This is the day that the Lord has made for us to rejoice and be glad in and I’ve made up my mind not be sad regardless of what might happen and I want to encourage you not to be disheartened if it seems like the things you’ve spoken are taking long to manifest. Job 22:28 says that “ you will decree a thing and it shall be established for you; So light will shine on your ways”.
You know, when a decree is made and then established, the consequent action is the execution of that decree. You have spoken and it will be to you according to your word, the light of God is about to permeate and reflect on every dark area of your life. #hollaapraise
I am very excited on sending you this journal today, and it’s because we’ve just entered the second month of the year. It was during this very month at the time of Noah, that the earth was dry and hence safe for Him and his family whom the Lord had preserved from the flood, to leave the boat. They were ‘remnants’, the remainder of God’s image on earth, the people with whom the Lord would covenant to preserve the earth. Read on and find out how this relates to you.
Have you ever wondered or asked yourself this question: I’m still here, How come? After all that has happened to me , after all I’ve been through; I’ve had too many crumbles and tumbles yet I’m alive, I’m well , I’m still here but why and how come? Please allow me to suggest that you’re a remnant and the Lord has preserved you until such a time as this for a sign, a wonder and a witness.
A remnant is the part or portion of something that remains after the most or main part
no longer exists. This is usually a very small part like leftovers. In Hebrew, one of the words translated ‘remnant’ is derived from a word which portrays the idea of slipping out, escaping or surviving. Isaiah in his first chapter had this to say:
Unless the LORD of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been made like Gomorrah. Isaiah 1:9 (NKJV)
The scripture is not in any way vague about God’s name used in this verse. God is here described as the Lord of hosts; the governor of all beings both in heaven and earth, or if you like, the Lord of a vast multitude. This suggests to me that God does not have to spare us; in fact He has no need of us considering that He has and will always have countless hosts to serve him. I believe Prophet Jeremiah was having similar thoughts when he penned this verse:
Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 (NKJV)
Let’s read this scripture from the living bible:
His compassion never ends. It is only the Lord’s mercies that have kept us from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his loving-kindness begins afresh each day.
I’m going to slightly use this scripture out of context but I need you to understand first, that it’s because of the Lord’s mercies that we’re not utterly destroyed. Mercy is what we receive from God in place of condemnation, damnation and alienation. We’re not in any way better than they that are consumed, or those that have gone under but because God has interposed to save us, we are not overwhelmed neither are we overthrown.
We’re a remnant, God’s elect, the selected few that God has kept that we might be for him a people, a name, a praise, and a glory. You didn’t just go through the challenges and trials for nothing; through the fire, waters, tribulations and persecution, you’ve been spared and preserved for a purpose. I need you to get this in your spirit. If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, Let the people of God now say; had it not been for his protection ;deliverance, provision, sustenance , faithfulness we would have been completely destroyed.
Tell me how many people have survived what you’ve been through; the bankruptcy, the hardship, the illness, the heartache, the abuse, you name it. Think about the times everything around you looked so dim, when you felt like all the darts the enemy had has been thrown at you, not to talk of the many times he rose like a flood against you. Now think, where and how you would have been had not the Lord lifted a standard to protect you. I’d say dead, buried, and forgotten but thanks to God you’re a remnant ! God does not mess with His remnants, He’ll always deliver and keep them safe but there is one thing they must always do.
The scripture records in Genesis 8 that as soon as Noah and his family left the boat, He built an altar and sacrificed. A remnant understands the significance of building an altar of worship and offering a sacrificial praise that is pleasing to God which could result in a renewed covenant with God or a fresh promise; I don’t know about you but I really could do with a ‘new deal’.
I understand that the flood has carried away some of your valuables and the fire has consumed a lot of your most prized possessions but you’re still here, you’re a remnant! Yes, you’ve been crushed but not destroyed, persecuted but not abandoned, you haven’t got everything but you’re not without. You’re still here, you’re a remnant! So, give God the praise and worship due his name for past mercies, for the present – today’s mercies, and future mercies. He’s worthy, Halleluyah!
I am so glad that I am finally able to send you this mail though late. Last week was Passover and I heard a word from God just for you, I pray that it ministers to you.
