Your Refreshing Daily Devotional

An unfortunate development was reported at the end of August this year. A pastor with Celestial Church of Christ was said to have been having problems with his wife since last year. Things came to a head in the dead of the night one day when their disagreement escalated into physical violence. The pastor hit his wife’s head against the wall and fled afterwards. Their son in the adjoining room called neighbours for help and they rushed her to the hospital. She was pronounced dead on arrival. The pastor on his part went and threw himself in front of a moving truck and also died in the process. There is no telling what level of destruction can result from untamed anger.

There is no telling what level of destruction can result from untamed anger…Great ruins are but a step from anger.

Without mincing words, the Bible condemns anger. The first display of anger was by Cain. He was angry at his brother whose offering was accepted by God. That was misplaced anger, to say the least. Abel in no way determined what Cain took to God as sacrifice; nor was he instrumental to God’s rejection of same. If he must be angry at all, it should have been towards God. His unwarranted anger led to the murder of his brother in cold blood. The Bible also recorded the anger of Moses. In anger he slew an Egyptian. Also in anger, he smote the rock when God asked him to speak to it. The first display of anger cost him precious 40 years in the wilderness. The second one kept him from entering Canaan’s fullness. It is not in vain that the Bible says anger rests in the bosom of fools. Great ruins are but a step from anger.

If one wants to reduce all success factors in life to one, what will it be? The obvious answer will be the presence of the Lord. This much can be derived from the life and ministry of Jesus. Acts 10:38 puts it clearly: “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” Acts 10:38 NKJV. Earlier, Nicodemus, despite his limited understanding of kingdom matters, demonstrated enough knowledge in what makes for success. “This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” John 3:2 NKJV.

If one wants to reduce all success factors in life to one, what will it be? The obvious answer will be the presence of the Lord…If you have the covering presence of God with you everywhere, you can never fail.

Joseph had several odds stacked against him that could have hindered his ascendancy in life. Hated by his brothers because of his dreams and the audacity to tell them to their face, they thought to get rid of him. He narrowly escaped being killed. Being sold into slavery was the closest alternative. Our text clearly states that the presence of the Lord made the difference even in slavery. He excelled and was favoured by his boss. False charge levelled against him soon sent him to jail. Here is what happened again in prison: “But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.” Genesis 39:21 NKJV. Here is the point: If you have the covering presence of God with you everywhere, you can never fail.

John the Beloved was banished to the isle of Patmos. From there he had the heavens open and that was where he had incredible access to the mysteries of the ages, hence the book of Revelation was born. On his part, John Bunyan wrote his classic PILGRIM’S PROGRESS from jail as well. The Pilgrim’s Progress was first published in 1678. Ten years later, in 1688 John Bunyan died. The book has now been translated to about 200 languages and has been used as story line for film. Apart from the Bible, no other book has been more popular than this. It is one book that profoundly influenced the likes of C. S. Lewis and Mark Twain. These two works were produced in unlikely circumstances. Every time I read the genealogy presented by Matthew, I never stopped to consider that the people of God produced before captivity as well as in captivity. Nothing could stop their increase.

If believers truly understand the stuff they are made of, it will be easy to walk tall anywhere and under any circumstances…You have the word of God residing in you, and that makes you unstoppable.

If believers truly understand the stuff they are made of, it will be easy to walk tall anywhere and under any circumstances. From our text, the new birth experienced by every believer is by the word of God. The word has several attributes. From the text alone, we understand that it is incorruptible. Moreover, it says that the word lives and abides forever. Simply put, it is undying! Paul also had a description for the word; and it is the fact that it cannot be bound (2Timothy 2:9). The word can never be bound, yet it has the capacity to set the captives free. The prevailing nature of the word is the reason why Paul was still doing ministry when he was behind bars. He wrote several of his epistles from jail. You have the word of God residing in you, and that makes you unstoppable.

