Morning Devotion - Proverbs 2

Book/Chapter: Proverbs 2

Focus Verses:

1-5: We should apply all our powers to the quest for wisdom, knowledge and understanding.

6: "For the Lord gives wisdom and understanding and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding"

9:"Then you will understand righteousness, justice and fair dealing [in every area...]

Explanations/Meditations:

Verses 1-5 of Proverbs 2 highlights just how much we should hunger for and seek the Lord! Verse 5 says if we do we will then "understand the reverential and worshipful fear of the Lord and we will find the knowledge of [our omniscient] God"

Verse 6 tells us that wisdom, knowledge and understanding come from God and verse 9 explains that acquiring these aid in our strive for righteousness, and will teach us justice and fair-dealing in every area and relation, helping us to understand every good path!

God is there for us and is willing to teach us, He wants to hold our hand and guide us through all of lifes problems and difficulties... We only need to open our hearts and be willing to learn!

Joyce (in commentary) talks about understanding people. Sometimes God takes us through certain situations in order for us to be more understanding to others going through the same or a similar problem.

Ive recently, by the grace of God, come out of a period of luke-warmness (that in itself is an understatement). I felt completely dead in the spirit and began seeking things of the flesh... Obviously I became miserable and sought so much after God, but it was indeed difficult and having previously been a spirit-filled Christian I just didn't understand why and what I was going through! I began to think it was some kind of spiritual attack but the Lord God Almighty brought me out when the time was up, He gave me a new foundation in Him and helped me to see the reason why I had to experience that wilderness. I know now that when I come across anyone who is low in spirit and zeal (or perhaps back-sliding) I will never be judgmental but lend a helping and understanding hand! :)

I thank God for teaching me this valuable lesson... We are not saved by our works but only by grace people... WE SHOULD ALWAYS CHERISH OUR SALVATION!

God bless

Joy xX

Evening devotion - Psalm 2

Book/Chapter: Psalm 2

Focus Verses

7: "I will declare the decree of the Lord..."

Meditations:

Joyce's commentary in my bible highlights verse 7 in a way that is very meaningful to me right now... I believe this is rhema for me! :)

She says, "The written word of God is the formal decree of the Lord, our King. When we declare God's words out of our mouths, with hearts full of faith, those faith-filled words go forth to establish God's order in our lives. When the royal decree is pronounced, things begin to change!" The reason why this is so meaningful to me will be explained.

On Sunday we were given a prophecy at church. At the bible-study meeting yesterday, we were asked if we had taken out time to meditate on the prophecy... We were then made to understand the importance of not only meditating on the prophecy but also speaking it!

Pastor Tim informed us through the Holy Spirit that faith is not only believing but speaking aloud also!

I personally have never put any weight to speaking out in faith as such... As much as I understand the importance of walking in faith, I have been reminded this week, through God's word and in fellowship, just how important it is to speak out in faith!

Joshua 1:8 says that "this book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth..." Therefore, we are not only to meditate on Gods word but speak it constantly, never letting it depart from our mouths!

God our Father Who we are created in the likeness of "...Gives life to the dead, and calleth into being that which does not exist." (Romans 4:17) The revelation here is that by speaking the word of God into our lives, we are tapping into and releasing the victory contained in His word into our lives... Calling God's blessings and promises into being!

I can list several occasions even just recently when I have spoken by faith (though not knowing this was what I was doing) and receiving exactly the same measure of what I have spoken! Its amazing when God opens your eyes to things that you just would not have realised!

This prophecy that we have been given, as it is the word of God, will surely come to pass... and I aim to SPEAK, SPEAK, SPEAK it into being in my life! "For they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and by the words of their testimony..." (Revelation 12:11)

I thank the Holy Spirit for showing and teaching us the ways of the Lord.

God bless

Joy xX

Morning Devotion - Proverbs 1

Book: Proverbs

Chapter: 1

Focus Verses: 2-7, 17, 18, 23, 33

Summary:

2-7: Why we need godly Wisdom and the benefits of acquiring knowledge.

