Prayer Points from Day 3 of RCCG European Congress 2013. By Pastor E A Adeboye. Theme: The God of wonders


English: Enoch Adejare Adeboye

English: Enoch Adejare Adeboye (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Prayer Points from Day 3 of RCCG European Congress 2013. By Pastor E A Adeboye. Theme: The God of wonders

By PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

1)     Praise Him because He said He will bless your future

2)     Father, please prove Yourself in my life.

3)     Father, You are the great Provider. Please provide for all my needs: physical, material and spiritual

4)     Father, Prince of Peace, put an end to storms in my life.

5)     Father, You The All Sufficient God, let my cup of blessings overflow to nations of the world.

6)     Personal Prayer Request

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

May the grace the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen!

 

 

Simple Steps to Solid Scripture Bible Study


Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...

Simple Steps to Solid Scripture Bible Study

By John MacArthur, Grace to You

From the moment I sensed the call of God into full-time ministry, the driving passion of my life has been simply to understand God’s Word and then make it understandable to others. I have never aspired to be known as either an academic theologian or a distinguished clergyman. I simply want to know what the Word of God means and to make it known to others. All my pastoral energies-my preaching, shepherding, teaching, writing, and even visitation-are focused on that one goal.

It is my conviction that the Bible is not difficult for the believing heart to understand. And the more I understand, the more unshakable is my conviction that the Bible is the living, authoritative, inerrant Word of God. It has this remarkable effect on me: the more I study it, the more I hunger to know. So God’s Word not only satisfies my appetite, but also arouses an even deeper hunger for more.

I want you to experience that hunger too. I want you to live in the joy of a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ that comes only through knowing the meaning of Scripture. Here’s a simple process to get you started.

Step 1 – Reading

Begin by developing a plan on how you will approach reading through the Bible. Just by reading the Bible you become familiar with its themes, history, and contexts. There is simply no replacement for Bible reading.

Unlike most books, you will probably not read it straight through from cover to cover. There are many good Bible reading plans available (like The MacArthur Daily Bible). Here is what I recommend:

Read through the Old Testament at least once a year. As you read, note in the margins any truths you particularly want to remember, and write down separately anything you do not immediately understand. Often as you read you will find that many questions are answered by the text itself. The questions to which you cannot find answers become the starting points for more in-depth study using commentaries or other reference tools.

Follow a different plan for reading the New Testament. Read one book at a time repetitiously for a month or more. That will help you retain the New Testament so you will not always have to depend on a concordance to find things.

If you want to try that, begin with a short book, such as 1 John, and read it through in one sitting every day for thirty days. At the end of that time, you will know the book. Write on index cards the major theme of each chapter. By referring to the cards as you do your daily reading, you will begin to remember the content of each chapter. In fact, you will develop a perception of the book with your mind’s eye.

When you come to longer books, divide them into short sections and read each section daily for thirty days. For example, the gospel of John contains twenty-one chapters. Divide it into three sections of seven chapters. At the end of ninety days, you will finish John. For variety, alternate short and long books, and in less than three years you will have finished the entire New Testament-and you will really know it!

Step 2 – Interpreting

In Acts 8:30, Philip asked the Ethiopian eunuch, “Do you understand what you are reading?” Or put another way, “What does the Bible mean by what it says?” It is not enough to read the text and jump directly to the application-you must first determine what it means, otherwise the application may be incorrect.

As you read Scripture, always keep one simple question in mind: “What does this mean?” To answer that question requires the use of the most basic principle of interpretation called the analogy of faith-interpret the Bible with the Bible.

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

May the grace the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Have a Meaningful Quiet Time with God


Česky: Kříže - symbol utrpení Ježíše Krista a ...

How to Have a Meaningful Quiet Time with God

By Adrian Rogers

“Oh how love I Thy law! It is my meditation all the day.” Psalm 119:97

Christianity is not a legal relationship, it is a love relationship. Ten thousand “don’ts” will never make you one iota more like the Lord Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Himself Who makes you like Him. But you need to spend time with Him. I want to give you five factors for spending some quiet time with Him each day.

