Category: Daily Devotionals

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

2 Timothy 4:6-8 "For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith…"

It had been a richly lived life of dedicated service to his Lord. Paul was a classic example of what it means to be totally sold out to a cause, the cause of the Lord. As an old man in chains for the gospel, he knew his time of death was close, and was ready for it. His readiness for departure is contained in the statement; “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

We can only be ready to sign out when we have done what we were assigned to do. Everyone is born to accomplish particular tasks in life. There is a race marked out for each one of us. There are battles to fight to keep the faith till the end. Some derail, others get distracted, lose the faith. Amidst extremes of life trials, Paul ran his race faithfully. The Lord Jesus too faithfully ran the race, fought the good fight and kept the faith. We have the same calling.

All life is a preparation for death and the after life. How we live affects how we end. Everything we do prepares us in a good or bad way for what lies ahead of us. Those who will be well received and rejoice for eternity, are those who choose to live their lives for their Creator. Those who prepare badly are investing their lives in the temporary pleasures of sin. How are you personally preparing? I pray you live with awareness that one day we shall depart from this life and face our Creator!

John 17:4 "I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do."

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Revelation 14:13 “Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.” – NIV

Those who die in the Lord are blessed as they rest from their labours. It is beautiful to know that all our labours in the Lord will be acknowledged and rewarded. As we give ourselves to His work, investing our time, energy and other resources, in joy, pain and tears, ridiculed and sometimes alone, let’s be encouraged that the God we faithfully serve knows it all. Blessed be His name.

Nothing we do in this life is wasted. It will come back hereafter. Our works of service follow. Judgement will proof this, as some works will be burnt, and others survive. Invest in others, keep doing what God called you to do. Be a faithful servant and steward of what is entrusted to you. Forget the deceptions of this temporary and fleeting funfare of life. The real deal is in what we do for God’s glory while on earth.

Death is not the end. It is a gateway to our eternal inheritance reserved in heaven for the faithful. Paul and the heroes of faith knew this and eagerly looked forward to their crowns that never fade. Nothing compares to it as we leave a lasting legacy behind, and are recieved into our home in glory with a ‘Weldone, good and faithful servant’ welcome by our Master Himself. Then shall we know it was worth every effort and perseverance!

2 Timothy 4:8 “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

Revelation 21:3-5 “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” – NIV

These are very soothing words of encouragement especially in the world we live today. It is like the days of Noah where there was violence everywhere (Gen 6:5-12). People did whatever they wished, driven by their evil desires. John was shown how God, seated on His throne, will do away with the current order of things as corrupted by sin, and create a new order. He alone will preside over the new order as God. His dwelling will be with men.

The new order will have no devil or evil, responsible for all the pains, crying, mourning and death we experience in the world today. Everyday news has things that affect our joy, peace and comfort. We feel pain, cry, get troubled and vexed in our lives, especially those who seek truth, peace and righteousness. Violence is everywhere. The magnitude of evil is unprecedented! But all these will end.

In Christ we have this blessed hope. The present order of things in the world will not be so forever. We hold on, trusting God, doing good and battling the influence of evil till the time of renewal of all things at Christ’s coming. And from all indications, it won’t be long before this happens. His words are true and can be relied upon.

Even so, come Lord Jesus!

Revelation 22:10 “Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near.”

Shalom children of God

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Isaiah 55:6-7 “Seek the LORD while you can find him.  Call on him now while he is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the LORD that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.” – NLT

Many people tend to trivialize, postpone, ignore or reject certain actions and decisions with a feeling that there is still time. In the end, many opportunities are lost, remorseful regrets experienced later in life, and destinies affected, some of them eternally! This is true in every aspect of life, our relationship with God inclusive. Many along the way look back with much regret at lost chances. Worse still, will be the eternal regret for those who are now postponing, or ignoring their commitment to God!

God still pleads with us to seek Him while He can be found, to call on Him while He is near. This call will not be so forever. A time comes when it will not be possible to call or seek and find Him any more! Even those in God who keep disobeying or postponing what God tells them to do in His service, should rethink their ways. Hear what David said in Psalm 32:6 “… Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgement.” NLT

Apostle Paul wrote about the same; “As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it. For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 (ÑLT)

And Jesus, about the irresponsible unprepared virgins at His coming, had this to say; “… Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked.” (Matthew 25:10)

So, while there is still time and opportunity to give your life to Jesus, be reconciled, and start a relationship with God, and to serve Him, make use of it NOW. One day, it will not be there. It will be too late!

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Revelation 1:5 “… and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood…” – NIV

John introduces the message he got, and from Whom he got the revelation. He describes who Jesus is so as to give credibility and weight to His message. He also describes what Jesus has done to us, His love and freeing us from our sins by His blood. He made us into a kingdom of kings and priests to serve God. These are wonderful privileges that only God can give man by His grace!

Sin is the central reason behind all man’s problems, with Satan being the chief architect. Whatever men do to solve human problems without addressing sin yields little result. God gave us the solution to sin; the blood of Jesus shed on the cross for the forgiveness and cleansing of all sins. The remedy to sin is acknowledgment, confession and repentance. Then Jesus blood washes and frees the sinner from it.

