tduke

Do not worry...

Unwrap YOUR presents!!!

Dear All,

Hope you are good!

Proverbs 25:2: It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the glory of kings is to search out a thing.

Compare with Rom 5:17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. (NKJ)

Folks, God has equipped us to reign in life as Kings!!! Hey, we’ve been given an ABUNDANCE of GRACE (favour, kindness, goodness) and the gift of righteousness!!! Wow! You see, all promises in the bible that relates to the righteous are for you!!! So, what are you to do? Be an adventurer! Get excited about the word and start digging out His promises! God has put them all over the place and they are not difficult to find!!!

Imagine you are a child and you are put into a room filled with loads of wrapped presents. I can see you excitedly opening each of them and smiling as you get a surprise here and another there! Meanwhile, I can imagine the giver of the presents standing by smiling, excitedly waiting for you to discover each surprise! Folks, it’s exactly the same! God has presents and gifts for us all over!!! Each time you read the bible, go with this expectation! Yes, get all excited, and start unwrapping your gifts — they are yours!!!

Have a great day!
Duke 77

Hold on: A comment on Proverbs 24

Dear All

I hope your week has kicked off well!

Proverbs 24:16 For a righteous man falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.

Remember Joseph! All he had was a vision and dare I say, a big vision! God did not show him the way to fulfill the vision; only the vision! It filled him with hope while He was in the pit! It filled him with hope while he was being sold as a slave! It filled him with hope while he was in the prison. Glory!!! the vision lifted him up and in a single day, Joseph became the prime minister of Egypt and the deliverer of the world!!

Hey, do you feel like you are in a set back? Do you think you are falling? Hold on; God is faithful! The vision may tarry, but it will come to pass!! (Hab 2:2-3) Prov 24:14 – Your expectation and hope will not be cut off! God will ensure that nothing greater than you will come your way! (1 Cor 10:13) and He will perfect ALL that concerns you! (Psalm 138:8).

What a legacy!

Hey All,

Hope you are all right today! I like Proverbs 20:7 The righteous man walks in his integrity; blessed (happy, fortunate, enviable) are his children after him. (AMP) Also check out Psalm 37:25: I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread. (NKJV)

Being a Christian is surely the best legacy one can leave behind! It’s so wonderful that you can rest assured that because you are His child, not only is He going to bless you, He’s also going to bless your children after you! Living a life of example as His child is a gift that keeps on giving! This legacy is surely better than money, gold or silver.  Hope this encourages you in your race – it does in mine!

Blessings,

On getting married... (a comment on Proverbs 19)

Hey All,

Hope you all right today!

I like Prov 19:14. Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD. (NKJ).
Now, if a prudent wife is a gift from the Lord to the husband, then it follows by deduction that a PRUDENT MAN is ALSO A GIFT to a woman. God won’t give a prudent wife to a man that is not prudent (how can two walk together if they be not agreed; got it? Trust!).

Now check Prov 18:22 ‘He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the LORD.(NKJ)’. Check out Darby’s translation ‘Whoso hath found a wife hath found a good thing, and hath obtained favour from Jehovah’ You see, if you read this verse in its proper context, you’ll see that it is the FAVOUR of the Lord that BRINGS the wife! (or husband!). It’s NOT the case that you have to sweat and work hard in your power, then after you’ve found her (or him), favour begins. If that is the case, why is a prudent wife a gift?(V14 above). If she/he is a gift, then he/she is an act of favour (and of course, that favour continues into marriage) Of course, I’m not stating that you sit idle…  but know that God is highly interested in this aspect of your life. He wants to be involved and He wants you to trust Him! Quick example. Isaac and Jacob both met people they loved!!! However, Isaac met his wife through favour (Abraham’s servant found her in seconds after he prayed and trusted God.) On the contrary, Jacob went through the labour route and he worked for 14 years ((Oh my!, how I love favour )

Ok, having settled that, check Psalm 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. (NKJ). I like my friend Marcus’ statement, ‘for God to withhold something from us, it would mean that thing was greater than the value of his son, but … no such thing exists’ So, if you are trusting God in this area, please keep on! James 1:17 says, ‘EVERY good and perfect gift is from Him’. At the appointed time, He’ll meet you at this point of need!

Finally, for those who preach against marriage, check out the strong words in 1 Tim 4:1-3. Bible says such teaching is both DECEITFUL and WRONG!! So, be smart! You see, God created the institution of marriage and established it. He was the one who said, ‘it is not good for a man to be alone…’ Now, if God sees a lack, His goodness ensures He fills it. So, bottom line – if you desire marriage, you desire something good, and God is faithful to fulfill it!

