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Showing posts from August, 2012

LIKE JESUS Saturday 1 September 2012

- August 31, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional 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 T he 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,

PRIDE ERODES GOOD RECORDS Friday 31 August 2012

- August 30, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorize: A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. Proverbs 29:23 Read: Revelation 3:14-22 I n today’s reading, the Lord wrote a letter to the church in Laodicea. Let us briefly look at their background. Laodicea was a strong financial centre in those days. It had very rich inhabitants who thought since they had virtually all they needed, they did not need God. It was the heart of textile manufacturing, providing specialized medical care for eyes and ears. The church in Laodicea was equally inhabited by wealthy members who thought they could do almost anything with money. Being wealthy, they could afford the best of clothes and medical care. Their comfort and affluence made them proud people. If you look closely, the church in Laodicea was the only one out of seven that the Lord had nothing good to say about. Even as bad as Sardis was, it still had some good people. Meanwhile, th

PROVE YOUR LOVE Thursday 30 August 2012

- August 29, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorize: By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:35 Read: John 13:34-35 I t is very expensive to love God except you do not really have an understanding of this. In John 14:15, Jesus said: If ye love me, keep my commandments. Ordinarily, there is no big deal in this except when you realise one of His commandments you must keep is to turn the other cheek to the one who slaps you. This is hard. It is hard to have the capacity and resources to carry out revenge but refrain from doing so because of your faith in Jesus Christ. When some Christians found themselves in such situations, they wept as when they saw a rat biting the tail of a cat but the cat could not do anything. Also, John 13:35 says: we should love one another as Christ has loved us. This is a difficult task because among those we are told to love are unlovable people. How do you love a so-called broth

MAXIMIZE THE GLORY! Wednesday 29 August 2012

- August 28, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. 1 Corinthians 15:41 Read: 1 Corinthians 15:40-41 G od’s call is not for fun or frivolity. God has definite purpose for calling you. It is important you acknowledge why He saved and called you because God does not just pour down His glory on people, He does so to assist you in fulfilling His call upon your life. As you respond and totally submit to that call, He will move you from one level of glory to another. According to 1 Corinthians 15:40-41, God has different glory moulds for different things He created. The bodies of angels are different from human bodies and both have their different glories. Even among lights, there are different levels of glory. Among believers in Christ, the story is not different. Believers radiate varying levels of glory due to number o

PREPARED? Tuesday 28 August 2012

- August 27, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work. 2 Timothy 2:21 Read: Matthew 3:13-17 I f you are a bona fide child of God, the rivers and seas will serve you. River Jordan served Joshua, Elijah and Elisha. The Red Sea swallowed up the Egyptian hosts chasing the Israelites. The sea solidified under the feet of Jesus for Him to walk on. From today, the rivers, oceans, lakes and sea will serve you. This is one aspect of God’s creation that has been put under man’s dominion in Genesis 1:28. Today, the rivers still serve us in the baptism of saved souls. The water will not swallow your blessings in Jesus name. Have you lost any good thing to the river? Command that specific river to vomit it in Jesus name. Another lesson regarding the parting of River Jordan is that while a river can receive a positi

IDOLS FRUSTRATE EXPECTATIONS Monday 27 August 2012

- August 26, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish. Proverbs 10:28 Read: Isaiah 44:10-18 B efore you receive a prophetic declaration, check out the fruit of the vessel-the prophet, pastor, or servant of God, whether the fellow is still in league with God. Some people say, “thus says the Lord,” but the Lord did not say anything to them. Some of them heard from themselves and spoke. Be careful of what you accept as being from God. In Jeremiah 28:1-4, Hananiah a prophet prophesied that in two years God was going to set Israel free from the yoke of the king of Babylon, but it was all a lie! Imagine the joy of the people when they heard that. But after two years, and the prophecy did not come to pass, all the expectations of the people failed. Instead of two years, they spent 70 years. In others, the prophetic lies of prophets cannot change what God want to do or alter

