TODAY’S DEVOTION (Friday 7TH January 2022)
“But life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus-the work of telling others the Good News about God’s mighty kindness and love.” Acts 20:24 TLB
WELCOME TO THE 7TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF AMAZING GRACE
The LORD God of Heaven and EARTH has given is another day in this new set of Days. It’s been peaceful and glorious so far and we are blessed to know that our God is mighty to save and deliver.
We are confident in Him that His gracious power and amazing love will not forsake us. Yes, His amazing Grace will ever remain with us, taking is through each day. We have a God who keeps His promises and are rest assured that we are covered, even as we spend our days building our lives around His presence.
If Jesus tarries and we all finish our course, it will be great if we are not remembered as great apostles, prophets, authors, teachers or spiritual giants or fathers. Such blessed memories may be good, but it is more important to be remembered as men and women who spent their days building their lives around God’s presence, and doing His blessed will.
That for me will be the best memory. The Bible says,
“The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot.” Proverbs 10:7 NKJV
God does not want us to leave legacies of rottenness. Not at all! He wants us to leave legacies of righteousness on the face of the earth.
He wants our light to keep shining even long after we are gone like that of our Bible fathers. Can you imagine how many thousand years it has been since our father Abraham breathed his last; yet he is still alive. That is the Kind of light the LORD wants is to keep shining ling after we are gone.
It is our name, nature or reputation that determines the legacy we leave behind after fulfilling your days. That I why we must spend our days building our lives around the active presence of the LORD. People who spend there days in God’s active presence will end up leaving a legacy of righteousness on the face of the earth. It is those who do not that leave legacies of rottenness.
CAN WE ALL MAKE UP OUR MINDS TO BE REMEMBERED AS A MEN WHO BUILT THEIR LIVES AROUND GOD’S PRESENCE?
Friend, that is the goal we should pursue every day: we should not seek titles of becoming important by man’s definition. We should seek to build our live around God’s presence.
God is looking for friends who will build their lives around His person, His Word, and Spirit. He said in His word “Friendship with the world is enmity against God.” In other words, building our lives around the systems of this world or its spirit makes us enemies of GOD.
Sadly, so many have built their lives around the spirit of this world, making themselves enemies of God. We provoke God dangerously to Jealousy when we make anything that is not Him our friend. We provoke Him to jealousy when we build our lives around things that are not His.
When we build our lives around exalted things or personalities instead of God, He withdraws from us. And if God withdraws from you, it does not matter who is with you. Things will just be falling apart in your life, ministry, career, family, or business.
We must understand that building our lives around God is the first assignment assigned to us as followers of Jesus Christ. The second is telling others about the redemption Jesus brought, teaching them to be established in it or supporting those who do. That is why we have churches and gospel ministries. But until we have fulfilled the first, we will not be able to fulfill the second effectively.
You must understand that we are called to build our lives around god not around people. Our devotional text made it clear that our lives will worth nothing except we spend it doing the things assigned to us by the LORD Jesus; the first is building our lives around God’s presence or anything that inhabits Him.
People who spend their lives doing the first we end up doing the second, and very effectively.
NOW, TALKING ABOUT THINGS THAT INHABIT GOD, MOST PEOPLE TODAY BUILD THEIR LIVES AROUND THINGS THAT DO NOT INHABIT GOD.
They build their lives around ungodly friends, drinking spots, night clubs, alcohol, and hell invoking music. They hang around people, places, and things that inhabit hell. Samson was one man who hanged around a person that inhabits hell and ended lost his precious life abruptly.
Solomon was another Old Testament saint who built his life around people, places and things that inhabits no active presence of God, after building the temple. He ended up describing the result as vanity. If you build your life around things that do not inhabit God’s active presence, you will end up with a piece of vanity for a life.
Friendship with the world is building your life around things that do not inhabit God’s active presence. Whatever does not inhabit God’s active presence, inhabits the spirit of hell. Anything that inhabits something other than God’s active presence will destroy you.
I understand that some of the precious souls who died last few years back in the Paris terror attacks were hanging around a music that inhabited hell. This is not a religious make up. They were literally singing to the devil when they died. What a tragedy!
What you build your life around is what determines what hangs around you even in death. Elisha built his life around God; I mean, all His life. When He died God hanged around Him. One day they dropped a dead body in his grave, and the man came back to life (2 Kings 13:20-21).
Even in death, Elisha still raised the dead because built his life around God in his life time. Truly, it is what you build your life around in this life that that determines your eternal destiny.
Sadly, the world hates people who build their lives around God, and love those who build their lives around other things. More sadly, the same virus has hit the present Church. When men carry the true word and the true God in their loins, we shut our doors against them, labeling them with unprintable names and casting them out of our sights. But there is a remnant that has not ceased praying these precious words to the ears of Jesus;
“LORD, teach us to desire you above riches and treasures of this world. Teach us to hang around you and not around what men promote and exalt.”
“Re-arrange our passions, refine our motives, and kill our carnal desires. Help us to hunger and thirst after you and not after things.”
“Please, do not allow the enemy to steal our hearts and keep us connected to hell. Seal our hearts with the seals of your Holy Spirit in Jesus precious name. AMEN!!”
BUILD YOUR LIFE AROUND GOD BOTH IN BAD TIMES OR GOOD TIMES.
Serve Him in deep and true fellowship no matter what may be going on in your life. The life of David taught us that if we build our lives around God over time, especially in seasons described as “the hour of the power of satan,” any evil hanging around us will be forced to depart.
I see God will using these words to give you an inheritance among they that are sanctified. AMEN!!
“As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, “Where is your God?” Psalm 42:1-3 NKJV