MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - 29/01/25

WEDNESDAY - 29TH JANUARY, 2025

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

A BETTER MEMORIAL - Fitted For A Manner Of Life Series 016

Isaiah 56:3-5, KJV

"3 ... neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. 4 For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my Sabbath, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; 5 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off."

One of the joys that we don't pray to be withheld from anyone is the joy of carrying one's own baby. When people don't have this joy, they're intermittently demoralized and discouraged especially when there's a trigger to recall their state. It might be when they see wards of set mates do or achieve the landmark. At such moment, they're always reminded of their state of barrenness. However, there's a better offer than sons and daughters as promised by God to any eunuch. 

I'm not saying, don't try. However, if all you know to do within the confine of medical assistance and spiritual assistance has failed, you might need to explore the option of today and receive the blessing that attends it. 

Verse 3 calls the eunuch being described here, "a dry tree." A dry tree would refer to one that has been severed and is not good for anything but to be discarded or burnt. That reveals how eunuchs are viewed and little esteemed during this time. They are cast aways and the rejected. Now, as dry tree, it means they can't reproduce or father a child. It means they're sterile or infertile. This passage may not necessarily refer to those eunuchs whose testicles were pressed, crushed or whose penises were chopped off. It rather refers to those with problems of infertility or sterility. They are as dry tree that doesn't bring forth or produce fruits. 

God has a promise for them and any other type of eunuch who can't reproduce or bring forth children that should carry or pass on their names. What does God say? "For the eunuchs who keep my Sabbath, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off."

This is what every human being want to ensure to the best of their knowledge. It is the reason for which they give birth or desire children. They don't want their legacy to disappear or their name to vanish. Since eunuchs don't marry let alone give birth, God is saying, "He'll give them a name better than sons and daughters and one that shall never be cut off."

It is not every human legacy or name that'll be remembered or recalled in generations to come. We all know that. We all know that many names will be lost and forgotten in the sand of time. Popular names of billionaires, celebrities or great men today might fade 100 years from now. However, God promises that these eunuchs will have a better testimony in His house and within His walls even in His coming kingdom. 

Telling them to keep the Sabbath, please Him and hold unto His covenant, God declares to them His promises. Since a memorial is always remembered and not forgotten, this shows how they'll forever be unforgettable in God's mind and through the faithful examples they might have laid by their pleasing lives. They'll just be examples to future generations. 

Stop mourning for having no child. If you can live so well as to leave great acts, they can stand as monuments to pass you to generations to come. Why do you think people write books or release an album? It's so as to pass themselves on. However, this promise given to the eunuchs is stronger than such legacy! It is everlasting as the Lord promises them. Let this be the hope of anyone who couldn't reproduce children. Be comforted. Rather, live a pleasing life of impact that can transcend time. You may not have physical children to inherit and pass on your name but acts can do that. We wouldn't have had "Acts of the Apostle" if some people never acted or got used of the Holy Ghost to move things and do great acts. It's the story of their great achievement and Holy Spirit's move through them that was documented for us to read. Same will be passed down to generations to come. As we also know, those men and women won't also lose their heavenly reward. You can be an eunuch whose case defies any help but how to live above that shame is what God has just intimated you with. 

PRAYER: My deeds are worthy of praise and transcending generations. My walks on earth impact, endure and draw heavenly applause and rewards.

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN 

Matthew 20:17-34 & Exodus 16-17

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - 28/01/2025

TUESDAY - 28TH JANUARY, 2025

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED - Fitted For A Manner Of Life Series 015

Deuteronomy 23:1, KJV

"He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD."

Going to the Old Testament, we see that castration is a thing of shame and public disgrace. This might be due to the fact that Yahweh's law encourages procreation and marriage. In the Old Testament, there are a number of verses that hint at this disfavour of eunuchs. 

First is the one quoted above which is our anchor verse. Anyone whose testicles has been crushed or his manhood chopped off is not to join the congregation of the Lord. Also, in Leviticus 21:20, we have a reference to anyone with "a crushed testicles" who's not allowed into the priesthood. All these establish the fact that eunuchs are not verily favoured in the Old Testament. Though some found good positions as attendants and top officers serving great kings, yet they're still regarded as "half men" by their societies because they neither could reproduce or father. As such, they're largely disfavored. 

However, this disfavour becomes favour in the New Testament. First, there's an inclusion and an acceptance in the beloved, Jesus Christ. In Acts 8, we read of an Ethiopian eunuch who came to Jerusalem to worship. This man serves under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. On her way back to Africa, he reads the book of Isaiah and is eager to have understanding on what the passage says. God, who sees every human's heart sent his way Philip, the evangelist who expounded and interpreted to him Isaiah 53. From there, Philip preached Christ to him. Later on, this man was accepted into the fold when he was baptized by immersion. 

We therefore see through this that the former wall built to exclude eunuchs have being pulled down. In the beloved - Jesus Christ, the rejected or cast away finds acceptance and friendship. 

On another note, Jesus speaks favourably of eunuchs in Mathew 19:12 when He tells his disciples that, "except to those it is given." Those are the people who can live as eunuchs. Here, Jesus listed three categories of eunuchs. He speaks of the metaphoric one who might choose not to marry for the kingdom of heaven's sake. In this way, Jesus redeems the general public image of eunuchs as it hints high consecration for a divine service. Redemption is nothing short of this. And even to the other two categories of eunuchs, the fact that Jesus exhort that it's better to stay single like them or any of the three paints a good picture in favour of eunuchs. 

Are you there with a problem that seems irrecoverable? You are accepted in Jesus Christ. If medical help and healing have failed, don't forget that before God in heaven, we'll all be clean, devoid of all our infirmities. Redemption has raised us back to perfection however. We are all accepted in the beloved and are brethren either free or slave, sick or healthy!

PRAYER/CONFESSION: I am (mention your full name). I am weaned of every inferiority complex but emboldened with my superiority complex in Christ.

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN 

Matthew 19:16-20:1-16 & Exodus 15

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - 27/01/2025

MONDAY - 27TH JANUARY, 2025

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

IT IS CALLING FOR THOSE WHO CAN ACCEPT THAT SAYING - Fitted For A Manner Of Life Series 014

Matthew 19:12, KJV 

"For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it."

Do you believe with me that it becomes calling and a way of life for those who can accept that saying? The saying to remain unmarried, single or a celibate. 

If we should look at the Old Testament, several of the eunuchs there were castrated for a singular purpose. To serve as attendants in the king's palace without distraction but loyalty to the king. In the book of Esther, we have someone like Hegei, a eunuch. II Kings 20:18 also predicted some certain sons or descendants of Hezekiah serving as eunuchs in slavery in Babylon. Popularly, eunuchs served in ancient culture around palaces, courts and harems. Little wonder, it was an eunuch who was posted to see to Xerxes' harem of women in the book of Esther. 

One of the major reasons why they were castrated is to fit them or get them ready and focused for a profession. Does that amaze you? So that they'll not serve with unfaithfulness, they're either castrated or their male organ chopped off. With this, they can follow with focus the call of their vocation that's on them. 

You may not be a physical eunuch. No injury might have been inflicted on you for the purpose of serving as a perpetual slave or attendant somewhere but I want you to take the manner of life of eunuchs and their consecration on you. Because of their emasculation, infertility or abolishment of their male power, they become focused and undistracted. Without physically harming yourself like eunuch's, discipline yourself in this year 2025 to have their focus, attention, loyalty and pursuit of goals towards what you have discovered as your life's purpose. This is the key to success. If you can pursue like the eunuch your goals without distraction, you'll delight God Almighty for having eaten the meat of He that sent you and finishing it (John 4:34). 

PRAYER: May I run the race set before me with patience and void of distraction.

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN 

Matthew 19:1-15 & Exodus 13-14

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - 26/01/2025

SUNDAY - 26TH JANUARY, 2025

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

ELIJAH: A MAN SUBJECT TO LIKE PASSIONS - Fitted For A Manner Of Life Series 013

James 5:17-18, KJV

"17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit."

I've taught on this topic years ago but the Holy Spirit is reviving same topic and teaching in me again. It is for a purpose and may it be fulfilled. 

We've been talking on celibacy, your calling and giving oneself away to one's call and the demands it might make on one whatsoever. We've emphasized that for you to ply a path in life, you must be made into a container like those who have walked that path before you. I believe I qualify as a minister. Though I'm prospered, I'm not covetous or seeking to be wealthy. I'm not chasing after shadows. If we have food and raiment, we shall be content the Bible says. 

I Timothy 6:6-7, KJV 

"6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."

