MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - 01/11/2023

WEDNESDAY - 1ST NOVEMBER, 2023

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

THE BEGINNING OF MIRACLES - My Very First Day Series 001

John 2:11, KJV

"This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him".

Brethren, it's a day good starts in a man's life. Anything that goes on repeating and replicating itself in any man's life (good or evil) always has a commencement date. You might have known one level of good and not be transcended into another. However, the good news is that you can know the next level of joy, ministry and purpose fulfilment that's next. 

Jesus has started ministry. The disciples assuredly know Him for His teachings and so praise Him for being a teacher. However, that's not all. We can always go on. We can always proceed unto the more excellent things in what we do. Just one day, a day that no one would have suspected would have been that D-Day (because it was at a social function), Jesus however does His first miracle and then it became recorded to have been done in Cana of Galilee. 

The Bible says, "and this is the first of His miracles which He did in Cana of Galilee..." His first miracle. Imagine! The beginning of his greater things. His being transcended and transported into a greater ministry other than He or anyone had known. Anyway, we may vindicate this as His first public miracle yet we should still take cognizance that the Bible vindicated it as the first of His miracles. 

Do you know that even Jesus didn't start doing miracles the first day He started ministry? Physical miracles if you ask? He's the Miraculous and I'm not saying He lacked the capability to wrought miracles until when He did. However, a thing is being shown us about progress, growth and timing. There's time for everything (Eccl. 3). That's why the Bible says, "and this is the first of His miracles..." That testimony didn't come until a certain time in His life, walk and ministry. He came to a point where He did His first miracle and how would Jesus have felt? Very good. If you had put a mic in His mouth, Jesus would have spoken good things and testify really big. The joy Jesus have here is not different from the joy a couple have when they birth their first child. That joy is exhilarating and fulfilling. 

"And this is the first of His miracles which He did in Cana of Galilee..."

Your new phase will come now. You'll be promoted and ascended into your next level. Receive your open door. Receive your come here hither. Enter into what is next, operate in what is next and stay in what is next. There's always a day, a day that marks the beginning of a day to celebrate or a thing to celebrate. Your day is here. This is the beginning of your miraculous days. From today that the flood gate has been opened, you'll begin to experience the unsual. You'll have the testimony of receiving God's visitation and then tarrying in that visitation. It'll be the beginning of your miracles, new days and experiences. It'll become marked that today, 1st of November is the beginning of something good but which you've never experienced before. Write it down. 

PRAYER: Lord, Jesus had His day wherein it was stated, "and this beginning of His miracles." Let mine start now.

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Ezekiel 1:1-3:15; Hebrews 3:1-19; Psalm 104:1-23; Proverbs 26:24-26

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - 30/10/2023

MONDAY - 30TH OCTOBER, 2023

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

HE EVEN CALLS TODAY - What Is Purpose Series 007?

Mark 1:16-18, KJV

"16 Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.18 And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him".  

Yesterday, we saw how God called Matthew the revenue collector away from the revenue office into ministry. God do call professionals. It doesn't matter what they do or who they are. He doesn't discriminate. Rather, He uses men from all walks of life. He has intention for all men. However, something else could keep them busy until the calling that has predated them is revealed. 

In today's reading, Jesus called some pairs of people. He first called Simon, also known as Peter and Andrew his brother. Later, He calls James and John. The Bible records that these four are fishers. These are professionals whose lives till then have been built on how much they can catch and how much they can sell. They have gained mastery of the water and nothing frets them of that practice. However, Jesus calls them. He told them to follow Him and then issues out a promise of who they'll be on that journey. 

"Follow me and I'll make you fishers of men". 

God has an intent for coming to collect anybody He marks for use. Before He came, you were busy doing something. For Simon and Andrew, they were busy casting a net into the sea. They were really occupied. These are no idle hands at all. So, it won't be such people that'll be harvested into nothingness. They must be put to work and led the brighter path that awaits them. Indeed, the destiny that awaits them far outweighs the one they've been labouring in for years. There's a big difference between been a fisher of  fishes and being a fisher of men. It is damnable for any man to lose his soul (Matt.16:26). The most precious of all God's creatures is the man (Psalm 8:4-9). God is very mindful of him. That's why the Son came into the world to die for his sins (John 3:16). As such, this is a call away into a better pursuit - of harvesting the most precious of God's creatures. 

You may be there, like these two brothers - occupied with casting your net into the sea. But, what if the Master has need of you? Will the testimony over you be, they left their net right away and followed Him? I hope so. Don't miss this call. It's what others look for but which has not been extended to them. No man takes the honour of being called unto Himself. 

Hebrews 5:4, KJV

"And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron".

The other called people that we shall examine today are some other two brothers as well. 

Mark 1:19-20, KJV

"19 And when he had gone a little farther thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. 20 And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him".

This one is even more graphic. When Jesus called this two, they were with their father in the ship mending their nets. These two immediately at being called like the first also left their nets, the hired servants and then their father. That's a bigger sacrifice in obeying the call. 

However, it should interest that God doesn't call people into nothingness. God speaks to us when He makes Abraham our example and tells us to look at him that we might derive one comfort or the other from him when called.

Isaiah 51:1-2, KJV

"1Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. 2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him". 

This is the beauty that awaits you. If these brethren had tarried in their fishing business, they would have done so until they died. Their lives and works wouldn't have continued to echo after them. However, the calling magnifies a man. It makes him larger and bigger than who he is naturally. It not only gives him purpose to focus and fund but also gives him reward here on earth and thereafter. 

Are you there and you're thinking it's not your kind that God calls? If you've been developing burden for ministry and God's things, it might be that God is speaking to you. If you've tarried long in a godly atmosphere, your calling to ministry and its things might pop up from there also. What matters is to give obedience once we ascertain it is the Lord who calls us. Till Jesus comes for these brothers, none of them went away. That's because there's a voice that you must hear that's not like any other voice. If you're destined and called into a vocation or way of life, by the time the relatedness of that call comes, you'll notably identify it. It is always, "my sheep hear my voice and they follow me" (John 10:27). I pray for you that you'll be rightly situated in your calling. Any sort of labour at which you have tarried till now that you should be collected from for your greater good and the doing of God's pleasure shall not go in vain. I pray that you shall be harvested and that early. I pray that you won't block your ears to the call. Many are called but few are always chosen. That's not because God didn't have plans for others. He does but He has left every man to make choice of whether to follow or not. You won't miss your batch. Simon, Andrew, James and John are all a batch called into their calling. May you not miss your batch. The regret of many that miss their batches and their call is to see those with whom they were called at the same time later in their greatness and sigh in heavy regret that they wished they had followed also. May you follow and that immediately. May you have counted the cost before the eventual arrival of your Saviour and Creator calling you away into the very and proper ground you should till. That way, you'll be like a man who's been weaned and who has nothing to lose. It'll be as soon as you hear Him, you obey Him. You won't have to troubleshoot the call because it's actually what you've been waiting for. It's appearance would only be your confirmation. 

PRAYER: Lord, I shall not grieve your call. I receive grace to follow and be made.

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Lamentations 1:1-2:22; Philemon 1:1-25; Psalm 101:1-8; Proverbs 26:20

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - 29/10/2023

SUNDAY - 29TH OCTOBER, 2023

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

THOSE WHO ARE WAITING FOR THEIR CALL TO CALL - What Is Purpose Series 006?

Matthew 9:9, KJV

"And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him".

People, there are those whose calls are over due. Where they are and what they do is what they're already seeking to yield up. These people have come to a defining moment of having known where they should be by discovery. They have learnt they are made for more. Joseph once pretended to have learnt by divination (Gen.44:15). That simply tells us we can arrive at knowing - the means irrespective though ours should be by the Holy Ghost. In a way similar, the heart gripping such people as Matthew have had persistently tell them they're wrong till now still being at the tax office. So, they're therefore seeking avenues, bodies, platforms by which they may express their callings. On this wise, they hope in all expectation that a trigger would enforce their being harvested and turned around and about into the calling that they have sensed. 

Many of the people in this category are also those who are afraid to launch out on their own because of timidity and respect/fear of men. They are working as revenue collectors. They are well off. They are doing fine but they still seem not to be satisfied. Having thought on what life is all about and what they'll use their lives to serve (if collection of tax would be all to it), they conclusively conclude that there has to be more to their lives. Yet, they wait for that thing to show up. Having been woken up to the call that has gone over them even before birth, they now await that calling to manifest and call them away. The separation and sanctification of their vessels into doing their call is now what they await. These people are those who are not far from the kingdom of God even if they are sinners. The moment they have come to the place of heart burdening, burning and hope of what next reveals them as those that the Lord could easily have for Himself. Such people are only waiting for an opportunity to go and be with the Lord in their callings. What they're waiting for so that they might enter into the pool of their callings is the moving of their waters. Once they hear that shot in the air, off they go.

The Bible records that Matthew sits at the tax collection office and the Lord calls him from there. Immediately, without giving thought to it or showing hesitation of any kind, he left to follow Jesus. You'll wonder at the strangeness of what just happens to Matthew and why he didn't even give time to balance the account or report to the head office before departure. That's because what Matthew himself has been awaiting and looking forward for has come. The day it therefore comes, Matthew knows there's no room for dilly dallying. He has already made his mind up and prepared himself for that. He knows that this is the vehicle to join and it must not pass him by. All the heart burden he has had till then is what is revealing what he has now gone to be with. When Jesus calls, he just leaves like that. It didn't take a second of counting, calculating or strategizing because he had thought it well afore then. He had thought on going into a life that'll be more fulfilling and he recognized this specific call as the answer to that. He has counted the cost long time before Jesus ever came to call. He had muttered confessions often that the time would come and the opportunity be availed him to leave the tax office into his purpose and life burden. But it never came until then and since it never came until then, he sits still working (not being caught dead as idle) until the call that has gone over him reveals itself. Your call will call! Jesus saw Matthew at the tax office. You too will catch the attention of God today. He'll attend to and solve the riddles of your life. That weariness and emptiness in you will therefore come to an end because you'll then be assured to have found your life's task that you won't feel at a loss or doubt doing with your whole life. 

Brethren, there are those who have come to a juncture. A juncture of let the next phase begin. A juncture of what next thing to do but which they lack the initiative to launch into (or they'll look as dabblers). On this note, they await their call - their moving of the water. You see, this is why I love watching adventures and tactical movies where soldiers operate. In one operation that I watched, an ongoing soldier gives a signal to the incoming soldier that once he sees the sign, he should come in immediately not doubting. We ought not just dabble into our callings. We should be called to it either by a heart longing, some assuring or revelatory words. All in all, you must have assurance that you didn't initiate this process but that it came from God and of God's will. Don't just dabble into any call or office. Even if you're tired at your tax office now and you're in high expectation that your Messiah and Rabbi should have come to collect you, patiently wait for it. Let the peak of expectation be reached for that is when the testimony is more glorifying. Don't suddenly defect from your office until Jesus Himself passes by and says, "now, follow me". Until you hear this voice; until you receive such call, until you're this way launched, until you have received a confirming and divine thought like this, you must not seek to act on your own device, strategy or mere desire. You probably want a confirmation and a stamp on those things you have felt till then. Matthew at the tax office got to a place where it became, "you either show up or I perish here". At that instance, Matthew was not only ready having been faced by the insatisfaction of still being a tax collector but he immediately follows Christ when He calls him. If your time does not fill up, when you hear the call, one thing or the other of the world - in the secular would still be appealing to you. It may be the high salary, elite company or prestige of the former occupation or life that won't let you go. But you must have been worked on to the extent that all these are counted as dung by the time Jesus calls you away to purpose. If your "follow me" should come and you begin to give excuses like many that we know, you'll not only miss your opportunity but that'll also reveal you as having not being dealt with as to be put in the condition of a pregnant woman waiting for the delivery of her child because she has already entered into labour. 

Anyone who's therefore made ready is such that has no care, thought, obsession or expectation for any other thing other than the call of destiny to come and be with Him and discharge that burden. The Bible records that those invalids wait for the moving of the water. They are just not waiting. They are waiting expectantly knowing their lives depend on it. They've become watchmen both day and night knowing that their herald of healing may come. As such, whenever the angel comes, there's always someone who'll be found to immediately enter into that availed opportunity or privilege. 

John 5:2-3, KJV 

"2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool... 3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water".

Just like these wait for the moving of the water that they might get in, Matthew waits for the call that he might leave the custom office. He has grown weary of what he does and sees often. Though this job pays him well yet he seeks that one thing that'll be unto him a living water so much more that he'll not thirst after another or come to the well to draw again (John 4). And when it came, he unhesitatingly follows. Some of you, your call is long over due. Jesus already came for you but you've been refusing till now. Will you be like Matthew who leaves once? Will you come to the end of yourself, worries on what to eat, wear and security of life and defunct to answer the call on you now? This is the best hour. This call is too ostentatious to lose. It's like a once in a lifetime opportunity. Cling to it. Let this voice confirm somethings you've been receiving till now and assure you that's the path to follow. Either the call is to ministry or some other professions you're persuaded about, I pray for all those Matthews who are weary of the labour they're currently in, knowing there's more to their lives than making money and putting their hands into their mouths that the Lord will satisfy you. You'll live to be felt by humanity! You'll see what next! For further help, you can call any of the contacts at the devotional's tail. We'll be with you as you make this attempt. 

PRAYER: Lord, satisfy my weary and longing heart with what is 'meat' (purpose) indeed. Let my call calls. 

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Lamentations 1:1-2:22; Philemon 1:1-25; Psalm 101:1-8; Proverbs 26:20

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - 28/10/2023

SATURDAY - 28TH OCTOBER, 2023

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

TURNED AROUND AND ABOUT - What Is Purpose Series 005?

Acts 9:3, KJV

"And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:"

I said yesterday that God was the God of encounters. Saul collects letters and leaves for Damascus. He is just not going there. He has an intent - that he might bring those of the Way bound to Jerusalem. Imagine what a man is using his life to serve in zeal! You can be doing wrong and in all conscience think it is right. You'll need an encounter to prove to you you're wrong.  

All things seem set in order for Saul. He even has escorts and men in terror to help secure the arrest of those of the Way. More importantly, he is not acting on his own. He has the backing of fathers and those that matter. Who will therefore challenge him since the law has even thrown his weight at his back?

However, God is the God of encounters. He is a God of the new beginning and He can start you over. He can handpick a man who has his own plan outlined before him in pride and redirect him into what he should use his life to serve in the time he has to live on earth. God can change the plan of a man. He can send him on a new errand -  a new mission. On entering Damascus, God stages a drama to capture Saul. A bright light shines from heaven round him. Saul is knocked off from his exalted position of pride against God and he asks, "who are you, Lord?" In no time, he got a response. "I am Jesus whom you're persecuting. It's hard for you to kick against the pricks. Enter into the city and it'll be told you what you shall do". 

This is the God of encounters. He turns a man round about. I have known Him and it is He I serve. It doesn't even matter the life such fellow has lived till then. God knows the means to take to harvest him for himself. He even knows where and when and He is coming for you too. As for Saul, it is, "as he nears Damascus..." Saul came for one thing but he met another. There will be change of plans this morning. I meant attending Obafemi Awolowo University but God intended Tai Solarin University of Education. This is how the content of the letter Paul bears never got implemented. That's how Paul leaves the persecuting life. This is how the bitter ends and the better kick starts in his life. A testimony that God in a twinkle can change the direction of a man.

God is the God of encounters. Once He happens to you, you'll let go of what you have at hand to run a new course. It'll be so sudden that at remembrance, you'll wonder at the speed of events. But all will be because God has need of you. Like He testifies of Saul to Ananias. "He's a chosen vessel in my hands" [Acts 9:15-16]. That singular utterance reveals God's interest in Saul. That's why God came for him. A fellow may be a cultist, prostitute or even Jacob in cunningness but if he or she is a chosen vessel in God's hands, God will one day meet him or her and collect such for Himself. It doesn't matter what he has done or does; where he is, how privileged or underprivileged he is. Once a man has the call on him, he's marked of God for use even if he's yet not born again. God's eyes and flashlight is just spotted on him till He comes for such. Such man is therefore not different from that tied colt that prophecy is on but whose time is not until Jesus sends for it. Until then, any Saul can continue in his old life until the Lord Who gives the Word issues his warrant of arrest. God's after you and God's eyes will always go with such carrier of the call because the intent of God is to harvest him for use someday. God will see him through his hard times and gives him uncommon deliverances where he thought less. I have experienced uncommon acceleration and such favour because God has this interest in me. Why did you think Saul  has an accelerated progress of being a Pharisee and lawyer (Acts 22:3)? In the natural, that's God declaring Himself to him by giving him status and acceptability that not all those who have gone before have. So, when the time comes, God will therefore seek him out by first seeking to divorce him from that life and plan that doesn't fulfill His glory. God has a plan for that. For Saul, God awaits him as he prepares for what he might have themed, "Damascus Invasion: The Big Visit". But he never saw it. That's why you should never compare yourself with another. A Saul might misbehave until he's harvested. He might receive mercy and that's because of the call on him. The call on you can preserve you until you're confronted by that call to come. The call on that colt Jesus rode preserved it so much more that no man found it attractive enough to mount (Mark 11:2). Everyone spared it until it comes whose right it is. Note! Everything God does in your present is a revelation of your future or what you're saved to become. May the God of encounter meet you. May you release and let go of what you're cherishingly holding unto. May a new life and direction be offered you where you've been deceived to think you're right or have been living right. I see a turn around, a turn about and a quick parabola. You're for purpose!

PRAYER: Lord, turn hardened criminals around. Pray for those you want God to save. Mention their names. Father, let your interest in me be declared. 

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Jeremiah 51:54-52:34; Titus 3:1-15; Psalm 100:1-5; Proverbs 26:18-19

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - 27/10/2023

FRIDAY - 27TH OCTOBER, 2023

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

GOD OF ENCOUNTERS - What Is Purpose Series 004?

Psalms 139:3, KJV

"Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways."

I can testify that there's a God who directs the wheel of life of individuals. It is then I can fellow with the Psalmist to say, "He knows my sitting down and my rising up" (Psalm 139:2). The testimony and the summary of it all is that, "He has besetted me round about and laid His hand on me" (Psalm 139:5). 

In 2010/2011, I chose to attend Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile Ife, Nigeria. I filled in Politics, Philosophy and Economics as my course of study. If I had not filled this form myself but was told there's a thing like that, I might have probed it further and not earlier believe. But I do still believe because I still have even the exam slip as a testimonial. Mama (my mother) arranged for me to stay with a friend's son. They were Muslims but humanity and love beat that. The night to my writing my Post JAMB (entrance exam into OAU) in Ife, the Lord came to me in a night dream. I can through that testify that the Lord do come to people in their dreams (Gen.20:3, 28:12, 31:24, 37:5). You see, I was a cricketer in secondary school. I saw that we went for a cricket competition which we won however. The trophy was presented to me and I lifted it up in victory. However, what baffled me was that the fellow who presented the trophy to me was a brother I knew. That was Bro. Sina Adeleye. We were like family friends from the same hometown in Yewa North and then the same mother church, St. Paul's Anglican Church, Ayetoro. Moreso, we were both in the church's Choral Group before he left for campus. 

It was that night I knew something has gone over me. It seems the God of encounters is turning my ship elsewhere. I knew Bro Sina or (Shyna) as we popularly called him was in Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Ijagun, Ogun State at that time. I knew what the dream meant. I knew God was saying, "not Ife", but why now? I had sincerely prayed on being led till then because I wanted to escape regrets, wastage of time, effort and resources (we didn't have much to expend). God might have communicated before then and I might not have heard however. That's because I wanted to attend OAU. I never doubted it won't work. It's a reputable school. I just filled in TASUED at that time - not that I knew the school or have learnt anything on its reputation. I just filled it for second choice to fulfill the requirement. However, when OAU didn't work, I didn't develop any hate for TASUED. I clung to it. 

Somehow (another story on its own), I couldn't meet up with the cut off mark of OAU and had to contact Bro Sina. It was he who told me TASUED's late form was still out. That was how I got that one to get on that ship. That was how God changed my direction. Bro. Sina Adeleye who I saw in that dream became a landmark man in my life. He helped me with all my admission processes as you'll testify that admission things could freak a newbie, especially someone battling with inferiority complex at that time. It was He who accommodated me in his student room at Campus Villa (or something like that), Ojuri, Ijagun and even catered for my needs. He acted as my brother and till date, I acknowledge him as same. He even bought me my first campus hymn book. Though I was the one who enquired for Anglican Students' Fellowship immediately I got to campus, he was the one who took me there. He was a member of the Drama Band himself and a political executive in National Association of Ogun State Students. Through him, I got my own student room eventually. He even went to the market with me to buy furnishings for the room. Never to forget all that. 

However, destiny is at work here. Why would God turn me about from OAU to TASUED? I found out that God had a plan in mind for me. He wanted to expose me to Christian and ministry things especially (though I was born again before arrival on campus). God simply wanted to train me for ministry and in His will, it was in ASF TASUED and TASUED He could do that. For where else would a man have been accommodated to become president of three systems at once? God stretched me and I was stretched. Bro. Sina was symbolic of TASUED in my dream. He was a student there before my arrival. He was in 100 Level then. His giving me the trophy predicts my ascension and outcome in TASUED. Though I went through hell before graduating, I graduated. I kept reminding God of having sent me to TASUED. No wonder He kept being Jireh always. He appeared when all hope was lost. He sponsored my education all through. Twice when I couldn't afford the school fees any longer and was affected by the school's policy of 'no school fees, no exam' did I see God came for me. I paid on scholarships on those two occasions. It remained so close for my university education to be forfeited then but God bore me up on His hands. I knew people (fellow students) who however dashed their feet on the stones. A very painful event that a 300 Level student like myself could have faced. God serially on campus humbled me and grew me. The trophy in the dream however symbolized 'headship' or 'being the head'. Indeed, I carried headship in TASUED. People just found it easier putting me in leadership positions. I found out that God took these people and systems over basically because "I'm a chosen vessel in His hands". When you are, He'll go any length after you and for you like He did for Saul of Tarsus. Since He wants to stretch and grow you, He'll commit much into your hands and expect much from you also. It was the hand of God I saw all through.

Today, I'm revealing God to you as the God of encounters who can change the course of a man for the purpose He has seen and wanted him to fulfill. God has our greater good in mind. His intent for us is still of good and not of evil (Jer.29:11). That has not changed. Where He leads us to is where there's green pastures and enough space for us to lie and be accommodated. If I had been admitted into OAU, I bet it, I probably couldn't have smelled being a president let alone being availed the numerous stretchings, trainings and experiences I received. That would be because OAU and the seats there would be reservations for another or other men God wanted to train. The future God wants to give us however is what He prepares us for. The God of encounters can turn a boat for another direction other than the pre-planned and that'll be because He has an intent for that turning. Over the course of my journey on earth, I therefore have Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) as a place to reference as my ground of making and preparation for Christian and ministerial things. Later as I graduated, I met a prophetic mentor, father and minister there also. Our being together till now has proven that God do lead men to where to be because of the ordainment of paths and destiny meet He has slated.

Today, thanks to God, Bro. Sina Adeleye, TASUED, ASF TASUED, ASF Ogun Chapter, CU TASUED and all my helpers on and outside campus. You made a dream come through.

PRAYER: Father, lead and guide me. Let even providence work for me. Prove for me until arrival. Encounter and turn the astray to their right paths. 

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Jeremiah 51:1-53; Titus 2:1-15; Psalm 99:1-9; Proverbs 26:17

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - 26/10/2023

THURSDAY - 26TH OCTOBER, 2023

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

MARKED FOR USE - What Is Purpose Series 003

Mark 11:2, KJV 

"And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him".

Some of you are marked people. Let me show you who you are as the Lord portrays it to me. You're not different from this colt that is tied down until word comes for its release for the purpose for which it is tied. You may not be tied in the sense that you're still living for yourself and have not even been made ready for your Lord who seeks and wants to perpetuate Himself through you - by using you. However, because you have a mandate over you which cries over you and predates your earthly existence, you're therefore by that tied to God who has planted eternity in the hearts of men - thereby putting His remembrance in us all. Even the hardest atheist do stop to think about God for awhile. He even does frequently, only that He has no revelation of Him and has jumped to the conclusion that there's no God as he seeks to vindicate and free himself of the entity called God. That's for him! We are not a Godless people. Even secular people know this when they say, "it's in Him we live, move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). 

You're tied to and for God. You're marked for use already. The mandate on you predates you and it is what marks you for God and tie you to Him. It is also what predicts you and your end even if you choose to wander all around like Noah's ark for now before settling for Ararat. What is major is that after making all the turns and rounds, you'll end it at Ararat. Just don't bring chicken feed to the things of God. Bring your youth and not old age - when the night has begun to catch up with you. The Lord tells Ananias that "Paul is a chosen vessel in his hand who'll bear the gospel/His name before kings and nobles" (Acts 9:15). 

The question is, "when did Saul become such chosen vessel?" That day? That very time? Or according to ordainment, before he was even conceived (as said in Jeremiah 1:5)? We know it's before his earthly existence and conception? Now, if it be, why the life Paul lived until then? You see, that's the lie and diversion of the devil. That's what the devil has subtly cooked to replace his genuine calling in life. A man will live in his false calling until the authentic shows up and makes demand on him. Something will have you or might have had you before you realize what your life should be given to. It may not be sinful or criminal at times but it may be wrong for your destiny. Imagine if Peter, Andrew, James and John have been fishermen all the days of their lives and Mathew sat at the Tax Collection Office when the calling on them is to become fishers of men. Thanks to God who called them away from that to the higher life. You too will answer the cry of your mandate. The call that has gone over you throughout eternity will come to pass on you. For Jeremiah, it is,  "before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations" (Jeremiah 1:5, KJV). You can't escape this. 

That day, God knocked Saul down from his high horse of pride. I know Saul would have been one of the people who would have proudly say, "may I never join people like this (people of the Way that He persecute). But at the end, he joins them and even become a chief amidst the apostles. 

For those of you on the run, keep running. Saul was on his way to Damascus, running away from his ordained life (by living and fulfilling another substitute calling day in, day out) in zeal. He therefore seems like being far away from God's hands. However, the more he seems to become ardent persecutor of the Way (church) and could be reputed to have gone far from his calling, the more he actually nears God who'll catch him. God is waiting for you in Damascus. He'll pick you up there. He'll cut it quit for you on that trip. That's even if you made it there with your original plans. He has beset you round about. He knows you. 

Psalms 139:5, KJV

"Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me".

The vivid description of Saul given to Ananias shows God knows all of us and even all run- aways. I know Saul is a choleric and he couldn't sit-down in one place. He needs work to stimulate himself which is why after earning a law degree, he still goes ahead to collect letters to arrest people for the jail. His active mind seeks an expression. Unfortunately, the devil hijacked it until that mandate at his creation came calling once more, "for he is a chosen vessel in my hands". Let the mandate over you speak so that you'll be halted, turned and taken out of your substitute call. Jonah ran to Tarshish but where he flees to is where God is also. You will always meet God wherever you go. He has network everywhere. It is everywhere you go. You can't beat Him. You'll always meet Him in front. You'll always play into His hands. Then, you'll see that your devices and initiatives are small and unworthy. You are a chosen instrument in God's hands and He'll come for you. May you sense that He's even calling you now. May you sense that this tiredness and burn out you've been experiencing on that particular task, job or lifestyle is even a call to call it quit to come into the new call he has ordained for you. First into new life as a Christian and then the discovering of your purpose. This weariness of heart, this insatisfaction you yet don't have an answer to but which you seek to cure is far off at the stream - in Him and your purpose alone. It is when you do what you're created for that you can truly be happy. That's when life really makes sense and you feel really given to humanity - having contributed your quota where it's needed (even if you're never broadcasted on a national TV). It's then you'll be satisfied because your deeds would meet needs that heaven will acknowledge and respect also. What is actually calling you to come is purpose and being in Him, you'll find rest and be rest assured you're living or have lived.

PRAYER: Lord, save hardened sinners and all troublers of Christianity to preach the gospel. May I not go without fulfilling the mandate that ran over me ahead of time. 

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Jeremiah 49:23-50:46; Titus 1:1-16; Psalm 97:1-98:9; Proverbs 26:13-16

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MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - 25/10/23

WEDNESDAY - 25TH OCTOBER, 2023

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO

RESTED IN ARARAT - What Is Purpose Series 002

Genesis 8:4, KJV

"And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat".

You can become erratic - going from one place to the other purposelessly. Anyone who becomes erratic is in search of something. Yes, a search for what satisfies. A search for true inner joy - fulfilment of a cause they know should be beyond them. However, erratic living can stop today. I know you have gone far in your search. I'm aware you're lost and have been injured in your search for what satisfies. However, erratic living - jumping from this to that, seeking to use the latest trends or another addiction to meet your inner satisfaction can stop right away. Wine can't satisfy you. If all man is made for is to eat and die, then why are you thus? 

Genesis 25:22, KJV

"And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD."

