TODAY’S DEVOTION (WEDNESDAY 3RD AUGUST 2022)
In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.
“Behold, I have created the blacksmith who blows the coals in the fire, Who brings forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the spoiler to destroy.
No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD. Isaiah 54:14-17 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 216TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF AMAZING GRACE!
The LORD our God has been so good to us, He has given us another day and kept us from the evil one.
To Him belong all the glory.
The world as it is today is full of life hazards. There are so many bad things that are happening. So many things the Scripture said about the world in Bible days that are still true in our days today.
One of it says;
“We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” 1 John 5:19 NKJV
Indeed, the world lies under the sway of the wicked one. It is impossible to listen to the news for ten minutes without hearing something bad.
A territory cannot be under the sway of a wicked force and not be filled with wickedness. Yes, a territory cannot be under the sway of the wicked one and not be a peaceful place to stay. It will be full of death, destruction, diseases, conflicts, adversities and all the like.
Like we stated in one of those devotionals, sometimes, it will only be the wicked that can survive such a territory.
If one sleeps and wakes up safe and sound in a territory that is under the sway of the wicked one, it is because the almighty God, whose power supersedes that of the wicked one has kept the person safe. Gratitude should swell from the person’s heart.
Indeed, if we know what and who has been against us, we will appreciate the miraculous deeds of who has been for us. Our safety in a wicked world is a proof that if God be for us, it does not matter who or what is against us.
I believe It does not matter who is swaying the world, what really matters is who is our shelter in the world.
No matter how much the wicked one sways the world, if the LORD GOD be our shelter, we are more than safe. We will see Him break forth for us like He did for the Psalmist. We will see Him manifest in our lives like He did in the days of David.
WE WILL LIVE IN A REALM OF PROCLAIMING WITH THE PSALMIST;
“The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell.
Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident.” Psalm 27:1-3 NKJV
Yes, we will be living in the realm that the Psalmist lived in, which made it possible for him to proclaim these words.
Friend, we can be in this world and still not live in the same realm where its inhabitants live. That is why Jesus said, “we are in the world but not of the world.” He made it clear that We can be in this world but live in realms that are beyond the reach of the wicked one.
Now, one may be wondering how can that be? How can someone live in a wicked world and not be within the reach of the force in whose sway the world lies under? I think we should take a look at that.
First and famous, we must understand that living in the realm where the wicked one cannot touch us is possible but does not happen automatically.
Yes, living safely in a world that is under the sway of the wicked one does not happen just by wishes expressed through prayer. There is a Bible secret to it. That’s why people have prayed against things that still fell upon them despite their prayers.
For instance, there are Church groups that have prayed against road accidents before embarking on trips that still had the very accident that they prayed against killing everyone who prayed, courtesy of the wicked one. There are marriages that have been filled with prayers that still collapsed because of the sway of the wicked one.
There are people in conflict who have prayed standing on the part of the scripture of our devotional text that says “No weapon formed against you shall prosper” whose lives were still cut short by weapons formed against them.
COULD IT BE THERE IS SOMETHING WE DO NOT KNOW ABOUT GOD’S PROTECTION PACKAGE FOR US?
There are people whose lives do not reflect the scriptures of divine protection; you can not find them working in their lives, that is despite their powerful prayer lives, amazing giving towards Church work, or great sacrifices in the kingdom.
Yes, there are businesses that prayers have been used to secure that still closed down by the power of the wicked one despite all that was done.
Friend, when it comes to our battle with the wicked one, prayer, as powerful as it can be, was not presented as the secret to staying beyond the reach of the wicked one.
Indeed, Jesus said “men always ought to pray and not to faint.” Constant prayer is great but there is something that must come ahead of constant prayer for it to grant us the result we may be looking for. And that thing is the Bible secret to staying beyond the reach of the wicked one.
If we look at the very scripture that preceded the one that spoke about the entire world being under sway of the wicked one, we can see the secret lying openly for all with eyes to see.
The scripture says;
“All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.
We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.
We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” 1 John 5:17-19 NKJV
This scripture began by sharing with us the reality of the gravity of sin. It made it clear that not all sins carry the same gravity. Some are heavier in gravity, others are lighter, depending on what is at stake. But all sins, despite the gravity, are unrighteousness and they bring us to the place where the wicked done can touch us.
IN OTHER WORDS, A LIFE OF SIN WILL NOT ALLOW US TO BREAK INTO REALMS WHERE THE WICKED ONE CANNOT REACH.
Now, once again, let us look at the part of the scripture that says, “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.”
