OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: TUESDAY 29TH JUNE 2021.
THEME: WHAT SIDE ARE YOU ON?
MEMORISE:
The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.
Mark 14:21
READ: Mark 14:17-21
17 And in the evening he cometh with the twelve.
18 And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me.
19 And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I?
20 And he answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish.
21 The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.
MESSAGE:
There are basically two sides of life- the right and the wrong. When we consider the role Judas Iscariot played in the crucifixion of Jesus, we cannot sympathize with him. This is because, although someone had to betray the Savior, it did not have to be Judas. As a matter of fact, Jesus had warned the disciples in John 6:70, saying:
“…..Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?”
Why was it Judas who betrayed Jesus? Juda Iscariot’s greed pushed him to sell Jesus out. John 12:4-6 says he was a thief, always stealing from the treasury. In Colossians 3:5, we are enjoined to mortify the parts of our bodies which push us to commit sin. We are also to run away from those sins like covetousness and greed that can easily get us entangled. Had Judas done this, perhaps he would not have fallen prey to the deceit of the devil. Can was another person who led a negative life; he murdered his brother as a result of envy. Rather than finding out why God rejected his sacrifice, he jealously killed his godly brother. He never knew peace afterwards (Genesis 4:10-15). Reuben, the first son of Jacob also led a negative life of adultery to the point that he slept with his father’s wife (Genesis 49:3-4). His father cursed him, saying that he would not excel.
Beloved, it is better not to be born at all than to be born and go to hell. Jesus warned Judas Iscariot but it was to no avail. That was why what he got from the King of kings and the Lord of lords was ‘woe’. What a worthless and negative life! All the years he spent following the Master were wasted for thirty pieces of silver!
Before you crucify Judas Iscariot, look inward and see whether you are wearing the same shoe as he. If you are, repent today and begin to live on the right side of life as a child of the Most High.
Father, help me not to do anything that would hinder Your plan for me, in the mighty name of Jesus.
Click here for TODAY'S OPEN HEAVENS PRAYER POINTS.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Nehemiah 7-8.
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 2: AMAZING GRACE! HOW SWEET THE SOUND.
1. Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
2. ’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.
3. Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
4. The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures.
5. Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.
6. The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.
7. When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.
Amen and Amen
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