TODAY’S DEVOTION (Friday 19th November 2021)
“Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.” Romans 12:19 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 322nd DAY OF OUR YEAR OF HIGHER HEIGHTS.
We bless the God of Heaven and earth for bringing us to another weekend. This is the day He has made, we shall rejoice and be glad in it.
It has been a season of moving from one burning truth to another. Though gaining insights into God’s word and plans for our lives, it has not been easy doing things that run contrary to the flesh. Most of what we have received took a tool on our flesh. Though a good thing, but not an easy thing!
When flames of truth burn off the flesh and all forms of carnality, they leave a mark behind. It could be a painful or a useful mark.
Those were the marks Paul and many other apostles of Grace and Truth in scriptures had on their bodies. Some of them are marks of the persecutions you face for doing God’s will that was communicated to you by the truth you found in Christ.
Truth is first a person before a selection of Godly and scriptural facts. Jesus is the way the TRUTH and the life. When truth is kindled in your heart by the Holy Ghost, it is capable of leaving a mark on your soul and spirit – a mark that will make sure no devil troubles you again.
The Bible says:
“From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” Galatians 6:17 NKJV
There are certain troubles that leaves you when you allow the flames of truth to consume you until you become pure as gold. There are devils that will stay permanently away from you when go through the refining process of burning truths from the throne room of God.
The freedom that such refining process and power of the word of truth brings is what the devil does not want any to come into. Because it keeps us forever beyond his reach.
The flames have power to burn off spiritual dirt in our lives. Do not forget that it is spiritual dirt in our lives that make us eatable by devils. But when we abide in the word of God until the flames of the truth in the word get the dirt burnt we become free and free indeed.
THAT WAS WHAT JESUS MADE CLEAR TO US WHEN HE SAID,
…”If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32 NKJV
It is the flames of truth in the word of Christ that makes truth a terror to everyone who lives in error and benefit from darkness.
When the terror of the flaming truths of God hit the people, they begin to hate or attack the one God may be using to spread them. They do not see who is behind the truth that is being spewed out with such fervency and accuracy of the Spirit.
Paul did the same when he was Saul. He thought he could succeed. He persecuted the saints and sort to destroy the Church. He thought he was attacking the bearers of the truth of the resurrection of Christ. He never knew that when you attack the bearers of Truth, you attack Christ the very truth they bear.
So, when Christ finally met him on the way to Damascus, here is what He said to him;
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Acts 9:5-6 NKJV
Saul got up from the ground that day knowing for the first time that he was attacking Christ Himself by attacking His truth bearers.
Sadly, many who attack bearers of fiery truths do that thinking they are doing the bearers harm. They do not know that it is not the bearers they are harming but the One who is bearing the bearers up, to cry His truths from their hearts to the ears of men and women. And that person is the LORD Himself!
SOMETIMES PEOPLE WHO DO SUCH THINGS DO IT AND PROSPER.
They kill God’s redemptive work in the name of God and still prosper. The Bible spoke about things that makes the righteous sad; that is one of the things that make the righteous sad.
Actually, there are so many things that makes the righteous sad. One of it is the prosperity of the wicked. It’s not easy for the righteous to see the prosperity of the wicked and remain happy because it is the prosperity of people God is angry with every day.
Someone may be wondering why the sadness!
Well, anyone who claims to be a Child of God who is happy when God is sad is not His child. He is an alien in the household of faith. It is it not a sin for the righteous to be saddened by the prosperity of the wicked. The prosperity of people God is angry with every day, will destroy the prosperity of those God is happy with every day. Don’t forget that!
The Bible made it clear that God only delights in the prosperity of the righteous. Meaning He cannot be happy at the prosperity of the wicked, hence translating the sadness to our hearts, for accurate response to a divine will that may need to be done at that time.
There are a lot of things that makes the righteous sad! Another is falsehood and craftiness.
When we came to Kenya newly for missions, we fell victims of false brethren. Even now it has not stopped. But then it almost terminated our faith and sent us back to home from the apostolic mission field.
I HAVE SHARED THIS BEFORE AND NEED TO SHARE AGAIN!
One of the saddest experiences we had was our experience with a man in a particular church my Wife and I use to worship in when we newly came. This man met me at 680 Hotel here in Nairobi after reading our bulletin “on dealing with household gods” and wept that he had no job.
In my culture back home, if you see a man weeping, he is either a weakling that needs to be slapped into reason, a warrior that the suffering of humanity has brought tears out of his eyes, or one that life has really gone very bad with. We were trained to believe that men do not weep anyhow! So when I saw him weeping, I was moved with compassion.
He said he had a family and two sons and that he needed money to pay his rent.
I prayed for him when I saw him weeping; he even showed me his tithe card. I was further moved by his tears to give him an equivalent of a hundred dollars out of the little I had, to sort him out. It was a huge sacrifice for me because we needed help ourselves.
Then in what I thought was gratitude, he took me to a place called Dandora in Nairobi. Showed me a woman he said was his wife and a little boy. He said his other son was out playing. They entertained me with soft drinks thanking me for the money, and I prayed for them.
We had other discussions about him and his supposed wife being assisted to be financially stable. But I had a check in my spirit all the while – a check from the Holy Ghost that my misguided compassion blinded me from responding to properly.
Weeks later a member of the same church visited me and I shared with him about this man and he said to me the said man was his friend and was not married and that all he did was a lie. I was shocked!
We left that church afterwards and few months later I saw his wedding pictures on face book; newly wedded. I wondered what the Church was turning into. Then I reacted! I got in touch with him to rebuke him for his lies.
God would later calm me down to leave him in HIS hands because vengeance belongs to HIM and not me.
THE ASPECT OF THIS EXPERIENCE THAT MADE ME SADDER WAS HOW HE DENIED EVER KNOWING ME WHEN I REACTED.
He even serves his pastor as a personal assistant. If I were not saved I would have left the Church and gone back to the devil because of that. The man serves so faithfully that sometimes he leads him into services. The pastor is a fellow Nigerian here in Kenya.
The man looked so innocent and harmless; his deception really increased my pain. But I have made a covenant with the LORD not to curse any man with my lips because of my apostolic mandate but leave them to God for justice.
Why am I sharing this story?
You may have been wronged the same way and are seeking vengeance. God understands your pains. He said in our devotional text today that “vengeance” is HIS not ours. Do nothing about it other than committing yourself to the God for justice.
God is God of justice. He will not forsake the righteous neither will He justify the wicked. They may look prosperous right now, but the prosperity of the wicked will destroy them.
What most of the Sons and Daughters of Christ do not know is that God has programmed wickedness to destroy itself. Whenever the enemy sway anyone to do you evil, that fellow has sowed a seed. Except there is repentance and sometimes restitution, “Hand join hand no sinner will go unpunished!”
AS YOU PASS THROUGH THIS DAY, LET THESE WORDS OF THE SWEET PSALMIST OF ISRAEL GUIDE YOUR HEART;
“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret — it only causes harm. For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.
For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more. But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
The wicked plots against the just and gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, for He sees that his day is coming.
The wicked have drawn the sword and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, to slay those who are of upright conduct. Their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.” Psalm 37:7-15 NKJV