Daily Devotionals

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Acts 1:8 “But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” – NIV_ The disciples asked whether on Jesus’ return He would restore the kingdom of Israel. But Jesus told them it wasn’t their business to follow that up, but they would become His witnesses through the power of the Holy Spirit to the ends of the earth. They would witness through their transformed lives and the preaching of the gospel. This power is for His glory, not for our fame.The Holy Spirit empowers us to live the God kind of life. None of us in our human abilities can, even for a moment, overcome sin, defeat the devil, practice righteousness and holiness, manifest the fruit of the Spirit and live victorious in Christ. It’s all by His grace and the enabling work of the Holy Spirit. By the Holy Spirit, Jesus did all He did. He went everywhere doing good, because God was Him. After the disciples were filled with the Spirit, they became powerful witnesses for God wherever they went.The Spirit empowers by bringing us to decision to follow Christ, bringing others to Him, overcoming the lusts of the flesh and the demonic influences, guiding us to do God’s will and leading us to intimate communion in our relationship with God. He drives out fear, guilt and negative forces that want to pull us back, giving us confidence to walk with God. He makes this walk so real, revealing the treasure, assuring of His continual presence so sweet that we would desire nothing more. With this, we can surmount any challenge as we serve Him. Others will see it want to experience the same. _Luke 24:49 “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.””__John 14:12 “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”_Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

John 14:24-26 “Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” – NIV

Jesus was teaching as instructed by the Father. He said every word He spoke was from the Father, and were not His own. As He physically went away, this teaching role would continue among the disciples, but through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would teach them everything they needed to know and also remind them of what Jesus had said. There would be no contradiction.

Everything the Spirit teaches is the truth, because He is the Spirit of truth. Being the Spirit behind the writing of the Scriptures, He will never contradict nor falsely distort the written Word. That’s the standard as to whether any teaching is from God or not, and which spirit is behind it. All falsehoods, including false christs, are propagated by counterfeit spirits which are to be discerned and accordingly rejected. Their aim is to divert people from truth to lies.

The Holy Spirit teaches through the scriptures rightly interpreted and applied by those He gifted to teach. We need to sit under such people, but with the Berean attitude of always checking whether what they say is from the scriptures or not (Acts 17:11) regardless whom we hear them from. This requires that one is personally engaged in study as they sit under others as well. So much goes on in the name of God, and yet not from Him!

1 John 4:1 “My dear friends, do not believe all who claim to have the Spirit, but test them to find out if the spirit they have comes from God. For many false prophets have gone out everywhere.” GNB

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Romans 8:26-27 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” – NIV

A key part of the helping ministry of the Holy Spirit is in the area of prayer. Paul notes that we are weak and do not know how to pray as we ought to. For prayer to be answered, one of its requirements is that it is offered according to God’s will. Sometimes we do not know the will of God in the things we are praying for. But by the help of the Spirit, we are guided to pray according to what is in the mind of God.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He knows what is in the heart and mind of God. He also knows us fully, our shortcomings and limitations. In His helping and intercessory role, He bridges that gap so that we are in true communion with God. Our prayers will not be vain repetitions and recitations without power. They will be spot on as we pray for ourselves and others. In this way, we shall always be in God’s will. He makes prayer a lively living communion with God.

The Holy Spirit, knowing the burdens in God’s heart which requires intercession, carries the same to our hearts. Then our hearts carry the burdens of God through deep prayer enabled by the Spirit. Recall Jesus’ burdened intercession in the garden of Gethsemane. There was such travails of the soul that almost tore his body. Such are groans of Spirit led prayer that saves multitudes and promotes God’s kingdom. Will you similarly allow the Holy Spirit help in your weakness in prayer? Out of such submission will result prayers that change lives and transforms the world.

1 John 5:14-15 “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”

Shalom children of God.

The intercessory ministry of the Holy Spirit (23/2/2022)

Romans 8:26-27 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” – NIV

A key part of the helping ministry of the Holy Spirit is in the area of prayer. Paul notes that we are weak and do not know how to pray as we ought to. For prayer to be answered, one of its requirements is that it is offered according to God’s will. Sometimes we do not know the will of God in the things we are praying for. But by the help of the Spirit, we are guided to pray according to what is in the mind of God.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He knows what is in the heart and mind of God. He also knows us fully, our shortcomings and limitations. In His helping and intercessory role, He bridges that gap so that we are in true communion with God. Our prayers will not be vain repetitions and recitations without power. They will be spot on as we pray for ourselves and others. In this way, we shall always be in God’s will. He makes prayer a lively living communion with God.

