TODAY’S DEVOTION (SATURDAY 10TH AUGUST 2024)
“at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me.
And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you.” Acts 26:13-16 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 223RD DAY OF OUR YEAR OF IMPACT.
This is the day the LORD has made, we shall rejoice and be glad in it.
Our God has given us another day to serve our generation according to His will. He has given us another day to fulfill the whole duty of a man. The Bible says,
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 AKJV
Yes, fearing GOD and keeping His commandments is the whole duty of a man. A day without this duty is a wasted day. And a day without remembering that God will bring everything we do under judgment will be spent either in sin or lawlessness.
I think one of the many things we forget as humans is the fact that God will bring every secret thing we do, either good or evil, into judgment. This truth is missing in many hearts; from the pulpit to the pew. From the church walls to the outside world. That is why you see all forms of impunity and lawlessness. you see no fear of GOD and outright disregard for the ways and laws of GOD.
For the Church, the adulterated teaching on grace has killed the true fear of God in the hearts of men. They make people believe that there is no hell again and teach all kind of nonsense that runs contrary to the justice system of GOD.
So many so-called Christians, will be surprised in eternity because of not knowing the truth about the justice system of God, especially as it relates to our salvation. That is why I tell people if you want to make Heaven, remove your eyes from John 3:16 as they have presented it, and fix it on Matthew chapter 7:21-22 as presented by Christ.
YOU WILL BE SHOCKED HOW MANY WILL NOT MAKE IT TO HEAVEN.
The evangelist will fix your eyes in John 3:16, but the apostle will take it further to Matthew 7:21-22. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
But Matthew 7:21-22 Says;
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
You can see the difference between John 3:16 and Matthew 7:21-22 in matters of Heaven worthiness.
You are not Heaven worthy because you believed in the name of Jesus Christ. The Bible says even devils believe and tremble. You are Heaven worthy because Christ lives in you through your faith in Him, making it impossible for you to practice lawlessness.
Sadly, so many in Church today, believe in Jesus but still live a life of lawlessness. In God, the sign that you believe in the name of the LORD is revealed in the absence of lawlessness in your life. In other words, you will not be lawless if you truly believe in His name.
Those who prophesy in His name today, cast out demons in His name, and do miracles in His name, but practice lawlessness, obviously believe in Jesus. But as seen in the very words of Christ, believing is not enough if you want to make Heaven. That is the justice system of God, and is sadly unknown to so many believers.
This justice system is unknown to even preachers, which is why there are more scandals among us than among our members.
We erroneously take our abilities to prophesy, cast out demons and walk in miracles, to be GOD’s approval or tolerance of our sinful living and lawless deeds. Many of us take His patience as a termination of any justice for wickedness, and even teach so.
These are the things that have placed so many professing Christians on the Broadway that leads to death; I mean eternal death.
THE WORSE PART IS, MANY DO NOT KNOW. THEY EVEN RESIST WHEN YOU TRY TO TELL THEM.
Jesus said;
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV
This scripture made it clear that the narrow way is something we are to find; it is not standing before us and looking at us. It is something we must search the scriptures to find, and until we find its paths and tailor our lives to it, we will never be Heaven worthy.
The Bible teaches that when we find the paths of the narrow way, and tailor our lives to it, our Christianity will become different. It will become a spiritual life without carnality, sinful living or any form of lawlessness. It will be the very life of Christ seen in our lives.
We must all understand that Christianity in the narrow way is different. It has its own teachings, principles, conduct, vision, and etc.
It is completely against the version of Christianity we have now. It is a Christianity without the shadows of the Old Testament. Simply put, it is a life of faith where the shadows of the Old Testament have melted into the substance of the New, forming Christ in men.
It is a Christianity with Christ at its center, governing, guiding, shaping, transforming, patterning, commanding, and giving directives by His word in the Bible. It is a Christianity type that Paul was called to birth; a Christianity where we put our bodies under subjection so that after we have preached to others, we will not be a cast away!
It is a Christianity where the Old nature of sin is done away with, and the regenerated nature of righteousness replaces it completely. The grace in this kind of Christianity teaches us to deny ungodliness, worldly lust and all that will not make us Heaven worthy.
THE BIBLE DESCRIBED IT THIS WAY;
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,
looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Titus 2:11-14 NKJV
The narrow way Christianity is a work of the unadulterated grace of God, and unadulterated Bible truths. That is why when Jesus came, He was full of grace and truth, performing what I call “the miracle of God’s grace” in the lives of many, including our lives today.
I think we should look at the mystery of this miracle; the miracle of God’s grace.
You see, God’s grace is a combination of the power and pardon of God. It has its own miracle that it performs in the lives of men. Look at apostle Paul for example. He was known as Saul the religious terrorist. As such, he was every where Killing those who believed in the LORD.
Our devotional text presented it this way;
“at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me.
And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you.” Acts 26:13-16 NKJV
This scripture is a testimony of how the grace of God moved him from being a religious terrorist to an apostle of our LORD and savior Jesus Christ. It is still one of the most dramatic conversions in the history of the church. It displayed in high definition what GOD’s grace can do.
Only the miracle of GOD’s grace can take a terrorist and make him a minister of the gospel; a special minister at that in one sweep. The miracle made him one of the choicest servants of GOD on earth, from being one of the worst murderer or killer of his age.
There are no words that can accurately tell what GOD’s grace is capable of accomplishing in our lives. The miracle of God’s grace will forgive our sins and wipe away the record of wrong doing completely.
IT WILL REGENERATE A LOST SOUL AND TURN HIM OR HER INTO A THRIVING SAINT.
It will take a harlot and make her a woman of virtues. It will take a sexually pervert and make him or her a person of sexual purity. It will take the morally depraved and make them part of a generation of moral excellence. It will take a battered life and shape it into one of the most beautiful lives on earth.
It specializes in making something out of nothing. It will take anyone considered as man’s reject, and make him or her God’s asset.
If there is any miracle we need today, among other great miracles, it is the miracle of God’s grace. It can take away the legal right of the wicked one over our souls, and give us miracles without collecting seed from us. It does not bring deliverance to us by asking us to raise altars of sacrifice or sow any seed.
Deliverance within its system is free. Yes, it has no money-making practice or demon induce deliverance system. It will never insult the blood of the lamb by asking the afflicted for money. It is the greatest enemy of charlatans and lying prophets.
That is why they hate carriers of that grace with passion.
We need the miracle of God’s grace in our lives daily. That is the message of today! It will make you strong in time of weakness, it will raise you up if you are down, it will show you a glorious future when things look bleak and dark. It will guide you in interpersonal relationships, and teach you how to walk-in mercy.
Friend, no matter what may be happening in your life or around you, if you will find grace in the sight of the LORD, you will survive and even become a vessel of deliverance in the hands of the LORD.
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16 NKJV