Clearly this part placed the inability of the wicked one to touch us on our not living a life of sin, not on our faithful tithing (which has its own reward), Church attendance (which is very necessary), or prayer and fasting (as good as that may be).
The classic edition of the amplified version of the Bible puts the same scripture this way;
“All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin which does not [involve] death [that may be repented of and forgiven].
We know [absolutely] that anyone born of God does not [deliberately and knowingly] practice committing sin, but the One Who was begotten of God carefully watches over and protects him [Christ’s divine presence within him preserves him against the evil], and the wicked one does not lay hold (get a grip) on him or touch [him].” 1 John 5:17-18 AMPC
In this rendering of the same scripture, we can see another presentation of sin and its gravity in the first verse. I will call it the mystery of the gravity of sin.
It clearly states that all wrong doing is sin before God, but there are sins or wrong doings that do not leave any with the chance to repent and obtain forgiveness from God before death, and there are sins that leaves one with the chance to repent and obtain forgiveness from God before death.
For instance, if a man or woman dies while committing the act of sexual immorality, his or her sin did not leave him or her with the chance of repenting and obtaining forgiveness before death.
Sadly, many have died and slipped into the eternal judgment and fire of hell that way; either while trying to abort pregnancies or trying to prevent one. Some have even died on the very spot where they were committing the act.
But there are also those who have been committing the sin for years and are still alive. They sin gravity of their sin deems lighter leaving them with the chance of repenting and obtaining forgiveness. Sadly, many are still living in those sins.
THAT IS THE MYSTERY OF THE GRAVITY OF SIN.
The second part of the scripture then says people who are born of GOD do not deliberately live in sin. They do not say “the gravity of this sin is small and the other is huge, let me be committing the one with a smaller gravity.” No! That will make them practitioners of sin.
The Bible says “We know absolutely that anyone born of God does not deliberately and knowingly practice committing sin.” It made it clear that “Christ’s divine presence within him or her will preserve him or her against the evil, and that the wicked one will not be able to lay hold or get a grip on, or touch him or her. Hallelujah!
In simply terms, being born of God keeps one beyond the reach of the wicked one. Which brings us to the focus of our 31-Day Journey; the Cry of the Holy Spirit on spiritual fathering.
I grew up to discover that, If fathering is built around the Tree of Life, it will produce spiritual children that the wicked one cannot touch.
In other words, it will produce spiritual children who are born of GOD. Those who will truly submit to the teachings and guide of the spiritual father, will be born of GOD. They will not be practitioners of sin. Consequently, the wicked one will not be able to touch them.
That is why authentic spiritual fathering involves laboring in the word and doctrine until Christ is formed in people, thereby placing them beyond the reach of the wicked one. It makes righteousness the measuring line of the daily lives of spiritual children.
But false spiritual fathering is far from that.
False spiritual fathering will treat your sin with kids glove and tell you “we are all sinners. The LORD understands our weakness.”
Our devotional text clearly buttresses the importance of righteousness in keeping us beyond the reach of the wicked one. It says;
“In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.
“Behold, I have created the blacksmith who blows the coals in the fire, Who brings forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the spoiler to destroy.
No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD. Isaiah 54:14-17 NKJV
I THINK THIS SCRIPTURE HAS PUT THE FINISHING LINE ON THIS DEVOTIONAL.
We need spiritual fathering that will place us beyond the reach of the wicked one by getting and keeping us born of GOD. We need a spiritual fathering that can make justice and righteousness the measuring and plumb lines of our lives. Though not common these days, that remains the greatest need of the hour.
Only a spiritual fathering that revolves around the tree of life can birth spiritual children who are established in righteousness; who have made justice and righteousness the measuring and plumb lines of their lives.
If you find one, please submit to the teachings and instruction of Christ it exposes you to, so that you can be born of GOD and established in righteousness. That is the only way the wicked one (who sways the world on daily bases), will not touch you!
Do not forget, if spiritual fathering revolves around a man of GOD instead of the Tree of life, it will produce spiritual children who are born of the man (be like the man) but not born of GOD (not like Christ).
It will produce spiritual children who are not established in righteousness. They will rather be established in religion with no moral compass. That is the Cry of the Spirit on spiritual fathering for today!
It is my prayer that the LORD will use these words to add to the building blocks of our faith. Amen and amen!
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
“Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily.
Also I will make justice the measuring line, And righteousness the plummet; The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters will overflow the hiding place.
Your covenant with death will be annulled, And your agreement with Sheol will not stand; When the overflowing scourge passes through, Then you will be trampled down by it.” Isaiah 27:16-18 NKJV