Shepherd Daily Devotional

Written By Ben Dankaka

Meditation – Mark 3:8

One of the most common trends on social media is the “follow me mentality”. Whether it is on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter or LinkedIn, people seem to be obsessed by the idea of having a lot of followers. So we now live in a world where individuals rate their success in life by the number of people who follow them via their social media handles. There’s nothing wrong with having lots of followers. What just isn’t right is to desire to have followers when you have nothing or little to offer. People don’t just follow others because they like them. They follow those who are beneficial to them. It doesn’t matter if it’s online or offline, people are inclined to follow those who can help them.

You’ve probably observed that Jesus often had crowds following Him wherever He went. One time, Jesus withdrew with his disciples to a lake. Then a large crowd from Galilee and from many other regions followed Him. These people weren’t invited by Jesus and His disciples. According to the scriptures, they decided to follow Jesus “when they heard all he was doing” (Mark 3:8). This means, if they hadn’t heard what He was doing, they wouldn’t have bothered to follow Him. Most likely, Jesus wasn’t followed by crowds until He launched His ministry. Prior to that time, the Bible didn’t give any account of crowds following Jesus. But when He began to preach and perform mighty miracles, they followed Him without being forced.

If Jesus hadn’t served others with His gifts the people wouldn’t have talked about Him. If He hadn’t done something worth talking about, large crowds wouldn’t have heard about Him. To become a person of influence, serve a lot of people with your gifts. If you want to have a lot of followers, become a person of value. Social media and all other media platforms can give you an opportunity to pull crowds, but if you really want to get people’s attention and possibly gain a lot of followers, become a person of value.

Prayer: Dear Lord, teach me how to be a person of value. Amen.

REFERENCES/FURTHER STUDY: Luke 5:38-42; Mark 3:7-8          

Unless otherwise stated all scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version.

Written By Ben Dankaka

Meditation – Proverbs 2:6

It was at a time when the kingdom of Israel was divided. Jerusalem and Judah had joined the ways of their neighbors, worshiping other gods. They carved idols and cast images. Instead of honoring God, they dishonored Him by building evil altars. They even carried carved images and put it in God’s temple – the very temple that Solomon had built in honor of God. But the people’s evil act was largely due to bad leadership. Leaders, such as Manasseh led the people astray to the extent that they did more evil than the nations that God had destroyed before the Israelites. Because of the evil ways of their leaders, the people of Judah couldn’t serve God.

However, it was clear that the leaders also didn’t have a sense of direction. They only did what they felt was the right thing to do. But as things got from bad to worse, an eight year old boy, named Josiah emerged as king of Judah. When he turned 18, at a time he could make decisions for himself, he began to seek God. By the time he was 22 years of age, when he had garnered enough strength and courage, he began some reforms. Under his leadership, the people destroyed the carved images and the evil altars. By the time he was 26, he decided to purify his country and repair the temple that had been defiled.

It was while they were repairing the temple that Hilkiah, the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord that had been given through Moses. Prior to that time, the Book had been missing. When the contents of the Book were read to the young king, he tore his clothes in fear. The king discovered that all along, the people of Judah had not acted in accordance with all that is written in the Book. It became clear that one of the reasons why the leaders of Judah had been leading the people astray was because they didn’t know what was written in the Book. Because the people didn’t know what God actually wanted them to do, they had been doing the wrong thing, following the gods of foreign nations.

This story captures the importance of information. Perhaps, if the people had been aware of the information contained in the Book of Law they wouldn’t have gone astray to that extent. Today, there are many Christians in the same situation. Because they do not study the word of God, they have gone astray, following the ways of the world. Today, there are Christians who are trying to solve their own problems by themselves because they do not know what Christ said about those problems. Many Christians are trying to do things that Christ has already done. Because they do not read the Bible they are being led astray by false prophets. I hope we will all discover the truth as Josiah did.

Prayer: Lord, reveal the truth to me. Amen.

REFERENCES/FURTHER STUDY: Proverbs 15:14; 2Chronicles 34:14-15

Unless otherwise stated all scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version.

