Psalm 32:8  # daily devotions # bible studies # scriptures

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

In this psalm David celebrated the marvel of God’s forgiveness for the trespass that he had committed against God’s law. It may seem a surprise to us that for David who is well renowned for his love for God and also for God’s love for him, there were times when David too fell into sin.

However the difference with David is he would immediately acknowledge his sin and would seek forgiveness from God. David knew that there was nothing that he could have hidden from God who knows every little detail of our lives. He knew our heart’s condition when we are rejoicing or when we are heavy with a troubled heart.

This is one occasion when David was in deep remorse from his mistake against the Lord and when he came in repentance our merciful God responded to him in verse 8 saying  ‘I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.’ Instead of chastising David, we see here God lovingly assuring David that he will give him counsel and instructions to teach him how to live according to the law of God.

This psalm assures us that we are a privileged people who has this connection to the living God and though we like David may have our ups and downs, God is fully aware that we are weak and imperfect but He is a merciful and gracious God, His grace is sufficient for us and His watchful eye is constantly watching out for us while His ear is ever attentive to listen to our call to Him.

Devotions for 31.1.2017

1 Peter 2: 24  # daily devotions # scriptures # Bible studies

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross.

Jesus was both a man and God when He came to this earth two thousand years ago. In his person as a man He demonstrated that in His human abilities, he could endure the long persecution and suffering he had to go through including bearing all our sins on Hiss body. He became the sacrificial lamb and the scape goat for our sins. In the OT practice the high priest would hold the scape goat by the horns and then he would pray and transfer the sins of the people on to the scape goat.

When Jesus came He took the place of the sacrificial scape goat and He became the perfect sacrifice which was free from sin and blemish. He bore all our sins once and for all and then after there is no further need for any other sacrifices because Jesus was both man and the Son of God. As the Son of God He paid the highest price possible and then after God was satisfied and does not require any more sacrifices.

Through this act of sacrifice of His Son, God reconciled all sinners back to Him. Prior to Jesus’ sacrifice, all men were condemned to eternal death but that sentence had been abolished and now, no matter how sinful a man can be, God is willing to forgive and receive the sinner back to Him on the condition that the sinner receives Jesus as His Savior and repent from all His past sins.

By sending Jesus to die on the cross, God had made a way for the sinners to be forgiven and be reconciled back to Him. What a privilege this is for man because even the angels who had sinned against God and fallen are not forgiven and they are now the demons that follow Satan and would be finally locked up in the pits of hell when Jesus returns. This is another study which can only be dealt in length in another setting.

The message today is the message of redemption and salvation. Let us remember that God is merciful and He knows that man on his own will never be able to come back to Him. God therefore made a way for all men who have become completely lost to turn around and find his way back to God. Without this love and grace of God, we would never have been saved.

What is in the spiritual can only be achieved through spiritual means and not human means. Jesus came as the way, the truth and the light and no man can come to the Father but through Him.

Devotions for 30th Jan 2017

Nehemiah 2: 17  #daily devotions #bible studies # word of God

Come. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.

There is a wise saying that we can never go back to the past, every one of us would have looked back and reflected on the mistakes that we have made, the opportunities that we had missed and a multitude of regrets for not doing what we should have done.

When Nehemiah asked and got permission from King Artaxerxes to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall, he arrived in the night but did not show himself to the city leaders or the priests. He went immediately to examine the conditions of the wall around the city that had been destroyed decades ago. Jerusalem lay in ruins, the buildings were destroyed, and the city gates burned down and the wall were in total ruins.

Nehemiah did not feel sorrowful about the conditions of the city that he saw, he did not linger on regrets and disappointments but he came back with a plan and purpose which was to rebuild the city and the wall. He was a man with a calling and a mission, he knew what he was called to do by god and he knew what to do and how to do it.  We read that he went back to King Artaxerxes and asked for resources of money and building materials and was granted both.

Nehemiah rallied the people and collected the materials and went back to start work immediately even in the face of threats from enemies. He was fully focused on his task and he wanted it to complete as soon as possible.

What we learn here is that once when God’s timing is right, then God will initiate and release His favour upon us and whatever that He calls us to do, He will surely supply the resources and man power to bring it to pass. The task may be challenging in the eyes of man but God will help us to overcome all the threats and obstacles and He will see it through.

We must remember His promise to us in 1 Thess 5: 24 The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it. This was the scripture given to us a long time ago and we had stood on this promise over the years and have seen the Lord’s hand over all our projects and purposes as we walked in obedience to do His work. We have overcome all challenges and mountains of hindrances. Sometimes it was easy but at other times it was not so easy.

Some of the challenges tested our faith for many years before we were able to complete it but our God is faithful and He saw us through.

Nehemiah was also one of the biblical leaders who experienced God’s calling and favour, he said let us look forward and rebuild the wall so that we will no longer live in disgrace. When Israel was defeated and taken into captivity for 70 years, Jerusalem lay in ruins for the same 70 longs years and Israel was in shame in the eyes of her enemies. But God did not want that to continue after the period of punishment was fulfilled.

