TODAY’S DEVOTION (MONDAY 15 JULY 2024)
“No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.
Be strong (confident) and of good courage, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
Only you be strong and very courageous, that you may do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you. Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.
This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.
Have not I commanded you? Be strong, vigorous, and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, Pass through the camp and command the people, Prepare your provisions, for within three days you shall pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess. Joshua 1:5-11 AMPC
WELCOME TO THE 197TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF IMPACT.
This is the day the LORD has made, we shall rejoice and be glad in it. We give God the glory for being our Judge, Our Lawgiver, and our King. That is why we are seeing so much of His salvation.
In the Kingdom of God, the making of a day is designed to begin with a proceeding word from the LORD, and the closing is also designed to begin with a proceeded word from the LORD. But this is a system that many have not keyed into. However, our ancient fathers followed it religiously and had the best of God unleashed to them.
The system was revealed in the book of Psalm this way;
“Blessed (happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather.
But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.
And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity]” . Psalm 1:1-3 AMPC
This scripture is clear that in God’s kingdom, a day should start with delighting oneself in the law of the LORD by meditating in the precepts, instructions, or teachings of the LORD, and should also end with the same.
It also made it clear that the person who will be most blessed in God’s kingdom, will be he or she who will key into this established system of how a day of a citizen of God’s Kingdom, should start and end. It says, whoever does that;
“…. shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity]” Psalm 1:3 AMPC
THIS IS A SIMPLE SECRET THAT MOST HAVE NEGLECTED IN THEIR WALK WITH THE LORD.
It places the secret of leading a blessed life on earth outside what most contemporary preachers have been saying for a long time. As you can see, most of us have been saying that to lead a blessed life on this earth, one must raise an altar of sacrifice, or pull down what they call an evil altar.
Some have said people must be served with holy communion daily or have their feet washed to lead blessed lives.
Others have said we must sow this seed and sow the other one or do this thing or the other. But what the word of the LORD said is simple; it says we should just key into the established system of starting and ending a day that God designed for His kingdom citizens.
All the things that are presented as secrets to a blessed life, are very complicated things that build fortune for the preachers saying them and make most of them relevant in the lives of the dying, even when the dying are not eternally relevant.
Sadly, the problem we have today is, many of us prefer doing the complicated, that is presented by some of these heretic preachers, because it aligns with the occult ways our flesh can submit easily to, instead of the simple ways God designed for His own.
The simple requires a dying to the flesh to do, but the complicated and occultic requires no such dying. That is why the complicated is preferred to the simple.
Sadly, for some who want to lead this designed way of living, they either have no clue of how or have no true word from the LORD to use in starting and ending their days. Which is because of the kind of Churches they worship.
Others cannot key into the system because they lack genuine salvation encounter, while many others lack the understanding to use in standing by the gates of scriptures until light shines in their hearts.
But we thank God that all is not gloom. God has given us some preachers and teachers of His word who can be used to bring His Rhema word to us each morning. However, few of them are very shallow, and you will never realize how inadequate what they teach or preach is until you begin to go deeper in the LORD.
From personal experience, I learned that only preachers in the deep can bring impactful life-giving words that we can use to start and end our days.
HOWEVER, NO MATTER HOW HELPFUL THEIR WORDS MIGHT BE, THEY SHOULD NEVER BE REPLACED WITH A TIME WITH THE WORD HIMSELF.
Yes, the helpful preacher’s word is not given by the LORD to be a replacement for the word of the LORD. It is given to us to function as a prophetic hearing aid for us to use in Hearing from the WORD, Jesus Christ Himself, every morning and evening.
A prophetic hearing aid is a teaching, instruction, or precept that gets a man’s heart connected to a present word or prophetic revelation from the LORD, especially that which has to do with his life, family or ministry.
Preachers in the deep can indeed function as great prophetic hearing aids to us. That is one way they perfect the saints for the work of the ministry.
When we saw how helpful preachers in the deep can be, we decided to trust God to be one of the preachers in the deep so that we can also be of help to others. We made it our aim, not to be motivational speakers. Yes, we made it our aim not to be bringing to people the wisdom of this age, coated in scriptures that are quoted out of context.
We pleaded with the LORD to make us like Paul who did not bring to his generation persuasive words of human wisdom, but the hidden wisdom of GOD ordained for our glory; words of truth and reason that could only be preached by deep men of God.
We knew only men and women of God in the deep can be very helpful to those who do not just want to key into the established system in Psalm chapter one, but also lead very amazing Christian lives on earth.
We thank God that He is answering the prayers. Though we have been helpful to true seekers of the LORD, but we know there are more realms to press into, and more faith positions to take. We believe we will get there some day.
Recently, the Cry of the Holy Spirit of God has been reaching us with timely truths on righteous prayers, and the need to walk in faith and the fear of the LORD. God has been stirring us to walk in boldness too.
