His Voice Devotional

Text : John 16:33   *These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world* .  *We often loose faith because we loose sight of Jesus Christ our faithful and merciful High Priest* .  "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; ..."Hebrews 12:2 While Jesus was preparing for His crucifixion some 2000 years ago, one of the fundamental counsels He gave His disciples was to be of good cheer because He has overcome the world.  Just as He said to the disciples thousands of years ago, He is still saying same to you today:  In our text, you will realise that:  *1. Jesus Christ had spoken certain things:*  It is your duty to find out those things which our Lord had spoken. You find your peace in His sayings. Acts 3:22, Heb 1:1-2.  *2. You will have tribulation in this world:*  2Cor.4:17, Rom. 5:3,1John 5:4 *Please, don't be deceived...

Text : Mark 14:3 ISV   *While Jesus was in Bethany sitting at the table in the home of Simon the leper, a woman arrived with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume made from pure nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume on his head.*  Why break the jar when you can simply open the lid? Well, the answer is not farfetched : 1. Once the container is broken, it can't be reused to bottle anything any longer. The scripture says the content (perfume) of the jar is very expensive, but studies show that the container, the Alabaster jar itself is equally expensive too because it's made from precious stone. Yet this woman broke the jar.  This jar symbolizes her life, and since she has decided to pour her life out at the feet of the Master, she knew her body should not bottle any other content again.  God is interested in you holistically- that is, spirit, soul and body. Don't ever agree with the school of thought that says 'God is only interested in your ...

Text : Mar 14:3 ISV   *While Jesus was in Bethany sitting at the table in the home of Simon the leper, a woman arrived with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume made from pure nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume on his head.*  The story of the woman with the Alabaster jar is such a popular one and it will continue to be so because it was backed up with such prophecy by Jesus Christ Himself. He said : Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her. Math 26:13. Hence, today, we are fulfilling scriptures by not just looking at the story of this woman, but by also gleaning some lessons from her : 1. *She was a notorious sinner.*  There was a woman who was a notorious sinner in that city. When she learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s home, she took an alabaster jar of perfume Luke 7:37 ISV. One spectacular thing about thi...

Text : Gen 39:23 ISV   *The prison warden did not have to worry about anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with him. That’s why Joseph prospered in everything he did.*  Have you heard of a prosperous prisoner before? What kind of prosperity can someone possibly have in the prison?  Well, if you asked Joseph, he will tell you the real meaning of prosperity. *True Prosperity is not measured in physical accumulations only, but in how much of God you carry ,* because a man's life consists not in the abundance of the things he possessed. Luke 12:15. *The value of your life is a function of how much of God you carry*  When Joseph was taken as a slave to Egypt, it was recorded concerning him that he was a prosperous slave.  'But the LORD was with Joseph. He became a very prosperous man while in the house of his Egyptian master.' Gen 39:2 ISV. It's clear that the reason Joseph prospered even as a slave was because the Lord was with him.  ...

Text : John 6:27 (Amp) *Stop toiling and doing and producing for the food that perishes and decomposes [in the using], but strive and work and produce rather for the [lasting] food which endures [continually] unto life eternal; the Son of Man will give (furnish) you that, for God the Father has authorized and certified Him and put His seal of endorsement upon Him* The bible says that there is profit in all labour (proverbs 14:23). The question you need ask however is what type of profit is your labour yielding-perishables or eternal profit ? From Jesus' statement, it is obvious that you can either labour for the meat that perishes or for that which endures. *One of the finest strategies of the devil against man's eternal inheritance is to make him focus all his energy on labour that leads to Vanity*   *When a man, who is an eternal being in nature expend all his energy pursuing the mundane and perishables, he simply turns to a vain fellow.*  Jesus sternly warned the p...

Text : John 6:27  *Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.*  The Amplified version of the Bible rendered the text explicitly as follows:  _Stop toiling and doing and producing for the food that perishes and decomposes [in the using], but strive and work and produce rather for the [lasting] food which endures [continually] unto life eternal; the Son of Man will give (furnish) you that, for God the Father has authorized and certified Him and put His seal of endorsement upon Him_ .  *It is simply foolishness when you labour for the perishables( vanities) at the expense of the non-perishables(life eternal)* Jesus warned the people following Him because of loaves of bread to desist from such. This means that *Jesus's utmost desire for you is to follow Him for WHO He is and not for WHAT He is.* So many in the church today are only follow...

