Power Of Sacrifice. Gabriel Agbo

to her, ‘Bring me a bite of bread too.’ But she said, ‘I swear by the LORD your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of a jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.’ | “But Elijah said to her, ‘Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and cook that last meal, but bake me a little loaf of bread first. Afterwards there will still be enough food for you and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be plenty of flour and oil left in your containers until the time when the LORD sends rain and the crops grow again.”

       “Some time later, the woman’s son became sick. He grew worse and worse, and finally he died. She then said to Elijah, ‘O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to punish my sins by killing my son?’ But Elijah replied ‘Give me your son.’ And he took the boy’s body from her, carried him up to the upper room, where he lived and laid the body on his bed. Then Elijah cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy on this window who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?’ | And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, please let this child’s life return to him’. The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer and the life of the child returned and he came back to life! Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. ‘Look, your son is alive! He said.”

       Few loaves and a little fish

       Others

       “So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administration responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t have a worry in the world, except to decide what he wanted to eat. Now Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man, and about this time, Potiphar’s wife began to desire him and invited him to sleep with her. But Joseph refused. ‘Look!’ He told her, ‘my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do! He had held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I ever do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.”

       Chapter Eight | The power to save

       “Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him. Stepping forward to meet them, he asked, ‘Whom are you looking for?’ ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ they replied. ‘I am he’, Jesus said. Jesus identified himself. And as he said ‘I am he’, they all fell backward to the ground!”

       “Meanwhile, all his disciples deserted him and ran away. There was a young man following along behind, clothed only in linen night shirt. When the mob tried to grab him, they tore off his clothes, but he escaped and ran away naked. Jesus was led to the high priest’s home where the leading priests, other leaders, and teachers of religious law had gathered. Meanwhile, Peter followed far behind and then slipped inside the gates of the high priest’s courtyard. For a while he sat with the guards, warming himself by the fire.’ | “Meanwhile, Peter was below in the courtyard. One of the servant girls who worked for the high priest noticed Peter warming himself at the fire, she looked at him closely and then said, ‘You were one of those with Jesus, the Nazareth’ Peter denied it. ‘I don’t know what you are talking about’, he said, and he went out into the entryway. Just then, a rooster crowed”

       “At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three 0’clock. At about three 0’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, Eli, Eli lema sabachthani? Which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?... | “Then Jesus shouted out again, and he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the Temple was torn into two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead after Jesus’ resurrection. They left the cemetery, went into the Holy City of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people. The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, ‘Truly, this was the Son of God!”

       The Third Day

       “Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to see the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, because an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled aside the stone and sat on it. His face shone like lightning and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shock with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint. Then the angel spoke to the women ‘don’t’ be afraid! He said, ‘I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He has been raised form the dead.”

       Chapter Nine | Praise, prayer and fasting

       Praise

       “I will thank you, LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O most High... ‘Sing praises to the Lord who reigns in Jerusalem. Tell the world about his unforgettable deeds.”

       “We praise you, LORD, for all your glorious power. With music and signing we celebrate your mighty acts.”

       “The LORD is my strength, my shield from every danger. I trust in him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving”

       “Let the godly sing with joy to the LORD, for it is fitting to praise him. Praise the LORD with melodies on the lyre; make music for Him on the ten-stringed harp. Sing new songs of praise to him, play skillfully on the harp and sing with joy. For the word of the LORD holds true and everything he does is worthy of our trust. He loves whatever is just and good, and his unfailing love fills the earth. | “The LORD merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born. He gave the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs. Let everyone in the world fear the LORD, and let everyone stand in awe of him. For when he spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command.”

       “I will praise the Lord at all times. | I will constantly speak his praise | I will beast only in the Lord

       As it is in heaven

       “And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it! The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones-jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads. And from the throne came flashes of lighting and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven lamp stands with burning flames. They are the seven spirits of God. In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal.’ | “In the centre and around the throne were four living beings,