All posts by Tunde Soniregun

No To Outsiders

January 3, 2010DevotionsTunde Soniregun

NO TO OUTSIDERS
Luke 8: 49-56

Jesus, our Lord and Savior, is our all in all. He came to make us if we choose to follow Him. He lived an exemplary life for us to see that with Him, in Him and through Him, all things are possible. Jesus is our Advocate, our representative before the Father. All things that do not represent you, that are not the things of God, that are outside of your beliefs are outsiders to you and they should all be considered and treated as outsiders. Do not allow outsiders inside and neither should you inhabit any outsider. Let the outsiders be on the outside and by denying outsiders, doubt will die, mockery will be denied and above all, ridicule will not locate you. Jesus, with all the power in Him, in His attempt to bring forth Jairus’ daughter back from death to life, made some moves before He did. The first thing that Jesus did was to encourage the family not to be afraid but believe with a positive statement saying, “it is well.” Secondly, He told them that their daughter had only went to sleep and not unto death so that they should stop weeping. The first and second moves were to address the family from the inside because when the inside was settled, then the outside could be dealt with by being put out on the outside. Jesus did not address the outside until He had taken care of the inside. While Jesus was taking care of the inside, the outside was in operation. Luke 8: 53, “And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.” The outsiders ridiculed Jesus thinking it would be impossible for Him to raise Jairus’ daughter back to life. Ridicule is from the outside; it is an agent of discouragement. As an agent of discouragement, ridicule will bring forth discouragement to stop exercising faith, which would cause the loss of faith. Jesus did not hesitate; He needed to settle the outside since the inside had been addressed. The Bible records in Luke 8:54-55, “…He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, ‘Little girl, arise,’ Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat.” Jesus did not allow the surrounding people or the outsiders to deny the miracle for Jairus’ daughter. Just as Jesus put all agents of mockery and ridicule out in the case of Jairus’ daughter, so He will do on your behalf. This New Year, all that belongs unto you will return to you and your testimony will glorify God.

Prayer for today: Uphold me O Lord in Your way that my faith will not fail.

Pray The Word In A Newyear

January 1, 2010DevotionsTunde Soniregun

PRAY THE WORD IN A NEW YEAR
2 Samuel 5:17-25, Joshua 10:1-27

"For the Lord will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be angry as in the Valley of Gibeon—That He may do His work, His awesome work, And bring to pass His act, His unusual act." (Isaiah 28:21) God is in the business of answering payer. Pray the Word of God and prevail in the world of challenges as you have been privilege by the grace of God to see a new beginning. At Mount Perazim, after the Philistines heard that David was anointed king over Israel they pitched a battle against David. David inquired from the Lord whether to go up against the Philistines and the Lord gave him a go ahead victory promise. David took to the battle, destroyed the Philistine as the Lord promised. With victory, David testified, “The LORD has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim.” (2 Samuel 5:20) David did not only defeat them once but twice and he drove them back beyond their territory. Would this be your wish over your enemy in a new beginning? Pray it and it will be so. In the Valley of Gibeon the children of Israel went to war against the five kings of the Amorites. It was a war that was set up against Gibeon by the five kings because the men of Gibeon became an ally with Israel. With war looming the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua and it became the war of the children of Israel. Just like David, Joshua turned to God for God’s permission and leadership. Any challenge that is taken up to God before any move on our side is a done deal with awesome victory and unusual act of God. Will you consider taking up yours to the Lord first? God responded to Joshua, “…I have delivered them into your hand; but not a man shall stand before you.” (Joshua 10:8) Joshua got a go ahead from God; he descended heavily and inflicted great damage on the enemy. In the battle, the ones that were not within the reach of Joshua’s force were dealt with by God. The Bible made us to realize that, “…There were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword.” God is not a man that He should not honor His word and neither shall there be any doubt of what He can do. He is a mighty warrior and great in battle. God is a jealous God and attention is the antidote for jealousy. Before attempting your challenge attend to Him for His direction. Give all your attention to Him and He will attend to you in all your challenge.

Prayer for today:Deliver me O Lord. Breakthrough my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.

January 2010 Issue

January 1, 2010Monthly NewsletterTunde Soniregun

“According to your mercy remember me, for your goodness sake, O Lord.” (Psalm 25:7)