The Proper Period

You must find the right time. Your quiet time should last at least half an hour. But some time is better than no time, so if you can’t start at thirty minutes, begin with ten. It should be your very best time. Don’t give the Lord your leftovers. And don’t try to find time – make time, and make it a priority. Also find time early in the day. Psalm 5:3 says, “… in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up.” You don’t take the trip and then read the map, do you? Spend time alone with God to begin your day.

The Proper Preparation

A quiet time is fellowship with a holy God. There are a few things you can do to be prepared for this time. First, be physically alert. Find a time when the cobwebs are out of your mind and you can think clearly. Second, be mentally aware. Be focused, and know He’s there. Emotion doesn’t really have all that much to do with it. And third, be morally pure and clean. Some people don’t have a quiet time because they feel uncomfortable looking God in the face with sin in their lives.

The Proper Place

Find a place where you can focus. Jesus said enter into your closet and pray (see Matthew 6:6). That simply means find a place of isolation where you can shut the door on the world and open the windows to heaven. Jesus sought out places where He could be alone, and so should you.

The Proper Provisions

In order to have an effective quiet time, you need the right tools. Here are some tools I use:

• a readable Bible – Invest in one with plenty of room to jot notes in the margins.

• a prayer journal – Expect God to give you something and write it down. Also use it to record things you’re praying about.

• a notepad – Write down your daily assignments.

The Proper Procedure

Finally, may I recommend some procedures to follow in your quiet time?

Get still and quiet. The Bible says in Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Focus your mind on Him. Calm down, relax, and recognize His presence. Take a deep breath and focus your thoughts on the Lord.

Get into the Word of God. It’s better to start by reading the Bible than it is to start in prayer. It is more important for you to hear from God, even than for God to hear from you. God already knows all about you, but you need to know a lot more about Him.

Read the Bible for quality and not quantity. It’s good to have a goal to read the Bible through in a year, or a similar goal; but that’s not the purpose of your quiet time. Also, devotional books are wonderful. But again, this is not the place for them. This is the time when you simply read the Bible with an open mind.

Meditate. As you focus on the Word of God and meditate, let it permeate you. Ask:

• Is there a command to obey?

• Is there a promise to claim?

• Is there a sin to avoid?

• Is there a lesson to learn?

• Is there a new truth to carry with me?

Record what God has given you. Write down what God says to you and what He tells you to do. It doesn’t have to be flowery. You’re not writing it for publication or to impress other people.

Now you’re ready to pray. When you pray, pour out your soul. Be natural and honest with God. Tell Him how you feel. Pray out loud. It keeps your mind on track and enables you to stay focused.

Begin to share out of your quiet time. God did not make us to be reservoirs; He made us to be conduits. Tell others what is God is showing you.

Finally, obey what God tells you. Your spiritual train is running on two rails. One is revelation and the other is obedience. And if either rail stops, your train stops. Learn to obey the Word of God.

I pray these simple suggestions will help you have a daily quiet time in the presence of our loving, almighty, powerful God.

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

May the grace the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen

 

 

 

 

 

 

Write as you read and study your Bible


Česky: Kříže - symbol utrpení Ježíše Krista a ...

Write as you read and study your Bible

Have you ever read a portion of Scripture – perhaps even several pages or chapters – only to realize that you have no idea what you just read? Your eyes may be reading words but your mind is thinking about the phone call you just received or your day’s schedule. If you wish to know God, you must know His Word, advised C. H. Spurgeon.

How to make God’s Word come alive within you:

•Write out portions of the Word. Do you remember in elementary school when the teacher would instruct the class to copy a list from the blackboard? The teacher knew you were more likely to grasp and remember the concepts if you copied the words. God knew how prone His people were to forget what He had told them. Over and over, He challenged them to remember Him, to remember His law, to remember what He had done for them. Taking time to write out specific passages from the Word forces you to think about what you are reading and to observe the details of the text more carefully. You could begin by writing out paragraphs of scriptures on index cards, then meditating on or memorizing those passages.

•Write in your Bible. Underline verses you find particularly meaningful to you. In time your Bible will tell a story of your personal journey of faith during a specific period of time. Circle repeated words or phrases. Write cross references in the margin as well as noting the meaning of specific words or phrases.

