OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL: THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 21ST 2023

- September 21, 2023

TOPIC: STIR UP GOD'S GIFT

MEMORISE:

Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. 2 Timothy 1:6

READ: Mark 4:35 -41

35 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.

36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.

37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

MESSAGE

In our Bible reading, Jesus was in the boat, yet there was a storm. This implies that Jesus can be in a person's life, and a storm will still rage. Many think that once they are born again, they will become a no-go-area for storms. That is not true, if anything, the devil will try harder to test your strength in Christ. Jesus Christ said it clearly in John 15:19, “if ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you”.

The mere fact that you are a child of God is enough to attract storms, but don’t worry; as long as Jesus is in your life, all you have to do is stir up His gift in you, and the storm will cease. If you are a child of God, Jesus is already in you, and the Bible says in (1 John 4:4) that greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.

There can be a giant in you, but the giant can be sleeping until you wake Him up. 2 Timothy 1:6 says that there is a gift of God in you, and you have to stir it up. Psalm 50:14-15 says that if you come into the presence of God with thanksgiving, you can then call upon Him in the day of trouble and He will deliver you. Call on Him until He arises for you, because it is written in Psalm 68:1 that when God arises, His enemies scatter.

You can get the Almighty God to arise for you by prayer. In Acts 12:1-10, when Herod took James, the Church did not pray and so James was killed. By the time Peter was arrested, the Church had learnt their lesson and thus prayed, getting the Lord to arise for them to still that storm. If you refused to pray, the storm can overwhelm you,,but if you pray then you will win against the storm no matter how much it rages.

You can also cause Him to arise for you through praise. In Mark 10:46-52, when Bartimaeus was calling on Jesus, the Lord kept hearing, "Jesus, thou son of David..." So He stopped to attend to him. When you praise Him, He will arise for you. If you know how to call God His names in line with who He really is, He will pay attention to your situation and still any storm that rise against you.

KEY POINT

Stir up the gift of God in you and no storm will ever overwhelm you again.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Jonah 1-4

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE