Tuesday, January 11, 2011

He Loads Us With Benefits

He Loads Us With Benefits

He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32).

If you work for a thriving corporation, it may increase your wages regularly, give you lots of fringe benefits with certain allowances – a large house, a chauffeur-driven car, summer holidays abroad, scholarships for your children, free medical care, etc. But all these things don’t compare with what the Lord gives. He is the “greatest blesser.” He daily loads us with blessings – benefits “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation, Selah” (Psalm 68:19).

Think about it: If a firm could give all such wonderful benefits to those in its employ, imagine then what God would give you for working for Him! God’s blessings upon your life, unlike what that multinational corporation you work for may give you, aren’t temporary; they are permanent and irrevocable” “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Romans 11:29). He doesn’t take back what He gives you.

Your employers may give you all the nice things but they can one day decide to retire you. There is, however no retirement in God nor is there a pension scheme. Nobody is on pension in God’s Kingdom. The more you work for the Lord and with the Lord in His “business” of reaching the lost with the Gospel, the more He honours you for doing it. There’s no man or group on earth that can bless you the way God has already blessed you, and can bless you. Continue to serve Him diligently and He’ll reward your faith and faithfulness.

Prayer
Dear Father, I rejoice exceedingly today knowing that you’ve given me “the blessing,” and endowed with all I need for life and godliness through Christ Jesus. Thank you for your immeasurable gift of grace, and for commanding your blessing upon me forever, causing everything I lay my hands upon to succeed and flourish, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Further Study
Ephesians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Genesis 12:2
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

1 Peter 3:9
Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

Daily Scripture Reading
1 Year Bible Matthew 5:21-48
Reading plan Genesis 15-17

2 Year Bible Matthew 3:10-17

Reading Plan Genesis 6

Your All-round Prosperity

Your All-round Prosperity

The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it (Proverbs 10:22).

The prosperity that God gives is an all-round prosperity; prosperity with peace! His desire is for you to prosper, in your spirit, soul and body: “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth” (3 John 1:2). He doesn’t want you doing well in your finances but ailing in your health.

Imagine, for example, a man who owns a large corporation, with a vast estate and thousands of workers in his employ. He ‘s got a lot of money in the bank, and much more comes in on a daily basis from his vast business empire; yet, he’s unable to enjoy all his riches because of ill-health. Others make money off his investments since he doesn’t have the health to enjoy them. Ecclesiastes 6:2 says, “A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.”

God’s plan for you is not to be rich and sick, but to be wealthy, healthy and strong. He wants you to prosper all-round. It reminds of what the Scripture says in Isaiah 26:3: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.: The Hebrew word for peace here is “shalom,” and it means to fare well in every aspect of your life; to be in health, safety, prosperity, peace, favour and happiness. That means you enjoy prosperity without stress. That’s what God gave to King Solomon.

Solomon had been smart enough to ask God for wisdom, and God gave him everything: “Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding…Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace” (Proverbs 3:13, 16-17). Wisdom is that essential quality that gives you all-round success and all-round prosperity.

If your born again, happy are you, for Christ, the embodiment of wisdom now lives in you. So, you have at your disposal the wisdom of God that guarantees your prosperity with peace.

Confession
Dear Father, I declare that I’m prospering not only in my finances but in my health, job, family, and every area of my life. I thank you for giving me prosperity with peace. I experience that joy and peace of total prosperity, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Further Study
Ecclesiastes 5:18-19
Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion. Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.


Daily Scripture Reading
1 Year Bible Matthew 6:1-18
Reading plan Genesis 18-19

2 Year Bible Matthew 4:1-11

Reading Plan Genesis 7

God’s Gift Is Eternal Life

God’s Gift Is Eternal Life

And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son (1 John 5:11).

For everyone who’s born again, eternal life is not a promise from God that we look forward to Him fulfilling in our lives when we get to heaven, rather, it’s something He’s already given to us FREELY! The Bible says, “…the gift of God is eternal life” (Romans 6:23). Notice that it doesn’t say, “a gift from God is eternal life.” Eternal life is not one of the gifts of God; it is the gift of God. It encapsulates all the other gifts of God. When God gives you eternal life, it means you’ve got everything else. This gift of eternal life has been freely given to everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Eternal life is actually the nature of God; the very life of God. That’s the life Jesus brought to the world. He came that we might have life – eternal life – to the full (John 10:10); it’s the transcendent life of glory. If you’re born again, that divine, glorious life of God has supplanted your frail humanity. “But Pastor Chris, how do I know I have eternal life in me, when I can’t feel it in my body?” you might ask.

Well, that’s because eternal life is in your spirit and not your physical body, but the impact of that life is revealed in your physical body. You don’t have to “feel” it in your body first to be conscious that you have eternal life; it’s there in your spirit. That’s why the Apostle John, writing to the Church, stressed the necessity for God’s children to be conscious that they have eternal life: “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may know that you have eternal life…” (1 John 5:3).

This wondrous, incorruptible, miracle-life of God in you can neither be tainted, defiled nor corrupted by sickness, disease, failure, death or the devil! That life in you makes you an associate of the God-kind, being the essence of divinity! It has brought you into fraternity with divinity. The life God has given you is greater than sickness, disease, failure and death; it’s the life that has made you superior to satan!

