SAFETY AT RAHAB’S HOUSE

TEXT: JOSHUA 2:1-19

When Joshua went the two spies to go and spy Jericho, the news of their arrival got to the king of Jericho and he sent some people to go and look for the spies. Meanwhile; there was a prostitute in that land called Rahab, she helped the spies from being caught by keeping them in her house. When the pursuers came looking fro the spies, she told them that they had gone out of the city. She said the pursuers should run after them to catch them.

Rahab went back to the spies and asked for favour to preserve her and her household from the impending destruction. The spies assured her that herself and her household would be safe, provided they are in her house “And unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. If anyone goes outside your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head.” (Joshua 2:18b-19).  The spies were ready to spare Rahab and her household but on one condition, that all her family members should be in her house with her, and a scarlet cord should be tied in the window of the house.

The scarlet cord was what made the spies to identify her house so that they will not go there to destroy it. We can say that her house was “branded for safety.”

As children of God, we need to be branded for Christ so that our safety can be guaranteed. People need to see us and see God in us, our identity in Christ should not be hidden or unclear to people around us.

Your safety is in God, it is only God that can guarantee your safety, and nothing else can. If you are branded for Christ and your identity in Him is evident, then your safety is sure. Like the spies told Rahab that they can only guarantee her safety and that of her household, when they are in her house, this is so with the lord Almighty, though He has the power to do all things, He is a sovereign God; He wants us to live in obedience of His words. The spies said anybody outside Rahab’s house will not be saved.  If you are in line with God and walk in His will, your safety is forever sure, but as soon as you walk out of His will, your safety may not be sure. God’s coverage is sure on those that walk in His will. If you have strayed out of His will; prayerfully go back to Him and ask for His mercy, and promise Him you will continue to walk in His will and never walk out of His will so that you can continue to enjoy His divine protection. “But whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.” (Proverbs 1:33)

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REMOVE THE ACCURSED THINGS

TEXT: JOSHUA 7:13

Many believers are wondering what the problem is with them, because they have prayed, fasted, praise and worship God for solution to an impending problem, and yet the problem refused to be solved. May be God has given them some prophesies or promises, and instead of these things to come to pass, the opposite is what they are seeing.

God has never lied before and He will never lie, He does not say what He wouldn’t do, but at times our character or action can make God to withhold what He promise us. Though it is not in every situation that our actions and character has cause God to delay or change His plan towards us. It may be because it is not the right time for Him to fulfil that which He promises us, because He does things in His own time.

It is always good to seek the face of God often to know if we have done anything against His will, so that we can quickly amend our ways.

God promised the Israelites victory over Ai, but one of them (Achan) sinned by disobeying God’s instructions. He stole some of the possessions of the people of Ai, this made God angry and He changed His mind against them, and allowed the people of Ai to defeat them. “The lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things, they have STOLEN, they have LIED, they have put them with their own possessions. THAT IS WHY THE ISRAELITES CANNOT STAND AGAINST THEIR ENEMIES...” (Joshua 7:10-12).

If you have any negative attribute that is against God’s commandment, you cannot stand against your enemies, neither can He preserve or save you from the enemies. You are prone to attack and defeat if you disobey God’s instruction. Achan and his household paid dearly with their lives.

Achan disobedience also affected Israel as a nation, the small nation of Ai that they were meant to defeat; ended up defeating them. “There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee o Israel; thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.” (Joshua 7:13). Before you can stand against your enemies and have victory, you need to remove everything that is against God’s will, when you do this; you will have victory over your enemies.

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YOU ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD

TEXT: 1 CORINTHIANS 3:16-17

“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred and you are the temple.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). A temple is a building devoted to the worship of God, it is regarded as a dwelling place of God.

You may ask this question “why am I a temple? Am I a building?” yes, you are God’s spiritual building. Building serves several needs, for shelter, to provide privacy, to store belongings, to comfortably live and work. Can you see from the above explanation of what a building is; that you are God’s spiritual building?

God has taken shelter in you through His Spirit, the day you said YES to the call of salvation. The Spirit of God is in you for privacy (one-on –one encounter with Him). He tells you things through the still small voice within you. God has also stored a lot of His belongings (talents) in you, above all, if you are living holy; be assured that God is living comfortably in you and He is working through you.

“In Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:22). This is another verse to buttress it that we are God’s building in which His Spirit dwells.

Now that we know that we are God’s temple, we need to keep His “TEMPLE” clean from everything that can destroy His temple. If you find yourself in a church where the environment is dirty and untidy, I can bet that you won’t be comfortable to worship in such place. So also when God’s spiritual temple is dirty; He would not be comfortable to dwell there. Purge yourself of every ungodly behaviour, so that God will be able to take His dwelling comfortably in you. “Therefore rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander of every kind.” (1 Peter 2:1).

