February 2021 week 2

Friday Feb 12

BE YOUR BEST!

 

Many people want to be the best in life’s endeavors. God too promised to make us the head and not the tail (Deut. 28:13). Nonetheless, the starting point towards excellence is to attain our individual personal best; to be the very best God made us to be.

 

Examples:

  1. Joseph. Genesis 41:38

His excellence guaranteed the fulfillment of his childhood dreams.

  1. David. 1 Sam. 16:13, 17-18

David was anointed, yet it was excellence that opened his first door to the palace.

  1. Daniel. Dan. 6:1-4

He overcame all prejudice by the power of excellence.

He was more favored than the citizens although he was a captive-migrant.

 

How to Be Your Best

1) Be focused on your assignment; do one thing and excel at it.

2) Know your gifts; i.e. your strengths and weaknesses and plan accordingly.

3) Develop yourself; become a certified master of your game (area of expertise).

4) Be disciplined 1 Corinth.9:24-27

5) Always maximize your first chance because you do not know who is watching you.

6) Give it all you’ve got Acts 20:20

7) Detest a life of ease. Be always on the go! Amos 6:1

8) Make each day count; days lead to weeks; weeks lead to years; years make a lifetime Ps. 90:12

Thursday Feb 11

ARE YOU SURE?

 Text: Numbers 22:1-35 (12, 22)

Numbers 22:12 12 But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.”

God’s will is in two categories: i) Perfect will, and ii) Permissive will.

Balaam for instance got God’s perfect will the first time, and the permissive will the second time he went to ask. Although God communicated His perfect desire that Balaam was not to accept the invitation to curse the Israelites, his inclination to obey was weakened by the expected monetary benefits that he stood to lose by not going to meet Balak, contrary to the will of God. So, he “pestered God” until God gave him a reluctant affirmation.

Some points to note:

  1. God’s perfect will for us is always the best option.
  2. Nothing else can match the outcomes of walking in His perfect plans.
  3. When we say, “I am walking in God’s will,” what category of His will does it fall into? Perfect or permissive?
  4. We should pursue the best always (perfect will).
  5. What distorts us from yielding to His perfect will? What are the human biases that make us to shy away from the Lord’s perfect plan? Ezekiel 14:4, 2 Pet. 2:14.
  6. We need to always pray for the Lord to help us to i) discern his perfect will, and ii) yield to that perfect will. Eph.5:17

 

How to be sure of His will?

  1. Transformation of your mindset by His word. Rom. 12:2
  2. Prayer helps tremendously, like it helped Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane (Lk 22:42-44). Through prayer, He accessed divine help to follow God’s perfect plan, even though it was very difficult.

Wednesday Feb 10

OPTIMAL SPIRITUAL LIVING

 Mark 4:18-19 “The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it.

Ecc. 11:4 If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done (TLB)

Introduction: Living a great spiritual life is a noble and praiseworthy goal. We need the ability to translate spiritual lessons into actions that make positive impact on both others and ourselves. Don’t be satisfied with only learning lot of spiritual lessons. Seek to have them produce positive change in your life.

 

Here are some simple things to have at the back of our minds in order to live an optimal spiritual life:

1) Make a positive difference in others’ lives.

2) Show kindness without expecting anything in return.

3) Reach out to others – show care/concern even if you don’t have the answers/solutions.

4) Have a daily routine that starts with time in the Lord’s presence (not your phone updates, please).

5) Maximize time with other believers – especially fellowship/church meetings.

6) A living prayer-life is the key to supernatural divine assistance. The busier you get, the harder you need to pray. It’s better to sleep less (so that you can pray) than to pray less so that you can work.

 

‘I have so much to do today that I must spend the first three hours with God in prayer before starting the day!’ –  Martin Luther

Tuesday Feb 9th

PRAYING EFFECTIVELY

Matt. 6:9-13

Matt. 6:9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.”

Introduction: The word “prayer” is so frequently used in speech among believers that it has become a cliché. The problem with cliches is that they lose their true meaning over time.

In the same vein, many people who talk about prayer do not really understand it. Busyness in the act of prayer is not the proof of good praying. Rather, the results/products of answered prayer are the evidence of effective prayer. When God answers our prayers, we have the stamp of His approval that our prayers were right in both content and approach.

 

Some important points about prayer:

  1. Prayer is the development of intimacy with the Almighty.
  2. Prayer is the expression of thoughts and desires between man and God.
  3. Prayer is the place of discovery of the mind of God – His plans, purposes and designs. (Hab. 2:1)
  4. Prayer aligns us with the will, plans and purposes of God (Lk. 22:42).
  5. Prayer enforces the will plans and purposes of God (1 Tim. 1:18).
  6. Through prayer, we uncover and interrupt enemy plans and activities (Jer. 1:10).
  7. Prayer is standing in the gap for others (Ez. 22:30, Job 42:10).

8. Prayer is restoration to God – spiritual washing, cleansing and purification.

Monday February 8

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked. — Proverbs 10:11

Thoughts on Today’s Verse

Want to know the difference between a righteous person and a wicked one? Simple, check the fruit of their life. One of the most visible forms of fruit in a person’s life is his or her speech. The righteous person finds a way to impart life with his or her speech. The wicked will nearly always reveal themselves by what his or her mouth says.

My Prayer

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O God my Father, Redeemer, and LORD. In the name of Jesus. Amen