Weekly Devotionals – 1 November 2021

There are about 7,000 wonderful promises in the Bible for God’s children. Many of His promises pertain to the supplies of our needs in this life.

However, the most glorious promises are those relating to our status in Christ. If they are not clearly stated in the Bible, we scarcely believe they are true.

James 2:5
Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

If God’s Kingdom belongs to us, then surely the entire universe is ours also. Christ has been appointed heir of all things (Hebrews 1:2), and out of His great generosity, He grants us to be His joint-heirs.

Romans 8:16-17
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

The amazing truth is that what He has received in His accomplishments on the Cross, He longs to share them with us, including His spiritual office as King and Priest.

Revelation 5:10
And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”

Although our actual reign on earth with our King of kings will be in the coming Great Millennium, we are expected to exercise our kingly authority over Satan and his cohorts as they seek to deceive and destroy us. We are also expected to assume our roles and obligations as priests who acts as watchmen, always interceding for our families, churches and nation.

In Heaven, John the Beloved, witnessed the glorious worship of the heavenly hosts and the redeemed. Pay attention to what they ascribed to Christ the Lamb.

Revelation 5:11-12
Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice:
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

It’s astonishing that whatever attributes that are ascribed to Him, He receives them and then freely shares them with us. They are only ours if we appropriate them correctly. Let’s examine them one at a time.

1. Power

Matthew 28:18 (KJV)
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

When Christ rose from the dead and ascended to the Father, He took back His inherent power which He had laid aside for 33 years. Now He has universal power.

Acts 1:8 (KJV)
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

We now receive God’s delegated authority and power through the Holy Spirit. How do we receive the Holy Spirit? It is through our yieldedness to Him in our obedience to the Great Commission

2. Riches

Romans 11:36 (AMP)
For from Him [all things originate] and through Him [all things live and exist] and to Him are all things [directed]. To Him be glory and honor forever! Amen.

Since the Lord Jesus is the Creator and Originator of all things, He is infinitely rich. All things begin and end with Him; and all life will continue if it chooses to continue in Him.

2 Corinthians 8:9 (KJV)
For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

How does Christ share His wealth with us? He had to become poor through His Incarnation so that, through His poverty, we can become rich when we believe and trust in Him.

All things will eventually be ours because we are the Lord’s joint-heirs. But in the meanwhile, as we learn to live by His principles, we become better and richer. That is how we mature in Him.

3. Wisdom

Colossians 2:3 (AMPC)
In Him all the treasures of [divine] wisdom (comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God) and [all the riches of spiritual] knowledge and enlightenment are stored up and lie hidden.

When we know the purposes of God, we become enlightened and we begin to have an eternal perspective. That is when we are able to draw from the hidden treasures of God’s divine wisdom – insightful knowledge that is hidden to the world.

James 1:5 (KJV)
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Do you see how willing God is to impart His wisdom to you? All you need to do is to ask Him for it, and He will give it liberally. In fact, He will be delighted when you ask Him for it.

Solomon asked God for wisdom to rule his country. God obliged and gave him much more than what he asked for.

4. Strength

Psalm 93:1 (KJV)
The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.

The strength and ability of God are so immense. He holds everything together with His strength, even this world in which we live.

Philippians 4:13 (KJV)
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

In Christ, you are given the needed strength to conduct all your activities and responsibilities effectively.

Through Christ, you can hold all your activities together and in order. He strengthens you in all that you have to do. Even when you come to the end of your own resources, trust Him to take you further to completion; and He will do just that.

5&6. Honour & Glory

2 Peter 1:17 (NIV)
He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Honour and glory go together.

God did say, “I will not share my glory with any man.” It simply means that He doesn’t share credit with anyone. When He performs a miracle, no one can take credit for himself except God.

Hebrews 2:7 (NIV)
You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor.

Although we are mere human beings, God is still very mindful of us because He loves us deeply. Although we are not supposed to take any credit for His mighty works, we still share in His reflected glory. He has crowned us with glory and honour. In ourselves, we are devoid of glory and honour. But as we let Jesus live in and through us, we are crowned with glory and honour in the right proportion and perspective.

7. Blessing

Luke 2:40 (AMPC)
And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace (favor and spiritual blessing) of God was upon Him.

For our sakes, Christ had to grow up from childhood just like anyone of us. As He was growing up, God showered Him with favour and spiritual blessing.

Ephesians 1:3 (KJV)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Now, through Christ’s finished works on the Cross, God has also showered us with spiritual blessings flowing from heavenly places. When we are really convinced that God has already given us His very best, we will walk through every circumstance in victory.

Remember: your power, riches, wisdom, strength, honour, glory and blessing come from the complete Central Control of Heaven. Let your heart be anchored there and the glory of the Lord will surround you.