THE BUD FAMILY AFRICA
MONTHLY PRAYER AND FASTING BULLETIN FOR MARCH, 2025
THEME: OH, SWEET CALVARY
TEXT: LUKE 23:33
BIBLE READING: 2 KINGS 5
Very solemnly before we begin, let’s take this song.
One Holy Lamb (Atonement Day)
Atonement day, a shepherd cries,
Another spotless lamb must die.
Oh how could just one sacrifice our God,
Jehovah satisfy?
Year after year, the blood would flow,
But none could wash me white as snow!
Salvation’s day fulfilled as planned,
The promise came, one holy lamb.
Chorus
One holy lamb washed my sin away!
One sacrifice paid the price I could not pay.
One holy lamb, one great I am,
One seed of Abraham,
One holy lamb washed my sin away!
Atonement day, the father cries,
The spotless son of God must die!
One final death for every man,
One blood, one life,
One holy lamb.
Welcome to our fasting and prayer program for the month of March sisters. Wow, I feel so blessed, March was wonderful and fireful and with our just concluded Zoe conference, I feel very refreshed, I really hope it’s the same for you sisters. I desire and pray from my heart that we all will live the Zoe life, far above the flesh and sin and fervently burning hot for the Lord at all times in Jesus name, Amen!!
Today, the Lord has laid before us the topic of our first love, where each of us started and should continually remain faithful to, CALVARY.
Luke 23:33 KJV says “And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left”.
NIV says – “When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left”
Let us read the full description of the redemptive sacrifice at Calvary from the record of Matthew. Matthew 27: 32- 50 KJV.
32 – As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.
33 – They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”).
34 – There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.
35 – When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
36 – And sitting down, they kept watch over him there.
37- Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is Jesus, the king of the Jews.
38 – Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.
39 – Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads
40 – and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”
41 – In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him.
42 – “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.
43 – He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
44 – In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
45 – From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land.
46 – About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
47 – When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
48 – Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink.
49 – The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
50 – And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
You may say, I have read this passage over and over and maybe you can quote these verses without even reading it. But the purpose today – is that the Lord wants us to have a fresh understanding of Calvary. The Lord really wants us to deeply reminisce about his work at Calvary which made you and me, who we are today, in him. It was by this great atoning sacrifice, with the shedding of innocent blood, that makes us daughters of Christ.
You may say I’m saved so why do I need to hear over and over again about the cross?
Sisters, Calvary should be etched deeply within you and you should daily be reminded of the death at the cross. Or how else would you feel his great love towards you which will push you to love him too?
The blood was shed for the remission of sins and that has given us the privilege of calling him Lord. It brought us fellowship, healing, grace and love. How deep the agony must have been just out of love! The same love he wants to talk to us about and the same love we should grow in daily, because only then can we truly show him that we appreciate his death on Calvary.
A line of a song that breaks my spirit says It wasn’t nails that held Jesus to the cross, it was his love for us that made him pay the price!
How then can you keep yielding to sin and the flesh after the great love shown to us sisters?
It breaks the Lord’s heart! John 15:13 KJV says “Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends”. Sisters, he called us friends even before we were born. The Lord Jesus really loved and still loves us. He seeks more than friendship, He wants us to be joint-heirs with Him, Sons.
How then can we reciprocate this love?
Take an example in our relationships, If you show someone love, and it’s not reciprocated, How do you feel? Terrible right? You feel cheated. You feel sad and downcasted. You wonder if there’s anything else you can do to prove your love. I’m sure we can relate to this well. This is exactly how our Lord feels when we do not reciprocate His love. He feels heartbroken, terrible and sad.
The true sign of love is obedience!
If Jesus wasn’t obedient to the father, what other way do you think he would have shown his great love for me and you? Imagine being broken in spirit and in flesh for a generation that may or may not appreciate your sacrifice! Ah! The depth of his love I can never fathom!!
Daily obedience shows your deep love for GOD!
