Open Heaven 22 August
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
BIBLE READING: MATTHEW 24:2-13 (KJV)
2 But He answered them, Do you see all these? Truly I tell you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.
3 While He was seated on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately and said, Tell us, when will this take place, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end (the completion, the consummation) of the age?
4 Jesus answered them, Be careful that no one misleads you [deceiving you and leading you into error].
5 For many will come in (on the strength of) My name [appropriating the name which belongs to Me], saying, I am the Christ (the Messiah), and they will lead many astray.
6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened or troubled, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in place after place;
8 All this is but the beginning [the early pains] of the birth pangs [of the intolerable anguish].
9 Then they will hand you over to suffer affliction and tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.
10 And then many will be offended and repelled and will begin to distrust and desert [Him Whom they ought to trust and obey] and will stumble and fall away and betray one another and pursue one another with hatred.
11 And many false prophets will rise up and deceive and lead many into error.
12 And the love of the great body of people will grow cold because of the multiplied lawlessness and iniquity,
13 But he who endures to the end will be saved.
Read yesterday’s Open Heaven Devotional here
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 mans 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 dishonour 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 donts or do you consider them stressful? Some members of the 21st century Church don’t take Gods commands seriously any more. 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.
ACTION POINT: Father, please give me the grace to be perfectly obedient to You in all things, that I may have eternal life, in Jesus name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: PSALMS 120:1-7, PSALMS 121:1-8
Thank you for studying today’s Open Heaven – Holdfast Unto Eternal Life – written by Pastor Enoch A.
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Open Heaven 22 August 2021