I am the first born of my family and I know how protective and proud my father is of me. I feel secure and sure, no matter where I am that he thinks the world of me, can always meet my needs, and will never let me bleed. From scripture, we understand that Israel is God’s firstborn. These precious people of God were slaves in the land of Egypt, suffering many things by the hands of their task masters.
7 The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” Exodus 3: 7-10 (NIV)
God has heard your cry and your deliverer is nigh.
So God sent Moses to Pharaoh for their release but he (Pharaoh) refused. After numerous opportunities including several signs and wonders, God was set to liberate his people; so He struck dead all the Egyptian firstborn sons and livestock. He passed over the land in judgement and saved His covenant children by instructing them on what to do in order to avert the judgement from them. They were to choose a bull or goat without physical defect, slaughter it and smear some of its blood on their door frames. This is the history of redemption, the story of the Passover.
God cherishes you so much so that he will never let you perish.
For a moment, I want you to begin to worship. Thank God for Jesus, the spotless Lamb, who deserving no punishment became our Passover Lamb, our Sacrifice, our Deliverance, and our Victory (1 Corinthians 5:7). He’s worthy of all the praise, Hallelujah!
Passover is one of the annual events God commanded the people of Israel to celebrate in commemoration of their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. What I love about the Passover is that it is a festival of freedom. Do you see how this relates to breaking free and holding your head high?
Passover is a festival of freedom, are you celebrating?
God gave them specific instructions on whom, when, where, why and how to celebrate this event. The key message is that everyone must appear before the Lord with a sacrifice (Deuteronomy 16:1). They obeyed God and here’s what happened:
The Lord caused the Egyptians to look favourably on the Israelites, and they gave the Israelites whatever they asked for. So they stripped the Egyptians of their wealth! Exodus 12:36 (NLT)
He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes. Psalm 105:37 (KJV)
This is the blessing of obedience. Can you see the transition and transformation that has occurred in the lives of these people just because they obeyed God?
It pays to obey God. Obey him today and He’ll make everything okay.
Although the Passover week has gone, I want you be sensitive to promptings from God to sacrifice:
Praise – With the fruit of your lips (Hebrews 13:15 )
Worship – Presenting your body in fasting , consecration, etc (Rom 12 :1 )
Resources– Giving liberally for the work of the kingdom (Luke 6:38)
All these sacrifices will cost you time, some directly and others indirectly, so prepare yourself. Mark out a set time and place so that you can focus and do His will. God redeemed His people from slavery and restored them back to His original intention to be the head and not the tail, above and not beneath, lenders and not borrowers. No wonder it’s a celebration! These people were slaves and labourers until God turned their captivity around, and hence when they shouted, they knew the reason for their shout. You dare not tell them to shut up or keep their voices down because as slaves they didn’t have the liberty to do what they wanted, but now they do. They are free to worship. Poor people who were once in rags but now they are rich beyond measure, they had every cause to celebrate. You better shout, that could just be your breakthrough! You are free! Hallelujah!
Recall a great thing God has done for you and celebrate.
There’s something else in this passage that I would love to share with you. What God did is great. Wouldn’t you agree with me? But see how He did it, overnight, it’s marvellous! It something that keeps you wondering, something that makes you marvel. That same God is alive today! He can do for you what He did for the Israelites and even more. Your battle is won, you have the victory, so celebrate your freedom.
Last week, we learned that we should walk with our heads held high because Jesus died and rose so that we wouldn’t have to be bowed down. Today we will learn how to stay up by tackling the things that might attempt to keep us down.
Part of the evidence that Jesus rose, is that the stone was rolled away and the grave clothes were left behind. The stone represents blockage and the grave clothes indicate limitations that may not necessarily be as literal as the objects in Jesus’ case. These could be thoughts that have limited and handicapped you from entering or exiting some things, cords that have tied you up or, weights that have been laid on you to prevent you from advancing.
When Jesus got to Lazarus’ tomb in John 11, He called him forth and ordered that he be loosed and let go; and today God is telling you to shake that cancer off! Take off whatever yokes are binding you, let them go, and walk in the newness of life that he has procured for you.
Have you ever been entrapped by something and then tried to break free from its hold? Have you realized that as long as you’re caught onto that thing, there’s no advancement for you? Hence the reason you squat or bend to detangle yourself, depending on the situation before moving forward.
One of the keys to your staying up, is that you first acknowledge that you are held down, determine what by and seek a way to break free. My question to you today is, do you know what is keeping you down? If you do, what are you doing about it?
