Bible In One Year-Day 164 (Friday, June 13, 2014)

Commentary: 2Chronicles1-3. To enjoy and understand this book, you must first read 1Chronicles29. Second Chronicles centers on Judah and the discussion focuses more on the kings that had their reigns after the order of David, i.e. zealous for God. Ironically, the book ignored the kingdom of Israel probably because of their false worship of strange gods. The first king to be discussed in this book was King Solomon;

2 Chronicles 1:1 “And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly.”

The success of Solomon was as a result of the manner he sought the Lord. David excelled in praising the Lord exclusively, Solomon excelled in giving unreserved material offering to God. His offering opened heaven and a blank check was given to him to insert whatever he wanted. He cashed the check in wisdom; an unusual currency whose value cannot be matched with anything on earth.

Proverbs 3:13-18 “Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.”

We need to understand that David had earlier on prayed wisdom into Solomon’s life, 1Chron22:12.

1 Chronicles 22:12 “Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the LORD thy God.”

The role of a godly parent in the lives of the children is enormous. David’s life affected Solomon’s in an immeasurable way.

Let us look into God’s response to Solomon’s request;

2 Chronicles 1:11 “And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king:”

To ask for riches, wealth, honor, life of the enemy and long life is unwise (or foolishness) if we have to go by what is written in the passage. But for Solomon to ask for wisdom is to ask for His Spirit. What happens when the Spirit of God rests upon someone?

Isaiah 11:2 “And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom (prophetic ministry) and understanding (insight or grace to harmonize one part with another to reveal the truth), the spirit of counsel (i.e. spirit-filled speeches, John6:63) and might (i.e. power, Acts1:8), the spirit of knowledge (information, John16:13) and of the fear of the LORD (i.e. empty of ‘self’);” (parenthesis are mine). One cannot fear God without the Spirit of God and there is no genuine information or insight without the Spirit of God;

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.”

For Solomon to ask for wisdom is to ask for the Helper and the Comforter, i.e. the Holy Spirit. For us to ask for wisdom is to ask for Christ Jesus; Jesus Christ is in us as His Spirit;

1 Corinthians 1:24 “But to them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.”

To judge God’s people is to ask for grace to do what God had called you for. Unfortunately, ministers of God measure prosperity by material possessions and how big the cathedral is. The building of God’s kingdom is the ruining of the kingdom of darkness. The greatest wealth anyone could ever have is the fullness of the Holy Spirit. When you have Him in full, many will come to you for the living water that quenches unsatisfied thirst. Solomon did not want to offend God by metering injustice to God’s people and this was why he asked for divine help.

The issue of responsibility in God’s vineyard is that if you are faithful in the little committed into your hand, God will increase it and this warrants increasing His grace upon your life.

Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

That kingdom of God is the Holy Spirit;

Matthew 12:28 “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God,then the kingdom of God is come to you.”

Solomon, by requesting for those two things, was his way of seeking for the kingdom of God and its righteousness and the things he did not ask for were the additions or rewards. God will only fill the vessel of His grace.

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 2Chronicles4-6. Keep the fire burning and alive.

1 Corinthians 2:7 “But we speak the wisdom of Godin a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world to our glory:”

Bible In One Year-Day 163 (Thursday, June 12, 2014)

Commentary: 1Chronicles26-29. David, a good administrator, organized the gatekeepers and the military divisions. He installed twelve military commanders to run monthly shift supervising the soldiers (chapter27). Invariably, everybody had something to do. The question now is “are you still idle in God’s vineyard?” There is no redundancy in the vineyard of God. One way or the other, God has something for you to do; you are a solution to a problem. David made sure that everything needed for the continuity of the kingdom and smooth transition was put in place. The work David did was great; it was a task given to him by God;

1 Chronicles 28:19 “All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.”

The manner king David organized the kingdom couldn’t have been achieved ordinarily without the hand of God upon him; it takes supernatural endowment to achieve things like that. I guess Solomon saw the great work his father did and he was afraid. David noticed Solomon’s fear and encouraged him by giving him a clue to invoking God’s faithfulness;

1 Chronicles 28:9 “And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.”

Seeking God with a perfect heart and a willing mind are the most impressive thing a man could do for God. This includes our giving to the Lord; it should be with a willing and perfect heart and mind.

1 Chronicles 29:8-9 “And they with whom precious stones were found gave them to the treasure of the house of the LORD, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the LORD: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.”

David prepared the heart of Solomon before handing over the plan of the kingdom to Solomon. Note that the plan was by the Spirit according to verse12;

1 Chronicles 28:12 “And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, …”

The choice of Solomon to succeed his father was of the Spirit (inspired mind by God) also as declared by David before all Israel, 1Chron29:1(whatever is of God must be of the spirit). The only task before Solomon was to build the temple to which David had made all materials available; man, money and materials. David rounded off his reign and handed over with the prayer of praise to God, intercession for the assembly and Solomon (please take time to read 1Chron29). David reigned 40 years before his death and Solomon took over as King afterwards. The state of the heart matters a lot if we need to walk with God.

John 4:23-24 “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

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 2Chronicles1-3. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Bible In One Year-Day 162 (Wednesday, June 11, 2014)

Commentary: 1Chronicles23-25. David used the last of his days to put things in place for his son, Solomon. He was a good father, administrator and manager. He started by giving him advice and encouragement with prayers; 1Chronicles22.

From chapter23 through 26, David organized the officials to work for the Kingdom; Levites (Chapt23), Priests (Chapt24) and the musicians (Chapt25). The Levites (as mentioned herein), were descendants of Moses, and their duty was to assist the priestly lineage of Aaron;

1 Chronicles 23:27-28 “For by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above:Because their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the LORD, in the courts, and in the chambers, and in the purifying of all holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God;”

The age of recruitment, 20 years and above, was in accordance to God’s instruction to Moses in Num1:1-3. David, being a musician under the influence of the Holy Spirit, knew how to touch God’s heart. He knew the relevance of the Holy Spirit in praising God; without Him praises are only made in the flesh and the result usually is sinful. The Holy Spirit is the only one who could help us to praise God in the most acceptable manner. He conveys God’s message through music. David’s ministry in songs was in this pattern and that was how he was able to touch God’s heart. He said in 2Sam23:1 “The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.”

When the Holy Spirit speaks through a medium, that is called prophecy. David prophesied through music. His music brought deliverance to the captive and a relief to the insane.

He was a prayer warrior but he praised God more than he prayed. He has this to say about his routine praying thrice a day;

Psalms 55:17 “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.”

And he has this to say about praising God;

Psalms 119:164 “Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.”

Through music God’s word can be relayed to us. This was the assignment of the musicians; 1Chronicles1&3.

1 Chronicles 25:3 “Of Jeduthun: the sons of Jeduthun; Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the hands of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp, to give thanks and to praise the LORD.”

To prophesy is to speak under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

John 16:13 “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.”

Therefore, the musicians should be under the influence of the Holy Spirit to be able to bring the message of the Lord to the people through music. This is the testimony of Jesus;

Revelation 19:10 “… have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

God could only dwell in the praise that is inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Psalms 22:3 “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.”

Beloved, the best prayer warrior is that person who knows how to praise the Lord in praying. Warfare is never effective without praises. The psalmist has the experience (Psalm149);

Psalms 149:5-9 “Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two edged sword in their hand;To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.”

The one who prays is at the same ground level with the enemy but the one who praises is at a higher level over the enemy; just as Jesus walked on the waters. When you praise God, heavens join you because this is what is going on in the heavens of heavens; everything in the heavenly praises Him;

Psalms 148:1-4 “Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights.Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.”

Praising God multiplies the sorrows of the enemies and brings healing to the wounded heart. Praises usher heavenly bliss into the soul.

Psalms 147:3 “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.”

All the creations have cause to praise Him according to Psalm148.

Psalms 145:10 “All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee.”

You are the work of His hand; in tribulations, perils, favorable and unfavorable situations and comfort, PRAISE YE THE LORD. There is power in praising the Lord. the Psalmist encourages us to approach God with thanksgiving in our hearts and the seat of judgment (the court) with praise;

Psalms 100:4 “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”

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 1Chronicles26-29. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Bible In One Year-Day 161 (Tuesday, June 10, 2014)

Commentary: 1Chronicles20-22. Satan, in his usual manner, will not work out instant fall for any man, but a gradual one. He worked on David gradually starting from wrong positioning; 1 Chronicles 20:1 “And it came to pass, that after the year was expired, at the time that kings go out to battle, Joab led forth the power of the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and destroyed it.”