The Holy Spirit, knowing the burdens in God’s heart which requires intercession, carries the same to our hearts. Then our hearts carry the burdens of God through deep prayer enabled by the Spirit. Recall Jesus’ burdened intercession in the garden of Gethsemane. There was such travails of the soul that almost tore his body. Such are groans of Spirit led prayer that saves multitudes and promotes God’s kingdom. Will you similarly allow the Holy Spirit help in your weakness in prayer? Out of such submission will result prayers that change lives and transforms the world.

1 John 5:14-15 “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

John 14:16-18 “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

As Jesus continued to reassure His troubled disciples, He promised to ask the Father to give another advocate, the comforter, the Holy Spirit. He would help and be with them the same way Jesus had been doing. The disciples felt like orphans, left and unattended to by the physical departure of Jesus. They imagined the loneliness, the vulnerability from suffering and attacks of their enemies.

Fear, loneliness, rejection, vulnerability and feelings of abandonment affect us similarly today. Our hearts get broken by various situations of life. We hurt and go through pain. All such situations make our hearts cry out for the warmth of comfort and support. The ministry of the Holy Spirit extends to cater for our comfort needs today. There is so much this world throws at us. Jesus said we would face trouble in the world (John 16:33).

The Holy Spirit presence in every believer gives the comfort that cushions us from the devastating effects of the stresses and challenges of life. He is present all the time with us. He wants to commune with us, assure us God’s care, presence, protection and provision. This is what peacefully settles our hearts despite the storms and troubles of life. Trust Him always. He is present with you.

Matthew 28:20 “…And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

John 14:16-17 “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” – NIV

Jesus had indictated that He was leaving them soon. The disciples were troubled. Then Jesus promised them the Holy Spirit Who would be with them, doing what His physical presence was doing. We should particularly note the way Jesus described the Holy Spirit using personal pronouns. He is a person, the third person in the Trinitarian God Head.

From Jesus’ words, the Holy Spirit comes from the Father. He is an advocate sent to help the believer. He is the Spirit of truth as differentiated from the deceptive spirits of error. Unlike Jesus Who came and would soon be away physically, the Holy Spirit would be with the disciples forever. He is only given to, and known by the believer who has voluntarily accepted Him. The world uses logic to accept things. The Holy Spirit is a spirit not physically seen. So the world rejects Him because they can’t see Him.

The Holy Spirit is one with the Father and the Son. His presence is the presence the Father and the Son. He is God the Holy Spirit, having all the qualities of God. Some have wrongly referred to Him as an impersonal force using ‘it’. One cardinal role He plays is to ALWAYS lead people to the Father and the Son. Therefore, any spirit that claims to come from God, but leads people away from God or contradicts/distorts the Word of God isn’t the Holy Spirit. It is a counterfeit spirit.

1 John 4:1-3 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.”

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Matthew 15:7-9 “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “ ‘These people honor me with their lips,  but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain;  their teachings are merely human rules.’ ”” – NIV

They travelled from Jerusalem to ask Jesus why His disciples were breaking the law and tradition of the forefathers by eating with unwashed hands. They didn’t even honour their parents and diverted whatever help they should have given them to God. Jesus rebuked them for their hypocrisy manifested by appearing very committed to the traditions of men more than God’s word and right worship of God.

Quoting from Isaiah, Jesus tells them why their worship was in vain. They were more committed to their traditions than the word of God. They focused more on external practices lip service, but their hearts were far from true commitment to God. Their religious zeal was about laws and regulations than love passion for God. Their religious practices involved more of routine rituals passed on as worship traditions, but disconnected from the God they claimed to worship.

Such was vain worship. To God, it meant nothing. He didnt recognise it despite their activities. Doesn’t this sound familiar in our times as well? Jesus taught that acceptable worship to God should be in truth and Spirit. It should come from a love and passion for God with all our hearts, souls, strength. The state of our hearts matters most in worship! When man made rules and traditions outside God’s word dictates how we worship God, it becomes vain worship. May your whole being love and live for God. May your worship be acceptable and pleasing to Him.

Mark 12:29-30 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’”

John 4:23-24 “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.””

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Genesis 4:6-7 “Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.””

