TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL (WEDNESDAY 6TH JANUARY 2021)
“And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.
And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, how dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” Genesis 28:10-17 KJV
WELCOME TO THE 6TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF HIGHER HEIGHTS
It pleases the LORD to give us another day and to bless us with a life to see the day, fear Him and serve our generation according to His will. Day unto day He will keep opening the chambers of His wisdom to us and showing us the paths of life.
One of the precious ones who walk with the LORD on the face of the earth, King David said;
“For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” Psalm 16:10-11 KJV
This is a messianic scripture that came to pass the day Jesus came out of the grave.
The scripture also came to pass in the life of David when he came out of the grave along with the righteous that resurrected the day Jesus resurrected. It will also come to pass in our lives when we will be raptured from the earth. But there is a part of this scripture that is to be fulfilled in our lives now. The part that talks about God showing us the path of life.
Paths in a sense represents lifestyles, traditions or ways of life. Paths of life are lifestyles, traditions and ways of life that places a man’s life in the active presence of GOD. There are two realms in the spiritual atmosphere of earth; the realm covered by the active presence of GOD and the one not covered. Paths of life brings our lives under the realm covered by the active presence of GOD.
That is why what the LORD is doing through this devotional is important. He is using it to show us the paths of life, so that we plant ourselves in those parts and spend our days in the spiritual atmosphere of the earth covered by the active presence of the LORD. True survival and sustenance comes from the realm of the earth covered by the active presence of the LORD.
THE IMPORTANCE OF LIVING OUR EARTHLY LIFE UNDER THAT PORTION OF THE SPIRITUAL REALM OF THE EARTH CANNOT BE OVER EMPHASIZED.
It is a realm that get sour lives filled with joy, irrespective of what we may be going through physically. Yes, it is a realm that loads us with pleasures, in all aspect of our lives. That is why David said, “in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”
You cannot have fullness of joy in a world like ours living your earthly life under the spiritual atmosphere of the earth not covered with the active presence of the LORD. Abraham spent His days living under that atmosphere. That was why he was so blessed.
He found entry points between the visible and the invisible controlled by that atmosphere, and spent time in those entry points talking to God and doing what they knew how to do then; raising altars of stones.
Those entry points are known as portals of heaven. If you look at our devotional text, you will understand what they are and how they look life in the spirit realm. Jacob stumbled into one but Abraham was the one who first found it. The Bible says,
“And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.
And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord.
And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.” Genesis 12:6-9 KJV
In those days, people built physical altars to contact invisible beings and realms. That was the practice, and since Abraham was in that dispensation that was what he knew and did. Also Christ had not died, so contact to God was from the outside not the inside. Today all that has changed.
But when Abraham stumbled into those entry points, he built an altar and called upon the name of the LORD there. It is like stumbling into the entry point today, and getting your heart ready (building your altar) and calling upon the name of the LORD.
OFF COURSE WHENEVER WE STUMBLE INTO SUCH OPENINGS, WE FEEL A PULL TO CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD; A PULL TO PRAY!
From the life of Abraham, we can see the blessing of living your life under the spiritual atmosphere of the earth covered by the active presence of God. That is the realm where angels traffic and bring blessings from the invisible realm to the visible realm. That is the realm that the paths of life the LORD shows us plants us in.
When we find those paths, ways, or traditions that keeps a man’s life under that atmosphere, it is important that we stay there until our days are fulfilled. We see that in our devotional text; you find it in what God said to Jacob when he stumbled into the entry point of that realm. He said to Him;
“And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.”
In other words, my active presence will not leave you until your life has blossom on earth as predetermined in heaven. Our lives will never blossom until we live in the same spiritual atmospheric conditions. There are paths that plants us there. God’s will, is for His Spirit that lives in us to help us find them, then activate us to live our lives according to their traditions and systems.
Jacob called the realm the house of GOD and the gate of Heaven, when he found it. The Bible has something to say about this in the book of Psalm. David says;
“But my [horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil. My eye also has seen my desire on my enemies; My ears hear my desire on the wicked Who rise up against me.
The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be [b]fresh and [c]flourishing,” Psalm 92:10-15 NKJV
This scripture contains an accurate photograph of how our lives will turn out if we live under the spiritual atmosphere that we are sharing about this morning. We will also find strength and fresh oil from the LORD running through our lives. This is not fresh olive.
THIS IS THE FRESH OIL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
We will be able to see our desire on our enemies and see the arm of the LORD paralyzing all the wicked who rises against us. We will be flourishing like a palm tree, living no room for suffering and oppression in our lives. In fact, even time itself will be suspended, when it comes to certain matters, because the word says we will still bring forth fruit in old age.
Friend, who will not want to live under such an atmosphere. But sadly, so many people are not living in it. Go the Hospital and you will find the result of not living in that atmosphere. Indeed, it’s like the consequence that falls on a fish when it leaves the water God created it to live in, and comes to dry land.
So many are not living their earthly lives in the atmosphere many do not know the paths of life that places our lives there, and those who know are not following because they can be very difficult to follow. Jesus calls it the narrow way that leads to life. He said it is difficult, so very few people find it.
The flesh will not let some, while others are stopped by the devil using the world system. That is why mankind is going through trouble. We were not created to live an earthly life outside that atmosphere.
A lot of bad things will be happening in our lives if we don’t live under it. Curses will be springing up, illnesses troubling us, sin bringing us down, sorrows filling our hearts, tranquility replaced with troubles and so on and so forth. The Bible term for any atmosphere were God’s active presence cannot be found is hell.
Hell is a place of torment. Meaning, any atmosphere outside the active presence of GOD is usually a realm of torment, demonic and human torment. There the wicked ones act freely without any check from the almighty because His active presence is not there to check him.
THE WORLD UNDER HELL IS DOOMED.
Our lives under hell will shrink and die over time. Marriages under hell will shrink and die over time. Finances under hell will shrink and die over time. Health conditions under hell, will grow worst. Hell in this context is a description of that spiritual atmosphere of the earth where God’s active presence do not exist.
It also has entry points called portals or gates of hell. When people die in sin, they go through those gates or entry points and lands in hades, the abode of the dead where the souls of men are under intense torment at the moment; a place Jesus warned us about saying their worms do not die.
It is through those entry points that that terrible atmosphere reaches the souls of men on our planet, and makes their lives on earth miserable by keeping them in lifestyles, traditions and ways of life that resist the active presence of God.
Yes, it shapes their decisions and make them lead lives that keeps them in realms where God’s active presence do not exist; a realm where nothing good blossoms.
As we bring this to a close, I want you to understand that if anything will ever come out of your life, in this life, you must look for God and plant yourself in the realm of His active presence. You will not change your story by drinking oil, using salt to pray, going for unholy holy communion services or feet washing. All that will keep the preacher smiling to the bank and you groaning in foolishness.
You must look for the paths of life that will place you there in the house of God or the active presence of GOD, and plant yourself there. The word says, “they that be planted in the house of GOD (or in the active presence of GOD), shall flourish in the courts of our GOD. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be [b]fresh and [c]flourishing.”
May the Holy Spirit use this word to build you up and give you an inheritance among those who are sanctified!
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOU TODAY
“The Lord is my light and my salvation— Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the refuge and fortress of my life— Whom shall I dread?
When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. Though an army encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, even in this I am confident.
One thing I have asked of the Lord, and that I will seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, To gaze upon the beauty [the delightful loveliness and majestic grandeur] of the Lord and to meditate in His temple.” Psalm 27:1-4 Amplified