Memory Verse: Matthew 5:6
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Read: Psalm 42:1-8 (KJV)
1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?3 My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
4 When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.
5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.
7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
8 Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the day time, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.
Message
A hungry and thirsty fellow is one who is desperate for food and water. Have you ever seen someone who has been stranded on a desert for a whole month?
If he sees water anywhere, he would do anything, and I mean anything, to drink it. The same applies to a person who has been deprived of food for many days. In the same vein, God expects us to hunger and thirst for righteousness. He expects us to desperately pursue righteousness. Jesus gave a parable in Matthew 13:44-46 that the kingdom of God is like a man who found treasure in a field and went to sell all that he had so he could buy that field and own the treasure. Psalm 63:1 says:
“…My soul thirsts for you, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water.”
You should be willing to give up anything just to remain righteous. The reverse is the case these days; people are very quick to sacrifice their righteousness in order to gain some pleasures of this world.
Don’t deceive yourself with contemporary Christianity. If you are not desperately hungry to live a holy life, you become easy meat for the devil. You need to be desperate enough to cut off your right hand if that hand is going to cause you to sin (Matthew 5:30). In other words, if social media is the means through which immoral thoughts gets into your mind, then you must be ready to delete those social media apps from your phone.
If you are lusting after your secretary, then you must be ready to let go of such a person. If being a staff in that organisation causes you to stain your garment of holiness, then resign! Only the violent can take the kingdom of God and they must take it by force. Don’t be afraid to be asked why you pursue this Jesus so much. Fear of what people may say will make many lose their righteousness and consequently, the kingdom of God. You must hunger and thirst for righteousness at all times.
Reflection:
Is there anything or person limiting you from being holy? Let go of such now so you don’t lose the kingdom of God.
Bible in one year: Genesis 16-18,
Hymn: Sing hymn 12
Prayer Points on Today's Open Heavens Daily Devotional for Friday 17th January 2020
I worship and adore You, my Father, for Your thought for me are thoughts of good and not of evil, to bring me to an expected end.
Father, in anyway I have fallen short of your glory, please, have mercy and forgive me, in Jesus’ name.
Father, let every spirit of disobedience and unbelief in my life, be consumed by Your fire, in Jesus’ name.
Father, give me the grace to always walk by faith and not by sight; and, where the enemies thought I would never reach in life, please, take me there by Your grace and mercy, in Jesus’ name.
Father, release upon my life the spirit of simple and complete obedience to Your word, at all times, that I may eat the good of the land, in Jesus’ name.
Father, help me to belief Your promises for my life, even, when situation around me appears contrary to my expectations, in Jesus’ name.
Father, let me flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar in Lebanon, in all that I lay my hands upon in this world, in Jesus’ name.
Open Heaven for Today 17 January 2020: [Friday] – How Hungry are You
Father, please, make a way for me, in this wilderness of life, where there seems to be no way, financially, materially and spiritually, in Jesus’ name.
Father, let all things work together for my good as I place my trust in You, in Jesus’ name.
Father, bless your son, Pastor E.A.Adeboye, and reward him abundantly, for all his labours of love, in Your vineyard, in Jesus’ name.
Father, bless everyone, that You have been using to prepare these prayer points, beyond measures, and all those who have been rebroadcasting them, in Jesus’ name.
Father, let every challenge, hindrance and obstacle of getting these prayer points across to Your children, timely, and on daily basis be removed, in Jesus’ name.
Your Personal petitions.
( Philippians 4:6)
In Jesus’ name I pray.
(John 14:13-14; 15:16)
Thank you Father for answered prayers.
(1 Thessalonians 5:18).
MORE:
Open Heaven Daily Devotional For Today, Saturday 18th January 2020 – Be Merciful
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