Meditation: January 15

“And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.” Hebrews 6:15

The rush towards the promise, without patience to endure the interval trials, is giving expression to doubt and unbelief. Those careless movements are usually met with disappointments with self as well as with God. Misunderstandings arise concerning God’s character of love and concern when one caves in while engaged in the battle. This happens when Christ is not being seen and known throughout all of the circumstances of life. Faith requires one to believe in God and what He has promised even before the evidence is present. His desire is to reveal Himself through His Word that is able to withstand every crisis met along the way. His Word is truth and can outlive the lies of Satan. The bump in the road was not a roadblock but a stepping –stone leading towards the life that lies ahead. There are times when there is nothing left but His promises and pressures. The pressures may try to shroud the promise but the promises are true regardless of the amount of pressure. Perhaps this could be the path of authentic faith being developed within one’s life. Many need to be weaned from the ineffective pop religious messages that create a state of euphoria, directing their confidence towards themselves, rather than towards knowing God. It is not what we escape always, but what we go through that marks the measure of true faith. The promise is on the other side of the challenge. He teaches us to endure whatever may come our way. When we are yet standing firm after the battle is over, we stand in victory before Almighty God.

Meditation: January 7

“I’m single-minded in pursuit of you; don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted.” Psalm 119:10 (MSG)

The heart has many paths available for it to follow. There are significant things that one must pay attention to that can easily grow into obsessions, and one can find justification for having to give their undivided attention to them. To be single-minded is to consider the Lord in all of our ways; it is to pursue Him, not merely first and then move on to other things, it is to pursue Him in the midst of everyday life. What pleases Him must become our priority even when other things are pressing us and vying for our attention. The signs along the way; His Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our pathway. We are then able to read the signs leading us closer to Him. God is here to direct us through every decision if we just let Him have every area of our lives. There is a message for us as His Spirit guides us along the Way.

Meditation: December 3

“…and you will find rest for your souls.”Jeremiah 6:16; Matthew 11:29

It is not established paths that causes constant disturbance of the soul. It is the ignorance that there is a course already laid out before us that is both tried and sure. Each message from God provides both guidance and peace. When the commitment is to do the same, the results will be a peace that passes all understanding. The pleading of the Spirit of Christ is “learn from Me!” He is fully aware of the outcome of every decision made in a lifetime. He still pleads rather than force us to do what is best. Yet many will stubbornly reject the offer to learn from Him what He knows. My friend, your restless soul can only find rest in Him. He will take your burdens and permit you to be His yoke-fellow. As you walk with Him, even though there will be challenges ahead, the lessons learned through those challenges will provide a much greater reward than the little effort required of you. You will discover a new kind of rest, a rest in labor rather than from it for His yoke is easy and His burdens are light.

Meditation: November 14

“For man also does not know his time: Like fish taken in a cruel net, like birds caught in a snare, so the sons of men are snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them.”  Ecclesiastes 9:12

Action taken without any knowledge of our time is the entrapment of the enemy. We would lose sight of all the benefits provided as a means of remaining on the path of freedom. What were the habits and where were the pitfalls of the past that once held us in their grip before we were enlightened. They are still there even though we may have been once delivered from them. But when we get out of step with God and begin to take matters into our own hands, in no time they catch up to recapture us. We must be a step ahead of ploys that could so easily cause setbacks. God reveals the strategies and schemes intended to dismantle the work of God in us and through us. Therefore it is required of us to walk in the Spirit in sync with the Lord is timing that we do not succumb weakness of the flesh and the wiles of the devil.

Meditation: November 1

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? Psalm 27:1

The light that God gives illumines the way to our salvation. The darkness of night shrouds the condition of the soul. When people wander in the dark, they cannot see beyond the moment. There is no certainty of purpose or hope for the future. There are some who seek to be enlightened. Their understanding is influenced and fashioned as the result of information gained from many sources. Their hope in what appears to be sufficient enough to save them. Yet even if what they knew possessed the ability to advance them beyond their peers, it would still be lacking the power to rescue them from the testing and judgment of all things. The Psalmist proclaimed, “The Lord is my light.” Only His light can lead us to salvation. It gives reveals the nature of things that would otherwise allure us away from the eternal. It preserves, and when necessary, restores our souls. If the question of eternity is resolved as the result of walking in His light that has become our own, then whom shall we fear? Nothing within the darkness is able to frighten us because we have enough light to show us what is in fact before us. His light lightens our path enabling us to walk in the light as He is in the light.

