Sunday, April 24, 2011

April 24: Lead Gently with Compassion

"Then Esau said, “Let us take our journey; let us go, and I will go before you.” But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are weak, and the flocks and herds which are nursing are with me. And if the men should drive them hard one day, all the flock will die. Please let my lord go on ahead before his servant. I will lead on slowly at a pace which the livestock that go before me, and the children, are able to endure, until I come to my lord in Seir.” (Gen 33:13-14)

There is a story I read about a 19th century explorer who was leading a group of Africans in an expedition to another part of the continent. On the first three days of the expedition, they walked briskly and made very great progress at a rate faster than usual, putting them ahead of their schedule. The explorer was very happy.  

On the fourth day, however, he woke up in the morning to discover that his African companions wouldn't start out. They told him they were not moving - that they had being moving so fast and it was time to rest, so their souls could catch up with their bodies. 

Yesterday, we learned from our text that leaders should lead with knowledge. Today we see another leadership lesson from the text

2.  Leaders should lead gently and with compassion.

Sometimes we outrun our souls and drive others to do so too. One of the characteristics of leaders is that they are people of vision. They often see farther than the people they are leading. They have the capacity to see so far into the future that their followers have to catch up with them.  This is good. However, if this ability is not properly handled, it could often lead the leader to drive the followers beyond their capacity to endure. This leads to disastrous consequences such as burning out, discouragement and stress, first for the followers, and eventually for the leader. 

Gordon McDonalds in his great book, "Ordering Your Private Life"  distinguishes between a drive and a call. Being driven is usually linked to some external pull such as a need to fit in, to be accepted by peers or  to be regarded as successful. Driven people find it difficult to say no. Being called on the other hand is having an internal sense of purpose. It is not being motivated by external accolades but by divine direction. Driven people find it difficult to say no while called people say no to things that look good but are detrimental to the health of their souls. 

Driven leaders drive others. Called leaders lead gently. They are not lazy but they understand that busyness and activity are not the measure of progress but progressively following God.  Jesus often stopped all activities, spa rating His followers into a deserted place in other or them to be refreshed. Jacob refused to drive the sheep. He chose to lead slowly, demonstrating his compassion for them. 

In your leadership, you will be tempted sometimes to become driven and to drive. Resolve to lead your followers at a pace they can handle. Break down your huge vision into phases. Rather than dump everything you have to say on your followers at once,  give information in chunks they can handle without becoming overwhelmed. Show compassion to the weak and faltering.  Always remember that excessive drive leads to a crash and the eventual loss of the fulfillment of your vision. Lead gently like the savior who "... tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." (Isa 40:11). He is our example of great leadership.

Decision of the Day

I refuse to be a driven person but a called one. I will allow my soul to be in step with my schedule. I will not outrun my spirit. I will lead gently and with compassion like the savior. 

April 23: Lead with Knowledge

"Then Esau said, “Let us take our journey; let us go, and I will go before you.” But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are weak, and the flocks and herds which are nursing are with me. And if the men should drive them hard one day, all the flock will die. Please let my lord go on ahead before his servant. I will lead on slowly at a pace which the livestock that go before me, and the children, are able to endure, until I come to my lord in Seir.” (Gen 33:13-14)


The subject of leadership is on that should be of interest to everyone since we all lead in one way or the other. Parents lead their children. Teachers lead students. Pastors lead their flock. We occupy certain roles at work that require us to lead. Now, even if you occupy no leadership position in terms of leading others, you are still expected to lead yourself, which can be the hardest of all. 

There are a few leadership lessons In our text today that leaders of every stripe should add to their leadership arsenal in other to be more effective as leaders. Jacob, the master shepherd, when Esau asked him to join him in the journey, responded with the true heart of a shepherd and leader. In the next few day, we will be identifying the various leadership lessons in this text. Today we look at the first lesson which is that,

1.  Leaders should know the states of their followers. 

"Jacob said, "My lord knows that the children are weak, and the flocks and herds which are nursing are with me"  Proverbs 27:23 says, "Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds;" 

Leaders should do all they can to keep up with the events in the lives of those they lead. They should know the capacity, uniqueness, strength, weakness, gifts, talents and other important identification metrics of each person the lead. Parents should endeavor to know the  unique personalities of each of their children, the friends they keep, their aspirations etc. 

There are various ways this can be done formally or informally. Examples include having regular feedback meetings, being generally observant, praying or those you lead, using surveys and evaluations etc. As believers, we also have access to supernatural information by the Holy Spirit which He readily gives when we ask.  Whatever tool you use, it is the goal that is paramount which to be acquainted with the current states of those you lead. 

Knowledge empowers you to make the right decisions in leading your followers appropriate for the time. You will know the right words to say to them and the right tools to give them. Without the knowledge of their state, you will be in the dark. Granted, you can not possibly know everything going on, but make attempts to keep yourself updated often on their current conditions.

Have you been given charge over some people as a leader? How familiar are you with what is going on in their lives? Take some time to update yourself on the state of each of them. Get into their worlds and feel the temperature. Do this often. You will become a more effective leader. If you are a follower, cooperate with your leaders and empower them to do this by being open and sincere. When leaders and followers work together, great things get achieved. 


Decision of the Day

I will not lead in the dark. I will be diligent to know the states of those I lead. I will be open and sincere in dealing with my leaders. 

Friday, April 22, 2011

April 22: If the Man is Right, His World Will be Right

Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him."(Gen 32:24,25)


There is the story of a minister who was trying to prepare his sermon one Saturday morning with difficulty. His wife had gone out to shop and he was left with his young son who was restless. To occupy his son for a while and free himself to finish his sermon, he had an idea. He picked up an old magazine that had the map of the world on a page and tore that page into several little bits.  He then scattered the little pieces all over the floor and told his little son to pick the pieces up and reassemble the map of the world. He figured it would take the boy a long while, buying him enough time to finish preparing his sermon. 

To his surprise, the boy came into his study within a few minutes with the puzzle reassembled. He asked his son, "how did you figure it out so quickly?" the boy replied, "It was easy. There was the picture of a man at the back of the map. I just put the picture of the man together and turned the paper around. I figured that if I got the man right, the world will be right" 

The preacher smiled a gave the boy a quarter. "You have given me my sermon tomorrow, " he said. "If a man is right, his world will be right"

Sometimes we pray to change things outside us but the real change that needs to happen is within. Something in us must break before we see our desire fulfilled. We are the ones that need righting before our world could be righted. 

Jacob was praying for the blessing. He wanted a change in the circumstances of his life. He needed intervention concerning his brother Esau who was seeking to kill him. God never addressed all that. Instead God focused on changing Jacob himself. He changed his name and broke his hip! His name represented his identity, the scar was a permanent reminder of that night. 

