Move Africa – Page 16 – Move Africa: Providing Essential Resources to the Rural Towns of Ghana, Africa

THE LORD IS FAITHFUL

“Even though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, l will fear no evil, for You are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4

In your darkest and stormy situation, the Lord is with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you.

When you are weakened, God is your strength. When you have no more energy, God will revive you. He has hidden resources for you and sometimes, it’s your trouble that will bring out His faithfulness so that you can see that He has been your Source and your Sustenance all along.

The God you serve is faithful. He is with you in the storm, flood and fire. God says, ‘I’m still with you. In spite of the fact you lost your job or your house or that you are squatting with family but I’m still with you.’ God is not like anyone else.
He will not abandon you!!!

I want to encourage you to never give up! keep going!! If no one helps you, keep going! If giants threaten you, keep going! If walls are built to stop you, find a way over it or around it! No matter what the test or challenge; I want to encourage you to never give up, keep going!

Stay connected and focused on the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the Fountain of Life. For in His Light we see light. Fountain to your life

Devotional

VIRTUES OF FATHERS

And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received from us. For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.” Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good. 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

6. _OUR FATHER WORKS DILIGENTLY._ Our Father is not a lazy person. Jesus revealed this truth. “But Jesus answered them, My Father works hitherto, and I work” – John 5:17 Our Father in heaven has not ceased to work.

Diligence is one of the virtues in God’s kingdom. It is workers that receive wages in the kingdom. No work, no pay – “for the worker deserves his wages” – Luke 10:7.

The son learnt how to work from the Father. One great virtue a father who represent our heavenly Father must pass on to his children is diligence.

It is those who work diligently that rule in God’s kingdom. “The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute” – Proverbs 12:24.

Prayer alone doesn’t make a person rich. It is rather when you work that you pray seriously. To pray twenty-four hours a day can never make you rich. God doesn’t bless laziness. He blesses diligence. “He becomes poor that deals with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent makes rich” – Proverbs 10:4.

Praying or fasting without work can only make a person a beggar. And we are not called to be beggars. When Peter left his fishing work to follow Jesus, He became a fisher of men. He rigorously preached the gospel to save lives.

In imitating our heavenly Father, let every earthly father teach his children how to work. One of the principles the early church laid down was that: “You study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you” – 1Thessalonians 4:11. The reason is for them to “have lack of nothing” – 1 Thessalonians 4:12.

Failure to work is punishable by living without food. “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat” – 2Thessalonians 3:10. So, no food for the lazy man. No work, no food.

LET’S PRAY
Heavenly Father give me grace enough to always remember, the world we live in, came through work; and it is work that can sustain those that live in it. Holy Spirit strengthen me to work as if it all depends on me so I can pass on to my children a good example in the glorious name of Jesus Christ. Amen Amen Amen

AGREE WITH ME
You are a plant and you just need water to flourish and bear fruit to fulfill your destiny. So, you need to be connected to the Source that never dry. I therefore decree and declare this morning “May your business, finances, career, academics, marriage, family, health, physical person and spiritual person be connected to the Fountain of life, by the Power of the Holy Spirit in the mighty name of Jesus Christ!”

General

VIRTUES OF FATHERS

But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ. Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian. For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you. Galatians 3:22-29

5. _Our heavenly father is impartial._ Our father is not bias. What he did for someone in the past, he will do for someone today. What he gives to the white person he will also give to the black person. He doesn’t change. “For I am the LORD, I change not” – Malachi 3:6.

He is not selective. He doesn’t love the Jews more than the non Jews. He doesn’t have respect of persons. “And if you call on the Father, who without respect of persons judges according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear” – 1 Peter 1:17.

When he causes his rain to fall, our Father makes it fall on both the righteous and unrighteous. So also the sun. It shines on both those who hate him and those who love him. “That you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” – Matthew 5:45.

He is not a racist nor tribalist. Everybody is very important to him. Both the rich and the poor are equal in his sight. The white is the same as the black in his kingdom. “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him” – Romans 10:12.

To represent him on earth, he expects fathers to show no respect of persons in their judgment. Society and nations would be a comfortable place for their citizens if fathers raise up their children with the virtue of impartiality.

In some African nations for instance, partiality is form of government in which the party in power kicks out all suspected non party members from positions of influence and gives them to party members. The worse they do is to ignite a tribal war by favouring one tribe more than the other.

If only fathers are anti-tribal and anti-racial then would they teach their children the virtues of brotherliness. I pray that just as our heavenly father is impartial, all fathers will follow his example.

LET’S PRAY
Heavenly Father, give me grace enough to always remember that, impartiality is a social power that connects people from different races and tribes together.

AGREE WITH ME
You are a plant and you just need water to flourish and bear fruit to fulfill your destiny. So, you need to be connected to the Source that never dry. I therefore decree and declare this morning “May your business, finances, career, academics, marriage, family, health, physical person and spiritual person be connected to the Fountain of life, by the Power of the Holy Spirit in the mighty name of Jesus Christ!”

General

VIRTUES OF FATHERS

So the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to tell David this story: “There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor. The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle. The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man’s own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man’s lamb and killed it and prepared it for his guest.” David was furious. “As surely as the lord lives,” he vowed, “any man who would do such a thing deserves to die! He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity.”
Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! The lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul…….
[13]Then David confessed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”Nathan replied, “Yes, but the lord has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin.2 Samuel 12:1-15

_2. God who is our father is a giver of quality things._ He gave to the world his only begotten son. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son” – John 3:16.

Following his father, Jesus also gave his whole life as a sacrifice. That’s what he saw in his father. “I lay down my life for the sheep” – John 10:15.

If the father gave his begotten son and the son also laid down for the sheep, it follows that if a father gives quality things to others, his children also will do likewise. No child drops from heaven.

Every child has a father. Why? God wants every child to be brought up. “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” – Proverbs 22:6.

3. _Our heavenly Father also forgives._ As a father, he punishes and forgives. When David slept unlawfully with Bathsheba, God punished him but forgave him. “And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away your sin; you shall not die” – 2 Samuel 12:13.

When we sinned against him he punished us, and laid our punishment on Jesus. Then he forgave us. Because of that the son also forgave his offenders. “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” – Luke 23:34.

A good father like our heavenly father knows how to punish his children and forgive them. Just because you love your children doesn’t mean you won’t punish them. “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him” – Proverbs 13:24. May God give fathers the courage to raise up their children without fear or favour.

LET’S PRAY
Heavenly Father, give me grace enough to always remember that, children raised up well by fathers, is society spared of criminals. Lord Jesus make me a channel of love where there is hatred, a channel of peace where there is anger, a channel of forgiveness where there is sin, a channel of trust where there is mistrust in the glorious name of Jesus Christ. Amen Amen Amen

AGREE WITH ME
You are a plant and you just need water to flourish and bear fruit to fulfill your destiny. So, you need to be connected to the Source that never dry. I therefore decree and declare this morning “May your business, finances, career, academics, marriage, family, health, physical person and spiritual person be connected to the Fountain of life, by the Power of the Holy Spirit in the mighty name of Jesus Christ!”

Devotional

FATHERS QUALITIES

About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea. Matthew 18:1-6

A male must have certain qualities to be called a father. For God to be called a Father, he has certain qualities. The same qualities must be found in every male that is called a father because it is written: “Be you therefore followers of God, as dear children” – Ephesians 5:1.

Every male need imitate his heavenly Father. “Be you therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” – Matthew 5:48. Let’s look at the qualities of our Father in heaven so to know what to do as fathers.

1. _He doesn’t forget_ _his children_ “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget you” – Isaiah 49:15.

A father must not forget his children. A father must hold his children in contemplation when doing everything. A question a father must ask himself before doing anything is: what I am doing or about to do, how will it affect my children?

A father must think about the damage he is causing his children if he fails to pay his children’s school fees for instance. Let’s observe this tragedy. A man refused to pay for his son’s apprenticeship.

His son struggled and paid for his mechanic apprenticeship. He managed to set up a workshop. He prospered and bought a car. He was coming home one day and met his father walking a distance of sixteen kilometers home.

His son stopped by him and greeted him and left. So painful was it to his father that he summoned him the following day before elders with the charge that his son forsook him. In reply, his son said if he liked to sit in a car, he should have paid for his apprenticeship.

Let a father follow our heavenly father to have compassion on his children and provide their needs. Children are very smart to come closer towards the one who provides their needs. The day a father who forgets his children would need them, he risks loosing them.

LET’S PRAY
Heavenly Father, give me grace enough to always remember, divine law states that, you reap whatever you sow.

AGREE WITH ME
You are a plant and you just need water to flourish and bear fruit to fulfill your destiny. So, you need to be connected to the Source that never dry. I therefore decree and declare this morning “May your business, finances, career, academics, marriage, family, health, physical person and spiritual person be connected to the Fountain of life, by the Power of the Holy Spirit in the mighty name of Jesus Christ!”

Devotional

POWER OF FATHERS

From these three sons of Noah came all the people who now populate the earth. After the flood, Noah began to cultivate the ground, and he planted a vineyard. One day he drank some wine he had made, and he became drunk and lay naked inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked and went outside and told his brothers. Then Shem and Japheth took a robe, held it over their shoulders, and backed into the tent to cover their father. As they did this, they looked the other way so they would not see him naked. When Noah woke up from his stupor, he learned what Ham, his youngest son, had done. Then he cursed Canaan, the son of Ham:
“May Canaan be cursed May he be the lowest of servants to his relatives.” Genesis 9:19-25

God has also vested in fathers the power to curse. Noah was the first father found to have cursed his grandson Canaan instead of his son Ham, who dishonored him. Curse of a father is be differentiated from the curse of the law.

Canaan suffered heavy damages as a result of the curse Noah imposed upon him. God confirming the curse, dispossessed Canaan and descendants of the land they occupied and gave it to Abraham, a descendant of Shem, which now is occupied by the Israelites his descendants.

Why did Noah curse Canaan instead of Ham? First, in God’s law, anybody God has blessed cannot be cursed. “You shall not curse the people: for they are blessed” – Numbers 22:12.

Now God has blessed Noah and his children. “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth” – Genesis 9:1.

Since Noah was not greater than God he couldn’t curse Ham whom God has blessed along with him. But the curse could still work on Ham’s children because the sin of a father is passed on to his children to the fourth generation. That was why Noah laid the curse on Canaan. Ham’s sin was in the blood of Canaan.

Because a father’s sin is passed on to his children to the fourth generation, God himself declared that when a father sins, he would punish his children to the fourth generation. “I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me” – Exodus 20:5.

Fathers need be very careful the things they do. If a father is an adulterer for instance, his children become adulterers not by choice but by inheritance. His children become Christians but they find themselves struggling to deal with what was injected into their blood by their father.

If your father committed a particular sin, or has a particular attitude you can break it by seeking for divine help or it continues to hunt your children too. I pray that God gives us understanding of these issues so to be sober to abstain from fleshly lust instead of enjoying them.

LET’S PRAY
Heavenly Father, give me grace enough to always remember that, children are mostly a reflection of their father. O Holy Spirit, give me grace enough to always seek divine help concerning any ungodly attitude so that it will not hunt my children in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen Amen Amen

AGREE WITH ME
You are a plant and you just need water to flourish and bear fruit to fulfill your destiny. So, you need to be connected to the Source that never dry. I therefore decree and declare this morning “May your business, finances, career, academics, marriage, family, health, physical person and spiritual person be connected to the Fountain of life, by the Power of the Holy Spirit in the mighty name of Jesus Christ!”

General

POWER OF FATHERS

When it was time for Elizabeth’s baby to be born, she gave birth to a son. And when her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very merciful to her, everyone rejoiced with her. When the baby was eight days old, they all came for the circumcision ceremony. They wanted to name him Zechariah, after his father. But Elizabeth said, “No! His name is John!” “What?” they exclaimed. “There is no one in all your family by that name.” So they used gestures to ask the baby’s father what he wanted to name him. He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, “His name is John.” Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God. Luke 1:57-65

One singular blessing, which a father leaves in the life of his son, whether consciously or unconsciously is the name he gives his son. Names are given for identification, differentiation and memorial. It is also given for curse or for a blessing.

