The God Of The House

Apostle Grace Lubega

Genesis 28:17-19; 35:7(KJV); And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel… And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.

Denominations have no place in Christ.

In Him there is neither Jew nor Greek, male or female, slave nor free, Catholic or Pentecostal, Baptist or Methodist, Anglican or Protestant (Galatians 3:28).

But the sad reality is that the body of Christ is heavily denominated, majorly along doctrinal lines.

There is a tendency for men to worship affiliations above the person of Christ; Christ is no longer sacred but what the affiliation regards as truth is what is sacred.

This is attachment to “the House of God.” It is hinging your faith on your church and how it does what it does; it is what the denomination believes and not what the Bible teaches as truth.

In our theme scripture, God takes Jacob from the experience of ‘Bethel’ translated to mean the House of God to El-Bethel, translated to mean the God of the house.

God was interested in Jacob getting to know Him as God and not merely the “House.”

God expects the church of Christ to grow past attachments to religious assemblies or an association to the knowledge of Him.

He calls us to understand His nature, desires, thoughts, and purposes.

His name be praised!

FURTHER STUDY: Ephesians 4:13-15, John 17:3

GOLDEN NUGGET:

God expects the church of Christ to grow past attachments to religions of men to the knowledge of His person in the face of Jesus Christ.

PRAYER: Father, thank you for this Word. I receive it in humility and with understanding. My heart is ready and pants after a deeper experience with you. I choose to lay aside what I think I know and launch out into deeper waters of the knowledge of you. May knowing you be my daily experience. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Power Of Praise

Apostle Grace Lubega

2 Chronicles 20:21-24(KJV); And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth forever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.

In our extensive weapon armoury as children of the Most High God, the Lord of Heaven’s armies and the Lord of Sabaoth, praise is a great weapon of choice.

King Jehoshaphat in our theme scripture employed it rather beautifully.

He was faced with a battle against a great multitude of the Moabites and Ammonites.

He could have chosen fear, despair or anger against God for allowing this to happen. However, he chose to praise God and see what happened!

When he chose to praise God, the battle was shifted into the capable hands of the Lord Himself.

The Bible reveals that real confusion befell the enemy camp; the Ammonites and Moabites turned against their allies, the inhabitants of Mount Seir. Having destroyed them, they turned against each other.

Imagine that!

Praise is the confirmation of your affirmed victory in God.

That is why when you come to praise, don’t spare, forget about your neighbour or the person that will weigh you on the scales of propriety, just praise!

If you are moved to dance, dance! If it is worship, forget everything else and worship the Most High God.

If you ever find yourself faced with the enemy’s advancing battle, don’t despair, simply put on your dancing shoes and praise God!

Glory to God!

FURTHER STUDY: 2 Samuel 6:14, Acts 16:25-26

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Praise is the confirmation of your affirmed victory in God.

PRAYER: Loving father, I thank you for this wisdom in the art of war. Regardless of what I am going through, I choose to praise you through the storm. You, my God, inhabit the praises of your people; you my Lord break through prison doors when we choose to praise. With my heart lifted up, I praise and worship you. In this is my victory; in this is my breakthrough. To the glory of your name. Amen.

Principles of the Birthright: Lessons from Ephraim And Manasseh

Apostle Grace Lubega

Genesis 48:14-20(KJV); And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn. And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

Manasseh was Joseph’s firstborn son.

However, our theme scripture reveals that when Jacob was blessing the sons of Joseph, he set Ephraim, the second born before Manasseh despite Joseph’s protests.

Why was this so?

The Lord revealed to me that the reason was in the naming of these two boys.

The Hebrew meaning of the name Ephraim is “doubly fruitful” while the Hebrew meaning of the name Manasseh is “causing to forget.”

This teaches us that a child’s position in the spirit can be affected by the name they carry.

Be careful about how you name your children.

There are names with grave spiritual implications. Yes, they might relate with the circumstances of their birth but that does not mean that the name of a child should reflect anger, bitterness, death or calamity simply because those were the circumstances of their birth.

As a parent who understands the testimony of the victory of Christ, regardless of the circumstance of the birth of a child, give names that resonate with their identity in God.

Praise the Lord!

FURTHER STUDY: Ephesians 3:15, Genesis 35:18

GOLDEN NUGGET:
A child’s position in the spirit can be affected by the name they carry. Be careful about how you name your children.

PRAYER: Lord in heaven, I thank you for this wisdom. I understand the spiritual implication of names and determine that my children will have names that reflect an identity in Christ. They are the first and never the last, above and not beneath because of what I have determined by their names. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Knowledge, The Experience

Apostle Grace Lubega

Ephesians 3:19 AMP; [That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!

Knowledge is an experience.

This is why to know God is to EXPERIENCE God.

