Open Heavens 16 July 2016: Saturday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Our Cross Bearer

Topic: Our Cross Bearer [Saturday 16, July 2016]
Memorise: The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. – Ezekiel 18:20
Read: Ezekiel 18:1-4 (KJV)
 1 The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,
 2 What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?
 3 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
 4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Bible in One Year: 1 Corinthians 14:26-16:24, Psalms 10:12-11:7
MESSAGE:
 The righteousness of God demands that the soul that commits sin will die (Genesis 2:16-17). The first man and woman disobeyed God and then became sinners doomed for prediction. When Jesus Christ was sent to come and die for mankind, He made a demand on man to carry his cross and follow Him. The cross being referred to isn’t just two pieces of wood put together. Rather, it may be the consequence of the sins someone has committed. This is why Jesus came to help us with the cross of sin. He said:
 “28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30
 When we answer this call of Jesus Christ, He exchanges His light burden with our heavy load of sin. The Bible says that the reason Jesus Christ came to this world is that He may bear our burden of sin for us.
“4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” - Isaiah 53:4-5
  Beloved, come to Jesus Christ today and He will carry your burden of sin for you. As a matter of fact, the cross He carried during His earthy ministry was for you and me. All you need to do is to confess your sin and accept Him as your Saviour and Lord. The Bible says if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and there is no truth in us. We deny ourselves the privilege of the Cross bearer if we refuse to come to Him and make Him as the Lord of our lives. He must not just be a Saviour; He should also be the Lord. My prayer is that whatever heavy burden you are carrying will be lifted in Jesus’ name.
Prayer point: Father, I bring my burden to you today in genuine repentance, please forgive me and help me lift this burden.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
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