WORDS OF LIVING WATERS DAILY INSPIRATION
Monday, 13th July, 2026.
Theme: I have not come to give peace, but division.
(Is 1:10-17,Ps 50, Mat 10: 34-11:1)
Jesus in the gospel of today seems to contradict himself. This is a person whom we all proclaim as the Prince of Peace. His presence unifies rather than divide. But today he says he rather brought division in the world. There is no contradiction at all in his message. He is only saying that because of faith in him, people would be despised by their own families. People who accept him as their personal saviour would be fought by their own kinsmen. Father’s would disown their children because the children have decided to become Christians. There is a cost in following him, because we will lose our cherished relationships.
This truly happened during the time of Jesus. There were confusions all over Judea because of him. The Pharisees and the Scribes hated him and were against anybody who believed in him. But this didn’t deter people from following him and accepting his message. This is evident in the manner in which his disciples were persecuted by the Jewish leaders. Some also believed in him but feared to make it public because of the Pharisees. Example is Nicodemus who came to him in the night.
Some people have become a thorn in the flesh of their families because they have chosen to become Christians. Some people have been disowned by their parents because they have chosen Christ. Some families don’t want to set eyes on some family members, simply because they have become Christians. I know someone whose father has decided not to take care of her again because of her faith in Jesus. In countries where Christians are the minority, it is even worst. In such places you risk even losing your lives. These are very pathetic situations. Some families which are predominantly traditional believers, when you become a Christian among them, in fact it becomes a very challenging one. But don’t give up, Jesus is with you.
The situation goes beyond just the family. Some people are hated at the work place, in the houses, and the society at large because of their faith in God. Our good lives as Christians challenge them. Our lives convict them of their wrong doings, hence you become their eternal enemies. Some people even end up attacking such people with Juju.
For some the spirit of Christ that you now possess is stronger than the spirit that they possess. Hence, they have to fight you both physical and spiritual. There are people that you have done nothing to them but they just don’t like you. Sometimes it is because the spirits of both of you can’t meet.
This situation also calls for religious tolerance, the fact of religious freedom. We can’t all belong to the same religious group. We should therefore tolerate and respect religious freedom. Religious tolerance is a big sign of maturity.
May the Holy Spirit our Helper grant us the grace not to be afraid of choosing Christ because of frustrations and persecutions that we might face. Amen.
Have a blessed Week.
Shalom
Rev. Fr. Akakpo Matthew
WORDS OF LIVING WATERS DAILY INSPIRATION
Tuesday, 14th July, 2026.
Theme:Repent and be opened to the Word of God
( Is 7:1-9,Ps 48, Mat 11:20-24)
The people of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum did not accept and appreciate the message of Jesus. Scholars indicate that Jesus spent about 50-70% of his ministry time preaching in these areas. But they didn’t pay attention to his message. Surprisedly, these were Jewish towns. So Jesus expected his own people to receive his message. Tyre and Sidon which were gentile towns rather welcomed his message with joy. Chorazin and the other Jewish towns can be compared to Sodom and Gomorrah, who refused to repent from their sins. Hence they perished. Chorazin and the other Jewish towns had the opportunity to receive the message of Christ more than Tyre and Sidon, but they didn’t make use of these opportunities.
Beloved in Christ, the word of God call on us to be docile to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Jesus is pointing out the fact that some of us are blinded and deaf to his word. Sin has blinded us, so we are not able to live according to the demands of the gospel message. Until we repent and always listen to his words and put it into practice, we shall perish in hell.
We are not different from these people. Our society have become full of vices without any fear of God. Our consciences are dead to these sinful acts. We don’t call them sin anymore but mistakes . Sin has become something normal to all of us. Something which we felt shy to do, now it is easily done without any shame or shyness. If we don’t repent, my brother or sister, we shall also perish like them. The message of repentance is preached to us everyday, but we turn deaf ear to it. Time is not there for us. You don’t know when the Lord will call you, therefore prepare at all time.
We worship God with our lips, but our hearts are far away from God. We have only become *lip-service Christians.* Some of us have hardened our heart to the extent that, we don't seem to hear any message of caution. We are so comfortable in our sinful acts.This posture was not different from that of the Pharisees, the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, who refused to accept the message of salvation brought by Jesus.
