TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL (Thursday 14TH October 2021)
“Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences. 2 Corinthians 5:9-11 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 287TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF HIGHER HEIGHTS!
God has been so mindful of us. Glory to His great name for giving us another day. We just began the last days of year 2021. Sadly, not everyone who started the year is alive today. Many are no more, but God has kept us.
The year, like the previous ones, has really consumed many lives. It all proves that time was created to bring things to an end. It has succeeded in doing just that. That is why we should all spend our days in the fear of the LORD; and in preparation for the next life.
Obviously, many have been brought to an end in time.Some are now in Heaven while others are in hell.
Those in Heaven have gone to join people like Adam, Enoch, Abraham, and the rest of the saints who consist of the Church in Heaven. But those in hell have gone to join Cain, his entire lineage, Nimrod and the rest of those the Bible made clear that they are in hell.
God never created any human soul to spend eternity in hell. It’s our decisions and lack of sanctified knowledge that do take man there. That is why God raised His holy apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to persuade men to come to Christ in live in His will, ways and plans for their lives. Sadly, many resist them, the follow falsehood and deception.
The death of a sinner is still an abomination to GOD; in other words, something He cannot look at. Hence keeping His Spirit here among us to keep persuading men till His redemptive works on earth are done.
On the flip side, the Bible says precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of the righteous because death is home coming for them. Just as God loves seeing the righteous come home after fulfilling their days, he hates seeing the wicked go to hell. Peter put it this way;
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 NKJV
GOD’S WILL IS THAT ALL PRACTICING SINNERS, BOTH IN CHURCH AND OUTSIDE COME TO REPENTANCE.
The Bible did not say that they just recite the sinner’s prayer and join a Church. You can do all that without repenting from living a life of sin. They Bible says all should come to repentance. but so many of us do not understand this. The word repentance is missing from the mouths of many preachers hence missing from the hearts of many church members.
In fact, one so called grace preacher in Nigeria now teaches that we do not need to repent. He twists scriptures using the power of his eloquence to promote the apostasy. Preachers like him are very where, and people who want to go to Heaven without abandoning a life of sin loves such preachers. They want to be told, “you can be forgiven without repenting” hence flocking the YouTube channels and sites of the preachers.
But we must understand that there can be no salvation without repentance. those who think otherwise have been deceived. That is why Heaven is mourning for them, and we mourn too.
The greatest tragedy in the human race is not really death, but dying without Christ. The reason is because of the eternal consequence it brings on a human soul. If we will not die and have our souls dumped in hell the second we step out of our bodies, there are certain truths we must spend our earthly days with.
Yes, there Bible truths we must embraced if death will be a blessing to us.
You see, death is a curse to all in hell and a blessing to all in Heaven. That was why people like Apostle Paul and the rest of the early Church could discourse with death. Peter told death how to kill him. That was dominion over death on display.
AUTHENTIC SALVATION GIVES US DOMINION OVER DEATH. IT DESTROYS THE FEAR OF DEATH IN OUR HEARTS.
Apostle Paul said;
“For me to live is Christ [His life in me], and to die is gain [the gain of the glory of eternity].
If, however, it is to be life in the flesh and I am to live on here, that means fruitful service for me; so I can say nothing as to my personal preference [I cannot choose],
But I am hard pressed between the two. My yearning desire is to depart (to be free of this world, to set forth) and be with Christ, for that is far, far better; Philippians 1:21-23 AMP
Did you see something in this scripture? Can you see the revelation in this scripture? The man of GOD was like, “compare with the glorious lying ahead for me, it was far better for me to die than to live.” Child of GOD, Death is a blessing to the redeemed not a curse. It is premature death that is not welcomed in the kingdom of GOD. Our days must be fulfilled.
Premature death is not you dying at a tender age or at the flower of age. That is the world’s definition of pre mature death.
Premature death is when you die without fulfilling God’s eternal purpose for your life in time. It is like Jesus dying the day He was born or before thirty. He would not have fulfilled His ministry and save us.
That means, if you die at 100 years without fulfilling your purpose, you just died premature. If you die at 33 like Christ, finishing why you were here, it is not premature. It is long life. That is the mystery. Long life is a life that was long enough to fulfill why God shot it into time. It is not a life that was lived for a thousand years like it seems.
