Ruth 2: 20He has not stopped showing his kindness.

This is the account of Naomi and Ruth as they had returned from the land of Moab where there was a great famine and Naomi had lost her husband and two sons. She had now returned to Israel with Ruth who remained faithful with her.

Both of them had come back penniless and were without any money or shelter. They had arrived back to Naomi’s old home and they sought refuge at the estate of Boaz a distant relative of Naomi’s husband.

God had mercifully arranged for Naomi and Ruth to be taken care of by Boaz who showed compassion and mercy to them. Perhaps it was God who had touched the heart of Boaz or perhaps it was the kind nature of Boaz that God had selected him to be the benefactor to Naomi and Ruth. We would not know exactly but we know that God had used Boaz to bless these two women.

In this verse, we read that Boaz had not stopped showing his kindness. This also tell us that when God has blessed us, we must also become a blessing to others. In the scriptures, it has been repeatedly demonstrated to us that we must be generous to others around us who are less fortunate.

This is the commandment that we are to give and show generosity. Jesus also taught that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Giving will also release the blessing of God upon our lives. Giving will also ensure that we will be received by God and our worship would be acceptable to Him. In fact giving is also a form of worship.

It is also the characteristics of God as a giver. John 3: 16 For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son. God is a giver and we can never out give God. Therefore the key to receiving His blessings is to give and continue giving. He will surely open the windows in heaven and less us in return.

Daily Devotions

Eph 3: 20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

This is the benediction from Paul as he closed his writing to the Church at Ephesus. We know that God is the one who promises and blesses His people. Sometimes, His promises seemed to be far away and we may be waiting and waiting for the promises to come to pass.

We are told that God words are eternal; whatever He had promised will come to pass though His timing is not our timing. Sometimes what God had promised may come to pass very quickly and at other times what He promised will take a very long time. For example, God promised Abraham that He would give to Abraham’s descendants the Promised Land that would stretch from Egypt to Turkey and to Iraq and Iran.

However this has still not come to pass because in the eyes of God The Israelites are not ready to inherit the Promised Land. They have sinned against God and had been dispersed throughout the world until God decides to bring them back which He has now begun to do. We are seeing the fulfilment of prophecies as God has revealed it to the nation of Israel the remnants of the lost tribes of Israel world-wide.

Some of these were scattered in remote areas of the world, some in rich countries and some in very poor countries. However, the fact remains that God has now begun to allow these lost tribes to be discovered and brought back to their homeland. We are also told that in Revelation there are the 144,000 pure and holy Jewish men who would be assembled and sealed by the angel to bring the ospel to their own people in the last days.

This prophecy can soon be fulfilled as the lost tribes are now being brought back and soon there would be enough candidates to fulfil the prophecy. God’s words are sure and would come to pass as God is the true and only God, what He has promised even from the beginning of time will surely come to pass in our present time which is the time of the last days.

Knowing this let us prepare and make ourselves ready to be used and send out in these last days coming revival and harvest.

Daily Devotions

Psalm 67: 4You rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth.

The psalmist wrote about the people of the world who are being unfairly treated and suffer from the ill treatment of evil men. The psalmist wrote in this verse ‘May the nations be glad and sing for joy for you rule the people with equity and guide the nations of the earth.’

Looking around the world today, this seems to be far from the truth, there is I justice everywhere in every country whether it is developed or not. Even the educated and those in national and international leadership are far from being people of integrity and honor. They speak in falsehood, they lie, and they break their promises. The fact of the matter is there is no equality in the countries.

Those who are elected to lead and protect turn out to be the same who steal and destroy. They trample and trod on the common people who are handicapped by low education, poverty and simplicity in their lives.

The fact remains that in this present world; there will never be total equality among nations and among the people. Such ideals can never be achieved due to the greed and dishonest dealings of carnal men. There is no perfection and never will be perfection in this earth. This can only be achieved when we get back to heaven. As long as evil abounds on earth there will be imperfection.

Therefore as believers of Jesus Christ, we have been called to be the light and the salt to the world. The world is sinning and imperfect, we are called to make a difference and we are to obey and do what is required of us. Therefore let us be obedient to Jesus Christ and make every effort to be a blessing and a changer of circumstances in the world.

Psalm 10: 28The prospect of the righteous is joy.

The bible speaks of joy and happiness which are gifts from God. We are filled with joy because of the good things that God has done for us. God is our Father and he desires to bless His children and also to see them in joy.

The writers of psalms always speak about the joy that God gives which surpasses all understanding. Again the scriptures tell us that the joy of the Lord is our strength. It also tells us that joy will bring spiritual strength.

Joy will also bring unity as all the people dwell together in love and unity. When there is no love and joy, then there is enmity and strife within the body. The bible also teaches us how to receive joy and to live with joy. When Paul sends the workers to the Churches, he writes to the Churches to receive them with joy.

