Devotionals

Memorise: And we desire that every one of you shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: Hebrews 6:11
Read: Hebrews 6:1-3
1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
3 And this will we do, if God permit.
Bible in one year: Deuteronomy 11-12, Jeremiah 29:1-14

1. In the midst of delay, man often comes up with alternatives to God’s original plan or purpose.
2. This is a dangerous thing to do because man’s alternative charts a new course, which can completely take the individual concerned out of God’s original plan.
3. Also, any such alternative is usually nothing more than just a quick fix compared to God’s permanent solution. Speaking to quick fixes, the age we live in encourages that.
4. We live in an age of instant gratification. Most people are no longer interested in any type of process; whatever they want, they want it now!
5. This is what I term the “Microwave Mentality”. People are so much in a hurry that they cannot dedicate time to do what they should do properly.
6. Sadly, the trend of microwave mentality has crept into the Church and has given birth to what I call “Microwave Christianity”.
7. Microwave Christianity is doing more harm than good to the Body of Christ.
8. A preacher says, “All you have to do is just believe”. The sinner says, “I believe”. “Praise God, you are now born again”, the preacher replies. He is in so much of a hurry to get the sinner saved that he cannot even tell him or her to confess his or sins to God.
9. Can God save a sinner who has not confessed his or her sins (Romans 10:10)? That is “microwave salvation”!
10. The name of that sinner may be written in the preacher’s book or in the register of church members, but is it in the Lamb’s Book of Life?
11. What about discipleship? Everything follows the same pattern – microwave!
12. When products of this anomaly are confronted by the storms of life or persecution for their faith, they find it difficult to endure. Isaiah 28:10 reveals to us the pattern we must follow in raising champions for God: “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.”
13. In this age of instant gratification, God remains unmoved and unchanged: He still follows His order and timing in raising those He will use.
14. Every spiritual microwave product portends problems, sorrow and regret in the future.
15. From salvation to discipleship, no stage must be skipped.
16. Diligence plays a key role in everything that concerns the Kingdom of God. Hence, Hebrews 6:1 says the elementary principles must be laid first, before you can move onto perfection.
17. If the foundation is tempered with, the product will be unstable.
18. When people are recommended to occupy spiritual positions that they are not spiritually qualified for, those sponsoring them are only creating problems for the future.
19. Are you a product of Microwave Christianity? Go back to the basis and rebuild yourself!  

There is need for us to have a strong foundation in Christ. Having a strong foundation is an important prerequisite or criteria for a strong building. Our Lord Jesus while teaching revealed to us in Matthew 7:24-27 that: Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. Whoever falls within the Microwave Christian category can be likened to the foolish man talked about above because the basis was ignored for the fast route. Following God’s will is the right way to have a strong foundation and these will is clearly spelt out in the word of God. Let’s take heed and diligently fight for what is right in the body of Christ that we may uphold the faith delivered to us. Everyday we study the Open Heavens devotional written by Pastor E.A Adeboye we have a renewed knowledge of God’s word. May he remain strengthened and blessed in Jesus name.

Key Point
If we fail to diligently fight for the faith that was delivered to us, a time will come when all we would be left with will be fakes!
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 as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly. 2nd Chronicles 31:5
Read: Malachi 3:8-12
8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.
12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.
Bible in one year: Deuteronomy 9:10, Jeremiah 28:5-17

