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Showing posts from June, 2011

SPEAKING RIGHT Friday 1 July

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.” (Prov. 12:18). READ: Matthew 12:33-37 O ne way to identify the wise is by their attitude towards evangelism. Is it sporadic or sustained? The wise believer does not leave evangelism to chance. He plans how many souls he will win every week, month and year. The wise should continue in this venture until the moment of death. May you be wise! “There is that speaketh like the piercing of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.” (Prov. 12:18). From this scripture, you can tell a wise fellow by the kind of words that come out of his mouth. When some people use certain words on their offenders, the latter could be so hurt they may contemplate suicide. If your words are as sharp as a sword, you are not wise. Words are not to be used as swords and spears but as medicine. It is a wise fellow who speaks and soothes the broken hearte...

WIDESPREAD HEALING POSSIBLE Thursday 30 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “And said, if thou will diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.” (Exodus 15:26). READ: Psalm 105:37-38 W hen you take the Holy Communion, God will arise on your behalf. The invitation to eat at God’s table is really an opportunity for the Most High God to arise and fight for you. This season, the Lord who fought for the children of Israel, will arise and fight for you. If the experience of the Israelites is anything to go by, it is that when they were asked to take the Passover meal, it was to move God to arise against their pains, sickness and diseases. If there were a people who knew pain, it was the Israelites. Exodus 1:11-12 says that they were so afflicted that they adjusted...

FAMINE UPLIFTS Wednesday 29 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:” (Gen. 26:13). READ: Genesis 41:37-44 A s bad as economy-based famines may appear, some are really blessings in disguise. One lesson here is that some famines are meant to add value to you and make you more relevant to your world. One Bible character whose life was boosted by a famine was Isaac. Until the famine, there was nothing significant about his wealth and status. He could still pass off as an ordinary man. Then came famine! The gains during the dry period affected him so much that his life was never the same afterwards. His greatness and possession so increased that he became the envy of everyone in the land of the Philistines, He became wealthier than a nation! The blessing and covenant of being a lender to nation was fulfilled in his life during a famine. Do you know that wealth far beyond your dreams can come to you during a famine?...

SIN CHANGES EVERYTHING Tuesday 28 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it was thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Gen. 3:19). READ: Genesis 3:17-19 A fter God created Adam, he ruled as a king over the whole earth. He named all the animals with his God-given, unparalleled wisdom. Everything went well and was peaceful. In addition, he regularly received his heavenly visitor – God. All he needed had been provided ever before he was created. Then came sin! The man who wanted to be like God was reduced to dust. While meting out judgement to them, God told him, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it was thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Gen. 3:19). Nothing debases a man like sin! Sin can relocate the one on the mountain top to the valley! The moment sin surfaced, eve...

ENDURING FAITHFULNESS Monday 27 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” (Matt. 24:13). READ: Matthew 24:12-13 W hile addressing the church in Smyrna, the Lord admonished them to be faithful till death (Rev. 2:10). Why? First, He was only asking them to follow His example. He served God faithfully and died in His prime, according to God’s will and against His fleshly desire. Hebrews 5:8 says He had to learn obedience through suffering. If you do not do what you teach others to do, you are hypocrite and such ideals will speak against you on the last day. In addition, the Lord asked them to sustain their faithfulness because that is the only way they can get paid for it. If you served God faithfully for a period but were found unfaithful at the time of death or the rapture, your final result would be determined by your last spiritual condition; your unfaithfulness would have eroded the years of faithfulness! This is a very serious ...

YOUR PAY DAY WILL COME Sunday 26 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed towards his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.” (Heb. 6:10) READ: Hebrews 9-10 A part from the possibility of encountering an extraordinary blessing on an ordinary day, another lesson from the story of Moses recorded in Exodus 2:5-10, is that God has different ways of rewarding His own. Hebrews 6:10 says God does not forget your labours of love. Every seed you have sown into the Kingdom shall attract its reward. Have you been a blessing to your spiritual parent? You shall be rewarded. Every work or effort, as long as it is an act of faith, will elicit Heaven’s reward. After Moses was born, his mother was able to see beyond the physical that he was a child of destiny an so, contrary to the king’s decree and probably pressures from those around, she decided to hide the child until she could hide him no more....

