Category: Daily Devotionals

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Revelation 2:3-5 "You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place."

The church at Ephesus had endured alot for the Lord and not grown weary. They didn’t give up the faith. While persevering in hardships, working hard, resisting false apostles, they lost their first love for God. For forsaking their first love for God, they had fallen, although within the faith. They no longer did what they did at first out of love for the Lord. They were now in a form of religious routine out of duty, but without intimate relationship with God.

How true this is for many a professing believer in God! First love is marked by genuine, pure trust, commitment and unreserved loyalty to God. Lose of it makes service and commitment to God a routine burden out of duty with no joy of salvation. Your body is present, does what you do, but the heart isn’t in it any more. Soon people strive, fight, compete, compromise and lose track.

Jesus took this fall seriously and challenged them to consider how far they had fallen, to repent and do what they did at first. God appreciates what we do for Him, but wants it done out of first love. How is your devotion to God now as compared to the past? Would He challenge you as He did the Ephesus church? Repent and get back to it. This was the very reason God rebuked Israel.

Isaiah 29:13 "The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me  is based on merely human rules they have been taught."

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Luke 12:1-3 "Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs." - NIV

Jesus had just severely rebuked the Pharisees for their religious hypocrisy. So much of what they did was for a physical show of piety but inside their hearts was a different story. So much was done under the cover of the law, their religious beliefs and traditions. But Jesus saw their true motives. They even plotted to kill Him contrary to the law they claimed to uphold. All of it would be revealed for what it really was; pretense and lies.

Hypocrisy is pretense, hiding true motives and presenting something else. People do so much pretending to be honest and committed to what is true right and just, but deep within carry totally different and evil intentions. The talk in secret is different from what they show publicly. Jesus said all these will be revealed. Hypocrisy is not sustainable. The danger with it is that it brings much shame at the end when its coverings give way. It is deceptive, hollow and leaves those who love it hanging.

We may cover up things, lie and succeed with people. But God Who sees all that people think, plan, say and do, in secret and in the open knows the truth even if we use His name to make it appear sacred. He calls us to walk in truth, love, honesty and in the light with each other. We are warned to be aware and to avoid the yeast of the Pharisees, hypocrisy, which defiles our true relationship with God. That’s double dealing with God and Satan.

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

1 Kings 19:3-5 "Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”" - NIV

It was evident that Elijah was very tired physically and emotionally unstable at this time. The activities at Mount Carmel, the process of killing the false prophets, the prayer time for rain were all exhausting. And the running from Mt Carmel to Jezreel, then from Jezreel to Beersheba, a distance of more than 100 miles, totally wore him out. He was scared, tired and hungry too. And he slept. That’s why the angel first gave him food.

A combination of these factors distablizes thinking, makes one lose hope, and makes life lose meaning. The prayer he made indicated the state he was in. Many times we are so preoccupied with the businesses of life and God that we forget or trivialize our physical wellbeing. When emotional challenges find a tired, worn out body and mind, it can be disastrous both to the person and those around them. It’s one reason for emotional outbursts and irrational decisions people, including those least expected, make.

Jesus cared for the physical wellbeing of His disciples. When they returned from a successful mission, He took them somewhere by themselves to find rest and eat something. He himself slept in a boat despite a storm at sea because He was tired. It’s the reason God instituted the Sabbath as a commandment. However anointed, busy and talented we may be, there is need to rest our bodies and souls. Without which, we shall break down and become ineffective in service, unhelpful to our loved ones and susceptible to opportunistic demonic spirits.

Mark 6:30-32 "The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place."

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Revelation 2:9 "I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan." - NIV

The church in Smyrna was commended for enduring much afflictions, especially from those who claimed to be Jews in religion, but were a synagogue of Satan. They were yet to suffer more as some would be imprisoned. Materially and outwardly, they were poor. But Jesus noted and informed them that they were actually rich. Can one be poor and yet rich, or rich and yet poor? It means there is unseen riches or poverty that is not measured by material physical standards.