AMONG THE DEAD? Sunday 26 August 2012

- August 25, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead. Proverbs 21:16 Read: Ephesians 2:1-3 K nowing your spiritual standing is very important at any point in time. But one challenge is how to judge where you are, whether you are dead, sleeping, sitting, standing, running or flying. Who is a dead fellow? A dead man is one that has no feelings. If your conscience is hardened, you are spiritually dead. There are some pastors who are dead. No matter what they hear like: stop stealing, falsifying church records, committing adultery, etc. they will say, Amen; but when they return to their parishes, they will continue with their evil deeds. This they do because they are dead spiritually. Ephesians 2:1-3 speaks of those who are dead in sins and trespasses. The dead are those who sin and take pleasure in it. They enjoy living in sin which makes them no different from

REJECTING JUBILEE? Saturday 25 August 2012

- August 24, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield. Psalms 33:20 Read: Psalms 33:13-22 W hat is jubilee? Jubilee is a new beginning where the fellow who was once rich but lost his wealth gets it back; where the house that was filled with empty vessels begins to have those vessels filled (2 Kings 4:1-7). What makes jubilee beautiful is the fact that it is by divine decree. It is not as if the slave owner really wants the slaves to go, but because God has decreed it, the slave must go. Nobody can stand on His way. God does not need to take permission from the devil before He sets you free. You do not need to take permission or plead with your captors to release you on the day of your jubilee. Has God decreed your release? Then you must be freed! He decreed light and light came into existence (Genesis 1:3). Psalms 33:8-9 says God should be feared because when He speaks, it is done. Your release is s

TRANSITION BEFORE TRIBULATION Friday 24 August 2012

- August 23, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: 2 Peter 2:9 Read: 2 Peter 2:4-9 T here are three schools of thought on the subject of the timing of the Great Tribulation. The first school of thought say born again Christians will be on the earth and will go through Great Tribulation. The second say believers will stay on the earth for the first 3 ½ years of the tribulation period before being taken away; while the third school of thought says believers will not be here when the tribulation begins. I strongly share the views of the third school of thought based on scriptural evidences of God’s past dealing with His people. First, according to Revelation 3:10, if you keep His word, you will be out of the way before the trouble i.e. Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7) starts. Similarly, God does not destroy the righteous with the

PERPETUAL SERVANT Thursday 23 August 2012

- August 22, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 1 Corinthians 6:9 Read: Exodus 21:2-6 I t is love that can make a man to wait for 14 years just to get married to the lady of his choice like Jacob did for Rachel (Genesis 29:18-28). A lady once told me that nobody was asking for her hand in marriage. We prayed and few months later, she had six suitors on line. Then she came to me to ask how she will know the one that is her husband. I asked her to tell them that they should wait for 14 years, by that time she would be through with her Ph.D. programme and would have worked for some years. Not one of them stayed after hearing that. If there is love, there is strength to wait. Love can be costly. It can cost a man his freedom. From Exodus 21:2-6 we understand that any servant that is He

DROP THOSE EXCUSES! Wednesday 22 August 2012

- August 21, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whatsoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. Romans 2:1 Read: Exodus 3:10-16 A fter his experience of the supernatural and God introducing Himself to Moses, he was given a specific assignment. He objected with reasons but they were not accepted. From this we learn that when God has decided to send you on an assignment, no excuse is good enough. You will notice that the more Moses excused himself from embarking on that assignment, the angrier God became (Exodus 4:13-14). Making excuses to avoid doing what God has assigned to you will easily put you on the wrong side of God’s judgement. Excuses can move you from God’s right hand to His left, from favour to disfavour, from blessing to curses. Has the Lord given you an assignment and you are piling up reasons for not obeying? You are

SERVICE FROM RIVERS Tuesday 21 August 2012

- August 20, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. Isaiah 41:18 Read: Exodus 14: 21-31 W hen Elisha smote the waters of River Jordan and asked for the Lord God of his spiritual father, the river parted (2 Kings 2:14). What is that river before you today? It shall part for you in Jesus name. Interestingly, River Jordan is the only river that parted three times. It parted for Joshua, then for Elijah and now for Elisha. By reason of contact with these three men of God, River Jordan had experienced the anointing on these three men of God at different times. There are a few lessons to learn from this. Water we all know is a conductor of electricity. In the realm of the spirit, water is also a conductor. God has used water at different times to deliver a miracle to those who need them. For instance, in 2 Kin

VICTIMS OF LIES Monday 20 August 2012

- August 19, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hanahiah; The LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie. Jeremiah 28:15 Read: Jeremiah 28:15-17 A lthough some people love to believe in a lie, yet God’s standard remains. If you enjoy being flattered, you are a lover of lies. Your self-deception will soon land you into trouble (Proverbs 29:5). Beyond lying to one another, lying has assumed another frightening dimension. How? Lying is now a common feature in the house of God. In fact, lying has become a big money spinner in the house of God. Since people love to hear lies, they flock around those who will tell it to them. If instead of hearing the undiluted Word of God you prefer to run from one prophet to the other; you are a lover of lies and you may soon be a willing victim of deception. Lying in the name of the Lord is a grievous offence. Worse still is giv

ARISE Sunday 19 August 2012

- August 18, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. Isaiah 60:1 Read: Isaiah 60:1-3 I saiah 60:1 says Arise. Arise is a command. God is not begging, pleading or advising you to rise. This is an order coming from the Commander-in-chief of the heavenly hosts. The command to arise can mean different things to different people depending on their present spiritual location or situation. If you are already dead, arise could mean come back to life. That was the kind of order Jesus gave to Jairus’ dead child (Mark 5:35-42). In any way you are spiritually dead, today hear your Master’s command, Arise! On the other hand, to the sleeping, arise could mean wake up. When the Lord took Peter, James and John with Him to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane in Mark 14:40-42, they were sleeping because their eyes were heavy. So the Lord told them to wake up. Are you sleeping spiritually? In the

JUBILEE RELOCATES Saturday 18 August 2012

- August 17, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Hebrews 3:19 Read: John 11:39-45 G od can restore your lost dreams and destiny when your day of jubilee comes. Jubilee also is a time of relocation. The one in bondage at jubilee is free to go back to family, another location, a new position, etc. when the day of jubilee came for Moses, God moved him from the backside of the desert and placed him at the centre point of history. He went from where nothing was happening to where history was being made. Are you where nothing is happening presently? The lord will soon relocate you to where your contributions would be most valued. Another person who relocated during jubilee was Joseph. He was in prison for doing nothing wrong and seemed to have been forgotten by those he thought could help him. Yet, in Genesis 41:37-46, when his day of jubilee dawned, God relocated him from prison to the throne. Before

DANGEROUS DESIRES Friday 17 August 2012

- August 16, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul. Psalms 106:15 Read: Numbers 11:31-35 S ome believers are so much in a hurry that they cannot wait on God for anything. If God expects you to wait, then you have nothing else to do but wait. In fulfilling His promises, God expects you to wait on Him. The Christian race is a marathon where patience is a key component. God rewards the patient. He also rewards the impatient. When you are impatient with God concerning a blessing, by the time He gives you the blessing prematurely, it will either cause you shame for the rest of your life or may even kill you. Psalms 106:15 says God gave the Israelites their request but added leanness to their souls. Why? While in the wilderness, God gave them a mono-food product-manna but they soon got tired of it and began to lust for meat. At some point, in virtually all the families, after complaining so bitter

LOVE IS SACRIFICIAL Thursday 16 August 2012

- August 15, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 Read: Genesis 29:18-28 W hen you are genuinely in love, making sacrifices for the one you love will be a thing of pleasure and not a burden. Jacob was in love with Rachel and asked her father what he must do to marry her. He told him to serve for seven years and he willingly did so. Because of his love, seven years were like seven days to him. When he was deceived, yet he agreed to serve another seven years for his heartthrob (Genesis 29:18-28). No price is too much to pay for the one you love. If you truly love your wife, you will pay the price of faithfulness in the midst of pressure to be unfaithful to her in your workplace or even in the ministry. Some husbands are yet to demonstrate their love for their wives by sacrificially giving to her like God gave us H

WORD COMPLIANCE Wednesday 15 August 2012

- August 14, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. Isaiah 8:20 Read: Isaiah 8:16-20 A fter the wonderful sight that Moses experienced, the Personality behind the experience introduced Himself to Moses as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face: for he was afraid to look upon God. Exodus 3:6 This is the sovereign Lord, the covenant- keeping God who called Abraham from idolatry into holiness and charted a path of greatness for him. When He called Moses, He immediately began to talk about holiness (Exodus 3:5). It is amusing to hear people talk about their supernatural encounters which they claim is from God, when they are anything but holy. A check here is that any divine encounter with God draws you closer to Go

WATCH OVER YOUR HEAD Tuesday 14 August 2012

- August 13, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly. Hebrews 13:18 Read: 1 Timothy 2:1-4 I n 2 Kings 2:14, Elisha smote the River Jordan and asked for the God of Elijah. This is indicative of the fact that even though his master had left the scene, his master’s God was still around since He does not change. On the other hand, that same call was another way of saying: “Thou God of my daddy, I need you now”. For you to call on the God of your spiritual father, it is expected that your spiritual father must have been a man with a link to God. If there is no evidence of a working relationship between God and that man of God, be very careful. Be wary of who you call your father in the Lord because whatever happens to the father will likely happen to the son. Be mindful of who ordains or lays hands on your head, including your hair dresser or barber. Some chant incantatio

EXPECTING FORM LIES? Monday 13 August 2012

- August 12, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint. Proverbs 25:19 Read: Proverbs 25:14-19 B eauty is a blessing but it easily attracts pride which invariably turns it into a curse. Before Lucifer who was created perfect in beauty could fall, his beauty deceived him (Ezekiel 28:11-17). Are you beautiful or handsome? Never use your physical qualities as basis for your expectations because they will surely fail you. Humble yourself before God. He gave you what you have so subordinate your physical looks under His control and follow the direction He leads you, so that your beauty can work in your favour. If you are beautiful or handsome, you have no right to reject, speak against, laugh at or discriminate against those who are not as physically endowed as you because they did not create themselves nor did you. Every beautiful trait God has given to you will not

POWER WITHOUT CONTROL Sunday 12 August 2012

- August 11, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. James 3:10 Read: James 3: 5-12 E lijah was one Bible character that experienced victory all the way. In 2 Kings 1:9-15, some sets of soldiers came to arrest him but soon realised that they were the ones being arrested. Those who surrendered, he spared but those who refused to surrender, he roasted alive. He was so full of power. Power is good but very dangerous. It is commonly said that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. If you have power, you need lots of restraint lest it turns your victory into defeat. With power of God, you can easily secure victory but you need humility and the fruit of the Spirit to sustain that victory. A minister of God who uses his or her tongue unadvisedly will soon erode the gains of victory earlier obtained. What is the use of power without control? One reas

ARE YOU CONTROLLABLE? Saturday 11 August 2012

- August 10, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me. Psalms 31:15 Read: Genesis 8:1-2 O ur God is a God of structure and order. He expects you to understand and heed the signs He sends to you. When He “shows you red”, know it is time to stop. When He “shows you yellow”, you have to be prepared and when He “shows you green”, then know it is time to go. God is in charge of your life and He wants to control it. Control can refer to restricted flow. In Genesis 8: 1-2, we see God controlling the rain. We all know that rain is good but too much of it is bad. In recent times, we have seen the devastating effects of floods. If you have ever been a victim of flooding, whenever the rain is heavy and persistent, you will become scared. Flooding occurs as a result of too much rain. The rain of God’s blessings that can adversely affect you shall not come in Jesus name. Accordin

HARVETS: ANY PRIOR SEED? Friday 10 August 2012

- August 09, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: Be not deceived: God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatians 6:7 Read: Isaiah 45:11-13 O ne of the promises the Lord made to the church in Philadelphia was that He would keep them from the hour of temptation that would come upon the world. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Revelation 3:10 The lesson here is that whatever you do to God has a way of coming back to you. If you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you (James 4:8). If you obey all He commands faithfully, He will not only cause the work of His hands to obey you, but will also ask you to command Him and He will give life to your decrees (Isaiah 45:11). Some people issue decrees based on Isaiah 45:11 and Job 22:28 but are surprised when they are ignored. If yo

LOVE IS UNQUENCHABLE Thursday 9 August 2012

- August 08, 2012

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: Many water cannot quench love, neither can the floods drawn it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned. Song of Solomon 8:7 Read: Song of Solomon 8:6-7 A lthough it is difficult to effectively define love, it is clear that love involves very powerful emotions. Solomon was a beneficiary of God’s love and he writes that love is equal to death in terms of strength (Song of Solomon 8:6). Most people fear death but very few fear love, yet they are equal in strength. Death and love have a sense of finality associated with them. Those who really know what love is are always afraid of falling in love because once you really love someone, it does not matter what the fellow does, your love for that individual never dies. Song of Solomon 8:7 says: Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his hou

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