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Every morning, we write up a blog on the daily devotion and walk through Scripture as applied to our daily living. This is an encouraging place to build faith and grow in God's Word. Join us as we seek wisdom, draw strength, and walk in His grace every day. Let us nourish our souls every morning with the Truth!
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March 2025 Bible Reflection
Click below to find the Bible Studies and reflections shared during March 2025
April 2025 Bible Reflection
Click below to find the Bible Studies and reflections shared during April 2025
May 2025 Bible Reflection
Click below to find the Bible Studies and reflections shared during May 2025
March
March 8th - Bible Study
John 20:18
"Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: 'I have seen the Lord!' And she told them that he had said these things to her."
This is a verse of great joy and celebration. Mary, who was deeply saddened by the death of christ, was the first person to see Jesus after His resurrection. She was standing outside the empty tomb, weeping, when she saw two angels. Then, Jesus appeared, but she did not recognize Him at first, mistaking Him for the gardener. When He called her by name, she realized it was Him and responded with “Rabboni” (Teacher). John 20:11-18
This is a great depiction of our walk with God. We often get overwhelmed by emotions and the chaos around us that even when God shows up we cannot recognize Him. How many time have we mistaken Jesus for a "Gardener" ? Our prayer today is God may renew our minds just as the Bible says in Romans. In that our thoughts, actions and tendencies are pleasing to Him. We pray that Jesus may open our eyes and ears. That we may see him through the loud chaos in this world we have been called to overcome. Amen.
" Let us Experience & Encounter Jesus Today"
Matthew
March 9th Bible Study
Matthew 1:20
"But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.’"
You can only imagine the pressure and stress Joseph was going through at this point. We live in a time where couples have divorced because of things minor than this. Matthew 1:19 says, "Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly." This seemed like the perfect remedy to the situation, you divorce and keep Mary from public discrimination Yet, it would be contrary to the will of God. When encountering difficulties , the human learned nature is to find a quick fix, Just as Joseph had. This is not what God desires of us
God wants us to seek Him, in times of fear and in times of Joy. This means your secret place with God is vital for your spiritual and physical life. We have been accustomed to a subconsciously driven analysis and "fix", all this by our own strength. So many times we go against the will of God for our lives by trying our own "Duct tape". In some cases , we even wage war on the same prayers we prayed. Let us strive to work in partnership with God. Our pray today is for God to purify our hearts and renew our minds. We pray for the restoration of the awareness of the kingdom of God and His plan for our lives. We pray that God may build in us an automatic desire to seek him in times of fear and times of Joy. Amen.
"May we put our trust in God even in times of fear"
March 10th Bible Study
Matthew 2:13
"When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘Get up,’ he said, ‘take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.’"
Obedience is better than sacrifice, these where the words of Samuel to King Saul. Immediate obedience to the word of God is vital to our survival and life. Obeying the voice of God and His direction for our lives allows us to take part in a much bigger plan apart from our singular lives. God gives us this opportunity to join Him in eternal workings of the universe, taking part in fulfilling prophecies and actualizing visions God has given to others. We can see how a single act of obedience connects the whole body of Christ. Matthew 2:14 says "So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt."(NIV).
It is important for us to put into action, without delay, the word of God. Isaiah 55:11 says "So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Take that step, whether it is opening a business, a school, volunteering in church or missions. God's Voice is always timely and comes with resources. Our prayer today is that God may work in our hearts that we may be able to trust in him completely. We pray that God may help us to take the first step and take it with boldness. We thank God for allowing us to take part in His eternal works. in Jesus name, Amen.
"God help us to obey you even in times of uncertainty"
March 11th Bible Study
Matthew 3:9
"And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham."
While John was baptizing people, he saw the pharisees approaching and spoke to them the words in Matthew 3:9, warning them that there assurance does not lie in Abraham. For those who were raised up in christian homes, you understand this phenomenon well, as do I. I remember as a kid, having this attitude of, "i don't need to know that, that's for my parents to think about. Well, turns out these pharisees were also childish in there walk with God. God desires us to build a personal relationship with Him
A tree can only withstand so much based on how deep its root. Just like a tree our spiritual thirsts after God, desiring to be deeper in God. "As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth after thee". This is a popular song/hymn that emphasizes the importance of our dependance on God. A personal relationship with God enables a seamless flow of wisdom, knowledge and understanding. The opposite is true as well. Our prayer today is that God may draw us close to Him and give us the strength and boldness to draw close to Him as well. We pray that our walk with God will not be affected by any form of shame from our peers or social groups, but that we will always seek him and seek to grow deeper in Him. Amen.
"May God give us the strength to create a personal relationship with Him"
March 12th Bible Study
Matthew 4:3-4
"The tempter came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
This took place once Jesus was baptized. If you remember, after Jesus got baptized the spirit of God rested on him in the form of a dove and a voice from heaven came down saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17. It is interesting that immediately God Himself has ascertained the identity of Jesus, the first question the devil asks is, "if you are the son of God". The predictable human reaction to this question would be, "I'll show you who I really am". More true today than ever. The devil is crafty and subtle, he knows that by putting doubt about ones identity, everything that follows would be a landslide towards his agenda. Jesus shows us how to act in this situations He says, my life does not come from fulfilling your requests but by every word that comes from God.
We have been given a "blueprint" if you will, a guide on overcoming temptation in life and all this comes from knowing where our life flows from, where our identity is. Our identity is not in the social class we are in, not in the politicians we support, not in the promotion we got and not in the "satisfaction" of fulfilling all requests. Our identity comes from God, our life depends on Him. Our prayer today is that God may reveal who to us who we are in you, give us the awareness and strength to be vigil even in times of subtle temptation. We pray that even as the war is raging that our focus will be on Jesus, the one we live through , in Jesus name, Amen.
"Let us not enter into the temptation of trying to prove our calling to all"
March 13th Bible Study
Matthew 5:6
"Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness [those who actively seek right standing with God], for they will be [completely] satisfied."
Our own righteousness has proven to be inadequate to fulfill the will of God for our lives. In fact without the intervention of the Holy Spirit and grace we would have never thought about the eternal life Jesus gives us. in Mathew 5:20 Jesus says, "Unless you do far better than the Pharisees in matters of right living, you won’t know the first thing about entering the kingdom." It is interesting that Jesus does not even say "unless you live like the pharisees". He says the bar is exceedingly higher than that. Friends, here is the good news we not called to live by our own strength but to live by the strength of Jesus with the help of the Holy Spirit
Unlike the pharisees our mode of operations is filled with much more than shia will and power. Greater men have fallen, trying to lean on there own strength. Jesus says is Matthew 5:13 "We are the salt of the earth". We have been given a mandate by God each of us, a unique calling and compulsion. In order for us to fulfill what Jesus talks about in Matthew 5:1-26 we ought to walk in righteousness, not our own righteousness but that of Jesus Christ. Through Him, by Him, and for Him. Our prayer today is that God may put in our hearts a contious desire to seek and thirst for Jesus, to hunger and thirst for righteousness. May God enable us to do alway do the nxt right thing. In Jesus name, Amen.
