@Danbrilliant

@Danbrilliant 17 September 2020

Many people go to church and do many other religious activities without knowing Jesus. Our knowledge of Jesus first starts with a revelation of Him through his words and a personal encounter, because no one knows Jesus without the help of the Holy spirit

@Danbrilliant 16 September 2020

Trust In God *Text: Prov. 3: 5-6* “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Trusting in the Lord means to totally rely or lean on Him with total confidence that He is able to support you. Our text this morning is an admonition for us to trust in the Lord not partially but totally. From that scripture we deduce that the alternative to trusting in the Lord with all of our heart is for us to lean on our own understanding and the scripture clearly warns us not to do so. It says to us “Don’t lean on your own understanding”. According to Strong’s concordance, the Hebrew word for lean means “to trust in, support, to support oneself”. Don’t depend on your own way of thinking, let God lead you. Let God lead your heart, let God lead your hands, let God direct your course. When you make the right choice, which is the choice to trust Him, then He will direct your path. To put it another way, when you choose to trust Him, He will light your path. The instruction is simple enough, but obedience to the instruction is not as simple. Many find it difficult to trust God due largely to the problem of unbelief. They do not belief in the ability of God to meet all their needs, they do not believe His word. It is rather strange that while people find it difficult to believe the word of God, they easily believe the words of men. Many today have elevated the words of men above the word of God. They struggle to believe the word of God concerning them as revealed in scripture, but they have no problem believing the words of men concerning them even when they are words that paints a hopeless and a helpless situation. Thus is the reason why many have failed to receive their long sought after miracles just because they will not totally trust the Lord. This inability to fully trust the Lord has placed many under bondage to things that has no right whatsoever to reign over them, and has also made affliction and problems to persist in the lives of many. Even though our understanding has failed us many times, many are yet to learn their lessons and will still lean on their understanding or the understanding of men rather than trust God. The text also assures us that when we acknowledge Him as Lord in all our ways, he will in turn gives us the direction we need. Are in need of direction for your life, your family or your business? Are you surrounded by mountains of problems and you don’t know where to turn? Are you at a low point of your life as a result of disappointment you have encountered in the hands of persons you have trusted in the past? Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Surrender everything to Him. Surrender your fears to Him. Surrender your failures to Him. Surrender your shortcomings to Him. Surrender your pain to Him. Surrender your wounds to Him. Surrender every aspect of your life over to Him. Let Christ make you whole. Let Christ direct your path. Shalom Prayer Points 1. Father I praise you because you are sufficient for me, you are able to provide for me all the support that I need. 2. Father please forgive me for those occasion when I rated the words of men above your words in my life 3. Father as I study your word please help me to believe in it more and more and teach me to apply the word to my situation in Jesus name 4. Father please deliver me from every bondage I have found myself due to my inability to trust you fully in Jesus name. 5. Father grant me grace to acknowledge you in all my ways so that I can receive the direction that I need for my life in Jesus name.

@Danbrilliant 15 September 2020

Have you read his Word Today?

@Danbrilliant 15 September 2020

Have you read the word today?

@Danbrilliant 15 September 2020

Healing For The Broken Hearted *Text: Psa. 147: 3* “He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147 is a call to praise God for His many acts of wonder in our lives. God is awesome and most worthy of our praise, this Psalm goes ahead to give us reason why we should praise God and among the reason given is that God heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds. It is so good to know that our God is a healer, a healer per excellence, an extra-ordinary healer who does not just heals physical ailments but also heals emotionally and spiritually as well. That certainly is great news!! The best of doctors in this world will be able to treat and by their treatment bring healing to some physical ailments only. No human doctor can heal the soul, no human doctor can heal the pain in the heart, no human doctor can heal a broken heart, but our God can heal all physical ailments and can also heal the soul from any affliction and pain, He can heal the broken hearted alleluia!!!! A broken heart is an injury in the heart that brings about emotional pain which can later lead to physical and spiritual pain as well. It is a wound that is not physically visible, not even to the best x-ray machines in the world, yet it is much more painful and agonizing than any physical pain you may think of. We have phycologist all over the world who are trained and try their best to bring healing to the broken hearted, but their best effort is never adequate to permanently cure anyone of a broken heart. The effect of a broken heart not treated is equally terrible and highly undesirable ranging from depression to mental problems and at its very worst even suicide. Many have been permanently placed on sedatives to solve the problem of insomnia caused by a broken heart and some are permanently on drugs to give them some form of emotional stability. People become broken hearted for many reasons – including but not limited to the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, indebtedness, marital issues, parental issues and many more. The truth of the matter is that reasons for a broken heart are so much that everyone at some point or the other in their lives are at risk, especially when we easily get emotionally attached to things and to people. The good news however that we see from our text is that the Almighty God, our God heals the broken hearted and when the heart is broken beyond repairs He can carry out a heart transplant as well. Human beings are capable of wounding one another greatly, God however is incapable of wounding us, instead He offers us a safe haven to rest from the wounds that the world and others inflict on us. That is so reassuring and comforting. Are you broken hearted? Do you have that feeling that your life is falling apart and you feel so helpless to stop the tide? Are you at the brink of an emotional breakdown? You can turn to God today and hand over to Him those thorny issues of your life that has injured you emotionally. He will take them away and bind up your wounds and heal your broken heart and you will become free again to live the joyous, peaceful life that He desires for you to live. Shalom Prayer Points 1. Father I give you praise for your many acts of wonder in my life, thank you for healing me physically, spiritually and emotionally as well. 2. Father please deliver me from problems or situations that will make me to be broken hearted in Jesus name. 3. Father I pray for all within my family who are broken hearted please heal them and bind up their wounds in Jesus name 4. Father as I continue my journey on this side of eternity, things will not go bad for me in Jesus name. 5. Father whatever is working against me, let the tide turn in my favor in Jesus name

@Danbrilliant 15 September 2020

The Fear Of The Lord *Text: Prov. 9: 10* “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” It is very important that we understand what it means to live with the fear of the Lord if we desire to be effective believers in our world. Our text this morning says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy is understanding. This scriptures clearly states that wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord. The fear referred to here is not an unhealthy fear that seek to terrify us and drive us away from the presence of God. God loves us and so much desire that we fellowship with Him and we can’t do that if we are afraid of Him. The fear we are talking about here is the fear that makes us reverence and respect God. This fear helps us to have an understanding of what is right and helps to make us obedient to God and His ways. Our culture is so casual these days that it is sometimes difficult to understand what it means to reverence God. It is true that He loves us unconditionally and accepts us as we are when we come to Him, but He loves us too much to live us the way we are. We can become everything that He wants us to be as we learn to follow His wisdom in every area of our lives, but we will not be able to follow His wisdom until we believe that it is the only way to live. It’s so important for us to understand that God is always right and whatever He tells us to do is for our good. How then does the fear of the Lord lead to wisdom? Beyond reverence for God, fear of God also implies a dread for the wrath of God. That is, avoidance of anything that will attract the wrath of God. Although God is love and He does loves us, He is also a God of judgement who does will not allow sin to go unpunished. If we know and believe this about God then we will avoid anything that will make us a candidate for His anger and punishment. It is lack of wisdom for anyone who has known and identified as a God of that punishes unrighteousness to continue to walk the path of rebellion and sin. When we truly fear God therefore, we will develop the wisdom to stay away from anything that bring His wrath upon us. The knowledge of God is also very important if we will fear Him as we should. The more we know of God, the more we will reverence and dread any path that will make us provoke Him to wrath. It is therefore important that we give ourselves to learning more of God so we can increase in our knowledge of Him and the more we grow in our knowledge of God the more we fear Him and the more we fear Him, the more we increase in wisdom. Shalom Prayer Points 1. Thank you Father for planting your fear in my heart which gives me an understanding of what is right and helps to make me obedient to you and your ways. 2. Father thank you for loving me unconditionally and for accepting me just as I am 3. Father please teach me more and more to know what it means to reverence you in Jesus name 4. Father please help me become everything that you wants me to be even as I learn to follow your wisdom in every area of my life in Jesus name 5. Father please help me to avoid anything that will attract your wrath upon my life in Jesus name.

@Danbrilliant 15 September 2020

Search Me O God *Text: Psa. 139: 23-24* “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting” There are many things we like to keep away from people, either because we are ashamed of them or because of trust issues. Many of us keep long list of things we do to keep people from knowing the real us. So many have perfected the art of living a lie, you think you know all there is to know about them, but really you don’t know them at all and that is really scary. All over the world today for reasons of personal insecurity or just for reasons of “image management”, people are becoming increasingly secretive and adopt very serious measures to protect what they regard as their private life and that is why Psalm 139 is very haunting, the entire Psalm is a reminder that you can fool everyone else, you can’t fool God. It could be terrifying news to some that there is no way they can hide from God and there is nothing about their life that they can hide from God. More so when they realize that God does not need their permission to x-ray their life and unearth the secrets that they have successfully kept away from everyone else for years. The right reaction however will be to become open with God having realized that it is impossible or useless to hide any secrets from Him. There is however a good side to all of this which is that since God has capacity to know all there is to know about us, then we should learn to pray Psalm 139: 23-24 more often, that way with God’s help we are able to rid ourselves of bad habits, and every ungodly traits in our lives thereby maintaining a clean conscience before God. Bad habits and ungodly traits are weights that do a lot of damage to the soul if not addressed quickly. These are weights that will turn the favor and the help of God away from our lives, they are weights that will make us enemies of God and rather than walk under the open heaven of God’s blessing, we walk as candidates of God’s wrath. Personal engagement of Psalm 139: 23-24 however will move God to look upon us with favor and to rid us of everything that makes us unworthy to walk with Him, thereby making us candidates of His favor and blessings. Furthermore, praying Psalm 139: 23-24 regularly, will rid our lives of any hidden acts of wickedness that that is rooted in our lives thereby making us worthy candidates of eternal life. Despite the highlighted benefits of this prayer however, a lot of people will shy away from praying it because they are afraid of what God will unearth in their lives if He decides to answer the prayer. Many are very comfortable in their ungodly lifestyle and so are not ready to subject themselves to God’s surgical procedure that will disconnect them from such lifestyle, such people will ultimately discover that they did not act wisely and we can only hope for their sakes that they do not realize this truth at a time when it will be too late for them to do anything worthwhile about it. Do you want to be free from the burden of guilt that you have been carrying around all these years? Do you desire to be sanctified and to live a lifestyle of holiness? Then Psalm 139: 23-24 is for you. That is the daily prayer you need to guarantee the desired results in your life. Shalom. Prayer Points 1. Father I praise you because you are the all-knowing God, nothing is hidden from you and no one can successfully hide from you 2. Father my life is an open book before you help me Lord to willingly submit myself daily to you for examination and appropriate correction in Jesus name 3. Father please examine me daily and expose every hidden faults within me, help me to take necessary steps to overcome them in Jesus name 4. Father please rid my life of every wicked way and wicked acts, make me life perfectly fit for your kingdom in Jesus name 5. Father may I be totally free from every burden of guilt, may I consistently be holy before you in Jesus name.

@Danbrilliant 12 September 2020

have you read a book today?

@Danbrilliant 12 September 2020

The Holyspirit & Prayer *Text: Rom. 8: 26* “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” Many of us as God’s children are concerned about our weaknesses, our human frailties. We are concerned that these weaknesses of ours will not allow us to please God. We are concerned that these weaknesses if care is not taken may rob us of eternity with God. But there is good news for us this morning and the news is that God is mindful of our weaknesses and has done something about it. He has given us the Holy Spirit, who among other things helps us in areas of our weaknesses. Prayer remains a challenge for many of God’s children today. Many struggle to build and to sustain a prayer schedule. Many who pray, according to James 4: 3, pray for the wrong motives and so they do not receive the result they seek in the place of prayer. Many who are ready to pray struggle in the place of prayer for lack of prayer points to pray, and many pray the wrong prayer points. Our text reveals to us that only with the help of the Holy Spirit can we discover the right prayer points to pray. God is concerned about the trials of His people. When He was ministering on earth, Jesus groaned when He saw what sin was doing to mankind (Mark 7:34; John 11:33, 38). Today the Holy Spirit groans with us and feels the burdens of our weaknesses and suffering. But the Spirit does more than groan. He prays for us in His groaning so that we might be led into the will of God. We do not always know God's will. We do not always know how to pray, but the Spirit intercedes so that we might live in the will of God in spite of suffering. Now why is it important that we pray in line with the will of God? The reason is that it is only when we pray in line with the will of God that we have assurance of desired answers from God. If you desire to always have your prayers answered then be more open to the move of the Holy Spirit and allow Him room to reveal the mind or the will of the Father to you so that you can pray in line with God’s perfect will and not His permissive will. As you begin to give room for the Holy Spirit to express Himself more in your life in the place of prayer, God will grant you grace to record amazing testimonies and results in Jesus name. Shalom. Prayer Points 1. Father thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit to me, who amongst other things helps me in my areas of weakness 2. Father through the help of your Spirit within me, may my prayer life be revived in Jesus name. 3. Father through the help of your Spirit within me, may I discover your will for my life and please grant me grace never to wander away from it in Jesus name. 4. Father in spite of the whatever suffering or hardship I may go through, please empower me by your Spirit never to wander away from you in Jesus name 5. Father please help me to be more open to the move of the Holy Spirit and allow Him room to reveal the will of the Father to me so that I can pray in line with God’s perfect will in Jesus name.