In this verse, firstly, we realized it was a time when kings go out to battle. Secondly, the war only wasted the country of the children of Ammon. Thirdly, David, who was supposed to go to war like other kings, decided to stay back at home. Looking into satanic agenda for David, the first thing we could notice was that he made him stay away from his responsibility. He was supposed to be at war but tarried (or stayed back) at home. A right positioning is being in the right place at the right time. He was in the right place but at the wrong time and because of this, he gave David another assignment which he carried out against Uriah the Hittite, 2 Samuel 11. This is a lesson for us. When you move according to the Lord’s direction and timing, His angels will take charge;

Psalms 91:11 “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.”

There is also comfort instead of fear. To go to war is to pass through the shadow of death but for as long as it is within God’s timing and purpose there is a promise attached to it;

Psalms 23:4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

To pray and ask for beautiful house, good cars, career and other admirable things of life is our birthright as Christians, but seeking for all these out of God’s timing is seeking for satanic assignment; God’s time is the best.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.”

Whatever you have, no matter how expensive it is, if not within God’s time, it cannot be beautiful. And this is what makes us to be seeking for recognition after acquiring whatever, out of God’s time.

The second point in satanic agenda for David was in the following passage;

1 Chronicles 21:1 “And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked (moved, caused) David to number Israel.”

Despite Joab’s counsel, David still did it which really displeased God. This angered the Lord so much that He put before David three options as punishment; Famine (natural disaster), sword of the enemy and the sword of the Lord. Here is David’s response;

1 Chronicles 21:13 “And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait (distress or situation): let me fall now into the hand of the LORD; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man.”

Though this was a good option but some innocent blood was shed. On these two occasions of satanic influence on David, though he fell in the first place, yet he defeated the devil at last by repenting from his sins. It was not the case with King Saul who decided to seek help through a satanic medium. David was a sinner but was never caught with a sin twice; he never repeated a sin after he had repented. This simply implies that he never premeditated the sins. This is the character of a genuinely repented person. Repentance is the greatest weapon in the hand of a Christian which breaks the backbone of satanic hold or grip on his or her life. Shying away from repentance strengthens satanic grip; Satan could easily drag such person back into sin. The root of inability to repent lies in pride. It grows into hard heartedness, mindset, error, regret, frustration and consequently death (i.e. sicknesses such as depression, high blood pressure and other diseases). King Saul had this problem, his ending was not good. David repented and cried fervently to God for forgiveness. For the first time, David saw an angel of the Lord while praying in humility of heart, 1Chron21:16. Repentance is an old path which never outdates. It was the message of John The Baptist. Jesus preached it; it is the message of the gospel. Repentance is the only thing that restores a fallen man with signs and wonders; it rekindles the fire on the altar of prayer.

1 Chronicles 21:26 “And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the LORD; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering.”

God did not allow David to build a house for Him because he shed innocent blood in many ways; first, he wasted a whole nation (1Chron20:1), secondly by organizing the death of Uriah the Hittite and the plague which killed seventy thousand Israelites (1Chron21:14). All these shedding of blood were due to satanic assignment he got himself involved in; they left stains on David’s life until death. Thank God for Jesus who came to shed the blood strong enough to remove every engraved stain of sin from our lives, Halleluiah!

Colossians 2:14 “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;”

Thank you JESUS.

Repentance is regarding you past sinful acts as shameful and never willing to get involved any longer; this should be with an accompanying fruit as spoken by John The Baptist;

Matthew 3:8 “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:”

What is this fruit expected as a result of genuine repentance? The following passage reveals it;

Luke 3:9-11 “And now also the axe is laid to the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?He answereth and saith to them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.”

This is living the kingdom life; the desire to have the world is no more there but to live for people, just as Jesus lived and acted in Acts10:38. Jesus emphatically said His coming into the world was to salvage the sinners for them to repent of their wrongdoings;

Matthew 9:13 “But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

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 1Chronicles23-25. Keep the fire burning and alive

Bible In One Year-Day 160 (Monday, June 09, 2014)

Commentary: 1Chronicles17-19. David’s heart towards God was unfathomable; the depth was quite unsearchable and full of unrivaled love. When he thought of the majesty of God, he concluded that it was too demeaning for him to be living in a beautifully built house while the Ark of God remained in a tent;

1 Chronicles 17:1 “Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD remaineth under curtains.”

This touched God dearly. It was like when Abraham offered the angels food on their way to destroy Sodom which provoked the prophecy that broke the backbone of barrenness in Sarah’s life (Gen18). Surely what won God’s heart for David was his heart towards God, how he appreciated God’s word and little things. The faith he had in God was sound because he believed the words that ever came to him through the mouth of the prophets were of God. That gesture of building a place for the Ark of God provoked the prophecy that shook David to his bones;

1 Chronicles 17:16 “And David the king came and sat before the LORD, and said, Who am I, O LORD God, and what is mine house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?”

