WORD OF LIVING WATER DAILY INSPIRATION. By: Rev. Fr. Akakpo Matthew.

WORDS OF LIVING WATERS DAILY INSPIRATION
Monday, 4th May,2026.
Theme: Give the credit to God
(Acts 14:5-18, Ps 115,Jn 14:21-26)

In Lystra, Paul healed a cripple who came to listen to them. The people attributed this great miracle to their gods, Zeus and Hermes. Of course, this were idol worshippers so it is understandable.

But sometimes some of us who call ourselves Christians attribute great deeds in our lives either to people or other sources of powers. Sometimes we give credit of successes in our lives to our own efforts. Mostly you will hear I did this and that, but hardly will you hear by the grace of God I was able to do this.

That is why James will say we must always use the expression if God permit I will do this or I will go here. Without God we are nothing and we can’t achieve or do anything. So stop saying I will do this or I will go to this place without any reference to God. What if you wake up and you are sick, can you still go to the place? Or if you are not able to wake up at all, where is the power to go or do what you were saying.

It is the grace of God which is carrying us along and not by our own power. Yes it is true that our efforts are also necessary, but that alone can’t suffice. You need God to bless this efforts to produce success. This implies that it takes God and us to achieve something in life. But it is also true that God can bless us or perform a great deed in our lives without any efforts from us. That is why he is God and not a human being.

We still have the people of Lystra among us, who always attribute great deeds in our societies to other sources of powers other than God. These powers they think are powerful than God. The commonest among us is about our so called men of God. I have heard one of these pastors on our media platforms saying that it is by my grace . It is no more by the grace of God but by their own grace as human beings. They have now taken the place of God in the lives of the people who follow them. Their followers have also made them gods in their churches and in their lives. They honor them more than God who created them.

Some of these so called pastors are not using the power of God, so we shouldn’t be surprise if they fail to give honor to God. They are rather honoring the sources of their powers which sometimes we may not know. But some of our brothers and sisters are genuinely using the power of God in performing these mighty deeds. But the problem is they have allowed pride to rule them, thinking it is by their own power that they perform such great deeds. But we do forget that it is God who has endowed these gifts in us. We are able to do what we are doing because it is God who is performing his mighty deeds through us. Without him we can’t do anything on our own.

It is normal for human beings to attribute the credit to us as it happened to Paul and Barnabas, but we have to resist it totally. Let’s follow the example of Paul and Barnabas who corrected the mindset of the people. Give the glory which is due Jesus to him and not to ourselves. Remember we can’t do anything without God.

May the resurrection power of Christ help us to always give the credit which is due God. Amen . Have a Blessed Week.
Shalom. 🙏🏼🙏🏼
Rev. Fr. Akakpo Matthew

WORDS OF LIVING WATERS DAILY INSPIRATION
Tuesday, 5th May, 2026.
Theme: Leadership is Necessary for Church Growth.
(Acts 14:19-28, Ps 145,Jn 14:27-31)

One of the strategies Paul used in his missionary journeys was to get leaders for all the Christian communities he established. He got individuals for the community or from the people themselves to animate the newly founded communities.He was much in touch with these leaders and the community as well. This is exactly what happened in the first reading, when Paul and the others appointed elders or leaders for the churches they founded.

Leadership is from God, and it is God who chooses leaders, especially in our churches. Imagine a community without leaders is almost like a jungle. Everybody does what he or she wants. Jesus chose Peter to lead the apostles and the early church as well. He knew that when he leaves to the Father, the church will definitely need people or someone to lead them, hence the need to show us example.

What he did continuous in the church till today. Therefore we need to respect our leaders in our churches, because it is Jesus himself who has appointed them for us. Jesus is using them to accomplished his purposes in the life of the church and by extension our lives. They have become instruments of God among us. Whether those people are your preferred choices or not, respect them. May be you are not happy with the circumstances surrounding their election or appointment, but once they are appointed we need to support them and pray for them always.

Yes it is true that some of them may not be there for the agenda of God. Some are agents of Satan, therefore we need to pray seriously anytime we are choosing our leaders. This was the case in the early church, the fact of praying and fasting before choosing leaders. When we do this the human elements will be there, but the will of God will still prevail. When I talk about human elements am referring to human circumstances which influence our choice of leaders. Such as tribalism, nepotism etc. We should always look at the one who lives exemplary life, competence and ability, someone who has what it takes to lead the people at that moment.

