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1 Cor 1: 24, 30 .... Jesus Christ is our Wisdom, Power, Righteousness, Sanctification, and Redemption

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Joseph Agbi

Warfare Weapons

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Warfare Weapons
When soldiers go to warfare, they go prepared. They load their armoury with different weapons. Similarly, when wrestlers are fighting, they strategize and change tactics to overcome their opponent. In both cases, quick and decisive victory is always preferred. The case of the believer is no different.

Ephesians 6:10-18 lists the spiritual exterior armour you and I must put on to wrestle down the enemy and his forces. With the Word of God you overcome the enemy. The armour of the blood of Jesus is another weapon you must use always. I recommend you use both combined. With the Word and the blood you have double advantage over Satan because you can knock him out with either weapon or both weapons combined. The word in the mouth of the saints and the blood of the Lamb are the ultimate overcoming weapons against the enemy for his final defeat [Rev. 12:11].

Jesus used the Word against Satan in Matt. 4:1-11 from which we see that you overcome the evil one when you stand your ground with the Word of God in your mouth. You literally become a witness for the efficacy of the Word.

Eph. 6:10-18 does not list the blood as a weapon because that chapter describes the exterior armour of the believer. As you use those exterior weapons to battle him to submission, he eventually becomes completely paralyzed unable to help himself. At this point you must ask him to surrender. In most cases, he will obey and flee as he did when Christ overcame him in the temptation in the wilderness. Remember the blood of Christ had not been spilled at that time when Satan tempted Christ in the wilderness.

If Satan refuses to obey, know that he is questioning your authority. Examine yourself whether unconfessed sin is the issue. Satan will readily disobey you when you are living in sin because he sees you as living a double life or a life of hypocrisy, knowing you will not be acceptable to God in that condition. If this is the case, ask for forgiveness and begin to plead the blood of Jesus, which is also a very powerful weapon for your total deliverance. The blood of the Lamb is like an explosive over Satan. Take it as your secret weapon which you bring out from your inside. “Pepper spray” the eyes of the enemy from time to time with the blood of the lamb in your prayers. Satan will be blinded, and so flee from you. When a soldier captures an enemy, the enemy becomes completely submissive to the orders of the soldier. Similarly, Satan comes under your complete control when you plead the blood of Jesus.

When you speak the Word of God, you are testifying of its truth, its creative power of the obedient (which you are by your position in Christ and your determination to abide by the Word), and destructive power to the disobedient. Since Satan is already wired to disobey, he does not agree with the Word and must submit to the Word since the Word is truth. That is how you overcome him by your testimony.

Note, when all else seem to fail or you are using the Word and Satan is not responding, he must respond to the blood of Jesus since that was the final knock out punch at Calvary. Living in sin will not allow the blood of Jesus to work for you. So you must repent and have nothing to do with sin, whether besetting or not. The blood of Jesus is the strongest antidote to the power of sin because it was spilled on your behalf on the cross which knocked out the devil for all eternity. Because Jesus conquered Satan and the power of sin through His death and resurrection, you can too if you use the weapons Christ has given to you. The devil’s muscles are seriously weakened. He cannot stand before you. Remind him of the defeat he suffered at Calvary and he will flee from you.

Bible Reading: Matt. 4:1-11; Eph. 6:10-18; Rev. 12:11

Prayer Point
Oh Lord, anoint me with the Holy Ghost and Power in the name of Jesus.

Prayer of Peace and Prosperity

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6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
7 Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.

[Psalm 122:6-7]

6 I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence,
7 And give Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

[Isaiah 62:7-8]

Prayer Points
Declare Peace and Prosperity upon the Land , upon the Nations, upon you and your family in the name of Jesus.

CHRISTIAN PARENTING [PART II]

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CHRISTIAN PARENTING [PART II] Author: Pastor Godwin Okafor

Today, I continue my write up on Christian Parenting. I am not just writing about child upbringing in the world, which is mainly based on the psychology of children, but on Christian upbringing of their children in godly manners. Why has it been difficult for godly parents to “produce” godly children? This had bothered me for many years, especially after noticing that the “bad kids” come from the homes of ministers of God. I will be bringing excepts from my forthcoming major book, which centres on ministering prayers to children and babies, right from the womb. Prayer is spiritual forth-telling of what would become of something, situation, including a child being prayed for. Enjoy your reading of these pieces.

Matt 19:14: “… Let the little children come to me,
and do not hinder them,… “ said Jesus.

Ministering to children, especially babies, (including those in the womb), is a very challenging matter. It has become too complex, and is almost non-existent in many Christian circles, as the enemy of mankind becomes more subtle in his sinister dealings with earth men, as the last days approach. This is more so, because of the erroneous assumption that the child is innocent till he or she attains the so called “Age of Accountability”. Yet many things, too difficult to explain, happen to children before this age arrives, even while they are still in the wombs of their mothers. The bible affirms that even the unborn child is already tainted by sin, and that God requires that the unborn child should be taught wisdom, even from its mother’s womb.