Joy is also a medicine to our hearts and lives, it brings healing and hope. I have seen many sick people who have the joy of God with them, it helps them to accept their conditions and secondly it enhances the healing process in their sickness.

The scriptures continuously remind us that we are to seek the joy of God and the fellowship of saints among us to help build our faith and our lives.

If we do not have joy, we can ask for it and surely God will release it to us. We too can be agents of joy when we visit and minister to those who are sick and needy; we can transfer the joy of God to them when we are with them. That is part of pastoral care and what Jesus Christ taught us to do. Tend my sheep and feed my sheep. We are to care for the believers and to feed them with spiritual truths and to make them grow.

Daily Devotions 3rd Nov 2017

Psalm 13: 1
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? … But I trust in your unfailing love.

David who was much loved by God and who had developed a personal and intimate relationship with God had also experienced some off time with God. He had been experiencing a lot of trouble in his life and was persecuted by his enemies. He had called out to God but it seems there were no response from God.

In this psalm David wrote in the next verse; ‘How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart.’  David said that he was worried and had loss sleep during the night and his life was wretched, he had no peace and he had no rest.

David was at a loss not knowing what else he can do except to continue to trust in God. In such a time as this, David never gave up his trust and faith in God. In fact he renewed his trust and seeks God even more fervently. We know that we are never in complete control of our lives, we may be able to do that to a certain degree but there are much more that are out of our control or ability to handle.

Heb 13: 5-6 tell us; ‘Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.’

We live in a troubled world in troubled times, today we see that in America even though the President is doing a great job in leading and protecting the country, there are many of his enemies who have planned to come out in large numbers to protest and to cause civil unrest in the hope of dislodging a lawfully registered President.

In a sense the President is like the king of a country just like David, even such a powerful person in the country can experience and face all kinds of persecution and dangers.

This tells us that nothing is secured in our lives and position, only God is the one who is secured in our lives. Let us continue to turn our eyes upon Jesus and our Father God.

Daily Devotions 2nd Nov 2017

Roms 12: 10Let us have real warm affection for one another as between family

Paul is writing to us on the need to have love and to walk in it. To be able to love we need to be humble, a proud and arrogant person cannot have genuine love. Love comes from a humble heart and a willing heart to submit.

Love also does not take pride in self. The best example of this is John the Baptist who was raised as the voice in the wilderness proclaiming the coming of the Lord. He was mightily used by God to change the hearts of the people and to turn them back to God. He was very effective and had a big following.

However, John the Baptist knew his calling and mission which was not to  build a huge following for himself but that he was to prepare the way and prepare the hearts of the people to receive Jesus. When John saw Jesus, he said about Jesus; ‘He must increase and I must decrease.’

John was humble knowing his mission was complete when Jesus came to Him to be baptised. His work is over and now he hands over the mission for the salvation of the world to Jesus Christ to complete. John’s ministry was to prepare the hearts of the people, to soften their hearts so that they are ready to receive the message of salvation.

We too must be humble when we are in ministry, it is not all about us but it is all about Jesus. It is not our Church that we build, it is Jesus’ Church and it is not our sheep that we pastor but it is Jesus’ sheep.

When we receive the gifting and anointing, it is to bring glory to Jesus and not to us. We need to be aware and reminded that we need to remain humble and loving as Jesus had commanded. Only when we are humble can we love the brethren.

This is what the early apostles taught over and over, they have constantly reminded that we need to love each other and also the body just as He first loved us.

Daily devotions 1st Nov.2017

Mark 4: 41They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

The Sea of Galilee is a very bigger fresh water lake and at the northern shore, there is a valley which forms a wind tunnel. When there is a strong wind that comes all the way down from the northern region the Sea of Galilee would experience waves of as high as 10 ft. This is rather dangerous and in the days of Jesus the boats are rather small below 20 ft in length.

These would be just like cork floating and bobbling on the surface of the lake. We can imagine that the boat would have been tossed violently up and down. Surely Jesus could not have slept under such conditions but He just kept quiet in order to test the faith of His disciples.

With the wind roaring and all the water splashing into the boat it would not be possible for anyone to sleep. When the terrified disciples woke Jesus up, He merely spoke to the storm to be still. This was to demonstrate His power and authority over all creation for it was Jesus who spoke all things into being. The whole Universe was created by Him.

The whole world was created by Him, the mountains, the land and the oceans were all created by Him. They came into being through the command of His voice. A storm like that was nothing to Jesus who had full authority over the nature.

Mark has been the only writer of the Gospel to record the authority and power of Jesus, the Son of God. At the time of Jesus’ baptism, Mark also recorded the voice from heaven that declares; ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’

Today we have the scriptures that have been written by all the faithful and mighty men of God who have revealed all spiritual truth to us. Now we know and we understand the full counsel of God, His perfect redemption plan for man and the world.

All that is left for us is to accept the truth of scriptures and to walk in obedience to it. When we do that, we are assured of our salvation and our inheritance in heaven.