[ebankole]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

Recognising God’s voice
15 OCTOBER 2021

‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.’
1 Samuel 3:9 NKJV

As a boy working in the temple, Samuel didn’t recognise God’s voice when He spoke to him. But later as a prophet, his ear was the portal through which God spoke to an entire nation. Learning to recognise God’s voice isn’t a skill that’s acquired overnight because He speaks to us at different times, in different ways, and in different settings. Recognising God’s voice: 1) Calls for spiritual maturity. Jesus said, ‘The sheep follow him, for they know his voice’ (John 10:4 NKJV). Note, he said His sheep, not His lambs, know His voice. Baby sheep follow adult sheep until their senses are trained.

That means there’s grace for the immature. So, if your spiritual ears aren’t developed yet, God will work with you till they are. 2) Means not being limited by your previous experiences. When God spoke to Moses, a mountain shook, whereas He spoke to Elijah in a still, small voice. Don’t limit God, and don’t try to figure Him out. He can speak to you through your Bible, through those qualified to teach His Word, through a song, through a painful situation, and through your thoughts and desires when you’re submitted to Him.

The key is to stay close to God and keep your receiver tuned. 3) Means being obedient: David said, ‘I take joy in doing your will’ (Psalm 40:8 NLT). When it comes to recognising God’s voice, is your response, ‘When I get around to it’? ‘If I can fit you in’? ‘I’ll think about it’? Read this: ‘If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures’ (Job 36:11 NKJV).

Jeremiah 22-23, 1 Timothy 4

[ebankole]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™


How’s your spiritual appetite? (1)
16 OCTOBER 2021

‘He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.’
Psalm 107:9 NKJV

When you’re sick, one of the first questions a doctor asks in order to diagnose your problem is, ‘How’s your appetite?’ That’s because when you lose your desire for food, something’s wrong in your body. And the same principle applies to your spiritual health.

One of the characteristics of the great men and women in Scripture is that they hungered for God in prayer and disciplined themselves to study and understand His Word. What made evangelist George Mueller so successful? During his lifetime he read through the Bible some two hundred times – and more than half of those were on his knees, praying over Scripture while studying it. When you know God that well, you’ll pray specifically and get specific answers.

The truth is that you were born with a God-shaped blank inside you, and nobody but God can fill it. Greater success won’t. More money won’t. Another relationship won’t. Living in a palace and being a king won’t. That’s why King David wrote: ‘Lord; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.


I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word…Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law…My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times…Your statutes are my delight; they are my counsellors’ (Psalm 119:12-24 NIVUK). The Word of God is ‘soul food’, so if you’ve been feeding your body and neglecting your soul – rearrange your priorities today.

Jeremiah 24-26, 1 Timothy 5

[ebankole]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

How’s your spiritual appetite? (2)
17 OCTOBER 2021

‘They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the LORD gave them rest on every side.’
2 Chronicles 15:15 NIV

Prolonged starvation can have a profound effect on your health. You lose your ability to think clearly. Your vision gets blurry. Your strength wanes, and you stop being productive.

Guess what? It’s the same with your spiritual life. Jesus said, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’ (Matthew 4:4 NIV). So knowing that, how come we don’t spend time reading the Bible? We know it’s essential to our spiritual, mental and emotional health.

Yet we fail to do it or do it inconsistently. Why? 1) Because we’re not motivated. We haven’t experienced the joy that comes from personally discovering great truths from God’s Word. We grow complacent and settle for having our spiritual food handed to us by other people. But when you get serious about studying the Bible for yourself, you’ll never again be satisfied with second-hand knowledge. 2) Because we don’t know how.

We hear a great sermon and think, ‘Why didn’t I see that?’ Because most church leaders spend hours studying the Scriptures – we don’t! 3) Because we get lazy. Bible study requires self-discipline. It takes time, effort, concentration and persistence. Most great truths don’t lie on the surface; you have to dig for them. In the Old Testament when Israel ‘sought God eagerly…he was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest on every side.’ And God will do that for you too!

Luke 19:28-48, Psalms 105-106

[ebankole]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

How’s your spiritual appetite? (3)
18 OCTOBER 2021

‘As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands.’
Psalm 119:143 NLT

Thank God for skilled doctors who know how to diagnose illnesses and prescribe medications that bring health and healing. But here’s something for you to think about: what if many of our stress-related illnesses could be helped with meditation as well as medication? The psalmist wrote: ‘As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands.

