Open Heaven For Today 2024 Saturday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – New Year Resolution 5
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TOPIC: New Year Resolution 5
MEMORISE:"It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." Psalm 118:8
READ: Jeremiah 17:5-8 (KJV)
5 Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.
6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Genesis 21-23
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
My fifth resolution is that this year, I am going to be very deliberate about putting all my trust in God, and none in man. I will do so because God said,
“Vain is the help of man” (Psalm 60:11). You may have discovered that several of the people you thought will help you have let you down, but there is a God who never fails, and He will not fail you this year.
I went to my village in the 1980s after I had just become the General Overseer of the RCCG, and someone said to me,
“Now that you are the General Overseer, you will need a befitting house to host dignitaries that may have cause to visit you here, especially when you have one ceremony or the other”.
I agreed with him, and he said he would help me to build the house. He told me that he produces blocks, so he will supply me with all the blocks I’ll need to build the house, and I can pay him for them whenever I can afford to.
I believed God was behind it all, and I was very happy.
Beloved, when somebody offers you help, check first with God to be sure it’s from Him.
I built the house, and the very day I roofed it, he asked me to pay for all the blocks he had supplied. I was shocked.
This man had said that I could pay anytime I had the money. I had just roofed the house and hadn’t even put doors or windows! Deep within me, I was sorrowful.
I said to God,
“Lord, you know I have never done anything that I cannot handle; it was this man who lured me into this. Please have mercy on me, don’t let me be put to shame.”
I prayed all night and fell asleep at my desk.
When I woke up, there was a man standing at my doorstep. He said he came all the way from the north, and that God told him to give me an envelope.
I collected the envelope, prayed for him, and he left. After he left, I opened the envelope; it was the exact amount that I was owing!
There is a God who is the ever-present help in times of trouble. This year, He is ready to help you, but you must put all your trust in Him.
Reflection
When you have a problem, who do you ask for help, God or man? Your answer shows whom you trust more.
HYMN 30:– When we walk with the Lord
1. When we walk with the Lord,
In the light of His word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Refrain:
Trust and obey!
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.
2. But we never can prove
The delights of His love,
Until all on the altar we lay,
For the favour He shows
And the joy He bestows
Are for them who will trust and obey. [Refrain]
3. Then in fellowship sweet
We will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way,
What He says we will do,
Where He sends we will go,
Never fear, only trust and obey. [Refrain]
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Friday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – New Year Resolution 4
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TOPIC: New Year Resolution 4
MEMORISE:"Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." Luke 6:38
READ: 2 Corinthians 9:6-15(KJV)
6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
9 (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.
10 Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)
11 Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
12 For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;
13 Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;
14 And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you.
15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Genesis 18-20
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
As a young farmer’s boy, I noticed that my father sets aside the best crops for planting because the quality and quantity of the seed planted is a major determinant of the quality and quantity of the harvest. The word of God is clear about this.
If you sow sparingly, you will reap sparingly, and if you sow bountifully, you will reap bountifully
This year, like never before, I am going to give because I know that when I give, there will be a harvest.
I will give cheerfully because God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7), and I need His favour. If you are expecting a big harvest this year, make up your mind to sow bountifully.
I remember a time when we were preparing for our annual convention, and I needed ₦17,000 to install roofing sheets on the first auditorium we erected in Redemption City.
I had only ₦1,000 and was praying to God for the remaining ₦16,000 when one of my pastors came into my office to ask for ₦1,000.
He needed the money to roof the shed he was building to accommodate members under his jurisdiction during the convention.
I told him I also needed money and sent him out of my office.
As he was leaving, God spoke to me and said,
“Call him back and give him that ₦1,000.”
I grumbled because it was difficult, but l obeyed all the same.
After the pastor had left joyfully with my ₦1,000 in his pocket, God said,
“Son, why are you grumbling? There were two problems; I used you to solve one. The one you cannot solve, leave it to me.”
Some hours later, someone came all the way from Port Harcourt and said, “Sir, I have just collected rent from my tenants, and the Almighty God said I should bring it to you.”
He gave me an envelope, and I blessed him. When I opened the envelope, it contained ₦17.000!
This year, I will increase my giving towards the work of God and win souls into His kingdom more than ever before.
It is written that as long as this world continues to exist, seedtime and harvest shall never cease (Genesis 8:22).
Why don’t you make up your mind like me to also sow towards the work of God more than ever before this year?
God never fails on His promises. He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully (2 Corinthians 9:6).
Action Point
Practice this resolution now. Look for a need in the church and sow towards it.
