Oluwafemi .The Word of God is a light to my Path.

  Lord Jesus, teach me to be your servant as I seek to follow the principles of your teachings and live in union with you. In faith I believe that the Kingdom of God is not a matter of words but of power, and I pledge my obedience and loyalty to you. Amen.

  “Stay Focused, Daddy! Go Get the Pizza!” “Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work.’”  (John 4:34) My Son requested that I go get pizza for dinner for the children. As I was leaving the house, I stopped to have a conversation with someone else. That is when I heard the words, “Stay focused, Daddy! Go get the pizza!” What an illustration this is for the person practicing  Kingdom  of God We need to stay focused on the important things in life. Jesus was on a mission. His will was to do the will of him who sent him, and to finish the work he was sent to do. We should have the same desire and goal. That is, we want to finish the work God has gifted us to do before we leave this world. We are on a mission: a mission to help fulfill the Great Commission. Questions to ask yourself: Have I captured the vision of the mission God has gifted me to do? Am I focused in some way in helping to fulfill the Great Commission?

  “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.” Jeremiah 18:6 The Master Potter Everything about you may say you’re ordinary. You feel average. “You can’t start a business. You can’t break the addiction. No one in your family is successful.” On your own, that might be true. The good news is that your Heavenly Father is a master potter. He knows how to shape and mold you into all He wants you to be. He’s going to put in you a strength, a determination, a stamina that you’ve never felt. He’s going to shape in you a new boldness, a greater confidence, and a courage to step out and do things you’ve never done. You’re going to have more creativity, more wisdom, great ideas, and great favor. It’s going to happen faster than you think. You may feel stuck, but get ready. You are God’s handiwork, and a change is coming. You’re going to get well sooner, come out of debt quicker, accomplish that goal easier. Wh...

  Your World is Passing Away Before Your Very Eyes “For the form of this world is passing away.”  (1 Corinthians 7:31) Time is passing quickly. This has become a stark reality for me. The company I used to work for is now gone, having been purchased by another company. My formal work career has passed away. The house we lived in for years has been sold and is now gone. When I look in the mirror in the morning, the evidence is increasing that even my body is passing away. When you think about it, we are only “renting” or leasing our bodies for a period of time. We are going to have to turn them in at some point. The question facing those of us who realize the importance of the brevity of life is,  how should I be spending the time I have left in this world? Jesus tells us not to labor for the food that perishes, but for that which leads to eternal life. This makes me think about how I leverage what is perishing into the imperishable? How do I leverage the mortal into immor...

He found him out in the wilderness, in an empty, windswept wasteland. He threw his arms around him, lavished attention on him, guarding him as the apple of his eye. Deuteronomy 32:10 The Wilderness The “wilderness” represents barrenness, no growth, a wasteland in our lives. You’re doing the right thing, but your business is not increasing, your marriage is not getting better, your health is not improving, you were passed over for another promotion. You’re in the wilderness. You feel stuck, restricted by your environment. In those dry places, you could be discouraged, thinking it will never change. No, get ready. God knows where you are. He’s watching you in the lonely nights, the times you were betrayed, those days when you felt like giving up, but you kept going. You were hurting, the pain was real, but you didn’t let it stop you. He’s about to come and throw His arms around you and lavish His grace upon you. You’re going to see increase that you can’t explain, favor that you didn’t d...

  Have You Captured the Vision? “Then the Lord… said, ‘Write the vision, and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.’”  (Habakkuk 2:2) Can you think of a more worthwhile cause to join than one ordained by God? The last command of Jesus Christ was for his disciples to go into all the world and make disciples. He gives us the privilege to join in the greatest movement in the history of the world: to help save mankind from the coming destruction and judgment of God. Each generation has the responsibility to reach the peoples of their time with the gospel of Jesus Christ. For me this means to capture the vision, to run with the mission, to help fulfill the Great Commission! Only the Word of God and the souls of people are going to last forever. Everything else will be destroyed. What does this say to us as to how we should invest our time, talent, and treasure while we are in this world? Today, ask yourself: Have I captured the vision God has for me?  Why not ...

  …that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. Philemon 6 Shine If we want our faith to be effective, we must acknowledge every good thing we have in Christ. You can’t go around acknowledging the negative—your weaknesses, the times you didn’t measure up, or how you should be more disciplined. Don’t go through life thinking little of yourself, focused on your weaknesses, dwelling on your failures. That only makes you feel bad about yourself.   Start acknowledging the good that Christ has done in your life, step into the potential God has put in you, let that personality He gave you come out and shine. Don’t be your enemy; be your asset. Be your biggest fan. Nobody should think better of you than you, because you recognize God breathed His life in you. When you acknowledge the good, when you say, “Lord, thank You for the strengths and the talents You put in me, thank You for Your gifts and fo...

Fish Hard! Life is Short! Jesus Christ came to “…purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”  (Titus 2:14) The above sign hit me between the eyes when I first saw it at a dock where many boats left daily to go fishing. It brings to mind many possible spiritual applications Jesus taught that are so relevant for today. In Titus 2:14, Paul states clearly we have been redeemed as a special people to be zealous for doing good works. This passage helps define the purpose for why we have been left in this world. Jesus came to finish the work that God, the Father, had given him to do. In fact, Scripture says that zeal for his Father’s house would consume him. Jesus also knew his time was limited. There was a sense of urgency about his life and his limited time in this world. This urgent pattern for living should characterize us. I want to “FISH HARD” during the time God has given me to live. With each passing day, we become aware that  life is truly short . Lif...

