FOCH Devotional by Rubie Targema-Takema

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An intimate walk with The Holy Spirit

R U B I E

TA R G E M A - TA K E M A

ÂŠ Copyright 2021 by Rubie Targema-Takema The right of Rubie Targema-Takema to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the copyright laws. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any manner form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission in writing from the copyright owner and the publisher. Scriptures taken from New Living Translation (NLT) Bible except otherwise stated. ISBN: 978-1-5272-8119-6

Cover Design by Nel Ibuola Layout by Shobola Ibukun and Nel Ibuola Printed by Reaccentuated Team

Letter from Rubie

t is our consistent walk with God that makes all the difference, not the periodic outburst of joy, display of power or consciousness of His presence. It is the daily surrendering and yielding that makes our walk with God what it is. You might be satisfied with your current walk with God but what if I told you that there is more? More hunger and satisfaction in the same beat, more presence and power in the same Person and more expressions and glory to be revealed. My journey thus far has given me reason to keep pressing in because I have seen that the more I know, the more I want to know. I have become like a child, wide eyed and mystified at the beauty that is The Holy Spirit. He makes all the difference, so here is challenging you to simply yield yourself and be like a child trusting every word you read through the next 365 days because it is coming to refine, mould and purify you to the best you that you can be.

Rubie

Identity First TEXT- JOHN 1:12, ROMANS 8:29

DAY

rowing up in an African home, particularly as you advance through phases of life, you would often hear your parents say, “remember who you are” or “know who you are”. Most times, they are referring to your identity as a child of God. Somehow, they hope that the knowledge that you are a child of God would keep you from doing and engaging with certain things and people. Rightfully so, it has worked for decades. Having understood who we are in Christ, we have kept ourselves from intentionally walking into ungodly territory. Your identity in Christ is the first thing you will need to grasp in order to fully work in the manifestation of who God has called you to be. God has given you an identity by calling you His child; an heir to His throne. Knowing who you are heavily influences how you act.

Reflection: Do I really know my identity in Christ? How would a child of God act, speak, dress or even court?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Loved Wholly, Known Fully

JOHN 3:16, JEREMIAH 1:5

he one truth you have to settle in your heart, is that Jesus loves you. The best part is that it does not stop there; He also knows you fully.

It is not a case of human love, where you have people who love you for only one part of you. God loves you wholly, even after knowing you fully. As humans, we tend to gravitate towards people who know us completely and still love us, but some people still struggle to accept love from God, knowing that He knows them completely. They often think, “what would a holy God want to do with an unholy person like me?” Nevertheless, the fact that He still chooses to love you, even after knowing all of you, should show that His love is independent of you. You are wholly loved and fully known by Him.

Reflection: How do I respond to God’s love even when I have not been good? Do I hide or do I approach the throne boldly?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

The Real Worship ROMANS 12:1-3, 2 CHRONICLES 7:1-3

DAY

think a lot of us have had it twisted over the years, thinking worship is the session right after the praise in a gathering or fellowship. We later realise that worship is beyond the songs and more about the state of a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heart. It is more of a lifestyle than it is an action. It is the posture of surrender to God in everything we do. Moving a step further, worship is the presentation of ourselves to our Father; to first please Him in our surrender and then have Him do with us what He will. Worship in the Bible was only deemed worship when there was an altar, a sacrifice, a fire and then glory. We have the opportunity and rare privilege of worshipping God in every activity of the day, round the clock. We step into greater dimensions of worship as we yield and surrender to God in everything.

Reflection: Have I limited my worship to God to religious gatherings? How can I be intentional about worshipping God around the clock?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

For My Best Interest

ROMANS 8:29-30, 1 JOHN 5:3-4

huge misconception about Christianity is that it is very constricting. A lot of people are discouraged from engaging with Christians, because they often think we are about to give them do’s and don’ts about living their life. There is a standard with Christianity and this standard is Jesus. The Bible encourages us to submit ourselves to the Spirit of God so that we are daily conformed to the image of Christ. The truth is, because there is a standard, we really cannot do anything or be found anywhere. The things we learn not to do are encouraged for our best interest; not for the interest of anyone or God, but for us. If you often find yourself struggling because of the said ‘rules’ of Christianity, maybe it is a call to evaluate your heart and why you do the things you do. The thought that we are being conformed to the image of Christ, daily, should excite us; even if it means dropping certain habits that used to bring us pleasure. Our walk with God benefits us first, before anyone else, because there is a deep working on our mind and heart, and that heavily impacts our view of life and people.

Reflection: Am I practising religion for people, or am I in a relationship with God? Do I see things as do’s and don’ts or as guidance from the Holy Spirit to conform me to the image of Christ?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

The Power of Perception I MATTHEW 6:22-23, 2 KINGS 4:9 (ASV)

DAY

am sure we have all been in a place where we saw someone we know, immediately perceived something was wrong and asked if they were okay. Imagine the same scenario, but this time, yourself and this person had an issue the day before. Being human, there is a tendency that rather than just perceive they are not okay, you might then link it to the fact that they appear that way because they have seen you. Our perceptions of people and things change as we encounter them; so, it is important that we guard the power of our perception, because if we do not, it can easily be polluted and contaminated by so many things. It is consistently an agenda of Satan to distort the perception of children of God in every situation they find themselves, so it is pertinent that we protect this perception.

Reflection: Do I always perceive positively, or do I tend to perceive more negative things? How conscious am I of my perceiving power?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

The Power of Perception II GENESIS 3, MATTHEW 6:22-23

o you remember the first story in the Bible? The one where God placed Adam and Eve in the garden, the serpent came to deceive Eve into disobeying God and eating the fruit, and Eve also offered some to her husband. Remember that the fruit she ate was of a tree that was with them in the garden. God actually showed them and then instructed them that it should not be eaten of. There is every tendency that Eve saw the fruits every day and told herself, “I cannot eat of it because God said not to.” Up until the day she decided to eat of it, nothing out of the ordinary happened. All that really happened was that the devil managed to change Eve’s perception of the tree which God said no one should eat from. When her perception of it changed, it was easy for her to believe the serpent and then reach for the fruit. The devil’s agenda is always to change what God has shown or said to us. Once he is able to do this, everything becomes easier. You must guard your God-given perception, because Satan is out to make you water down what God has given you instructions against.

Reflection: How more can I do to protect my perceptions?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

An Expression of Him PSALM 139:14, GENESIS 1:27

DAY

e often gloss over the verse that tells us we are made in Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s image. We have gotten so used to hearing it, that it does not mean much to us anymore. What we fail to realise is that the implication of that verse contains a level of power that one can only access if there is a full understanding of this truth. You are an expression of the Creator of the universe. The Bible calls you a masterpiece, meaning that you are the highest expression of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creativity. There is nothing random or mundane about you. You are an expression of the most wondrous person in all of life. When God looks at you, He sees His image. God wants us to look at other humans in the same way. He wants us to look at people and look for Him in them, not just their bad habits and flaws. You need to always remember that you are an expression of a divine and perfect God. This heavily influences how you live your life.

Reflection: How much of God do I see in myself? How much of God do I see in other people?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

The Mercy of God

EXODUS 34:6-7, LAMENTATIONS 3:22-23

very day since January 1, 2012 (the day of my rededication to God), I remember that the Lord’s mercy is all that has kept me this far. I came to realise that God’s mercy is not for sinners alone or those who have fallen short; it is for everyone who is humble to realise that life is what it is because of His mercy. The Bible speaks of God’s mercy so often. It reminds us that we serve a God who is always abiding in mercy. I hope you wake up every day this year and count God’s display of mercy in your life. Like Joseph in our text today, thank God for mercy, even when you think you do not require it. This is also a reminder that there is no level you can ever fall to, which God’s mercy cannot catch you. His mercy extends far beyond our minds. This is not a licence to sin; rather, it is a call to appreciate deeper the extent of God’s love for us.

Reflection: Do I think I require mercy only when I have sinned? Do I need to embrace God’s mercy more than I run from it?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

The Ideal Woman PROVERBS 31:30, PSALM 46:5

DAY

ver the years, society has attempted to give us a definition and description of who an ideal woman is. They have given us pictures of her body, told us how much she should be earning and the calibre of people she should have around her. We have also been told the kind of food she should eat and how often. But all societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s descriptions only appeal to her physical appearance, even as flawed as it is. Looking through the Bible and observing the women God walked with, you would see it was far beyond their physical appearance. There is a spiritual connection these women possessed with their maker, as well as key virtues they had submitted themselves to learning as the spirit enabled them. Contrary to all that the world tells us of who we should be, we need to know that Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ideal woman is the woman whose spirit is aligned to His, and whose daily mission is to obey the Father and do His will.

Reflection: Who is an ideal woman in my head? How has society influenced my view of the ideal woman?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

A Gentle and

Quiet Spirit 1 PETER 3:4, TITUS 3:2, COLOSSIANS 3:12

grew up with two older sisters, and unfortunately for me, they were a lot more reserved than I was. I would constantly have people ask me, “Why can’t you be like your sisters?”. As a result of this, I went on to interpret gentleness and quietness as introversion and seclusion. I have to admit, it did not go very well or even last long, because it was unlike me to be introverted or secluded. So, I committed myself to understanding what the Bible means when it speaks of a gentle and quiet spirit. God showed me that it was first a description of one’s spirit; the ability to trust the sovereignty of God to the extent that your spirit is in a default state of gentle and quiet, and the ability of one’s spirit to be so in tune with the Spirit of God to the point that there is never unrest. Subsequently, this reflects in our physical comportment, and the way we carry ourselves, but it has more to do with our manner of approach to situations around us - the way we choose to speak to people around us, and the default state of our hearts regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in.

Reflection: Have I ever felt a need to suppress my true self in order to look like someone else? Is that really what God wants of me?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Dead to Self GALATIANS 2:20, MATTHEW 16:24-26

DAY

e are so quick to follow Paul and say, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20), but I do not think we have fully studied the life of Paul to understand the gravity of what this statement comes with. Paul so died to himself, that his comfort and convenience was never a thought to him. He always focused on the mission of the Father to him: to take the gospel to the world, particularly the Gentiles. Death to self is a prerequisite for the spirit and power of God to flow in and through you. Everything that holds us back from walking in full manifestation in Christ is in self, which is why the Bible encourages us to rid ourselves of everything related to the flesh. It is only God’s Spirit that can empower a man or woman to live above the flesh; which is why we must work daily to break the chains of our flesh over us so we can walk as led by His Spirit. Jesus’ words in Matthew 16:24, to “deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me”, started with denying yourself because, until that happens, we cannot take up any cross or follow Him.

Reflection: How much of self is dead in me?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Sovereign God

ROMANS 8:28, JOHN 1:1-4

ne of the most magnificent things about God is His sovereignty. Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sovereignty is that characteristic that exists in the absence of any other thing. His sovereignty decided you will be a human on earth today. It decided what family you would be born into, and this sovereignty continues to reign in our lives as long as we allow Him. When we fully grasp the sovereignty of God, it becomes very difficult to worry or fret, because even if every other thing fails, we know that God cannot fail. Today, God is reminding you of one of those qualities that make him God. He is telling you that even though there are certain decisions that we get to make ourselves, submission will sometimes mean yielding to His sovereignty. The best part of this is that we serve a good God who loves us very much; so, in times when God does things in His sovereignty, we can be assured it is for our good, and it is the best thing that could have been done.

Reflection: Do I trust God at all times?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

“...and If He Chooses Not To…”

DAY

DANIEL 3:14-18, REVELATION 16:7

he Hebrew boys spoken about in the book of Daniel give us one of the greatest lessons of our Christian journey.

After being threatened about their refusal to bow and worship the golden calf, they were brought before the king. One would think they would be scared and compromise their stance at this point, but even after the king instructed that the furnace be made seven times hotter, they told the King “The God that we serve is able to deliver us from the fire, and He will deliver us, but even if He does not, we will not serve your god or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:17-18) These boys acknowledged God’s ability. They knew He was able to save them, but beyond that, they acknowledged His sovereignty. They told the king that even if in God’s sovereignty, He decided not to save them, they would still not bow. We must get to this level of total submission where even if God chooses not to do something, we are happy and trusting that He knows best.

Reflection: How comfortable am I when God answers in a different way from what I expected? FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

The Initial Thought

GENESIS 1:27, JEREMIAH 1:5

ome Chirstians believe in the doctrine that the woman was never God’s initial plan; rather, an afterthought. People have used this doctrine to talk young girls and women into believing that they are second-class creations, and for a lot of women, they have believed this lie to the point where it has permeated through every part of their life, causing them to live as second-class humans. Here is the truth, God does not view us as second-class creatures. He does not view women as the extra to His initial plan. He views us as He calls us: chosen, royal, holy, peculiar, light. Before Adam was created, God knew He would have Eve later, because He is the Alpha and the Omega and He is omniscient, meaning that He knows all things and sees the end from the beginning. We need to dissociate those thoughts and patterns that make us believe that we are God’s afterthought, because they are false and not consistent with God’s character.

Reflection: Do I secretly believe in my heart that I was not God’s initial thought?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

The World is Waiting ROMANS 8:19, ROMANS 8:29-30

DAY

n days when I am being lazy and slow, I have a mental picture of God and the angels in heaven leaning all around me and saying, “Rubie, all of creation is waiting.” There is no way you see this picture and remain in your bed. I am convinced that a lot of us need to have this picture a lot more often. Your vie of life changes when you understand that you are not alive for yourself alone. It helps you move from ‘me-mode’ to ‘us-mode’, and this reflects in the way we live our lives. There is something that God has created you for on the earth. If the need was not there, you will not be here. You need to alter your life view and see yourself as God sees you. There is something you carry that the world needs, and each day you choose laziness over work, or compromise your purpose for pleasure, you keep the world waiting for your full manifestation. Be intentional about your life and your living today. The world is waiting!

Reflection: Do I realise that I am alive for a purpose beyond my existence?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

The Surrendered Heart

JOB 11:13-15, PSALM 51:17

f God ever gave a man or woman the assignment of writing the top ten characteristics of the new man in Christ, a surrendered heart must make it to the top three. It is a trait that is non-negotiable. You cannot achieve certain things in Christ without a surrendered heart. One of my favourite authors describes a surrendered heart as the one who comes to God with careless abandon. The Holy Spirit cannot work with rigidity. There is a flexibility you develop as you grow in Christ, and this flexibility only comes as you increase in your surrender. Your state of mind moves from ‘what I want’ to ‘what God wants’; giving yourself to more things that glorify the body of Christ and not just yourself. God is seeking more surrendered hearts; more people who are ready to lay down the free will He has given to them, so that they become completely sold out to His voice. The surrendered heart gives you access to deeper realms in Christ.

Reflection: Is my heart totally surrendered to God?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Hungry Without Capacity ISAIAH 54:2-3, MATTHEW 5:6

DAY

t a point in my life, I got frustrated at how much of God I desired but how little I was getting. I went back in humility, this time asking what the matter was. God said to me, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I see your desire, I have more to open you up to, but you have not made room for that more.â&#x20AC;? A friend shared a similar vision with me a couple of years back, where people had the opportunity to take water from a river with whatever vessel they came with. People came with spoons, bottles and buckets, all in varying sizes. The point of the dream was that everyone decided how much they would take from the river based on the vessel they came with. In that season, my prayers changed. Instead of asking for more, I had to take a step back and ask God to help clear out parts of me, so that there would be capacity to receive more of Him. Oftentimes, we find ourselves asking God for more, in order for Him to accomplish more through us. But more cannot come if there is no place for it to stay. God does not waste resources. This explains why the Bible tells us that God did not send rain upon the earth until there was a man to till the ground. Until there is room for more, more cannot come. Beyond the more we are asking for, some of us need to be emptied of ourselves so we can make room for that more.

Reflection: Do I have the capacity to receive all God wants to release to me?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Your Place of Koinonia

JOHN 15:4, PSALM 91

oinonia is a Greek word that is directly translated as fellowship or communion. This fellowship does not refer to the group gatherings or communal meetings that we often call fellowship today; it refers to the fellowship between you and God. One-on-one with your God. We often get carried away thinking that the best of God is in certain gatherings with other people. We think that the more the people and gospel ministers, the more the anointing and presence. Well, that is false. The most powerful place to draw the most power and enjoy the best fellowship is your personal place of koinonia with God, otherwise known as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the secret placeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. God desires a secret place with you; He desires that you alone come to seek Him in that place. He is willing to open you to deep revelations and mysteries that you might never get in places of communal fellowship. God is seeking out the people who will take their secret place seriously, because He still has a lot to download to the earth, through His yielded vessels that are totally sold out to Him.

Reflection: How often do I come to God as I am? Does God only see me in crowds and never alone seeking Him?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

We are Bridal EPHESIANS 5:22 23, ISAIAH 54:5

DAY

t is amazing that young girls and women get to certain ages and begin to desire marriage. I do not think there is anything coincidental about it. You just get to certain points in your life where you desire companionship and a family. What most young girls and women fail to realise is that you do not become a bride or wife only after a wedding. It is the state of mind that God trains you in overtime, and not in an instant. As you would expect, it starts with Him. He is first our bridegroom and the lover of our souls, even before any husband will come our way. How committed and submitted are we to Him now, before He sends His physical representative? It is an identity we must be more acquainted with, that we are the bride of Christ; and as a husband desires the companionship of his bride, God also desires our companionship and love.

Reflection: How faithful am I to the lover of my soul? How often do I remember that I am the bride of Christ? FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

We are Bridal II

EPHESIANS 5:25-27, ISAIAH 54:5

t is important that you thoroughly understand your identity as the bride of Christ. This identity is the same identity you take into your marital home; the openness, trust, intimacy, vulnerability, total yielding and surrender. If you learn it well in your relationship with Christ, the relationship with your husband, who should be like Christ, will be just as beautiful. Being the bride of Christ gives you the model of your earthly marriage. Your commitment to God, your openness, your total submission, all of these are like practise and pre-school for the earthly marriage. When there is no full understanding of your identity as a bride of Christ, you are left ignorant of what it means to be loved by a true man of God, and what it means to be a committed bride of Christ. The sole model Jesus Christ gave for marriage is His relationship with the church, and so if we will do it right, we must first study Christâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relationship with His church.

Reflection: Have I fully studied the relationship that exists between Christ and His church?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

The Child Before the Minister

DAY

MARK 10:15, JOHN 21:18

e often get overwhelmed, feeling like we are not doing enough for God. We look around us, see what others are doing and begin to feel like we could and should be doing more. Because of this, rather than wait on the Father to instruct us, we go around seeking ways to do and do more. Remember the story of Mary and Martha. Martha just wanted to do. Whether or not she wanted to impress Jesus, we do not know. Mary, on the other hand, just sat and listened. She knew God wanted her to save souls, and also to love her neighbours in whatever capacity, but she also knew that before she could be empowered to do all these acceptably, she would have to sit at the feet of the Master and understand His heart towards these things, before attempting to do any of it. Sometimes, when we are worried about doing, God is just calling us to sit and be His child first. Being the child equips you to be the minister.

Reflection: Do I often neglect my personal time with God but get excited to meet Him collectively with other people? FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

The Thief of Joy

1 TIMOTHY 6:6-11, PSALM 139:14

remember making a video on my 21st birthday. In the video, I talked about 21 lessons I had learned in 21 years. I never got to share it, because I decided not to, not for any particular reason. One of the points in that video was that â&#x20AC;&#x153;comparison kills faster than poison.â&#x20AC;? In my 21 years, I had already realised that if I wanted to die fast, I just had to compare myself long enough. Comparison only becomes acceptable and fair when the two objects are completely equal. In the case of human beings, it would mean same backgrounds, upbringing, systems, environments, thought patterns and interpretations. If either of this is different, comparison becomes biased. The devil daily steals the joy of people by luring them into the trap of comparison. The more you compare yourself with people, the more you feel a need to be someone you are not. God created you, and He loves you just the way you are. It is much of an insult to Him to look at yourself and wish any part was like that of another person.

Reflection: Do I really believe I am fearfully and wonderfully made?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

You Carry a Presence 1 CORINTHIANS 3:16, 1 CORINTHIANS 6:20

DAY

od thought to Himself that you and I would be the best hosts of His presence. It was not a fancy building or a holy temple anymore; it became you and me. I do not know what could get you more excited than this knowledge. God looked all around Him and His creation, and decided He will make a home in the hearts of anyone who accepts Him as Lord and Saviour, and believes in their hearts and confesses with their mouth that He is Lord. You carry the presence of God. You are everything that God says you are by virtue of His presence in you. When I fully understood this, I carried myself differently, not in a prideful way, but in realisation of the person and power I carry within me. A lot of the things we do, say and the places we go, begin to change when we realise what it means to be called ‘the temple of God’.

Reflection: What am I doing with God’s temple?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

It is More Than Me

PHILIPPIANS 2:4, JOHN 3:30

ith how rampant depression and anxiety attacks have gotten in our generation, I have been forced to press in to understand how and why we get to such low points in our lives, where we somehow believe there is no hope and we are better off dead than alive. This is a great lie of the enemy. I need you to understand that God did not create the world to revolve around just you. Yes, He loves you, but His love is not selfish enough to cater to you alone and neglect everyone else. It is a love that is unique and whole to everyone who receives it. Now, because of this, we would need to realise that we are alive for far more than ourselves. There are people who will benefit from you fulfilling your purpose, and there are people who have to encounter you to fulfil their own purpose. This means we are all connected in a way, and if we remove our node, we create a vacuum and still expect other nodes to be reached. You are alive for far more than you can imagine, and the more you unlock this truth, the less selfish you become, even with your downtimes.

Reflection: How often do I see beyond myself?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

The Beauty of Uncertainty ISAIAH 30:21, PROVERBS 16:9

DAY

hat makes fear what it is, is the realisation that one does not know. We are only scared or fearful when we do not know. When we know, there is no reason to fear because we already have a consciousness of the what and the how. You have the expected outcome already known. Uncertainty makes us panic. It makes us fearful, and sometimes it leaves us confused, but it also does a lot of good. Uncertainty keeps us humble and dependent on God and the people He has placed around us. God never created either of us to exist by ourselves. We were created to be codependent on each other. If we were all self-sufficient, there would be no need for community or friendships. Uncertainty also helps keep our eyes on God; because, if we do not know, at least we know that God knows, so it brings us to a place of focus on the One who knows, which is always a good thing. So, each time you get to places of uncertainty, take it as a message from God to look up to Him.

Reflection: What do I do when I feel deep levels of uncertainty?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Bright Lights

MATTHEW 5:14-16, ISAIAH 60:1-3

hen I was younger, there was nothing I hated more than lights with low current. I preferred there be no light than for the current to be low because it made no difference to me, and was even more annoying. Asides aesthetic purposes where you go to places and see dim lights, light was not made to be on a ‘low’. It was designed to be bold, bright and obvious to anyone who encounters it. It is no surprise that God calls us the light of the world; not the light of your city or country, but the light of the world. I imagine the intensity of lights that have been placed within us to illuminate the entire world, because God will never require of us what He has not already put in us. There should be nothing dim about us. Hence, everything about us should be bright because it is how light was made to be. There is no need to apologise or feel sorry for the brightness of your light. Failure to shine is disobedience to God’s command for us to arise and shine.

Reflection: What fascinates me most about light? Do I have that characteristic?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Created Vulnerable GENESIS 2:25, PSALM 133:1

DAY

major part that we often miss in the creation story is the verse that says, “Adam and Eve were naked and were not ashamed.” (Genesis 2:25) ‘Naked’ there could mean nude, but it could also be ‘vulnerable’ or ‘open’, relating to personality. It is when sin entered the world that we started to cover up and hide. We started to shield things and only expose the parts we wanted people to see. Vulnerability became a weapon to us. However, vulnerability is also what really bonds people. That you can be completely open and honest with someone is evidence of a bond. God did not create you to run and hide, which is why when He first created Adam and Eve, there was no shame because everything was out in the open. God wants us to return to that place of being open and vulnerable with the people around us, because this is how we bond and stay united as one body, as He commands us to be.

Reflection: How vulnerable am I? Am I hiding parts of myself?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Love Like Christ

TEXT EPHESIANS 5:25, ROMANS 5:8

eople can only lie to us when we do not know the truth. Ignorance creates room for lies, so when we are unaware of something, we give room for that thing to be abused. Jesus Christ is the perfect example of a true lover. David called him the lover of his soul, and there is no greater truth. Any man that will truly love you on this earth must love you as Christ loves you, but until you know how Christ loves you, it would be impossible to recognise such love when it comes. Love has been terribly misinterpreted in our times. People call the most absurd things love, and we cannot blame them because they really do not know better. Take time out and get acquainted with the love of Christ. Study how God loves you, and with this knowledge, you would be able to recognise counterfeit love when it comes around, and push it away. The only love that will last and be sustained is the love of Christ.

Reflection: What counterfeits have I called love? Do I really know how God loves me?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Scripted PSALM 139:16, EPHESIANS 1:4

DAY

ould you believe me if I told you that your day, today, has already been scripted somewhere? Maybe you would, or maybe you would not, but the Bible tells us that it is so. All the days ordained for our lives have been written in a book by God; and so, daily, we are really just leaving out His scripts. Unlike puppets, we have the will and power to make decisions. While the script has the plan, we can choose to go with it or not, but we cannot even know the script if we do not have a relationship with the author. The author guides per time. He is there every step of the way, wanting to guide and lead us into what He has already written about us. It will take commitment, obedience and discipline to seek this will and live by Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plan for us. There are no surprises with God. It is only us humans that experience surprises. We call God omniscient, which is the One who knows all. Yield to Him today.

Reflection: How conscious am I about asking God of what He will have me do?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Heal First

EZEKIEL 36:26, MATTHEW 11:28-30

f you are like me, you cannot pretend that all is well until an issue has been resolved. However, I was not always like this. I used to be very dismissive about my hurt and pain. When people did things to me that hurt me, I would carry on as if nothing happened and just ignore it. This went on for a while until I started seeing patterns or friendships without trust and vulnerability. The Holy Spirit helped me realise that we have to heal first before moving on. Christianity is not a call to be any less human or feel things less. It just brings us to a place where we manage our feelings the godly way. God does not want us to be people who hide our pain or our hurt to appear like all is fine when all is not. He wants us to come to Him so He can take us through healing first, to prevent us from hurting other people because we ourselves have been hurt. God calls us to heal first so we can give out love to people we meet even after we have been hurt.

Reflection: Do I heal first after I have been hurt? Or do I ignore and carry on?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Daddy and Friend HEBREWS 4:15, JOHN 15:15

DAY

ur first realisation of who God is, is as a loving Father. What we often feel in the time where we accept salvation is a rush of the love of God in our hearts. As we grow in God, we begin to see other aspects of Him. We realise that while He is a loving Father, He is also a faithful friend, a committed lover and a true confidant. God desires that we grow to see and experience these other aspects of His being. He does not cease to be Father, but He becomes even more to us. Some of us have limited our relationship with God to just Father, and so when we need a friend, lover or confidant, we tend to look for other people, who are also limited in that capacity. Our relationship with God is so dynamic. The more we grow in Him, the more we know about Him, and the more we unlock new levels of our relationship with Him. God wants us to look to Him for any and everything, as a dad, a mom, a friend, a lover, a confidant.

Reflection: Is God also my friend?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Staying Motivated

PROVERBS 3:5, 1 CORINTHIANS 15:58, 2 CORINTHIANS 12:9

n our generation, It has become such an extreme sport to stay motivated. Everyday, you come face-to-face with things and people that might demotivate you; so, it takes a conscious effort to stay motivated, even when there is no reason to be. There is something that happens to us internally when we settle into God’s plan for our lives: we move from comparing and competing with people, to reaching the goals we set for ourselves under God’s plan for our lives. When our mindset shifts to ‘all for God’s glory’, we find that God commits Himself to motivate us even through the work He gives us. Some of us need to slow down in seeking approval and validation from the world around us. You need to settle in God’s truth about you, which is usually the first step in getting and staying motivated. God encourages us through all He has placed in our hands to do; so, each time we get to low moments where we cannot find the will or strength to continue, He is there to see us through.

Reflection: Do I seek God’s motivation in things I have done outside of His leading?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Getting to Know Myself 1 PETER 2:9, EPHESIANS 2:10

DAY

do not think that it is an accident that the Bible tells us to love our neighbour as we love ourselves. This tells us that if we cannot love ourselves, we might not be able to give love to people around us. The golden rule also tells us to do unto others as we want others to do unto us, so, as Christians, we carry a consciousness that, “I will only treat people the way I want to be treated.” One of the first things that God does when we come to Him is that He opens our eyes to see ourselves as He sees us. Something changes in you when you see yourself through the lens of God, and this is the version of you that you should always aim to see, because no other version of us trumps the version of us that God has. We need to study God’s word to know who He calls us to be and what He expects of us. Until we know ourselves through God’s eyes, we may not be confident to do all He will ask us to do.

Reflection: Who does God say I am?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

The Everyday Miracles

MATTHEW 19:26, JEREMIAH 32:27

hat we call miracles in our day are the unusual occurrences that we deem scarce in our time. We often ignore the other miracles and await the ‘big’ ones to see the move of God. God started to challenge this mindset in me by making me understand that there is a miracle in everything and every day. Your waking up, your ability to eat without issues, going out and coming back unharmed, all of these are miracles that we have begun to take for granted because they are so frequent. A miracle is anything you cannot do by your strength and power. When you critically think about this, you realise that everything is a miracle - from the smallest things to the biggest things. God does not want us to get used to our miracles. He wants us to always be in awe of the miracles He is performing in and through us daily. Do not wait to see the ‘big’ miracles, while you are ignoring the ones all around you daily.

Reflection: What miracle in my life have I reduced to nothing?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Gifted to Empower 2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-5, EPHESIANS 4:11-12

DAY

s you grow biologically and in Christ, you would begin to notice certain gifts that come naturally to you. You would find that you naturally drift towards these things because you genuinely enjoy them, and you feel you can make the most impact in those areas. By the time you grow in these gifts, there is a tendency to feel like it is up to you to decide when and how to use these gifts; but you will see that God has gifted you so you can edify His body. If we use the gifts God has given us only for ourselves, we will be misusing them, because they have not been given for you alone, but for other people around to benefit from them. God makes us conduits and channels to bless people, which is why it becomes dangerous to us and the people around, when things that God wants to pass through us get stuck in us. God empowers and edifies His church through His people. How yielded are you to God for Him to use your gifts at any time and any place?

Reflection: Do my gifts benefit anyone but myself?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Intimate with God

PSALM 139, EPHESIANS 3:14-19

ntimacy grows between two people, as they get to know each other. A man and a woman grow in intimacy as they get to know each other more. This is why marriage is the institution that allows for the highest level of intimacy. It is in the marriage that knowledge of each other grows in all aspects. There is some form of intimacy between us and God. Psalm 139 helps us understand that we are completely known by Him. There is nothing about us that God does not know, but this does not mean we automatically have full intimacy with Him. We must also grow in knowing God, so our intimacy with Him will grow. We often settle in the knowledge that, â&#x20AC;&#x153;God knows all about meâ&#x20AC;?, and we are so right to think that. However, God wants us to also reach the same levels of knowing Him. The more you learn and know God, the more intimate you get with Him. Like every other relationship, we must spend time with the people we say we love so we can grow in knowledge of one another.

Reflection: How intentional am I about growing in intimacy with God?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Swallowing Insecurities JEREMIAH 33:3, 2 CORINTHIANS 10:5

DAY

lot of us are triggered by things without even realising they are evidence of our insecurities. People make comments, put posts up on social media or have them on their status, and something jumps inside of us when we see them. Sometimes, we might be genuinely worried about the content, but at other times, it is an insecurity within us that is responding, and we need to be careful to identify and deal with these things before they become something bigger than we can control. There might be things about yourself that you are not entirely excited about. It might be your looks, your family, your career, your relationship, or even an illness or sickness. No one can really limit where insecurities could come from; but it is important to destroy whatever empowers these things to tamper with our emotions the way they do. The first step is always to identify and admit. Please, stop denying or ignoring these insecurities. Admitting that you are insecure about something makes it easier to deal with.

Reflection: What am I insecure about?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Overcoming Insecurities

PSALM 139:14, JEREMIAH 1:5

t is one thing to realise your insecurities, and it is another to take deliberate steps to discern what makes you insecure.

I was born without eyebrows, and over the years, they never grew. It was not a big deal for me until I got to high school and university where eyebrows were such a big deal. I hated it when people noticed and asked me about it publicly. When I would respond and say they never grew, some people did not believe, while others did; but it was always such a touchy subject for me. When God helped me realise how this was affecting me negatively, I asked Him how I could disarm it, and He asked me to go a couple of months without wearing any makeup. So, I stopped drawing my brows and when people noticed in public and asked, I would tell them I was born without them and even join in to laugh about it. I would then proceed to tell them that it makes me so special to God and people. I mean, how many people do you meet daily that were not born with eyebrows. Practical measures like these help you disarm insecurities. It is important that you speak to God about those insecurities.

Reflection: What do I need to do to get more comfortable about what makes me insecure?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Already Approved ROMANS 8:29-30, 1 PETER 2:9

DAY

hen I was in primary school, there was always this silent battle to be the teacher’s favourite. We were all young and naive, and most people were convinced it would be a plus to be highest in the good books of the teacher. So, we would do it all: help them carry their bags, leave cards and gifts on their desks, bring in Christmas and Easter packages every year, and so much more. What we were attempting to do was to win the approval of these teachers so they would like us most, and make us their favourites. What we did not know was we were all their students, and they loved us all and wished us all the best. It is the same with God. Sometimes, we get caught up trying to win His affection when He has already approved fully of us. We are never fighting to be loved by God, as a matter of fact, He cannot love us any more or less than He already does right now. So instead of fighting to be approved, we need to just settle in God’s love. That is really all He wants.

Reflection: Do I find myself doing things just to get God’s attention?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Feeling Green

1 TIMOTHY 6:6-11, PSALM 37:4

ealousy is that emotion that we have all felt at one point or the other in our lives. It is an emotion that feeds off other things like discontentment, mental competition or insecurity. It also usually does not come out of us as jealousy. It takes other forms like hatred, anger or abuse, neither of which is good or godly. The Bible teaches a lot on contentment, satisfaction and choosing joy in all circumstances. I am convinced that this is the antidote to feeling green. You will always meet people in the world who are more anything than you, so instead of always getting jealous, we can choose to be content and satisfied always. God is mindful of every one of us. He does not love someone more than He loves you, because they have something more than you do. We have to understand the heart of the Father towards us to fully grasp how pointless envy is.

Reflection: How content am I with my life today? What is causing any form of discontentment?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Feeling Blue 1 PETER 5:7, PHILIPPIANS 4:4-8

DAY

s it weird that colours have been used to indicate human feelings? I mean you would really hear people say “I have been under the blues” or “I feel a little blue today”, and with time, one will have to realise that ‘blue’ in that context does not mean a colour, but a feeling of sadness. Experiencing low emotions in life is inevitable, what really matters is what you do and the thoughts you allow thrive in those moments. For me, when I feel low, that is my cue to listen to worship music, and it always works because worship carries an atmosphere whether or not we are aware of it. I also keep funny videos handy and things that make me smile, so the ‘blues’ do not last for me. We need to be intentional about fighting off certain feelings without settling in them. The Holy Spirit is there to cheer you up, so feel free to reach for Him in moments when you feel most overwhelmed.

Reflection: What do I do when I feel sad? Do the blue days bring me closer to Jesus or further away from Him? FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Feeling Red

JAMES 1: 20, EPHESIANS 4:31

ou thought we were done with the colours, didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you? Well, not without talking about anger. Many things trigger the angry emotion in us. Sometimes other feelings grow into anger if they go unchecked. The Bible makes it clear that anger in itself is not a bad thing. However, it is what we do about the anger that makes all the difference. The devil sits very close, waiting for anger to take a seat in your heart, and when that happens, he comes and stirs us to act on it. It is so important that our first thought when anger comes is to take a step back. Rather than going to speak to the person immediately or responding on the spot, take time away and cool down. Many things people do or say when angry, always end up as regrets because they later realise that they probably overreacted, and it would be too late to take it back. It pleases God that we bring our anger and leave it at His feet, even when we are the ones who have been wronged.

Reflection: Do I have healthy anger management habits?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Feeling Yellow PSALM 28:7, EPHESIANS 5:16

DAY

ne thing to be thankful for is the fact that life has been set up in such a way that some days, we genuinely have happy times. We smile, we laugh, and our hearts are full of life and love. It would be exciting if it were like this all our lives, but the reality is that it is not. Yes, the Holy Spirit could so work on us to a point where our joy is untainted by the occurrences and situations around us, but until we get there, what do we do with happy moments? Of course, firstly we enjoy them, nothing pleases the Fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heart like watching His creation enjoy in His will, but we could do more in the times we feel the happiest. They are also times to express gratitude, as well as extend that joy to people around us in all the little and grand ways. We should redeem all our happy time and use it maximally because the days are evil. Let the joy of God settle in you to a level where your emotions cannot tamper with it.

Reflection: What do I do in my times of happiness?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Crowned Already

ROMANS 8:15; 8:17

ave you ever wondered why God called you a ‘royal priesthood’? Do you think it was a name given to just whine you or make you feel good? You should know today that it is beyond making you feel good. You are a royal priesthood by your relationship with Jesus and God the Father. If God is a King, that makes His children Princes and Princesses. Jesus was born a royal priesthood based on the prophecy that came before His birth. The Bible often refers to him as ‘the high priest’. Being children of God by the shedding of Jesus’ blood, where do we stand? We have been adopted as sons, so we are now co-heirs with Jesus. We are both priests and kings, which makes us royal priesthoods. There is nothing ordinary about you. Have you ever seen royalty? Do you know that they cannot do everything? They cannot be anywhere, and they do not talk anyhow. It is the same with us, there is a standard we must live up to, and that standard is Jesus.

Reflection: Do I carry myself as royalty should?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Creative Power on Your Lips

DAY

GENESIS 1:3, PROVERBS 18:21

od taught me something very recently. He told me that if I wanted to know fully about myself, I would have to study Him. I have been made in His image, and according to His kind, so we are alike. One of the first things you would learn about God is the power in His words. A favourite song of mine says, “God spoke to the dark and fleshed out the wonder of lights”. God Has creative power in His mouth and words, and this was what He used during creation, all He had to do was speak it out. Do you realise that we carry the same power? We are able to do and undo with our words, which is why we must be intentional about the words that come out of our mouth. There is a creative power within us that comes out in our speech. It is up to us to ensure that we are using our words as God used His — for good always.

Reflection: How often do my words heal, build up and encourage?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Nothing Trumps Prayer

1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18, PHILIPPIANS 4:6

he Holy Spirit has trained me to pray about any and everything. A few moments before now, I thought that I would really like my hair to grow longer, and the next thought that followed was “I have to add it to my prayer points.” It excites God that we can bring any and everything to Him, and often, I take it to Him knowing fully well that He is capable of doing as I ask in accordance to His will. Prayer is such a powerful tool in the hands of the believer, and we will look into it severally across this devotional. We cannot ever know enough about communicating with God, so do not get tired. Do not be scared of bringing anything to God in prayer. He is interested in every part of our lives. I often say to myself that “if I can think about it, then I can pray about it”. So make it a habit, and pray about any and everything. Sometimes, prayer comes across to people as something so deep, but it is really communicating with God. Do it in the way you know how to and learn as you grow.

Reflection: Are there things in my life that I have thought too unserious to take to God in prayer?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Why Are You Scared of the Devil?

DAY

MATTHEW 28:18, COLOSSIANS 2:15

do not like to give the devil this kind of attention, but for the greater good, today we will trash out this topic so that more people are liberated from the fear of the devil and what he can do. Remember what Jesus told us, that the Father gave Him all power, in heaven and on earth, and that everything spirit or flesh responds to the name of Jesus. Now, the same Jesus with all this power lives on the inside of you, and you are quivering and panicking whenever the devil is mentioned? Dear believer, you need to realise that there is a mark of ownership on you. The blood has been put on you, and this means that because of that blood, you are untouchable. Yes, I said it! The devil can come, he can plan, and he can attack, but none of it is capable of destroying you, because you have the greater one on your inside. The days of running and being scared of the devil is over. He answers to you, so cast and bind him away.

Reflection: Am I scared of the devil?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Guard Your Heart

MATTHEW 6:22-24, PROVERBS 4:23-27

here are parts of your body that we call the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;windows of your soulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Some people even argue that they are the windows of your entire being, and this makes sense because it means that these parts of your body take things from the outside of you to your insides, the way a window gives access to an exterior from the interior. Without guessing much, you would know that your eyes and ears are some of the strongest windows through which things pass to get inside of you, and so, to be able to guide your heart, one must guard these windows. Once you come to Christ, you will realise that your heart is not as pure as you thought it was. In the end, it just looks out for itself and its best interests, and we will learn that this is contrary to what God teaches us, which is to look out for the interest of others. It is so important that we protect our hearts by committing it to God, so that Him alone vets whatever it is that comes in, whether it is worth storing up or whether it should be thrown out. Be a guardian of your heart by watching what you take in.

Reflection: Does my heart reflect the heart of God?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Does Death Scare You? TEXT JOHN 5:24, EPHESIANS 2:6

DAY

oes the thought that you would one day leave this earth scare you? Do you quiver when you think that you will be absent from this earth one day if God wills? I know death is not the most pleasant thing, but it also should not be the scariest thing or even at all, particularly for the believer. When Jesus came and died on the cross, and we accepted Him as Lord and Saviour, the Bible says that we crossed over from death to life. What this means is that Jesus has rendered earthly death void, so even if I stopped breathing today, I will be united with Jesus in Spirit. I think we often get scared of dying when our thoughts have not shifted from understanding that our time on this earth is temporary. God tells us in His word that He will return and take us home to be with Him when the time comes. Death should not scare you; rather, it should be scared of you, because absence in body is not absence in spirit. We have eternal life, not YOLO (you only live once).

Reflection: Do I live my life in fear of death?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Weak but Excited

2 CORINTHIANS 12:9-10, ROMANS 8:26

e should be more excited when we realise or notice weakness in ourselves. Paul helps us understand that weaknesses are signals to God that we need His strength. God does not show up to be strength where strength already abounds; He shows up in weak areas to be strong. Humans tend to hide their weak areas very well, but we forget that those are the aspects of our lives that God would take the most glory. I do not know about you, but I want to scream out to God every day that I need Him to come and be strong, even in areas where I think He has given me ability that seems enough. No matter how strong I think I am, I am in dire need of the strength of God, and so I will scream even more about the weaknesses because it is then that Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strength is put on display. I want to make a public display of His strength by being unashamed about my weaknesses.

Reflection: Am I always trying to prove to be strong in areas where I know deep inside me I am weak?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Conflict Resolution MATTHEW 18:15-17, JAMES 1:19-20

DAY

t is not unusual to have issues with other people, even though we are Christians. We did not become emotionless or void of feeling when Jesus saved us, we just gained ultimate control over our feelings and began using them to the glory of God. When conflicts arise in our relationships, God is more interested in how we resolve them and not angry with us for how they came to be. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of peace. He gives wisdom and peace to situations, so we need to be intentional about engaging Him when issues of conflict arise. The way the Holy Spirit has taught me is to look within first. Before pointing fingers or throwing blame around, God wants us to identify and admit our own wrong in all of it. If we all look within ourselves first, it will make it so much easier because everyone will identify where they have got it wrong and make amends.

Reflection: Do I find myself running away from conflicts?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Managing Expectations

PSALM 121:1-8, PROVERBS 3:5

he expectations of the righteous will not be cut short, but what happens in our relationships when we get angry and dissatisfied over an unfulfilled expectation? Human beings are limited in both knowledge and understanding, and because of this limitation sometimes, we will err. A popular saying goes â&#x20AC;&#x153;to err is human and to forgive is divine.â&#x20AC;? We need to learn to manage our expectations so that when fellow men fall short, in meeting them, we are gracious enough to understand and move on. The biggest thing we can do in managing our expectations is to put our eyes on God and Him alone. When our sight and trust shifts from God to man, we become totally disoriented when man fails. But when we have total trust and reliance on God, we secure ourselves in His word regardless of what situations around us are saying.

Reflection: Do I do well managing my expectations?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

The Beauty of the World ROMANS 2:1-4, HEBREWS 10:24-25

DAY

ave you ever thought about what this world would look like if every single human being looked exactly like you and behaved exactly like you? I mean, as amazing as I think I am, I am certain that I will be bored in a world filled with people exactly like me. God is so robust and intentional with His thinking, which is why He created the world with so much variety. People with so many differences. If we are not careful, we will allow the devil to make the differences seem like a bad thing, when indeed it is a very beautiful thing. What matters to God is how you manage the differences in the world. Do we discriminate or are we accommodating of people who are a lot different from us? God opens our eyes to see people the way He sees them, regardless of age, colour or tribe. This makes us love people with all their differences.

Reflection: Do I see the beauty in the differences across the world?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

A Rare Privilege

JOHN 6:44, ISAIAH 43:1

ftentimes, serving God is made to look like it is a difficult sacrifice that one must choose to suffer through. It makes Christians look silly in the eyes of the world for choosing to suffer for a God that we cannot see. What people do not know is that service to God is more of a privilege than a sacrifice. We do not do what we do as Christians to receive from God; we do what we do because we have already received from Him. Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; death on the cross is the ultimate gift. When we fully realise the gravity of what He did on the cross for us, it ceases to be about a sacrifice but becomes a privilege to serve the one who gave it all for us. Do not get me wrong, we will still need to make sacrifices as Christians; however, these sacrifices come as a result of the realisation of the gift and privilege that we have in serving God.

Reflection: Do I feel like I am doing God a favour by serving Him?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Passionate Lover JOHN 15: 9-17, ROMANS 5:8

DAY

ave you ever taken time to think about Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s love for you? Three things can happen when you do. First of all, you end up in a pool of your own tears. Secondly, you end up on your knees with hands lifted up in worship and surrender, or thirdly, you end in those two scenarios simultaneously. The realisation of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s love for us is so humbling that it makes us so emotional. What makes it the way it is, is the passion that He has, coming for His lover (you). God is such a passionate lover, and we can see it all through His journey from His throne, to the grave and back to His throne again. God teaches us His children this same love. He fills our hearts with a passionate love that seeks out to love the people in the world as Christ does. This passion also engulfs us and pushes us to love Him back with the same passion.

Reflection: How passionate are you in your pursuit of Jesus?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Room Temperature

REVELATION 3:15-16, JAMES 4:4

do not know if you have ever drank lukewarm tea, it is quite distasteful, to say the least. Tea is usually always served hot or cold (as in iced tea), never in the middle. If lukewarm worship is anything like lukewarm tea, I wonder how God copes with some of us because I know exactly how terrible lukewarm tea tastes. God asks us in His word to be either hot or cold because He would spit us out if we are lukewarm. God seeks worshippers who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. Worshippers who will give it all and not parts; people who say business and mean it, not people sitting on the fence. Our desire and fervency for God reveals the temperature of our hearts. It is high time we stop playing on the fence and take a stand for God and His church all over the world. We must know that God will never tolerate a double-minded man; the Bible says that such a person is unstable in all his ways.

Reflection: What is my current spiritual temperature?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Just Like the Rubber Band PHILIPPIANS 4:12-14, 1 CORINTHIANS 9:19-23

DAY

o one can predict God. While we seek His word to know and understand Him, we never get to a place where we feel we can predict His every move. His unpredictability brings us His children to a place of total trust in Him. Even though we do not see the full picture, we trust that He who can, will lead us in the right path until the end. Now, on this path, we must master the ability to be flexible. We must never get rigid and stern with God, but we must remain flexible and malleable in His hands. There is a reason God likens us to clay in the Bible. Clay is completely at the mercy of the potter, so, however the potter decides it is going to be, that is how it will be. This is how flexible God wants us to be with Him, that every day, we wake up and ask Him to do as He pleases in our lives, even if sometimes that will cost us our convenience.

Reflection: How flexible am I in Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hands?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Your Inner Weakness

2 CORINTHIANS 4:16, EPHESIANS 3:16

hen God inhabits a person, He goes into the personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spirit. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. You can easily know if you are a child of God, your spirit knows it should tell you without any form of doubt. As we grow in Christ, God matures our spirit man to a point where we live in constant communion with Him. He communicates to us through this channel. Our inner witnesses are Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primary method for communicating with us, and so He expects that we continue to grow and train this inner man within us to know and recognise His voice. Just like humans, the more you hear a voice, the more familiar you get with the voice. It is the same with God. The more we hear Him speak, the more familiar His voice becomes to us. We cannot be running around looking for who will hear God on our behalf. God wants to speak with you directly, engage Him.

Reflection: How much am I growing my inner man to discern the voice of God?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

How Do I Engage God?

GALATIANS 18:16-33, EXODUS 32:11-14

esterday, we looked at how God wants to grow our inner weaknesses so that we can recognise His voice each time He speaks. We also said that we must engage Him often if we want to be able to recognise Him when He speaks. So how do we engage God?

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We engage God the same way we engage men and women communication. Talking, asking questions, observing, studying each other. God wants us to engage Him by listening to Him and speaking to Him. This can be done through prayer, bible study, and fellowship with other believers. The more avenues we create to engage God, the more we will grow in our ability to hear His voice and recognise it. We must be intentional about engaging God, the same way we are intentional in our communication with men.

Reflection: How often am I engaging God?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Your Sister’s Keeper

GALATIANS 6:1-2, PROVERBS 17:17

everal years ago, God taught me how to stay intentional about watching my friend’s backs, not because they were doing anything bad, but because I was God’s hands and legs placed on earth to watch out for them, as God watches out for me. Our friends are not just there to banter and play with. They are there for us to watch over them in the secret place through prayer and also in their daily living. I do not want to believe that anyone will hear of evil happening to a friend and think to themselves “what is my business?” God expects that we jump to rescue and help any friend of ours that is in need. Each and every one of us should be our sister’s keeper. If we created a world of webbed sister keepers, the world would be a much more habitable place to live.

Reflection: How often am I watching my friends’ backs?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

“But He Is a Man of God” ROMANS 8:16, GALATIANS 5:22-23

DAY

hroughout my adult life, I have seen things under the sun, one of which is women who think a man automatically qualifies to be their partner/husband because he is a leader in the church or he speaks in tongues. I hate to break it you sis: he does not. If it were about being born again or being fervent in God, pastors and church workers should have the happiest marriages in the world. As we have seen overtime, that is not the case. It is important you develop your ability to hear from God clearly, and discern spirits in your season of ‘singleness’. These abilities would greatly help you when the time comes to choose a life partner because not all that glitters is gold. The Holy Spirit has the ability to open you to truths about people that you might not see physically, even if you date them for up to ten years. He often reveals them to keep us from making decisions based on what we can see and hear alone. Do not allow a man deceive you into dating or marrying him because he is a “Man of God”. Rather, let his fruits always speak for him. Also, do not ever ignore your inner witness. God usually gives visions, dreams, and trances as secondary means, but the first way He always seeks to speak to us is through our inner witness, which we develop through constant fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Remember, let the man of God not just be a man of God by words only. Do not allow a mere claim to lead you into a commitment that you should not be part of.

Reflection: Do I automatically overlook important things in my head because a guy claims to be a Christian?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Meekness and Weakness

MATTHEW 5:5, PHILIPPIANS 2:6-8

don’t know if you have ever been told off for standing up for yourself or speaking the truth. Sometimes, people make statements like “later she’ll say she’s a Christian”, simply because we choose to speak up and not stay silent. The world has a twisted view of who Christians are, and sometimes, I think they associate us more with weakness than with meekness. A short definition of meekness is, “power that is under control.” Meekness is not an absence of power; it is a curtailing or subjection of power to a higher authority, which in our case, is God. Meekness does not mean that you accept being mistreated when you have a way out. It also does not mean that you own up to something you did not do, and it does not mean you agree to something you know in your heart you do not like. It is simply the ability to convey your differences in a way that glorifies God. The Bible says in Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” This is such a practical lesson. The world willingly offers itself to people who have their power under control i.e. the meek. People who are not quick to exercise their authority, but are considerate, patient, and constantly exercising self-control will inherit the earth. Meekness is a fruit that Jesus always demonstrated, right from His birth to when He took His last breath. We must learn this from Him to be able to relate effectively with people on this earth as God designed.

Reflection: Are there times when I feel like I need to show my power or authority to gain more respect or admiration?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Recognition by Relationship

DAY

GENESIS 2:21-23, ROMANS 8:14

often marvel at how the Bible described Adam’s first meeting with Eve. It says that he saw her and immediately prophesied (even though it was not exactly put like this). He proclaimed recognition of the bone of his bone and the flesh of his flesh, saying that she will be called woman because she was taken out of him. Now, let us not forget that Adam was asleep when Eve’s creation happened. We are told in the Bible that God put him to sleep and then proceeded to do what He did. I kept wondering how Adam was able to recognise that Eve was from him, and the Holy Spirit helped me to understand that Adam had been made with an innate connection to God. Since he was made in God’s image, he also possessed the mind of Christ, so he knew what God knew. Adam recognised Eve only on the premise of the relationship that he had with her creator. Why should this bother you? The man who will become your Adam, can only recognise you if he is in a relationship with your God. His relationship with God will give him the eye to recognise you as the bone of his bone, and the flesh of his flesh. A man coming to you with a stance of trial and error has obviously not recognised you, neither has he had any fellowship with your maker. We need to be intentional about who we allow to recognise us. People who do not have relationships with God cannot claim to recognise us. So, it is important to stick to God’s original plan, which is to bring a man who is in a relationship with Him, to a woman who has been made by Him.

Reflection: Have I been made by God? Do I behave like a woman who has allowed God to make her?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

There’s a Price to Pay

JEREMIAH 29:13, MATTHEW 5:6

hen we talk about spiritual growth, walking in the anointing, or carrying mantles, people often think it is according to those who God has chosen to work through. This makes them so complacent in their pursuit of Him because it becomes a case of, “If God wants me to do anything, He will give me the anointing for it.” While it is true that God grants us grace for the work He calls us to, we must also realise that God seeks available and usable vessels vessels who are active, and not passive, who do not wait for God to call them, but run to Him daily and present themselves saying, “Father here I am, use me.”

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Majority of the fathers of faith and the people God has worked with mightily on earth did not come to be by passivity. Most of them went through several active phases to arrive at the places they arrived at. You’re not too young, too busy, too dumb, or too unspiritual to be used by God. If you humble yourself, seek God’s face and turn from your sinful ways, He will see that in heaven and honour it. The way we pursue God says a lot about how much we hunger and thirst for Him. However, there is always a price to pay. Pursuing God will cost us time, relationships, social gatherings, and a lot more, but all of it is a cost for a greater glory - the glory that is to be revealed. Some of us need to step into deeper and hotter pursuits of God, get uncomfortable with our current levels and say to God, “I do not want anything but You!”. This is the kind of pursuit that touches the Father’s heart, and brings Him to a place where He knows He can trust us with certain mantles and anointings.

Reflection: How much of God do I really want? Can I say I am chasing after Him with my life.

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Spiritual Manipulation EXODUS 34:29-35, LUKE 4:8

DAY

hile reading the book of Exodus, I saw the portion where Moses had fellowshipped and encountered God on the mountain, to the point that when he came down to the people, his face glowed. It excites me to imagine that God’s glory on a man could get that physical. As I read further, the Bible mentioned that Moses began to wear a veil over his face to hide the glow. I then asked the Holy Spirit why Moses would do that: I mean, I think it was so beautiful that his face bore evidence of his time with God. The Holy Spirit helped me understand that Moses did that to protect and shield the heart of the Israelites from seeing him as a god. He did not want the Israelites to begin to idolise him in their hearts and not God Himself. I remember praying that day that God should give me a leader’s heart like Moses; that I never become an obstacle in the way of people and God. It occurred to me that this could have been an avenue for Moses to manipulate the Israelites by collecting things in the name of “having met with God”, or asking them to do all manner of things. We often see things like this in our world today, where men of God take advantage of the honour given to them and manipulate their followers. It is rather unfortunate because these people do not even know better, so they fall into all sorts of issues on account of a manipulative man of God. We need to be careful that we never raise a man to the same standard as God. No matter how glorious a person might appear, God must always be put before them. On the other hand, some of us need to be careful that we are not unintentionally manipulating people who honour us because of God’s anointing on our lives. Like Moses, we must take deliberate steps towards protecting the hearts of our followers, so that all they worship is God Himself.

Reflection: Have I in any way been a victim of spiritual manipulation?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Knowing God for me

MATTHEW 24:4, JEREMIAH 29:13

s collective as walking with God might appear, we must always remind ourselves that it is also a very personal journey. God wants us to have our secret places with Him, where it is just us and Him, with no one else. Yesterday, we spoke about spiritual manipulation. You need to understand that the best antidote for spiritual manipulation is knowing God for yourself. People can only lie to you when you do not know the truth. When the truth of a matter is known, you will not accept lies. When people come in the name of God to manipulate you, because of that personal relationship with God, you can discern that God might not be in what they are saying and then walk away. Our personal relationship with God gives us access to Him when things contrary to Him come around us. When people even know that you have a personal relationship with God, they cannot come to you with certain things because they know you would go back to God with it to double-check. We become prey of the enemy when we refuse to engage God personally. If we rely on the communal things of God but never get personal with Him, we create an atmosphere that allows people to do and say what they want to us. God is calling you to get personal with Him today.

Reflection: Can God brag about my personal relationship with Him?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

JOY! ROMANS 15:13, GALATIANS 5:22-23

DAY

grew up singing in Sunday School that JOY stands for:

J - Jesus first

O - Others in between

Y - Yourself last

The teachers at Sunday School often used this to teach us Phillipians 2:3, and I think it worked great. However, the word joy carries a lot more power than this acronym suggests. It is listed as the second fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, meaning that a person cannot produce joy for themselves because it is the Holy Spirit that produces it in a person. Joy is not the same thing as happiness. It is more specific and is divinely given, unlike happiness that could come from anything that pleasures, whether good or bad. What makes joy so powerful is the fact that it is anchored in a person regardless of the situation or state of that person. As long as the Holy Spirit is in a person, joy is present. Joy is what fosters what we call the sacrifice of praise, which can be exemplified when you see a person going through literal hell in their lives, but you still find them moving on in life like nothing is happening. It is something only joy can do. God wants to fill His children with this joy. He does not want us to be subject to the occurrences of life, but to choose joy in spite of all that life will throw our way. I pray God opens you to understand how deeply it hurts the devil when he is sending things our way, and we choose joy instead. It literally destabilizes him, so let us be intentional about always choosing joy.

Reflection: How much joy do I have in me?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Disappointments

ISAIAH 55:8-9, PSALM 32:8

y biggest disappointment when I was a teenager was not getting to study medicine in Hungary. I did get my admission, but my visa was delayed, and I was asked to defer. I had never been more disappointed than I was that time because Lord knows I had never prayed for something to go smoothly the way I prayed for that process. Less than 3 weeks later, I got my admission and visa to go to the UK to study. Now, every time I remember that phase of my life, I see squarely what God was doing. Hungary was never in His plans for me, and I can confidently say that because I have seen and I am still daily witnessing all that He has accomplished and is accomplishing through my hands in the UK. At that time, it seemed like a disappointment because I could not see the end result or the full picture, but God did, so all I had to do was tap into His strength and submit my disappointments. When we fail to handle disappointment well, we begin to make God look incapable. We need to grow to trust God to the point where we are running to His feet every time we are disappointed. God often redirects us through circumstances, because human beings usually donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t listen when He speaks. We often ignore, sometimes fight back, or even outrightly rebel at other times, so God needs to resort to our circumstances to speak to us because of the love He has for us and nothing else. We need to learn to see through the eyes of God, and find hope in life whenever disappointments come, instead of falling into depression.

Reflection: Do I believe that God is sovereign and sees and knows all?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Dealing with Hurt JEREMIAH 8:22, HEBREWS 4:15

DAY

nfortunately, we live in a fallen world, which has a farreaching impact on human living and human relationships. People we love hurt us, and people that love us get hurt by us; sometimes, intentionally, but most times unintentionally. It is not godly or Christlike to cut off relations with someone because we have been hurt once. Like Jesus, we must learn to constantly extend a gracious hand to people who hurt us. This does not mean that we allow ourselves to be taken advantage of; it means that rather than ignore the person and hurt all together, we seek peace by seeking clarity and making apologies and restitution where necessary. Beyond that is knowing how to deal with hurt. What do you do when you have been let down by people and it hurts so much? 1.

Run back to God. He calms our hearts storms, and brings balm to our hurt. Tell him how you feel.

Do not dwell on the situation too long in your thoughts. Accept what has happened and move on.

Be gracious to the people involved. Remember how far God extended grace to you and extend this same measure of grace to them.

Seek to make excuses for people. Do not believe they would intentionally hurt you.

Create distance from the people involved if you need to, but let it be from love, rather than spite.

These steps can help anyone move from past hurt - not taking it away entirely, but dealing with it in a way that glorifies God. Ultimately, it is important to remember that God is the One who heals our deepest heartaches. It helps know He loves us to the point of being hurt when we are hurt. Instead of running from Him, run to Him.

Reflection: Do I deal with hurt in a godly way?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Winner Mindset

EPHESIANS 2:6, ROMANS 8:29

very time people play games, both a winner and a loser emerge. Life was never made to be a game, so it beats me why people reduce it to saying a person has either ‘won in life’ or ‘lost in life.’ It also violates all that God stands for because by the death and resurrection of Jesus from the cross, we understand that we are now always fighting FROM a place of victory and never fighting FOR victory. With this mindset, we know we are always victorious, no matter the outcome of a thing. Trouble starts when we begin to equate our value with the outcome or result of a situation, because with the way the world works, we cannot always guarantee the outcome of things to be positive. This does not change the fact that God reigns over the earth and has the power to do as it pleases Him. Whenever I am about to embark on any journey in a phase of life, I make a resolve within myself that no matter the outcome of that journey, my place in Christ is set the victor standard always. This means that I am unable to fail or lose because if I have been declared the winner before the race even started, why would I be scared to run knowing fully well that I have won already?

The Bible tells us that we are seated in heaven with Jesus at the right hand of the Father. I doubt that there is any calling as high as this, or any honour as great as this. Sometimes, we allow the devil to deceive us into sadness and depression over an issue, because the outcome was not what we expected. We need to trust God to the point of declaring ourselves winners and victors through all of life’s phases when the outcome favours us and when it does not. It may be hard, but not impossible.

Reflection: Have I settled it in my heart that I am a winner and a victor already?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

God’s Agenda 1 TIMOTHY 2:4, ROMANS 10:14

DAY

think it is very easy to get carried away in the world; to somehow erect an agenda for our lives and forget that we were already made with an agenda. God is so intentional with us that He created a plan for our lives before He even placed us on the earth. There is an agenda already mapped out for you and me, and the best version of ourselves will only emerge when we have aligned ourselves to this agenda. At the top of this grand agenda, according to scripture, is God’s desire to see all men come to the knowledge of Jesus. So, no matter what field or niche we find ourselves in, God wants us to use that niche, the gifts, and the network to push that agenda even further. How many people are we telling about Jesus? How many times do we remember to pray about lost souls? How often are we thinking about lost souls when we ask God to bless us even further or enlarge us? I hope the answers to these questions are answers that will put a smile on God’s face, but even if they do not, it is a reminder for us to rechannel our hearts and minds to do what the Father wants. It will not always be easy, but that is why the Holy Spirit is always available to empower and enlighten us on how to do what the Father has asked us to do. Some of us need to leave the mansions we have started building by ourselves with our lives, and go back and seek the Father’s face on what His agenda looks like for us. I pray that our lives’ agenda will always be a reflection of God’s own agenda for us.

Reflection: Do you see the heart of the Father in the things you chase after daily?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

A Little Here and a Little There

HABAKKUK 2:3, ISAIAH 28:10

hat often gets us overwhelmed is the idea that we might be moving too slowly or not moving at all. We make a plan, map out how to achieve the plan, and then we are constantly looking over our shoulders to see if the plan has been executed, even when most times, the time set for the plan has not elapsed. Some of us are genuinely too hard on ourselves, and God is assuring you now that the way it works is “a little here and a little there”. If we look at the world today, we find that a lot of things work with a certain process or procedure. If one does not follow a process, they cannot achieve whatever it is that they want to achieve. I think that should speak volumes to us even when it comes to our personal lives. God does not expect you to wake up today and be a superhero. He does not expect you to wake up today and stop doing what you said you would stop yesterday, because it takes time. The same way it takes time to learn something, that is the same way it takes time to unlearn something. God wants us to learn consistency. He wants us to see the value in the journey and not just the joy of the destination. Some of us need to stop looking at the end of the matter and begin to enjoy the journey that will take us to the end. Always remember, it is a little here and a little there. That is what makes the difference. Nothing ever comes big. A saying goes, “little droplets make the mighty ocean”. Another says, “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Learn it.

Reflection: How often am I more concerned about the destination than focusing on enjoying the process and journey?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Ever-Fertile Ground JEREMIAH 17:8, JOHN 15:2

DAY

he mind is such a powerful place. If you have ever consciously imagined how your mind works, you would understand what I am saying. Everything about us springs up from that place, and I believe God designed it that way for a purpose. It is why in Romans 12:2 He calls us to be â&#x20AC;&#x153;transformed by the renewal of our minds.â&#x20AC;? Even when we come to Christ, the Holy Spirit helps and changes our minds and our thinking because the entire functioning of our system stems from our minds. Everything that is placed on the ground of the mind grows. Everything! This is why we cannot be careless about what we allow to come into our minds, through the things we watch, listen to, and also feel. God wants us to guard our gates so that we can protect our minds. The gates to our insides primarily include our eyes and ears. Because of how fertile the ground of the mind is, we must be intentional about who we give our eyes and ears to. Anything that will cause you to sin must be avoided at all cost, even if it is certain people or places. Our soul is so precious to God that He even encourages us to cut off anything that will cause us to sin.

Reflection: What is the default state of my mind? And what will I say is the cause?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Spiritually Fed or Emotionally Led?

ROMANS 8:14, JOHN 16:13

t is really easy to tell when someone is Spirit-led. The Bible tells us clearly that by the fruits of a tree, you will know what kind of tree it is. Anyone who is led by God’s Spirit will have evidence of the fruits of the Spirit in their lives. Whenever we do not respond to people and circumstances by the Spirit, we respond emotionally, and the danger with this is that we allow our emotions and feelings to have its way, which often leaves us as offenders. With the way the human emotion is set up, it can be very volatile. I could be high-spirited and happy today, and then tomorrow, maybe because of a rough morning, I become cranky and sad. I cannot respond to people and situations from this volatile place if not, I would not be honoring God or what He will have me do. God wants us to always check with His Spirit within us before we do or say anything. If we fail to do this, we will make our feelings god over us and our characters. We can grow in God to the point where our feelings and emotions remain subject to the Holy Spirit in us. That is where God is trying to take every one of us, but we must be intentional about our growth to that place by being more cautious of how we respond in the heat of moments. Sometimes, it is perfectly fine to take a step back, breathe, pray and then respond, rather than rush on and say things we don’t mean or do things that portray a false image of our God. Let us be the Christians who remind our feelings that the Spirit of God is in charge and not our current states of mind.

Reflection: How often do I consult God’s Spirit in me before responding to people or circumstances?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Mercy First PSALM 103:8, EXODUS 34:6

DAY

s humans, it can be easy to forgive most times, but it will often take the grace of God to forget. Without even knowing, we sometimes find ourselves judging people based on their past mistakes. We hear they did something, and rather than confirming if they really did it, we conclude that they did, maybe because something similar happened in the past. God’s kind of mercy is on a different scale. His mercy completely forgets the wrong you’ve done before and gives you a whole new clean slate. God does not remember the wrong done yesterday even if you do the exact same thing today. He does not condemn or judge us for what we’ve done before, rather, He always offers us a second chance, hoping and believing our best all over again. Some humans even struggle to comprehend this, and you would find them judging themselves even though God does not judge them. God wants to teach us to be merciful as He is; the kind of mercy that trumps judgement. He wants us to look at people who deserve to be punished and show them mercy instead. It is a supernatural gift, so don’t expect it to come easily or naturally without the help of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says that those who are merciful are blessed because they also will receive mercy. What has helped is that each time I want justice to prevail over what someone has done, I imagine myself in the same situation before Jesus chose to save me and rescue me from the judgement that I should have faced. God teaches us how to love our neighbours the way He loves us.

Reflection: Who do I need to show God’s kind of mercy by forgiving and forgetting?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

God Always Knows

PSALM 139:13, JEREMIAH 1:5

very believer must grow a consciousness of God through every moment of their life. We must always know that no matter who stays unaware of a situation, God never does. While He knows and offers us forgiveness, He expects us to still confess it out to people who will hold us accountable. There is a solid reason for this. When the devil sees that we have â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;secret sinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, he feasts on it. He uses it to make us feel guilty and makes us isolate even more. By the time he is done, we are left even worse than we were when we committed the sin. Confession disarms the devil of the power to guilt-trip you. It helps when you know another human is aware of something you are struggling with because that person can keep you accountable under God. I do not know about you, but it is also very comforting to know that God always knows. Because He is omniscient and omnipresent, He knows and sees all. When people wrong us in secret and claim to be right openly, even though no one knows, God does, and honestly, that is fine, even though it might not seem fair in the moment. The way God knows allows us to live life so openly and vulnerably, without secrets or hidden agendas, because we are aware that even if we might escape the eye of man, we cannot escape the eye of God. Let us learn to live a life that glorifies God, both in the secret and in the open too.

Reflection: Are there things I am getting away with that I know are not glorifying God?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Secured! MATTHEW 25:14-30, JEREMIAH 29:11

DAY

here is a level of security that only comes in knowing what you have been called to do. To be honest with you, this evolves, but it usually evolves within a perimeter. It is important that we spend time seeking God’s face and working daily with Him, so we can know why we have been placed on this earth. Jesus lived 33 years on this earth; why? To die and save us from our sins. John was sent before Jesus; why? To prepare the way for Jesus’ coming. Jesus’ calling over our lives may not be as glamorous as “Forbes 30 under 30” or ‘’Most influential people of 2020”, but try walking that path and see. There is absolutely nothing wrong with these titles or achievements. What’s wrong is when it becomes the driving force of our daily living, which is very unsustainable. This is how people end up dealing with depression and panic attacks; when that thing they have their eyes on never comes to them. I am one of the most ambitious people I know. I came to God and submitted that ambition to him, telling Him “take all of Rubie and have your way.” Since then, I have seen God have His way in ways that I still have not recovered from. Serving God does not mean we go unseen or unheard. Jesus’ life proves to us that the exact opposite is the case. Instead, what it means is that we be known and heard for all the things He empowers us to do for His glory! Remember, a steward, not an owner. A steward does everything for the glory of its owner, never for himself or herself.

Reflection: Am I stewarding all God has given to me the right way?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

For His Name’s Sake

PSALM 23:3, MATTHEW 5:16

ome of us had to grow from seeing God as a master who sits above and orders us about, to seeing Him as a loving father who is interested in the most insignificant detail of our lives. We had to grow to understand that we are never in this journey of life alone, but are always one with the Father. Because of His great love for us, the Father delights in seeing His creation flourish in Him. We know we cannot walk with the Father except we walk in holiness and righteousness. As the Bible says in Hebrews 12:14, “without holiness, no man will see God.” You see, God does not just require holiness and righteousness from us; He also takes our hands and walks us through the path. He does it, not just because of us, but even more for His name’s sake. God has a name to defend in us because when people look at us, they should be looking at Him, so He defends that name we bear by leading us in the righteous path. David prayed in Psalm 23, saying, “He leads me in the path of righteousness for His name’s sake.” When we realise that we bear the name of God and have a duty to show Him to the world through our lives, we will be more intentional about living lives that glorify God. I do not know about you, but I do not want to be the Christian who turns people away from God. I do not want to be the reason why someone will decide not to follow God because of my character and attitude. Instead, I want to be a signpost to God; I want people to look at me and see Him; to relate with me and feel like they are relating with God.

Reflection: How much of God do I see in myself?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Get Ready! HEBREWS 12:1-2, JAMES 1:12

DAY

ave you ever been in a relay race? If you haven’t, you have probably watched one. In relay races, you often find that the person receiving the baton to run the next distance is usually very ready, with their eyes on the person coming and their hands open to receive the baton, while also moving forward; building momentum to run. That is what it looks like when someone is ready for something. Everyday, we come to God with all kinds of prayer requests. Oftentimes, as we place our requests at His feet, God is asking us, “Are you ready for what you’re asking for?” We shout “yes!”, but if we return to our closets to evaluate our lives, we find that we really are not. I once read a story of a woman who had been praying to God for a husband for years. As at when she wrote that devotional, she was married, but she did not get married until she was 43 years old. She was honest enough to give us a background of her journey and how she petitioned God on why it took that long for her husband to come, and she shared how God told her she would have had a divorce if He had given her the husband earlier than He did. God took her through all her past relationships - eros, parental, and friendships - and showed her how unfaithful she had been in them, not in cheating, but in being selfish, self-centered and self-sufficient. She was not in any way ready to be a wife, and her other relationships were evidence. When she was 40, she surrendered to God, and told Him to teach her to be a person that others could relate with. God took her through seasons of learning and unlearning, and before she knew it, at 41, this man came for her, and all he wants is forever with her. Her story teaches us to be ready for what we ask for; if not, we might not receive it, because God will only take prepared people to prepared places.

Reflection: How ready am I for all the things I am asking God for?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Sow the Seeds

GALATIANS 6:7-10, ROMANS 10:14

hen we talk about winning souls, some think it is only at the point where someone breaks down in tears, with hands lifted, confessing Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, that we can say we have won a soul. Some of us have only a handful of times when this has happened; while, the rest of the time, it has been more of sowing seeds, here and there. I got to a point where I realised that God cares about that soul even more than I think I do, so it is not a do or die affair when I meet people who are yet to be saved. It is just for me to be calm and allow the Holy Spirit to lead me on how to get that person saved. Sometimes the Holy Spirit might lead us to say a word or a sentence or sometimes to give something. All of these things are seeds that one day produce the fruit of salvation. I think we should be more intentional about planting these seeds in our daily lives, the same way we want to lead people in the sinnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prayer. Your daily walk with God could sow more seeds than you know. Through our words and actions, we can get people thinking about the God that we serve, and this excites God; that our lifestyles provoke people into desiring him. So please, keep winning souls by sowing your seeds in the simplest ways.

Reflection: How intentional am I about sowing seeds in peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives daily?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Godly Friendships ECCLESIASTES 4:9-10, PROVERBS 18:24

DAY

lot of people are very “circumstantial” with the way they make friends. They allow life to toss them around to people, and they never really create bonds that heaven witnesses. God never made us to live solo. He made us social beings that crave and desire human interaction, not in a way that destroys us, but in a way that requires us to build relationships that allow us to be there for one another in times of need. God is so intentional about the people you choose to have around you. He is intentional because when you need counsel, it is from these people around you that He could deliver this counsel, so these people must also be people God can work through. One of my biggest blessings in life is the rich circle of friends I have. When I say rich, I mean rich. I do not doubt that God has ordained each one of them for a purpose in my life. This is how I see my friendships; as opportunities to serve each other and glorify God. It is not something you joke with or leave to chance. Some of us need to start praying about the people around us. Are they the people that God wants to be around us? Are they people God can use to speak to us? If we are not honest with ourselves, we might keep missing blessings in our relationships. God is calling us to deeper levels of friendships. Not everyone can be around you and have access to your space. When you fully understand God’s call on your life, you will understand this too.

Reflection: Are my choice of friends a good reflection of God?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Fresh Fire

MATTHEW 5:6, JOEL 2:28

here is something wonderful about the times we are in. If you are discerning and understanding of the times, you would realise that there is a revival going on, particularly among young people. This revival has come for the Church, not even the unbelievers. God is purging His body of lukewarmness. People are waking up to realise there is more, and are crying â&#x20AC;&#x153;I want that moreâ&#x20AC;?. People are getting unsatisfied with their current spiritual levels, and are crying to God for more fire. This might not sound familiar to you, but it should, because God wants all of us on the field playing and not in the pews watching. God has a role for you and I, and until we step up to our roles, there would continually be deficiencies amongst us. There is a fresh fire for these times, and it looks like hunger and thirst for more and more of God. Today, I encourage you to run into the secret place, so the Father can fan you into more flames and give you an idea of what He wants you to use the fire for because when we misuse fire, people get burnt. So, let us listen and channel that fire in the best direction.

Reflection: What is my current spiritual temperature, and what is the reason?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Feed the fire JOSHUA 1:8, LEVITICUS 6:12-13

DAY

esterday, we talked about the current state of the body of Christ. We left evaluating our spiritual temperatures and understanding the reasons why we are where we are. If it resonated with you yesterday, today we will dig even deeper and understand how to feed this fire that God has started in us. Just like natural fire will die down if it is not fuelled, our spiritual fire will die down if we do not feed it. So, how can we feed this fire? 1.

We must stay away and avoid anything or any person that is out to quench our fire. This could be people who are living contrary to the life God has called us to live, or things in our lives that promote sin, such as websites, books, tv shows, sex toys, ungodly games, etc.

We must expose ourselves constantly to our source. Our fire does not exist in itself; God is the One who puts it in us, so He is able to sustain it. We must therefore expose ourselves to Him as often as possible - in Bible study, prayer, fellowshipping with other believers, and engaging in other spiritual disciplines.

We must spread the fire. God has not set us ablaze for ourselves alone. He has put fire in us so we can light up other people. We feed our own fire and make it stronger when we share it with other people.

We must also remember that when we do not channel fire to a cause, it can ruin everything. Let us not misuse our fire by burning people rather than healing people.

Reflection: How am I feeding my fire?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

The Purity of Love

JOHN 3:16, MATTHEW 5:8

f you have ever studied about love in the Bible, you would realise that the love the Bible speaks about is largely different from the love we shout about on the earth. One of the big differences between the love of God and human love is the purity of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s love. Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s love is as powerful and efficient as it is because of how pure it is. Have you ever thought about why God calls us to righteousness and purity? Do we realise that it is not just about Him, but even more about us? When we choose to walk in our true identity (righteousness and purity), we gain access to realms that unholiness and unrighteousness cannot get to. When God calls us to purity, He knows that it transcends even to the love we dish out to the people around us, so He enables us to be pure in order for our love for people to be pure, too. Purity makes love what it is, and God desires that we grow daily in purity so our love can be like His.

Reflection: How pure is my love? To God and also to others?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Overcoming Fear 2 TIMOTHY 1:7, 1 JOHN 4:18

DAY

ear can be so crippling. It comes subtly and can influence our decisions, thinking, and actions. Fear is not a respecter of person or status t affects any and everyone. Some people do not even realise that fear is the reason they have not done a lot of things in life.

The Bible gives us a very straightforward formula to overcoming fear in the verse that says, “God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). God teaches us that with these three things, we can overcome fear, and you’ll see how below. The spirit of power. God has given us the power to conquer fear. People only fear what they have no certainty or control over, but if we always remind ourselves that all power lies in God and He has given this power to us, we would be more confident in God every time fear threatens. The spirit of love. God has also given us the spirit of love to conquer fear. If we remember 1 Corinthians 13 that tells us what love is, and also 1 John 4:18, “perfect love casts out all fear”, we would realise that there is no iota of fear where love is, and we will conquer fear with love when it crops up. The spirit of a sound mind. Fear cannot coexist with rest. When we have a sound mind, fear flees. Even if we have reasons to be fearful, we must choose to rest in God over giving in to the fear that we feel. We must always remember that these three forces together, not individually, defeat the spirit of fear, so we must always be conscious that these three spirits are active in us.

Reflection: How do I overcome fear?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Abundant Life

JOHN 10:10-11, 3 JOHN 1:2

ur text summarises what the devil has come to offer, and also what Jesus has come to offer. It tells us that the devil’s mission is always to kill, to steal, and to destroy. Then it goes on to Jesus’ declaration, “but I have come, that they might have life and have it more abundantly”. Have you ever thought about what Jesus meant when He said He has come to give us life that is abundant? Have you ever asked Him what it will mean to walk in the abundant life He has so graciously given us? Well, I have, and I examined it for a whole year. God helped me understand that when He speaks of abundance of life, He means experiencing Him in all aspects of life. An abundant life does not just speak of prosperity or assets; it transcends perishables and also speaks of things of the spirit. Anyone who walks with Jesus has abundant life because He is the One who makes an abundance of everything that concerns us. Every aspect of our lives experience growth and rest because Jesus creates abundance in it. We need to get back into the secret place and allow God to open us to the abundant life He came to give us.

Reflection: Am I walking in the abundant life Jesus came to give me?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Giving and Accepting Forgiveness

DAY

EPHESIANS 1:7, ISAIAH 1:18

ne of the beautiful ways God displays His love for us is in His forgiveness. God is so gracious in His dealing with us that the Bible makes us understand He is in a default state of forgiveness, which is made possible by the death and resurrection of Jesus. I have found that it is one thing to know that you are forgiven, and another to accept this forgiveness. A lot of Christians have the knowledge that they are forgiven, but they live lives that show they have not accepted this forgiveness. There is evidence in the one who has accepted forgiveness. Such a person is never walking on eggshells when it comes to God, but is always assured of the forgiveness of the Father. There are people who run from God because they are convinced they have sinned beyond a level that God’s Grace can catch them; however, they fail to understand that God’s forgiveness is like His love - limitless and unconditional. The only condition has been met once and for all in the death of Jesus. We must be more intentional in our acceptance of God’s forgiveness for us and be willing to extend this same hand to the people around us. Like God, forgiveness should be our default state. We should never depend on whether a person apologises or not; that puts too much responsibility on them. We need to own and give our forgiveness by will by deciding in advance of offence that we will always forgive even as God always forgives us.

Reflection: Do I reflect God in the area of forgiveness?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Beautiful Scars

ISAIAH 53:5, 2 CORINTHIANS 5:21

saiah 53:5 is one of my favourite verses in the Bible. Beyond the promise it offers us, it also shows us how something so painful can produce something so beautiful. It says that Jesus was: ●

Wounded for our transgressions

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Bruised for our iniquity

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Chastised for our peace

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Stripped for our healing

Is there any sweet or beautiful thing about wounds, bruises, chastisement, or stripes? I do not know about you, but I see nothing sweet in them; however, when we see the effect of these unsweet things, we understand that Jesus chose to go through all that for our sake. I remember receiving beatings for my brother when I was younger. He is younger than me, so when I knew he did something bad, and I didn’t want him to get beaten, I would own up to it. It was not good that I lied, saying I did what I did not do, but the more significant impact was good for me: I was saving my brother from getting what he deserved. Jesus did that for you and I. He received scars so that we, His children, could receive beauty. Some of our scars in life have produced the best parts of us as people. If we did not have the scars, we would not have the experience, story, or lessons. It is an irony of life that something sweet could be produced from something unsweet, like how a caterpillar becomes a beautiful winged insect. We need to stop hiding scars and start looking for the beauty in them because beauty, more often than not, does not benefit just us; it also benefits the people around us, too.

Reflection: Are there scars in my life I find myself always hiding or refusing to talk about?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Witness to Your Growth REVELATIONS 12:11, 2 CORINTHIANS 13:5

DAY

ne day, I put up a post on social media, talking about how proud I was of my growth. I spoke of areas I knew I had grown in, and also reminisced on how I was before the growth came. A young lady saw the post and reached out to me, telling me how much she enjoyed it and also saying that she liked how I openly speak about my growth. She said it was a confidence she aspired to have. After digging deeper, she revealed that more people thought it was prideful or narcissistic to speak about one’s growth. I asked her, “if you don’t tell yourself, who do you want to tell you?”. I think she thought it would be better to have people point it out than her declaring it, which is what I call false humility and meekness. When we declare our growth to the world with the right state of heart, we are testifying and bearing witness to the work of Christ in us. I speak about my growth, knowing fully well that I have not achieved any of it by my strength, but by the help of God, and I never forget to mention that. When growth occurs, there is the internal witness of it and the external witness. The internal witness is you noticing, and the external is others noticing. If we leave it to the external witness to always be the ones to notice our growth, we would be abdicating our validation to them. That is not right because we have already been validated and accepted by God. It is okay to let people point it out, and it is also okay to talk about it, while pointing people back to the source. It is another way we overcome. The Bible says, “...they overcame by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Revelations 12:11).

Reflection: Am I hiding my testimony in an attempt to be humble or meek?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Hierarchy of Maturity

COLOSSIANS 1:28-29, HEBREWS 6:1-20

hen it comes to spiritual maturity, people make the mistake of thinking it is heavily linked to how much of the word you know and can quote. They think it is about how powerfully a person can pray or how long. However, spiritual maturity vastly differs from that because contrary to popular opinion, maturity is achieved only when what you know has been able to impact who you are. Who you are is evidence of your maturity and not what you know. Character and an embodiment of love are more important than any revelation or rhema. God is not weighing the number of words in your head. He is more interested in how you display love to Him and your neighbour on a daily basis. A Christian cannot claim to love God and be in enmity with every human around them. Our experience and relationship with God must be used as evidence when it comes to our relationship with our fellow humans. God wants some of us to leave rhema and revelation and learn character and love because this is what spiritual maturity entails. The equation is simple. Revelation + Character + Love = Spiritual Maturity. When next you meet someone claiming to be the most spiritually mature, all you need to do is watch for their fruits. Their fruits will reveal their level. God is calling all of us to spiritual maturity, meaning we walk in love with both Him and men.

Reflection: How spiritually mature am I?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Building Consistency JOHN 16:13, JAMES 5:16

DAY

am a very productive person. Although I was not always like this, I can confidently say it now because of how much I have grown to where I am now through the years. One of the greatest variables in productivity is consistency. Without consistency, it is unlikely that a person can be productive in nature. The Holy Spirit teaches us all things, including the things we think do not concern us. He actually taught me the biggest hack to consistency - accountability. Accountability is what fuels a person’s consistency. This accountability may look like any of the the three things listed below: ●

Setting deadlines for yourself with consequences.

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Telling a friend to ask you about a task in a given time frame.

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Sharing with people a desired aim, so that even if you lose momentum along the way, you remember the people you left expectant.

The first is self-accountability, while the other two involve others and are most advised. Not all of us are strong enough to keep ourselves accountable, so it is good and even advisable to use the other two. The more accountable we are, the more consistent we will be. If you are the only one who knows about a project that needs to be completed, it becomes difficult to continue when you lose momentum because there is no one aware or around to encourage you into continuing. God wants to teach some you to get more intentional with accountability because your consistency is tied to it.

Reflection: Who am I accountable to in my life?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Dealing With Offence

EPHESIANS 4;32, COLOSSIANS 3:13

eing social beings with emotional compartments, the possibility that offence will come our way is very high. Sometimes, intentionally, most times, unintentionally. However, we must make provision for such excesses before they even arrive. The Bible says it is to oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s glory to overlook offence. Ever since I laid hold of this truth, I lost the power to be offended, and on days when offence seems to creep up, I remind myself that there is glory at stake. When people offend us, we must deal with it in a godly way; so we do not end up harbouring bitterness and hate in our hearts. Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; forgiveness of us is an excellent example of the extent we should go forgiving our fellow brothers and sisters on earth. If Jesus wiped all our sins (past, present, and future) away, it should bother us when we would struggle to forgive someone for offending us just once. Most times, what they have done might hurt us so much; but, even then, we must remember that God expects us to forgive, and He has made grace available, to help us deal with the offence by allowing Him to execute justice. I find it helpful to speak to the person who has offended me. Usually, I approach them politely and have a conversation. Whether or not I get an apology is usually the least of my problems; it just gives me some closure to let the person know I did not appreciate what they did but have already forgiven then. The Holy Spirit empowers us to act like this even when we are wronged.

Reflection: How long does it take me to forgive people when they offend me?

100

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

God’s Strength in Our Weakness

DAY

2 CORINTHIANS 12:8-10, ISAIAH 40:31

ome time ago, I made a tweet that said, “I think we should be more excited when we notice areas of weakness in our lives, cause those are avenues given for God to show His strength”. This came to me after meditating on what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, “...I glory in my weakness, because when I am weak, then He is strong”. Paul was saying that his weaknesses allow Jesus to be strong, and that got me very excited. We do not need to be ashamed about areas we are weak in or hide them and cover-up so we can appear strong. We should allow God to show up for us, and for people through us, by surrendering our weak areas to Him. I found myself to be emotionally weak because I tend to be very logical. Sometimes, it is difficult for me to empathise with people in pain, because beyond seeing their pain, I often think of what they could or could not have done to get into that situation. I realised it was a weakness because sometimes, people just need you to feel their pain and empathise with them. So, I started to ask God to make me as compassionate and empathetic as He is, and I have seen a whole lot of progress compared to where I used to be. On some days, I have still lost battles, but most days, I remind myself that there are parts of me that require Jesus to show up and be strong. That always brings a lot of comfort to me.

Reflection: Are there weak areas of my life that I need to surrender to God?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

101

DAY

Am I Too Picky?

ISAIAH 30:21, MATTHEW 6:10

hen we pray and ask God for certain things, we need to be mindful that we check with Him every step of the way, even when the answers seem to come, so we can know if He is the one who sent it (whether or not it appears like an answer to the prayer). I would give an example. A friend of mine had been trusting God to meet her future spouse for a while, and we often talk and pray about it together. A few months into our prayer, a man approached her, admitting he wanted to marry her. She was in no way attracted to him; neither did she see an alignment with their vision. She came to me to talk about it, and we prayed again. She then asked, “Do you think it’s stupid of me to be asking God for something, yet I’m turning away the answers?”. I immediately rebuked her and told her the fact that we were praying to God for her husband did not mean every man who comes to show interest in her is the husband. She did not want to turn this guy down because she was scared that he was an answer to her prayer, and she did not see it. However, I made her understand that God’s blessings make her rich and add no sorrow. God is also not an author of confusion, so the man for her will have a vision that aligns and complements hers. Do not be scared of being picky, particularly when it comes to non-negotiables in certain situations. Do not settle for any answer that is not God’s answer. Involve God every step of the way.

Reflection: Am I tempted to settle for fear of seeming too picky?

102

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Building Right EPHESIANS 2:19-22, 1 CORINTHIANS 3:9

DAY

he Bible often likens us to a building. In some parts, it says we are Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s building, and in other parts, it says that we are co-workers with God. The important bit is that God is building. He is building you as an individual, and building His church, too. One of the most critical parts of a building is the foundation. If a builder misses it from there, the building is bound to be shaky and imbalanced, so builders spend time getting the foundation right to ensure that the building sits well. If we are Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s building, it means that we also have a foundation. The Bible helps us understand that this foundation is Jesus Christ, and He is the only true foundation that can hold us together in one piece. We all must have this solid foundation; if not, we will find ourselves being tossed and thrown about by every wind of doctrine that comes our way. When we are anchored in God, we become unmovable and unshakable. God wants us to grow deep roots in Jesus so that our buildings will be firm in Him. When we waver and shake amid storms and adversity, it might be evidence that we are not well rooted in Christ, and it is a subtle call to go back to God to help us grow deeper roots in our foundation - Jesus Christ.

Reflection: How deeply rooted am I in Christ?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

103

DAY

Free Indeed

JOHN 8:36, ROMANS 8:7

ne of the most beautiful things that came with Jesus Christ was freedom. We were liberated from everything that bound us, including sin and death. It is ironic to think that most people see Christians as the ones bound under “rules”. They imagine we are suffering because our flesh does not bind us. It is only in Christ that we receive power to live above the desires and cravings of the flesh; which, according to the Bible, lead us to sin. God wants us to embrace the freedom He came with. Some of us have received Christ, but we remain bound by the guilt of the past, the pain of the present, and the uncertainty of the future. With God, there is no need to worry or fright. Receiving Him as Lord and Personal Saviour means that we hand Him everything about us and allow Him to be God. Worrying is like saying, “God, I’m not sure I trust you in this area”. We need to start living like free people, because of all people, the ones able to subject their flesh to their spirit are the most powerful. So, what do we do? We feed our flesh with the word, so it continually activates the power of the spirit of God in us over our flesh!

Reflection: Am I walking the freedom Christ died to give me?

104

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Submission JAMES 4:7-10, EPHESIANS 5:22

DAY

love how excited we get when we talk about submission and surrender to God. However, as soon as submission and surrender come to the man we would call our husband, a ‘but’ emerges. We hear women say things like, “We’re all equal before God”, “He is human like me”, “We are partners, no one is superior”, and so on. None of these in themselves are wrong, but what I want to address is the mindset behind these thoughts. If God asks us to submit to the husband as the church submits to Christ, why are we struggling to accept it? Submission is not relinquishing your free will. It is simply trusting the head to take it and lead; which is what Christ does with the church. Does this make you uncomfortable? Maybe it is because you have not met the right person. Submission becomes a thing of joy when we fully trust the one to whom we submit. I find myself constantly placing my partner before me, agreeing with him even after I have shared my thoughts, and seeking his way. Why? Because I trust him, and I trust the God who is making him the head in our relationship. The funniest part is how he finds a way to turn it back to my way after I submit to his. This is because of the love he has for me. There is power in submission that you cannot access until you fully submit. I say to young women, “If you are panicked over submitting to the person you are courting, you need to retreat and pray again.” We submit freely to the one we love. It is why we have no issues submitting to Christ; the head of the church.

Reflection: What boggles me most about submitting to a partner?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

105

DAY

The Sequence of the W’s

GENESIS 1, GENESIS 2

he Book of Genesis is such a loaded book. One of the biggest stories we find there is that of creation; how the world came to be. It is refreshing to know that it all came to be by the Word of God. If you have ever read through Genesis multiple times, you can attest to the fact that you find new gems every time you read it. I cannot count the number of times the Holy Spirit has guided me back to that book for situations I never thought were addressed there. Some time ago now, I had a study with a group of people on the same book. During our discussion time to edify each other, it occurred to us that there was a chronological order of the W’s that appeared there. We will do a quick quiz now. Yes, you have to answer the quiz here before you go any further. I want you to rearrange these words in order - Wife, Word, Work, Worship, Wisdom - according to the account in Genesis. I hope you have attempted it before continuing! From this book, we see that God intentionally put one thing after another; He did not randomly drop things in Eden. ●

First and foremost, He gave the man His Word. It was important to God that man had the Word of God.

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He then gave him Wisdom. The word of God comes with wisdom. When Adam engaged with the word God gave him, he received wisdom.

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After Wisdom, God gave Adam Work. There was work before a wife because it was important to God that Adam be engaged in meaningful work.

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Before even the wife, God gave Adam Worship, after which the Wife came.

A man who is not wise by God’s word, working and able to worship, has no business seeking a wife. If not, there would be destruction of self. Let us pay attention to these W’s that make us whole.

Reflection: Am I compromising any W’s in the man I’m seeking to be with?

106

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Significance of the Cross I COLOSSIANS 2:12, ROMANS 6:4

DAY

ver the next few days, we would be looking at the impact and significance of the cross to a believer.

It is one thing to know that Jesus died for us, and another to understand why He had to do so, as well as what it means for us. Reading the Old Testament, we get a good picture of the laws the Israelites lived by. We see that anytime sin was committed, a sacrifice of an animal had to be presented in order to wipe away that sin. Jesus came to earth, lived like a man without sin, and went to the cross on our behalf to clear every need to make a sacrifice for sin. He was the perfect sacrifice, and because of him all sin was cancelled - past, present, and future. His death liberated us from the power of sin and death, but that is not all it did for us. There is more: 1.

Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we were also raised with Christ and are seated with Him in heavenly places. We operate from that place, not just from the earthly realm, so we must always remember that.

We gained direct access to God. We no longer have to go through priests to make our sacrifices for us or go through men to hear from God. We can approach God’s throne directly and converse with Him.

We also gained victory over death. We know that even if we leave the earth today, we live for eternity with Jesus. We have eternal life as a result of what Jesus did for us on the cross.

Tomorrow, we will look at some more benefits we enjoy as a result of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary.

Reflection: What does the cross really mean to me?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

107

DAY

100

Significance of the Cross II HEBREWS 4:15, ROMANS 5:1-11

esterday we started looking at some of the significance of the cross to us believers. Today, we will explore some more to ensure that we are not walking in ignorance of all that Jesus’ death and resurrection brought to us. Here they are: 4.

Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have a high priest who can relate with us on all levels. Jesus did not come as a 33-year-old man. The Bible takes us through His entire journey of life, from birth to death, which God did so He could experience all we will ever experience. This made Him fit to relate with us on any and every level. There is nothing we go through that God cannot connect to, which is why we should also ensure that we run to Him first through all of life’s situations. We have a high priest who feels as we feel.

We enjoy boundless life and limitless love! The love of God is the best revelation a believer can receive from God. All Jesus thought about on the cross was YOU! He had the power to send someone else, but He decided to come and do it by Himself because of the love that He has for us. If nothing else, the cross is evidence of just how much God loves us.

We are now forever in union with God because of the cross. Before Jesus’ death and resurrection, we were separated from God. Sin created a separation between Adam and God, but Jesus came and restored us to union with the Father. We became one with God again, as it was in the beginning before sin came in.

These are several other privileges we enjoy by the death and resurrection of Jesus. He had us in mind all through the process and journey, so we should never forget all that His death brought for us.

Reflection: How can I walk daily in the reality of these significance?

108

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Significance of The Cross III 1 CORINTHIANS 6:19-20, 2 CORINTHIANS 5:21

DAY

101

oday, we wrap up talking about the significance of the cross to us believers. 7.

We became the host of the presence of God! God no longer dwells in buildings or arks. He chose to make His home in our hearts. We are actually the church and not the building. When we believe in Jesus in our hearts and confess with our mouth that He is God, the Bible makes us understand that His Spirit comes and makes a home in our hearts. This is only made possible because Jesus left and went to be with the Father. If He did not go, the Spirit would never have come to us. We enjoy intimate union with God because of the Holy Spirit in us. We also enjoy clarity and direction because the Holy Spirit is constantly leading and directing us on which way to go.

We were given the righteous and holy nature of Jesus by His death on the cross. Because Jesus took our place, He also took our old identity. We are no longer recognised by the sins we committed; God began to look at us like Jesus. He looks and He sees righteousness, holiness, and purity! He is never disgusted by us because the blood of Jesus covers us. Even when we sin, we do not lose this nature; we only surrender our freedom to sin, and what God expects in those times is that we are quick to rush back to Him, confess our sins and obtain the forgiveness that Jesus already gave to us.

There is so much we enjoy because of Jesus. If we do not know these or understand them, we cannot enjoy them fully! God wants us to walk fully in all that Jesus died to give us.

Reflection: How can I stay conscious of all Jesus did to give me this level of freedom?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

109

DAY

Truth in Love

102

EPHESIANS 4:15, JOHN 8:32

ur generation is so quick to celebrate love. We enjoy the feel-good effect of it, and desire it so much that we go out of our way to create it, either in relationships or friendships. We love the idea of love, to the extent that most of us are more willing to listen to relationship messages than messages on prayer or discipleship. One would wonder why. Truth, on the other hand, is something we are quite picky about. We are only willing to hear it when it favours us, quick to take offence when it does not, and also quick to get defensive when we feel embarrassed. Truth must never be missing from our love. We must not get to a place where we are comfortable withholding the truth from people we say we love. We must always be willing to speak the truth in love. These might look like speaking to a person privately on an issue, and observing the time we choose to bring it up, maybe when they are more relaxed than under pressure. It could also be writing them a note stating the issue but also reaffirming love for them in the same. Because we are human beings, we will not always be excited when people correct us on things, but we must learn to be honest enough to say the truth, and be humble enough to also receive truth when it comes our own way. This is how we grow in relationships and also in loving Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s way. We must be intentional about correcting people with and in love.

Reflection: How might I do better to speak the truth to people with love?

110

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Dreams and Visions GENESIS 37:1-11, ROMANS 8:16

DAY

103

lot of people scramble around when they hear dreams and visions. They get so excited when God speaks to them through dreams and visions, and somewhere in most peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s minds, it is a superior way that God uses to reach His servants. I wonder where we got that from. While dreams and visions are mediums that God uses to speak to His people, we must not make it the best and ultimate way. As a matter of fact, the best way God wants to connect and speak to a man is through His Spirit within that man. God usually resorts to dreams and visions sometimes when our inner man is not still enough to hear Him or maybe blinded by other things. We must also note that dreams and visions are meant to be understood rather than taken exactly as they come. We must be people of prayer who are constantly seeking interpretations of our dreams and visions, rather than running with what we see as it comes. Do not feel too bad if God does not speak to you in dreams or visions; it does not make you less of a Christian. Not in any way. Keep growing your spirit man so it is sensitive to the Holy Spirit within you. This is Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primary way to speak to you, and if He decides to use any other medium, you would still be fine with it.

Reflection: Do I feel better when God has spoken to me through a dream or a vision, compared to when He speaks to my heart with a nudge or knowing?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

111

DAY

How Much Does Our Appearance Matter?

104

2 TIMOTHY 1:6-7, MATTHEW 5:16

“G

od sees my heart” is a famous statement among Christians. We are so quick to dismiss certain appearances and behaviours because God sees our hearts, even if no one else can. While it is true that God does see our hearts, He has also placed us on this earth to relate with men like ourselves. So, since men cannot see the heart as God does, we can give them a glimpse of our heart by our outward appearance. “Does the Holy Spirit really care about what I wear to church, work or school?” Yes, darling, He does! We go as representatives of Him everywhere we go, and as an ambassador appears his best when he is representing his country, God also expects that we make an effort to represent Him well at all times. We cannot represent God as a dirty God, a disorganised God, a God without morals or decency. We must represent Him the way He is - Majestic and Royal! The Holy Spirit always guides me in my dressing. He is there to say, “Yessss! You look like a king’s daughter”, or “This dress is gonna keep people distracted from your message”, depending on what it is. He guides us even to this level. The question is, are we really willing to drop our ideas of fashion and vogue and allow Him to teach us how to represent Him?

Reflection: Does my outward appearance reflect the God that I serve?

112

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Made Beautiful GENESIS 1:31, PSALM 139:14

DAY

105

he Bible tells us that Jesus looked at all He had created, and said it was good. Nothing beats God’s approval. Absolutely nothing. When you look in the mirror, what do you see? The scars? The pain? The trauma? The insults? What we see tells us a lot about what we believe. Regardless of all we have been through and all that has been said to us, we must remember that the Father called us “good” and “perfect”, and that is all we need to hear. The Bible says we are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’. God made no mistakes in His creation; His intentionality and precision would not even allow that. We are the ones who must raise ourselves to His level to see ourselves as He sees us. God has made beauty out of all of our scars. No matter how they still appear, the story in the scar is it’s beauty. Your triumph through battles is evidence of the good God you serve. You must stop bringing down what God has made beautiful (which is really all of you)! Say this to yourself today: “I have been made whole and beautiful by the creator of the universe. He went further to call me His masterpiece, which signifies that I am the zenith of His creative work. What I think and see is secondary to what God thinks and sees of me, so I choose to believe that I am beautiful and have been fearfully and wonderfully made by a Father who thinks I am to die for!”

Reflection: How do I raise thoughts of myself to thoughts of God about me?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

113

DAY

Hungry for What?

106

JOHN 4:14, 2 CORINTHIANS 10:5

ometime last year, I was studying the book of Samuel, and I found it so interesting that the things that plague the hearts of men have not changed much since the Bible times. Men have remained so hungry and desirous of power and fame to the point that they would go any length to get it. Bloodshed was nothing to them in those days, as long as power remained with them. Indeed, power looks like all the things people idolise today: from money to security to material possessions. Power always exalts. So, anyone who has power has a tendency to exalt themselves and also be exalted. This becomes a rivalry to the worship of God because God has all the power in His hands, even the one we think we have, and it is only in humility that we realise every moment of our lives that this power (in whatever form) belongs to God and we must use it as He pleases. I do not think we will ever be weaned off the love of power, but we can be taught to remind ourselves of the drop it is in the ocean of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s overall power. It will keep us humble. What are you most hungry for? Check and ensure that it is not a form of power. We must keep our deepest hunger and desire for God. He is all we need.

Reflection: My desires reveal my heart. What do I desire most?

114

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Rebellion Redefined LUKE 15:11-32, 1 CORINTHIANS 4:7

DAY

107

once listened to a message by Apostle Joshua Selman, where he talked about the price for the anointing. While he spoke, he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;in the kingdom, owners are rebelsâ&#x20AC;?. Even though it was a side comment on a point he was making, it is something that has stuck with me over time, and I have also come to see the truth it holds. The owner of anything has complete power over it. They control who uses it, when they use it, and also how they use it. An ownerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vocabulary is largely different from that of the one who has borrowed or one yet to get their own. If we glance at the story of the prodigal son, we notice a lot of things there. The son who requested to have his inheritance was not satisfied with just being an heir, even though he did not have full possession of all that was his own because his father was still alive. What was his, was his, but he wanted to own what he owned personally, so he requested that his father divide his property and give him his portion to go away with. Like God, the father did not fight back; he handed the boy his share, and as soon as he received it, the Bible records that he went to a faraway country and squandered all he had been given. His possession had a level of security while it was with the father, but this boy just wanted to own, and when we own, we do whatever we like with whatever it is, even if God disapproves. It is essential that we begin to see ourselves as stewards in this kingdom because this is who we truly are. Everything we have has been given to us by the owner to steward, including our money, time, families and even skills and talents. The moment we begin to claim ownership, that is the moment rebellion begins.

Reflection: Are there things in my life I own that I need to give fully to God?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

115

DAY

Not our Glory

108

1 PETER 4:13, JOHN 17:22

s you grow in Christ, your eyes will begin to open to see that you are alive for something greater than yourself. We often get carried away with the ‘me’ mentality, and it shows in how we live our lives. Selfishness is one of the things you will see that God will begin to deal with in your heart. He opens you to understand that you are alive for a purpose that exceeds your existence. God did not just work with men in the Bible, He worked with generations and lineage, and He is still in the habit of doing that. As selfishness dies, we will begin to see that God wants us to do everything for His glory. If we live for God’s glory, then all that we are and do must also be for His glory. With this mindset, we move from just asking ourselves if something is a sin to asking how that thing glorifies God. I have gotten to a place in my life where I stop at every step to ask myself how what I am about to do will glorify God. If I cannot answer that question, I refrain from doing whatever I want to do. The beautiful thing about God is that He loves us too much, so even in His glory, He desires to share it with us. But first, are we giving Him the due glory?

Reflection: How conscious am I of glorifying God in all that I do?

116

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Forgiving Yourself 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17, COLOSSIANS 3:9-11

DAY

109

hen we talk about forgiveness, a lot of times, it is in relation to another person who has hurt or offended us. We are often hoping that God gives us the grace to forgive them and help us move past it. Recently, God has taught (and is still teaching) me how none of us can give something that we do not have. We cannot expect someone who has not forgiven themselves to begin to forgive someone who has wronged them. Some people do not even know that they owe themselves forgiveness; they are just too hard on themselves and think it is normal. We all have pasts, and sometimes when we come to Christ, we forget that we also need to forgive ourselves in order to fully accept the forgiveness of God. God wants to open some of us today to the truth that it is time to forgive yourself and let go of the hurt that you are causing yourself. It could be some memories or people you still have to see everyday, but God looked at you and forgave you, in spite of it all. He wants you to look at yourself and offer the same grace to yourself, too. Refuse to be ruled and driven by your past. Refuse to allow the past stop you from walking into the fullness of all that God has for you.

Reflection: Have I truly forgiven myself?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

117

DAY

Letting Go

110

JOHN 15:12, 2 CORINTHIANS 1:4

fter we have forgiven ourselves or others, most of us struggle to let go. We still find ourselves dwelling on the hurt and the pain, so we convince ourselves that we have forgiven, but we are yet to let it go. Letting go is the mature part of forgiveness. Everyone might get themselves to forgive, but only a few will actually let go. Letting go here refers to refusing to be impacted by the result of the hurt or pain. Some of us are still so hostile and spiteful to the people who hurt us. We have blocked them across social media platforms and have made it clear to them that we do not want to have anything to do with them. While this distance is sometimes encouraged, it is still important that the motive and intention is from a pure place. I have read stories of women and men who still take care of their abusers in their old age, and I know they are only able to do this because they have allowed the Holy Spirit to teach them to really let go of the past and the hurt. No one can ever feel the pain you feel or have felt, and it will be unfair for people to just expect you to let go, but you need to know today that it is not something you can do by yourself. The Holy Spirit has to empower you for you to fully let go. Ask Him for help today.

Reflection: Have I let go of the hurt and pain even though I have forgiven?

118

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Moving On PSALM 86:15, PHILIPPIANS 3:13

DAY

111

ave you ever met a bitter person? It is very easy to identify them. They get angry for the slightest things, want to see other people in pain, and are often always lashing out at everyone. Before, I used to be so irritated by them, but God put compassion in my heart for them, and helped me to see that they only act that way because they do not know any better. If they did, they would not act the way they do. Sometimes, when hurt and pain have dwelt in our hearts for so long, they grow to become something else. This is why Jesus even equated murder to simply hating someone in your heart without cause. Hurt grows into hate and becomes revenge. When we cannot have revenge, we become very bitter people, who go around taking our frustration out on innocent people. After we have forgiven and let go, we must consciously decide to move on. Refuse to be held back by whatever has happened, and choose to move on in spite of all of it. Practically, we can do this by eliminating the triggers in our lives. Triggers are things that remind us of the hurt. If something constantly reminds you of something you are trying to move on from, you have to be bold enough to eliminate it. Moving on is a conscious process that takes time, so do not be too hard on yourself. If someone you know that is trying to move on, please try to be patient with them.

Reflection: Are there triggers in my life that I need to eliminate ASAP?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

119

DAY

Transformed From The Inside Out

112

ROMANS 12:2-3, ROMANS 8:29

he work of the Holy Spirit in a man is something that cannot be hidden for long. I once made a tweet saying, ‘sooner or

later, we must see the fruit of your constant communion with God’. We know a tree from its fruits, and we can tell the quality of the tree from the quality of its fruits. By this, we can also tell what branch you are from what vine we find you. It is this loud. The transformative power of God’s word sometimes acts against a person’s will. You would find that your mindset begins to change, and you cannot do certain things and get away with them like you used to. Your heart would also prompt you in directions that you ordinarily would not go. This is how powerful God’s word is. I have read of several men of faith who simply studied the Bible to build their arguments against God and in the process met God, got transformed and now have the Holy Spirit living in them. Their mission literally got aborted because by engaging The Word, they met transformation. This transformation always begins with our insides and then flows to the outside. Any transformation that starts outside is unlikely to be sustainable and sooner than later, will attract the tag ‘hypocrite’ or ‘pretender’. Let us be more intentional in the study of God’s word, knowing that transformation is going on inside of us.

Reflection: How much have I changed since I gave my life to Christ?

120

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Effective Arrows PSALM 127:3-5, HEBREWS 4:12

DAY

113

ne time, I had a dream about my mother being attacked. It was such a long dream, and God made sure I did not forget any detail when I woke up because there was a significance to every part of the dream. I woke up exasperated and teary, and as I closed my eyes to pray, the interpretation of each scene came one after the other. God did not stop there. He reminded me of Psalm 127:4 that likens children to arrows in the hands of a mighty warrior. God gave me clear instructions to talk to my siblings and get us to pray for my mother together, and after doing that, peace came over my heart like a blanket. We all have parental figures in our lives. Whether biological or otherwise, there are people in our lives who have taken rule over us, and God tells us we are arrows in the hands of these people. We have a responsibility for them to constantly pray for them because, in the realm of the spirit, we are like their battle axes and shields. I do not know how intentional you are about praying for your parents, but I need you to know the significance of it today. I have a picture of my three siblings and I, round my parents with fire in our hands each time we pray for them, and I am confident it would look the same if we looked at it in that realm. Some of us are so used to getting prayers from our parents that we do not also remember to cover them in prayer.

Reflection: How can I be more intentional about praying for the people who have parental roles over me?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

121

DAY

Yielding to Brokenness

114

MATTHEW 21:44, PSALM 51:17

postle Joshua Selman defines brokenness as “The state of your heart that declares your total dependence on God”. He also says it is a prerequisite for any man who God will use mightily on the earth; that a man be so broken and totally yielded to God. Some Christians are not excited at the sound of this at all. Some even oppose it to ask, “Why will a loving God want to break His children?”. We must understand it in context as the Holy Spirit inspires us. God is committed to saving us from anything that is not Him, including self. Self rules a person up until the point they surrender themselves to God. At that point, the Holy Spirit begins to rule but is still subject to the flesh until that flesh has been broken. In one of her songs, Tasha Cobbs sang, “God does not break us to destroy us, rather He does it gracefully.” This is so that after we have been broken of self, we are even more yielded to obeying and pleasing Him. As painful as the process might seem, nothing excites me more than knowing that each breaking is a bursting forth of another dimension of God in my life. Sometimes, when I pray on brokenness, I have visions of me cracked all over and light bursting forth from within the cracks. I am sure I will get to a point where everything creating the cracks is completely taken away, and the bright light is all I will see. Brokenness makes us fit for God’s use; it humbles us to be the vessels God desires to use, so let us stop fighting the process and yield to it instead.

Reflection: In what area of self is God currently breaking me in? It could be pride, jealousy, gossip, strife, and so much more.

122

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

At the Appointed Time GENESIS 4:4-7, JOSHUA 21:45

DAY

115

n the Bible, we often read that things happened ‘at the appointed time’, or the thing that was destined to happen, happened ‘when the fullness of time had come’. If we have a balanced view of the Bible, we would see that throughout scripture, it is promise after promise and fulfilment after fulfilment. The Bible records that every word spoken concerning Jesus was manifested. Not one word went without manifestation. This is how intentional God is about us and His promises to us. He has an appointed time for certain things in our lives, and we have to be intentional about disciplining ourselves to work as He leads, not as we please. A lot of us have caused so much trauma for ourselves by forcing our way into places that God has not yet called us to or moving ahead of the Holy Spirit to say and do things when He has not given us the release to do so. God is never late; neither is He ever too early. He is too excellent to delay or be too early, so we need to trust Him with the timing of our lives. We cannot create timelines for ourselves on things He has not spoken to us about, and then blame Him when the time has elapsed, and that thing is not accomplished. Our planning must be done as the Holy Spirit inspires, and not as our minds drive us. Today, I speak peace over your heart as you read this, that you take your mind off that timeline and trust that at the appointed time, God will do it.

Reflection: How often do I find myself blaming God for a timeline I set for myself without His consent?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

123

DAY

Discerning Seasons

116

ECCLESIASTES 3, 1 SAMUEL 17:32-40

t is vital that we give time to learning how God speaks to us. As we grow spiritually, we will identify critical ways through which God chooses to speak to us. He remains dynamic and versatile, but His consistency makes Him deploy the one that is most effective for each individual. David killed Goliath the same way He killed the lion and the bear. Even when Saul gave him an armour, he had to reject it because he was not used to it. God will not suddenly change how he speaks to us for just one situation, so we need to be intentional about learning and growing in the way God speaks to us best. When we learn how God speaks to us, we become very discerning about the times and seasons of our lives. We hear when God is telling us to move, and when He is asking us to stay. We cannot use the word of yesterday to determine the word for today. Therefore, we must go back each day and get daily bread. God wants to do different things in different seasons, but He needs men and women who are discerning enough to hear and know what it is that He wants. Even right now, God is doing something, in you and the world, and we must discern it and act accordingly. Prayer is what sharpens our discernment; there is no way around it. We must spend time in prayer and allow God to sharpen our spiritual seeing and hearing in that place of prayer.

Reflection: What do I perceive God is doing in me at this time?

124

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Building Patience EXODUS 32:1-8, 1 SAMUEL 13:8-14

DAY

117

non-negotiable in walking with God is patience. God cannot work through an impatient man. The working of the Holy Spirit, even so, happens to start with building patience in us. But have we ever wondered why patience is so important in the things of the kingdom? Why does God insist on patience? Patience demands that a person waits to hear from God before proceeding to do anything. This means that as long as God has not spoken, that person is not moving. Remember how the children of Israel grew impatient when Moses stayed up on the mountain for 40 days. They began to make idols for themselves to worship because they were weary that Moses had stayed ‘too long’ on the mountain. One of the reasons the Israelites stayed that long on the journey to the promised land is because God was trying to kill that impatience in them. He needed them to understand that they must be patient to walk with Him. God is still teaching and building patience in men today, and if we are not aware or conscious of it, we will keep missing the lessons and repeating the classes. We must learn to wait and hear from God before we move to do and say things. One of my biggest mottos in life is ‘As the Spirit leads me’. If the Spirit is not leading, I am not going. I want to challenge you to learn it too. Until God gives you a release to do something, decide to wait and be patient.

Reflection: How patient am I to hear from God before I move?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

125

DAY

Spirit First

118

PROVERBS 25:28, GALATIANS 5:16

ou are not a body with a spirit; you are a spirit with a body. You are spiritual, and you must know it. If not, you would live a life based on physical appearances. God needs believers to rise beyond the physical, and plug themselves into the spiritual so they can take charge from the spiritual realm. The reason behind some of the spiritual disciplines that are encouraged, like fasting, is to take power from the physical to the spiritual. You have to quiet the body to connect to the spiritual appropriately. Myles Munroe made a video once on fasting, where he explained how fasting sobers our minds and allows us to be more acute in hearing in the spirit. Retreats also do something similar. They quiet our minds and bodies, and also make us very sensitive to the spirit, which is how it should always be. I learnt early on in my faith that anything that happens in the physical has a backing in the spiritual. If we all understand this, we will be more intentional about controlling things from the spiritual realm, even before the physical. We must learn to pray and subject our bodies to the spirit, as it is the only way we will grow spiritually. We cannot keep feeding our bodies every day, three times a day and then only feed our spirits on Sunday mornings. Some of us have malnourished spirits, and it shows in how we live life. God is calling us to our real nature - our spiritual nature. He wants more people to choose to place their spirits over their bodies and begin to take charge from the spirit realm.

Reflection: How can I do more to grow my spirit?

