BEFORE YOU STEP OUT TODAY TUESDAY 21/06/2023

TEXT LUKE 8:22-25

CLASSIC

TOPIC : OVERCOMING ADVERSITIES.

[22]Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.

[23]But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.

[24]And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.

[25]And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.

  

Beloved, the disciples were on duty carrying out the exact instructions of the Lord.

They were not in disobedience, yet the storm of wind attacked their boat.

The biggest shock for them was that the miracle worker was inside of the boat yet the raging storm came.

I have seen bad things happen to good people and because of their very poor knowledge of the scripture, they were almost completely destroyed by the storm.

The disciples were totally shaken by the storms.

Their whole foundation was shattered.

My question today is, can you be steady in the storm?

Anybody can be steady when  everywhere is stable.

If you can be steady in the storm, then you are no longer a child, you are a matured son of the kingdom.

Soldiers in the military academy go through the most rigorous and life threatening trainings.

The reason is that one day they will need that discipline to be alive.

We are soldiers in the Lord's army.

He puts us through certain tough trainings in order to bring out the real stuff we are made of.

The question is still, can you be steady in the storm?

God bless you.

With the God I serve, nothing shall be impossible.

Your case is not bigger than God.

May you have a God filled day in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Your Victory is already guaranteed

It is well, do not give up, with God all things  are possible

(Please be a blessing to seven persons by sending to them   devotionals)

For further reading,   

1 Samuel 22,23. 

Pastor  Obi Ejikeme

Senior Pastor

House of faith, Nigeria

BEFORE YOU STEP OUT TODAY MONDAY 19/06/2023

TEXT ROMANS 8:35-39

CLASSIC

TOPIC : OVERCOMING ADVERSITIES.

[35]Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

[36]As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

[37]Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

[38]For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

[39]Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Dearly beloved, faith is defined in the book of Hebrews 11:1 as

 the substance of things hoped for, and as the evidence of things not seen.

Faith comes are a result of our believe system while trust is built through our relationship with a person or a spirit.

When I say that I trust my wife, it is purely based on a long standing relationship.

Trust in God is the result of a relationship.

This relationship over a protracted period of time, reveals to us His character.

The highest level of our relationship with God is that of trust.

The Hebrew youths who were threatened by Nebuchadenezer who was the most feared king of his time,  told the king that they would not bow before his image.

They told him that their God was able to deliver them(faith)but if He does not, they were ready to die for their conviction(trust).

What are your expectations of God? Is it in alignment with the experiences of our fathers of faith like apostle Paul?

Is yours based only on  the things you receive?

Did you hear what apostle Paul said in our highlighted scripture?

He declared boldly that no condition can separate him from his relationship with Christ Jesus. He started listing them.

Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, decapitation.

The list continued.

Beloved, Jesus told us that in this world, that we shall face tribulations but " take heart, I have overcome them".

I pray that God will give you a supply of strength in your seasons of  trouble in Jesus mighty name.

God bless you.

With the God I serve, nothing shall be impossible.

Your case is not bigger than God.

May you have a God filled day in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Your Victory is already guaranteed

It is well, do not give up, with God all things  are possible

(Please be a blessing to seven persons by sending to them   devotionals)

For further reading,   

1 Samuel 20,21. 

Pastor  Obi Ejikeme

Senior Pastor

House of faith, Nigeria

BEFORE YOU STEP OUT TODAY SATURDAY 17/06/2023

 

TEXT ISAIAH 12:2-3

CLASSIC

TOPIC : OVERCOMING ADVERSITIES.

[2]Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

[3]Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

Beloved, I want us to deeply examine joy as a force of restoration.

Joy is not happiness.

Happiness is the momentary elation of the heart that happen when there is a change in conditions and circumstances of our material existence.

Joy is a force in the human spirit which can be developed consciously.

Joy is a state in the human spirit where our feeling of wholeness is not predicated upon material things. Joy when handled well graduates into a  weapon that can bring restoration no matter how bad the situation may be.

Joy when welded with dexterity, can position us in a place of constant advertage.

That scripture describes joy as an equipmen with which to draw out of Heaven.

