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

  A Garden Belonging to Him “A garden locked is my sister, my bride, a rock garden locked, a spring sealed up.” — Song of Songs 4:12           Reflection In the ancient world there were two types of gardens: private and public. Public gardens were open for anybody to enjoy, but wealthy people often had private gardens, locked and sealed for their own enjoyment. Through this picture, Yeshua is saying, You are to Me as a sealed garden, exclusively for Me. Nothing will come in that defiles or pollutes.  We must put boundaries of protection around our lives, not allowing the defiling influence of the world inside. This is why we should not willingly take in things that, while they might be interesting or entertaining, pollute our souls. We do not get to reserve some of our lives for our own enjoyment apart from God. The garden belongs to Him. This surrender reaches into very practical areas of our lives. Even things God created for our pleasure must remain...

  Are You The Owner? Scripture: Proverbs 23:26, NIV “ My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways. ” (Proverbs 23:26, NIV) 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  Kingdom  of God  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 hea...

  Introduction Proverbs 10:1–32: Today’s reading is part of a collection of sayings attributed to King Solomon. This chapter reads more like statements of truth rather than instructions to be followed and highlights the ways good people will be blessed.   Today’s Key Verse: Proverbs 10:7 GNT Good people will be remembered as a blessing, but the wicked will soon be forgotten.   Read 1  These are Solomon's proverbs: Wise children make their fathers proud of them; foolish ones bring their mothers grief. 2  Wealth you get by dishonesty will do you no good, but honesty can save your life. 3  The Lord will not let good people go hungry, but he will keep the wicked from getting what they want. 4  Being lazy will make you poor, but hard work will make you rich. 5  A sensible person gathers the crops when they are ready; it is a disgrace to sleep through the time of harvest. 6  Good people will receive blessings. The words of the wicked hide a violent...

  Ready to Do Good Works? Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:21, NIV “ 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, NIV) 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, NIV) We can think of this core ...

  Proverbs 9:1–18: Both Wisdom and Stupidity call out, inviting passersby to partake of what they offer. Wisdom exhorts her listeners to follow the way of knowledge; following Stupidity’s ways will lead to death.   Today’s Key Verse: Proverbs 9:10 GNT To be wise you must first have reverence for the LORD. If you know the Holy One, you have understanding.   Read 1  Wisdom has built her house and made seven columns for it.  2  She has had an animal killed for a feast, mixed spices in the wine, and set the table.  3  She has sent her servant women to call out from the highest place in town:  4  “Come in, ignorant people!” And to the foolish she says,  5 “Come, eat my food and drink the wine that I have mixed.  6  Leave the company of ignorant people, and live. Follow the way of knowledge.” 7  If you correct conceited people, you will only be insulted. If you reprimand evil people, you will only get hurt.  8  Ne...

  Our Power Drink for the Day Scripture: Psalm 36:9, NIV “ For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. ” (Psalm 36:9 NIV) In the game of football, all the players on each team try to keep the opposite team from carrying the ball across the goal line. Many times they drink a power drink to aid them in their efforts. We know that Satan is doing his best to disrupt our lives and divert our attention from achieving the goals God has for us. It is only through God’s Word that we can drink the  POWER DRINK  we need to feed and energize us for the day. As we walk through this spiritually dark world, his word is a lamp to our feet. When we sit in darkness, the Lord is our light, and in his light we see light. Because life is such a battle, it is critical that we “drink” as much of his Word as possible. God’s Word is living and powerful, quenching the thirst of those who trust in it. Today, ask yourself: Am I taking time to POWER UP with the Word of God?

  Law and Grace Together “For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.” — John 1:17          Reflection I meet countless believers who walk out their faith as if the holiness of the Law and the grace of Jesus Christ are in opposition and God must be one or the other. They view the Old Testament commandments of God, the Law, as incompatible and mutually exclusive with the New Testament theme of grace found through Yeshua HaMashiach. As a result, many people ultimately experience a core misunderstanding of God. They see Him as only a God of law in the Tanakh and only a God of grace in the B’rit Hadashah. This is not the case. The early Jewish church understood the Law to be God’s commands given in order to bring about blessing. But as the church became increasingly separated from its Jewish roots, many Gentile believers began to see the Law as a burden to be cast off. Jesus often rebuked the Pharisees and religious ...

