Open Heaven For Today 2024 Tuesday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Helpmeet Indeed? II
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TOPIC: Helpmeet Indeed? II
MEMORISE: A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones. Proverbs 12:4
READ: Proverbs 31:10-31(KJV)
10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
14 She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Habakkuk 1-3
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
Today, I will conclude my teaching on what it means to be a true helpmeet. There are wives who parade themselves as helpmeets, but they are not. As a wife, if you hide money, saying
"My money is my money, and my husband's money is our money",
you are not an helpmeet. To help someone, you must be willing to sacrifice your resources. You cannot claim to be helping when you do not meet needs that you can easily afford to. Yes, it is a husband's responsibility to take care of the home, but whenever you can afford it, it will be very helpful to say, "Don't worry about this, I have taken care of it" Helping someone entails taking burdens off the person and not watching him or her carry them alone.
As a helpmeet, you must be fully involved in what your husband does; be there to help him in areas he needs help, especially when he asks for it. You cannot be a helpmeet if you are not submissive. If you are to help someone with something, they will give you instructions on how to help them. When they give you instructions, your answer should be,
"Yes, darling."
if you say "No", you are clearly not willing to help. If you want to suggest a better idea, your answer should be,
"How about we do it this way?"
as opposed to an outright
"No."
If you are truly interested in your husband's success, you will do all you can to help him.
When I moved my family to Redemption City, it was not convenient for my wife. We moved from a city to the middle of a forest, and the house we moved into had no windows - this is where the Open Heavens International Centre is today. Not only did my wife move into such inconvenience, but she also began rigorous rural evangelism in the surrounding areas. She gathered a small team to help her and would travel to many villages several kilometers away, preaching the gospel. Some people didn't want to hear about Christ, while some said that they were already part of bigger church denominations. However, she persisted and was able to establish most of the perishes we have around the city today, even all the way to Ibafo, which is about 20 Kilometer away. She is a perfect example of a helpmeet, one that gets involved and does everything in her power to see her husband succeed.
Reflection
Are you really your husband's helpmeet?
HYMN 4: To The Work! To The Work! We Are Servants Of God
1 To the work! to the work! we are servants of God,
Let us follow the path that our Master has trod;
With the might of His power our strength to renew,
Let us do by His grace what He calls us to do.
Work for Him by His grace;
Work thru Him for His praise;
Work with Him all the days;
And work in Him in many ways.
2 To the work! to the work! let the hungry be fed;
To the fountain of life let the thirsty be led;
In the cross and its vict’ry our glory shall be,
While we herald the tidings, “Salvation is free!”
3 To the work! to the work! in the strength of the Lord,
By the pow’r of His Name, with the light of His Word,
All the slaves of the darkness of Satan set free
And His riches of grace in His glory we’ll see.
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Monday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Helpmeet Indeed? I
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TOPIC: Helpmeet Indeed? I
MEMORISE: And the Lord God It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. Genesis 2:8
READ: Genesis 2:18-25(KJV)
18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
19 And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Nahum 1-3
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
When God instituted marriage in Genesis 2, He made the woman to be the helpmeet for the man. In other words, the woman is to help the man in doing what God has called him to do. However, for one reason or the other, some women are not real helpmeet to their husbands, and this causes problem in their homes.
First, a woman cannot help her husband beyond her capacity to help. For example, if a husband is a businessman that earns millions, he should raise his wife to the level where she earns hundreds of thousands at least.
At that level, she will probably understand his business more and help him better. However, if she is earning below that, when there is a need for her to help, she may be unable to do so significantly, even though she is willing to help.
As a pastor, if you can pray for six hours at a stretch, train your wife to be able too pray for at least four hours. This way, the day you need prayers, she can stand in the gap for you at a reasonable level. If you cannot send your wife to preach on your behalf at a meeting that you re unable to attend, you have not been training her, and she has not developed what it takes to be your helpmeet (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).
Your helpmeet is supposed to be there to lift you up when you are down. However, the strength of your helpmeet will determine how well they can lift you in your sessions. As a husband, if something terrible happens and you fall, you will fall to the level of your wife. She can only catch you at the level at which she is standing financially, spiritually or otherwise.
Therefore, if you don't lift her to your level or at least close to your level, your fall will be great in such seasons because you will only be able to depend on her resources to stay afloat until you start raising again. As a husband, you should endeavor to empower your wife to become a helpmeet to you indeed.
