Be Careful Not To Live By Human Traditions
Colossians 2:8 (NET)Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you through an empty, deceitful philosophy that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. After Chinenye left that liberal church, she started attending a church that was at the other extreme. They had so many rules and regulations that it was almost impossible to keep up. There were always “visions” concerning people who went to hell because they used jewelry or even perfume, and they taught that certain people’s names could not be written in the book of life because their names didn’t have scriptural roots. It didn’t take Chinenye long to realize that she was coming out of one bondage and entering into another. A major problem today among many believers is balance. Many in running away from one extreme swing to the other extreme. But whenever there appear to be two extremes on a matter of doctrinal difference in the body of Christ, the truth usually is around the middle. If there are those who some accuse of taking the grace of God as a license for sinning, and there are those who the others accuse of being legalistic, the truth of the gospel is usually in the middle of the two extremes. The grace of God is not license, but it cannot be reduced to rules and regulations. Today, all [human] traditions not rooted in Christ would find their root and empowerment (in the form of retributions for violation) in elemental spirits. Whenever believers begin to peddle the tradition of men as part of their creed, they are exposing themselves to elemental spirits. Go into today remembering that any tradition that does not have Christ at the center of it (but seeks to undermine the finished works of Christ for the believer) is a toxic tradition for any believer. Prayer: Lord, deliver me from following every tradition that may act as a limiting force against my participation in your divine life. Amen. Want to be born again? Click here: streamglobe.org/33 -Pastor Abraham Damilola Arigi Bible in One Year: Mark 13-14 (In Devotional Audio) http://listen.streamglobe.org/Devotional%20Audio%202545.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()Subscribe: RSS
Just As You Have Received Christ
Colossians 2:6-7 (NET) Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and firm in your faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Chinenye accepted the Lord Jesus during her first year on campus. She continued to grow in her knowledge of the Lord through the ministry of her campus fellowship while she was on campus. When she graduated and started her life in the city, she started attending a church that was much more liberal than the fellowship in which she grew. She saw that in that church, the ladies and young men dressed ‘anyhow’, and were quite careless with certain moral boundaries. Chinenye started gradually condoning and tolerating certain things she wouldn’t condone before. Three years passed and Chinenye had blended into this new church quite well. One evening in the mall, she bumped into a lady who she had led to the Lord while on campus. This lady was so excited to meet her again because of the way the Lord used Chinenye to save her and deliver her from many demonic entanglements. When Chinenye got home that night, she wept and wept because meeting that lady made her realize how far she had fallen. Here was a lady she led to the Lord years ago, but she knew her current spiritual state was a shadow of what it used to be. She knew she did not have the power to disciple anyone the way she did back then. Her life was now full of compromises and empty platitudes to appease her dying conscience. When Chinenye got back to her senses and wanted to be restored back to the height from which she had fallen, she called the person who discipled her on campus. After discussing for hours, they found that Chinenye’s backsliding was due to her attending a liberal church full of indisciplined baby Christians pampered by teachers who didn’t have the ability to raise disciples of Christ because of their love for this world. They agreed that Chinenye would have to leave that Church. I have found that many times, terrible backsliding happens when believers do not continue to live their lives in the Lord the way they received Him(see today’s verse). People get into serious problems when they try to upgrade their faith and become more modern or liberal. They get into serious pitfalls when they try to ‘fix what is not broken’. Go into today remembering that the best way to continue in the Lord is just as you have received Him. The creed that was strong enough to convert you from a hopeless sinner into a saint can keep you growing in the faith if your focus is The Kingdom. As you grow, you will realize what is essential and non-essential in doctrine. But remember that any Apostolic work that could convert you from being a sinner should never be despised but celebrated. Prayer: Dear Lord, please deliver me from every pitfall on this my walk of faith. Help me continually grow until I see you face to face. Amen. —Abraham Dami Arigi Want to be born again? Click here: www.streamglobe.org/33 Download sermons here: www.streamglobe.org/34 Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 22-26 (In Devotional Audio) Streamglobe is interdenominational. Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. If you wish to start getting Streamglobe Devotional Text & Audio early every day, Send us a message or Click here to join a Streamglobe WhatsApp Group☞ https://chat.whatsapp.com/LOiO5DlDva83i0vhw2ufRM Send WhatsApp message to: +2348021680251, +2348138224547 (send Testimonies and Inquiries here too) http://listen.streamglobe.org/Devotional%20Audio%202544.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()Subscribe: RSS
