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Tag: devotional

  • [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Run with every word you hear

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Run with every word you hear

    Read: Psalm 119:89-106

    Meditation verse:

    “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).

    When God gives you a word of promise, He expects you to do something with  it. He gave it to you as a guide so that you do not grope or stumble in darkness.  The bible states that God’s word is a lamp to our feet. Your feet are for going  forth. When you take hold of a lamp in a dark room, you do not just stand still.  You put the light in front of you and move forward. That way, you do not grope  in the dark, stumble, fall or end up in a wrong place. Similarly, with God’s word,  you will not stumble through life or miss your way entirely. But you must run  with the word, for it to light up your path.  

    It took several years before I understood this principle. Towards the end of each  year, I would take out time to wait on God in fasting and prayers. I would ask  Him for a theme based on a scripture to guide me in the coming year and He  was always faithful. One evening, I sat at my desk looking at all the themes that  God had given me in the past years and wondering why they had not yielded the  results I expected. It suddenly dawned on me that God had expected me to order  my plans and activities for each year based on the word He had given me. I had  however sat still, expecting a magic wand to make things happen.  

    For instance, the year He gave me “purposeful advancement towards a life of  significance”, did I in the cause of the year, come up with a plan on how I would  advance into significance in key areas of my life? Did I seek out enough  opportunities to show case my gifts and talents? Purposeful means intentional,  planned or thought off and to be significant, you must show up. When He said,  “grow unto perfection”, did I increase the time I spent studying His word? Did I  ponder on what childish things I needed to do away with to become mature?  

    When God gives you a specific word, it is because He wants to accomplish  something specific in that area of your life, but unless you act based on the word,  nothing happens. Be diligent to run with every word that God speaks to you this  year. If His mouth has spoken, then His zeal has already perfected.

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

    For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

    or call +2348155525555

    For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

  • [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Visualize yourself succeeding

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Visualize yourself succeeding

    Read: Genesis 13:14-17

    Meditation verse:

    “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” (Proverbs 23:7).

    Everything in life is created twice. First in the mind and then in reality. Your mind  sees it and your body takes you there. The brain is a pattern matching organ,  what it visualizes, it wills the body to accomplish. I believe so much in the power  of visualization because I have a personal experience with visualization.

    There is a deep tendency to become what your mind pictures, provided you hold  the mental picture strongly enough and the objective is sound. Visualization  breeds expectation. And when you expect the best, you release a magnetic force  in your mind which attracts the best to you. Visualization enables you to focus  on a future realization. This expectation supplies fuel to the body. Sustained  expectation of the best sets in motion forces which cause the best to materialize.

    There is a connection between your mind and the outcomes you get out of life.  You conceive in the womb of your destiny and birth whatever you focus on.  When God was leading the children of Israel to the promised land, He repeatedly  told them that the land was beautiful and good, flowing with milk and honey.  He wanted them to create a mental image of the place. In Genesis 13:14-17, God  said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look  from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and  westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants  forever”.

    You can visualize yourself navigating that present difficulty. You can visualize  yourself succeeding in that business. You can visualize yourself overcoming that  obstacle. You can visualize yourself pushing the boundaries of your limitations  and going beyond expectations. You can visualize just about anything. 

    Visualization can work against you also. If you visualize negative trends, the  brain goes in search of such occurrence and brings them to your reality. It is  called self- fulfilling prophecy in Psychology. Never forget, the brain is a pattern  matching organ.

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

    For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

    or call +2348155525555

    For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

  • [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Work out your salvation

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Work out your salvation

    Read: 2 Peter 1:5-11

    Meditation verse:

    “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only,  but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and  trembling” (Phil 2:12).

    We have been saved by grace through faith, and that not of yourselves. Our  salvation is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (Ephesians  2:8-9). However, faith works together with and is perfected by works. James  2:26 says as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead.  

    You grow in your faith after salvation by the works that you do and today’s  reading highlights some of the works:  

    But also, for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue,  to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control  perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness,  and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound,  you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord  Jesus Christ. – 2 Peter 1:5-8 

    • Virtue implies behaving in a way that shows high moral standards. • Knowledge is the practical understanding of something, in this case the  word of God. 
    • Self-control is the ability to regulate your responses to avoid undesirable  behaviours and increase desirable ones. 
    • Perseverance is doing something despite difficulty in achieving success. • Godliness is the practice of conforming to laws of God’s kingdom. • Brotherly kindness is the extension of the natural affection associated  with a loved one to others not related to you. 
    • Love is more than feeling. It is sacrificial and giving whilst expecting  nothing in return.  

    Working out your salvation by developing the above traits will enable you  remain productive and fruitful in your walk with God. But if you lack these works,  then your faith is dead. “For he who lacks these things is short-sighted, even to  blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore,  brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do  these things, you will never stumble” (2 Peter 1:9-10).

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

    For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

    or call +2348155525555

    For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

  • [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Give us this day our daily bread

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Give us this day our daily bread

    Read: MATHEW 6: 9-13

    Meditation verse:

    “Give us this day our daily bread” (Mathew 6:11).

