Daily Devotions 1st Sept 2017

1 Thess 3: 12

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.

Paul is making this statement that indeed our capacity to love unconditionally can be increased by God’s grace and enabling. It is God who gives us the ability to love as He pours out His love to us. In turn we can release the same to others. In spite of the rioting and hatred that he has experienced from the Jews everywhere he went, Paul grew even stronger by the day as he knew it was God’s enabling that made him grow.

As love in Paul increases, his ability for love and patience also increased. Reading from the scriptures, we can visualize the very difficult times he had sharing the gospel to the people. Looking at the present day demography, we can see that these Middle East people are not at all easy to deal with.

Just look at the heckling that is going on daily at the temple mount by those that are Antichrist. They do that on a daily basis whenever the see any Jews up at the temple mount, they will start their loud heckling.

We see only a little of this now but can you visualize that the heckling was many times worse that what we see today. They were also very violent as they often beat up the apostles when they could get their hands on them.

Paul had confessed that there were times when he was beaten even to the point of near death.

Imagine that Paul had to endure such hardship but yet he never lost his focus on the needs of the people which is salvation. He was willing to pay the price so that the gospel can be preached and as many lives as possible be turned back to God.

We too will face heckling, insults and physical violence sometimes. But just like Paul let us continue to love the people even though they slander and persecute us continuously.

As leaders, this is the price that we must be prepared to pay because the devil will use those he can to try and destroy us and bring our ministry down.

Isaiah 62: 12You will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted.

Isaiah is encouraging the Israelites who are now preparing to return to Israel and to the capital of Jerusalem. God had called them and sought for them from every corner where they have been exiled; they are now gathering and preparing all their belongings and are ready to start the long trek back to their homeland.

Many of them would have been born in captivity and have never seen Israel before. The city walls have now been rebuild by Nehemiah and the advance team that had gone before them and these are lining up along the highway to welcome back their brethren.

Isaiah told the Israelites that God had sought them out and He is bringing them back to His Holy City which was deserted for 70 years but now music and song can be heard once again in the Holy city. God is waiting in the city eagerly for His beloved children to return.

Today many of the believers are also distanced from God, some of us have been running after the things of the world and have never spend enough time to build ourselves up in the word of scriptures. We need to study and meditate upon it to strengthen our inner man, build up our faith and to stand and be strong.

God wants us to come back into His family, if we have been luke warm, then we need to get back to catch the fire of the Holy Spirit and the zeal to be in the house of God. We need to go out and do the work of the kingdom and to become fishers of man for Him.

Jesus has given to us the Great Commission and He is repeating the call to us to bring in the end times harvest, He says ‘the harvest is ripe but the labourers are few. Jesus is calling, let us respond to Him.

Daily Devotions 26th August 2017

Luke 1: 3

I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning

Luke was a highly educated physician in the Greek academic tradition. As a physician he was methodical and highly detailed in his investigation. That was his training in medicine, as a good doctor he need to investigate every symptom and causes.

Now he has heard all about the life of Jesus Christ and all that He had done. As a doctor, he would not just want to believe in hear say but he would want to investigate the narrations and reports that he had received.

Many of the followers of Jesus had come to him to narrate of the personal experiences. Luke also wrote the book of Acts and he recorded in Acts 1: 3 “After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.”

The Christian faith was not built on hearsay but was carefully recorded by fist hand witnesses who were living with Jesus and were very close to Him. These records are all witnessed and certified by large numbers of witnesses. There were also physical evidences of the healing miracles that Luke could testify to.

Then there were those who were dead and are now still living amon the people. All these are irrevocable proofs of the miracles of Jesus Christ.

In the gospel of Luke, we read that he addresses it to Theophilus which in the Greek language means “lover of God”. As in the practice of scriptures, whenever a proper name is recorded, it refers to a real person. Luke wrote the gospel as a very personal testimony and we can thank God for this passionate and accurate record that a learned man like Luke has written both the gospel as in Luke as well as the book of Acts with much detail on the healing miracles of Jesus Christ.

