Show that you are my followers by producing much fruit. This will bring honor to my Father. - John 15:8 (ERV) REFERENCE John 15:1-8 God planted you in this world so you can be fruitful in your sphere of influence. God’s first words to mankind at creation are, “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen 1:28). That means, God has programmed in every man, the capacity to bring forth fruits , else He will be a wicked God to demand from you what you do not have the capacity to give. To be fruitful is to produce fruits or to...
Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. ~ James 5:11 REFERENCE James 5:7-11 To persevere simply means your ability to stay and finish the course in whatever you are doing, despite difficulties. Sometimes, things don’t happen at the time you anticipate they will and you can’t control the time when they will finally happen, so, you must learn to endure and not give up or give in to pressures. A lot can happen between the...
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ~ Ephesians 6:17 REFERENCE Ephesians 6:14-17 Bible knowledge in your head is not a sword against the devil. It must be a word that is alive within you. So how does the Word on the pages of scripture become a spiritual sword in your hands? When you do with it what Jesus did with it, when He looked at the devil and said, “It is written.” When you speak out the scripture in faith, believing and knowing that it is...
Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits. – Psalm 103:2 REFERENCE Psalm 103:1-5 When you take a look at your life sometimes, you see someone who is committed to serving God but who doesn’t have the ‘commensurate results’ to show for it. Things have not worked out the way you planned; you’ve had setbacks and delays, and it seems like things are spiraling down. In this state, the devil tries to toy with your mind to think ‘nothing is happening in your life and ‘nothing good can happen for you. It is a...
The sick man answered Him, 'Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.' ~ John 5:7 REFERENCE John 5:1-9 Truth be told, a lot of us, like the sick man in this passage, have had to mutter these same words under our breath or even out loud. We all get to that point when we wish somebody was there for us to pull the next strings for us, to cover for us or to help us out. For some...
And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there. – II Kings 7:5 REFERENCE II Kings 7:3-8 The Israelites were experiencing a severe famine because their enemy besieged their land until it became empty. As a result, there was hunger, death, frustration and hopelessness all over the city. However, these four lepers did the unimaginable by rising up and going to the camp of the enemy. Little did they know that God will magnify...
Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 'Jeremiah, what do you see?' And I said, 'I see a branch of an almond tree.' ~ Jeremiah 1:11 REFERENCE Jeremiah 1:4-12 Seeing is everything – the only time Jesus ministered to someone twice was a case where He wanted the person to receive his sight (ability to see). When your sight is dim, you make wrong choices, your progress is impeded, and you become fearful and uncertain of the future. Sure enough, the devil will like you to grope about blindly, unable to make a headway in...
Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? ~ Matthew 6:27 REFERENCE Matthew 6:25-34 The fact that Jesus repeats over and again that believers should not worry in this passage, shows how important He considers the issue. So many of you reading this devotional would have heard this same message severally; however it is worth reiterating because many still labor under the influence of ‘worry’. Worry plagues your mind with questions you don’t have answers to. Asking you… HOW? WHEN? WHERE? WHAT? all in an attempt to put you in an uncomfortable position and...
Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run; hurry and scurry puts you further behind. ~ Proverbs 21:5 (MSG) REFERENCE Proverbs 21:5-6 Foresight is the ability to think ahead or to look ahead and make the necessary plans to survive the future. Any believer who wants to prosper must cultivate this wisdom. To succeed, you have to PLAN! PLAN!! PLAN!!! Success never happens by accident, it is deliberate and calculated efforts that birth it. Amidst other factors, financial planning is also a prerequisite to your prosperity; and if you don’t plan (budget) on how you spend whatever...
For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement) -Acts 4:36b (NLT) REFERENCE Acts 4: 32-37; 9:26-28 & 11:22-26 How does it feel to get an award or to be rewarded for something you have done well? How does it feel to be recognized for every effort you put into doing the right thing? How will you feel if every day, everybody around you said good things to you? Today, we live in a world where everybody tends to be harsh; finances are hard, everybody seems so stressed up and they...