Category: Daily Devotionals

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

John 3:19-21 "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God." - NIV

John gives the reasons why men hide from the light, because they are aware of their evil deeds. Evil thrives in darkness. Truth thrives in the light. God is light, and in Him is no lies at all. Whoever comes to God walks in the light and in the truth. Those who refuse to come to God fear to expose their evil deeds because they want to continue in them.

Instead of run away from the light of God, we should come to Him Who has the ability to set us free from the trap of sin. Adam and Eve ran away from God to hide after they sinned. Sin drives away from God. And Satan likes that. But God calls us to come just as we are to Him, repenting and confessing our failures. He is committed to forgive and restore those who come to Himself.

Hiding from is futile because everything is laid bare before God. He sees it all. To Him, secrecy and thick darkness is like broad day light. And it is to Him that we shall account for all we did in this life. Come to Him as you are, in humility and repentance. He is merciful and gracious to set you free from the bondage of sin through Jesus Christ His Son.

Hebrews 4:13 "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Romans 8:13-16 "For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children."- NIV

Paul brought another aspect of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He helps us to subdue the flesh and put to death its misdeeds. After that, we are led by the Spirit and no longer by the bodily desires contrary to God’s ways. The Spirit also gives us the assurance that we are God’s children after one is born again. Because salvation is a spiritual matter, it can be difficult to understand it logically with the human mind just as Nichodemus was totally perplexed when Jesus told him to be born again. The Holy Spirit helps us to understand and actualize it.

The Holy Spirit enables our new birth into God’s kingdom and our adoption as sons of God. And if sons, we enjoy the liberty, authority and privileges of sonship. This includes the closeness with God whom we can now address as ‘Abba, Father.’ In Christ, God is our Father, and we have access to Him at any one time of day or night. We should have no more fear to approach God. He dearly loves us as His own. He invites us into His presence for communion without restrictions whatsoever. Hallelujah!

Sonship also entitles us to God’s blessings and inheritance as heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. In the same way, we are a reflection of our Father to the world. We carry His nature, manifest His character by the fruit of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and exercise His authority and power to execute His will and purposes on earth. These are the rights and privileges God Almighty has given those called by His name! What a wonder! What a mystery!

Matthew 6:9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…"

John 1:12 "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—"

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Daniel 3:15 "Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” - NIV

King Nebuchadnezzar was leading the greatest human kingdom that ever existed in the world. He was very proud of his achievements. Thinking he was above everyone including God, he ridiculed the three Hebrew men for trusting God to rescue them if they refused to worship his enormous golden statue. He was greatly mistaken as he saw God rescue these men from the furnace heated seven times in a manner he had never known.

Pharaoh of Egypt wielded so much power and was worshiped as a god. He thought the God Moses and Aaron told him about was like one of the other gods. And God proofed Himself as God above all. King Herod, in pride, did not give glory to God when people thought he spoke like a god. He was struck dead. Nebuchadnezzar learnt the very hard way when he was made to live and eat grass like an animal for seven years. Then He acknowledged the God of heaven, and that power belonged to Him.

Such is the deception of power in one’s hand. It makes the possessor think they are above all or can do anything by virtue of their positions. Let it be known to all that whatever power we hold was entrusted from the God Who is over and above all. But when men think they can use power to insult God Who gave it to them, they will be in for a rude shock. God has humbled such arrogance in the past, and will do it again.
Therefore, let all who hold it now, at whatever level, fear and honor God. All power belongs to Him ultimately.

Psalms 62:11-12 "More than once I have heard God say  that power belongs to him and that his love is constant. You yourself, O Lord, reward everyone according to his deeds."

Matthew 28:18 "Jesus drew near and said to them, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth."

Shalom children of God

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Numbers 6:24-26 "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." - NIV

This priestly mode of blessing God instructed Aaron to use while blessing Israel reveals God’s heart towards His people. He desires to bless and keep us. This speaks of having sufficiency and protection from all harm and alarm. He desires to make His face shine upon us. He wants us to reflect His glory and nature as His light shines in and through us.

He is gracious to us, bearing our weaknesses, restoring us to Himself. When His face is turned towards us, we obtain and walk in favour and things fall into place for us. And He wants to give us peace, first with Himself and then for us to be channels of His peace to our world.

Because God wanted this to happen for His people all the time, He instructed Aaron to bless them that way. He added,  “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.” (Vs. 27). As Aaron would pronounce this blessings, indeed the people would be blessed.

I pray this blessing be true to you and your loved ones, and in your various endeavors today and always.

The LORD bless you.

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Romans 8:37-39 "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." - NIV

Paul laboured to give proper context to the many things the enemy uses to attempt to separate us from God’s love. Some of these are extreme life situations of death and life, battles between good and evil. And some give up in battle and fall into temptation.

But key to walking in this victory over all power of the enemy, is a proper understanding of what God has already done. He loved us to the end, and didn’t spare His only Son from dying for us. In Christ, no one can condemn if He, the final Judge, has justified us. We are His beloved, valuable to Him. He overcame the devil and we too will overcome.

These are very strong foundations to enable us stand against any trial of faith. Paul the asks, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?”(V.35). And he answers, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us…”(V.37). He was then completely convinced that nothing would separate us from His love. This is the same view we ought to have in all these things that face us. We are victorious through Him Who loved.

