Bible In One Year-Day 144 (Saturday, May 24, 2014)

Commentary: Jer19-21. Jeremiah was used to taking prophetic actions according to God’s instructions. He faced serious verbal persecutions from the people because of his uncomfortable prophecies. The summary of the prophecy of chapter19 was demonstrated in prophetic action;

Jeremiah 19:10-11 “Then shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with thee,And shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter’s vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they shall bury them in Tophet, till there be no place to bury.”

This particular prophecy invoked serious rage which led to physical humiliation under the supervision of Pashhur, a priest in charge of the house of the Lord who had been deceiving people with false prophecies. This was the same man Jeremiah reported to God in Jer14: 13-15 “Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: … By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.”

This prophecy stuck to Pashhur in Jer20:6. Jeremiah was so embittered that he accused God of seducing him into the ministry he found himself. To him, the more he spoke God’s word, the more he suffers attack from the people; people mocked him and he could not stand the reproach any longer. At a point, he decided not to talk again, either in the name of the Lord or otherwise. He tried to hold the words back in his heart but he could not because of the fire in it;

Jeremiah 20:9 “Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.”

It was so horrible that he wished he was not born. He went to the extent of cursing the day he was born. What Jeremiah faced at this time is what is called Ministerial challenges. There are ways in which God makes His ministers grow up. As we discussed in the earlier postings, there is no double promotion in the school of the Holy Spirit, you go through every course or subject in detail. And this is to refine you towards maturity so that even at old age you become fat and flourishing;

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;”

Challenges in ministry are not to kill you but they are cautions for you to think very well before any leap. When God told Jeremiah that “they will fight against you but they shall not prevail”, that statement has cautionary remarks of the challenges he was facing. The only thing was that he did not know to what extent the fight would be and perhaps that was what caused his weariness. God’s word to us is always a full package; what to do, what we shall face, preparation of our hearts to withstand oppositions and assurance of victory. Wherever God sends you, He makes provision for help to withstand every challenge in that course. Through affliction we could measure the root of your strength in Jesus;

Mark 4:17 “And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.”

A genuine prophet of God suffers persecutions but his words exonerate him with time. To be a good example and a blessing to men, it is not by mouth but by active involvement in what you have said;

James 5:10 “Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.”

Beloved outside of ministry or destiny there are trials and within ministry or destiny there are trials. There is no divine provision for help in trials outside of ministry or destiny because where the word of the Lord is not, God Himself is not there. The trial that will end in joy is that which carries the rod of prayer, shield of patience, spirit of obedience and the garment of humility.

Let us ask 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. May the Lord lead us through our trying times to the glory of His Holy name. Our reading for today is Jer22-24. Keep the fire burning and alive

Romans 8:18 “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

Bible In One Year-Day 143 (Friday, May 23, 2014)

Commentary: Jer16-18. Jeremiah was told not to marry in that land because God’s grace, which is very important for man’s existence, had been withdrawn. The elements of God’s grace are peace, loving-kindness, mercy and divine favor. Without them the land was void of real life; the curse of untimely death was in the land, Jer16:3-4.

Jeremiah 16:3-5 “For thus saith the LORD concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land;They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the LORD, even lovingkindness and mercies.”

Jeremiah was further instructed not to participate in any funeral and social celebrations or parties because it was of no use; the dead crying for the dead.

Jeremiah 16:9 “For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, and in your days, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.”

The people of the land had taken after another god and abandoned the true God of the universe. Relationship between them and God was broken and people began to treacherously relate with one another. They got involved in sexual sacrifices to worship Asherah, the Canaanites’ gods (Jer17:2/ Judg3:7). Gradually, their heritage, which was the Promised Land, was slipping away from their grip into the hands of their enemies. Their trust was no longer in the God of Abraham but in men. God made them to weigh where they put their trust and choose; in man or in God, Jer17:5-8. If in man, the reward is ‘curse’ and if in God, the reward is ‘blessing’. Many things turned upside down in the land which God couldn’t tolerate anymore sinfulness. For Jeremiah to know what God wanted to do as a result, he was given instruction to go to the Potter’s house to observe another prophetic action. He saw how the potter made vessels from clay and how he destroyed some that are displeasing to him.

