NO SKIPPING DETAILS - OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL; MONDAY 25TH SEPTEMBER 2017

DATE: MONDAY 25TH SEPTEMBER 2017

THEME: NO SKIPPING DETAILS

Memorise:

For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: Isaiah 28:10

Read: 2 Kings 4:1-7

4:1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.

4:2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.

4:3 Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.

4:4 And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.

4:5 So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.

4:6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.

4:7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.

Message:

To avoid financial storm, you need to be careful note all the elements of a divine instruction. God is a God of details. When He gives you a recipe to solve a particular problem, He expects you to leave no details out. In today’s Bible reading, to solve the serious debt problem of the widow of the prophet, Elisha asked her to borrow vessels from all her neighbors, shut the door behind her and pour out her remaining pot of oil into all available vessels. If she had altered the any element of this instruction, it would definitely have affected the result she got. Some people received certain divine instructions and thereafter determine which to obey and which to discard. No! all the details must be observe! Do you know that if the widow had borrowed the vessels but refused to shut her door, the oil would not have flowed?

Beloved, always pay close attention to whatever instructions you receive from God. When it comes to sowing for instance, 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 says,

“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

From the details of this scripture, it is not just sowing that will get you your expected returns, but rather sowing bountifully and cheerfully. Today, many people have chosen to forget these details on sowing, and this accounts for the financial storms in their lives. On tithing, it is not enough to tithe, but to bring in all the tithes. After completing my PhD research, I recalled I still had part of my research grant with the university. So I went to my Head of department (HoD) adding to draw out of it to bind my thesis. He refused to release it to me, and when I insisted, he sent me out of his office. With no other funds available, I wondered how to get the money is needed. A little past midnight, someone came knocking on my door. He said he could not sleep, and so he came to return the money I had loaned him five years earlier. Although I had forgotten this money, God had not. He paid me the exact amount I needed. After binding the thesis, I was scared, wondering if my HoD would accept it and give me a good score. So on the following Sunday, I paid my tithe, and on Monday, when I submitted my thesis to him, he was impressed and offered to personally take it to the external examiner. He also waited on the examiner until he finished his job in three days instead of six months. After this, my PhD grant was paid, and it became useful pocket money for me. You cannot tell the extent God will go to satisfy those who are totally obedient.

Action Point:

Ask God to lead our youths aright in their choice of life partner.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:

Nehemiah 10-11 and Exodus 46:13-24

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 14: TAKE MY LIFE

1. Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise.

2. Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.

3. Take my voice and let me sing,
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee.

4. Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.

5. Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne.

6. Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.