Divine Encounters

Day 197 Reading: Jeremiah 4:1 - Jeremiah 8:22 The difference between a storybook and the Bible is that the Bible comes alive. The Word of God comes alive in many ways. One way is that we receive a conviction in our hearts. This conviction is by the Holy Spirit pointing out an issue where we need to align with the standards of God. You see if your heart is not sensitive to the things of God you will not realise when God is trying to call you back to Him. My dear friend as I read the passage for today I came under conviction. Let me share what convicted me. Firstly, God desires we break up the fallow ground of our hearts. Circumcise your heart and remove the skin that which is not needed. God desires we walk in covenant with Him. When God made a covenant with Abraham he made him circumcise all the males as a sign of the covenant God had made with him. The state of your heart reveals whether you have cut a covenant with God. Remove whatever is covering your heart and allow Go...

Day 182 Reading: Isaiah 17:1 - Isaiah 21:17 Serving God comes with a price and a glorious prize. A very heavy price that one must pay. When Isaiah was responding to the question God asked on whom to send I don't think he knew some of the things he would do. However, once you have given yourself to God then total and absolute obedience is a requirement.  Isaiah is one prophet who really spoke against the enemies of Israel. He declares woes to Babylon, which was the biggest empire of his time. He declares the end of the Assyrian empire. He reminds Egypt of previous judgements from God. Reading through the woes that Isaiah declared I am humbled at how God moves. Many may be tempted to say to the enemy good for you, however, let me urge restraint and caution against such thinking or speaking. You ask why? Never allow yourself to think of yourself more highly than those God has judged. Remember the reason you are not facing judgement is that of God's mercy not your wort...

Day 168 Reading: Proverbs 10:1 - Proverbs 13:32 The Bible is filled with promises from God. God does make promises and we His children have the responsibility to understand them and to see them come to pass. Whilst reading the portion of scripture today one part of me was asking why am I bothering to read the Bible? I know that sounds weird. However, one side inside me was reminding me of the benefits of reading the Word. Many today don't read the Bible. They class the Bible as a Sunday reading book only in church kinda thing to have. The Bible is for daily living and God has promises that speak to every facet of life. Why should I look for the promises of God? Any business person will understand that a contract has obligations. Read the word of God with a mindset of seeking what is God obligated to do to me as His child. The promises of God in the Bible reveals God's desire for your wellbeing. They reveal His love and will for your life. From Genesis we see God ma...

Day 59 Reading: Deut 28:1 - Deut. 29:29 God's blessings are conditional. Every promise of God has a condition. Fulfil the condition and you will see the benefits. God has chosen to bless those who walk in obedience to His Word. We have a responsibility to choose to obey the Word of God. There are certain pathways of blessings in life that only open through obedience to God's Word.  Not only would the blessing follow them, the blessings would also come upon them and overtake them. Prosperity is guaranteed for the one who keeps the Words of God. Moses announced the following blessings in obedience to the Word of God: God will set me up on high. I am blessed in the city and in the country Blessed shall be my children, the produce of my ground-ministry, business or career- and the increase of my livestock. I am blessed with plenty of all areas of endeavour. Blessed shall be my basket and kneading bowl- where I prepare, work, earn, or eat from! I am blessed when I ent...

Day 56 Reading: Deut. 16:1- Deut. 19:21 Growth will always bring change. How you respond to change will determine the results you see. When the Passover was instituted the animal was slaughtered within each home. This is changed to now having the aminal sacrificed at the place where God's house would be located. This change was to ensure that focus on the Tabernacle was maintained as His Presence was there. The test of commitment was what the children of Israel faced. Don't allow distance to stop you from having divine encounters with God.  When we appear before God we are to bring an offering. Never appear before God empty. Bring a sacrifice of praise. Take an offering of thanksgiving to Your Maker. Give generously to the Most High. Take an offering from your sweat and give back to God. To appear empty before God is ingratitude. Ensure that what you give to God is not blemished. I once heard a story of a thief taking his offering to God and asking for God's bl...

Day 54 Reading: Deut. 8:1- 11:32 To maintain the blessing that God bestows requires one lives by the commandments of God. Live according to the Word of God and you will remain in the place God has given you. One can only flourish by living according to the Word of God.  The tests we go through in life are to humble us, to sieve the heart and reveal what the contents of the heart are. Every challenge we go through is a test of our obedience to the Word of God. God desires to feed us with manna, which is heavenly food for our earthly journey. As we journey here on earth we need heavenly strengthening and this is from eating the Bread of Heaven. I am not alive because of the natural food, however, I am created to live by every Word that proceeds from God. I am born to live by the living Word, not just the written word but the 'live' word of God. The word used in Hebrew that is translated lives means that the spoken Word of God will quicken, preserve, revive, nourish, ...

Day 53 Reading: Deut. 5:1- Deut. 7:26 The Lord spoke face to face is an awesome statement that reveals how much God loves us. The Covenant of the Law was different from the Abrahamic covenant in how it was presented. Moses declares that God didn't make this covenant with the fathers. He appeared to the children of Israel and spoke to them. God declared the Ten Commandments on which the entire law hinged or revolved. God wrote these Ten Commandments on two tablets of stones. The Ten Commandments: I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth gene...

Day 52 Reading: Deut. 3:1- Deut. 4:49 Moses recounts the past victory against Og, the king of Bashan illustrating that God had indeed given victory over the inhabitants and enemies of the children of God. Here we also learn that this king was a giant. Don't ever be surprised that before you enter the land you deal with a giant. Moses in going over the journey from Egypt to where they were was also to encourage Joshua. Moses is constantly told to encourage and strengthen Joshua. 'Charles, you must not fear them, for God is the one who contends for you.'  Ever felt as though there is a prayer God doesn't answer. God does answer though the answer may not be the one we desire.  Moses desired to enter the land and prayed. From the response God gave him, its obvious Moses prayed about this matter many a time. However, God wouldn't grant his petition.  Obedience is key to possessing the land. It will only go well with me when I walk in obedience to God. I ...

Day 40 Reading: Num. 5:1- Num. 6:27 Do whatever God instructs. That is obedience. Remove whatever is displeasing to God from your life. Whatever or whoever is causing discharge from your life that contaminates your faith should be far from you and I. I do realise that in today's dispensation some will say that they have nothing to do to walk with God, however, God won't come and move your feet away from a place sin. You go runnings and that is an instruction from your brain to your feet in obedience to the Word of God to walk in purity. I found it interesting that after Moses tells the children of Isreal to remove every leper from the camp God then speaks on restitution. The law was not just about worshipping God but also about relating right. God desires that we not only are in right standing with Him but also with others. I realised that first God began by clearing whoever may bring defilement to the camp before not dealing with relationships. Restitution is a fo...

As I was preparing yesterday morning my spirit within was bubbling with a word. This word created a buzz within me, an excitement of the glorious expectations within me being fulfilled. This year will be great and I am convinced not only of its greatness but I will see God's goodness in all that pertains to my life Psalms 27:13b . The word that's been an inspiration to me, even as I write is NOW!!!Faith is found only in the NOW Hebrews 11:1 . As I declared that I am in the NOW season of God's blessing in my life an acronym dropped into my spirit.  N: Nevertheless - Irrespective of the past and present circumstances I am convinced that the NOW moment we are in is also a nevertheless moment. In spite of the present circumstances, God's promises will manifest into reality for those who believe Him wholly.  O: Obedience - This is what turns the key to opening the door of God's blessings. Faith without obedience leads nowhere. It's explicit and implicit obedience t...