What are you praying for God to change in your life? Your spouse, children, your boss or finances. The answer to the change you. When you change, your situation will follow suit. You are the one enforcing the prevailing situations in your life now. God doesn't want to deal with symptoms. He wants to deal with the root cause. Something might need to be broken in you: a habit, a pattern of thinking, an attitude, pride, selfishness, self-sufficiency etc. This usually take time and during those times, you will feel your answer is delayed or not coming. God is not withholding your answer from you but before He can pour the new wine of you life, your wineskin must change, else the wineskin would tear and the wine be spilled. God doesn't waste resources. That's why He will change you first because when you are right, your world will be right.

Decision of the Day

I will submit to God's dealing with me. I will let Him change my attitude and any other thing in my life that needs to change. I will cooperate with Him to transform me. Then my circumstances will be transformed.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

April 21: Wrestling with God

"Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” (Genesis 32:25-30)

We know of worshipping God. It is comfortable to think of praising God. We are familiar with humbly beseeching God. But to wrestle with Him. That sounds a little weird. Yet that's what our text says Jacob did. He had a wrestling match with God all night and won. Granted, He wan't wrestling with God per se. He was wrestling with with an angel who was on a tag team with God. You remember those tag team wrestling matches. When you wrestle with your opponent's team mate, you are wrestling with your opponent and if you prevail before the opponent could touch his partner, you won them both.

A wrestling  match is always about something. For example,  a contest for a prize, a score to settle, or a prearranged fight for entertainment.  This was no entertainment. No one was there to watch.  Jacob had a goal. He was going to hang on to the angel until something changes in his life. He was willing to fight for it. He was ready to lose his sleep over it. He was ready to hang on even if the fight extended for days. He had made up His mind. His reasoning must have been something like this, "If I can't find my answer with God, where else could I go? Who else could I ask? Now that I have an opportunity to have His presence, to see Him face to face, I won't let go until He changes me"  

Jacob once again demonstrated the intense hunger that pleases and moves God. He first demonstrated it from the womb, struggling with his twin brother, then when he was born, holding to his brother's legs. Then later, in obtaining the blessing and in working to marry Rachel. This man's intensity and hunger pushed him beyond limits and helped him lay hold on God's plans for him.

There are times in life when you must demonstrate this type of desperation for God. Times when you will separate from everyone to seek His face. Times when you set your goal and let Him know, that except things change, you are not leaving His presence. It may take a whole night. It may take weeks, months or years but you relentlessly appear in His presence with the same cry in your heart. God honors such persistence with His blessing.

You too can prevail with God and then with men. Set yourself to seek Him with no intention of quitting until your change comes. God will come through for you.

Decision of the Day

I understand that there are times when I must separate myself and seek God consistently with no intention of quitting until the circumstances of my life change or until something changes in my character. I will be sensitive to God to recognize these seasons. I will respond by praying until something happens.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

April 19: Sometimes the Only Way Forward is To Be Left Alone

"That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak."  (Gen 32:22-24)


Sometimes life can seem like a whirlwind. Bustles of activities, demands and responsibilities consume the hours of the day like Pacman eats up all the dots. Finding time alone can sometimes seem like a fight. Yet the fight of life can never be won if we spend all our time with people.  

Imagine Jacob with two contentious wives, eleven sons, several servants and possessions- an unsettled nomad moving back home after decades of absence. He wasn't marching joyfully and victoriously back home either, but was in almost debilitating fear of his brother Esau's wrath. There was much to attend to, but Jacob knew somehow, that if he didn't leave all the demands, separating himself to be alone with God, all he had would soon mean nothing. He desperately needed to make contact with God. He needed a change in his circumstances. His desperation drove him to be alone with God. He met God when he separated from all to seek His face. 

There are some things that can only be accomplished in your life when you are alone with God. Many great things you will never enjoy until you learn to spend time with Him in solitude. Paul's greatest legacies where his writings, most of which were written while he was confined alone in prison. Jesus began his ministry with forty days alone in the wilderness. Moses saw the burning bush and got his call while alone. Later he spent forty days alone on the mountain with God and his face shone with glory afterward. David developed intimacy and strength for his purpose while alone tending his Father's sheep.  There are many wonderful things that happen when you are in community with other believers but there is a depth in God and His purpose for your life that you will never reach until you have private, intimate moments with Him alone. You can never find yourself in the midst of the crowd. You find yourself alone with Him.

Sometimes the best thing that God can do for you is to allow issues in your life that will drive you to Him. Sometimes, He will allow everyone to abandon you. A lover may jilt you, parents may forsake you, friends, betray you. Children may leave home and never call enough. Sometimes, he will allow the rejection of people to break your unhealthy dependence on them and to lead you to His own ever accepting heart. Sometimes, you will be the one who will separate yourself deliberately from people like Jacob did in order to meet with God. 

He wants intimacy with you, but intimacy is never developed in the public view. It takes privacy. There are issues that you can never resolve in your life until God gets you alone and begins to work on them in the crucible of solitude.  Jesus said, "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." (Matt 6:6).

Don't live the whole of your Christian life in the open. Let it not be that the worship and prayers people see you offering in the open are all there is to your devotional life. Let it not be that your bible is only opened when you are among other believers, but gathers dust when you are alone. Let it not be that the preacher's voice is all you hear, because there is no time of personal study and meditation with God.  There should be some secrets between God and you. Intimate people have secrets known only to them. Do you have secrets with God? Juicy things  He's shared with you meant only for your ears, or experiences and revelations unlawful to share.   

H.L Hastings said, "Souls often grow lonely in a crowd, and starve in the midst of temples, worshipers and ordinances. God would have us alone with Him sometimes. Coming to church is not coming to Christ. "Enter into thy closet, and,  shut thy door." Shut out nonsense, business, care and pleasure. Shut out flatteries and frowns. Shut out strangers and acquaintances. Shut out friends and foes. Shut out this world and open the window that looks out upon the next. Give the mind rest. Give the ear quiet. Give the tongue silence. Give the heart meditation. Give the soul communion with God; look up, there are blessings waiting for you. Listen: God speaks in His still small voice. Ask: God waits to hear. See that your soul is at peace with God. See that no shade of sin hides from your sight the Heavenly Father's face."

So in the midst of your hectic schedule, take time to be alone with God. Shut the world out and have holy times with Him. The greatest times of your life will be these moments, for in them you will dine with the divine and make your greatest spiritual progress. 


Decision of the Day

I understand that being alone with God is not optional. It is required. I desire to develop intimacy with God, so regularly, I will take a break from the demands of life. I will shut my doors, separate myself from all and fellowship with my God- my maker and lover. 

Monday, April 18, 2011

April 18: Seeing is Becoming

"Now Jacob took for himself rods of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut trees, peeled white strips in them, and exposed the white which was in the rods. And the rods which he had peeled, he set before the flocks in the gutters, in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, so that they should conceive when they came to drink. So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted...And it came to pass, whenever the stronger livestock conceived, that Jacob placed the rods before the eyes of the livestock in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods." (Gen 30:37-41)

What you keep seeing, you will reenact and reproduce. Jacob wanted the flocks to give birth to streaked, speckled and spotted offsprings, so he set striped rods before their eyes. As the flocks saw the rod, they reproduced after what they saw. This is a useful story to illustrate a principle in life. What you set before your eyes will determine what you eventually reproduce in your life. Pictures are like seeds in the mind. They produce after their own kind.