You want to tell a lie about your location, and you feel a condemnation inside, it’s the Holy Spirit reminding you of how you should demonstrate your love for the Lord! You want to cross the road, without waiting for the passenger’s traffic light to be turned on, and you feel a restraint! It’s the same Holy Spirit! Many examples I could keep giving but consider that little restraint, conviction and displeasure.
One important sign that you have tasted of Calvary is Brokenness
This will be the basis of all your decisions as a daughter of the Lord. You need to be broken, your will smashed to pieces and shattered to be used by the Lord. All the self will, pride, self glorification, self satisfaction, ambitions, desires all need to be broken and shattered first, only then can you truly begin living the life of Calvary. No longer mine but His, should be your daily slogan even as you die daily. Yes! We must die daily to self, worldly pleasure, self-gain, sin, and anything else capable of drawing us far apart from our Saviour.
Your brokenness is dependent on how much of the Cross is before your sight. You can never be broken if you are not constantly reminded of the cross! The more of the Cross you see, the more of your Lord you see, the more of His love you see, the more you consciously, unconsciously let go of your will, right, self just so to keep the Cross in sight, before you, always.
You need to live at the foot of his cross always! Ask the Lord to break you, sisters.
(Take out five minutes to cry these to the Lord).
Lord Jesus, break my will!
Break my pride!
Break my selfishness!
Break my ambitions!
Break my desires!
Kai! Break me Jesus!
Let me live for your cross!
Help me daily killl this flesh!!!
Crucify my flesh!!! Break the grips of self Lord!!
I renounce the word “Mine”, only yours from now and evermore!!
Let me die daily!!
Reveal all that needs breaking in me daily and help me to say yes Lord! Amen!
It is in the brokenness of our will that we are truly like Jesus. Jesus lived free of sin, not yielding to the flesh because He had submitted His will to the Father and He chose to do the will of His Father who sent Him. That was all Jesus lived for, that was His purpose here on earth, living for God, doing only the Father’s will. That was His primary assignment, His death on the Cross is the will of the Father (John 6:38-“I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me” ).
You want to be like Jesus? The starting point is to give up your will! When we give up our will, the process of brokenness begins. Then we are shattered, and we are molded, like clay. When we do not suit what He wants, He shatters us again, and again, and again, until we are formed into the exact vessel He is seeking for in us. You want to be a vessel in His hands? Seek brokenness. That is the beginning of humility. It is the beginning of the development of a contrite heart, spirit, in us (Isa. 66:2). It is only a humble and contrite heart that the Lord will never despise for he will release an abundance of His grace.
We receive grace to become like Jesus, the divine enablement by the Holy Spirit when we submit to God, humble ourselves before Him in brokenness as the release of our will and acceptance of His one will (James 4:6-10).
How do you know you’re truly broken?
The best evidence is a Yes Spirit! This Holy Spirit bears witness inside us that we are children of God and beyond just children “Sons of God”! A proof of a son’s love is true obedience first. The little obedience here and there! Some sisters think that there’s a special way the Lord will come and say Grace, stop doing that and then they cannot resist! I can say it’s exactly otherwise!
If you ever need an example of a broken man who was dead to self will, here you go with our perfect example, Jesus. Oh the bitter pain and sorrow our Lord Jesus went through on Calvary! He was broken, led as a lamb to the slaughter, never arguing, never disobedient, never insistent. HIS FLESH WAS COMPLETELY DEAD! He chose this path of course, just out of love! Not because He did not have a will of His own, but because He loved God so much that He would rather keep His own will dead to keep God’s will alive in Him. How intense is your love for the Father? or is it only in the lips? Would you do anything just to please the Father even to let go of what is rightfully yours or to give up your own life like your Saviour.
Psalms 26:3 NIV says “But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people”. Jesus considered himself a worm, easy to trample on without complaining. Isaiah 53:7 KJV He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
Our Lord Jesus had no will of his own, did you notice? He had no houses, no cars, no animals, no job, no wife, no possessions at all. All He had was whatever the Father gave Him and He was super content with it. He gave thanks for it. He just lived for His father’s will. This is what you should crave for in your daily life, sisters. Let all you have been given by His grace and love and no desire for any earthy possession should ever surpass His will for you. ‘Nevertheless, not my will, but yours Lord’ should be your declaration every second of the day.
