Bible In One Year-Day 74 (Saturday, March 15, 2014)

Commentary: Mark7-9. Chapter6 revealed a great truth to have in mind;

Mark 6:7 “And he called to him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;”

John the Baptist states concerning Jesus in Mark 1:8 “I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit”.

And Jesus also compliments John The Baptist in Matthew 11:11 “Verily, I say to you, among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he”.

Going by these two verses, we deduct that man is only allowed to do water Baptism; only Jesus could Baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire; no man can do that ordination, only Jesus. The privilege to serve in the vineyard could be given by a man, but the power for service is only given by Jesus. The condition for receiving this power is as He says in Mk8:34-38; you must not be ashamed of Jesus and His word, self denial, not putting value over your life more than the work or assignment of God and with no distracted focus. The power is not given to the lazy man, physically or spiritually. Chapter9 actually tells what it takes; specifically, verse29. What that simply means is that, it is not when they bring problem to you that you start fasting, the power is accumulated through constant and regular fasting.

Talking about Mark8:33, at a point the Spirit of revelation manifested by the mouth of Peter, at another point, Satan manifested as the spirit of discouragement by the same mouth. This evil spirit of discouragement is the greatest weapon in the hand of Satan when it comes to the will of God. This is why we have to be vigilant in our dealings with people around us. Peter had a good intention for rebuking the Lord, but Satan took advantage of that to speak against the things of God, i.e. the will of God. Satan will not discourage you when you are out of the will of God, but the moment you discover that will and ready to go for it, he comes in form of discouragement and fear, and usually through those close to you. This is how many have been diverted from the right path; friends could come to tell you they had a dream or the spirit impressed it on them concerning you, you have to be careful. Parents have discouraged their children in this wise and spouses have friends which have been instrument for this spirit at one time or the other. Prayerfully inquire from God if you are not certain and wait patiently for answer from Him. You must seek to know the spirit behind every piece of advice and counsel, especially from close ones;

1 John 4:1 “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”

Through the book of Mark, faith is spoken of mostly when it comes to healing and deliverance. May the Spirit of divine direction shine His light on our path in the name of Jesus. Our reading for today is Mark10-12. Keep the fire burning and alive. ALL ABOUT JESUS!!!

Bible In One Year-Day 73 (Friday, March 14, 2014)

Commentary: Mark4-6. Jesus took time to expound the purpose of His coming by using different parables. The uses of these parables made His teachings leave positive impressions in the heart of the hearers, whether they agree with Him or not.

Mark 4:33-34 “And with many such parables spoke He the word to them, as they were able to hear it. But without a parable spoke He not to them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.”

In yesterday’s commentary, we concluded that JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD, can change your story to the glory of God. This was demonstrated in Mk5. This man living among the tombs was under a government hidden from the understanding of the inhabitants of Gadarenes. Because they never knew what was going on with the man, their supposed solution multiplied the problems of the man;

Mark 5:4 “Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, …”

This is the experience of a lot Christians today. When there is no insight to problems, people add to it, which eventually leads into deeper bondages, pains and frustrations. Such “chains and fetters” could come in the form of fake prophecies, spiritual sacrifices which are not scriptural, unrealistic visions, deceit, lies and woes, bad counsels and evil suggestions; purposely to remove their victims from the land of solution or promise;

Jeremiah 27:10 “For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.”

Jeremiah 14:14 “Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.”

Many, through such prophets, have been deceived out of blessings and purpose in life and the life they live now is no different from one living among the tombs, crying on daily basis and thinking of suicide (personal destruction). Marriages have been broken by such prophecies; frustrations have become the necklace of such victims. There is a government in place that is not of God and the only way out is for Master Jesus to come into such situation and overthrow such government. Jesus, the great Deliverer, was able to identify the problem of the man. Before then inhabitants thought the man was the problem. The scenario revealed Jesus talked with the head of the evil government in the man’s life. The enemy hates being exposed, but Jesus takes no nonsense from the enemy either. Wherever the enemy wants to go does not matter to Jesus, all He wanted was for the story of the man to change. The first thing that happened to the man was that his mind, i.e. his soul which was stolen by the enemy was restored;

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.”

