RHEMA From Heaven

Not only do you have to guard your heart as a Christian but also your mind. You must guard your mind against wrong thoughts and ideas that comes to you in the course of life.

A thought is an idea, plan or a picture that is formed in your mind, or something that invokes thinking. This is an important thing to consider since your thoughts have a way of influencing your heart and actions.
As a Christian, what you think about or duel on mentally can either make you or break you. Know that, the thoughts you entertain have the power to influence your life negatively or positively.

Even thou you may not have power of the thoughts that comes to you, you can refuse it to settle in your mind by ignoring it or not brooding over it.

You see, any wrong thought you entertain will finally manifest in your life. Remember that, nothing just happens. As one author puts it ” sow a thought, reap an act; sow an act, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character“.

Make God’s word your meditation and think on it daily.
Learn to carefully choose the thoughts to dwell on and the grip of wrong thoughts will fully be overthrown in your life.

Read: Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Prayer: Lord, I pray that grace and mental strength to guard mind my mind against wrong thoughts. Amen

No one can undermine the importance of talking. We relate with people and do most of our interactions verbally, which is talking.
Nonetheless, if our talking is not guided by wisdom it will bring some negative unintended consequences or even result in conflict and confusion.

That’s why the Bible teaches on how we ought to talk.
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (James 1:19).
You see, you must talk after careful thought on a subject matter. You are always considered a fool if you talk hastily without thinking through the issue at hand. Those who live this way always end up in error.

The fact that you have the ability to talk, doesn’t mean that you must use it indiscreetly.
You must learn the art of talking well.

Proverbs 29:20 says,
“Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him”.
Hence, one way to display wisdom in talking, is not rushing to talk. Meaning that, reasoning and knowledge must precede the words you want to release from your mouth.

Know that words are powerful. They are also irreversible. Remember that, no word spoken can be taken back with its effects.

Don’t be in haste to talk on every subject. Pause and ponder before you talk.

Read: Proverbs 29:20 Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him

Prayer: Lord, I pray for grace to be able to know when and how to talk. Amen

There are things that are worth keeping or preserving in life. As the Apostle Paul said, “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient”… (1 Corinthians 6:12).
It is therefore important to know that some things are valuable and they demand your full attention in other for you to preserve them for your benefit now and in the future.

The Bible says in Proverbs 27:18 “Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured”.
The verse above teaches that, you will only enjoy what you keep and give attention to. So, until you keep something of value, you can never benefit from it.

One of such important things worth preserving in life is the gift and the anointing that God gives to you as a child of God.
See 2 Corinthians 5:18, Ephesians 4:8 and 1 John 2:20.

You see, these gifts and anointing are for your own good and the good of many. But you won’t enjoy them if you don’t preserve them well.

Another thing that is worth keeping and preserving is a profitable relationship.
When God gives you a “human being” as a blessing, you must apply wisdom in maintaining such relationship. You must nurture and keep this profitable relationship to its end.
Don’t forget this profitable relationship can be with your boss, your parents, your pastors, your roommate, etc.

Always remember that, everyone is important at some point in time but not all the time. If someone isn’t very important to you now doesn’t mean you should cut the person off, you might need them in the time to come. How well you preserve such relationships will determine if you will benefit and enjoy of it or not.

Today, many have cultivated the habit of pointing fingers at their parents, bosses and even their Pastors.

Learn to preserve the gifts, anointing and profitable people God has brought your way.

Read: Proverbs 27:18
Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.

Prayer: Lord, I pray for grace and wisdom to keep diligently what ever gift you have given to me. Amen

There is a time for everything in life. Time to be awake and time to sleep but it’s important you find a balance for each. Enjoy too much sleep and you will soon become a bedfellow with poverty and frustrations.

It is written of Jesus that, he would always get up “a great while before day” to receive instructions and directions from God through prayer. (Mark 1:35).
No wonder he commanded such awesome results in life and ministry.

Beloved, you cannot be a heavy sleeper and be a star at the same time. You have to choose one. It is important you make rising up early part of your life. To Jesus, it was a daily exercise.

