Obedience and Sacrifice: The Obedient Sacrifice
Philippians 3:8 (BBE) Yes truly, and I am ready to give up all things for the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, which is more than all: for whom I have undergone the loss of all things, and to me they are less than nothing, so that I may have Christ as my reward In the Old Testament, we learned about the story of Saul who disobeyed under the guise of sacrifice. To whom Samuel rebuked saying, “Obedience is better than sacrifice and to heed than fatted rams”. However, to hear this and disdain sacrifice will be to miss the point. To sacrifice usually involves giving up something of value. The call of discipleship in God’s kingdom requires sacrifice, Jesus said that anyone who must be his disciple must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow him. Have you ever thought about what it means to deny oneself? It calls for great sacrifice. The key to extracting the gem of God’s wisdom here is to ask what is being addressed here. What was Prophet Samuel rebuking? What is the wisdom of God to be drawn from here? One thing you must get is this: The sacrifice of disobedience is abhorrent to God. You can even rephrase that to say ‘The sacrifice of the disobedient is unacceptable to God’, Cain’s story is a good footnote to this point. However, this does not negate the fact that the obedient sacrifice. In fact, the sacrifice of Obedience is a delight to the Lord. Firstly, the call to discipleship calls for a total abandonment of one’s own personal agenda in total resignation to and complete adoption of God’s own agenda. The disciple loses his life (a life of living to please oneself) and only then does he find true life; eternal life in Christ Jesus. This call implies that he recognizes that all he has, is a function of the benevolence of God and must be kept in stewardship for the Lord and spent in line with the will of his Provider, Lord and Master. At this point, the debate of 10%(whether or not new believers are to pay tithe) becomes a non-issue to such a believer, because he has enrolled in the same class that once said “We have left all and followed you”. His preoccupation is no longer to calculate a meager 10% but to seek to understand how the owner of the 100% seeks to disburse it. The Obedient gives God his time, skill, abilities, resources, and indeed life to the cause of God and to fulfill the counsel and purpose of God for his/her life. Personal ambitions, fleshly desires, and self-propagation are all regular objects of sacrifice at the altar of true obedience to God. Apostle Paul standing before King Agrippa among other things recounted his conversion story to him declaring that “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision” (See Acts 26:19), in his obedience he gave up all and followed and so must we, in line with God’s expressed will and plan for our lives. Go into today with renewed zeal to heed the call of discipleship and to follow the Lord to the end.—Ikechukwu Mpama Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together.To Start getting Streamglobe earlier every day on our groups:Click here to join our WhatsApp Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/JnqvSRyY3I2Ce13V18ZrEoClick here to join our Telegram Group: https://t.me/streamglobe1 Bible In 1 Year: Genesis 20-23 (In Today’s Audio) Streamglobe is interdenominational. Get more Edifying Media or Listen to our Online Radio Here: www.streamglobe.org https://listen.streamglobe.org/DevotionalAudio3959.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()Subscribe: RSS
Believing, a means to an end
John 3:3 (KJV): “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Royle gave his life to Christ in a crusade where the Evangelist preached powerfully. Moved by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, Royle was among the multitude that rushed forward in surrender to Jesus Christ. Initially filled with joy and zeal, he fervently preached to all his friends and visited bars where he once indulged in drinking, now preaching instead. However, over time, his zeal waned, and the joy faded, leading him back to alcoholism and fornication as if he had never been born again. Like Royle, many have had similar experiences because they did not realize that being a believer is not the end; rather, it is an initiation into the kingdom of God, a means to an end. Believing is akin to being admitted into an institution; once admitted, you are recognized and treated as a member, and an identity card is issued. However, admission alone does not guarantee graduation. To graduate and obtain a certificate of completion, one must follow instructions, attend classes, complete assignments, and obey rules they did not create. Similarly, when you become born again, you are admitted into Christ (John 3:3), given the Holy Spirit as your identity card (2 Corinthians 1:22), and referred to as a child of God (John 1:12). However, this is not the end goal; these are intended to lead you to a place where you will live with Jesus eternally. This can only be achieved when you “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). The seed of salvation planted in your heart when you believed must be nurtured and cultivated for it to yield eternal life. Today, resolve to steadfastly continue in the apostles’ doctrine (the Word of God), fellowship (attending and serving in a Bible-believing church), breaking of bread (maintaining good relationships with other Christians), and prayers (Acts 2:42 KJV). By doing so, you will nourish the seed of salvation planted within you when you believed. Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together.To Start getting Streamglobe earlier every day on our groups:Click here to join our WhatsApp Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/JnqvSRyY3I2Ce13V18ZrEoClick here to join our Telegram Group: https://t.me/streamglobe1 Bible In 1 Year: Genesis 20-23 (In Today’s Audio) Streamglobe is interdenominational. Get more Edifying Media or Listen to our Online Radio Here: www.streamglobe.org