In our dispensation, God is pouring out knowledge like never before. However this new knowledge and revelation comes into question in the hearts of many who have not fully understood these things because it has not been exercised in the arena of experience.

For example, the depth of God comes in the form of knowledge but it is an experience. The dimensions of the spirit and the laws by which one functions in them may come in the form of knowledge but they are an experience.

True acquaintance with the realm of God is not merely through knowledge but through experience.

You will never have the richest measure of the divine presence by knowledge alone but by experience.

This begs the question, what does it mean to experience God?

We experience God in the exercise of our spiritual senses every time we encounter knowledge.

Moreover, there is a knowledge that can never come to you until you learn to exercise your senses. This is why Paul says “Strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14).

When you hear of the manifold wisdom of God, that is knowledge. You KNOW that His wisdom is many sided. But a man who hungers for experience will ask, ‘what is the sound of wisdom? (Proverbs 1:20), what is the taste of wisdom? (Proverbs 24:14) How does wisdom look to the eye? How does it feel like?

Like our theme scripture compels us, desire for more than mere knowledge.

Hunger for the experiences in knowledge.

FURTHER STUDY: Hebrews 5:14, 1 John 1:1

GOLDEN NUGGET:

True acquaintance with the realm of God is not merely through knowledge but through experience. You will never have the richest measure of the divine presence by knowledge alone but by experience

PRAYER: My Father, I thank you for the knowledge you have imparted in my spirit today. I receive not just the knowledge but the experience of these things. My senses are exercised to see, touch, feel, taste and hear the Word and to live it as my very reality. To the glory of your name. Amen.

The Heart Beat Of The Christian

Apostle Grace Lubega

Acts 17:16-17(KJV); Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.

Christians are the moral conscience of their societies.

It is a Christian with a seared conscience who will look at moral debauchery in his society and feel nothing.

It is a Christian with a seared conscience who will ignore social injustice.

Take an example from history. In the era in which William Wilberforce lived, slavery was as acceptable as birth and marriage. It was so woven in the fabric of human history that uprooting it had to take the very hand of God.

For his almost twenty year struggle, he came to be known as the “moral conscience of the nation.”

He and his battle companions like Granville Sharp, Hannah Moore under the spiritual guidance of John Wesley were Christians with Methodist leanings.

This in itself rendered the abolitionist movement Christian in character.

The early Christian church stood against inhuman practices such as infanticide.

A Christian with the heartbeat of God will always be stirred in his spirit when he encounters an order of things that is contrary to the will of God. Such was Paul in our theme scripture.

What did Paul do? The Bible says that he went about preaching in the synagogues and in the market. He did something about what he saw!

So what are we as the church doing?

Are we taking the front line against poverty?

Are we taking the front line against child trafficking?

Are we taking the frontline against child prostitution?

God has called us to be forces of social and cultural change and every day, we ought to rise to the occasion.

FURTHER STUDY: Matthew 5:16, 1 Peter 2:12

GOLDEN NUGGET:

A Christian with the heartbeat of God will always be stirred in his spirit when he encounters an order of things that is contrary to the will of God.

PRAYER: Father, I thank you for the responsibility upon my life. I thank you because it is a responsibility coupled with divine authority. You have equipped me as an architect of change; the world is a much better place because I am in it; my children will live in a better world because I am making change. To the glory of God. Amen.

To Multiply By Sacrifice

Apostle Grace Lubega

Genesis 22:2(KJV); And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

Sacrifice does not kill your seed, it multiplies it.

Abraham was asked by God to take his beloved son Isaac and sacrifice him. It was a hard decision, anyone could have questioned his sanity but because God had spoken, our father of faith obeyed.

The result? Multitudes for sons and daughters.

The Christ in the garden of Gethsemane was faced with the hardest choice in His earthly life. His life was to be given up as a sacrifice for a fallen world. In the agony of His decision, He sweated blood. For the first and last time ever recorded in scripture, He bemoaned the will of His father and cried that peradventure the cup be taken away from Him. Nevertheless, He endured (Luke 22:42).

The result? Many sons brought to glory (Hebrews 2:10).

The Church of Christ has multiplied at the altar of sacrifice. Whole villages of aggressive Red Indians were brought to salvation by the sacrifice of missionary Christians. In the age of Catholic Christianity (70AD to 312AD), as Christian blood flowed at the stakes, on the cliffs of Rome and at the mouths of lions, Christianity advanced across the borders of Roman civilisation. This was the seed of the Christian faith multiplying by sacrifice.

The Apostle Paul worded his life of sacrifice in this simple statement, “I will gladly spend and be spent for you.”(2 Corinthians 12:15).

The result? At the end of his life, he was so full to overflowing that he was “being poured out like a drink offering” (2 Timothy 4:6).

We should not downplay the power of sacrifice in the advancement of the gospel.

