Daily Devotions: Daily Devotions 3rd Oct 2017

Daily Devotions: Daily Devotions 3rd Oct 2017: Psalm 57: 1 I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. David was in the midst of his troubles when...

Daily Devotions 3rd Oct 2017

Psalm 57: 1I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.

David was in the midst of his troubles when he wrote many psalms while he hid in the caves at En Gedi besides the Dead Sea. In this psalm while his mind is troubled but he could still collect his thoughts to praise God and to write psalms to Him.

David declared to God. ‘Be exalted O God above the heavens..’ In fact this verse is currently turned into a song of worship by some Christian song writer and worshipper in the present time. This has become such a popular worship song that we would not have imagined that the setting for writing this psalm was in a difficult position for David.

I verse 4 David compares his position as being like in the midst of ferocious lions. He was referring to the men sent out by King Saul to kill him. They were armed with spears and arrows which David described as the sharp teeth of the lions and the sharp tongues that they speak were as hurtful as sharp swords.

Even in the midst of such threats and dangers David continues to remember God and to worship Him and also to write psalms of praise to God which are kept to this day as a reminder and exaltation for us to draw near to God in all circumstances.

David drew an analogy of coming under God’s protection just like a mother hen would protect her chicks under her wings. For those of us who had lived in the country and had kept chickens before, we will remember how the mother hen will call out to the chicks when danger is around. This can be when predators are around that would want to steal the chicks. Upon hearing the call of the mother hen, all the chicks will run to the mother and she would spread her wings and the chicks will go underneath the wings and be protected.

This is the picture that David painted when he wrote this psalm, he compared the protection and safety that God provides for His people like that of a mother hen covering her chicks.

When God’s hands are over us, we will enjoy His protection and all the threats around us would not be able to harm us. This was the assurance that David received whenever he called out to God in times of need. Therefore we too must learn from David and also call out to God when we face difficulties and threats of danger any time we are threatened.

Of course we must be maintaining a close and intimate relationship with God just as David did, only then can we be assured of God’s response and protection.

Daily Devotions: Daily Devotions 2nd Oct 2017

Daily Devotions: Daily Devotions 2nd Oct 2017: Roms 8: 34 Jesus is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. This is the revelation that Paul had received that Jesus ...

Daily Devotions 2nd Oct 2017

Roms 8: 34Jesus is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

This is the revelation that Paul had received that Jesus Christ himself is at the right hand of God and is interceding for us continually. This is indeed a great understanding and encouragement for us. We have the Son of God himself to intercede for us unceasingly.

On our own, we do not know how to pray effectively, often we seem to run out of words and thoughts but here we are assured that Jesus who knows all things is interceding for us according to the will of God. He is elping us in our weaknesses and presenting our needs to God. There is no better intercessor that we can rely on other than Jesus.

With this assurance in us, there is then no fear or intimidation when we pray, though our vocabulary may be limited, our understanding and ability of expression are also limited but Jesus know what is in our hearts and He intercedes according to what He sees our needs and He intercede according to the perfect will of God.

This is indeed our honour and privilege that we have now our Master and Saviour to intercede for our every need. Praise God that we have such a helper together with the Holy Spirit who is also interceding for us whnever we pray in the spirit.

Daily Devotions 30th Sept 2017

Eph 4: 15Speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is Christ.

Paul is teaching on spiritual growth and he compares this to natural growth of little children. Those of us who have brought up our children will remember the different stages of growth and maturity of our children. It is the sole desire of parents to see the growth and intellectual maturity of the children. When they do see how their children are growing both physically and intellectually, it always bring pride and joy to the parents.

Paul says that spiritual parents who have input into the believers would want to see that they grow into spiritual maturity but however this process is not automatic. There must be commitment and efforts pn the part of the believers to want to learn the scriptures and to apply them into their lives.

In this letter to the Ephesians, Paul urges them to not only study the scriptures but also to practice what it teaches. It is only when they apply what they learn in their lives, only then would they be able to grow into spiritual maturity.

When spiritual maturity is attained, it is not only understanding of the word but it is also the manifestation of the fruit of the spirit in our lives which come from the Spirit. The greatest fruit is love, with this Paul says that it would guide and build us into matured believers.

Paul wrote to the church in Galatia on this matter on the fruit of the spirit in Gal 5: 22-23 ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.’ This is very true that when any believer is full of the fruit of the Spirit, then his Christian walk with Jesus would be an exact replica of Jesus’ character.

He would not have outstanding fault or sin in his life. In fact all would see the meekness, love and the same characteristics of Christ in the believer.

This is what Paul is saying in today’s scripture that we will all grow in the stature of Christ and people around us would be able to see Christ in our lives.

Daily Devotions 29th Sept 2017

Heb 10: 23

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

The writer of Hebrews is emphasizing on faith, in today’s verse he is calling for all believers to have strong faith and hold unswervingly to the hope that we have in our God. This is important to all of us who have not seen Jesus Christ in a personal way but for the early believers their faith cannot be shaken as they have seen our Lord, walked with Him, talked with Him, seen Him after the resurrection and have been with Him for forty days after His resurrection.

We are told by Jesus that those who do not see and believe in Him are blessed. Today in many places the faith of believers are being challenged especially in the countries that worship the moon god. Many believers are captured, tortured and challenged to give up their faith failing which they would be martyred. Many have paid the ultimate price for their faith. They very readily accepted martyrdom and held on to their faith in Jesus.

While these persecutions are going on in the countries under the authorities of the moon god, miraculously many of these moon god worshippers are receiving supernatural visitations from Jesus Christ and in fact the growth of Christianity in a certain Middle East country that is strongly antichrist in nature is showing the fastest and most conversions to Christ in the world. Hundreds of thousands are turning to Jesus Christ and are being baptized daily.

As former persecutors of the believers, they are fully aware of the high price that they would have to pay if they are caught, but they are happy and willing to stand as witnesses to the truth about Jesus. Such are the people who are being blessed personally with direct revelation from Jesus personally. Where the persecution is greatest, that is where Jesus is working hardest as He came to save all men including the moon god worshippers.

As for those of us who are blessed and privileged to be able to worship Jesus in freedom we must cherish this and continue to do the work of the Great Commission, God’s Holy Spirit is already moving in many parts of the world and the prophetic word is out that the end times revival is coming soon.

Let us prepare and equip ourselves so that we may be in this end time move of the Holy Spirit and let us be used by Jesus for this end times movement.  

Daily Devotions 28th Sept 2017

Roms 8: 26

The Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

This is in reference to our prayer language that the Holy Spirit grants to us. When we are tired and our mind is unable to think clearly, our spirit is even sleepy, but we have the need to pray and intercede. When we are so weak then we become dependent on the Holy Spirit to pray through us and for us.

The Holy Spirit knows the needs that we are praying for, when we offer our lips to Him to take over and to pray in tongues; He will take utter sounds or prayers in the spiritual language which would be unintelligible to our human mind. It may just sound like groans that come from deep within our inner being. This would be the Spirit who is interceding for us on our behalf.

In the understanding of the mind, we are temporary too tired to think but this would not stop our prayers as we can switch over and hand our needs to the Holy Spirit. This is what Paul says in today’s scripture. The Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

Praying in the Spirit is a gift that the Holy Spirit has given to all believers and as a gift, the believers can choose to accept it or not. Those who do can testify to the many blessing that the Holy Spirit has granted to us. If the Holy Spirit has made all these available to us, then we must never reject them but to thank Him for it and to gladly receive and operate in them.