OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: WEDNESDAY 15TH SEPTEMBER 2021.
THEME: GOD’S ORDER IS SOCIAL ORDER!
MEMORISE:
And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. Genesis 2:15
READ: Deuteronomy 18:9-13
9 When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.
11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
13 Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.
MESSAGE:
The Almighty God is the greatest conservationist of all. Right from Genesis we read how God commanded Adam to make sure the beautiful garden He had given him did not suffer decay or any pollution, as we see in our memory verse today.
There are many ways one can pollute the land or any God given gift. The land can be polluted by sin of all sorts, particularly idolatry and human sacrifice. In today’s memory verse we are confronted with the seriousness God attaches to the preservation of His creation. In our Bible reading today, God outlined what His chosen people must avoid so that the land that was destined to flow with milk and honey might remain blessed perpetually, it reads in part:
“When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.” Deuteronomy 18:9
Idolatry is the most grievous sin against God, according to Exodus 20:3. When Adam decided to obey the devil rather than the Lord, he chose another god for himself. Many people think idolatry is when you put an image on the ground and begin to worship it. There are idolaters in The Church- people who choose to obey the devil rather than God. They are always at Church programmes but never do what God wants them to do. The Bible says:
“ And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.” Ezekiel 33:31
By disobeying the word of God, people pollute the land, bringing eternal curse upon themselves and generations after them. This was exactly what the first man did and God cursed the land because of him, according to Genesis 3:17. To keep the land which the Lord has given us to inhabit, we must obey Him and live according to His word, when we do this, our land will be free from evil and it will yield great increase for our pleasure, according to Deuteronomy 28:1-13.
I encourage you to give your life to Jesus Christ today and begin to leave according to the word of God from now.
ACTION POINT:
If you have polluted the land in any way, repent and call on God for forgiveness so that the time of refreshing may come from God upon your life (Acts 3:19).
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Luke 17-18.
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 22: STAND UP, STAND UP FOR JESUS.
1. Stand up, stand up for Jesus! ye soldiers of the cross;
Lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss:
From vict’ry unto vict’ry, His army shall He lead,
Till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed.
2. Stand up, stand up for Jesus! The trumpet call obey:
Forth to the mighty conflict, in this His glorious day;
Ye that are men now serve Him against unnumbered foes;
Let courage rise with danger, and strength to strength oppose.
3. Stand up, stand up for Jesus! Stand in His strength alone,
The arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own;
Put on the gospel armor, and watching unto prayer,
Where calls the voice of duty, be never wanting there.
4. Stand up, stand up for Jesus! the strife will not be long;
This day the noise of battle, the next the victor’s song;
To him that overcometh a crown of life shall be;
He with the King of glory shall reign eternally.