STILL MANIFESTING Saturday 25 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.” (2 Cor. 4:10). READ: 2 Corinthians 4:8-12 T hrough the lives of His children, God tries to reveal Himself to the world. Such revelation may fall either under God’s goodness or severity (Romans 11:22). This is why you must be extremely careful about what God wants to use your life to show the world. For instance, God used David to reveal His super abundance. While studying Psalm 23:5, I asked God, “Why the waste? Why did you not stop when the cup became full with oil?” He said He just wanted to show David that there is still plenty of oil left where the oil was coming from. May God use you to reveal His super abundance this season. Let us consider another Bible character – Elijah. God wanted to show the world through Elijah that He is a prayer answering God (1 Kings 8:31-39). After about two minu...

SOUL- WINNING IS TO BE SUSTAINED Friday 24 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.” (Prov. 11:30). READ: Proverbs 11:27-30 Y ou can know a wise fellow by his willingness and ability to serve God till his last breath. The hands of the wise remain on the plough till the end. Although many start a race, not all get to the fishing line. Part of wisdom is to endure to the end so that you can see the end of what you started. Our Christian race starts on earth but finishes in Heaven. May you not tire until you see the end of your Christian journey! “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise” (Prov. 11:30). Another mark of a wise fellow is continuous soul winning. It is good to win souls, but stopping after a few is not wisdom. The wise fellow is the one who never stops winning souls. Some Christians were regularly winning souls when they were not ordained ministers. After they were ordained,...

A HEARING SHEEP? Thursday 23 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:” (Jn. 10:27). READ: John 10:25-28 O ur Lord Jesus Christ enjoins us to study Him. To do this, you must be able to give Him quality time. You must be focused and have listening ears. Revelation 2:7 says those with ears should put them to work. Your ears are not meant to adorn your head but to receive spoken words. Unfortunately, not everyone with ears effectively engages them. One thing that differentiates a sheep from a goat is that the former hears the shepherd and follows Him (John 10:27). One thing that can heighten the fullness of your joy, which Psalm 16:11 talks of, is the ability to hear God speak to you. You cannot buy this with money. The first time I heard God’s voice, I was filled with unspeakable joy. Hearing God’s voice marks a turning point in the life of the hearer. Until that day in my life, I had several personal vigils during which I told God I...

EXITING FAMINE Wednesday 22 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:” (Gen. 26:2). READ: Genesis 26:1-3 O ne thing you must watch out for during a famine is your spiritual state. Famine time is no time to backslide. The one who backslide in the time of famine may never recover from its devastating effects. In addition, there are certain locations that cannot guarantee your welfare during a famine. According to Isaac’s experience, one of such places was the land of Egypt. Yet, in those days, Egypt was one of the most civilized and promising of countries. This means that going to the richest country of the world during a world-wide famine is no insurance against the ravaging effects of a famine. But how do you know which country is not in the list of famine-prone countries? It is only God that has the list. If you go to Him and seek audience with Him, He will tell you where not to...

GLORY AND CHARACTER Tuesday 21 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” (Ps. 8:4). READ: Psalm 8:4-5 C olossians 1:27 says “…Christ in you the hope of glory”. It did not say the presence of Christ in your life gives you the assurance of glory. In other words, it is possible to have all of God’s gifts and still not end gloriously. Spiritual gifts without good character traits will only lead to shame. A woman who is gifted and beautiful but is lacking in character may most likely turn out to be a whore. Similarly, a man who is powerful, intelligent and highly gifted but is lacking character may end up in prison. If you doubt this, ask Samson. He was gifted and had tremendous power but became a prisoner to his captors and died blind, in his prime. If you are gifted but lacking in character, it will be difficult for you to produce glory, but very easy to produce shame. Take for instance, Adam and Eve in the ...

HE TASTED HUMANITY Monday 20 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.” (Heb. 2:18). READ: Hebrews 2:14-18 H ebrews 4:14-16 says that because our Lord Jesus Christ has gone through the difficulties, disappointments, sorrow and pains that we go through, He empathizes with us and makes help available. Help is ready for you now! “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). One reason the Word took a human form was to have personal experience of what human beings go through. The one who was born with a silver spoon and has lived all of his or her life in affluence, will find it difficult to understand the ordinary conversation of the poor. When you te...

