Category: Daily Devotionals

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Isaiah 26:3 "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you." - NIV

We live in a troubled world. So much evil goes on bringing alot of harm, destruction, restlessness and uncertainty. All the efforts towards a peaceful world don’t seem to yield much fruit as they are soon broken and conflicts continue. Wars and crime continue leaving millions displaced, destitute and dead. Economies are struggling, millions are jobless. Is it possible to have peace in such times?

Isaiah declares that God will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfastly fixed on Him. The basis of the steadfastness is trust in God. As long as we trust the efforts of men to bring peace to the world, we shall be disappointed because they will fail. Man is limited. Amidst the turmoils, and troubles of this world, we can have peace that comes from our trust in God.

Trusting God is a choice to look beyond the present situation, to a God Who is greater than these things, and is in charge. In response to our faith in Him, He holds, protects and sustains us. We are then safe and secure in His mighty hand from the storms of life. We can rest on the blessed assurance that He is our defender and hiding place.

Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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."

John14:27 "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."

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Psalm 119:130 "The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple." - NIV
Psalms 119:130 "The explanation of your teachings gives light  and brings wisdom to the ignorant." - GNB

To some people, the Bible is a difficult outdated book out of touch with present realities. This is far from the truth. The word of God is living and relevant across all ages. All other sources of knowledge will require updating to merge the times. But God’s word is relevant and speaks to all times, all situations and all generations.

The psalmist in the longest chapter in the Bible, focused on the benefits of the word of God and his own commitment to it. In the verse above, he gives the secret to making the most of God’s word: revelation. It is through understanding that comes from revelation of God’s word that we gain enlightenment and wisdom for living.

Whenever we read it, let our prayer always be that the Holy Spirit unfolds the wisdom from God’s word and enable us understand and build our faith, and to know God better. Paul prayed so for the Ephesians. Short of this, the Bible will be very boring and seemingly a waste of time to read it. And yet to those who read with revelation, it is a treasure beyond measure!

Ephesians 1:16-18 "… I remember you in my prayers and ask the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, to give you the Spirit, who will make you wise and reveal God to you, so that you will know him. I ask that your minds may be opened to see his light, so that you will know what is the hope to which he has called you, how rich are the wonderful blessings he promises his people…"

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.

Colossians 2:2-3 "My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." - NIV

In Proverbs 8, Solomon states how wisdom was involved at creation, in bringing out all that we now see. John states in John 1:3 that it was through Christ that all things were made. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of wisdom and revelation (Eph 1:17) and was involved at creation. So the wisdom personified is Christ. Paul in the scripture above notes that in Christ dwells all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. In Him then, is all wisdom.

Several scientific discoveries have been made over the centuries by the knowledge and wisdom that God gives man. Alot of this has immensely benefited man. Some of it has been manipulated by the devil to cause harmful destruction to man and creation. Whatever the case, all this knowledge comes from Christ.

All godly wisdom can only be found in union with Christ. Those who reject Christ and the Holy Spirit reject wisdom and subject themselves to worldly demonic wisdom. We can benefit from this wisdom by dwelling in Him, rooted and established in the faith, walking in love and unity with each other. Unfortunately, the opposite is seen in much of today’s church which, despite having Christ, manifests alot of worldliness because the Spirit has been grieved away!

Colossians 2:10 "…and in Christ you have been brought to fullness…"

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Numbers 23:19 "God is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and then not fulfill?…" - NIV

Balak was desperate to have Balaam curse Israel. Balaam kept consulting God, thinking He could have a different message despite knowing His position on the matter. He had no choice but to declare what God said. God does not change His mind over His declared word. He is not on trial and error or guesswork in what He says and does. That’s characteristic of human beings. Once God has said it, that is it. He speaks and acts, promises and fulfills.

It is this quality of God that becomes a concrete stand for our trust in Him. Sometimes we are tempted to think God is not serious about what He says because we imagine Him acting like men. People speak and promise many things. But they may fail, genuinely out of human limitations or unfaithfulness in character. Not so with God. As long as a word went out of His mouth, you can completely rely on it.

The sole basis of our trust in God is His word, the recorded Scripture. It contains thousands of promises and commitments we can claim and trust God to fulfill, because He doesn’t change His mind. Friend, if there was that only reason to trust God, it is that His reputation of trust is built and eternally established. Get to the word of God and bring it back to Him. He never fails.

Hebrews 10:23 "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."

Malachi 3:6 “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed."

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Luke 8:25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.” - NIV

The disciples had been with Jesus for sometime. They heard His powerful teachings and saw the miracles. While in a boat, a fierce storm struck and they were in great danger as assessed by the experienced fishermen. Jesus was sleeping when they woke Him up to rescue them. He rebuked and calmed the storm. Amazed, they wondered what kind of man this was! His asked, “where is your faith?” He still asks it today.

Everyone has faith in someone or something. Human beings are faith creatures. They may doubt one thing, because they have faith in another. Our faith is either in God or something else. Faith in things and people have limitations. Experience, skill, connections, wealth, position and power that people trust, have their place, but limited. At some point, they fail. But faith in God with whom nothing is impossible, never fails.

Trials and crises reveal where one’s faith is. Many claim to trust God, but their true trust is in other things not entirely on God. Jesus taught that the foundation and object of faith should be in God alone. Elsewhere is sinking sand. The psalmist said some trust chariots and horses to win battles, but they are defeated. Despite your usual confessions, where truly is your faith?

Psalm 20:7-8 "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall,  but we rise up and stand firm."

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.

Proverbs 8:34-36 "Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For those who find me find life  and receive favor from the Lord. But those who fail to find me harm themselves; all who hate me love death.” - NIV

There are so many benefits of godly wisdom. They include safety from error, from wicked ways, bringing peace and a clear sense of direction in this life and eternal rest in the life to come. Solomon summarises these benefits in the scripture above. Happy are those who listen and seek for wisdom daily.

Those who find wisdom find life and favour with God. This is the climax of all our endeavors, to find life. And it is in wisdom. Those who don’t seek and don’t find godly wisdom harm themselves. They die and perish eternally for rejecting God. Why die of foolishness when God is more than willing to give you His wisdom liberally?

People will do everything in their means to seek for money and all it offers. But far greater than the nice things money and wealth, fame and pomp gives, are the benefits of wisdom. They truly satisfy beyond this life. In godly wisdom is life. If only men would realise this, they would seek for it and escape many temporary and deceptive traps of the devil. Find wisdom, find life!

Proverbs 8:12,14 “I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence;  I possess knowledge and discretion… Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have insight, I have power."

Shalom children of God