FEBRUARY 27 WEDNESDAY
BE ZEALOUS FOR THE LORD.
MAIN TEXT: Numbers 25:13 – “In this covenant, I give him and his descendants a permanent right to the priesthood, for in his zeal for me, his God, he purified the people of Israel, making them right with me.”
Numbers 25:11 – “Phinehas son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest has turned my anger away from the Israelites by being as zealous among them as I was. So I stopped destroying all Israel as I had intended to do in my zealous anger.”
Literally, the word “zealous” is a derivative of the word “zeal” which means “The fervor or tireless devotion for a person, cause, or ideal and determination in its furtherance; diligent enthusiasm; powerful interest.”
Hence, to be zealous for the Lord means to be totally and completely devoted to the Lord in all ramifications. This further means, as children of God we are committed to the full course of the gospel thereby defending our faith no matter what comes our way. Our zeal for the Lord is evident in our everyday life, habits and even relationship with others.
Our zeal for the Lord is translated in how we are willing to give and forgive without holding anything back. It is important to quickly point out that being zealous for the Lord can also be done ignorantly as religious fanatics like Saul before he became Paul, set out to fight the course of the law ignorantly. With the continuous help of the Holy Spirit, we can live everyday zealously for the Lord with the understanding that our sincere labour of love will not go unrewarded.
The question we should continuously ask ourselves is if we are truly zealous for the Lord or our zeal is rooted in eye service. Let us lay aside all that will not allow our complete devotion to the Lord.
Let our hearts zealously pant after God and He will sure reward our labour of love. Let us equally bear it in mind that God is equally zealous about us. Hence, while we are yet sinners He sent His son to die for us.
TO BE ZEALOUS FOR THE LORD SIMPLY MEANS TO BE TRUTHFULLY COMMITTED TO HIM.
Prayer Point: Rekindle your fire in me my father to always be zealous for you.
BY BISHOP NGOZI DURUEKE (HE REIGNS CHAPEL INTERNATIONAL) To send your testimony, write us: mylivingwaterdevotional@gmail.com.