ARE YOU CALLED?< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>Acts 31-11

The church in the days of the original apostle and the disciples of Jesus are completely different from the apostles and disciples of today. The ones in the old days were carrying in their life, a task to be completed to the glory of God and not just a title. Most of the apostles and disciples of today are only carrying titles that do not carry enough weight for delivering the assignments before them. Are you positioning yourself for the Lord to ordain you as an apostle in His hand, or are you making yourself an apostle? There is a difference in when God calls you and ordains you from, when man calls you and positions you. The point here is that the task matters not the title. Today a person takes sickness and diseases from the church to the hospital, instead from hospital to the church. What has become of the church today? When Peter and John encountered a certain lame man at the gate and not in the temple something happened, ÒAnd a certain man lame from his motherÕs womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple of which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3 who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms.Ó(Acts 3:2-3)  Instead of the lame man getting what he asked for, he received an alarming result, a provocative result to the glory of God because he encountered the apostles /disciples that were on a task not just using a title.  Are you answering the title that the Lord did not ordain you to be? Carrying a title in the name of and in the service for God is a great privilege and without doubt, it is also a great attainment to be called into the service of the Lord. However, if the Lord has not called on you to be ordained for what you are answering to, it can be a situation of giving great occasion to the enemies for blaspheming the name of the Lord. Did God call you what the world is calling you? If He has called you to be, the signs will follow and if He had not, ask Him for His divine visitation. As a result of such an alarming power demonstration at the gate, only God knows what could have become of the worship in the temple on that day. As there were miracles then, then there are still miracles today that are having its way in rare places where there is no news coverage, except the one that the God of gods and the King of kings wants to announce by Himself to the world. It is time for us to seek God for a genuine relationship not a cheap relationship that is void of His presence. His presence is power.

I WILL SAY < ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Psalm 91

What you see will determine what you receive, and whatever you receive will determine what you become. What do you see? Do you see your need as being there even when it is yet to be physically there? That is what is called faith. Hebrews 11:1, ÒNow faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.Ó Faith is what the Bible describes as the agent of testimony for the elders such as Daniel, Jeremiah, and many others. Jeremiah 1:10, See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.Ó God was talking to Jeremiah about what he would do by telling him to see it as if it was already there. Until you begin to see, it would not become. All that is yet to reach your hand begin to see as if itis in your hand and it will get to your hand. As it is in seeing, it is also in saying. What shall we say of the Lord? What you say of Him will provoke His hand to move in direction of your saying. Psalm 91: 1-2, ÒHe who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, ÒHe is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.Ó The Psalmist said it right and he received it right. What do you have to say about the Lord? Let your confession be provocative of heaven. In all of your sayings as you go back and forth in every direction of life this day, this week, this month and this year, let all of your sayings be centered on what you know God to be and He will do it for you. Where is our dwelling place? If your dwelling place is in the secret place of the Most High, you are licensed to say it the way you know Him or what you know Him to be. You have been fellowshipping long enough to know what you will say of Him. Will you say that He is the author and finisher of your faith? Will you say that He alone is the King of kings and the Lord of your life? Will you say that the Lord is the Great and Mighty provider and the deliverer of your life? What will you say of the Lord? If you have been seeing what you want as being there when it is yet to be there, then you should begin to say what you want to be there, as you want it to be. Today, if you will believe in your heart, see your need, as being there then you should be able to say it.  Confess with your mouth salvation, and the Lord will become of yours.

ARE YOU GOOD?< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>Matthew 19:16-26

Now behold, one came and said to Him, ÒGood Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?Ó 17 So He said to him, ÒWhy do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.Ó (Matthew 19: 16-17) The race in this life is not about being good because being good does not get any one to heaven. When Jesus was on the face of the earth, everything he said, every move that He made was a message to teach us, lead us and to guide us to where He is today. Here JesusÕ response was meant to erase every thought or claim of being good as a vehicle that goes to His presence. Jesus indicated that no one is good except the only One that is good. He had been good before evil showed his ugly face and that qualified Him as the only One that is legitimate and qualified Him to be called good. God is good, and there is no one that could be any better . Any attempt for a man to claim to be good will lead him out of where God wants us to be. All that God wants us to be is to be righteous. Righteousness is the only vehicle to get us to His place. To enter into righteousness is to have accepted Jesus as our Lord and savior. 2 Corinthians 5:21, ÒFor He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.Ó It is clearly specified here that our righteousness is in Christ Jesus. Any man that is in Him indeed and in truth, but not in mouth, and in making noise, is set in the journey that leads to glory. All that is born of man knows that Jesus is good, even the ones that have deliberately taken a stand not to accept Him knows that He is a good God and Him being referred to as good is an understatement. Have you been consistent working in your place of worship? You are the one that picks it up where all is put down and your service among the brethren is worthy of praise and reckoning. In manÕs dictionary good is the better way of identifying you. JesusÕ word for you is: good is not enough to get you through, but living righteously is. Living righteously is only by the blood of Jesus and if any man rejects Him that will be rejected. Being righteous is the only way that leads to eternal glory; while being good will get man stranded from getting to where He has made for us.