GOD AWAITS YOU TODAY Sunday 19 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps. 118:24). READ: Acts 9:1-9 I n Exodus 2:5-10, at the height of Israel’s persecution, Pharaoh’s daughter went to the river, just as on any other day, to take her bath. In those days, it was the custom of highly placed Egyptian women to bathe in public, flanked by their maids. However, on this ordinary day, something extraordinary was in the offing, unknown to Pharaoh’s daughter and her entourage. It was the day God’s messiah for the nation of Israel needed to be salvaged from a death sentence from the ruling Egyptian king. One lesson here is that it is an ordinary days that extraordinary events take place. This is why you must not underestimate any day. In Exodus 3:1-10, it was on a day like any other day that Moses went about his regular assignment at the backside of the desert; he met with God in a burning bush, and was commissioned to lead ...

NOT BY POWER Saturday 18 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit saith the LORD of hosts.” (Zech. 4:6). READ: Zechariah. 4:5-8 G od has revealed Himself to mankind through the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. But He did not end there. He did that so that He can also use ordinary people like you and me. When you consider this, you will find that it borders on destiny. For instance, why did God send Joseph to the world? It was just to reveal His faithfulness through his life – that He keeps His promises. That is a powerful revelation! Similarly, all God wanted to show the world in the life of Samson was His power (Judges 15:11-15). He wanted to tell the world that if He could get a human vessel to hold the jaw bone of an ass, He could level a thousand soldiers. God is still looking for weak and foolish things of the earth to manifest His strength ...

ARE YOU OCCUPYING? Friday 17 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?” (Lk. 12:42). READ: Luke 12:42-48 B esides giving the right counsel, a wise fellow can also be identified by the kind of heart he or she has. Broadly speaking, there are two types of hearts – foolish and wise hearts. The foolish hearted are those whose hearts reject wisdom. If your heart repels the thought of God and His Word, that heart is surrounded by foolishness. On the other hand, if your heart easily receives God’s Word and thoughts, that is a wise heart. The one whose heart is made up, that God does not exist has a foolish heart. Also, the fellow who down plays God over crucial affairs in his or her life has a foolish heart. According to Proverbs 22:15: every child is born with foolishness tied to the heart. But through the application of the rod, foolis...

JESUS: MORE THAN A COURSE Thursday 16 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “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.” (Matt. 11:29). READ: Philippians 3:7-11 I f you are a friend of the Bridegroom, you will hear His voice. There is hardly a time you stay close to somebody without engaging in some discussion. And if you stay longer with the fellow, you will likely get to know one or two of his or her secrets, either through jokes or straight talks. There is no way you will stay close to Jesus without learning something most useful about Him. In Matthew 11:29, Jesus asks us to learn of Him. His personality, life and times are more than a subject or a course of study like Christology. If you can keep His company, you will surely learn from Him. There are several things you can learn from Him. You can adopt His habits in exchange for your bad habits. You can learn from His wisdom in tackling sensitive issues that were brought to...

DOWN IN EGYPT Wednesday 15 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!” (Isa. 31:1). READ: Isaiah 31:1-3 O ne time to be extremely thoughtful and prayerful is during a time of famine. Apart from suffering irrecoverable losses due to unguarded decisions during a famine, unguarded response to famine can equally breed the opposite of your promise or potential. An example of this was Naomi. Her name-Naomi—means the ‘pleasant one’. But when she left Israel for Moab during a famine, she lost all that meant something to her – her husband and sons and was left with only bitter pills. On her return to Israel, she was barely recognized. Misery had rewritten her countenance. By this time people were wondering if the person they were seeing was the Naomi they used to know. She tol...

IS CHRIST FORMED? Tuesday 14 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,” (Gal. 4:19). READ: 1 John 3:8-10 “T o whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:” (Col. 1:27). The person in you has great effect on your performance. Whether your potentials will be realized or not, depends to a large extent on who is in you. If Christ is in you, it means the Anointed One is in you. It also means the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, the fire generator is in you. With the presence of Christ in you, there is great power inside you. 1 John 4:4 says, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world”. Although the greater One: the Lord Jesus Christ is the Almighty God, yet, inside some of His children, He is only a little seed which has no impact on them. If afte...