1. If you want to experience the blessings that God promised His children, you must be prepared to follow divine financial principles.
2. Do you know that your seed will determine your harvest? 2nd Corinthians 9:6 says, “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”
3. From the above scripture, we learn that if you spare or hold back a good part of your seed, God will also hold back a good part of the harvest He wanted to give to you. On the other hand, if you go beyond the norm in your giving, God will also do the extraordinary regarding your harvest.
4. This is why I encourage you to grow in all forms of giving.
5. It is wrong for you to remain on the same spot in your offerings when God keeps increasing you.
6. Do you know that you can provoke a change in your financial situation by increasing your offerings even when your income has not changed?
7. In addition to growing in your offering, you can also grow in your tithe. You can go beyond the basic level of tithing which is 10%.
8. The Lord once told me to exceed my tithe and watch what He would do; He said I could call the difference a seed.
9. Sometimes in 1979, I attended a Kenneth Hagin conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which had about 17,000 people in attendance. During the meeting, there was a fund-raising event. The brother who took the offering challenged everyone to give their very best, and surprisingly, he added that he and his wife would match the total sum we all gave. Astonished by his challenge, we were certain he would be in the red by the time our offering was counted. When we had all given our offering, a total sum of $13.5 million was raised; surely, we thought, he would be unable to match this! However, to our great surprise, when the total was announced, he said, “Is this the best you all can do?” He and his wife then wrote a cheque for that exact sum. When I saw this, I said to myself, “This man must know something I don’t know, and I am going to find out what it is.” Wise people always gather knowledge; they seek to know what made a great person great, so as to apply the same principles. By the time I discussed with this brother, I learnt that five years before, he started a business with $500 and struck a deal with God that God would receive 90% of his profit while he would keep just 10%. As at the time he was telling me his story, his business had grown into a $50 million company.
10. I took up this challenge and increased the percentage of my tithe.
11. What can you do that you have not done before, to change what you normally receive from God? Rise up and do it now.

We have been challenged to dare to go extra mile in our giving to God in today’s devotional. God does not need our money to get rich but whatever we give to Him comes back to us multipled. What we give to God as tithe most time is based on net pay. Another way to increase our tithe is by giving on gross pay and let’s watch our dear father flood our lives with blessings beyond measure. We pray that God will always empower Pastor E.A Adeboye as he brings many to the knowledge of God’s will and desire for His children in Jesus name.

Prayer Point
Father, grant me the grace to upgrade all means of my life.
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: Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. Isaiah 54:4
Read: Isaiah 54:1-4
1 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.
2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;
3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.
Bible in one year: Deuteronomy 7-8, Jeremiah 27:16-28:4

1. “When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.” Psalm 126:1-3
2. God’s mercy can provoke Him to override your doubts and trigger off your season of laughter. That shall be your portion this season in Jesus Name!
3. Several years ago, a man brought his friend to my office, saying his friend had a big problem. His wife had gone mad and was roaming completely naked on the streets. They were very perplexed about her situation because according to popular beliefs of the Yoruba tribe in southwest Nigeria, if a person runs mad but is still within the house, that madness can still be brought under control, but once the madness has escalated to the point where the fellow goes naked on the streets  to the market place, nothing can be done to reverse it. This woman’s case had reached the climax that was believed to be beyond redemption. Before they came to me, they had grabbed this woman, bundled her and kept her in the house of a herbalist in Kwara State, Nigeria. They gave me the address of the place where she was, and so I went there, prayed for her and left. When the man and his friend were told that I had come, but that the prayer I said was under five minutes, they began to doubt how such a brief prayer could deal with something that serious. They therefore bundled this woman again and took her to the psychiatric hospital.
4. On arrival, the specialist they met said they would observe her for two weeks before determining the kind of treatment to administer on her. After two weeks of observation, the specialist sent for her husband and said, “Sir, if you say something is wrong with this woman, then something must be wrong with you, because since you brought her, we have not administered any medication on her, and yet she has been as normal as any healthy human being can be.” God had overruled this man’s doubts!
5. Because this is your season of laughter, as God is laughing, He will laugh over your doubts and cause you to laugh!
6. This season, nothing will stop your laughter!
7. If you have never known what it is to laugh before, you will experience it this season. If the challenge of life have stopped you from laughing, get ready for a season of unstoppable laughter!
8. Have you been weeping? This season, when you begin to laugh, you will not remember your sorrow and tears anymore!
9. Go ahead and thank God for ushering you into your season of laughter!

How pleasant is it to know that God’s mercy can override our doubt and bring us into a position of blessing and laughter. May we experience this mercy in Jesus. God bless Pastor E.A Adeboye for this devotional in Jesus name.

Prayer Point
Father, thank You for my season of laughter. Let my voice of rejoicing never cease.
HYMN
1 Through the love of God our Saviour,
all will be well.
Free and changeless is his favour,
all, all is well.
Precious is the blood that healed us,
perfect is the grace that sealed us,
strong the hand stretched forth to shield us,
all must be well.
2 Though we pass through tribulation,
all will be well.
Ours is such a full salvation,
all, all is well.
Happy, still in God confiding,
fruitful, if in Christ abiding,
holy, through the Spirit’s guiding,
all must be well.
3 We expect a bright tomorrow,
all will be well.
Faith can sing through days of sorrow,
‘All, all is well.’
On our Father’s love relying,
Jesus every need supplying,
in our living, in our dying,
all must be well.

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20

Memorise: Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! Psalm 107:15
Read: 2nd Kings 5:8-17
5 Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.
6 In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
7 For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,
8 And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.
Bible in one year: Deuteronomy 5-6, Jeremiah 27:1-15

1. If you try to fathom the vastness of the universe and the precision with which all things work together to maintain a balance, you will appreciate the greatness of our God who created it all.
2. When you then contemplate on the micro details of your place in this universe, and how God is still concerned about “little you”, showering you with His love, goodness, faithfulness, mercy and grace, you will be left with no other option than to forever worship Him.
3. God deserves our worship. Worship should not be something you do for a period and then take a break; it should be something you do for the rest of your life. How consistently have you worshipped God?
4. One Bible character who understood this principle of worship is Naaman (2nd Kings 5:1-17).
5. Naaman had a physical burden that defiled all medication until he met with the man of God, Elisha. He was asked to go to the River Jordan and dip in it seven times. He did this, and was cleansed. Thereafter, He returned to thank God with a lot of money, but the man of God turned down his gifts saying, “freely I received, and freely I give to you.” Naaman then requested for some of the soil of the land, so that he could take it back to his homeland and build and altar where he would worship God perpetually. He plainly said to the man of God, “For what your God has done for me, I will serve no other god but your God for the rest of my life.”
6. For a good number of people, God has done several big things for them, and yet they do not have an altar dedicated to worshipping His majesty in their homes.
7. I am not referring to a physical building, but rather a place consecrated to worshipping God and God alone.
8. Some people say that if only they had several rooms, they would dedicate a corner of your room to worshipping Him.
9. Sometime ago, the only place I could worship God without distraction was in my bathroom. There I could sing and dance to God without anybody watching. I could jump and do whatever I wanted in my bid to worship Him. With the door locked, it would just be God and I.
10. If you desire to worship God in spirit and in truth, start by getting a place where you can do that in your home.
11. Also, fix a time or times when you will do this, so that the manifest presence of God will always come down at such a time.
12. Get your Bible, hymn book, notebook and anything else that can aid your worship and get on with it. Be a perpetual worshipper of God!

Worshipping God at all time in spirit and truth should be the life of every child of God. Everything around us is a pure show of God’s greatness. Worshipping God creates fellowship which grows into relationship. It afford us quick access to God and creates room for faith and an atmosphere for miracles. This is because where faith exist anything is possible. God delights in our worship and we should live to give Him quality worship. It is well with us in Jesus name. We thank God for blessing our generation with Pastor E.A Adeboye. May he never get weary in Jesus name.

Action Point
Worshipping God is one of the few activities we will continue to do in eternity. Ask God for grace to worship Him continuously and acceptably.
HYMN
1 Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments and my days;
let them flow in endless praise,
let them flow in endless praise.
2 Take my hands and let them move
at the impulse of thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
swift and beautiful for thee,
swift and beautiful for thee.
3 Take my voice and let me sing
always, only, for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
filled with messages from thee,
filled with messages from thee.
4 Take my silver and my gold;
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
every power as thou shalt choose,
every power as thou shalt choose.
5 Take my will and make it thine;
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne,
it shall be thy royal throne.
6 Take my love; my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee,
ever, only, all for thee. 

