2 Kings 4:30
“And the mother of the child said, “ As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So he arose and followed her.”
INSIGHT
-Live in Hebrew is written as chayah which means survive, sojourn, lodge or restore.
-Elisha prophesied to the Shunammite woman who was barren & she got a son. Unfortunately, when the boy had grown into a young lad, he suddenly got ill & died. Having hope in the power of God bestowed upon Elisha to turn her barren situation into life, the Shunammite woman believed that the boy would live & pursued Elisha to mount Camel where he was ministering. Her perfect knowledge of the eternal nature of God coupled with strong faith in God who gave power to prophet Elisha she said; “as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you”. She believed that God would change her situation & did not rely on her financial strength in seeking other alternatives but promoted the glory of the Lord. When Elisha stretched himself on the boy several times, God activated the boys soul & resuscitating him to life. Just like the Shunammite woman who acknowledged God as her Savior & Healer, we too are called to put all our trust in God & not to rely on mortals. Further, like the case of Elijah & the widow of Zarephath, both Elisha & the Shunammite woman had seen their faith successfully tested; & were rewarded with the desires of their hearts & corresponding increase in faith. We are reminded that God is the owner & giver of life & we have the opportunity to surrender our lives to God so that He may increase our faith & mould us according to His own will.
PRAYER
We give You all the glory & praise Jesus for You are the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the great I Am, the great High Priest & the sure Foundation. Thank You Abba Father for the gift of life. We know that many did not make it today but You have given us the privilege to see this day; all glory, power & strength belongs to You Jesus; now & forever. Many are ailing in hospitals & at home from cancer, diabetes, leukemia, cerebral palsy, HIV AIDS & many other sicknesses Lord, touch them all by Your healing power & heal them; for by Your stripes we are healed. Heal our hearts Father from unbelief & increase our faith that we may live lives pleasing to You. Bless those among us who are trusting You for children, bless them merciful Lord & grant them their request. You fore-knew us & fore-called us Father before the foundations of the world, take control of our lives & lead us according to Your will. We praise You Lord & glory Your holy name forever. Amen
Job 21:7-8
“Why do the wicked live and become old, Yes, become mighty in power? Their descendants are established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes.”
INSIGHT
-Job asks a solid question we also ask ourselves sometimes that, why do the wicked prosper in power & old age? God tells us that we are equal in His eyes, in other words each one of us is of great value to Him. In the realisation that Jesus did not come to call the righteous but the sinners to repentance (Lk 5:32), by whose conversion sparks a celebration in heaven (Lk 15:7). We see the value of each one of us in the kingdom of heaven that God allows the sun & rain reach everyone disregarding their character, & calls us to pray for those who persecute us & love our enemies (Mt 5:44-45). God has promised each one of us life everlasting through Christ Jesus & reminds us to love one another so that our lives may be full of light which casts our all darkness that we may not stumble in anything (1 Jn 2:10).
PRAYER
Lord our Savior You have shone Your light upon us all, our families & nation that every form of darkness may be cast out, we appreciate You Jesus. Help us to always forgive those who offend us & to walk in love so that the beauty of Your righteousness may dwell in our hearts. Be merciful unto us Lord & all those who don’t know You or have departed from Your grace that You may cover us all by Your blood. In Your tender mercy Father grant us the ability to drink from the cup of grace & long life full of health with our descendants, all for Your glory. You are greater than all Jesus, we praise You forever & ever. Amen
Galatians 2:19-21
“For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
INSIGHT
-Apostle Paul reveals his position in Christ, a place of death to sin through His grace. He affirms our identity in Christ Who died for our sins for us to access forgiveness & liberty from slavery of sin. In His will Christ lives in us & we are called to willingly submitting our will to His will in a relationship with Him. Our relationship with Christ through faith thus becomes more important than our do’s & don’ts, so that we move from a position of slavery to practice & conform to His image. We are told in 1 John 2:6 that whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did. We thus realise that Jesus’ perfection does not comprise of His deeds only but extended to His thoughts & words. He tells us to be perfect because He is perfect & gives us a demonstration in Matthew 5:28; that whoever looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. We therefore receive fulfilment through Christ Who lives in us & access His grace; as a branch draws life from the Vine. Further, without putting Him first as our Master & serving other masters like power, money, desires, prestige, performance etc, we end up becoming slaves to them. As the vine yields fruit through the branch, we are called to surrender our will to His will in faith so that we may live fulfilled lives through Him Who is our source of life.