    In the wake of each day, God dispenses bread as He pleases. Daily bread can be  in the form of a good break, promotion at work, a business deal, healing, or  salvation for a loved one. Psalm 145:15 says the eyes of all creatures look  expectantly to God and He gives them their food in due season. He opens His  hands and satisfies the desire of every living thing. 

    In teaching His disciples to pray, Jesus taught them to ask for their daily bread.  God is a gracious father who delights in blessing His children. Jesus said, “if you  then being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more  will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him” (Mathew 7:11). As you go out this day, why not pray in the manner Jesus taught  His disciples:  

    Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your  will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us  into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom  and the power and the glory forever. Amen -Mathew 6:10-13.

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

    For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

    or call +2348155525555

    For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

  • [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Keep becoming

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Keep becoming

    Read: PHILIPPIANS 3:12-18

    Meditation verse:

    “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I  may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me” (Phil 3:12).

    You are a work in progress. You need to keep moving towards perfection,  because you must realize your full potential to become all you were created for.  You must finish your race. God has declared the end of your life. He knows who  you are meant to be. And who you are meant to become is a solution to  someone’s problem. If you do not become this person, you will be robbing them  of the blessing to be derived.  

    Jesus Christ came to this world to die on the cross for our sins. Through His death  and resurrection, we obtain salvation. Against all odds, He set His face on this  goal. He did not stop until He died on the cross. Just before His death, He  declared that it was finished, and then He rose on the third day. If he did not die  and rise again, salvation would have eluded mankind. “And if Christ is not risen,  your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” (1 Corinthians 15:17).  

    You are on a journey on this earth and there is an assignment for you to  accomplish. You must keep going until you become all you were created for and  complete your assignment. Myles Munroe it was who said that the richest place  on earth is the graveyard. Many people die and are buried with their  assignments still in the wombs of their destinies, thereby robbing the world.  Refuse to be amongst this group. Choose rather to die empty. Here’s what Paul  the apostle said: “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but  I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of  me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do,  forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things  which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God  in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14) 

    Why not adopt this mindset going forward.

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

    For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

    or call +2348155525555

    For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

  • [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Changing unhelpful habits (2)

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Changing unhelpful habits (2)

    Read: ROMANS 8:1-11

    Meditation verse:

    “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who  raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His  Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11).

    Focus on changing one specific habit or behavior at a time. Trying to change multiple habits at once is setting yourself up for failure. Successful habit change  involves focusing on something highly specific and measurable that can be done  and repeated over a period.  

    One of the difficulties in changing a habit is making it stick, as the existing neural  pattern must be replaced with a stronger alternative. This replacement happens through repetition, rehearsal, and reinforcement of the new behavior pattern.  Otherwise, you are likely to go back to the old one. Habits are created mostly  through repetition. Research shows that it takes twenty-one days to start  forming a new habit and up to sixty-six days for these to become embedded as  new neural networks; that is become automatic. You would need to practice  that new habit every day for the next twenty-one days. 

    Choose a partner who would hold you accountable. The bible says: “Confess  your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be  healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James  5:16).  

    Finally, realize that lasting change can only be found in Christ. The apostle Paul  said: “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?  I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7: 24-25). It is the law of  the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus that can make you free from the law of sin and  

    death (Romans 8:2). If you have not trusted Jesus for your salvation, you are  still a sinner in need of grace. Your attempts at change would be futile. Lasting  change begins with accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. “Therefore,  if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (Romans 8:36).

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

    For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

    or call +2348155525555

    For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

  • [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Changing unhelpful habits (1)

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Changing unhelpful habits (1)

    Read: ROMANS 7:13-25

    Meditation verse:

    “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I  practice” (Romans 7:19).

    There are perhaps two main reasons why changing a habit is difficult for many  of us. Firstly, we do not truly see why we need to change. Secondly, we do not  know how to change. The process of going about that change is ambiguous or  unclear. The apostle Paul said that he could not practice what he desired; but  rather found himself doing what he hated. Behavioral habits are usually  unconscious and automatic. that’s why when you say to someone who is  shouting: “stop shouting”, he or she shouts even louder and says, “am I shouting”? Similarly, the lazy person might believe he or she is hard working.  

    The first step to changing an undesirable habit is therefore becoming aware of  it and desiring to change it. Whether it is a habit, lifestyle or thought pattern.  You cannot change it if you are in self-denial. You must accept and call it what it  is. Standing in front of a mirror several years ago at a size 22, accepting that I  was overweight and needed to do something about it helped me take steps to  lose the weight. I had to get past the thought that ‘it was okay to be overweight  since I had given birth to 4 children’. So, accept that you are spending too much  time on your phone, you are overeating or that you procrastinate. Until you do,  you cannot begin the process of change. 

    You must see the benefit of making that change, else you won’t sustain the  motivation. Every behavior pattern is backed up by an underlying attitude. The  person who lies and exaggerates is likely to be an insecure person. So, challenge  the attitude. Start by asking: ‘why am I this way?’. ‘Is this really helpful?’ “How  is this undermining my life”? One major factor that helped me overcome  shyness, was reflecting on all the opportunities I had missed in life by being shy. 