The heart may be silent to man; its contents might be unknown to man according to Jer17:9, but it is loudest to God. Bishop’s cassocks, pastor’s collars and the priest’s robes could succeed in speaking deceit to man, the heart is what God listens to. For instance, out of many places in the gospel, Jesus revealed the heart of men on many occasions.

Matthew 12:25 “And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them …”

Mark 8:17 “And when Jesus knew it, he saith to them, Why reason ye …”

Inability to read the heart of man makes us to judge wrongly. You will be able to understand this better if you take time to read Luke7:36-50. The Pharisee thought he had done the utmost by asking Jesus to come into his house to eat. His heart was saying something different from what he portrayed on inviting Jesus to dine with him. He was disappointed to see Jesus receiving a sinner that came in at the dinner. Let’s start by looking at the state of the heart of the woman, the sinner;

Luke 7:38 “And stood at his feet behind him weeping, ..”

This was the state of the heart (a contrite heart) of the woman which resulted in the following actions “and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.”

The definition of contrite is “feeling remorse for a sin” To weep is not a sign of weakness but that such has a good and compassionate heart. Without such heart, the gift of God cannot be used in love. The Pharisee thought he had given all, but failed in showing love because he had not the required heart which God could not despise. You could give the whole of your house, if love is not the basis, it amounts to nothing. The measure of your love for God is seen in your relationship with people around you. What you give is not what matters, but the spirit behind the gift. God stands by whoever has a broken and contrite heart;

Psalms 34:18 “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”

Both the Pharisee and the woman were sinners according to Jesus’ parable, Luke7:40-43.The Pharisee was an unconscious sinner, who was well dressed, but the woman was a conscious sinner who could not cover her sin before the Lord with any “good work” The woman was conscious of her sins and therefore broke down at the feet of Jesus. She received forgiveness of sin but there was no justification for the Pharisee even though Jesus ate in his house. The tears of the woman was an expression of a humble, broken and contrite heart and spirit, her hair was a sign of total submission, the kissing was an outward show of her deep love for Jesus and the fragrance oil is just to keep the fire burning (i.e. refreshing). All these couldn’t be achieved without a crushed heart.

David had a contrite heart towards God; i.e. a crushed spirit and heart, broken and ground. God wants this type of heart from you and if you have it, He cannot despise you;

Psalms 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

When you realize that you aren’t complete again due to an act of sin and that you need God’s help in this wise, which is a broken spirit. This pain in the spirit, leading to repentance and confession of your weaknesses and failures is as a result of a broken and contrite spirit which God desires from us.

The blood is available for this type of heart. Repentance is feeling sorry for the act (not for being caught) and forsaking (i.e. not to get involved any longer) it. David was not caught in the same sin twice, but repented and forsook each sin he realized.

John 4:23 “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.”

In order to have this type of heart, you will be tried and tested by God. David went through hard times before he eventually became the king. He lived in caves and as a fugitive in Jerusalem. His life was exposed to series of death threats but because he trusted in God, he overcame all.

Many are using good works to cover their sins. Beloved, God cannot be bribed; whatever a man sows, so shall he reap. A broken relationship with God must be restored on God’s terms and not of man’s wisdom. The Pharisee tried to use good works to cover up sinful heart, but Jesus listened to the unrighteousness of his heart. His thinking, perhaps, was that if he offered Jesus good food, he has become righteous automatically. Whatever we do, God will do the final marking and give praise to the one who deserved it; note that actions are weight by God Himself.

1 Corinthians 4:5 “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.”

1 Samuel 2:3 “Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.”

The blood of Jesus is for cleansing and not for hiding to perpetrate sin. We cannot hide in it and continue sinning. After cleansing, a Christian heart must react to any form of sin in a remorseful manner (not as a formula, though); it is like finding a stain of ink on a white three piece suit. When we are talking about a broken and a contrite heart, we are talking about openness to God, sorrowfulness to the stain and humbleness for help; it is not the religious way of asking for forgiveness but the steps taken to be re-united with God in our spirit, i.e. restoring a broken relationship.

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 1Chronicles20-22. Keep the fire burning and alive

Isaiah 57:15 “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”