And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. - Mark 8:31 REFERENCE Mark 8:27-33 In today’s passage, we see that Jesus was as persuaded about His resurrection as He was of His rejection by His people; His persecution by the religious authority, and His execution by the governing authority. He said these things must happen (i.e. they are unavoidable), and though the bad must first take place, consequently, the good must necessarily...
Where can we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, 'The people are greater and taller than we…' - Deuteronomy 1:28 REFERENCE Deuteronomy 1:21-30 It is easy to become discouraged in the times that we live in because of the economic situation; except for the grace of God, projecting into the future looks quite bleak. Discouragement is a loss of your confidence or drive, it is a feeling of hopelessness – sensing that what you expect may not happen. It is a potent strategy of the devil to keep your from fulfilling the plan of God for...
And He saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night He cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. – Mark 6:48 (KJV). REFERENCE Mark 6:45-51 Sometimes, life’s challenges can make you think you are all alone and that God cannot see your struggles; or worse, He cannot help you, which is why He hasn’t come to your rescue. We read in today’s passage, that the disciples were at sea in obedience to Jesus when they encountered a contrary wind, which made...
Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men, and fight! - 1 Samuel 4:9 REFERENCE 1 Samuel 4:2-11 Yesterday, we concluded with the thought that life may have many odds against you, but you can win with the right attitude. We see this play out as we continue our story from the passage. I believe, one of the Philistine soldiers’ who was tired of going through the same pattern of defeat and hopelessness rose up and told them to...
Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men, and fight! - 1 Samuel 4:9 REFERENCE 1 Samuel 4:2-11 The passage we read narrates a story of how the children of Israel had been in battle with the Philistines and it had first turned against them. Then they realized they had a joker – the ark of Covenant, which they brought to the battlefield. The moment the ark entered the battlefield, the Israelites shouted with a loud shout because the...
Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men, and fight! - 1 Samuel 4:9 REFERENCE 1 Samuel 4:2-11 You may have heard it said countless times, ‘life is a battle,’ and rightly so. Even when you don’t want to fight, life brings the fight to your doorstep, leaving you with no choice but to engage. This year, like others before it, is going to have its own share of battles; you cannot run from it, but you can adequately...
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. - 2 Corinthians 5:17 REFERENCE 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 The first man, Adam, was the peak and the crowning beauty of God’s creation. He was given dominion and he was the god of the then created world. But he lost it all to satan through the sin of disobedience and that affected the rest of mankind; however, Christ came to restore what he lost and even much more than that to mankind. Thus, your redemption in Christ...
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! - Psalm 34:8 REFERENCE Psalm 34:1-8 David had encountered the goodness of God in different areas of his life at different times and he is basically advertising that God is a good God, but he says you have to “taste” Him to really know His goodness. When David said in this passage to “taste,” he was saying, ‘have a personal experience and knowledge of God.’ Why does David want you to know that God is a good God? Because when you truly...
My word is like…the rain that come down…to water the earth. They make the crops grow…So also will be the word that I speak… it will do everything I send it to do. - Isaiah 55:10&11 (GNT). REFERENCE Isaiah 55:10-13 From today’s passage we deduced that the word of God is like the rains that come down to transform the earth and doesn’t leave the earth the same way it met it; which means anytime the word goes out, it must change whatever it comes in contact with. After God made man, He breathed into his nostrils, and...
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. - Ephesians 6:17 REFERENCE Ephesians 6:10-17 Today, we conclude on this series we started on Monday. The last and final point to achieving success in life is: ‘STAND ON THE WORD OF GOD.’ Our passage says ‘you should put on a protective shield of the armor of God because the devil is looking for an unprotected area to attack you from. Have you ever experienced success in certain areas of your life that didn’t last? True success is not just succeeding...