That doesn't mean I don't have the good things of life. Meanwhile, what I'm saying or teaching is that I've been made like my predecessors who what they live by is the food given to them. You can't be a minister of Christ if you don't have His spirit or attitude to things. Though bodily exercise is profitable a little and I do little exercise yet I don't have what it takes to be an athlete or a boxer. However, I have indulged and overindulged in all practices by which one could receive impartation and separation into being called a minister. I have done it and still do them often. They must not wear off. It is in its not wearing off that we remain who we are - a fellow and member of this path of the called to ministry. A minister must not neglect the Word but look unto himself and the flock committed to his care, enjoy prayer, find it loving to preach or teach, love sobriety and enjoy it and cherish other exercises, attitudes and characters of the Lord Jesus. 

Today, we look at Elijah, a man subject to like passions but one who rose and did extraordinarily beyond his human passions, weaknesses and limitations. When the Bible says, "Elijah is a man subject to like passions yet he prayed that it would not rain...or that it should rain", God wanted us to be without excuse. As a matter of fact, what God was doing is drawing an example and a model for us in Elijah. He was saying, "you have no excuses. Elijah was a man like you. However, his human passions (which includes all passions and cravings in human) didn't get the better of him. Rather, he excelled. In what did God make an example of Elijah to having excelled. The Bible says, "he prays fervently that it would not rain and for three and half years, it didn't rain and again he prayed that heaven would open and it was so." Yet, he was a man surrounded by weaknesses and limitations. If you had seen Elijah in the flesh, you would have known this. He looked like any of us. He talked like any of us. He ate rice and beans like any of us. He slept and farted like any of us. He was scared and threatened like any of us. He had sexual urge like any of us. He was hungry, thirsty and helpless like any of us. He even once wished he died like some of us might have had. Elijah is no better than us. He was tempted in every way as we are. Despite all these vulnerabilities or frailties, he still did the extraordinary. He still went on to pray fervently (exerting energy physically) and (spiritually as one whom virtues went out of in the process of praying like it went out of Jesus when touched by the woman with the issue of blood) but had his requests answered.

If Elijah is therefore a man as we are (with our frame, composite and mind) and could achieve the impossible or extraordinary; we ought remember that if we share in his passions, we can share in his possibilities and achievements also.

You may be a man subject to like passions. You may be another Sola, Joshua, Chioma or whatsoever. However, you have a role model who inspired to great things despite being a man who was surrounded by human weaknesses. The only thing in place is that he was a righteous man who prayed an effectual fervent prayer (James 5:16). "Effectual fervent prayer" hints at doing whatsoever your hand finds to do with your whole might. I pray for you that you'll break all human barriers in you or around you to great success. Every human being is lazy. We want to sleep; we want to rest and we want to procrastinate things. But despite all these, you can achieve beyond the limit and circle of human weaknesses that came with you because you're a human made of flesh and blood. No matter how strong you are, if you run some miles, you'll want to rest. You'll want to because you're human. A robot might not necessarily feel that way because it is iron or steel. But that you're flesh or blood limits you, fills you with certain destructive and distracting yearnings. You possess will and you may tend to do or go the opposite direction like Adam and Eve chose to disobey God. But for a robot, once programmed, it sticks to its commands. However, despite all these limitations, you can still be used of God to do the extraordinary. It just takes a little consecration. For Elijah, he was a righteous man (one carrying a consecration and a way of life) who prayed and had results. If you'll harness yourself with discipline, focus, strong consecration and abandonment to the path you've discovered, you'll achieve the surprising also. May this be our testimony. 

PRAYER: I live above my inherent and inherited human passions or weaknesses; I shall do wondrously. I embrace the consecration and ways of life that makes great.

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN 

Matthew 18:15-35 & Exodus 10-12

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - 25/01/25

SATURDAY - 25TH JANUARY, 2025

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

GIFTED FOR CELIBACY - Fitted For A Manner Of Life Series 012

I Corinthians 7:6-7, ESV

"6 Now as a concession, not a command, I say this. 7 I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another."

If you've followed me till now, you'll understood that we started out discussing, "except those it is given to." "Those it is given to" in the words of Jesus are those who could stay without getting married due to some certain reasons. Don't forget we interpreted what it means "to be given to." It means "to be enabled or conferred upon." If you have not been made after the manner or likeness of he who it is given to and who by makeup can remain single or a celibate, we concluded you cannot live that life, walk that road or embrace such calling, manner or disposition of life. 

It ain't Jesus only who affirmed that. In the explanatory reading in I Corinthians Chapter 7, Paul agrees with that also. While he advises that all people could be and remain like him - an unmarried; he however recognizes the impossibility in that when he says, "but each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another."

It means while Paul wanted everybody to be single and a celibate like himself, he recognized the fact that they might not be gifted or made for such a life as himself. And indeed, what you're not gifted or equipped for, you can't do. One of the marks that you're not called where you're claiming you have call is not having equipping with gifts or abilities there. You can't say God has called you to teach and the Bible is dead to you. If the Spirit of God that brings illumination and quickening is not attending to you, then you should test your foot somewhere else. You might be called but it may not be to teach in particular. 

Paul recognizes the fact that for anyone to be fitted for any manner of life or embrace a particular manner of life, he must first of all be gifted or enabled towards it. 

Paul is a gifted celibate. I could have become one basically because I love the indoor and like staying alone. Though I'm married, I just like being alone. That's why I could sit to produce a devotional monthly. I don't have a great network of social life. While I check on my flock, I'm not the type of pastor that wants to develop overly social relations with people. I have stayed home for a week before without touching the corridor of my house let alone stepping outside the compound's gate. I stay at home a lot if there's no ministration or public business. As a matter of fact, I do encourage my wife to travel or go check on her family. I don't mourn when she's away as long as I have my Bibles, kind of books I like to read and would be let alone to continue fellowship with God and ministry. That's why most of the celibates in history are introverts. They are mostly melancholy or phlegmatic. If they ever come from other temperaments, it must have been tempered to be a kind of recluse or instilled with ability for loneness. So, it takes a gift, an adjustment to a manner of life or an enablement for anyone to live a particular manner of life.

Quoting Paul again, he says, "if anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly towards his betrothed, if his passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes: let them marry - it is no sin. 37 But whoever is firmly established in his heart, being under no necessity but having his desire under control, and has determined this in his heart, to keep her as his betrothed, he will do well" (I Corinthians 7:36-37).

We can see two types of people here. First is the man (and likewise woman we should reckon) who cannot have his desires under control. That inability to have his desires under control may mean he's not gifted or called to be a celibate. However, the other brother (and likely a sister we may reckon) who has his heart made up and his desires under control would pass as a potential celibate and may not have a reason to marry because his passions are not driving him too hard. So, I will not advise you to remain a celibate unless you personally have grace or the gift to put your desires under control. Gift is what makes anyone do supernaturally or extraordinarily what others (without same gift) can't do. Gift is our edge over others in what we specifically and individually are called to do. If there's a life without gifts, what he does or claims to do will be with friction and it won't be appealing to anyone because it won't look effortless. Covet the gift for anything you want to do or are called to do! Once it's replicated, you'll know smoothness and ease. Only then will you tarry long in doing that thing and rejoice in doing that. Why many people who are not gifted for celibacy have made shipwreck of their faithfulness and ministry claiming they have such call is because they were not made for that life. We didn't read that Jesus struggled with his emotions or that Paul was immoral. Those two that we know as pure celibates did well managing their emotions though they had their manhood intact and could engage like any healthy and proper male. Don't deceive yourself, don't go to any Bible School or join some denomination in Christendom to take celibacy upon yourself if you're first not called into it. If you do, you'll fail and embarrass yourself secretly even if we don't know about it. 

PRAYER. Lay your hand on your head. Minister to yourself by calling and stirring every dormant gifts in you to work.

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN 

Matthew 17:14-18:1-14 & Exodus 8-9

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - 24/01/25

FRIDAY - 24TH JANUARY, 2025

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

UNDERSTANDING THE TWO SIDES OF THE COIN - Fitted For A Manner Of Life Series 011

I Corinthians 7:1-2, KJV

"1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband."

There are those who say, "I can't help it." This "I can't help it" that has made some homosexuals and pervert of what God created as good and perfect began to raise its head when men began to say, "I can't help it" and began to violate the sexual boundary that says, "marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled..." (Hebrews 13:4). Meaning, unless you're married and recognized so, you ought not taste or eat sex. That violation of sex is one of the oldest. Before we talk about misuse of sex, that one is worth picking on. 

