SOW TODAY- Daily devotional with Pastor E. A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: 2 Sam. 16-18

SOW TODAY Thursday, September 8, 2011

MEMORIZE: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Gal. 6:7). READ: Galatians 6:7-9 Apart from telling people that our God is the ultimate leader, leaders must teach their members principles of God's Kingdom, particularly on giving. Some pastors are shy in doing this for fear of having their intentions misrepresented. You are not the author of the Bible. Never keep Kingdom truths from your people or else, you will deny them opportunities of being blessed. Galatians 6:7 says it is what you sow that you will reap. At the time I became the General Overseer of the RCCG, we were among the poorest people on the face of the earth, because we hardly gave offerings in those days. Then, leaders did not want to teach on giving. The truth is that anyone who refuses to give may never be delivered from begging. If you have become a perpetual beggar, check yourself; it could be that you are defaulting in giving. Besides, the most favorable time to give is during a famine. As difficult as it may sound, sow in your famine season. From experience, I can safely say God is faithful to His Word as long as you act on it. When we were about to roof the old auditorium, we had N1,000 but needed N16,000 more. Meanwhile, the dormitory being built by the area pastors had equally reached roofing level and they needed N1000. When the pastor came to ask me for N1000, I virtually chased him out. He ran out having not seen me in such a mood before. But then the Lord asked me to give him the N1000 I had. Reluctantly, I called him back and handed over the money. However, I felt I had returned to square one. While grumbling over this development, the Lord asked why I was grumbling, that, after all, there were two problems and I was used to solve one of them. Later that day, a woman came from Port-Harcourt saying that after collecting her rent, the Lord asked her to bring it to me. I prayed for her and she left. On opening the envelope, there was N17,000 in it. If I had held back the N1000, I may not have received the N17,000 I urgently needed. Are you holding back the seed that can release your harvest? Don't be myopic! Look beyond your immediate need; see into the great harvest that is awaiting you and sow to release it. ACTION POINT: That seed you are about to sow may be what you need to receive your turn around. Sow, again and again.

WHO'S IN YOUR COMPANY?- Daily devotional with Pastor E.A Adeboye

MAN, VERY UNRELIABLE- Daily devotional with Pastor E.A Adeboye

Shining through Hard Work - Daily devotional by Pastor E.A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Num. 21-24
SHINING THROUGH HARD WORK Saturday, July 16, 2011
MEMORIZE: “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men” (Prov. 22:29) READ: Isaiah 60:1-3 Isaiah 60:1 says it's time to arise and shine. Anyone who is ready to shine must be ready to pay a price. There are degrees of shining. Depending on the size of each light and its make-up, light rays are beamed towards a particular location, with a specified intensity. And like battery operated torches that grow dim as the battery weakens, so also do the rays that come from the one who shines. In order to shine, you must make up your mind on the level of rays you want to release, the circumference of your glow, and how long it must be sustained. There are categories of glory. 1 Corinthians 15:41 says, “There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory”. Apart from paying the price, it must be commensurate with the level of glory expected. Some believers want to radiate the glory of the sun but cannot even pay the price to carry the shine of an ordinary torch. It does not work like that. You can only carry the level of glory you have paid for on your knees, in praying, fasting, sowing, evangelizing, worshipping, etc. The higher the price, the greater your shine. Ideally, God is really the One who promotes (Psalm 75:6-7). He can choose a beggar from the dunghill and set him among the greatest (1 Sam. 2:8). God has destined you for greatness and you shall be great. One thing I like doing is studying those who have gone ahead of me. I want to learn from their success, and mistakes. Proverbs 22:29 says diligence makes you wine and dine with kings. If you are lazy, you may never come close to the top. During our family devotion one morning, while discussing about Hannah and the birth of Samuel, I told my children that although Eli had already prophesied to Hannah that her request was granted and that she should go in peace, Elkanah still had to do his part by being intimate with his wife. If this was not done, Samuel would not have come. Good news is only the beginning of hard work. To what extent do you work? Do you leave what you should do undone? KEY POINT: Your spiritual altitude is determined by the price you are prepared to pay.

