Open Heavens Devotional: FRIENDS: HOW TRUSTWORTHY? – Monday, September 10, 2012 By Pastor E.A. Adeboye

Memorise: Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. Micah 7:5

Read: Micah 7:2-7

Bible in one year: Psalms 34-36

A king is a prime target in any war between two kingdoms. The moment he is captured, all his subjects become captives of the victorious king. In Hosea 10:13-15, the Lord told Israel that their expectation for national defence through their men of war would fail and their king would die. It is wrong to invest your expectations, hopes and aspirations in your leader, or men of wealth. They will fail you.

Another reason expectations are disappointed is when they are placed on friends. The truth is those individuals most people take as friend are not truly their friends. Some people may be close to you because of mutual interest. These are your associates. By reason of further interactions, you could see them as friends but do you know their hearts? True friends will express a love that is stronger than that of blood brothers (Proverbs 18:24). Also, a true friend loves at all times (Proverbs 17:17). David and Jonathan were true friends and they were ready to do anything to protect their friendship. When you become rich, some people will attach themselves to you and some of them will be suckers – those who just want to benefit from your wealth (Proverbs 19:4; 14:20). You will be making a mistake to think such people are friends. The day your wealth disappears, so will they. Then there are those who associate with you because you are of the same social status. To this end, the rich befriend rich people like themselves, but in their midst there is a lot of rivalry, envy and competition. Those you are richer than or those you are more brilliant than as a student or those you are prettier than as a lady would secretly be wishing that something would happen that will dwindle your competence and make them better than you. Yet you think they are your friends and you tell them your secrets. Why will such “friends” not be happy to disappoint you when you really need them, especially if that would help them have an edge over you? So Micah 7:5 warns that you do not put your trust in your friends. The only friend you can have that will always be with you and will never betray you is Jesus Christ. As you receive Him into your heart today, He will be always with you, helping you in all you do. He is genuinely interested in every area of your life so do not hide anything from Him.

KEY POINT:

If you have all the friends in the world but do not have Jesus Christ as your friend, you will never experience what true friendship is.

Open Heavens Devotional: ACCESSING ABUNDANT MERCY – Sunday, September 9, 2012 By Pastor E.A. Adeboye

Memorise: The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. Psalms 103:8

Read: Psalms 103:9-14

Bible in one year: Psalms 31-33

Apart from supplies, another thing that God has in abundance is mercy. Ephesians 2:4-5 says God is rich in mercy. Psalms 103:11 says:

For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

Just imagine the space between the surface of the earth, through the sky, before entering the galaxies! God’s mercy covers all that space towards us. If His mercy is that large, then there is enough mercy to go round the billions of earth’s inhabitants. More astounding is the realisation that a very insignificant fraction of that mercy can heal the sick, raise the dead, and do the impossible. But if this is so, why is it that people still run out of God’s mercy? Why did King Saul exhaust his mercy line so soon? Why did the family of Eli run out of God’s mercy at Eli’s old age? The answer is in Psalms 103:11 quoted above; which is the absence of the fear of the Lord. Although God’s mercy is so great yet it must never be taken for granted. The mercy of God responds directly to the fear of God in our lives. While God’s mercy gets bigger and bigger towards those who fear Him, it becomes leaner towards those who do not fear Him. Whether God’s great mercy will be accessible to you or not will be determined by you. If only you can fear God completely, God’s mercy will not only be readily available, but will always be accessible to you.

Moved with compassion and gripped by mercy towards a leper in Mark 1:40-45, the One who asked us not to touch lepers touched a leper and healed him. Mercy gives you what you don’t deserve. Similarly, in Mark 10:46-52, mercy moved Him to hear the cry of a beggar and He healed him. This season, mercy will grip His loins and cause Him to do something about your situation. The Lord will have compassion on you today. Even though you do not deserve His blessing, His mercy will extend His touch to you. On the other hand, work on yourself and ensure you continually increase in the fear of the Lord as a way to ever access His unlimited mercy.

