TODAY’S DEVOTION (FRIDAY 28TH JULY 2023)**
“Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:
Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew;
Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor. Luke 6:12-16 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 209TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF SIGNS AND WONDERS.
I can’t stop thanking the LORD for life. Though the fig tree may not blossom, but my thanks will not cease going out to Him, because at least the tree is alive. And since it is alive, it will blossom and bear fruits.
Thanksgiving is one way we usher in miracles into our lives where we need them. It is one way we enter the gates of divine presence. One’s spirit might have lost the ability to connect to the realm of faith, especially during a crisis period. But once thanksgiving comes out of him or her, there will be a shift.
The Bible says;
“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night, On an instrument of ten strings, On the lute, And on the harp, With harmonious sound.
For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands.” Psalm 92:1-4 NKJV
If you do not have an instrument of ten strings, which is obviously the keyboard in its ancient form, then you have some music that might have been produced with that instrument. You can play it, and use the melody or rhythm as an assist for giving the LORD thanks.
There are so many things to thank the LORD for. One of them is the word He has been sending our way through this platform. They are amazing insights and life-giving truths that if applied, will turn any life around.
I DO NOT KNOW IF YOU READ THE DEVOTIONAL YESTERDAY, IT HOLDS THE KEY FOR TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL.
I shared a story about the weeding principle I learned during our farming years in Abuja in the 1980s and 1990s. We were able to glean some Bible truths out of the story, after discovering that, words and people from the LORD are a necessity of life, especially in crisis times.
There are a few relevant truths in our devotional text yesterday that we could not unearth. I think we will pick up from there today. The text again said;
“Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.”
“But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’
— except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.” Genesis 14:21-24NKJV
In this scripture, we find Abram placing a higher value on people, over the material things that were offered to him. In simple terms, he valued people more than material treasures. That is the spirit of the Kingdom of God. It is the character of people who have seen the age to come and are looking for a city which has the foundation, whose builder and maker is God.
The system of this world (and sadly, the mode of operation of some local churches) will definitely do the opposite. It will place a higher value on material things over people. Under such a system, one is only as important as the weight of the offerings one can give.
One of the noble characters, you must put on if you want God to bless you with the right people, is what we see in the life of Abraham in the scriptures.
Do not define the importance of a relationship, based on the financial contributions it can make into your life. Exalt men above money or anything that it can buy, and define the importance of a relationship based on the divine destiny contribution it can make in your life! That will make you invest in men and not in empty things.
WE CALL IT HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT.
It was the reason Abram invested in men. It was the men he invested in, that he mobilized to go fight and rescue Lot, and the rest of what belonged to the kings who were defeated in battle, in what looked like the first world war. The right relationships, in the 318 trained men who were born and raised in his house, offered him a contribution that money could not offer.
It may interest you to know that, Lot was one of the young men he invested in, but he later became a weed in Abram’s life. It is not an easy thing to invest in someone who later becomes a weed to you. The emotional pains, sense of betrayal, disappointment, and all that can kill. But the father of faith said to him;
“Please let there be no strife between you and me and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren.
Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.” Genesis 13:8-9NKJV
You see one of the many characteristics of a weed in this scripture; it has a way of forgetting that people are brethren and that there should be no striving with those who invested into your life.
Abram had to struggle with this crop that turned a weed, hoping he would reason his way back. But sadly, like any other weed, Lot saw no reason to return back. He would actually choose what he thought was best for him, only to need help a few decades later.
THAT IS A WEED FOR YOU.
It will always be wise in its own eyes, and if you let it go, it will run into a captivity that will need you to come to the rescue.
Now, there were weeds that we will find out in our farm in those days, that we could not remove, as of the time we found them. Trying to remove them would mean uprooting the crops as well. To such weeds, we usually apply the Biblical principle Jesus taught concerning the wheat and tares. The Bible says in that parable;
“But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.
Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”‘” Matthew 13:29-30 NKJV
SOME WRONG RELATIONSHIPS ARE LIKE TARES AMONG WHEAT THAT MUST BE ALLOWED TO GROW TOGETHER UNTIL THE TIME OF HARVEST.
They have grown up into our lives, in such a way that any attempt to remove them, will remove us as well. In cases like that, we must become patient and learn to endure hardness as good soldiers of Christ. We must also sense when the harvest time has come for them to be plucked out of our lives, and let it happen.
When something gets to its harvest time, it will fall from the tree by itself. In the same way, when the weed gets to its harvest time, it will fall off from your life by itself, and there will be no injuries or casualties.
For instance, all false marriages are like tares attached to wheat. You have lived with the man or woman for so long and even have children, but deep down, you know you were wrong because everything about the whole issue is killing you. In fact, it started killing you even before marriage, but the signs were too little to be recognized.
In such circumstances, you have to maintain the prayer knee until the time of harvest. The weed will fall off from your life and you will become free to do what the LORD may have called you to do. It will fall off because God is the one harvesting things, and causing it to fall off your life.
There are details we cannot state down here because it’s just a devotional. But one thing you must know is that God does not deal with all wrong relationships the same way.
The ones that have so grown and attached themselves to our lives are dealt with “the-wheat-and-tare” way. If you try to solve the problem, through any other method, it will not lead to a happy ending. The reason is because, you will end up destroying both yourself and the person or people you may be involved with (the wrong relationship(s) you need to weed out of your life).
I hope the LORD has spoken to us this morning. May every word written become a book of wisdom in your mental shelve in Jesus’ precious name! AMEN!
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURAL PARABLE YOUR MEDITATION TODAY:
“Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.”
“But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.”
“So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’
“But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”‘” Matthew 13:24-30 NKJV