February 8                                     Exod 21 - 24

HOW ARE YOU BUILDING?

MEMORISE: ‘A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.’ (Prov 12:3)
READ: Jeremiah 22:13-19

Life is all about building one thing or another. Everyone, both good and bad is actively or passively building. You could be building your academic pursuits. Or it could be a professional career, business empire or home. It could be a ministry or anything else. The questions to ask yourself are: how am I building? What materials am I using? Can I get to my goal and still glorify God through the methods I have chosen?

In the process of getting to their goal, some people see themselves as the subjects, while others are objects to be used. For instance, some employers of labour, in their bid to make supernormal profits, not only sell at very exorbitant prices, but also deliberately delay the payment of staff salaries, as well as fees for outside services rendered to them. This is condemned in strong terms in verse 13 of our reading.

Similarly, God frowns at employing unrighteous means towards building that pet project. If you must build an academic career that is honourable and progressive, lay it on hard work, effort and prayers, not cheating, bribes or falsification. Any career built using these latter criteria, sets that house on a faulty foundation and one day it will surely crumble.

Today, there is a craze to fill up the church. That’s good. But if you cannot take pains to pray, evangelize, follow-up people and adopt other pure and progressive church growth strategies, then it is in vain that your ministry is being built. Many who want their churches to be filled, having waited fruitlessly for some years, have succumbed to satanic strategies and demonic power of perform ‘miracles’. They believe they are trying to help God. No sir! God will not approve such acts. No short cuts. Follow God’s way and reap heaven’s results.

Pause today and ask yourself: How can I build? Repent of any wrong method employed and do the right thing.

ACTION POINT
Are you building on a wrong foundation or using the wrong materials?
Ask God to grant you the grace to right the wrongs in your life.