•Record insights. When John was in exile, he was given a vision of heaven. The Lord appeared to him and said, Write on a scroll what you see…Write, therefore, what you have seen (Rev. 1:11,19). Likewise, you can write what you have seen in scripture. Use journals to record your observations and insights that the Holy Spirit has shown you while reading and meditating on the Word. Each time you write, record the date and passage you are reading.

•Record your responses. Ask yourself, What should I do? God told Ezekiel that the problem with His people was that they sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice (Ex. 33:31). How does this truth apply to my life? What changes need to be made in my life?

•Record milestones in your spiritual pilgrimage. When the Israelites were attacked by the Amalekites, God used the occasion to teach the eager Joshua to rely, not on his natural strength or ability, but on the power of God revealed each time Moses raised his arms. Not wanting Joshua ever to forget that the Amalekites were his eternal enemies and that He alone had the power to overcome them, the Lord said to Moses, Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered (Ex. 17:14). This is perhaps the first Biblical illustration of what we call journaling. When you have spiritual achievements (understanding the death of a loved one, coming to terms with your frailties, learning about obedience), write them down as a reminder of the providence of God.

From A Place of Quiet Rest by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, copyright (c) 2000. Used by permission of Moody Press, Chicago, Ill., 1-800-678-6928.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss is director of publications and women’s ministries for Life Action Ministries in Niles, Mich., and editor of Spirit of Revival magazine. A graduate of the University of Southern California, Nancy produced the national TV program, America: You’re Too Young to Die.

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

May the grace the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen

 

  • 10 Encouraging Bible Verses (christianpf.com)
  • Recommended Booklist for Christian Women (exaltingholiness.wordpress.com)
  • Making Easter Meaningful (blackchristiannews.com)
  • Comparing Prayer Circles to God’s Word (standupforthetruth.com)
  • Seven Steps to Leaving “Evangelical Christianity” without Losing Your Faith – Step “It’s OK to see the Bible differently” (contemplativechristians.com)
  • God is Not Enough? (encouragetheunfadingbeauty.wordpress.com)
  • 25 Famous Bible Verses (christianpf.com)
  • How I Journal (Giveaway) (treasuresofhispresence.com)
  • When The Word Of God Isn’t The Word Of God (anthonyhilder.wordpress.com)

Make Appointments with God


Česky: Kříže - symbol utrpení Ježíše Krista a ...

Make Appointments with God

By Whitney Hopler

Imagine that you’ve been invited to meet with the President of the United States in the Oval Office. You’d likely look forward to your appointment with great excitement. Now imagine that someone much more exciting – the God of the universe – wants to meet with you personally. This scenario is true; God really does want to meet with you, and He wants to do so every single day through a private quiet time together.

Those appointments with God should be a source of great joy for you. But unfortunately, quiet times can sometimes seem too intimidating to schedule or maintain regularly. Here are some ways you can enjoy your appointments with God:

• Think about how much God loves you, and expect to be blessed as a result of spending time with Him. View your quiet times as cherished meetings with someone that loves you.

• Realize that the more time you spend with God, the greater the intimacy you’ll develop with Him. Although the idea of a daily quiet time might seem awkward at first because you might not know what to say or how to recognize God’s voice, after a while, you’ll look forward to the appointment because it will be like meeting with your best friend.

• Set aside a consistent time every day to meet with God. Choose a time at which you’re most alert and can block out distractions. Although many people choose first thing in the morning after waking up, the afternoon or evening can also work. Try starting out with a half-hour quiet time, and after you’ve developed greater intimacy with God, increase that time to an hour. It usually takes about five to ten minutes during the start of your quiet time to clear your mind enough to focus fully on God, so don’t rush your quiet time. But don’t schedule so much time that you become overwhelmed and lose your motivation to continue.

• Designate a special place in which you can meet privately with God. The place can be either indoors or outdoors, such as a home office or a garden.

• Relax! Don’t feel pressured to perform certain rituals during your quiet time; there is no one “right” way to conduct a quiet time. Think about what activities best draw you into God’s presence, then go with those.

• Seek God Himself rather than anything He might give you. Know that God will meet you where you are and reveal much about Himself to you if you’re sincerely seeking Him.

• Consider following a Bible reading plan during your quiet times. Then ask God to help you apply the verses you read to your everyday life. Meditate on Scripture and memorize it so it will renew your mind.

