Daily Manna: As The Old Year Exit!
Tuesday 31, December 2013
TEXT: 1 SAMUEL 7:1-12
KEY VERSE: “And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel. Then Samuel…called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us” (1 Samuel 7:10,12).
An American businessman in Boston once declared, “Before I die, I mean to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I’m gonna climb Mount Sinai. And when I’m up there I’m gonna read the Ten Commandments aloud at the top of my voice!” A listener, Mark Twain quipped, “I got a better idea. Stay in Boston and keep them”. In today’s text, we note Samuel’s directive to backsliding Israel. Their prompt obedience really set the stage for the LORD Jehovah to proof His power in their midst by comprehensively dealing with and discomfiting the enemies (the Philistines) that rose against them.
How we need to renew our consecration to obey God unconditionally! We suffer and totter miserably when our obedience is incomplete. We come short of God’s glory when we fail to acknowledge His goodness and mercies and how He has seen us through a most challenging year. Even so, Samuel’s designation of the place of sacrifice as “Ebenezer…hitherto hath the LORD helped us” is a fitting acknowledgement of God’s manifold mercies to an undeserving people over the ages.
The Philistines, no matter how formidable, are not strong enough to defeat the true believer who lives by the unchanging standard of God’s word. Obedience, a song writer penned, brings a blessing. A grateful heart before God opens up a floodgate of blessings from the Most High.
As we bid the year 2013 goodbye and stand at the threshold of a new year, how we need to fully obey the Lord with all our hearts and put away every form of iniquity and idolatry from our lives so that the desired victories for 2014 will not elude us. And when we fully obey God and follow His will, we must learn to break forth into praises when enemies harass us. God will surely see us through in the new year.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: His grace will see you through.
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Monday, 30 December 2013
Daily Manna: Odour Of Sweet Smell. Monday 30, December 2013
Daily Manna: Odour Of Sweet Smell
Monday 30, December 2013
TEXT: PSALM 100:1-5
KEY VERSE: “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name” (Psalm 100:4).
The speaker in a convention attended by a quadriplegic Joni Eareckson Tada (who cannot walk because of a diving accident she had at age seventeen), urged everyone to kneel to worship God. Joni began to cry being the only one unable to do that. With tearful eyes, she said, “Lord Jesus, I can’t wait for the day when I will rise up on resurrected legs. The first thing I will do then is to drop on grateful, glorified knees and worship you.”
God inhabits the praises of His children (Psalm 22:3). The Psalmist was mindful of this truth when in our text he calls on us to “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise.” God deserves our praise for His greatness. He is the very foundation of our existence and is infinitely most powerful. He is greater than all things man has ever venerated. The Creator and Manager of all nature and the Deliverer of the helpless is most worthy to receive all glory, honour and praise as best as we possibly can muster. Many are the benefits you have enjoyed from the Lord; without Him, you would have been a victim of war, natural disaster, accident, assassination, ritual murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, terrorist attack, etc. Perhaps, you may even have been dead before now.
We dishonor God when we show by the way we speak, look or act, that we are ungrateful to Him maybe as a result of present pain or challenges of life. But if we learn to praise and appreciate God for what He has done and promised to do, He will do much more for us. We should learn to worship God for the redemption benefits we are enjoying through Christ. His Kingship, divine and eternal attributes should make us bow our hearts and bend the knees to worship the Almighty God. Let us then come with pure hearts and give Him all adoration and praise. Make it a habit to constantly praise and venerate the King of kings and Lord of lords.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Praise is the ingredient which moves God to rend the heavens.
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Monday 30, December 2013
TEXT: PSALM 100:1-5
KEY VERSE: “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name” (Psalm 100:4).
The speaker in a convention attended by a quadriplegic Joni Eareckson Tada (who cannot walk because of a diving accident she had at age seventeen), urged everyone to kneel to worship God. Joni began to cry being the only one unable to do that. With tearful eyes, she said, “Lord Jesus, I can’t wait for the day when I will rise up on resurrected legs. The first thing I will do then is to drop on grateful, glorified knees and worship you.”
God inhabits the praises of His children (Psalm 22:3). The Psalmist was mindful of this truth when in our text he calls on us to “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise.” God deserves our praise for His greatness. He is the very foundation of our existence and is infinitely most powerful. He is greater than all things man has ever venerated. The Creator and Manager of all nature and the Deliverer of the helpless is most worthy to receive all glory, honour and praise as best as we possibly can muster. Many are the benefits you have enjoyed from the Lord; without Him, you would have been a victim of war, natural disaster, accident, assassination, ritual murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, terrorist attack, etc. Perhaps, you may even have been dead before now.