Paul in writing to the Corinthians gives a reply saying, "it is good for a man not to touch a woman." "Touch" here is suggestive because it means"sexual relations." If the Bible says, "it is good...", then it is if we'll see why it is good. Now, that lone reply also dispels the assertion of some who says, "I can't be disciplined around the opposite sex." Even if you'll eventually marry, there'll still be a time of your life (no matter how short) that you'll need to stay single and expectedly a celibate. So, till you get married, your admonishment and what you must work with is, "it is good for a man or woman not to have sexual relations with the opposite sex" (I Cor.7:1). 

However, once this period is over or you're in the zone where you're ripe for marriage and have the wherewithal to sustain a home, you can then marry. We also believe that by the time you'll near or approach this zone of life where you'll have been deemed ready for marriage, you might not until then face sexual pressure, burn for sex or desire the opposite sex. 

If your seven year old, eleven or even seventeen is saying, "mummy, I can't help it", then something is wrong. Either they've been earlier exposed to what they shouldn't and have been matured forcefully to be in want of what shouldn't be their priority - sex! That'll be your own failure as a parent. While it's not wrong for an eleven or seventeen year old to have sexual urge, what is wrong is him or her saying like Samson, "I can't help it. Get her for me for a wife. It is now and not later. I can't defer" (Judges 14:2, 3). It is this, "I can't help it" that makes a loose man or woman of many even in the work/business world in our time. They just want to have sex and are less concerned who they have it with. Why? They've developed the habit of not doing without it. They've trained their appetite to be wild.

It is this inability to defer that makes many unripe kids go into the business of seeing the nakedness of each other. Like Solomon said, "do not arouse love until it may" (SOS 8:4). The truth is love (passion) is being aroused easily in this our world. Perversion and sexual pollution seems inescapable. When you turn on your TV, you might see it in movies or even adverts. When you hold a phone, an ad might pop up that doesn't consider your begging to differ. When you're in a public transport, the music the driver would refuse to pause might paint its picture and when you walk the street, you might hear it ring out from one mounted loud speaker.

Paul acknowledges that period of doing without sexual relations. However, he advices us (as men and women who wants to do right and abide in the confines of marriage) that we should get married to avoid fornication (doing it outside a legally constituted union). 

This would mean after marrying, anyone of us is not expected to seek sex or pleasure outside that same confine we had entered into to prevent being tagged as having fornicated or sinned if we had had sex without marriage. 

If you've erroneously believed that it's impossible, "a man cannot do without touching (having intercourse) with a woman and vice versa, verse 1 of I Corinthians 7 debunks that. However, it also recognizes our escape from falling into sexual sin - to marry. 

However, if you're so indiscipline now around ladies but have cultivated the habit of tasting all you see, even if you marry (choose one amidst many to avoid) transgressing into sexual sin, you might soon trespass outside your union and transgress when you roam, desire and burn for other women or men than you have at home. 

PRAYER: Lord, help me to be morally upright and free of every sexual entanglement.

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN 

Matthew 16:13-17:1-13 & Exodus 6-7

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - 23/01/25

THURSDAY - 23RD JANUARY, 2025

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

REMAINING A CELIBATE FOR HIS GLORY - Fitted For A Manner Of Life Series 010

Matthew 1:24-25, KJV

"24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS."

Do you know that Mary remains a virgin until she had given birth to Jesus? Yet, she was living with Joseph, the carpenter. Do you know that Joseph, the carpenter didn't for once decide to top the pregnancy of the Holy Spirit in Mary by sleeping with her even once before delivery. May God teach you anew so that you'll see again and again that it is possible to stay a celibate like Joseph, the carpenter even when you're surrounded by sexual temptations. May you not spoil yourself and become porous like a flung gate. May you maintain the consecration needed for the birth of your own "holy thing" too. 

When Gabriel, the attending angel appears to Mary, he announces God's plan to her and tells her she will conceive. Mary asks, "how shall this be seeing I know not a man." Gabriel assures her not to worry but tells her that, "the Holy Ghost shall come upon her and the power of the Highest shall overshadow her: therefore that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). 

That makes Jesus' paternity God's or divine. If Jesus had been conceived through a man's sperm, Jesus wouldn't have been qualified to stand as lamb for the sins of the whole world (Matt.1:21, John 1:29). He would have been a blemished lamb and a sinner like any of us.   Don't forget, every human being born through the sperm of any man is a man conceived in sin. David affirms that in Psalm 51:5. To bypass that blemish was why it had to be by the Holy Ghost. This insemination that's going on in the medical world isn't new to God. God did the first one when He injected Mary and she conceived.

I might also make a thing of the word "overshadow." When a man lays on a woman in sex, he kind of overshadow her. It's therefore not strange that we are now reading that the Holy Spirit overshadows Mary. At that overshadowing, conception immediately happens and the blameless and sinless baby came to being. "Overshadow" here talks of a power eclipsing Mary or enveloping her. It is that power of the Holy Ghost that brought about the pregnancy. 

Now, of all the children of Mary, only Jesus had a different paternity. Joseph is only his step dad. God Almighty knows how unfortunate it is for anyone to grow up without a father so he raised a willing man in Joseph to fill in that physical gap on earth. 

The Bible then has this to say after all these had happened. "Joseph didn't know Mary until she has brought forth her first born." Let's ask, "who's Mary's firstborn if not Jesus?" This makes the explanation so far valid that only other children and siblings of Jesus have their paternity to be Joseph. But what I want to draw attention to is the fact that Mary had to remain a virgin for those periods. Don't forget that the Holy Spirit didn't have physical intercourse with her. So, the hymen or what have you was not in anyway broken. It became broken when baby Jesus passed through her birth canal and came out. It was after that, some days or months after that did what she and Joseph were dying for (sex) could then have been done.

So, we won't be wrong if we say Joseph didn't deflower Mary. Do you know who did? First and technically, the Holy Spirit who impregnated Mary and secondly and physically, baby Jesus who passed through and opened up her birth canal or matrix. 

Today, let us give a standing ovation to two of our brethren, Brother Joseph and Sister Mary who delayed gratification and didn't pollute or pervert the work God had started towards birthing the Saviour of mankind. It was a great and uncommon sacrifice. May many more be this consecrated for the greatness God wants to birth through them. After all, celibacy isn't evil or old school. It can be temporary and the Bible recognizes being a celibate until marriage. 

The Bible says in Hebrews 13:4 that "marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge." May you copy?

PRAYER: May I not destroy my (the) consecration that'll birth God's own holy thing through me.

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN 

Matthew 15:29-16:1-12 & Exodus 3-5

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - 22/01/25

WEDNESDAY - 22ND JANUARY, 2025

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

THE COST OF FORSAKING ALL - Fitted For A Manner Of Life Series 009

Matthew 19:27-29, KJV

"27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? 28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life."

I made a statement in an earlier series that, "there are assignments or purpose that'll require not being attached to anyone or anything so you're not smothered or hindered by emotional attachment to family or things."

That thing is true and it is that statement God wants to capitalize on to teach us today's truth. Peter asked, "what is our reward for forsaking all and following you?" Jesus explains what the reward would be in the regeneration but in the process we get to discover what sacrifices these disciples have made and what sacrifices any of us are being called to. It includes living land, house, family and loved ones! That ain't a small thing! Forsaking those with whom you have developed emotional attachment is hard.  

Do you know that Jesus Himself temporarily and often forsook his own family? 

Matthew 12:46, KJV

"46 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. 47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee."

One time, his mother and brethren came searching for Him. To have come for Jesus might mean they missed him or didn't have his presence to hold or cherish at home. Oooh, it's a great sacrifice to have a child whose face you're not seeing at home every time. Mary must have endured a lot of things and eventually when Jesus was later crucified and He had to forsake her and others in order to fulfill the purpose of redemption. The truth is this, don't build a fence around any of your children. They have a purpose to fulfill. Once they're beginning to live for it, let that purpose make its full demands on them. You can sympathize with them for their sufferings but don't let your sympathy become demoralization or a yoke on their neck pulling them back. It is not the prayer of any parent to have a disabled child. One who'll spend his entire life to be catered for by the parents without being independent. So, lose the sail of your children's ships when it comes to purpose. If their purpose involves travelling, commit it to God and look with anticipation for their return. Stop worrying. Like Mary, let Jesus go. Let Him live the life afore appointed for Him. Let Him take the gospel round and bring light to those seated in the region of darkness. Parents must learn and learn again on releasing their wards from the nest. Let them go. Let them alone to find their foot. They'll always come back. 

When Jesus talks about forsaking, He didn't say " kill your father, mother, wife or children! No! He meant you must be weaned of them and not love them more than the Lord or the purpose that may be your preordained." Parents must learn to let them go. Don't cling or clutch to them. Jesus intends we must prioritize the pursuit of the kingdom and spreading of the gospel than anything. He meant our love must be clear and loud for the Father, not being contested by a spouse or a child. It should be clear that we love God most of all. 

