All posts by Tunde Soniregun

November 2006 Issue

Monthly Newsletter

ÒWatch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.Ó(Matthew26:41)< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

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God is a God of times and seasons. When it was time for Joseph to be promoted from Prime Slave to Prime Minister, no devil under heaven could stop him. The brothers that sold him to slavery in an attempt to deny him his divine schedule on earth were no where to be found. Are you afraid or concerned about the way things are going in your life? As a child of God, fear is not what you need but prayer. Exodus 14:14, ÒThe LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.Ó That is clear enough for your understanding. Let God fight your battle, and the enemy that you have been seeing will never rise again. Hold on to GodÕs timing, it is the best. Ecclesiastes 3:11, ÒHe has made everything beautiful in its time.Ó When His timing for you is around, the whole world will celebrate with you.

~ Time&Season ~

Do you know the time and the season you are living? Pharisees and Sadducees, in their debate with Jesus, were asking for a sign from heaven. Matthew 16:2-3, ÒHe answered and said to them, ÔWhen it is evening you say, ÒIt will be fair weather, for the sky is redÓ; and in the morning, ÒIt will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.Ó Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.ÕÓ  All you have to do is open your ears, eyes, and heart to the word of God. Look around the whole world and see, or get informed with all that is taking place. With understanding, you will identify that the race is not only about you or what you want, but most importantly about where you are going to end up. Are you awake and alive enough to finish the race you have started? If you have started the race, keep your sight on the finish line; that is where the price for the race is waiting–for the finisher, not the beginners.Do you ever think you have the time? Time is not yours; time is in GodÕs hand.  You can control the clock, but not the timing of God.                

~ Ten Virgins ~

Do you remember the parable of the ten virgins? The ten virgins did not understand the time and the season they were in. They slept and missed their purpose in time. Matthew 25:1, ÒThen the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bride-groom.Ó All the ten virgins went with right intention, but lacked the attention it took to meet the bridegroom. Yes, you have the intention to run and finish the race, but to lack attention will deny you in getting to the expected end. All of the ten virgins fell asleep in their waiting. They did not just sleep but they slept and slumbered because of the delay of the bridegroom. Five of the virgins could afford to sleep because they had extra oil, and the five who did not carry extra oil were regarded as foolish. Are you staying awake in watching? If you can discern the time and season you are living, it is important to watch rather than sleep a sorrowful sleep. How are you watching? It is impossible to sleep-watch. Is your sleeping time overriding your watching time? Jesus took some of His disciples to the < ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>Mount of Olives. Luke 22: 40, ÒWhen He came to the place, He said to them, ÔPray that you may not enter into temptation.ÕÓ Just like the ten virgins, they could not watch; they went to sleep. Luke 22:45, ÒWhen He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow.Ó

~Sorrowful Sleep~

As one of His disciples, are you watching in prayer, or you are sleeping in sorrow? When you are spiritually asleep in this age, you will be swept off your feet, and when the trumpet sounds you will miss it just like the ten virgins. Take the parable of the ten virgins to heart today. All went with the intention to attain, but they lacked the attention to prevail. The Bridegroom came without any warning because the sign of the season was all they needed to inform them of His coming. They all slept and slumbered, and nothing woke them up but the noise of the bridegroomÕs arrival. Without any doubt, it is clear that the church today is sleeping, and it is the noise of His arrival that will wake the church up from sleeping a sorrowful sleep. Be awake and alive in the spirit!

 

It is impossible to be rising early before God and not rise above any circumstances. A believer that cannot rise in serving God will remain rust.

 

Tunde S.