Through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down our enemies. Psalm 60:12 Under Attack It’s easy to feel discouraged when you feel you’re under attack, when the odds are against you, when you don’t feel equipped for what you’re facing. “Under attack” is the wrong perspective. You’re not under attack; you’re in a battle. Under attack implies, “I’m not strong enough. I’m outnumbered.” Both are false. You and God are a majority. You have the most powerful force in the universe on your side. But a mind-set that says you’re shortchanged or at a disadvantage is not going to move you forward. The reason you have challenges is because there’s something amazing in front of you. The enemy wouldn’t be fighting you if you didn’t have greatness in you. He’s trying to keep you from taking new ground for the kingdom. Don’t fall apart. Get your sword out and start praising God, start declaring His Word, start speaking His promises. “What was meant for my harm, God is turning to my a...

Join the Few of the Few: Become a Kingdom Investor “Because narrow is the gate…which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”  (Matthew 7:14) You and I have a decision to make. Do we want to become a  strategic Kingdom Investor , developing a life that will echo into eternity in a positive way? If so, we will have to abandon the way of the crowd, and the multiple voices of the world that compete for our attention every day. Jesus said that few in the world would choose the narrow way of salvation, but would prefer the broad way to destruction. When it comes to making strategic investments of  time, talent, and treasure  for the advancement of God’s kingdom, only a few of the few grasp and run with the eternal mission assigned to the believers left in this world. The Bible calls this  discipleship . It is a discipline to join the few of the few who are on a mission, investing themselves to help others find and develop a personal relationship with Jesus Chri...

…and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3:24 Grace Comes If anyone understood the meaning of the grace of God, it was the Apostle Paul. Even though he was the biggest enemy of the early church, Paul says “the grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly” with forgiveness and a call into God’s service. In today’s Scripture, the word Paul uses for “freely” in the original language is “promiscuous,” which means that God’s grace will go to anyone. If someone is promiscuous, they’re unrestrained. That’s the way God’s grace is. It’s not looking for perfect people. You can be struggling with an addiction, and grace will come looking for you. You can be working in the wrong type of place, and grace will come knocking at your door. You can be dishonest and manipulative, and grace will show up at your house. You can be discouraged, thinking you’ve messed up too many times, you’ve brought your troubles on yourself, and grace still c...

Hey! There’s No Armor for my Back! “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”  (Ephesians 6:11) At the Gettysburg battleground there is a small plaque that says, “Write home, and tell them I died facing the enemy.” The Christian life is all about advancing, pressing forward, running a race, forgetting those things that are behind – all for the purpose of accomplishing God’s will on this earth. We invade the darkness with the light of the Gospel, going into all the world with all of the means God has given us. Retreat is not an option. We are in a battle, taking new ground. After taking it, we stand firm. It is interesting to note the armor of God that we put on. Apparently, no provision is mentioned for our back. As Christians, we are to advance, not retreat. We are to invade our culture, keeping the culture from invading the church. Others have said that the best defense is a good offense. The more active we can be in pursuing the g...

All-wise God, open my ears to hear and give me the desire to respond to Wisdom’s invitation to seek after your will and the true knowledge that comes from you. Such knowledge is truly more precious than jewels. Amen.

Are You The Owner? “ My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways. ” (Proverbs 23:26) Q:  “What is the process of withdrawing money from the bank of mammon and depositing it in the bank of heaven?” We recently received this question from a reader of the  KingdomNomics   book. Withdrawing funds from the bank of mammon and depositing them in the bank of heaven is basically an attitude. Our attitude toward ourselves and everything we have changes as we cultivate our relationship with Jesus Christ. Who owns us? Who owns what we have in our possession? Kingdom of God thinkers come to the realization that we are  stewards  of the  time, talent, and resources  God has entrusted to us. God is the  owner . He bought us with the precious shed blood of his Son. The first  Kingdom of God Applied devotional  cites Proverbs –  My son, give me your heart . If God has our heart, he has everything related to us including the money...

Lord God, I trust in you with all my heart. Lead me this day. I know that you will show me the right way, with loyalty and faithfulness as my vanguards. Amen.

Ready to Do Good Works? “ Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. ” (2 Timothy 2:21) In order to perform effective and safe surgeries, a surgeon must take extreme caution to ensure that instruments are properly sterilized. Otherwise there is a risk of serious infection occurring. Uncleansed instruments are not useful to the surgeon. One function of God’s Word is to cleanse us as we  soak  our heart in it. This is vitally necessary if we are to be effective instruments fit for use by God. God has a special purpose for each Christian. He wants to work through us; however, he must have cleansed “instruments” so he can use us for noble purposes. Scripture tells us, “ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ” (1 John 1:9) We can think of this core verse as a spiritual “bar of soap” and embed it ...

When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the LORD blessed him. Genesis 26:12 Stay on the High Road In Genesis 26, Isaac was living among the Philistines in a time of great famine. He stepped out in faith and sowed seeds despite the drought, and God blessed him with a hundredfold harvest. He became a wealthy man, with large flocks of sheep and great herds of cattle. He was blessed so abundantly that the Philistines became jealous. All was well with the Philistines until Isaac’s business took off. They first clogged up Isaac’s wells, then the king told Isaac he had to move because he was too powerful. Isaac could have argued, could have started a fight, but he understood that with the blessing comes persecution. He kept his peace, moved on, and God brought him into a better place.   When God brings blessings on your life, someone will be jealous and try to stir up trouble. Stay on the high road. Don’t pay attention to t...