TODAY’S DEVOTION (TUESDAY 13TH AUGUST 2024)
Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way.
And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”
And the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave,
I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. Genesis 18:16-22 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 226TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF IMPACT.
This is the day the LORD has made, we shall rejoice and be glad in it.
Our God is God of miracles, signs, and wonders. He speaks in signs, He saves by miracles, and reveal Himself to mankind by wonders. The Bible is littered with records of His moves; records of how He spoke in signs, saved by miracles, and revealed Himself to men and women by His wonders.
We have been looking at miracles that proceeds from God’s Throne. May He send one your way today in Jesus precious name. May He hear your cry and wipe away your tears. The Bible says miracles are our bread. Bread means life. May the LORD feed you with this bread this week and beyond.
There are classes of miracles from God’s Throne that are not redemptive in nature. They are correctional in nature. In fact, we can call them, “wonders.” This kind are aimed at paralyzing the arrogancy of the proud and restoring morality to an individual, family, Church,, or a nation.
God does them to humble the arrogant and remove evil conduct from his heart. He does them mostly to leaders and other critical men and women, who have become a pain in the neck of the poor. He also does them to teach men righteousness.
This kind of miracles manifest as correctional judgment. When God releases them, the vision is usually to teach men righteousness, through divine blows that are miraculous in nature. They are miracles of God’s justice system.
The Bible says;
“With my soul I have desired You in the night, Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early; For when Your judgments are in the earth, The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
Let grace be shown to the wicked, Yet he will not learn righteousness; In the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.” Isaiah 26:9-10 NKJV
THIS SCRIPTURE HOLDS TWO MAJOR TRUTHS ABOUT GOD’S JUSTICE SYSTEM.
The first, as earlier stated, is the reason for miracles that are sent to execute correctional judgment; which is to teach men righteousness. The wicked are taught through miracles that manifest as correctional judgment, but the righteous are taught through discipleship.
If righteousness is not learned, righteousness cannot be lived. That is why Jesus made it the mission of the Church. He made “teaching men righteousness” the primary purpose of church. That is why the church is a place of discipleship. The Bible says;
“ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:18-20 NKJV
Sadly, most churches today are not fulfilling the Jesus mandate of teaching men righteousness. They are rather like shops, where prayer, anointing, and etc. are sold and money collected in many ways. Teaching men righteousness is no longer part of the Church in so many places.
In fact, most preachers do not even know that the primary purpose of the church is to teach men righteousness. That is why you see them teaching about altars, money, spirits husbands, and etc.
We also have a large number of believers who are not ready to be taught righteousness. They want to be prayed for, told to raise altars of sacrifice, told to silence this altar or that altar, told to sow this seed for that miracle, but they are not ready to be taught righteousness, the very key to getting all they need.
Friend, you must save yourself from all these.
The Church exits so that you might be taught righteousness, because in righteousness you shall be established. In righteousness you shall prosper with the prosperity of the righteous.
Righteousness shall keep you far from oppression much more than someone praying for you. It will make sure no weapon formed against you prospers.
In God, we are nothing without righteousness, let no one deceive you about that. You may go from man of God to man of God, or church to church, but nothing about you will be fine without righteousness.
RIGHTEOUSNESS WILL GIVE YOU MUCH MORE THAN PRAYERS CAN.
Many suffering people go to preachers for deliverance, while some others to ‘powerful’ prophets looking for prophecy or miracles, instead of going to good Churches to be taught righteousness, so they can walk in the ways of the LORD, and experience the glory of the LORD meeting their needs.
They go to prophets for prophecy or deliverance and get deceived and drained of their monies. They do not go to be taught or imparted with righteousness, that is why you find so many tired of Church. If you go to Church to be taught righteousness, you will never be a victim of things like that.
God will lead you to the right places and you will never fall into the trap of such preachers or prophets.
God wants you not to be part of the breed that moves from place to place looking for miracles or prophecies. He wants you to find where you can be taught righteousness, especially if you are in time of need.
Righteousness will save you from your enemies and protect your children from death, diseases, and destruction. The righteousness of Abraham, which satisfied God’s standard for His age and time, was what blessed him, raised him, distinguished him, and insured the life of his descendants Israel, up to this day.
Righteousness shaped the life of Abraham so much that God had to come to pay Him a personal visit, I mean physically.
He got classified information from Heaven because of righteousness. He did not get a package from hell like many do today. Righteousness protects a man from such packages. He got an eternal visitation from Heaven; a visitation that made Him a powerful friend of God on earth.
Many are getting packages from hell daily; they are getting lack, losses, depression, high blood pressure, death, diseases, destruction, and all that from hell, thereby moving from place to place for help.
Some got packages of marriages from hell that are ruining them right now, others jobs from hell that are destroying their eternal value, and many others are getting diseases from hell that are killing them slowly, and all that. Very few are getting visitations and packages from Heaven.
God wants you to be part of those who get visitations and packages from Heaven like righteous Abraham did. He got the Isaac package from God that day, and much more. God wants us to be getting such packages from Him. But it will depend on how we treat matters of righteousness.
RIGHTEOUSNESS WILL POSITION US FOR PACKAGES FROM HEAVEN.
Our devotional text presented one of the discussions Abraham had with God during the visit. It says,
Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way.
And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”
And the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”
Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. Genesis 18:16-22 NKJV
This was after the man of God Abraham, had gotten the Isaac package from the LORD. You know, today prophets and pastors ask People for Isaac offerings. But then Abraham got an Isaac package from God. An Isaac package is a package that puts joy and laughter in your life. That is what you get if you pursue righteousness.
Like It did Abraham, it will not just give you packages from heaven, it will protect your kids, and secure them from danger. Yes, righteousness is all our kids need to know the LORD, not just our prayers. It is the only force that will protect our legacies. So, become one of those who seek righteousness.
Without righteousness, the best you will have is the prosperity of the wicked. With righteousness you will have the true blessing of the LORD in your life. So, find a church that will teach you righteousness, and wait patiently for the LORD in that place.
YOU WILL SEE HIS ARM TAKING CARE OF ALL YOUR NEEDS.
Yes, you will see God making way for you where there was no way. You will see Him turning your things around and making life beautiful for you, without raising altars, using oil to pray, praying with salt, or basking for prophecies from special prophets.
The Bible says,
“All your children shall be taught by the LORD, And great shall be the peace of your children.
In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.” Isaiah 54:13-15 NKJV
This is one scripture that should fill your heart, all the days of your life. It is one scripture that should not depart from our spirits. It tells us so much about the blessing of righteousness.
In closing, I want to say if you read of Bible men who prayed and God answered them amazingly, do not wonder why. It is their righteousness that gave them such results in prayer. That is the same results God wants us to get in our days. The Bible says the righteous cry out and God hears them.
The LORD hears righteous people when they pray. The prayer of the righteous is the delight of the LORD, but the prayers of the wicked is an abomination to Him. So, pursue righteousness much more than you see people pursue money. It will give you much more than money gives.
Righteousness remains the secret of the progress, success, and accomplishments of the saved and sanctified. It remains the secret of the attention they get from the LORD. It is the fuel of a prayer life.
It is one force that makes a man’s fasting and prayer work for him. It will deliver you from going from Church to church, prophet to prophet, meeting to meeting, or place to place looking for help.
I believe the LORD has spoken to us this morning. May His mercies remain forever in our lives. Amen!
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOU TODAY!
“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; ]Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.
“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.
If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword”; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken. Isaiah 1:16-20 NKJV