TODAY’S DEVOTION (SATURDAY 6TH APRIL 2024)
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalms 103:1-5 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 97TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF IMPACT.
It’s really been our year of IMPACT.
As a spiritual family, we stepped into this year, trusting God for His help. Today, like the Israel of Bible days, we can say, “Thus far has the LORD helped us.” We are looking forward to better days ahead, and trusting the LORD all through.
Today God has a word for us. Our devotional text as you might have perceived, is one of my bests, as one who feed or survive by God’s mercies.
Obviously, the mercies of the LORD are the fountain of amazing benefits for serving the LORD. They are responsible for everything that happens in the life of those who fear Him.
Sometimes we fear Him with a holy life, other times, like the tax collector who entered the temple to pray, without having the courage to look up because of his sins, we fear Him with a sinful life. Those who fear Him with a sinful life, are not usually left in their sins.
Yes, they are quickly visited and cleansed from them. All that is part of the exploits of God’s mercies.
The mercies of the LORD are responsible for the forgiveness of our sins. They are responsible for the healing of our bodies.
That is why it is stupid to give any preacher some money in form of seed to get healing from GOD. You will be spitting at His mercies in your ignorance. All healings and deliverances in God’s kingdom are predicated on His mercies.
Friend, if there is anyone who got his or her healing or deliverance through monies given to a preacher, that person got healing or deliverance from the demon of deliverance that counterfeits God in church.
In God, healing and deliverances are based on His amazing mercies and our faith in His power to heal or deliver us! Nothing else.
Now, God’s mercies are not just responsible for the healing of our bodies but also for the redemption of our souls or lives from destruction.
No matter the kind of threat that may be facing us, it will take the mercies of GOD not our financial sacrifices, as peddled by money making preachers to be redeemed from it.
IT WILL NOT REQUIRE FEET WASHING OR THE UNHOLY COMMUNION GIVEN AS HOLY COMMUNION.
Redemption from destruction is a primary function of God’s mercies on our lives. The mercy is unlocked by the keys of repentance from sin and faith towards our LORD and savior Jesus Christ.
Most of us do not deserve to be alive because of things we have done.
That is why it stinks in God’s nostrils if we think we can get redemption from destruction by giving some money, having our feet washed, or doing other things that untaught preachers lead the afflicted to do.
The Bible went on to say that God’s mercies are the reason we are crowned with His loving-kindness. It is the reason our mouths are satisfied with good things, so that our youth or vigor is renewed like the eagle’s. That tells us that God’s mercies are responsible for divine provisions and vitality.
The beauty of God’s mercy is usually beyond human description.
I have said it repeatedly that when God decides to have mercy on you, He will not consult the opinion of men or angels. That means God will not call a council to sit and deliberate before deciding to have mercy on us!
When God decides to have mercy on you He will not even consult the opinion of the man or woman you may be married to. When God decides to have mercy on you He will not even ask the opinion of your pastor no matter how close He may be to God.
Sadly, some prophets and prophetess manipulate people to believe that.
God may raise an intercessor to intercede for you, but when He is making the decision of mercy, He will never consult the opinion of the intercessor. No one has the right to give an opinion when God is deciding on showing mercy on a man or woman.
THAT SHOULD GIVE US A RELIEF IN A WICKED WORLD THAT WE FIND OURSELVES.
Sometimes people talk about our past lives without having a hint of the depth of our repentance towards God or recognizing our faith towards our LORD Jesus Christ.
They talk as if they usually sit with God to make decisions about our destiny, or sit with Him to give their opinion of us when He is making decisions on Mercy matters.
God has the exclusive right to show mercy on one and withdraw it from another, depending on the nature of their hearts. That was what Paul the apostle meant when He said;
What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!
For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.”
So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. Romans 9:14-16 NKJV
This was a statement Paul made concerning Jacob and Esau.
The Bible made it clear that the Children not yet born or done anything wrong, already had divine conclusions made concerning them. You may be wondering how? Was God not supposed to be a just GOD?
Well, He remains just! He made that judgment based on His omniscience. He is all knowing, and sees ahead into the future of each and everyone of us. He knows our thoughts afar off and made such conclusions based on things that we will do.
Do not forget, He lives in a timeless zone and sees all things happening or that is to happen in time; past, present, and future. He made that statement based on what he saw Esau will do with the treasures of the kingdom – namely his birth right.
He foreknew Esau, by reason of his DNA and other compositions of his life, will not have value for spiritual things, hence making that judgment. In simple terms, the remark was prophetic in nature! Not that He determined it to happen. As all knowing, He just knew it will happen!
What are we saying this morning? God does not need a committee to sit to advise Him on us before showing us mercy. He is All-knowing enough to know what to do with us, especially when we sin against Him and return to Him in repentance.
The Bible says;
“As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” Psalms 103:13-14 NKJV
THAT IS WHY WHEN A CHILD OF GOD FALLS INTO SIN; HE OR SHE SHOULD NOT RUN AWAY FROM GOD.
He should rather run to God in repentance like the prodigal Son did. He should not even run away from a preacher no matter how tough he may be. He should run to him or her to be rebuked and rebuilt.
You do not obtain mercy to recover from a fall into sin by running away from the merciful God like Cain did. You recover by running to Him.
Friend, if we know how merciful our God is, we will always say like David said, “let me fall into the hands of the LORD.” We will run to those He has placed over our lives to open up for our circumcision and restoration.
Yes, we will look for a Moses to show us the implication of what we have done, an Elijah to rebuke and correct us firmly, and a Samuel to intercede for us on the premise of our response to the voices of Moses and Elijah so to speak, yielding to the LORD to manifest Himself in our lives as our mercy seat.
We will yield to a righteous spiritual authority to help us out.
Understand that, a righteous spiritual authority will not cover your sins. He will rebuke you for your sins, and rebuild your life under God, so that you come to a point where your will become strong enough to sin no more.
May the mercies of the LORD never depart from your life.
As we bring this to a close, I want to counsel you to forget about your worries for 24 hours and seek the LORD in prayer to give you a fresh Baptism of mercies.
If God’s mercy surround your life, it does not matter the kind of enemies that might be surrounding you. You will always have a table in their presence.
God bless you!
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
“As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.
But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them.
The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all. Psalms 103:15-19 NKJV