TODAY’S DEVOTION (WEDNESDAY 31ST AUGUST 2022)
“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.
Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;
that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,” Philippians 3:7-10 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 243RD DAY OF OUR YEAR OF AMAZING GRACE!
Glory be to the LORD most high, creator of Heaven and Earth for His marvelous deeds. For 243 days today He has kept us from harm and hurt, watching over us as the apple of His eyes.
A song writer said, “the steadfastness of our God never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. There are new every morning….”
If this was not the case with our God, there would have been no humans on the face of the earth. In fact, there would have been no earth especially after the generation of Noah.
Glory to His great name, today is the last day of the 8th month of this year of God’s amazing grace. It was a month of New Beginning Miracles for many. The LORD just glorified Himself by giving people new life, new jobs, new businesses, new hope and all kinds of new things from His throne.
Some of us were given new beginnings in so many ways. Most in the area of our walk and talk with God. We failed God at one point and He came down and gave us a fresh beginning. Our lives are what they are today because of that.
Talking about fresh beginnings in one’s relationship with God, fresh beginnings are sometimes sparked by a season of deep thinking, thorough reflections and deep repentance.
The season is usually provoked by either an encounter with the LORD, a time of personal spiritual reflections, a fall or deep regret. Sometimes by the entrance of the word into a man’s heart, or a fresh determination to succeed.
Sometimes, the Holy Spirit will take our minds back to a bad past to provoke a fresh beginning at an immediate present, especially if we have not made any progress going forward after the experience. It could be many years later.
New beginning is a gift the LORD brings our way when a present circumstance is about writing us off.
WHENEVER THE ENEMY IS ABOUT HAVING THE LAST LAUGH, THE LORD WILL BRING A NEW BEGINNING TO US.
The gift of fresh beginnings in GOD are the secrets of unending strength, because when the enemy think you are out, the LORD sends one your way, making you look invincible.
The earthly life and times of Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith, showed us all that. He was arrested for doing nothing but preaching a gospel that the religious establishment do not like; He was taken into custody for same reasons, and later crucified, and buried. The Bible calls those who did the entire dirty job “lawless hands.”
The greatest visible weapons of hell on earth today are lawless hands. And because lawlessness shall abound, according to Bible prophecy, there will be more lawless hands in our days than in the days of Christ; meaning there will be more visible weapons of darkness in our days.
Lawless hands are products of lawless hearts. Do not forget that people only move in the direction of what is in their hearts.
The Bible says the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. So, if any ounce of darkness is in your hearts; be it hate, offense, disappointment, sense of rejection or etc. you could be swayed to act like a lawless heart or hand.
That was how some who received miracles from the LORD joined in shouting “crucify Him” the day lawless hands took Him up.
Satan will use lawless hearts to give one a bad day. He will use lawless hands to execute his agenda of killing, stealing, and destroying.
When lawless hands move against us and the LORD did not send a miracle of new beginning our way, we can be history. The Bible says they took our LORD, in the days of His flesh, and crucified him. Then He was buried and the devil thought that was the end of Him. But the GOD of Heaven and earth sent the miracle or gift of New Beginning into the grave, and death could no longer hold Him captive.
HE CAME OUT VICTORIOUS OVER HELL, DEATH AND GRAVE. HALLELUJAH! HE AROSE!
That is what the miracle of new beginning accomplishes in our lives. It brings us out better than we were before an attack. That us why the power behind new beginnings in God’s kingdom is called the power of resurrection.
A major portion of our devotional text says;
“that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,” Philippians 3:10 NKJV
When the enemy put anyone in a grave situation, eliminating their marriages, health, peace, joy, success, reputation, finances or whatever, God’s power of new beginning is always on hand to save. The power of His resurrection can be released to open a door of fresh beginning in the person’s life if the person seeks it in prayer.
The word said,
“that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection…”
When you know this power in any situation that you find yourself, you will come out victoriously. You will watch God make the joy of your enemies over your situation very temporal.
It was the prophet Micah that said;
“Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.
I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.” Micah 6:7-8 NKJV
You can see how Micah was in darkness in one moment, and then light in another. The miracle of New Beginning was responsible.
Sometimes the enemy use our sins and the chastisement we go through to try to sink us. He will show us how useless we have become to God and why we are no longer fit for a walk with Him.
He did the same with the prodigal son, which was why the boy decided to go feed with the pigs. But when he came to himself, he went to the father to seek for new beginning. Guess what, the Father gave him. God will never deny you new beginning.
Instead of feeding with the pigs of life, go meet God for New Beginning.
FAST FOR IT, SEEK IT, AND CRY FOR IT UNTIL IT COMES.
Some of the principles you will have to respect during the process is in the rest of our devotional text. The text says;
“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.
Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;” Philippians 3:7-9 NKJV
There are things that may have been gain to you before, those you must count as loss in the light of eternity; meaning there are things with no eternal value that you must walk away from or detach your spirit from if you will expect new beginnings.
You must also open up your life for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ to find a resting place. There are things that look relevant to this world that you must also count as rubbish. Those are some of the principles to embrace on the journey of fresh beginnings.
When it comes to breakthrough power in God’s kingdom, breakthrough principles are required. It is the principles that brings the power to us. Jesus was buried and celebration was ongoing when that power was released into the grave to bring Him out because of the principles He operated.
The power stopped the joy of the wicked by giving Him a new beginning.
For instance, In the Garden of Gethsemane, He had prayed for that to happened. He had stored up His prayers in Heaven so that Heaven will release the answer when He will be needing it. That also is a principle, and it worked for Him. It will work for you too.
It is important to note that the kingdom of God is also a kingdom of Heavenly principles. No one gets results without them.
Now, for 31 Day today, we have been following the Cry of the Holy Spirit on spiritual fathering. I have come to discover that when we meet spiritual fathers whose lives are built around the tree of life, we begin to experience fresh things in our lives. A New beginning sets in.
WE COME INTO FRESH THINGS IN THE SPIRIT; THINGS THAT WERE ORDAINED FOR OUR GLORY BEFORE THE AGES BEGAN.
Most times to give us fresh beginning, God will bring us to fresh spiritual fathers. For instance, If one’s spiritual life is stale and dying, He will bring the person to a fresh spiritual father so that the person can receive fresh grace and start afresh in Christ.
That is why, all Ideal spiritual fathers are catalyst of fresh beginnings in God’s kingdom.
When they come as God’s fresh beginning catalysts, they function as a hiding place from the wind, a river in a dry place, covers from the tempest of life, and shades of a great rock in a weary land.
I believe the LORD want someone to come into a New Beginning hence all the teachings we have had this month on spiritual fathering in God’s design. It is my prayer that as we cross over to the 9th month of the Year, we will use all we have learned to align ourselves with God’s ways in Jesus precious name, amen!
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice.
A man will be as a hiding place from the wind, And a cover from the tempest, As rivers of water in a dry place, As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
The eyes of those who see will not be dim, And the ears of those who hear will listen. Also the heart of the rash will understand knowledge, And the tongue of the stammerers will be ready to speak plainly.” Isaiah 32:1-4 NKJV