DISTRACTION SHALL NOT BE YOUR PORTION

Without any doubt, distraction will derail or deny focus on the calling of God to arrive at the divine center assignment.
Distraction can be a disruption or disturbance.
Distraction can also be an indefinable force that will derail not experiencing the presence of God.
For example, Samson was the calling of God to be a deliverer of his people by the hand of God. 
When he was to become conceived, God sent an angel that said to his mother that she shall conceive and bear a son with instruction not to drink wine or similar drink and not to eat anything unclean.
The angel also instructed her that no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. (Judges 13:3-5) 
BEFORE THE BIRTH OF SAMSON, WAS DESTINED TO DELIVER HIS PEOPLE, BUT DISTRACTION PROVOKED HIS DISOBEDIENCE BEFORE GOD. 
SAMSON LOOKED AWAY FROM THE WORD OF DIRECTION INTO THE WORLD.
Distraction will lead to looking away from God.
Samson FAILED to hide under the word of God (the word of God is a place to dwell and abide for obedient one) to become exposed to the evil devices of his wife (Delilah) and made him become a victim in the hand of his enemy. 
Watching and praying will deny distraction. 
The book of Judges 16 records,  “When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” 
The source of distraction for one not to live life for the glory of God can be from the closest one as an agent of evil.
Samson failed to deny distraction over his life.
However, distraction is deniable.
For example, during the challenges of Job, it was his wife who attempted to distract Job. 
Job 2:9 records the distraction of his wife, “Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!”  
Unlike Samson, Job resisted the device of distraction from his wife when he responded: “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” (Job 2:10) 
Are you avoiding the patterns of distraction in your way of life?
Know and understand how to deny distractions from close ones or ones from a distance.
Deny distraction, remain focused on God, and not become a victim of the evil of this world.
Many have received Jesus as Lord and Savior, but distraction denies focusing on God.
Does that sound like you?
Distraction is a weapon of the enemy.
For example, Martha welcomed Jesus into her life, her house, but she could not avoid distraction from denying her to gain a position in the presence of Jesus. 
Martha welcomed Him into her house, “But Martha was distracted with much serving…”
Jesus identifies the distraction of Martha:
Martha was worried and troubled about many things.
Martha welcomed Jesus into her house, but distraction prevented her from Jesus.  
Who or what is your distraction? 
Deny distraction and focus on God alone. 
From this moment, do not become a victim of distraction to experience evil occurrences over your life.
PRAYER:
Ask God to deliver you from every force of distraction, consciously or unconsciously, physically, spiritually, or emotionally, over your life.
Ask that distraction that derails the called one of God shall not locate you, to derail you from answering fully to the calling of God.
Ask that you shall not be trapped, not become asleep in the hand of evil agenda. (Sampson went to sleep and woke in the hand of the enemy to find out that the LORD HAS departed from Him.) 
Job denied the spirit of distraction from his.
Ask that in every relation with you, the spirit to deny distraction becomes established in you.
Ask that you will know and understand how to deny distractions from close ones or ones from a distance.
Ask that way, or habits (the pattern) of distraction shall not have a place in your life.
Like Martha, many have received Jesus as Lord and Savior, but distraction denies focusing on God.
Ask that focusing on the assignment of God in your life shall be established and not become a victim of distraction. 
Jesus identified the worrying of Martha as the agent of her distraction.
Ask that spirit and other forces of getting worried to become distracted in the calling of God shall not have a place in your life in the name of Jesus.
Ask that worrying that provokes you to be troubled about many things should cease in your life.
Ask God to enable you to always watch and pray against distraction.

