Double for your Trouble

Weekly Nuggets June 29 2020

Zechariah 9:11-12 NKJV
“As for you also, Because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to the stronghold, You prisoners of hope. Even today I declare That I will restore double to you.

Key Phrase: Double for your Trouble

This nugget marks the start of a 4 part series tagged “Release“. Its a word which God has given me for the season and I pray the Holy Spirit will reveal the depth and breadth of this message to me.

Our reference text describes two types of prisoners; physical and emotional.
• Physical prisoners are trapped or constrained to a limited area.. they cannot move too far. Any desire to grow and move out of the boundaries the “prison guard” has defined will be met with stiff opposition. I will liken this to Joseph after he was thrown into a pit by his brothers, he still had his dreams, he was hardworking even in Potiphars house but the limit would have been head slave if not for God.
• Emotional prisoners are not limited in how far they can move, but they are limited in their thoughts… they no longer dare to dream.. their Hope’s are locked away, they ask “how can this be?”

For some, it’s one or the other and for some its a double whammy, like the man at the pool of Bethesda in John 5:7-8, he could neither move around on his own nor hope for a helper. But, Jesus spoke a word of release into his situation, like He will do for us today. Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.

Father, because of the blood of your covenant, let this word of release go forth into our lives. Lord, open every gate restraining us physically and destroy every counsel limiting us emotionally. Mostly Lord, your word promises not just a restoration, but a double portion of everything that has been held back. in Jesus name Amen

Elozino

When Wisdom and Knowledge coexist.

Weekly Nuggets June 22 2020

Daniel 2:21-23 NKJV
And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him. “I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You, For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”

Key Phrase: When Wisdom and Knowledge coexist.

He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.

For some, the two words can be used interchangeably but wisdom and knowledge are two different words.

“Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.“…Charles Spurgeon.

In today’s world there is no lacking of knowledge, we experience information overload with every thing we need on the world wide web… but…..where is the wisdom? The world seems to be going further backwards the more it accesses knowledge, demonstrating that indeed knowledge on it’s own is nothing until the Lord adds wisdom to it.

When the Lord adds wisdom to knowledge, then our testimony will be like that of Daniel’s -Access to deep and secret things, revelation of things hidden in darkness and most of all, answers to all we ask for. Or like Solomon (2 Chron 1:10) – blessings unlimited.

Father, you said in James 1:5 that you will give liberally to all who ask for wisdom. Today we ask unwavering, fill us with wisdom. Lord, King Solomon asked for both wisdom and Knowledge, we ask for same today in Jesus name. Mostly Lord, Just as you did for King Solomon, grant us wisdom and knowledge, follow it up with riches, wealth and honour, to the glory of your name. Amen

Elozino

Exploit- ‘full’ or ‘less’

Weekly Nuggets June 15 2020

Exodus 5:1-2 (NKJV)
Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’ ” And Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go.”

Key Phrase: Exploit- ‘full’ or ‘less’

There is a word in proverbs 14:12 which says “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” This refers to the one who denies the existence or power of God and walks a path directed by their freshly desires – this path never leads any where good.

Pharoah, in our text was such a man, full of himself and empty of God, set on travelling his own path, a path that challenged the very existence and authority of God, a path that led the host of the Egyptian army to their death at the bottom of the red sea.

Many with a heart like Pharoah have eventually self-destructed, finding themselves at a dead end (or under water) after years of a ‘God-less’ journey. On the other hand many with a ‘God-full’ heart like Daniel will continually do exploits (Dan 11:32b), experience regular progress and prominence inspite of the tricks and devices of the enemy. The difference is Knowledge of God.

Father, help us to know you more with each passing day. Lord, for anyone still asking today “Who is the LORD, that I should obey”, we ask that You will show them your glory and their hearts be returned to you before they self destruct. Mostly Lord, Exploits…. as we begin to know you more, let exploits manifest in every area of our lives and ministry, in Jesus mighty name.

Elozino

P.E.A.C.E remedies

Weekly Nuggets June 8 2020

John 14:25-27  (NLT)

25 I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. 26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. 27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

Key Phrase: P.E.A.C.E remedies

A trick of the devil is to kill, to steal or destroy our source of joy, but our Lord Jesus is the antidote – He restores our joy, gives everlasting life and most of all a peace that confuses the enemy.

The enemy may have tried to steal our joy, but we rejoice in the fact the Jesus, our saviour is on our side and will give peace for trouble, dancing for mourning. This week I share 5 release remedies for every troubled heart….
P – position yourself at His feet to hear from Him (like Mary, Luke 10:39)
E- express yourself to Him (like Hannah in 1 Sam 1:12)
A- approach His throne, gain entrance with praise (Psalm 100:4)
C- cease worrying, be anxious for nothing (Phil 4:6)
E- exhale, expect a release (Job 14:14)

Father, today we position ourselves at your feet for a word and touch of healing. Lord, we ask that as we pour out our souls to you, You will take our pain and enable a praise to spring forth. Mostly Lord, we await a release, a release of your mercy, a release of your strength, a release of your peace which passes all understanding, in Jesus mighty name.