"May we hunger and thirst for you Jesus, may we thirst for righteousness"
March 14th Bible Study
Matthew 5:44
"But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,"
Jesus has set the perfect example for us to emulate as His disciples. He was fiercely persecuted by the pharisees, the towns men and his peers. Jesus says in John 15:20, "Remember [and continue to remember] that I told you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also."
according to Jesus persecution is expected, so our response to it should not be of shock and fear. Our acts should be just as the acts of Jesus, He responded with love and truth, with kindness and forgiveness, He even would allow those who persecute Him to question Him, knowing there intention is of ill nature
Many times we find ourselves in situations where our flesh wants to prove who is bigger, who is better than, who can fight, who is more clever or who is faster, but i have good news for you, You have NOTHING TO PROVE. We were dead in sin were saved by an undeserved love and grace, how can we not extend this same undeserved grace and love that we experienced to others. The story of the debtor comes to mind, his debts which were large were forgiven, yet he went and roughed up one who owed him even less. As a result he was put in Jail till he could pay the large debt. Our prayer today is that God may help us to extend this unmerited grace and love to those who persecute us, we pray that God may teach how to love those we are in strife with and that our hearts may always be pure. In Jesus name, Amen.
" Jesus teach us how to love and show Kindness to those who persecute us and those we are in strife with"
March 17th Bible Study
Matthew 7:24
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock."
The hardest things humans have been proven to do is
changing our hearts desires, especially when what we think know is so closely knitted in us and to our hearts. That is why why it is more hard to put the things we have learned through
God's revelation into practice, yet Jesus says whomever does that is a wise man building his house on a rock. Even if it is hard ,
keep pushing and making those changes in your life, for they might just save, YOUR LIFE. Jesus says in
John 15:2
"He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."
We should take this in two approaches. One, in our Christian life we are called to bear fruit, God has blessed us with resources and skills, equipped us with what we need for us to accomplish our purposes in His Kingdom. Two, let us take the same strategy Jesus implements in the kingdom in our lives as well, CUT OFF those places in your life that "bare no fruit", places that waste your energy and make you exhausted to put God's word into practice. Our prayer today is that God may help us to have enough strength to slay this places in our lives, whether sleeping times, friends, media, God you reveal to us. Help us to put into practice what you have revealed to all of us, Help us to to be faithful steward, In Jesus name, Amen.
" Adonai, Jesus Christ. Give us the strength and wisdom to put your word into practice "
March 18th Bible Study
Matthew 8:34
"And the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and as soon as they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their region."
In all superhero movies there is always a constant theme of a group of people who are not afraid of what the super hero is fighting but afraid of what the super hero can do. Then later on something always happens and they beg the superhero to come and protect them and the cycle begins again. Sadly we have likened Jesus to such a "superhero". Many times in our lives we cannot understand what is happening, we want to have the steering wheel controls but we do not know where we are going to. When Jesus comes into our live and tries to give us direction, our inherent human nature wants to fight to death to have the reigns of our bodies yet we do not know who we are, where we're going or why we're doing what we're doing presently.
Even the disciples had this same fear after Jesus calmed the storm with a single command. The difference between the disciples and us is that, the disciples learned to trust him more while we participate heavily in transactional faith, convenient Christianity and situational faith. Interesting thing is this is our default nature, "dead in sin " as the bible puts it. We have to be intentional if we want to trust Jesus more and draw into His presence daily. Our secret place with Him has to be essential and consistent. Our Prayer today is for Jesus to work in our hearts and minds, we pray that God you may place a longing for you in our hearts. We also pray that Jesus you may teach us to trust you more even when we do not understand what you are doing in our lives. Give us the strength to seek you daily. In Jesus name, Amen.
" May we learn how to trust Jesus more even in our uncertainties "
March 19th Bible Study
Matthew 9:36
"When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion and pity for them, because they were dispirited and distressed, like sheep without a shepherd."
The Bible says in Ephesians 2:1 "As or you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,"Jesus did not come because of anything righteous we did or any amazing life someone lived it is in spite of our state"dead in sin" in spite of our ignorance, arrogance, and mischievousness. Jesus demonstrated the apex nature of compassion by becoming our shepherd, we were "distressed and dispirited". We were unable to save our selves by our own understanding . Jesus says in Matthew 9:13 "Go and learn what this [Scripture] means: ‘I desire compassion [for those in distress], and not [animal] sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call [to repentance] the [self-proclaimed] righteous [who see no need to change], but sinners [those who recognize their sin and actively seek forgiveness].”
We have to recognize that we need salvation, that is the first and most crucial step in our walk of faith. We need continues guidance and help from Jesus in order for us to live a righteous life that God designed us to live. Jesus who calls and qualifies will sustain us through it all. We need to put our faith in Him completely. not just know Him like the demons do. We need to completely rely and depend upon Him and acknowledge Him as our Lord and savior. Jesus always sees the faith in us. Our prayer today is for God to draw us near to Him as He increases our faith in Him. We thank you Jesus for Loving us even when we were dead in sin. You are the only one for us Jesus, you are the only one we adore and praise. You are our sustainance lord. We pray for strength to always seek you even when we are distressed and dispirited, In Jesus name, Amen.
" Thank you for showing compassion to us who were dead in sin."
March 20th Bible Study
Matthew 10:32-33
32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.
33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven."
The 21st Century has been a roller coaster of discoveries and innovations. Industries came up and new forms of energy got discovered. One thing has cast an overbearing arm in society and that is "RELATIVE TRUTH". We have operationalized this motion so much that it affects how we testify our faith and how comfortable we are to do so if one among us is not a believer. When Jesus was sending out the disciples in Matthew 10, He repeatedly said, "fear not, do not be afraid". Obviously times have changed, our fear now is not getting beheaded or crucified. We have done one even better and metamorphosed it to "CANCEL CULTURE". Unconsciously we filter our words surgically so that we do not sound weird or offend our friends, workmates, neighbors or even family members. Question is who gives you among those gives you eternal life or allows you to work in eternal purpose. I' say none or in Swahili "NUNGE". meaning zero.
