The theme for Open Heaven Daily Devotional December 15 2023 is Peter The Rock”
SCRIPTURE:”And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”. Matthew 16:18
In my study of what it takes to become a favourite of God,
I saw in Luke 5:1-11, where the Bible tells us that after Jesus paid Peter a visit and performed that miracle of a boat-sinking catch, Peter left all and followed Him.
He didn’t sell the fish he caught that day.
However, all the other disciples also left everything they had and followed Him (Matthew 19:27),
so there must be something extra about Peter, and I saw a little bit of it in Mark 14:54 when Jesus was to be arrested and the disciples, fled.
The Bible says Peter followed after the Lord.
I know that people always like to underline the fact that he followed afar off, but at least he followed.
Where were the others?
Peter always followed Jesus because there was a rope permanently tied to Him and the Lord -the rope of love.
The love Peter had for Jesus was like a magnet drawing him closer to the Lord daily.
As soon as Peter recognised the Lord after His resurrection, he jumped into the sea to go and meet Jesus.
He abandoned the great catch of fish that he had just gotten – again.
Clearly, this shows that Peter was very much interested in the Lord, not what the Lord could give. He was interested in the Lord Himself.
Those who become God’s favourites are people who are not after what God can give them but after God Himself.
They just love God with all their hearts – whether He gives them anything or not.
It is this selfless love that made God choose Peter as His spokesman.
In Acts 2:14-40, on the day of Pentecost, who preached? Peter.
In Acts 3:1-8 at the Beautiful Gate, who spoke to the lame man? Peter.
When God wanted to uproot Ananias and Sapphira – the first pretenders in the Church, it was Peter who pronounced their death.
The Lord will not make you His favourite when He sees that your belly is actually your god and not Him (Philippians 3:19).
Some people want to be able to command the devil, but he mocks them because he knows that they love the things of the world, so they are under his control, not the other way around.
Open Heaven For Today 15 December 2023 Devotional: Reflection
Do you really love God – regardless of what He can give you?