PRAYER POINT:

Father let the hold of the Spirit of the fear of the Lord grow stronger in my heart every day

Open Heavens Devotional: HATRED FOR SIN – Saturday, September 8, 2012 By Pastor E.A. Adeboye

Memorise: Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he peserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. Psalms 97:10

Read: Psalms 97:9-12

Bible in one year: Psalms 28-30

If you look through the pages of scriptures, you will discover that so much emphasis is placed on righteousness as well as the rewards of righteousness. There is no way you can gloss over this while searching scriptures. God is interested in your works after you are saved. Acts 10:38 says Jesus was full of good works. Some people say it is now only faith, no more works. Lies could not be as profound! James 2:20-26 says faith cannot stand alone. It is works that demonstrate faith and perfect it. Also, you need to combine your works with your faith before you can be justified (James 2:24). How are your works today? Do they tally with Scriptures? Are they in consonance with the works of Jesus Christ?

To make it to Heaven, your life must show forth certain works of righteousness. Let us consider how you will identify a righteous man or woman.

Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Hebrews 1:9

A righteous man is identified by how much he loves righteousness and hates sin. You cannot love sin and righteousness at the same time except you want to deceive yourself. If you are genuinely born again, any time you show some interest in something sinful, you compromise your righteousness. Your robe of righteousness is tainted with sin. To this end, Romans 1:29-32, says those going to hell include both those who committed the sin as well as those who aided and abetted the sinners. To what extent do you hate sin? If you hate sin, you will keep it at a distance. You will be far from anyone who can easily lead you into it. If you hate sin, you will never set aside time to engage in evil thoughts much more the actual deeds. If you hate sin, you will daily pray that God keeps you far from it. If you love righteousness, you will be full of good works. Your friends will be men and women of good spiritual standing. You will only participate in activities that glorify God. To what extent do you hate sin?

PRAYER POINT:

Father, give me hatred for sin. Help me to hate sin as much as You hate it.

Open Heavens Devotional: DELAYED OBEDIENCE IS DANGEROUS – Friday, September 7, 2012 By Pastor E.A. Adeboye

Memorise: Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Philippians 2:12

Read: Hebrews 5:8-9

Bible in one year: Daniel 10-12

One major undoing of the church in Laodicea was pride. Lucifer was created perfect in beauty and also had position and power from God. But the day he became proud of what he had (as if they came from him) and began to rub shoulders with God, God simply pushed aside all His investments in Lucifer and began to deal with him based on his pride. If you are carrying out exploits for God but you are proud, don’t be surprised if you make it to Heaven, and you are told there is no record of your achievements there. Do away with pride now before it completely erodes all your gains! Everyone who is proud is indirectly saying he or she is self-sufficient and does not need God for anything. A proud person sees God not as God but as a mate. A proud person cannot show God respect. It takes humility for you to respect God. Are you proud?

Another problem with this church was lukewarmness. They were indifferent to whatever God asked them to do. They were neither hot nor cold. The Lord hates lukewarmness with passion! Earlier, Paul wrote to the Bishop of this church named Archippus to take heed to the ministry so as to fulfil it but he simply paid deaf ears to it (Colossians 4:16-17). Down the line, the Lord could not see anything good in the church he was overseeing any more. From this we learn that we should do things at the appropriate time. If you fail to take correction concerning a particular area, and you think things will remain the way they are, they won’t; things will only get worse. The longer you leave a restitution undone, the more difficult it becomes to do the same later. If you were uneducated in the 60’s, how will it be some 30 or 40 years later? You may think it is still the same level of ignorance only to discover that the very little you knew had become so obsolete that you have totally gone out of relevance. Make those little corrections in your life, family and ministry today before they get worse. Obey the Lord’s warnings now before they get out of hand. Carry out those little restitutions today before they become issues in your life and permanently keep you from Heaven.

KEY POINT:

The right time for obedience is now.

