The son realized that he had been very foolish. He thought, ‘All my father’s hired workers have plenty of food…I will leave and go to my father…’ – Luke 15:17-18 (ERV). REFERENCE Luke 15:11-24 (Continued) After you have ascertained ‘where you are,’ the next question that should come up is: ‘Is this my fate or my state?’ If you consider it your fate, then you are stuck, if you see it as a temporary state then you can still achieve the goals you set out to achieve. If these goals are God-given in the first instance, then you should not...
The son realized that he had been very foolish. He thought, ‘All my father’s hired workers have plenty of food. But here I am, almost dead because I have nothing to eat. I will leave and go to my father…’ – Luke 15:17-18 (ERV). REFERENCE Luke 15:11-24 Today, we will learn from the story of the Prodigal Son, because like many of us, he also had a goal for his life – financial freedom, he prayed to his ‘father’, he embarked on a journey (into the year), after a while, he realized he wasn’t where he prayed, planned, desired to...
Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves… - 2 Corinthians 13:5 Before we go any further into the year, I want us to take out time this week to evaluate how we did last year in order to identify where to make adjustments, with the ultimate aim of making progress (achieve upgrade) this year. Our text today says: ‘we should EXAMINE ourselves.’ This clearly means that we should take stock and review our lives because we cannot go forward until we understand where we are coming from and where we are presently. Thus, until you...
And Nathaniel said to him, 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?' Philip said to him, 'Come and see.' - John 1:46 REFERENCE John 1:43-48 Nathanael of Galilee describes just how many of us perceive life. He is so taken by his hometown, Galilee, that he thinks 'the world' of it. Interestingly, Galilee means, 'Circle or Circuit, or Ring.' Therefore, it is Nathanael's globe; the world that encircles him and it defines his outlook on life. What he doesn’t know is that Galilee has become a wall around him, it has bounded him in, and it has kept him...
…lest there be any FORNICATOR or PROFANE person like Esau, who for ONE MORSEL OF FOOD SOLD HIS BIRTHRIGHT. For you know that AFTERWARD, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, HE WAS REJECTED, for he FOUND NO PLACE FOR REPENTANCE, though he sought it diligently with TEARS. - Hebrews 12:16-17 (Emphasis mine). REFERENCE Hebrews 12:12-17 ‘Fornicator’ in Greek is – PORNOS, it is from a root word which means to SELL. One of its meanings is PROSTITUTE. Of course, a prostitute sells his/her body to get economic benefits. 'Profane’ in Greek is – BEBELOS. It means, unhallowed, common, accessible...
Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. - John 12:42-43 REFERENCE John 12:42-50 If you are A SUCKER for men's praise, approval and gifts, YOU WILL NEVER follow God. This is still a question of BUYING AND SELLING: Many have sold their conscience to buy a steady flow of ‘currency.’ Many have sold their conviction to buy and maintain a position. Many have sold their voice...
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise. - Ephesians 5:15 REFERENCE Ephesians 5:8-17 William Shakespeare said, “All the world is a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” It would have been much more true to say that "All the world is a market, and all the men and women buyers and sellers." Every day is a MARKET-DAY, and every evening brings its BALANCE-SHEET to us: things bought and things sold, with the net GAIN, or, it may be, LOSS. FOOLISH people are always selling the BETTER things for the WORSE; while the...
But Simon answered and said to Him, 'Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.' – Luke 5:5 REFERENCE Luke 5:1-7 ‘Between you and the result you desire is an act of obedience.’ We continue today with this same thought. Another person who obeyed the word of God and saw His miracle was the widow of Zarephath. Imagine what went through her mind when Elijah told her to “make for me first,” it may have seemed like a very callous statement coming from a man of God that should...
But Simon answered and said to Him, 'Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net' – Luke 5:5 REFERENCE Luke 5:1-7 Every time you hear the word of God, you have a choice to obey or not. You can’t negotiate your way through obedience; it may be a simple or a relatively hard instruction but you have to obey it nonetheless to see the desired result. When Jesus told Simon to launch into the deep for a catch after a night of toiling, you could imagine the expression on...
This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. – Psalm 34:6 REFERENCE Psalm 34:1-10 The title of today’s devotional looks paradoxical and you may be tempted to ask, "What blessing can be associated with pain?" Without a doubt, pain is a part of life mostly related with suffering and hardship. As humans, we would rather avoid pain. However, if properly channeled, pain can become a pathway to progress. How? Most of the Psalms were written by David during those painful years when he was running from Saul or fighting one...