TODAY’S DEVOTION (MONDAY 9th October 2023)
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalms 103:1-5 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 282ND DAY OF OUR YEAR OF SIGNS AND WONDERS
The way the way is ushering in our Year of Impact leaves one with so much gratitude to God. The Ebenezer Declaration has been speaking in our lives. It says, ***“Thus far has the LORD helped us.” ***Indeed, we are a people, helped by the LORD.
The expression of what the LORD has done in our lives is beautifully captured in our devotional text. The text is actually one of my favorites.
It speaks of things that happen to people who feed on God’s mercies. We have been feeding on God’s mercies. It has been our strength, and the very reason we are alive. The mercies of the LORD are responsible for the forgiveness of our sins. They are responsible for the healing of our bodies.
That is why it is stupid to give any preacher some money in form of seed to get healing from GOD. If the money you gave to a preacher is the reason you were healed, that healing came from the demon of deliverance. In God healing is based on God’s mercy and our faith in His
power to heal!
God’s mercies are not just responsible for the healing of our bodies but also for the redemption of our souls or lives from destruction. No matter the kind of threat that may be facing us, it will take the mercies of GOD not our financial sacrifices as peddled by money making preachers to be redeemed from it.
It will not even require feet washing, or the serving of the unholy communion given as Holy Communion by most preachers today. Redemption from destruction is a primary function of God’s mercies on our lives, unlocked by the keys of His sovereign love sometimes, and our repentance from sin at other times.
Most of us, do not deserve to be alive because of the things we have done. That is why it stinks in God’s nostrils, if we think we can get redemption from destruction by giving some money, having our feet washed, or doing other things that untaught preachers lead the afflicted to do.
The Bible went on to say that God’s mercies are the reason we are crowned with God’s loving-kindness. They are the reason our mouths are satisfied with good things, so that our youth or vigor is renewed like the eagle’s.
IF THERE IS ANYTHING, WE SHOULD SPEND OUR DAYS SEEKING, IT IS GOD’S MERCIES
There is the beauty of God’s mercy. In it, is His excellent will and operational pattern. That is why when He decides to have mercy on you, He will not consult the opinion of men or angels. He will not call a council to sit and deliberate before deciding to have mercy on us! Is that not beautiful?
Yes, when God decides to have mercy on you, He will not even consult the opinion of the man or woman you may be married to. When God decides to have mercy on you, He will not even ask the opinion of your pastor no matter how close He may be to God.
Sadly, some prophets and prophetess do manipulate people to believe that God requires their opinions in His decisions for their lives. That is an insult on the sensibility and omniscience nature of the Almighty God. In fact, so many church leaders do that in error. We transmit a feeling or an understanding that suggest that God will never have mercy on anyone without consulting us. But that is a lie.
God may raise an intercessor to intercede for you but when He is making the decision of mercy, He will never consult the opinion of the intercessors. No one has the right to give an opinion when God decides on showing mercy on a man or woman. That should give us a relief in a wicked world that we find ourselves.
Sometimes people talk about our past lives without having a hint of the depth of our repentance towards God, or recognizing our faith towards our LORD Jesus Christ. They talk as if they sit with God to make decisions about our destiny or sit with Him to give their opinion when He is making decision on Mercy matters.
God has the exclusive right to show mercy on one and withdraw it from another, depending on the nature of their hearts. That was the message the Bible sent to us when it said;
What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.”
So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. Romans 9:14-16 NKJV
THIS WAS A STATEMENT PAUL MADE CONCERNING JACOB AND ESAU.
The Bible made it clear that the Children not yet born or done anything wrong had divine judgment made concerning them. You may be wondering how? Was God not supposed to be a just GOD? Well, He remains just! He made that judgment based on His omniscience.
The Bible made it clear that He is all knowing. He does not just see the future before it unfolds, He lives in the future. Yes, He lives in a timeless zone and sees all things that are happening or will happen in time. He knows the past, the present and future. So, He will not consult even the most powerful preacher of His opinion when making decisions on your case.
The finite nature of man and His limitation will never allow Him to sit with God and decides on mercy matters.
Mercy matters are exclusively God’s decision. Yes, they are! He does not need a committee to sit to advise Him on us before showing us mercy. He is All-knowing enough to know what to do with us, especially when we sin against Him and return to Him in repentance. The Bible says
“As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. Psalms 103:13-14 NKJV
That is why when a Child of God falls into sin; He should not run away from God. He should rather run to God in repentance like the prodigal Son did. He should not even run away from a preacher no matter how tough he may be. He should run to him or her to be rebuked and rebuilt.
A good spiritual father will not cover your sins. He will rebuke you for your sins, and then help you rebuild your life under God, then bring you to the point where your will to live right, will become strong enough to bring you into the grace to go and sin no more.
This day is the day the LORD has made. Just be glad and rejoice in it. Forget about your worries for 24 hours and seek the LORD in prayer to give you a Baptism of mercies every hour of the day. If we are surrounded by God’s mercy, it does not matter the enemies that may be surrounding us. We will be redeemed from destruction.
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
“As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.
But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them.
The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all. Psalms 103:15-19 NKJV