Confession
I have the miracle-life of God in me. Therefore I am an associate of the God-kind, and a partaker of the divine nature, having been made free of the corrupting influences, decadence and destruction in the world. Today and always, I’m conscious of the transcendent life of glory and victory that God has given me through Christ Jesus. Amen.

Further Study
1 John 5:11-12 MSG
This is the testimony in essence: God gave us eternal life; the life is in his Son. So, whoever has the Son, has life; whoever rejects the Son, rejects life.

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

John 17:3
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Daily Scripture Reading

1 Year Bible Matthew 6:19-7:6
Reading plan Genesis 20-22

2 Year Bible Matthew 4:12-25

Reading Plan Genesis 8

God Is Your Source

God Is Your Source

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want… (Psalm 23:1).

If you’re born again, it’s important you understand that God is your source. The government will never make you rich for no government was designed to make anyone rich. But when you recognize God as your source and provider, you’ll discover that your financial prosperity has nothing to do with government policies or the state of the world’s economy. When you recognize God as your source, and relate with Him as such, you’ll never lack food, shelter or clothing. You’ll always have all your needs met, for Psalms 34:10 says, “…they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.”

Choose to believe and trust God to take care of you. He is more than able to give you much more than you could ever need! He wants you to always have more than enough, so that besides having your personal needs met, you can be of help and a great blessing to others as well. Because God is your source, you’re like an ocean that never runs dry; you’re not perturbed, limited or disadvantaged by the absence of money or physical resources.

A dear lady once shared her beautiful testimony, describing how she didn’t have a job or means of income, thus for several years, couldn’t pay her mortgage. A number of times, the bank called her and because she couldn’t pay, she was taken to court. However, one day, during this period, she saw Pastor Chris on TV and started listening to the message of faith. On her first appearance in court, the manager who came representing the bank told her “Lady, don’t cry. It’s going to be okay.” There and then, all her debts were cancelled! God took care of them.

The Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed” (Romans 10:1 WEB). Trust God with your life. Recognize Him as your source and He’ll meet you at every point of your need.

Prayer
Dear Father, I declare in the Name of Jesus that you’re my source and my great provider! You're the all-sufficient One, and in you I place my trust today and forever, rejoicing with thanksgiving that my needs are met according to your riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Amen.

Further Study
Philippians 4:19
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus

1 Kings 17:2
And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,

Daily Scripture Reading
1 Year Bible Matthew 7:7-29
Reading plan Genesis 23-24

2 Year Bible Matthew 5:1-10

Reading Plan Genesis 9

The Fatherhood Of God

The Fatherhood Of God

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12-13).


This is one of the most powerful truths revealed to us in the Gospels about the new creation. We are the children of God. To be born again is to be born of God, meaning God is your father. The Bible says in Galatians 4:6 “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” If you’re not born again then you don’t have the Spirit of His Son, therefore you cannot call God “Father”

“Are you then saying, if one isn’t born again, he’s not a child of God, but a child of the devil?” Emphatically yes. 1 John 3:10 says, “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil…” letting us know that there’re only two groups. You either belong to one or the other.

Jesus minced no words about this when He addressed the Jews that didn’t believe in Him, He told them “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do…” (John 8:44). But for us who are born again, we can all God “Father” and relate with Him as our gracious and loving heavenly Father. How amazing and comforting to know that God is our Father, and that He loves us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 3:3).

Perhaps you’re reading this today and you’re not born again, but you desire the fatherhood of God; all you need do is say, “O Lord God, I come to you today in the Name of the Jesus. Your Word says “whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” I confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of my life, and believe that God raised Him from the dead. By my faith in His Name, I receive eternal life into my spirit. I thank you for my new life in Christ Jesus Amen.

Prayer
Thank you, heavenly Father, for making me your child; my heart is established and rooted in you today, knowing that you care for me with tender affection. I’m so glad that you’ve sent your Spirit to live within me; the Spirit of adoption, whereby I cry. Abba, Father, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Further Study
1 John 3:1
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Romans 8:15
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Daily Scripture Reading
1 Year Bible Matthew 8:1-27
Reading plan Genesis 25-26

2 Year Bible Matthew 5:11-20

Reading Plan Genesis 10

The public sector unions

This week we look ahead to a looming battle. Public-sector unions are
far stronger than those in the private sector, and they have stood in
the way of the productivity improvements essential to delivering better
public services more cheaply. But now that governments are short of
cash, they are going to impose greater flexibility, longer hours and
less generous benefits on their workers. Clashes are therefore likely
all over the rich world; and the outcome of these struggles will
determine not just how well public services work, but also whether
economies flourish

The public sector unions
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/t/eCUia0cLBql0Mo0NTPK0EW

Here are some other pieces from this week's issue you might also be
interested in. You can click straight through to each one and read it
online at The Economist online using the links below.