SYMPATHY OR EMPATHY? Monday 13 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb. 4:15). READ: Hebrews 4:14-16 W hen someone is going through an unpleasant, sorrowful situation, you can ignore, sympathize or empathize with him or her. The easiest of these is to ignore the person, like the priest and the Levites did to the victim of robbers in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-33). To sympathize is a little more demanding as you would want to take minimal steps to make some effort even when you know it is inadequate. But the most challenging response is to empathize; that is, to put yourself in the shoe of the victim at the receiving end and ask: ‘If I was the one in this situation, what would I expect others to do to me?’ Based on such expectations, you will assist the fellow. This was what the Samaritan did (Luke 10:33-35). Empat...

A VOICE IN YOUR FAVOUR Sunday 12 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.” (Acts 5:39). Read: Acts 5:33-40 I n Exodus 2:5-10, despite the prevailing death decree hanging over newly born male Israelites, Pharaoh’s daughter favoured baby Moses. Irrespective of your enemy’s negative decrees over your life, God will grant you favour before them this year. One thing we learn from this story is that the purpose of your enemies is to serve as God’s instruments amidst other enemies, to stop them from harming you. This shows that not all enemies are enemies indeed. Some are your potential helpers, domiciled among your staunch enemies. It is my prayer that your helpers within the enemy’s camp will be active in your favour this year. “And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of water” (Exo. 2:10)....

THE GODHEAD UNVEILED Saturday 11 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “Who is the image of the invisible God, firstborn of every creature:” (Col. 1:15). READ: Colossians 1:15-19 N obody can search God out. He is far beyond our reasoning. Yet, in order to reveal the Godhead, God sent Jesus Christ to earth. Colossians 2:9 says, “For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily”. So one effective way of making human beings understand who God is, what He likes, what He looks like, how He reasons, what He hates, etc., was by sending His only begotten Son – Jesus Christ. In John 3:16, God reveals His generosity and love through Jesus His Son. Also, through Jesus, the disciples got a glimpse of God’s glory and what Heaven is like on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-2). In Acts 10:38, God showed the world that He is full of goodness through the good acts of His Son. He also showed the world that His goodness is free through the encounter Jesus had with the impotent man of John 5:2-...

IDENTIFIED BY COUNSEL Friday 10 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man” (Col. 4:6). READ: Genesis 41:33-38 A nother way of identifying a wise fellow is by the counsel he gives. You cannot give what you don’t have. It takes somebody with some level of wisdom to give wise counsels. In Genesis 41:33-41, Joseph not only interpreted Pharaoh’s disturbing dreams, but also gave advice on how to solve the problem. His solution package exposed the level of wisdom that he had within. If you are a wise person, you will not only see a problem, but also propose a way out. People easily see a problem, difficulty or challenge but not many people can see the solution. If you are a wise fellow, you will always give rest to your superiors because when they are seeking a solution to the problem, you have the solution. What kind of advice do you give to your counselees? If your advice is bereft of wisdom, ...

WORRYING IS UNPROFITABLE Thursday 9 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?” (Matt. 6:27). READ: Matthew 6:25-32 U sing your mental faculties or mind to worry about things or events, is an abuse of God’s purpose of giving you such great resources. Generally, human beings are concerned about the past, the present and the future. They fear that their negative past can suddenly catch up with them. Concerning the present, people also carry loads of worries. If things are bad, they begin to worry whether there would ever be improvement. If things are good, they fret about continuity. The fellow without a car worries whether he will ever own a car in his life time. When he gets one, his worry becomes whether it will last—will it be stolen or will it be involved in an accident? If any of these happens, would he be able to raise enough money to replace the car? In Matthew 6:25-32, our Lord Jesus Christ commands us not to be worried, fretf...

ALREADY PROVIDED Wednesday 8 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:” (Eph. 1:3). READ: Ephesians 1:3-5 T he Lord Jesus Christ is linked with history. The word ‘history’ is a fusion of two words – his and story. Simply put, history is the story of God. History is a play written by God and acted by men. Hence, events on earth are dated according to the years before the birth of Christ (BC.) or after the death of Christ (A.D.). Without Jesus Christ, the world’s timing will be incomplete. Acts 4:27-28 says that the crucifixion of Jesus had been pre-ordained. Right from the time of Adam’s fall, it was prophesied that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent, while the heels of the former would be bruise (Gen. 3:14-15). This simply shows that nothing takes God by surprise. Ever before Adam and Eve fell, the all knowing God saw that they would f...