Excuse

Devotions

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Genesis 3:8-24

 

Excuse is your best weapon and a reasonable means for you to get away from your commitment to your church or group activity. When your church calls for choir practice, you have a good excuse not to be a part of it. Prayer meetings are too late for your convenience, and nursing home ministry is not a good time for your schedule. Indeed, there is no reasonable excuse, before God. The best excuse will not count before Him. It was GodÕs plan to give Adam a woman; Adam did not ask God for a woman. Adam had a great excuse before God. Genesis 3:12, ÒThen the man said, ÔThe woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.ÕÓ Based on the word of God, according to Adam, the woman made him do what God asked him not to do. Yes, your case is not the same as that of Adam. As a result of that, your excuse is different from that of Adam, and you have a good excuse not to consider yours as that of Adam. However, an excuse is an excuse. Excuses will not elevate you; it will only eliminate you or exclude you from the blessings of God. The best excuse eliminated Adam from GodÕs blessings. The best given excuse was not enough to restore the cost of damage. Ask God to deliver you from excuses that have been denying you the blessings of God.

Storm Or Wind

Devotions

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Matthew 14:22-33

 

Fear will sink you while faith will raise you. Fear is not what you need to address every area of storm that is before you. Faith is what you need to confront every area of storm that is raging towards you. Peter saw Jesus walking in the storm that was tormenting him and the other disciples. Matthew 14:28, ÒAnd Peter answered Him and said, ÔLord, if it is You, command me to You on the water.ÕÓ  Peter attempted to walk the walk of Jesus. He has been with the Lord long enough; he saw miracles in all of his stops with the Lord; he knew that faith, not fear, brought forth all the miracles. Despite all that Peter knew about the miracles performed in his midst by Jesus, he failed to walk the walk and could have drowned if not for the outstretched hand of Jesus. Matthew 14:30, ÒBut when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ÔLord, save me!Õ As a believer, living the word of God is the only way to walk on every representative of storm. Also, leaving the word out of your walk is a way that does not lead to the expected end. Get into the word of God and faith will get hold of you because the word of God is the source of faith. Romans 10:17, ÒSo then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.Ó You can hear the word in your daily reading of the word and listening to ministers that God has placed in your life. Get into the word to be out of the world.

Provider

Devotions

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Matthew 14:13-21

 

In the absence of lack, He will provide abundantly. When Jesus departed to a deserted place, multitudes heard about it and they followed Him. While they were in the deserted place, it became too late to get any thing to eat. His disciples wanted to send away the multitude because time and location was against them for provision. Matthew 14:15, ÒWhen it was evening, His disciples came to Him saying, ÔThis is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away that they may go into the village and buy themselves food.ÕÓ Are you in a deserted place or a deserted situation? Are you in a place where there is no where for you to turn for urgent need or provision for survival? The multitudes had everything working against them. Geographical location and time were against them. What is it that is working against your need to survive? Take it to the Lord in prayer; He is a God of compassion not just a God of emotion. With compassion He will see you through. He saw the multitude through. Matthew 14:16, ÒBut Jesus said to them, they do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.Ó When you go to Him, His compassion will not let you go away empty. He will fill you with abundance and you will have left over where you have been having let downs. Jesus knows your need and He is waiting to hear from you. Until you take it to Him in prayer, you will not have it.

Reason

Devotions

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1 Samuel 15

 

In every GodÕs given assignment, when your purpose is for personal gain, you will gain distraction. Distraction from God is an indirect decision to fail. God sent Samuel to King Saul of < ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>Israel. 1 Samuel 15:3, ÒNow go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkeyÓ The command was to do; SaulÕs desire was to undo. He had his own reason for God and not the reason of God for Him. When you begin to have your reason for God instead of GodÕs reason for you, you have indirectly or directly taken the position of God, and your purpose has overtaken GodÕs gain. Saul did not destroy as directed by GodÕs command. 1 Samuel 15:9, ÒBut Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.Ó You have no business to change His given reason for His assignment. Ask God to give you the grace to carry out what He trust you for. When you fully persecute His reason, you will pass, and when you fail before Him, He will regret sending you. 1 Samuel 15:11, ÒÔI greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me and he has not performed My commandmentsÕ And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the LORD all night.Ó God always has a reason for His command. Ask God to help you not to violate His reason.