Your Refreshing Daily Devotional

The parable in Judges Chapter 9 is a classic lesson on purpose. It is designed to teach us how to jealously focus on our calling and avoid all distractions no matter how well packaged. The setting of the parable showed how the trees went on a mission to anoint a king over them. Their first port of call was first the Olive, but it refused because it found satisfaction in its product being used in honour of God and man. Next to be approached was the fig which was also jealous of its sweetness and would not want to abandon that. The invitation was then given to the vine. On its part, the vine spoke of its wine that brings cheer to God and man and subsequently turned down the offer.

…not all opportunities should be accepted, and not all open doors are to be explored. When an opportunity presents itself, assess it in the light of what God has purposed for you…Distracted people don’t accomplish much.

The first thing to take to heart is that not all that glitters is gold. On the surface, the invitation given to these trees was an opportunity. Who would not want to be a king with all the attendant honour! However, these trees realized that becoming king would take them away from the core of what God created them to do. To accede to the request would mean moving from significance to irrelevance; therefore, they rejected the offer immediately. The moral of this parable is that not all opportunities should be accepted, and not all open doors are to be explored. When an opportunity presents itself, assess it in the light of what God has purposed for you. What has God called you to do? Will that opening enhance your essence and calling or stand as an obstacle? Go only for the openings that will add up one way or another in the overall plan of God for your life. Distracted people don’t accomplish much.

In 2010, 50 Cent was 35 years of age. At that time, he had a body build like that of a heavyweight boxer with imposing ultra-muscular physique. He gave all that up for one mission – a movie role in THINGS FALL APART. That role required that he portrayed himself as a promising college football player diagnosed with cancer. Subjecting himself to an extreme 9-week transformation, the rapper shed about 55 pounds or 25 kg. He shrank from 214 pounds to a skeletal 160 pounds. He achieved this feat by adopting a strict liquid-only diet which he combined with three-hour daily treadmill sessions. The result made him look like a real patient.

We trade off something for something else considered of a greater value…Whenever you have a great goal set, find out what price you need to pay to attain it. A goal without the accompanying sacrifice is nothing but a daydream.

Though the movie did not enjoy the huge success he had sacrificed enormously for, it leaves us with one undeniable lesson. When people have a compelling mission, they are willing to go for the broke to achieve it. This underlies a primary principle of the kingdom of God – losing to gain. We trade off something for something else considered of a greater value. Jesus told a number of parables to illustrate realities of the Kingdom, some of which buttressed the underlying sacrifices required of us. ““Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” Matthew 13:44 NKJV. Whenever you have a great goal set, find out what price you need to pay to attain it. A goal without the accompanying sacrifice is nothing but a daydream.

The writer of the hymn WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS noted that believers forfeit their peace because they neglect to carry everything to the Lord in prayer. If there is any mistake close to that it would be refusal to take God’s word at its face value. Take for instance our text. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit will teach us all things. Most believers have reduced the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit to the Bible alone, whereas what was promised is all-round instruction. The Holy Spirit is as divine as Jesus and the Father. So He has comprehensive knowledge of all things and can be of help if we call on Him. I remember a couple of awkward moments that I needed to cry out. First one was when everybody in our house travelled. I found myself struggling to do routine things that I wasn’t used to. I struggled to open a lock for so long until I, in my frustration, asked the Holy Spirit to help me. Second time was when I was to embark on international trip and could not locate my passport. When I called on the Holy Spirit, my eyes were opened to where it was.

It is one thing to know what ought to be done, but it is quite another to know how to go about it successfully…If we company with the Holy Spirit, there is no reason to be stranded in life.

We are often confronted with different challenges in life. However, there is not a single moment that we are left to wander alone. “I will not leave you as orphans [comfortless, desolate, bereaved, forlorn, helpless]; I will come [back] to you.” (John14:18 AMPC). It is one thing to know what ought to be done, but it is quite another to know how to go about it successfully. To win in life, we all must subscribe to the instruction of the Holy Spirit who is the Chief Coach. Apart from teaching us and reminding us all things, the duties of the Holy Spirit also include guiding believers into all truth. If we company with the Holy Spirit, there is no reason to be stranded in life.

