Memorise: And I, behold, I will harden the heats of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. Exodus 14:17
Read: Exodus 14:15-17
15 And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:
16 But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
17 And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.
Bible in one year: Acts 8-9, Jeremiah 35:12-36:3

1. Do you know that every time God moves to deliver a helpless and hopeless individual, He gets some form of glory from it?
2. After God led the children of Israel out of Egypt and they were on their way towards the Red Sea, the Egyptians, forgetting all that they had suffered on account of the Israelites, resolved to go after them and bring them back.
3. This was a serious problem for the Israelites, who had lived as slaves all their lives and were just experiencing freedom for the very first time. However, God did not leave them alone. In fact, He prepared Moses and Joshua to physically lead them while He provided spiritual direction and protection.
4. On your way to your place of destiny, the Lord will not leave you alone. As He led the Israelites, so will He lead you in Jesus’ Name.
5. Be assured in your heart that God will not allow your present predicament to drown you, because He knows that His intervention will definitely bring glory to His Name.
6. “And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.” Exodus 14:17 When God’s children were faced with the serious threat of returning to slavery, although they cried to God for help, one major reason why God intervened was because of the glory or honour He was going to get from it.
7. If you are confronted with a situation you can easily come out of, or a situation someone can help you out with, either you or the fellow who helped you might want to take or partake of the glory when the problem is solved. In contrast to this, when you are pushed to a corner, with no specialist, parent, relative, friend or pastor to help, when God intervenes in such situations and the issue is resolved, He alone will take the glory.
8. God does not like to share His glory with anyone or anything (Isaiah 42:8). Unfortunately, many people who give testimonies still share in or even completely rob God of His glory. The summary of their testimonies is that they prayed so much, fasted so long, gave a lot or were very smart and got their miracle because of this. Such people are glory thieves.
9. There are many people who have done much more than they did and yet their situations have not changed.
10. God can step into your situation because of the glory He will get from it, so never tamper with His glory.

The issue of man taking glory that belongs to God totally is a mistake most believers make. Most of us boldly take all the glory and refuse to return the glory to God who deserves it all. I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Isaiah 42:8 Let’s learn to give all the glory to God at all time for every success and blessing we encounter in life. Man can never prevail by their own power, it is God that brings all victory we encounter to reality. May His name be praised forever. God bless Pastor E.A Adeboye for blessing us with the word of God again this day.

Action Point
Man has a problem and wants a solution. God gives the solution and wants the glory. Never allow anything to tamper with God’s expectation!
HYMN
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.
[Chorus]
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
[Chorus]
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
[Chorus]

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20

Memorise: But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. Genesis 17:21
Read: Genesis 17:15-21
15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
Bible in one year: Acts 7, Jeremiah 34:17-35:11

1. After Abraham and Sarah used their own alternative means to attempt to solve their problem of childlessness, and Hagar delivered Ishmael to Abraham, they thought that God’s plan for their lives would change to accommodate Ishmael. They were wrong! In fact, in Genesis 17:18, Abraham made a passionate plea for God to recognise Ishmael as his covenant heir, but God insisted on His original plan. In Genesis 17:19, God said this to Abraham: “…Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.”
2. A crucial lesson here is that we cannot force, deceive, manipulate or corner God into doing what He did not plan to do.
3. Isaac is a product of the Spirit while Ishmael is a product of the flesh (Galatians 4:23-29).
4. Never expect God to dump the Spirit for the flesh.
5. Do you know that some Christians go against God’s word and will by marrying an unbeliever and then later pretend to be sorry by feigning tears, whereas inside of them they are rejoicing that they have married their chosen heartthrob and have thus outsmarted God? Such Christians would try to justify themselves by asking you whether God would expect them to divorce their unsaved spouse when God Himself says He hates divorce. Oh how smart they think they are! Unfortunately for them though, they will later realise how foolish they really are, when faced with the consequences of their choice.
6. If you go against God’s word and choose an unbeliever as your marriage or business partner, it is your choice. You will have to live with the repercussions of that choice.
7. You may have 100 “Ishmaels”, but God’s covenant can only be established with an “Isaac” (Genesis 17:21).
8. Isaac is a product of God’s blessings, while Ishmael is a product of man’s lust, impatience and self-government.
9. Do not expect God to legitimize your Ishmael!
10. Some people acquire wealth through illegitimate means and later expect God to sanctify it for them. They are only deceiving themselves.
11. Anything you add to yourself that God has not added to you will ultimately be a curse that will haunt you. This is why it is better to wait on God to receive the blessing that comes from Him and not fall for cheap alternatives.
12. Have you devised alternative to God’s original plan for your life? Repent and dump them today!
13. Go back to God and ask Him to continue from where He stopped in your life. 

