Bible In One Year-Day 124 (Sunday, May 4, 2014)

Commentary: 1Kings7-9. You may wonder why the detail of the building of the temple is so emphasized in chapter7. The lesson in it is that the whole part of our body must be consecrated to the Lord; no part should be left out from the cross. Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, therefore no member of our body should be left out of holiness; Romans 6:13 “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin: but yield yourselves to God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”

Solomon did not use ordinary materials to build God’s temple, so we must not allow any defiling thing on our body. The appearance of that temple was pleasing to God and that was why He came down in His glory to fill it. Anyone who saw that temple knew that it was not built for anybody to reside in but for God Himself. Is your heart good enough for the Holy Spirit to reside or your appearance shows worldliness? Many say that it is the heart the Lord looks at. There is no dispute about that for as long as it is in the right context without any defense for the flesh. However, it is good for us to know that Solomon beautified the temple from the inner sanctuary to the Most Holy place, 1Kings8:6, before bringing in the Ark of the Covenant. The presence of God only filled it afterwards, 1 Kings 8:10 “And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,”

You must be holy from inside out. You are what the bundle of your thoughts reads; Matthew 12:34 “O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh.”

If you see a nakedly dressed person on the street, such was naked in the heart before doing it in appearance. Godly appearance is simple, modest and full of humility, while worldly adornment is materialistic. Whether in the church or outside of the church; whichever, it starts from the heart. Your appearance is an expression of what your heart is saying. Once your dressing is drawing unnecessary lustful attention to you, it is going out of order; 1 Timothy 2:9 “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.”

You must be known by your good works and not by worldly adornment. When SEDUCTION dresses up, LUST is attracted and a marriage that will never lasts is in place. As soon as the lust satisfies itself, the marriage becomes Ichabod, i.e. glory departed.

If you do good to others, God is glorified, but when the attention is on you by reason of jewelries and expensive and seductive clothing, God is despised. The beauty of the temple was inside; your beauty must be inside of you. God was so pleased with the temple that He visited Solomon the second time in chapter9 and consecrated the temple. Jesus did not die for the jewelries, gold and expensive clothes, He died for your SOUL which is inside of you. Precious natural materials such as gold, pearl, etc are concealed deep in the ground. Your body is precious and should not be exposed anyhow in the name of fashion. Spiritually speaking, beloved, demons are attracted also by seductive dressing. Don’t be surprised for the disgusting, nasty and oppressive dreams you have; it could be as a result of what you have attracted through your ungodly dressing. Consider what the scripture says about our Christian and modest dressing;

1 Peter 3:3-5 “Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection to their own husbands:”

Our reading for today is 1Kings10-12. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Bible In One Year-Day 123 (Saturday, May 3, 2014)

The wisdom of man is not the same as the wisdom of God. Solomon bargained for God’s wisdom and God granted him. The first manifestation was amazing and it gave him respect before his people and beyond borders;

1 Kings 3:28 “And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.”

Wisdom is one of the power gift of the Holy Spirit, Isaiah 11:2 “And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;”

1 Corinthians 12:8 “For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;”

When you have wisdom you have God’s nature in you and you will hold the world because you will stand before men that matters just like Joseph and Daniel. People invariably love to enjoy peace and for peace to reign a right sense of judgment is needful which could only be given by God’s wisdom because that is the only thing that judges right. By it kings and princes are judged without fear or favor;

Psalms 82:1 “A Psalm of Asaph. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods (i.e. mighty men, kings).”

Whoever has God’s wisdom stands as God to give judgment, because the Spirit of God works through such; 1 Corinthians 2:15 “But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.”

To be spiritual is not to be religious but to be full of God’s Spirit. To be religious is to try to obey the law without the crucifixion of the flesh, i.e. under the law for guidance because such is spiritually dead. For anyone to fulfill the law in a manner pleasing to God, such must be spiritual, i.e. filled with the Spirit of God (what a grace). David cried to God to give him this Spirit in Psalms 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” God demonstrated this Spirit in Solomon. The enormity of the endowment is in chapter4. The wisdom of man only entices, motivates with philosophical words to build rootless faith, but the wisdom of God is absolutely different from that; 1 Corinthians 2:4 “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:” Beloved, faith could be built in the wisdom of men and such cannot stand the test (temptations and trials ) of time; 1 Corinthians 2:5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

The peak of wisdom is in Jesus. In essence the real definition of wisdom is JUSTICE, i.e. the truth as established in heaven; it is the mind of God. Wisdom is the right use of the word of God by His Spirit. Solomon built the Lord’s temple with this wisdom and the word of God came to him, 1Kings6:11-13. God’s word will only come into the heart, church, home or gathering filled with His Spirit. To those without the Holy Spirit, the word of God is foolishness because they are natural, 1 Corinthians 2:14 “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.” To understand what wisdom is, please take time to read Proverbs8. Whoever finds wisdom finds life. Wisdom can change a man’s status after the order of Joseph. May the Spirit of the living God fill you with His wisdom in the name of Jesus. The reading for today is 1Kings7-9. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Proverbs 12:23 “A prudent man concealeth knowledge: but the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness.”

Jeremiah 51:15 “He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding.”

Proverbs 29:14 “The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever.”

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.”

