Quote of the day (31st March, 2016)

No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was.
Hebrews 5:4, NIV

Your daily devotional by Dag Heward-Mills (31st March, 2016)

March 31, 2016

CALLED

Dag Heward-Mills

READ: Hebrews 5:1-10

No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was.
Hebrews 5:4, NIV
 
Entrance to ministry must be through the call of God. The door to ministry is the call of God.

“And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron” (Hebrews 5:4).

If you do not have a divine call, you are not supposed to be in the ministry. You must have a personal conviction of a call which sets you apart for the ministry.

Your call to ministry is the foundation of your ministry. It defines everything that you will ever do in the ministry.

The door to ministry is different from the door to other professions. Your entrance to the medical profession is by graduating from a medical school. The entrance to the legal profession is by graduating from a law school. The entrance to the accounting profession is by obtaining an accountancy certificate. However, the entrance to ministry is not by acquiring a certificate from any school, including a Bible school. The entrance to ministry is by receiving and obeying a divine call.

“Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count your worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12).

Quote of the day (30th March, 2016)

“Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’ Vanity asks the question, ‘Is it popular?’ But, conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’ And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because one’s conscience tells one that it is right” – Martin Luther King Jr.

Your daily devotional by Dag Heward-Mills (30th March, 2016)

March 30th, 2016

TIMING

Dag Heward-Mills

READ: 2 Samuel 17:1-14

I will come upon him while he is weary and exhausted and terrify him…
2 Samuel 17:2, NASB
 
A crucial aspect of Ahithophel’s plan was to attack David at the right time.

King David was a strong fighter but was not invincible neither was he immortal. That means, given the right conditions, he could be defeated. Ahithophel knew exactly when David could be defeated and he said so. “Ahithophel said to Absalom, Please let me choose 12,000 men that I may arise and pursue David tonight” (2 Samuel 17:1, NASB).

The key word here is “tonight”. It was important that Absalom pursue David at that particular time. Ahithophel knew that conditions were favourable only for that night.

What conditions made that night favourable for Absalom? David was weary and exhausted and Ahithophel wanted the attack to come on during David’s weariest moment: “I will come upon him while he is weary and exhausted and terrify him, so that all the people who are with him will flee. Then I will strike down the king alone,” (2 Samuel 17:2). Hushai also knew that David was weary and exhausted and he wanted to buy some time for David. That is why he asked for him to wait till thousands and thousands of troops could gather. Can you imagine how long it would take to assemble all these troops?

Dear friend, there is a time to every purpose. If you miss the timing, you are not likely to succeed. Whilst you are on this earth, everything you do will depend on doing it at the right time.

Quote of the day (29th March, 2016)

You can’t fall if you don’t climb, but there’s no joy in living your whole life on the ground.

Your daily devotional by Dag Heward-Mills (29th March, 2016)

March 29, 2016

SEEK HIM

Dag Heward-Mills

READ: 2 Chronicles 26:16-21

…now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
1 Samuel 8:5
 
People enter the imperfect will of God because they want to be like others.

Wanting to be like others is the most dangerous desire a man of God can have. Wanting to be like others will lead you to reject God and His will. Jesus said, “I receive not honour from men” (John 5:41).

To be presumptuous is to arrogantly assume that privileges must be given to you. Uzziah wrongly assumed that because he was the king he had the right to do the work of priests. We often assume that we know the will of God because He has used us in the past. When we become presumptuous, we assume that our ideas are God’s ideas and our will is God’s will. Arrogance and pride lead us into error and into the imperfect will of God. No matter who you are you are still a man and your will is not necessarily God’s will. You must seek the will of God.

But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.

And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men: And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the Lord God.
2 Chronicles 26:16-18

Quote of the day (28th March, 2016)

“If you mentally believe it will happen, your body is going to find a way to make it physically happen” – Greg Plitt

Your daily devotional by Dag Heward-Mills (28th March, 2016)

March 28, 2016

GOD’S WORK

Dag Heward-Mills

READ: Isaiah 53:10-12

I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
John 9:4
 
Work hard by spending a lot of time on the church.

When an activity consumes just a few minutes of your time in a week, it cannot be called your “work”. For instance, I drive my car for a few minutes every day but my work is not “driving” per se. It is something that I do on my way to work.

However, if driving a car, for example a taxi, were to become my work, I would not spend less than eight hours a day driving. Then, to me, driving would have become work!

You cannot claim to be doing the “work” of the ministry until it actually consumes a reasonable amount of time in your week.

If waiting on God, catching the anointing, catching revelation and receiving guidance from the Holy Spirit does not take up many hours and days of your week, then you are not working yet. For a minister of the gospel, praying and waiting on God must take up many hours. If it is work it will take up your time. When you were not a pastor building a large church, you could afford to spend a few minutes catching the anointing. You could afford to spend twenty minutes receiving a revelation from the Word. But now that you are a serious professional mega church builder, you need to spend several hours and days waiting on the Lord!

As you do the work of God, you will expend your energy and money. When you begin to feel tired, just remember it is a sign that you are really working.

Quote of the day (27th March, 2016)

“So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.” – 1 Corinthians 15:58, New Living Translation

Your daily devotional by Dag Heward-Mills (27th March, 2016)

March 27, 2016

THE WORK

Dag Heward-Mills

READ: Philippians 1:27

So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.
1 Corinthians 15:58, New Living Translation
 
Work hard by cheerfully doing the same things over and over.

By nature, all real work is repetitive and regular. If you are working hard you will do the repetitive and regular chores cheerfully. Even if you are bored you must keep doing the “work” – praying, visiting, counseling and interacting (PVCI). Even if you are tired you must keep doing the “work” – waiting on God, catching the anointing, catching the revelation and guidance (WAR).

Many pastors don’t pray much because they feel it’s repetitive and boring. But when prayer becomes your work you will have to repeat your prayers and you will have to pray regularly.  When visiting becomes your work, you will have to visit repeatedly and regularly.

There is a difference between a social visit to a friend’s house and a pastoral visit. Pastoral visits must be conducted repeatedly by pastors. Mega church pastors must intentionally go to the homes of their members on a regular basis. Don’t we do our secular work when we don’t feel like it?
Don’t we all go to the same work place repeatedly and regularly although we don’t feel like it? In the same way, anyone who claims to be doing the work of the ministry must rise up and repeatedly do the important tasks of a pastor. We don’t pray just because we feel like it. We pray because we have to! We must rise up early and cheerfully intercede for the people God has given us.