Jesus says in Matthew 10:28 "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.". Our eternal life is on the line, we cannot afford to shy away from boldly speaking of Jesus. Whether it is through song, conversation, art, media, dance or skit, we must without shame proclaim the word of God just as he without shame saved us from sin. John 3:16 talks about a love from God to us, a love that we will probably never fathom in this life. God showed us just how much He loved us, who were undeserving, sheep without a shepherd, ignorant and deserving eternal damnation. We who proclaim love for Jesus in our hearts should be able to publicly demonstrate our love for God. Our love for Jesus has to have an action bearing. Our prayer today is that you may give us the strength Jesus, the strength to acknowledge you publicly, without fear, with no hesitation just as you did for us. give us the strength to demonstrate our love for you. In Jesus name, Amen.
" Jesus we will boldly acknowledge your name, even in the face of adversity and critiscim."
March 21st Bible Study
Matthew 11:28
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]."
Most Christians in this modern age
fall into two extremes. One, where they have no lines between God's word and the world, allowing themselves to be overran by secular values. Two, where they hyper focus on works and regulations that it becomes ritualistic. This verse talks about the latter. During Jesus' time, you had the pharisees who would have a strong emphasis on there set standards
(rules & legalities of religion) that many felt drained by. Funny thing is most of them could not keep the talked of rules and rituals themselves. This emphasis on ritualistic measures lead to the scenario that Jesus talks about when telling the parable of the stranger, one who was attacked by bandits. Many of those you expected to help walked by on the other side because if they touched the man, they would be "decommissioned" for a week or so, in the name of touching those who were unclean.
You can see how such strenuous regulations would lead some out of the body, and those who are out, even further. Jesus comes and calls those who have been burdened by such empty ritualistic practices to Him
The Pharisees had great emphasis on ritualistic rules and regulations but
completely disregarded a relationship with Jesus. That is why Jesus call us to Himself, Jesus sees the empty works being done, rituals that provide no peace but burden, because they do not drive towards a relationship with Jesus. A warning was given on such acts. Jesus says in
Matthew 7:22-23
22"Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’
23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’". Without a relationship with Jesus all of which we are doing falls under the empty rituals box. Christianity is not just about rules and regulations. In fact, it is not a religion,
IT IS A WAY OF LIFE that Jesus calls us to live with Him through Him and by Him. Such a privilege we have been given, we the undeserving.
Our prayer today is that for Jesus to help us to build a relationship with Him. We come to you Jesus surrendering our prejudices on religion and our knowledge of whatever we think we know to you. We receive the rest you give us. In Jesus name, Amen.
" Jesus we surrender all that we think we know and come into Your Presence. We receive your rest."
March 22nd Bible Study
Matthew 12:25
“25Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand."
In this Verse, Jesus was replying to pharisees who had accused Him of using the power of satan to cast out Demons. The Pharisees were saying "it is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons that Jesus cast out demons"Verse 24. The reply Jesus gave shows how to build structure and Kingdoms. In Matthew 12:26, Jesus goes on to explain that "If satan casts out satan then he is divided against himself". Here we see that in order for any Kingdom or organization to work, there must be a united agenda, a unified course. Some members of the modern day church have taken it upon themselves to cripple every advancement and slow down any progress with judgement for the sake of judgment. This people criticize just for the sake of criticism with no pointed target or agenda, let alone a solution to there criticism. This is done consciously as well us unconsciously. This we must be aware of, both within ourselves and within the church. We must keep eye for such, both internally and externally, so that we do not allow ourselves or those around us to become vessels of the enemy, used to divide the Church.
Another place we see this division is in the Values than our communities adhere to. Some Churches and Pastors have bowed down to this religion of "RELATIVE TRUTH". This is obviously unbiblical as Jesus says in John 14:16 "Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” This contradiction in church values across the board divides the church and weakens the people in it. The church of Christ is to be one Body with one mind focused on Jesus and guided by Jesus. WE CANNOT NEGOTIATE WITH THE ENEMY ON OUR VALUES. Jesus says in Matthew 12:45 45"Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and make their home there; and the last condition of that man becomes worse than the first. So will it also be with this wicked generation.”. Every time we give ground to the enemy, we allow a worser spirit to enter than that which was in before. Our prayer today is that God may help us to search our heart, find any form of sin, anything that may be used to divide our christian communities and help us to remove them from us. We also pray that God may dwell in us and fill that space in our hearts that we may have no room for any other spirits to come in and corrupt. In Jesus name, Amen.
" Search our hearts Jesus and cleanse us. Fill us with your Holy Spirit"
March 24th Bible Study
Matthew 13:55
“We’ve known him since he was a kid. He’s the carpenter’s son. We know his mother, Mary. We know his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas.”
Jesus was teaching in His hometown in Nazareth when the people who were there became shocked at His wisdom and works. They begun talking about how they knew Him, His, brothers and sisters, and His parents. They then took offense with Jesus because of this.
Many of us get lost in our pride, envy and selfishness. You can probably tell from the nuance of verse 55 that this people were Jealous, envious and were not happy that this "person" they've seen growing is talking to them in so much wisdom.
In doing so they allowed the enemy to close their hearts and close their eyes as well. They could not recognize the Truth, Savior, Redeemer who was standing right in front of there very own eyes.
Let us not allow ourselves to be filled with Jealousness, envying and selfishness. We have to keep our minds and hearts pure so that unlike those who took offense, we are able to see Jesus and the works of God in our lives.
It goes on to say in Matthew 13:58 "that Jesus did not do many works there because of their unbelief".
Our own emotions can be a hindrance to the works of God in our lives. We might be the very same people sending the people God has sent to us away just because we feel they are not qualified to be in that position or to talk to us with "wisdom".
Another thing that occurred here is that those who took offense had became to familiar with Jesus that they subconsciously/consciously put Him in a mental box framework. When Jesus spoke and taught with great wisdom, this mental box might have just implode, causing cognitive dissonance.
The most common way people deal with cognitive dissonance is to make the other person or thing seem less desirable. We can see this in the people referring to Jesus as a son of a carpenter.
This ultimately caused them to have unbelief that affected there blessings
Our prayer today is that God you may help us not to be Familiar with you, help us to have pure emotions and desires. Teach us how to think and reason that we may not be victim of our own hands, costing us blessings you had prepared for us. In Jesus name, Amen.
"Jesus help us not to have pure emotions and not to be too familiar with you"
March 25th Bible Study
Matthew 14:26
“When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were scared out of their wits. 'It's a ghost!' they said, and cried out in fright.”
