Memorise: For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, (2 Timothy 3:2)
Read: Judges 16:26-30
And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them. Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.
And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.
Message
One of the articles of Samson’s last prayer from today’s reading is, I want to avenge myself of my eyes. This statement tells us one major reason Samson became an ex-champion: he was self-centered. His thoughts were ever centred on himself. For instance, he earlier asked for a woman whose background contravened the rule of God for his lifestyle because she pleased him well. He also promised to deal with his in-laws because they gave his wife somebody else. Even while asking for restoration, it was to enable him avenge himself for the eyes that the enemies plucked out. As a believer, we must be very careful about what we do and especially about our motives.
If you take a look at the characteristic traits of the last days, you will notice that selfishness and self-centredness play a major role. This is know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 2 Timothy 3:1-4
A life that is given to pleasure is a self-centred life. Are you a self-lover or God-lover? The truth is, in this generation, self has been glorified to the level of God. Self gratification is the overriding motive behind most activities people are engaged in. the love of God has taken a back burner if at all it is present. If you love God, He will be uppermost in your thoughts, deeds and plans. Everything else will be secondary. Pleasing God will be your focus and you will not mind the cost. If you are God centred, you will want to know His will for your life in every area. In situations where you express your personal will, it will not supersede that of God. Where there is conflict between your will and God’s will, you will yield to God’s will for your life like it happened with Jesus in the garden at Gethsamen (Luke 22:39-46) one thing you must know about self is that self can drive you in a direction opposite where God is taken you. Self is driven by lust but God-consciousness is driven by love. If you are God-centred, you will easily achieve divine tasks. But if you are self-centred, you will expect people to pay you for working for God. If you want to know what you will benefit personally from a Kingdom assignment before you engage in it, this simply shows that you are governed by self. Retrace your steps today!
PRAYER POINT
Father, I yield completely to your Spirit from today. Lord, have your way in my life.
Devotional By Pastor E.A Adeboye
Uplifting Talk-Time 