Ephesians 2:11-13 NKJV
“Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
INSIGHT
-Hope in Greek is written as elpis which means to have trust, expectation or confidence in something or someone. Once we were far off having the condemnation brought forth by the sin of Adam. We were lost in the uncircumcision of the flesh unlike the Jews and and strangers to the commonwealth of Israel having no covenant relationship with God. Through the death of Jesus on the cross we have been brought near by His blood. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:22). When we had no Messiah and without hope, Christ died for us and resurrected so that we may believe in Him, whether Jew or Gentile and made us one body in Him, causing the circumcision of the heart by the Spirit (Romans 2:29). As we look up to Christ, let us put all our hope and trust in Him even through our daily challenges. Let us rely on Christ and His salvation power believing that He will transform our hopelessness to rejoicing, and finally eternal joy.
PRAYER
Dear Heavenly Father we thank You for Your loving kindness upon us Your children Abba Father. We appreciate You for enabling us to see this new week, loving Father. We thank You dear Jesus for sacrificing Your life for ours. Thank You for redeeming us with Your precious blood and for saving us from eternal condemnation. May You calm every storm in our lives dear Jesus and deliver us from hopelessness. We call on You to deliver all those who are faced by depression and are contemplating suicide, that You may give them hope. We look to You Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, that You may hear our prayers and fight for our every battle, in our lives, families, society and nation. We pray this believing and trusting in Jesus mighty name. Amen
Further reading: John 3:16
2 Kings 6:24-31 NIV
“Some time later, Ben-Hadad king of Aram mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege to Samaria. There was a great famine in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a cab of seed pods for five shekels. As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, “Help me, my Lord the king!” The king replied, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?” Then he asked her, “What’s the matter?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we’ll eat my son.’ So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him,’ but she had hidden him.” When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his robes. As he went along the wall, the people looked, and they saw that, under his robes, he had sackcloth on his body. He said, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today!”
INSIGHT
-Israel persisted in their sinfulness and God raised up Ben-Hadad as an adversary to drive them to Himself. The famine that resulted from Ben-Hadad’s siege was so severe that Israel resulted to high food prices thus cannibalism, and king Jehoram blamed Elisha for their mishap. Through disobedience to God’s word, such calamity was evidenced from the beginning. Leviticus 26:29 says that, “You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters.” Cannibalism became evident as the Israelites disobeyed God’s statutes. King Jehoram tore his robe and had sackcloth on as a way of repentance to God and put the prophet Elisha to task, for God’s restoration. Such is the situation in our nation and we find prevailing high food prices of commodities, high taxation rates, oppression of the orphans, fatherless, widows and the poor, and proposal to close all children’s homes, and giving up power to the Muslim community. The situation in Samaria is similar to what we are faced with today. 2 Chronicles 7:14 reminds us saying, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Instead of complaining let us repent and pray. Let us not loose hope but repent and go back to God and follow His ways and He will heal our land just as He did during the time of Elisha where the food prices stabilized.
PRAYER
We come to Your feet merciful Savior asking You for mercy. We come to You asking You for Your grace and mercy loving Savior. Have mercy on us, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion and blot out our transgressions. May You wash away all our iniquity and cleanse us from our sin. We repent all our sins, may You forgive us our sins, sins of our families, communities, churches, leaders and nation. May You wash us with Your precious blood dear Jesus and restore us. Create in us a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within us. Do not cast us from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from us. Restore to us the joy of Your salvation and grant us a willing spirit, to sustain us. May You open the flood gates of heaven and make it rain upon our land Abba Father. May You heal our land from oppression, injustice, poor governance, high food prices and high standards of living, corruption, looming poverty levels, foreign rulership and other national, religious, economic and societal challenges. May You take over our nation and fight for us all our battles, for the battle belongs to You. We thank You Jesus for Your merciful love upon us. We pray this through Christ our Lord. Amen
Further reading: Psalms 51:1-19, Job 1:5
Luke 5:4-9 NKJV
“When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken;”
INSIGHT
-Jesus was teaching the multitude at Lake of Gennesaret from two boats which were by the shore. Simon confirms that he had toiled all night without success. After the sermon, Jesus instructed Simon to cast his nets into the deep and he was somehow hesitant. Probably because he thought he knew more about fishing that Jesus the carpenter. Or because fish is mostly found when the sun goes down as they go deeper into the water when the climate is hot. Peter lowered a ‘net’ as opposed Jesus’ instructions to cast down his ‘nets’. Jesus resuscitated the fishermen’s hopes when they caught a great quantity of fish until their nets were breaking. From a point of slow business, low sales, job loss, loss of hope and other financial difficulties, Jesus intervenes to give us financial breakthrough despite the season or circumstances. Jesus also calls us to believe in Him in every situation even if the idea seems ridiculous, He has a good plan for our lives.
PRAYER
I will lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from. My help comes from the Lord, Maker of the heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore. May You increase our faith dear Jesus that we may believe in You in all seasons. May You bless the work of our hands and grant us new opportunities to prosper. May You grant meaningful jobs and business opportunities to all those who are jobless merciful Savior. May You grants us financial breakthroughs and expand our boundaries dear Master. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forever more. Amen
Further reading: 1 Kings 17:7-16, 2 Kings 4:1-38
Genesis 21:1-7 NKJV
“And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac. Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.” She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.”
