OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL: GOD, MY REFUGE.

MEMORISE : I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Psalm 91 : 2.

READ : Psalm 71 : 1 - 3.

1 In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.
2 Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me.
3 Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : JEREMIAH 49 : 23 - 50 : 46; PSALM 60.
The Almighty God, who is also the Most High, is our refuge, if only we belong to Him. A refuge is a place where you hide especially when trouble comes. For me, this place is in the presence of God Almighty. I can hide underneath the Name of Jesus and say nobody can touch or harm me. Hiding does not always indicate cowardice. Brave men also hide. As a matter of fact, an adage in my native language says in part that ‘you know a man of valour by his ability to fight and hide’. There are several occasions in the Bible where strong men of God were told by God to go and hide. 1 Kings 17 : 1 - 3 shows such an instance. Here we meet a mighty man of God who came before a king and pronounced that there would be no rain until he commanded it. Immediately after his statement, God told him to go and hide. Is this not strange? Was God afraid of the king? No! There are moments when we have to learn to hide. When God says you should go and hide, what it implies is that the battle is no more your own but His own. When God starts the fight, you have to leave the scene. I have learnt to hide when God says I should hide. If God asks me to hide so that He can fight for me, I will gladly hide.
In Psalm 71 : 1 - 3, the Psalmist declared his total trust in the Lord and earnestly prayed to the One who has never lost a battle. He told the Lord that if God would not keep him, he was finished, because he had no surer alternative. One of my sons told the story of how he threw away all the charms he took from his father’s house after his conversion. According to him, he blew the bridge between his magic world and the new world in Christ he had come into. It became difficult for him to think of going back because he had destroyed the charms which took his father decades to gather in the occult world. Let’s pay close attention to Psalm 71 : 2 which says:
“Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me.”
The Psalmist points out something fundamental to divine security here. It is only the righteousness of God that can keep and cause us to escape the onslaught of the wicked world. It is also the life of holiness that will make God to incline His ear to our cry when we call on Him in the time of trouble. The promise of God in Psalm 91 : 15 is for those who love Him, know His name and keep his commandments ( Psalm 91 : 14 ). I pray for you that the Almighty God will be your refuge as from today in Jesus’ Name.

ACTION POINT :
Put your trust in the Lord and shun any other alternatives the world may offer, and you will live in peace and safety.

AUTHOR : Pst E . A ADEBOYE.

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OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL: VICTORY OVER ENEMIES II.

MEMORISE : And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

READ : DANIEL 6 : 19 - 22.
19 Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.
20 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
21 Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.
22 My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : JEREMIAH 47 : 1 - 49 : 22; PSALM 59.
Paul in Philippians 3 : 10 prayed earnestly:
“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;”
One wonders what prompted the apostle to pray this type of prayer! It may be, as we shall shortly see, that he discovered the secret of victory in the knowledge of the Most High God. It is beneficial to know Christ. In Daniel 11 : 32, the Bible reveals that the people who know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. The knowledge of God is therefore the key to doing exploits for Him. The degree of your knowledge of the Almighty God determines the level of victory you will experience over your enemies. For victorious Christian living therefore, knowledge is not a matter of choice but rather that of life and death; for lack of knowledge could lead to death ( Hosea 4 : 6 ). Knowledge is generally accepted as power. Power to conquer your enemies is in knowledge. This knowledge should be the knowledge of the Most High. Let’s take a look at examples of some heroes of faith and see how their knowledge of God gave them victory.
Joseph is a hero of faith who knew God, and this knowledge helped him to abstain from sexual immorality. When his master’s wife asked him to sleep with her, he in Genesis 39 : 9c said:
“....how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
Joseph knew that the act of sleeping with his master’s wife was directly a sin against God because He knew the God of his fathers to be a Holy God. Another example is Daniel. Daniel knew his God to the level of obeying Him rather than observing the malicious decree King Darius signed up to in ignorance. Daniel knew that with his God, all things are possible. He went ahead and prayed to the God that can kill and can make alive. Jesus said we should not fear those who can only kill the body; rather we should fear the One who can kill both the body and send the soul to hell ( Matthew 10 : 28 ). The three Hebrew young men were boastful of their God as being able to deliver them ( Daniel 3 : 16 - 18 ). They also knew that it could please Him to recall them to Himself in heaven through the fiery furnace. When you know God to be a consuming fire, you will not want to do anything that will offend Him. In return, your life of consecration and holiness will shield you against the onslaught of the enemy. Seek to know the Trinity today.
PRAYER POINT :
Father, reveal yourself to me. Let me know you as I ought to, and let the knowledge of you give me victory all the days of my life.
AUTHOR : Pst E . A ADEBOYE.

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THEME : VICTORY OVER ENEMIES I.

