Abraham of God
Genesis 14:19 (KJV) And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth Growing up Joe always felt he was getting the short end of the stick because of his position in the family, he was the last child. He was a boy with a big appetite and always found it annoying that when it was time for meals, his mother would dish out three portions and ask his elder sisters to select first starting with the eldest and he got left with the last portion, which to his mind was the smallest and with the least attractive piece of meat. This annoyance was heightened by the fact that he was the one sent most on errands because he gets sent both by his parents and his elder siblings and it was law in his house that he wouldn’t disrespect his elder siblings. If only he had a younger one, he mused. You can tell how mature a man is in his walk with God by how much of his rights and privileges he is willing to forgo for the sake of God. Take Abraham for example. Abraham had left Haran, in answer to God’s call, in the company of his nephew Lot. However, when a contention arose between his men and Lot’s men, the manner in which Abraham handled the matter showed he wasn’t like just any other man. He gave Lot the opportunity to choose first. Likewise, when Sodom and Gomorrah became involved in the fight with the four kings, Lot was captured along with others and Abraham (then Abram) organized his household into an army and fought the four kings, defeated them, and rescued Lot along with the other captures. He also recovered their goods as spoils. As was the practice in those times, he was entitled to keeping the spoils for himself for all his effort, but yet again, he resolutely refused to take up this right insisting that he would give no one the opportunity of robbing God of his glory by saying that they made Abraham rich. His interest in God’s glory overrode and superseded his desire for material gain. One of the reasons why Abraham could think like this is because he had come to know God not just as the one who leads him out of his father’s house, but also as the possessor of heaven and earth (See Genesis 14:22-23), this understanding that God owns everything made it sensible to him that if he were to forego something that could taint his testimony, he ultimately has suffered no disadvantage. Go into today knowing that suffering a temporary loss in obedience to God ultimately is gain. Prayer: Lord, let my interest in your glory supersede my desire for material gain. Help me know you more. Amen. —Ikechukwu Mpama Bible In One Year: Psalms 131-133 (In Devotional Audio) Streamglobe is nondenominational. Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. Send inquiries, testimonies, and prayer requests here(WhatsApp): +2348034420524, +2348138224547 http://listen.streamglobe.org/Devotional%20Audio%202420.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()Subscribe: RSS
Members Of One Body
1 Corinthians 12:15-16 (NKJV)If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? On social media, Ugochukwu was very fond of criticizing church leaders. Even though he was a believer, because he was not called into the ministry of teaching or preaching (all five-fold ministry offices involve teaching and/or preaching), he did not properly reckon himself as a part of the body but felt it was OK for him to stand apart from the church and criticize it publicly. Through his actions, he was saying ‘I am not of the body’. One of the loudest ways a believer can say ‘I am not of the body’ is by joining unbelievers and enemies of Christ to publicly malign and criticize the church and its ministers. This post is in no way giving leeway to ministers who err but is a reminder to believers that many [trumped up] attacks on erring ministers have an underlining agenda to destroy the credibility of the body of Christ as a whole. It is foolishness to be part of this as a member of the body. Not being a preacher, Ugochukwu didn’t feel like a part of the body of Christ the way he should, but this didn’t change the fact that through faith in Christ, he was indeed a part of the body. It took him time to realize that his habit of publicly criticizing ministers of the body of Christ was a major limiting factor in his walk with the Lord. He could not walk in divine health and healing because of this. Go into today remembering that through faith in Christ Jesus, you are a member of the body of Christ. Do not be tempted to feel you are less a member than those who are at the forefront of ministry. Some of the unseen parts of the body are the most important. Prayer: Ask the Lord the help you rightly discern His body and draw from all the benefits that His body provides. —Abraham Damilola Arigi Bible In One Year: Esther 1-5 (In Devotional Audio) Streamglobe is nondenominational. Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. Send inquiries, testimonies, and prayer requests here(WhatsApp): +2348034420524, +2348138224547 http://listen.streamglobe.org/Devotional%20Audio%201866.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()Subscribe: RSS
Knowing the Spirit 2 (Stirring Up the Spirit for Works)