  Be an Impact Player Scripture: Numbers 14:24, NIV “But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to…”  (Numbers 14:24, NIV) In football, certain players are designated as  impact players . They are players who make a difference in a material way. They are outstanding, enabling their team to be more effective. They are very focused on their mission. Unlike most of the world, they are on their field of life to make a difference. They want to win, and they give everything they have to accomplish their goal. Caleb, one of the spies sent to spy out the Promised Land, was an impact player. The Bible tells us he was a man of a different spirit who wholeheartedly followed the Lord. He was not a lukewarm, indifferent, casual believer. He believed that God could do anything through him. He was on a mission. Because he gave a favorable report based on his faith in God, Caleb was one of the few of his gener...

  Speech That Is Sweet to Him “Your lips, my bride, drip honey; honey and milk are under your tongue.” — Song of Songs 4:11         Reflection Song of Songs gives us a beautiful picture of how Messiah responds to the words that come from the lives of His people. Honey takes a lot of effort to produce. Bees do amazing amounts of work to create it. In the same way, when our lips speak positive things and we hold our tongues from voicing thoughts that bring death, it takes a lot of work, and our Messiah recognizes it. It is sweet to Him. There is discipline involved in learning to speak words that give life. There are times when we have to hold back words that would wound, tear down, or release negativity. There are moments when we have to choose a different response. Messiah sees the effort. He recognizes the work that has taken place in us, and it is sweet to Him. “Milk and honey” is also the Bible’s way of talking about abundance. When the Lord brought the child...

  Follow the Smart Money Scripture: Matthew 6:20, NKJV “…But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven….”  (Matthew 6:20, NKJV) You can have an eternal 401 (k). Yes, it lasts forever! Yes, it is guaranteed. The returns are fantastic!  In fact, they are beyond our human ability to measure. In this world crowds of people follow “stock tips.” They follow what they perceive to be “smart money” and invest in companies for which they have little or no information. Most of the time this type of investing results in losses. Jesus gives us an “eternal investment tip.” He says the smart money of this world will be sure to invest in treasures in heaven. He also says we should use the unrighteous mammon (money) of this world to win friends for eternity! Yes, you can take it with you by investing it in the world to come. You can only do this by sending it ahead by giving or investing in the kingdom while you are in this world. Just think; he is giving us the opportunity to trade the p...

  Wait and See God Move “Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord.” — Psalm 27:14        Reflection There are moments when circumstances suddenly change and fear, panic, and worry try to enter our hearts. In those moments, our natural tendency can be to rush around, immediately start looking for solutions, and take matters into our own hands. But sometimes that is not God’s way. When our congregation was suddenly told that the building we were meeting in had been sold and we had only thirty days to move, I felt blindsided. I went to the Lord and prayed. I had waited on Him for inner transformation, and as a result, I had more peace, power, and authority in my life than ever before. It was tangible and real. He anchored me and changed me on the inside. I determined that I would now wait on Him and see Him act in my outer world. I refused to let fear, panic, or worry enter into my heart. My natural tendency would have be...

  Are You Being Transformed? Scripture: Romans 12:2, NIV “ Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. ” (Romans 12: 2, NIV) God is in the life changing business. He wants to transform us into being more Christlike in all areas of our life. The first step occurs when we place our  faith and trust in Christ alone  to be our personal Lord and Savior. This is a huge step of faith for us to take. All other religions have people attempt to reach God through works of self-effort, trusting in themselves rather than trusting in the person of Jesus Christ alone to save them. Only the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. In Kingdom of God we learn to exercise the same faith when it comes to living the Christian life. Only Christ can live it through us, because we do not have that power in and of ourselves to live it. The expe...

  Stay Fascinated With God “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” — Jeremiah 33:3      Reflection Maybe you’re at a place in your life where you’re feeling stagnant. Maybe you just feel that nothing is new anymore. Nothing excites you anymore, and you’re having a hard time staying motivated. Call unto the Lord. Ask Father God to show and tell you great and wonderful things that you know not of. We can trust God to do what He said He would do. In Yeshua HaMashiach, old things pass away and all things become new. You and I are new creations in Christ Jesus. Our God is alive. He is always new, and He has given us eternal life.  If you’re feeling stuck, receive freshness in Messiah Jesus’ name. Open your heart and allow Father God to fascinate you with the wonders of His presence. Ask Him to recapture your heart, ignite in you a passion for Him, and push you deeper into the realm of eternal life. The L...