OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: TUESDAY 21ST SEPTEMBER 2021.
THEME: THE COST AND BLESSINGS OF KNOWING JESUS CHRIST.
MEMORISE:
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; PPhilippians 3:10
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:
Numerous blessings await anyone who knows Jesus, spends time reading, studying and meditating on the word of God. Apostles Paul prayed that he might know Jesus the more (Philippians 3:10) because he know that doing so would bring a lot of blessings.
What does it entail to know Jesus Christ?
It takes staying with Him, learning of Him, doing His bidding and loving people unconditionally. He said in matthew 11:28-29 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me…..”
There are lots of things we must learn of Jesus if we really want to know Him as He is. For example, Jesus Chrsit was confronted with the three categories of sins: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life when He was tempted by the devil to engage in a show of power. However, He refused to jump from the pinnacle of the temple, according to Luke 4:9-13. Jesus overcame by His obedience to the word of God. Against one of the temptations, Jesus said in Luke 4:4 “…..It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”
The more we know Jesus Christ, the more we want to conform to His image, the suffering He endured and His death on the cross.
“ If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” 2 Timothy 2:12-13
Anyone who lacks the knowledge of Jesus Christ is an alien to God and thus short-changes himself or herself. The Bible says:
“And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” Daniel 11:32
The apostle of old understood the importance of knowing the true God, thus one of them said in John 14:8 “……show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.”
Our knowledge of Jesus Christ is all we need for our cases to be permanently settled. My prayer is that you will know Him today in Jesus’ name.
ACTION POINT:
Using Philippians 3:10, pray earnestly to God that He may reveal Jesus Christ to you.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Proverbs 16.
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 28: WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS.
1. What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!
2. Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
3. Are we weak and heavy-laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.
4. Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised
Thou wilt all our burdens bear;
May we ever, Lord, be bringing
All to Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright, unclouded,
There will be no need for prayer—
Rapture, praise, and endless worship
Will be our sweet portion there.
Amen and Amen
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