We dishonor God when we show by the way we speak, look or act, that we are ungrateful to Him maybe as a result of present pain or challenges of life. But if we learn to praise and appreciate God for what He has done and promised to do, He will do much more for us. We should learn to worship God for the redemption benefits we are enjoying through Christ. His Kingship, divine and eternal attributes should make us bow our hearts and bend the knees to worship the Almighty God. Let us then come with pure hearts and give Him all adoration and praise. Make it a habit to constantly praise and venerate the King of kings and Lord of lords.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Praise is the ingredient which moves God to rend the heavens.
***Share your thoughts and what you've just learnt in the comments section below. Don't forget to SHARE!
Wednesday, 25 December 2013
Daily Manna: Knowledge Of His Will. Thursday 26, December 2013
Daily Manna: Knowledge Of His Will
Thursday 26, December 2013
TEXT: COLOSSIANS 1:9-19
KEY VERSE: “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (Colossians 1:9).
Bilquis Sheikh shared with us her conversion and life experience in her book “I dare to call Him Father”. Bilquis was a devoted Muslim from a prominent family living in Pakistan in the 1960’s. In her deeper search into the Koran to find hope and meaning to life, she noticed the mention of Prophet Jesus and asked her maid to get her a Bible so she could read more about Him. This started her journey from Islam into the Christian faith. As she began to read the Bible, the Lord Jesus appeared to her to confirm what she was reading, a number of times. These experiences struck her such that she approached the local Christian missionary, Synnove Mitchell to learn more. Over the following weeks and months, God revealed to her that the Christ of the Bible is the true Hope for life here and hereafter. She got soundly converted and through rejection and persecution, the Lord made her life a strong testimony, demonstrating God’s ability to sustain all who would come to Him through Jesus Christ.
In our text today, Paul made two powerful requests for believers. The first is that God will fill the believer with the knowledge of His will. A deep and true knowledge of God’s word is essential for the spiritual health of all Christians. It is this knowledge that controls our thoughts, our habits and blossoms into a blessed Christian character. The second prayer is the result of the first that the believer will walk worthy of the Lord. Walking worthy of the Lord leads to bearing fruit in every good work, increasing in the full knowledge of God and living a thankful, God-honouring life.
All this begins with the knowledge of God’s will and word. The centrality of His will is that “The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9) and live a life worthy of the Lord in all purity and righteousness. How we need to heed the word of God in its entirety!
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: The Scripture will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from the Scripture.
***Share your thoughts and what you've just learnt in the comments section below. Don't forget to SHARE!
Thursday 26, December 2013
TEXT: COLOSSIANS 1:9-19
KEY VERSE: “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (Colossians 1:9).
Bilquis Sheikh shared with us her conversion and life experience in her book “I dare to call Him Father”. Bilquis was a devoted Muslim from a prominent family living in Pakistan in the 1960’s. In her deeper search into the Koran to find hope and meaning to life, she noticed the mention of Prophet Jesus and asked her maid to get her a Bible so she could read more about Him. This started her journey from Islam into the Christian faith. As she began to read the Bible, the Lord Jesus appeared to her to confirm what she was reading, a number of times. These experiences struck her such that she approached the local Christian missionary, Synnove Mitchell to learn more. Over the following weeks and months, God revealed to her that the Christ of the Bible is the true Hope for life here and hereafter. She got soundly converted and through rejection and persecution, the Lord made her life a strong testimony, demonstrating God’s ability to sustain all who would come to Him through Jesus Christ.
In our text today, Paul made two powerful requests for believers. The first is that God will fill the believer with the knowledge of His will. A deep and true knowledge of God’s word is essential for the spiritual health of all Christians. It is this knowledge that controls our thoughts, our habits and blossoms into a blessed Christian character. The second prayer is the result of the first that the believer will walk worthy of the Lord. Walking worthy of the Lord leads to bearing fruit in every good work, increasing in the full knowledge of God and living a thankful, God-honouring life.
All this begins with the knowledge of God’s will and word. The centrality of His will is that “The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9) and live a life worthy of the Lord in all purity and righteousness. How we need to heed the word of God in its entirety!
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: The Scripture will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from the Scripture.