Daily Devotion 25th August 2017

James 1: 14Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.

Earlier in this chapter, James encouraged believers who are tempted to rejoice because this is the testing of our faith and when we overcome all the testing, it will bring maturity.

The other area of testing is the enticement to commit sin or to do evil but God will never entices us to do evil. It is the work of the tempter, the devil, who is trying to cause us to commit evil and to fall.

God is a holy God, He desires that all of us be holy as well as only then can we have a closer relationship with Him. Holiness will draw us closer to God but when sin occurs then we drift away from God. The more we sin, the more we will then draw further away.

Temptation is a normal occurrence that everyone would experience. Even Jesus was tempted by the devil before He started ministry and just before He was supposed to fulfil His mission of dying for all the sins of the world, He was also tempted to ask God to remove this heavy and difficult burden from Him.

Of course after having prayed to the Father to take away the cup of persecution, Jesus surrendered himself into the Father’s hands so that the plan of salvation can be completed.

Thank God for the obedience of His Son who was willing to pay the high price of bearing all our afflictions and pain? Jesus was tempted like everyone else but He did not succumb to the temptation.

We know that Jesus did not get drawn away by the temptation but He stood firm and completed His Father’s plan of salvation and today all sinners have the chance and opportunity to be saved.

Likewise every believer must not succumb to the temptation that draws them away into committing sin and evil. We must resist all temptations and be strong in our faith and belief.

Daily Devotions 24th Aug 2017

Phip 2: 3-4In humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests.

Paul who has now been transformed from an arrogant Jew to being the apostle to the gentiles wrote to the gentile church of Phillipi. Once he had so much pride but now he is lowly and humble, he never took any credit for himself. He did not seek for vain glory by self-elevation.

He kept a humble attitude even to the point of not asking for and not receiving any monetary gains. He was prepared to live by faith trusting God for His providence.

In fact all the disciples of Jesus learned from and followed the steps of Jesus who taught them that they are not to take money with them when they go out into the mission fields. They were told to stay in any homes that were opened to them and to stay and receive the hospitality of that home until they leave the town.

Jesus taught that He came to serve the people and not to be served by them. This pattern was learned and applied by all the early believers. This was the way that all the disciples lived and should be the same even today.

However, there are some who are materialistic and have used the ministry of the Gospel as a means to accrue wealth. The often seen results are that God is normally merciful and patient but when pride comes to the hearts of these servants, the time will come when God will allow them to fall and be punished.

Daily Devotions 23rd Aug 2017

Psalm 32 : 5
I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.’ And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

This psalm was written by David after he had confessed of his sin of adultery with Bathsheba the wife of Uriah and all the hwile when he tried to hide his sin, the guilt continued to trouble him until his strength was sapped because of the guilt he suffered.

However after he had confessed of the sin and repented from it, God forgave him and now the guilt has left him and he could write this psalm of deliverance.

This is a lesson that we can learn from David, there is no sin too great that God cannot forgive. All that He wants is for us to repent and He is waiting to forgive us and to restore us.

God does not want to see us continually under the guilt of sin, He calls us to come before Him in repentance and He will empower us to enjoy the freedom from guilt. He had set us the opportunity to come and seek His face and to confess our sins before Him. He wants to forgive us as the father of the prodigal son forgave his son who had gone has squander away all his inheritance.

After David had experienced this forgiveness, then he wrote in Psalm 32: 1-2 ‘Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven. Whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.’

John 4 :35Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.

This is the word from Jesus to His disciples that the world which is full of people seeking to find the true God is all around. Their hearts are ripe for the harvest, they are seeking for salvation but do not know where to turn to and which God to help them.

