TODAY’S DEVOTION (WEDNESDAY 27TH JULY 2022)
“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”
Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying:
“As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.
Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.
This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. Genesis 17:1-11 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 208TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF AMAZING GRACE!
For two hundred and eight days our God has been feeding us both physically and spiritually, keeping us both spiritually and physically, preserving us both spiritually and physically, guiding us through thick and thin and not allowing the enemy to run over us.
There are three enemies believers in Christ fight on daily bases; the flesh and all its constituencies, the devil and all his constituencies, and the evil and corrupt system of this world and all that comprises it.
How we fare in our battle with this three is what will determine our eternal destiny.
Today in most departments of the present Church, we give all of our attention to the devil and his constituencies, forgetting that until the flesh and its constituencies and the evil and corrupt system of this world overcome us, the devil and his constituencies will never have us.
The Bible says;
“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Hebrews 2:14-15 NKJV
This scripture made it clear that our LORD Jesus Christ has destroyed the devil.
I do not know if you understand that word destroyed. The word destroyed means to end the existence of something by damaging or attacking it. It means to ruin, defeat utterly or annihilate. That was what happened to the devil when Jesus died, got buried and resurrected on the third day.
It means the devil is no longer our problem; he ceases being your problem the day you were conveyed, or translated from the kingdom of darkness (his kingdom) into the kingdom of light, the kingdom of GOD.
OUR VICTORY AT THE CROSS IS REAL AND PERMANENT. NO CONTROVERSY!
Therefore, the possibility of the activities of the devil to exist in the lives of the Children of light was brought to an end, damaged, ruined, defeated utterly, and annihilated by the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. That was what the early Church knew hence, not making the devil a subject of attention like we are doing today.
In the whole of the new Testament, more attention was paid on putting the flesh under subjection and having no friendship with the world than binding and loosing devils because of what our fathers knew.
But today no attention is paid to putting the flesh under subjection or having no friendship with the world. Our entire focus is on binding and loosing, which is why we have false doctrines among us.
People that are operating as slaves of sin and intimate friends of the world are busy binding devils, and the devils refused to be bound.
We have not been taught that only obedience and submission to God’s will binds Satan not loud prayers and intense fasting. Our loud prayers and intense fasting will only work if we are leading lives that are submissive to God’s will and ways.
The early Church was powerful because she knew that hence moving to conquer the battle with the flesh, and the world. That was why the Devil had no power over then.
If our flesh is under subjection and we have no friendship with the world, the prince of this world will come and he will have nothing in us.
The defeated foe only come alive in our lives if we move from the kingdom of light to the kingdom of darkness where He is king. Sadly, many in church today have done that.
I want us to understand that the easiest way a believer translates back into the kingdom of darkness after being conveyed away from it by GOD’s saving grace, is by friendship with the world and a walk in the flesh.
Sadly, as it stands today, many have been translated back to the kingdom of darkness for not mounting enough resistance against the flesh and the evil and corrupt system of this world, but leading lives that aligns with both constituencies of the fallen nature.
Many of us are leading lives that aligns with both constituencies by giving in to the pleasures in them; namely, the pleasure of the flesh and the pleasures of this world; which leads to the fall of a believer.
YES, IN A WORLD WHERE AN AVERAGE MAN SEEKS FOR PLEASURE, IT HAS BECOME EASY TO FIND FALLEN CHRISTIANS EVERYWHERE LIKE FALLEN ANGELS.
We are Christians on Sunday, but by Wednesday or even the same day we are back to the trenches of sin because of our desires to gratify the pleasurable desires of our flesh or enjoy the pleasures of this world.
There are millions of us believers (especially preachers), who have put our eternal lives in eternal danger by living in the spiritual trenches of satisfying the carnal cravings of our flesh, and enjoying the pleasures of the evil and corrupt system of this world.
But it is not the will of God that we live in such spiritual zones, that have become the slaughter houses of glorious destinies. God wants us out and this word today is for those who want to come out.
Which brings me to the subject of our 31-Day journey of faith; miracles, signs, and wonders. Today we walk away a bit from the catalysts of miracles in GOD’s kingdom so that we can look at another Throne Room Miracle called “Miracles of New Beginning.”
It is through the miracle of new beginning that lost souls find a loving savior. It is through the miracle of New Beginning that believers recover from a fall. It is through the miracle of new beginning that our enemies do not rejoice over us forever, especially after we have fallen into sin, iniquity or trespass.
The Bible says;
“Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; When I fall, I will arise; When I sit in darkness, The LORD will be a light to me.” Micah 7:8 NKJV
Only the miracle of new beginning can accomplish this scripture in a believer’s life. Only the miracle of new beginning can take a Child of God from the trenches of sinful living to the mountains of God’s holiness. It is a major Throne Room Miracle that has rescued so many souls from eternal damnation.