COMMITTED LIKE PAUL? Tuesday 7 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 21:13). READ: Acts 21:8-14 A s a bona fide friend, one way of standing by Jesus Christ is to stand by His followers. In the judgement of the nations at Christ’s second advent, the Lord says He would command the sheep nations at His right hand, saying “Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matt. 25:40). If you want to stand by Jesus, look for the less privileged believers to assist. Support them with your substance. Make a difference in their lives. Some people look for the opportunity to assist wealthy believers, probably because they can easily get help from them in return. That is not standing by Christ! Go and help those who cannot help you. Bless those who cannot ble...

HEARING WELL? Monday 6 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them.” (Prov. 20:12). READ: Proverbs 20:12 G od can control what is heard by people. In 2 Kings 7:1-20, He made the Syrian army to hear the sound of a mighty invasion of enemy forces. One lesson here is that there is always a chain of fear except around God. The Israelites were afraid of their enemies—the Syrians who besieged them, while they in turn were afraid of the Hittites and Egyptians. This means that those you fear also have those they fear, who also are afraid of others and so on. When those you fear are attacked by those they fear, you will be free. In fact, you will benefit immensely from their defeat as it happened in Samaria. There will be lots of spoils for you to take home. Ask God to keep your enemies under perpetual harassment, oppression and torment by those they fear, since this will be to your advantage. While driving around our cam...

FAVOUR CHANGES STATUS Sunday 5 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.” (Ps. 30:7). READ: Esther 2:13-17 I n Genesis 39:20-23, God’s favour turned a prisoner into the comptroller of prisons. Are you in Satan’s prison? God’s favour will move you higher than your enemies and you will be their head in Jesus name. When you are the head of your enemies, you will dictate what happens to them. They will take orders from you. Is your life being manipulated by the spirits of darkness? From today, you shall be head over them; after all, Jesus Christ your Lord and Master is the Head of all principalities and powers (Col. 2:10). So it is obvious that one major blessing of the favoured is promotion. If you claim to be favoured but you are yet to receive divine promotion, it simply shows you don’t have what you think you have. Another possibility, drawing from divine favour is that it can change...

RIGHTS OR MERCY? Saturday 4 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me” (Mk. 10:47). READ: Mark 10:46-52 I t was when the Israelites cried to God that the Lord heard their cry and decided to send them a savior (Exodus 2:23-25). In other words, until you cry to God over certain issues, Heaven may not pay attention to the matter. If you cannot cry to God about your predicament, it simply means you are comfortable with it, or that you can still tolerate it. Whatever you can tolerate will continue. When you are tired of a particular negative trend like sickness, it will itself know it’s time to go. For many of God’s people, going by their attitude to unpleasant events in their lives, they obviously have not yet reached breaking point. In Mark 10:46-52, erstwhile blind beggar Bartimaeus reached the point of saturation regarding his lack of sight. He pondered if he had the ri...

AFRAID LIKE JOB? Friday 3 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.” (Job 3:25). READ: Job 3:24-26 “T o whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:” (Col. 1:27). There is hardly anyone on earth without one expectation or another. It is either you anticipate a good outcome or negative one. What is your hope or expectation? Some people expect trouble or the attack of their enemies. When such negative expectations are not adequately curtailed by the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, they become fear. When such a concern moves from the level of minor anxieties into fear, it assumes a higher dimension that appears real or visible even when it is not. Proverbs 10:24 says, “The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted”. Here we see that bot...

JOYS OF HOUSE FELLOWSHIP Thursday 2 June

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (Ps. 16:11). READ: 1 Samuel 5:1-5 W henever we are gathered in small or large groups to honour the Lord, He is present. When we come together in our various house fellowships, God is with us as He has promised: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20). In every house fellowship, the leader is God’s representative there, enjoying the full backing of the Most High. Even when He is not visible, God stands behind the house fellowship leader, speaking through him, ready to heal, deliver and save. Such a leader becomes God’s voice to reach out to that small group – or church in the house. Never underestimate what God can do through you in a house fellowship centre! Psalm 16:11 says, “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is full...