Thursday 14 August 2014

OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL -THURSDAY- 14/08/2014 - WHAT CARRIAGE IN GOD’S PRESENCE? BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE



WHAT CARRIAGE IN GOD’S PRESENCE?

Memorise
Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
Ecclesiastes 5:1

Read
Ecclesiastes 5:1-3

1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.

2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words.

Message
The Bible in Ecclesiastes 5 admonishes us on what our attitude should be when we go to the house of God. We are advised to watch our carriage to prevent causing distractions. We are counselled that while in the house of God, we should be more ready to hear than to give the sacrifice of fools. Out of fear and reverence for the Almighty God, we are admonished to keep our mouth shut and speak sparingly. In fact the Bible used the term “sacrifice of fools” as a reference to careless chatter made in the presence of the Most High God. Here, the Bible reminds us that our God is in heaven while our place is here on earth. There is need to tremble with fear in the presence of this Holy God. This passage shows that there is a great gap of understanding between who God really is and who we take Him to be. This realisation should affect our entire being and our posture before Him.

Coming to God’s presence prepared to listen all through does not mean that we should not speak at all in His presence; it does not mean that we should not bring our troubles, needs, petitions and prayer requests before Him. What it means is that we must not speak rashly; we must speak in His presence with utmost care and with reverence deserving of the King of kings and the Lord of lords. When we are before the Almighty God, we should offer acknowledgement that He is the Author and Finisher of our faith, our Maker and the Creator of the heavens and earth.

Children of God must be careful not to think that the God of the Old Testament is different from the God of the New Testament. There is the tendency for 21st century Christians to view God from the perspective of Jesus: born in a manger, the son of Mary and Joseph, walked among men, was hungry and ate the food of men, was tired and had to rest, was beaten and tortured by men for sins He didn’t commit, died and rose again on the third day. Contemporary Christians seem to be carried away with the image of Jesus as the Son of Man that they completely forget that He is also the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and the King of Glory. The presence of God should be approached with much humility and reverence. God is happy with us when we offer Him the veneration, honour and adoration that He deserves. As you begin to honour God anew, He will manifest His power in your life mightily in Jesus’ Name.

Prayer Point
Father, please make me conscious of who You are; please show me your glory.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR
Luke 1:1-2:21

Job 21:17-34

3 comments:

    Total Pageviews