SENSE THE SIGNS- Open Heavens Daily Devotionals by Pastor E.A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Jer 3-5
SENSE THE SIGNS Saturday, December 11, 2010
MEMORIZE: “And in the morning, it will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” (Matt. 16:3) READ: Matthew 16:1-3 “And in the morning, it will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” (Matt. 16:3). When the clouds are gathering for a heavy downpour, you can easily tell by reading the skyline. Across the countries, by means of satellites and other scientific gadgets, it is possible to predict weather conditions more accurately. The truth is, before some major events take place, it is displayed on the spiritual skyline. It takes only the spiritually sensitive to determine spiritual signs that are not apparent to physical eyes. It is important to be able to discern the times of your favor or else you may miss it completely.  Do you know that Satan and his cohorts easily identify the times of one’s favor and moves at such times to provoke the proposed recipient to take steps capable of triggering a loss? There are some people who will not compromise with sin until their time of favor comes. They would suddenly observe that they are under intense demonic pressure to sin. That is the time the devil will reawaken their old appetites for sin and do everything possible to get them to break their relationship with God. Some of these are the handiworks of familiar spirits which have been associated with the recipients’ family tree and lineage.  Whenever you come under intense pressure to sin, be wise and wait a minute: your time of favor could just be around the corner. Do everything you can to keep your relationship with God intact. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to notify you or point your attention to the signs signaling your time of favor.  He is the revealer of secrets. Romans 8:14 says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God”. If you know how to cultivate your relationship with the Holy Spirit, there is hardly an event that will take you unawares. Cultivate your friendship with the Holy Ghost. He wants to be your friend. Love Him, please Him, obey Him always. Avoid anything He hates. Study God’s Word more deeply and regularly.  Receive His Word as better than gold. And open your spiritual eyes: be sensitive to the signs of the times and you will never be caught napping. ACTION POINT: Holy Spirit, I want to be Your close friend from today.  Reveal Yourself to me more than ever before. N.B Sweet Holy Spirit, be my Guide, let me never lose my time of favour.

OTHER TOOLS OF SHEPHERDING- Daily devotional by Pastor E.A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Jer 1 - 2
OTHER TOOLS OF SHEPHERDING Friday, December 10, 2010
MEMORIZE: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever” (Ps. 23:6) READ:  Acts 10:34-39 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever” (Psalm 23:6). The eight tool a shepherd must possess is goodness. Goodness is an indispensable tool for leaders. A leader who is full of goodness will most likely succeed in his assignment whereas a leader who lacks this quality has already failed even before he started. Acts 10:38 says everywhere Jesus went, he was doing good. He was full of good works. Can this be said of you? Deficiency in goodness is responsible for the exit of potential congregational pillars in most churches today. When this quality is absent, there will be meanness, witch-hunting, scape-goatism, tribalism, nepotism, unforgiveness, bitterness, quarrel and strife. The truth is that you cannot sit on the fence on this matter. It is either you are good or bad. You cannot be in-between. If you are good, you will exude the fruit of the Spirit in all you do. The image of Jesus Christ will be evident in your life-style. Are you a good leader? A good leader is kind. Shortly before his death, David told his son Solomon to always be kind (1 Kings 2:1, 2-7). Assisting the needy is one way of demonstrating kindness. Some husbands are so mean and high-handed both to their wives and children. If you are wicked or mean to your wife, then you do not know what it means to be good. In addition to this, the shepherd must be equipped with mercy. The merciful is only being merciful to himself or herself because at the end of the day, that fellow will be the greatest beneficiary of his or her seeds of mercy (Prov. 11:17, Matt 5:7). The tenth tool is love. It was love that made the Good Shepherd to lay down His life for His sheep. According to John 3:16, love gives. If you say you love your congregation and you find it difficult to give your time, money, intellect and yourself to improve their lot, you are deceiving yourself. The much you are able to give determines the extent of your love. If love is present, there will be boldness, mercy and anointing. Anointing and the gifts of the Spirit operate better in an atmosphere of love. Which of these tools do you lack? Ask the Lord for it and for the grace to be an effective shepherd. ACTION POINT: If the anointing does not fill you with good works according to Acts 10:38, that anointing must be alien to God’s.  N.B Support www.10millionexercisebooks.com project today.