God is the master planner. He is the extra ordinary strategist and no one can come up with a better plan Him. This is why it is important for every believer to wait on the Lord. Though it may take long before His words or promise come to fulfillment but it will never return to Him void. Man’s option will always crash or grow into big trouble. We can never outsmart the maker of the universe so we should settle down and patiently wait till His will is done in our lives. The grace of God is multiplied unto Pastor E.A Adeboye in Jesus name.

Action Point
Have you ever tried to outsmart God? Go on your knees and confess how foolish you have been, and ask for His mercy today.
HYMN
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
the emblem of suffering and shame;
and I love that old cross where the dearest and best
for a world of lost sinners was slain.
Refrain:
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
and exchange it some day for a crown.
O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
has a wondrous attraction for me;
for the dear Lamb of God left his glory above
to bear it to dark Calvary. Refrain
In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
a wondrous beauty I see,
for ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
to pardon and sanctify me. Refrain
To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
its shame and reproach gladly bear;
then he’ll call me some day to my home far away,
where his glory forever I’ll share. Refrain

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20

Memorise: Be ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Jude 1:20
Read: Acts 6:3-10
3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
6 Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
9 Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.
10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.
Bible in one year: Acts 5:6, Jeremiah 34:1-16

1. According to Mark 16:17-18, the ability to demonstrate faith in God is very necessary in the ministry of signs and wonders. Hebrews 11:6 also says that without faith you cannot please God.
2. So how do we recognise someone with faith? A look at the life of someone the Bible declared was full of faith should be able to provide us some answers. Acts 6:8 says, “And Stephen, full of faith and powers, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
3. Stephen was only a deacon in the early Church. He was chosen as an usher to join others in serving food, and yet because he was full of faith, he performed great signs and wonders, even more than some apostles.
4. From the example of Stephen, it therefore means that you can be a worker in the Church and God could still use you to perform mighty signs and miracles even more than a pastor. This simply tells us that walking in the miraculous is not about titles but about faith.
5. You can be full of position or titles but empty of faith and therefore of little or no use to God in the ministry of signs and wonders.
6. Some senior pastors cannot mention just one miracle the Lord has performed through them in the last two or more years, and yet God is doing wonders through their subordinates. It is doubtful that such pastors are full of faith.
7. Are you full of faith or doubt? There is no way God will be at work among His people and His supernatural touch will not be visible for all to see.
8. Instead of building up their faith until it is full, some people choose to use everything at their disposal to secure a position or an ordination in the Body of Christ. Believing that the higher their position, the greater the anointing at their disposal. Unfortunately, they fail to realise that those who pursue position or ordination may get the title but not the power that backs it up.
9. What is important is to build up your faith. After you are saved, do not keep your faith stagnant; grow it. Feed your faith by meditating regularly on God’s word, praying in the Holy Spirit, reading sound Christian literature and texts, and by listening to good Christian music and testimonies.
10. You also need to fellowship regularly in a Bible-believing Church, so that you are constantly exposed to the truth.
11. When you are full of faith, fear will have no place to hibernate inside you.  This makes you a sure candidate for God to work with.
12. May God work with you! Do all you can to build up you faith.

Living in faith and by faith is a life every believer should hunger after. There are few points to critically examine in today’s devotional; position has nothing to do with the manifestation of the power of God; age or title is irrelevant when it comes to exhibiting great faith that will move mountains; God expects you as believer to grow in faith. With these points mentioned above, I strongly believe that the Almighty God is interested in us performing miracles, signs and wonders but the key to doing this is to be full of faith. May the Lord grant us faith beyond the physical circumstances in Jesus name. And may He bless and strengthen our Father in the Lord Pastor E.A Adeboye in Jesus name.

