TODAY’S DEVOTION (SATURDAY 9TH April 2022)
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,” 2 Peter 2:10-15 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 99th DAY OF OUR YEAR OF AMAZING GRACE
The reason for His amazing grace is obvious. Without His amazing grace, we will not be saved, we will not even be alive. Many are the afflictions of the Righteous, but the LORD delivers them from they all. He has been our help!
Yes, we have seen Him as an immediate present help in time of trouble.
Sometimes He helps us by stopping the trouble, other times He helps us by allowing us go through it but making sure we are not consumed. He said in His word;
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.” Isaiah 43:2 NKJV
Yesterday, one of our brothers in Church lost his, I think, four months old son to death. he said he had lungs problems when he was born but from his judgment that was cleared. He said the boy died in his sleep. I was shocked. I was driving when I got the message.
Much later, after a long conversation with the family, I advised that a postmortem be done to determine what really happened; maybe the lung issue he thought cleared was not fully cleared, or maybe something else happened, or maybe nothing happened.
He is one of our new but not too new brethren to join the family. It was heart breaking for me, I just consoled them and requested that with the history of such happening in the family, we must sit down to talk about how they married, and other things I need to know so that this incident will not repeat itself again.
While still in shock of that I woke up this morning to the story of the death of a great woman of God that I love so much and has been of great help to us through her spiritual songs; Mrs. Osinachi Nwachukwu – the one who sang “Ekwueme, you are the living God” along with Prosper.
She was just 42 Years.
This one went sharp into my emotions. It threw me into fear. Yes, fear for the righteous. “What is happening LORD” I asked. Why are the righteous not living long enough these days to sanitize the earth with their fragrance?
“Yes, precious in the sight of the LORD is the dead of the righteous, but this is not precious to us LORD! However, we summit to your will and look forward to when dead itself.” I said to myself.
I think these are no longer days that the righteous should be looking at long life, or thinking about it. These are days to be thinking of a fulfilled life, because we are in a terminal generation.
In a terminal generation, the righteous are sometimes taken home quickly to rest from their labors. While some are killed by things that are unknown or known to them due to carelessness and due to the battles raging against our souls, others are just taken home to go rest.
WE MUST UNDERSTAND WHAT TO EXPECT IN A TERMINAL GENERATION
For now, we do not know what happened to our dear sister Osinachi, but we know she is with her LORD, who she served and whose presence she brought down to our lives through her songs. As part of the Body of Christ, I am pained by these happenings, and I will not stop asking the LORD, why? Until He reveal Himself, because in the day of adversity consider.
May her soul continue to rest in the peace of the LORD.
God deals with His own in mysterious ways, that is why He is like the wind that you cannot grasp with your hands. Like Paul, it is important we ask Him for help whenever we need it, but leave how He sends it to us to His omniscience discretion.
As earlier stated, sometimes he sends the help to us by allowing us go through what we fear, but sustaining us in the midst of it.
Incidentally, these things are taking place when the LORD is teaching us about an aspect of apostolic Christianity that many fear – the fellowship of Sufferings. It is in moments like these that our desires are reinforced to look forward to when death itself will die, and God will usher in the New Heaven and the New Earth where Righteousness dwells.
The first part of our Devotional text said;
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”
TIME IS MARCHING THE RIGHTEOUS TOWARDS THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH AND THE WICKED TO THE LAKE OF FIRE.
If you have not done it, you must make a decision now! A decision of where you will allow time to take you to because time is taking us all to either of this one destinations. Those who are looking for the New Heaven and the New Earth with a lifestyle of godliness germinating from the Christ in them are being taken by time to the New Heaven and the New Earth where Righteousness dwells. Those who are not are being taken to the lake of fire. This is a Bible fact.
God’s perfect plan, when time was created, was for it to wipe away the consequences of the fall of man and the fall of Lucifer, and bring the earth and its inhabitants back to its proper place in glory. That is why even the earth is expectant. The Bible says;
“For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.” Romans 8:19-21 NKJV
Time is the one with the delegated authority to bring the earth and the entire creation to that glory phase that was once there when Adam was created. Its just that this time around, it will be the second Adam that will be in charge, which will make it more glorious than when the first Adam was in charge. It will be so glorious that we will not be able to capture in human words.
THE BIBLE ADMONISHED THAT THE GLORY OF THAT FUTURE LIFE IS WHAT WE SHOULD LIVE OUR PRESENT LIVES FOR!
The reality of where time is taking us all to painted in this Bible Prophecies should get our focus not just this morning but every day of our lives. That will help us to live how we ought to live because nothing prophesied by Bible prophecy will fail. All will come to pass.
In case you did not know, the most accurate prophecies in human existence are Bible Prophecies. They tell us things that have been pre-determined to happen. If you are a student of history and a student of Bible prophecy at the same time, you will understand me perfectly. Human History itself has been shaped by Bible prophecy. That is why we should give heed to the things it is saying.
I submit to you that there is nothing in Bible prophecy that has ever failed and none will fail. We should only wake up to the reality of the coming future and begin to lead our lives right. People who do not ignore Bible prophecy have been known to be the most consecrated men and women in the history of the Church and the Kingdom of God on earth.
The question now is, how are we expected to live since all these things are going to happen? The last portions of our devotional text hold the answer. It said;
“Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,”
We are expected to be found by the LORD at all times in peace (shalom) and without spot and blameless. These is the aspect that makes me sad because of some things I have seen in my own life, and what I am seeing in the lives of believers around. Are we really blameless? Are we really without spots? Are we in peace (shalom)?
The answer to all these questions is “No” in the lives of many of us.
ONE OF THE MAJOR REASONS FOR THAT IS THE ENTHRONEMENT OF THE DOCTRINES OF DEVILS IN THE PRESENT CHURCH.
Which brings us to the subject of our 30-Day trip with the Cry of the Holy Spirit on doctrine.
When I was following wrong doctrines, I lived a life of sin and that kills me almost every time I recall the dark days. There are times that the effect of those doctrines flow back into my soul and tries to usher in again the dark days.
I tell you, the battle with wrong doctrines that one has imbibed are not cheap battles. Even when you have left them, what they left behind your life has a way of remaining. It resurfaces in days of temptation and trials, and weakens your resolve for righteousness during close quarter battles. That is what makes wrong doctrines very dangerous.
But we have the blood of the lamb that has not lost its power doing a cleansing work in our lives. We also have the word of the LORD that is always there to help us.
It is important to note that the blood of Jesus Christ that was shared through the eternal spirit of GOD only work through what we hear from the same Spirit; the doctrine of Christ from the Holy Spirit. It is what we hear that determines what we believe and think, and it is what we believe and think that form our thoughts system and ultimately that determines our life styles.
That is why a blameless and spotless life – the very life the Bible says we should live these end times – is not possible without imbibing the doctrines of Christ on daily bases.
If Christ will find us in peace, blameless and spotless at His coming (either when He allows death to take us home, or when He comes in the rapture trumpet), the doctrines of demons, and every false or man-made doctrine must be far from us. The doctrine of Christ must be enthroned in our lives.
It is my prayer that God will us these words to keep us in perfect peace, and to help us live blameless and spotless lives from hence forth till the day of His coming in Jesus precious name. Amen
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
“Therefore, be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.
For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
Therefore do not be partakers with them.” Ephesians 5:1-7 NKJV