Tag Archives: Abraham

Hospitality Of God’s Children

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The "Hospitality of Abraham" by Andr...

The “Hospitality of Abraham” by Andrei Rublev. The three angels symbolize the Trinity, which is rarely depicted directly in art. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hospitality Of God’s Children

 

 

 

 

 

“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Hebrew 13:2)

 

 

 

One lesson from the story in 1 Kings 17:17-24 is that God rewards the hospitable. The woman who lost her son was a hospitable person. One benefit of hospitality is that hospitable people may not suffer a permanent loss. An example here was Abraham. In Genesis 18:14, Abraham received heavenly visitors and pending promises of many years were fulfilled. Another example was Lot. In Genesis 19:1-22, when he received the angels who came in the form of men, he made a feast. Through his hospitality, he delivered himself and his immediate family from the fire that fell from Heaven on Sodom. Similarly, Cornelius was hospitable and through this, he and his family were saved.

 

 

“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares”  (Hebrews 13:2). God wants His children to be hospitable. The hospitable have a way of attracting divine visitors such as God, angels or even men of God that can command God’s blessings on them. Hospitable people are generous. They do not have to necessarily have all the money in the world. The little they have is presented with love and with all their heart. They strive to make their guests comfortable. They are prepared to sacrifice for the maximum comfort of their guests. The way they receive the guests will make them want to come back. They would prepare the best meals and present it in a most attractive and healthy way. Where they can, they would do everything to spoil their guests. They would make sure the visitor’s room is swept, cleaned and dusted. The bed is well dressed and inviting. They will wait on their guests throughout their stay. Where they cannot drive them to, they would arrange the cab that would convey them there. Hospitable people are homely and humble. How hospitable are you? Some people do everything just to scare visitors from coming to pay them visits. Are you hospitable? Hospitality should be taught to all your children. It is one of the healthy family values that Christian families must imbibe. How do you receive your pastors and ministers? How do you receive unbelievers in your home? The truth is, through hospitality, the Gospel message can be preached non-verbally and souls of visitors can be won.

If your hospitality cannot attract your visitors to Christ, you are probably not doing it right. Always be prepared to make your guests, even unexpected guest comfortable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD 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!

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Glorify God Despite Your Circumstances

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03.365 (02.08.2009) Faith

Glorify God despite your circumstances.

 

Romans 4:20 “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God.”

Waiting almost 10 years for the fulfilment of an “impossible” promise from God, Abraham’s faith grew stronger, while he continued to give glory to God! Strengthen yourself today in this thought. Abraham had all the reason in the natural to waver in his faith, but he chose to glorify God regardless of his circumstances.

Keep praising God, give Him glory in all that you do and do not lose hope, while glorifying Him.

 

 

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD 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!

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Jesus Shared His Father’s Glory

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Jesus Shared His Father’s Glory

John 5:18, “Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.”

 

 

JOHN 5:16-27

When the Jewish authorities heard Jesus call God “my (own) Father”, they immediately understood that Jesus claimed for Himself deity in the highest possible sense of that term. That claim was either blasphemy, to be punished by death, or else Jesus was who He claimed to be.

Jesus never associated Himself with His disciples by using the plural pronoun “our” Father. Rather, He always used the singular “my” Father, since His relationship was unique and eternal, whereas theirs was by grace and regeneration.

We should ponder carefully our Lord’s own conception of who He was. He said “I am from above” (Jn. 8:23); “Before Abraham was, I AM” (Jn. 8:58); “I and my Father are one” (Jn. 10:30); “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (Jn. 14:9); and “I am not of the world” (Jn. 17:16). He also declared His eternal pre-existence and that He shared the Father’s glory (Jn. 6:62; 17:5).

We can’t just honor Jesus, but we have to honor Him “even as” (in like manner or the same way) we honor the Father. This is what separates true Christianity from the religions of the world. Most religions honor Jesus as a great man (examples: Islam, Unification Church, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc.), but they are violently opposed to making Jesus equal with Almighty God (1 Jn. 2:23). The names and titles given to Jesus in John’s gospel clearly present Jesus as being equal with God. He is all you need Him to be.