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20

Memorise: For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Romans 8:14
Read: Romans 8:13-14
13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Bible in one year: Deuteronomy 4, Jeremiah 26:12-24

1. “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63
2. To a natural man, the words of Jesus Christ and the message of the cross are all foolishness (1st Corinthians 2:14).
3. A person who is not living in the Spirit cannot comprehend the message of Jesus Christ because it originates from the Holy Spirit. This is why it takes the Holy Spirit to enlighten the eyes of a natural man’s understanding and convict his heart, before he can accept Jesus Christ into his life.
4. To live in the Spirit, you need the Holy Spirit to quicken you. It is His work to make you alive and to strengthen you spiritually.
5. When you are down or tired, if you pray in the spirit long enough, you will find the required strength to undertake the assignment ahead of you.
6. Every assignment that God has for you is the first spiritual and then physical. This is why you cannot effectively perform a divine assignment using only physical means. Even when you have to undertake the physical aspects of a divine assignment, you need spiritual stamina or input to be effective.
7. Moreover, if you live in the Spirit, you should also be led by the Spirit. Who leads you reveals who owns you (Romans 6:16).
8. To understand what it means to be led by the Spirit, read up the account of the operations of the Holy Spirit in the life of Philip in Acts 8:26-40.
9. If you are saved and you barely receive divine guidance from the Holy Spirit, you are still a babe in the Kingdom; but if you are regularly led of the Holy Spirit – meaning you hear His voice and follow His instructions – then you have most likely attained the level of maturity in the faith where you can be called a son (Hebrews 5:11-14).
10. God is looking for sons and not just babes!
11. There are several Kingdom assignments that God wants to give out, but He is looking for sons to take them up.
12. Sons hear His voice and obey promptly, but babes find it difficult even to recognise God’s voice. Sons are guided by the Holy Spirit into all truth, because they can accept it and run with it, but babes cannot stand certain truths (John 16:12-13).
13. If there are some truths from God’s word that can make you to turn back from following the Lord, you are still a babe and not a son yet.
14. The word of God contains depths of truth. While babes read through it without getting much, sons carefully go step by step through it to harness the volumes of truth contained in it. Are you a babe or a son?

Please understand today that being led by the Spirit is never a burden to His children but rather a blessing. To be led by the Spirit is to get divine directions and avoid frustration of life. Being led by the Spirit of God is great gain to every believer. We charge you today just like Apostle also encouraged the church in  Galatians‬ ‭5:25‬. “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”  Many believers want to known  to be in the Spirit but truly not walking in the Spirit. It’s two different things, to walk in the Spirit is to be sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit and obey every instruction. May God help us in Jesus’ name. May He preserve Pastor E.A Adeboye and satisfy him with peace, long life, good health and Joy unspeakable in Jesus name.

Prayer Point
Father, give me ears that hear Your Spirit, and give me a heart that follows His leading.
HYMN
1 O spread the tidings ’round, wherever man is found,
Wherever human hearts and human woes abound.
Let every Christian tongue proclaim the joyful sound:
The Comforter has come!
Refrain:
The Comforter has come! The Comforter has come!
The Holy Ghost from heav’n, the Father’s promise giv’n,
O spread the tidings ’round, wherever man is found:
The Comforter has come!
2 The long, long night is past; the morning breaks at last;
And hushed the dreadful wail and fury of the blast,
As o’er the golden hills the day advances fast!
The Comforter has come! [Refrain]
3 Lo, the great King of kings, with healing in His wings,
To every captive soul a full deliv’rance brings;
And thro’ the vacant cells the song of triumph rings;
The Comforter has come! [Refrain]
4 O boundless love divine! How shall this tongue of mine
To wond’ring mortals tell the matchless grace divine –
That I, a child of hell, should in His image shine?
The Comforter has come! [Refrain]

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20

Memorise: When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in foots: pay that which thou hast vowed. Ecclesiastes 5:4
Read: Ecclesiastes 5:4-6
4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.
6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy
flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?
Bible in one year: Deuteronomy 2-3, Jeremiah 25:34-26:11

