Open Heavens 30 April 2024 Tuesday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – He Cares About Your Body
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MEMORISE: "What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" 1 Corinthians 6:19
READ: 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (KJV)
16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Chronicles 7-9
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:23
The above passage tells us clearly that God wants your spirit, soul, and body to be preserved blameless until His coming.
This is opposed to what many people say about God only caring about our spirit and soul, and not our body.
God cares about your body, and He wants it to be blameless.
He cares about what you wear (1 Timothy 2:9), how you use your body (1 Corinthians 9:27), and if you get a tattoo or not (Leviticus 19:28).
He cares as much about your body as He cares about your soul.
The truth is, the state of your soul will determine the state of your body. What is inside will show on the outside.
Many years ago, I invited some ministers to teach at The Redeemed Christian Bible College.
They told the students that I was too legalistic by placing restrictions on how they use their bodies and that God only cares about the soul.
By the time I got back to the class, the students had believed the people I invited.
I needed to convince them otherwise, so I went to get two oranges. One orange was yellow, and the other was green.
I raised both oranges up in the class and asked, “Which of these two oranges is ripe?”
They all pointed at the yellow one. I asked again, “How did you know?” They said it was obvious from the outside that it was ripe on the inside.
With that, I told them, “If Christ that you claim to have on your inside is not showing on the outside, it is likely that you do not have Christ in the first place.”
Whether we like it or not, people look at your outward appearance and make conclusions about Christianity based on what they see you do with your body.
If you look like the people of the world, they will believe that you are just like them and that there is nothing special about you.
They will not listen to the gospel you are preaching if you are dressed like a harlot or a hooligan.
Don’t make someone turn away from the gospel because of your outward appearance, keep your body blameless.
Reflection
Can people tell that you are born again just by looking at you
HYMN 7: I Am Thine O Lord
1 I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith,
And be closer drawn to Thee.
Refrain:
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
2 Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the pow’r of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine. [Refrain]
3 Oh, the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God,
I commune as friend with friend! [Refrain]
4 There are depths of love that I cannot know
Till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach
Till I rest in peace with Thee. [Refrain]
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Monday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Promise Keeper
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TOPIC: Promise Keeper
MEMORISE: "Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; 1 have purposed it, I will also do it". Isaiah 46:11
READ: Genesis 21:1-8 (KJV)
21 And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.
5 And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.
6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.
7 And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.
8 And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Chronicles 5-6
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
For someone reading this, it is possible that God has promised you many great things in the past, but you have not yet seen those things manifest.
This was what happened to Abraham and Sarah.
Years before, God had spoken to Abraham, promising him that he will be a father of nations.
However, more than 25 years passed and not a single child was born to somebody who was supposed to be the father of nations.
Eventually, in Genesis 18, God showed up for him. I pray for you today, God will show up for you and give you that long-awaited miracle, in Jesus’ name.
I remember when I became the General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God, I did everything I knew in line with the word of God to make the church grow.
Every month, l organised a three-day seminar. I taught the Bible, preached, fasted and prayed. People would come for the programmes, and as soon as we finish, they would vanish.
When I get to the church the following Sunday, at times, the congregation will even look smaller than what we had before the programmes.
One day, some weeks before my birthday in 1986, God ended my barrenness. He asked me, “What do you want for your birthday?” and I said, “I want a miracle for every member of my congregation.” That was the beginning of the Holy Ghost Service.
Today, all that you see happening in RCCG is an example of what God can do whenever He decides it is time to fulfil His promise to you.
I pray that before the end of this year, everyone will see clearly that God is smiling on you, in Jesus’ name.
When God makes you a promise, you can rest assured that He will keep His promise. However, many people have missed out on the fulfilment of God’s promise due to a lack of faith.
If God promises you something and after waiting for a while, you begin to think that God lied to you and won’t fulfil the promise, it may never come to manifestation.
Romans 4:20 says that Abraham did not stagger at the promise of God, even after waiting for up to 25 years.
God is a promise keeper. However, if you want to see His promises concerning you fulfilled, you must accept Him as your Lord and Saviour, live holy, have faith, and wait patiently on Him.
Key Point
Trust God, He is a promise keeper. He will fulfil His promises concerning you.
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 Sunday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Give Thanks
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TOPIC: Give Thanks
MEMORISE: "O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever". Psalms 136:1
READ: Psalms 100:1-5 (KJV)
1 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Chronicles 3-4
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
The reason Solomon was extremely grateful to God in 2 Chronicles 1:6-12 is that he realised that he didn’t deserve to be king.
His father was an adulterer and his mother an adulteress. His father was also a murderer who murdered his mother’s first husband.
How could God pick the fruit of such a union and make him king?
Solomon indeed had every reason to be grateful.
If you look at your life closely, you will also see that you don’t deserve many of the things that God has given to you, including your life.
I think you should really give Him thanks.
When people see me dancing in agbada at least once a year to praise God in my mother tongue, many of them do not understand.
The day I asked God how He could choose the product of a sinful relationship like Solomon to be king, He also asked me, “Is your mother the first wife of your father?”
I had no more questions because, based on the circumstances surrounding my birth, I don’t deserve to be called to pastor His sheep.
I am always grateful to God because to whom much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48).
Even the fact that I am here in this world is something to be grateful for.
My mom had made up her mind that she wasn’t having any more children because she already had as many girls as she wanted and a boy.
However, the boy died, and people begged her to give birth again. She agreed, and I was born.
Coming from that background, and also considering all the sins I had committed before giving my life to Christ, it is a privilege that God could save a soul like mine and make me a pastor.
So, I know why I dance and sing praises to my God.
