Day-by-DayWord

Vol. 1

Mthobisi Dladla

Be Clear. 1 Corinthians 14:8 (GNT) And if the one who plays the bugle does not SOUND A CLEAR CALL, who will prepare for battle?

This is something most of us battle with; MAKING A CLEAR CALL. The word "bugle" in our opening scripture is actually the word "trumpet". When soldiers went to war, as a sign that they needed to prepare for battle, one of the soldiers (chosen) will sound the trumpet to alert the rest. There was a reason for the CLARITY of the sound that the trumpet makes or else the soldiers wouldn't know whether to go out for battle or to do something else. God wants us to do the same when we are asking Him something or asking for something from Him. We sometimes don't want to be clear about what we need because we feel like it might not be the will of God or what we are asking Him might somehow offend Him; but that should not be our concern. Jesus said "your Father knows what you need before you ask for it" (Matthew 6:8), therefore not saying exactly what is in your heart might be something of a LIE to God if you look at it that way. When asking something from God, we NEED TO BE CLEAR. We need to tell Him exactly

what we need. When God appears to Solomon by night and asks him "what should I give you?" Solomon tells God that he needs WISDOM, so that he can judge Israel which was a very large company of people (1 Chronicles 1:7,10). The Divine Response from God is amazing when He says "because THIS WAS IN YOUR HEART..., WISDOM and KNOWLEDGE I have GRANTED you" (1 Chronicles 1:11-12). We need to pour out our hearts to God when we are asking Him for something; we need to be DEFINITE about our requests. God values an honest heart. If there is anything you need God to do for you, go to Him BOLDLY and let Him know, if it is by any chance not His will, He will let you know and that knowledge will leave you in PEACE, Paul says Dont worry about anything; INSTEAD, PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience Gods peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7 [NIV]). He is our Father, we should not be afraid of Him and He most definitely doesn't want us to think that He is unapproachable. Therefore let us go and make definite petitions to our Father, as Jesus had said "whatsoever you ASK in My name, I WILL DO" (John 14:13) and in another place He says "Your Father LOVES YOU" (John 16:27). So, let us

get ASKING it could be our time for a miracle and we'll never know until we ask. Another thing, WE SHOULD BE THANKFUL and APPRECIATIVE when God has given us our heart's desire, God loves a grateful heart so much.

God Bless You.

Draw Near to God. Lamentation 3:57(NIV) YOU CAME NEAR WHEN I CALLED, and you said, Do not fear.

Everything begins somewhere. James says "draw near to God and He will draw near to you."(James 4:8). Many of us wonder and think and sometimes even pray to God, asking this life-changing question, HOW DO WE DRAW NEAR TO YOU, FATHER? HOW DO WE COME CLOSER? At some point in our lives we have had a revelation of drawing near to God, we have realized the riches and the beauty of drawing near to Him and of coming closer to Him, to experience His Precious Presence, but we just didn't know how to. John the Apostle in his account of the gospel speaks about Jesus closeness to the Father when he says No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. (John 1:18) Jesus was in the bosom of the Father, in the closest space next to Him and in close relation with Him. Paul says in Acts 17:26-27 "From one man he made all the nations that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and

the boundaries of their lands. God did this SO THEY WOULD SEEK Him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, THOUGH HIS NOT FAR FROM ANY OF US". He said I am not that FAR, from any of you; just amazing. Since we know that His is not that far then it should be easy to come close to Him; but we just don't know how. Nonetheless God be thanked for His Word, which shows us and teaches us the things of God, because the entrance of His Word gives LIGHT (Psalm 119:130). The opening verse is too powerful for words, because it explains just about everything we need to know about drawing closer to God. It says "You (God) CAME NEAR WHEN I CALLED...", so it means that, the moment we CALL, God DRAWS NEAR. In another place God says I would not have told the people of Israel to SEEK ME if I could not be found. I, the LORD, speak only what is true and declare only what is right." (Isaiah 45:19 NLT). The reason God said we should seek Him, is because He truly can be found, if we seek Him we will FIND Him, WHEN we seek Him with all our hearts (Jeremiah 29:13). PRAYER is that first step; when we pray we are reaching out to God - we are calling unto Him. In Jeremiah 29:12-13, God says "Then you will CALL UPON ME and come and PRAY to Me, and I will LISTEN to you, You will SEEK Me and FIND Me when you seek me with all your heart. - POWERFUL. He says

when they come and PRAY to Me, I WILL LISTEN. Therefore let us begin to draw closer and closer to God and draw closer CONTINUALLY, In 1 Chronicles 16:11 it says "..., seek His PRESENCE CONTINUALLY". Let us keep coming closer to Him, let us draw NEAR to Him and He will draw NEAR to us. We need to take the first step because is already looking for those who seek after Him. PRAY WITHOUT CEASING (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

God Bless You.

Explicit Images. Ezekiel 23:14-16(GNT) She sank deeper and deeper in her immorality. She was ATTRACTED BY THE IMAGES of high Babylonian officials carved into the wall and painted bright red, with sashes around their waists and fancy turbans on their heads. AS SOON AS SHE SAW THEM, SHE WAS FILLED WITH LUST and sent messengers to them in Babylonia.

The principle thing is that LUST is a SIN. It is a different sin, because it's a sin of the heart; a sin that in most cases leads to another sin. One such sin is covetousness, which leads to envy, theft and even jealousy. In this particular instance we are talking about SEXUAL LUST. When we read our opening verse, we understand that as soon as she (this is the personification used for the land of Jerusalem) looked at such pictures she began to lust; meaning that the pictures caused the LUST. If we read further on, in the verses that follow (v. 17-18) it says "the Babylonians came to have sex with her. They used her and defiled her so much that finally she became disgusted with them"(GNT); it didn't just end with LUSTING; it ended with engaging in the deed she LUSTED after. An

example of such pictures is pornographic pictures and videos. That is why PORNOGRAPHY is a sin. Pornography takes away the sanctity of sex and it destroys God's holy image of marriage. For instance Jesus says "but I tell you that anyone who LOOKS at a woman LUSTFULLY has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matthew 5:28); this is scary because it means that one doesnt need to physically engage in the deed but just by thinking about it theyve already done it. What Jesus said applies to both men and women. You might not see a woman physically to lust at her but you can be looking at explicit images and have that lust developing within you. Job said "I dictated a covenant (an agreement) to my eyes; how then could I look [lustfully] upon a girl?(Job 31:1AMP). Therefore there is a need for us to put away a heart of LUST and put on the new heart (Ezekiel 36:26) that God gave to us through Jesus. We need to refrain as much as possible from explicit and obscene images that cause lust in the heart. Furthermore, it doesn't have to be pornography, it can even be pictures on social networks; as long as they war against the soul and cause lust they are not good for us. It is these kinds of pictures that even grieve the Holy Spirit of God; and we ought not to grieve Him therefore let us strive into perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Additionally, when Adam and Eve had sinned in the Garden of Eden, their eyes were opened to see that they were naked and God made tunics for them to cover their nakedness showing that God wanted people to be dressed from that moment onwards. Secondly there is a scripture in the book of Habakkuk that makes it clear to us that God wants no one beholding another persons nakedness except in marriage between the married couple and indeed the prophet says by the word of the Lord Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, SO THAT HE CAN GAZE ON THEIR NAKED BODIES! (Habakkuk 2:15). The prophet says the main reason that this person is giving his neighbor an alcoholic drink to get him/her drunk is so that he can look at that persons nakedness and God is extremely against it. Therefore let us love one another and respect ones and each others bodies.

God Bless You.

Awareness of the Presence. Psalms 16:8 (GNT) I am ALWAYS AWARE of the Lord's PRESENCE; HE IS NEAR, and nothing can shake me.