17: "For in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird!"

18: Enemies set up traps for themselves!

23: "...I will pour out My Spirit upon you.."

33: "...whoso harkens to Me shall dwell securely and in confident trust..."

Thoughts and Meditations:

Verse 2-7 tell us why Wisdom is important and beneficial to everyone. Joyce Meyer's commentary says highlights that the Wisdom talked about in the book of Proverbs is in reference to Christ Jesus - Who is the Wisdom of God... "In Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (1Cor. 1:24). In other words and as I understand it, Proverbs explains to us why we need to seek and acquire the Wisdom of God - Christ. Having this at the back of our minds will enable us to fully grasp the power and rhema in the book of Proverbs.

Verse 4 says that in seeking and acquiring the Wisdom of God we will be given good management skills, knowledge, discretion and discernment. (I personally hunger for a strong spirit of discernment!) Verse 5 explains that the Wisdom of God is a sound council that enables us to steer our course aright, in other words, enables us to make the correct decisions in the pursuit of God's will for our lives.

Verse 17 and 18 really touched me. They reasure us that whenever sinners (those that do/have not accepted Christ) lay a trap for the godly (those that do/have accepted Christ), they do so in vain and to their own destruction!

Verse 17 in itself is amazing... I aim and encourage you all to really meditate on this verse: "For in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird!"

We as humans may not always be aware when trouble is looming or when enemies plot against us but we have a Father who sees all and knows all! :D It is entirely impossible for anything to happen without God's consent... It is as simple as that... "God watches over the path of the godly" (Psalm 1:6).

This insight is more than refreshing and gives me so much inner peace! Verse 33 presses even further on this saying, "whoso harkens to Me [the Wisdom of God] shall dwell securely and in confident trust and shall be quiet, without fear or dread of evil." This is pretty self-explanatory... Hold your peace! Relax! trust and rely on this... God watches over His people [those who harken to His Word].

Verse 23: "If you will turn (repent) and give heed to my reproof, behold I [Wisdom of God/Christ] will pour my Spirit upon you, I will make my words known to you."

If we obey God, turn to Him, repent when we are corrected/convicted, God promises that He will pour out His Spirit upon us, thereby enabling us to know [fully comprehend, understand and apply His words]. The Holy Spirit is what enables us to understand and use God's words correctly in our lives. He teaches us to walk in Wisdom (Christ). Therefore verse 23 is telling us that we will acquire this by turning to Christ and giving heed (priority) to God's words.

A commentary by Joyce says, He will make His will known to us - clearly. He will speak living rhema to us - His personal word for our lives will be made known.

I pray that God gives us understanding and the ability to grasp the application of His Word!

God bless

Joy xX

Evening Devotion - Psalm 1

Book: Psalm

Chapter: 1

Focus Verses: 1-3, 6

Summary:

1-3: "Blessed is the man who walks and lives not in the council of the ungodly [following their advice, plans and purposes] ...But his delight is in the law of the Lord and on His law does he meditate (ponders and studies) day and night... He shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water..."

6: "The Lord knows and is fully acquainted with the ways of the righteous..."

Explanation/Meditations:

We know that studying God's word is very important but here the Psalmist emphasis its benefits. Verse 2 says that if we delight and desire (if we are long to and are exited about studying Gods word) we will be as a tree planted by the streams of water ready to bear good fruit when the time comes.

The way I see this is that, as we study and meditate on Gods word, He teaches us and prepares us for every season that may arise in our lives. Like a parent to a child, God makes sure that we are equipped and ready to overcome trials and ready to make the most of every opportunity He gives us to be blessed.

The first instruction God gave mankind was to be fruitful and multiply. (Blog on this coming soon!) Jesus said we should test every spirit and know them by their fruits. The only way to ensure that we are fruitful in the right way is to devote ourselves to Gods word on a daily basis and as verse 1 tells us, to stay away and avoid all that is ungodly (For me, this means things like bad/ungodly programming and secular music).

