His Voice Devotional

Text:  1 Samuel 16:7  *But the LORD said to him, “Pay no attention to how tall and handsome he is. I have rejected him, because I do not judge as people judge. They look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart.”*  Proverbs 4:23 says *Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it [spring] the issues of life.*    *"If you are able to keep your heart, you will be able to keep your tongue-A tamed heart  is a tamed tongue."*  When Samuel visited Jesse's house for ordination, the Lord uttered the statement, _"...I have refused him..."_ concerning Eliab while Samuel uttered the statement, _"...neither has the Lord chosen this..."_ towards the other six sons. The statements " _I have refused you"_ and _"I have not chosen you"_ carry two different meaning. While the first shows *Rejection* , the latter shows *Preference* .  The basis for rejection, preference and acceptance from the Lord is the state of our hearts. No one can

Text:  1 Samuel 16:7.  *But the LORD said to him, “Pay no attention to how tall and handsome he is. I have rejected him, because I do not judge as people judge. They look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart.”*  The Lord had asked Samuel to go anoint the next king of Israel in the house of Jesse. This was carried out by Samuel under the cover of sacrifice. Jesse presented his first son(Eliab) before Samuel. The physical appearance of Eliab made him get an excellent approval from Samuel. He remarked,  “...This man standing here in the LORD's presence is surely the one he has chosen.” The Lord's response revealed the criteria by which Samuel had approved of Eliab. Samuel simply looked at the outward appearance. The Lord said to him  _“Pay no attention to how tall and handsome he is. I have rejected him, because I do not judge as people judge. They look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart.”_   *Man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the h

Text:  Luk 15:12.  *The younger one told his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So the father divided his property between them.*   The story of the prodigal son is one of the popular stories told by Jesus.  After the younger son had collected his share of the father's inheritance, he gathered everything he owned and traveled to a distant country. There he wasted it all on wild living. After he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. Luke 15:14. Now, this son's offence was not just that he collected his share of the inheritance, as a matter of fact, collecting his inheritance was not a sin because the father later told the elder brother that he was free to have whatever he so desired, Luke 15:31. The sin was that he walked away from the father. *Whatever blessing that makes you walk away from the presence of God is a curse in disguise.*  After he had spent everything, a severe famine took place through

Text:  2 Corinthians 5:20   *Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore [you] on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.*   I am sure you are quite familiar with the word "ambassador" It simply means a representative who represents his own country in another country or kingdom. Ambassador is a messenger of a kingdom who is sent to stand in, speak for and defend the interest of his own kingdom, nation or country. So now, think about you being the ambassador for Christ. That would mean that you are representing, standing in and defending the interest of Christ in this world. An ambassador cannot hide the identity of the country he's representing in anyway. When you meet an ambassador, it cannot take long before you know he is one. His identity is like that of his country and not like the country he resides in. In the same vein, if you are Christ's ambassador, you will have the identity of His kingdom. You will speak li

Text:  Psalms 121:2  *My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!*   *Real, lasting and true help only comes from the Lord.* Any help that is not sent from and by the Lord will not be able to resolve your problems. The Psalmist knew this too well and he prayed thus: *Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man(Psalms  60:11).* Man may give you help, but it will not achieve so much if God is not in it, in fact the Psalmist said that help from man is vain. Though God will not come down physically to help you, but he does send His help to us through man and angelic assistance. *When you realise that all your help comes from God, you will become more frequent and fervent in prayers,*  for that is the only surest medium to receiving help from God.  There is no single man on the earth that does not need help on a continuous basis. The only difference is that some admit their need for help while some don't. Those who admit their need for help are "the humble&qu

Text:  Mar 16:17. *And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;*  One thing that Jesus promised believers is signs and wonders. But *note that Jesus didn't say you will follow signs but that signs and wonders shall follow you.*  For the record,  let's itemise some of these signs as stated in Mark 16:17-18 :   1. *They shall cast out devils.* As a believer,  you have authority via the name of Jesus to cast out devils.  2. *They shall speak with new tongues.* This is about the only signs that many believers seem to lay claim on. It's high time you considered the others. 3. *They shall take up serpent.* The serpent that deceived Eve in the garden of Eden will no longer be a terror to you, both literally and figuratively. 4. *They shall not be hurt by poison even if they drink it unknowingly.*  Now, these are the signs that will follow those who believe in Jesus. As a believer in Christ,  are you exper

Text: Matthew  28:7    *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.*  Today is Easter Sunday. A day we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. This is one event the devil will ever regret. That is why 1 Corinthians 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.*  This mystery confounded the devil and his kingdom to its root. By the time they realised it, it was too late, so they looked for means of silencing the  truth. Hear what they did : "Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first." Mat 27:64 KJV The question here is, what was the first error and what were they referring t

