ECWA Headquarters Church

ECWA Headquarters Church We're a Bible believing church were everybody is somebody and Jesus Christ is our Lord.

23/08/2023

*WEDNESDAY, 23 AUGUST 2023*
*TEXT: EXODUS 1 : 15 - 22*
*TOPIC: GOD PROTECTS HIS PEOPLE*

*EXODUS 1 : 15 - 22 NIV*

15:The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah,

16:“When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.”

17:The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live.

18:Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”

19:The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”

20:So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous.

21:And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

22:Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”

*GOD PROTECTS HIS PEOPLE*

Our lives are made up of different experiences. There are moments when we find it very difficult to live by our convictions due to the pressures or expectations of life.

Sometimes Christians compromise their faith for momentary pleasures that appeal to their senses which end up working against God's plans for their lives.

Today's passage shows the strategies of Pharaoh who didn't know what Joseph did to assist the Egyptians when they faced calamities.

He used midwives in his evil plans to end the lives of male children of Israel. He felt that this would weaken the people of God and help him subdue them. But the Lord protected His children from the antics of Pharaoh and fulfilled the plans He had for them.

As you go out today, trust the same God who never sleeps nor slumber to protect you from every evil plan of the enemy.

*QUESTION* : In what ways has the Lord protected you from your enemies?

*PRAYER:* Oh Lord, I know You as a God whose love is beyond measure, please protect me as I continue to live in this evil world. Amen.

*Food for the Day - 2023*

18/08/2023

FRIDAY, 18 AUGUST 2023
TEXT: JOHN 8:31-47
TOPIC: THE NEED FOR HONESTY

JOHN 8 : 31 - 47 NIV

31:To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.

32:Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

33:They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

34:Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

35:Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.

36:So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

37:I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word.

38:I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”

39:“Abraham is our father,” they answered. “If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did.

40:As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things.

41:You are doing the works of your own father.” “We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

42:Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me.

43:Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say.

44:You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

45:Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!

46:Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?

47:Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

THE NEED FOR HONESTY

Telling the truth does not always result in pleasant endings. Quite often, it is safer to tell a lie and receive praise than say the truth and bear unpleasant consequences. However, doing the safe thing is not the same as doing the right thing. God has called us to do the right thing.

Honesty is an attitude of speaking the truth as contained in the ninth commandment God gave the children of Israel (Exodus 20:16). Truth is one of the qualities of a good Christian. In fact, Jesus is truth (John 14:6). But Christians can suffer for telling, or standing for, the truth.

God is always on the side of those who tell the truth. However, sometimes this may result in extreme consequences such as ridicule, embarrassment, physical abuse and many forms of persecution.

Lies can take many forms such as using false measuring devices, false adjustments of accounts, false statements of results, etc. These and many others lead to distrust, more deceit (2 Kings 5:22; 25) and eternal death (Romans 6:23, Revelation 21:8).

As you go out today, stand for the truth so as to bring honour to God.

QUESTION: How do you feel whenever someone supports falsehood?

PRAYER: Oh Lord, awaken the Church from the deception of the enemy and help us to always stand by Your truth. Amen.

Food for the Day - 2023

15/08/2023

*TUESDAY, 15 AUGUST 2023*
*TEXT: JOHN 17:20-26*
*TOPIC: GOD DESIRES UNITY FOR HIS CHURCH*

*JOHN 17 : 20 - 26 NIV*

20: “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,

21: that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

22: I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—

23: I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

24: “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

25: “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.

26: I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

*GOD DESIRES UNITY FOR HIS CHURCH*

God worked tirelessly to unite the groups of individuals who worked with Him while He was on earth. He wants everyone who has a relationship with Him to do the same.

Today, the Church is clearly divided along denominational and ethnic lines. Believers prefer to relate with members from the same denomination with them or those who belong to their ethnic groups.

This has given the devil an opening to use in destroying many Christians and hinder the Church from becoming the universal witness she is called to be.

Jesus, in today's passage, prayed for those who become Christians through the ministry of the disciples to be united and remain as one in Him.

We must work and break the barriers that today's Church has created so as to enjoy the unity Jesus established.

*QUESTION* : How are you contributing to the disunity in the body of Christ?

*PRAYER* : Help me, dear Lord, to work towards building the required unity in Your body and draw us closer to one another in Your body. Amen.

*Food for the Day - 2023*

14/08/2023

*MONDAY, 14 AUGUST 2023*
*TEXT: JOHN 17:1-19*
*TOPIC: MAINTAIN YOUR SANCTIFICATION*

*JOHN 17:1-19*

1: After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.

2: For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.

3: Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

4: I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.

5: And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

6: “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.

7: Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you.

8: For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.

9: I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.

10: All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.

11: I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.

12: While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

13: “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.

14: I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.

15: My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

16: They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.

17: Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

18: As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

19: For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

*MAINTAIN YOUR SANCTIFICATION*

Prayer is the most potent means given to Christians for relating with God and for being in His presence at all times and under all circumstances.

Jesus demonstrated this through His prayer life which should serve as an example for those who come in contact with Him. He started with prayers and, as the song goes, He ended in prayers.

