All posts by Tunde Soniregun

October 2009 Issue

Monthly Newsletter

“… those who wait on the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.” (Psalm 37:9)

The way into God’s rest is in waiting on Him and not to wait on Him is the way to go astray. Going astray is rooted in the heart. Manifestly, any heart that goes astray will miss His way. God is a good God and to end in a bad way is not of God. This is to say what is not good is not God. God is a God of time and process. His time is not like man’s time; likewise His process is not any man’s process. God’s timing is perfect and His process is a preparation for where He has timed for every man to be. Waiting on God can be defined as: to remain unmoving, inactive or in a state of repose, as until something expected happens; to look onward to expectation eagerly. Waiting on God is also putting off further activity until later. Waiting on God usually entails staying for a short or long time and for a definite purpose, that is, for something expected. Without absolute trust in waiting on God there will be no absolute result emerging from waiting on God. The Psalmist testifies, “O my God, I trust in You; let me not be ashamed; let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.” (Psalm 25:2-3) Trusting in God is what energizes waiting on Him. Trusting in God does have blessings and not to trust in Him will also generate curses. God spoke in Jeremiah 17:5, “…Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord.” As regard to blessing, the same word of God stated in Jeremiah 17:7, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord” How can you wait on whom you do not trust? Evidently, having trust in place will enable waiting on Him.
HOW DO YOU WAIT ON HIM?
Many scriptural passages state that, looking up to God is the way of waiting on Him. Psalm 25:1, “To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.” Psalm 123:1, “Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens.” In looking up to Him, we render prayer, fasting, spending time in His Word and watching for the manifestation of expectation. God is a God of order and in different waiting there are specified ways of waiting on the Lord.
Waiting in Prayer: Jesus taught about prayer in Matthew 6:5-8, “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” Who can instruct or teach waiting in prayer more ideally than Jesus? Praying like Jesus is what will make prayer worth its while. Without doubt, prayer is not in the multitude of our words, but prayer lies in our hearts because the Lord weighs in the heart and not in our outward demonstration.
Waiting in Fasting: Just as Jesus taught about waiting in prayer, He also taught about waiting in fasting. Matthew 6:16-18, “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” To wait on God fasting will not end in wasting. To fully follow Jesus’ instruction and teaching will absolutely produce an enviable result.
Wait by spending time watching: Micah testifies to spending time and watching, “Therefore, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.” (Micah 2:7) In looking up to God and waiting to hear from Him you will see and receive. In your looking, spend time in His living word. He is a faithful God and He will speak His word that never fails.

There are so much to gain in waiting and nothing to lose from waiting on God’s timing.
God’s timing is perfect and His process is a preparation for where He has timed for every man to be.
Tunde

Grace Increase

Devotions

GRACE INCREASE
Mark 14: 43-52

Peter stated in 2 Peter 1:2, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord…” Evidently, there will be a need for increase of grace for a believer to know and live not to betray Him. It is recorded in the book of Job 1:6, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.” Can you imagine Satan having access to the gathering of the sons of God? Satan was asked about where he was coming from, he declared that he was going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it (Job 1:7). Do you wonder why he was going to and fro? Business as usual, looking for someone to devour will not be a strange reason for his going to and fro. Since the days of the Bible, Satan has been going to and fro looking for someone to devour, today he is still looking for whom to devour and tomorrow he will continue to look for someone to devour until his time is up. The devil is at work and he has not given up his hope of frustrating the business of the kingdom just as he has been doing since he was driven out of heaven. When Jesus was here, the devil also found its way to use Judas one of the disciples of Jesus Christ. Judas became an agent for the devil when he got paid to betray Jesus. It is written in the book of Mark 14:10, “Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them.  And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.” Indeed and in truth, when it was time for Satan to work through Judas, it was through a convenient way. Judas gave Jesus up with a kiss. What is the convenient way that you are taking or that you have taken in giving up Jesus? It does not matter where you are or what you do, if your walk in the Lord is short of fully obeying Jesus you have also taken a convenient way of betraying Him. You have been singing how you love Jesus long enough but your walk in the Lord is not consistent with your confession. Judas sold Him out conveniently by setting him up with a kiss. When you become committed with the whole heart, your convenient way of betraying Him will cease. Ask for the grace to be committed.

Prayer for today: Fill me O Lord with the knowledge and grace that it takes not to betray you in all walks of life.

Look Up

Devotions

LOOK UP
Psalm 121, Isaiah 45:14-25

Revelation produce expectation and when there is expectation there will be a manifestation. In the testimonies of the Psalmist there is always enough revelation for every believer. The Psalmist testifies in Psalm 121:1-2, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills from whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD Who made heaven and earth.”Where do you look up to in times of any need for help? Are you looking up because others look up? Do you consciously lift up your eyes to the hills or are you accidentally looking up? Deliberate and conscious act is a demonstration of understanding. Understanding that is activated is what produces result. Do you know what to get when you look up to the high place where God is enthroned? In looking up, there should be expectation to contact the face of God. The Psalmist also stated Psalm 34:5, “They looked up unto Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed.”An encounter with the face of God is what will bring all that you need to travel along the path of life without any agent of the wicked terminating your journey to the expected end. It is written John 3:31, “He who comes from above is above all…” Why look away from above? There is only one God and He is the One that is above all. The Word of God encourages, “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:22) Absolutely, looking up unto God is a meaningful and power packed approach that is not being consciously activated among most believers. Jacob, while on his way after moving from Laban, wrestled with an angel and he gave the testimony of his encounter in Genesis 32:30, “So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” What Jacob’s testimony is saying after this encounter is that a face-to-face encounter with God will bring forth preservation. He experienced it and he testifies about it. The face of God is what you need to encounter in this journey of life. An encounter with the face of God will carry you through and you will by pass every agent of enemy in your life. Paul the Apostle prayed in 2Timothy 4:18, “And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen! The journey is too dangerous for you to take off your eyes from looking up to Him that is above. 

Prayer for today: O Lord my God I ask for the grace that causes man not to look anywhere else but only to Your great and awesome name.

Continuity Is The Rule

Devotions

CONTINUITY IS THE RULE
Daniel 6

How do you serve God? Serving God is to remain focus and to continue in serving regardless of any challenge on the way. Serving God is not convenient but it is a commitment and commitment demands no interruption but continuation. When you serve God continually you will encounter challenges continually and you will overcome continually. Daniel served God continually, he encountered larger than life challenges continually, and he overcame all his challenges consistently. Once he was sentenced to death by the mouth of a starved lion. It was a trap to get Daniel down, but in their evil plan God had a way to lift Daniel higher. When you serve God continually the devil will always fail to get you down. When it was clear that Daniel petitioned to his God the report was brought to the King in order to sign the death penalty, which was given to Daniel. Daniel 6:16, “So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the King spoke, saying to Daniel, your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.”The unbelieving King recognized that Daniel was a man that served God continually. Who can testify to the fact that you are one of a kind that serves God continually? If you have man to testify to the fact that you serve God continually, will the test of time testify on your behalf? It is good for man to testify, but it matters that the test of time should be able to testify or else you are a living dead. Daniel 6:17, “Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed.”It was purposed for Daniel that there would be no way out of the den of the lions. From every indication, nothing or no man could change the situation concerning Daniel. It was the law of the land that no man that committed the magnitude of Daniel’s sin against the law would be able to get deliverance from the hand of any man or king. However, the hand of God that is power, the hand of God that delivers, went before Daniel into the den of the lions. Only God knows the number of lions in the den but none could touch Daniel regardless of the number of the lions. Daniel served God continually and God was with him continually. How are you serving Him? How others are serving God around you should having nothing to do with your service unto God.

Prayer for today:  Lord, determination failed Peter when he denied you three times. I ask for my life O Lord my God, the grace to render unto You a reasonable service.

Is Horeb For You?

Devotions

IS HOREB FOR YOU?
Exodus 3:1-10

God’s calling often comes at a ground of no distraction. Every man wants to be used for God but how many wants to be placed on a ground of no distraction?  Moses’ calling could not be until he got to his ground of no distraction. “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father -in-law, the priest of Median. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.” (Exodus 3:1) Horeb means desolate and Mount Sinai is another name for Horeb. Desolate is defined in the dictionary as; devoid of inhabitants; deserted; barren; lifeless; rendered unfit for habitation or use. A desolate place became the holy ground, mountain of God where Moses ended up before he could answer the calling of God and be sent on God’s mission. Will you pray that God will bring you to your Horeb? Think of it before you pray it. It is not a popular prayer because of the challenges that you will encounter before getting to Horeb. If indeed you are sold out to Him, if indeed you are sincere with every of your confession such as “I surrender unto Jesus on to thee I give it all” ask God in your prayer to take you to your Horeb, a ground of encounter, a ground of sacrifice, a ground of entering into a journey of no turning to self, but aside unto God’s calling. Also it is a ground that will eventually deliver unto you a blessed attainment before God. Think of it, there is nothing to live for but God. The challenges of living for God are huge and it can be painful and exhausting only if you want to carry the world instead of the word of God with you. He is faithful and if He calls you He will back you up when you chose not to back out. Moses, a man that had lived for forty years in the palace of one of the most powerful nations at the time, had all that could be needed while living in the palace of Pharaoh. Overnight he ended up in the desert, a place of inadequacy. It was not by accident, but he was going through the process of time as man that was born in due season. Who could have convinced Moses to go down to the desert, a place that is considered as lifeless? Only God can draw man to Himself anywhere, anytime regardless of the place or situation, “The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.” (Psalm 24:1)

Prayer for today: In your life God will convert all that is lifeless to life-full. If you sincerely want to go for God, ask Him to take you to your Horeb, your Mountain of God. He will not fail you but you will pass into His blessing and glory.