MORIAH FEBRUARY DEVOTION, 2022
Week 4
- Jesus’ Willingness to Heal
Matt 8:1-4
Mem verse
Mat 8:3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
It is a different case to believe that Jesus can and has the power to Heal and it is another thing to believe he is willing to heal you.
As a young child, I believed anything my parent said irrespective of the magnitude of the subject matter, so when they said they will buy anything for me, no matter how expensive; I just believed that they would do it. It is a different thing for me to know that they can do it, it is another thing to believe they are willing to do it. Such is the case of the lepers, they have heard of the exploits of Jesus and they are not denying the possibilities of him doing such things but they had the issue of whether he was willing to heal them.
There are times we’ve been faced the question of, “is Jesus really willing to do this for me?”. Some of us have gotten so use to some conditions that we don’t even know that Jesus can change those situations. But what was Jesus’ response to the issue? “I WILL”. I tell you the truth, Jesus is willing to do much more than you can ask for or think of. Just talk to him today.
Settle it in your heart, no matter how long the condition has been, Jesus is willing to come through.
Action/Prayer: look into that aspect of your health that is disturbing you and tell Jesus, I know you are willing to heal me and I am healed, I receive it today in Jesus name. Amen.
- Authority of the Word
Matt 8:6-13
Mem verse:
Mat 8:13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
There is an adage in Yoruba that states “eni to ranni nise la n beru, a ki beru eni taa je fun” (i.e you are not scared to deliver an errand to whoever, because you fear the person that sent you). In ancient times, when a king sends an emissary, the emissary goes with a staff which serve as a sign of authority and anywhere that staff stands, it represents the king fully. So the bible says wherever the word of a king is, there is Power! The Centurion understands the Authority and power of words, he compared it to military men as to how he could command them and they will obey. If the soldiers obey their master, how much more the word of God would obey him. I want you to see the word of God released to you by a man of God or the one that you found yourself on the pages of the scriptures as Soldiers who would never disobey their master. The Centurion understood this and his servant became healed. Do you have any relative or sibling or friend that is Sick or you yourself? Believe the word of God and you would see an INSTANT miracle like the Centurion
Action/prayer: Look for a sick person to pray for today, using the word of God as a tool (so search the scriptures for the word of God concerning healing).
- Healing by Touch
Matt 20:29-34
Mem verse
Mar 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
“Touch” means “to come in contact with” i.e healing by touch is healing by contact. God is interested in our healing and perfect health but one of the media by which God effects such is by “touch”. This kind of touch comes from a child of God, just as reflected in our memory verse. Every believer can administer healing by the spirit of God through touch. There are times when you need “laying on of hands” for you to be healed, not because God cannot heal an individual without laying on of hands but because the person might not be in the right state to command such power to heal, so a fellow believer can lay hands on such to administer healing. You as a believer have the power to lay hands on yourself to heal yourself of sicknesses or a friend who’s sick.
Action/Prayer: say to yourself; “I have the power of the holy ghost to heal the sick, I lay hands on the sick and they receive their healing”. Go and lay hands in faith today!
- Sickness from Sins
John 9:1-7
Mem verse
Jas 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
One of the questions of the Jesus’ disciples to him about the was “who sinned?” this was a question that erupted as a result of their knowledge of the fact that, one of the components responsible for sickness is sin. When man fell, one of the component that came in that package was sickness. Man wasn’t recorded to be a victim of Sickness until after the fall, i.e when sin is dealt with, sickness should likely follow. So there are times when a sick individual doesn’t necessarily need to pray for long, if he can repent of his sins. God is faithful to forgive us of all unrighteousness when we confess and forsake those sins. So secret sins become a channel to Sicknesses.
Action/prayer: Ask for mercy if you are ill and if you have a sick person around you, tell them to confess their sins and ask for mercy.
