The Power of Your Words

Spirit & Life Devotional
Sunday, June 7
Chinaemerem Joshua Ibezim

The Power of Your Words

Numbers 14.28 "Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you."

There's tremendous power in your words. You've got to understand that. We were created in the image of God; whatever we say can come to pass whether we expect it to come to pass or not: in your tongue is the power of death and life.

We use our mouths wrongly. We say things like, "I'm going to be sick", "nothing is happening in this town", "it's so difficult doing business in this country", "I'm not due", "business is bad, business is not moving", "it's not easy to be promoted"; many times we're saying those things because we want people to sympathize with us. A lady once told me that I was the wrong person to talk to; while she expected me to understand and to sympathize with her, I was telling her to stop speaking negatively. I refuse to be a part of pity parties! Stop whining and start saying what you want to happen!

God said He would do whatever we say, as long as He lives! That's powerful. It's up to us then, to say whatever we want Him to do. It's not about how big the situation or the challenge is, it's about how big your faith in God can be. David said to the giant, "This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel." And that was exactly what happened! Hallelujah!

Twitter: @PastorChinae
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Unafraid of Bad News

Spirit & Life Devotional
Saturday, June 6
Chinaemerem Joshua Ibezim

Unafraid of Bad News

Esther 4.3 "And in every province where the king’s command and decree arrived, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes."

That was an evil decree; a command that made people mourn, weep and wail wherever it was announced. Today, we nullify such decrees and commands, in the name of Jesus!

Proverbs 25.25 says that "As cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a far country." Just as there's good news, there's also bad news. Since the year began, there are people who have received terrible and unsettling news about their children, parents, friends, businesses, jobs, etc. The Bible says that when Jacob heard that his son, Joseph, had been killed, he tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned. They tried to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; he said he would go down into the grave to his son in mourning. No, you will not mourn forever! Your days of mourning are over in Jesus name!

Psalm 112.7 says we will not be afraid of evil tidings; that is bad news, and that our hearts will be steadfast, trusting in the Lord! No more bad news this year, in the name of Jesus! No evil decisions will affect you and your loved ones, in Jesus name! Your job is secure, in the name of Jesus! Your business will only grow, in the name of Jesus! No harm will befall your family in Jesus name! And no policy of government will affect you negatively, in the name of Jesus! Say Amen!

Twitter: @PastorChinae
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Where Are Your Works?

Spirit & Life Devotional
Friday, June 5
Chinaemerem Joshua Ibezim

Where Are Your Works?

James 2.26. "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."

A faith that cannot or will not propel you to take action is referred to as a dead one. There are little or no results because we are talkers and "believers", not doers. Until we begin to do, until we become action oriented people, until there are works proving our faith, we will not experience the power of faith.

I've not been sick for about thirteen years. I wanted to live in health, because it is written that by His stripes I was healed. I believed it; I believed in what Jesus did, He took my sicknesses and infirmities! The first step I took was to stop taking drugs. I took that decision in January 2001. Check any hospital in the world, you won't find any records for me. The second step I took was to stop praying for healing. Why ask God to heal me when He has already healed me? Didn't God's word say we were healed? I still fell sick in 2002, but whenever I was sick, I would get up and go and play football! Why? Because Jesus said that when I pray, I should believe that I have received it, and I will have it! So if I believed that I've been healed what was I still doing on the bed? Sickness did not last in my body, they disappeared on the football fields! One day in 2002, I was sick, but managed to attend fellowship, as we prayed, I had a vision of the Lord pulling a garment from me: as He pulled it from up my head, the sickness left from my feet up through my head, and I was instantly healed! Hallelujah!

You believe, but where are your works?

Twitter: @PastorChinae
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The Promise of Preservation

Spirit & Life Devotional
Thursday, June 4
Chinaemerem Joshua Ibezim

The Promise of Preservation

1 Chronicles 18.6. "Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought tribute. So the Lord preserved David wherever he went."

David was a warrior so he knew the importance of preservation. It was his prayer often: Psalm 16.1 "Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust." Psalm 64.1 "Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; preserve my life from fear of the enemy." Psalm 140.4 "Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from violent men, who have purposed to make my steps stumble."

