Devotional Tea 49: A Heart After God.

Scripture: Psalm 51:16-17 (ERV):

You don’t really want sacrifices, or I would give them to you. The sacrifice that God wants is a humble spirit. God, you will not turn away someone who comes with a humble heart and is willing to obey you. 

Meditation:

Religious externals may have meaning for the God-inhabited soul; for any others they are not only useless but may actually become snares, deceiving them into a false and perilous sense of security. — A. W. Tozer 

The carnal man pride him/herself on the externalities and public show of things. It is all about what people see and talk about for them. They are the modern day Pharisees, Sadducees and religious minded people. It is all about what they are doing and what people get to say or not say about them. They are all about titles and accolades. They are all about being the first to do this or do that. Their minds are lost in the here and now.

Not so the spiritually minded man. He/she, like Jonathan Edwards, has eternity stamped on His/her eyes. He sees everything in the face and value of eternity and the God who has it all together. It is not as much what people say, or not say. It is what God is saying about this, or that. 

The spiritually minded man is satisfied with the private ministry, because they know that is where God is. They know and understand the power of the public ministry is found only in the power of the private ministry. Without the private ministry the public ministry is devoid of power. 

God has to be the reason and the essence of all that we do. Here and now is not all that is to our journey. Our journey is much more than that. Like Paul says, if here and now is all, we are of all men most miserable. There is more to our journey. There is a resurrection. May we never lose sight of that.


© 2015 Akin Akinbodunse.

Links to Series:

Devotional Tea 48: No Pain No Gain.

Devotional Tea 48: No Pain, No Gain.

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (KJV):

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. 

Meditation:

Many men owe the grandeur of their lives to their tremendous difficulties. ― Charles Haddon Spurgeon. 

Nothing in life comes on a platter of gold. It is time to wake up to reality. Enough of the name it, claim it. It is time to get your hands dirty. It does not matter whether it be spiritual, psychological, or physical. The same law works in all realms of life. There is a price to pay for every good thing, greatness, or new height in life. Are you willing to pay the price? How valuable is that which you seek? Is it worth the price?

The best, lasting and sustainable things of life NEVER come in a hurry. They are found on the small gate and narrow way. You cannot just wish, or claim your way into glory. Life is going to ask you questions. You'll have to overcome the trials along the way. You'll have to make the right decisions along the way. You'll have to show just how much you truly want it. God wants to give it to you. The question is how much do you really want it?

© 2015 Akin Akinbodunse.

Further Reading: Genesis 50:15-21; Romans 5:1-3; James 1:2-8.

Prayer: Lord, lead me into every temptation destined for my life, but deliver me from evil. May my temptation not overcome me, but may I overcome and gain the strength it brings.

Links to Series:

Devotional Tea 47: Have You Been to the Threshing Floor?

Devotional Tea 47: Have You Been to the Threshing Floor?

Scripture: Luke 15:17-19 (KJV):

And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 

Meditation:

Trials teach us what we are; they dig up the soil, and let us see what we are made of. ― Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Have you been to the threshing floor? Are you on the threshing floor? That is where men and women are revealed to themselves. That is where destinies are settled, where men and women are made. You will not, you cannot enter into the fullness of what God has for you until you have been to your threshing floor. That is where the unshakeable is separated from the shakable. That is where visions and callings are made clear. 

Have you been to your threshing floor?

Have you been circumcised? Have the excesses in your life been brought to light and cutaway? Are the things in your life, covering God’s glory, been taken away? Have you been to the threshing floor? Thank God for the threshing floor, where a person comes to him/herself. That is where we come to know ourselves even as we are known. 

Have you been to your threshing floor?

© 2015 Akin Akinbodunse.

Further Reading: Genesis 32:24-29; Luke 9:23; Matthew 16:23-25.

Prayer: Lord, help me meet myself, and prevail.

Links to Sereis:
Devotional Tea 46: Are You Willing And Obedient?

Devotional Tea 48: No Pain, No Gain.

Devotional Tea 46: Are You Willing And Obedient?

Scripture: Isaiah 1:19-20 (KJV):

If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. 

