WORLDLY DESIRES MAKE PEOPLE WANDER FROM GOD.

"NOT ALL WHO WANDER ARE LOST, " says the sticker on the back of a Volkswagen bus. Such is the tale of the ancient nation of Israel. God miraculously released the Israelites from slavery and provided a land for them to live in. Yet on the eve of their entrance into the promised land, they panicked at the tales of giant inhabitants awaiting them. Because of their fearful unbelief, God did not let them enter the land. Instead, he led them to wander around for 40 years in the wilderness. They knew exactly where they were, but they had to wander anyway.
The same thing happens to us if we reject what God has told us to do. Sometimes he will put our lives on hold until we relent and follow his ways. But God has a heart to retrieve those who are lost and wandering. He comes after us even if we can't find our way home.
I rebuke and pray against every type of wandering in our lives IJN. I also ask of thee oh Jehovah God that: you not only perfect our ways, but strengthen us to bring back those who wander from following you through Jesus Christ your son. Amen

TRAIN YOUR REPLACEMENTS.

I personally witnessed the downfall of an executive director that i worked for a decade ago. When his incompetence finally came collapsing down upon him and he was relieved of his command, there was quite a mess to clean up. The problem was, it wasn't just his incompetence that had to be corrected. He had multiplied by hiring people who were less qualified, and hence less of a threat, to him in every area. This organization had a core of incompetence that, like a cancer, had infiltrated every department & nearly caused the demise of the entire organization.
By contrast, Jesus as a CEO was eager and intent upon hiring people he felt could replace him. "Greater things that than i had done shall you do," he promised. Jesus did not hoard or guard the power of his office. He kept teaching and sharing & demonstrating it so team members would learn that they, too, had the power to do what he had done.
In order for him to be so generous with his power, Jesus obviously had to have been extremely secure. He repeatedly affirmed and clearly understood his standing with "the chairman of the board." He never doubted that, when it was all over, he would be sitting at the head Table. His job was to fill that table and make sure others were sitting with him.
   The McDermids were asked to take the stage at the GNLD's Southern Africa convention in 2012, and more than half of the over 5,000 delegates /distributors @ the convention were directly or indirectly sponsored by them, in other words, the vast majority of those present at that convention were trained and tutored by the McDermids. To me, that's true leadership. The success of the McDermids at that very convention was not defined by their riches but by the number of people they have trained and empowered. Had they been insecure as leaders, they might have tried to lessen the competition. But in fact, they were busy training their replacement.
Jesus trained his replacements, & so should we!
Olu Akpata(Zûr)
www.prayerlinez.blogspot.com

DESTINY OF PRAISE

Who are we? Why are we here? Most people spend the better part of their existence wondering what their ultimate purpose in life is. Peter gives us rich answers to these foundational questions. He declares who we are: We are chosen, belonging to God himself. God has declared that we are holy &, as his children, we are royalty. Peter also answers why we are here. We are commissioned to declare the Lord's praises to the world, telling of his goodness.
  Some people disqualify themselves from their God-given ministry because they think that the call to praise God implies the need for gifting in music. This is simply not true. We can praise God in many  ways besides musically. We can tell others about his goodness. We can worship God through the arts: dance, painting, poetry and the like. We can serve him through our act of kindness, compassion & generosity. We can honour him by our sacrificial obedience, choosing to praise him through striving for excellence in our God-given tasks.
Our purpose is to praise the King of kings and make him known. If this is our desire, he'll surely show us how
Let's praise him!
~Olu Akpata(Zûr)
www.prayerlinez.blogspot.com

THE MULTIPLICATION FACTOR

My friend (the young priest) knew he was taking a chance on Mike. He'd been taken advantage of by other street-smart drifters, but his heart wouldn't give up on this one. He took Mike in & showed him God's way out of alcoholism, drugs and perpetual lack. Today that seed of kindness has multiplied beyond his dreams. With help from the church, Mike began a ministry to help other homeless people, and thousands have been fed and cared for as a result.
Growth in the kingdom of God comes through sowing and reaping such as described above. Like good farmers, we are planting seeds of Faith every time we invest our time or money in an individual, a ministry or a business venture. Ultimately, only Jehovah knows what will happen to each seed. He determines the timing & the size of the harvest.
In what ways are you sowing into the kingdom of God?
I pray this day that the Almighty will bless all of us with a generous heart, such that will enable us to sow more into his kingdom IJN. Amen. Olu Akpata(Zûr)
www.prayerlinez.blogspot.com