Brethren in Christ, life they say is so short, hence the need to make amends and repent now. We have only the now but not the future. Because anything can happen at any point in time. Don't be like the rich man who was looking for second chance after his death(Lk 16:19-21). *Like I know they say is always at last* . Ask yourself whether the life you are living when you die right now, you can be with God in heaven. Don't deceive yourself that there is no hell. Heaven and hell are real. Therefore, repent now and be saved.The word of God always has a new message for us and we have the opportunity to listen to it everyday and every moment. In fact, the word of God has been brought so close to us than ever. So you have no excuse to give to God when you face your judgement.But because we have become so familiar with his word, we fail to accept and live it.” Oh that today when you listen to his voice, harden not your hearts” Ps 95:7b-8a
May we allow the word of God to transform our lives always. Amen
Have a Blessed Day.
Shalom.🙏🏼🙏🏼
Rev. Fr. Akakpo Matthew.
WORDS OF LIVING WATERS DAILY INSPIRATION
Wednesday, 15th July, 2026.
Memorial of St Bonaventure
Theme: Don’t boast of your Achievements
( Is 10:5-7,13-16, Ps 94, Mat 11 :25-27)
God in the first reading of today is warning us against boasting about our achievements in life. God was warning the king of Assyria of his arrogance, without giving credit to God. In Isaiah 10: 13 and I quote ” For he says:”By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding……” God was going to humble him, for him to know that without the God- factor, he is powerless. The king thought that it was by his own efforts that he had achieved all the successes. In short, whatever we achieve in life , we should attribute it to the grace of God. It is not by our own might, neither by our strength, but by the spirit of God.
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 about 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 these 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 (Acts 24:5-18) 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 surprised 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 in Lystra, 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 Holy Spirit help us to always give the credit which is due God. Amen .
Have a Blessed Day.
Shalom. 🙏🏼🙏🏼
Rev. Fr. Akakpo Matthew
WORDS OF LIVING WATERS DAILY INSPIRATION
Thursday, 16th July, 2026.
Theme: Come to Jesus with your Burdens
(Is 26:7-9,12,16-19, Ps 102, Matt 11:28-30)
Beloved in Christ, Jesus in the gospel is inviting us to come to him with all our worries, our problems,our difficulties. He says he has the power to transform the situation into a hopeful one. I don’t know what you are going through in life, that you think nothing can be done about it. Just invite him into that situation. Maybe you are fed up, you are even attempting to end it all. All powerful Jesus beckons you today to come. Some of us our pillows are soaked with tears. We have prayed for so long and we have finally given up. The problems are too much for us to bear. Life seems to be unfair to us. We have questioned God severally. Jesus says be calm,relax, be cheerful and hopeful,he is in control. It is a matter of time.
Beloved the Jesus’ effect is very necessary in our lives. You need him to change things for your good. In fact, life without him is a failure. Indeed, life without Christ is full of crisis. He makes all things possible. He is a God of possibilities. He makes impossibilities to be possible. We only need to allow him into that hopeless condition. Don’t be discouraged because all hope seem to be shattered. Jesus is in the boat of life with you. Sometimes we don’t need to invite him because he is already with us , but the problem is we are not able to recognize him.
As people of faith, we should know that only Jesus can do certain things in our lives. Hence, we need to obey his commands. If we truly want to see the hand of God in our lives, then we got to allow him to take charge of our lives. We should allow him to drive the car of our lives. As the Author of our lives, he alone has the power to drive us to a safe destination. The problem is that, most of us want to drive the car of life ourselves. We want our own will to be done and not that of Jesus. Then how can we experience his transforming power in our lives? Of course not. His presence changes everything in our lives. I want you to know that Jesus is in that boat with you. Only ask for his grace to recognize him all the time. Never ever give up. Remember what God can’t do doesn’t exist.
May the spirit of God grant us the grace to always look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith in moments of crisis. Amen .
Have a Blessed day.
Shalom. 🙏🏼🙏🏼
Rev. Fr. Akakpo Matthew
WORDS OF LIVING WATERS DAILY INSPIRATION
Friday, 17th July, 2026.
Theme: Never give up in Prayer
(Is 38:1-6,21-22,7-8,Ps (Is 38), Mt 12:1-8)
In the first reading of today, the Lord is using the story of Hezekiah to encourage us his disciples to continue to persevere in prayer. You can pray but if you don’t persevere, you may not see results.Whoever perseveres in prayer receives a positive result.
When the prophet Isaiah told him to prepare his house because he was going to die, he didn’t give in to the words of the prophet. But rather he sought the face of God in prayer. This was a king who was sick and am very sure he has been praying all this while for God’s healing mercies. The message of the prophet didn’t discourage him from going before God again in prayer. Maybe you and I would have surrendered, but Hezekiah never gave up on his request to God. God heard his prayer and healed him and added fifteen more years to his age. That is the power of prayer and perseverance. The king remained focused and determined until he achieved a positive result. He cried unto the Lord and the Lord finally answered him. Sometimes we need to also wake up and challenge the Lord through certain spiritual exercises. We are sleeping too much, that’s why we are not seeing any results. You would have to undertake serious steps to intensify your prayers. Some of us are just joking with our situations, hence we are not seeing any results.
Continue to wait on the Lord in prayer. Your right moment will come. It is a matter of time and your story will change. Never give up, surely God will answer you at the appointed time.
Someone has given up in his situation. You think that God has abandoned you and the fact that God can’t do it for you again. Please nothing is too late for him to do and nothing is too hard for him to do. In fact, God is never late in any situation. He is always on time.Nothing is impossible for God to do and as I always say what God can’t do doesn’t exist
It doesn’t matter how long you have been waiting on the Lord. You only need to wait on him for his own time. This is the challenge of us Christians, the fact of waiting. The spirit of waiting eludes us most of the time. We fail to wait and as a result, we end up going to other sources for help. Please have the courage to wait on the Lord, whiles you continue to seek his face in prayer. God’s time is always the best. As humans as we are it is not easy to wait, especially when it seems to be delaying. If you should find yourself in such situations you would understand. Please try to sympathize with such people and encourage them. Maybe if you were in their shoes, you wouldn’t have survived.
God would come to your aid and deliver you. Your moment will come. God will shame those who think all is over for you. Just trust him and hope in him. We have a God who never fails, so never give up. Stop crying and be strong because your moment of deliverance is just at the corner. Your God has a track record of doing mighty deeds in our lives. He has never fail and he will never fail you. Pray till something happens.
I know you are going through a lot, and your pillow is soaked with tears. In fact, you are going through hell.It seems God has distance himself from you. God will intervene at the right time. Keep on with your spirit of patience and waiting. Your time will surely come okay.
Beloved, the gift of my priesthood is a true testimony of the power of perseverance and a sign of God’s unfailing power in our lives. If God has done it for me after all these while, then I encourage you to also continue to persevere.
May God strengthen us never to give up even in difficult moments. Amen. Have a blessed Day.
Shalom. 🙏🏼🙏🏼
Rev. Fr. Akakpo Matthew
WORDS OF LIVING WATERS DAILY INSPIRATION
Saturday, 18th July, 2026.
Theme: Distance Yourself from Danger
( Mic 2: 1-5, Ps 9, Matt 12:14-21)
It is true that the protection of God is always upon us. But that doesn’t mean that when we see danger on our lives, then we do nothing to avoid it. When Jesus noticed that the Pharisees were planning evil against his life, he left that area. This was to reduced contact with them. Again after healing some people who followed him, he ordered them not to make him known. This is Jesus who is even God and has the power to do anything. But practically he run away from trouble.
Sometimes we need to also avoid troubles and run away from them. Sometimes we are the cause of our own troubles. There are certain challenges we are currently facing, which we could have avoided. Sometimes you need to remain silent and hide yourself a bit, in order to avoid troubles. We should have the courage to withdraw from certain places and people if that will bring you peace of mind and distant you from danger. Some of us we talk too much and that has landed us in difficult situations. Don’t be pointing fingers at anybody, you are the cause of your own problems. Learn to be quiet sometimes in life.
Jesus said that because of his divine protection on us , even if we step on snakes, scorpions, and other harmful animals or objects, they can’t harm us. But that doesn’t mean that when you see a snake because of this scriptural text, then you intentionally step on it that it can’t bite you. I tell you it will bite you and bite you hard. In our course of duties as Christians, Jesus will always deliver us from any danger that people and evil forces plan against us. This is what Jesus was telling his disciples and by extension us.
But this doesn’t also mean that we should keep quiet over evil. When we see something evil going on because of the fear of what people will do or say about us, so we keep quiet. This is not what Jesus is teaching us today. He himself stood against the Pharisees severally, because of their evil deeds in society.
Remember whatever you do in society people will comment on it. Whether it is good or bad. That’s is why Paul will say that those who think they are doing the right thing in life should continue to do it. You can’t please everybody in life. You can even be doing good to people but they will find fault with it and destroy your name because of that. Don’t be bothered at all, continue your good works, don’t stop doing them. Your reward will come from God not human beings.
May the Holy Spirit help us to always discern well when to avoid danger if it becomes necessary .Amen.
Have a Blessed Weekend.
Shalom.🙏🏼🙏🏼
Rev. Fr. Akakpo Matthew.
