OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL For Thursday 24 April 2014 "NOTHING TO HIDE" BY PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
Memory Verse: Psalm 62:11
God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.
Read: 1 Kings 18:30-35
30 And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down.
31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name:
32 And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.
33 And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.
34 And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.
35 And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.
Message
At the showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, Elijah told the people to come near and see what he was about to do. From this example we see that the ways of God are transparent. Christianity is not a secret cult. We do not hold our services with doors locked. Everyone is free to come and see what we are doing. If you belong to a society where they say they are serving God and they shut the doors to outsiders, it is a secret society, even if they cover the whole venue with Bibles. If you belong to a group where they say your wife cannot come in, even if they read all the chapters in Psalm, it is a secret society. In the church of the Living God, the doors and windows are wide open because there is nothing to hide. Also, after Elijah prepared the altar, he asked them to pour water on it three times until the place was running with water. This he did so that nobody would say he had fire under the altar. It was also a way of saying he trusted his God. He was saying there were no tricks or gimmicks. If you are in a church where they hide people who give testimonies, get out of there because it does not belong to God. In the true church of God, everything is honest, true and open so that people can come and see.
Anyone who wants to please God must have nothing to hide. Elijah repaired the altar that had been broken down. Certain preparations must precede divine blessings. Repentance must come before divine intervention. You cannot be living in sin and expect grace to abound; God forbid! If you want God to bless you, you must be willing to repent. Joshua was marching towards the Promised Land and miracles were happening. The walls of Jericho fell. He then sent some soldiers against the small town of Ai and they were defeated. Joshua sought the face of the Lord to know what was wrong and he was told to repair the altar that had been broken. Repair the altar of the Lord in your heart today. Decide right now that you are going to put everything that is wrong in your life in the right position. Salvation is free. You do not need to perish again. All you need to do is identify with the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and you will become a new creature in Him. Just obey His will. If you do these, you will have everlasting life. You will have abundant life in this world and have everlasting life in the world to come. However, if you refuse to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, the great anger of God will abide against you. No doubt, our God is a God of love, but He is also a consuming fire. As it was in the beginning, so it is now. The only difference is that there is room for repentance. There is an offer of salvation. The blood of Jesus cleanses from all sins. By reason of your repentance, you will not be destroyed in hell-fire in Jesus’ Name.
Prayer Point
Father, help me to be transparent in all I do.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : ZECHARIAH 1:1-6:8 and PSALM 89:15-37
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