Appropriating the Grace of God
Romans 4:16 (KJV) Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all Lara was brought before a kind judge when she was charged for “breaking and entering” for the 3rd time. She was homeless. She ran away from the foster home the government placed her because her foster parents hated her. She was to be sentenced to prison because she had just turned 18, but when the judge heard her story, he had mercy on her. He did not sentence her to prison but ruled that she should pay a small fine. After the court session, he told his office assistant to give her the money for the fine. He was also willing to pay for her to go to a vocational school in the city. This was going to cost thousands of dollars but he was willing to pay because she reminded him of his daughter that died of cancer several years ago. Lara obtained mercy from the judge and collected the money to pay the court-mandated fine, but she did not believe that the judge was truly going to pay for her to go to that expensive vocational school so she never showed up again. The judge waited and waited for her to come to his office the next day as she was advised, but she never showed up again because she did not believe that the judge was going to be so gracious to her. Mercy was the judge pardoning her. Grace was the judge offering to pay for her to go to school. She obtained mercy but she did not appropriate grace because she did not believe what was promised. From today’s Bible verse, we can see that if something is of grace, it has to be [received] by faith. In order to receive grace, we need faith to connect to it. This is why Scripture says “[f]or by grace are you saved through faith… “(Ephesians 2:8). The way by which we connect to the grace of God is through faith. God’s mercy is the reason we are not consumed but have the privilege and access to grace (Lamentations 3:22), but in order for us to take advantage of grace, we need to have [living] faith. Here’s how grace works. God has given us great and exceeding promises that are tokens through which we can access dimensions of His extravagant grace (see 2 Peter 1:4). In order for us to walk in these dimensions of grace, we have to believe these promises, and act according to what we believe. For example, God has given us promises that if we believe them, we would walk in divine healing and health. But in order for us to appropriate this dimension of grace(divine health), we have to steadfastly believe those promises and act according to what we believe. Go into today remembering that you are saved by grace through faith. Fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12). Don’t let the devil steal your faith because faith is the way by which you connect to grace. Prayer: Lord, help me exercise the required faith to receive all the benefits of your grace towards me. Amen. —Abraham Dami Arigi Bible in One Year: Job 33-34 (In Devotional Audio) Streamglobe is interdenominational. Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. If you wish to start getting Streamglobe Devotional Text & Audio early every day, Send us a message or Click here to join a Streamglobe WhatsApp Group☞ https://chat.whatsapp.com/LOiO5DlDva83i0vhw2ufRM Send WhatsApp message to: +2348021680251, +2348138224547 (send Testimonies and Inquiries here too) Click here for the Audio Version: https://bit.ly/aud2543 http://listen.streamglobe.org/Devotional%20Audio%202543.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()Subscribe: RSS
Love Unconditionally
Matthew 24:12 (KJV)And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. Tade was cheated time and time again by fake believers who sought to take advantage of his brotherly love and devotion to the body. It got to the point he now found it hard to love people who claimed to be brethren. He didn’t know that the enemy’s game plan was to make his love wax cold and quench his faith. You see, it is the same heart with which you love the Lord that you also love His brethren. If your heart has taken up the attribute of love for the Lord, it will be impossible for you not to love His brethren and even other people created in His image. Walking in this kind of love is a product of faith in your heart, for faith working through love is the fruit of the renewed heart. Waning love ultimately leads to an eroding away of the faith in your heart. The victory that overcomes the world