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

  “But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!” Judges 6:15 A Damaged Image Has to Go Too often we don’t realize that our self-image has been damaged. We’ve been through hurts and disappointments and made mistakes, then we wonder why we can’t rise higher. It’s similar to what happened with Gideon. When an angel showed up and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you,” he was afraid and hiding from the enemy. Gideon’s image was “least one, poorest, defeated, can’t do anything great.” God’s image was “mighty hero, fearless courage, history maker.” Here’s the key: You can’t keep your damaged image and have God’s, too. You have to give God your image. Let Him control how you see yourself—not the media, not your family, not your job, not your critics. God knows what’s in you. He will help you become what you want to be. Is a wrong image keeping you from your greatness? Have you believed li

  My Salvation Is a Gift From God! Our  relationship  with God is defined by the fact that our sin separates us from him. Romans 3:23 says, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” This quickly moves us to  revelation  as found in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” God reveals his righteousness to us through Jesus Christ. He shows us that we are all sinners in need of salvation which he has arranged to give to us as a gift. Salvation is the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. This is an incredible revelation. We cannot work for it. It is a gift. We are saved by what we receive by faith. When something is revealed to us, we then need to  reflect  upon it. What does this really mean for me personally? What am I going to  do  with what I know? Romans 10:9–10 tells us, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,

               After Herod arrested Peter, he put him in jail and handed him over to be guarded by sixteen soldiers. Herod planned to bring Peter before the people for trial after the Passover Feast. Acts 12:4 The Forces for You King Herod was against the early church, having already killed the apostle James and now imprisoning Peter. Herod had assigned sixteen soldiers to guard Peter, chaining him between two guards and setting two guard stations and a huge iron gate at the prison entrance to make sure that he didn’t escape. As Herod assigned soldiers to hold Peter back, there will always be people and circumstances that try to keep you behind closed doors. There are forces assigned to try to stop your purpose. The good news is that the forces for you are greater than the forces against you. You may have times when you’re behind closed doors, when you feel like you’re outnumbered, when the odds are against you, but God will do as He did for Peter and open doors that no person can shut

MY HEART’S GOAL I frequently begin my day by asking our heavenly Father to direct my heart toward his grace and love. I want my heart to be prepared so that I am ready to have communion with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit knows the mind of God, and he is the deliverer of all that God desires for me to know about my life and living for him. He is the one who teaches me all things and also empowers me to do what God desires. It is vital that I keep my heart and mind open to him. He enlightens me, enables me, teaches me, and imparts his life to me.   In this our  relationship  with God described in the words of 2 Corinthians 13:14, “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit all have an active role in a Christian’s life. Their goal is to lead each one of us to the place where we begin to see their objectives as our objectives. They cause our viewpoint on life to change over

  Making Things Right   And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:45   There are no more welcome words in the midst of a conflicted relationship than these: “I’d like to make things right between us.” In a general sense, that is the story of the Bible as illustrated in 1 Corinthians 15:45: the comparison of the first Adam with the last Adam. The first Adam was created as a “living being,” but he lost his life spiritually and physically when he sinned. The last Adam—Jesus Christ—came to restore that lost life. He was a picture of what mankind should be like; He was the true Son of Man. His disciples and the public had never seen a man like Jesus, a man not marred by sin. When He performed miracles, like calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee, His disciples exclaimed, “What kind of man is this?” (Matthew 8:27, NIV) We see in Christ what God created mankind to be. We also see that it is the likeness of Ch

MY DAYS ARE NUMBERED! Every person on earth is given twenty-four hours each day, with sixty minutes in every hour. God allows each one of us to choose what we want to do with those minutes and hours. Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (NIV). Because of our  relationship  with our heavenly Father, we can count on him to give us the wisdom to use our days wisely. Psalm 78:39  reveals  to us that our lives are “merely mortal, gone like a breath of wind that never returns.” As we continue to  reflect  on this important principle, Job 14:5 reminds us, “You [God] have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer.” God already knows how many days we have to live on this earth and nothing you or I do is going to change his plan. What is important is that we are open to making the most of each and every day, because as we move to the  redemption  phase of this Sonburst Romans 13:12 s

  Psalm 121 Introduction Psalm 121: Today’s reading is from a section in the book of Psalms called the “Songs of Ascents” (Psalms 120–134). These psalms were used by pilgrims journeying to Jerusalem from various parts of the land. Jerusalem is built on a hill, and the Temple was located on the hill called Zion. These “Songs of Ascents” were probably used by worshipers as they were “going up” to Jerusalem for one of the major festivals. Psalm 121 expresses assurance of God’s protection as pilgrims make their way through lonely country to and from Jerusalem. Today’s Key Verse: Psalm 121:2 My help will come from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. Reading 121  I look to the mountains; where will my help come from? 2  My help will come from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3  He will not let you fall; your protector is always awake. 4  The protector of Israel never dozes or sleeps. 5  The Lord will guard you; he is by your side to protect you. 6  The sun will not hurt you during the d

              Hidden with Christ For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  (Colossians 3:3)  once heard a preacher say, “Whatever you have will blow off on the way up or burn up on the way down.” There is a somber truth in that observation. When you die and go to heaven, your cares and concerns and possessions of this world will have no impact whatsoever. The psalmist realized this when he wrote, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25–26). Our inheritance is Jesus Christ. Someday we will be just like him. “As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness” (Psalm 17:15). Not only will we be satisfied, but we also will be ecstatic! In 1 John 3:2 we read, “Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. Weknow thatwheneveri

  Psalm 48 Introduction Psalm 48: As cited in verses 1 and 2, Mount Zion is the sacred hill and refers to Jerusalem, the city of God. This psalm may have been sung by pilgrims visiting Jerusalem. Jerusalem and its people did withstand many attacks by enemy armies and even destruction by the Babylonians (586 B.C.). Still, the people believed that God would “keep the city safe forever” (verse 8), and this psalm celebrates Jerusalem as the place where God rules. Today’s Key Verse: Psalm 48:14 “This is our God forever and ever; he will lead us for all time to come.” Reading The Lord is great and is to be highly praised in the city of our God, on his sacred hill. 2  Zion, the mountain of God, is high and beautiful; the city of the great king brings joy to all the world. 3  God has shown that there is safety with him inside the fortresses of the city. 4  The kings gathered together and came to attack Mount Zion. 5  But when they saw it, they were amazed; they were afraid and ran away. 6  The

  Glory Belongs to God “ For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword, nor did their own arm save them; but it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance, because You favored them. ” (Psalm 44:3 NKJV)  It is often difficult for us to remember that God is the source of all life. Why? Because the world around us elevates self-made individuals. And these same people bask in the glory that is given to them. The verse above reminds us that we cannot claim any of our successes as being of our own making. We have help from above. When the Israelites took possession of the Promised Land, the Lord made it perfectly clear that it did not come by their own doing; it was because of him. This principle is described throughout Scripture. It is because of the blessing of the Lord that we have what we do, whether that be possessions, prestige, power, or influence. It is the Lord who has given wealthy people the power to gain such wealth. It is the Lord who give

  Saul gave in and confessed, “I’ve sinned. I’ve trampled roughshod over GOD’s Word and your instructions. I cared more about pleasing the people. I let them tell me what to do.” 1 Samuel 15:24 Stay True Saul was the first king of Israel. He wasn’t raised in wealth and influence, but was suddenly thrust into a position that he never dreamed possible. He started out doing what God asked him to do, but over time he made the mistake of letting what other people thought, how he would be accepted, influence his decisions. Finally, after God gave him a specific instruction, he failed to fully obey, compromised, and then made excuses before admitting he did it for fear of the people. Because Saul was a people pleaser, he ended up losing the kingdom. The problem with living image-driven is that you can’t please God and please people all the time. Sometimes God will ask you to do something that’s not popular, that other people don’t understand, that your friends might not accept, that causes co