TODAY’S DEVOTION (THURSDAY 4TH DECEMBER 2025)
The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ And those who handle the law did not know Me; the rulers also transgressed against Me; The prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit. Jeremiah 2:8 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 337TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF VICTORY
It’s been a great time with the LORD for us at the Cry of the Spirit Ministries here in Nairobi Kenya. It’s been a time of fellowshipping with God’s Holy Word and Spirit. It’s been a word year, that resulted in victory over sin, Satan and all the enemy threw at us.
Personally, I have learned a lot this year, mostly as I prepare to preach or as I preach or teach the word. I glorify the LORD for all that. Amen!!
Growing up as a young minister of the gospel, I had always thought geographically whenever the words harvest field was mentioned.
But over the years, I have learned that the harvest is the hearts of men held down by the spirit of wickedness, the fields is where they live, and the sickle for reaping the end time harvest is the LORD of the harvest Himself. It’s a mystery!
This understanding killed some of my worries and made me depend on God for the salvation of any soul. It taught me that for any soul to be reaped into God’s kingdom, God must draw that soul to Himself, using either what we preach, teach, prayer about, and most importantly, how we live or treat people.
It also taught me that the Church (a local church) is the most lethal instrument of God for reaping souls into God’s kingdom and retaining them for eternal life. I also understood that it’s not just any local church, but a local church that is part of the church of Jesus Christ.
Yes, not a local church that is a synagogue of Satan, but a local church founded and operated on the foundation stone of the apostolic spirit, power and doctrine (the Spirit, power and doctrine of Christ).
If you want to be reaped into the Kingdom of God and retained for eternal life, you must find such a church and plant yourself there if you are not there already. In fact, that is one of the major changes to make in your life as you prepare for 2026. The Bible says:
“Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing,
To declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. Psalm 92:13-15 NKJV
THIS SCRIPTURE IS A GUIDE FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT TO FLOURISH SPIRITUALLY AND PHYSICALLY.
It shows all with such righteous desire what to do. It made it clear that if they do not find a church that is not a synagogue of Satan, they will never flourish spiritually and physically in their life. They will lead lives that will be in the danger of eternal fire in the afterlife. The word made it clear that we must all find a church functioning as house of God (the place of God’s manifest presence) to flourish spiritually and physically.
When we are truly flourishing by God’s definition, we will be living a crucified life, the only life that will escape eternal fire in the afterlife. Sadly, many of us Christians, are not living the Crucified life. We are living church life. Hence not being heaven worthy and not seeing the power of Christ manifest in our lives in its raw form.
We have forms of Godliness but no power. The Bible did not promise us that our church lives will give us power on earth or earn us Heaven. It says only a crucified life will do that and find its way to Heaven when it fulfill its days. It emphatically said, those who live that life are Christ’s. It puts it this way:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Galatians 5:22-24 NJKV
From this scripture, we can see that a life that is flourishing is not just a life that has money, land, houses, wonderful family, and access to high places. Even the devil can give you that. In fact, I had taken that to be what the scripture means by flourishing.
BUT THE LORD TAUGHT ME THROUGH THIS SCRIPTURE THAT WAS WRONG.
A life that is flourishing is a life that is lived in the Spirit, manifesting both the fruits and gifts of the Spirit. It might have the riches of this world as a result, but it is not a life that is sandwiched by the cares of this world or deceitfulness of riches.
It is a life that has crucified its flesh, its affection and lust. Not a life ruled by its flesh, its affection and lust. The amplified version of the Bible described the key verse of that scripture in these terms:
“And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature together with its passions and appetites.” Galatians 5:24 AMP
No matter how rich or poor you are, if you have not crucified your sinful nature together with its passion and appetites, you do not belong to Christ. And if you do not belong to Christ, you stand the danger of spending eternity in hell fire when you die. That is why God ordained a local church to be the place we go to achieve that life.
But a local church that cannot be used by the LORD is not a place where you can achieve that life. If the place function as a synagogue of Satan, it will help you prosper in all the affairs of this life, but keep you in your sinful nature, with its appetite and passions not crucified.
Such churches are dangerous to your eternal life no matter how much they help you to live a successful earthly life. They are usually led by preachers who have not experienced the LORD and the Spirit that the early church experienced. They have experienced some spirit, and lord, but not the one the early church experienced.
As you plan for 2026, add this to your plan. Run away from men and women of God who do not teach you how to live the crucified life (how to flourish by God’s definition). Do not be part of any local church that is a synagogue of Satan in spirit. Our devotional text describe preachers that will never help us flourish by God’s definition this way:
The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ And those who handle the law did not know Me; the rulers also transgressed against Me; The prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit. Jeremiah 2:8 NKJV
HOW CAN YOU MAKE HEAVEN HAVING A PREACHER WHO FITS THIS DESCRIPTION AS YOUR SPIRITUAL LEADER? IT’S IMPOSSIBLE!!
The danger of being led by a Church leader who handles the word but does not know the LORD, or a man or woman who prophesy or preach and teach by Baal or walk in things that does not Profit people eternally, is terrible. You find the sons of Eli in that category.
They ended up leading Israel into Ichabod, a state of no glory.
If you do not want to be thrust into that state, the state of Ichabod in 2026, you must take this word seriously. You may have to change your church!!!
I never knew these things in this detail when I started ministry. But encountering them thrust me into the apostolic grace and unleashed words encounters that showed me why nations are yet to be made disciples of Christ despite so many churches in them.
Any kingdom minded person will find it shocking when the Spirit of God shows them these things that we are sharing this morning. They will see why God cannot use everything that we describe as church to reap souls into His kingdom and retain them for eternal life.
When it happened to me, I stopped seeing a successful minster of the gospel as the one who travels around the world and returns to say to people who do not even know how an embassy look like, “we just came back from the United States where we held this and that conference,” a legacy that a contemporary man of God who influenced many of us left behind when he died.
I began to see that it is not cheap to be a servant of God. It is a huge responsibility. One must be a pastor who leads a church that is not seen by God as a synagogue of Satan, and that the souls committed to one must flourish by God’s definition not man’s definition. They must lead crucified lives and not church lives.
I believe the LORD has spoken to us this morning. May His mercies never depart from our lives. Amen and amen.
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR US TODAY.
And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.
“Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days,” says the Lord, “that they will say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore. Jeremiah 3:15-16 NKJV
