Devotionals

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Dearly Beloved,
DO NOT CHANGE THE ORDER!
“[God] will bless you… and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:2-3 NIV).
Being a Saturday, I woke up late that day. I could not properly do my daily “Quite Time” with God before I rushed out of bed. I was eager to send my monthly prayer wish by SMS to people in my SMS lists. I successfully sent the same prayer wish by email and even uploaded it on my website, but the SMS could not be immediately delivered to people as I expected. I was frustrated. My purpose for rushing out of bed was defeated. I went back to do my “Quite Time” properly. Then I remembered that I had changed the old order of God’s way of blessing people. God’s order as He told Abraham (in Genesis 12:2-3) is that He will first bless a person if the person has a close relationship with Him, then use the person to bless others.
Many people want to serve God and want God to bless other people through their services, but most of the time, such people do not wait for God’s blessings for them. Many are so pre-occupied by the work of God that they neglect the God of the work. They can spend hours with people ministering to them but find it difficult to spend quality time with God.
Martha was guilty of this when Jesus Christ visited her home. She was pre-occupied with service and even accused her sister who was with Jesus of not helping her with the service. Jesus corrected her, "Martha, Martha! You are worried and troubled over so many things, but just one is needed. Mary has chosen the right thing, and it will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:41-42 TEV). Mary knew the order: she first received the blessings of God before thinking of being a “blessing” to Jesus and others.
Are you not also knowingly or unknowingly changing the order: trying to be a channel of God’s blessing to other people while you have not allowed God to bless you? Are you not being pre-occupied more in the work of God than being in the presence of or close fellowship with the God of the work? God will make you a channel of His blessings to other people, but let Him first bless you. Do not change the order!
In His service,
Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).
NB
You still have the opportunity of being part of my SMS ministry. Send your mobile phone number (including country code if not in Nigeria) to me at . God bless you!

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