Devions for 7th Jan 2017

Psalm 145: 18
The Lord is near to all who call on him.

Again this is David who is expressing his personal experiences with God who has been a faithful God to him. David was more than just an ordinary man, firstly because he was a man after God’s heart. He delights in worshiping and fellow-shipping with God and there is no other worshiper like him.

It was recorded that he worshiped and danced before God he gave his whole heart to it, he even removed his outer garments so that he would not be hindered in his expressive way of worship. In the same manner God also delights in receiving David’s worship and has always him for it. It is always recorded in scriptures that God loves David’s worship.

Worship has been a practice of David from his young days and it has been a lifestyle for him. He knew the heart of God and the promises of God just as the prophet Jeremiah wrote in  Jer 33: 3 call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. God had always wanted to bless His children and this is an open invitation to His children to call to Him in their times of need.

To be able to receive a response from God, we need to build our relationship with Him; we must not come to Him only when we are in need. Instead we must come to Him on a daily basis and build that communication line with God just as David did. When we have that in place, we would be able to call to our Abba Father at any time and He will surely delight in receiving or prayers and answering them.

This is God promise to us, first we draw near to Him and then He will draw near to us. Again he spoke through the prophet Jeremiah in Jer 29: 12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will harken unto you. Here is the secret to answered prayers. We must call out to God, not only during our times of need but even when times are good, offering our adoration and thanksgiving, praising Him for all His goodness and blessing.

Again we learn from David who has built a close and personal relationship with God that he could even call to God like a friend. He could talk to God like he would talk to his earthly father or an earthly friend. He could express his words in earthly terms that we would normally use as we talk to our friend.

Look at the example of how David speaks to God in Psalm 103: Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily. David is asking God not to hide His face from him and ignore him when he is in trouble. Who else can speak to God like that on a personal one to one basis unless they have a mutual respect for each other?

Would we be able to do that? The answer is no because we have yet to build up the relationship with God the Father, and to do that we need to do what David had done. We need to spend time talking to God and hearing from Him throughout the day and night. David said that he would worship God when he wakes up and also when he lay down to sleep.

Throughout his waking hours David worshiped God. We can also do this as we walk, as we do our work, even as we engage in our sports and hobbies. A good example is some of the devoted Christians who are Olympians and professional sportsmen and sportswomen. We see that they are not ashamed to thank God and worship Him after achieving every victory in the sport. Right in front of the TV cameras they worship God and let the whole world know that it is God who had helped them to win.

In the same manner we musts never be ashamed to thank God publicly for all the goodness and blessing He has showered upon us.

Devotions for 6th Jan 2017

Psalm 95:6  #bible studies # daily devotions # gospel # word of God

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

The holiday season is now over and everyone is starting to get back to school and to work. We are all starting to get into the New Year and start all over and journey into the unknown of another year. Here is the reminder from King David as he wrote this psalm and he calls all believers to continue to bow down and worship our God and Maker.

As we journey each new day, we must start it off with God because we do not want to leave Him behind. God is Omnipresence, He is always with us. He is wherever we go and so we invite Him to be part of all that we do. We spend the beginning of the day in worship and we surrender the day into His hands. We also invite Him into our work and other activities asking for His wisdom and direction in all that we do.

Remember Jesus’ name is also ‘Emmanuel’ which is God with us. Jesus also promised that He will also be with us to the uttermost parts of the world. He promised in Matt 28: 20 …I am with you always, even unto the ends of the world.

What a blessing to know that Jesus would be with us everywhere we go and in everything that we do. It is the practice of believers that we pray and ask for God’s journey mercies each time we travel and set out on a journey. We know that when we sincerely pray and ask for God’s mercy and protection He hears and He is happy to travel with us.

In recent days, as we started the New Year I was able to discern the spiritual attacks that have been coming against individual families as well as corporate families. Most of all I also saw the enemy raising the ante against Israel. The enemies of Israel had passed a UN Resolution to demand that Israel stop all settlement constructions and to withdraw back to the pre-1967 borders.

In 10 days, 70 nations will gather in Paris led by US to meet and to decide on the actions to go against Israel. This is another all-out attack on Israel led by the anti-Christian President of the US. Ultimately we know that this is the work of the enemy using human vessels to come against Israel, the apple of the eye of God.

These attacks are very significant as we see now the prophetic events of the End Times are now falling into place. Soon we will see the prophecy of Psalm 83 coming and war will break out first in the Middle East and then leading on to a world war.

As we see the signs of the season, let us bow down and worship God, pray for His covering and protection upon our families, our homes and nations. Much evil abound all around us, personally, corporately and internationally. We need to stand in the gap and pray like never before.

Devotions for 5th Jan 2017

Gen 3:9 #bible studies, #daily devotions #devotions #gospel # love #word of God

The Lord God called …’Where are you?’

