Wednesday, May 27, 2015

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL (WEDNESDAY 27 MAY 2015)

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye
Wednesday May 27

THE PRICE OF BEING A STANDARD

Memorise:
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2 Corinthians 6:17

Read: 2 Corinthians 6:14-18
14  Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?    
15  And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?   
16  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.   
17  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,   
18  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.


Message
To become a standard or a positive reference point, there is a price to pay. Going through the Bible, one will see that all those who got outstanding approval from God had at least one thing in common, which is that they stood out for God before they became a reference point. One of such Bible heroes is Elijah. He stood out for God on Mount Carmel. He risked being killed by the numerous prophets of Baal whom he had challenged. As a matter of fact, he was considered to be Public Enemy No. 1 by the ruler of his day, Ahab (1 Kings 21:20).

Another Bible hero is Daniel. He stood out alongside three other young Hebrew men in order to be outstanding and thus became a standard. Several times, he risked being killed because of his stand for godliness. He knew his God and would not compromise his allegiance to Him. On one occasion, a decree forbade everybody from praying to God, but he put his life at risk by praying. He showed that he was different from every other person. The Bible says he did not go into hiding to pray; rather, he opened his windows and prayed three times a day until he was found out (Daniel 6:10). He disobeyed the malicious decree, which his malicious fellow presidents made King Darius to sign. One striking thing in this story was the statement of these presidents in Daniel 6:5:
 "Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God."

The question is: if it becomes a crime to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ, will you be found guilty? It is unfortunate that Christians are steadily losing their virtue as salt and the light in this world of darkness. Christians are no longer setting the standard for godly, virtuous living. They are allowing this corrupt world to overwhelm them, failing to realise that the state of corruption they are witnessing today was predicted in the Bible so long ago to prepare us to meet its challenges (2 Timothy 3:1-5). This is the reason why in today's Bible reading, God commands us to come out from among evildoers, particularly false brethren. This is part of the price of being a standard; you must stand out and not conform to this world (Romans 12:2).  May the Lord give you the grace to obey in Jesus' Name.

Action Point:
Watch out for the evil deeds of this world and try to separate yourself from doing them. You will soon be noticed as different, and you will become a standard to the glory of God.

Bible in a year: 2 Samuel 19:16-20:26 & Mark 14:53-15:5... Read after the cut:

2 Samuel 19:16-20:26; 

2Sa 19:16  And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, which was of Bahurim, hasted and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David. 
2Sa 19:17  And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over Jordan before the king. 
2Sa 19:18  And there went over a ferry boat to carry over the king's household, and to do what he thought good. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, as he was come over Jordan; 
2Sa 19:19  And said unto the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me, neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart. 
2Sa 19:20  For thy servant doth know that I have sinned: therefore, behold, I am come the first this day of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king. 
2Sa 19:21  But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the LORD'S anointed? 
2Sa 19:22  And David said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel? for do not I know that I am this day king over Israel? 
2Sa 19:23  Therefore the king said unto Shimei, Thou shalt not die. And the king sware unto him. 
2Sa 19:24  And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king, and had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace. 
2Sa 19:25  And it came to pass, when he was come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said unto him, Wherefore wentest not thou with me, Mephibosheth? 
2Sa 19:26  And he answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me: for thy servant said, I will saddle me an ass, that I may ride thereon, and go to the king; because thy servant is lame. 
2Sa 19:27  And he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord the king; but my lord the king is as an angel of God: do therefore what is good in thine eyes. 
2Sa 19:28  For all of my father's house were but dead men before my lord the king: yet didst thou set thy servant among them that did eat at thine own table. What right therefore have I yet to cry any more unto the king? 
2Sa 19:29  And the king said unto him, Why speakest thou any more of thy matters? I have said, Thou and Ziba divide the land. 
2Sa 19:30  And Mephibosheth said unto the king, Yea, let him take all, forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace unto his own house. 
2Sa 19:31  And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim, and went over Jordan with the king, to conduct him over Jordan. 
2Sa 19:32  Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even fourscore years old: and he had provided the king of sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim; for he was a very great man. 
2Sa 19:33  And the king said unto Barzillai, Come thou over with me, and I will feed thee with me in Jerusalem. 
2Sa 19:34  And Barzillai said unto the king, How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king unto Jerusalem? 
2Sa 19:35  I am this day fourscore years old: and can I discern between good and evil? can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink? can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord the king? 
2Sa 19:36  Thy servant will go a little way over Jordan with the king: and why should the king recompense it me with such a reward? 
2Sa 19:37  Let thy servant, I pray thee, turn back again, that I may die in mine own city, and be buried by the grave of my father and of my mother. But behold thy servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king; and do to him what shall seem good unto thee. 
2Sa 19:38  And the king answered, Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him that which shall seem good unto thee: and whatsoever thou shalt require of me, that will I do for thee. 
2Sa 19:39  And all the people went over Jordan. And when the king was come over, the king kissed Barzillai, and blessed him; and he returned unto his own place. 
2Sa 19:40  Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him: and all the people of Judah conducted the king, and also half the people of Israel. 
2Sa 19:41  And, behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said unto the king, Why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen thee away, and have brought the king, and his household, and all David's men with him, over Jordan? 
2Sa 19:42  And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is near of kin to us: wherefore then be ye angry for this matter? have we eaten at all of the king's cost? or hath he given us any gift? 
2Sa 19:43  And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than ye: why then did ye despise us, that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our king? And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel. 


