Open Heaven 25 October
MEMORISE: Psalm 1:1 – “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.”
BIBLE READING: Luke 22:54-60 (KJV)
54 Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest’s house. But Peter followed at a distance. 55 Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. 56 And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, “This man was also with Him.”
57 But he denied Him, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.”
58 And after a little while another saw him and said, “You also are of them.”
But Peter said, “Man, I am not!”
59 Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, “Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean.”
60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are saying!”
Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.
Read yesterday’s Open Heaven Devotional here
An adage says “Show me your friends and I’ll tell you who you are”. The company you keep will go a long way to show who you are, what you do and how you respond to situations in life. The story in our Bible reading of today tells us how Peter eventually denied the Master as predicted by Jesus Christ. Why did Peter deny Jesus? One, the Bible says when Jesus was taken and brought into the high priest’s house, Peter followed him “afar off” (Luke 22:54). It is dangerous to follow Jesus from afar. Secondly, because it was so cold out there, Peter moved into the hall and sat down with those enjoying the warmth of the fire that was set. It is unfortunate today that some so-called believers are enjoying the fire or the warmth of sin in the bosom of strange men and women.
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. – (Psalm 1:1) Peter, forgetting that he had the identity of a Galilean, sat in the midst of the residents of Jerusalem. He was confronted with the truth that he was a Galilean and a follower of Jesus Christ for that matter. Many pretend they are not Christians so that they may conform to some so called ‘comfort zones’ in life, whereas, the Bible says we should not be conformed to this world (Romans 12:2). Peter was not sensitive enough in the spirit to recognise that his location did not support his commitment to Jesus Christ. He denied Jesus to the point of swearing and the cock crew (Matthew 26:74-75). Beloved, let us learn from Peter that we should not follow Jesus from afar. We must not patronise places that would compromise our spiritual health, no matter how attractive they may be.
Sometime ago, I was on a road trip and was accosted by armed robbers. I asked my Daddy why such a thing would happen to me and He said “it is because you are dressed like the people the robbers are looking for!” Truly, that day, I was dressed flamboyantly in the traditional attire of one of the major ethnic groups in Nigeria and the robbers mistook me for a Chief! Beloved, God wants us to be mindful of how we dress and the people we spend our time with. We are called to identify with the Lord always.
PRAYER POINT: Father, please help me never to deny You, however tough the trial maybe.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Chronicles 11-15
Thank you for studying today’s Open Heaven – Denying Jesus – written by Pastor Enoch A.
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Open Heaven 25 October 2021
