Delightsome Agbabo

JANUARY January 1 God’s Word Is Medicine My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.—PROVERBS 4:20–22 God’s Word Is Medicine According to The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, the Hebrew word in verse 22 translated “health” actually means medicine. In other words, this scripture actually says, “. . . they (God’s words) are life unto those that find them and medicine unto all their flesh.” Notice that this passage of Scripture begins, “My son, attend to my words. . . .” What does it mean to attend to God’s words? It means to put His words first. Then we are told to incline our ears unto His words, or to listen to them. Finally, we are told to keep His words in the midst of our heart. So there are three things we are told to do with the Word of God: (1) Attend to it or put it first; (2) listen to it; and

December 30 HUSBANDMAN I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. — JOHN 15:1 My Heavenly Father is the Caretaker. He is the Protector. He is the Shield. He is the Sustainer. He is the Trainer. He is the Educator. The Greek word translated “husbandman” involves all those shades of meaning. As the husbandman trains the branches of avine, so God trains the branches of the Body of Christ. And remember, God is love! Confession Jesus is the true vine. I am a branch. My Father is the husbandman. He is my Caretaker, my Protector, my Shield, my Sustainer, my Trainer, my Educator. I will bear much fruit!

December 28 THE FATHER’S LOVE He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. — JOHN 14:21-23 Two things are emphasized in today’s text: 1. Jesus said,“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them . . .” Keep in mind what Jesus’ commandments are. He said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you . . .” (John 13:34). There’s no reason for you to worry about any other commandments. Walking in love sums up the whole business, because the Word of God says, “. . . love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13:10). (If you keep Jesus’ commandments, you

December 27 A FATHER’S PART Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be ADDED unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. — MATTHEW 6:31-34 Added to you! Not taken away! That proves that the Father cares for His own. Another translation reads, “Be not therefore anxious for the morrow.” You see, God doesn’t want His children to be anxious, or to worry. In today’s passage, God is saying, “Have no worry, no fret, no anxiety. Because I am your Heavenly Father, I know you have need of these things. But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be addedunto you.”

December 26 OUR FATHER . . . For your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father . . . . — MATTHEW 6:8,9 Although God had given to Israel as clear a revelation of Himself as it was possible to give spiritually dead men, they still didn’t really know Him. They didn’t recognize God manifested in the flesh when Jesus stood in their midst. (Under the Old Covenant, God’s Presence was shut up in the Holy of Holies.) Thus, it was into a hard, harsh atmosphere of Justice that Jesus Christ came. And the Jews of His day could not understand Him. He talked about God as His Father. He told of the Father’s love and care for His own! It mystified them. When Jesus introduced God as a Father God of love, His words, for the most part, fell upon unresponsive ears. Yet we must admit, as we meditate on Jesus’ words about the love of God, that even born-again children of God sometimes fail to see the love side of God. Israel never grasped

December 24 HIS GLORY And the Word became flesh. And pitched his tent among us, And we gazed upon his glory, — A glory . . . Full of favour and truth. — JOHN 1:14 (Rotherham) I love Rotherham’s translation of John 1:14 — it is so beautiful. We’ve tended to think of Christ’s coming to the earth as a man only in terms of His self-denial in leaving glory, or else in terms of His suffering on this earth. But I believe it was a joy to Christ, who so loved man and so desired man’s fellowship, to“pitch His tent” among us so that He might give to alienated man — who had never known his Creator— a true conception of His Heavenly Father. It was good tidings of great joy which the angel proclaimed to the shepherds — and to all people everywhere. Man, separated from God for four thousand years, could now gaze upon God’s glory, could now see God, could now know God as He is, and could now be reunited with Him! And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great jo

December 23 INCARNATE REVELATOR Jesus saith unto him [Philip] . . . he that hath seen me hath seen the Father . . . . — JOHN 14:9 Man born into a world ruled by Satan did not by nature know his Creator. Since Adam’s sin — when man died spiritually — God and man had been spiritually separated. Man desperately needed an Incarnation. The Incarnation of Jesus Christ — God manifested in the flesh — gave to the world the true knowledge of the nature of God. Spiritually dead men couldn’t know the nature of the Creator without a revelation from Him. God had been conceived as weird, cruel, grotesque, immoral, aloof, or perhaps, an impersonal energy, but He was never thought of as a God of love — a loving Heavenly Father. “What’s he really like?” people will inquire about some movie star, TV personality, politician, etc. And sometimes those close to that celebrity will attempt in an interview to tell what he is really like. “What’s God really like?” people want to know. Friends, if you want to k

December 22 HE CAME TO DECLARE HIM No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. — JOHN 1:18 How Jesus realized and appreciated the phase of His mission on earth: Declaring the true nature of His Father! A noted Bible scholar once said, concerning the Incarnation, “We know now that God is like this that we have seen in Jesus. He is Christ-like. And if He is, He is a good God and trustworthy. If the heart that is back of the universe is like this gentle heart that broke upon the Cross, He can have my heart without qualifications and without reservations. I know nothing higher to say of God than that He should live like Christ . . . . Strange, a man lived among us and when we think of God we think of Him in terms of this man or He is not good. We may transfer every single moral quality in Jesus to God without loss or degradation to our thought of God. On the contrary, by thinking of Him in terms of Jesus we heighten ou

December 21 THAT WE MIGHT BE SONS But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. — GALATIANS 4:4-7 The object of the Incarnation was that man might be given the right to become a child of God (John 1:12). Man could become a child of God only by receiving the nature of God; therefore, Christ came that man might receive eternal life (John 10:10; 1 John 5:11,12). And man could receive eternal life only after he had been legally redeemed from Satan’s authority (Col. 1:13,14). Confession God sent forth His Son to redeem us, that we might become sons of God. I have received Christ; therefore, I have life. I am a son of God. And because I am, God has s

December 20 HE CAME TO SAVE And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. — MATTHEW 1:21 The first step in redemption was Christ’s identification with our humanity. This took place in His Incarnation. Christ was made flesh (John 1:14). Hebrews 2:14 says, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same.." But at the time of His Incarnation, Jesus did not partake of the nature that reigned in the spirit of man. Had He done so then, He would have been spiritually dead during His earthly ministry! Then He could not have pleased the Father by doing His own will. No, His identification with the spirit nature of man didn’t take place until His crucifixion. There God actually made Jesus Christ to become sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). Our sin nature itself was laid upon Jesus Christ until He became all that spiritual death had made man. In the mind of God, it was

December 19 MEDIATOR For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. — 1 TIMOTHY 2:5 Man’s condition demanded an Incarnation — man had become spiritually dead with no approach to God. The Incarnation of Deity with humanity provided One who could stand as man’s Mediator. Equal with God on one hand and united with man on the other, this One could assume the obligations of man’s treason and satisfy the claims of Justice, thereby bridging the chasm between God and man. God created man in His own image, just a little lower than Himself; so nearly like God that it was possible for God and man to become united for eternity in one individual! (When Christ became a man and took on a physical body in the Incarnation, He did so for eternity. Therefore, there is a God-man in Heaven today at the Father’s right hand as a result of the Incarnation.) It was possible for God and man to become united! God can dwell in these human bodies of ours, God can impart His life

December 17 HUMILITY Who [Christ Jesus], being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. — PHILIPPIANS 2:6-8 Christ has always existed in the form of God. But He emptied Himself and took the form of a bond servant, being made in the likeness of men. This suggests a distinct operation of God totally different from natural generation: A miracle. First, God took Christ from the Godhead in Heaven — and then He placed Christ in the womb of a virgin to be united with flesh in a unique conception. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me. — HEBREWS 10:5 God prepared a body — a special body — for this Being called the Son of God. In the Incarnation, Christ beca

December 16 FOR FURTHER MEDITATION For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell. — COLOSSIANS 1:19 The Word of God plainly teaches that our Redeemer is divine. These divine offices are ascribed to Him: Creator (Col. 1:16) . . . Mediator (1 Tim. 2:4,5) . . . Head of the Church (Col. 1:16-24) . . . Savior (2 Peter 3:2) . . . Judge (2 Tim. 4:1) . . . Preserver (Heb. 1:1-3) . . . Life-Giver (John 10:28) . . . Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36) . . . Resurrection and Life (John11:25). Divine character is ascribed to Christ. Ordinary men are sinners by nature, but Christ Jesus is not an ordinary man. He is: Holy by Birth (Luke 1:35) . . . Righteous (Isa. 53:11) . . . Faithful (Isa. 11:5) . . . Truth (John 14:6) . . . Just (John 5:30) . . . Guileless (1 Peter 2:22) . . . Sinless (2 Cor. 5:21) . . . Spotless (1 Peter 1:19) . . . Innocent (Matt. 27:4) . . . Harmless (Heb. 7:26) . . . Obedient to God (Heb. 5:8-10) . . . Obedient to Earthly Parents (Luke 2:51) . . . Zealous (John 2:17)

December 12 IMMANUEL And he [Ahaz] said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. — ISAIAH 7:13,14 God began to speak through His prophets, promising that a Redeemer would come who would break Satan’s dominion and restore to man his lost dominion. The prophet Isaiah, for example, looked down through time and pointed to a daughter of David who would give birth to that promised Redeemer 750 years later. “The Lord Himself will give you a sign,” Isaiah prophesied. “He will show you a miracle, a wonder, something out of the ordinary.” What will it be? A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son. A virgin shall give birth to a son in a supernatural way. His Name shall be called Immanuel — which means “God with us,” or “Incarnation.” Here, God suggests the union of deity and humanity. Confession The Lord

December 11 A GREAT PLAN! And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise they head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. — Genesis 3:15 Man fell. But God had a plan — a great plan — redemption! God assumed the liabilities of man’s transgressions and redeemed him from Satan’s dominion. God had a plan to give life back to man. God’s plan allowed man’s nature to be changed back into harmony with God’s nature. God cannot ignore man’s transgressions. Justice demanded that the penalty for man’s crime be paid — but man himself was unable to pay it. Therefore, because man couldn’t save himself, God had to provide a Redeemer. No sooner had man fallen under dominion of his enemy, Satan, than God began to speak forth His plan concerning the Coming One. This One, the seed of woman (for it was prophesied that a woman would give birth to a child independent of natural generation) would break Satan’s dominion over man! This One would set men free! This

December 10 SHORT OF THE GLORY For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. — ROMANS 3:23 Man did the unthinkable! Given dominion over all the works of God’s hand, Adam was originally the god of this world. But Adam knowingly committed high treason against God by selling out to Satan the dominion which God had originally given him. Adam’s treason was done on such a legal basis that God could not annul the contract He had made with Adam, and which Adam had passed on to Satan. Hence, Satan, not Adam, became the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4). And thus began Satan’s destructive reign. So spiritual death — which is separation from God — came to man. When God came down in the cool of the day to walk and talk with Adam, God called, “Adam, where art thou?” And Adam said, “I hid myself.” He was separate from God! Another aspect of spiritual death — having Satan’s nature — also came to man. The devil became man’s spiritual father. Notice Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Ye are of your

December 9 CROWNED WITH GLORY When I view and consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained and established, What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him? Yet You have made him but a little lower than God [or heavenly beings], and You have crowned him with glory and honor. You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands . . . . — PSALM 8:3- 6 (Amplified) God did not create man for death! Death, sin, sickness, hatred, revenge, and all such tragedies reflect conditions on earth that had no place in the original plan of the Creator. Man was created instead for joy, happiness, and peace! Man was designed for eternal fellowship with God. He was created in God’s very image and likeness (Gen. 1:26,27). He was created for joy, happiness, and peace. And he was created to give God pleasure (Rev. 4:11). God gave man a place in His creation second only to Himself, with dominion as far rea

December 8 SALVATION Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore,. . . . [will I] shew him my salvation. — PSALM 91:14,16 Although I don’t agree with all Dr. C. I. Scofield’s notes in his Reference Bible, his footnote following Romans 1:16, referring to the word “salvation,” is excellent. Dr. Scofield, a Greek and Hebrew scholar, wrote: The Greek and Hebrew words for salvation imply the ideas of deliverance, safety, preservation, healing, and soundness [health]. El Shaddai has promised to show us deliverance, safety, preservation, healing, and health. For He has promised to show us His salvation! Confession Because I have set my love upon God, the God who is more than enough has shown me His salvation. He has made known to me the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation (Rom1:16). This Gospel is the power of God unto my deliverance. It is the power of God unto my safety. It is the power of God unto my preservation. It is the power of God unto my healing. It

December 7 LONG LIFE Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore. . . . With long life will I satisfy him . . . . PSALM 91:14,16 “But, Brother Hagin,” someone said, “I knew a minister who was a wonderful man of God, and he died at age forty-two.” That doesn’t mean I have to die young. I don’t know what that minister believed — but I know what I believe. And I know that the God who is more than enough said, “I will satisfy him with long life.” Someone else will say, “That just means we’re going to live forever in Heaven.” No, even sinners are going to live forever. They’re going to live in one place, and we’re going to live in another. That scripture is referring to our enjoying long life here upon this earth. A reading of Proverbs reveals that the Word of God says that doing certain things will lengthen your life, but doing certain other things will shorten your life. Eph6:1-3 tells children to honor their parents, “That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the ea

December 6 HE HONORS Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore . . . I will set him on high. . . . and honour him. — PSALM 91:14,15 I’d rather have God honor me than to have all the acclaim this world can offer. The story is told that one day Napoleon was reviewing his troops when his horse began to buck. A young private stepped over, took the horse by the bridle, and quieted him down.Napoleon said, “Thank you, Captain.” And the private moved into rank of a captain. But the other officers shunned this young man. They had earned their rank, but his had been granted to him. Napoleon noticed this and called for a full, gala review of his army. He sat this young man on a horse by his side, and they rode out to the parade grounds together. The other officers then began to say, “That fellow’s a favorite with Napoleon.” And they began to court his favor. The world may not know it, but the time is coming when they are going to find out that we are favorites with the King of kings and Lor

December 5 HE’S THE WAY OUT Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore. . . . I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him . . . . — PSALM 91:14,15 God didn’t say you weren’t going to have trouble. In fact, He rather infers that you will have trouble because you’re a Christian! The world will persecute you, talk about you, speak evil of you. An enemy is arrayed against you. The god of thisworld puts pressure on you at every turn (2 Cor. 4:4).Some people think it’s God who is putting pressure on them, but it isn’t. Jesus contrasted His works and the works of the devil like this: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). God is not a thief. That which steals, kills, and destroys is the devil — not God. God says in His Word, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all” (Ps. 34:19). The word “afflictions” here mean

December 4 HE ANSWERS Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore. . . . He shall call upon me, and I will answer him . . . . — PSALM 91:14,15 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. — JEREMIAH 33:3 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. — MATTHEW 21:22 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. — MARK 11:24 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you . . . ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. — JOHN 16:23,24 These are by no means all of the scriptures on the subject of prayer. But these scriptures alone are enough to set our hearts on fire. They’re enough to start us praying. Why? Because El Shaddai said to us, “I will answer.” The Almighty God — the One who is more than enough — has promis

December 3 HE DELIVERS Because he [the believer] hath set his love upon me [God], therefore will I deliver him . . . . — PSALM 91:14 “I will,” or “I shall” is the strongest assertion that can be made in the English language. And in the last part of Psalm 91, there are seven things this God who is more than enough says He will do for the person who has set his love upon Him. (Thank God, I’ve set my love upon Him — have you?) Notice that God didn’t say, “I may do it,” or “If I don’t run out of energy, I’ll do it. If My power doesn’t wane, I’ll do it.” No! He is the All-Sufficient One, and He said, “I will do it.”First, God said, “I will deliver them . . . .” This God who is more than enough is a delivering God. He kept His Word with Abraham, and delivered Israel — and He’s still the Deliverer today. Our God is not the oppressor; He is the Deliverer! Acts 10:38 makes that clear. Satan is the oppressor of mankind — but Jesus is our Deliverer! Confession I have set my love upon God; therefo

December 2 MORE THAN ENOUGH And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies . . . . — JOSHUA10:13 We see El Shaddai with Israel in Canaan’s land. (And incidentally, Canaan is not a type of Heaven. It couldn’t be. In Heaven there won’t be battles to fight, cities to take, or enemies or giants to overcome — they’re here in this world. No, Canaan is a type of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and our rights and privileges in Christ Jesus.) When Israel ran into difficulty in Canaan, Joshua, their leader, spoke to the Lord. And God stopped the whole universe because a man of God prayed! God can do that — He’s the God who is more than enough! All through the Old Testament, we see El Shaddai moving in the lives of men and women, prophets, priests, and kings. But He’s not just the God of yesterday; He’s the God of now! He didn’t identify Himself as “the God who was more than enough,” or “the God who will be more than enough.” Too often we r