His Voice Devotional

Topic: The Genealogy of Jesus. The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. God doesn't and cannot make mistake. Looking at the genealogy of Jesus Christ, you will think some names were mentioned in error. Or you would conclude some names don't deserve to be there. Our all-knowing God allows some characters to be included in the genealogy of Christ so we could learn about His benevolence. In this series, we shall be looking at some of these characters. Of particular interest are the women that were mentioned in our Lord's genealogy, and we shall be looking into this one after the other.  *TAMAR:* Tamar is the wife of Er, the first son of Judah. The LORD considered Er, Judah’s oldest son, to be wicked—so he put him to death. Thereafter, Judah instructed Onan (the second son), “You are to have sexual relations with your dead brother’s wife, performing the duty of a brother-in-law with her, and have offspring for your brother.” (Genesis 38:...

Text: Matthew 24:5 For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. We have been looking at the three major parameters that will help you discern deceivers who are using the name of Christ to deceive many.  Having looked at the first two, today we shall be talking about the third parameter:  *Check their spirit.*  There are many deceivers out there today whose gospel may appear to be true, and you may not be so close to them to see their fruits (lifestyles). They are wolves in sheep clothing. It will only take a believer that is strong in Faith to discern their spirit. Apostle John wrote to believers in 1 John 4:1 that they should try all spirits.  *"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world"*  Apostle John, during the first century, confirmed the predictions of our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 24. He said, "...many false prophets have go...

Text: Matthew 24:5 For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. Still looking at how to discern deceivers who have come in Christ's name, today, we shall considering the second parameter: Check their lifestyle (fruits).  Jesus once said,  "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.You will know them by their fruits...." (Matthew 7:15&16). Fruits speak of their lifestyles. *God sees your heart but man sees your face, and your face is an expression of your heart.* You cannot be bringing forth thornbushes and keep telling people that you are grape. No! What defines you is the kind of fruit you bring forth. Jesus continued in Mathew 7:16 by saying, "...Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?" Don't deceive yourself by hiding under the fact that  God sees your heart, be rest assured that  man also sees your face; and your face is  a ...

Text: Matthew 24:5 For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. Today, we shall begin to consider the three major parameters that will help you discern deceivers that have come in Christ's name: 1. Check their gospel. 2. Check their lifestyle (fruits).  3. Check their spirit. 2 Corinthians  11:4 says "For if he that comes preaches *another Jesus* , whom we have not preached, or if ye receive *another spirit,* which you have not received, or *another gospel* , which you have not accepted.... 1. Check their gospel:  Gospel means glad tidings (good news) of salvation through Christ. Many deceivers who have come in the name of Christ also preach a gospel, but they preach 'another gospel', and not 'the gospel'.  When you carefully examine their gospel, you will find out that it is not centered on Christ. Though they may garnish it with Christ's name but it is not of Christ.  This is to let you know that these deceivers...

Text: Matthew 24:25 See, I have warned you about this ahead of time. Our Lord Jesus Christ  warned His followers about things that will be happening to and in the earth ahead of time. These warnings are enough to get any well meaning Christian prepared for the second coming of Christ, and also to toughen such one against the tribulations of this present time. Let us look at the few of these warnings: Firstly, Jesus warned His disciples to "Take heed that no man deceive them" (Matthew 24:4).  You must know that the Lord is not talking about deceivers in the world, but deceivers in the church. They will come to the people of Christ in the name of Christ. Jesus explained this further by saying in Matthew 24:5, He said, "For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many."  *The last day's deceivers shall come in Christ's name.*   *In this last days, many shall be deceived by many deceivers."* Hence, you must see to it that you are ...

Text: Matthew 24:25 See, I have warned you about this ahead of time. The biggest prophet of all times and seasons is Jesus Christ. If you carefully read His words through all the pages of the bible, you will realise that everything happening now and all that is yet to come has been foretold long ago. While He was about to leave the earth, He revealed certain things which are yet to take place to His disciples.   Sometimes, I wonder  why some Christians get easily carried away by the present happenings in our world today. Some others are controlled by the fearful messages given by false prophets whom the Lord has not sent. As a genuine believer, the scripture and the Holy Spirit should be enough to guide your steps all through your sojourn on this side of eternity. Most of the fears you are nursing by the reason of the prophecies flying around had already been foretold by Jesus Christ. He's told you about famine, war, rumours of war, increase of false prophets, increase in...

Text: John 5:19  Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.  *"Busyness kills more Christians than bullets"- Kevin DeYoung*  Kevin DeYoung further said in his book (crazy busy), that "The presence of extreme busyness in our lives may point to deeper problems – a pervasive people pleasing, a restless ambition, a malaise of meaninglessness. “Busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness,”  Many have wrecked their health either in the name of legit or non legit busyness. This health would include their spiritual, mental and relational well being.  While some are forming busy in order to excuse themselves from  the true and most important engagement with their Maker, some are truly busy pursuing shadows.  It is interesting to know that you can even be too busy for God while ru...

