8 September
The importance of Faith
Heb. 11:27-38
The presence of faith brings measureless and innumerable blessings. These include deliverance, protection, victory, raising of the death, authority over physical elements and danger, etc. (see Heb. 11:27-38). Infact, with faith there is no limit to one’s physical and spiritual accomplishments (see Heb. 11:27-38). Extraordinary signs and wonders are made possible by faith (Heb. 11:27-38). Nothing is impossible when there is faith (Heb. 11:27-38). Everything is possible to the one who has faith (Mk. 9:23). Even a small faith is enough to move mountains (Matt. 17:20). But we are talking about personal faith. Faith cannot be borrowed. There is nothing like borrowed faith. One exercises his own faith to enjoy the blessings of faith. But what is faith? By faith we mean believing God and what He says and does (cf. Heb. 11:1). This is all that is needed to unlock the countless and boundless favours of God. Without it, believers can accomplish nothing whatever (see Matt. 13:58).
PRAYER: 1. Father, please give me faith.
2. Father, please increase my faith.

9 September
God is the reason for courage
1 Sam. 17:45-47
The presence of God brings courage. This is what happened to little David (1Sam. 17:45-47). He had courage to face Goliath because God was with him (1 Sam. 17:45-47). The same thing happened to Paul (Acts 27: 21-26). When the ship in which he was travelling to Rome was caught in a severe storm, everyone lost courage except Paul (Acts 17: 20). Only Paul had courage to face the storm and even encourage others because God was present with him (Acts 17: 21-26). Therefore, the presence of God is courage. One who has God with him can face any situation. He is sovereign over all His creation. His greatness cannot be measured or fathomed (Ps. 145:3). There is no rival or equal to Him. Nothing whatever is impossible with Him (Lk. 1:37). When we have this God with us, come what may we can face it. But we must first make Him our God before His presence can be with us (Matt. 28:21). And we can make Him our God by believing in His Son Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:12-13).PRAYER: 1. Father, please take me as your son in Christ.
2. Father, please let the fullness of your presence be my portion always, everywhere, in everything.

10 September
Christ must live in us
Gal. 2:20
How do we live our lives as followers of Jesus? Paul answers the question (Gal. 2:20). According to him, he no longer lives, but Christ lives in him (Gal. 2:20). What does he mean? Did Jesus come to live in him physically? Did he physically change from Paul to Jesus? What Paul means is that Jesus is now the Lord of his life. Jesus is now ruling over his life. His life is now completely subject to Jesus. He now acts like Jesus. Jesus is now seen in him. This is what it means for Jesus to live in us as well. Like Paul, Jesus must now become the Lord of our lives. We must become totally subject to Him (Jn. 14: 15, 23-24). There must be no area or aspect of our lives in which Jesus is not completely in charge. Any believer whom this is not the case is not living his life in Jesus.PRAYER: 1. Lord Jesus, please be my Lord and God.
2. Lord Jesus, please live in me.
3. Lord Jesus, please make all aspects of my life completely subject to you.

11 September
The working of God’s grace
1 Cor. 15:10
Here Paul attributes not only what he is but all that he has accomplished to God’s grace (1 Cor. 15:10). This is what the Scripture teaches. According to the Scripture, everything about the gospel is by grace from first to last (Rom. 1:17). Therefore, when God commands us to be holy, He enables us to do so. When He requires us to live for Him, He gives us the enablement to do so (Gal. 2:21; 1 Cor. 15:10). Without God’s grace, there is nothing we can accomplish for Him (Jn. 15:5). This means we must entrust ourselves to Him to enable us to live and work for Him (see Ps. 37: 5-6; Prov. 16: 3). It is His work to work in us to achieve His purpose for our lives. Ours is to yield ourselves to Him to work in us what He purposed. His is to work in us. This is how to achieve all that God demands of us.
PRAYER: 1. Father, please enable me to yield my entire life to your own working.
2. Father, please let your grace be sufficient for me.
3. Father, please work out your purpose in my life.

12 September
Our disobedience robs us of God’s blessings
Deut. 28: 15
God has made His blessings dependent on our complete obedience to Him (Deut. 28: 1-14). He has also promised that He will take away His blessings if we should disobey Him (Deut. 28: 15-68). God is quite consistent in keeping to this promise. He promised Adam increase (Gen. 1: 28-29), but withdrew it is a result of his disobedience (Gen. 3: 17-18). He gave the Kingship of Israel to Saul, but took it away when He disobeyed Him ( 1 Sam. 15:22-23). He promised David to place his descendants on Israel’s throne forever, but that promise was withdrawn because of David’s sin in the matter of Bathsheba. He gave the land of Canaan to the Israelites, but expelled them from that land and sent them on exile because of their sin of abandoning Him. God will never release His blessings when we are living in disobedience to Him (Deut. 28: 15-68). One act of disobedience is enough to turn away His blessings. No one can change God’s decree on this or any other matter. In order to enjoy His blessings, all acts of disobedience against Him must be done away with. We must keep to His terms before we appropriate His blessings. God would rather honour His Name and His Word than allow them to be discredited. He will withhold His blessings when we live our lives in disobedience to Him.PRAYER: 1. Father, please give me the grace to obey you completely always.
2. Father, please take the spirit of disobedience from me.

13 September
How to stand up for God: the example of the three Hebrews
Dan. 3: 16-18
Three young Hebrews stood up for God thousands of years ago and left an indelible example. They stood alone when everyone else worshipped the image of gold (Dan. 3: 13-15). It is often quite difficult to stand alone, but they did. They stood even against a powerful and dreaded King (Dan. 3: 13-15). They stood up for God even in a foreign land. They stood up even when doing so was against the law of the land (Dan. 3: 4-5). They preferred to obey the greatest law-giver of all (Exod. 20: 1-7). They stood up for God even when they were told they were going to be killed for doing so (Dan. 3: 6). They defied even death for God’s sake. They stood up for Him even when they were bound and were being carried to their death in the fiery furnace. They stood up for Him all the way to the end. This is how we must stand up for God today (see acts 4: 18-20; 5: 29). Like the three Hebrews, we must be willing and ready to stand up for God even if it means standing alone, anywhere, against anyone, and at any cost. To do otherwise is not befitting of our profession.
PRAYER: 1. Father, please enable me to stand up for you whatever the cost.
2. Father, please take away whatever hinders me from standing up for you.

14 September
God’s help brings success
Neh. 6: 15-16
According to this passage, the famous wall of Nehemiah was completed with God’s help (Neh. 6: 15- 16). The people made their contributions, but it was God who helped them. This is an ever-abiding lesson. Every project or undertaking succeeds with God’s help (see Ps. 127:1). No project or undertaking succeeds without God (Ps. 127: 1; Jn. 15: 4-6). It is God who gives success (see Ps. 44:4-7; 108: 13). The help of man is indeed worthless (Ps. 108: 12; cf. 33: 16-17). As God helped the Israelites of Nehemiah’s time, He is ever ready to help all His children today. He has even invited us to call for His help (Ps. 50:15). But this privilege belongs to His true children only (Jn. 1:12-13). It is not available to those who are not His children. Therefore, anyone who desires God’s help must first become His child in Christ (Jn. 1: 12-13).PRAYER: 1. Father, I receive Jesus as my Saviour and Lord.
2. Father, please help me in all my projects and undertakings.

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