Human biology has had a never ending chain of discoveries. One thing that is fairly evident is our eyesight and it's limitations. We have a sub-conscious tendency to analyze what we see in the context of what happening around us. This works well in memory creation but it fails when it comes to the things of the Kingdom.
The disciples were on a boat that was in the center of heavy winds; beaten by the winds. In most high stress situations like this, humans tend to be in survival mode. This might explain why when Jesus neared the disciples, they saw Him as a threat to them.
You can imagine the order of events, you are in a boat being beaten by heavy waves, the wind is against you. In this seemingly life ending ordeal you see someone walking on water. The most logical conclusion for some of us might be ; it's the grim reaper, or a ghost coming to claim our lives, more so in this perilous situation.
Sad thing is that most of us try to analyze the things of the Kingdom with our naked eyes. In doing so, we continually miss and wrongly judge the presence of god in our lives. Open the eyes of our hearts Lord, teach us how to see you.
We might be expecting Jesus to show up in our lives in only a certain way disregarding the potential for him to come in another way. We will never be able to predict the workings of God, we are the clay He is the potter.
Do not be afraid when God shows up in you job, family, relationship, life in a way you did not expect. May God clean our hearts of any prejudice and help us to see Him for who He is, not through the lens of our limited and compromised eyesight.
Our prayer today is for God to clean our eyes, remover any prejudices we may have of his workings and ways. Help us not to be afraid when you show up in our situations. Teach us to see you for who you are, teach us to always have faith in you even in trying times. In Jesus name, Amen.
"Clean our eyes Lord, remove any prejudice in our judgement and perception of You"
March 26th Bible Study
Matthew 15:3
“He answered and said to them, ‘And why do you violate and transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?’”
One evident quality of modern times is the radical nature of swaying morality. A great example of this is the holocaust, which was a collective effort by a region that believed totally in the righteousness of their cause.
Those who believed the contrary were looked upon as outcasts and betrayers of this "moral" cause. A forward jump in time to now will show you the very opposite. We now live in a world where if you were to talk in support of the ideals of the holocaust you would be looked upon as an outcast and betrayer of the current moral cause.
All this to say HUMAN MORALITY HAS ALWAYS BEEN SWAYING, it's always been on a pendulum; driven by popular opinion. This if any should be a great reason for people to use Biblical standards of morality which do not sway. They have stood the test of time and pressure within and without.
Mathew 15:3 Jesus answered the pharisees after they ridiculed the disciple for not obeying the elderly tradition. The pharisees however were well known for quaking the rules whenever it fit them best. Some would all out break the rules in secret, that is why in Mathew 15:7 Jesus calls them hypocrites.
It is very easy to cave in to the desires of the time but in doing so we would be joining in with the world in a lost forever changing moral compass. some might even call it "social correctness", "cancel culture" or "political correctness".
Point being, we cannot and must not get into this notion of "adaptation of the current values to make doctrine more palatable". Jesus is all sufficient and all knowing we have been given everything we need to be effective in this world. The best way to cripple ourselves is if we start diluting our tools and negotiating with the standards.
Remember what the serpent said to eve? "Did God really say"? Let us not get caught in a loosing battle of compromising. CHRIST ABOVE CULTURE, CHRIST DEFINES CULTURE, CHRIST IS OUR CULTURE.
Our prayer today is that God may help us to fight the good fight just as Paul says, we pray for strength and awareness of anyplace we have allowed our own personal values to outweigh the values of the kingdom. We pray that God you may help us to put you above all in our lives, that you will be the definer of our values and culture, that you will be the one who ultimately defines us. In Jesus name, Amen.
"Jesus help us not to be swayed by culture and tradition; swayed away from You"
March 27th Bible Study
Matthew 16:23
"But Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on [things of] God, but on [things of] man.’"
Why am I alive, what is my purpose, do I have purpose? These are the main questions in todays world. We can se how we ended up with such high depression rates, suicide rates and an increase in substance dependence.
Knowing ones purpose/calling gives you an objective bigger than yourself, bigger than the time frame you exist in. Only Jesus gives us this kind of purpose; purpose in which we are privileged to take part in the eternal workings of God. Knowing your calling not only allows you to share in such [eternal workings] but also give you a pathway to do it in. You will be able to know what to do, what ideas to accept, what ideas to refuse and how to manage your daily activities.
In Matthew 16:23, Jesus rebukes Peter, telling him to put his mind on the things of God rather than the things of man. Peter, who like any good friend, was literally trying to preserve the life of Jesus. What he did not understand at that point is that he was going in direct opposition of the will of God. We all know know that Jesus had to die to not only fulfill the will of God, but to save we who were dead in sin, the undeserving.
If you remember the scene when Jesus was getting arrested, you can see Peter was still determined to protect Jesus at all costs whether it was cutting someone's ear or standing in defiance to the will of God.
We also, in many ways, have made defiant stands in the opposition of God's will for our lives. We do this by opposing His will for us, as well as opposing His will in the lives of our friends, neighbors, workmates and family.
The best way not to fall victim to this slippery slope is to set our minds on the things of God, know the will of God for your life and for the lives of those who seek council from you. Only by this, can we stere away from self sabotage. Let us not be stumbling blocks to God's will.
Our prayer today is that God may reveal His will for us, reveal His will for our children and those around us. Help us to set our minds on you Jesus, that we may not be compromised by the cares of this world. that we may not stand against your will thinking we know better. Teach us how to seek you Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.
"Teach us to seek you Jesus, that we may not stand against your will for our lives and the lives of those around us"
March 28th Bible Study
Matthew 17:17
"Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me."
For a generation that believes in crystals, toad spirits, manifestation and plethora, we tend to lack faith really first when presented with the right circumstances. Some of us us have no faith in totality. This may be caused by a past situations where you might have prayed and you felt like you were not answer, or the answer you were given was not what you are wanted.
Truth is many times we prophecy faith, it tends to be in the view of what we desire, what our flesh [that is dead in sin] wants. Our faith has to be according to the will of God for our lives. The best example is in 1st Kings 17:1 which says, "Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, 'As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.'"
If Elijah was not in the will of God he would have had faith in his word but nothing would have happened. Since what he spoke was in the will of God, the drought lasted 3 and a half years as in 1 Kings 18:41-45.
Here is the thing, we cannot have faith for the sake of it, faith has to serve purpose, in our case that is God's will. Our faith must always reflect the sovereignty of God.