2 Timothy 1:6-7 (KJV) Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. In yesterday’s meditation, we saw that God never does anything without His Spirit. It is His Spirit (Holy Spirit) that performs His works. We also established that no man, at any dispensation, worked great things in God without the visitation or habitation of the Spirit of God. Today, we are zeroing in on how to work with the Holy Spirit. The Biblical writers choose to use the word “stir” when God launches the Spirit for work. (See Ezra 1:1 & Ezra 1:5, Haggi 1:14, Jeremiah 51:11). In the scriptural references above, you see that God initiated all the stirrings, and they were all for accomplishing His purposes (Building His House and Tearing down kingdoms). The account of the pool of Bethesda paints a clearer narrative of this operation. An angel comes to stir a pool at a certain season, the troubled water activates life in anyone first thrown into it: the person who is thrown into this water receives instant healing; it does not matter what the issue was. Psalms 29:3 and Genesis 1:1 point to the reality of the voice of God (Life) that hovers on many waters. When Jesus began his earthly ministry, He worked out of the volumes that had been written concerning Him. Our lives should be no different. Praise the Lord, in your belly gushes rivers of living waters, and over this water are the speakings of God (gifts). His voice framed the visible world out of formlessness and voidness by the stirring of His Spirit in Genesis 1:1. When the waters of the Holy Spirit is stirred up, there comes the voice of wisdom and understanding, the voice of counsel and might, the voice of knowledge and godly reverence, and the voice of judgment. See Psalms 29:3-11 to know what can happen when the Spirit is stirred up. He stirred the winds (of His Spirit) to give breath to dead bones (Ezekiel 37), He stirred His Spirit to supply meat in the wilderness (Numbers 11:31). What will you do with the Spirit in you? From today, never go into your day without stirring the Spirit for the works of that day. You do this in the place of prayer and [confessing] the word. Prayer: LORD, quicken a heightened desire and hunger to always stir your Spirit within me for all good works. —Titus Ojima Achema Bible In One Year: Deuteronomy 29-31 (In Devotional Audio) Streamglobe is nondenominational. Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. Send inquiries, testimonies, and prayer requests here(WhatsApp): +2348034420524, +2348138224547 http://listen.streamglobe.org/Devotional%20Audio%202419.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()Subscribe: RSS
Knowing the Spirit
Zechariah 4:6 (LITV) Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, This *is* the word of Jehovah to Zerubbabel, saying, not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says Jehovah of hosts. The opening phrases of the Bible Have words like “beginning”, “created”, “void”, “formless”. It is at the center of all these that the first personality of the Bible is introduced. Nothing happened until this personality appeared on the scene (hovering over the deep). It is important to carefully follow on to see how God goes about his business, given that we have received the authority to become the sons of God. The consequence of becoming an offspring of the Father is that we carry His spots and by implication do the works he does. (See Deut. 32:5, Matt. 17:15-17). It is to this end that even creation holds up an expectation (for the manifestation of the sons of God). In every instance in the scriptures, (both in the old and new testament) that God acted, it was by the Holy Spirit. In some places of the old testament, the Spirit was likened to the wind (See Genesis 8:1, Numbers 11:31 Jeremiah 17:18, Ezekiel 37:29) and in the new testament, Jesus likened a man who is born of the Spirit to wind. Every man that made a great impact in God, did through the Holy Spirit. In the old covenant, it came upon men (Visitations). All through the old testament, you hear statements like THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD CAME UPON. (See Judges 3:10, Ezekiel 11:5, 1 Samuel 16:13-14). Under the new covenant, our relationship with the Spirit is that of habitation; the Holy Ghost who now dwells in us is the spirit of divine works. Go into today knowing that the Holy Spirit who is in continuous fellowship and participation with the Father and the Son, is in you. He is waiting in the garden of your heart for intimacy. It is by Him that all works are done. Prayer: LORD, awaken my heart to an unbroken consciousness of your presence. —Titus Ojima Achema Bible In One Year: III John (In Devotional Audio) Streamglobe is nondenominational. Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. Send inquiries, testimonies, and prayer requests here(WhatsApp): +2348034420524, +2348138224547 http://listen.streamglobe.org/Devotional%20Audio%202417.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()Subscribe: RSS
Chosen Before Time
Ephesians 1:4 (NET) For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love. We were chosen before the foundation of the world. This shows us once again the immensity of God who has always existed, there never was a time nor ever will be a time when He will not exist. Time is no problem with Him because He lives in a realm where time does not exist. We are bound by time, but God is not. He sees tomorrow, next year, and eternity to come as clearly as we see this moment. He knows the problems you will face tomorrow and has already planned every answer for you. God planned answers before problems existed hence nothing can ever take Him by surprise or unawares. It is Ignorance to think you can face a problem tomorrow or next week for which God has not already made a way of escape (1Corin. 