Meditation:

Obedience may have its uses, but it is no substitute for willing, uncoerced cooperation. ― Eleanor Roosevelt.

When God asks something of us, He requires complete obedience. He requires that we not only be obedient but that we are also willing. He requires that we take full ownership of the mandate. We need to run with the mandate as though it were ours. Anything short of this might as well be called disobedience.

That was where Eve missed it. That was where the young prophet missed it. That was where Saul missed it. They all did not take full ownership of the mandate given. They were disobedience looking for where to happen. And, as sure as sure is, they happened. Their hearts were not in obedience. Hence, it was so easy to dissuade them.

What mandate do you have from the Lord? Have you taken ownership? Or, are you looking for some excuse to avoid it? God’s demand is always “ALL.” Anything short is not good enough. You either go all the way in obedience, or you might as well enjoy yourself in disobedience. The choice is yours to make. There is no use deceiving your own very self. If God is God then serve Him as same. If not, go serve your god. The choice is yours to make. What you get is predicated on the choice you make.

Who will you choose today?

© 2015 Akin Akinbodunse.

Further Reading: Genesis 3:1-7; 1 Kings 13:1-32; 1 Samuel 15.

Prayer: Lord, I choose you.

Devotional Tea 45: You Have a Future.

Devotional Tea 47: Have You Been to the Threshing Floor?

Devotional Tea 45: You Have a Future.

Scripture: Jeremiah 29:11 (TLB)

"For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." 

Meditation:

"God never ends anything on a negative; God always ends on a positive." ― Edwin Louis Cole.

Your story will end with praise and glory. Your God is all about your business. You are not on your own. You are not forsaken. The Lord your God is showing Himself mighty on your behalf.

Only wait and see His salvation. Don't give up waiting. Remember it is always too soon to give up. He might not come too soon. He is never late. He will be there right on time. Nothing fazes Him out. He has it all under control. He has already figured your whole life out, and He calls it victorious. You already won.

If your God is unfazed, why should you? If your God is alive, why should you be perturbed? You might not understand His hands. That is understandable. His ways are higher than ours. So, also are His thoughts. They might be beyond our comprehension. So, we hold on to His heart. We hold on to His person. We hold to His word. These are our substance and evidence, our faith. 

Further Reading: 2 Chronicles 16:8-9; Deuteronomy 31:6-8; Hebrews 13:5-6, 11:1.

Prayer: Lord, teach me to trust you. Lord, teach me to wait. Help my eyes catch a glimpse of the future you have for me.

Link to Series:

Devotional Tea 44: Love What You Want.

Devotional Tea 46: Are You Willing And Obedient?

Devotional Tea 44: Love What You Want.

Scripture: Colossians 3:1-2 (MSG)

"So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective."

Meditation:

"We become like that which we love. If we love what is base, we become base; but if we love what is noble, we become noble." ― Fulton J. Sheen.

Religion is a watershed where man seems to want to both eat his cake and keep it. We seek a god who both meets our protective needs and allows us the lust of our flesh. As it were, we seek the god which makes us happy on our own terms.

That must have been the idea in the mind of the Israelites as they asked Aaron to make them a god. Their prototype or archetype was all they saw in Egypt. The Egyptians had gods for different things they hold dear, including their Pharaoh. It was a cheap way the Pharaohs used to maintain control over the people. 

They looked up to the Pharaohs in respect. The Pharaohs' themselves internalized so much they believed it. How so our own walk will be made perfect if we believe God and all He reveals in His word. How so our walk will be if we believe we have the power to become the sons and daughters of God. 

How so powerful and different we will see ourselves when we understand our positioning with Christ. God wants us to. He wants us to be so overwhelmed with Him we can see nothing else. O let the word dwell in us richly unto all wisdom. O that we might see Christ in all, through all, and overall.

© 2021 Akin Akinbodunse.

Further Reading: Exodus 32; Colossians 3:16; Galatians 2:20; John 1:12.

Prayer: O Lord my God, consume me through and through. You have my surrender.

Link to Series:

Devotional Tea 43: The Substance of my Religion.