@Danbrilliant 12 September 2020

Come To Me Text: Matt. 11: 28-29 “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jesus regularly invited people to follow Him. Normally, His invitation sounded something like, “whoever wants to be my disciple, must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me”. But in another famous iteration on His well-known invitation, Jesus appealed to all the tired, weary and burned out, and simply said, “Come find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light” This is an open invite from Jesus to a life of rest, not just for our bodies – we can get that from a doctor, but for our souls. And yet, his imagery of an easy yoke is a little bit odd. A yoke is a tool for work, used to harness oxen together to plow a field. That sounds like the last thing a burned out worker needs – the tired among us don’t want a yoke no matter how easy it might be, they will prefer a vacation! But Jesus is wise beyond comprehension and so understands better than any of us can that life is an unending series of burdens. There’s no way around the weight of responsibility that this life brings our way. What we need isn’t an escape from that weight, but a way to carry it with ease and joy. That’s what Jesus offers – a way to carry the weight of life with a straight back and a smile on your face. Today many are groaning under the increasing burden of the problems of these life that confronts them daily. These problems have persisted for long and there appears to be no relief in sight. For some it is financial burden, and to lighten this burden many have resorted to working long hours, taking up multiple jobs to generate multiple streams of income, these however has not had the desired or the expected impact. Some are groaning under the burden of marital crisis that has defied all effort to resolve and restore peace. When it comes to the issue of being burdened and weary, the tale of woe is endless and many as I type this now are at their wits end and do not know what to do. This invitation of Jesus is the cure they need, it is the way out that will lead them to the rest they so much desire The invitation still stand today for all those who are interested, you will notice that the invitation is not just to some select people, it is for all people. All that is required is for them to approach Jesus in faith and He will take their yoke off them and give them rest. As a child of God this invitation is not just for your personal benefit, it also serves as a means by which you can invite others around you to Christ. Look around you, who are those around you that are distressed and weary? Who are those around you that are groaning under the yoke of one burden or the other placed upon their lives? That is your chance to approach them and introduce Jesus to them. Let them know that rest is available for them in Christ if only they will turn to Him. For every soul you win to Christ this way there will be celebrations in heaven and your reward with God is sure. Shalom Prayer Points 1. Lord Jesus, thank you so much that you love me so much that you are willing and ready to carry my burden. 2. Lord in response to your invitation, I submit all my burdens to you, please take them off me 3. Lord in response to your invitation, I break away from every yoke that has weighed heavily upon me and that has weighed me down for a long time, I receive freedom now in Jesus name. 4. Lord in exchange for past groaning, pain and unrest, I receive your rest now in Jesus name 5. Lord please grant me grace not just to enjoy your rest, but to introduce your rest to others in Jesus name

@Danbrilliant 8 September 2020

Be Strong in The Lord *Text: Eph. 6: 10* “A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” Let me begin by saying that strength is not wrong, there is nothing wrong in being strong. It is true that we are called to be meek, but we are not called to be weak. Meekness is best defined as strength under control. Both Moses and Jesus were meek but definitely not weak. Esther was meek, but she was no weakling. The meek are also the humble because they understand that their strength comes from God. The strength referred to in this text however is not physical strength. To be strong in the Lord here means, to be strong in your belief in God, to be firmly convinced and totally established in that conviction that God is enough for you and that His power is all that you need. This type of strength lifts you above situations in life that will seek to intimidate and harass you, because you are fully convinced that your God is able. This is the type of strength that made the disciples though illiterate to stand before the council of learned men called the Sanhedrin and to declare plainly to them “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4: 19-20). This is the strength you need if you desire to live above compromise and the pressure the world imposes on you to be conformed to her values and standard. This life requires strength. You need strength to take your stand against sin, you need strength to reject negative influence in your life, and you need strength to successfully weather the storm of the various trials and temptations that will come your way in this life. But always remember that it is not your strength we are talking about but the strength that comes from God powered by our strong belief in Him and in His power. If we should try to love or even like someone in our own strength we are doomed to fail. Because as humans, we have a very limited capacity for the type of strength we need each day. This is why we tap into the strength of God. God knows that we are not strong, so he makes us strong. Our God is Almighty to make us mighty. Our Father is all powerful to give us power. David tapped into this source of strength when he was a worshipping shepherd and this same strength is available to us today. God has a plan for our life and the devil has a scheme. His scheme is to knock us out of God’s plan. The moment you became a child of God, you were marked by God’s spirit and noted by the enemy. Before your rebirth you were His slave and now you are a target. But once we are acquainted with our source of true strength, it’s time to rise, to conquer our doubts, our fears and to take our stand against all unrighteousness and also to prevail against whatever it is that the devil will throw at us. Are you searching for strength? Turn to the Lord and you will find all the strength you need. I am strong because God is my source of strength. Shalom. Prayer Points 1. Father, I thank you that you are strong, and you want me to be strong too. I will rise to step into your plan for my life in Jesus name. 2. Father please forgive me for those times when I doubted your ability to meet my needs and to fight my battles 3. Father by reason of my strong belief in you, please let me be lifted above situations in life that will seek to intimidate and harass me in Jesus name 4. Father the strength to successfully stand against sin, to reject negative influence and to successfully weather the storm of trial and temptations that come my way will not fail in my life in Jesus name. 5. Father I tap into your strength, I am permanently connected to your strength and so no scheme of the devil will prevail against me I Jesus name. Amen

@Danbrilliant 7 September 2020

Godly Wisdom *Text: James 3: 13* “If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom” There is a wisdom from above and there is a wisdom that is of this world. The wisdom from above is godly wisdom and one of the things it does is that it gives you an understanding of God’s way. Knowing the way of God will help you to be able to please Him more simply by aligning yourself with His way and walking in it. The wisdom of the world is rooted in selfishness. It is the kind of wisdom that will tend to deceive you into thinking that you can reason things out for yourself, you don’t need God. It is the wisdom that leads you away from the path of godliness and leads you down the path of compromise, and while you are going down that path, you actually believe that you are doing the will of God. Worldly wisdom therefore will make a man wander far away from the will of God, down the path of destruction and death (Prov. 14: 12) Unlike worldly wisdom, godly wisdom motivates those who have it to live an honorable life, a life of total obedience to God, a life that is committed to doing good works, a life of humility. Godly wisdom helps you to know that you have no reason not to be humble, because you know that you owe to God all that you have and it is only by remaining in God that you sustain and maintain them. We are in a world today where many people are beginning to believe that doing good is not always right, because there are occasions when doing good attracts punishment and not reward. There are many who have reported tales of woe regarding the good they did that only fetched them trouble instead of reward. Today, unlike the Good Samaritan who found a man that was attacked by robbers on the road and left for dead, and proceeded to take care of the man and nursed him back to good health, many today who find themselves in the same situation that the Good Samaritan found himself, leaves the injured person to his fate and will make no attempt to help simply because they are afraid that if they go ahead to help, the police may hold them responsible for the man’s plight. Many have died for this reason. In the peak of the COVID 19 crisis, many people died because they were sick and hospitals refused to admit them and treat them for fear that the sickness could be COVID 19 related and they don’t want to be infected. Godly wisdom teaches us however that there is no justification to abandon people in their time of crisis and refuse to help them. Godly wisdom teaches that doing good works is not negotiable, because while doing good works does not on its own qualify us for heaven, it draws us closer to God and inspires us to want to live right before Him. God will grant us grace to turn away totally from worldly wisdom and turn to godly wisdom. God will help us to live for Him, thereby showcasing His wisdom to the world. Shalom. Prayer Points 1. Father thank you for enriching my life with your wisdom from above, thereby giving me a better understanding of your ways 2. Father, I reject worldly wisdom, I ask that every trace of worldly wisdom in me should die now in Jesus name. 3. Father please help me to grow daily I godly wisdom, so that I can continue to live the type of life that brings honor to your name 4. Father, please help me to be forever committed to doing good regardless of situations that may be unfavorable to such efforts in Jesus name. 5. Father please grant me grace to live for you, thereby showcasing your wisdom to the world.