PRAYER: Father purge me of every ungodliness that can make your Spirit to depart from me, make your dwelling place and live comfortably in me in Jesus name.

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YOUR WORD HAVE I HIDDEN IN MY HEART

TEXT: PSALM 119: 11

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11). When the Psalmist wrote this Psalm he knew that with our human wisdom, we cannot please God or walk perfectly before Him. He emphasized this in V9, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.” It is the word of God that can help us to live according to the will of God. Commit the word of God in your heart, so that the word can guide you in your walk with Him. In Joshua 1 V8, God told Joshua to meditate upon His word day and night, so that he would be able to do what is written in it, so that he would be prosperous and successful. Your prosperity, healing, breakthrough and success are in the word of God. Take your time to study the word of God and don’t step at that, observe ALL that is written! Live the word daily, if you live according to the word of God, you will not go astray. “I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.” (Psalm 119:10). The word of God is the light that lights our paths (Psalm 119:105). When you live according to the word of God, you can never go astray, living outside God’s word is walking in darkness, and destruction is DEFINITELY inevitable, because the person will stray into destruction. Always devote your time to the word of God so that His word can guide you in all your ways.

PRAYER: Father, let your word light my path; give me the grace and strength to live according to your word, so that I will not walk into destruction in Jesus name.

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"God Knows Best"

Our Father knows what's best for us,

So why should we complain--

We always want the sunshine,

But He knows there must be rain.

We love the sound of laughter
And the merriment of cheer,
But our hearts would lose their tenderness
If we never shed a tear...

Our Father tests us often
With suffering and with sorrow,
He tests us, not to punish us,
But to help us meet tomorrow...

For growing trees are strengthened
When they withstand the storm,
And the sharp cut of a chisel
Gives the marble grace and form...

God never hurts us needlessly,
And He never wastes our pain
For every loss He send to us
Is followed by rich gain...

And when we count the blessings
That God has so freely sent,
We will find no cause for murmuring
And no time to lament...

For our Father loves His children,
And to Him all things are plain,
So He never sends us pleasure
When the soul's deep need is pain...

So whenever we are troubled,
And when everything goes wrong,
It is just God working in us
To make our spirit strong.

 by Helen Steiner RiceImage -Google image

HE KNOWS MY UNKNOWN FUTURE

 Though I may not know what

The future holds for me,

But He is the all knowing God,

That knows the end from the beginning,

I knew me before I was conceived,

He knows what He wants me to become,

He has planned how I will achieve my purpose,

And I am confident that He will guide my steps

And lead me on my way to destiny.

Though the picture may not be clear to me,

Though the future may look bleak,

But to Him my potter and creator,

My future is clear and sure to Him,

He wrote the script of my life,

To give me a glorious future

And the expected end of success,

I am confident that my unknown

Future is known by the all knowing God.

Though the road may seem rough,

The sky may be full of dark cloud,

But one thing I am sure of is that,

He has not brought me this far to leave me,

He will make all the rough way to be plane,

The dark cloud will bring glorious light,

I am confident that He that started this

Good work will bring it to perfection.

By -Bolatito

© (Bolatito .c. Peter) (2013)

All right reserved

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AT HIS RIGHT HAND THERE ARE PLEASURES FOREVERMORE

TEXT: PSALM 16:11

The scriptures made us to know that in the presence of God there is fullness of joy; and at His right hand there are pleasure forevermore. All human beings need joy, and we all want pleasures; and we seek for them always. As much as we love joy and pleasures, a lot of people seek joy and pleasures from a wrong source. It is only God that can fill the longing that is burning in our hearts, but people seem to ignore this fact. They look at the negative source for joy and pleasure.

The blessing of the lord makes rich and adds no sorrow with it (Proverbs 10:22). You don’t need to run up and down looking for joy and pleasures, because it is only at His right hand  that you can find lasting pleasure that will not add sorrow to you. It is in His presence that you will get the fullness of joy.

If you had gone the wrong direction to seek joy and pleasure, retrace your step and make a U turn now. If you are confused asking where and how to get your joy and pleasures, do not stress yourself further. Take that bold step (pray, praise, worship, study, and do His will) that will take you to the presence of God. When you dwell in His presence, you will have access to His right hand to claim the everlasting pleasures that He gives. The pleasure that God gives is different from what the world gives. Run to His presence today!