Partaking in False Teaching?- Daily devotional by Pastor E.A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: 2 Tim 1-4
PARTAKING IN FALSE TEACHING? Thursday, December 09, 2010
MEMORIZE: “My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation” (James 3:1) READ: James 3:1-2 In the church at Ephesus recorded in Revelation 2:1-7, the Lord singled out a sect within its walls which believed and preached that holiness was no more truly possible. These were the Nicolaitanes and the Lord said He hated them. Can the Lord hate those who claim to be His followers? This may be surprising but the Lord hates every preacher and teacher of false doctrines. This is a warning for those in the teaching ministry so that they do not veer off the path of sound doctrine and begin to teach cunningly devised fables and philosophy of men. In James 3:1-2, the Lord warns teachers to be very careful. Because God gives men liberty to say what they like without doing something immediately about it, many have taken liberty for license to go into false doctrine. It is very easy for a teacher or preacher to say something wrong and as a result mislead others. Be very conscious of what comes out of your mouth. Cross check facts and perceived revelations with the Holy Spirit so that you do not lead any astray. The Lord hates false preachers. Anyone who teaches you that you can continue to sin afterall we are human beings but that you will still get to Heaven is heading for hell and wants to take you along. Many people are heading for hell today for hearing just one wrong doctrine. If only you can determine the ill effects of just one false doctrine! Someone said ‘God is not as wicked as to fry His children in fire for minor sins and so there is no hell fire’ and millions of people who call themselves Christians are on their way to hell. Some also said that salvation is by what you are able to do - by works and as a result his followers find it difficult to accept salvation by faith and are now heading for hell. Idolatry is being openly practiced in some churches today because somebody has taught others contrary to Exodus 20:1-5 that there is nothing wrong in making images of God, Jesus, Mary and the apostles and using them to connect to God. And this is taking millions to hell! On the other hand, backslidden pastors, ministers or workers who are telling their sin partners to continue in sin because God will be merciful, are teaching them false doctrine contrary to Romans 6:1-2. They are in error! In what ways are your actions contradicting your teachings and messages? Such contradictions turns you into a false preacher! ACTION POINT: Are you teaching heresy? Repent, restitute where necessary and come back on the narrow path that leads to life.

What kind of Difference?- Daily devotional by Pastor E.A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Titus 1-3
WHAT KIND OF DIFFERENCE? Wednesday, December 08, 2010
MEMORIZE: “But as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” (John 1:12) READ:  John 1:11-12 “And he said, A certain man had two sons”( Luke 15:11).  This man refers to God. God has two categories of sons. The first category refers to the only Begotten Son. God has one Begotten Son and other adopted sons. John 1:14 says, “And the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth”. John 3:16 also confirms Jesus Christ as the only Begotten Son of God. God had one Son - the Begotten Son but wanted more sons so He sowed Jesus Christ and today, He has millions of adopted sons. Jesus Christ therefore is my elder brother because He is the first Son of my Father (Rom. 8:29). “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15).  Everyone who has accepted the only Begotten Son as Lord and personal Savior, automatically becomes a son by adoption. As a result of being an adopted son, they have the right to call God, “Daddy”. The moment you receive the Begotten Son, a power comes into you to enable you be like the One you received (John 1:11-12).  Do you have the only Begotten Son in your heart? Until you are an adopted son, you cannot access the benefits of the Kingdom. Another lesson we learn from the account of the prodigal son is that there are different classes of adopted sons.  The two sons were quite different.  One was adventurous while the other was an introvert. The volatile younger son wanted to experiment the world to see how it was, but the reserved elder son was content with just his home experience in his father’s house.  If you have two, three or more children, you will observe differences in each of them. Since we have been created individually different, however, the onus is on you to choose to be positively different or negatively different.  The younger son was negatively different.  He set a negative record as the greatest waster of their time. He went to a far country and used up in a moment what he and his children could have enjoyed for the rest of their lives. Even today, many so called Christians are known for setting negative records.  If you are the one to lead a revolt in your office or church, you are negatively different. If you are a fornicating pastor or minister, you are negatively different.  Change today! ACTION POINT: Father, in my generation, help me to make a shinning positive difference.

