Good morning, brethren. 1. Morning devotion for today. i. 😀💝🌺🎁🌹🎀 MORNING TEA THE WORD FOR TODAY. MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2026. "THINKING AND ACTING LIKE JESUS (2)" ‘Grace and peace be yours…through the knowledge of…Jesus our Lord.’ 2 Peter 1:2 NIV IF YOU think God’s love for you would be stronger if your faith was stronger, you are wrong. If you think His love would be deeper if your thoughts and actions were better, you are wrong again. Don’t confuse God’s love with people’s love. Their love increases with performance and decreases with mistakes. Not so with God’s love. He loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way. Max Lucado writes: ‘When my daughter, Jenna, was a toddler, I used to take her to a park… One day as she was playing in a sandbox, an ice-cream salesman approached us. I purchased her a treat, and when I turned to give it to her, I saw her mouth was full of sand… Did I love her with dirt in her mouth? Absolutely. Was she any less my daughter with dirt in her mouth? Of course not. Was I going to allow her to keep the dirt in her mouth? No way. I carried her over to the water fountain and washed out her mouth. Why? Because I love her. God does the same for us. He holds us over the fountain. “Spit out the dirt, honey,” our Father urges. “I’ve got something better for you.” And so He cleanses us of filth: immorality, dishonesty, prejudice, bitterness, greed. We don’t enjoy the cleansing; sometimes we even opt for the dirt over the ice cream. “I can eat dirt if I want to!”… Which is true - we can. But if we do, the loss is ours. God has a better offer. He wants us to be just like Jesus.’ Bible In A Year: Job 38-39, Luke 19:28-36, Pro 8:24-26. Courtesy: Grace So Amazing Foundation 🌹🎀 *To partner with us, kindly refer to page 9 of the hard copy edition or simply send us a WhatsApp message/call on +2348128000068.*🌹🌷🎀💝. ii. THE FIGHT OF THE FAITH "Fight the good fight of the faith." - 1 Timothy 6:12 The prophet Hosea reminded the people of their father Jacob when he warned them about being spiritual cowards. He told them that they were weak and passive. This enabled the enemy to repeatedly beat them. He reminded them how Jacob fought and conquered. The book Hosea 12:4-5 says: 'In the womb he (Jacob) grasped his brother's heel (Esau's); as a man he struggled with God… and overcame.' God's blessing In Genesis 25 we read that Rebekah gave birth to twins. The strong, hairy Esau came first. Then the delicate Jacob was borne holding Esau's heel with his hand. When Hosea quoted this many years later, he wanted to tell the people that as a baby Jacob already had a spirit to fight and was hungry for the blessing from God. He was after the birthright and the blessing that came with it. He did not want wealth or any earthly possession. God is also looking for such people today. Esau had something God hates in man: self-satisfaction. God loved Jacob and he was very blessed! When Jacob returned to his family at God's command, he had to confront his brother. Years before, Jacob had fled from him, after cheating Esau. Jacob poured out his heart to God (see Genesis 32). While Jacob was in the midst of his crisis, you would think that God came to comfort him. On the contrary! God came to fight him. Jacob fought there against a Man who said: 'Let Me go… But Jacob replied: 'I will not let you go unless you bless Me'… Then the man said: '… you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome' (Genesis 32:26-28). Yes, dear reader, we need fighters in the Kingdom of God. Believers who have been tested through the storms of life and have overcome the storms. If you want to receive God's blessing like Jacob, you cannot just sit and wait for it. There is a battle to win and that is the fight of the faith! https://www.theblessingdevotional.com 2. Morning Prayer for today. i. Morning Prayer The LORD [is] gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD [is] good to all: and his tender mercies [are] over all his works. ⏤ Psalm 145:8-9 God’s mercy is deeper than we can comprehend and reaches further than we imagine. ⏤ John Newton O God, our Father, we praise Your name; we extol You; we worship You! You are great and greatly to be praised; Your greatness is unsearchable! One generation shall praise Your works to another and shall declare Your mighty acts. We would speak of the glorious honor of Your majesty and of Your wondrous works. We would make known Your mercy. You, Lord, are gracious and full of compassion—slow to anger and of great mercy. You are good to all—Your tender mercies are over all Your works. All Your works shall praise You, and Your saints shall bless You. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations. You uphold Your children who fall and raise up all those who are bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon You, and You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. You are near unto all who call upon You—to all that call upon You in truth. You will fulfill the desire of those who fear You; You also will hear their cry and will save them. You preserve all those who love You. We thank You that we may have such assured confidence in You. May we have grace to live before the world, so as to prove our sincerity. Help us to keep the vows we made on Sunday when we went to Your sanctuary. May our weekday life be as good as our Sunday promises. The spirit is willing—we desire to live worthily; but the flesh is weak. Strengthen all good purposes in our hearts, and may we be enabled to live righteously in the world. We ask all, with the forgiveness of our sins, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. https://www.youdevotion.com/daily-prayer/miller/78/morning #taptapstudio #youdevotion.