COMPLIMENT DONÕT COMPLAIN< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>Numbers 14

The God that was, is He that is and will always be. He has never changed and forever He will not change. That is why only He is the unchanging changer. In regard to His response to His creations complaining, He will not overlook it. He did not over look it when the children of Israel complained against Him then, and He will not overlook it now. Complaining instead of complimenting the work of His hand could cause greater pain than what you are complaining about. The children of Israel entered vigorous and repetitive complaining indirectly and directly against God, and the result was eventually termination in the course of their journey. Numbers 14:27-28, ÒHow long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me. 28 Say to them, ÔAs I live,Õ says the LORD, Ôjust as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: 29 The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above.Ó In the course of their complaints to God, God heard them as they were confessing all the negatives and all the negatives were recorded for them. They confessed death, reversal and all that does not glorify God. What can cause you to complain and confess death? There is a need to be conscious of the words that come out of your mouth regardless of what you are passing through today. The Bible says in Proverb 18:21, ÒDeath and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.Ó The children of Israel could not pay attention to what they were confessing in their complaints. It is not worth it to complain at all because GodÕs hand can never be too short concerning every area of challenges. It is a wise move to pray to God for the grace not to enter a conscious or unconscious act of complaining against God and what He is doing in the life His children. Only prayer, not determination, will help in staying away from complaining. At a point, after Moses had pleaded on behalf of the children of Israel not to be destroyed, ÒThen the LORD said to Moses: ÒHow long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them? (Numbers 14:11) Have you seen enough signs to know and believe that complaining against God is rejecting God, and that complaining against God is asking for termination? How long will you not believe that He is capable to see you through despite all that stands against you?

UNCOMMON TESTIMONY< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Luke 7:36-39, 8:41-48

ÒAnd behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the PhariseeÕs house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, 38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.Ó(Luke 7:37-38) When there is a knowing, with an activation of such knowing, there will be an undeniable manifestation. A woman who was a sinner in the city knew what to do to get what she desired of the Lord. She wanted to serve Jesus and her service could not be left out without being mentioned in the pages of the Bible today. Her service became an uncommon testimony. In approaching Jesus, she took an uncommon route; a route that perplexed all agents of denial because she could not be denied. She took the back route to avoid the multitude. The Bible said she stood at JesusÕ feet behind Him. If this woman had attempted to stand before Him she would have been stopped from getting to His feet. It was an uncommon move that became an uncommon testimony ever since then.  In your service to Him, make an uncommon move whereby you would have completed the service before any attempt of stopping you comes into place. The woman with the issue of blood also made an uncommon move when she received an uncommon miracle that became an uncommon testimony. ÒNow a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, 44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.Ó (Luke 8:43-44) Disease of twelve years took a back way approach to be terminated. The woman with the issue of blood did not have to come shouting or causing a scene before Jesus saw her. The woman with the issue of blood, just like the woman with the alabaster oil, did not do what every one had been doing before they got what everyone was hoping to get. They both came from behind Jesus where there was no distraction or frustration and where there was no way for attention seeking. They made a move that was purposeful in order for their purpose to be fulfilled. It was not an attention seeking approach but it turned out to be an uncommon testimony for today. God will give you an uncommon testimony as you serve or seek Him in Jesus Name.

ELIMINATE FEAR< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Exodus 14

ÒThe thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.Ó (John 10:10) He has come to give life more abundantly and we are here to take the life more abundantly. The life that Jesus brought is there already for us to take except if we chose not to take it when we do not do what needs to be done before taking it. Believers often fail to take what He brought because of ignorance or the lack of understanding that it requires to take the abundant life that Jesus brought. Faith is all that is required to take all that Jesus brought and fear is all that it takes to be an undeniable denial of abundant life that Jesus brought. With fear, it is absolutely, definitely impossible to receive or take it all from Jesus. Fear is the opposite of faith. Fear is when you doubt God; fear is when you fear for the things you do not see instead of fearing the One that created the things that you see around you. Also, in the absence of faith is fear and faith is the only antidote of fear. The source of fear is the absence of faith and the source of faith is the Word of God. Romans 10:17, ÒSo then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.Ó The apostle Paul laid emphasis on the hearing of the Word because without the Word, there will be no faith. Are you spending enough time on the Word of God? The time spent on reading and meditating on the Word of God is what will make the difference. When meditating on the Word is in place, then imitating the Word will be eliminating fear. Faith in God and the Word of His grace will lock up every representative of fear. Hebrews 11:6, ÒBut without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.Ó There is a need to come to the One who brought abundant life and the only link to Him is through His Word, which is life. When faith is lacking, there is no way to please Him and coming to Him will not be possible. There are ways of operating or living in conscious or unconscious fear but the bottom line is the realization of fear in the life of one that inhabits fear. When a believer realizes the issue of fear and desirers for it to be eliminated, the deliverance is set in motion. When there is a desire, God will deposit all that it takes for fear to loose its grip. At the approach of the Red Sea by the children of Israel, fear also approached the children of Israel but Moses took a step of faith, ÒAnd Moses said to the people, ÒDo not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.Ó (Exodus 14:13-14) The same Word that sounded to the children of Israel is speaking to you today. Do not be afraid. Eliminate fear and the same God that fought for the children of Israel will fight for you in Jesus Name.

