Genesis 19:1-11 NIV
“The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. “My Lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.” “No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.” But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.” Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.” “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door. But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.”
INSIGHT
Walking in the ways of God amidst this wicked world pays off. When the Lord told Abraham His friend of His plan to destroy the nation of Sodom, Abraham asked, “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” The Lord then said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake” (Genesis 18:23-26). The Lord is our Righteous Judge, and He cannot punish the righteous with the unrighteous. Lot was a righteous man together with his family. We see that his daughters were virgins despite the rotten society. The men were perverted and preferred to sleep with the foreign men to his virgin daughters. This is the kind of evil that has come to our nation with signing of the LGBTQ+ declaration. This a great evil and we need to repent on behalf of our nation. We are called to stand firm and oppose such laws that only come to destroy our children and our nation. We see that God rescued Lot and his family who had kept themselves from the wickedness prevalent in their nation. The did not conform to the standards of Sodom thus they were not punished and consumed by fire with the rest. This teaches us that we need to stand firm in the Lord and in His ways amidst this wicked world. God gives us the Grace we need and will keep us, up to the day of judgement. Psalms 1:6 says that “For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.” God watches over our ways when we walk in His truth but the ways of the wicked just as Sodom will be destroyed. Titus 2:11-12 reminds us that, “the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.”
PRAYER
Lord You are Holy and Your love endures forever. Lord You are Righteous and Your faithfulness endures to all generations. Lord You are Good and Your mercies endures forever. We thank You Lord God Almighty Father for enabling us to see this new week in good health and peace. We bless Your name Lord for You are God and none can compare to You. We humbly to Your feet merciful Savior asking for Your mercy and grace. We repent on behalf of our leaders and nation for passing the decree on the LGBTQ+ regulation. We are sorry for we have turned away from Your ways. May You for forgive our fellow country men and women who have chosen to practice these evil things, and help our judiciary to reverse that decision. We repent on behalf of our leaders who have received bribes and allowed such evil judgments to come upon us. May You forgive us dear Jesus and smear Your precious blood on the door post of our hearts, houses, churches and nation. May You look to us with mercy and forgive us. May Your grace abound in us that we may say no to all ungodliness. May You watch over our ways and lead us to Your everlasting path. May You guide us and protect us throughout the week, and show us Your salvation. May You open up new opportunities for us and expand our territories. May You bless us, our families, societies, churches, ministries and nation, and show us Your path of truth. 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
Further reading: Psalms 1:1-6, Titus 2:11-15
Matthew 24:37-39 NIV
“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”
INSIGHT
-In a corruption world and filled with evil, Noah remain faithful to God. It is by “faith when warned about things not yet seen in holy fear, Noah built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith” (Hebrews 11:7). Noah was a righteous man before the Lord. Amidst the wickedness Noah honored God with his life. Despite the ridicule from the people as he build the ark, Noah remained focus on his objectives and walk with God. Sometimes we face ridicule in our daily walk of faith. People may ridicule and criticize you as you seek after righteousness, but we called to keep our eyes on Christ, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Jesus is coming soon, let us ask to help us that we may fight the good fight, keep the faith and finish the race.
PRAYER
Abba Father we thank You for You have chosen us to become Your children and to inherit eternal life through Your beloved Son Jesus Christ. It is by His death and resurrection that we have hope of life everlasting in You Lord. We look to You Jesus Christ with the eyes of hope, the Author and Finisher of our faith. May You show us Your ways and save us. Heal us Oh Lord and we shall be healed, save us Oh Lord and we shall be saved for You are the One we praise. May You heal our hearts and minds and wash us with Your precious blood. May increase us in faith that we may believe in You despite these challenging times that we live in. May You grant us the grace and strength to overcome all obstacles and ridicule in our walk of faith. May You teach us Holy Spirit to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. May You open the floor gates of heaven and make it rain upon us and our nation. May You heal all those who are sick and suffering among us. May Your gospel reach the unreached and Your salvation power engulf us and the entire world. Our Father who art in heaven; hallowed be Your name; Your Kingdom come; Your 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 evil; for thine is the Kingdom the power and the glory; forever and ever. Amen
Further reading: 1 Peter 3:20-21, Revelation 22:20
Genesis 37:17-18 NIV
“They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.”
INSIGHT
-Joseph was confronted by diverse conflicting issues, stemming from jealousy and greed among his brothers, a looming jail term, and the adulterous nature of his masters wife. When Joseph innocently reported his dreams to his brothers, they become more jealous. When he brought them food at Dothan, they conspired to kill him. They ended up throwing him into a pit and later selling him to foreign traders where he was taken in as a slave in Egypt. Later, at his masters house, Portipha’s wife confronted Joseph to sleep with her but he refused and ran off. These are some of the issues that we experience in our lives. Jealous people around us become disillusioned by our progress in life. They prefer to curtail us and drag us behind, and some even orchestrate one’s death. 1 Peter 2:1-2 remind us that, we should “rid ourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.” God is calling us to love one another, by this we fulfill the law and the prophets.
PRAYER
Dear Heavenly Father we thank You for this day. We thank You for this far that You have brought us and the far that You are taking us. We thank You for You have great plans for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us. Plans to give us hope and a future. You are so good God, and awesome in wonder. We love You dear Jesus. As we celebrate all women today, may You bless them and prosper them in all spheres of their lives. May You enlighten their paths and their steps to make them fruitful in everything that they do and plan to do. We thank You Lord for protecting us and preserving us from jealous men and women who plan our destruction. We declare that no weapon fashioned against us shall prosper and no tongue that has been raised against us shall prevail, for this our heritage in You Lord and You shall indeed vindicate us. We thank You Lord for providing for us, preserving us, healing our wounds, guiding us, prospering our ways and for Your precious gift of salvation. We adore You Lord and bless Your name now and forever. Amen
Further reading: 1 Corinthians 13:4, Romans 13:8-13
Daniel 1:8-9 NKJV
“But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs.”