THEME : VICTORY OVER ENEMIES I.
MEMORISE :
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91 : 1.
READ : PSALM 91 : 1 - 2.
1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : JEREMIAH 44 - 46; PSALM 58.
The first thing that strikes you in Psalm 91 : 1 is that there is someone called “The Most High”. He is called “The Most High” because He is higher than the highest ( Ecclesiastes 5 :8b ). The Name of that Person called “The Most High” is Jesus. It is written concerning Him in Philippians 2 : 9 that:
“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:”
There is a story about four boys who were discussing their fathers. Each boasted about his own. The first said his father was the greatest because his father was the Head of State. The second boy said his father was greater because his father was the physician of the Head of State. His father could order the president to stay in bed for one week and the president would obey him. The third boy then said his father was higher than the fathers of the other two because his father was the medicine man of their fathers. He could kill the two fathers if he wished. The fourth boy, who was the son of a messenger, said his father was the greatest of all four fathers because, not only could his father kill all their fathers, he could also raise the dead. They were amazed, but he told them he was not talking about his physical father but the One above, whose name is Jesus.
In our reading today, we can see factors that guarantee us victory over our enemies. One factor is that “The Most High” has a secret place where He hides his own in the time of trouble. The secret place of the Most High is not a building. It is a Name, His Name. Proverbs 18 : 10 says:
“The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.”
The Name of Jesus is our secret place of safety because the Father has ordained that at the Name of Jesus, every knee should bow ( Philippians 2 : 10 ). We also discover from today’s Bible reading that there is someone who is called “The Almighty”. He is so called because He is very strong; He can even do the impossible ( Luke 1 : 37 ). The reason He can do the impossible is because power, real power, belongs to Him ( Psalm 62 : 11 ). The question then is, “how do I get under the shadow of this Almighty God?” It is simple; all you need to do is to make sure you are born-again. In other words, you must be born of God through the appropriation of the work of atonement by Jesus Christ when you confess and renounce your sinful ways. The Bible says that only those who are born of God and live by faith in Him are victors ( 1 John 5 : 4 - 5 ). Victory is yours in Jesus’ Name.
PRAYER POINT :
Father, keep me from evil and let your mighty hand uphold me that I may not fall away from your grace and mercy.
AUTHOR : Pst E . A ADEBOYE.

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OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL:- ARE YOU A FALSE WITNESS?

FRIDAY 7 MARCH 2014.

THEME : ARE YOU A FALSE WITNESS?

MEMORISE : A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.
Proverbs 19 : 9.

READ : MARK 14 : 57 - 60.

57 And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying,

58 We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.

59 But neither so did their witness agree together.

60 And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : JEREMIAH 33 : 14 - 35 : 19; PSALM 55 : 1 - 15.

In Exodus 20 : 16, God commanded that we should not bear false witness against our neighbour. The consequence of being a false witness is found in Proverbs 19 : 9. Wicked people cannot survive without false witnesses. They rely on false witnesses to perpetrate their evil deeds. For example, Ahab could not have gotten rid of Naboth but for the use of false witnesses ( 1 Kings 21 : 13 ). It was the false witness of Rehum the chancellor, Shimshai the scribe and their cohorts against the Jews that halted the rebuilding project of Zerubbabel (Ezra 4). These people wrote false allegations against the Jews and their leadership and sent the document to King Artaxerxes. The result as stated in Ezra 4 : 24 was devastating:

“Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.”

The effects of false witnesses are unimaginable. As a matter of fact, a false witness is a murderer in disguise. His or her motive cannot be mistaken: it is to destroy. I pray for you that false witnesses shall not destroy your destiny in Jesus’ Name.

When the Jewish leaders could find nothing to nail Jesus Christ, they opted for blackmail and false witnesses. Jesus had earlier told those who were following him in John 14 : 30b that:

“…for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.”

So the only way they could get at Jesus was through false witnesses. Despite the conspiracy, the Bible in Mark 14 : 56 says:

“For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together.”

There is a great lesson that you as a follower of Christ must learn from this story. You must live above-board like your Master if you don’t want to become an easy prey for the accuser of the brethren – Satan. In the same vein, you must learn to be transparently honest. This will prevent you from being a false witness. When you engage in false witnessing and lying, you are crucifying Jesus Christ again and the danger is that you will fall into a state where it becomes difficult to be restored ( Hebrews 6 : 4 - 6 ). Another danger of being a false witness is that it exposes one to becoming a reprobate. This is a state where the conscience no longer checkmates a person against wrongdoing ( 2 Timothy 3 : 8, Romans 1 : 28 - 32 ). In what areas of your life are you a false witness? Fake affidavit? False claims that you are married with so many children whereas you have a family of just three? I pray for you that a lying tongue will not blot your name from the book of life in Jesus’ Name.

PRAYER POINT :

Father, deliver me from a lying tongue and help me to be a true witness of the Cross of Jesus.

AUTHOR : Pst E . A ADEBOYE.

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OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL;- ATTENTIVE TO THE MASTER’S INSTRUCTIONS ?

