OPEN HEAVEN DEVOTIONAL - PERSEVERE
MEMORISE: "He that hath an ear, let him hear what
the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat
of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God".
Revelation 2:7
READ: Proverbs 4:25-26 (KJV)
25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let
thine eyelids look straight before thee.
26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all
thy ways be established.
BIBLE
IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 31-32
MESSAGE:
One thing that everyone who is born again must
learn is that the Christian walk is not a sprint but a marathon. I have been
born again since 1973, and I am still on the journey until now. We were told
back then, “Jesus is coming soon.” ‘Soon’ has run into more than 51 years now,
and we are still awaiting His arrival. This tells you that without
perseverance, you cannot win in the Christian race.
It is good that you resisted temptation
yesterday and did not fall, but that is not enough to ensure that you will
remain standing until the end. You must also resist the temptation that is
coming tomorrow. If a believer relaxes because of the things he or she has
overcome in the past, it is likely that the fellow will be brought down by
future temptations.
It is in perseverance that many Christians
fail. The devil knows that if he brings temptation to you once, you might not
fall. However, he knows that if he keeps bringing the temptation over and over
again in different forms and intensities, one day, when you are relaxed
spiritually, you will likely fall. This is why having oil for today is good,
but you must always have extra oil for tomorrow. The ten virgins in Matthew
25:1-13 were all virgins, meaning that they were all pure.
They all had oil which signifies the Holy
Spirit, but while they were waiting for the arrival of the Groom, they all
slept because the Groom tarried. However, only the ones with extra oil were
able to meet with the Groom. Proverbs 24:10 says: If thou faint in the day of
adversity, thy strength is small. You must be prepared for the day of
adversity. Believe me, without extra strength, you will not be able to persevere
until the end.
Therefore, read your Bible beyond what you
need for today, pray longer hours than you need for today, and serve God more
fervently than is necessary for today. Doing these will build in you the
strength that you need to persevere. Many people have yielded to fraud in their
offices because the oil finished, and they didn’t have extra to keep them on
fire. Some yielded to fornication and adultery because their strength failed.
Don’t make this mistake; get extra oil always.
Open
Heaven 2 September 2024 Key Point
Your fire needs to last until rapture or when
you are called home.
© 2024 Open Heavens Daily Devotional Lessons
was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed
Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical Churches in the world,
and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.