One of the dictums at the Citadel Global Community Church is, “Lord, enlarge my capacity to receive, to retain, and to deploy in times to come.” With God, there is no limit to His ability or resources to bless; but we are often without the requisite capacity to receive. This is how many of God’s children are shortchanged. An experience helped me to appreciate the importance of enlarging our spiritual capacity. I once received some funds in trust to be given to two brothers. I transferred to the first beneficiary without any hitch, but not so lucky with the other candidate. On two or three different occasions the response I got was “transfer limit exceeded on beneficiary account”. Well, I am aware that a limit is usually set for sending. But for receiving, that sounded novel to me. I had to call the brother to crosscheck; and truly he actually set a limit on the amount of money that could be transferred to him!

With God, there is no limit to His ability or resources to bless; but we are often without the requisite capacity to receive…God has no limit to what He can transfer to us…Our unbelief is a cardinal way by which we limit what God can do in our lives.

God has no limit to what He can transfer to us. Mind you, we are not just talking in terms of cash here. This includes all other graces of heaven. James reminds us that every good and perfect gift comes from God the Father. There is no constraint on God and His ability to bless us lavishly. However, like the story of the brother mentioned earlier, we are often the ones who set limits on what should be released into our lives. Our unbelief is a cardinal way by which we limit what God can do in our lives. Dealing with unbelief at its root is invariably increasing our capacity to receive.

God’s word contains rules of engagement for those who want to seek Him acceptably. Isaiah declares, “Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.” Isaiah 55:6 NKJV. This is a call for urgency. It resonates with what is noted in Ecclesiastes: “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them” Ecclesiastes 12:1 NKJV. Things of God cannot be postponed till later. As part of the rule of seeking Him, there must be purity of motive. While Jesus was reasoning with the woman of Samaria by the well, He declared that God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must do so in spirit and truth. This is the missing gap among many seekers today. Most seek the Lord with insincerity, in the flesh, and for ulterior motives.

When we follow these rules of engagement, every blessing, both spiritual and material will begin to follow us.

All gospel accounts show how people thronged Jesus during His earthly ministry. However, not everybody came close with pure motives. For example, the Pharisees and Sadducees were among those who resorted to Him, but not for the right reason. They did not come to learn from His wisdom, rather their motive was to trap Him. Others sought Him basically because they wanted their appetites satisfied. Jesus had a sharp rebuke for this group. The primary reason for which to seek God is that He is God and deserves our worship. Next to do that should be the fact that He is the way to the kingdom and its righteousness thereof. When we follow these rules of engagement, every blessing, both spiritual and material will begin to follow us.

It is a proven fact that environmental factors play a crucial role in moulding the lives of people. Those who grow up in positive environments have a bright chance of leading a positive life, while those who are not so favoured by good environments may have a hard time adjusting in life. Those who have understood the power of environment spare no expense to create the kind of environment which will aid their goals in life.

God did not make us to be subservient to the environment. He gave us the gift of dominion with which we can subdue the environment. You don’t have to be a slave of the environment that you find yourself in…

However, not everything about us is totally determined by environment. A few examples in scriptures will clearly show that individuals’ values and choices are equally powerful in determining what we become. Eli, the priest at Shiloh, had an impeccable record with God. There was not a stain to his character. However, his children who grew up watching the spotless character of their father did not reflect what they saw in their immediate environment. Their disregard for the things of God was the reason God banished his lineage from priesthood. Samuel’s experience was like a clone of that of Eli. He, too, had a rave review by God; but his children corrupted both the people of Israel and their offerings. Their misbehavior was one of the things the people provided as an alibi for demanding a king. Here, too, we see how a good environment did not automatically translate into a good life. Finally, Obadiah lived in the palace of one the most corrupt kings, Ahab, and did not participate in his evil. Rather, he risked his life to preserve the prophets of God. God did not make us to be subservient to the environment. He gave us the gift of dominion with which we can subdue the environment. You don’t have to be a slave of the environment that you find yourself in; engage God’s Spirit in you to subdue it to divine counsel.