Proverbs 16:25
“There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.”
INSIGHT
-Often time do we hear people say it’s a ‘matter of life and death’. Sometimes such statements allude to the urgency of the situation or it’s sensitivity. This week, we intend to reveal what this really means as the Lord guides us. From the main scripture, we find that ‘life and death’ is a path or a way of life. There is a path that leads to death and another that leads to life. Deuteronomy 30:19-20, tells us that, “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live, that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.” There is a way that may seem right to us but ends up in destruction. The word of God is a lamp to our feet and a light to our paths, and it discloses the way of life. Jesus is the Word of God and the way of life. He is calling us to hear His voice and to follow Him, and we will have life in abundance.
PRAYER
There is no other name more powerful than Your name Jesus. You are the way to eternal life, we put all our trust in You. Jesus You are the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through You. We declare that we shall not die but live to declare Your goodness Oh Lord. We shall not die before our time. None of those who are called by our name shall die before our time, but we shall live to see our children’s children, for the glory of Your name. We shall finish our course, we shall fight the good fight, and we shall keep the faith, because Holy Spirit You live in us. We shall not die but live forever with You Holy Trinity one God. We shall receive our crowns of righteousness, our Righteous Judge. We praise You for this far that You brought us and the far that You are taking us, Abba Father. We repent for all our sins and ask for Your forgiveness merciful Savior. We repent of all our sins, sins of our families, sins of our leaders, sins of our nation, may You grant us mercy and grace. May You deliver us dear Jesus from anything that may cause premature death to come upon us. We shall not die but live to declare Your goodness Oh Lord. Thank You dear Jesus for loving us and for choosing us. May You break every chain and level every mountain for us to succeed. May You bless our children as they tackle their exams, and guide them as they prepare to close school. We thank You Lord for Your goodness and mercies that follow us all the days of our lives, and we shall dwell in Your house forever. Amen
Further reading: John 1:14, John 14:6
Romans 6:1-5
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,”
INSIGHT
-When we are in Christ, we have died to our sinful ways and nature, and have acquired a new life. Just as Christ became sin and died on the cross for us, he symbolized our sins crucified and buried. Therefore, we are called to bury our sins and sinful self and be raised with Christ just as Christ was raised to life. This is further illustrated and emphasized through our baptism in Christ. Jesus Christ was baptized and fulfill all righteousness. It is also meant to show that as well are lowered to the much waters and deeper into them, to share in the death of Christ and His resurrection. As we raise up from the much water, we show that we raise up in new life just as Christ was raised up from the grave after his crucifixion and death. If we have died a death like that of Christ, we should die to sin and abound in His grace.
PRAYER
Father in the Mighty name of Jesus Christ we come before Your presence today with thanksgiving and adoration. We thank You for all You have done for us and what You have planned for us. We proclaim Your mighty power over our lives and Your presence. May Your presence go with us wherever we go and may You straighten every crooked path and deliver us from our old sinful ways and habits. We pray that through Your power, we shall overcome every temptation and we shall never go back to our sinful self. We thank You Jesus for Your saving grace upon our lives. Thank You for Your gift of salvation and for Your enduring favor. We thank You Jesus and praise You for Your continued guidance and blessings. May You fill our hearts and minds with Your presence Holy Spirit. We praise You and bless Your name, and it is in Jesus mighty name we pray trusting and believing. Amen
Further reading: Matthew 3:13-17
Proverbs 18:21
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.”
INSIGHT
-The tongue is a powerful communication tool. It blesses God and at the same time curse fellow men who are made in the likeness of the Lord (James 3:9). The tongue can cut deep wounds, abuse people and pronounce obscene utterances. Jesus says that, “not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man” (Matthew 15:11). We have been encouraged to use our tongues to glorify God, edify each other with our words, encourage those who are downcast, and speak to each other with hymns, spiritual songs, thanksgiving. By any chance if we get angry we are encouraged to desist from sin, but be slow to speak and slow to wrath. The tongue can also tell the character of a person, his/her personality and reveal their thoughts, as out of the tongue flows whatever is in the heart of man and hold the issues of life. Just as God spoke life in creation Genesis 1 and 2, we are called to speak life and we create what we profess by faith. Therefore, we should speak that which we desire God to do for us through prayer, declarations of faith, praise and worship, and it shall definitely come to pass according to our faith and the will of God. As we speak, He hears and answers us. When we talk, we should speak that which is inline with God, and by His divine power we overcome the powers of darkness, as the Bible says they overcame by the word of their testimony and by the blood of the Lamb. Our tongue brings life and dominion when used wisely in God’s way and will, and we reap the fruits.
PRAYER
How awesome is Your name Oh Lord our God. How powerful is Your name Oh Lord our God. How precious is Your name, our Lord and Savior. Heavens declare Your wisdom and the earth rejoices in Your presence. In Your presence Lord there is fullness of life. In Your presence there is life everlasting. We speak life upon our lives. We shall not die but live to testify of Your goodness Oh Lord. We exult You Holy Spirit for You are able to do that which we cannot do. May You do that which we cannot do and elevate us from glory to glory by Your merciful love. We have faith in Your promises and declare that whatever You have promised us and our descendants shall come to pass in Your name dear Jesus. We declare that our tongues will only be used to bless and not to curse. We are declare that we are blessed, our children are blessed, and our nation is blessed dear Jesus. You are mighty Abba Father and mighty to be praised. We speak healing upon the sick, deliverance upon all the captives, hope to all the depressed, newness of life upon all the street children, blessings upon our businesses and jobs, victory in our education and children’s lives, power in our ministries and purpose, and grace upon our nation in Your name Jesus. May You transform our lives and enlighten our steps. We call on You dear Jesus to shape our lives and open new opportunities for us to prosper in the land. May You expand our territories and bless us together with our descendants. Thank You dear Jesus for making us kings and priests to You and we shall rule here on earth. Thank You for loving us and choosing us. May You remove any accusation against us in the courts of heaven by Your precious blood. May You forgive us all our trespasses and deliver us from any snare, by Your precious blood. We declare that no weapon fashioned against us will prosper and no tongue raised against us in accusations shall prevail in Your name Jesus. We ask for Your mercy and grace merciful Savior. We ask for Your power and dominion to rule in our areas of domain by Your power Abba Father, and for the glory and honor of Your name. All glory, honor, power, praise and blessings belong to You Jesus now and forever. Amen
Further reading: Isaiah 65:24, Revelation 12:11
1 Peter 4:1-6
“Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.”
