YOU ARE WIRED TO SUCCEED

Do you realize that you can truly get better in spite of the set backs you might be facing right now?

"But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shine more and more unto the perfect day". Proverbs 4:18{KJV}

  The scripture says that the pathway of the righteous is as the shining light not a dim one. Not only does this light shine, it gets brighter more and more. In other words, it is progressive. It is from one level of glory to another.

In Genesis 27: 30 - 40 we are told that Esau lost the blessing. Before this, he had sold his birth right to his brother Jacob out of fatigue. Of course when it came to the time of blessing, Jacob got the blessing. Having lost all, his father told him that his life was not going to be an easy one. He was going to live by the sword and serve his younger brother. That looked like the end of the road for Esau.

"Genesis 27:40 NIV" puts it this way, ''...when you become restless.'' Child of God, it is this point of 'restlessness' that I want to seriously consider today because if you read the story to the end you would notice that Esau eventually bounced back. Even though Esau lost both the birth right and the blessing, that was not the end of his life because he still bounced back. I have always said this to you; never write off a man who is still under the word because he is capable of springing surprises.

You need to get fed up and angry in the spirit. You need to get fed up of the devil robbing you of what rightly belongs to you and when you do you will rise up in anger and throw off his yoke from your neck. I have come to challenge you today to get fed up with that ugly situation in your life. No matter the lies of the devil, God wants you free, He wants you to testify. He expects you to be fruitful in all your ways. 

You have what it takes.

Further Reading: 1 John 5:4
Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Exodus 14-15 / Evening- Matthew 17

GOD WILL SHOW UP ON YOUR BEHALF

There is so much you can achieve if you would just hold on tenaciously to God's promise.

''...And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces and laid him on the wood and said, fill four barrels with water and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood. And he said, do it a second time. And they did it a second time. And he said do it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.'' (1 Kings 18:33-35)

The ancient prophet Elijah knew he had to settle once and for all who God of Israel was. He called for a contest and when the Prophets of Baal were done, he repaired the broken-down altar of God and asked that water be poured upon the sacrifice - in other words make it difficult for God to answer by fire.

Beloved, how do you pour water on a sacrifice and expect fire to consume it? That decision could only have come from a man who knew God could never fail. They kept pouring in scarce water until the whole altar was drenched with water and the trench he had dug was overflowing.

Naturally water retards fire, but God, wanting to show His power, answered by fire and the fire licked up the sacrifice, the water and even the stones. The result was a great revival in the land as can be found in verse 39 which says ''...And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.'' That marked the end of Baal worship and the true worship of God was again restored in Israel.

Can you imagine what would have happened if Elijah had given up? His ministry would have become irrelevant. In Christianity, there is nothing like retreat; you don't go back. In the same vein, I come to encourage you never to give up. Often times, people fail just because they give up too quickly. Just a little more effort, a little more patience and they would have succeeded.

The writer of Hebrews puts it this way, ''...for we are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.'' (Hebrews 3:14). There is so much you could achieve if you keep at it without faltering. Never give up because God would show up on your behalf.

 You will not be embarrassed.

Further Reading: Exodus 3:7-9 Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Exodus 7-8/ Evening- Matthew 15:1-20

DEPLOY YOUR WEAPONS

  The problem with a lot of Christians today, is that we are busy fighting spiritual battles with carnal weapons.

''...For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds...''  {2 CORINTHIANS 10:4 KJV}


There are battles to fight and you have been equipped by God to confront your confrontations and attack your attackers. God has given you the arsenal you need. It is however, not enough to be armed and dangerous to the enemy; you must be ready to deploy your spiritual weapons.

Do you remember the story of Esther? Even though she was royalty, a time came when she and her people were confronted with a life threatening situation. She had to rise to the situation. The situation was critical and only the supernatural intervention of God could deliver them. She knew that the fight was not carnal but spiritual. As a queen, she knew she could deploy her soldiers, but this was a spiritual fight and she needed to fight with spiritual weapons. She declared a fast and locked herself up alongside her maidens to pray. One spiritual weapon available to you as a believer is the potency of prayers.

God knows that you live in a world where the enemy tries to intimidate you and back you off into a corner. He knows that you have no any other power so He fashioned our weapons of warfare from heaven so that you can possess your possession. Beloved, there's power in prayers. Mordecai and Esther, and all their brethren, fasted for 3 solid days & nights. They made preparations. They received the word of God in their spirit. They received the spiritual bullet to confront their confrontations.

If Esther had not acted, it would have been a total wipe out of the Jews living in the kingdom because according to the laws of the Medes and Persia, a law had been passed that could never be violated. I challenge you to get into the place of prayers today. Don't relent in your prayers.

Pray until something breaks in the realm of the Spirit. 

Further Reading: Isaiah 41:10-16
Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Genesis 46-48/ Evening- Matthew 13:1-30

ESTABLISHED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS PART2

Many people have always asked me this question; how does a believer become righteous? The answer is simple! The day you gave your heart to Christ, you became righteous.

''For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh." Romans 8:3
 

  You don't need to do anything to be righteous. Acceptance is predicated on Jesus' sacrifice and not on you. God looks at Jesus' holiness and accepts you in the beloved. It's not about you, it's about Jesus. He paid the ultimate price so that you can be accepted in the beloved.

This understanding will create in you, boldness. When you received Jesus into your heart, without doing anything, His rightness became your right. Right believing produces right living. When you believe wrongly, you will never live rightly (2Corinthians 5 verse 21). Jesus was made sin for us. He who knew no sin so that we may be made the righteousness of God. It's a gift that has been given to us free of charge.

