Bible In One Year-Day 31 (Friday, January 31, 2014)

God’s intention was to come into the midst of His people; and that was why He gave the instructions on how the building would look like, preparation of the priest and their duties. That is, He supervised everything Himself. Ex28:36 tells us how anyone who wants to approach God ought to come; HOLINESS TO THE LORD. For you to be filled with His Spirit for special assignment, you must leave a holy life. A lesson we must learn is that, even the making of the garment of Aaron and other designs were by those filled with God’s Spirit, Ex28:3/31:1-11. God has not given any burden that will wear us out. He is only seeking for somebody to express Himself through. Gal5:16/1John2:16 are two wonderful verses to read. There should be no human logic, creativity or wisdom in carrying out His program (i.e. using the flesh to accomplish God’s agenda). Paul says faith should be built in the power of God and not in the wisdom of men. There is a clear demarcation between spiritual and worldly things in God’s agenda. When things are done by the inspiration of His Spirit, His glory sanctifies it, Ex29:43.

Exodus 29:43 “And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.”

In essence, the Spirit of God and the gifts of His Spirit are given to us to do God’s will and not for our own personal use. Without His Spirit we can’t minister aright. We can’t praise Him or pray to Him aright. Every child of God need to ask God to give him/her the Spirit of what He wants Him to do in the land of the living. You could only be relevant by this Spirit without struggles. If there is anything you must ask God in this present time, it should be the fullness of this Spirit, Isaiah11:2.

Isaiah 11:2 “And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;”

Zechariah 4:6 “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”

The world situation now is just like what happened in the time of Joseph where money failed. The only thing that did not fail then was the Spirit of God in Joseph. The Israelites came out of Egypt, wealthy. Unfortunately, they used the blessing of God to slight God. Their celebration became satanic, unknown to them. And the only thing they reaped was plague. This is always the case to those who could not be patient with God who never come late. They opted for a destructive alternative just because, to them, Moses or God was keeping too long. Impatience had rolled in. the annoying thing was that, while God was instructing Moses on how Aaron was to be decorated, Aaron was yielding to evil influence and satanic pressure. To the Israelites, impatience became their anointing and to Aaron, he cave in to satanic pressure. Impatience is demonic and should not be found in a child of God. Beloved, whoever wants to walk with God must learn patience, endurance and persistence. A lot have missed it just like this; they couldn’t wait any longer and so they opted for anything. God is not a God of anything but a God of sure thing. Many are about to take a nasty decision now because they think they have prayed enough, fasted enough. It is true that you have done these, but have you praised Him enough? God answers prayers and His faithfulness is preparing the best for you. Eph3:20 sums it up “Now to Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above ALL that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us”. Are you at the point of giving up? The simple meaning is that God is engraving His signature on the tablets of your testimony with His finger, Ex31:18. God’s nature is LOVE, He is known for His FAITHFULNESS and the manner He delivers is MYSTERIOUS. Don’t give up, you are very close. Prayer: O Lord my Father, undertake for me (Isaiah38:14). The next mile on the trip is Ex33-36. Keep the fire burning and alive. Tell somebody about Jesus today!!!

Bible In One Year- Day 30 (Thursday, January 30, 2014)

Commentary: Exodus27-29. “And you shall raise up the tabernacle according to its pattern which you were shown on the mountain”, Ex26:30/Acts7:44. It is also written that Solomon completed the temple according to all its plans, 1Kings6:38.

1 Kings 6:38 “And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts (details) thereof, and according to all the fashion (plans) of it. So was he seven years in building it.”

The glory of God is evident in the life of whoever follows the pattern (Ex29:43).

Exodus 29:43 “And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.”

The Ark has only the stones Moses received on the mountain, 1 Kings8:9. His covenant is in the pattern and not in the beautiful house of earthly record. If the commandment of God is inside, the life around the commandment must be in the pattern of the commandment. Is your life in the pattern of the word of God? Jesus gave a pattern for the disciples, which is LOVE for one another, John13:35.

