TODAY’S DEVOTION (THURSDAY 15TH FEBRUARY 2024)
“Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go.
“Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” Isaiah 48:17-18NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 46TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF IMPACT.
In 2018, when former president Trump of the United States was in power, a lot happened to the name and person of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ.
There was this day that I heard the then Vice President of the United States, saying, Jesus talks to Him. His words were, “Jesus talks to me.” Those were very simple words that should not have caused any troubles. Yes, they should have just been seen as an expression of a man’s love for His LORD.
But because of the power in the name of Jesus mentioned, the person the words were coming out from, and the light the words shone into darkness, there was a flood of negative reaction from a lot of leading female TV hosts that the devil has been using, over the years, to make America and the rest of the world ungodly.
For me, that was one of the most beautiful statements I have ever heard from any Child of God in the political arena. His, was not like the hypocritical statements many politicians make during an election year, because you can see an intimate knowledge of Christ oozing out of the man.
I just said to myself that day, “The White House of America has indeed become White with one righteous man, and many others who may be walking in the background.” White with the presence of Jesus and His Holy Spirit. Amen.
Since then, a lot has changed. The White House seems to have lost the presence of Christ, based on the many things we read or watch on the news about the place. The battle for territorial influence over the human race is one battle that the enemy’s army know how to fight.
As I look into the History of nations, especially the United States, I see the body of Christ witnessing an upsurge in the rise of haters of Christ, every day.
Most churches have moles planted by Satan among them. People who call themselves servants of God, doing things that the GOD whose servant they claim to be, oppose and condemn in His word, the Bible.
Some have even claimed that His word, the Bible, is no longer His word. They have tried to correct Him in so many ways.
THESE ARE THE ACTIVITIES OF MOLES IN THE BODY OF CHRIST, BEING TREATED AS SERVANTS OF GOD.
But I believe these things will not continue for long. Bible prophecy shows that. Soon and very soon, power will change hands, yes in every nation of the earth. Not political power but spiritual power; spiritual power over territories will change hands. It might reflect in political power changing hands too.
Understand that, the place that the LORD occupies in the spirit realms of nations, as the governor among the nations, cannot be taken over by anyone in the nations; so, expect power to change hands. Then, it will be Christ’s turn to show Himself as LORD over all. The Bible says;
“Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.” Psalm 2:10-12 NKJV
God has said in His word, “man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceed from the mouth of God.” If there is anything we must learn to live by, on daily bases, is the word of the LORD, not words peddled by media stations, taken over by the seeds of the wicked one.
These are days of making sure our souls are filled with the word of the LORD daily, or the revelation of the Holy Scriptures, both night and day. These are not days of giving your precious heart to words that will not form Christ in you, or minister Him to you.
We are in the end times! In dark times like these, hearing the voice of the LORD is paramount. Yes, hearing Christ speak to us daily or seasonally is no longer an option but a necessity. If Christ is not speaking to you directly or indirectly these days, you will be doomed.
He remains the light of the world that should guide us through every darkness. We must therefore come up to the place where we hear Him accurately. Maybe, let me share some things on the process of accurately hearing from God at this point.
You see, when God speaks, He does not speak to the body of man. He speaks to the spirit. The spirit then sends the message to the soul for processing. All that happens in less than a second. Sadly, it is at the processing point that many miss it.
THAT IS WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO STUDY THE BIBLE AND GET YOUR SOUL FILLED WITH ITS REVELATION.
When our souls are filled with the revelation of the Holy scriptures, we can hear God accurately and clearly whenever He speaks, because our souls will have what it takes to process what God says to our spirits without fine tuning, corrupting, or changing it completely.
Inaccurate hearing can destroy anyone, that is why we must not allow it into our spiritual journey with God.
When we do not hear God well, we cannot live a live that is healthy. The Bible says the LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. Not hearing God well can put us in a place of want; a place of wanting something from God and not getting it.
Not hearing God well can make us victims of deception. We have a lot of people who claim to be hearing God, but by virtue of what is happening in their lives, you can tell, they are not traveling with the right voice of God.
You can tell they are not hearing God well.
You can tell they are insane and mentally in need of help. That is why, I consider not hearing God at all; just depending on your natural senses or human reasoning, can even be safer than not hearing Him well. Though both are dangerous, one is more dangerous than the other.
God wants us to hear Him well an accurately too, and not to assume anything. His word remains, “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from His mouth.” This should be the blueprint of our earthly lives because it contains how we should live on earth.
Yes, God has shown us how to live on His earth; by what proceeds out of His mouth. He knows this earth more than we do, so, we should not make our lives vulnerable by not obeying Him.
Remember, He created us, and only a creator should guide a creature on how to live; and that He has done by saying we are to live by His word. In other words, by hearing from Him.
SO, IF WE WANT TO GROW UP AND BECOME SUCCESSFUL IN LIFE, WE ARE TO SPEND OUR DAYS HEARING FROM HIM.
If we want to make a critical life decision, we are to hear from Him first. If we want to walk away from evil, we are to use what He has said in His word the Bible, or what He might say to us by His Holy Spirit, to do that.
If we want to start a family, we are to hear from Him. If we want to fix anything in our lives, hearing from Him will help us fix it better.
If we want to start a business, we are to follow the principles of starting the business and become very knowledgeable of it after we have heard from Him. If we want to survive the darkness of this world, we are to live our days hearing from Him.
If we want to overcome Satan, and all his evil, we are to live our days hearing from God. If we want to control ourselves, and live a peaceful and upright life, we are to live our days hearing from God.
The word of God remains, “man, no matter how educated, rich, successful, powerful, connected, or highly placed he is, cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.”
A sad incident happened recently in the United States. A very successful and powerful Nigerian Banker, perish with His entire family in an air crash. It was very painful to read. He was rich, powerful, young, educated, successful and resourceful. But that was not enough to save him from the crash.
A proceeding word from the LORD would have saved him; a proceeding word from the mouth of the LORD for that journey. It would have either stopped him from embarking on the journey, or keep him from using the very air transports system that crashed.
Sadly, our world is fashioned in such a way that we do not live by what God said we should live by. We rather live by science and technology, etc.
Science and technology are very good, but can also be very bad. But the word of the LORD is always good. It cannot be bad. That is why it should guide us on our use of Science and technology.
God is saying to us this morning that we should come back to the system He has developed for our survival on earth; the system of living by what proceed out of His mouth.
IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE RETURN TO THE SYSTEM, SO THAT ALL THE BLESSINGS IN IT CAN BEGIN TO SPEAK IN OUR LIVES.
We were not originally designed to live by bread alone, but by every word that proceed from His mouth.
If we are sick, we are to hear from Him and be healed. If we are poor, we are to hear from Him over time, adjust our lives, align with His ways, and then watch His grace use our hard work to make us rich.
If we are depressed, we are to hear from Him and become refreshed. If we are living a life of sin, we are to hear from Him and begin to live right.
Any aspect of our lives that is suffering, is the very aspect that is not living by His word. If that aspect is lived by every word that proceeds from His mouth, all will be well with it.
A major highlight in our devotional text this morning says;
“Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.”
This scripture further explains why there is no peace in our lives. It further tells us why most of human history and stories of individual families are filled with wars, diseases, deaths, and destruction.
For many years, nations, kingdoms, tribes, people, and etc., have not lived their earthly lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.
Most have lived by what proceeded from the mouths of demons even, through sorcerers, psychics, sorceresses, witch doctors, dark prophets, and etc. who come in God’s garment.
The text made it clear that, if we adjust our lives, and begin to live by what comes out of the mouth of the LORD, our peace will begin to come like a river, and our righteousness like the waves of the sea. Hallelujah!
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR US TODAY.
“Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their adversaries.
“The haters of the Lord would pretend submission to Him, but their fate would endure forever.
He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; and with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you.” Psalms 81:13-16 NKJV