ICGC Karmiel Temple

26/05/2026

God Has Ordained Strength || WORD TO GO with Pastor Mensa Otabil Episod 2210

26/05/2026

LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil

Tuesday 26th May 2026

GOD HAS ORDAINED STRENGTH

Scripture Reading: Psalm 8

"Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger." Psalm 8:2

If David wrote this Psalm after defeating Goliath, this verse shows us how he saw himself and the Philistine champion.

David saw himself as a ‘babe’ and a ‘nursing infant’. Babies and nursing infants are not mature enough to speak clearly. They are weak and unable to walk by themselves, much less to fight an accomplished warrior.

- God ordains strength out of babies. God is so powerful that He uses powerless people to demonstrate His power.

He uses the weak things that are surrendered to Him, to showcase His power. The Lord is perfect and does not need to use people who already feel accomplished in themselves.

David recognized that he was a ‘nursing infant’ whom God had raised to bring down a boastful giant. He knew that his victory over Goliath was the Lord’s victory. God used an untested teenager to take out a battle-tested champion.

- God silences those who speak boastfully. Goliath presented himself before Israel for forty days. Each day, he came out of the Philistine camp and roared against God’s people. For forty days, Goliath spoke arrogantly and defied God and the armies of Israel. He challenged Israel to elect one person to fight him.

At the height of Goliath’s hubris, God inspired a young shepherd boy to stand for the name of the Lord. With simple weapons, David shut up Goliath’s mouth. God used the mouth of a ‘babe’ to shut the mouth of a roaring colossus. Our God uses the words of the weak to silence the powerful.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, you do mighty things through feeble vessels. Take my life and use it for your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

25/05/2026

God’s Name Is Excellent || WORD TO GO with Pastor Mensa Otabil Episod 2209

25/05/2026

LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil

Monday 25th May 2026

GOD’S NAME IS EXCELLENT

Scripture Reading: Psalm 8

"O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens!" Psalm 8:1

Psalm 8 is a celebratory Psalm. It is the first Psalm that introduces us to the sounds of joyful praise and adoration. Psalms 3 to 7 walk us through the valleys of lamentation and pleas for deliverance till we arrive at this Psalm that honours the place of man in God’s creation.

We cannot know for sure when David wrote the words of this Psalm. However, some scholars suggest that David wrote this Psalm after he had slain Goliath. When we look at this Psalm from that perspective, we can see a youthful David overwhelmed by what the Lord had accomplished through him.

David begins the Psalm on an intimate and corporate note. He called the Lord, our Lord’. Though he was expressing his personal appreciation to the Lord, he was also speaking on behalf of the nation of Israel.

After declaring his relationship with the Lord, the Psalmist pays attention to God’s place in both heaven and earth.

· God’s name is excellent in all the earth. David begins the Psalm by extolling the name of the Lord. David defeated Goliath in the name of the Lord. He declares that God’s name is exalted above everything on our planet — the land, waters, atmosphere, people and the might of giants. The name of the Lord is higher than everything that rises against us.

· God’s glory is set above the heavens. The ‘heavens’ in this verse refers to both the observable creation and the unobserved creation – the entire span of the universe. God’s glory extends beyond the universe. David praised the Lord for the extent and reach of His glory.

The name of the Lord gives us victory. When God gives us victory, we must give Him the glory that is His alone.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, your glory fills all of creation. I declare that your name excels all thrones, dominions, and powers. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

24/05/2026

The Lord Our Peace || WORD TO GO with Pastor Mensa Otabil Episod 2208

24/05/2026

24/05/2026

LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil

Sunday 24th May 2026

THE LORD OUR PEACE

Scripture Reading: Judges 6

"Then the Lord said to him, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it The-Lord-Is-Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites." Judges 6:23-24

The Lord is our peace - Jehovah (YHWH) Shalom. That is the name Gideon gave to the altar he built when the angel of the Lord came to give him orders to fight the Midianites. Interesting, isn’t it? The angel of the Lord spoke to Gideon about war, yet Gideon called the commemorative altar, The Lord is peace.

Why did Gideon call the altar peace when the Lord spoke to him about war? Gideon did not erect the altar because of war. He built the altar because the Lord said to him, ‘peace be with you.” Gideon was afraid he was going to die for seeing the angel of the Lord. He had grown up in a culture where seeing God was not a good thing.

What does Jehovah Shalom mean?

· God’s peace removes our fears. When God extends His peace to us, He takes away all of our fears. God is not at war with us. He does not want us to relate to Him in terror.

· God’s peace offers us life. The Lord spoke peace to Gideon and promised him, ‘you shall not die.” The life God gives us is more than just staying alive. It includes wholeness and wellness in our spirits, minds and bodies.

· God’s peace makes us win. Gideon led an army of 300 people to defeat a Midianite army of 135,000 soldiers. He won with little against so much. The Lord is able to subdue every situation that rises against our peace.

As we serve and worship the Lord, His peace becomes our portion.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, you are my peace. Thank you for the blessings of life, health and prosperity. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

23/05/2026

The Lord Is There || WORD TO GO with Pastor Mensa Otabil Episod 2207

23/05/2026

LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil

Saturday 23rd May 2026

THE LORD IS THERE

Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 48

"All the way around shall be eighteen thousand cubits; and the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE." Ezekiel 48:35

Our passage for today is the last verse in the book of Ezekiel. It concludes the revelations that the Lord gave the prophet Ezekiel. In this concluding part of the message he had received from the Lord, Ezekiel speaks about the City of God.

The remarkable thing about the vision of the City of God that Ezekiel saw was how the city would be called – The Lord is There, Jehovah (YHWH) Shammah. The name shows us a significant aspect of God’s nature – He is always present. The Lord is generally present everywhere, but the essence of Ezekiel’s vision is the special presence of God in our lives that makes a difference in us.

What does Jehovah Shammah mean to us?

· The Lord is always present with His people. When God’s people draw near to Him, He draws near to them. Throughout the scriptures the Lord assures us of His presence in all situations. He was with Moses in the burning bush, Samuel in the Temple and with Paul and Silas in prison. When we feel all alone, the Lord is with us, and when we are in the midst of friends, He is with us.

· The Lord is present where His name is honoured. He is present in our midst when we gather in His name. Whether in church as we praise and worship Him or at home during family devotion, the Lord, true to His name, has promised to be there. When we stand with the Lord, He stands with us. Joseph stood with the Lord against the temptations of Potiphar’s wife; and the Lord lifted him up to a place of honour.

· The Lord’s presence is our dwelling place. The presence of the Lord is our secret place. In His presence, we live and move and have our being. We go to bed with Him and wake up with Him. Our safety is in the presence of the Lord. It is worthwhile to learn to abide in His presence.

The Lord is present with us.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, you are present with me at all times. I take refuge in you; manifest your glory through me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

22/05/2026

The Lord Our Righteousness || WORD TO GO with Pastor Mensa Otabil Episod 2206

22/05/2026

LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil

Friday 22nd May 2026

THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 23:1-8

"In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." Jeremiah 23:6

This passage from Jeremiah chapter 23 is a part of a Messianic prophecy about the future rule of the ‘Righteous Branch of David’ – Jesus Christ. This prophecy also introduces us to a name of God ‘The Lord our Righteousness’ – Jehovah (YHWH) Tsidkenu.

Under the Law, people hoped to become righteous by observing all of its requirements. However, this prophecy from Jeremiah noted that in the days of Jesus Christ, the Lord would be our Righteousness. That means our righteousness would not come from ourselves but from the Lord.

What does it mean when we say the Lord is our Righteousness?

· The Lord is Righteous. That is His nature. Everything He does is right and He is right at all times. There has never been and there will never be a moment in which God does something wrong. The Lord is just in all His dealings with us. This is a comforting truth – that in all our dealings with Him, we can trust Him to do what is just and right every time.

· The Lord determines what is Righteous. He sets the standards for what is right and wrong. We live in an era where right and wrong have been made subjective and relative to the individual. But it is God – not a man, not a group nor an institution - that determines what is right from what is wrong in the world.

· The Lord makes us Righteous. In Christ, God reached out to us to make us righteous. Christ became sin for us and gave us His righteousness. We can by no human effort attain a right standing with God. We only become righteous when we believe in what Christ has done for us.

The Lord our Righteousness is another of God’s gracious revelations of Himself to us. May it inform you how to relate with Him.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, You are Righteous in all Your ways. Thank you for bringing me into the right relationship with you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.