God did a new work through Nehemiah and restored the glory of Israel and Jerusalem after that.

Today, some of us are also experiencing failure but let us not lose heart, God is still restoring His people in His own time. Look at Israel today, it has been restored to its former glory and Israel is strong and prosperous again.

If we want to be restored in our life and ministry, all we need to do is to call out to Him.

Devotions for 29th Jan 2017

John 8: 58 #daily devotions # word of God # bible studies

“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

When Jesus made this bold declaration about His eternity He equated Himself to the Almighty and eternal God who declared to the nation of Israel that He is the I AM who is the eternal God. Ex 3: 14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent ne to you.

When God declared that He is the “I AM THAT I AM,” He is saying that He pre-existed before anything else existed. God is the infinite God who is beyond the measure of time and any other measuring dimensions. God cannot be measured by time; He cannot be measured by any earthly measure. He is beyond all measure because He is the one who created all.

God is sovereign and is the one and only true God, all other Gods are false Gods. God said the idols are the works of man’s hands, they have eyes but do not see, they have mouths but do not speak and they have hands but do not reach out. But our God is the living God, the Almighty and the Ancient of Days.

He is the timeless One and when we get to heaven we will spend all eternity with Him. The scriptures tell us that the earth will soon dissolve like snow but God tells us that His Kingdom will remain forever and we His children will inherit the Kingdom and be with Him forever.

Devotions for 28th Jan 2017

Roms 8: 35

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

Paul reminds us that when we become a believer in Jesus Christ there will be much challenge that we would face. As long as we live in this world and as long as we make a stand for Jesus Christ, the enemy will make all kinds of attacks to try and give up our faith and to turn away from our Lord and saviour.

Paul did not hide anything from the Church. He mentioned that there shall be trouble or hardship that would come against them. These troubles can be in many forms like persecution from Antichrist authorities and Antichrist societies around us. Look at the example of the Jews in the nation of Israel, they want to live in peace but the enemy would not want to give them peace.

Their citizens are being targeted everywhere they go and every day of their lives. There is always the danger of terrorist attacks against them. They want to live in peace with all men but not all men want to live in peace with them.

What about the Christians in the Antichrist nations? They are also being targeted and harmed on a daily basis; some of the Christian women and girls are captured and sold as sex slaves. I watched a video where a Christian woman was so distraught because her young and beautiful daughter of 24 years old and qualified as a doctor was kidnapped and sold off as a sex slave by the Antichrist followers.

Paul continued saying that some other troubles we will face is lack of financial capabilities, many would be faced with the reality of losing financial earnings and will face much difficulties. This will lead to abject poverty and recently I am seeing more and more people on the streets losing their jobs and their homes. Many had no money to pay for their rental and have been ejected onto the streets. Some of these are young couples. I see the road side increasingly lined with new homeless.

Again when these are helpless, they would face other dangers and harm that would come their way. These would be attacked or humiliated by others and some may even face threats to their lives.  These are real conditions in the world today. We are living just like in the NT days where Paul and the other Christians went through such challenges in their lives as well.

The early disciples had no place they called home, they traveled and preached the word everywhere and anywhere to all men. They stayed in homes of some kind believers who took them in and other times they had to live on the streets too.

Global instability and insecurity is coming, the Antichrist religion is boldly declaring that they are above the laws of countries around the world and they are boldly committing crime as though they are above the laws and persecution of the countries they have illegally migrated to.

These terrorists of the Antichrist religion are targeting Christians to persecute. This is not new because throughout history, Christians have been the target of the devil that uses evil men to do his work.

Paul is saying, yes, though we will face all these challenges but we know that our God will never forsake us. When we hold fats to Him, He will hold fats to us and even if we are martyred, we will inherit the kingdom of heaven the next second. There is nothing to lose but everything to gain in Christ.

Like our brethren in the Middle East nations today, even when they were threatened to renounce Jesus, they were more than happy to become martyrs for Jesus Christ and be with Him the next moment they give their lives for HIM.

This must be our stand today as followers of our Lord and Saviour.

Devotions for 27th Jan 2017

Exodus 17: 12

Aaron and Hur held Moses’ hands up ---one on one side, one on the other --- so that his hands remained steady till sunset.

Leadership has its responsibilities and burden. In the case of Moses, he had to lead his people in the exodus to the Promised Land, he was their spiritual father, their general in war and also judge. This passage also tells us that every leader cannot do everything on his own and when a leader thinks and profess that he does not need any help and support from others, and then the leader is heading towards failure.

On the other hand we also see that sometimes the helpers may be involved in doing insignificant things which do not promote them into the lime lights. The duties that they performed might look insignificant and unimportant but the truth is though the input might be humble and less glamorous, nevertheless their input is very important.