In fact these are lost in the quest for eternal life and are turning to all kinds of false religion. It is indeed a sad thing to see many educated people who are either spiritually blinded or too proud to accept the truth of the gospel. Though their hearts are ripe for the harvest but Jesus said that there is a lack of labourers to bring in the harvest.

Jesus is talking about spiritual workers who would go out to seek the lost and begin to share the gospel with them. In some parts of the world, God had already sent early missionaries to go and sow the seeds of the gospel. Now those who have heard the gospel years before, their hearts are ready and their souls are thirsting to hear the message of salvation and to give their lives to Jesus.

The task is left for us to fulfil. We can now reap where we have not sown before. John 4: 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Jesus knows that in many areas of the world, the harvest of souls is ripe and ready, the people are seeking. All that we need to do is to go and share the gospel, then we will bring in the new souls into the kingdom.

Are we ready to offer ourselves as labourers in this end time harvest of souls? Let us answer the call and tell the Lord, Here am I, send me.

Daily devotions 21st August 2017

Psalm 46: 11The Lord Almighty is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress.

The psalmist reflects on the protection of God as he had experienced so many setbacks and challenges having faced countless enemies and dangers. He described it as troubles that are as big as mountains and the pressure and fear that had surrounded him like the experience of going through a huge storm in the sea.

He said that though the challenges that threatened his life was enormous but the greatness of our God is even greater than all of these. The psalmist said that all the hostile nations that rise up against him are nothing when God moved his hand over them. They were utterly destroyed by God in supernatural ways.

Then the psalmist call upon the whole known world to come and witness what God had done for him and the people of Israel. He reminded the people of their great God and the promises that God had delivered to them. Therefore there was no reason for them to be concerned as the God who is for us is greater than the enemy who is against us.

Then he said in verse 10 “Be still and know that I am God.” This is a confirmation that the God of Israel is in control and all that we need to do is to trust in Him and surrender all our troubles and needs to Him.

In the last verse of the psalm he wrote; The Lord Almighty is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress. This same God of Israel is also our God, what He has done for Israel, He can and He will do the same for us.

Daily Devotions 20th Aug 2017

Esther 8: 16For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor.

This was the summary of the victory that Esther and Mordechai has won over the evil Haman who had seeked to destroy all the Jews and now the table had been turned, Mordecai has now been appointed as the new Prime Minister and he has received a decree from the King throughout the land to be able to arrest and take actions against all those who wants to harm the Jews.

They were even empowered to arrest and put to death these people and all their properties confiscated. All over the nation at that time the Jews are rejoicing and it is recorded that it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor. Compare this to just days ago when all the Jews who were in captivity were so afraid and fearing for a genocide if the decree was not averted.

Up until today the Israelites still celebrate the feast of Purim in remembrance of their deliverance from certain death if Queen Esther had not been able to obtain the king’s favour. A whole race was spared mass destruction and this was indeed the act of God whose hand was over the Israelites at that time.

In fact the hand of God is continually seen as covering and protecting His chosen people even in this perilous time where the surrounding nations are planning to wipe them out just as Haman did. The good news is the God who delivered the Jewish people during the tiem of Mordecai and Esther is the same God of Israel today. He has never changed and His love and mercy for His chosen ones remain the same.

We who are the wild branch and now being grafted into the true vine (Jesus Christ) we are also the children of God and His hand of protection is over us as well.  

   

Daily Devotions 19th Aug 2017

John 16: 20You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy

As with our human nature, when death occurs grief will follow. This is natural and innate in us, irrespective of all races and cultures when a new born baby arrives, there is great joy among the people but when there is death and someone passes away whether they are believers or not there is grief.

As for the believers, the grief is less as we know that our loved ones have gone to be with the Lord but for the unbelievers who have no hope, we generally see much grief and lamentation.

In this instance Jesus was on the eve of His crucifixion and He knew that He had to die on the cross and His disciples would be most grieved because they loved Him so much. However Jesus comforted them that soon after the grief, they would rejoice because they would be seeing Him again after the resurrection. In fact Jesus was with them for forty days before He finally ascended back to heaven.