126

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

His Purposes and Plans JEREMIAH 29:11, GENESIS 16:1-11

DAY

119

he beauty and power of God are so much that He can work all things out for good. No matter how bad it might appear to a human, if we surrender to God and choose to walk His path, His word assures us that all things will work together for our good. I always say to people that the biggest mistake you can make in your walk with God is attempting to understand ‘how’ something will happen. Usually, trying to understand how, puts people in a place of panic and worry because they just cannot see it. But God, who sits enthroned, knows how He connects the dots and works it all out. For us His children, we must learn to rest and trust, because if He says He will do it, then He will. In the grand scheme of things, God always has a purpose, and in the purpose are plans He has put in place to achieve that purpose. However, while God’s purpose remains unchangeable, His plans can be altered, and we see it throughout scripture; how man sinned and went another way other than the one chosen for him, and then repented later. God was merciful enough to still work it out for His purpose and glory. One of the most significant examples we see is that of Abraham and Sarah. Despite the promise God gave to them about bearing a son, they still got impatient and decided to help God fulfil His purpose by Sarah encouraging Abraham to sleep with her Egyptian maid, Hagar. Although this was never in God’s plan for Abraham and Sarah, God still worked it in such a way that He still established His purpose of Isaac, even though the execution of the plan was altered. We can see that we still suffer the consequence of their impatience today. So, while it is comforting that God works everything out for our good, we must not intentionally work in contrast to His will and plan, even after He has revealed it to us. We must learn to walk in total obedience to God at every point in time.

Reflection: Do I seek God’s face in knowing the plans and purposes He has for my life?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

127

DAY

Purposeful Bible Study

120

JOSHUA 1:8, JEREMIAH 15:16

ove spurs us to know more about our lover. When we love someone, we want to please them, and we can only please them when we find out how they like to be pleased. This pushes us into a journey of learning about the person we love so that we are equipped to love them better. It is the same with God. Our love for Him pushes us to know Him more, which is why we make time through our day to know and learn more about our lover. This is essentially what most people call Bible Study. However, some people have not mastered how to study the Bible effectively, so today, we will discuss that. I hope you pick a thing or two from this. Every time you read any passage in the Bible, you should ask yourself these four questions and answer them: 1.

How has what I read told me more about Jesus?

How will what I just read impact my daily living?

How can I incorporate this lesson into my life today?

How will this lesson impact my relationship with God and the people around me?

Giving answers to these questions tells you more about God, but much more, how this new knowledge will begin to impact your relationship with Him and that of people around you. I always encourage people to have a notebook for Bible Study. Nothing sticks more than what you have written down, so do not answer these questions in your mind. Get a journal or a cute book where you can write them down. It will amaze you how much more you will remember them, and how satisfying it would be to read through such journals later in life.

Reflection: How can I practically apply what I learn from the Bible each day?

128

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Diligent Here and Now LUKE 16:10, JOHN 14:15

DAY

121

ne day, I sat down, looked up and said to God, “I want to take this world for you. I want to take Your name to the ends of the earth, just tell me what You want me to do”. After a few seconds, I heard a whisper in my heart that said: “Just stay diligent in what I have given you here and now”. I had a little ‘lol’ in my head because that was far from the answer I was expecting, but it was a reminder for me that the big is always in the small. As they say, ‘the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’. To do those grand things I want to do, I must finish diligently, the little things He has entrusted to me. It is a huge doctrine in the Bible that the one who is faithful in little will also be faithful in much, and the one who is unfaithful in a little will also be unfaithful in a lot. Some of us need to stop asking to do the unimaginable when we have not finished doing the imaginable. I have also learnt that with God, there is no measurement of the person who has done the greatest. The only measurement is the person who has obeyed. Once you have obeyed, you have pleased God, whether it is little or big in your eyes. It is human nature that allows us to believe that there is a grander thing we can do for God when we have not done the little thing first. God is calling us to be diligent and obedient in what He has given to us in the here and now. Quit looking at other people and comparing their assignment to yours. Settle in where He has placed you and stay diligent.

Reflection: Have I become carried away in desiring bigger things while ignoring the thing in my hand at the moment?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

129

DAY

122

I Have the Mind of Christ 1 CORINTHIANS 2:14-16, PSALM 139

o on and say the topic out loud to yourself! Say it until you believe what you say.

This is one of my favourite confessions and declarations. Nothing brings me more peace then knowing I have the mind of Christ and going further to remind myself. I mostly say it out at times when I feel anxiety, panic or when I am most overwhelmed, and it does wonders for me. Maybe it is something you can adopt. Here is why this confession is so powerful. When we declare that we have the mind of Christ, we clearly declare that we think as Christ does. This means we have no confusion and uncertainty because we always know what to do, when to do it and how to do it. One of the first names my mother taught me about God is ‘Omniscient God’. This means God is all-knowing. There is no iota of knowledge that is missing from His vast pool of it. There is nothing He is attempting to learn. He knows it all - from the broadest form to the smallest detail. When we declare that we have this mind, we declare that we have the ability and capacity to know and process excellently, all that we put our minds to learn. I cannot tell you how this declaration helps me when I encounter academic materials that appear to cause me stress. I just take a step back and remind every part of me that ‘I have the mind of Christ!’ Step into today with this empowering knowledge. Nothing is beyond you. You are not confused, and you know what to do, in Jesus name, amen!

Reflection: How can I always remind myself that I have the mind of Christ?

130

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Godly Counsel I PROVERBS 11:14, 1 TIMOTHY 4:12

DAY

123

od has been so gracious to us in the several avenues He has made available for us to commune with Him and hear from Him. Each of our relationships with God can be so dynamic but always consistent with the word and nature of God. One of the biggest ways I have let God speak to me is through godly counsel. This would usually come through people who also walk with God. We must be careful to never get to a point where we are too proud to allow another human to speak to us. With God, we never ‘arrive’; we are always learning and knowing more of Him. If you are familiar with the Chronicles of Narnia, you will remember what Aslan said to Lucy when she commented that He looked bigger. He responded saying “each year you grow, you will find me bigger.” Aslan in that story represents God and Lucy represents us. God is also telling us that each time we grow, we will find Him bigger. It is the vastness of the God we serve. God has deposited some gold counsel in people around us that will help us navigate life better. If we do not become humble ourselves and seek to honour these people, we will not get the harvest that is within them for us. A teachable spirit is what we really need. I should also note here that the vessel God might use to deliver counsel to you might not come in the age and shape you expect them to. The person might be a lot younger, and well below your social status, but that should not matter because we see that God is capable of using the most ‘unlikely vessels’.

Reflection: Who are those I have despised as a result of their age or appearance?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

131

Godly Counsel II

DAY

124

1 TIMOTHY 3:1-3, HEBREWS 12:1-2

esterday we started looking at how God sometimes uses human vessels to communicate with us. We concluded by saying that the vessels may not come as we expect them to, so we must stay humble and sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Today, we will look at practical things to look out for in vessels that God might send our way, and how to know if indeed it is God who has sent them, or they have come of their own accord. 1.

They have a genuine walk with God - The Bible says we shall know them by their fruits. When people come around us with ‘a word from God’, we must see if they have evidence of receiving words from God over their own lives. God will work through vessels surrendered to Him. He will not bring a word to you through a vessel who does not know or have a relationship with Him.

They do not make themselves God and demand that you worship them - The godly vessels that God will use to bring His word would never use it against you. They will never exalt themselves to the position of God and demand that you begin to worship them. We must be wary of people who want to come and take the place of God in our lives.

They are never leading you from their own experiences - It is one thing for someone to advise you from experience and another for them to advise you as God leads them. The latter is what we want. The people God will use to guide us will filter their experiences through God’s word before they present it to us.

They will be open and honest about their own experiences - They will not hide their own stories or experiences. They will also not lie about them but will tell you the truth so you will know where they made mistakes and how you can do better.

When God is bringing counsel to us, He checks the vessel being used, so we must be cautious and discerning of the people that come to us ‘in God’s name’.

Reflection: Who are the people I allow speak into my life? Are they people who have relationships with God?

132

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Unlikely Vessels 1 SAMUEL 16:1-13, JEREMIAH 17:9-10

DAY

125

n the first part of our devotion on ‘Godly counsel’, we concluded by saying that God is capable of using the most unlikely vessels to bring word to us. What does that mean? It means that all the people you would not expect God to use due to various shallow reasons are the exact people He is able to use. When Samuel was sent to anoint a son of Jesse as king, we see how Samuel looked at Eliab, the first son, and automatically concluded that because of his build, he was the one who God wanted to be king. Watch the words of God to Samuel. He said ‘man looks at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart’. Being human, we might be limited by what we can see, but we must never allow that to be the controlling factor in how we live our lives. The Holy Spirit must work in us and teach us discernment, to the point where we do not judge people by how they appear. This is a very conscious process because science tells us that every human being has what we call ‘unconscious biases’. This essentially means that there are biases in our minds that we may not even be conscious of. These biases can hinder the work of God in our lives if we do not surrender them to Him and yield to His Spirit in us. God does not look or evaluate as we do; He sees the heart and has His standards, so we must not get caught up seeing and evaluating by our own eyes and standards. Let us be Christians who insist on being led by God.

Reflection: How can I be more intentional about working on my unconscious biases?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

133

DAY

Never Too Far Below

126

ACTS 3:19, ACTS 11:18

have met a number of people in my life who refuse to come to God on the basis of ‘I have sinned too much. God cannot accept a sinner like me’. They have been able to convince themselves that they have fallen below a level that God’s grace can catch them. So, rather than run to God in repentance, they run further away from Him. I do not know if you have ever been in such a place or know a person in a similar situation right now, but I need you to know that there is no extent to grace. There is nothing a man can do that would be too grievous for God’s grace. The blood of Jesus is more than sufficient to cover for any and every sin that we might commit. It is not an encouragement to continue in sin, but rather a realisation of God’s love for us. We must always be eager to run back to God when we have fallen short, confess and repent. It is the only way we will stop the devil from drilling a deeper hole in our walk with God. Once the devil is able to get you to feel too guilty to come back to God, you need to realise the trap and do the exact opposite. It is often our minds that convince us that God is angry with us and does not want to have anything to do with us, but this is always opposite of the case. God is always waiting with arms wide open for His children to run to Him.

Reflection: How do I remind myself to always run back to God when I have fallen short?

134

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Divine Orchestration vs Coincidence

DAY

127

ROMANS 8:28, EPHESIANS 2:10

I have seen God move so mightily and greatly to the point where I sometimes feel I am robbing Him of glory by attributing His glory to coincidence. If a pen drops, and the person beside me and I bend to pick it up, we can agree it is a coincidence, but when it comes to the way life and its events play out, I am inclined to believe more in orchestration than coincidence. God has a plan for our lives. Once we submit to Him, He lets us in on this plan and empowers us to work through it with Him. His divine plan for our lives leads to divine orchestration which is evident in the life of every believer. While divine orchestration exists, we must not then begin to attribute everything that happens in our lives to God, because sometimes, it could be consequences of our actions and other times, it could well be God’s plan for how things play out. We must be sensitive to ensure that at every point, we are being led and not assuming that we are led. We will find that we are only able to see and connect the dots when we look back, and not when we are in the middle of an issue or problem. So, we must grow to trust God through every phase of our lives and with every detail of our life. I am not asking you to go looking for God’s hand in every event of life; rather, I am asking you to humbly submit yourself to God’s Spirit in you so He can lead and guide you through His intended plan for your life.

Reflection: In retrospect, are there situations in my life that I have attributed to coincidence when they were plainly the hand of God?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

135

DAY

Lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Timeline

128

ROMANS 5:4-6, ROMANS 8:28

f you are over 15, the chances that you would have already observed the society we live in and seen that it works largely on age landmarks are very high. They tell you, try to finish school at 23, make sure you get married before 25, have all your kids before 30, have the kids before facing your career and so on. The pressure is there even before you grow to that stage or level. I had to learn very early to make myself immune to such pressure. The only person I allow to determine anything for me is God, and I ensure my spirit is in tune with His so that when He speaks, I am quick to hear. As human beings, the truth remains that we are indeed limited by time. We will not live forever, or always be agile enough to do certain things, but this should encourage us to live life more intentionally and purposely, rather than pressure us into making decisions that we have not prepared for. I do not know what stage of life you are in at the moment, but I need you to trust the God that leads His sheep to pasture. I need you to trust that He sees and knows exactly where you are, and at the right time, He will do all that He wants to do in your life. My advice to you is to let go of the societal standards; let go of what everyone has said to you or told you. Relieve yourself of the social constructs and the pressure, and just enjoy life in a way that God will have you. At the end of the day, it is God who knows what is best for you alone so if you would only trust Him and move step by step with Him, you would arrive at your destination.

Reflection: Am I working under the pressure of society or as the Holy Spirit guides me?

136

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Stop Rushing! PSALM 27:14, PETER 3:9

DAY

129

e live in such an instant and fast-paced society. Everyone wants everything done now; no one wants to wait, and it is a mindset that has even seeped into our day-to-day lives. Sometimes, we do not even realise how horridly we are living, even when there is no reason to hurry or be rushed. Hebrews 12 speaks about the rest we were ushered into when we accepted Christ as our Lord and Personal Saviour. The TPT version called it a “faith-rest”. This faith-rest refers to ceasing to work by your own wisdom, understanding and direction, and trusting God’s spirit in you instead, to guide you to do the will of God. We often feel the need to be in a hurry when we are not even sure of God’s plan or will. All we want to do is see the end of certain phases, and sometimes, God might want us to tarry even longer. We cannot input the system of the world into God’s system. If the world has made everything instant, we cannot begin to demand that God also act accordingly and give us things at our beck and call. He loves us so much and is just too intentional to allow us to rush into things that He knows we are not ready for.

Reflection: Where are you rushing to? Why?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

137

Alienated Branches

DAY

130

JOHN 15:4-11, MATTHEW 7:17-20

esus said if we abide in Him, and He abides in us, we will bear much fruit.

If you have ever observed a plant, you would know that the root of the plant is one of the most important parts of a plant, despite being mostly invisible. Uproot a plant from its root, and you terminate its ability to grow and become a better plant. The roots serve a lot of purpose. Asides from anchoring the plant securely to the ground, they also get nutrients that other parts of the plant needs and send it to the part. The root of a plant can be the most healthy part because it is in direct contact with most of the nutrients in the ground. Jesus tells us that He is the vine, and we are the branches, so we can say God is the root. The Bible also calls God the vinedresser, which is one who takes care of the vine. Branches grow off the vine of a plant and cannot exist on their own. Once a branch falls away from the vine, it begins to die and wither because it has lost contact with its resource person. It is the same with us, when we separate ourselves from Jesus, we create the possibility of drying up and dying. The thing with this process is that it is not instantaneous; it happens progressively, so sometimes, people do not even realise they are drying up as a result of not having contact with Jesus. We must keep our contact point with Jesus very vibrant and well-connected. This contact point can be referred to as â&#x20AC;&#x153;the secret placeâ&#x20AC;?, which is where we meet with God personally to commune and have fellowship with Him. That is how we stay connected.

Reflection: Am I noticing any signs of dryness in my life in any way? Is there a chance I have alienated myself from the vine?

138

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Conflict Resolution ROMANS 12:18, HEBREWS 12:14

DAY

131

do not mean to blow my trumpet, but I am truly one of the most peaceful people I know. I have been to a lot of places and met a lot of people, so I know what it means to have peace, both within oneself and also among the people with whom you dwell. Before I met Jesus, I could argue till the opposition agreed with me, or talk my way out of anything. Jesus began to work in me when I came to Him, and that working meant that I carefully choose the battles I decide to fight very wisely, and even in fighting, there is minimal or no trouble at all. Being human, there is a high chance we might encounter situations of conflict now and then. We might not have been the ones who instigate it, but it so happens that we are involved in some way. In such times, what does God expect us to do? Are we supposed to run away and hide from the conflict or cut off everyone involved in the name of â&#x20AC;&#x153;protecting our spaceâ&#x20AC;?? I think not. The Bible says in Romans 12:18, that as long as it is up to us, we should live at peace with all men. This means that we should do whatever is within our power to ensure that we live peacefully with everyone we encounter. The best way to resolve conflict is by polite communication. While the Holy Spirit will sometimes have us choose silence over confrontation, He will lead us into communicating politely with the people involved on other occasions. This communication is not to throw blames around or find out who is at fault; it is more to settle the dispute, know where each person faulted, and commit to doing better another time. We must learn to be uncomfortable with staying in prolonged situations of conflict because if we are true children of God, it will affect us internally. While you cannot please everyone, you can definitely leave everyone peacefully through your words and actions. The Holy Spirit must do His work in us to the point where all we want to reflect is the peace of God. This will become more important to us than even winning any arguments.

Reflection: How often am I involved in conflicts? How can I minimise them and live peacefully?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

139

DAY

Just Show Up!

132

GALATIANS 5:18, GALATIANS 5:16

ne of the things we would have to unlearn as we grow in God is to cease to be slaves to our feelings. We cannot always operate from the place of “I don’t feel like …” Feelings are too fleeting and volatile for us to be led by them. A person who masters power over their feelings and emotions is halfway down the road of selflessness. Feelings and emotions can make us very selfish to the people around us and also to ourselves. We refuse to do what we need to do because we claim we do not feel like it. From today, we must begin to unlearn being servants to our feelings. We must learn what it means to show up, even when we do not feel like it. It will be hard, and it might cost tears and livid moments, but the more you insist on showing up even when you do not feel like, the more power you gain over those feelings. There is something you should already be doing. I do not know what it is but you do, and I am here to tell you to stop the delay, stop the procrastination and stop the excuses. You need to just get up and show up! God has taught me this at so many different points in my life. Showing up has caused me many wins. At other times, nothing came from it, but the joy of just knowing I showed up was enough reward. The Holy Spirit is always available to help us live above these feelings, so engage Him when you feel the most powerless. He is always there to help.

Reflection: Make a list of all the things you have ignored and procrastinated in the name of ‘not feeling like it’. Set deadlines and do them.

140

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Fan the Flame LEVITICUS 6:12-13, GALATIANS 5:25

DAY

133

f you have ever been to a campfire and watched them put on a fire, you would have noticed that fire can die away if it has no enabling factor. This is a fundamental principle. In the case of a campfire, the enabling factors are wood and kerosene. They fuel the fire to burn even more, and once they are used up, the fire begins to dwindle, before it then disappears. In our walk with God, we have a responsibility of fanning the flame of our souls. When the Holy Spirit sets us on fire for God and the things of God, it is essential to know that this fire can die down if we do not fan it. I often meet Christians who say things like “I don’t know what happened, I just stopped feeling the fire” or “it just stopped being exciting for me”, and they think it is the fault of the Holy Spirit that they no longer feel the way they felt before. We forget that we must tend the fire and keep it burning, meaning that we are always seeking more fuel or wood to keep the fire burning and burning well. This would look like constantly listening to messages that enable our spiritual growth, being in the company of other believers who discuss edifying things, staying in the secret place (even when we do not feel like it), and seeking every opportunity to pray (in our understanding and in the Spirit). We must be so intentional about fanning our flame; if not, it will die away. I do not know where you currently are, i.e. how intense your fire is, but I am here to remind you that you are responsible for keeping it burning. So, do all you need to do to keep that flame.

Reflection: Have I sat back and allowed the Holy Spirit to do all the fanning instead of being proactive?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

141

DAY

Free from Human Expectations

134

PHILIPPIANS 1:21, ROMANS 14:8

s we grow, if we are not careful of all the things we take in, we can cage ourselves with the expectations of those around us, to the point where we cannot even fully yield to the Holy Spirit in us. Our parents, friends, partners, and church members come with their expectations of us; and sometimes, even within ourselves, we also have certain expectations for ourselves. Daily, when we feel we have not met these expectations, we begin to feel downcast, depressed and not enough, but we forget that we were not created to be bound by the expectations of men. God did not create you to live by what everyone thinks but by what He thinks. The Bible makes us understand that God’s thoughts towards us are of good and never of evil. Unlike humans that are placed on pedestals and are not always righteous, God leads us to the places He wants us to be and the people He wants us to be. We must grow to live for an audience of One: God. When God tells us to do something, it should not matter what anyone else thinks. We must be more interested in obeying the Father than pleasing men. We must become fearless like Paul in our pursuit of doing God’s will daily.

Reflection: In what ways have I let the expectations of men hold me back from meeting God’s expectations for my life?

142

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Admit It PHILIPPIANS 2:8, JAMES 5:16

DAY

135

ne of the first virtues we learn in the life of Jesus is humility. Jesus always took the stance of humility, never thinking Himself more highly than He ought to, even though He was and is the king of the world. Humility would always demand that you admit when you are wrong. Even when you might appear foolish for a time, we must never get conceited to the point that we cannot admit our wrongs. When we admit our wrongs, we dismantle the power of pride over us. It is ok to not always be right, but in those times, how willing are we to also admit that we were wrong. People naturally drift towards humble people. Without humility, people would run from you because they are sure of never receiving an apology from you. After all, you will always insist on being right. Some people only admit being wrong to themselves but never to others; this is also not right. Our reputation must include humility, and we should be eager to learn it, sometimes, through practice.

Reflection: How can I do better to admit when I am wrong?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

143

DAY

136

The Reminder in The Scar 2 CORINTHIANS 1:4, ISAIAH 61:1-3

o you have any visible scars gotten from your childhood on your body? I have one that I got when I was about 9. While playing with my siblings in a room, I fell over a wooden piece that had a loose nail on it. Whenever I replay how it happened, I often thank God because I am reminded that it could have been a lot worse than it was. Thankfully, it did not require stitches, but I was in pain for weeks, and I could not sit down properly. Sometimes, I see the scar when I look in the mirror, and I smile unconsciously. It reminds me of a battle I won. Scars do that to us; they remind us of times we were weak and how strength somehow came. The evidence of the strength is that you are still alive to see and appreciate the scars. I find that people are so intentional about covering up their scars. While it is sometimes understandable, I think it is worth reminding us today, that scars are reminders of our days of victory. Who hides victory? Can victory even be hidden? We must be proud of where we are coming from because when we get to where we are going, we are reminded of some of the hurdles we had to overcome. So, by all means, embrace those scars. They are evidence of your warrior status.

Reflection: How do I honestly feel about my bodily scars?

144

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Live Above the Pressure I ISAIAH 52:12, PROVERBS 15:18

DAY

137

e live in a society that majorly operates under pressure. Age landmarks are often preached, telling people when to finish a phase of life and at what age. Some people do not even realise how much it gets to them, to the point that they run on autopilot with this pressure. This is why it is essential to answer your ‘why’ behind everything and seek the motive behind your actions. If you notice you might be doing something because someone said so, or you feel the time is running out, it might be a good time to take a step back and reevaluate your decision. Pressure makes us rush. It makes us bypass God’s instruction just to get to where we think we should be, and clouds our minds and judgements. It also makes us angry with God because we start thinking, “I should have been here by now but look where I am”, even if we are exactly where God would have us be. It takes active unlearning to free ourselves from the pressures of this life and society and to live life on God’s terms only. Tomorrow, we will look at practical ways of living above pressure and living according to God’s terms.

Reflection: Are there things I am doing in my life right now that are as a result of pressure from people?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

145

DAY

138

Live Above the Pressure II JAMES 1:17, ROMANS 5:5

esterday, we started looking at how society sometimes unintentionally places pressure on us. We agreed that pressure limits our walk with God rather than foster it, and today, we will explore practical ways to live above pressure. 1.

As mentioned yesterday, remind yourself of your â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;whyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as often as possible. Let your why always be clear to you. Once it shifts to something volatile (like societal pressure), take a step back and reassess.

Settle in your journey and process. We often allow pressure from outside to get to us, because we are unsettled in our journey, i.e. we have not grown to fully accept ourselves for who God made us to be.

Stop the comparison and competition. You only have a view of your past and your present. It is silly to be always comparing yourself with someone whose starting and ending point you do not know about. Comparison always steals joy. We must live above pressure by stopping all forms of comparison and competition.

Celebrate your wins. As you move in life, sometimes, stop to see how far you have come, and give yourself a good treat. When we do not acknowledge our progress and even award it, the chances that pressure seeps in are even higher. So, celebrate the wins, no matter how small they might be.

Take them to God in prayer. When you sense pressure coming for and from any area of your life, talk to God about it. Do not live in denial and pretend like it is not there. Jesus is always there to help us through whatever we might face, including dealing with pressure. Talk to Him about it.

Reflection: How can I apply these steps practically to live above pressure?

146

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Making a Godly Apology LUKE 14:11, PROVERBS 15:33

DAY

139

t is inevitable that we will hurt people in life; most times, it might even be unintentional. Even at that, we have the responsibility of righting our wrong by first making the person understand that we are remorseful for our action in hurting them. When we decide to apologise, how we do so is important. When delivering the message, it is not only the content you need to check. A quick checklist: ● The state of your heart ●

Your Attitude

●

The Timing

●

The Content

If the first two are not right, the delivery will not be right as well. Usually, when I take time to apologise to people, I am not just intentionally leaving space; I am working on my heart and attitude, even if the content of my message is ready. We must remember that God also sees our hearts in everything; so, while we might deceive people into thinking we are sorry, if we are not really sorry from the heart, God sees.

Reflection: How can I learn to make better apologies to people I have hurt?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

147

DAY

140

Balance Your View of God Through the Word JAMES 2:13, 1 JOHN 4:7-8

here is something I have observed over time that has become more pronounced among believers in these times. I call it “an imbalanced view of God”. We scream and shout about love that God is, but forget the components of that love. Purity, holiness, mercy, judgement, righteousness and a lot more, make love what it is, i.e. makes God who He is. We cannot dwell on a component of God and ignore the others that are just as important. Even in reading the Bible, we must allow the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to this balance I am talking about. This is why I encourage people to read both the Old and New Testament, so we do not judge one against the other, or excuse one because of the other. The teaching and doctrine in both testaments speak of the same person and point us to the same purpose. The love of God does not nullify judgement, holiness, righteousness or purity. His love exists with all of these things. Which is why God could ask Abraham to sacrifice Isaac just to wean Abraham’s heart back to Him. It is also why he could also allow Racheal to die on the journey, so Jacob’s heart would not be turned away from Him; because remember, Rachel had carried her father’s gods, and the Bible tells us how much Jacob loved her, despite her idol worship. We see God’s love in His judgement. When the Bible says His mercy triumphs over judgement, it does not mean the judgement is void of same mercy, because it goes on to say “He will judge the world in righteousness”. God summed Himself up by saying He is love. We must not allow our human limitation and understanding of love stop us from really seeing what love is in divinity.

Reflection: Do I accept the love of God but reject His holy nature in my living?

148

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

There is a Reminder in Everything

DAY

141

JEREMIAH 32:17, PSALMS 19:1-2

here are so many beautiful things and people in this world to remind and refresh our minds about God daily. Death does not have to be the only reminder. Death does not have to be the thing that suddenly causes us to think down the eternity line or remind us that in the end, only one thing and One person will matter. We must always pray that we do not become too distracted to the point that only death is capable of refocusing us on God. We must wake up every day and choose to see God in our lives, the lives of people around us and even nature we encounter daily. The beauty of God is too much to be ignored. Let death come as evidence of the beauty I already know; that this is just practice and the real play starts soon.

Reflection: Spend some time identifying Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s beauty in the people and things around you today. FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

149

DAY

Enemies Within

142

GALATIANS 5:17-21, JEREMIAH 17:10

o you ever think about how any other person in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion would have betrayed Him? I mean, there were probably over a couple of millions of people and of every one of them to betray, it was one of His twelve disciples who did; one of the people who worked closely with Him. The story would not be as sad if it were a stranger who betrayed Him. Some time ago, I watched a movie at the cinema with my sister; and before the movie was over, I already knew the valiant was within the ‘victims’. I later read a book with a similar lesson; a night after God showed me ‘the enemy within’, with Judas’ story, again. I do not advocate looking for a traitor amongst your group of friends. Chances are you will not even find them immediately. The big lesson, however, is to look within yourself for the little enemies you do not pay enough attention to: the subtle pride, hidden laziness, shouting jealousy, sweet gossip, quiet insecurities, painful regrets, stifling fear, and for some people, dark hatred. The enemy is never a good person, and most times, it is not even the devil; it is our evil desires that somehow have the better of us because we have given ourselves to them. God is revealing our hearts to us. So here’s to recognising & conquering those enemies within. Leave people, and deal with yourself first.

Reflection: What are things I need to deal with internally that stop me from being the person God wants me to be?

150

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

A Sure Anchor ACTS 4:11, ISAIAH 28:16

DAY

143

ave you ever seen an anchor in real life? I am talking about the ones used in ships. I have only seen them in movies and pictures across the internet. I often wonder how heavy anchors could be and how powerful it could be for them to be able to anchor a ship and stop it from moving. Spiritually, it is essential that we are anchored securely to Christ. We cannot be like those who are tossed about by every doctrine we hear. Jesus is such a sure anchor because you can bank on Him and His word to do exactly what He says He will do. Jesus makes us unshakable and immovable. This is important for when the storms of life come because if we are not properly anchored, the chance that we would be moved and tossed about is very high. God wants to anchor us in Himself today. He wants you to totally yield to Him and trust Him through every situation and circumstance of life. That even in good and bad situations, we stay true to our sure anchor.

Reflection: Am I really anchored in Christ?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

151

DAY

Why are You Angry?

144

JAMES 1:19-20, PROVERBS 15:1, 18

here is always a form of revelation behind the things that get us upset. Like all other things with cause and effect, it is important to investigate the cause, to minimise or maximise the effect. The Holy Spirit uses my most livid moments to teach me a lot about myself, because He wants me to know why a thing has aggravated me so much, as opposed to why I have been aggravated. This is one of the many ways He has taught me to take the responsibility off people and focus more on myself and how to do and be better. The Bible says it is to one’s glory to overlook an offence. This refers to the person offended and not even the one who has done the offending. It is important to know why something hurts and gets to you: and is liberating to free yourself from the likelihood of the same thing repeating itself. Not neglecting the fact that we are humans with emotions, this is one of the ways we “tame” our emotions. So, maybe some of us need to search deeper to know why we are so pained by that thing or person? Do not be afraid of the answer; confront it head-on, and in doing so, deactivate its power to bring you to such a place again.

Reflection: Do I ever look within when I am angry? Or am I always blaming everyone and everything?

152

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Is God Your Sugar Daddy? JAMES 1:17, PSALM 19:14

DAY

145

remember when I first started out in high school (boarding), I would be so spiritually fervent in school, but over the holidays, I would toss all care to the wind. As young as I was, I thought I could blackmail God in school to give me good grades by being good; but since I did not need good grades at home, I felt I could do anything. God began to teach me that if I only come to Him when I am in need, it only reveals that I love Him because of my need and not because of who He is. A lot of Christians are in this boat. We only run to God when there is need or trouble; when all is fine, we hardly even remember that He is there. We cannot make God a sugar daddy who gives us sugar when we need it, without building an intentional relationship with Him. Christians can become so obsessed with the gifts of God that they completely ignore the Giver. It is why heaven only hears some of our voices when we are in hard times. Let us begin to change that narrative. We need to seek and desire God for who He is; not just for what we can get from Him. Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gifts are the advantage of the relationship. The real enjoyment is the relationship, but until we cultivate that relationship, we cannot know.

Reflection: How can I shift my focus from the gifts to the Giver of the gifts?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

153

DAY

Marking Your Territory

146

ISAIAH 62:6-7, EPHESIANS 6:12

ne of the best things about animals in the wild is how intentional they are about marking their territories. When they begin to grow in number, the alpha amidst them marks out their territory. Often, those outside that territory will know not to cross it, particularly if they know they are not as strong as the alpha in that territory. I have recently been learning a lot about how territorial dominance is as important as evangelism. It is not enough that we want to save the souls in the territory; we must also seek to conquer that territory for Jesus completely. While saving souls, we must be praying for the land and interceding for the leaders in that land. We hardly know what is going on in the spiritual realm in a place, but we must be Christians who insist on praying over the lands we reside in, because sometimes, Satan attacks territories, not people. I have found that the best way to pray over territories is by prophetic declarations from the word of God. Study and find scriptures you could use to speak over the city or country you reside, and boldly declare the word of the Lord over the city. An important part of my prayer every day is â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lord, help me conquer this city for youâ&#x20AC;?, after which I proceed to declare that the city belongs to the Lord and His will be seen in it. When the territory is won for God, winning the souls becomes easier.

Reflection: How often am I praying over the territory I reside in?

154

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

An Army of Lovers JOHN 13:35, JEREMIAH 50:9

DAY

147

sually, when you hear the word ‘army’, a few things might come to your head, some of which are security, soldiers, guns, etc. It sounds like something associated with protection and fighting, and we are not even wrong to have those words come to our head when we think about the word ‘army’. Among believers too, when we speak of the army, they often talk about it with reference to spiritual warfare. You hear things like “God is raising an army of prayer warriors’’, or “God is raising soldiers for His kingdom”, and immediately we start to imagine fighting some real spiritual fights for God’s kingdom. Today, I have decided to use ‘army’ beside ‘love’. I am not sure how that might sit with you, but I would show you something. More than anything God is raising, He is raising an army of lovers: people who would love Him with careless abandon and love their neighbours in the exact same way. God wants us to fight every and any fight in love. He wants us to “love aggressively”, and “violently seek ways to express His love with people”. This just means that we are actively searching for avenues to express God’s love wherever we find ourselves. Next time you hear ‘army’ in the church, let your mind go to love, because God is raising an army of lovers.

Reflection: How can I be more intentional about being a soldier of love?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

155

DAY

148

A Reminder of His Coming JOHN 14:3, REVELATIONS 1:7

grew up in a Christian home, went to a Christian school and have primarily grown up with a lot of Christian doctrines. So, you can imagine how often I have heard the words “we are in the end times, God is coming soon”. If you are not careful, you can become so used to this saying that it means nothing to you anymore. We can get worldly and begin to think “how long have they been saying this? Why is it taking forever?” The Bible tells us that the coming of the Lord will be like a thief in the night. No one knows the hour or day, just like no one knew when the flood would come, despite how often Noah told the people to get into the ark. Imagine all the thoughts of the people when the flood started; those who locked Noah or imagined, “surely this guy is a joker, how long has it been, and still no rain”. They could only regret after this point because the doors of the ark had been closed and the flood had started. Jesus does not want us to get used to this reminder that He is indeed returning soon for the saints. It can happen this minute or the next, but what matters is that His coming finds you ready. His word encourages us to be watchful and prayerful; meaning that we must be like Noah and live ready, even though we have no idea of the exact day or time. It is my prayer that the return of the Lord does not meet us in an uncompromising manner.

Reflection: How ready am I for the return of the Lord?

156

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

The Favour of Men PROVERBS 3:4, LUKE 2:52

DAY

149

he Bible makes us understand that Jesus grew â&#x20AC;&#x153;in wisdom, in stature and in favour with God and with menâ&#x20AC;? (Luke 2:52). There is nothing coincidental about the fact that it highlights that His Favour was not only with God, but also with men. We must never get to a place where we undermine the place of men in the move of God on this earth. As the principal stewards and rulers of this dimension, we must also realise that while we aim to obtain favour from God, we must also seek to receive the favour of men. Below are a few practical ways that we can obtain the favour of men without becoming people-pleasers. 1.

Give honour to whom honour is due - Be the person who insists on showing honour to people, irrespective of the state you meet them. Men favour people that honour them.

Be a person of value and productivity - Everyone and everything gravitates towards a person of value. You can make your life so valuable to the point that the kings of the Earth seek you.

Seek ways you can bless them - This is not limited to financial blessing in any way. It could be time-wise; by volunteering or suggesting to do something for them that you know would reduce the load off them.

These are three main ways a person can so endear themselves to others to the point where they always seek to favour them. Above all, stay with God. The Bible says that God has the hearts of kings in His hands, and He will do as He pleases. If we stick with God, He has the ability to make man favour us.

Reflection: Have I enjoyed the favour of God and ignored the blessing in the favour of men

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

157

DAY

Jesus Is in Your Boat

150

MARK 4:35-41, JEREMIAH 17:5

ur main text for today tells about a time when a storm emerged while Jesus travelled with His disciples over water. We see that they were so panicked that they woke Jesus up, like “Jesus, we are about to die!”. I love how the Bible tells us exactly what Jesus was doing: sleeping, in the midst of a ‘storm’. Logically, as a disciple in that boat, even though I was scared, seeing Jesus asleep should have given me some assurance. Two major reasons being: ●

The prophecy written about Jesus was that He would hang on a tree and not drown in water.

●

The person who could control the weather was sleeping through the weather.

I think we often get carried away in practice when we are faced with situations that appear to rock our boat, even when Jesus is present in the same boat. The Bible gives us a picture of this in verses 35-37 of Mark 4. It shows us that other boats also set sail at the same time that they did, but it was only the disciples that had Jesus in their boat. If they were panicking, what would those people who did not have Jesus in their boat have done? Jesus makes all the difference in our life. Sometimes, match Jesus’ energy in situations. If He is not panicking, why should you? I love the last questions Jesus asked His disciples in this passage. God is asking you the same today. Why are you afraid? Have you not learnt to trust?

Reflection: How do I remind myself that Jesus is in my boat each time I face the storms of life?

158

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

The Anchor That Convicts Us

DAY

151

JOHN 17:12, JOHN 10:28

t is not every information we receive that becomes a conviction in our spirits. Some information remains volatile, even after hearing it severally. When a person is convicted about a thing, it is evident in how they live their life. We, as believers, are convicted by the word of God that tells us of Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; return to take the saints home. Because of this conviction, we do not live our lives as if it ends here. We are constantly reminded that this is only rehearsal for the main show, which happens after the rapture. It is important that we get convicted in our daily walk with God on various matters and issues. The reason for some liberalism among some saints is evidence of the absence of convictions. Conviction anchors you in a way that information and knowledge might not. When you are convicted about a thing, you do not argue much about it because you know exactly what God has told you. As we grow in Christ, He convicts us of several things at various points, and we would do well to not take these lightly, because they anchor us in Him.

Reflection: Do I have any convictions in my faith walk?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

159

DAY

152

Healing from the Hurt of the Past PROVERBS 19:11, 1 CORINTHIANS 13

ne of the key parts of us human beings is our emotional buildup. We respond to our environment and circumstances by the occurrences within and around us. Unfortunately, our responses are not always positive because we face pain, grief, persecution and a host of other events that are not convenient to the human mind or body. Although we have the ability to choose our responses, some responses like tears are inevitable when we have been hurt deeply. Hurt has amazing potential. A simple hurt can grow into spite, bitterness or hate, and before you know it, a person can begin to plot the demise of another. This is why we do not underestimate the place of dealing with emotions in a godly way. The Bible says to cast all our cares and worries on Jesus, and sometimes, while it proves difficult, it is the best thing we can do for ourselves. After we have done this in prayer and mentally, what further steps can we take to heal from hurt? ●

Try to think less about it by occupying yourself with godly things that make you happy.

●

Pray for the person who has caused you the hurt. Praying for people diffuses any ill-feeling we might have against them.

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Sometimes, distance is required. If you need to give yourself some space to heal, by all means, please do.

●

Share your story of victory; not for gossip or spite. Sometimes, it helps to talk over certain hurts with people who will encourage us.

These are practical steps to take to heal from hurt.

Reflection: Is there any hurt that is currently limiting any of my relationships and growing into something bigger

160

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Season Tribes MATTHEW 16:3, 1 CHRONICLES 12:32

DAY

153

here are some things we might only learn from experience. A popular saying goes, â&#x20AC;&#x153;20 children will not be playmates for 20 yearsâ&#x20AC;? If you think about it, it rings very true. You might have had a group of friends you really loved throughout university, and suddenly, after university, there appeared to be reduced communication which made you panic because you thought you were at fault. Most times, it is rarely the case that either party is at fault; it is just the nature of life that a season ends and everyone moves on. Some relationships will be sustained through time and distance, but never all, and we must be ready for that. Part of life is not just being able to welcome people; it is also being able to let them go when their time in your life for a purpose is up. We often run into problems trying to hold down people in our lives when their purpose is done. Some girls marry guys who were only meant to be friends, and some mentors make some people mentees when they were actually supposed to be learning from them. To ensure we do not fall into any of these categories, we must be very sensitive and discerning of times and seasons, and allow people come and go when due, while always loving everyone as Christ loves us.

Reflection: Is there hurt I am nursing from seeing communication with certain friends reduced? FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

161

DAY

Fighting Laziness

154

PROVERBS 6:6-11, PROVERBS 22:29

aziness is a real enemy of our faith! We often think it is the devil and demons that are fighting us, but laziness is just as impactful and as real as an enemy. Some of us call laziness a lack of motivation, and while it might be a cause, lack of motivation and laziness are two separate things. Laziness costs us time: time that we cannot regain back. So, it is important that we are conscious about fighting laziness, so we can get up and get work done each time God gives us an assignment. Here are three key ways of combating laziness in your life: 1.

Get a working routine or schedule for yourself. Some of us live our lives as our feelings lead us, only doing things when we feel like. This must change. We must have a routine that we adhere to, so we can get things done when we say we would get them done.

Work in time blocks and keep yourself accountable. Assign yourself four time blocks of meaningful work through the day, where you actually sit down and get important tasks done. It is also important that we have an accountability structure in place so we are kept accountable.

Schedule time in your routine for rest and chill. Some of us overwork ourselves, which is why we have long periods of laziness. It is important that we create good balance around our work so that we also have good time to rest.

Reflection: How can Ibe more intentional about fighting laziness?

162

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Who are you Praying For? 1 TIMOTHY 2:1, HEBREWS 7:25

DAY

155

he easiest place to know our level of selfishness is in our time of prayer. One day, intentionally pay attention to your prayer requests, maybe even record it if you can, and re-listen to know the things at the forefront of your mind. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with us praying for ourselves, it becomes an issue when we go to knock on heavenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s door only for our requests, knowing fully well the state of others around us, as well as that of the world at large. As believers, we have a mandate to pray intercessory prayers for people and nations. Sometimes, we must intentionally commit to praying for other people but ourselves. This grows our faith even more than praying for ourselves. Our prayer times are often very short because we only take our personal needs to God. We forget to pray for the young girl who is unable to go to school because of money, or the woman whose husband is battling cancer, or even our friend who is yet to receive Jesus. There is never not something to pray about in this world. So, we believers must form a habit of praying for people around us as often as we can. The Bible says that the prayer of a righteous man avails much. We have been empowered to pray prayers that avail much.

Reflection: Make a list of people around you who need to be prayed for and begin to intentionally include them in your prayers daily.

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

163

DAY

Over and Over Again

156

REVELATIONS 19:4, MATTHEW 21:9

f you have ever been to a gospel concert, you would find a theme with the ministrations there, which is even generally present in gospel songs. There are loads of repetitions - with words, phrases and sometimes verses. Even in your local church, you might observe that the choir keeps repeating a certain sentence or word in a song. Sometimes, if we are not in the spirit, our human minds might get tired and start to prove why the repetition is there. If we have the power, we might even go to the extent of advising the choir leader at the end of service to reduce this repetition. A while back, I began to think and remember the book of Revelations. It says there is always a host of worshippers before the throne of God, bowing down and saying “hallelujah”. They just keep saying this over and over again. Do they do this because there is nothing else to be said? No! Not at all. God never gets tired of being worshipped. We are the ones who get tired of worshipping, and the songs we sing in worship, while God is ever there and willing to receive our worship. Repetition in the kingdom of God is also known to attract spirits. When you do something over a long period of time in a place, you attract the spirit of that thing to the place; which is how people build altars around their homes. Pray so much in a place, to the point that the presence of God always meets you in that place every time you step in. Do not get tired of worshipping God; and do not let your flesh deceive you into thinking God is tired of hearing a particular word or phrase. No, He enjoys it. We were created to worship Him; so, do not stop.

Reflection: You can spend all your prayer time today saying ‘hallelujah in the highest heaven’ and it would be sufficient. You would even be joining the heavenly host to worship God.

164

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Idolised Partner 1 JOHN 5:21, ISAIAH 45:20

DAY

157

n a particular year of my life, I got a glimpse of making your partner your god. I can be quite the opposite of a needy partner, but that year, I was extra sensitive and very needy; and so I was hurt much more because I placed unrealistic expectations on him, without even communicating them at all. This is why a godly union must comprise two people who have God as their number one, first individually, before even collectively. Jesus needs to be your waking thought and last thought. He needs to be the One whose attention and love you desire and crave more than anything. You must be excited about Him first, before the blessing He has given you. God has always made it clear to us that the best of His blessing to us will never substitute Him, so we must be conscious of that daily - waking up and giving God the number one spot. When I began to intentionally learn this, I would wake up every morning, and before even my devotion, I would say “Jesus, today I choose you”. Doing this always did something to my day and priorities. I bet the people we love are amazing and sweet, but when we make them our very oxygen, we are bound to get hurt. They are limited in their humanity as well, so please do not assign the abilities in God’s jurisdiction to a person who loves you, and accuse them of being incapable when they have attempted to fill a shoe which is meant for God to fill.

Reflection: Have I made my partner or any relationship a god in my life?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

165

Disciples for Life

DAY

158

1 CORINTHIANS 9:27, EPHESIANS 4:11-12

ervice and ministry is that level you reach as you grow spiritually where God begins to hand you responsibilities in His body which could be from a diverse range of tasks (contrary to what the world believes, that it is only when you pastor a church that you are in ministry). At these points, we begin to use the gifts and talents He has placed in us to advance His kingdom and also operate under the Spiritual gifts that God has handed to us. I heard a clergy once describe the Christian race in 3 sections: He said the first is salvation, the second is discipleship and the last is ministry. Ministry is encompassing of the first two added with the responsibilities you now have to deliver. Ministry/service is the work that we are doing for the edification of the body of Christ. There is so much emphasis on this work that involves our doing but we forget that when we get into ministry, discipleship still continues. While we are doing the work, work is still being done in us. We need to be as aware of the work going on in us as we are aware about the work that has been given to us to do. If we focus on the latter, we dwarf and limit the height of the former. There is work being done in everyone of us no matter what level of ministry we are operating in and God just wants us to be well aware of that work and submit to it and not completely focus on the work we do alone. While we think it is the work we are doing that does the edification, the truth really is that the work done is us birth the work we do so it will have to start from there. As the popular saying goes, you cannot give what you do not have. Truth is that the work being done in us is usually not as obvious as the work we are doing so it is worth daily asking God to make us aware of the work He is doing in us even as we do the work He has also given us.

Reflection: Have I left the place of discipleship in the name of service to God?

166

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Love Protects 1 CORINTHIANS 13:7, MARK 4:24

DAY

159

ove needs to be protected; it does not protect itself. I think people often miss this small but important detail with love.

Remember the Bible also says “love protects”. You protect anything and anyone you love. While it is easier to see the protecting ‘people’ you love, I think it has more to do with protecting the relationship you share with the ones you love. Boundaries are an excellent way of creating this protection for love. In relationships, not everyone should be given an audience in your matters. In friendships, insist on hearing from both parties before choosing a side. In parental & mentor relationships, always give the benefit of doubt, even when you are not convinced they have acted best. These and many others, are avenues to create protection around our love. Just remember that protecting the person does not translate to protecting the relationship. Let that sink in. My number one way of protecting my love relationships is by watching the voices I let in.

Reflection: How do you protect your love?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

167

DAY

Renewed Mind

160

ROMANS 12:2, COLOSSIANS 3:2

ver the years, I have learnt to train my mind to serve me. It might be the motherboard of me or the logical control system in me, but I am the host of it, so I insist on being served by it. When the Holy Spirit in us says yes, our minds sometimes say no, and if we are not careful, our minds will constantly win the battle. A lot of fear is from the mind. In reality, even when there is nothing to fear, your mind convinces you of a perceived reality that often is contrary to what really is. The battle of the mind is the toughest but most lucrative battle you will need to fight and win; and when it is won, you will just do as the Holy Spirit leads you. Do not be a slave to your mind. It is a safe and comfortable place, but growth does not always happen in comfort. Let your mind be renewed by daily exposing it to the word of God. Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Spirit changes the way we think and see a lot of things. The Bible even goes on to tell us that WE HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST!

Reflection: How can I make my mind more subject to the Holy Spirit in me?

168

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Going for My Miracle LUKE 19:1-10, 1 CORINTHIANS 9:19-23

DAY

161

cripture describes Zaccheus as chief of the publicans and a rich man. Seems ‘chief of the publicans’ was not enough to give away his social status, because as of those days, such people were known to be affluent, so the use of the two together must have been an emphasis to how wealthy this man was. As we climb through phases in life and gather experiences and character, there is a tendency to feel as though we worked well for where we have got to and also feel very proud of all we have achieved. I see nothing totally wrong with this, only to be careful this does not morph into pride. Because of where zaccheus came from, I tend to believe he worked really hard to get to the position he held. Chief of the publicans. With this position had to come recognition and accolades, mostly because people are always drawn to affluent and influential people. Zaccheus’ position gave him both. The affluence and the influence. I could not help but wonder why when he sought to see Jesus, the bible said that he was small in stature and could not see him because of the crowd. This did not make much sense to me. Because for the position he held, I think he had power to command his presence despite his stature, either with just making them know he was there and wanted to see the master or even organising a group of tall men to take him through, after which he would pay them, after all, money was not a problem for him. Forgetting his position and status at that time was so much of a blessing to him because in his disadvantaged position to climb the tree, He got Jesus attention on that tree and even met with Him personally. Each and everyone of us hold a certain degree of influence and power in our circles of influence, but sometimes, as led by the spirit, it will be wise to drop all of who you are and humble yourself to experience some level of inconvenience in order to achieve something as precious as what zaccheus received. While Zaccheus’ behaviour in that moment to climb the tree might have been a reflex action or somewhat unconscious, sometimes we must consciously and intentionally drop all guards and go for what we want to be able to get.

Reflection: What tree am I refusing to climb for fear of what people will think? FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

169

DAY

Bad Girls of the Bible

162

ISAIAH 61:3, JOB 42:6

bout two years ago, I did a book review on Liz Kurtis Higgs’ ‘Bad Girls of the Bible’. If you have read the book, *hugs*; if you have not, *bigger hugs*! Over the next ten days, you would be allowed to say you have read it based on the review. Do not let the topic put you off. It might appear critical and judgemental but stay with me for the next 10 days and see the wisdom of God in the stories of each of these ‘bad girls’. While God calls us to come to Him as we are, it is dangerous to encounter Him and insist on our God ways. When we come to Christ, the Bible says ‘old things have passed away and behold everything has become new’. We must yield ourselves to the working of the Spirit to renew us from the inside out. We all have a past. Most of us are not proud of where we are coming from, but that is okay because we have been renewed and are called new creatures. Do not ever find yourself judging the new creation because of the old man: that old man has passed away, so release and allow growth for the new you. We are empowered to thrive in this new life in Christ. Here is to the next week of studying the ten ‘bad’ girls of the Bible!

Reflection: Do I find myself thinking about my old ways and feeling guilty about it?

170

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Bad Girls of the Bible: Eve 1 TIMOTHY 6:6, MATTHEW 6:32-33

DAY

163

s we all know, Eve was the first woman in the Bible and the world.

Isn’t the author’s courage to list Eve in the category of ‘Bad Girls of the Bible’ funny? I think it was very bold of Liz Kurtis Higgs, seeing that most of us like to see Eve as the mother of life, despite her short-changing that life with the action she performed in all her abundance. Here is what bugged me most about Eve. She was the best woman there was and could be. In the female element, Eve did not have anyone to contend femininity or beauty with. She was the best woman God would have made. I know God looked at both of them and called them good, but I sometimes say that God would have called Eve perfect after creating her before He allowed Adam to wake up and see the bone of His bone. For all we know, we might never know if God did call her perfect. With Eve, we should learn contentment. We need to learn not to want more when we have enough. Eve had enough. She was enough, but in her search for more, she was deceived by the devil and fell into the deceit. On the part of the devil in Eve’s story, to put it as a friend did, “not even the best of anything is strong enough to put the devil off”. So, it would be folly for us to get to certain stages in our pursuits in life and begin to entertain thoughts that the devil cannot deceive us anymore, because, in all of Eve’s undisputed strength and beauty, the devil still came for her. The key is to forever be watchful and prayerful in the entire journey through the earth.

Reflection: Am I content with how God has made me?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

171

Bad Girls of the Bible: Potiphar’s Wife

DAY

164

GENESIS 39, PSALM 17:8

have met so many women who get their identity from their husbands or affiliation with someone. Most people recognise these women as “this persons this” or “that persons this”, and they do not really have an identity in the eye of the public. Sometimes, it is true that the person they are affiliated with might be so affluent to the point that their identity overshadows that of those associated with them. But most times, in the cases where people refer to others with other people’s identity, it is to exude the same authority and influence the real person has. From Genesis through to Revelation, we never see Potiphar’s wife’s name in the Bible. Every time she was made reference to, she was Potiphar’s wife. Who knows if she was just as rich, literate or as powerful as Potiphar? We will never know, because once she married him, she took his identity; and even though this was not merely his last name, she became ‘Potiphar’s wife’. I am sure most of us only know her as the wife that wanted to truncate Joseph’s destiny; the promiscuous woman who could not keep her marital bed undefiled. I realised Potiphar’s wife must have truly been hurting. She must have felt neglected and relegated in the eyes of everyone, which is so obvious, because we cannot even put a name to her! She was married to one of the strongest and most influential men in Egypt - Potiphar - who had so much to do and so many places to be. She must have been bored during the days with slave girls all around her; having nothing to do, she was probably truly the devil’s workshop because she had all her time, with her mind constantly idle. I am thinking she only had an identity when Potiphar got home and needed a wife to fulfil sexual marriage duties. Suddenly, at those times, she must have had a name. The fact that she was hurting does not give any credence to her action of luring Joseph to sleep with her: which is where our lesson is borne in her story. “We need to deal with issues that are legitimately hurtful and uncomfortable without sinning against God”. There would be times in our journey when things will get hard. We might be hurting, things might not go the way we planned, and we might feel neglected, rejected and abandoned like Potiphar’s wife did, but what we do in those moments matters and goes a long way to show where our hearts truly lie and how big we say our God is.

Reflection: What am I doing with my legitimate hurt?

172

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Bad Girls of the Bible: Lot’s Wife GENESIS 19, 1 PETER 1:14

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165

he story of Lot’s wife’s is one that will always resonate within me. It was one of the first Bible stories I ever memorised because my young mind could not completely grasp how a human being became a pillar of salt; but, it still does not beat the story of Jonah being in the belly of a fish for 3 days. From the few verses that talk about Lot’s wife, I could already see the kind of woman she was and the kind of relationship she might have had with her family. She must have been a strong melancholic, who was almost a perfectionist and wanted the best always for herself and her family. After reading the few verses with Lot’s wife present, I am forced to think that she possibly would have been a key influencer in her husband’s decision to go with the plains of Jordan as he decided where to go. Remember the Bible records that “He saw...”; meaning that he and his family chose which land would be better from the mere sight at that point. Because of her perfectionist nature, I assume her house must have been a sight to behold (whatever that looked like in those days), coupled with the fact that Lot was an affluent man. Asides having the money to buy all the ‘buyables’, Lot had his wife who could so perfectly arrange and design their home to what it probably looked like, but in all her glory, she was not a listener. If she was a believer of today, she would have been one of the people who say things like “if God doesn’t tell me, I will not do”. The majority of us Christians are at that place where we have disqualified the possibility of God speaking through people, and will only take seriously what we say we hear directly from God. While it is a good thing to hear expressly from God, fact remains that God still uses people to speak. Our actions should be more for spiritual sensitivity to discern what people tell us, rather than against the thought that God can speak to us through others. The men (angels) who came to move Lot must have had the toughest time convincing that woman of what was about to happen. The Bible records that they hesitated and the angels even had to apply a little force. But there was ‘supposed victory’. They finally agreed to go and the least of all the instruction given to them through the entire journey was what brought her to become a reference to the world on something as funny as a bag of salt. Lot’s wife had already been through the painful part of leaving her home and all that she

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had and even agreeing to go with them. What else could she have been looking back for? Her story reminds us that God speaks through people. A lot of people might say â&#x20AC;&#x153;they were angelsâ&#x20AC;?, but sometimes we are the angels God sends on errands.

Reflection: How obedient am I to the godly people God has placed around me?

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Bad Girls of the Bible: The Samaritan Woman at the Well

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JOHN 4, PSALM 36:9

f you are like me, you have seriously wondered why the Samaritan woman was also not named, even though Wikipedia calls her Photine. This woman was blessed in ways I cannot even begin to explain. Sometimes, I know how much I long to have Jesus sit face-toface with me and have a conversation; not because prayer is not enough for me, but because sometimes, I just desire that level of intimacy. This Samaritan woman is one of the few women in the Bible who had private time with Jesus, and I do not know how else one can be more blessed after such an experience. She is the best description of a lot of young girls and women today, particularly us who have come from Christian homes and appear to have always had it all together. No one sees or knows the parts you have shrouded, except you and God. Unlike Rahab (who we would soon look at), this woman was a regular woman who lived her everyday life. But as they say, nothing is hidden from God, and everything will come to light before Him. Jesus saw and knew all that she had successfully hidden away from the public, and I love her response to Jesus when He revealed what she did not know He knew. She literally went like “okay, sir prophet” and then she just changed the direction of the conversation to talking about places of worship. Jesus’ response is also golden, as He went with her direction but brought her back to what she was running from. In the end, she ran off to tell everyone who would hear, because she had just been saved. The Bible says she went and told them “come and see a man who told me all that I ever did.”

Reflection: Are there areas in my life I am hiding from God?

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Bad Girls of the Bible: Delilah

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JUDGES 16, PSALM 37:4

think the majority of people knew Delilah before they read her story. I observed it was mostly used as profanity on the subjects it was used on. Apart from Jezebel, Delilah is the other name that any parent would have to be completely ignorant to give their daughters. Personally, I have an issue with her because no bible story hurt me the way Samson’s did. I cannot really call his ending victorious, despite the fact that He killed more in His death than when He was alive, because I strongly believe God had amazing plans for him; and for every day he spent being an exhibition for the Philistines, the plans of God for Him were being truncated. Samson could not have made poorer decisions. Delilah means “delicate” or “dainty one”, and contrary to that, Delilah was very crude at heart and mind. I also reckon she was very beautiful. The Bible does not explicitly describe how beautiful she was, but to win the attention of Samson, she must have been an epitome of beauty-full! But, she was also the definition of materialistic, and imagining her in this day, she would have been a wreck because there are enough things for her to run after. She was a woman willing to trade trust, love or anything at all for money. They say we will always desire the treasure we believe most valuable, and for Delilah, money was what was most valuable, so she desired it with all of her. Her story brought me to truly look into my desires (i.e. the things I am quick to remember or think about) and evaluate them against God’s word. Our desires lead us much more than we know and if we are having issues knowing our desires, we can easily trace them to the things, places and people we often run to.

Reflection: What do my desires reveal about me? What do I really treasure?

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Bad Girls of the Bible: Sapphira

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ACTS 5:1-11, PHILIPPIANS 4:11-13

think Sapphira is one of the most beautiful feminine names in the Bible. What makes it more captivating is that it actually means ‘beautiful’ or ‘precious’. Sapphira must have had a pretty good life. The Bible does not give us much information about her history but by assessing where she and her husband were, I see they must have been beyond comfortable; probably in a comfortable social class in their society, but not quite where they wanted to be. A lot of speculations from Christian journals and accounts on Ananias and Sapphira’s story suggest that Sapphira must have persuaded Ananias into the lies they told that led to their death. Just because Eve was a culprit, they felt, even in this case, Sapphira had to have had the upper hand. Let us just thank God we did not have the full account because I do not know how it would be if that was the case. Sapphira and her husband lied about how much they had sold a piece of land so they could withhold some part of the money they had made from the sale. Because I am female like her, I am almost certain that her instincts were going crazy within her when she and her husband had agreed to frame this story. She must have felt guilty and must have been slightly aware of the doom that awaited her when Peter came and asked her how much they had sold the land for, after her husband had died already. If you read the narrative Liz Kurtis Higgs gave, she saw it just as I did. Sapphira could sense something going wrong when they summoned her after the death of her husband, and it was her instincts telling her “give it up girl, they know and you know they know”. But she violated those instincts and still stuck with the plan that had led to her husband’s death, and as we see, equality prevailed even in that punishment, as she also died. The saddest part of this story was the fact that there was no coercion, intimidation or enforcement given to this couple to sell that piece of land or bring that money. In their free will, they decided to do so, even though we see that they had ulterior motives that were not going to please or glorify God.

