OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL: SATURDAY JUNE 29TH 2024

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TOPIC: WHO DO PEOPLE SAY YOU ARE? MEMORISE : “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” - (Matthew 16:13) READ: Matthew 16:13-16 13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. MESSAGE : Today’s topic is a question you must be conscious of. In today’s Bible reading, Jesus asked His disciples whom people said that He was. He wasn’t confused about His identity; He knew who He was, but He was concerned about how people perceived Him. You must be conscious of how people perceive you too. People will only relate with you based on what they think about you and not what you th
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OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL. CHANGE YOUR WAYS FRIDAY 14TH APRIL 2017

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Memorise:
Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: Matthew 3:8

Read: Acts 3:13-19

13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorif|ed his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.

14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;

15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.

16 And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

17 And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.

18 But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfllled.

19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord

Message
Since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, hypocrisy has been a character trait of mankind. For this reason, God has continuously reached out to man with the message of living a changed life. The Mosaic Law was all about making the Israelites live a life that was different from that of all the other nations around them, a life of change which conforms to God's expectation. At different points in time, when they erred from the Mosaic Law, God still sent prophets to them with the message of change. One of such prophets was Ezekiel. Speaking through him, the Lord demanded that His people repent and change from their hypocritical ways (Ezekiel 14:6). The Lord also spoke through Prophet Ezekiel about the change of life He would bring about by the regeneration of the human spirit through Christ (Ezekiel 36:25-27). When this prophecy was to be fulfllled, the Lord sent John the Baptist to preach the baptism of repentance. However, John discovered that some people were just coming religiously for baptism without any intention of changing their ways, and he had this to say to them:

"Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." Matthew 3:8-9

The apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ also had the message of change forming the central theme of the gospel they preached. In spite of the demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit with signs and wonders, the apostles did not mince words in declaring heaven's demand for a change of life to the people of their day. Peter in Acts 3:19 boldly declared thus:

"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord,"

It is sad, however, that many modern-day preachers have deleted the message of change from their sermons because they would not want to be "offensive" to modern minds. What such preachers fail to realise is that the message of change is the only hope for the world. The message of change brings repentance, and repentance brings times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. I therefore beseech you to effect the necessary changes befltting of a Christian pilgrim in your life today. Remember, tomorrow may be too late!

Prayer Point:
Father, grant me the grace to change my crooked ways, and give me the strength of character to walk with You on the straight and narrow path all the days of my life.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Leviticus 26-27
Jeremiah 13:15-27

Author: Pastor E. A. Adeboye

HYMN 11: l HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS

I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
no turning back, no turning back.

Though none go with me,
I still will follow;
Though none go with me,
I still will follow;
Though none go with me,
I still will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.

My cross I'II carry, till I see Jesus;
My cross I'Il carry, till I see Jesus;
My cross I'Il carry, till I see Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.

The world behind me,
The cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me,
The cross before me;
No turning back, no turning back.

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