Abel and his brother Cain had both brought offerings to God. God accepted Abel’s animal offerings but rejected Cain’s crop offerings. This made Cain angry and led him to committing the first murder in the Bible by killing his brother. Cain became jealousy of his brother. Noting his anger, God asked him why he was angry instead of dealing with the problem. Sin was overtaking him, and he needed to take action to control it.

This happens many times when jealousy and envy controls people. Instead of ask what they did to get what happened, they see others as the problem and want to blame them. But that doesn’t solve the problem. Whenever you get upset because others are succeeding, or they were favoured and you were not, remember such things don’t just happen. It’s what you do that makes you accepted or not as God told Cain.

Our reaction to life occurrences are red flags we should watch. Don’t ignore those bouts of anger, jealousy, temper, lustful eyes, boasting, need for attention, thoughts of revenge, hatred, worldly attractions, etc. If not addressed, they lead to worse actions as it did for Cain who eventually killed his brother. It is sin crouching to take hold and master you. Paul taught that sin should not control our lives. God has given us power to overcome sin through Christ. But we have a responsibility to deal with it through that power given to us. Watch the red flags in your life!

Romans 6:12-14 “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.”

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Romans 12:3-5 “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” – NIV

Everyone has a perception of themselves. This assessment is based on several factors, internal and external to the person. These factors give identity and thus a corresponding view of oneself in relation to others. That’s how inferiority or superiority comes about. Key to the right perception of ourselves is the identity every believer finds in Christ. That’s what defines us.

Paul cautioned the Roman believers not to think of themselves more highly than they ought, that is, in pride and self exaltation. Instead, they were to think with sober objective judgement of who they really are before God according to the faith He has given each. The context was about gifts. Comparison with others to be seen as greater or lesser isn’t from God, because we are not the same, just as every body part is different from another. If by being different one thinks they are better or lesser, that’s not sober judgement.

We are all different by God’s design. And we are all important in our respective categories and functioning. Being more popular or visible doesn’t make one more important than the silent behind the scenes person. Our view of ourselves should be based on what God says of us, and the measure of faith He gave each one. Living life in appreciation of this fact is sober judgement. Any view below or above that isn’t of God. Different as we are, we all belong to each other.

1 Corinthians 12:6,24-25 “There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work… But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.”

Shalom children of God.

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

Jesus was responding to Nichodemus in his dilemma of what it means to be born again. He is the light and truth of the world. But people still reject the light and truth because they prefer to continue in their evil ways. This is a key reason behind people refusing to come to God and walk in the light. They may claim to be free outside God, but in reality, they are in bondage to their evil ways.

No one does what is evidently evil openly and freely except for those who have killed their conscience over time. It’s the reason evil is hatched in secret and in the cover of darkness. Because the conscience is accusing the person, they try to run away from the truth by hiding evil. And that is futile. There is no greater slavery than to one’s conscience. You cant run away from it. It’s always with you. But if one is walking in the light and truth, there is no shame or need to hide or cover up things. Truth liberates and puts us at ease.

Jesus is the truth. All in Him are set free from the accusing conscience. Many are living in so much internal torment unknown to those around them. They cover up these feelings with artificial smiles, much activity, doing good works, but still not free within. The remedy is to come God as you are, allow Him cleanse your evil ways, so that you are truly free both within in your conscience and externally. There will be no fear.

John 8:32 “…Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

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.” – NIV

Not only do the Scriptures teach to inform and acquire knowledge, rebuke what is bad and correct the wrongs, it is also an indispensable training tool in righteous living. Training is about imparting skills to enable performance of expected duties, roles and responsibilities. It also assumes the person is not equipped or is ill equipped to do what is required of them. When we are saved from the worldly system, training through discipleship is important to fit into God’s kingdom.

Every Bible based training, whichever way it takes, should lead to establishment in righteousness. It should make a person live, think, speak and act like Christ. The world system, under its god, trains people differently, some to promote, downplay or conceal evil even if it comes sugar coated in God’s name. The training God’s word gives leads to righteousness always. That’s one prove as to whether a training is God centred or not; the fruit of righteousness.

The teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness is given to the servant of God to do every good work. All these aspects of the working of the Scriptures in a person equip him for the work of God. It’s unfortunate how some who are in God’s service have edged out the word which is very central to their work. Outside the Scriptures, ministry becomes something else! Allow the Word to train you in righteousness and in God’s will for living and service.

Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Shalom children of God.