Those God Chooses: Devotion for Tuesday March 3, 2020

MY DAILY COVENANT WITH GOD DEVOTIONAL

Devotion for Tuesday March 3, 2020

Topic: Those God Chooses                               

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:17 – 31

God’s wisdom in dealing with Man is unfathomable and beyond human understanding. How can he choose fishermen to become bearers of His gospel? Why did He wait for Sarah to reach 90 years before blessing her with a child when her mates were already great grandmothers? Indeed God chooses the foolish things to shame our assumed wisdom because of what is stated in verses 19 and 29. See Job 5:12-13; Isaiah 29:14; 55:8 & 9.

Paul declared that no amount of human knowledge can replace or bypass Christ’s work on the cross. If it could, Christ would be accessible to the intellectually gifted and well educated only and not to ordinary people or to children. Hence God’s wisdom of salvation far surpasses all other wisdom.

Brethren, it is for this reason He chose you as a Christian. Come to think of it; it was not your knowledge, family background, wisdom, beauty, intellect, ability, etc., that made God chose you. Some of us have no educational qualification to interpret the bible but God uses our mouth effectively to communicate the gospel and turn hearts unto repentance.

Therefore, we should glory in what God made us and not what we think we have achieved by human wisdom. Let all glory be ascribed unto God alone (verses 30 & 31).

Food for Thought: James 2:5

Memory verse: 1 Corinthians 1:27     

Prayer: Lord, thank you for choosing me as your own by your wisdom. Help me to live my life in gratitude and praise unto you and you alone.

Be Strong and Courageous: Devotion for Friday January 3, 2020

Devotion for Friday January 3, 2020

                   

Topic: Be Strong and Courageous            

Text: Joshua 1:1 – 7                                           

Leadership demands courage because you are faced with numerous responsibilities. These responsibilities need wisdom and not only knowledge to handle. That is why you see a degree holder failing in leadership while a graduate of Secondary school performs better. It depends on the level of wisdom in that person which comes from God (Proverbs 2:6). Knowledge is only an added advantage in leadership and not the basic necessity.

Joshua had assumed the leadership of Israel and now has the mandate to lead them into the Promised Land (1:1, 2). God gave him all the assurances he needed and some strategies to lead well and prosper. He said that to succeed Joshua must (1) be strong and courageous because the task ahead would not be easy, (2) obey God’s law, and (3) constantly read and study the Book of the Law – The Bible.

If we intend to be successful in our endeavours this year, we should also follow God’s words for Joshua. You should be strong in faith and be courageous in following God and facing trials and temptation. You may not succeed by the world’s standards, but you will be a success in God’s eyes—and His opinion lasts forever. Follow God courageously and He will take you to your Promised Land.

Food for Thought: The highest and noblest courage is shown by the most faithful discharge of duty.  

Memory verse: Deuteronomy 29:9

Prayer: Lord God, make me strong and grant me the courage to faithfully follow your strategies for success this year in Jesus name.

Fools Reject Wisdom

My Daily Covenant with God Devotional

Devotion for Friday January 18, 2019

Topic: Fools Reject Wisdom

Text: Proverbs 1:7 – 9  

It is a fool that says there is no God and rejects wisdom. The best thing we can do for ourselves is to acquire wisdom. In this age of information technology, knowledge is plentiful, but wisdom is scarce. Wisdom means far more than simply knowing a lot. It is a basic attitude that affects every aspect of life.

The foundation of knowledge is to fear the Lord; to honor and respect God, to live in awe of his power, and to obey His Word. Fools are persons who have no true wisdom; who follow their own devices, without regard to reason, or reverence for God. Anyone who truly wants to be wise must begin by devoting himself/herself to God's service and making His word the rule of his/her life.

Many reject wisdom directly and indirectly today. Some reject wisdom by their refusal to believe in God and study His word. Many reject wisdom when they refuse to heed to the teaching from the scriptures. Let us remember the essence of the scriptures and benefits derivable from them (2 Timothy 3:15, 16).

As true Christians we should have the implicit faith in God which should be the controlling principle for our understanding of the world, our attitudes, and our actions. Trust in God and live for Him; He will make you truly wise.

