Memorise
28 And Samuel said unto him, The LORD
hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee
this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of
thine, that is better than thou. 1 Samuel
15:28
Read : Acts 1:15-26
15 And in those days Peter stood up in the
midst of the disciples, and said, (the number
of names together were about an hundred
and twenty,)
16 Men and brethren, this scripture must
needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy
Ghost by the mouth of David spake before
concerning Judas, which was guide to them
that took Jesus.
17 For he was numbered with us, and had
obtained part of this ministry.
18 Now this man purchased a field with the
reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he
burst asunder in the midst, and all his
bowels gushed out.
19 And it was known unto all the dwellers at
Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in
their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say,
The field of blood.
20 For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let
his habitation be desolate, and let no man
dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another
take.
21 Wherefore of these men which have
companied with us all the time that the Lord
Jesus went in and out among us,
22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto
that same day that he was taken up from us,
must one be ordained to be a witness with us
of his resurrection.
23 And they appointed two, Joseph called
Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and
Matthias.
24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord,
which knowest the hearts of all men, shew
whether of these two thou hast chosen,
25 That he may take part of this ministry and
apostleship, from which Judas by
transgression fell, that he might go to his
own place.
26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot
fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered
with the eleven apostles.
Message
Many people do not know that God has
alternatives for all His plans. This is why
they behave as if God exists at their mercy.
Such people cannot be more wrong in their
perception of the Almighty God. The truth is
that God cannot be held to ransom on any
issue or event. This is why He always
provides alternatives that are more often
better than the original plan. Our memory
verse for today confirms this, as we read
about how God saw David as a better
alternative to the first King of Isreal, Saul.
When a child of God becomes swollen-
headed and he begins to disobey God in
matters that seem very little like tithing and
offering, first fruits and would winning, he
or she is on the way to being replaced. My
prayer for someone using this devotional is
that you will not be replaced in the scheme
of divine project in Jesus name.
In the Bible reading for today, there is a
great revelation of God’s foreknowledge of
all things and how this attribute makes Him
provide alternatives beforehand. The
replacement of Judas Iscariot was predicted
by the mouth of King David who was also a
prophet in his right. The implication of this
revelation is that before Judas Iscariot chose
to be a betrayer which in turn disqualified
him among the twelve, God had planned an
alternative for him! Another lesson we can
learn from this as children of God is that
whenever a way seems blocked, God has
more than a thousand alternative ways to
replace the blocked one. The bible says:
And we know that all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who
are the called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
Beloved, learning from the stories of King
Saul and Judas Iscariot, we must be very
careful about the way we live our lives, so
that what happened to them does not repeat
itself in our lives. 1 Corinthians 10/6 says
“Now these things were our examples, to the
intent we should not lust after evil things, as
they also lusted.”
As I was growing up in my father’s house, I
leant to be obedient through the experience
of my elder brother with our disciplinarian
father. My elder brother was a very strong
young man with a good physique, strength
and wresting prowess. Only a few young
men among his contemporaries could dare
challenge him to a fight. However, the day
our father disciplined my elder brother and
this so called ‘hero’ cried like a baby, I
decided never to do anything that would
make our father think of punishing me. God
has alternatives to any child of His that is not
law-abiding. Let us therefore beware of
doing things that will make God replace us
with someone else.
Prayer Point
Father, help me never to do that which will
make You replace me in Your Kingdom.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : 1 Samuel 3-5 and
Proverbs 3:13-27
AUTHOR : Pst E. A ADEBOYE
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