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Her story teaches us that the best time to give anything would be when there is nothing in it for us. If I do something solely because I see that my doing will prompt a reward, that might be where I have missed it.

Reflection: Do you find yourself doing things just to attract attention?

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Bad Girls of the Bible: Rahab

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JOSHUA 2:1-24, HEBREWS 11:31

ahab introduced a category of girls in the Bible termed “bad for a season, but not forever”. She was one of the most unfortunate bad girls in the Bible. I say unfortunate because unlike most of them, Rahab’s escapades were known in her society. People actually knew, identified and referred to her as a harlot. It might also be worth noting that even in the hall of faith in Hebrews 11, the Bible referred to her as “Rahab, the prostitute”. Not to shame her in any way, but to reveal the power of Grace on her. Rahab was ‘the known’ prostitute. She did not have anything to hide because anything she could have hidden was already out and known, so I think she lived a ‘free’ life. She did not need to defend or protect anything because everyone knew her. When Rahab hosted the two spies that went to Jericho, the Bible says that she had heard all that God had done for the Israelites and had hidden all that they said in her heart, meaning that God had already started to work in her even before they arrived. (Faith comes by hearing). She knew in her heart that there was a God, but she did not completely understand it until they came to her. After her encounter with the men, who else knew? Asides herself and the two men she hosted, no one knew Rahab had accepted the God of the Israelites, so there is every tendency that she was still called ‘the prostitute’ and still battled with several advances from her usual clientele. However, she was a changed woman. If no one knew, at least she and God knew, and despite the fact that her surroundings did not recognise it, Rahab was not discouraged from living the new life she had committed herself to. We deal with bad habits everyday. Sometimes, they are glaring and obvious, and other times, they are more subtle and can be overlooked, but while we try to change them and make ourselves better, we still fault sometimes.

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A lot of times, you are the only one who would know what you are working on in yourself. So, when society comes and points long accusing fingers at you when you fault, it is not the time to pack up and say you cannot do it. Like Rahab, we would stay doing the right thing until one day, they realise “she’s not the girl she used to be”.

Reflection: How patient am I with myself with the work God is doing in me?

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Bad Girls of the Bible: Michal

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170

1 SAMUEL 18:27-28, 1 CORINTHIANS 10:7

deally, we should remember Michal as the wife of David, but more than half of the time, she is either not named or named last amongst David’s wives. Ironically, she was the first woman David married. Michal definitely suffered some deep emotional trauma because the Bible expressly describes how she loved David, but not once did it mention how David loved his wife. So, similar to Potiphar’s wife, she was in a situation that was definitely not favourable, but still did not justify her actions. She was also not mentioned a lot in the Bible, but the few chapters she appeared in were either sad or scary. We never see it this way, but Michal had the opportunity to be the woman after God’s heart. She was married to the man after God’s heart regardless of the situation leading to their marriage, so nothing could have stopped her. But we see that her love for David was a hazard to her love for God and her ability to discern situations clearly without prejudice. She was obsessed with this man named David, and the obsession started long before they were joined together in marriage. Her lesson was a powerful one for me because sometimes, we excuse some things we adore in our lives because they are good or right, but we forget that the moment we place anything above or on the same pedestal with God and our relationship with Him, we have set ourselves up for disaster. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a woman loving her husband like she did, a child adoring his mother or a student working to get to the apex of their academics or career. These things in themselves are very good, but when we begin to move things to revolve around any of them in our lives, we miss the goodness they could bring to us, like how Michal met and loved David (goodness) but ended in a tragic way.

Reflection: Are there any ‘good’ things in my life that are taking the place of God?

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Bad Girls of the Bible: The Sinful Woman LUKE 7:36-50, JAMES 4:4

ere is another unnamed woman in the Bible. I was sure she had a name, until I returned to read the story properly and realised she was referred to as ‘the sinful woman’. Like most stories in the Bible, we are not given an introductory or background story to this woman. She literally just made an appearance in that chapter, even though theologians argue that she had been previously mentioned in the Bible. There is something precious about this sinful woman. From the few chapters about her in the Bible, it seems she had received a revelation prior to going to see Jesus in the Pharisee’s house. No one just approaches someone and begins to cry and kiss their feet and anoint their head with oil. That will be really creepy. So, I am convinced she had been visited prior to the scene where we see her loving up on Jesus in the way and manner she chose to. The sinful woman reminds us of how powerful silence is in God’s presence. Sometimes, we feel we need to always say something, but a lot of times, silence does all the speaking. There was no exchange of words between her and Jesus till the last verses when Jesus told her that her sins were forgiven. This woman also teaches us what it means to zone the world out and focus on what truly matters. Can you imagine the scene she must have created? Walking into a dinner party and going to just one guest, crying, kissing His feet and pouring perfume on His head? At that moment, she could not care less. She had come for something and not even the judging and accusing eyes piercing her could stop her. In our time, there are enough things to zone out on; enough distractions that are veiled in things that appear important. But we need to ask God for grace to ‘focus on the focus’.

Reflection: Do I always feel a need to speak?

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Bad Girls of the Bible: Jezebel

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1 KINGS 19:1-5, GENESIS 3:1

ezebel’s name is tossed and thrown at every female that wants to look like a ‘devil’ in her words or actions. As crazy as it sounds, I identify most with her among all the women in this series (yes, you might want to go say a prayer for me). But really, Jezebel’s story shows us how crafty and intelligent the devil is in taking the amazing strengths and gifts God has given us and turning them into things that look ugly, to the point you do not recognise the blessing they are. Jezebel was wilful, powerful, intelligent, in-charge, and had the most critical and analytical mind. She was the definition of astute in the best way possible. I realise it is so hard to see all of these qualities in the story written about her, but remember that the devil can be anything but a creator. What he does is he takes what God has created and tweaks it to be something ugly. He sabotages God’s creation to abuse what God originally created it for. In Jezebel’s case, he took all of those qualities highlighted above and made them into what you see in the Bible. Not without Jezebel’s consent, though. And this is where we get our lesson. God has truly blessed us with all spiritual blessings, including beautiful talents, rare gifts and unique personalities, but the devil is constantly seeking to take this beautiful gift and make it into something ugly. We cannot, and should never allow him. We need to stop letting the devil take glory for what he is incapable of creating, and stop allowing him to take the beauty out of what God has created. Let us deliberately and intentionally work daily at allowing what God has created to find expression in its natural state; and the natural state of anything God has created is BEAUTY-FULL.

Reflection: What good things did God bless me with that have now been sabotaged by the enemy?

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DAY

You and God

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GENESIS 22:8, JOHN 14:21

hen God does not see an avenue to teach us things He needs us to learn, He uses circumstances and situations. For most people, they learn even more about God by the circumstances they go through. When we look at the Bible, we often find that people have a revelation of God based on how He introduced Himself to them in their circumstance. Hagar called God, ‘The God who sees me’ when she had run away with her infant son and thought she was alone in the wilderness (Genesis 16:13). Abraham called God, ‘The God who provides’ after God provided a ram in the middle of sacrificing His son Isaac (Genesis 22:14). I also named Him through one of life’s situations, ‘The God who bears my pain’. These are only a few examples of how God has revealed Himself to His people through the situations they face. I am convinced that God makes the most of everything we go through in life. What we usually have to do is seek deeper to see and understand it from His perspective. For me, Jesus has always been my friend; the Holy Spirit, my best friend. But recently, I think I am being called into a revelation of a new level of friendship. I am encouraging myself and you today, to look for God through all of life’s occurrences. You will always find Him there, and like a Father takes the hand of His child and guides Him to liberty, God will take our hands and walk us into His plans for our lives.

Reflection: What is God teaching me in this phase of my life?

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Love 1 CORINTHIANS 13, JOHN 3:16

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ne of my all time favourite songs says, “Your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me”, and repeat, and repeat. I get goosebumps whenever I sing that song because first, I am reminded of my humanity, in the sense that my love is capable of giving up and running out; and then, I realise that if as a human, it is possible for me, it is equally possible for another human to have their love for me give up or run out, so, I am humbled! Humbled that I get to be loved by a perfect Father who is not human. Humbled that this love is not dependent on something in my life. Humbled that it is a love that is there in spite and not because. Humbled that I do nothing to receive, earn or merit this love. And humbled that it remains, even if I do not. This should push us back into God’s presence, because while we know the love comes independent of us, we should know, experience and be able to disseminate the exact same kind of love to the people around us. This is because we see how sweet and satisfying it is, and want every and anyone to be a partaker, too. I do not know where you are, or what you are doing right now, but I need you to know that Jesus’ love never fails, never gives up, and will never run out on you. It is the only love you need. Trust me, everything else finds its way of aligning once you get this one aligned.

Reflection: Do I have a revelation of God’s love to me?

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DAY

Grace

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EPHESIANS 2:8, EPHESIANS 1:7

his morning, be reminded of how inadequate you are and how adequate grace is for you.

“If you prayed every moment of your life, you could not pray enough prayers to earn acceptance with God. If you gave every penny of every dollar that you ever earned in every job you ever had, you could not give enough to deserve acceptance with God. If every word you ever spoke was uttered with the purest of conscientious motivations, you would never be able to speak your way into reconciliation with God. If you gave yourself to an unbroken, moment-by-moment life of ministry, you could never minister enough to achieve God’s favour.” Sin is too big. God’s bar is too high for us to think we might be able to earn His righteousness by the greatest of our deeds. The faster we grasp this grace, the easier the journey becomes. God is not looking out for your performance. Christ said ‘It is finished’.

Reflection: Do I find myself attempting to perform for God’s acceptance, forgiveness and validation?

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Selfish Sometimes Makes Selfless

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176

GENESIS 12, EPHESIANS 3:19

od is often merciful enough to catch our attention in His own very unique ways to say ‘Hey, slow down’ or ‘Hey, busy is not productive’, and when I think about it, it makes me want to just sit and cry really. It is important to remember never to pour from an empty cup; to never assume that your soul is bottomless and ever running, but rather, to understand that it constantly needs refilling and refuelling. Just last week, someone texted me with a paragraph of something she had been struggling with, and I remember after giving it some thought, I pressed the voice note button to reply and nothing came out, I stuttered a bit and just cancelled it. It was not that I didn’t know what to say, but I was actually tired, and my spirit needed me to pay attention to me first. As ministers, (which we all are once we come to receive salvation), sometimes God does require you to be comfort to people even while in your own storm. Your Pastor, who stands preaching on Sunday does not do that because everything is perfect in his own life. He does it because he has a divine responsibility and calling on his life, which is in operation no matter how his own life might be going. He also sees that the occurrence in his own life doesn’t ever reduce the person of Christ, and I have seen that it is all part of the training and disciplining process. But while this is very valid, God never allows us to get to a point where we are giving out and never replenishing ourselves all in the name of ministry. So I want you to be intentional about your own life, your own growth and your own salvation.

Reflection: It is you and God first, before you and anyone. Someone needs to take a break and get alone with God.

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What is Remaining? 1 KINGS 17:7-16, 1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18

Studying the text for today, we see that the widow and her son received their miracle from what they had left, not from anything they had lost. Elijah’s words to her were, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first, make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have…” (1 Kings 17:13-14). Some of us think that the miracles will come from the whole of whatever. We think it has to come from a perfect and whole us, a perfect bank account, a perfect age, a perfect friend or even a perfect family. We sometimes forget that God doesn’t choose people to work with based on the status of a person, but on the availability and willingness of the heart in question. The losses never contained the miracle. However, they did contain opportunities. The widow’s miracle came from the “… handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug”, after the abundance of the flour and oil had been exhausted and she was down to the little left. We are humans. As such, we tend to spend more time on the things and people that did not work and forget the ones that did. We allow the devil to rob us of our joy and peace as a result of the losses which sometimes really aren’t our fault. But I am challenging you to see it from the eyes of Elijah, from the eyes of God, that despite the gravity of the loss, the one that remains is where the miracle will come from. It will help us be optimistic, to focus on the blessings and not the losses, to remain grateful of the blessings rather than tolerance of the blessings God has bestowed on us, and my prayer for us is that even as we remain in this mind frame, “The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land”.

Reflection: Choose to walk in gratitude, in abundance, in the mindset of ‘the remaining’.

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What our Relationships Need

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178

MARK 12:31, 2 TIMOTHY 3:14-15

od made us social and relational beings. It’s interesting to know that no matter how introverted a person might be personality wise, they still desire and require a level of relationship and community with their environment and people in their environment. If God didn’t make us so, we’ll be lone wolves, moving and doing things by ourselves, and the results that are availed to us in unity will be absent. So often when I thank God in prayer, and I get to commune with family and friends, I’m reminded of what the world will look like without them and thank Him even more from a place of deep understanding. Despite how amazing and beautiful most relationships are; family, friendships and romantic relationships alike, sometimes, they do encounter turbulent times, when either or both parties are hurt or left feeling unsatisfied, after expecting more from the other party and the expectation falls short. Over the years, I discovered that most relationships fail because boundaries are absent. Asides family, I think it is important that a person has known boundaries and standards for every other relationship. Without boundaries, everything becomes lawful and permissive. There are a few things that boundaries do for a relationship and I’ve listed 3 below. 1.

Boundaries clarify expectations - When we define boundaries in our relationships, and people are aware, it gives both persons an understanding of the expectation from the other person. If as a celibate young woman your partner still thinks it fine to visit you at 11 pm in the night, this violates boundaries and causes expectation to fall.

Boundaries make our values concrete - Most times, our boundaries will be borne from our values. Without values, boundaries just become rules without foundations. The more we share and stand on our boundaries, the more our values solidify in us. This is why a person must identify the values they live by and make it evident in their daily living.

Boundaries eliminate abuse - People only abuse what they do not know or understand. When we fail to identify and convey our boundaries, abuse becomes inevitable.

Reflection: Do you have boundaries in your life? How do you communicate these boundaries? FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

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Progress Over Perfection

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ISAIAH 28:10, 1 JOHN 3:2

was inclined to think that a woman after God’s heart would be perfect. At least if not entirely, just a few inches from perfect. And then I looked at myself, and I asked God, “where would the perfection come from?” Guess the response? A resounding echoing silence. Over the following days, He began to make me look at the story of David. David was the man in the Bible who got the title “The man after God’s heart”. And quite frankly, David was miles, plenty miles away from perfect. I was trying to use that to console myself and get all excited, thinking that ‘well, okay so maybe I don’t have to be perfect to be the woman after God’s heart’, but God stopped me right there and brought my attention to the detailed life of David. David was not perfect, but he was definitely open to progress and growth by correction and repentance. Which is to say that it’s fine that you are not perfect right now, but are you making an effort towards being perfect like David did? Are you ensuring that when you make a mistake once, and you realize and repent, you make an effort to avoid being in such a mistake again? This was the attitude of David. He had such a beautiful and repentant heart, and I feel like that was what earned him that title. To be a woman complete in God, God wants you perfect. Yes, He does, which explains why He told Abraham to work before Him and be perfect. If it were not possible, God would not have required it from him. But even as this is God’s desire, He fully acknowledges the fact that we are human and prone to make mistakes sometimes, which really is why there is grace and also salvation. So what God requires more from you is effort to make progress in your daily growth in Him. Progress in having better human relationships, progress in being a better friend, progress in being more understanding with people, progress in making a conscious effort to make time out for your devotion and quiet time, and progress in a lot of other areas. God wants to honour your progress. Perfection is the goal, but while you’re on the path, make progress when there is a need too. Not when you feel like, or if it is convenient, but when you have too.

Reflection: Am I intentionally making progress in my life daily?

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F for Favoured ISAIAH 58:11, LUKE 1:28

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180

avoured was the first word God put in F.O.C.H. It was not the first word I wrote down when receiving the vision for FOCH woman, but it was the word God put first when He made me rearrange it. I didn’t think there was anything significant about that really until I finished writing it all down and began to study each of these words in relation to the women in the Bible. Every woman that walked with God in the Bible found favour before God, and you will see that all these women ended victoriously. When God’s favour is upon you, you will always find favour before men. It just works like that. Now, you might be thinking, How do I obtain God’s favour? Sorry to burst your bubbles, but God’s favour is already on you. There’s no earning or obtaining it. This is exactly what God said to me, because while He was teaching me on building the other three characters (Obedience, Confidence and Hard work, which we will look into), He said to me, “you all have already found favour in my sight”. It came with your creation. Because He created you, He has favoured you. So you can do nothing to earn His favour in your life. It is already there; the only thing you need to do is to understand how this favour works and use it to the Glory of God’s name. After studying from the stories of the women in the Bible, I found that favour is the grace of God in your life to always receive a yes. Now, people might argue and go back and forth on how impossible it is to always receive a yes, but I want you to understand that in the will of God, you always receive a yes. Outside God’s will, be rest assured you would receive no’s which is why you hear people say a lot of times, that ‘rejection might be redirection’. It really is not the case all the time, but the leading of the Spirit helps you know when it is really redirection and when you need to try again. I want you to understand that God has already favoured you. All you need to do is operate under that favour by daily surrendering to the work of the Holy Spirit in you.

Reflection: Do I find myself doing things in my ability to earn God’s favour?

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O for Obedient

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181

JOHN 14:23, 1 JOHN 2:17

f you were born to African parents and grew up in Africa, I think this is one of the fastest virtues you would learn. From young ages like three, they would already be sending you to call this person or that person or bring this or that. And well, if you do not do it, you always have yourself to blame. As you grow, you also find out that you tend to do a lot of things you are told to do, especially by a parent or an older individual or even someone you look up to. Obedience, in the world we know today, is borne from compulsion and majority of the time, fear. People are quick to obey when either they have something to get out of it, or whoever is asking them to do whatever occupies a position higher than they do. So, just to get in the good books of such a person, we will find people obeying them. But this is not obedience. I haven’t been able to find the word for what it is, but from the Bible, meditation and conversation with the Holy Spirit, doing something because you’re afraid of what might happen if you don’t do it is not obedience. (I’ll leave it to you to tell your African mum and dad that). Only recently, God told me what His love language is. He said it is obedience. Every human being has a love language according to Gary Chapman’s book, “The 5 love languages”. Mine happens to be acts of service. Meaning that I will feel most loved when you offer yourself to help in doing something I would’ve otherwise done on my own. You can love me by physical touch, words of affirmation, quality time or gift giving (which are the other types of love languages), and I would appreciate it. But when you love me by acts of service, I will feel most loved. The same goes with God. You can stand every morning and declare on and on about how much you love Him and how much you want to be used by Him, but the only way He will know and feel those words is if you obey His word completely and totally. God perceives love when He sees obedience. Obedience is borne from love, contrary to the obedience practised in the world which is borne from fear and compulsion. This is the obedience God wants in you. This is the obedience a F.O.C.H Woman possesses. Every time she finds herself doing what she was told to do, what is driving her to do it is always love, and nothing else.

Reflection: Where is my obedience to God borne from?

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C for Confident I JUDGES 4:1-5:31, JOSHUA 1:9,

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he confidence in F.O.C.H woman is one that comes with complete and total trust in God because the confidence every human being possesses is limited to self. It kind of works like this, before you build your confidence in God, you must have already built trust in Him. We hear people say all the time that you need to build and work on your self-confidence, and that’s really amazing but what they fail to realize is that self, like I stated earlier, has a limit. God-fidence is a terminology I came up with after realizing that I can’t be as confident as I want to be, except with the help of the Holy-Spirit. God-fidence is what it should be, and the thing with this is that God is limitless. So with Him, your confidence also becomes limitless. I’ll explain deeper using Deborah and Ruth’s stories. Both of which were F.O.C.H women. If you read or have read the story of Deborah, you will see that Deborah was a prophetess. Her duty/ministry required her hearing a lot from God and relaying whatever information to whoever she was sent to. She was a prophetess, yes, but she was also a human being who had feelings and to whatever degree, cared about the feelings of others. God sent Deborah to tell Barak to go and fight a particular army, and to also let him know that He (God) was going to deliver that army into his hands. But as we read the story, we see that Barak said to Deborah that he would not go to fight the battle except if she went with him, which in retrospect meant that he was basing his obedience to God on a condition of whether or not Deborah went with him. Subsequently, God told Deborah to tell Barak that it was okay that he refused to totally obey Him, but that the glory that would have been for him would go to another person and not just anyone but to a woman. (In those days, that was a very big deal, for a woman to take your glory). Let’s pause there a bit. If you look at this story critically, especially this part, you would realize that Deborah required some kind of supernatural confidence to have been able to confront Barak with such a message. It is easy for you to think ‘oh, it couldn’t have been that bad, she was a prophetess for God’s sake’, but the truth was she was still a woman who still had fears which she must have fought.

Reflection: Do I have confidence in God or in myself?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

193

C for Confident II

DAY

183

2 CHRONICLES 32:8, EPHESIANS 3:12

s a FOCH woman, aka woman of God, Deborah had to put aside those fears, some level of self-confidence which she must have realized would get her nowhere and also human feelings and take up God-fidence to be able to stand before Barak and pass that message across. And it came to pass that exactly as she said to him, it happened. Looking at Ruth’s story, after Ruth had lost her husband and had refused to return to her home but rather had insisted on remaining with her mother-in-law Naomi, when they returned to Naomi’s home in Bethlehem, the Bible tells us that Ruth found favour before Boaz when she went to glean in his field, to the point where he even told her not to glean anywhere else but his field. Now, when Ruth returned back to her mother-in-law and presented the food Boaz had sent her home with, Naomi rejoiced and revealed to Ruth that Boaz was one of the kinsmen that she could remarry and bear at least one son for her late husband. (This is one of those old acceptable traditional practices of the Jews). So Naomi told her to look pretty and go and lie at the feet of Boaz in his chambers. Pause! Just like that, go and lie at the feet of a man you barely know and request something as serious as marriage? It only took a kind of confidence that comes from God alone to have been able to go and lie at Boaz’s feet, and also the courage to speak the way she did. If you look at yourself in life even, there are certain things that you know you should do and certain people you know you can request from, but you don’t feel confident enough to do these things or approach the people for one reason or the other. The Holy Spirit actually gives you a kind of confidence and boldness like He gave the disciples of Jesus to be bold and confident enough to do certain things when He visited them in that upper room. This is the kind of confidence God wants to build in a F.O.C.H woman. A kind that places Him first before even looking around or within.

Reflection:

Are there areas of my life that require God-fidence to walk into certain opportunities, and also walk away from things that are not of God around me?

194

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

H for Hardworking 2 THESSALONIANS 3:10-12, PHILIPPIANS 4:13

DAY

184

ave you ever sat and wondered why we have to work hard? Like why couldn’t things just be easier? Why do we have to get jobs and work before we eat? If God is all sufficient, why do we need to pay bills and get money, and buy food and clothes and all? I know it gets annoying sometimes, but have you also sat and imagined if everything came easy? Imagine if no one had to work to get anything? Or if we did not need to work to get money? Doesn’t sound so bad picturing that in your head right? Lol. Now take your thoughts and attention to the attitude and character of people if that was the case. If everything came easy, would there be a need for anyone to be humble or polite or considerate of others? No, I don’t think so. In a nutshell, hard work builds character in a person. It teaches us good godly values, and it’ll be nice to note that to work has always been in the loop for us right from creation. It was not some kind of punishment or curse God put on us. It was His plan for us to work. Hard work also gives you a sense of fulfilment and achievement. When you know you’ve done the right thing, the right way and at the right time, there’s a kind of good pride you feel within you. As a FOCH Woman, God wants you to be hardworking. He wants you to be very diligent and dedicated to whatever you put your hands to do. He wants people who work with you to want to know Him more, because of the way you do your own work and the results you present. Hard work is also one of the world’s principles. Even without knowledge of the Bible, any human being knows that if you do not work, you will not eat. God wants you in His vineyard, and if He’s going to use you, He is going to prepare you, because He doesn’t call the qualified but qualifies those He calls. Part of His preparation in you is building the attitude and principle of hard work.

Reflection: Do I despise hard work? How can I be more hardworking and diligent?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

195

DAY

It is All You

185

COLOSSIANS 2:7, 2 TIMOTHY 3:17

od calling you to be a FOCH woman is Him calling you to make you into what His thoughts looked like before He started creating you. It’s Him taking you and refining you to be exactly as He sees you in His mind. You should not feel that you are being shaped into what is appropriate or needful because you are only being built to be the best you God has created you to be. By now, you must have realised that the best version of yourself you can be is the God version. Not the version society wants or the version your parents want. Being a FOCH woman is aligning you into the woman God intends for you to be, and making you His definition of complete. You are the only factor coming into play in being a FOCH woman, not what anyone thinks or says. Be OBEDIENT for you! Be CONFIDENT for you! Be HARDWORKING for you! You are already FAVOURED of God, so bask in that favour and be exactly who He has created you to be. As you align yourself to who God wants you to be, you begin to reach out to people around you, not even through verbal confrontation, but your lifestyle begins to speak for you, and with time, we make the women in the world FOCH. It’s kinda like “I’m starting with the woman in the mirror”.

Reflection: How much of Jesus has been formed in me? Am I allowing the Holy Spirit conform me to God’s image?

196

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Why am I Where I am? ROMANS 8:30, PSALM 57:2

DAY

186

t’ll be a bit crazy for me to ask how many times you’ve asked yourself “what really am I here for?” I think it’s part of growth and development to seek reasons for your existence and position at that point in time. I’ve come to that place many times in my life, particularly at the points that involved a change in environment. Those ones seem to weigh even heavier, considering there’s change even in scheduling and activities of your day. The sad part is, a lot of us ignore the question. We think of it, but we never answer it. And you need to be careful when you sit down to meditate because the human mind is so vast, it can take another line of thought long before you even realise it. I’m going to simplify the process for you whenever you find yourself asking this question. I was recently at that point, and while I prayed about it, a simple question was placed in my heart. The question said, “what responsibilities do you have?” At first, I was taken aback at the change in direction, but as I began to answer, it became clearer. My responsibilities were directly linked to the reason and purpose I am here. Everything I do, not just for myself is a responsibility, and it constitutes the reason I ended up here. What I do, if I wasn’t here, no one would be doing them, or even if someone was doing them, it wouldn’t be the way I would do it. So I am here to do what I am responsible for. It doesn’t end there. After answering that question, a final statement came that said: “to make a positive impact.” Put it together, and it says “use the responsibilities you have to make a positive impact in your environment.” Do you see that? You’re where you are to use your responsibilities to bring positive change.

Reflection: What responsibilities do I offer to people around me?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

197

God’s Secret Weapon

DAY

187

JEREMIAH 51:20, ESTHER 5:1-4

n a book titled ‘The Esther anointing’, the author described us (women) as God’s secret agents.

As I pondered on that, something was dropped in my heart, and it was about battle, war and preparation. At that point, I remembered a movie I watched which depicted what happens before, during and after a battle and war. From the movie, I could see that chief commanders and war strategists saved their best weapons for the last attack, usually because the enemy doesn’t see it coming at all. It just comes as an unexpected force that makes the most impact most times. You are God’s secret weapon and you have been called for such a time as this. As a secret weapon, just as a secret is hidden, people don’t usually know you until you attack and at that, most people still don’t see you. All they do is feel your impact. So, you know what God does, He prepares His secret weapons in secret. The quiet time is meant to be preparation time. It’s in those times you’re designed, refurbished and equipped for the task ahead. If you are not spending time at all or not enough time in the preparation phase, you delay the whole process and so when the time for your attack comes, there’ll either be a drastic impact on your side, or someone else would be appointed for that attack. No one wants that, at least I know I don’t want that. I want to be prepared and ready at all times for use, and it should be the same with you FOCH woman. Another key thing I noted in the movie was how the war strategists drew out the battle plans and allocated times for different weapons or attacks. It is the same with God. You are daily manifesting as a child of God but have a particular time for your appointed manifestation. So when you get caught up comparing and contrasting, what you’re doing is distracting yourself from preparation for your own attack. God has a territory for you. The place where only you would be able to do what you do, the way you do it. He is preparing you for the attack, but unless you get and stay in the preparation place, you can neither know the territory nor know where your attack will make the impact that it should. Don’t underestimate the power of your quiet time. It’s as important as the food you need to eat everyday.

Reflection: Do I see myself as a weapon in God’s hand?

198

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Focusing on You PSALM 143:10, ROMANS 8:14

DAY

188

ou know that behind everything we do, there is a motive literally always, and as Christians, that’s what we’re always advised to check - our motives. Because you can do good things but with a bad motive, and while you deceive the people around you, you cannot deceive God who sees your heart. So, I began questioning motives with everything I did. Everything. When I was going to church, I asked myself why I picked what I did to wear, same with school. When I was getting set, I asked myself why I chose to wear my hair up or down. When I got to my lecture rooms and church, I asked myself why I sat where I sat and when I ate, I asked myself why I decided to eat what I did. This exercise opened my eyes to a lot of things and helped me see myself even better. There were things in my subconscious that subconsciously influenced the decisions I made on a daily basis and I was not even aware. It is something I would encourage everyone to do because it helps you focus on you and the things you value in your life. You have good reasons behind doing what you do, and you find that your motives are better explained if you are asked why you did something the way you did it. Society, particularly social media, takes the focus off you without you even realising it. You subconsciously begin to do things because it was said to be right or good without checking them against your values, which puts you in a place of compromising your principles without you even being aware of it.

Reflection: Am I led by God’s spirit in me or by what society says is ideal?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

199

When the Purpose Becomes an Idol I

DAY

189

EXODUS 20:3-6, PSALM 115:1-18

ome of my best sermons are the ones on ‘Purpose’. I could sit hours and listen to a man/woman of God talk about purpose. Some of the first rhema words I received when I became a Christian was on ‘purpose’ and my best Bible characters, their lives teach purpose before anything else. So it was no shock to me when I found out that it was a word I loved in the sense of its definition and also loved to talk to people about. Most people who have met me would attest to the fact that one of the questions I would ask within the first few times we meet would be around purpose. It would usually come out as ‘what’s the plan?’ or ‘what’s the big picture?’ I mean, what could be better than finding your purpose and actually living it out? The statement that backs this up the most is the one that says that “when the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable”. Once you don’t know the use of something, you begin to create job roles and descriptions for it; whether or not that was the use it was created for. And who knows best the purpose of a thing than its creator? I lay in my bed one evening, and a very familiar part of me spoke in my heart and asked God, ‘what exactly have you created me for? Give me a picture’, and yet again, another very familiar silence followed. And a question came that said ‘would that be more valuable than walking with Me as I lead you into that purpose?’ and best believe I couldn’t say anything again. I had been there before, and it was an idol I’ve dealt with making a comeback. At a very young age, I wanted nothing more than to know my purpose. I didn’t pray and fast for anything like I prayed and fasted about knowing my purpose. I would get so excited when I opened my devotional and we were talking about purpose that day. Automatically, my attention and focus would be a complete 102%, and an excitement from within would completely engulf me. Don’t you think that is amazing? Like someone yearning so badly to know why she was created so that she could live it out and please her creator? At least that was how I saw it. I would tell God that ‘if He revealed it to me, no one would serve Him better than I would’. That was how deep it got.

Reflection: Have I idolised my purpose on earth and ignored getting to know God and walking with Him?

200

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

When the Purpose Becomes an Idol II

DAY

190

LEVITICUS 19:4, GALATIANS 5:19-21

t took a while before I realised that I had made knowing my purpose an idol. I had enthroned it in my life without me even realising it. I prayed more about it than my spiritual growth. I was more concerned about my purpose than whatever it was God had to teach me. It took me doing a 21 day fast to realise 2 things. First, that I had made it an idol, and there was no way God was going to facilitate my idol worship, and secondly that the journey was just as important as the destination. So instead of being focused on where exactly it was, I was heading, God wanted us to enjoy the journey together and discover it together too as I clung to Him and obeyed Him, as He leads me into this thing that created more excitement in me than anything. Just like a lot of people, I have beautiful dreams. Big ones that are far bigger than I am, and I have been blessed with friends who I know have dreams as big as mine too. I have encountered people who are also exactly like I was, and have exalted their purpose above the creator and are blinded by thinking that achieving or fulfilling the purpose is the same as walking and obeying the creator. Because I am also still a work in progress, it’s been hard to actually point out to some people that they have made their purpose an idol without suggesting that they should be complacent with their lives, so I took to fighting that battle in prayer and let God open their eyes like He did mine. I remember Sunday school growing up, they would always say that ‘Anything can be an idol’. In my little head, I would always think maybe my parents, or my phone, or a TV program or even a friend could become an idol, but never in my wildest dreams, even in my adult life did I ever consider that my desire to find my purpose would become an idol to me. So I immediately got up after that little dialogue in my heart that evening and have told myself, I AM NOT GOING BACK TO IDOL WORSHIP, and I beg you too, search your heart and make sure you are also not on the same course as I was. Nothing is too good or too ‘righteous’ to be an idol. Idol worship will remain idol worship.

Reflection: Are there any justified idols established in my heart?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

201

DAY

Time and Chance

191

ECCLESIASTES 9:11, 1 CORINTHIANS 10:13

“I have seen something under the sun; the race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favour to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:11)

f you need to read the verse above twice, by all means, please do. It is profound and just power packed. Here’s what came to mind as I read it, “if you are, does not mean that you cannot ‘unbecome’ and if you are not, does not mean you cannot become”. By the world’s standards, the unspoken idea is that the person requesting for more sheets probably has longer and smarter things to write, but according to this verse: YOU CAN BECOME. There’s no straight path or carved out path that if you don’t follow you die. God is the only one with the power to do that, and He usually guides us through the journey and does not hand us the destination, because the treasures are also on the journey. Because the fastest does not always win the race, the strongest does not always win the battle, the wise don’t always have food, the wealthy aren’t the most brilliant and the learned aren’t always the most favoured. You can win the race whether you’re the fastest, the strongest, the wisest, the richest, the most brilliant or the smartest woman in the room. The only factor to winning the race would be ‘because you choose to’ not because something qualifies you to. So fully surrender to the work of the Spirit in you, and constantly remind yourself that for the believer, it ends in victory.

Reflection: Am I refusing to believe that something is possible because of a limitation I cannot control?

202

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Ticking the Boxes ROMANS 6:22, GALATIANS 5:13-14

DAY

192

or a good part of my young life, I woke up everyday ticking boxes to assure myself I was living a God-good life.

My first box was always my devotion, “Rubie did you do your devotion today? did you do your devotion before you picked your phone or had breakfast?”, and other related questions. In prayer times, I had to be sure I mentioned every single thing I was aware of and even when I finished and remembered something. I would go back and say, oh Lord remember this one. Like God was my dad or mum that needed reminders of open days and visiting days. I subconsciously even kept a record of sins I may have committed that day, and I became terribly sin-conscious, so I wouldn’t even remember any good thing I did in the day, but the bad ones would always be remembered. The devil started using these box ticks to drive me away from God with guilt. I would not pray if I felt I did something too bad and when I did get the courage to, I would find myself begging God for forgiveness the whole time and not requesting anything because in those moments I felt He needed to hear apologies and not requests. As if He was a man or something. What box ticks do is that it removes you from grace and places you in religion. It gives you the idea that you need to do this to get this, and grace told us years ago that you need not do anything but accept and believe that Jesus died on the cross for you. You need to tear down the walls you feel you need to climb to be in right standing with God. There really isn’t a thing that makes Him love you any more or less. The glorified name for box ticking is self-righteousness.

Reflection: Am I more sin-conscious than God-conscious?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

203

DAY

Not in My Feelings I

193

PSALM 139:7-10, GALATIANS 5:18

f I got a penny for every time I heard someone say “I don’t feel like doing ...”, or “I don’t feel like eating ...”, or even, “I don’t feel like being ...”, I would be rich. Because half the time, people do not feel like doing what they should be doing, so they express themselves vocally before they perform the action of not doing a task because they did not have the feeling to do it. I am also very guilty of brushing things I am supposed to do just because I do not feel like doing them. Just a quick question. Asides eating, sleeping, playing and spending money, do we actually have the feeling to do the things we don’t necessarily love or have a passion for? If your answer is No like I think it should be, just this little revelation should be able to deter us from living our daily lives and carrying out our daily activities based on how we ‘feel’. Medically and scientifically, feelings occur based on our mood and sometimes just based on the secretion of certain enzymes in our system. It is as biological as that. It is true that occurrences can trigger different moods, but it is also true that the body can resist or assist in the secretion of certain enzymes that cause us to feel certain ways at random times. On the other hand, there is laziness. Just not having the will or desire to do something we should do. My point? Feelings are just too unstable to be the foundation on which we hold decisions to perform actions in our lives.

Reflection: Have I made my feelings the determining factor to get things done?

204

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Not in My Feelings II ISAIAH 59:21, 1 CORINTHIANS 2:13

DAY

194

e need to pray ourselves out of ‘I don’t feel like praying’. If not we will find ourselves performing actions later ‘when we feel like it’, in a bid to ‘get back God’s attention’, all the while forgetting that IT IS NOT BY WORKS. With God, your feelings cannot be the driving force. You have to do what you have to do, whether or not you have the feeling to do it. Mind you, whatever you do should never be borne from a place of compulsion or obligation. You need to understand why you do what you do. Knowing why helps you better do it with a cheerful heart regardless of how you feel in that moment. Eventually, as we submit ourselves to God, we get to the point where our desires equate and overtake our feelings, so when it comes to issues, the desire is able to get us to do what we have to do, even if our feelings cannot be bothered. Sometimes you just have to know. Know that God loves you, whether or not it feels like it, know that you’re beautiful, whether or not you feel like it, know that you are strong, whether or not it feels like it, and know that you will overcome whatever. Again, whether or not it feels like it. ‘Knowing over feeling’ is my newest definition of faith. You can share it too; I really don’t mind.

Reflection: Are my feelings always greater than my desires?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

205

DAY

195

Get Human Approval Too I LUKE 2:52, ROMANS 14

ociety will teach you not to think or care about what other people think about you. It has changed the definition of confidence to mean ‘doing what you like, no matter who thinks it is right or wrong’. It comes with the relativism theory that exalts everyone’s perception of right and wrong, not even minding what anyone else thinks. This teaching basically in a sentence says “to hell with human approval”. What makes this teaching even easier to accept is the existence of ‘haters’ in the world. The people who really just do not want to see you win. Their existence is another reason why we feel we don’t need to care too much about other people’s opinions but just ‘do our thing’. I was all for this teaching for as long as I can remember. It was worse for me because I battled with years of esteem issues before I got this knowledge from society to believe that it did not matter what anyone thought of me or my actions, I will just do my thing. How wrong was I, how wrong are we all, and how wrong is society! Contrary to this teaching, I’ve come to discover that we are actually meant to live for others. Minding and considering their thoughts and opinions through the lens of God’s wisdom. And by ‘we’, I mean people who name the name of the Lord. Romans 14 explains this perfectly. The chapter teaches us how to please God and get human approval together, contrary to what we have been taught that we could not have the two together. It teaches us that if our actions or words cause another person to sin or to come into offence, then we are not doing good. If we are aware of a person’s belief on a particular subject, and we choose to do contrary to what they believe in their presence because we hold a different belief, it is not sin, but we may lose human approval. Who cares about human approval, yes? But God wants you to know that you can have both. As a matter of fact, He wants you to have both - be able to please Him and also get human approval. God says He’s come to give us life, and that we might have it in full. Some versions say in abundance. Getting human approval and having God take pleasure in us is living life to the fullest. It is what Jesus came for.

Reflection: How quick am I to dismiss opinions and people because of our own ideologies and beliefs?

206

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Get Human Approval Too II 1 SAMUEL 2:26, ROMANS 12:16

DAY

196

aving both approval from God and man would mean that one would not stand in the way of the other. Meaning that if in the process of gaining human approval, you lose God’s pleasure in you, then you need to walk away from human approval and in that moment, seek God’s pleasure in you. The approval of God stays paramount. Practically, this could mean that I could choose not to wear trousers to my aunt’s house because she and her church don’t believe in females wearing trousers. Not because I now share or agree with her belief, but to gain her approval and not have her grunt at me when she sights me in trousers, and also gain God’s approval. And if you really think about it, this does not even harm me in any way. It just means me being conscious of what I wear when I go around her. This also means me dressing decently when I appear in a gathering of both male and female even if I felt comfortable showing a bit of cleavage or wearing a dress slightly above my knee. If it is a popular belief that my dressing with showing cleavage or dresses above my knee would cause people to desire me sexually, I will refrain from it. It really does not get more practical than this. Those small habits you can easily change to please people around you without going against God’s will, by all means, please change them. And if we want to be honest, sometimes we lose human approval on account of our stubbornness even when we know that the requirement at hand is not sinful or against the will of God. This does not in any way infringe on your freedom in Christ, it just gives you more access to more of God’s people everywhere you go. For anyone who is so concerned about haters, you need to know that those people need to exist to get you where you should be. Focus on your course and allow them.

Reflection: How considerate am I of other people’s beliefs and cultures?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

207

DAY

Friendship Criteria?

197

1 CORINTHIANS 15:33, COLOSSIANS 3:12-14

riendship is one of those things we learn very early and easy in life. Being social human beings, we automatically want to be able to associate ourselves with people on a regular basis. As we grow older, we begin to see that it’s beyond ‘sharing your lunch with me’, or ‘holding my hand as we walk together’ that qualifies you to be my friend. It becomes more of what values we share that are similar and how we can impact each other’s lives for the better? I realised how crucial it is for individuals to have principles that reach deep into their lives, even influencing the people we choose to call friends. I have also realised how different ‘friend’ is from ‘acquaintance’. They actually only intersect at the point that you know them. From there, it’s two different ways. Because of where we are as a society, I think it is wise to have a friendship criterion which really is a sort of checklist when it comes to choosing who you do this life with. We must come to a place of evaluating the people we call friends to see if truly we are better together than apart, which is determined on the kind of impact we have on each other’s life. Friendship is golden. I have some beautiful souls to thank for actually being able to say this because I know not every one of us has had the best friendship experiences. It’s one of those things that will always exist, and it’s only right that we get it right.

Reflection: What qualifies a person to be called your friend?

208

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

“Green with Envy” PROVERBS 14:30, 1 CORINTHIANS 13:4

DAY

198

know green is not the greatest colour, but it’s my mums favourite colour, and I really wanted to know why it was used as a synonym or rather, the best descriptive colour for jealousy. I went to do my research. I wanted to know who influenced society so bad that even till now, colours are still affiliated with certain feelings. I got an answer. Green began to be associated with envy since Shakespeare started writing. For some reason, his subjective reasoning had brought him to describe jealousy or envy in his books as green i.e “the green monster” or “green with envy”, and with the number of people reading Shakespeare in the world, I don’t think we have to think so far as to why it is now widely accepted that green is the colour for envy. I used to struggle with unhealthy competition. I tended to get jealous when I didn’t win and someone else did. Until I realised that someone’s win, didn’t mean my loss, and someone’s loss, didn’t mean my win. It’s really just as easy as that. There are a lot of things in our lives as Christians that we do that we don’t immediately see the graveness of until God opens our eyes to it. Envy seems like we’re doing ourselves more harm than even God, but envy and jealousy speak greater volumes! It tells a story of your inadequate god that does not have enough to go round and so you constantly feel a need to do better, or outweigh the other person or get somewhere before the next person, constantly thinking that ‘it will soon finish’. This is what jealousy says subtly. But you’re too busy to notice because you’re carried away with the next point of action to ‘do it better’. I don’t know about you, but my God is adequate, He is sufficient, He has more than enough to go round, and above all, there’s even so much more when He’s done distributing to all His children. If we honestly lived each day with this in mind, I don’t think it’ll ever cross my mind two times to look to the next lane and think that I’ve somehow been cheated, and deserve more or feel the pain that the person in the next lane isn’t at the same point as I am.

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

209

One of my best sayings is ‘Focus creates blindness’. I think it should be our prayer everyday to be so focused on our lane to the point where we’re blind to that of others. This is no license to be selfish but to look to the next lane only when the next action from ourselves would be one borne from love and not the ugly ‘green’ thing.

Reflection: Do I really believe that God is all sufficient and has everything in abundance?

210

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Building the Errors to Get to My Solution

DAY

199

DEUTERONOMY 31:6, 1 CORINTHIANS 16:13

echnology has a way of educating you beyond the stereotype of it being just computing and software. While the majority of people think technology is computers and programming, you’d see that there’s actually so much more to it, especially if you end up putting your hand to the plough. I was looking at a firewall issue recently, and I was getting a bit uneasy because, with every step I took thinking I was closer to the solution, it didn’t seem to have an effect on that problem, so I decided I definitely needed help. A few minutes later, with some of the troubleshooting methods I tried with my help, I realised we had 2 more different error messages added to the one we started with. I was actually starting to get just a bit uncomfortable and thought of asking my help to let me continue from where I stopped despite not knowing the next steps to take, but I mean, it was better than the multiplication of errors I was watching him do. What baffled me most was that with every new error message, he got excited and looked at me cheerfully and I was sitting there like ‘noooo’. This was until the end when the pin dropped. I realised that with every error message that came, it took us closer to the solution of the problem. The error messages that came after the first one led us closer and closer to our solution. But I didn’t see that. I was only seeing the increase in error, but the errors were the breakthrough to the solution. I think it applies to so much more beyond firewalls. We get fed up with the mistakes and the errors in our lives, and we’re thinking “rather than add to it, let’s sit back where we are or completely even change the issue because we can’t crack this one error”. Today, I learnt to be FEARLESS of errors and be jumpy when there are more errors than the one I started with. God is able to lead us through to solutions, despite the number of errors we encounter.

Reflection: Do I give in and give up when I can’t find a solution to a problem?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

211

DAY

The Fiercest Battle

200

ROMANS 8:7, GALATIANS 5:16

he only physical battle some of us will ever fight is with our siblings. Not all of us will get to fight as part of an army on a battleground. I can’t say it’s something I’ve wished to do, but it raises a lot of curiosity when I do watch it in movies or read about it in books. I know we have heard a hundred times about the battle of the mind, and how important it is to stay winning in that battle because your mind has power over your words and actions. And this is so true, but I’ve never really understood the elements in that battle, especially since they call it ‘The Battle of the Mind’. Is the mind the battlefield, the offence army, or the defence army? I have come to understand what that phrase is. The funniest discovery was that not everyone has to fight this battle because some people give sole power to the body, so their spirit is almost non-existent when it comes to having influence over them. The mind is actually the battleground. Depending on your stand in life, your spirit and body are either the offence army or defence army. But those are the 2 elements battling in your mind. They say the one you feed the most has the most power. As food is a necessity for human existence, you can already imagine how powerful your body is. The spirit, on the other hand, would not usually hurt when it has not been fed or give you discomfort if left unattended, except when you have grown spiritually and begin to hurt the same way your body would when you are hungry. The Holy Spirit finds home in your spirit, not your body. You might argue that the spirit is resident in the body but remember the body is mortal. The Holy Spirit can be there right now, but you won’t even know it because the Holy Spirit can’t even find expression in you since you have empowered your body so much it is unaware of another critical part of you. The body can be synonymous to the flesh. This flesh is susceptible to all manner of influence in the world and your environment, which is why it might be crazy to empower it the way most of us have done.

212

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit does not need any permission to move, but He will move with the capacity you have given Him in you. The more you feed your own spirit, the more you empower it. Our bodies and spirits are in constant battle to influence our thoughts, words and actions. This battle is so fierce that sometimes you feel yourself being very mentally tired, but you have all the physical energy.

Reflection: What is the state of minds battle? Does my flesh or spirit have the upper hand?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

213

DAY

Intentional

201

1 JOHN 4:1-6, MATTHEW 7:15-20

ou will be making a mistake to believe or entertain the thought that everything you come across is for you to take, imbibe, learn or begin to live out. It is the only explanation we have for the rants and arrogance we see or read each time someone states their opinion. I think at some point we will all learn that even though there’s a place for society, there’s a bigger place for individualism and individualism in the right context. Individualism that works with principles and values will help filter out the clutter that our world is filled with. If you come across something that does not edify you in any way, walking away doesn’t make you a loser or a propagator for the evil that it might be. It’ll actually reinforce your stand in your principles and ultimately save you your time and sanity. It’s not passivity. It’s another way to deliberately choose what catches your time and attention.

Reflection: Do I find myself responding to everything and everyone?

214

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

The Moment PHILIPPIANS 3:14, HEBREWS 12:1-3

DAY

202

ll the things you are concerned and worried about right now don’t necessarily affect your now, or this moment, but rather, it’s something that happened in the past or something you’re looking to in the future. We get so carried away with either or both and forget the now. When the devil succeeds in taking the now from you, you’re not able to enjoy the phase you’re in at that moment, because it’s either ‘what I should’ve done’ or ‘what I should do’ that you’ll remain focused on, and daily, it’ll drain you to the point where you start to look at that moment and not see any worth or good in it. I am sure we all have aspirations. I have things in my past I am not proud of or I feel differently about now, but I’m intentionally learning to focus and be appreciative of the moment I am in; to focus on the now and plan for the next step. Not the 10th step or the 20th step, but the next step. It doesn’t alter or eliminate your future focus or inner drive; rather, it allows you to focus on learning all the things that need to be learnt and will be useful for that place you’re headed. There’s power and value in this moment. Don’t get carried away with what you think you should’ve done, or where you think you should be and pressure your now out of an equally important phase. Take a few minutes and observe and appreciate the environment you’re currently in, the activity you’re currently doing, and the thoughts at the tip of your memory. Embrace it and learn from it. Moments don’t last, but there’ll always be the past and the future.

Reflection: How conscious am I of the moment I exist in?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

215

DAY

Upgrade = Change

203

PROVERBS 3:5-6, ISAIAH 26:3

DPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a policy introduced by the UK government to ensure the protection of people’s data. Which basically means that any company in possession of your details must have it because you have given consent. And if you do receive unsolicited emails, messages or even phone calls, by law, you now have a right to press charges and raise a court case. We had to effect some of those changes on the software at work and afterwards, I spoke to numerous clients who would complain about ‘this not being like the way it was before’ or ‘this is not how it was in the previous version’ and while I would be excited to walk them through their issues, I was clouded with thoughts of how you agree to get an upgrade and expect everything to remain exactly as they were. This applies to a lot of things apart from software. We want to grow, we want to reach new heights, we want to experience new things, but we want to do it from where we are currently. We want the result without the change, the upgrade without the new features, and then we complain when the upgrade comes, and it does not resemble where we’re coming from, forgetting that the new levels come with their own challenges. Upgrades come with changes; uncomfortable at first, but very beneficial as you get along and learn the ropes.

Reflection: What upgrade has currently happened in your life that has brought change foreign to you?

216

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Minister or Minister? MATTHEW 6:1, JAMES 2:14-26

DAY

204

learnt from a very close friend of mine early in life that there is a difference between ministry life and personal life, particularly for the people who are into full-time ministries. And this isn’t creating dichotomies of the different aspects in life because frankly, inviting God into your life is letting him take it all, and not just some parts. You might be aware of some Ministers of the gospel who preach on and on about peace and serenity in marriage and homes and yet, have their own homes in shambles, or for some who pray and see members healed instantly but have wives or children struggling at home with same illnesses, and the same anointing does not seem to work. This is not an attempt to cast a stone or shame anyone in any way but to bring a pearl of wisdom from. I have had days when I had thoughts randomly come to mind and I hear and sense the Holy Spirit leading me to look at some of the blog posts I have written in the past. What this means is that, because I wrote it, does not exempt me from learning from it, or insinuate in any way that I know it best and have come to live above anything I’ve written. I think it should be a commonality with Christian writers especially, that you realise a lot of times that the Holy Spirit gives you the inspiration and words to write, and so you know that when your own spirit and flesh fail you, you can refer back to the Holy-spirit inspired writings, which I have to say, helps all the time!. Here’s the fun part, we’re all ministers, in one way or the other, daily, we find ourselves ministering to people. It might not be via a blog like I do or on a podium with a microphone in hand and a congregation, but it is ministry because other people are being edified by being in contact with you in whatever way. The point is to know that your ministry, gifts, talents, graces and strengths are not only for those around you to benefit. Sometimes, it will be a source for your own self as funny as that sounds.

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

217

This is not to give credibility to hypocrisy for people to preach what they don’t do, or speak about things they themselves still struggle with, but as one of my favourite phrases reads, ‘Balance is always a major key’. The idea is to be led and guided by the Holy Spirit, but don’t ever close your mind to think that the solution you seek cannot come from the same you who has the problem.

Reflection: Am I open to allow God to reach me through fruits He has birth through me?

218

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Purify Our Passions 1 JOHN 1:7, 1 JOHN 3:2-3

DAY

205

am sure we can all agree that we’re human beings created with passions. We hear people say ever so often, “I have a passion for...”, “I am passionate about..” and on and on relating to passion. The dictionary describes passion as ‘strong and barely controllable emotion’. It is actually something so powerful in every human being, and for the majority of us, our passions cannot be hidden, not as a result of a deliberate attempt to make it visible, but because it is what it is, a passion. Here’s the caveat with this ‘barely controllable emotion’, they are not immune to impurities or attacks. That you have an innate passion to or for something or someone does not automatically make it pure or mean it to always be borne from the best motives and intentions. Our passions can be skewed, manipulated and infiltrated. That it is something borne from the depth of our being doesn’t make it immune to attacks, which explains the line in Victoria Orenze’s song to ‘Purify our passions...’ We live in a world where people are celebrated for the good they do, the value they add and the processes they simplify. People are rewarded and given accolades for the good done, and because we’re human beings needing acceptance and approval, we inhabit the praises and the accolades that come our way and sometimes, in the process, forget the purpose and aim of the action from the beginning. Our passions can be infiltrated with the thoughts of the gifts, accolades and wishes of this world. We can reduce our passions to living it out just for what is coming at the end of it, and so it becomes less about the innate driving force and more about what we can get out of it. A process the world calls blackmail. We blackmail our own passions in order to get the accolades of society.

Reflection: What is the driving force behind my passions?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

219

DAY

Bloom Where You Are Planted

206

PSALM 52:8, ISAIAH 44:14

don’t know if you’ve ever been privileged to watch a plant grow from the point where it is planted, to the point where it breaks out of the soil and actually begins to produce leaves and even fruits. It is one of the most beautiful things in this world, and if you’re the person who planted it initially, there is even a level of pride at watching something you plant and take care of, grow and begin to bear fruits. Do you notice something though? That where you place the plant is where you come back and meet it, provided someone has not come to change its position. The person planting is just mindful to place it where it would get sufficient nutrients to grow properly and produce fruits as expected. Evidently, the plant blooms wherever it is planted. It doesn’t look at the next plant and think ‘hmmm, I could bloom from that angle, or in that direction’. It also does not think that its bloom might be more if it moved. What really happens when you plant a seed is that it focuses on blooming where it is, in the best possible way, provided you’ve placed it in the right terms and conditions. We are human beings, and there is the likelihood that we find ourselves looking at the lives of people around us, and sometimes even completely forgetting about our own growth. We entertain thoughts of how differently our lives might have spanned out if only we were planted ‘Like this or like that’. We stunt our own growth by not focusing on us but on all other blooming plants around us. Here’s the beauty of the Sovereign God we serve. He has not planted us in a stack method, by that I mean, He didn’t create you and place you where He was at that time, or create and place us in alphabetical order. He purposely and intentionally created us and placed us where He felt we would be best suited and where we would flourish the best! As it would be ironic for a plant to tell the planter that ‘Hey, this place you’ve planted me, I wouldn’t bloom best. Why not plant me there?’. It would be aberrational for us to advise God on where we might bloom the best when we only see, know and perceive per time. One second to the next.

Reflection: What am I doing where I am planted?

220

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

The Will of God I ISAIAH 46:10, PSALM 135:6

DAY

207

he will of God is something most Christians find hard to grasp. Today, we will talk about 3 dimensions of God’s will that might simplify our understanding of it. There are mainly 3 categories to the will of God; We will deal with the first 2 today and the last tomorrow. ●

The Sovereign Will of God

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The Revealed Will of God

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The Non-moral Will of God

The Sovereign This is not a will that we have any power over. It is not one we get a say over. We either accept it or not. You probably did not have a say over what family you will be born into. You also probably did not have a say over what day you will be born, and you also cannot say what day or time you might leave this earth. This will of God has since been established and settled, long before we even realised it. God’s sovereign will for us is always of good and not of evil, so don’t get scared or concerned that you don’t have a say over it. The Revealed The revealed will of God is the word of God. Everything in the word of God, interpreted as led by the Spirit of God is the will of God. Everything we could ever think or come across in this life is actually in that Bible. So when we have similar situations, God would expect us to handle them according to how the Bible tells us to, because handling it this way, will be walking in the will of God. Theoretically, the revealed will is the most accessible because it is right there. Just pick up your Bible.

Reflection: How much of the revealed will of God do I expose myself to?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

221

DAY

20The Will of God II

208

2 TIMOTHY 2:15, JOSHUA 1:8

esterday we looked at the sovereign and revealed will of God. Today, we shall dwell on the non-moral will.

The Non-moral Questions such as: “Should I pursue a masters after graduation or get a job?”, “Should I marry this God-fearing woman I like or not?”, “Should I move closer to home or stay where I am?” Are questions that fall in this category. They are not questions whose answers are right or wrong but rather, left or right. 7 main points to note when dealing with such decisions ●

Biblically, men were not held guilty for left or right decisions.

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God gives us the freedom to ACT as His Spirit enables us! It is one of the features we get from being created in His image,

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Wise, godly counsel is very important when making such decisions.

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Do not be hasty; check your motives.

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If you have the Spirit of God in you, you need to listen to your inner man. The Holy Spirit doesn’t stand screaming at us; He influences the inclinations of our hearts.

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Pray for divine providence.

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Once you have prayed and weighed your motives against the revealed will, ACT!

Decision making is that inevitable part of life that we cannot escape. The wise thing is to camp with The One who sees it all holistically and not in part like we do.

Reflection: How do I deal with my decisions in life?

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FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Dead Meat JOHN 16:33, EPHESIANS 6:10-18

DAY

209

sat and watched Nat Geo Wild one day and got to know that if you wanted to escape a lion eating you, you could pretend to be dead. Some animals are smart enough to decipher this and are actually able to play dead when they see an approaching lion. Lions don’t fancy dead meat. They love the point, kill and eat meat. They will also eat meat when the blood is spilt and they can smell it. I realised that the devil was ever so similar to this trait of the lion. He does not go after dead meat. He does not go after what is his own already, he goes after the one that is not his to make it so. It is overwhelming for most Christians to understand what it means when they say you are in warfare. Majority of us think it is very cultural and not applying to us personally, but the reality of this life is that spiritual warfare is an ongoing thing that happens all the time, and in case you thought you were exempted, you should know that if you so much as name the name of the Lord, you are tagged an enemy in that realm by the devil and his cohorts. The solution to this is not to run or ‘play dead’. As a matter of fact, because we have a foreknowledge of what this is, we can stay ready and waiting for these attacks, why? Because they will come. Jesus said in John 16:33 to “Be of good cheer because I (Jesus) have overcome the world.” Nothing might be going right at the moment, but you need to understand that this shows that you are alive and not dead and contrary to most Christians, the devil recognises the threat you are. Don’t play dead meat so he leaves you alone. You’re not dead meat. Be the conqueror you are and face him head-on and trust God on the inside of you to fight and come out victorious. This is a WON battle and war.