The eye is a very powerful organ. It is one of the gates to the heart and mind. Whatever the eye continually focuses on will become a reality in the life of the owner. This is because what the eyes sees provides image materials for the imagination to use in forming its picture, then the pictures in your mind determine the direction of your life. Your inner picture determines your outer future. What you constantly see, you are gradually becoming. Look at what Paul the apostle said, 

"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." ( 2 Cor 3:18)

As we continue seeing the Lord through His word, we become transformed into His image. We become more and more like Him. We take on His characteristics. 

It also works the same way in the negative, Jesus said, “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"(Matt 6:22-23)

So use your eye well. Watch what you place before it. Be selective with what you watch on tv and online. See every image that bombards your mind as a scenario that seeks to become your experience. Deliberately place before your eyes pleasing pictures and images whose fruits in your life will bring glory to Him. Covenant with your eyes like two great men of the bible, Job and David, who said,  

I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman?". ( Job 31:1)
" I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me" .(Psalm 101:3)

As you deliberately choose the focus of your vision, you will be rewarded in life as you begin to see like Jacob's flocks, things taking on shades and stripes similar to what you've placed before your eyes.

Decision of the Day

I understand that what is the continual focus of my vision will reproduce itself in my life. So today I choose to focus on the right things. I will guard my eyes, knowing that it is a gate to my soul. I covenant with my eyes today. I will only fix my eyes on what I wish to become, because seeing is becoming. 

Saturday, April 16, 2011

April 16: The Midas Touch

"But Laban said to him, "If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you." He added, "Name your wages, and I will pay them." Jacob said to him, "You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care.The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?"(Genesis 30:27-30)

You probably have read the Greek mythological story of King Midas whose touch turned everything to gold. This is not a perfect parallel to the blessing because Midas gift from the fairy came as result of greed and became a curse for him when his food and only daughter also turned to gold at his touch. However, I think the story is useful for illustrating an important characteristics of the blessing of God - the ability to cause what it touches to succeed.

Laban testifies of this. After Jacob arrived in his house, God blessed Laban so much that His wealth increased greatly and everything He did increased and succeeded all because of Jacob. The same was said of Joseph in Potiphar's house. 

"The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field." (Genesis 39:2-5).

In Deuteronomy 28:12, it was promised,  "The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none."

Then Psalm 1:3,  speaking of the blessed person says "That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers."

There is something about the blessing that changes things. It turns little into much. It creates a way where there is none. It causes success. It releases progress. It distinguishes the blessed and marks their endeavor with a touch of excellence. It is the power and presence of God work working through imperfect humans. God on flesh doing what only God can do. Blessed people are assets to those who know them and associates with them. The lives of those who associate with them and yield to the blessing on them experience the same touch of God that they have on them. Companies that they work in prosper. Those who form alliances with them and honor the blessing on them receive it's impact.  Their nations and communities are privileged to have them because through their lives their environments are objected to the blessing influence.

You are that blessed person if Jesus lives in you. If you have accepted Him as your Lord and savior, you have that touch on your life. Now be aware of it. Declare it. Expect it to manifest in all that you do. Bless those around you. Touch hurting people, places and situations around you with your blessed hand. Your hands are now the hands of Jesus. You are part of his body. "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."  (1 Cor 12:27). Christ's body is a blessed body. You are part of it. Think of what Christ was to the people that knew Him when He walked the shores of Galilee. That's what you are to be to your family, community and nation. You are blessed to be a blessing.

Stop struggling with this fact. Accept it and go on a blessing spree. Speak words of peace to your surrounding. Bless your children. Bless your job. Bless your community. Bless your nation. Blessed the unblessed. Insert yourself into the hard issues of your surrounding and put your leased hand on It. Touch everything you can with your blessed hand and they will turn into objects of praise to God. There will be no regret like Midas had because "The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it." (Prov 10:22 NKJV).


Decision of the Day

I am blessed. I have the blessing touch because I am a member of the blessed body of Christ. Everything I touch is blessed. I am blessed to be a blessing. Everywhere I live is blessed. Everywhere I go is blessed. My work is blessed. My family is blessed. Through my life the blessing of Christ is passed on to other people. I will be a person of influence to the glory of God.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

April 15: The Woman Who Wanted To Be Loved

"When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless.Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, "It is because the lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now." She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Because the lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too." So she named him Simeon. Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." So he was named Levi.She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "This time I will praise the lord." So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children."(Genesis 29:31-35)


You are in phony marriage. Your dad's crazy idea. Your husband was tricked into marrying you because your dad felt your chance of ever getting married was nil. Your husband is in love with another woman. Not just another woman, but your younger sister who was a stunner. That same younger sister everyone has always complimented on her beauty since you were kids, with only a slight nod at you for being present. It seems as if she loved her husband who didn't care for her a bit. She fulfilled marital and conjugal obligations. One wonders how painful it must have been, with her full knowledge that her passionate husband who could serve 14 years for another woman, didn't want her at all. While he was with her, his mind was on another woman. This was the story of Leah, the first wife of Jacob.

After seven years of a loveless marriage, her sister Rachel soon became the second wife. Her husband got who he wanted, but she had only one thing going for her, which her sister did not have. She was a baby machine. She was churning them out one after the other, each time hoping to be wanted, to be loved, to be honored because of her childbearing. It did not work. Every attempt to get some love failed. The loveless marriage continued. Rivalry soon came into the picture.

Everyone can identify with Leah's story, both male and female. It is the story of someone seeking acceptance, doing everything she could to gain some attention, to be brought into the circle, to be loved and to belong. It is the story of a search for identity.

First she sought for identity in marriage. It wasn't there. She sought for it in a husband. He couldn't give it. Then she turned to children. It remained elusive. She named all her children after what her heart cried for. The first one was Reuben, which meant "See, a son." She was pointing to what she had produced. Similar to how we try to find our identity in the things we've produced. Our talents. Our careers etc. Then she named the second one, Simeon, meaning "heard." She thought she would find recognition and thus acceptance. It didn't work. Her next son was named Levi, which means "attached." This too did not work. This is similar to how we try to find identity in who we know and are attached to.

Unknown to her, God was the one giving her the sons as a message of His love for her. But she wasn't looking in that direction. She was looking for love and acceptance with the people around her. She had a void in her heart that only God could fill, but she kept trying to fill it with other things.Finally, it seemed she got the message. She named her next son Judah, which means "praise." Then she stopped having kids.

You identity will not be found in men, women, marriage, children,  career or recognition. Your identity is from God. You will find it when you turn your eyes to Him and in praise, accept who He has made you to be and who you are in Christ. You need to give birth to your own Judah and cease childbearing for acceptance. Cease working to be noticed, serving to be loved, and wounding yourself in the tireless pursuit of accomplishments in order to find yourself. Christ loves you and you are accepted in Him.