 

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD 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!

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Know therefore that the Lord Your God, He is God, the faithful God, which keeps covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations

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Deuteronomy 8:18, Thou shalt remember the Lord...

Know therefore that the Lord Your God, He is God, the faithful God, which keeps covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations

 

Deuteronomy 7:9 says: “Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations.” This verse talks about “thy God”, not just the God of Abraham, not just the God of Isaac, not just the God of David, but your God. He is your personal God. He is the God that has delivered you. He is the God that loves you. He is faithful. Please understand that God is faithful. This means that whatever He has declared, He will bring to pass. He will never, ever turn His back on you when you are trying to go in to apprehend something and to put our hands on or to receive a promise. No, God is faithful. He is the God of love. What does love do? It does its best for those who are loved. God loves you, and He is seeking to do His best on your behalf. God is your God. He is your partner. He is your Father. He loves you!

God is Your God

 

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD 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!

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Worship is a heartfelt response that comes from an understanding of who God is, and what He’s done for us

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Worship is a heartfelt response that comes from an understanding of who God is, and what He’s done for us. 

Daddy I wish he could have heard me.

That’s what my daughter said to me after church Saturday night.

She was told that a famous singer and recording artist had been there.

She said, “If only I could have met him, he might have hooked me up with a recording deal.”

I laughed a little (on the inside) when I thought about the ramifications of this statement.

To think that at eight years old, my daughter thought she had already missed her big opportunity.

Our Big Opportunity

I think we’ve all felt this way at one time or another… especially when it comes to our worship.

Many times, we’re focused on the people around us.

We want them to hear us sing. We want them to see us dance and raise our hands.

But worship shouldn’t be a show for the people around us.

In reality, our audience is an audience of One.

Worship is our response.

Worship is a heartfelt response that comes from an understanding of who God is, and what He’s done for us.

Abraham had a full revelation of who God was, and he trusted Him completely.

Genesis 15:6 says that his trust in God was credited to him as righteousness.

In Genesis 22, Abraham’s trust is put to the test when God asks him to sacrifice his son Isaac on the altar.

While this might sound extreme today, Abraham’s response was one of complete and total trust in God.

He knew that it was all going to be okay.

In Genesis 22:5, Abraham said, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

You see, he never doubted God’s goodness. He spoke in faith (or in trust), “We will come back.”

When Isaac (who was probably 11 years old at the time) asked, “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering,” Abraham answered in faith by saying, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.” (Genesis 22:7-8)

Then, after Abraham had gone as far as to bind his son to the altar and raise his knife to complete the sacrifice, God intervened.

God said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”

This story reveals Abraham’s complete and total trust in God, the result of which is his worship.

What do you worship?

The fact is that everyone worships something or someone.

Cardinals fans worship the team with their time, energy, and money.

At the game, you’ll jump up and down and cheer. You’ll spend hundreds of dollars on a soda and a hot dog. It’s worth it, right?

Worship means to show something’s worth.

The word “worship” is derived from two Old English words, “worth” and “ship.”

When we put these together, we see that “worth-ship” is the quality of having worth or of being worthy.

So when we worship, we are saying that God is worth it.

Of course, God can see our heart, so don’t mistake worship as just the songs we sing on Sunday mornings.

The Apostle Paul says that we should give all of our faculties (or talents) to God, for this is our act of worship. –Romans 12:1

Our life should be as a living sacrifice to glorify, extol, lift up, and praise His name.

Like Abraham, there will be times when our faith in God is tested by circumstances that just don’t make sense.

But if you know who God is, and if you know that His plans for you are good, then there’s only one way to respond to life’s trials… with a heart of worship.

As you go through your day today, focus on God’s goodness. Give Him the praise and know that whatever you’re facing, He will bring you through it.

Like Abraham, place all of your trust in your Saviour. Believe me, He is worth it!

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD 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!

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Then Isaac sowed in that land and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. And the man waxed great

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Isaac, A Lover of Peace; as in Genesis 26:12-2...

Then Isaac sowed in that land and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. And the man waxed great
[rich], and went forward, and grew until he became very great
Genesis 26:12-13

Living by Faith

Isaac had wanted to escape the famine by going down into Egypt, but God
told him not to go, saying, “You know there’s provision in Egypt, but
let me be your provider. Be obedient to me. If you stay here, I will
cause you to prosper.”

Isaac was already a prosperous man. His father was rich, and he had
everything that belonged to his father. But as a result of Isaac’s
obedience, he grew richer and richer until he became very rich.

God wanted to give Isaac an opportunity to live by faith, not by sight.
If you live by sight, you will reap natural results, but if you live by
faith, you receive supernatural results. God’s going to prosper you,
but the process begins with your getting out of debt and allowing God
to increase you more and more until you become very great.

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD 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!

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Trusting God in times of darkness. God always has a rainbow planned for those who turn their lives over to Him

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Judah and Suga

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Trusting God in times of darkness.  God always has a rainbow planned for those who turn their lives over to Him.

The people of Judah were on their way into captivity, and Habakkuk was just one of the prophets that God used to deliver His message of judgment and repentance. Judah’s sin and disobedience had grown to such a proportion that God knew He had to do something to stop their downward spiral. The nation needed to turn back to the Lord and begin to worship Him as their only God. Therefore, He allowed them to face captivity in a foreign land. As promised, Judah was invaded, and most of the people were deported to Babylon. It was there that King Nebuchadnezzar ruled over them.

Like many of us, Habakkuk felt the weight of what was about to come, and he was not settled with the matter at all. In fact, he became anxious and cried out, “How long, O LORD, will I call for help, and You will not hear?” (1:2) As long as life runs along well, we rarely feel the need to ask God for help. However, the moment the skies of our lives turn dark and stormy, we immediately cry out to Him.

You may be a Christian who has worshipped the Lord most of your life. In fact, you consistently take time to be with Him in prayer and praise. However, difficulty has come, and you wonder what you will do. Not all suffering is the result of sin. It is true that Judah needed a course correction or they would have totally abandoned their faith. This was not God’s desire for the nation He loved. Nor was it on track with His promise to Abraham and David.

Other times, suffering comes in order to prepare us for an even greater blessing. While the storms of life may descend on us without warning, God always has a rainbow planned for those who turn their lives over to Him and trust Him even in the most difficult circumstances.

May Our God The Almighty prosper Nigeria and Israel and defend us from all our enemies in Jesus Christ Name, Amen!

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Worship begins in your heart

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Worship begins in your heart.

Usually, there will come a time when God will test the depth of your   devotion to Him. In Genesis 22, He tested Abraham‘s faith beyond anything   imaginable. The Lord instructed Abraham to take his only son, Isaac, and   offer him as a sacrifice.For a moment, draw this parallel in your mind: God sent   His own Son to earth and willingly offered Him as a sacrifice for our sins.   Was God’s request of Abraham a foreshadowing of what would come? Perhaps.   However, the one thing we want to focus on here is that Abraham was willing   to obey God. He did not talk back, make excuses, or turn away from God. He   just obeyed – knowing in his heart that the Lord would provide the right   sacrifice.

When they had reached their destination, Abraham spoke with words of   faith as he told his servants, “I and the lad will . . . worship and   return to you” (v.5). When it came to the actual moment of sacrifice,   God stopped him. “Abraham! . . . Do not stretch out your hand against   the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you   have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me” (vv. 11-12). God did   not want Abraham to harm his son. He was just checking Abraham’s devotion.

How often have you faced a difficult situation and thought,   “Lord, You can have anything, but please, just don’t take ______.”   You can fill in the blank for yourself. In this situation, Abraham would have   written in the name of his son Isaac – the answer to the promise God had   given him years earlier. Sadly, while God longs for our fellowship, the one   that loses out in this case is the person who fails to enter His gates with   thanksgiving. He does not need us, but we definitely need Him.

Is there something that you are withholding from God? Could it be a   relationship, dream, idea, or pursuit? Worship begins in the heart.   Therefore, always be willing to obey the Lord by letting go of anything you   deem more valuable than your relationship with Him. When you do, His goodness   and mercy will be poured out in abundance for you.

