Bible In One Year-Day 120 (Wednesday, April 30, 2014)

It is quite pathetic that long after Saul’s death, the shadow of his wrong doing still lingered after his descendants. The Israelites swore to an oath and entered into covenant with the Gibeonites in the time of Joshua, Joshua 9:14-15 “And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD.And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.” This oath was what Saul violated. The violation of any oath, agreement, covenant, wherever made and before any deity carries a curse. What Saul did a long time ago dried the heaven and earth for the Israelites in the time of David. The only solution was to satisfy the demand of the Gibeonites for seven lives from the house of Saul. After which the Gibeonites had to bless them. The last two sons of Saul Armoni and Mephibosheth (not Jonathan’s son, for David spared him because of his covenant with Jonathan), were taken for this course. When all these were done, God heeded the prayer of the Israelites and the famine died off. God is a respecter of covenants and he is mindful of it; Psalms 111:5 “He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant.” The covenant He had with Abraham is what we are enjoying through Jesus Christ today. Ancestral covenants or mistakes could be very disastrous if not broken in the name of Jesus Christ. Parental error and malady could cage a person’s destiny unless corrected in Jesus. Family covenant could dry one’s heaven and make the land (labor) unfruitful. Jesus came for this reason; to correct the wrongs and repair and reverse the damages done through ignorance;

1 John 3:8 “… For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the demon.”

Seven people were killed for the havoc done by Saul to be repaired. Thank God for Jesus for He paid it all. We need to take this victory in Jesus to the gate of any spiritual Gibeonite demanding for our blood. We need to bring the power of the cross of Jesus against the power of death and hell, i.e. the power of the grave. Because it is written in Psalms 118:17 “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.” Ancestral and parental covenants and mistakes are horrible strongholds that need be destroyed. You need to stand to get yourself and children delivered. There is a prophecy that has been fulfilled in Christ Jesus; Isaiah 49:25 “But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.” In the case study, the Gibeonites were the righteous and the Israelites, the captives. The Israelites were legal captives for what their father, Saul, did as far as God was concerned; 2 Samuel 21:1 “… and David enquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.” Beloved, sin makes us to become legal captives to death. This is why God sent Jesus to set us free, John 3:15-17 “That whoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Only in Jesus could we break evil covenants, remove contrary handwritings and change curses to blessings. Are you truly in Christ? Many are Christians only by professing it but not one in heart. You need to define your Christianity the same way the Holy Bible defines it and not by the way the motivational speakers define it. are you a consecrated Christian or just a Christian? The Bible calls those who profess Christianity but not one in the heart as ‘workers of iniquity’. These workers are not outside the church but in the church, Luke 13:26 “Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.” According to God’s word, there is a strange punishment for them, Job 31:3 “Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity?”

Upon what soil is your faith built; that of the flesh (motivational speakers) or the power of God (by the Spirit of God)? Where do you put your tent in Christianity? There shall be a separation on the last day. The things you focus on when you take your eyes off the Kingdom of God are the obstacles to entering it. What is your focus? Our next reading for today is 2Sam22-24. Keep the fire burning and alive. JESUS PAID IT ALL, therefore, you have no excuse to miss that glorious place.

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but to us which are saved it is the power of God.

1 John 3:8 “He that committeth sin is of the demon; for the demon sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the demon.”

1 Corinthians 2:5 “That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

Bible In One Year-Day 119 (Tuesday, April 29, 2014)

