OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL-FRIDAY-01/04/2016-DIVINE ALTERNATIVE-BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE
DIVINE
ALTERNATIVE
Memorise
And Samuel said unto him,
The Lord hath rent the
Kingdom of Israel from thee
this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.
1st Samuel 15:28
Read
Acts 1:15-26,
15 And
in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the
number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)
16 Men
and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy
Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to
them that took Jesus.
17 For
he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.
18 Now
this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong,
he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
19 And
it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is
called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, the field of blood.
20 For
it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no
man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take.
21 Wherefore of these men which have companied
with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that
same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness
with us of his resurrection.
23 And
they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and
Matthias.
24 And
they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew
whether of these two thou hast chosen,
25 That
he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by
transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.
26 And
they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered
with the eleven apostles.
KJV
MESSAGE
Many
people do not know that God has alternatives for all His plans. This is why
they behave as if God exists at their mercy. Such people cannot be more wrong
in their perception of the Almighty God. The truth is that God cannot be held
to ransom on any issue or event. This is why He always provides alternatives
that are more often better than the original plan. Our memory verse for today
confirms this, as we read about how God saw David as a better alternative to
the first king of Israel, Saul. When a child of God becomes swollen-headed and
he begins to disobey God in matters that seem very little like tithing and
offering, first fruits and soul winning, he or she is on the way to being
replaced. My prayer for someone using this devotional is that you will not be
replaced in the scheme of divine projects in Jesus’ name.
In
the Bible reading for today, there is a great revelation of God’s foreknowledge
of all things and how this attribute makes Him provide alternatives beforehand.
The replacement of Judas Iscariot was predicted by the mouth of King David who
was also a prophet in his right. The implication of this revelation is that
before Judas Iscariot chose to be a betrayer which in turn disqualified him
among the twelve, God had planned an alternative for him! Another lesson we can
learn from this as children of God is that whenever a way seems blocked, God
has more than a thousand alternative ways to replace the blocked one. The Bible
says:
“And we know that all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose.”
Romans 8:28
Beloved,
learning from the story of King Saul and Judas Iscariot, we must be very
careful about the way we lead our lives, so that what happened to them does not
repeat itself in our lives, 1st Corinthians 10:6 says;
“Now these things were our examples, to the
intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.”
As I
was growing up in my father’s house, I leant to be obedient through the
experience of my elder brother with our disciplinarian father. My elder brother
was a very strong young man with a good physique, strength and wresting
prowess. Only a few young men among his contemporaries could dare challenge him
to a fight. However, the day our father disciplined my elder brother and this
so called ‘hero’ cried like a baby, I decided never to do anything that would
make our father think of punishing me. God has alternatives to any child of His
that is not law-abiding. Let us therefore beware of doing things that will make
God replace us with someone else.
Prayer Point
Father, help me never to do that which will make you
replace me in Your Kingdom.
Bible in one year
1st Samuel 3-5, Proverbs 3:13-27
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