John Micklethwait
Editor in Chief

Facebook
The $50 billion poke
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/t/eCUia0cLBql0Mo0NTPO0Ea

The lion kings
How Africa is one of the world's fastest-growing
regions
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/t/eCUia0cLBql0Mo0NTPQ0Ec

Momentum investing
Why what goes up doesn't necessarily come down
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/t/eCUia0cLBql0Mo0NTPT0Ef

Obama and Reagan
What the president can learn from the Gipper
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/t/eCUia0cLBql0Mo0NTPV0Eh

Britain's newspapers
Embattled and innovative
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/t/eCUia0cLBql0Mo0NTPX0Ej

He Deserves “The Best,” Not “Your Best!”

He Deserves “The Best,” Not “Your Best!”

You say, ‘Oh, it’s too difficult to serve the Lord and do what he asks.’ And you turn up your noses at the rules he has given you to obey. Think of it! Stolen animals, lame and sick – as offerings to God! Should I accept such offerings as these? asks the Lord. Cursed is that man who promises a fine ram from his flock and substitutes a sick one to sacrifice to God. For I am a Great King, says the Lord Almighty, and my name is to be mightily revered among the Gentiles (Malachi 1:13-14 TLB).
www.yookos.com
God doesn’t just deserve “your best,” He deserves “the best.” In fact, He demands it, and He’ll accept nothing less. Anytime you give God the best of what you have, you activate a Biblical principle and you’re blessed for your action of faith and trust. This is the reason you must serve God with all your heart and worship Him with everything you have. No offering or sacrifice should be too great for you to give to Him, for you can never out-give God. So give Him the best all the time.

When He gave the Law to the children of Israel, He specifically warned them not to bring anything less than the best before His altar as offering: “And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the Lord thy God” (Deuteronomy 15:21). If they did, they would come under a curse. And this was their sin against the Lord many years later as read in our opening passage above. But Proverbs 3:9-10 lets us know that when we honour the Lord with our substance, and give Him the best that He deserves we reap an overwhelmingly great harvest. Now, this isn’t just restricted to the giving of your material substance to God but also in the area of your service to Him as well.

You must serve Him with wholehearted devotion, not lagging in zeal, but fuelled and aflame in your spirit as you do His work (Romans 12:11). To be otherwise means you’re lukewarm, thus offering Him service that is defective: “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16).

Remember, when we needed a Saviour, God didn’t send an angel, He gave His Son Jesus – His very best – to die for our sins. When we needed a teacher, He sent us His Holy Spirit to live in us, teach us all things, and bring us into all truth. God doesn’t consider anything too good for you. Thus, you should serve Him and be dedicated to Him with reckless abandon! You're to give Him your ALL – the very best of who you are and what you have – your time, resources, energy, and your life; for He deserves the best.

Prayer
Dear Father, I reaffirm today that all I am, and all I have are yours forever; and I’ll always worship you with the very best of my substance as a token of my love and gratitude to you for your amazing grace, tender mercies and loving kindness towards me, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.


Further Study
Proverbs 3:9-10
Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

Deuteronomy 10:12
And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,

2 Samuel 24:24
And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

Daily Scripture Reading
1 Year Bible Matthew 8:28-9:17
Reading plan Genesis 27-28

2 Year Bible Matthew 5:21-30

Reading Plan Genesis 11

Welcome to Politics this week A summary of the world's main events from The Economist.

Welcome to Politics this week
A summary of the world's main events from The Economist.
Also available at http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/t/eCUiD0cLBql0Mo0NTTX0EK 



- IN THE ECONOMIST THIS WEEK -


Hopes for a more liberal PAKISTAN were dealt a blow with the
assassination of Salman Taseer by his police bodyguard. The governor of
Punjab province, the most populous in Pakistan, Mr Taseer was an
outspoken critic of religious intolerance and of the country's harsh
and arbitrary blasphemy law. His murder compounds the woes of the
ruling Pakistan People's Party, which saw its main coalition partner
walk out. - See article
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/t/eCUiD0cLBql0Mo0NTTY0EL

In CHINA brownouts, caused by a shortage of coal, afflicted the
country. In some provinces power stations were down to just a few days
of coal stocks. Government regulations keep coal well under the market
price, reducing incentives to get it out of the ground. Harsh weather
has compounded the problem.

The worst flooding for decades in QUEENSLAND cut off many cities and
towns. Coalmining operations in the Australian state were severely
hampered. - See article
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/t/eCUiD0cLBql0Mo0NTTZ0EM

NOT A GREAT START

HUNGARY took over the rotating presidency of the European Union on
January 1st, amid growing concern over media legislation recently
passed by the country's government that critics say threatens press
freedom. Meanwhile, the EU said it would investigate a number of
"crisis" taxes imposed by Hungary on banks and other firms that are
mainly foreign-owned. - See article
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/t/eCUiD0cLBql0Mo0NTTa0ET

Boris Nemtsov, a prominent figure in the RUSSIAN opposition, was
arrested in Moscow after a demonstration and given a 15-day jail
sentence. A day earlier he had criticised the 14-year prison term
handed to Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former oil tycoon who had been
convicted of stealing oil. - See article
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/t/eCUiD0cLBql0Mo0NTTb0EU

A food-contamination scandal erupted in GERMANY when traces of dioxin
were found in poultry and eggs. Officials said that the food presented
"no acute health danger".

