Open Heaven 18 January
MEMORISE: “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” – Luke 14:26
READ: Matthew 10:35-38
35. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
36. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.
37. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
38. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Read yesterday’s Open Heaven here
…We ought to obey God rather than men. – Acts 5:29. The ‘F in our equation for Resistance in the “Mathematics of Christ in You” (MCY) series that we started on January 11, stands for Family Ties. As difficult as it sounds, if Christ is going to operate freely in you, some family ties would have to suffer, as we see in today’s memory verse.
What Jesus was saying is that your love for Him, relative to what you feel for your family, should be incomparable. When God told Abraham to sacrifice his son who he loved, Abraham wasted no time in trying to do so. Of course, God only wanted to find out what Abraham’s choice would be if he had to choose between Him and his son.
I once had a similar experience. As the youngest and only male child of my mother, I had a close relationship with her. Before I met Christ, I would always spend Christmas with her. However, after joining the Redeemed Christian Church of God and becoming a Pastor, I had to spend my Christmas instead at the Christ The Redeemer’s Congress. One particular year, we were going to have the programme at Ijebu Igbo, Nigeria.
Since I would not be around during Christmas, I decided to visit my mother on December 23rd to tell her I would see her after the programme. On getting there, I found that she was dying. I was in a dilemma; the programme had to start in two days. I was one of the organisers yet no one in the Church knew where I had gone, and there were no mobile phones in those days.
From the report I received, even before I got to ljebu lgbo she had recovered. God wanted to find out who I would choose if I had to make a decision between Him and my mother who I loved so much. Nothing, not even family ties should come between you and God.
KEY POINT: God must come first in every aspect of your life. Nothing, not even family ties should be placed before Him.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deuteronomy 21-23
Thank you for studying today’s Open Heaven – MCY: Family Ties written by Pastor Enoch A.
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Open Heaven 19 January 2021
