Perpetual servant

Thursday 23 August                          Bible in one year: Joel 1-3

Memorise: Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?Be not deceived : neither fornicators,nor idolaters,nor adulterers, nor effeminate,nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 1 Corinthians 6:9

Read: Exodus 21:2-6

It is love that can make a man to wait for fourteen years to get married to the lady of his choice like Jacob did for Rachel( Genesis 29:18-28). A lady once told me that nobody was asking for her hand in marriage. We prayed and few months  later, she had six suitors on line. Then she came to me to ask how she will know the one that is her husband. I asked her to tell them that they should wait for fourteen years, by that time she would be through with her PhD programme and would have worked for some years. Not one of them stayed after hearing that.If there is love, there is strength to wait. Love can be very costly. It can cost a man his freedom.From Exodus 21:2-6 we understand that any servant that is Hebrew is expected to serve for six years and on the seventh, he should be freed.If however he marries and because of love he refuses to go, he would receive a mark so that anybody who sees him will know that he is a slave forever. Occasionally , i hear some people give God conditions before complying with certain divine requests or instructions. This shows that they do not love God, or that they have forgotten they were supposed to be His servant forever.

True love gives you super human strength. When somebody is truly in love, he could survive any adversity for the sake of that love( Romans 8:35-37). Being more than conquerors is a height in love which many do not yet know. If you are truly in love with God,you will gladly die for Him like Stephen( Acts 7:54-60). Today , because many church leaders are afraid for their lives, they cannot go to certain countries or certain parts with their native land to preach Christ. Death is no big deal  but the big deal is what you go through before you die. In the days of communism , it was the torture that a Christian went through that gave him pleasure; today , the reverse is the case. A Christian was arrested and thrown into prison. He began to witness Christ to the inmates so they took him  and gave him the beating of his life until he was bleeding all over. By the time he was returned he asked those he was preaching to , “where did i stop before the interruption?” Loving God can be expensive. How cheap or otherwise is your love for God?

ACTION POINT: Take this confession: Lord Jesus, I confess and acknowledge you as my Lord. I am your servant. You own all i have. And I will worship you with all that You have me until you take me to glory.
Excerpts from Open Heavens by Pastor E.A Adeboye