The rate of value-added tax in BRITAIN went up from 17.5% to 20%. The
opposition Labour Party said it would hit the poorest hardest. Some
economists feared the tax rise would threaten Britain's recovery. The
government said it was necessary to boost Treasury coffers. - See
article
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/t/eCUiD0cLBql0Mo0NTTc0EV

CARNAGE AMONG THE PRAYERS

At least 21 EGYPTIANS, mostly Coptic Christians, were killed by a bomb
in a church in the city of Alexandria, heightening anxiety among
co-religionists across the Middle East who have recently felt
beleaguered, especially in Iraq. It was unclear who perpetrated the
atrocity. Muslim authorities in Egypt and elsewhere in the region
expressed solidarity with their Christian- Arab brethren.

A leading anti-Western Shia cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, who is a crucial
backer of IRAQ'S new coalition government, returned home after three
years in exile in IRAN.

Laurent Gbagbo, who is almost universally deemed to have lost his bid
for re-election as president of COTE D'IVOIRE in late November, refused
to heed the African Union and a string of visiting African leaders
trying to persuade him to go. The Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS), the most influential regional body, aired the prospect
of using military force to evict him. - See article
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/t/eCUiD0cLBql0Mo0NTTd0EW

In the run-up to a referendum on secession in SOUTH SUDAN to be held on
January 9th, the president of Sudan as a whole, Omar al-Bashir, said he
would accept the result if, as expected, the southerners vote to
secede. - See article
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/t/eCUiD0cLBql0Mo0NTTe0EX

Trouble persisted on the streets of towns in TUNISIA, where the
immolation in public of an unemployed youth in December, followed by
his death on January 4th, sparked a wave of protests against
joblessness, inequality and corruption at the top. - See article
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/t/eCUiD0cLBql0Mo0NTTf0EY

DILMA'S WISH LIST

Dilma Rousseff took office as BRAZIL'S president. She promised to
eradicate extreme poverty, control inflation, increase public
investment, improve health, education and public security, open doors
for women in public life and support political and tax reform.

On his last day in office Ms Rousseff's predecessor, LUIZ INACIO LULA
DA SILVA, rejected a request to extradite to Italy Cesare Battisti, a
former member of an extreme leftist faction convicted of murder. Italy
withdrew its ambassador to Brasilia in protest; Mr Battisti's lawyers
said they would apply to Brazil's supreme court for his release from
prison.

The UNITED STATES revoked the visa of VENEZUELA'S ambassador to
Washington in retaliation for the rejection by Hugo Chavez of Larry
Palmer, the nominated American ambassador to Caracas, who had
criticised his government.

VENEZUELA devalued the bolivar for the second time in a year,
abolishing a preferential rate of 2.6 bolivares to the dollar and
unifying the official exchange rate at 4.3.

Faced with massive protests by many of his own supporters, Evo Morales,
BOLIVIA'S socialist president, cancelled an increase in fuel prices of
more than 70%. The government had earlier said that the price rise was
needed to end an unsustainable subsidy and to encourage oil production,
which has been falling. - See article
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/t/eCUiD0cLBql0Mo0NTTg0EZ

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

The 112TH CONGRESS convened in Washington with a cohort of fresh,
mostly Republican, faces. One priority of the leadership in the
Republican-controlled House of Representatives was to start a debate on
repealing Barack Obama's health-care-reform act; a vote on the matter
was set for January 12th. In the Senate the Democrats, who now command
a smaller majority in the chamber, tried to force changes to
parliamentary rules that would narrow the ability of a senator to mount
a vote-delaying filibuster. - See article
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/t/eCUiD0cLBql0Mo0NTTh0Ea

America's gross NATIONAL DEBT passed $14 trillion for the first time,
up by $2 trillion in little over a year. The figure is very close to
the current debt ceiling, which Congress must raise if the government
is to continue borrowing and avoid a possible default. Some Republicans
have insisted they will resist any attempt to increase the debt limit.

As Mr Obama prepared to appoint new advisers to the White House, ROBERT
GIBBS announced that he would step down as the president's press
secretary next month. Mr Gibbs has worked with Mr Obama since 2004,
when he worked on his campaign to become a senator for Illinois.

New state GOVERNORS were sworn into office, including Andrew Cuomo in
New York and (the not-so-new) Jerry Brown in California. - See article
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/t/eCUiD0cLBql0Mo0NTTi0Eb



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IN THE ECONOMIST THIS WEEK -


- IN THE ECONOMIST THIS WEEK -


An index of WORLD FOOD PRICES compiled by the UN reached a record level
in December, surpassing its previous high of June 2008, a year in which
the cost of food sparked rioting in Haiti and elsewhere. Unlike then,
the prices of some staple cereals such as rice remain relatively
stable, though the price of wheat is rising. The increasing costs of
other cereals and sugar were the main factors behind the rise in the
index.