Very different from the secular view of faith: faith is not a tool to manipulate God's hand in a way that [we think] favors our lifestyle. Faith is a great tool for us to join in partnership with God's will. Joining in fulfilling the prayer we make, "May your Kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven"~Matthew 6:10
Jesus Continues on to say in Matthew 20 "if you have faith like a mustard seed you will say to this mountain move and it will move and nothing will be impossible for you"
This power does not come from us or our righteousness but only from God. We are continuously privileged to join in His workmanship
Our prayer today is that may teach us to rely and depend on Him in totality. teach us Lord how to take part in your sovereign will. Increase our faith in you to do what you say. Help us to keep up the good fight and grow consistently. Make us aware of your will for our lives and the lives of those we steward, In Jesus name, Amen
"Jesus help us to have faith in you and not ourselves that we may fulfill your will and not ours."
March 29th Bible Study
Matthew 18:33
"Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?"
Have you ever given someone space to enter during traffic only for them not to extend the same to others ? It really opens my mind to the blinded selfish driven nature of us, as humans. Jesus talked of a parable between a debtor who owed 10,000 to his master. The debtor is forgiven of the debt but when he goes out and meets someone who owed him 100, he refuses to hear his please or forgive him just as he was forgiven. He in fact sends him to jail. This leads to the master finding out and sending the debtor in prison till he pays the 10,000.
In Matthew 18:35 Jesus likens this to the Kingdom saying "My heavenly Father will also do the same to [every one of] you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart." Humans have a tendency to forget the good and remember the bad. We tend to forget that we ourselves could not enter the kingdom. It was only through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross and unmerited grace and mercies that we are able to enter the Kingdom.
We ought to extend this same grace and love in our workplaces, families and day to day life. Forgive that person who stepped on you in the public transport. Forgive your coworker who is always loud and on your case. Forgive you parents if they did not show up. Forgive your family if they had forsaken you. Forgive your friend who betrayed you. Forgive your friends who lied to you. WE WERE DEAD IN SIN, we greatly violated and sinned against God. IN HIS MERCIES , HE FORGAVE US. LET US FORGIVE OTHERS AS WELL
Our prayer today is that God may give the strength and boldness to forgive those around us, give us the courage to reconnect with those who we banished from our lives because of anger. teach us to be like you, teach us to forgive. In Jesus name, Amen
"Jesus, teach us to forgive just as you forgave us, the underserving"
March 31st Bible Study
Matthew 19:24
"Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
I can do it by myself, I am independent, I am self sufficient. This attributes [which are good] have been overdriven to the [current] state where society preaches a religion of independence and dependence on your own ability; clearly, still remaining dependent to your ability, wealth, status etc. You can see a great with the current decade and prior one, children where raised as part of the communities but in our current state, the Government has sadly taken up the role of not only the communities but some parents as well. Obviously this leaves young kinds insufficiently coached.
The same is evident for those who trust in riches rather than trusting in God. It is IMPOSSIBLE to achieve eternal gains and merit using ONLY mortal resources. Jesus says in Matthew 19:24 "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, FOR SUCH BELONGS BELONGS TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN."
It is only if we surrender the mediocre, inadequate and fleeting "knowledge" we think we know, that we will be able to understand some things in God which only those who depend on Him can. This dependance has to be a complete, all round, all encompassing and total dependance. It should never be just a simple ascension or knowledge of. We see this in James 2:19 "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder."
Complete devotion, Total dependance and Absolute submission. These are what Jesus requires of us. sOur treasure is not docked here on earth where moth and dust rage their wrath but our treasure is in heaven; in the immortal, eternal everlasting presence of God.
Clearly there is a sacrifice demanded of each of us. This not being an exception as those who walked before us [12 Disciples of Jesus] paid it to the tune of there lives. That may be required for some of us today but to most of us, our sacrifice might be waking up at 5am to pray for your family; giving in your local community or ministering to those who are incarcerated. The flesh will always demand self preservation but it is upon us to keep up the good fight and await for our crowns in Heaven Just as Paul said.
Our prayer today is that God may help us to die to self, we pray for strength to cut of our coping mechanisms and come to the original source of life. Jesus we pray that You may us to submit in totality; to you and Your will for our lives. In Jesus name, Amen
"Give us the strength to come to You Jesus, the original source of life"
April
April 1st Bible Study
Matthew 20:27
"And whoever wishes to be first [among you] must be your willing and humble slave;"
Influence, money and power, this three would probably go down in history as the best assassins of men & women. There is an undisputed public pressure to be the best among your peers, the best in the office or even more, the best in you class. Methods of rating this "BESTIFICATION" would be measuring how much influence you have, what can you afford and how many people are at your beck and call. All this would be consciously or unconsciously geared towards you being a leader of your "pack".
Jesus talk about this in Mathew 20:25 "25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,". This completely throws the human "SCALE OF POPULARITY" out the window.
We all act in roles of leadership, supervision or facilitating. The human inclination is to always want to use your influence and "power" to make yourself bigger or greater [according to the image in your mind]. This leads to difunctional teams and groups where the leader has metamorphosed into a fire breathing dictator who is ruling his kingdom with an iron fist. This leads to the dictator having a subconscious fear of loosing his influence over his team; gradually slipping into a more insecure and feisty character. As we all have seen, countries with this kind of dictatorial leader eventually breaking down, same with the team.
Jesus calls all leaders to be servant leaders, not dragging people across but lifting them up to there full potential this right here is what makes leadership a complex task. It demands us to know and interact closely with those we facilitate, steward, lead or supervise. This also calls for a more involved approach in leadership, not just dictating and taking off but availing yourself to help, explain more and better the team.
The influence or "power" that comes with leadership should not lead to a self-fulfilling means to end. This influence should be used to elevate others not ourselves. It should be used as a tool for humility, service, and putting others before ourselves. Finally Jesus says in Matthew 20:27 "whoever wishes to be a leader must subject themselves to the humility of servant leadership". Thomas Reid says "a chain is only as strong as its weakest link". Same with humans, a team is only as strong as its weakest member. As a leader it is our duty to always make sure our teams grow holistically, by the help of Jesus.
Our prayer today is that God may help us be servant leaders, we pray that we may not use our roles and influence to be overloads but to elevate those we facilitate and lead. Jesus we pray for strength and guidance in this, for only you know what our teams, workmates and those we supervise need. In Jesus name. Amen.
"Seek to elevate others not yourself"
April 2nd Bible Study
Matthew 20:43
"Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof."
It is my right, I deserve it, the universe owes me this and that. Most of our current society has embraced this three ideologies in their hearts. This ideologies make one work and walk in a very ignorant and uncouth way. This has sipped into workspaces, classrooms and sadly even churches. I deserve that promotion he was given, the company owes me a raise, the church owes me respect.
