MEMORISE:

I am the vine, ye are the b ranches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.  John 15:5

 READ:  Judges16:20-21

 20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.

 21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.

 MESSAGE:

 The 'S' in our equation for Resistance in the "Mathematics of Christ in You" (MCY) stands for Self-Sufficiency (If you do not understand, kindly refer to the devotionals of January.11 and 12). Most times, what many people call self-sufficiency is purely reliance on their flesh rather than God. In Daniel 4 :2 8-37, we see how this attitude got Nebuchadnezzar into trouble. He said "Is this not Babylon that I built?" As a result, God sent him to eat grass in the forest for seven years to prove to him that all he had was from Him. By the time he came back, he acknowledged God as the Most High who rules in the affairs of men.

 Today's Bible reading tells the story of Samson. This man had defeated an entire army with the jawbone of an ass. He was really strong. Unfortunately, he did not realize that this strength was not from him but from God. I know this because if you look through the feats he had accomplished, you would see everything starting with "And the spirit of the lord came upon Him" Judges 14:6, Judges 14:19, Judges 15:14). One day, after God's Spirit had left

him, he said "'I will arise and go out as at other times before" Judges 16:20) but he was put to shame. It does not matter how gifted or skillful you are, without God, you are no different from the sand in the beach.

 Many a time, when we listen to the testimonies of some people, we still see them glorifying 'self'. They take the shine off God and put it on their efforts. In Philippians 3:3-7, Paul had been talking so much about himself until something warned him "Be careful", and he quickly added in verse 7 "But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ."Proverbs3 :5-6 says:

           "Trust in the lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

 You want God to live in you and operate through you? Then, you must not lean on your own understanding. You must get to the point where you can say that it is in Him that I live, move and have my being (Acts1 7:28).

 We should always remember the words of Aposele Paul in 2 Corinthians 3:5:

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;”

 KEY POINT:

You are nothing without God.

 BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Genesis 21-22

 HYMN 14: JESUS MY LORD, MY GOD, MY ALL

 1 Jesus, my Lord, my God, my All,

How can I love thee as I ought?

And how revere this wondrous gift,

So far surpassing hope or thought?

Sweet Sacrament, we thee adore;

Oh, make us love thee more and more.

Oh, make us love thee more and more.

 2 Had I but Mary's sinless heart

To love thee with, my dearest King,

Oh, with what bursts of fervant praise

Thy goodness, Jesus, would I sing.

Sweet Sacrament, we thee adore;

Oh, make us love thee more and more.

Oh, make us love thee more and more.

 3 Thy Body, Soul, and Godhead, all,

O mystery of love divine.

I cannot compass all I have,

For all thou hast and art are mine.

Sweet Sacrament, we thee adore;

Oh, make us love thee more and more.

Oh, make us love thee more and more.