Stella Church of God

Stella Church of God The Stella Church of God family strives to make you feel welcome wherever you are on your faith journey.

Whether you've been in church your whole life or you're thinking of making your first visit, there's a place for you.

09/06/2026

For the first time in its history, the Church of God has a reported membership of over 10 million, at 10,503,366.

“This is a significant milestone for our church and verifies the growth taking place around the globe,” stated General Overseer Gary Lewis.

09/06/2026

September 6
"Awakening Prayer"
Part 1
Text: 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (KJV)
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds ;)

Devotional Thought:
In 1979, I prayed a sinner's prayer in a storefront church in Baltimore City, Maryland. How could God get through to me when my parents never told me how to be born again? My Pentecostal great-grandmother was praying for me. Plain and simple, I had a spiritual awakening because someone stood in the gap and did battle in the unseen world!

Paul the apostle explains how the "weapon of prayer" is effective in praying for the awakening of lost people. And why is this text (and subject) so important? Three reasons:

1. There is the "Warfare" of Prayer!
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh" (v.3, KJV).
This means that we are not in conflict with natural forces (people). We are in a conflict against spiritual forces. Remember, Satan was once the chief angel, the anointed cherub, and the star of the morning-all until he rebelled against his Creator and tried to usurp God's power and glory (Isaiah 14:12-17, Ezekiel 28:1-10, Revelation 12:7-9). This evil one is identified as the ruler of demons, ruler of this world, prince of the power of the air, dragon, roaring lion, vile one, tempter, accuser of the brethren, and the spirit working in the sons of disobedience. He is called "Satan", which means adversary, 52 times in Scripture. He is called "the devil", which means slanderer, 35 times. This fallen archangel and his fallen angels (called demons) are the enemy. We see this enemy clearly in Scripture:

• Opposing God's work (Zechariah 3:1)
• Perverting God's word (Matthew 4:6).
• Hindering God's servant (I Thess. 2:18).
• Snaring the wicked (I Timothy 3:7).
• Appearing as an angel of light (II Cor. 11:14).
• Fighting with the archangel Michael (Jude 9).
• Hindering the Gospel (II Cor. 4:4).

The enemy in this warfare is exposed in Scripture:
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12, KJV).
1. Principalities (archas) means: "rulers" or a high order of demons.
2. Powers (exousias) means: "authorities" of another rank.
3. Rulers of darkness (kosmokratoras) means rulers in the dark world, possibly demons who have infiltrated various political systems of the world.
4. Spiritual wickedness in high places (pneumatika) means highly organized and structured armies of demons that promote the most vile and wretched immoralities.

What is My Take-A-Way from Exposing the Real Enemy?
We are wasting our time battling against people; the real enemy who controls and uses people to oppose God's work is in the unseen world!

09/05/2026

September 5
"The Awakening Under Hezekiah"
Part 2

Text: 2 Chronicles 29:15 (NIV)
15 When they had assembled their brothers and consecrated themselves, they went in to purify the temple of the LORD, as the king had ordered, following the word of the LORD.

Devotional Thought:
Yesterday, we discovered the situation that Hezekiah found himself in. It was a context that desperately needed a spiritual awakening. The temple doors were closed, the lamps were out, the altar was cold, and the sacrifice was missing. God was simply waiting for His people to take their faith seriously, draw close to Him, and prepare their hearts for restoration and reformation. I love how God records the people's response to Hezekiah's preaching. Notice:
2. The "Sifting" of Revival (v.12-19)
What was the command of Hezekiah? It was as clear as the noon-day sun: "Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your fathers. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary" (v.5). Hezekiah responded with deep conviction and a call for repentance. He did not look for a shallow response or verbal promises. All he wanted was to see the people's hearts prepared for the manifestation of God's presence. And how did the people respond?
''When they had assembled their brothers and consecrated themselves, they went in to purify the temple of the Lord, as the King had ordered, following the Word of the Lord" (v.15).

What happened next in (v.16)? I love this:
• The priests went into the inner part of the sanctuary.
• The priests went out to carry out all of the rubbish.

In other words, there had to be a holy place for God to dwell in and be comfortable. And I must let God go into the inner parts of my heart as well. I must then take action and get rid of everything that pollutes and defiles His presence in me. Is it worth the effort? The rubbish was dumped in the Kidron Valley, never to come back in again. It was forgiven by God because: ''We have purified the entire temple of the Lord" (v.18).
What happens when we cleanse ourselves from everything questionable?
A victorious celebration takes place. It is...
3. The "Song" of Revival (v.20-36)
"Singing to the Lord began also" (v.27).
"The whole assembly bowed in worship, while the singers sang, and the trumpets played" (v.28).
"They sang praises with gladness" (v.30).
Why was there so much joy? Because:
• The sin offering was celebrating the receiving of total forgiveness from God.
• The burnt offering was celebrating the people being totally consumed by God.
• The thank offering was the people's response to God because deep repentance brings holy joy.

"All the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for His people" (v.36).

My Take-A-Way:
When your sins are forgiven by the blood of Jesus, your heart will be filled with gladness beyond measure!

09/04/2026

September 4
"The Awakening Under Hezekiah"
Part 1

Text: 2 Chronicles 29:35-36 (NIV)
35 There were burnt offerings in abundance, together with the fat of the fellowship offerings and the drink offerings that accompanied the burnt offerings. So, the service of the temple of the LORD was reestablished.
36 Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people because it was done so quickly.

Devotional Thought:
Second Chronicles records five Great Awakenings for us to learn from:
• Under King Asa, chapter 15.
• Under King Jehoshaphat, chapter 17.
• Under King Joash, chapter 23.
• Under King Hezekiah, chapters 29-32.
• Under King Josiah, chapters 34 and 35.

The setting of our text today is convicting as well as faith-producing. It shows us how God can prepare our hearts for spiritual renewal. The second Chronicles is addressed to the Jewish people who returned from the 70 years of captivity. Ezra records the revival 430 years before Christ. It is a detailed account of Judah’s spiritual journey and how negligence and apostasy turned into a spiritual reformation. It shows us what God can do when we are hungry and open to the Holy Spirit. Notice the process and progress that God gives us:

1. The "Signal" of Revival (v.1-11).
"They also shut the doors of the portico and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense or present any burnt offerings at the sanctuary to the God of Israel" (v.7).

Look at the signals that God was about to do something:
• The doors were closed (v.7) means: There was no access to God in the Temple, and there was no service by the people for God. Tons of potential was simply put "on hold".
• The lamps were out (v.7) means: There was no oil burning, so you could not see the showbread on the table (which speaks of Jesus).
• The altar was cold (v.7) means that the incense that was symbolic of prayer rising to God was vacant and absent.
• The sacrifice was missing (v.7) means that the burnt offering, which was the consuming of the entire animal sacrifice, had ended. This sacrifice symbolizes the entire consecration of the people unto the Lord. It was a picture of total surrender. How does all of this relate to you and me?
1. Like closed doors, maybe you feel like you are disconnected from God and access to Him has been lost.
2. Like lamps out, maybe the oil and flame in your heart need to be rekindled.
3. Like the cold altar, maybe your life of prayer (incense) rising from your heart has been neglected.
4. Like the sacrifice, maybe you are holding back and afraid to surrender to the Lord.

My Take-A-Way:
Just as God wanted to reestablish spiritual life for Hezekiah, so God wants to reestablish the passion and fire in YOUR heart once again!

09/03/2026

September 3
"The Ahava Awakening"
Part 3
Text: Ezra 8:31 (NIV)
31 On the twelfth day of the first month, we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he protected us from enemies and bandits along the way.

Devotional Thought:
Thus far, we have seen two major pieces of this Ahava activity. We have documented the neglect and the prayers of God's people. Today, notice God's favor and forgiveness He offers you and me.

3. The Ahava River Reveals God's "Favor and Forgiveness".
"So, we arrived in Jerusalem, where we rested three days" (v.32).

Here we discover that confidence in God is vindicated. Why did the Jews make it safely home? Because God's favor was upon them! Why was God's favor upon them? Because God is gracious and responds when we align our hearts with Him. What is the lesson today? Our battles are not fought and won with fleshly means; they are won in the secret place of devotion, intercession, and faith in God's ability to intervene. Remember, friend, it is not the level of your faith; it is the object of your faith - Jesus! And if you feel that you do not deserve answers to prayer, take heart and remember this:

Then the exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven male lambs, and as a sin offering, twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord" (v.35).

Why did the Jews worship this way? Because in the sacrifices, Israel was confessing and acknowledging their sin before God. They were acknowledging that only a blood covering could atone for their sin. They agreed with God that the only way to find forgiveness was through the sacrifice of another. And every animal sacrifice was a type or a foreshadowing of the Lamb of God to come. It means that Jesus has become your sin offering, and forgiveness flows from His heart today. So, if you entertain the thought of, ''I do not deserve for God to hear me in prayer", then join the rest of us in obtaining God's favor and forgiveness:

• No one can earn God's favor and pardon!
• No one can stand in prayer on their own merits!
• No one can trust in their work and goodness!
• No one can depend on their behavior to have an audience with God!

Our only hope to obtain God's favor and forgiveness is to look away from ourselves and trust in the good news of the gospel! Only Jesus and His sacrifice can give us access and entrance to our wonderful God!

My Take-A-Way:
Ahava's message to you is this: trust in the sacrifice of Jesus, and you will stop trusting in your performance, which can never be good enough to obtain the favor of God!

09/02/2026

September 2
"The Ahava Awakening"
Part 2
Text: Ezra 8:23 (NIV)
23 So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.

Devotional Thought:
Yesterday, we discovered the spiritual neglect of the Levites who remained in Babylon despite having permission to travel back to Jerusalem. Today, we will witness a remarkable answer to prayer, revealing once again how prayer aligns us with God's will. Notice the intervention of God in prayer:

2. The Ahava River Reveals "Faith and Prayer!”
"I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road" (v.22).

Why was Ezra ashamed to ask the king for an es**rt of soldiers through enemy territory? Because he had gone out on a limb and said that God would take care of his children. Ezra told the king what God wants you to hear today as well (v.22):

• God is interested in what touches your life!
• God is gracious in his dealing with you!
• God is faithful to those who look to him!

So, what did Ezra do that speaks to you and me?
"There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey" (v.21).
"So, we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer" (v.23).

Ezra was about to return to Jerusalem and embark on a dangerous trip. He was ashamed to rely on the earthly king. Yet, he believed in the power of fasting and prayer to deliver him from enemy traps. Ezra flat-out teaches us how to pray:

• We pray and fast with humility!
'We might humble ourselves before our God" (v.21). This means to acknowledge our total dependence upon God in prayer.

• We pray and fast with confidence!
"And ask him for a safe journey’ (v.21)
Ezra prayed for a prosperous journey, one of protection from the schemes of the enemy. He was confident that God would hear and answer his petition.

• We pray and fast with earnestness!
"So, we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer'' (v.23). Ezra was earnest in doing battle God's way! He won the battle in private before he went out in public. He teaches us that if we prostrate ourselves before the Lord, we will not be prostrated before the enemy.

My Take-A-Way:
Ezra teaches us that prayer is cooperating with God to see God's will done on earth!

09/01/2026

September 1
"The Ahava Awakening"
Part 1
Text: Ezra 8:22 (NIV)
22 I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, "The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him."

Devotional Thought:
As a pastor, I always loved September. Most vacations were over, people returned from summer camps, kids were back in school, and church life seemed to "pick up" a step. Each September, we began a new mid-week series, and Sundays emphasized renewal, revival, and spiritual awakening! For that reason, the next few devotionals will share the messages we saw the Lord use to draw people to Himself. Since the Word of God is timeless, we pray that the Holy Spirit uses His truth to gain new ground in your heart and mine. We begin in Ahava:

Ezra 8 has a remarkable setting and message for us. Ezra, a priest, comes along at a critical time in history. In 606 B.C., the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem and deported many Jews. They destroyed the city, then the temple, in 587 B.C. In 538 B.C., King Cyrus of Persia granted permission for the Jews to return to their land. Nearly 50,000 Jews returned under the leadership of Zerubbabel (Ezra 1-6) to rebuild their temple. There was opposition, and the project was stopped in Ezra 4 (an interruption for a brief season). In Ezra 5 and 6, the rebuilding resumed under the preaching of Haggai and Zechariah (prophets of encouragement). In Ezra 7 and 8, Ezra will go to Jerusalem in 458 B.C with about 2,000 Jews to serve in the temple ministry. He will lead this second group of exiles back to Jerusalem. But there is just one problem. In Ezra 8:15, Ezra gathers the people on the banks of the Ahava River. He wonders, thinks, and contemplates how he will make the long journey from Babylon to Jerusalem. How will he get the wives, children, and sacred vessels back to the temple? How will he ever see the return, the revival, and the restoration of God's glory? And the river actively speaks three things loud and clear to us today:

1. The Ahava River Reveals "Coldness and Neglect"!
''When I checked among the people and the priests, I found no Levites there" (Ezra 8:15).
After gathering at the river and resting for three days, Ezra discovered a deficiency; there were no Levites except those who were priests. In other words, the very ones who were the most eager to return to Jerusalem were missing. Why? Because they found a more comfortable way of life in Babylon while "on hold” in captivity. Many of the Jews had become wealthy in captivity. Archaeologists have discovered that the Jews (formerly a nation of farmers) had become a nation of shopkeepers and businesspeople while in Babylon. These Levites would trade the comfort and riches in Babylon for the rebuilding process back in the Promised Land. Why such a failure?

1. The Jews had received permission to return home to the priesthood, altar, temple, and manifest presence of God, but were found among the missing!
2. These same Levites who refused to make the pilgrimage journey sent treasures instead. In other words, ''You can have my money, God, but not my heart".

The sadness is that the Levites missed their opportunity to be a part of a spiritual awakening. The coldness of heart and avoidance of sacrifice kept them behind in Babylon.

My Take-A-Way:
God has so much more for all of us, yet it is possible to be deceived into remaining snug where we are!

08/31/2026

August 31
"Overcoming The Silent Killer of Envy"
Part 2
Text: James 3:16-17 (NIV)
16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

Devotional Thought:
Yesterday, we learned that envy is the pain you feel when someone else has something that you want. We also learned that envy is fueled (or caused) by three things:
• Envy is bitter or empowered by an embittered and resentful heart.
• Envy is self-seeking or fueled by a self-seeking heart that results in strife and friction.
• Envy is boastful or rooted in pride that wants to advertise its importance.

Today, we will see the cure for envy, how to live to advance others instead of ourselves, and what kind of wisdom produces a healthy heart that is envy-free. It is found in seven words that James says are "the wisdom that comes from heaven" (James 3:17). This wisdom that defeats envy is:

1. "Pure"
The word "pure” means free from defilement, without mixture, and integrity of heart. It is the quality of the heart that provides the foundation for all others.

2. "Peace-loving"
This means: to bind or weave together. It means that a healthy person reconciles people, does not defile evil reports, and never sows discord.

3. "Gentle''
The word "gentle" means courteous, considerate, and patient. It is the opposite of criticism, censorship, and harshness. It speaks of a person who interacts with respect, not out of anger.

4. "Submissive"
This word means: teachable, willing to listen, and someone who welcomes input and advice. It is the opposite of stubborn and rigid. It is open to suggestions and is easy to be entreated.

5. "Merciful"
This word means: to offer compassion with feelings of affection and kindness. This is a person who understands how merciful God has been to them.

6. "Impartial"
The words "without partiality" mean: to show no favoritism or prejudice. It means to offer help to others without being influenced by their dress, position, title, or rank.

7. "Sincere"
This word means: To be transparent, without hypocrisy, and free from play-acting or wearing a mask. This wisdom from above never tries to deceive people!
This wisdom is what protects us from envy, insincerity, and hype.

My Take-A-Way:
Envy that produces strife and tension never needs to be, because the Jesus that lives in you will never fight with the Jesus that lives in me!

08/30/2026

Drawing Near to God - Part 1
Dr. Richard Skinner

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