Bible Reading: Amos 7, 8, 9, Revelation 8
Memory Verse: “And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.” Amos 9:14 (KJV)
God is a God of Justice. No wonder he declares in Ezekiel 18:4 (KJV), “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Everyman will account for his sin. So if you commit sin, you should be ready for the sanction. However, if you sincerely change your ways and call upon the Lord, He will hear you and forgive you your sins. But there are steps that need to be taken to ensure that this is done: First you must sincerely be remorseful of the sins you have committed and make up your mind to change. If you are that remorseful, then you will be willing to restore those you have wrongly dispossessed. So Restitution is key to anyone who truly desires to serve God. Check your life and ascertain those things you have taken wrongly and make effort to restore to the owner. Where it is difficult to restitute, then seek godly counsel and the face of God on how to go about the restitution.
In addition to restitution, you need to commit to sanctification. That is setting apart yourself for God; deciding to live a life that pleases the Almighty. This involves knowing more about God and living in accordance with His word. Thus Jesus said in John 14:21 (KJV), “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” For you to obey His words, you must know them. This implies studying the bible to know God’s words and then living a life of obedience to His words. The moment you can do these two things, God’s restoration is opened unto you. He says of his children in Amos 9:14 (KJV), “And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them ; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.”
No matter what you might have lost, be it finance, position, marriage, relationship, business, career, spouse, children or any of these things, God will restore unto you once you accept him as your Lord and Saviour and you genuinely live a life that honoured Him in all your ways. No wonder the bible says in Matthew 6:33 (KJV), “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” And God will restore unto you better than you were before your loss. He did this to Job ( Job 42:10) and Naaman (2 Kings 5:14) and he is ready to do more for you.
Action Point: Examine yourself whether you are living a life of holiness and if so, preach the gospel to others but if not, accept Jesus into your life and live a holy life and ask God for restoration of whatever you had lost in the past.
Bro. Biodun Oyapero