In concluding His discourse with His disciples, Jesus also prayed for Himself, His disciples and all believers. In the prayer, He sought to receive the glory that was His because He had finished what He came to do on earth.

He had drawn people to Himself and was going to do even more through His death. He prayed for those who came to get the best life from Him. He prayed for them to be sanctified by the Word He had given them.

Today, we must be conscious of this desire of Jesus and work towards maintaining our sanctification.

*QUESTION:*
Is the word of God playing its role of sanctifying your life?

*PRAYER:*
Heavenly Father please help me to live in obedience to Your Word so as to maintain Your sanctification in my life. Amen.

*Food for the Day - 2023.*

13/08/2023

*SUNDAY, 13 AUGUST 2023*
*TEXT: JOHN 16 : 25 - 33*
*TOPIC: THE LOVE OF THE FATHER*

*JOHN 16 : 25 - 33 NIV*

25: “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father.

26: In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf.

27: No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.

28: I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

29: Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech.

30: Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”

31: “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied.

32: “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.

33: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

*THE LOVE OF THE FATHER*

The last discourse between Jesus and His disciples, which started from John 13, contains a lot of issues about their future and, most especially, the Church that will come out of their ministry.

Jesus pointed out to them that they were connected to His Father because of the love they have for Him.

Certainly, they will face challenges that will even make some believers desert Him. But that does not negate the fact that, because the Father loves them, He will ultimately bring the much needed peace into their hearts.

We must know that God's love for us is not dependent on our experiences but on the love He has for us, no matter what we are passing through.

*QUESTION* :
How do you feel whenever things are not going the way you desire?

*PRAYER* :
Dear Lord, help me to know that Your love is beyond my imagination and grant me the grace to trust You, no matter what is happening to me. Amen.

*Food for the Day - 2023*

10/08/2023

*THURSDAY, 10 AUGUST 2023*
*TEXT: JOHN 15:26-16:4A*
*TOPIC: MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (I)*

*JOHN 15:26-16:4A NIV*

26:“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.

27:And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

1:“All this I have told you so that you will not fall away.

2:They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.

3:They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.

4A:I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them.

*MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (I)*

The life of commitment to Christ faces strong opposition from the kingdom of darkness. Because Jesus knew this, He wanted His disciples and Christians generally to understand the implication of their commitment.

But he also proceeded to reveal His provisions for them in the midst of these challenges. He promised to come in another way (through the Holy Spirit) to do more ministry for and through them.

In today's passage, the Spirit of God is referred to as the advocate, He is also called the Spirit of Truth.

His ministry is to testify about Jesus, in spite of the opposition, and to enable Christians testify about Jesus even as they face stiff opposition.

This will make the world experience the glorious life of God. As you go out today, know that even if the world is harsh to you, the Spirit of God is always present to help you witness the peace and blessings of Christ.

*QUESTION:* What is your reaction to the hostility of the world towards you?

*PRAYER:* Help me, dear Lord, to depend on the power of Your Spirit as I live my life, in Jesus name. Amen.

*Food for the Day - 2023*

09/08/2023

*WEDNESDAY, 9 AUGUST 2023*
*TEXT: JOHN 15:18-25*
*TOPIC: STAND WITH GOD EVEN IN THE MIDST OF HATRED*

*JOHN 15 : 18 - 25 NIV*

18:“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.

19:If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

20:Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

21:They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.

22:If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.

23:Whoever hates me hates my Father as well.

24:If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.

25:But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’

*STAND WITH GOD EVEN IN THE MIDST OF HATRED*

Christianity has suffered so much hatred through the ages that people sometimes wonder why this has been so.

In this discourse, Jesus drew the attention of His disciples to the fact that they would surely face hatred from the world and should, therefore, be prepared for it. Jesus passed through this and we must be willing to endure even worse. Peter recorded the same in 1 Peter 2:21.

Our calling has to do with suffering because Jesus left an example for us in that regard. As a result, we must prepare to stand with God and for Him as we encounter the hatred of the world.

We know that, in the end, we shall surely celebrate with Him in glory.

*QUESTION:* How do you react when you encounter hatred from the world?

*PRAYER:* Grant me the grace and strength to stand for You in the midst of the hatred from the world so that I will rejoice when I finally meet You. Amen.

*Food for the Day - 2023*

07/08/2023

*MONDAY, 7 AUGUST 2023*
*TEXT: JOHN 15 : 1 - 10*
*TOPIC: REMAIN IN CHRIST*

*JOHN 15 : 1 - 10 NIV*

1:“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

2:He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

3:You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

4:Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5:“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

6:If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

7:If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

8:This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

9:“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.

10:If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

*REMAIN IN CHRIST*

The need to constantly depend on the relationship between man and God is emphasized throughout Scriptures.

Christians should know that they can only be fruitful through total dependence on God.

Jesus reiterated the need for Christians to remain in Him about six different times in the sections we just read - verses 4,5,6,7,9 and 10.

We must know that remaining in Him means loving and obeying Him.

This relationship makes it possible for Him to further prepare us for fruitfulness through pruning what we receive from Him.