Devotional Tea 45: You Have a Future.

Devotional Tea 43: The Substance of my Religion

Scripture: 1 Corinthian 13:13 (NKJV)

"And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

Meditation:

"The whole substance of religion is faith, hope, and love... All things are possible to him who believes, they are less difficult to him who hopes, they are more easy to him who loves, and still more easy to him who perseveres in the practice of these three virtues."  ― Brother Lawrence.

I call these my three angels. They work miracles for me each and every day. Love covers all. My Father is love, and I am created in His image and likeness. I am created to love. I am created as love. I am love, just like my Father. Love is my default. I am perfect in love. Fear has rule over me.

Faith is my medium of communication. It connects my spiritual being with my human experience. I believe. I am a believer. I am not a doubter. I am open to God. I am open to possibilities. I  am to all things good. All good and perfect gifts come from my Father, in whom there is no shadow of turning.

I am a child of hope. I live from hope and in hope. Hope is my secret source. It enlightens my inside, shedding light on all I see and do. I believe in hope. I believe in possibilities. I believe in God.

Further Reading: James 1:17; 1 Chronicles 16:1-12; Proverbs 13:12.

Prayer: Lord, cause my heart to ever be established in the faith. You are my stay. Please ever be my stay.

© 2021 Akin Akinbodunse.

Link to Series:

Devotional Tea 42: Tools in His Hands

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Devotional Tea 42: Tools in His Hands

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Scripture: Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV)

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Meditation:

"God has foreordained the works to which He has called you. He has been ahead of you preparing the place to which you are coming and manipulating all the resources of the universe so that the work you do may be a part of His whole great and gracious work." ― G. Campbell Morgan.

We are each here to live to the highest version of the image and likeness of God in our life. That is our Jerusalem and the very source of our joy and fulfillment. It is not about the big things. No, it is all about the seemingly small things. 

That is what moves the needle in the eye of Him before whom we have to stand when it is all done and dusted. Never forget it is never about you or me. It is always about fulfilling the will of the Father. Is your life fulfilling the will of the Father?

Further Reading: Matthew 7:20-22; Genesis 1:26-27; Habakkuk 2:14; 1 Corinthians 10:31..

Prayer: Lord, may my eyes be single and set like a flint towards your will and your way. May nothing else ever satisfy me other than you. You are my one and only true desire and longing, Make it ever so.,

Link to Series:

Devotional Tea 41: Being Made Perfect

Devotional Tea 43: The Substance of my Religion

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Devotional Tea 41: Being Made Perfect

Scripture: Romans 5:3-4 (GNT)

We also boast of our troubles, because we know that trouble produces endurance, endurance brings God's approval, and his approval creates hope. 

Meditation:

"We must learn to live with them [problems] until such time as God delivers us from them...Problems patiently endured will work for our spiritual perfecting." 

(A. W. Tozer)

Nothing in our lives ever just happens. I might as well just repeat that (and really, I want to shout it out loud from the mountaintop) "NOTHING in our lives ever just happens." Nothing! Nothing!! Nothing!!! Again, I say, "Nothing!" And, it really does not matter what your "nothing" is. It did not happen "to" you. It happened "for" you. The one who has every hair on your head numbered [Luke 12:7] has every other detail of your life figured out. Nothing, I repeat, nothing escapes His attention. Nothing! If it got to you, it had to pass through Him. [Colossians 3:3] And, if He allowed it, there is a reason, there is a purpose, there is an intent. Stay tuned and keep praising. There is a miracle coming your way.

Herein is the absurdity of anxiety. If God has the hairs on my head figured out, what else could He have left uncatered for? The one with whom we have to deal with neither slumbers nor sleep. [Psalm 121:3-4] Why are you standing in His way? Why are you competing with Him? Why are you doubting Him? Why are you allowing the Devil to make mincemeat of you? Why are you delaying your miracle? Why are you prolonging your evil day? There is a God in Heaven. And, He is our God, not another's. He is on our side. He is for us not against us. And, I don't care what you think you might have done. Or, the reason, the devil might be beclouding your mind, is why you are where you presently are. (Which is just a big, fat, black and dirty lie, from the very pit of hell.)