Elozino

Divine Barcode

Weekly Nuggets June 1 2020

Genesis 4:15

And the LORD said to him, “Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him

Galatians 6:15-17
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. Blessing and a Plea And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

Key Phrase: Divine Barcode

Have you noticed that everything now comes with a barcode? A barcode according to wikipedia is a method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable form. It is usually in the form of letters or lines or patterns that require a barcode scanner or a smart phone to scan and read the information encoded within.

Barcode technology is not new at all, it was invented by God and has been in use divinely since the beginning of mankind, technology is only just catching up.

The very first use of a divine barcode was on Cain.. God gave a mark to protect Cain despite his misdeeds. But the marking we will dwell on this week is the special marking which apostle Paul reveals to us – the markings of Jesus Christ.

When God marks a man, it’s always for a purpose. The markings are to preserve us, to set us apart, it’s to tell the world that “this one is mine”. The mark of Jesus is the ultimate, it represents His stripes, His blood, His Ressurection power – this is the mark we need to covet today.

Father, today we pray that You separate us from the world for a blessing. Lord, even when we err, please let your mercy speak, still mark us for protection. Mostly Lord, we covet the barcode of our Lord Jesus, the markings of life, of healing, of transformation, of protection, of light, of deliverance, of power – grant unto us today in Jesus name

Elozino

Your Cherith, where God rules

Weekly Nuggets May 25 2020

Job 22:22-30 The Message (MSG)

21-25 “Give in to God, come to terms with him and everything will turn out just fine.
Let him tell you what to do; take his words to heart. Come back to God Almighty and he’ll rebuild your life. Clean house of everything evil. Relax your grip on your money and abandon your gold-plated luxury.
God Almighty will be your treasure, more wealth than you can imagine.
26-30 “You’ll take delight in God, the Mighty One, and look to him joyfully, boldly. You’ll pray to him and he’ll listen; he’ll help you do what you’ve promised. You’ll decide what you want and it will happen; your life will be bathed in light. To those who feel low you’ll say, ‘Chin up! Be brave!’ and God will save them. Yes, even the guilty will escape, escape through God’s grace in your life.”

Key Phrase: Your Cherith, where God rules

The opening line of this weeks nugget scripture sums it all up – “Give in to God, come to terms with him and everything will turn out just fine“.

When the chips are down and man has reached the extreme edges of our natural intelligence, when our gold and silver can not be relied on to solve our problems, when the houses we’ve built are empty because we can only live in one, when our rows of shoes and suits gather dust because there is no where to go…….. then we slowly begin to realize that we have strayed and it’s time to return to a place where only God matters.

A return to God is a return to our foundation, It is a return to a place of absolute reliance in Him. Elijah was led to by God to a place called Cherith (1 Kings 17:1-6) for a season.
A place of total submission to God. Cherith means trusting in God’s guidance, provision, protection, instruction, revelation. It is a place that remoulds us to come out empowered to take territory for God.

Elijah left Cherith fully charged impacting lives of all he came into contact with. In this season, let us find our Cherith, a place we learn to be totally reliant on God, a place which builds us up for power and a life of impact.

Father, In spite of the confusion in the world, lead us to our Cherith, a place of remoulding. Lord, as we find Cherith, let us to be still enough to hear from you, to rely on you, to trust and obey you. Mostly Lord, we ask, that as we give in to you sovereign power, hear our prayers, clothe our lives with your light, cause the overpouring of grace in our lives to bring release and impact to everyone around us. In Jesus name.

Elozino

1-stop-shop, its at His Feet

Weekly Nuggets May 18, 2020

Matthew 15:29-31 The Message (MSG)

After Jesus returned, he walked along Lake Galilee and then climbed a mountain and took his place, ready to receive visitors. They came, tons of them, bringing along the paraplegic, the blind, the maimed, the mute—all sorts of people in need—and more or less threw them down at Jesus’ feet to see what he would do with them. He healed them. When the people saw the mutes speaking, the maimed healthy, the paraplegics walking around, the blind looking around, they were astonished and let everyone know that God was blazingly alive among them.

Key Phrase: 1-stop-shop, its at His Feet

There is nothing as convenient as a super mart that stocks everything from matches to bunk beds. You just know that no matter how long or complicated your list is, once you get there you are sorted and may even get some freebies thrown in.

There is a place in the spirit that works just like that, a place where everything just ‘gels’. That place is the feet of Jesus.

The NKJV translation of our text tells us that Jesus sat waiting and today He still sits at the right hand of God in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named (Eph 1:20-21)… waiting to heal.

Healing isn’t restricted to sickness only. The dictionary describes healing as;
• to make healthy, whole, or sound; restore to health; free from ailment.
•to bring to an end or conclusion, as conflicts between people or groups, usually with the strong implication of restoring former amity; settle; reconcile.
• to free from evil; cleanse; purify:to heal the soul.

The MSG translations says “all sorts of people in need”. He is expecting the physically sick, spiritually sick, materially sick, emotionally sick, maritally sick, academically sick, He is expecting many others with conflicts, those needing release and various kinds of challenges. If you can name it, He is expecting us today.