Meditation: October 30

“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry” 1 Timothy 1:12

The challenges of ministry are constant. There are always important things to do and areas of significance in need of being addressed. It is too easy to take the path of least resistance and say what would be pleasing to the masses and tickling to the ear. But the call of God is a call to faithfulness and dedication to a cause that is greater than any man. It is that call to which we must be faithful. Our efforts are not to be carried out as others who would place professionalism over character. If we are to most effectively carry out the call that is upon our lives, we must first be faithful to the God who has called us. He is the Great Teacher who will make known both His Word and His ways. It requires the discipline of character so that we are able to listen to Him first before we speak. Then our lives become of message and we live a message and not just speak one.

We do not merely choose this path, but follow after what has be both chosen for us along with the grace to walk as no other. Sometimes alone, and at other times with companions who see with us the significance of what God has given us for themselves. I thank God for His placements, and preservation of the greatest gift one could ever receive, His Son who ministers through us. May He continue to receive the honor and glory that He so richly deserve!

Meditation: October 26

“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. (23)They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness”. Lamentations 3:22-23

God gives us a new day after having learned from the experiences of yesterday, but not carrying the baggage of the many mistakes we had made. The freshness of today is as if we were starting all over again. We awaken to springtime after merely one day of the winter’s cold. His mercies are extended to us at the beginning of each new day, not holding any repented failures to our charge. His grace is before us enabling us to walk down a different path. We learn that Jesus is committed in showing us the way to the Father. Therefore if we are to learn any truth, it must come through fully following Him. We grow in our appreciation and gratitude for all has done for us. We could have died confused not knowing what to do or where to go. We were pulled out of the quicksand of yesterday and placed on solid ground of today. We are on an even footing and enabled to see where we may have made a wrong turn. Now that we know better our response to all that has been done for us is to be faithful to Him and not to place our trust in any other.

Meditation: October 23

“Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” (34) Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God….” 1 Corinthians 15:33-34

The company of the deceived is hard to penetrate. There is strength in numbers among them. Even God had to come down and confound the language of those who would have built a tower that would reach the heavens. They would have made a name for themselves and stood in competition with God Himself. The company that is evil influences the behavior of those who gather together. Only the pursuit for righteousness will awaken them from the daze and cause them to be aware of what has taken control of their lives.

The wisdom of God shouts in order to draw their attention away from the path that leads to destruction and death. The warnings are for their good. But the loss of familiar companions often arrests their reasoning and they continue on the track leading to hell. Be not deceived. There is a way that leads to death, but God wills us to learn and live.

Meditation: October 22

“If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,” Psalm 124:1

The possibilities of failure and calamities would have been overwhelming if things had been different. God chose Israel, for no other reason than His love being bestowed upon her. She was protected from dangers and blessed to prosper. The Lord had favored her thus stood in opposition to her enemies. Yet her worshipful response to God’s favor was expected. God, who blesses deserves to be blessed. When He is acknowledged as the Source of every good and perfect gift, He reveals more of Himself and His purposes to us. Even though the tide may swell and the rivers may rise with their tumultuous currents, yet they will not overrun their borders. He regulates the degrees of testing allowed to cross our path, Instead of being used to destroy us, they are measured and their pressures can only prove what He has established within us. We have received from Him the grace to withstand all the fiery darts of the wicked. It is His strength within us that sustains us along the way. He is on our side. Not only that, He is with us and in us and will never leave us alone.

Meditation: October 14

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32

The truth liberates us from the slavery of error. When we are deceived, we end up serving whatever lie we have embraced. But the truth liberates us from the manacles and shackles that would have forced us into conformity to the dictates of the world. It is the wisdom that cries out in the chief concourses, at the opening of the gates of the city, speaking her words. It contradicts the wisdom of this world because it came from above and descends from on High. It is the road less traveled and the narrow path often ignored by those who think they can find the way without godly instructions. Those who have found truth must continue in its ways. Any detour is a retreat backwards to the fears which once plagued the soul. This is the only path that leads away from all things which work against us because it leads to both life and love. There is a sense of certainty about truth. Even when we are led through the valley of the shadow of death, we remain bold. The reason being, Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life leading us to the Father.