RCCG Open Heaven Daily Devotional 24 August 2023
TOPIC: God Delights in Our Prosperity
MEMORISE
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Joshua 1:8
READ: Luke 13:6-9
6 He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.
7 Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it [a]use up the ground?’
8 But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9 [b]And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ ”
RCCG Open Heaven Daily Devotional 24 August 2023 MESSAGE
The first lesson I want us to learn in today’s devotional reading is that God is delighted in our prosperity and this is why He gave us His commandments. Psalm 1:1-3 says: Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
As we progress in this second half of the year, we should take note of the factors that will aid our all-round prosperity. Some people misinterpret or do not know why the rich man in Luke 12:16-21 died the way he did at the peak of his prosperity. It was simply because he did not acknowledge God as the source of his wealth. He was also so engrossed in acquiring wealth that he did not know when his time was up; hence he did not prepare for eternity (Luke 16:21).
His error was not that he became rich because as a matter of fact, God is interested in the prosperity of His children. The Bible says in 3 John 2: Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. The Bible says further that God gives the power to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18).
The Church also, is expected to prosper through all-around growth. For example, Luke 12:1 describes the audience of Jesus as an ‘innumerable multitude of people’ which signifies a huge growth in His ministry. Zechariah 1:17 also says that, through prosperity shall the cities of the Lord be spread abroad.
The Bible, however, also says that the so-called prosperity of sinners shall destroy them (Proverbs 1:32). Beware of ungodly means of getting wealth so that you can avoid the sorrows that come with ill-gotten riches (1 Timothy 6:6-10).
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 1-4
HYMN 26 There Shall Be Showers of Blessing