Decision of the Day

Today I resolve to stop my search for identity in humans and things. I turn my eyes to God who loves me. I will become acquainted with who I am in Christ for He has accepted me as His beloved.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

April 13: Love Makes Heavy Loads Light

"So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her." (Genesis 29:20)

Years ago, a young mother, with her tiny baby in her arms, was caught in a blizzard while trying to go across the hills of South Wales.  The blizzard was so much that she did not make it to her destination. When it was over, the rescuers found her body buried under a pile of snow but they discovered something else. Before her death she had taken off all her clothes and wrapped it around her baby. When they unwrapped her child, they found him alive and well. She had sacrificed her life for her son. That son, David Lloyd George, grew up to become the prime minister of Great Britain, and one of England’s greatest statesman. 

There is no greater motivation in life than love. Love is powerful. When someone is motivated by true love, he or she will go to the farthest extent for the object of his or her love. True love has no limit to what It can endure, the sacrifice it will make and how much of itself it is willing to to give for the object of his love.

Solomon writing about the power of love in the the Canticles says: "Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If one were to give all the wealth of one's house for love, it would be utterly scorned." (Songs of Solomon 8:6,7).

Love is strong. Jacob's love for Rachel made his sacrifice seem like nothing. It made the years run by quickly. Love shortens time. Time flies when love is motivating an action. Love sacrifices without complaints. It gives without requiring in return. Love gives away its rights for those it loves. It labors tirelessly to give. Love can wait. 

Such demonstration of love is becoming scarce in our days. Selfishness has become the order of the day. The belief is that love is no longer worth fighting for anymore if it does not bring immediate returns. Marriages dissolve at the slightest convenience and for ridiculously flimsy reasons. Shepherds abandon flocks for greener pastures. Sheep desert the shepherd in times of hardship. Parents put their comfort above raising their children. Friends betray. Lovers jilt because the partner refuses to give in to sinful premarital sex. 

Oh that true love will live again in our world. That we will see the day again when love prompts self-denying sacrifice and patience. When actions will be carried out not just because of what we can get but the good we can do. Love has not died. It is alive and well. The God-love has been shed abroad in our hearts. This is even stronger than Jacob's love. It is for us to put to use.

Today, pray to be a conveyor of this type of love. Ask God to send into your life those you can love but who may never repay you. Celebrate those who currently display unselfish love to you or have done so in the past.  Look beyond your comfort and immediate benefit and gird yourself for the labor of love. It will not be a burden because love makes the heavy loads light.

Decision of the Day

The love of God is shed abroad in my heart. This love is sacrificial love. It is patient love. It is love that labors for those it loves even when there is no immediate reward. It puts people ahead of things. It does not complain when it serves. I will practice this kind of love today and everyday.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

April 12: God in Crooked Places

"Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously." ( Genesis 28:18,19)

God never ceases to amaze. You would think when He wants to reveal himself, He would choose the top spots of the earth and the most hallowed places of all. But often and again, He manifests himself in places that could make you blush. He came as a baby in a manger not as a king in  a palace. He met Saul on the treacherous road to Damascus, not in a sanctified synagogue. Jesus, God in the flesh, was often accused of blessing the publicans and sinners with His presence. 

In our text today, Jacob renamed the place where he had seen the vision. The name used to Luz but He named it Bethel. Luz means "crooked," "twisted", or "deviant" while Bethel means " house of God." Up until the night before, it was a twisted place, but after the appearance of God, it became the house of God. God showed up in a crooked place to speak to the cheat. 

One could only speculate on how the city got its original name. May be it was a land where the people are crooked or a place where depraved things have taken place. May be it was a place dedicated for some special use but had since been made to deviate from the original intention for it to crookedness. That didn't matter to God, He met Jacob there and the place was never the same again.

Never let the long standing  characteristics of a thing lead you to believe that that is its end. Never give up on any issue because it has always produced unwanted fruits. God is a God of transformation. He can change anything and use it for His purpose. A marriage headed for the rocks previously, can be turned around to becoming the house of God. That business which has previously been unprofitable, with a visitation from God, can suddenly become a fruitful business. That child whose ways have deviated from the Lord can become a dedicated priest of God for His glory. Even our twisted experiences and mistakes can be turned around and used for God's purpose.

Wherever you are now, present the situations of your life to Him. what has been doesn't  have to continue the way it is. You can have a new beginning. You can start afresh. You can rededicate life to Him afresh. In the crooked places of your life, God can emerge. Pour the oil of prayer upon the hurting place of your life. Commit your past into his hand. From the twisted, a glorious edifice for God could emerge. Forget the past. Restart from today. Lay a fresh foundation.

Decision of the Day

I understand that God can appear in the twisted to bring about His purpose. The part of my life that appears to have headed in the wrong direction can be reconsecrated to Him. I choose to dedicate to him all my experiences good and bad, mistakes and misses. No matter how it has been previously, I can give it a new name. I can lay a new foundation.

Monday, April 11, 2011

April 11: Lord Open My Eyes

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it."  (Genesis 28:16)


Helen Keller, the late American author, activist, lecturer and the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree, once said, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.”  Vision is the ability to see the invisible. It is the ability to be aware of unseen possibilities when they are not obvious to the physical eyes. 

The story is told about how Michelangelo carved, David, one of the most famous statues of all time. He was offered an abandoned block which which he worked on for a long time, chipping away the edges until the statue was made. He said, "In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it." In other words, he had the ability to see possibilities in things that most people see differently. This is vision. 

"Lord open my eyes" is a prayer every believer should pray.  You should pray it everyday. Right now there are many things around you that are connected to the fulfillment of your purpose that your physical eyes do not perceive.  There are people in your life now who hold the keys or answers to something you've been searching for, or are connected to someone with the answer. There are places you visit now that if God would open your eyes, you would see their significance to your destiny. Every thing you need is around you now waiting for your recognition. The provisions of God are around you, they only need to be seen. Until you are able to see them, they remain in the dark and are of no benefit to you even though they are there for you. 

A story in the life of Elisha illustrates this point. "When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?" the servant asked. "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed, "Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see." Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha."( 2 Kings 6:15-17).

When Elisha first told the servant that those that were with them were more than those with the opposition, the servant most have been confused, seeing they were only two, but Elisha was looking into another realm. He was counting resources in the invisible spirit realm. God eventually opened the servant's eyes and he too could see the source of Elisha's confidence.

There is more for you too than what is against you. You have a lot of help, provisions and blessings that are yours in the invisible realm. All that needs to happen is for you to start seeing them. The way to step into that level of seeing is to pray. Pray regularly for God to open your spiritual eyes. Ask Him to give you perception and discernment. Ask Him to show you what is yours and what you are missing. He promised in Jeremiah 33:3,  "Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand). (AMP).

Start praying like that from now on and you will be amazed at the great revelations you will begin to see in His word, with the unveiling of the things He's placed around you that you do not recognize now. You will also begin to say like Jacob, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it."