@Danbrilliant 6 September 2020

DAILY PRAYERS 1. Enter into God's presence with worship. 2. Thank God for the privilege to be in his presence. 3. Give God thanks for today's mercies. 4.Thank God for His faithfulness over our lives and families. 5. Thank God for preserving our lives and that of our families in His mercy. 6. Oh Lord as I step into the new month, may your mercy and faithfulness journey with me throughout the month. 7. Father, give me the grace to follow in Your steps and remain faithful to You to the end in Jesus name. 8. Oh Lord in Your mercy, deliver my family and I from programmes of the enemy aimed at consuming my family and I this new month. 9. Oh Lord this day, arise and take over every situation that challenges Your faithfulness in my life. 10.In Your mercy oh Lord, bring to pass speedily Your promises for my life. 11.Pray that the hand of God will rest on the church for continual growth and increase. 12. Present the needs of members to God– peace, healing, employment, promotion, marriage, children, expansion in business, financial breakthrough, etc. 13. Pray for families. 14. Pray that the hand of God will rest upon our country to stop the activities of darkness against the rest and peace of the country. 15. Thank God for answers to prayers.

@Danbrilliant 5 September 2020

Rest To The Weary *Text: Jer. 31: 25* “For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing.” Anxieties of life are never in short supply. We have enough of them to last us all a life time and one of the things anxieties do to us is that they tend to weary us down, take away our peace and our joy. Anxieties are unhealthy weights that we should as much as possible refuse to make room for in our lives. Jesus in Matt. 6: 25 -27, warns against entertaining anxiety in our lives, He said “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” This is very good advice coming to us from the Lord and we all will do well to comply. But just in case you find yourself sucked into the pit of worry and anxiety and this in turn as made you weary and perhaps depressed, what do you do? How do you come out to the place of comfort and rest? How do you gain your joy back? Our text for this morning has a very important information for us. The first information that this text has for us this morning is that God gives us rest. Which of course implies that God has rest to give and He has it abundantly such that it is enough to go round. People may try occasionally to give us rest but they will always come up short because they also need rest themselves. God on the other hand has rest in abundance, it is in His nature to be restful and when He made the world, He programmed rest into nature and that is the reason why whenever you take the time to look at nature, you cannot but notice that it is always at rest even in the midst of so much unrest in the world today created as a result of man’s disobedience and deviation from the ways of God. The Psalmist acknowledge this very important fact that genuine rest is available only in God when he said in Psalm 62: 1 – “Truly my soul find rest in God; my salvation comes from Him”. Secondly, our text assures us that God already has given us rest over everything that may be out to cause unrest in our lives. Note that, the passage did not say that He will do it, rather it says that He has done it. Yes we have the rest we need, we also have the joy we need as well to neutralize and cancel out sorrowful situations in our lives, families and all around us. All we need do is to first believe this truth presented to us this morning and then reach out to and connect to it and immediately it comes alive in us. How is your soul today? Are you weary? Do you feel as though you are languishing? That is, do you feel as though you are growing weak, or you are decaying or you are declining? We don’t need to lose our peace or sleep because of fear, it is a waste of emotion and totally unnecessary, because God Has gone to work on your behalf, fighting your battles and bringing you His life and salvation. Whatever storms confronts you today, you can hold on to the truth that God is with you through them. Shalom. Prayer Points 1. Father, you are the God of abundant rest, thank you for the provision of rest that you have made for me both now and even in the world to come. 2. Father thank you for your promise that you have satisfied my weary soul and restored joy to me 3. Father may your rest and joy in me neutralize and cancel out whatever it is that is out to create unrest in my life in Jesus name. 4. Father, I commit my fears and personal battles into your hands please fight fro me and give me rest on all sides in Jesus name 5. Father, I commit my family and the rest of my journey for this year into your hands, please help us walk in safety and may our rest never be troubled in Jesus name.

@Danbrilliant 5 September 2020

Swimming Upstream (Part One) *Text: Rom. 12: 2* “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” There are times when we need a new look at a familiar verse. The ESV translates the first part of Romans 12:2 this way: “Do not be conformed to this world.” Simple, clear, and concise. But what exactly does Paul mean? Other translations bring out various shades of meaning: “Do not act like the sinful people of the world” (New Life). “Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs]” (Amplified). “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world” (New Living Translation). And then there is the famous rendering by J. B. Phillips: “Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold.” The general meaning is clear if we take all the different translations and paraphrases together. We are not like the people around us, and we shouldn't act like them. We must not try so hard to fit in that we no longer think and act like Christians. This verse reminds us the world is not morally neutral. It actively works against our Christian faith. Christians are constantly swimming upstream with the current of the world rushing against us. Don't be surprised, don't give in, and don't get swept away. Perhaps our greatest danger is to look at this command (which is entirely negative) and draw wrong inferences from it. For instance, we might end up thinking Paul means to warn us only against the external marks of the world. We might think that the purpose of the verse is to give us rules to observe in the way we live outwardly. Secondly, we might think that what this verse is saying is that Christians should withdraw from the world around us and have nothing to do with it at all. This might lead us into a monastery or to some isolated place in the wilderness or into a cave in the desert where we will not be tempted by the bright lights of the big city. But that cannot be what Paul meant because he ministered in all the big cities of his day. Whatever not being conformed to the world means, it can't be a call to run and hide. Therefore, if this verse is not giving rules about outward behavior, and if it is not calling us to retreat from the world, what exactly is Paul warning us against? Two words unlock this text – first is “World”. The word “world” as it is used here does not refer to what we call earth, as if Paul means to say, “Don't enjoy the creation God has made.” He's not talking about physical things, such as the beauty of a sunset, the intricate design of a single human cell, or the vastness of the universe. Paul does not mean to say, “Don't enjoy life.” He's not an ascetic who bids us to reject all the beauty and goodness we see around us. So what “world” is Paul warning us against? In Rom. 12: 2, the Greek word interpreted as “world” is “aion” and is usually translated as “age.” In the New Testament, there are two main “ages”—this present age of sinful darkness (Ephesians 2:2, Galatians 1:4), from which we have been rescued by the Lord Jesus Christ, and the age to come when Jesus will reign on the earth (Revelation 11:15). The text literally reads, “Don't be conformed to this age.” Why? Because this “age” is coming to an end soon, and when it does, everything about this age will crumble to dust. So our takeaway from this text for today is this – Though we are living in this present age, this present age will not last forever. We know that there is a better age to come when Christ will reign on the earth. To qualify for that age, we must live in this age by the values of that better age that we are expecting and these values are well outlined for us in the scriptures. We must live in this present age, but this present age must not live in us. God grant us grace to do so in Jesus name. Amen. Shalom. 1. Father, you are the God of ages, thank you for this age and all your acts to keep me safe and secure in it. But much more I thank you for the age to come and all that you have done to help me qualify for that age. 2. Father, please deliver me from every values that I have adopted in this age that will disqualify or make me unfit to live in the age to come in Jesus name. 3. Father, I free myself from any form of conformity to this present age that does not make for an healthy relationship with you in Jesus name. 4. Father regardless of the strength of the wave of this age and its tendency to want to sweep me along in its direction downstream, help me develop enough strength to counter this negative wave and to continue to swim upstream towards you in Jesus name. 5. Father, this present age will not last forever, the scriptures assures that it will eventually be destroyed, I will not be destroyed along with this present age in Jesus name.