- Healing through inanimate things
Matt 9:20-26
Mem verse
Act 19:12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
During the time of the apostles, aprons and handkerchiefs used by them carried a dimension of God’s power that it healed many sick. The same was reflected in the life of Jesus while he was on earth. Various generals of faith have also bore witness to this truth and even some churches still use these methods till date.
According to the story, the power was not in the cloth, because Jesus said “virtue has left me”. It means, the power that was drawn from the cloth was not in the cloth but in the man Jesus. At the same time, the woman’s faith was in Jesus and not his clothes, reflected in verse 22. So whenever we use mantles or handkerchiefs that we have prayed upon or a man of God has prayed on; understand that your faith should be in Jesus and the man he is using, not the clothing material itself. The Lord intentionally permitted all of these access points to obtaining healing, not to put our faith on the mantle or cloth we are using but in Jesus his son.
Action/prayer: Lord help me to put my faith and focus on you. (you could pray over a material thing and it would administer healing also.)
- Healing from a Desperate Cry
Matt 20: 29-34
Mem verse
Mat 20:30 And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David.
“Crying” in context is an expression of Desperation. There is a saying that “desperate times require desperate measures”. The blind men already thought; if they don’t get their sight now that Jesus was around, they might not be able to get it restored and so they are willing to give all that it would take. Sometimes in obtaining your healing (be it emotional, psychological, health, financial or whatever form of the healing), you will have to shout to Jesus for help. God said “I have not asked the house of Jacob to seek me in vain” meaning you can’t just cry to Jesus and he’d let you do that in vain. He is willing and ready to heal you if you are ready to cry to him… don’t let the noise or distractions from the environment not distract you. Don’t be comfortable with using glasses, don’t be comfortable with that skin disease. Cry to Jesus today.
Action/Prayer: Jesus!!!! Heal me of this infirmity
- Healing by Mercy
John 5:2-9
Mem verse
Rom 9:15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Mercy is a system in God that satisfies judgement and permits an offender another chance without the required punishment to an offence. Mercy is a resource obtained through grace through which we live daily without God destroying mankind. Jesus healed this lame man, not necessarily because he was the nicest person, as a matter of fact, he didn’t give Jesus a reasonable answer when Jesus wanted to heal him. That is exactly the same way a lot of us are, we have gotten frustrated because we didn’t get the answer we needed as regards a particular condition. We have gotten comfortable and content, some don’t even see it as a problem anymore. The lame man found mercy and he was healed; you have found mercy today and you are healed.
Action/ Prayer: Jesus!!! Thou son of David, have mercy on me.
Week 1
- Looking Right On
Prov 4:25-27
Mem verse:
Luk 11:34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.
Focus is maximum attention to a particular thing. The more we focus on a thing, the more the lesser the possibility of seeing other things in the same environment. The writer of the book of proverbs ended this chapter by telling his son to keep his eyes straight on, to keep looking forward, keep your eye on the goal. In keeping your eyes straight, there are certain things you must also do: (1) Ponder the path of your feet i.e as you are looking forward, you must take time to consider your next step and plan, so that you don’t fall into sin or a trap, then God does the work of establishing them. (2) don’t turn to the right or left so you don’t get yourself into trouble i.e don’t be busy looking at what others are doing and leave the path of righteousness; if you are looking here and there, you’d soon be drawn into evil.
Action/ Prayer: Lord, help me to keep my focus on righteousness and keep me from distractions.
- Attire of a Harlot
Prov 7: 6-12
Mem verse:
1Ti 2:9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
The subject of dressing or how we should dress seem to be a bone of contention even amidst believers because we believe that we have the holy spirit to direct us on what to wear. This is very true, but the bible was quite detailed about certain kinds of dressing and what we should look out for, meaning; even when the holy spirit doesn’t speak to you audibly, you have the word of God as a marker that can point you to the right kind of dress; for ladies and guys inclusive.