PRAYER
We thank You Lord our Father for liberating us through Your mercy & love. We humbly ask for Your forgiveness & cleansing through Your precious blood that our minds & hearts may be renewed. Help us to submit our will to Yours so that we may bear much fruit through You Christ Who gives us life. Our lives belong to You Father, walk with us & direct us in all things. Your throne of grace is everlasting Oh God, we praise You & give You thanks forever. Amen
Romans 8:11
“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.”
INSIGHT
-This is yet another realisation that the Holy Spirit lives in us to help us, intercede for us & reveal His divine power through us for without Him we can do nothing. He raised Jesus from the dead in victory so that we may also have abundant life in Christ Who is the first born of the dead (Rev 1:5). Just like He raised Jesus from the dead, the Holy Spirit will also raise us at the end of time which is the hope we Christians have through eternal life in Him. Moreover, the Holy Spirit sets us free from sin, gives us new life & peace in Christ, assures us that we are children of God, enables us to submit to God, teaches us to please God, helps us to pray in the spirit & intercedes for us with groaning that cannot be uttered, reconciles us to God, reveals the scriptures to us, teaches us to love holiness for He is the Holy; Spirit, gives us His gifts & fruit which grows in us & diminishes all acts of the flesh, helps us to grow in joy, thanksgiving & praise for Christ, He helps us to reveal the word of God to others as witnesses of Christ Who is magnified, He gives us the disposition of son’s of God & not slaves (Rom 8:15), He helps us to love & have eternal hope in Christ. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit also gives substance to our hope for better things in the future, even though sometimes we struggle & suffer, but we have the assurance of eternal blessings now & those which are yet to come through the Christ our Lord.
PRAYER
Oh Holy Spirit our Helper Who dwells in our hearts, we praise You. We seek Your help & intercession at every moment of our lives. Help us when we fall & grant us the grace to always keep Your word in our hearts that we may never depart from it. We declare Your word according to Psalm 118:17 that we shall not die but live to declare Your works Lord. Fill us Holy Spirit with Your fruit so that we may be true followers of Christ & enable us to support our neighbors when they need us most. Grant us Holy Spirit, giver of all good gifts, the special favors in which we desire most in our hearts. Bless us Holy Spirit with the grace to long lives full of peace & inherit Your kingdom at the end of time. We humbly ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen
John 11:25-26
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?””
INSIGHT
-Eternal life & death is a question of belief in Christ (Jn 3:16). Lazarus death & resurrection reveals the power of Christ in our lives Who is the resurrection & the life, gives us physical & spiritual life. Absolute faith in God overcomes tribulation & resonates around our whole Christian life for without believing in Christ; one labours towards eternal damnation. Our hope in Christ enables us to seek Him more as our faith is enhanced & love made perfect in Him for nothing can separate us from His love (Rom 8:39). Gods’ graces are always available in our lives & families everyday & He calls us to trust in Him & give thanks in all situations.
SUMMARY
-Live in Hebrew is written as chayah which means survive, sojourn, lodge or restore.