@Danbrilliant 5 September 2020

Winning the Battle for Your Family (Part Two) This is part 2. Read & be blessed *Text: Jos. 24:15* “But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”” In yesterday’s devotional, we said that there are five decisions we need to make if we desire that our families will serve the Lord with us. We have considered the first two yesterday and today we shall discuss three more decisions that we need to make based on our anchor text. Decision No 3 – We must become a student in God’s school of Obedience. “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord” (Jos. 24: 14b). The word “serve” is used in various forms six times in two verses. This is obviously the burden on Joshua’s heart. He wants the people to willingly choose to serve the Lord. He specifies what that means when he adds “in all faithfulness.” Every area of life must be surrendered to the Lordship of Christ. “All faithfulness” means there can be no “hidden rooms” that we reserve for ourselves. It means putting aside the false gods worshipped by the pagans. Matthew Henry calls them “dunghill deities” because they have no power to save, only the power to corrupt. If we are going to serve God with our families then in obedience to God’s word, we must get rid of anything that represents idol in our lives and in our families Decision # 4: Remember Your Spiritual Heritage - “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell” (v. 15). In these verses, Joshua was appealing to the democratic sense of his hearers, that is, their power of choice. He offers them a series of choices. First, the true God. Then the gods beyond the River (meaning the River Euphrates), referring to the gods of Ur of the Chaldees. Those would be the gods of ancient tradition—the moon god and the sun god. Then the gods of Egypt, meaning the gods of sun, rain, darkness, and natural disasters. Then the gods of the Amorites, meaning the gods of fertility and sexual pleasure. Make your choice. If you don’t want to choose the living and true God, then go back to the false gods you used to worship. Go all the way back to Ur if you like. Some people prefer the gods of this world to the one true God of the Bible. Their eyes are so blinded by sin and their heart so given to fleshly indulgence that they would rather drink from the pool of sin than to drink from the Water of Life. Here we see the genius of biblical religion. We need not try to coerce people into serving the Lord. If they prefer some other way, then so be it. It’s almost always a mistake to crowd people too closely when we attempt to win them to Christ. “A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.” We have nothing to fear and everything to gain by presenting the options and giving people the right to make up their own minds. Decision # 5: Choose Daily to Serve the Lord - “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15b). This is one of the most famous statements in the Old Testament, and rightly so because it expresses the heart of a great spiritual leader at the end of his life. In these simple words we find the will of God expressly stated. We are to serve the Lord, and we are to do everything in our power to see that our family follows our example. Matthew Henry said that serving the Lord involves “serious godliness.” That phrase captures the spirit of Joshua’s words. If we are going to do what he did and say what he said, it will mean “serious godliness” for all of us. Note several implications. First, each of us must personally decide to serve the Lord. I can’t choose for you nor you for me. We need a generation of Joshuas who will make this choice for themselves. Second, parents have a special obligation to set the right example in this area. We can hardly expect our children to serve Christ when we take our duties lightly. Third, fathers have the highest obligation. It takes serious godliness to get our household to serve the Lord. There will be many obstacles in the way of our resolution but we must remain resolute because failure is not an option. Shalom Prayer Point 1. Father, thank you for my family, thank you for granting us the grace to know you as our Lord and Savior 2. Father, please grant me the grace to overcome every obstacle that oppose me in my resolve to serve you along with my family 3. Father, please make me one of the Joshuas of my generation who will willingly make the choice Joshua made and then commit themselves fully to it 4. Father my family will not become a prey in the hands of the devil in Jesus name. 5. Father getting my family to serve you must begin with me, grant me grace O Lord to serve you faithfully such that I will be a positive role model to my family in Jesus name.

@Danbrilliant 5 September 2020

Winning The Battle For Your Family - Part One Read & stay blessed my people. *Text: Jos. 24:15* “But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”” Someone was quoted to have said, “Whatever else may be said about the home, it is the bottom line of life, the anvil upon which attitudes and convictions are hammered out. It is the place where life’s bills come due, the single most influential force in our earthly existence.” We live in a world that downplays the value of the home. We don’t realize the kind of world our children face each day, and how things have changed. Children see more, they know more, they experience more, and they grow up so much faster. Sex talk is nothing to them because they hear it every day Joshua certainly understood the power of parents. As he came to the end of his life, he called the leaders of Israel together for one final message. Knowing he is only one step from death, he sounds a call to renewal that begins with a recital of God’s blessings in the past (Joshua 24:1-13). Then he challenges the people to be faithful to God (Joshua 24:14-27). In the middle of his message we find those stirring words that have been quoted and memorized for over 3000 years, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (v. 15). In those words, and in the verses leading up to them, I find five decisions we must make if we want our families to serve the Lord with us. The number one decision I see here is that we must make a decision to build a grace based family. As Joshua recounts the story of the conquest of the Promised Land, he reminds them of what the Lord had done for them (Jos. 24: 11-13). We ought to do with our families what Joshua does with the people of Israel. It’s a good thing to review past blessings and to make a written record of God’s faithfulness. We need to say to our children, “Do you remember when you were so sick, we prayed to God, and you got better?” “Do you remember when Dad lost his job and we were afraid, so we prayed, and God gave him a new job?” “Do you remember when we prayed for your brothers to be saved, and six months later they accepted Christ?” A good memory of God’s blessings is a bulwark against backsliding. Has God blessed you? Write it down. Think often about it. Tell it to your children, your family, and your friends. Pass it along so that succeeding generations can tell the story after you are gone to heaven. Decision No 2 is that we need to make the decision to teach our family to worship God. ‘‘Now fear the Lord” (Joshua 24:14a). When we think about the fear of the Lord, many people get the idea of cringing in terror. The biblical concept is much broader than that. Fearing the Lord means having such a deep respect for God that we want to please him in all we do. One writer says it refers to the “inner devotion” that causes us to honor God. How do we share this “inner devotion” with our families? It’s more an atmosphere than a program. When parents truly fear God, their children will learn to fear him too. When they love the Lord, it will be natural for the children to love him too. When they sing hymns, their children will learn the words. When they pray, their children will quietly pray with them. Men bear a heavy responsibility in this area. When I say men I am speaking to fathers, husbands, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, and uncles. Men for too many years have delegated spiritual leadership to the women while they went out into the world to make a living. They have laid a burden on the women God never intended them to bear all alone. God’s intention is that spiritual leadership in the home should be a shared burden, but the men must take the initiative if we truly want God’s blessing. In our world today, the battle against the home has been intensified, the evidence is clear – divorce is increasing at an alarming rate, number of delinquent children all around the world is increasing, and godly family is reducing to the point of extinction. As we move closer and closer to the end of this age, we do not have any assurance that things will get better, actually the bible says that it will get worse. With this understanding therefore, children of God all over should get off the fence and join in the battle to rescue homes and families from this wicked agenda of the devil to steal, to kill and to destroy. You will not lose your home to the devil in Jesus name. Shalom Prayer Point 1. Father, thank you for my home and for everyone that makes up my home. Thank you for your peace and joy that reigns in my home 2. Father, thank you for past blessings and your acts of faithfulness over my home 3. Father please grant me and every member of my house the grace to have such deep respect for you that I want to please you in all I do 4. Father as a husband and father, please help me to take full responsibility for my home in providing the right spiritual leadership in Jesus name 5. Father, please grant me grace to take all necessary steps to rescue my home from every wicked agenda of the devil in Jesus name. Please kindly like & subscribe. Thanks

