JACOB AND LABAN- Openheavensdevotional with Pastor E.A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: 2 Cor 1-3
JACOB AND LABAN Saturday, August 28, 2010
MEMORIZE “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them” (Deut. 33:27) READ: Genesis 29:15-35 Jacob stole Esau’s blessing and fled for his life to a distant relative - Laban.  The latter received him and said he would be paid for work done. Along the line, Jacob took interest in the younger daughter of Laban. She was very beautiful but had an ugly elder sister.  He approached Laban to ask for her hand in marriage and paid her dowry by working for him for seven years. On the night of the wedding, Jacob received the veiled bride only to discover the following morning that it was the ugly elder sister.  When he protested, Laban told him he could still serve for his heart throb and have her.  He did so for another seven years. Meanwhile, he was mean to Leah the elder sister. When God saw the drama, He opened the womb of Leah and shut that of Rachel. Let us learn a few lessons from this story.  The first character in the story is Laban. He was a relative of Jacob, was rich and was a refuge for fleeing Jacob. He could be compared in this sense with our Lord Jesus Christ who is a distant relative of all Christians. Although He is the bonafide Son of God, yet, He always called Himself the Son of man so that we can identify Him as our relative from afar (Matt. 12:8). Like Laban, He is rich, very rich. In fact, Psalm 24:1 says the earth, its fullness and all its inhabitants belong to Him. And like Jacob could take solace in Laban, so also is Jesus a refuge for us. Deuteronomy 33:27 says, “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them”. On the other hand, Jacob represents an offender who has committed a crime worthy of death. Ezekiel 18:20 says such an offender must die.  Jacob fled from danger and death into refuge. He is comparable to you and I who have sinned and deserved to die. Are you still in sin? You are not safe.  Run under His cover today and turn your life over to Jesus. Jacob also represents one who was supposed to die, was saved and asked to serve. Today, you will call such a fellow a minister.  Has God saved you from death, sickness, hell or Satan? Then you must be willing to serve Him. Nothing goes for nothing. Nothing is given you free except it has been paid for by somebody else. Are you giving your time, money and intellect in the service of the One who has saved you? ACTION POINT: Thank God for the founders and General Overseers of Bible-believing churches world wide. Pray for grace to pursue the vision the Lord has given to them

Living at people's mercies? - Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: 1 Cor 13-16
LIVING AT PEOPLE’S MERCY? Friday, August 27, 2010
MEMORIZE: “Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit upon him, and He shall shew judgment to the Gentiles” (Matt. 12:18) READ: Genesis 13:14-18 It is a great thing to be among the chosen. Everyone of God’s chosen people must stand in the gap for others. It is rather unfortunate however that although the chosen stands for others in the place of prayer, there may be none to stand for him in time of need. This was the case with Moses. May the Lord raise helpers and intercessors for you in time of need. Some ministers and workers hardly remember to pray for their pastors. Some even think they are doing him a favor by praying for him. Others feel that he should be able to pray for himself. Yet, as prayerful as Paul was, he still requested the church to pray for him. If you do not pray for your head, father, husband, boss or leaders and they take wrong decisions or make costly mistakes, you will suffer for it.  When David sinned, God’s judgment that had been withheld from Israel came upon the land. Several thousands died as a result, meanwhile nothing happened to the real culprit - David. Pray for your head! Every second, minute or hour you invest in praying for your head is never wasted. It is an investment in your future joy. However, it is either you are chosen or you are not.  Although Lot was declared a righteous man, yet, was he not chosen like Abraham (Gen. 19:1-3; 18:1-5).  It was after Lot separated from Abraham before God lifted His communication embargo He had earlier placed. The presence of a non-chosen believer can work against God’s counsel for your life.  Ensure you keep company with only the chosen. You do not need to be chosen in order to prosper financially or materially. So material prosperity is not a sign of being chosen. Lot prospered according to Genesis 13:5-6. He also became very famous (Gen. 19:1). But in one day, he lost all his wealth to an inferno at Sodom. He also lost his wife (Gen. 19:26). He lost his entire generation to the devil and they became enemies of generations of God’s chosen ones.  He only survived because Abraham - God’s chosen stood in the gap for him.  The non-chosen has no special security from God. The fellow will always depend on the intercession of the chosen. If you do not want to live at the mercy of the chosen, work your way into being the chosen of God today. ACTION POINT: Father, let me be among Your chosen few and abide by all Your laws.