Looking at the example of Aaron and Hur, we knew that Aaron was the brother of Moses but as for Hur, we knew very little about him. He was mentioned as a helper to Moses who alongside Aaron held up the hands of Moses, after this passage we do not hear anything else about him.

Though the input by Hur may not look glamourous but it was important for when Moses’ hands were held high then the Israel’s army was victorious but when Moses’ hands were tired and drooped then the Amalekites won. So we can see that the input of Hur was so important though it did not look glamourous, his actions help Moses’ hands to be lifted and the lives of thousands of Israelites were saved.

They won the battle which means otherwise then perhaps thousands of Israeli lives could have been lost. So in the case of Hur, his contribution may not look glamourous but it was very important, lives and victory depended on his contribution.

In the same manner, we may not think that we can contribute very important input in Church and we belittle ourselves but the truth is no matter what little we can do, God uses it for His purpose.

Therefore we must be dedicated and committed to whatever little or unimportant in our eyes because God can use these to do great things. 

Devorions for 26th Jan 2017

Roms 7: 14  # daily devotions #scriptures #bible studies

The trouble is with me, for I am all too human.

Paul is expounding on the law of God that has been given to all men. He is humble to acknowledge that in no way is he a perfect man, in fact there is no perfect man on earth except the Lord Jesus Christ while He was on the earth. Though Paul was a Pharisee before his born again experience through Jesus Christ, he knew the law very well and he knew that he had transgress against the law.

He confessed that he knew the law very well and it was well engraved in his mind but he acknowledged that he was still a sinner because the law is perfect but he was imperfect. Just knowing the law does not make a man perfect, rather we must obey it and follow it. Paul therefore acknowledged that he couldn’t uphold the law in his life because he was human and therefore had many weaknesses.

Our imperfection is because we have failed in obeying the law. In this world there are many struggles that we face daily. Paul wrote in Rom 7:18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. This was not only Paul’s struggle in his Christian life but it is also the same with us.

However if we do not deny this fact, then we would be able to consciously and diligently work towards overcoming all the temptations of the flesh by studying and holding firmly to the scriptures and also seeking the help of the Holy Spirit. When we have the scriptures in our heart and we determine to resist all temptations and we keep in fellowship with the Holy Spirit, then we would be able to overcome all temptations.

Paul knew this truth and he confessed it and in turn reminded the Church that only when we allow the scriptures to guide our hearts and mind, only then would we be able to overcome the desires of the flesh. Struggles in the mind we will have but we have this hope and assurance of help from God’s words and the Holy Spirit to guide us.  

In the next few verses Paul described it in Rom 7:22-24 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.

Learning from what Paul is teaching us in this passage, we can indeed have a victorious life in Christ Jesus.

Devotions for 25th Jan 2017

Psalm 29:7

The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning.

This psalm by David was written to explain the greatness of God who is unseen and is seated in the third heaven. As such God is higher that all the creation that He made, looking at the universe, no scientist can measure the vastness of God’s creation. In fact the universe is so vast those scientists have created a measurement of light years which is not linear measure but it is a measure of the distance that light can travel in a full year.

So in trying to give an understanding of the vastness of the universe, scientists try and explain it in terms of the distance each light year will work out to. When we can now see the greatness and bigness of our God, surely He is not a man like us. He is far greater and superior to us.

How superior is God and how can we give Him some form of dimension to represent Him awesome greatness. Instead of measurement in light years, the patriarchs of old did not know the science of measuring the distance of the speed of sound. So in their limited knowledge they equate God’s greatness to the understanding of what they can see and what they can hear.

In nature, we can hear the blast of thunder over great distance. The awesome loudness of thunder is frightening. In the city where we live, there are large groupings of high rise buildings and I think because of the large amount of metal components in them, they seem to draw the thunder to strike above them in greater intensity.

We have witnessed very huge thunder storms where the loudness of the thunder is so frightening that it sounded like so many massive bombs exploding around us. That was how it sounded. The doors and windows will shake and rattle when these thunder strike. The intensity of these thunders cannot be measured but they are indeed very loud and threatening.

The writers in the scriptures therefore related such great thunders to the voice of God because they knew that God is so great and is beyond any methods of measure. They use the loudness of thunder to try and illustrate the greatness of God saying that it is like the voice of God. David used this as a comparison in Psalm 29 where he ascribes the greatness of God in words.

In another part of scripture Job who loved and knew God in a most  intimate way also described thunder as symbols of God’s voice Job 37: 2- 4 Keep listening to the thunder of his voice and the rumbling that comes from his mouth. Under the whole heaven he lets it go, and his lightning to the corners of the earth. After it his voice roars, he thunders with his majestic voice, and he does not restrain the lightning when his voice is heard.

Of course we know that God is actually way above the sound of the thunder but there is no other way known to man to illustrate his greatness. To the minds of such ancient people, comparing the greatness of the voice of God to thunder was the only way that they can make some sort of comparison.