Key Point
Your spiritual growth is your personal responsibility, and not that of your pastor.
HYMN
1. My faith looks up to thee, 
thou Lamb of Calvary, 
Savior divine! 
Now hear me while I pray, 
take all my guilt away, 
O let me from this day 
be wholly thine! 
2. May thy rich grace impart 
strength to my fainting heart, 
my zeal inspire! 
As thou hast died for me, 
O may my love to thee 
pure, warm, and changeless be, 
a living fire! 
3. While life’s dark maze I tread, 
and griefs around me spread, 
be thou my guide; 
bid darkness turn to day, 
wipe sorrow’s tears away, 
nor let me ever stray 
from thee aside. 
4. When ends life’s transient dream, 
when death’s cold, sullen stream 
shall o’er me roll; 
blest Savior, then in love, 
fear and distrust remove; 
O bear me safe above, 
a ransomed soul! 

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20

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 15:25-32
25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.
26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.
27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.
28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
Bible in one year: Acts 3-4, Jeremiah 33:12-26

1. The benefits you derive from a person depends on how much that individual has and on how desperate you are to receive.
2. If God is the One you need something from, then you are dealing with the Almighty God who has all things and who can do all things.
3. Before approaching God, you need to first determine what you want and how much of it you want from Him. If your response is to ask God for nothing, I am afraid you will leave empty-handed. James 4:2 says, “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet have not, because ye ask not.”
4. In John 16:24, after several years together, the Lord addressed His disciples one day and said something that should shock us: “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”
5. They lived, ate and slept with the Fountain of living waters, yet they failed to drink from it. Some people take contentment to the extreme. They think it is covetousness to ask God for anything decent, whereas God is waiting for them to ask.
6. How much have you asked from God? Are you like the disciples who asked for nothing? They asked for nothing at a time when others, who were not even walking with Jesus, were already using His Name to get benefits from Heaven (Luke 9:49-50).
7. Even God knows that having nothing is not good for you.
8. The container of joy of the fellow who asks for nothing will always remain empty, whereas God wants it to overflow.
9. In the parable of the prodigal son, the senior son is another example of those who swim in abundance but hardly ever ask for a bit of it. When his younger brother returned and his father declared a feast, he was annoyed. How could his father slaughter a cow to celebrate his brother’s return, whereas he had not even had a ram to celebrate his birthday with his friends? This was one major difference between the two brothers. While he never asked for the least of all he was entitled to, his brother did not mind exceeding his limits. The younger brother had asked for all he could get from his father and wasted it, and yet on his return, the father kept spending on his account. Whose cow was being slaughtered for the prodigal son? It was definitely that of the elder brother.
10. This teaches us that what you fail to ask for may be taken over by those who ask.
11. God gave you a mouth with which to ask.
12. Ask and ask big! From today, as you ask, God will answer you speedily in Jesus’ Name.

A closed mouth can be likened to or said to be equal to a closed destiny. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” Matthew 7:7‭-‬8. This scripture makes it clear that until you ask before you receive. As human beings we also don’t give out things atimes until we are asked. This also applies to our heavenly Father. Some do not know they have to ask and so they suffer in ignorance. Thank God for the knowledge we gain daily as we study this devotional. Now that it is clearly known to us that we need to ask for us to get, let us utilise our mouth in asking the father who so much love us to give His only begotten Son. We can be sure of receiving from Him as we ask in faith. Blessed be God for Pastor E.A Adeboye. We ask that may he flourish more in the things of God in Jesus name.

Key Point
When we get to Heaven and some people see what they asked for in comparison with what they could have asked for, they will feel seriously cheated.
HYMN
There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Savior above.
Refrain:
Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need:
Mercy-drops round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.
There shall be showers of blessing,
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain.
There shall be showers of blessing;
Send them upon us, O Lord;
Grant to us now a refreshing,
Come, and now honor Thy Word.
There shall be showers of blessing:
Oh, that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
Now as on Jesus we call!
 