@Danbrilliant 5 September 2020

Everything Works For Your Good Guys, its danbrilliant again oo.. I'm back from the long break. I hope you guys missed me. Now read & be blessed *Text: Rom. 8: 28* “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Jesus said, “My Father is always working, and so am I” (John 5: 17). God is always at work, but often times especially for the undiscerning, His work is not seen but its effect cannot be ignored. As God’s children, God works secretly within us to remove the dross in our lives, to fulfil His purpose in us and ultimately to make us fit for His Kingdom. Our text is an extra-ordinary promise that confirms this and that assures us that whatsoever we go through in life, God knows about it and it is for our good, because in all situation that we are confronted with in life, God has our best interest at heart. God’s ultimate goal always result in God’s glory. Apostle Paul explained it this way “In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace… to the end that we who were first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory…with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His of His glory.” (Eph. 1: 4b-6a, 12, 14b). The primary reason God is working everything out toward His intended outcome is “to the praise of His glory.” God sets about to guarantee all that He has created fulfils and satisfies its intended purpose, which is to bring glory back to Himself. Like it or not, God exist for His own glory and so does everything He made, He made it for Himself. That is the reason the things He made exist and that is the reason we exist. We are made for God, our lives are not about us; they are about Him and His glory. Anything therefore that competes with, negates or downplays God’s glory exist in a perpetual state of misalignment. Such thing is out of order. God made all things to display His attributes, character and power. And so the pathway to pleasing God is for you to ensure that you live daily for His glory that is the right reason for living that should be our reason for living. There is however another reason why God causes all things to work together, He does it for our good. Essentially that means that God is using the things we go through to bring about our benefit. The word “good” means “that which is beneficial”. Thus, God is also seeking to bring about benefits and blessings in the lives of those who love Him and walk according to His path and purpose. Now it is very important that we do not misread that verse to make look like it applies to everyone. The verse specifically refers to those who love Him, those who are called according to His purpose. Bad and unpleasant things happen all the time in this world and as they happen to bad people, they happen to good people as well. God does not commit Himself to causing all things work out together for good for everyone on the face of the earth, for those outside God’s purpose, some of these things will actually work to their disadvantage and nothing good may come out of it for them, for those who love God, those who are called according to His purpose, the story is different. Our text does not say that God causes all things to be good, rather, it integrates all things to work together for good in the lives of those who love Him and follow His paths. His invisible hands operates behind the scene in the good, the bad and the ugly situations of life, He manipulates and maneuvers these situations towards His intended goal, which is, “the praise of His glory”. Do you love God? Have you been called according to His purpose, that is, are you born again? Are you living daily for Him to be glorified in your life Then this word for today is for you, that whatsoever you may go through or may be going through right now, it will end in glory and praise to God, in other words, it will turn around for a testimony to the praise of God’s glory. Shalom

@Danbrilliant 5 September 2020

Generosity In Secret Guys I'm back Text: Matt. 6:3-4 “But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” What is in your heart? What is it that motivates you to want to give or be generous to people? Is it for them to become indebted to you, so that you can manipulate them to do your bidding? Is it in order to receive praise and recognition from men? Or is it an act of service to God prompted by the love of Christ? Society is apt to take notice whenever the wealthy establish a foundation for the sake of charitable giving. Such persons are lauded for their generosity and good works and good work in giving to those in need. More often than not these people seek this publicity in order to secure the praise of men and to advance one selfish ambition or the other. The world pursues the accolades of men, but as God’s children we must not do the same. In fact if we practice generosity for the sake of obtaining the praise of men, Jesus says that we have no reward from our Father in heaven (Matt. 6: 1). Jesus warns clearly against drawing attention to ourselves when we give, not allowing our left hand to know what our right hand is doing when we give is a metaphoric way of explaining to us that our giving if possible should not even attract our own attention how much more the attention of others, His point is very clear which is: Do not give in order to receive praise from men. If our giving is motivated by love for God and is to be an act of service to God, then it must be done in private. I see some strange practice in some churches today where people are encouraged to show just how much they intend to give as offering when prayers are to be made on the offering. They do this to discourage people from raising up empty offering envelopes and also to discourage people from giving offering that they consider to be ridiculously low. Such churches may want to reconsider their approach to giving in the light of this scripture. As Matthew Henry notes in his commentary, Jesus does not teach that it is always unlawful to give alms when men see us, sometime the only way we can help others is in front of other people. Just as under the old Covenant (Deut. 15: 11), Jesus assumes that we will give to the poor, and this must be done in the hope of a reward from God, and not from others (Matt. 6: 4b). Let us therefore do all we can to give our alms and offerings with the aim of caring so little for the praise of men that we are ourselves scarcely aware of our own generosity. Keeping track of our giving is not inconsistent with the Lord’s admonition that we do not let our right hand know what the left one is doing. Yet we are not to keep track so that we may show others just how good or generous we are. As you give to the poor therefore what is your motivation? Is it the praise of men you desire or the commendation from God? Shalom 1. Thank you for your blessings upon me and upon the works of my hands which has placed me in the enviable position of being to give to others 2. Father please forgive me for those occasion when I gave either to the church or to individuals for selfish reasons 3. Father henceforth let my giving be motivated by a sense of gratitude to you and the love of Jesus in my heart in Jesus name 4. Father, please help me never to glory in my giving or to look down on those that I am privileged to give to in Jesus name. 5. Father in all my acts of generosity, please let me bring glory to you, so that my reward from you will not be lost in Jesus name.

@Danbrilliant 18 August 2020

Crying to God in Times of Trouble I'm back guys. I remain danbrilliant. Prayer theme: Crying to God in times of trouble (Part One) Text: Psalm 77 What do you do, in times of deep trouble, when you have done all that you know to do and yet no breakthrough. You have fasted, you have prayed but it is as if your prayer does not go beyond the roof of your house. Infact you begin to suspect that God has turned away from you and no longer interested in walking with you or in your matter. What do you do? The first thing you need to know is that this is not peculiar to you. The Psalmist also has found Himself in this situation and he says that whenever you find yourself in this situation, one of the things you can do is to – remember the works of God in the past and praise Him for it (Psa. 77: 10-12). And here in Psalm 77: 13-20, he remembered how God through His wonderful works brought the Israelites out of Egypt. How He led them through the red sea. Do not wait for trouble or deep distress to come your way before you remember the mighty deeds of God in your life and around you. If you have not been doing so before, beginning from now, make a daily habit to remind yourself of the mighty acts of God in your life, your family and all around you. Give thanks to Him for them, praise Him for them and let it build up your faith in God. This habit will put firmly on the path of success and victory over life's battle. In leading the children of Israel away from Egypt and into the promised land, the first challenge before Moses was how to escape from Pharaoh and his men, who were in hot pursuit and are on the verge of catching up with them. He turned to the Lord in prayer, He called upon the Lord and the Lord led him and the Israelites through a strange path, a path nobody knew existed, it was a path nobody thought could ever exist – it was a path through the sea, a path through mighty waters. Standing before the Red Sea, all that the Israelites could see was a large expanse of water that cannot be crossed ahead of them and a host of angry Egyptian army led by Pharaoh in hot pursuit at the verge of catching up with them. No doubt they felt stranded, they can just imagine what Pharaoh and his men will do to them once they catch up with them, an escape route through the Red Sea was certainly not an option as far as they were concerned. But that was exactly the route through which they escaped from the Egyptians. No doubt it must have been a surprise to them that there could be a secret passage in the Red Sea, but it was no surprise to God. The learning point here is that as a believer in God, understand that – 1. God is never limited in options, there are a million and one ways by which He can bring deliverance or the help you need to you 2. When God is on your side, you can never be stranded in life, there will always be a way even if it means for Him to make a way where there seems to be no way. 3. God is never late, He will be there just in time, so go on with your own side of the arrangement, God can always be trusted to keep His own part. God bless you. Shalom

@Danbrilliant 11 August 2020

Don't Worry, Keep Trusting “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?” If you are a believer, a child of God, then the first thing Jesus want you to realize from Matt. 6: 25-26 is that if you are bound by the emotional stronghold of worry then you have forgotten who your Father is. He says that our heavenly Father finds us more valuable than the birds and flowers. He introduces this section about worry by saying in verse 25, “that is why…….”, this implies that v.25 actually is a continuation of his comment in v. 24, “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.” Mammon in this case represent money and if money is your master you are going to find yourself worrying about it instead if serving and trusting God especially if you have it in short supply or if you don't have it at all. Generally speaking, mammon does not necessarily have to mean money, mammon means different things to different people, mammon can be anything in your life that you have elevated to the same level or even higher level than the level you placed God – it can be your possessions, it can be your spouse, your marriage, your children, your work, your career, or even your life. None of these things listed or even the ones not listed, better still, nothing should occupy the same level or higher level than God in your life. Let me put it this way, nothing should be of greater importance to you than God, when you have such things in your life then you will worry about them rather than serve or trust God. Jesus put worry in perspective when He asked in v. 27, “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” In other to overcome worry, you need to be humble enough and to tell yourself the truth that you are human not superhuman, not God, so you have limitations- you cannot do all things, you cannot solve all problems, you cannot meet all needs and you certainly cannot be everything to everybody. God does not reward you for doing any of these things, rather, He rewards you for doing all that you can do – Mark 14: 8. So a very simple principle to live a life of rest and peace is to do all that you can and live the rest for God to handle. Apostle Peter puts it this way, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” After all that you can do, the ones you cannot do are the ones you worry about, those are your worries, what do you do with them? He says, give them all to God – He is the one that can do all things not you He is the one that is all powerful not you He is the one with whom nothing is impossible not you He is the one that has the answer to all the questions of life not you When you learn to do all you can and live the rest for God, including the outcome of even the one you have done then you will see that there is nothing to worry about. Provided of course that when you give them to God, you don't go back and pick them up again, neither do you keep checking up on God asking Him about what you have given to Him, that is only saying that you do not trust Him and that is an insult to God. If you are a child of God, then you are not to behave the way unbelievers will behave when it comes to worry and anxiety. God is embarrassed and feels insulted when His children worry about anything and this impedes our ability to get anything from Him. Note this very carefully, you will not receive anything from God through worry, if anything, worry will block your access to God. It may not be common in the city here, but on those occasion when you are in the village, you sometimes wake up to hear birds singing full of peace and joy because they are not worried about anything. They have no bank accounts, no mutual funds, no career path, but they understand that the one who created them as provided for them all their needs, and so they go about daily singing, full of peace and joy. You also should try that, try to sing more, make it your goal daily not to worry, but to maintain a merry heart, the bible says, a merry heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit, which is a product of worry and anxiety saps a person’s strength (Prov. 17: 22). God feeds the birds, yet they have no eternal value to Him, but you have so much value to God that He gave His only begotten Son to purchase your salvation and redemption from hell. You may find yourself surrounded by all manner of needs and despite your prayers those needs have not been met, yet you see people around you whose needs are being met. Or maybe you are going through some challenge – marital challenge, financial challenge or some other challenge that is promoting worry and anxiety in your life. Understand that Jesus in this passage is talking about your heavenly Father, not some other persons who will promise and fail or are just incapable of helping you out despite the promises they may have made to you. Understand that God is not like others, hand all your worries over to Him and leave it there. By so doing you will have positioned your self on the pathway to a stress free, worry free and care free life. Do have a great day and remain blessed. Shalom Prayer O Lord I give you thanks for caring so much for me In obedience to your word, I hand over my worries and anxiety to you Lord (Mention all your worries to Him one after the other and leave Him to handle them) I promise to trust you to resolve them for me Thank you for answering my prayer In Jesus name I pray. Amen

@Danbrilliant 11 August 2020

Untold Goodness & Believer's Harvest Guys, its danbrilliant again. I'm back and stronger. Enjoy this! **Untold Goodness** Text:John 1:46: " And Nathaniel said unto him, Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip said unto him, Come and see." It is natural for people to judge things based on what they see, hear, feel or experience. People also depend on history to explain certain things. While the people outside God's kingdom always base their judgments on facts and logic and reasoning, it is not always so for those who belong to God, especially when it contradicts the word of God. Nathaniel had preconceived ideas about Nazareth. But when Philip brought a different testimony, he was surprised but he still stepped out in faith. And the result? He became part of the glorious ministry of Jesus! With the prevailing situation all over the world, many people have different conclusions about the year but God has a different message. Many good things abound within the year but it is only available for those who debrief their minds from preconceived ideas about the year and look to God's promises for them. We are confident of this because "out of the eater came something to eat and out of the strong came something sweet" (Judges 14:14a). We shall partake of the good of this historic year. We are victors, not victims! **The Believers' Harvest** Text:Gal 6:5 _Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season , we shall reap if we do not lose heart._ In a world where everyone seems to be on a fast lane, where it is no longer fashionable to stand on what is right or good, God's word comes to remind us of the need to be strong and not to consider taking a break at all or to think of having a taste of what is obtained outside the kingdom. This can be very dangerous! The prodigal son went out of his father's house to explore the world but what did he find? Emptiness! Today, many believers have been sapped of almost all the strength in them and the things of God have become burdensome and tiring. This is why believers must remain connected to God through prayers and fasting, studying and meditating God's words among other spiritual exercises. As long as we stay connected, our strength is renewed on a daily basis. Our understanding is also enlightened to see the riches of the glorious inheritance we have in Christ. Eph 1:18 A child of God will only receive the reward(the harvest), if he remains steadfast, immovable (focused) and always abounding in the master's business. 1Cor 15:58 A very vital part of all these is in the way we live our lives. Our lives must be examples of goodness as we see in our text. With the goodness exhibited in our lives, heaven's population will constantly be on the increase. On a daily basis, see yourself as an athlete amidst the cheers of the saints that have gone ahead of us (Heb 12:1).Imagine Paul and all the saints saying to you, 'We went through this kind of lack too, We know what it is to be rejected and humiliated by friends because of the faith, We know what it is to be lonely but you can't stop now. Keep running'. We must endeavour to keep our eyes on the things that cannot be seen and not on the challenges that can be seen.(2 Cor 4 : 18)Because the believer's harvest is a total package, one can only get it only if the race is run to the end. Shalom

@Danbrilliant 11 August 2020

Guys I'm back after a short break.. Let's ride up some articles!!!!