He has said He will not LEAVE us nor FORSAKE us. Therefore we can say with all boldness, "The Lord is my Helper (Shepherd, Source, Caretaker, Shield, Defence). I will not fear what man shall do unto me." [Hebrews 13:5-6] He will not leave us: His manifest presence will be with us. We are not alone. We have a company. We have a company of He who holds all the resources of the Universe in His hands. Wow! And, not only is He there, He does not FORSAKE us: He associates with us. Not only do we have He who holds the resources of Heaven with us, but there is also more. He also makes the resources readily available to us. Hallelujah! So, He says "even before I call, He will answer." [Isaiah 65:24] Hallelujah! Hallelujah!! Hallelujah!!! What more do I want?

I Feel Like Running, Skipping

I feel like running, skipping
Praise the Lord!
For what He has done for me
He has set my spirit free.

I feel like running, skipping
Praise the Lord!
For what He has done for me.

Further Reading: Matthew 10:24-33; Luke 12:1-7; Colossians 3:1-11; Psalm 121, 18; Isaiah 65; Hebrews 5:5-11; Matthew 5:48.

Prayer: Lord, you are my Shepherd (Caretaker, Source, Defender, Shield, Strong Tower). My life rests only on you alone. So, even if/when I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, Lord, for you are with me. Your shepherd's rod and staff will protect me. [Psalm 23:4] Thank you, Lord, because I can ALWAYS count on you.

© 2020 Akin Akinbodunse

Link to Series:

Devotional Tea 40: Our Secret Weapon

Books for Further Study:
Crushing (T.D. Jakes)
Even Though I Walk (Magda Heras)
Rescued from Destruction (Faith Oyedepo)

Devotional Tea 40: Our Secret Weapon

Scripture: Philippians 4:13 (AMP)

I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.]

Meditation:

"To receive the gospel is to receive an entirely different view of reality where Christ is the epicenter of all things. He becomes the center of our universe, the source, the purpose, the goal, and the motivation of all that we are and do. When a man receives the gospel, his entire life begins to be lived out in a different context, and that context is Christ." (Paul Washer)

There is a continual contention waging between our flesh and our spirit (in union with the Holy Spirit). This is the default for as long as we are on this side of eternity. Our bodies yet await their redemption. [Romans 8:23] If we merely exist, the default is our flesh will win. It will "make mincemeat of us" by producing "the works of the flesh." That is what is registered in our subconscious mind. That is its comfort zone. That is how it has been conditioned as a result of the fall. [Romans 3:23] That is why the Prophet Jeremiah refers to our heart as "desperately wicked." [Jeremiah 17:9-10]

If we are not to grieve the Holy Spirit we have to play an active part in the game of life. We have no other choice. The Apostle Paul pleads with us to offer our bodies "a living sacrifice." That is, one offered up on a continual basis, 24/7. We are consciously taking up our cross and following. That is how we get drunk (filled, enraptured, controlled, influenced) by the Holy Spirit. [Ephesians 5:18] "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." (Galatians 5:25) 

We cannot, nor are we expected to, do this in our own strength or power. There is no bravado or braggadocio about it. It is spiritual warfare, and as such requires spiritual implements. We war with our secret weapon, Christ himself. [Philippians 4:13, Colossians 1:27] And, the way to activate our weapon is maintaining an essential, intimate love relationship (koinonia) with Him. [John 15:5] Let Him carry you. You cannot carry yourself. Just the plain truth. May God give each of us understanding.

Further Reading: Ephesians 4:25-32; Galatians 5:16-26; 2 Corinthians 10:3-6; 2 Peter 1:1-11; John 15:1-8.

Prayer: Lord, help me see Jesus in His glory. Remind me always of my helplessness without You. Cause me to ever continually hunger and thirst for more of you. 

