His Voice Devotional

Text: Matthew 9:36  *But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.*  Just as Jesus rightly said over two thousand years ago, that he saw..... the multitudes like sheep without shepherd, there are still many people wondering about today without any shepherd over their lives. There are many  hirelings in the church of God today but scanty shepherds. John 10:13. While _King James version_ used the words " Fainted and scattered"  _New International Version_ used the words, harassed and helpless" When you critically consider the words that Jesus used to express the state of the sheep, you will realise that that's the state of so many people today. While it is well understood that the people outside the church are described with these words- harassed and helpless,it is saddening to know that even many in the church are also harassed and helpless.  *Today the church of...

Text: Psalms 42:1.  *As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants after you, God.*  One of the major signs of life is appetite. On a norms,  a long-term loss of appetite needs a medical attention.  Appetite is the desire for food and water. Just as this desire is important for life in the natural, so it is in the Spirit also. 1Peter 2:2 says As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: Only the dead has ceased from hunger. Anyone who cannot feel hunger for food anymore is either dead or having cancerous disease. If anyone is suffering from such disease,  I pray that the healing power of God makes you whole now in Jesus name. A new born baby needs not be taught on how to desire food. It's  an inborn thing, a reflex action that occurs naturally.  Jesus said, *blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.* Matthew 5:6. From this, you can see that only those who hunger ...

 Text : 2Kings 4:1.  *Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.*  The story was told about the wife of a certain prophet who just lost her husband to death. Her husband had borrowed some money which he was unable to pay before death took him. This left his wife a double tragedy, she had lost her husband and now, she has inherited debt. As if her predicament was not gruesome enough, her husband's creditor is threatening to take her two sons as ransom for the money owed. At times, you suffer not for an offence you committed but for an  inherited offence.  As a matter of fact, all mankind was born a sinner because of the inherited sin from Adam and its resultant consequences  To wriggle out of the consequence of sin, ( be it inherited sin or not), you have t...

 Text:  Mark 11:23 *For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.*  It was established yesterday that you must speak forth whatever you believe, and that you must be specific about what you want the Lord to do in any given situation.   *No Doubt*: Jesus said that if you speak to this mountain, be removed and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in your heart, but shall believe that those things which you said shall come to pass; you shall have whatsoever you said. Doubt is the major reason many could not receive from the Lord. The moment you doubt your prayer/confession, you stand the chance of loosing your ground.  Doubt gives rise to double minded ness. Whenever you doubt, your heart divides into two. And God cannot receive any network...

 Text:  Mark 11:23  *For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.*  Jesus taught His disciples the ABC of Faith in God after they saw Him cursed a tree. He said to the deceptive fig tree: *"...No man shall eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever" Mark 11:14* Within 24hrs, the disciples saw the result. The fig tree had dried from the roots. Peter said unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursed is withered away. Mark 11:21. Thereafter, Jesus taught the disciples how they can also get result-oriented prayers. He told them to have Faith in God. He highlighted the details of how they can have faith in God. If you also follow this details, you shall always get result.  We shall be looking at two of the steps Jesus mentioned today:  *1. Whats...

 Text:  Matthew 5:14.  *Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.*  Imagine a world with no light, no sunlight,  no electric power supply,  no means of light whatsoever. It will be a frustrating,  uninteresting, dark place to live in. But in actual fact, this world is truly a dark place. The whole world lies in darkness and wickedness. 1 John 5:19. Later on, Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. The one who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 ISV. You can do a little calculation here : 1.) *I am the light of the world.* : That is, without Jesus, the world is in darkness.  2.) *Following Jesus :* *Explicitly, Jesus says the one who follows me will never walk in darkness.* That is, whoever refuses to follow Jesus is walking in darkness. *Regardless of your status or achievements, if you are not following Jesus,  you are walking in darkne...

 Text:  Matthew 24:2   *But he told them, “You see all these things, don’t you? I tell all of you with certainty, there isn’t a single stone here that will be left standing on top of another. They will all be torn down.”*  The disciples of Jesus tried to point His attention to the magnificence of the temple's building, in response, Jesus said,  “You see all these things, don’t you? I tell all of you with certainty, there isn’t a single stone here that will be left standing on top of another. They will all be torn down.” The same response holds true till today, *everything you can see  today is temporal and stands to be destroyed, it is futile to work for the seen realm*  2 Corinthians  4:18 explains it better *While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.* Everything the devil is using to distract man from seeing ...

 Text:  *Matthew 24:33*   *So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.*  One major truth you must sleep and wake with is that the coming of the Lord is nearer than ever before. The book of Mathew(chapter 24) is very explicit and detailed about the series of events and signs that will be preceeding Jesus's second coming and end of this world.  If you read through the book(Matt 24), you will realise that all of the signs predicted by our Lord are being fulfilled right in our days. They are also being fulffiled in a progressive manner. If you are Christ follower, you must sit up and if you are yet to be one, you must make up your mind now. Tommorrow is always not yours, so make up your mind today. *While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.(Heb.  3:15).*  Our Lord Jesus Christ gave His disciples one major key which we also must keep as disciples. ...

Text: 2 Corinthians 4:18.  *While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.*   Apostle Paul had lots of difficulties and challenges in the course of discharging his apostolic mandates amongst several people group in various regions in Asia.He narrated his various ordeals and afflictions  in 2Cor. 11:23-30. He was more in labours, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths often. He was beaten with rods, he was once stoned, thrice he suffered shipwreck, for a night and a day he was in the deep; he was often In journeys, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by his own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold a...

 Text: Mat 5:13 ISV  “ *You are the salt of the world. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty again? It’s good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled on by people.*  We established yesterday that one of the functions of salt is preservation. Today, we want to dig deeper into how we can preserve our world.  At a time, God decided to wipe out the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah plus their surroundings towns because of their many sins. Genesis 18:21, 19:13. I'm sure this is a story you are familiar with. But you can read it all up from Genesis 19.  Abraham pleaded for the cities and after much ado, it was agreed (between God and Abraham) that if ten righteous people could be found in these two cities,  for their sakes,  the two cities will be preserved. At this point, you can ask yourself that *if God needed just ten righteous people to save your city from destruction, would you be part of the number?*  Unfortunately, ...

 Text: Matt 5:13 ISV  “ *You are the salt of the world. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty again? It’s good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled on by people.*  Every of Jesus' word to you as His disciple should be followed to the letter. Today, we shall be looking at one of His expectations over us as His disciples.  Jesus says you are the salt of the earth. He likened us to salt, not so we could be added to soup as flavour but obviously for what salt depicts : 1.) *Flavour :* One of the major functions of salt is that it gives flavour. salt enhances the flavor of the food it seasons, the followers of Christ stand out as those who “enhance” the flavor of life in this world.  Christians, living under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in obedience to Christ, will inevitably influence the world for good,  *Where there is strife, we are to be peacemakers; where there is sorrow, we are to be the ministers of Christ, bindi...

 Text: 1 Corinthians  15:33.  *Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.*  Some years back, while living off campus as an undergraduate,  my next door neighbour had a particular secular music he plays every morning. The lyrics of the song was nothing to write home about but he always put it on  loud speaker nonetheless.  I had gone to him more than once so he could reduce the volume. (because I  had no right to tell him the kind of song he can listen to). I went to him not just because it was obscenely loud, but because I don't want to  have anything to do with such music. Lo and behold, I  caught myself singing that song one day. I had learnt the song unconsciously, albeit unsolicitedly.  *We live in a world where everything around us is competing for the space of God in our lives.* Here, *you are either being influenced or you are influencing others.*  At times,  we get influenced passively just as I was...

 Text:  2 Corinthians  4:17  *For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;*  The perspective from which you see things will go a long way in determining your approach to life's difficulties and challenges.  Everything is all about perspectives. A man standing at one end will call  a figure "9" while another man at the other end will call same figure "6". Really, they are both correct. It all depends on where they are standing. The most correct perspective however is the writer's intent. Apostle Paul summed up all  his sufferings and challenges as *light affliction.* He looked beyond time  in the now, and pierced into eternity; he then concluded that his present afflictions are raw materials for eternal weight of Glory.  How are you painting your own challenges and problems today?  If you are indeed God's child, you must come to the reality that  "all thing...

 Text:  1 Samuel 30:6  *And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.*  We began to look at how David encouraged himself in the LORD yesterday. Today  we shall be looking at how to deal with discouragement.  If David had allowed discouragement, he wouldn't have been able to see his families again. His followers also would have lost their families. *Discouragement is a major weapon that the devil uses to defeat and rob many of God's children.*   _Even when you have God's promises and words hanging over your head, discouragement can make you fall short of their fulfillment._  God, having affirmed to Joshua that he will give him the land of the Canaanite, He kept sounding in his hearing that he should  be courageous and strong. In the book of Joshua chapter one  the Lor...

 Text:  1 Samuel 30:6  *And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.*  Discouragement in a simple term can be described  as a downcast feelings, low morale or lack of motivation to do, achieve or pursue a course to the end. It is a lack  or absence of COURAGE. So, anytime courage is lacking, then one can be said to be discouraged. There are situations that can make one to be discouraged. Such was the situation that befell David.  The Amalekites had raided his camp. They captured his wives, daughters, sons and that of his followers. The Amalekites did not just kidnapp David's families and that of his men, they also burned down the whole village (Ziklag) which was given to  David by King Achish. Beholding this terrible situation got David and his men greatly distressed. They were so...

 Text : Proverbs 2:16 KJV   *To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;*  Today, we shall be looking at some of the operations of the strange woman and how to wriggle out of it. Remember that essentially, the strange woman is actually a representation of anything or anyone that is capable of luring you away from your God-given destiny. The characteristics of the strange woman include: 1.) *Flattery:* One thing that is closely associated with the strange woman's operation is Flattery. Prov. 2:16, 7:5  6:24 Flattery is excessive praise or approval, which is often insincere and sometimes contrived to win favour.  A child of God should not give flattery and it is wisdom to know when you are being flattered.  *Don't have an exaggerated or inflated worth of yourself.*  2.) *She's everywhere* : Now she is in the street, now in the plazas, she lurks near every corner.Pro 7:12 ISV.  When Jesus resis...

