OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: TUESDAY DECEMBER 20TH, 2022.
THEME: ARE YOU STILL A BABY CHRISTIAN?
MEMORISE:
Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
Galatians 4:1
READ: 2 Timothy 2:1 -4
1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
MESSAGE
We see from our memory verse today that an heir is likened to a servant if that heir is still a child. In the same vein, the devil will toss around a child of God if he or she is not mature. This alone tells you that spiritual maturity is a must for every child of God. There are people who have been born again for 10 years yet God has not healed even a headache through them. How are they to get developed? 1 Peter 2:2 says:
As newborn babies, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
The more of God's word you consume, the more mature you become spiritually. As you keep studying your Bible from day to day, you will be steered by the Spirit in the word of God to do all the other things needed for your spiritual growth. If you spend quality time studying your Bible, you will hate sin; you will fast and pray regularly, love your neighbour as yourself, and many other qualities of mature Christians will be built in you.
Don't waste the time you should spend building your relationship with God on frivolities. Don't eat when you should be fasting. Don't sleep when you should be praying. Don't spend time on entertainment, when you should be studying your Bible. A woman who does not take responsibility to grow her relationship with God, but wants to marry a God-fearing man, is just wasting her time. A good father will not allow his committed son to marry a wayward lady. Also, if the devil meets you as a baby Christian, that is trouble.
A woman had a dream where a mad man came to her doorstep and started knocking furiously. She opened the door and chased the mad man away, but he stayed there and kept saying, "Leave me alone. Leave me alone. It is your husband l have come to see". In the dream, the husband came to the door, saw the mad man and allowed him to come into the house. This woman's husband fell sick and died a few months later. Had the husband been spiritually mature enough, he would have chased that mad man away in the spirit realm. My beloved, don't leave your spiritual life unattended to; there are terrible consequences for remaining spiritually immature.
KEY POINT
The more spiritual exercises you do, the faster you grow spiritually and the more power you have over the devil.
Click here for TODAY'S OPEN HEAVENS PRAYER POINTS.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Hebrews 6-9
AUTHOR: PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 14: NEARER MY GOD TO THEE
1. Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee!
E’en though it be a cross
That raiseth me.
Still all my song shall be
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee!
2. Though like the wanderer,
The sun gone down,
Darkness be over me,
My rest a stone,
Yet in my dreams I’d be
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee!
3. There let the way appear,
Steps unto heav’n;
All that thou sendest me,
In mercy giv’n;
Angels to beckon me
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee!
4. Then with my waking thoughts
Bright with thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs
Bethel I’ll raise;
So by my woes to be
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee!
5. Or if, on joyful wing
Cleaving the sky,
Sun, moon, and stars forgot,
Upward I fly,
Still all my song shall be
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee.