Bible in One Year: Sunday, October 18, 2009 (Ruth 1 - Ruth 4) Memorise: "And seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not: for behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest" (Jer 45:5) Read: Jeremiah 45:4-5 4 Thus shalt thou say unto him, The LORD saith thus; Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land. 5 And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest. According to lessons learnt from David's choice as king of Israel recorded in 1 Samuel 16:6-13, the one Heaven will anoint for significant assignments must be recommended by God. Similarly, the fellow must not be a position seeker. David was not seeking for the position of king, yet the Almighty God grabbed him and said, 'You will be king'. Whenever you see someone scheming one way or another to get ordained or to be considered for some important appointments in God's house, you can be sure that fellow is not chosen by God. Anyone truly chosen by God who hears that he or she is being considered for ordination, or any higher assignment will be humbled and would want to reject it. If he has the opportunity of dodging that appointment, he will gladly do so. If you examine those God called in the Bible - Moses, Joshua, Jeremiah, etc, they always asked, 'Lord, who am I that you would choose me for this assignment?' When God says He wants to ordain them, they would ask God to look for somebody else. God has a warning for those who scheme, manipulate or bribe their way into spiritual positions and promotions. "And seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest". It simply means putting yourself where God has not placed you can bring you a myriad of problems. Be wise. Another attribute of the one God will recognize for anointing or spiritual elevation is that the fellow must be a sheep keeper. You cannot be a keeper of sheep and at the same time a sheep-scatterer. If you are pulling down what others are building for God's Kingdom just because you are not recognized enough, you will not be recommended by Heaven. The shepherd cares for the sheep. Some leaders are so stingy that one kobo cannot drop for a needy sheep from their pockets, yet they keep preaching that you should help the poor. They are hypocrites! Let your flock see you leading even in the area of assisting those in need. The shepherd who molests, oppresses or abuses the sheep or his subordinates will lose Heaven's recommendation. When the sheep keep running away from their leader, you will know that something is wrong. Do you qualify for Heaven's commendation? If you don't, what could be responsible? Trace them and ask God to help you make amends. ACTION POINT: When you seek material things you will find happiness. But when you seek spiritual things, you will find joy. What seekest thou?