THE TIME TO START IS NOW!

Ecclesiastes 11:4 "Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest." This is not only factual but very true. I am personally guilty of it. I believe the Spirit of God is drawing our attention to some things that we might have left undone.

WAITING WHILE WORSHIPPING (W.W.W)

Waiting is a very difficult task and it takes great perseverance and patience to wait on God even while we worship. Our world is caught up with the disease of 'fast track' so much that it seems we cant patiently wait any longer for anything. It has become so prevalent that we easily grow impatient in all our dealings. We cant wait for our turns in long queues, always going in for fast food, fast connections, fast track courts,fast jet planes,even the commonest is what we all are aware of now-FASTEST INTERNET ACCESS. Everything around us now is gradually moving in this fashion.

SOME THINGS ARE FOR WOMEN ONLY!

Even though worship is not a 'dress parade', many times we become too sloppy and revealing in the way we dress for worship. Our clothes do contribute to the emphasis we place on worship to God. This does not mean we are strictly to wear fine clothes. But the way we dress should be in keeping with the dignity of the occasion. Read 1 Tim. 2:9-10. Modest clothing is the way women who are professing godliness dress. The wearing of lewd and revealing clothing to worship God is unthinkable,but some do it anyway.

WHY ARE YOU HURTING TOO BAD?

It takes people who have been to a place to give a fair description. It also takes people who have gone through some stuff to give others a reason to rejoice. Once we have been set free from our issues of life we are better able to comfort others with the comfort we have received (2 Cor 1:3). I've had my share of ups and downs as you may have, but through it all i have learnt to trust in Jesus. God is a healer!

POEM: GOD UNDERSTANDS YOU BETTER...

We may not behave the same
Because we all bear a different name
God knows why He made us that way
And no man could have any say
I am what He chose to make me
You are what He made you to be

THE "T.E.S.T" OF LOVE

This might be a bit out of our mainstream but it would be helpful all the same. Many a people find themselves helpless in all sort of relationships and I thought it wise to send this so that we would all learn as we are being restored unto true worship.

Remember, how you relate with others would go a long way to determine how you would relate to God. "You cannot say you love God who you do not see and hate your brother whom you see."
Lets explore some things I have put together as the T.E.S.T of love.

AM NOTHING WITHOUT YOU

I am nothing without you
And I cannot hide from myself
But I know one thing about you
That you can hide me in yourself

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?

Sometimes as believers we put too much stress on our selves as though we don't believe in God's word. Faith the Bible says comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. My purpose for this is to build someone's faith.

I have been exposed to the scripture below and read it and even quoted it on a number of occasions but a greater insight and revelation dawn on me today, which I believe was not meant for me alone. It is funny sometimes how the devil tries to take our attention from meditating on the word, because he knows when we do, we shall know the truth which will make us free. But thank God for the spirit of revelation!

THE "ME" OUTSIDE, THE "I" INSIDE

We may achieve great-ness publicly and privately be in a great-mess. Remember David and Sampson? Success that is applauded by everyone except you yourself is not as gratifying as one that you personally endorse (inwardly). Many people may see your outside accomplishments and admire you, but you know deep in your heart that, you've got issues and need serious help. If you are also not careful, the danger is; you might be carried away by those praises till you lose your head.

DON'T LOSE YOUR TEMPER AND LOSE YOUR HAMPER!

Ecclesiastes 10:4 "If your boss is angry at you, don't quit! A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes."(NLT). One unbearable thing is to have someone above you who puts you off by their "some way" attitude. Sometimes we think the best thing to do is to quit or run away from the situation. But that is not wisdom, according to our scripture for today. Your yielding can help you pacify great offences.

"I UNDERSTAND THAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND"

Ecclesiastes 11:5 "Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother's womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things." A friend once told me that; the God you understand is the God you have put in a box. And I can't agree less. You know many times we try to use our human minds to give reasons why certain things happened to us or others, but we can't know and fully comprehend all things. That makes Him God and we men.

WHAT ARE YOU SEEING?

Jeremiah 1:10-12 "See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdom,to root out,and pull down and to destroy,and to throw down, to build and to plant. Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of almond tree. Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it." From this scripture, I realise that some blessings can delay in our lives by our inability to see and see well.

WHAT IS YOUR GIFT?

Proverbs 18:16 "A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men". I am exposing this text from two angles for today and tomorrow. Many people have not progressed in life either by sitting idle with their gifts or they are yet to be discovered (speaking to myself here). Every child of God has a unique gift to be a blessing to their world.

WHEN GOD PROMOTES YOU NO MAN CAN STAND YOU

Ezekial 17:24 "And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the Lord have spoken and have done it."(KJV) "And all the trees will know that it is I, the Lord, who cuts tall tree down and makes the short tree grow tall. It is I who makes the green tree wither and gives the dead tree life. I, the Lord have spoken, and I will do what I said."(NLT).

