Heavenly cloud- Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: 1 Sam 14 - 16
HEAVENLY CLOUD Tuesday, May 11, 2010
MEMORIZE: “God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect” (Hebrews 11:40) READ: Daniel 7:13-14  The One who ascended into Heaven will soon descend to take those who are precious to Him unannounced. May you be counted worthy! Revelation 1:7 says He is coming with clouds, and not in the clouds. In other words, the clouds that would accompany Him in His second advent are not the literal clouds adorning the skyline, but a special cloud. One person who got this revelation many years before Christ was born was Daniel. This patriarch was an exceptionally gifted prophet. In today’s reading, Daniel saw Jesus coming with the clouds of Heaven.  There is a cloud in Heaven. This is not a water-configured, vapor-like cloud, but blood-washed, holy and spiritually living saints of God. Hebrews 12:1 calls them a cloud of witnesses: “Wherefore seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us”. In the same vein, while cataloging part of this Heavenly cloud also called the Heroes of Faith, Hebrews 11:1-40 said there was no time to present the complete list. In other words, there is a crowd of holy people in Heaven. Do not let anyone deceive you that those who will make it to Heaven are very few or that they are only 144,000. Heaven has millions of blood-washed saints. There are billions of angels and saints in that blessed planet. The issue is, will you be part of this cloud? According to Hebrews 11:39-40, the Heavenly crowd were waiting to come with Jesus as He receives the Kingdom from the Ancient of Days to enable Him rule forever, but had to wait longer because God wanted you and I to be part of them.  If God would delay the fulfillment of the promise made to the Heavenly cloud of witnesses because of you, have you done all you should to be part of this cloud? If you are not born again, you are not yet a part of this cloud. Are you living in secret sin? You are not yet a part of this cloud.  At Christ’s second advent, the saints with their glorious bodies, clothed in white linen and riding on white horses beside Jesus Christ, will be seen as moving clouds if viewed from the earth. While the captain will be in front, I will be right behind Him. Where will you be on that day? ACTION POINT: Father, make me a part of the Heavenly cloud of witnesses at the end of my Christian race.