Jeremiah 18:6 “O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.”

However God made him to know that there was room for repentance.

Jeremiah 18:11 “Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.”

Funny enough, they refused to heed to God’s option, rather they ridiculed God’s word and regarded it as hopeless. Jeremiah told them the consequence of their decision;

Jeremiah 18:17 “I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.”

God turned His back against them because they had forsaken Him and rejected His merciful option. They then planned to attack the ministry of Jeremiah and, of course, to kill him. The prayer of Jeremiah changed;

Jeremiah 18:19-23 “… Yet, LORD, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger.”

He realized that his ministry was his destiny and he was not ready to take it kindly with whoever had decided to terminate his destiny. This is the actions we ought to take against the enemies of our destiny. Matters that have to do with destiny must not be taken lightly but serious. Attacks against destiny are in two basic forms; external and internal. External attack is when the enemy wages war against your destiny and internal attack is when you go into sin. For the external attack, when you call unto God in truth and righteousness, he will defend you as He promised Jeremiah in Jer1:19. But of that internal attack, you need repentance.

The state of the Israelites and the Judeans are the state of the church today. Things that should not be heard among the gentiles are the doctrine of the pulpits;

Jeremiah 18:13 “Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing.”

On today’s pulpits are many ‘Pastor Pashhurs’ who tell the people what they want to hear and not what God has for them. People read the Bible because they have to preach and not to feed their own soul; more of entertainments than inspirations. The preaching of the truth becomes a taboo in the hearing of the people and philosophy has taken over.

Colossians 2:8 “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”

Motivational messages, and not inspirational (of the Holy Spirit) are the order of the day. The word is no more from God but from the deceitful hearts of men. People trust in men and not in God.

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

The government of the church is no more on the shoulder of Christ but on the shoulders of “men of God” (Isa9:6-7). The children are growing in the philosophies of men and not in God and grace. Jeremiah who had the word of the true God was seriously confronted and his life became miserable. The mere fact that you are a genuine Christian does not mean you will not face some challenges, the difference is that your own challenges are different; a just course that leads to eternal life. Conspiracies could be against you, people might reject your side of the version and powerful people might pervert justice in their favor, remember Joseph and Jeremiah;

Jeremiah 15:20 “And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the LORD.”

Let us ask 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. May the good God give us the grace to remain in His word. Reading for today is Jer19-21. Keep the fire burning and alive. ALL ABOUT JESUS

Bible In One Year-Day 142 (Thursday, May 22, 2014)

Commentary: Jer13-15. I just learnt from Jeremiah how to be a prophet of God. The heart must be as that of Jeremiah, an obedient heart which sees God as a Master that cannot make a mistake. God gave Jeremiah a step-by-step instruction towards a goal and Jeremiah never asked what He wanted to achieve. Each stage never made any sense, but the totality of it made serious sense and that is God for you. He takes you through different stages in life (which might have no meaning as it goes), but if you obey Him, the end is always amazingly unimaginable;

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

On the other hand, if you obey the first two instructions and refuse to do the third one, He will not give the forth instruction. In God’s plan, there is no shortcut and in God’s school, there is no double promotion, you will go through each stage He had laid down. The only thing is that the reward for a stage well done might be multiplied, but the training will never be cut short; you need the experience of each stage of God’s training for the next level. People who get frustrated are those who always try to skip stages. It is at stage one that you get the anointing for stage two; you don’t get the anointing for stage two in stage two. Jeremiah was given some instructions to carry out a prophetic action. Linen was a piece of cloth with high prestige in the days of Jeremiah. The wrapping round his waist signifies Judah and Israel round the waist of God. It was God who gave them the glory which they took pride in, but unfortunately, they abandoned God. A cloth locked up in the wardrobe is not appreciated until it is worn by somebody. Jeremiah was told to bury it and after sometime, he exhumed it but the glory was gone;

Jeremiah 13:7 “Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing”.

This was what the Israelites were in the spirit as far as God was concerned. The spiritual definition of pride is attributing the glory of God to oneself; it is saying that you have seen the whole of God without remaining anything. The devil had equal access to the presence of God as Jesus had and he thought he had seen all of God. He therefore demanded for the rotation of chairmanship with God. It is better for God to be proud of you than for you taking undue pride in yourself. Whatever He gives you should be humbly used to bless people. Three times Jesus warned about pride;

Luke 18:14 “… for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

Nothing one does in pride is accepted by God, Jer14:11-12.

