BIBLE IN A YEAR: 1 Chron 17-19
HOLDING BACK?
MEMORIZE: "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent" (Rev. 3:19)
READ: Revelation 3:19-20
Jesus Christ is a gentleman. He never takes what you don’t give to Him. He will not force you against your will. God gave you a will and gives you the freedom to do what you like with it. Hence in Revelation 3:20, He says He will only enter the door you open to Him. If you keep the door shut, He will stay outside. In Deuteronomy 30:19 He puts life and death before you, but allows you to make up your mind on which to choose. The Lord will give you reasons to obey Him but He will not compel you to live holy, give offering, pay tithes and first fruits, or preach the Word to unbelievers. Any area you do not allow Jesus to enter in your life becomes a target of the enemy. Some Christians invite Jesus into their hearts but not their businesses, marriages, finances. No wonder the devourer is having a filled day in such unprotected areas. What are you holding back?
Before I became saved, my wife had three children by caesarean section. But after we knew the Lord, she miraculously had a baby boy by normal delivery. By this, we believed he was a special child and we were full of joy. Between two and three years he took ill. Since we believed in divine healing, we prayed for several days but the illness rather grew worse. On the tenth day, I asked the Lord what I was expected to do having prayed, vowed, fasted, observed night vigils without any respite. God’s answer was rather shocking! He told me there was no answer because the baby in question was my son. I got the message and changed my prayer: “Father, heal your son. He is no longer mine”. The boy recovered within the next hour! Never love the gift beyond the Giver. You may be parents over your children, yet God retains the deeds of ownership, hence Psalms 127:3 says children are God’s heritage.
According to our reading, there is a unique relationship the Lord desires with you that cannot hold because you yield only a part or nothing to Him. Any area of your life under self government remains a hindrance to an excellent relationship with the Master. Like it happened to me, some believers have over-personalized their blessings and endowments to their detriment. How much of your life, assets and plans you lay at the altar of sacrifice determines the extent of trust you repose in God. If you cannot trust the One who sees the past, present and future at the same time, who will you trust? If you can entrust your spiritual instability to Him, He will stabilize you. There is divine insurance coverage over the areas you have entrusted to the Lord.
ACTIONPOINT: Examine your life. List the areas under divine government and those under self-government. Totally yield to His lordship today.
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