But in all these we should be guided by the Holy Spirit in our choices. Someone may meet all our criteria but might not be the choice of God. The truth is that God chooses leaders for each moment or season for peculiar reasons. Somebody you might think is not fit for a leadership role is the preferred choice of God. Tribalism and nepotism is misleading us in our choice of leaders. The church should not be encouraging such things. You and I are supposed to fight this evil in our churches. We shouldn’t bring what is happening in our societies into the church, if not we are doomed. Of course, the same principles should guide us in choosing leaders in our societies. But what I want us to understand is that the church as a religious body can’t never be the same as a social institution. That respect must be there.

May God help us to choose the right people he has chosen to lead us always. Amen .
Have a blessed day.
Shalom 🙏🙏
Rev. Fr. Akakpo Matthew

WORDS OF LIVING WATERS DAILY INSPIRATION
Wednesday, 6th May,2026.
Theme: REMAIN IN THE LORD TO BEAR LASTING FRUITS
( Acts 15:1-6 Ps 122, Jn 15:1-8)

My dear people of God, today Jesus calls on us to abide in Him so that we can bear much fruits as His faithful disciples. Jesus presents Himself today to us as the True Vine with His followers being the branches. As His followers we cannot do anything on our own unless we remain united in Him. A branch of a vine has no power and strength on its own to survive unless it remains united in the vine tree. In the same vein, any branch of a tree which does not stay connected to the main stem of a tree will surely die off. It is from this background that Jesus calls on us His beloved disciples to stay connected to Him, so that we can truly become the resurrected people as we are called to proclaim.

Jesus invites us to produce fruits of the spirit which will endure forever.
He makes us to understand that we shall remain fruitless if we separate ourselves from Him. The branch that does not bear fruits is destroyed but the one that bears fruits His Father prunes so that it can bear more fruits. The pruning implies certain things or challenges which comes our way are been permitted by God in order to help us to mature in our Christian faith. Of course, not all these life challenges are brought by God to prune us. Some are our own causes which come with their own consequences in life and we should be ready to bear them. Some of them I refer to as self-inflicted crosses , because they have no relation to the crosses we have to bear to follow Christ.

Again, God does not rush in destroying the branch that does not bear fruits. He has patience for it and gives it the chance to bear fruits.He also gives us the chance to change so that we can bear lasting fruits. Failure to do so becomes our own fault which we will account for at the end of our life on this earth.

My dear people of God, if our conscience do not judge us wrongly according to our deeds then we are keeping to the commandments of God. But if you and I know that we are not bearing any good fruits then this is the time to change from our bad ways and come to the Lord. By our fruits people will know us and know where we belong. Some of us our lives are rather promoting the kingdom of Satan instead of God. Our lives are driving people away from God instead of bringing them closer. We have become counter- witness to the very gospel we are to preach to others. Our lives are discouraging others from getting to know Christ. In fact, we have become standbling- blocks to the very people we are to lead to Christ as salt and light to the world.

The truth is that if we do not stay connected to Christ we cannot bear lasting fruits which will lead us to heaven. Are you bearing good fruits or bad ones? Is your life the conscience to the place you live or the vice versa?

May the Holy Spirit lead us and guide us as we continue to wait in the upper room for empowerment of the Spirit so that we can abide in Christ to bear lasting fruits as faithful children of God.
Amen. Have a blissful and a blessed day. Shalom 🙏🏼🙏🏼
Rev. Fr. Akakpo Matthew

WORDS OF LIVING WATERS DAILY INSPIRATION
Thursday, 7th May, 2026.
Theme: Learn to resolve issues Peacefully
(Acts 15:7-21, Ps 96,Jn 15:9-11)

The early church faced a challenge which needed to be resolved for the growth of the infant church. The issue was that some of the Jewish Christians insisted that the gentiles who have accepted the faith must go through the Jewish ritual cleansing i.e. circumcision before becoming full Christians. The Christian faith was first proclaimed among the Jews before extending it to the gentiles. As a result, some of the Jews still believed that the gentile Christians must first become Jews before being accepted in the Christian family. Some of the Jews also stood against it , especially the apostle Paul. But the leadership met in Jerusalem and resolved the issue. Of course, they allowed the Holy Spirit to lead them to make the right decision.