Ps 51:5-6: “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.”

Yes, God is concerned about the unborn child, and had to send an angel to Samson’s mother before he was conceived, to watch what she ate and drank, because of Samson’s special mission to His people. The doctors still tell expectant mothers today to watch what they eat and drink in order to ensure they had a healthy baby.

Judges 13:3-5: “The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, ‘You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean, because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.’”

David, the psalmist, said that wickedness could start right from the womb when a child “does not know anything”, according to our estimation.

Psalm 58:3: “Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies.”

David seemed to have very deep insights beyond the ordinary person. I believe that was why he was said to be a man after God’s own heart, as the Almighty found him. David seemed to see what only God saw. Should it be a wonder then, if the spirit of an unborn child is initiated into witchcraft or any other evil cult before it is born? We need the Holy Spirit to help us, lest we perish in gross ignorance, wondering and bemused. God desires that unborn children be spoken to, or taught the truth while still in the womb. God is spirit, just as His word is spirit. While a child is unborn, it is more spirit than body; that spirit could learn spiritual truths or wisdom that no flesh could hardly comprehend or interpret. However, the wisdom taught or learned by the unborn child could be demonic and can easily be used against mankind in future. To counter this situation, Christian parents or ministers should learn and practice speaking positive spiritual truths to their unborn children.

Psalm 51:6: “Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.”

It is regrettable to note that the agents of the dark kingdom seem to know this more than the agents of the kingdom of light, and exploit it to contaminate the unborn children, whom they initiate into the dark kingdom while still in the womb, awaiting their birth into the earth’s atmosphere. The spirit of the unborn is older than its physical age, because God’s Spirit, which He breathed into man when he was created, and which gave man life (and which brought man’s spirit into being), is ageless.

Looking Ahead

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Looking Ahead! [Author: Esther Agbi]
Luke 9:62
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

The London 2012 Olympics is in section while writing this article. All the various sporting activities are interesting to me ,even the sporting events I did not know had been accepted as Olympic sports such as Karate, Judo, Trampolin, just to mention a few! Most interesting to me are the individual sports that require speed like swimming, track race, cycling. e.t.c.

I always watch such sporting events with great interest. I observe that the athletes are physically fit and ready mentally for the event. Years of practice, training and discipline must have gone into their preparedness.

There is always a kind of tenseness when the umpire says on your marks! Hearts racing ,different thoughts going through the mind such as am I going to succeed, are there others better than myself or have I wasted my time all these while preparing for the Olympics.? That brings me back to a picture I took recently while on vacation.

I posed as one boxing! A friend asked, why are you in this posture? I quickly replied in a joking manner that I was preparing for Olympics 2016. I was laughing out loud while responding to that question. This is because I knew that at that level of preparedness, I am going nowhere near the Olympics as an athlete, most probably as a spectator. My husband also laughed out loud because he knows that I am not even an athlete not to mention qualifying for the Olympics!

Coming back to our passage, as Christians, once committed to follow Christ, it is not good or befitting or even beneficial to look towards the back. We are in a race, a heavenly one at that matter.

Situations make some Christians to look back especially when going through difficult circumstances, disappointments, failures and the like .I pray that the Spirit of God would comfort and uplift anyone going through unpalatable circumstances.

When the umpire fires the gun in the air and says “GO” simultaneously, the athlete moves with speed, obeying the rules of the sport. Why? I believe because he has a goal! A medal is at stake, gold, silver or bronze. If this were not the case, he would not have appeared for the competition. If the athlete who is looking for an earthly reward or fame can subject himself to such stringent rules and no small discipline, how much more Christians aspiring to have a heavenly reward.

Some of these races are won by fractions of hundreds of a second. Just enough time to blink the eyes, that tells you how close. As I watch closely the cycling event, two athletes were neck to neck ,very close to the mark. Suddenly, one looked back and lost time. The other over took him and won the gold medal!

The Lord will help us always to look ahead that we may obtain the reward in Jesus name.
Your time spent serving the Lord shall not be in vain. You will reach the mark and obtain the prize.

Prayer Point
Oh Lord, strengthen me as I focus on heaven and heaven alone with the cross before me and the world behind me in Jesus name.

Where is your Focus?

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Luke 11:34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.

2 Kings 2:10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.

Imagine while taking the kids to school as you go to work, other road users doing the exact same thing, dashing to get there on time. Drivers who are early risers and could not get a bite before leaving home would want to pop something in their mouths or sip coffee from their coffee mugs. Cars coming out from different directions, drivers discovering new and shorter routes, all for one purpose and that is, not to be late. As if driving in this condition are not chaotic enough, pedestrians dashing across the road unexpectedly, car horns blaring and cell phones beeping! All these could lead to accidents when one is not careful. Distractions here and there could lead to disaster. This is why the ‘Distracted driving law’ in where I reside is very welcome.

