WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
SEPTEMBER 23, 2024
TOPIC: EXERCISE GODLY INFLUENCE
BY T. O. BANSO
“For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him” (Genesis 18:19 New International Version).
Ecclesiastes 10:1a says dead flies make the perfumer’s oil give out an evil smell. This tells us the power of influence. You can be a godly influence or an evil influence on others. The choice is yours. When 1 Corinthians 15:33 says evil company corrupts good habits, it’s talking about influence. Also, Proverbs 27:17 says as iron sharpens iron, a friend sharpens a friend. That’s influence.
What type of influence are you on others? Will people’s association with you make them wise or destroy them? “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed” (Proverbs 13:20 New King James Version).
Everybody has spheres of influence from family to friends, associates, colleagues, neighbours, employees, clients, and others. You can influence them by your examples, choices, actions, words, etc. Be conscious of all this. Make up your mind to be a godly influence on others, not an evil influence.
The Apostle Peter says, “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:11-12 New King James Version). You can influence people consciously or unconsciously. Exercise godly influence.
Both salt and light are agents of influence. The Bible compares the believer to them. “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:13-16 New King James Version).
Eve was not a godly influence on Adam to help him obey God’s command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). Genesis 3:6 says, “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate” (New King James Version). 1 Timothy 2:14 tells us that Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Although Satan did not deceive Adam but Eve, she influenced her husband negatively. Exercise godly influence on your spouse.
Ananias influenced his wife, Sapphira, that they should lie to deceive the Holy Spirit about the amount they sold their property. They brought the money to the apostles with the impression that it was the full amount of the property they sold. Acts 5:2 says, “He kept back part of the money for himself; his wife knew about this and agreed to it. But he brought the rest of the money and gave it to the apostles” (New Century Version).
Sapphira agreed to the deception. She shouldn’t have allowed her husband to influence her negatively. She should have refused that they should lie to the apostles, but she didn’t. She lied to Peter that the property was sold for the amount the husband had brought to the apostles not knowing that her husband had died for telling the same lie (verses 7-8).
They didn’t have to lie about the amount they sold the property. If, unlike others, they couldn’t give the apostles the full amount of money, they should have given what they could give. The worst that would happen was that the apostles would reject it. But that was unlikely because the apostles knew the Lord loved a cheerful giver, not a grumbling giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). He does not love a deceitful giver as the couple turned out to be. Unfortunately, the couple died the same day for lying to the Holy Spirit.
Don’t be an ungodly influence on your spouse. “For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David” (1 Kings 11:4 New King James Version). Solomon’s foreign wives were an evil influence on him in old age.
That was expected because he shouldn’t have married these foreign wives in the first instance. “But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites— from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.’ Solomon clung to these in love’” (1 Kings 11:1-2 New King James Version).
Exercise godly influence on your family, especially your children. Rebekah was not a godly influence on Jacob, her son, when she taught him how to lie and deceive his father, Isaac, to receive his blessing for Esau, the firstborn. Despite Jacob’s fear that his father might find out and curse him, his mother insisted he should deceive his father. “But his mother said to him, ‘Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me’” (Genesis 27:13 New King James Version). Compare this scripture with 2 Timothy 1:5. Paul says of Timothy, “I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you” (New Living Translation). That was a mother’s godly influence.
Also, Cornelius was a man who had a godly influence on his family and friends. Before Peter arrived from Joppa with the emissaries Cornelius had sent to him, he made sure his relatives and close friends were already seated in his house, awaiting Peter (Acts 10:24).
Because of the invitation that Cornelius extended to his relatives and close friends, they heard the message Peter preached, received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and were baptized in water as a mark of their salvation (verses 44-48). Cornelius exercised godly influence on his family members and close friends.
God is interested in your salvation and the salvation of your household or family and everyone you have a relationship with. Are you exercising a godly influence on them so they can be saved? Are you inviting them to church or Christian programmes where they can be saved? Are you praying for their salvation? Do you share the Word of God with them?
The Bible says Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and walked faithfully with God (Genesis 6:9). While all other souls on earth then were destroyed by the flood, Noah’s family members were saved because they listened to him to enter into the ark.
Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark and all came out after the flood (Genesis 7:13; 8:18). They were eight in all (1 Peter 3:20). Hebrews 11:7 says, “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith” (New King James Version).
God is interested in the salvation of your household. At Philippi, Lydia, a merchant of expensive purple cloth didn’t come to the Lord alone; she came with her household. When the Lord opened her heart, she accepted what Paul was saying and she and her household were baptized.
Acts 16:14-15 tells us her story: “Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.’ So she persuaded us” (New King James Version). Lydia must have made it possible for her household to hear and believe Paul’s message before they could be baptized along with her. Thus, Lydia exercised godly influence on her household.
A similar thing happened to the Jailor of Philippi. When he asked Paul and Silas what he must do to be saved, they replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:31 New King James Version). Paul and Silas shared the word of the Lord with him and his household. The jailor and his household were immediately baptized. They rejoiced because they believed in God (verses 31-34). The jailor exercised godly influence on his household by making them available to hear the message of salvation from Paul and Silas. They believed and were baptized along with the jailor.
Salvation is a personal decision but others can influence or facilitate the decision. Exercise godly influence on your family. Moses told the Israelites, “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7 New International Version). Parents must be a godly influence on their children by teaching them the Word of God, using all godly means.
God said concerning Abraham, “For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him” (Genesis 18:19 New International Version). Have a godly influence on your family.
Anywhere you are – home, school, workplace, church, association, political party, government, etc. – exercise godly influence. Function as God’s ambassador or representative (2 Corinthians 5:20). Paul told Titus, “Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us” (Titus 2:6-8 New International Version).
Exercise godly influence as a child of God – don’t imbibe worldly values, obey the Word of God, abide by the teachings of Christ, and uphold God’s standards. Exercise godly influence, knowing that one day you are going to give account to God (Romans 14:12; Hebrews 4:13).
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Holy Spirit, help me to exercise godly influence everywhere, starting from my family. I shall not fail God in Jesus’ name. I shall influence others for God and good. Father, as you expect of me, I shall be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org
