Bible In One Year-Day 243 (Sunday, August 31, 2014)

Commentary: Book of Malachi. God was dissatisfied with the priests, rulers and leaders of the nation of Israel due to the plague of wickedness, corruption and falsehood. These were conspicuously evident in their socio-political lives of the people. It posed a great problem to their relationship with God. Marital treachery leading to divorce was prevalent, hypocrisy in worship in which the priest offered sick animals contrary to what God ordained in Deuteronomy 15:21.

Malachi 1:13 “Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD.”

The priests have lost the grace on their lips to the demon of lies, deceits and perversion. People were being led astray and the good offerings were being stolen.

\Malachi 2:7-8 “For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.”

God has a special covenant with the priests but this was defiled.

It was in this infamous situation that God sent Prophet Malachi to give the message His judgment to the corrupt nation. Malachi (meaning ‘My messenger’) was a prophet in the days of Nehemiah, the man who led the building of the broken wall. Through the message of Malachi, the prophet of John the Baptist was given.

Malachi 3:1 “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.”

From the book of Malachi, we could learn some lessons:

1. Blessings can be cursed
2. There is a covenant God has with the priests
3. Disrespect and dishonor for God can make Him reject our offering
4. The type of offering you bring to the house of God matters. Stealing or cheating to offer impressively to man is not accepted to God, i.e. the source of your income weighs more than a million applauses of men.
5. Marriage is the Lord’s ‘holy institution’ according to Mal2:11and He loves it dearly. He hates divorce
6. The priests are to teach the people the statues of the law and this must be seen in their own lives.
7. Malachi3:3 makes to us to understand that Christians experience trials for them to be refined and be purged so that they could offer in righteousness. This means that when you give your life to Jesus, God will allow you to go through some trying times during which worldliness will be shaken out of your life and you learn to worship Him is truth and in Spirit.
8. Backsliding is sin, Mal3:14
9. He defends His interest in those who fear Him, Mal3:16

Many lessons are this book for us to learn.

Let us seek for the old path where we could find rest. Let us listen to the trumpet’s sound, wherewith we could escape the calamity to come. Our reading for today is Job1-3. Keep the fire of burning and alive.

Pastor Supo Abayode

+1-302-230-6792

Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries

Delaware, USA

Bible In One Year-Day 242 (Saturday, August 30, 2014)

Commentary: Zephaniah1-3. The days of Zephaniah were during the time of religious, political and social imbalance in the land of Judah. The major theme in his message to the people was “The Day of The Lord” Prophet Zephaniah gave a perfect definition of that day which sent his reforming message deeper into the hearers.

Zephaniah 1:15-16 “That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.”

The covenant relationship with God never exempted them from His judgment because their unfaithfulness called for it. Zephaniah’s message was a call for repentance; whoever repents and walks righteously and in humility will be hidden from the judgment to come. However, whoever walks wickedly will have a taste of God’s anger. The truth is that if God releases His anger, where can a man run to? Here is the Psalmist experience;

Psalms 139:7-10 “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.”

We may have that covenant relationship with God, our faithfulness is what makes us enjoy the benefits and grace attached to it; this is what we call real-time relationship and it is what God desires from us. In case this relationship flaws, Zephaniah suggested repentance, Zeph2:1-2.

Zephaniah 2:1-3 “Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’S anger come upon you. Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger.”

We may not understand this repentance. Repentance is not just confession with the mouth but a thing that is reflected in our attitude and way of life. Zephaniah mentioned three things in his suggestion that must be the pursuit of a genuinely repentant heart;

1. Seek the Lord: this is a show of your Love for Him in appreciation of His graciousness. It is a show of your love for Him; you want to be in His presence above all other things. Matt6:33
2. Seek righteousness: this is making sure His will is done.
3. Seek humility: this is total reliance on God’s grace, i.e. not being boastful of your input or ability but just grace. John15:5 says “without me ye can do nothing” When you get to this point you become a servant who waits on God with fear to hear His instructions. You don’t attribute any achievement to yourself but to the Giver of life, Jesus.
4. Soberness: this is feeling ashamed of your past deeds. You realize your filthiness and demand for cleansing. No pride is attached to your past sinful acts.

