Piety II
Thank God for this day that He has given us. Thank God for the opportunity to abide in His Word, to fellowship with Him through prayer and to draw from it strength and wisdom. Today I would like to finish discussing the idea of dedication preceding provision.
We established that our devotion to God involves three important elements:
calling upon God,
walking in the fear of the Lord,
loving God.
Calling upon God – means to have habitual prayer life. Prayer helps us to draw near to God and releases His provision, because He is close to all who call upon Him. We also talked about the fact that our provision depends not only on our ability to call upon God, but also on how much we fear God. To fear God means to avoid evil, to do good, to seek peace and to follow it. God’s provision and blessing is the reward of those who fear Him. We also pointed out that God has secrets that are meant for dedicated people who call upon His Name and walk in the fear of the Lord. Besides all of the above, it is important to know that dedication to God is impossible without the love for Him.
What does it mean to love God? “The LORD preserves all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy” (Psalm, 145: 20).
Love for God is the other side of the fear of the Lord. One proof of my love for Him is my obedience to Him. To love God means to do His commandments.
«He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him» (John, 14: 21).
To love God means to choose obedience to Him and not habitual sinful living. Love for God keeps a person from temptation.
«Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him» (James, 1: 12).
To love God means to deny the desires of the flesh and to choose those things that are pleasant to God. God is wiser than we! He has all the experience in the whole Universe! And when God says something it is better for us to listen to Him, because He knows so much better than any one of us. All of these things bring God’s blessings into our lives.
We can see how this crucial truth has been modelled in the life of Abraham. His devotion preceded his provision. Abraham continually called upon God’s name; he feared and loved God and God not only blessed him, but also his offspring (Genesis, 22). A man that is devoted to God will surely enjoy God’s provision in his life! Today God calls every one of us to thoroughly analyze our lives and to answer this question: «Am I truly dedicated to God or am I simply doing some religious activities?»
Dear friend, if you are deeply devoted to God, then may this word serve as an encouragement for you. God says to you: «Do not fear the times of hardships and unsettledness, because God is your Provider. God will reveal Himself to you because you have been dedicated to Him and you will never be ashamed!»
If you have children and you are concerned about their wellbeing and life, then I want to ask you to pray for them so that they would dedicate themselves to God. All the provision they need will come through your devotion to God and their own dedication to God. Teach your children to call upon God, to walk in the fear of the Lord and to love Him, – and then God will be their Provider. It is the biggest wealth you can leave to your children.
May God abundantly bless you today! He is always good!
Pastor Rufus Ajiboye
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