I pray that your testimony will shake the doubts of a lot who knew you before you met Jesus. They may be going about with a bad report of you, it doesn’t matter, what matters is for Jesus to walk into your life and situation and be glorified. People who carry bad report after your restoration are actually those not in their right mind and so, I don’t see the reason why you should be bordered. Jesus’ testimony in your life is far more important. The woman with the issue of blood had her testimony. One funny thing about Jairus was that while he was still talking to Jesus about his plight, they came to tell him his daughter was dead, Mk5:35; what do you think? For the devil to be speaking to you while praying “do you think this can be done, better forget about it, it’s all over, give up etc”. Jairus left his problem for the presence of God, and his only concern was what God has to say in his situation and not what people say. Do you know that people gathered to help Jairus to cry, but never prayed with him? They discouraged him from continuing his prayer to Jesus. Even when Jesus spoke they still made mockery of Jesus. This is why we need to abstain from sharing with friends having discouraging spirit. God does not like them at all (he dealt with such people who discouraged the Israelites after spying the Promised Land in the book of Numbers). Jesus said those discouragers should be locked out while He went in to raise the killed joy of Jairus. You don’t make mockery of whoever is still on the knees praying, because at the rising up, it is with the wings of testimonies. Your testimony will not miss your address in the name of Jesus. The only thing Jesus went to do in the land of Gadarenes was to go and change the story of the man living among the tombs; that man became an Evangelist instantly (though was bound but set free by Jesus to set others free). And when that story changed, people had to listen to him because he was a living testimony to what he was saying.

Mark 5:19-20 “Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith to him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. And he departed, and began to PUBLISH in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.”

DO you think your case cannot become a testimony to the amazement of people? I want to assure that no matter how horrible it is, JESUS CHRIST never changes, Heb13:8, but He changes stories. Trust Him for the restoration of the stolen destiny of your child, spouse or loved ones. Once you tender your case with Him, you are no longer by yourself. He walked Peter back into the threatened boat, Matt14:28-32. He walked Jarius back into the testimony of his request while Jarius kept his peace despite the tongues of detractors. He will walk you into the center of your destiny and the fullness of your testimony. However, you need to war against these enemies that resists divine change; DOUBT, DISCOURAGEMENT, DISTRACTION and DETRACTION. When your story changes, you become a testimony personified. You become relevant and a figure to identify with. You become a pointer and a signboard of encouragement. You become admirable and accepted. And above all, God is glorified. Our reading for today is Mk7-9. Keep the fire burning and alive. JESUS NEVER FAILS!!!

Bible In One Year-Day 72 (Thursday, March 13, 2014)

Comment: Mark1-3. The gospel of Mark started by introducing Jesus as the Son of God. There are two basic ways to know who Jesus is; knowledge (i.e. teaching and signs and wonders) and revelation (i.e. seeing beyond the physical into the spiritual). People were astonished at Jesus’ teachings, preaching and exercising authority over demons, Mk1:22. Because of what they saw, they followed Him; they needed life and not eloquence. John the Baptist and demons (Mk3:11) recognized Him beyond the physical;

Mark 1:23-24 “And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.”

John the Baptist came in fulfillment of the scripture, Mal3:1-3/4:6. His message was repentance for the kingdom of God that is at hand. He was so honest to stay within his ministry; his pulpit was in the wilderness, his food was locust and wild (unrefined) honey and his best cloth was Camel’s hair. People trooped to him. A man must have been dead before he could be buried; in the same manner, you must have repented from all known sin before the water Baptism. Water Baptism is for repented sinner and not for a sinning sinner. This is the simple message of John the Baptist, Mk1:4&8. A sinning sinner who goes into the water just because others are doing it or because of problems, will only go in with his/ her sins and come out with his/ her sins. Therefore, for one to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Jesus duty), you must have been convicted of your sin, seen that you are guilty of it, soberly repented and decided to forsake it; all these is within you, i.e. internal battle that must have been won, and this is expressed in the Baptism of John. When you have done this, then you must open up to the gospel, i.e. accept Jesus’ work, message and purpose;

Mark 1:15 “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel”.