Hymn: Take my life, and let it be
1 Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments and my days;
let them flow in endless praise,
let them flow in endless praise.
2 Take my hands and let them move
at the impulse of thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
swift and beautiful for thee,
swift and beautiful for thee.
3 Take my voice and let me sing
always, only, for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
filled with messages from thee,
filled with messages from thee.
4 Take my silver and my gold;
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
every power as thou shalt choose,
every power as thou shalt choose.
5 Take my will and make it thine;
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne,
it shall be thy royal throne.
6 Take my love; my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee,
ever, only, all for thee.
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Thursday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – New Year Resolution 3
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TOPIC: New Year Resolution 3
MEMORISE:"Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up." James 4:10
READ: 2 Kings 5:1-14(KJV)
1 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.
2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife.
3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.
4 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.
5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.
6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.
7 And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.
8 And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.
9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Genesis 13-17
Open Heaven For Today 2024 MESSAGE
This year, I have decided that I will humble myself more than ever before.
I will ask anyone who can assist me for help, irrespective of their status.
Many people do not have a problem with asking for help from someone who is ‘superior’ to them, but a lot find it difficult to seek for help from people they consider to be beneath them.
This sort of attitude robs many people of their blessings.
When I was in secondary school, I was good at Mathematics and other subjects, but I knew that I needed extra coaching to pass the English Language.
In those days, it didn’t matter how brilliant you were; if you passed all other subjects and failed the English Language, you’d be considered a failure.
I asked a junior of mine who was born in England and had a very good command of English Language to teach me, and I got an A!
He can boast today that he taught me, but it wouldn’t matter because I already have my certificate.
This year, don’t let pride hold you back from the help you can get to fulfil your destiny.
Unfortunately, however, many proud people don’t know that they are proud.
Some of them even boast about their pride and give it fancy names like self-esteem, self-confidence and so on.
Beloved, any level of self-esteem that makes people afraid to approach you is pride.
Someone may know the solution to your problem, but because of how you carry yourself as if you own the world, he or she may not approach you with the solution.
You need to humble yourself, smile more, speak warmly to people, and make it easy for them to speak to you.
In our Bible reading for today, we can learn a lot from Naaman and his wife.
First, his wife was approachable, and the maid was able to talk to her about her husband’s embarrassing problem.
Also, when Naaman got to Elisha’s place and got angry that Elisha did not come out to pray for him, it was one of his servants who advised him, and he heeded the advice.
The cure to Naaman’s leprosy was tied to people that were considered inferior to him; thank God he was humble enough to listen to them.
This year, make it your resolution to humble yourself more than ever before.
Remember, God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).
Action Point
The solution to your problem may be with someone of a lower status than you. Humble yourself to get that help.
HYMN 1:– All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name
1 All hail the power of Jesus’ name!
Let angels prostrate fall.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all!
2 Let highborn seraphs tune the lyre,
and as they tune it, fall
Before His face Who tunes their choir,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Before His face Who tunes their choir,
and crown Him Lord of all.
3 Crown Him, ye morning stars of light,
Who fixed this floating ball;
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might,
and crown Him Lord of all.
4 Crown Him, ye martyrs of your God,
Who from His altar call;
Extol the stem of Jesse’s Rod,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Extol the stem of Jesse’s Rod,
and crown Him Lord of all.
5 Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race,
ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him who saves you by his grace,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Hail Him who saves you by his grace,
and crown Him Lord of all!
6 Hail Him, ye heirs of David’s line,
Whom David Lord did call,
The God incarnate, Man divine,
and crown Him Lord of all.
The God incarnate, Man divine,
and crown Him Lord of all.
7 Sinners, whose love can ne’er forget
the wormwood and the gall,
Go spread your trophies at His feet,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Go spread your trophies at His feet,
and crown Him Lord of all.
8 Let every tribe and every tongue
before Him prostrate fall,
And shout in universal song,
and crown him Lord of all.
And shout in universal song,
and crown him Lord of all.
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Wednesday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – New Year Resolution 2
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TOPIC: New Year Resolution 2
MEMORISE:"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:" Matthew 7:7
READ: 2 Kings 2:19-22 (KJV)
19 And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren.
20 And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.
21 And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.
22 So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Genesis 9-12
Open Heaven For Today 2024 MESSAGE
I started sharing what you may call my ‘New Year resolutions’ yesterday and I will be discussing the second resolution on my list today.
This year, I will open my mouth and tell God exactly how things are with me.
I have discovered from experience that many people have become so good at pretending that all is well when all is not, even before God, the One who knows everything.
