Open heaven January 2021 Wednesday January 13
TOPIC: MCY: SELF-SUFFICIENCY
Memorize
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. John 15:5
Read: Judges 16:20-21
20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.
21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.
The ‘S’ in our equation for Resistance in the “Mathematics of Christ in You” (MCY) stands for Self Sufficiency (if you do not understand, kindly refer to the devotionals of January 11 and 12). Most times, what many people call self-sufficiency is purely reliance on their flesh rather than God. In Daniel 4:28-37, we see how this attitude got Nebuchadnezzar into trouble. He said “Is this not Babylon that I built?” As a result, God sent him to eat grass in the forest for seven years to prove to him that all he had was from Him. By the time he came back, he acknowledged God as the Most High who rules in the affairs of men. Open heaven January 2021 Wednesday January 13
Today’s Bible reading tells the story of Samson. This man had defeated an entire army with the jaw bone of an ass. He was really strong. Unfortunately, he did not realize that this strength was not from him but from God. I know this because if you look through the feats he had accomplished, you would see everything starting with “And the spirit of the Lord came upon Him” Judges 14:6, Judges 14:19, Judges
15:14). One day, after God’s Spirit had left him, he said “I will arise and go out as at other times before” judges 16:20) but he was put to shame. It does not matter how gifted or skilful you are, without God, you are no different from the sand in the beach.
Many a time, when we listen to the testimonies of some people, we still see them glorifying ‘self. They take the shine off God and put it on their efforts. In Philippians 3:3-7, Paul had been talking so much about himself until something warned him “Be careful”, and he quickly added in verse 7
“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
“Proverbs 3:5-6 says:
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean
Not unto thine own understanding. In all thy
Ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
You want God to live in you and operate through you? Then, you must not lean on your own understanding. You must get to the point where you can say that it is in Him that I live, move and have my being (Acts 17:28).
We should always remember the words of Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 3:5:
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think
Anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is
God;
Open heaven January 2021 Hymn 14: Jesus My Lord, My God, My All
Open heaven January 2021 Wednesday January 13
Key Point: You are nothing without God.
Bible in one year: Genesis 21-24
LESSON
Open Heavens Daily Devotional for today January 13 2021 is here again, and if you are one of those who have read it, then you should have picked some important things from it. Today Open Heavens Daily Devotional, written by Pastor EA Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, is meant to encourage us to rely totally on God and stop seeing ourselves beyond the limited humans we really are. Actually, as humans, we have our limitations and we need God beyond anything else. So, don’t depending on your abilities or efforts, and start looking deeply at Jesus Christ alone. Only God is Chiefly Sufficient. When we rely on HIM, He helps make our insufficiency to become sufficient. Glory to JESUS! Thanks for reading today Open Heavens Daily Devotional. You can use the comment section to express yourself, particularly the lessons learned from today Open Heavens Daily Devotional. By so doing, the lessons can become part of you. This is very important because, you should not just read, but make these a part of you and do. Then, expect that of tomorrow, and ensure you read tomorrow’s Open Heavens devotional too (which is titled MCY: PAST GLORIES). Open heaven January 2021 Wednesday January 13