Without the Holy Spirit there is no knowing the deep things of God, i.e. one stays on the surface, the shallow place in the knowledge of Jesus and such are easily carried away by diverse teachings and deceits. Those who shouted crucify Him, were on the surface, the shallow part, even though they saw the signs and wonders. To believe is not good enough, to have faith is the utmost. Signs and wonders could make you believe (still on the shallow part, not rooted), but the Holy Spirit takes you deeper and thereby establish your belief on the power of God. When your believing is established on the power of God (which is confirmation of His words by the Holy Spirit), faith is built. Hence, faith, which is the gift of the Holy Spirit, is an evidence that the Holy Spirit has taken you (what you believe) beyond the physical into the reality (that which you believe and being fed or watered from the spiritual, not minding what is going on around you. That which is going on around you, of course, will not reflect what you have received in the spirit through faith) and when this happens you don’t need anybody to confuse you any longer because you have seen the real thing. You could read the bible and still be confused especially if you read it with a reprobate mind; you need the Holy Spirit to guide you into the truth, i.e. His thought, because He inspired it. The letters lovers write to each other are easily understood because of the spirit of love binding them together, but the letters written by two enemies will carry a lot of misinterpretations because they have different spirits. The Holy Bible is God’s letter to man and you need the Spirit of God to enter God’s thought as you read it;

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”.

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.”

This is the problem with those who regard the Bible as unrealistic, incomplete, and full of errors and lies; it is because the light of the Holy Spirit isn’t in them. To read the Bible you must be full of the Spirit and without this you remain a natural man;

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 be ordained is not to be in the spirit, to go to Bible school does not mean you are not a natural man, church position has not made you spiritual either; to be spiritual is to operate under the authority of the Holy Spirit. You approach the Bible with the mind of receiving, because the Bible is the only book that reads you as you read it, i.e. the light in it shines into your soul if you open up to the Spirit behind it.

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

It will be good, therefore, to prayerfully read this gospel of Mark. Where you experience a certain light, you need to pause there and pray for the Spirit to speak to you on that part; He has something to say. This is how to open up and enjoy the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In chapter2, we could see two set of people sitting before Jesus; those with faith who uncovered the roof (they enjoyed the grace in Jesus) and those who foolishly reasoned in verse6, they queried Jesus on grounds based on the principles of the law they had been taught.  These ones did not enjoy grace in Jesus. Grace is calling the sinners to repentance, Mk2:5&17, while the law condemns. When we were reading Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, we saw the power of the law, but in the gospel, we could see the power of grace (life and truth). In these first three chapters, those who lived by the principles of the law never enjoyed Jesus, while those who lived by faith enjoyed Him to the fullest. Only those with faith do the will of God and this is how Jesus rounded up the third chapter, Mk3:32-35;

Hebrew 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD, can change your story to the glory of God. Prayer: Lord Jesus, show me more of you. Our reading for today shall be Mark4-6. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Bible In One Year-Day 71 (Wednesday, March 12, 2014)

Commentary: Num34-36. At the border of the Promised Land, God gave Moses an assignment to map out the land as their inheritance. Meanwhile, the instruction included each tribe to provide cities out of their inheritance to the Levites; which means that each tribe has a priest to maintain the ordinance of God. Chapter 35 also was about interpersonal relationship in the Promised Land. There should be no killings, but peace everlasting. We are moving to read the Book of Mark. So far, we have been switching between the first five books of the Old Testament and the first four of the New Testament. This is to help us understand Law and Grace; the punishment in the law being removed through grace. The weakness of the law is being removed by the power of grace. The law is a trap to sin while grace is the power to overcome sin; grace is not for you to sin but to overcome sin. The power of death is effective through the law, but the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus breaks the power and sets us free from the cleave of the grave.