The riches they had was in their relationship with God. This church was not corrected for any particular shortfall. It means they were found faithful to God. They were therefore rich with God though outwardly poor. In Jesus’ eye, they were rich. Some in our day are in this state, but with a beautiful love for God. And some are materially wealthy and yet poor. This is not to justify material poverty but to put it in right perspective.

True satisfying riches that lasts into eternity is in one’s relationship with God. Material wealth is good, and has its place and purpose. But it is temporary and doesn’t meet the deepest longings of a human soul for joy and peace. As we seek for these things, let’s be aware of their limitations. But for the welfare and peace of our souls now and into eternity, let’s invest in building our relationship with God. For this, we can be sure of everlasting rest. That’s true riches friends.

Luke 12:21 “…This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Philippians 3:7 "But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ."

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Ezekiel 3:3-4 "Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them."- NIV

This was at the call of prophet Ezekiel while the Jews were in exile in Babylon. They were stubborn and rebellious. Prophet Ezekiel was to go and speak God’s word to a people who would or would not listen. But he had to first be filled with words from God. Symbolically, God gave him a scroll full of His word to eat and fill his stomach with it. When full of His word, Ezekiel was commissioned to “go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them.”

Such a charge was not only to Ezekiel, but to everyone with the responsibility and call to speak God’s word to others. We must, of necessity, eat and be full of God’s word. And out of the fulness thereof, to speak forth. Whatever fills a person is what comes out in their speech. Some do not have His word or not full of it and yet speak. This partly explains rampant distortion of God’s word, bringing much disrepute. They don’t give the full counsel of God to their hearers. The content of their message is not purely God’s, but mixed with their own and even demonic teachings!

Critical to being filled with the word, is to eat it. This means deliberately and regularly spending quality time in the word, allowing it room in your heart to transform your life, and obeying it. Out of the depth of this transformation, what you deliver to others will not be hearsay, but from first hand experience. I pray every minister of the word of God takes this counsel to heart as Paul carefully did. Hear him:

Acts 20:27 "For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God."

1 Timothy 4:16 "Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers."

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

1 Kings 19:3-4 "Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” - NIV

Elijah ran with his servant upto Beersheba. He left him there and went alone a day’s journey into the wilderness. As he sat under that tree and prayed to die, he was alone, tired, hungry and probably angry with life. If he had someone besides him, he would have got encouragement and not seek death. David was in a similar predicament when king saul sought after his life. But he managed partly because he had good company. None of us can manage life alone, however gifted or endowed. We always need others.

Being alone gives the devil good opportunity to sow all kinds of bad thoughts in our minds. Especially when exhausted and troubled, our minds are susceptible to hopelessness, doubt and despair from the devil. Jesus needed prayer and moral support in His toughest moment in Gethsemane. He asked the disciples to stand with Him. There is a time to be alone for meditation, but not when being alone will drive you further away from God and destroy your life.

Life loses meaning especially in loneliness and isolation. One of the key strategies of the enemy is to isolate and hit hard. God created us to belong to one another. No one stands or succeeds alone. We all need a shoulder to lean on in our toughest and lowest moments. Deliberately belong to a group, a fellowship of well meaning people. It lightens burdens and makes life worth living. The wise man had this very suitable counsel:

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."(Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)

Shalom children of God.

The call to be faithful to the end!

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Revelation 2:10 "Don't be afraid of anything you are about to suffer. Listen! The Devil will put you to the test by having some of you thrown into prison, and your troubles will last ten days. Be faithful to me, even if it means death, and I will give you life as your prize of victory." - GNB

The Smyrna church was going to face many challenges. Some would be imprisoned and severely tested for their faith. Because of this, some of them would be tempted to give up their faith. But Jesus told them to remain faithful even if it meant dying for what they believed. They were not to be afraid because the One Whom they trusted already knew and had everything under control. The crown of life, the prize of victory, was promised to those who would hold on to the end.

Across the world, many face severe trials for their faith in the Lord in various ways. The forces of Satan are out to use every and any means to make the disciples fail and cease to be faithful to God. To such, and those yet to be tried, the call from the Lord is to be faithful to the end. Paul and Barnabas in Iconium, Lystra and Antioch encouraged the disciples to be faithful saying, “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22).