• Worship God in some way during your quiet times. Thank Him for His work in your life and praise Him for who He is. If you like, sing a worship chorus or hymn as part of your devotions.

• Ask God to reveal hidden areas of sin in your life, and make a habit of confessing your sins to God during your quiet time. Then receive His forgiveness and grace to do better. Invite God to use your quiet times to powerfully transform you.

• Pray for your own needs and desires, and intercede for others. Don’t give up; God will answer you in the best way at the best time.

• Pray against evil in your life and the lives of other people.

• Ask for the Holy Spirit to fill you during your quiet time to give you fresh strength and grace each day.

• Consider fasting occasionally to help you focus more on God.

• Consider writing down your thoughts, feelings, and prayers in a journal during your quiet time to more clearly express them. Read through our ongoing journal to see how God has been working in your life.

Adapted from An Appointment with the King: Ideas for Jump-Starting Your Devotional Life, copyright 2002 by Joel Comiskey. Published by Chosen Books, a division of Baker Book House Co., Grand Rapids, Mich., http://www.bakerbooks.com, 1-800-877-2665.

Joel Comiskey, Ph.D., has served as a full-time missionary to Ecuador. He and his wife, Celyce, have three daughters.

Do you schedule a daily quiet time with God? If so, how does it help you draw closer to Him? If not, what challenges do you face that discourage you from scheduling or consistently maintaining a daily quiet time?

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

May the grace the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen

 

Fueled by the Holy Spirit, we are called to let Jesus’ light shine through us into the darkness


Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...

Fueled by the Holy Spirit, we are called to let Jesus’ light shine through us into the darkness

A Light in the Darkness

By Amy Carroll

“In the tent of meeting, outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law, Aaron and his sons are to keep the lamps burning before the LORD from evening till morning. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for the generations to come.” Exodus 27:21 (NIV)

The memories that burn brightest from my childhood are of our family’s camping trips to the beach. All the hard work of packing the tent, suitcases, sleeping bags and food into the car was worth it when camp was set up and family time began.

My favorite time of the day came as darkness settled, the shouts of children quieted and grills were lit. Often, as we cleaned up from dinner, my mother would take our lantern into the tent to repack our supplies, and I would bask in the glow from the tent and the warm safety of my parents’ presence.

Those memories flooded back as I read Exodus 27 from my daily reading plan. In a meticulous design revealed in the preceding chapters, God laid out the blueprint for the Tent of Meeting, also called the Tabernacle, where He would be worshipped by the Israelites as they traveled from Egypt to Canaan. Sentence after sentence details the fabric, the measurements, and the structure.

When the plan for God’s Tent of Meeting was complete, He began to describe the furnishings. They included a beautiful set of lamps on a lampstand that was to burn continuously inside. This intricate lampstand described in detail in Exodus 25:31-40 was a pure-gold work of art made by the artisans God appointed, and it burned clear olive oil.

Pieces of a greater puzzle began to click into place as I pondered other scriptures and truths explaining the rich symbolism of the Tent of Meeting’s lampstand. I began to see God revealing His plans for us thousands of years ago:

We are the tent. (2 Cor. 5:4)

Jesus is the light. (John 1:4)

The Holy Spirit is the oil. (Zech. 4:1-6)

Fueled by the Holy Spirit, we are called to let Jesus’ light shine through us into the darkness. (Matt. 5:14-16)

Just as the Israelites moved the Tabernacle through the desert sands …

Just as my parents pitched a tent in beach sands …

Just as I move through this darkened world …

God provides a Light that shines in the darkness, and He creates a tent (us) to shine through.

For Jesus’ light to pierce the darkness, shining brighter and brighter, we need to become more and more transparent.

For His light to shine continuously, we need to constantly be refueled by the Holy Spirit through prayer, studying and memorizing Scripture, and abiding in Him.

For His light to shatter the inky blackness of this world, we need to fearlessly move our tents into places of darkness where no other light shines.

There is a world of people who long for the safety and presence of Jesus–but they need a beacon to guide them. May we humble tents, who carry the Light, glow brightly everywhere as we travel through this world! Amen!