The passage uses a phrase “the attire of an harlot”, because there is a way an harlot (prostitute) dresses, there is also a way they speak, so the writer of Proverbs was advising his son to avoid such individuals. Such a dress is with the intention to provoke the opposite party to lust or to attract them into a sexual engagement. Verse 11 emphasizes the fact that she is stubborn and that her feet never stays in her house because she’s looking for whom to bring down. The direct instruction to us today is that we avoid such individuals and avoid such kind dresses because it definitely leads to the path of death (verse 23).
Action/Prayer: Lead me not into temptation but deliver me from evil. (do away with such clothes even if you have them)
- Wisdom of the ants
Prov 6:6-11
Mem verse:
Pro 6:6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
The ants are a group of little animals with their little brain of about 250,000 neurons. The bible recommends that we learn some sort of wisdom from this class of animals. What is the wisdom of the ants? Simply, doing the right things at the right time. We could also use the popular phrase of “make hay while the sun shine”. They have no guide i.e they have no tutor or ruler or leader who instructs them but yet, they know that they ought to save during the plenty day for the days where there wouldn’t be much.
You as a young person need to learn to invest your energy and time and brain into things that are profitable, now that you still have it. If you need to read, read well now because a time is coming when you won’t be able to do much of that. Pray and Fast well now when you still have the strength, do Vigils now when you still can. Avoid the sleep of laziness. Physiologically, 8hours of sleep is enough for a teenager. If you are sleeping more than this, then you’d need to check yourself. The same 24hours is given to both the rich and the poor. Help yourself and get up!
Action/Prayer: Set an alarm so that you’d wake up early and pray that the holy spirit helps you to follow through.
- Talk less, Pray more
James 3:1-6
Mem verse:
Pro 17:27 He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.
Humans are social beings i.e we love to interact, although we have people of varying temperament, so we respond to these social activities differently but we all want to be among fellow humans, no one wants to be isolated for long. This characteristic nature of man causes him to engage in oral and gestural interactions and the bible reveals to us that when these talks increases, folly or sin is also found in it. The tongue is very little, yet powerful because it can alter the course of life. It has been scientifically proven that our body responds to what it hears our mouth say regularly or frequently, so a man that curses or says curse words often cannot live righteously because his body would respond to his utterances. So Proverbs and James advices us to be men of few words, spare your words in any gathering you find yourself. Instead, convert the energy of your many words into Prayers and pray more. Paul said, I pray in tongues more than you all. He would always say in his epistles that he makes mention of people in his prayers. The Apostles said we would give ourselves continually to prayers. Prayer is a Recipe for Survival, not Vain Talkings.
Action/Prayers: Lord help me to tame my tongue and strengthen me to pray more.
- The woe of wine
Prov 23:29-35
Mem verse:
Pro 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
“Wine or strong wine or red wine” in the context of the scripture has an intoxicating capacity i.e it has the ability to make you “high” or unnecessarily excited. Such a feature can be found in drugs or alcoholic drinks. The bible says such is not meant for Kings because when they become intoxicated, they will definitely say nonsense when they are to give a judgement. You as a king cannot afford to give yourself to strong drink. The kind of people that are entitled to such are those that have a woe, those that want to or are willing to die, those that like to babble or talk nonsense or those that have been emotionally damaged. The end of this alcoholic ventures is seen in verse 34 and 35, they are would be injuring themselves but they won’t notice because of the excitement that comes during that period. The bible says they would be like one that is lying in the middle of the sea (is that not death already?). Alcohol is a mocker, because it disgraces you and it is deceptive because you would be addicted to it at the end of the day, so whoever falls for its deception is definitely not wise.
Action/Prayer: Lord, keep me from the deception of strong wine or drugs. Pray for someone you know who has been deceived by such to be saved.
- The woe of urgent riches
Prov 21:4-8
Mem verse:
Pro 28:22 He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.