@Danbrilliant 5 August 2020

Power For Impact DAILY PRAYERS Prayer Theme: Power for Impact Text: Isaiah 61:1-4 The Christian life is a life of power. That is why becoming part of the kingdom starts with the reception of power(John 1:12). We need this power because forces, including the flesh, will always want to make it impossible for us to remain children of God and to make impact, that is, to produce results. This is the reason many are Christians but there is little or nothing to show for it within and around them. They have not yet come to understand their new life in Christ and what it takes to walk in it. To make impact, you need to: 1. Die to sin (Rom 6:11). 2. Walk in the Spirit(Gal 5:16). 3. Pray always (1These 5:17). 4. Have the word of God living in you(Col 3:16). 5. Grow (2Pet 3:18). Because the Christian life is a result oriented one, God wants to change us,people and situations around us as well as the world. He wants to do extraordinary things through us as we see in our text. He wants to do these things through the power of the Holy Spirit that is at work in us(Eph 3:20). On a daily basis, God wants to use you to change the world. Will you allow Him? Shalom

@Danbrilliant 5 August 2020

Attributes of Jesus Theme: attributes of Jesus TOPIC: Love TEXTS: John 15:13; Ephesians 5:2; 1John 3:16; AIMS: i. to explain or show the nature of the love of Christ for mankind and ii. to teach how Christians should appraise the love of Christ. INTRODUCTION: God by nature is Omni-benevolent; that is to say, He is a loving God. In God, there is no hate, as He Himself is absolute love. The peak of God’s love for mankind is in sending His only begotten Son to die for the sins of the world(John 3:16). However, it is one thing to send, it is another thing for the one sent to fulfil the mission. The love of Christ for the whole world is therefore, manifested in obeying God to laying down His glory in heaven and humbly coming to the world in human form to redeem it from sin. The question before us today is, should the love of Christ to die for our sins be in vain for anybody? STUDY GUIDE/QUESTIONS: 1. How did God show His love for mankind in Gen 1:26; 9:9-11; Rom 5:8; 1John 4:9? 2. From these passages: John 15;13; Rom 15:3; Phil 2:5-8; Heb 1:3; 2:14 explain how Jesus Christ demonstrated His love for mankind. 3. What is the vital difference between the teachings of Christ and other world religions? John14:15, 23, 27; 15:12-13; Rom 12:9; 1Jn 4:7. 4. How should Christians respond to the love of Christ? Matt 12:50; John 15:12, 14 CONCLUSION: The maximum price anyone can pay for another is to die for the sake of that person. This has never done, and if it has ever done, it has been by the wishes and consent of the victim. Therefore, the obedience, life and death of Christ on the cross have clearly revealed to us one who possesses true and unequal love. FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Who can die for the sake of others? MEMORY VERSE: John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends”.

@Danbrilliant 4 August 2020

Against All Odds Text: Ecclesiastes 11:4 "He who observes the wind will not sow and he who regards the clouds will not reap." There are times when we decide to embark on certain ventures but the prevalent situation of the time stands as a discouraging factor. It may be a move for business expansion, going into a new line of business getting a degree,embarking on a building project or even getting married. One thing we may have observed in life is that favourable situations may not always be available to us for our endeavours. In other words, the right circumstance for a good intention may not always be there. This is why having a great God who is over and above unfavourable situations is a great privilege. So, what should be our response in situations like this? Should we fold our arms, waiting for the right circumstances before we step out? The answer we get from the text above is no! In Genesis chapter 26:1-3, the famine in Gerar made Isaac to decide to leave Gerar for Egypt. Logically, that seemed like the right thing to do but God said no. He obeyed God and set out to sow in that same land. And the result? He reaped in the same year a hundredfold and God's blessing for prosperity was upon Him(Gen 26:12,13). The aftermath of the pandemic may have made you unsure of what to do with your plans for the year. You need to seek God's will concerning that endeavour. Speak to God, trust Him and he will direct your path(Pro 3:5,6) And like Isaac, He will prosper you and command a hundredfold blessing upon your life. Shalom

@Danbrilliant 4 August 2020

Shed The Weight Now Greetings guys. I'm back! Text: Matt 18:21-35 To forgive means to stop feeling angry with someone who has done something to harm, annoy or upset you. It also means to stop feeling angry with yourself. Offence is inevitable in relationships, whether close or distant ones. We are not to select the offences we forgive, whether great or little. The explicit command is that we forgive even if we have to do so over and over again.(Matt 18:22). You may want to ask: What if I'm taken for granted because I obey the command to forgive? How do I deal with the constant hurts I get?How can I forgive when I may have to live with the consequences of the offence all the days of my life? Developing the mind of Christ is the answer to the questions above. Becoming like Christ in the way we think and how we see life is a lifelong process. The mind of Christ is characterized by love(even the one that is not reciprocated), forgiveness, humility and obedience. With the mind of Christ, forgiveness comes easily. The mind of Christ is got when we fix our gaze on Him with the desire to have the same mind and beauty that He has. (2Cor 3: 18) It is also got by constant renewal of the mind (Rom 12:2). Without the mind of Christ, you will always find it difficult to forgive 'big' offences, while you praise yourself for being able to forgive the little ones. Always remember that when you do not forgive, it becomes a weight on you and you won't be able to go far with the weight on the narrow path we are on so, shed it now! Shalom

@Danbrilliant 4 August 2020

Power Belongs To God Text: Exo 9:16 "But indeed for this purpose, I have raised you up, that I may show my power in you and that my name may be declared in all the earth." The display of God's power is seen throughout the scriptures. From the creation at the beginning to the dispersion of the people who came together to build the tower of Babel even to the deliverance of the people of Israel from the hands of Pharaoh, God's power is evident and cannot be compared to any other power. Pharaoh was seen to be a powerful king who seemed to have the destiny of the Israelites in his hand. He brought all manner of hardship upon the children of Israel in order to make them miserable. The children of Israel -the called out people were slaves in his hand while they afflicted them with burdens. God's power is seen in this also - despite all that was done to the people of Israel to subdue them, they continued to multiply and grow in such a way that they were feared by the Egyptians. God arose in His power when the children of Israel cried out to Him. He even hardened the heart of Pharaoh in order to make sure that He had enough room to display His power. To Pharaoh, he was the one to determine whether the Israelites leave Egypt or not but the truth was that the ultimate power behind Israel's freedom from Egypt was in God's hands. We can take a cue from this to be able to look beyond whatever it is that has stood as a strong force holding us back from moving into God's purpose for our lives. It doesn't matter how strong the forces are or how long the affliction has been, we must confidently believe that power belongs to God like the Psalmist who said: 'God has spoken once, twice I have heard this:That power belongs to God (Psalm 62:11). Shalom

@Danbrilliant 4 August 2020

God's Building Text: 1 Cor 3:9 "For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building." You became God's building on the day you became born again. Just as with every physical building, the foundation was laid when you believed the gospel and accepted Jesus into your life. This of course is a remarkable thing(Luke 15 :10). But the question is: Is that all there is to it? Of course not! Anyone that stops building a house only at the foundation level cannot be commended. So much work has to be done to ensure that the building turns out to be a masterpiece at the end of the construction. Looking at Apostle Paul's illustration in 1Cor 3:9-17,we see that as builders working on ourselves as individuals and on all the people God has ordained for us to nurture and to build, we must be careful. In verse 12, Paul mentions materials like gold, silver, precious stones, wood hay and stubble needed for the building. A close look at the materials show that while some of the materials have great value, others don't. All these materials are metaphors for the quality of input we make in our lives and that of others to grow as we move on in the faith. In verse 14 & 15, he says fire will try our work, that is, the building we are working on. The fire here refers to the trials,persecutions and distress faced. See also 1 Peter 1:6,7. The quality time spent in prayer, study of the word, holiness, in fact our overall devotion to God will determine if we as God's building will be able to stand the test of time. Deliberate and conscious effort must be made as we live for God because destruction and loss of eternal reward is the result of a Christian life not well built and strong enough to stand the fire. Take heed, brethren. Shalom

@Danbrilliant 3 August 2020

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