HAVE THE DESIRE TO GAIN THE MERCY OF GOD

The dictionary describes mercy: Mercy is the compassionate treatment of those in distress, especially when it is within the power of one to punish or harm them. 
With God, mercy means His compassion and kindness toward people. 
His mercy shows up in believers at salvation, and God continues to show mercy in forgiveness. 
Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Mercy is deep and describes a caring God.
Only God that mercy can no one measure, a glorious character.
Know to do well by giving all to God to gain and retain His incomparable mercy. 
Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, the mercy of God has been consistent to see you this far, not to become a victim of the wicked world.
The mercy of God means God is compassionate and kind.
The mercy of God is with forbearance that does not run out.
The mercy of God is His loyal love; it is the conventional love of the covenant-keeping God. 
For to experience the mercy of God is not by merit but by the goodness of God to be received.
Just as power belongs unto God, mercy also belongs to God. 
God cannot be intimidated or manipulated by any of His creations to receive His mercy.
The mercy of God is not attainable by the work but by walking with God. 
God testifies to His mercy in Romans 9:14-16, “…I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion. So, then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.”
The mercy of God is in place for all, and nothing under heaven can displace or deny one that God will visit.
With mercy, God led the children of Israel out of the bondage of over four hundred years. 
The Bible records, “You in Your mercy have led forth the people whom You have redeemed…” (Exodus 15:13) 
In the given days that you have by the breath of life, understand and know to live life to attain the mercy of God as the Bible records His word.
God alone will have mercy on whom He chooses to, but He will also have for one who lives by His command.
TO OBTAIN THE MERCY OF GOD:
Live by loving God.
Obedience to the word of God is evidence of love for God that will always provoke God for His mercy. 
The story of Joseph points out that Joseph kept the commandment of God by forbidding adultery when he fled away from sleeping with the wife of his master. 
Joseph reacted against the temptation of the wife of his master to experience the mercy of God as the Bible mentions, “But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor…” (Genesis 39:21).
Joseph loves God to obtain the mercy of God.
Know to plead for His mercy.
God identified Job as a man with none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil. 
Despite the stand of Job as a man of integrity before God, he knows to plead for mercy before God: “For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him; I would beg mercy of my Judge” (Job 9:15). 
Just like Job, the Psalmist had to plead for the mercy of God, “Have mercy on me, O LORD! Consider my trouble from those who hate me, You who lift me up from the gates of death.” (Psalm 9:13). 
Know to plead for mercy before God.
Know to trust God for His mercy.
The Psalmist declared, “But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation” (Psalm 13:5). 
With trust is to lift voice to gain His mercy. 
Luke 17:13 records, “And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 
God is merciful.
Ask for forgiveness to gain the mercy of God.
With repentance, one who asks before God for forgiveness will receive the mercy of God. The Bible records, “For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You” (Psalm 86:5). God is good and merciful; no iota of evil can deny the mercy of God that is in place for one with the understanding that calls on God. 
To gain mercy, Proverbs 28:13 encourages, “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsake them will have mercy.” God is merciful to respond with mercy for one who trusts God and knows to ask for forgiveness.
To do good gains the mercy of God.
Do no evil, but do good at all times. 
The Word of God in Proverbs 14:22 confirms, “…but mercy and truth belong to those who devise good. 
Devise good, but not evil will attain the mercy of God.
What one sows and to fear God will gain His mercy.
Among doing, to gain the mercy of God is to gain what one would like to sow.
Hosea 10:12 buttresses the word of God, “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy.” 
Above all, fear God to gain His mercy.
Psalm 103:17 records for learning, “But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him…” Luke 1:50, “And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.” 
To fear God will provoke all to do to gain His mercy.