Riches and wealth are essential factors to man’s comfortable living on and so it is good to be rich. However, there are different kinds of riches and different routes to riches. The bible says it is God that giveth the power to get wealth and addeth no sorrow to it, meaning that there is a kind of wealth that comes with peace and another that comes with sorrow. One of the categories kind of wealth that comes with Sorrow is the riches that comes suddenly. The Principle of life and wealth is Labour and profit, such that you work and get profit. A kind of riches that comes suddenly without labor tends to sorrow.
The bible teaches diligence that leads to profit and to wealth. Every other attempt to get wealth outside diligence would only tend to sin. There is no need to rush to wealth. The earth runs on a principle of growth. The same applies to riches, it grows, you can’t just jump from 1-100, you must grow in riches through diligence. Those that rush into wealth end up rushing out of it and running into death.
Prayer/Action: Keep my eyes from vanity and take me through the right path of diligence that leads to wealth.
- Actions and reactions
Prov 26: 24-28
Mem verse:
Ecc 10:8 He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.
There is what the world calls, the law of cause and effect. Isaac Newton propounded a similar law in science, that for every action, there must be an equal and opposite reaction. This is a truth is also seen in the bible. For instance, when Lucifer sinned, he was casted down from heaven, when man fell, he was separated from God. So every action of a man tends to have a spiritual implication especially when you sin. When the children of Israel murmured in the wilderness, the lord sent a fiery serpent into their midst. The serpent was the same one that caused eve to fall. At any point in time we sin; we break the hedge, we allow the serpent into our space; we become vulnerable and we are prone to its bite.
There are other acts of folly that is called “digging a pit”, an example was Reuben who laid with his father’s concubine and he was cursed. Even though it took some years before he was cursed, but he fell into the pit he dug. Out of all these situation, we can escape if we keep ourselves on watch through the help of the and we avoid undue actions.
Prayer/Action: Pray that God helps you to watch your action and in whatever way you have broken the hedge, the Lord helps you to close them.
Week 2
- Taking Responsibility
Gen 4:3-9
Mem verse:
Gen 9:5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man.
Just like the saying “blood is thicker than water”, it seems easier for an elder one to look after their younger one but in the case of Cain, he seemed to be a bad sibling. He asked a funny question a lot of believers ask today… “am I my brother’s keeper?”, unfortunately; he was asking an omniscient God and this landed him in trouble.
So we don’t land ourselves in the same situation as Cain, the first question we all need to answer is “Who is our brother?” The body of Christ is a family of God, so every believer automatically becomes your brother and sister, so they have become your responsibility. It is true that we are in the end time and humans are not easy to be trusted but we must consider them through the eyes of Christ and not just with our human eye. Every fellow Christian around you is your brother, so there spiritual, physical, mental and psychological wellbeing becomes your responsibility. You should check them up when they aren’t consistent in church as they used to be, when they don’t pray as much again, when they don’t study like they used to do.
Action/Prayer: Checkup a brother today!
- The Covering
Gen 13:8-15
Mem verse:
Gen 13:15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
The word “Lot” in the Aramaic means “veil or covering”. Wherever there is a veil, one cannot see. Veils cause obscure visions or no vision at all. God called Abraham and made certain promises to him as dated back as Genesis chapter 12 but he didn’t review them until Abraham and Saul separated. God called Abraham alone but he decided to carry a few people along and until he was left alone, God didn’t say anything more. The same happened to Jacob, until he was left alone (Genesis 32), he didn’t wrestle with an angel that brought about his change of name.
There are many young people that God has made certain promises to or certain prophecies have been made over their lives but has not found expression because they are still going around with “a veil (Lot)”. You see, Lots are not necessarily bad people, they are not witches, they can sometimes be your friends, they can even be a believer but for you to expand, you might need to part ways with them. Sometimes, these lots can be relationships you find yourself in, you are doing fine, but if you’ll expand, you need to part ways. Until the veil is removed, you might not see the next step to take or the next phase of the life God is bringing you into.