Let us make the choice to give our all and hold nothing back.

Let us lay our lives down for the sake of men for IN GIVING ALL, WE GAIN ALL.

To the glory of His name. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY: Mark 8:36, Matthew 16:25

GOLDEN NUGGET:

We should not downplay the power of sacrifice in the advancement of the gospel. Let us make the choice to give our all and hold nothing back. Let us lay our lives down for the sake of men for IN GIVING ALL, WE GAIN ALL.

PRAYER: Loving father, I thank you for this great Word. I embrace this wisdom and walk in it. You have taught me that when I lose my life, I gain it. Lord, I choose to spend and be spent for the sake of the gospel; to spare nothing; to give of my time; my gold and silver; my intellect and heart. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Knowledge: The Idol

Apostle Grace Lubega

Acts 17:21-23; (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.) Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.

We live in a dispensation of the increase of knowledge.

The Bible through the prophecy of Daniel the Prophet clearly stated that in the last days, knowledge shall increase (Daniel 12:4).

As such, we see this reality IN THE WORLD with the advancements in medical science, space exploration and technology: generative adversarial networks, the internet of things, virtual reality, health wearables, artificial organs, and robotic surgery. Knowledge is increasing.

Sadly, the increase of knowledge in the world is not proportionate to increase of knowledge in the body of Christ.

The implications of this are truly grave.

There is a general tendency for men to make idols of anything new which was the vice of the Athenians in our theme scripture and is a general vice of men that seek for wisdom outside the Christ.

It is the same vice that consumed some scientists when through discovery of new wonders in the world got lost in the very wonders of the world and forgot the God of wonders.

Today’s greatest secular universities were originally theological seminaries started by Christian men of God but fell prey to the idolisation of new knowledge.

It is therefore a caution to the church that in the face of all these advancements (which in themselves are very good), we yield to the increase of the revelation of God lest he become UNKNOWN as we learn more about our world.

The Spirit of God is hovering over the face of the deep and is ready to reveal the bottomless depths of God.

Embrace revelation.

FURTHER STUDY: Ephesians 1:17, Colossians 1:10

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Yield to the increase of the revelation of God lest he become UNKNOWN as we learn more about our world. The Spirit of God is hovering over the face of the deep and is ready to reveal the bottomless depths of God.

PRAYER: Loving father, what a great privilege to live in our times! I know that revelation is available and is being poured out in torrents. Lord I choose to drink from the eternal brooks of knowledge. Lord, at these waters, I don’t take by spoonful, by cups or even by drum full. I take it all, I soak in it until I am drenched in the very spirit of revelation. To the glory of your name. Amen.

Because Of The Anointing

Apostle Grace Lubega

Isaiah 10:27(KJV); And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.

I have known Christians that are bound by all sorts of forces of darkness.

Some have been in and out of deliverance services to no avail.
Demons have been cast out but nothing seems to change. They are struggling with issues which don’t cease.

That is not the life of a believer!

Our theme scripture says that the yoke is broken BECAUSE of the anointing.

This means that the more you grow in the anointing, the more certain things in your life stop tormenting you.

Some addictions fall away simply because of your growth in the anointing.

Invest in that which increases the anointing.

That is why I always tell people, if you are struggling with something, stay in the presence and give yourself more to it; abide more; spend time in prayer and in the word of God.

However, the mind of doing these things is not to break the yoke. We do not seek God to break yokes; as we seek God, yokes break.
Hallelujah!

FURTHER STUDY: 1 John 2:20, 1 John 2:27

GOLDEN NUGGET:

We do not seek God to break yokes; as we seek God, yokes break.

PRAYER: Most gracious Saviour, I thank you for your Word. Thank you for the anointing I have received from on high. Life’s struggles and burdens are no longer a threat; they melt and are destroyed because of the fatness of the anointing on my life. I live, minister and serve as one that is free from the concerns of this world. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Pattern Of Growth: Never Sit Among Scoffers

Apostle Grace Lubega

Leviticus 19:16(MSG); “Don’t spread gossip and rumors. Don’t just stand by when your neighbor’s life is in danger”, I am GOD.

Gossip is the one spirit in this life that disqualifies the message of Grace.

Every time you gossip or slander somebody, you mean to say that you are better than the person you’re gossiping about.

This spirit brings shame to the gospel and destroys people who think they are qualified to judge certain matters whereas they are not.

Sometimes you may not participate in gossip or slander, but rather, you sit amongst the scorners and scoffers; and in so doing, you render yourself as not being any different from them.

If you want to keep a constant flow of the presence of God, bear fruit in every season as well as flourish in whatever your hands touch, then avoid cheap talk.

The irony with gossip is, you may never know when the victim of your gossip is innocent, or when they repented and reconciled with their God.

