OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: MONDAY 23rd NOVEMBER 2015
THEME: WHAT LIFE IS NOT
Memorise:
And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
Luke 12:15
Read: Luke 12:15-20
15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
Message
In the materialistic world we live in today, not many people have the right understanding of what life is. An example here is the farmer in today's Bible reading, who experienced a major breakthrough in his farming business, to the extent that he decided to go on a leisure spree for the rest of his life, because he could afford it. He thought he had finally made it; he therefore wanted to enjoy life and the fruit of his hard work, but little did he know that he was just being foolish. John 17:2 tells us about the life which Jesus gives:
"As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him."
The moment you receive the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart, you receive life. This life is not a temporary form of life that will pass away; rather, it is eternal life. The nature of this life is such that it is sustained by growing in the knowledge of God and in the knowledge of His Word (John 17:3). May you never lose the eternal life of God that is within you in Jesus' Name.
Today, so much time and focus is placed on the acquisition of wealth and material things, but in our memory verse, the Lord Jesus Christ said that the worth of a man's life does not consist in the abundance of the things that he has. Having 100 exotic cars, 100 houses spread across the world and billions in your bank account is not true life. Also, life is not to be defined by the level of physical charm or beauty that you exude, because Proverbs 31:30 says beauty is simply vanity. Beauty without the fear of God is vain, but adding the salvation of God in Christ Jesus and meekness to your physical appearance will make you truly beautiful.
In addition, power is not life. In 2 Kings 5:1, we read of Naaman who was great and powerful but a leper nonetheless. Power belongs to God and is transient. If you have power or you have attained greatness in this world, but you do not know Jesus personally, it is all vanity. That is not life! Life is also not in achievements. In Daniel 4:29-33, after a world ruler, King Nebuchadnezzar, finished boasting about his achievements, God asked him to go and eat grass in the bush for seven years. Life is not about how many academic qualifications you have acquired, nor is it about worldly wisdom; if it was, the wisest man to ever live on earth would not have called life vanity (Ecclesiastes 2:17, Ecclesiastes 9:9). What do you think is life? Have you encountered the true life?
Key Point:
A wrong perspective of life has misdirected so much of people's time, efforts and money towards things that are eternally irrelevant.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: PSALM 17-20 and TITUS 1
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