Action/Prayer: Pray that the Lord takes away the veil of covering over your eyes in any form, be it friends or relationship that will hinder your expansion.
- Intercession
Gen 18:20-25
Mem verse:
1Ti 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
Intercession is the act of praying for or on behalf of a people, place or thing. It is earthly permission for heavenly interference. Abraham operated like an intercessor on behalf of a city. Whoever must be an intercessor must be able to stand as a friend of God. Before anybody can come and plead for someone before you as human, such an individual must have a level of cordial relationship with you. It is the same with God, before you can intercede for another, it is expedient that you have a mutual relationship with God. It was on the grounds of relationship that God revealed to Abraham what he wanted to do and Abraham also pleaded for that city.
Every believer at one point in time or the other must and intercede. We all have the responsibility of praying for people in authority, whether we regard them as good or bad, leaders, friends, family. Paul exhorted Timothy that this should be done because it would help us live a peaceable life. (1Tim 2:2). The line between God destroying Sodom and Gomorrah was an Abraham. The line between a man’s life and death could be your prayer.
Action/Prayer: Pray for your church Leaders and Political leaders.
- Exposure or Exposure 1
Gen 3:2-10
Mem verse
Gen 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Exposure could mean different things; it could be a state of enlightening; it could also mean a state of having no protection. The devil or the serpent promised the woman a level of enlightenment when he told her she would be wise and be like God, she believed him and truly, she was seemingly wise but she also figured out that she was naked. So the exposure was not just an enlightening but also a state of nakedness.
Several times, the intention of the devil when we are faced with temptations or circumstances is not just the enjoyment we get from that little thing we get we perform that act but also the exposure to attacks that comes with disobeying God. The devil will never show you the two sides of the coin when he is tempting you, so at any point you are faced with a situation; always remember that there is the other side of the coin that he will never reveal to you and the repercussions are usually worse than the enjoyment. What’s the antidote? Get the word of God right! Eve didn’t have the word of God accurately so the devil could manipulate the word she thought she had.
Action/Prayer: Lord help me to study the word and get it right.
- Exposure or Exposure 2
Gen 3:2-10
Mem verse
Gen 3:9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
The story of the fall of man is quite an interesting one because of the variables that surround it. After Adam and Eve fell, having discovered that they were naked, not knowing that there was something more than their nakedness has happened. A question was thrown at Adam when God came to check them. I have seen people say, but God is omniscient, why was he asking for where they were, why was he looking for them? It wasn’t just a question of location; it was a question of Positon. When God placed man in the garden (location), he didn’t just dump him there, he gave him authority (position), above all the things he created that he should dominate them. Part of what man lost was the position he had.
A believer is such that has been restored to his position in God but we are found wanting at any time we fall into sin from the position God placed us and so we also fall in our function of dominating.
Prayer/Action: Jude 1v24
- Purpose
Gen 2:15-17
Mem verse
Gen 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
Purpose is the reason for which something is done or the reason to which a thing exists. NO PURPOSE IS A SMALL ONE. God knew that activity without purpose will drain the life of a man, so God gave man a reason to be in the garden and the assignment was to dress and keep the garden. Alongside the purpose was the source of livelihood.
Every human is always in pursuit of that thing called purpose, because a purposeless life is a useless life. God being the creator knows best what the purpose of man is. Purpose isn’t the outcome of a man’s life like Destiny, instead, purpose is a summation of different assignments per time according to the will of God. Purpose isn’t the big picture you saw in your dream, purpose is the little thing God asked you to do like preaching to your friend, praying for your relative, etc. the cumulative of these realities is what sums up to what gives us as men a sense of satisfaction. Even our respective career, God’s purposes are engrafted into them, you are not just in the university to study a course and make money but to expand God’s kingdom. It was lack of proper functioning of Adam that led to the entrance of the serpent into the garden. If you don’t do the little that was committed to you well, you might be the reason for the entrance of the serpent that would lead to another problem.