Rachel gave Benoni to her last born. But the child’s father, Jacob changed the name to Benjamin. Benoni means son of my sorrow. Benjamin means son of my right hand.

In Israeli culture, women are not allowed to give names to their children. This is so because it is considered that the owner of the sperm which developed in her is the male. Elizabeth gave birth to a child and said his name is John. “He shall be called John” – Luke 1:60.

The name she gave was rejected until Zachariah who was dumb confirmed the name his wife gave in writing. Whiles the males are considered the owners of every child, the females are known to be developers.

The name Benjamin which Jacob gave his son altered his destiny. In God’s right hand lies his power. “Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed….with the saving _power of his_ _right hand”- Psalms 20:6. The name Benjamin gave him access to godly power.

The first king of Israel came from Benjamin even though he was the last born and had no natural connection to rulership in Israel. The name Benjamin gave him the right to rule because he was the son of his father’s right hand.

Many people bear names they don’t even understand. Whether you understand your name or not, the meaning will affect your life. Bad names cast a slur on your life no matter your tribe or race. What is the meaning of your name?

LET’S PRAY
Heavenly Father, give me grace enough to always remember that, just as a mango tree does not bear oranges, an evil name cannot produce good life in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen Amen Amen

AGREE WITH ME
You are a plant and you just need water to flourish and bear fruit to fulfill your destiny. So, you need to be connected to the Source that never dry. I therefore decree and declare this morning “May your business, finances, career, academics, marriage, family, health, physical person and spiritual person be connected to the Fountain of life, by the Power of the Holy Spirit in the mighty name of Jesus Christ!”

Devotional

POWER OF FATHERS

“Joseph is the foal of a wild donkey, the foal of a wild donkey at a spring— one of the wild donkeys on the ridge. Archers attacked him savagely; they shot at him and harassed him. But his bow remained taut, and his arms were strengthened by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel. May the God of your father help you; may the Almighty bless you with the blessings of the heavens above, and blessings of the watery depths below, and blessings of the breasts and womb. May my fatherly blessings on you surpass the blessings of my ancestors, reaching to the heights of the eternal hills. May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, who is a prince among his brothers.” Genesis 49:22-28

Fathers have divinely imposed powers which God confirms when invoked. They have power to bless and to curse. The father may be evil or good but he is still a father.

Blessings are words spoken on an individual, by a higher authority, to make him succeed or have something by all means, no matter the odds in that person’s life. Blessings are meant to change a person’s doom into destiny.

You may be a failure today but words of blessings will make you succeed by all means. You may be poor now but words of a father can clothe you with riches without struggle.

It is worthy to note that God confirms blessings imposed upon you by the father you actually honour. This why God says that children should honour their father and mother. “Honour your father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) – Ephesians 6:2.

The husband of a woman is also her father that can imposed blessings upon her. This is why on a wedding day the biological father hands over her to her original father which is her husband. This why women normally call their husbands Daddy.

Women don’t leave their father. But the man is to leave his father for his baby to be brought to him. “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” – Genesis 2:24.

Fathers are vessels of blessing on earth. Some fathers know this. As a result they keep blessing their children and their wives. David for instance decreed in blessing that his son Solomon will have gold from Sheba and it came to pass.

If you are a father, whether biological or spiritual, open your mouth and bless your children that honour you. You’re are God’s servant ordained to pour out blessings for God to confirm. “That (God)confirms the word of his servant, and performs the counsel of his messengers” – Isaiah 44:26.

LET’S PRAY
Heavenly Father, give me grace enough to always remember that, blessing originates the outcome of person’s life.

AGREE WITH ME
You are a plant and you just need water to flourish and bear fruit to fulfill your destiny. So, you need to be connected to the Source that never dry. I therefore decree and declare this morning “May your business, finances, career, academics, marriage, family, health, physical person and spiritual person be connected to the Fountain of life, by the Power of the Holy Spirit in the mighty name of Jesus Christ!”