1. Our God is a God of faithfulness and He takes vows seriously (Deuteronomy 7:9).
2. In Genesis 28:20-22, Jacob made a vow to the Lord at a time of distress and uncertainty in his life. Twenty years later, after the Lord had prospered Him, the Lord reminded him of the vow he had made unto Him (Genesis 31:13). Later, the Lord reminded him yet again of his vow and instructed him to move on from where he was to the place where he would fulfil his vow (Genesis 35:1-6).
3. It does not matter how long ago you made a vow, God doesn’t forget! “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.”Ecclesiastes 5:4
4. One of the lessons from the above passage is that you are not compelled to make a vow to God. However, if you do, don’t delay in redeeming it, or else God will regard you as a fool.
5. It is important to know that in life; what comes or doesn’t come to you will be largely determined by your spiritual standing or status before God.
6. If God sees you as righteous, He will release all the blessings reserved for the righteous upon you, as long as you ask Him.
7. In other words, if your status before God is that of a righteous fellow, God will treat you with respect. He will treat you like he would treat His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who accorded you that righteous standing. However, if you violate His words and that lingers, it can definitely affect your spiritual status and change the way God relates with you.
8. For instance, if you fail to pay your vow after so long a time, your status is changed from that of a righteous person to that of a fool. Eventually, you lose the honour, respect and royal treatment God accords to the righteous. Why? It is because a fool denies the existence of God (Psalms 14:1).
9. In other words, if you believe God exists and is aware of your vow, you would hurriedly redeem it.
10. When you do not pay your vow to Him, you are saying that God does not exist, and this puts you into the same category as King Nebuchadnezzar, who in Daniel 3:15 pompously asked, “Who is that God that can deliver you from my hands?”
11. When God is thrown such a challenge, whether verbally, in thought or through actions, He is forced to accept the challenge and to prove His existence.
12. Vow defaulters call for God’s divine hammer to fall on them. Some people make a vow or pledge to God, yet one or two months after God has kept His part, they are still dilly-dallying on fulfilling their vow.
13. Are you defaulting in your vows to the Lords? Ask God for forgiveness and immediately set out to redeem them.

Most believers falls in the category of vow defaulters today and it is a terrible position to be. The express knowledge of God’s position with vow defaulters revealed in our devotional today is a call to order for as many that made vows but refused to fulfill or redeem it. I know our God is merciful and He will forgive anyone that will repent and redeem the vow. Let’s prayerfully follow the action Point given by our father in the Lord and I pray we won’t be a victim of God’s hammer in Jesus name. We pray that the Lord will strengthen Pastor E.A Adeboye for greater impact in Jesus name.

Action Point
Take stock of all your pending vows and take steps to redeem them today!
HYMN Point
1 Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments and my days;
let them flow in endless praise,
let them flow in endless praise.
2 Take my hands and let them move
at the impulse of thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
swift and beautiful for thee,
swift and beautiful for thee.
3 Take my voice and let me sing
always, only, for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
filled with messages from thee,
filled with messages from thee.
4 Take my silver and my gold;
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
every power as thou shalt choose,
every power as thou shalt choose.
5 Take my will and make it thine;
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne,
it shall be thy royal throne.
6 Take my love; my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee,
ever, only, all for thee. 

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20

Memorise: The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Psalm 46:7
Read: Psalm 9:18-20
18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.
19 Arise, O Lord; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight.
20 Put them in fear, O Lord: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.
Bible in one year: Deuteronomy 1, Jeremiah 25:17-33

1.There are general blessings and also personal blessings.
2. I have observed that anytime David wanted to discuss something that was very important to him, he normally personalised it. For instance, in Psalm 23:1, he says, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” He did not say, “The Lord is our shepherd.” He was simply saying, “I can only speak for myself; I don’t know about you.”
3. I pray that you will experience God as the Good Shepherd, so that you can testify personally and not just by sharing other people’s experiences.
4. A shepherd is a person who looks after sheep. One thing you will observe about sheep is that they are very defenceless against predators. They cannot bite, they have no claws, and they cannot run fast; their only defence is the shepherd.
5. You will agree with me that it is a very frightening thing to be defenceless in a hostile world. It is indeed a horrible feeling to be completely hopeless.
6. When a man is sick, he runs to the doctor hoping to be healed, but when the doctor tries his best and says there is nothing else he can do, the sick becomes hopeless.
7. When a man has serious financial problems, he runs to his bank expecting a bail-out, but what will he do when the bank insists on using assets he doesn’t have as collateral?
8. In the same way, when a child is sick, he looks up to his parents for help and care, but how will the child feel if his parents tell him that the forces battling against him are beyond their capability?
9. Worst still, imagine how you will feel if your pastor tells you that after praying all manner of prayers, there is nothing more he can do to help you!
10. It is a terrible thing to feel lonely or forsaken by relatives and loved ones.
11. A man who once experienced such a situation used these words to express his feelings in Psalm 102:6-7: “I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert. I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.”
12. Have you been in such a situation? Do you feel exposed, naked and prone to shame? Are you facing the worst of times with no one to defend you? Has everyone you thought could help deserted you and now you think life is worthless? I bring you good news today! There is hope for the hopeless and cover for the naked.
13. God is so very close to you, and He will reach out and touch you today.
14. The Lord will make a way for you! Call on Him and tell Him you have no one to help you but Him. Ask Him to help you now. He will answer and turn your situation around for good.