***Share your thoughts and what you've just learnt in the comments section below. Don't forget to SHARE!
Tuesday, 24 December 2013
Daily Manna: Doubts: Needless Hiccup. Tuesday 24, December 2013
Daily Manna: Doubts: Needless Hiccup
Tuesday 24, December 2013
TEXT: LUKE 1:5-26
KEY VERSE: “And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season” (Luke 1:20).
Jeremy Taylor, an English clergyman, once said: “In dwelling on divine mysteries, keep your heart humble, your thoughts reverent, your soul holy. Let not philosophy be ashamed to be confuted, nor logic to be confounded, nor reason to be surpassed. What you cannot prove, approve; what you cannot comprehend, believe; what you can believe, admire and love and obey. So shall your ignorance be satisfied in your faith, and your doubt be swallowed up in your reverence, and your faith be as influential as sight. Put out your own candle and then shall you see clearly the sun of righteousness.”
This virtue was exactly what Zacharias would have appropriated into his life when God bestowed him a unique privilege of being the father of the forerunner of Jesus, but he expressed doubts.
Zacharias and his wife, Elizabeth, had outstanding relationship with God. The Scripture noted that they walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless, in spite of their childlessness. God decided, sequel to their faithfulness, to grant them an exceptional blessing.
As Zacharias was in the temple performing his priestly duties, God sent His angel to announce to him His plan to give him a precious son, who would be the forerunner of our Lord Jesus Christ. Zacharias was just to believe God, no matter how foolish His word might look before an ordinary eye, because God’s ways are not man’s ways. Sadly, he doubted His word looking at his age and that of his wife. Consequently, God struck him with dumbness.
Many Christians, today, dishonour God through unbelief. At every challenge of life, they exhibit lack of faith. They doubt God and His word. But you can experience a total breakthrough today if you trust Him.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: We corrupt God’s word when we entertain doubt.
***Share your thoughts and what you've just learnt in the comments section below. Don't forget to SHARE!
Tuesday 24, December 2013
TEXT: LUKE 1:5-26
KEY VERSE: “And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season” (Luke 1:20).
Jeremy Taylor, an English clergyman, once said: “In dwelling on divine mysteries, keep your heart humble, your thoughts reverent, your soul holy. Let not philosophy be ashamed to be confuted, nor logic to be confounded, nor reason to be surpassed. What you cannot prove, approve; what you cannot comprehend, believe; what you can believe, admire and love and obey. So shall your ignorance be satisfied in your faith, and your doubt be swallowed up in your reverence, and your faith be as influential as sight. Put out your own candle and then shall you see clearly the sun of righteousness.”
This virtue was exactly what Zacharias would have appropriated into his life when God bestowed him a unique privilege of being the father of the forerunner of Jesus, but he expressed doubts.
Zacharias and his wife, Elizabeth, had outstanding relationship with God. The Scripture noted that they walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless, in spite of their childlessness. God decided, sequel to their faithfulness, to grant them an exceptional blessing.
As Zacharias was in the temple performing his priestly duties, God sent His angel to announce to him His plan to give him a precious son, who would be the forerunner of our Lord Jesus Christ. Zacharias was just to believe God, no matter how foolish His word might look before an ordinary eye, because God’s ways are not man’s ways. Sadly, he doubted His word looking at his age and that of his wife. Consequently, God struck him with dumbness.
Many Christians, today, dishonour God through unbelief. At every challenge of life, they exhibit lack of faith. They doubt God and His word. But you can experience a total breakthrough today if you trust Him.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: We corrupt God’s word when we entertain doubt.
***Share your thoughts and what you've just learnt in the comments section below. Don't forget to SHARE!
Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Daily Manna: Punishment for Oppressors. Tuesday 10, December 2013
Daily Manna: Punishment for Oppressors
Tuesday 10, December 2013
TEXT: ISAIAH 27:1-13
KEY VERSE: “Fury is not in me: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together” (Isaiah 27:4).
Of thirty Roman emperors, governors of provinces and others in high office who distinguished themselves by their zeal and bitterness in persecuting the early Christians, one became speedily deranged after some atrocious cruelty, one was slain by his own son, another became blind, the eyes of one started out of his head, one was drowned, one was strangled, another died in a miserable captivity, one fell dead in a manner that will not bear recital, one died of so loathsome a disease that several of his physicians were put to death because they could not abide the stench that filled his room, two committed suicide, a third attempted it but had to call for help to finish the work, five were assassinated by their own people or servants, five others died the most miserable and excruciating deaths, eight were killed in battles, or after being taken prisoners. Among these was Julian the Apostate. In the days of his prosperity, he is said to have pointed his dagger to heaven defying the Son of God whom he commonly called the Galilean. But when he was wounded in battle, he saw that all was over with him, and he gathered up his clotted blood and threw it into the air, exclaiming, “thou has conquered, O thou Galilean.”
