ARGUING WITH OMEGA?: OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL 29TH AUGUST 2018

MEMORISE:
Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off. 1 kings 20:11b

READ: Matthew 26:30-35
30 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.

31 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.

32 But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.

33 Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.

34 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

35 Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.

MESSAGE
In today’s Bible reading, we see an overconfident Peter arguing with the One who’s Name is Omega. Perhaps Peter forgot that as the Omega, God knows the end from the beginning. You need to recognize that overconfidence is not synonymous with faith.

While overconfidence ignores that which is ordained as if it were not, faith calls those things that be not as though they were. When God’s ordained word says “abstain from all appearance of evil and flee fornication”, it is overconfidence and not faith that makes a brother linger in a place where female nudity is on display.

Your faith cannot annul God’s word. Some people believe that as new creatures in Christ, they are now super beings, no longer susceptible to weakness or temptations. Driven by overconfidence and not faith, such people throw wise checks and balances established in god’s word out of the window.

No wonder they end up in the same pitiable state Peter found himself in after denying Christ thrice. After Jesus told Peter what would happen on him shortly, instead of praying for grace to stand firm or praying for a reversal of his impending denial, he was busy making “confession of overconfidence” and not “confession of faith” as he supposed. Hear his confessions in Matthew 26:35b

 “………Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee.”

Unfortunately, the same mouth Peter used in making these confessions also denied Christ. Your confessions must be based on the totality of God’s word, if you don’t want to engage in a futile exercise. There is a place for making confession and affirmations, but basing them on an isolated portion of God’s word cannot override the generality of God’s principles.

Apostle Paul got it right when he longed to know Christ and the power of His resurrection. In Philippians 3:12, Paul revealed his mindset with these words:

“Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.”

Unlike Paul, some people behave as if they have arrived. Some of such people even try to persuade me to slow down and rest upon what God has done for me over the years in the ministry. They forget that only those who endure to the end will be saved (Matthew 10:22).

Beloved, continually search the scriptures, and make God’s word your compass in life. Pray earnestly also that the grace of Jesus Christ will be more than enough for you to finish well and strong.

PRAYER POINT:
Father, I have no power of my own; help me to finish well and strong in Jesus’ Name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 81-87 Matthew 26:69-27:14

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 4:  TRUST AND OBEY.
1. When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

o Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

2. Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.

3. Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey.

4. But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.

5. Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.