All posts by Tunde Soniregun

Are You His Vessel?

Devotions

FAITH CAPSULE: When God goes before His vessel, every impenetrable ground will yield for penetration.

Isaiah 45: 1-13

God alone will make and unmake, He alone is the unquestionable King of kings and purposeful mighty creator. God appointed by separating a pagan ruler (Cyrus King of Persia) to Himself for engaging His will. The book of  Isaiah 45:1 recorded, “Thus says the LORD to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held— To subdue nations before him and loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut:” No man in heaven or under heaven dictates to God who is to be separated unto Him for appointed assignment. God held the right hand of the pagan king and his life story was influenced and changed for good and forever. By virtue of the word of God, as stated above, when God holds anyone’s right hand, victory is certainly certain. When He holds one’s right hand, one no longer does the battle but becomes a vessel being used by God. As it was when He held the right hand of Cyrus, so it will be for every other vessel for God’s assignment. Are you a vessel of His assignment? God will subdue and loose the weapons of your enemy; undeniable doors will be opened for your breakthrough. When God holds your right hand, He becomes the one doing the battle for you on the battlefield.
The book Isaiah 45:2 also pointed out that when He appoints, He will go before the one that is appointed and separated for His assignment. Isaiah 45:2 recorded, “I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron.” When God goes before His vessel, every impenetrable ground will yield for penetration and the rough places that have been troubling will be made smooth. When He goes before one, highly invested gates that are specially and specifically constructed to stop and deny breakthrough will be shattered; they will not stand but fall down flat. Above all, every treasured and hidden activity of the wicked will be exposed. When the Lord goes before His vessel, the riches that the enemy cherishes will be exposed and the enemy will be naked. God is still in the business of holding the right hand of His appointed (anointed) vessel and He is still going before them. There is nothing that can be compared to answering as the Lord’s vessel. He is the Holy One of Israel; He alone is the Lord that does all things and nothing is impossible for Him to do.

Prayer for today: Ask God to take over your life in the new month and cause you to be concentrated unto Him.  

February 2013 Issue

Monthly Newsletter

                                         WITHERNESS

Having a withered hand is occupying a situation that cannot be unnoticed; it calls for attention. Once on a Sabbath day, in a synagogue, the Pharisees knew quite well that a man who had withered hand was going to catch Jesus’ attention when they asked Jesus, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him. (Matthew 12:9), Jesus’ answer demonstrated the importance of doing that which is good and the placement of good deeds above the law. He points out that law is not a reason to be excused from caring for others. Most importantly, He pointed out how valuable is man when He stated, “Of how much more value than is a man than a sheep?” (Matthew 12:12). Jesus the tenderhearted shepherd, the caring and compassionate master, after answering the Pharisees now turned His attention to the man with withered hand, “Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.” (Matthew 12:13). Just a word from Jesus terminated the mark of shame and mockery and put restored glory to the withered vessel.
What is it that is withered in your life? Among the words synonymous with “withered” are shrivel, fade, decay, wrinkle, shrink, dry, decline, languish, droop, waste, etc. Is there any area of life that you are experiencing any of the synonyms of wither in your life? To be withered in any area of life is not what can be hidden but what a man can be healed and be delivered from, just as the man with the withered hand got his healing and deliverance from Jesus’s word.
It was the healing power in the word of God that healed the man with withered hand. Jesus spoke to him, “Stretch out your hand.” The power to heal comes with the power to believe and receive. When the healing word of Jesus found the man with withered hands, there was no doubt in his heart as he stretched out his hands as commanded by Jesus. Self-recognition and acceptance is a very important step and so pivotal to getting delivered. If you will behold Him in His word of healing and say to yourself, “I am coming out in Jesus name” you have loosened yourself from whatever tie you down and lay claim to deliverance by confession. Remember, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21). Also, the power to get satisfied with good is through the mouth. Proverbs 12:14, “A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth.” Jesus buttresses the power of self-deliverance by stating, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34) He went further to let us know that with good treasure of the heart one is able to bring forth good things. (Matthew 12:35) Treasure the word of God; allow the word of God a place inside you and the word that you carry inside you will bring forth your satisfaction in place of dis-satisfaction when you speak it in faith. The word of God is consistently true when it is constantly engaged with expectation for manifestation.
Are you experiencing the challenges of what it means to be withered in one hand? One that is short in one hand will be short everywhere he/she put his/her hands on. It takes two whole hands to maintain balance in all endeavors as designed by our maker.
To be withered in life is a sympathetic and sorrowful situation that calls for God’s attention. The situation of a withered can be compared to that of a sheep that falls in a pit. One that falls in a pit is set for stagnation; one in the pit has been replaced from his ground; one in the pit is reduced and not in place for increase and one in the pit with no way out is set to waste. It does not matter what the status of a man is or the kind of title a man answers to, Jesus will not shy away from delivering any that his/her situation calls for Jesus’ attention and welcomes the Savior’s hand that is always ready to give us rest (Matthew 11:28). Treasure the word of God, meditate upon it and be assured of good success (Joshua 1:8). Speak the word from abundance of heart and the word of God which you treasure will satisfy.

Are You Dull-Hearted?

