OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: FRIDAY 24TH JULY 2020.
THEME: DANGERS OF BACKSLIDING.
MEMORISE:
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Luke 9:62
READ: 2 Peter 2:20-22
20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
MESSAGE:
Our God is a builder- He builds lives, and He has a plan for every single person here on earth. Jeremiah 29:11 says:
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
The moment someone surrenders his life to Christ, He begins to build that fellow into something great. However, every time the fellow backslides, the building will be affected. I also like to use the analogy of a sculptor for this. A sculptor may decide to carve a lion out of a piece of wood but find it uncooperative, breaking easily, and thus decide to carve a cat from what is left of it. If at some point while sculpting, the piece of wood breaks again, the sculptor may then decide to make a rat with what is left of the wood. If the wood breaks yet such that it cannot be salvaged, sculptor could turn it to firewood.
Every time you backslide, you frustrate the ultimate plan of God for your life.
Each time a person falls out of the faith, they are just like that piece of wood that keeps breaking. When they get back on their feet, God may decide to continue with what is left, but believe me, except by divine mercy, they cannot be what He originally planned for them. God’s original plan for Samson was that he would deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines and then be their leader, but he didn’t fulfil destiny. Gehazi could have become a greater prophet than Elisha, but he ended up with leprosy. Backsliding can cost you your destiny; beware.
The main danger of backsliding is being thrown into hell fire. Some people get the chance to stand again after backsliding, but not everyone does. Judas Iscariot had been falling and rising while he was Jesus’ treasurer (John 12:6), but one day he fell and never had a chance to rise again. It is a disaster for anyone who has had an encounter with Christ to still end up in hell.
PRAYER POINT:
Father, let me never do anything that can make me fall short of Your glory in the mighty name Jesus.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 37-39.
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 5: DEEPER, DEEPER IN THE LOVE OF JESUS.
1. Deeper, deeper in the love of Jesus
Daily let me go;
Higher, higher in the school of wisdom,
More of grace to know.
Refrain:
Oh, deeper yet, I pray,
And higher every day,
And wiser, blessed Lord,
In Thy precious, holy Word.
2. Deeper, deeper, blessed Holy Spirit,
Take me deeper still,
Till my life is wholly lost in Jesus,
And His perfect will.
3. Deeper, deeper! though it cost hard trials,
Deeper let me go!
Rooted in the holy love of Jesus,
Let me fruitful grow.
4. Deeper, higher, every day in Jesus,
Till all conflict past,
Finds me conqu’ror, and in His own image
Perfected at last.
5. Deeper, deeper in the faith of Jesus,
Holy faith and true;
In His pow’r and soul exulting wisdom
Let me peace pursue.
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