OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: SUNDAY 22ND AUGUST 2021.
THEME: HOLD FAST UNTO ETERNAL LIFE.
MEMORISE:
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
1 Timothy 6:12
READ: Matthew 24:2-13.
2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
MESSAGE:
While it is true that the devil can rob us of eternal life, it is also true that we can ignorantly submit it to him. The reason is found in Romans 8:31 which says:
“ What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”
The answer to this question is that nobody can be against us- except we ourselves.
“For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Romans 5:19
Here we see that there is something deeper than sin itself- that is, disobedience. When a person is called a sinner, it means there is disobedience somewhere in the life of such a fellow. In other words, the power of sin lies in disobedience. According to the Scripture above, men were made sinners through disobedience. We can conclude therefore that the absence of disobedience is the absence of sin! Let us look at another Scripture in order to see how God views disobedience as different acts that dishonor Him:
“And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.……” 1 Samuel 15:22-23
Beloved, in simple terms, one thing that can deny one of eternal life is disobedience to the word of God, which I regard as the father of all sins.
Are you disobedient to God who you proclaim to be your Father? How often do you argue with His word? Are you comfortable with His ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ or do you consider them stressful?
Some members of the 21st century Church don’t take God’s command seriously anymore. I am using this opportunity to advise you not to join the group of such people. Eternal life is real and you cannot afford to miss it. Hold fast unto eternal life by obeying every word of God.
Father, please give me the grace to be perfectly obedient to You in all things, that I may have eternal life, in Jesus’ name.
Click here for TODAY'S OPEN HEAVENS PRAYER POINTS.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 120-121.
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 8: HO, MY COMRADES! SEE THE SIGNAL.
1. Ho, my comrades, see the signal, waving in the sky!
Reinforcements now appearing, victory is nigh.
Refrain:
“Hold the fort, for I am coming,” Jesus signals still;
Wave the answer back to Heaven, “By Thy grace we will.”
2. See the mighty host advancing, Satan leading on;
Mighty ones around us falling, courage almost gone!
3. See the glorious banner waving! Hear the trumpet blow!
In our Leader’s Name we triumph over every foe.
4. Fierce and long the battle rages, but our help is near;
Onward comes our great Commander, cheer, my comrades, cheer!
Amen and Amen
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