Open Heavens Devotional: LOVE WILL BE TESTED – Thursday, September 6, 2012 By Pastor E.A. Adeboye

Memorise: Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 1 John 3:16

Read: Genesis 22:1-2

Bible in one year: Daniel 7-9

Not only is love expensive, it may also undergo a trial. If you don’t believe this, ask Abraham. At a time, Abraham was torn between his promised child Isaac and God. It became inevitable for God to test whether he still loved Him (Genesis 22:1-2). Whether you like it or not, your love for God will be tested. Usually it would be based on someone or something you really love. Isaac was about 15 years before the test.  Abraham had become so fond of him to the point of Isaac being inseparable from him. I went through my own test some years ago. It was during a Christ the Redeemer’s Congress which held on the 24th of December. It was my custom to spend the Christmas and New Year holidays with my mother because of my love for her. I therefore decided to visit her on the 23rd of December, just to see her and give her some few things before the Congress. I arrived at her house very late. As I knocked, somebody else opened the door and rejoiced that I had come. I was briefed on my mother’s illness and told she was almost at the point of death. At this time, there was no telephone to communicate with others to delegate my assignment. So I prayed for her and told her that I love her but I love God more, that after the Congress I would come back to see her, alive or dead. That was though but after the Congress she was still alive when I returned and she lived for another 15 years. In other words, God extended her life like Hezekiah’s after helping me go through the test of love.

Your love may be tested on the fiery furnace or in the lion’s den. Since Jesus laid down His life for you, He expects nothing less from you to your brethren (1 John 3:16). It is either you love God to the extreme or you don’t. I once shared with my children that to succeed could be quite expensive because of the requirement to study at night when others are sleeping, or study in the day while others are playing. One may even be called a bookworm and other names, yet that is a far cheaper price to pay than failure. If you fail, you will become a servant to your colleagues who succeeded. Every Christian may claim to be born again and on their way to Heaven, yet it is only the few who really love Him that will make it on the last day. You can be part of the few!

ACTION POINT:

Every disciple of Jesus will be required to take the test of love. Ask for grace to scale through.

Open Heavens Devotional: FINGER OF CREATION – Tuesday, September 4, 2012 By Pastor E.A. Adeboye

Memorise: When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; Psalms 8:3

Read: Psalms 19:1-6

Bible in one year: Daniel 1-3

When the Lord sent Moses to ask for the release of the children of Israel nothing happened until the magicians saw the finger of God.

Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said. Exodus 8:19

Thereafter, it was no more business as usual. This season, you will encounter the finger of God and your situation shall change dramatically in Jesus name.

The finger of God is significant in many ways and has definite implications for us. According to Psalms 8:3, it is an agent of creation.

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

God created what we can see on earth today with His hands; hence Psalms 19:1 says the firmament is God’s handiwork. The implication of this is that when the finger of God comes into a situation, the power of creation steps in, ready to create or recreate whatever is needed. Does your body need some new parts? The finger of God will recreate them for you. When Jesus came across a man with the withered hand In Mark 3:1-5, the finger of God was brought into his situation and his hand was recreated to be like the other hand. Is one of your hands or legs shorter or smaller than the other? The touch of His finger shall correct the defect. In addition to this, if you are lacking in ideas, useful suggestions and plans and the finger of God touches you, your creative abilities will suddenly receive a boost. Are you short of ideas that can give your business or church a positive turn around? The finger of God will touch you and what you lacked shall be created. As the Lord touches you today, everything that is lacking in your ministry, finances, and family shall come into being. They shall be created. Ask that the finger of God will touch you today. Release your faith and expect the impossible but desirable to take place. Your situation is about to turn around for the best.

PRAYER POINT:

Father, in any area I am in need, by Your finger supply that need.