From the scriptures we read that God is a personal Father to each and every one of His children. When God call out to Adam and Eve, it was not because He did not know. God is Omniscience and He knows everything even before it happens. All knowledge comes from God who created the heavens and the Universe and all that is in it.

He knows the very design and composite of everything which is living or not. He put everything together in His creation but when He called to His first son and daughter, He was calling out in love and not in authority.  It was not a reprimand but it was a loving call like a loving father would call out to His son. It was only after Adam & Eve confessed of their disobedience and sin did God had to pass judgement upon them.

From the very beginning it was God’s desire to have a loving and personal relationship with man. God did not distance from man but it was man who distance from God through sin. God’s nature is holiness and He cannot accept sin as it is against His very nature of holiness. It is just as light and darkness cannot co-exist.

We are reminded over and over that God is calling for all sinners to return to Him for He never intended for man to be away from Him and held captives forever in Hell. In fact He had prepared a place in heaven for all who would return to Him.

Jesus revealed this when he said; John 14: 2 In my Father’s house are many mansion: if it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you.  

Jesus too always talked about having and building a personal relationship with the Father and with Him. That is the essence of God’s love to us. Another time Jesus also said; John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. The Father and The Son are the same; they are seeking for men to turn back to them so that we can inherit the Kingdom of Heaven and be with them.

Jesus again revealed the Father’s heart of love when He taught on the parable of the ‘prodigal son’ who took all the riches that was due to him and went away from his father to waste away his life. In spite of what the prodigal son did, the father received the son back with love and compassion and throwing a big banquet for him. In this parable Jesus was teaching of the limitless love of God the Father who is waiting for every son and daughter who has gone away from Him.

The Father is still calling today to us, ‘Where are you?’ How do we respond to Him?

Devotions for 4th Jan 2017

1 John 4: 21 #bible studies # daily devotions #devotions # love # word of God

Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

Love is the very nature of God, and when He created the first two people on earth he input into them His nature of love so that they can live in the Garden of Eden and continues to love each other. This is the first family unit that God had created and put together. The family unit is to exist in love so as to encourage and build each other.

Love builds, cherishes and nourishes but hatred tears down and destroys. We can see these two elements very clearly in families. Some families are built on the foundation of love and the word of God whereas others which do not have love and the word of God exist on another environment of hatred, jealousy, and enmity even between husbands and wives, brothers and sisters.

The foundation of a peaceful world is built on love. Without love the world is in chaos and there is no peace. To achieve world peace, it must start from the first piece of the social fabric which is the individuals in a family. This is precisely what Jesus is saying to us today that we must love our own brother and sister within the family as well as within the extended Church family.

When we walk in obedience to what Jesus taught then we would be in the perfect will of God and our lives will become testimonies to the world. Jesus taught in John 13: 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if you have love one to another. The world needs love and it is looking out to seek genuine love. The children of God must be the light that will lead the world into this love.

Again Jesus said in John 15: 10 If you keep my commandments you shall abide in my love even as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. The important issue here is that to generate love we need to go back to the source of love which is from God and His word. When we turn to God and connect with Him in prayer and worship we will then be able to receive His love.

Secondly when we begin to study His word and to apply it to our lives, then we will experience a transformation in our lives, the word of God will quicken our spirit man and will check our behaviour and actions. It will also enable us to comply with what the scripture teaches. Again we need the scriptures to guide our walk in the Lord, when we obey the scriptures we will then be putting on the spiritual armour upon ourselves and we will become more and more like Jesus and we will be protected in our lives.

In the last few days, I have become aware that there has been an increase of spiritual attack upon families and individuals as the devil is moving very fast in this New Year in his work of tearing down and destroying the fabric of the family.

I was listening to some prophecies for this New Year and one clear word if that this year will be a year of surprises. These would be good as well as not so good surprises depending on which end of the surprises that we find ourselves in.

The clarion call is that we must prepare and equip ourselves as spiritual warriors for the Lord, there are going to be great things that God is bringing to the world and the devil is also aware of this, he has started his plans to tear and destroy even from the starting block for this year. Let us not be caught off footed but let us be fully protected by putting on the full spiritual armour. After having done that we must stand and resist the devil.

Eph 6: 13-18

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

And your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace;

And above all taking the shield of faith, wherein ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.

Devotion for 3.1.2017

2 Kings 6: 16 #bible studies # daily devotions #devotions #gospel #word of God

Don’t be afraid… those who are with us are more than those who are with the enemy.

The enemy is working continuously in trying to wreck destruction to the world and he is doing this by using evil men as his instruments. Sometimes these tools of the devil may be people from outside and sometimes even from the people inside the sheep pen. (church)

Israel had been a prime target of the devil because he knew that the Messiah would come out from Israel and so from long before that the devil had tried his best to destroy the Israeli baby boys. Right from the time of Moses till the time of Jesus this had been the weapon of the devil. Along the way, the devil had wanted to also destroy the nation of Israel even to this present day.

