PROCESS OF TIME
Exodus 2

The purpose of promise is to bring to pass the plan of God. Every promise has a time of manifestation. In between a given promise and the manifestation of a promise is the process of time. The process of time can be short, or it can be long because God controls time and timing. The book of Ecclesiastes said it well, “To everything there is a season. A time for every purpose under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Man can only change the hand of the clock. Changing the hand of clock is an attempt to move when and where God has not called for movement. Such a move is movement in a way that seems right to a man. Are you attempting to plan to move at your own time, or by your own timing? Proverb 14:12, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” If your move is not in the timing of God, you are moving in the turning of your clock. God never forgets His own, neither will He forsake His own. The challenges will be devastating when you moveat your own time. Does it look like the year is no longer on your side; discouragement is coming from left and right? Also it seems like you are no longer hearing from Him, colleagues are so far ahead of you and you think you are at the bottom of life. Remember, there are some that are still struggling with sever situations greater than yours. God is in control of all that goes back and forth, and He is also the God of the eleventh hour. When they say to you, “It is finished”, then He will show up to deliver you at the finishing line. He is the God of the eleventh hour. It is a great privilege to know that in the process of time, storms will come, hell will break loose, and challenges will be exceedingly painful. Trusting in the Lord with all your heart will carry every believer through the process of time. For the Children of Israel, among the process of time was Egypt, “Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.” (Exodus 2:23) Unlike other places in the process of time for them where they complained, in Egypt, they cried and call to God and God acknowledged them. In your process of time, come unto Him, and do not complain unto Him.

Prayer for today: O Lord my God and my Father, I ask this day for the grace to hold only onto You during the process of time, for the life that you have given to me.

FEAR NOT
Matthew 14:22-36

As a believer or a non-believer, the fear inside you, is fear that will fail you. God alone is to be feared at all times, and everyday, and He will not fail you. Fear is the demonstration of taking the mind and the eyes away from God. Fear is of the devil, and not of God. In every area of life, there is a need to have control over fear, and not let fear have control. What is feared often becomes what happens in reality. God was speaking to Ezekiel in one of His messages to His people, Ezekiel 11:8, “You have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you,” says the Lord GOD”” What you fear will fail you, and there is no escape in that. Jesus once sent His disciples to the other side of the lake, while He was going to join them later. In every man’s journey, getting to the other side requires faith, not fear. Before Jesus sent them, He must have known the challenges because He is the God that sees the end in the beginning. The Bible recorded, “But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.” (Matthew 14:24) Most challenges that lead to fear often come at a point where there is no turning back, in the middle or late hour of the journey. However, the One that sends you to the other side will not delay to deliver when the storm rises. Just as the disciples were being tossed by the waves, Jesus showed up, walking on the water. “But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” 28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water” (Matthew 14:27-28) With Peter’s eyes on the Lord, he began to walk on water, just like Jesus. Peter could not sink at the beginning of his walk, until he took his eyes off the Lord. Whatever you set your eyes on, will upset your eyes on the Lord. Matthew 14:30, “But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”” There was no need for Peter to set his eyes away from the One that sent him to the other side. The journey will be boisterous, either you like it or not, and that calls for the need to set your eyes on Jesus, so that fear will not take over. What Peter feared, failed Him.
Prayer for today: My Lord and my God, I ask for the grace to remain focused on You in all of my journey, so that when storms rise, it will not get my attention. Deliver me from every agent that causes fear.

AVOID WORRY
Luke 12:22-34

Jesus pointed out that the important thing in this life is to seek the Kingdom of God. In His conversation with His disciples, it is clear that the only way not to seek the Kingdom of God is to not let worrying take over your life. “Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.””  (Luke 12:22) He went further and elaborated on what to eat, what to wear, and how to take care of your body, the major sources of worrying. Are you a worrying vessel? What Jesus was saying was, worrying should not be our portion. Worrying is like a dark room, where all the weapons of man’s self destruction inhabits. When worrying is in place, faith will be out of place. And when faith is out of place, God is not pleased. Worrying does not have anything to add in times of need, or challenges. Inside the dark room of worrying, anxiousness takes a center seat to destroy. Any situation that is clearly beyond man’s ability to tackle needs to be reserved for God to take over. Jesus said in Luke 12:26, “If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?” Are you willing to give it up to God for His intervention? The Apostle Paul, having been through it all, to point of death, ship wrecks, gave an antidote to worrying when he stated in Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” The Apostle Paul is more than qualified to prescribe what it takes to terminate the spirit of worrying. It is important for a believer to know when, and how, to determine when worrying begins to occupy the mind if not, anxiousness is what will take the place of prayer in the mind. Has what you will eat or drink become the center of your life? Here is what Jesus said, “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.”  (Luke 12:29) What you seek is what you will heed, and what you heed will rule your life. Jesus is not saying do not work, or look for what to drink or eat. He is warning against letting it overwhelm life or take away a believer’s focus off the Creator of all. The words of Jesus encourages us in Luke 12:31-32, “But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. 32 “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”” With worrying, fear reigns, faith resides, and God will not be pleased.