Romans 8: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”

This is the gospel and the expression of God’s love provided in Christ Jesus. The letter kills, but through Jesus we have life in abundance. Our reading for today is Mark1-3. May the Spirit of Christ shine His light on our souls as we read through. Keep the fire burning and alive. HE IS ABLE TO CALM THE STORM IN YOUR LIFE, He did it before.

Bible In One Year-Day 70 (Tuesday, March 11, 2014)

Commentary Num31-33. According to Webster dictionary, vengeance is defined as punishment inflicted in retaliation for an injury or offense: a retribution. Hebrews 10:30 “For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth to me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.”

God instructed Moses to set out for vengeance against the Midianites for deceiving and leading the Israelites astray. Balaam was also a target because he played a vital role in leading the Israelites astray; 2 Peter 2:15 “Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;” also Jude 1:11 “Woe to them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.”

The vengeance of God was total destruction. How do we apply this to the present age as you can’t do such warfare? First we must realize that there was war and therefore, we need to know that spiritual warfare is absolutely needful to have peace with God and man. Though those people were killed according to God’s instruction, the spirits of what they did still lingers and these are what we do warfare against. Balaam represent satanic priests (which cast spells and jinxes), spirit of error and deception, evil counsels, unrighteousness and hypocrisy, spiritual hired assassins, evil diversion and satanic monitors. The Midian kings represent satanic controlling powers or spiritual strong men that cause separation and divisions amongst brethren; their intentions are as stipulated in Psalm2. They cause delay in reaching the Promise Land through seductions and lust. They represent idolatry and harlotry. Once these evils are dealt with in a man’s life, progress is inevitable. Such person becomes highly prosperous. The killing of any woman who had known a man intimately is to get rid of any seed of revenge in the womb (you need to read those chapters to understand this), i.e. some of them might be carrying a baby in the womb that would become problems to them later. These spirits mentioned should be rid off our lives if we really want to progress. It is important to note that if any of these spirits is left behind, it would become problems to generations unborn as mentioned in Num33:55-56. This is the problem Israel is having today. There are a lot of Balaam ministries out there that preach and teach heresies against the Lord. Motivational speakers are more than the spirit inspired ministers. They pump philosophies in peoples’ heart and these are responsible for the high level of evils in the society. The church used to be a place of refuge, but it is now a place of death (Den of lions). People are being taught to please the flesh rather than to submit to God. Eloquent speeches are what we hear now instead of life giving messages, John 6:63 “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak to you, they are spirit, and they are life”.

Jesus’ words gave demons no comfort in the lives of the hearers; it is not the case anymore; the messages we hear pampers demons in peoples’ lives. Perversion of what God has ordained is so rampant. God abhors relationship between man to man, but it is regarded as gifts from God nowadays. (When you see man lusting after another man or woman lusting after another woman, it is the demons within that are doing that which is manifested physically through the participants. The moment these demons are cast out, the human beings doing it will eventually come to their right mind). The word of God is being sugarcoated thereby losing its power. The world is now at the Acacia Grove, satanic bus-stop, where you couldn’t separate the church from the world; the world is in the church and the church mixed with the world. In John17, Jesus prayed for His own and not for the world, but His own are now joining themselves with the world. Chapter33 is about the record of the journey of the Israelites. It must be known that a record of the activities in the journey of our lives is being kept. God is a God of records; Revelation 20:12 “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works”. Man may approve you, you may even approve yourself, and the real and final approval is on the last day at the judgment seat. You may have your own record of malice and bitterness, anger, gossip, slander, resentment and un-forgiveness, the proper record from which we shall all be judged are kept by the angels of God, and God will do the final marking;

1 Corinthians 4:4-5 “For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. 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.”

It is good for us to read Proverbs3, but I shall leave us with an excerpt from that chapter for us to ponder upon; Proverbs 3:5-8 “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones”. We are rounding up the reading of the book of Numbers today, Num34-36. Keep the fire burning and alive. GOD IS BIGGER THAN EVERY MOUNTAIN THAT YOU CAN OR CANNOT CLIMB.