The psalmist is so sure of the positive results of taking the above actions that he describes such person as a tree firmly planted by the streams of water... in other words, nourished, healthy... for such person the production of good fruits is assured! Do meditate on verse 3 and I'm sure you will be blessed as I have been.

Meditate also on verse 6... You can be sure that as a child of God, made righteous through Christ, your every move is known to and directed by God! So simple, yet so powerful! Lets confess with our mouth... 'God knows about me!" lol wow!... Just meditate on the results, benefits and assurance in that statement you just made.

I pray that you are given revelation knowledge today!

God bless,

Joy xX

We Will Get What We Want!

In a society where the main focus for individuals is acquiring wealth and stability, so many people race around trying to find what they can "eat", "drink" and "wear" (Matthew 6:31). However, the bible says there is only one way to get, not only what we want but also what we need. Jesus said that the Heavenly Father knows that we need all these things. In Matthew 6:33 He tells us how we will get them... "seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Note that He didn't say seek first the Kingdom and then later seek the things you want, no He said if you seek the Kingdom first in everything/every decision you make, all other things shall AUTOMATICALLY be added to you! He has made it so easy and simple for us - if only we obey

I've realised something, that this just seems too easy or too good to be true! Like if an old friend you havn't spoken to for a long time turns up and says, "come to where I am (some distant country - hundreds of miles away from your current location) and I will give you everything you need to start a perfect life out here; a house, cars, you will be married with beautiful children and I have prepared an excellent job for you here!" Im sincerely sure that very few of us would drop everything, leave our comfort zone and begin to travel to that friend we have not spoken to for such a long time... It just seems too good to be true why would he want to do all that for you?! Now let me just note here that if you had been in constant contact with this friend you may well be more willing to go for the move, because you will have an idea or substantial knowledge of why he is willing to do this for you.

This is in fact the same scenario with our dear Friend, Jesus. He is calling us out of our comfort zone to seek after Him, but the fact that we are leaving what we are used to, what the flesh knows and is comfortable with is in itself scary, more so, the results seem un-believeable! But this is the Truth that, "He who did not withhold or spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all other things?" (Romans 8:31).

Lets use another example. A mother says to a little child; "just sit at the table and wait for me, your food is soon ready, when it is I will bring it". It is left to the child now to just wait and obey, but If the child feels like he has grown wings, he may just wait for a few minutes and then go to the market to try and buy some food stuffs to make his own food! Sounds ridiculous that this little child would think he can go to the market and buy and make his own food, when the mother has already said in the knowledge that the child cannot fend properly for himself yet, that he should wait at the table and food will be brought to him! As funny and ridiculous or unnecessary as this scenario seems, this is what we do to God when we forget or disregard His instructions and go and try to fend for ourselves... Obedience is all we need as children... Obedience is all we need as children of God!

Examples of biblical instructions include:

• "come unto me those who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28);
• "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." (Luke 11:9);
• If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. (Matthew 6:14);
• "Give, and it will be given to you" (Luke 6:38); "Do to others what you would have them do to you" (Matthew 7:12).
• ...And MANY more simple instructions that our victories and prosperity is tied to!

Important!!! ... We cannot obey what we do not know! We need to ensure that we know what God has instructed us to do in every area of our lives. The only way to know is to study, study and study more! God said to Joshua, "This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth , but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success."(Joshua 1:8).

Now its not always easy to obey these instructions, in Romans Paul says, my spirit is willing yet my flesh is weak... Its impossible to please God whilst walking in flesh, we must therefore be led by the Spirit of God, in Him we know that our every effort will not be vain... And moreso we can trust in Gods word that even when we are not perfect in all His instruction "there is no condemnation for those who abide in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the dictates of the flesh but are led by the Spirit" (Romans 8)

‎​With Gods help it is possible to be in perfect obedience and enjoy prosperity in every area of our life... We only need to stay focused on Christ the Author and the Finisher of our faith! Never waver, never doubt! God will help us in Jesus name! :)

God Bless,

Joy x

Are you bowing down to satan???

