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  • Be meek and mild!

    Rev Enoch Thompson | JANUARY 23, 2023 | MATTHEW 5:5 KEY VERSE: Matthew 5:5 (NIV) Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. MESSAGE: Aggressive loudness and self-projection are the marks of the worldly astute person. Quick retaliation is the norm of the worldly person. The Lord Jesus calls His followers to be contrary to this, they are to be meek. The true followers of the Lord Jesus Christ on the contrary are meek people. The hymn writer refers to the Lord as “Gentle Jesus, meek and mild.” A meek person is one who remains calm under extreme provocation, though they may have the power to ruthlessly deal with the assaults on their dignity so suffered. A meek person exercises power under control when angered and forgives. They are able to control themselves and not react in ways that will escalate differences. The meek person lives so as ”to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.” (Titus 3:2 NIV). They are to be like the Master who said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matt 11:29 NIV). By worldly standards, a meek person is often considered a weak person. A meek person is often taken advantage of by godless people who think their evil against the meek is smartness. The meek person is often disposed of their possessions and are seen to be losers of what this world has to offer. The Lord Jesus compensates the loses of the meek with the assurance that “they will inherit the earth.” What this means is that even though their disposition may lend them to being disposed of their goods, they have control of their inner orientation which makes them healthy, their gentleness lends insights into their business which yields profit and success. Their amiability makes them the best company for socializing and for business. Meekness, therefore, gives a certain power to master and possess the earth. But it also means the assurance of a place in Heaven. The promise here is fetched from Ps 37:11 where it reads “But the meek will inherit the land, and enjoy great peace.” “The land” here refers to Canaan, which was a picture of Heaven, and therefore the assurance is of a place in God’s eternal home. In effect, meekness has promise for this life and the life beyond the grave. FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE: Determine to master your spirit and pursue gentleness, especially when you live in a provocative environment, at home, at work or even in the Church. PRAYER: Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, please help me to be like you. Give me that self-control that takes away the triumph from those who use force and violence to enrich themselves. For your dear Name’s sake. Amen. SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

  • Begin to Mourn!

    Rev Enoch Thompson | JANUARY 22, 2023 | MATTHEW 5:4 KEY VERSE: Matt 5:4 (NIV) Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. MESSAGE: The world multiplies its means of entertainment, and people generally seek out ways to appear happy. The Lord Jesus however indicates that the citizens of the Kingdom of God are accustomed to mourning. He Himself was known as Man of Sorrows, accustomed with grief (Isaiah 53:3). Have you noticed that some of the things we do to appear happy and mirthful compromise us to choices and behaviour that result in sin. We sometimes lose our sense of individuality so as to be part of the crowd, and in so doing let down our guards to speech and behaviour that offend God. We smile in every mirror and in every photograph to say that we are happy. The Teacher in Ecclesiastes 7:6 asserts “Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless.” (NIV). Kingdom citizens in their hatred of sin and in their determination to avoid godless mirth tend to be a people who may aptly be described as mournful. They mourn over their own sinfulness and their temptations. They mourn over those who have fallen into the grips of the enemy. They mourn over the injustice in this world. They mourn with those who mourn over their losses in this life. They mourn because humanity does not fear God nor subdue to Him. The promise is that “they shall be comforted.” The godly mournful shall be comforted in this life, for God comes in strongly and gives joy for all the sorrow they bear. “For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.” (2 Cor 1:5 NIV). But they shall be comforted eternally when they reach Heaven. There, my dear friends, “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." (Rev 7:17 NIV). FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE: Kingdom mourning is not wearing a long face and being anti-social; it is an inner attitude of dissatisfaction with what the world calls joy and seeking to bring the rule of God into one’s life and environment. Begin to mourn! Look out for God’s comfort!! PRAYER: Lord, give me a heart that mourns, like you mourned when you walked this earth. And please Lord, comfort me for my mourning. For your dear Name’s sake. Amen. SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