Your laws are always right; help me to understand them so I may live…Those who love your instructions have great peace’ (vv. 143-144, 165 NLT). When there’s a chemical imbalance in your body it may need to be treated with medication, an altered diet, and daily exercise.

But when your soul is starved to the point of dysfunction, it needs to be treated with God’s Word. We’re not talking about skimming through a few verses and rushing out into your day. Butterflies cover a lot of ground, but only bees gather honey! Sometimes you have to stay with a particular Scripture until you extract the honey; to ‘live with’ and ‘meditate’ on it till it takes root and starts to grow within you (see Psalm 119:48).

It takes time to change ingrained character traits. God may work on one area of your life for several weeks, or months. New habits and ways of thinking need time to be established. You must recognise this and allow God to reveal and reinforce new truth in your life. Don’t fool yourself into thinking because you read a certain scriptural truth it will produce instant change. It must be applied daily, and that takes time and meditation.

Jeremiah 27-29, 1 Timothy 6

[ebankole]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

What goes around comes around
19 OCTOBER 2021

‘Give, and it will be given to you.’
Luke 6:38 NKJV

In the late nineteenth century, a member of parliament went to Scotland to make an important speech. He travelled to Edinburgh by train, then took a horse-drawn carriage southward to his destination. But the roads were bad and the carriage became mired in mud. A Scottish farm boy came to the rescue of the team of horses and helped to pull the carriage loose.

The member of parliament asked the boy how much he owed him. ‘Nothing,’ the lad replied. ‘Are you sure?’ the politician pressed, but the boy declined payment. ‘Well, is there anything I can do for you? What do you want to be when you grow up?’ The boy responded, ‘I want to be a doctor’. The member of parliament offered to help the young Scot go to university, and sure enough he followed through on his pledge.

More than a half century later Winston Churchill lay dangerously ill with pneumonia; stricken while attending a wartime conference in Morocco. A new ‘wonder drug’ was administered to him, a drug called penicillin that had been discovered by Sir Alexander Fleming. You’ve guessed it: Fleming was the young Scottish lad who came to the aid of the member of parliament.

And the member of parliament was none other than Randolph Churchill, Winston Churchill’s father. Yes, what goes around comes around. Jesus told the truth when He said, ‘Give, and it will be given to you.’ So, when God tells you to sow a seed of kindness into the life of someone else, it’s because He has a harvest of blessing waiting for you somewhere down the road.

Jeremiah 30-31, 2 Timothy 1

[ebankole]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

Don’t short-change your children
20 OCTOBER 2021
‘My child, if your heart is wise, my own heart will rejoice!’
Proverbs 23:15 NLT

If you succeed in making a good living but fail to teach your children how to live ‘right’, your success will be empty, and you’ll end up living with regrets. The average child spends six to seven hours each day on the Internet, or watching television, or interacting with their peer group. And every minute of it is creating their value system and moulding them into the person they will become.

So be there for them! If you have to sacrifice materially in order to develop them spiritually, it’s a trade-off you’ll always feel good about. Dorothy Lawe Nolte wrote words that every parent should carry with them: ‘If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.

If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight. If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy. If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty. But, if a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient. If a child lives with encouragement, he learns confidence. If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate. If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice.

If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith. If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself. If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, he learns to find love in the world.’ Solomon, who was a father, put it this way: ‘My child, if your heart is wise, my own heart will rejoice!’

Jeremiah 32-33, 2 Timothy 2

[ebankole]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

God connects the dots
21 OCTOBER 2021

‘Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass.’
Isaiah 46:10 NLT

One day a businessman called his wife to say that he was bringing a foreign visitor home for dinner. His wife had three children in school and one toddler at home, so she had a full workload.

But she consented, and the meal she prepared was both delicious and graciously served. The foreign guest, an important official in Spain, had a delightful time and thanked the couple repeatedly for inviting him and treating him to a home-cooked meal and an evening of family warmth and fellowship.

Years later, friends of this family went to Spain as missionaries. But their work was brought to a standstill by government regulations. When this particular Spanish official got word that the missionaries were friends of the couple who’d hosted him in such a gracious manner, he used his influence to clear away the restrictions on their behalf.

