Friday, 23 September 2016

Women with the character and virtue of Jesus (Part 2)


Proverbs 31:10-31 (AMP; MESSAGE; TLB)

Let’s look at a virtuous woman by the name Ruth (chapters 1-4)

© A foreigner from a despised land, a pagan, who moved God’s plan towards fulfillment.

©     A woman who was loyal to her mother-in-law and faithful to God.

©     A childless widow at the beginning of the story but later became the great-grandmother of King David - [son – Obed; grandson – Jesse; great-grandson - David]. What did she do? Followed her mother-in-law’s instruction; believed and trusted in the Lord God of Israel, and He rewarded her faithfulness by giving her not only a husband, but sons of His heritage.

©  Matthew 1:2-17; made a list of the genealogy of Jesus Christ; and among the four women mentioned, Ruth was one of them, which is of special significance to us as women.

As a woman/wife/mother/sister/grandmother/mother-in-law, who the Lord has committed minor/major labour into my hands for all those that surrounds me or generations to come, am I being faithful or unfaithful unto Him concerning this work/task He has given? Let’s look at what the Lord says about this in Luke 12:41-48.

Did you notice from the story of the virtuous woman that there are some good works/qualities found in her which were an advantage to/for her?
©     Her creative abilities or organising skills.
©     Her achievements or charitable acts.
©     Her having good insight or foresight.
©     Making good business and entrepreneurship.
©     Her vibrant personality.

But even so, she lacks not that one thing that is needful – that one thing that is of necessity; that which is preferred far more than beauty – that beauty which the Bible says is vain and deceitful. And that one thing is ‘Honouring God’. Proverbs 31: 30 (GNT) - says, “Charm is deceptive and beauty disappears, but a woman who honours the LORD should be praised.”

©   For me, the life that I now carry which is the life of Jesus, does it honour Christ? How does it honour Him?

©   What qualities in my life or of my life are the results that bring honour to Him?

©     Do I understand why He needs to be honoured? He honoured His Father by laying His life for me… (John 10:18; 1 John 3:16), so in what way is my own life – my heart – my deeds – my intelligence – my positive enthusiasm – my attributes – my gifts; which was bestowed to me by God, honouring Him?

©    As He requires that I build my life according to His divine pattern that He desires and that is acceptable by God His Father, what steps am I taking in my “following Him”? Am I being faithful in this? John 12:26 (GNT)“Whoever wants to serve me must follow me, so that my servant will be with me where I am. And my Father will honour anyone who serves me.”

Prayers

© Raise a voice of thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness and His promises/blessings.

©   Lord, in that which You have committed into my hands and I have been unfaithful with, Your mercy I cry for in the name of Jesus; Where I have disappointed You, please pardon me Lord; where I have not honoured You enough or at all, please let me find mercy before You.

©     Help me to be faithful in as much as You are giving or have given to me, O Lord; help me to daily agree with You so that I can run along with what You have committed into my hands.

©     Lord Jesus, You have sacrificed so much for me, help me as a woman to offer myself to live consistently for You; help me to spend and be ready to be spent for Your course; with fear of You Lord, strengthen me to use every opportunity for You; please let all activities and interests that I engage in count for Your eternal kingdom.

©    The virtuous woman invested faithfully and righteously into the lives of her family, as well as her household – Holy Spirit, help me to know that a day cometh when I, as a steward, have to give an account to God on how I have used/handled all that He has entrusted to me; help me to know that my willingness and faithfulness in that which I give is very paramount and great in God’s eyes, even when it is in small measures.

©    From the story of Ruth, we can find that God has compassion especially for the poor and those who are despised – Like the virtuous woman, Lord Jesus, give unto me a copy of Your rich, compassionate and loving heart to help me to see and to go all out for those who are spiritually poor and helpless, so that You can through me reach out to meet their needs. With the access You have made available for me, help me to go all out ready to share the assets You have provided for my life and for the lives of others (because of what Jesus Christ has done for us all).

©    Matthew 25:14-30 – “To one servant, the Master declared, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant, for you have been faithful in few things…” To another it was declared, “Thou lazy and wicked servant…”  Holy Spirit, as You grant me Your grace everyday to repent from my unfaithfulness to You, open my eyes and my understanding to be aware of the time-factor to restore all that I have done wrong and need to do right as the scriptures says that the time is short; energise my spirit man so that at the end of the day “I myself will not be a cast away”.

