James 2:14-17
What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
INSIGHT
-Profit in Hebrew is written as yawal and it means to confer or gain profit or benefit. James describes any kind of work, from works of kindness, such as giving food to those who are hungry, as prime for every Christian. He gives the example of Abraham who had faith and portraying works by sacrificing his son Isaac. Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God. James 2:24 proceeds to note that, “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only”. In the parable of the rich man an Lazarus, the rich man failed to consider Lazarus and neglected his needs. When they both died, Lazarus went to heaven and the rich man was condemned to hell. Ephesians 2:10 says that, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” As part of good works, we are called to have compassion to the poor and needy in our society and take care of their needs, so that we may be justified, as we advance the kingdom of God. God works in us these good works as we store up our treasures in heaven where there is no moth nor rust, and thieves cannot break in and steal, for the glory and honor of His name.
PRAYER
Our dear heavenly Father we come before Your throne of grace and mercy with thanksgiving in our hearts. We thank You for the rains that You continue to shower us. We thank You for the gift of life and the air that we breath. We thank You for Your love, kindness and mercies that are new every morning. We thank You for this far that You brought us and the far that You are taking us. We humbly ask You to journey with us through out the week and guide us in all our going out and coming in. May You forgive us all our sins and wash us with Your precious blood Jesus. We pray today that You bless all the works of our hands and bring them to much fruitfulness and much profit. Remember all the less fortunate in the society, the homeless, the sick and all those who need You, we pray that You may grant them peace, provision and healing all their wounds. Heal them and provide for all their needs loving Father. Give us hearts of compassion that we may display our faith and works according to Your will. We pray for the Love of Christ Foundation CBO that You may enlighten our paths that we may reach more street children and families for the glory and honor of Your name. May Your will prevail in this organization and may Your name be praised forever and ever. May You be known through each one of us and may Your name be glorified forever and ever. We submit everything to You Jesus, increase our faith and guide us in all things. We thank You for answering all our prayers and hearts desires. In Jesus name we pray trusting and believing. Amen.
Matthew 16:24-27
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.”
INSIGHT
-When Jesus was tempted by the devil, Jesus took a firm stand of defense basing His arguments on His word. The devil presented an offer that seemed rather enticing to give Him the whole world in exchange for His soul. Jesus responded by saying, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve” (Matthew 4:10). Such kind of offers does the devil and his agents present in exchange for ones soul. They present enormous wealth, power and fame, that entice people including believers to join cults like freemason, illuminati etc. Those who agree, sadly value their souls less than material wealth. From the anchor scripture, Jesus posses a question to His disciples, “what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” Material wealth and our bodies are temporal but our souls are eternal. God values our souls more than anything in this world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. To gain profit in God’s kingdom, we are called to abandon all forms of satanism and idol worship, and believe in Jesus Christ. To take up our crosses and follow Jesus. Christ calls us to Himself for we are His sheep and He is our Good Shepherd who gives us eternal life.
PRAYER
Almighty and Ever-living God, we praise You and worship You. Only You are great and greatly to be praised. We lift You higher above everything and every situation. Take Your place and be enthroned in our lives and all that concerns us. May You sanctify us with Your precious blood and purify us; that we may be whiter than snow. We pray that You will forgive us where we have desired to gain the whole world and not surrendered fully unto You. May You forgive us and direct our eyes and our hearts always towards You. We surrender our lives to You Jesus, take charge. We lay our crowns down to follow You and obey Your will. Help us and teach us to follow You and obey You fully our Good Shepherd. We pray that You remember our families, nation and all the nations of the world including India, that You may forgive us and restore us. Draw all people to Yourself dear Jesus. Deliver all those who have joined cults like illuminati and freemason and show them Your true salvation. Draw all people to Yourself dear Jesus including all those who worship idols. Grant us Your perfect peace, love, unity and true salvation dear Jesus. We pray for our jobs, businesses and economy that they will flourish and prosper even during these trying times. We pray that You will continue to provide for all our needs, God our Provider. Bless us dear Jesus and protect us from evil. We thank You for You have heard us and we believe that You answer all our prayers and hearts desires according to Your perfect will. 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 forevermore. Amen
Proverbs 31:10-29
“Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil All the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, And willingly works with her hands. She is like the merchant ships, She brings her food from afar. She also rises while it is yet night, And provides food for her household, And a portion for her maidservants. She considers a field and buys it; From her profits she plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength, And strengthens her arms. She perceives that her merchandise is good, And her lamp does not go out by night. She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hand holds the spindle. She extends her hand to the poor, Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is clothed with scarlet. She makes tapestry for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies sashes for the merchants. Strength and honor are her clothing; She shall rejoice in time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness. She watches over the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her: “Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all.