Jesus talks about this perilous heart posture in Matthew 21:33-44. The arable of the tenants at the vineyard demonstrates the evil desires of the human heart, a heart that will not give to one who owes it but demands what it thinks its owed. This is a heart that is prepared to kill and stone people to death just so that it can remain in someone else's property vineyard] even without producing fruit for the master.
We have been privileged to be stewards on earth of what God has give to us. Our heart posture has to be of servanthood. We who deserved eternal death for committing sins to an eternal God were given mercy and called to serve. Let us not reach a place where we think we deserve anything God is giving to us, all of his blessings are a a privilege to us and we hold them [blessings] as such.
Our prayer today is that God may help us to be humble and faithful stewards, producing fruit in His vineyard. We pray for wisdom and strength on how to manage our responsibilities in ways that please God. Jesus help us to be fruitful servants in you Kingdom. In Jesus name, Amen.
"Jesus, help us to be fruitful in and out of season"
April 3rd Bible Study
Matthew 22:14
"For many are called, but few are chosen."
Society believes that a relationship with God is damnation to free will. It believes that God is not only forcing people who cannot resist His power into His Kingdom, but also locking out those who want to enter the Kingdom. This is eons away from the truth. The truth of the matter is all human beings, and I repeat ALL humans fight God on every turn. It is only by God's mercy that we are receiving eternity and redemption instead of what we deserve [Hell & eternal justice for sinning to an eternal God]
In Matthew 22:24, Jesus tells a parable of how God invites and call many into His kingdom only for them to resist vehemently. Some even go as far as killing the servants. This is evident now more than ever. We have seen a rising number of christian deaths from the disciples up until now. Now you might say I don't kill anyone, but the truth is you're methods have just evolved, from outright crime to subtle things which are hard to pick up. May God reveal this unconscious walls we have set up in our hearts and lives.
The master then ends up bringing everyone who was in the streets that he could find, feeding them expensive drinks and meals. Living on earth, our eyesight has been corroded and accustomed to certain lenses of certification or importance. We tend to see the things of God as a "by the way" to our "very important" life. We have forgotten that our lives belong to Him, the earth and all that is within it. Let us not sell our eternity for mortal satisfaction. We the sheep know the voice of our shepherd. When He calls us let us respond immediately in obedience
Our prayer today is that God may reveal places in our lives where we have set up walls and are actively fighting his will and word for our live, we pray that Jesus you may reveal to us more and more of you and that you welcome us to the great feast you have prepared for us, all this we pray, in Jesus name, Amen
"Jesus we accept your calling for our lives and we welcome you in our hearts"
April 4th Bible Study
Matthew 23:37
"Jerusalem! Jerusalem! Killer of prophets, abuser of the messengers of God! How often I’ve ached to embrace your children, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings—and you wouldn’t let me."
Human intelligence will always want to crown itself king over all intelligence, more so to those around be it your friends, workmates or family. We always want to be the most intelligent in the group. Unfortunately this pursuit of group recognition comes at a heavy cost; CONFORMITY. In order for you to be the best in your circle you have to know the latest public whim, songs and be "politically correct" to the ever changing politics.
We can all read Matthew 23:37 and say, "me ? i would never kill the messengers God sent to me". Truth is some who would commit this atrocious acts were sub-continuously/continuously seeking public validation one that came at a cost of that kind of conformity.
Countless number of times people have told me "No one deserves hell, Humans have been wronged by God or God is unjust. This is so funny coming from us [the creation dead in sin, that resists God on every turn]
Let us not reject the messengers, prophets, specific situations and people God sends to us, we might be directly fighting His warm embrace. Truth is if we are not covered in the embrace of God and filled by His spirit then we will be covered by something else and filled by other spirits
Genesis 19:5 We all remember the story of the angels who went to visit lot and as they were eating, the whole town came to lots door and demanded the "visitors to come out" so that they may "know them [rape them]". The state of our current world is so deplorable, anyone using this times to judge their eternal intelligence is by definition lacking in intelligence.
Conformity not only [by definition] leads to the death of the conformer, but it also leads to the death of the conformers purpose, life, goals, and vision. This is because they have taken up the mob mentality and are now defined by the current whim of society. We can clearly see how this [conformity] has now become it's own religion. In fact it is more of a cult as it seeks separation from what defines you [family, parents and ultimately God]. This is how some are able to so blindly commit spiritual suicide and hang their heads on the altar of "this is what 9 out of 10 people say in my class so they are right"
Our prayer today is that God you may open our eyes, we want to see you Jesus, we pray that you may give us the strength to resist conforming to the current times, help us not to be so blind to chase away those you send to us, help us not to so end our spiritual lives on the altar of public satisfaction, In Jesus name, Amen.
"Jesus help us not to blindly commit spiritual suicide on the altar of public satisfaction"
April 5th Bible Study
Matthew 24:4
“Jesus said, ‘Watch out for doomsday deceivers.’”
On TV, radio, magazines and movies, we have seen a plethora of false teachers now more than ever. During this period of time we have also seen an increase in independent churches. Now this is not necessarily a bad thing, the only place where the rain starts beating is when the independent church does not report; is not supervised or overseen by any other pastor or church apart from themselves.
2+2 = 4 same in this case. The result of having no overseeing or supervising pastor or church apart from the church itself is very predictable. It is like a chain that is not linked to anything, it will always follow the whims and movements of the constant beating and pulling by anyone.
This leads to a league of churches that have what i like to call "swaying morality". churches like this can easily switch up their doctrinal beliefs to fit into whatever sphere they would like to at whatever point in time.
THE PREDICTABLE RESULT?
Heresy; living, breading and breathing in the walls of the church festering into every ministry and eventually every home.
THE OTHER PREDICTABLE RESULT?
Cultic churches that no longer align with the beliefs of the church of Jesus but there own beliefs and traditions.
In Act 17:11 Paul talks about the Berean community saying, “They were treated a lot better than the Thessalonian Jews. They were open-minded and willing to listen, and they studied the Scriptures carefully every day. They checked up on Paul and Silas’ story to see if they were really so.”
It is important to always put the Scriptures against Scriptures, whether they appear ion doctrine books, a sermon or meetings, put it against scripture and ask god for revelation.
In Matthew 24 Jesus talks about the last days, what to expect, the signs and eventually the coming of man after the Gospel ahas been proclaimed throughout the whole world. Jesus warn us about false teachers and prophets who might even deceive the very elect
Let us have a personal relationship with God, the scriptures and Jesus Christ.
Our prayer today is that God may open our hearts and our spiritual eyes that we may not fall prey to false teachers, give us the strength and commitment to read the word for ourselves that we may know you for ourselves as well as your will for us, In Jesus name, Amen.
