FAVOR COMES BY AVAILING YOURSELF TO GOD

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.  Luke 1:38 (KJV)  

When the angel, Gabriel, visited Mary, she least expected that she would be highly favored over her peers. How can a young village girl expect to become the mother of God's own begotten son? Though she was afraid of such an enormous responsibility to be placed on her, she availed herself to be used as a vessel of noble use because she believed in God. She knew that once the Lord has spoken, He will certainly accomplish His word. She was assured of God's presence with her in her present situation. 

In the house of God, there are many vessels, some made up of gold, silver, bronze, clay, etc. The are some vessels of honor and some that are not. When the Lord speaks to a congregation, not everybody allows the word to penetrate the heart and water it to grow and influence the person's life. To be used of the Lord, you must open your self up to Him. You have to personally and wholeheartedly avail yourself to Him. You must declared that "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." God would not force Himself on you. You have the choice of allowing Him to use you or not.

Mary response was that "I am at service, Lord", "I am at your disposal, Lord, use me as you please", "I will do whatever you command me to do because I know that with you, nothing is impossible." There was danger of spoiling her marriage, and blemishing her reputation, but she left the issue with God, and submits entirely to His will. This is what humility in spirit means. Being ready to do God's work without fear of what it would cost you. This is the attitude a Christian needs to adapt in order to be used by God. 

Bring yourself low and allow God to elevate you today. You too can be highly favored like Mary. With God all things are possible. The favor of God would abound in your life during this season of Christmas in your your marriage, education, health, job, and church. Claim this by faith and expect a miracle this season in Jesus' name. 

YOU WHO ARE HIGHLY FAVORED – THE LORD IS WITH YOU!

 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,  to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”  But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.  And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.  For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.  

Luke 1:26-38 (KJV)  

Mary was one of the daughters of the house of David. Her name signifies “exalted”. Coming from a royal lineage, one would expect that she would be rich, yet she was poor and lowly. She lived in Nazareth, a city of Galilee, located in a very remote area of the country. It was bordered by the heathen, so it was called, Galilee of the Gentiles. Out of the many daughters of the house of David, the Lord sent His angel Gabriel to proclaim good news to Mary saying, “Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” It was this same angel who had appeared to Zacharias in the temple in Jerusalem. Mary was very shocked to hear that she had been chosen out of many to be the mother of the savior of the world. Luke 1:29, But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.”  Being selected from many qualified applicants is favor! When it is time for God’s favor to be upon you, He visits you in the remotest place and calls you out of the least expected situation or condition. Out of your wretchedness and poverty, you can find favor when you call upon the Lord.

You may be in a low estate to today because things are knocking things in your life, like the angel of the Lord, I announce to you, “Rejoice, you are highly favored.” Your good health has come, your prosperity is here, your financial break through has come, doors of opportunities are knocking, your immigration status has changed, your marital status has changed. Rejoice! Hail!

Rejoice, for God has changed your disgrace to grace, and your shame to honor. There is someone here who somebody has said, nothing good can come out of you, today, I declare and decree that you are about to surprise them. You who people have said you will not live long, I decree and declare, that because of God’s favor, “You will not die, but live to proclaim the works of God.”  You shall see your children’s children and you will be called blessed among many. Because of God’s favor, you shall not go hungry. You will always have food on the table for your family. David said,

I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. (Psalm 37:25)

Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22 (ESV)

Because of His favor, you have been declared righteous so you would not be shaken or moved when the surging waters roars at you. You shall abide under the shadow of the almighty.

The angel said to Mary, “The Lord is with thee.” This signified the presence of God with her. This raised her faith. When the Lord is with you, all fear is gone. Despair becomes hope and hopelessness becomes hopeful. The impossible now becomes possible because He is the creator of all things. When you are convinced in your spirit that the Lord is with you, you allow His favor to manifest in your life for all to see and declare His glory. You become blessed so that others may be blessed through you. 