  • Be Poor in Spirit

    Rev Enoch Thompson | JANUARY 21, 2023 | MATTHEW 5:3 KEY VERSE: Matt 5:3 (NIV) "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. MESSAGE: In the next few days, we will be working our way through the eight beatitudes that the Lord Jesus gave in the sermon on the mount. The beatitudes show the character that the citizens of the Kingdom, believers in and followers of the Lord Jesus, have to show. The Old Testament begins with the threat of an impending curse that could come upon the nation of Israel: "⁵See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. ⁶He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, or else I will come and strike the land with a curse." (Mal 4:5-6 NIV). The Lord Jesus Christ begins His ministry by pronouncing blessings, to show that, as the carol writer says “He comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found.” God intends for humanity to live in His abundant blessings, but the Fall into sin has erased the blessing and made us cursed or unhappy. The Old Testament stressed the curse and its consequences, so when Israel was to enter Canaan the curses were recited (please read Deut. 27:12-26). Because the ministry of Christ in the New Testament was to restore the original blessing, Christ in this first sermon declares the blessings associated with Kingdom citizenship and Kingdom living (Matthew 5:3-10). In the first beatitude, the Lord Jesus teaches us “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (NIV). The Lord does not praise material poverty by this teaching. He intends to communicate to His disciples that Kingdom citizens are people who acknowledge that in the light of Heaven’s evaluation, they are insignificant, bankrupt, deficient and of no value. It is the admission of our guilt as sinners, and our dying need of a Saviour, and the sustaining grace of God for us to live the God-kind of life. There are materially poor people who are proud, and even reject God’s offer of free salvation in Christ. Such people are far away from the Kingdom of God. Truly happy people (blessed) are such as accept the verdict of God that, “²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Rom 3:23-24 NIV). Till one accepts the verdict of God that we are sinners from birth, and deserving only of an eternity in Hell, and that we humbly accept the free offer of new life in Jesus Christ, we are proud opposers of God and can never live the truly blessed life. FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE: Acknowledge the truth of your spiritual bankruptcy and accept God’s loving free salvation in Christ. You will be a blessed person indeed. PRAYER: Dear God, I am a sinner from my mother’s womb, and I need your life to truly live. Come into my heart and help me to live as a true citizen of your Kingdom. In Jesus’ Name. Amen. SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

  • Crowd Involvement or Close Discipleship

    Rev Enoch Thompson | JANUARY 20, 2023 | MATTHEW 5:1-2 KEY VERSE: Matthew 5:1 (NIV) Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, MESSAGE: Matthew 4 identified the main components of the ministry of the Lord Jesus as teaching, preaching, and healing. Examples of the healings He performed were mentioned in that context. Hereon Matthew in chapters 5 to 7 gives an example of the teaching-preaching ministry of the Lord, what has become known as the Sermon on the Mount. The Master-Teacher/Preacher explains clearly how Kingdom citizenship should affect the behaviour of those who are Kingdom citizens. The rules of the Kingdom are demanded of Kingdom citizens, and non-believers are not to be held to those standards. The Kingdom of God makes a distinction between citizens and strangers to the Kingdom. Christians often make the mistake of expecting non-Christians to live by the law of Christ. The Apostle Paul corrects us ⁹I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— ¹⁰ not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case, you would have to leave this world. ¹¹But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. (1 Cor 5:9-11 NIV). The Lord saw” the crowds,” but when He sat down it was “His disciples” who drew near to receive instruction. FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE: Ask yourself if you are only part of the crowds that surge after and around Jesus (because they seek and desire to see miracles) or if you are a disciple, drawing closer to a wonderful Preacher/Teacher, to receive the wonderful words of life, which prepare you to receive the bounties of miracles in God’s way and in God’s time. PRAYER: Lord, I want to know you more and more. Please speak to me, and may I hear your teaching each time I read Bible or hear the Word preached. For your dear Name’s sake Amen. SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

  • Jesus; my teacher, preacher and healer

    Rev Enoch Thompson | JANUARY 19, 2023 | MATTHEW 4:23-25 TEXT: Matthew 4:23-25 (NIV) Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. MESSAGE: Jesus Christ was a popular person in the context of first-century Israel. Our text shows that His fame spread throughout the nation. He was noted as a teacher, a preacher and a healer, and these factors attracted multitudes to Him. Do you feel attracted to Jesus Christ? What is it that attracts you to Him? It appears to me that the miracles of the Lord, which here in our text covers the healing of diseases He accomplished among his countrymen are the major attraction to Him. The human condition worldwide has not been cured of the challenges of disease, in spite of the advances in the field of medical science. Demonic oppression is a reality in the modern era, just as it was in the ancient world. In more economically advanced and politically better-organized countries, demonism and satanic oppression have taken different forms, and are sometimes reduced to and explained away by the fields of psychology and psychiatry. Understood for what it is, it is the same Satan who oppressed the first-century world that disturbs modern humanity. It is important to stress that the Lord Jesus was also a great teacher and a powerful preacher. His teachings have served the purpose of advancing His Kingdom on earth but have gone beyond the walls of the Church into the public arena, with Human Resource, Administration, law, economics and other secular specialists fetching principles for their fields from the words that fell from His lips. Jesus Christ is still a great attraction! FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE: As we seek to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, let us embrace the totality of His continued ministry of teaching, preaching, and healing. Let us join the ancient crowds on the shores of Galilee, in the fields and in the Temple courts and receive from the Lord instruction for life and godliness, and miracles of all kinds, at the times and in ways He chooses to work. PRAYER: Jesus my Teacher, Preacher, and Healer, I worship you and seek to experience your ministry more and more. Please let me hear you in each work you do through your people in the Church. May I see you and hear you working your great ministries, for your dear Name’s sake. Amen! SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

