ARE YOU USING YOUR BEST WEAPON?

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Today’s Readings:

Deuteronomy 4:32-40

Psalm 77:12-16,21

Matthew 16:24-28

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You are not using your best weapon yet. As Christians, we cling to God because of all the things He has done, the gift of life and keeping us safe through difficult situations: finances, relationships, near-death experiences and personal hurts that we could not explain to anyone else, but God intervened. Trust in God is our strongest weapon in the face of life’s challenges. Why is it that we find it hard to trust Him? Why is it that we find it difficult to repose confidence in God? It is almost as if we only trust Him after He has gotten us out of trouble or saved us from a bad situation? Jesus tells us in the Gospel, “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24-28).

😇 “Renounce yourself” – Lay aside your own agenda and plans, dreams and aspirations.

🤗 “Take up your cross” – Take up that dream or challenge, that mission which God has given you.

🤲🏽 “Follow me” – Do things according to God’s commands. Be disciplined with time and resources, knowing that opportunity comes but once. Do not waste whatever chance you have been given.

Following God demands trust and that trust is what will see us through every difficulty. Because if we continue to hold on to our own ways of doing things, our desires, choices and plans, they are going to fail. But if we set aside our selfishness and strive to do what God has called you to (“Be holy as I your heavenly Father am holy” – Matthew 5:48), we will ultimately find joy and peace. And even if we have to endure any form of pain (physical, emotional, biological, social, mental or spiritual), trust that God will not let us drown in it, we will emerge a better and stronger version of ourselves. This calls for closeness and intimacy with God as we try to make sense of our situation. Never forget the huge role that prayer and reading the Scriptures play in this regard. Come close to Jesus and experience the difference.

JUDE-MARY OWOH

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Prayer:

1. Praise ye the Lord, Praise the Lord, O my soul.

2. While I live will I praise the Lord; I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.

3. May God reveal to me each day, His unique plan for my life, in Jesus name.

4. May God grant me a listening ear for His commands and instructions, in Jesus name.

5. May the Holy Spirit teach me how to draw closer to the Father each day and step by step, to follow Christ and find peace and joy forever, in Jesus name.

6. Father Lord, we commit our children, youths, and young adults to Your fatherly care. Keep them in Your secret place and they shall abide under the shadow of Your wings, in Jesus name.

7. Father, release faithful, committed, dedicated and obedient labourers into Your vineyard, in Jesus name.

8. Father, by the authority that ordain the heavens and all in it, we decree and declare complete paralysis on lawlessness, immorality and drug abuse in our nation, in Jesus name. Amen.