ESOCS Devotional 28 August
TEXT: Genesis 3: 22-24
MEMORY VERSE: “Therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken” Genesis 3:23
After the fall in the Garden of Eden, God sent Adam and Eve away. From that moment onwards, they were on their own. They lost the glory of God, which their covering. This was replaced with animal skin. It was like falling from the height of the heavens! From God’s glory to animal skin! That is the same thing we would face if we allow sin to have dominion over us. The glory of God would depart from us; and we would begin to bear the terrible name, ICHABOD! (1 Sam. 4:21).
Adam and his wife were sent away from the presence of God. They lost His goodness, mercy, and protection forever. They lost God’s provisions. Adam began to fend for himself and his wife. He began to engage in hard labour, tilling the ground before they could get their needs. They lost God’s favour and grace. Those things they used to get easily began to elude them. They lost the fullness of joy in His presence, and all the pleasures they enjoyed at His right hand. They became losers in all things.
If we emulate Adam and Eve, we would end up like them. There are no gains in living a life of sin and disobedience to the will and commandment of God. The best thing for us is to align ourselves to His will. Let our hearts and minds be turned to Him fully. Let us not allow any distractions in our relationship with our God. Every communion or communication with the stranger (Satan – John 10:5) should cease. We have nothing in common with the evil one. Our unity is with Christ Jesus our Lord. Through Him, we have our sufficiency in God. No one else can take care of our needs like He does. He is passionate about our wellbeing. He has more than abundance of good things for us. The scripture says: “But [our] God shall supply all [our] need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19). Again, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor. 2:9).
Read yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
The devil would always want to creep into our hearts and possess us. But we should not allow him. Our Lord said to Simon Peter: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat” (Luke 22:31). If we allow the devil to take over our hearts, he would do so many terrible things to us. He would distort the word of God in our hearts and fill us with his own version. We would be changed into strange people who do not live by God’s principles. He would succeed in separating us from God. Like Peter, we may deny our Lord by our works, that is, our lifestyle and the things we or say. We would obey the devil very easily and do the things he wants. This would make become lord over us because we obey him. Romans 6:16 says: “Do you not know ye not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey…”
CHALLENGES
- What would you do to avoid rejection by God?
- Does God’s glory cover you still?
PRAYER POINT:
- Pray for God’s glory to remain in you.
FURTHER READING:2 Samuel 6:1-11; Proverbs 31:10–31; 1 Corinthians 6:1-12 Ephesians 5:22-27
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ESOCS Devotional 28th August