Before Jesus ascended, He promised them that He will send the Holy Spirit who would be their comforter, counsellor, teacher and also empowerer. Of course today we see that all these that Jesus promised did come to pass. When the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples, all their timidity left them, they were no longer afraid rather they were embolden by the Holy Spirit and they began their ministries of going everywhere preaching the gospel.

Finally we also see that the scriptures confirmed that the disciples were overjoyed by the number of conversions of the people who heard the gospel both Jews and gentiles. This was confirmed in  Acts 13: 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

He has now given us the same Holy Spirit who is working and residing in us in Roms 15: 13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Also in 1 Peter 1: 8-9  Christ who having not seen you love, though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith –the salvation of your souls.

The Holy Spirit has given us the faith to believe and trust in Jesus whom we have not seen but yet we believe because the Holy spirit has opened our spiritual eyes.

Daily Deotions 18th Aug 2017

Psalm 100: 3Know that the Lord is God, it is he who made us, and we are his.

The psalmist acknowledged that our lives belong to God as we have been made by Him. Though we have earthly parents but God had predestined us even before we were born. His word also said that He knew us even before we were in our mother’s womb.

God had already set us apart and had prepared a destiny for each of us. I have heard about a person whom God called and said that He would build the person an empire and many years later, true enough that person had become very successful and in turn he had been faithful to the Lord’s work.

Just like Saul who later became Paul the apostle to the gentiles, God knew him even before Saul found Jesus Christ. When Jesus called him into ministry, Jesus said that he was called for that specific ministry of reaching the gentiles for God. As a result Paul became obedient and gave up everything and traveled throughout the western world at that time to share the gospel of salvation.

Paul having known the calling that God had given to him became totally obedient till he completed the mission that God had given to him.

Many others have also committed their lives to Jesus Christ after they discovered their calling. Today we see also many professionals like doctors, engineers, bankers, teachers and many other professionals who gave up lucrative futures to just serve God in total obedience. They have forsaken their earthly security and just trusted in God to use them in the work of the kingdom.

This then brings us to the promise that God has made in Phil 1: 6 He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

When God calls, He will also equip and when we are obedient we will surely see the fulfillment of God’s plans in our lives. Many of the faithful servants of God are seeing their international ministries being fulfilled day by day as they walk according to their calling and have seen great fruit in their ministries.

As for ourselves, if we know our calling then we must remain faithful until God’s plans are fully accomplished in us. 

Daily devotions 17th August 2017

Micah 4: 4Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid.

This was the prophecy that Micah gave to the nation of Israel became disobedient and God had allowed the nation of Israel to be conquered by the Assyrians and the temple in Jerusalem destroyed. God also declared that the Israelite would be scattered throughout the world but in the future God will certainly call them back from all the far corners of the world.

Today this has happened as we see that God is now revealing where the lost tribes have been scattered. We see that from the US there is a group of several hundred Israelite flying back to the Holy Land. In the past few months there were the Jews that came back from India, China and even from Japan. There are also some who have been discovered in Indonesia and all these are being brought back to Israel.

Not forgetting that there were also several million who came back from all parts of Europe and Russia. Over the last 50 years, God had been bringing back His people to Israel and this time they would not be scattered anymore.

This also brings to mind that in the days before Jesus’ return, God is raising the 144,000 young Jewish men to be the end time’s witnesses for the gospel. These would come from the twelve tribes with 12,000 from each tribe. The return of the Jews is proving that the prophecies of God are true and are all coming to past.

Looking at Israel today, we see the development and transformation of Israel from a desert and a wasteland into a rich and productive land.

Any visitor to Israel will see thousands of acres of cultivated dates all over Israel, the plains along the Jordon river is one of the richest in the world and Israel is exporting fruits and vegetables o Europe. Their livestock of cattle and sheep are producing more milk and wool than those in other countries.