Joy has direct impact on your strength level.

.Nehemiah 8 verse 10,

[10]for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.

So when next you see us celebrating, realize that it's not because we now have all we need, but because joy will bring them to us.

God bless you.

With the God I serve, nothing shall be impossible.

Your case is not bigger than God.

May you have a God filled day in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Your Victory is already guaranteed

It is well, do not give up, with God all things  are possible

(Please be a blessing to seven persons by sending to them   devotionals)

For further reading,   

1 Samuel 16,17. 

3 John 1.

Pastor  Obi Ejikeme

Senior Pastor

House of faith, Nigeria

BEFORE YOU STEP OUT TODAY FRIDAY 16/06/2023

 

TEXT JOHN 9:1-3

CLASSIC

TOPIC : OVERCOMING ADVERSITIES.

[1]And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.

[2]And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

[3]Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

One of the most painful aspect of adversity is that it creates opportunity for mockery and judgement.

Beloved, human beings assume that there must be an answer for everything that happen to them or to people around them.

When they seem not to get one, they manufacture the answer.

The disciples asked Jesus in our anchor scripture for today concerning the blind man, who sinned?

An elderly woman who I had known for decades rushed to my house one evening, looking emaciated and at the point of mental derailment.

She had three children, all married but none had a child.

A prophet had told them that she was responsible for their painful conditions.

I watched her raise them, she put them in the best schools and finally sent all of them abroad.

She said to me pastor, they say that I am a witch.

Beloved if you have ever been put in the waiting mode of life, you will understand me very clearly.

Others start this business and it works, you start your own and nothing seems to be working.

Others marry and it works, you get married and your life is put in a pause mode.

Others start their ministry and in two years, every where is jammed even with overflow, you start your own and it's as if God didn't call you.

It is at this point that people begin to ask you where is your God?

 beloved, don't answer for God. Let God answer for Himself. If God has always taken the glory in your life, then it's not your place to answer for God.

In Proverbs 13:12 the bible said that,

"Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life."

What should you do when adversity seem to have overtaken you.

Remember the comfort of scripture (Romans 15v4).

Psalm 119 v 28

My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word.

May God's word see you through this season in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

God bless you.

With the God I serve, nothing shall be impossible.

Your case is not bigger than God.

May you have a God filled day in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Your Victory is already guaranteed

It is well, do not give up, with God all things  are possible

(Please be a blessing to seven persons by sending to them   devotionals)

For further reading,   

1 Samuel 14,15. 

2 John 3.

Pastor  Obi Ejikeme

Senior Pastor

House of faith, Nigeria

BEFORE YOU STEP OUT TODAY THURSDAY 15/06/2023

TEXT JOB 4:4-7

CLASSIC

TOPIC : OVERCOMING ADVERSITIES.

[4]Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.

[5]But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.

[6]Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?

[7]Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?

Periods of adversity are dark times.

At these times, you need strength.

The closest of friends may display their humanity because they are also confused.

It is at times like this that friends start to ask themselves if your sins are not responsible for your troubles.

Eliphaz, Jobs friend declared that job should search himself that his sins are responsible for his adversity.

At this time, if you do not receive strength, you would be drowned.

No one is too strong that he cannot be destroyed by adversity.

Ask John the Baptist, the one who bapthized Christ, he was a victim of adversity.

One of the ways to draw strength in times of adversity is the understanding of the revelation of the love of God.

Another is the comfort of scripture.

LOVE OF GOD.

The bible said in 1 John 3:1,

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not."

This scripture said, see the dimension of love. It's so deep that it is difficult to understand.

Imagine if the new governor of your state were to give you a call and say, "we want to honor you", how would you feel?

Here is the monarch of the whole universe reaching out to you that He loves you.

In Jeremiah 31:3, the bible declared,

'The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee."

Beloved,this is true.

In the book of Romans 8:28, the voice of the Lord said, 

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

We are privy to some knowledge, some deep truths that it will end in our advantage.

This is the confidence of the believer.

God bless you.

With the God I serve, nothing shall be impossible.

Your case is not bigger than God.