Prayer for today: Father help me not just to be a hearer of Your word, but let it reign, and rule, inside of me, for all the days of my life. 

TASK NOT TITLE
Luke 10:29-37

Among the body of Christ today, there are so many that are upholding titles, than to actually be upholding the task of propagating the Kingdom of God. Paying attention to a title, rather than task, is not a new thing. it has always been and it will always be. It is clear in the parable of the Good Samaritan, how a title could not match the task. It is also pointed out how a task is matched with the abundance of a good heart. In the parable, Jesus pointed out how two types of titleholders failed to woefully live up to the title they answered to. In the parable, “…A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.” (Luke 10:30) The first to get to the scene of the man that fell among the thieves was a titleholder of priest. Luke 10:31, “Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.” A priest came by chance, he had the chance to make God shine, but he did not, instead, he passed by. In his passing by, he switched to the other side of the road. Luke 10:32, “Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.” The second titleholder was a Levite. The Bible mentioned that he arrived at the place, and in his arrival, he must have seen all that was on the ground. The Levite did exactly like his fellow titleholder: he passed by the man and switched to the other side of the road while neglecting a task for God’s glory. The least expected happened when a Samaritan, a man form the region of sin, with sin written all over his identity, did not pass on to the other side. Luke 10:33, “But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.” Compassion is a characteristic of Jesus. The Samaritan’s identity did not prevail, but the character of Jesus is what he demonstrated. Your character is something that is inhabited in you, and also is the one that the Lord wants to identify you with. There are so many Shepherds that are not available for the sheep except for at the pulpit, once a week. There are so many that have confessed the Word, but the world is what reigns in them. God cannot be deceived, and He will never overlook sin and sinning, neither would He fail to recognize every deed that glorifies His name. The race of life, the journey to the Promised Land is not title, but upholding the tasks on the way to attainment. All the titles will not matter or count at the time of His coming, but the task accomplished for His glory will count.

Prayer for the day: Lord I ask for Your mercy, let me not lose the purpose of my calling for a title that does not count before Your Holy name.

PHARISEE
Luke 11:37-44

Pharisees were regarded as a prominent group of people. The meaning of their name is: separated ones. The Pharisees did not accept Jesus as the Messiah. Pharisees were most concerned about the praise of people, rather than the approval of God. During the days that Jesus was on the face of earth, they were most concerned about pointing Him to the religious law, and always looking for a word to use against Him. Many times, Jesus exposed their ignorance by the use of parables, or sometimes by direct communication. Once, “…A certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and sat down to eat. 38 When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.” (Luke 11:37-38) The Pharisees were more concerned with the outside, than the inside. To some believers it is important to look good on the outside than to look good on the inside. Jesus responded to the ones that were concerned about Him eating without washing His hands, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.” (Luke 11:39) Jesus did not only respond to the issue of washing hands, but He clearly identified the character of the Pharisees. Jesus pointed them out as greedy and wicked. Later in the same verse, Jesus also described the Pharisee, “For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them.” (Luke 11:44) Where in the description of the Pharisees do you fit? Is it of greed, wickedness, hypocrisy, or one that lures people away into the pit of sin? The Lord is more concerned about the inside that is not visible to man, but to God. Living for the glory of God is not in impressing the world around us, but it is more of impacting of the word on the world around us. Joel 2:13, “So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.” It is never too late to turn back from going about and only impressing the world around you. Why not render your heart to where God is most interested, and give up the garment that covers only the outside.
Prayer for the day: Father, I ask this day that you deliver me from every spirit of the Pharisee, and let it not be my portion in Jesus’ name.