Tag: In His Presence

Read: PROVERBS 4:20-27 

Meditation verse: 

“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life”  (Proverbs 4:23). 

Be very selective of who you permit into your personal space. Avoid people  who dispense negativism. They will drain your internal power: (your hope,  self-belief, resilience, and optimism).  

Do not let people’s actions determine your emotions and actions. People do  not get you angry, they just do what they do, and you react as you will. Since  your action determines your outcomes, you are letting others determine the  outcomes you get out of life. 

Do not wait for apologies before forgiving an offence. You may be waiting for  a long time. Suppose they never apologise?  

Be responsible for your life and actions. Own your experiences. Cherish the  good, change the bad, accept what you cannot change. Strive to become  financially independent. Avoid depending on others for your existence. If you  do, they will control your life. 

Assert yourself when you should. It is wise to know when to speak and when  to be silent. The bible says do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest  you be like him, in the next verse it says answer a fool according to his folly,  lest he be wise in his conceit (Proverbs 26:4-5). When people mistreat you,  let them know. We teach others how to treat us. 

Never compare yourself with anybody. Be unapologetically who you are. 

Guard your heart with all diligence. The battle is always first lost in the mind.  Feed your mind with the word of God and avoid unwholesome content. As a  man thinketh in his heart so is he (Proverbs 23:7).

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

or call +2348155525555

For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

Read: Mathew 20:20-28 

Meditation verse: 

“But whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant”  (Mathew 20:26) 

The mother of Zebedee’s sons, James and John approached Jesus and requested  that He gave her sons a special place in His kingdom. But Jesus answered and  said “you do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am  about to drink, and be baptised with the baptism that I am baptized with?  

The pathway to greatness is laced with service and suffering. Jesus Christ is our  perfect example. Despite being God, He did not come into this world to be  served, rather he came in the form of flesh to serve and to give His life a ransom  for us all. Philippians 2:7-11 puts it aptly; “but made Himself of no reputation,  taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men. And being  found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the  point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, God also has highly  exalted Him and given Him the name, which is above every name, that at the  name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth,  and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus  Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”. In order words, there can be no  glory or honour without a cross.  

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Service is the pathway to  true and lasting greatness. Jesus distinguished true greatness from what the  world considers greatness when He said “you know the gentiles lord it over  them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be  so among you; whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your  servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave”  (Mathew 20:25-27). 

Great leadership can be identified by loyal and faithful followership. Followers  who willingly follow and are ready to lay down their lives for their leader. This  can only happen if the leader has first laid down their life in service, just as our  great master Jesus Christ did. Do you desire to have lasting greatness? Roll up  your sleeves today and serve.

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

or call +2348155525555

For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

Read: 2 Peter 1:5-11 

Meditation verse: 

“If the axe is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more  strength. But wisdom brings success” (Ecclesiastes 10:10) 

Here are some additional biblical principles for personal growth and  advancement. 

NEVER STOP LEARNING: It is often said that the day you stop learning, you start  dying. Life is a lively process of becoming. Your imagination is capable of a lot  more than you can dream. Proverbs 4:7 says, “wisdom is the principal thing;  therefore, get wisdom, and in all your getting, get understanding”. 2 Peter 1:5- 

8 says, “but also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue,  to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to  perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly  kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren  nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah 54:2-3 says, 

“enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your  dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For you  shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the  nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited. So, if you desire expansion, keep  learning. 

GET A MENTOR AND UNDERSTUDY THEM: Mentoring is not just a business  principle; it is a biblical one. Joshua understudied Moses. Elisha understudied  Elijah. Growth and advancement can occur when you follow closely a person  who is already where you desire to be. You not only learn the secrets of their  success, but you can also be imparted with the same grace that they carry. The  bible records that Joshua was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his  hands on him (Deuteronomy 34:9). But be careful who you decide to follow. 

PLAN, PREPARE AND EXECUTE: Motivational Speaker Zig Ziglar once said  “people do not wander around and then find themselves at the top of Mount”.  Success hardly occurs by happenstance. The accomplishment of any meaningful endeavour requires careful planning, preparation, and execution. Be intentional  about taking the steps you need to get to where you desire to go.

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

or call +2348155525555

For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

Read: PROVERBS 16:1-33 

Meditation verse: 

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with  My eye” (Psalm 32:8) 

Here are some biblical principles to adopt this year if you desire personal growth  and advancement. 

PREPARE YOUR HEART TO HEAR FROM GOD DAILY: Proverbs 3:5-8 says, “Trust  in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all  your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in  your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, 

and strength to your bones”. Proverbs 16: 3 says “Commit your works to the  Lord, and your thoughts will be established”. Be intentional about seeking  guidance from God before you begin each day. Isaiah 50: 4 says “the Lord God  has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word  in season to him who is weary. He awakens me morning by morning; He awakens  my ear to hear as the learned”. The patriarchs of old heard from God, Jesus  Christ instructed His disciples, and after He left, He sent the Holy Spirit to the  church. Allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart and give you the wisdom  and clarity you need to navigate the day before you step out. 

FIND AND DO GOOD WORK: When God created the first man, He said “be  fruitful, multiply and fill the earth. Bring for abundantly in the earth and multiply  it. Psalm 104 is a beautiful Psalm that highlights the beauty and providence of  God who created all things and put all things in its proper place. Verses 22-23  say, “When the sun rises, the lions gather and lie down in their dens. And man  goes out to his work and to his labour until the evening”. Ecclesiastes 11:6 says,  “In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand;  for you do not know which will prosper, either this or that, or whether both alike  will be good”. Hard work is honourable and well pleasing to God. It isthe primary  means for you growth and advancement. 1 Thessalonians 4:11 -12 says, “that  you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with  your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward  those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing”.

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

or call +2348155525555

For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

Read: GENESIS 11:1-9, ACTS 2:1-47 

Meditation verse: 

“Fulfil my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord,  of one mind” (Philippians 2:2).

According to Genesis 11, the whole earth initially had one language and one  speech, until the people came together to build a tower reaching to the heavens.  Then the Lord confused the language of all the earth and the place was named  Babel. Babel means the potential for confusion, a confused situation or a  confused noise made by several voices.  

The Bible also gives an account of another experience in the book of Acts. At  Pentecost, they were all in one accord and in one place. They were all filled with  the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave then  utterance. Each one heard them in his own language. Many gladly received the  word and were baptized. Thousands of souls were saved, and they continued  steadfastly in fellowship, in breaking of bread, in prayers and in unity. At  Pentecost, there was unity and progress, at Babel, there was disorder, disunity, and confusion.

I feel led to speak specifically to marriages today. May the Almighty turn every  babel experience in your marriage to a Pentecost experience. Where the  communication or language in your marriage has been one of confusion and  misunderstanding, may there be clarity, unity and understanding. “May the God  of patience and comfort grant you to be like minded towards one another,  according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the  God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:5-6).  

Here’s God’s instruction for you to follow. “Let nothing be done through selfish  ambition or conceit but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than  himself. Let each of you look out not only for his interests, but also for the interest  of the other” (Philippians 2:3-4). “Submitting to one another in the fear of God. 

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of  the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Saviour of the body.  Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own  husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the  church and gave Himself for her” (Ephesians 5:21-25).

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

or call +2348155525555

For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

Read: Exodus 14:1-31 

Meditation verse: 

“And the Lord said to Moses, “why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward” (Exodus 14:15).

The importance of prayers in dealing with the challenges of life cannot be over  emphasised, but there is a place and a time for action. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says’ to  everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. In today’s  reading, the children of Israel found themselves between the red sea and the  chariots of the Egyptians marching after them. God made it clear to them that it  was not a time for standing and crying, it was action time. They needed to move  forward.  

Similarly, we all have expectations or challenges that we are dealing with. We  have prayed and fasted for a long time, but nothing seems to be happening. Is it  possible that God is expecting you to take a step of faith and act? Is there  something you know you should do, but you are reluctant because of fear?  Perhaps He is saying to you “why do you stand there and cry to me, go forward”. 

God will not steer your heart in a particular direction unless He has gone ahead  to make provision for you. 

Prayer must have its place in our lives, but there is a time and a place for acting.  Several times, we keep praying and committing a particular endeavour into  God’s hands, even after we have received clarity concerning what to do. As a  young Christian, I had the habit of praying and expecting God to work miracles  whilst I did nothing, until I came to an understanding that God expects us to act  after we pray. In the place of prayer, we receive clarity, wisdom, and strength,  and then we must do as the Spirit directs our hearts. There is a time to pray and  a time to act. And happy are you if you can correctly discern the timing. 

If you have been praying for a breakthrough in an area of your life and it seems  to tarry, could it be that God is waiting for you to act? It’s still the beginning of  a new year and God is saying to you “go forward”. Are you willingly to take a  step of faith today?

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

or call +2348155525555

For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

Read: Mathew 25: 14-30

Meditation verse:

“He who observes the wind will not sow, And he who regards the clouds will not  reap” (Ecclesiastes 11:4). 

In the parable of the talent, the one who was given five talents went  immediately and put it to use. He gained additional five talents. The one who  was given one talent decided to play it safe. He was afraid of taking risks, so he  buried his talent in the ground. His master did not commend him for playing it  safe. Rather he was displeased with him, calling him a wicked and lazy servant.  

If you keep playing safe and fail to take calculated risks, you may never grow into  your full potential or fulfil the purpose of God for your life. Ecclesiastes 11 has a  lot to say about risk taking.  

Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give  a serving to seven, and also to eight, for you do not know what evil will be  on the earth. If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves upon  the earth; and if a tree falls to the south or the north, in the place where  the tree falls, there it shall lie. He who observes the wind will not sow, and  he who regards the clouds will not reap. As you do not know what is the  way of the [a]wind, or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is  with child, so you do not know the works of God who makes everything. 

In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your  hand; for you do not know which will prosper, either this or that, or  whether both alike will be good. (Ecclesiastes 11:1-6). 

