TODAY’S DEVOTION (TUESDAY 26TH April 2022)
“And what shall I say further? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, Others had to suffer the trial of mocking and scourging and even chains and imprisonment.
They were stoned to death; they were lured with tempting offers [to renounce their faith]; they were sawn asunder; they were slaughtered by the sword; [while they were alive] they had to go about wrapped in the skins of sheep and goats, utterly destitute, oppressed, cruelly treated—
[Men] of whom the world was not worthy—roaming over the desolate places and the mountains, and [living] in caves and caverns and holes of the earth. And all of these, though they won divine approval by [means of] their faith, did not receive the fulfillment of what was promised,
Because God had us in mind and had something better and greater in view for us, so that they [these heroes and heroines of faith] should not come to perfection apart from us [before we could join them].” Hebrews 11:32, 36-40
WELCOME TO THE 116TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF AMAZING GRACE
Time is a major redemption tool in the hands of the LORD. Today, the LORD has added another day to our lives in time. We give Him glory for the peace, progress, health, joy, mercies and compassion we have seen.
What add flavor to a day is the presence of the peace, progress, health, joy, mercies, compassion and much more from Christ to us. The Bible calls Him the Day! If the Day Himself is not there to make your day, you will have a very bad day.
One day in my life without God’s mercies, will leave my day messed up badly. Yes, one in your life without God’s mercies will leave your day messed up badly. It is those who do not appreciate this that may never agree. It is the rain of mercies that God allows to fall on both the righteous and the wicked that makes our days meaningful.
We have been moving from one day to another since birth because the LORD did not allow the devil, our flesh and the evil and corrupt system that some are in covenant with to ruin our lives. I join David this morning to say again and again,
“Blessed be the name of the LORD we have daily loaded us with benefits. Blessed be His holy name who has not given us to the will of our enemies.”
Talking about the will of our enemies, our understanding of enemies is easily drawn to people who have been antagonistic towards us. But we have neglected the most dangerous and maybe the real enemies in our lives.
The real and most dangerous enemy we have is not that antagonistic person out there. You may not agree with me, but calm down a little, let me share some thoughts with you here.
I know we have people in our lives who may have cost us so much harm and destruction, but the doctrine of Christ on such people shows us that they are not the most dangerous enemies in our lives. The doctrine says;
“You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy; But I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
To show that you are the children of your Father Who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the wicked and on the good, and makes the rain fall upon the upright and the wrongdoers [alike].” Matthew 5:43-45 MAPC
CHRIST WILL NOT ASK YOU TO PRAY FOR A VERY DANGEROUS AND ETERNALLY CONSEQUENTIAL ENEMY.
He asks us to pray for our human enemies and those antagonistic guys out there because they are not the most dangerous enemies in our lives.
Why are they not? Because the ultimate of God for mankind is to be saved from His coming Judgment on sin and Satan. In others words, to make Heaven. Antagonistic people may oppose you like enemies but cannot stop you from making Heaven on the final day, except you use what they may be doing to you to stop yourself.
The persecution the early Church faced and those who walked with God in time past attest to this fact. A portion of our devotional text says;
“They were stoned to death; they were lured with tempting offers [to renounce their faith]; they were sawn asunder; they were slaughtered by the sword; [while they were alive] they had to go about wrapped in the skins of sheep and goats, utterly destitute, oppressed, cruelly treated—
[Men] of whom the world was not worthy—roaming over the desolate places and the mountains, and [living] in caves and caverns and holes of the earth. And all of these, though they won divine approval by [means of] their faith….”
You can see in these scriptural verses that despite the very devilish antagonistic people our fathers had in their lives, they still won divine approval before God and made it to Heaven. So, it is not what an antagonistic person is doing in our lives that will hinder us in life but what we are using what the person is doing to do in our lives; how we respond to it.
The best way to handle an antagonistic person is not to resist or pray against them. That is the doctrine of Christ. The best way is to pray for them by handing them over to God to have His way in their lives and bring them to His light. They could become a treasure in your life when that happens.
It’s just that sometimes you need to pray for them standing away from their reach so that they will not harm you. You need to pray separated from them completely other times. It depends on how dangerous they are. The bottom line is, they are not the most dangerous enemies we can have on our way to Heaven.
THEY ARE NOT THE MOST DANGEROUS ENEMIES IN OUR LIVES SO LONG AS OUR ETERNAL DESTINIES ARE CONCERN.
In fact, in most cases, they are not even enemies but catalyst of progress, it depends on your revelation and connectivity with God. There is a table God makes for us before our enemies. Such tables cannot be made if there are no antagonistic people in your life.
So, when we say God did not give us over to the will of our enemies, we are not just referring to antagonistic people in our lives but the most dangerous enemies one can have, so long as his or her eternal life is concern. And those enemies are the devil, the flesh, and the evil and corrupt system of this world.
