Open Heaven 8 October
MEMORISE: 1 Samuel 15:28 – “And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine, that is better than thou.”
BIBLE READING: Acts 1:15-26 (KJV)
15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty), and said, 16 “Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus; 17 for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry.”
18 (Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out. 19 And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem; so that field is called in their own language, Akel Dama, that is, Field of Blood.)
20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms:
‘Let his dwelling place be desolate,
And let no one live in it’;
and,
‘Let another take his office.’
21 “Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”
23 And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen 25 to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.” 26 And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
Read yesterday’s Open Heaven Devotional here
Many people do not know that God always has replacements for the people He appoints for one task or the other. Goo cannot be held to ransom on any issue or event. This is the reason He always provides alternatives.
When a child of God becomes swollen-headed and he or she begins to disobey Him in matters like soulwinning, tithing, offering, payment of first fruit and so on, such a fellow is on the way to being replaced. I pray that you will successfully complete all assignments God has given you. He will not have cause to replace you with another person, in Jesus’ name.
The betrayal of Jesus Christ by Judas Iscariot was predicted in Psalm 41:9 which says:
Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.
Thus, before Judas Iscariot chose to be a betrayer, God had already seen it. Acts 1:16-26 says also that Matthias was chosen to replace Judas. May you never be replaced by God in Kingdom projects, in Jesus’ name.
Another lesson we can learn from this as children of God is that whenever a way seems blocked, God has more than a thousand alternative ways to replace it. Romans 8:28 says “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Beloved, learning from the experience of King Saul and Judas Iscariot, we must be very careful about the way we lead our lives so that what happened to them may not happen to us. The Bible says “Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted” – (1 Corinthians 10:6).
God has alternatives for any child of His who would not be law-abiding. Let us therefore be wary of doing what would make God replace us with someone else. There are many examples of people who lost their enviable positions and by implication, their relevance in the society due to deliberate or careless mistakes.
Beware of divine replacement; serve the Lord diligently!
KEY POINT: Father, please never allow me to do anything that will cause You to replace me, in Jesus’ name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Kings 5-9
Thank you for studying today’s Open Heaven – God Has Alternatives – written by Pastor Enoch A.
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Open Heaven 8 October 2021