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20

Memorise: The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. Psalm 10:4
Read: Acts 9:1-11
1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
9 And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.
10 And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,
Bible in one year: Acts 1-2, Jeremiah 33:1-11

1. Yesterday, we considered the need to fast often in order to maintain the Spirit’s control over the desires of our body. Today, let us consider another reason why we need to fast often, which is, to submit ourselves to God in humility (James 4:6-7).
2. David had this understanding and that was why in Psalm 35:13 he said, “But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.”
3. Whenever you find yourself becoming haughty, too full of yourself or looking down on others, you need to declare a fast so as to subdue the rise of pride in your life.
4. Those who live in pride are distant from God. Even when He makes an attempt to reach such people, it will be very difficult because they have built a fence of pride around themselves.
5. One major reason why some people don’t accept the gospel of Jesus Christ, even after witnessing His power and miracles, is pride. Those worst hit by this attitude tend to be learned, enlightened and widely travelled people. This is why you need to pray against the spirit of pride hindering the salvation of your loved ones.
6. Let us take a look at the life of Saul of Tarsus and learn some lessons from him. He was very zealous and intelligent young man who wanted to please God, but he was proud. Meanwhile, God had been trying to reach out to him, but the fence of pride he had around him kept God out.
7. Do you know that pride directs? If you are proud, it will direct you in the way you go about things, in what you do and what you don’t do.
8. Whenever faith is combined with pride, at best, you will get religion.
9. As Saul tried to serve and please God in the atmosphere of pride, he drifted further away from the One he thought he was pleasing, to the point where he began to fight the One he was supposed to satisfy.
10. Pride blindfolds its victims. It makes a person work against what he or she originally set out to do or stand up for.
11. It wasn’t until Jesus manifested Himself to Saul that he realised he had been working against the God he thought he was serving. Nevertheless, after he humbled himself with fasting and prayer for three days, he received salvation, healing of his blind eyes, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and a divine call of God to minister the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles.
12. If only you can submit yourself to God in humility through prayer and fasting, you can connect with God’s purpose for your life.

Regardless of the level of the spirituality of any believer who is captivated with pride, spiritual growth will always be far from such fellow. God resist the proud and gives grace to the humble. Being humble in our relationship with God and men is great gain. For you to be greatly promoted by God as a believer, you must wear garment of meekness and humility. Consider what the Bible says “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” ‭‭I Peter‬ ‭5:6‬. Promotions is tied to your ability to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. Please, ask God to destroy any element of pride preventing your breakthrough today. May God empower Pastor E.A Adeboye for greater works in Jesus name.

Prayer Point
Father, let all my loved ones who are separated from You through pride, overcome this barrier and yield completely to Your will today.
HYMN
Deeper, deeper in the love of Jesus
Daily let me go;
Higher, higher in the school of wisdom,
More of grace to know.
Refrain:
Oh, deeper yet, I pray,
And higher every day,
And wiser, blessed Lord,
In Thy precious, holy Word.
Deeper, deeper, blessed Holy Spirit,
Take me deeper still,
Till my life is wholly lost in Jesus,
And His perfect will.
Deeper, deeper! though it cost hard trials,
Deeper let me go!
Rooted in the holy love of Jesus,
Let me fruitful grow.
Deeper, higher, every day in Jesus,
Till all conflict past,
Finds me conqu’ror, and in His own image
Perfected at last.
Deeper, deeper in the faith of Jesus,
Holy faith and true;
In His pow’r and soul exulting wisdom
Let me peace pursue.

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20

Memorise: In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 2nd Corinthians 11:27
Read: Matthew 6:16-18
16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
Bible in one year: Deuteronomy 33-34, Jeremiah 32:36-44

1. One of my sons was travelling with me for the very first time sometime ago, and after we had been together for two days he asked me, “Daddy, why do you pray so much?” He said he observed that before we left the room, we prayed; when we got into the car, we prayed; on arrival at our destination, we prayed; when we entered the venue of the programme, we prayed; when we finished the programme, we prayed; on arrival at our lodging place, we prayed; also, when he peeped to check on me, he still saw me on my knees. Well, I pray a lot because prayer is an activity we are commanded to always engage in (1st Thessalonians 5:17).
2. How often do you pray? Do you use every available opportunity to pray?
3. Apart from prayer, another spiritual activity you should regularly engage in to keep you spiritual fit and growing is fasting.
4. Some people believe that doing a long fast for 30 days or 100 days is sufficient for one year. While this is a good spiritual exercise, there is still the need to continue fasting in the course of the year.
5. When the Lord addressed the question of why His disciples were not fasting often like those of John the Baptist, here is what He said in Luke 5:34; “But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.”
6. Since the Master has been received into glory, it is clear from His words that we now are expected to fast often.
7. Some people fast for a short period at a stretch and thereafter they want to feast for the rest of the year. This is not good enough.
8. A better practice is to find or create some time monthly or better still weekly to engage in fasting. Fasting was not strange to the patriarchs of old.
9. Fasting does you so much good spiritually, so it should be a part of your lifestyle. You can live a fasted life.
10. While detailing his experiences in life, Apostle Paul in 2nd Corinthians 11:27 said that fasting was a reoccurring activity in his Christian life: “In weariness and painfulness, in watching often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.”
11. Most people who find it difficult to fast simply have a problem with discipline. They are so used to eating that they cannot sacrifice a few meals to seek God’s face.
12. Anyone who cannot control his or her appetite may remain enslaved to the body.
13. Fasting helps to subdue or break the controlling power that the weaknesses and desires of your body have over you.