Many attempts are made to deal with sin, such as doing good, justifying it, covering it up, running away, legalising it, etc. But only Jesus blood truly deals with sin. Come in humility and repentance before God, who is ever willing to help you, however entangled and low you have sunk in sin. Sin enslaves, but Jesus sets free indeed!

1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

1 Peter 1:18-19 “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”

Shalom children of God

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

2 Timothy 4:2-4 "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-- with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." - NIV

Paul, an old man and prisoner for the gospel, is soon dying. These words are among his last to his son Timothy. He charged him to preach the WORD in all seasons, using it to correct, rebuke and encourage. He prophetically sees a time in which men will not endure sound doctrine of the word, but will gather for themselves teachers who will tell them what their itching ears want to hear and not what they need to hear. Such is the way out of the truth into error. All such actions are driven by their own desires, no longer seeking the will of God even though they use His name.

How true this is in our day! To many professing God’s name, the issue is no longer about what the truth of God’s word is, but what they can get out of it to suit their desires. The gathering of teachers follows what they want to hear. And the teachers also know what their listeners want to hear, and will give it, to their gain. This has led to gross misappropriation of God’s word to portray what it was never meant to mean. Unfortunately, Scripture is used to justify anything ill intentioned false gospel ministers want to give their eager listeners!

The purpose of sound doctrine is to keep us on track in God, transforming us into Christ’s image. It will rebuke and correct, directing us to the narrow, sometimes long path of God’s will. This will antagonize our pleasure seeking and easy life of the flesh. And Satan can’t fail to give those shortcuts to easy life, but at a cost to ones soul! It is incumbent upon each one who truly wants to live God’s way, to sieve what they hear, rightly preach and live by the word, sharp as it can be. Therein is our safety in these perilous times.

Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." - KJV

Everyone is a product of parenting, from a stable or broken family, single or double parenting. From birth, through the forzmative stages of child development upto one’s adulthood, alot is invested into a person. Whatever each one of us is; the way we behave, the values we hold, the attitudes we possess, are a reflection of parenting and family background.

Train a child to be whatever he ahould be. And that’s what they will be. If you don’t, some how someone somewhere will. And thats what they will be. This places immense undelegetable responsibility to parents for which they will account to God.

Training is teaching and modeling. A child’s mind is open from birth. It only takes in what the environment around feeds them with, the most important of which is family. That’s what informs their world view and eventually shapes their character, the way they see and do things. Children need more than material things. For holistic development, social, emotional, physical, cognitive, spiritual needs which eventually shape children’s character, have to be met too.

The importance attached to parenting is reducing, with the family institution under immense demonic attack. Many take it lightly, absent themselves, leave children to the media and whosoever, but blame them when they act weird. If you really care to secure the future of your children, you must, of necessity, spend quality time instilling and demonstrating right/godly values to them. You will one day be happy you did when the fruit of responsible godly citizens manifests.

"These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." Deuteronomy 6:6-7

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Luke 17:15-19 "One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” - NIV

They were ten lepers. They all cried out to Jesus to heal them as He passed between Samaria and Galilee. As they went to the priests to show themselves, they were all healed. The foreigner, a Samaritan who felt he didn’t deserve the healing from a Jewish Messiah, was so grateful. He returned to give thanks. Those who probably felt it was their ‘right’ to be healed by their fellow Jewish teacher simply continued their way.

When people feel entitled to certain things, they cease to be humble, and grateful. They will place demands, fight and arrogantly push their way. This was probably the attitude of the nine healed lepers. Their pride made them think returning thanks was stooping too low. Moses reminded the Israelites that the privileges they would enjoy in Canaan land was not that they were more righteous or favoured than the nations they displaced. Rather, it was entirely by God’s grace.

Nothing we could ever do makes us deserve God’s blessings because we were all sinners. Whatever He does for us is out of His grace and not an entitlement. We should ever be grateful. Even with privileged positions and possessions, let’s cease from arrogance and learn to appreciate God and those at our service. It’s all by God’s mercy and grace!

Deuteronomy 9:6-7 "Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people. Remember this and never forget how you aroused the anger of the Lord your God in the wilderness. From the day you left Egypt until you arrived here, you have been rebellious against the Lord."

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Proverbs 16:18 "Pride goes before destruction,  a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 11:2 "When pride comes, then comes disgrace,  but with humility comes wisdom." - NIV

Throughout the Bible, it is clear God hates pride. Pride originated from the devil. Solomon severally compared the downside of pride with the upside of humility. He observes that the sure way to a fall in any endeavour, destruction and disgrace in life, is through pride.

Do you see people pretending to be above everyone, arrogant because of their position and possessions? Are they despising and under looking others, full of themselves thinking they know it all as they praise and exalt themselves? They are surely on their way to disgrace and destruction.

Pride is a very deceptive weapon of the devil. It promises or assumes greatness. It places you up without a firm foundation beneath. It makes one feel independent of God or others. That is a lie. That’s why God hates pride, because it competes for His position. It is a question of time, and pride will surely disappoint and bring you down. Choose the way of humility as you honour God, love and respect others. Therein is glory.

DJames 4:6-7 "But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

Matthew 11:29 "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."

Shalom children of God.