15 January - Acts 13:9-11 ~ God honours His servant and his words

Paul started his missionary work after he was commissioned by the Holy Spirit and sent out by the Church (Acts 13:2-4). At Paphos, he encountered a Jewish sorcerer called Bar-Jesus or Elymas, who opposed his ministry (Acts. 13:6-8). Filled with the Holy Spirit, Paul called down a curse upon the sorcerer, and immediately his words came to pass against him (Acts 13:9-11). Thus, God honoured His servant Paul, and the words he spoke against the sorcerer. This was not the only case or instance where God did so. There are numerous instances where He also honoured His servants and their words (1 Kgs. 18:36-39; 2 Kgs. 6:15-18; Acts 3:2- 10; Jam. 5:17-18; Acts 14:8-10; Acts 16:18). Many of us long to be honoured and heard by God, but quite a few are willing and ready to be truly and wholly devoted to Him. If we desire Him to honour us and our words, we must be truly and wholly devoted to Him, for it is the prayer of the righteous that is powerful and effective (Jam. 5:16).

PRAYER: 1. Father, please make me truly and wholly devoted to you
2. Father, please honour me and my words as you honoured your servants and their words.

16 January - Gen. 1:26-29 ~ God made ample provision for man

God made ample provision for man when He created him (Gen. 1:26-29). He gave him fruitfulness and increase (Gen. 1:28), authority (Gen. 1:28), and food (Gen. 1:29), all in abundance. He is indeed a good and caring God (Ps. 23). God did not only make man, He made adequate provision for his well being. His care for His children is available to us today. Our satisfaction truly lies in God, and in no other. Someone said He made us for himself, and that our hearts are restless until they rest in Him. This is quite true. No man can live a satisfied and fulfilled life outside of Him our maker (cf. Jn. 15:1-6). When we go to Him, we will certainly find Him as good and caring today as He was when He first made man.

PRAYER: 1. Father, please meet all my needs according to your riches in Christ
2. Father, please enable me to trust you alone for all my needs

17 January - Ezra 2:68-69 ~ How to give

According to this passage, some of the heads of families who gave towards the Babylonian exile gave according to their ability (Ezra 2:68-69). From the figures available from the passage they gave generously but according to their ability (Ezra 2:69). The Scripture is quite consistent in teaching that giving must take place according to -4; cf. 2 Cor. 9:7). This means that giving that is believers to be generous, this must be done voluntarily and without compulsion (2 Cor. 9:6). God indeed loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7). But this cheerfulness compulsion. If we have respect for God and His word, we must follow it wholly with regard to giving. To refuse to follow Him and His word in respect of giving would amount to rebellion (cf. 1 Sam. 15:22-23). No excuses are tenable before God for not following His word in giving. Any act of giving that is not according to at all, and will not be blessed (cf. Matt. 6:1-4).

PRAYER: 1. Father, please give me the ability to give to you generously and cheerfully
2. Father, please enable me to obey you wholeheartedly in giving

18 January - Acts 1:4-5 ~ The gift of the Holy Spirit

Jesus commanded His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. According to the Scripture, the Holy Spirit is offered to believers as a gift (Acts 1:4; cf. Acts 2:38-39). As far as the Christian life is concerned, it is an indispensable gift. No one is equipped for life without this gift. Anyone who lacks this gift lacks everything, regardless of the resources at his disposal. There can be no effective or successful christen living without this gift. The Holy Spirit is indeed a gift. Therefore it cannot be bought or sold (Acts 8:18-23). As a gift it can only be given and received. Let the believer ask for it, and it will be his.

PRAYER: 1. Father, please give me the gift of the Holy Spirit
2. Father, please take away from me whatever is hindering this gift in my life

19 January - Acts 13:2-3 - The need to be set apart unto God

God requires His true followers to be completely set apart unto Him (Acts 13:2). Thus, He orders Barnabas and Paul to be so set apart unto Him for the work to which He called them (Acts 13:2). And they were duly set apart unto God as He directed (Acts 13:2-3). Like Barnabas and Paul, every believer or minister, must be duly set apart unto God (cf.Lev.20:7). Anyone who is not truly and wholly set apart unto God does not belong to Him. He lacks legitimacy and unction, and cannot live for God or serve Him successfully and satisfactorily. The Church can only send forth one who is duly set apart unto God, otherwise the act of sending forth is vain and illegitimate. The Church cannot convey legitimacy on the one who is not duly, truly, and wholly set apart unto God. To be set apart unto God, one must love Him with all his heart and obey Him wholeheartedly (Deut.6:5).

PRAYER: 1. Father, please set me apart unto yourself
2. Father, please take away everything that hinders my being set apart unto you

20 January - Ps. 3:4 ~ Praying about our problems

We are told in this passage that David cried to the Lord about his problem (Ps. 3:4). To cry to the Lord here refers to prayer. This means that David presented his case to the Lord in prayer (Ps. 3:4). To cry aloud does not only voice but to pray with all of prayer. He knew that it is only through prayer that his problem could be solved. This is the teaching of Scripture. Believers are invited to present their problems to God through prayer (Matt. 7:7-8; Phil. 4:6-7). And the prayer of the true believer prevails (Jam. 5:13-18). There is no need to bear our problems by ourselves when we can take them to God in prayer.

PRAYER: 1. Father, please attend to all my problems
2. Father, please enable me to trust you to solve all my problems
3. Father, please teach me to pray to you about all my problems

21 January - Ps. 13:5-6 ~ Singing to the Lord dispels despair

Despair is a rampant and damaging emotion. In response to his despair (Ps. 13:1- 4), the psalmist resolves to sing to the Lord (Ps. 13:6). The reason for his singing is that in spite of his present circumstances (Ps. 13:1-4), the Lord has been good to him. His act of singing becomes an effective remedy against despair. The Lord is good, regardless of our circumstances (see Rom. 8:37-39). When we acknowledge this, whatever despair we may face disappears. There is no room for despair when the fe. Anyone who can sing to the Lord in the face of despair is most certain to overcome it (see Acts 16: 25- 26). Any believer who faces despair is most certain of victory over it if he No despair can stand memo

PRAYER: 1. Father, please enable me to sing unto you, my circumstances notwithstanding
2. Father, please enable me to remember all your goodness in moments of despair

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