10:13). Problems may catch you off-guard, but they never surprise God. If He planned for the biggest problem in your life through the new birth, don’t you think He can handle the smaller ones on the job, in the home, or at school? Somehow we get the idea that God saved us, filled us with the Holy Spirit, and left us to fend for ourselves. God not only planned for us to enter this new life but also planned for us to live victoriously while we wait for the glorious appearing of our Lord. God knows the future and has made plans for you to succeed. Don’t try to help God by worrying. Sit back and enjoy the ride. This is the life of faith that pleases God. (See Heb. 11:6.). Before the foundation of the world, God destined you to be holy and without blame. From the foundation of the world, He has destined you to be righteous and holy. We need to see ourselves as God sees us and focus not at the things which are seen [our mistakes and failures], but at the things which are not seen [our heavenly position]: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal (2Corin 4:18). Right now, seated with Jesus in heavenly places, you are seen as “holy and without blame” because you are in Him (Christ). If I am in Him, I am holy and without blame. What this understanding does is to remove the attitude of defeat and condemnation. If you miss the mark, repent and ask God to forgive you (1John 1:9), then see yourself as He does—forgiven, holy, and without blame, and make every effort never to go back to that sin. Remember, anyone who practices sin is of the devil (Read 1John 3:8). Go into today with the understanding that right now you are seated with Jesus in heavenly places. You are seen as “holy and without blame” because you are in Christ. Prayer: ask the Lord to help you to live holy, justly, and without blame. —George Evuarherhe Djorhogba Bible In One Year: Acts 23-24 (In Devotional Audio) Streamglobe is nondenominational. Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. Send inquiries, testimonies, and prayer requests here(WhatsApp): +2348034420524, +2348138224547 http://listen.streamglobe.org/Devotional%20Audio%202416.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()Subscribe: RSS
Knowing The Lord 9
Philippians 3:10 (KJV) That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death Sandra and Uche decided to go on a fast concerning their engagement. It had become clear to them that their engagement was under attack and they wanted the attacks to stop. After praying and fasting for four days, Sandra had a dream in which she saw a masquerade trying to harm her, but she ended up beating the masquerade and driving it away. She knew that day that the Lord had given her victory. The next morning, the chief priest of the shrine in their family house woke up with sores and loud cries. He kept shouting the name of Sandra. That was when Sandra knew about how her grandmother was a shrine priestess and the gods were offended that her father did not continue in the tradition of idol worship. Sandra could confront and overpower the dreadful masquerade that appeared to her in her dream because through her growing knowledge of the Lord, she was strengthened with His mighty power. Many believers today are not spiritually strong because they do not have a growing knowledge of the Lord. This is because many believers do not give time to seeking the Lord. Go into today remembering that giving the Lord time out of your busy schedule each day is a way to honor Him and get to know Him. Prayer: Lord, help me know you and become more like you. Amen. —Abraham Damilola ArigiBible In One Year: Revelation 7-11 (In Devotional Audio)Streamglobe is nondenominational. Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together.Send inquiries, testimonies, and prayer requests here(WhatsApp): +2348034420524, +2348138224547
Are You Walking In Him?
Colossians 2:6 (KJV)“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him” While Tom was explaining to Sam the reason he had not experienced the mighty power of God in his life, Caleb interrupted the conversation and told Tom that he had received Jesus in his life for more than 2 years now but the power of God was still not evident in his life. Once again, Tom laughed in his heart because Sam and Caleb were his colleagues and he knew them very well. Tom told Caleb: “I agree that you have accepted the Lord Jesus, but I also know that you are not abiding in Him and walking in Him”. The bible says in John 1:12 that “As many as received him, to them gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to them that BELIEVE on his name” Yesterday, we saw that the first step to knowing the Lord is receiving Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. From our meditation today in Colossians 2:6, we see that it doesn’t end with receiving the Lord, but you must walk in Him. Walking in Him means living under His authority and letting His word order your steps and actions. Following the initial act of faith, there must be continual action of believing. The root word for “believe” in John 1:12 describes a continued action and indicates the need for perseverance [in believing]. This was the testimony of Tom, he did not just believe but he was abiding in Christ. Over time, he had subjected himself to spiritual disciplines that strengthened the will of his spirit over the control of his flesh. That was why God could use him to perform many signs and wonders. He did not stop at the initial act of receiving Christ but became closer to God by continuing In His word and desiring to know Him more. As a believer, you are expected to live daily for Christ. You cannot access the depths of God if you are not living daily for Christ. Caleb had received Christ but he failed to understand that anyone who must walk in the fullness of God must know Him. Go into today knowing that we have been called into the family of Christ with the right to access the presence of God. Pray that from today, you will live in a manner worthy of the Lord so that you will have the boldness to walk in His mighty power through faith. —Kenechukwu Richard Ibekwe Bible In One Year: Song of Solomon 3-4 (In Devotional Audio) Streamglobe is nondenominational. Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. Send inquiries, testimonies, and prayer requests here(WhatsApp): +2348034420524, +2348138224547
Have You Received Christ?