Reflection
If you are a husband, start teaching your wife relevant things that will help her grow to a level where she can be a helpmeet to you indeed.
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 Sunday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – True Love
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TOPIC: True Love
MEMORISE: Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered. 1 Peter 3:7
READ: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (KJV)
4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
The Bible says that husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25).
This analogy alone is enough to tell us straightaway that love is not an emotion or feeling, but a decision to consistently act in the best interest of your spouse.
In other words, the best interest of your spouse should become a priority to you.
In Luke 22:42, Jesus did not feel like dying for the church. He tried to convince God to let the impending suffering and death pass over Him.
He prayed so hard that His sweat was like blood, but what had to be done, had to be done.
He went to the cross, suffered shame, pain, and death for the ones He loved.
That is what husbands are to do for their wives; love them as Christ loves the church and gave Himself for her. Husband, can you do this for your wife?
When I see Christian husbands buying new clothes and shoes for themselves while their wives wear old, worn out clothes, I wonder if they even read their Bibles at all. Worse still are the men who beat their wives.
As a husband, if you love your wife, you will take good care of her and put her interests above yours.
Money will be too small to sacrifice to make her happy. In Nigeria, men of the Igbo tribe are renowned for truly caring for their wives.
In Igbo land, any man that beats his wife or does not take care of her is called an Efulefu.
An Efulefu is someone who is way below useless, empty, and who has nothing good to offer.
This is a generally held belief among people who are not all believers, how much more Christians who have been directed by God to take care of their wives and families (1 Timothy 5:8).
So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. Ephesians 5:28
The Scripture above instructs husbands to love their wives as they love their own bodies.
Just as they eat good food, put on good clothes, and do not allow any harm to come to their bodies, they are to treat their wives the same way.
As a husband, you should use the best of your resources, words, and actions to show your wife that you love her.
When you do this, you are a good husband indeed, and one advantage that a good husband has, according to today’s memory verse, is that God hears his prayers.
Reflection
As a husband, are you taking good care of your wife? Can anyone see her and tell that you truly love her?
HYMN 13: Jesus Loves Me! This I Know
1 Jesus loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak, but He is strong.
Refrain:
Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so.
2 Jesus loves me He who died,
Heaven’s gate to open wide,
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.
3 Jesus loves me, loves me still,
Tho’ I’m very weak and ill
From His shining throne on high
He will watch me where I lie.
4 Jesus loves me He will stay
Close beside me all the way,
If I love Him when I die
He will take me home on high.
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Saturday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Submission Vs Cooperation
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TOPIC: Submission Vs Cooperation
MEMORISE: For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: 1 Peter 3:5
READ: Ephesians 5:22-33 (KJV)
22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
Marriage is a beautiful gift from God; it is designed to bring joy and fulfilment to both partners. Like every other gift from God, it comes with a manual – the word of God.
In today’s Bible reading, there is a detailed description of how a husband and wife should relate with each other. Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the church, while wives are to submit to their husbands.
Many women don’t understand what submission really means. They say they are submissive, whereas they are only cooperative. Cooperation is agreeing with your husband because you want the same things.
Submission, however, is complying with his wish even when you don’t agree. Many women find it difficult to submit to their husbands because the society talks about gender equality.
However, this is not what the Bible says about marriage.
Submission does not mean slavery or servitude, rather, it is a voluntary act of respect and obedience from a wife to her husband as the head of the home.
When you obey your boss in the office, it is not because you are a slave, it is because there is a hierarchy that must be followed for things to go smoothly in the office. An English proverb says that two captains cannot sail a ship.
As a wife, your husband is the captain of your marriage-ship; submitting to him is a key ingredient in ensuring that you have a blissful marriage.
Years ago, I used to preach regularly at a university, and a woman would usually come to me complaining about her husband’s stubbornness and asking me to pray the stubbornness away.
After a while, I decided I wasn’t going to pray anymore. I told her, “When you get home, place his food on the dining table, call him your head, and ask him to come and eat.
When he sits at the table, give him a bowl of water, kneel and let him wash his hands in it.” She said, “No way! He is a professor just like I am. We are the same.” I replied that if she wanted my help, she should take my advice.
She decided to do it, and at first, her husband wondered if she had poisoned the food. She told him that her pastor taught her what she was doing, and suddenly, the stubborn husband became very soft. He followed her to the next service and became born again. Their marriage blossomed thereafter.
Key Point
Submission is not slavery; it is a sign of wisdom for a successful marriage.
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]
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