The enemy has his armies that are possessed by him and led by him to create trouble in Israel as well as world-wide. It was the same during the time of Elijah and Elisha, the devil had wanted to destroy Israel and he used enemy armies to come against Israel as it is still so today. God had revealed to Elisha all the plans of the enemy and Elisha had warned the Israeli King which in turn had frustrated the plans of the enemy.  

In this instance, the servant of Elisha was so afraid when he saw the armies coming against them but Elisha prayed to God to open his eyes so that he can see the army of angels that are protecting them. Even in this present day the armies of Israel are seeing and experiencing miracles from God’s hand protecting them.

In the last Israel/Arab war that was fought in southern Israel, the Arab terrorists said that the God of Israel had turned their missiles in mid-flight to cause them to fall in the Mediterranean Sea. God has throughout all the recent wars been aiding Israel’s army in so many miraculous ways. We have heard of supernatural events on the battle field that no one can explain. All these are the efforts of the devil in trying to destroy the apple of the eye of God which is the nation of Israel.

God had prevented many attacks on Israel through supernatural intervention. The devil is finding it very difficult to counter Israel but now his attention is on trying to remove the PM of Israel. The devil is using accusation which is his main weapon as he is the accuser of the brethren. He is accusing the PM of wrong doings in trying to formulate a case to bring down the leader of Israel.

The war between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness had been an ongoing war for thousands of years and it will continue until Jesus comes again to destroy Satan and his army in one final battle. As in all wars, there will be casualties but we must continue to trust in God even if we become one of these casualties.

Today I saw a news report of a Christian in the land of the jihadists being tied with barb wires and hung across a pole and beaten to force him to renounce Jesus or die. Praise God that this brother stood firm in his faith and he bold said, ‘proud to be a Christian and proud to die as a Christian.’

He knew Jesus as his Savior and chose to become another martyr for Jesus Christ. This reminds us that in these last days, many will be called into martyrdom and we musts be ready and prepared for it.

Paul said; “to be out of this body is to be in the presence of the Lord.” This means the very second that we leave our bodies; our soul will be standing before God and Jesus in heaven. Therefore let us not worry about being on this sinful earth for too long. Let us press forward to secure our treasure and reward in heaven. 

Daily Devotions: Roms 12: 1-2#transforming your mind, #daily devoti...

Daily Devotions: Roms 12: 1-2#transforming your mind, #daily devoti...: Roms 12: 1-2 #transforming your mind, #daily devotion #word of God #scriptures#gospel Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy a...

Roms 12: 1-2

#transforming your mind, #daily devotion #word of God #scriptures#gospel

Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think (transform your mind). Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.

Today is the second day of the New Year and many are still on holiday as a roll over from Sunday the 1^st   of January 2017. The week before had been the holy week of Christmas which we remember as the day that God had given us the free gift of His Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins and grant us the gift of salvation.

This is the act of love from God and He does not want us to recompense Him in any way that would cost us in material things but God wants us to draw close to Him in love and the best way of doing this is to offer our lives as living sacrifices. This is not a onetime offering but the apostle Paul tells us that we are to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God as long as we live.

This holy living is a living sacrifice which is our true and proper worship to God. Our worship cannot be just lip service by telling God we love and worship Him but the next moment we live like the rest of the world in sin. We need to live Jesus, talk Jesus, walk Jesus and do everything as Jesus would do.

How then can we do this, Paul gives us the instruction in verse 2, we are to “be transformed by the renewing of our mind”. This means stop thinking of the world, stop thinking like the world but from today onward let’s keep thinking about Jesus.

This is the best gift that we can give to God for 2017 everyday starting from today. We must make a New Year resolution to live for Jesus and live like Jesus every day of this year and for the rest of our lives. Jesus lived in humility; that means we too must live with gratitude for what he had done for us, we must also live in humility like Him and we must give ourselves completely to Him. Completely means all our heart, mind and will must be surrendered to Jesus and allow Him to mould, shape and fill us according to His will.

Jesus has a plan for each and every one of us.  As I have mentioned yesterday, the work in the Kingdom is varied. There are different calling and different gifting and ministries. God had not made us all to be the same. That would mean an army of robots but God gave us the five-fold ministries because there are different needs in the body of Christ. He gave us different skills and empowering.

Paul also told us in Roms 9: 21 God had ….of the same lump make one vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour. This means that in the household of God, some will be in the priesthood, some in other positions of leadership and yet others will be serving in lower capacities. No matter in which capacity we are called and chosen we must dedicate our lives to serve Him faithfully this year and beyond. Only then would we be living sacrifices that are holy and acceptable to God.

Irrespective of what position and calling that God has given to us, there is no difference in the expectation from God. Every priest, leader and follower must live humbly and with thanks giving in their hearts. Someone said ‘thanksgiving’ means to be ‘thanks-living,’

Let us start living each day of 2017 in ‘thanks-living’.