HOW TO HANDLE TEMPTATION

Temptation is an inescapable part of life. As Christians, we're bound to face it regularly. Even God's own son was tempted! By looking at Jesus' first hand experience, we find 3 ways to handle temptation when it strikes in our own lives.
First, fight Satan's deception with God's truth. satan often misuses truth to attack us. He even quoted scripture: "If you are the son of God," he said, 'throw yourself down from here. For it is written: "He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you would not strike your foot against a stone." 'Jesus answered,  "it says: "Do not put Lord your God to test."(Luke 4:9-12).
As it was for Jesus, God's word is our best arsenal to withstand the enemy's attacks. We need to hear, read, study, memorize & meditate on the Bible. When we are secure in his word, we will know when the devil uses it to tempt us. Paul calls to the Ephesians, "put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's scheme " (Ephesians 6:11) We must arm ourselves with spiritual weapons to stand against satan. Paul names one of the most powerful weapons, the sword, as the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17)
Second, prepare with prayer. Jesus prepared himself to face satan through prayer, and he encouraged his disciples to do the same: "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the spirit is weak"(Mathew 26:41).
    The enemy often attacks at our weakest moment. Luke states that Jesus was tempted for the 40 days he was fasting, and the 3 specific temptations recounted in Mathew & Luke seem to have occurred at the close of this period ―When Jesus' hunger was greatest and his resistance lowest. But he had prepared himself through prayer and looked directly to God for guidance. Prayer teaches us, strengthens us and prepares us to face temptation without fear.
  Third, reject temptation immediately. It's not easy through! Resisting temptation requires sacrifice. It requires discipline and self control. It's frustrating & sometimes painful. Yet we can not avoid it. So we must look beyond the temptation to our power source. As Christians we have this promise:"God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it"(1 Corinthians 10:13). When he was tempted, Jesus did not begin to consider any of Satan's three  offers. He did not pick up the temptation & play with it. He did not give it a moment's considerations or image what it would be like if he gave in. He looked straight to God and dismissed the temptation immediately.
As the apostle Paul sat in a Roman prison for the second time, he knew he would not be released. He would face death as a martyr. Time hung in the balance. In an emotional and heartfelt letter to his disciple, Paul exhorts Timothy to avoid temptation at all cost: "flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord with a pure heart"(2Timothy 2:22).Paul also knew the danger in giving temptation a second thought.
When we are tempted, giving in is always the easy way out. But when we arm ourselves with God's word & prepare ourselves through prayer, he will give us everything we need to resist temptation.
Olu Akpata (Zûr).
www.prayerlinez.blogspot.com

GOOD STEWARDSHIP BRINGS JOY.

"People who manage resources well soon get more resources to manage".
This is so profound!
Come friends let's dissect this.
Let us consider Joseph, a slave in a foreign land who rose to greatness by faithfully handling his master's resources. His wise stewardship blessed Potiphar's house, and he was steadily given more authority, more freedom and a closer relationship with the master. (Genesis 39:2-6)
    Joseph's role as a steward parallels the financial stewardship role God has given us. We are his servants, and he's entrusted us with a portion of his wealth to manage. How faithful we are with those resources is one way God measures how much authority and responsibility he can give to us. In Mathew 25:21, a special bond develops between the master and his faithful servant, who is invited to "share your master's happiness!" We also can share in the Lord's joy by being faithful with whatever money, property or other resources he's entrusted to us.
Think about the things God has entrusted to your care. What could you do to manage his resources more wisely? Let us pray and ask for direction & guidance today IJN. Amen.
Olu Akpata(Zûr)
www.prayerlinez.blogspot.com

IT DEPENDS ON YOU & I

Eric was an eager student of Biblical prophecy. He read each new book on the topic and scanned the news headlines for signs of the Lord's impending return. It seemed God was bringing history to conclusion.
Then one day the words from Mathew 24:14 seemed to leap out at Eric. "And then the end will come".When? When the gospel has been preached to all nations. Eric knew from his pastor's teaching that "nations" meant "ethnic groups" Could it be that Eric himself could influence the timing of the Lord's return? Did it depend to some extent on the obedience of God's people, people like himself, to carry the "gospel of the kingdom" to all the ethnic groups who had not yet heard the good news?
Eric's life was never the same after that day.  He began praying with a new fire for the missionaries of his church, he increased his financial giving to the work of missions. After a time he sensed God's call to go himself. Today he works in a mission, mobilizing & training young people to go and proclaim the gospel to people who have not yet heard about Jesus. As one who loves the Lord's return, he is doing his part to "speed its return"
  In what ways does your view of the Lord's return influence how you live?  What are you doing to share the gospel with those around you?
~Olu Akpata (Zûr)
www.prayerlinez.blogspot. com