We have been looking at the doctrine of Christ on eternal life. It is clear that if we do not fight the good fight of faith, by building a resistance against these three (the devil, the flesh, and the evil and corrupt system of this world) we will not be able to lay hold on the eternal life that the LORD gave us by His death, burial and resurrection.
There are battles that rages against our souls on daily bases to make sure we do not make it. These battles can be intense. That is why spiritual warfare is part of the activities that take place in the Spirit’s realm.
In every school of the Spirit, you will be trained to fight for your soul first, not your money or any other earthly thing. Your soul first! The Bible says “in patience posses your souls.” Fight for it! Do not let the flood of corruption around get into it.
Making Heaven is not cheap. We will be fought intensely. So fight back; fight for your soul. Heaven is for overcomes not the fainthearted.
That is why as soon as your Christianity becomes approved before God; as soon as you begin to walk before Him in purity, holiness, and righteousness, all hell will break loose. Yes, as soon as your feet are planted on the narrow way that leads to life, the entire forces of hell will begin to move furiously against you. Fight when that happens. Do not back out.
FIGHT YOUR WAY THROUGH UNTIL YOU GET TO THE PARLEY GATES
And what to fight is not that antagonist person in your life but the devil, the flesh and the evil and corrupt system of this world. That is what the doctrine of Christ teaches. It teaches us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, fighting the good fight of faith until we lay hold on eternal life.
Understand that all spiritual warfare proceeds from the the devil, the flesh and the evil and corrupt system of this world, and is centered around the fulfillment of our prophetic and eternal destinies.
It is either the flesh, the devil, or the evil and corrupt system of this world that is responsible for many not fulfilling their divine destinies in God. The doctrine of Christ on eternal life teaches that we put up a good fight and overcome the three. It teaches that we keep the fire burning, we keep the fight, and we keep the faith. That was what our fathers did.
When you are keeping the fire burning, the fight for your soul going, and the faith, you will never have it peaceful on this side of eternity. Jesus Himself said we will have tribulation. Our devotional text testifies of the tribulation that our fathers had when they did the same. It says;
“Others had to suffer the trial of mocking and scourging and even chains and imprisonment.
They were stoned to death; they were lured with tempting offers [to renounce their faith]; they were sawn asunder; they were slaughtered by the sword; [while they were alive] they had to go about wrapped in the skins of sheep and goats, utterly destitute, oppressed, cruelly treated—
[Men] of whom the world was not worthy—roaming over the desolate places and the mountains, and [living] in caves and caverns and holes of the earth. And all of these, though they won divine approval by [means of] their faith, did not receive the fulfilment of what was promised,” Hebrews 11:36-38 AMPC
Because of their righteous desires to possess their souls and make sure they were not given to the will of their enemies, namely the devil, the flesh and the evil and corrupt system of this world, they did one thing that made the world not worthy of them. That thing was clinging unconditionally unto Jesus Christ, His will and His ways in a perverse and crooked generation.
You will have a trouble free, nominal and lukewarm Christian life if your Christianity is not proceeding from a faith that clings to God’s will and ways alone. The Day your Christianity changes, and you will begin to cling unconditionally to God’s will and ways, all hell will begin to break loose in your life, especially if you are in a crocked and perverse generation. That is what the doctrine of Christ on eternal life teaches.
You see, the world does not like people who cling to God’s will and ways. They call them haters due to their views. But those who are trapped in its system needs the healing power, redemption and life that flows out of the lives of those who cling to God’s will and ways conditionally. They need it to find the one and only true God.
When the LORD allows us to go through fiery trials because of our faith, it is to bring out what the dying world needs that can only come out of us when we are standing strong in Him in the midst of fiery trials. While death will be working in us due to the fiery trials, life will be coming out of the experiences and bringing redemption for the lost to the lost.
I believe enough has been shared for the Day; enough to meditate on and build our faith with.
Once again, this morning, God has spoken to us from the doctrine of Christ on eternal life. Now, it is time for application of the truths found. It is time to fight the devil, the flesh and the evil and corrupt system of this world as never before, using God’s grace and truth. It is time to decide not to be given to their will!
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
“For we who live are constantly [experiencing] being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake, that the [resurrection] life of Jesus also may be evidenced through our flesh which is liable to death.
Thus death is actively at work in us, but [it is in order that our] life [may be actively at work] in you. Yet we have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, I have believed, and therefore have I spoken. We too believe, and therefore we speak,
Assured that He Who raised up the Lord Jesus will raise us up also with Jesus and bring us [along] with you into His presence.
For all [these] things are [taking place] for your sake, so that the more grace (divine favor and spiritual blessing) extends to more and more people and multiplies through the many, the more thanksgiving may increase [and redound] to the glory of God.
Therefore we do not become discouraged (utterly spiritless, exhausted, and wearied out through fear). Though our outer man is [progressively] decaying and wasting away, yet our inner self is being [progressively] renewed day after day.” 2 Corinthians 4:11-16 AMPC