Walking in the light
Broadcast 3952 Click here for the audio version: streamglobe.org/aud3952 1 John 1:7 (KJV) “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” The first thing I want to point out is that the blood of Jesus does not cleanse in the dark. If you are out of fellowship, you’re in the dark. If you walk consistently in the light, two things will follow: you will have fellowship with fellow believers and you will be perpetually covered by the blood of Jesus. When you are out of the light, you are out of the blood. When you walk in the light, the blood of Jesus keeps you continually clean. As a child of God you are guaranteed the covering of the blood. Just concern yourself with walking in the light. Dear pilgrim, walking in the light is simply walking in simple, daily, practical obedience to the word of God. Psalms 119:105 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” If you study and obey God’s word, you will never have darkness on your path. You may not see more than one step, but every step you take, you will have sufficient light and that’s all you need. As you go into today, you may not see the whole picture of where God is leading, just walk according to the light on your path.Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I desire to walk in the light of your countenance today, please steady my feet so I don’t wander off the path, amen.—Otuokon, UbokudomKindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. To Start getting Streamglobe earlier every day on our groups:Click here to join our WhatsApp Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/JnqvSRyY3I2Ce13V18ZrEoClick here to join our Telegram Group: https://t.me/streamglobe1 Bible In 1 Year: Romans 9-10 (In Today’s Audio) Streamglobe is interdenominational. Get more Edifying Media or Listen to our Online Radio Here: www.streamglobe.org https://listen.streamglobe.org/DevotionalAudio3952.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()Subscribe: RSS
You are not condemned
John 3:17 (NET) For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him.Because of her past, Nkechi used to feel inferior and condemned. And this affected her relationship with God. She did not know that because of her faith in Christ Jesus, in God’s eyes, she was now more innocent and pure than a new born baby. As she began to learn the word of God about who she really was in Christ, she realized that her lack of boldness hindered the manifestation of her faith and spiritual power. She also realized that the condemnation she felt in her soul was not from the Holy Spirit. Many Christians are living under the cloak of condemnation and perpetual guilt. Unknowingly, they have agreed with Satan’s accusations against their spirits, and they have been deceived into thinking that the way they feel is somehow holy.Child of God, know today that Jesus does not condemn you, He justifies you. The Holy Spirit makes intercession for you, and Christ is your advocate before the throne of heaven. Know that God knew all the sins you committed before he chose you. He chose you even when you were dead in your sins. His love for you has not changed now. Go into today, trusting in the love of God. It is unmovable. Also know that anyone walking in condemnation cannot walk in boldness at the same time. And this means he will be unable to use his faith, and will be spiritually weak. Prayer: I cast out every spirit of fear and condemnation in Jesus name. I am walking in the liberty and righteousness of Christ Jesus.—Abraham Damilola Arigi Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. To Start getting Streamglobe earlier every day on our groups:Click here to join our WhatsApp Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/JnqvSRyY3I2Ce13V18ZrEoClick here to join our Telegram Group: https://t.me/streamglobe1 Bible In 1 Year: Genesis 16-19 (In Today’s Audio) Streamglobe is interdenominational. Get more Edifying Media or Listen to our Online Radio Here: www.streamglobe.org https://listen.streamglobe.org/DevotionalAudio3951.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()Subscribe: RSS
Eternal life in the Son
1 John 5:11 (NKJV) And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. There was a wise young man who discovered that his father willed all their fortune to their slave. He wondered why his father did this, but he knew the slave was still their property.When it was time for him to ask for a last gift from his dying father, he asked that the slave be given to Him as his property. He did this because he understood that if he owns the slave, he also owns everything the slave owns. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son (John 3:16). Christ Jesus has been given so that we would not perish but have eternal life. Eternal life is in Christ, all life proceeds from Him (see John 3:3-4). If we receive Him, we have received eternal life. Eternal life is also very relevant in this present world. It is a superior life that can empower a person live above the limitations of the flesh and this present world. When we receive Christ, He also receives us. We abide in Him and He abides in us (see John 15:1). And the life that He has in Himself becomes ours because we abide in Him.This is how we abide in Him; by receiving Him and letting His word abide in us (see John 15:7). This means our lives are ruled by His word. Go into today abiding in the Lord and expect to see the manifestation of His eternal life in your daily life. —Abraham Damilola Arigi Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. To Start getting Streamglobe earlier every day on our groups:Click here to join our WhatsApp Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/JnqvSRyY3I2Ce13V18ZrEoClick here to join our Telegram Group: https://t.me/streamglobe1 Bible In 1 Year: Romans 9-10 (In Today’s Audio) Streamglobe is interdenominational. Get more Edifying Media or Listen to our Online Radio Here: www.streamglobe.org https://listen.streamglobe.org/DevotionalAudio3950.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()Subscribe: RSS