John 13:35 “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Part of the work of the Holy Spirit is to pattern our lives in line with the word of God. This is what happens in the College of the Holy Spirit (His disciplining). It is in this College that a priestly garment is made for the believer who wants to carry the ark of testimony. This garment in this present dispensation is CHARACTER/ATTITUDE. Any resistance to the work of the Holy Spirit is desisting from the pattern, Acts7:47-51. You can’t love genuinely with a fleshy mind; it will fade away. The Holy Spirit is the only One that can help to love unconditionally. A believer who wants the gifts of the Holy Spirit must yield to His disciplining so that the gifts could be used in love after recognizing his own weakness, Heb5:1-2. Having completed the tabernacle, the priest needed to be prepared for the service, Ex28:3. One thing you must learn from this verse is that, God has given every believer a gift of His Spirit to function in the body of Christ. You need to discover yours and use accordingly. The gifted artisans were there to make Aaron’s garment for his consecration and ordination; “… to hallow them to minister unto Me in the Priest’s office: …” Ex29:1. In Chapter 29, Christ is reflected in the consecration of the priests, through shedding of the blood. I will like to bring our attention to the unleavened bread. When the Israelites were coming out of Egypt, God told them to make their bread unleavened. A clear understanding of the meaning of this is in 1Cor5:6-8.

1 Corinthians 5:6-8 “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”

What it reflects is that the sinfulness in us (malice, rivalry, rancor, bitterness, contention and other works of the flesh) should not be carried in the heart if you are approaching the throne of grace in prayer. In essence, unleavened bread signifies the ministry of forgiveness. You must forgive because you also need to be forgiven. As an anonymous poster states “holding a grudge is letting someone live rent-free in your head”. God’s pattern is to forgive and love unconditionally, Matt6:12, 14-15/18:35. Prayer: Lord Jesus, purge my heart and make it clean of all bitterness. Our reading for today is Ex30-32. Keep the fire burning and alive. Tell somebody about Jesus today!!!

Bible In One Year-Day 29 (Wednesday, January 29, 2014)

Commentary: Exodus24-26. The book of Exodus is about salvation, deliverance and holiness. So far we have read the salvation and deliverance of the Israelites. Now, God is introducing His holiness to His people. He wants to live in their midst. But we must understand that it is according to His own PATTERN, not the Israelites’. Moses, as a young man in Egypt did things according to his own judgment which led him into trouble. He was under his father-in-law where he learnt patience, submission, loyalty and hardwork. The initial adversity in Moses’ life first patterned him to the point of total yielding (meekness). This was what made him suitable for God’s use eventually. God’s plan is according to His pattern. And whoever He chooses, must follow accordingly, otherwise it will amount to vanity, Psalm127. If any part of the details is missing, it will lose its spiritual relevance. This is the dilemma of many ministries that used to be vibrant but we don’t hear much of them anymore. Either the leader changed the pattern, or the followers/workers faulted it. And according to Heb8:9,13, such will vanish away because they faulted the covenant and decay is evident in it.

Hebrews 8:9, 13 “Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. … In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.”

If God hands over a ministry to you, He would give details (the blueprint) of the pattern of the ministry. This is what we have read in Exodus24-26. God’s ministry or assignment is not ours, it is His, and to be successful or accomplished, we must follow His pattern. If any of the details is replaced or changed by human logic, it loses its spiritual relevance. God will not change His plan, He would rather change persons. God emphatically reminded Moses to follow the pattern shown him on the mountain, Ex25:9,40.

Exodus 25:8-9,40 “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it. … And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.”

Other references in the scripture also talked about this pattern, Num8:4, Josh22:28 and Heb8:5. Meaning that God is a God of detailed instructions. You must obtain detailed instruction for your own life and this could only be revealed to you through Jesus by His Spirit, 1Cor2:10.

1 Corinthians 2:10 “But God hath revealed them to us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yes, the deep things of God.”