IN THIS SEASON, ALLOW THE FEAR OF GOD TAKE OVER YOUR LIFE

This season, fear God to experience the glory of God.
Faith is in hearing the word of God. 
Faith is the source of fearing God. 
A failure not to fear God is in doubt, evidence of not hearing the word of God to keep.
Romans 10:17 records, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” 
Without a doubt, not hearing the word of God will give fear a place in the position of faith. 
All that God wants from all is to hear and have fear for Him. 
Ecclesiastes 12:13 states, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all.” Hear to fear God.
To fear God is the key to live life for His glory.
God sent Moses the importance of hearing to fear Him. 
Deuteronomy 4:10 states, “…Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.”  
Hearing the word of God is crucial to having faith, to fear God by not giving oneself to fear. 
The word of God through Moses for the children of Israel does not exempt all today. 
God is the same before yesterday, today, and forever. 
What is it denying you not to hear the word of God, to fear God?
The word of God against hindrance that denies to hear and not fear sounded for Israelites, “Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear.” (Deuteronomy 21:21)
The force that hinders not hearing the word of God, to fear God, shall become terminated.
To fear God is faith, and to fear outside of God is doubt that will cause evil. 
Once, the journey of Peter demonstrates what it is to have faith and fear God but not become a victim of doubt.
With Peter, when he heard the word of Jesus, he walked on storm. However, when he set his eyes on the storm, taking his eyes away from the word of Jesus, he sank.
Jesus set Peter and other disciples on a journey engaged in the storm.
“Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.” (Matthew 14:22)
Disciples were in trouble water and did not see Jesus with them.
Matthew 14:26 records, “And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.”  
Seeing the negative is shelving the positive to have heard. 
Disciples were troubled.
They cried out in fear because they could not remember all they had heard in the word of Jesus. 
Matthew 14:27-28 records the response to the disciples, “But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”  
The word of Jesus was for disciples to hear to deny fear. 
Hearing the word of God is a way to deny seeing fear at all times.
With fear in the storm, Peter responded to Jesus with faith and heard from God, saying, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:29-30)
Peter heard Jesus, and faith rose for him to walk in the storm. 
However, when he began to look away from God by focusing on the storm, his faith sank, and then fear rose in him to sink. 
Hearing the word of God is seeking God as the only source to avoid sinking in a storm. 
Self-deliverance will work when one gives self to the word of God. 
FEAR THE LORD GOD
Fear the Lord God, as some words in the Bible demand:
Deuteronomy 10:12, “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” 
THE EXPERIENCES WITH THE FEAR OF THE LORD  
The experience of one that fears the Lord God as the Bible identifies:
Psalm 128:1, “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, Who walks in His ways. 
Psalm 19:23, “The fear of the Lord leads to life, And he who has it will abide in satisfaction, He will not be visited with evil.” 
Acts 9:31, “And walking in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.” 
Claiming as a believer is living by hearing the word of God that enable the hearer of the word to live in the fear of God.
By the fear of the Lord, one departs from evil. (Psalm 16:6)

LET THE NEW YEAR BE

Let the New Year be a year that you become a ride for God that His presence occupies you to become established in you.
Ask God to make you become a rideable one for His presence.
A tied donkey became a rideable one for Jesus.
Matthew 21:1-3 documents, “Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”
Jesus needed a ride for His glory.
A donkey tie had to be released for Jesus to ride for His glory.
Matthew 21:7 confirms, “So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.”
For the Year 2024, Meditate in prayer that whatever is tying you down, to deny your availability as a ride and fill by the presence of God, shall release you by the Word of God that asks for your release, in the name of Jesus.    
NEED TO GIVE YOURSELF TO THE WORD OF GOD 
Let the new beginning become a season of fulfillment (realization) of God in your life.
All it takes to live a life of the fulfillment of God is to become constantly filled and full of the Word of God that was in the beginning with God. 
John 1: 1-2 describes, “…the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.”
The realization of God in your life will be the evidence of light that shines in the darkness of the wicked world.
Spending time on the Word of God is a time of listening to the voice of God that speaks for all to obey. 
Deuteronomy 28:1-2 records for all, “If you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you because you obey the voice of the LORD your God.”  
Give self to the Word of God.
Gain and retain the presence of God to have rest in the promise of God. 
New Year resolution will not give the rest as the Word of God will. 
Let your resolution be in the presence of God. 
The presence of God is in the Word of God. 
Through the journey, the children of Israel were being led constantly by the presence of God,
giving the Israelites direction and leadership that always resulted in rest when they were obedient. 
NEED TO KNOW THE NEW YEAR
The Old Year is gone while the New Year is on.
Interestingly, the enemy remains the same but operates differently. 
By prayer, God will see His people through the journey of a year.
The year is full of promises of God. 
The promise of God is a blessing. 
His promises do not have sorrow embedded in it. 
Proverbs 10:22 informs all, “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.” 
The blessings of God come with condition.
The conditions of His blessing can be uncomfortable and inconvenient, exceedingly challenging. 
The conditions of claiming His blessing cannot be compromised.
In the journey of a year, know to claim the blessing of God, and with desire, pray that God will enable you to live for Him.
NEED TO PRAY
Pray before God to see you through the journey of a year. 
Ask God to wake you up from sleeping physically or spiritually, not to become a victim of evil. 
Ecclesiastes 3:1 informs all there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven. 
In the place of praying, sleeping will cause one to miss the visitation of God.
Jesus and some of His disciples went to pray on Mount Gethsemane. 
At the time of prayer, Jesus rose from prayer and came to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow (Luke 22:45).
In the New Year, desire to become prayerful.
Acys 6:4 encourages, “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
Let prayer be your way of life in the New Year. 
Understand and know there is no reasonable excuse for the consequence of not spending time in prayer. 
Today and in the coming days, be watchful and prayerful as 1 Peter 4:7 mentioned that the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.
Be awake and not miss to gain and retain the presence of God.