Israel has become a self-sufficient nation and today it is truly a land that is flowing with milk and honey. We are seeing the fulfilment of the prophecy of Micah, Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid.

Numbers 14: 9The Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.

The account here is when Moses told the people when they were at the edge of the Promised Land and about to enter into it. They were very afraid as they are new and have heard many rumours of the fierce giants in the area.

However, God had chosen the land for an inheritance for His people and He had commanded them to move in to possess it. This would have been a mental and emotional challenge to them considering that they were just former slaves in Egypt and were not militarily trained.

I have travelled through the Promised Land on many occasions. It is a harsh and inhospitable land, the Negev desert stretches all the way. It is hot and dry and with high hills which could cover approaching armies. There was a real threat of ambush behind every hill.

It was under such conditions that the Israelite were challenged. There was fear in them and God spoke through Moses to encourage them saying, The Lord be with you, Do not be afraid.

There are also many opportunities for us in life, and just like the Israelite, God will sometime call us out to new territories and we may need to leave the comfort zone that we are used to.

If we do not obey, then we may lose out of the opportunity that God has given to us. We can only be blessed if we trust and obey God even when the circumstances look strange and unfriendly.

Daily Devotions 15th Aug 2017

Psalm 91: 4

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge.

This is a psalm of David who writes in a dialog manner as he expresses his faith and relationship with God. He has lived a life that was spent in having an intimate relationship with the Father. He knew God more than anyone else and he could communicate just as one friend to another.

David had encountered countless threats and dangers in his life, he has under gone attacks and all kinds of dangerous situations and had narrowly escaped deaths on many occasions. Therefore he had many of such experiences and had seen how God had protected him. He knew every intimate condition and therefore David could use all kinds of descriptions to illustrate what he wanted to say.

In this example David speaks of the protection of the wings of a mother bird or hen. The way that the wing feathers are constructed is that the outer feathers have strong ribs and close knitted feathers that can catch the wind and enable the bird to fly. It is also so closely knitted that it has water proof properties which enable the mother bird to cover the chicks from the rain.

This is the illustration that David made in referring to God’s covering that He gives His people which protect them from all kinds of dangers. It is a simple but yet appropriate illustration that David made. This gives us a totally clear understanding of the mercies and love of God.

He will not allow his children to be put in harm’s way. This is the nature and love of God our Father.

Daily Devotions 14th August 2017

Matt 19: 14Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.

When Jesus said that the kingdom of God belongs who those who are like children, He meant that the people should have pure hearts like the children. When the children are young they will believe everything that adults say to them and they will be obedient totally to every instruction given to them.

It is only when the children grow older that they start to learn rebellious traits especially in the teen years. As they grow older, unless they are taught and guided, they would tend to follow the behaviour of their peers and it’s their nature to want to go against authorities unless they have been inculcated to obey from early childhood.  

Therefore we must understand what Jesus is saying, he did not meant only children belong to heaven and of course they do. As far as we know, little children will go straight to heaven if they die. This is before they are in the age to differentiate between good and evil. After they have reached that age where they can differentiate, then they would have to account for their words and actions.

In the same way, adults have the ability to make choices. More often they want to go against the law of God as it restricts them to narrow boundaries. Beyond the boundaries are the attractions of the world which are traps and distractions that Satan put in our way to draw us away from God. The ways of the world go against the ways of God and these are the ways of the devil.

Worldly ways are ungodly and will lead to sin and the rewards of sin which is eternal death. This is what Jesus is telling us, we need to change our ways to the same level of purity as those of children. We must not harbour evil and unforgiveness. We need to be merciful and forgiving.

The fruit of the spirit is what God has given to us, let us develop and build up the fruit that is in us.

Daily Devotions 13th Aug 2017

Hab 3: 19The sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer.

