ICGC Holy Ghost Temple

09/05/2026

LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil

Saturday 9th May 2026

THOSE WHO FEAR THE LORD

Scripture Reading: Psalm 15

> In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honours those who fear the LORD; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change; Psalm 15:4

To experience God’s presence at all times, we must align our actions with God’s expectations. When our ways please the Lord, we sense His presence in our lives. When our ways conflict with His ways, we sense a distance in our relationship with the Lord.

David tells us two more things to do to enjoy God’s presence.

- Honour what God honours. Many believers disqualify themselves from living in close fellowship with God because they admire or at least excuse the behaviour of ungodly people. Many times, the people we look up to and often seek to emulate are openly wicked.

In our current celebrity culture, many of us are fans of people who live in open rebellion against God. Some of the sports figures and celebrities we idolise proudly flaunt their sinfulness and perversion in the media.

As believers in Christ, we must honour people and things that honour God. We should not honour a vile person. The scriptures urge us to despise the evil behaviours before the Lord. If we wish to live in God’s presence, we should neither admire the wicked nor associate with them.

- Honour your words. God takes His words seriously. He made all things by His word. The second person in the Trinity is called the ‘Word of God’. Because of that God takes our words seriously. He judges or justifies us by the words we speak.

As flawed human beings, what are we to do when we sometimes make thoughtless or rash agreements, agreements that are more difficult to keep than we originally anticipated? If we want to honour God, our word should be our bond. That means we will keep our promises even if it inconveniences us.

The Lord expects us to keep our word – to Him, ourselves, our spouses, children or friends. However, there can be times when dire circumstances force us to break our word. In such situations, we have to be totally honest and upfront about the facts involved. We never have a license to lie.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to live in honour before you; to hate what you hate, and love what you love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

08/05/2026

LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil

Friday 8th May 2026

DON’T BACKBITE

Scripture Reading: Psalm 15

> He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbour Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; Psalm 15:3

Psalm 15 is a contemplation about the kind of person who experiences God’s presence at all times. Six of the Ten Commandments that express God’s holy, moral law are directed to our actions toward others. In today’s verse, the scriptures instruct on three things we must not do if we want to enjoy God’s presence in all that we do.

- Don’t backbite with your words. To backbite is to slander or tell a false story about someone when the person is not present. Literally, it is taking a bite at a person behind his back. God does not take kindly to anyone who slanders another. In some parts of the Bible, backbiters are listed alongside murderers and immoral people as the vilest of sinners. Those who delight in spreading or listening to tales about others will never know the delight of dwelling in God’s presence.

- Don’t do evil to a neighbour. Jesus clearly taught that loving our neighbours is second only to loving God. It is impossible to love God and hate your neighbour. If we love our neighbours, we will not sin against them in any way. However, it is not sufficient to merely refrain from taking action against someone. This also includes not wishing any ill will toward any individual. Remember, God knows our hearts, so our consciences must also be clear toward our neighbours.

- Don’t reproach your friend. The person who desires to dwell in God’s presence will say nothing that is even questionable about others. He or she is careful not to suggest anything that will bring reproach on another person. Quite the opposite, they will look for ways to edify others and to esteem others better than themselves.

The way we treat others, affects the way God treats us. When we forgive others, He forgives us; when we are merciful to others, He is merciful to us.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I yield my tongue to you. Use my words to bring life, healing and edification to others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

07/05/2026

07/05/2026

Worship that lifts hearts, praise that fills the atmosphere and anointing that brings strength, healing, and joy.

It’s always a spirit-filled time at the

Join us this afternoon at 12:00noon.

07/05/2026

LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil

Thursday 7th May 2026

HOW TO ENCOUNTER GOD

Scripture Reading: Psalm 15

> Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; Psalm 15:1–2

Many scholars believe David wrote Psalm 15 after he had brought the Ark of the Lord to the Tabernacle at Jerusalem.

David had a heart for God. He wanted to be in the presence of the Lord at all times. He knew that even the priests who ministered in the house of the Lord did not dwell there. They went to work in the holy place and went back to their homes. Yet, David yearned for something more than that. He wanted to live his life constantly in the presence of the Lord.

In this psalm, David asks two questions of the Lord.

- Who may abide in your tabernacle? The keyword in this question is the word ‘abide’. It is a word that is used to describe a traveller who finds a place to stay or rest on his journey. David might have seen his life as a journey and the tabernacle as the place to find rest on his journey. He was a weary traveller seeking rest for his soul.

- Who may dwell in your Holy hill? The keyword here is ‘dwell’. It is the word of a settler or a resident – one who belongs to or is part of the place they dwell. David did not just want to find rest in the house of the Lord. He wanted to belong to the house of the Lord.

David began to answer his two questions by setting out lifestyles that will enable us to experience the presence of God at all times.

* Walk uprightly. This refers to living a morally upright life.

* Work righteously. This refers to being just in the way we treat people.

- Speak truth in the heart. This refers to being honest with ourselves and to others.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I want to experience Your presence at all times. Help me to live a life that pleases you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

06/05/2026

LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil

Wednesday 6th May 2026

THE GENERATION OF THE RIGHTEOUS

Scripture Reading: Psalm 14

> Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And do not call on the Lord? There they are in great fear, for God is with the generation of the righteous. You shame the counsel of the poor, but the Lord is his refuge. Psalm 14:4–6

The passage describes some people as ‘workers of iniquity’. These are people who have dismissed God from their thoughts and as such act with impunity against their fellow human beings. Because such people live without the knowledge of God, there is no limit to the evils they can commit.

- They eat up the godly. Wicked people eagerly seek to devour those who serve the Lord. They pursue God’s people daily in the same way they eat their daily bread. Something about the righteous infuriates the ungodly even when the righteous person is living his life quietly.

- They shame the poor. The ungodly have no regard for those who do not have material wealth. They measure a person’s value by their wealth, rather than by their relationship with God. As such the ungodly seeks to belittle those who love the Lord and live a humble life. They consider such people losers.

- God is with the righteous. God’s view is opposite to that of the ungodly. The Lord knows those who are His. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. He is with us, when the world turns against us and ridicules our faith. He is with us when those who are highly educated belittle the simple faith of God’s people. God is with the righteous in all of our persecutions.

- God is our refuge. The Lord is our hiding place. In Him is our safety. In the end, the Lord will overturn the counsel of the godless.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, you are my safety against the ungodliness of our world. Overturn the counsel of the wicked. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

05/05/2026

When your spirit dominates your soul and your body, you become victorious in every area. The way to overcome the desires of the flesh is to walk in the Spirit, so you can subdue the lust of the body and soul. When you are being ruled by the flesh, you exhibit the works of the flesh. The only way to overcome the works of the flesh is to walk in the spirit.

05/05/2026

LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil

Tuesday 5th May 2026

GOD IS WATCHING

Scripture Reading: Psalm 14

> The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They have all turned aside; they have become corrupt together. None does good, not even one. Psalm 14:2–3

God is not absent from His creation. He watches what goes on in our world. The picture that the verse paints is that of the Lord sitting on His throne and leaning over the earth to examine what people are doing.

What does God lean over to see? He’s looking for people who have the presence of mind to seek Him. Literally, the Lord is looking for those who are not foolish enough to think that they are here on earth on their owns and can live anyhow.

What does God see? The Lord, sadly, sees that the people of the earth have turned their attention from Him. Left on their own, human beings want to live their lives without God. Though we are aware of Him, we want to live our lives without bothering about God, His laws and expectations.

The scriptures show us that every individual, beginning with Adam and Eve, has turned away from God. All of us have rejected God and His righteous law, and all have turned to walk in a different direction. Isaiah prophesied that “all we like sheep have gone astray and the Lord has laid on Him, the iniquity of us all. Consequently, we all stand guilty before Him.

That is the reason why Christ came. God had to come to us because we were far away from Him. Through His death and resurrection, the Lord Jesus offered His life to us. He clothed us in His righteousness. As such when God looks at believers now, He sees us in Christ and not in ourselves. And in Christ, God sees us as righteous and accepted.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, have mercy on our world. Touch the hearts of all who have turned away from you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

04/05/2026

If we continue to walk in the works of the flesh, we cannot inherit the kingdom of God. If you want to be on top, then let your spirit dominate your flesh. If you love yourself and your neighbour, you will not engage in acts of the flesh that hurt you or others physically or emotionally.

04/05/2026

LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil

Monday 4th May 2026

THE FOOL’S MISTAKE

Scripture Reading: Psalm 14

> The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, none does good. Psalm 14:1

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘fool’ does not refer to low intelligence or education. Rather, it refers to a person who is morally depraved and has descended to the lowest of human behaviour – a person who is completely unconcerned about others. A highly educated person who is immoral and wicked would qualify as a fool in this passage.

• Has said in his heart. To say something in your heart is to convince yourself that something real is not real. The fool, therefore, convinces himself that something self-evident is not what it is; or a person who is wise in his own eyes.

• There is no God. The fool knows there is God yet seeks to convince himself that there is no God. There is no human being who honestly believes there’s no God. God’s presence is so clear in creation that it only takes a huge effort to deny His presence. At the core, every human being is aware of God even if they don’t acknowledge Him.

• They are corrupt. To corrupt something is to seek to use a good thing for a bad purpose. Those who convince themselves that there is no God turn out to be corrupt in their ways. Even when they are considered ‘good’ people, at heart, they are people who will endorse behaviour that is contrary to sound judgment.

Those who deny God, reject His word and His ways. They use the creation of God to serve their selfish purposes. They take things that God has created to serve a purpose and use those things to serve a different purpose.

We are seeing more and more of this attitude in our world. In all areas of life, people are turning their backs on God and overturning His laws. May the Lord help us to remain faithful to Him in all that we do.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I know you as my Creator and Lord. Help me not to turn my heart away from you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.