TODAY’S DEVOTION (FRIDAY 25TH AUGUST 2023)
“Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9:7 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 237TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF SIGNS AND WONDERS
One of the major things you will learn in the Kingdom of God, is how to put God first in your life.
In fact, the moment you meet the LORD, the first impact you will experience is a burning desire to start treating everything in your life as secondary. Seeking the will, the ways, and the Spirit of God first, will take the center stage of your life. You will become part of the breed that puts God first on the face of the earth. When people put God last, they will never come first in anything in life. They will always come last because God is the source of all good success in life.
But those who put God first, God will put them next for His goodness, Kindness, Power, miracles, blessings, and everything golden that His kingdom offers.
That is why you see their lives spent in His glorious splendor. Anyone who spends an earthly life that does not put God first in everything will be erased by the perils of life.
Putting God first, will make things people pursue (things that make them put God last in their lives) to follow you. God made that clear in His word when He said,
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:33-34 NKJV
THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS THAT MAKE PEOPLE PUT GOD LAST IN THEIR LIVES.
You can live a life of supernatural addition as a child of God and not suffer the consequence of putting God last in your life, if you put Him first. You can live a life that sees God, adding to it things others pursue to have even at their peril. Things like money, food, shelter, peace, needed relationships, etc. That is a life of supernatural addition.
When a man lives a life of supernatural addition, he does not struggle to get things done. They just get done and he celebrates Jesus!
If you are struggling to have everything in life; if you are living a life of no supernatural addition, the problem is in your greatest passion for living, and pursuit in life. If God is not your passion for living or His will your greatest pursuit, you will never enjoy supernatural additions in life. The zeal of the LORD will never be powering your life on earth!
Life becomes sweet, when the zeal of the LORD becomes its power house! When the zeal of the LORD becomes your power house, the perils of life will no longer find a place to reside in your life.
Poverty will flee in fear over time and prosperity will set in. Sickness will melt into divine health. Joy will become unspeakable in your life. You will begin to enjoy a unique peace in life – a peace that does not make sense – according to scriptures. Whatever good you lay your hands to do will begin to prosper. You will no longer labor in vain or bring forth for trouble.
YOU WILL BEGIN TO SEE YOUR ENEMIES FALL BEFORE YOU.
The zeal of the LORD will be making sure you are not giving to the will of your enemies. Increase will become your hallmark – increase of joy, fatness in spirit, and the manifestation of God’s presence in your life. A beautiful line in our devotional text this morning says, “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end..” Yes, no good thing will be coming to an end in your life!
When you are blessed with a marriage, for instance, it will not come to an end resulting in divorce. When you are blessed with a job, it will not come to an end resulting in the loss of that job.
If you are blessed with a stream of income, it will not come to an end resulting in lack and poverty. If you are blessed with a choice relationship, it will not come to an end resulting in bitter disagreements. Nothing good will be coming to an end in your life because the zeal of the LORD makes sure good things do not come to an end in our lives!
Again, the word says, “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end…. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this!”
Struggles are not brought to an end by visiting a prophet to collect prayer. They are brought to an end by sitting down to be taught the good word of GOD, until you are placed on the chariots of the zeal of the LORD!
Child of GOD, our God hates it when we struggle because it is alien to Him. Struggle free life is His will for our lives. And the key to having that kind of life remains putting God, His kingdom, and righteousness first in your life!
YOU PUT GOD FIRST THROUGH YOUR ACTIONS, NOT JUST YOUR MOUTH.
In the kingdom of God, mouth talk does not really matter except it is a product of heart talk. So, you don’t put God first by singing or doing any other religious thing, as good as that may be! You put Him first by your life style; what the Bible call works or fruits. If your mouth is putting Him first and your works or fruits are not, you are a hypocrite!
We put God first in money and marriage matters, in social and spiritual matters and etc. For instance, in money matters, you put Him first by giving your tithes and all other covenant commitments towards kingdom advance before taking care of your needs. You do not do that out of fear, manipulation, or intimidation from a preacher. You do it based on your relationship with GOD.
In marriage matters, you put Him first by considering what His will is for your marital life, before taking any step. You further put Him first as a man, by seeking His counsel concerning any lady before speaking to her about marriage. As a woman, you put Him first by seeking His counsel before accepting any proposal.
The Bible made it clear that before marriage, the bed is to be kept undefiled, by avoiding fornication. After marriage, it is to be kept undefiled by avoiding adultery! Now, when any of this is broken, except the LORD show mercy, there will be no future in that union.
ALWAYS REMEMBER, A GENERATION THAT WILL NOT PUT GOD FIRST, WILL REMAIN BEHIND
It will remain behind when it needs to be ahead in academics and other life pursuit. It will remain behind in whatever. It will arrive late at appointed places of lifting and miss it. It will never find life smiling at it with the blessing of riding on the high places of the earth.
Make up your mind this morning to become part of those who put God first.
Yes, not by the talk of the lips, but by the life you live; by obeying God sacrificially and serving your generation according to His will.
David was such a person; that was why at 17 he took down a giant that scared even the powers that be. At 30 he became King. He never missed his schedule in life. He was one of the few generals to fight the battles of the LORD without a scar. The Bible says the only time God found him unfaithful, was when he put his carnal desires first and slept with Uriah’s wife. He would continue to go in that direction until he killed her husband. God would also respond strongly, leading to his repentance and restoration.
Friend, we will always lead terrible lives if we do not put God first.
If we put Him first through a life style that obeys and does His blessed will at all times, He will be empowering us to do things that will always bring and keep us in His lime light.
There is a special blessing in scriptures called “the sure mercies of David.” If you want to enjoy them, learn to do what he did – learn to put God first! That is the message of today!
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
“God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.’
And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus: ‘I will give you the sure mercies of David.’ Therefore He also says in another Psalm: ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.’
“For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption; Acts 13:33-36 NKJV