TODAY’S DEVOTION (SUNDAY 6TH NOVEMBER 2022)
“Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?
And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” James 2:21-26 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 310TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF AMAZING GRACE!
The LORD Our God has being kind, merciful, faithful, forgiving, and intentional in His deeds towards us. He has given another day, it’s the first day of the week, and we are so blessed to start it in corporate fellowship.
It is a 30-day journey of faith with the Cry of the Spirit of the living God on practical wisdom. Today is the 6th day of the journey.
I do not know if you have seen the necessity of practical wisdom so far? Because after securing divine backing, being in GOD’s will, or embracing GOD’s plans for your life, the next step to take is to walk in practical wisdom.
No matter how prayerful you may be, if you do not walk in practical wisdom, life will be either hard, ups and down, or down and down and down. The Bible says the path of the Just is like a shining light that shines brighter and brighter unto a perfect day. But that will only happen if the just did not divorce practical wisdom from His walk with GOD.
At the course of this journey, you will discover that you could marry the best man or woman on earth, if you do not apply practical wisdom while in that marriage, you will lose your marriage. I have seen marriages that are in GOD’s will ruined by lack of practical wisdom.
Yesterday we began an apostolic investigation on the things that will never happen to us when we are not walking in practical wisdom despite our prayers. Yes, we serve a God of miracles but a lot of miracles can be hindered by lack of practical wisdom.
We have been taught that if we believe GOD will move to do all things for us; that all things are possible to him that believed. But experience has taught some of us that we were not properly taught. All things are not possible to the one who just believe, that’s why many have believed GOD for marriages and all that and even died believing without seeing the results.
The full truth is, all things are possible to the one who believes and walk in practical wisdom because faith without works is dead.
OUR DEVOTIONAL TEXT SAYS;
“Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?
And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” James 2:21-26 NKJV
Faith without works is called dead faith, while faith with works is called living faith. Now, a living faith has different kinds of works that springs out of it as a result, depending on the kind of living faith you have. For instance, if you have a living faith in Christ, the works that will come out of it is a Christlike life.
If you have a living faith that you are holy, the works that will come out of it will be righteousness. You will never be living a life of sin. In the same way, if you have a living faith that you are the righteousness of GOD in Christ Jesus, the works that will come out of it is a pure, sinless and dedicated life. You see that in the classic edition of amplified version of our devotional text.
It says;
“So also faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead).
But someone will say [to you then], You [say you] have faith, and I have [good] works. Now you show me your [alleged] faith apart from any [good] works [if you can], and I by [good] works [of obedience] will show you my faith.
You believe that God is one; you do well. So do the demons believe and shudder [in terror and horror such as make a man’s hair stand on end and contract the surface of his skin]!
Are you willing to be shown [proof], you foolish (unproductive, spiritually deficient) fellow, that faith apart from [good] works is inactive and ineffective and worthless?” James 2:17-20 AMPC
So, you cannot claim that you believe that you are the righteousness of GOD in Christ Jesus and be living a life that is unproductive, spiritual deficient and sinful. That is not a fruit of faith but a fruit of filths.
ANY FAITH THAT HAS NO WORKS AS FRUIT OR EVIDENCE IS DEAD.
If you have faith that GOD will save you from judgment on the final day, the works or evidence of your faith will be a heart that has made peace with its maker. Every faith with fruits is real and alive. But every faith without fruit is fake or dead. Which brings us to the subject of practical wisdom.
Faith sees the impossible as possible, while practical wisdom sees what to do in partnership with your faith for the impossible that you have seen as possible to actually become possible. I hope you understand me. Maybe if you do not understand, read the statement again!
Faith will have to partner with practical wisdom for it to produce its fruits. Any faith that is not partnering with practical wisdom will be faith without works or fruits, leading to frustration in life.
Faith takes care of the immaterial while practical wisdom takes care of the material. In other words, faith takes care of the intangible while practical wisdom takes care of the tangible. Practical wisdom will help bring into the tangible realm what faith has seen in the intangible realm. Whatever faith shows, wisdom will birth.
If you have no wisdom to birth into the material world what faith has shown you in the spiritual world, you will lead a very frustrating life. Your head will be full of ideas or spirit full of visions that you will not be able to bring into fruition.
Lack of practical wisdom will shut the womb of the spirit and prevent it from bringing into the natural realm what it carries.
After faith has shown you what GOD wants to do in your life, the next thing to go for is the practical wisdom to apply for that thing to be done. You will need to study people who are already there, read books, follow counsels or do whatever will help you find that knowledge to apply to bring what GOD might have shown you to pass.
WHICH BRINGS US TO WHERE WE LEFT OFF YESTERDAY.
We examined honor, as the first thing that will never happen to us if we do not walk in practical wisdom. The Bible says honor is not fitting for a fool. If faith has shown you any honor that is coming your way, you must apply practical wisdom for that honor to reach you. Or if faith places you in the place of honor, you will need practical wisdom to remain there.
We shared about the practical wisdom of sowing seeds of honor to unlock your own greatness. We said Sowing seeds of honor has nothing with giving money aimlessly to all you consider greater than you. But finding your Elijah as an Elisha, your Melchizedek as an Abraham, your Mordecai if you are an Esther, your Samuel if you are a David, or your Solomon if you are the queen of Sheba, and keep sowing seeds of honor into their lives until you also become very great in life.
In all, we have said that anything that has to do with honor will not be part of a man’s life until they walk in practical wisdom. The first thing that will never come to us if we do not walk in practical wisdom is honor.
Even financial honor will never come. Financial honor is a lifting or promotion that increases one’s earnings in life. It is an honor that GOD sends our way to improve our economic lives.
For instance, after trying him and watching him walk in practical wisdom, Joseph was honored to become a senate president, father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house. That did not just change his economic life completely, it also touched his marital life.
He became great in Egypt. The Bible says;
“The king sent and loosed him, even the ruler of the peoples, and let him go free. He made Joseph lord of his house and ruler of all his substance, To bind his princes at his pleasure and teach his elders wisdom. Psalm 105:20-22 AMPC
Your life will never remain the same if God bless move people to honor you, especially the way He moved Pharaoh to honor Joseph. Do not forget, Joseph had been a man of practical wisdom for over 13 years in Egypt before stumbling into that honor.
HE WAS NOT A PRAYER WARRIOR OR A TONGUE TALKER LIKE MANY OF US.
There is nothing wrong with praying or speaking in tongues if we are not just playing religion. But Joseph was none of that. However, he was a man of practical wisdom. That was why all he did prospered. In fact, it was that wisdom Pharaoh saw on display that made him to honor him.
The Bible says;
“And Pharaoh said to his servants, can we find this man’s equal, a man in whom is the spirit of God?
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, for as much as [your] God has shown you all this, there is nobody as intelligent and discreet and understanding and wise as you are.
You shall have charge over my house, and all my people shall be governed according to your word [with reverence, submission, and obedience]. Only in matters of the throne will I be greater than you are.” Genesis 41:38-40 AMPC
With all these proves, it is very clear that where there is no practical wisdom, there will be abundant sufferings and rejection. Those who are suffering from rejection need to walk in practical wisdom for people who rejected them to come for them. People who are wise at heart will never suffer rejection because they will be needed by all.
Joseph would have been rejected following the vulture of that day, but his wisdom made that impossible. If you are being rejected today, it is not a spirit that is responsible but a walk. You are not walking in practical wisdom. If you begin to walk in practical wisdom, you turn your life around. Honor will come to lift you up beyond your imagination.
There is another Bible character that practical wisdom brought him this financial empowerment kind of honor. His name was Daniel.
The Bible says Daniel was honored to be the third ruler in the kingdom of Ahasuerus after a season of walking in wisdom. We all know that a man who was third in command in a kingdom that covered two third of the world was not a poor man. He walked in wisdom and got lifted beyond the widest dream of anyone, and that happened in a foreign land.
You are the next on GOD’s list. Start doing away with all forms of foolishness and begin to walk in practical wisdom, and honor will become your portion. The Bible says for evert shame you may have suffered, you will begin to have double honor.
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOU TODAY!
“And they shall rebuild the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former desolations and renew the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
Aliens shall stand [ready] and feed your flocks, and foreigners shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
But you shall be called the priests of the Lord; people will speak of you as the ministers of our God. You shall eat the wealth of the nations, and the glory [once that of your captors] shall be yours.
Instead of your [former] shame you shall have a twofold recompense; instead of dishonor and reproach [your people] shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double [what they had forfeited]; everlasting joy shall be theirs.” Isaiah 61: 4-7 AMPC