Shot by Good John

17th May 2019

READ: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7

“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” - 1 Timothy 4:12

As a Christian, you must only enter into relationships with the opposite sex that lead to marriage. The  only intimate  relationship between men and women that God approves of is marriage. A Christian man and woman must move towards God’s  plan, and God’s  plan is marriage.

I remember asking a young man who had been in a relationship with a sister in church for two years, “Are you getting married?” His response was, “I don’t think we will. We are just in a relationship.” I think a lady must be foolish to be in such a relationship. The man is just using you, and will throw you away one day. The relationships that God approves of are relationships that are headed towards His will; and His will is marriage!

If you know that your relationship is not going towards marriage, then it is just going towards fornication. Stop right there! The Bible says there is a time to “refrain from embracing…” (Ecclesiastes 3:5). If you are in a relationship, there is a time to refrain from embracing. I can hold my wife, I can hug her and I will not be doing anything wrong. But those of you who are not married are not expected to do so. Even when you touch your fiancee’s hand, “osmosis” begins to occur!

18th May 2019

READ: Luke 8:41-56

“And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.” - Luke 8:48

Patricia Haborone, a 31 year-old South African woman, experienced one of the most amazing miracles I have ever seen God do. She got married in 1991, and her first pregnancy in 1993, turned out to be an ectopic pregnancy. Her right fallopian tube was cut off. After a second ectopic pregnancy in 1994, part of her left tube was cut off. In 1995, she had a third ectopic pregnancy! The doctors tried to save the tube. In the first week of August 1996, she had a fourth ectopic pregnancy and this time, the rest of the left tube was removed.

A year later, at a miracle service I held at the Grace Bible Church, Soweto, South Africa, I asked all who were sick to place their hands where their illnesses were. Patricia later testified that when she placed her hand on her abdomen, she felt the power of God all over her body.

19th May 2019

READ: 2 Samuel 11:1-15

“For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.” - James 3:2

The first error we make in our lives  is usually the initial mistake that leads to all the other mistakes we end up making. We must look out for this first error because it has a way of opening the door for a series of errors.

The first mistake of the Pharisees was to become religious and self-righteous. “Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved” (Luke 8:12).

Their  second mistake  was  to reject the ministry of  grace and truth that came through Christ. “He came unto his own, and his own received him not” ( John 1:11).

Their third mistake was to become jealous of the Lord Jesus. “For he knew that for envy they had delivered him” (Matthew 27:18).

Their fourth mistake was to murder Christ. “And they crucified Him, and parted His garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots” (Matthew 27:35).

Their fifth mistake was to disbelieve His resurrection. “And when they were assembled with the elders…they gave large money unto the soldiers, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept” (Matthew 28:12-13).

20th May 2019

READ: Matthew 24:3-27

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets…That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about..” - Ephesians 4:11,14

A minister who stands in the office of a prophet will primarily function in the ministry of preaching and teaching. Anything that does not put the Word of God in its proper place is doomed to failure with the passage of time. 

The Word comes first and is of paramount importance in every ministerial office. After preaching and teaching the Word, a prophet may operate in the ministry of healing, and other revelation gifts like the “word of knowledge” and “word of wisdom”. The prophet may also flow in the ministry of predictive prophecy or exhortative prophecy.Jesus was a great prophet (Luke 7:16). But His principal ministry was to go about preaching and teaching the Word of God, Matthew 9:35). 

Jesus also operated in the ministry of predictive prophecy. In Matthew 24, He predicted the destruction of Solomon’s temple (70 AD) when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem. Jesus gave extensive predictions concerning the end of the world. We would do well to take note of these prophecies because Jesus was a great prophet. 

21st May 2019 

READ: Philippians 2:12-16

“Do all things without murmurings and disputings:” -  Philippians 2:14

The church is an army. We have a mission and a vision. The church is a powerful tool in the hands of the Lord for the harvesting of souls in this lost and dying world. “And the LORD shall utter his voice before his ARMY…” (Joel 2:11).

How can we save the lost when we are not disciplined? How can we save the lost when we cannot take instructions without murmuring? What sort of army goes to battle with complaining and disputing ranks? An army officer in my church told me about a saying in the army, “Obey before you complain.”

Murmuring is the undertone disagreement and protest over an issue or situation by discontented people. Every Christian must avoid it at all costs. Christian leaders must keep murmuring to a minimum. Identify murmuring as one of the enemies of progress in the work of the Lord.

Remember that the children of Israel were rapidly streaming out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. God was blessing them, and things were getting better; but when they encountered some difficulties they began to complain, and this murmuring led to the termination of their progress.

22nd May 2019

READ: Matthew 25:31-46

“For the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day.” - Matthew 12:8

In my walk with God, I have found that many things that were right became wrong when the Lord was not leading me there. Prayer is good but unbelievably, there is a time when it is not a good thing to pray. It may be time to preach or time to rest and you may be in prayer. The well-accepted biblical rule that we should pray without ceasing has variations and exceptions, sometimes based on timing.

God is not a book. The Bible is not God. The Bible contains the principles, the rules and the Scriptures. It takes a personal and intimate relationship with God to stay close to God. The Pharisees were sticklers for the rules and principles they had found. Because they did not know God, they thought God was a principle or a rule. Jesus showed repeatedly that knowing God was more than knowing rules and principles. God is the author of these rules and laws.