God’s Oracle Devotionals

Date: Thursday, 11^th July, 2024

Text: Daniel 1:17-20

Author: Pastor Adedeji Fadehan

Exhortation:

A very classic example of a man with an excellent spirit is Daniel. Right from his youth God gave him and his three friends an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And even out of the four, God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams.

Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, he found them ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom. Daniel 1:17; 20 NLT

In other words, the magician students of the king only knew one-tenth of what Daniel and his friends knew. When they scored 10 out of 100; Daniel and his colleagues scored 100 percent. This implies they were nowhere near the special abilities and talents of Daniel, Meshach, Shedrach and Abednego.

A queen mother described Daniel as a man with an excellent (extraordinary) spirit, knowledge and insight, the ability to interpret dreams, clarify riddles, and solve complex problems- Daniel 5:12.

Because of the extraordinary spirit within him, he so distinguished himself among the commissioners and fellow government leaders, that the king planned to appoint him over the entire realm.

Daniel’s excellent spirit was given to him by the Most High due to his close relationship with Him. He was a lover of God and he believed in holiness. He never arrogated any of God’s glory to himself and he was not a materialistic person.

He had a special prayer altar which he serviced three times a day (even at the threat of death). Daniel was so devoted to his God that he preferred to go the lion’s den than miss his prayer schedule- Daniel 6:10.

Prayer Nugget: Father, please, fill me with your excellent spirit in Jesus name.

Date: Wednesday, 10^th July, 2024

Text: Hebrews 1:9

Author: Pastor Adedeji Fadehan

Exhortation:

When Jacob (Israel) was about to die, he gathered all his sons together and told them what was going to happen to them in the future. Concerning Rueben he said, “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity and the excellency of power. Unstable as water, you shall not excel, because you went up to your father’s bed; then you defiled it— He went up to my couch” Genesis 49:3-4

Thus, Rueben was cursed by his dad because many years before then he slept with his father’s concubine, Bilhah (the maid of Rachel, Jacob’s first wife who became the mother of Dan and Naphthali) and dishonored his father’s bed (Genesis 35:22-25). He did it secretly thinking his father did not know. Unknown to him, his dad knew about it but never mentioned it to him until the day of his death.

His reckless and uncontrolled lifestyle brought an evil pronouncement upon his head and demoted him from his glorious position of excellence down to becoming an average person. Joseph, his little brother, who was equally tempted by the sin of immorality in the household of Potiphar (Genesis 39:6-12) but refused to bow to sexual sin, took his place.

Rueben lost his excellency of dignity and the excellency of power on the platform of sexual immorality and his life became unstable like the wild waves of the sea.

1^st Chronicles 5:1 says, “Though he was the firstborn, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel, because Reuben defiled his father’s bed. So he is not reckoned according to birthright.”

Righteousness indeed exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to a people- Proverbs 14:34.

If you desire to break free from the spirit of average, you must love righteousness and hate iniquity; then you will watch God as he pours his oil of gladness on you that will lift you far above all your contemporaries- Hebrews 1:9.

Prayer Nugget: Father, please, help me to climb higher in life; by your grace and mercy I will not engage in any activity that will bring me down.

Date: Tuesday, 9^th July, 2024

Text: Proverbs 13:20

Author: Pastor Adedeji Fadehan

Exhortation:

At a point the Jewish rulers arrested Peter and John and questioned them requesting to know by which power they were able to perform the spectacular miracle of healing a man born lame. The courage and boldness the two apostles displayed marvelled the panel of interrogators. Acts 4:13 says, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.”

They realized that some virtues from the Lord Jesus Christ had been transferred to the unschooled former fishermen.

If you are currently below average or average and you desire to ascend the ladder of excellence, simply look for role models who have already achieved excellence and begin to walk with them. Follow their godly sterling principles and work ethics. Before you know it, you too will begin to exhibit excellence.

Joshua was Moses’ errand boy- Exodus 24:13-18. While Moses’ carried out his excellent spiritual leadership role, Joshua closely observed and after 40 years when God sought for a replacement for Moses, Joshua was fully ripe and ready for excellent leadership.

Do you desire excellence? You have to be intentional. Watch the company of the people you keep. Deliberately choose the company of excellent individuals; very soon you will see yourself dropping your mediocre ways and adopting their excellent lifestyles.

Proverbs 13:20 says, “He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed.”

Reflective Nugget: Excellence can be infectious; allow yourself to be infected by godly excellent men.

Date: Monday, 8^th July, 2024

Text: Colossians 3:23

Author: Pastor Adedeji Fadehan

Exhortation:

There is a price to pay in order to achieve excellence. Many things call for your attention but your ability to shun these distractions and concentrate your attention on a given task demonstrates your focus. You need to channel your energy on a given task per time to achieve excellence.