Righteousness of God
Broadcast 3949 Click here for the audio version: streamglobe.org/aud3949 Rom 1:17 (NKJV) For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith. Banke was now born again, but still told lies regularly and really wanted to stop. She had read about God’s grace that empowered people to overcome their weaknesses and sins. She was now going to be taught by that Grace (see Titus 2:11-12). Banke realized that the reason she sinned was because her faith was very weak. Because of this, she was not conscious of God’s presence and great love. She often told lies because she felt she needed to protect herself by doing so, and many times she was afraid of the outcome the truth would produce. Her little faith kept her from realizing that God would take care of her and keep her secure in His love, so she didn’t need to lie. As she grew in faith, she grew above lies. The gift of righteousness she had received in her spirit was revealed as she walked more and more in faith- from faith to faith. Father Abraham could please God and obey God because he had faith in God. Among all the people in Abraham’s time, Abraham was the most conscious of God. God consciousness is a product of faith. The more conscious you are of God’s presence in your life, the more you will walk in His righteousness. Our walk with God was initiated by faith. It is also sustained by faith. A person living without the consciousness of God cannot please God (see Heb 11:6). Most of the sins you’ve committed; you committed them because you lost the consciousness that God’s presence was with you and within you. Faith creates this consciousness and keeps you in fellowship with God. This fellowship multiplies your grace and power (see 2 Pet 1:2). Go into today asking the Lord to help you have better fellowship with Him. —Abraham Damilola Arigi Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. To Start getting Streamglobe earlier every day on our groups:Click here to join our WhatsApp Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/JnqvSRyY3I2Ce13V18ZrEoClick here to join our Telegram Group: https://t.me/streamglobe1 Bible In 1 Year: Matthew 8-10 (In Today’s Audio) Streamglobe is interdenominational. Get more Edifying Media or Listen to our Online Radio Here: www.streamglobe.org https://listen.streamglobe.org/DevotionalAudio3949.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:04 — 7.1MB)Subscribe: RSS
Grace and truth
John 1:17 (NET)For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ. God told Adam that if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of God good and evil, he would surely die(Gen 2:17). When Adam ate the fruit, he lost the life of God. He no longer could participate in the divine nature, and was now subject to death and corruption. We his descendants inherited this too. Our spirits needed to be regenerated so we could receive the grace of God to empower us to walk in God’s nature (Ezekiel 36:26). The word ‘born again’ is not a symbolic expression, it is something that happens literally to the spirit of everyone who believes in Christ. The new birth is not a product of human will but of God’s will (see John 1:13). This new birth is because of God’s unmerited favor. He gives us new spirits that He can indwell and supply the grace to help us walk in His divine nature. We need this grace because we have bodies of flesh that hinder us from this nature. The law of God that came through Moses was to help man walk in God’s truth (the reality and realm of God), but it failed because man was not able to obey it from his (corrupted) heart. Grace and truth has come through Jesus. Grace empowers us to walk in truth (God’s reality). Go into today trusting in the grace of God to empower you walk more and more in the divine nature. Thank the Lord for His love that makes you a partaker of His divine nature (2 Pet 1:2-4).—Abraham Damilola Arigi Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. To Start getting Streamglobe earlier every day on our groups:Click here to join our WhatsApp Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/JnqvSRyY3I2Ce13V18ZrEoClick here to join our Telegram Group: https://t.me/streamglobe1 Bible In 1 Year: Genesis 12-15 (In Today’s Audio) Streamglobe is interdenominational. Get more Edifying Media or Listen to our Online Radio Here: www.streamglobe.org
Grace and truth
John 1:17 (NET)For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ. God told Adam that if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of God good and evil, he would surely die(Gen 2:17). When Adam ate the fruit, he lost the life of God. He no longer could participate in the divine nature, and was now subject to death and corruption. We his descendants inherited this too. Our spirits needed to be regenerated so we could receive the grace of God to empower us to walk in God’s nature (Ezekiel 36:26). The word ‘born again’ is not a symbolic expression, it is something that happens literally to the spirit of everyone who believes in Christ. The new birth is not a product of human will but of God’s will (see John 1:13). This new birth is because of God’s unmerited favor. He gives us new spirits that He can indwell and supply the grace to help us walk in His divine nature. We need this grace because we have bodies of flesh that hinder us from this nature. The law of God that came through Moses was to help man walk in God’s truth (the reality and realm of God), but it failed because man was not able to obey it from his (corrupted) heart. Grace and truth has come through Jesus. Grace empowers us to walk in truth (God’s reality). Go into today trusting in the grace of God to empower you walk more and more in the divine nature. Thank the Lord for His love that makes you a partaker of His divine nature (2 Pet 1:2-4).