Fasting is a spiritual exercise through which we can subdue the flesh for quick access to God and deep fellowship with Him. It was made known by our Lord Jesus in Mark 9:29 that certain miracles only come when we pray and fast. “And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.”Mark 9:29. Let’s activate the miraculous as we swing to action and fast rather than talking about it. May God help us all in Jesus name. God bless Pastor E.A Adeboye for daily feeding us with spiritual food.

Action Point
Stop talking about your plan to fast; just go ahead and fast. You can start with one day per week.
HYMN
Deeper, deeper in the love of Jesus
Daily let me go;
Higher, higher in the school of wisdom,
More of grace to know.
Refrain:
Oh, deeper yet, I pray,
And higher every day,
And wiser, blessed Lord,
In Thy precious, holy Word.
Deeper, deeper, blessed Holy Spirit,
Take me deeper still,
Till my life is wholly lost in Jesus,
And His perfect will.
Deeper, deeper! though it cost hard trials,
Deeper let me go!
Rooted in the holy love of Jesus,
Let me fruitful grow.
Deeper, higher, every day in Jesus,
Till all conflict past,
Finds me conqu’ror, and in His own image
Perfected at last.
Deeper, deeper in the faith of Jesus,
Holy faith and true;
In His pow’r and soul exulting wisdom
Let me peace pursue.

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20

Memorise: And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of sliver. 2nd Samuel 24:24
Read: 2nd Samuel 24:16-25
16 And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite.
17 And David spake unto the Lord when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father’s house.
18 And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the Lord in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite.
19 And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded.
20 And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground.
21 And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people.
22 And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood.
23 All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The Lord thy God accept thee.
24 And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
25 And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.
Bible in one year: Deuteronomy 31-32, Jeremiah 32:26-35

1. Sacrificial sowing can deliver an unending harvest to you, make your harvest irreversible, make you the talk of the town and even turn away God’s anger from you.
2. In 2nd Samuel 24:1-25, we read about how God was provoked to anger by King David, thereby bringing God’s judgment on the people. So many people died in the ensuing pledge.
3. After the first wave of destruction, the angel was about to effect the second phase when God stopped him, while he was on Araunah’s farmland. David’s seer, Prophet Gad, came and instructed him to raise an altar to the Lord on Araunah’s farmland, where the angel was last seen. On arrival, Araunah went to welcome King David and he offered him all he needed to make the sacrifice, but David politely declined it. Why? It is simply because he knew the importance of sacrifice and the power of sacrificial seeds. “And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.” 2nd Samuel 24:24
4. When David pleaded with God to temper His justice with mercy and judge him instead of his innocent people, God said, “Alright, I will do something about that. I will overlook your errors, I will forgive you and stop my judgment, but you have to first bring me a sacrifice.” David agreed to give that sacrifice and he turned down Araunah’s offer to make the offering an easy one. He said, “This sacrifice must cost me something. It is a sacrifice in sorrow so that I can go home rejoicing.”
5. Some of us have found ourselves in a similar situation as David, where it was required of us to make painful and costly sacrifices in order to achieve our heart desires. However, instead of going headlong into it, we rather sought and received help from the Araunahs of this world to make the task an easy one.
6. Never accept an affordable or convenient alternative in the place of the sacrifice you need to make in order to enter into your desired breakthrough.
7. If you can make the required sacrifice, you will receive the joy you so desire.
8. If you can make the sacrifice, you can overturn God’s wrath from yourself or your family.
9. If you can stand in the place of prayer long enough and pay the price the situation you are facing requires, you will return with joy.
10. Are you ready to do this?