I’m amazed at how Jesus told the people to loose Lazarus and let him go; this suggests to me that there are people who would have been released but they choose to stay bound and wound up. Today, I pronounce judgment to anything that is holding you and I declare that you will walk in the liberty in which Christ has made you free.
Do you realize that ever since Jesus got up he’s never for once been down? So get up! Walk out of that depression! Get rid of your fears, unbelief, doubt, and insecurities. So what? You’ve been dumped, divorced, or made redundant. Take off your grave clothes, drop them, quit reminiscing over the past; lift up your head, get up off the floor, close the door on your past, and walk into the new portal God has opened for you.
When Jesus said “It is finished”, he meant that everything that existed upon till then has, ended and is closed. He brought to conclusion the old and began a new thing. Friend, Jesus is interested in your advancement, not in your snared state and even more in your future than your past.
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me because the LORD has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound. Isaiah 61:1 (NKJV)
I trust that you’ve heard God today through this piece, take him at his word, and watch how far you’ll advance.
Jesus was crucified, he died and he was buried but the scripture says that on the third day, the stone was rolled away and he arose; in other words, he got up. That’s what Easter is all about and that’s what we’ve just celebrated.
Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:9 that we suffer persecution, but are not forsaken; we are cast down, but we do not perish: He continued in Romans 8:37, by saying that “in all these things we are more than conquerors”, Jesus crowned it all by telling us in John 16:33 to be of “good cheer that he has overcome the world”.
He overcame, he got up so that you would no longer be bound. He got up to unwind all that’s been wound around you. No principality or power can hold you down because when Jesus got up, he also took you up with him. A lot of Bible-believing folks know this truth but yet do not live it, they are bound and their head is still bowed down.
Lift up your heads, O you gates. Psalm 24:9a (NIV)
The head is the top part of the body and it is contained most of the body’s sense organs. I’ve learned from studying the bible that the lifting of the head signifies promotion, advancement, an upgrade; the opposite, which is bowing indicates demotion, depression, relegation, downgrading, devaluation, reduction, and lowering. I hope you get the picture I’m trying to paint.
Having said that, please remember that bowing as well as kneeling are physical expressions of our reverence for God and we must be obedient to the Spirit of God as he prompts us.
But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head. Psalm 3:3 (NIV)
When the head is bowed, the rest of the body functions minimally. When the head is bowed, doors are shut but when it is lifted they are open.
I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt so you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the yoke of slavery from your neck so you can walk with your heads held high. Leviticus 26:13 (NLT)
God wants you to walk with your head held high, he is interested in you standing and walking upright not bent. He has made the sacrifice, he has paid all the price it is just for you to lift your head.
Friend, I encourage you today to lift your head and walk upright.
Thank you for reading this journal. I trust that you’ve been encouraged. Please take hold of this word, ponder on it, and don’t fail to apply it in your life.
How are you doing today? I have no doubt that God is working things out for you; so stay strong, keep the faith. And as you continue to hold fast the confession of your hope, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”. (Romans 15:13).
Last week, we looked at the subject “if God said it, it is so”. Today, we’ll learn how to see what we speak like OUR heavenly father.
Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. Genesis 1:3 (NKJV)
The first thing I want to briefly discuss from the above text is the phrase “God said”. This means God spoke, He declared, He uttered a word, He just said. The next phrase “Let there be” is a command from God and I’ve learned that there are times when it’s alright for me just to say, speak, declare and utter words and also, times for me to issue the command “Let there be”. You see, there is a fairly huge difference between a request and a command. One is a soft manner of inquiring or expressing a need or desire sometimes by reciting or repeating a fixed text; the other is a firm approach that has authoritative instruction, direction, and execution.
I think it is necessary that sometimes you back up whatever you say with a command in order to see its fulfillment. If you don’t agree with me, tell me why you press the send button after you’ve written your emails? Could it be that the content of your mail, the words that you’ve said and spoken will be of no effect until the command “send” is issued? Selah!
The second thing I want to point out is that God was deliberate and specific with what He wanted to see even as much as the roles they would play.