Mary sang a song of praise in Luke 1:48-55 saying:

 “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.  He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.

May this be your song today as you find favor from the Lord and become a blessing not only to yourself but to many generations to come.

AMEN!

A RIGHTEOUS PERSON IS BLESSED!

Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit  the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22 (ESV)

I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. Psalm 37:25 (NIV)

A RIGHTEOUS PERSON IS BLESSED!

JOY TO THE WORLD!

HOW PRAISE CAN INCREASE LEARNING PERFORMANCE

Train up a child in the way he should go,

And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV)

A recent study has shown that praising your child for efforts made in solving a problem even though he or she has failed to produced the desired results help promote efficient learning. Just telling the child you are intelligent or smart does not cut it! Learning comes through practice with successes and failures. Read more on this article by clicking here.

Training of a child requires a lot of effort. Think about potty training! The child would continue to wet the bed on and off until he or she finally gets it. Just telling the child, "Don't wet your bed," would not cut it. A child learns to walk by taking few steps at a time. One step, he or she fall down, rises up again and then take another step. Over time, the child begins to take multiple steps and then learns to navigate obstacles. This is what training is all about. Learning to identify ways to get up to speed on some action or developing a problem solving skill. It does not take a day to attain perfection. In fact, it is a long process but once the skill is acquired, it lasts forever. 

This is the type of training the Lord is asking parents, teachers, pastors, educators, leaders, etc., to do. A skill that last a lifetime. Ask skill that "when he is old he will not depart from it." Children must be taught the word on a daily basis so that it would be engrave in their minds, heart, and soul. Most of the children of this generation have not been trained in the things of the Lord. They are empty vessels with no Word of God in them. Yet, we expect them to live a noble and morally upright life. How do they know what is right or wrong when they have nothing in them to compare to or to convict them of sin? 

When children are imbibed with the Word of God or trained in godliness at an early age, the seed sown in them would germinate over time. They may fall and make some mistakes, but then, they will rise up again if they are encouraged to keep trying. 

May the Lord grant you the ability and wisdom to Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. AMEN!

DON'T FOLLOW THE CROWD! BREAK OUT FOR YOUR DESTINY!

 And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched. And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.                               Luke 8:43-48 (KJV)

One this particular day, I believe there were many people following Jesus  who needed some healing and a special touch from Jesus, but they couldn't reach Him. They were limited by the size of the crowd. I am sure some of them may have given up hope and returned home or they may just be following hoping that at least some miracle will come their way. The woman with the issue of blood was following like the other people until she made up her mind to change her destiny after having spent all he fortune on physicians without any cure. 

If you follow the crowd, you will stop wherever the crowd stops. You cannot go further than the crowd. But if you walk alone, you are likely to find yourself in places no one has ever been.

The woman with the issue of blood made a simple decision not just to follow the crowd but to breakout of the crowd to reach master Jesus.  To be successful in life, you cannot do just what the crowd is doing. If you keep doing the same thing that everyone else is doing and falling, how can you be successful. You need to be innovative to chart your own path. This woman  came to the realization that she had to do something different to get her healing. 

How many times have you been praying the same prayer, the same way, at the same place, and time without results. It's about time you make a change. If you have been praying for five minutes a day, it is about time to double or triple it to get results. If you pray in a rush because you are had pressed with time, it's about time to re-evaluate to find a more suitable time to have real communication with God. A time when you can talk to Him and also wait for Him to talk to you. 

Whilst the crowd was following Jesus, the woman did not just want to follow for following sake, she said, " If I can just touch the helm of His garment, I will be made whole." It was this simple decision that resulted in a life-changing experience. I challenge you to break out of the crowd and get closer to Jesus through effective prayers and bible study. Be determined to live a life of holiness and righteousness not not to do what everyone else is doing. When everyone around you is falling into all kinds of diverse temptations and sins, be the one to stay faithful to God. The woman acted singly without anyone's help. She went all out by herself. She did not care what the crowd would say. She did it in secrecy but she was discovered by Jesus. As you go all out in your closest in prayer, your prayer will be answered and you will come out to declare the goodness of the Lord.