The Holy Spirit bears witness with the truth you have received and He changes you from glory to glory. Your change is a process. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says "We all with open face beholding as in a mirror His image". Your true image is not failure or sin, your true image is in Christ. So, when you see your true image, you are being changed into that very image from glory to glory. The word of God says - now are we sons of God. It says now, and not when we get to heaven. The fact that you slipped on your pathway to pleasing God doesn't make you a sinner. Once you believe in Him, you have eternal life. You have life and you have it more abundantly.

Don't allow the devil to harass you today because of ignorance. Believe in the finished work of Christ on the cross and live in the reality of the righteousness that was freely given to you. Understand and thank God that you are accepted in the beloved.

Further Reading: Romans 4:1--8
Daily Bible Reading: Morning-Gen 41-42 / Evening Matt:12:1-23

GOD IS FOR YOU

One of the things you must settle in your heart this year is that God is for you.

"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31 (KJV)

  God is for you irrespective of the challenges you may be facing. Your clear understanding of this fact will guide your attitude throughout the year and beyond. Even if you think the world is throwing lemons at you, if you have the right attitude, you will make lemonades out of it and make a profit. Your situation is as bad or as good as you see it. Like the popular phrase "Half full and half empty", it depends on you. If you see the glass as half full, you will see opportunities all around you, but if you see it as half empty, you will see lack and hunger all around you. Have you stopped to think that if there were no lemons, there would have been no lemonade?

  Remember the story of David and the raid of the Amalekites. Can you imagine what would have happened if all he did was sit and wail and mourn? No matter how much God wanted to restore to him all he lost, it could never have happened because God would not have been able to help him. Yes, David cried, yes, he lamented, but more importantly, he sought the face of God. He knew that even in the difficult times, God was still for him.

Child of God, throughout this year and beyond, settle it deep within your spirit, make it a daily confession until you become one with it, that God is for you. Never let the devil steal this truth from your spirit. Be fully persuaded that He is for you and not only that, know that no one can be against you because the greater One lives in you. One with God is a majority. No matter the wind, your anchor is firmly on the solid rock and nothing can move you.

There is a bright future ahead of you; God's thoughts towards you are thoughts of peace. He will take you to your expected end. This year, you will pursue, overtake and recover all. I will hear your testimony in Jesus' name.

Further Reading: Romans 8:29-39
Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Gen 27, 28 / Evening- Matt: 9:18-34


Credits: The Reedemed Evangelical Mission (TREM)

ESTABLISHED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS PART 1

There are revelations in the scripture you must be established in.

"In righteousness, thou shall be established." (Isaiah 54:14)

  You must be founded in this scriptures. You must stick and secure yourself in righteousness. 

As long as you don't understand righteousness you cannot function as God on earth and yet that is God's intention. He wants you to rule over your circumstances. When the devil attacks you, he attacks the image of God. Righteousness was bestowed on you so that you can do right.

The devil's assignment is to damage your understanding of righteousness. We have been taught over time to believe that we have to do right to be righteous. That is taking it backwards. You don't have to work for righteousness, it's in a believers' DNA. We are made in the image of God. God made you righteous so that you have a right standing with Him. Adam hid himself from God because he sinned. If you hide from God, who will help you?

Child of God, righteousness is your bill of Rights. You are to wave it in the face of the devil at every point in time. Righteousness was given to you so that you can stand before God without any sense of sin, inferiority or condemnation. You are to stand before God as if sin does not exist because once you are a believer, He forgives and forgets your wrongdoings.

Your personal works of righteousness are like filthy rags before God; they are dirty(Isaiah 54:6). If your personal works are dirty, then you cannot afford to neglect the free gift of Jesus - the righteousness that gives you freedom to approach God boldly.

Live in this knowledge today and put the devil to shame. It is well with you.

Further Reading: Romans 5:17
Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Gen 38,39,40 / Evening- Mathew 11

THE WARRIOR NEEDED THE MAID

 Our scripture for today is the story of a "Great" man, a captain, a mighty man, yet a leper. He had all the necessary accolades, but he was a leper. I am sure he had concluded that he would die in his leprosy, until he came across a little maid. 

(2 Kings 5:4) (KJV)"And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel."

The Bible did not just call her a maid, but qualified her as "little". I am sure this maid was treated well in the house of Naaman. Though a maid, she could talk to Naaman's wife and give an opinion. That goes to some people whose subordinates cannot talk to them. 

Beloved, no matter how high you get in life, never get to a position where no one can talk with you or give counsel. She realized that what she was talking about is a no-go area - A challenge in the life of the Mighty man that ordinarily she should be afraid of ever talking about but the niceness of the mistress to her must have compelled her to offer the advice. She realized that no matter what she said, the mistress would look beyond her size to read her heart. Because of the way she had been treated, she felt compelled to also give back and that led to the restoration of Naaman's health.

Even Naaman, when he got to Elisha and was told to dip 7 times in Jordan, was vexed and refused. But his servants compelled him and he obeyed. That speaks volume about this mighty man.

Stop and think; those around you, will they look for opportunities to help you or to destroy you? The maid in your house, the subordinates in your office, the younger people in your locality, how are you treating them? It is food for thought. If you are wanting in this area, ask the Lord to help you and consciously work on it, remember, we all need each other. Life is all about inter-dependency. We all need one another.

Further Reading: 2 Kings 5: 1-14 Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Gen 31, 32 / Evening- Matthew 9:18-38

CREDITS: Daily Devotional from The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM)