The advent of a New Year usually brings along with it fresh or renewed hope for a better year ahead; people dream or resurrect old dreams and aspirations, with the desire to see them become realities in the course of the year; but, for so many people this year, the actualization of their set objectives or dreams was a mirage.
The year 2020, has indeed been a peculiar one. Never for once, did it ever cross my mind nor the mind of so many people, that, there would come a time, when normal life’s activities would be halted by limited human interactions and the inability of people to go out and live life as usual. But in spite of all that happened in the course of the year, we are still here, and we have every reason to be thankful to God, because, only the living can dream dreams, and make plans for a better tomorrow.
You may have lost a loved one, a business opportunity, something valuable or even struggled with an issue that seems to be unending. You may have dreamt dreams in the beginning of the year, gone further ahead to put in place, plans and structures that would have facilitated and helped in translating your dreams into reality, but rather than count your blessings, you seemed to be counting your losses.
I remember the time when I used to be a member of a choir, back then in the U.K. I had absolute fun singing with my fellow choir members. But, we had a slight challenge; we didn’t have a keyboardist. Though, we had a brother who was teaching himself to play the keyboard. Most times after practicing a song, when we get to the stage, he would give us an introduction that sounded totally different from what we had practiced. But that didn’t stop us from singing. We always tried our best to pick a tune and sing through. The key may have been wrong but the song remained.
Just like in those songs we practiced before going on stage, God in the beginning of this year, declared 2020, a year of a new song. The devil has been interfering and giving us wrong notes and tunes all year long. But, let it be known that we refuse to follow that off tune of his. We will only sing the song that God has given us.
I want to encourage you not to lose heart, because, it’s still our month of new song. A new song ushers in a new beginning, which is a deviation from the old, norm or familiar. The author of the Psalm 40, quoted above must have found himself in deep waters, far from the help of man. But, he chose to call on God, and it seemed God took a while coming to his rescue. We can infer that, when he was in the horrible pit, it may have seemed to him that God had either forgotten him or not heard him; (I can imagine the kind of song he must have sang before God brought him out of the horrible pit.) yet, he waited patiently for the help of God and not man, and God arose on his behalf and rescued him.
God did for him more than he had asked for- He brought him out of the pit, established his steps on solid ground and gave him a new song. We serve a God of “turnaround”, who specializes in making the impossible possible. Don’t look at the magnitude of your challenge, look at the greatness of your God. Fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of your faith. If you have been used to singing a particular song, it is time to switch gears and step up to the next level. If it’s a song of lamentation, it is time to switch to a song of praise, and if you have already started singing a song of praise, it is also time to take the tempo higher and sing high praises. It shall indeed be for you and your family, a month of new song.

There is a song that says, “I am thankful I received mercy because it is not everyone who receives mercy.” The mercy of God is a key factor in every man’s life. Mercy was what David had and it was the same thing that Saul lost. From a human perspective, if we were to be the judge, we would consider Saul as a minor offender compared to David who committed adultery and murder, which was a clear disobedience to God’s Law (the Ten Commandments). For Saul, we could even say it was partial disobedience which did not result in any other grievous offence. However, in spite of the gravity of David’s offence, God did not destroy him or take the throne from him. Instead, He swore to David that his house and throne would endure forever.
God says in His Word that “I will be merciful to whom I will be merciful, and have compassion on whom I will have compassion”. Mercy is not earned, it is not based on what you did or did not do; rather, it qualifies you for what you do not merit. It is undeserved and is absolutely a prerogative of God—an act of His magnanimity, though you can ask for it. Being under the new covenant, which is ratified by the precious blood of the Lamb, we are in an advantaged position for His mercy. We who were once alienated from the commonwealth of God, and hitherto not His people, have become His and are members of the commonwealth of God’s kingdom. We are therefore candidates of His mercy, all because of the blood of Jesus.
Every time we plead the blood, we invoke His mercy because the blood of Jesus speaks better things than the blood of Abel. The blood of Abel called out for judgment against his brother’s deed but the blood of Jesus speaks mercy. It says to the Father, “See what I have done for them: I despised the shame, endured the pain and suffering, became a curse all because of them. I paid the ultimate price fully for their sins and sicknesses with my blood.” And God always honours His Word and keeps covenant.
Just like God promised David His unrelenting and everlasting loving-kindness (mercy), God is saying the same thing to each of us His children. Let us draw on the blank cheque of His mercy, which He has given us, and ask Him for mercy for those areas of our lives that seem to have defied all efforts. He says we should “come boldly to the throne room of grace (where the mercy seat and not judgment seat is) and obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need”. As we do this, I see our situations being turned around for good, and God being glorified in our lives.
Always remember that as children of God, we are candidates of His mercy. His mercy will prevail in all circumstances of our lives in Jesus name.

Whenever a prophetic word is given, it is important to really know and understand the key words of the theme. In the verse quoted above, the key words are- know, strong and exploit. Knowing is the state of being aware or informed, and having a deep understanding of a subject matter, strong in this context means to be courageous and unwavering, while exploits means to accomplish feats that are daring, striking or notable.
The scripture for the month says, those who know their God would be strong and they will do exploits. How well you know a person, puts you in the position to be able to affirm the person’s ability and predict to a large extent what he or she will do under a given situation. The more you get to learn and know the person, the more your confidence in that person’s character or ability is either reinforced or reduced. But, in order to know a person so well, it is imperative that you spend time with that person.
Knowledge is not only restricted to learning and knowing people’s character, and ability. It is an inexhaustible and ever increasing phenomenon that starts from cradle and its cuts across different areas of life. An aspect of learning is going to school to receive formal education, which equips us for the future. In school, teachers teach their students and subsequently test their understanding of the subject through tests and examinations, so as to ascertain how well the students understand what they had been taught. In the same vein, test and trials are life’s means of testing our understanding of “Who” and “What” we believe in.
The fact that we gave our lives to Christ, does not exempt us from life’s challenges. Everyone, both great and small, poor and rich, irrespective of the skin color goes through periods of uncertainties, which either shakes or re-affirms our belief system. In essence, test and trials will come to “examine” what you know and believe about God and, what you know determines what you will do under any given circumstances. But, how do you acquire the knowledge that empowers you to act in faith under any given situation? By simply spending time with God through His Word and prayer.
What you know about God will in a way or the other be subjected to the test, so that your strength can show. You have to be strong in order not to crumble. Remember, the adversary prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for who to devour. If a person crumbles in the face of adversity, he or she can’t do any exploits but if that person stands in the face of daunting situation, his or her trust in God is further reinforced. Your experience benefits you because you come out stronger. Then, you become a testimony and a source of encouragement, not just to yourself, but to those around you, and others who would hear about your story.
It is your ability to pass the test or examinations that determines your certification; your testimony is the “certificate” needed for sharing with others, what God has done. Then, they would be able to say that if this person pulled through during a time of difficulty, then I can also do the same with God on my side.
As you take out time to learn and know God through His Word and prayer, I see you do exploits in Jesus name. Welcome to our Month of Covenant Exploits.