Text:  1 Corinthians 2:8   *Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.*  The death of Christ has brought glory to as many that would believe in it and walk in that reality. *Christ's death is the greatest price and sacrifice of all times.* There is no need for any other sacrifice again. Jesus has offered Himself once and for all. The blood He shed was not offered in earthly tabernacle but before God in the heavenly tabernacle. For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal.If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he

Text:  John 19:30  *When Jesus had tasted it, he said, "It is finished!" Then he bowed his head and released his spirit* .   _IT IS FINISHED!_ The last three words our Lord Jesus issued on the cross before He released His spirit. These words showed the accomplishment of the task He was given by the Father.  Let us look at the details of the task our Lord Jesus Christ finished on the cross. He proclaimed the completion of our salvation right before he rose from the grave. So, when you proclaim Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, you simply come into the finished work of salvation that He wrought on the cross. Our Lord completed the work of:  *1. Redemption from Sin:* Before the advent  and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, no man living or dead could pay for sin and its wages(death). Sin rides over all men. But when Christ came, he conquered sin in his flesh and nailed it to the cross.   _For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son i

Text: Hebrews 10:39   *But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.*  The moment a man gets born again, he has started a whole new journey into eternity. Being born again is not an end in itself. And being born again is not a tittle, it is an event that gives you the license to walk on the pathway to eternal life.  Jesus said in John 3:3 that *except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.* That is, anyone who isn't born again lacks the understanding of what the kingdom of God is. However,  it's one thing to have understanding of a thing, it's another thing to experience it. To experience the kingdom of God,  you must journey with God.  It's possible to draw back from the faith into perdition after one had been born again. That's why we are enjoined as God's children to hold fast that sound words we have received lest it slipped.  Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of

Text: Acts  10:34    *Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:*  God is not a respecter of persons. He is not a man with imbalance scale. He is never partial. There is no nepotismand farvortism in Him. He is just and fair in all his ways.  Impartiality is one major character of God that man finds difficult to emulate. Even in the church of God, you will see partiality being displayed in different shades and forms. There is often discrimination between the rich and the poor in the church of God. This ought not to be so. James 2:3&4 says If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, "You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor"—well, doesn't this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives? If we are to grow into perfection, we must receive Christ's judgement which is only guided by godly motives. One of the salient lessons in Acts

Text: John  14:26    *But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.*   *Undoubtedly, the Holy Ghost is the Comforter, so anyone without Him will lack the comfort He gives.*  The Holy Ghost (the Comforter) can only be received in Jesus' name. Jesus said that the father will send the Comforter in His name. So, anyone who has no access to the name of Christ, can't have access to the Comforter.  Now, the name of Jesus carries with it  His authority. He said in Matthew 28:18 that “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me... and He vested this authority only on those who believe in and follow Him. Matt. 28:18-20. However, He (Jesus) knew that no believer can survive here on earth without the Comforter. That is why He promised everyone who believes that the father will send the Comforter to him. Living in this world without the

Text: John 10:11 ISV  “ *I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.*  For Jesus to say He is the good shepherd, suggests that there are bad shepherd. One distinguishing factor between the good shepherd and the bad is, while the good lay down His life for the sheep,  the others prey on the sheep. John 10:12-13. Now, you'll wonder why anyone will want to follow a shepherd who will not only expose him to wolves but who will also take advantage of him. Well,  the answer is simple. Anyone who is not a member of the sheepfold of Christ is an easy prey in the hands of hirelings.  Jesus said *"My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me"* John 10:27. Two things that stand out the sheepfold of Christ are :  1. They know and hear the voice of the Shepherd.  2. They follow the Shepherd. There are some folks that are yet to know Christ as we speak, but whenever they hear the voice of the Shepherd, they will obey.   ```I have other sheep th

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.*  Today, we shall continue to examine the Lord's emphasis on the need for a true shepherd over your life. You must personally decide not to be carried away or distracted by the charisma or efizzy of a Pastor. Rather, you must look out for a man with true  shepherdic heart.     *A true shepherd is not so much concerned about impressing his sheep. He is only concerned about giving protection, provision and guidance to the sheep.* Provision, Protection  and Guidance are the basic needs of every sheep. People attend church for different wrong reasons. If you will be sincere with yourself, you need to be able to give an affirmative YES to the following for you to be sure you are under a shepherd and not hirelings. Can you say that you are being properly fed, protected and led?  Are your spiritual needs being met? Are you