God said His ways are higher than our ways; His thoughts are higher than ours. Therefore there is no one who can understand Him except Jesus Christ who had come down from heaven and have now returned back to heaven. Jesus Christ is also God as He is part of the Trinity. Jesus assured us that when we know Him we will know the Father.

Such being the case, it is therefore to our good that we must know Jesus more and more. We must love Him and learn all about Him. This is the only way that we can learn to know God. There is no other way.  

Devotions for 24th Jan 2017

1 Cor 15: 58

Therefore my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

This is a reminder from Paul that as we see the signs of the End Times on the earth we must be urgent in getting about doing the works of the Lord. In the earlier few verses from 50-57 Paul gave us the exact timing of the Rapture of the Church.

In verse 51-53 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed –in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with the immortality.

Before the Rapture can take place, the seven trumpets must sound and the timing is that the last trumpet or the seventh trumpet must sound first. The seventh trumpet will only sound after the tribulation period. Rev 11 verse 11 -15 described the sequence that the two witnesses must come during the time of the tribulation and at the end of it, both the twin witnesses will be killed by the Antichrist and then the 7^th trumpet will sound in verse 15. Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven……

It is now becoming clearer that the rise of the Antichrist in the world is going to be revealed very soon. The geo-political events that are happening very fast point towards the ushering in of the Antichrist into the world. The events around the nation of Israel are unfolding according to the prophecies in scriptures.

Already the UN and a group of nations are trying to force the division of the state of Israel and the city of Jerusalem. All these will lead to the emergence of the Antichrist into the world. The rise of radical terrorism in the world is another prominent sign that is spoken off in scriptures. This terrorism has accounted for hundreds of thousands of Christians being beheaded.

This is not surprising as John also saw the multitude of saints standing before God in heaven in Rev 7: 14 ….. and He said to me, these are they that come out of the great tribulation, and they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

What we see in the Middle East now with all the killing and beheading of Christians is already a fulfillment of verse 14 above. This will continue and will only increase worldwide as we see the radical terrorists invading countries world-wide sponsored by certain governments.

Now we are seeing the fulfillment of prophecies for the last days, this si where Paul is reminding the Church that we must now rise up and do the work of evangelism in saving souls of men and women.

Paul says, ‘let nothing move you.’ What he means is that we must not be distracted or discouraged, when we see the events around us, let us be more determined to do the work of the kingdom.

2 Cor 9: 8

God is able to bless you abundantly, so that …you will abound in every good work.

Paul writes here to remind us that it is by God’s grace that He has provided for us the love and compassion to serve others in doing good works. Paul reminds that we should not think that what we do is because of our own ability or resources but rather it is because God had imparted His grace to be upon us to do good works in blessing others.

The work of the Kingdom is not a physical work per se but it is a spiritual work as it deals with the spiritual realm. Many of the things that we see on the natural are not what they seem to be. Jesus taught the disciples that many of the sicknesses and diseases are spiritual in nature. He healed the sick through commanding the demonic powers to leave and they obeyed.

We see that when Jesus send the disciples out for practical training in the mission fields He have them the power and authority to deal with the unclean spirits. This was necessary so that the disciples could heal all manners of sicknesses and diseases and also to perform miracles that no normal human can perform.

These were works that can only be accomplished by the supernatural powers that was given to the disciples by Jesus. In Mark 6:7 And He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. So this tells us that we too should be seeking these spiritual gifts and power so that we also can be effective in our Christian ministries.

In the Churches today many have rejected the Holy Spirit and therefore have robbed themselves of the ability to do the works of the Kingdom. Because they teach that miracles and signs and wonders have ceased since the days of the book of Acts and are not available in the present day, they have grieved the Holy Spirit and have robbed themselves of His blessings.

The truth is God is the eternal God; Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. It is the same as the Holy Spirit, if God is indeed eternal then His power is eternal and His gifts are also eternal. In fact the bible teaches us that the anointing of the Holy Spirit will be with the Church until the times of the ends of the age. This means the Holy Spirit will be with us and able to do miracles and signs and wonder through us until the time just before Jesus returns.

In the meantime we are expected to continue on doing good works as well as the works of healing and deliverance, raise the dead just as the early Church did. This is the true character of the Church and as Paul wrote we are to abound in good works until Jesus returns.

Good works are also both spiritual and natural, which include the love and compassion for the needy, the destitute as well as the support of God’s servants. Many of them have made great sacrifices by giving up their secular jobs and profession and devote themselves to doing the work of the Kingdom. In this aspect the believers must extend their support to these who are working full time in the Kingdom and have needs to be met.

The apostles were living in these conditions and Paul have also written about his own needs and the needs of others which have caused them great suffering when such needs were not met. Believers who are more affluent and able must set apart some of their financial resources to support the full time workers.

Having said that, it is a sad thing to note that sometimes many Churches fail to extend their generosity to these servants of God. They are too stingy with their resources and do not bless the servants of God as they should.