THIS FAR IS GOD

It is the mercy of God that has brought you this far.
From the first month of this year to this moment is the grace of God.
God owes no one, but all owe the perfect God.
He is a caring Creator.
Psalm 150:6 admonishes all, “Let everything that has breath
praise the Lord.”
Indeed, everyone standing this far should praise God at every moment, not only at the breath of life.
Praising and thanking God will provoke a favorable lifting from God.
God deserves praising and thanking Him.
God is a jealous God whose attention is the antidote to jealousy.
God wants all to seek Him diligently.
One who seeks God diligently will find God.
One who does not seek God diligently will not find God.
Proverbs 7:15 encourages, “So I came out to meet you, Diligently to seek your face, And I have found you.”
It is the love of God that you are alive at this time of the year.
John 3:16-17 testifies to the love of God for all, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” 
The point is that God invested so much in all while all extends so little to Him. 
All year long to the moment standing, the Lord God bestows upon you, how much have you extended to Him?
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 records, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven…”  
At this time of the year, let the desire to live more for the glory God become of you. 
Allow your expectations to change from material gain to walking in the ways of God. 
Deuteronomy 5:33 states, “You shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.” 
Walk more in the ways of God, seeking God first. 
Seeking God will no doubt fulfill every one of your desires as the year runs into the coming year.
Live to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:33-34) 
A better way to seek God is by praising and thanking God.
Make the moment to be of praising and thanking God.
Maintain what His word says to attain His promises.
In the word of Moses to the children of Israel, there is a testimony of the loving care for His children.
The loving care for His children states, “The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.’ Yet, for all that, you did not believe the Lord your God, who went in the way before you to search out a place for you to pitch your tents, to show you the way you should go, in the fire by night and in the cloud by day.” (Deuteronomy 1:30-33) 
God, the unchanging changer, remains consistent with His love for His creation. 
The same way God cares in the Bible days is still the same today. 
The book of John 3:16 also testifies to His love, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” 
Indeed, there is nothing a father needs to do for the salvation of his children that God has yet to do. 
God is a good and caring God.
When was the last time you acknowledged the consistent love of God for you? 
Are you serving and walking in the word of God inconsistently? 
Despite the inconsistency before God, God continues to be consistent in His mercy. 
If you will take a moment, ask for His forgiveness; thank Him for His unswerving patience in listening and forgiving all your shortcomings and wicked ways. 
God is worthy of all honor and adoration. 
Seeking God at a convenient time is not seeking Him consistently. 
Ask God for intervention in every area of your life that does not glorify His name.
Ask for the mercy of God not to miss out on His promise for your life. 
This far to be alive is God.