OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: FRIDAY 6TH NOVEMBER 2015
THEME: FINISHING THE RACE
Memorise:
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have
kept the faith:
2 Timothy 4:7
Read: 2 Timothy 4:6-8
6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my
departure is at hand.
7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I
have kept the faith:
8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall
give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them
also that love his appearing.
Message
The moment you became born-again, a race was set before
you (Hebrews 12:1). This implies that until a person
becomes born-again, he or she has no destination to go
with God. It is the new birth in Christ Jesus that gives you a
destination in God. Are you saved? If you are, there is a
divine destination you have been called unto. Religion and
being religious can never give you a destination in Christ. If
you are born-again, you are going somewhere glorious,
prepared for you by the Lord Jesus Christ, both in this world
and in the world to come; but if you are not born-again, you
are heading nowhere. You shall arrive at your God-given
destination in Jesus' Name.
Moreover, it is one thing to start a race and another thing to
finish it. While it is a great thing to finish the race, it is more
glorious to finish it with joy. The devil will do everything to
stop you from starting the race, but when he fails, he will try
to hinder you from reaching the finish line. When he sees
that he is not able to stop you from finishing the race, he
will do everything possible to make you miserable, sad,
depressed and unhappy along the way, so that you will end
the race with grumbling, regrets, in tears and, if possible,
even accusing God. These are all satanic wiles, but by the
grace of God, you shall overcome.
One Bible character who was very conscious of the race he
was called to run was Paul the apostle. In our Bible reading,
towards the end of his race, he looked back and assessed
his performance. He assessed himself against the backdrop
of the rewards he saw reserved for him in Heaven. Paul
knew exactly what he wanted. He had set his goal right
from when his race started, and had worked assiduously
towards achieving it. In Acts 20:22-24, in spite of the
difficult situations he had already gone through for the faith,
he acknowledged that several unpleasant events were
awaiting him even as he headed for Jerusalem.
Nevertheless, he was completely detached from them,
because he was totally sold out to the Lord; the devil was
therefore not able to get his attention. He had to do all these
so that he could finish his race with joy. If you truly want to
finish your race with joy, you must die to self. Satan will do
everything to get at you, but if you are dead to self, you will
not be moved. However, if you allow self to control you, you
will take offence and finish in sorrow, and you may even get
derailed. Are you ready to pay the price to finish this
Christian race with joy?
Prayer Point:
Father, help me finish with joy the Christian race set before
me.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: DEUTERONOMY 28:15-68 and
COLOSSIANS 1:24-2:15
AUTHOR: Pst. E. A. ADEBOYE
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