The apostle John wrote in 3 John 1: 5-6 Beloved it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.

Devotions for 22nd Jan 2017

2 Cor 4: 6  #daily devotions #scriptures #bible studies #gospel

For God….made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

Paul again reveals the doctrinal truth that when we are born again in Christ, first He gives us the salvation of eternal life and then He makes His light shine in our hearts so that in turn we can share this light to the world. So the progression is first we must be born again and only after that can we receive the revelations from God.

We need to have Jesus in our lives and the Holy Spirit in us as our teacher and counselor, only then would we be able to receive reflationary knowledge about the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. When we have received and understood this then we will be able to share this with the non-believers in turn.

Having said that there are criteria that we need to meet and the most important is what Jesus said in John 3: 3 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again; he cannot see the Kingdom of God.  It is only when we have seen and understood about the Kingdom of God before we can in turn reach out to the lost.

The apostle Peter also taught us the same parallel in 1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Therefore now we who have received such riches from heaven must purpose in our hearts to let our light be seen in the world.

Devotions for 21st Jan 2017

Roms 12: 1  #daily devotions #scriptures #bible studies # gospel

I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.

Paul in writing to the Jewish believers in Rome reminded them that in their past, they had been accustomed to making sacrifices of dead animals and grain to Jehovah God but since Jesus had come and been offered as the perfect sacrifice once and for all for the sins of all men, He came as the lamb of God who is sinless and is the only perfect sacrifice acceptable to God.

Today we do not need to offer the same type of sacrifices as the Law of Moses had decreed. However, God still desire that we offer Him through other forms of sacrifices which are the sacrifices of our worship and thanksgiving. When we come before God and worship Him, our praises and worship are as sweet incense unto God.

Having said that, God also desire that the vessels that offer the sacrifices of praise must be clean and holy vessels. Let’s give an analogy for this. Do we bring offerings or gifts to the temple on dirty plates and instruments? Of course not! The dirty plates or vessels will contaminate the best offerings and will make them unacceptable.

In the same manner, when we bring praises and worship before God, our lives are the plates and vessels upon which we bring our sacrifices of praise and worship before God. So when our lives are not pure and holy but are sinful, contaminated and foul in the eyes of God, surely the sacrifices of praise and worship would not be acceptable to God.

The scriptures also tell us that it is out of the fullness of our hearts that we speak. So whatever words that come from our lips originate from the deepest recesses of our hearts. If our hearts are pure and holy then the words that come out are pure and holy. But if our hearts are not then the words that come out would also be the same.

Coming back to our sacrifices of praise and worship, if we do not have a pure and clean heart that our praises and worship would not be pure and holy and it would never be acceptable to God. They would be foul smelling before God. This was exactly what Jesus said about the Pharisees, they were hypocrites who were living in sin but outwardly put on a show of piety, they dress well, behave well but their hearts were unclean and Jesus knew that.

That’s why Jesus called them hypocrites and unclean tomb. Just clean on the outside but evil and foul in the spirit. It is along this same line that Paul now writes to the Jewish believers in Rome to offer their lives as living sacrifices which are pure and holy. It is only when they are pure and holy can their sacrifices of praise and worship is acceptable to Jesus Christ and to the Father.

This is still a valid command to the present day Church, if we want to live in the grace of God, we need to live lives that are pure and holy and only then would we be a delight to God. Only when we are pure and holy would God wait eagerly for us to come before Him daily to offer our sacrifices of praise and worship and only then would our sacrifices be as a sweet fragrance or sweet incense that will ascend up to God’s throne room.

Devotions for 20th Jan 2017

Gen 2: 7  #daily devotions # scriptures #bible studies # gospel

Then the Lord God…breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.

All life is given by the creator of life, this cannot come from nothing. In the beginning God created man from the dust; it would have just remained a heap of dust if God had not given life to it. It would have remained an inanimate lump which is totally useless until God breathed His own breath into the lump of dust.

When God did that, not only did He impart His life into the created man but along with the breath God gave a part of Himself to the first man. The first man and woman were exactly like God and they were pure and holy. It was when they remained in the same DNA with God that they were having a close and personal relationship with God.

We do not know how long they had this relationship before Satan came to tempt Adam and Eve. Perhaps it could be a month, we do not know the time frame but it was definitely not the next day after Eve’s creation. Imagine the first man and woman enjoying all that God had created, the beauty of all creation, the fruits that were given to them to eat. They did not have to cook or labour in the fields to get food.

Everything was provided for and their hearts and minds were in tune with God. That was what God gave to the first man and woman who were created. It was only after sin came into their hearts that they were no longer pure and holy like God.

Today we still have the same two natures, one the nature of God where we know about purity and holiness and the other nature is the sin nature which we have inherited from Adam and Eve. We have both in us; we can choose to be either one. The key is that we have to build up the one that we desire and put the down the other that we do not desire. Having said that it is not easy to overcome he flesh desires on our own strength.

