All posts by Tunde Soniregun

SACRIFICE IS COSTLY

Devotions

Faith Capsule: Blessing of costly sacrifice cannot be denied.

2 Samuel 24

Sacrifice is described as the surrender of something desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim. Sacrifice can be offering self (giving self) to serve God.  In God’s command demands living a life of service/sacrifice. God called for the deliverance of the Israelites from the bondage of over four hundred years for Him to be served. The bible recorded God’s calling of the Israelites, “…When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” (Exodus 3:12) The same message was relayed to Pharaoh through Moses in Exodus 3:18, “…The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.” (Exodus 3:18) Evidently sacrifice and serve is same when it comes to giving self to God. Sacrifice demands a self-less way of living life. Ones that are self-full do not have space for God to occupy in their life. Sacrifice is often painful because it is costly. When sacrifice is short of being costly it becomes unreasonable sacrifice to God.
Once, David rejected the gift of sacrificial materials offered to him by King Araunah. David’s excuse for not receiving the gift was based on avoiding rendering a sacrifice which does not cost him. The bible recorded conversation between King Araunah and David concerning the gift, “Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him. Look, here are oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing implements and the yokes of the oxen for wood. All these, O king, Araunah has given to the king.” (2 Samuel 24:22-23) David, a man after God’s own heart must be operating with understanding of what it means to give a reasonable sacrifice to God when he responded to Araunah’s free sacrificial materials stating, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.  And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel.” (2 Samuel 24:24-25)
David paid the price of sacrifice when he rejected free sacrificial material. David, by knowing the heart of his God he could not offer a sacrifice that does not cost him. Are you an acclaimed believer that always wants to be at the receiving end and not willing to pay any price; not willing to engage costly sacrifice before claiming the promises of God? A blessing of a costly sacrifice to God is undeniable by any agent of the devil. Render a reasonable sacrifice to God and receive your blessing.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the understanding to know and to give reasonable sacrifice.

TAKE TO HIS WAY

Devotions

Faith Capsule: Take to the way of God and God will take you beyond your expectation.

Exodus 33

Jesus is the Living Word of God that was with God in the beginning. It is written, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” (John 1:1-3) The Word of God is God. The word of God is also the Way of God. Jesus testified in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  Clearly, the Way of God is the Word of God. Jesus is the Word of God for every believer. Walking the Way of God is allowing the Word of God to take the leadership in one’s journey of life. God cannot be deceived, God cannot be mocked and He sees the ways of every man. Which way are you going? God has His way and His ways are in His word. Any way outside the way of God is a way into self-destruction.
At a point when Moses was leading the children of Israel to the Promised Land, there was a need for him to know the way to go and avoid leading the people in his own way. Moses called on God. “Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.”  (Exodus 33:13) The way of God is deliverance and it is preservation. Through the pages of the bible, there is none that engaged the Way of God and ended up in destruction. The way of God is the presence of God. When there is a will or desire to walk in His way, He will guide your feet to walk in His way. I Samuel 2:9 buttressed, “He will guard the feet of His saints, but the wicked shall be silent in darkness. For by strength no man shall prevail.” Walking in His way is not by determination; it is only by His grace. Have you considered which way you have been walking recently? Take to the way of God and God will take you beyond your expectation. Let God be pleased by walking in His way because, “When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” (Proverbs 16:7) The Lord God has given us His word, be encouraged to go in the Way of God.

Prayer for the today: Ask for the grace to always know to walk in His way.

CRY OUT TO JESUS

Devotions

FAITH CAPSULE:  One that cannot see will sit where making choices in life is limited.

Mark 10:46-52

It is written about Jesus, “…As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:46-47) Blindness will lead to stagnation. With blindness living life appears to be dark. Evidently when there is no seeing, one will sit where making choices in life is limited. Blind Bartimaeus had his place on the road side begging. Just as a man could be blind in the physical eyes so it is possible for a man to be blind in the spiritual eyes. Bartimaeus was popular enough that his father’s name could be identified (Timaeus) but he could not see. Road side where transportation often leads to transformation is where Bartimaeus was sitting and begging in stagnation due to his blindness.
Does your situation sound like that of a stranded one? It could be that it is time for you to call on Jesus for His divine intervention. Thank God for the blood that was shed on Calvary. The shedding of the blood of Jesus is what made Jesus to be everywhere at every time and ready to answer to every call. During the days of Bartimaeus, Jesus was moving from one location to another location and Bartimaeus was in the right location to encounter Jesus when he cried out loud for mercy. It could be that it is time for you to identify and accept your condition that needs a loud cry. When you cry, ignore the multitude that surrounds you. When you cry out to Jesus, cry out loud. When you cry out ask for divine intervention.
When you cry to Jesus, know that it is not a sign of weakness. When you cry, cry out as one that knows Him not like ones that only know about Him. Bartimaeus demonstrated that he did not only know about Jesus when he called out as one that knew all about Him. The ignorance of the crowd that followed Jesus limited there understanding as they attempted to stop Bartimaeus from calling. Bartimaeus cried out by calling Jesus’ uncommon name, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Do you know Him enough to call Him to a stand-still and have Him attend to you? When Bartimaeus cried out, “…Jesus stood still and commanded Him to be called” (Mark 10:49) The Blind man received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. (Mark 11:52) Instead of being a road side beggar, he became road follower of Jesus. Stop following the crowd, know who you believe and become a true road follower.