YOU SHALL BE SOUGHT FOR

Isaiah 55:5 "Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee." Some people have almost concluded that, for them to get into some kind of blessings they must know somebody somewhere. Well, God may choose to work through men you know at times, but that shouldnt limit Him. He can choose to ignore those you know and use total strangers to bless you.

FAVOUR A'INT FAIR!

Exodus 3:21 "And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that when ye go, ye shall not go empty." It is a good thing to be favored of God, because you can get certain things from others without asking. And even when you decide to ask, you are given more than you requested. In Esther 5:2 "And it was so, when the King saw Esther the queen, standing in the court, that she obtained favor in his sight:"

NEVER TRUST MERE HUMANS

Jeremiah 17:5-8 "This is what the Lord says: Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land. "But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.

ARE YOU TIRED ALREADY?

Jeremiah 12:5 "If thou hast run with footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?"(KJV). Sometimes the difficulties we face are meant to draw out the virtues that God placed in us. Our natural body would always assume a state of rest until some external force is exerted, that would cause it to move forward.

WATCH YOUR WORDS

Proverbs 10:19 "In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise (KJV). "Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut."(NLT). It is unusual for one to be a constant talker without committing sin and defaming the character of someone. The control of the tongue is a show of wisdom. "A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered. Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent; with their mouth shut, they seem intelligent. (Prov. 17:28, NLT)

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IF YOU WERE JOB?

Job 23:10 (NLT) "But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold". As children of God, the trials and sufferring we may go through are for an exceeding great glory-to bring out the best in us. It is not always evil, because the thoughts and plans God has for us are only good (even though it might appear to be painful for while), it is to bring us to an expected end. (Jer 29:11)

DONT BE AFRAID, YOUR GOD IS AROUND

Isaiah 41:8-13 "But as for you, Israel my servant, Jacob my chosen one, descended from Abraham my friend, I have called you back from the ends of the earth, saying 'You are my servant' For I have chosen you and will not throw you away. Dont be afraid, for I am with you. Dont be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

YOUR NEED "R.E.S.T"

Written on July 1, 2012.

As I woke up this morning and realised today being a holiday, I was tempted to start planning my day in my mind and I just heard within my spirit REST! Didnt really get it, because I thought I had done that all night. But as I picked my Bible, it all started adding up. This R.E.S.T as I am going to show you was something things I should and shouldnt do today as I read the scripture from Psalm 37:1-5. The keywords are Relax.Enjoy.Submit.Trust.

TRUE SUCCESS IS DETERMINED IN GOD

Psalm 90:17 "And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: establish thou the work of our hands upon us: yea, the work of our hands establish thou it."(KJV). "And may the Lord our God show us His approval and make our efforts successful. Yes make our efforts successful!"(NLT). In my own opinion and based on the scripture above, I can dare to say that no man can truly be successful in life just by hardwork.

POEM: "KEEP WORSHIPPING"

I wrote this poem some time ago, and going through my stuff today I saw it and it brought back good memories:

Keep worshipping: when you feel no one is around.

Keep worshipping: when everything is falling to the ground.

Keep worshipping: when all your friends are no where to be found.

Keep worshipping: when all is bad and no peace abound.

Keep worshipping: when it seems everything is turning round...

YOUR BODY, HIS TEMPLE

Are you ready for church? I would kindly request that you put your temple in order before service begins this morning; because the King of glory shall come in. Hmm...which temple you might ask? And I would gladly tell you: YOURS! You want to know more? Read on: "Dont you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple". (1 Cor. 3:16-NLT). Wait a minute! I think some of us need to do some clean-ups in our temple right away.

BE WHERE HE TOLD YOU TO BE AND HE WOULD MEET YOU

1 Kings 17:2-4 "And the word of the Lord came unto him saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shall drink of the brook; and I have commanded the raven to feed thee there."(KJV). What a mighty God we serve. In fact the Spirit of the Lord will never lead you to a place where His grace will not be sufficient for you. Then it is not my God!

CAN YOU HEAR HIS VOICE?

Isaiah 30:21 "Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, 'This is the way you should go' whether to the right or to the left." It is good to hear a voice, if only it is from God. We would have been saved from so much trouble if at some specific times and in certain areas of our lives we could hear God's voice clearly. But there seem to be a lot of distractions. God has been speaking since creation.

KNOW WHEN TO PAUSE!!!

Acts 16:6-10 "Next Paul and Silas travelled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time. Then coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there. So instead, they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas.

YOUR GOD SHALL SUPPLY

Philippians 4:19 "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Paul had experienced the manifold dimensions of God's provisions that he admonished others to put their trust in Him. God had dealt with him in a remarkable way and there was no doubt of His ability to supply for others too. It is a faith dimension: To tell other people who have needs that all of them can be met by your God which means that you know Him too well.

WHAT GOD STARTS, HE FINISHES!

"He who has began a good work in you would be faithful to complete it." One truth about God is He wouldnt start something which He would not finish. Once He begins, He shall surely bring it to completion. You are work in progress as far as God is concerned, and your final outcome is yet to come. God has an eye on you because He wants to make you the best for His glory. And because of this He would do whatever to make you as pure as gold if even it means you have to go through fire.

CALL FORTH THE LIGHT BY THE WORD

Psalm 119:130 "The entrance of thy words giveth light: it giveth understanding unto the simple." One reason why we sometimes find ourselves in dark situations and not see our way forward is because we have not allowed the 'WORDS' of God to have full impact on our lives to further affect our situation. Darkness can be compared to ignorance, so you are seen as ignorant when you are in the dark. Light can be compared to knowledge, so those perceived to be knowledgable are called THE ENLIGHTENED.

SAFE IN THE POTTER'S HANDS

Jeremiah 18:2-6 "Go down to the potter's shop, and I will speak to you there. So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over. Then the Lord gave me this message, "O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to this clay?

DONT TRY TO PROVE GOD, JUST BELIEVE HIM

Some people try to prove God...but God does not want to be proved (like in a lab, trying to put Him in our mind's test tube). He wants to be believed! The place where God clearly says we should prove Him and see is when it comes to giving our substance (like our tithe) to Him. Don't bother yourself trying to prove the "unprovables", for God is omniscient and beyond the logic of science. Just believe, don't agonize about it and complicate issues for yourself. He is God alone...period!

IS THERE NOT A CAUSE?

Psalm 3:1 "O Lord, I have so many enemies; so many are against me." There are some people who may appear to hate us so much that, as far as they are concerned we were better of dead. But most of the times they are the same people who serve as catalysts to speed up the reaction for our miracles. They kind of push us to the wall and it even makes us get to our destination even much quicker than we would have, without them. Saul wanted to kill David at some point, only to realize later he was the best friend of own his son (next of kin).

YOU HAVE A "P.A.R.T" TO PLAY

The Bible presents us with many accounts of people who received certain blessings and breakthroughs by what they could do or offer. Are you ready to sacrifice what is in your hand to be able to receive what God has in hand for you? Then you have a P.A.R.T to play. When Moses came to the red sea, God asked him what He had in his hand? And he thought it was his usual rod he had been using to tend his sheep.

BE CHILDLIKE AND NOT CHILDISH!

Be CHILDLIKE and not CHILDISH! For the two are not the same. By their fruits you shall know whether or not people are being childish or childlike. Prov. 20:11 "Even children are known by the way they act...". So whether you are being childish or childlike would be determined through your actions. When is one said to be childish? 1 Cor. 13:11 "When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things."

FOLLOW THE GOOD SHEPHERD

Isaiah 48:17-This is what the Lord says-your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow." The interesting thing I see here is that, left with God alone He would lead us to greener pastures and still waters because He is a good shepherd. But we the sheep have the problem sometimes, just to go our own ways and mostly fall into danger.

NO GOOD THING SHALL BE WITH-HELD FROM YOU

Psalm 84:11 "For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right." When the Psalmist says 'the Lord will withhold no good thing' it is a profound statement. And it means whatever the Lord will give us would be for our good. James 1:17 says "Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our father...".

BEWARE OF VAMPIRES!

Proverbs 19:4 "Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbour"(KJV) "Wealth makes many friends, poverty drives them all away."(NLT). It is interesting how men are. Once they know you have a lot they can benefit from, they are always around you. But as soon as you lose it, you lose them as well. But no matter who leaves you, there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.

THE "ART OF WORSHIP"

The 'Art of worship': Music is a tool for worship. You need two keys to minister: skill and the anointing. Every art is learnt, so study to show yourself approve. If an axe is blunt it requires more strength in cutting trees. Read Ps. 78:72. Every true minister need these two qualities to be effective. Integrity of heart and skilfulness of hands. David cared for the people with a true heart and led them with skillful hands.

HE KNOWS WHAT IS GOOD FOR YOU

It appears that everyone I know and even those I dont know have a need. It is as if man is never satisfied, no matter what they have or where they have reached in life. What are your heart's desires? If you delight yourself in the Lord and His service, He's promised to give you the desire of your heart! (Ps. 37:4). The Lord apparently feels that nothing is too good for His obedient children.

COME OUT, TO BE BROUGHT IN

Deut. 6:23 "And He brought us OUT of thence, that He might bring us IN, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers." Unless you allow the Lord to bring you out of certain places, you may not get in to certain places. You cant be superficial and enjoy the supernatural. Deep calls unto the deep. Certain things, behaviors and people must go, for you to attain to the new heights God is taking you.

NO MATTER WHAT...

How many times haven't you gotten to some point in your life where you thought that was the end, felt like you cant make it, and there was no hope possible? But the testimony is that, even though a lot have happened in the past years you are still moving on and even reading this right now. That means, the same God who has kept you from falling shall appear speedily and watch upon His word to perform, its just a matter of time.

IF YOU CARE ABOUT GOD HE WOULD CARE ABOUT YOU

Haggai 1:6;9-10 "You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes!" In this text we see things are falling apart. If God is not at the center of your life, even though you may be working hard you would not enjoy the fruits of your labor to your satisfaction.

NO SHORT-CUTS WITH GOD

Exodus 13:17 "When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the MAIN ROAD that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the SHORTEST ROUTE to the Promised Land. God said, 'If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt." We truly serve a wise God. In man's own carnal wisdom He would have concluded that once God had dealt with their first enemy, the one ahead was a done deal.

THEIR HEART SHALL BE TURNED TOWARDS YOU

Our text today is in Proverbs 21:1 "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will." Who is that stubborn ruler or king in your life who is not willing to hear your case? Your king can be a person who has an influence on you in any way or something that rules an area of your life.

It can be your finances, job, marriage, academics, family or anything that can control you. Our beginning text clearly states that; the heart of all that (the king) are in the hands of the Lord, and at his will, He turns them. God has your life as his concern, so whatever he has to do and whosoever he has to direct to be of help to you, he gladly will. Take heart and believe that the king's heart would be turned towards you today to favor your course like it was done for Esther. Your king will comply and reply! This is the prophetic word of the Lord. #ABTru-worshipa#

SAY IT SOFTLY

Let’s look at something short in Proverbs 15:1. "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger". I have a personal experience with this text. Anytime someone approached me in anger, a soft response I gave made him or her calm down. The truth about anger is that, it is stirred up if you also respond to the other person in the same way they approached you.

GOD HAS AN EYE ON YOU

This is a bit of encouragement for you this morning to strengthen you and make your hope in the Lord strong.

 Psalm 121:4 "Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep."(KJV).

Isaiah 49:16 "Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands: thy walls are continually before me." (KJV) "See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem's walls in ruin." (NLT).

The above scriptures tell us of how mindful God is of his people. God never sleeps nor slumbers. And his eyes are continually, consistently and constantly watching over us, because he has written our names in his palms never to be forgotten.

WHAT IS THE LORD TO YOU?

We are shortly studying something about how the Psalmist saw God and how his confidence was boosted after his discovery.

Psalm 27:1 "The LORD IS: MY LIGHT and MY SALVATION; whom shall I fear? The LORD IS: THE STRENGTH OF MY LIFE; of whom shall I be afraid?" Fear can be induced by darkness, death and doubt! We can become so afraid of the unknown that it paralyses us and this attacks our faith in who THE LORD IS to us.

When we are surrounded by so much darkness in our life, we can be frightened to death because we doubt the presence of THE LORD. David knew better so he said "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (Ps. 23:4).

Your acknowledgment of the fact that you have God, and your consciousness of who THE LORD IS can drive away every fear of darkness, death and doubt. Note that in our text for today, THE LORD IS three things to David: (1) MY LIGHT (2) MY SALVATION (3) THE STRENGTH OF MY LIFE. All these boosted his confidence to ask questions "who shall I fear?" and "of whom shall I be afraid?"

What the LORD IS to you will also determine what or who you would be afraid of. Thus, because the Lord is a light to David, he didn’t fear darkness. Because he was his salvation he didn’t fear death. And because he was the strength of his life, he didn’t doubt the joy of the Lord which was his strength, and nothing could make him weak in faith. What and who is the LORD to you today? #ABTru-worshipa#

DO IT THE GOD WAY

There is a need for us to keep our minds renewed by God's word so that we don’t allow the pressures of life to weigh us down. Walk with me through the following scriptures and receive insight as God speaks to your heart.

Proverbs 16:25 "There is a WAY that seemeth right unto a man, but the end there of are the WAYS of death." Proverbs 19:21 "There are many DEVICES in a man's heart, nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand." Proverbs 16:9 "A man's heart deviseth his WAY: but the Lord directeth his steps."

 I can say that the reason for the many struggles sometimes is because we mostly want to do it our OWN WAY and not GOD's WAY!

NO ONE CAN HARM YOU!

Our devotional today is in Number 23.

I want you to know that what God says about you is the truth and no man can change that if even it is a curse! Follow through the ff verses:

V 7-8 "This was the message Balaam delivered: Balak (the King of Moab) summoned me to come from Aram; Come, he said, curse Jacob for me! Come and announce Israel's doom. But how can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I condemn those whom the Lord has not condemned?” For, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh but by the spirit.