Link to Series:

Devotional Tea 39: Keeping Your Edge
Devotional Tea 41: Being Made Perfect

Books for Further Study:
Fasting (Jentezen Franklin)
A Hunger for God (John Piper)
Christian Fasting (Kent Berghuis)
When I Don't Desire God (John Piper)

More Thoughts on Subject Matter:

"Communion with Christ—is a certain cure for every ill." (Charles H. Spurgeon)

"True spirituality consists in living moment to moment by the grace of Jesus Christ." (Francis Schaeffer)

"Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done." (C.S. Lewis)

"When a Christian jealously guards his secret life with God, his public life will take care of itself." (Oswald Chambers)

"He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other." (C. S. Lewis)

"If you want that splendid power in prayer, you must remain in loving, living, lasting, conscious, practical, abiding union with the Lord Jesus Christ." (Charles H. Spurgeon)

"Today Jesus Christ is being dispatched as the Figurehead of a Religion, a mere example. He is that, but he is infinitely more; He is salvation itself, He is the Gospel of God." (Oswald Chambers)

Devotional Tea 39: Keeping Your Edge

Scripture: Romans 12:11 (TPT)

Be enthusiastic to serve the Lord, keeping your passion toward him boiling hot! Radiate with the glow of the Holy Spirit and let him fill you with excitement as you serve him.

Meditation:

"If Jesus Christ isn't strong enough to motivate you to live biblically, you don't know Him at all." (Paul Washer)

Our hunger for God is the true test of the genuineness of our faith. When we stop seeking for Him we sure have drifted off the perfect way, the strait and the narrow pathway to Heaven, God's heart. It is all so easy to drift. "Drift" not a sudden turning off. For the devil knows too well we will react to sudden, big changes. No, he does not come with the dramatic. He comes with seemingly insignificant - tuning - changes, veering our hearts in drifts away from the perfect way.

God help each of us not to drift from the koinonia (fellowship) to which we are called. May we not find solace in a mere religion, glorified by the multitude. Henry Blackaby, in his book, "Experiencing God," gives the following as features of people who have drifted off the pathway (lost their edge).

1 - No longer Hearing from God;
2 - Loss of Joy;
3 - Not Producing Spiritual Fruit;
4 - No longer having Victory in Life.

Do you still have your edge? Is your heart beating after Christ? Is your heart burning for Him? Are you on the pathway to Heaven? God help us all.

Further Reading: Genesis 3:1-6; Matthew 4:1-11, 5:3-12; Mark 12:30-31; Romans 12:11-16

Prayer: Lord, give me oil in my lamp keep me burning. May I never forget you are the very, and the only reason I am alive. In You, I move, live, and have my very being. Help me never forget my walk with You is far more important than any work I might ever find myself doing for you.

Link to Series:

Devotional Tea 38: He Deserves My All
Devotional Tea 40: Our Secret Weapon

Links to Other Related Blog on Topic:

4 keys to staying on fire for God

5 Practical Tips to Keep the Fire Burning Inside You

6 Keys to Keep the Fire of God Burning in Your Life

5 Things To Do Daily to Keep Your Spiritual Edge Sharp

Links to Other Resources:

Dangerous Prayers: (Craig Groeschel)

Dancing Through Life (Allen T. Brown)
Prayer Warrior Journal (Barry and Annaliese Adams)

More Thoughts on Subject Matter:

"If I should neglect prayer but a single day, I should lose a great deal of the fire of faith." (Martin Luther)

"When a Christian jealously guards his secret life with God, his public life will take care of itself." (Oswald Chambers)

"If you want that splendid power in prayer, you must remain in loving, living, lasting, conscious, practical, abiding union with the Lord Jesus Christ." (Charles H. Spurgeon)

"God has privileged us in Christ Jesus to live above the ordinary human plane of life. Those who want to be ordinary and live on a lower plane can do so, but as for me, I will not." (Smith Wigglesworth)

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Devotional Tea 38: He Deserves My All

Scripture: Romans 12:11 (TLB)

Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically.

Meditation:

Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God. (Jim Elliot)

God’s call demands our all. Anything less and it is not an acceptable offering. That is where the people missed it in the Old Testament. That is the very bane of religion. People are struggling to meet the barest minimum. The question on their minds is, “What can we get away with?” They are only mindful of pushing the limits to supposedly avoid sin, rather than embracing righteousness.