Provision is available with God - Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: 1 Cor. 10-12
PROVISION AVAILABLE Thursday, August 26, 2010
MEMORIZE: “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shall be fed” (Psalm 37:3) READ: Psalm 37:3-5 Before the prodigal son got his turn around, he came to himself and told himself some truth (Luke 15:17). He compared his state with that of his father’s servants and realized how wretched he had become. Many fail to tell themselves the truth. Usually, people do not appreciate what they have until they lose it. Whatever you refuse to appreciate unconsciously departs from you. You can terminate the loss of precious things by simply appreciating them. One thing this younger son took for granted was having more than enough food. If you cannot thank God for the abundance He has given you, you may find lack inevitable. Never take for granted any of God’s blessings. If a blessing has no value to you, it has value to the One who gave it to you. Our Lord Jesus knew when virtue was being released to meet the need of the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:30). Until you attach the same value God attaches to His gifts, you may not have more. Worst still, you may lose them like the prodigal son. “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forgeth not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases” (Psalm 103:2-3). One person who always remembered to appreciate God for His blessings was David. As the song writer says, Count your blessings, name them one by one. Through effective, heartfelt praise and thanksgiving, you can be insured against losses. Appreciate God for the food on your table, air that you breathe, and gift of sleep. As common as these may appear, you would be shocked to know how many people who cannot afford such ‘luxury’. In God’s house, there is enough food to eat and to spare (Luke 15:17). Hence, Psalm 37:3 says, “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shall be fed”. As long as you are in God’s presence in God’s house, walking in righteousness, you are assured of divine provision. Elijah became so discouraged at some point that he asked God to kill him. God knew what he needed was not death but food, so He gave him food - double ration. Are you hungry? God’s provision is locating you now. An end has come to lack in your life. ACTION POINT: Devote the first seven days of every month to quality thanksgiving to God, while you thank Him for at least 20 minutes daily for the rest of the month.

Empower your feet - Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: 1 Cor 7-9
EMPOWERED FEET? Wednesday, August 25, 2010
MEMORIZE: “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Psalm 110:1) READ: Psalm 110:1-3 In Revelation 1:14, the eyes of Jesus that John saw were like flames of fire. Daniel had also seen this. In Daniel 10:6, He says, “His body also was like beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color of polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude”. Here, Daniel was describing the messenger sent to him which apparently is the Lord Himself. Sometime on earth, those eyes were blue with love. He wept with them at the tomb of Lazarus. But at this time, they were fiery. This is the form His eyes would take when He comes as Judge. Now, He comes as the King of kings and Lord of Lords. When He returns to judge those who rejected God’s free offer of Salvation, they will see fire in His eyes. On that day, I will be by His side.  The color of God’s eyes determines the tone of His voice.  If God’s voice is harsh towards you, you can tell His eyes are fiery. If you do not even hear His voice again, it could be that His eyes are so full of fire that the best thing to do is to go into silent mode: the next thing that individual will hear is sudden judgment. If you cannot tell the color of God’s eyes towards you, determine it by the tone of His voice and take necessary steps immediately. Another thing the passage talks about is the Lord’s feet.  They appear like when brass is on fire. This describes the divine messenger.  Brass in Scripture signifies strength. Jesus’ feet are said to be polished (strong) brass.  This indicates that His feet are empowered to trample over His enemies. If you are truly located in your place of authority in Christ Jesus in the Heavenly places, the only place your enemies can be is under your feet. Why? So that you can trample them under your feet. But the truth is, like Jesus, your feet need to be empowered so that when you trample on serpents and scorpions, you will not be hurt. To do this, you must empower your feet as God’s messenger with evangelism.  Every soul you win for God’s Kingdom turns your feet to be as strong as the Lord’s so that you can easily have victory over yourenemies. How many souls have you won to the Lord since the year began? ACTION POINT: The influence you fail to use in enlarging God’s Kingdom will surely reduce the Kingdom.

YOU ARE A RESTORER - Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: 1 Cor 4-6
YOU ARE A RESTORER Tuesday, August 24, 2010
MEMORIZE: “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled  (Jn 17:12) READ: 1 Samuel 30:1-8 Another very salient responsibility of a good shepherd is restoration. Psalm 23:3 says, “He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake”. A shepherd is a restorer. He restores what the sheep has lost. Most sheep have suffered losses of various sorts. In fact, many come to our churches because of such losses. Some have lost peace, joy, good health, job, promotion, children, material assets, etc. to the thief - the devil (John 10:10). The degree to which such losses are recovered under your ministry will determine what kind of shepherd you are. In today’s reading, David and his men returned from a battle only to discover that whole families and flock had been taken captive. As a good shepherd, he asked God for the strategy to use and immediately went into action. He did not return until he recovered all that was lost (Verses 9-20). They even got more than what they lost. He had great spoils to share to all (verses 21-31). All loses must be recovered. To what extent has your ministry enabled those under it to recover their losses? Is there a member or subordinate who has lost the hope for a higher education? It is the duty of the leader to restore that hope. You have to follow them up and ensure they are back to school. If a member has lost the hope of overcoming poverty, it is your duty to resuscitate that hope. That fellow must have a change of mindset ( Rom. 12:1-2), and must be encouraged to enter into God’s abundance. The hopes of many in our churches today are dead or dying. What are you doing about this? A more important aspect of restoration is spiritual. It is the duty of the shepherd to follow up converts. Our perfect example - the Lord Jesus Christ did not lose any of His disciples except the one who betrayed Him according to earlier prophecies on that issue (John 17:12). We are losing members and the pastors and leaders do not care about it. Find out why some are leaving, and take appropriate steps to stop them. Every soul is priceless to the Owner. If you start a church from the scratch, you will appreciate every soul you have. Stop turning away members. If it is your character, change. Start to seek for the lost and bring them back. Ensure that backsliders are spiritually restored. ACTION POINT: Prayerfully identify five people who need to be restored in any area of life. Go ahead and help restore them.

PLAN LIKE GOD - Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: 1 Cor. 1-3
PLAN LIKE GOD Monday, August 23, 2010
MEMORIZE: “Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house” (Prov. 24:27) READ: Jeremiah 1:4-5 “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world” (Acts 15:18). God is Alpha and Omega and as a result, He knows everything about every subject matter.  He knows the end from the beginning. God can be compared to a ring without a beginning or ending. According to Jeremiah 1:4-5, God concludes a matter before embarking on it. That is the ultimate in planning. Once He has made up His mind on something, you can be assured it is done. In John 6:5-7 when the Lord asked Philip where they could get enough bread for the multitude, He already knew what to do. Before you take your problem to Him, He has already figured out how to contain that problem. This simply tells us that whenever there is a problem, there is a solution lurking by its side. It is just that we cannot see it. God knows what to do to move you from lack to abundance. He knows how to turn your marah (bitterness) into sweetness. He knows how to reverse that negative situation in your life. Whenever a challenge comes to you, do not think He is ignorant of it. He knows about it. Ever before He allowed the problem to come to you, He had already designed a befitting solution (1 Cor. 10:13).  You will surely overcome your challenges if only you can get acquainted with Him. “Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?” (Isaiah 43:13). You cannot stop God from attaining His set goal. If He sends you on an assignment and you continue to drag your feet, He knows what to do. He could replace you with a substitute. In fact, the moment He calls you, He would have chosen your replacement should you disappoint Him. God is an example in planning. Some of us have more faith than God. How? When we plan, we make no alternative - no room for failure. One very crucial planning tip is to plan a program as if it was destined to fail. Have all the back ups, alternative actions and steps. That way, your program will not fail.  If you invite a guest minister to your church to talk on a subject, the pastor must also be adequately prepared so that if the fellow fails to come, the purpose of that meeting could still be achieved. How you plan is very important as it will determine success or failure. Do you plan like God? ACTION POINT: The exception to this rule is to have no alternative to God. He may delay but He will never fail.

GOD'S TIME OR YOURS?? - Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Isa 64-66
GOD’S TIME OR YOURS? Sunday, August 22, 2010
MEMORIZE: “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” (Eccl. 3:1) READ: Ecclesiastes 3:1-5 One challenge believer’s face which is not limited to any generation is reconciling our time with God’s time over various issues. Even when people generally say, ‘God’s time is the best’, not many are ready to wait for it. A brother was planning to go for a two-year post-graduate studies when God specifically instructed him to marry and settle down. Marriage was not the most important event to him at that time but to God, it was. So he obeyed. Meanwhile, there are many who are fasting and praying regularly so that they would know their spouses and settle down in marriage yet, God appears too slow in answering their prayers. One reason for such delay could be that it is not yet time for them to marry according to God’s timetable. One prayer point you must regularly take is, ‘Father, in doing Your will in any area of my life, let me never jump the gun or come behind Your perfect timing’. In understanding God and His timing, you need to know that God calls non existent things as though they already existed. In Romans 4:17, while speaking to barren Abraham, He called him a father of many nations. God’s language conflicts with our understanding on the use of English yet, if God calls you a multimillionaire when you are indeed very poor, drop your poverty mentality, believe Him and hold fast to that Word. Find out what He expects you to do and comply fully and it will surely manifest. Another thing about God’s timing is that He operates a different calender from ours. Although He established a system whereby time can be measured in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years, yet God lives in eternity and therefore cannot be tied to our time. According to 2 Peter 3:8, a thousand years in human calendar makes a day to God. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says God has a set time for everything on earth. It is possible you have attended several church meetings without a positive change. This does not mean that you are forgotten, but that God has already appointed a time for your desired blessing to be delivered to you. Your day of upliftment has a time attached. Your day of breakthrough has a fixed day. Your day will not pass you unannounced. ACTION POINT: When the day you fixed for something conflicts with God’s date for the same matter, let His will prevail.