The spiritual atmosphere is not too different from the physical. People are busy with different activities. The physical activities intertwined with the spiritual activities, thereby choking the spiritual. One has to know where to draw the line and cut back on too many activities within a given period of time. This reminds me of a sweet little 6 year old girl where I teach Sunday school. She was asked why she could not recite her memory verse for the week when asked to do so. Her response; too many activities, mom took me for barley dance class, then swimming, clinic and then I got tired and did not have time, and I forgot all about it! At first it was funny; then I became empathetic and encouraged her that it was not all that bad. I told her she could learn it for the next week. From the bible passage above, when we are focussed, there is intense light, clarity and better vision.

Elisha’s story suggests that when something good is about to happen, there is bound to be distractions even from close pals. Elisha was one of the prophets and the sons of the prophets tried to dissuade him from having his life time promise fulfilled. He refused to be distracted. He stayed focussed. Using his own words in verse 5……..Hold your peace. This is like saying, don’t bother me, I know what I am doing! You have to watch out and remain focussed.

We pray that God would open our spiritual eyes and understanding as we focus on Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith so that our spiritual lives would blossom and be robust to be like the ever green plant by the water side.

Prayer Points
1. Oh Lord, help me to remain quiet in my spirit to receive divine guidance from You in Jesus name.
2. Oh Lord, open my eyes to find your blueprints for my life in Jesus name.

Author: Esther Agbi

The Excellent Wisdom of Solomon

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Solomon was a very wise king. Of his wisdom Jesus commended that there was no king as wise as Solomon [Luke 11:31; Matt 6:28-30]. Divinely inspired, he wrote the book of Proverbs, a goldmine of wisdom nuggets, and later in life in what appears to be progressive repentance after living a life of unbriddled passions and the pursuit of vanities, he had enough inspiration to write the book of Ecclesiastes. Other kings from foreign lands came to seek the king’s counsel.

How did Solomon get this excellent wisdom? He asked God for it in visions of the night! In his quiet moment with God, he was given the choice to ask for anything. Solomon asked for one thing: wisdom and understanding to judge the people aright. God was so pleased with his singular choice that He also blessed Solomon with riches and honour in addition to his wisdom, promising Solomon a long life based on continued obedience [1 Kings 3:5-13].

29And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. 30And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31For he was wiser than all men;………… 32And he spake three thousand proverbs; and his songs were a thousand and five. 33And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. 34And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom [1 Kings 4:29-34].

From the above Scriptures, you need wisdom and understanding from God to live and enjoy success spiritually and in other aspects of life. God enlarged Solomon’s heart and planted His wisdom into it, that is, there was nothing his heart could not fathom. That is the type of largeness of heart you and I need, not the one filled with stress accentuated by the vanities of life. He exceeded in wisdom than other kings around him and all other people. Solomon sought after wisdom with all his heart and got it. He chose the right thing and his request pleased God [1 Kings 3:5-14]. Recommending his wise choice to everyone, he wrote in Prov. 4:7, Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

Solomon advocated for his blessings, using the covenant God had with David to facilitate his plea. God had committed Himself to fulfilling the covenant He had with David and when He found that Solomon had the right heart, He included the blessings of prosperity and peace that Solomon did not ask for but nevertheless would make Solomon’s reign as king most comfortable.

Is the blessing of divine wisdom Solomon had superior to that you and I have from God today. No! Because Jesus is greater than Solomon in wisdom and in all respects as a member of the godhead and He is our advocate before God the Father in heaven. Through His shed blood on the cross, He made a covenant with the Father on our behalf. You and I have the singular opportunity to ask God for anything in the name of Jesus. Jesus said if you ask God for anything in His name God the Father will do it for you [John 14:12-14]. That requires faith, a necessary and sufficient condition to claim your blessings. Your faith is the spiritual catalyst which activates the word of God for you. If your faith is dormant, you will not receive anything from God. The blessings may have been released in the spiritual but your faith is required to call them into reality.

Note that only those things asked in the name of Jesus, that is, those things asked in line with the will of God, would be responded to by God. Otherwise your prayers will not be answered. The name of Jesus is the “master key” to God’s heart. Because Jesus is the Son of God whom He loved dearly and yet sent Him to die for us, God responds to the earnest prayer of anyone who comes to Him by faith. Solomon asked for wisdom to govern the people and that his heart would learn to distinguish and choose right from wrong. God filled Solomon’s heart with wisdom but ours in Christ is fuller in breadth, depth and height if we ask by faith, and the revelation of that knowledge was Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian Christians [Eph. chapter 1]. Ask for an influx of God’s wisdom into your heart through Christ today and you will have His excellent wisdom that is superior to Solomon’s. Isn’t that a superior priviledge!

Prayer Points
1. Lord, give me largeness of heart filled with your wisdom and understanding in the name of Jesus.

2. Oh Lord, saturate my heart with your Spirit of excellence; grant me understanding in all things in the name of Jesus.

3. Oh Lord, make me a blessing to my generation and the generations after in the name of Jesus.