Saturday December 23rd, 2023
« For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you »
11 Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there a prophet who belongs to the Lord and through whom we can ask the Lord a question?” One of the king of Israel’s attendants replied, “Shaphat’s son Elisha lives here. He used to be Elijah’s personal attendant.”
12 Jehoshaphat answered, “He receives messages from the Lord.” So the king of Israel, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom went to visit Elisha.
These days, people just call anyone Daddy in the church, and not necessarily out of respect as it is done in the Yoruba (Nigerian) culture.
You need to be careful who you call your father.
Apostle Paul told the church in Corinth that they have only one father but many instructors, as seen in our memory verse for today.
I miss the good old days when we all used to call each other Bro or Sis.
The choice of who you call your father has a lot to do with your destiny.
In our Bible reading for today, the only introduction that Elisha needed was that his Father-in-the-Lord was Elijah and Jehoshaphat immediately concluded that the Word of the Lord is with him.
- First, you cannot be greater than your father, at least not while he is still alive. Luke 6:40 GWT says:
« A student is no better than his teacher. But everyone who is well-trained will be like his teacher. »
Whoever your father is sets a limit to how far you can go in life.
This information alone is enough to make you careful with respect to whom you refer to as My Father-in-the-Lord.
- Secondly, anointing flows from the head downwards, so if you don’t check that the character of whoever you make your head is very good, well, he could be passing a dangerous anointing to you.
It is from my Father (Pa Josiah Akindayomi) that I learnt that holiness is the master key; it is from him that I learnt discipline. His anointing was not the kind that you use to extort money from congregants, it was not the kind that needed a special concoction for it to work. I inherited the pure anointing of God from him.
It is not wise to choose a Father-in-the-Lord by yourself; ask God who your father should be.
Your destination in life will determine whom you should understudy.
The affluence, eloquence and large congregation of an individual does not necessarily make them fit to father you.
My Father-in-the-Lord had none of those things. He was illiterate, yet God told me to submit to him. Today, I give God the glory that Pa Josiah Akindayomi was my Father-in-the-Lord.
Application – Let God choose a Father-in-the-Lord for you. Don’t call everyone Daddy.
Author – Bishop Enoch. 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 .
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