WITHERED?
Luke 6:6-19

“Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered.” (Luke 6:6) A man with the withered hand had two hands just like every other person except that one was withered, shrunk and not regular. The man had the potential to have it all like every one else but his was short in one hand. It was not mentioned how he came across Jesus but it was a Sabbath day, a time when the Pharisees wanted to put Jesus to test. The Pharisees wanted to find charge against Jesus for healing the man with the withered hand. The man with the withered hand in the presence of Jesus had approached his open door. In his open door, the Pharisees took the position of adversary. In your open door to deliverance or breakthrough is there any adversary in place attempting to deny you your deliverance? Apostle Paul made it known that in every open door there are adversaries that want to stop your passage unto breakthrough or healing. Adversaries not an adversary are taking a stand at the open door, “For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” (1 Corinthians 16:9) The man with the withered hand needed a breakthrough from shortage to fullness, from mockery to miracle but adversaries have taken a place at his open door waiting to make sure his miracle failed. To be withered is not to be complete but Jesus the Restorer of the lost; the Unchanging the changer changed the withered man’s story by making him whole. Jesus, “…When He had looked around at them all, He said to the man,] “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 11 But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.” (Luke 6:10-11) In your life, what do you need to stretch out from? Is there any physical, spiritual or emotional area of your life that needs a stretch? Jesus is there, He has come to give life and not to cause any shortage. Before the withered man received his healing, the Bible recorded that Jesus said to him, “…Arise and stand here…” (Luke 6:8) The man with the withered hand answered Jesus with no evidence or demonstration of doubt when he rose and gained wholeness of his hand back. By virtue of his miracle, adversaries in his open door, “…Were filed with rage…” (Luke 6:11) Are you willing to take a stand for Jesus? If you will, your breakthrough will come and the adversary will be at rage but Jesus will reign.      

Prayer for today: Ask Him to reign and rule over all that concerns your life.

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.