Hard work is another requirement of excellence. To be hard working is to put in a lot of effort in achieving a given task. There is an element of endurance in handwork. The Holy Scripture says, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” Colossians 3:23^.

It takes more than hardwork to achieve excellence. Diligence is consistent hard work. The missing link between a hardworking person and a diligent one is self- discipline. This is the ability to delay gratification in order to reach your goal.

Consistency is needed in order to attain diligence. Don’t work hard only when you feel like working. Do so, come rain, come shine- in all weather. Sacrifice your sleep and burn the midnight oil. The word of God says, “The hand of the diligent will rule, but the lazy man will be put to forced labor.” Proverbs 12:24.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once said, “The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.”

It is only a matter of time and the difference between the average and excellent will be glaring for all to see. It takes diligence to achieve excellence and maintain it.

Prophetic Nugget: Receive grace to be focused and diligent in Jesus name.

Date: Sunday, 7^th July, 2024

Text: 1 John 1:4-5

Author: Pastor Adedeji Fadehan

Exhortation:

When you want to get rid of darkness in a room you don’t need to struggle, just switch on the light and darkness will flee. The word of God says, “In Him (Christ, the Word) was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” 1 John 1:4-5

In order to defeat or override the spirit of average, simply activate an excellent spirit. Excellence is God’s attribute. The Psalmist says, “O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens!” Psalm 8:1

Some of the components of excellence is self-efficacy, determination, resilience, focus and diligence. To be determined is to have firmness of purpose; it is to have a strong self will to achieve a desired goal.

Self efficacy is the ability to set goals and accomplish them based on confidence in your abilities (in God’s ability) and your determination.

Resilience is your ability to turn your setbacks to a set up for a comeback. Excellence can be a tough feat for someone who gets discouraged easily. On the paths to excellence you will meet with challenges and sometimes failures.

You are not a failure because you fell; the person who falls and refuses to get back up is the failure. You will not be a failure in Jesus name.

When you fall get up, dust yourself up and forge ahead. The word of God says, “For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again”- Proverbs 24:16a. A sinner may fall and never rise again because he lacks the backing of the Holy Spirit. So you need to surrender to the lordship of Christ and live a holy life. You will excel in Jesus name.

Prayer Nugget: Ask God for the grace to be resilient in the face of the challenges on the path to excellence.

Date: Saturday, 6^th July, 2024

Text: Proverbs 22:29

Author: Pastor Adedeji Fadehan

Exhortation:

The spirit of average limits a man from reaching his full potential. To be average is to be neither here nor there. It makes one to settle for less when you can actually achieve more. Why should you be satisfied with the good or the better when you can actually be the best?

How would you feel if you are involved in a competition and someone else, a co-competitor is being celebrated and rewarded for excellence instead of you for something you know, inside you that you could have achieved if you had pushed yourself harder? Of course it could lead to emotional pains and regrets.

When a typical average person is given a task to do, he does only what is enough and stops at that. But someone with an excellent spirit will do far, far more than enough. Nobody will celebrate and specially recognize you when you do the ordinary things required of you; but when you step out of the ordinary and put an “extra” effort, you become extraordinary, distinguished and you stand out from the crowd of average people.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.”

The word of God also says, “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean (average, obscure, less important, people of low rank, unknown) men.” Proverbs 22:29

Action Nugget: Refuse to be average.

Date: Thursday, 4^th July, 2024

Text: Genesis 26:1-14

Author: Pastor Adedeji Fadehan

Exhortation:

When you get stuck to a particular spot, it could be discouraging and frustrating. At a point in their wilderness wanderings, the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, “Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.” Deuteronomy 2:2-3. Are you facing such a situation in your life journey? I pray that from now on you will move forward in Jesus name.

It is not a bad thing to start small. Job 8:7 says, “Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase.” Start small and grow fast. It is not the will of God that you remain stagnant. Stagnant water will stink; it is only a matter of time. You have to keep going and growing.

We serve a God who is particularly interested in growth and progress. One of the ways to know a man who is blessed is in the progress he makes. Blessing brings multiplication and a forward movement. In Genesis 1:28, God blessed Adam and his wife and God said unto them, “Be fruitful, and multiply …”

Isaac obeyed divine instructions during a famine period and he miraculously progressed. His progress during an economic downtime was exponential. The word of God puts it this way, “Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him- Genesis 26:12-14

Many folks make so much movements dancing around in circles with little or no significant progress. Sin and disobedience to God’s Word causes stagnancy.

As you intentionally obey the word of the Lord, your victory over stagnancy is sure in Jesus name.

