TODAY’S DEVOTION (Sunday 8th March 2020)
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 KJV
WELCOME TO THE 67th DAY OF OUR YEAR OF REJOICING
This is the day the LORD has made. We shall rejoice and be glad in it! For some of us attending a Holy Ghost and Bible revelation filled church service is not an option. Personally, I have been attending Church services all my life. It is now part of me. I stand in awe each time I see a so-called Christian not feeling comfortable missing Church service.
If you are part of the body of Christ, you will find a local Church and plant yourself. If you can not find a good one close by you will find yourself traveling hundreds of miles and even relocating to plant yourself in one good one you found.
Yes, there are no perfect churches on earth because the only perfect churches are in Heaven. But there are very good Churches on earth. Churches good enough to deliver us from sin, Satan and the evil and corrupt systems of this world – places of Zion where sons are fed with rich spiritual food and Children are made Sons. Find one around and if you cannot find anyone, come to the Cry of the Spirit Ministries and drink or learn to join us virtually.
There is a virtual world emerging, you can use it to reach God and get yourself ready for the next life if you cannot find an actual good church around. Though you may not get all you truly need, half bread is always better than none.
It’s another glorious day of the month of March – specifically the 8th day. It pays to start a day with a word from the LORD.
Successful people in God’s Kingdom start their day in God’s presence and with a word from the LORD. In our devotional today we shall continue with the flow of the Holy Spirit that started yesterday on “not living according to the dictates of the flesh.”
The flesh has been our main problem not really our human enemies. In fact, there are three basic enemies of a man – the world, the devil, and the flesh. If we conquer these three, we have conquered any other one that may come against us.
Being a Child of God indeed entails not walking according to the dictates of the world, the devil or the flesh.
IT INVOLVES LIVING THE CRUCIFIED LIFE.
Sadly, the subject of living a crucified life has become an unknown Bible truth in our church generation. I am yet to hear a present-day front-line preacher preach about the crucified life. The last preacher I heard talk about the crucified life died the day I was born. That explains how I heard the message; it was through an audio tape. Her name was Katherine Kuhlmann.
No wonder she moved in such waves of glory in her days! Today no preacher on cable or local television wants to talk about it because it will rob them of their fame, fortune, and worship.
The crucified life is a life that one does not live according to the influence of the world, the devil, or the flesh – a Christian life that does not allow the three to dictate, fashion out, or determine how it is led. That is the Crucified life!
Sadly, the crucified life is the missing life today. That is why majority of so-called believers today are oppressed and attacked by the evil one. We queue for deliverance and make charlatans smile to the bank because of not living the Crucified life. Many just want to heap teachers according to their lust.
Even when one tries to preach the crucified life, it does not really ring a bell. They just ignore the message or, say you are too judgmental. If God put a word in your mouth that brings people to the cross, and urge them to live the crucified life, they will give you names and leave your ministry.
That explains why many of us preachers do not preach it today. We are afraid we will loose our follower-ship. We forget that it is the message of the cross, a word that is foolishness to the world that we are all called to preach.
But the devil is a liar. The apostolic voice of the Cry of the Spirit Ministries will keep lifting the message of the cross and pointing people to die to the flesh, the devil and the world. We will not cease from calling on the end time Church to return to the Crucified life, because that is the place of true power and glory! Anything outside it is false.
Everything people usually line up in deliverance services to get from God only comes permanently through a Crucified Christian life. A deliverance prayer could give you healing but only a crucified life brings divine health. A deliverance prayer could set you free for a moment but only a crucified life will permanently make you free because it guarantees a constant flow of the supernatural.
THE LIFE WE LIVE IS WHAT DETERMINES THE DEVILS WE EITHER SEE OR DO NOT SEE. PERIOD!
Deliverance may come through a man praying for you, but divine preservation comes through you living a crucified life. In fact, captivity, oppression, and all kinds of successful satanic attacks in the life of a Christian are products of not living a Crucified life.
We struggle with many things because we have not been crucified with Christ. Most of us confess it with our mouths but deny it with our acts. Our devotional text today says
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me”
If we allow ourselves to be crucified with Christ, leading a crucified Christian life, we will no longer struggle with the many things we are struggling with today as members of the end time Church. Be it in marriage, finances, health and related things.
For instance, one of the many things we struggle with today, as end time Christians is failed promises or prophecies or lack of manifestation of prophetic promises. In other words, what we heard from God in the Spirit that He wants to do in our lives and are sure that it was HIM that spoke to us about it, is yet to manifest in our lives.
Personally, I have been used by God to speak true prophecies in the lives of some people that have not come to pass. I have come across other accurate and true men of God who share the same experience with me. “Why will God show us true things He wants to do in the lives of people, but we don’t see them come to pass in the lives of some” we inquire.
One day the LORD made me to understand that what He speaks to us in the Spirit will not come to pass in our lives if we hear it in the Spirit then step down to lead a Christian life in the flesh.
I BEGAN TO UNDERSTAND THAT WHAT BEGAN IN THE SPIRIT MUST REMAIN IN THE SPIRIT TO BE MADE MANIFEST IN OUR LIVES.
If God speak a word of promise to us in the Spirit, we must remain in the same realm of the Spirit to see what He said come to pass. If we walk away from the realm of the Spirit and step down to walk in the realm of the flesh, we will defeat His purpose and stall the manifestation of His word of promise.
Walking in the Spirit is very essential to the performance of divine promises. I saw that in the life of the Sons of Eli.
God has said the priesthood will remain in the seed of Aaron. He spoke that word in glory and gave standards to be respected by Aaron and his seed from generation to generation; primarily to keep them in the same spiritual realm where they heard that word.
But generations later, it was the turn of Eli and his sons to serve as priests. Suddenly, they started breaking the very principles God gave them to sustain the manifestation of the prophecy. They started desecrating the women who came to worship God sexually, and the offering of the LORD. The result was not pleasing. God changed His mind and they lost the priesthood!
Many Christians have either lost their blessings or are at the verge of loosing them because they are repeating the same error.
This morning God sent this word to stop us from loosing His blessings for our lives. If you give it the attention it deserves, you will come into the fullness of His blessings and no longer suffer delay in the manifestation of His promises for your life.
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURAL PASSAGE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION AS YOU EMBRACE THIS DAY!
“Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him.
But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off.
You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.
“So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.” Exodus 23:20-26 NKJV