The presidential commission investigating the causes of last year's OIL
SPILL in the Gulf of Mexico released a chapter containing the key
findings of its final report, due on January 11th. The chapter stated
that "most of the mistakes and oversights" leading to the explosion at
BP's well "can be traced back to a single overarching failure--a
failure of management". - See article
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/t/eCUiF0cLBql0Mo0NTQS0EE

THE PRIVATE NETWORK

It emerged that FACEBOOK has secured $500m in financing from Goldman
Sachs and Digital Sky Technologies, a Russian investment firm, to fuel
its expansion plans. Goldman also set up an investment vehicle for its
clients to buy into privately held Facebook's equity. The arrangement
values Facebook at $50 billion, up from an estimated $10 billion just
18 months ago, prompting questions about whether the rules for
disclosure on trading in the stock of private firms need to change. -
See article
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/t/eCUiF0cLBql0Mo0NTQT0EF

The European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism issued a bond to raise
money for bailing out IRELAND. There was strong demand for the sale of
EURO5 billion ($6.7 billion) in five-year debt.

Markets kept a wary eye on other bond issues in the euro zone. PORTUGAL
successfully sold EURO500m ($665m) in six-month treasury bills, though
the average yield was 1.64 percentage points higher than at its last
sale of a similar maturity in September. SPAIN received a boost,
however, when Li Keqiang, China's deputy prime minister, said that his
country would still buy Spanish debt and had particular confidence in
the Spanish financial market.

TRICHET'S POTENTIAL HEADACHE

INFLATION in the euro zone rose to 2.2% in December, the highest since
October 2008 and above the European Central Bank's target of close to
but below 2%.

Chile's central bank announced that it was committing $12 billion over
the next year to intervening in foreign-currency markets in an effort
to keep the value of the Chilean peso down. It is the latest shot in
the "CURRENCY WARS", in which some emerging economies are using a
variety of measures to stop their currencies appreciating. But India's
Financial Stability Development Council, at its first meeting,
criticised policies that attempt to keep currencies artificially low,
which was seen as a dig at China.

QUALCOMM, the world's biggest maker of chips for mobile phones, said it
was buying ATHEROS COMMUNICATIONS, which is based in San Jose. The $3.1
billion acquisition is Qualcomm's biggest to date and expands its
business in wireless chipsets of the kind used in smart-phones and
tablet computers. Separately, Microsoft said its next version of
WINDOWS would run on chips designed by ARM, which are better suited to
mobile devices than those supplied by Intel, Microsoft's established
partner.

BANK OF AMERICA paid $2.8 billion to settle claims brought by FANNIE
MAE and FREDDIE MAC, two housing-finance giants, against the
mortgage-lending practices of Countrywide Financial, a distressed bank
that BofA acquired in 2008. BofA still faces potentially large claims
from insurers and private investors seeking to get their money back for
home loans that purportedly failed to meet the proper underwriting
criteria. - See article
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/t/eCUiF0cLBql0Mo0NTQU0EG


Sergio Marchionne suggested that FIAT could obtain a controlling stake
in CHRYSLER before the Detroit carmaker's stockmarket flotation later
this year. Mr Marchionne has been chief executive of Fiat and Chrysler
since 2009, when Fiat took a 20% stake in Chrysler as part of a rescue
plan engineered by the American government. Meanwhile, Fiat officially
demerged its carmaking operations from its truck and farm-equipment
business.

RENAULT suspended three senior managers. The company did not say why,
but the suspensions are thought to be related to the suspected leaking
of its secrets about electric-car design.

PROMPTED TO CHOOSE

More Europeans now use Mozilla's FIREFOX web browser than Microsoft's
INTERNET EXPLORER, according to data compiled by StatCounter, a
market-analysis company. Firefox took 38.1% of the European market in
December, compared with 37.5% for Internet Explorer and 14.6% for
Google's Chrome. Microsoft's browser still predominates in America and
Asia.


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Tuesday, January 4, 2011

You Have Love In You!

You Have Love In You!

And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us (Romans 5:5).

Some people wallow in self-pity because they feel unloved. Out of dejection they make statements like “I feel so far away from God. Maybe He doesn’t love me; I don’t think anyone loves me.” This shouldn’t be your experience if you’re a Christian because God loves you and has filled you with His love. He brought all of His love into your heart when He took up His abode in you. So there’s no reason to feel unloved or dejected because as long as God loves you, it doesn’t matter who doesn’t.

Instead of looking for people to love you, you can actually be the one giving out love. The Bible says “…the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Romans 5:5). God’s nature of love is in your heart already and you can share it with others who feel unloved, letting them know that God so loved them that He sent His Son to reach out to them, even when they didn’t care about Him.

If you’re born again God has reconciled you to Himself by Jesus Christ and has committed unto you the ministry of reconciling others to Him. Now, you’re the one to show the loveless, that have no hope, the love of God, for you have it in your heart. Share that love today. Sow that gift of love into someone’s life today.

Most people feel empty because they don’t have love in them, but as one who is born again, you have love in you. So it’s your responsibility to go out and share it. And what a great opportunity the season offers us to share God’s love with others. Make it a merry Christmas indeed for that loveless one who feels abandoned and neglected. Let him know that he’s the reason Jesus was born; he’s the reason for the season.

