My Bible study teaching this year 2021.
I am grateful to God for bringing us into this 2021. The realities of last year with its painful experiences and better imagined. I thank God that our nights of tears, have given rise to a morning of joy. To him alone be all the glory and honour in Jesus name, Amen.
The experiences of 2020 can be termed "an untold story" in the sense that many barely eked out a living. The experience ranges from the pain of the Global Pandemic- COVID-19 that ravaged the world to crisis and unrest in many parts of the world. It ushered in serious hunger and poverty, fewer cash was chasing surplus supplies, loss of job as a result of close down of many industries, cut down of take homes, if salaries are paid at all. The series of lock down with its negative impacts left a lot to be desired.
The church as a body of Christ was grossly affected. The Churches 'closed down" for months and when it started again, the elderly people were nowhere to be found. The church offerings and tithes took a down turn direction. This affected the physical and spiritual well-being of church members. The changes experienced in various school calendars and the likes affected the wholistic growth of many Economies and Nations of the world. Projects were abandoned, and God became our only source of hope. We were sustained by our hope in God as the only anchor who does not change in changing times. These events woke up the consciousness of the imminent end of the time and the need to prepare to meet our God.
For many Nations of the world the insensitivity of the political leaders to the plight of the people brought a near collapse of some nations of the world. The "EndSars"campaign by the youths of Nigeria is a test case, a campaign against Police brutality and bad governance. The result ended in loss of lives and want on destruction of private and public property. All these and many more were the "untold bitter story of 2020". But our anchor on the promises of the Lord at the beginning of last year sustained us ..... "If the Lord be for us .....(Rom. 8:31). Our lives purchased through the work of redemption were not an ordinary life, but a life that confers on all believers in Christ, everything that pertains to life and godliness. This miracle and hope, has kept us thus far, hence we are alive to tell the stories of 2020 in 2012. Our God remains ever faithful and ever sure. In all these we give thanks to the Lord, that we are not consumed. The privilege of seeing 2021 is evidence that God has not finished with us. Indeed "through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassion fail not, they are new every morning, great is your faithfulness. (Lam. 3:22-23).
This calls for us to renew our strength in the Lord, as we keep trusting Him. We need to deepen our faith in Him, as He alone is able to keep us and fight our unseen battles to the end. Remember-we are not wrestling against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against power, against the rules of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12). As we begin our journey of faith again in this brand new day of prayer, it is our hope and prayer that this celebration of victory won through Jesus Christ, shall daily speak over our lives and situations, as we daily engage in the kingdom battles even in the present year and years to come. We have begin this year in the assurances that we are engaging in a battle which victories has already been won. We need supernatural power to defeat Satan,the world and the flesh, and God has provided this by giving us His Holy Spirit within us and His armour surrounding us. Indeed ..... We are More than Conquerors (Rom. 8:37).
Our position as a new creation confers on us rare privilege people. What others labour to get by human efforts, God gives us through grace. No wonder the scriptures says yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Rom. 8:37). In life realities, believers often face hardships of many forms, persecution, illness, imprisonment, deprivation of rights and privileges, and even death. These challenges can cause believers to live in fear and doubts, about God begin absent in these situations. Paul in his response to these issues maintains that it is impossible. It is for these reasons that Christ willingly gave his life for the salvation of man. Therefore nothing can compare to the deepness of His love for man.
We must therefore note that
We are not just conquerors, but more than conquerors through Christ. Not just in some situations, but in all circumstances of life (Rom. 8:35).
We are not just conquerors, by our rights or by our hard work, rather by the grounds of our confidence in His great love for us. No matter what happens to us, or where we are and challenges we face daily, we are never lost in his love. His love reaches and heals us daily. (1 John 3:1, John 3:16, Rom. 8:1, Acts 4:12).
Believers in the time of Paul, as we are faced many trails and sufferings. They were persecuted and opposed because of their faith in Christ. We are more than conquerors even today, because we know that someone cares and is looking after us. He is the author and finisher of our faith. (Heb. 12:2, 1 Peter 5:7, 2:9).
Inspite of the inevitable challenges we shall face, we will not be alone as Jesus Christ does not abandon us to our struggles. We must always remember that the ultimate victory has already been won. May we therefore claim the peace of Christ even in our most trying times in 2021. May we experience even more victory, when God uses our hardship to turn it around for our own good and to His glory. Let us pray
We thank God (First)
For another opportunity to celebrate in 2012.
For His great deliverance in the pain of 2020.
For His provisions in the times past.
For the victory we have in Jesus Christ.
We Confess (second)
Our following the desires and devices of our own heart.
Our trust on man and our wisdom that fails.
The sin of our leaders at all levels.
Our failures to live in obedience to the word of God.
Finally we pray
Endow is with power from above and make us more than a conqueror oh God.
Deliver us from slavery, oppression, bondage, captivity, poverty, sickness and various diseases in 2021.
Deliver our leaders at all levels from wickedness and selfishness.
2021 shall see great opportunities and increase, to restore the losses of 2020. (Close)
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