Revelation 21:7 "Those who win the victory will receive this from me: I will be their God, and they will be my children."

Luke 10:19 "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you."

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

John 10:3-4 "The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice." - NIV

Jesus taught about being a good Shepherd. We are symbolically the sheep. Key among the qualities that make Him a good Shepherd to the sheep, is the sheep’s ability to listen to His voice and leading. The Shepherd calls each sheep by name and leads them out in safety and to find pasture. The sheep should follow, having listened to Him.

This figure of speech contains deep lessons for us. God speaks. He wants to speak to each one of us. He does this in several ways; through the written word, the ordinary life situations, or through other people. The challenge is that most people either don’t recognize His voice, ignore or outrightly disobey it. This explains why they mess up, follow the stranger and don’t benefit from the cousel and safety of the good Shepherd.

Hearing God requires a listening and obedient attitude. It also needs a willingness to follow wherever He may lead, trusting that He never misleads. In following His is safety, solid counsel, meeting of all our needs, and an assurance of walking in His will. Let’s train ourselves to listen to God speaking to us all the time. Anyone of us can hear Him. You too can hear Him. And He speaks peace.

Psalm 23:2-3 "He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake."

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Judges 16:28 "Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.” - NIV

Samson had been arrested in humiliation, his eyes gorged out. And now as a prisoner in the hands of his enemies, he was called to entertain them as they made fun and praised their gods. Samson’s uncontrolled lusts had driven him to painful shame. In that state, he asks the gracious Lord to remember him one more time and to strengthen him again. The Lord heard his cry and strengthened him. He had left Samson, but was gracious to him again.

What do you do when you have made mistakes and messed yourself up? The best is to come back to God just as you are. He promises to forgive, restore, heal and bind up the wounds. He does not cease to be compassionate to us. He longs to bring us back to Himself. He is God of another chance, except that some don’t use those chances to return. David sinned and returned in repentance. Peter betrayed his Lord and he was restored.

If you are in that messed up state, call on God as Samson did. Come to Him with a humble broken and repentant heart. His blood is sufficient to wash away any filth. His heart longs for you again as the heart of the prodigal son’s father longed for his lost son. His anger doesn’t last forever, but His mercies do. Come as you are before your loving Father. Once more He will recieve and heal you. Do not write yourself off. There is still room in His heart for you.

Psalms 51:17 "My sacrifice is a humble spirit, O God; you will not reject a humble and repentant heart." - GNB

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

1 John 4:20-21 "If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister."

Apostle John’s main theme of his writings was love, for God and for others. God is love. Our relationship with Him and with others should therefore be defined by love.
It’s only love that proves whether we are truly in Him or not, whatever our other claims. Love is a command, not an option.

We see many today who claim to love God and hate people. It is true there are very difficult people to live with. God too sees His rebellious people, some of whom have expressed their hate, cursing Him and are serving Satan. They are enemies of God, but He still loves them! God’s love is unconditional and can only be practiced with the help of the Holy Spirit. In our human abilities, we cannot love everyone as God wants us to.

In practicing God’s love, we fulfill all His commandments. Let’s humbly submit to Him, and out of the working of the Holy Spirit in us, we shall bear love as a fruit. And we shall be able to love others as God loves them, despite all differences and weaknesses. Then shall we truly be children of God our Father.

Matthew 5:44-45 "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

1 Tim 2:3-4 "This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."

Apostle Paul was encouraging prayer for all people, including those in leadership so that we live peaceful and quiet lives which happened when leaders fear God. He then brings out God’s will and desire for the salvation of all men, and to come to the knowledge of the truth through Jesus Christ.

Whatever we do and live for in this life, God desires that we are all saved from our sins, to know Jesus our Saviour and to live life guided by this knowledge. He created us for Himself to serve His purposes. Our lives can only become worthwhile if we come to the knowledge of this truth. Jesus is the truth.

Let’s also make it a point to pray for all people to come to this knowledge through personal relationship with Jesus, resisting the forces of Satan which hinder people from coming to God. This prayer pleases God our Saviour. He calls all people to come to Him and to abandon their evil ways.

Isaiah 55:7 "Let the wicked forsake their ways  and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon."

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Hebrews 10:35-36 "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised." - NIV

The writer relates the trials of the faith that those in Christ undergo. They suffered, were publicly insulted, persecuted, imprisoned and willingly gave up their possessions and their lives for what they confidently believed. They knew they had lasting possessions in God that far surpassed the temporary things of this life.

We were never promised a smooth ride in the journey of faith, and indeed in all life endeavors. But we were assured of victory(John 16:33). Perseverance involves patience and endurance in the face of pain, delays and seeming uncertainty. It takes a decision to remain steadfast. The knowledge of Whom and what we have believed, gives us confidence to continue moving amidst opposition, pain and tears.

The promised reward is given to those who endure to the end. Many give up along the way and look for an easy way out. But just as all those who went ahead of us in this journey endured and recieved their crowns, so can we. Cheer up precious child of God. Hang in there, doing God’s will. You will overcome and eventually inherit the promise.

Matthew 24:12-13 "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved."

Revelation 2:10b "…Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life."

Shalom children of God.