That is why it is un-necessary to go to hell.
THERE ARE ENOUGH MIRACLES IN GOD’S THRONE TO HELP US OUT IF WE CAN ONLY REPENT AND SEEK THE LORD FOR THEM.
What believers do not know is this, the enemy will not rejoice over us when we are slandered, we fall sick, become poor, lose our jobs, our marriages or our earnings like he will rejoice over us when we fall into sin and desecrate our garments.
Sadly, most present-day believers do not worry when they fall into sin. We only worry when we fall sick or lose any of the earthly blessings we had. That alone is a sign that we have left the kingdom of light and returned to the kingdom of darkness where the fall of man took the human race to.
A fall will return a believer back to the kingdom of darkness if the miracle of new beginning is not sought-after immediately.
You must understand that the kingdom of darkness rejoices over us the more when we fall into sin than when any of our earthly treasures are lost. And the Kingdom of God will not bother much if we lose any of the earthly things because they have no eternal relevance and can always be restored back to us. It bothers more when we fall into sin and begin to live in the trenches of satisfying the flesh and enjoying the pleasures of this world.
The kingdom of God will worry when we desecrate our Holiness garments and truncate our relationship with God, hence making the miracle of new beginning available. That was how it made it available to Abraham when he was Abram after 13 years of God not talking to him because of Ishmael.
If you look at the life and times of Abraham you will realize that if not for the miracle of New Beginning, the Ishmael mistake would have been his end, so long as what GOD wanted to do with his life was concerned.
We cannot succeed in our walk with God without it. I see it as a prophetic or an apostolic insurance.
The miracle of New Beginning happens in two ways. The first way is initiated by a believer who is living in the trenches and wants to get out hence seeking GOD for help in repentance. As he or she seeks Him, with the whole of his or her heart, he or she will come to the realm where God can be found.
GOD PRESENTED THIS FIRST WAY THAT NEW BEGINNING MIRACLES ARE RECEIVED WHEN HE SAID;
“Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.” Jeremiah 29:12-14 NKJV
You can follow the pathways of this scripture and initiate the miracle of New Beginning by seeking the LORD as outlined in it.
Believers who have put their eternal life in danger by living in the spiritual trenches of satisfying the desires of the flesh and enjoying the pleasures of this world has made used of this scripture and returned back to GOD over the years.
Friend, if you are living in the trenches today is your turn to do what believers in time past did.
The second miracle of new beginning happens by the sovereign will of GOD. Which was what happened to Abraham when he was Abram. You will find out that Abram never bothered what the Ishmael thing brought into his relationship with GOD.
In the language of the new Testament, we will say he lived a spiritually careless life for 13 years after having Ishmael until God’s sovereign will overruled him.
When GOD’s sovereign will overruled him, there was a demand for perfection. That is what happens when GOD want to grant us the miracle of New Beginning.
HE WILL PLACE A DEMAND FOR A PERFECT WALK BEFORE HIM.
Our devotional text presents it this way;
“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”
Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying:
“As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.
Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.
This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. Genesis 17:1-11 NKJV
From this scripture, it is clear that when GOD is bringing the miracle of new beginning to a believer who is living in the spiritual trenches of sin; the trenches of satisfying the sinful cravings of the flesh and enjoying the pleasures of this world, He will not just request that we start walking perfectly before Him, He will also demand for the circumcision of our flesh.
To circumcise the flesh will not just involved putting its cravings under subjection through spiritual exercises like meditation in GOD’s word, fasting, prayer and the use of the will to say no, it will also involve cutting off ties with anyone and anything that serves as a stimulant.
ABRAHAM HAD TO SEND HAGGAI AND ISHMAEL AWAY AT ONE TIME.
That was part of circumcision and was very painful. No circumcision is peaceful. All circumcisions are painful.
Understand that there can be no new beginning if there is no circumcision. If we keep dodging the pain of circumcision, we will never have a new beginning, especially when defilement is coming from the one you need to separate from or something you need to cut out of your life .
Child of God, wisdom is only fitting for the wise! I believe the all wise GOD has given us some wisdom this morning.
Let me reiterate again that if you are living in the trenches of satisfying the desires of the flesh and enjoying the pleasures of the evil and corrupt system of this world, you are a hell fire candidate just waiting to get there. But you can change that by reaching out to the miracle of New Beginning to start a fresh walk with GOD.
The way to doing that has just been laid in this devotional.
Someone must rise today, like the prodigal son did, and return to the father, using the paths the LORD has revealed to us in His word today. May the LORD expand and expound the revelation in our hearts the more so that we can enter the new beginning that He promised us. Amen!
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOU TODAY!
“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’
“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.
And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.” Luke 15:17-24 NKJV