Text: John 5:19  Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner . Jesus' daily schedule is always drawn according to the Father's schedule. He sees what the Father is doing, and He does  same. Extreme busyness will always prevent you from being able to lie down in green pasture. And *if you cannot lie down before your God in green pasture, your soul cannot be restored*(Psalms 23:2-3). Jesus christ will always wake up early to consult with His Father before He starts the day (Mark 1:26). This habitual practice helped Jesus to always see and know what the Father is doing.  Jesus declared Himself free from human initiated and futile busyness by declaring that He can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do.   *A wise man once said, it is better to do what God has blessed than asking God to bless what you are do...

Text: Matthew 7:26 "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: It is simply foolishness when you hear so much, and you do next to nothing about what you've heard. Wisdom is only found with those who hear and act on what they've heard. It is self deception for you to keep hearing God's words every now and then without making necessary adjustment under the grace of the revealed truth. James chapter 1 verse 22 encourages us not just to be hearers only. *"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."*   *Until what you have heard is translated into action, you have not truly heard anything.*  Jesus likened those who hear His words without acting on them as being foolish. Though no one will easily agree to be called a fool, but the truth is, we sometimes act foolishly by disobeying God's instructions which offer us great promises.  May the Lord es...

Text:Mark 16:17&18 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.  *Right believing will always bring right results.* Often than not, most Christians do not believe rightly, hence they are unable to come into the experiential knowledge of what the Lord Jesus promised in the text above. For instance, Jesus once told the man whose son was being assaulted by evil spirit, *"If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes."*  The man cried out and said with tears, "Lord I believe; help my unbelief. (Mark 9: 23&24.) The question one may probably be asking is, how can this man believe, and at the same time he is asking that his unbelief be helped? New Living Translation version renders it thus: "...The father instantly cried out, ...

Text : Matthew 26:52&53  But Jesus said to him, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? When Jesus was waylaid by Judas Iscariot and the multitude from the chief priests and elders of Israel with sword and staves, one of Jesus' disciples brought out his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest's servant. Jesus rebuked His disciple and fixed the high priest servant's ear.  He made His disciples understand that whoever kills by the sword shall also perish with the sword (Matt 26:52).  It is very important to note that you don't render evil for evil, rather you conquer evil with good deeds. (1Thess 5:15), Romans 12:21 renders it thus: Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. It takes a person with great and huge inner strength from the Lord to overcome evil with good. Jesus had truly shown u...

Text: 2 Peter 1:5-7 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. SELF CONTROL Self control is the ability to control oneself, particularly one's emotions and desires, especially in difficult situations.  A believer, just like any other person has emotions, feelings and desires. The distinguishing factor between the two is the ability of one to control his.  Little wonder the verse opens up by admonishing us to give all diligence to this matter, because without diligence, it is easy to give in to  temptation.  Ultimately, a Christian is controlled by the Holy Spirit, and not by his emotions.* Romans 8:14. However,  this is not "autoplay", you have your part to play. *The Holy Spirit is present in a Christian's life to lead him, but such Christian must also do his par...

Text: 2 Peter 1:5-7 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. We established yesterday that it is not enough to proclaim faith in God,  but that one must give all diligence to ensure that you grow in that faith by intentionally working on the necessary additions.  Today we shall be looking at the next addition; *KNOWLEDGE* .  Hosea 4:6 says- My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge,  I will also reject you, from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.  This goes to show how important knowledge is.  Though they are people of God, yet they were destroyed for lack of knowledge. And not just that, God promised to reject whoever has rejected knowledge. Tha...

Text: Matthew 12:37.  Because by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”  *Your word is you. That's why it's commonly said that whatever you say can be used against you in the court of law.*  Your words carry much weight in the Spirit realm than it does here on earth. Jesus said in Matthew 12:36 that *"I tell you, on Judgment Day people will give an  account for every thoughtless word they have uttered."* God doesn't joke with His words, if He said you will give account for every word, then you should be mindful of your words. Jesus said emphatically that by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” Now, if your words are that important,  it is wisdom to use it to your advantage.  By his words, the thief on the right hand of Jesus, during crucifixion received justification, while his colleague remained condemned by reason of his words too. (Luke 23:42-43). Some people are just pessimistic...

Text: 2 Peter 1:5-7. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;  And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. Today's message is expressly for those who have obtained a precious faith of believing God through our Saviour Jesus Christ. People who share of the same faith that Peter and other Apostles of old shared.  That is, the first thing anyone who has not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior should do, is to quickly do so- this cannot be overemphasized.  However, the next important step after this, is the necessary additions. We'll be talking about this for the next couple of days.  We are enjoined from our text to give all diligence to this matter, that is, we should give it all it takes to achieve this. The Contemporary English Version, renders the verse thus: Do your best to improve your faith by adding...