Jeremiah 14:11-12 “Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good.When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.”

James 4:6 “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.”

A person of pride is a prey to false prophets. It is pride that makes people to go from prophet to prophet seeking for the God of tomorrow when they have not obeyed the God of today (Jer14:13-14). The situation of the Israelites and Judeans was so bad that God reject even any plea from Moses and Samuel on their behalf, Jeremiah 15:1 “Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth.”

As far as heaven was concerned, judgment had been distributed accordingly in four different forms, Jer15:2-4, just because of what one person did.

Jeremiah 15:2-3 “And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem.”

God hates pride with perfect hatred. Many did saw the visions of heaven and Jesus Christ in the past, but due to pride, they have lost that grace. The greatest havoc pride does is that it disconnects one from God faster than any other thing, just as Lucifer was cast out from God’s presence. For you to be an oracle of God or make heaven, you need to get the garment of humility by all means. That garment of pride must be burnt and let God be glorified.

Jeremiah 9:23-24 “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.”

Let us ask 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. May the fire of God destroy the wings of pride in our lives and His grace hide pride from us in the name of Jesus. Reading for today is Jer16-18. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Isaiah 14:12-15 “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”

Bible In One Year-Day 141 (Wednesday, May 21, 2014)

Commentary: Jer10-12. Chapter10 shows how God mocked the strange gods the Israelites adopted. There is a great difference between the true God and other strange gods. For the true God, Jeremiah 10:16 “The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.” (also Jer10:12-13). He does not need to be decorated, fastened to one spot with nails or be carried about. He does not need hammer or axe to be sharpened but His word is hammer that breaks the rocks. Unlike the strange gods which were carved from nature, the true God created nature but He is not part of nature. He is not bound by the rules guiding nature and the nature must listen to Him and violate any rule to glorify Him just as the axe head floated on the surface of the waters and the wooden stick that was supposed to float disobeyed nature and sank for God to be glorified. If the strange gods were thrown into the waters, they would sink to obey natural law. But Jesus Christ walked on the surface of the waters, made Peter to do same, stilled the waves and calmed the storm for God to be glorified. Jeremiah declares His majesty thus;

Jeremiah 10:6-7 “Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? For to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.”

This God has not changed but remained increasingly amazing and awesome, who can know the conclusion of His acts? NO ONE!!! This kind of God, you cannot sum Him up! The words that come out of His mouth are words of covenant and whoever ignores or disobeys this words automatically places him/herself under a curse;

Jeremiah 11:3 “And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,”

The Israelites rejected God’s words and it became a burden on Jeremiah. His life suffered many threats as He prophesied to the people. They eventually asked him not to prophecy in the name of the Lord. To Jeremiah, it was as if God had betrayed him. Even the entire of his hometown (Anathoth) was against him. He cried to God and the Lord answered him;

Jeremiah 11:21-22 “Therefore thus saith the LORD of the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, that thou die not by our hand:Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine:”

What Jeremiah went through made him to question God’s patience with the wicked, Jer12:1-4. Many are faced with unpleasant humiliations from their adversaries and despite much prayer, they think God was unfair to have made those wicked ones to be alive. God’s silence is not God’s forsaking. Jeremiah forgot God’s word in Jeremiah 1:19 “And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.”

It was true he suffered physical attack and embarrassment, but at the same time Jeremiah enjoyed spiritual protection which is the most important. God’s protection will never leave His people for as long as they stay out of iniquity. Sin is absolutely a covenant breaker and an evil usher for problems. You need to desist from every known sin to enjoy God’s divine protection;

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 cry of Jeremiah was a cry against abominations and sins. Let us ask 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. May His light shine in our darkness in the name of Jesus. Our reading for today is Jer13-15. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Bible In One Year-Day 140 (Tuesday, May 20, 2014)

Commentary: Jer7-9. The atrocities prevalent in Judah are summarized in Jer7:4-6, yet they go to the house of God to worship in the name of the Lord. God was not comfortable with that because there is no room for any unrighteousness in Him;

Jeremiah 7:8-11 “Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD.”