Jesus warned against this in Matt 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

And again in Mark 26: 38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit is ready, but the flesh is weak.

We know that the desires of the flesh are strong in all men. We also know that we understand what sin is but yet we cannot overcome sin in our flesh. No matter how much we try, most of the time we will succumb to the temptations.

Paul said in Roms 7: 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. The great Apostle Paul also acknowledged that he had great difficulties in dealing with and controlling his own sin nature. He too struggled over sinful thoughts and desires of the flesh. He said he did not want to sin but yet the flesh will cause him to do exactly that.

This is why Jesus said that we can only overcome and defeat the desires of the flesh through prayers and the reading of the word. When we pray and read the word, we will sanctify our mind and our heart. These two are the control centres of our lives, when we can control these then we can control the rest of the body. When we submit our mind and heart to Jesus, then all our thoughts and actions will be Christ centred.

Without this total surrender to Jesus, then our lives would not be victorious in Christ. As Joshua said, ‘Choose you this day who you will serve, as for me and my house I will serve the Lord.’

Devotions for 19th Jan 2017

2 Cor 4: 7
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us.

Paul writes to the Church of Corinth telling the believers that we have this treasure that is stored in jars of clay. These are the two key things that Paul wants to teach the Church.

Firstly we have “this treasure” which is the gospel and the gift of salvation which comes together with the full package of spiritual gifts and power. This is something which the world is seeking and cannot find because they have not found Jesus. Salvation is something that all cultures and nationalities are hoping for. Every culture speaks of heaven and hope that their religion will get them there.

Every pagan religion and cults talk about going to heaven in their own way. Some teach on piety and recluse lifestyle away from the norm of life in the world. They keep away from the world as hermits and holy men and women in constant meditation and study of their holy scriptures. Others try and attain a passage to heaven through good works and living a kind and compassionate life.

This is where we can see the followers are constantly getting their hands to do good works like caring for disaster relief works, orphanages and welfare works. Some are even so kind to animal life form because their religion teach them to be kind to all living creatures. They have been blinded to think that by being kind to the animals they will earn merits to get to heaven.

Some people set up animal shelters at their own cost and time to care for stray cats and dogs, their efforts can run into huge amounts of financial stress monthly. This can be a strong bondage upon their lives as once they have taken this up; they cannot let it go because their belief and conscience will not allow them to close the shelters.

This is one way that Satan will put people into bondage and to wear away their resources and health. Some believers too fall into this trap of doing good works. When we talk to these people, they fool themselves by saying they love the animals and would not like to let the bondage go.

Paul says that the devil has blinded the spiritual eyes of these people and they cannot see the truth of the word of God. They continue to be deceived by choice. In verse 4 Paul said “..the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

In verse 6 Paul continues and say; “For God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness, make his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.’ What Paul is saying now that we have the treasure of salvation in our lives, we are the earthen jars that are containing this treasure? Each of us who are the children of God has this treasure which is the knowledge of salvation and the power and gifts of God in us.

As earthen jars are common vessels and are not transparent, even the treasures they hold will be hidden from the sight of the world. Therefore if we are these jars and we have ‘the treasure’ in us, then we need to share this treasure of the gospel so that the non-believers can also see and receive the same treasure that we have.

Paul therefore teach that we must display this treasure so that the idol worshipers will not continue to be deceived but that they will see the truth and also receive the same treasure.

Let our lives shine and be a light to those living in spiritual darkness, let us share the treasure of the gospel with our loved ones and friends. 

Psalm 100: 5  #daily devotions # bible studies # word of God

The Lord is good and his love…continues through all generations

David who was also known as the perfumer to God was known for his praise and worship. He knew how to express himself in adoration of the Almighty and because of his sweet worship; God gave him the accolade of being the perfumer to Him.

From Psalms 96 to 100 David wrote a compilation of praise and worship to God and in each of these psalms, David extols the different virtues of God. Starting with Psalm 96 David praised God for His righteous judgement and His faithfulness in overcoming evil and injustice.

Then in Psalm 97 David praised God and lifted Him up for His majesty and His power.

In Psalm 98 David then praised God for His goodness and mercy in granting His salvation to His loved ones!

Then in Psalm 99 David praised God for His holiness and perhaps all these were written within a short time as his love and expression for God flowed freely. He was definitely all inspired and his spirit was high and his thoughts fully focused as he wrote down his thoughts and emotions.

Finally in Psalm 100 David called upon everyone who loves God to come together and to sign praises to God. This was the lifestyle that David led and he being King of Israel was able to command the whole nation to follow him in worship to God.

David had motivated the whole nation to develop a culture of worship to God; He was the King, prophet and priest as he led the whole nation in worship.

We can see the picture of him leading the parade of dancing girls, musicians and singers as they danced and sang on their way to the temple. We have seen movies that showed these familiar scenes and it is easy for us to adapt into our lives.