From the passage under consideration, the Lord promised Israel deliverance from the great Babylonian captivity. He dismissed their captors as incapable of withstanding His wrath in the day of battle. With their proud army destroyed, they shall be made to suffer more than Israel suffered as punishment for the cruel treatment meted to Israel when they were in captivity.
This should serve as lesson to all who oppress others. There comes a day when the Lord will avenge every iniquity and injustice. Those who are in the habit of violating the rights of the weak and vulnerable in society should expect a full dose of God’s wrath. Since He is the creator of all, He retains the absolute power to check every tyranny and overthrow all evil regimes anywhere in the world.
Those who are under oppression should look inward to discover what may have given the enemy the advantage over them. Sin opens the doors to many troubles. Come to term with your sins today. Now is the accepted time, now is the hour of salvation.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Sin is Satan's Forerunner
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Tuesday 10, December 2013
TEXT: ISAIAH 27:1-13
KEY VERSE: “Fury is not in me: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together” (Isaiah 27:4).
Of thirty Roman emperors, governors of provinces and others in high office who distinguished themselves by their zeal and bitterness in persecuting the early Christians, one became speedily deranged after some atrocious cruelty, one was slain by his own son, another became blind, the eyes of one started out of his head, one was drowned, one was strangled, another died in a miserable captivity, one fell dead in a manner that will not bear recital, one died of so loathsome a disease that several of his physicians were put to death because they could not abide the stench that filled his room, two committed suicide, a third attempted it but had to call for help to finish the work, five were assassinated by their own people or servants, five others died the most miserable and excruciating deaths, eight were killed in battles, or after being taken prisoners. Among these was Julian the Apostate. In the days of his prosperity, he is said to have pointed his dagger to heaven defying the Son of God whom he commonly called the Galilean. But when he was wounded in battle, he saw that all was over with him, and he gathered up his clotted blood and threw it into the air, exclaiming, “thou has conquered, O thou Galilean.”
From the passage under consideration, the Lord promised Israel deliverance from the great Babylonian captivity. He dismissed their captors as incapable of withstanding His wrath in the day of battle. With their proud army destroyed, they shall be made to suffer more than Israel suffered as punishment for the cruel treatment meted to Israel when they were in captivity.
This should serve as lesson to all who oppress others. There comes a day when the Lord will avenge every iniquity and injustice. Those who are in the habit of violating the rights of the weak and vulnerable in society should expect a full dose of God’s wrath. Since He is the creator of all, He retains the absolute power to check every tyranny and overthrow all evil regimes anywhere in the world.
Those who are under oppression should look inward to discover what may have given the enemy the advantage over them. Sin opens the doors to many troubles. Come to term with your sins today. Now is the accepted time, now is the hour of salvation.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Sin is Satan's Forerunner
***Share your thoughts and what you've just learnt in the comments section below. Don't forget to SHARE!
Thursday, 5 December 2013
Daily Manna: Danger of Unbelieve. Friday 06, December 2013
Daily Manna: Danger of Unbelieve
Friday 06, December 2013
TEXT: GALATIANS 4:21-31
KEY VERSE: “Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?” (Galatians 4:21).
Many people trifle with the simplicity of faith in Jesus Christ and the extent of the transformation it can bring to their lives.
The same was the case with the Christians in Galatia. They thought that it would take obeying all the Old Testament laws before they could be accepted before God. They had been taught well by Apostle Paul, but no sooner did he leave their province than some new teachers introduced error to the believers. They told the believers that they must obey all the Laws of Moses, else their salvation was not complete. It was left to Apostle Paul to write an epistle debunking the erroneous teachings of the false prophets. In it, he drew attention to the story of the sons born to Abraham: one by a strange woman, a maid; and the other by his wife, explaining that the story was an illustration of the Old and New Testaments, as well as the lofty position of believers in the kingdom of God. While the son of the maid represented the old order which ends in bondage, Isaac, the heir of Abraham, stood for the new order, and the freedom that is found in Christ. Believers today are the children of promise. Born after the Spirit, they should expect persecution from those who live in the flesh. Nevertheless, believers must remain unmoved, knowing that they are free from the curse and condemnation of the law.