"God help us to have an honest & personal relationship with you"
April 7th Bible Study
Matthew 25:21
“Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and share your master’s joy."
Society owes me. this has become a very popular lane of current media, news and some public narrative. Mathew 25:14-30 talks about the parable of the talents, 5 given to one, 2 to another and 1 to another. The Master then departs and returns at a later date to find the one with 5 now has 10, the one with 2 now has 4. The rain started hitting when the one with 1 started giving his desertion on why he thought the best plan was burying what he was given and giving it back to the master when He comes back.
The Master is disappointed and says in Matthew 25:26 "His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant’" He then proceeded to take the 1 talent and gave it to the one who had 10 then sent away the "lazy and slothful servant " (Verse 30) "into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The hardest thing in any project or profession is to START, for most of us this initial input seems like a daunting task. Because of this we end up circumventing and choosing what to us will be the easiest way or path to execution. This escape of the true nature of ones calling places us into the same ship as the 3rd servant who buried his talent; unfruitful and lazy.
We can pick three things from this, one is we have all been given talents [ (verse 15)TO EACH ACCORDING TO HIS OWN ABILITY] Comparison of your asset gallery with someone else's does not help. The Ten commandments talk about the sin of covetousness. In verse 15 we see again that the talents God has given us to take care of are within our Modus Operandi. God has given us everything we need [including the Holy Spirit] for us to be fruitful with what He has left us to steward
The second thing we can pick up is stewardship. We have been called to be faithful servants and stewards of the masters property. It is a joy & privilege to be trusted with the Masters property. We have to be professional and diligent in all that we do, sharing the gospel effectively in our various walks of life, guiding our families in the way of the Lord and serving in Church in the capacity God places in your heart.
Finally, the third thing is being fruitful. Jesus seems very deliberate on this issue as He has talked about it a number of times in the Bible, referencing the masters vineyard and productivity. We have been given much, much is expected of us and much we will produce.
If there where ten lines going out of a transformer, and one of those lines goes to a house that's been abandoned for 30 years, you would say cut the power coz it is being wasted. Same with one who does not bear fruit, that which you had been given will be taken away and given to someone else who bear fruit so that the energy can be used at the right place and not wasted.
Our prayer today is that God you may make us fruitful, faithful steward & faithful servants, we thank you for your grace, mercies & Your sustaining love. We pray that you will remove any blinds we have placed on our abilities, either fear of ridicule, peer pressure or public opinion replace all of that with a fire for Your truth and Your Kingdom, In Jesus name, Amen
"Well done good & faithful servant"
April 8th Bible Study
Matthew 26:41
"Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Not by our strength, intelligence or power, do we walk in Christ. It is only by the grace and strength of God that we walk the Christian lifestyle. Am sure we all at some point were told the beauty of becoming a christian being saved from hell, a life free or difficulty, a life free of hardships and problems. For many of us we came into the Body of Christ through that lens expecting that lifestyle.
The true walk of a christian may have come as a shock to many of us, experiencing intense spiritual struggles, having a heightened awareness of your fleshly desires and you need to kill them, as well as fighting constantly with your Body on every thing that relates to your growth in the Body of Christ.
Alistair Begg says it well "we are a walking battlefield". RC Sproul does an amaizing series expounding on this in three veins, The battle with the flesh, The Battle with the world and the Battle with the devil. We are always fighting even when we are asleep and unaware; there is still a war going on.
This is why your prayer life must be consistent, effective and honest [with God]. God calls us to a life of purity a life which Jesus lived and is inviting to live in through faith in Him. Our flesh, the world and the devil will always fight this. We should never be caught lacking away from the presence of God.
Apart from being a tool for war, prayer also serves as a communication channel between us and God, knowing His purpose for us and what He desires of us. This is similar to the Israelites when they were being guided by the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day. If God speaks and we do not hear then we will keep driving aimlessly and miss our connections.
Our prayer today is that God you may heighten our prayer life, give us the strength to dedicate time and effort intentionally to pray, talk to you and know your more, we just want to be where you are, dwelling daily in your presence. In Jesus name Amen.
"We just want to be where you are, dwelling daily in your presence"
April 9th Bible Study
Matthew 27:25
"And all the people answered and said, 'His blood be on us and on our children.'"
Steal, Kill and Destroy, those are the three things the enemy comes to do [John 10:10]. In Mathew 27 we see the account of Jesus from the betrayal by Judas to the Crucifixion on the cross. A question one would ask is, why such a strong hatred for Jesus when all He did benefited the people greatly ? There must be something else, a hidden compulsion pushing the priests, scribes and the crowd.
Ephesians 6:12 says "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." We have to be aware of how we make our decision, who influences us and if it is pleasing to God.
In Mathew 27:25 we see how the people had been blinded by there own mortal desires. They would rather release Barabbas, a notorious criminal with a record; than Jesus Christ. Am sure reading this now most of us are like how come the people could not clearly see the difference. Truth is we are at the same place they were right now.
Are there any places in your life where you have aloud the enemy to blind you, closing doors God had chosen for you, relationships; all this because of mortal desires that do not please God. In ancient Philosophy there are five poisons mentioned, greed, anger, ignorance pride and envy. all this directly poisons the human they dwell in, with a deadly dosage.
The enemy is always looking for opportunities to compromise you mind, stand and intelligence; more so on the things of God. We have to be vigilant. 1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."
Our prayer today is that God you may open our eyes, help us not to be blinded by the enemy, help us not to be blinded by our own selfish desires. We pray that you may draw closer to us and be our shepherd and guide, our very present help, In Jesus name, Amen
"Open the eyes of my heart Lord "
April 10th Bible Study
Matthew 28:20
"Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
There is no greater joy, privilege and hope than knowing that Jesus is with us always. Whether we are going through seasons of weeping or laughing, seasons of mourning or celebrations, Jesus says He is with us through it all. He is our Shepherd our guide in this world that is dead in sin. Often we tend to only pray when we are in distress or when we need something really bad, but after we've gotten it we stop as if everything is much safer when it is in the control of our mortal hands.
There will be times when temptation feels like it is getting the best hand, times when your boss is just "bitting", times when you don't know how to solve a problem. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." my best sentence to say during this moment is "Thank you Jesus for giving me an opportunity to show my love for you"
Our prayer today is that God may draw as close to Him, that we wil not desire to be in any other presence but His, we pray that we may walk with the awareness of Christ being with us, with no fear or anxiety of what we are going through. In Jesus name Amen
"Thank you Jesus for being with us always"
Mark
April 14th Bible Study
Mark 1:34
"And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him"
I have faith in God, i believe in Jesus, what do we really mean when we say these things. The bible teaches Sola fide, faith alone in Jesus Christ by which we are saved. This faith cannot be just a simple ascent or agreement of the existence of Jesus/knowledge of Him, this. is a faith that encompasses total reliance and vulnerability with Jesus Christ. In Mark we see the demons do a pretty good Job at recognizing that Jesus is the son of God, more so than the people around Him.
