Category: Daily Devotionals

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

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Acts 13:36 “For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed.” – NIV

Every human being is born into a specific generation by God’s design and purpose. No one is an accident in this world. You are in this generation for a specific God ordained purpose. David, the great king in Israel, recognised the will of God and served it in his generation. After completing it well, he died a satisfied man.

It’s fundamental, dear friends, that we ask ourselves, and God our creator, what we are here for. And when we know it, to serve with our whole being. It’s all that matters.
Sadly, many have no idea what they live for in this world. Many live by the forces in their environment, without a clear unmistakable personal assignment from their creator God.

The realisation and pursuit of our divine purpose will guarantee a fully satisfying end to this brief life, and will continue into a blissful eternity. Many will look back at the end of this life at the lost opportunities to do what they were actually created to do, and what really matters. But unfortunately too late! They were probably ignorant of it, or were taken by the popular opinion, pleasure, or blatant disobedience to God’s will for them. I pray you will not be one of them. Seek His will for you. What your Creator made you for is all that matters at the end.

Jeremiah 1:4-5 “The word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

John 14:16-18 “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

As Jesus continued to reassure His troubled disciples, He promised to ask the Father to give another advocate, the comforter, the Holy Spirit. He would help and be with them the same way Jesus had been doing. The disciples felt like orphans, left and unattended to by the physical departure of Jesus. They imagined the loneliness, the vulnerability from suffering and attacks of their enemies.

Fear, loneliness, rejection, vulnerability and feelings of abandonment affect us similarly today. Our hearts get broken by various situations of life. We hurt and go through pain. All such situations make our hearts cry out for the warmth of comfort and support. The ministry of the Holy Spirit extends to cater for our comfort needs today. There is so much this world throws at us. Jesus said we would face trouble in the world (John 16:33).

The Holy Spirit presence in every believer gives the comfort that cushions us from the devastating effects of the stresses and challenges of life. He is present all the time with us. He wants to commune with us, assure us God’s care, presence, protection and provision. This is what peacefully settles our hearts despite the storms and troubles of life. Trust Him always. He is present with you.

Matthew 28:20 “…And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

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John 17:4-5 “I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” – NIV

Jesus is making His last prayer before departure from earth. He now looks back at His work and reports to the Father Who sent Him that the work was done. He narrates how He did it, and what He desired the disciples to do to carry on the work He left them with. He extends that prayer beyond the disciples at that time to His follows for all generations to come to date.

Jesus prayed to be glorified. Glorification only and rightly comes after the assignment is well done. No winner or victor is crowned before running and winning the race, or before the battle is won. And the winners should have run the race according to the rules. For every overcomer and faithful servant who executes the tasks assigned by their Master, there awaits a crowning ceremony, a glorification from God Almighty that cannot be equalled with the grandest worldly ceremony!

Such is the joy of living out your purpose. It brings out a satisfaction that no other achievement can bring in a person’s life. One day, all our lives will come to an end in this earthly journey. Then we shall transition into the other side of eternity. And without doubt, we shall look back at what we lived for and what we achieved. I pray you will say like Jesus, that you fulfilled and finished the work God your Creator gave you to do in the world. Live for God! Paul did so and died a satisfied man!

2 Timothy 4:7-8 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Romans 8:26-27 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” – NIV

A key part of the helping ministry of the Holy Spirit is in the area of prayer. Paul notes that we are weak and do not know how to pray as we ought to. For prayer to be answered, one of its requirements is that it is offered according to God’s will. Sometimes we do not know the will of God in the things we are praying for. But by the help of the Spirit, we are guided to pray according to what is in the mind of God.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He knows what is in the heart and mind of God. He also knows us fully, our shortcomings and limitations. In His helping and intercessory role, He bridges that gap so that we are in true communion with God. Our prayers will not be vain repetitions and recitations without power. They will be spot on as we pray for ourselves and others. In this way, we shall always be in God’s will. He makes prayer a lively living communion with God.