©    Luke 12:42-44 – “The Lord answered, “Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant? He is the one that his master will put in charge, to run the household and give the other servants their share of the food at the proper time. How happy that servant is if his master finds him doing this when he comes home! Indeed, I tell you, the master will put that servant in charge of all his property.” Make me a woman of Yours blessed Lord, who is ready to sow her whole self for her household, not willing to hold anything back but to give all to/for You; help me now in that which You are giving me instructions to heed to, so that my nation of people – my family – my household – and others outside my household could be blessed of me.

©   Make me a Mary of my time, who spurn the Master into action, even though it was not yet the ‘ordained time’; like Mary, help me to challenge positively Your authority to call those things which be not as if they were; make my heart and my life a blueprint of Yours in my days and for my generations.

©   The virtuous woman was sensitive that in all her labour, there were profits, and that encourages her to go on in it – Give unto me that grace and Spirit of Yours Lord Jesus, that made You to endure the sufferings and the persecutions during Your time on earth, because of the future glory of many sons and daughters who will come into Your Father’s heavenly home; even when there are no ‘profits’ in the labour, help me to find the needed strength in You until my last days on this earth.

©  Let me not be like Jezebel; abuse and waste Your talent and power that You have deposited in me to do exploits and service for You, O Lord; help me to channel it for Your divine course – to the laws of God; let me not kill the ‘prophets and prophetess of God’ who You have made me a wife or mother to be in charge of.

©  Lord Jesus, make me Your ideal woman; a woman of Your noble character; a woman who fears You; a woman whose life You find worthy of; a woman who is made perfect only in Christ Jesus.  

Join this HeartCry Prayer - Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 11:30am - 1:30pm (UK time)

Friday, 16 September 2016

Women with the character and virtue of Jesus (Part 1)


Proverbs 31:10-31 (AMP; MESSAGE; TLB)

Genesis 2:18 – “And the Lord God said, “It isn’t good for man to be alone; I will make a companion for him, a helper suited to his needs.”

Emphasis on her role as a helper suited to her husband’s needs in Proverbs 31.

Proverbs 31: 11-12 (TLB)

“Her husband can trust her, and she will richly satisfy his needs. She will not hinder him but help him all her life.”

 (AMP)

“The heart of her husband trusts in her [with secure confidence], and he will have no lack of gain. She comforts, encourages, and does him only good and not evil all the days of her life.”

Verse 23 (AMP)

“Her husband is known in the [city’s] gates, when he sits among the elders of the land.”

But how does the above scripture emphasise on her role as a helper suited to his needs? By his wise counsels, and prudent management of affairs, it appears that he has a discreet companion in his bosom; by conversation with whom he improves himself. By his cheerful countenance and pleasant humour, it appears that he has an agreeable wife at home; for many that have not had their tempers strangely soured by it.

Nay, by his appearing clean and neat in his dress, everything about him decent and handsome, yet not gaudy, one may know he has a good wife at home that takes care of his clothes. See Job 29:4-11 to buttress this.

Proverbs 31: 28-29 (TLB):
“Her children stand and bless her; so does her husband. He praises her with these words: “There are many fine women in the world, but you are the best of them all!”

Her husband thinks himself so happy in her that he takes all occasions to speak well of her, as one of the best of women. Even her children grow up in her place, and they call her blessed. They give her their good word, they are themselves a commendation to her, and they are ready to give great commendations of her; they pray for her, and bless God that they had such a good mother.

To crown it all, verse 30 (AMP):Charm and grace are deceptive, and [superficial] beauty is vain. But a woman who fears the Lord [reverently worshiping, obeying, serving, and trusting Him with awe-filled respect], she shall be praised.”

What does God (who makes a companion for him; a helper suited to his needs) look for in such a woman from the above scripture? A good and faithful servant that fears God (who reverences God; who worships Him; who obeys Him; who serves Him; who trusts Him with awe-filled respect)  = Stewardship.

For this week, let’s take a cue from two women from the Bible of how faithful (or unfaithful) they were in their own diverse stewardship

Ø King Ahab’s wife – 1Kings 16:28-31 to 1Kings 22:40 (death of King Ahab); 2Kings 9:30-37 (doom & death of Jezebel). Take note of the declaration and testimony of heaven concerning her – 1Kings 21:25-26.

Ø Pilate’s wife – Matthew 27:19 (Pilate’s wife was the only person recorded who appealed the decision to condemn Jesus. A godly counsel which was not taken on by her husband)


O JESUS, I have promised to serve Thee to the end

©     O Jesus, I have promised to serve Thee to the end;
Be Thou forever near me, my Master and my Friend;
I shall not fear the battle if Thou art by my side,
Nor wander from the pathway if Thou wilt be my Guide.