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Closed Doors Lead To Open Doors

There are times in our lives,
We come to a closed door
It does not always mean that we
Have not heard from the Lord


It may only mean that God
Is changing how we get there,
To show to us a better way
That we were unaware


So don't see this as an end
To the outworking of God's will,
The thing that God has birthed in you,
He wants to see fulfilled


Just continue to trust in Him
And leave it in His hands,
He will work this whole thing out,
For it is what He has planned


And as we look back, we will see
How God had been our guide
And directed us along the path
Where doors stood open wide


So thank Him for these hard times,
The set backs we go through,
For it is God who is leading us
To make our dreams come true.

© By M.S.Lowndes

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YOUR EYE IS THE LAMP OF YOUR BODY

TEXT: LUKE 11:34

“Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body is also full of light, but when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness.” (Luke 11:34).

Our physical eyes play a vital role in our lives, it helps us to see good things around us, it makes us to see where we are going, and it helps us to see what goes into our mouths. The eyes also show us dangers around us, where not to go and what we should not put in our mouths.

Though every parts of our body have its unique quality and usage, but if anything happens to our physical eyes, it will affect other parts of our body. When the eyes are not functioning, you will be surrounded with darkness even when there is light around you. Jesus in his illustration used our “eye” as the lamp of our body. He was talking about our spiritual eyes; the illustration is for us to know how important our spiritual eyes are. If your physical eyes are open but your spiritual eyes are closed, making in life may be difficult. It is what you see in the spiritual that will come to pass in the physical, what you see is what you can have. When God wanted to bless Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:11 God asked him what do you see Jeremiah? And he told God that he saw an almond tree, and God told him that he had seen well for He will hasten His word to fulfil them. if Jeremiah had not seen anything, I don’t think God would have told him that He would hasten His word to fulfil it.

When God wanted to bless Abram He was asked to look at what he can see. “The lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “lift up your eyes from where you are and look North and South, East and West, all the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.” (Genesis 13:14-15). God blessed Abram according to what he was able to see. This means that your blessing or success is dependent on what you can see. There are many opportunities and ideas around you that can make you to become a household name in your generation, but until you can see it; you cannot possess it.

When Hagar and Ishmael were sent away by Abraham, their water got finished and the boy way dying of thirst, the mother was unable to see the well nearby where she could have gotten water for her son. “Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.” (Genesis 21:19). Hagar was blind to opportunity (well) around her, until God opened her eyes.

The widow in 2 kings 4 was blind to the opportunity around her (oil) until the prophet told her what to do with the oil. Your spiritual eyes is the light that will take the darkness (ignorance/limitation) away from you so that you would be able to see opportunities, ideas, and success lying around you. Go to God now and ask Him to open your spiritual eyes so that you can avail of great opportunities around you.

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OH WHAT NEEDLESS PAIN WE BEAR!

TEXT: MATTHEW 11:28

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matt 11:28-30).

This is a call from our lord Jesus Christ, telling us to come and drop our burden and our worries at his feet, so that we can find rest and be delivered from our heavy burden and the restlessness of this world.

Imagine you have to lift a very heavy load and walk a thousand kilometers with it, and somebody offered not only to assist you but to collect and carry the heavy load solely for you. I guess nobody likes to carry a load that will make him or her to be uncomfortable, so I know we will all be happy to accept such offer that brings relief.

As human beings, at one point or the other in our lives, we have challenges that are more than we can bear, we carry burdens that are heavy and bigger than our strength, this makes us to become worn, weary, sleepless and restless. Jesus has given us the assurance that he is ready to carry our burdens solely without us bearing any, he wants to bear the burden alone, and he does not want us to go through any pain or stress. All he demanded from us is to LAY IT AT HIS FEET. He knows what to do with our burdens, no burden is heavy for him to carry, that is why he is calling us to bring any heavy burden we have to him and leave it for him. Don’t bother about how he’s going to carry the burden, never mind how he is going to give you rest, just lay your burden at his feet and leave it there. Don’t try to figure the way out, don’t think of an alternative, once you have given the burden to him leave it there, do not go back to pick your burden at his feet!

That mighty problem you are faced with will be replaced with his peace, provided it is left at his feet. He told us that the battle is not ours but his. Why bothering yourself fighting a battle that is not yours? Why cracking your brain thinking of how to carry a load that somebody is ready to carry for you? Don’t bear any needless pain, go to God in prayer and lay your heavy load at his feet so that he can give you his peace.