Food for Thought: Psalm 53:1              

Memory verse: Proverbs 1:7

Prayer: God, help me not to reject wisdom by refusing to accept the truth in your word in Jesus name. Amen

Utilize Your Gifts

Devotion for Tuesday January 9, 2018

Topic: Utilize Your Gifts

Text: Proverbs 18:16

Gifts are something bestowed on us. If we can afford such thing, we can’t call it a gift. The author of Proverbs says the gift of a man and not the wealth. This gift can be talent, wisdom, knowledge, craft, art, etc. The gift makes way for the owner and brings him or her before great men. From this verse of the scripture, there are three things we should note of. 1) Every man has a gift. This truth is illustrated in the parable Jesus gave about talents in Matthew 25:14 – 30. There was no servant without a talent. Though some of the servants had more talents than other servants, none was left without one. 2) Talents are meant to be utilized. In that same parable, the king condemned the servant that didn’t utilize the talent he received. For every talent God has given to us, we must utilize them or else on the day of reckoning, we will be condemned for not using them. 3) When we use them, it brings us before kings. A look at that parable in Matthew 25:14 – 30 shows us the reward of using our talents. Those that used theirs were brought before the king for commendation and reward while the man that hid his talent was condemned and cast out into a place of regret.  In the days ahead, we will look at some examples of those that used their talents and how it brought them before kings. What are your gifts/talents? How are you utilizing them? Sing A&M 331, Abu 109

Food for Thought: “Concealed talent brings no reputation” – Erasmus.

Memory verse: Matthew 25:20

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to utilize my gifts and may they bring me before great men in Jesus name. Amen\

Man’s Limited Knowledge

MY DAILY COVENANT WITH GOD DEVOTIONAL

Devotion for Monday February 13, 2017          

Topic: Man’s Limited Knowledge                                     

Text: 1 Corinthians 13:9

On this earth, everything is imperfect and knowledge is limited. No matter how much people may know, they know only a little. No matter how much prophecy is given, it still reveals little. Everything will only be made perfect and complete when the Kingdom of God arrives (the end of age).

Paul wrote this   “Because we are now in the state that we have need to learn daily, and therefore we have need of those helps, that is, of the gift of tongues, and knowledge, and also of those that teach by them” according to Geneva Bible Notes. There are people who brag that they are learned, they have wisdom, they know everything, etc. All we have today are limited, knowledge, wisdom, etc. We learn every day and will continue to learn through the word of God.

One of my uncle came picked my baby of one month and as she was moving her mouth, he said, “When we get to heaven, we will ask God if children understands what we say.” This shows that our knowledge is limited. The word of God we read is always new to us every morning. When we read a passage and come back to it the following day, we will get a different meaning. What this implies is that we should rely on the Holy Spirit in everything we do as our knowledge is limited. As we know in part now, we should look forward to that time when we will know everything in full. This should challenge and inspire us to live well and come to the time when we will know everything.  Please kindly work towards that. Have a great day.

Food for Thought: 1 Corinthians 8:12

Memory verse: 1 Corinthians 13 verse 9 - For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.

Prayer: God, grant that I will not boast about knowledge because it is limited.

GAINS FROM HEAVENLY WISDOM: Devotion for Sunday October 16, 2016

GAINS FROM HEAVENLY WISDOM: Devotion for Sunday October 16, 2016

Text: Proverbs 2 verses 1 – 9   Memory verse: Proverbs 2 verse 6

God created us in His image and expects us to imitate Him through Jesus Christ who is His perfect image. Again, He expects us to depend on Him as our maker just as we read yesterday. In our bible reading for the day, Solomon spoke again as a wise teacher, describing the benefits of pursuing heavenly wisdom. He laid out the concept that God is the ultimate source of wisdom (Proverbs 2:6). True wisdom is God-given, not merely the result of human effort or ability (1 Kings 3:9–12; Jas 1:5). Obviously, there is no doubt about it that wisdom comes from God. Knowledge can come through human effort but wisdom is heavenly. This is the reason behind some acclaimed learned men and women who misbehaves despite their knowledge.

The core of the teaching from Solomon here is that if we truly give ourselves to the knowledge of God without hypocrisy, we will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the true knowledge of God (Proverbs 2:5) which will result in gaining heavenly wisdom. Gaining this true knowledge that leads to wisdom comes from concerted and consistent efforts (Proverbs 2:4) in seeking from God because it comes from Him. This wisdom will shield those who walk uprightly. With it, God will guard the paths of justice, and preserve the way of His saints. It will lead to proper understanding, righteousness, justice and equity. How are you striving to acquire this heavenly wisdom?   

Beloved in Christ, it is pertinent to note here that there is difference between worldly wisdom and heavenly wisdom. Heavenly wisdom brings out heart knowledge that transforms us physically and spiritually, while worldly wisdom is mere head knowledge that criticizes everything spiritual. As it takes concerted and consistent effort to gain wisdom from God and one of the ways is through meditation of God’s word, how are you doing that? How serious do you take the word of God? Remember God’s counsel to Joshua (Joshua 1:8). Don’t just read to know what the bible says rather read to gain knowledge and wisdom that will transform your life and make you a worthy candidate for the Kingdom of God.  