ATTITUDE AT HOME: A daily devotional with Pastor E. A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Titus 1-3
ATTITUDE AT HOME Friday, July 8, 2011
MEMORIZE: “Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.” (Prov. 14:1) READ: Prov. 31:25-29 Your attitude towards your home will show whether you are wise or not. Proverbs 14:1 says, “Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands”. This does not restrict the building of the home to only the woman, as inputs from the man are equally required. What is important here is the attitude of the couple. Anytime you do anything that works against the interest of your family, you are pulling it down. A wise woman invests her time, money, efforts in building up her husband, children and herself. One way you can build up your partner or home is by your words. In Proverbs 31:26, the language of the virtuous woman is full of wisdom and kindness. A woman who combines these whenever she speaks to her husband or children, would earn their respect, support and praise. The way some sisters shout at their children, you would take their residence for a mad house. If you call your children names such as dog, goat, or insane fellow, you are pulling down your house. It is only a foolish man or woman who would call his or her spouse or children anything less than what God calls them. How are you building your home? Appreciation and commendation are part of the building blocks for the average home. Proverbs 31:28 says, “Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her”. In the house of the wise, you do not hear swearing and cursing. What you hear are words of blessings. When your wife cooks and sets the table, do you remember to say: 'Thank you for this lovely meal?' A simple word of appreciation, go a long way in building your family. Truth must not be compromised. It is only a foolish individual who feeds his or her spouse with lies. By the time the truth is exposed, there may be serious crisis. Anything that does not contribute to the well being of your family must be avoided. In order to build together, a couple must put aside their differences, and work for their common good. By your attitude towards your wife, husband or children, are you building up or pulling down? The virtues in the virtuous woman are worth emulating by modern women. ACTION POINT: List 20 things you can do to make your spouse and children happy. Go ahead and do them.

WHAT'S YOUR CHOICE? -Daily devotional with Pastor E.A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Psa. 28-30
WHAT'S YOUR CHOICE? Saturday, July 2, 2011
MEMORIZE: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:” (1 Pet. 2:9) READ: Acts 5:14-16 God has different purposes for calling and using His people. For instance, the purpose for which He created Peter was to show the world that in His hands, a nobody can become so anointed that his shadow would heal (Acts 5:14-16). Peter never went to school. He even confessed that it was difficult for him to understand Paul's writings. Yet, if his shirt mistakenly touched the sick, there would be instant healing. Not many educated people would be comfortable with that. This is not to say that God cannot use the highly educated. He took Paul with his outstanding academic credentials, wore him like a garment, and began to use him. God can use you whether educated or not. What is more important is what you want the world to know about God, through His manifestation in your life. What do you want to be remembered for after leaving planet earth? You have the opportunity of determining it now. As for me, I want God to reveal His holiness through me. If you take a look at God's Generals of our day, you will find that each of them exudes an aspect of God's attributes. For instance, He created Oral Roberts to reveal His healing power to the world. From his sick bed where he was dying of tuberculosis, God healed him and began to use him to heal others. Even at the point of his death and in a coma, Roberts was taken to the Oral Roberts Teaching Hospital and the doctors put his hand on a woman who had just been operated on but was dying. Immediately his hand touched the woman, the bleeding stopped and she was healed. Similarly, why did He create Kenneth Hagin? It was to reveal faith to the world. Sometimes you may almost think that all he knows is Mark 11:23. Personally, I want His holiness to show forth through me because of its key role in everything. If you are holy, faith is simplified. Also, God's blessing will pursue and overtake you (Deut. 28:1). In addition, Deuteronomy 28:1-7 says with holiness, you may not be required to fight your enemies by yourself. Holiness opens the door of Heaven. I don't want to labor in vain. I want to see Him on the last day. Hebrews 12:14 says without holiness, no one can see Him. What do you want God to reveal of Himself through your life? ACTION POINT: Consider the cloud of witnesses in Heaven and the present-day Kingdom Generals, and then prayerfully decide your area of specialization in God's work.

SIN CHANGES EVERYTHING- Daily Devotional with Pastor E.A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Isa. 7-9
SIN CHANGES EVERYTHING Tuesday, June 28, 2011
MEMORIZE:"In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Gen. 3:19). READ: Genesis 3:17-19 After 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 judgment 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 wast 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, everything on earth changed. Suddenly, man realized that he was naked. The animals also realized they could now govern themselves and did not need to be under the control of men. The ground hardened up as it resolved to reduce man's harvest. The heavens seemed to move farther from man as divine visitations now become a rarity. Sin changed everything! There are some people who are still looking at their mother-in-law, or at one relative somewhere as the root cause of their problems, whereas they fail to see the real culprit—sin—which they are carrying about with them. They are busy chasing shadows. Face reality! Is sin in your life? If yes, you are the one undoing yourself. It is an irony that people can go to any length searching for invisible enemies, whereas the visible enemy they are harboring has become 'invisible' to them. In the Garden of Eden, sin brought nakedness. It also brought disgrace and sweating. Until man's fall, there was no sweat. Progress was without sweat. Little effort delivered great results. But when sin came, great efforts delivered very little result. It was all work, much sweat and little or no progress. Have you not noticed that your gossiping, backbiting and jesting are working against you? As long as you refuse to cut off from sin—lies and deceit—you may continue to retrogress. Check yourself and pinpoint the sin that is hindering your life. Repent and ask God for forgiveness, resolving never to return to it. Live right before God while asking for your covenant benefits. KEY POINT? Sin and righteousness are two things that can rewrite one's destiny, but from opposite angles. Choose righteousness!