Reflection: Am I dead meat to the devil?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

223

DAY

210

The You We Are Yet to Meet JAMES 4:8-9, REVELATIONS 22:17

used to be very carefree in elementary school. I was overly social and so out-there, that there was not a lot of depth to me because I would intentionally try to hide my depth to fit into the community I was in. My conversations were shallow and my text messages were random. I remember I would get home and get on my laptop to type my thoughts on the most random things. I felt like I needed to shield that part of myself from my friends then, in order to sail together, and I think it lasted till about my first year in high school when I could not be less of myself any more. Fortunately, I was surrounded by more mature and understanding friends who saw things in me before I myself saw it. I would voice my opinion on things, I would state, however serious it might be, my review on books and movies I had read and seen and overall, I would just be myself - the Rubie not a lot of people knew or were used to. God used this phase to help me start my confidence journey, which I think is the best thing anyone can do for themselves because there is little you can achieve when you are not completely yourself. A couple of days ago, I was speaking to a friend who told me that she loved speaking to me because I reminded her that there were ‘sane and normal’ people in the world. She’s a very free spirit, so you might understand why she would say this, but I pondered on this, and I realised that there is no such thing as a ‘normal person’. We are all our own persons, and the idea is to be the better version of yourself daily. There’s no reason to hide any part of you, particularly to accommodate anyone or be referred to as normal. Introduce us to the you we’re yet to meet!

Reflection: Do I find myself shielding who I really am to accommodate the people around me?

224

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Camera, Lights, Action! EPHESIANS 2:9, 2 TIMOTHY 1:9

DAY

211

ver wondered why there are negative connotations to the word ‘Perform’ or ‘Performance’? especially when it comes to faith environments You have probably heard people in church say a lot of times, “we are not here to perform” or “we’re not giving a performance”, and they don’t stop there, they carry on to say “It is ministry. We’re here to minister”. We live in a world that is largely performance-based. You have to perform in order to get a reward. If you do receive rewards without any level of performance, there’s a tendency you begin to feel that you have somehow cheated the system and truth is, most people will not regard the reward as much as if they actually put in maximum performance for it. So we are attuned to ‘Do before you can Get’. It is why the world glorifies hard work, performance and most importantly, results. While your journey might be sad, long, hard and painful, most people aren’t willing to listen to it until there’s a good result in the end to show for it. So daily, we are striving to hit that result so we can validate the struggle through the journey and then the result at the end of the journey. All of these natural laws apply only to the natural. When we climb a level to the supernatural, we see that these laws don’t apply as they do in the world. Jesus’ death on the cross came at no price and no cost to either of us. We didn’t have to sit and think of what we could do to enjoy what His death brought for us. God did not require an instance of participation in the process, and there was no grading of any man’s performance to determine His coming, His death and His resurrection. Now that He’s risen and unlocked the blessings of His resurrection, why do we feel a need to perform, in order to receive, or do something to earn anything from Him? We think God is like man sometimes, sitting out in some elevated pews watching for who performs the best to award her/him the most. Contrary to that, He’s there right inside you cheering you on to do better than yesterday through the help of His Spirit in you. Quit performing and start living!

Reflection: Do I find myself performing to get into God’s ‘good books’?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

225

DAY

212

The Created vs The Made JOHN 1:3, MATTHEW 4:19

here is a huge difference between the creation of God and the made of God.

We’ve all been created by God. Everything in existence is created by Him and for Him. Without Him, nothing was made that has been made. However, that we have been created by Him does not automatically put us in the best place to be used by Him. Beyond His creating us, He’s interested in making us, hence His statement in Matthew 4:19, “Follow me, and I will MAKE you fishers of men”. There is a process of making that comes after our realising and acknowledging that we have been created. The making process starts from when we submit ourselves totally to Christ and carries on to the point where we actually look just like Jesus, which is a daily intentional process we must all apply ourselves to. God will only use a man that He has made and not just created, because God will not set us up in a prepared place when we ourselves are not prepared for those places. For most people, they have been at one place in this spiritual journey; the place where they truly have accepted that Christ died, but it is so much more than this. We need to move from the bench and actually get in to play the game. A soldier does not remain in training forever. At some point, the commander moves him out to actually fight in the battle, but only when the commander feels that the soldier is ready. Daily, we are praying, asking God for revival, signs and wonder, but we ourselves are not going the extra mile in this making process. The first and most important part of the making process is renouncing yourself as lord over your own life. A man holding on to his life will not completely submit to being used by a higher person even if they realise it is a higher person.

Reflection: Am I being made? Or have I just been created?

226

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

How Much of ‘World’ is in Us? JAMES 4:4, JOHN 18:36

DAY

213

‘W

hat does worldliness really mean?’

A lot of us have got worldliness twisted. We have reduced it to mean a particular way a person looks, speaks, acts and even dresses. We have attached it to mere actions and words, and we have said that it can be identified in a person at a glance. Let’s backtrack to your definition of worldliness. Was it a bit vague? Was it affiliated to dressing or action? Was it affiliated to money, wealth or riches? My immediate guess would be a yes, and if not, that’s okay. But let’s all rearrange our mindsets now about what worldliness is. Let’s understand that it starts from the mind first even before it begins to manifest in our actions and words. Let’s agree that while we think we can ‘see’ worldliness in a person, it really is something from the inside and cannot be accurately judged at mere glances. Worldliness in just a line, is to believe, trust, exalt or acknowledge the world system above God, Jesus. The world system is anything that pleases, glorifies and appeals to our flesh alone without glorifying God. Thoughts of things that are dimmed ‘random’ might come to mind, like going to school, like exercising your body, like even eating food daily, how are these things glorifying God? I won’t go round in circles trying to defend how I think each glorifies God or don’t, but either of those things can easily become sin if not done according to the way God wills us to. Forget the Sunday school teachers who identified someone as worldly for how they spoke or looked, these things are only the fruits, and while they may be valid, the majority of Christians are walking around carrying the seeds in their hearts. It is only a matter of time before they begin to manifest and produce fruits like the ones that are judged and frowned upon. When we think of ourselves first, it is worldliness. We’re exalting ourselves’ above others and sometimes above God. God won’t reward us for hiding our worldliness better than others. Let’s take a challenge and confront every iota of worldliness in our hearts.

Reflection: What are the subtle seeds of worldliness in my heart?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

227

DAY

SuperHuman

214

NEHEMIAH 3-5, COLOSSIANS 1:6

know I am not the only one who sometimes wants to be Superwoman; save everyone, make everyone happy, love everyone in the manner they perceive love, heal every aching joint in very mammal body and sometimes, even grant the smallest wishes, even the little appetite cravings some of us have right now. Have I succeeded in being this person? No, I have not. Not in the slightest. I realised why children idolise these superheroes. And it makes so much sense even to us adults, why we might want to be superman and superwoman. Have you ever noticed how in the superhero movies, they never show the weaknesses of these superheroes? Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re always the brave, strong and knowing ones who always, always come through. Also notice how, if at all, they show us a hint of weakness, it is in or related to their love life! From Superman to Spiderman to even Wonder woman. Everybodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s love life always brings out their weakness. I find it really funny. We read of Nehemiah today and see that Nehemiah mirrors what a diligent man is, what truly the Bible speaks of when it talks about a leader. But in all his splendour, we see that Nehemiah does not deny the weakness of himself and that of the people he was leading to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. In chapters 3 - 5, Nehemiah speaks of himself and the people and how they were working to achieve this feat while also protecting themselves from the opposition. In acknowledging their weakness, what we see Nehemiah doing, is giving God room to be glorified, in speaking out about the areas they lacked and needed superpowers. He showed us that even at their best, they still needed help in some areas. Christianity is not your license to be strength itself, not even the strongest. It is not telling you to renounce or hide weakness, and it is definitely not asking you to shield yourself to accommodate people around you. It is more of a call to use those supposed weaknesses to the glory of God. To ride on the wings of the one true Superhero.

Reflection: Do I often find myself hiding weaknesses in order to appear strong?

228

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

High Standards? JOHN 3:1-3, ROMANS 8:13

DAY

215

s there really such a thing as having standards that are ‘too high’? I have had numerous conversations with ladies and gentlemen in our generation, and all too often I hear someone say that one of the problems with ladies in this generation is that “their standards are too high”. Let’s backtrack even, do you have standards? When it comes to friendships as well as relationships? Because we tend to focus just on relationships when it comes to the talk on standards, and we forget that friendships are just as important to our growth. By standards, we mean, are there attributes or characteristics you’re looking out for in a person that might qualify them to be ‘potential’ for you? Don’t automatically think about the physical, please. I am not trying to be annoying right now, but truthfully, a lot of women in our generation would have chosen The Nicodemus over The Jesus in the Bible if it came to choosing either to get in a relationship with, based on the standards we hold now. Nicodemus was this rich member of the Sanhedrin, that I think was handsome, and Jesus is the Saviour of the world who lived His life per moment. Am I saying standards are wrong or shouldn’t be high? Not at all! As a matter of fact, I am an avid supporter of having standards for any and everything. Jesus is a standard for us as believers. Standards help us not to settle, but here’s the caveat though, your standards cannot, and should not be based or affiliated with superficial things. We cannot judge a person based on things that won’t matter in eternity. I know we are human beings with personal preferences, but we would usually adopt those preferences that best appeal to our flesh and our convenience, and the Bible tells us that ‘to live by the flesh is death’. Our flesh and self preferences cannot drive us into something as spiritual as marriage. We must remember that “God is not committed to making a person into what you want, He’s committed to making people into who He wants them to be”.

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

229

The solution I discovered to this is to think eternity, think Kingdom, think lasting, think godly. A lot of things are completely eliminated when we see that they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t tally with what God would also look for in a person.

Reflection: What are the inconsequential things in my standards book?

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FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

You’re Not My Kind of Christian

DAY

216

JOHN 10:1-16, 1 CORINTHIANS 7:19

n our text today, God was addressing the Pharisees directly. Those people couldn’t get the simplest teachings of the Kingdom of God. Their religiosity blocked them a whole lot from revelation. In the whole chapter, God is speaking of sheep that know, hear and obey the shepherd’s voice. After that, He states that He has sheep that are not of this sheep pen, but He will bring them also, and they will listen to His voice, and we all will be one flock, and there will be one Shepherd. Who are these other sheep that are not of this sheep pen? Let us bring it back from Jesus’ time and then relate it to our own time, so bear with me if you cannot relate with the reality from His time. I realise that we are the ‘millennials and ‘Gen Z’. Now, remember that the Jews in Jesus’ time were the ones thought to be the Holy people, seeing as Jesus was one of them and also that His genealogy is entirely Jewish. People were so convinced that the Jews were the chosen people, like the Israelite’s, to the point where, even Peter, one of Jesus’ besties, deemed anyone who was not ‘Jewish’ as unclean. Up until Jesus cleared that misconception in a trance where He said that nothing is unclean in His eyes. Anyone among the Jews then who believed, will be in that ‘sheep pen’. They had all grown together in the same culture, practising the same traditions and being taught the same things in their synagogues, so they could definitely identify with each other and relate even better together. As Jesus began to challenge the belief of the people then, that the Jews are not the only ones He came to save, they didn’t understand it. They could not understand how Jesus could want to save such an unclean bunch, like the Samaritans, the Gentiles, the Philistines, or the people from all other places that didn’t practice the exact same Jewish tradition.

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But as we see, it took time, angel visitations, trances and dreams to get this message across. Jesus says that “I have come for anyone who just believes”. Jewish or not Jewish. Any other person who believed that was not Jewish, can be referred to as ‘sheep from another pen’, which Jesus says will listen to His voice, and we together, will be one flock.

Reflection: How do I perceive people who are Christians but are not like me whether physically or otherwise?

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“The Devil You Know…” 2 CORINTHIANS 12:8-10, ISAIAH 40:29-31

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was recently reminded about how my best feelings are those of insufficiency and inadequacy. Please don’t judge me yet. You see, contrary to what the devil intends to use those feelings for, it ends up being times when I am reminded of my weaknesses and need God’s strength. Really, it is a reminder that I am human and in need of some supernatural ability, Grace. It is also the greatest joy to know that God is not man, and while man is capable of judging just the physical, God is able to see it all. The devil’s biggest weapon is guilt and shame, and this is mostly because it is easy to get a human webbed there, it is also one involving the mind and will, which are the devil’s targets to sow his work. He uses our conscience against us if we let him, he tries to make us feel less than who God has made us to be and tell us all that we are not, all in an attempt to derail us from the course God has placed us on. We will get stuff right, we will also make mistakes, we will feel shame and pain, we might also do the exact thing we said we wouldn’t, but in all, God remains the same and stays there with arms wide open. The next time you feel like you have failed, or lost a mark, or a bit inadequate or insufficient, let it be a reminder of the winning, accurate, adequate and sufficient God we serve. Don’t worry about the humans who only see the falling as well, they’ll come around. Your own is to be in right standing with God.

Reflection: Do I allow the devil to use guilt and shame to stop God’s work in me?

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“… Is Better Than the Devil You Don’t Know” ISAIAH 26:3-4, PSALM 37:5

ow true is this statement? Is the devil we know really better than the devil we don’t know? I heard it for the first time in a movie where a mother was attempting to convince her daughter to marry a man who she had been with for 5 years but used to verbally abuse her, over a man who she recently met at work and had known only for a few weeks. Somehow, her mom sold her the idea that the man who verbally abused her but still loved her, was far better than the new chap who she was yet to know more about. Subsequently, I heard it more, both in movies and real life, and I am tempted to believe that some of us actually harbour that thought in our hearts and heads. But this saying is the biggest motivator of mediocrity and a huge opposing force to faith. It tells you to stick with what is familiar over trying to see something that might be better, just because there’s also the probability that it might be worse. So we encourage people and even ourselves to stick with the one we know. Faith gives us the ability to believe and hope for the impossible, and believe with all our hearts that, that impossible is so much better than the present. So when we encourage ourselves with sayings like this, we encourage ourselves to settle, to be ‘content’ in ‘this one’, so it does not get worse in our attempt to leave ‘this one’. ‘This one’ will vary with person and situation. We all know ‘the ones’. The devil, from our topic yesterday, uses this sometimes as well, to keep us from moving to places God has prepared for us. He fills us with fear of the future and fear of the unknown, and because we allow that fear to settle in us, we cease to move until we see the entire picture, which half the time will never happen. Faith moves without seeing the whole picture, but what makes it faith is that it has come in response to a Word from God. They work hand in hand. The next time you hear this statement, or even by yourself think it, I want you to actually bind it! You’re not called to mediocrity! You’re here for so much more! Trust God and move as His Spirit guides you!

Reflection: Are there things in my life I have settled for just because they are familiar to me?

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Hello from the Other Side HEBREWS 12:1, JEREMIAH 29:11

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219

levation Church Lead Pastor, Steve Furtick, sat with T.D Jakes in an informal interview where they talked on ‘Building your vision from the ground up’. In the interview with Steve, T.D Jakes makes a bold claim, saying that “Most CEO’s and Business executives know very well that the problem is not where we are going, or what we want to achieve. The problem is usually what we are willing to drop in order to get to that place”. Seeing as we get to parts of the year where those who make resolutions make them, those who set goals set them and those who merely live by chance, somewhere within themselves, also make decisions, I think it is worth considering this statement to understand the battle we’re really fighting. If you look at a lot of resolutions and goals, you will see that they are all the ‘will do’s’ and ‘will be’s’. They are actions we hope to put in place in order to achieve whatever it is we have set in our minds as the goal. However, T.D. Jakes is claiming that answering these questions don’t really empower us with what we need to achieve the set goals, but he challenges us to identify the things/people we are willing to let go of in order to make it to that desired goal. I started balancing the things I plan to do, the places I plan to visit and the people I plan to meet while also focusing my mind on the things I must not do, the places I must not go and the people I must not entertain. It is a phenomenon in mathematics called logical equivalence, instead of directly attacking what you need to do, start by identifying the things you DON’T need to do. I think it is an absolutely exciting exercise for anyone who will be truthful doing it, as it stops you from seeing possibility on just one side and opens you to the possibilities on the other side as well. For a lot of us, the coming year should not be the year of ‘will’s’ and ‘do’s’, it should be more of ‘will not’s’ and ‘don’t’s’. I hope with everything in me that you identify clearly all those habits, people and things hindering you from being your best self, as the faster we drop those things, the closer we get to those goals!

Reflection: What are things in my life I need to stop doing? Places I need to stop going to and people I need to stop seeing?

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Godly Relationships

220

PHILIPPIANS 2:2-3, 1 THESSALONIANS 3:12

“N

ot every deep relationship needs to be romantic”.

For us as Christians, most, if not all our relationships are deep, so it amplifies more the accuracy of the statement above. God never mirrored shallow, depth-less relationships, and even when He just met a new person, there was really no shallowness. Take the Samaritan woman at the well for example, He met her and immediately reached depths with her as a result of His personal interaction with the Holy Spirit, which gave Him insight to even her past. Here’s why we cannot even have shallow relationships; we have to be able to connect with people on a personal level. Jesus spoke to people about their past, He healed people of their diseases and illness of the moment, He saved a woman from being stoned to death in the moment, and He also provided wine in a wedding where the wine had run out. Do you notice how unique and personal each of these are? Even if you wanted to look at the times when people in their masses received salvation, it was only because they had heard Jesus say something that was personal to them and as such, they believed! This is why we cannot entertain shallowness. It keeps us from reaching the depth of a person and that is what Jesus is after. We must now approach the question of what happens if all our relationships are deep? Does it mean that our romantic relationship would emerge from one of our deep friendships? Well, I honestly don’t know, but here is what I know. As Christians, we operate beyond the physical, the emotional and even the psychological, we’re moved and led by the Spirit of God in us bearing witness with our own Spirit. So even when we have all the deep relationships in the world, when the time for romance or an eros relationship comes, the Holy Spirit is also there to guide us. He never leaves us thinking and turning on ‘who to pick’ or ‘where to go’. He comes with a precision that transcends human calculation and logic, so dear Christian, don’t be scared of building relationships beyond the surface. It does not stop you from identifying the bone of your bone and flesh of your flesh, contrary to popular opinion.

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However, hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the caveat, for some people, this can be a defence mechanism against sexual immorality and sin and as such, if it is, please carry on in your shallow relationships until youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re strong enough to handle deep without pushing for eros unless led by God.

Reflection: Do I find myself looking out for romance in every connection I have with people?

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DAY

Idol Worshippers Like Us

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PSALM 139: 23-24, LUKE 4:8

read a book once by Gbile Akanni. He was writing about Abraham and Isaac, and He opened my eyes to see that in getting Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, God was also weaning Abraham from Isaac. After waiting the number of years Abraham waited for the promise, it was easy to idolise Isaac as soon as He came, but to Abraham, it might have seemed like he was merely ‘treasuring that which God had given him’. But God saw his heart, God saw where He was placed and where Abraham had placed Isaac and so, beyond the numerous lessons we get from that story, it also teaches us one of weaning. How God dethrones the things and people we enthrone above Him in our hearts. Theologians, philosophers and scientists daily make discoveries that remind us that the human man naturally, is an idol worshipper. We were created with a void that science always tries to explain to mean something else, but really this void is one only the creator can fill. As a result of this void, we are daily searching out what or who to fill it and as such, we make idols out of things, people, desires and plans and we don’t even realise we’re doing this until we get to dead ends and realise that ‘This thing/This person has not really satisfied me’. Idol worship doesn’t always look like you bowing down to a carved image, it isn’t also you kneeling and praying to some objects and images. It could be the smallest thing or the relationship you least expect. This is why the Bible admonishes us to always search and evaluate ourselves, and it is why David’s prayer to God remains gold, where he said: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:2324) Until we realise that only Jesus can fill the void we have, we will remain idol worshippers by nature.

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I am trusting God to open your eyes to all the things and people youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve placed above Him, to the things and people whose opinions come before Gods and to the things and people who get your heart before God does. Idol worship in the 21st century takes a camouflage and chameleon view that we must identify and work against, and the only way to do this is by identifying the only One that can fill that void because once it is filled, it is easy to recognise the counterfeits.

Reflection: What/who do I worship that is not God?

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The Best Love Story

DAY

222

REVELATIONS 19:7-8, JOHN 3:16

here is an unpopular belief that the Bible can be summarised to be A story of A Father who seeks a Bride for His Son.

It’s mostly unpopular because some people consider it blasphemous and others just can’t handle reducing the potency of that book to this cheesy summary. In my years of reading and feasting on this Bible, daily, my eyes are open to see the truth in the summary described above. My Spirit is also completely at peace writing this to open our eyes to see it this way, or those who have completely misunderstood it. We know already that a summary is a concise, filtered excerpt of a larger text that attempts to present the main points in the text. It is a wonder that we are able to summarise the Bible, with all its books, chapters and verses to just 12 words. I need not remind you of how significant 12 is in the Bible. This might or might not be correlated, but it got me excited! God came, created a perfect world, placed His perfect creatures in His presence with divine laws and instructions. The devil deceived His highest creature into believing that they were deceived of God, and they believed and fell, and sin came into the world. It went downhill from there. Sin made God’s highest creature a slave. They became self-sufficient and forgot their creator. The best Lover was pained, it was an interruption to His plan, not a termination of it, so in His omniscience, He decided to send help, send an atonement, send New Life. So of all the options to send, He decided ‘My Son’. So He sent Jesus, who came and died to save you and I. The Love story Began. Sending Jesus was really a risk. There was no certainty that we would accept it, neither was there a hint of assurance that we will give our lives to HIM. But as love always does, hopes and believes the best, He still came and died. Without any collateral. Anything to hold on to. Daily, God is seeking out brides who will come to His son. When next you’re reading the Bible, ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to this pattern. To see how daily The Father(God) seeks A Bride (You) for His Son (Jesus). Oh, what a delight it is to be THE BRIDE OF CHRIST!

Reflection: Do I remember my identity as the bride of Christ?

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Focused on the Kingdom MATTHEW 5:14, MATTHEW 5:13

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223

want to tell you two things that God calls you. You might already know but I am here as a reminder too.

God says that you are: The light of the world, and The salt of the earth. You need to understand that what God means by calling you these things is that you have no chance of being hidden. Light cannot hide and salt cannot be tasteless. It is the nature of light to shine and the nature of salt to give flavour, so there you have it, you have zero chances of being ‘unknown’! You are known by God. The world does not need to know and celebrate you before you realise this. In your little ways, you can fulfill the purpose and leave this world content that you have done what you have been put on earth to do. There is something that focus does to a person. Focus blinds you and I know that doesn’t sound right but focusing on something blinds you to every other thing around it.

Reflection: What am I focusing on?

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DAY

Spoiler God

224

MARK 10:17-27, ROMANS 8:28

o you think that God sometimes might be a spoiler? Or a bit negative?, seeing as some people are scared to ask God’s plan on certain things because they fear He might respond in the one way they don’t want to go. Take for example, the rich man in our reading today who sought validation, asking Jesus what must be done to be saved. After Jesus answered and He was validated, Jesus then advised him to go and sell all his possessions and give to the poor, and as we see, this one threw him off guard because it was the crux of his desires. Often times, it’s same with us, we think God to be the person who wants to take away all the good things and experiences in our life just so we can focus and love Him wholly, we think He is watching closely for anything that brings us more-thanis-needed pleasure so He can come and demand it of us, and as such, we are scared sometimes to ask His opinion on certain aspects of our life. An interesting story that always pops up among Christians is that of Abraham and Isaac. People are often perplexed as to why God requested Isaac be sacrificed even when He knew already that Abraham trusted Him completely and had waited so long for that promise. Why did God still need to set that test for Him? Did He want to cut His joy short? Or maybe create a plot twist in the original plan? These are questions people are sometimes tossing around internally. Here’s a summarised answer. God was never after Isaac; He was after Abraham’s heart. The whole ordeal was not in any way about Isaac, it was all about Abraham’s heart. The same is with us, all the things and people we feel we are ‘protecting’ from God are the least of God’s problems, all He’s after is you, and if those things need to go to get to you, they will. ‘You’ are all that matters to God. Not the Work or the possession or even the career. And it makes so much sense because when He has us, He has a direct link to all those other things in our reach. He isn’t trying to be the spoiler, as a matter of fact, He’s trying to be the beautifier, the Good father, the meticulous potter and the careful creator. When we grasp how much we mean to God, it will make so much sense to us why sometimes He allows certain things to go just so we can see Him clearly.

Reflection: Do I view God as a spoiler God sometimes?

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The Blessing Around You ROMANS 5:3-4, MATTHEW 13:16

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225

was on a little road trip recently, it was beautiful, I slept almost the entire time.

While enjoying my peaceful sleep, my head started to bang hard against the window and I woke up abruptly. I looked around and found that we were on a tiny bumpy road. I could not sleep again. The movement of the car was too much to allow something as peaceful and comfortable as sleep. I looked out the window, it was like a small village, I made mental notes of trees, shops and just the entire environment. I was glad I was awake to see those parts. While I was meditating on the experience later that night. CS lewis words came to mind; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pain and discomfort is a megaphone calling for us to pay more attentionâ&#x20AC;?. It made perfect sense. While on a smooth road, I was so comfortable that I slept and was blind to all that I could see on the way as well as the conversations in the car. As soon as we hit a bumpy road, I became aware of my surroundings, both of nature and the people, inside and outside the car. Comfort lowkey is a thief and maybe sometimes it is good that God allows us a bit of discomfort so we can see and hear even more than we would have if we were too comfortable. My sleep was beautiful, but it was also beautiful that I heard, saw and learnt all that I did while awake on the bumpy road. Embrace bumpy road seasons. They are saving you from all comfort robs you of.

Reflection: What is God teaching me in this bumpy road season?

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226

Wick Determines Direction ROMANS 12:11-21, PSALM 39:3

sat watching a candle burn recently, I noticed the fire and melting wax moving in a weird direction. Rather than straight down, it was spiral. I think it was the design of the candle. It was really aesthetically pleasing. As I observed the spiral way it burned, it occurred to me that the fire burnt in the direction of the wick. The candle wax melted spirally because the wick had been positioned spirally. The Holy Spirit whispered to me that “The wick determines how the fire burns”, Rubie was there like, “oh nice!”. Then it hit me! We (the wick) determine how God (the fire) burns in us. If the wick gave the fire permission to burn in a certain direction, it means We permit God to burn in us a certain way by how we position ourselves. We can’t assume that because He’s fire, He will consume without permission. He’s designed the system in such a way that even though fire can consume wick at will, the wick still grants permission by its positioning. Fire goes out when the wick finishes in a candle. Once yielding, availing and surrendering stop, fire goes out.

Reflection: Have I positioned myself for God’s fire to burn in me?

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God and Good, Good and God

DAY

227

HEBREWS 13:5, PHILIPPIANS 1:6

ost times, people only believe that God is not in something when it goes horribly wrong. When things are moving smoothly, we tend to believe that it is so only because God is all for it and we forget sometimes that the only evidence of God’s approval is Himself, not even the degree of awesomeness something or someone is. The Spirit of God is the only one who can judge something as God’s will and not just how we feel about it. I shared something with a friend about a time in my life where something came and it was a testimony in the mouth of my family and I, but this was not God’s will as amazing and as beneficial as it seemed, and the closer it got to the thing, the more weary we began to sense God’s rejection of it before we finally came to the place of surrender where it was apparent that however testimonial it seemed, God was not in it. Things could be going perfectly fine sometimes, but don’t conclude that the smoothness is God’s approval. C S Lewis explains pain to be a megaphone that God uses sometimes to get our attention, and it makes so much sense because until there is discomfort, some people don’t feel a need to turn to God. We need to make it a point of necessity to always enquire God’s will about any and everything no matter what package it comes in and how beneficial it might seem to us. After God had spoken to Samuel and told him that He had rejected Saul as king, did anyone notice how Saul carried on living his normal life? He didn’t just drop dead, or start to experience bad occurrences. No, life moved on as normal, and it was only God’s way of preparing David for the throne because David had to learn the culture of that earthly kingdom by simply just being the harp player for Saul when demons began to torment him. The only evidence you need to know that God is in something is His Spirit bearing witness with your own spirit, anything other than that could be good but not be God. Everything might seem perfect in your life at the moment, but still, let’s enquire of God and hear His opinion on the perfectness of the times you’re in.

Reflection: Do I judge everything that makes me happy as God’s will?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

245

Sincerity in Pain

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228

ISAIAH 53:4, 1 PETER 5:7

y best times of prayer and worship have been when I have sat and cried without any ability to make words of what I was feeling, sometimes, this feeling could be one of admiration and worship, and other times, it could be pure pain and hurt. Unpopular opinion: Pain is a necessity for growth. In the absence of pain, one doesn’t possess sufficient feelings of inconvenience to see that it is time to grow. When you were younger, I imagine you had favourite shoes which you loved, and as you grew, you must have realised that one day suddenly, you had discomfort wearing them, why? Because your feet had outgrown the capacity of the shoe and it was the universe’s way of telling you ‘Hey, you’ve grown, get new shoes to accommodate the growth’. Without the pain from the inconvenience, you’ll be unable to even notice and acknowledge your growth. So yes, pain is a necessary evil. C.S Lewis actually calls it a megaphone of God, how God sometimes uses it to grab our attention. And let’s not even lie, it actually works. When the pain comes though, what’s our reaction? Where’s our hiding place? Who’s our run-to person? Most people end up back at God’s feet only after they’ve mentally resolved the pain or found a way to deal with it, or they even appear before God first truly but being very passive about it like God can’t relate completely with it. Today, let’s destroy every thought that exalts itself to say that God cannot relate with or understand our pain. God is not our parent who sometimes worries when they find that we’re in pain. He’s also not the mean person who tells you “Stop exaggerating the pain”. He is capable of feeling it to the level you feel it and relating with you on that same level. We have to learn to be sincere with God about our pain. We need to know that God will not see it as blasphemous if we came to Him with questions about our pain, we need to understand that His being God does not hinder Him from relating with us even at the level of pain. This brings a whole new level of liberty! It allows you to enter that presence, come rain or sunshine, with the tears of joy, as well as the tears of pain, Knowing He’s a Father that can handle every emotion we are capable of feeling. So please, please, let’s not short change ourselves by downplaying or out-rightly eliminating our expression of pain in our relationship with God.

Reflection: Do I see God as One capable of bearing my pain?

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Your Best Version 1 JOHN 3:2, MALACHI 3:3

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229

sat and realised how in the best version of Rubie, I will look like Jesus. In my best idea of success, it will be how I have used my impact and influence to contribute to the kingdom, and then I realised how this world is what corrupts us into believing that there’s more to it, that it is a lot more complicated than we think it is when it is really not. At any point in your life when you look in a mirror and see an image of Jesus, that’s all, game over, the work is complete! So really, since we know what our best version looks like already in the revealed word (The Bible), why do we go about fantasising about some rock and roll version of ourselves in one random place in the Caribbeans sipping on a peach-flavoured Chapman? None of these imaginations will be wrong in their context, but it will be wrong to imagine them as the best version of yourself because you already have a picture of what the best version of you should look like. Jesus. If we also see results from patterns and principles in the Bible, aren’t those what they call ‘tips’ or ‘cheats’ in games that help make steps easier for you? The patterns and principles we see in the Bible are exactly those, (although I would rather we called them tips than cheats). They are there to show and tell you all the options available as well as the paths leading to the result of each option. What else are we looking for? Do you realise how much more simply this could make our lives? Realising that we know already what we should look like in the best versions of ourselves and we have been handed case studies of different paths to different destinations, on top, given the free will to choose the path to take. This is why Bible reading is not a debate for any person wanting to grow spiritually. Let’s pick up this book, together with the Holy Spirit at work in us and walk into what we already know is our best version. All the cute vacation imaginations in our heads are valid, but they are not the best version of you however close it comes.

Reflection: How much of my best version is formed in me?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

247

Different Excitements

DAY

230

ISAIAH 9:3, ROMANS 15:13

e might all be able to testify of an excitement that comes when we start talking to someone who gets us, like just conversing with someone who you seem to have a lot of similar interests with, this is normal and it is natural. As time goes on, it is also normal and natural that the excitement changes, not that it dwindles, it is just not the temporary excitement of the new possibility of the friendship at the beginning but the excitement of just having the person as a friend, and if you ask married people, I think they explain it best. How the dating phase is not the same as marriage, not that it is worse or better, but the excitement that comes in the suspense and the potential that they just see at the dating phase isn’t the same in marriage because there isn’t that suspense anymore, it becomes excitement in another way. Our generation wants to keep the initial excitement at the inception of something till the end of the thing. They don’t want to imagine that anything could or should change that excitement and so when the initial excitement is overshadowed by the new source of excitement, rather than embracing it, we pick it up as a red flag and look at it as a problem rather than a blessing that it could be. It happens with ideas too, people are so excited when new ideas come, but as execution gets into full swing, because the first excitement isn’t there, they begin to question the ideas and motivations. The same principle is also seen in our natural world. The oceans don’t always flow the same way; the flow sometimes is dependent on external factors, but never the content of the water. No flow is better than the other because the content remains the same really, just newness of flow every now and then. When there are changes in our relationships, both eros and friendships, I think we need to be more understanding and sensitive to the changes and not just interpret it as something bad, not in any way neglecting the fact that there really might be other issues surrounding someone’s withdrawal, but so long as there hasn’t been any change in the content of your thoughts towards someone, do not use the flow of the relationship to judge it in its entirety. Recognise the phases and trust the flow.

Reflection: Do I lose interest in people and things once the initial excitement dwindles?

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“Do It Afraid” 2 TIMOTHY 1:7, ISAIAH 41:10

DAY

231

here’s a popular saying to ‘do it afraid’. It is very widely accepted amongst people who just want to push and encourage you to do whatever it is you want to set out to do. More often than not, it comes from a place of pure intentions and I think the subject also gets the message, however, is it right to actually ‘Do it afraid’? Is it biblical to do it afraid? Setting out to start anything new is daunting, it’s never really a walk in the park because most times, there are levels of uncertainty. I wanted to take our minds back to the time when God called Abraham to leave his father’s country and people and ‘go to the land which He (God) will show him’. I don’t know if I’ve ever come across a more daunting and adventurous command like this. What makes it all the more scary is how he was the first man God spoke to after Adam as recorded in the Bible. So Abraham really did not have anyone to run this by, he couldn’t say, “I’ll have a meeting with so and so to get an opinion and weigh my options”, he literally picked up His things and ‘went’, as the Bible records. My spirit tells me that Abraham moved fearlessly and in boldness that God said what He said. At that point, he was not even considering all the ‘might happens’ or ‘could happens’, he had firmly set himself up in the word that God had spoken to him and he moved. I began to ask myself what it would have looked like if Abraham ‘did it afraid’. I reckoned that he would have made plan B’s, advised the people staying back that he would return later and maybe even gone without Sarah to see first if God delivers before dragging her into it. He would not have obeyed to the degree he did if he was moving in fear. Whether or not we are conscious of it, when we do things in fear, we leave a small room of doubt within us, a small room of ‘what if’, a small room of ‘just in case this doesn’t work’ and this small room left is now manifested in our execution of whatever it is we’re out to do. The results of a totally surrendered and trusting heart will always exceed that of the heart doing it in fear.

Reflection: Do I trust that God’s love can conquer every fear?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

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DAY

232

Living Above Temptations I 1 CORINTHIANS 10:13, ACTS 6:4

ere are some practical ways to live above temptations:

1) Talk to God about them: It is always worth talking to God about our temptations. I am not even saying praying “oh God help me not to fall into temptation”, I mean like mentioning whatever they are and telling God to help you live above them. Determination is never enough for the human flesh, our human flesh bows to our temptations no matter the level of determination we have, so it’s more of a spiritual thing. If we’re empowered in the spirit, it also helps us physically. So mention the temptations to God. 2) Set times for Bible study and Prayer: Have a set time for bible study and prayer, whether first thing in the morning or after work when you get home, but the more frequent and exact it is, the more you’ll look forward to it. We can’t downplay the importance of bible study if we want to walk in step with the Spirit of God. I don’t know how often you read the bible and pray right now, but I advise making it more frequently and at a particular time. If God gets used to hearing your voice in that time, He’ll always be ready for you when you appear before Him in that time. 3) Be mindful of your association: I learnt this late even, and it’s the most practical of all the steps. You have to be mindful of your association and the people around you. As Odeshi (immune) as we think we are to peer pressure, it sips into our subconscious and we actually find ourselves compromising in areas we used to be determined before. So have people who will actually push your spiritual walk with God and not demean it. The right people around you bring out the good things in you. If you’re exposed too much to someone who encourages your temptation, you’ll keep falling. We will focus on two more tomorrow.

Reflection: Do I talk to God honestly about my temptations? Am I consistent in spending time with God? What does the association I keep say about me?

250

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Living Above Temptations II 1 CORINTHIANS 10:13, ACTS 6:4

DAY

233

esterday we started looking at practical ways to live above temptation. Today we will conclude with two other important ways because temptation will always come. As holy and as set apart as Jesus was, the Bible tells us that the devil tempted Him in the wilderness. There is no level we will grow to in God that will immune us from temptation. We can get immune to falling but not to being tempted. So here are 2 other practical ways to live above temptation: 4) Find hobbies that keep you occupied: Find hobbies and things that will keep your mind from being idle. I don’t know what you enjoy asides your daily job, but I think it’s worth picking up a few hobbies that’ll keep you occupied. For me, it’s reading and writing. And it helps so much because asides the time I actually leave out for meditation, I hardly have “free” time. It is usually in free times that our temptations jump on us, so we can minimise that occurrence by giving ourselves to more beneficial things, so start exploring your hobbies and see what you can pick up. And don’t let your hobbies be watching TV, please. 5) Remember always that Jesus has been in same shoes: Finally, it always helps when we remember that the Bible says that “we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet He did not sin”, because the same way we are tempted is the same way He was tempted and He still overcame. So if human like us, He overcame, we also can. When you’re at those low points, just make a mental note to God and ask Him how He would’ve treated such a situation if He was in the same temptation and God will answer. He always speaks, and I find that He’s most happy when we’re honest and open about our temptations and struggles.

Reflection: Do I believe that Jesus has also been tempted in every way that I am being tempted?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

251

Dealing with Fear I

DAY

234

2 TIMOTHY 1:7, PSALM 23:4

ear is no respecter of person or position as you might have discovered. It is also very sneaky and can crawl up on you without you even realising it is there. There is another twisted part of fear, it actually gives its own motivation, but its motivation is usually to take the more familiar or easy way because you can tell the outcome, which really is not advisable for people committed to living and walking by the Spirit of God because most times, the Spirit of God will call us to the unknown and the daunting, and He expects us to step out in faith knowing Who has called us. We will look at 5 ways of dealing with fear between today and tomorrow, not in any particular order but depending on the situation. Important to also highlight that fear is never of God; it is not in God’s nature to make us fearful or timid. His word says ‘For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.’ - 2 Timothy 1:7. 1.

Do not deny it; confront it – We are human with histories and backgrounds. Sometimes our fears have grown from things we’ve experienced or heard. Some people are terrified of travelling by air because of plane crash news. Some are terrified of eating fish today because, in their childhood, they almost got choked to death by a fishbone. Some of these fears have been fed by occurrences in our past, and God doesn’t want us to deny them but confront them with prayer and His word.

Sometimes do exactly what seems to scare you - By personal experience, I also discovered that the devil uses fear to keep us from God’s promises. Sometimes spiritually, God calls us to people, places and things and fear stops us from launching out, but we have to be bold enough to trust the Word of God.

Reflection: In what ways have I allowed fear to limit me?

252

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Dealing with Fear II ROMANS 10:17, 2 TIMOTHY 1:7

DAY

235

esterday we started looking at ways of dealing with fear. Today we will continue with the other 3 ways that we should be dealing with fear when they arise in our hearts. 3.

Something has to be growing, so feed faith Something is always growing within you. It is either your faith or fear, so make it intentional always to be growing your faith by exposing yourself to the Word of God. When we feed our faith by seeing God’s work in the life of others, fear fades out because it has met with something more powerful than it.

Talk to people about what’s causing fear - Sometimes when we share fears with people, we lessen its power over us. Fear also takes the facade of guilt and shame sometimes, when you do something, because no one is aware, you move the rest of your life in fear just hoping no one finds out. In sharing that with someone able to handle it maturely and pray with you, you dismantle the power of guilt and shame in that fear. Confession has so much power, don’t ever let fear stop you from confessing.

Ultimately, remember whose you are before even who you are - A major trick I have used in my Christian journey is realising that I am empowered and backed up by God. My life is not normal or ordinary by the fact that the Holy Spirit lives within me. I think we Christians forget this sometimes because you cannot have the power that spoke creation into existence inside of you and still be running away from cockroaches (By the way I’m so guilty of this, I’m not a fan of insects at all). But hey, it is something we must daily remind ourselves of, that, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” - 1 John 4:4

If we’re intentional about these practical steps of dealing with fear, we’ll be more sensitive to recognise it when it comes around even.

Reflection: How would I tackle feelings of fear when they arise now?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

253

DAY

This ‘Thing’ Called Love

236

ROMANS 5:8, JOHN 15:13

totally understand why Jesus summed up the entire law in the love command. The 10 written commandments, together with all the other laws, offerings and sacrifices were just dealt with in one way. Love way. Recently, I got home feeling like I would literally break at any moment, like physically speaking, it was not even the activity of just that day. I think it was a compound effect of my sleep deprivation and limited rest in the days leading up, so I was really down. I was mentally getting ready to get up to pray when God just led me to read Psalm 139:16, and the tears just started flowing. This time it was not even about the feeling or situation of the moment, it was in response to realising my importance to the greatest being that could ever live and His undying love for me. I was trying to rush through that feeling so I could get into praying about the things bringing me concern, and I just sensed Him asking me to abide, to wait and get the fullness of it, but I was mentally struggling, like ‘God, there won’t be enough time to pray’, but he just kept saying to stay there. I obliged, and by the time I was finished, I lay across my bed with my head dangling at the side, my heart full and my peace restored. My fatigue had disappeared as well, and strength I could not understand came, but what blew me away was the assurance and nudge to go to bed. Everything was going to be fine. God used His love to sort out my pain, my fatigue and my concerns. He would rather I stayed there and enjoy His love than shout out my prayers to Him in tears. It doesn’t automatically mean ‘Don’t raise your requests to God in prayer’, but in that moment, and for this time, this was all He required, and I remain in awe. Let us be intentional in accepting God’s love. He gives it because He sees it is the solution, not a solution, the solution. Let love also be our solution to everyone and everything.

Reflection: How intentional am I of receiving and giving God’s love?

254

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Finding The 1 or Reducing the 99?

DAY

237

LUKE 15:1-7, LUKE 15:8-10

alking down the street this afternoon, I was thinking about the blacks and whites of life, how most human beings tend to see things this way and also classify people this way as well. Philosophers call the classification of anything into black or white as ‘false dichotomies’. Generally, this is how the human brain works. It takes a deliberate attempt and discipline to train it to begin to see things differently. We have been commissioned as believers to join the 99, looking for the lost 1. It is important to always stop and ask yourself if you really are doing that. In doing my own evaluation and assessment, I got a lot of light and realisations, and I want to encourage you reading to also get on this train. Assess the responsibility you’ve been given in looking for the lost 1. I wondered the link between these two thoughts as you might be thinking, and I heard the Holy Spirit tell me that it was a false dichotomy. That we were either actively finding the lost 1 or we were reducing the existing 99, and this reduction could either be you drifting away from the other 98, or you leading astray a 1 in the 99 and thus reducing the fold to 98. We’ve been commissioned and empowered to join the search party of the lost 1, not to fight amongst our 98 brothers/sisters or walk away and make the pack now begin searching for 2 and not 1 again.

Reflection: How seriously are we taking this responsibility?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

255

DAY

God’s Revelation of Himself to You

238

2 PETER 3:18, PHILIPPIANS 3:10

hat is your personal relationship with God like? Asides church on Sundays, mid-week services and occasionally stumbling into conversations with people on God’s goodness, do you really enjoy the relationship and the intimacy of it? There’s no point putting on a facade to appear like you do if you really don’t. I think God will be grateful if you came out clean and let Him know that it is a lot tougher than it should be to enjoy the intimacy of being a Christian, especially in this generation. If you truthfully don’t enjoy this faith-walk and see it more as a routine than an enjoyable relationship, God wants an appointment with you, and I don’t think you should take that for granted. Here’s why we must fully enjoy our relationship with God before we can attempt to showcase His love to the people around us. One morning after my devotion, I had one of those moments where I wanted to do something grand for God, I mean I always want to be and do something grand, but occasionally, I sense a prompting some days that something really big will happen, and usually, something big happens. That morning was one of such days, so I was praying that God should make me sensitive to the person He wants to use me to bless and “open my eyes and ears to see and hear the invincible and the inaudible”. (A prayer I think is always worth praying). And as I was praying waiting for an answer, a simple sentence came to me that said: “Today, I just want you to be to people who I am to you”. God was asking me to be to people who He is to me; that was the grand thing for that day and every other day really. Now, God cannot tell you to be to people who He is to you if He is not anything to you yet. If your spiritual growth hasn’t got to a level that you can clearly state who God is to you, it calls for deeper levels of intimacy and relationship, which God is always willing to have. The only reason I understand God’s reply to me to be to men who He is to me, is because I know who He is to me. If I didn’t know, He can’t give me such an answer because that will be Him asking me to be someone I myself don’t even understand.

Reflection: Who is God to me?

256

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

The Real Owner GENESIS 1:28, MATTHEW 21:33-42

DAY

239

e meet yet another “flash-in-flash-out” woman in the Bible - Moses’ Mother, Jochebed.

The only thing she is mentioned for is her bravery in placing Moses in a basket and letting him down in River Nile. But recently, I was led to read deeper about her, even though she appears only about 3 times in just one chapter of the Bible. After she had let Moses down in the river and he was found by Pharaoh’s daughter, the Bible records that Miriam wittily asked her if she could go call a Hebrew woman to nurse him because Pharaoh’s daughter had known right away that He was a child of the Hebrew people. She obliged, and Miriam went straight away to call his mother whom the Bible records nursed him till he grew to a certain point and then she went back to hand him back to pharaoh’s daughter who had been paying her to nurse her new son. I couldn’t fathom this honestly, she had reunited with her baby after the very gruesome parting which had to happen out of option and not by choice, and after the divine reunion, she had to take him back and present him to his new mother who just found him in a river. And I began to think, she recognised that she had done her own part! The baby had lived, she had even nursed him to a certain age, and now she needed to present him back to Pharaoh’s daughter. Imagine if she allowed her emotions to stop her from giving him back, if she had been so emotionally attached to the point where she revealed the truth of how Moses got to the palace. How dramatic and bloody that scene would’ve played out! There was a divine purpose for Moses, and her part in the plan of getting him to live to fulfil it was done.

Reflection: How hard is it for us to walk away from things God has finished working on in our hands and is now wanting to move to the next stage even when we’re the ones who’ve birth it?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

257

DAY

Is It You or Me? I

240

ROMANS 8:1, 1 THESSALONIANS 3:8

y God’s grace, I have been and still going through the phase of recognising acutely the voice of the Holy Spirit in me and knowing when it is just my thoughts or mind speaking to me, and I know how a lot of Christians struggle with differentiating the two. So we are going to look at 5 ways of knowing the difference between the Holy Spirit and your mind over the next 2 days. 1.

The word/voice/nudge is not accusing or condemning The Holy Spirit never, and I mean, never comes in an accusatory or condemning tone or voice. As a matter of fact, the Bible tells us explicitly of an accuser who constantly stands, laying accusations on us. When you hear or sense voices in your spirit that come in an accusatory, condescending or condemning manner, it can never be the Holy Spirit, but our mind condemns us sometimes by its nature.

The word/voice/nudge is liberating and assuring The Bible says that whoever the Son of man sets free is free indeed! Often when the Holy Spirit brings words to us, we feel a certain freedom, a certain assurance on whatever it is that has been spoken, and this sense is not merely one of just our mind, it is our whole being responding to something from our spirit, because that is where He drops it, the spirit, before it bursts through to the rest of our being.

It stands consistent with the Word of God The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the word. He echoes what the word says and so, sometimes, when you get some thoughts and words that stand well in contrast to what the Bible says, it’s a red flag to investigate further and see the source of that word. Sometimes, subconsciously, we motivate ourselves to do certain things and say certain things, convincing ourselves it is God, but we know better because whatever it is isn’t even consistent with God’s word.

Reflection: How do I differentiate between my mind and the voice of the Holy Spirit?

258

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Is It You or Me? II ROMANS 8:1, 1 THESSALONIANS 3:8

DAY

241

esterday we started looking at ways to differentiate between our voices and that of the Holy Spirit. Today we will look at 2 other ways that will help us recognise the voice of the Holy Spirit in us.

4. It brings wisdom, knowledge and light that you’re not capable of producing We all know ourselves, or at least I personally know myself. So sometimes, when the Holy Spirit speaks certain things to me, I find myself screaming “Jesus”, because my mind doesn’t even have the capacity to ‘invent’ such wisdom or knowledge. The Holy Spirit always comes with divine wisdom on what is being meditated upon. The Holy Spirit won’t invent scenarios and examples for you if you’re not focusing your mind on something that could edify you. I am personally so conscious of the Holy Spirit to the point where, in every single thing I am doing, I am consciously asking the Holy Spirit ‘Do you want to teach me anything from this?’ Sometimes I get an instant response and other times after I might have left the place or things and even resting, He just brings back a reminder of it and further breaks it down. It is like we give Him raw materials to work on by the things we feed our spirit. 5.

It brings peace and joy As a writer, one of the confirmations I get on whatever God delivers to my Spirit is peace and joy. He accompanies it with the word as an assurance that ‘This has come from me, and it would bring you and every reader or hearer peace and joy’.

Ultimately, it is to be able to recognise the Holy Spirit’s voice. Anything that is frequent breeds familiarity. Our frequency with spending time with Him and in hearing His voice builds the confidence we need to know Him whenever He speaks.

Reflection: How often do I recognise God’s voice and leading in my life?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

259

DAY

The Human Butterflies I

242

ROMANS 12:2, 2 CORINTHIANS 1:4

totally believe when people speak of the ‘transformative power’ that lies in the gospel. Until you have been changed, I don’t believe you have experienced the ‘hit’ of the gospel, because that’s the purpose of knowledge, to bring change, and the purpose of the gospel is positive change, not just change. The kind where you’re stripped of self and are daily being moulded to resemble Christ who is the ‘First begotten’ and not ‘Only begotten’ anymore by what He did on the cross. It is always a work of inside-out, never outside-in, because the gospel aims for the core of us and not just the do’s and don’ts. It is more concerned about the root than the fruits and that explains why I usually have a little problem with stewards of the word who attack the fruits and not the root. I also usually say to people often willing to stop bad habits, never to attempt doing it by themselves because it will not work. Will-power won’t betray itself. But the Spirit of God remains supreme to will-power, so rather than attempting doing it by yourself, hand that will to the Spirit of God within you and watch Him bring the never-going-back change that only He can produce. He works step by step, there’s no magic about it because the transformation He allows us to experience prepares us to also administer to other people who go through the same issues. Paul put it like this: “He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” (2 Corinthians 1:4) So if you’re struggling with stopping any habit or trait in your life that you have identified as limiting and toxic, don’t just wake up and say ‘Today, I will not do this and this’, ask the Holy Spirit to empower you against whatever it is, because by Jesus’ death on the cross, we are no longer slaves to sin.

Reflection: Do I seek the Holy Spirit to overcome bad habits?

260

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

The Human Butterflies II ROMANS 12:2, 2 CORINTHIANS 1:4

DAY

243

daily see the Holy Spirit breaking ‘self’ in my life and honestly, it remains my biggest testimony because everything that limits and causes me to stumble is in self, so my daily prayer is “God please save me from myself”. I can’t begin to tell you what the answers to this prayer have done for me. Recently again, I was reminded. Coming back from church, normally I would get home and get prepared for the coming week and all, but the Holy Spirit just dropped names in my heart, and when I finally settled down to understanding these names, I realised it was the people who would usually be in church that were not in church. So the instruction was simple ‘message them and check they’re okay’. Despite stalling, I finally got to doing it, and as I did it, God took me to realise that I could only do this by His power because if left to me, I won’t be too bothered about who turned up and didn’t turn up to church, so He was breaking self-centeredness in self and honestly, it felt so good! Fast forward to the next morning, I got a notification of a follow on my Instagram and opened it up to see who it was and after a few scrolls over the person’s page, I realised I didn’t appreciate their use of profanity in captions, as well as their approach to loads of things which was evident in the captions, and I mentally decided I couldn’t follow this person back cause I didn’t want to be exposed to that on my timeline. Moments later, I felt a nudge to go follow her back and I heard in my spirit that ‘Since you’re both following each other, she sees your captions, you see hers, so we can hope that she’s convicted in the slightest by the words that you could have in yours and you’re conscious not to allow her words or mannerism rub off on you’, and it made perfect sense to me, so I followed her back. All these seeming small and mundane things that I see the Holy Spirit speaking to me about, shows me the changes He’s making in me. It is never really the massive things as we usually think, it always starts from the small.

Reflection: In what little ways is God teaching me to deny self?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

261

DAY

What is the Difference?

244

MATTHEW 13, 1 PETER 2:2

here is actually an urgent need for us to grow and mature as Christians and get to the point where we become labourers in the vineyard too. But remember you cannot be a labourer without the knowledge of a labourer, so you will first attain a certain level of knowledge before you will be sent into the vineyard to get more harvest. From our Bible reading today, shortly and concisely, in that parable, Jesus planted wheat and then went to sleep. While He slept, an enemy came and planted weed. When Jesus’ helpers woke up and went out to check the farm, they saw that both wheat and weed were growing. They came back and asked Him, “Didn’t you plant only wheat? Where has the weed come from?” Jesus answered and said the enemy came and planted the weed. So the very wise servants then asked, “should we go and uproot the weed?” I mean farmers do it a lot today don’t they? Uproot weed when they notice them. But Jesus said this, “no, lest while you gather the weed, you also uproot some wheat, so wait till the harvest”. The only reason why Jesus would be careful to not send his servants out to the field to uproot the weed is because He is concerned they might uproot some wheat with the weed. And I sat asking myself how this could be a possibility because skilled farmers know distinctly, the difference between weed and wheat, and I realised why there’s a possibility of that? It’s because there’s almost no distinction now. From the image from this passage, especially in our time, we’re too joined and entangled with the weed the enemy has planted, to the point where even if they want to uproot the weed, there’s every possibility that we’ll also be uprooted. So Jesus saying ‘no’ is for our safety and benefit, but I believe there wouldn’t have been a need for the safety measures if the servants are able to see clearly which are the weeds and which are the wheat. There has to be a difference in the way we live our lives; there’s no two ways about it. We can’t be identified as wheat and also be identified as weed! This transcends to every aspect of life. God is asking us to be wheat without shame, bold wheat that can be identified from miles away.

Reflection: In what ways do I look exactly like the world?

262

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

The Default Setting I COLOSSIANS 4:6, EPHESIANS 4:29

DAY

245

think the devil has a very cunning way of getting us to do things we’ve explicitly said we would not do. What’s funny about it is how we sometimes convince ourselves of having thought through whatever it is and made the best loving and logical decision. I remember how I used to prepare myself subconsciously with comebacks (a response to someone who has said something unpleasant to you). I would have the entire conversation play out in my head in advance and prepare myself for what to reply and at what point. So in my mind, I had done the right thing by ‘thinking before responding’. I was not responding in haste but from thought. However, that thought was merely preparing my attack, not even taking a defence, both of which were wrong when it came to dealing with people. The other day, I was speaking with someone about something I had posted on social media that she had contrary thoughts on, and she started by saying, “I wanted to come say it to you personally here before a stranger will insult me, and I won’t take it”. After she shared what she wanted, I started by responding to the part where she said that she won’t take it so that she could buttress further, and she went deeper saying that, if someone came for her, she was definitely going back for them. So to avoid that, she messaged me privately instead. Together with this and my remembrance of the past, I realised how ‘self’ is set to attack by default. We aren’t programmed to love first when faced with anything unpleasant. We’re mostly programmed to defend and then attack, which explains why we think through our comebacks before they happen and shield ourselves from the attack of people so we don’t also attack back.

Reflection: How can I make love a default setting rather than attack?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

263

The Default Setting II

DAY

246

COLOSSIANS 4:6, EPHESIANS 4:29

or the beginning part of my Christian journey, I deceived myself into thinking that the more I stay on my own, the less likely I will be to sin, and I won’t need to receive or give offence. So it was like ‘lone wolf speaking only when spoken to’. This meant I was limiting my social interactions and also my reach to people who I was supposed to be light and salt to. I didn’t realise then that the test of our faith is when we’re faced with the exact things that could cause us to fall and then we overcome. Anything that is not tested cannot be proven. I cannot be claiming to be something or someone without being tested on it. Interactions with people always bring that test. It’s where we learn patience, kindness, gentleness but ultimately, unconditional love. We have to reset our defaults to ‘love’, and submit to the Holy Spirit to the point where we really don’t mind being attacked, and all we’re concerned about is giving love, even though it means us being trampled upon. We also need to know that we cannot run away from that which is meant to grow us. Christianity does not mean limiting social interaction. It is even more of a call to go and distribute love anywhere and at any time.

Reflection: Do I avoid people just to minimise sin? Can I be so full of love that offence does not stop love from oozing from me?

264

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Uncomfortable at Home EPHESIANS 1:10, JOHN 14:3

DAY

247

here has been a consistency in the lessons I have been learning in this period of my life, but what I’ve seen is that it is not just for me, it is a mass-teaching by the Holy Spirit to all the saints in preparation for home. Let’s get up-close and personal. I know there is a deep desire within each and every one of us to ‘make it’ in this life, even before we get to heaven, and while ‘making it’ does have a vary of meaning based on the individual, there exist some constants in everyone’s definition, some of which include happiness, peace, acceptance and true fulfilment in whatever we do. So what happens is that, in a bid to achieve and accomplish these desires and make our relevance known on this earth, we sometimes get distracted and forget that it is not as important as where we are headed. So even while we do exploits here for the kingdom and for one purpose, we cannot neglect the initial and most impactful call which is to do it all for His glory, while also multiplying those in the kingdom. I came across a post recently, and it read: “If you died and went to heaven today, chances are that you would not want to stay. Your life on earth has proven that God’s presence alone is not enough”. Should this not scare us? That we get to the habitat for which we were created, but because we got used to the temporary habitat, we are unable to enjoy that for which we were made. That we get into the presence of the I Am, and yet still feel as though we’re not. Should this not cause us to run to the feet of Abba and just beg for a renewal of our hearts and mind? Should this not push us to ask for an identity that is in tune with our real permanent habitat? We’ve been so carried away with the ‘ideals’ of this world to the point where we forget that it is all so temporary and does not end here. I’ve seen God give various people the same message in a variety of ways, reminding us not to get too comfortable to the point where we don’t enjoy the comfort of our real home, heaven. How can we get to heaven and be strangers? How can we get there and be learning the ropes of worship and prayer when all of this time has been devoted to it? How can we get to heaven and be learning the songs of praise when we should have learnt it all here? We cannot get home and be strangers. That would be tragic.

