Thursday January 05th, 2023
Memorize: Mark 1:3 Good News Translation (GNT)
« Someone is shouting in the desert,
‘Get the road ready for the Lord; make a straight path for him to travel!’ »
Read: 1 Kings 18:30-39 Good News Translation (GNT)
30 Then Elijah said to the people,
“Come closer to me,” and they all gathered around him.
He set about repairing the altar of the Lord which had been torn down.
31 He took twelve stones, one for each of the twelve tribes named for the sons of Jacob, the man to whom the Lord had given the name Israel.
32 With these stones he rebuilt the altar for the worship of the Lord. He dug a trench around it, large enough to hold about four gallons of water.
33 Then he placed the wood on the altar, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the offering and the wood.” They did so,
34 and he said, “Do it again”—and they did. “Do it once more,” he said—and they did.
35 The water ran down around the altar and filled the trench.
36 At the hour of the afternoon sacrifice the prophet Elijah approached the altar and prayed,
“O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove now that you are the God of Israel and that I am your servant and have done all this at your command.
37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so that this people will know that you, the Lord, are God and that you are bringing them back to yourself.”
38 The Lord sent fire down, and it burned up the sacrifice, the wood, and the stones, scorched the earth and dried up the water in the trench.
39 When the people saw this, they threw themselves on the ground and exclaimed,
“The Lord is God; the Lord alone is God!”
Message:
Fire represents the potent and unlimited power of the Almighty God and also symbolizes His manifest presence.
From the stories of the burning bush in Exodus 3:2-5, to the appearance of a pillar of fire in Exodus 13:21, fire often accompanies appearances of God in the Bible.
Fire also signifies the acceptance of sacrifices made unto God as evident in Leviticus 9:24.
Likewise, it also depicts divine intervention.
The contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal is a classic example of God’s intervention in a situation with fire.
“Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, He is the God; the LORD, He is the God.”
1 Kings 18:38-39 NKJV
Whenever the fire of God falls, works of darkness are exposed and destroyed.
Supernatural laws become activated, leading to unprecedented miracles, signs and wonders.
I therefore call the fire of God to fall on you right now and destroy every work of darkness around you in the mighty name of Jesus.
However, according to our Bible reading today, some activities must precede the manifestation of divine fire.
Firstly, one must be born again.
This make you a bona fide member of the family of God.
Secondly, we have to keep the altar of God in our lives pure and deal with sin decisively.
Thirdly, we must obey all His instructions promptly and completely.
These three steps will bring down the fire of God into your situation.
Are you standing at the crossroads seeking divine guidance? God requires absolute devotion from you. Jeremiah 29:13 NET says
“When you seek me in prayer and worship, you will find me available to you. If you seek me with all your heart and soul”
Prayer point: Father, help me to do everything necessary to bring down Your fire in my life, in the mighty name of Jesus.
Author: Pst E. A. Adeboye.
Edited by Naomie
Freely you received, freely you must give (Math 10:8) , kindly share this devotion, and the Lord will bless you for it ♥