Prayer
Dear Father, I thank you because I have your very nature of love in my spirit; therefore, I do not hesitate to demonstrate love to my neighbours today. I’m rooted and grounded in your love that’s shared abroad in my heart by your Spirit who dwells in me, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Further Study
Ephesians 3:17-19
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

1 John 4:7-8
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.


Daily Scripture Reading
1 Year Bible Revelation 16
Reading plan Haggai

2 Year Bible Revelation 18:13-24

Reading Plan Zechariah 3-4

Christ Is Born In Our Hearts!

Christ Is Born In Our Hearts!

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11).

Merry Christmas! How wonderful to know that Jesus was born, and that the reason He came to the world was to bring salvation to the whole world. This is what makes Christmas a joyful celebration indeed. The Bible says in Luke 1:68-69 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.”

However, this salvation, as glorious as it was, was only a means to an end. God’s plan wasn’t just to bring us out of sin and bondage and leave us to suffer and rot away in life. His plan was to make us new creations and fill us with His Spirit so we could worship Him in spirit and in truth: “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him” (John 4:23).

For the Holy Spirit to come to the earth, Jesus had to first leave, which was why He told His disciples in John 16:7 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” Now, the Holy Spirit has come, not just to be with us, but to live in us. This is the greatest thing mankind could ever know; to become the very tabernacle of the living God. The very idea or suggestion of it alone is overwhelming. Jesus was born, and He lived to die that we might live. Today, we live because He lived, died, and came back to life to be born in us.

This is the excitement we share today; that the same Christ who was born nearly two thousand years ago, lived, died, and came back to life to be born in our hearts. Thus, Christmas will not only be remembered for the baby-Jesus that was born in Bethlehem, but for the Christ that is born in our hearts; who lives and reigns forever in us and through us. Aren’t you glad about Christmas? It made it possible for Christ to be born in our hearts, and to live and express Himself through us.

Prayer
Dear Father, thank you for sending your beloved Son, Jesus, not only to save us, but to make us new creations. Now I can celebrate the joy of Christmas today and every other day, rejoicing over the Christ that has been born in my heart! Thank you, dear Father, for Christmas, in Jesus’ Name. Amen,

Further Study
Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

John 14:16-17
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.


Daily Scripture Reading
1 Year Bible Revelation 17
Reading plan Zechariah 1-3

2 Year Bible Revelation 19:1-10

Reading Plan Zechariah 5-6

Commissioned To Reach The Whole World!

Commissioned To Reach The Whole World! 

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come (Matthew 24:14).

The Bible tells us in Luke chapter one of how the man of God, Zechariah, in excitement at the birth of John, his newborn son, prophetically addressed the little boy: “And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:76-79).

I remember praying with these words many years ago as the anointing of God was stirred within me. I realized it was my commission to preach the Gospel to the whole world. John was sent at the first advent of Christ, to preach a message which wasn’t to the whole world, but to Israel. We have been sent ahead of the second coming of Christ to give the knowledge of salvation unto ALL people.

This was what Jesus came to do; He came with a message to the world, and after preaching it to a certain point, He went to heaven and commissioned us to carry on from where He left off: “…he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand” (Isaiah 53:10). We’re that seed, in whose hands the pleasure of the Lord is prospering as we preach His message to the ends of the earth! We bring glory to Him today as we go as lights to those in darkness and the shadow of death.

You're the light of the world, but you’ll never know how brightly your light could shine until you reach out to those living in darkness. You’ll never know how powerful the gifts of God in your life are until you come to those in the shadow of death. Get committed to preaching the Gospel today; we’ve been commissioned to preach it to the whole world! What a glorious Christmas it would be for you, and for that one to whom you take the light of the Gospel and lead to Christ this yuletide season.

Confession
I’ve been called to go forth and give the knowledge of salvation unto all people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God. I am the light of the world, and I give light to those in my world today and guide their feet into the way of peace. Amen.

Further Study
Acts 1:8
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Psalms 22:27-28
All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the LORD's: and he is the governor among the nations.
Daily Scripture Reading
1 Year Bible Revelation 18
Reading plan Zechariah 4-6

2 Year Bible Revelation 19:11-21

Reading Plan Zechariah 7-8

He Planned For You Before You Came!

He Planned For You Before You Came!

For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which he prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live] (Ephesians 2:10 AMP).

As God’s children, we were chosen in Christ before the world began to live a successful and glorious life. We were predestined for greatness and the good life. You’re not an accident to God; you didn’t take Him by surprise. God didn’t just start fixing things on your behalf when you appeared on the scene so you can have a great life, no. He planned for you before you came.

Our opening verse says you were recreated in Christ Jesus, thoroughly fashioned for good works, which God planned beforehand for you, taking paths that He preordained ahead of time. He created you to do good works, and these good works, He says, were preordained ahead of time. Not only that, the path; the road you’re to journey through in life, in order to fulfill your destiny in God has also been prearranged.

Thus everyone you’d meet, everything that’s consistent with your destiny in God has been laid on that path that you’re to journey in life. Therefore, your passion for excellence and the glory-life isn’t just a mere desire, but the result of predestination. Little wonder the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 2:13: “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Your role is to synchronize yourself through the Word of God and the Holy Ghost, in God’s place, in God’s time, for God’s purpose, in God’s way. Then your life will be on course. You’d find yourself functioning in the perfect will of God and walking in His time table. How exciting this is!

