Remember The Day

Spirit & Life Devotional
Monday, 30 November 2015
Chinaemerem Joshua Ibezim

Remember The Day

"You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life." Deuteronomy 16:3 NKJV

Some of us were poor and hopeless; some of us were going to die; some of us were childless for a while; some were jobless and others were without admissions: and all that changed on a certain day. You got a contract on a certain day that changed your life for ever; you got your healing one day; you got your baby; your job; your admission on that blessed and fateful day, and since that day things have never remained the same.

But we often forget that day and live as though we do not remember what God did for us; therefore, we do not give God the praises due to His name. Psalm 103:2 says, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits."

A lot of us are guilty of forgetting His benefits. We should remember, rejoice and make pleasing sacrifices on days like the day we were born again! God told the Israelites to remember the day in which they came out of the land of Egypt all the days of their lives. There should be specific days in our lives, maybe one big day, when we remember all that He has done for us, and just say, "Thank You Lord for everything You have done."

Twitter: @PastorChinae
PIN:568E2E56

Life Is More Than Food And Clothing (2)

Spirit & Life Devotional
Sunday, 29 November 2015
Chinaemerem Joshua Ibezim

Life Is More Than Food And Clothing (2)

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?" Matthew 6:25 NKJV

Yesterday we learnt that the word of God is more important than food and clothing. We must spend more of our time acquiring the word of God than anything else. Pay any price to get the word. The word of God is life!

Is there something else more important than food and clothing? Yes, purpose. Remember when Jesus was ministering to the Samaritan woman by the well, He was hungry, and the disciples returned with the food that they had gotten for Him to eat. But Jesus had lost His appetite! They urged Him to eat, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” And while they wondered what He meant, He said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work."

Yes, fulfilling God's purpose for your life is very important. Stop chasing things that will not last; go after things of eternal significance. God will not judge you by how much food and clothes you ate and wore in your lifetime; success is also not measured by how much clothes you have; no, success and relevance in the sight of God is judged by how well you are fulfilling the assignment given to you by God. So discover your purpose and make it your topmost priority.

Twitter: @PastorChinae
PIN:568E2E56

Life Is More Than Food And Clothing (1)

Spirit & Life Devotional
Saturday, 28 November 2015
Chinaemerem Joshua Ibezim

Life Is More Than Food And Clothing (1)

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?" Matthew 6:25 NKJV

A lot of us have a shallow understanding of what life is about; no wonder we live and die without making meaningful accomplishments. When you have a proper understanding of what life really is about, your words, thoughts, and especially your actions are more purposeful and meaningful.

So what could be more important than food and clothing, two of the basic necessities of life? We find one in Job 23:12. Job said, "I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food." The word of God, brothers and sisters, is more important than food and clothing.

When Jesus visited Martha in her house, Martha was being a good hostess, probably trying to please the Lord; but her sister Mary, sat at Jesus’ feet, listening attentively to His word. The Bible says that Martha was distracted with much serving. Martha complained that Mary wasn't assisting, she said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” Mary esteemed the word above food, and Jesus commended her for that.

My prayer is that the word of God will become the most important thing in life to you; when you have the word, you can have everything else.

Twitter: @PastorChinae
PIN:568E2E56

The Unchanging Nature of God

Spirit & Life Devotional
Friday, 27 November 2015
Chinaemerem Joshua Ibezim

The Unchanging Nature Of God

“For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob." Malachi 3:6 NKJV

Saying that God doesn't change doesn't mean that He does not change His mind, His intentions and His plans; He does some times, that He doesn't change is talking about the unchangeability of His nature and His ways. For instance, God is love: He has always been love and will always be love; the time will never come when He stops being loving.

And because He doesn't change we have not been destroyed. You know, man changes; we are hardly faithful, we do not keep our words, we continue to do things that displease God, things that are capable of destroying us; but God in His mercies, continues to preserve us. Psalm 103:10 says that "He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities."

Lamentations 3:21-23 says, "This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." The Easy To Read Version says, "But then I think about this, and I have hope: We are still alive because the Lord’s faithful love never ends. Every morning He shows it in new ways! You are so very true and loyal!" Hallelujah! I don't know about you, but I'm so grateful that He never changes!

Twitter: @PastorChinae
PIN:568E2E56

Called To Be Fishers Of Men

Spirit & Life Devotional
Thursday, 26 November 2015
Chinaemerem Joshua Ibezim

Called To Be Fishers Of Men

"Then He said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.'" Matthew 4:19 NKJV

You'll agree with me that Jesus could have made them anything else; but of everything that He could have made them, He chose to make them fishers of men. That tells us what He's most interested in.

If it's the same Jesus Christ that called us, then it's most likely that He also called us with the intention of making us fishers of men. The questions then are: Are we fulfilling our callings? How many of our activities are done with the aim of winning souls into the kingdom of God?

Brothers and sisters, we must begin to measure success by the number of men we are bringing into the kingdom; we must begin to determine the significance and relevance of our actions and activities by how they are contributing to the salvation of souls. There is joy in heaven when a sinner repents! You and I must become addicted soul winners. Remember, he that wins souls is wise.

Twitter: @PastorChinae
PIN:568E2E56

Prayer Answering God

Spirit & Life Devotional
Wednesday, 25 November 2015
Chinaemerem Joshua Ibezim

Prayer Answering God

"And Asa cried out to the Lord his God, and said, 'Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!'” II Chronicles 14:11 NKJV

There are so many prayers in the Bible, and God heard them and granted their petitions. Jabez prayed, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” The Bible says that God granted him what he requested. Without much ado! That, and many others are enough proof that God answers prayers.

Standing before the tomb of Lazarus who had been dead for four days, Jesus simply said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” Now that's called confidence.

When you pray, it's not a time to begin to wonder if God will hear, is listening, or has heard; realize that God loves it when we pray because He is glorified every time that we receive answers to our prayers. 1 John 5:14-15 says, "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him." Hallelujah!

Twitter: @PastorChinae
PIN:568E2E56

Lovers of Money

Spirit & Life Devotional
Tuesday, 24 November 2015
Chinaemerem Joshua Ibezim

Lovers Of Money

"Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him." Mark 14:10-11 NKJV

Someone who loves money can do anything, or, nearly anything for money. A person who loves money will sacrifice even the best relationships just to have money; he doesn't mind doing what even his conscience is against as long as he lays hold of money! No wonder the Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil.

One of the features of the last days is the love of money, according to 2 Timothy 3:1-2. No wonder there's so much evil in the world today; people are even leaving the Way, that is the faith, just because of money! Listen to songs these days, it's all about money; listen to interviews, still all about money; on social media, the same thing, people even displaying their money and wealth. Even some of our pastors are guilty!

Jesus said, “You cannot serve two masters at the same time. You will hate one master and love the other. Or you will be loyal to one and not care about the other. You cannot serve God and Money at the same time.” The Pharisees heard Jesus say those words and they criticized Him because they all loved money. Money isn't bad; having lots of it isn't bad either, and God can bless you with lots of money; but He doesn't want us loving it.

Twitter: @PastorChinae
PIN:568E2E56