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

Bible In One Year-Day 122 (Friday, May 02, 2014)

Commentary: 1Kings1-3. The book of second Samuel ended with David’s plead for God’s mercy concerning the plague in the nation. He made a sacrifice that cost him something. However, his life transcends into the book of Kings. The first chapter of 1Kings is about the politics surrounding the enthronement of David’s successor. The servants of David lived with him long enough to know what the weakness, strength and the hobby of their master was; they suggested a young and lovely lady be put with him. Adonijah, seeing that his father couldn’t do anything with the young lady, concluded that his father had no more strength and so it was time to take up the kingship responsibilities. Adonijah had three brothers as seniors; Amnon, Daniel and Absalom. The three of them were dead and Adonijah, being the fourth son, presumed he was the next to be the king. Unfortunately for him, he was unwise about it. He did not follow the traditional protocols of enthronement; he followed the path of bribery and sacrifice without the consent of the incumbent king. The plot against him was in line with tradition; king’s consent was sought for. Nathan, the trusted prophet of David received the mandate to pour oil on Solomon and Zadok was there to represent priestly backing. The plot was instigated by Nathan and I guess this was because Adonijah despised him, Solomon and Zadok. We need to know one thing. David loved Bathsheba and Nathan had a good relationship with her and Solomon because he knew God loved Solomon. David gave the name SOLOMON, but God gave him JEDIDIAH (2Samuel12:24-25), a name sent through Nathan. This was how the relationship began and this was displeasing to Adonijah. Nathan was not pleased either for the manner Adonijah despised him, therefore, he decided to call Bathsheba to go to the king with words words to say. In the first place, David did not say anything while Adonijah was doing all those things probably because he loved Solomon but Adonijah was the senior who, by tradition, should ascend the throne;

1 Kings 1:6 “And his father had not displeased (or rebuked) him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom.”

But the plot of Nathan worked because David trusted Nathan as a prophet, therefore, he yielded to the words of Nathan. Without any doubt, God loved Solomon because the trait of godly wisdom was already in him. The first display of wisdom was the manner he handled Adonijah’s undeserved request for an oath from him, 1Kings1:52-53. His father acknowledged this trait in him in chapter2. In his admonition to Solomon, David told him the secret of his success as a king;

1 Kings 2:3 “And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:”

Joab, the commander of David’s army, did a lot for David, but his support for Adonijah at this crucial moment was a support in error. The inheritance David left for him is in 1 Kings 2:6 “Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head (i.e. gray hair) go down to the grave in peace.”

This is an evil inheritance, a verdict of untimely death. All those in Adonijah’s camp, including him went into serious error that terminated their lives one by one. The first bloodshed in Solomon’s reign was Adonijah’s blood. Chapter3 reveals what happens when one contacts God. Solomon contacted God in his dream and his bargain was the Spirit of wisdom, his greatness manifested immediately. When the Holy Spirit comes upon you for service, you become a solution to mankind. Greatness is in what God is able to do through you and not what you do for people. All the great people we read about so far in this Bible In One Year became remarkable, relevant and great after the Holy Spirit came upon them. That was why Jesus told His disciples, Luke 24:49 “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”

Without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, there is no relevance in any man. Your preaching, good work, evangelism and whatever will only have impact if the Holy Spirit finds His place in you. How open are you to Him? The reading for today is 1Kings4-6. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Acts 10:38 “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the demon; for God was with him.”

Bible In One Year-Day 121 (Thursday, May 01, 2014)

2Sam22&23 is about David’s testimony in which he talked of God’s goodness, his experience and moments of fear and terror. It was through these difficult times that David realized the greatness of God. He was able to appreciate God’s mercy because the sin some other people committed and were destroyed with the entire family, he committed the same sin, but God still took delight in him. David tasted grace in his time. His love for God grew stronger as he advanced in age. In chapter24, Araunah wanted to give him a piece of land to build an altar for God for free, but David preferred the land that would cost him something. This is because he knew how he had disappointed God at one time or the other, despite His loving-kindness towards him. He wanted to fill the pain God felt. Jesus tasted death for us to have eternal life. We need to appreciate this wonderful thing He did for us and the best way to do that is to forgive others even if we aren’t at fault. The act of forgiving others is a way of showing your appreciation of God’s love and kindness towards you;

1 John 4:19 “We love him, because he first loved us.”

David showed his gratitude by letting something valuable go out of him. You don’t need any diary of offences; you only need the diary of visions and revelations. When you keep the diary of offences, visions and revelations become scarce, dreams becomes scary and visions become blurry. When Jesus taught them how to pray He chipped in a phrase which we must understand very well;

Matthew 6:12 “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

The measure of forgiveness you receive from God is determined by the measure of you forgiving others. You receive forgiveness as you forgive others. The backbone of tormentors is broken only with the axe of forgiveness. The mercy of God is enormous towards the person who has no grudges for another person. David was in a position to hold grudges against Saul and his household, but he never at any time count offences against Saul and this is the more reason he received enormous mercy from the Lord. In his poems, the word “mercy” was stated more than any other word because he enjoyed God’s mercy beyond measure. God could not hold His mercy back from David because of his forgiving heart. He was able to describe God’s mercy perfectly; endures forever. David knew what could hinder his prayer and that is the sin of unforgiveness;

Psalms 66:18 “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:”

Jesus admonishes us also;

Mark 11:25 “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

David enjoyed the immense mercy of God because he knew how to forgive and was quite generous. David always made sure his heart was right before God;

Psalms 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

We need to learn from David. Our hearts must be maintained pure all the time if we really want to enjoy God to the fullness. Is it difficult to forgive? I pray that God give you the grace to forgive. Here we conclude the books of 1^st and 2^nd Samuel. The next reading is 1^st Kings and our reading for today is 1Kings1-3. Keep the fire burning and alive.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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