TODAY’S DEVOTION (Thursday 25th November 2021)
“Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” James 4:14 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 328th DAY OF OUR YEAR OF HIGHER HEIGHTS.
Welcome to another great day from the LORD. It’s been our month of God’s mercy, and GOD have been faithful to us. We bless the Day (Jesus Christ) for giving us another day this year.
We bless the giver of LIFE, (The Way, the Truth and the Life Himself, Jesus Christ) for extending our lives one more time. Many of us would not have been ready for the next life if He had not extended our lives; if we had died in our sleep. It is out of His mercies that we are not consumed.
As the Way, Jesus shows us the way. As the Truth, He help us not to walk in error. He sets us free from sin, Satan and the evil and corrupt system of this world. And as the Life, He holds the keys of hell and of death and will never use them against His own. Give glory to this God, who created you and I and put breathe in our nostrils.
You may not have food to eat, do not forget that some have food but there is no life to eat the food. You may not have good shoes to wear, but do not forget some have no legs to even wear shoes. You may not have a house to live in, but did not forget many have houses but no peace to live in those houses. That is why the Bible says;
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NKJV
When we do not Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in everything, we are not in the will of God. Meaning, open way not to be in the will of God is to be sad instead of rejoicing always, worry instead of praying always, and complain instead of giving thanks in everything.
And the danger of not being in the will of the LORD is not having the provisions of the LORD in your life.
THE ETERNAL WORD OF THE LORD MUST THEREFORE BE RESPECTED AND TAKEN TO HEART.
The word of God is eternal. The Bible indeed admonishes that truth should be given double attention. Not just double attention but sufficient attention for the fullness of the blessing to be made manifest in our lives. We must give 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 sufficient attention and align our lives with each word in it because that is one of the written will of God for us!
Do not forget that our lives are designed to be spend according to divine will. If we do not spend them that way, we will get it filled with problems that even prayer may not solve. Life is so fragile that if we do not live it within God’s will we bring it abruptly to an end.
A lot of people have brought their lives abruptly to an end by not living within God’s will. They did not respect the word of the LORD and had no regard for His ways. To them dying was like a movie.
They thought if they died they will be free from the problems they found themselves in; they thought they will enter into peace and get eternally delivered from the problems of life. Some commit suicide because of these fallacies. But none of that is true.
Talking about suicide, I want to bring something to your attention.
Bringing your life to an abrupt end for any reason is the beginning of sorrow for any soul, not the end of problems as many believe. Do not allow anything to bring you to the point of cherishing death more than life. If you do, you will bring yourself into eternal sorrows.
In god’s plans, if we are to die, we must die living our lives within God’s written will; that is what the Bible says. We must die in God’s will, following God’s ways and having eternity in view. We must not die in sin, sorrow and bitterness of heart.
IT IS WHEN PEOPLE ARE IN SIN, SORROWS AND BITTERNESS OF HEART THAT THEY TAKE THEIR OWN LIVES THROUGH SUICIDE.
Anyone who took his or her own life is burning in hell fire as we speak. The person may have been your wife, husband, father, mother, brother, sister, friend, child or etc. they are in hades as we speak waiting for the final judgement when they will be cast into the lake of fire to perish forever. That should scare you!
Life is not a movie! Do not think dying or taking away your life is like sleeping and waking up! No it is not. It is the fastest way to perish eternally. Believe it or not, all who died by suicide are presently under the torments of hell, begging to be returned back to earth to amend their ways and live right.
So, cherish each moment that God has given you, even if you are in pains, and do not allow yourself to be so bothered to the point of thinking of taking away your own life. The written will of God says;
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Staying alive is the will of God for you. Taking away your life is not. Walk in GOD’s will; rejoice always; pray without ceasing, in everything gives thanks. It will protect your heart from being overburdened with the issues of life. It will protect you from contemplating suicide or coming under the gates of death, and seeing dying more pleasant than staying alive.
True Christianity has nothing to do with committing suicide.
