“Prayer is the Key”

Monday, May 13.

“Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help us in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Prayer is a privilege that God gives us. The reason being that we are sinners. How can we approach a holy God who nature is flawless and perfect? Fortunately that is what Christians are invited to do, approach God with boldness so as to receive the help we need.

While we take prayer for granted, we should never forget what God did to open that opportunity for us. God sacrificed his only Son Jesus Christ to give us such opportunity. Because of His holiness, it takes blood sacrifice to approach him. Today, we do not have to do it. Jesus paid it all. Let us therefore prayer constantly for it is a great opportunity.

Memory verse: Leviticus 17:11

“Prayer is simply a two way communication between you and God.” Billy Graham

Wednesday, May 8.

“God remembers we are dust” Psalms 103:14

We experience a barrier in knowing God.  This is because we do not know that God knows so much about us.  We tend to forget that God knows our going out and our coming in.  God knows our hidden sins.  Until we know how much God knows about us, we will find it difficult to come close to God.

We can not fool God.  Sometimes, we are reluctant in reading the Bible or praying.  We think of ourselves as failures. But we must all remember that God knows us well. 

This Psalm is one that helps to show God as a compassionate God.  God loves to help the needy.  God shows mercy to the needy.  What are you waiting for today?  Seek God and you will find him.  He remembers that he made you from the dust and has a plan for you.

Memory verse: Psalm 103:6

“God has a bigger plan for me than I for myself.” Youtube.com

“Grace will Carry Through”

Tuesday, May 7.

“By the grace of God, I am what I am” (1 Corinthians 15:16).

Grace is God’s unmerited favor towards us. It is God’s gift for us for eternal life. Without grace, we would all perish.

We need to understand that grace goes beyond our salvation.  Grace becomes the spring from which all blessings flow from God.  In other words, he who saves us by grace also brings us into the sphere of grace and endows us with all the blessings and favors that accompany this divine expression of love.  In fact, this attitude of God was hinted at in the Old Testament: “It shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear: for I am gracious” (Exodus 22:27). Similar expressions are also found in Nehemiah 9:17 and Jonah 4:2.  Paul wrote in Romans 5 that God abounds in grace. The word translated “abound” means to “exist in superabundance.” All of God’s dealings with his people are filtered through his marvelous grace! Thus we can be eternally grateful that God deals with us through grace not justice.

Let us acknowledged God’s grace.

Memory verse:Romans 3:20

“Grace in women has more effect than beauty.” William Hazlitt

“A Praying Mother”

Monday, May 6.

“And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore….” 1Samuel 1:10.

The [assage ion Samuel 1 tells the story of Hannah. She was an example of a praying mother. The reason is that her child’s birth was an answer to prayer. Hannah dedicated this child to the Lord. She made a covenant with God through prayer.

When the child was born, Hannah kept her promise to God. Samuel’s life was a good life. This was due to the unceasing prayer of his mother. We learn of the president of the United States whose mother was a praying mother. President Abraham Lincoln’s mother would put him on her knees and pray. It said that she thought it would be the best idea for Abraham Lincoln to read the Bible than to own a farm.

It is our prayers that God will raise up mothers who are prayerful.

Memory verse: Exodus 2:2

“Prayer does not change God, it changes him who pray.” Soren Keikegaard

“Jesus in the Old Testament”

Wednesday, May 1.

Jesus said, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:37).

From beginning to end, the Bible reveals the glory of Jesus. Jesus is the end of the Jewish story. To better understand that, we will want to understand the Old Testament.

The Bible mentions that Jesus is the last Adam. Adam is not just the first man, he is the representative of humanity. God blessed him and gave him responsibilities. These responsibilities were priest, king, prophets. Jesus is the holder of the same office but holds the greatest title.

In Romans 3:21, Paul tells us that Jesus is testified to by the laws and the prophets: “But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the law and the prophet testifies.” The law and prophets is the shorthand of the Old Testament. It prophesy and testify of the salvation which came through Christ.