Written By Ben Dankaka

Meditation – Hosea 4:6

For over 15 years, I have been in the education sector, trying to encourage young people to develop reading habits. My campaign on reading culture is predicated on my belief that self-education is one of the best ways that anyone can use to rise to the top. My emphasis is on anyone. Indeed, anyone, whether rich or poor can rise to the echelon of their careers through self-education. So I promote reading, which is the main way people can educate themselves. I discovered this a long time ago when I had to study for my senior school certificate examinations. Although, I never attended a class on Christian Religious Studies and English Literature, I prepared for the exams by reading the recommended books at home. No one tutored me. When the results were out, I got my highest grades from those two subjects. Ever since, I have relied on self-education to excel in order things.

I am not against school or any other formal education; I am only trying to say that self-education can benefit everyone, including those who do not have access to quality education or formal training. You may not have the money to study in some of the most expensive institutions, but if you are determined to learn, you can educate yourself through a reading habit. And whether you are in school or not, self-education is one of the best ways to become knowledgeable about a lot of things.

Today, many people grieve and live in abject poverty, not because they’ve been cursed but for the reason that they are wallowing in their own ignorance. They are perishing, not as result of a lack of education but because they lack a certain kind of knowledge. Do you know that one can go to the best schools, and yet be ignorant about a lot of things? You can come from a privileged background and still be ignorant of ways to live effectively. I have also learned that a person may be highly educated and not know God. The Scriptures say, “My people perish for lack of knowledge”.

Notice that it didn’t say, the people perished for lack of education. The people of Israel were perishing because they lacked knowledge. In that verse, God wasn’t referring to education as it wasn’t the problem at that time. The Israelites already had some form of education. There were those that had some form of education in writing, singing, tent making and all sorts of craftsmanship. There were also educated priests and judges. The majority of the people were also well-educated on their traditions. So what was the problem? They lacked knowledge about the nature of God. In other words, they were perishing because they didn’t know how to live the kind of life that God wanted them to live. Are you in a similar situation?

Prayer: Lord, teach me how to live an effective life. Amen.

REFERENCES/FURTHER STUDY: 2 Kings 22:1-11

Unless otherwise stated all scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version.

Written By Ben Dankaka

Meditation – 2 Samuel 22:47-49

The young David had just killed Goliath. News about him spread all over his country because he had just killed the most feared man. Goliath had frightened everyone, including Saul, the king of Israel. Goliath is described as a champion, who was over nine feet tall. He was clothed with bronze and armed with a huge weapon. What’s more, he had a big mouth. But despite his admirable endowments, Goliath was killed by a shepherd boy who only had a sling and a stone. Who wouldn’t want to share that kind of inspiring story? But as David’s fame grew, some women from all the towns of Israel suddenly popped up with a song.

“Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands,” They sang. It was this song that caused the rift between Saul and David. The Scripture says that “from that time on, Saul kept a jealous eye on David.” Because of that song, David eventually found himself on exile, away from the very country he rescued. King Saul, the man whom David saved from embarrassment became his enemy because of the women’s song. The negative impact that the song had on David extended to other kingdoms. When David fled from Saul and sought refuge in Gath, the country of king Achish, his servants reminded him that he was dealing with David; a man whom they sang about. To save his life, David had to act like a mad man while he was with king Achish (1 Samuel 21:10-15).

What David went through can happen to anyone who is on a leadership journey. There are times that you might achieve something remarkable while you are pursuing your dreams. That achievement may not be your ultimate goal. It may be a temporary promotion. But because the achievement is outstanding, the people around you might get excited about it and then celebrate you prematurely. Their celebration may be too loud and early. It might be at a time you are unprepared for the attention it will bring. Those who celebrate you might innocently get you into trouble by drawing too much attention.

Their praises and recognition might attract enemies you didn’t know existed. It might also create enemies who didn’t know you existed. Because they feel threatened by your achievements they would all come out and do everything it takes to stop you from going further. This kind of situation can be tough. It can also distract you and even make you lose focus. Instead of continuing your journey, you might find yourself stuck, trying to survive or fight back. As a result, your ultimate goal may be on suspension. If you ever find yourself in that kind of state, do what David did. Stay close to God. God has a way of turning obstacles into stepping stones.

Prayer: Lord, turn my obstacles into stepping stones.

REFERENCES/FURTHER STUDY: 1 Samuel 18: 6-9; 1 Samuel 21:10-15;

Unless otherwise stated all scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version.

Written By Ben Dankaka

Meditation – Proverbs 16:3

I know you’ve been trying to succeed in a given area. Possibly, you want to succeed in your work, business or relationships. Deep inside of you, there’s a strong desire to make a difference. You’ve probably set some goals, hoping you would someday realize those goals. You strongly believe that by accomplishing your goals, you would be happy. I know this because, God created each of us that way. You might not be aware of it, but ever since you started doing things for yourself; you’ve been setting goals. You might not have written it on a piece of paper, but you’ve set goals in your mind even as a child. You might not have been serious with your dreams but somehow, you had hoped it would happen.

Like you, I have also set so many goals in my life, hoping I would be able to achieve them and become a better, happier person. But at times, things don’t turn out as we planned it. I have seen many people make plans that never came to fruition. Over the years, I have learned that setting goals do not guarantee success. You may set goals and spend all your time and energy working on it, and in the end, that goal may not materialize. Or there are times you may set goals and then succeed in realizing them, but just as you are about to celebrate, you may suddenly discover the goals shouldn’t have been set in the first place.

I have achieved certain goals that didn’t eventually give me the satisfaction I thought they would. I have seen people achieve goals, but in the end, the goals turned out to be useless. Do you know why that happens? The scripture says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” This message is repeated twice in the book of Proverbs. The importance of this message cannot be overemphasized. Many people fail in life, not because they didn’t set goals but for the reason that they set the wrong goals. They spend their entire lives pursuing the wrong thing. They never realize they are on the wrong path until they get to the end of their lives.

To avoid such mistakes, I implore you to always involve God as you set your goals. The Bible says, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purposes that prevails”. Another verse also says, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps”. Indeed, God has given us the right and the ability to make plans, but if we want those plans to be on the right path, we ought to seek God’s guidance because His purposes always prevail.

Prayer: Lord, direct my steps. Amen.

REFERENCES/FURTHER STUDY: Proverbs 14:12; 16:25; 19:21; 16:9

Unless otherwise stated all scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version.

Written By Ben Dankaka

Meditation – John 2:7

The rich man seemed to have everything. He was young and wealthy. Though he was religious, he felt there was something missing. When He met Jesus, he heard Him speak about the kingdom of God. He learned about eternal life – a life that would never end. This got his attention. He wanted to experience this everlasting life. So he asked Jesus; “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” At first, the response he got appeared to be simple. Jesus told him to obey the commandments of God. “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” The rich man said. Jesus looked at him and loved him then He asked the young man to sell everything he owed, help the poor with it and then follow Him.

Now the young man felt it was an impossible thing to do because he was so wealthy. He became terribly sad as he went away. One thing we can all learn from that story is that whomever Jesus loves, He calls. Mark 10:21 says, “Jesus looked at him and loved him.” While Jesus was on earth, He associated with a lot of people. He spoke to crowds, He went to people’s homes and dined, He healed many, but He only called and chose 12 people to follow Him. Jesus didn’t allow everyone to follow Him. One time, a teacher of the law said to Jesus, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” But Jesus discouraged him. On another occasion, a man whom Jesus had healed begged to follow Him, but Jesus declined.

I don’t know who this is for, but I want you to know that if Jesus is asking you to follow Him, it is because He loves you. If He is asking you to give up everything, don’t feel sad. Jesus is not trying to take away your life, He wants to refill it. When Jesus asked the rich man to sell everything he owed, He was not only trying to test his faith but was trying to empty the man’s past so he could refill it with the new life He was about to give him. While He was on earth, Jesus was more interested in empty bottles than in bottles that were already filled. He was more interested in those who didn’t know God.

Jesus said, it is not the healthy who needs a doctor but the sick. He also said, “no one pours new wine into old wineskins”. Rather, new wine is poured into new wineskins. Most times, by the time Jesus meets us, we are already filled up with the things of this world. We are already filled up with ideas and philosophies of the world. We are filled with doctrines and religious practices. So when He comes, He may have to empty us before using us. Whenever He wants to use any bottle that is already filled up, it has to be emptied before refilling it with the word of God.

Prayer: Lord, refill me with your word. Amen.

REFERENCES/FURTHER STUDY: Mark 10:21; John 2:7; Luke 9:57-62

Unless otherwise stated all scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version.

Written By Ben Dankaka

Meditation – Psalm 103:13

Generally, parents love their children. Anyone who is sensible and mentally stable will love his or her child without being told to do so. It doesn’t take training to love your own child. You don’t have to go to school in order to learn how to love your child. You may need some teaching on how to train your child, but when it comes to loving your child, nobody has to instruct you to do that. Because parents naturally love their children, they do whatever it takes to feed, cloth, educate and protect them. Children do not need to pay their parents before enjoying their love and affection. All they need to do is to stay in their presence and honor them. As long as children revere their parents, and hang around them, their food, clothing, education and protection is guaranteed.

When you recognize the role that parents play in the lives of their children, you will understand the role that God wants to play in your life. The scriptures say that “as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him”. That is, as parents love their children, God also love those who “fear” Him. To fear God, means to revere Him. Like in the case of parenting, when we revere God and stay in His presence, He will surely feed, cloth, educate and protect us. Just as our parents father us, God also wants to father us.

The relationship between parents and their children; and God’s relationship with us, is similar because of the way God created man. When God created Adam, it was with a combination of His Spirit and the dust of the ground, which forms our body. Ever since, man has been in partnership with God multiplying that body while God delivers the spirit in the body. So while we are related to our parents because of our body, our bond with God is due to our spirit. For that reason, every human has an earthly father and a heavenly Father. This is why God and parents play similar roles.

But while we can compare earthly fathering with God’s fathering, it is important for us to know that God’s love for us is greater than the love of our earthly parents. This is so because we are not earthly beings, we are in fact, spirit beings. It is the spirit that makes the man and not the body. For it was only when God breath His Spirit into the earth body that it became a living being. Unlike our parent’s love, God’s love is eternal. God himself said through Isaiah, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” Know this: God loves you.

Prayer: Lord, thank you loving me. Amen.

REFERENCES/FURTHER STUDY: Psalm 8:13; Genesis 2:7; Isaiah 49:15

Unless otherwise stated all scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version.

Written By Ben Dankaka

Meditation – Luke 2:46

In my leadership class, I often teach five leadership principles. They are; vision, intelligence, passion, courage and integrity. These are proven leadership principles that have been used by every great leader in the Bible, including the ones in the secular world. These leadership principles do not operate independently. They are dependent of each other. In fact, they work in a sequential order. To effectively use the principles, you must use the principles as if you are climbing a ladder, beginning with vision. Of the five leadership principles, I encourage my students to spend more time and energy on intelligence.

The intelligence stage is the point at which you do intelligence gathering. That is, it is the period when you have to study, learn and acquire all the information that is relevant to your vision. Without this process, you wouldn’t have the required tools for achieving your goals. For that reason, I advise my students to exercise patience while they are at the intelligence level so they can be fully prepared for the task ahead of them. The importance of preparation in any given endeavor cannot be overemphasized. Abraham Lincoln said, “I will study and prepare myself, and someday my chance will come.” This means, if you don’t get all the knowledge you need, you may not be ready when an opportunity comes your way.

Although He was God, Jesus subjected Himself to this principle. The Bible tells us that when Jesus was 12 years old, his parents temporarily lost Him because He went into a temple and spent three days, sitting among teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. When His parents found Him and complained, He said to them, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” Notice that Jesus wasn’t found in a farm or in a sheep pen. Instead, He was found in a temple – at the very place where He could get the information relevant to His divine assignment.

Later, we are told that Jesus grew in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:41-52). Since He grew in wisdom, Jesus must have spent His youthful years listening and getting ready for the task ahead of Him. In fact, He possibly spent over 18 years preparing Himself because we are told that Jesus didn’t begin His ministry until He was 30 years old. When you compare that period with the 3 years that He spent on His ministry, you will realize that He invested more time preparing Himself than in the actual work. No wonder, His townspeople were astonished when He taught at their synagogue. They said, “Where did this man get this wisdom?”(Matthew 13:54). What they didn’t know was that Jesus had adequately prepared Himself for that moment. Be like Jesus.

Prayer: Dear Lord, show me how to learn. Amen.

REFERENCES/FURTHER STUDY: Luke 2:41-52; Matthew 13:54

Unless otherwise stated all scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version.

Written By Ben Dankaka

Meditation – Jeremiah 10:12

One thing that is common about every human is the desire to be powerful. Trust me, you and I, have an innate desire to be powerful. Because we want to control others and our circumstances, we crave for power. The quest for power is what makes leaders dominate their followers. Also, almost every violent act is caused by a strong desire to have control through power. Interestingly, power on its own, isn’t a negative thing. It is how we acquire and use power that either makes it good or evil.

Actually, we don’t have to oppress or control other people before becoming powerful. Real power comes when you are able to create something or do something new, especially when it has to do with our purpose in life. When you create a product or service that is original, you will automatically feel powerful because you will be having control over it. So God wants you to have power but He doesn’t want that power to come as a result of the people you have oppressed. He wants your power to come through a technique that He himself set up.  

The Bible tells us that, “God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.”(Jeremiah 10:12). In other words, in creating the world, God revealed His power. But the power of God in creation didn’t come by oppressing anyone; it came through the use of His wisdom and understanding (Read Jeremiah 10:12, once again). This verse implies that understanding and wisdom are related to power. It also means that in order to create anything, understanding and wisdom have to be deployed. Again, this point is emphasized in Proverbs 3:19. We are told that “By wisdom the LORD laid the earth’s foundations; by understanding he set the heavens in place.”

Our God is a Creator whose power is known by the things He creates with His wisdom and understanding. His power didn’t come by oppressing anyone. He didn’t ask anyone to do the work of creation for Him. He did it by Himself, with His own wisdom and understanding. For that reason, He owns and controls the earth. If you want real power, you have to do what God did. Your creation may not necessarily be a tangible product; it could be a project or business. Just make sure it is original. But know that it will require your wisdom and understanding. It is the person with knowledge that can be powerful; not a domineering person. Knowledge is power.

Prayer: Lord, give me the wisdom to create. Amen.

REFERENCES/FURTHER STUDY: Jeremiah 10:12; Proverbs 3:19

Unless otherwise stated all scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version.

Written By Ben Dankaka

Meditation – Jeremiah 16: 21

Oftentimes, we fail to think of Jesus as a teacher. Yet He did more of teaching than anything else. According to Matthew, “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues,” In each of the gospels, we are told that Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues. At every time, if Jesus wasn’t teaching, He was preaching about the Kingdom of God. It is important to recognize Jesus as a teacher, who preached all the time. He made it clear to us that preaching was one of His main assignments. When Jesus declared His vision statement, He began by saying that the Holy Spirit had anointed Him to preach the good news. Even as Jesus went about doing good, He was always careful not to allow anyone or anything distract Him from performing this important task of teaching and preaching. In fact, Jesus once said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent” (Luke 5:43).

Throughout His ministry, Jesus spent most of His time teaching the disciples everything about God’s kingdom, including how to pray. His teachings were so important to Him that He once said, “He who does not love me will not obey my teaching.” In other words, the only way to love Jesus is by obeying His teaching. At the end of His ministry, Jesus said to His Father, “I have given them your word…” To ensure that His teaching ministry continued, Jesus promised that He would send the Holy Spirit, who would also teach us all things and will remind us of everything He taught us. This time, He assured us that the Counselor would remain with us forever, teaching us the truth.

I want you to know that God wants to be your teacher. In the book of Jeremiah, God said, “I will teach them —this time I will teach them, my power and might.” If there’s any teaching that can make you great and powerful, it is the teaching that comes from God. A teacher can only teach what he knows. Therefore, a student can only be as great as the one who teaches him. If you want to be like Jesus, go to Him and He would teach you. Jesus Christ himself said, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.” So don’t waste your time trying to learn from people whose wisdom is a fabricated one. The wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. And there’s no one that can be wiser than their own Maker. Is there anything you want to learn, ask the Holy Spirit. He is the real Master Teacher.

Prayer: Lord, be my Teacher. Amen

REFERENCES/FURTHER STUDY: Matt 4:23; Matt 9:35; Luke 4:18; Luke 5:43; John 17:24; John 14:25; Jeremiah 16:21; 1 Corinthians 3:19

Unless otherwise stated all scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version.