MODERNIZED PILATE< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

MARK 15:15-41

ÒSo Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.Ó(Mark 15:15) Every attempt to put satisfying any kind of crowd ahead of the truth and instead of glorifying God by putting the truth ahead will cause you to miss the mark. How often have you been missing the mark? How often have you been scourging Jesus or how often have you scourged Him lately? Can you be honest with your self? The Bible says, ÒÉFor the LORD is the God of knowledge; and by him actions are weighed.Ó (1 Samuel 2:3) Consciously or unconsciously, have you been scourging the Lord just as Pilate did? What is it that is representing the crowd in your life that causes you to hide and displease Him by not glorifying the Name of God? Thousands of years ago, Pilate wanted to satisfy the crowd. He wanted to make them feel good so he decided to give the Lord Jesus up for persecution and crucifixion. Today, there are many that are taking the role of Pilate inside and outside of the church. Many acclaimed Christians cannot identify with the name of Jesus outside of their church building. Carrying the Bible from home to work or from work to home can be challenging to hold onto in the presence of the crowd. Jesus came to give it all on the cross of Calvary and He gave it more abundantly that we may have life. (John 10:10) He gave it all for us and we are to take it all and stop releasing Him to the representative of crowds in our life. After His release for crucifixion, mockery was placed upon Him, Mark 15:16-20, ÒThen the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison. 17 And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, 18 and began to salute Him, ÔHail, King of the Jews!Õ 19 Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him. 20 And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.Ó Jesus has paid it all for us on the cross so that we will not have to pay it all over again. If you are confessing Jesus, conforming to the crowd should cease in having its way. Quit being Pilate of the present day. Ask God to endue you with grace and all that it takes not to gratify crowds and not to scourge Jesus in every area of life.

TEMPLE CLEANSINGMark 11:15-19

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Jesus, in one of His last moves while in the physical on the face of earth, had a driving-out day in the temple. Before His drive-out day, He was in journey back and forth on the face of the earth. He preached to so many in different locations and in His preaching He was reaching everyone. Are you a preacher that had the privilege of going to the Bible school or a preacher that was schooled by the Bible? In your preaching, are you reaching the sheep that have been assigned to you? Preaching without reaching is a failure. Jesus preached and He reached by making provision where there was lack, healing where there was sickness and deliverance where there was bondage. Jesus, in all His work, revealed the other side of Himself when He went and cleaned out the temple. Mark 11:15-16, ÒSo they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who sold doves. 16 And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. Does your temple need a cleansing? Jesus had witnessed many things but nothing compared to what He saw and how He reacted to the ugliness that was going on in the temple. He drove out every activity that was not of God but was rather operating on the grounds of God. Jesus went to the heart of the temple negative operation that is money, and overturned its tables. What is going on in your temple that does not glorify God? 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, ÒDo you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.Ó  God takes His temple very seriously and Jesus demonstrated this fact when He drove out all that did not belong in the temple of God. It is not enough to know about the Word of God but not know how to live the Word. You are the temple of God and that is the reason why Jesus was here to clean and to keep us for the glory of God to manifest in our life. Are you going to allow Jesus to help in cleaning you? The Word says that if anyone defiles the temple, God will destroy that one. Remember, Jesus did not just come to clean the temple, but He also laid His life down on the cross and He has taken a position on the right hand of God that will allow us to be with Him at His appointed time. There are so many wastes hanging in different individualÕs temples. Allow Jesus to clean your waste and you will not be wasted in Jesus Name.

BE PERSISTENT< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Mark 11:20-26

How long have you been seeking, hoping and looking for a solution to move the mountain that is before you? The mountain that refused to move before you for your breakthrough needs to hear from you by the authority that was delivered to you when Jesus was with His disciples. It is time that you should begin to speak to the mountain instead of sitting and looking up to the mountain. The devil is a liar; he is stubborn and he is always looking for an opportunity to operate. After Jesus had defeated the devil in the wilderness, the devil did not give up and the Bible recorded, ÒNow when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.Ó (Luke 4:13) This is a testimony to the fact that the devil will not give up on having you stagnated and he will continue to take a stand against you moving the mountain before you. Is it possible for you to avoid or stop counting the number of years that you have been looking up to your mountain instead of speaking to your mountain? Counting the number of years in stagnation is an indirect way of complaining and also a way of looking back. Looking back is not an option for your getting to where you are going in the journey of life. Looking up to God in praise and worship for where you have been coming from will also get you through. Every attempt to stay focus on looking back is a way of termination in the journey of life. Look to your mountain and speak to it. LotÕs wife looked back when she was supposed to focus on moving forward in her route of escape, ÒBut his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.Ó (Genesis 19:26) Except for two out of all that were in journey to the Promised Land, all of the children of Israel looked back by virtue of their complaint about food, Ò We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.Ó (Numbers 11:5) All of the children of Israel who looked back were terminated. When the need to look and speak to the mountain is before you; is not the time of entering into the act of looking back complaining. Can you put the past in the past and face the future by speaking to the mountain? Jesus gave the prescription that will move your mountain in Mark 11:23-24, ÒFor assuredly I say unto you, that whoever says to this mountain, ÔBe removed, and be cast into the sea,Õ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. God has never failed in His Word and He will not fail.  He cannot fail! The devil will try to resist you from moving your mountain, but you will have to persist because God have insisted in blessing you.