Text : John 6:12   *When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.*   *A waster is next to vagabond, learn not to waste God's deposits in your life.*  It is intriguing to know that when Jesus Christ had supernaturally multiplied 5 loaves of bread to feed about.5,000 men; He afterwards demanded that the remnants be gathered so that nothing be wasted. One would have thought that Jesus needn't or shouldn't bother Himself about the remnants from the supernatural supply of bread at Tiberias. (John 1:1-12). Before we look at the import of Jesus' statement in verse 12, let us first of all glean four lessons from this story of bread multiplication.  _1. God hates wastage_ : *Though God has given you all things to enjoy in abundance, but He wouldn't tolerate wastage- You will account for every details of His provisions.* You will give account for all of God's provisions in your life. Mathew 25:15-30. ...

Text : Isaiah 1:19   *If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land*   *Nothing gladens God's heart and gives Him pleasure than seeing a man walks in OBEDIENCE*  To eat the good of the land(God's promise), there must be willingness and obedience. Man's WILL cannot be excused when it comes to obedience unto God. Hence, deliberate choice has to be made. You must choose whom you want to obey: God or devil (Joshua 24:15). Anyone you submit your will to is your master.  *To know who you truly obey, just check what you submits to-SIN or RIGHTEOUSNESS* .  _Do you not know that if you continually surrender yourselves to anyone to do his will, you are the slaves of him whom you obey, whether that be to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience which leads to righteousness (right doing and right standing with God)? Romans 6:16 ( Amp)_  It is pertinent to know that there is no middle ground in this world. You are either obeying God and ...

Text : John 6:9   *“There’s a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two small fish. But what are these among so many people?”*  The story of Jesus feeding five thousands men(excluding women and children) is so intriguing, especially as *everyone received a satisfying portion.* But more intriguing than those that received was the little boy who gave ALL HIS LUNCH PACK to Jesus.  Permit me to share some intriguing virtues of this Lad: 1. *He followed Jesus :* It was recorded that a large crowd followed Jesus(albeit for varied reasons), but this little boy was one of the people that followed Jesus not only to be fed physically but to be led by Him.  Following Jesus is not age bias. While children of His age(or even older) may be preoccupied with other youthful exorbitants, this lad followed Jesus so closely to the point that he could be noticed among crowd.   *Are you really following Jesus? Or are you just among the multitudes who seek Jesus...

Text : 1Co 9:24 ISV   *You know that in a race all the runners run but only one wins the prize, don’t you? You must run in such a way that you may be victorious.*  Few years back, I followed my little son to his School's inter house sport as he was part of the participants. He was to run for his house in a 100 meter dash race. Prior to that time his teacher had told me that he is one of their best athletes but he gets easily distracted with other competitors. On the D-day, true to his teacher's words, my son was obviously leading the race, giving a reasonable distance between himself and the next runner. But he will stop intermittently looking back to talk to the other runners.  "stop running after me," he shouted. When he was just few steps to the finish line, he stopped again to ward off his opponent again. While he was at it, the next athlete ran passed him to be the first while he took the second place.  The annoying part was, my boy was oblivion of t...

Text : Psa 103:2 ISV   *Bless the LORD, my soul, and never forget any of his benefits:*  Monuments are structures built for commemorative or symbolic reasons, or as a memorial. One major reason monuments are built is for remembrance.   *Human beings have high tendencies of forgetting good done to them over time, you should break away from this gene.*  David had this understanding, that was why he told his soul to never forget any of God's benefits, Ps. 103:2. By nature, man's wants are insatiable. That's why most people's prayers are full of requests (yet to be fulfilled needs) than Thanksgiving.  Now, even God doesn't want us to forget any of His benefits.  As soon as the entire nation of Israel had completed its crossing of the Jordan river, the LORD spoke to Joshua. He told him to select 12 men, one from the 12 tribes of Israel who will represent the rest. They were to pick stones and use it to build a monument (memorial) of God's faithf...

Text : Gen 18:19.   *Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting* .   *Sometimes you surprise yourself by doing what you never believed you could do. This is because there are tendencies you carry within you that you are not aware of*  While you are aware of some certain tendencies, you are not aware of larger chunk of what you are capable of doing. David knew about this very well. And that was the reason for his prayer in Psalm 139:23-24. Tendencies are likelihood of behaving in a particular way or going in a particular direction. For David not to be a victim of evil tendencies anymore(perhaps after he took Bathsheba and killed Uriah her husband-(1King 11:1-20); he praye,d to God that: 1. *God should search him.* To search can also mean to examine thouroughly or to investigate. This is a critical prayer that gives God complete access to open you up and reveal w...