Devotions

FAITH CAPSULE: Seeking God starts from the heart.

Jeremiah 10

A failure to seek God is the evidence of dull-heart and it denies every heavenly blessing that makes a difference in the life of man. It is written in Jeremiah 10:21, “For the shepherds have become dull-hearted, and have not sought the LORD; therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.”
Are you dull-hearted? Are you seeking God with your all your heart? God demands that we seek Him diligently. Seeking Him diligently will also amount to keeping our heart diligently for Him to reign and rule in our heart. Among the ways of seeking Him with our heart is meditating on His word. In meditation lies prosperous way and good success. The Lord God spoke to Joshua after Moses was dead, “Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:7-8) The heart that is constantly active in meditation will become active in experiencing prosperity. The kind of prosperity that the Lord mentioned to Joshua was an all-round prosperity. An all-round prosperity is the one that gives good success. Remember, what is good is God’s.
The ability to observe and to do according to the word of God comes only from constant and consistent meditation on the word of God. Doing and observing the word is obeying God. It is only in obeying the word of God that seeking God reigns. As a believer, where do you stand in seeking God? Seeking God starts from the heart. A dull heart is the evidence of God’s absence. Where God is absent, the enemy’s presence prevails. The word of God is secret to those whose heart is not engage in seeking Him. However, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). The secret place of God is no longer a secret to those that know to seek Him in the pages of His word that never fails. Spending time and holding on to the word of God in meditation brings about prosperity that leads to good success. God cannot be mocked and neither can He be manipulated and whatever is sowed is what you will reap. Sow by investing time in meditation and your heart will be active and not dull.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace of enablement to be constant and consistent meditating the word of God.

Feed On Him

Devotions

FAITH CAPSULE: Jesus is the bread of life.

John 6:22-59

A woman of Samaria had an encounter with Jesus when Jesus asked her for water. She was reluctant because it was not real for a Jew to be asking water from a Samaritan. Jesus spoke to her, “…If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” (Luke 4:10) Jesus is the gift of God and He is also the living water. He is the water that never dries.
Jesus was speaking in John 6:47-51, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.  I am the bread of life.Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead.  This is the bread which comes down from heaven that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” Jesus is the bread of life and anyone that believes is the one that actually feeds on the bread of life.
What do you feed on that is considered more sustaining than the living bread? Truly, we are what we feed on and whatever we feed on determines what we become. Do you believe enough to accept that He is the living water and the bread of life? 
As an acclaimed believer, are you feeding yourself enough of Jesus? Jesus is the bread of life. He said in John 6:57, “… So he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.” He alone is the bread of life and feeding on Him is the only way of having His word abiding in you. The evidence of believing is the word that abides in us. John 5:38, “But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.” Yesterday and today, many goes after Jesus to feed on bread that perishes.  Jesus, after feeding of the five thousand, many went after Him just to look for more bread to eat. Jesus, knowing the reason for their coming, responded to them and said, “…Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. (John 6:26) Loaves will only fill you and get digested but the bread of life will abide in you forever. Change your appetite, get into Jesus’ reality and begin to feed of life that is in Jesus.

Prayer for today: Ask Him to feed you with the bread of heaven and to grant the grace for your life to retain the living water.

Confide In The Lord God

Devotions

FAITH CAPSULE: Fear in the face of trouble is the demonstration of no confidence in the Lord.

1 Samuel 28

The book of Proverbs 3:25-26 counseled, “Do not be afraid of sudden terror, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; For the LORD will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught.” To be afraid in the face of trouble or in the face of sudden terror is the demonstration of no confidence in the Lord or the evidence of lack of knowledge what God can do. Often times, it is easy to confess hope and trust in the Lord but when trouble or sudden terror comes like a wave, faith becomes tested. However, the more one hear and hear about how different troubles and sudden terrors were overcome by the presence of the Lord, our faith supposedly will rise. The word of God is true when it states that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17) How are you boosting your confidence and not be afraid in the face of world challenges?
To be afraid is an indirect way of despising the word of God in one’s life. At every time the word of God is despised one is set for destruction. Destruction is exactly what the enemy wants for every man. Fear is the weapon of the enemy and the opposite of faith.
Saul was afraid and brought himself down as king. Once, Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped at Gilboa to fight the Philistines. It is written, “When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.  And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets.” (1Samuel 28:5-6) As a result of his feeling, he entered into deception in attempt to hear from God. He disguised and acted against the law by consulting a woman who is a medium. It is written, “Then the woman said to him, “Look, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the spiritists from the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life, to cause me to die?” (1 Samuel 28:9) Being afraid did not solve the problem of Saul but compounded it. Saul reacted to the sudden terror by becoming afraid after he could not hear from God.
David was supposed to be afraid when the Amalekites invaded his camp at Ziklag; burnt down and took away women and children as captive. David’s people spoke of stoning him because the soul of his people was grieved. David was distressed but he strengthened himself in the Lord God. (1 Samuel 30:4-6) You have the word of God, be strengthened in the word of God and you shall overcome and not be victim of being afraid.
 
Prayer for today: Ask God to enable you to operate in the spirit of power, love and sound mind.