14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16 Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. Genesis 1:14-16 (NKJV)
So Sister, before you begin to say, way before you begin to pray for a brother, be specific or he might turn up with his shoes singing ‘Halal’ praise; also, be deliberate. Carefully and unhurriedly calculate whether it’s the right time for you. If he shows up now, are you ready? What’s your plan? What can you bring to the table? What does he have to offer? Be deliberate and specific.
Another thing I want to show you is that God spoke order and light in the midst of darkness and emptiness. He did not allow the things He saw to influence His declaration. This is one art we need to learn and master because most times we are very quick to speak what we see forgetting that it’s by our words that we are justified. We ought to be like our heavenly father, regularly and habitually speaking the things that are not as though they were.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV)
Have you ever wondered why death came first in this passage? I think it’s because it’s easier for us to pronounce death (what we see) than life (what can/will be). I want you to make up your mind today to speak life, abundance, healing, deliverance, open doors, salvation and hope contrary to what you see. Let your faith rise like the river level rises, open up your mouth, use your tongue wisely, and prophetically say what you desire to see. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so – I am intelligent, I am healed, I am delivered, I am rich, I am whole, I am pregnant, I am married, I’ve lost weight … Amen!.
One more thing I’d like us to note is that God spoke the things that He wanted to see and then disjoined anything that would dare to contravene or neutralize the essence of what He spoke. Here’s an example:
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. Genesis 1:3-5 (NKJV)
God spoke Light into being and saw that the light was good, but He also saw that darkness can ruin the beauty of light if left; hence, the separation of the two. Here’s how you can apply this in your life; when you speak the positive always ensure that the negative is nullified through the word and by the blood of Jesus and I can assure you’ll see your expectations fulfilled.
Everything we learned today happened in the beginning and we’re still at the beginning of the year; So I encourage you not to keep quiet but begin now to speak the things you desire into being, speak what will be and not what you see.
How are you feeling today? I was up at the early hours of the morning talking to God about how I needed him to help me through today. Prior to this, I was feeling low and lonely and then I had a conversation over the phone which was “blessed”, as I lay there in the dark still praying, I heard God whisper to me “I have loved you with an everlasting love ” and I strongly believe he’s saying the same to you.
In this short text, God is reassuring his people, he was trying to give them hope for restoration. He was actually addressing “the remnants”, the people who survived the sword and found grace in the wilderness, and today he’s speaking to you; yes you. You’re still here and that makes you a remnant
In verse 1, God said: I am God; I want you now to think of the characters and attributes of God – a healer, sustainer, provider, protector, peace, love, etc. In effect, he was saying I’ll be these things and more to you, you just be my people.
Long ago, I said this to Israel; I repeated it sometime later and today I’m saying it to you: “I have loved you, my child, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love, I have drawn you to myself. I know someone out there promised to love you forever, they even swore to their hurt never to disappoint you but it’s all over now. See, I’m giving you a love that will neither end nor die, this love is forever. You can rely on it because I had you on my mind when I paid the shameful and painful price of death. I’ve given my best to prove myself and if there’s anything more I could do, I would just to reassure you of my love for you.
Friend, God loves you so much that even on this Valentine’s Day he’s affirming his love for you. I don’t know your situation; perhaps you haven’t really had someone or maybe you’ve had someone who’s no longer there but here’s a word from God for you:
I will rebuild you. The building speaks about forming, making, or establishing something; and for you who’ve had a broken relationship, God is reforming and will soon re-establish you so much so that people will be surprised and even your “ex” will regret losing you. I think this is a good place to say amen. If you currently have no one, know that God is preparing you, he’s building and establishing you for that precious brother or sister, be encouraged. If your relationship is such that needs mending, God will heal and rebuild it, he will reconcile you to your partner. Amen!
The second thing God is saying to you today is that you’ll be happy. The word “happy” is synonymous with the words content, delight, favor, harmony, prosperous and joyous. Friend, you will know the joy of the Lord and that joy will be your strength.
God continues in verse 4 by saying that you will dance. For so many reasons, I love this one, and friend if you don’t care to, I receive it.
Normally, before one starts to dance, there is music and that music has to appeal to the person and then they start moving rhythmically. Well, God is about to play sweet music to your ear that will cause you to not just move your hands but your whole body. Halleluiah!
I hope you’ve been encouraged today. Stay blessed.
Instrument of Praise is a Music Ministry which operates on a national and international scale ministering physical, emotional and spiritual healing to the afflicted....
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