-The Shunammite woman demonstrated great faith in God which yielded life in her household & this serves as an example of what Christ does when we put our trust in Him. Her perfect knowledge of the eternal nature of God coupled with her belief in God who gave power to prophet Elisha to raise her dead son. She proclaimed that; “as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you” (2 Kings 4:30). She believed that God would change her situation & did not rely on her financial strength in seeking other alternatives but promoted the glory of the Lord. God had already worked a miracles in her life initially when Elisha prophesied to her in barrenness & she got a son. Just like the Shunammite woman acknowledged God as her Savior & Healer, we too are called to put all our trust in God. Further, like the case of Elijah & the widow of Zarephath, both Elisha & the Shunammite woman had seen their faith successfully tested; & were rewarded with the desires of their hearts & corresponding increase in faith. Job also fell victim of many trials & tribulations even to the point of loosing his wealth & children. In distress he asked, “Why do the wicked live and become old, Yes, become mighty in power? Their descendants are established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes.”( Job 21:7-8). Sometimes we ask ourselves the same question when we look at the society we live in. God tells us that we are equal in His eyes; that is, each one of us is of great value to Him. In the consciousness of the coming of Jesus not only to call the righteous but sinners to repentance (Lk 5:32), by whose conversion sparks a celebration in heaven (Lk 15:7). We also see the value of each one of us in the kingdom of heaven that God allows the sun & rain reach everyone disregarding their character, & calls us to pray for those who persecute us & love our enemies (Mt 5:44-45). God has promised us life everlasting through Christ Jesus & reminds us to love one another so that our lives may be full of light which casts our all darkness that we may not stumble in anything (1 Jn 2:10). Apostle Paul having been converted & began to live for Christ reveals his position in Christ, a place of death to sin through Gods’ grace. He tells us in Galatians 2:19-21 that, “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”. Paul affirms our identity in Christ Who died for our sins for us to access forgiveness & liberty from slavery of sin through grace. In His will Christ lives in us & we are called to willingly submitting our will to His will in a relationship with Him which becomes more important than our do’s & don’ts, so that we move from a position of slavery to practice & conform to His image. We are told in 1 John 2:6 that whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did. We thus realise that Jesus’ perfection does not comprise of His deeds only but extended to His thoughts & words. He tells us to be perfect because He is perfect & gives us a demonstration in Matthew 5:28; that whoever looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. We therefore receive fulfilment through Christ Who lives in us & access His grace; as a branch draws life from the Vine. Further, without putting Him first as our Master & serving other masters like power, money & other desires of the flesh, we end up becoming slaves to them. As the vine yields fruit through the branch, we are called to surrender our will to His will in faith so that we may live fulfilled lives through Him Who is our source of life. Living right with God is also made possible through the help of the Holy Spirit Who also lives in us. In Romans 8:11; an emphasis of the power of the Holy Spirit Who raised Jesus from the dead & we have the promise that He will also give life to our mortal bodies. The Holy Spirit thus has a greater role in renewing us physically, spiritually, emotionally & psychologically for He sets us free from sin, gives us new life & peace in Christ, assures us that we are children of God, enables us to submit to God, teaches us to please God, helps us to pray in the spirit & intercedes for us with groaning that cannot be uttered, reconciles us to God, reveals the scriptures to us, teaches us to love holiness for He is the Holy; Spirit, gives us His gifts & fruit which grows in us & diminishes all acts of the flesh, helps us to grow in joy, thanksgiving & praise for Christ, He helps us to reveal the word of God to others as witnesses of Christ Who is magnified, He gives us the disposition of son’s of God & not slaves (Rom 8:15), He helps us to love & have eternal hope in Christ. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit also gives substance to our hope for better things in the future, even though sometimes we struggle & suffer, but we have the assurance of eternal blessings now & those which are yet to come through the Christ our Lord. In faith we have confidence in God the holy trinity Who dwells in us that we remain faithful to Him for our labour in the Lord is not in vain (1 Cor 15:58) & His love for us is everlasting.
PRAYER
We believe in You Jesus & trust in You for You are the resurrection & the life, & in You we have life in abundance. We praise Your holy name Father for through You we have received the spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out Abba Father Who helps us through all tribulations & renew our strength. Heal us Lord, with our relatives & our fellow citizens; physically, spiritually, psychologically & emotionally for Your love for us endures forever. Be with our leaders & especially our president in the fight of corruption & in implementing the big four agenda. Guide him & his team so that our country Kenya may be a place of blessings for all. Bless us all Lord in all things & expand our territories. We pray this believing & trusting in Jesus mighty name. Amen