Nothing corrupts and destroys great destinies like too much sleep. You must learn to rise early to map out strategies and plans for your life.

The Bible says in Proverbs 20:13 that, “Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread”.

You see, spending most of your hours in bed, turning from pillar to post will only result in one thing – POVERTY.
Studies show that most successful people rise up early irrespective of the time they sleep.

You are on your way to greatness when you rise early to seek God and strategize your life.

Read: Proverbs 20:13
Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.

Prayer: Lord, I pray that too much sleep will not be the order of the day for my life. Amen

Obedience is key when you want to excel in your walk with God. As a matter of fact, you can’t do much as a Christian when you are not obedient to the Lord. Following Lord demands absolute obedience to his word, plans and purpose for your life.

Obedience to God will always set you on the path of blessing. Deuteronomy 11:26 & 27 says “See, I am setting before you today a blessing …A blessing, if ye obey the Lord your God, which I command you this day”. You see, you can’t get the best and enjoy the good of the land when you walk in disobedience.

There are many people that are living in deception today because they think they can “pray God into action” or “use God” by means of prayer to get what they want irrespective of whether they are obedient or not. But it never works that way. Obedience will always precede a breakthrough or a miracle. See Isaiah 1:19, “If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land”.

You can’t disobey God and expect him to shower his blessings on your life. You must be committed to obeying the Lord whether you feel like doing it or not.

Make it a practice not to only listen to the word of God but to also obey it fully. No instruction from the word of God is insignificant.Every single word from the Lord must be obeyed without compromise or negotiation.You see, you must obey the gospel to be saved, you must obey the instructions that borders on living an excellent life as a Christian and also obey the teachings on doing ministry without blemish. In fact, nothing must be taken for granted.

Remember that obedience always pays.

Read: Deuteronomy 30:14
But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

Prayer: Lord, I pray for grace to always walk in obedience of you word in order to encounter your blessings. Amen

Aside following the voice of the Spirit, another way to be vigilant as a Christian is to pray constantly or consistently. Thus, the caution from the Bible “pray always without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Mathew 26:41 quoted the Lord’s word this way “Watch and pray”. Meaning that, believers must be on guard and pray. It is important to know that, being consistent in your prayer life has nothing to do with you attending a prayer meeting. There are lots of people today who attend prayer meetings but do not really make time to pray and wait on the Lord’s presence by themselves.

Thus, attending prayer meetings does not mean you are “prayerful”. You must have your own regular and consistent time for prayer.
Inasmuch as there are various kinds of prayer, prayer basically makes your spirit alert and helps you to apprehend many things long before they manifest in the physical.

Our text in Luke 22:46 was the word of caution Jesus gave to his followers when he found them sleeping instead of praying. You see, anytime you are not vigilant as a Christian, the devil finds space to operate in your territory. In fact, he makes you lose your hold in the midst of temptations and trials.

You see, there are many temptations that can be avoided by being “prayerful”. People who are prayerful will either sense the “hour of temptation” and avoid it or receive divine strength and wisdom to overcome any temptation that the devil will throw at them.

That is why you must not spend your time on frivolous things. Make time to pray consistently and regularly since it contributes greatly to your victory over temptations and trials.

Remember, when you don’t pray you will stray.

Read: Mathew 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Prayer: Lord, I pray for grace to pray constantly and constantly to know and also overcome the works of the devil. Amen

The above opening text shows how by the spirit, Paul knew that a journey they were about to take will lead to disaster.

Although Paul was on the ship as a prisoner to face trial in Rome for preaching, his spirit man was still connected to God to the extent that he could hear what the Spirit was saying concerning the future of the trip they were embarking on.

He perceived the ill consequences of the journey irrespective of his condition. Hear him speak, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.”

But like many people do, the officer in charge downplayed the “voice of the Spirit” that was made known for carnal men’s voice. The Bible said, “But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship” (Acts 27:11).

You see, one way to be watchful is to hear the voice of the Spirit. Although Paul was not an expert in piloting a ship and does not even own one, the word he uttered by the hearing of his spirit from the Spirit shouldn’t have been taken for granted.