Decision of the Day

"Lord open my eyes so that I can see all that are mine that I do not see now. Enlighten the eyes of my heart. Give me clearer vision to see you and to look beyond what the natural eyes can see " This will be my prayer from now on. 

"

Sunday, April 10, 2011

April 10: Becoming More Aware

"When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it."  (Genesis 28:16)

Have you ever had the experience of buying a particular thing and then suddenly you start seeing it all over the place. You buy a red car and suddenly you begin to see that type of car on the road everywhere you look. Parents of new babies suddenly start seeing babies, baby stuff and daycares all over the place. Now, it is not that those things haven't been there all along, it is only that you just became aware of them. 

To be aware is to know and be cognizant of what is present or going on. It is being able to discern what is in your surrounding. It is a perception of something that is ongoing. Jacob had arrived at this place, turn the stone into a pillow and has gone to sleep totally unaware that much God-activity was going on there and that God was there to communicate with him. He felt it was an ordinary place. He was totally unaware of the presence of God. It wasn't until he woke up from his sleep that he realized that he was in a sacred place. He became aware.

Just like Jacob, there are many things in our lives that to us look ordinary. Many circumstances, chance encounters, events, people, places and  situations in which we find ourselves that show no hint of a God-presence but which truly are saturated with God, but which we are unaware of. That new friend, that coincidental meeting, that church, that new neighborhood etc. 

It is very easy to miss spiritual things. The natural is usually first to claim the first place in our awareness. The ordinary look of things can cause  us to miss the days of God's visitation. Things God has orchestrated for our good can all be forfeited because we fail to recognize that it was His hand. This is reason why one of the top prayers we should  pray is for God Himself to open the eyes of our hearts so that we can see things that we would otherwise miss. 

According to the Bible, there is a lot God is doing in you and around you right now. There are blessings He has deposited in your life but which are currently invisible to your physical eye. In fact, everything you need for life and godliness is already around you waiting to be recognized. All the answers to your questions are around you. The full provision for your life are already there with you but the only way you can tap into them is through awareness. 

So pray today for God to increase your awareness of spiritual things. Ask Him to show you what He's provided and where they are located. Pray the prayer of Paul or the Ephesians church. 

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God's people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.." ( Eph 1:15-18)

Pray this prayer often. Ask God to increase your awareness of spiritual things. Then maybe concerning certain situations and events of your life that look ordinary, when God opens your awareness, you will exclaim like Jacob, "the Lord is in this place but I wasn't aware of it"

Decision of the Day

I want to be aware of spiritual things. I want to see God wherever He is at work. I will pray this prayer of Paul for myself continually and God will open my understanding to see things I easily missed. He will make me more aware of His workings in and around me.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

April 9: A Promise to Claim

"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." ( Genesis 28:15)

A promise from God is a statement you can depend on with complete confidence. Like treasures scattered all over a terrain, waiting for those who would pick them up and turn them into wealth, so are the promises of God scattered all over the pages of scriptures waiting for those who would claim them and convert them into manifestations.  There are about  8,810 promises in the Bible, 7,706 in the Old Testament and 1,104 in the New Testament. Each of these promises is backed by God's faithfulness and unbending commitment. Each of them invokes His power. When trusted, nothing in the universe can stop them from coming to pass.

Our text today is one of these promises. God was speaking to fugitive Jabob about His plans for Jacob's life. He sealed His revelation to Jacob with this promise.Even though it was directed at Jacob, it is still a promise you can claim for your life. Why, because 2 Timothy 3:16,17 says " All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

All of scriptures is God breathed for your profit. What is in this promise of God to you?

1.His abiding presence." I will be with you." God has promised never to leave you or abandon you. No matter who has left you, He hasn't and will not. He is the friend closer than a brother. He sticks with His people. No matter what you are going through right now, just remember that you are not going through it alone. He is with you now. 

2. His watchful eyes. God is watching over you. He is protecting you. He is guiding your path. He is keeping watch over the terrains you thread to keep away things that will harm you. He is guarding you from the malicious intents of the devil. He is watching over you whether you are awake or sleeping, at home or inside. His eyes are on you. The very hair on your head are numbered. Nothing can happen to you without His notice.


3. His orchestration: "I will bring you back."  I will arrange your life in such a way that you will find yourself in my will. This is what God will do. He will order your steps, orchestrate your life into His best plans for you. He will bring you to your place, into your job, into your own marriage, your ministry etc. 

4. His perseverance. "I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you."  God is promising to stick with you anyway. Through your rises and your falls. Through your discouragement and tiredness. When it seems He's left you, check to see if what He said to you has happened. If it has not been fulfilled, He's still very much at work in you and for you. He will complete what He started. He will not stop halfway or leave you as an abandoned project. He will see to the end of what He's spoken to you about.

This promise is yours. Receive it. Claim it. The power of God will avail on your behalf.

Decision of the Day

I thank God for His promises over my life. I will receive, study, and meditate and claim them. They will work wonders in my life

Friday, April 8, 2011

Your Choice of Marriage Partner Affects the Blessing

"So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him: "Do not marry a Canaanite woman. Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother's father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother." (Genesis 1:2)

Why would Isaac make such a blanket statement about whom Jacob should not marry? Abraham did the same regarding Isaac, making his servant swear not to get a wife for Isaac among the Canaanites.   Sure there must have been some nice Canaanites around, yet they were all disqualified from marrying these covenant children.

The reason is obvious. Abraham and Isaac knew that who one marries affects the blessing. Jacob was going to be the carrier of the blessing of Abraham and the contamination of the blessing was not an option. Marrying a Canaanite would have been disastrous for a couple of reasons:

1. Covenant: He would have become joined by covenant with an immoral people under the curse of God and who were facing pending destruction (Genesis 15:16).  

2. Influence: the relationship that influences us the most is the marriage relationship.  Marrying a Canaanite would have led Jacob to compromise by embracing the idolatrous practices of the Canaanites. His wife's family would have required him to practice idolatry, thus making his descendants do the same and thus jeopardizing the blessing. Solomon's heart was turned away by ungodly women (1 Kings 11:1-8).

3. Mingling: The curse and the blessing cannot mingle. When two people marry, they are bringing either curses or blessings from their family roots.  Marrying a Canaanite would have contaminated the blessing on Jacob.

4. Agreement. Marriage partners should have agreeing goals. The goals of the hier of Abraham's blessing was different from that of an idolatrous Canaanite.

If you are unmarried and you are reading this, settle it once and for all, there are some people you cannot marry. It would be better to stay unmarried than going willfully into such marriages. This will have nothing to do with whether they are physically attractive or financially resourced or not. They could even be nice, courteous, progressive, charitable or ambitious. They could have everything on your list of wants, yet you must not marry them.

Scripture warns,  "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?  What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? "(2 Cor 6:14-15).

This command covers not marrying someone who has not surrendered his life to Christ and whose life and practice do not converge with yours.  It's not even all believers that you can marry. Some are worse than unbelievers. Your obedience to this command shows your level of commitment to God because who you are willing to marry is a pointer to your character. If you are willing to marry someone who despises your savior and Lord or is not committed to him, then it is obvious who you really are.

You are a child of God. Unsaved people are children of the devil(John 8:44), so marrying an unbeliever is making the devil your father- in- law. You are trying to join God and the devil in marriage. This applies to marrying someone of another religion too. Such an arrangement cannot work. You will experience sore troubles. How will you pray together? What will you teach your children? How will you fulfill your calling in God? Many people have diminished their destinies because of who they chose to marry. Many destinies have been destroyed by wrong marriages. Marriage is to assist you in fulfilling God's purpose, not just for the purpose of hooking up with someone you like or are attracted to. If you were to mary just based on strong attractions you will be married many times.

It's time for you straighten up and obey God. He has your interest at heart. Break that unblessed relationship in honor of God. Trust Him to lead you to another believer that you can walk with in agreement. You will be glad you did.

Decision of the Day

I understand that who I marry will affect my ability to walk in the plans of God. I choose today to end all ungodly relationships and to trust God to lead me to a person after His heart. God will honor my obedience and bless me for it.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

April 7: The Power of Restlessness


"Esau said to his father, "Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!" Then Esau wept aloud. His father Isaac answered him, "Your dwelling will be away from the earth's richness, away from the dew of heaven above. You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck."
(Gen 27:38-40)

Complacency is the curse of the current, the enforcer of the status quo. Limitations love lethargy but the greatest fear of the status quo is a person who becomes restless as a result of his limitations. A restless person, the one who say's "I've had it with this thing" will not be held down by limitations for much longer.

This was Isaac's message to Esau, "Sure,  you will serve our brother, this declaration will make it so but when you get to the point when you become restless, you can break the yoke of this curse of servitude." This is a statement that testifies to the power of the restless will. It can even break supernaturally imposed limitations.

You will face many things in life that seek to limit you: financial limitations, habitual sin, domineering humans, educational limitations, health issues, background and family history, harvest of personal errors, official reports of your handicap in one area of the other. All these are real limitations but in the thinking of God, none of them has the right to be permanently victorious over you, except you continue to allow them.

So when God wants to bring freedom into your life, He does it by inspiring a restlessness in your heart. He births a desperation to be free. He creates a yearning you can't shake to break through the limitations and advance to freedom.You will get fed up with the status quo. The restlessness will linger. You will be unable to let it go. You will feel like you are washing your feet with your socks on. 

It is a favor from God to be dissatisfied with the status quo. That's where change begin. Until you get sick and tired of being sick and tired you will continue to be sick and tired.  This type of restless is a signal that you are due for change. You are no longer satisfied within you by the work you are doing. Something that used to excite you before now feels like a cage. You feel trapped and limited. Like a caged bird, you want to burst forth and spread your wings. 

When you begin to feel this way, you must act immediately. Get into prayer and clarify the specific cause of your restlessness. What is it that God is working within you to will to do? Find out where a change must take place in your life. Receive the ability before God to break through that limitation. Receive wisdom from Him on what to do. Never neglect a lingering sense of spiritual dissatisfaction. It is a signal that there is a new level beckoning to you. 

If you notice that you are lukewarm and complacent about your life, ask God to inspire this restlessness in you. That is the only thing that will continually motivate you to take the necessary steps to the next level of your walk in Him. It will empower you to break every limitation in your life. I pray that you will experience this stirring of God in your heart. 


Decision of the Day  

I understand the power of restlessness. I will not be complacent anymore. Lord make me restless when I'm out of step with you any part of my life. In the areas that I feel restless right now, show me what I lack and give me wisdom on what I must do to walk in your perfect will.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

April 6: A Great Loss

"After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father's presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, "My father, please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing." His father Isaac asked him, "Who are you?" "I am your son," he answered, "your firstborn, Esau." Isaac trembled violently and said, "Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!"When Esau heard his father's words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, "Bless me—me too, my father... Isaac answered Esau, "I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?"


Smith Wigglesworth, the great apostle of faith in the early part of the 20th century, who God used to raise many people from the dead, used to say, " I'd rather have the anointing of God for 10 minutes than to own the whole world with a fence round it."  The anointing and the blessing of God are one and the same. It is the most precious thing anyone can possess. To lose it is to lose all. 

Loss is a grievous thing. Loss of any sort can be painful. Loss of a loved one, an opportunity, or a precious possession are all painful experiences, but I think the loss Esau faced here is one of the most excruciatingly painful loss that one could face. Esau lost the blessing. It rightly belonged to him. It was his birthright, but it got taken from him. He lost the opportunity to inherit Abraham's blessing, to be in the savior's lineage. He lost a future. 

It was such a painful loss that he burst into loud cries and wept bitterly. He had despised the blessing before, but suddenly he realized what he lost when it was too late. He didn't just lose it then. He lost it long ago when he sold his birthright to Jacob for a single meal. The harvest of his unwise decision just manifested and his eyes opened to realize what he just missed. They say, people don't know what they've got until it's gone. When something is taken away, then it becomes more valuable because people often don't value what they have.

The lesson of today is that the blessing can be lost. An opportunity to be anointed can be taken away. A calling can be diminished or destroyed no matter it's previous promise. Paul in I Cor 9:27 says: "No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."  David prayed after his affair with Bathsheba, " Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me." (Psalm 51:11). Samson realized it when the philistines were on him after telling Delilah the secret of his power" Then she called, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" He awoke from his sleep and thought, "I'll go out as before and shake myself free." But he did not know that the Lord had left him." (Judges 16:20)

What operations of God are in your life today? What blessings, grace or favor is flowing today? Value it. Honor it. Protect it. Be vigilant. Be aware. It can be easily lost. It is a loss greater than any other loss to have once experienced the overflowing touch of God with the promise that comes with it and then to throw it all away for a single fleshly pleasure. The effect is deeper than depression. Ask Saul, who lost the anointing of God to have it replaced by a demonic, murderous, depressive, spirit o insanity.

So value and hang on to the promises of God, the channels of blessings in your life, the grace you already enjoy and the uncommon blessings of God you see. Don't take them lightly. They are the most important things you've got. Hang on to them tenaciously. 


Decision of the Day

I will hold on to God's blessing in my life. I will not trivialize it. I will hold it in high esteem. I will no lose it. It is all I've got.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

April 5: Seven Steps to the Father's Blessing

"So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, "Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed. May God give you heaven's dew and earth's richness— an abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed." (Genesis 27:27-29)

Jacob finally got his desire fulfilled. He received the irrevocable blessing he had longed for all his life. Once the blessing was released, Jacob's destiny was sealed. The force of the blessing would gradually enforce it. He became the next generation carrier of the amazing blessing and inheritance of Abraham. He potentially  became the one through whom the Messiah, who would bless all the families of the earth, would come. The blessing sealed his destiny.

Today, let's review the steps that got Jacob into this privileged position and learn from them on how to secure the blessing of God for your destiny.

