SECOND CHANCE 2 by Aleele Paago (Deep Words Devotional)

You have lived your life in the mind of the creator – every bit of it. I will ask you to approach the following verses in the simplicity of what they say.

Jer 1:5  Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

You cannot know a non-existent person. You can plan to ordain something when it is created. But you can only ordain it when it is in existence.  The creator had a specific you in mind which he painstakingly created. For Jeremiah, what God had in mind was a prophet to the nations. But now, the bible says, “before I formed you IN THE BELLY I knew thee…” Can I tell you that Jeremiah did not just exist as a concept in the mind of God? His life was scripted A-Z and he was only brought to earth to manifest that which God had written in his script. Jeremiah was known because he had lived his life with God.
Ps 139:16  Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. (NAS)

Every single day of David’s life was written down – the day he would be ordained by Samuel, the day he would kill Goliath, the day he would sleep with Uriah’s wife, the day he would become the king. Everything was written down while they had not existed. If it is true for Jeremiah and true for David, is there a possibility that it is true for you and me? The answer is a big “yes!”

God called Gideon “mighty man of valour” why? Because that is how his script was written. We see the concept again in 2 Kings 23: where King Josiah fulfills a prophecy that was made over 300 years earlier in 1 Kings 13.
Same can be said about Jesus. Oh yes, we know he was the Word that was at the beginning. But the bible also says, he was the lamb that was slain at the foundation of the world. You cannot slay the Word, so even Jesus’ death on the cross had taken place first at the foundation of the world and the second chance was at Calvary. Since Jesus could not kill himself, it is obvious then that the Roman soldiers, Judas, Pilate and all others too were at the foundation of the world!

This perfectly explains what Paul means when he declares in First Corinthians “…Now I know in part (imperfectly), but then I shall know and understand  fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been fully and clearly known and understood [by God]. 1 Cor 13:12 AMP”

Have you seen the script of your life? If you are a lamb of the shepherd, chances are that you are waiting for the shepherd to give you directions and to read the script  for you. Lambs who own the shepherd approach life differently. David shows us in this Psalm.

please live your script today.
©THE LAMB OF GOD
DEEPWORDS DEVOTIONAL

SECOND CHANCE by Aleele Paago (Deep Words Devotional)

The Lord is my Shepherd Ps 23:1a
Pro 25:2  It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

As we dwell on this first line of the Psalm, I realized that it is my knowledge of God that is the game changer for my life. Nothing else. I conclude that it is the day the sheep knows its shepherd that his story begins to change. But then, knowing the shepherd only makes the sheep know itself. The big question is, how or why does it work out like that? For me to truly know me, I need to truly know the shepherd.

The answers may appear simple on the surface but they are really very intense and  deep. On the surface it’s easy to conclude that because God created me, if I get to know God, I get to know what He created me for and why. That is the summary of it. But you should never be  satisfied with summaries. Go beyond the surface; I want to encounter deeper truths and principles. I want to uncover how it works so that I can truly apply it. 

I came to the staggering realization that I have lived my life. You have lived yours too. What you are living now, is the second chance. They say all products are created twice – the first creation is in the mind of the inventor and the second is the actual manufacture of the product. This is but a very weak comparison but it is the closest I can get. Everyone you see today have lived before now.  They have rehearsed this life.  Right now on earth they are only required   to act out their  script. Tomorrow I will give you the scriptural proof.

©THE LAMB OF GOD
DEEPWORDS DEVOTIONAL

TO “KNOW GOD” AND TO BE “KNOWN OF GOD” by Aleele Paago (Deep Words Devotional)

Pro 25:2  It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

Who has the responsibility of developing the knowledge? Who bears the responsibility of discovering the truth about himself/herself? The responsibility lies with the lamb to know its true position and act in consonance with that.

The most important hidden thing is the knowledge of who you are. Your parents have no clue, your pastor has no clue, your peers have no clue, your teachers or bosses have no clue of who you are and what you are capable of. You too have no idea of who you are. It is an honour to unveil that which God has concealed in you – your God-destiny.

Paul makes a baffling remark in Gal 4:9

But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of GOD…

To “Know God” and to be “known of God” do they mean the same thing? To be “known of God” means the Shepherd knows you, he has you enlisted in his fold. You are known to Him. To “know God” on the other hand is to realize the full understanding of the place of the sheep, that the Shepherd is his own. So because Paul is disappointed by the Galatian church, he downgrades their knowledge quotient. Paul is saying “I thought you have fully realized your position but maybe you haven’t yet, you are back at the elementary level.”

The ultimate desire really is to know yourself the way God knows you. For the Shepherd himself desires that you come to this knowledge.

HOW DOES GOD KNOW YOU?

He knows your past, knows your present and knows your future. He knows your fault lines. He knows your weaknesses. He knows your fears. And he loves you. He knows your capabilities. He knows your abilities. He knows your destiny and he wishes that you know also.

For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection [of reality as in a riddle or enigma], but then [when perfection comes] we shall see in reality and face to face! Now I know in part (imperfectly), but then I shall know and understand  fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been fully and clearly known and understood [by God]. 1 Cor 13:12 AMP

Therefore, to know that the Shepherd is yours is to know who you are in the Shepherd. Check the entire bible, everyone God used for some great thing felt unqualified because they didn’t have a clear picture of who they are in God. Their lives begin to unfold and reveal what God already has known and prepared for them. That is exactly what Proverbs 25:2 means.

Somehow the sheep must find a way to know itself the way the shepherd knows it.
Do you think you have fully discovered your God-potential? Think about it today.

© THE LAMB OF GOD
DeepWords Devotional

I CHOOSE TO SERVE 07: QUALITIES OF GOD’S SERVANT 1

“1. This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. 
2. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; 
3. Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; 
4. One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; 
5. (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) 
6. Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. 
7. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”
1 Tim. 3:1-7 (KJV).

In any context you use this scripture, it contains a comprehensive list of basic requirements for serving God. These requirements listed here are the outward qualities that a servant of God must possess. In as much as it is expected that a servant of God has credibility in the sight of God, he must also have credibility among men.

Do not get it twisted, people’s opinion of a servant of God matter. You will be threading a dangerous path if you think that it totally does not matter what people say about you. Granted the voice of the people are not always the voice of God, they still need to see some outward manifestation of who you say you are.

The following scriptures should help you grab what I am saying:

“In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father” Matt. 5:16 (NLT).

“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men” Luke 2:52 (AKJV).

I personally like Easy English Translation of Luke 2:52, and I quote:

“Jesus grew into a man. He could understand more and more things. Everyone loved Him and God also thought well of Him.”

In the last three episodes, I shared the things that can make God to be pleased with your service. The next couple of episodes will be dedicated to dealing with the outward qualities expected of a true servant of God.
   
Stay blessed.

©TRANSFORMING WORDS SERIES
(Transforming the World through the Word)