God bless and much love
Duke 77

Avoid the trap of isolation

Prov 18:1  A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment. (NKJ)

Hey All,

Mike Murdock once said, ‘Overcomers don’t do it alone. They conquer their pride. They reject the trap of isolation’. I think there is a lot of truth in this. Usually when facing a tragedy, or a situation, sometimes, we are tempted to hide from the crowd; to run from it all; to stay away from church; sometimes, to stay away from God! Hey, please don’t! Avoid the trap! Actually, when you feel tempted to stay away is when you NEED to be in! That’s when you need God most. That’s when you actually NEED to go to church!

What’s more, I can assure you won’t be alone in that situation. You see 1 Cor 10:13 says no situation has come your way that is not common to man. This means that what you are facing is nothing new. The same verse goes on to say that God is FAITHFUL: it will not be more than you can bear and He WILL make a way for you! This means, you can COUNT on God to make a way through it! So, don’t go running from God or His people. Rather, run to God! He knows about it already, so there’s no point running, is there He wants you to come to Him and trust Him to fix it for you. He wants to help you. You are His child and He loves you!

Have a great day!
Duke 77

On Proverbs 11

Prov 11: 3 ‘The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the willful contrariness and crookedness of the treacherous shall destroy them.’

Folks, in today’s workplace, it’s sometimes difficult to make a stand for integrity and step outside the crowd. But once you make that firm decision to do what Jesus would do in any situation, life actually becomes simple! Psalm 1 says you would be blessed (by not walking in the counsel of the ungodly). You see, His yoke is light and His burden is easy! (Matthew 11:30). His commandments (expectations) are not burdensome (1 John 5:3)! Hey, they may seem difficult initially, but once you resolve to obey and you move ahead, you’ll discover they are easy!

Remember this today, ‘God has gone ahead of you to prepare the way’. You are more than a conqueror. In John 6:33, Jesus said, ‘In this world you will have tribulation (i.e. trials, difficulties)…’! But He doesn’t stop there. He continues, ‘…but, be of GOOD CHEER, because I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD!!!! Glory! Whatever you are facing, God has gone ahead of you and overcome it for you!!! You already have the victory!!! I like that! So, no matter what comes my way, no matter what I’m facing, I know God has ALREADY made a way out! Glory!!! (check out 1 Cor 10:13). You see, God is faithful! The bible says that even if we are faithless, He remains faithful! (2 Timothy 2:13) Today, trust and obey Him fully, stay conscious of His love, and watch Him move mightily in your life!

Stay blessed
tduke

Right in your account!!!

Prov 2:7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk uprightly; (NKJ)

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (NKJ)

 Hey everyone,

 I love the above two verses! Because you are His Child, God’s given you righteousness (right standing) as a gift! He sees you as righteous (upright), and because of that, He’s stored up sound wisdom for you!!!

Hey, you have a wisdom account, all in your name, and stored for you!!! ALL the wisdom you’ll ever need for EVERY problem you’ll ever face is RIGHT THERE!!! It’s right in your name! Glory!!! It’s yours just for the asking!!! You see, most problems in life are wisdom problems and God has made provision ahead of time!!! Oh, somebody call somebody!!!

So, how can you draw from this account? It’s as simple as ABC! Anytime you need wisdom, just go before God and ask, just like a child asking her Father for a gift and He will give generously!!! And when you do ask, believe you receive, and move on with confidence, knowing you have His wisdom working in you and through you!

Have a wisdom filled day
Temitope

Forever!!!

1 Chronicles 16:34 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. (NKJ)

Hope you didn’t miss that!  See, situations change; life brings surprises; people disappoint; sometimes, even pets go awry; but God’s mercies endure FOREVER!  His mercy i.e. His favour, goodness, kindness and love towards you are FOREVER!!!  They ae with you RIGHT NOW! They’ll be with you every second, every minute, every hour, every day, and FOREVER!!!

Yes, you may be in a difficult situation. That may be the fact.  But, you see, facts change – they will pass, and only the truth (God’s word) will remain. So, even if the facts do not appear to support the truth, keep applying the truth to the fact until change comes. He has said that ‘Heaven and earth will pass, but His word (the truth) will not pass!’  It never changes! So, what do you do? Say it over and over again. Say it until it lights up within you. Say it until you get to a point where you know that you know that you know - ‘My Father is good, and His mercies towards me are FOREVER!!!’

Shalom

tduke

wordencouragement: THE STORY OF JASON!