Prayer
Through the power of the Word and by the working of God’s Spirit, I walk in God’s perfect will for my life today! There are no accidents or mishaps in my path, for I walk in preordained pathways of blessings! Goodness and mercy follow me everywhere I go, and I have the supernatural grace to excel in all my endeavours today, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Further Study
Romans 8:29-30
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

Titus 2:14
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Daily Scripture Reading
1 Year Bible Revelation 21
Reading plan Malachi 1-2

2 Year Bible Revelation 22:1-10

Reading Plan Malachi 1-2

Don’t Get Lost In “The World”

Don’t Get Lost In “The World”

And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares (Luke 21:34).

I’m often amazed at the kind of excuses some believers give for not attending Church services regularly. A young man once told me he couldn’t make out time to go to church on Sunday because he had to go play soccer. How sad.

The Lord Jesus Christ in the opening scripture warns us on the need to be careful, lest our hearts become overcharged with surfeiting. In other words, He’s telling us to avoid overindulgence in the things we’re interested in or like to do, so much so that we get lost in them. 1 John 2:15-17 says, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

Playing soccer or getting involved in any other kind of sport or recreational activity is good, but it’s only profitable to you in this life. Therefore, you shouldn’t let such engagements take pre-eminence over being in Church when you ought to. If you give your wholehearted attention to such transient endeavours you’ll miss out on the most significant things of life: “…bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (1 Timothy 4:8). So, to miss Church services for soccer or even a business meeting isn’t the best for you.

Even if you were ordered to go for such a business meeting or soccer practice on a Sunday morning, show yourself to be different and request a change in the schedule! Show yourself to be spiritual. Take it as an opportunity to prove your love for God by letting everyone else know you value the worship of God more than anything else in the world. Don’t let the things of the Spirit be relegated to second place in your life.

Prayer
Dear heavenly Father, I’m so thankful to you for your Word and the peace and comfort I derive therein. I affirm and confirm my love for you by declaring that nothing in this world is worth anything compared to the fullness of joy and the pleasures of your presence. You alone are my heart’s desire and I worship and adore you today and forever, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Further Study
Romans 8:5-8
For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Hebrews 10:25
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Daily Scripture Reading
1 Year Bible Revelation 22
Reading plan Malachi 3-4

2 Year Bible Revelation 22:11-21

Reading Plan Malachi 3-4

The Father Of Eternity

The Father Of Eternity

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

To many people in the world today, the future is bleak and uncertain because as far as they are concerned, no one knows tomorrow. So they live in blind hope, consoling themselves with the words, ‘Whatever will be will be!” But if you’re a child of God your heavenly Father knows tomorrow; therefore you can trust Him to lead and guide you into that great future He’s prepared and prearranged for you.

One of the names the Prophet Isaiah used in describing our heavenly Father in our opening verse is the phrase, “everlasting Father.” Now, this doesn’t just mean the Father that lives on and on and never dies. Of course it includes that; but the actual Hebrew rendering shows it means “Father of eternity.” So, He’s the Father that knows the future; the Father of an endless, joyful, successful, prosperous, healthy life!

God doesn’t have to wait for tomorrow to turn things around in your favour. You can trust Him today to handle your tomorrow, for He sees and knows all things. Your whole life is laid out before Him in pictures. He knows everywhere you’ll be at every point in your life, and knows every person you’ll ever meet. He knows every word you’ll ever speak.

In Isaiah 1:19, He says, “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.” The Living Bible translation puts it in the right context for us; it says, “If you will only let me help you, if you will only obey, then I will make you rich!” So, being the first day of the New Year, the everlasting Father is saying to you: “If you’ll let Me, I’ll cause the year to produce good for you! I’ll prosper you and cause you to excel beyond your dreams!”

God already knows what the year holds for you; therefore, you can trust Him to take care of you, help you and prosper you throughout this year. He knows whatever adversity satan may have placed in your path, which you may not be aware of. But as you diligently seek the Lord and serve Him, you can trust He’ll turn things around in your favour, and cause you to fulfil His destiny for you this year.

What you need is to keep receiving guidance and direction from Him through the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, on a daily basis! Take your personal times of prayer and meditation very seriously, and you’ll have a prosperous, joyous and successful year indeed.

Prayer
Blessed Father, I trust you to help, guide and lead me in the path of your destiny for me this year. I begin this year with the confidence and assurance that your wisdom is in my heart and in my mouth, causing me to do your will, every day of this year, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Further Study
Psalm 90:2
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

Daily Scripture Reading
1 Year Bible Matthew 1
Reading plan Genesis 1-2

2 Year Bible Matthew 1:1-14

Reading Plan Genesis 1

God Answers Prayers

God Answers Prayers 

For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened (Luke 11:10).

God answers prayers. He wouldn’t ask us to pray if He wasn’t going to answer. As a child of God, you have every right to expect answers when you pray (John 15:16). But if you pray to God, doubting, wavering or staggering in faith, you’re not going to get anything: “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:6-8).

To be double-minded is to vacillate, waver or stagger at the promises of God through unbelief. Such a man, the Bible says, can’t receive anything from God, for it takes faith to receive from Him: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). So for those who say they prayed, but God didn’t answer, we’ve established that the problem is not with God. Rather, such folks prayed amiss, not asking in faith: “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:3).

