TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL (Friday 12th March 2021)
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. Matthew 16:24-27 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 71ST DAY OF OUR YEAR OF HIGHER HEIGHTS!
Day unto day the LORD God have been uttering His glorious speeches to us, and night unto night through the ongoing School of Eternal Life, He have been revealing knowledge. To Him belong all the glory for making sure we are fed with rich spiritual food and prepared for things He wants to do with us!
Yesterday He spoke to us about living our lives within His plans for our lives. Yes, the most secured realm to lead your life from is from the realm of God’s plans for your life. The best well of wisdom to drink from before making critical decisions in life, like ministry, marriage or finance is the well that contains revelation knowledge of God’s plans for your life.
It is the well of revelation knowledge of God’s plans for our lives that contains the instructions and teachings of the LORD that guides us in ways we should go in life because there are ways we should not go.
Sometimes Instead of meeting some prophets and prophetess to tell you what god is saying, it better to consult the well of the revelation knowledge of God’s plans for your life by yourself to hear what He is saying to you.
People who drink from the well of revelation knowledge of God’s plans do not end badly in life. They end gloriously in life. But if you read the later part of Hebrew chapter 11 with a shallow spiritual mind, you will think the saints whose lives were captured there did not walk in God’s plans for their lives because of the very unpleasant things that took place in their lives and how some of them ended. The Bible says,
“Women received their dead raised to life again.
Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, [k]were tempted, were slain with the sword.
They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.
And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.” Hebrew 11:35-40 NKJV
God’s plans for our lives somethings are not pleasant. It all depends on what He wants to do with us.
THE SAINTS IN THIS SCRIPTURE WALKED IN GOD’S PLANS FOR THEIR LIVES ALSO.
But it did not result in great wealth, great health, amazing success, global recognition, promotions, great fame, beautiful children and glorious marriages like some plans of God would, but they walked in his plans for their lives. Their walk did not result in what we may consider as the blessing of walking in God’s plan, but they walked in God’s plans.
I believe strongly, if they were in the Church generation of our age, we would not have considered them people who were in God’s plans for their lives.
We would have recommended deliverance by fire for them; give them salt to pray with, anoint them with oil to break the yoke, serve then holy communion, wash their feet, asked them to wash their private parts with holy water to have stable relationships as some are being asked today, and do all the charismatic witchcraft things we do.
To a carnal mind, their lives made walking in Gods plans scary. But what God wanted to do with their lives was the reason for all that. They were not looking for what our generation usually look for when following God. They were looking for the ultimate.
Yes, they were in God’s plans for their lives, not to be successful in earthly life; gather great wealth, have glorious marriages and great families or become known globally. They were not in God’s plans to be blessed (by the definition of the Christianity of our age). All that have no eternal relevance.
They were in God’s plans to EARN A GOOD TESTIMONY BEFORE GOD.
That scripture says, they
“had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, [k]were tempted, were slain with the sword.
They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having OBTAINED A GOOD TESTIMONY THROUGH FAITH.
CHILD OF GOD, THE PLANS OF THE LORD WILL NOT ALWAYS YIELD WHAT YOU CONSIDER AS BLESSINGS IN YOUR LIFE.
It also has a way of yielding what people may consider as a curse. These great saints had trials of mockings, scourgings, chains and imprisonment but they kept following the LORD’s plans for their lives.
They knew they were in God’s plans despite what was happening. They understood that whatever was happening will result in a glorious resurrection at the end. Hence they remained loyal to the LORD and committed.
Because of their loyalty and commitment, they were stoned, they were sawn in two, [k]were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented. But all that did not deter them, they remained in the very resolve that was making all the evil happen to them.
Those who were second wives left the marriages and became destitute, because it was consider sin before the LORD. Men with many wives sent them away and stuck to one because they were looking for a better resurrection. Those who were sleeping around to get money stopped, became poor, lost everything they got, and started sleeping in caves instead, just to get a better resurrection.
Those who were doing what thing or the other that runs contrary to God’s eternal plans for them, stopped and started suffering the consequences from men, but it did not bother them because they were looking for a better resurrection.
These precious saints did not wander away from their conviction and begin to follow other plans despite of what they went through. Their vision was not to have a better earthy life but A BETTER RESURRECTION.
Sadly, that cannot be said of the Christians of our generation. We have chosen BETTER EARTHLY LIVES at the expense OF A BETTER RESURRECTION. That is why many will end up in hell. That brings us to a very important question.
WHAT IS YOUR VISION IN LIFE? IS IT TO HAVE A MORE COMFORTABLE EARTHLY LIFE OR A BETTER RESURRECTION?
One will cost you near nothing by GOD’s definition, but the other will cost you everything, depending on what you have entangled yourself with. Yes, everything like it cost the Hebrew 11 saints.
Child of God, Christians who want to have a better resurrection live different lives. Those who want to have a better earthly life also live different lives. That is why our eternal destinations are different.
Those looking for a better resurrection will end up in Heaven, and those looking for just a better earthly life will end up in hell. God will always give you what you ask for. But if you ask me, I will prefer a better resurrection because that is what really matters.
You must understand that walking in God’s plans for your life will cost you a comfortable earthly life sometimes, especially His eternal plans for your life. Our devotional text contains what Jesus set as a standard for following Him. Carrying our cross daily and following Him. It says,
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.”
Millions of Christians today will never read this kind of Scriptures. To them they are serving a good God who will give them all the wealth they want, bless them with wives or husbands, give them great families and jobs to match. Help them success in all things, at all cost.
Yes, they are serving a God who is so merciful and kind that He will not allow them go through any pain for serving Him. Hence will still receive them in Heaven even if they refuse to pay the price of doing God’s will by living as second wives, or being polygamist like David and Solomon their considered mentors in polygamy matters, or sleeping around and returning for confession.
IN THEIR IGNORANCE, THEY HAVE TURNED GOD INTO THEIR OWN IMAGE AND LIKENESS INSTEAD OF BEING IN HIS IMAGE AND LIKENESS.
These precious souls have been programed by false teachers and prophets to think the way they do about GOD’s word on the kind of lives they lead, hence leading a Christian life that has not Cross in it. They now believe the preachers who twist the scripture to accommodate the sinful lives that are living.
They have been presented with a cross less Christ, hence you cannot find the earthly cost of following the eternal God in their lives. They forget that if we will go to the same Heaven the saints in Hebrew 11 went, then we must follow God the way they did and damn the consequence.
These men and women carried their cross and followed the LORD.
The result was them leading a life that received stones, swords, saws, destitution, wandering about from those around them. What manner of men and women were they? If it becomes necessary, that is the manner of men and women we must become to obtain a better resurrection.
Ours may not involve sleeping in caves or any of what they went through, but there will always be a price to pay if you want to lead a Christian life with the cross at its center.
It is dangerous to be a Christian who is afraid to pay the price for the new life you have found in Christ Jesus. The enemy has entangled so many in so many things that to make Heaven will require that they break from them and not be afraid to be mocked, scourged, stoned, ostracized, stripped of earthly wealth, considered crazy, defamed, maligned, blackmailed, made destitute, and etc.
The fearful will always loose their salvation and end up in hell. This is all about obtaining a better resurrection. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
May the LORD use these words to speak to us to align with His plans for our lives, even if they are not pleasant.
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
“And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
“And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
“He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. Revelation 21:5-8 KJV