The weight of your sacrifice, attitude or gravity of your sacrifice can turn God’s face towards the one offering it such that a positive change is effected as well as seizure of wrath or punishment. Abraham, Jacob, solomon, David just to mention a few in the Bible that offered quality sacrifice that got God’s attention. In 2 Kings 3 king Moab sacrificed his eldest son and got freedom from the 3 kings whom God had promised to deliver Moab into their hands. This scripture pointed to the fact that even an enemy that has been marked for destruction got freedom because his sacrifice was heavy. David understood the implication of making sacrifice to God shabbily or without reverence in our Bible reading today and he didn’t risk doing otherwise even when the offer was made. When God asks for something from us it is not because He needs it but because He wants to bless us, revert a situation or establish something new. We should therefore always endeavour to carry out every of God’s instructions to the last order. This is because in doing this there is a great reward awaiting us. May we be ruled by our spirit and not the flesh in Jesus name. Pastor E.A Adeboye is a blessing to us and we pray that God will never leave nor forsake him in Jesus name.

Action Point
There is no alternative to a sacrifice that should be made. Just ask God for grace to do it.
HYMN
O Jesus, I have promised
  To serve Thee to the end;
Be Thou forever near me,
  My Master and my Friend;
I shall not fear the battle
  If Thou art by my side,
Nor wander from the pathway
  If Thou wilt be my Guide.
 
Oh, let me hear Thee speaking,
  In accents clear and still,
Above the storms of passion,
  The murmurs of self-will;
Oh, speak to reassure me,
  To hasten, or control;
Oh, speak, and make me listen,
  Thou Guardian of my soul.
 
O Jesus, Thou hast promised
  To all who follow Thee
That where Thou art in glory
  There shall Thy servant be;
And Jesus, I have promised
  To serve Thee to the end;
Oh, give me grace to follow,
  My Master and my Friend.
 
Oh, let me see Thy footprints,
  And in them plant mine own;
My hope to follow duly
  Is in Thy strength alone.
Oh, guide me, call me, draw me,
  Uphold me to the end;
And then to rest receive me,
  My Savior and my Friend.

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Memorise: Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known. Psalm 106:8
Read: Psalm 106:7-9
7 Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea.
8 Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.
9 He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.
Bible in one year: Deuteronomy 29-30, Jeremiah 32:16-25

1. The Bible declares that our God is a very present help in time of trouble (Psalm 46:1). This means that He is ever-present or always ready to help in the time of trouble.
2. There are several reasons why God makes His help available to a person.
3. Understanding these reasons and applying them to your life will go a long way in helping you experience God as an ever-present help.
4. One of these reasons is to fulfil His promises. God is very committed to His promises; hence, Psalm 89:34 says, “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.”
5. If He has purposed to help you, He will not change His mind midway. Number 23:19 says, “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
6. God’s word had integrity. He regards His words above His Name (Psalm 138:2). Every promise He has made to you shall be fulfilled speedily!
7. God cannot violate His word, so you can be sure that He will keep His promise to help you.
8. Another reason why God reaches out to help a man is for the sake of His Name.
9. If you genuinely belong to God, He will help you because you bear His Name and are called by His Name in this world (Acts 15:17). No wonder Psalm 106:8 says, “Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.”
10. That means His intervention goes beyond your asking. He will intervene to defend His Name and show His power.
11. At certain bus stops in life, some people will challenge you by asking “Where is your God?” some may even say “if your God is truly alive, He should have delivered you by now.” If you are in such situation, take heart and be unmoveable.
12. In Daniel 3:14-29, King Nebuchadnezzar initially asked the three Hebrew children “who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?” However, By the time God was through with him, he publicly confessed that there was no God like their God.
13. Is your child in a situation that appears hopeless? Is your business or career going through some impossible storms? God will step into your situation and calm the storms!
14. The Lord is speaking peace to every impossible situation you are up against right now. He will surely bring you out of the storm, not just because of you, but because of His Name that you bear.
15. In that situation you are going through, the Lord will defend His Name, and He will not put you to shame. He will demonstrate His power just to give you the last laugh in Jesus’ Name.

