The Hour Has Come

MY DAILY COVENANT WITH GOD DEVOTIONAL

Devotion for Wednesday (Holy Week) April 12, 2017

Topic: The Hour Has Come

Text: John 12:20 – 28

Beloved, what is your desire as a Christian? Is it to see Jesus and be part of His glory at the end of your life here on earth? This was the desire of these Greek who came to the disciples. When Philip and Andrew came and told Jesus, He made a startling revelation about His impending death. He painted a picture of the necessary sacrifice He was about to make. He asserts that unless a grain of wheat is planted in the soil, it will not become a blade of wheat producing many more seeds.

Jesus had to die to pay the penalty for our sin, and to show His power over death. His resurrection proves He has eternal life and can give it to us. The words of Jesus in John 12:26 suggest an answer to the inquiry of the Greeks or a charge He left with them. Jesus was troubled as He announced that the hour had come for His betrayal, crucifixion and death, and eventual resurrection. He prayed that God the Father should save Him but handed over everything to the will of God.

Here, Jesus threw a challenge to us. When we are suffering and going through problems of life, how do we take it? From the death and resurrection of Christ, it is obvious that most times we have to go through some problems of life for the glory of God to be revealed in us. My life was a clear testimony about this. Jesus requested God to glorify His name and a voice answered Him. We should always submit to God‘s will so He can glorify Himself in all we do.

Food for Thought: John 17:1

Memory verse: John 12 verse 23

Prayer: God, glorify yourself and perfect your will in my life in Jesus name. Amen.

Don’t Be Intimidated

MY DAILY COVENANT WITH GOD DEVOTIONAL

Devotion for Monday March 27, 2017

Topic: Don’t Be Intimidated

Text: Acts 4:23 – 31          

Sometimes we may exercise boldness and courage over issues but when we leave there, people may talk fear into us and discourage us. When Peter and John got back to the other disciples, they narrated what happened at the council. These disciples didn’t exercise any fear too. Rather they joined hands to pray for more utterance and boldness to preach the gospel. They never asked God to silence their enemies. They didn’t pray for their death neither did they ask God for protection against their threat and persecution. All they were after was how to preach the gospel. Is there any lesson for us in the reaction of the other Apostles and their prayers?

Their prayer was centred on the will of God to get the gospel to the uttermost part of the earth as their master charged them. The direction of their prayer and what they asked for are very important which we should take note of. Observe how they prayed. There was unity and they were of one mind (Acts 4:24). Nobody had ulterior motive. First, they praised God; then they told God their specific problem and asked for His help. They did not ask God to remove the problem but to help them deal with it.

This is a model for us to follow when we pray. Those who query God about problems should understand that they can overcome problems and that will strengthen their faiths. God may choose to remove our problems, when we ask but we must recognize that often He will leave a problem but give us the strength and courage to deal with it.

Food for Thought: Psalm 2:1 – 4

Memory verse: Acts 4 verse 24  

Prayer: Lord, grant that I will not be intimidated by threats of the enemies of the gospel in Jesus name. Amen

Knowing God’s Will

MY DAILY COVENANT WITH GOD DEVOTIONAL

Devotion for Sunday February 26, 2017

Topic: Knowing God’s Will

Text: Psalm 51:1 – 6

The author of this psalm is King David as generally accepted. Commentators and analysts say he wrote it after Nathan the prophet had come to rebuke him for his crime and evil against the family of Uriah (2 Samuel 12:1ff). This assertion that David wrote it after Nathan had visited him has the backing from the fact that the psalm is a prayer of repentance and with David as the author; it must be the case involving Bathsheba and Uriah.     

One of the things that endeared David to God is his honesty and love for God. What God demands from us is not merely outward virtue, but inward purity. What this implies is that God demands reality, sincerity, true holiness and heart fidelity. He doesn’t care for our pretence of purity; he looks to the mind, heart, and soul (1 Chronicles 28:9).

What David posited here is that it takes a repentant heart to know the will of God. He was of the opinion that our dealing with God should be more of the heart, mind and soul. It should not be that of physical alone but more of spiritual as God is a spirit (John 4:24). To him, it is only when our minds are pure and sincere that God can come in to instruct and grant us the wisdom needed to live well. Have you actually repented? If not, you can never know the will and your actions will always be contrary to what pleases God. 

It takes God’s act to cleanse our hearts to make them pure (see Ezek. 11:19; 36:26). Sin is contrary to God’s will but when our hearts are clean and pure, we will begin to live according to the will of God. How pure is your heart? Do you desire to know God’s will for you? Then allow God to remove the impure and corrupt heart and to give you the heart of flesh. You should also learn how to guard your heart diligently to ward off impure thoughts. Your ability to moderate your thought will help you to live well for God. 

Food for Thought: Ezekiel 36:25 – 27

Memory verse: Psalm 51 verse 6 – Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden parts you will make me know wisdom (NKJV).

Prayer: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me in Jesus name. Amen.