You need to understand that as the righteousness of God in Christ, God cannot “not” answer you when you pray in faith, in line with His Word. The Bible says the Lord hears the prayer of the righteous (Proverbs 15:29). 1 Peter 3:12 says, “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers…” Then James 5:16 lets us know that “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much”; in other words, it makes tremendous power available, dynamic in its working. Why? Because God hears and answers the prayer of the righteous!

So the question then is, are you “the righteous?” If you’re born again, you’re the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Consequently, it’s your God-ordained right to receive answers to prayers. It’s the delight of your heavenly Father to answer you when you present your requests to Him through prayer. Be bold to make your petitions known to Him today! Having done that, rejoice and thank Him, knowing that He’s heard and granted you that which you asked of Him.

Prayer
Dear Father, I thank you for your love, kindness and tender mercies. I’m delighted to know that your ears are always attentive to my prayers. Therefore, I approach your throneroom boldly today, making my petitions known unto you, with the confident assurance that you’ll grant all my requests, in Jesus’ Name. Amen

Further Study
1 John 5:14-15
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

Mark 11:24
Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Daily Scripture Reading
1 Year Bible Matthew 2
Reading plan Genesis 3-5

2 Year Bible Matthew 1:15-25

Reading Plan Genesis 2

Gracious, Merciful And Kind!

Gracious, Merciful And Kind!

The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy (Psalm 145:8).

Ephesians 2:4-5 says, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved).” Even when you were deep in sin, God loved you. Psalm 103:8 also says “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.” We serve a gracious and merciful heavenly Father, who is slow to wrath and quick to save and forgive.

There’s no sin so great that the blood of Jesus can’t cleanse. God’s forgiveness has nothing to do with the magnitude or gravity of your offence. Ephesians 1:7 says, “In whom (Jesus Christ) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” This lets you know that in Christ Jesus, you have redemption through His blood, and the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, not according to how minor or severe your sins are.

When you understand the love of God and how gracious He is, rather than run from Him when you do something wrong or make a mistake, you’ll run to Him. No wonder He says in Hebrews 4:16: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” You may be reading this today, but for some time now, you’ve carried this weight of guilt because of something you did wrong. Talk to the Lord about it and ask Him to forgive you.

Never allow the feeling of guilt or self condemnation fritter away your faith and dampen your zeal for spiritual things! The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy. He’s ever willing to take you from where you are to your glorious place in Christ. His forgiveness is available even now: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

God never encourages us to sin (1 John 2:1-2), but He lets us know that if you do sin, you have an advocate in the Person of Jesus, thus you have a right of appeal. He has graciously made forgiveness for sin one of your divine rights and privileges as a new creation in Christ.

Prayer
Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for your great love, mercy and compassion towards me! I rejoice to know that, in Christ, I’ve been redeemed through His blood, and have forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of your grace! Thank you for the glorious liberty to come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Further Study
Psalm 86:15
But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

Jonah 4:2
And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.

Nehemiah 9:31
Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.

Daily Scripture Reading
1 Year Bible Matthew 3
Reading plan Genesis 6-8

2 Year Bible Matthew 2:2-3

Reading Plan Genesis 3

God Delights In Your Prosperity

God Delights In Your Prosperity

Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant (Psalm 35:27).

There’re many who say it’s wrong for us Christians to be rich, but the Bible lets us know that riches and wealth come from God: “Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all” (1 Chronicles 29:12). Also, in 2 Chronicles 1:12, we read that God gave Solomon riches, wealth and honour, far beyond what any man on earth has ever had: “…I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like.”

Further more, the Bible shows us three bigwigs that God identified Himself with in the Bible: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Read about them, they were super rich on earth; yet, in heaven, God still identifies with them. This seems to bust the religious myth that when you’re rich on earth you’ll be small in heaven. It’s therefore wrong for anyone to say that God prefers to identify Himself with the poor and lowly. If that were the case, then many of us wouldn’t stand a chance with Him, including Abraham, whom the Bible says was very rich in cattle, silver, and in gold (Genesis 13:2).

When the king of Sodom wanted to reward Abraham for helping him out in battle, Abraham declined, saying “keep your reward to yourself, else you’ll say you made Abraham rich.” Abraham knew it was God that made him rich. What about his son Isaac? The Bible says “…the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him” (Genesis 26:13-14). He prospered so much until he became the envy of the Philistines.

So, prosperity is not of the devil; it’s the will of God for you. 3 John 1:2 says, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” God is the one that gives the power to get wealth, so He couldn’t possibly be against being rich and prosperous: “But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day” (Deuteronomy 8:18). He delights in your prosperity.

Prayer
Dear Father, thank you for making me your heir and putting everything in place for me to walk in super-abundance and experience prosperity in the earth. Your Word shows me today that you delight in my prosperity; for which I rejoice and thank you, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Further Study
2 Corinthians 8:9
For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

3 John 1:2
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

Daily Scripture Reading
1 Year Bible Matthew 4
Reading plan Genesis 9-11

2 Year Bible Matthew 2:13-23

Reading Plan Genesis 4