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JOANNA

  MEANING OF NAME: The Lord gives graciously. STORY IN BRIEF: A wealthy woman who worked in the courts of Herod Antipas. Her husband, Cuza, was also the estate manager of Herod Antipas. Joanna followed The Lord on missions, supported His Ministry with her gifts, and was privileged to have witnessed the resurrection of Jesus. These happened after The Lord delivered her from demonic obsessions. Obviously, Joanna would have attempted winning Herod Antipas over to Jesus. But her Spirit probably was dared when Herod beheaded John for Herodias and Salomey. SHORT BACKGROUND ON HEALING: Healing, from ancient Bible days, was seen more as spiritual than physical. Egyptian physicians would often drill holes in the heads of patients in order to create an exit for these "ailment-causing spirits". There were medical doctors, yet most patients were rather sent to the priest-physicians. REFERENCE SCRIPTURES: Luke 8:1 – 3; 24:10 (and Matthew 14:1 – 12) Luke 23:7 – 12
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LYDIA

  CHARACTERISTICS: A Gentile adherent of Judaism, she was a successful businesswoman who sold a type of cloth prized for its purple color. As head of her household, she may have been either widowed or single. So strong was her faith that her entire household followed her example and was baptized. She extended hospitality to Paul and his companions, even after their imprisonment. Her Sorrow: To see Paul and Silas beaten and thrown into prison for the sake of the gospel she had embraced. Her Joy:  That God’s Spirit directed Paul and his companions to Macedonia, enabling her and others at Philippi to hear the gospel for the first time. STORY IN BRIEF: Lydia, a business woman who made her living by selling clothes, lived in Philippi, Macedonia. She was a gentile but Judaism-addict. Paul had a vision where a man pleaded that he came to Macedonia with the gospel. So he headed there. After sharing the good news with the Philippines along the coast, Lydia and her household believed an...
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KEEP THE FIRE !

 


” The fire must never go out,…”

Leviticus 6:12

God’s kingdom as recorded from Genesis to Revelation, is fire-dominated. Moses, first, encountered Him in a burning bush; Elijah got swallowed up by horse-like chariots; his servant, Elisha, wasn’t left out when he witnessed similar chariots of angels surrounding him later, and the list is endless. So Paul, The Apostle, simply concludes that God ( in whom we live ) is a consuming fire – Hebrews 12:29.

The fire of God is that zeal, passion or heated and burning urge contained in our spirits for The Lord. It originates from God, yet He charges us to keep it from going off, as revealed from our theme scripture above. This piece will, therefore, not be complete without unveiling a few ways of sustaining God’s holy fire.

THE WORD
” Is not my word like fire…?” Jeremiah 23:29. Then, the Prophet affirms, “… His word is in my heart like fire…” Jeremiah 20:9. So you can imagine what the Word offers our Spirit as we commune with it. They’re woods we stoke the fire with to keep it burning. But we must be guided by God’s Spirit into receiving the right word at a time. For words that are irrelevant to our conditions are like wet woods that may not spark fire.

FASTING AND PRAYING
Fasting kills the flesh but elevates The Spirit. By it, we’re divinely enabled to comply with God’s Word in obedience. When, through this divine empowerment, we successfully rid ourselves of bitterness, anger, unforgiveness or hatred, this burning fire can’t be hindered any longer. And if by prayer Elijah brought down God’s fire, then prayer can equally help sustain the fire.

LOVE
Our love for God and His kingdom advancement is, in itself, fire-productive. This is asserted by Solomon in Songs 8:6. “… For love is as strong as death, passion as intense as Sheol. The flames of love are flames of fire, a blaze that comes from the LORD.” Apparently, LOVE is Fire; genuine Love for God in our hearts will fuel the fire of God in us for greater exploits.

WORSHIP and PRAISE
God, the all consuming fire, doesn’t visit us alone when we praise Him; He’s followed by His host of blazing chariots – heavenly angels. Worshipping and praising God also cause Him to speak His Word into us, ignite His passion or Love in our hearts and create in us a strong desire for holiness ( which requires that we often fast ). Having already read the relevance of those three, it can be said that worship and praise are the most fundamental facilitators of God’s fire.

It’s only through fellowship – feeding on The Word, fasting, praying, worshipping and praising God, that we keep ourselves afired. Let us, thus, continue in this fervency so we can ultimately receive the testimony of John, the baptist – a burning and a shining Light ! ( John 5:35 )

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