Apart from the fear of the LORD, fear is not something that should rule a man’s life. Boldness should be what rules a man’s life; and one of the secrets of walking in boldness and righteous courage is how a child of GOD starts and end his or her day.
WHICH BRINGS US TO OUR DEVOTIONAL TEXT FOR THE DAY.
The text is about one of our ancient fathers, Joshua, who lived and walked with the one and only True God few thousand years before the cross. His mission was to take the people of God, who were later known as the Church in the wilderness, to the promise land, a significance of leading people to Heaven.
But there were so many battles to fight and so many lands to dispossess an allocate to God’s people. Sadly, he succeeded in conquering the kings in those lands but failed to settle the people of God in them. However, the key to having the victory in all the battles he fought was boldness, courage, and not entertaining fear at any point.
What the LORD showed him really worked, because there was a time he had the courage to speak to the moon and the Sun. Amazingly, they both heard and obey him. The Bible says;
“Then Joshua spoke to the Lord on the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, be silent and stand still at Gibeon, and you, moon, in the Valley of Ajalon!
And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the nation took vengeance upon their enemies. Is not this written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of the heavens and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.
There was no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man. For the Lord fought for Israel.” Joshua 10:12-14 AMPC
The things Heaven did by the hand of this man of God the day he spoke to the sun and the moon would not have been possible if he had walked in fear. You cannot speak to the elements walking in fear. You might speak, but you cannot get result if you did that in fear.
You have to do it in faith that comes from hearing the word of the LORD. The way the man Joshua walked with the LORD is amazing. It holds some New Testament truths for us.
For instance, it is interesting to find out that, despite being in the dispensation when oil was used as the symbol of the Holy Spirit, Joshua did not carry oil and begin to pour in the cities and nations God asked Him to take over from those living there and give to Israel.
THAT TELLS US THAT PREACHERS WHO GO ABOUT ANOINTING CITIES WITH OIL ARE NOT WALKING IN THE TRUE SPIRIT OF GOD.
Yes, it also shows that preachers who pour olive oil on the floor of new Church buildings to dedicate them, or bury Bibles at the foundation of their churches during construction, are manipulating themselves and those who follow them. Most of all that is charismatic witchcraft.
In the days when oil was sanctioned as a symbol of the Holy Spirit, no one did any of these things. No one buried a scroll to lay the foundation of a synagogue or a temple. Yes, no one did!!!
That alone tells us that if burying Bible was a move of God, then they would have buried scrolls when the temple of Solomon was being built. I was told that Winner’s Chapel burried bibles while laying the foundation of their Churches.
Friend, there is a lot of dark and demonic practices in Church today that many call God. It is dark and demonic to bury the Bible at the foundation of a church building or pillar of a Church. In fact, it is a symbol that your church or ministry is burying the doctrine of Christ and promoting that of the antichrist.
It is important to note that in the days of the Bible, none poured oil to take over cities or dedicate anything. They only anointed vessels to be used in the temple, as a symbol of the anointing of the Holy Spirit that will be on the lives of those who will function as vessels of God in our dispensation.
They took over cities by walking with the presence of the LORD. But the so called apostles of today, are doing the opposite. They are promoting charismatic witchcraft and demonic doctrines. We must rise to tell them no. We must tell our generation the Bible truth!!!
It is stupid to be either stupid or timid, when so called spiritual leaders, are leading the Church away from GOD to Charismatic witchcraft. You cannot use the occult way to summon God. It will produce no result. That is why the moral landscapes are still the same despite the churches in the cities.
If Joshua could speak to the sun and the moon without using oil in a dispensation when oil was even allowed, why can’t the apostles speak to consecrate their lands or dedicate their church buildings without using oil?
THEY CAN’T BECAUSE THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED FROM THEM.
What is left is noise and empty spirituality and that is dangerous. It is dangerous because when noise and man-made spirituality replaces the glory, the leaders are standing on the last frontier to the outbreak of disaster among the people of God.
Read the story of Eli and Sons and what happened when the glory departed in first Samuel chapter two to chapter seven. Time to repent and get back to the present truth and stop this nonsense many call prophetic acts; a phrase that is now used as a smoke screen to practice demonic things in Church.
During his orientation the LORD gave Joshua the secret to making sure fear is not in or around him. He presented the kingdom way to start and end a day as the key to being strong, bold, and courage in the release of his destiny.
A major part of the text says;
“Be strong (confident) and of good courage, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
Only you be strong and very courageous, that you may do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you. Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.
This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.
Have not I commanded you? Be strong, vigorous, and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:6-9 AMPC
I believe the message of today has been passed. How you start and end your day on daily bases, is what will determine if you will walk in fear or boldness. It is what will determine if you will be a chicken of Kakamega or seed of the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
May the LORD use these words to add to the building blocks of our faith, and keep giving us more inheritance among they that are sanctified! Amen.
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
“As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, “Where is your God?”