The Lord promised to be with us when we go through the waters, the fire, valleys and thickets. Jesus taught that storms will come, and we shall be tested. But with the right foundation of our faith in the Rock of of salvation, Jesus Christ, we can be sure to stand till the end. He has no pleasure in those who fall along the way and turn back. The grace to sustain us in this journey to the end with perseverance is fully sufficient. Let’s hang in there even if strength seems little.

Revelation 3:8,10 "… I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name…Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth."

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Luke 10:41-42 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” - NIV

Jesus had visited Mary and Martha. Martha was very busy with preparations and got distracted from listening to Jesus. Mary sat and listened to Him. When she got troubled that her sister wasn’t helping, Martha complained to Jesus. Martha got busy and entangled with many things, which worried and upset her. Jesus’ counsel was that she needed only one thing, to sit under Him and listen to Him.

Learning to sit and take counsel from God Who knows it all, controls all things, knows the end from the begining, and is willing to guide us, is all we need. When God threatened not to go with Israel, Moses prayed that they would rather not move if God wasn’t with them(Ex 33:15-16). His presence meant everything to them. In Him is our comfort, peace, joy, strength, victory, protection, provision and meaning and purpose to life. All the many things we do outside God leave us troubled and upset, and don’t mean much after all.

Many today are troubled and upset like Martha, with many things they do. But if only we could learn to wait on God, get His counsel and marching instructions in all we do, we would remain peaceful. Most troubles in life could be avoided by doing this one needful thing. And we would soon realise that the one thing makes all the difference in our lives for the better. We shall never want to leave His presence. It will be all we need!

Psalm 27:4 "One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple."

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

1 Kings 19:13-14 "When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” - NIV

Elijah had walked forty days on the strength of one meal upto Mt Horeb. Twice God appeared and asked him why he was there and he gave the reply above. The tone of his words seems to be a wonder why he is being persecuted for his zeal and defense of God’s name. He even wrongly assumes he is the only one of God’s servants left and they were trying to kill him too. He is complaining and blaming.

It is common for stressed and exhausted people to find who to blame for their predicaments. Some blame themselves, other people or even God for not doing enough to help them out. Thoughts of whether all the endeavors were worth it after all cross their minds. And the enemy will be quick to fan the blame game, leading to further discouragement and frustration. Some abandon the faith. Elijah had sank too low and couldn’t be revived. So God replaced him.

Instead of blame, it’s better to find out what good may come out of this. A short rest to settle and relax among people of good encouragement could make the whole difference to restore stability of mind and objective thinking. Such tough and ugly scenarios are not the end of the road, however bad. There is always something good out of them. Blaming and asking the wrong questions just makes it worse. You are still His precious child. It will be well. Hang in there.

Romans 8:28 "We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose."

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Revelation 3:1-2 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: “This is the message from the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know what you are doing; I know that you have the reputation of being alive, even though you are dead! So wake up, and strengthen what you still have before it dies completely. For I find that what you have done is not yet perfect in the sight of my God." - GNB

The church in Sardis had a reputation of being alive in God according to their onlookers. But to Jesus, the story was different. He saw them as dead before Him. How could this be? It probably means they cared more about what others saw and said about them than how God saw them. Their desire to impress and please men externally was given more attention than their actual state of heart with God. And their relationship with God suffered to the point of dying. Alive to people. Dead to God!

They were asked to quickly salvage the little of their relationship with God that was even dying. Many there are whose main concern is public opinion. They live their lives by how others view them. They ignore God and the state of their hearts with God suffers and dies. There is no benefit in pleasing people, being well spoken of as your connection to God dies. Jesus warned of gaining the whole world and losing your soul.

God’s report of how we really are before Him is more to concern us than what people say. At the end of it all, it is what matters than anything else. Let the public fruit of our lives be a result of a living relationship and God’s working in us. Then our works will be complete before God and a blessing to others. Consider the state of your relationship with God!

Mark 8:35-37 "For whoever wants to save his own life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. Do people gain anything if they win the whole world but lose their life? Of course not! There is nothing they can give to regain their life."

Shalom children of God.