In our Bible reading today, the men of Jericho revealed the true state of their city to Elisha and God used the prophet to put an end to the problem in their land.
Come to think of it however, Elijah, the spiritual father of Elisha, walked among the people of Jericho for years, but it was not recorded in the Bible that they informed him of the problems they were facing. They suffered for so long because of their silence!
This year, I have decided that I am not going to suffer in silence. I am going to tell the Almighty God what my problems are; I am going to tell Him everything because I know that He will solve them all.
I will not wait until I am about to lose things that are precious to me before I cry out like the widow in 2 Kings 4:1-7 did.
I visited one of my uncles many years ago and his wife served me pounded yam about the size of a baby’s fist.
If I had intended to stay for one day, I would have kept my mouth shut, but I was going to stay for one week and pounded yam of that size will not satisfy me at all. I was very young, and I had a healthy appetite.
So, I called the woman,
“Excuse me ma’am, am I welcome here?”
She said,
“Yes, of course you are.”
I said,
“In that case, this pounded yam cannot satisfy me; please let me have some more.”
She went into her bedroom, and I did not know what she told her husband, but I heard them laughing. I couldn’t have cared less; as long as she came back with more pounded yam, I was fine.
This year, ensure that you do not pretend or form as the youths will say, before God. Tell Him exactly where the shoe hurts.
Make up your mind like me to ask for His help more than ever before and He will surely answer you (Matthew 21:22).
Prayer Point
Stop suffering in silence, tell God all your needs this year.
HYMN 8:– I Need Thee Every Hour
1. I need Thee every hour,
Most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine
Can peace afford.
I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Savior!
I come to Thee.
2. I need Thee every hour,
Stay Thou near by;
Temptations lose their power
When Thou art nigh.
3. I need Thee every hour,
In joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide,
Or life is vain.
4. I need Thee every hour,
Teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises
In me fulfill.
5. I need Thee every hour,
Most Holy One;
Oh, make me Thine indeed,
Thou blessed Son.
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Tuesday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – New Year Resolution 1
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TOPIC: New Year Resolution 1
MEMORISE:"While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being." Psalm 146:2
READ: Psalm 67: 4-5 (KJV)
4 O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
5 Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
Open Heaven For Today 2024 MESSAGE
One of my sons while preaching some time ago said Jacob laboured for 14 years to get the woman he wanted to marry (Genesis 29:18-30) while Isaac simply took a stroll and came back with a wife (Genesis 24:63-67). One had favour, the other exerted labour.
The moment he said that, I made up my mind that I am going to enjoy God’s favour in every area of my life. This decision led me to make what you will probably call ‘New Year resolutions’.
These resolutions are deliberate steps I will take towards basking in divine favour for the rest of my life. I am going to share these steps with you over the next six days and I want to encourage you to take them very seriously.
Please do not treat them like the typical New Year resolutions that are often quickly forgotten in the course of the year.
This year, like never before, I am determined to praise and worship God with all my heart and strength. Whenever you eulogise someone from the bottom of your heart, you can get that fellow to volunteer to help you.
I will worship and praise God so much that He will volunteer to help me like He did for Paul and Silas in Acts 16:25-26.
My biological father was so poor that whenever the time came for school fees to be paid, he will pick quarrels with his two wives so that they wouldn’t be able to ask for the children’s school fees.
However, my mother knew how to get my school fees. She would go into my father’s room and eulogize him to the extent that he would ask her, “What can I do for you today?”
My mother would promptly ask for my school fees and he would immediately promise to see to it that my school fees are paid.
This year, I am going to praise and worship God more than ever before. Like David who also enjoyed divine favour all through his life, I will bless God at all times and His praise shall continually be in my mouth (Psalm 34:1).
I will never stop praising His holy name. I will be intentional in praising Him at all times. I will praise Him with everything within me (Psalm 103:1).
I will speak of His greatness at all times and He will cover me specially with His favour all through this year and beyond.
I will praise my God forever (Psalm 145:1-2). What about you?
Action Point
Spend quality time praising God today and make this a daily practice going forward.
HYMN 17:– Praise My Soul King of Heaven
1 Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
to his feet your tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
evermore his praises sing.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise the everlasting King!
2 Praise him for his grace and favor
to his people in distress.
Praise him, still the same as ever,
slow to chide, and swift to bless.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Glorious in his faithfulness!
3 Fatherlike he tends and spares us;
well our feeble frame he knows.
In his hand he gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Widely yet his mercy flows!
4 Angels, help us to adore him;
you behold him face to face.
Sun and moon, bow down before him,
dwellers all in time and space.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise with us the God of grace!
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