Prayer for today: Ask Him to open the eyes of my heart to follow Him fully.

DWELL TO ABIDE

Devotions

Faith Capsule: It is dwelling in the secret place of the Most High God that qualifies man to abide.

Psalm 91

The bible recorded what God saw about His creation and what God said in reaction to His creation, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.” (Genesis 6:5-6) It is a wicked world! Imagine God was sorry that He made man. Jeremiah 17:9, buttressed, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Lying, deception and manipulation has taken over the place of the fear of God in the heart of man. Man is clothed with lack of fear of God. Under heaven, there is no place to hide from the wickedness of man but to dwell and abide in the secret place of the Most High God. Psalmist admonished us in Psalm 91: 1-2, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.” Dwelling, that is to make the secret place of Most High God a permanent place to be living not a place to be checking in and checking out. It is dwelling in the secret place of the Most High God that qualifies man to abide in the secret place of the Most High God. Is the secret place of the Most High God a dwelling place you desire?
Where is the secret place of the Most High? Psalm 25:14 identified, “The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.” It is the fear of God that will unlock the door to the secret place of the Lord. Psalm 33:18, “The eye of the LORD is on those that fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy.” Evidently, to be under the watchful eye of God that is not visible to a naked eye is to be in a secret place. What both Psalm 25 and 33 are saying is that the fear of the Lord is what it takes to dwell in the secret place of the Lord. What does it mean to fear God? To fear the Lord is to love the Lord. Deuteronomy 30:6, “And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” To fear the Lord is to love Him, and to love Him is to live. Obviously, those that dwell in the fear of God are in His secret place.

Prayer for today: Ask God to put His fear in your heart for you not to depart Him but to dwell in Him.

MARCH 2015 LETTER

Monthly Newsletter

GETTING HIS ATTENTION

The Bible records about the healing of blind Bartimaeus. “Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called…” (Mark 10:46-49) Bartimaeus called Jesus in an unusual manner. He called Him as one that knew Him; not as one who only heard about Him from a third party. Demonstrating to God that we know Him is a way of getting uncommon attention from Him. The Bible confirms that those who know their God shall carry out great exploit. (Daniel 11:32) It was a great exploit when a blind man called out for Jesus from among a thronging multitude and was able to get an answer. In his calling, Bartimaeus received his sight.
The same way Bartimaeus called (by crying out to the son of David) and got  instant attention from Jesus, a woman of Canaan also cried out to Jesus and could not get an instant attention from Jesus. It is written, “Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.’” (Matthew 15:21-22) In the case of Bartimaeus, Jesus stood still but a woman of Canaan got a different response from Jesus.  “But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she cries out after us.’ But He answered and said, ‘I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’” (Matthew 15:23-24) Jesus and His disciples’ response was enough to discourage the woman of Canaan and made her to turn her back to Jesus. Instead of her giving up, however, she pressed further. She persisted to receive by resisting all discouragement. The Bible records, “Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Lord, help me!’” (Matthew 15:25) Despite her appeal, Jesus answered her, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” (Matthew 15:26)  Jesus’ answer made her to insist and persist for her miracle. The woman responded to Jesus, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” (Matthew 15:27) There is absolutely no better way to describe persistence than that of this Canaanite woman before Jesus. Jesus eventually answered her, “’O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed from that very hour.” (Matthew 15:28)
Is there any way you are expecting to get an answer to your prayer request the same way your neighbor received answer to his/her request? Jesus is the Master healer. He alone is the One who gives and takes as He pleases. Evidently, there is no place or reason for giving up with Jesus.
Looking at Bartimaeus and the Canaan woman, both cried out to Jesus. It is true that crying out and crying silently are two different things. Often times, challenges demand crying out but man opts rather to cry silently. Are you crying silently where a challenge calls for crying out? Man does have a need to understand that crying out is not a sign of weakness. Bartimaeus and the woman of Canaan cried out regardless of the multitudes and eventually got Jesus’ attention.
–Both were attempted to be quieted but refused to remain quiet.
–Both called on Jesus in an unusual manner calling out, “Son of David”.
–Both did not get same response. Bartimaeus got a stand-still attention from Jesus while the woman of Canaan got a repeated snub which eventually delivered delayed answer to her.
The case of Bartimaeus and the Canaan woman demonstrated that Jesus is the Master who answers to all in an unpredictable manner but shall never fail to answer those who reach out and do not give up in their request.
As documented in the Parable of the Persistent woman (Luke 18), this Canaan woman demonstrated what it means to be persistent in getting an answer to prayer. The parable of the Persistent Woman, narrated by Jesus, proves that:
–Prayer needs not those who pray and lose heart. Often time, man engages prayer with back up plans; looking for help outside of prayer. We are to stay focus on getting an answer like the Canaan woman instead of looking outside of our trust in Jesus.
–Prayer is meant to trouble Heaven when we engage asking, seeking and knocking relentlessly (Matthew 7:7) until answers come forth.
–Prayer demands continuity and not becoming weary.
The Canaan woman could not give up when she engaged with the healing word of God.

Resist denial, remain persistent and insist on having your expectation become manifested.