As believers and as humans as we are, problems will always come among us. We are different and we think and act differently. As the saying goes sometimes we have to disagree to agree. It is normal to experience conflict among us. But the issue has to do with it’s management.

Conflict management is a major problem in our churches and by extension our societies. Some of our leaders lack conflict management skills, and this is not helping issues at all. They allow their emotions to lead them and not the Holy Spirit. They rather end up worsening the situations for us. If conflicts are managed well, certain new things are learnt and God opens new doors in the life of the church.

People who live together will testify that misunderstandings always bring new chapters among themselves, especially couples. Sometimes we allow tribalism and discrimination to blind us in resolving issues among us. The apostles Peter, James, Paul and the others were all Jews, but they didn’t follow what the majority were saying, rather they allowed the will of God to prevail. The will of God can only prevail in such difficult moments when we listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Be a peacemaker in moments of conflicts. Being a peacemaker doesn’t mean we must compromise the truth, not at all. The truth must always be told but in a charitable manner. The gentiles didn’t need circumcision and Paul didn’t waste time at all to tell these Jews. He was very vocal in this matter. Our society now need people and especially leaders who can tackle conflicts with maturity and not as babies. Let’s seek out the will of God in such moments and work hard for peace and unity to prevail.

Remember God sometimes allows conflict for a reason, let’s seek out that reason. Of course, not all these conflicts that God has a hand in them. Some are orchestrations of the devil to collapse his church and divide his people. Hence, we must always be aware in order to prevent these destructive conflicts among us. Be a unifier, a peacemaker, and always seek to unite instead of divide.

May God help us to always have the wisdom and the courage to resolve conflicts amicably among his people . Amen .

I wish to also use this opportunity to create your indulgence to say a word of prayer for me as I thank God for adding another year to my age on this day 7th May, and how far he has come with me in my life. Thanks for all your support.

Have a Blessed Day.
Shalom. 🙏🏼🙏🏼
Rev. Fr. Akakpo Matthew

WORDS OF LIVING WATERS DAILY INSPIRATION
Friday, 8th May, 2026.
Theme: Love Genuinely
(Acts 15:22-31, Ps 57,Jn 15:12-17)

Genuine love must be the foundation of all our activities. Jesus is inviting us today to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of others. This is what he did on the cross. He showed an unconditional love to humanity, by even dying a shameful death on the cross.

Unfortunately, our world is full of conditional love. We do things for people because of what we will gain. And the worst of all is sexual love which has taken over our entire society. The agape love which Jesus is inviting us to imitate is missing in us. Don’t express love to someone because of your personal gains but because that person also deserves to be loved. Let’s become the embodiment of the true love of God in this world.

We must live a life which will promote the commandment of love in this world. I want you to check the kind of love which motivate your activities. Agape love knows no bounds, is not tribalistic, is not discriminatory and so on .

May God help us to develop genuine love for our brothers and sisters Amen . Have a Blessed Day.
Shalom. 🙏🏼🙏🏼
Rev. Fr. Akakpo Matthew

WORDS OF LIVING WATERS DAILY INSPIRATION
Saturday, 9th May, 2026.
Theme: Be led by the Spirit
(Acts 16:1-10, Ps 100,Jn 15:18-21)

St. Paul allowed the Holy Spirit to lead him in his ministry as an apostle. As he continued spreading the word of God together with Timothy, we are told they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit not to go to certain places. If they were not in touch with the Spirit, they couldn’t have obeyed his instructions. By allowing the Holy Spirit to lead him, he became successful in the ministry that he was called.

It is God who has called us. As Jesus said, he chose us , we didn’t choose ourselves. Therefore we can’t function properly if we don’t allow his Spirit to lead us. The Holy Spirit is supposed to be our advocate and helper in this kingdom business. We will fail and truly we are failing because we are not allowing the Spirit to have absolute control in our lives as believers.

May God help us so that we can listen to the Holy Spirit and allow him to take charge of our lives. Amen .
Have a Blessed Weekend.
Shalom. 🙏🏼🙏🏼
Rev. Fr. Akakpo Matthew