Memorise: And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give
every man according as his work shall be. Revelation 22:12
At the
beginning of his ministry, Paul took a ride in a basket as he escaped for his
life in Damascus
(2nd Corinthians 11:32-33). But the God who delivered him from
the garrison at Damascus , allowed him to end up
in jail at Philippi (Act 16). Because God answered
a particular prayer yesterday does not mean that He would repeat another in
exactly the same manner.
In Acts
16:25, Paul conducted a worship service in prison right in the midst of chains
and bonds. He never complained. Paul learnt to praise God in whatever
circumstance he found himself. Not many people can praise God when thrown into
prison for the sake of the Gospel. He was prepared to undertake the worst of
sufferings for the Kingdom
of God (Philippians
1:20-21). He was not ashamed. Are you ashamed to suffer minor ridicule,
persecutions, denials,
beatings for His Name today? Paul could say we should become a living sacrifice
to God because he was one.
In African
traditional religion, when a bird or animal is brought as a sacrifice to an
idol, the giver forfeits his right to that animal; it becomes the property of
the idol for the rest of its life. Whether it lives or dies or is given to
someone is at the discretion of the idol. That living sacrifice may be fed so
well in one moment and killed the next minute. This explains the term living
sacrifice. You should be so yielded to God to the extent of delivering to Him
the greatest pleasure in whatever you do. If dying for the Gospel will give Him
the height of pleasure, you should be prepared to die like Stephen. The
preparedness of Daniel to go into the lion’s den demonstrates that he was a
living sacrifice. But in the end, instead of death, his faith compelled a
decree for the whole world to fear Daniel’s God. If my death can produce a
United Nations decree compelling all nations of the world to worship no other
god other than my God – the true and living God, I will gladly be on my way to
Heaven. Are you a living sacrifice? And to what extent?
Prayer Point: Father, please give me the grace to always look unto You
for everything I need in life.
Bible in one year: 2nd Kings 10:18-12:21, Proverbs
22:29-23:13
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