Category: Daily Devotionals

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Joshua 5:13-14 "Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?" - NIV

Joshua had taken over leadership from Moses. They were now ready to conquer and enter the promised land. The Lord had assured them of victory IF they remained obedient to Him. They were now set for the very first attack on the city of Jericho. And a man with a drawn sword, ready to fight, appeared before Joshua. When joshua asked this unfamiliar person to identify himself and show which side he belonged, the answer was very revealing.

This was an angel of God. Israel’s battle was God’s battle. The land they were to enter was promised by God hundreds of years ago. Why then would God’s angel, who had come to fight on their behalf, give a neutral answer to Joshua? How could God be neither for them nor for their enemies? This reveals one of His attributes: He is a God of principle. Much as He promised and led them to inherit the land, if they didn’t fulfill His conditions, He would NOT be on their side. This was to be true for Israel many years later.

Many want God to be on their side, but they are not on God’s side, living in obedience. Achan took the forbidden items and Israel lost the battle. Over and over again, because of their disobedience, God left Israel to their enemies. God is obligated to defend us when we are walking in His ways. To cover up evil, live in disobedience and blanketly expect God to always be on your side, is to put Him into temptation. God cannot be mocked or hoodwinked into doing whatever we want Him to do regardless of how we are living before Him!

Isaiah 1:19-20 "If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Galatians 6:7 "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows."

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Luke 6:46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?

Sharp words of rebuke! It was after the long sermon on the mountain that Jesus spoke these words. So many had heard His word. Some acknowledged Him as Lord. But they didn’t do what He taught them. They continued living in disobedience and their self styled godliness.

Today, so many outwardly claim to be His followers, go to church, participate in ministry, pray, worship and call on His name. But the fruit of their lives shows that Jesus is not truly Lord in their lives. They practice their faith on their terms and conditions, not as the Master Jesus taught. Jesus rebuked the Laodicean church for setting their own standard in the faith. They had locked the Jesus they claimed to serve outside, and He was knocking the door to come in (Rev 3:20).

Friends, let’s watch our ways. We live and are guided by the word of God, not our own ways. People have created their own doctrines, including demonic false teachings and use them to define their stand with God. Jesus expects that those who call Him Lord, Lord should do what He says. That will be the standard of judgement when we appear before Him.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’" Matthew 7:21-23

Shalom children of God

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Acts 10:38 "…how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him."

Peter in Cornelius house narrates, as a witness, the things Jesus did. The secret to all the good He did was God being with Him. God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and power. As a result, He did good wherever He went, delivering all the people He met who were under demonic oppression. He brought life.

Whoever comes in God’s name, full of His Spirit and power, should similarly do good wherever they go. They should be a source of peace, joy, harmony and not confusion, manipulation and fights. God brings salvation, healing and deliverance to the sick and oppressed. The world is full of people who need this, and God desires to meet those needs through people walking with Him.

God is committed to be with those He sends. If those who come and go in His name have similar motives and intentions with God, they will do good wherever they are through the anointing and power of the Spirit. They are a blessing. If not,they promote their own agendas which are harmful to the cause of the gospel. Which one are you?

Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Shalom children of God

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

1 Kings 11:12-13 "Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen." - NIV

Solomon had fallen into disobedience to God and broken the covenant God made with his father David. God was displeased and threatened to tear the kingdom into two in punishment. But He said it would not happen in his time. The magnitude of Solomon’s sin, which followed with the other kings, warranted complete cut off of the kingdom from him and David’s line. But two factors made God to relent from doing so.

God had made a covenant and vowed to David that his house would not miss a king – upto Christ. God cannot break His sworn covenant. Likewise, the life of David so impressed and moved God that for his sake, God wouldn’t release His full wrath on Israel. David was a man after God’s heart. He became a reference point of comparison for all other kings who came after him. In the two verses above, and other portions of scripture, God talked about him.

Such are the men and women who live lives that move God so much so that for their sake and intercessory intervention, God will relent from doing, or actually do certain things. They are His true servants after God’s heart, who shape destinies of individuals and nations of people. They move heaven and shake hell. They carry the authority of God and are the reason certain things happen. Anyone of us can develop our relationship with God to such levels. I pray you become one such person!

Exodus 33:17 "And the LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name."

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Psalm 19:14 "May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart  be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."

To meditate is to deeply think through something to gain further understanding and to make it part of you. David thought about how the creation speaks about God. He meditated about the word of God. As he pondered over these things, his prayer was that whatever he meditated upon, and spoke, would be pleasing to God.

Everyone is always thinking about something. These could be great progressive ideas, or horrible unhealthy, evil and destructive thoughts. What people eventually speak comes from the meditations in the heart. Watch the kind of thoughts going on in your mind. We can sieve and accept or reject them.

Fill your mind with the word of God and meditate on that. It contains thoughts for every aspect of life. It will make you think what pleases God and progressive to yourself. Ultimately, consciously or not, you not only speak, but become what you meditate upon in your life.

Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

Shalom children of God

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

The disciples were troubled that their Master was going away. Jesus spent much time to encourage them. He promised them peace. He differentiated between His kind of peace and that of the world. Once they had His kind of peace, their hearts would be settled without fear regardless of what they would face.

Worldly peace is based on external factors such as absence of trouble, possession of things to meet ones needs, and when everything seems to be fine. Jesus’ kind of peace is primarily internal and is based on our relationship with Him. It is not determined by what happens in the external environment, good or bad. You are settled within without fear. This peace is more sustainable than worldly peace.

Peace is one of the greatest human needs. Without it, everything falls apart. Whatever else you have, without peace of mind, you never enjoy. In our troubled world where so much is going wrong everywhere every time, we need God’s kind of peace. The peace the world promises is temporary and unreliable. We can all have this peace every moment of our lives through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Shalom children of God

Be still and know that I am God!

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Exodus 14:13-14 "Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Pharaoh and his army were furiously following them. The Red Sea was before them. They were scared to death and cried out to Moses who led them out of Egypt. Moses tells them to be calm and not be afraid, because God would fight for them. The same God Who had rescued them, with all the wonders they saw, was still with them and would fight for them. And He did.

Holding one’s peace amidst serious challenges of life is no easy task. That’s the time emotions have risen and hearts are troubled. And yet it is in being calm that we see God act on our behalf. Jesus told Jairus whose daughter was dead, to be calm. He told Mary and Martha to have their peace about their brother who was dead and buried! And they saw Jesus perform the miracles.

As long as we are with Jesus in the boat, however furious the storms of life are, they will be stilled. We only need to keep our faith and peace steadfast in Him Who controls the storm. Satan’s aim is to destabilize us, we doubt and the shield of faith is displaced. Then all his arrows get into us. That’s why people act weird when emotionally unstable, because Satan takes advantage. Ask God for His peace when faced with storms of life. As you watch Him act.

Luke 8:49-50 "While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.” Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”

Psalm 46:10 "He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Shalom children of God

Casting your cares upon the Lord

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

1 Peter 5:7 "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

The cares of this life is the major reason for worry to many. As we seek to meet daily demands of life, solve problems and resist enemy forces, some encounters take away peace. But God doesn’t want us to carry these alone. He calls us to bring our cares to Him and He will lift them off us.

Jesus told us not to worry about what to eat or drink or put on. This doesn’t take away our responsibility to work and seek out these things. But we are to do so while trusting in Him. He has committed himself to hear our prayers and care for our needs. There is nothing we gain by unnecessarily worrying over things beyond our ability and control. Cast them to Him.

Whereas we need to think ahead and plan for our lives, we need to watch out that it doesn’t take away our peace for daily living and make us unfruitful. We may not have everything we need yet, but we should be grateful for what we have now as we look for more. A life of appreciation and contentment gives peace.

1 Timothy 6:6-8 "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that."

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Shalom children of God

Standing on His sure promises!

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Hebrews 13:5-6 "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you;  never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

A promise is a commitment for the future. It’s credibility is only as good as the credibility of the promise maker. The scripture above highlights one of the thousands of God’s promises. He has given us assurance that He will never leave nor forsake us. That’s awesome! He is our present helper in times of need, protector from the evil schemes of the devil through men. He is also committed to meet all our needs according to His riches in glory.

God Who made these promises recorded in Scriptures is faithful to fulfill what He committed Himself to do. Better still, the promises cover every area of life we may have need. He wouldn’t have spoken them out if He didn’t intend to fulfill them. So we can rely on them. Search out His promises and bring them back to Him with confidence, that He will fulfill them. Glory be to God!

Friends, the sure promises of God should settle our hearts at peace with Him. He promised them, so we can confidently say He will help us. And that’s all that matters as we go through the mountains and valleys of life, the certain and uncertain, the straight and unclear. Whatever life may throw at us, our hearts will rest in Him, knowing that He Who promised will not fail those who trust in Him. Hallelujah!

1 Thessalonians 5:24 "The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it."

Numbers 23:19 "God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?"

Shalom children of God

In the counsel of others

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Proverbs 15:22 "Plans fail for lack of counsel,  but with many advisers they succeed."

Counsel is advise one recieves in situations where they lack information or guidance. It is an acknowledgement that we are limited in understanding, knowledge and ability. Such limitations sometimes leave us confused, stuck and without peace.

God created us for each other. None of us knows it all alone. God uses other people to speak to our situations and to settle our hearts in Him. But not everyone speaks what comforts and encourages. Some are used by the devil to mislead and instead take away our peace. We have to discern this and avoid it.

One of the strategies of the devil to defeat us is isolation. While alone, he takes advantage to strike with rejection, hopelessness and other evil thoughts and plans. It is deception to think you can survive alone. God said it is not good for man to be alone and He made Eve for Adam. You need the counsel and presence of others to be at peace.

Matthew 26:38 "Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
Mark 3:14 "He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach…"

Shalom children of God