The life of everything created is in seasons and phases, and each phase or season has its own peculiarities and challenges. That is the case with the conception of a life, the gestation period of the newly conceived, the birthing of the life, infancy etc. As a matter of fact, a great king who was said to be the wisest man in his time once said: “There is a time and season for everything under the heaven, a time to be born, a time to die, a time to build and a time to destroy….” These seasons and phases often come with their own peculiarities and challenges; a tenable and appropriate solution for a particular season or phase may not be tenable or appropriate for another season. In essence, how you deal with a particular challenge in a season may necessarily not work in another season.
Quite often, we find ourselves faced with such seasonal peculiarities or challenges that leave us at a crossroads, which requires that we make adequate decisions. The decisions we make under such circumstances can either take us back or move us forward.
So what do we do when we find ourselves in such circumstances? We can either choose to learn from those who have gone before us and act on their wisdom or rely on our own wisdom, which most times is limited. A foolproof source of wisdom is the Bible, which is the timeless word of God. In it, we see the lives of men laid bare before us—their weaknesses, failings, strengths and successes.
One of such Biblical characters we can draw lessons from their lives is David, a very familiar figure in the Bible. At different points in his life, we see him faced with different challenges such as having to confront the lion and bear as a young shepherd boy while tending his father’s flock, his encounter with Goliath, King Saul’s relentless attempts on his life, his own son evicting him from his throne etc. But he came out victorious in all his travails.
If people were randomly chosen to summarize or describe the life of David in a phrase or sentence, they will tell you he was a man after God’s heart, which indeed is the truth. I am of the view that one of the striking characteristics that endeared Him to God, and made God say that he was a man after His heart, was because of David’s total dependence on Him regardless of the circumstances he found himself in. He so much relied on God that he never acted without seeking His counsel. He always enquired of God and followed His instructions. He did not rely on his prowess, strength or past record of victory; for him, that was a deal breaker. He was always confident of the Almighty, the only wise God, as His help and counselor. He fought many wars—personal and on behalf of his beloved nation Israel, but never lost any battle.
This reminds me of a story I once heard about a very successful businessman who never made the wrong investment or lost money all through his lifetime because he learnt early in life to trust and rely on God’s guidance. He would always seek God’s face for direction concerning any investment, irrespective of the outlook of the investment. If God told him to go ahead, even when it looked like a bad business deal, he went ahead and vice versa. He never regretted hearkening to God’s voice.
It is our month of total recovery, as God as declared through the mouth of his servant. But we also have a part to play by taking time to seek God’s face over whatever challenges or issues we may be faced with, and we need to carry out His instructions concerning those issues. As you obey, you will recover all in Jesus name.

Shame and honour are two words that are totally opposite in meaning; honour is the opposite of a loss of respect or esteem resulting from a shameful act and we see these two words clearly portrayed in the life of Jephthah, by reason of the circumstance of his birth and the events that took place later in his life.
Jephthah was a mighty warrior but his brothers drove him out of their father’s house and cut him off from their father’s inheritance because he was an illegitimate child- the son of a harlot. Though they grew up together, they never accepted him as one of them- his offence and stigma came from being the son of a harlot. After he was thrown out of his father’s house, we were told he fled from his brothers not because of cowardice; remember he was a mighty warrior (which is an honourable feat), but he was also a wise man who knew how to choose his battles. In that instance, running away was the most viable option.
When he left Gilead to settle in the land of Tob, we were told, worthless men banded, in essence, joined themselves to him. He must have felt worthless (without esteem or honour) and acted like one in order for worthless men to have banded up with him. Remember the laws of attraction- like attract like. His self-worth, though he was a mighty warrior, came from the stigma of being the son of a harlot, who was rejected by his blood brothers, and the elders of his clan who did nothing to stop his eviction.
This so called worthless person was the same person the elders turned to for help, when they were confronted with war by the people of Ammon. They sort him out and asked him to be their commander. In the end, he became the head not just over his brother or father’s family, but over the whole inhabitant of Gilead.
Talk about shame turning to double honour, this I must say is a classic example and God is still in the business of giving us double honour for every areas of our lives, where we have known shame. When Jephthah left his father’s house that faithful day, never in his wildest imagination, would he have conceived the idea of becoming the head of his people nor God using him to subdue and silent the enemies of his people. But God did both for him, he became the head and the deliverer- double honour.
Jephthah lived in a far distant age and he is long gone, but his name lives on in the annals of the men of faith listed in the book of Hebrews. The same God who did it for Jephthah is still very much in control of the times and season, and he will do same for you.