God is always there for anyone who reverence Him to be help to the helpless. He is the ever present help in time of need. The good thing about God is that He is the all sufficient and almighty God. Nothing is too big for Him to turn around. Whatever category the help you need falls into, He is able to help you. And I pray we will experience His love and be marvellously helped by Him in Jesus name. God bless Pastor E.A Adeboye for this great insight into the word of God in Jesus name.

Key Point
When everything else has failed, never give up your hope for a better life; although it may take time, help will surely come.
HYMN
1 Through the love of God our Saviour,
all will be well.
Free and changeless is his favour,
all, all is well.
Precious is the blood that healed us,
perfect is the grace that sealed us,
strong the hand stretched forth to shield us,
all must be well.
2 Though we pass through tribulation,
all will be well.
Ours is such a full salvation,
all, all is well.
Happy, still in God confiding,
fruitful, if in Christ abiding,
holy, through the Spirit’s guiding,
all must be well.
3 We expect a bright tomorrow,
all will be well.
Faith can sing through days of sorrow,
‘All, all is well.’
On our Father’s love relying,
Jesus every need supplying,
in our living, in our dying,
all must be well.

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Memorise: Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. Proverbs 3:7
Read: Genesis 16:1-4
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.
Bible in one year: Numbers 34-36, Jeremiah 25:1-16

1. After several years of waiting for God’s promise to be fulfilled, Sarah sat down one day, had a long thinking session, and came up with an alternative plan which she presented to Abraham, and He accepted it.
2. She had been barren for several years and was now obviously tired of being in that state; hence, she decided to give Hagar, one of her slaves, to her husband hoping to get a child through this arrangement. How mistaken she was!
3. Sarah’s experience has a lot to teach contemporary Christians.
4. When God is leading you in a certain direction, or if He has made a promise to you, any contrary opinion or alternative is borne out of impatience, doubt or unbelief. It’s when people can no longer wait for God’s plan that they come up with their own alternatives.
5. One lesson from this story is that man’s alternative charts a new course for you, which can take you completely out of God’s original plan.
6. Just like Abraham and Sarah, many people have come up with alternatives that have landed them at destination they never expected. But for God’s patience and mercy, the step Abraham and Sarah took was enough to derail from God’s original course.
7. The reason why the Holy Spirit says in Proverbs 3:5-6 that you should subordinate your plans under God’s will is so that He can guide you along His original plan for your life.
8. Believe it or not, God has a plan for your life (Jeremiah 1:4-5). If you follow this plan, you will definitely obey God’s word and remain in His will. God’s word never negates His will for your life (James 1:18). The question is, “Are you still in God’s plan?”
9. To keep within God’s will, you must be filled with His word and His Spirit, prayerful, watchful, thankful and humble. Why?
10. The natural man within you will always come up with alternatives to God’s perfect plan for your life. You need to be watchful because some alternatives may look like the original plan, but in essence, they are miles apart.
11. If you will access God’s perfect plan for your life, then you must leave no space for the flesh or the devil to give you an alternative.
12. You must trust, rely on and completely depend upon God. God’s choice is always the safe choice. For this reason Proverbs 29:25b says, “… but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.”
13. If you depend on God 99% and leave 1% for an alternative, that is enough to derail you.
14. Never rely on what you think you know or your assessment of the situation.
15. No matter how brilliant your ideas may be, God has something better.
16. Bring your plans before God’s searchlight and let Him tell you if it’s okay or not.