God has a program for your life. His plan is that you live long enough to fulfill it.
Now, while living to fulfill it, there are truths that can function is light to sue in travelling through time. One of the major truths says “we did not create ourselves.” It is very important that you spend an earthly life with this truth in your heart.
YES, NON FORMED HIMSELF OR HERSELF IN HIS OR HER MOTHER’S WOMB. HENCE NONE IS THE FINAL ARBITER OF HIS OR HER LIFE!
No one sat with God in Heaven and decided to be born on earth. We were formed in our mother’s womb through the law of procreation, during which the breath of life was sent by the LORD into us. That was why Job said;
“the Spirit of the LORD has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life”
Two laws were responsible for our formation – the law of procreation and that of creation. That of creation produces the human spirit and soul, while that of procreation produces the human body and all its organs.
The law of procreation is a natural law but that of creation is a spiritual law. The former is scientific but the latter is divine. These laws are laws God set in motion to multiply the earth. That is why even if a woman is not married to someone, she can have a Child for him. Most people were not born in wedlock. The law of creation and that of procreation was just activated by sexual passion and a child was conceived.
However, in GOD’s plan He wanted the two laws to be activated after marriage so that a family can be formed before Children are born. God knew that human lives will be scattered in different directions if that did not happen. But sin, self and Satan altered the plan and today we have this laws activated outside marital or family security.
So many destinies have been destroyed because they were conceived outside God’s plan for conception.
Can we really count the number of Children that have been aborted simply because the laws of procreation and creation were activated outside marital boundaries?
Except for those who have repented, billions of unborn babies cry in the spirit realm every moment for justice. Those of us who kill them will face justice except we repent of our wicked ways.
So the first truth we must have in our heart as we seek to fulfill our days on earth is that “WE DID NOT CREATE YOURSELF.” God created us.
THE LAWS HE PUT IN MOTION CREATED US.
Even when those who came together to have us formed did not follow His precepts, we were formed nevertheless. The Psalmist said;
“Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” Psalms 100:3 NKJV
The next truth that must guide our earthly life is simple – “THE ONE WHO FORMED US IN OUR MOTHER’S WOMB OWNS US.”
Meaning, just as we do not form ourselves in our mother’s womb so we do not own ourselves. We can therefore not be LORD over ourselves. There is a LORD over us. Peter calls Him, “the Bishop of our souls.” AND THAT IS WHO He is to us.
His name is Jesus Christ; for by Him were all things created. He put the two laws behind our formation into existence. He owns us, and that ownership is not transferable.
No mother, father, uncle, pastor, prophet, or government owns you. No church or mosque owns you. No shrine on earth owns you. They are just your caretakers, deserving the respect of a caretaker, but none owns you. You are owned by Jesus Christ. The Bible says;
“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.” John 1:10-12 NKJV
The worst way to spend an earthly life is to spend it without receiving your owner and making Him the center of your life. That is why lives without Christ are full of crisis. They could be rich and famous but still full of crisis.
Mankind was not designed to live without the guide, instruction, and occupation of His owner – our owner must take the center stage of our lives for our lives to become meaningful. Not just meaningful on earth, but glorious after death.
A major highlight in our devotional text this morning says;
“Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
This scripture made it clear that when our time on earth is over we are going back to our owner to give account of how we lived the life He gave us. Spending an earthly life without thinking about this is one of the most dangerous ways to spend an earthly life.
As you embrace this glorious day to begin the journey towards the last days of the year, pause and think about your life. Check what you have done or are still doing with it. Will you receive mercy when you go back to your owner, or you will receive judgment?
Don’t forget David said there is no repentance after death.
Repentance is only acceptable before we cross the river to the other side.
We must ask ourselves; are we living a life that will be celebrated in Heaven or dumped in hell when we die? That is the question that everyone on the face of the earth must keep asking himself or herself.
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOU TODAY!
“For if we searchingly examined ourselves [detecting our shortcomings and recognizing our own condition], we should not be judged and penalty decreed [by the divine judgment].” 1 Corinthians 11:31 AMP
“For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.” 1 Corinthians 11:31 KJV