After Habakkuk had gone through the process of worshipping God and being a prophet he had also received the word from God for the people. Habakkuk had laid out all the attributes of God and had acknowledged His good ness that had been displayed upon them.

Habakkuk also praised and thanked God for His guiding hand and protection and in this chapter and in the last verse proclaimed how God had protected him and guided his steps. God had given him the strength to pursue after him without faint and God had given him the wisdom to walk faithfully according to his commands.

Habakkuk had been diligent and faithful as he compares his walk to that of the feet of a deer which is firm and swift in its feet. We need to be swift in running out to do the work of God and we need to be secure and firm in our steps just like the deer which does not fall even when it is running at high speed.

This is the comparison that Habakkuk made for his faith. He enjoyed and worked diligently for the Lord with consistency and perseverance, he proudly confesses to this as he described himself with the same agility and surety of foot like the deer.

Let us also learn like Habakkuk to be swift and sure footed as God calls us into the ministry work for Him.

daily devotions 12th August 2017

Deut 8: 10When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you

Finally God has led the Israelite to the edge of the Promised Land and just before they crossed over, Moses spoke to them the word that God had put into him.

God promised that when they cross over to occupy the land that God had promised to Abraham and all his descendants, first God proclaimed all the blessings that He would pour out upon them. God will bless the land which shall be flowing with milk and honey. The crops will flourish and the livestock will increase. Their silver and gold also will increase.

Then God reminded them that when begin to enjoy the goodness of the land which God had set apart for them, the most important thing is that they must remain faithful to God and to worship Him according to the manner that God had described.

Just as God had promised, the land of Israel till today is truly a land flowing with milk and honey literally. It is a fact that the cows in Israel produced more milk in Israel than all the cows put together in the US. Another fact is that the Israelites have perfected the art of making honey out of dates. Today when we visit Israel this is one item that we must but as a testimony of the fulfilment of the promises of God.

Today’s verse reminds us that God is faithful and whatever He promised is true and will come to pass even though it may be hundreds or thousands of years after He has pronounced it. Let us stand on this promise and let us receive it for our own blessings

John 11: 32Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

In the next verse we read ‘When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, He groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.’

Again in verse 38 ‘Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave.’ Many have commended that Jesus had purposely delayed his coming to Lazarus’ home because He wanted to demonstrate His resurrection power in raising the dead. While that was true but many have missed out on these two verses.

It was recorded twice that Jesus groaned in the spirit. This groaning is the working of the Holy Spirit as Paul wrote in Rom 8: 26 The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought. But the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words. This tells us the working of the Spirit who was interceding for the family even as Jesus was still a distance from their home.

The Holy Spirit knew the sadness of Mary and Martha, the Holy Spirit could discern the broken heart of the family members as Lazarus was well loved by the family. This also showed the heart of God for His children. God does not want His children to be sad and burdened with sadness.

This was also the ministry of Jesus that when he came, He called to all believers, ‘give me your burden for my load is light.’ In other words, Jesus who is also God said that He is able to carry all our heavy loads. In this case He knew the heaviness of heart of the family and He sympathized with them and His spirit groaned for them. It was deep intercession that the disciples did not know of at that time.

The mission of Jesus was completed when He demonstrated Huis resurrection power and raised Lazarus even after he had been dead for a few days. It was a mission accomplished.

Daily Devotions 10th Aug 2017

Psalm 80: 3

Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.

The psalmist as he wrote this psalm was in the most difficult period, the enemies are encroaching on them from all sides. The northern nation of Israel had been defeated and now Judah is facing the same threat from the enemies.

When the psalmist wrote seeking the face of God to shine upon them, it meant that he was seeking God’s favour and protection. It is like when a child is facing a threat or danger, the child would look to the father for his assurance and safety. The child knows that when he sees the father’s face, he will be safe and protected for the father will ensure that no harm will come to the child.