INSIGHT
-Prophet Elisha introduced entrepreneurship to a widow who was almost being auctioned. The threat of slavery also loomed at her two boys and she desperately needed help. Elisha clearly instructed them to go to every household and borrow jars of oil, and cautioned them against limiting their expectations. They collected all that they could find and Elisha performed a multiplication miracle, where they filled all the jars with olive oil. He then instructed them to go sell the oil, pay their creditors and live on the balance (2 Kings 4:1-6). In the same way, we find a wise, aggressive entrepreneur labeled as the virtuous woman. She fears God and takes her rightful place in the family and society. Her husband trusts her and her speech is defined by wisdom. She displays hard work and dedication in all her duties. She is respected by her children, husband and society, and her husband is honored because of her wisdom. When she realizes profit, she does not waste it away but buys a vineyard, and ensures that there is enough food in her entire household. She not only provides for her family, but also gives to the poor and needy in the society. We have seen virtuous women emerge leaders in resent times. Their stories are almost similar, characterized by hard work, dedication and the fear of God. We draw a valuable lesson from the story of the virtuous woman, that bespeaks of a life of sacrifice, dedication, hard work, wisdom, love, respect, humility that brings forth honor. Proverbs 14:23 reminds us that, “In all labor there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty”. It is the high time that we are called to put into practice these valuable lessons and our good God will greatly reward us.
PRAYER
Dear Heavenly Father, we come before You today with thanksgiving in our hearts, thanking You for all You have done for us. Thank You for Your faithfulness, kindness and mercies upon our lives, families and nation. We thank You God for who You are in our lives, for You are a great God. We worship and adore Your Holy name, may You be praised and lifted up for there is no other God like You. Dear Father, we thank You for Your Word that teaches us how to be virtuous. Thank You for all the women You have put in our lives. We pray that You will guide them with Your righteous right hand and Your Holy Spirit. Fill them with Your wisdom that they may fear You and be hardworking, diligent and faithful to You. We commit all those who are jobless, lost and suffering that You that You may bless them and restore them. Restore every lost virtue in us and give us the grace to take our rightful positions in the society. Thank You Jesus for Your favor and love upon our nation and the judiciary. Thank You for You are doing a new thing. May justice prevail upon this nation of Kenya. Deliver us all from any form of corruption and injustice, and shield us with Your precious blood. We also remember all who are in need in the society, we pray that You will remember them and provide for them. We also pray for all the men that You may bless them and prosper them. We pray for all our children that You may lead them in Your wisdom. Bless the work of our hands dear Jesus. We pray that You may heal all the sick and put in Your order, unity and progress. We pray that You will lift this Covid-19 pandemic from the face of the earth and all shall come back to normalcy. We praise You for You are able, miracle-working and powerful God. Thank You Lord Jesus for hearing us and may You do according to Your good and perfect will for us. We pray all this believing and trusting in Jesus mighty Name. Amen
Proverbs 10:2
“Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, But righteousness delivers from death.”
INSIGHT
-God spoke through prophet Ezekiel to condemn sin in Jerusalem as He is doing in the world today. Those in authority took bribes and shed innocent blood. They increased taxes and made profit from extortions to enrich themselves. God says that He shall deal with the perpetrators of these things (Ezekiel 22:12-14). It is ironic how Africa is classified as the poorest continent; yet the richest. Some leaders especially in Africa plunder resources and hide them in tax havens. Massive wealth in form of raw mineral resources are transported to European countries and other parts of the world. If today this plunder came to a halt, most world economies would instantly collapse. A majority of the African leaders have welcomed Neo-colonialism and nations like China thrive due to big contracts. Other nations have gone into huge debts where most of the money goes into people’s pockets. Government institutions including monopolies have been plundered by political leaders. As their citizens praise the big thieves, the small thieves get arrested and rot in jail. This cannot be seen or heard in more developed and civilized nations. Graduates waste many years looking for jobs while others nations experience high employment levels. Leaders are keen to extend their terms and do not care about the interests of its citizens. The biggest challenge we face in Africa is not global warming but poor leaders. Our leaders are corrupt and are destroying our nation and other African nations. Probably if we had God fearing leaders, we would not be concerned about economic recovery, unemployment and other such issues. The Lord says that He will punish those who are engaged in such evils, for the treasures of the wicked profit nothing but righteousness delivers from death. Such evils do not profit anyone anything in God’s kingdom. May the Lord expose these leaders, change their hearts and give us God fearing leaders who are ready to serve the people like king Solomon. We are called to pray for our nation and continent, for everything is possible with God.
