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Tag: devotional

  • [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Pray through it all

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Pray through it all

    By Oke Chinye

    Read: Philippians 4:4-7

    Meditation verse:

    “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).

    Prayer is an intimate two-way communication between you and God. It is you talking to your Father as well as listening to Him speak to you. A key secret to a more peaceful and fulfilling life is praying your way through any and every situation in your life. You must learn to cast your cares upon the Lord and let Him carry your burdens.

    In the place of prayers, your burdens are exchanged for God’s yoke which is light and easy. In the place of prayers, your understanding is enlightened, your mind is renewed, and your strength restored. In the place of prayers, you call back life into the things that are dead around you. You can speak life to every area of your life where are experiencing deadness. You do not have to live in marital deadness, or spiritual apathy, or physical weariness or financial misery. You can settle all of this in the place of prayer.

    When burdened by the challenges of life, go to God in prayers, and pray through those challenges. Psalm 126 says: when The Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream. God’s ability to restore life is beyond our understanding. Trees are burnt down and can grow back, broken bones heal, dead tissues are restored. That’s the life-giving power of God. He can renew your youth as the eagles (Isaiah 40:31). He can make all things new. He can restore the years the canker worms have eaten. And He has given you the keys of the kingdom so that whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven and whatever you lose on earth is loosed in heaven. He says you shall decree a thing and it shall be established for you.

    So, speak life into every area of your life that is experiencing dryness and watch God back you up. Whatever you allow is allowed, whatever you forbid is forbidden. Pray through any and every situation. Your harvest of joy and restoration will come.

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Dcns 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: Change your attitude, change your life

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Change your attitude, change your life

    By Oke Chinye

    Read: John 16:31-33

    Meditation verse:

    “Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it spring the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).

    Two little girls went to the beach with their parents and whilst playing by the shore, a huge wave arose in front of them. The first child screamed in horror, ‘I can’t believe our parents brought us here to die’, and frantically tried to get away from the wave as fast as she could. The second child screamed in delight “I can’t believe it took our parents this long to bring us here”, running excitedly towards the wave. How do you explain the different reactions to the same event? ATTITUDE. The first child perceived the wave as a threat, the other saw it as fun. The same event resulted in opposite reactions, based on two different attitudes and thoughts around what had occurred.

    Your attitude towards the things that happen to you in life is extremely important, as it will determine your outcomes. You may not be able to control some of your life events, as life can happen any time. Businesses may fail, relationships may fail, people may be nasty to you, there will be times when you experience lack. As long as you are alive, changes can occur, but you can control your attitude and reaction to the things that happen to you.  And your attitude and reaction to it will determine the action you take which will determine the outcome or result you get. Therefore, if you want to change your outcomes in life for the better, you will need to change your attitude.

    You need to understand the following:

    You have little or no control over what life throws at you, but you can control your attitude and thoughts towards them and by extension control your life’s outcomes. As you live your life daily, remember that nothing means anything except the meaning you give to it and the meaning you give to it is not the only meaning. There are always several perspectives to every event. The glass can either be half empty or half full. Jesus told His disciples to be of good cheer as they live in the world; that speaks of having a positive attitude, irrespective of what is going on around you. Choose to see your adversities as opportunities for growth. Choose to see your glass as half full, rather than half empty.

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Dcns 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: What has God said to you?

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: What has God said to you?

    By Oke Chinye  

    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  resultsI 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. What has God said to you? What have you done or what are  you doing with what He has said to you?

    If His mouth has spoken, then His zeal has already perfected. This month, run  with the word that He has given to you.

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Dcns 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: Little Joe’s story [2]

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Little Joe’s story [2]

    By Oke Chinye 

    Read: 2 Corinthians 4:7-18

    Meditation verse: 

    “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a  far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor 4: 17).

    Secondly, it may not always be in your best interest to follow the crowd or the  path that is most familiar. Neither is it useful to always tow the path of least  resistance. You need to learn to search the unlikely and unknown or even  difficult places. For in so doing, you may discover unexpected treasures.

    Lastly, the bad things that happen to you are not meant to defeat you but to  strengthen you and prepare you for a greater glory. The pains of yesterday can  become the gains of tomorrow. The pain of losing a dear brother built an inner  resolve in that old man: a resolve that yielded a desired outcome. “But we have  this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God  and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are  perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not  destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that  the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always  delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested  in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death is working in us, but life in you.

    And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I  believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak, knowing  that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will  present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread  through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

    Therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet  the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but  for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are  not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are  not seen are eternal” (2 Cor 4:7-18).

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Dcns 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: Little Joe’s story [1]

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Little Joe’s story [1]

    By Oke Chinye 

    Read: 2 Corinthians 4:7-18

    Meditation verse: 

    “In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart!  I’ve conquered the world” (John 16:33b MSG).

