TODAY’S DEVOTION (Tuesday 22ND September 2020)
“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
WELCOME TO THE 264TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF REJOICING
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year began on Friday and ended on Sunday. Meaning we are in a New year from the point of view.
Prophetic research has proven that the Jewish New Year is according to God’s redemptive activities. It positions the year in the Gregorian calendar to be crowned by God’s goodness!
David said unto the LORD
“You crown the year with your goodness, and your paths drip with abundance” (Psalms 65:11 NKJV).
He was referring to Rosh Hashanah not the Gregorian calendar year. It is his Rosh Hashanah that God crowns with His goodness. Meaning the crowning takes place in September of every year.
Our manifested as a 50 days Baptism of the Spirit of Prophecy.
Whenever God crowns a man’s year with His goodness, the paths He designed for him will to walk in will begin to drip with abundance.
When a year is ending like this, those who spent the months of that year following the ways and paths of God for their lives always experience some kind of rewards from GOD. Don’t forget, He is a rewarder by nature.
God has a way of crowing any year we spend on His paths with His goodness – including this year. For those who are not aware, I want to say at the beginning of this year, the LORD said to us “2020 is Our Year of REJOICING.” He then set paths for us to follow.
And all through this year He has taught us so many of His pathways, and by His grace some of us have been following them. Now He wants to crown the year with His goodness!
I BELIEVE STRONGLY SOME ARE ALREADY COMING INTO IT. ABUNDANCE HAS BEGUN TO DROP ON MANY!
Abundance of revelation, abundance of peace, abundance of Holiness, abundance of angelic ministration, abundance of grace to be prayerful, abundance of His glory in our lives, and abundance of everything His kingdom offers. We experience some of these things in our just concluded 50 Days Wings of the Spirit.
I want to summit to you that the last four months of a year are critical. They are, in simple terms, seasons of critical activities; things that only God’s mercy can help us to access.
A major highlight in our devotional text quoted God saying,
“I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.”
I believe this is time to seek God’s mercies to give us whatever we need in this critical seasons. Yes, we must bow the prayer knee and seek it through and through.
A lot of things that will help us as we face the new year are determined at this prophetic times of the year; hear this, including those who will die or live. I have shared these things before. So let us Plead with the LORD, like a Child who urgently need mercy from his Heavenly Father, and have Him deliver these things to us.
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
Our Just concluded 50 DAYS WINGS OF THE SPIRIT says it all. God revealed Himself to us in His word and we saw His mercies. Sometimes we think that God’s mercy is for the wicked who repents and ask for it. While that may be true, it is not the whole truth.
One major reason the righteous needs more mercy is because it does not take any effort to stand strong in sin. But it takes a lot of effort, and both internal and external support from Heaven, to stand strong in righteousness. Therefore, we need mercy from GOD than the wicked.
THE WICKED NEED MERCY TO AVERT JUDGMENT, BUT WE NEED MERCY TO STAY STRONG IN THE LOVE OF GOD.
PETER SHOWS US THAT WHEN HE SAID,
Now
“If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?” Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator. 1 Peter 4:18-19 NKJV
This scripture made it very clear that we need more mercy from God than the lost.
The Bible made it clear that the challenges of SAYING YES TO JESUS are not easy. That is why we need more mercy. It says, if we the righteous are scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and sinner appear? No wonder God gave the early Church, GREAT MERCIES and GREAT GRACE. I have not seen those phrases used on the lost.
Friend, we need a lot of mercy from God to retain our salvation, having received Christ as LORD and savior. We need the mercies of GOD to overcome all resistance or odds that may be against us and step into blessings, especially blessings that will help us advance the Kingdom of God from Heaven to the dark places of the earth.
Satan fears a people who carry God’s presence and the money that God’s manifest presence brings for kingdom advance. The Bible says when the sea sees them it will flee. So he will fight every inch of the Battle to make sure they do not follow the paths that will put that kind of special monies in their pockets.
Becoming a true Child of God is not the end but the beginning of so many things to overcome. The real warfare is not in becoming, but retaining your position or status in the Spirit as a true Child of God. It’s possible to lose what makes you a true Child of God if there is no mercy of GOD flowing in your life. Jesus tells us the possibility of this happening when He said,
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” Matthew 5:13 NKJV
From this scripture it’s clear that, losing your flavor as the salt of the earth is losing what makes you God’s true child on the face of the earth.
