Bible In One Year-Day 274 (Wednesday, October 01, 2014)

Commentary: Psalms81-85. To be a Christian does not translate to exemption from troubles and battles of life. It is not to be exempted from going through fearful and lonely moments of life. As a matter of fact being a Christian will subject you to more horrifying trials of life. Christianity is not a religion as we secularly proclaim, but a name given to the type of relationship between man and God at the expense of the splendors of this world; i.e. a relationship that is strengthened by tribulations. Hear what the scripture says;

Acts 14:22 “Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”

Here we see that tribulation is a pathway to entering the kingdom of God. May I clearly state that the type of tribulation is not that suffered as a result of personally tempting the devil. It is, rather, that as a result of remaining faithful to God in your walk with Him in the face of oppositions and persecuting powers.

The psalmist, in chapter 83, mentioned such fearful moment for the nation of Israel. The enemy increased in size and strength. They plotted to eradicate, totally, the nation of Israel. Israel looked at himself and considers himself too small for the enemy.

Psalms 83:3-4 “They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.”

It is through this difficult time that they discovered the awesomeness of God. They got to know Him as their Sun that gives light in the darkness and shield that protects them from fiery arrows of the wicked. They discovered GRACE and GLORY.

Psalms 84:11 “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”

God did not promise that we shall not be troubled in this world, but promised to be with and keep us. He did not promise that we shall not come across the evil ones, but He promised that we shall overcome them. He did not promise that we shall not see danger, but He promised that only with our eyes shall we behold it.

Isaiah 43:2 “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.”

Apostle Paul narrated his ordeal in this wise in 2Cor11. An excerpt says this;

2 Corinthians 11:26-27 “In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.”

In these sufferings, he still cared for the churches and remained faithful to God who called him; his relationship with God became stronger and therefore received strength in his spirit (grace) to press on.

2 Corinthians 12:9 “And he said to me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

In this view, what God promised for the Christians in this world is GRACE and GLORY. Grace is the strengthening of the spirit of man by the Holy Spirit in the face of everything that is not agreeing with God. Grace is less of flesh and more of the Holy Spirit. Glory is the protection given to shield us from the weapon of the enemy. Glory is the reflection or expression of God through us, i.e. His brightness. This shield, i.e. glory, can be removed, though, if iniquity is allowed.

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.”

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve enjoyed this glory; no grace was necessary then. All the animals respected man because of the glory around him; being protected by the glory. Unfortunately, when sin was allowed, the hedge of glory was broken, and mosquitoes and other biting animals began to attack man. This was because the hedge was destroyed. Adam lost the glory through despising the word, but man must get it back by regarding and obeying the word. the more you allow His word to have a place in you, the more of the glory in the word that reflects through you; it is not memorizing the word, but observing and doing it.

God honors His word more than His name. But Christ came with GRACE and TRUTH to restore man. Grace to see him through the pains, perils and tribulations of sin, and truth to set him free from the bondage of sin. Therefore, as Christians, we need to pray for more of His grace on daily basis and more of His truth to break the power of sin. In every aspect of life, we need grace; the grace to be a good, caring and responsible spouse, the grace to be an outstanding worker, grace to be a good parent (not basically in terms of money but to provide moral advice and inculcate enduring discipline with good examples), grace to be a mentor and a good leader. Grace in all life endeavors. Without grace, all our efforts in life will round up to zero and it might be too late when eventually realized. To draw grace and glory, the psalmist advice that we walk uprightly and trust in God’s strength;

MLB Psalms 84:12 “O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in Thee.”

The world is a battle field and Satan is the prince of this world; we need grace to be overcomers. In summary, grace is the knitting of the Holy Spirit with man’s spirit to become one. This is the goal of God.

Tribulation is the process by which God allows trials and temptations (by the devil) to nail (or crucify) the flesh to the cross. It is the process by which the cross kills the flesh.. God uses it to break the power of sin and for the glory to come out brighter.

2 Corinthians 4:17 “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;”

In most cases where tribulation is mentioned in the Bible, glory is mentioned along with it. Christians don’t pray to receive power, but for more of His grace and revelation of His glory.

Ephesians 3:16 “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;”

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 Psalms86-90. Keep the fire of burning and alive.

Bible In One Year-Day 273 (Tuesday, September 30, 2014)

Commentary: Psalms76-80. The greatness of God includes His judgment and the way He deals with the affairs of men. What, ordinarily, men consider as great and unshakeable are nothing before the Lord. It is only that which God has made great, remains great. And such greatness is to glorify the Lord. The psalmist mentioned how some great persons were reduced to nothing by the Lord’s rebuke.