In 2Chron7:14, we notice also that God demanded humility from us as part of repentance.

2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

This means that repentance must be accompanied with some evidences which we call virtues; righteousness, faith in God, humility, honesty and truth. John the Baptist called these virtues FRUITS OF REPENTANCE just as we have fruit of the Spirit from those who have Him.

Luke 3:8 “Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say to you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham.”

John the Baptist made them to know that the covenant relationship established through Abraham is not a platform for unfaithfulness but exhibiting the virtues of repentance.

Prophet Zephaniah further made it known to them that if anyone has these virtues, such would be saved from the wrath to come and, of course, will enjoy a promissory splendor as relayed in chapter 3.

Zephaniah 3:17 “The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.”

God is mercy and gracious to those who are meek. May His grace hide calamity from us in the name of Jesus. May the Lord hide pride from us also in the name of Jesus Christ.

Let us seek for the old path where we could find rest. Let us listen to the trumpet’s sound, wherewith we could escape the calamity to come. Our reading for today is the book of Malachi. Keep the fire of burning and alive.

Pastor Supo Abayode

+1-302-230-6792

Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries

Delaware, USA

Bible In One Year-Day 241 (Friday, August 29, 2014)

Commentary: Habakkuk1-3. In the days of Habakkuk, crime and violence were the order of the day. Judah was deep in atrocities, yet God was silent. This posed a concern to Prophet Habakkuk which made him to remain on his knees to seek God’s intervention.

Habakkuk 1:1 “The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.”

God responded in a vision to him. God’s response started with the description of the nature of the instrument of correction, Babylon, He was going to use, Habakkuk 1:5-11. This was another ponder to the prophet. The prophet threw some questions to God based on the way He wanted to use the weapon in correcting His people. In chapter2, God told the prophet to write the vision down for it was not an instant one but for the future; even if it slows, it was the duty of the Prophet to be patient in waiting for its manifestation. This is a great lesson to us. There is a slow vision, i.e. takes more time to come to pass. Such vision demands our patience if is favorable; all we need to do in such cases is to write it down and read it constantly so that our faith can be built up. If the vision is not a good one, it only shows that God is giving time for man to go through the process of repentance.

Joel 2:13 “And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.”

Vision is the greatest virtue of a good Christian. It sustains their heart in being faithful to God in the midst of troubles. This is the meaning of the prophet’s statement;

Habakkuk 2:4 “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.”

The Apostle used this phrase severally to encourage Christians going through difficult times; Romans1:17, Gal3:11 and Heb10:38. To be a Christian isn’t an exemption from trials and hard times. But the righteousness and faithfulness of God is revealed in it if we remain faithful to Him. The situation could be so bad as for us to draw back; we should not.

Hebrews 10:38 “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.”

The Christian, hereby referred to as the just, should be steadfast in trusting God in tribulations. The things that has happened or is happening in the spirit realm should be what matters to a child of God because that is where the reality holds. Habakkuk never relented in pressing God for answer to the problem that was on ground; the righteous being oppressed by the wicked and goes free, the law was so weak to the point of open perversion of justice. The crooked was increasing in wealth, innocent blood was shed to gain properties and rape became the usual phenomenon. God’s ways aren’t our ways. We should embrace His will and plan in getting problems solved even if the manner is alien, i.e. unfamiliar, to us. Habakkuk was concerned about the unruly behavior of his countrymen and how the innocent was being put to death and molested. When He contacted God on this issue, the manner God wanted to correct the menace was shocking to him; God was to use a more horrible people to correct that. Habakkuk regarded God’s way as wisdom. He embraced God’s option and concluded by praising Him in chapter 3. The evidence of a believer being faithful is to take delight in God’s will and embrace His response to all situations. The just shall live by faith. The glorious life of a believer is more evident in difficult circumstances. Habakkuk showed us how to praise God in such situations. After seeing the vision, he praised God acknowledging His mightiness. His description of God’s mightiness could have been what He saw in the vision and fear came upon him. Believers need to strive in prayer to see more of God, then worldliness becomes vanity to them. Apostle Paul saw the vision and revelation of the Lord; he submitted his brain power, i.e. acquired knowledge to the feet of Jesus for use. May the Lord unlock our understanding in the name of Jesus.