©     O Jesus, Thou hast promised to all who follow Thee
That where Thou art in glory there shall Thy servant be.
And Jesus, I have promised to serve Thee to the end;
O give me grace to follow, my Master and my Friend.

©     O let me see Thy footprints, and in them plant mine own;
My hope to follow duly is in Thy strength alone.
O guide me, call me, draw me, uphold me to the end;
And then in Heaven receive me, my Savior and my Friend.




Friday, 26 August 2016

The Wife of Manoah With God's Vision


Judges 13:1-24  Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

Lesson from this woman who was bestowed with God’s favour

* She had been a barren woman for so long, yet she was assured and reassured and ready to serve God for His divine purpose – “he will begin the work of rescuing Israel from the Philistines.” Was her womb kept for this divine assignment?

*   Amidst her predicament, God was ready to use her willing service as she was informed of the need for her to deny herself and consecrate her whole being for the Lord (remain pure, devoted and holy) – for His purpose and to His glory.

* Like John the Baptist and Jesus, an angel from heaven ushers this ‘deliverer’ unto her and gave her a divine pattern of what was to be done in building and raising this child up.

*  She was alone when she received the glad tidings. And what did she do? She ran quickly to recount the good tidings of the Lord to her husband.

*   Manoah prayed to the Lord for the angel to visit again to be assured of the glad tidings, fearing lest his wife’s joy for the promise might have made her to forget some part of the precept, in which he was desirous to be fully informed, and lie under no mistake. Then why was it his wife that the angel of God appeared to again? Why not both of them? Or why not him alone?

*  See a virtuous woman (Proverbs 31:11-12), who ran when the messenger came again while she was alone to beckon unto her husband, and the husband willingly follows her, not angry that the messenger did not appear unto him this second time. See a woman to whom was given the promise but desired that they both come into the careful management of this promised seed in order to build according to pattern, the child that is devoted to God and to be brought up for Him.

* Did you notice that the instructions given (after they had both seen the angel), was not different from the earlier one, but that emphasis was laid on it?

*  Verse 22“We shall die for we have seen God, cried out Manoah to his wife.” But the wife’s reflection concerning this was of a great faith. Here, the weaker vessel was the stronger believer, which perhaps was the reason why the angel chose once and again to appear to her. Manoah’s heart began to fail him, but his wife, as a help meet for him, encouraged him.

LET’S LOOK DEEPER INTO GOD’S WORD CONCERNING THIS WOMAN AND USE THIS TO PRAY FOR OURSELVES AS WOMEN:

1 “Again the people started doing what the Lord said was wrong. So the Lord allowed the Philistines to rule over them for 40 years.
There was a man named Manoah from the city of Zorah. He was from the tribe of Dan. Manoah had a wife, but she was not able to have any children. The angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, “You have not been able to have children. But you will become pregnant and have a son. Don’t drink any wine or any other strong drink.
Don’t eat any food that is unclean, because you are pregnant, and you will have a son. He will be dedicated to God in a special way. He will be a Nazirite. So you must never cut his hair. He will be God’s special person from before he is born. He will save the Israelites from the power of the Philistines.”

*   Thank You for Your love over us as travailing women – travailing with You Christ Jesus.

*   Amidst our frailty and our feebleness, thank You for daily appearing to us; thank You for what You are birthing in us O Lord on this platform of ‘Women in Travail’; thank You for Your instructions and commandments unto us.

*   Sanctify and purify us (with Your Word and Your blood) for that great assignment that You have impregnated us with; help us to deny ourselves – whatever it may cost us – in order that You may save as many that You desire from the hands and the power of sin and the sinful world.

6 “Then the woman went to her husband and told him what had happened. She said, “A man of God came to me. He looked like the angel of God. He frightened me. I didn’t ask him where he was from, and he didn’t tell me his name. But he said to me, ‘You are pregnant and will have a son. Don’t drink any wine or other strong drink. Don’t eat any food that is unclean, because the boy will be dedicated to God in a special way. The boy will be God’s special person from before he is born until the day he dies.”

* Lord, make us women who are ever ready to run with what You are committing into our hands – be it a vision, be it a mission; let us not be weary in it, let us not be sluggish with it. Help us to see and to know that delay is dangerous.

*   To as many as You have committed with us to run this race together – for the mission to be accomplished, please help us Holy Spirit to focus on You; let us not be delusioned about Your instructions.