Text : Eph. 4:26 NLT.   *And “don't sin by letting anger control you.” Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry,*  This verse is a very popular one among Christians especially when rendered in King James version, "Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:"Eph 4:26. On the face level, it may be convenient to say we are at liberty to be angry in as much as the sun hasn't gone down.  I'm sure you know that's not what that verse implies. Anger, also known as wrath or rage, is an intense emotional state, involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat.  At one point or another, you will have reason(s) to be angry, what then are you supposed to do when anger comes? First, never assume you can never get angry because Jesus said Woe unto the world because of offences! *for it must needs be that offences come;* but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!Mat 18:7. Th...

Text : Gen 18:19.   *For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.*  God is always interested in families. He said He has singled Abraham out because He knows he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just.  It's an open truth that the only institute that did not come by reason of the fall of man is 'family'. And one thing the enemy is bent on destroying is the family.  Take sampling of families around you (starting from your immediate family to your extended, then to other families) and see what percentage are pure and seeking after God.  After God had destroyed the ancient world with a mighty flood. 2 Peter 3:6. He started human race again with a family, Gen. 8:15-19. This goes to show that God is still interested in families....

Text : Mathew 20:27  *And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:*   *"If you are too big to serve, you are too small to lead,"* so goes the popular saying.  Our Lord Jesus Christ, during His earthly ministry propounded so many ideologies and belief systems that are at variance with the norms, values and the world system. Being a maverick leader, our Lord still expects His disciples today never to conform to this world and its system.  *While the world says that a leader is to be served, Jesus says that a leader is to serve* . The parameter for leadership as far as Jesus is concerned is SERVICE. A song writer render it thus: "If you want to be great in His Kingdom, learn to be servant of All". Contrary to the world's pattern,God's kngdom has spelt out path to greatness as *servanthood.* Though, this is synonymous to service in a way but it is much more than service. Greatness in the Kingdom is not achieved by giftings or achievement...

Text : Gen. 18:32  *Finally, Abraham said, "Lord, please don't be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only ten are found there?" And the Lord replied, "Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten."*  Do you know the population of people in your city, where you reside presently? I am sure it will run to tens of thousands.  Do you know the number of righteous people in your city today? I'm sure your answer is in the negative. Yes, you may not be sure of the number of the righteous ones living in the same city with you, but are you a righteous person? At least, you should be able to speak for yourself if you can't for others.  Just like your city, Sodom and Gomorrah were cities inhabited by people in Abraham's day. A great outcry from these cities had risen up to God by reason of their so many flagrant sins.  So, God decided to go down and see if their actions were as wicked as He had heard, Gen. 18:21.  On His way, He de...

Text : Hebrew 4:9  *So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God.*  Jesus made an open invitation to all that labour and are heavy laden. He promised all that would come to Him a REST.  Mathew 11:28 Until the advent of Jesus, man could not enter into the rest of God. Man could not enter into her Sabbath Day.  Unlike the days old( under old testament), the  true import of Sabbath day in this new dispensation is no longer attached to one day of the week. Jesus, having declared on the cross, *"it is finished"* had opened the way of REST to as many that will honour his invitation and come to Him. Jesus Himself has become the Lord of the Sabbath. He is indeed our Sabbath. At various times during his earthly ministry; Jesus demonstrated that he is  the Lord over Sabbath by healing people on the Sabbath day. He thereafter asked them to carry their bed.(John 5:1-11).  He and his disciples went through the corn harvest and pluck the ears of co...

Text : Ezekiel 37:5   *Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:*  In the very beginning God breathe upon the man He formed from the dust and man became a living soul (Gen 2 :7). Without the breath of God upon the moulded dust, it would have remained a lifeless and inactive substance.  *It is God's breath that makes the whole difference in your life. Nothing works. Nothing comes alive without the breath of God.*  The breath of God can both create and recreate. In the beginning of creation, God's breath created man. In Ezekiel 37, God's breath recreated man. God revealed the state and status of the Israelites to Ezekiel. They were dry bones, dead and lifeless in the valley. The Israelites have gone down below the ground surface. They have become hopeless people. But the breath of God upon them makes the whole difference. Whatever situation you might be in, the breath of God will bring you alive,...

