TODAY’S DEVOTION (TUESDAY 24TH DECEMBER 2024)
“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.
Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”
When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.
But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” Acts 7:51-56 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 359TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF IMPACT
It’s been 359 days of light and understanding from the LORD. God has been shining His light in our hearts and filling us with His love, mercies and grace.
The Bible spoke about the light that shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot comprehend it. It is the light of the truth that Jesus brings as the light of the world. People who walk in it, with an obedient heart will not come under the spirit of lawlessness. They will walk in freedom.
If truth is what brings freedom, and many do not walk in it, we then know why many are in captivity. People will prefer praying to be free from the works of the devil, than walking in truths that will set them free. That is why many are still bound despite participating in prayers.
Righteous prayer might bring freedom, but walking in Bible truths is what bring long lasting freedom. The word of the LORD did not present prayers as the key to lasting freedom, it presented walking in Truth as the key to long lasting freedom. The word says;
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32 NKJV
I have come to discover that where Christ is manifesting as the way and the truth, He will manifest as the life. The life of God will be abundantly available through a systematic delivery of Bible truths.
Those who receive with an obedient heart, abide in the word and walk in it, will lead a life of no captivity. They will not submit to the flesh easily, consequently not coming under the successful attack of the evil one.
People who walk in the light of God’s word are usually controlled by the Spirit of Truth Himself, resulting in rest on every side of their lives. They could suffer persecution, disappointment and etc., for doing or standing in God’s will, but they will definitely enjoy a peace that passes understanding, despite challenges. Paul was one of them.
He went through a lot for standing against the religious bigots of his day with the truth of Christ that filled his life, making it clear to us that there is no way you will be at peace with same people today, if you get your life filled with the living truth of Christ.
THOSE WHOSE MINISTRIES, CHURCHES, LIVES AND ETC. ARE PROFITING FROM THE STATUS QUO WILL RESIST YOU STRONGLY.
However, there will still be rest in your life because despite what Paul went through, he wrote to the Church in Rome saying;
“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39 NKJV
God will keep you in rest so that you will remain joined with Him. The giver of the truth you are fought for will be the one to protect you from the sword.
Yes, our world is gradually becoming a place where lies and errors that have been established are now been treated as truth. Truth bearers are resisted strongly and given names that turn hearts from the message of the LORD on their lips. The Bible describes our days as days that Truth fails. It says;
“Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.
So, truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice.” Isaiah 59:14-15 NKJV
The Bible made it clear that if we want to depart from evil by walking with the Truth of Christ, we must be ready to become prey to some predators who have been prospering based on the status quo.
Yes, these days, he who departs from evil will make Himself a prey!
There are people who have lost their jobs, families, privileges and etc., for departing from evil. The cost of departing from evil in a lawless place is, the one who departs from evil, becomes a prey or victim of things that are unpleasant for departing from evil.
It has become very dangerous in many places to stand in truth.
If there is no rest of God in your life these days, and if God is not protecting you, it is possible to lose your life for standing in truth. That is why bearers of truth, like Paul the apostle, are trained by the LORD not to love their lives even unto death.
ALL END TIME WARRIORS MUST UNDERSTAND THAT NONE CAN UPHOLD THE TRUTH OF CHRIST IN A SICK CHURCH OR A DYING WORLD LOVING THEIR LIFE.
You cannot uphold it even loving your job and sometimes your family. Yes, you cannot uphold it thinking about safety. If you do, you will drop it and run away because of things that will be charging themselves towards you. We overcome the evil one by upholding the truth without loving our lives even unto death.
The Bible says;
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” Revelation 12:11 NKJV
There is supernatural energy you emit around your life if you uphold the truth without loving your life unto death. Apostle Paul describes it as a life that proceeds from us, into the life of those around us to work out God’s will for them.
In simple terms, the redeeming life of Christ is what we emit around when we become a prey for upholding the truth and staying or remaining strong despite what may be happening.
The blessing of upholding the truth is much higher than the burden.
Child of God there is a way that upholding the Truth of Christ at all cost, sets our hearts on pilgrimage and unlocks the blessing of the age to come upon us. The Bible teaches that when our hearts are set on pilgrimage, we will begin to walk in the power that turns any valley of Baca or weeping into a pool of blessing. Hallelujah!!
From personal experiences, I have come to realize that upholding the Truth has a way of making the active presence of God abide in one’s life.
The life of Stephen made it clear that it can open a Heavenly portal over our lives. He Saw Heaven open when truth was being upheld by his mouth in the most life-threatening situation.
HIS LIFE TEACHES THAT UPHOLDING THE TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD, WILL MAKE SURE THAT ONE LIVES AN EARTHLY LIFE UNDER AN OPENED HEAVEN.
That is why people who uphold the truth might be persecuted, stoned, or treated as bad as mankind can treat a fellow man, but God’s portal over them remains open. From eternal point of view, it is better to die upholding the truth like Stephen, than to live denying it like the pharisees.
Our devotional text says;
“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.
Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”
When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.
But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” Acts 7:51-56 NKJV
Stephen did not die for trying to establish a lie. He died trying to establish the living truth in the hearts of his generation. He made himself a prey for departing from evil; the evil that was ruling Judaism and ruining the eternal lives of the people.
The Bible says he who departs from evil made himself a prey, and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him. But did the so-called fathers of the faith who killed him knew that God was displeased with them? No!
When fathers of faith get cut off from the faith they claim to be fathers of, they will not recognize the voice of the LORD in those God sends to speak to them. They will respond in the flesh, stop their ears, and mobilize stones against them, for being rebuked by the LORD for their lawlessness.
THEY WILL FIGHT THEM WITH HATE, WITCHCRAFT AND DARK RELIGIOUS SPIRITS.
The Cry of the Holy Spirit on fathering have been coming to us lately. We have been looking at what the Bible says about having a spiritual father. It is important not to have a spiritual farther than to have one who is no longer part of the faith that was once delivered to the saints. That was Stephen’s sin.
He refused to be part of a fathering system that had been cut off from the LORD, and yielded to the LORD to use his vocal cords to speak light to those who sat in darkness, and rebuke the system and speak strongly to it. His travails reveals that it is not easy to confront an antichrist system that people have accepted as divine.
People will be mobilized against you by the so-called fathers of the faith. But Stephen was not bothered because his eyes were on His LORD and savior.
As we bring this to a close, I want to submit to you that the way the fathers mobilized men under their influence to stone Stephen so will the present-day fathers who are out of touch with the resurrected Christ do in our days. But this is not to scare any but to make us strong.
The only thing we have to do, is to make sure we are on the LORD’s side at all times, because when one makes himself a prey for departing form evil, and there is no one to intercede for Him, God Himself will become his intercessor. Do not forget that, and do not mix it up!
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR US TODAY.
So, truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice.
He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.
According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, Fury to His adversaries, Recompense to His enemies; The coastlands He will fully repay.
So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.” Isaiah 59:15-19 NKJV