Open Heavens Devotional: SAME STANDARD – Tuesday, August 7, 2012 By Pastor E.A. Adeboye

Memorise: For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Malachi 3:6

Read: Malachi 3:6-7

Bible in one year: Joshua 4-6

Immediately Elisha smote River Jordan, he asked for the God of Elijah. Though his spiritual father and mentor was gone, he knew the God of his father was still around.

And he look the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and he said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. 2 Kings 2:14 

There is a thin line between reverencing men of God and idolatry. When your spiritual father dies, it is either you look for him expecting him to come back from the grave to attend to your needs or you look out for his God. If you look for him, you will fall into the error of idolatry where many have fallen, but if you look for his God, then you are on the right track. Who are you looking for: the dead or the living God? Why do you think that after Moses died, God buried him on the mountain all by Himself? Nobody knew his grave. Why? It was so that many Israelites will not start looking up to a corpse as their God and forget the living God. Leaders must be very careful never to point the flock to themselves but to Jesus their Owner.

When a bona fide man of God passes on, remember that the God of that man remains. Our God is eternal, immortal and invisible (1 Timothy 1:17). Even when you cannot see Him, He is there. Elijah may be gone but God is still there. Malachi 3:6 says He does not change with time or with the fleeting customs of men. This is why l tell people that God is the most conservative person in the universe. The dress (Light) He has been wearing since the beginning of creation is still what He is wearing today. It is what is not good enough that is constantly being changed, but if it is perfect, there is no need for a change. God does not bend His rules to suit anyone. Once He has spoken, it is a settled case. Many of us still believe that God needs to learn from modern man so as to adjust His standards. For instance, some people think that stress, traffic jams and modern challenges of urban cities are good enough reasons for not meeting up with God’s expectations. Sorry to disappoint you, the word of God is settled in Heaven and His foundation stands sure. Simply ask for grace to comply.

PRAYER POINT:

Ask God for grace to keep to His standards.