All posts by Tunde Soniregun

Give God All The Glory

Devotions

FAITH CAPSULE: Captivity is not a ground that is fun to be for any one that is enjoying and living in the blessings of freedom with God.

Jeremiah 48:1-20

God was speaking against Moab in the book of Jeremiah 48:7, “For because you have trusted in your works and your treasures, you also shall be taken. And Chemosh shall go forth into captivity.” (Chemosh: The chief deity of Moab.) It was a greatjudgment against Moab and it is worthy of our attention and sincere meditation so that it will enable us to observe where we are placing our trust. The judgment against Chemosh should be a strong warning for all that believes and also to unbelievers that God should be constantly and consistently acknowledged with thanks and praise for all that He enables us to do on a regular basis. Failure to acknowledge Him demonstrates that we trust and rely on our own self-effort as strength. It is clear that the people of Moab could have resolved to self-sufficiency whereby looking to their work and treasure as a measure of self-effort. A dangerous way to captivity is to assume self-effort as strength and source of blessing. God alone is our source. God wants to be glorified and exalted for every blessing that comes our way. He is a jealous God and He will not take it well with any soul who chooses not to acknowledge Him for His goodness and mercy. God spoke in Jeremiah 9:23-24, “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these I delight, says the LORD.” How clear and loud can we possibly hear this from the Lord God that He wants to be glorified by us? Have you been counting on self-effort as your source? It is time that you count your blessings; name them one by one and let God take all the entire honor and glory. Captivity is not a ground that is fun to be for any one that is enjoying and living in the blessings of freedom with God. The Moabites might not be around to tell us what is was like to end up in captivity after having been in control of treasures, but what the bible tells us is enough to learn and live to the glory of God. Do not give away all that He has blessed you with. Turn around and give Him all the glory and honor that belongs to Him; not to your efforts. Go and glorify Him in Jesus name.

Prayer for today: Lift up your hands in thanks giving and praise to the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.

June 2010 Issue

Monthly Newsletter

        “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)  

Psalm 9:2, “I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to your name, O most High.” Psalm 16:11, “In Your presence is fullness of joy…” Proverbs 8:30, “…I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him.” All of the above quotations testifies to the truth, without joy no man is accessible to God. The Apostle Paul articulates this perfectly when he states, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4) The Apostle Paul’s call for joy was expressed with clarity, emphasis and with a shout!
MEETING WITH GOD
Children of God must go before the Lord with joy, when they meet with God. By this virtue, coming before God is celebrating in joy. Let it be clear that the evil one never shy away from where there is joy. His agenda is to convert joy to sadness. However, our calling is to maintain our joy regardless of challenges. Remember Job? Job 1:6-7, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” (Job 1:6-7) Satan’s interruption was and is always with bad intention. He is empowered to go to and fro looking for one to devour. He was able to secure his wish against Job. He initiated pain for Job where the sons of God are gathering in His presence. It is written in Job 1:11-12, “But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.”” Can you imaginehow in the place of celebration, joy is being tampered with? The wicked one, at his coming out of the place of joy and celebration delivered every form of affliction on Job. In between and through it all, Job did not complain nor did he condemn God. Job cried to God and he eventually received more blessings after his time of testing, than when he first started to enjoy the blessings of God.
REMEMBER TO MAINTAIN JOY
The children of Israel came out of the bondage of over four hundred years. They were able to witness the awesome power in the hand of God that brought them out. In the course of their journey, the hand of God did not withdraw upon their life as they witnessed the hand of God, through Moses, dividing the Red Sea while giving them passage on a dry land in between divided sea. They celebrated a great deal in the presence of God while Moses and Miriam the prophetess (sister of Moses) led them in songs of joy and praise. The echoes of celebration must have been hanging in the air and around them when they travelled three days. While they became thirsty, the water they came across was bitter. With thirst, their story changed, “And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet…” (Exodus 15:24-25) The children of Israel soon forgot what the Lord had done for them when he parted the red sea. The point here is if Job did not forget all the goodness of God, but remained in the thought and memory of God’s goodness; we too should not be quick to forget too soon as did the Children of Israel. Job cried unto God as did Moses, but neither of them complained. Job’s wife attempted to sway Job into sinning with his lips, “Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” (Job 2:9-10) Always remember that in midst of every Godly celebration, Satan wants to gain attention. Fail to attend to Satan and he will flee. Do not forget too soon, cry unto Him and prayer will turn bitterness into sweetness.

FAITH CAPSULE:
Let it be clear that the evil one never shy away from where there is joy.
Always remember that in midst of every Godly celebration, Satan wants to gain attention.
Tunde

Race Needs His Grace

Devotions

FAITH CAPSULE: The journey life is not about how the weather will affect you, But how you weather through.

2 Timothy 4

The journey of life is like a race that requires determination and divine intervention to get to the finish line. The race of life is not about how fast you get to the end, but how you run the entire race. Ecclesiastes 9:11 puts it better, “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor the bread to the wise, nor the riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.” The race of life is not about how often you fall, but how you are able to get back on the track whenever you fall. The race of life is not about how the weather affects you on the race track, but it is about how you weather through. All of us are in the race today but not many are running the race, some might still be at the start line, some may be slowing down watching others go by or some may simply not want to put up the fight to complete the race. Whatever it maybe not all in the race will cross the finish line to claim the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.” How are you running the race? Keeping track of how you are running will keep you focus from going off track in the race of life. Many are running, but they are running off the track. 1 Corinthians 9:25, “And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.” This race that we are running requires endurance; not energy. Neither does it require strength but rather the Spirit of God. Continuity is the rule of the race while a purposeful heart is the official of the race. An advice about running the race is written in Hebrew 12:1, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” The race is an everyday warfare that needs a constant engagement. As you run, are you taking time out to check if you are on track in the race of life? It is a serious matter because the Apostle Paul made us to see clearly that it is a war when he said in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finish the race, I have kept the faith.” What will tell of you about how you running the race when it is the time to cross over the line for prize?

Prayer for today: Ask for grace to run the race right.

Paise The Lord!!!

Devotions

FAITH CAPSULE: We praise God with our whole heart because He alone is the King of all the earth.

Psalm 148, 149, 150

Philippians 2:12, “…Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” The working out of our salvation is also in praising God. With fear and trembling in our life, we give God a well deserved praise because He is fearful in praises. It is not possible for anyone to express approval, admiration, commendation or laudation for someone they have no faith in. When we praise God, we are offering grateful homage in words, dancing, worshipful melody, or through our daily lifestyle. God stated in His command, “…For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God…” (Exodus 20:5). He is a jealous God; and the antidote of a jealous God is attention. Praise is an act of giving God all the attention he rightfully deserves. Praising God should be done continually. Psalm 150:6 says “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” As long as you have breath, praising God should never cease.
How do we praise God? Psalm 47:7 states, “For God is the King of the earth; sing praises with understanding.” Praising God is not about going through emotions, especially when the heart is far from God. When we praise and worship God, it has to be in understanding just as required by the Psalmist. Psalm 9:1-2 pointed out how we go about in praising God, “I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.” We praise God with our whole heart because He alone is the King of all the earth. Also, it is impossible to praise God without joy. When we praise him, joy must flow because in the presence of God there is fullness of joy. (Psalm 16:11) What happens when we praise God the way we should praise Him? The Psalmist states, “But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.” (Psalm 22:3) Where God is enthroned there He also inhabits. By this virtue, God inhabits the praises of His people. In God’s presence victory is certain. The wall of Jericho fell down flat through praise as commanded by God. (Joshua 6) Paul and Silas overcame the confrontation of their adversary by praying and praising God. (Acts 16:25-40) The word of God is true. As He was in the past so it is today and many are still testifying victory through praising and praying to God. Praising God in line of God’s required way of praise worship is seeking the presence of God. There is healing, deliverance and preservation in the presence of God. Why not give it all to Him in praise and worship?

Prayer for today: Let my heart not depart from praising You all the days of my life.

The Secret Place

Devotions

FAITH CAPSULE: When you dwell and abide in the secret place of the Most High, you will do–well in Him.

Psalm 91

Psalm 91:1 stated, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” In these days when the world is becoming darker, where else could be safer for a man to dwell and abide; than in the secret place of the Most High God? Definitely, the secret place is where the Most High himself dwells. Isaiah 57:15 confirms the location of the secret place when it states, “For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place…” The high and holy place is where we need to dwell and it can be entered through obedience to the Word of God. Dwelling without abiding will amount to no result. However, abiding in the dwelling place delivers result and also demands working the word of God. Psalm 15 asked and answered, “Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the LORD; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change; He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.” (Psalm 15:1-5) No one can dwell and abide in the secret place of the Most High just by confessing and accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior. Nor can they dwell or abide in the secret place just by going to church every Sunday. In Isaiah 57:15 God reveals how we can have access to the holy place, he states, “…I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” (Isaiah 57:15) Those who persevere and commit their heart to seeking God becomes untouchable. The secret place is the place of assured deliverance and preservation. The word of God is true and it will not fail. When you dwell and abide in the secret place of the Most High, you will do–well in Him.

Prayer for today: O Lord my God, cause me to dwell and abide in Your secret place all the days of my life.