 Text : Proverbs 2:16 KJV  *To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;*  If King Solomon gave any advice about woman,  you will do well to listen. He's the only man known in history who had handled 1000 women. He's giving counsel probably from his failures and regrets. Literally, a strange woman is any woman capable of luring you away from the agenda of God for your life.   *By reason of a strange woman, Samson the great had his two eyes gouged out and his destiny cut short. Beware of strange woman.*  Jezebel was another example of strange woman who was instrumental to the fall of king Ahab"s dynasty .1 Kings 19-21. And it was recorded concerning king Solomon that, despite his great wisdom and affluence,  strange women had negative influence on him. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his Go...

 Text : Phi 4:9 ISV   *Likewise, keep practicing these things: what you have learned, received, heard, and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you.*   *In the Kingdom of God, doing proceeds teachings. It's an aberration to teach what you are not doing.*  Today, we want to focus on the principle of teaching as we have it in God's kingdom.  The book of Acts opens with the account of Jesus. But notice the order in which it was recorded.   ```In my first book, Theophilus, I wrote about everything Jesus did and taught from the beginning, ```` Act 1:1 ISV. Notice that Jesus  'did' before he began to 'teach'. Anyone who has mastered the act of teaching what he is not practicing is not only a hypocrite but a messenger of death. 2 Corinthians 3:6 says who has also qualified us to be ministers of a new covenant, which is not written but spiritual, *because the written text brings death, but the Spirit gives life.*  If you are only ...

Text: Philippian 4:9 ISV   *Likewise, keep practicing these things: what you have learned, received, heard, and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you.*   *If everybody practises everything they have learnt in church (a Christ believing church), our world would have been a beautiful place for everyone to live in.*  The devil does not have problem with people going to church  in as much as they are neither hearing nor doing the teachings of Christ. This explains why we have many people who profess to be Christians, but who do not practice what they profess. *There are more professors of Christianity but very few Practitioners of Christianity.*  Jesus said, some folks will approach heaven's gate with full assurance that it will be opened to them, but will be surprised to hear "depart from me, I never knew you, you who practice iniquity." Matthew 7:23. Note, that these people are not unbelievers, infact, they are miracle-working believers. Hea...

Text:Luke 6:38  *Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.*  The earth runs on the principle of Sowing and Reaping; Giving and Receiving.The Lord said to  Noah in Genesis 8:22 that while the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest....shall not cease. The seedtime is the giving time, the harvest is the time of receiving. Our text made it clear that when you give, it shall be given unto you in: 1. *Good measure:* *You must choose to be more intentional about what and how you give, for there shall be repayment in good measure.* When you give forgiveness to others, you get forgiveness in good measure from the Lord. When you give mercy to others, you get mercy back from the Lord in good measure. When you like judging and condemning your neighbours and brethren, you also get judged and condemned.  ...

​  *Text ;* Luke 6:38  *Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.*  We established from the book of Luke yesterday that the Lord would have us give Love, mercy  forgiveness and money. He however warned on what we shouldn't give-Judgement and condemnation. Jesus told us not to judge and condemn others so that we would not be judged or condemned as well.  The kind of judgement Jesus is talking about here is not that of the court,  settling of matters between two people, or condemning evil. The following are instances of judgement and condemnation God wouldn't have us pass on: 1. Anytime you refused to give forgiveness to  anyone, you have simply passed judgement and condemnation on that person.  2. Whenever you act or react in  assumption towards your fellow humans, you a...

 *Text ;* Prov. 27:17 ISV   *Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens a friend’s character.*  I am sure you are familiar with the cliche : 'A friend in need is a friend indeed.'  This is so true. Challenging times are the true test of friendship.  *Everyone needs true friendship but not everyone knows how to be a true friend.*   ```A man that hath friends must show himself friendly:and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.``` Proverbs  18:24.  *The golden rule of life says, do unto others what you want others to do unto you.* So, as much as you want true friendship, you must be ready to be a true friend to someone because basically, we attract who we are. Because of the need for friendship or a need to be accepted, many have landed themselves in a hellish  relationship. Remember, it takes iron to sharpen iron, if you are an iron, don't befriend a wood, else you will become blunt. However,  it is good to note that ...

TEXT : Matthew 6:26 ISV   *Look at the birds in the sky. They don’t plant or harvest or gather food into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. You are more valuable than they are, aren’t you?*  God uses nature to explain His mind to us. Here, He wants us to consider the birds of the sky. As a living thing, they need food to survive, though they don't plant nor harvest, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Note that God was not referred to as a father to birds, *God is the creator of all things, but He is only a Father to humans not any other created things.* Yet, He feeds the birds. If your father can provide for a bird, how much more you that are created in His image. Now, don't get the impression that God wants you to live like the birds which neither plants nor harvests yet are being fed. God will not in anyway advocate laziness. As a matter of fact, He says in His word that he that will not work should not eat. 2 Thessalonians 3:10. From the very beginning, ...