In the same manner, the psalmist was writing the psalm and calling out to God to reveal His grace and mercy to be upon the nation which is now facing danger from all sides. The psalmist said that they are seeking God’s face so that they may be saved.

This brings out the truth, as believers and children of God, our safety and security is in our Father God. We must continue to seek His protection and overshadowing of His hand.

Even today, the nation of Israel continues to call on to God when the enemies all around them are threatening them. The situation today is just like the situation of the psalmist when he wrote this psalm. Today Israel is also facing the challenges of their enemies from all sides but even as Israel calls out as a nation, God is faithful and have been hearing and answering all the prayers of His people.

From the accounts we receive, we know that God’s protection has definitely been seen over His people Israel. It is humanly impossible to ward off so many hostile nations and remain safe unless God’s hand is over Israel.

We too can cry out to God in times f danger and threats and we too can call to God our Father to protect and deliver us from all dangers.

Exodus 32: 32

Please forgive their sins – but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.

Here is the record of the meekness and merciful heart of Moses, it was just a while ago when he was so angry with the Israelites for having made a golden calf and bowing before it. This angered Moses so much that he smashed the tablets with the 10 commandments written on them by the finger of God.

But after his anger subsided, the fatherly heart of Moses was revealed when he pleaded to God for his forgiveness of the sins of the people. He was so passionate with God that he cried out and seeks God’s mercy and forgiveness for the people. He pleaded to God to forgive their sins completely otherwise he was prepared to ask God to punish him too by blotting his name out of the book of life.

This showed that Moses’ heart was like the heart of Jesus who laid down His own life in order to redeem the lives of all sinners. Jesus’ heart was a mirror of the Father’s heart. God is love and that love was replicated in Jesus as well as Moses. They were selfless and were ready to sacrifice all for the people.

In the New Testament we see that Paul who was once a hardened man also had a change of heart when he had the supernatural encounter with Jesus. His hardened heart was transformed into a soft and compassionate heart, we see that he too pleaded to God to forgive the people and he was ready to also lose his salvation in exchange for the forgiveness of the peoples’ sins.

We see that in Roms 9:3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsman according to the flesh. Paul too has a heart transformation and now he is no longer the wicked and evil young Saul, now he is the matured and spiritual Paul whose heart is merciful and compassionate for all sinners.

This is what God is revealing to the body today, as leaders we must have the goodwill of the people as our first priority. As under-shepherds our priority is the safety and salvation of the people. It is no longer about us but it’s all about others.

This whole scheme of redemption comes down from God the Father, He passed it to Jesus who in turned passed it to us. The plan of God is that all men have the opportunity to choose salvation and to keep it. Therefore it is our duty to ensure this for the people.

Daily Devotions 8th Aug 2017

Mark 10:45
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Here is a timely reminder to all leaders and workers that when we answer the call to serve in the kingdom, we are not to be served by those who are around us but we are to serve them instead. Jesus was recognized as a leader but He did not demand that the followers serve Him, instead He went around with the grass root people, did what they did and ate what they ate.

Jesus was very at home with the crowd, He went to their homes, to their towns and He even went to the Samaritan well where He met the Samaritan woman who was drawing water from the well. He asked her for a drink from the well, he had conversation with her.

Jesus never withdrew from the crowd but He can to meet with them so that He could be part of them. Jesus never became unapproachable, in fact everyone including the little children could come to Him and he received all gladly.

Jesus also said in Mark 10: 43-44 “Whoever wants to become graet among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave to all.”

Jesus walked with those rich and the poor, the religious as well as the non-religious. The sick crowded around Him, the blond beggar came to Him to be healed, the lepers came to Him to be healed, the woman with the issue of blood came to touch His garment to be healed. He came to save the sinners and He moved among them.

This reminds us that as the church of Jesus Christ, we need to be among the destitute, the lame and the blind. Jesus when he was accused of eating with the tax collectors, he knew the hearts of His accusers. He said that the healthy do not need a doctor, only the sick need one. What he meant was the Pharisees and the religious do not need Jesus but it is the sinners ho need to be saved.