And the best part is “He healed them”!

Father, I pray that no problem brought to Your feet today will be too difficult to heal. Lord, we put ourselves humbly at Your feet and ask every thing that needs a healing in our lives will receive Your touch and will be made whole. Mostly Lord, let your healing trigger off something so big in our lives, that everyone will know that our God is blazingly alive among us. In Jesus name.

Elozino

The traps of indignation

Weekly Nuggets May 11, 2020

Mark 14:3-9 NKJV

And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply. But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me

Key Phrase: The traps of indignation

There is an old saying which goes “you cant understand another persons experience until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes“. True words, for many times we can only perceive the motive of someone else’s actions based on our own personal experiences.

The Message bible puts verses 4-5 of our text quite dramatically …. “Some of the guests became furious among themselves. “That’s criminal! A sheer waste! This perfume could have been sold for well over a year’s wages and handed out to the poor.” They swelled up in anger, nearly bursting with indignation over her.

Sounds familiar? This is a trap we all fall into, running scenarios in our heads, “bursting”, “swelling”, with anger and indignation over what we have no business judging and by doing this run the risk of falling into a 3-step trap;

1. We take strong positions, being unnecessarily indignant, pained, irked, upset, vexed about their actions.
2. We become judge and jury over them and charge them guilty of an unnamed unknown offence.
3. We miss the point completely – that God’s work is being progressed by this action / sacrifice (and we are offended by this)

While we ponder on these traps, I will conclude with the response of our Lord Jesus “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me.”

Brethren, be mindful of every court session we hold in our hearts, lest we fall into the traps of indignation.

Father, forgive us for every instance where we have grumbled and vexed in our hearts when others do good work for the kingdom. Lord, we ask for a renewed heart, a heart that sees and judges like the Father. Mostly Lord, there is a lesson of sacrifice hidden in your word today, teach us to be on the right side of sacrifice – those making the sacrifice not those complaining about it. In Jesus name.

Elozino

Counsel, rock solid

Weekly Nuggets May 4, 2020

Psalm 33:8-14 KJV
Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

Key Phrase: Counsel, rock solid

Counsel is what we seek when we genuinely want to move forward, when we desperately need change, when we want lasting change.

However there are different types of counsel; good, bad, poor, rich, uninformed, informed, uneducated, educated, empty, full, weak, powerful …. all these can be gotten from various sources but there is only one source that gives perfect counsel which lasts the test of time, this is God almighty.

Proverbs 19:20-21 says, “Listen to counsel and receive instruction, That you may be wise in your latter days. There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the LORD’s counsel—that will stand“.

I pray that in the multitude of counsel we seek and hear, only the Lord’s voice will stand out, only the Lord’s counsel we will follow and only the Lord’s counsel will stand forever.

Father, speak a word into our lives which our fears and doubt cannot ignore. Lord, let your counsel colour our lives and be the fulcrum for our vision and fulfilling our destiny. Mostly Lord, as we hear & as we obey, let your counsel overrule the counsel of nations and bring forth a lasting change into our lives, In Jesus name.

Elozino

Dont know or dont care?

Weekly Nuggets April 27, 2020

1 Samuel 13:7-13 NLT
Meanwhile, Saul stayed at Gilgal, and his men were trembling with fear. 8 Saul waited there seven days for Samuel, as Samuel had instructed him earlier, but Samuel still didn’t come. Saul realized that his troops were rapidly slipping away. 9 So he demanded, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings!” And Saul sacrificed the burnt offering himself.10 Just as Saul was finishing with the burnt offering, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet and welcome him, 11 but Samuel said, “What is this you have done?” Saul replied, “I saw my men scattering from me, and you didn’t arrive when you said you would, and the Philistines are at Micmash ready for battle. 12 So I said, ‘The Philistines are ready to march against us at Gilgal, and I haven’t even asked for the Lord’s help!’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came.” 13 “How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.

Key Phrase: Dont know or dont care?

“Ignorance of the law is no excuses” is a legal principle infering that a person who is unaware of a law may not escape liability for violating the law because he/she was unaware of its content.

Apart from ignorance, there is also willful disobedience. When for whatever reason, we justify our wrong doing with reasoning that we know will not pass in one-to-one conversation with the Holy Spirit

Whether in ignorance or in willful disobedience the risk of escaping punishment is low, which is why as a believer, daily prayers for grace, wisdom and revelation is required.

Saul had great excuses for offering the sacrifice himself, it could be that he didnt know, it could be that he didnt care but all that didnt matter, he had lost out big time on his calling.

Our prayer this week is inspired by Ephesians 1:17-18, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.

Father, uproot the spirit of ignorance and disobedience from our lives. Lord, teach us that sometimes the battle we fight is not external but internal, against self and flesh which speak the language of fear, worry, doubt….words foreign to the Holy Spirit. Mostly Lord, may the eyes of our understanding being enlightened; that we may know what is the hope of your calling, that we will not trade short term gain for the hope of your calling. In Jesus name.

Elozino