    The story is told of a little boy Joe, who disappeared whilst staying with his  grandmother in a rural community. He had been playing outside his home and  suddenly was nowhere to be found. A search party was sent out to look for him,  but the search went on for hours without yielding any result. An elderly man in  the community decided to join in the search. His son tried to discourage him, as  he had just had a surgery for a heart bypass. Besides, he reasoned that there  were already so many people looking for the boy. What difference would an old  man who probably would not walk fast make? But the old man refused to be  dissuaded, so his son decided to go with him. They felt it was better to go their  own way since joining the crowd may slow them down. They also wanted to  focus on the unlikely places that would be overlooked by the crowd.

    After a few hours of walking, they came across a thick forest, fenced off with  barbed wires. The son argued that little Joe would never have wandered this far,  let alone gone through the wired fence. But again, the old man insisted that it  was the way to go, he entered the forest, leaving his son behind. The old man  had suffered a painful loss as a little boy. He had lost his little brother in a car  crash and had carried the guilt of not being able to save his brother, for several  years. As he trudged along the thick bush, images of his little brother flashed  across his mind, and he just kept going. After what seemed like ages, he saw a  dog, and then, he saw little Joe frightened and huddled in a corner. He picked  him up, held him tightly in his arms and began making his way back to the crowd.  The joy in his face could not be mistaken.

    There are several lessons to learn from little Joe’s story.

    Firstly, just as little Joe disappeared without any warning, life can happen at any  time. You have very little control over certain occurrences in your life. Jesus said:  “In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart!  I’ve conquered the world”. You must trust God and keep striving to get ahead.

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Dcns 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: Lessons from the ants

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Lessons from the ants

    By Oke Chinye 

    Read: Proverbs 6:6-11

    Meditation verse: 

    “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise” (Proverbs 6:6).

    One morning, my husband called my attention to an unbelievable sight in our  balcony: ants had built a huge sand colony by one of the air conditioner units.  We watched the ants in amazement. In lines, they went into a hole, came out  with a tiny bit of sand, dropped it outside, turned and headed right back in.

    We wandered how long it had taken them to build this huge colony, as each  sand brought out was so tiny. The consistency, perseverance, and diligence they  applied to their task was beautiful to watch. Whilst I was very familiar with  today’s scripture about the diligence of the ants, I had never witnessed it at  work.

    I left the balcony that day with several lessons. Firstly, no matter how difficult a  task is, it will never get done unless you begin. The reason a lot of us never  accomplish our life goals is that we never ever begin. To go anywhere, you must  launch out from somewhere or you will get nowhere. Secondly, consistency and  perseverance are critical success factors in any endeavour. The ants could only  carry very tiny bits of sand per trip, but by being consistent in their efforts, they  built a large sand colony.

    The last lesson I took away was that a small start does not imply a small finish,  so it is unwise to despise the day of small beginning (Zechariah 4:10). “Though  your beginning was small, yet your later end would increase abundantly” (Job  8:7-9). Indeed, great lessons, we humans have been taught by these awesome  tiny creatures.

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Dcns 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: Return to your first love

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Return to your first love

    By Oke Chinye 

    Read: Revelation 2:4-5

    Meditation verse: 

    “Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (Rev 2:4).

    Some years back, we got two beautiful peacocks: a male and a female. Since  they were new to our home, we tied them to a shrub in a corner of the  compound to prevent them from wandering away. They were feed each day on  that same spot. After a while, we untied them so they could wander around. The  house opposite ours had some peacocks as well and we woke up one morning  to discover that our peacocks had wandered away to join those at our  neighbours. Thy remained there for months.

    One morning, we were surprised to discover that the female peacock had  returned and was lying on the same spot, we had tied them when they newly  arrived. We also saw the male peacock hovering somewhere close by. The  female peacock had returned to lay her eggs. When it was time for her to birth  what was inside of her, she returned to her first home; her first love.

    God uses simple and natural things to teach us important life lessons. In today’s  reading, we see Him warning the church at Ephesus to return to its first love,  else its lampstand will be removed. A lamp is a symbol of guidance. A lampstand  in biblical times was the only source of light in the Holy place. It provided light  for the priests to carry out their duties. So, without the lampstands, they would  be ineffective or unable to function properly.

    If you currently lack clarity in life or are in a place of restlessness and  ineffectiveness, or you are so confused about your next move, returning to your  first love might be a good place to start to get clarity. Your first love is that place  where you connect intimately with God the most. You may need to put

    everything else aside and be still in His presence so that you can be feed,  nourished, instructed, and strengthened. For, “…In returning and rest, you shall  be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength” (Isaiah 30:15-17).

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Dcns 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: Your value is in the pressing

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Your value is in the pressing

    By Oke Chinye

    Read: 2 Corinthians 4:7-10

    Meditation verse:

    “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not  in despair” (2 Corinthians 4:8).