* Baptise us with power and grace from on high to be devoted unto You, seeing the dedication of what You are laying into our hands.

Then Manoah prayed to the Lord. He said, “Lord, I beg you to send the man of God to us again. We want him to teach us what we should do for the boy who will soon be born.” God heard Manoah’s prayer. The angel of God came to the woman again. She was sitting in a field and her husband Manoah was not with her. 10 So the woman ran to tell her husband, “The man is back! The man who came to me the other day is here.”

* For every vision that You give O Lord, there is a mission and a commission to go with it. Anoint us with Your power everyday for the accomplishment.

* Build in us Your confidence to take up the responsibility as You desire; let our passion be – to please You and You only; help us to distinguish Your voice from the voice of men.

*Where need be O Lord, visit us once again to re-affirm Your instructions, so that we will build according to Your divine pattern.

11 “Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the same man who spoke to my wife before?”
The angel said, “I am.” 12 So Manoah said, “May what you say happen. Tell me, what kind of life will the boy live? What will he do?”
13 The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Your wife must do everything I told her. 14 She must not eat anything that grows on a grapevine. She must not drink any wine or strong drink. She must not eat any food that is unclean. She must do everything that I have commanded her to do.”

* As women whom You have bestowed with Your favour, Lord, increase our faith so that our obedience unto You will be a complete one and not partial.

* Help us to conscientiously avoid any prejudice contrary to Your heavenly directions.

* As the vision might be for an appointed time, Lord, help us to patiently tarry and wait for it to come to pass (Habakkuk 2:3).

* As You choose to carry out Your work gradually and by several hands, O God, help us to persevere and not kill/abort/amputate the particular vision that You are revealing unto us [notice verse 5b … ‘he will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.’]. Help us to believe Your promise and on all occasion respect Your precepts.

*   Guide us Holy Spirit by Your counsel as we sincerely desire to know our duty and to surrender ourselves to You to teach us –Psalms 25:8-9.

*   Holy Spirit, help us to carefully cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and the spirit, and do nothing to the prejudice of the new creation man, as Christ is being formed in us.

15 “Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like for you to stay a while. We want to cook a young goat for you to eat.”
16 The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Even if you keep me from leaving, I will not eat your food. But if you want to prepare something, offer a burnt offering to the Lord.” (Manoah did not understand that the man was really the angel of the Lord.)
17 Then Manoah asked the angel of the Lord, “What is your name? We want to know so that we can honor you when what you have said really happens.”

* As women, please Lord Jesus, help us to beware of giving Your honour/glory to any living creature, save us from idolising men whom You intend to use or You are using for the accomplishment of that which You have committed into our hands; instead help us to know that as we daily offer our lives to God, it is Christ in our hearts by faith that makes our offering a sweet smelling savour before the Father.

18 “The angel of the Lord said, “Why do you ask my name? It is too amazing for you to believe.”
19 Then Manoah sacrificed a young goat on a rock. He offered the goat and a grain offering as a gift to the Lord and to the One Who Does Amazing Things. 20 Manoah and his wife were watching what happened. As the flames went up to the sky from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up to heaven in the fire.
When Manoah and his wife saw that, they bowed down with their faces to the ground. 21 He finally understood that the man was really the angel of the Lord. The angel of the Lord did not appear to Manoah and his wife again. 22 Manoah said to his wife, “We have seen God. Surely we will die because of this.”
23 But his wife said to him, “The Lord does not want to kill us. If he wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted our burnt offering and grain offering. He would not have shown us all these things or told us this.”

* Lord Jesus, as Your travailing women, make us strong and let our faith increase more and more in You; uphold us with Your hand of righteousness and deliver us from every doubt/unbelief from the pit of hell; help us to remember that curse in Genesis 3:15, as You have declared enmity between the woman, her offspring and satan, that in Christ alone are we able to crush its head and all its schemes and devices against Your vision for us; thank You Jesus for what Calvary brought us out of and what Calvary brought us into, Amen.


Tuesday, 19 July 2016

Restoration of Lost Glory in our Homes

Join this HeartCry Prayer- Every Tuesday 11.30am-1.30pm (UK time)

We are praying for restoration in our homes, in our children’s lives etc.

Last week we saw in Deuteronomy 11 God’s expectations from us parents and our children

 Which are:To love the Lord our God, keep His charge, His statues, His judgement and His commandments ALWAYS. These we can find in the life of Jesus Christ.

  • We saw that it is OUR RESPONSIBILITY; to take heed to our selves, lay His words in our HEART and SOUL, write them down so that we will not be deceived, bind them for a sign upon our hand so that they may be as frontlets between our eyes.