On some occasions, there were people called to follow Jesus who said, "let me go and kiss my family goodbye."

Luke 9:59-62, KJV

"59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. 61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. 62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

Some just by making that mistake were disqualified from the call. Elisha almost missed it when he was turning back also. See I Kings 19:19-21. 

Jesus in responding to some of these people would say, "let the dead bury their dead" or "you, follow me." The gospel worth more than security or pleasure with our families. It is something to live one's entire life for. Even if you have a family, you can continually go back and forth like David did while with Saul in order to fulfill your assignment of spreading the gospel and being with those God is pleased with and recognizes you should give time to also. Only that your spouse or children must understand that you're the called of God and they'll not have you around like any other father, mother, son or daughter in the neighborhood who doesn't carry your call. Calling or our call makes demands on us that may put sacrifices on us or on others close to us. 

I could teach for a whole day none stop. One time, I started writing teachings around 7:30PM or so in the night and only to finish around 5AM the next day. That was while a core member at Nigerian Christian Corpers' Fellowship (NCCF) Dutsinma Zone, Kastina State. My wife knows once teaching anointing hits me, it means don't disturb me. This series that I am on its 8th began around 9:10AM. This is 1:17PM and I'm still writing. I only consult Bibles, dictionary, make a stop for meditation, speak to myself, muse or exclaim for affirmation. I've been seated somewhere writing it for hours. That's the demand of my own call on me. Though it didn't require that I necessarily abstain from sex but to get it done, I have to shut myself in a room free of noise and other pleasures with only materials to consult and a proper atmosphere to think and hear God speaking through my thoughts to me. I have not even eaten though on such occasions I might treat myself to certain fruits and quickly close my door again. That is not different from living the life of a celibate. A life of the called it is. It'll make demands on you and you must give it. Or else, the anointing might be on you and there may be no tangibility to measure or mark that the anointing is on you or that God is using you. My teachings and the devotional I write is one of the evidences of that I'm anointed and God is on me, in me and with me. You know a minister both by his works and his life! 

This is a call to forsake all and follow! Imagine the earlier apostles being away from home and family, yet they laid familial affection down to serve God. May you be found worthy of the Lord this way. 

PRAYER: May nothing be too costly for me to sacrifice to the Lord. May I pass the test of love.

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN 

Matthew 15:1-28 & Exodus 1-2

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - 21/01/25

TUESDAY - 21ST JANUARY, 2025

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

ARE YOU SINGLE? - Fitted For A Manner Of Life Series 008

I Corinthians 7:32-33, KJV

"32 But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:  33 But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife."

"Singles mourn to marry and the married mourns to divorce" is the quote I once came across on the net. Why would the married yearn for separation? It's because marriage is not without its own problems. Human relationship is one of the complicated systems that we have to keep understanding and seek to manage. Without coming to manage it properly, though divorce is not permitted but two that once was one might become two again (at separation). 

But for the singles, they are blinded by the joys of marriage and are held in hope. They don't usually see the struggles that be in two trying to be one or remain as one. Though not a command but a concession, Paul talks of "this present distress" for which it is good for a person to remain unmarried (I Cor.7:25-26). 

Are you single? Like Paul says, I have no command from the Lord for you not to marry especially if you don't fit into any of the three categories of eunuchs we had seen. You should therefore marry except by choice and reasons best known by you. Marriage is good and it should not be demonized. Paul admonishes the married to stick to themselves (I Cor. 7:27).

Meanwhile, being a single comes with its own blessings. Like a fish caught in an evil net is taken out of its natural habitat, once marriage takes you out of singlehood (which naturally avails you time for yourself and celibacy since we believe you've not been fornicating), you are bound to a spouse and you must seek to please him or her. Whether you're a man or a woman, once married, you're vulnerable to having divided attention. If you look at our verses for the day, it says, "32...the unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. 33 But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife 34 and his interest are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband" (ESV). 

Did you read that? I intentionally requotes everything in plain words for you to grab. Before I got married, I would study and listen to sermons all day long and at my spare time. Not again! I have someone to share part of my time with now. And if you have some children with that, the more dissipating and inadequate your time looks in your hands. I could recall while I was on campus, apart from school and fellowship, the only thing I do with my time is communion with God. I did it until while listening to sermons one day, I got anointed with God's Spirit and was impacted with the teaching anointing and all other manifestations on the fellow I was listening to. To have been impacted through sermons means I did that act for thousands of time and for an enough time to have possessed the same acts in the man I was looking at. He preaches and teaches very good and for long and I also do the same. He authors a devotional and I also authors a devotional. He destroys yokes by God's anointing on him and I do same. To have received the gift of the Holy Spirit through listening to sermons means giving it time and fellowship. I loved the man of God and cherished all his teachings. At that time, I could quote him and his sermons very much. 

I still do listen to sermons and my wife and family know me for that but not without hindrances now. While I was still single and having no one in my life, I would listen to sermons, fall asleep, wake up to find the sermon still playing. Now, I share the bed with my wife. I can't do that. Even when I'm playing a sermon or the kind of music that stirs my anointing, you might hear something like, "I want to sleep." It's a prompt that you either stop it or use earpiece and when you use earpiece, you still cannot be committed to the listening because you want to be alert to any alarm. Even when you think of going to another room, it doesn't always work. You'll hear, "let's sleep now! Isn't it bed time?" When your wife is telling you, "let's sleep", I hope you know what that means. It means, "I need your companionship and probably the other one too." So, marriage is a journey of inconvenience and sacrifice for your mate. If you're not ready, don't take it. 

That's why that place reads and says, "the unmarried has time to please the Lord and for things that concerns the Lord than the married." The Bible acknowledges that the unmarried has more time because he's not tied or bound to be obligated to anyone. 

So, once you leave singlehood (bachelorhood or spinsterhood) to marriage, your attention is shared between two entities (God and your spouse). It's a great fight. If you're weak-willed, you might sacrifice intimacy with God for fellowship with your spouse (that man or woman). 

For this reason, some might vow themselves to God. If there's a Queen of England who didn't marry till her death just for state matters, who told you if you perceive the call to exceptionally serve God you cannot be a eunuch for the kingdom of heaven - serving His will. There are places to take the gospel to that having a family or those you're emotionally attached to won't do. Such land is the land of "if I die, I die". The demand on some people is to enter a difficult terrain and break it with committedness that comes from not being attached to anything or anyone. God might find one or two like that. However, if you  hope for marriage, let your single or celibate life counts now. I thank God I got all the ingredients for my race before I even got engaged. I got anointed and started preaching dangerously and fierily as a student. I was in Level 3 readying for 4 when I got anointed. It's still that same anointing I've built on and I'm building on now. Your singlehood can be lost but you can make it count if you gather food for your winter in that summer. Please, be like the ants. Eat doubly because the journey is long and the days are now seriously evil. 

PRAYER: My bachelorhood or spinsterhood shall not come to nothing. I have an understanding of what to gather in it.

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN 

Matthew 14:13-36 & Genesis 49-50

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - 20/01/25

MONDAY - 20TH JANUARY, 2025

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

THE LIFE OF ANNA TEACHES A LESSON - Fitted For A Manner Of Life Series 007

Luke 2:36-37, NLT

"36 Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. 37 Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshipping God with fasting and prayer. 38 She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem."

What would you use your left over time to do? We ought to ask. Or else, wastefulness might result. 

There are those who are stopped and handicapped by accidents and unforseen circumstances of life. However, it liberates some other men and women into their calling or substantial life. A good example of the latter is Anna. She had only tasted seven years of marital life (or sex) that every single covet before her husband passed away. I don't know what informed her not remarrying. I can't say if it was brought about by devotion to her husband or just a personal decision to be married to the Lord. However, after the loss of her husband, she leveraged this unfortunate event to give herself wholly to the Lord. She entered into celibacy. She becomes an eunuch for the kingdom of heaven. 

No wonder, Paul advises the singles and the widows to stay as he is. Only that he reconsiders that they could remarry if they don't have the gift to stand and live in celibacy (I Cor.7:8-9). Anna's life is what God is using to teach us a great lesson that, "man shall not live by bread alone..."(Matt.4:4). Yet, this is still how far some people have gone with their lives. Their lives are not beyond living only for the ephemeral and the inconsequential. They're scrambling only for material things, seeking for wherewithal to live when the word from God's mouth has been jettisoned. Anna's story tells us that "living by bread alone" which is so exalted and prioritized by the Gentiles (Matt.6:31-33) could be reordered . Anna lived as a widow until eighty four years old. The Bible records that she starts to live that way just seven years after her husband passed away. We don't know Anna's age as at when the husband died but Anna could have lived at least 50 years as a celibate and a widow after her husband died. Widows or widowers can be very useful in God's vineyard if they decide not to remarry. 

However, remaining unmarried is not even the most important but why she didn't marry or what she converted that time that she could have shared with a partner to do. The Bible points out that she does something seemingly impossible. She doesn't depart from the temple but stays there day and night worshipping God in fasting and prayer. Don't think Anna lives in the temple so that she might feed off on the people. No! She's not a foodie. She does eat occasionally but we just read that she had a ministry of fasting and prayer. 

This dedication of hers to fasting and prayer before the Lord has so much cultivated her sensitivity and created an intimacy between herself and God so much more that God Almighty couldn't bypass her on the disclosure of who baby Jesus is. As a matter of fact, heaven knows her very much even if she doesn't preach a sermon on Saturday or Sunday. 

Looking at her challenging life, we learnt that we can do and live without what men are in a rush for. If we have food and clothing, we shall be contented. Life is not basically to spend on acquiring things. She didn't marry again and that meant she forgone sex also.  What men are dying for and which they have utmostly esteemed as the reason for life or why they're created is actually what she jettisoned when it came upon her to live as a celibate and a constant worshipper before God. Due to that call and life she heeded, she couldn't even reproduce herself in some children. She yielded it all up. A real eunuch for the kingdom she is! The Bible calls her a prophetess. I have no doubt that she is because she speaks accurately of Baby Jesus and reveals Him to all that are present. 

Don't be deceived, you can actually live above, "bread alone." When God authors life, He didn't intend we'll only spend it on the ephemeral but on the substantial which involves "the word of His mouth". That is, hearing what the Lord has to say about our individuals on daily basis, being guided by that to live as a shepherded sheep. It is from living and abiding by the word of His mouth that you'll get to live the life God ordained for you as your destiny before your conception. We're ordained, authored to live by "every word that comes from His mouth" and not live by "bread or physical things alone". It is that revealed will of God that'll prosper, satisfy and lead us to fulfilment. It is not by being in constant rush and pursuit of "bread alone" or the good things of life. Man according to creation or the ordainment of God must not live by bread alone. If he does, he can sustain the physical man but the spiritual man will be dead and his eternity with Christ could be lost. 

Anna let go of continuing to live only for bread alone and rather surrenders to living by every word from God's mouth. Her life of celibacy is calling us to the possibility that we can exercise discipline over our desires, gratification and ourselves; turn away from sin or what spoils us and be consecrated to the Lord. Like a called man or woman, she becomes dedicated to only one thing. Fasting and praying to worship God in the temple. Herein is the word of the psalmist fulfilled that says, "one thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple" (Psalms 27:4, KJV). 

PRAYER: My life worth more than bread alone. Teach me the real value and exchange for my life. I submit to leadership from your daily utterances.

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN 

Matthew 13:44-14:1-22 & Genesis 46-48

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - 19/01/25

SUNDAY - 19TH JANUARY, 2025

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

THE THIRD CELIBATES - Fitted For A Manner Of Life Series 006

Matthew 19:12, KJV "For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it."

You know who the third celibates are. They are those Jesus described as yielding up marriage to stay single just for the purpose of serving God and His kingdom. 

Unlike the second celibates, this may comprise both men and women alike. I don't have to give you names but if you ever put in your browser, "religious celibates and saints", you'll see an array of names and persons belonging to each gender. Men and women have served as celibates not only in Christendom and for the cause of propelling the gospel but even in other religions. Mention it, Hinduism, Buddhism etc. Most of the religions in our world today believe in celibacy - being an eunuch for a religious cause or yielding up of marriage in order to propagate certain divine mandates. 

It is in this context you can appreciate the words of Jesus that says in Matthew 19:29 that, "and every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life."

Jesus acknowledges that to propagate the gospel, it might mean leaving home, going distances and being cut away from father, mother, siblings and your extended family. Though we should not seek to "put asunder what God has joined together" (Matt.19:6), yet we all know that this sacrifice even if it'll be temporary and on occasions might mean separation from one's own spouse or children. The Bible included wife and children amidst that number that of necessity must be forsaken. 

As not to be hindered at all, there are those who without being coerced (but from being convinced and having perceived God's call on them to do the extraordinary or serve as a layman) would submit to being an eunuch for the kingdom of God. It is a call and if you don't perceive it, don't heed it. When someone is therefore a celibate for the kingdom, God could build much on him and entrust him or her with much. One celibate wholly given to God might be carrying and discharging what a company of Christians should do. One major reasons will be because he is available for use for the Lord without any other quarters laying demands on him. This is in contrariness with the married who seeks to please his or her spouse and eventually has divided interests (I Cor.7:32-35). The same reason why some ministers choose to go into full time ministry is same that might propel those who are gifted for celibacy to give up their lives for the kingdom. 

Many know that the call on them might be that of suffering and one that might exert them. I don't know if Paul knew this or if Ananias told him privately (Acts 9:15-16). But Paul himself told us that the Holy Spirit testifies to him in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await him (Acts 20:23). This man, Paul remained a celibate till his death. He was married to the spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He broke new frontiers and reached new lands before many apostles of his day. He wrote 2/3 of the New Testament. One of the reasons for that apart from the fact that a prediction or assignment outran him is the fact that he has no one to constitute weight to him. He doesn't have a wife as to think of looking back or a daughter whose when he recalls her face makes him have an emotional pull to go back home. He was a free man. A man without weight. A man who could run the race laid before him without anything drawing him back. And he ran to the finishing line and confesses, "I have finished my cause."

II Timothy 4:7, KJV 

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:"

I pray, whether you're married or not, may you run to the finishing line. May you discern your call and embrace its details. Paul didn't copy Peter who had a wife. He realizes his gift for celibacy, capitalizes on it and does much more for God as an unmarried (I Cor.7:6-7). May we understand the intricacies and demands of our calls. 

PRAYER: Lord, I am well situated in Your will for me in this Year 2025. I have full comprehension of what's the Lord's will for me. I take His consecration on me.

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN 

Matthew 13:24-43 & Genesis 44-45

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - 18/01/2025

 SATURDAY - 18TH JANUARY, 2025

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

THE SECOND CELIBATE - Fitted For A Manner Of Life Series 005

Matthew 19:12, KJV 

"For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it."

Today, we continue Jesus' teaching. He says, "except those to whom it is given." We already identified those to whom it is given and the second in that category are THOSE MADE EUNUCHS BY MEN. 

What have we done to ourselves? What has our selfish desires done to us? What has greed turned us into? It has changed hearts of flesh to stone and made humans beasts. Since ancient times, men have devised means of keeping themselves in power and others in subjection to himself. Castration or emasculation is a typical example. No free man is usually castrated but slaves are. It's a painful process and we know that animals are also often castrated. Once a male animal is castrated, on the long run, it is a bye-bye to sex. If that however is still retained due to learned patterns or social cues, we sure know such animal cannot impregnate a mate due to the absence of testosterone. After such castration however, he might be seen developing more rapidly in stature. That's why animals are castrated. It could also be for the curtailing of population.

So also is human! He could be castrated. Down the line of history and even in the Bible, we have litterings of castrated people. Do you remember the Ethiopian eunuch that Philip baptized? He travelled all the way from Africa to Jerusalem (which was not so separated in those days anyway). He is a castrated or emasculated one whose penis and testicles might have been removed all together. According to Chambers English Dictionary, 10th Edition, to be castrated means, "to deprive of the power of generation; to remove the testicles from, to geld or emasculate, to render powerless, lacking an impact etc."

Do you know why he was castrated? So he might serve with focus and loyalty. Since we were told he also served under Candance, queen of the Ethiopians; that might be a necessity for his castration. 

Acts 8:27, KJV 

"And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship."

If you'll remember Esther and others who entered a beauty contest at the palace with her, you'll clearly recall that they were all placed under the custody of Hegai, the king's eunuch and women keeper. Do you know why he was left to those ladies without any looking back? What is harmful in him has been removed! He is as harmless as those ladies he's to serve. The king in his wisdom didn't post any male to their courts who has not first being castrated. 

Did you see human greed and selfishness? In the bid to have certain people for yourself only, you castrate others who are threatening or could post threat. Castrating is disarming we humans of what we're capable of. That's why one of our dictionary definition says, "to render powerless or ineffectual."

Zombie men therefore results! If you like, you can call them ladies as well. For they are ladies after castration though we know they are male by sex but who have been castrated. "Ladies" in the sense that they have been disarmed. 

These are those made eunuchs by men as sponsored by our mistrust and human experience we've had in this world down the line. They are the second set of people who can cope with celibacy like a fish in the water finds it easier and normal living in the water. That makes it their call because they've been subjected to it. It has been forced on them also and since they have no choice, it is that life of 'impotence' they'll now live. To such male men where they still be all over the world, they don't struggle with celibacy. They were castrated just to focus them for same purpose. You know, to wean them of the pursuit of women and other worldly desires and focus them on their 'calling' and the purpose of their castration which is to serve loyally as attendants. 

PRAYER: Lord, help me to maintain my focus and chase this year.

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN 

Matthew 13:1-23 & Genesis 42-43

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - 17/01/2025

FRIDAY - 17TH JANUARY, 2025

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

IT IS FOR THE PRAISE OF GOD - Fitted For A Manner Of Life Series 004

Matthew 19:12, KJV 

"For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it."

Do you remember Jesus' reply to the suggestive questions of Jesus' disciples? They asked, "who sinned - this man or the parents that he was born blind?" But Jesus nullified both and said what happened to him was allowed so that the works of God can be made manifest in him. That is, heaven was waiting for a slated day to heal this man so that praise, glory and adoration might be brought again to God and so that all eyes might see that it is true that there's a Creator somewhere who created all of us and the universe at large. 

Yesterday, that was what God did. He returned to the beginning, made clay of the spittle and gave eyes to he who needed it. Yes, all for His glory. So that when people ask, "who did this?" We might say, "Jesus!" Therefore, bringing God and the kingdom glory. In extension and in like manner, he brought diverse healing to people irrespective of their deformities, sicknesses or diseases. 

Solution two however is this. God wants us to still praise him in our infirmities. Irrespective of what we are besseted or afflicted with, He wants us to serve Him in them - when it is convenient and when it is not. Do you remember Paul? He sought the Lord over the messenger of the devil that was in his body to humble him. He wanted it to be removed but he just had to live with it. He said, "three times have I sought the Lord to take it away." 

II Corinthians 12:7-9, KJV

"7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.  9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

I don't know how many times you have sought the Lord or medical help to rectify something that refused to yield. But you might need to open your understanding to see why it is allowed. For Paul, it was allowed to keep him humble. God doesn't want him to  boast in the flesh and so allowed a thing to humble him and make him see his humanity and how earthen and earthly he still is though God is using him mightily and supernaturally. 

Further more, since we are to be sold to Him, we ought not worry of life or death again. Paul says in Philippians 1:21, "for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." It means if you're still living even in your deficiency, let God be praised. Continue to do acts that'll make men see your light and give glory to your Father who's in heaven. Continue to bring praise and glory to Him even in your weakness, tribulation, infirmity or suffering. 

We all know Pastor Nick. He was born with a chronic syndrome that didn't afford him limbs. Though in that challenging situation, I tell you that his faith still sings hallelujah. He discovers his purpose and calling in life and he's living it. He's living for purpose so much that his deficiencies are not even seen or loud or raised as anthem of deficiency again. He's even married with children!

Do you know the mistake that many with deficiencies are making? They refuse to praise God even in their deficiency. Don't you know if you're lost in God and in purpose despite your deficiency, you'll be seen as better off, proclaimed and rewarded. People will wonder, "look at him, he is born blind but he's a world renown musician!"

You have the choice to either fold your arms and die purposelessly and uncelebrated or you rise above your deficiency in purpose and let God's aroma to this loving world be tasted through you. Many people have served God in thirst, hunger, war, pestilence, loss of all and family and even till death. So, are you any special? Should your being an eunuch from your mother's womb or by any accident stop you from bringing glory to God? Don't forget this Bible verse. It's for your sake it is written. 

"Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who's in heaven" (Matt.5:16). 

It means if you don't successfully arise or let your light shine, men would have nothing to see and nothing to thank and praise God for. Let your testimony be, "despite the infirmities, look at how far he has ploughed." Before the carcass of your spirit (body) drops, may you live with this understanding in view. Yes, in view!

PRAYER: Lord, may I not live as a horse or a mule without understanding. May I live for purpose and express your writings in me to the world.

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN 

Matthew 12:22-50 & Genesis 40-41

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - 16/01/2025

THURSDAY - 16TH JANUARY, 2025

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

THE MAN WHO CONFUSED ALL OF US - Fitted For A Manner Of Life Series 003

John 9:1-3, KJV

"1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him."

This popular story is lesson-packed for us. I called that man, "the man who confused all of us!" Do you know why? His case confused the disciples and when we hear or see such cases today, we still are lost, left wondering, doubtful and searching for answers. Many times, what we guessed happened is not always what happened. So, we do miss it. 

He's a man born blind. To the disciples, it is either his parents had sinned for him to have been born blind. Anyway, they asked Jesus, "who sinned? This man or his parents that he was born blind? This is how we all trace some anomalies to sin. We'll tell ourselves, "I hope that brother or sister didn't sin." However, this case is an exception. It was overruled. What the disciples were probably pining to hear never came. They would have wanted a decisive answer - like Jesus saying, "yes, it was the parents that sinned!" That's why they gave him those two options and if we thought critically, we'll see that out of those two options, only one was very valid and that one only points to the parents having sinned as suggested by Jesus' disciples. 

Jesus replies, "it was not that this man sinned or his parents did, but that the works of God might be displayed in him."

Now, listen up! When I started this series and stumbled on eunuchs born so from their mother's womb, Satan attacked me with doubts that it wasn't possible for anyone to be born so. I don't mean "created so" but rather "born so." All that God created is good but something might have gone off the handle. If it is correct that there's no eunuch born so, it means Jesus lied and the Bible is erroneous or untrustworthy. However, the Holy Spirit quickened the story of this man to me and it became an answer to wade off that thought and affirm the belief that indeed there are those born as eunuchs - either without or partially with sexual organs or less formed ones or with certain abnormalities that disqualified them. It might even be anything beyond my description in this teaching or my own knowledge but which truly exists or had happened. Just like this man was born blind - of his mother born blind, we can have eunuchs born so due to certain deformations also. 

Now, why does the story of this man fit? Now apart from the fact that he was born blind, there's one crazy and surprising thing about him. He didn't even have eyes at all. There were no eye sockets let alone eyes in them that we could then describe or call blind. All the blind men I have seen in my lifetime do have eyes, only that something might have gone wrong with the balls or their visuals. However, this one only had skin covering that part where eyes should be. That's wondrous! Isn't it! No hole whatsoever let alone a thing being fixed there. So, there was not even a testimony of "try to open your eyes once in his life because he has been in darkness all his days." Where his eyes should be situated is like a plastered wall across a window or a thin layer covering every place. No spot for eyes could be located. It has not been created whatsoever. Heavenly bricklayer and moulder didn't make that there or it was an anomaly at birth. Just like bricklayers do create a space for windows when houses are built, contrarily, this man's body had no window holes at all!

That explains the kind of miracle Jesus did on him. It is not a coincidence that Jesus says, "I am the light of the world" (John 9:5). Though not to be taken literally but it does explain that Jesus is about giving light of the body (eyes) to someone. Jesus therefore spits on the ground, made mud with His saliva and anointed the man's eyes with it (remember the creation story and how God formed man of the dust of the ground in Gen). Then, "go, wash in the pool of Siloam" was the next command. What results are the eye sockets, eyes and whatsoever components make up the human eyes. It was a creative miracle. Something that was not there got created. 

This is the first hope of anyone born a eunuch. If they say, "the place is close or didn't form properly", alright. I know someone who gave complete sound eyes to someone that didn't have it before. What about that? Take your miracle in Jesus' name! Is any part missing in your body? Is any organ damaged or problematic? Receive a replacement. Let God's creative miracle be worked on you. Are you impotent or having low sperm count or unhealthy sperm cells? Receive healing in Jesus' name!

This is the first hope of eunuchs born so of women. God has spare parts for every parts of our bodies. What is deficient can be made whole! It can be stretched, enlarged or enabled. Look, irrespective of what the condition is which resulted into being an eunuch born of a woman, God got it under control. I pronounce, let it come under control. So shall it be in Jesus' name. 

Now, of the two remedies and comfort I said God would provide, we've only seen one. Let's see the other in the next series. 

PRAYER: I am agile, strong, healthy, active as a man. Even as a woman, any part of me that has been deactivated or is unhealthy, I call for a healthy reset.

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN 

Matthew 12:1-21 & Genesis 38-39

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - 15/01/2025

WEDNESDAY - 15TH JANUARY, 2025

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

FIRST OF THE THREE CELIBATES - Fitted For A Manner Of Life Series 002

Matthew 19:11, KJV 

"11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. 12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it."

A matter that is scattered and fearful began to be raised yesterday. We began to examine "those who can receive that saying to avoid marriage or remain as celibates." After Jesus' reply to His disciples who said, "it is better that a man does not marry but remain single or a celibate for life", Jesus didn't stop there. He digs further to help them and us understand what he meant by, "except those to whom it is given." Jesus proceeds to list "those to whom it is given." They are as follows. 

a. Eunuchs so born from their mother's womb.

b. Eunuchs made eunuchs by men. 

c. Eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. 

These are the three "called types" that Jesus refers to as being able to receive the saying of remaining single or celibate. 

Of all these three categories, the one that is unbelievable to you and which looks like a myth or miracle is probably those who are born eunuchs from their mother's womb. To understand this better, we might need to explain who a eunuch is. For better comprehension, we'll need all the definitions on the term "eunuch" that's out there. From Chambers English Dictionary (10th Edition), we have the following. 

"A castrated man, especially one in charge of a harem or a high voiced singer; an ineffectual person, lacking in some way in force or power."

For the establishment of more truths, I'll extend to surrounding words formed from "eunuch" from the same dictionary. 

a. Eunuchism: the condition of being a eunuch. 

b. Eunuchoidism: a condition in which there is some deficiency of sexual development and in which certain female sex characteristics, eg high voice, are often present.

Also, let's check the Bible. Deuteronomy 23:1 talks of males with crushed testicles or chopped off male organ. Isaiah 56:3 talks of the eunuch who says, "behold, I am a dry tree" - that is infertile and unable to reproduce. Also, according to the Romans, eunuchs are classified into three types. 

a. Spadones - infertile males from birth. 

b. Thlibiae - males whose testicles had been "pressed" or Thladioe - males whose testicles had been "crushed."

Note: Pressed and crushed are very similar. 

c. Castrati - males whose unit was cut off or lost altogether. 

On general basis, it might also mean, "those who lack sexual desire or the ability to have sex. They may be the castrated, deformed or impotent. Going by all these meanings and definitions, we can reach an agreement that eunuchs are sexually males though their societies in which they existed or exist (if there are any today) might see them as "unmanly man" because they cannot reproduce or father. 

These meanings would lead us into the understanding we need. I am not a medical practitioner (the type that works in the hospital). However, if you do ask them, they'll tell you that there are those born eunuchs. That condition where there's deficiency in sexual development in some might make some so. That's what Jesus refers to as "eunuchs born so from their mother's womb." Something might have gone wrong and due to that, an abnormality results (a rare disorder it'll be I believe) which therefore produces one without properly formed (sexual) organs. I'm believing that's how it should be or something closely related to that. 

Now, these people are born so and by being born so are made to live so as eunuchs. I told you in series one that they didn't choose that lot themselves. They more likely would want to escape that fate. It makes them estranged to normal and healthy people. I wonder if they'll fully find acceptance in the company of all men. They'll be discriminated, mocked and rejected of people. They might see beauty or handsomeness but they are just not well capacitated to satiate it. For this reason, they'll endure and remain as eunuchs. They are those born from their mother's womb this way. 

I pray for you. May your baby form well. May that pregnancy in you develop all necessary parts without any anomaly. You'll give birth to a proper child. Moses is described as a "proper or goodly child" (Exo.2:2). The more reason why the mother doesn't want to yield him up. It's because something positive stands him out uniquely even as a child. It's a proper, complete and whole child you'll escape or vomit. And if there's any mother or child reading this who has found himself in this condition of being a eunuch born from the womb, God has purposes for it. Follow me into series three to see God's love and comforting purposes for it. 

PRAYER: O Lord, now or later, I consecrate my children to you. No harm, injury or evil must impede or limit their expressions. That includes sexual expression in your defined confine.

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN 

Matthew 11:1-30 & Genesis 36-37

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - 14/01/2025

TUESDAY - 14TH JANUARY, 2025

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

EXCEPT TO WHOM IT IS GIVEN - Fitted For A Manner Of Life Series 001

Matthew 19:10-11,KJV

"10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. 11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given."

If the case of a man be so with his wife...how? If a man cannot divorce his wife for every cause except on the ground of fornication, the Bible says such husband who divorces his wife to marry another wife commits adultery while the man who marries the woman put away commits adultery also. 

To this, the disciples reply, "if the case of a man be so with his wife...if he is this way handicapped, it is not good to marry." To this, Jesus gives a reply, "all men cannot receive this saying (or calling), except they to whom it is given."

This teaching or series is examining that last part of what Jesus says which is, "except those to whom it is given." What does that mean? What does Jesus intend when He says, "not all men can agree not to marry or do without marriage or the having of a companion except THOSE TO WHOM IT IS GIVEN." This, "to whom it is given", what is it?

Before we get to the answering of the question, "who are those it is given", we'll tarry for now on an introduction to whom it is given. When Jesus says, "except to whom it is given", He meant except those carrying that call. The call not to marry but remain celibates. Remaining a celibate - lifelong celibate like Jesus or Paul takes a call. If it is not given to you; if you're not either structured naturally with a body that can't avail marriage, you must have been made impotent to such emotions by men or you must have been endowed with superfluous grace of God, discipline and extreme self control to remain a single. We'll see in coming series what Jesus called these three set of people who are called to such life of celibacy. 

Now, in the face of all these, one thing might be staring us in the face and that's the fact, "except to whom it is given or conferred", it is hard, almost impossible or outrightly impossible (in the words of Jesus) to receive the saying of remaining a celibate. 

Like we all know, it takes calling to do certain things. When we say people are called, it means they have been chosen or destined to do something or achieve an intent in particular. For that task, they'll have natural or supernatural equippings for its achievement. The way God has created some of us, we cannot receive the saying to avoid marriage. Avoiding marriage means avoiding sex and we're just not ready for that because we are most importantly not made for that or wired to live that way. That's why it's not every normal and completely healthy human being in their body has become a Catholic Father or taken a vow of celibacy and abided by it. Rather, God made us ready for marriage. We came with sexual organs and emotions that'll drive it. It is this that spoil and disqualify us. When Paul says, "to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife and every woman, her own husband" (I Cor.7:2), that's what he was saying. He meant we are not all created to endure, "except for those like him who can remain as he is" (I Cor.7:7-8). Except for those who are enabled not to see it as a necessity and helped to live above that emotion or its desire (I Cor.7:37). So, on plane one, it'll be difficult to receive that saying and stay unmarried or as a celibate. Why? God, first of all didn't call us to that life by making us without emotions or by accident being birthed with damaged sexual organs. If he had called us to it, we'll probably not have had sexual organs at all. Those without those (if there are those born without it) are people who naturally can receive that saying on plane one. They are ready-made or customized for it. Just like calling is something divine that God chooses you for and chooses for you, that life and lifestyle is naturally chosen for them and conferred on them because they lack the body that desires sex. In simple term, such are like angels on earth who neither marry or are given in marriage (Matt.22:30). 

If there were such people created without sexual urge or emotions and some of them were asked before their creation, they might have told God to make them completely healthy like any other man or woman. However, God chose a life of a celibate for them and to make it easier for them, he didn't give them the instrumentalities to fulfill any sexual desire. A sign that God is calling them to separation. Such people visibly could see that they have been 'enclosed" and "decided" for. They are not left with any other option but to embrace this life and road God has etched. 

Calling is "except to those whom it is given." If it is not given you; if you're not made that thing or enabled for it, you cannot function as expected in it. We cry, may God enable us to live expressly and fulfillingly in our calls. 

PRAYER: Show me my call and let me see what I'm most suited and fitted for. May I stop ploughing another man's field.

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN 

Matthew 10:24-42 & Genesis 34-35

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - 13/01/2025

MONDAY - 13TH JANUARY, 2025

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

ACCORDED HONOUR AND MADE SPACE FOR AMIDST THE GREAT AND MIGHTY - Unorthodox Daughter Series 007

Genesis 29:4-6, KJV

"4 And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we. 5 And he said unto them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him. 6 And he said unto them, Is he well? And they said, He is well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep."

The Bible portion that is coming to my mind for use is in Isaiah. Speaking of the reward of Jesus Christ after pouring His soul for sin, the Bible says. 

Isaiah 53:12, KJV

"Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."

That is fulfilled in the name that's greater than any other name given to Jesus (Philip.2:9-11). Looking at Rachel, that same Bible portion succinctly describes her. She actually shares portion with the great and spoil with the mighty. What likely led Laban into making a shepherd out of Rachel had earlier been hinted at in one of my earlier series. However, irrespective of the reason(s), what matters is that there's a need and a responsible soul clung to it. When the vacancy for a shepherd's role opened in Laban's family, Rachel steps in and she goes on to share name and portion with the male syndicate in the profession. Don't cry for want of opportunities. Opportunity will always present themselves this year. Whether you'll take it therefore depends on sighting and knowing it for what it is. Our theme for Year 2025 is, "We Know Our Time" and are therefore not like fishes trapped in an evil net and like a bird caught in a snare (Eccl.9:12). 

Pay close attention. The first ever time that our curiosity is awakened to ask if Rachel is a shepherd (which she is), it was fellow shepherds and men of the same trade who identified her as one. They said, "see, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep." Coming with the sheep here is notable because it involves shepherding the sheep until they all get to the well. It might even involve carrying the little, sick or injured ones. Now, these shepherding qualities would make us probe if Rachel were not a shepherd. As we would find out, she turns out to be one just like they have hinted because the Bible acknowledges her as a shepherd in verse 9. 

Genesis 29:9, ESV

"While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess."

If we were to turn it, it would mean, "shepherds are those who follow or come with sheep." Having this definition at hand, we then can boldly say that Rachel is made great space in the profession of skilled men. For them to call her a shepherd, it means she must have passed some certain tests and endured a great deal in the discharge of the shepherd's task. More importantly, she guided, led, nurtured, treated and watered the sheep. This makes her a shepherd and for this she was recognized by same trade men when they say, "see...Rachel, his daughter comes with the sheep."

If you too won't leave, if you won't turn your back against the profession or way of life you've chosen (especially if it's God ordained), you shall sooner or later be recognized. The recognition of Rachel as a shepherd breaks the stereotype in the Bible. Even the seven daughters of Jethro aren't specifically identified as shepherds but here's someone recognized as one. 

Rachel: The Shepherdess! She has become a force to be reaconwith and one of no mean status in the trade. Work at it. Stay there. You'll also be introduced with that recognized title for doing the work and living the life. You can share in the name and fame if you share in their lifestyle and sufferings. 

PRAYER: May I fully embrace my calling and stick to it through thick and thin.

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN 

Matthew 10:1-23 & Genesis 31-33

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - 12/01/2025

SUNDAY - 12TH JANUARY, 2025

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

A DAUGHTER WITH THE SHEEP - Unorthodox Daughter Series 006

Genesis 29:6, ESV 

"He said to them, "Is it well with him? They said, "it is well; and see, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep!"

Though a visit to India or East Africa might avail you the experience of seeing female shepherds yet it is not a popular sight. If you conduct a world survey as to if there were female shepherds or how many there be, there'll be many more who'll refute that assertion on the singular basis that they don't believe there are female shepherds because they haven't even seen one. 

If not for this teaching, if I were to ask you to mention a female shepherd in the Bible, you yourself might say, "a female shepherd? Are you fibbing? Even in Nigeria where pastoral farming is popular especially in the North, their females stay at home or trade. 

That tells us that the idea of a female shepherd is not very popular but there are those who do contribute to livelihood and the economy of their localities just like Oumar Sesay Farouk's poem - "The Song of the Women of My Land" said of some unrecognized female farmers. 

Rachel is not a son but a daughter with the sheep. She's not the first born. Leah is but we sure have an idea why Leah didn't pasture the flock but Rachel. The Bible describes her as, "weak eyed" (Gen.29:17). That means she might have problem shepherding in intense sun or under bad weather. It also means she might easily be vulnerable to dangers in the wild since her sight is poor and not sharp. However, Rachel is compensated for in that shortcoming. She is adequate and though the second born, the sheep were committed into her care. While Laban had other male sons, yet they might have been too young to pasture then or might be monitoring other sheep. It is for all these reasons Rachel got a space amidst an all male or mostly male trade or vocation. She's a daughter not a son. Yet, she does shepherding. Does this not tell you something that your girl child can perform or achieve extraordinarily also. The Bible talking of the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31:29 says, "many daughters have done wondrously but you surpass them all."

Rachel surpasses them all. We can talk of great women and though her name didn't appear in the list of heroes of faith in Hebrews 11; she's a woman of great qualities and of an uncommon path other than the ordinary. 

God might be speaking to someone who has been rejecting his daughters and is mourning for a son. A daughter can do what a son could have done for you also. Biblical and realistic life experiences have proven same to be so. Rachel (a daughter) is a shepherd. She covers her father and serves as great help to him. You'll have such benefit if you'll give the right kind of training to your daughters in order to reproduce after that great thing you're expecting. We all know the importance of education - and the right education. If you can arm your daughters with such education that'll make them highly trained and fit for their callings, why won't they perform or even outperform a male? Rachel didn't just become a shepherd. She becomes one because she takes on herself the ways, lifestyle and sufferings of shepherds. To become something means following a particular lifestyle. When Samson's parents were enquiring of the delivering angel what vocation Samson would do, they asked this way. 

Judges 13:12, KJV 

"...How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?"

"What kind of rules should govern the boy's life and work?"(NLT). 

"What is to be the child's manner of life and what is his mission?"

It is the road that makes the man. If your gold doesn't pass through the fire, I wonder how it'll turn or what it'll become. To be anything, you must embrace the ways of life of people there. You can't discharge as a man of God without our consecration! May you be willing to embrace your greatness in that manner. 

PRAYER: Lord, what ways of life, manner and lifestyle should be upon me for preparation for my manifestation? I enter into it.

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN 

Matthew 9:18-38 & Genesis 29-30

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - 11/01/2025

SATURDAY - 11TH JANUARY, 2025

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

NEVER ACCEPTED BUT CONTENDED WITH - Unorthodox Daughter Series 005

Exodus 2:16-17, KJV

"16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. 17 And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock."

I made a statement yesterday which was that people are usually prejudiced against someone who wants to break the status quo or stereotype. No other persons are victims of that but these seven daughters of Jethro.

They came to water their father's flock but they were contested with, overthrown and put to flight. Beyond this literal writing, there's a meaning seething for discovery. We didn't read of Rachel being driven away from the well or once opposed by the all male shepherd squad. As a matter of fact, fellow tradesmen treated her cautiously. This is well noticed in their description and identification of Rachel as a co-professional. They said, "see...Rachel, Laban's daughter comes with the sheep (shepherding it)" (Gen.29:6). However, these seven daughters of Jethro weren't given that recognition by their colleague shepherds. It might be coming from resentment of having females in the trade or from the tyrannical rule of the male ego. Irrespective of the root cause, they were not welcomed or received as shepherds by their male counterparts. They were casted out as people who are not part of us. Another school of thought might say they were overridden because they are females who can easily be taken advantage of. 

Like I began to say yesterday, breaking stereotype will call for a kind of suffering or hardship. Imagine what the first female hunter faced when she said she would become a hunter. Imagine what the first female boxer might face when she had attraction towards boxing and confessed it. The mum could have said, "so, you want to bring shame on me." It is a debatable matter and to those of that society then, an impossibility. Even in this modern world, when females seek to poke their head somewhere, they usually meet with stiff rejection.

This would also fill us with praise and appreciation for a female like Rachel who might have fought through the thick and thing of this prejudice casted on the feminine gender by the society who defines what jobs or ways of life is best suited for the genders and should not be trespassed. Having this knowledge, we're filled with more admiration for her. Though she found acceptance with other shepherds and even male shepherds, we don't know whether she once fought their rejection, hatred, aspersions, mockery and ego. How she came to win them over so much more that they now see her as a fellow shepherd is the wisdom we don't have written in the Bible literally. However which way it is, she enjoys their fellowship and probably partnership. 

No one says the road will be easy on you as a daredevil who's trying to break a virgin land or achieve the uncommon. However, may God grant you favour, men like Moses who'll help regain your rights and a supportive community to cheer you on in your bid to do the classified.  

This morning, I'm recalling the poem of Oumar Sesay Farouk titled THE SONG OF THE WOMEN OF MY LAND. As a tribute to the labour of some women long dead and gone but uncelebrated, it occurs to me that there may be many female heroes that were never sung. However, may God help you have a breakthrough wherever there's a hedgethrough. Break barriers and be a pioneer in that field! You won't go uncelebrated. Like Rachel, you'll be inducted into the profession and rightly called by the title of your vocation. As for Rachel, she's a shepherdess. 

PRAYER: I am a pioneer female. I trail the blaze for others to follow. I am accepted and where rejected, I fight my way through. Undaunting like a lion and sweet like rose.

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN 

Matthew 8:28-9:1-17 & Genesis 27-28

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