You don’t have to follow another person’s timetable to run your life’s journey. When Jesus entered Peter’s boat, He taught him a sure way of catching fish (right side into the deep) and this reversed his life to the original pattern and that is why we are reading about him today. Your life may look messy; Jesus can turn it to a message. Moses was on the mountain for 40 days/nights and obtained the detail instruction for the tabernacle (even the measurements were given). This is to tell you how important it is to follow God’s pattern. The glory of God is only in His ‘revealed will’ and not the natural creative skill of the worker or spiritual leader. Therefore, you must first be patterned (or re-branded) before you could understand the pattern of God’s plan. Bezaleel (Exod31:1-5) receive the Spirit of God for the assignment, i.e. to do according to God’s pattern. A man’s talent and ability cannot carry the ministry of God but God’s grace of assistance by His Spirit. When the Holy Spirit re-brands you, it is for you to be fit for the assignment; human knowledge is not enough but with the breath of the Holy Spirit. If you have been following the story of Moses, you could see that the smallest matter was taken to the Lord. He had no mind of his own again, but all for God. You must live a life that glorifies Jesus. Moses could not use a nail of 6 inches where 4 inches was required according to the revealed pattern, something will break. Some of us could find it boring reading Ex24-27, but we need to read with understanding. If you have not been patterned through the works of the Holy Spirit, you will not understand or patiently read it. Believers are to prayerfully plug into the pattern of the ministry they belong to or which God had given to them. If they do that in the flesh or use their fleshy mind, rebellion and other sins come to play. A Carnal mind cannot sustain a minister. One of the problems in Christendom today is that ministries are abandoning their own revealed pattern and start criticizing another ministry’s pattern. Many of men of God have left their ministry because of distraction; ego, wealth, rivalry, envy, pride and jealousy. As a matter of fact, Jesus is no more introduced to people but their achievement, all in the name of testimony. The banner of the gospel has been thrown away and what we have now is the banner of Leviathan (King of Pride). This is not what God handed over. There are souls that we need to reach out to; we should drop internal rancor, superiority and external complexity for the pattern shown on the mountain (the place of deep revelation). God will not follow us to any diversion as the wise men experienced when they diverted to Herod’s palace; the star did not follow them. As a Christian, don’t allow any palace (position or influence) steal your vision as given on the mountain. Jesus has given the instructions that must be followed. Your contributions for the expansion of Christ’s Kingdom must be according to the pattern on the mountain of revelation. Your life must be according to the patterned on the mountain of destiny. Mary gave a clue in John2:5 “whatever He says to you, do it”, i.e. do not deviate. God is a God of vision, purpose and pattern. Prayer: O God my Father, lead me into the room of deep secret, in the name of Jesus. Our reading for today is Ex27-29. Keep the fire burning and alive. Tell somebody about Jesus today!!!

Bible In One Year-Day 28 (Tuesday, January 28, 2014)

A spinster who used to go out with friends to parties and other recreational activities got married. The way of life will undoubtedly change after wedding. She started living for her new family. The life style changed, even the more, as soon as she started having babies. Her mouth, legs, hands, heart and other activities would be for her family. This is a simple way of telling what consecration is. It is putting your entire life (spirit, soul and body) on the altar of God. You live for Him. That hymn says it all; Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. The hymn talks about what to be taken for God’s use; life, moment, hands, feet, voice, lips, silver, intellect, will, heart, love and myself. All must be consecrated to God, i.e. you no longer live for yourself but for God. In God’s public address to the Israelites, He gave them commandments which if they live by, they would be a special treasure to Him on earth. For example, “Thou shall not covet …” simply means that your eyes should be for the Lord. “Thou shall not commit adultery” you should know what to guide against. If God delivered us from the world (Egypt), the next thing is consecration. Paul, 2Cor11:2, explained it as “betrothed”, i.e. married to.

2 Corinthians 11:2 “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused (betrothed) you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”

A consecrated life is a victorious life because, it no more lives for itself but for Christ, just as Paul wrote in 2Cor5:14-17 “… old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” If years after you became a born again Christian, you are still struggling with deceptive lips and heart, lying tongue, jealousy, rivalry, fornication, adultery, contentions, outbursts, selfish ambitions, impatience, lack of love, inconsistency in the word of God and the like, you are not yet living that victorious life expected in Christ Jesus. The Israelites were brought out of bondage; they had to live for God. We have been redeemed by Jesus, we have to live for Him. God’s commandments in Ex20 established the relationship between man and Himself, while Ex21-22 establishes the relationship between man to man. When you put these together, you realize that the CROSS has been established. Living the life of the cross means you are crucified with Jesus, Gal2:20.

Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

God is a righteous and Holy God, Ex23:7, 13. Ex23:1-19 is for your own good, in which God spoke specifically about FIRSTFRUITS offering. And any Christian who wants to be a victor in this present economic breakdown should be serious with this first fruits offering. By this you have put your treasure in the hand of God Almighty and broken the backbone of poverty. Many Christians are not too sure about this aspect of our Christian fulfillment; there are different books on this topic. But I have been blessed by one titled “The Mystery of Firstfruit offering” by Dr. D. K. Olukoya. Anyone who lives a consecrated life will ever have God to be his/her guide. Ex23:20-33 is deep and the lesson we could learn from it is that for every stage in God’s assignment, specific Angel is sent to make sure His faithfulness is sustained. The Angel in Ex14:19 was for that stage of their journey. The one in Ex23:20-23 is another one carrying the name of God and God gave specific warning concerning this Angel. Because of the inhabitants of the Promised Land and the difficulties they would come across in getting to the Promised Land, this Angel, who takes no nonsense was appointed by God (Is59:19/45:2-3). This Angel was the standard of what they would meet on their way. The ministry of angels is part of God’s faithfulness, Psalm91:11-13/104:4. In our journey through life, there is another camp of God’s Angels that goes with us to handle each stage. Many have provoked or grieved their assigned angels. Jacob’s eyes were opened to God’s camp of angels, Gen32:1-2, but fear made him not to ask for angelic assistance. And the purpose of God opening his eyes was for him to be confident in His faithfulness. Many have grieved their spiritual leaders who God has sent as an angel. To live a victorious life is to stand in Christ and for Christ. It is a life that hates sin with perfect hatred. It is a life that recognizes grace and uses that grace to run from sin and not continue in it. Ex23:32 says “You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods”. To defeat demonic attacks, you must be consecrated to God Almighty. Prayer: O God, let not Your camp of angels depart from me this year, in the name of Jesus. Next mile in the trip is Ex24-26. Keep the fire burning and alive and tell somebody about Jesus today!!!

Bible In One Year-Day 27 (Sunday, January 27, 2014)

Commentary: Exodus 17-19. The first problem faced by the Israelites after witnessing the defeat of Pharaoh and his chariots was food and water. They had exhausted all they carried out of Egypt; emptied of all Egyptian food. Nothing of Egypt should be with them. Fasting is just a great way of bringing health to the body, Isa58:8.

Isaiah 58:8 “Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy reward.”

They needed to be set free from Egyptian yokes of garlic and cucumber which they were used to. God brought them through that route for them to start having new things in preparation for the Promised Land. For the mere fact that God called you for an assignment or you become a Christian does not mean that you will not go through moments of lack or difficulties. The truth is that, the things acquired from Egypt which could divert your mind or make God your second consideration will have to be reaped off you. Until you become totally dependent on God, things like this will happen. Many lose a lot of things when they become genuine Christians. God is aware and His newness starts from His supplies for daily survival, Psalm68:19.

Psalms 68:19 “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.”

He supplied the type of food that was never in history and fresh water from a new fountain, just to flush out Egyptian deposits in their body, soul and spirit and give them satisfaction. The next problem was the reaping of ancestral seed. What Jacob did to Esau was the first war they had to fight. In Gen36:12, we could see who the ancestor of the Amalekites was, Esau. The Amalekites were the descendants of Esau’s grand-son, born to him by a concubine. It will surprise you that Haman, in the book of Esther, was also a descendant of Amalek through Agag, the son of their one time king. This is the spirit of revenge and bitterness of heart. There are ancestral battles we need to fight on our way to the Promised Land. The spirit of the Amalekites is responsible for pull backs in our journey of life. They resist systematic progress and advancement. The spirit causes evil conspiracies against our moving to the next level. The spirit is responsible for satanic road blocks and weariness in prayers just as Moses’ hand was getting heavier. The spirit gain strength when you relax in your spiritual warfare.  It is a spirit you don’t have to give up on but to decisively deal with, if you don’t want epileptic breakthrough (up today and down tomorrow), Exod17:14. There is, however, no how you could deal with such spirit without making Jesus Christ your banner, Phil2:10. Joshua and Jethro were one of the most important people in Moses’ life. Apart from the glory of God in Moses’ life, these set of people still made meanings in his life. I pray that the people that will be of help to you in realizing your divine assignment, God will bring in your way this year, in the name of Jesus. After the defeat of the Amalekites, and after Moses had set up a standard government (as tutored by Jethro), God told all the people to get prepare for His address to the people. God had demonstrated His saving grace to the people, Exo19:4, He needed to let them know about His keeping grace. The battle of Mordecai with Haman was an unfinished war. We thank the Lord that after this battle, we never had of any attack of the Agagites against the Israelites anymore.  Prayer: Lord Jesus, give me more of you. Next mile in the trip is Exodus20-23. Keep the fire burning and alive. Tell somebody about Jesus today!!!