    Have you ever considered how oil is gotten from olive seeds? The seeds are  pressed to express the oil. To produce sweet wine, bunches of grape seeds are  put in a big drum and someone steps in to trample on them. Bread is made by  kneading dough on a hard surface and the churning of cream produces butter.

    What does all of this say about the creation of value?

    The value in you will not birthed in your comfort zone. It is in the daily struggling,  pressing, squeezing, and suffering that the value you carry will show forth.  Newton’s first law of motion states that an object either remains at rest or  continues to move at a constant velocity unless it is acted upon by an external  force. The second law states that the rate of change of momentum of an object  is directly proportional to the force applied. Greatness can hardly be found in  your comfort zone, only mediocrity resides there.

    Jesus told His disciples that if they wanted to become great, they must serve  others. Then, He rolled up his sleeves, put on an apron and bent down to wash  their feet. Prophesying the suffering of the Messiah, Isaiah 50:6 states “I gave  My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the  beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting”. If the world is to benefit  from your value, you must get out there and do the dirty work, and in doing so,  you will be hard pressed.

    2 Corinthians 4:7-10 says, “but we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the  excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on  every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted,  but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the  body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in  our body. So, do not resist the hard knocks of life. The value is always in the  pressing.

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Dcns 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: Faith like potatoes

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Faith like potatoes

    By Oke Chinye 

    Read: Hebrews 11:1-39

    Meditation verse: 

    “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”  (Hebrews 11:1).

    I stumbled upon a movie some years back which has made a huge impact on my  faith even till this day. The movie “Faith Like Potatoes” is based on the  autobiography novel of Farmer turned Evangelist, Angus Buchan. It portrays the  inspiring true story of Angus, a local farmer in South Africa who learnt to trust  God with every detail of his farming work. After his conversion, Angus began to live out his newfound faith in God in his work as a farmer. When a chance fire  threatened to spread, Angus Challenged his Zulu Farm assistant to pray with him  for rain. It wasn’t yet the rainy season and the assistant scoffed but Angus  prayed, and it rained. The rains extinguished the fire.

    When the land experienced severe drought, such that nothing could grow on it,  Angus challenged the farmers to go ahead and plant their potatoes. Everyone  was skeptical, but Angus knew the God, he had come to believe in. So, the  potatoes were planted, but the surfaces remained very dry. It seemed nothing  was growing underneath. But when it was harvest time, Angus again challenged  the farmers to dig and harvest the potatoes. That little Zulu town experienced a  bumper harvest of big, fresh potatoes like never.

    At the end of the day, each one of us must live out our faith wherever we are  and in everything we do, otherwise our faith is useless. Our Christian faith must  be lived out especially in the marketplace. There is no separation between that  which is secular and spiritual, everything is spiritual. Our business practices,  engagements, associations, decisions, goals, activities, and outcomes must  reflect our faith in Christ. And this faith must be like the potatoes harvested by  Angus Buchan and his co farmers several years ago. Our faith must be big and  real enough for others to see, feel and touch.

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Dcns 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: Schedules and routines

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Schedules and routines

    By Oke Chinye

    Read: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

    Meditation verse:

    “To everything, there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven”  (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

    Growing up as little children, we were subject to rules, routines, and schedules,  both at home and in school. There were rules about what to do and what not to do. We had times for sleeping and times for waking up. We had specific times for reading, leisure, and diverse household chores. I bet we all felt trapped and just couldn’t wait to become adults. The growing-up years are now over, we heave a sigh of relief and revel in our freedom as we realize that the strict life of rules and routines is finally over. We are completely free to do exactly as we please, whenever we please.

    But if truth be told, our lives were properly shaped by the rules and schedules we resented back then and we have become who we are today because of being moulded by our guided childhood. The bible states that train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it (Prov 22:6). A life that will be exceptional and successful must continue with some measure of rules,  routines, and schedules. Zig Ziglar said, “People do not wander around and then find themselves at the top of Mount Everest”. Success in life requires intentional or purposeful living and this entails discipline, sacrifice, self-denial, and planning. No kidding! Our life of routines and schedules isn’t nearly half over yet.

    Today’s bible reading puts it aptly: there is indeed a time for every purpose or  activity under heaven. To become that fulfilled individual, who excels in every area of life, you must subject yourself to some form of routine. Time must be allotted to every area of your life. Timing is important. The bible enjoins us to walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise redeeming the time because the days are evil (Eph 5:15-16). Wasting time on irrelevant and mindless things is unprofitable. The secret to success and fulfilment lies in knowing the appropriate time for every purpose. Difficult? Maybe, but the results are well worth the effort.

    “Those that make the best use of their time have none to spare” (Thomas Fuller).

    An important question to ask in this new month is “am I making the best use of my time?

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Dcns 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.