PRAYER
Abba Father You are great and You are greatly to be praised. Thank You for loving us and taking good care of us. Thank you for this far that You have brought us and the far that You are taking us. Thank You for sustaining us and protecting us despite the problem of poor leadership that we face in Africa. Thank You for Your great love upon us and our nation and all the nations of the world. Our nation belongs to You, do a new thing in our land; Kenya. Africa belongs to You expose every corrupt leader and hidden resource that belongs to Your people. Your arm is not too short to save, nor Your ear too dull to hear Jesus, save Your people. Nothing is impossible with You our Lord and our God. Give us wise and God fearing leaders we humbly ask You. Leaders who will be led by You Holy Spirit. Leaders who will harken to Your voice and follow You. Change the way things are being done in our continent of Africa and set us free from corrupt and selfish leaders. Set us free merciful Savior. Bless our land and our continent of Africa dear Savior. Save us dear Master and grant each one the gift of salvation. Set us free dear Jesus and bless the work of our hands. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptations but deliver us from all evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen
Matthew 25:14-18
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money.”
INSIGHT
-The parable of the talents enhances the concept of profitability in God’s kingdom. The master gave his servants talents according to their abilities and enabled them time to trade. Two of the servants doubled their return on investment and were given more responsibility for their faithfulness. One was too lazy to trade and dug his talents in the ground. His master advised that he should have invested his talent with the bank where he could have made interest. He was unprofitable and was cast into the outer darkness. Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 reminds us that, we should cast our bread upon the waters and we will find it after many days. Further that, we should invest in seven ventures, yes in eight; for we do not know what disaster may come upon the land. God reminds us to utilize our resources wisely and make profit in our investment strategies. He also calls us to utilize our gifts, talents and abilities well so that we may be rewarded when He comes back, for each one of us will give an account.
SUMMARY
Profit in God’s kingdom takes diverse shapes as we have seen. First is to store up our treasures in heaven where there is no rust nor moth and thieves cannot break in and steal. God has designed that we focus more on eternal riches that do not diminish nor fail. Through giving to the poor and needy in the society, and exhibiting acts of compassion, we are promised an eternal reward as our righteousness endures forever, and our horns will be lifted high in honor (Psalm 112:9). Second is to become selfless and seek the interests of others before our own. To consider others before ourselves which is the way to love our neighbors as ourselves. God reminds us to love our neighbors as ourselves, and not only seek personal interests but; the interests of others. This calls for humility, like mindedness, fellowship in the spirit and mutual love (Philippians 2:1-4). Through love one another from our hearts we find pure profit in God’s kingdom. Third is to seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness and all other things will be added unto us. Some among us do not know nor follow this righteous requirements but go ahead to pervert justice for personal gain. Those in power plunder all available resources, shed innocent blood and commit all forms of atrocities for personal benefit. These evil deeds do not profit anyone anything but cause calamity leading to destruction. Fourthly, we are called to fear God and work hard with dedication like the virtuous woman. She does not squander her profits but procures a vineyard with the effort to ensure she has sufficient for herself, her family, servants and the poor in the society. God calls us to work hard with diligence putting Him first in everything and He will bless the work of our hands. Last but not least, is to regard our souls highly than any material thing. Jesus posses to us a question today, “what profit does a man have if he gains the whole world and looses his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). Material wealth, power and fame are temporal but our souls are eternal. Many have traded their souls by joining cults like Illuminati and Freemason for their souls. Jesus bought us at a price which was so expensive that He had to die for our sins. Let us then realize that we cannot gain anything more valuable here on earth than following the will of God. God calls us to fix our eyes on what is unseen, for what seen is temporal but what is unseen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18).
PRAYER
Almighty Father, we come before Your throne of mercy and grace today with thanksgiving in our hearts. We praise You for all You have done and for who You are. We ascribe all worship to You for You are worthy of it all. We repent of all our sins and iniquities merciful Savior. Jesus may You forgive us and cleanse us by Your precious blood. We thank You for giving us gifts, talents and abilities. May You enable us utilize our gifts well for the glory of Your name. Only You give us the ability to make wealth. We pray that You will help us to utilize our talents and abilities for the enhancement of Your Kingdom. Give us more grace and wisdom dear Jesus to serve You with all our gifts and capabilities. We pray that You will provide for us more opportunities, and continue to train our minds to make wealth for the glory of Your name. May You help us to know how and where to invest, and cast our seeds. Show us the waters that will bear much fruit and profit dear Jesus. May You remember our jobs, business and finances that we may yield much profit and become fruitful for Your glory. Enable us to become Kingdom financiers Jesus for the glory of Your name. We remember the helpless and needy in the society, may You provide for all their needs dear Jesus. We pray that You will heal all the sick in hospital, our families and the nation at large. We pray that You will touch our leaders and give them wisdom on how to govern Your people. May You instruct them with Your righteous right hand Father. We thank You for Your faithfulness and grace upon us. May You do for us according to Your will. We pray this in Jesus Mighty Name. Amen