God is Almighty, promise keeper, All sufficient and with Him all things are possible. Believe me brethren the word of God cannot be broken and His faithfulness is dependable. Like our father in the Lord stated above, God wants to protect His integrity and will never fail. It is always good to depend on His promises as the Bible says 
“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭55:10-11‬.
However, we must be aware of where we belong, you must have a right standing with God to benefit in His faithfulness. Remember,  the Bible says “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.” Proverbs‬ ‭18:10‬ This means that only the righteous is permitted to run to that name. May God help us to remain righteous and I His will. God be praised for Pastor E.A Adeboye. May his strength be renewed daily in Jesus name.

Prayer Point
Father, in this present situation I find myself, arise and defend your matchless Name.
HYMNPrayer Point
1 How sweet the name of Jesus sounds 
in a believer’s ear! 
It soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds, 
and drives away our fear. 
2 It makes the wounded spirit whole 
and calms the troubled breast; 
’tis manna to the hungry soul, 
and to the weary, rest. 
3 O Jesus, shepherd, guardian, friend, 
my Prophet, Priest, and King, 
my Lord, my Life, my Way, my End, 
accept the praise I bring. 
4 How weak the effort of my heart, 
how cold my warmest thought; 
but when I see you as you are, 
I’ll praise you as I ought. 
5 Till then I would your love proclaim 
with every fleeting breath; 
and may the music of your name 
refresh my soul in death.

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Memorise: And he gave them their request; but sent leannest into their soul. Psalm 106:15
Read: Genesis 16:1-5
1 Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
3 And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.
4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the Lord judge between me and thee.
Bible in one year: Deuteronomy 28, Jeremiah 32:1-15

1. A lot of people have gotten their fingers burnt in the place of seeking an alternative to God’s promise.
2. When God’s promise is seemingly delayed, some Christians do not have the strength of character to keep waiting on the Lord and holding on to His promises; they therefore seek out and accept man’s alternative to God’s precious promises.
3. Not only does man’s alternative take you off God’s course and provide you with quick fixes that cannot really fix anything, they also give you momentary joy that cannot absolve you of sorrow.
4. This was the experience of Sarah. In today’s Bible reading, after Sarah gave her maid, Hagar, to Abraham to raise children through her, she was happy and relieved that her problem of barrenness seemed solved. But her relief soon turned into grief as her happiness became sorrow. Genesis 16:4 says, “And he went into Hagar, and she conceived and when she saw that she conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.”
5. Sarah took good care of Hagar, in expectation of using her as a means to an end. For the purpose of child-bearing, she exempted her from the usual chores that her fellow maids would perform. However, the moment Hagar conceived, the tables turned against Sarah. Suddenly, all attention shifted to the new queen of the house. Everyone and everything had to be at her beck and call. She no longer had regard for her mistress. Realising she now had what Abraham earnestly wanted; she used her pregnancy as an excuse for gross misbehaviour. She took over Abraham’s attention and the poor man hardly even had time for Sarah anymore. When she was disobedient and her mistress tried to correct her, she would simply tell her, “Madam, if you were ever pregnant, you would understand what I am going through.” That was the beginning of Sarah’s sorrow.
6. When you are tired of waiting for God’s will, plan or timing, and you decide to follow one of the alternatives that comes your way, you will only be hurting yourself.
7. May you not use your own hands to undo yourself!
8. When God blesses you, He removes every form of sorrow from it (Proverbs 10:22), but whatever blessing you think you can derive from substituting God’s plan with an alternative will only be short-lived and will definitely come with sorrow.
9. Some people who knew and turned down God’s will in marriage, following the dictates of their flesh, ended up in sorrow. A good number of them are secretly weeping today. They cannot cry out because people warned before venturing into such marriages, but their ears were deaf to those warnings.
10. In your own interest, take time to find out God’s will for you in every area of your life and patiently follow it. In years to come, you will understand why that was the best decision you ever made.

When man decides to fix things themselve outside God’s plan, I ends up I agony and chaos. Why then won’t one wait on God and allow His will prevail over all circumstance we are faced with? He wants good for us and we should not choose evil because we are in haste. May God keep and strengthen Pastor E.A Adeboye in his body and ministry in Jesus name.