These abominations were what prompted Jeremiah to weep, cry and intercede for them. Judah did not change; rather, they persisted in idolatry. God told Jeremiah not to pray or weep for them any longer and if he insisted on praying for them, He would not listen to him;

Jeremiah 7:16 “Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.”

Jeremiah’s intercession was because he did not know deeper than what he perceived. He only heard the word of God, and knowing the mightiness of God, he was not comfortable with what Judah was doing. He wept for the fear of God’s wrath. God revealed some of the annoying things done in the secret to Jeremiah;

Jeremiah 7:17-18 “Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.”

The Judeans were so involved in this pagan worship that all members of each family had one thing or the other they had to do; children carry wood, fathers set the fire and mothers knead dough (this is satanic assignment).

All over the eastern region, Queen of Heaven was being (and is still being) worshipped under different names. Queen of Heaven was an idol set up by King Manasseh inside the house of God under the name ‘Asherah’;

KJV-R (Webster) 2 Kings 21:6-7 “And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:”

In Babylon and Assyria, this idol was called ‘Ishtar’ from where ‘Easter’ was derived. The celebration of Easter had been even before the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. The thing is that His death and resurrection happened at that time of annual pagan celebration. The Canaanites called her ‘Astarte’.

These same atrocities are prevalent in the churches today. Recently, a president called some Pastors and preached about gay marriage and he had their support. What was really a concern to me was that in one of the commentaries, a man said “does it really matter what they (i.e. the pastors) have to say?” It is quite unfortunate that what pastors say now in public has no credit any longer just as God declared to the Judeans then; Jeremiah 7:28 But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.

Gay marriage victims have their right, no doubt about that; the ‘right to be right in their own eyes and the right to be WRONG before God’. They cannot be condemned or judged by any man. However, obviously, they need help; the need for DELIVERANCE as the spirit within them is what is behind that yoke in their lives. For as long as that spirit is there, they cannot see anything wrong with that in the light of God’s word. It’s like a dead rat in the ceiling of a house; the stink could only be subdued for a while using strong air-freshener. Not until the dead rat is removed, the smell will remain. It is an evil spirit that has intruded their lives at a point in time; at conception, birth or anytime in life. They are subject to that spirit because they are bound to it. the spirit is one of the elements of the world (i.e. evil spiritual principles of this world);

Galatians 4:3 “Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:”

Galatians 4:9 “But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?”

Not until they receive total deliverance from this dilemma that has overcome them, they remain servants to that ungodly spirit, trying to spray the stink with air-freshener (misinterpretation or misappropriation of the scripture).

2 Peter 2:19 “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.”

This evil spirit is the “RAT IN THE FLESH” that must be cast out in the name of Jesus Christ. The man of Gadarenes had a group of rats in his flesh but his people never realized it until Jesus took over and dealt with them appropriately. To His glory, the man’s people found him “in his right mind” after the deliverance.

Luke 8:30 “And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many demons (rats) were entered into him.”

Mark 5:15 “And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the demon, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.”

Any spirit that rules contrary to God’s word is a rat in the flesh and deliverance is the solution. When the rats are cast out, then the victim will come into the full knowledge of God and thirst for righteousness.

The pulpit is carrying a bad stigma nowadays and the so called house of God is turned to a place of social gathering where religious Hollywood actors gather in the name of ‘looking good’ and bottles of different wines are being beheaded with loud applause from collared ministers and priests. Competing Cathedrals are being built for these celebrations instead of building God’s kingdom (soul winning). Satan has not changed his tricks; presenting sin in attractive colors and catchy patterns or designs. The Queen of Heaven is being celebrated by worshipers who do not even know her; Jeremiah 7:9 “… and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;”

The church is the Lord’s and the government therein ‘should’ be on His shoulder as the scripture says (Isaiah9:6-7), but unfortunately, the government therein is the government of the Queen of Heaven. Let us ask 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. May His love redeem the church in the name of Jesus Christ. Reading for today is Jer10-12. Keep the fire burning and alive

To know more about the Queen of Heaven, I humbly recommend the book “SMITE THE ENEMY AND HE SHALL FLEE” by Dr. D. K. Olukoya