Let us seek for the old path where we could find rest. Let us listen to the trumpet’s sound, wherewith we could escape the calamity to come. Our reading for today is the book of Zephaniah Keep the fire of burning and alive.

Pastor Supo Abayode

+1-302-230-6792

Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries

Delaware, USA

Bible In One Year-Day 240 (Thursday, August 28, 2014)

Commentary: Nahum1-3. Repentance is the most desired by God from us.

2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Repentance can hold God’s judgment back and set a man before the throne of grace. It could go a long way in healing our wounds because of God’s mercy. Nahum’s prophetic ministry came about 100 years after Jonah preached repentance and brought revival into the city of Nineveh. Nineveh was evangelized by Jonah and the city came to accept God as the only God. By the time Nahum was raised for this ministry, Nineveh had forgotten the revival of the time of Jonah and resorted to wicked ways of bloodshed, idolatry, harlotries, and pride. Witchcraft had taken over and oppression greatly increased.

Nahum 3:1-4 “Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not; The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots. The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses: Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.”

Nahum’s message starts with acknowledgment of God’s greatness and awesomeness; He cannot be restricted by any natural means. For instance, Nahum talked about the mountain quaking before Him and the hills melting away. He further declares that He has His ways in the whirlwind and in the storm. In addition, he said the people of the earth also heave at His presence. God is great. God may be long-suffering and merciful, His judgment is great also; this is part of His greatness. No matter how good you are beloved, stay away from sin.

Psalms 125:3 “For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.”

The rod of the wicked in this context could be regarded as God’s rod of judgment. Mind you, God is not the wicked but He could allow the wicked to have his ways to chastise His children.

Psalms 89:30-32 “If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.”

He had used Babylon before to deal with the Judeans. Sin can open the door to series of unpleasant hard times. However, repentance is the key to staying the rod of punishment. As a child of God, stay away from sin and iniquity.

Let us seek for the old path where we could find rest. Let us listen to the trumpet’s sound, wherewith we could escape the calamity to come. Our reading for today is Habakkuk1-3. Keep the fire of burning and alive.

Pastor Supo Abayode

+1-302-230-6792

Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries

Delaware, USA

Bible In One Year-Day 239 (Wednesday, August 27, 2014)

Commentary: Micah5-7. God is a God of purpose. We could see that He so much loved Jerusalem. His anger against Jerusalem subsided and the proclamation of His goodness replaced it. Jerusalem had been marked to be the city of the Messiah.

Micah 5:2 “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

This was fulfilled in Christ;

John 7:42 “Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?”

It’s all about Jesus. His root is from the ancient and from everlasting, ending in everlasting. He Himself declared that He had been with God before the world began, John17:24. Here, God so much preserved the city of Jerusalem because of His purpose for it. Once you discover purpose, your life will have meaning, because God will defend His interest, which is purpose, in you. Work of righteousness will take us nowhere but God’s purpose for us and in us. Only the Holy Spirit can achieve divine purpose through us, not by our works. All you need is to remain focused and not be distracted. That purpose is as a result of His grace and not our doings or ability. Apostle Paul said he was called by HIS GRACE, not merit. If we come to realize this truth our relationship with people will change. God cannot be bribed as revealed in Micah6:6-7.

Galatians 6:7 “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

All He wants from us justice (i.e. righteousness), love and humility (i.e. peace). These are pillars of salvation and the greatest is LOVE.

Micah 6:8 “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”

His purpose would be fully realized if we individually upheld these pillars. God’s purpose is in His deep thought (Isa55:8-9) and to discover it, you need His Spirit in you. Ezekiel said His Spirit entered Him and then he heard the voice of Him that spoke.

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.”

Let us seek for the old path where we could find rest. Let us listen to the trumpet’s sound, wherewith we could escape the calamity to come. Our reading for today is Nahum1-3. Keep the fire of burning and alive.

Pastor Supo Abayode

+1-302-230-6792

Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries

Delaware, USA