Dear Lord, thank You for allowing me to be a simple dwelling for Your Light. I pray that even as the priests were charged with maintaining the light, I would be faithful to let Your Light shine. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Power Verses:

John 1:4-5, “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (NAS)

2 Corinthians 5:1-2a, “For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven – God-made, not handmade – and we’ll never have to relocate our ‘tents’ again.” (MSG)

http://www.Proverbs31.org

99.5 KKLA-FM

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

May the grace the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen

 

2 Samuel 10. David defeats the Ammonites and the Syrians


Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...

2 Samuel 10. David defeats the Ammonites and the Syrians

1 And it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead. 2 Then said David, I will show kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness unto me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the children of Ammon. 3 And the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? hath not David rather sent his servants unto thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it? 4 Wherefore Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away. 5 When they told it unto David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed: and the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.

6 And when the children of Ammon saw that they stank before David, the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Bethrehob, and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and of king Maacah a thousand men, and of Ishtob twelve thousand men. 7 And when David heard of it, he sent Joab, and all the host of the mighty men. 8 And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entering in of the gate: and the Syrians of Zoba, and of Rehob, and Ishtob, and Maacah, were by themselves in the field. 9 When Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians: 10 And the rest of the people he delivered into the hand of Abishai his brother, that he might put them in array against the children of Ammon. 11 And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me: but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will come and help thee. 12 Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the LORD do that which seemeth him good. 13 And Joab drew nigh, and the people that were with him, unto the battle against the Syrians: and they fled before him. 14 And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled, then fled they also before Abishai, and entered into the city. So Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem.

15 And when the Syrians saw that they were smitten before Israel, they gathered themselves together. 16 And Hadarezer sent, and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river: and they came to Helam; and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them. 17 And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together, and passed over Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him. 18 And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain of their host, who died there. 19 And when all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were smitten before Israel, they made peace with Israel, and served them. So the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

May the grace the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen!

2 Samuel 9. David and Mephibosheth.


David and Saul

David and Saul (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

2 Samuel 9. David and Mephibosheth

1 And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan‘s sake? 2 And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he. 3 And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet. 4 And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar. 5 Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar. 6 Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant! 7 And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually. 8 And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?

9 Then the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said unto him, I have given unto thy master’s son all that pertained to Saul and to all his house. 10 Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master’s son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master’s son shall eat bread alway at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. 11 Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons. 12 And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth. 13 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king’s table; and was lame on both his feet.

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

May the grace the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen!

2 Samuel 8. David’s military victories


King David in Prayer

King David in Prayer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

2 Samuel 8. David’s military victories

1 And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them: and David took Methegammah out of the hand of the Philistines. 2 And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And so the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts. 3 David smote also Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates. 4 And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David hocked all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for an hundred chariots. 5 And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succour Hadadezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men. 6 Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus: and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 And from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, king David took exceeding much brass.

9 When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the host of Hadadezer, 10 Then Toi sent Joram his son unto king David, to salute him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer, and smitten him: for Hadadezer had wars with Toi. And Joram brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass: 11 Which also king David did dedicate unto the LORD, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated of all nations which he subdued; 12 Of Syria, and of Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah. 13 And David gat him a name when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt, being eighteen thousand men. 14 And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all they of Edom became David’s servants. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went.

15 And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people. 16 And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 17 And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Seraiah was the scribe; 18 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief rulers.

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

May the grace the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen!

2 Samuel 7. God’s promise to David. Nathan’s message to David


English: Nathan advises King David

English: Nathan advises King David (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

2 Samuel 7. God’s promise to David. Nathan’s message to David

1 And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies; 2 That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. 3 And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the LORD is with thee.

4 And it came to pass that night, that the word of the LORD came unto Nathan, saying, 5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in? 6 Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle. 7 In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar? 8 Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel: 9 And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth. 10 Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime, 11 And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee an house. 12 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: 15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. 16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever. 17 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.

18 Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? 19 And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord GOD; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant’s house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD? 20 And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord GOD, knowest thy servant. 21 For thy word’s sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them. 22 Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 23 And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods? 24 For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever: and thou, LORD, art become their God. 25 And now, O LORD God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said. 26 And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee. 27 For thou, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee. 28 And now, O Lord GOD, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant: 29 Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

May the grace the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen!