OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
WEDNESDAY 20 APRIL 2016
A BETRAYER?
Memorise:
But behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. Luke 22:21
Read: Luke 22:19-23
19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
21 But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table.
22 And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed!
23 And they began to enquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing.
Message
A betrayer is a covenant breaker and there is danger in being a covenant breaker (Romans 1:31). A betrayer is someone who knows the secret of the strong and/or the weak point of an individual through an intimate relationship and leaks or exposes it to that individual’s opponent. A typical example of a betrayer is Judas Iscariot. Reading the story of the betrayal of Jesus Christ will teach us many lessons. Firstly, the fact that someone is close to you does not mean he or she cannot betray you. As a matter of fact, it is the closeness that fosters the idea of betrayal. Hardly could a casual acquaintance be guilty of betrayal because there is hardly any secret to divulge. Secondly, a betrayal is a killer and so a betrayer is murderous.
“Yet stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? And they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers.”
Acts 7:51-52
The Bible describes a betrayer as someone who reveals secrets (Proverbs 11:13). Proverbs 26:22 says
“The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost part of the belly.”
Betrayal is not a Christian virtue. Before the Almighty God, it attracts a “capital punishment” as it is written:
“But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offences! For it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!”
Matthew 18:6-7
Beloved of God, let us not be caught-up with the spirit of the end-time as predicted by apostle Paul in his writings about the characteristics of the perilous times, when there will be blasphemers, boasters, trucebreakers, false accusers, despisers of godliness, traitors, and lovers of pleasures than lovers of God. I pray that as many as have been caught in these deadly habits shall be delivered today in Jesus’ name.
Prayer Point:
Father, deliver me from the spirit of betrayal; don’t let me end up like Judas Iscariot in Jesus’ name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Samuel 18:1-19:15 and Proverbs 13:1-14
HYMN 2: O JESUS, I HAVE PROMISED.
1. O Jesus, I have promised,
To serve Thee to the end;
Be Thou forever near me,
My Master and my Friend;
I shall not fear the battle
If Thou art by my side,
Nor wander from the pathway
If Thou wilt be my Guide.
2. Oh, let me feel Thee near me;
The world is ever near;
I see the sights that dazzle,
The tempting sounds I hear;
My foes are ever near me,
Around me and within;
But, Jesus, draw Thou nearer,
3. And shield my soul from sin.
Oh, let me hear Thee speaking,
In accents clear and still,
Above the storms of passion,
The murmurs of self-will;
Oh, speak to reassure me,
To hasten, or control;
Oh, speak, and make me listen,
Thou Guardian of my soul.
4. O Jesus, Thou hast promised
To all who follow Thee
That where Thou art in glory
There shall Thy servant be;
And Jesus, I have promised
To serve Thee to the end;
Oh, give me grace to follow,
My Master and my Friend.
5. Oh, let me see Thy footmarks,
And in them plant mine own;
My hope to follow duly
Is in Thy strength alone.
Oh, guide me, call me, draw me,
Uphold me to the end;
And then to rest receive me,
My Savior and my Friend.