  • Don't delay your responses to God!

    Rev Enoch Thompson | JANUARY 18, 2023 | MATTHEW 4:18-22 KEY VERSE: Matthew 4:20 (NIV) At once they left their nets and followed him. MESSAGE: Our text for today narrates the call into discipleship of two pairs of brothers, Peter and Andrew, and then James and John. They were all fishermen, and busy about their business. It seems here that the Lord appeared to them as a complete stranger, but the Gospel John fills in the gap by telling us that they had had some contact with the Lord through the ministry of John the Baptist: see John 1:40-42 ⁴⁰Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. ⁴¹The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). ⁴²And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter). NIV Our focus for today, however, is the prompt manner in which they responded to the call of the Master (vv. 20, 22). Afterall they were minding their business which brought them food and wealth. Following an itinerant preacher, even if He had been introduced by another preacher, calls for a lot of determination. But we note that in both instances, they responded immediately, leaving everything behind. The Lord Jesus Christ still makes calls to us and on us, in our time and circumstances. For all humans, His first call is that to faith in Him as the one and only Saviour. He claims that no one can get to God the Father except through Him. To those who have accepted His offer of salvation and passed the first post, He calls us to a deeper and closer walk with Him, to obedience to His teaching, and claims upon our lives, upon our time, talents and treasures. And it would do us much good to respond promptly and excitedly. FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE: Ask Jesus to come into your life if you have not done so already. If you are already a believer, take the next step of seeking to know Him better and committing to serve Him more, promptly and faithfully. PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, thank you that you came to earth freely and died for me willingly. Please help me to love you fully, to follow you nearly, and to obey you promptly. For your dear Name’s sake. Amen. SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

  • Repent, the Kingdom is Near!!!

    Rev Enoch Thompson | JANUARY 17, 2023 | MATTHEW 4:12-17 KEY VERSE: Matthew 4:17 (NIV) From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." MESSAGE: The mission of the Lord Jesus Christ was to inaugurate the Kingdom of God and open the door to it by His sacrificial death on the cross of Calvary. The Kingdom of God is not a geographical political space, it is the rule of God in the hearts of individuals who submit their wills to God freely. The Kingdom of God is the invasion of light into the realms where darkness ruled and giving of the God-kind of life where the shadow of death hung over human souls. The Lord Jesus chose to start His ministry, as here, from the region of Galilee to further identify with the state of humanity in darkness and in bondage to the forces of death. Galilee was a backward backwater part of Israel. In doing this He established the bases of acceptance into the Kingdom, repentance. From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." We must repent, and have a change of mind, which should result in a change in the way we think, talk and behave. Repentance is not remorse felt for having been caught for our wrongdoing. Repentance is the acknowledgement that our sin is an offence to the holy God and that we willingly choose to re-align our ways to His will. Repentance is not a momentary emotional flash in the pan. Its true quality is shown in an abiding hatred of sin and results in a new personality, a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). The call to repentance is more pertinent now in view of the admonishment, “ And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. (Rom 13:11 NIV). FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE: Tell God that you acknowledge the sin nature we were born with and that you reject its power over you, accepting the forgiveness that the blood of the Lord Jesus offers us. The blood of Jesus deals with the root of sin. Determine to stay away from the fruit of sin, the continual choice to disobey God. PRAYER: Lord, I was born a sinner, a slave of Satan and his evil rule. I renounce sin and the rule of the forces of darkness, in the Name of Jesus. I desire to and ask you to help me by your Holy Spirit to live the life that shows true repentance. In Jesus’ Name, Amen! SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

  • Worship God only!