As you go out today and for the rest of your life, remember that the safest place to remain is in Christ who will always prepare you for fruitfulness.

*QUESTION:* Do you choose to remain in Christ or live by the dictates of the world?

*PRAYER:* Please, Jesus, help me to understand that apart from You, I cannot do anything. Make me choose to dwell with You for the rest of my life. Amen.

*Food for the Day - 2023*

03/08/2023

*THURSDAY, 3 AUGUST 2023*
*TEXT: JOHN 14:1-7*
*TOPIC: JESUS HAS A WONDERFUL PLAN FOR YOU*

*JOHN 14:1-7 NIV*

1: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.

2: My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?

3: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

4: You know the way to the place where I am going.”

5: Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6: Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

7: If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

*JESUS HAS A WONDERFUL PLAN FOR YOU*

The uncertainties of life have led people into doing things that do not honor God, even when men applaud them.

Jesus drew the attention of His disciples, and by extension every Christian, to the fact that He has a wonderful plan for each one of us and as long as we Continue to live and serve Him.

Today's passage defines Jesus in three different ways (the Way, the Truth and the Life) which are very important to our lives.

We must know that we need Him to be able to go through this life as the Way; we also need him as the Truth to be victorious; and we need him as Life to be alive. If you know Him, you know the way, the truth, and you will have life.

As we continue to live, we must be conscious of our lives and struggle to make a meaning of all that we do.

*QUESTION* :
What do you think about your future life?

*PRAYER* :
I believe in Your plans for my life, both now and in the future. Please, Oh Lord, help me to keep trusting You until the fullness of time. Amen.

*Food for the Day - 2023*

30/07/2023

*SUNDAY, 30 JULY 2023*
*TEXT: JOHN 13:1-11*
*TOPIC: LEARN HUMILITY FROM CHURCH*

*JOHN 13 : 1 - 11 NIV*

1:It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

2:The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.

3:Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;

4:so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.

5:After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

6:He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7:Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

8:“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

9:“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

10:Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.”

11:For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

*LEARN HUMILITY FROM CHURCH*

It is quite easy to claim that you are following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. But very few Christians can follow His ministerial life as prescribed in Philippians 2:5-7.

Washing the disciples' feet should not be considered strange for He became man to serve and save many which led Him to Calvary.

We should follow the Lord's example of humility by offering ourselves to serve Him and our fellow brothers in the church and society.

Our Lord's humility is the sign of a spiritually transformed life. This should not end at the washing of one another's feet but lead to submission to the Lord and His ministry.

*QUESTION:* As a believer, is the Lord's humility reflected in you?

*PRAYER:* Lord Jesus, grant me a humble spirit to serve You and my fellow believers sincerely, in Jesus name. Amen.

*Food for the Day - 2023*

29/07/2023

*SATURDAY, 29 JULY 2023*
*TEXT: JOB 42 : 7 - 16*
*TOPIC: LET ME HAVE A BETTER ENDING*

*JOB 42 : 7 - 16 NIV*

7:After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.

8:So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.”

9:So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.

10:After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.

11:All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.

12:The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys.

13:And he also had seven sons and three daughters.

14:The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch.

15:Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.

16:After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.

*LET ME HAVE A BETTER ENDING*

Job was introduced as a rich man with a godly character. But all of a sudden, that rich and godly man was visited by the devil, although with the permission of the Almighty God, and he lost everything and was afflicted by a terrible disease. But he still had faith in the Lord.

And the Almighty God visited him again with a high commendation about his moral life, restored and gave him even more wealth than before and blessed him with a wonderful family.

Thus, "the Lord blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first" (42:12). This means that we should persistently follow and trust Christ every step of the way. We should not give up.

*QUESTION:* Do you trust God even in these difficult times?

*PRAYER:* Lord God, help me to trust You, even in these difficult times, in Jesus name. Amen.

*Food for the Day - 2023*

28/07/2023

*FRIDAY, 28 JULY 2023*
*TEXT: JOB 40 : 1 - 5*
*TOPIC: THE BEST RESPONSE TO GOD'S QUERY*

*JOB 40 : 1 - 5 NIV*

1:The Lord said to Job:

2:“Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!”

3:Then Job answered the Lord:

4:“I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth.

5:I spoke once, but I have no answer— twice, but I will say no more.”

*THE BEST RESPONSE TO GOD'S QUERY*

Job's response in this passage should serve as a great lesson to us. God asked him: "Will the one who contends with Almighty correct Him? Let him who accuses God answer Him" (Job 40:2).

He replied: "I am unworthy, how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once but I have no answer, twice, but I will say no more."

Thus, Job withdrew the case he had earlier presented before God after he understood the errors in his earlier approach. But he realised that no one can argue with Him because He remains the Almighty God. Thus, Job submitted to His will.

Believers should accept the will and acts of the Lord, no matter how difficult they are. We should stop complaining and offer thanksgiving to God in every situation (Philippians 4:6).

*QUESTION:* Do you have any grudges against God?

*PRAYER:* Oh Lord, forgive any grudges I may have against You and teach me how to thank You in every situation, in Jesus name. Amen.

*Food for the Day - 2023*

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