We could see the stink of politics in 2Sam16-18; treachery, betrayal, deception, selfishness, inconsistence, lack of trust, abominations and self-gain. The prayer of David in 2Sam15:31 for God to turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness was answered by God even though it has some political undertakings in it. Ahithophel eventually committed suicide because his counsel was not accepted. These stinks are still in today’s politics. The counsel of Ahithophel to Absalom was to sleep with his father’s concubines openly which was an abomination. This is likened to evil covenants, agreement and rituals done by the politicians in the secret. The major players of the politics in these chapters were Ahithophel who spied for Absalom and Hushai who spied for David, 2Sam15:31-37. It was a serious game but the Lord was interested in the peace of one of the camps; the camp of David. The counsel of Ahithophel was ignored for the counsel of Hushai, David’s friend, 2 Samuel 17:14 “And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom.” Unfortunately, Absalom lost his life eventually but not to the joy of David. This is the type of love in father-son relationship. It was the wish of David for Absalom to repent, but it was the wish of Joab for him to die even though he once reconciled them. The war against Absalom was not David’s wish. He wanted to go to war with his people just to make sure his son was safe knowing that Joab was a very brutal man when it comes to war. But the people disallowed him. He, therefore, warned Joab, 2 Samuel 18:5 “And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom. And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom.” But Joab did another thing contrary to David’s counsel, 2Sam18:10-11,14.

This is the situation with Jesus. He loves us, he came for the sinners to restore. Joab stands for the LAW which condemns and sentence to death, but David stands for GRACE which God has given us through His only begotten son. Just as David ran for his son, so Joseph took Jesus away from Herod’s sword, Matt2. Just as Joab thrust his spear through Absalom’s heart, so did the soldiers thrust their spear in Jesus. If we are assumed to be Absalom, the sinner who was hanging between heaven and earth, then we were guilty of the condemnation, ruthlessness and judgment of Joab (the law), but Jesus received that on our behalf; this is grace and salvation at work; John 19:33-35 “But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they broke not his legs: But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.” If you understand these chapters very well, you will appreciate Jesus’ death as the substitute for your death. This was something no man could do you. Do you know that David wished he did as Jesus did for you, to die for Absalom? But he could not, 2 Samuel 18:33 “And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!” Jesus is still calling on the sinner to repent of his sins and come to him because He had paid the price for your salvation and redemption. You need to turn to Him. Our reading for today is 2Sam19-21. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Ezekiel 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

Revelation 2:21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

Bible In One Year-Day 118 (Monday, April 28, 2014)

Commentary: 2Sam13-15. ‘The rich also cry’ is a saying which is true. People admire the wealth of the rich but I doubt if they would want the troubles going on within the household of the rich. There are so many ugly things covered up under beautiful clothes. The coffin may be beautiful but that which is inside, if not quickly buried, will mess up the surrounding. In 2Sam13-15 we read of a sorrowful moment for David. It was a mess within his household. Though we may attribute it to his sin for killing Uriah, a critical look at the scenario points to the person the devil used to kindle the fire of judgment, a crafty man called Jonadab;

2 Samuel 13:3 “But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother: and Jonadab was a very subtil man.”

The demon that entered Amnon to manifest as an unholy desire is the same demon that entered Jonadab to advice Amnon on how to go about the evil. The evil and unholy urge in Amnon was drying him up little by little. This is how demon works if it finds its way into someone. There are two ways to getting relieved; compliance to the demonic order and deliverance. If one goes for complying with the demonic order, it leads to shame, dissatisfaction and death. But deliverance casts out the demon and one becomes free and back to senses. When the devil uses a person, he abandons the person to regret, depression and death. Amnon hated the sister after the demon had completed its work. The real enemy was the demon not Amnon. It was unfortunate that Amnon had a demonic friend who helped the demon to destroy him. Amnon needed help, if he had met a deliverance minister rather than a destructive minister (evil advisers), his life would have been saved from this destruction. The people we meet in life matters a lot. Some add to our lives while some subtract or reduce from it. Their roles could be measured by what comes out with time. Amnon died two years after the havoc he did to that peaceful family, but the problem he started outlived him. The same evil friend posed as good adviser to David;

2 Samuel 13:32 “And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother, answered and said, Let not my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men the king’s sons; for Amnon only is dead: for by the appointment of Absalom this hath been determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar.”

