Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘stretch out the spear that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.’ And Joshua stretched out the spear that was in his hand toward the city. – Joshua 8:18 REFERENCE Joshua 8:14-19 As you also stretch out your faith towards the promises of God for your life today, you will experience divine favors. Do not be sloppy and slack concerning a promised inheritance to you. Stretch out your hands towards it in faith and claim it. There is no situation you are going through right now...
In God we boast all day long, and praise Your name forever. Selah - Psalm 44:8 REFERENCE Psalm 44:6-8 We had our thanksgiving celebrations yesterday, but thanksgiving is not just for one day as we have come to know; it is for every day and every moment of our lives. Let us as a people learn to maintain an attitude of bragging on God all day long, praising Him irrespective of what happens, declaring His greatness and magnifying His name. In our text today, the psalmist says we should ponder on 'praising the name of God forever.' Yes, we...
Our God is the God of salvation; And to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death. - Psalm 68:20 If you cannot thank God for what you received, THANK GOD FOR WHAT YOU ESCAPED. I tell people that when we get to heaven, and God gives us a ‘visual’ review of our lives on earth, then we will see things God protected and delivered us from; many we knew nothing about - how we escaped food poisoning, came late to a spot on the road just after a robbery, a nice house you wanted to rent but couldn’t raise the...
And about the ELEVENTH HOUR He went out and found others STANDING IDLE, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?' They said to Him, 'Because NO ONE HIRED US.' He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.' - Matthew 20:6-7 NKJV REFERENCE Matthew 20:1-16 The eleventh hour in biblical Jewish setting was like 5pm, an hour to the close of day-work. This suggests that the men in our text today, hired at 5pm, had been standing looking for a job almost all day. Jesus...
Like a lily among thorns is my darling among women. Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my dearest compared to other men. I love to sit in its (his) shadow, and its (his) fruit is sweet to my taste. - Songs 2:2-3 (GoodNewsTranslation) REFERENCE Songs of Solomon 1:16-2:4 If you have a spouse with whom you can freely express such words as we find in our key verses today, you are indeed favored of the Lord; your thanksgiving should make angels blush. It is the desire of almost all young men and women...
[The purpose is] that THROUGH THE CHURCH the complicated, many-sided wisdom of God in all its infinite variety and innumerable aspects might now be made known to the angelic rulers and authorities (principalities and powers) in the heavenly sphere. - Ephesians 3:10 (Amplified) The living church of Jesus Christ is the hope of the dying world and the world at its worst needs the church at its best. The church may not have attained its place of perfection - of no wrinkle or spot, but it is still God's primary agent of change on earth, it is still the...
When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you. – Deuteronomy 8:10 REFERENCE Deuteronomy 8:7-18 Hundreds of thousands are homeless and are starved of life’s basic necessities like good food and clean water. It seems the world is full of such imbalances - on one hand are people who have abundance and on the other, those who are in abject lack. We may never be able to fully explain why this seeming imbalance is so, except for the fact that we know there is...
…This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to (the place of) birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. - 11 Kings 19:3 REFERENCE II Kings 19:1-7 Although the verse above is just an illustration King Hezekiah gave of how powerless Israel was against her strong Assyrian enemy, it teaches a significant truth nonetheless - the truth that it is possible for a woman to come to the place or time of birth and lack the strength to bring or push forth the baby. I know you must...
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, your children like olive plants all around your table. - Psalms 128:3 REFERENCE Psalm 128:1-6 What a great promise of God. The promise of a happy home where Christ is the center, and love is a hallmark. Understanding that it is not every roof that encloses a home should cause you to place value on the gift of your family. Home is meant to be a haven of peace, a bastion of security and an oasis of love. This gives today's key verse great...
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. - Psalm 150:6 REFERENCE Psalm 150:1-6 Most times, life is the greatest gift we easily take for granted. It is one of God's most ignored gift. We get occupied by unpaid bills, unanswered prayers, unmet deadlines, broken relationships and unfulfilled dreams. We wonder at a number of unfair things around us, we get envious of our friends' seemingly better lives, we get worried about how we will accomplish goals and targets we have set. We get depressed just thinking about all these things, but we rarely pause to think about the...