—Abraham Damilola Arigi Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. To Start getting Streamglobe earlier every day on our groups:Click here to join our WhatsApp Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/JnqvSRyY3I2Ce13V18ZrEoClick here to join our Telegram Group: https://t.me/streamglobe1 Bible In 1 Year: Genesis 12-15 (In Today’s Audio) Streamglobe is interdenominational. Get more Edifying Media or Listen to our Online Radio Here: www.streamglobe.org
Grace and relationship with God
John 1:17 (NET) For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ. Mr. Ade wanted to have his closest friendship with His children, but this could only happen when his children grew up. He was willing to wait. While they were still children, Mr. Ade had many rules and regulations for them for when they were to wake up, wash their mouths, sleep, etc. He did this because they were not yet mature enough to understand the right way to do things. They thus needed rules and regulations to get by. Why are the law and grace put side by side in today’s Bible text? Because they came for the same purpose of making man walk in truth. But the law could not do this because man could not keep it. The law ended up leaving humankind with the burden of guilt. This made him know he could never be righteous by his strength. Grace was given to help us walk in the righteousness of God. This righteousness is revealed as we walk from faith to faith. There are those who want to walk in grace, but fail because they try to do so with the old consciousness of law and sin. What God wants in man is a relationship. One filled with mutual love. That is why I believe that before Adam and Eve sinned, God usually came to fellowship with them in the cool of the day (see Gen 3:8). When you truly know and love God, you cannot but trust Him, Love Him, and seek to please Him. Using laws as the basis of your relationship with God only proves that you have not (grown to) truly know and love Him. Those who know and love God relate with Him in love, not mechanically– with laws. Believers who continue walking in the flesh do so because they are still spiritual babies who don’t care much about communing with the Father; they only care about what they can get. Go into today knowing that the grace of God empowers you to walk in the love of God. Prayer: Ask the Lord to help you know Him and walk in His love.—Abraham Damilola Arigi Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. To Start getting Streamglobe earlier every day on our groups:Click here to join our WhatsApp Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/JnqvSRyY3I2Ce13V18ZrEoClick here to join our Telegram Group: https://t.me/streamglobe1 Bible In 1 Year: Romans 7-8 (In Today’s Audio) Streamglobe is interdenominational. Get more Edifying Media or Listen to our Online Radio Here: www.streamglobe.org https://listen.streamglobe.org/DevotionalAudio3943.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()Subscribe: RSS
How to walk in grace
Rom 8:5 (NET) For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit. Each time Chinyere played in the mud, she would later have a painful foot infection called athlete’s foot. Her mother now instructed her to stop playing in the mud, but Chinyere would disobey her mother and still play in the mud. When her mother finds out, Chinyere would be severely punished for her disobedience. But this did not remove the fact that Chinyere would face the reality of athlete’s foot much later. Before the law existed, sin was in the world. And sin already had its attendant eternal consequences, because sin is a spiritual venom that produces [spiritual] death (see Rom 6:23). You see, the law tried to save man and cause him to walk in righteousness, but it failed because man had a nature(flesh) hindering him from obeying the law in truth. The law now only succeeded in bringing the consciousness of sin and bringing curses for disobedience. (Rom 8:3-4-NET) God achieved what the law could not do… By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Grace empowers you from within to walk in God’s righteousness. This is what the law sought to produce, but couldn’t. The way Christians walk in God’s grace is by walking in the spirit. You cannot walk in the spirit without crucifying the flesh and its works. A believer who would walk in the spirit has come to terms with the truth that life is no more about pleasing himself but about pleasing God. Walking in the flesh means walking in the Adamic sinful nature. Walking in the spirit means walking in the divine nature. Go into today walking in the spirit by readjusting your outlook and priorities to that of God’s kingdom. Prayer: Thank the Lord for His grace. Ask Him to help you make the most of it, In Jesus’ name.—Abraham Damilola Arigi Kindly share this Devotional with your contacts and let’s touch lives together. To Start getting Streamglobe earlier every day on our groups:Click here to join our WhatsApp Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/JnqvSRyY3I2Ce13V18ZrEoClick here to join our Telegram Group: https://t.me/streamglobe1 Bible In 1 Year: Matthew 5-7 (In Today’s Audio) Streamglobe is interdenominational. Get more Edifying Media or Listen to our Online Radio Here: www.streamglobe.org https://listen.streamglobe.org/DevotionalAudio3942.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()Subscribe: RSS