Psalms 76:4-6 “Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey. The stouthearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands. At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep.”

The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and the fear of man is snare. Only God should we fear. Though God is awesomely merciful, the greatness of His judgment is part of His greatness. And when He is angry and up to giving out His judgment, everything will obey His command.

Psalms 77:16 “The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled.”

Many things we use for our comfort are under the command of God. His rebuke and anger can make them to turn against man. Each time sin calls us, we must think on this; that all the things that are around us are witnesses to the act of sin and can become instrument of divine judgment. In the same manner, they can become instrument of blessing to us when God takes delight in us.

Psalms 78:15-16 “He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths. He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.”

As a matter of fact, it is a right to a genuine child of God to enjoy the use of these things around us. But if the person becomes rebellious, they rebel also because of sin. Before any act of sin, beloved, CONSIDER HIS GREATNESS.

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 Psalms81-85. Keep the fire of burning and alive.

Supo Abayode

+1-302-230-6792

Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries

Delaware, USA

Bible In One Year-Day 272 (Monday, September 29, 2014)

Commentary: Psalms71-75. It is a terrible thing to fall into the hand of an unrighteous and cruel person; a proper definition of who the devil is. To be cruel is to be merciless and immeasurably wicked in dealings. It does not necessarily mean that the cruel person will be aggressive or harsh in relating to you but within the heart, evil is devised. The heart of the cruel is clearly defined in the scriptures

Proverbs 6:18 “An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,”

Proverbs 6:14 “Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.”

Psalms 36:4 “He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.”

This was the experience of the psalmist, the victim of cruelty. The life of the psalmist became an example to people through tribulations. His strength was only in the righteous God. In his prayers to God through his predicament, he asked God for His rescue.

Psalms 71:4 “Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.”

The beauty of the psalmist’s lamentation is that he acknowledged the fact that whatever God allowed, it is for a reason and towards a purpose. This was his consolation.

MLB Psalms 71:20-21 “Thou, who hast made (allowed) me experience troubles great and sore, wilt revive me again and wilt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. Thou wilt add to my stature, and comfort me again.”

He believed God for a happy ending. To every genuine child of God, there is always a pathway to testimony and rejoicing as they pass through the sea of troubles.

MLB Psalms 66:6 “He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot; there we rejoiced in Him.”

God has promised His own children that when they pass through the waters, He will be with them, Isaiah43:2. His presence is the most important thing in the troubles of Christians. Christians definitely have and will have troubles but the difference between theirs and that of the unrighteous is that they will always come out of it well refined. They become examples of the awesomeness of God.

MLB Psalms 71:7 “I have been a marvel to many, but Thou art my strong refuge.”

Through their troubles, their lives are patterned after the righteousness of God. Unlike that of the wicked, it leads to total destruction.

The pathway to the testimony of a genuine Christian is prayer, to know and draw closer to Him the more, and studying the word of God, to receive daily strength.

Psalms 71:16 “I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.”

If you quit praying, you have departed from this pathway and one is disconnected from God; but if you press on praying, you are doing the right thing. There is only one thing you have to do before the arrival of your testimony, KEEP ON PRAYING. This is the example the psalmist showed us.

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 Psalms76-80. Keep the fire of burning and alive.

Supo Abayode

+1-302-230-6792

Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries

Delaware, USA

Bible In One Year-Day 271 (Sunday, September 28, 2014)

Commentary: Psalms66-70. One great attribute of the psalmist is the praising grace God bestowed upon him. He praised God from the depth of the heart. The framing of the lyrics of praise is such that you will know that he was expressing an experience of God’s goodness beyond what he saw in another person’s life or, perhaps, that he was taught how to praise God; it was an experience. This experience wasn’t in splendor but through hard and difficult times.

Psalms 69:1-3 “Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.”

What you really know God to be is in that which you pass through in life. Abraham knew Him to be the God who provides. Isaiah knew Him as the God who hides himself, yet performs wonders. David is calling you and me to acknowledge the AWESOME GOD.

MLB Psalms 66:5 “Come and see what God has done; in His work He is awesome toward the children of men.”

His awesomeness is realized in what you go through. His testing is to take you through to a finished richness. His thought towards you is having an amazing destination. His walk with you may be silent in your predicament, but He is there refining, protecting, directing and giving you strength so that you could be richly fulfilled.