comes because of your faith (1 John 5:4). The prince of this world tries to steal your faith by proliferating iniquity in the world. He knows that if your love [for the brethren and for other people created in the image of God] waxes cold, your faith will also wax cold, and you will no more be able to be an overcomer and overcome him . The Lord has forewarned us that the love of many will wax cold because iniquity will abound. One reason He gives us this warning is because He does not want you to be among the ‘many’ whose love waxes cold. Go into today remembering that you have been given the grace to walk in the divine nature. This nature is one that loves unconditionally. Prayer: Ask the Lord to help you love unconditionally. —Abraham Damilola Arigi Bible in One Year: Psalms 48-50 (In Devotional Audio) Want to be born again? Go here: www.streamglobe.org/33 Download sermons here: www.streamglobe.org/34Streamglobe is interdenominational. Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. If you wish to start getting Streamglobe Devotional Text & Audio early every day, Send us a message or Click here to join a Streamglobe WhatsApp Group☞ https://chat.whatsapp.com/LOiO5DlDva83i0vhw2ufRM Send WhatsApp message to: +2348021680251, +2348138224547 (send Testimonies and Inquiries here too) http://listen.streamglobe.org/Devotional%20Audio%202542.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()Subscribe: RSS
He Will Cleanse And Restore 2
Isaiah 1:18 (NET) Come, let’s consider your options,” says the Lord. “Though your sins have stained you like the color red, you can become white like snow; though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet, you can become white like wool. When Adam and Eve sinned against God in the garden of Eden, God who is all knowing still came to visit them in the cool of the day, but they were the ones running away from Him. God called to them, but they were the ones who did not want to show up (see Gen 3:8-10). This has been the story of fallen man from the beginning. We get ourselves dirty and instead of running towards God who alone can cleanse us, we run away from Him because of the condemnation in our hearts. If they sin, many believers believe that God is angry with them and does not want to have anything to do with them because of their sins. Instead of coming to God for cleansing, they run away from Him and only become dirtier as a result. In today’s Bible verse, we see that it is the Lord that is calling sinners to come to Him, He’s not asking them to run away from Him. He wants sinners to come to Him because He is the only one that can cleanse us of our sins. Go into today remembering that even when our consciences condemn us, God is greater than our consciences and He wants to cleanse and restore us, not condemn us (see 1 John 3:20-22). Those that run to Him are the ones who will be washed and restored. This was the secret David understood that Saul did not. Prayer: Lord, deliver me from the latent pride that makes me run away from you instead of running to you for cleansing and restoration. Help me to understand that my justification before you is because of my faith in Christ(Romans 5:1), and I am accepted in the beloved(Ephesians 1:6). -Abraham Damilola Arigi Want to be born again? Click here: streamglobe.org/33 Download sermons here: streamglobe.org/34 Bible in One Year: II Samuel 1-4 (In Devotional Audio) Streamglobe is interdenominational. Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. If you wish to start getting Streamglobe Devotional Text & Audio early every day, Send us a message or Click here to join a Streamglobe WhatsApp Group☞ https://chat.whatsapp.com/E0zwUfLWD497GcY03UM1TS Send WhatsApp message to: +2348021680251, +2348138224547 (send Testimonies and Inquiries here too) http://listen.streamglobe.org/Devotional%20Audio%201998.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()Subscribe: RSS
He Will Cleanse And Restore
Matthew 8:2-3 (NET)And a leper approached, and bowed low before him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand and touched him saying, “I am willing. Be clean!” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Chikpe was feeling very guilty and ashamed for something bad she had done in the past. Because of this, she refused to ever enter any church because she believed God was so angry with her that he would destroy her if he saw her in His house. She lived under this cloud of condemnation for three years until she had a heart-to-heart conversation with her mother’s friend who was a believer. This woman was so loving and kind, and Chikpe felt like she could tell her anything. Because of the love of Christ that Chikpe saw through this woman, she became a child of God through faith in Christ Jesus. In the days Jesus walked the earth, lepers were some of the most marginalized and avoided people because leprosy had no cure and it could be transmitted from person to person. Somehow, the leper in today’s Bible text knew and believed that Jesus had sufficient power to heal him if He wanted to. Because he had faith in Jesus to come to