Devotional

POWER OF FATHERS

Then Absalom turned to Ahithophel and asked him, “What should I do next?” Ahithophel told him, “Go and sleep with your father’s concubines, for he has left them here to look after the palace. Then all Israel will know that you have insulted your father beyond hope of reconciliation, and they will throw their support to you.” So they set up a tent on the palace roof where everyone could see it, and Absalom went in and had sex with his father’s concubines. Absalom followed Ahithophel’s advice, just as David had done. For every word Ahithophel spoke seemed as wise as though it had come directly from the mouth of God. 2 Samuel 16:20-23

Father’s absence from financial, social and spiritual life at home, affects his sons more than his daughters. When his life is well ordered at home, both his sons and daughters become carriers of his traits.

A boy at school was very aggressive towards girls. He fought only girls at school. Teachers tried to save the situation by lashing him as soon as a report was made to no avail.

One day, in frustration, the teachers engaged the boy in counseling. They asked him why he was interested in beating only girls. He was very frank to them and said he beat girls because his father has been beating his mother, that was why he was also beating girls that look like his mother.

If that boy grows up to get married, it wouldn’t be for the peace of his wife. He would surely beat, torment and torture his wife because that was what he learnt from his father. Children learn from what they see more than what they hear.

Where did the father of the boy learn that ruthless character from? Obviously from his father. So you see, that chain of awkward attitude would continue until a father decides to break that chain by responsibly receiving Jesus to be Lord over his life to help him.

King David sleeping with Bathsheba had a reprisal effect on his children. Amnon his firstborn slept with Tamar his half sister. Absalom slept with ten of his father’s concubines and Adonijah lusted after Abishag of Shunem, his father’s caretaker.

Fatherhood isn’t something we should joke with. Fathers are like roots of a tree. When the roots are defected, the branches eventually wilt. So also fathers. When a father didn’t end sowing the traits of love, service, loyalty, generosity, respect, authority etc in his sons, his sons end up being liabilities to society.

LET’S PRAY
Heavenly Father, give me to always remember that one bad father is a poison to many generations but one good father is a legacy to a nation.

AGREE WITH ME
You are a plant and you just need water to flourish and bear fruit to fulfill your destiny. So, you need to be connected to the Source that never dry. I therefore decree and declare this morning “May your business, finances, career, academics, marriage, family, health, physical person and spiritual person be connected to the Fountain of life, by the Power of the Holy Spirit in the mighty name of Jesus Christ!”

Devotional

VALUE OF FATHERS

2 Samuel 11:1-27

God had vested certain kind of powers in fathers. Am I despising the important role mothers play in our lives? Not at all. We shall get to there. However as fathers are being mirrored now in our devotions, I plead with mothers to pray seriously for their male children.

A father’s presence is needed in the home to produce order. The way a father lives helps his daughters to choose the kind of man they would want to marry. The father is responsible for his daughters love to marry or his daughters hatred for men.

When lady wants to decide whether to marry or not, she first looks at how her father treats her mother. Some ladies decide never to marry or enter marriage with fear because of the way their fathers mistreat, torment, and torture their mothers.

When a father becomes uncaring and wicked, his daughters think every man they ever meet in life is like their father. Hence they’re afraid. However if her father is good, she becomes optimistic of her marriage.

A father is either a killer of his daughters affinity for marriage or projector of his daughters’ desire for marriage. The virtues a daughter see in her father are a guide to knowing what kind of man to pick for a friend and husband for marital bliss.

A lady may be late in choosing who marries her even though she has a very tall list of lovers because she has never set her eyes on a father. Some ladies know fathers who are alive but dead. Will an irresponsible father start waking up from his deep slumber right now!

There’s something we call the interchange of sexes where the girls become close to their fathers and boys become so close to their mothers. The girls get so close to their fathers because they want to learn the difference their father makes with their mother. Let every man know that their girls need them so to be around them.

LET’S PRAY
Heavenly Father, give me grace enough to always remember that, if a vacuum of a father is created, girls are left to pick any male as a friend.

AGREE WITH ME
You are a plant and you just need water to flourish and bear fruit to fulfill your destiny. So, you need to be connected to the Source that never dry. I therefore decree and declare this morning “May your business, finances, career, academics, marriage, family, health, physical person and spiritual person be connected to the Fountain of life, by the Power of the Holy Spirit in the mighty name of Jesus Christ!”