Food for Thought: Deuteronomy 17:18 and 19

Prayer: O Lord my God, as I seek heavenly wisdom through constant and consistent study of your word, grant it to me in Jesus name. Amen. 

ARE YOU KNOW-IT-ALL? Devotion for Monday June 27, 2016

ARE YOU KNOW-IT-ALL? Devotion for Monday June 27, 2016

Text: Proverbs 1:1 – 9                

Memory verse: v 7 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction

We can easily spot the obsessive know-it-all by the way he or she dodges all possibility of admitting wrong. They will want to argue everything. Such person will use his or her knowledge to impress others using words that people won’t understand just to have the satisfaction of seeing them concede his or her ‘superior knowledge’. They use their perceived superior knowledge to intimidate people around them. When they appear in the public, they want people to notice them. People like this are the ones that everyone tries to avoid at social gatherings.

The Know-it-alls may have a great deal of knowledge, but they usually have little wisdom and do not fear God. This is one problem with the elites and learned people in our society who people to this call of know-it-all. They love to show their knowledge, their affluence, artistry, etc, in the public when occasion doesn’t demands for that. Do you have such in your neighbourhood? They are found everywhere.

Solomon called this kind of person a fool (Proverbs 1:7). Much of what we know has no connection to how wise we are; for example, a very brilliant lawyer can live a foolish life. This proves true the words of Paul in I Corinthians 1:24 and 25 which say, “But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

Truly, wise people know that their knowledge is not complete and go to God for wisdom and more knowledge. All that we know are gifts from God for use in serving Him and others. Therefore, we should use our knowledge with humility. Beloved, we shouldn’t act like a know-it-all, even if you have a lot of knowledge. Remember that all knowledge and wisdom come from God. We should be humble enough and give Him the glory!

Food for Thought: Do you act as know-it-all? It is a spirit of pride?

Prayer: Lord, grant me the humble spirit to fear you and depend on you for wisdom no matter the knowledge I have acquired.

FOOLS REJECT WISDOM: Devotion for Wednesday May 24, 2016

FOOLS REJECT WISDOM: Devotion for Wednesday May 25, 2016

Text: Proverbs 1:7 – 9       Memory verse: v 7

It is a fool that says there is no God and rejects wisdom. The best thing we can do for ourselves is to acquire wisdom. In this age of information technology, knowledge is plentiful, but wisdom is scarce. Wisdom means far more than simply knowing a lot. It is a basic attitude that affects every aspect of life. The foundation of knowledge is to fear the Lord; to honour and respect God, to live in awe of His power, and to obey His Word. Fools are persons who have no true wisdom, who follow their own devices, without regard to reason, or reverence for God. Anyone who truly wants to be wise must begin by devoting his or her life to God's service and making His word the rule of life.

Many reject wisdom directly and indirectly today. Some reject wisdom by their refusal to believe in God, study His word and refusal to heed to the teachings from the bible. We should remember the essence of the scriptures and benefits derivable from them (2 Tim 3:15, 16). As true Christians we should have implicit faith in God, which should be the controlling principle for our understanding of the world, our attitudes, and our actions. Trust in God and He will make you truly wise.

Food for Thought: Psalm 53:1

Prayer: God, help me not to reject wisdom by refusing to accept the truth in your word.

BE TRAINED IN THE WAYS OF WISDOM: Devotion for Tuesday May 24, 2016

BE TRAINED IN THE WAYS OF WISDOM: Devotion for Tuesday May 24, 2016

Text: Proverbs 1:1 – 6    Memory verse: v 3

This book of Proverbs according to Max Lucado is a book for weekdays (Monday – Saturday). It treats the importance of wisdom, piety towards God, instructions and moral discipline; understanding wise and prudent counsels. It states too that wisdom is to be shown in the conduct of our lives, which consist in righteousness with regard to other creatures. What we have in our text, is the essence of this book, Proverbs. Living Bible stated in verses 2 and 3 that Solomon wrote Proverbs “To teach his people how to live, how to act in every circumstance, for he wanted them to be understanding, just and fair in everything they did.” If people take heed to wisdom, according to Solomon's Proverbs, they will gain knowledge and discretion which are indispensable in our present age.

How can someone be trained in the ways of wisdom? This training comes from the fear of the Lord (1:7), sticking to moral instructions from parents and elderly ones in our neighbourhood. We can only fear the Lord when we know Him and His expectations from us. It takes a heart that has the fear of God to abstain from evil. This fear comes when we hide God’s words and commandments in our hearts (Ps 119:11). How much do you train yourself in the ways of wisdom by meditating on God’s word (Prov. 2:6)? This will grant us the needed wisdom to live righteously in our present age.      

Food for Thought: Proverbs 2:6 – 9

Prayer: Lord, train me in the ways of wisdom as I meditate daily on your word.