Him, Jesus did not cast him away. He would by no means cast away those that come to Him. He was cleaned of his leprosy; his stolen glory was restored. Leprosy signifies impurity, stigma, things that society would judge you for, shame and reproach. But just like in those days, Jesus is still cleansing leprosy(physical and spiritual) and restoring people’s lost glory, if only they would come to Him. Is there any stain in your life that may have made you run away from God all these years? Have your sins been so many that you don’t believe you have hope of redemption? Here’s what the Lord is saying to you today: Isaiah 1:18 (KJV) Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Go into today remembering that Jesus is still cleansing the unclean and restoring lost glories. Remember that He will by no means cast away anyone who comes to Him in faith (John 6:37, Hebrews 7:25). Pray like this: Ask Him to cleanse you today and He will. Ask Him to restore every lost or stolen glory and He will. simply ask Him in faith. —Abraham Damilola Arigi Yearly Bible Reading: Exodus 13-16 (Available in Today’s Audio) Want to be born again? Go here: streamglobe.org/33 Download sermons here: streamglobe.org/34 Streamglobe is interdenominational. Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. If you wish to start getting Streamglobe Devotional Text & Audio early every day, Send us a message or Click here to join a Streamglobe WhatsApp Group☞ https://chat.whatsapp.com/E0zwUfLWD497GcY03UM1TS Send WhatsApp message to: +2348021680251, +2348138224547 (send Testimonies and Inquiries here too) http://listen.streamglobe.org/Devotional%20Audio%202541.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()Subscribe: RSS
Stop Counting
Matthew 18:21-22 (RSV) Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. Damilola let out a loud gasp when he read the last message. Damilola was the brand manager of one of the fast-moving consumer goods producers. He had just come out of a review and planning meeting to review the performance of the last quarter and strategize for the next and had put his phone on silent mode and tucked it into the side pocket of his suitcase to avoid any distractions. He had just concluded the meeting when he brought out the phone and saw a notification of 12 missed calls and 3 messages. He quickly checked and noticed that 10 of the calls and all three of the messages were from his wife. All three messages read: “Hey love, I got to leave a little earlier. I’ve gotten into town, just stuck in traffic. How are you?” “Wow! You must be busy. You are not taking your calls and have not read my chats or replied my message. I am almost home now though. I’m famished and tired. See you soon” “Honey I’m locked outside. Did you forget to leave my key in the usual place? Please…hurry. I need to freshen up and rest” The last message was delivered an hour ago. He dialed his wife’s number; it rang for a while, but no one picked it. When he arrived, she was at the neighbor’s and wouldn’t even speak to him. After some failed attempts to make her smile and lighten up, he blurted out in frustration, “Why are you acting like you have never made a mistake” and went ahead to mention instances of her gaffe and blunders, he was stopped short at the third instance by the sound of her sobs. In every relationship, more so close relationships, forgiveness is not to be treated as a fashionable icing on the cake, it is rather a critical ingredient. Forgiveness is a fundamental expression of love and must be expressed and dispensed generously. The God kind of forgiveness is one that does not keep an account of wrongs done it (See 1 Corinthians 13:6 NIV). In today’s text you see Peter asking, ‘how many times do I have to dispense forgiveness to my offending brother? Do I need to count to the seventh offense before I let him have it?’ And Jesus was not just saying, ‘count higher’. He was basically saying, ‘stop counting’. In that passage, Jesus went ahead to narrate a story of a servant who was forgiven but refused to forgive another who had offended him. This is one of the bases for dispensing forgiveness; because we too have been forgiven. Go into today determined to keep no record of wrongs, but to forgive just as the Lord forgives. Ask the Lord for the wisdom and strength to do this. —Ikechukwu Mpama Yearly Bible Reading: II Corinthians 1-3 (Available in Today’s Audio) Streamglobe is interdenominational. Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. If you wish to start getting Streamglobe Devotional Text & Audio early every day, Send us a message or Click here to join a Streamglobe WhatsApp Group☞ https://chat.whatsapp.com/E0zwUfLWD497GcY03UM1TS Send WhatsApp message to: +2348021680251, +2348138224547 (send Testimonies and Inquiries here too) http://listen.streamglobe.org/Devotional%20Audio%202540.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()Subscribe: RSS
Enriched In All Things
