Monday, 1st September, 2025.Theme: A Prophet is not accepted among his own People(1Thes 4:13-18,Ps 96, Lk 4:16-30)
The poor carpenter’s son has become a great man full of power and performing wonders. The people of Nazareth, the hometown of Jesus couldn’t comprehend this. They know the beginning of this boy, who never even had formal education. And now he says he is the Messiah sent by God with all kinds of power and wisdom. They couldn’t believe their eyes. They truly know the humble beginning of Jesus. But God has made the boy who was nobody to them to become somebody.
The experience of Jesus is still happening among us. When we know the background of someone, we tend to disregard them when they attain different status. Normally this happen when we write the person off, thinking that he or she has no chance of making it in life.
A number of men and women of God are disregarded in their own hometowns or among their own people. But the same people are held in high esteem at other places. They have a lot of respect in different areas but not among their own people. Even some of their own family members begin to doubt them. Most of our people are always at home with priests and pastors who hail from other places than their own people who have climbed to that level.
Familiarity they say breeds contempt. The more we become familiar with people, the more we tend to disrespect them. This is a human weakness which must be checked. The fact that I know some one very well doesn’t mean I shouldn’t acknowledge his status and respect him or her as such. Most of our priests and pastors whom God is using to perform great things in the lives of people can’t do the same at places where they come from. The people will not even take you seriously. I have had a personal experience and I attest to this fact.
Beloved, we can’t determine the future of anybody. That power belongs to only God. Why should we then refuse to accept people who become great personalities in the future? We must change from this attitude and appreciate what is our own as well. We should be positive about it to encourage others in our societies. Those of us who are always promoting people and things from outside but refusing to see anything good about our own should stop it. That’s why some of our communities are not growing.
We should know that even a harden criminal can change and become a great instrument of God. God can use anybody no matter where the person is coming from or the situation he or she finds himself or herself.
May the Holy Spirit help us not to disregard chosen vessels of God because we know their background. Amen.
Have a blessed Week and happy new month.
Shalom 🙏🏼🙏🏼
Tuesday, 2nd September, 2025.
Theme:At the name of Jesus, All Powers Shall Bow
(1Thes 5:1-6,9-11,Ps 27, Lk 4:31-37)
Jesus spoke with power and authority, and the people felt it and acknowledged. The unclean demons in the man couldn’t withstand the presence of Jesus in the synagogue. They confessed and had to submit to the authority of Jesus.
Beloved, there is power in the name of Jesus. By the mention of that name, all knees shall bow and all tongues shall confess that Jesus is Lord. There is no name in the heavens or the earth that can withstand the power in the name of Jesus. We must come to this realization as believers and stop entertaining unnecessary fears in our lives. If you have Jesus at your side, why should you be afraid of situations or forces of darkness? Not at all.
Because of the power in us through the name of Jesus, evil spirits are afraid of us. Unfortunately, we are also afraid of them. We have undermined the power in us. That’s why they have the power to manipulate and always frighten us. Some of us are even afraid of certain people because of the powers we claim they have, even more than the God we worship. They and God who is more powerful?
We belittle the power in us too much. Let’s prove to them that what lives in us is greater and powerful than them. We should have the edge to always rebuke these forces. In fact, let them know their level. We should let them know that they are nothing at all before Jesus. Don’t joke with the power in you. That power can move mountains.
As Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, today I want you to also have that authority to rebuke any evil forces who have orchestrated any evil plans in your life. Don’t allow them to destroy the good things in your life, in the family, at the work place, in the church. Don’t forget the man was in the church but was possessed. Pray till they feel uncomfortable and have to pack their things and leave.
May the Holy Spirit give us the power and authority to overcome all forces in our lives. Amen.
Have a blessed day.
Shalom 🙏🏼🙏🏼
Rev. Fr. Akakpo Matthew
Wednesday,3rd September, 2025.
Memorial of St Gregory the Great
Theme: Jesus Our Deliverer and Healer
(Col 1:1-8, Ps 52, Lk 4:38-44)
Sickness as a human suffering is very devastating among us. Jesus in his manifesto indicated that, he was sent to preach good news to the poor and to set captives free(Lk 4:18). Sickness is part of this human captivity for which Jesus came to deliver us from. In the gospel of today, Jesus healed the mother-in-law of Simon and many other sick people. He also delivered many from demonic possession and oppression. Beloved,we have a God who is able to heal all our diseases (Ex 15:26b). He sends his word and heal all our infirmities ( Ps 107:20).
Scripture says through his strips we receive our healing. I don’t know the kind of illness which is troubling you in your life, but I pray today that you experience the healing touch of Jesus our master. Just trust in his power of healing. Don’t give up, your time of deliverance is just at the corner. I want you to encourage someone to continue to look up to God and not give up. Someone is about to give up on his condition of ailments, be the source of strength for such person.
Sicknesses have made people to commit suicide, have made people to lose their faith in God, have made people to lose everything in life. But Doctor Jesus is the answer to these troubles in our lives. May be yours is a spiritual sickness, but Jesus is able to heal. Don’t go to any Mallam, or medicine man or a fake pastor. That sickness is something too small for him to cure. If the woman who suffered from hemorrhage for twelve good years received her healing after encountering Jesus, then your moment of deliverance is just at the corner. The same thing can be said of the man who was paralyzed for thirty-eight good years. Your time will come. Your God hasn’t abandoned you. Emmanuel is with you in the moments of your struggles with that illness.
May Jesus heal us from all our physical and spiritual diseases. Amen .