Prayer Nugget: Father, I will obey your word always, please, cause me to always move forward and wax great in Jesus name.

Date: Wednesday, 3^rd July, 2024

Text: Mark 5:2-20

Author: Pastor Adedeji Fadehan

Exhortation:

As we have previously ascertained, the spiritual controls the physical; the invisible controls the visible; the things that are seen were made by the unseen (Hebrews 11:3) and the celestial rules the terrestrial. Having laid the above foundation, it should be easy to understand the series we are about to consider.

The devil has assigned a horde of demons to achieve his aim of stealing, killing and destroying (John 10:10). During his earthly ministry a boy who could not speak was brought to Christ. In healing him, the Lord simply cast out a deaf and dumb spirit and the boy was set free- Mark 9:17-29.

When the devil wants to afflict a man, he simply assigns one of his demons to possess its victim, incapacitate and reduce him to become like the demon. However, when the Spirit of God is engaged, the light of God shines, darkness disappears and the demon loses its grip and is cast out.

In Mathematics zero represents nothing. And anything multiplied by zero is reduced to zero. When the zero demon operates in the life of a man, it reduces that man to nothing. When it enters the life of a champion, he can quickly become an ex-champion and be reduced to nothing. This spirit can drastically reduce a wealthy man to a beggar within a short time.

A very good example of a man who was afflicted by the zero spirit was the man who lived among the tombs. He was insane and nobody could keep him tied with chains anymore; many times his feet and his hands had been tied, but every time he broke the chains and smashed the irons on his feet. He was too strong for anyone to control him. Day and night he wandered among the tombs and through the hills, screaming and cutting himself with stones.

For a very long time he was nothing but when he encountered Jesus he fell on his knees and worshipped Jesus. The demons afflicting him were commanded do depart and he was set free- Mark 5:2-20. The man that was nothing became something, somebody to celebrate; and he went from zero to hero. May this be your testimony in Jesus name.

Prayer Nugget: Father, please, grant me victory over every zero spirit in Jesus name.

Date: Tuesday, 2^nd July, 2024

Text: Psalm 138:7-8

Author: Pastor Adedeji Fadehan

Exhortation:

Welcome to the 7^th month of perfection. The Lord will perfect all that concerns you in Jesus name. I pray for you that this second half of the year will be more glorious than the first in the mighty name of Jesus. Everything you are due for shall be granted unto you this season; your shame will give way to glory; health will triumph over sickness; prosperity will defeat poverty; the light of God will shine; darkness will be confounded in Jesus name.

Are you worried that things seem not to be working the way you expect? Are you anxious or disturbed that your efforts are not yielding expected results and you fear that this year is about to slip out of your hands? Fear not! Put your trust and hope in the Lord. He has promised never to leave you nor forsake you. Your times are in His hands and He will arrange things to work in your favour.

The Psalmist in today’s text says, “The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.” Psalm 138:7-8

By the mercy of God his purpose for your life shall be fulfilled speedily; the Lord will fight your battles for you and vindicate you in Jesus name.

It may look like things are not balanced yet and probably your mind is not settled. Just rest your heart on the Lord; cast your cares on Him. Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus- Philippians 4:6-7.

Prophetic Nugget: You will not labour in vain; every effort of yours will yield bountiful results this season in Jesus name.

Date: Saturday, 29^th June, 2024

Text: Ephesians 6:10-18

Author: Pastor Adedeji Fadehan

Exhortation:

The desire of God is that you overcome every challenge that confronts you. Let’s face it- life is full of battles. There are forces that always try to contend with you whether you realize it or not. The world we are in is demon-infested and therefore evil contends with good and darkness contends with light.

Lies contend with the truth; corruption battles with purity and unrighteousness struggles against righteousness. You will notice that it is easier to destroy than to build; it is easier to descend than to ascend and it is easier to hate than to love. Good things tend to have some form of resistance.

The devil’s kingdom is highly organized; the word of God confirms that we are not fighting against flesh and blood (human beings or physical opponents) but against the principalities (wicked spiritual forces) in the heavenly realm, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this world’s darkness.

It is therefore very important to be fully equipped with God’s armour so that you will be able to stand up against the Devil’s evil tricks- Ephesians 6:10-18

It takes a deliberate action on our own part as children of the light to shine in the midst of this world’s darkness putting the enemy where he belongs.

We must not be ignorant of Satan’s cunning devices so that he doesn’t outsmart and take advantage of us- 2 Corinthians 2:11. In the days ahead we would be identifying and praying against his demonic foot soldiers wrecking havoc in the lives of men. You will overcome in Jesus name.

Prayer Nugget: Father, I choose to shine brightly as an overcomer in the midst of this world’s darkness in Jesus name.