The Holy Spirit, knowing the burdens in God’s heart which requires intercession, carries the same to our hearts. Then our hearts carry the burdens of God through deep prayer enabled by the Spirit. Recall Jesus’ burdened intercession in the garden of Gethsemane. There was such travails of the soul that almost tore his body. Such are groans of Spirit led prayer that saves multitudes and promotes God’s kingdom. Will you similarly allow the Holy Spirit help in your weakness in prayer? Out of such submission will result prayers that change lives and transforms the world.

1 John 5:14-15 “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”

Shalom children of God.

The intercessory ministry of the Holy Spirit (23/2/2022)

Romans 8:26-27 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” – NIV

A key part of the helping ministry of the Holy Spirit is in the area of prayer. Paul notes that we are weak and do not know how to pray as we ought to. For prayer to be answered, one of its requirements is that it is offered according to God’s will. Sometimes we do not know the will of God in the things we are praying for. But by the help of the Spirit, we are guided to pray according to what is in the mind of God.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He knows what is in the heart and mind of God. He also knows us fully, our shortcomings and limitations. In His helping and intercessory role, He bridges that gap so that we are in true communion with God. Our prayers will not be vain repetitions and recitations without power. They will be spot on as we pray for ourselves and others. In this way, we shall always be in God’s will. He makes prayer a lively living communion with God.

The Holy Spirit, knowing the burdens in God’s heart which requires intercession, carries the same to our hearts. Then our hearts carry the burdens of God through deep prayer enabled by the Spirit. Recall Jesus’ burdened intercession in the garden of Gethsemane. There was such travails of the soul that almost tore his body. Such are groans of Spirit led prayer that saves multitudes and promotes God’s kingdom. Will you similarly allow the Holy Spirit help in your weakness in prayer? Out of such submission will result prayers that change lives and transforms the world.

1 John 5:14-15 “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

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Philippians 1:15-18 “It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.”

Paul was in prison because of the gospel of Christ. This stired up some more preachers, some out of good will to genuinely propagate the gospel. Others who hated Paul used it as an opportunity to promote their selfish ambitions and to add more sorrow to him in prison. To both approaches, Paul was grateful that Christ was preached all the same.

The gospel is always good news about Jesus saving the lost and giving man a living hope in God. The insincere and selfish preacher uses the gospel and the pulpit to settle personal scores, promote selfish ambitions, fight others as it happened in Paul’s day. This is unfortunate and yet real. So much of what goes as preaching the gospel has behind it competition with others, rebellion and breakaways, fighting for fame and supremacy or making names and building territories. These are wrong attitudes.

The key to the right attitude to preaching Christ is love. Whatever is outside a genuine concern to see people turn to God and experience His goodness is a wrong attitude. Paul said God’s love compels him to preach. He taught that without love, all our efforts and activities are worthless. May God help us make love the only reason to minister to others whatever the circumstances.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”

Shalom children of God

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

John 14:24-26 “Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” – NIV

Jesus was teaching as instructed by the Father. He said every word He spoke was from the Father, and were not His own. As He physically went away, this teaching role would continue among the disciples, but through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would teach them everything they needed to know and also remind them of what Jesus had said. There would be no contradiction.

Everything the Spirit teaches is the truth, because He is the Spirit of truth. Being the Spirit behind the writing of the Scriptures, He will never contradict nor falsely distort the written Word. That’s the standard as to whether any teaching is from God or not, and which spirit is behind it. All falsehoods, including false christs, are propagated by counterfeit spirits which are to be discerned and accordingly rejected. Their aim is to divert people from truth to lies.

The Holy Spirit teaches through the scriptures rightly interpreted and applied by those He gifted to teach. We need to sit under such people, but with the Berean attitude of always checking whether what they say is from the scriptures or not (Acts 17:11) regardless whom we hear them from. This requires that one is personally engaged in study as they sit under others as well. So much goes on in the name of God, and yet not from Him!

1 John 4:1 “My dear friends, do not believe all who claim to have the Spirit, but test them to find out if the spirit they have comes from God. For many false prophets have gone out everywhere.” GNB

Shalom children of God.