There are many places in the Old Testament that talks about Christ. The prophet Joneh talks about it in Jonah 2:9, “Salvation is of the Lord.” It is important to understand that Christ work of salvation is a theme that resonate in the Old Testament. Let us heed Christ and enjoy eternal life.

Memory verse: Deuteronomy 18:15.

“Grace is beauty of form under the under the influence of freedom.” Friedrich Shiller

“Confidence in difficult Times”

Tuesday, April 30.

“God giveth grace unto the humble” James 4:6

Life itself will not be an easy journey. Our Lord Jesus Christ in his sojourn on this earth went through some difficulties. He thirst. He was hungry and exhausted from the harsh realities of this world. There was not a day that Jesus refused to do the will of the Father.

In our Christian lives, we too will face difficult times. There will be trials, temptations, and evil unimaginable. Jesus Christ reminded us that “to be his disciple, we must take up the cross.” In carrying our cross, let us be mindful that God is with us.

James tells us that in our humility to do the will of God, God’s grace will always be with us. The grace of God will always carry us through.

Memory verse: Proverbs 11:2

“Grace must find expression in life, otherwise it is not grace.” Karl Barth

“He will ever be mindful of his covenant” (Psalms 111:5)

It is an amazing thing for God to enter into covenant with man. The mere fact that God would create man is unimaginable. Paul tells us that he is not surprise that God will think about man. The reason is that God loves humankind unconditionally.

God reminds us throughout Scriptures that he will be our God. This gives us a sense of belonging. God made good on his promise by offering us the chance to make our lives right. This chance is offer through grace. He takes away our sins so we can have eternal life and enjoy his blessings forever. God tells us he will be our God and we are going to be his people.

This covenant is an everlasting covenant. Let us take advantage of it and do what God wants us to do.

Memory verse: Ezekiel 11:19

“Just when life tries to overwhelm you, God’s grace is there to pick you up.” Quotepie.com

“The Hope of the Resurrection”

Wednesday, April 24.

“He which raised him up shall also raise you up in Christ’s Jesus…” 2 Corinthians 4:14.

The resurrection makes a difference. The resurrection enables Christians and all who believed to have eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. This means that we will all have immortality. The day will come when this mortal body will no more be mortal. We will have a new body.

Hopelessness and despair is everywhere. We need hope. The resurrection gives us hope. The body uses oxygen. We need oxygen to survive. This is how we need hope for the future. Peter pointed out that our hope comes through the resurrection.

There is hope that we can have joy, peace, security and assurance. There is hope that will come day a new heaven and a new earth. All the old things will pass away. God will make all things new, Let us put our trust in the resurrection of Jesus.

Memory verse: Revelation 21:3

“He is Risen” (Matthew 29:7

he next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

It is a very difficult thing to believe that Jesus would remove the heavy stone placed at the entrance of the tomb. But the reality is that the stone was removed. Jesus Christ is no longer in the tomb. This is an important thing for our Christian faith.

It is the power of his resurrection that gives meaning to Christianity. It is the power of his resurrection that makes us receiver of eternal life. It is the power of his resurrection that makes us the children of God. It is important for us to stand on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

As we commemorate the death of Jesus, let us continue in the act of worship.

Memory verse: James 1:21

“At the heart of the Christian faith is Jesus’ death and resurrection.” John Ortberg

“When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garment and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand why I have done to you?” You call me teacher and Lord, and you are right, for I am so. If I then, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.

This passage begins by showing the divine nature of love. The washing of the disciples feet shows that Jesus himself is love. It teaches all of us to demonstrate love in the same way.

When we look at Christ’s actions in this passage, we see the beauty of freedom in serving others. Putting others first in our lives is a beautiful thing to do. It is so because Christ’s demonstration of love here exceed any service a person can render to others.

Philippians 2:6-7 informs us that Christ made himself into a servant and assumed the very nature of God. Jesus was able to serve others because he knew God loves us beyond measure. Let us love one another in the same fashion.

Memory verse: Philippians 2:6

“The service you do for others is the rent you pay for your own room here on earth.” Mohammed Ali