We Would Like to See Jesus

STRENGTH FOR MY DAYS 

A Daily Devotional by Bishop David

We Would Like to See Jesus

Friday, 18 October

 

The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. John 12.21

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: John 12:20-22 And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: 21 The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. 22 Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.

 

MORE LESSON: Philippians 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

 

In our scripture for today, we see that a group of Greeks approached Philip, one of Jesus' disciples, with a humble request: "Sir, we would like to see Jesus." These Gentiles, drawn by Jesus' teachings and miracles, sought a personal encounter with the Saviour. This set of people did not only want to hear about Jesus but desperately desired to see Him.

What does "seeing Jesus" mean to you? Seeing Jesus means having a spiritual understanding or revelation of who He is and His significance in one's life. It symbolises a deep, personal relationship with Him, where one experiences His presence, guidance and love. Seeing Jesus can also mean understanding His attributes, such as His love, grace and mercy, and recognizing His presence in our lives.

Their request resonates with our own hearts' desires. We, too, yearn to see Jesus to experience His presence, guidance and love. We crave a deeper connection to Him, just as the Greeks did. Jesus' response is telling; He didn't simply grant their request or provide a quick fix. Instead, He spoke of His impending death and resurrection, saying, in John 12:23: The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

When you encounter Jesus personally, you know beyond the letters and beyond “My pastor said”. You must have a deeper understanding about Him. Jesus knew that seeing Him wasn't just about a physical encounter; it was about understanding His purpose and sacrifice. He wanted the Greeks of that time and we of now to grasp the depth of His love and the significance of His mission.

Here are some ways to deepen your connection with Jesus.

1. Prayer: regular, honest and intimate conversation with God.

2. Bible Study: reading, meditating, and applying God's Word to your life.

3. Worship: singing, praising, and honouring God with your heart and voice.

4. Communion: regularly participating in the Lord's Supper, remembering His sacrifice.

5. Fasting: setting aside time to focus on God, seeking guidance and clarity.

As we echo the Greeks' request, "We would like to see Jesus," may we also embrace the fullness of His message. May we seek not just a fleeting glimpse but a transformative encounter that changes our lives forever.

 

Prayer/Action

* Pray that you too will see Jesus. 

* Ask God to reveal Himself to you to behold His glory and understand the depth of His love. 

* Ask God to help you to embrace His sacrifice and follow Him with a heart fully devoted to Him.

 

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: From this day on, the testimony of answered prayers shall be my song. Bye bye to closed heavens, in the mighty name of Jesus.

 

TODAY’S FASTING FOCUS: I shall testify; Revelation 12:11

Is the Fire still Burning?

 STRENGTH FOR MY DAYS 

A Daily Devotional by Bishop David

Is the Fire still Burning?

Thursday, 17 October

 

The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it, it shall not go out; the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall lay the burnt offering in order upon it, and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. Leviticus 6: 12

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Revelation 3:14-22 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 20 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. 21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

 

MORE LESSON: Leviticus 6: 12-14 And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. 13 The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out. 14 And this is the law of the meat offering: the sons of Aaron shall offer it before the LORD, before the altar.

 

God instructed the Old Testament priests to put fire upon His altar and to ensure it was burning continuously. They were to refuel the fire every morning: it was an instruction they were to observe from generation to generation.

This is a picture of what God wants on the altar of our hearts. When you become born again and receive the Holy Spirit, the fire of God comes on the altar of your heart. If you remember, when you believed, you were on fire; you truly loved God. You were grateful He saved you and worshiped Him in Spirit and truth. You loved to pray, and you prayed with all your heart. You loved to go to church to be with other saints in worship. You loved to serve in the house of God and to win souls for Christ. You loved to give, to pay your tithe and to sacrifice for God. You followed God with all your heart because you were on fire for Him. This is the experience of anyone who truly becomes born again.

The fire of God upon the altar of your heart is expected to be burning continually. Just as your heart beats and does not stop until you die, God's fire is to burn continuously until you leave this world to be with Him in glory. The fire shall never go out, " but " shall ever be burning upon the altar " (Leviticus 6:13). Just as the Levites were commanded to refuel the fire every morning by putting wood upon it, refuel the fire of God on your altar through worship, prayer and feeding in the word of God, "morning by morning" (Isaiah 50:4). May the fire of God never go out on the altar of your heart, in Jesus ' name.

In case the fire has gone down, then it is time to refuel. This was the situation with the Laodicean Church; they became lukewarm and were neither cold nor hot. Jesus, rebuked them and asked them to return to their first love (Revelations 3:16; 2: 4-5). Revelations 3:19 cautions us: As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. It is time to return to your first love for the Lord. The fire of God's love must burn again in your heart and manifest in how you worship, pray, study His word, give, serve, evangelise, love to go to the house of God, and how you love the brethren.