Reflection: Does the thought of heaven and being with Jesus forever excite you?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

265

Chief Judge by Nature

DAY

248

MATTHEW 7:1-5, JOHN 8:1-8

t is so easy to get caught up in the judge’s seat and be the one who misunderstands someone, which is why we must be graceful with people who err sometimes. I remember meeting a girl who was so bent on dating this guy because of how affluent he was, and she was bold enough to even admit it saying that asides his affluence, he was godfearing and nice, so essentially, she was not in just for the money although that was a plus. I spoke to her one day about how she was making money such a determining factor in her decision of who she would want to settle down with in life, and I honestly even got a bit angry and said things I probably should not have, until my eyes were finally opened and I saw it from her perspective. When you grow up with or without something, it becomes the standard or the norm for you. By God’s grace, I had my parents provide for me to a level where I didn’t have to start seeking outside of home. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the same story and so she had come from a place of ‘I need to seek the one who’s gonna provide for me’. From our different backgrounds, we formed ideologies of life and so it was foreign to her for me to be saying ‘why can’t you go home and get it rather than seek it outside’. This is just one of many examples where I’ve imposed my own ideologies from my background on other people and where I have been imposed on from the backgrounds of others as well. It is something we will all need to be wary of so that we are not blocking ourselves from ministering to people at the level in which they are at and not the level we think they should be at. It is a daily thing for all of us, being able to remove ourselves from our own shoes and stand in the place of another. This is in no way endorsing or compromising the values we stand in but challenging ourselves to see it from a whole new perspective that could even equip us for future connections.

Reflection: How many times do I step out of my head to understand another person?

266

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Eat And Stop Crying 1 KINGS 19:1-10, 1 CORINTHIANS 10:13

DAY

249

o we ever go to God with one thing and find that we’re being focused on something else, sometimes in relation to the original request, but most times, completely unrelated. I remember a time in my life when I was praying for my Dad’s salvation. It was a daily prayer request and it had almost become second nature to mention in my prayers. One random day, while praying the exact same prayer, I felt God stop me from saying the words, and He began to ask me questions about my dependence on Him (God) and where I put my confidence in. It was so random but I obliged and began to do some soul searching, and it was not until my dad suffered a stroke and had to leave work that it all began to make sense to me. This was the other angle God was opening my eyes to see. Similarly, remember when Elijah had been threatened by Jezebel and he ran away, for fear that Jezebel was truly going to kill him. Do you remember God’s reply when he arrived under the tree, all depressed, angry and suicidal, telling God to just ‘take his life’? After the very much deserved silence, God sent an angel with a lot of food, and then the angel told him to “Eat, for the journey ahead is great”. When I tell people that God has a very funny sense of humour, they think I’m joking. How can I come crying to you about one issue and your next reply to me is to eat? Can you fathom how confused Elijah must have been? There’s a similar play of event as well in the old testament where people were off to war and before they went, they would enquire of God on what to do, and God will either give the most comic reply that appeared as jokes or sometimes, ask that the simplest things be done, like raising songs of praise and worship or playing instruments. Half the time, this leaves us puzzled. Like Elijah, we are wondering “Is He even listening to me?”, and like me, we’re probably asking “but God, what is the correlation?”. Frankly, we don’t even see the full picture until it is done. God is never insensitive or elusive about our feelings and requests. Usually, He just recognises that there are moments of human myopia where we see so shortly and from that short sight, we start to get overwhelmed. So He takes it on Himself to redirect us to the larger picture like He did with me and also with Elijah, by asking those ‘unrelated’ questions which refocus us usually on the big picture we are not seeing at that moment.

Reflection: Am I so rigid in my time with God? Am I open to hearing Him speak of seemingly unrelated things in the place of prayer? FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

267

DAY

What I Think I Need I

250

JAMES 4:3, MATTHEW 7:7-8

he Bible speaks of a danger in praying amiss. It says “you do not receive because you ask wrongly” (James 4:3). So with time, we learn that praying without understanding is almost just as bad as not praying, because when we pray without an understanding of what we’re asking for, there is the possibility that we are even praying against the Father’s will and knowing the Father we serve, we know that His loving nature would not allow Him release to us anything that will destroy us, even if we ourselves don’t know it. A lot of times, we come to God and we do not even know what we want to ask of God in prayer. We get so carried away by the covering of the need that we do not look deeper to see the root of the need and pray with regards to it. For example, you might see people praying for money a lot of times and you rarely hear them ask God for a job. A job has the capacity to satisfy the need for money over a long period of time, but at the moment, such a person is blinded by an absence of money and so is constantly praying that God provides money. Similarly, you hear people raising requests constantly about a spouse, whether a wife or husband, and you rarely hear people pray for God to make them the right person for whoever God is sending their way. Here again, we are blinded by how the need appears and are unable to actually decipher and pray concerning the root need, which is to be the person God wants you to be before He even hands another human being to you in matrimony. I call this ‘The kingdom perspective’, and for me, I constantly pray that I always see things through God’s eyes, the way heaven sees it. This is the understanding we need when we stand in prayer and the assurance that comes in ‘whatever you ask in my name, I will do for you’. Emphasis on ‘whatever’. So as long as it is in accordance with the will of God, it will be answered.

Reflection: How open am I to seeing God’s perspective on painful situations in my life?

268

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

What I Think I Need II JOHN 4:6-29, JOHN 4:3

DAY

251

ooking at the Samaritan woman at the well with Jesus, notice how she is introduced, “She came with her water jar to get some water from the well”. At the end of that story in John 4:28, the Bible records “leaving her water jar, the woman went back to town and said to the people...” She was thirsty right? Any sane human knows that if I am thirsty, I need water to drink. So she went off to get that water. What she did not realise and what she had been blinded to see, was that her thirst wasn’t merely a biological longing for physical water. Her real need was to meet with the one who had the capacity to quench her thirst forever, and as we see in the end, Jesus did exactly that! Even bringing her to forget her original need seeing as she left that meeting without the water jar she had come with. When we come to Jesus, we always leave with the things that matter most. It is a trend in the Bible. Elijah came in tears and regret after Jezebel had threatened Him, and He left God’s presence with instruction. Hannah came with taunting and pain, and she left with a Son. The thirsty Samaritan woman came with a water jar and left with salvation. Jesus knows most of our deepest needs and so even when we approach Him, and it appears like we are not receiving what we have come for, we need to trust that He knows exactly what He is doing because usually, that need that we think we want to be satisfied is really minute compared to the bigger need behind what actually needs satisfaction. It also reveals the value of our need, that our needs attract us to God, who is then able to show us the bigger picture. Some of us are with God now with an apparatus in hand to hold what we think we need, and it appears like God is not even acknowledging the presence of that apparatus and that’s fine. Just stay trusting and open to receive whatever He does send, because He alone sees the bigger picture, and that’s what He wants to open your eyes to see as well.

Reflection: What is God opening my eyes to see apart from my perspective?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

269

“This is Not It”

DAY

252

1 CORINTHIANS 9:27; 9:24

s you grow in God and the word, you will begin to recognise certain stirrings. A stirring to pray, a stirring to make confessions, a stirring to reach out to someone and say some words and just this gentle, sometimes even violent urge to do something. Over time I have known that this is something you should never take likely or for granted, because in the moment that stirring comes, someone’s breakthrough is hinged on it, so I always encourage people to seize it as it comes and do as led. There’s supposed to be an army rising always. I came across a song recently that speaks of calling forth dry bones to come alive, and a line said “There’s an army rising”, but I had to stop and ask myself, “Is there really an army rising?” An army rising would mean an active and intentional chase and commitment to the things of God as well as against the powers of darkness, but the world now is so relaxed, praying when it is convenient, sharing the word for clout, hosting events just to boast of numbers and saturating social media with words about a powerful God but denying His power in our daily living. This is not it. Being human has truly limited us in more ways than we know, even though it is temporary. I get caught up often just thinking maybe if the weakness of humanity was removed, it could be better, and I realise that that’s even my human nature speaking. We see only a fraction of the whole, as the Bible alludes to the fact that we see and testify in part, and because of this, we should remain in that place of desiring fresh anointing from above to see and testify in full. All the things that distract us are temporary, mundane and susceptible to destruction. God is recalling us to focus our minds on things above, eternal and lasting. There’s no time to be entertaining or engaging in anything that ‘is not it’.

Reflection: Am I an active member of the army that God is raising?

270

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

The Cain Spirit GENESIS 4, MATTHEW 9:17

DAY

253

hen God accosts Cain of what he had done to his brother, the dialogue is a very emotional one and it concludes with Cain sobbing over the fact that he was doomed outside the covering of God. He says to God, “My punishment is more than I can bear” and here’s Abba’s reply: “Not so. Anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. Bear in mind that Jesus had not even come to die for us to unite us back to God even after sin entered the world, but this was God’s heart already to a man who had just committed murder and had further lied on the whereabouts of his brother. Performance often comes with competition. We feel a need to perform when we’ve identified a ‘threat’. The offering Cain and Abel presented to God was not a case of ‘let’s see who will give a better offering’. It was not a tug of war for Abba’s love. It was simply a call to present your best to Abba. In ‘best’, there is no competition because individuals differ. The cain-spirit allowed Cain to interpret God’s acceptance of Abel’s offering as ‘Abel is performing better than me’. Meanwhile, it was just a case of God saying to Cain that He had not given His best. No matter what Cain’s best was, God would have wholly received it as He did Abel’s offering. The cain-spirit is more prevalent in this day than ever before. Believers are attempting to ‘out-perform’ each other and prove that ‘I love God more’, ‘I’m more dedicated than you are’, ‘my offering is definitely more acceptable than yours’ and we do it in the most subtle ways without even knowing and God sits there and is looking at us like “I have asked for your best and not ‘a better than your neighbour’.” Our offering to God is not weighed against that of another’s offering, it is weighed only by the state of our hearts in the gifting of the offering to God. God wants us to remember this every day of our lives, that as Steffany sang so beautifully in her song Pieces, “It is not about performance, who sings the best or brings the best.” We were never called to perform, but to bask in a relationship characterised with TRUE love. Let’s rid ourselves of every cainspirit.

Reflection: How much of the Cain spirit do I have in me?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

271

“I’m a Christian, Why Should This Happen?”

DAY

254

GENESIS 1:2, JOHN 8:36

bet we have all been in that place where we started to question our stand in God and our belief in Him because we were experiencing things that ‘Christians shouldn’t be experiencing’. First off, is there really such a thing in life as ‘not for Christians’? I know that realising our identity in Christ opens our eyes to some of the things that we get by grace, but that depends largely on a person’s understanding and conviction. Speaking objectively, being a Christian doesn’t exempt you from being human, so while grace gives us an advantage, it does not eliminate us from the reality of the world. If we interpret the occurrence of bad things as the absence of God, then we base our faith on works and not grace, and the Bible makes it so clear that we have been saved by grace and not works so no man should boast. Remember also that the beginning verses of Genesis say that there was darkness all around and the Spirit of God hovered. Darkness cannot overcome God, and a presence of darkness is not the absence of God because as we see, God called forth light from that same darkness. “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” (Genesis 1:2) As Christians, we all should aspire to get to a place where we hear and know God’s will for us clearly and pray declarative prayers in that will exactly, until we get there, we often get to places where we find ourselves praying things that God has not willed for us, and when they don’t come, we begin to doubt our faith and sometimes, question God’s integrity. We don’t earn or merit God’s best because we’re Christians. His best is for us because He loves us and we are called His children. When we find ourselves in places where we feel the slightest entitled because we’re Christians, let’s take a step back, pray away pride and submit ourselves to the grace which Jesus so freely died to give us while we were still sinners. Always remember that last part, that it is while we were still in sin that He decided to do what He did to redeem us. This means that since He gave us freely, it is also maintained freely and not by what we decide to do or not do.

Reflection: Have I switched from living by grace to living by my own works?

272

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Does He Think We Are Jokes? JOHN 2:1-12, ISAIAH 55:8-9

DAY

255

lot of times, we read the Bible at face value, with a mindset of it being too sacred to be imagined and so while we get into the characters and lives of the people we read about in novels, I doubt we often do the same for characters of the Bible. This often robs us of the full experience. Reading the encounter of Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding in Cana cracks me up a lot. My favourite part is after it had been declared that the wine had finished, Jesus’ mother says to the stewards there to do whatever Jesus asks them to do. So, my guess is that they were already preparing who was going to buy the fresh wine and if it was that they would make it themselves, they were deciding who would go to the vineyard and pick the grapes. Suddenly, Jesus looks at them and says “guys please get the pots and fill them with water”. I bet you I was not there, but I actually know that a whole 10 seconds after these words were said was a moment of silence and all of them sharing looks with themselves attempting to double-check that they had all heard properly. Kinda like, “So wine has finished in this wedding and this man we’ve been told to obey said we should fill the pots with water”. If I were one of them, I know the next thing I would do is go back to meet Mary, so she can hear what her Son just asked me to do (but thank God none of them were like me). In all their hesitation and fear, they went and filled the pots with water, probably ran back to tell Jesus that water was now in the jars, and maybe went on to say “so can you now give us the money to buy the wine or send us to a vineyard to pick and press the grapes?” Then Jesus actually bursts their brain and goes “fetch from a jar and go and serve the Master of the ceremony”. I love how amidst the hesitation, deliberation and deep concern, they still obeyed, and as the story plays out, the best wine was commended after the chairman had tasted what He had been served. Since understanding this story, I always pray thus “May my obedience be as courageous as the men who went to serve the master of ceremony water, even without knowing when or how it had been turned to wine, may I be that trusting of God”.

Reflection: If God’s love language is obedience, how much am I loving Him?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

273

DAY

Imperfect Human Love

256

1 SAMUEL 16:1-13, JOHN 15:13

f you cast your mind to the person you love the most this moment and the extent you would go for this person’s convenience, wouldn’t you marvel at how it is possible to love a person to that level? Some of you would even out-rightly die to save that person if you had to. So should a need arise you could pretty much be Jesus just for that person. Reading Samuel’s journey to Jesse’s house to anoint the next King after God had rejected Saul, I got distracted by the realisation of how imperfect human love is. The Bible says that when Samuel arrived, Jesse had prepared his 7 older sons to walk past him so he could decide which one of them was going to be the next King of Israel. Whether as an oversight or intentionally, we don’t know, but David the youngest didn’t get the memo to prepare for the prophet’s coming. He seemed to carry on with his daily activities of tending his father’s sheep out in the field. So I began to think about how easily we could end up in these shoes, keeping the best from the people we say we love the most without being conscious of it, and while thinking about it, I realised that it is actually so for a purpose. It opened my eyes to how insufficient and imperfect human love is. It took me to also understand why men and women in the most flourishing relationships with the best partners still don’t feel secure enough. They don’t feel loved enough despite all the love showered on them that is obvious to the blind eye, and then it hit me that human love was never meant to satisfy us. We were never meant to think of the love another human has for us and feel satisfied. It is only the love of God that is designed to secure us to the level that we desire to be secured. Jesse’s actions reveal how inadequate human love is and while we can convince ourselves of the extent we will go for the ones we love the most, there are the gaps which we might not see now that only God’s love can cover for.

Reflection: How pure is my love?

274

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Give Me Options LUKE 9:23, ACTS 20:27

DAY

257

here is absolutely nothing more beautiful than having options. In fact, you find that the more the options, the sweeter it is. I have also realised that options are to a large extent, an indication of blessing. That you aren’t just served one thing against your will but get to choose and pick which sits with you. We find that we are in such a phase at the moment in the Christian society. A phase which we can refer to as ‘buffet Christianity’, where you are given the opportunity to pick and choose what parts of Christianity you would adhere to and what parts you just don’t like. And it is funny because we seem to do it based on our understanding. So we understand something that benefits us and we accept it, otherwise, it remains a ‘grey’ area to us. We have been called to conform to the image of Christ which is the one sinless person who the father calls his firstborn, and similar to our earthly families, the firstborn ideally should be a model. It doesn’t always turn out that they are the best, but it is expected that the firstborn leads the younger ones in the way that they should go. So for us, Jesus is the model. We don’t have the luxury to choose what we apply in our lives and what we don’t. If Christianity was a buffet, the rule to attend it would be that everyone must be served everything even though the options appear. We must daily remind ourselves, that we actually don’t get to choose to be who we want to be daily, we wake up each day and decide consciously to be Christ-like in all of our dealings. This will go a long way in channelling some of our subjective opinions to God’s word to know and study what Jesus’ stand is on a lot of issues, and not arguing from our place of misunderstanding and subjective opinions. Whenever knowledge is scarce, controversy is expected, so the antidote to controversy is knowledge. Knowledge and not information. You can have information about a person and not have knowledge of the person. Information doesn’t always equate to knowledge.

Reflection: Am I picking what I like in Christianity and ignoring the other bits?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

275

Knew. Know. Known.

DAY

258

HEBREWS 12:2, PSALM 139:16

here is a reason we call God the ‘Author and the Finisher, the Alpha and the Omega’. Most times, we remember and call God’s names in prayer, and I think we forget the meanings of these names because each carries its own might if we dive into its full revelation. I sit with inquisitive Christians and non-Christians alike often, and one of the biggest questions they always ponder on is ‘Why didn’t God save Adam and Eve when He knew they were going to sin, and why did He allow the children of Israel to wait that long for the Messiah to come’. In discussing these things, I find that people actually think God operates like us, moment by moment, limited by only what we see in the present and also hoping about what is to come. This can be the only explanation as to why we question His sovereign decision to sit back and watch the world unfold as it did. When we call God the Alpha and the Omega, it means the one who has seen the end from the beginning. As a matter of fact, I sat under the teaching of a man of God once, and He actually explained it, saying that God does not start what He has not already finished. He is that knowing and present across the past, present and future. Jesus Christ was always the plan. God did not invent the idea when Adam and Eve sinned. God is such a planner that before He starts a thing, the end of the thing has already been established. I’ll also cast our minds to a verse in my favourite psalm that says: “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” - Psalm 139:16 This knowledge brings a sort of liberation to know that whenever God calls you into something, He has seen the end of the matter already and so, despite facing difficulties through the process, there is the assurance that its end is glorious just by the nature of the person who has called you.

Reflection: Do I believe that God has seen the end of all my struggles?

276

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Ever Wondered Why You? EPHESIANS 2:10, JOHN 14:27

DAY

259

have been amazed in the last few days by God, that in all of His beautiful creation, it was man He chose to make in His image and love in the manner that He loves us. Theologians describe us as God’s highest creation, and from the look of instructions given to Adam in Genesis, we indeed are called to dominate and rule over all other creations. Amidst all of the created, we were the only ones referred to as ‘masterpiece’. God trusted His image and likeness this much to rule over the earth efficiently, which explains why He placed it on us. I don’t think we are doing justice to God’s image and likeness. Looking all around you will show that there has been a diluted display of God’s likeness and an exchange of His image for other images that humans now bear. It only explains the atrocity and appalling events of society in general. On the flip side, we have been prepared for this. God’s word gives us clues and prepares us for these times, that “when humans have denied my likeness and image and have chosen to erect their own images and likeness, this and this will happen”. So while it is not a shock to us, it has brought us, me particularly, to a place of deep thought of the kind of love that God must have for us. I don’t know if you’ve imagined it, creating your best work ever and having your initials or full name boldly written on or around it so that anyone who draws near to it knows immediately that this is a work of this person, and then suddenly, your said masterpiece chooses to adjust itself however it pleases and looses that for which it was called a masterpiece, and suddenly, people are looking at it and are disappointed in you. Often, I really see humanity as so, that we were given the best and highest likeness and yet we live like those without an image. We’ve allowed ourselves to become the rulers of us and thus have allowed ourselves to do as we please. All of these thoughts have led me back to a posture of surrender, for mercy and in worship. That in spite of how we’ve represented His image, He still loves us so. I don’t know what else might possibly bring you to a place of heartfelt worship like this revelation of such love!

Reflection: Am I living up to a masterpiece title?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

277

Praised to Power 4

DAY

260

1 CORINTHIANS 9:27, JOHN 14:3

od never took an unprepared person to a prepared place; neither did He take a prepared person to an unprepared place. What He did was that when He identified His vessel, He took them through a preparatory period so that when they arrived at the prepared places, there was no possibility of abuse. Because that is what happens when an unprepared person gets to a prepared place, they abuse the people, resources and the place because they have not been equipped to handle it properly as a result of the skipped or ignored preparatory phase. I was listening to a sermon by Apostle Selman, and He said the same thing but in different words. He said, “There are certain mistakes that great men don’t make in the open”, and he said this after explaining that the preparatory period leading up to where God is taking a person to, is the time to make certain mistakes that you cannot afford to make when you get to where God is taking you, if not, making that mistake at the arrived destination could literally cost you all the years you have prepared to get there. So yes, Prepared People to Prepared Places. PPPP How much are you yielding to preparatory periods? How conscious are you of the phases that you go through and what God is intending to teach you in those phases? It is so important that we stay conscious of God in every period of our lives, because the intentional nature of God does not allow Him to do anything without an intention or motive. Remember the time when David was out tending his father’s sheep, and in the course of protecting them, he was killing lions and bears and probably other animals who tried to attack his fold. At that moment, he had to have known that God was preparing him for something greater. God was using his tending of sheep to sharpen his protective, sling and stone game for the time when he stood before Goliath. With us Christians, there is no coincidence, only divine ordination and divine positioning and if you believe that with everything in you, you will be more conscious of all that God is brewing in you at every phase of your life.

Reflection: What is God teaching you in this phase of your life?

278

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Spiritual Disciplines I EPHESIANS 6:18, HEBREWS 5:14

DAY

261

hristians actively seeking spiritual growth in their personal lives would know that somethings that aid this are non-negotiable, disciplines like bible study, prayer, fasting, abstinence, etc. As you grow, the Holy Spirit opens you to more things that would facilitate your growth further. The above mentioned are not the only disciplines needed for spiritual growth, majority of them are even more idiosyncratic depending on the individual, so the key really is to stay sensitive. As part of my own personal growth, things like TV had to go, some social meetups without any concrete value also had to go, and recently God told me to scrap a fun game I often play with my friends. He showed me something it was building in my subconscious that I didn’t even know about. So yes, the majority of the disciplines that you will build for spiritual growth would be more personal and individualistic, than general and popular like the prayer and bible study we often hear about. I discovered something with bible study, which made it all the more important that believers should not just be reading the Bible, but should be reading it effectively. It is not about how much of it you’re able to quote or write, but really about how much of it has been formed in you. I’ve met Christians who have read the Bible cover to cover and spending a few moments with them reveal basic character flaws that should have been eliminated by just the mere fact of seeing it spoken against in the Bible. This goes to show that your pursuit in your bible study should be less about volume and quantity, but more on quality, formation and understanding. There’s a high likelihood that you won’t forget something that is formed in you by the Holy Spirit, but you can easily forget something you cram by simply saying it out enough times.

Reflection: Am I studying the Bible effectively?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

279

Spiritual Disciplines II

DAY

262

MATTHEW 9:35, HEBREWS 5:14

he Bible is such a robust book, with so many accounts and summaries. Personally, I find I enjoy more the stories in the old testament and the epistles in the new testament, but in studying the Bible, I’ve seen that knowledge must also inform our study of the Bible. I have identified popular doctrines in the church today that are taught to believers that were actually addressed to unbelievers in the Bible. I have heard believers quote scriptures from the Bible that were not to be taken for us, but used as a resource to help reach unbelievers. I have seen that because most believers have learnt things so randomly in the Bible, they also teach and preach the things so randomly, but we see in the Bible, that there was a system, a kind of chronology with various things like salvation, repentance, faith, baptism, spiritual gifts, etc. Most believers don’t have a sequence to their revelation knowledge, and this has caused a mix and match of true but misinterpreted scriptures. This is why effective bible study is important. Random reading of the Bible could throw a person in more confusion than they even had before they started reading. Some believers are also in churches where there is only preaching, not necessarily teaching and it shows because members now go around quoting the pastors themselves and not the Bible from their own personal study. We can see in Matthew 9:35 that Jesus didn’t just preach, He also taught. Teaching and preaching are not the same thing, and usually, it is with teaching that we will learn and grow spiritually. Bible study is a given for any person who loves God, because God’s love language is obedience and obedience to His word, but we cannot obey a word that we do not even know, hence why bible study is pertinent. But there must be a sequence to our revelation which must be Holy Spirit inspired. It is the same way one cooks. You don’t just throw all the ingredients in at once and leave on fire. A good cook knows that some ingredients go in well before the others and failure to do this produces a result that is not palatable. It is the same with our spiritual food. Everything does not go in at once. The balanced diet will come by measured and sequential steps which God directs us in.

Reflection: Do I have a balanced diet with my study of God’s word or do I only focus on things that make me feel good?

280

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

The True Daughters and Sons Know

DAY

263

JOHN 1:12, ROMANS 2:12-13

here has never been a time in history where God has asked for His creation to prove themselves to be worthy of anything. God has never advertised Himself as one who blesses based on merit or performance. Unfortunately, we have successfully transferred the nature of the world we live in, to our relationship with God. We daily feel that we have to perform or be validated in order to stand right with God and while studying the life of Paul, God opened my eyes to see how He never intended for us to think or be that way. So I began to ask how it came to this; where did we get the desire to perform? And He said that “it came when we decided to please ourselves and not Him”. Human beings we see and relate with everyday convince us that we will have to perform to achieve a certain height or be accepted in a certain group, and so we have that default setting wherever we go, even into the throne room of God. I have an exercise I hope we could all key into. Every morning, when you wake up, even while still on the bed, confess to yourself that “I am God’s righteousness, accepted and validated by the blood of Jesus. God could not love me any more or any less than He already does”. This conditions our mind back to its original setting, to come to the Father, knowing that He loved us first and made us all we are without a single need to perform for Him. True sons and daughters know that they are promoted, rewarded and applauded by their Father by just the fact that they are their Fathers own. God’s faithfulness to His children is hinged on His nature alone and not what you can or cannot do.

Reflection: What show am I putting up to get God’s attention now?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

281

DAY

Let’s Face Reality

264

1 TIMOTHY 4:1, 1 CORINTHIANS 13:10

he reality of God to us unlocks a huge part of our relational journey with Him. You might be like a lot of people who believe that if you could see and touch Jesus like you see and touch your friends, then He might be more real to you, but that’s exactly where our faith comes in, that we don’t have to see to believe and we don’t need physical evidence to believe. God wants to be as real to us as real can be. I lay in bed thinking about something recently, it wasn’t even that big of a deal, and while thinking on it, I heard the Holy Spirit say “Talk to me about it”. It was like a reminder again that it is not only when we kneel in prayer or hold hands in communal services that we can speak to God, right in the middle of anything and anywhere, God wants us to commune with Him. There is nothing like ‘let’s face reality’ when speaking in relation to God because God Himself is a reality. Here is praying that our eyes are daily open to His realness and that we don’t just believe it because people say it, but we ourselves are able to testify of a God that is as real to us as the person right next to us.

Reflection: How real is God to you?

282

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

“Anybody Can Do It” 1 CORINTHIANS 12:4-11, 2 CORINTHIANS 9:6-8

DAY

265

he Holy Spirit said to me that, “people always downplay the gifts I give them because of how good they are at it”, and I started to think about it and realised that it is quite true that we often simplify things we’re really good at and make them seem ordinary, because we think it comes as easy as it does to us to other people. It is also why it is hard to get someone to tell you what they think they are really good at. Chances are they think that everyone else is just as good as them at what they do, and so they might not mention it at all, or they might downplay and make it sound really mundane. The gifts and abilities given to us by God largely vary, but it is important that we are even able to recognise these gifts in us. The Holy Spirit is robbed of glory when we downplay His abilities, which is peculiar to you as a person. I found myself this morning also evaluating some of the things that come so naturally to me to see if I’ve ignored or downplayed it in any way, just because I think everyone else can do it as easily as I can. It also made me realise how compliments are also catalysts for abilities and giftings within people. As Christians, part of encouraging and edifying each other is also complimenting, letting our brothers and sisters know how rare something that comes naturally to them is in the lives of other people around. By doing this, we are helping them not to downplay the abilities they have been gifted with, and seek out ways to reach and bless the world through these natural abilities and giftings. The more used to something you are, the greater the tendency of thinking less about it, but this should never apply to divine deposits in us which we will all one day account for. There are no ordinary gifts or abilities, there are only ignorant people who need to become aware of what power lies within them.

Reflection: What comes so natural to you that you’re not even giving it a thought? Could it be something you could use to start a business with? Or maybe a support group? Or simply just organizing a social day out with friends where you just teach them whatever it is?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

283

New Second, New Me

DAY

266

HEBREWS 7, HEBREWS 8

was led to read the book of Hebrews while reading a faithbased book. I strongly advise Christians to spend time studying the book of Hebrews. It is so powerful! Hebrews 7:12 says, “For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also.” If I wanted to bring this verse down to our level, I’ll use countries who run democracies where the President is the Head of State. Usually, when a new president comes into power, he has to present his government’s intended agenda for his tenure to the country, so that the people can be in the know of all that he intends to accomplish in the time that he has been given. Agenda’s vary with persons, and so you find that depending on the agenda of a person, people vote for the people they feel more strongly about with regards to their agendas. In the exact same way that the law changes with a change of the priesthood, and agendas of presidents change with the change of presidents, lifestyles also change with the change of a man. When our nature is changed through salvation, what we live by (our laws) must change as well. Our new nature must be reflected in our new way of living. One of the things that happened by Jesus’ death on the cross is that the level of ‘corporateness’ in dealing with man reduced. We see often in the old testament that God used prophets and priests to speak to the whole nation of Israel. He sent word corporately to them, but by salvation, He relates more with us on an individual level, Man-to-God level. It is not that He is not pleased to relate with us corporately, as a matter of fact, He still does sometimes, but He saw that the power would not come from the partially submitted multitude, but rather, from the individual ones who submit wholly. As we all individually come to the truth that our lifestyle must change because we are new creations, power is released, and when we gather corporately, there is an even greater power that abounds.

Reflection: Is there evidence of a changed lifestyle since I received salvation?

284

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

“The God Thing is Too Much”

DAY

267

PSALM 19:1, ISAIAH 55:12

don’t know if you have people around you bold enough to challenge your faith. I know the media does it ever so often with the news it carries and the wording of it all, but it is usually different when you have an individual bold enough to actually ask you, “Is the God thing not too much?” My response to such people and statements is usually one of “please indulge me” because I am often trying to understand where they are coming from and the thoughts behind their statement. I was taking a walk recently and God brought the question to mind, He then took me to analyze the content I am exposed to daily on the media, both electronically and in writing. I began to see that the world is saturated with so much ungodly information and knowledge, and they are so consistent and persistent with putting it out. Everyday you see things about violence, rape, wars, sexual harassment and even the glorification of selfishness and self-centredness, and we think it is okay to just ignore it, and keep moving. If we could be that consistent and persistent in the spread of our message and gospel, how many more souls would be saved for the kingdom? It should not be normal to us that the information of this world trumps the information of God across the media when there are Christians out here daily having fellowship, encounters and new experiences of God. I read somewhere recently that social media in these times is the net God gave to the fishermen to catch fish in the times documented in the Bible. How much are you using that net for its real purpose? The ‘God thing’ cannot be too much. As a matter of fact, it is not enough. Souls are crying out to be saved without even knowing it, and we are all around downplaying the saving power of the cross. I hope this really challenges you, to be bold, to be unashamed, to be intentional and to be consistent in your contribution to the media space. We will account for it. It is not impossible for the gospel to saturate the media in the same way social vices do. There’s power made available for it. Tap into it, and go and do the work of your Father.

Reflection: Can people associate the gospel to me by just viewing my social media posts?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

285

DAY

I Give Too Much I

268

1 SAMUEL 15:22, LUKE 6:38

know I am not alone in thinking that “I really am a cheerful giver”. My giving didn’t even start when I gave my life to Christ. It was something I did more out of pity and sympathy, which are human emotions that one feels whether or not they are Christians. When you come to the light (to Christ), you have a more solid foundation and reason for doing what you do, and there are more guiding principles that help you ensure you are giving in a manner that pleases God. So yes, it is not enough to be a giver. It is more important that your giving is actually in accordance with the model that will please God. This brings to mind the response of Samuel to Saul when he said to him “Does the Lord really want your sacrifices and offerings? No, He wants you to obey Him” (1 Samuel 15:22). This was at a point where Saul thought He could give offerings to alter the mind and heart of God. Some of us think like that sometimes, but today I hope you’re challenged to know that your obedience is more important to the heart of God than your offerings and sacrifices. Not all giving is sacrifice. Sometimes, we have enough to the point where we can give without even feeling it. It is still classified as giving, but where is the sacrifice of praise and where is the heartfelt worship in our giving if we can’t even be bothered by what we’ve given. I am not in any way insinuating that you must be a pauper after you have given, or you must be struggling after you’ve given, but I’m saying that it must be from a place inspired by the Holy Spirit, which will usually be heartfelt and borne from a motive to please God and not gain favour with someone or even just appease your ego.

Reflection: What is the motive behind my giving?

286

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

I Give Too Much II LUKE 21 :1- 4, LUKE 6:38

DAY

269

od showed me how I give out of abundance and not out of my nothing. Giving out of our abundance only favours us, and the person on the receiving end. God is not glorified when we give to please ourselves and obtain favour from people. When our giving benefits only us, we need to check it again, because our giving as Christians has a mission and a purpose, and if that purpose is not fulfilled then we are just expanding our egos and pleasing ourselves. God used the widow’s mite to remind and teach me. Remember Jesus’ words regarding her? “And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, ‘Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.’ ” (Luke 21:1-4) The widow gave it all. Like all! Sometimes we think that God only expects us to give to the less privileged and needy, and because of that way of thinking, we refrain from thinking much about giving in the first place, but God loves and cares about you the same way He loves and cares about that person in need. So sometimes, through the Holy Spirit, He could encourage you to take a break and book a holiday or even spoil yourself to dinner or lunch out. Giving to yourself can also please God, so do not always think that giving is for everyone around you but yourself. This understanding only comes when we recognise that we are only stewards and not the owners of anything that gets into our hands, be it our time, our resources, our talents and even our possessions. The widow’s story should be an anchor story for us as Christians on the issue of giving. We should also remember that God gave His ONLY son for us, there wasn’t another one somewhere that He had, He had one, and He gave Him up. That’s the sacrifice of praise that God desires. The same one He exemplified in sending Jesus to the cross. Let’s give, yes, but let’s give in a manner that will please God.

Reflection: How can I be more of a steward than an owner?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

287

Retreating 101 I

DAY

270

JEREMIAH 29:13, JAMES 1:19

etreats are beautiful God-moment times, and I know we have God-moments every day of our lives through daily devotions and fellowship with friends and family. However, personal retreats hit differently. I started the annual ritual of retreating 3 times a year about 5 years ago. Prior to that, I retreated only once in a year and my Spirit is now so used to it that it recognises the seasons I should take off and I begin to feel uncomfortable. A lot of Christians don’t understand it entirely so today and tomorrow, we will have a quick brief FAQ on it. There are certain things that happen only during retreats, it comes with higher levels of encounters and experiences that only come with separating yourself completely from the world A PERSONAL FAQ ON RETREATS. 1.

How long do you spend in retreats? I started retreats with 3 days initially, phone off, no TV, minimal human interaction and no social gathering. Just me and God in a room or house. You build this zeal and desire over time, so don’t be ashamed to start with only a day or two. My retreats now are 10 -14 days, sometimes 21 days, which is sufficient time to declutter my mind and then refill with all of God.

What do you do during your days? During retreats, I study the Bible mostly. I read faith-based books, and I listen to lots and lots of messages. I also pray and just meditate, which are the moments I give for God to just speak. Worship is also an amazing way to welcome God’s presence, so I ensure I do a lot of that. Note, however, that someone in a full-time job might be unable to do this at a go, so you need to design it around your own work days.

Reflection: How intentional are you about getting alone with God in the year?

288

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Retreating 101 II JEREMIAH 29:13, JAMES 1:19

DAY

271

esterday we started looking at frequently asked questions with regards to retreat. Today we will dive into 3 more and hopefully see a need to schedule more of these throughout the year. 3.

How do you know what to focus on during the retreat? It is important to pray before starting a retreat. Sometimes God will give you specific instructions on what He wants you to focus on, other times it might be more spontaneous. God asked me to focus on the books of Hebrews and Acts in my most recent retreat and the one earlier in the year. He asked me to study servant-hood, submission and discipleship. Don’t be gutted, however, if you don’t get exact words before your retreat, that’s just a call to go with an open heart and mind.

4. What do you do after your retreat? Most times, I come out of my retreat with specific instructions, and so once I am out, I get on with those instructions, but ultimately, I try to implement all that I was taught in my daily life after retreat. There’s no point in learning something and not applying it, so I intentionally draft out a plan for implementing my lessons. 5.

Best ways to get the most out of a retreat? One word, JOURNAL. A retreat is usually a time of literal ‘Open Heaven’. God is speaking even more expressly and revealing deep things. The human mind will forget some things, so make sure you always journal them as they come. God often leads me back to journals of my past retreats to remind me of a promise He made or a lesson I learnt which is always a great encouragement. An added element I would say is to embark on a fast. Fasting sobers your mind, which makes it more sensitive. I should add here that there is no one way to do this honestly. God has a way of dealing with us on an individual level, so when you decide to engage in such spiritual exercises, you’ll find He might give you instructions that are peculiar to you as a person, so just stay sensitive.

Reflection: What are my fears with getting quiet and alone with God?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

289

DAY

272

Where is the Sin in That? 1 CORINTHIANS 6:12, 1 CORINTHIANS 9:27

hen God is pruning us, a lot of times it isn’t just the sin God plunges from us. Some normal non-harmful habits which bring us pleasure might also be asked to go, because weight is not always sin but it is weight holding us back. Because of how intentional God is with us, we will get to a point where we understand that it is not just the bad that is stripped away, sometimes, we will be told to let some things go, and these could be things that aren’t really bad in themselves. There’s a game I play with my friends called ‘pretender’. It is so much fun and very engaging and honestly, playing it wouldn’t hurt a fly. However, a key skill in this game is that you must master the art of pretending with both your actions and facial expressions so usually, the one who wins the game or who becomes a master at it can be seen as one who is really good at pretending, as this is an intricate prerequisite to play the game. I had been playing the game all year and then sometime in June 2019, while at a friend’s house alone, I heard God say “you have to stop playing pretender”. It was so loud and clear, and honestly, I didn’t have to ask why because that was a bit obvious. Pretender, even just being a mere game, was teaching people to wear facades and also creating distrust amongst us without us even realising it. Honestly, when people say “the God-thing is too much” in situations like this, I can understand because really, it is just a game! But if this is messing with my character, my loving Father deems it fit to get me to eliminate it. This is not going to be the only mundane activity or task in my life that I have had to do away with for the sake of my salvation, and half the time, explaining it to some people does not seem to make sense, but it is part of the “Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me”. Some of us pray often, for God to reveal an area of sin in our heart and lives, a higher call is also to pray that He reveals aspects of your life and habits which hinder your full potential in Him. Stay sensitive to the Spirit and be conscious of His work in your life.

Reflection: What is that unharmful thing in my life that God is asking me to quit?

290

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Capacity First MALACHI 3:10, COLOSSIANS 2:6-23

DAY

273

have read articles and books of people attempting to explain away the frequency and occurrence of miracles in our times. They have claimed that as a result of Jesus’ death, resurrection, ascension, and coming of the Holy Spirit, groundbreaking miracles have ceased and we’ve been left with just the natural and not the supernatural as we read about in the Bible. At the same time, I have come to see the miracles in every mundane thing in life. Going out and coming back in safe and sound, eating and being able to swallow without choking, studying for long hours without having a nervous or mental breakdown All of this and more, are miracles that happen daily around us that we don’t tend to give enough attention to, but then, it makes sense that people don’t count these as miracles if our definition of a miracle is the occurrence of the impossible and the sight of the invincible. My faith has never allowed me to believe that God won’t do some of the miracles He did through men in the Bible. As a matter of fact, I’ve allowed myself to believe that it is a growth process, and with time, dedication and desire, those things could also happen through our hands in these times. God is going to fill every man based on 2 factors; the capacity the man avails to Him and the level of hunger/desire that a vessel demonstrates through their actions. God will never withhold Himself from us, and the more this truth becomes a reality to us, the more we will see that our level of spiritual growth is totally up to us. He wants to do all that needs to be done to get as many souls as possible saved from the snare of the enemy. If part of what He needs to do is release the healing anointing as was on Elisha’s bones, or part a sea as Moses did, or even repair perfectly the cut ear of a human as Jesus did, He will do all of it. The real question is, are we capable of receiving this level of power? Are we trained enough to receive it and not abuse it? Are we wise enough to maintain and sustain it by the spiritual exercises required to remain tapping into the power of the kingdom? These and many more are questions that we must ask ourselves. Power is not meant to destroy its vessel, rather, it is supposed to empower the vessel. If God sees that a release of His power will destroy us, He will withhold it, just because of His love for us, but He desires to let the world see Him, His power and His glory through us.

Reflection: Are we ready to host this level of power?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

291

DAY

He Said It is Finished

274

MATTHEW 1:21, JOHN 10:10

he Bible tells us that Jesus, who is the Son of God, came to do the will of His Father on earth. It also tells us that Jesus was sinless, seeing that He lived a life completely free of sin. Do you know what that means? It means that every thought, word and action of Jesus was God-inspired and intended to bring the Father glory. So in this journey of being conformed to the image of Jesus, it is important that we pay careful attention to His words while He was on earth, however short they were. A very profound time was the point of His death, where He declared that “it is finished”. By that statement, He declared that His purpose here on the earth was finished, but to understand the gravity of this statement, we’ll need to first understand what Jesus’ purpose was. The Bible tells us that He came to save the world (Matthew 1:21). He came as the Saviour of the world and also came so that we might have life and have it in abundance (John 10:10). Isaiah further opens us to what every persecution He faced did for us. It said His wounds were for our transgression, His bruises were for our iniquity, the chastisement of our peace was on Him, and the stripes He received was for our healing (Isaiah 53:5). This is what Jesus declared is finished! We need to look at some things in our lives and declare to them that it was finished on the cross. We need to reminisce and remind ourselves of the purpose of Jesus on the earth so that we can recount the things that He declared finished. When something finishes, ideally that’s the end of it, isn’t it? But it’s funny that Jesus declared certain things finished yet some of us are still not walking in that finished reality. I pray that this finished reality becomes the testimony of our everyday. I pray we have the courage and boldness to look at the purposes of Jesus and declare to anything that stands contrary to it that “It is finished”.

Reflection: What are you battling with at the moment that was finished on the cross of the cavalry?

292

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Strong Love MARK 12, ROMANS 14:1-9

DAY

275

e read in our text today to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. I think for the most part of the first three, we’re intentional about it, but there’s usually a tendency to overlook or undermine what it means to love God with all of your strength. Strength is a noun for the word Strong. To be strong is to have a certain level of power, whether physically, mentally, emotionally, psychologically or even financially. If something is referenced as strong, it means that it possesses a level of power that exceeds the average level in that situation or environment. If the bible says that we are to love the lord with all of our strength, what does that mean? It means loving God with every iota of power that we possess in any area of our life. How can we love God with our physical strength? Helping someone move houses, helping someone clean their house when they are unable to and just making our own physical strength available when theirs seem to be limited. A couple of months ago, I was on my way to work and I was quite late so I was walking quite briskly. As I was approaching the train station, I saw a woman with 2 boxes and 1 bag. The bag was slung against her shoulder and her two hands were dragging each box behind her. As I approached her, I slowed down and asked where she was headed and she said she was also going to the train station, so I asked if I could help with a box so she didn’t have to carry them all alone. She was so relieved and started thanking me already. My little strength fell under the category of “loving the lord with ALL my strength”. I pray we’re more intentional and aware of loving God with the strength that He gives us. I pray we seek opportunities to not only love God with our hearts and minds and souls but also with our power. God honours and blesses everything we give Him. It’s part of the principle of giving, that when you give, it comes back to you someway. When we love with our strength, we are opening ourselves up even more to be blessed with fresh, new strength.

Reflection: How can I love God with my strength today?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

293

DAY

The Difficult-Easy Walk

276

ISAIAH 40:31, 2 CORINTHIANS 12:8-10

used to be one of those Christians who was scared to admit the benefits that come with surrendering completely to Christ and walking with Him. I saw how full the world was of pain, hate, evil, bitterness and revenge, and it almost seemed like anything against this norm was frowned upon. Some Christians wanted you to always publicly declare that following Jesus was difficult, living without sin is a struggle and pain and death are part of the journey. They would rather you always boast in the difficulties, trials, tribulations and sufferings than the ease by the Spirit, blessing, joy and peace. It made me downplay my testimonies. I began to doublecheck myself for not lusting after men, and I started expecting to experience a challenging and difficult walk with God. So I even began to pray and ask God for more difficult situations, more opportunities to face scenarios that the rest of the body termed difficult, and more avenues to just share my testimony from hardship to convenience. However, God took me through a phase of understanding His mode of work in a man’s life. He started by helping me see how uniquely and ‘be-spokely’ He worked with men. No two journeys were exactly alike, no matter how similar. He showed me how His walk with us would use the same principles, but never take the same shape or experiences. God never expected us to glorify pain and suffering, He made us aware that it was definitely necessary for the journey and our growth, but He also assured us that in the midst of it, His peace would keep us. So it was perfectly okay that I chose to rely on the Spirit’s enabling power to live above sin rather than complain about how difficult it was. It was okay that I chose to see the light in the darkest of situations rather than murmur about my blindness. Christianity wasn’t intended to glorify anything or anyone other than Jesus. Jesus went through processes of life, but He still enjoyed the benefits that came with fellowshipping with the Father. I think it is totally okay for us to share our experiences from one point to another in our journeys, but I don’t believe that we equate the unpleasant experiences to the presence or absence of Christ. While we share and partake in the suffering of Christ, we should also remember that we partake in the glory which will be revealed and this is already in manifestation through the work of the Spirit in us.

Reflection: Do I boast more in my weakness and pain than in God’s strength and ability?

294

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

RAPE PSALM 147:3, PSALM 34:18

DAY

277

or most rape victims, it will take a while to heal and get to the point of praying for the rapists (if they ever get to it), but for us believers who have been called to intercession, God wants us to cover as much the rapists as we do their victims. Rape is such a vile vice that’s becoming more rampant in our society today, and while there are several factors around it, a predominant one is the release of a sexually immoral spirit that pushes people to obsession and lust, and these people are in need of deliverance which prayer is capable of doing. To all rape victims: As hard as it seems, your healing is your responsibility. The occurrence(s) does not define you, and God could easily take that memory of yours and make it a message to the world around you. Please stop judging yourself. Forgive yourself, and as hard as it is, forgive the rapist too. I know it is hard to process where God was when it happened, but God wants you to know He loves you and it was never in His plan or desire that this happen to you, no matter what anyone says. You need to heal and shift. To the rape perpetrators: She/He does not have to be a stranger before it is considered rape. She/He does not need to be the girl/boy you picked at the bar or club before it is declared rape. As long as it is without consent, it is rape. Don’t make excuses for your actions, don’t wait until you’re fully overcome by this evil before you acknowledge you need help, don’t wait to add to the percentage of victims before you stop. You might not know it, but you’re also in need of healing and God is here for you, to deliver and to heal you. In the eyes of God, you’re not a rapist, you’re one with a potential to be His child, so please let it go. Drop it now and surrender. To those who have never been raped: We don’t have to only pray concerning things that directly affect or impact us, we don’t have to wait till our neighbour is a victim before we begin to pray for them, we don’t even need to watch a movie about something first before we can pray concerning it. There are so many prayer points around us daily, and if we’ll be selfless enough to just step away from ourselves and extend our prayers to the world around us, it’ll be awesome.

Reflection: Are there any rape victims you can pray for today? Don’t forget to cover the rapists too. FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

295

DAY

Open Up the Channels

278

PSALM 27:4, ROMANS 1:20

od woke me up one morning to talk to me. It does not always happen this heavily or obviously, but on that day, He woke me up right after a dream and began to speak. Before I went to bed the night before, I sat in the parlour on my phone listening to a message by Apostle Selman. I should admit that my attention on it was not even 100 percent, but I had a good grasp on what He was talking about. I do this a lot when I am feeling a bit low because sometimes it is my Spirit man just seeking more, so despite how tired I was, I played the message in the background, knowing fully well that my Spirit and mind were being fed. It was from the little I got in that message that God woke me up to talk about. He answered some questions I had in my heart and gave me some stern convictions that left me going “oh, wow God!”, in the dead of the night, on my bed. After our conversation, I prayed a little and then went back to sleep. The questions answered were questions I’ve had in my heart for a while, I’ve fasted and prayed on them and even taken off mornings and evenings just to seek God’s face, and God chose to speak from a message that didn’t have my full attention by waking me up in the night to answer them. I was excited, but even more, I was brought to a place of deep reverence for the way God chooses to do His things. Open hearts are God’s favourites. He wants us so surrendered that our hearts are round the clock open to Him, even when our emotions and feelings don’t align. This is a message for all who are seeking God on one matter or the other. God hears, He understands, and He speaks. Don’t limit it to the night time or morning time. What I just see is that God wants channels always open for Him to speak, which includes the environments you expose yourself to, the people you hang around and what you give your ears and eyes to. The more channels, the greater the chance of the answers coming.

Reflection: How many channels have you made available for God?

296

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Blurred Views PSALM 23, PROVERBS 18:21

DAY

279

ometimes I don’t think we fully understand the meaning of some confessions we make as Christians. We probably mean it with everything in us, but have we really sat to understand the gravity conveyed in the message? As much as we’ll like to answer a loud yes, I beg to differ and say no. Psalm 23:3 says, “He leads me in the path of righteousness for His name’s sake”. So beyond ourselves, we also bear God’s name as Christians. I sat with a younger friend once, and as I always do periodically, I asked her for a ‘life update’, she understood what I meant, so she went right into it. She got into her relationship life and scoffed. As expected, I asked her what that meant, and she divulged a ‘situationship’ that happened between her and a minister in church. I have named him ‘minister in church’ because this was how she said it to me, and being a little sensitive, I could tell she was being sarcastic and said it more out of mockery. So I probed further and some of the discoveries I made, left me hurt and really speechless. Not to pass any blame games, but at least for her, I know she is pretty much new to the faith and gaining her footing. However, regarding the actions of the other person, that is the ‘minister’, who I know quite well as a respected member of a church community, I was genuinely hurt. I don’t subscribe to pointing fingers or empowering one in a community as ‘holiest’ or ‘above sin’, but I do say to people as seen in my Bible, that to whom much is given, much is expected, and so for certain levels God will bring us to occupy, we must know that He expects the best representation at that place. The representation is not just for us and our reputations, it is more for God’s name that we bear. If we’re the only Bible some people will ever read, I think we owe it to ourselves, our co-labourers and also to the person whose name we bear, to actually live right and showcase the true nature of the identity we carry.

Reflection: Do people see God in the way I live my life?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

297

Conflict in the Church

DAY

280

PROVERBS 19:11, JOHN 15:12

t one point in my Christian walk with God, when I experienced disagreements and conflict with fellow Christians, I would sit and wonder to myself how it could be the same Spirit working in two of us. I would say to God, “if this person really has your Spirit in them, they should have known that this would offend me, or this would lead to this”, and usually, a resounding silence will follow my thoughts and meditations. Over time, I realised why in those thoughts, I was always the victim and the other person was the one to be questioned. There is a tendency for us as Christians to believe that we’ll experience less conflict amongst ourselves seeing as: 1.) we’re yielding to the work of the Spirit in us, 2.) we’re committing to dying to self daily, 3.) we know that our heavenly Father has called us all to live in peace. These 3 knowings in our mental consciousness is what allows us to entertain thoughts that we should be able to deal better and well with ourselves. But would we say this is the reality? When conflict and disagreements arise in Christian communities or between two Christians, everyone begins to wonder why, if we say we’re all operating by the same Spirit. The Holy Spirit coming to dwell in us after we’ve accepted Christ does not mean an automatic death of our human nature, it just signifies a surrender of that nature to the work of the Spirit. So as a person yields daily to pruning, refining and plunging, the human nature, which is predominantly self-focused, begins to die and the Spirit begins to rule, which could be the difference between a carnal and spiritual man. Until we become totally dead to our flesh and self, we still remain affected by the desires of the flesh and self, which usually only seeks out itself. Self desires its own well being and is not too concerned by that of those around. Two growing Christians are still capable of falling for the desires of their human nature, and more often than not, they don’t even realise it in that moment that they are being selfish, but later, with conviction from the Holy Spirit, their eyes are open to it. Knowing that we all are open to falling in this manner, until we are perfectly made dead to self, there should be a leniency that we offer each other in our relationships. There’s no progress in questioning another person’s faith because of a disagreement or making mockery of a person’s fault that is contrary to the work of the Spirit. Both responses only deepen hurt and widen gaps.

Reflection: Do I choose to love even in the face of disagreements?

298

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

The Visible vs The Invisible GENESIS 11:1-9, PSALM 115:1

DAY

281

hings never start from just actions or words. A thought always precedes it, and the result of the action reveals the quality of thoughts that went into it. It is one of the beautiful ways that God has made us human beings to work, that our brain and body work in such union. The Bible speaks to us a lot about intents and motives. It emphasises this often because, God being the Spirit, is able to see and know beyond our actions and words. Human beings may be limited in that regard, but not God, and so while it is possible to deceive human beings through words and actions, we cannot do the same with God. I have often read about the people who tried to build up the Tower of Babel in a positive light only. I have been motivated and taught about their union and unity, and I have even always used the words of God in that scripture when I was leading teams or just working with people. God is quoted there saying “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them” (Genesis 11:6). These were the words of the people prior to building the tower: “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves…” (Genesis 11:4). We’re able to see the 3 motives for this decision which are all rooted in one thing. The 3 motives were to: 1.

Build a city for themselves

Reach the heavens

Make a name for themselves

And all 3 motives were rooted in themselves. It was all for them and their glory. When our motives are based on our-self, for our-self and to the glory of our-self, it is a red flag. If we are created for God’s glory then everything, every single thing that comes from us, must be birthed from that desire to bring God glory. Not glory to ourselves.

Reflection: Whose glory is paramount to me? God’s glory or my glory?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

299

DAY

Intimacy in Godly Relationships I

282

PHILIPPIANS 2:2-4, 1 CORINTHIANS 2:2

ntimacy is knowing someone fully and being fully known by them. By default, God knows us completely, because He created us, but even at that, we are not intimate with Him until we ourselves come to know Him completely. So every human desiring to know God is growing each day in intimacy with Him, because from the definition we established at the beginning, the more you know Him, the more intimate you become with Him. Bringing it back to our earthly relationships, the highest level of intimacy cannot be attained in relationships because you cannot fully know a person by simply being in a relationship with them. You know how God uses Himself and the church to define the model of marriage? That shows us the level of intimacy that is only seen and experienced in that institution. The Bible says that we should abide in Him and He in us. It is only in marriage that this is made completely possible because as described in the Bible, a man and woman become one flesh. They are no longer two entities in the spiritual realm. The truth is, in our relationships leading to marriage, we will never attain the highest level of intimacy, we should not even aim for that until we cross into marriage, but it will be hypocritical to suggest that two people in a relationship do not, or should not share a level of intimacy. But here’s the thing, we all have varying thresholds for intimacy, some people are perfectly fine holding hands, some could lock up in tight embraces, others could lean on each other without feeling certain tingles or desiring more or thinking lustful thoughts, for others, anything beyond holding hands might be too great for their threshold, and so we see that it varies with person. This knowledge should mean that we build boundaries around physical intimacy, which is so important for any relationship, I don’t care how holy you think you both are. As Nigerians say, “na from clap dance dey start”. In other words, “it’s the tiny hug today that leads to the big premarital sex if not careful.”

Reflection: How can I build healthy boundaries in my relationship?

300

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Intimacy in Godly Relationships II

DAY

283

PHILIPPIANS 2, 1 CORINTHIANS 2:2

wonder how many of us have physically seen God Himself, not angels, agents or ministers, but God Himself. I think the closest I have come to it was in a dream, and even then, I did not see Him fully or wholly. But that I have not physically seen God or that I don’t physically see Him everyday does not in any way hamper my intimacy with Him. The absence of physical contact in my relationship with God has taught me that intimacy transcends the physical. All the holding of hands, hugs, and leaning on each other, are bare minimums of experiencing and expressing intimacy. So the question is what other channels are there to experience and express intimacy? If we say that the more you know someone, the greater the intimacy with the person, that means that as knowing increases on both sides, intimacy grows. How do we know God in spending time with Him? We study our bibles, pray, meditate, cry some days, laugh some days, fellowship with other believers, engage in communion etc. Majority of these are things that brew spiritual intimacy, which for a fact outweighs the physical expressions of intimacy. The same way we grow intimate with God in these spiritual exercises, we are able to grow intimate with our partners through similar means. Praying together, bible study and plans together, worship together, fast together, engaging in spiritual nourishing exercises, are also avenues that we can use to grow intimate with our partners without even the physical elements. I see the full definition of intimacy in relationships when I read Philippians 2:2. It says, “then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind”. Notice in this verse, it speaks nothing of being one in body, just having the same love and being one in Spirit and one in mind. This suggests to me that intimacy starts in the spirit and the mind before the physical, so if we’re intimate in the physical without being intimate in the spirit and mind, how sustainable is that intimacy?

Reflection: How intimate am I with God?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

301

DAY

Consuming Power in the Little Things

284

SONG OF SOLOMON 2:15, EPHESIANS 4:31-32

ometimes you hear people’s testimonies of God’s saving grace to them, and you somehow think you haven’t attained or received that level of grace because you have not been at ‘that level’ that the person was. I call it a skewed view of grace, to assume that there are levels to God’s grace and that the measure you receive can be less than or greater than the measure another person receives, regardless of the sins that led to the need of grace. Grace, like love, is not like a loaf of bread that diminishes each time it is given. Some people aren’t given bigger portions than the others. It is a special kind of loaf, and each piece given, is whole and brand new and the size or measure doesn’t matter because it is made up of the same ingredients — Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection and ascension. God met a friend of mine at a place of hatred. At that point in his life, hate had consumed him, and while it is not some addiction, a case of murder or sexual immorality, it was just as bad. It was funny because he identified the root of his hatred, but he said something that caught my attention, and the Holy Spirit said to me that more people need to hear that. He said, “because you cannot control hate, it consumes everything”. The little things that we don’t think much about are the big things that grow and cause so much damage in life if we don’t confront them early on. Hate, bitterness, jealousy, pain, greed and lack of contentment are those ‘little’ things that believers struggle with and most times, just ignore. We forget that these things possess the ability to consume any and everything they come across.

Reflection: What are those bad habits in my life that I consider too small to encounter God’s grace?

302

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Creating Father GENESIS 1, GENESIS 2

DAY

285

n introductory relationship of God to every new believer will be Father to Child. You will find that one of the first ways you will encounter God will be as His daughter/son. This is intentional because God introduces His son as the first of the begotten and not the only begotten anymore after Jesus died and resurrected, so we are siblings of Jesus and as such, we also experience God as Father. I think it is also a relationship that a new convert will most identify with, having a loving Father who knows best and wants best for you. It is why a lot of converts always speak of an unusual kind of love they felt at the point where they gave their lives to Christ. I remember my encounter vividly, I was just 15 and I remember crying non-stop at the realisation of how much God loves me. As we grow, the relationship diversifies, we realise that beyond Father to us, He is so many other things, and in our daily journey through life, we identify new persons that God is to us. Most people grow to also identify Him as friend, helper, healer, comforter, redeemer, etc. He is all these things and more. But an aspect for God I have recently been open to is that of Him being the Creator and I, the created. Even though I remain a daughter and He is Father, He is also Creator, and I am the created. While I’m being open to this dimension of our relationship, I’ve also realised that I’m going through seasons that I cannot question or complain about. I am having to do things out of my comfort zone and approach people I would not normally approach, and unlike a Father to child relationship where I’ll stay and ask “Why why why God”, with this relationship, it’s just to pick up your feet and move. There’s no time for questioning or complaining, only time for obedience. God is moving the church more in this direction. He is not ceasing to be our Father, but He is opening us to realise that, we are the created, and by that, we learn to be totally surrendered to His call on our lives. I went back to looking at the analogy of the potter and the clay, as well as the refiner who sits over the silver and gold, and again, I find myself asking, does the clay pot tell the potter how it wants to be moulded? Or does the silver tell the refiner when it is tired of sitting over the purifying fire? No. This is never the case. The created is the one at the mercy of the creator, and it trusts the creator that He knows exactly what He is doing.

Reflection: Do I see God as anything other than Father?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

303

Loud, Subtle Pride

DAY

286

DANIEL 4:28-31, PROVERBS 16:18

ride is often seen and talked about as an oblivious thing. We tell God to ‘Keep us far from pride’, ‘uproot pride in us’ or ‘help us so we are not proud in our dealings with people’. I mean this is perfect and all, but I was thinking yesterday of the times when we realise our pride in the moment, the times when we’re conscious of the fact that we are not being humble. In those moments, what are we doing and what are we saying? I was at an event a while back, where I met some of my absolute favourite personnel’s in different industries in the country, so while fangirling my faves, I had a couple of girls walk up to me to ask if I was Rubie of Foch woman and when I said yes, some of them told me they followed me on social media or followed the blog, and that got me really excited. At some point, I started to feel like I shouldn’t be fangirling cause other girls were fangirling me, and it was a thought I was very conscious of. So I stopped and asked the Holy Spirit, what to do because it had already gotten to my head and I was starting to feel more excited and in charge, and those were red flags for my Spirit. I genuinely feel like the Holy Spirit sent a girl I had only met to ask me to take a walk with her, and I did. We walked well away from the venue, had a drink at a nearby shop and sat and talked for some time. By the time I was done, I felt slightly refreshed, and I returned to my role at the event, being conscious of being as friendly as I normally would be towards everyone who approached me. Pride gives you a picture of yourself that you should not be having, making you think on one side that you’re better than everyone else and on the other side, that you’re not good enough. On both sides, one needs to be careful. I said to God that His children, by default, always attract attention because people always drift to what is uncommon and mysterious and usually the work of God in a man’s life always appears so. When we realise that it is never by our ability, intelligence, strength, personality, money or connections, we’ll know that there’s actually nothing to be proud of. All the glory of and from our lives need to return back to God.

Reflection: What is my reaction to realising pride in my words and actions?

304

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Revelation of Worship HEBREWS 9:22, LEVITICUS 9:24

DAY

287

he book of Leviticus is a book in the Bible that describes the ‘worship’ experience of the Israelites in the time of Moses. It highlights God’s commands to them on how to atone for sins, how to enter the tabernacle to make the atonement, and with what they should use to make atonement. It is such a beautiful book to read especially when one has truly understood the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. When you fully grasp this truth and go back to read the book of Leviticus, your heart is in a fixed state of awe and gratitude, because it hits you with all that Jesus saved us from, all that Jesus cleared just by hanging on the cross for us. The book is packed, but one thing I could say that would give you a summary of the book is ‘There is no atonement of sin without the shedding of blood’. Blood must be shed for sins to be atoned for. Leviticus shows us the source of the blood for the Israelites in the time of Moses, but with the death and resurrection of Jesus, we see that He came and became the sacrifice once and for all. What blows my mind the most when reading this book is reading it from the standpoint that we’re now the priests, sacrifice and worshippers all at the same time. There’s no longer a demarcation of the roles. By Jesus’ death, we became kings and priests. Jesus’ death made worship so much more convenient, but beyond that, more heart-felt and more intentional. Worship was also relieved of being mechanical and became more from a place of desire. I pray God opens us to a deeper revelation of what happens in the place of worship, and I hope we move from seeing worship as just songs and singing to realising that we cannot worship without our minds, hearts and bodies being the sacrifice. In my moments of worship these days, all I find myself saying is “Jesus, find me on the altar”.

Reflection: What does worship mean to me?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

305

DAY

Let the Dust Settle

288

LUKE 14:28, PSALM 46:10

was at the hospital with my nephew one time. He had a bacterial infection and had to be admitted for a few days to clear it out. One of the days I went to visit him, a nurse came in and took his urine samples twice, and she went out, and in another hour or two, the doctor came in with a file and papers that had a description of all she saw from the sample urine she got. From the feedback she came back with, she was also able to prescribe more or fewer drugs for my nephew and also estimate the number of days left for him to be at the hospital. I have seen this so many times before, I have also been sick before and had the doctor take a sample from my body, but on this day, the Holy Spirit said: “it’s also this easy for people to say what is within from what you bring out”. Being human, we’re unable to see the interior of a person, their heart precisely, and so all we have is their words and actions, the things we can see, touch and relate to. Sometimes with the help and gift of the Spirit, we might discern more. However, because of this limitation, it is important that we deliberately bring out what is already within us in the way we speak and also act. The Bible says that “By their fruits, you shall know them.” (Matthew 7:16). Your fruit is a language if you didn’t know. I can easily tell what people have within, by what I see outside. You can call it judgement, but it is fine because first of all, I expect to be judged the same way and secondly, the judgement comes from a place of love, not condemnation or comparison.

Reflection: Where am I operating without clear sight in my life now?

306

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Wind of the Spirit JOHN 3:8, EZEKIEL 37:9-14

DAY

289

he Bible uses the wind to describe the character of the Holy Spirit, navigating to where He pleases at will, sometimes without prior information or alert. The Holy Spirit will be your first teacher of what it truly means to be flexible and adaptable because like the wind, He’s not always fully predictable. Sadly, His character is in high contrast to the nature of man. We like control, and we like to know fully, and when this is absent, for the natural man, fear and doubt will creep in, so man always plays it safe, doing things He can predict the outcome of using His logic. There is a science to the wind as well, but even this science is flawed and subject to change by the second because we can’t predict what was made to be unpredictable by nature. Ever been somewhere and immediately felt a cool breeze that brought a smile and nice sensation to you? The move of the Holy Spirit should be a daily reality of us. The wind is always moving, it is never still according to science, and that’s no shock to me because the Bible likens it to the Holy Spirit. So like wind, the Holy Spirit should navigate through and in us at will.

Reflection: How often are we able to sense and feel that same sensation when it is the Holy Spirit? FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

307

DAY

Emotional Abuse

290

PSALM 34:17-20, PSALM 103:6

motional abuse can be one of the most subtle things. I will say it goes next to pride which can go a while without being detected. It is funny because truthfully, you do not have to be “a bad person” to emotionally abuse someone, you just have to weaponize your emotions against a person without their knowledge. It is as simple as you having a problem with someone and refusing to address it, but leaving the person to wonder why you’re acting up. It is also quite funny because I often find that, everyone but the person abused, realises that they are being emotionally abused. They are left feeling like they are not enough, criticised like they can do no good and just left in a space of deep questioning. They are so occupied trying to fix themselves that they can’t even see the abuse. I am aware that there’s a thin line between emotional abuse and extreme sensitivity, which is why I have been challenging myself recently, because like I said, it can go unnoticed by both parties. You must ensure you are not weaponizing your emotions in a relationship (parental, friendship, mentorship, romantic). Emotional manipulation can lead to abuse, so let’s all examine ourselves.

Reflection: Am I emotionally abusing someone without realising it?

308

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Enough Evidence MATTHEW 7:15-20, JOHN 15:16

DAY

291

Reflection: What are some habits you see on your outside that give you an indication that something is not right within?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

309

DAY

Every Step of The Way

292

LUKE 2:41-52, JOHN 4:24

ur text today gives us a picture of Jesus’ parents leaving for home from the annual event they go to every year, and the Bible says: “they went on for a day before they realised Jesus was not present with them”. On realising this, they went back looking for Him, and three days later, they found Him in the synagogue, teaching and listening. Let’s not even talk about the guts He had answering His parents the way He did. From this little snippet, I am reminded by the Holy Spirit that it is possible to continue without God for a long time without realising that He is not present with you. It is why I always say to people that the only evidence of God is God Himself, it is not money, it is not power, it is not fame, and it is definitely not health. It is why we cannot automatically say that everyone who is sick or poor is in enmity with God, because the kingdom just doesn’t work that way. God hasn’t made any material thing to be a complete and total evidence of Him or His approval. His blessings may consist of these things, but they in themselves cannot be seen instead of Him, they fail in substituting God in that manner. So when we set out on missions in our lives and we start with God, it is important that at every point, we are pausing to evaluate ourselves and our moves and also ensuring that Jesus is right there with us. Don’t look and see the money and think it is God, don’t look and see the friends and think it is God, don’t look and see health and automatically think it is God. Look and see God and then keep going. Let’s notice what happens when His parents realise He is not present with them. The Bible says they make a journey back to where they had started the journey from, and there, they found Him again. Thank God it was just a day before they realised. We go too far sometimes in our journey alone, and when we realise we’ve lost God on the way, we pray for forgiveness which is perfect, but just at 50%, the other 50% is the going back to where you’ve lost Him from. Look out for Jesus every step of the way. Don’t assume His approval and presence by any material thing.

Reflection: Has God called me to where I currently am?

310

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Is It Really a Move of God? PROVERBS 16:9, 2 CORINTHIANS 3:17-18

DAY

293

am convinced that the Spirit of God comes with some key elements in an atmosphere that makes a place fit to be called ‘God’s presence’, and it is key to be in tune with God’s Spirit in a place rather than assume every emotional response is an indication of His presence in a place. We have probably all been there before, been in a place of worship or prayer and we see people crying, wailing or even shouting, and we conclude it is definitely a place saturated with God’s presence. While sometimes it might be true that God’s presence is in a place, most times, I’ve found that people are just responding emotionally to an emotional environment and message. Reminds me of a story of Katheryn Kuhlman I had read earlier in the year. Before she got divorced from the man she was convinced was her life partner, being the wife of the pastor, she would sit in front during his ministrations in church, and she would be in tears and soft sobs, and it was funny because the media and the congregation always interpreted it as her being under the anointing and being moved by God’s spirit, meanwhile, after her divorce, she explained that the man had literally stopped her ministry, but what was most painful was that even in doing God’s work together, He still kept stifling the ministry of healing within her. This little example has helped me understand that tears, shouts and sobs are not always indications of God’s presence in a place. We must be sensitive to God’s Spirit in a place. It is like this; because we carry God in us, when we walk into atmospheres that He is also present in, the God in us bears witness with God in that atmosphere, and that’s how we make room for the move of God.

Reflection: Do I recognise God’s Spirit in places, or do I call every display of emotion a move of God? FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

311

DAY

The Open And Guarded Heart

294

GENESIS 3, PROVERBS 4:23

he tree Adam and Eve ate from had been in the garden with them since their creation. God had not used their imagination to show them the tree and tell them not to eat of it. It was a live demonstration. God showed them, probably pointing and said, eat of any tree at all but this one. One random day, Eve strolled through her garden, admired the beauty God had made for them, saw the forbidden tree and probably reminded herself that God instructed that this should not be eaten. Suddenly, a few chapters later, we find the same Eve, partaking of the forbidden fruit and offering her husband, who also gave in. I cannot help but wonder what changed? What made Eve eat it this time when she saw it, what made her silence her innerman to submit to the words of the serpent? It began to occur to me that the serpent went for Eve’s perception of God’s word to her. She already had a word she had received from God, but the serpent was able to twist the way she saw that word which allowed her to agree that what she was about to do was okay. Till today the devil is fighting our perceptions, he’s fighting every word of God given to us from the way we see it, because he knows that if you can see it differently, you’ll make compromises. Why do you think that one minute you feel so strongly about something and the next you’re making excuses as to why it won’t even be that bad. It’s the enemy working on our perceptions on what we’ve already heard from God, and it’s funny because unlike the devil who says stuff to us numerous times, God most times, just says it once and He expects that we hold on to it and keep going, for however long. We have to keep our hearts open but also guarded. Don’t let the devil alter that which God has said to you.

Reflection: What has God said to me that I have twisted or forgotten?

312

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Love That Listens PROVERBS 19:11B, PSALM 119:11

DAY

295

he Holy Spirit reminds me every time I am angry that ‘Rubie, love listens even through offence’. I often say a quick prayer after and tell God that I will listen. It is a beautiful philosophy of life that we’re most hurt by the people we love the most, we could care less about the people we do not have personal relationships with if they hurt us, but with people we know and have a relationship with, the hurt goes deeper. Some time ago, God taught me that the Holy Spirit’s best place of assignment is in relationships, including all kinds, friends, romantic, parental, communal, mentorship, etc. The Holy Spirit works in us the most in our relationships because this is the time we have the opportunity to actually obey God’s commandment of loving people. We cannot claim to love in isolation. Love thrives and grows every time that it is tested which, more often than not, happens in our relationships. It is hard to listen when you’re mad or hurt, I am actually convinced that it takes the Holy Spirit to listen in that state, but that is why today’s devotional topic is here, to encourage you to love, and in loving, understand that part of it is your ability to listen even through offence.

Reflection: Do I listen when I am angry?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

313

DAY

Christ’s Bride

296

REVELATIONS 19:7-9, JOHN 3:29

think it is beautiful that the best model God could give of marriage is the relationship that He has with the church. God looked at all the world and the closest thing He could use to give us the full idea of what marriage is, is you and Him. The more you study the relationship that exists between Jesus and the church, the more you study on marriage, even if you didn’t know they were related. I got thinking about how totally abandoned most of us are with our relationship with God, by that I mean how totally trusting we are of Him and how eager we are to hear and do when it comes to our relationship with Him. It is almost like we are excited to submit to God on whatever He says, and most times, we make excuses to submit and give it all. On the other hand, when I have conversations with regards to marriage which should mirror the description above, it’s mostly filled with cynical thoughts and ideas of why there should be that level of submission in the context of marriage. I wonder if it is because we cannot see God, but we can see the person that we marry, or if it might just be a lack of understanding as to why God would use Himself and us to mirror us and our spouses here on earth. One of my best identities in Christ is as ‘The bride of Christ’, I will never hear the Holy Spirit call me that and not experience jubilation in my spirit. It is an identity that is encompassing some deep connections that we have with God by being His bride. The openness, the trust, the intimacy, the humour, it is really beautiful.

Reflection: What does it mean to me that God calls me His bride?

314

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

We Get to Practice Marriage Before It Happens

DAY

297

HEBREWS 13:4, EPHESIANS 5:21-33

od calls us to have a relationship with Him first before chasing any other relationship in the world so that we can see and experience what it means to be truly loved. This will help us recognise it when it comes our way. We can only be lied to when we do not know the truth. So the devil is only able to give you lies to the extent that you don’t know the truth. If we studied the one true lover of our souls, the way He chooses us over and over again, and the way He has decided to love us, it will be very easy to recognise substandard love when it comes our way, but if we don’t know how He loves us, we will settle for any other thing that appears acceptable to us. If we must be married to our spouses as Christ is married to His church, then we must be in the state of the church that Jesus cleansed, and our spouses must be in the state of Christ. To break this down, it means that you must fully embrace all that came to you by the death of Christ and your spouse must have had Christ formed in them to be able to love as Christ does. In this state, when you see or hear ‘submit’, it becomes more a thing of joy than a thing of apprehension. In these times, more than ever, I sense a call of God to step up to our identity as His bride. There are so many proposal and engagement parties every other Saturday, often my thought and heart just pray that we know fully what it means and understand that we have been given practice before the real thing. The practice is your relationship with God, and this practice is gracious enough to continue even when you enter this sacred union called marriage. For me, I get so excited when I think about my future marriage because if it is going to mirror my relationship with God, then I am in for some crazy, holy fun, and to think that it gets better through the years! Only God sees my heart.

Reflection: Does the idea of submitting to a man put me off?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

315

DAY

Dove Eyes

298

SONG OF SOLOMON 1:15, PROVERBS 23:26

had to go learn about doves when I decided to read the book of Song of Solomon and noticed how often the author likened his lover to doves and how it was referenced most to His lovers’ eyes. A perfect example is, “How beautiful are you my darling! Oh, how beautiful? Your eyes are like doves” (Song of Solomon 1:15). That’s one instance out of quite a number. I made a shocking discovery, and when I think about it, I am still brought to tears. Unlike humans and most animals and birds, doves don’t have what we call ‘peripheral vision’. With us humans, we can be looking at something in front of us but still be able to see the things at our right and left, so we can have a 45-degree view to our left and our right no matter where we stand and what we look at. Some animals have it as well, which explains why during hunting, a hunter’s best bet is usually to attack or shoot from behind or aim completely out of sight because once you’re within their peripheral vision, they’ll run. It’s how you think it’s some magic that you can feel eyes on you sometimes, but it’s no magic really, you’ve got peripheral vision and your brain is picking it up that eyes to your left or right are on you, so you look up, trying to locate where the stare is coming from. But you see, doves don’t have this peripheral vision, so when they focus on something, it’s the only thing they can see. They cannot see any other thing no matter how close it is, to their left or their right. God loves a lover with dove eyes because such a lover has eyes for just Him; they are only able to see Him and Him alone. No matter the things competing for their attention, their focus is completely on the only thing their eyes can see in the time. This is why the author of Songs of Solomon kept referencing his lover with eyes like a dove. For life, you do need eyes like a dove, that you put your eye on one person, one thing, one goal and go all the way with it. It’s my new prayer to always have eyes like doves. I want my lover to look at me and see that I’ve got dove-like eyes, for Him and Him alone.

Reflection: How many things are you currently looking at?

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FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Pure Hearts 1 CORINTHIANS 13, JEREMIAH 17:9

DAY

299

ftentimes, we find ourselves resenting people for who they are or for the blessing they have, without realising and loving the God in them. The devil has used this tool to cheat millions of Christians, and more are still falling daily. God desires to brew a pure heart in each of us. Our pure heart is characterised by just one ingredient, and that is love, and as 1 Corinthians 13 tells us, “Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres.” God wants us to confront our hearts and show it the way of the Bible because even our hearts are not pure in themselves. I challenge myself to always face ill-feelings in my heart till I get to the root cause of why I am feeling that way, and when I identify it, I uproot it out completely because my only obligation to men is to love them fully and truly. God’s light always comes and casts away all shadow and darkness.

Reflection: What ill-feeling am I harbouring in my heart that I need to confront and do away with? FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

317

Come Naked

DAY

300

GENESIS 2:25, JOEL 2:13

n our generation, it has become a trend to run away from people when a negative life-changing event happens, people up and leave and block out their past, and I began to question it in my heart. Why would people decide to run away from the people they love when tragedy strikes? We could go on and on about how people are scared of being judged and misunderstood, but I really feel that there is something deeper, and recently, that deeper was revealed as I was directed back to the creation story. After Adam and Eve ate the fruit, the Bible says their eyes were open, and they saw they were naked and ran to find cover for themselves to hide their nudity. Even after covering the nudity, they still hid from God, who in that time was the only friend they knew. So their hiding from God was not because they were naked, because they had now covered their nakedness with leaves, it was hiding from shame at the realisation of what they had done. Shame only became known to them after they had fallen, because they had been created in a pure state, all they knew, thought, said and did was in purity, and once the knowledge of good and evil became known, that purity was tainted. People hide when they realise there is shame. Shame convinces people that they need to move away from the people they are known to, and so it takes you into isolation, which is exactly where the devil wants you, so he can send the rest of shame’s siblings to attack even more. When God arrived at the scene and looked around and didn’t find His friends, He called out to them and asked “where are you?” and they responded saying they were afraid because they were naked and so they hid. Watch God’s response. He says “Who told you that you were naked?”. He asked this because their purity was not supposed to know or comprehend what nakedness was. It was only after they had disobeyed and eaten the fruit that they realised the ‘evil’ in being naked. After their blame games, the Bible says that “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and His wife and He clothed them” (Genesis 3:21). God clothed their guilt and shame. The community that people run from when they are ashamed are the ones who will clothe their guilt and shame, even after they might have reacted harshly. Running away and hiding is a trait of the fallen man, it was never meant to be so. Don’t run and hide; you were never created to do that. Running and hiding is giving room for more involvement of the devil.

Reflection: What am I currently hiding from people because of shame? Speak to someone.

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FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

But There Is a Spirit in Man JOB 32:8, ROMANS 8:11

DAY

301

think it is human to acknowledge weakness in certain areas sometimes. For some people, it becomes a weakness that you are only able to see the weakness in yourself; so while it might be human, the extreme becomes what we call ‘selfdoubt’ or ‘low self-esteem’, neither of which is good. You find that people settle quickly in ‘I am human’, which is accurate, because we really are human. We are quick to excuse ourselves and dismiss bad behaviours and occurrences with the fact that we are human and up till now, it works fine for us, because it is the benefit of doubt that is always available to use if all else fails. But a conversation with a friend revealed to me that we might be living below a certain ‘glory zone’. The glory zone is a phrase described in Bob Sorge’s book, ‘Secret of the Secret Place’. It is basically that level of living that Jesus Christ died to give us access to. After Jesus died, He raised us to ‘The glory zone’; not a glory zone but the glory zone. There is only one glory zone, which is with the Father in heavenly places. The fact remains that our humanity, by its nature, is a hindrance to this zone. God knew this, so what did He do? He put a Spirit in man. Man no longer lives by himself, but with the fullness of a Spirit within him, which is the presence of God that empowers beyond the human ability. As believers, our humanity is never an excuse; rather, it is a testimony of our crossover from the realm of the flesh to the realm of the Spirit. So these days, when I think to myself ‘I am tired’, the Spirit is telling me “But there is a Spirit in you”. When I tell myself I should get revenge, the Spirit is saying “But there is a Spirit in you”. When I tell myself I cannot continue, He goes again “But there is a Spirit in you”. There is an enabling power that we must always use to fight our human nature. This enabling power shifts your mind from your ability to God’s ability, and we know that with God, nothing is impossible.

Reflection: Am I always quick to excuse my faults because I am human, forgetting that there is an enabling Spirit in me?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

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DAY

Reveal It All to Us

302

PSALM 139, HEBREWS 10:17; 8:12

often find myself praying; “God help my heart, just help it, expose it and heal it”, not because I am sick, wounded or heartbroken, but because I have realised what it means for the Bible to call the human heart desperately wicked. No matter how saved we will be, how anointed we would get, and how much power we can hone, it is a prayer we will be praying for the rest of our days. God brought David’s prayer to my mind as well. In Psalm 139, David wrote this Psalm while he pondered on the omniscience of God. He acknowledged that God knew it all, and more specifically, knew him all. God sees what we do not see, and this includes our hearts. I have often pondered on what the word ‘iniquity’ means. The dictionary will tell you it is synonymous to sin or wickedness, but studying the word in the Bible context, I have found that it is mostly related to the sin of the heart. We have all been there before; where our characters were saying the exact opposite of what our hearts were saying or when we greeted people with a huge smile and hug but despised them in our hearts for something we had heard or seen privately. I think it has happened to the best of us, and once we commit fully to God, we will find that it is one of the things He will start dealing with in us; exposing the iniquity of our heart and helping us deal with it. Sin is sin, yes, but iniquity is mostly associated with sin which is not seen, like jealousy, hypocrisy, hatred, pride, lust etc. Iniquity can be hidden your whole life if you choose not to confront it, and you can ignore it like it does not exist, but in God’s sight, it is sin, just like murder or theft. We can breeze through life without sinning but still carry so much iniquity in our heart. Lately, I have been challenging myself not to just confess sins to God, but also the iniquity, like when I looked at someone and thought evil about them.

Reflection: What iniquity are you battling with? Maybe it is time to acknowledge it and ask the Lord to heal you

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FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Growing in Opposites MATTHEW 18:1-5, MATTHEW 10:13-16

DAY

303

omething you might have heard often, especially in this time of our lives is â&#x20AC;&#x153;I expect you to be more matureâ&#x20AC;?. For your age, there is a certain level of maturity that people expect from you, and so when they see less than that level, they are quick to point out that you are displaying high levels of immaturity, which can be really annoying sometimes. It is exciting that humans expect maturity to mean more independence, while God sees maturity as more dependence. You would find that the more you grow in Christ, the less independent you become and the more dependent on Him you are. Suddenly, the most random things begin to hit you that you have not merited or earned them, but God has given you out of His love, wisdom and abundance; and so this knowing humbles you to a level of child-like gratitude and excitement. God calls us to mature in child-likeness. It is crazy for the world to grasp, but it makes perfect sense in the kingdom because the Holy Spirit cannot freely move in an independent body. You must be totally yielded to the Spirit for Him to fully move in and through you. God often makes reference to children and child-likeness when He is talking about those who will enter the kingdom of heaven and so, we are forced to observe children and understand what makes them the most fit for the kingdom of heaven. From my observation, three things stand out: children are carefree, gullible and completely trusting. Children come to tell you when they are hungry or have a need. They are not too fazed by how you would meet that need; all they know is that there is a need and so they come to the one who they know is capable of meeting that need. Children are very carefree with their needs because they trust that their guardian should already be thinking about it before they even come. Children are also very gullible; you tell them something, and they believe it, even without evidence or proof. That is just how they are wired. Finally, children trust with what I call careless abandon. These are the kinds of people that heaven has been prepared for. We are called to mature in child-likeness, and this should excite you. Think about a child you know personally, and you would understand why this is so exciting. Children exist in the moment. They trust the one who has been appointed to look over them. God is calling us to be child-like, so we can enter the kingdom of heaven.

Reflection: How childlike am I to God?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

321

Eternity Minded

DAY

304

2 TIMOTHY 3:2-7, LUKE 16:19-31

e are living through interesting times, and as the years progress, we see more obvious signs of the end time. One of my favourite teachers even said He is no longer looking out for the signs, but listening for the trumpet; that is how sensitive the time we are living through is. For a lot of people, it makes no difference and seems like an overreaction; and so, people have continued to live as though we are here forever, which is evident in the things they enthrone with their time, money and voices. Our text today gives us a few characteristics of what people will look like in the last days and I do not know about you, but I already see these every day. It is important that we allow the Holy Spirit to shift our mindsets from this earth to eternity. As the Bible says, God has placed eternity in our hearts, so we must move from being earthly-minded to being eternity-minded. Today we will look at 5 truths that we need to know about heaven. 1. Heaven is promised to all who accept Jesus and confess Him as their Lord and Saviour. It is not the quantity of the good you do that will get you to heaven. 2.

We will not miss our old lives when we get to heaven. Heaven will be too glorious to even remember the good things on earth.

We will not be tempted in heaven. Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s righteousness, purity and holiness will keep us in a constant state of purity.

We will recognise one another. The story of the rich man and poor Lazarus reveals that to us.

We will have work that will be fulfilling and meaningful. We will not be bored in heaven. I mean, imagine being united with the Ancient of Days and being bored.

We must remain eternity-driven, eternity-focused, and eternityaware, because indeed, Jesus is coming back soon.

Reflection: How often do I remember that this is not my eternal dwelling?

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FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Know Who Is in Front of Your Line

DAY

305

MATTHEW 6:33, PSALM 27:4

ne of my favourite worship songs says “You’re my treasure, my priority, who can compare to You, Great is the measure of Your royalty, Oh morning star, You truly are everything”. I do not like to sing this in public, because I do not want people to think something is wrong with me as I cry whenever the words come out of my heart. The entire song is amazing and I can easily tell that the author was in a certain place with God when this song was born. David called it ‘The secret place’ because it is only in this place that you can see God in this manner. “My priority” is my favourite adjective used. Describing God as your priority is honestly another level. Sometimes, I find myself in prayer telling God that “I’ve come with a lot, but none of them is compared to my priority which is You”. A peace settles over me at that moment, and sometimes I carry on with making my petitions, while other times, I leave the petitions and just praise in prayer. There is a kind of battle you always win when you have this mind set as default, because usually, when issues arise in our lives, without even knowing it, they become a priority; so, at the slightest moments of prayer, the only thing we mention to God is that one thing that has become a priority on our heart. However, when God is an undefeated priority to us, even when the issues arise, they know already to line up behind our one priority; and so even when we enter to pray, we are telling our priority to “look over His back to things He is capable of sorting out in the blink of an eye”. I learnt early in my faith that distractions could also come in disguise as needs and it is something we must be conscious of; that we do not ignore the heart of the Father to chase after the needs of our lives.

Reflection: Are there situations appearing bigger than God in your life right now?

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DAY

Looking the Other Way

306

ISAIAH 55:9, HEBREWS 12:2

s time goes on and as we grow more in God, one of the big things we learn to do is to separate God from life’s occurrences. We learn not to see or judge the person of God because of things that happen. Daily, I meet people who do not serve or worship God because of something that happened in their lives. A former colleague once told me she “dropped the God thing after her grandma, who worked in church, died of cancer”. She said it did not make sense to her, so she parted ways with God. In her head, she felt if her grandma who worked for God could still die of cancer, how much more she who does not work for God? So, she decided it was better to wing it and have no allegiance to God and so far, she says it has worked for her. Some of us have not come to terms with the fact that we live and operate in a fallen world. The world became corrupt after sin entered it, and even Jesus’ death did not rid the world of the evil that it is. His death and resurrection only made a pathway to unite us with our Father. We were no longer alienated from God since the death of Jesus reunited us as child and Father, and so we live and walk in this reality, despite the effect of this fallen world. The earth is not a perfect reflection of the home God has prepared for us, and until the end of the world, when the saints are united with the Father, we will continue to be impacted by the effects of this fallen world. The catch is NEVER to see God through the lens of what happened or did not happen. God is who He is, in spite of what you think He should have done, and this is something that you must constantly remind yourself about.

Reflection: Does God look a certain way to me because of a bad occurrence in my life?

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Superior Knowledge PROVERBS 1:7, PROVERBS 17:24

DAY

307

postle Joshua Selman once said, “when you get information from conviction, you die there”.

About two years ago, I had a situation that needed dire intervention from top officials, and everyone around me who knew what was going on was in panic mode, but I was not. I was not panicking because a week before this issue arose, I had a dream where God had shown me the end of the matter. It was one of those dreams that came straight from the throne room because when I woke up, it was as real as ever, and the Holy Spirit was still speaking to me about it. So, while people around me panicked, I had peace that did not allow me panic because, from my dream, I knew exactly how it was going to end. I realised that if I had not had that dream, I would have been in the same state as everyone. However, the conviction that came from my dream would not allow me to panic. No matter how dire the situation got, in my heart, all I knew was ‘we die here’. ‘We die here’ is a slang that means, ‘no matter how bad a situation gets, we stay there till the end, irrespective of what the end looks like’. When information comes through conviction from God, this is always a person’s state of mind because they have ‘superior knowledge’ of the outcome or result of whatever they are faced with. God always wants us at this place in our lives, where we are so in tune with Him that we have conviction over situations happening in our lives. When there is conviction from God, we remain unshakeable, and like me in the situation above, we will be at peace while everyone else panics. It is such a great place to be, and I am convinced that convictions are formed and revealed in the secret place, so I want to live there, where my outlook to everything in life is fuelled by conviction from God.

Reflection: Do I have any convictions fuelling me through life?

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DAY

308

The Reminder in the Burn ISAIAH 43:2, DEUTERONOMY 31:6

noticed how experiences shape our outlook of life. Like the popular saying goes, “once bitten, twice shy”. Most humans live by this saying, so if we get burnt once on something, we decide not to come back again. Because of a microwave burn that happened to me once, I developed cold feet every time I had to take something out of the microwave. On the day of the event, I was rubbing my numb fingers, and the Holy Spirit was saying to me that ‘a burn should never stop me from going back’, not to the microwave, but to a promise God might have made to me. Some of us make requests once or twice, and when there are no answers, we change the request or just ignore them and move on to the next thing. I have met people who have resolved never to marry because of a few heartbreaks. Burns cannot stop us from coming back to the feet of the cross. In fact, the cross should be our constant abode, not only when we are in need of answers or blessings. God wants us to be so comfortable with being at His feet to the point where things come and go and meet us there, still worshipping at His feet. Things will hurt for sure, disappointments will come, and not everything will make sense, but do not develop a fear for making requests or develop a fear for that dwelling place. Just like my fingers remind me of the experience, let those issues remind you of the good and sovereign God that we serve, who works everything out for our good in His time.

Reflection: What am I running away from because of a burn?

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FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Leading Us to Rest MATTHEW 11:25-30, ISAIAH 14:3-4

DAY

309

ne of my favourites childhood pets was a Russian Caucasian dog that was so beautiful. We named him Steward. He had suddenly started to rebel in the house. First, when let out on his walk, he bit a girl on the street. A couple of days later, he started growling at the people who took care of him. I did not even believe what they were telling me until one evening, I went to his cage to give him food, and after seeing me, he got so aggressive and wild and started barking. We let it slide until the day he bit the person who fed him, and my mum decided it was now beyond her. We decided to let him go because he had become rebellious and untameable. One random day, while thinking about Steward, God told me “rebellion makes you hazardous to your environment”. I spent some time meditating on it, and I realised that while God is not human who would let us go (like my mum who let Steward go), He might still need to carry out measures to stop us from being hazardous to the environment He has placed us in. These measures will look like different things to different people, but it is all birth from a place of love; for you and the people around you. With God, our rebellion is not very obvious to others, but we and God are aware. Your refusal to obey God and stay on the course He has placed you on, puts you in a position where you might never reach the people God wants you to reach or minister to the people that He wants you to minister to. I am reminded of a video I watched once, where a multi-millionaire appeared before God so excited and happy because of the millions He had pumped into kingdom work. After he finished bragging about it, God said, “Son, yes, you did all this, but you don’t understand that you would have done 10 times more if you had just stayed where I asked you to”. Wherever that was, only he and God knew. Immediately, he became sober and remembered how God had spoken to him severally in that aspect, and he had ignored to chase ‘his big dream’. All God wants is you, and He wants you to reach a point where you want him beyond any other thing, including money, fame, connections and power. My prayer is that God takes all of us to that place. It is the place of true rest!

Reflection: What am I currently rebelling against that God is cautioning me on?

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DAY

Who Is Lying? I

310

ROMAN 3:4, EPHESIANS 4:11-13

have been privileged to work in church leadership and ministry for almost 11 years. I started two years into high school and have continued up until now. My passion for doing God’s work is tied to seeing His kingdom advance in sound doctrine and improved quality of life in the lives of new converts, added to the fact that I have natural gifts of the spirit that lead me into administration and leadership. These 11 years have been enough time to gather a lot of experience, share lessons and also identify issues well before they blow up. I do not believe my experiences were given for just me. God will use my experience and lessons to teach more church leaders, and also inspire more people into working in ministry. A huge difference with being a leader and a member is a clearer view of what actually happens when believers gather. A lot of our conversations will be eliminated because we would see the background work of what it takes to work in ministry. Because the Holy Spirit is not an author of confusion, varying opinions on one issue can be a call for all parties to go and pray more on an issue. Asides that, I have seen three main ways to navigate disagreements when varying opinions emerge. We will talk about one today and the other two tomorrow. 1.

The first is to remember that “every man should be a liar, and only God should be true”. ‘Every man’ includes yourself. So, no matter how irritated you might get, you have to tell yourself that you might be being irrational and might need to go and seek God even deeper on the issue. Surely, God is speaking through someone there, so it will take humility, discernment and obedience to identify God’s truth and stand for it.

Reflection: How do I handle disagreements in church?

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FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Who Is Lying? II EPHESIANS 4:11-13, ROMANS 3:4

DAY

311

esterday, we started looking at dealing with disagreements in church communities, and we highlighted one way to navigate disagreements when varying opinions emerge. Today we will conclude with two other ways to navigate these disagreements. 2.

Eliminate every thought that your own opinion is the “Spirit-led one”, even though it might be. Over time, I have learnt that God will do what He will do. He can use different channels and ways to achieve the same goal, so even if my suggested way was not the selected one, I still know that the one chosen takes us to the same destination, as long as God is involved.

Godly hierarchy exists for a reason, even in ministry. When all else fails, the one in charge can decide to make the final decision if the entire team agrees it is best that way. Issues arise when top heads or teams decide to use their power or authority to do what they feel is right without consulting the rest of the team. I am a firm believer that no authority exists outside of God. I honestly believe that when the head makes a final decision, that might be God’s way. It does not stop me from seeking clarity after that decision is made, or asking questions, but if I am praying for the head, I must believe that God will accomplish His will through that head. Casting lots was also a huge thing among Jesus’ team. It is not ungodly to decide to go with the majority, except if that majority is outrightly against the will or move of God. However, casting lots involves a great deal of spiritual maturity, which is why church leadership teams should usually consist of people who are spiritually healthy and sound.

I cannot lie to you, it can be really tough sometimes; particularly when you are convinced the decision made might not be the best. But what has worked for me is always reminding myself that I cannot do God’s work better than He can, no matter how

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equipped I think I am. So, even if it is not the best decision, God can still achieve the best result from it. That is what makes Him God, right? In conclusion, while varying opinions might exist, no one might be lying. It usually is just a case of different perspectives, but with meekness, humility and obedience, I am convinced the best result will be achieved. 11 years later, I am still a work in progress, so do not beat yourself up as you journey through. There is refining happening through the process.

Reflection: How can I be a better team member, whether in church teams or outside church teams?

330

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Running Back to the Cross ISAIAH 59:1-2, COLOSSIANS 2:14

DAY

312

think we sometimes see God as the big man up there, who is mad at us for not spending time with Him, not giving offerings, or doing something we know was wrong; but we forget that God operates with us in purity. So, even when we have been impure, the pure blood of Jesus speaks on our behalf. While God is not excited or glorified each time we sin or do anything that does not glorify Him, He also does not turn against us or begin to see us as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;uncleanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Our reading today makes us understand that sin separates us from God, and that is only possible because of the holiness of God. His holiness cannot stand sin, but Jesus makes it possible for Him to stand in spite of sin, as long as there is repentance. We must always run towards God and never away when we feel guilt. The moment we isolate in guilt, we give the devil room to do more damage. God always calls us to Himself with arms wide open, and oftentimes, it is up to us to run to Him and not away from Him when we feel we have faulted. God teaches us the same when we come to Him, to look at others through His eyes and not as the world will see them, even after a horrible past.

Reflection: What is my response to sinning? Run to God or away from Him?

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DAY

313

Changing to Accommodate My Neighbour

MARK 12:31, EPHESIANS 5:18

have a strong personality, and it is not something I developed; it came naturally as I grew up. Before I surrendered to Christ, I can attest to the fact that I misused my personality; I could literally convince a person to do anything, and also talk myself out of anything. Now, God uses these same gifts, but for convincing people to do things for His kingdom, and also counselling people who have been through tough situations in life. The Holy Spirit taught me to be gracious and forgiving because when I am not, it could look like something else in the eyes of other people. So, you would find that things do not stick with me, i.e. offence blows away with the wind, and that came by the Holy Spirit. Generally, I have observed that people with strong personalities need to take more responsibility when it comes to handling conflicts in relationships, not in a bad way by hiding their feelings, but rather by being conscious of how they convey their message so that the other person receives the message without being hurt unnecessarily. I always talk about the Holy Spirit temperament because the Holy Spirit purifies our natural personalities and teaches us to incorporate the fruits of the Spirit into our lives. Our characters are refined by the Holy Spirit as we engage Him, but some things would be required of us. Sometimes, these things might appear bespoke, like in my case, writing more than actually approaching people physically when I have an issue with something. It gets better with time. We learn to relate with people in a way that glorifies God by adjusting the parts of us that stand in the way of that. God calls us to live at peace with all men, and sometimes that looks like changing some things about ourselves. Change that glorifies God is always good change, so letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s be willing to adjust ourselves to accommodate others.

Reflection: Am I always bent on having it my way without considering the other person?

332

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Failed Love I 1 CORINTHIANS 13:7-8, JOHN 13:34-25

DAY

314

eople often say “reasons why love failed”, but thinking about it with the knowledge of scripture, I think a better and honest way to have it is “reasons why relationships failed”, because love never fails. It is still so relevant to loads of young people out here, so please stay engaged. Maybe a relationship ended, and you still have no idea why it did, I would give ten possible reasons why it failed. We will talk about five today and five tomorrow. 1.

It was not love. If love never fails, and Christ’s love for us will never fail, a love from a lover like Christ will not fail. This is a hard truth to settle, but always remember that love never fails.

You or the person got too comfortable, stopped “chasing” each other, settled in “he’s/she’s mine now”, and then someone realised they deserved better and moved on. A lovely book I read on marriage said “married couples should forever remain dating themselves”. The author meant, they should constantly seek to outdo each other in loving themselves. Do not get complacent.

There was fear in some sort. The fear could have looked like mistrust, fear of the future or maybe fear of seeing the person angry. If perfect love casts away fear (1 John 4:18), a relationship full of fear was bound to fail.

Someone found themselves constantly having to change to accommodate the other. It is important to keep evolving to better versions of ourselves, but it is controlling and repulsive for people to try to shape you into the version of you in their heads. When you change because of someone, it is difficult to sustain that change, hence why a relationship will fail.

From the start, someone was begging to be loved. The love did not come naturally or fully. If you need to beg a person to love you, that love will fail one day.

Reflection: Do any of these points sound familiar to you, maybe you need to bring it before God today. FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

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DAY

Failed Love II

315

311 CORINTHIANS 13:7-8, JOHN 13:34-25

esterday, we started looking into reasons why relationships fail. Today, we will talk about another five reasons why relationships fail, and hopefully, learn from them so we can do better. 6.

You do not love yourself. It is a sad reality, but relationships fail when the people involved do not even love themselves. When you do not love yourself, you will constantly be looking to your partner to give you love that can and should come from yourself. When it becomes too burdensome, someone walks away, yielding to a failed relationship.

Love and lust may have been synonymous to you, which is why people break up with their partners for refusing to sleep with them. The requests placed on us by our significant others reveal their hearts. When you see that their “love” is lust, the relationship is bound to fail.

You deliberately ignored all the red flags from the start. We make excuses for people when we like them, so we say yes to them in hopes that they will change. Sometimes, it takes the relationship failing to realise that you cannot change a person who does not decide to change by themself.

Your idea of love is cuddles, “I love you” texts and butterflies in your tummy. When you do not see these, you walk away because you refuse to accept that someone in a relationship with you is not asking for your body. This is almost the opposite of the second point.

10. You want love that you do not give. Relationships fail when we expect what we do not and cannot give. You need to give the love you want to receive. If you want a love like Christ’s, you would need to give love like his. We learn love from the best lover, Jesus. Let us be intentional about looking at the way He loves us and replicating it in our human relationships.

Reflection: Am I guilty of loving on my terms and not on that of Jesus?

334

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Winning Love I 1 THESSALONIANS 3:13, COLOSSIANS 3:16

DAY

316

ollowing up from the last two days talking on failed love, I think it is important to see the opposite of that, which is winning love. The things listed below are things that we should commit to heart and always remember, so we can have a flourishing relationship. God desires above all things that we prosper in body, soul and spirit. The Holy Spirit influences every part of our lives to reflect God, so do not keep Him out of your relationship. We would discuss 10 reasons why your relationship will win, five today and five tomorrow. 1.

You both understand that God is love and love cannot fail. There is power that is released when both parties know exactly what love is, as described by God Himself.

There are three of you in the relationship - the couple and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit inspires us to love like Christ. Leave Him out, and we are all left at the mercy of the height of human love which cannot be compared to the love of God.

There is less “me” and more “us”. Selfish people cannot move from me to us, so both parties need to learn to be selfless to fully grasp winning love.

There is openness and vulnerability; not a constant sense of fear of what the other person thinks or says. The Bible says that Adam and Eve were before themselves naked and were unashamed. The naked in that verse did not only mean physically; it meant they were open and honest with themselves.

There is healthy communication that caters for every party’s needs. No one is doing too much, and no one is feeling like the other is not doing enough. The love between both parties inspires work in the relationship.

Reflection: Do you recognise these traits in your current relationship, both romantic and non-romantic? FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

335

Winning Love II

DAY

317

1 THESSALONIANS 3:13, COLOSSIANS 3:16

esterday, we started looking at reasons why our love will win. We continue to see five more today, and hopefully commit to walking in these truths, so we can testify of flourishing relationships. 6.

There is an end goal that is known to both parties. Relationships without a distinct view of the end usually end in premium tears. Constantly communicate about your end destination together, at least on earth.

There is an alignment in values and principles. You are not always arguing about what to do on date nights; one person wants to club, the other wants a cute dinner at some fancy place. Winning relationships have aligned values that guide both parties.

There is a safe room for mistakes to be made and lessons to be learnt. Relationships are not for perfect people, but for those who can love without condition and correct in love.

There is a constant reaffirmation of love, trust, commitment and loyalty. Winning relationships are forever in the first stage of dating, even after marriage, never getting tired or used to the shine of the other person, always being in awe of their wonder.

10. There is purity that empowers the love between both parties. The two people involved respect each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bodies and souls by committing to pure love which involves intimacy without sin. These are indications and reasons why a relationship will stay winning. However, none of this is as important as being Spiritled, even in the decision of who to have as a partner. A man and his wife should be a reflection of Jesus and His church. At every point, you should be looking for Jesus and the church in you and your partner. It is the only sure way!

Reflection: How much of Jesus do I see in my partner?

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FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

To Stay or Walk Away I MATTHEW 18:15-17, HEBREWS 12:2

DAY

318

e have heard it said so often that no one is perfect. Some people say it to state the reality of the human flesh we dwell in, and some others use it as an excuse to dismiss ill behaviour. Either way, a message is always conveyed, and this message is that ‘another human will fall short of our expectation of them, and in those times, a gracious response is what is required; not dismissing or telling them off, because for all you know, it could have been unintentional.’ People have battled with uniting this same message with issues of relationships. I have had to speak with young girls and women in relationships who ask, “how far can I tolerate a bad habit before I walk away?” Note that this question is entirely different from “how many times should a person forgive?”, because the dynamics in both are entirely different and most times, the issues associated with the former are not necessarily offences; but with the latter, it usually is an offence against the person in question. The question simplified is, “when does tolerance become folly?”; “When do I identify that I have crossed over from being gracious to being outright silly?”. We will talk about two points today and finish it up tomorrow. 1.

When there is no obvious change after it has been spoken about severally. A person who has refused to change after several confrontations is obviously bent on their way, and we should never be in a place where we feel the need to force someone to change. Our text details how to handle such persistent issues. After speaking severally about it and even involving people who could help them, and there is no change, the Bible says “treat them as you would a pagan”.

When the person is constantly in a defensive mode about the subject. Anything you are not free to talk about in a relationship will not change in marriage. If they will not freely talk with you about it in this phase, I am afraid you must also be willing to have it the same way in marriage.

These are a few things that make it obvious that we have to think about our relationship with people.

Reflection: Is my partner exhibiting signs that I should show more concern about?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

337

DAY

To Stay or Walk Away II

319

MATTHEW 18:15-17, HEBREWS 12:2

esterday, we started looking at factors that make it necessary for us to evaluate our relationships with people. We looked at two yesterday, and will continue to look at another three today. 1.

There is never remorse, apology or restitution. The Bible tells us that godly sorrow spurs a person to repentance. If your partner has wrong things pointed out to them, and they show no form of remorse, it says a lot about their heart and value system, and I do not think it is something that should be ignored, because anything you ignore in relationships, would be expected to be ignored in marriage. This is the reason for courtship stages; to talk about everything and have unified fronts in all issues that are dear to both parties.

You are being taken for granted. When a person begins to disrespect you wilfully, it is obvious. If it is a habit that is as obvious as entertaining other women romantically when you two are involved or publicly disclosing private stuff about both of you, it is a sign that such a person does not rate you; and it is fair to walk away. No one wants to be with someone who will constantly disrespect them.

This last point is quite sensitive, because it involves a man’s finances. Women sometimes say “nothing seems to be happening, I don’t want to be like this all my life”, and it is a valid concern. No woman wants to believe she will be in a place without any form of security from the man that she will call her husband, no matter how well-to-do she might be. For this point, I always tell them that this is where “foresight” and “discernment” will kick in. Are you able to see a positive change in the status of the person in the next 5/10 years? Depending on the answer, you have a decision to make. If we judge them from just now, that will be unfair, but if we have been able to have a peek into their future from their current habits and decide that it will go nowhere, it becomes justified to walk away. Not just for yourself, but for future offspring that will be involved.

These are 5 ways to examine a situation where one is left wondering “should I stay or walk away?”. Ultimately, the Spirit within us leads us in the best way to go.

Reflection: Has the Holy Spirit led me in my relationship up to this point?

338

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Power Hungry HEBREWS 13:5, GALATIANS 5:26

DAY

320

en have remained so hungry and desirous of power and fame that they go to any length to get it. In the days of old, bloodshed was nothing to them, as long as power was with them. The kings of those times had people who were so committed to them that they would shed blood to defend the name of the king. It is also similar to these times, how politicians have people who have pledged allegiance to them and defend them in word and deed. I remember a time I travelled back to my state of origin in Nigeria. As we drove past a familiar place, I noticed some young men in a house, who sat outside drinking and laughing loudly. Their loud music and the dressing made me realise they were up to no good, so I insisted on getting answers. I asked who they were and what they were doing there and someone responded saying “they are homeless young guys who were being hosted by a certain politician”. The person who responded added no more and made it appear like it was a hand of charity. None of that added up, because while they looked homeless, it appeared they had gathered for a purpose. I did not push further, but a week later, I overheard a conversation about why those young men were gathered together. They were thugs who had been recruited to do work for someone in power. Even as at then, my young mind could not fully process how a man could get to that level of inhumanity to employ other men to destroy and torture other people. Reading the book of Samuel helped me see further that power still looks like all the things people idolise today, from money to security to material possessions, fame, etc. I also got to see that indeed, power always exalts. So, anyone who has had or still has power has a tendency to exalt themself, and also be exalted. It becomes a rivalry to the worship of God because God has all the power in His hands, even the one we think we have, and it is only in humility that we realise every moment of our lives that this power (in whatever form it is), belongs to God and we must use it as He leads us to. I realised further in meditation, that we might never be weaned off the love of power, but we can be taught by the Holy Spirit to remind ourselves of the drop our power is in the ocean of God’s overall power. It will keep us humble.

Reflection: How hungry am I for power? (i.e. money, fame and material possessions)

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

339

DAY

“I Don’t’ Want It, I Didn’t Do It”

321

MATTHEW 21, ROMANS 11:36

n our text today, God sends His disciples to get Him a young colt that had not been ridden by anyone. The Bible records that when the colt was brought, Jesus mounted it, and as He rode into the city, the people of Jerusalem spread their clothes on the floor for Him to ride on. It hit me that Jesus was mounted on the colt, so it was the feet of the colt that actually touched the clothes laid on the ground and not the feet of Jesus. In honouring Jesus, the people did not realise that much greater honour was going to the colt, because it was the colt’s feet that tread on the clothes that they had laid. It is a reminder that anyone who carries Jesus cannot be kept from the honour and glory that people ascribe to Him, but it must never stop there; we must be intentional about pointing men back to the real King that sits on us. It is such a privilege and blessing to host Jesus! You enjoy honour for simply agreeing to host Him. Men must know that we are only vessels, and glory must return to the One from who the virtue flowed.

Reflection: How conscious am I about pointing people back to Jesus when they praise me?

340

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Coming Back Again and Again

DAY

322

2 SAMUEL 5, PSALM 27

y mum comes alive in the kitchen, and it is so beautiful to witness. I could say she is an expert in baking and cooking and somewhere in my head, she could retire into owning a bakery or restaurant run by people using her recipes. Something funny happened last Christmas, though. We were baking, and we asked her to make a bit of one of her specials, and that morning, I found her in her pantry, looking through her recipe books for the recipe of what we had asked her to make. I was certain she was looking for it, not because she had forgotten how to make it, but because she wanted certainty that it would come out as perfect as it had always come out. So, she found her recipe and delivered as excellently as we had hoped she would. Sometime ago, I sat reminiscing on the life of David in the Bible. I do this often because David unlocked a certain level with God that not a lot of patriarchs did. I remembered the particular story in our text today where David enquired of God whether or not to pursue the enemy troop, and God gave Him answers both times but with a different strategy the second time. The Holy Spirit spoke to me about how it is so dangerous to live on the instruction and glory of yesterday for today’s new battle. He helped me see that while my mum was an expert in her culinary and baking skills, she still kept her recipes and referred to them ever so often, not because she had forgotten, but because that constant enquiry of them guaranteed her same excellent results every time. Same with David, his constant coming back to God to enquire for direction guaranteed his victory against the enemy troops every time. It is no coincidence that the Lord’s prayer says ‘Give us our daily bread’. We need new bread daily, as we cannot be satisfied with leftover bread from yesterday. Bread here could mean word, direction or counsel. We daily need God’s fresh perspective on things. We cannot and should never move by assumption in our walk with God.

Reflection: Am I receiving bread from God daily? Or am I a professional at using leftovers?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

341

DAY

Most Likely the Known Channel

323

1 SAMUEL 17, 1 SAMUEL 3:7-11

observed that people expect God to speak to them differently when it comes to issues that they deem ‘crucial’, e.g. who to marry, where to move to, whether or not to go to work or even pursue a master’s degree. Suddenly, people expect God to appear to them in a dream with His choice, or send a prophet from somewhere to say “This is the word of the Lord…” My first question to such people is always, “How does God normally speak to you? The best way He chooses to speak to us is through consistent communion with Him. If we only seek His face and hear Him once in three months, the likelihood that you would be able to hear when He speaks again is very low. Let us see another dimension of consistency with God’s work in a person with the story of David and Goliath. David had killed a lion and a bear before standing to fight Goliath. Certain biblical inclinations even make me believe that Saul only let David fight Goliath after he had made that point. While it is not expressly written in the Bible how David killed the bear and lion, I perceive in my Spirit that it was in a similar way to how he killed Goliath - with a sling and stones. The Bible records that David said, “I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear” (1 Samuel 17:35). In that situation, ‘struck’ could be anything, but we know that David was a shepherd who was skilled in the use of his sling and stones; so, the likelihood that he would adopt another means to strike these dangerous animals was very low. With one stone and one shot, mighty Goliath came crashing down. I would say this only comes by constant practice, coupled with divine backing. The answer you are waiting to get by angelic visitation will probably come by a whisper in your heart as He has always spoken to you because how we have trained is how we will fight the battle.

Reflection: How have I been trained to fight the battle?

342

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Name = Nature GENESIS 1:27, MATTHEW 5:16

DAY

324

I recall a funny incident that occurred when I was in high school a few years ago. One of the hostel mistresses had done something really uncalled for, and she would not let me explain, so I snapped at her, and told her that if she would not listen to me, I would also not listen to her. A few days later, our parents came to get us from school, and while I was skipping to my mum, I sighted her a few metres from me, but noticed she was not alone. She was speaking to the hostel mistress that I had a little issue with. I arrived at the scene to hear my mum saying “Rubie would never do that, my daughter will not do a thing like that”, welp! I felt horrible that my mum would not believe her despite the fact that I actually did exactly what the woman had said I did, but hey, my mother also knew the daughter she raised. I was still asked to apologise before we left, though. God was recently saying to my heart that “Your nature must defend My Name”. I prayed further, asking for clarity, and I got insight that our nature must testify of The Name that we call. In this case, Jesus. Our nature (behaviour, character and mannerism) must be consistent with that of Jesus if we call His name. People are not wrong for holding us to the standard of Christ if we name the name of Christ. I always say to people that this Christian walk is hardly about me as a person. God opens us wider each day to see a full picture and the more of that picture you see, the more you realise how important it is that we be the people we say we are - people of God. If I say I am a Christian, people expect me to exemplify Christ, and when I do not, they are not wrong for judging the name when nature is inconsistent. So you see, something larger than us is at stake here. We are not just representing ourselves when we relate with people; we represent an entire name and an entire body.

Reflection: How much of my nature is consistent with the name of Jesus?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

343

Continue from Where I Stopped

DAY

325

GENESIS 16, 2 PETER 3:9

while ago, I was editing a document someone had worked on, and I could not count the number of times I stopped, took a deep breath and said out loud, “God you have to help me”. I was slightly angry, and my anger was on how I assumed my work would be easier just editing, but I realised it would have even been better to start from scratch and do it to the end. It would have saved me more time, because the time I spent editing, replacing, removing, adding and checking if it still made sense, took more time than I probably would have if I did it from scratch. After I was finished, I sat reminiscing on the entire situation, and I imagined this is how it is when we go to God halfway and tell Him to finish something that we started. I do not know if it sounds familiar to you, but if it does not, we can use Abraham to see the bigger picture. God promised Abraham a son that would live under God’s covenant to him. However, God appeared to be taking too long with the delivery of the promise, so Sarah took matters into her own hands and asked Abraham to sleep with her servant Hagar. In her words, “perhaps I can build a family through Hagar”. This is someone who had heard the promise of Isaac directly from God’s servant. Father Abraham did not object; He obliged and slept with Hagar, and after things had escalated real quick, and Hagar had a child for Him, Abraham came to God and said “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!”. Listen to what God replied: “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.” (Genesis 17:19) Do you see that God will never ignore His own plans to chase the ones we have started? He is able to change plans, but He will never change His purpose. Some of us start things of our own accord, and when we run into trouble we cry out to God. God is often gracious enough to answer and ask us to go back to where He will start with us from, but shame and pride have the best of us, so we insist that He works with what we have started with. Abraham was indirectly asking God to reconsider making the covenant with Ishmael instead of Isaac as intended, but God was not going to give into that. The best way is to start with God and go through the entire process with Him. However, if we fault and deviate from God’s intended purpose, we must be willing to go back to start afresh if God needs us to. It minimises delays, ensures security and guarantees the fulfilment of God’s will.

Reflection: Is God calling me back to rebuild any foundations?

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FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Long Coloured Braids MATTHEW 7:1-3, 2 PETER 3:18

DAY

326

recently saw a friend with long coloured braids, and she looked amazing in them. I mean, nothing special here, people have braids on every day, but my mind quickly went back to a few years ago when I visited her house with my long black braids. I remember her dad came in while we cooked in the kitchen and after several questions to know more about me, he changed gear to my hair and why I decided to have such “artificial hair on my head”. He attempted drawing lines to relate it with religion and left a few hints here and there as to why it was supposedly unacceptable for me to have hair like that on my head as a Christian. I had encountered people like that before, and I knew well to always smile back and get them to understand in the simplest language, that man-made rules cannot be exalted to God’s word. While it is fair to decide something for yourself, it is unfair to impose it on others, particularly when it is your preference. I did not say all this to him, but these were my thoughts behind my giggles and “okay, thank you”. My friend and I laughed it off. She knew her dad’s religious background, so she had to be raised that way. He is her dad, after all, so she did not exactly have a choice. When I saw her picture with the lush braids, the scenario came back to my memory, and I had a little smile creep up, after which I heard a whisper in my heart saying “we’re all allowed to grow”, and that is true. In our thinking, words and actions, growth is permitted and expected. Do not get scared or held back because of what people will say if you change your mind. We are allowed to change our minds, especially when such changes make us better people. It was an opportunity to lash out at my friend and her dad saying “oh wow, the religious man’s daughter now has the sacrilege on her head”, but I did not do that. What differentiates genuine growth and inconsistency is time. So, just be patient with yourself and your new growth, and every other person will come around with time. Do not let the naysayers stop you from flourishing. We are allowed to grow for the better and make no apologies for it.

