The theme for Open Heaven Daily Devotional July 20 2023 is You Can Be The Best.
SCRIPTURE: “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;” – John 8:31 (KJV).
Anyone can become the best. There are however, conditions that must be fulfilled if you want to become the best. The Bible says: “I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth” (Ecclesiastes 10:7). It all depends on the readiness to pay the price. In our Bible text, we read the promises of God that assure us of being the best. However, in the same text, we read the conditions to fulfil – hearkening to the voice of the Lord, observing and doing all His commandments.
How many of us are ready to hearken to the voice of the Lord today? I have taught my ministers what it means to hearken, which is different from listening. To hearken is not just to listen but to pay very close attention to the details of the voice and commandment of the Lord. Only then can you fulfil the details of God’s instructions. The Bible says that faith can only come by hearing, and hearing by the word of God and not the word of men or the voice of our carnal body (Romans 10:17). For example, if you want to be the best financially, you must pay close attention to Malachi 3:10, which says:
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
A closer look at the passage above will reveal why some people have been paying their tithes but have not received the promise of super-abundance. “Bring all the tithes” the Bible says – not some. “Bring it” not “Send it” – meaning that God cherishes our presence before Him more than our gift. He wants our fellowship. He is not a beggar; we must come with fear and trembling, praying that He would even accept our tithes and offerings.
Another example is when we want God to perform miracles through us. The Bible says that some results cannot be achieved without prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21), even though some translations have removed fasting for reasons best known to them. Beloved, you can be the best if you will pay the price of surrendering your life to Christ and living according to His will.
Open Heaven 20 July 2023 PRAYER POINT:
Father, please give me the best and make me the best, in Jesus’ name.