May you have a God filled day in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Your Victory is already guaranteed

It is well, do not give up, with God all things  are possible

(Please be a blessing to seven persons by sending to them   devotionals)

For further reading,   

1 Samuel 12,13. 

2 John 2.

Pastor  Obi Ejikeme

Senior Pastor

House of faith, Nigeria

BEFORE YOU STEP OUT TODAY WEDNESDAY 14/06/2023

 

TEXT 2 CORINTHIANS 12 :7-9

CLASSIC

TOPIC : OVERCOMING ADVERSITIES.

[7]And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

[8]For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

[9]And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

What is adversity?

Adversity is being, forgotten in a position for years whereas those who are of less capacities and qualifications are promoted.

Adversity is knowing where you should be at this time of your life, but being far below where you ought to be.

Adversity could be suddenly finding that your most valued relationship is lost.

Many years ago, I came to the office.

It was a wonderful bright morning and we were all in a wonderful spirit.

A couple of weeks before then, I had gifted my special assistant with a beautiful jeep.

That morning we were in a strategic meeting planning about our expansion to the west African coast when I got a call that changed and shattered life into several fragments.

For a long time, the ring tone of any phone resonated a strange phobia in me.

The road safety corps called me and asked if I knew the occupants of a jeep with the description of the one I gifted my assistant, confidant and bosom friend.

That phone call was the worst phone call of my life.

I fell down, luckily into my seat as I felt a sharp ice cold spike thrown into my heart.

For weeks and months, I was mourning my friend.

I would hear his voice whenever I was alone.

I refuse to let go.

Beloved, there are times when it is foolishness trying to put a comma when and where the  owner of the script has already put a full stop.

Then I recalled this scripture,

[13]There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:13). 

Beloved, in times of adversity, Satan will try to convince you that you are dealing with an uncommon situation, but the bible said that there is no temptation coming to you but such as is common.

What God has called common, refuse the temptation to call it uncommon.

No matter what you are going through, you are not the first person to go through it. Many people have gone through it and survived it.

Be determined to survive it.

Remember that God said to us through apostle Paul that His grace is sufficient for us in our times of weakness.

In the face of adversity, remember that diamonds are made under pressure.

Continue to trust God, it will end up in praise.

God bless you.

With the God I serve, nothing shall be impossible.

Your case is not bigger than God.

May you have a God filled day in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Your Victory is already guaranteed

It is well, do not give up, with God all things  are possible

(Please be a blessing to seven persons by sending to them   devotionals)

For further reading,   

1 Samuel 11. 

2 John 1.

Pastor  Obi Ejikeme

Senior Pastor

House of faith, Nigeria

BEFORE YOU STEP OUT TODAY MONDAY 12/06/2023

TEXT 1 PETER 4: 12-13

CLASSIC

TOPIC : OVERCOMING ADVERSITIES.

[12]Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

[13]But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

What is adversity?

Adversity is simply a difficult or painful situation.

Beloved in this world difficult and painful situations do occur, sometimes even to good people.

The bible talks about a day of adversity, a day when Satan pays you a visit.

That day happens once in a while to different people but surely they do occur.

In Proverbs 24:10, the bible encourages you to stand firm on our day of adversity.

"If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small."

We have different types of adversities, it could come as a major failure, loss of a job, a precious property, a valued relationship or even a loved one.

These attacks are orchestrated by hell to test your confidence in your God.

They are arranged to know how rooted your trust is in God.

These attacks are not from God, they are made to look as if they are from our God.

Beloved, no matter how hell package the adversity, ensure that it does not drive you away from God.

God is the only one that can help you in times of trouble.

The hopes and  plans of Satan will be achieved once the adversity succeeds in driving you away from your only true helper, God.

I pray for you, that God will strengthen you in your periods of adversity.

God bless you.

With the God I serve, nothing shall be impossible.

Your case is not bigger than God.

May you have a God filled day in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Your Victory is already guaranteed

It is well, do not give up, with God all things  are possible

(Please be a blessing to seven persons by sending to them   devotionals)

For further reading,   

1 Samuel 9. 

1 John 4.

Pastor  Obi Ejikeme

Senior Pastor

House of faith, Nigeria