Reflection: Am I scared to grow because people will call me a hypocrite?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

345

DAY

327

Heaven Is for the Childlike MATTHEW 18:3, MATTHEW 19:14

he kingdom of God is for the childlike. Note that it is childlike, not childish; there is a difference between them

Have you ever observed the fearlessness and boldness of children? I once overheard a 4-year-old telling an adult “I will report you to my daddy and He will come and beat you”. She saw the size of this adult, noted what the adult had done, gauged her dad with the adult, and informed this adult boldly that ‘even if I cannot beat you, my daddy will do it for me’. This is the innocent boldness that most children have. They are never fearful to inform their parents of their true feelings, particularly if they were raised in a home that allows them to freely express themselves. They boldly admit how they feel, and it is from there that parents start training them on what thoughts need to come out in public or stay in till they get home. Are there certain fears you have of God and heaven that you have been too scared or shy to voice out? Maybe you are thinking, “let me not say or think this before I blaspheme”, but the Holy Spirit teaches us that reverence and fear of God should not paralyse us to the point of not expressing certain feelings to Him. God is God. He can handle all of us, and the best part is that He sees our hearts. So, while humans may not understand, God does, because He sees the motives and intentions behind the words. If you are harbouring concerns about God or heaven, I want you to know that you are not sinning by doing so. Sometimes, our minds have not been renewed to the point of grasping some truths, and God does not hold us for it because He knows it is a process. So, please voice it out to Him and allow Him to show you truly who He is and what eternity with Him will look like.

Reflection: Am I scared to ask God certain questions?

346

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Banging for Others EPHESIANS 6:18, JAMES 5:14

DAY

328

ne time, I got a notification from a friend on Twitter and opened it to find a plea to get on Instagram and comment someone’s name under a post to win an opportunity. I did not know who this person was, but on account of my friend who reached out, I went through the hassle to do as asked. I gave the occurrence some thought, and while at it, it occurred to me that this is the power of intercession. A case is made for someone for something that does not necessarily benefit them directly. Remember that Jesus does this every single time for us. First, He is always praying for us, and then the Bible says “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, The Righteous one”. Jesus stands for us daily before the Father. When we intercede, we mirror this dimension of Jesus: standing in the gap for people who are facing tough situations of life. We glorify God most when we truly take on His image, and intercession is one way we can daily take on the image of God.

Reflection: If all your prayers were answered today, how many people’s world would be changed? Is it just yours? This gives us a perfect idea of how important intercession is.

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

347

DAY

Justice Does not Always Bring Healing

329

ISAIAH 1:17, MICAH 6:8

e live in a society that clamours for justice; most times, even more than we emphasise on healing for the victim. Some people believe that justice will always bring healing, but it is rarely the case. While we must pursue justice, we must encourage healing even more. There is nothing that comes from a place of revenge or spite that will ever please God. The foundation is unholy, and so even the fruits remain the same in His eyes. When we have been hurt, our humanity convinces us that we might feel a lot better if the person who hurt us is also hurt. We like to call it “karma”, with the mindset that “since you did it to me, it is only right if someone does it to you”. However, karma opposes forgiveness. Karma says a person must experience what they have dished out to others, but Jesus says if they confess and repent, they are forgiven. It can be a really hard pill to swallow, but it is always possible with the help of the Spirit. Do not ever pursue justice for revenge. Let the pursuit of justice be more from a place of mercy than spite. I see broken people everyday who even after being served justice, are still so hurt and bitter; and this is because they have not dealt with the hurt from inside. There is a reason why the working of the Holy Spirit in us is inward and flows outward. It is because you cannot reflect what you do not have inside of you. Pain and hurt will always find a way to reflect itself if it is resident in a person. So, this is a gentle reminder to heal. Heal from what has hurt you - failure, heartbreak, abuse, an accident, an ill-spoken word or whatever it is. Heal.

Reflection: Are there things from my past I need to heal from?

348

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

My Healing Will Finish There

DAY

330

ECCLESIASTES 9:11, 1 SAMUEL 16:14-23

t is important that we do not compromise the phase of shepherding, just to sit on the throne that we have already been anointed for. There are several skills that shepherding must teach us that come in handy for the throne. Remember, David learnt to use the sling and stone in shepherding. He also spent his free time learning to play the harp, which came in handy as the first point of access he would have into the palace. For some people, the shepherding period is the time to heal and unlearn. More people need to be honest about habits that need to be dealt with before the next phase of life, even if it appears they are racing against time. Sometimes, drown out the noise that is causing the hurry and haste, insist on operating on Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s terms and as much as possible, insist on healing before walking into something serious. The throne is guaranteed. No one could take it from David, but he had to accept the journey to the throne to be the king that he was.

Reflection: Am I in a hurry to get to the throne?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

349

DAY

Love Meets Justice

331

MATTHEW 26:40-41, AMOS 5:24

often wonder why injustice is so prevalent, even up till this century. I used to think we had come such a long way, but now, I see that the long way we came is by having the same prejudice, but being able to cover it up and internalise it better. This is what happens when things are swept under the rug. They do not disappear; they are just not visible to the eye, and it does not necessarily mean the room is not clean. It has become apparent that love is the only solution to injustice; because, in love, there is justice for God. It will be difficult for an angry and agitated person to process this, because all they see is the injustice, not its effects or the solution. Unfortunately, the gospel does not seek to be politically correct. The world seeks a response that is ideal and equal to the injustice, but would that really be love? Love and redemption are the only antidote to injustice. Jesus would have responded to injustice with love, and that is the only way for the believer. We must remember that love starts in the heart, and so we cannot love if our hearts are clouded with anger and bitterness. It would take effort, but the Holy Spirit is able to empower us to respond as Jesus would. There is definitely a place for calling out injustice and speaking against it, but even then, where is the speech born from? Is it born from anger? Frustration? Or from the love of God? If we remove love from justice, we begin fighting our own battle with human strength, so it is important that as believers, we have a heart check as often as possible. Let sin committed against us not lead us to commit sin. In the kingdom, there is no â&#x20AC;&#x153;it is because of her/him I sinnedâ&#x20AC;?. Everyone takes responsibility for themselves, which is why we must intentionally guard our hearts, as selfish as it sounds. Our stance and response at all times should be love. I am praying for the hearts of saints all over the world, that our love will not wax cold because iniquity abounds. We must stay watchful and prayerful, and not be caught slipping, so we would not fall into temptation.

Reflection: How do I deal with injustice internally and externally?

350

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Feel What I Feel LAMENTATIONS 3:22, PSALM 7:17

DAY

332

he current state of the world is not a reflection of the God that we serve, and it is also not a punishment for our sins. Jesus already came and became sin for us. The Holy Spirit is just as grieved as the saints are. We need to remain in a state of gratitude, regardless of all that is happening around us. Since last year, we have gone through months and seasons of questioning and petitioning God on His power and love. However, thanksgiving should be our only response. Thank God for things as ‘mundane’ as the sun still coming out to shine, oxygen still being readily available, being able to wake up and pray to God. Soon, these things will feel like massive miracles and testimonies because indeed, “it is of the LORD’s great love for us that we are not consumed, for his compassion never fails. God is mighty to save. We should not see Him as powerless or incapable, because in spite of it all, He is in control and His will shall prevail. His creation has caused Him deep pain and anguish, to the point that He is groaning and grieving through saints, and I hope we do not take this for granted. Rather, let us be the children who will make pleasing our Father, our sole goal. If you are one of those thinking that God could be doing more, I am here to tell you today that God has done, and is still doing more than enough. I pray that the eyes of your heart be enlightened. The church is marching onward and forward, and God continues to take all the glory. Be careful of seeing God through the lens of the current state of the world. We must pray to see the world through the lens of God because it is not enough to see; what matters more is the lens and perspective we see from.

Reflection: Am I complaining more than I am thanking?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

351

Open Your Eyes

DAY

333

MATTHEW 13:16, PROVERBS 20:12

he devil sees environments conducive for his operations, and takes full advantage of them. He does not care how that environment came to be. He just sees an opportunity to promote his agenda and does not relent until his full agenda of killing, stealing and destroying is done. Sometimes we feel hurt in our hearts over something someone has done. If we don’t deal with it properly, the devil sees an avenue to proceed and sow bitterness, hatred and subsequently a desire to revenge. The start of that feeling was a genuine cause; you were hurt! You deserve to mourn your hurt, but the devil only sees an opportunity to attack, never just as it appears. Similarly, pure love could exist between two lovers. Being human, attraction grows and if both parties are not careful, the devil sows seeds of lustful thoughts and desires, which could lead both parties into sexual sin if they continue in that attraction without setting boundaries or being led by the Holy Spirit. Here again, we see pure love that can be sabotaged by the enemy if people are not on the lookout. We need to understand that we can’t just guard ourselves; we should also guard our atmospheres and environments. Sometimes, it’s not a person that invites the devil, it is a conducive environment for his operation that invites him. We MUST guard our hearts and environments! Our pain will not validate our sin. Injustice even, will not validate sin. If we sin, we sin. We need to be sensitive to the times and also our environments. Some people are actually acting under influences even though they appear to be fighting the same cause as us. The devil doesn’t only gravitate to vessels who will host him, but also to environments that host him. Chaos creates an environment for him to thrive! Social media convinces us that chaos will produce the results we want, but at what cost? Our souls? Our territories? Our atmospheres? We need to be just as prayerful as we are vocal. Jesus had a place for his public and private ministry. We cannot only subscribe to the public ministry and ignore the private. Take a stand and pray! The battles are just as spiritual as they are physical.

Reflection: Is my environment a conducive place for the devil’s operation to thrive?

352

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Dear Saint 2 CORINTHIANS 10:3-4, EPHESIANS 6:18

DAY

334

s often as you remember, spend some time praying in the Spirit today. There is always a lot going on in the spiritual realm, but the battle is one of territories. Quoting one of my alltime faves, “A territory echoes the voice of the occupants”. Our territory needs to echo our voice. If you have forgotten, we have authority and victory in Christ; and the knowledge of this should eliminate every iota of fear. By the spirit of God, we are empowered to pray and have much availed to us. “For although we live in the natural realm, we don’t wage a military campaign employing human weapons, using manipulation to achieve our aims. Instead, our spiritual weapons are energized with divine power to effectively dismantle the defences behind which people hide.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-4) From your co-99, raise prayers for the 1’s whose souls are in fierce battle.

Reflection: How often am I praying for lost souls?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

353

DAY

335

Lessons from the Book of Job PSALM 50:10-12, ACTS 4:20

od uses circumstances and situations of life to alter the knowledge and understanding we might have about Him, by answering the questions we did not even think to ask. The book of Job teaches us amazing truth about God. After Job’s lament all through the book, God responds in 4 chapters and highlights these three things: 1.

God wanted to show Job how mindful and intentional He is with all His creation - from the least to the greatest, both the creation with life and the one without. You would shiver reading the level of control God has over this universe.

God wanted Job to see his situation in the vastness of all the things that have God’s attention; not to belittle Job’s suffering, but to stop Him from being conceited.

Finally, God wanted to show Job His might and power, so that he would not assume his situation was because of a lack of might. No situation in our lives should ever bring us to a place of questioning the power of God. It could be any other thing but never an issue of God’s power.

At the end of the book, Job said something that had my entire spirit on fire, and if it is the only thing you learn from the entire book of Job, it is sufficient. Job declared to God, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.” (Job 42:5‬) After all is said and done, in any situation we face in life, we must see God clearer and know Him better. We must move from second-hand knowledge (hearing) to experiential understanding of God (seeing). The disciples declared in Acts 4:20, “we cannot stop speaking of what we have ‘seen and heard’”. We must also see and hear, and you would find that we see best through situations and circumstances of life.

Reflection: Remember, God knows the exact number of hair on your head right now. Could He know that and deny knowing what troubles your heart?

354

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Married with Distance I PHILIPPIANS 2:6-7, JOHN 15:4-11

DAY

336

he closer I get to God, and the more I get to know Him, the more I realise that love was never made or intended to be distanced. Love was made to thrive in close proximity; in very deep levels of intimacy. This is one of the reasons why I often tell people that there is definitely a grace for long-distance relationships. That you find and commit to love physically separated by distance is not in itself ‘normal’. I glean all my lessons in life from the Bible - career, family, relationships, marriage and even friendships. So, when I learn from God, I want to replicate it in me and the other person - parent, sibling, partner or friend. This does not allow me to support or subscribe to the idea of long-distance marriage. People often say there could be peculiar cases, but I believe peculiar cases should bow to love; by that I mean, bow to the sacrifices and compromises that love sometimes demands. Temporarily it might be okay, as long as couples are working to be physically together in the long term, but a case where there is no plan for closing or ending the distance honestly does not sit right with me, and here is what God shows us on this. 1.

Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Although there were several parts of the garden, God created Eve and then brought her (physically) to Adam. God could have left her where He created her and come to tell Adam “hey, you have someone on the west side of the garden to help you”, but no, He brought them together and it was for a purpose.

The love of Jesus teaches us sacrifice and selflessness. The Bible tells us that Jesus, who is the very nature of God, did not consider His equality with God to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing, by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

Jesus sacrificed His throne and majesty for a time to come down and unite us (marry us) back to the Father. He could have chosen not to, but love chooses sacrifice and selflessness over and over again.

Reflection: If we find that we are not willing to selflessly sacrifice ‘moving’ to be with our partners in marriage, are we really sure it is sacrificial love?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

355

DAY

337

Married with Distance II PHILIPPIANS 2:6-7, JOHN 15:4-11

esterday, we started looking at why love was never made to be distanced. The strength of love is the intimacy in it. Intimacy cannot occur when there is so much distance between the two people involved. Our relationships with God will be stifled and void of intimacy if we refuse to come close to Him in prayer, study of the word, and other activities that unite us. Today, we will look at two other Biblical reasons that show us love thrives best in close proximity. You would observe through scripture that God has always been present with us His creation. Even when Jesus left for heaven, He did not leave us ‘widowed’; He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell ‘within’ us. Not around, but within. There is a reason for this acute level of proximity. The Holy Spirit teaches, corrects, rebukes and reproves us from within. Love should give our partners this same access to us, in a way that they are present enough to do all the Holy Spirit does for us, of course to an extent, being human as they are. God wants us to honour Him and our partners by remaining sexually pure until united in marriage. Indeed, the highest level of intimacy will only be achieved in marriage, and so we must be willing to patiently wait until then, if we want to do it ‘the God way’. There is a cogent reason why people often feel unsatisfied in their relationship with God when there is no intimacy. It is because love was not made to be distanced at all. As love grows in human relationships, particularly to the point of marriage, the distance (mentally, emotionally and physically) must be closed for optimum results.

Reflection: Am I feeling dissatisfied in my relationship with God? Maybe I need to come closer.

356

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Make a Wish I NUMBERS 21:4-9, EPHESIANS 2

DAY

338

ne of my favourite songs by Hillsong is ‘Seasons’. You can tell that the author of Seasons has been open to a reality that more believers need to come into. The reality that in every season of life, God is present and is never caught unaware, and until God is done working in every season of our lives, we should not be rushing out of the season. My favourite line in the song says, “You could have saved us in a second, instead you sent a child”. That line will always have me in awe, for two reasons. 1.

God had the ability to snap a finger and save Adam and Eve right there in the garden after they had sinned.

Even if God decided not to save them in that instant, He could have sent Jesus as a 33-year-old man, to come, die, resurrect and redeem man.

But instead of either of the options, God sent a child, born through a woman, who experienced growth like you and me, and finally experienced all that He did at 33, for the redemption of man. I see a similar occurrence in Numbers 21:4-9. The Israelites had grumbled against God and Moses because of food and water, so God had sent venomous snakes to their camp. The Bible says when they realised what they had done, they gathered to Moses and asked Him to pray that God should “take the snakes away from us”. The Bible tells us that indeed, Moses their leader did as they requested. He went and prayed to God. In God’s infinite wisdom, He gave them a solution: “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live”. From this solution, we see the two same things that could leave us in awe as the line from Seasons above. 1.

God could have spoken a word to withdraw all the venomous snakes and heal those already bitten.

God could have told Moses to just pray for them and they would all be healed and cleansed.

Rather than either of the options, God involved man in his own redemption. He made Moses make a snake and place it on a pole. But that was not enough: anyone who wanted to be healed had to look up to it to live.

Reflection: Am I blinded from seeing answers to my prayers because they did not come in the packages I expected them to come in? FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

357

Make a Wish II

DAY

339

NUMBERS 21:4-9, 2 KINGS 5:1-15

esterday, we started looking at God’s involvement through all the seasons of a man’s life. We also see in our text that while man seeks God for solutions, the solutions might not always come in the way we want them to. From our text today, God actually answered their prayer; not in the magician or genie way that they hoped, but in a way that had them responsible and accountable. In the two scenarios from yesterday, we see that God provided a way out. For sin, He sent Jesus to come and live as a man, and die to bridge the gap that came as a result of sin. With the Israelites, He put the healing of every bitten person in their obedience to look up at the snake on the pole. God created a justice system and also bound Himself to it. He does not meddle with the justice system per time or situation. It is what has been used to run the world since the laying of its foundations. The justice system said that the only penalty for sin was death, so even if God could have just spoken a word to restore man, the justice system would have been violated; hence, one man had to come and die to pay the penalty for all our sins. Same with the snakes. God was not going to go back on His word and justice even after they repented, so He made a way out by using the snake on the pole. Does this not tell us something? God is not a magician that responds to our wishes. We can actually learn His ways and systems to aid us to live a better life. In both stories, we also see that we have an active part to play in God’s plan of saving man from anything. We must believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that we are saved, and as we can see in the case of the Israelites, they had to look up to the pole to be healed. We cannot sit down and wish away things without engaging God to find out what our active part in the process is. With Naaman, his healing had already been released, but he had to go and wash himself in the River Jordan seven times, before seeing the manifestation. Answers almost always come, especially when they are in God’s will; but to see their manifestation, we must identify and play our parts in the process.

Reflection: Am I expecting God to be a magician without obeying what His voice is telling me?

358

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

But (S)he’s Not God ROMANS 5:5, 2 CORINTHIANS 6:14

DAY

340

he best of God’s blessing to us will never substitute Him. At the point in my life when I was learning this, I would wake up every morning, and even before my devotion, I would say “Jesus, today I choose you”. God has chosen to show us how much we need Him. Even in the fullness of earthly love, you will still find that you desire something greater, which is God Himself. I once told a group of people it is easy to love a loved person. If you are loving someone who has encountered God’s love, it makes it so much easier. This does not eliminate the need for effort, but it is easier in the sense that you are not expected to fill a space in them that only God can fill. Here is a reminder that the benefit of not being unequally yoked is not for God; it is for you. So, the next time someone asks why you are dating or courting someone that is not of the faith, do not get mad at God, because He stands nothing to lose; He just wants the best for me and you. On the flip side, may God bless you with a partner who is patient and mature enough to not dismiss your misplaced neediness, but refocus you to your ultimate source, while assuring you that if they could be all-sufficient like God for you, they will be. And if they were, wouldn’t that be creating a rival with God?

Reflection: Are you expecting your partner, friends or family to be God in your life?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

359

Driven by Passions

DAY

341

EXODUS 2:11-21, ROMANS 12:10-12

ne of the beautiful things we will learn when we come to Jesus is how important it is that our passions be purified. We were born with passions that define our life courses and choices. Sometimes, we pick some passions from our backgrounds and experiences, but we take them unrefined, in their raw and impure form, and until a purification is done, they are just as harmful as a person living life without passions. Moses is an immediate example of a person with raw, unrefined passions. He hated injustice. He hated it even more that his people had been the ones on the receiving end, so In his anger and hatred for injustice, he committed murder to defend the passion he had burning in his heart. His passion for justice and the oppressed was not misplaced at all, because as we saw later in time, God put that in him for a purpose; to be the leader who will lead them out of slavery and to the promised land. In the pure form of his passion, this was what God had in mind. Until our passions are refined and purified, we cannot blame God for the consequences of the actions we perform with unrefined passions. God took Moses through a season of preparation, which included purifying his passion before taking him back to his purpose to fight for the release of God’s people from Pharoah. Those forty years he spent away in Midian were necessary for the journey that he had to face ahead. You would observe that Moses still displayed ‘passionate anger’ at different seasons of the journey to the promised land, but it could have been a lot worse and more frequent, if not for the time away in Midian which God used to work on his passions. It is a beautiful thing to be passionate. We serve a God who is so passionate about everything He created, but we must be careful that our passions are not unrefined and impure. If not, they possess the ability to cause more havoc than we know. Look around the world today, people are passionately doing evil every day and justifying themselves for it with statements like “I’m passionate about it”; but passion was not given to be a leeway to sin. Rather, it was given to advance the kingdom of God. God fuels our passions for His kingdom and His glory; nothing else. God might be beckoning on us to check on our sincere passions and be sure they are not being used in a raw and unrefined state because it can be counterproductive.

Reflection: Does my passion reflect the character and nature of God, even in its simplest form?

360

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Excited Lover JOHN 3:16, ROMANS 8:29-30

DAY

342

wo important truths that we must settle in our hearts are: 1.

God loves us.

God chooses us.

Even when we encounter situations that do not appear ‘good’ or convenient in any way, they are inconsequential to these truths. God still loves and chooses you, and He constantly seeks ways to remind us of these truths daily. There is something called the ‘army crawl course’. It has a rope that soldiers often have to navigate while crawling on the floor. I once dreamt that I was in a barrack, and while moving through the rope on the course, I got stuck. I noticed I also could not breathe, so I started to struggle and cry out. Then a man appeared (in meditation, I found it was Jesus). He came through the ropes on the ground to where I was in the middle of the net, cut it through to free me, took me by the hand and led me out of it. In the same dream, after I got out, Jesus and I shared a cake together immediately after I finished crying my eyes out, while expressing my gratitude to Him. He kept replying “I would do it over and over again”. Imagine the joy I woke up with hearing that. It was not new news to me, but it was as fresh as newly baked bread. I am convinced it is meant to be like this. No matter how this truth settles in us, it will always leave us in awe when the Father expresses it to us, whether physically or in dreams as my case was. God is constantly reaching out to us, expressing love and just loving up on us. Today, I hope you stay attentive to the lover of your soul and His expression of love to you, because He is an excited lover, always seeking opportunities to love His bride, in word and deed.

Reflection: Do I have any idea of how excited God is about loving me daily?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

361

DAY

I Have Had Enough

343

ROMANS 5:20, GALATIANS 6:9-10

he Holy Spirit gave me a riddle once while I washed plates. He said: “I am something, I have no extent or limit, what am I?”. He answered immediately, “I am Grace”. On many occasions, I have heard people say “I’ve been gracious enough”, “I’ve been kind enough” or “I’ve done nothing but love her/him”, and they say these to signify an end to their grace or love for a person. To them, it is justified. The Holy Spirit told me most of us would not be here today if God did the same thing. One of the best attributes of grace and love is that they are limitless. I know we are human and we have thresholds for other people’s excesses, but God wants to grow us to a point where we have no level for our tolerance. I know this sounds so silly, and maybe even foolish, but if that is what you want to call it, it is okay too! If you think about it, love is not entirely logical, because logical things have to add up. God loving us does not add up because He gave all when we gave nothing, and now, He expects us to carry on loving the same way. Maybe you are currently at a juncture where you feel you have reached the “breaking point” with someone. I want to tell you that humanly, yes, maybe that is the truth, but now is the time to tap into the reserve of the Holy Spirit in you which adds several inches to your limit/extent. There is no extent of love or grace and if you doubt me, check out the love of the Father to you. Love so rich and pure, so measureless and strong.

Reflection: Who do I need to extend grace to today?

362

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Works Out for Our Good ROMANS 8:28, PROVERBS 16:9-11

DAY

344

ne time, I got on the wrong train, and I was so livid, because I had intentionally routed my journey, but still entered the wrong train. As soon as I realised, with the train already in motion, I whispered to God in my heart “how did I prepare this much and still miss the mark?”. I did not get an answer immediately. What I got was an announcement on the train saying that the train was being re-routed to my destination. I was in shock. What shocked me the most was the number of people that had to get off at the next stop because of this re-routing. I watched people reluctantly get off, some even mumbling, and I stood there in disbelief like “this is my own miracle!”. I would never think God loves me more than He does anyone, but it was one of those days that I could bet that if God had favourites for the day, I was definitely the favourite for that day. My joy knew no bounds. I learnt a lot from that little ordeal. The first and obvious being that “unless the Lord watches over the house, the watchmen stay awake in vain” (Psalm 127:1). I could show you screenshots upon screenshots on my phone, of my entire journey to my destination, and despite all my planning, I still got on the wrong train. It takes humility to always realise it is all God’s grace and mercy, even when we think it is our common sense. People often have the debate of when to use your head and when to trust and wait on God, but I have got to a place where I realise that even the use of my head or common sense is a demonstration of the grace and mercy of God, and so my trust in Him should not be any less, even when I am double sure of something. The other thing I learnt was the love of God to every man in His sovereignty. That day, it seemed like loads of people got inconvenienced because of me by the whole re-routing, but it has helped me see better for next time when I feel disappointed by something; to know that someone else somewhere is blessed by it. An example is how we sometimes pray for the rain away to enjoy a day at the beach, not realising that a house burning somewhere is in dire need of that rain to end what might have taken lives and property. Therein lies the limitation of man, only seeing in part, and most often, the part that favours us. There is always a call to fully release and submit to the One who sees all and always works it out for our good in the end.

Reflection: Do I believe that God works everything out for my good?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

363

DAY

The Shattering Sound

345

JOHN 14:23, HEBREWS 13:17

ometime last year, I was home with my little niece, who was a little over a year old at the time, but was quite astute. We sat in the living room one evening, and she kept fiddling with a side glass-table close to the door. I did not think she was big or strong enough to move it, but I was concerned that she could tilt it and it could fall on her. About 10 minutes later, I heard a crashing sound and looked up to find the glass table shattered on the ground. She was not hurt at all, but the moment my eyes met hers, she started to shout and cry. She knew I was about to tell her off because I kept warning her to stay away from the table. I was mad that she was now trying to play the victim by crying, because nothing happened to her. She moved away from it when she saw it falling but cried at the realisation of what had just happened. The Holy Spirit reminded me of this occurrence, and He was telling me that this is how some of us are. We stay playing with fire (either people or things), and while God is never distracted from us, He is kind enough to always warn us lovingly, and sometimes even offer us an alternative. Sometimes, we are stubborn enough to persist with things or people He has warned us about, and then when we get burnt or hurt, we cry out as if we never got a warning for it. Fortunately for the world, God is not me who was waiting to tell her off and shout “but didn’t I tell you?”. He would lovingly take our hurt and burnt hearts, and mend them like the good Father He is. However, this is never a reason or excuse to persist in things that God frowns upon. If we know His ways, we should be eager to live in accordance with them, and not intentionally violate them because we know He is always waiting with arms wide open. In theology, this is called presumptuous sin: sin that a person intentionally walks into, knowing fully well the response of the Father. This is the point that a person begins to take the grace of God for granted, and I assure you, it also has consequences. We already know the heart of the Father towards us. We know He will never condemn or guilt-trip us, and so even when we become aware of our sin, we should know that there’s an arm waiting open for us to return.

Reflection: As Paul asked in Romans, “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?”

364

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

God in Me LUKE 5:31, PSALM 36:9

DAY

346

rom our text today, I thought to myself, “those who shout the most about God are the ones who need Him most”. It appears differently to people in the world because they think we are so strong that we daily call upon His name in our closets and to the world. No one ever ‘arrives’ with God. The only arrival is before Him when He returns and separates the sheep from the goats. Realising our weakness makes us know how helpless we were before being found by Christ, and how amply supplied we daily are since meeting Him. Even as it becomes second nature to seek what God seeks, it would be ungrateful to ever forget that you are moving on grace wings daily, running with Christ’s strength, and doing all that you do with His ability. It is such a liberating realisation that I was the one God came for as described in our text. It is also a reminder to be more intentional with telling people that observe strength in our lives, that the strength is of God and not of ourselves, and also stay conscious that each time people see consistency, dedication and diligence in our lives, spiritually and otherwise, we should be quick to point them to the source. It takes pressure off you to try to be without Him. I hope you look at yourself and your life as often as possible, realise that your strength or ability could not have gotten you anywhere, and then surrender to the One who works in you to will and to do of His good pleasure. Just as it is in God’s light that we see light, it is also in His strength that we see strength because all weaknesses diminish.

Reflection: How can I point people to Jesus more, through my life?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

365

DAY

Our Sustainer

347

PSALM 55:22, ROMANS 15:13

nything that needs sustenance cannot do without its sustainer; if not, it crumbles and falls (in the case of an object) or it dies (in the case of a person). God created us to be sustained by Him. We were made to desire His work in us, and crave His presence and His will. The sustainer is almost always needed by the sustained because without the sustainer, the sustained faces harsh conditions that could terminate it. God is always waiting to hear His sustained call Him. It is pleasing to Him that He is needed to sustain us. One of the messages that comes from the encounter that Jacob had with the angel, where the angel touched his hip, and he limped the rest of his life, is the understanding that from that day on, Jacob became fully dependent on God. God had shifted something in His body that left Him permanently dependent on Him. Jacob could not rely on his craftiness and deceitfulness anymore; He was now always needing support from his one true sustainer. We might have that part of our lives that has left us limping. It may not be physical like Jacob; it could be in other areas. That limp is a constant reminder that we are in need of our sustainer. It is often sad that our limp leads us further away from God, rather than closer to Him, but we learn from Jacob, it is only when we have become fully dependent on our sustainer that we receive a change - first of name and then of circumstance. The one who sustains us sees and knows all, so we must insist on our true nature, which is to be daily sustained by Him. Do not ever let your mind deceive you into thinking “I’m asking too much”, “I’m talking too much”, or “I’m disturbing God”. God is glorified every time we desire His presence and move in our lives. We are so blessed to be sustained by God; the One in whom nothing is missing, lacking or broken.

Reflection: Is God my sustainer? Or have I made other sources my sustainer?

366

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

More Attentive 1 KINGS 19:11-13, HEBREWS 3:7-8

DAY

348

am of the opinion that if we paid more attention and listened more intently, we would see the diverse ways God is moving and working amongst us, almost every second. Whether in the person sitting beside us, in nature, or simply in the human ability to just be. One morning, I told God I wanted to tell someone about Him that day. I specifically told Him to send someone my way so I could tell them about Him. It first came as a Twitter DM. A young lady reached out to me, and all she wanted to know was “how do I get an intimate relationship with God?”. I didn’t even recognise it as an answer to my prayer, so I just responded and carried on with my day. I was meeting up with friends for lunch, and it turned out that one of them is a YouTuber. She intended to vlog the day for her YouTube channel, and while we ate, our friend asked me to say any proverb, wise saying or just words of wisdom and I heard clearly in my Spirit. “This is the chance to tell them about me”. God was not even referring to my friends there because they were already Christians. He meant for anyone else who would watch the vlog and also for those who were in proximity to our table. I simply said, “Your relationship with God is not worth compared to anything. Jesus is the ‘plug’ ”. It was so brief and short, but I felt really happy. I was even happier when I got home, and the Spirit of God brought it to my mind. I realised that God is eager to hear His children, even more, when we pray and ask things that are on His heart. I had the opportunity to share the gospel as I responded to one person over Twitter, and who knows how many more over my friends YouTube channel. I am being more intentional about my God-consciousness through the day. Listening out for Him as often as I remember because indeed, His Spirit is speaking expressly.

Reflection: Maybe have a day experiment like me. Ask God and be attentive through the day for His answer. Be careful that you are not only attentive to the way you think it will come. God brings answers in diverse ways, which is why we must stay flexible and open.

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

367

DAY

Wedding Party

349

JOHN 2:1-12, MATTHEW 20:28

f you have been to family events, weddings, birthdays, reunions or even burials, particularly if you are of the African descent, you would know they are such a big deal. Because of how big these events are, the chances that you would be everywhere doing everything is high. I was recently meditating on how the world has been given to the children of God as ‘an event’, and because we are the children of God, we are the hosts/stewards of this event. You do not see hosts sitting and spectating when you go to their house or event. As a matter of fact, they are often up and about, ensuring all is well and guests are fine. God was saying to me that the times we are in are too serious for His children to be spectating. The hour is so near that we cannot afford to sit around and watch only some members of the family do all the work. The harvest is really plentiful, and so are the labourers now. However, some labourers are spectating rather than working to serve the guests. Just like weddings, sometimes it would get overwhelming, you would miss some people’s requests and errands, you would just need a moment to sit and breathe, but rest awaits us. That eternal rest in the presence of God, feeling fully satisfied! I remember when I lay in bed after my sister’s wedding, the stress I went through did not come to mind. All that was in my heart and mind was joy; that it all ended as we the family expected, and we all also survived it. No matter the turbulence and weight of serving the guests, it will end well, and when we lie in the bosom of Jesus and before His feet, we will see that it was all worthwhile. See today’s message as a tap from another family member at our family event, saying, “Get up, the guests are waiting”.

Reflection: How can I ensure I am doing more serving as a member of the body of Christ?

368

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Kiss and Tell EZEKIEL 4, MATTHEW 10:33

DAY

350

saiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel are very interesting books of the Bible. These men were quite different in personalities, but all very sensitive and emotional. If you read those books, you would clearly see why God chose to not just speak through the mouth of these ones, but to also speak through their lives daily. They were among the few prophets who had the privilege (I say this not lightly at all), to not just speak of, but live out the plans of God for the children of Israel. God had Prophet Ezekiel lie on his left side for 390 days, and then on his right side for 40 days. The number of days was symbolic to the time Israel spent in captivity: 430 years. These men had it very rough, which is why I called their service ‘a privilege’, because they are up in heaven probably sitting in the biggest mansions; but it is really more than that. In reading the books, my eyes were opened to the truth that God will not do anything on earth without informing a man. It is part of His justice system that a man must be aware of His plans. We see it through the times of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and a host of others. Unlike us that do not kiss and tell, Jesus ‘kisses and tells’. He meets with a man and with koinonia(fellowship), He tells the man His plans and His intentions. While reading those books, I found myself earnestly praying that God should teach me more yielding and surrendering to Him, because it is to the degree that we yield, that we are aligned to even hear when He speaks. It comes at a cost. As Kathryn Kuhlman often said, “there is a price to pay”. Not every vessel can handle the glory and power that comes with walking with God that intimately. It is why the Israelites told Moses they would rather Moses heard from God and came to tell them, than God speaking directly to them, because they found the presence of God ‘scary’; but for those who had yielded and surrendered like Moses, it was a daily reality they looked forward to. God desires that we desire His presence and glory. As He reveals, we should be eager for more and more until we have all. Studying these books would come with an awakening to further yielding and surrendering. May we be men and women who become custodians and stewards of the times we go through in our generation, because we are one with God, therefore we have His mind. We must see, think and act like Him.

Reflection: Am I kissing God and telling the world of Him? Or am I hiding the fact that I am in a relationship with God? FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

369

Full of What?

DAY

351

HOSEA 14:9, 1 SAMUEL 16:7

ore than anything, the saints need discernment in these times.

A person will only discern what they are full of. People cannot discern something they have encountered just once or twice. They might recognise it as something familiar, but to discern is a deeper level that requires the working of both the Holy Spirit and the knowledge of God. The absence of either will result in a faulty revelation. I had an aunt who attributed every occurrence in life that was unfavourable to witchcraft. She would always say “they have come again”, and by ‘they’, she would be referring to the coven of witches. You would often find her watching movies about witchcraft and the occult, and her books were just as consistent. So, it made sense that in everything, she would discern the operation of witches. She had been so full of information on witchcraft that it was all she could see in every situation. Your intake will largely determine what your spirit will discern. This is why we encourage believers to let every channel open to them be channels through which God can speak and commune with them. If you want to discern God in people and places, you must be filled with Him first. It is almost like a magnet that attracts and repels. A magnet recognises when it has come in contact with the partner that attracts it. If the magnet is void of the molecules causing the attraction, it would be useless, neither attracting nor repelling. Most believers are like that, going with the flow and doing trial and error because they are unable to discern anything. God gave us the method: fill yourself with what you want to discern. So here is a challenge, pay attention to the first thoughts of your mind when you meet a person or go to a new place, it might be a good indication of what you are full of.

Reflection: What am I filling myself with?

370

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Easier to Ask for Mercy? COLOSSIANS 3:12-14, 1 JOHN 2:10

DAY

352

fter studying some books in the Bible, I heard myself say, “I commit to walking in your love and not just living by your mercy”. I had seen a pattern all through some books of the Bible that revealed the rebellion of God’s children, but much more, revealed the mercy and love of the God that we serve. In those times, Jesus had not come to take the sin of the world on Himself; so, as at then, the judgement system necessitated that rebellious people suffered the consequence of their rebellion. However, even before the consequence was seen, God would declare forgiveness and restoration to the people through the prophets and would somehow make a way out for them. I was not fond of the cycle I read about: rebellion > forgiveness > restoration > rebellion again > forgiveness > restoration > rebellion yet again, and on and on. It made me see that perhaps these people had now known the nature of God, and even if they did not know, they had heard about it; so, if they knew that God would pardon and forgive at the end, they would persist in their rebellion. This scared me because I began to think, “have we committed to living solely on God’s mercy and never walking in His love because our hearts know His nature?” Have we realised that we are never condemned by Satan or sin because we stand righteous before God by the blood of Jesus and so, because of this, we live only by His mercy? We will always live by God’s mercy in His love, because we are not meriting or deserving of anything that He gives us, but could it be that we have patterned our lives around God’s mercy because of His forgiving nature, without ever committing to walking in love, void of sin. When our hearts are so full of God’s love, we hate sin in its entirety. We might fall short sometimes, but we dust ourselves quickly and stay steady in the love that keeps us from sin. It is easier for most Christians to ask for mercy than to walk in love, and we only take advantage of the former because we know the forgiving nature of God. I do not know if God sees it as taking advantage of Him, but since it rang in my heart, I have committed to walking fully in His love and not only living by His mercy. Let’s not make God’s nature a reason to continue in sin. While He will forgive us, He desires much more that we grow in His love, and hate sin as He does.

Reflection: Do I do things, just because I know I can ask God for forgiveness later?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

371

DAY

Always Seen

353

GENESIS 16, HEBREWS 13:5

t the time of writing, my commute to work has been very interesting. I have insisted on walking rather than taking the bus, because asides the extra time for meditation while I walk, I also walk past a school which always gives me something to chuckle about throughout the day. If it is not a child refusing to come out of the car, it is siblings saying goodbye to their younger ones who are not old enough for school, or a parent telling a child off for crossing the road before they gave them the signal to cross. Every day, I walk slower when I get closer to the school gate and drop off point, and I am never disappointed because children will always be children. I observed that most parents arrive with their kids in the car, let the kids come out of the car and then drive off. On the other hand, some parents wait to see them walk through the gate and then drive off. On a particular day, I saw a man come out of his car, wait for his daughter to walk through the gate and pathway until she disappeared into the building, after which he walked away. The daughter seemed old enough to know what to do, but it brought joy to my heart witnessing her dad still wait until she made the journey into the school building before moving an inch. God said to me; “this is exactly how I am with you; I don’t just start your journey with you, I walk with you through it, and I wait till you are safe in and with me before I move”. I was not sure what that meant, so I probed my heart more. God showed me how unlike the other parents rushing off to work or other responsibilities, He is never rushing away from us. He is patient and watches us through all of life’s twists and turns, and until we stand before Him, He will always have His eyes on us. It was such a beautiful reminder that even at that minute, walking to work and being amused at school drop-offs, my Heavenly Father had His eyes on me and He was not taking them off at any point. Sometimes we go through seasons and wonder if God even sees what is happening. It is like “Yo God, this needs your attention”, and it is weird because we are always the object of His attention, even when it does not seem or look like it. Be reminded that God watches you through it all. In our text today, Hagar had a deep revelation of God when she named God ‘The God who sees me - El Roi’.

Reflection: Do I believe that God sees me through every phase of my life?

372

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Saving Us from Ourselves 2 KINGS 7, ISAIAH 40:26

DAY

354

ost times, the mercy of God just looks like delivering us from obvious danger. We do not see or declare His mercy until it looks like a hero (Jesus) coming for the victim (us). While studying the life of Elisha, I saw a dimension of God’s mercy that could look like a hero (Jesus) coming for the villain (us). I was reading about the officer on whom the King of Israel leaned on in 2 Kings 7. Elisha had prophesied that by the following day, the famine that had plagued the land will end and products would go for unreasonable cheap prices. This officer was privileged to be there when Elisha made this declaration, and his only response to it was full of doubt. He said, “even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?”. It was mixed with a sprinkle of sarcasm and mockery. Elisha declared that he would see it but not eat of it; and it was so. As I read this, God reminded me of Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist. Remember the Bible tells us that when the angel had appeared to Zachariah and informed him of God’s will with regards to the birth of John. Zachariah expressed doubt, and even after the angel spoke to the doubt, the angel went further to shut his mouth until the day the child was born. It was an act of mercy on the part of God to shut the mouth of Zachariah. Like the officer, Zachariah could have said something that would hinder him from seeing the manifestation of God in that capacity, and so to prevent that, God left him mute. Have you ever looked at a circumstance in your life and almost judged God for it? Like “God where are you in all of this?”. Through this story, God shows us that sometimes, we judge a circumstance as an attack without realising the act of mercy that is in it. Sometimes, we are our own villains without even realising it, and because God is omniscient, He sees and acts in advance of us destroying ourselves, and what He wants to do in our lives. God goes on to act strategically; but without spiritual insight, we will judge His mercy as punishment or consequence. Zachariah lived to see the promise of the Father and also see His own son because of God’s act of mercy. May God open our eyes to see from His perspective, that we will not be guilty of calling His love and mercy punishment.

Reflection: God is present even in the times when I cannot feel it.

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

373

One Lover, One Loved

DAY

355

EPHESIANS 2:6, SONG OF SOLOMON 7:10

once did a devotional titled ‘Sex, Purity and the Longings of a Girls Heart’. As I meditate on it, it has become more apparent how sex is more about us and God, than it is about us and our spouses, and this is no attempt to ‘spiritualise’ everything. Like most things in this Christian faith, God uses earthly realities to give us a glimpse into spiritual truths. It is why God often used parables and storytelling to teach kingdom principles. An example is water baptism which seems so mundane, but has magnificent spiritual significance. It is why circumcision - while appearing as a simple biological process - symbolises deep spiritual truth. All around us, God uses our earthly elements to mirror and also teach us about Himself and His kingdom. Sex was intended to be between a man and his wife exclusively. It is God’s intent that only one man and one woman share that level of intimacy. It came alive in my spirit as the reason or an echo of the first commandment that says “I am the Lord your God, have no other God but me”. God created Himself to stay unrivalled in the hearts of men. He literally made us with the deepest hunger for Himself alone. Sex is made exclusive between a man and his wife. Because you and God are exclusive, nothing takes His place in you, and nothing takes your place in Him. The intimacy of sex also depicts the oneness God desires between Himself and us, whether male or female. The oneness is a testament of our text today, you and Abba are made one Spirit. Finally, sex is also designed to bring pleasure, and if you dwell and abide in God’s presence, you might understand how this might mirror our secret place perfectly; how we get in and do not want to leave, or how we experience high levels of pleasure and satisfaction by just sitting with Abba in koinonia (fellowship). All of what sex is, is a mirror of God’s intention between us and Himself. It became apparent to me that there might be nothing strange about sex if we can master our walk with Abba; not neglecting the obvious jitters that might come with our human fallen nature since the fall of man. I have just been in awe of how the whole earth is supposed to be a reflection of all of heaven - including us and Abba. Our sexuality could easily mirror our hearts deepest hunger.

Reflection: What is the deepest desire of my heart?

374

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Just Listen

DAY

356

PSALM 62:11, JAMES 1:19

can be such a talker, especially when I get comfortable around people. Earlier on, when I gave Jesus the wheel of my life, He began to challenge me to listen more and talk less. Some days I win the battle, and on other days, I still falter, but I do not ever let it deter me from trying again the following day. Frankly, the world has too many talkers; everyone with an opinion they want to share and want everyone to hear. On the flip side, we have too few listeners. It helps to learn to listen in human relationships because doing that will also help us listen in our relationship with God. For some of us, prayer times are monologues rather than dialogues. We are the only ones talking and never listening out for what God has to say to us. It can be funny because the Bible helps us understand that God is just as eager to speak to us as we are to talk to Him. It is a relationship, which means that everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s opinion counts yours and Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. God is challenging you today to do more listening. Even when you are confident that your point will be accurate, tarry a little and listen to others.

We must also be wary of pride. Sometimes, it is pride that hinders us from listening; thinking that we know it all or more than the other person, therefore refusing to humble ourselves to hear what the next person has to say. God wants to rid us of this because we will not function properly with Him or our neighbours if we are continually looking to be heard but never to hear.

Reflection: Actively listen today. Just listen.

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

375

DAY

Overthinking I

357

PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7, PROVERBS 3:5-6

wish more people would think of all that overthinking has robbed them of, each time it appears again to take from them. Overthinking almost never comes alone, it is like a hand with several other fingers which has worry as the longest, and others being fear, discouragement, anxiety and doubt. In an instant, you decide to do something, and a few moments later, your mind is buzzing with all the what-ifs, and because you cannot give an answer to them all, you decide not to anymore. Last year, I read Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘Blink’. The title of the book is a reflection of the point he was trying to make; saying that sometimes, overthinking is the counterproductive thing that would lead to wrong choices and results. Overthinking even limits our walk with the Spirit. The Spirit tells you to go and pray for a person, but you begin to consider all the ways that it could go, with the longest finger being ‘what if the healing does not come?’. Look how your faith can be eradicated in one blow. The Father is after swift obedience; so, there is no time to overthink anything. There is only time to act. May our minds be full of thoughts that sponsor all God’s instructions. May we be so dead to self that we are never immediately concerned with how self appears when given an instruction. May overthinking always bow to the love, power and sound mind in us.

Reflection: What am I currently overthinking that I need to act on?

376

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

DAY

Overthinking II

358

PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7, PROVERBS 3:5-6

oday we will talk about 5 ways to deal with overthinking. 1.

You cannot overthink when you know the end of the matter. As believers, we know every matter ends in victory. The little battles characterise the big war; so one lost battle does not rob you of the victory of the big war. Have a default mindset of victory. It becomes second nature with time.

Arm yourself with knowledge. We fear because we do not know. If we know, fear is dispelled. If you are working in the healing or prophetic gifting, read about these gifts and people who have walked in the same ministries. Their stories and experiences could be fuel to your own faith if you know you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be scared of the outcome.

Trust the Holy Spirit in you. When He lays something on your heart, you have to trust that He is not there to make a mockery of you; rather He is operating for the larger kingdom. Often when we are tasked with doing things on earth, it is not just about us. Think about the big picture! Other people would benefit from it.

Die to self. Have no reputation on the line; have no fear of what anyone would think. If you have been led to do something, then do it. You cannot be a slave to the thoughts and opinions of people; else, you would always be limited.

Finally, just do it! I can assure you that if you overthink things, you would not do them and if you manage to do them, you would find yourself watering them down. We are empowered with power, love and a sound mind. These spirits are sufficient to curb the fingers of the overthinking hand, so please rest.

May our only reputation be that of Jesus. If it favours Him, it favours us. If it is detrimental to Him, it is detrimental to us. May the spirit always find full expression in us. May we not waterdown His expression to appear a certain way. May our freedom in Christ be evident in the way we execute divine instruction.

Reflection: How can I be more intentional about Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reputation and not mine?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

377

DAY

Wilderness Seasons

359

MATTHEW 4:1-11, 1 KINGS 19:3-15

eople interpret wilderness seasons first as a bad thing before they ever consider it good. I think because the word generally connotes aloneness, seclusion and sometimes deprivation of what you would always enjoy, there is a tendency that we think “red flag” as soon as such seasons appear near us. It is funny because wilderness seasons were more positive in the Bible than negative. They were characterised as preparatory seasons in the case of John the Baptist, redirection seasons for Jacob and then seasons of prayer and fasting in the case of Jesus. These were all good things; to recharge, refocus and refire. If we do not remove the negative sentiments we have around “wilderness seasons”, we would panic every time we sense one of such seasons approaching, when we really should prepare and embrace them, because they often are preparations for launch in a new dimension. We should normalise these seasons of getting alone with God, not just when there is a reason to seek His counsel on an issue, but much more when there is no reason, but a deep desire and yearning for Him. People do not usually have the latter, which is why sometimes, those wilderness seasons come to still get us back to that secret place. As my favourite teacher would say, “there are dimensions of God that are not revealed corporately”. Enjoy that wilderness if you are there now.

Reflection: Do wilderness seasons terrify me?

378

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Our Bridegroom JOHN 15:16, EPHESIANS 5:24-27

DAY

360

lot of people are not aware that marriage was the principle that was used to redeem man. It makes perfect sense why the only mirror God could use to show us what marriage is, is Himself and His church (us). It is a principle that if replicated the same way, should produce the same power and glory as we see in Christ and His church. A big similarity in the principle of marriage is ‘the power of choosing’. Remember, the Bible makes it clear that God “chose us and appointed us”. Earlier in my faith walk, I was praying one day, and as I closed my eyes, I saw a huge gathering of people in this large space. It was so large that despite the aerial view I had as the visionary, I could not see the corners of where the people ended. I was somewhere in the gathering, and we were all so choked up that we could not even see our feet. Loads of people filled the place. I saw Jesus at the front, on a stage. He looked into the crowd, and I am not sure how He was able to catch my eye in that sea of people, but He looked me dead in the eye and said: “I choose you”. I had never experienced or heard anything so full of love before, and I remember staying in that place of prayer and crying for hours right after I came back to myself. My Bible tells me that this is what marriage should be like too: choosing someone over and over again and committing yourself to your choice. God has chosen every one of us. It is now our turn to choose Him and commit to Him, so this marriage can start, and we can get practice before the earthly marriage, should we choose to. The bridegroom is waiting, come on!

Reflection: Do I see marriage as a mirror of Christ and His church?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

379

DAY

361

Why the Evil in the World? LEVITICUS 17:11, HEBREWS 9:22

eople often dismiss the question “Why the evil in the world?, saying, “Well it is like being ill, if you do not go to the doctors, you will not get well, so you must go to God to be saved”. But how do we use the above to explain babies born with cancer? Or toddlers raped by grown men? Is this analogy sufficient? Because to me, it sounds like if I have Jesus, I should never face any evil. Is this the reality of believers? No, and it is not because of the lack of potency in God or the word; rather, it is rooted in something deeper that we will talk about today. ●

The kingdom of God operates with a justice system. God designed this system Himself and also bound Himself by it because of His consistent nature. If a gun was created to be used for protection and someone takes it and uses it to kill, it would not cease to be a gun in that instance because someone has abused its use.

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The system says that death is the only penalty for sin.

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It also says that only the blood of the one who kills can be used to atone for bloodshed.

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We live in a fallen world. Since Adam and Eve began to know good and evil, our world became fallen, because we could now recognise evil and could decide with our free will whether to hinder or perpetuate it.

Evil is the effect of the fall of man and not evidence of the character of God. As believers, we now have the responsibility of taking love and light everywhere there is evil, till we overcome evil with good.

Reflection: Do I think God is wicked because of the evil in the world?

380

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Your Identity

DAY

362

GENESIS 1:27, 1 JOHN 3:1-3

he only thing that stays unrivalled in a person is their identity. No one can take that from you, because as a person, you have an identity, whether you have chosen one consciously, or it has been placed on you unconsciously. Society is set up in such a way that we are products of our environments. We hear people talk sometimes and we want to go off on them like ‘how could you be or think like this?’. But their environment has fostered their thinking like that and has made them rooted in that position or ideology, to the point that they draw their identity from there. This is how powerful your identity is. Satan did not come for Adam & Eve’s marriage or go for their authority which God had given them. He knew that with one thing, he could take down all so he went and fought their identity: the untainted image that they had received from God. The fruit was going to give them another identity Satan sold to them. He said, “you will be like God, knowing good and evil”, and because somehow they were not satisfied with being God’s exact image, they fell for “...knowing good and evil”. Part of God’s redemptive plan is to restore us to that first identity of being satisfied in just being made in His image. Nothing else. Everything you are and can be is rooted in this image. The last couple of years have had loads of people in identity crises, unconsciously fighting from one identity and ignoring the one most important. It explains some of the emotional actions and reactions all around. Be reminded that being made in God’s image is sufficient. You do not need to draw an identity from any other thing, because it comes with added responsibility that only compounds to more separation from the original, intended identity. Do you know what Adam and Eve looked like just being rooted in their identity as image-bearers? They looked just like God Loving, Pure and Holy. Anything that is not these three things is another identity you have picked up along the line, and only you have a right to question your identity and choose to be reset to God’s original plan.

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Reflection: Am I loving, pure and holy?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

381

DAY

363

Here on Purpose JEREMIAH 29:11, COLOSSIANS 1:16

ome days, we wake up and feel like we can conquer the world. On other days, we wake up and wonder, “Should I even be here?”, “Why am I here?”, “Does my being here make any difference?”. There are several reasons for feelings of emptiness and purposelessness. These reasons can get us to this place and it is important to be honest with which of the reasons apply to us. 1.

You might be going through a phase of exploration to find your niche. With this, you just have to be patient with yourself, you need to wake up everyday and find reason to try again and again. You would lose the battle on some days but God’s Grace remains sufficient.

You are allowing yourself to be too idle. Idleness is not a good place to be honestly. It allows for your thoughts to just roam. We must be intentional about finding godly productive things to do with our time, hearts and minds. For me, I am either always reading or writing in my free time.

You are comparing yourself with everyone. Comparison will always diminish you. It’ll always make you appear smaller than you really are. Indeed it is the thief of joy. You’re in competition with no one. Take this as another reminder. Become at your own pace.

You are battling emotional and mental trauma. Some of us have bad habits and addictions, could be sexual or otherwise, but these things have been proven to cause deep senses of emptiness. God is calling you to repent and start afresh. He wants to take these feelings away.

You have been hurt recently and you’ve struggled with dealing with the pain. Pain is another magnifying glass. Makes things appear a lot worse than they really are. As hard as it is, please forgive and set yourself free. No one deserves to be in this place.

Above all, remember God’s word to us in Jermiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”. For every day you wake up, there is purpose in it. Life is an evidence of purpose - do not ever forget that.

Reflection: Why do I sometimes battle feelings of purposelessness?

382

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

Why Am I Doing All This? 1 CORINTHIANS 4:2, PSALM 19:1

DAY

364

am an advocate for ‘being faithful in the small translating to being faithful in the big’. T.D Jakes would say, “what you do for the 40, you’ll do for the 4000”. Nothing really changes when the audience grows. If you feel a need to change internally by a growth in audience, there might be levels of inconsistency. Delivery systems and perhaps protocol might be inconsistent, but there should be the same consistent level of value. When I read and hear people preach the “stay with the small, the big is coming” message, I am often torn internally with my emotions, because I am conscious of the fact that some people now go living their life in that condition of “if I stay consistent and faithful with this small, the big will come”. But what if that ‘big’ does not ever come? Not because of your inconsistency or faithlessness, but because it was intended that way. I begin to think, “What if we preached to just be faithful and consistent?”, “What if we just became satisfied with delivering value to people regardless of the numbers?”, :What if we just settled in the levels now, without having to constantly look back to see how the small became big?. By all means, let us grow and stay accountable, but let the condition for doing either not be about the coming big. Even in that small, the value stays as impactful to those it is reaching. It is not every time you do this for that; sometimes, just do this and be fine with it.

Reflection: What is my motivation for life?

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

383

DAY

Dealing with Disappointments

365

1 PETER 5:6-8, PSALM 34:1-7

nother year has come to an end. Do you feel you could have done more? Accomplished more? Are you feeling disappointed? Disappointments happen when expectations are unmet. A lot of times, it is unconscious that someone disappoints us because they did not know what was expected, or they did not see the extent of the expectation on our ends. It hurts even more in relationships, with our partners, friends, parents and even mentors, because we hurt most when it comes from the ones we love most. How do we handle these disappointments? 1.

Give people the benefit of doubt. When you have been disappointed, there is a tendency to withdraw and deal with it alone, but you need to resist that urge and speak to the person first before taking drastic emotional actions.

Only the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit. The bible says “Who knows the mind of a man better than the spirit of the man in the man?”. We cannot expect expectations to be met when we have not communicated them. Do not get caught up in the “they should know better” talk, sometimes they do not, and we must be gracious to be willing to talk about it if the need arises. Resist the urge to just ignore and pretend you are fine.

Deep-cutting disappointments, like someone cheating on you or talking behind your back call for healing and forgiveness. In drastic cases as such, allow yourself to heal and also forgive; if not, disappointment could grow into bitterness, anger and then hatred. You do not want that baggage at all.

Talk to God about your disappointments. It helps to be bare and open with Him. There is no need to form ‘hard guy’ with God; He sees it all.

It is not sinful to feel disappointment, so do not beat yourself up for it. Just make sure you make an attempt to dissolve it by seeking clarity, healing and then moving on from it.

Reflection: Focus on the good parts of this year and make a list of all the things and people that brought you joy.

384

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

The One Who Returned LUKE 17:11-19, PSALM 150

DAY

366

n our text today, we read of the one leper, who out of ten, returned to say thank you to Jesus. Yes, he had received his healing, but remember he had been an outcast for years. Although he was not a leper anymore, he was still poor, relegated and probably had lost all hope. The healing was a move in the right direction, but that did not solve all his other problems. However, it did not stop him from coming to say thank you for the one step in the right direction. There are probably over a hundred things that went wrong this year; some probably threatened to end you, your family, your career maybe and even your faith. But despite it all, here you are, reading this right now and able to process all you are reading. If you return to say thank you for only this step in the right direction, it is enough. We do not need to see a reason to thank God. We do not have to wait until we have nothing on our request list before we say thank you to God. We thank God for who He is, even before we thank Him for what He has done. Let it be on record in heaven that you were the one who returned to thank God, with songs of praise and worship, not because all is perfect, but because despite all of it, you are still here. God will be looking and listening out for your voice.

Reflection: No requests, just shouts of praise in thanksgiving!

FOCH DEVOTIONAL: An Intimate With The Holy Spirit

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;But it is the Spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.â&#x20AC;? Job 32:8 What a privilege it is to host God in us! If nothing, I hope the last year reminded you of how gifted and privileged you are. The journey does not end here, as a matter of fact, it just begins, it is time to take this light, salt, fire and power to the darkness in the world. It is time to join the 99 looking for the lost 1, it is time to leave spectating Christianity and become a main player on the field. The Holy Spirit enables us beyond what we can imagine and so, all I ask is that you yield to Him, from the least to the greatest of tasks. Thank you for allowing yourself be conformed to the image of Jesus, it is only this image that enables us be carriers of all that is The Holy Spirit. May this reality be in you always, that through all of lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s occurrences, you are reminded that He that is in you, is greater than He that is in the world. I look forward to reading from you, find all contact details in the contact page of this book.

Love, A Co-labourer