OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: TUESDAY 22ND DECEMBER 2020.
THEME: DANGERS OF INGRATITUDE.
MEMORISE:
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Romans 1:21
READ: Judge 15:14-19
14 And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.
15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.
16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.
17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi.
18 And he was sore athirst, and called on the Lord, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?
19 But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.
MESSAGE:
One day, I asked God why He punished king Saul so much while David who committed more sins was called the man after His heart. He responded by telling me to read 2 Samuel 6:14:
“And David danced before the Lord with all his might……”
Then He asked me to look for a place where Saul danced for Him. I searched and couldn’t find. I further decided to check where he said thank you to God somehow, but I didn’t find any. Not even when God raised him to be king. It was clear then that Saul’s downfall was majorly due to ingratitude.
Another person who failed due to ingratitude is Samson. All the time that the Bible records that the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he did great exploits, not once did he say, “Thank you Lord”. In fact, probably the most glaring of such incidents was in Judges 15:17-18:
“And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi. And he was sore athirst, and called on the Lord, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?”
Just after exploits so great that even he acknowledged they were from God, instead of giving thanks, all he did was complain. Ingratitude is a pointer to pride. Proverbs 16:18 saya that pride goes before a fall. Ungrateful people are proud and are heading for a fall. When you see a person who is always grateful, you see humility in the fellow and since God gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5), the grace of God will always take the person higher. Whatever chance you get, always remain grateful to God. Be grateful for even the little things that others take for granted; be grateful that you can sleep and wake the next day, that you can walk, that you can talk, that you can wear your clothes by yourself, that you can eat, that you can use the bathroom, that you can still, have a sound mind. In everything and for everything, give thanks for this is the will of God (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
PRAYER POINT:
Father, I am grateful for all that You are doing for me; please Lord, help me never to be ungrateful.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Hebrews 11-13
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 21: NOW THANK WE ALL OUR GOD.
1. Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done, in Whom this world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.
2. Oh, may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us;
And keep us in His grace, and guide us when perplexed;
And guard us through all ills in this world, till the next!
3. All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given,
The Son, and Him Who reigns with Them in highest Heaven—
The one eternal God, Whom earth and Heav’n adore;
For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.
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