1 Corinthians 1:4-5 (DARBY)I thank my God always about you, in respect of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus; that in everything ye have been enriched in him, in all word [of doctrine], and all knowledge The church in Corinth was indeed enriched in all things. Concerning spiritual gifts, they were not lacking in any and were behind no one (1 Cor 1:7). They had abundant demonstrations of the power of God in their midst, and because of this, they enjoyed great growth and admiration from the people of the city. Concerning physical and material prosperity, they had become rich through the power of grace (see 1 Cor 4:8). These Paul acknowledged and was glad for, but was concerned for them not to be carried away by these and ignore the weightier matters of the kingdom. The secret of the Corinthian church’s enrichment was their enrichment in doctrine and knowledge, and Apostle Paul pointed this out (see Bible text above). They had skilled teachers like Apollos, and because of them, they were enriched in doctrine and knew how to appropriate the riches of Christ through faith. For faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Rom 10:17). Whenever you see Christians who are walking in the grace and the manifestation of the riches and liberty of Christ, it is always because they have been properly taught in that regard. Christians who are not given to doctrine and learning are usually impoverished, oppressed, and wanting in many things. This is not the will of God. Go into today remembering that Christians are disciples and disciples are students. We are students of the Word, and we never graduate from the school of the Spirit. Ask the Lord to help you give yourself to the ministry of the word and to prayer (see Acts 6:4). —Abraham Dami Arigi Yearly Bible Reading: Mark 11-12 (Available in Today’s Audio) Streamglobe is interdenominational. Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. If you wish to start getting Streamglobe Devotional Text & Audio early every day, Send us a message or Click here to join a Streamglobe WhatsApp Group☞ https://chat.whatsapp.com/E0zwUfLWD497GcY03UM1TS Send WhatsApp message to: +2348021680251, +2348138224547 (send Testimonies and Inquiries here too) http://listen.streamglobe.org/Devotional%20Audio%202539.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()Subscribe: RSS
Positioning Yourself for God’s Mercy
Malachi 3:17 (BBE) And they will be mine, says the Lord, in the day when I make them my special property; and I will have mercy on them as a man has mercy on his son who is his servant. Maria wondered why she was so fortunate in places other members of her family were found to be unfortunate. Some said she had a bright star while others said she was just lucky, but she knew there was something at work in her favor that made her survive where others fail and thrive where others were crushed. As she grew in spiritual understanding, she discovered that what she had enjoyed in life was the mercy of the Lord. Maria remembered that from when she was young, unlike her siblings, she feared the Lord, and even though she was not born again, she was conscious of the judgment of God. As soon as she became born again, she was devoted to the Service of the Lord in her local church assembly. Later on in life, she understood that serving the Lord and being devoted to His work in truth is a reason why people obtain the Lord’s mercy. We have seen previously that it is because of the Lord’s mercy that we are not consumed. The reason why we would make it and fulfill our eternal destinies is because of the Lord’s mercy, it is not because of our merit. We have also seen that the Lord’s mercy is not arbitrary, but a person who positions himself rightly can obtain it. For example, Psalm 103:13 reveals that the Lord has mercy on them that fear Him. From today’s Bible verse, we can learn that there is extra mercy reserved for God’s children that serve Him. It is not enough to be a child of God, it is important also to be a child that serves. You are either an unreasonable son or a serving son. The sons that serve are the ones who have access to God’s mercy and grace more than others. Go into today remembering that no matter who you are or where you are as a child of God, you can serve the Lord and consequently have access to greater measures of grace because of mercy. Remember that it is possible to be busy in service that is not acceptable to the Lord because of impure motives. Ask the Lord to purify your motives as you serve Him and increase in His grace. Confession: I live to serve the Lord. I am pleasing Him in all respects and fruitful in every good work. —Abraham Dami Arigi Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 17-21 (In Devotional Audio) Streamglobe is interdenominational. Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. If you wish to start getting Streamglobe Devotional Text & Audio early every day, Send us a message or Click here to join a Streamglobe WhatsApp Group☞ https://chat.whatsapp.com/E0zwUfLWD497GcY03UM1TS Send WhatsApp message to: +2348021680251, +2348138224547 (send Testimonies and Inquiries here too) http://listen.streamglobe.org/Devotional%20Audio%202538.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()Subscribe: RSS