1. Jacob valued the blessing. He had a deep respect and craving for the blessing. Contrast him to Esau who sold the right to it for one meal. Esau did not value it, but Jacob did. You must value the blessing. You must recognize that everything you need to fulfill your purpose on earth is in the blessing. You do not seek after things, you seek the kingdom, which is the blessing and all the other things will be added to you.

2. Jacob pursued the blessing. He strategized and schemed for it. The blessing requires pursuit. It requires you to seek it. Seek to be around it. Plan to be where it is flowing. Walk with those who have it. Arrange your finances and schedule to connect with it. It will not just fall on you without doing anything. It will require you to show through your consistent pursuit that you value it.

3. Jacob listened to his mother's counsel. Even though it was to deceive, he would have missed the blessing had he not obeyed. The blessing comes with an instruction manual on how to get it, protect it and keep it. It is the bible. There are also people who have learned to appropriate the blessing in their lives. Seek their counsel. Read their books. If Rebecca had not heard what Isaac said to Esau and informed Jacob, Jacob would have missed the blessing. So open your ears. Some insider's secrets to the blessing is coming to you now. Heed it humbly and be blessed.

4. Jacob found all he needed to connect to the anointing at home. Esau went to the field to hunt but Jacob used what was in the house. What you need to connect to the anointing and blessing of God is already with you. Your heart, the Bible, your respect and honor to him and his human custodians, your tithe, your desire etc. They are already with you. Even the custodian of the blessing was there in the same house with him not far off in another land. 

5. Jacob recognized the human custodian of the blessing. God will not come down from heaven to bless and anoint you. He will do it through human vessels that He has made custodians. These include authority figures like parents, pastors, the five-fold ministry offices, spouses. You must recognize them. Some of them will come in ways that are not your style.  Some will Look weak and uncultured. Some will be younger than you or less financially resources than you. Isaac was blind and feeble. Yet Jacob recognized that the blessing is inherent in the position Isaac occupied not in his physical state or any other factor. The authority rested in the position of fatherhood. Your pastor can bless you because of the pastoral office not because of his eloquence, wealth or age. Your parents can bless you not because of their position in society, their size or possession but because they occupy the office of parents. Your husband can bless you not because of his income relative to yours, or his status in society but because he occupies a head position ordained by God. 

6. Jacob honored the human custodian of the blessing. He brought food. He served. He ministered to Isaac. He respected and honored him. The blessing does not flow sideways or uphill. It flows downhill. "And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater."  (Hebrews 7:7). This is a law. You can never receive the inheritance blessing through someone you see as your equal or subordinate. It will not flow through someone you don't respect and honor. Show honor by speaking honorably of the person. Serve this person like Elisha served Elijah. Give financially and materially into their lives. Protect them. Honor them in your heart. Esteem them highly. Treat them with gravity. You will then have created the pull of gravity needed to release the blessing.

7. Jacob went to his Father's presence. Words communicate the blessing. The words of the custodians represent his or her presence. Make use of every opportunity you have to meet with the person or be around him or her. If you cannot be with the person, soak in his or her words by listening to them. Remind yourself of what you've heard them say and honor their words. The blessing on them will flow to you.

These are the seven steps that Jacob took to secure the Father's blessing. You can also do the same and come in contact with destiny-releasing inheritance blessing. 


Decision of the Day

I understand that the blessing is all I need to fulfill my destiny. I will take this seven steps from the example of Jacob and so I will constantly walk in the blessing.

Monday, April 4, 2011

April 4: Strategizing for the Blessing

"He went to his father and said, "My father." "Yes, my son," he answered. "Who is it?" Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing."Isaac asked his son, "How did you find it so quickly, my son?" "The Lord your God gave me success," he replied. Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau."He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he proceeded to bless him." (Genesis 27:18-22)

A strategy is a plan, method, or series of maneuvers  for obtaining a specific goal or result. In our text today, Jacob had because of his hunger and value for the blessing, develop a strategy to obtain it. His plan succeeded. He planned and executed it because he was desperate and hungry. He didn't want to do without the blessing.

Desperation and pursuit are the major qualifications for promotion in the kingdom of God. It is those that are poor in spirit, those that hunger and thirst, that will be blessed according to Jesus. Your level of desire and hunger for a kingdom benefit is a measure of your value for it. Hungry and desperate people always caught the attention of Jesus while He was here on the earth and they still do now that He's at the Father's right hand. It is for this reason that stories like that of the whom with the issue of blood who defied laws banning her from appearing publicly and pressed through a crowd just to touch the hem of Jesus' garment. Or the story of the paralyzed man whose friends broke the roof to get to Jesus. Or blind Bartimaeus who screamed at the top of his voice to get Jesus' attention and ran to him tearing of his beggar's garb. How about the short man Zaccheus who climbed a tree just to see Jesus.

Spiritual hunger displayed shows the level of value. In our text today, even though Jacob was cheating his brother out of the blessing, his high value for the blessing shines through the story. He schemed for the blessing because he desperately wanted it. God honored that. Like the paralytic man and his friends, though breaking down the roof of a house was not lawful, yet Jesus did not rebuke them. God also allowed the blessing to be transferred to Jacob despite his wrong actions.

You must also become so desperate for the presence and blessing of God, that you go the extraordinary step to secure its manifestation in your life. Plan for it. Be on the lookout for it. Deliberately get into the presence of the blessed. Put some thought to it. Don't wait for it to accidentally drop on your life but proactively pursue it. Go after it on purpose. Plan for it in your schedule. Strategize for it. Seek counsel on what you can do to secure it. Read about it. Then execute you plans. Plan how you can bless the blessed people around you consistently and how you can get to be in their company.  Those  who strategize for the blessing and carry out their plans by faith in God will be ready for it when it's released. It will be a consistent flow in their lives. God will honor your value of His blessing  demonstrated by your pursuit.

Decision of the Day

I value the influence and the blessing of God over my life so I will pursue it. I will strategize for it. God will honor my pursuit.

April 3: Provoking the Father's Blessing

"Isaac said, "I am now an old man and don't know the day of my death. Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die." 

Isaac asked Esau to go out and hunt game and prepare him some tasty food so he could bless him. Why ask for food before releasing the blessing?

It is obvious from scriptures that there is some sort of connection between the satisfaction of a human custodian of the blessing and the release of the blessing from God. When the soul of the custodian is touched in one way or the other, the blessing is either released or withheld. If the touch is a pleasing touch, the blessing is provoked. If it is a displeasing touch, the blessing is withheld or a curse is provoked.

This principle is seen in God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3  "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

In order words, anyone that blesses a blessed person will in turn receive an impartation of the blessing from God, but anyone that curses a blessed person will be cursed of God. So it is possible to provide a cause for the blessing to be released by ministering to the soul of the blessing custodian. You can provoke a release of the blessing by ministering to the blessed. This is what Isaac was prepping Esau to do.