Luke 23:34   Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."  (NKJ)

Acts 7:60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.  (NKJ)

Jason was a man in his early thirties.  Good natured, kind and compassionate, he’s the sort of person you would expect everyone to love.  But, unfortunately, there were those who hated him. Not because he wronged them, but just because they were uncomfortable round him (sound familiar?)  It happened that some of them conspired against him and laid up false charges.  To cut a long story short, he was innocent, but treated as a criminal.  He was sentenced to death.  While waiting for his execution, he shared a prison cell with two criminals.  He was in deep agony.  But, he knew what he must do, and he did it.  He forgave his enemies and prayed for their good.  And then, he was killed!

Hmmm…the above story is a true one, and it touches the heart.  While He was being killed, He forgave!!!  By now, you should know who Jason is.  Yes, I’m referring to Jesus.  You see, Jesus looked beyond the surface and saw the hearts of those crucifying Him.  Those folks thought they were doing the right thing.  Jesus responded by being merciful.  And He commands us to do the same.

How do we do this?

First, know that the Love of God has been poured out in your heart by the Holy Spirit. (Rom 5:5) So, you have THE ABILITY to forgive, even if you don’t feel so.  So, see yourself OVERFLOWING with love and mercy!

Second, think back. How many times have we made up an excuse for ourselves to justify a wrong action? We say stuff like, ‘I didn’t know’ or ‘It was a genuine mistake’.  Well, we should make excuses for others too.  Like the men who crucified Jesus, they may sincerely not know what they are doing.  Like Jesus, let us show mercy, as God has shown us mercy. (Luke 6:36)

Third, pray for those who hurt you. (Matt 5:44)  Pray that God blesses them and blesses them indeed! 

Finally, in all of this, you may not feel like it.  Don’t worry about that!  Feelings inevitably follow our actions, even if it takes time.  Remember, God won’t ask you to do something, if you can’t do it.  So, keep praying and keep loving!  Then, you’ll be true sons and daughters of God!!! And true apostles of His calling! 

God bless you and Shalom!

Let your dad take care of it!

Yes, that’s right.  Let your dad take care of it!  Remember when you were a little child, and you’d bring a problem to your dad. You saw him as an ‘all in all’ who could fix any issue.  If he told you he’ll take care of something, you took it for granted that it would be fixed.  Right?  Now, I know some may not have had that relationship.  That’s ok!  You have someone right there where you are, wanting to fix things for you.  God, your heavenly dad, is longing to fix things for you.

This may sound simple, and the biggest secrets are indeed simple.  Over the past few months, especially in moments of distress, God has taught me to go boldly to the throne room and ask Him to take care of stuff.  And I can tell you, everything I’ve taken to God and asked Him to take care of, He did!   I’m talking of dire situations.  Anytime I finish discussing with God, I would assure myself, that my daddy is now taking care of this. And He has never failed!

Folks, we have to learn to magnify our God, and not the problem.  There is nothing too hard, or too difficult for Him.  And guess what, it’s not only the big challenges you are facing that God is interested in.  He’s interested in the small issues as well.  Recently, God taught me to take everything to Him, even things I didn’t realise were challenges.   1 Peter 5:7 says to cast ALL our cares. Not some, but ALL and when you do, rest assured that your DAD, the creator of the heavens and of the earth is taking care of business.  So, you can go to sleep!  You can tap into Ps 4:8:  I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. GLORY!!!

Shalom

Tduke

Emails to encourage you from tduke

Get encouraged - emails to encourage you from tduke

Beloved,

Today, I share a simple truth that’s often taken for granted. THE LORD IS GOOD and HIS MERCIES ENDURE FOREVER.  Folks, we tend to make this statement when things are rosy and okay, but once we get the revelation of God’s goodness, then we can declare it in spite of any circumstance we may be in.

Hey, God loves you and nothing can separate you from His love.  See, God is not a man that He should lie.  If He has said it in His word, then it MUST BE SO!

Today, I challenge you not to look at the circumstances around you, which are seen, but rather to look at the truth of God’s word, which may still be unseen. (2 Cor 4:18) You see, the seen things (the circumstances, the troubles) will pass --- they are temporary.  But the truth of God’s word will ALWAYS come to pass, because it’s eternal; GLORY TO GOD!!  I dare you to believe the word that the Lord is good and to declare it until you experience His goodness.  He says that His plans for you are plans of good to bring you to an expected end and to give you a hope and a future. This gives me rest, because I know that before He formed me, He knew me, and planned a good future for me.  And you see, nothing can stop it, because God is the END.  Praise God forevermore!

So now, let’s declare this together, until it lights up within us, ‘My God, my maker, my creator, who formed me, who knows me and who is leading me, is a GOOD GOD and HIS MERCIES towards me are FOREVER!’ 

Shalom