Why has a gorge of unfulfillment fill your inside? Rebekah knew something was wrong when she sees the many struggle in her, she called it quit to go and enquire. When she does, she immediately has an answer as to why she has been thus. You've been seeking for answers and that's what God is giving you today. You're asking, "why am I tired of life?why does it appear that my riches can't give me joy?" You are thus like that because you're like a mad man chasing nothing (in purpose). That's because you have not found your calling, life's assignment or vocation. There's no man who stumbles on purpose and begins to live it who crazily wants to leave it. They'll testify that it is life. No wonder, Jesus calls purpose, "my meat" (John 4:34). He said, "my meat is to do the will of He that sent me and to finish his work". Anything that becomes food or like food to you is what by compulsion and natural love you can't do without. The trees would not refuse to be persuaded to be made kings or exhorted with great glory for having discovered their purposes also. The question they all keep asking is, "if I should leave my wine, fatness, sweetness and fruit, by what should men be cheered or satisfied" (Judges 9:8-13). Ooh, it means they have discovered that there's more to life than having this earth's goods, glory but missing appointment or purpose. Therefore, they refuse to be converted. They rather cling to their purposes.

When the flood descends and the water swims the ark, it continues wherever it is carried until we have a record of it finding rest in Ararat. Many lives have depicted the journey of the ark. Till hitherto even as I talk, they've been walking the earth up and down, to and fro with a search and a longing for what satisfies. They've been diverted from the right course, converted to the wrong and their energy and focus dispelled, misappropriated and allocated into the wrong things of life. Till now, they have gone wherever the current of life in latest trends in fashion, music, food and behaviour etc pushes them. They don't give the dictates on what to do and how to live. They're dictated to by what they see as popular at a particular time. However, all have failed. All have failed to satisfy them. With drooping head on a feeble feet, they seek what satisfies. The longing in their hearts cry out. Jesus while speaking says in John  6:55, "for my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed". It means if you take it, you shall be saved and have the ultimate, eternal satisfaction and rest. Your first call is to salvation. You must receive the Son of God and believe in Him. From there, we move to purpose discovery and fulfilment. 

The intent for which God saves anyone is to drive him or her to Ararat - a place of rest where he'll stay permanently to fulfill purpose. The ark after its wondering found rest in Ararat. Now, Ararat as I'm speaking is not merely a physical location but let's say a space, geography, field, calling or place of work. God chooses what our work should be on earth. If you have not found rest and heart satisfaction, we might need to probe if you're settled where you should be settled. As it concerns you - you have a mandate. When God was sending your spirit into your mother's womb, like Jeremiah's, a call followed you saying, "I have ordained you to be this and that" (Jer.1:5). Making arrival here and thinking you can silence, divert, allure or mortify that mandate is a joke. If you don't know, it is the only thing by which your success will be measured. When Jesus says, "I have glorified Thee on earth" (John 17:4), what do you think He meant? He meant I have lived the life that pleases you by which I know I'll have your commendation. Many people are living all other lives to the exemption of the life that matters. They might have been blindfolded or bewitched but my prayer is this, let this hunger in your breast, this tiresome in your soul lead you to crying out and saying, "fill me or I die; find me or I'm lost". The poem titled "The Pulley" portrays this. It summarily says God puts weariness in our hearts that we may seek Him. It therefore becomes like a deer pants after streams of water. Today, Ararat is not far. Purpose awaits you. If you'll have a rethink to call it quit in the world, you shall find rest in Ararat. When at Ararat, there's no erraticness any longer. You become stable, stabilized having arrived at what should be your life's task and assignment. No wind of sweet talk or doctrine can shift you away from what you have found to be true and sure to your life's mandate. Ararat therefore becomes your base from which you send glorification to God. You therefore stay and tarry in Ararat until He who gives the breath asks it. I pray for you that you'll eventually be driven to Ararat - purpose. I know you have tested and tasted this and that but all that doesn't matter as long as your journey dovetails into Ararat eventually. You'll arrive at a new place - different from where you've been before. You'll arrive at a place where your ark will know rest and will no longer be tossed here and there by all the things you've thus pursued thinking it's in them and through them you could have satisfaction.

PRAYER: Lord, I receive you into my heart. I as well receives sight, understanding and revelation into what my purpose is.

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Jeremiah 44:24-47:7; 2 Timothy 2:22-3:17; Psalm 94:1-23; Proverbs 26:6-8

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