Jesus Christ has paid the ultimate price for us all. We should therefore readily accept His salvation by faith, and not seek to please God merely by struggling to keep the Old Testament laws. We are saved, strengthened and sustained in our Christian lives only by faith. God demands nothing more from us than to take Him at His word, trust Him to fulfill all His promises, and follow Him obediently for the rest of our lives.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Faith only is the key to God’s heart.
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Friday 06, December 2013
TEXT: GALATIANS 4:21-31
KEY VERSE: “Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?” (Galatians 4:21).
Many people trifle with the simplicity of faith in Jesus Christ and the extent of the transformation it can bring to their lives.
The same was the case with the Christians in Galatia. They thought that it would take obeying all the Old Testament laws before they could be accepted before God. They had been taught well by Apostle Paul, but no sooner did he leave their province than some new teachers introduced error to the believers. They told the believers that they must obey all the Laws of Moses, else their salvation was not complete. It was left to Apostle Paul to write an epistle debunking the erroneous teachings of the false prophets. In it, he drew attention to the story of the sons born to Abraham: one by a strange woman, a maid; and the other by his wife, explaining that the story was an illustration of the Old and New Testaments, as well as the lofty position of believers in the kingdom of God. While the son of the maid represented the old order which ends in bondage, Isaac, the heir of Abraham, stood for the new order, and the freedom that is found in Christ. Believers today are the children of promise. Born after the Spirit, they should expect persecution from those who live in the flesh. Nevertheless, believers must remain unmoved, knowing that they are free from the curse and condemnation of the law.
Jesus Christ has paid the ultimate price for us all. We should therefore readily accept His salvation by faith, and not seek to please God merely by struggling to keep the Old Testament laws. We are saved, strengthened and sustained in our Christian lives only by faith. God demands nothing more from us than to take Him at His word, trust Him to fulfill all His promises, and follow Him obediently for the rest of our lives.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Faith only is the key to God’s heart.
***Share your thoughts and what you've just learnt in the comments section below. Don't forget to SHARE!
POWER: Consumers decry tariff system
Electricity consumers have said that there was no justification for the rising estimated bills handed to them by the Distribution Companies, DISCOs, in view
of the worsening power supply situation in the country.
of the worsening power supply situation in the country.
They also condemned the recent suspension of the installation of pre-paid meters, which they said could reduce the burden of crazy billings.
The public outcry came even as the Chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi, said the Commission had not approved any increase in electricity tariff or charges by the DISCOs.
Some Lagos residents that spoke with Vanguard, said they have been experiencing unprecedented blackout since the unbundling of Power Holding Company of Nigeria’, PHCN’s assets, while their bills are still based on estimation.
Prepaid meters
Mr. Chibuike Igbokwe, a resident of Ojodu, said while residents experienced almost total blackout in November, his bills however, rose from N5,000 to N8,000. He questioned the rationale behind such high bills.
Search for pre-paid meters
He also disclosed that he had applied for pre-paid meter since June, to rescue him from such outrageous billing.
Igbokwe said: “I paid for pre-paid meter since June, with the hope that I will know exactly my consumption rate.
“I have not been given the meter, which means that my bill is still based on estimation. It is unfair.”
A resident of Ikeja, Mr. Emmanuel Etim, said residents in his area have not experienced electricity supply in the last three weeks, thus making it difficult for him to run his tailoring business.
He said: “The power situation has gone from bad to worse since the private investors took over. I use inverters to supple-ment public power supply.”
Etim told Vanguard that he had concluded plans to relocate his tailoring outfit to a more power-friendly area, to cash in on the seasonal boom.
in on the seasonal boom.
Similarly, Mr. Boyo Oke, who lives in Oregun, disclosed that he paid for a pre-paid meter since January, but is yet to receive the supply, while his bills have gone up.
He said: “Go from house-to-house in Oregun and tell me where you will see the prepaid meter. How many houses are using the pre-paid meter in the state?
“You journalists should get the data and publish it. It is not available. The new investors know what they are doing.
“They can’t supply electricity; they can’t give the meter, yet they bring outrageous bills.”
100% increase in charge
Even those with pre-paid meters are not spared, as Femi Adisa, who lives at Alausa, said not only has the electricity supply situation deteriorated, but the bills are rising daily.
He accused the DISCOs of introducing hidden charges without informing consumers such as increasing the service by 100 percent.
He said: “I bought a recharge card worth N4,000 for my pre-paid meter. On getting home, I found out that the service charge has been increased by 100 percent from N750 to N1,500.
“I felt very annoyed not only because of the increase without notice, but because I have been without electricity for three weeks now.”
Source: Vanguard
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