ESOCS Devotional 17 June
TEXT: JOHN 13:23-38
MEMORY VERSE: “Jesus answered him, wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, the cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.” John 13:38 KJV
Spiritual consciousness depicts a state of being awake and aware of the events around you spiritually, with the full knowledge that the spiritual controls the physical. On this particular day, the same night Jesus was to be arrested, He addressed His disciples after the Last Supper. Peter being very zealous, responded to the statement of Jesus, assuring Him that he would never offend Him. With love, Jesus revealed a spiritual secret to him immediately, the denial test. Unfortunately, Peter again did not pay attention to this secret; rather, he quickly denounced it and did nothing more about it (Matt. 26:34-35). The same situation is prevalent in the church today. Many members pay lip service to spiritual matters. Most times when certain messages are given, we easily dismiss them with the slogan, ‘God forbid’, just like Peter, and we do nothing about them. In Peter’s case, the same night the message was given to him, he still fell victim to it (Matt. 26:69-75). There was no consciousness at all. The following helps us to be spiritually conscious to matters whenever they arise. ESOCS Devotional 17 June
Read yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
- Lay it to heart: “But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). This accounts for why the first miracle of Jesus turning water into wine was prompted by Mary (John 2:3-10). This is because she laid everything said about Jesus at birth to heart. We must learn to lay to heart what God tells us and ponder on them consistently: “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Ps. 119:11).
- Constantly pray over them: We should cultivate the attitude of prayers. The Bible counsels us, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). We must ceaselessly pray against any wrong/evil message given us at any point in time. Please note that constantly praying against it is not a mark of fear, as some persons may think.
- Watch out for the signs: Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation: “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt. 26:41). Ironically, many Christians pray very well but do not watch over their prayers. We need to watch out for any signs as they come. The signs are meant to put us on alert and to be on the guard. Unfortunately, Peter never watched at all. No wonder he could not know the signs until after the prophecy was filled. Let us learn to be spiritually conscious.
BOTTOM LINE: Unless you are spiritually conscious, you may end up as a casualty.
CHALLENGES
- Always learn to lay to heart, every word of God.
- Commit yourself wholly to prayers concerning God’s word over your life.
- Be a good watchman. Watch out for the signs.
PRAYER POINT: Father, I thank you for this message. I pray you will help me henceforth to become more spiritually conscious to special revelations you give to me, even as you forgive all my periods of carelessness, in Jesus name. Amen
FURTHER READING: Ezekiel 11:1-11; 11:12-25; John 14:1-21