Never dare to judge a man when you don’t know his closet.

Purpose to walk in love because love is the highest revelation for any man that knows God.

FURTHER STUDY: Psalms 15:3-5, 1Peter 4:8Amp

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Purpose to walk in love because love is the highest revelation for any man that knows God.

PRAYER: My great redeemer, I give you praise for today’s word. I purpose to cover any brethren overtaken by a fault, knowing well that it’s before you that they fall and stand, yet you are well able to make them stand. My lips are not for slander and gossip but for prayer, they are seasoned with grace. I thank you because with this understanding, I continue to grow in you. To the glory of your Name. Amen.

Hedged

Apostle Grace Lubega

Job 1:10(KJV); Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

The protection of God is not only upon your life.

Our theme scripture reveals that God did not only place a hedge around Job.

He placed a hedge around his house and all that he had on every side.

Our Lord and savior does not only protect you from danger; He protects everything that belongs to you; your family, your house, your vehicle, your mobile phone, your bag, your shoes. He protects everything!

That is the hedging of the Almighty God. It is not partial, it is total!

However, this is much more than protection. It is the presence of God; it is the anointing.

The presence and anointing is not only for you as a person, it is for everything around you.

Look at Paul the apostle. He was anointed but so was everything about him to the effect that handkerchiefs that touched him could cause demons to flee(Acts 19:12).

This is the glorious life of the believer.

Your house is anointed; your clothes are anointed; your property is anointed.

To the glory of God!

FURTHER STUDY: Acts 19:12, Psalms 16:5

GOLDEN NUGGET: God does not only protect you from danger. He protects everything that belongs to you; your family, your house, your vehicle, your mobile phone, your bag, your shoes. He protects everything!
That is the hedging of the Almighty God. It is not partial, it is total!

PRAYER: My great Lord, I thank you for your anointing upon my life and for your presence upon everything that I am and I own. You have anointed my countenance; have anointed my house and have anointed whatever I touch. When men see me, they see you Lord because of the presence of God upon my life. Everything I have preaches the gospel. To the glory of your name. Amen

Yea And Amen

Apostle Grace Lubega

2 Corinthians 1:20(KJV); For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

I have heard some Christians claim that God’s answers to prayer are usually three-fold.

Sometimes He says, ‘yes’; sometimes He says ‘no’ and sometimes He says ‘wait.’

What does our theme scripture say?

The Bible says that the promises of God are yes and Amen.

This means that as long as GOD HAS PROMISED SOMETHING, His answer is and will always be “Yes.” It is never a “No.”

Has He promised you victory? His answer is yes, not ‘no’ or ‘wait’.

Has He promised healing? His answer is yes, not ‘no’ or ‘wait’.

Has He promised wealth? His answer is yes, not ‘no’ or ‘wait.’

Make the choice to believe it!

The Bible says that Abraham staggered not at the promise, against hope he believed because he was persuaded that He that promised was also able to perform (Romans 4:20-21).

Abraham clung to the promise. He knew that there was no ‘no’ or ‘wait’ to it. The promise was a yes, and so when everything around him seemed to indicate that God was saying ‘no’ or God was saying ‘wait’, he chose to believe.

It is a question of faith. Praise God!

FURTHER STUDY: John 14:13, Romans 4:20-21

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Along as God has promised something, His answer is and will always be “Yes.” It is never a “No.” Has He promised you victory? His answer is ‘yes’, not ‘no’ or ‘wait’. Has He promised healing? His answer is ‘yes’, not ‘no’ or ‘wait’. Has He promised wealth? His answer is ‘yes’, not ‘no’ or ‘wait’.

PRAYER: My Lord, I thank you for this Word. I choose the path of faith in all things. Let God be true and every man a liar. I lean on the Word. I trust in the Word. And I walk in the manifestation of these promises every day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

In Him By Us

Apostle Grace Lubega

2 Corinthians 1:20(KJV); For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God BY US.

God fulfils His promises through men.

There are those who are busy waiting for a spectacular manifestation of His glory and power in order to take comfort in His promises or to believe that God is able to do that which He has said.

Our theme scripture is clear; it is in Him by us.

Did He promise victory? In Him by us. Did He promise glory? In Him by us? Did He say He will provide all our needs? In Him by us.

This means that God has placed in our hands the ability to manifest the realities and truths of the Word.

In Ephesians 3:20, He says, “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh IN US.”

That power is IN US.

God gives answers by you.

God changes situations by you.

God transforms by you.

May His great name be praised!

FURTHER STUDY: Ephesians 3:20, Colossians 1:28-29

GOLDEN NUGGET:

God gives answers by you. God changes situations by you. God transforms by you.

PRAYER: My loving father, what a great and wonderful truth. Thank you for the power that works in me! I am a force of change. I transform my world because of the power working in me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.