Time With Christ: Tuesday, July 15, daily devotion – FORGETTING YOUR SOURCE?

Topic: FORGETTING YOUR SOURCE? (Tuesday, July 15, 2014)

Memorise:

And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. Deuteronomy 8:17

Read: Deuteronomy 8:7-14

7 For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills;
8 A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey;
9 A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.
10 When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.
11 Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:
12 Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;
13 And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;
14 Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;

Message:

It is possible for a blessing from God to later turn into a curse. Ephraim was so blessed that at a point he forgot God. Deuteronomy 8:7-18 warns against forgetting God after the Lord has prospered you.

Deuteronomy 8:17 says:

“And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.”

This warning is still relevant to us today because even when it is not voiced out, it is implied by many who have achieved great things that they achieved them because they were smarter, wiser or more talented than others. You surely have forgotten the source of your victory if you accept the commendations of men, probably in a public gathering, that your achievements were made possible by hard work. Many are working harder than you yet they are far from getting to the height you have reached. Good success is more than skill. It is more than tact or hard work. You cannot have it without God’s backing.

How can you prove to God that you have not forgotten that He is the One who blessed you in the first place? It is when you put Him first in all you do. Malachi 3:8-10 says if you rob Him of His tithe, He will place you under a curse, but if you bring your full tithe, He will open the windows of Heaven to release more blessings on you. If you have not forgotten your source of blessing, you will tithe before even spending whatever He gives to you. In Genesis 22:1-18, after Abraham finally got a son from God, he was put to test to see if he loved the gift or the Giver more. God asked him to go and sacrifice Isaac and Abraham obeyed; but before he could kill the boy, God stopped him and pronounced an irreversible blessing on him. Are you ready to part with that valuable thing that God has given to you as proof that you have not forgotten Him? What is so dear to your heart that you are not prepared to give to God? That should be the first thing to give to Him to convince Him that you remember He is your source. Never touch what is His - pay your tithe in full or even exceed it. Show Him you appreciate and love Him beyond any gift He gives to you.

Key Point:
If you are convinced that God is your source, there will be nothing He has given to you that you cannot return to Him, including your life.

Bible in a Year:
Deuteronomy 12-13;