Open Heavens Devotional: GLORY AND SACRIFICE – Wednesday, September 5, 2012 By Pastor E.A. Adeboye

Memorise: Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasure of sin for a season; Hebrews 11:25

Read: Hebrews 11:24-27

Bible in one year: Daniel 4-6

The one who has not fully made up his mind about his relationship with God, might be tempted to compromise the Gospel message or the specific errand he or she is asked to deliver to the affluent in society when given the opportunity to stand before them. When compromise sets in, the glory departs.  Compromise is a great deflector of God’s glory. When you stand before kings to tell them the truth, even when they do not like to hear the truth, God increases His glory upon your life. There are several children of God who stood before kings in Bible days and they never compromised: Young David, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Daniel and Paul, all stood before kings without compromising. In fact, Daniel was very outstanding. He remained in the corridors of power for a very long time. Successive kings found him so invaluable that they retained him so as to give credibility and add value to their kingdoms. There is a user of this Devotional who will soon stand before kings. God is giving you the opportunity to stand before kings. But when this comes to pass, do not be intimidated, and do not change your message. Speak the truth and God will uphold you.

Can God send you to a place of pleasure or a dangerous zone without you compromising? If money or self gratification is uppermost in your heart, you will surely forget your main reason for going. It was dangerous for Moses to accept God’s call to go and meet Pharaoh. That errand could have cost him his life, yet he went. He made a choice that could hurt him. What were gains to him, he counted as loss, just like Paul. It was a great honour to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter – a prince, yet he told people to stop calling him that. In other words, he despised the title that would have opened doors to him everywhere he went in Egypt, but rather chose to suffer with endangered species (the Israelites). He preferred the reproaches of Christ greater treasures compared to the sinful pleasures of Egypt. No wonder he carried God’s glory to the extent that people could not look at his shinning face. What sacrifice have you made to earn the glory of God you are asking for? Paul gave up his academic achievements just to be a carrier of higher levels of glory. Without sacrifice, you can never climb high on the glory ladder.

ACTION POINT:

It is faithfulness that keeps you uncompromising in the midst of pressures. Ask for grace to remain faithful wherever you are.

Open Heavens Devotional: VANITY OF INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE – Monday, September 3, 2012 By Pastor E.A. Adeboye

Memorise: The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. Nahum 1:7

Read: Hosea 10:13-15

Bible in one year: Esther 8-10

Due to the nature of man, placing your hope on associates can cause the death of your expectations. The reason some are hopeful of getting a job or a particular contract is because a friend or close associate has assured them of assistance. Never allow any associate take the place of God in your life! In Jeremiah 9:2-4, Jeremiah warned that the Israelites should not put their trust in their brother or neighbour because their lifestyle was replete with lies. Jesus did not commit Himself to man because He could see how vain they were (John 2:24-25). For those living in these last days, the Bible paints a bleak picture of their character and even believers are not spared because, commitment to the truth is ebbing fast. It is increasingly difficult to really have someone to trust among professing Christians today because many have adopted and retained some level of falsehood. Before you enter into partnership with fellow believers, be led of God to the specific believer or else, you would be thoroughly disappointed by the actions of some Christians whose lives have been taken over by the love of money and falsehood.

Similarly, any expectation built on influential people such as those in government, family, church, academia, trade unions, etc., can easily disappoint because those making the promises are ordinary men. How many people who were voted into public offices have truly kept their promises? Basing your hopes on such people could cause a heart attack when they disappoint you. God raised the nation of Israel through the ranks; from humble beginnings with inexperienced soldiers to a greatly fortified nation with mighty warriors. But what did the people do? They took their trust from God and placed it in their mighty men. No wonder God told them they would fail (Hosea 10:13-15). The confidence of some Christians has shifted from God to their prayer contractors. Even some church leaders now put their trust in their prayer band members forgetting that when men pray, it is left to God whether to answer or not. If He refuses to answer, you cannot take Him to court. Let your trust be in the Lord.

KEY POINT:

It is either you trust in God or in man. Who you trust determines whether you are blessed or not.

Open Heavens Devotional: BEYOND REQUEST – Sunday, September 2, 2012 By Pastor E.A. Adeboye

Memorise: A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time. Isaiah 60:22

Read: John 2:1-11

Bible in one year: Esther 4-7

God is unlimited in generosity hence Romans 8:32 says if He could give up His Son, what else can’t He give to us? When Solomon made a request in 2 Chronicles 1:6-12, all he asked for was wisdom, yet God went beyond his request to give him even the things he never asked for. This He did to prove to Solomon that God was inestimable in his life, that even though Solomon can be exhausted after giving 1000 burnt offerings, He cannot be exhausted while giving. This year, the Lord will not be tired of blessing you. You will give to Him and ask for one thing and God will give you ten things – asked and unasked. In John 2:1-11, they only told Him they needed some wine. Instead of giving them a few bottles, He gave them 162 gallons which is over 700 litres (British imperial system) of the purest wine. He did not order for them from the winery but simply spoke to the water and said: “Water, I need you to serve me not as water but as wine” and immediately the water became wine. Today, the Lord will speak sweetness into your tasteless situation in Jesus name.

Where God takes His supplies from, there is much more left. The whole of mankind can never exhaust God’s resources, much less it being exhausted while serving only you.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Psalms 23:5

I once asked God, “Why the waste?” And He said: “So that you will know that I have unlimited blessings. There is plenty from where the blessing is coming from”. Isaac sowed in a time of famine and he received 100 fold returns, and God added to him a large flock of cattle and a great store of servants (Genesis 26:12-14). Esau on the other hand got only a tiny blessing, yet he had 400 bodyguards (Genesis 32:6). That is why wise believers will never joke with their tithes even for once. Why? Malachi 3:10 says when you pay your tithe, you are asking God to demonstrate what He can do. Your tithe will make God to flex His muscles, ready to bless you, while paying your first fruits will cause your barns to burst (Proverbs 3:9-10). As you obey Him completely and ask in accordance to His Word, you will get beyond your request. You will knock on one door and 10 doors will open to you. This is possible because God is a God of super abundance.

ACTION POINT:

Have you ever asked God one thing and He gave you beyond that request? If your answer is No, do so now. If your answer is Yes, ask Him to repeat it.

Open Heavens Devotional: LIKE JESUS – Saturday, September 1, 2012 By Pastor E.A. Adeboye

Memorise: Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 1 John 3:7

Read: 1 John 3:1-10

Bible in one year: Esther 1-3

The call to salvation is a call to holiness. After you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Saviour, it does not end there; the journey to Heaven has only just begun. Before you were saved, you manifested the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21). But now that you have encountered Jesus Christ at salvation, the fruit of the Spirit is expected from you (Galatians 5:22-23). Every attempt at righteousness before your salvation was equal to self-righteousness which is as filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6); hence, Paul says his self-righteousness no longer counts but the righteousness by faith in Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:9). God has not only saved us and given us the gift of righteousness, He also expects us to live a life in agreement with His standard. Today, some people think that it is just enough to be born again and that nothing else is required. No! It is not enough! The truth is your new birth gives you the platform on which to build on, having secured God’s righteousness through your faith in Christ Jesus.

We are called to be like our Saviour Jesus Christ. In 1 John 2:1, Jesus is called the righteous, and verse 29 says:

If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.

This means that the fruit of righteousness that you bear will be used to determine whether you are born of God or not. 1 John 3:7 says:

Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

God is not saying you should be holier than Jesus. Even Jesus says it is enough for a servant to be like his master (Luke 6:40). If God expected works of righteousness from Jesus, He expects the same from you. If you look at the letters the Lord wrote to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3, you will notice that He kept repeating that those who will qualify for those wonderful rewards are only the believers who overcome as He also overcame. In every point Jesus overcame, you too should, because He is our standard. Every act of righteousness He manifested, you too should. You must live a life that manifests the victory Christ has given you over the flesh, Satan and the world. You must allow Him to live His righteous life through you. Are you daily living a life of righteousness?

KEY POINT:

Jesus is God’s unchangeable standard for man. Be like Him in everything including righteous living.