Key Point
It is better not to be blessed, than to be blessed and have sorrow with it.
HYMN
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
the emblem of suffering and shame;
and I love that old cross where the dearest and best
for a world of lost sinners was slain.
Refrain:
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
and exchange it some day for a crown.
O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
has a wondrous attraction for me;
for the dear Lamb of God left his glory above
to bear it to dark Calvary. Refrain
In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
a wondrous beauty I see,
for ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
to pardon and sanctify me. Refrain
To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
its shame and reproach gladly bear;
then he’ll call me some day to my home far away,
where his glory forever I’ll share. Refrain

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Memorise: Verily, verily I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. John 14:12
Read: Mark 11:22-24
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
Bible in one year: Deuteronomy 25-27, Jeremiah 31:31-40

1. The ministry of signs and wonders is the ministry of God, and He reserves the right to partner with anyone He chooses (Hebrews 2:4).
2. He can partner with someone operating in any of the five-fold ministries: apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers or evangelists. He can equally partner with ushers, choristers, instrumentalist, sanitation workers, etc.
3. When God partners with even an ordinary choir member or instrumentalist, demons will flee! This happened in David’s life when God partnered with him as just a harp player (1st Samuel 16:23).
4. Never look down on yourself! God can work with anyone who is willing to cooperate with Him. Are you willing? Are you ready to meet with His requirements?
5. Are you asking like some followers of Jesus once asked Him in John 6:28b: “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?” Here is His response to you in John 14:12: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my father.”
6. Note however that if you desire to operate in the miraculous, you must be a person of faith.
7. Why? Faith attracts God into the ordinary situations of life. It brings the divine into contact with the natural. In fact, in Mark 16:17-18, Jesus says if only you can believe in Him, signs will definitely follow you.
8. Are you experiencing signs and wonders in your ministry? If you are not, it could be that you are not releasing your faith, not necessarily because you do not have faith.
9. If you lack faith in God, you could never be born again in the first place. If you followed the steps of salvation and become born again, you definitely have faith.
10. That same faith is required of you every time you go before God for sometime: whether to make a request, to worship or to praise Him. You need to release your faith.
11. In Mark 11:22-23, Jesus says if only you can release your faith, you can command a mountain to move, and it will go to the destination that you have sent it.
12. Faith is the key to the miraculous.
13. When you lay your hands on the sick and pray for them, do you release your faith as well? If you refuse to release you faith, nothing will happen.
14. When you pray, God looks for your faith before He acts on that prayer.
15. Beloved, where is your faith?
16. If you have faith, you will trust in God’s ability to meet your needs. If you have faith, you will have great expectations. If you have faith, you won’t seek any other alternative to God’s intervention. If you have faith, you will not be double-minded.
17. Where is your faith? Release it today! 

Faith is a universal currency according to Bible scholars, and without which we don’t even think anyone can please God. Hebrew 11:6. It was also by faith that the elders obtained good reports Hebrew 11:2, meaning that all the testimonies of the apostles and other Heroes like Abraham came to manifestation by faith. God expects you to be rugged in your faith , it gives Him happiness and allow God to trust you to exercise your faith in any difficult situations, which in turn gives Him glory after settling you. Brethren release your faith today and let His name alone be glorified. God bless Pastor E.A Adeboye for this great insight.

Key Point
Faith is like an identity card that you must present whenever you go into God’s presence.
HYMN
1. My faith looks up to thee, 
thou Lamb of Calvary, 
Savior divine! 
Now hear me while I pray, 
take all my guilt away, 
O let me from this day 
be wholly thine! 
2. May thy rich grace impart 
strength to my fainting heart, 
my zeal inspire! 
As thou hast died for me, 
O may my love to thee 
pure, warm, and changeless be, 
a living fire! 
3. While life’s dark maze I tread, 
and griefs around me spread, 
be thou my guide; 
bid darkness turn to day, 
wipe sorrow’s tears away, 
nor let me ever stray 
from thee aside. 
4. When ends life’s transient dream, 
when death’s cold, sullen stream 
shall o’er me roll; 
blest Savior, then in love, 
fear and distrust remove; 
O bear me safe above, 
a ransomed soul! 

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