Category: Daily Devotionals

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Revelation 2:7 "…To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." - NIV

Jesus’ common message to the seven churches has promises of rewards to those who overcome. These promises include access to the tree of life(2:7), not to be hurt by the second death (2:11), partaking of the hidden manna (2:17), authority over the nations(2:26), their names never to be removed from the book of life and acknowledgement before the Father(3:5), a pillar in God’s temple and their names written on it (3:11), and to sit on the throne with Christ (3:21). Hallelujah!

These are eternally significant promises from the One Who never lies. As we engage in the fierce battles of life orchestrated by the devil and his human agents and worldly systems, as we go through mountains and valleys, and run the race, let’s persevere and not give up. Overcoming implies going against forces that are fighting and resisting our progress. It means enduring even at points when the easiest thing to do as others are doing, is to give up.

There are many who fall along the way. They yield to trials and temptations. Some are lured by the glittering deceptions of the enemy. To others, the journey seems so long and tough and they lose hope. But cheer up child of God. Jesus we believe in also overcame. The heroes of faith who went ahead of us overcame and are cheering us on. We too shall overcome. Let the joy of victory and the rewards ahead encourage us to go on. Our salvation is nearer now than when we first began. Let’s stick there till we see Him face to face!

Hebrews 12:2-3 "Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and he is now seated at the right-hand side of God's throne. Think of what he went through; how he put up with so much hatred from sinners! So do not let yourselves become discouraged and give up."

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Proverbs 8:13 "To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech." - NIV

Genesis 39:9 "No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”- NIV

There are two kind of fear. One is dreadful fear which arises from fear of punishment for a wrong done. The other is reverential fear which arises out of deep love, respect and loyalty. It is a fear not to disappoint or do harm to one you truly love and wouldn’t want to hurt. Solomon describes the fear of God as hating evil which manifests in pride and arrogance, evil behaviour and speech. Joseph’s continual resistance of the attempts of Portiphar’s wife to sleep with him was rooted in his fear of God.

Most people fear to do wrong just because of the fear of embarrassment of being caught, shamed publicly or punished by the law. Yet deep within them, they are burning to do it. This is not sustainable. It is the reason it surprises what some people do given the impression they had portrayed outwardly. But if truly committed to the fear of God, whether anyone sees or not, we are aware that God sees even upto our thoughts and hidden intentions.

Not only do we refrain from evil because God sees, but because we truly love Him and want to honor and please Him in all we do. We are not driven by fear of punishment, but love for God and commitment to what is right. That’s what motivated Joseph to stand. It wasn’t about whether anyone saw or not, whether Portiphar would get to know or not, but because of his love for God. That’s what made him run out and was ready to face the consequences that followed – because of his love for God. That, dear friend, is the fear of God. Do you fear God?

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Revelation 3:19 "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent." - NIV

Jesus not only knew everything good about the churches for which He gave encouragement and praise. He also knew their shortcomings where they needed to repent and correct their ways. He had things against some of the churches and detailed out what it was He didn’t like. He called them to repentance. The good things they were doing was no excuse to overlook or ignore wasn’t going right. It was out of love that He sharply rebuked and corrected them.

In the process of perfecting the church He is building, the Lord will leave no stone unturned in our lives. He will point out the falling from first love, compromise with sin and the evil worldly systems, doctrinal compromises and errors, and anything else that is not going as He wants it in us. He appreciates the good, but can’t ignore the wrong, the imperfect. He does this in love.

Thank you for every good thing you are doing to the glory of God. Don’t let that make you ignore your blind spots. The all seeing and searching eye of God before Whom nothing escapes, desires to bring us to perfection in all our ways. Allow Him to search, correct, rebuke and present us to Himself as a church without spot or wrinkle. The Holy Spirit through the Word is doing this in each of our lives. I pray we cooperate with Him in humility and repentance as He points them out.

Ephesians 5:27 “… and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Luke 14:26,27, 33 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--- yes, even his own life---he cannot be my disciple… In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." - NIV

These are some of the hard statements Jesus made to His followers. Having seen Him perform miracles of various kinds, including providing food, and the enormous popularity He had, some people thought it strategic and nice to be His followers for the benefits they would get. Large crowds followed Him for that reason. At a certain point, some had been with Jesus for three continuous days.

Thinking this was how life would always be as His followers, Jesus told them there was a much higher price to be His disciple, than just followers. They had to count the cost. This meant making Him truly Lord and Master of their lives and prioritise Him over their fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters or their own views and desires. Thus the statement He made above. They should be willing to deny themselves, take up their crosses daily and follow Him (Luke 9:23).

Out of the crowds of followers, what God considers and takes seriously are disciples;  willing, committed and loyal learners at whatever cost. Followers do so out of curiosity, convenience, with no much attachment and could turn back anytime they wish. They may attend church as part of social gatheting, participate in some activities just to keep busy and build their social capital. Disciples have made up their minds to be with Him. He is their Lord with the final word. Is this a fatalistic result of brainwashing devoid of logic? Certainly not. The LORD we surrender to is our Creator Who knows it all and has the best for us.

Jesus commisioned the church to go and make disciples. He calls us to be disciples and to make disciples. This speaks of the quality of  believers, not just the crowds and numbers for popularity. Are you a follower or disciple?

Luke 9:62 "Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

Shalom children of God. 

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.