TODAY’S DEVOTION (SATURDAY 21ST JANUARY 2023)
“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.
And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.
Therefore, I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air.
But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 21ST DAY OF OUR YEAR OF SIGNS AND WONDERS!
We cannot thank God enough for another day that we have seen. Like we have always stated on this platform, you can fall asleep but you cannot wake up from sleep. Only the LORD can wake one from sleep. We thank Him for waking us up this morning.
Natural life is a journey, a journey with a destination that is not in time but eternity. Most of us do not consider that. But day unto day things happen to tell us all that. We see funerals every day, obituaries every now and then, but seem not to be getting the message and getting ready for our own individual passing that will inevitably happen at the end of our days.
For some, we do not even think death is real until it happens to a love one we grew up with, like a grandparent, a parent, a sibling, a cousin, or any of our close relatives. That is when it dawns on us that life is a journey.
I always remember how we lived in our village in 1982 or so to 1984. During that time, our village bubbled with so many lively people; young and old. I remember my own Dad and all I saw him do in his life. How it seems we will all live forever. I remember my grandpa and grandma and all my aunties and uncles, and all far and near relatives.
It was fun and exciting having all of them around. It was as if life is forever.
Then one by one they began to come to the end of their days and die. Today, almost all that were around then have passed, including my dad, whose memory hits me most after 21 years of his passing. It speaks so much volume to me. We were as little as my kids are today.
That is why whenever I look at them play around and enjoy my company, I will remember those days when I always played around and enjoyed the company of all these people. I will say to myself, one day I will also be a memory to these kids the way my Dad and others are a memory to me. That is life for you.
IT IS A JOURNEY THAT HAS ETERNITY AS ITS DESTINATION AND TIME AS ITS TRAVELING PATHS.
What were we supposed to be doing on the traveling path of time? The Bible has the answer. It says;
“Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, Or the golden bowl is broken, Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, Or the wheel broken at the well.
Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.” Ecclesiastes 12:6-7 NKJV
We were supposed to spend our time on the traveling path of time, remembering our creator. Visionary living, especially when it is from God, is a product of remembering our creator before the silver cord is loosed, or golden bowl is broken and all that, and then the dust returns to the earth and spirit to the GOD who gave it. I will explain how.
To start with, let us look at what the word remember means. The word remember is from the Hebrew word “zakar” which means to bring someone to mind, or to act on someone’s behalf. It is much more than remember in the mind. To remember our creator, therefore means, to bring Him to our mind and act on His behalf.
That is what we are to spend our days on this side of eternity doing.
You see, when God stepped down in form of Jesus Christ, He actually came down to help us do that – spend our days remembering our creator. That is why as soon as we accept Him into our hearts, He will begin to live in our spirits, and shine the light of His word into our minds, especially when we study the Bible; thereby helping us to, not just to bring Him to our minds but to keep Him there.
When He lives in our minds, He shapes our lives on earth and leads us to live lives that totally depend on Him, producing power, purity of heart, righteousness, and heaven worthiness as a result.
MAKING IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO HAVE HEAVEN AS OUR HOME WHEN OUR DAYS COME TO AN END.
Now, that is not the only thing that happens during the process, there is also the outpouring of the Holy Spirit into our lives during all that. When the Holy Spirit is poured into our lives, He will begin to help us lead lives that act on behalf of our creator. That is on behalf of Christ.
Remember the Bible says Christ is our creator. It says by Him were all things created. It is actually Christ that we are to spend our days keeping in our hearts and minds and acting on His behalf.
There are different kinds of visionary living. But a visionary living that will end us in Heaven after this life is a product of bringing Christ to our minds, keeping Him there or forming Him in us through intimacy with Him, and acting on His behalf by the help of His Holy Spirit.
This kind of life was what those who were found in the early Church lived. The people of the lost world of their days would later looked at it and call them “Christians.” That life is not just a journey; it is a visionary life that can be called a race, and it has a prize in eternity to run for.
The life calls for being temperate. To be temperate in Bible sense means to use moderation in all things and to apply self-control. Which brings us to our devotional text for the day. The text says;
“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.
And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.
Therefore, I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air.
But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NKJV
IF YOU LOOK AT THIS TEXT YOU SEE ONE OTHER LAW OF VISIONARY LIVING.
The law of spiritual discipline. Being temperate is an aspect of spiritual discipline. The text presents the Christian life as a race that requires spiritual discipline to finish well and finish strong. And since the Christian life is visionary, spiritual discipline will be required to lead a successful visionary life.
What is spiritual discipline? Spiritual discipline is (but not limited to) any practice which by design can lead to our spiritual transformation or growth. They are practices we need to engage in to stay healthy spiritually.
The practices are training exercises for spiritual life. If we do not engage in them, we cannot lead successful visionary lives. The Bible even said we can be disqualified in the Christian race or cast away.
As we bring this to a close, let me talk to those who may not know, we are on a 31-day journey of faith with the Cry of the Holy Spirit on visionary living.
We have seen some of the laws that govern visionary living as depicted in the lives and times of our Bible fathers. We have seen the law of Visionary residency as depicted in the life of Abraham and others. We have seen the laws of visionary relations, visionary hearing, freedom, faith, and etc. The last law we saw is the law of our faithfulness to God.
The next law is the law of spiritual discipline; which was just mentioned above. In visionary living, one way we express our faithfulness to God is through spiritual discipline. I will share more about this in our service today, since we are having an ongoing meeting.
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
“For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.
This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance.
For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.
These things command and teach.” 1 Timothy 4:8-11 NKJV