Set your house in order
Isaiah 38:1"Thus says the LORD, 'Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.'"
This is an apt message for the year end, read it carefully and prayerfully! I have watched church leaders arriving late to open their church while the preacher stands at the door (that’s me) I have watched church leaders carelessly prepare for sermons and worship without any prior praying or planning, I have watched church leaders carelessly organize meetings without fasting and prayer and thereby end up in a mess. I have watched church leaders ride bikes with no driving license and also allowing their children to do lawless acts. I went to preach in a church where the pastor sits in his chair with a stick in his hand; yet, after a couple of days, I saw his 11 year old son riding a scooter with his mom as a proud pillion rider. This is called utter DISORDERLINESS! This is the current scenario of the spiritual leaders who look for popularity and success with no ethics in their life. Above are the words that the Lord told king Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz and the 13th king of Judah. who did a great job in his country Judah; yet, he received a warning from the Lord to ‘set his house in order’ before his death. Many of us need an outside voice to tell us that our life is in DISORDER, are you listening? May be you can consider this devotion as a ‘voice from God’ pointing out the areas where you need repairs!
I would stay in particular house when I visit that city for ministry, where both the husband and wife were Government teachers earning very well and they had built their house very thoughtfully with a separate room on the first floor for servants of God who visit their house. They were wonderful hosts who took care of me very thoughtfully; however, both the husband and wife were bickering and arguing all the time. The man though was very eager in participating in the work of God had a weakness for women and he was having a close relationship with a woman which his wife objected. Though I warned him to change his life, instead of changing he severed his relationship with me, next I got to hear from them after a year announcing the death of that gentleman who was just 40. Warning! Investing your money in purchase and building of a spectacular home is alright but FIRST set your house in order, pleasing God in all ways. I get emails from people requesting me to spend time with God and get an answer from God because they have not done that themselves, STOP being lazy. Set your prayer life in order! People have time to eat and have fun but they have no time for God? Warning! Parents! Set your life in order and bring up your children in the fear of God! Replace smart phones with Bibles in your hand and be an example for your children.
DISCIPLINE BEFORE BLESSING:
If you want a miracle and increase in your life, first set your house in order, remove chaos, mess, haphazardness, randomness, laziness, slothfulness, corruption, arguments, envy, pride, greed and every kind of disorder. Before Jesus could do a miracle among the huge crowd of hungry people, He said, “make them sit in groups of hundreds and of fifties”, Only then did the multiplication of food happened, are you listening? (READ Mark 6:40,41)
SET YOUR HEART IN ORDER:
When a home is filled with envy, bitterness, unforgiveness, anger and pride then that place is the dwelling place of demons, read James 3:16,17
16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.
18 And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Glory to Jesus! Let the above scriptures speak life in you! Amen.
One particular highly educated elderly aunty would invite me to her home for prayer and tea, she would speak a lot of Bible, Jesus and prayer but her heart though was filled with anger and bitterness against her daughter-in-law. While sitting in her room, I could literally feel darkness hovering over that place despite the Jesus-talk, the devil would creep into our homes if he smells disorder. Warning!
SET YOUR TONGUE IN ORDER:
A single tongue is enough to bring chaos in a place, identify that demon and cast it out. I am talking about that evil tongue in the church and other places, it could emit venom and spoil all our good work. Keep an eye over all your church members, team members , the friends your kids are surrounded with, be wise and handle the situation according to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Be bold to confront disorder of any kind. James 3:8 “..no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.”
SET YOUR WALLET IN ORDER:
You cannot spend as you like and call yourself a godly person, remember that the money in your wallet does not belong to you but to God. Hasty, thoughtless purchases speak of your careless behavior , sit and think before you swipe your credit card, “ do I need it now? Is it essential and unavoidable?” Question yourself before every purchase. Proverbs 13:11 Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.
Bro Sam Jebadurai, servant of God who planted many churches and wrote plethora of spiritual books, when he reached 70, he started setting his finances and property in order. He specified the names of his children and put it on paper so that there would be no chaos after his death
Rev Billy Graham also talks about putting your life in order in his book ‘Nearing Home’ which touched me beyond words can explain. All the above spiritual legends have set an example for us to lead an ORDERLY LIFE because our God is not a God of disorder but of peace..(1 Corinthians 14:33)