This is the only way we can sustain the power of the Holy Spirit in us. This is how we can keep the presence of His Spirit in us, ablaze, always burning, never dying out. You have been visited and clothed by the power of the Spirit, your brokenness and submission to Him in obedience will keep Him evergreen, ever fresh within you. This is how Jesus lived the life He lived. This is how He stayed synced with the Holy Spirit, seeking and doing the will of His Father.
Listen to this song by Dr. Paul Eneche:
Let Me want what You want
Let me want what you want, Oh, my dear lord
Let me love what you love, Oh, dear Lord
That is how you designed life to be Lord
Help me Lord to live as I ought to live
Let me want what you want, Oh, my dear Lord
Let me love what you love, Oh, dear Lord
That is how you designed life to be Lord
Help me Lord to live as I ought to live
Chrs:
Oh Lord take me to the place
Where I have no will that is separate from your will
Oh Lord take me to the place, where I have no choice
That is separate from your choice, to be lost in you is my desire
To be all for you is all I want
Let my life bring you Joy and no pain Lord
Let me live in your plan for my life
That is living life, at its very best Lord
That is living to glorify your name
Oh, let my life bring you Joy and no pain Lord
Oh, let me live in your plan for my life
That is living life at its very best Lord
That is living to glorify your name
Set me free from myself, Oh my dear Lord
From the ways of the flesh, set me free
So I can avoid all ways of regret
So my life can bring pleasure to you, Lord
Set me free from myself, Oh my dear lord
From the ways of the flesh, set me free
So I can avoid all ways of regret
So my life can bring pleasure to you, Lord
There’s a fountain made available by His breaking at Calvary and He knew that there are thirsty people who want to know the Lord and I’m sure because of this few, He made this great sacrifice. The Bible says Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of a saint (one)! He didn’t care if many would follow or appreciate his death, He just obeyed knowing that if only one person appreciated His death and lived for his cross, it was more than worth the sacrifice.
Let your heart in prayers seek to understand the value of His sacrifice on the Cross, that it be made real to you. That you will never know it by head knowledge but by revelation. That the gravity of deliverance He bought for you with His blood will never be taken for granted but that it will be your prized possession in Christ.
Oh that you will see you have been forgiven much, hence, you will love much, the Cross where His love for you is proved!
Let’s take this song of promise and commitment before we continue
Near the Cross
Jesus, keep me near the cross,
There a precious fountain,
Free to all, a healing stream,
Flows from Calvary’s mountain.
Chorus
In the cross, in the cross,
Be my glory ever;
Till my raptured soul shall find,
Rest beyond the river.
Near the cross, a trembling soul,
Love and mercy found me;
There the bright and morning star,
Sheds its beams around me.
Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day,
With its shadows o’er me.
Near the cross I’ll watch and wait
Hoping, trusting ever,
Till I reach the golden strand,
Just beyond the river
Sisters, the only way to be at the cross is to dwell in the courts of the Lord. You have to desire to make the Lord feel your love daily. The constant talking to God about everything that goes on in your life, pulls you deeper in love with him! Spending time studying His word is indispensable because that’s where you draw life and depth in the spirit. That is the best place where the Love of God is revealed to our hearts. Daily seeking to spend ample focused time with Him, it makes Him happy. Asking the Lord about His needs and how to make others love Him gives Him great joy.
Would you cry to God today sisters and say:
Lord, increase my love for you!!!
Create a burning passion for you within me!!
Remind me daily of your great agony and sacrifice!
Please help me to give you joy oh Lord! Amen!
Before we round off in prayers, I would like us to take this song as an affirmation, a commitment and consecration of our lives to the price paid on Calvary.
Lead me to Calvary
King of my life, I crown Thee now,
Thine shall the glory be;
Lest I forget Thy thorn crowned brow,
Lead me to Calvary.
Chorus
Lest I forget Gethsemane,
Lest I forget Thine agony;
Lest I forget Thy love for me,
Lead me to Calvary.
Show me the tomb where thou wast laid,
Tenderly mourned and wept;
Angels in robes of light arrayed
Guarded thee whilst thou slept
.
Let me like Mary, through the gloom,
Come with a gift to Thee;
Show to me now the empty tomb,
Lead me to Calvary.
May I be willing, Lord, to bear,
Daily my cross for Thee;
Even Thy cup of grief to share,
Thou hast borne all for me.
Let us Pray
- Thank the Lord for everything you’ve read today. Spend some time praising Him for the Cross of Christ through which we have been reconciled back to God. Thank Him for how He saved you from the power of sin, death and flesh. Thank His because through the Cross and the sacrifice of His blood on it, sin no longer has dominion over you. Bless His Holy name.
- Bless the name of the Lord for our just concluded prayer program. Thank him for making you a partaker. Appreciate Him for His good and perfect intentions towards you by making available His Spirit which raised Jesus from the dead to quicken your mortal body so that you live like Jesus, become like Him, and become a vessel of use in God’s hands. Thank Him for the Life-giving River flowing in you, never to dry up.
- Ask Him for mercy for all your sins and plead for His mercy to purge you from all iniquities and ask Him to keep you always in His love henceforth. Ask that He will help you by His Spirit to be aware when you displease Him and that He enables you to be humble and always to repent of your sins. Welcome to the family of God!
- Plead with the Lord to daily remind you of the Cross. Cry out to the Lord Jesus saying: Etch your love and your price paid on Calvary in my heart always that I might always live in the freshness of the sacrifice You paid on my behalf. Please renew a fiery love for You within me and help me live in the consciousness of our love daily.
- Jesus, please grant me the revelational understanding of Your sacrifice for me on the Cross. I don’t want to believe it because I know it but believe it because I have the revelation of the import of Your love for me.
- Cry out with a loud voice: Lord BREAK ME (7X). Shatter my will, kill my pride and teach me to live in humility. I don’t want to be humble by the definition of the world but as defined by You, Jesus. I submit to You so You can lift me up, grant me grace to live like You did. Use me for your kingdom work and wield me whatsoever and wherever You will to fulfil your divine purpose for my life.
- Holy Spirit, please strengthen my resolve by Your power to live in obedience to Your leading daily. Strengthen me that daily, I deny myself, take up the cross of Obedience to You and I follow Jesus.
- Help me Father that like Jesus, my only ambition in life will be to do Your will, that in every area of my life, Your will, will always be my will. That I will no longer make decisions or choices leaving You out of the picture.
- Whatever I have done and it is in contrast to Your will and it can still be remedied, Father, guide me out of my foolishness. Lead me to the right path that pleases You.
- Take me to the place, Lord, where I have no will separate from Your will, no choice, separate from Your choice, no life, separate from Your life.
- Father, let me want what You want, let me seek what You seek. You have designed me for this. Let me be this, Lord!
- Holy Spirit, please work in me that to be like Jesus will be my desire, daily, to belong to You, will be all I want.
- If you have any illness, lay your hands on the spot and cry out, Lord by your atoning blood that speaks healing, I declare healing on this part of my body. Cry out with faith and command that sickness to get out of your body now. Let the redemptive power of the Cross flow in me and redeem me from all sicknesses and diseases in Jesus name.
- Plead with the Lord to make you more like him everyday, until people can testify of his grace in your life. Jesus, as You lived, I want to live. Empower me by Your Spirit that in Obedience, I will follow faithfully in Your steps as led by the Holy Spirit.
- Ask for His grace to usher you into more bountifulness of His love, mercy and grace. Daily, help me experience the freshness of Your love for me. Just as Your love is steadfastly renewed each day. Let love for You be renewed everyday.
- Ask the Lord to uphold our Mama Elizabeth and all the executive body of the BUD family, that He will fill them with great wisdom and renew their strength abundantly.
- Thank Him for His love, mercy and answered prayers.
Thank you so much sisters! Get godly messages online, Bible study help and above all let the Holy Spirit teach and guide you! May the Lord crown your April with fatness, goodness and abundance! Amen!!! God bless you richly, sisters. See you this evening for the Bible study by 6:00pm.