Many have been diverted away from the place of their blessing and homes have been broken apart by bad counsels. We, however, need to identify the real enemy which is the resident demon that is drying the person up and not the agent outside. This resident demon is responsible for the horrible errors we make in life. If anger is inside, provocation will be the agent, if there is a lying spirit inside, fear is the demonic agent to prompt it. The spirit of Jonadab is the spirit that operates in bad counselors. That same spirit operated in Ahithophel. Counsel is good because by it, purpose is established but you must know the type of counsel you take;

Psalms 1:1 “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.”

The best counsel you need is to search the scripture. May the Spirit of His word find a place in you in the name of Jesus;

John 6:63 “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak to you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

Our reading for today is 2Sam16-18. Keep the fire burning and alive

John 5:39 “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

Matthew 22:29 “Jesus answered and said to them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.”

Job 5:13 “He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.”

Psalms 33:10 “The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.”

Psalms 33:11 “The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.”

Proverbs 8:14 “Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.”

Bible In One Year-Day 117 (Sunday, April 27, 2014)

Commentary: 2Sam10-12. David enjoyed tremendous favor from God and lived in His splendor. Human beings generally do easily run into error at the stage David found himself; when it was as if he is on top of the world. To attain a height is not as deadly as to retain the height. David had rest; he had trained warriors and had almost everything at the tip of his fingers. We read that he was supposed to be at war (2Sam11:1) but decided to remain at home. The truth is that man is created to be engaged in one thing or the other. Logically, there is no idleness in the spiritual realm; if one is not engaged with God, he is engaged with the devil. When a man is SUPPOSED to be doing something right and decided not to be there at the right time to get it done, the devil has another assignment called SATANIC ASSIGNMENT for such. Such assignments could be evil thoughts, slanders, backbiting or doing the wrong and profitless job. There is an aspect of your life that should not be delegated to another person such as you prsyer altar. Your ministry probably has grown so big to the point that you don’t have the time to do what you used to do before the explosion, reconsider your ways. David was engaged with ‘satanic movie’ which eventually brought undesirable shadow into his life; an innocent blood was shed because of this. The shadow of death found its way into his household because of this sinful act. When Bathsheba sent to tell him that she was pregnant, he could not denial it because the Bible says that she had just finished her menstrual period. David knew he was responsible but wanted to use her husband to cover up his nefarious act, i.e. to push the pregnancy to the husband. That did not work, and then he planned his death. David was not where he was supposed to be, and then the devil engaged him for a while; from one sin to the other. His mind was working out iniquity in his heart even when Urriah was saying the right thing, 2Sam11:10-11. David became a fool before the Lord according to the message of Prophet Nathan, 2Sam12:1-9. What he did secretly displeased the Lord. Sin defined his life after Isaiah 32:5-7 “The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful. For the vile person will speak villainy, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.”

The lesson in these chapters is that, if you have been engaged in doing something good to humankind for God’s sake, (evangelism, praying, reading your Bible, visitation, church activities, hospitality, pastoral ministries etc), and suddenly you thought of holding back for a while without the leading of the Spirit, the simple meaning is that the devil has an assignment for you. Whatever you do in that direction becomes displeasing to God and it is sin. The prayer and fasting of David was tailored towards the fruit of iniquity and not to kill the root of the iniquity. Paul realized that there was a contrary law that compels him to doing something different from what he ought to do, he cried out, Romans 7:24 “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

He realized that there was a law called the law of sin and if it was not dealt with it, it will lead to death. That law is the root of sin; Mr. Flesh. To change and abolish this law, another law must be put in place and that law is the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus; Romans 8:2 “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”

Once the Holy Spirit finds His place in you, power changes hands to the hands of the Holy Spirit and the law changes; good for us to read the whole of Romans8. It is an awesome chapter that treats the flesh and the Spirit. You are genuinely born again (i.e. of Christ) only if the Holy Spirit finds His place in you and whoever has Him will not sin; Romans 8:9 “… Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”