Psalms 66:10-12 “For thou, O God, hast proved (tested) us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place (rich fulfillment or overflowing abundance).” (Words in parenthesis are adopted from various versions)

The psalmist did not only express his gratitude to God with the mouth but he did it also in actions. He blessed the Lord with his substance; he was not selfish to the Lord. He gave God what cost him something.

Psalms 66:13-15 “I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows, Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble. I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats.”

The psalmist crowned his extolment with unreserved TESTIMONY. Many never knew that testimony is having a sort of power that breaks the fangs of the enemy. Testimony gives the enemy total knockout. But the testimony should be that which truly exalts the Lord and not for self glorification. Testimony is like giving God back what He has given you by letting people see what He has done; thereby uplifting the faith of the hearers. The type of testimony which God is involved in will be clear to people that it is God’s doing.

Isaiah 41:20 “That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.”

This is the awesomeness of our God; the glory must always be His forever and ever, AMEN.

When you praise God with the whole of your heart at all times, you cannot cease from reaping His goodness.

Psalms 67:5-7 “Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.”

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 Psalms71-75. Keep the fire of burning and alive.

Supo Abayode

+1-302-230-6792

Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries

Delaware, USA

Bible In One Year-Day 270 (Saturday, September 27, 2014)

Commentary: Psalms61-65. The prayer life of the psalmist is evident in chapter63.

Psalms 63:1-2 “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.”

Before anything each day, the psalmist’s urge was to have a taste of God. The soul is saturated with God’s word (water), thereby giving his flesh health. The psalmist also observes his quiet time deep in the night when there would be no distractions.

Psalms 63:6 “When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.”

Though he was a prayer warrior, yet he knew how to commune with God. Quiet time is not spiritual warfare time. In quiet time, you meditate on Him and His word; you think on His lovingkindnesses. The freshness of His word saturates your being and in that, light shines into your soul and your understanding is opened. You receive deeper teachings from the Lord during quiet time. As for prayers, you pour your heart to God and you press to know His will, i.e. you need a revelation. When a burden overwhelms you, you go to God in prayer. This is not a quiet time in which you want the light in the written word to illuminate your heart.

Psalms 119:130 “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.”

It is in quiet time that a deep and genuine relationship is built with the Lord. If this stage is not well developed, prayers will be meaningless and, perhaps, ineffective. The prayers you pray must be with understanding and not in fear or in the flesh. The more you do your quiet time the more the glory in the word changes you to be like the word. The word changes your character, emotion, mind, will and the way you view things. Through the quiet time, you become more spiritual and the things of God becomes clearer to you.

1 Corinthians 2:13-15 “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.”

If you are still carnally minded, you cannot discern the things of the Spirit and you must know that God is Spirit. To memorize the word is good, but it is not what God is requesting. After all, the Pharisees and Sadducees were rich in memorizing the word but were shamefully blind to the appearance of the truth in the word which is JESUS CHRIST.

Isaiah 44:18 “They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.”

MLB Matthew 23:26 “Blind Pharisees! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate so that its outside may be clean as well.”

As a matter of fact, Matthew23 is totally devoted to addressing the blindness of the leaders and the destructive effect on the subjects.

God requests us to get understanding of what He has behind the word and you can’t get it without MEDITATION. Meditation is what is most needful. When you get the understanding, your prayer life will be firebrand. The secret of Joshua’s success is that he gave himself to the meditation of the word on daily basis.

Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

Therefore, quiet time and prayer is very cogent in building a wonderful relationship with the Lord and this is what Christianity is all about; pure and genuine relationship. It is a daily thing.

Psalms 24:3-5 “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”

Unfortunately, there is more emphasis on spiritual warfare (giving more attention to the devil) than experiencing the presence of God which is like heaven on earth; where do you get the anointing and empowerment for spiritual warfare if your quiet time is weak? Jesus demonstrated the need for quiet time. The Apostles were empowered in the presence of the Lord prior to their going out to attack the handwork of the enemy over the souls of men. In this we realize that the Word works on the heart to prepare it for receiving from the Lord.

Spiritual warfare, on the other hand, is not quiet time and prayer but engaging in battle with the enemy of our soul.

2 Corinthians 10:4 “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)”

Isaiah 58:6 “Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?”

However, you cannot fight successfully if your quiet time and prayer life is not anointed, i.e. connected with the presence of the Lord. It is in the presence of the Lord that you are decorated with the whole armor and this is done through building a sound relationship with the Lord. Once this is accomplished, YOU ARE A WINNER in 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 Psalms66-70. Keep the fire of burning and alive.