TODAY’S DEVOTION (SATURDAY 18TH JANUARY 2025)
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect,
to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.” Hebrews 12:22-24 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 18TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF VICTORY.
The LORD spoke to us about His mercies yesterday. It is important to note that when God’s mercy is not operational in your life, anything can mess your life up.
Mercy is a major bridge that is usually constructed to take one from the other side of life to God’s side of life; a glorious side. Our repentance is the construction material God uses in doing that. The bridge of mercy is never out there looking at you. It is usually constructed at the time of a man’s repentance.
If you therefore committed any sin, or lived recklessly and came into problems, you need to cross the river to God’s side of life to be saved or given a new life. However, in crossing, you will need the bridge of mercy, and your genuine repentance will be needed for the construction of the bridge.
When my rebellion and sin took me to a sorry side of life in the early 2000s, it was terrible. Everything about me went blank. All the prayers I did could not change anything. I was literally descending into the belly of hell the spirit in spite of my prayer and fasting, until God’s mercy showed up.
I learned during those days that whatever you do in the wrong direction will never be right. A heartfelt prayer you make in the wrong direction, will never make tremendous power available. A Biblical fast you do in the wrong direction, will never bring significant results.
We must be in the right direction before our worship can speak positive things into our lives.
I discovered painfully that until we have obtained mercy through repentance our prayers will remain unacceptable to God. It is so important that we know all we need to know about God’s mercy. I can’t be tired of saying that.
YES, I CAN’T BE TIRED OF SHARING ABOUT GOD’S MERCY AND FAITHFULNESS.
God is faithful, He is faithful, and will remain faithful. It is His faithfulness that we have fed on since 1st January to this day. The same faithfulness will see us through till the end of our years on earth. Amen!!
The most significant expression of God’s mercy in the life of a person is Salvation experience. That is why I consider it the most beautiful thing that can ever happen to a man.
You may have experienced the best boat rides in the world, or the best car ride. Yes, you may have experienced the best entertainment or financial empowerment in the world, but none can be compared to the joy of committing your heart to the LORD.
Whatever glorious thing you may have experienced in this life is cheap compared to a genuine salvation experience. It is the beginning of a journey full of God’s mercies and kindness.
Yesterday we shared how the saved needs more mercies than the wicked. That goes to tell us how much God’s mercies you begin to enjoy once you commit your heart to the LORD.
A salvation experience is an experience that an unsaved president of the most powerful country in the world cannot have despite all that he or she enjoys. It is more than any other kind of experience on earth. It places the poorest of the poor with Christ in their hearts far beyond the richest man on earth in Gods sight.
It is an experience that places the poorest of the poor on a pedestal that even the richest man in the world cannot acquire with all his wealth. It is a treasure that cannot be found in the richest places of the earth, but the hearts of men and women with the LORD as their blessed savior.
It is a blessing that separates Sons of Light from sons of darkness, no matter how rich or influential they are. That is what makes a man happy even when there is nothing to be excited about.
IT MAKES HIM SUPERNATURAL AND ABNORMAL IN THE SIGHT OF THE LOST.
Friend, the greatest encounter you can have on earth is a salvation encounter, and that can only happen when you meet Jesus Christ personally. The fountain of a genuine salvation experience is a genuine salvation encounter. But it is not just an experience; it is a translation from one realm to another. Our devotional text calls that realm “Mount Zion.”
Then you go further by giving God what to use in building the most beautiful bridge in the realm of the Spirit; the bridge of GOD’s mercies. The very platform upon which God stands to fulfill all His good pleasure in your life. That material is called a life of repentance.
It is a life of repentance that unlocks unending mercies upon us. Do not forget, the first expression of God’s mercy is in not receiving the punishment you deserve. It is receiving the forgiveness and cleansing from the sins you committed, and are now sorry about.
Our devotional text tells of the Blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel that spoke in Genesis chapter 4. The Blood of Jesus speaks, and it is the power behind the release of God’s mercies. The very utterance it speaks is called “mercy.” It speaks mercy when others are speaking judgment.
The Bible says,
“To Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.” Hebrew 12:24
The blood of Abel spoke vengeance. And that was justifiable because Cain never repented. But the blood of Jesus speaks mercy today, and will keep speaking that until the Day of Judgment. So, when you give your life to Christ, and move further to live a life of repentance, you give the blood more power to speak God’s mercy into your life.
It takes away the consequences of your sins and gives you a brand-new life. The strongest revelation that should be in your heart after salvation, therefore is sanctification; sanctification by the word of truth and righteousness. It is through constant sanctification by the word of truth and righteousness that we live a life of repentance.
The Bible says;
“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,” Acts 3:19 NKJV
A life of repentance, does not just rebuild our lives, it brings times of refreshing from the presence of the LORD.
Times of refreshing is that period of spiritual renewal and restoration that occur when people return to the LORD. A life of repentance keeps us in a constant state of spiritual renewal and restoration, helping us to sense the presence of the LORD quicker, and get blessed faster than others.
I believe the message of today has been passed. May the LORD use this devotional to continue to build you up and give you an inheritance among they that are sanctified. Amen!!
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION
I will judge each of you for what you’ve done. So stop sinning, or else you will certainly be punished. Give up your evil ways and start thinking pure thoughts. And be faithful to me! Do you really want to be put to death for your sins?
I, the LORD God, don’t want to see that happen to anyone. So stop sinning and live! Ezekiel 18:30-32 CEV