Have a Blessed Day.
Shalom. 🙏🏼🙏🏼
Rev. Fr. Akakpo Matthew
Thursday,4th September, 2025.
Theme: Listen to the voice of Jesus
(Col 1:9-14, Ps 98, Lk 5: 1-11)
In the gospel of today, the apostle Peter obeyed the command of the Lord. And as a result, they had a great catch. These were experienced fishermen who had toil throughout the night, but caught nothing. I don’t think Jesus was more experience than Peter and his colleagues in terms of fishing. But they still obeyed him, because they knew that with Jesus all things are possible. The Jesus factor changes the story. Possibly it wasn’t a favorable time to have a good catch. But because Jesus is the one in control of nature, he was able to turn things around for their good.
Beloved, we must also act like Peter by listening to the voice of God all the time. Allow Jesus to take charge of your life. In any situation and moments of our lives, we need to discern and wait for his direction. His direction will always lead to success. It will make his will to be realized in our lives.
Unfortunately, some of us sometimes don’t listen to the voice of God. We want our own will to be done in our lives. And at the end, the result is disaster. Our lives become full of pain, sorrow and so forth. We must allow the will of God to always prevail in our lives. Always ask yourself whether the step you are taking is the will of God or it is your own will? Will that decision or action please God or be union with his will? This demand constant prayer which puts us in touch with him and the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes also it calls for consultation with our pastors or experience people in life. God also speaks through people to us. Therefore, we must sometimes also pay attention to what such people tell us. Please it doesn’t mean that we must listen to whatever those people will say in relation to a situation or a decision we are taking. Not all those voices are of God.
Listening to Jesus brings peace in our lives, and puts us on track as his children. We are more safe under his guidance than following our own ways. Let him take absolute control in your life.
May Jesus help us always to listen to his voice no matter the situation we find ourselves . Amen .
Have a Blessed Day.
Shalom. 🙏🏼🙏🏼
Rev. Fr. Akakpo Matthew
Friday,5th September, 2025.
Theme: Embrace the new life of Christ
(Col 1:15-20, Ps 100, Lk 5: 33-39)
The Parable of the New Wine and Old Wineskins teaches that the new covenant in Jesus cannot be contained within the rigid, outdated structures of the old covenant and legalistic practices. The new wine represents Jesus’s new teachings, the power of the Gospel, and the transformative new life in Christ, while the old wineskins symbolize the rigid, established religious systems and traditions of the past. Attempting to combine these would lead to destructive failure, emphasizing the need for believers to embrace a renewed spiritual life and a complete replacement of old ways with new teachings, rather than trying to mix Christ’s doctrine with worldly ideologies. In other words, the teachings of Christ is distinct and must be observed by all in the spirit of the new covenant or the New Testament.
Just as new wine requires a truly new, flexible wineskin, true Christian living necessitates a profound inner transformation of the heart and mind, not just superficial outward changes to old behaviors or doctrines.
Again, Jesus is teaching us to live unique lives as his followers. Our life must be marked by his teaching and his way of life. We can’t claim to be his followers and still be living in our old ways. We are either for him or not. We can’t serve two masters. Either you will hate all or love one against the other.This will amount to hypocrisy.
The practice of syncretism will perfectly fit into the teaching of Christ today. The practice of merging two religions. And in our context Christianity with other religions. In the African context, it is common to see a number of us claiming to be Christians but still holding on to our African Traditional Religious beliefs. We fail to totally depart from our old life and embrace the new life in Christ. The two practices are often fused together. Such situations make the individual not an authentic witness of Christ. Surely such an individual will have issues with allegiance. You are either for him or not.
The life of Christ in us must not be tainted with whatever sort of ungodly life. It is a life of holiness and truthfulness to one self.
May Jesus help us always to accept him into our lives without any reservations. Amen .
Have a Blessed Day.
Shalom. 🙏🏼🙏🏼
Rev. Fr. Akakpo Matthew
Saturday,6th September, 2025.
Theme:Don’t be an external Christian
(Col 1:21-23, Ps 54, Lk 6: 1-5)
Beloved, Jesus is teaching us today that Christianity is not all about following rules but serving him from our hearts. The Pharisees and Scribes were only following rules but their hearts were very far away from God. In today’s gospel, they complained why the disciples of Jesus plucked ears of corn to eat on a sabbath day. But the same people will do everything possible on a sabbath day to save their animals which fell into a pit. Instead of following the spirit of the law, they were rather interested in the letter of the law. Religiosity was their way of life, meanwhile they had no personal relationship with God.
Being a Christian is not about being punctual at church, paying your dues, going for communion always, giving offering and offertory always, and the list continue. Some of us are so strict with following rules by the church, but we don’t have any personal relationship with Jesus. Such a Christian is only being religious but not spiritual. To be spiritual goes beyond just following rules.
The rules are meant to help us attain salvation. But when these rules in any circumstances don’t take the wellbeing of the people of God into consideration, then it has defeated it purpose. As the saying goes laws are meant for people, and not people for the laws. We must value people over the laws and not the opposite. But unfortunately, some of us value the laws more than the human beings.
The foundation of all the laws of God is love. All the laws of God should promote the love of God for humanity. That’s the reason for God giving us all his laws. But it seems that some of us are missing the point just like the Pharisees. We should always ask ourselves what would Jesus had done in such situations?
May God grant us the grace to apply his laws for the wellbeing of humanity . Amen .
Have a Blessed Weekend.
Shalom.
Rev. Fr. Akakpo Matthew