    Replace the unhelpful habit with a new and positive one. For instance, instead  of being critical of your spouse, practice showing compassion and  complimenting them. Rather than spending hours in front of the television,  practice going out more often for a walk.

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

    For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

    or call +2348155525555

    For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

  • [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Can God count on you?

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Can God count on you?

    Read: DANIEL 3:8-30

    Meditation verse:

    “But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor  will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” (Daniel 3:18).

    Three young men stood in the moment of truth; bow down to the king’s golden  image or be thrown into a fiery furnace. It would have been so easy to bow, after  all it was just a small compromise to make life easier for them in the foreign  land. It did not necessarily mean they were no longer faithful to God. However,  they were wise enough to understand that compromising would poison their  allegiance to Jehovah. So, against all odds, they chose to defy the king’s  command. And God honored their commitment.  

    You may find yourself in a moment of truth sooner or later faced with a  temptation to compromise just to make life a little easier. It may be to alter the  figure, jump the queue, tell a little lie to look good, engage in an adulterous  relationship, give that bribe to obtain a favor, or what have you. Can God count  on you at such moments to say: ‘let it be known that I will not bow?’. Refusing  to bow can be a very lonely road to travel. Picture Shadrach, Meshach, and  Abednego standing before the crowd, whilst the officials prepared the fiery  furnace. It is much easier to follow the crowd. But if you want to excel in life and  fulfill purpose, you must learn to stand alone sometimes. The journey to Calvary  was a very lonely and painful one for Jesus Christ.  

    However, the three young men were not alone, the bible says there was a fourth  man was in the fire with them. Similarly, in your own moments, you are never  alone. God promises to be with you always. “When you pass through the waters,  I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you  walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you” (Isaiah 43:2). Remembering that God is always with you, will help you make the  right choice in your moment of truth.

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

    For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

    or call +2348155525555

    For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

  • [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: From who do you seek validation?

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: From who do you seek validation?

    Read: 1 SAMUEL 16:6-13

    Meditation verse:

    “for the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward  appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

    ‘Do not judge a book by its cover’, is a common phrase, which portrays the fact  that the quality of an object cannot be determined by what it looks like. I have  on several occasions, cracked open an egg which looked good on the outside,  only to discover that it was rotten inside. I know a lady who suffered severe  physical and mental abuse from her spouse who was tall, handsome, and very  well educated. When God sent Samuel to anoint the one who would replace Saul  as king, Samuel picked Eliab, based on his physical appearance, but God said no.  

    The world places premium on status, wealth, and physical appearance, all of  which are transient and do not guarantee happiness. “Charm is deceitful, and  beauty is passing, but a woman (person) who fears the Lord, she shall be praised”  (Proverbs 31:30). That which is outward will eventually fade away or diminish.  God looks at the heart of a man. He focuses on what is inside you: your salvation,  vision, dreams, and the Holy Spirit in you. These are the weightier matters; these  are the things that endure. 

    Why then do you seek validation from the world? Why do you define your self worth by the standards of the world? Making important life decisions based on  things that are ephemeral is setting yourself up for failure. Learn to seek  validation from God in everything you do. Are you choosing a life partner,  building a home, raising your kids, starting a job, or building a business? Ask God  to validate your choice. Nothing is too insignificant or important to seek His  guidance. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own  understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your  paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

    For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

    or call +2348155525555

    For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

  • [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Navigating life’s transitions

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Navigating life’s transitions

    Read: Philippians 4:12-13

    Meditation verse:

    “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all  things, I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to  suffer need” (Philippians 4:12).

    Transition is the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to  another. Nature abhors vacuum because life is a lively process of becoming.  Change is therefore one thing you should expect if you are alive. So, in life, we  are always going through one transition or the other. Some major transitions  that can upset the natural course of our lives include sudden loss of a job, end  of a relationship; a divorce, the sudden yawning of an empty nest as the children  all leave home, a terminal ailment, untimely death of a loved one, relocating to  a new place or retirement from work and feeling lost. 

    Sometimes even when there are no visible changes, we may experience a “psychological impasse”, which is a deadlock or feeling of uncertainty, which  brings with it the sense of being stuck or paralyzed or locked in a box. You can’t  put your finger to what the problem is, but you know something is wrong. You  feel restless, deflated or not up to anything much. Whether predictable or not,  and irrespective of how painful or difficult or uncomfortable transition periods  are, they present a new beginning and offer a good place from where you can  define a new vision for your life. 

    If you are currently in a life transition, pause to process what occurred or is  occurring. Don’t leave in self-denial, wishing the situation will disappear. If it is  a loss, acknowledge it and feel the pain. Because the pain is usually a  springboard from which your healing will emerge. Take as much time as you  need but don’t remain stuck here. Make an informed assessment of the extent  of the change or transition and how it affects your life. Do a SWOT analysis. Note  the negatives, positives, opportunities that the situation presents as well as the  threats. Ask what is the worst-case scenario? 

    Staying in God’s presence will provide you with the guidance and strength required to move forward to the next phase of life. “And He said to me, “My  grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2  Corinthians 12:9).

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

    For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

    or call +2348155525555

    For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.