OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL-SUNDAY-10/04/2016-THE NEW MAN 1-BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE
Memorise
Therefore
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become
new. 2nd Corinthians 5:17
Read
Romans 12:1-2,
1 I
beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service.
2 And
be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your
mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of
God.
KJV
MESSAGE
One of the basic signs of redemption in the
life of a man is the newness of the life that he lives. This change of his
spiritual living standard is never covert; rather, it is always obvious. When
Zacchaeus, the publican, encountered Jesus in Jericho, his life never remained
the same. A notoriously corrupt tax collector said:
“Behold, Lord, the
half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man
by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.”
Luke 19:8
The memory verse for today corroborates the
story in the above quoted scripture. Indeed, if any man be in Christ, he is a
new creature; old things must pass away. Today, it is a different ball-game;
people seem to maintain the status quo of their past lives even after their
claims of a born-again experience. The thief still steals yet he claims to be born-again.
The adulterous woman who succeeded in snatching another woman’s legally and
scripturally wedded husband, lives comfortably with the man, speaking in
“tongues”
John the Baptist,
when addressing those who decided to follow godliness by coming for his
baptism, encouraged them to bear fruits that met with genuine repentance, and
take a total turn-around from past sinful living.
The Bible says
“But when he saw many
of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O
generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring
forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.”
Matthew 3:7-8
The above scripture is a food for thought:
the religious leaders of John the Baptist’s time humbled themselves to come for
baptism in order to usher in a new more of spiritual revival. This is a lesson
for those who are claiming to have risen through the ranks and files of
established Churches to seek spiritual reawakening.
This may also account for many older generations embracing the Pentecostal experience. This is very good provided they also “bring forth fruits meet for repentance”, not maintaining the status-quo of their highly esteemed positions in their (former) Churches without transformation. The cry of the regenerative Spirit is change!
This may also account for many older generations embracing the Pentecostal experience. This is very good provided they also “bring forth fruits meet for repentance”, not maintaining the status-quo of their highly esteemed positions in their (former) Churches without transformation. The cry of the regenerative Spirit is change!
You may need to change your friends, eating
and dressing habits to be able to conform to the image of the Son of the Living
God.
Action Point
Look at your past life in
comparison with your newly found faith in Christ and effect necessary changes.
Bible in one year
1st Samuel 24-25,
Proverbs 8:1-21
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