Saturday 14 June 2014

OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - SATURDAY - 14/06/2014 - MOVING ON BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

MOVING ON

MEMORISE
The LORD our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount:
Deuteronomy 1:6

READ
Deuteronomy 1:6-8

6 The LORD our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount:

7 Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates.

8 Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.

MESSAGE
God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and as such, He is familiar with His creation to the extent that He knows that human beings are averse to making changes in life. We have a terrible tendency of becoming attached to locations and activities, such that we refuse to move on when we should. Consequently, God gave the call for His people to move on at different times in the Bible. For the children of Israel in the wilderness, the taking up of the cloud from the tabernacle of testimony was a signal that they should prepare to move on (Numbers 10:11-13). People prefer to continue doing what they have done repeatedly for years because they have gotten used to it and feel at home with familiar activities and environments. We stay on activities longer than we should, meetings run longer than necessary and we prefer to maintain the status quo. Sometimes, in order to avoid making changes, we even ignore God’s directives.

The truth is that we fear the unknown and would rather not take the risk of charting a new course. Meanwhile, progress can only come when we dare to move forward. We prevent God from doing marvelous things in our lives because we are so fearful and faithless that we refuse to move forward. Moreover, all the heroes of the Bible, from Abraham, to Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, David and the prophets were all made to pass through the process of change in order to fulfill their destiny. Therefore, change is tied to success and is inevitable for anyone who would be successful in life. In Deuteronomy 1:6-8, God called Moses from the mountain where he was complacent, to enter the land of the Amorites and Canaanites where there were great warriors. This instruction appeared to be a risk to the lives of the children of Israel, but Moses obeyed in Deuteronomy 2:1-3:

“Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the LORD spake unto me: and we compassed mount Seir many days. And the LORD spake unto me, saying, Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.”

However, reluctance is evident in his obedience, as they foot-dragged for many days until the Lord spoke again that they should turn towards the North. What is God calling you to do now? What comforts is He calling you to leave behind? What have you been ignoring? Have faith and move on.

PRAYER POINT
Father, wherever you lead me I promise to follow; please help me to be receptive to changes.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Leviticus 10-12; Psalm 120-122

3 comments:

  1. Father, you have called us to Glory and Virtue, this is our portion this year in Jesus name' Amen.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This message is not only timely but powerful

    ReplyDelete
  3. father give me d grace to follow u

    ReplyDelete

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