Text : psalms 30:5   *For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.*  There are days when it feels as though you have woken up on the wrong side of the bed. Times when you feel unnecessarily edgy, days when you feel lonely, discouraged, tired and really overwhelmed. Well,  welcome to the humans' world. This kind of feelings is not peculiar to you, it is common to man.  King David(the man after the heart of God) was once in that shoe at a time. That was why it was recorded that he encouraged himself in the Lord. 1 Sam. 30:6. Elijah (the prayer man) was at the verge of giving up before God showed up for him. 1 Kings 19:1-18. Even our Lord Jesus Christ felt overwhelmed at a time when He was here physically. That was when He desired Peter, John and James to watch with Him in prayers but they couldn't.  Then he told them, “I’m so deeply grieved that I feel I’m about to die. Wait here an...

Text : Gen 34:2.  *When Hamor the Hivite’s son Shechem, the regional leader, saw her, he grabbed her and raped her, humiliating her.*  In this life, nothing goes for nothing,  There's no free lunch anywhere. *Whatever comes to you as free,  has been paid for by someone, or you will pay for it later.*  Such was the case of  Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite. (Hamor was the ruler of the land). When Shechem saw Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, he took her. And he had sex with her by force.  What Shechem did, could easily be referred to as free lunch by the ignobles. Little did he know that it will not just cost him his life but it will exterminate his whole generation.  Shechem was a prince, and was regarded as the most important person in his father's household. , Gen. 34:19. So he could have any lady of his choice in a legitimate manner. Why did he have to resolve to raping a girl? His inability to exercise self control cost him and his lineage much...

Text : Col 2:12.  *Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.*  Only the dead can experience resurrection, the living has no need of such. The very first man to experience resurrection from the dead is Jesus Christ. This is why He is referred to as firstborn from the dead. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, *the firstborn from the dead* ; that in all things he might have the preeminence.Col 1:18. That He is referred to as firstborn depicts that there are other younger siblings.  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, *that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.* Rom 8:29. These siblings of Jesus are only brought in by means  of death through baptism into Jesus.  For as many that are buried with Him in baptism, are also risen with Him by faith. Now, the question is, have you b...

Text : Mat 28:6-7.  *He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.*   *And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.*  One thing the devil didn't see coming was the fact that Jesus will rise from the dead. This was his greatest undoing that he will regret till eternity.  1 Cor. 2:8 says "None of the rulers of this world understood it, because if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." The fact that He is risen is the hallmark of our faith in Him. "If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain."1 Cor 15:14. But Praise be to God, Jesus is risen from the dead. HALLELUYAH!!!   *When Jesus was being crucified, the enemy thought that was the end, little did they realized that was only the end of humans' slavery to sin and death! Glory to God.*...

TEXT:John 19:30.  *When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.*  Jesus declared it is finished because He has accomplished His own part of the deal. It is now left for the Father(God) to raise Him. Having pleased and trusted His Father, Jesus committed Himself into the Father's hands:  _And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.Luke 23:46_   God kept His deal by not leaving His soul in Hell.  _For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption Psalms 16:10_  On the cross, Jesus finished: 1. *SIN:* God poured His wrath for Sin on His Son on the cross. Man was reconciled back to God through His death.(Rom 5,:10). Jesus drank all the cup of the Father's wrath. He became sin for us (2Cor. 5:21). The Father offered the son as a sacrifice f...

TEXT:John 1:29   *The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.*  When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming to him for baptism, he publicly pointed people's attention to Him as the LAMB of God that takes away the sin of the world. The Israelites are quite familiar with a four-legged LAMB but not a two-legged LAMB like JESUS. Unlike the regular lamb that only covers the sin of few people that could find their way to Jerusalem; Jesus is the LAMB that takes away the sin of the *whole* world once and for all. (Heb. 9:28, 10:10). John figuratively refer to Jesus as the lamb of God because He has come to the world to offer Himself as a sacrifice for the sin of man. Heb. 10:5-6 Jesus offered himself to take away the very Sin that enslaves humanity.  What Jesus achieved for us on the cross is the crucifixion of our old man, thereby rendering our body of sin inactive and ineffective of evil, that we...

TEXTP: Job 13:15.  *Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.*  Though trust and believe may share same definitions on many fronts, but there are slights differences between the two. While Believe speaks of Faith, trust speaks of Hope.  *Simply trusting in the sovereignty and faithfulness of God is the only option for your many unresolved questions*  One of the major limitations of many preachers is their ability to always provide answer to every question. The simple truth is that even our Lord Jesus,(while on earth) did not give answer to every question. He only trusted in the Father's judgement. (Mathew 24:36, Acts 1:6-8). It was trust that made Job uttered such a statement he uttered. 'Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.' The Hebrew word "yachal" from which trust was coined can also be translated as _Wait, Hope and Expect._  So, to trust God is to Wait f...