When we say, “Let us thank God,” those who feel that they deserve everything they have don’t see the importance.
For some of them, they believe God chose them because He had no choice and so, they don’t bother.
However, for some of us, we know where we are coming from and the things we survived.
I grew up amongst scorpions, snakes, and all sorts of wild animals, and was surrounded by witches, wizards, and the rest.
For me to have survived in that kind of environment, I cannot keep quiet when it is time to thank God. Will you do the same?
Action Point
Throughout today, just keep thanking God for all that He has done for you.
HYMN 18: Praise To The Lord The Almighty
1. Praise to the Lord,
the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is
thy health and salvation:
Join the great throng
psaltery,organ and song
sounding in glad adoration!
2. Praise to the Lord,
who over all he gloriously reigneth:
Borne as on eagle-wings, safely
his saints, He sustaineth.
Hast thou not seen
How all thou needest hath been
Granted in what He ordaineth?
3. Praise to the Lord,
who doth prosper thy way and defend thee;
Surely his goodness and mercy
shall ever attend thee;
Ponder anew, What the Almighty can do,
Who with His love doth befriend thee
5. Praise to the Lord!
Oh, let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath breath, join with
Abraham’s seed to adore Him!
Let the Amen, sum all our praises again;
Now as we worship before Him.
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Friday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – When You Pray III
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TOPIC: When You Pray III
MEMORISE: " Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full". John 16:24
READ: Luke 18:1-8 (KJV)
1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Chronicles 1-2
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
Today, I will conclude the teachings I began two days ago on how to pray effectively.
Many people make the mistake of giving up on their prayers when it appears as if God is not responding.
Such people are only cheating themselves when they do that.
To really get the desired results from prayers, you have to be persistent. Isaiah 62:7 says:
And give Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
You are to give God no rest until He has answered your prayers.
Jesus Christ said in John 16:24 that you should ask, then you will receive so that your joy may be full.
From our Bible reading for today, Jesus Christ assures you that if you keep knocking on God’s door, asking Him for something, He will give it to you.
According to Him, even the wicked judge gave the widow what she wanted, how much more the good shepherd.
This tells you right away that if you keep praying about that issue, no matter how long it takes, God will answer you.
There are prayer points I prayed for 15 years before I got answers. I did not stop after praying for a few weeks.
I kept knocking on heaven’s doors, telling God, “I will not let you rest until you have answered me,” and He answered me eventually.
This is an attitude that you must also imbibe. Some people get angry that God has not answered their prayers after a while and so, they stop praying.
God is not your servant that you can command as you please; He is the King of kings.
If you want something from a king, you must learn to humble yourself and keep asking until He is ready to give it to you.
If you ask for a little while and go away without receiving anything, who would have lost? You or him?
You may say, “What if God is not willing to answer my prayer at all?” You have to keep asking Him until He answers you.
This is why you must pay attention to hear what He will say when you pray to Him. Don’t just keep asking, seek to hear from Him.
The Holy Spirit is always available to teach you what prayer points to pray, and if He is the One teaching you how to pray, you can be sure that you are praying right.
Key Point
Be persistent in the place of prayers.
HYMN 15: Pass Me Not O Gentle Saviour
1 Pass me not, O gentle Savior,
Hear my humble cry,
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.
Refrain:
Savior, Savior,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.
2 Let me at a throne of mercy
Find a sweet relief;
Kneeling there in deep contrition,
Help my unbelief. [Refrain]
3 Trusting only in Thy merit,
Would I seek Thy face;
Heal my wounded, broken spirit,
Save me by Thy grace. [Refrain]
4 Thou the Spring of all my comfort,
More than life to me,
Whom have I on earth beside Thee?
Whom in heav’n but Thee? [Refrain]
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Friday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – When You Pray II
Click HERE for Previous Open Heaven Devotional
TOPIC: When You Pray II
MEMORISE: "Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms." Psalms 95:2
READ: Matthew 6:9-13 (KJV)
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Kings 24-25
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
Yesterday, I discussed the importance of being totally focused while praying. Today, I will continue the discussion on how to pray effectively.
When you pray, you must note that prayer is not a one-way conversation but a dialogue between you and God.
In other words, prayer is not complete when you only talk to God and do not give Him the opportunity to speak back to you.
In fact, whenever I pray, and I don’t get a response from God, I become worried because I really want to hear what He has to say.
Even if his response is a rebuke, at least I know He has heard me.
Yesterday, I discussed the importance of being totally focused while praying. Today, I will continue the discussion on how to pray effectively.
When you pray, you must note that prayer is not a one-way conversation but a dialogue between you and God.
In other words, prayer is not complete when you only talk to God and do not give Him the opportunity to speak back to you.
In fact, whenever I pray, and I don’t get a response from God, I become worried because I really want to hear what He has to say.
Even if his response is a rebuke, at least I know He has heard me.
Action Point
The next time you are praying, start with thanksgiving and praises before you make a request. Then, wait to hear from Him
HYMN 18: Praise To The Lord The Almighty
1. Praise to the Lord,
the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is
thy health and salvation:
Join the great throng
psaltery,organ and song
sounding in glad adoration!
2. Praise to the Lord,
who over all he gloriously reigneth:
Borne as on eagle-wings, safely
his saints, He sustaineth.
Hast thou not seen
How all thou needest hath been
Granted in what He ordaineth?
3. Praise to the Lord,
who doth prosper thy way and defend thee;
Surely his goodness and mercy
shall ever attend thee;
Ponder anew, What the Almighty can do,
Who with His love doth befriend thee
5. Praise to the Lord!
Oh, let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath breath, join with
Abraham’s seed to adore Him!
Let the Amen, sum all our praises again;
Now as we worship before Him.
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