INSIGHT
–God called Abraham and promised to make of him a great nation that would bless the whole world (Genesis 12:1-3). God then repeatedly promised to give the land of Canaan to Abraham’s descendants (Genesis 17:7) and to multiply them greatly (Genesis 13:15-17). These promises did not take effect immediately and Abraham waited patiently in faith. Sarah had borne the burden of childlessness for many years, a heavy burden indeed in that culture and at that time. Many among us have waited on the Lord for the gift of children, others for marriages. Like Abraham and Sarah, God is calling us to wait patiently on Him, and at the proper time, He will answer us. The birth of Isaac involved much more than parental joy, for his birth meant the fulfillment of God’s promise. Let us therefore not loose hope for the Lord is not a man that He should lie or a son of man that He should change His mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? (Numbers 23:19). God is faithful to fulfill His promises, we need to keep praying and trusting in Him without growing weary.
PRAYER
Dear Lord Jesus You are a faithful God. Even if we are faithless, You remain faithful; and cannot deny Yourself. May You increase our faith in You dear that we may always believe in You and never loose hope. May You grant us strong faith like that of Abraham the father of faith. May You remember all those who are unmarried that You may respond to their prayers and grant them their godly ordained spouses. May You remember with mercy all those who are trusting on You for children that You may give them a double portion. Lord may You bless all parents that they may be able to take care of their children according to Your divine plan. We thank You dear Jesus and exult Your name. In Jesus mighty name we pray trusting and believing. Amen
Further reading: 2 Timothy 2:13, 1 Samuel 1:9-28
Mark 5:25-34 NIV
“And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
INSIGHT
-The story of the woman who suffered the issue of blood is a revelation of disease can distract and injure people. The woman probably had a menstrual disorder that took place for twelve years. Possibly she suffered emotional distress and was shunned by many since anyone who came into contact with her was made ceremonially unclean (Leviticus 15:25-33). When she sort for help from consultants, she spent a lot of money but unfortunately her illness could not go away. Among us are many who suffer chronic illnesses like cancer, HIV and Aids, high blood pressure, diabetes, cerebral palsy, stroke, blood disorders just like we have read in the main text. When she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment by faith, she was made clean for power went out of Him. Jesus publicly proclaimed the power of faith and assured her of total healing through His peace and deliverance from suffering. Let us not loose hope but go to Jesus in prayer and touch the hem of His garment through faith and we will be completely healed.
SUMMARY
Hope and faith are not far fetched and the later precipitates the former. We have been justified through faith and have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand and boast in the hope of the glory of God (Romans 5:1-2). Jesus Christ is our hope of salvation and eternal joy. When we were aliens from the commonwealth and strangers from the covenant of promise, having no hope and without God in the world, Christ brought us near by His blood (Ephesians 2:11-13). Even though we have these realities with us and within us, some have lost hope. Many have lost hope with our leadership, economy, and nation. As the Lord healed the nation of Samaria from high food prices caused by severe drought, He will heal our economy (2 Kings 6:24-31). Others have lost hope in their financial progression, they no longer can afford a meal a day and some sleep hungry with their families. With more than 38% below living poverty level, most cannot afford school fees, house rent and other incidentals. Like Peter was instructed to cast his nets into the deep, and fetch a multitude of fish, let us believe in Jesus who provides supernaturally without interference by times, environment or the economic situation (Luke 5:4-9 ). Some are sick, addicted, depressed and have been ailing for a long time like the woman with the issue of blood. Many have lost hope lying on their hospital beds or at home, waiting to die. God is calling to touch the hem of His garment by our faith and we will be totally healed. Many are waiting on God for spouses and some eager to be blesses with children. Abraham the father of faith together with his wife Sarah, waited on God for the son of the promise until their old age. They did not loose heart but trusted in God ability to deliver His promise and capacity perform the impossible (Genesis 21:1-7). God is calling us to pray and rely on Him for everything and He will deliver us from every adverse situation. God is also calling us to ask and we shall receive, seek and we will find, knock and the door will be opened to us, for He is faithful to keep His promise. God has a purpose for our lives and that’s why we are alive today. He has a plan to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). Therefore let us not loose hope nor be discouraged.
PRAYER
Father in the name of Jesus Christ we come before Your throne of grace today so that we may obtain mercy and grace to help us during our time of need. You are our ever present help in our times of need, we thank You Lord. We thank You for You are our great reward, our deliverer, our comforter, our consoler, our provider, our protector, our sustainer and our healer. We send Your Word to bring healing to all who are physically, emotionally and spiritually unwell. We commit all those who have lost hope to You that You may touch them and heal their hearts. Father may You stretch Your healing hand upon all who are sick and by Your stripes we are healed. We stretch our hands and touch the hem of Your garment and find healing and deliverance from all our sicknesses, addictions, delays, stagnation, drought and every adverse situation. Even though we walk through the valley of shadow of death we will fear no evil for Your rod and stuff they comfort us. You are our healer and deliverer dear Lord Jesus we put all our trust in You. We pray that You will forgive us all our sins and purify us by Your precious blood. By Your blood may healing spring forth to all our lives and every matter in our lives, families, work, finances, economy, and nation dear Jesus. Lord we trust in You and believe that You are able. We put our faith and hope in You dear Lord Jesus. Thank You loving Jesus for the plans You have for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future. We pray for Your peace Lord that surpasses all human understanding to dwell in our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen
Further reading: Jeremiah 51:46–49, John 5:1-15