THE CHOSEN DAILY DEVOTIONAL...TOPIC: What Do You Do More Than Others?
THE CHOSEN DAILY DEVOTIONAL...
DATE: Thursday, April 20th, 2017.
TEXT: Matthew 5: 43-48
TOPIC: What Do You Do More Than Others?
MEMORISE: “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5: 20)
MESSAGE:
As believers in Christ, we have been called to a higher standard than what obtains in the world around us. What might be permissible for others may not be acceptable for us as children of God. To whom much is given, much is expected. We have been given much. The Spirit of the Living God dwells in us; so we are temples of the Most High God. We have been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus. Thus, we are expected to be holy just as our Father in Heaven is holy. We have been charged to follow the footsteps of Christ even if it goes contrary to the world order. While others might engage in unrighteousness that has now been branded ‘normal’ by the society such as bribery and corruption, immorality, smoking, drinking, lying, cheating, unforgiveness and malice, etc, we have been called apart to live holy lives. Indeed many people may even call us stupid or foolish but we must remember that the God we serve has called us to holiness.
Many churches preach a watered-down version of the gospel that preaches ‘grace’ which instead of transforming lives, has become a licence for sinful living. In this context, the grace of God will mercifully cover their sins and has nullified the law. They go on sinning while at the same time claiming grace. This is a deceitful teaching. The truth is that with the grace of God we can now overcome sin that we were not able to do in the flesh before grace was made available by the shedding of Christ’s blood on Calvary. True grace empowers; not a licence for sin. Therefore, our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees if we want to enter heaven. You have received power to overcome the world.
Worship/praise God and then take the following prayer points:
1. Father, give me the grace to live a holy and righteous life in this corrupt world in Jesus' name.
2. Make me a shining example and light in the midst of darkness, in Jesus' name.
3. O thou God of Chosen; take our G. O and our mummy in the Lord to a higher spiritual height that will cause them to remain focused and committed towards actualizing our vision and mandate, in Jesus' name.
AUTHOR: PST LAZARUS MUOKA
You can get the hard copy of the devotional in any Chosen branch nearest to you. You can also get it on Google Play Store.
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