God never sends a test our way just because He’s in a testing mood. He   has a specific purpose in mind. Usually, it is to draw us closer to Himself.

May God Almighty prosper Nigeria and Israel and   defend us from all their enemies in Jesus Christ Name, Amen!
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Seven glories of the giver

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SEVEN
GLORIES OF THE GIVER

Those who do
not give are like dustbins.

Be an
incurable giver

  1. 1.
    DIVINE BREAKTHROUGH GENESIS 18: 1-14

Abraham saw and ran after strangers to entertain them. He was a voluntary
giver. What he had been waiting for, for 25 years came that day. Givers do not
know the day when the breakthrough will come.

  1. 2.
    DIVINE PRESERVATION (THE WIDOW OF
    ZAREPHATH) 1 KINGS 17:8-16.

Why did God send Elijah to the widow? God knew she was a giver; she was
saved with her household.

Be an obsessed giver.

God will preserve a passionate giver.

  1. 3.
    DIVINE TREASURER 2 KINGS  4:8-17

The Shunammite woman voluntarily gave to Elisha. She gave food, then a
home. God gave her what money cannot buy: A
Child.

 

  1. 4.
    OVERFLOWING GLORY 2 CHRONCLE 1:6-12

Solomon receive a blank cheque from
God

Solomon gave 1000 burnt offerings to God

God gave him a blank cheque.

God asked him to ask whatsoever he wanted.

He asked for divine treasure of wisdom; God gave him more than he asked
for.

  1. 5.
    DIVINE ATTENTION MARK 12:41-44

Widow’s mite.

God pays attention to giving. When the widow gave all that she had; Jesus
called the disciples to see what the widow did.

God knows our ability.

  1. 6.
    DIVINE VISTATION ACTS 10:1-4

Story of Cornelius

Cornelius gave unreservedly!

It was as if it was not noticed until God visited; God remembered them
and paid them a visit.

  1. 7.
    IRREVERSIBLE BLESSING AND BLESSING THAT
    OUTLIVES THE BLESSED

God asked Abraham to give his only son.

Because Abraham gave his best; God swore that he will bless and multiply
his blessings

CONFESSION

 

I will get richer never poorer

My children will be richer than me,
in Jesus Christ Name! Amen!

 

                                    By
Pastor E. A Adeboye

                                    General
Overseer Redeemed Christian Church of God

 

May Our God The
Almighty prosper Nigeria and Israel and defend us from all our enemies in Jesus
Christ Name, Amen!

 

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Walk in the steps of Father Abraham

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Groom, Texas

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WALK IN THE
STEPS OF FATHER ABRAHAM

And Melchizedek King of Salem brought
forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the Most High God. And he
blessed him, and said, “Blessed be Abrahm of the Most High God, possessor of
heaven and earth: and blessed be the Most High God, which hath delivered thine
enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. (Genesis 14:18-20).

Abraham was
the first person recorded in the Bible to give tithes. He gave tithes to
Melchizedek over 430 years before the Law was given to the children of Israel,
proving that tithing existed before the Law.

The Bible
tells us Abraham is the father of faith, and that all those who are of faith
are children of Abraham, and we belong to Christ Jesus! “And if ye be Christ’s,
then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians
3:29).

Abraham
demonstrated his faith by giving tithes of all to Melchizedek, who was a
manifestation of Christ to him. The Bible admonishes us to walk in the steps of
the faith of father Abraham (Romans 4:12). When you give your tithes, you’re
walking in his steps of faith. You’re affirming yourself as a child of faith
and a seed of Abraham and you can expect the blessings of Abraham to be yours
also.

Instead of
giving your tithe just because you were commanded to do so, which is good,
start giving it with understanding and by revelation. Begin to act by faith in
giving your tithes. Rejoice and thank God every time you give it. Then you can
enjoy the full benefits of it.