THE GREATEST TRAGEDY IN THE LIFE OF A CHRISTIAN IS NOT WHEN HE FALLS INTO SIN, AS BAD AS THAT MAY BE!
He could fall into sin like Peter fell into the sin of unbelief, denied the LORD three times, but he still rose to be one of the greatest apostles of GOD. The greatest tragedy, therefore, is not when we fall into sin. The greatest tragedy is when we loose our flavor as the salt of the earth. And that can happen even faster than falling into sin.
Persistent unfaithfulness or spiritual carelessness can make it happen.
The Bible made it clear that a lot, including Curses, will begin to germinate in our lives, with no prayer to cure if we loose our spiritual flavors as God’s Children. Hebrew made it clear that once what make us children of GOD is lost, even when we seek it with tears we will not find it.
Jesus Himself asked,
“but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?”
May we never come to the point of loosing that secret ingredient from GOD that makes us acceptable children of GOD. That is why we need God’s mercy as His righteous seed to retain our spiritual flavors as His children!
Jesus made it clear that if we loose our flavor as Children of GOD we cannot be seasoned again. The next thing that will happen to us is that we will become good for nothing; men and devils will be trampling on us. Sadly, that has become the lot of many in the kingdom today that is why we need mercy!
Another highlight in our devotional text today says,
“So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.”
Meaning, to retain our flavor as the salt of the earth is not by might nor by power but by the mercy of the LORD!
ZECHARIAH THE PROPHET PUTS IT THIS WAY;
“So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts. Zechariah 4:6 NKJV
I believe God is answering us today and saying, “yes, you need to make sure you do not loose your flavor as my child no matter what you are going through; it will not be by might or by power but by my Spirit” says the LORD!
In other words, by His mercies!
Don’t forget, no matter how much you need GOD to move in your life, He will first send HIS WORD to you before sending HIS WORKS. He will first put His word in your heart before pouring His acts on your life. That is the protocol of divine intervention in His KINGDOM. His word comes first before His works.
People who understand this spend time with His word until His works break out in their lives. They do not miss a word session because they know missing a WORD session is missing a WORK session. The Bible says
“He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” Psalms 107:20-21 NKJV
Not by might not by power but by my mercies, says the LORD! That is the word GOD has sent this morning – seeking His mercies to see us through these critical season of the year. We must not allow religious pride to rob us of anything.
Paul warned us saying, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12 NKJV). How do you take heed? By knowing that it’s not by might or power but by the mercies of God, and then going all out for His mercies through intensive prayers.
Friend, when it comes to “walking” and “talking” with GOD, or retaining your flavor as His child it is indeed not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
IF GOD’S MERCY IS ON YOUR LIFE, YOU WIll BE ABLE TO OVERCOME TEMPTATIONS.
If God’s mercy is upon your life, trails of faith will not be able to have you. If God’s mercy is upon you, He will make sure you find a way of escape in any Circumstances that the enemy or you throw at you. Yes, sometimes the enemy throws things at us and other times we throw them on ourselves.
We throw things on ourselves out of foolishness. But if the mercy of God is upon us, He will always make a way of escape for us. The Bible says,
“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 NKJV
If you look at this scripture, you find another reason why we need God’s mercy.
God’s mercy is the regulator of the impact of fiery trials and temptations on us. It is the power that makes sure we are not allowed to be tempted or tried beyond measure – beyond “what we have spiritual capacity for.” And it does that by creating a way of escape for us – especially when things become too much for us to bear.
What is the message this morning? The message is simple and clear! We will need God’s mercy these critical seasons. It is not because we are sinning or wicked – it’s because we are determined to live a “sin and wickedness” free life.
We are determined to finish the year strong and be elected by grace to be alive to serve our generation according to the will of GOD.
As you take each step towards each day of this season, may whatever douse of GOD’s mercy you need, take steps towards you in Jesus precious name! AMEN!
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY;
“My soul still remembers and sinks within me. This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope.
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!” Lamentations 3:20-24 NKJV