Prayer/Action: Lord help me to be able to do what you have committed to me well.
- Father’s Blessings
Gen 49:1-3, Gen 35:22
Mem verse
Mat 15:4 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
“Fathers are Ladders”; this is a popular saying, meaning you would need to step upon the shoulders of fathers if you would obtain any height in life. Reuben lost his height in life because of a foolish mistake, he became a servant to his brothers and his position of the first born was given to another. Fatherhood is not only bent on your biological father. There are people who play the role of a father and are not necessarily your biological parent. There are spiritual fathers also. These individuals hold a key to our life, particularly your biological father, no matter how responsible or irresponsible they are or they seem, believers or non-believers; they have a measure of authority in utterance and they can proclaim blessing or a curse over an individual.
Reuben slept with his father’s concubine but the father did not utter a word even though he knew, all the way from Genesis 35 till Genesis 49n when he cursed him. As young people, your parent might seem tough and not understanding at any point in time, but you must endeavor to keep a good act that wouldn’t make them make a negative pronouncement over you. Honor your Parent was the prescription of the bible, whether they are good or bad people; you must honor them.
Action/Prayer: Lord help me to honor my parent as I ought to. Every negative pronouncement made over my life is canceled in Jesus name.
Week 3
- Walking in the counsel of the ungodly
Psalm 1:1-3
Mem verse
Pro 1:10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
This passage seems to be one of the most popular verses of the bible but I’d want us to take a close look into it together. The verse 1 points out 3 postures you can be in with the wrong people that would lead to your downfall: Walking, standing and sitting. “Walking in the counsel of the ungodly”, sounds cliché because we’ve heard it a number of times but what exactly does it mean? “Walking” in this context means “following” while Counsel is the advice or suggestion as a solution to a particular matter and Ungodly counsels are suggestions that pushes you away from the path of righteousness, they are anti-biblical procedures to life. So walking in the counsel of the ungodly would be following the advice or suggestions that are anti bible or those that push us away from the way of righteousness e.g, as a student, there would always be the suggestion to cheat (bringing in microchip or talking to your friends and exchanging answers in the examination hall; your social media will always suggest sexual related content. We are in a social media age where everyone seems to throw their opinion out to anyone who finds it relevant whether or not it is biblical or Christ-like; meaning there are always suggestions that would corrupt your mind on TV, on your phone, from friends, etc but for you to stay BLESSED, you can’t afford to follow such suggestions.
Action/Prayer: check for all the ungodly advice that you have followed or you are following that’s pushing you away from God and ask for mercy and grace to resist such subsequently.
- Standing in the way of the sinner
Psalm 1:1-3
Mem verse
2Co 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
We began yesterday by laying a foundation of “Walking in the counsel of the ungodly”, today we proceed in the second posture which is Standing. Standing refers to a position of attention (readiness to receive instructions). When military men are on the parade ground, they are not relaxed; they are at attention waiting for the next instruction. “Standing in the way of the ungodly” is putting yourself in a position of readiness to listen to what the ungodly would say or do. For instance, getting into a relationship with an unbeliever, there is a high probability that he/she would make you do what you are not supposed to do. At another time, you found out that an individual is a cultist, then you decided that he would be your close friend; he would end up initiating you into that cult. Why? The bible says, evil communications corrupt good manners. It is easier for evil to corrupt good than for good to influence good. Don’t find yourself in such positions, for Prevention is better than cure.
Action/Prayer: tell God to disconnect you from sinful friends and order your steps today and every day.
- Sitting in the seat of the Scornful
Psalm 1:1-3
Mem verse
Pro 15:12 A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise.
The scornful are simply scoffers and mockers. They derive pleasure in making jest of others and mocking people, the bible further tells us that people like them do not like corrections and they never walk with the wise. This automatically means, most of their words or discussions would be centered around folly.