As a result, a vibrant and growing church was built in that province of Spain and people were won to Christ. Why? Because a busy wife and mother was willing to set an extra plate for a guest at her dinner table, and that guest proved to be a ‘kingdom connection’. Like a wise businessman, God sets the goal, then determines the plan required to reach it. In His Word He tells us: ‘I am God…declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure”’ (vv. 9-10 NKJV). In other words, God connects the dots.

Jeremiah 34-36, 2 Timothy 3

[ebankole]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

The seven sons of Sceva (1)
22 OCTOBER 2021

‘And the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.’
Acts 19:17 NKJV

The Bible says: ‘Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. Then some itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and…they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

This became known…and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified’ (vv. 11-17 NKJV). This story should act as a warning to those who think, ‘If they can do something, I can do it!’ Not so. Unless God calls and equips you to do it, the chances are that you’ll fall flat on your face! God doesn’t empower you to do your own thing; He empowers you to do His thing! The truth is, you can only use the name of Jesus effectively: a) When you acknowledge Him as your Saviour and Lord. b) When you have an intimate relationship with Him. c) When you stand on His Word and practise its principles in your everyday life. When you do that, every time you use the name of Jesus, you’re protected and indemnified by the authority that’s in His name.

Jeremiah 37-39, 2 Timothy 4

[ebankole]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

The seven sons of Sceva (2)
23 OCTOBER 2021

‘Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.’
1 John 4:4 KJV

From the seven sons of Sceva we learn two very important things: 1) Satan knows who you are. The demons in this man spoke to the sons of Sceva, saying, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?’ (Acts 19:15 NKJV). Question: Do you have the kind of relationship with God that causes Satan to know your name, and acknowledge that you’re a force to be reckoned with? When God asked Satan, ‘Have you noticed my servant, Job?’ he replied, ‘Yes, and every time I come up against him I hit a force field I can’t penetrate’ (Job 1:8-12, paraphrased).

Maybe you’re preoccupied with your own inadequacy, thinking you’re not up to the job, or you’re not good enough. Understand this: it’s not you the enemy’s afraid of – it’s God’s Spirit within you! 2) When ‘the evil day’ comes, you discover if you have what it takes.

Paul said, ‘Take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day’ (Ephesians 6:13 NKJV). The demons in the man recognised the weaknesses in the seven sons of Sceva and stripped them of their pretence. You will only survive if your faith is genuine, because one day you’ll have to walk with God when you can’t understand or explain where He’s taking you.

Your techniques and talents won’t get you through. You’re going to have to stand on His Word when it doesn’t look like it’s working for you. That’s when you discover it’s ‘“not by might nor…power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord’ (Zechariah 4:6 NKJV).

Jeremiah 40-42, Titus 1

[ebankole]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™


The seven sons of Sceva (3)
24 OCTOBER 2021

‘Having a form of godliness but denying its power.’
2 Timothy 3:5 NIV

Here are three more important lessons from the seven sons of Sceva: 1) Those around you aren’t necessarily with you. Just because somebody hangs out with you, admires you, and tries to emulate you, doesn’t mean they’re with you. These men followed Paul, studying his every move and trying to do what he did. But they had the wrong motives.

They were never ‘with’ him at all! Are you concerned about losing certain people? Are you always trying to keep them happy? Do you wonder if you can make it in life without them? John writes, ‘They went out from us, but they were not of us’ (1 John 2:19 NKJV).

When God removes a person who doesn’t belong in your life, trust Him; He knows what’s best. 2) Greater numbers don’t always mean greater effectiveness. These seven men together couldn’t do what one Spirit-empowered apostle did.

And remember, their father was a chief priest, so they knew how to ‘do church’. They fulfilled the Scripture: ‘Having a form of godliness, but denying its power.’ 3) Success isn’t as easy as it looks. Sceva’s sons showed up towards the end of Paul’s career. They weren’t there in the beginning when he was humbled on the Damascus Road, or trained for three-and-a-half years in the Arabian Desert.

These guys were looking for shortcuts. Just because someone writes a book about success, doesn’t mean you can achieve overnight what took years of life experience on the part of the author. It’s not that God can’t give you instant success; it’s that you need time, training, and in some cases a major overhaul to prepare you for it.

Luke 20:1-26, Psalms 107-109