In the book of Luke chapter 4 we are told how Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to go out into the wilderness, where the devil tempted him for 40 days. We all know this story very well, but I was given, this morning a new wave of understanding.

What struck me was that Jesus was tempted with the world - “The glory of these kingdoms”, all he had to do to acquire this was to bow down and worship the devil. But our Lord Jesus replied with the scripture, “you must worship the Lord your God; serve Him only”.

In relation to our lives as Christians today, that little passage speaks a lot! What is meant then by glory of these kingdoms? Wealth, fame, power…? It is so easy to be after all these things, it is so easy to want to be like people you see on TV – famous, so easy to get carried away with wanting to have so much money, cars, houses, etc. These things are the glory of this kingdom here on earth. So many of us have been victim of wanting to acquire such glories. The question is however, how can these glories be acquired?

The devil said to Jesus, “I will give it all to you if you will bow down and worship me”. I know you might be thinking, that’s ridiculous, cause no one in their right mind would do that! But lets reel it in a bit, lets think about the things we do, or the things we are able to do in order to acquire earthly glories, such as money and material possessions i.e. some people would kill, steal or cheat to become famous, just to be that star on TV, or just to get this amount of money or for a certain status. The truth of the matter is the desire to get these things will inevitably lead us to performing adversely in order to attain at all cost. What I mean is, say for example a young girl really wants to become a superstar, and after striving for many years to no avail, she the sees an opportunity but it requires her to sleep with the director of a music video, she is likely to do so, because of the strong desire to succeed and become famous.

Therefore she is accepting the devils offer in Luke 4:7. Likewise, certain people that commit fraud in order to get money, or people that lie to maintain a certain dignified positions, or people that cheat one way or the other to get to the top… The sad truth is that in cheating, lying, etc to get to the top or to acquire certain things, they are bowing down to the devil.

It is so easy to fall prey to the temptations of the “glories of this kingdom” and want to conform to the ways of this world in order to attract these “glories”. Now lets rethink our motives and strategies… Am I doing what is right by God? What do I aim to achieve in doing this? Our ultimate goal should be God’s Kingdom, so everything we do should be towards this goal.

We must walk in the likeness of Christ. Not only following just some of what He did, but all! Jesus went about doing good and helping others, He lived life on earth to reconcile people to God, spreading the gospel, and he submitted his life to the will of God. We must remind ourselves daily that we are only passing through this world therefore we “must not lay up treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break through and steal. But lay for yourselves, treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume and where thieves do not break through also, for where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also.” – Matthew 6:19-21

In neglecting every thing that seems to shine on the earth, we are rejecting the devils offer. In doing God’s work alone we are laying up treasures for ourselves in Heaven and subjecting ourselves only to the will and path ordained for us by God. Thereby fulfilling the commandment Jesus used to rebut the temptation of the devil, “You must worship the Lord your God; serve only Him.” Luke 4:8

Note that even as we have been sent into the world for the sole purpose of winning souls for God’s kingdom - Matthew 28:19 – we must equip and sanctify ourselves with God’s word, which is the weapon Jesus used to nullify the devils temptations.

This doesn’t mean that Christians will be poor or nobodies… far from it! Psalms 23:1 – “The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want…” But we must first make the Lord our Shepard, before we can enjoy the benefits of not wanting. How do we make the Lord our Shepard? By following and abiding by His word. We must be as sheep, then the Lord will be our Shepard and provide all our needs. “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart” – Psalm 37:4

The prayer Christ offered for the disciples towards the end of his ministry on earth as man, enlightens us greatly as to what Christ want for us as his disciples…

“I have given them thy word; and the world hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that though shouldest take them from the world, but that though shouldest keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth: thy word is truth. As though didst sent me into the world, even so sent I them into the world…” John 17:14-18

Action point: It’s those little bricks, as useless as they may seem that build a house… so every little effort counts. Trust in God and He will direct your path.

God bless! J

Joy xx