James 2:19 "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder." There has to be more than just an awareness of Jesus. It has to transform into a complete devotion and submission to Him.
Let us believe and submit to Jesus Christ ( John 3:16)
Our Prayer today is that God you may teach us how to submit wholeheartedly teach us how to completely rely on you and your word, that we will not just have an intellectual knowledge of your being but we will completely, daily submit and devote ourselves to you. In Jesus name, Amen
"Teach us how to submit and rely on you Jesus"
April 15th Bible Study
Mark 2:5
"And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.'"
Show me five of your friends and i will tell you who you are. This is such a common analogy usually used in analyzing characters of people through those around them often. Friendships are a very important dynamic in life. A good friendship will seek to build both parties and see the best in each; a bad friendship will always seek profit and self over other, exploitation and deception.
In Mark 2: 1-12 we see Jesus healing a paralytic man who was brought by his friends. When Jesus saw the faith of His friends He says " Son, your sins are forgiven.'"
Our friends not only influence and affect our tendencies but they most importantly affect our eternal life and our relationship with Jesus. We have to be very cautious and deliberate in who we allow ourselves to interact with often. This does not mean being skeptical and aloof but being very intentional in those you interact daily with as they not only influence your mortal life but your eternity as well.
Our prayer today is that God you may open our eyes, reveal to us the friends you want us to have and those you want us to disconnect from. In all this Lord we pray that you may give us wisdom and favor, we seek to have connections that please you and glorify you. In Jesus name, Amen
"We seek to have relationships that please you Jesus"
April 17th Bible Study
Mark 3:21
“When his family heard what was going on, they went to rescue him, by force if necessary. They suspected he was getting carried away with himself.”
Why must you bring Christ into everything? why must you be so spiritual ?
Many of us have faced this questions, with some of us being tagged Holy Joe. Interesting enough we were not the first ones to experience this form of stigmatization because of our commitment to God.
In Mark 3:21 Jesus experienced this stigmatization because of working for God, the crazy bit being, He experienced it from His own family. That must have been so disappointing, seeing the very people you would expect to motivate your passion for God and eternal life call you mentally insane.
In our current day, this stigmatization may occur in much more sophisticated ways, it might cost you a friendship, job or even close relationships. Matthew 6:19 - 20 says “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
Our source of life and eternity keeper is God, He is the only one we ought to please, and commit ourselves to., not values of this world that keep changing every decade. "Our biblical values do not match to the drum beat of the supreme court ~ R C Sproul"
With that said, this can also be taken to an extreme whereby people do not conform to the world for sake of looking different. "If they are wearing red hats, i'll where a white one." This is not what God calls us to do. In
John 17:15,
Jesus prays and says “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”
Our prayer today is that God you will fill us with confidence and zill for you, that we may seek you and be faithful stewards of that which you have given to us even if we seem weird to the world, In Jesus name, Amen
"Jesus we want to seek you with boldness and without shame"
April 18th Bible Study
Mark 4:40
“He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’”
Who seats on your throne ? Who has authority over you ? Who is your source of life ? Whoever this position belongs to [your King] has immense influence in your life. Your faith will be subjected to them, your identity will be determined by them, your actions, behaviors, tendencies and attitudes will all flow from this person.
Sadly, for most of us, this person [Who Sits on OurThrone] is ourselves. This stems from an innate human desire to always have control and power. the detrimental effect is fairly clear. We have no power in ourselves, we are dead in sin and mortally subject to swaying morality. All this to say we are the last person who should be King over anything, let alone our lives.
In Mark 4:40, the disciples were experiencing a storm and were afraid for there lives. Am sure they tried everything before waking up Jesus. I can imagine them trying to remove the water that was getting on board and trying to make sure the sails don't get ripped off. The disciples finally reached a point and realized they are powerless to there situation. Now, granted that they forgot they were empowered by Jesus Christ, they just drenched in fear till someone had a good idea to wake Jesus Up.
The disciples demonstrate a very important aspect of Christian faith. We can be empowered by Jesus but still rely so much on our old selves that we even forget we are sons of God. Let Jesus seat on the Throne of your heart and not self. Allow Jesus's power to flow and become alive in you. This can only happen if you vacate your self kingship.
Matthew 6:24 says“No one can serve two masters..." The temptation is always to self govern your situations until you literally have no place to go, as if Jesus is your last option. Let Jesus take the throne in our hearts and be number one. In that way, our faith will always be in him and not our abilities. In that way we won't have any fear coz we know He is in charge.
Our prayer today God is that you may sit on the thrones in our hearts, become the chief conner stone in our lives Jesus. Increase our faith in you Lord and strengthen us to serve you fully without reservation, May you be our first option even during trials and tribulations that we may not be afraid coz your in charge. In Jesus name, Amen
"Sit on the thrones in our hearts and increase our faith in you"
April 23rd Bible Study
Mark 5:17
"At first they were in awe—and then they were upset, upset over the drowned pigs. They demanded that Jesus leave and not come back."
Fear of the unknown has for long been a mental reflex for many. There are some instances that warrant this type of reaction but unfortunately for some of us this reaction has been put on auto pilot, repelling anything that is causes you to leave you current comfortable state.
This is the same case with the residence of this area in Mark 5:17. Jesus had just healed a man who was possessed by a demon named Legion. Many people were afraid and shocked at the transformation of this man. You can imagine this was a man who could not be tired up by any chains or shackles, but one day you are passing by and you see him just chilling there with Jesus and the crew. A lot of questions and uncertainties would come to mind
I would have to main questions, what kind of man is this ? what kind of power does this man will ? As humans our natural response to power we cannot control is to banish it or cage it. In this case they chose to chase Jesus away. In so doing they drove away all the blessing and works Jesus could have done in there region.
Many times we pray for Jesus to show up in our lives, He shows up in ways we did not expect. This might cause some of us to be afraid of this unknown and unexpected power but the bible says Do not be afraid. Jesus says to a ruler of a synagogue whose child had just died, [Mark 5:36] “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
Our prayer today is that God may give us the spirit of courage and boldness, that we will not be afraid of His works in our lives, even if we do not understand what is happening, we pray that God may increase our trust in Him, In Jesus namer Amen.