GOD REMEMBERS
Among the characters of God is the fact that He is a God who remembers. Since the time of the Genesis, God has always had a reason to remember His children to favor or to deliver them from all of their destructions. In the time of Noah, after the rain of destruction, God had to remember Noah before the water subsided. Genesis 8:1 testifies, “God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided.” God is not a God who forgets because remembering is a character of the good God. As a believer in God, have you been stagnated in any area of life that calls for you to get in motion? There is absolutely nothing wrong with calling on God and asking for Him to remember you. King David stated in one of his psalm, “According to your mercy remember me, for your goodness sake, O Lord.” (Psalm 25:7)Call on our good God to remember you today and He will not fail.
WHEN GOD REMEMBERS
When God remembers, He favors and restoration becomes evident. Inside God’s remembering His children, barrenness gave up for open womb to have its rightful place. The Bible testifies, “Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.” (Genesis 30:22) Rachel, the sister of Leah and the wife of Jacob, did all to have a child, but could not until God remembered her. Also, it was God’s remembering the children of Israel that delivered them out of the bondage of over four hundred years, “And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant.” (Exodus 6:5) The glaring point about God remembering Rachel and the children of Israel is that they called on God and God listened and heard them. The Word of God specifically commands us to ask and it shall be given unto us. Are you actually asking? It does not matter how long you have been grounded, but it is clear that being grounded can be interrupted by lifting up your voice and calling on Him like Rachel and the children of Israel.
MAKE A VOW
Calling on God to remember us is not a deterioration of faith, but rather is a demonstration of faith. Calling on God to remember us is evident to the fact that we have a Father who we can call on even when we have caused a self-destruction to have taken place. Samson, after having exposed himself to self-destruction, called to the LORD saying, “O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!” (Judges 16:28) Indeed, God remembered Samson and He granted him his wish. Hannah, by virtue of her bareness, made a vow during her call for God to remember her and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.” (1 Samuel 1:10-11) Does your situation call for desperation due to mockery? God honors vows and it could be that a vow of what you are capable of delivering is what you need. God is not a joker and He takes a vow serious. The Bible also warns about vow, “If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.” (Numbers 30:2) Do not make a vow without being able to back it up. God did remembered Hannah as the Bible testifies, “And Elkhanah knew Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her.” (1 Samuel 1:19) ACCOUNT PROVOKES REMEMBRANCE
God is a God who never forgets but always remember. In the book of Acts, a man called Cornelius testified, “So Cornelius said, ‘Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God.’” (Acts 10:30-31) Cornelius needed to be remembered in the sight of God and his alms giving caught the eyes of God after he had prayed. Have you been praying and do you have an account that is worth enough to get the sight of God? Know this day that God is a faithful God. Take a conscious and deliberate step to call for Him to remember you. As you proceed by His grace into a new day, meditate in prayer. “Remember me, O LORD, with the favor You have toward Your people. Oh, visit me with Your salvation, That I may see the benefit of Your chosen ones, That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, That I may glory with Your inheritance.” (Psalm 106:4-5) God, for His goodness sake, will restore all that He has for you in Jesus name.

Calling on God to remember us is not a deterioration of faith, but rather is a demonstration of faith.
When God remembers, He favors and restoration becomes evident.
Tunde

Blindly Blinded?

December 31, 2009DevotionsTunde Soniregun

BLINDLY BLINDED
Mark 8:22-26

“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’” (John 8:12) Indeed and in truth, Jesus is the light of the world that no darkness will ever be able to comprehend. Jesus is also identified as the Word of God that came to us. John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” A blind man in Bethsaida encountered Jesus, the Light and the Word of God. Jesus came to where the blind man was to be found, but the blind man needed sight to see the Light that came to his presence. The blind man had the Light of God, but there was no sight for him to see. How long have you been carrying the Word of God that will enable you to see? In attempt to give the blind man another sight, Jesus took him out of the town away from every kind of distraction. Jesus spit on his eyes yet he could not see. How often have you been out of distraction unto separation and yet nothing happened? The blind man was blindly blinded. How blind you are is what will determine what it takes for you to gain the sight that will enable you to see the light. Jesus spit on the blind man of Bethsaida’s eyes yet there was no clarity of sight. Eyes without clear sight are like half knowledge in the Word of God. The presence of Jesus, the Light of God, around the blind man was not enough for him to gain and begin to see clearly. Instead of seeing clearly, he could only see men walking like trees. He was blindly blinded. Are you experiencing the same situation like the blind man? Jesus knew that the blind man of Bethsaida needed to see clearly, so He could not release him on his own. As a result, there was an extension of Jesus’ hand for the blind man of Bethsaida. “Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made Him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.” (Mark 8:25) The blind man of Bethsaida eventually gained the sight that enabled him to see the light. There should be no pretending of having sight where there is no sight to see the light. Attending to prayer for an extension of God’s hand in our life in every area of physical or spiritual blindness is what is best. Jesus moved the blind man of Bethsaida out of town to his healing ground before he could gain sight for light.

Prayer for today: Ask God to move you to your healing ground of deliverance where you will encounter healing and gain sight that can see in His light.

Say It Is Well

December 30, 2009DevotionsTunde Soniregun

SAY IT IS WELL
2 Kings 4:8-37

Whatever you give yourself to the most, will have the most of you. Whatever you hear the most will make the most of you. Also, whatever you say the most will bring forth the most to you. Without any doubt, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21) A gracious, barren Shunammite woman and her husband were of old age. The Shunammite woman’s graciousness to Elisha prompted a blessing of the fruit of the womb from him. Elisha prayed for the woman and she conceived and had a son. The child grew and one day he had a headache while he was with his father and the father sent him to his mother. 2 Kings 4:20, “When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.” The child died and it was not recorded of the mother any crying or groaning, but she decided to seek the source at which God blessed her with the child. The Shunammite woman decided to go and look for Elisha and her husband said,”’ Why are you going to him today? It is neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath.’ And she said, ’It is well.’” (2 Kings 4:23). Knowing fully well that the child was dead, she still did not give a negative response. When she approached Elisha, he sent his servant by saying, “’Please run now to meet her, and say to her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?’ And she answered, ‘It is well.’”(2Kings 4:26) The Shunammite woman repeatedly confessed positive. She had the right word at the rough time; she refused to allow her situation to take over her. Jesus responded to the same kind of situation in the same manner of the Shunammite woman. Jairus’ daughter was sick to death and Jesus was approached for healing and responded in Luke 8:50, “But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.’” Jesus’ response was a teaching on staying positive when all is down. Jesus then spoke to the child and the child rose from dead just like the Shunammite woman’s son regained life at the visitation of Elisha. As you go from day to day, permit no fear but rather persist on faith. Take a stand in the Word of God. Speak out as you want it to be not only as the situation presents itself. Take note: the woman never said it shall be well neither did Jesus say it. What the woman and Jesus said was “It is well”. It is well, is different from it shall be well. Both statements have different meanings. Make your choice. Confess positive most and positive will make the most of you.

Prayer for today: Help me Lord and let no negative word proceed out of my mouth.