Text: Ecclesiates 5:5. It’s better that you don’t promise than that you do promise and not follow through. The hallmark of a child of God is that he looks and behaves like God his father.  It's the joy and pride of every well-meaning father to see his children look and behave like him. As a child of God, His DNA is running in you and this must reflect in your character.  One character that God is known for is that He does what He says and He says what He does. As His child, you must follow in His steps.  Psalms 15 gave us the qualifications of anyone who will stay in the presence of God. Among other qualifications is the fact that you must be a man (person) of your words-   *The one who despises those who are utterly wicked, but who honors the one who fears the LORD, who keeps his word even when it hurts and does not change, is portraying the nature of God,* (Psalms 15:4). Some years back, the moment someone introduces himself as a Christian,  everyone know...

Text :Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. *Your mind is the battle field where you win or lose the battles of life.* Unless you are intentional, and you do something about your mind, it automatically conforms to this world. Therefore, in order not to conform to this world, you must constantly be renewing your mind. God will not do this for you. You must take the personal responsibility for your own mind renewal.  Take for example, to wash your hands, you need cleansing agents like soap and water. But the soap and water cannot do thorough  washing without you applying the soap to your hands, placing your hands under running water and rubbing them together for thorough washing.(Ephesians 5:26). In the same manner, you need God's word, and the blood of Jesus for your mind renewal.Though these two cleansing agents have been freely given unt...

Text :Luke 16:15  And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. Parallel lines are lines that do not intersect or meet at any point. They are always parallel and are at equidistant from each other.  In the same vein, man and God can be compared to parallel lines, when the man is not walking according to God's words and the leading of the Spirit. Since the fall of man, man's values and God's values have grown wide apart. This is why Jesus came to bring about reconciliation between God and man. (2Cor. 5:18-19). In practical terms, the way God sees things are always different from the way man sees his own realities. For instance, Isaiah 55:9 says *"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."* Unless you embrace God's view through His word, you will always ...

Text: Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.  *Everyone is being led by the Spirit, if it's not the Spirit of God, it's definitely another Spirit, because essentially, man is a Spirit-being.*  The Spirit leading you determines the family you belong to. Those who are led by the Spirit of God belong to the family of God where God Himself is our father. Now, to be led presupposes that there's a leader and a follower kind of relationship.  For there to be a successful journey, the position and duties of the leader must be clear and received by the follower. If the Holy Spirit is your leader, then what you are saying invariably is that, the Holy Spirit is the one in the control seat of your life. He calls the shots and you aptly obey. Note that the Spirit of God will most of the time (if not all the time)  lead us contrary to ourselves. He is there to help us in putting our human nature and tendencies to death. Romans  8:13...

Text: Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. God is the creator of ALL, but He is not Father to ALL. God is a Spirit,  so only those who are born of the Spirit can lay claim to the Fatherhood of God. (John 4:24). John 3:5 says  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.' That is, admission into the kingdom of God is also strictly by the Spirit.  At new birth (second birth), you receive power to become the son of God.   *But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: John 1:12.  Notice that power is given to you at the point of conversion,  when you believe with your heart and confessed with your mouth that Jesus is Lord ( Romans 10:10). This power is given to you so you can be empowered to become the son of God. However, the choice to walk in the strength of thi...

Text: Luke 2:40 Meanwhile, the child continued to grow and to become strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor rested upon him. Mental growth focuses on the development of your mind, such as the way you think and learn. God is not just interested in your spiritual wellbeing, He is interested in you wholistically. He says in Mark 12:30 that thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy *mind* , and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. So, God is concerned about what goes on in your mind.  How much of God do you retain in your thoughts.  How often do you meditate on His words daily? Joshua 1:8 says This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. You need your mind to meditate. To have good success i...

Text: Luke 2:40 Meanwhile, the child continued to grow and to become strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor rested upon him. One of the characteristics of living things is that it grows, if you are not growing,  then, you need to check if you are still living. As humans,  we have three dimensions of growth- Physical growth, mental growth and spiritual growth.  Jesus Christ, our Master and perfect example grew in these three dimensions while He was here physically.  Growing up physically requires little or no effort from you, just eat and sleep well, and genetical and chemical compositions will do the rest. The remaining two dimensions of growth requires your active contribution.  Unfortunately,  a number of people ( believers) pay more attention to their physical growth at the expense of the remaining two, which are far more important.  People pay attention to the food they eat (which is not bad anyway), they pay attention to muscle buildin...

Text : Matthew 14:30  But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. Yesterday, we saw how Peter began to sink because he took off His eyes from Jesus. (Mathew 14:31). Today, we shall start considering the reason why Peter was sinking on the sea. If I may ask, "Do you believe God?" Of course without thinking twice, I trust your  reply will be a capital YES! But then, you also need to ask yourself further, 'If I truly believe why have I not been freely taking delivery of God's promises as stipulated in His word?" For instance, our Lord Jesus Christ says ...whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.*  (Matthew 21:22). Also in Mark 9:23, He says, " *...all things are possible to him that believes."* Jesus further mentioned in  Mark  11:24  that *"...What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."*   In the same mann...