This is one of the most powerful scriptures in the whole bible. Jesus said surely I am with you ALWAYS even to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:20). If we read this we understand that Jesus is not saying I am watching over you, He is saying I AM WITH YOU, so to say that I am next to you - close to you. Astoundingly, God did something too great for our minds to comprehend when He in filled us with the Divine Presence of His Holy Spirit. He says "Christ in you"(Colossians 1:27), in other words He is not just next to you, but inside of you. Even the Master talks about the ministration of the Spirit from the Father saying And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, THAT HE MAY ABIDE WITH YOU FOREVER; Even the SPIRIT OF TRUTH; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for He dwelleth with you, AND SHALL BE IN YOU. (John 14:16).

However even though we know this reality, how much are we aware of it? How much are we experiencing it? Sometime ago the Spirit of God said to me "The consciousness brings the anointing", meaning that I should always be conscious of Him or I must always be aware of Him. David says "I am ALWAYS AWARE of the Lord's PRESENCE", to be aware is to be conscious or having knowledge of something or being sensitive towards something. He was saying that he was ALWAYS aware of the PRESENCE of God, and He recognized that God was NEAR. We need to start having that deep awareness of God; we need to be convinced beyond measure that Jesus is always with us. We need to recognize His OMNIPRESENT nature which He has by His Spirit, even in worship and in prayer; we need to recognize that HE IS NEAR, He is closer to us than the air we breathe. Allow your spirit to always be sensitive of the closeness of the Holy Spirit and you will enjoy an amazing relationship with God, you will be filled with so much peace and love for God, and He will begin to reveal Himself more and more to you.

God Bless You.

The Friendship of God. Exodus 33:11(NIV) The Lord would speak to Moses FACE TO FACE, as ONE SPEAKS TO A FRIEND. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.

A friendly relationship with a man, that's what God, has always been looking for. This is one of the most intimate relationships a man can have with God - when a man speaks to God FACE TO FACE. If we look at the book of Ezekiel 39:29 we find God saying "And I will not hide My FACE from them anymore; for I shall have POURED out My Spirit on the house of Israel, says the Lord God ", its amazing that we are living in the era of the outpouring of the Spirit of God and one of the reasons we have the Spirit of God is so that we can enjoy this friendly, personal relationship with our Heavenly Father. Since we have the Holy Spirit we can easily tap into God's Presence whenever we feel the need arising which should arise every second of our lives. In another place Paul says "For through Him (Jesus) we both have access by one Spirit to the Father."(Ephesians 2:18), he says we have access or an introduction by the Spirit to

our Father. Job experienced this wonderful friendship with God (Job 29:2-4) so did Abraham (Isaiah 41:8). Jesus in fact calls us to this friendship, when He says "YOU ARE MY FRIENDS, if you do my commandments"(John 15:14). The keeping of Jesus word is His standard for friendship with us and the more we come close to God is the more we experience this friendship with Him and Solomon says "There is a friend that sticks closer than a brother"(Proverbs 18:24); God is that friend. He is a friend always, and the more we follow His Son and do the things that please Him, meditate on His word and be constantly delighting in Him, the more intimate our relationship with Him gets.

God Bless You

Perceive the Grace. Galatians 2:9(NIV) James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of FELLOWSHIP when they RECOGNIZED THE GRACE GIVEN to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.

This is the area we sometimes fail so miserably in - to perceive the grace of God in others. It is the tradition of almost every church to have the benediction at the end of the service and in the duration of the benediction, in the last moments, the pastor would say, LET US SHARE THE GRACE". This is a statement THAT IS so phenomenally powerful if we would look at it the way God's word looks at it. Let us share the grace. Sharing is God's ministry to us as believers; Paul says "Anyone who receives instruction in the word must SHARE ALL GOOD THINGS with his instructor."(Galatians 6:6). In order for us to accept other believers in our midst (fellowship with them) and not be judgmental and critical towards them, we have to see the grace of God in their lives and how that same grace can benefit both the body of Christ as an entity and us individually. The

