Memorise: And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the
kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine, that is better than thou. 1st Samuel 15:28
Read: Acts 1:15-26, 15 And
in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said,
(the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)
16 Men
and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the
Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which
was guide to them that took Jesus.
17 For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.
18 Now
this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling
headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
19 And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.
20 For
it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate,
and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take.
21 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
22 Beginning
from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from
us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,
25 That
he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by
transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.
26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
Bible in one year: 1st Samuel 3-5, Proverbs 3:13-27
Many
people do not know that God has alternatives for all His plans. This is
why they behave as if God exists at their mercy. Such people cannot be
more wrong in their perception of the Almighty God. The truth is that
God cannot be held to ransom on any issue or event. This is why He
always provides alternatives that are more often better than the
original plan. Our memory verse for today confirms this, as we read
about how God saw David as a better alternative to the first king of Israel,
Saul. When a child of God becomes swollen-headed and he begins to
disobey God in matters that seem very little like tithing and offering,
first fruits and soul winning, he or she is on the way to being
replaced. My prayer for someone using this devotional is that you will
not be replaced in the scheme of divine projects in Jesus’ name.
In
the Bible reading for today, there is a great revelation of God’s
foreknowledge of all things and how this attribute makes Him provide
alternatives beforehand. The replacement of Judas Iscariot was predicted
by the mouth of King David who was also a prophet in his right. The
implication of this revelation is that before Judas Iscariot chose to be
a betrayer which in turn disqualified him among the twelve, God had
planned an alternative for him! Another lesson we can learn from this as
children of God is that whenever a way seems blocked, God has more than
a thousand alternative ways to replace the blocked one. The Bible says:
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28
Beloved,
learning from the story of King Saul and Judas Iscariot, we must be
very careful about the way we lead our lives, so that what happened to
them does not repeat itself in our lives, 1st Corinthians 10:6 says;
“Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.”
As
I was growing up in my father’s house, I leant to be obedient through
the experience of my elder brother with our disciplinarian father. My
elder brother was a very strong young man with a good physique, strength
and wresting prowess. Only a few young men among his contemporaries
could dare challenge him to a fight. However, the day our father
disciplined my elder brother and this so called ‘hero’ cried like a
baby, I decided never to do anything that would make our father think of
punishing me. God has alternatives to any child of His that is not
law-abiding. Let us therefore beware of doing things that will make God
replace us with someone else.
Prayer Point
Father, help me never to do that which will make You replace me in Your Kingdom.
