February 2021 week 4
Friday February 26
THE BENEFITS OF OBEDIENCE
(1 JOHN 1:5)1Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth be him also that is begotten of him.
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
*The source of our power to obey God
Before we came to Christ we live selfishly but when we came to Christ he begins to control us through his love (2 Corinthians14-15,17). By coming
To Christ we become new creatures, by having the nature of Christ inside of us.
(Romans 8:12-14), yes, we battle with the flesh but the flesh does not define us. Therefore, we are able to obey the command of God.
You actually have the power to dominate any fleshly instinct that wants to control you. You are an overcomer because it says, everybody who is a son
Of God is led by the spirit of God. And the holy spirit is stronger than the human flesh. So, if you are working in conjunction with the holy spirit you are empowered to obey the commands that are sourced in the holy spirit.
(Ephesian 2-10) (Romans 6:16-18)
You need to decide what owns you because whatever owns you control you.
The Transformation through our obedience to God
1.He enable us to have genuine love for others
….”and every one who loves the father loves whoever has been born of Him”.
(1 John 4:8)
2.Recognizing the authority of God
“By this we know that we love the children of GOD, when we love God
and obey His commandments.”
3.Trusting the heart of God
“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not burdensome.” (grievous)
if I trust God completely then I don’t have to second guess His commands.
Because it is for my protection and for my blessings.
Thursday February 25
TAMING THE TONGUE
James 3:1-12
Our words give us direction in life. Our tongue can determine
how our life turns out and how far we can go in life.
Change how you use your tongue and you will change the direction of your life.
The tongue is small but very powerful (proverbs 8:21)
Life and death are in the tongue. Therefore, if you are constantly reflecting negativity
In what you say then, you will live a negative life.
For example, just saying I DO on the altar can change your life forever,
A judge declaring you not guilty or guilty can change your life forever,
Also, saying no to temptation can change our lives forever.
When we put Jesus first in our lives, we are putting him first in whatever we say and do.
Our words can bring destruction to others so, we must be mindful of the words we say, write and even post on social media, and we should always make sure it reflects the Christ in us.
HOW CAN WE TAME OUR TONGUE?
*we need to OWN IT (Repent)
Ask the lord to forgive you for all the hurt you have caused yourself and others, just because
You were not able to control your tongue. (James3:6) (Romans 3:23-24)
YOU will give account of every careless word you speak in the day of judgement. (Matthew 12:36).
*DIAGNOSE IT
most times we are not good at diagnosing ourselves so ask a friend or the holy spirit to help you find the root of this issue (Matthew 12-34 NLT) …. For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.
SURRENDER IT TO THE LORD
you cannot do it on your own. you need the Lord to help you
(Psalm 19:14)
Ask the Lord to show you how to speak and say the right words.
(Colossians 4:2-6)
Wednesday February 24
LET GO OF YOUR PAST
Isaiah 43:18-19 KJV
Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I
will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
In other for God to be able to do a new thing in you, you need to let go of the former things.
GOD is about to do a new thing in Israel and the first thing he goes
to is their mind and memory.
Because, the mind has the ability to interfere with what he was about to do.
In every human, is the ability to remember. Your memory can hold on to yesterday even when you are in tomorrow.
God addresses your tomorrow by dealing with yesterday.
Life is divided into three phases: the past, the present and the future
Most time we are so focused on the past that we are unable to move forward in life.
Most time it is not necessarily bad memories. It can be you basking in the glory of yesterday (our past achievement /success) and it is blinding you or holding you back from what God can do tomorrow.
As humans, our mind thinks in pictures and our mind can exhibit magnetic properties that
When it latches to and image it becomes emotionally attached to it, that even when you leave that sphere in time you can still remember it.
For example, you can remember pain, joy etc.)
Memory is powerful and beneficial to us, but it can also be detrimental to us, if we are always considering the past.
(ROMANS 10-6Kjv)
IT took Moses forgetting Egypt to meet the God of heaven.
The mind does not know the difference between imagination and reality, therefore the moment you start to ponder on the past you give it power to relieve itself again.
When the bible says remember not, it is not saying forget but kill the life-giving factor between you and yesterday.
You should be able to look at your past and what gives it power to relieve itself is dead.
Tuesday February 23
STEWARDSHIP (KINGDOM STEWARDSHIP)
1 Corinthians4:1-2(kjv)
Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.
2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
*Who is a steward?
A steward is someone who manages another’s property or financial affairs.
*What is kingdom stewardship?
It is the responsibility to faithfully protect and expand the resources
God has entrusted to us.
Every human being is called to play this role of stewardship (Matthew 25)
The first lesson of stewardship has to do with ownership. In other words,
we need to be able to define who owns what!
A steward must never be confused about the issue of ownership,
Because the lord owns everything on this earth (psalm 24vs1) (psalm50vs10-11)
The desire to own things outside God’s ownership will create problems for us.
As children of God’s kingdom, we must have it in mind that God has called us
to be managers of his kingdom’s possession just like the parable of the talents in
(Matthew 25:14-29) and if we manage it well we will be rewarded but if we do not
even what we have will be taken from us and we will have to face the consequences of
our bad stewardship.
Nothing you have belongs to you, even your life can be taken from you. (Luke12:16-21)
Not your spouse, children, finances, Time, opportunities, and even the resourses we
have is not ours. So we must not forget to be good steward over everything that has
been given to us by God to manage on his behalf.
Refusal to accept the fact that we are only stewards does not allow us to approach our resources with the sense of responsibility that we should.
Question for you to pounder on
- Who owns everything you have?
- Are you a good steward and what is your reason for answer?
- If you were to die today to what extent will you be able to
Extend ownership with those things you are claiming ownership over
Monday February 22
“HOW LITTLE FAITH YOU HAVE!”
Matthew 8: 23-27
23 Jesus got into a boat, and his disciples went with him.
24 Suddenly a fierce storm hit the lake, and the boat was in danger of sinking. But Jesus was asleep.
25 The disciples went to him and woke him up. “Save us, Lord!” they said. “We are about to die!”
26 “Why are you so frightened?” Jesus answered. “What little faith you have!” Then he got up and ordered the winds and the waves to stop, and there was a great calm.
27 Everyone was amazed. “What kind of man is this?” they said. “Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
Even though Jesus was in the storm with them they still could not believe
That he was still able to save them even with him sleeping.
The disciples has been with Jesus a long time watching him do so many miracles but still not conscious of what his presence can do .
Likewise, for us today, the moment we are faced with difficult situation
We are likely to lose consciousness of what God is capable of doing.
Therefore, the more aware we are of God’s presence the less worried
We are about any situation.
So, let us remember that whenever we are faced with difficulty God is able and he is always in the storm with us and he will never leave nor forsake us.
He is God and he is faithful to his promises.
Min Mariam