We can also see this principle in the new testament when the woman poured the fragrance from her alabaster box and wiped Jesus feet with her hairs. We see it when Peter gave his boat to Jesus to use and received a mind-blowing staggering catch of fish and a calling to be an apostle. We see it when the Philippians church ministered to Paul's personal needs and provoked an invocation of God's power for the supply of all their needs. 

"I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it...Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need.Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account.I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:10-19)

You too can use this principle to your advantage. Many people pray for blessings but it is far better to provoke a blessing than ask for it. To provoke it means doing things that will cause God   to release it without you asking for it. The more impact your act of service makes on the life of the custodian, the greater the blessing manifested. 

The blessing of God is all you need for your life. It is the end of your struggles. It was what was lost in Eden. Now you have access to it. You can increase its manifestation in your life by deliberately provoking its release. When you honor those that God honors you provoke the blessing. You can provoke the blessing by honoring your parents, pastors, spouse and those in the service of God. Always look for opportunities to do things to serve and touch the souls of those who occupy these positions in your life. Send them some gifts. Do some acts of service for them. Minister to their physical needs. Respect and honor them. Watch how you speak to them and about them.  Make this a consistent habit in your life. You will be amazed at how the blessing of God will flow continually in your life. 

Decision of the Day

I understand that I can provoke the blessing by blessing blessed people. By honoring those who are authority figures in my life with acts of service and material help, I can increase the manifestation of the blessing in my life. Today I decide that this will be my lifestyle. I will put thoughts into honoring my parents, pastors and spiritual leaders with tangible things. Rather than praying for the blessing, I will provoke it. God will honor me for this.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

April 2: The Father’s Blessing

"Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death. Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.”" (Genesis 27:2)

The FBI once conducted a study on several kids that killed their classmates in some little towns of America. They discovered that all the kids had something in common, a bad relationship with their fathers.

Many other studies have shown that there is a primal need in the heart of everyone for the love, acceptance, approval, presence, involvement and spoken belief of a father. The absence of these shows up in unpleasant ways in children who lack it. Apart from these emotional factors contributed to children’s lives by a father, there is also a spiritual force that fathers possess that can enhance the lives of their children. This is the father’s blessing.

In our text today, Isaac recognizing that he had the authority to bless his children sent Esau to prepare food for him so that Esau’s service could provoke this ability to bless. We will be studying this passage for the next few days but today our meditation will be on what the father’s blessing is.

To understand the father’s blessing, there are two laws you must understand. The first is the law governing sources and offspring. The law states that the offspring must stay connected to its source because the source of a thing also contains its sustenance. A river that gets cut off from its source eventually runs dry. A plant uprooted from the ground will wither and die. There must always remain an intact connection between the offspring and its source for effective functioning.

The second law is the law of authority. Every position has authority inherent in it that God honors, regardless of who occupies it. For example, no matter who the president is, the presidency must be honored and the authority inherent in the position holds when it is invoked by the president.

These two laws govern the father-child relationship too. A child must stay connected to his father or he or she will live under a curse. Fathers also have inherent in their position as sources, the ability to bless their offspring. God who respects authority that He has established will honor whatever a father utters over his children in blessing. This is the reason why the first commandment with a promise was regarding the proper treatment of sources.

"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”"
(Ephesians 6:1-2)

The proper treatment of sources, both spiritual and natural, will ensure that you live a life that is well and prolonged.

This was what Isaac was planning to do. He had received the blessing from his father, now he was about to pass it on to his child. But it had to be provoked with honor and service.

The blessing of a father is indispensable. If you are a child, don’t live without it. Crave it like Jacob did. "Scheme" for it if you will. Ask your pastor and parents to speak words of blessings on your life. Provoke it by service and honor. When it comes on your life, it will be worth it. It will be the difference between a life of frustration and a successful one. If you are a father or pastor, bless your children and spiritual wards. Consciously speak words of blessings over their lives. Exercise your God-given authority to enhance the lives of your offshoots. You will be leaving a legacy.

Decision of the Day

I understand the value of a father’s blessing. From this day, I will watch out for it. I will crave it. I will plan for it and ask for it. I will honor my parents and pastors. I will position myself to be enhanced by the God-given authority in their position. My life will be blessed.

Friday, April 1, 2011

April 1: Room to Flourish

"He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, "Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land." (Genesis 26:22)

Room. Space. Freedom. Territory. My own spot. Breathing space. Resting place. Land. No limit. No restriction. My own house. My dreams.

The preceding is a list of things various people long for. No one loves restriction, containment or tightness. That was the desire in the heart of Isaac in our text today. Isaac had just gone though a difficult situation. Forced by a famine, he moved his family to Gerar and there he met unwelcoming and hostile Philistines clogging every well he dug with rubbish.

Every well He dug, the envious Philistines would contest with him over it and claim it as theirs. They wouldn't come before he dug the well but after exerting time and labor, they would come to take it from him. He dug one well, they took from him and so he called it contention. They took another and he called it enmity. Finally, he moved away and dug another well which they did not contest for. Isaac heaved a sigh of relief and named that well Rehoboth, which means, "wide space" or "broad place." He had located wide enough space to increase as God has promised.

There are some important lessons from this passage:

1. Space is needed for increase. Limited space means limited growth. The increase of your life will conform to the capacity you have to receive. Large space beckons to more increase. Little space stops the miracle of increase like lack of jars caused the oil to cease flowing in the story of the widow and Elisha. It is because of this reason that God says we should expand our tent, strengthen our stakes and stretch out our curtains in Isaiah 54. We need room for increase. Room in our thoughts. Expansion in our minds. Space in our storehouses.

2. The enemy does not want you to have space. Satan wants to contain you. He desires to limit you. He doesn't mind if you serve God as long as it doesn't go beyond you. He will do anything to keep you restricted and alienated. He will contest with you for every territory you choose to possess. He wants to relegate you to a corner.

3. The enemy uses people to keep you contained. They will contest with you. Some will suggest thoughts of limitations to your mind. You will experience  multiple hindrances on the way to your place. You will pass by the well of enmity. You will dig contentious wells. These wells tend to drain you rather than refresh you. You will be tempted to quit but don't stay there. Don't quit.

4. Move if you have to get space. Don't dwell on the loss of your current space. Isaac kept moving. That job may not be it. That house may not be it. That relationship may not be it. Keep moving on. Don't camp at the well of strife. Don't stay in the dry places. Rehoboth is ahead.

5. There is a broad place for you. God has made room for you. There is an optimal place where you can flourish. It is a spiritual place. It is a mental place. It is a physical place. It is a geographical place. It is a social place. It is a financial place. It is a place where you can spread your wings as a bird and soar. It is the place where you drink from the well of refreshing. It is a place of no limitation. God created it for you. It is waiting for you, but you have to move there. To move may mean you have to make an adjustment in your mind. It may mean to have to move geographically. Whatever you do, don't stay where you are in limitations. Don't stay in restrictions. Move into the wide space God has created for you.

Decision of the Day

I see that there is a place of expansion and increase that belongs to me. God has made room for me. I will not dwell in the places of contention and containment. I will be persistent. I will find my space and increase in it by God.