Such do not take ownership of their walk with God. They see it as another man’s responsibility. They see it as the pastor or priest’s responsibility. No wonder they fall prey to the same people. Rather than coming straight to the throne room, they leave that to others. Not wanting to be convicted of their shortcomings they choose to stay away from the master’s feet.

Not so is our call. Our call is to give God our all and much more. Our call is to draw close to the throne room to know even as we have been known. Our call is to take ownership of our pilgrimage and walk in righteousness. Our call is to extend the boundaries of righteousness. Our call is to make God’s glory known in all that we are, do, and say. Of such and with such is the heart of the Father pleased. Where do you stand?

Further Reading: Deuteronomy 6:5; 5:23-33; Hebrews 4:16; Psalm 103:7; Luke 10:40-42; 1 Samuel 15:17-21; Hebrews 11:6

Prayer: Lord, may I never hide from your presence. May it always be my utmost desire. You can have the whole of me. Cause my heart to take ownership of your will, and my feet to be quick to follow. You are my God

© 2016 Akin Akinbodunse.

Link to Series:

Devotional Tea 37: Faith or Anxiety
Devotional Tea 39: Keeping Your Edge


More Thoughts on Topic:

"If you do only what you are told you are a slave. If you do more than what you are told you are a free man." (Earl Nightingale)

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Devotional Tea 37: Faith or Anxiety

Scripture: Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Meditation:

The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety. (George Muller)

Faith and anxiety cannot dwell together in the same heart. You are either going to trust God, or you are going to handle it yourself with anxiety. With God, you get the benefit of being productive doing the things you actually have control over. Faith leaves the things we have no control over to Him who has control over all things.

Anxiety dwells in the heart of the foolish. They live with the deception they can handle things outside their control. Hence, they labor in futility stressing out over nothing. Such people engage in motion with no movement. Trust in the Lord, and lean not on your own understanding. Trust Him with your life and see Him do great and mighty work in and through you.

Further Reading: Proverbs 3:5-6

Prayer: Lord, let me feel my emotions, but follow your commands. (Matt Brown)

Study Series:Devotional Tea 36: Let God In 
Devotional Tea 38: He Deserves It All

Helpful Resources:
You'll Get Through This (Max Lucado)
100 Days of Faith over Fear: Devotional Journal (Lisa Stilwell and Robert J. Morgan)
Live a Praying Life® Without Fear: Let Faith Tame Your Worries (Jennifer Kennedy Dean)


More Thoughts on Faith and Anxiety:

"Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time." (Oswald Chambers)

"The key to living without fear is not believing that nothing you fear will happen but that nothing will happen apart from God’s intervening grace." (Jennifer Kennedy Dean)

Devotional Tea 36: Let God In

Scripture: Revelations 3:20 (KJV)

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Meditation:

Let in God. Both into heart and home. Let God dwell in you and in your house. Bid Him welcome. Be not forgetful to entertain Him. He comes in love. Fury is not in Him. He is seeking entrance for Himself, and shelter for His ark among the sons of men. Let Him not pass by your door. Go out to meet Him, and bid Him welcome. He will bless you. — Horatius Bonar

Further Reading: Acts 17:22-31; John 15:23; 1 Peter 3:15

Prayer: Lord you can have the whole of me – body, soul and spirit, No part and no place do I hold back.

Devotional Tea 35: Faithful in the Little Things
Devotional Tea 37: Faith or Anxiety

Devotional Tea 35: Faithful in the Little Things

Scripture: Luke 16:10 (KJV)

He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

Meditation:

Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. (John Wooden)

The important things in life are not the things we cannot do. They are the things we can do. Life’s important questions include, “how faithful are we in those things we can do? Are we doing our best in them? Are we maximizing the opportunities they avail us?” Life’s important questions do not center on the things we cannot do. They center on the things we can do. Our faithfulness in the things we can do is what opens new and better opportunities for us, giving us new enablement, around the things we hitherto could not do.