first thing that we need to understand is that EACH AND EVERY BELIEVER HAS RECEIVED SOME MEASURE OF GRACE, as Paul says "But to EACH ONE OF US GRACE HAS BEEN GIVEN as Christ apportioned it." (Ephesians 4:7) therefore there is no one in the body of Christ who hasn't received grace - we need to LEARN TO RECOGNIZE & SEE IT. If we fail to recognize the grace of God in others, we will miss out on a lot of blessings because we rejected the grace that God wanted them to share with us. No one man can do everything in the body of Christ and no member of the body is useless "If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?" (1 Corinthians 12:17). We are together because we need each other. There's a grace that the man, Joseph of Arimathea had that even Cephas being the pillar didn't have; because Joseph was rich and influential he (most probably him alone among the disciples) could get and claim the body of Jesus for a burial (Matthew 27:57). When Potiphar SAW that the Lord was with Joseph (son of Jacob) and that God gave Joseph success in everything he did, Potiphar put him in charge of his household (Genesis 39:3-4). Potiphar SAW the grace and the favor of God upon Joseph and he made a decision to make him the supervisor of his house and afterwards the bible records "from the time

he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, THE LORD BLESSED THE HOUSEHOLD OF THE EGYPTIAN BECAUSE OF JOSEPH. THE BLESSING OF THE LORD WAS ON EVERYTHING POTIPHAR HAD, BOTH IN THE HOUSE AND IN THE FIELD." (Genesis 39:5) - HOW AMAZING IS THAT. We should always exhort one another in the grace of God, build each other and esteem the other better than ourselves (removing every form of selfishness & jealousy that blinds us from seeing the grace of God in others) and not criticize and judge one another but on the contrary build each other in the love of God. Paul says We have different gifts, ACCORDING TO THE GRACE GIVEN TO EACH OF US. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. (Romans 12:6-8) If we as believers recognize each others gifts and graces, in the church we would have so much growth because we all have something to contribute. The bible says "he who walks with the wise grows wise..." (Proverbs 13:20), recognize the grace, make fellowship and partake of the same grace.

God Bless You

The Joy of Worship. Luke 24:52(NLT) So they WORSHIPED HIM and then returned to Jerusalem FILLED WITH GREAT JOY.

When we worship God, the joy of God fills our hearts. It is true worship, in Spirit and in truth that we experience the essence of Gods Love and Presence which brings inexpressible joy in our hearts. David said in His Presence THERE IS FULLNESS OF JOY (Psalm 16:11) and in another place he also says WORSHIP THE LORD WITH GLADNESS; come before him with joyful songs (Psalm 100:2). As we praise and worship God we are filled with His Presence, we are filled with the Spirit, and no better Person brings the Presence of God like the Holy Spirit. In fact that is what the Kingdom of God is all about, "it is righteousness, peace and JOY in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). Imagine the praise and the worship in heaven, all that is in heaven finds JOY in worshiping and praising God, the bible says Jesus REJOICED in the Spirit and gave PRAISES to God (Luke 10:21). When Paul and Silas were in the prison, after all that happened to them, the afflictions they suffered, they began to pray and SING hymns to God,(Acts 16)

and that was the source of their JOY at that moment of despair. When we make melodies in our hearts and sing to God, the joy of God begins to fill us, all the cares and the burdens of life are taken away, all the depression and anxiety fades, we begin to be FREE, THE JOY OF THE LORD BECOMES OUR STRENGTH (Nehemiah 8:10). The word says "...the righteous SING and REJOICES" (Proverbs 29:6) Thats beautiful. We ought to always be REJOICING (1 Thessalonians 5:16) and we can get there by worship. If you are having heartache or you are feeling down and depressed begin to worship Him from the deepest part of your heart, begin to sing to Him, thank Him, praise Him, the word says "Praise the Lord, for it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is PLEASANT and praise is BEAUTIFUL. (Psalms 147:1).

God Bless You