In my mission trips, I have been to several countries and experienced the different form of worship to God. Some of these do continue to have worship parades through the roads as they wind their way to the Church.

These worshipers are not ashamed to express their love for God in public. In fact they revere in it, the young children, the youth and the adults. All the people truly enjoyed this time of public display and worship to God.

In the present days, many Churches have now incorporated dances in their worship and we see elaborate costumes and well-rehearsed dances being part of today’s corporate worship. This is a good practice and should be encouraged.

Devotions for 17th Jan 2017

John 14: 19

Because I live, you also will live.

The mission of Jesus Christ to this earth was to bring peace and life to the world. Early in vs 6 Jesus said; ‘I am the way, the truth and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ In this verse Jesus revealed His true mission for coming into the earth. Firstly He came to show the way to God, He also came to reveal the truth of the Gospel and finally He came to give life to all who would seek it.

Jesus explained that though he has come to give revelation to the world but the world would not be able to get to heaven unless they go through Him. This means that all men must accept Him as their Lord and Saviour, only then would they be able to gain the possession of heaven.

Going through Jesus means that all men must be born again when they receive Jesus as their Lord and Master, only then would the Father acknowledge their son ship and their acceptance into heaven. Jesus also said that by ourselves we would never be able to be accepted by God because the righteousness that we think we have are but like filthy rags in the eyes of God.

We are also reminded that all men have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. If we say we have no sin then the bible says that we have lied for there is no perfect man on earth except Jesus Christ.

The world thinks that they can achieve salvation through works. No one can even try to enter heaven without Jesus. The non-Christians think that they can attain salvation through good works. My neighbour is a non-Christian and they are vegetarians because they do not want to take any form of life. To them killing for food is also sin. In fact they are in the habit of feeding wild life.

They would throw out rice and old bread to the birds around the neighbourhood and the ravens and other birds come and feed. They have become a nuisance to us as the birds are dropping their manure all over the compound.

Coming back to what Jesus promised, he lives, we too will live. This is provided that we already have received Him as our Lord and Saviour. Then only can we have eternal life. It is not through good works or meditation but it is through accepting Jesus as our Saviour that we can be saved. This is precisely what Jesus had taught us over and over again.

Let us remember this fundamental truth and let our faith be anchored upon Jesus Christ and upon none other.  

  

2 Chron 20:9 #bible studies # daily devotions #word of God # bible studies

If calamity comes … we will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us.

During the times of the judges, Israel was led by Kings who would turn to and listen to the advice of the prophets. In matters of great importance the Kings would seek God’s leading by asking the prophets to inquire from God. They would then act according to the leading of God and they would receive His blessings.

However there were also occasions when certain Kings of Israel were rebellious and disobeyed the word of God and they were severely punished by God. Unfortunately the innocent people of Israel were the one who paid the price for the King’s disobedience.

What we can learn is that God says in 1 Sam 15: 22 …behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to harken than the fat of rams. God is not interested in our offerings and sacrifices; rather He is interested in our obedience and submission to Him and His word. In this context King Saul angered God by disobeying the commandment of God in not destroying everything of the enemy. He took the stronger animals from the flock of the enemy and when the prophet Samuel confronted King Saul for his disobedience, King Saul gave the excuse that the animals were meant for a sacrifice to the Lord.

God was very angry with King Saul as his act is an act of rebellion against the word of God. His intentions might be good but it is still an act of rebellion which in the eyes of God is as the sin of witchcraft. In the following verse 1 Sam 15: 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. 

God looks at rebellion as a grievous sin, to man it is a small offence but to God rebellion is the mother of all sin. Lucifer started a rebellion against God in the heaven and he brought one third of the angels with him in the rebellion. As a result Lucifer and his angels have been caste out of heaven and Lucifer has become Satan and his angels have become the demons and principalities that are ruling in the earth.

Coming back to today’s verse, all those who hear and obey God know the blessing that God had promised to them. God will not desert them but will keep His eyes upon them and to keep them safe at times of danger and needs. This was how close the people of God were with Him. They were people who knew their God and they were blessed in many ways.

Their relationship with God is one of continued adventure and blessing. They knew God as their Saviour, protector, provider, healer, and most of all their loving Father and ever loving God. This was why they could call to Him at all times and expect that He answers and talk to them and in most cases God spoke through His prophets.

Today we have the Holy Spirit and we can call to God directly using the prayer tongue given by The Holy Spirit and we can develop our spiritual ear to hear from Him. God still speaks to His people in many ways, the only thing is we must ask and receive this gift of revelation gifts from Him. He will speak to us through the word of prophecy, the word of knowledge and the word of wisdom.

To be able to receive and operate in these revelation gifts, all we need to do is ask and start to practice and God will grant them to us.

Devotions for 15th Jan 2017

Matt 10:39 #daily devotions # bible studies # word of God
Whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

Jesus tells His disciples that in their Christian life it would not be the same as before, when they chose to follow Him they have turned away from the world and no longer live like the world. The values of the world are not the same as the values of the Kingdom of God. What the world values are what the Kingdom of God deters.

