Author Archives: God's Favourite House
Future Peace
Ecc.8:7 “For no one knows what is going to happen, so who can warn him before it does?” [Voice]
Human beings have an innate desire to know the future. This is why we have so many people predicting the future. Every year, different people come up with predictions of what the year holds. The business people come up with business predictions and anyone that has anything to do with anything spiritual, comes up with its own predictions. There are a lot of confusing and contradicting predictions out there because everybody just wants to have a say about what will happen in the future.
Use Me
Ps.145:5 Your beauty and splendor have everyone talking; I compose songs on your wonders.
6 Your marvelous doings are headline news; I could write a book full of the details of your greatness” [MSG]
Mary obviously knew the Word. Most of the words in Mary’s song were direct quotes from the Old Testament [Luke 1:46-55]. She knew and wrote God’s Word by heart. The more you know God’s Word, the less you worry. The less you know God’s Word, the more you worry. If you are filled with worry, it is an indication of your knowledge of God and of His Word. Your assignment today is to memorize one scripture a week. You can start with one a week and then grow to one a day. There are a lot of websites that can help you do that; one of them is dailybiblepromise.com.
Your Focus
Luke 1: 46 “Mary: My soul lifts up the Lord! 47 My spirit celebrates God, my Liberator! 48 For though I’m God’s humble servant, God has noticed me. Now and forever, I will be considered blessed by all generations” [Voice].
The closing thought from yesterday’s devotion was that Mary’s response to what will scare most of us was to praise God. Mary is teaching us that when you do not know what to do and the situation looks hopeless, look up – lift up your eyes. God, your salvation is here. Sometimes people are unable to relate with the characters in the Bible. So I will share a true story with you today so you will know that it is possible to rejoice even in uncertain situations.
Key
Luke 1: 46 “…Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. 47 How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! 48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed. 49 For the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me”
Do not live an ordinary life and do not be afraid of God using you. A lot of you reading this today are really powerful but you cannot continue to do nothing. I pray that you will change today, in Jesus Name. You need to stretch yourself even in your giving. You cannot continue to give only what you are comfortable with; stretch yourself! If you only give what is comfortable then how can you see the miraculous? I always stretch my giving. There were seasons in my life that my wife thought I was crazy but now we are on the same page in giving. As a church, we always stretch our giving.
Step Out
Luke 1: 38 “Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her”
Miracles only happen outside of your comfort zone. I think you should write that down. Miracles happen only outside of your comfort zone. Miracles do not happen in your comfort zone. Take fasting for instance; each time I have to wait on God, I am deliberate about pushing myself out of my comfort zone. Do you know that it is possible to fast and remain in your comfort zone? And nothing would have shifted. You have to always push yourself out of the comfort zone because that is where miracles happen.
Some people are too complacent. They will kick and fight against anything that attempts to take them out of their comfort zone. Guess what? If you want to see the miraculous Read the rest of this entry
Embrace It
Luke 1: 38 “Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her”.
God’s plan was revealed to Mary and she did not beg for it not to happen. She did not laugh it off because it seemed impossible; rather she just embraced God. It shows the attitude of complete availability to God. Mary was completely available to God. Are you completely available to God? Secondly, Mary said it is a privilege to serve God. You mean I will sweep the floor for God’s people? It is a privilege to serve God. It is an honour. Mary devoted herself to God’s plan and it took tremendous courage to do it. God’s call is not trivial.
When you decide to go God’s way, there is always a risk and a cost. It is a complete package. I cannot tell you that God’s call will always be rosy because it would not be true. Read the rest of this entry
Cultivate
Ps.119:164 “Seven times each day I stop and shout praises for the way you keep everything running right” [MSG]
Yesterday we learnt that Mary often played back her experiences with God. And I shared with you one of the practical exercises that I used to do back in the day to help me focus on God’s Presence. I literally punctuated my day with thoughts of God and talking to the Holy Spirit and it changed my life totally. Refocusing on God every thirty-minutes may not be feasible for you so you can do it hourly.
There is no way you can focus so much on God, enjoy the tangible Presence of God and have high blood pressure. What I have Read the rest of this entry
Present Help
Ex.4:10 “But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.” 13 But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.”
The fear of inadequacy is capable of completely blocking us out of God’s plans if we allow it take hold of our lives. As much as the fear of inadequacy is legitimate, we must not allow it to stop us from fulfilling our destiny in God. If you read Exodus 3 & 4, you would be amazed at how many times Moses protested because he felt inadequate for God’s call on his life. But in response to all of Moses’ fear of Read the rest of this entry
Watch Out!
Luke 1:29 “Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus”
The second fear that is able to hinder us from being used by God is the fear of missing out. Mary was a young girl and she definitely was not ready to be a single mother because Joseph could easily have cut ties with her. Imagine you are dating a girl and she informs you that she is pregnant. Meanwhile, both of you had previously agreed to keep yourselves holy. Then she shows up with the news of pregnancy. Any man would be broken hearted because he knows the process that leads to pregnancy.
Natural Response
Luke 1:38 “Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.”
Please read Luke 1:26-55. We see from this portion of Scripture that God was looking for someone to use. God is still looking for someone to use. The Bible records that Mary was confused and disturbed. We sometimes react in fear at the thought of God using us. But He is telling us not to be frightened. Do not be afraid of God’s calling on your life. His call is to do you good and to wonderfully bless you. So when you avoid the call, you avoid the wonderful blessings of God.
