that of Lazarus. His sisters and family knew that he was dead and he could not possibly come back to life. His sisters were wondering why there was delay from Jesus. As a result of the fact that Jesus delayed His arrival to the situation, Lazarus gained a position among the dead. Jesus is the healing Healer; He alone is the One who reverses the irreversible. He is the One who shows up in every time of need and He never fails to deliver. Above all, Jesus is the God of the eleventh hour because He does not operate with man-made time. Before Jesus could raise Lazarus, He warned, “And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John11:26) Jesus questioned about the location of the dead, “…Where have you laid him…?” (John 11:34) After getting the location, Jesus gave a command: “Take away the stone…” (John 11:39) After Jesus’ response to the situation, He emphasized the need for believe. Jesus believed that God was going to bring Lazarus back to life and as a result, Jesus did not wait for Lazarus to rise before He thanked God for Lazarus’ rising from dead. “Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.’” (John 11:41) Thanking Him before thanksgiving will bring an end to your painful situation. Lazarus was commanded back to life by Jesus and he was let loose and let go. Thanking God before thanksgiving provokes the hand of God for the undeniable.

Prayer for today: Father I ask in Jesus name for a heart of thanks giving.

RUN OR WALK
1 Kings 17:1-16

But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31) As a believer that claims to know God, have you ever run when you only needed to walk, or have you been in a situation where you needed to walk instead of run? Whenever there is a failure to wait on God, man will be wasted in the journey of life. In the life of every believer, there is a time to walk, and there is a time to run. Elijah, a man of great exploit, declared upon the land in the presence of King Ahab, “And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”(1 Kings 17:1) Elijah made a declaration against rain on the land, and it was just as he said it. Right after sealing the rain from heaven, the Word of God commanded Elijah, “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.” (1 Kings 17:3) How could a man of such a caliber have to get out and hide? If Elijah could speak a word to stop rain, he should have had what it took to withstand any force that arose from King Ahab. It was time for Elijah to run, and he could not have positioned himself in danger. A man that could be declared as a mouthpiece of God did not hesitate to follow God’s command. Are you on ground where you have a need to run, but your title is deceiving you from not running? What has to be done for you to stand out and not be a victim of unforeseen circumstances? Are you to run, or are you to walk? Running or walking is not only limited unto those that are yet to receive titles in the body of Christ, but to all in the body of Christ. King David, having been ordained as king over the children of Israel, ran when his life was in danger in the presence of Saul. David did not resign himself to the fact that he had been ordained to be king, and would not have had any reason not to run. David ran for his life, and when there was a need for walking, he also walked. Is there any situation in your life that calls for running or walking? Wait on the Lord, and He will not fail to direct you.

Prayer for today: Help me Lord God, to be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. Keep me from being a victim of the wicked.

KEEP WAITING
Luke 15:11-32

“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) The Apostle Paul has been there, passed through, and lived in what it means to be in a state of lack, and not be in need. To be in need where there is lack could be a direct result of an inability to wait for God’s hand to move. Why not wait for the hand of God? In the parable of the prodigal, or the lost son, it was clearly demonstrated that the prodigal son entered a state of lack because he could not wait for his appointed time. The parable mentioned that the prodigal son was the younger of the two sons who could not wait for the portion of the inheritance that would have fallen to Him. Why the rush where there is so much to receive in the place of waiting? Have you entered into a self-designed rush lately? Not being able to wait is to abiding in waste. The prodigal son got his portion of the inheritance and took a journey to a far country, and wasted his inheritance. Jesus’ parable is not a play write-up; it is to place His writing in the life of believers for learning, correction, and for instruction as a guide in every walk of life. Evidently in life, any type of abundance set for man, that’s given at the wrong time, will lavishly be exhausted, and will not be appreciated as much, compared to the one that will get it while going through the pain of waiting. The prodigal son did not wait. As a result, he was bound to end up wasted. The prodigal son went where he was not called to go because his timing in the journey of life had been interrupted by his inability to wait for God’s time. Luke 15: 13-14, “And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. 14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land and he began to be in want.” Any time a person walks out of God’s timing, they are walking into a curse of timing of lack. Obedience brings forth blessing, while disobedience brings forth cursing. Wait on God, and you will never step into mistakes. It is absolutely true that no one ever complained of falling, or stepping, into grievous mistakes while waiting on God. Waiting on God is a source of God’s grace for anyone that takes to waiting on Him. Isaiah 30:18, “Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.” God will wait for those that will wait on Him.