An eight-year old boy had a dream which he relayed to his father. He saw Jesus coming down from heaven to earth. Upon landing, the earth turned into heaven! There are so many things to unpack from this boy’s dream. Firstly, it reiterates the words of the angels on the day in which Jesus went to heaven. “And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:10-11 NKJV

If believers will be like Jesus upon His return, there is no reason to doubt the possibility of the earth being like heaven…The thought of Jesus returning to earth is a clarion call for sinners to repent, but it should be the greatest source of hope for the believers.

Secondly, the dream also validates the great transition that is clearly prophesied in the Bible. John wrote that when Jesus returns we shall be like Him. If believers will be like Jesus upon His return, there is no reason to doubt the possibility of the earth being like heaven. Jesus taught us to pray for the arrival of the kingdom and that the will of God be done on earth as it is in heaven. Once His will is done here, the earth invariably will become a replica of heaven as God intended from the beginning. In our text, we see New Jerusalem made from heaven descending to the earth. The sinners and all the wicked ones will have no part in God’s new earth. It shall be the heritage of the saints forever. The thought of Jesus returning to earth is a clarion call for sinners to repent, but it should be the greatest source of hope for the believers.

I stood waiting for my order at a fast food joint in Toronto, Canada late July when a gentleman walked in. He must be in his 60s. He picked the menu list, trying to figure out what they had. The attendant promptly notified him that they didn’t have pizza and went ahead to show what was available. “Let me go and ask my wife” he said, adding “I do not know what she wants.” On that note, he left to go and confer with his wife who was somewhere else in a nearby shop. Before he returned, I began to process how many times my wife had asked me for what I wanted for lunch or dinner in our 38 years of marriage. It occurred to me that marriage cannot thrive on presumption. It is one institution where the couples continue in a life-long commitment to doing what their partner wants. That’s a tough one, but there is no alternative way to a successful marriage. When you are done pleasing your spouse, you have indirectly signed out of your relationship.

…marriage cannot thrive on presumption…It is one institution where the couples continue in a life-long commitment to doing what their partner wants…Just as physical marriage cannot thrive on presumption, even so can our union with Christ never flourish if we presume on God’s will.

Now, the Bible employed the metaphor of marriage to describe our union with Christ. Just as physical marriage cannot thrive on presumption, even so can our union with Christ never flourish if we presume on God’s will. There is no alternative to asking God on a daily basis concerning what He wants in everything. A line in what is generally known as the Lord’s Prayer is, “Give us this day, our daily bread”. We should take our understanding of that phrase beyond physical bread. Jesus said that His meat was to do the will of the Father. So also must we make God’s will the bread we ask for on a daily basis.

A farmer does several things during harvest. Firstly, there is threshing. This process involves beating the stalks to lose the grains from the plant. Following this is winnowing. This is the process by which the grain plus the chaff is tossed into the air. The wind blows the chaff away, being lighter, and the heavier grains fall into a receptacle. I think there is a sense in saying that “winnowing” is an essential aspect of effective leadership. In reality, everyone who wants to make the most of life must master the art of “winnowing”.

Unless we know how to separate truth from lies, fact from fiction, genuine concern from sheer sycophancy, we might end up destroying what we are building…You cannot afford to take to heart everything you hear.

Different kinds of information that come to us are seldom in their pure state. Some are unverified and unverifiable hearsay. Others are absolute lies or at best exaggeration. Unless we know how to separate truth from lies, fact from fiction, genuine concern from sheer sycophancy, we might end up destroying what we are building. In my role, I can’t fully recall how many conflicting information I get on a situation or some persons. If I were given to impulsive reactions to everything I hear, I would have caused damage to individuals and to the ministry. You cannot afford to take to heart everything you hear. The best thing to do is to tell God about everything you are told. His Spirit will help you to sieve and shift things appropriately. His wisdom will also help you to know what to dismiss and what requires further action.