INSIGHT
–Jesus Christ became sin so that He may redeem us from the work of the flesh. He suffered in the flesh for He had no sin and did not live according to the fleshly desires of men but lived according to the will of God. Jesus is our perfect example of what we Christians ought to do. We are called to die to sin and all fleshly desires and lusts. This may cause the world to think of us who have rejected the worldly lusts as foolish or as dead. Nevertheless, according to God, we are alive in Christ and in His Spirit. The word of God reminds us that, those who walk in the flesh will be judged according to their fleshly selves as they had walked. Let us then be encouraged in the Lord to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh which leads to death. Once we give our lives to Christ we have let go of all the past sinful ways and desires. We begin to walk in God’s will just as Christ did. We therefore are not meant to look back like the way Lot’s wife did when they came out of Sodom and she became a pillar of salt, but we are meant to move forward pressing on to the higher calling and in the light of God. Let us rejoice for after all this we have an assurance of greater hope in Christ. For no matter what, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Truly despite any affliction we may face, greater is He in us than He who is in the world. For He who has chosen us and called us is able. He is a faithful God and blessed are those who put their trust in God and not in the worldly desires.
PRAYER
Dear Almighty Father we come to You with thanksgiving and praise in our hearts. We thank You for You love us and have called us to Yourself. You set us apart for Yourself and made us a new generation, a royal priesthood and a holy nation, and all praise belongs to You. You have loved us and washed us with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. You have set great plans for us and we choose to trust in You oh Lord. Jesus we humbly ask You to forgive us and cleanse us from all sin and iniquity. We ask You for Your grace to reject sin and walk in Your ways. Father may You guide us and help us to hear Your voice always and follow You. May You touch the hearts of all those who do not know You dear Jesus and lead them in the way of salvation. May You touch the hearts of all those who are separated and divorced, and reunite them according to Your will. May You remember all those who are sick and suffering, and heal them. May You encourage those who have lost hope with Your peace that surpasses all understanding. May You heal our wounds, physical, emotional, financial, psychological and revive us. May You heal our land dear Jesus we humbly implore You. We ask You to prosper all plans and hearts desires, and make a way for us where there seems to be no way. May You do a new thing in our lives, families, children, businesses, education, society and nation. May You enlighten our steps and make everything new in Your name. We claim Your victory in every situation for we are more than conquerors in You dear Jesus. We pray this believing and trusting in Jesus mighty name. Amen
Further reading: Romans 12:8-14
John 5:24
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”
INSIGHT
-Jesus affirms His position as the eschatological Judge, for He has authority to execute judgement. Jesus discloses that those who have done good will have the resurrection of life but those who have done evil have the resurrection of condemnation (John 5:27-28). It is therefore our portion to remain in the Lord and in His Word. Our firm assurance as Christians is that when we believe in our Lord Jesus Christ and in His Word its is not and will never be in vain, for He has given us the gift of eternal life. We are therefore called to praise Him always for this wonderful promise as we put our trust in Him.
SUMMARY
It is a reality that those who live will die, before the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. A vital question to ask yourself is that, what happens after your death? Will you live on or die on. Some religions and scientists has reflected different views of life after death, with great diversity and complexity. Most of those views are distorted and misleading, finding way into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:15 tells us that, “anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.” The main question then becomes, is your name written in the book of life? Ephesians 1:13–14 reveals that, “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” If we believe in Jesus Christ and accept Him in our lives, we have the assurance from the Holy Spirit that we have eternal life. If we have believed in Jesus Christ and have been redeemed by His blood, we are reminded to obey His word as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12–13). The Lord is Holy and He calls us to live holy lives. 1 Timothy 6:6 reminds us that, godliness with contentment is great gain. We are called to denounce the fleshly lusts and walk in the way of truth leading to life. Proverbs 16:25 cautions us that, there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Proverbs 18:21 reminds us that, death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Through our words and actions, we are reminded to display godliness, for we are created in the image and likeness of God. Since we have obtained life through Christ who died and resurrected for the sake of our salvation, let us then have hope in Him for whether we are awake or asleep, we might live with Him (1 Thessalonians 5:9–10).
PRAYER
Oh Heavenly Father, we come before your throne of grace and mercy with boldness that we may obtain Your grace to help us in times of need. What a pleasure it is to be in Your presence Oh Lord our God. In Your presence there is fullness of joy. In Your presence there is fullness of peace. In Your presence we fullness wholeness. Thank You for Your death that has caused us life in abundance. Thank You for Your resurrection that has caused us life everlasting. We love You Lord and praise Your holy name. Thank You for Your saving grace upon us and our entire generations. May You show us Your ways and purify us with Your precious blood. May You grant the gift of salvation unto all our children, relatives and the entire world. Thanking dear Jesus for Your saving grace upon our lives, families, nation and entire world. May Your prosper all our plans and answer our hearts desires. May You bless us and keep us Lord. May You shine Your face upon us and be gracious to us. May You turn Your countenance towards us and give us Peace. Amen
Further reading: Titus 2:11–14, John 3:16