Prayer for today: O Lord, my God, and my Father I ask for the grace of enablement to be constantly, and consistently, waiting on You before I make any move.

FAILED FIRE
Daniel 3

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5) To love God is to trust in God. To trust in God is to worship God. To worship God is to serve God. Daniel’s three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego loved the Lord God with all their hearts, with all their souls, and with all their strength. The three Daniel’s friends were willing to die for the Lord God’s name when they bluntly refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s gold image. When they refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s gold image, they were questioned about their God. In addition to the questioning, they were also threatened, with death, by a burning fiery furnace. In response to the threat, “…Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.””(Daniel 3:16-18) Loving, serving, or worshiping God goes way beyond Sunday gatherings, memorization of Bible verses, titles, and being active in the church. Worshiping God can sometimes be provocative. Worshiping God could be taking a very unpopular stand in any area of life. With the three friends of Daniel, it was provocation to the highest authority. “…Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.” (Daniel 3:19) In your walk with the Lord, can you determine if you have stepped on the enemy’s toe? In the name of the Lord God, have you crossed a line that could generate a burning furnace for your destruction? Daniel’s three friends provocation called for a fiery furnace, “Therefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego.” (Daniel 3:22) Whatever is set against us to offset God’s plan in our life, God in His goodness, and mercy, will turn it against the set-up agent. God is true to His word of deliverance and preservation; He will never leave His own, nor forsake His own. God did not leave Daniel’s three friends alone in the furnace of fire. He was with them watching, and protecting them, because they took a stand for His name. God delivered them and protected them for a better, and greater position.

Prayer for today: Father I ask for the boldness, and the character, that will enable me to always take a stand for Your holy name, all the days of my life.

ANGEL OF THE LORD
Acts 5:12-28

“The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.” All it takes to constantly have the angel of the Lord constantly operating on the behalf of a believer is to have the fear of God. To have the fear of God is to have a constant walk with the Lord. To have a constant walk with the Lord means doing God’s work. To be doing God’s is rooted in believing God. Believing God means having absolute faith in the Word of God. Where, then, does faith comes from? “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) Fear has its root in hearing, and hearing the Word of God and it is impossible to hear Him by the hearing with your ear, and not fearing Him. Job testifies in Job 42:5-6, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. 6 Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.” When he knew the fear of God through the Word of God, he repented. The angel of the Lord is all that is needed for deliverance when every way has been blocked. The apostles were doing the work of God by giving life to the sick, and winning souls for the Lord. The apostles were not stealing; they were not in any business that was outside the one that the Lord had committed into their hands when they became a victim of the High Priest. Acts 5:17-18, “Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation, 18 and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison.” The Word of God is true, and it never fails. When it says it will deliver, it will never fail to deliver. And when it says it will preserve, it will not fail to preserve. The Apostles feared the Lord, and they could not possibly be stranded with the angel of the Lord, showing on their behalf. Acts 5:19-20, “But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.”” The Apostles feared the Lord, and could not be held by any prison wall, nor could any officer or Priest intercept the Lord’s assignment. Your present situation is not beyond the hand of God.  Every creation of God is qualified for assistance for deliverance through His angels when there is fear in place. Do you fear Him?     
Prayer for today: Father I ask in Jesus’ name, let the fear of Your holy name become, overtake, and overwhelm my life.