  • It is our responsibility to teach them to our children, speak about it to them at all times that is in our sitting, walking, laying and waking up with them.

  • We are to write these laws on the doorposts and gates of our houses.


 What God will do in return when we obey Him? He will:

  • Make us strong to possess our possessions in the land He will give us

  • Prolong both our days and that of our children

  • Multiply our days and that of our children as the days of heaven upon the earth.


 Wisdom; Build your house/ home on the Rock, Two Kinds of People.

 Matthew 7:24-29 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV) 24 Whoever hears these teachings of mine and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25 It rained hard, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house. But it did not fall because it was built on rock. 26 Whoever hears these teachings of mine and does not obey them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 It rained hard, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house. And it fell with a loud crash.”  Advice from the Master Jesus.

In building and restoring our homes; let’s learn wisdom from the life of Job.

 Job 29 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV) Job continued to speak: “I wish my life could be the same as it was a few months ago, when God watched over me and cared for me.God’s light shined above me, so I could walk through the darkness. I wish for the days when I was successful, when I enjoyed God’s friendship and blessing in my home. God All-Powerful was still with me then, and my children were all around me. Life was so good that I washed my feet in cream and had plenty of the finest oils.  “Those were the days when I went to the city gate and sat in the public meeting of the elders. When the young men saw me coming, they stepped out of my way. And the old men stood up to show they respected me. The leaders of the people stopped talking and put their hands over their mouths. 10 Even the most important leaders were quiet, as if their tongues were stuck to the roof of their mouths.11 All who heard me said good things about me. Those who saw what I did praised me, 12 because I helped the poor when they cried out. I helped the orphans who had no one to care for them. 13 People who were dying asked God to bless me. My help brought joy to widows in need. 14 Right living was my clothing. Fairness was my robe and turban. 15 I was like eyes for the blind, like feet for the crippled.16 I was like a father to the poor.  I helped people I didn’t even know win their case in court.
17 I stopped evil people from abusing their power and saved innocent people from them. 18 I always thought I would live a long life, growing old with my family around me.19 I was like a healthy plant with roots that have plenty of water and branches that are wet with dew

  • This in summary was the life of Job that made God to be proud of him. But for Job to give God back His glory; there were lots of I, ME, MY in the testimonies of Job. May be that was why he had to go through training to remove SELF from his life. So we want to ask God for this type of life in our family; but not with SELF like Job but WITH Jesus.

Psalm 126:1- 6 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV) 1It will be like a dream when the Lord comes back with the captives of Zion.We will laugh and sing happy songs! Then the other nations will say, “The Lord did a great thing for Zion!” Yes, we will be happy because the Lord did a great thing for us. So, Lord, bring back the good times, like a desert stream filled again with flowing water.Then those who were sad when they planted will be happy when they gather the harvest! Those who cried as they carried the seeds will be happy when they bring in the crops!  In Jesus name Amen.

Let’s Pray:  We will use “OUR” because our home is God’s home in Jesus name.

  • By the precious blood of your Son Jesus Christ; please Lord bring back the good times, like a desert stream filled again with flowing water in our home in Jesus name. Let it be for us again happiness for sadness and beauty for ashes in Jesus name.

  • Continue to watch over, care for us and let your light shine in and above us, so we could walk through the darkness again in Jesus name.

  • Father, please restore back your friendship and blessing in our home in Jesus name.

  • Restore back into our home all our lost glory in the name of Jesus.

  • Please Lord, make my life, and our home a safe haven for the poor’s heart cries both physically and spiritually in Jesus name.

  • O Lord my Father, please put in my heart and that of our home to always look out for the Orphans around us to help them in Jesus name.

  • O Lord my Father, please let your help in me and that of our home bring joy to the widows in need from today henceforth in Jesus name.

  • My Father in heaven please make right living our clothing and Fairness our robe and turban in our home in Jesus name.

  • O Lord my Father, please make our home like eyes for the blind, like feet for the crippled, like a father to the poor in Jesus name.

  • Please make every member of our family help to people we don’t even know in Jesus name.

  • O Lord my Father, please let each day bring more honour and new possibilities for our family in Jesus name.

  • Please make us like a healthy plant with roots that have plenty of water and branches that are wet with dew at all times in Jesus name.

  • Thank you Lord for hearing our heart cries today in Jesus name Amen.

Join this HeartCry Prayer- Every Tuesday 11.30am-1.30pm (UK time)