INSIGHT
-Daniel stoops the test of time and purposed that he would not defile himself probably alluding to the food such as was prohibited in the law of Moses, or else what was offered to the idols of the Chaldees. Daniel did not also drink the wine of the king. Many nations and their officials follow after the way of corruption in government that defile themselves with bribes, corruption, oppressive laws, killing of innocent citizens etc that seem like defilement with wine. Those who work in government are sometimes coerced into following after the way of these vices. Daniel and his friends only chose to worship God even when they were threatened by fire and fierce lions. We are called to seek the way for the Lord and whether we work in and for the government or not. We are also reminded to pray for our leaders and for the prosperity of our nation.
PRAYER
Your name is a strong tower Jesus, the righteous run to it and they are safe. Your name is our strong fortress and shield. We find strength, solace, hope and victory in You Lord Jesus. May You forgive us where we have compromised for all wrong doing and forgive our leaders where they have not acted righteously. We repent for all the corruption, shedding innocent blood, idolatry, oppression of the poor, adultery and all forms of wickedness in our nation by us the the citizens, all the leaders and all your people. Almighty Father, may You release more grace upon us to stand firm in You, in Your Word and in Your righteousness. May You guide and direct all our leaders in Your righteous ways for righteousness exalts a nation. Father may You align every law by the government to Your will and to Your ways. We pray that You will work through our our leaders that they may be used by You and bring Glory to Your Name, oh Lord. May You teach us to be good leaders. We pray for wisdom, knowledge, understanding and fear of the Lord to be upon our leaders. May they be after Your heart and Your precepts. May You give us rain in our nation, abundant food, productivity in our government, increase and abundance in all ways. We commit all the systems unto You, all the education, religion, judiciary, legislative, executive, and all other systems and arms of the government unto You that all shall be aligned to Your will and purposes for us. Oh God of all creation, bless this our land and nation. May justice be our shield and defender. May we dwell in unity, peace and liberty. May plenty be found within our borders. In Jesus Mighty name we pray believing and trusting, Amen.
Further reading: 1 Corinthians 8:10, 1st Timothy 2:1-2
Hebrews 4:14-16 NKJV
“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
INSIGHT
-Jesus Christ knew no sin and no deciet was found in His mouth (1 Peter 2:22). God made Him to be sin so that we might become the righteousness of God. It is through Jesus Christ, and His sacrifice on the cross that we have become righteous before God. We are therefore called to hold fast our confession, and come boldly to His throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us during our time of need. Let us always remember that the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but His face is against those who do evil (1 Peter 3:12).
SUMMARY
The account of Noah and the flood exposes the wickedness that was prevalent on the earth. The collective immortality found in the hearts of men made the Lord to regret why He had made mankind and His heart was deeply troubled (Genesis 6:5-7). Possibly Noah was ridiculed for building the ark. Many people among us are ridiculed and ashamed as they follow after righteousness. The Lord is calling us to have faith in Him despite the challenges that we might be faced with as we seek Him and follow Him. In this hopeless situation, there were remnants in Noah and his family, who lived righteously before the Lord and they found His salvation even amidst the destruction. The narrative of Sodom reveals the societal wickedness that was prevalent through sexual sin. Men exchanged their desires with men. The agenda of LGBTQ+ was hereby introduced. Lot was seated at the gate when the angels came, and this was the place of judges and he is perceived as one. Noah and his family did not defile themselves in that way and his daughters were virgins at the time. Noah was a righteous man at the time of the destruction of Sodom, and he was saved together with his family (Genesis 19:1-11). The passing of the LGBTQ+ regulation comes with a revelation of the rottenness of the society. We are called to pray for our nation and the entire world that the fear of the Lord may fill the people’s hearts. Wickedness in the government is uncovered through the tale of Daniel who decided in his heart not to defile himself with the kings delicacies and wine (Daniel 1:8-9). Daniel’s chronicles reveal his experience in a corruption government, that encompasses idolatry and immorality. Daniel and his friends decided that they would rather die than to go against the will of God. The recital of Joseph’s story reveals the wickedness in a family unit. Joseph told his brothers his dreams and they hated him. They did not understand the will of God in his life and instead of planning for his good, they orchestrated his death (Genesis 37:17-18). Some family members plan wicked things against an individual or an specific family. They desire their own prosperity and plan for evil against others. Jesus is our great High Priest is forever Righteous. He died and resurrected for our safe so that we may become the righteousness of God.
PRAYER
May You Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust. O my soul, you have said to the Lord, You are my Lord. My goodness is nothing apart from You. As for the saints who are on the earth, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god; Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, nor take up their names on my lips, by Your mercy and grace dear Jesus. O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup. You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance. I bless You Lord who has given me counsel. My heart also instructs me in the night seasons by Your guidance Holy Spirit. I have set You Lord before me always; because You are at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy precious Holy Spirit. At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore Lord. We come boldly to Your throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and grace to help us during our time of need. May Your grace and favor abound in us dear Jesus. May You bless us and keep us. May You make Your face to shine towards us and be gracious unto us. May You turn Your countenance towards us and give us peace. Amen
Further reading: Romans 6:23, 1 Peter 3:8-22