    Rev Enoch Thompson | JANUARY 16, 2023 | MATTHEW 4:8-11 KEY VERSE: Matthew 4:10 (NIV) Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.' MESSAGE: In the third Temptation, we see Satan as a legalistic daring bad devil; he stood before Jesus, the Word made flesh, the Creator of the universe, in His self-humiliated state as the God-Man, and dared, to ask Him to bow down to worship him, so that he, Satan could give Him all the kingdoms of this world. See the thief shouting the wares of his theft in the marketplace! Adam and Eve did sell our birth-right as agents of God to the Devil in the first temptation in the Garden of Eden. And in the third Temptation in the wilderness, Satan sought to seal the evil done to humanity by asking for the endorsement of that ancient transaction by bowing as Adam and Eve virtually did. The response of the dear Lord Jesus is the answer we must give when Satan seeks our allegiance and demands our worship. Whether the Devil comes as a mental suggestion, a human personality, a philosophical system, as a supposedly Christian leader or as an outright physical manifestation, to demand our worship, our answer must be one and only one, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.' When the enemy has been dislodged, God will send angels, God will send helpers, God will provide for you when you worship Him only (v. 11). FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE: Make a vow to the Lord that you will worship Him, and Him only will you serve. Determine to say no to anything or any person that seeks to have more space and authority over you than the allegiance you owe to the Lord Jesus Christ. PRAYER: O Lord my God, I pledge my worship to you and you only all the days of my life. Please help me to stay strong in the face of the calls from the enemy demanding my worship. In Jesus’ Name. Amen. SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

  • Do not test God!

    Rev Enoch Thompson | JANUARY 15, 2023 | MATTHEW 4:5-7 KEY VERSE: Matt 4:7(NIV) Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" MESSAGE: The second Temptation was based on a misapplication of God’s Word, and an invitation of the Lord Jesus Christ to use His Messianic powers to seek human fame, as the man who jumped and landed safely from the highest point of the Temple. To attempt such an action was to call into question God’s faithfulness to fulfil His Word as misquoted by the Devil. We must be careful not to take decisions and pursue actions that, in the guise of exercising faith in God, may expose us to dangers to which God has not intended for us to expose ourselves. When we put ourselves in compromising and dangerous situations and “trust” God would take care of us, we are tempting God. Faith does not mean presumption or brainlessness. True faith must be intelligent, and act reasonably. To attempt to walk on water has landed some people on the other side of eternity in super-record time. Prolonged fasting without due caution, refusing medical attention, staying off medication in the name of divine healing, irresponsible financial management or the refusal to follow available education opportunities are all examples of putting God to the test. FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE: If we think God will sustain us in dangerous and generally irrational steps we take in the Name of the Lord, let us share our thoughts with other members of our community of faith. God does not need our extraordinary feats to prove His reality and power. God can and is glorified in the ordinary course of life. Do not tempt your God! PRAYER: Dear Lord, please help me to see your power and your glory in the ordinary course of things. Lord, do extraordinary things in your time. I shall be content to praise and worship you by what you choose to do or not to do. In Jesus’ Name Amen! SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

  • Redefine Life and Living

    Rev Enoch Thompson | JANUARY 14, 2023 | MATTHEW 4:1-4 KEY VERSE: Matthew 4:4 (NIV) Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' " MESSAGE: The first Temptation in the wilderness took the form of the Devil asking the hungry Son of Man to turn the stones which abounded in the wilderness into bread, apparently to satisfy a real need, for after forty days of fasting, the Lord was truly hungry. Satan takes advantage of our felt and real needs, and the circumstances we find ourselves in to push us to violate who we are and to digress from our divine mission. The first Temptation was an attempt to lure the Lord Jesus Christ to misuse His divine power to satisfy a real personal physical need, to behave like the First Adam who let food, the satisfying of a natural appetite, take the place of a sustained relationship with God by keeping God’s commandment. The response of the Lord redefined what life and living should be. Bread is important, but bread is not what sustains the God-kind of life. The God-kind of life, which is the real true life of the person, is derived from a knowledge of and dependence on the written and revealed Word of God, which ensures a positive relationship with God. True Followers of Christ must wean their hearts away from material orientations, and develop a deep reliance on God and His demands of them. God has been teaching this lesson from the Old Testament: ¹Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers. ² Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. ³He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. ⁴Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Deut 8:1-4 (NIV) The Lord Jesus said, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Luke 12:15 (NIV). FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE: Determine to be alive over and above what you have or do not have. Find real satisfaction not in a full mouth, a full stomach, a full wardrobe, or a full bank account. That is not what defines who you are. Tune your mind to find satisfaction in your relationship with God. PRAYER: O Lord, please help me to be weaned away from all attachments and self-definition that are built on material things. May I find real life in you and your Word. And according to your word, please meet all my needs according to your riches. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