Life is not about how many things we can, or cannot do. Rather, it is about our faithfulness in the little we can do. It is about doing the little with excellence. Faithfulness in the little is what will guarantee faithfulness in the much. If you cannot handle the little, who will give you the much you are looking for?

Further Reading: Matthew 25:14-30; Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12; 2 Corinthians 4:7.

Prayer: Lord, help me not to despise that which you have endowed me with. Help me see that not is little, except the way I treat it. Help me magnify that which is in my hands, that you might be glorified in and through this earthen vessel of mine.

Devotional Tea 34: Faith Precedes Feelings
Devotional Tea 36: Let God In

Be faithful in the little things, for in them our strength lies. To the good God nothing is little, because He is so great and we are so small. (Mother Teresa)

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Devotional Tea 34: Faith Precedes Feelings

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:7 (KJV)

For we walk by faith, not by sight

Meditation:

In religion faith does not spring out of feeling, but feeling out of faith. The less we feel the more we should trust. We cannot feel right till we have believed. (Horatius Bonar)

It is not what, nor is it how I feel that matters. It is what the word of God says. It is the will of God at every point in time and in every situation. We do not force the word of God to align with our feelings. Rather, we force our feelings to align with the word of God. A thing feeling right does not make it right, or true. The word of God, not our feelings, has always been, and will always be our baseline.

Further Reading: Genesis 3:6; 1 John 2:16; Matthew 16:21-23

Prayer: Lord, deliver me from worshipping a god of my own emotions, or that of others. Help me seek and worship only you.

Devotional Tea 33: Actively Waiting
Devotional Tea 35: Faithful in the Little Things

Devotional Tea 33: Actively Waiting

Scripture: Micah 7:7 (NIV)

But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.

Meditation:

Waiting for God is not laziness. Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort. Waiting for God means, first, activity under command; second, readiness for any new command that may come; third, the ability to do nothing until the command is given. (G. Campbell Morgan)

Waiting is not being idle. Waiting is not being stupid. We get our waiting stance from the second part of Matthew 7:7. Waiting is the second level of praying. It is the "seek" rung of the ladder of prayer. It is the searching of heart for God's will and direction in and on a matter. Waiting is active. It is never passive. It is a stance where we clear our mind and heart of every idol. It is a stance of readiness to hear God's direction on a matter. It is a time of preparation and consecration. Waiting might not seem to make sense, while we wait. However, when you get there you'll understand it truly does make sense and was worth every second of the wait. To wait is to trust. To wait is to stretch. To wait is to grow and build strength. To wait is to mature. To wait is to prepare for that which is to be received. There is no other option to waiting.

The important part of waiting is the direction we get while we wait. Sometimes, while we wait it might seem God is silent. The secret at those times is to continue with the last instruction we got from Him, while we remain sensitive to his next direction. That is being faithful to that which has already been revealed. We are not to let that which we do not know stand in the way of that which is already clear to us. Waiting is a test of where our heart is. In waiting God is asking a question. Our answer is found in the disposition of our heart while we wait. We see the consequence of Saul not waiting in 1 Samuel 13:7-14. Note Samuel appeared just after Saul gave up. It is always too early to give up waiting. There is no alternative to waiting on a faithful God.

Further Reading: Psalm 62, 130; Micah 7:7

Prayer: O God and Father, I repent of my sinful preoccupation with visible things. The world has been too much with me. Thou hast been here and I knew it not. I have been blind to Thy Presence. Open my eyes that I may behold Thee in and around me. For Christ’s sake, Amen. (A.W. Tower)

Devotional Tea 32: Doing the Works of God
Devotional Tea 34: Faith Precedes Feelings

The only thing harder than waiting on God, is wishing that you had! (Steven Furtick)

Devotional Tea 32: Doing the Works of God

Scripture: John 6:28-29 (NKJV):

Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

Meditation:

The snare in Christian work is to rejoice in successful service, to rejoice in the fact that God has used you…If you make usefulness the test, then Jesus Christ was the greatest failure that ever lived. The lodestar of the saint is God Himself, not estimated usefulness. It is the work that God does through us that counts, not what we do for Him. (Oswald Chambers)

It is God who works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure. [Philippians 2:13] It is never about what we can do. It is always about that which He does in and through us. That is what gives God pleasure. Our place is to wait on Him to receive and run with His commissioning. It is not about the works. It is about whether they are God commissioned or not. That in no way to take away the place of taking initiatives. However, our initiatives must always rest on that which God has approved and commissioned.