Thus, in being vigilant, you must know when the Spirit must take over, you must know when expertise knowledge must submit to the voice of the Spirit and you must know when to tell the flesh, “You can no longer decide for me”.

Many people have rushed into the jaws of the devil by ignoring the voice of the Spirit spoken to them directly or indirectly through a man of God.

In the account above, the neglect of the word spoken by Paul resulted in the loss of properties and the entire ship.

Stay alert by following the voice of the Spirit.

Read: John 16:13
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

Prayer: Lord, I pray that I will be vigilant in hearing the words of the Lord through the spirit. Amen

Most often than not, your degree of alertness or vigilance determines how fast you can escape the snares and traps of the enemy. The Bible says, “The devil, is like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack”. Meaning that, the devil is not just moving to and fro for sightseeing. Remember that, he is too smart for that. His motive for walking about is to do evil.

That’s why God is admonishing believers to be vigilant. Being vigilant means that, you are watchful, you are on the lookout and you are observant. But knowing very well that the devil operates first and foremost from the spirit since he is a spirit, your vigilance must be spiritual.

You see, you can’t use your biological or natural eyes to be on the lookout when the devil is in the game. You can’t also set CCTV cameras on the devil, it will amount to nothing. You can only maintain a spiritual vigilance on the devil and his activities with the eyes of your spirit or your spiritual senses.

Not being alert in the spirit and failing to pick fast negative spiritual signals coming from the devil may cause you a lot.

As a Christian, your success in life is not only dependent on your ability to see “blessings or the goodies God has for you”, you must also master your spirit to pick fast satanic activities that wants to stand against your life and resist it fast.

Be vigilant and you will not be taken by satanic surprises

Read: James 4:7
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Prayer: Lord, I pray for more grace to be spiritually vigilant to undo all satanic works in the spirit. Amen

One thing that is so evident in this period is the wickedness of the evil, one which has caused many to live in fear and insecurity.

However, from our opening text, we see how the believer is divinely protected and secured irrespective of the evil that is predominant in the world.

To be secured means, to be free from danger or fear and anxiety. This is what you signed on to when you became a child of God.

You have entire hosts of heaven looking out for your well-being, hence fear shouldn’t cripple you down.

The Bible says, angels have been given charge over your safety and that of your properties.
“There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone” (Psalm 91:10-12).

God wants you well child of God. He has not only secured your life, but also your finances, health, family, ministry. As a matter of fact, all that pertains to you comes under divine protection.

Always remember that, you are divinely secured. You have a sure defence, that is God himself.

No believer is disadvantaged! Don’t live in fear of the devil’s wickedness. Always trust in the divine security and protection from God.

Read: Job 11:18
And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.

Prayer: Lord, I thank you for keeping me, my properties and family divinely secured. Amen

Nothing is more awesome and spiritual than dealing with people
from the bowels of love. Dealing with people from the heart of love is a proof
that you are born of God.

1 John 4:7-8 puts it this way, “Beloved, let us love one
another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God
and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love”. You
can’t be a Christian and say you can’t love. The love life of the Christian makes
him different from the people of the world.

The Bible says God has given us the spirit of love (2 Timothy
1:7). Not only that, we also have a recreated human spirit that has the fruit (results)
of love (Galatians 5:22). Romans 5:5 on the subject of love also says “the love
of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us”.

This is to tell you that the Christian is made up of love. Every fiber of your being is designed and fashioned in love as a Christian. It will therefore be a strange thing if the child of God does not walk in love towards people.

Thus, drawing from the
account of love means that you are dealing with people from the divine deposit
of love that is in you. You see, the
Spirit of God in you does not and cannot produce envy, jealousy, wrath and
wickedness, so you can’t deploy these “arsenals” when dealing with people.

No matter how people
may treat you, pay them back with “LOVE”. That is being spiritual or living out the spirit
life. Never resort to carnality when
dealing with people.

LOVE! Let brotherly love continue

Read: John 13:34
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

Prayer: Lord, I pray for grace to abound and be rooted in the virtue of love.