STILL PROCRASTINATING?- Daily devotional by Pastor E.A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: 1 Tim 4-6
STILL PROCRASTINATING? Tuesday, December 07, 2010
MEMORIZE: “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed ” (Rom. 13:11) READ: Romans 13:11-14 One sure thing about life is the uncertainty of its end. You cannot tell when your time is up hence, you need to maximize the time you have now.  This is one major argument against procrastination.  Are you sure you would still be alive by this time next year? If you are, can you ascertain how strong you would be? There are people who had two legs last year but now have lost one or both legs to amputation as a result of some affliction. When a vital part of the body is lost, so goes a chunk of possibilities off the cliff!  There are some who could run last year but now find it difficult to crawl.  An antidote to procrastination is given in Hebrews 3:7-11. The only time you have is today - now! Tomorrow is not yet yours.  Make the best of every opportunity today.  Do all you can while you have life. Work for the Lord now. Win souls to His Kingdom today.  Restitute today.  Pay your vows and other debts now.  Those who procrastinate by postponing the day they will perform their assignment do so because their hearts are hardened. If you find it easy to always procrastinate on issues bothering on God’s Kingdom, something is wrong with your heart. Ask for a heart change today.  Procrastinators do not enter into God’s rest but fall under divine judgment. What are those things you have been postponing? Rise up and do them today. Some believers procrastinate over their evil habits until it becomes too late. If you know your weakness is anger, but fail to do something about it, it could be the hindrance that will eventually stop you from entering your promised land like Moses, or send you to hell like Judas Iscariot. When your time is up and you fail to move, God will uproot the fellow.  When your appointed time comes, it will be too late to do a number of things. It will be too late to pray, fast, restitute, quit that sin or work for God. Some people are fond of doing their work only at the last minute and they have the same attitude to life and eternal issues. When your time is up, there will be no excuses. Every day you procrastinate works against you in judgment. It’s time to rise to do whatever has been kept aside. ACTION POINT: Some believers are still bench warmers in God’s house several years, after they got saved.  ‘We will work for God later’ they keep procrastinating.  What if you die now? What will you give as excuse for not working?  N.B Work now, support the eradication of illiteracy today, join www.10millionexercisebooks.com project.

NO HOLDING BACK- Daily devotional with Pastor E. A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: 1 Tim 1-3
NO HOLDING BACK Monday, December 06, 2010
MEMORIZE: “Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it” (Prov. 3:27) READ: Proverbs 3:27-29 If you fail to part with what you must, you may end up shutting the windows of Heaven against yourself. From every financial provision you get, you must first separate your tithe before budgeting how the rest will be spent. It is only a greedy, tight-fisted believer who will spend up everything on himself or herself. Part of what comes to you is meant as seeds into your pastor, church projects and needy brethren. If you fail to follow God’s pattern of spending the money, you can get into trouble. Never hold back the help you are meant to deliver to your fellow brother or sister.  That denial could cause you lots of pain afterwards. When it comes to helping others in need, do not procrastinate. The time to help your needy ones is now - when you can afford it.  Proverbs 3:28 says, “Say not unto thy neighbor, Go, and come again, and tomorrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee”. It is an act of wickedness to deny your neighbor his or her entitlement just because it was channelled through you. If you truly want to enter your ultimate financial harvest, you must shun stinginess, greed and covetousness. Be content with your portion. Another lesson from the widow of 2 Kings 4:1-8 is the need for thanksgiving. After the miracle, she returned to give God thanks and to testify of God’s goodness to her.  Sometime ago, the Lord told a particular church to wait on Him for a period just thanking Him as a way of paying their thanksgiving debts. Are you indebted to God in thanksgiving? A young man came to me for prayer about a contract he was bidding for.  He was desperate. We prayed and he left.  The next time I would see him, I asked why he did not bring me word on how things went. He managed to say that he won the contract and he gives glory to God. So I asked why he did not exhibit the same enthusiasm and zeal he exhibited while pursuing the contract, after he got it. If you want new doors of blessings to be opened to you, thank God. If you want opened doors to remain open thank God with enthusiasm. God expects your heartfelt thanksgiving for everything He does for you irrespective of its size. How often do you thank Him? ACTION POINT: During normal course of duty, a female minister assisted a lady and the latter would hardly stop appreciating her until she became embarrassed. If you can embarrass God with thanksgiving daily, you have hit the Heavenly jackpot!  N.B Support www.10millionexercisebooks.com project today