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

THE BATTLE FOR THE MARKETPLACE.

The marketplace is a spiritual battleground. God intends it to serve the purposes of his kingdom to bless the nations. On the other side, satan is competing to control it for his evil purposes. Through unrighteous trade he seeks to dominate not only individuals & businesses, but also politics, media, education, and even churches and families.
One way satan controls people is through their lust for money. When we think of greed we may think rich, miserly people or the directors of exploitative, multinational corporations. However, greed can be just as prevalent among the ones who have the least. In Asia, this lust for money leads parents to break their infants' legs so that they can use these children as beggars, similar horrible stories of a day old mothers parading their freshly born children for alms and handouts has emerged from the Western part of Africa where i hail from. In America, kids kill other youths just to get their expensive athletic shoes.
The best way to break this spirit of greed is by responding in the opposite spirit ――GENEROSITY *
I fervently pray this day that: God in his infinite kindness & splendour will enrich everyone of us with that much needed spirit of generosity IJN. Amen.
Olu Akpata(Zûr)
www.prayerlinez.blogspot.com

SINK OR SWIM

Peter was a risk taker, a man of action and boldness. When he saw Jesus walking on water, he wanted to join him. As long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, he too walked on water. But when Peter noticed the fierce wind, fear overcame his faith.
      To his credit, Peter recognized the One to turn to when things went wrong. He didn't try to swim for the boat. He cried out to Jesus to save him & the Lord responded immediately, and when Peter was safe in his arms, Jesus urged his eager disciple to grow even more in faith.
This loving correction encouraged Peter to keep steeping out in faith, even at the risk of getting into more "deep water." As a result, he developed into a man to whom Jesus could entrust responsibility for building his church (Mathew 16:18)
How willing are we to take risks for Jehovah? Let us ask him in prayers to increase our faith so we can willingly step out when he calls us do something difficult for him.
Happy Sunday my friends!

BE BOLD!

Jesus did not mumble or whisper his message. He did not discuss for hours the safest approach for doing something. He did not go through countless committees to get permission to do something. He was bold!
       He shouted, he stomped, he flung tables & chairs, he cried, he groaned. Every thing he did made a statement about what he saw his mission to be. He crashed into people's consciousness with deeds, attitudes, and actions that had never been done, seen, or even heard of before. One could say he used his very blood to paint his message. That was how bold my saviour was /and still is.
Understanding that authority must be assumed within before it can be recognized externally, Jesus boldly took his aauthority. He did not wait until he had the total picture. He did not wait until there was a cloudless sky. He flew his banner high and carried it on a day to day basis. He took the canvas of his life & painted a message big enough for everyone to see.
My Lord & Savior did what he had to do, he called a spade a spade and apologized to no one ~ not out of arrogance, but out of boldness and clarity. About a decade and a half ago, a magazine article featured the story of a couple who set sail across the Pacific ocean on a small ship. One night a terrific storm arose. The ship tossed and bobbed, finally capsizing. The woman survived to tell the tale, but the man did not.  What is interesting is that the woman said she had sensed the danger and had warned her companion but he refused to listen to her, & the ship went down.
     Later on in the article, the woman berated herself for not taking more power in the dangerous situation before tragedy struck.  "My life was at stake too she said: but because he was the captain i felt it wasn't my place to argue too much ". She regretfully said at one, "i should have been more adamant. I should have been more bold! Perhaps if i had been, the ship would not have sunk, and there would be two of us alive today ".
  What is the cost of timidity? What are the rewards of being bold? My mum used to say "He who hesitates is lost"
     Jesus was bold, and so should we.

✔ What would you do if you were ten times bolder? Go out and do it!

✔ What has it cost you in life not to be bold?
           Work and pray on your answers and i'am sure you'll be strengthened by Jehovah.
Olu Akpata (Zûr)
www.prayerlinez.blogspot.com

LOVE & FRIENDSHIP

Friendship should be a natural component of love. Yet,it's shocking the number of married couples who are lovers but not friends.
    To be your spouse's friend requires an openness and familiarity that some aren't willing to risk. Those who open their hearts to one another in this way find a special treasure.
  The late author Tom Marshall wrote, "One of my most wonderful memories is the day my wife said to me, 'Do you know that you are my best friend? ' It is wonderful because i can think of the early years of our married life when she could not & would not have said that of me. It took me far longer than it should have to learn that besides a husband and a lover and a provider, my wife also needed me to be her friend. Tom Marshall had this verse from the song of songs written on her wife's grave stone: 'THIS IS MY BELOVED AND THIS IS MY FRIEND '"
   Consider your relationships with those you love the most, particularly spouse or family members. Are there steps you can take to become a better friend to your spouse?
I pray this day, that each and everyone of us Will get to that level where we can confidently say "WE ARE FRIENDS WITH OUR SPOUSES " IJN. Amen.
www.prayerlinez.blogspot.com