Jesus showed that He was accessible to all, He was a people’s person. All can come to Him and that indeed was His invitation. He said; ‘come to me all who are heavy laden and I will give you rest.’

Have we come to Jesus for His cleansing power, have we been washed with His blood? 

Daily devotions 7th Aug 2017

John 10: 10

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Jesus reveals the truth about His mission on earth. It was to defeat the spirit of death and to bring life to all who believe in Him. Not only will we have life but we will have it to the fullest. The promise of Jesus reminds us of the character of God who is generous and kind. Not only will he not withhold any good things from us but He promised to reward us in abundance and fullness.

In Mark 10 : 17-20 Jesus reminded us that we are not to store up treasures on earth but instead we must store up treasures in heaven instead. The material wealth of this world are temporal, everything can be destroyed overnight. Look at the cities and the buildings that man takes pride in and have so much of attachment to it in the countries that are being ravage by war. The most beautiful buildings and palaces will turn to ruins and be worthless with a split second when a bomb falls on it.

We have seen some of the dictators’ palaces which are so beautiful and richly adorned but today these are worthless ruins and rumbles. Jesus had also constantly reminded us that we should be storing up our treasures in heaven where it will not be destroyed. The treasures in heaven are perfect and eternal.

Jesus also reminded us that for those who leave the world behind them and sacrifice all for Him, surely their rewards shall be great in heaven. Jesus said “whoever finds their lives (on this earth) will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”

Looking at the early believers, they were the ones who walked with Jesus, lived with Him and they totally believed and obeyed Him. There were many who had material wealth during that time but they were willing to let all of that go and instead chose to live frugal lives in obedience to Jesus Christ.

One of them was the apostle Paul who gave up his family and successful career to become the apostle to the gentiles. He did not receive any financial support and lived entirely by faith. He wrote of the times he had to be without food for days as he had no money to buy food. Paul also wrote that he had to do tent making to earn some money to support himself and his travelling companions. They ate when they had some money, and they hungered when they had none.

This brings us back to Jesus’ call to us to wait and receive the rewards from Him. His reward is great and generous.

Daily Devotions 6th August 2017

Ex 34: 29

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.

After spending 40 days and 40 nights continuously with God on Mount Sinai, Moses descended with the two tablets that God had made. Because of the close encounter that Moses had with God, the glory of God was reflected upon the face of Moses who did not realized that.

It was only when he came down and when the people saw him; they saw the bright reflection that was upon the face of Moses. He had no idea that when he spend the intimate relationship with God, it would actually change his appearance. Moses did not have a mirror to see his own face but the Israelites could see it when he came down.

This is a good reminder that our lives would be affected and changed when we too spend long hours with God, of course we would not be privileged to reflect God’s glory like Moses did. However, as we spend time with God in prayer, it would affect and transform us in our character. We would become more holy and righteous and our words and deeds would also change.

This is one good reason why we must seek God’s face daily just like Moses did and we will surely be changed to a degree of likeness of Jesus Christ.

Paul also wrote in 2 Cor 3: 7-11 where he made a comparison that even when the dispensation of the law brought such glory in the OT time, then surely in this time when Jesus Christ brought His saving grace surely the glory of God would be much greater. Paul says that now with the grace of Jesus which enables us to come into the presence of God face to face, surely that same glory will be reflected upon our lives though it may not be the same measure as that of Moses.

This is the open invitation to all through Jesus Christ who forgives us and transform us through His Spirit when we draw close to Him. And as we do that continuously, our lives will be changed and others too will see the change in us as the Israelites saw the change in Moses.

Let us shine forth with the glory of God and let others see the love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control in our lives. Let us develop and bear the fruit of the Spirit as an eternal testimony for Jesus Christ.