WEDNESDAY 5 MARCH 2014.

MEMORISE : Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.
Mark 14 : 38.

READ : MARK 14 : 37 - 38.

37 And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?

38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : JEREMIAH 29 : 24 - 31: 40 ; PSALM 52.

It is always good to pay close attention to instructions given by someone you claim to be your guide or guardian. Often, we miss many opportunities, breakthroughs and victories because we fail to see the details of the instructions given to us on a subject. A multi-national company once held a promotional exam for their middle-cadre staff. The questions were simple, but the exam was meant to test their ability to follow instructions. There were ten items on the question paper with a long paragraph of instructions. The time allocated for the examination was only ten minutes, but reading the instructions through properly would take about five minutes. For this reason, many did not take time to read the instructions but went ahead to answer all the questions, which appeared very simple. However, the candidates were required to answer just one question, and the instruction to this effect was hidden in the last line of the instructions they failed to read. Whoever answered more than one question failed the test. Only one person read through to the end of the instructions. The instruction, indeed, was the examination!

The apostles of old also had issues with paying attention to detailed instructions and we must learn from them. When our Lord came face to face with the reality of suffering and the Cross, He admitted that it was not going to be easy ( Mark 14 : 34 ). There was only one way to pass the examination of the moment – prayer. He went to pray and told the disciples to do the same; though not for Him, but for themselves ( Mark 14 : 38 ). They were however busy sleeping! Beloved, to make it to the end of our Christian race, let us pay close attention to the details of the Lord’s instructions and we shall be happy we did. When the Lord in Malachi 3 : 10a said:

“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse”

He meant all tithes. You do not need an advanced dictionary to understand what “all” means. When also the Bible in 1 Corinthians 11 : 10 says:

“For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.”

Apostle Paul did not say much on why a woman should veil her head while praying or prophesying. However, a conscientious child of God would not press for too many details before she jumps at this simple instruction of covering within the spiritual environment. I pray for you that the grace to pay very close attention to detailed instructions will be given to you in Jesus’ Name.

PRAYER POINT :

Father, though I may not fully understand why I should, give me the grace to be completely obedient to your instructions.

AUTHOR : Pst E . A ADEBOYE.

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Vision and Life.

Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you're riding through the ruts, don't complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don't bury your thoughts; put your vision to reality. Wake up and live!!!!!

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OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL: THE INFALLIBLE WORD OF GOD.

 

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.

TUESDAY 4 MARCH 2014.

THEME : THE INFALLIBLE WORD OF GOD.

MEMORISE : Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
Mark 13 : 31.

READ : MARK 14 : 27 - 31.

27 And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.

28 But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.

29 But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.

30 And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.

31 But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : JEREMIAH 27 : 1- 29 : 23; PSALM 51.

One underlying lesson from the encounter of Peter with the Lord Jesus Christ in today’s Bible reading is that whatever the Lord says shall come to pass. It is therefore pertinent to take note of all prophesies of Jesus Christ as they affect the cosmic world and beyond. Surely, they shall come to pass. There was a story of a mad man who was fond of collecting alms, especially food items, by force. With his plate in his left hand, he would raise a cutlass in his right hand and say to the prospective donor, “If you think it won’t be and it is, what would you do?” In other words, “if you think I can’t cut off your head and I do; what would you do?” The fellow would quickly drop some food in his plate and he would walk away. He targeted mostly market women. One day, a woman dared this lunatic and said, “I won’t give you anything today; you can do your worst”. In anger, the lunatic landed a stroke of his cutlass on her head. But for providence which helped her to slightly dodge the cutlass, the lunatic would have beheaded her. Only her right ear was chopped off. The whole market was thrown into pandemonium. Beloved, if the lunatic made good his threat, what do you think of the words of the One who commanded the heaven and the earth to be and they were? It is foolhardy to think that the words spoken by the mouth of the Almighty God and His Christ will not come to pass. When He says the wages of sin is death – Romans 6 : 23, you better believe it before it is too late.

When our Lord Jesus Christ was speaking with His disciples of old on what was about to happen in relation to them deserting and denying Him, they could not comprehend any situation that would make them deny the Master. As seen in this case of the disciples, at times, children of God assume they are more knowledgeable than their Father. The Lord knew what would happen. He told them, but they could not believe such a thing could happen to them. Momentarily they forgot that they were dealing with the Word of God who became man. On few occasions like this one in our Bible reading today, they took Him and His words as words from an ordinary mortal. To us His disciples today, the Lord said this through His holy angels in Acts 1 : 11b :

“....this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”

Our attitude towards God’s demand for holiness will become positive if we believe that Jesus is coming back to judge the quick and the dead ( 2 Timothy 4 : 1 ).

ACTION POINT :

Make up your mind that you will believe and act according to every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord, as well as the written words of the Holy Scriptures.

AUTHOR : Pst E . A ADEBOYE.

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