"And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately."

What do you desire today that you want the Lord to do for you and His Church? If we make our minds that we are going to touch just the helm of His garment, we would receive restoration. And when the restoration come, we will declare Him publicly as Lord.

In Luke 19:1-10(ESV), we read about a man called Zacchaeus:

He entered Jericho and was passing through.  And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.  And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.  And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”  And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Here again, we see, how the multitude of people can hinder our progress or breakthrough. Had Zacchaeus limited himself based on his height, he would not have been saved. His strong desire to see Jesus cause him to be innovative. He made his mind to break out of the crowd by climbing the sycamore tree. Though he was short, yet he had the clearest view of Jesus. For you to see Jesus clearly, love him more dearly, follow him more nearly, you must move to a higher altitude. You cannot experience Him in totality if you are with the crowd. The crowd would always do just the average. When you are in a school where everyone is getting a grade of C in a particular subject, you feel good when you also get C because this is the norm. There is no desire to excel or go beyond this average. Sometimes, you are even teased and given names when you get a grade above C. You cannot excel if you remain at this school. You have to move out to a better school to perform. Zacchaeus had to outdo the crowd to get to see Jesus. 

Trump won the American presidential election because he broke ranks with the establishment including his own Republican Party. He did not do what everyone would do or expect him to do. He decided to do it his own way, he went alone. Even though he did and said some nasty things, it worked for him. To get closer to God, you have to break ranks with the status quo to chart a new path of your own. You have to take some bold decisions in life sometimes to go alone. Your success and blessings will come only when you break away.

Abraham had to move out from his family into an unknown land to before he received the promise and blessings. He had to move away from the things that would have hindered his progress from getting to know God. He had to move away from the crowd and to chart a path for a change in his destiny. Everyone has a unique path to follow to fulfill your destiny. It will not conform to that of the crowd. Being with the crowd is a comfort zone. For you to break out of the crowd requires boldness. Abraham was bold to leave his household. He overcame his fears and ventured out. I pray that today you will venture out into an unknown territory for the Lord. I pray that you will put away or the fears and failures of the past and chart a new path for your life. I pray that you will set yourself apart for the Lord to use you in a new direction where no one has has been. 

There is a blessing awaiting those who hear and obey the voice of the Lord to set themselves apart. This can be found in Deuteronomy 28:1-2:

 “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lordyour God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.  And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.  Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock.  Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.  Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

“The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.  The Lord will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways.  And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you.  And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.  And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them,  and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

MAY YOU LEAVE THE CROWD AND FOLLOW GOD'S DIRECTION IN ORDER TO HAVE A CHANGE IN YOUR DESTINY! BE BLESSED TODAY!

WHY WORRY WHEN GOD CARES ABOUT YOU?

I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. Psalm 37:25 (NIV)

Trust in the Lord at all times because He will never let you go hungry or be in want. He is a faithful God who always provides our daily bread. Ask Him daily for your daily bread or provision. He says in Matthew 7:7-8, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." 

We do not receive sometimes  because we do not ask for the essentials of life. There are needs and there are wants. When we ask of God, we tend to ask amidst. We ask without given careful thought to what we have asked for. Will that thing you are asking for be beneficial to your survival and desire to get closer to God? Or, is that thing going to take you away from spent time with God? God is a faithful God and He will not give you what you do not need in life. 

That is why Jesus taught His disciples to pray like this, " Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread." Matthew 6:9-11 

The righteous one is assured of God's provision for himself and his children. May you this day serve God diligently and without worries, knowing that He is the all-sufficient God (El Shaddai). He will never ever disappoint you if you trust wholly in Him to take care of you. 

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