NO FOOLISHNESSMatthew 25:1-13

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At every point in life it has never been recorded for any one walking two ways at the same time. Walking one way or path at a time is the only possibility and the same applies to walking the walk of His calling. There is only one way to heaven and it will not be possible for anyone to walk two ways at the same time. No one can walk as a sinner and be righteous; or walk as righteous and be a sinner. Which way are you taking in your journey of life? Jesus is the only way and that is why He came to lead us in the way of salvation.  As a believer who wants to stand on the ground of calling, it is impossible for you to be asleep and be alive at the same time. When you are spiritually asleep, you are spiritually at risk and it will lead to falling off the way. Also, Prayer will cease and entering into failure will become active. The ten virgins were all purposeful in their agenda. They all went out to meet the bridegroom.  Matthew 25:3-5, ÒThose who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.Ó Having walked all that far in their pursuit to catch the bridegroom, sleeping should have been avoided by getting busy in their waiting. They fell asleep and foolishness became their identity. How are you waiting? Can you tell if and when your oil is running out? You have come too far in this journey to begin to entertain foolishness. How would you have known that your oil is running out when you are asleep and not awake? The ten virgins had lamp and five ran out of oil. They started well in their journey when the lamp was burning but it matters to get to the end of the journey. Proverbs 6:23, ÒFor the commandment is a lamp, and a law a lightÉÓ By the saying of this proverb, could it be that they are all carrying the word of God (Commandment) with them? Five could afford to sleep while five that could not afford to sleep ran out of light (without oil light will fail) that was to keep them in their waiting.  Many are carrying the word of God everywhere possible in the house and in their vehicle. It is a great thing to be carrying the word of God around but if the word is not carrying you in every of way of life, the chances of becoming wasted like the foolish ten virgins is high. Keep watch on your vessel and do not let your vessel run out of oil in whatever you do in the journey of life. Jesus is coming back walk in His way by keeping eyes on Him.

LOYALTY< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>Genesis 39

The greatness of manÕs exploit on the face of earth is a direct result from manÕs loyalty to God. Your loyalty to God will generate GodÕs eye in all your endeavors in life. There are giant men and women of God that received a noticeable and uncommon favor in the in the pages of the Bible because they have been able to demonstrate uncommon and noticeable loyalty with steadfastness to God. As a result, God Who cannot deny Himself repeatedly, showed up on their behalf, with uncommon and noticeable favor. There is nothing that is hidden from the eyes of God and the word of God confirms it in 2 Chronicles 16:9, ÒFor 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 HimÉÓ(2Chronicles16: 9) Can God still respond to you as He responded to some in the pages of Scripture is not the question you should be asking yourself. You should be asking God if you could be loyal enough to get His attention for great exploit. Remember, God is not a partial God. Acts 10:34, 35 ÒThen Peter opened his mouth and said: in truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.Ó If you know Him enough to fear Him just like the giants in the Lord did, He will add greatness to you. Joseph was a young man that found favor in the sight of God in every troubling situation that was before him. Joseph did nothing wrong to his brothers when they marked him for destruction. Are you a victim in the making or a ready made victim for not doing wrong? God is in control and He will not let you become a waste as long as you are loyal to His word of command. To be loyal to the word of God is to be obedient. Despite the stand that was taken against Joseph by his brothers, the eyes of the Lord did not depart him and favor answered for him through out all of his troubling time. Genesis 39:21, ÒBut the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison committed to JosephÕs hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing.Ó In your persecution, God will make you to prescribe over all that is forcing against you if you will walk in His word of command. Just like Joseph there was David. He was an ordinary shepherd boy before he became anointed King in the hand of God and God later declared him as a man after GodÕs heart. David was loyal and steadfast to God, and God showed up strong on his behalf against all of his enemies. It was DavidÕs loyalty the brought down the Goliath. Ask God to enable you to live in indeed and in truth to His word.