Sitting is a relaxed position and a posture of comfort. “sitting in the seat of the scornful” is finding comfort and relaxation among mockers and scoffers. I have shared earlier that wisdom cannot be found amidst them and so there is no reason why you should waste your time sitting with them and mocking others. We have a sample of some children mocking a Prophet in the book of 2 kings 2:23-25 and their end was death. The blessedness or happiness of a man is factored around avoiding such seats, instead sit with the wise and you will learn more wisdom, sit with believers and increase in the word of faith.
Action/Prayer: Holy Spirit, always make me uncomfortable around scoffers that I might reposition myself to the right place.
- The Cord of God
Psalm 2:1-7
Mem verse
Pro 16:3 Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.
The Psalmist begins with a question and an observation that seems ridiculous. Why do the heathens rage and why do the people imagine vanity? The kings of the earth also are taking counsel against the Lord and his anointed. These matters are rather ridiculous because who would ever want to fight God, why would anyone want to take counsel against the Lord? The answer to their plans is in the third verse, they want to break “the cord of God” from them. The cord of God and his bands seems to be like the leash that God is using to control us and to direct our path, but man seems not to want to be controlled. Man has a natural status of rebellion. We don’t like to be tamed or controlled and that’s the reason for imaginations and counsel.
The latter part of the passage reveals to us the futility of man’s attempt to break that band because God just Laughs at such folly. We seem to forget so quickly that the reason for our existence is God and once we break his band off us, we become dead men. This is not the case for a believer, our lives are regulated by the divine wisdom of God and we choose to submit to them. This is how we live because we love and believe the Son, we are instructed by the Holy Spirit. You might be facing oppositions for Jesus’ sake, but don’t forget, verse 4; the Lord is laughing and so you must also Laugh because the Lord has them in derision. You are Victorious.
Action/Prayer: try laughing more with the consciousness of the fact that your Father in heaven is Laughing.
- Prayers
Pslm 20:1-9
Mem verse
Psa 20:2 Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion;
Take out some minutes and pray each verse of this scripture.
- The Phases of Growth
Pslm 23
Mem verse
Psa 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Psalm 23 is one of the most popular passages probably after John 3:16. We recite I many times but haven’t really given attention to how it relates with our lives as believers. This chapter reveals the phases of a believer’s growth.
The first three verses reflect the beginning of our walk with God and how God tends and takes care of us just like babies. This is to the end that we may grow properly.
The next verse reveals a season in our life that usually seems dark and gloomy, “walking through the shadow of death”. Some call it the transition point where you seem to be tempted and tested but your convictions that you gathered in the days where God was treating you like a baby builds an assurance in you that He is with you. This leads you to the last few verses where it seems like there are many enjoyments. You have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death to get a table prepared before you in the presence of your enemies. Life is in phases and just as we grow as humans, the dealings of God with us are in phases; you shouldn’t remain a baby all through your Christian walk.
- A Joyful noise
Psalm 100
Mem verse
Jos 6:16 And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city.
Noise generally is defined as a collection of sounds that are not pleasing to the ear. Severally in the bible, a certain kind of noise has effected different kinds of possibilities, ranging from causing confusion in the camp of the enemy to bringing down the wall of Jericho, etc. but these can only be effected when heaven connects with such a kind of noise. That is the spiritual, superimposing the physical noise, so it is commanding a supernatural effect.
Joy is like a drawer through which we pull things from the realm of the spirit to the physical (Ish 12:3) and that’s why when you want to give to God, it must be with joy. God loves a cheerful giver, so when you are giving worship, it must be with joy. Your voice doesn’t have to be sweet or melodious in worship, it only has to be joyful; God loves it, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise and don’t let the devil take that joy from you irrespective of what it seems you are going through.
Action/Prayer: Sing 10 worship songs to God with Joy from your heart.
