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

Luke 5:8-11 “When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.” NIV

Jesus borrowed Peter’s boat and used it to preach. After that, He told Peter to launch out his fishing net for a catch. This was not normal as fishing was best done at night. The experienced fisherman, Peter, informed Jesus that they tried the whole night but failed. How much more during day. But at Jesus’ word, he accepted and caught fish he never had before. The boat was sinking and His partners had to come to his help. This shocked them beyond imagination. Who is this man?

Peter knew this was no ordinary man he was encountering. He wanted Him to go away. But Jesus wanted him for His mission of fishing men through the gospel. At this miracle and call, they left their bountiful catch to follow Jesus. Paul too met Jesus in His glory and right away knew this wasn’t ordinary. He abandoned all his treasures to follow Him. While those who never had such experiences with God will take them to be foolish, to those who meet Him, it’s a treasure beyond measure.

With or without any extraordinary experience with God, let it settle in your heart that He is a great God beyond imagination. When He chooses to reveal a little bit of Who He is, His majesty and splendour, all our doubts, pride and rebellion melt away in an instant. On speaking to the storm and calming the sea, the disciples were shocked and asked, ‘what kind of man is this.'(Mark 4:41). I pray He gives you such an experience with Himself. Then all the glory and treasures of this life become nothing!

Philippians 3:7-8 “But all those things that I might count as profit I now reckon as loss for Christ’s sake. Not only those things; I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all as mere refuse, so that I may gain Christ…”

Shalom children of God.