Imagine going from being a freeborn one day to becoming someone in captivity the next. You are still trying to adjust and settle into your new normal, then you begin to hear rumours that a high government official, who as a matter of fact is the number two in the country where you are domiciled, has put a price on you and your people’s heads. And he has set in motion a plan to annihilate you all. As the days go by, the rumours become real, and there seems to be no way out of the planned destruction. You become filled with fear and are in total despair. All you can think of as a way out is for a miracle to happen.
This must have been the way the Jews, who were carried away as captives from their own land into Babylon, felt as they were faced with an enemy that seemed stronger than them. Quite often, people face various life’s challenges that seem to be bigger than them, and this threatens the very core of their existence. So what do you do when confronted with life’s challenges, when the odds are against you and there seems to be no way of escape? Do you just throw up your hands in despair and give up, or do you stand your ground in faith and fight back to possess the victory that is already yours in Christ?
Fear and despair walk hand in hand but fear gives despair more strength; it opens the door widely for the enemy to come in and launch its assault. Despair is an antonym for joy. When there is despair, there can’t be joy or gladness.
It is likely that the majority of the Jews had accepted their lot regarding the plan of their enemy to destroy them, but for the intervention of Esther under the instruction of Mordecai. They stood their ground in faith by seeking God’s face and intervention over the matter. They had trust in God that He was able to deliver them, though they didn’t know exactly how He would accomplish their deliverance. He intervened and gave them favour before the king, who gave permission for an edict that brought them happiness, joy, gladness and honour, accompanied with feasting and celebrations. In a twinkle of an eye, their situation was turned around for good. The utter hopelessness they had hitherto felt gave way to gladness of heart that was uncontainable.
Are you currently faced with challenges that seem larger than life? Rejoice! God is still in the business of turning around hopeless situations and restoring uncontainable joy. Whatever challenges you might be faced with right now, be it in your health, finances, marriage or in any aspect of life, hand it over to Him through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, and His peace that passes all understanding will be a garrison which guards your heart. Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning. As long as there is a morning after every night, be assured that your joy will always come.

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts 1:8 (NKJV)

At some point in our lives, we experience the desire or need to exercise one form of power or the other. For instance, you find yourself confronted with a situation in which you have the desire to do something noble or virtuous such as helping out a friend or neighbour who is in dire need or providing emotional, financial or physical comfort to a person going through one form of agony or the other, but you feel incapacitated because you don’t have the wherewithal to execute your desire. You desire that you could genuinely do something to alleviate someone’s pain and suffering, or better still, possess the power to bring the person’s suffering to a joyous end. Without the right enablement, this will simply remain a wish or desire. And if care is not taken, this can force us to turn a blind eye to issues that need our attention.
But this is not the way God would have us live. We are to walk in the footstep of our Lord Jesus when He walked on the surface of the earth by being the light and salt to our world just as He was. As salt we should endeavour to sweeten the lives of those who come across our paths and, as lights, give illumination and direction. These we see demonstrated in the earth walk of Jesus through the preaching of the gospel and the countless miracles He did—sinners repented, blind eyes were opened, those in demonic captivity were liberated, the dead were raised, the broken-hearted received healing and comfort etc. You can imagine how the widow of Nain or Jairus and those that came to mourn with them must have felt when their children came back to life.
Without divine enablement or ability (power), we cannot live as the salt and light that we are. And power is the ability or capacity to do something or act in a particular way. It is being able to direct or influence the behaviour of others or the course of events. Jesus was able to influence and affect the various lives He came across because He was able to give them what they needed or desired, and we have also been given the authority (power) to influence our world positively for His Kingdom.
The only way to get divinely enabled is through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. This is why before Jesus ascended on high, He specifically told His disciples to wait for the empowering of the Holy Spirit. If His disciples needed the enablement of the Holy Spirit back then to carry out their spiritual and secular assignments in life, we need it much more today despite the huge technological advancements of our time.
The good news is that you and I can have that divine ability, provided we are willing to receive and surrender to Him. The promise of the Holy Spirit to every believer is a covenant promise from God. No one merits it, it is a gift from God, and all you need to do is to open your heart and accept Him. He is a Gentleman; He will never force Himself on anyone. I pray that as you open your heart to the Holy Spirit, He will make Himself more real to you and you will walk indeed in the power of the Spirit in Jesus name.
Welcome to our month of God’s Covenant Power.