2 Samuel 20:26;

2Sa 20:1  And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel. 
2Sa 20:2  So every man of Israel went up from after David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah clave unto their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem. 
2Sa 20:3  And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in ward, and fed them, but went not in unto them. So they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood. 
2Sa 20:4  Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the men of Judah within three days, and be thou here present. 
2Sa 20:5  So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah: but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him. 
2Sa 20:6  And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fenced cities, and escape us. 
2Sa 20:7  And there went out after him Joab's men, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men: and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri. 
2Sa 20:8  When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa went before them. And Joab's garment that he had put on was girded unto him, and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof; and as he went forth it fell out. 
2Sa 20:9  And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him. 
2Sa 20:10  But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand: so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri. 
2Sa 20:11  And one of Joab's men stood by him, and said, He that favoureth Joab, and he that is for David, let him go after Joab. 
2Sa 20:12  And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that every one that came by him stood still. 
2Sa 20:13  When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri. 
2Sa 20:14  And he went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel, and to Bethmaachah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered together, and went also after him. 
2Sa 20:15  And they came and besieged him in Abel of Bethmaachah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench: and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down. 
2Sa 20:16  Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee. 
2Sa 20:17  And when he was come near unto her, the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am he. Then she said unto him, Hear the words of thine handmaid. And he answered, I do hear. 
2Sa 20:18  Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they ended the matter. 
2Sa 20:19  I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the LORD? 
2Sa 20:20  And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy. 
2Sa 20:21  The matter is not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against David: deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall. 
2Sa 20:22  Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it out to Joab. And he blew a trumpet, and they retired from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king. 
2Sa 20:23  Now Joab was over all the host of Israel: and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites: 
2Sa 20:24  And Adoram was over the tribute: and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder: 
2Sa 20:25  And Sheva was scribe: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests: 
2Sa 20:26  And Ira also the Jairite was a chief ruler about David. 



Mark 14:53-15:5

Mar 14:53  And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and with him were assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. 
Mar 14:54  And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire. 
Mar 14:55  And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none. 
Mar 14:56  For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together. 
Mar 14:57  And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying, 
Mar 14:58  We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. 
Mar 14:59  But neither so did their witness agree together. 
Mar 14:60  And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? 
Mar 14:61  But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? 
Mar 14:62  And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 
Mar 14:63  Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? 
Mar 14:64  Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death. 
Mar 14:65  And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands. 
Mar 14:66  And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest: 
Mar 14:67  And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. 
Mar 14:68  But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew. 
Mar 14:69  And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. 
Mar 14:70  And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto. 
Mar 14:71  But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak. 
Mar 14:72  And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept. 


Mark 15:5

Mar 15:1  And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate. 
Mar 15:2  And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it. 
Mar 15:3  And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing. 
Mar 15:4  And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee. 
Mar 15:5  But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled. 

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