PRAYER

Dear Heavenly Father! You have made
me a partaker of the Abrahamic blessings through Our Lord Jesus Christ. I
present my tithes to You as a token of my covenant relationship with You and
the connection to the Abrahamic blessings. Therefore, the devourer is rebuked
from my finances, every form of sickness is destroyed and failure is completely
removed from my life, in Jesus Christ Name! Amen!

www.rhapsodyofrealities.org

May Our God The Almighty prosper
Nigeria and Israel and defend us from all our enemies in Jesus Christ Name,
Amen!

 

 

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We Walk By Faith Not By Sight: Miracle

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MIRACLE! WE WALK BY FAITH NOT BY SIGHT

God told Abraham to get up and look beyond the horizon,
because he was going to receive as far as his eyes could see. The man who was
healed of blindness at Bethsaida made a very striking statement before his
sight was completely restored. He said he saw men as trees, walking (Mark
8:22-26).

What you see is dependent on how you see what you see. You
could say, “My money is reducing fast,” or “I still have some money.” You could
also say, “My brother is sick” or “My brother is recovering”.

Jesus instructed the blind man to look up, and placed His
hands on his eyes again and he was restored, totally healed. You might be
praying earnestly for something without getting results. It’s time to look up
and say, “I will lift up my eyes to the
hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made
heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2).

If you believe your help comes from heaven, begin to see it,
say it, and act it. Stop celebrating the problem. That will only serve to
magnify it. Rather, say, “it is settled. I am walking by faith and not by
sight”. When you look above the problem, you activate faith in God. In that
atmosphere of faith, you’ll get a miracle. Speak what He says, and not what you
see. Then He will be in charge, and He will perform it.

CONFESSION:

I do not look at
visible things that are temporal, but I keep my eyes on Jesus, the Author and
Perfecter of my faith. I walk by faith and not by sight.

www.christembassy.org

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Touch Not God’s Anointed, And Do God’s Prophets No Harm (Psalm 105:15)

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God said to Abraham
“And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee….”
(Genesis 12:3). Isn’t that ironic! Because of Abraham the blessings of God will
come upon a man. On the other hand, the lot of another man because of Father
Abraham is curse. Anyone who comes against you has positioned himself under a
curse and as such he’ll live in misery the rest of his life. It makes no
difference if it’s one person, two, ten, twenty or more people; they are all
operating under a sealed fate.

This is why you
should be very careful about the things you say about any man of God. Sadly, some
Christians have constituted themselves to be critics of some kind in the house
of God; they are apt to criticize men whom God has anointed. These people would
only get themselves into trouble for God hasn’t given any man such
responsibility; that’s God’s sole responsibility. Miriam was a prophetess and
Moses’ sister. However, when she spoke against Moses the Lord rebuked her and
she became leprous (Numbers 12:1-10). If God could do that to a prophetess,
don’t you think even worse could happen to any other person!

Any man who harms His anointed ones has brought a curse upon
not only himself but also his household and many generations after him. God
Almighty said “…..Touch not my anointed,
and do my prophets no harm” (1 Chronicles 16:22).

Remember, the same fire that gave light to the children of
Israel also placed great darkness upon the Egyptians. I urge you to keep away
from anything that may cause the Holy Spirit to turn against you.”

Don’t touch them with your pen or your publication.

PRAYER

Dear Father, help me
keep my tongue and lips from transgressing against you, through my comments
about men whom you’ve anointed. Let my words be full of grace that it may edify
all that hear me, and strengthen their faith in You and Your prophets, in Jesus
Christ Name, Amen!

www.christembassy.org

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Christians Are Called To Inherit Blessings And Not A Curse. You Can not be Cursed!

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There is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit (Romans 8:1)

According to
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome “I encountered a Christian woman recently who, on
account of certain misfortune she suffered over a period of time, came to the
conclusion that her predicament was the result of a curse. She wanted to know
from me if it was possible for a Christian to be under a curse. I explained to
her from the Word that a Christian can’t be under a curse because the Bible
says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, that if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation,
superior to satan; and so cannot be under a curse”.

A Christian
is called to inherit a blessing and not a curse (1Peter 3:9). This was the
promise of God to Abraham in Genesis 12:3: “And
I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee
shall all families of the earth be blessed.”  As believers in Christ, we have inherited the
blessing of Abraham. So the Bible teaches in Galatians 3:29: “And if ye be
Christ’s then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Ignorance
of this truth is however the problem of all those who believe the reason they’re
not doing well in life is because they are under the influence of a curse or
some voodoo spell.

If you’re
born again and filled with the Holy Spirit, no one can place a curse on you! Even
if they tried, it wouldn’t work, for the Bible says no weapon fashioned against
you shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17). Numbers 23:23 says, “Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any
divination against Israel……”  So you
see, you don’t need any deliverance or special prayers for a curse to be lifted
from your life, for the truth is, you cannot be cursed.

Look at it
this way, if you were to be cursed as a child of God, who is to see to it that
the curse produces result? Is it the devil? You’re more powerful than the
devil. Is it God? God is your Heavenly Father, why would He supervise a curse
against you? The only Christian, however, who can be under a curse, is the one
who is at variance with the Word of God. When you ignore the Word of God, you
take yourself outside the protective cover of the Word, and that in itself is a
curse. But as long as you stay in the Word, you’ll be like a tree planted by
the rivers of water; fruitful and productive for eternity! Praise God!

PRAYER

DEAR FATHER, I THANK YOU FOR YOUR
WORD. IT’S IN MY HEART AND MY MOUTH TODAY! I MEDITATE UPON IT DAY AND NIGHT AND
THEREBY MAKE MY WAY PROSPEROUS. I CANNOT BE CURSED BECAUSE YOUR WORD IS MY LIFE
AND YOUR BLESSING REMAINS MY PORTION, IN JESUS CHRIST NAME. AMEN!

www.rhapsodyofrealities.org

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Faith Is Based On The Word Of God, Not “Optimism”

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So then faith cometh by
hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17).

The faith that works and produces result is the one that’s
based on God’s Word. Someone may say, “I’m very hopeful and confident about the
future; I’m optimistic that the miracle I’m expecting will come to pass!” as
beautiful as that may sound, it’s not faith. You must have the Word of God as
the basis for your believing and confession, for faith is based on God’s Word;
it’s the response of the human spirit to the Word of God.

Faith is expressed when you act on the Word. The Apostle Paul
expounded in the Book of Romans how Abraham demonstrated strong faith on the
basis of what God told him in Genesis 17:5 “……for
a father of many nations have I made thee” . hence the Bible says “He staggered
not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving
glory to God” (Romans 4:20). Abraham had God’s Word as evidence and spoke in
agreement with God; that was how his faith prevailed.

Another example is the story of the Syrophenician woman in
mark 7 ; a remarkable example of true faith. Her young daughter had an unclean spirit,
so she came and fell at the feet of the Master and beseeched Him to cast the
devil out her daughter (Mark 7:25-26). But in verse twenty seven, Jesus said to
her, “……let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the
children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.” Her response was “……yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table
eat of the children’s crumbs” (Mark 7:28). Commending her faith, the Lord
Jesus said “…..For this saying goes thy
way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. And when she was come to her house,
she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed” (Mark
7:29-30). Observe that she acted on what Jesus said and went home; when she got
home she found her daughter healed. She didn’t act on mere optimism or impulse
of what she thought would happen, but on the Master’s infallible word.

Mere optimism is not a substitute for faith, for it doesn’t
have its foundation on God’s Word. It doesn’t matter how much you anticipate or
are hopeful for the best possible outcome in an endeavour, it still wouldn’t
work if your hope doesn’t translate to faith. True faith transcends the realms
of human theories, reasoning, impulses and optimism because faith is spiritual
and only come to you through the Word of God. So, for your faith to work and
produce results, it’s got to be based on God’s Word.

PRAYER

DEAR HEAVENLY FATHER, I
REJOICE TODAY AT YOUR WORD THAT’S BUILDING MY FAITH STRONG AND ENRICHING ME IN
ALL THINGS. YOUR WORD IS MY LIFE, AND THE LIGHT THAT SHOWS ME HOW TO WALK IN
THE PATHS OF VICTORY, PROSPERITY AND SUCCESS, FROM DAY TO DAY, IN JESUS CHRIST
NAME, AMEN!    

www.christembassy.org

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