The vales of the world consist of selfishness, pride, greed, unforgiveness, jealousy, slander, gossip and all the evil traits of human behaviour. A little while ago I was watching a documentary on the TV about the rise of the 45^th President of the US. Just five years before this the sitting President was insulting the President elect at a gala function publicly.

There was so much pride, hatred, jealousy in the sitting President who is the most powerful man in the world. He did not even behave decently or politely but was slanderous in his word, attacking and accusing the President elect at that time who is a prominent tycoon in the US.

What I am pointing out is that the world is cruel and evil and even the most powerful man on earth politically is evil and do evil things that is because he does not have Jesus Christ. He is controlled by his master who is the enemy of God. In fact all men in the world who do not have Jesus Christ are controlled by the enemy and do what the enemy dictates them to do.

This is where the difference lies, we the believers of Jesus Christ would do what he taught us to do and that is all contrary to what the evil one taught his children to do. Look at the world today and the countries in the world, most of them are controlled by evil politicians who in turn are controlled by the enemy of Christ. Like their master, they go against the children of God and persecute them or try and destroy them

Today in Paris, 72 countries are gathered to decide and pass a resolution under the auspices of the UN to divide Israel and Jerusalem. Israel is a sovereign nation on its own. How unfair it is for third party nations to determine its fate and to pass a resolution to divide it. But this is how the evil world works, the UN is controlled by Antichrist nations and they have an agenda to destroy the apple of the eye of God which is Israel.

Secondly these Antichrist nations want to destroy all Jews first and then all Christians. In fact all these are already prophesied and recorded in scriptures and we are seeing biblical prophecies being fulfilled right before us. Very soon the political scenario in the world would lead to a global war and many children of God will see and experience tribulation which again is prophesied in the bible.

As such the Christians must be strengthened and be prepared to face tribulation just as some of the Christians in Antichrist nations are going through right now. But we know the end from the beginning, we will not lose, we will be on the winning side. The promise is that though for a short time we may even have to pay the ultimate price of laying down our lives for Christ, there is a great reward waiting for us in heaven. Jesus Christ had promised that He has gone to prepare a place for us, if it were not so, He would have told us.

Similarly Paul said in Phip 1:25 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. This is the truth that all the apostles knew and they were focused on attaining their due reward in heaven. We too must be like them and to prepare to receive the reward and inheritance that Jesus had gone ahead to prepare for us.

Devotions for 14th Jan 2017

Mark 4: 41

Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!

I have planted several fruit trees in the house compound and where we are the wind is particularly strong and sometimes for days on end the wind keeps blowing especially from the South Pole. The wind would be cold and strong and it can cause a lot of damages. Sometimes the roofs of some older houses get blown off.

Another time there was a construction site where the developer had demolished an old building but leaving the façade of the old front wall standing. This was just beside a main road and the developer wanted to use this old wall as a feature wall to the new building. This wall was located along the route to a university and on that day, a brother and a sister were walking along the way to attend classes at the university and just as they were passing the old wall, the strong wind brought the wall down on both of them. Sadly, both died under the collapse of the wall.

The effects of the strong winds also affect the plants that are around our neighbourhood. Many of the smaller trees snapped when the wind blew hard. My fruit trees were also threatened. I have to put up support around the trees and anchored them to it. After a couple of months the fruit trees around my compound because stronger as a result of the support I put up.

In a few months the plants have grown stronger and bigger and they are growing in the direction and shape that I had tied them. What do we learn from this? When the trees are young and tender they can be shaped and directed to whichever directions we want them to grow. They can also be turned into any shape that we want them. In the process of the training we would be able to shape and grow the plants to our plan and requirements for them to be shaped. A good example would be the floral culture of ‘bongzai’

In today’s text we read that Jesus was sound asleep on the boat when the storm blew. Jesus is God and surely He knew that there would be a storm that would blow on that day and He could not be such a sound sleeper that he did not notice the storm.

The truth is, Jesus intentionally allowed the storm to blow on them so that He could use it to teach His disciples to build up their faith and be able to similarly perform miracles that are unimaginable when He has left them.

This again reminds us that as we also encounter storms in our lives, Jesus is using these to teach us to be stronger and help us to set our spiritual roots deeper so that we would not be blown down and also that our lives would not break like weaker branches of the young trees. Through all these life experiences of storms we will be able to grow like strong trees that would not up destroyed but we would be tall and sturdy like the cedar trees and that would bring forth much fruits in season.

Every believer would have to face their own storms in life, the more matured we are the more severe testing would come our way as Jesus would want to truly make us a strong warrior for His use in the days ahead. There is a great revival that would come into the world soon, God is building His army for this revival now, if we want to be used by Jesus Christ, and then be ready to be tested through many storms. Remember the eagle, it flies straight into the storm and then it soars above the storm. Are we eagles or sparrows?