It is often said that everything in life is subject to change, hence not constant; Life itself is constantly evolving, what seems to be trending and in existence today, may cease to trend or exist tomorrow. There was a time in the recent past, when people had bulky black and white television sets in their various houses but today, finding a black and white TV in a household would be like searching for a needle among haystacks.
Though we live in a fast paced and ever changing world, God is ever constant; His word and promises remain unfailing and unchanging because God and His word are one. All through the Scriptures, we see God telling us about His nature or character- He is eternal, the same yesterday, today and forever and therefore not subject to changes. To affirm the immutability of His person or character, He said in Malachi 3:6, “For I am the Lord, I do not change;” God is not a man that He should lie nor the son of man that He should change His mind. When He speaks, He acts in accordance with what He has spoken and when He promises, He surely fulfils His promises.
Humans are fickle, it is in their nature to vacillate, change or lie. A person can promise to help or do some things on your behalf, but due to some reasons beyond his control, even when he is willing to help out, he may find himself unable to. Others may have the resource and ability to help just as they have promised, but they end up reneging on their words. The best of man is and would always be man. Take for instance, when two people come together in marriage, they exchange marital vows (which is synonymous to a covenant), to love and cherish each other through the highs and lows, death being the only separator. But few years down the line, we find couples going their separate ways despite the marriage vows.
Peradventure, you are experiencing some unpleasant challenges in your marriage, be assured that God’s unfailing word can and will work for you, if you will allow Him. Get quiet and seek Him in the place of prayer and the word, let His word bring healing and restoration to your home.
Has God told you some things about your life and it seems as if it’s taking forever to manifest? Get this down within your Spirit man- God cannot lie, His word, promises and covenant is unbreakable and unfailing; though it is possible to stray from His covenant just as the children of Israel did in the old covenant, but each time they forsook their evil ways and went back to God, He received them with open arms just like in the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15: 11-32.
You may have checked yourself and everything seems to be intact in terms of your walk with God, but you still can’t understand why the promises seems to be taking forever to manifest; know for certain that God’s word will not prove false but rather bring His promises to pass in your life. Go back to God with the word He has given you and thank Him for the fulfilment of His promises. If “Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; everyone was fulfilled” as written in Joshua 21:45, though they were under the old covenant, how much more do you think He would do for us who are operating under a new and better covenant ratified not with the blood of bulls and goats but that of His dearly beloved Son. Selah
I welcome you to the year 2019, our year of God’s Unfailing Covenant.

The story of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea is one of the popular stories of the Bible, where we have the opportunity to see the display of God’s power, wrought on behalf of his covenant people. Before the Red Sea parted, we were told that the Egyptian army under the headship of their king was in hot pursuit after God’s people. The purpose of the pursuit was to take them back into servitude in the land of Egypt. Like any person faced with a real or perceived threat, they cried out in terror and even blamed their leader for what they considered would be their imminent death. But what did the Israelites do under the leadership of Moses, despite their initial outburst? They kept moving forward. This must have seemed suicidal but they still went ahead because they had heard the word from the Lord, which is: “…Tell the children of Israel to go forward.”
The children of Israel had two choices: either to obey the word of God and act in faith by moving forward into the Red Sea, or disobey and stay put so the Egyptians could take them away back into captivity. If most of us were given those choices, a lot of us, because of the fear of death, would opt out for slavery. But where fear is in operation, faith cannot prevail. Where there is no faith, we can’t please God and experience the miraculous.
Second Chronicle 16:9 says, “For the eyes of Yahweh roam throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His….” (HCSB) God always shows Himself strong on behalf of those who will totally trust (rely) in Him by faith. Because the children of Israel moved forward by faith, they saw the miraculous and were delivered permanently from the hands of their oppressors. After the Red Sea incident, never did the Egyptians bother the Israelites again.
By faith the people [of Israel] crossed the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; but when the Egyptians attempted it they were drowned. Hebrew 11:29 (AMP)
Faith is a precursor to victory; you can’t walk in victory without walking in faith. To be victorious in life’s daily challenges, we need to walk in faith founded on God’s word, even when the odds are against us or we find ourselves under contrary circumstances.
Every biblical figure who walked and lived victoriously did so by faith. This we see clearly summarized in the anchor scripture cited above: they subdued kingdoms, obtained promises, stopped the mouth of lions etc. If God has given you a word, run with it and He will show Himself faithful because He will never deny Himself. .
As new covenant believers, we are and should operate from a standpoint of victory, based on the finished works of Christ on the cross of Calvary (His death, burial and resurrection). Jesus disarmed principalities and powers, made a public shew of them and triumphed over them through the cross. He has given this victory to His body—the church—to enforce on the earth. If you have given your life to Christ, you are a member of His body and you have the covenant right to exercise the authority He gave to His body.
I see you victorious over every unpalatable circumstances of life in Jesus name.