THE LORD YOUR GOD

CLICK TO LISTEN TO AUDIO

    

Ex 20:1-6

Then God gave the people all these instructions*:

2 "I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.

3 "You must not have any other god but me.

4 "You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. 6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those* who love me and obey my commands.

NLT

After the great war of Gondor, General Marcus freed all the slaves from their Orchian Lords. He brought them back into His kingdom and made them legitimate citizens. ‘You now have a new lord; you are now children of the emperor and no one else, don’t worry, we will not leave you to suffer in the wilderness, you are all invited to our kingdom’ he told them this when he freed them.

 The first thing God tells His people here is that He is the Lord their God. Have you ever considered what that phrase really means, is He indeed your Lord and God?

When He is your lord, this means that you are His property and His responsibility. You are not for yourself, you now belong to someone to whom you are accountable.

Jesus saves us from the slavery and bondage of sin and the dominion of Satan. He brought us into a glorious liberty and did not leave us as orphans but adopted us and made us His responsibility.

It is our responsibility to be loyal citizen of His kingdom. We are to love God above and beyond all else. Anything or anyone who we love as much as Him becomes an idol/god.

Go into today knowing that you are God’s responsibility and that you are to love Him above all else. Believe in His grace to see you through the day.

PRAYER:  Father in heaven, I thank you for saving me and making me your own. I thank you for the grace you have given me. I pray that you fill me with your power to love you more, in Jesus name I pray. Amen

YEARLY BIBLE READING: Joshua 21-24 or LISTEN

LOVE FOR GOD

CLICK TO LISTEN TO AUDIO  

Acts 8:18-24

And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,

19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.

20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.

22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.

23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.

24 Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.

KJV

The Simon referred to here in our text was a sorcerer who was now a follower of Christianity. He was now a member of the church at Samaria but He was not yet truly converted. He was still bound by the love for money and power. Even though Simon was in the church, he was still bound by iniquity.

Unfortunately, there are people in the church today that are still bound by iniquity; their reality is still centered around sin because they have not fully come to an understanding of the kingdom of God.

Peter referred to this man’s malady as wickedness and this only reminds me of the verse of scripture that says the love of money is the root of all evil. My question for you today is ‘do you love God more; is your love for money stronger than your love for God?’

The kind of love we are to have for God in order to inherit His kingdom is such that we love Him with all our heart and mind. This means that He is the only one you love; every other person or thing you love is through Him, thankfully, He is love, He now tells you to love your neighbor as yourself. Contained in this instruction is that you first love yourself. So you are to love God, love yourself and love people. This love for God is what is strong enough to diffuse the toxic love for money that ultimately hinders the kingdom life in believers. You cannot love God and mammon.

Go into today knowing that you are God’s responsibility. He does not want you to have to love money; instead He wants you to use money as a tool to show your love for Him and your neighbor.

By Abraham Arigi Jr

YEARLY BIBLE READING= READ: Genesis 16-19 OR LISTEN

PRAYER

 

CLICK TO LISTEN TO AUDIO

Luke 22:46

And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.

KJV

Sandra was always finding it hard to pray because she did not enjoy the monologue of prayer, like many of us Sandra found prayer to be very boring because it sometimes felt as if she was talking to herself.

One of the reasons why prayer is so hard for many of us is because we think it is a monologue; a one way conversation. Many times we find it interesting to have a long conversation with a close friend and find it harder to spend the same quality of time praying.

Prayer is also a conversation with the best friend you can ever have; it is talking and listening to the lord Jesus who knows and understands you more than any friend.

It is time to change your perspective about prayer. Begin to see prayer for what it truly is; a heart to heart conversation with your beloved father, friend, counselor, teacher, healer, restorer…

Apart from the advantage of receiving valuable counsel and guidance from the Holy Spirit in the place of prayer, prayer is also a source of spiritual strength for the believer. When you pray, you are drawing strength that also helps you not to fall into temptation

Go into today with a renewed zeal to spend quality time talking with your best friend and listening to Him in reverence and in the atmosphere of His word and presence.

Prayer: Dear heavenly father. I thank you for today and for all that you have done for me. I ask that your Holy Spirit will crystalize in me a new perspective of prayer; That you help me spend much more time in your presence every day. Amen

By Abraham Arigi Jr

YEARLY BIBLE READING : READ: Romans 9-10 or LISTEN

UNITED WITH CHRIST JESUS

   

CLICK TO LISTEN TO AUDIO

Eph 2:1-7

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.* He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God's anger, just like everyone else.4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

NLT

Sin brought death to humankind but Christ came and brought life to us. The only reason you have spiritual life is because you are united with Christ who is the source of all life. There is nothing you can do that can possibly warrant this life.

Let your faith always be in the lord Jesus to sustain you because He is able to keep you and present you before the father blameless.

New rules and regulations cannot ultimately make you closer to God. Let your faith be in the lord Jesus and not in the potency of any rule or regulation. The work of the devil is to attempt to take us back to laws because he knows that is where his power is because all that is in the domain of the flesh and not the spirit. Do not make the mistake of falling for this because that would be undermining the work of Jesus; let your relationship with God be based on your faith in the lord Jesus Christ.

Go into today thankful to the lord for what He did for you on the cross. Thank Him because you are seated with Him in the realm that is above and beyond all other.

Prayer: My father in heaven, I thank you for your love and mercy. I pray I will see more of you and less of me daily; that I will take up my cross and follow you. In Jesus name I pray. Amen

Written by Abraham Arigi Jr

YEARLY BIBLE READING= Matthew 8-10 OR LISTEN (CLICK TO READ OR LISTEN)