We are not called to do our own thing. We are called to reflect the Father. We are called to do the will of God. We are called to cause His Kingdom to come on earth as it is in Heaven. That is the example Christ showed us. We have no other mandate.

Further Reading: 2 Samuel 7; Matthew 6:9-13, 7:21-23; John 15:18-20.

Prayer: Lord, teach me to wait.

Devotional Tea 31: Watch, Pray and Keep Watching
Devotional Tea 33: Actively Waiting

Devotional Tea 31: Watch, Pray and Keep Watching

Scripture: Acts 12:15-16 (NIV)

“You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.” But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.

Meditation:

Elijah on Carmel did not only pray; he kept his eyes open to see the rising cloud. (Theodore L. Cuyler) 

How so often we get into the act of praying we make a religion of it. We get so used to the act we forget the very art itself. We get so carried away by the activity we lose its power and efficacy. The other day, a friend talked about prayer in a Sunday school, and all he said had no place in scripture. His focus was on how long people prayed. Really??? Is that what prayer is about - the time spent or how the time was spent? Is it a check-the-box activity or a time and place to meet with God?

We have made a religion out of a powerful spiritual act and art. We have created deadness from that which is meant to give life. Prayer is not a mere activity. It is not how long, but how well. It is not a check the box activity. It is not a feel-good thing like some have made it. It is our essential communication and communion with God. It is our place of dependence on His grace, mercies, and almightiness.

Prayer is our portal for giving entrance to the supernatural in taking pre-eminence over things' natural scheme. Prayer works. Prayer works always. If it is not working for you, seek to find out why. For prayer, it always works. God has not changed. His word has not changed. You just might have made a religion out of what is supposed to be a living spiritual act.

Further Reading: 1 Kings 18:41-46; Luke 18:1-8; Acts 12:1-19; James 5:13-18

Prayer: Lord, deliver me from the temptation to commonize that which you have called holy.

© 2016 Akin Akinbodunse


Links to Study Series:
Devotional Tea 30: Seek First His Heart
Devotional Tea 32: Doing the Works of God

Resources for Further Study:
Prayer (Timothy Keller)
Dangerous Prayers: (Craig Groeschel)


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Devotional Tea 30: Seek His Heart

Scripture: Psalm 103:7 (NIV)

He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel.

Meditation:

The primary object of prayer is to know God better; we and our needs should come second. (Florence Allshorn)

A lot of people are so consumed with that which they seek, they miss God Himself. That is why people crowd miracle centers, irrespective of the life of their progenitors. Supposed Christians will do outrageous things all in the name of miracles. Rather than seek God, rather than looking up to Jesus, their faces are set, like a flint, towards the miracle. They have neglected the giver in search of the gift. Like the Israelites, who left Egypt, they disqualify themselves from entering into the Promised Land.

Not so is the upward way. Not so is the way of life. Our blessings are not found outside of God, but rather in God. He is the one we seek, not for the blessings, but for He Himself. The blessings are a byproduct of our worship; they are not the main focus. God is looking for worshippers such as Abraham, Moses, and David. People, He can call a friend. People, He can call, “those after His heart.” Can He find one in you?

Further Reading: Numbers 12:4-8; 1 Samuel 13:14; Jeremiah 29:13; Psalm 27:8; Acts 13:22; Matthew 6:33; John 4:24

Prayer: Lord, teach me the way and cause me to come into the holy of holies. May I NEVER be satisfied with anything less.

© 2016 Akin Akinbodunse

Devotional Tea 29: Power in The Secret Place
Devotional Tea 31: Watch, Pray and Keep Watching

Resource:
An Intimate Collision (Craig D. Lounbrough)