JOIN< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>Numbers 25

ÒSo Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel.Ó (Numbers 25:3) Baal of Peor was the god worshiped in Moab and that made the children of Israel committed to harlotry, sacrificing other gods and bowing down to gods outside of the God that brought them out of bondage. The issue was that the children of Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor. They assigned themselves unto another God and that meant the commandment of God was no longer relevant to them; they began to go after a god that they could touch rather than to remain committed to the God that will touch them. Is there anything or anyone that you have joined yourself to? Have you entered a life that is gradually taking you outside of the way of God? It is no sin to take a conscious approach by the grace of God to identify if another way of life is unconsciously overtaking the way of God in our life. Knowing God to be a merciful God that will not overlook sin, there is always a consequence for every act of violation in His word. Numbers 25:4, ÒThen the LORD said to Moses, ÒTake all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the LORD, out in the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.Ó God executed judgment on all those that had joined to Baal of Peor. The consequence of joining unto to Baal of Peor did not settle well in the camp of the children of Israel. The people realized what had become of them and they began to seek God for mercy. It is written in 2 Samuel 15:22, ÒSo Samuel said: Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.Ó Every time we step outside of His word of command and return to Him for forgiveness, there is always a consequence and forgiveness. However, it is never worth it to spend time away from His word in the world. Going outside of God is jumping into pain because consequences will come regardless of forgiveness that takes a place after repentance. This is the reason why obedience in staying away, from a way that is outside of His way is the best way to live for God. Stay focused on Him; do not go outside of God. He is faithful and He will make a way not to fall outside of His way if we will remain focus on Him.    

HOREB< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>Exodus 3:1-10

ÒNow Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father -in-law, the priest of Median. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.Ó (Exodus 3:1) Horeb means desolate and Mount Sinai is another name for Horeb. Desolate is defined in the dictionary as; devoid of inhabitants; deserted; barren; lifeless; rendered unfit for habitation or use. A desolate place became the holy ground, mountain of God where Moses ended up before he could answer the calling of God and be sent on GodÕs mission. Will you pray that God will bring you to your Horeb? Think of it before you pray it. It is not a popular prayer because of the challenges that you will encounter before getting to Horeb. If indeed you are sold out to Him, if indeed you are sincere with every of your confession such as ÒI surrender unto Jesus on to thee I give it allÓ ask God in your prayer to take you to your Horeb, a ground of encounter, a ground of sacrifice, a ground of entering into a journey of no turning to self, but aside unto GodÕs calling. Also it is a ground that will eventually deliver unto you a blessed attainment before God. Think of it, there is nothing to live for but God. The challenges of living for God are huge and it can be painful and exhausting only if you want to carry the world instead of the word of God with you. He is faithful and if He calls you He will back you up when you chose not to back out. Moses, a man that had lived for forty years in the palace of one of the most powerful nations at the time, had all that could be needed while living in the palace of Pharaoh. Overnight he ended up in the desert, a place of inadequacy. It was not by accident, but he was going through the process of time as man that was born in due season. Who could have convinced Moses to go down to the desert, a place that is considered as lifeless? Only God can draw man to Himself anywhere, anytime regardless of the place or situation, ÒThe earth is the LORDÕs, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.Ó (Psalm 24:1) In your life God will convert all that is lifeless to life-full. Moses did not get his calling in comfort. Moses could not turn aside to God until he got to a place of no distraction. If you sincerely want to go for God, ask Him to take you to your Horeb, your Mountain of God. He will not fail you but you will pass into His blessing and glory.