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ANY KINGDOM DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF SHALL NOT STAND

TEXT: MATTHEW 12:25

Jesus told the Pharisees that any kingdom divided against itself will be brought to desolation and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand. This scripture is affecting the body of Christ today, there is a saying that in unity we stand in divided we fall. Ministers of the word, evangelists, and preachers are moving away from the mandate God gave to His children. “Go ye into the world and preach the gospel.” Instead for the body of Christ to come together in unity to preach the word of God to bring the lost back to God, they are busy preaching “church, denomination, and self acclaimed superiority. The focus of their preaching is on what they do in their ministry, what they don’t do, how better they are than the rest of the preachers, what some preachers are doing wrong and things like that. It is as if they are competing for superiority among themselves, losing focus of what their primary calling is, “TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF JESUS” and not their various denominations or their local parishes.

I was watching a pastor on one of these Christian channels, all he did was to talk about this pastor and that pastor doing what is not good comparing to his own ministry. Imagine a preacher paying for airtime just to come and condemn, pull down and point accusing finger on fellow pastors! Some preachers come on air to ‘preach’ themselves and not the gospel, they make listeners to see that they are doing the right thing in their ministry, while the rest of the preachers are not doing things right. Making people to see them as if they are the best thing that can happen to humanity,  they come on media to condemn, compete and boost unnecessary ego and neglecting their primary purpose (To preach the gospel of Jesus).

Having said this, there are many genuine, heaven bound preachers that use their airtime to preach the undiluted word of God, without condemning, criticising, or pulling any fellow preachers down.

Jesus did not send us out to go and preach denomination, or our own various ministries, but one message, HIS LOVE TO HUMANITY.

It does not make sense to come on air just to tongue lash fellow believers, telling them what is right and what is not right. The scripture says we should not judge, if you think a preacher is preaching what is not right, you can come on air to preach what is right without condemning others. We are soldiers of Christ; we should not be fighting ourselves. If there is clash of interest, cold war, strife, and condemnation of one another, we can’t win souls to Christ. We should be united to work together to preach the gospel of our lord Jesus.

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Desert Times

There are times in our lives,
The Lord may lead us through
A lifeless, barren desert,
A time of testing too

But desert times can be
A place of special growth,
Where God can do a work
And let His healing flow

I know that in these times,
We don't feel God is there,
We feel so very distant
And lost without His care

But God is there beside you
To bring you to a place
Of cool, refreshing waters
Flowing with His grace

But for the present moment,
You maybe in a drought,
Don't give up on your faith
And don't you start to doubt

God is always faithful
And He will walk with you,
Through the darkest moments,
He'll be leading you.

© By M.S.Lowndes

AS A SEED BECOMES A VISION

God has planted a precious seed

Deep within our hearts,
The seed of a future vision
That He wants to impart

As we are quietly being prepared
To fulfil that which He's given,
We must gently nurture the seed
Until the full grown vision

God then begins to open doors,
Little by little, as we are led,
So each opportunity we have in Him
Is leading to what lies ahead

Then just at the time God chooses,
We walk into what He has called,
So we can be a blessing to others,
Sharing the love of the Lord.

© By M.S.Lowndes

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THE INNER BEAUTY

TEXT: LUKE 11:37-40

In our text, Jesus was correcting the Pharisee who was surprised that Jesus was eating without washing his hands. He said “Now then that you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.( Luke 11:39).

Beauty is a combination of qualities such as shape, colours, and a combination of qualities that pleases the intellect or moral sense. There is inner and outer beauty; outer beauty can be enhanced by dressing, hair do, and other lovely things you can adorn yourself with.

Inner beauty is what makes a person what he or she is; it has to do with your personality, your behaviour, attitude, and character. This includes kindness, sympathy, empathy, love, compassion, tolerance, humility, good heart, gentle spirit and so on. Inner beauty is a type of beauty that is on the inside, it cannot be seen physically like the outward beauty, but if you have it; it will reflect from your inside and radiate on your outside. God is more interested in your inner beauty than your outer beauty. But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7). Ironically, people pay more attention to their outer beauty than their inner beauty, they believe that it is their outward beauty that will make them to be acceptable in the society, but on the contrary, if you are beautiful, with expensive accessories to adorn your beauty, if you are not beautiful on the inside, you will not be accepted in the society.

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and wearing of gold jewellery and fine clothes, instead it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. (1 Peter 3:3-4).

Your outward beauty can fade or wear out as you advance in age, but your inner beauty can never fade or wear out. As important as your outward beauty is, so also is your inner beauty. If your outward beauty is perfect but your inward beauty is in question, your imperfect inner beauty will mar your perfect outer beauty.

The inner beauty does not go out of fashion and does not need replacement like the outer beauty. Your outward beauty cannot guarantee you heaven, but your inner beauty guarantees that. Your inner beauty can make people that come across you to turn to Christ. Pay more attention to develop your inner beauty. Be of help to people, be good and always ready to do what is right, show love to everybody and have empathy and compassion to people. Use your  inner beauty to win people to Christ.

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