May the fire of God burn brightly in your heart, today and forever. Ephesians 5:14 exhorts: Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

 

Prayer/Action

* Give thanks to God for His great love for you and for the fire of the Holy Spirit. 

* Ask God to purge you of everything that hinders this fire from burning.

* Pray that God's fire will burn on the altar of your heart forever.

 

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: Thank You my Father and my God for giving me life. I receive everything that makes life worth living from You now, in the precious name of Jesus.

Be Still

STRENGTH FOR MY DAYS 

A Daily Devotional by Bishop David

Be Still

Wednesday, 16 October

 

Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Psalm 46:1-11 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. 4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. 6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. 7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. 8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth. 9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. 10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. 11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

 

MORE LESSON: Psalm 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

 

God is our refuge; strong, ever present and a great help to those who are weak. God who is higher than all else, rules over all, His voice melts the earth. Our fortress, our sun and shield; we are secure no matter what environment we find ourselves. We must read God’s promises of preservation again and again, allow them to sink into us, permeate our spirits to rule our hearts and minds, especially in times of insecurity and crises.

There are three dimensions of Be Still we are meditating on in this devotion today.

i) Be still and meditate on God Himself; meditate in silence on His unfailing love (Psalm 48:9); His mighty deeds (Psalm 77:12); His ways (Psalm 119:15); His greatness (Psalm 119:97). These meditations will strengthen and open you up to hear the voice of God.

ii) The second dimension is to be still and build faith that drives away fear; be still and cease from fearful agitations. In Mark 4:39 Jesus rebuked the wind: And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Psalm 107:29 says, He maketh the storm a calm so that the waves thereof are still. Remember that fear has torment but faith opposes fear and brings victory. Read through Hebrews 11 again and let the testimonials of faith encourage you. Also, confess the truths in God to quench the voice of fear.

iii) The third dimension of Be still is in waiting patiently on God and for God as Psalm 37:7 urges us, Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Surrender your circumstances to God's sovereignty, anticipate that God will lead you to a place of refreshing and rest. Isaiah 26:3-4 says, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.

 

Prayer/Action

* Praise God for His greatness and might and for who He is.

* Ask for grace to be still in listening to God in faith and confidence.

* Ask God to lead you to rest and refreshing in all realms of life.

 

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: My Father and my Maker, as I give You thanks today for all You are doing in my destiny, I connect with Your power for more, in Jesus' mighty name.

God’s How II

 STRENGTH FOR MY DAYS 

A Daily Devotional by Bishop David

God’s How II

Tuesday, 15 October

 

And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. Malachi 3:3

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Isaiah 43:2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

 

MORE LESSON: Malachi 3:2-3 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: 3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

 

God’s how is always a mystery to man because His ways are different from those of men. In Genesis 8:7, a raven was used to get a message for Noah inside the ark to confirm if the water has dried up, on the land. Also, in I Kings 17:6, God used a raven to supply food for Elijah during the time of drought and famine. The bird consistently brought him breakfast and dinner until the brook dried up and then God used the widow of Zerephath, of all people, to sustain Elijah. Couldn’t He have sent Elijah to one of the wealthiest people in town? Yet, He chose a widow who was about to eat her last meal. How do you send someone to feed from a person who does not even have a day’s meal?

In 2 Kings 2:11, Elijah went to heaven by whirlwind; it was different from the way Jesus went to heaven. People run away from whirlwinds but it was used as a means of transportation for Elijah. Elisha knew Elijah was going but he did not know how. I know God will answer you but I don’t know how, so stay on God. I listened to a lady’s testimony of being barren for 25 years and God gave her four children at once. All the children she was meant to have in a lifetime God gave her in one day. In the mystery of settlement, times are never known. The way you may expect God to do a thing may not be the way He will do it. God is visiting someone in a special way today, in Jesus’ name.

So, friend, take it easy and stop stressing yourself to find out which way God is going to come from; God works in mysterious ways. In a way you least expect, God will surprise you today, in Jesus’s name.

Today’s text says, When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. Notice from this verse that it says when you pass through the water and walk through the fire. It didn’t say if you pass through or if you walk through. This teaches us that it is not strange to be challenged as a child of God, but it is certainly strange to be defeated. This is why Peter admonishes us in I Peter 4:12, Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.

When you are challenged however, you must keep your trust in God and know that He will bring you out unhurt. Just the way you cannot explain how a person in fire is not burnt, you may not know how; but He is faithful and He will bring you out unhurt, in Jesus’ name.

 

Prayer/Action

* Pray that you will not miss God's chosen way when He is speaking.

* Pray for God's divine visitation in this season.

 

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: Today, I put my hands on my head and declare, I choose the way of the Lord, so help me LORD, in Jesus' precious name.