LET ME NOT GO< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Numbers 10:11-35

Ask God to help you know when to say no, and when to say yes, in every area of life. Saying yes at the right time and in the right place, will deliver every believer from all kinds of destruction. At the time of the departure of the children of Israel from Mount Sinai, Moses offered his father-in-law to come with them Numbers 10:29, ÒNow Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, MosesÕ father-in-law, ÒWe are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, ÔI will give it to you.Õ Come with us, and we will treat you well; for the LORD has promised good things to Israel.Ó Moses wanted to him continue on with the rest of them to the Promised Land; Moses expressed what they were going to gain, by emphasizing on the good that was  going to accompany them with the LordÕ s promise. Moses pointed out that it had been given to them, and that it was just a matter of going to posses the land. MosesÕ word was encouraging enough for his father-in-law to pack up all that he had and joinMoses on the journey. Have you been encountering any agents of diversion in your walk with the Lord or in your walk in all area of life that He has given you? Indeed it is good to follow a man in GodÕs hand but it could be exceedingly dangerous if God is not in your decision of diversion. MosesÕ father-in-law refused the offer from Moses, ÒÉAnd he said to him, ÒI will not go, but I will depart to my own land and to my relatives.ÓÓ  (Numbers 10:30) Hobad was satisfied with the land where God planted his feet, and he couldnÕt accept any land offer. He also considered his relatives as one of the reasons not to go with Moses.  MosesÕ father-in-law could not let self-centeredness override his Òno-goÓ decision. Are you constantly considering all that God has put around you before making any decision of relocation? Moses attempted to convince him again in, Numbers 10: 31-32, ÒSo Moses said, ÒPlease do not leave, in as much as you know how we are to camp in the wilderness, and you can be our eyes. 32 And it shall be, if you go with usÑindeed it shall beÑthat whatever good the LORD will do to us, the same we will do to you.ÓÓ MosesÕ father Ðin-law responded wisely and refused to fall for MosesÕ effort of getting him to follow them. ItÕs always good to know where we are going and be able to say no to every agent of diversion. Jethro, MosesÕ father-in-law, whose name means excellent, made an excellent decision by not going. The prophetic utterance that he carried out from the day he was named, answered for him. He could have gone with the children of Israel and faced the same life taking sin that took away generations that came out of Egypt. By virtue of his decision he escaped a destruction that was not meant for him. What are the enticements you are facing? It may look good to the eyes, but if it is not of God, chances of untimely death are around the corner. Ask God to let you not go where He has not called you to go.

MEASURE YOUR STAND< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Liberty is a privilege and God is not a slave master, but a saving master. To do what you want to do is good as long as it does not violate the commands of God. Whenever your doing violates the command of God you have gone on risky ground. As much as He is a longsuffering God, He will not overlook sin. On the way to the Promised Land, in the wilderness journey all the children of Israel passed through the Red Sea, all of the children of Israel were able to drink from the rock and they all journeyed under the cloud of protection during the day and light from fire to give direction during the night. All of them both sinners and non-sinners were exposed to what the Lord was doing to keep them on a good footing in their journey. However, when it was time, in the eyes of God, to separate those that were obeying His commands, from those that were not, He did without any struggle. Until the time of separation they all took part in the blessings of God and nothing separated them but it was sin that made the difference. Jesus said in Matthew 13:30, ÒLet both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, ÒFirst gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.Ó Growing is not the measure of getting to the expected end. They were all growing together in the wilderness, but not all made it to the expected end. Just like Jesus said, the apostle Paul also said,  ÒLet him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.Ó (1 Corinthians 10:12), So many think they are standing, when they are in the midst of a standing congregation, but not all are actually standing. When you are in the right footing with the commands of God you have taken a righteous stand and it might be possible to think of standing. However, if you are in the wrong footing in the commands of God you might want to seek for His mercy not to fall into His judgment. It does not matter if there is a thought of standing or if there is an assumption of standing or if you have been considered as not standing. It matters and it also counts to know that God is the only judge and no man is in the position to judge. Each and every man knows how he stands and it can be measured in the word of God. Paul pointed out in 1 Corinthians 10:6-10 the kind of things that counted against the children of Israel in the wilderness journey as: lust, idolatry, sexual immorality, tempting the Lord, and complaining. Against all of this, every believer can measure their stand, to determine the thoughts about how they stand. It is only the mercy of God that can see us through in the journey of life.