You don't have to be a soldier to need protection and security. We are actually soldiers, spiritually speaking. But as Paul noted, there are wicked and unreasonable men in the world. I've met a few of them, all they think about is how to do evil; you don't have to offend them, they don't just want you to do well. We need to be preserved from such men. Paul wrote, "Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith."

The good news is that the Bible is full of promises of preservation for the children of God. Psalm 121.5-8 says, "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." So shall it be, in Jesus name. Amen!

Twitter: @PastorChinae
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Unselfish Living

Spirit & Life Devotional
Wednesday, June 3
Chinaemerem Joshua Ibezim

Unselfish Living

Philippians 2.4 "Not looking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others."

God began to teach about brotherly love in the Old Testament. It was written in the Law that, “You shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep going astray, and hide yourself from them; you shall certainly bring them back to your brother." God was teaching them, not only to be concerned, but to always do what's in the best interest of others. In our neighbourhoods, at work, in school, etc, God doesn't want us to be selfish. Don't say it doesn't concern you, it does.

In 1 Corinthians 13:5, we learn that love "seeketh not her own". In other words, love puts others first before herself! I can imagine what some of you are thinking right now: we would rather satisfy ourselves first, before thinking about anyone else. 1 Corinthians 10.24 says, "Let no man seek his own, but each his neighbor’s good."

You know, you really don't have to put others down in order to rise. If that's your strategy then you must change it immediately. I know it's what goes on in the world today, but being Christians we must be different. Have the interests of others at heart; be genuinely concerned about their welfare; seek to know how they are. Don't be someone who's "too busy" to know what's going on in the lives of other people. Don't wait for them to come crying to you before you consider helping them, reach out to them with the love of God that's shed abroad in your heart. Let brotherly love continue.

Twitter: @PastorChinae
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It's Your Time

Spirit & Life Devotional
Tuesday, June 2
Chinaemerem Joshua Ibezim

It's Your Time

Psalm 102.13 NKJV "You will arise and have mercy on Zion; for the time to favor her, yes, the set time, has come."

You've got to understand how God works: He works with time; in other words, He does things at appointed times. Abraham served God faithfully and God promised him children, but for many years Abraham didn't have none, because it was not yet time. At the right time, God appeared to Abraham and Sarah conceived.

1 Peter 5.6 says to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. There is always a due time, a set time, an appointed time. And you must learn to key in at such times. God told Abraham that the Israelites would be in Egypt for 400years, but they were there for 430years; it's because there was none that had the understanding of times. But when God told Jeremiah that the Israelites would be scattered for 70years, and the time came, we're told that "Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet." And because he knew about times, Daniel began to demand their release.

My mission today, is to announce to someone reading this devotional that his or her time has come! All along nothing seemed to be happening, you've been praying, sowing seeds, working hard, doing all you know to do, waiting on God; I have good news for you: the cloud is full of rain, and it's about to be emptied on you! Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning! This is your time! This is your day for a change, and let me tell you, nothing shall stop you whatever God is set to release to you, in Jesus name!

Twitter: @PastorChinae
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Time For A Catch

Spirit & Life Devotional
Monday, June 1
Chinaemerem Joshua Ibezim

Time For A Catch

Luke.5.5-6. "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."

By the time Jesus got to the lake, the fishermen were washing their nets. They had had an unsuccessful outing, their efforts all night yielded no results, not even a little success, they caught nothing! They were tired, and there was no hope of catching any fish that day.

Maybe you've been trying since January to achieve your goals, whatever it is; the month of May has just ended and there was no remarkable achievement. Nothing has happened since January, you've toiled for five months without success, and there's really no reason to believe that June will be any better.

Hear the word of the Lord this first day of the month of June: it's time for a catch! January to May may not have been good by any known standards and criteria; you've not gotten your dream job, no proposals yet, no contracts yet, no invitations yet, no admissions yet, no promotions yet, no capital for your business yet... God says it's time for a catch! And here's the exciting part; it's not just an ordinary catch, it's going to be a net breaking catch! It's going to be beyond your expectations, because God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you can ever imagine. So shall it be in Jesus name.

Twitter: @PastorChinae
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