TODAY’S DEVOTION (THURSDAY 25TH JULY 2024)
“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. Philippians 2:3-7 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 207TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF IMPACT.
Glory be to God in the highest and peace to men of good will. It does not matter the side of life you woke up from this morning, let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
If you are in prosperity, the Bible says when riches increases, do not set your mind on them. If you are in adversity, the Bible says in the day of adversity consider. God has a word for us irrespective of our circumstances. That is how He cares. Man still, shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceed from the LORD.
Days are gifts from God that come with what the Bible calls benefits.
They are responsible for the healing of hurting souls and sick bodies over time. They are responsible for growth, development, establishment, or the results of constant actions taken over time.
One day can give you the results of what you have done consistently for a thousand days. The very day that gave you those result is usually spectacular, either good or bad. And people mark them in their calendars, while some use them in commemorating.
Others use them to make significant decisions in life.
But there would have been no spectacular day if there were no significant days that made the spectacular day happen. The significant days are the days you used in taking the actions that led to the results the day that became spectacular gave you.
PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF DAYS, MAKE USE OF THEM WISELY.
For example, those in Christ do not use their days to sow to please the flesh because they know if they spend their days sowing to please the flesh, there will come a day that they will reap corruption as a result, and it will be ‘spectacular’ as well.
The Bible says;
“Do not be deceived and deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at (scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions, or by His precepts being set aside.) [He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God.] For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap.
For he who sows to his own flesh (lower nature, sensuality) will from the flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” Galatians 6:7-8 AMPC
This scripture made it clear that our decisions control a lot about our destinies than our prayers. Sadly, we have thought otherwise. We have exalted the power of prayer above the power of a decision, hence praying so much and getting very little prosperity and progress in life.
We pray, but make decisions that cancel our prayers thereafter.
We do that by sowing to please our flesh, instead of the Spirit, and end up reaping corruption despite our prayers. We pray but do what even most sinners will never do. We pray, yet scorn at God’s righteous demands by the way we live; pretending and professing God.
We pray but sow to our lower nature and sensuality, reaping ruin, decay and destruction despite the multitude of our prayers.
That is why when you see ruin and destruction anywhere, especially trailing a man from age to age, or trailing a family from generation to generation, it is not the product of an altar or a curse as they call it. It is a harvest of decisions made over time; mostly, the harvest of seeds sown towards their sensuality over time.
Often, people do not see the power of their decisions when face to face with unwanted circumstances that have transcend age and time, they only look at the spiritual in superstition and blame it for what their decisions have been doing.
THE MOST PEACEFUL FAMILIES, ARE FAMILIES WITH MEN AND WOMEN WHO MAKE RIGHT DECISIONS.
Decision to marry just one wife or one husband, decision to avoid sexual sins, deception, lies, and conflicts. Decision to serve God in spirit and in truth, Decision not to bow to idols or exalt anything above God, and etc. Decision not to kill, steal, or destroy.
Decision not to drink, smoke or do drugs, decision to maintain moral excellence from generation to generation. Decision to seek God in time of adversity and trust Him for rescue.
Yes, there are spiritual forces that make life unbearable for mankind, but we must not forget Galatians 6:7-8 in any bid to have a better life. Irrespective of the forces on ground, the real spiritual warfare is always around our minds (our attics), because it is our minds that control our decisions, and our decisions control our destinies.
The Bible says;
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 KJV
The word stronghold describes thought systems formed over time.
They control our decisions. So, if our lives are not successful or progressive, there is a stronghold or thought system within us that is responsible. The thought system is responsible for the decisions and actions we have taken over time; things that have resulted in the state of life we find ourselves.
It is important to understand what God does when we go to Him for help. He will work with us to change things in our lives by influencing or persuading us to pull down the strong holds, that are responsible for the decisions we have made, that gave us the life we are seeking Him to change.
AS SOON AS THE STRONGHOLDS ARE PULLED DOWN, OUR DECISIONS WILL CHANGE, BRINGING ABOUT A CHANGE OF LIFE.
Let me put this in another format: Our decisions are products of our imaginations, memories, emotions, intelligence, will power, or thought systems. All of that is a product of our knowledge. That is why, knowledge is the first thing God gives us whenever He want to change our lives.
Yes, He will give us revelation knowledge so that the strongholds formed by our imaginations, memories, emotions, intelligence, or will power, that have shaped the decisions that resulted in our sorry state of life, can be dissolved or pulled down.
He will stir us to bring them under the captivity of Christ, thereby resulting in right decisions that will eventually free us from any spiritual bondage or captivity and change our lives.
If you have been praying hard but making little or no progress, God is showing you the reason why; there is a stronghold or a thought system within you that need to be pulled down. You must identify it and allow GOD to deal with it.
Yes, you need to pull down that which is responsible for any decision you are making that is cancelling your prayers or suspending the manifestation of the positive results of your walk with God.
God will need to give you the revelation knowledge that will dissolve that stronghold or pull it down, and change your decisions into decisions that allow prayers to be answered.
Understand that we can only change our life circumstances by changing what we think! That is why righteous prayers helps a man change what they think. They bring a man into God’s presence, helping him to change what he thinks.
It is important to note that, retaining what you think, especially that which brings captivity and bondage to sin, Satan, and the evil system of this world, is what the kingdom of darkness want to achieve in every life, hence spreading lies and deception.
That kingdom tells lies and spread deception in the demeanor and language of truth, basically to form stronghold that shapes people’s decisions to do or say things that will keep them in bondage.
That is why there is always misinformation and spread of propaganda by opposing forces in any contest. The idea is to form a stronghold in people, knowing well that people will take decisions in the direction of their strongholds or thought systems.
Friend, spiritual warfare centers around the minds of men. The quicker you understand that, the better for you.
Satan fights to fill minds with information that makes men take self-destructive decisions in life. Decisions like marrying the wrong person, voting in the wrong leader, taking the wrong job, hiring the wrong staff, eating the wrong meal, stealing or lying, sleeping with the wrong man or woman, and etc.
That is why divine help also centers around the minds of men.
God will always send His word to deliver because His word impacts the mind to bring a life into His blessings, by reshaping the thoughts to make right decisions. Like decision to walk in purity, decision to walk in wisdom, decision to pray and study the word always, decision to allow the Holy Spirit guide your decisions, and etc.
You must therefore make sure no human or dark system controls your mind. Let the word of the LORD reign over your mind. Let the mind of Christ be in your mind, by exposing yourself to the rich word of God. A major aspect of our devotional text says;
“..Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. Philippians 2:5-7 NKJV
The mind of Christ was not just a mind of humility but a mind that was controlled by the Holy Spirit. He said, “I can of my own self do nothing, as I hear so I speak.” The Holy Spirit controlled and influenced all He did. That is the mind God wants us to have.
As we bring this to a close, I want you to understand that your decisions have influenced your life much more than your prayers. They may have even hindered the manifestation of the results of your prayers all these years.
Prayers are not responsible for how we behave or how our lives turn out; our thought systems and decisions are responsible for all that.
A wise man will therefore use his prayer time to check how he thinks, and seek to change how he behaves. In fact, he will give himself to prayer and to the ministry of the word from time to time, primarily to restructure and change how he thinks, how he behaves and the decisions he makes in life.
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR TODAY!
“..but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” Acts 6:4