Come to think of it, no true Child of God commits suicide. Even when they were heavily persecuted, no member of the early church committed suicide. John the beloved was thrown into the Island of Patmos. He did not feel humiliated and ended his life. He applied what the word said we should do when things are not okay with us – Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks. The result was the Book of Revelation. The reason was His Christianity was not a fake version. It was real.
IF WE FALSIFY CHRISTIANITY WE WILL BE EXPOSED IN THE DAY OF ADVERSITY. WE WILL BE EXPOSED BY HOW WE RESPOND TO IT!
There are two things that helps to exposed if we are truly saved or not. The first is when we are tempted to sin, the second is when we are tested in the furnace of affliction. If we submit to sin and fall into it, or we submit to affliction and do opposite of what the word says, we should check our salvation. Our Christianity could be the fake version.
Christianity is not moving from an outright sinner to an in-church sinner. It is not claiming born again while you have not even met Christ. True Christianity is denying the world and accepting the cross. It is rejecting your sinful ways and embracing Christ’s sinless life.
True Christianity begins from the gates of genuine repentance. God said in His word,
“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,” Acts 3:19 NKJV
Repentance is the fruit of a true salvation experience. If you say you are saved or born again but you are not living a life of repentance; if you are just living a life of sin, and believing that it does not matter, that what Christ did on cross will save you eternally, irrespective of how you live, like many preach and believe today, you are deluded and unsaved.
Repentance is the fruit of genuine salvation. It is the password to use in accessing God’s mercy. You do not access God’s mercy by continuing in your sins. You access God’s mercy by repenting of your sins.
Let me show you a mystery; the death of Christ has credited the eternal life account of every human being on the face of the earth with mercy. Everyone has a fully credited account full of GOD’s mercies in the Throne Room. By what is in that account, we are all Heaven bound. But withdrawal will be necessary. No matter how fat your bank account is, it will not profit you until withdrawal is made.
THAT IS HOW IT IS WHEN TALKING OF GOD’S MERCIES. YOU MUST WITHDRAW FROM IT TO ENJOY IT.
The withdrawal slip, code or password is called “repentance.” That was what the early Church taught and lived. That was why the gospel of repentance towards God and faith towards our LORD Jesus Christ is a major aspect of the message of the cross. That was what Jesus Himself preached when he came.
It takes a life of repentance to enjoy God’s mercy. Without genuine repentance, you will regret in hell if you close your eyes in death. God’s mercies do not benefit PRACTICING SINNERS, except they use it and come out of their sins. God mercy benefits only REPENTED SINNERS.
When we repent, God shows mercy but when we do not, we frustrate His mercies in our account in the throne room. In God’s kingdom, there can be no forgiveness without repentance. The written will of God says, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”
I think, meeting Jesus and living a life of repentance is the greatest life insurance policy on earth. It does not matter what happens to you after that, with a life of repentance and righteous living, you are saved forever.
We must understand that Life does not end in death. Life begins in death! The faster we come to terms to this Biblical truth the better.
The Bible says it is appointed unto men to die and after that judgment (Hebrew 9:27). Death is the beginning of a life that is higher than this life – an eternal life; it could be an eternal life full of torment or an eternal life full of comfort. It all depends on our spiritual life conditions at the point of death.
If you die after withdrawing from your mercy account in Heaven, through repentance, having accepted Jesus as LORD and personal savior, you will begin this higher life in Heaven. But if you die without withdrawing from your mercy account, you will begin the higher life in eternal fire. That is the divine position!
Make this day a day of sober reflections! Check your salvation claim. Are you really saved or you are just psychologically saved? The answer to this question will determine where you will spend eternity when your die.
You can take some time to pray this moment; rededicate your heart to the LORD. Ask Him to purge your heart and give you His Holy Spirit afresh. Make a fresh covenant with Him not to go back to your Old Ways.
He is waiting right now!
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR US TODAY!
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.
And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before [c]God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:11-15 NKJV