John 1:12 (KJV) “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” Sam was worried that he started going to Church with Tom at the same time but God was now using Tom to perform astonishing miracles in their community. So he approached Tom in a rude and contemptuous manner and asked him “why is God so partial in the way he uses his Children. He uses one better than the other?” Tom laughed in his heart because he knew where Sam was driving at. Sam had not truly accepted Jesus as his Lord but he wanted God to start using him. He was only attending Church services with Tom but had not been born of God. Tom told Sam that he needed to receive Christ in his heart as his Saviour and Lord. “You have to receive Christ in his life in order to be conferred with the “RIGHT” to become a Son of God. To receive Christ is an initial act of faith that must first be established if one has a desire to know God personally. If you want to know God experientially, you must receive Christ in your heart first. This is the starting point in your spiritual journey. God does not reveal himself to a stranger. He reveals himself to a person who has acknowledged Him as Lord. God is a Spirit and if you want to relate with him, your spirit must be born again. Note that John 1:12 depicts clearly how saving faith is both the act of a single instant and an ongoing attitude of a lifetime. Tomorrow we shall see how Tom became useful and efficient in the hands of God. The journey of knowing God does not stop in confessing Christ alone, there is a process. Go into today knowing that your knowledge of God starts with receiving Christ in your heart as Saviour and Lord. —Kenechukwu Richard Ibekwe Bible In One Year: Psalms 143-145 (In Devotional Audio) Streamglobe is nondenominational. Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. Send inquiries, testimonies, and prayer requests here(WhatsApp): +2348034420524, +2348138224547
His Ways
Psalms 25:9 (NET) The meek will he guide in judgment and the meek will he teach his way Tosin was seething with anger as the message was going on. “How dare she make him the subject of her sermon? Just because she is a leader in fellowship doesn’t give her the right to embarrass him” He was going to give it to her once the service was over. However, even as angry as he was, he had a restrain in his spirit to not vent his anger on Sister Debby as planned, a part of him didn’t want to go with that nudge, but he knew that that was the voice of the Holy Spirit. Just as the world has its customs and ways of doing things, there are also ways of perceiving life and doing things in God’s Kingdom and they are opposed to each other. Unless one begins to learn and act in the ways of God, he will act and live just like a wicked and unrighteous man (See Isaiah 55:7-9). One task a believer must preoccupy himself with is to know the Lord; to know His person and His ways. This requires great humility because this demands that the person acknowledges that all he knows amounts to nothing so he can begin to learn what is truly something. It is this meekness that is highlighted in James 1 verse 21 “Wherefore laying aside all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls”. As one receives the word with meekness, his mind gets renewed and he gets transformed. This transformation is what produces maturity in believers that the beauty and nature of Jesus become easily displayed and manifested through one’s life. It is a sad sight to see men and women who profess to be believers live as though they had never met the Lord. When you see believers who have no qualms living in immorality, swindling their friends and customers, who hold and carry grudges refusing to forgive, who strife and seek to have their way at all times. This is not God’s design. God’s design is that every believer becomes like Christ (See Romans 8:29). This is only achieved through committed and conscious learning and discipleship. Go into today determined to know the Lord through submitting in meekness to learning and discipleship. —Ikechukwu Mpama Bible In One Year: Nehemiah 10-13 (In Devotional Audio) Streamglobe is nondenominational. Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. Send inquiries, testimonies, and prayer requests here(WhatsApp): +2348034420524, +2348138224547 http://listen.streamglobe.org/Devotional%20Audio%202412.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()Subscribe: RSS
Knowing The Lord 8
Philippians 3:10 (KJV) That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death Before Sandra and Uche met, she had given priority to knowing the Lord. Because of this, she was strong and now had a robust relationship with the Lord. Unknown to Sandra, there were some demonic powers that had vowed that she would never get married because her grandmother was a priestess but her family refused to continue in the traditions and rituals of their household gods. Sandra being the first daughter of her grandmother’s first son was the one the evil spirits decided to afflict by keeping her unmarried. But Sandra was now born again and was now growing in the knowledge of the Lord. Uche, her fiance, was also a man that knew the Lord. As her wedding date drew nearer, darkness began to rear its ugly head. It started with bad dreams that Sandra’s fiance kept having concerning her. He would sometimes dream that she turned into a snake or a lizard. He almost broke the relationship but since he was a man that knew the Lord, he knew the Lord didn’t want him to end the relationship. He knew the Lord wanted him to stand with her and win that battle. When he discussed these troubling dreams with Sandra, she revealed to him that she too had been having similar dreams about him. The last she had was one in which he turned into a dog and bit her. If Sandra did not know the Lord and the power of His resurrection, those demons would have succeeded in preventing her from getting married this time like they had done before, but the Lord gave her victory, and what the enemy meant for evil brought her and her fiance even closer. Go into today remembering that growing in the knowledge of the Lord is not a luxury but a necessity for life and destiny. Prayer: Lord, in this year, help me know you more than ever before. Help me walk in your mighty power more than ever before. Amen. —Abraham Damilola Arigi Bible In One Year: Deuteronomy 26-28 (In Devotional Audio) Streamglobe is nondenominational. Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. Send inquiries, testimonies, and prayer requests here(WhatsApp): +2348034420524, +2348138224547