  • Christian Temptation is a question of our identity

    Rev Enoch Thompson | JANUARY 13, 2023 | MATTHEW 4:1-11 KEY VERSE: Matthew 4:3 (NIV) The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." MESSAGE: The Temptation of the Lord Jesus Christ in the wilderness was a key event in salvation history. God the creator of Heaven and Earth, was subjected to tests that sought to undermine the integrity of the mission of the salvation of the human race that He had come to undertake. While different forms of the temptation of succeeding generations of Christ-followers are woven into the form of the Temptation of our Lord, we want to focus today on an underlying principle involved in the case of the Lord Jesu Christ, and which principle still lies behind every temptation we face in our times. The Temptation of the Lord Jesus was principally an attack on the identity of the Lord, and if He would hold on to who He was so that He would be qualified to save humanity. If the Lord Jesus had failed to uphold His identity in the wilderness, then the Second Adam would have sold out to the Devil like the First Adam did, and the rescue mission would have failed right from the onset. Take note of how Satan attacked the identity of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the first temptation: “The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." (4:3 NIV). The temptation here was not necessarily about stones becoming bread. It was about the identity of Jesus Christ as the Son of God (God implied), who did not count life from a frivolous materialistic physical orientation, but from the spirit. In the second temptation: "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: . . . “ (Matt 4:6 NIV). The temptation here was not necessarily about gymnastic abilities. It was about the identity of Jesus Christ as God who did not need to seek to impress humans by how He keeps His Word. In the third temptation: “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. ⁹"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." (Matt 4:8-9 NIV). Here again, the temptation is not about a test of the genuflective skills of the Lord. It was a test of proof of His identity as the God-Man. The creatures of God are meant to bow to Him. If the Lord Jesus had bowed to Satan then He would have enthroned Satan as the de facto God of the universe, and humanity’s enslavement would have been confirmed irrevocably. FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE: Whenever we are tempted to lie, to gossip, to be sexually deviant, to be lazy about our Bible reading and prayer, tempted to be tribalistic, proud etc, remember that our identity as children of God is being called into question. Will you stand your ground, like the Lord Jesus Christ in the wilderness, and affirm your true identity, by siding with God’s Word about us, that we are no more sinners but saints, beloved children of God, one new humanity in Christ? We are because “it is written” in the Bible. PRAYER: Dear Father above, forgive me for the times I have forgotten who I am and have allowed the enemy to trap me. May I, like my Saviour. remember and assert whom you have made me through His sacrifice, and win every time my identity is called into question. In Jesus’ Name, Amen! SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

  • Fulfilled Protocol Releases Necessary Blessings

    Rev Enoch Thompson | JANUARY 12, 2023 | MATTHEW 3:16-17 KEY VERSE: Matthew 3:16-17 (NIV) ¹⁶As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." MESSAGE: The baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ at the beginning of His ministry has been shown in the last devotional to have been a necessary part of His total mission. Today we want to stress that when we follow divinely mandated protocols we naturally attract divine approval and unleash divine benefits to ourselves, and to the group dynamics of family, business, the Church and society. Our text asserts that “¹⁶As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:16-17). The time element of THAT MOMENT is meaningful. It means that the fulfilment of the baptismal requirement brought the God-Man Jesus Christ to the point where God the Father would announce and showcase Him to the world. There are many of us who want to see Heaven opened, without wanting to stand in some cold Jordans, or be “reduced” by abiding by some church requirement we think below our dignity. Many seek for God to announce us when we have not shown by our new transformed character and a new way of thinking, which is scorned by the world, that God has come into our lives as Saviour and Lord. O, how the Holy Spirit descended upon the self-humiliated Christ, to announce His divine identity because He had identified with lowly humanity by His baptism. FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE: Ask God to show you what things He expects of you to do, as part and expression of your submission to His will, from His Word and from Church requirements. Do you have to regularize your “marriage” or submit yourself to baptism? Do you have to revise your financial contribution to the upkeep of the Church? What about your roles as a Christian, as a father, or as a mother of a child? PRAYER: Lord, help me place myself where the moment arrives, from today, where Heaven is opened over me, and Heaven announces me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen! SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

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