It’s time to take that leap. Do not let fear choke up your destiny. The greater risk is the risk of wasting your life or exiting this earth without completing your  assignment. If you find yourself on the edge of that big decision, will faith or fear  get the better of you? Why not lift your eyes and focus on Jesus’ and His  outstretched hand that is waiting to keep you from falling. It’s time to jump.

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

or call +2348155525555

For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

Read: JOHN 4:5-39

Meditation verse:

“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do,  forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things  which are ahead” (Philippians 3:13). 

God does not see you in your history, He sees you in your future. In order words  He does not look at your mistakes, He looks at your potential. Look at the Samaritan woman at the well in the reading for today. If Jesus were to judge her  for her past, He would not even come near her at the well, talk less of engaging  her in a conversation. She had been married to five husbands and was at that  time living with a man who was not her husband. Talk of a messed-up past!  However, Jesus saw her potential as a witness for Him. She went on to  evangelize a whole village. 

You are not your past, so refuse to allow your past to speak into your future.  Your past mistakes are not an indication of where you are going. Your past was  meant to be a training ground, do not let it define you. In Isaiah 43:19, God said to Israel, “behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth”. But before He  said that, He instructed them to forget the former things. Put your past where it  belongs. Stop reliving it, stop talking about it, stop illuminating it. You cannot  open a new chapter of your life if you keep reliving the former one. Besides  when you keep focusing on you past, you are saying that God cannot touch or  heal the past. The cross is a separator of your past from your future. “Therefore,  if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away; behold  all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).  

Are you in Christ? If yes, then you are a new creation. It’s time to get excited  about your future. Start thinking about it, start talking about it, start illuminating  it. There is a reason why the front windshield of your car is much bigger than the  rear-view mirror. What lies ahead of you is more important. Here’s God’s  promise to you today: “for I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the  Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). So, leave your past alone, ditch it or put it where it belongs.

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

or call +2348155525555

For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

Read: Philippians 3:14-15 

Meditation verse: 

“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do,  forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forward to those things  which are ahead” (Philippians 4:13). 

Are you in the habit of focusing solely on what is wrong in your life? Do you often  ponder on the many ways you have failed? Do you fuss or put yourself down  when you fail to meet up with certain standards? Wait a minute, read through  your bible and you would discover that most of the heroes mentioned for their  great acts of faith, failed at one time or the other. 

Jacob was a supplanter until God change His name. 

His brother Esau sold off his birthright for a morsel of porridge. His father Isaac married two sisters. 

His grandfather Abraham, slept with and Impregnated the maid.  King David committed adultery and murder. 

Jonah ran away when God told him to preach to the people of Nineveh. He  ended up inside the belly of a whale for three days and nights. 

Moses killed an Egyptian and went into exile. 

Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress, hiding in fearfrom the Midianites.  Sarah laughed in unbelief when she was told she would have a child at ninety. The woman at the well who evangelized a village had been married five times. Mary Magdalene who anointed Jesus’ feet was delivered from seven demons.  All the disciples abandoned Jesus Christ when He needed them most, except  Peter who followed closely, but he eventually denied Jesus in the courtyard. Saul who became the great Apostle Paul, had slaughtered many Christians.  

How could God still go on to accomplish great things through these people? God  does not grade people, He justifies them. He does not call the qualified, He  qualifies the called. If God is not in the business of grading others, you shouldn’t  either. Give yourself a break. Your errors and failures are not enough to stop  God’s hand over your life. His love and grace will make up for all your mistakes.  Inside God’s garden of grace, even wounded trees bear fruits.

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

or call +2348155525555

For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

Read: Luke 15:1-31

Meditation verse:

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not  leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until  he finds it?” (Luke 15:4).

The ‘one’ is important to God. That unsaved one. That lost one. That forgotten  one. That lonely one. That one who feels different from everyone else. This ‘one’  is so important to the Father, that He leaves the ninety-nine to go after him. To  man, it makes no sense. It seems a bad move. What if He loses the ninety-nine  in His bid to go after the ‘one’? But He is the Almighty God, He knows that His  love is wide enough to cover the ninety-nine, while He goes after the lost one.  The lost one is most at risk because he is alone, forgotten, and forsaken, so the  Father goes after him until He finds him.  

Gospel singer Cory Ashbury calls this love of God ‘reckless love’. And he says no,  God is not reckless, but His love is reckless. He loves recklessly without  considering the risks. In Luke 15:1-2, the tax collectors and sinners all gathered around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered,  “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them. That’s the reckless love of the  father. In Luke 19, as Jesus was passing through Jericho, He got to a fig tree and  looked up to call out Zacchaeus the tax collector, who had climbed the tree  because he was too short to see Jesus amongst the crowd. That is the reckless  love of the Father. In the parable of the prodigal son, the lost son wandered far  away and squandered his riches, but when he came back to his senses and  decided to go back home, he was welcomed back with open arms. That is the  reckless love of the Father. 

The love of God issearching for you right now, whether you feel alone, different,  lonely, abandoned, hurtful, sinful, afraid, or forgotten. No matter what you have  done or where you have been, you matter to Him. You are not insignificant. He  sees you and His love will fish you out.

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

or call +2348155525555

For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.