To deal with the power of sin, you need the fullness of the Holy Spirit. May the fire of the Holy Spirit fall on you afresh and tear Mr. Flesh to pieces for the infilling of the Holy Spirit in Jesus name. Our reading for today is 2Sam13-15. Keep the fire burning and alive

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

Isaiah 59:12 “For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them;”

Romans 8:13 “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”

Bible In One Year-Day 116 (Saturday, April 26, 2014)

Commentary: 2Sam7-9. The Love David had for God rewarded him, 2 Samuel 7:1 “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;” It is a lesson for us to make sure that we please God in all our doings. In our last discussion, we talked about doing good in the flesh and in the Spirit; the only thing acceptable to God is that of the Spirit. If it is not of the spirit, then it is not true, as far as God is concerned. This was how David pleased the Lord. He never forsook asking for God’s mind before doing anything tangible; especially that which has to do with the Israelites. God therefore took delight in him and gave him peace, Proverbs 16:7 “When a man’s ways pleases the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.” There is only one way to please the Lord and that is to walk in the Spirit. To walk in the flesh is never God’s pleasure. 2Sam7:1 says David had rest from his enemies, this made him to desire to build a house for the Lord’s ark, which is a good thing, but God did not approve it, 2 Samuel 7:2-3 “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. And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the LORD is with thee.” The lesson in this is that, both David and Prophet Nathan walked in the flesh to please the Lord. Perhaps the prophet had just finished eating a good food on the king’s table and he told David to do all that was on his heart. Good food could make one to dream living in wealth only to wake up and realize that it was just a dream. What such dream is saying is that you need to work harder. The prophet prophesied in the flesh, that night God visited him and sent him back to David to correct the error he left behind, 2 Samuel 7:5 “Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, …” David would have lived in error, he would have worked in vain. If God loves you and takes delight in you, He would always preserve and correct you. Many are doing God’s work now without God in it. When David heard what the Lord said through the prophet, he was still very happy. David appreciated God’s promise even when it did not go well with his heart desire. He still regarded it as better than his own wish. This is how Christians should live. It is not about our will, but His will. To please the Lord, we must walk in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps us to pray according to the will of God;

Romans 8:26-28 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” All things worked together for good for David because he weighed God’s mind more than his own desire. David’s love for God was unmatched as we could see that he dedicated all the spoils from subduing the nations around him to God (chapter8:11). A genuine tither will always win. I said genuine because not all tithers are genuine. Tithing because you fear and love God is a genuine one, while tithing because you want a problem to go is not genuine. If you fear God, you will give Him what belongs to Him. David had the spirit of leadership, a good sense of administration and of a large heart. He thought of showing the kindness of God to the house of Saul, the enemy that never gave him rest and made life so difficult for him. Mephibosheth was Saul’s grandson who was injured while fleeing with his nurse at age 5 (2Sam4:4). The enemy did havoc in his life and left a lifetime mark on him. He became lame from that injury. A prince, but because of his predicament, he was living with Saul’s servant as an ordinary person. This is one of the messages of the preacher, Ecclesiastes 10:7 “I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.” This is the situation of many children of the King of kings. Because of their spiritual lameness, they are living as servants. I pray that power will change hands to the hands of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus. The book of remembrance was opened and the name of Mephibosheth was read out (chapter9), his story changed to the glory of God. Whatever the enemy must have done to you in the past, your story can still change. Jesus came to destroy the works of the enemy and reversed satanic arrangement; he made the lame to walk and the blind to see. His Spirit is still doing that today. That book of remembrance that favored Mephibosheth shall be opened in your favor in the name of Jesus. Do not give up, just keep the fire of prayer burning and alive with thanksgiving in your heart and it shall soon be over to the glory of God; Jeremiah 32:27 “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?” Our reading for today is 2Sam10-12. REJOICE AND BE GLAD!!!