God is never late. He has never failed. He is always on time. There are several account where men came up with alternatives to sort their problems ignoring God’s plan and it ended up being a big mess. The plan of God for man is always sure and it is the best. Let us always acknowledge Him in all our ways, settle for His plan alone and wait patiently until it is manifested. His word is true and ever sure and His precept is the best to follow. We are daily refreshed as we study God’s word using the Open Heavens devotional written by Pastor E.A Adeboye. The light of God in him will never go deem and his zeal, strength and ability is renewed by each day in Jesus name.

Action Point
Has impatience made you pursue your own alternatives? Stop and beat a retreat today?
HYMN
1 Through the love of God our Saviour,
all will be well.
Free and changeless is his favour,
all, all is well.
Precious is the blood that healed us,
perfect is the grace that sealed us,
strong the hand stretched forth to shield us,
all must be well.
2 Though we pass through tribulation,
all will be well.
Ours is such a full salvation,
all, all is well.
Happy, still in God confiding,
fruitful, if in Christ abiding,
holy, through the Spirit’s guiding,
all must be well.
3 We expect a bright tomorrow,
all will be well.
Faith can sing through days of sorrow,
‘All, all is well.’
On our Father’s love relying,
Jesus every need supplying,
in our living, in our dying,
all must be well.

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Memorise: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bossom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. Luke 6:38
Read: Luke 6:36-38
36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
Bible in one year: Numbers 32:33, Jeremiah 24

1. God is interested in the prosperity of His children.
2. Although He has made His resources available to us, it will take obedience and compliance with His principles to tap into them.
3. To tap into the financial resources of Heaven, you must pay your tithes, give offerings and fulfil your pledges and vows. You must be ready to give, if you want something in return.
4. A while ago, while preaching at a particular church, as I issued some prophetic decrees over the congregation, I noticed that their response of “Amen” was quite loud. Then I jokingly said one of them would buy me a new jet, and the loudness of their response nose-dived. Another time, I was in the same church and repeated what I said before; this time, their response was much louder. So I said to them, “You people are different.” I perceived that their faith and understanding of giving had grown.
5. Proverbs 3:9-10 says if you can honour God with your first fruits, you will be dazed and amazed at what He would do in your life.
6. It is one thing to have knowledge, and it is another thing to apply it.
7. I once shared with some pastors that your teacher will never teach you all he knows, otherwise he wouldn’t be a teacher; but your father will be willing to teach you all the knows, although he may reserve one or two till moments before his death.
8. In other words, there are certain secrets that a person can only get from his or her father, and I would like to share one of those secrets that God has revealed to me with you.
9. One day, while sitting quietly somewhere, God said to me, “Son, what kind of pastor would you like to be?” I replied, saying “Daddy, I am sorry I don’t understand the question.” He then further asked, “Do you want to be the best or worst, the greatest or least, the richest or poorest pastor?” I told Him I wanted to be the best, greatest and the richest pastor, and He went silent. At a Church programme not long after, the Lord asked again, “Son, what kind of pastor did you say you want to be?” I quickly replied, “The best, the greatest, and the richest,” Then He asked me to give the highest denomination in my pocket. I reluctantly obeyed.
10. At another meeting, He again asked me the type of pastor I wanted to be, and I responded as before, and He instructed me to double what I normally give as my offering.
11. I easily complied this time around because things had started changing for me since I began to obey His instructions on giving. When I shared this testimony some years ago, someone told me he moved up to giving N10, 000 for every offering. I congratulated him and told him I was at that stage in 1998 but had since surpassed that.
12. Although my giving was sacrificial initially because things were hard for me, I gave glory to God that things are no longer as hard. If you don’t grow up in your giving, you may not be enlarged in your receiving.

Brethren, what our father in the Lord revealed to us in today’s devotional is priceless and we must endeavor to run diligently with this truth concerning giving. Most of us always claim Abrahamic blessings but cannot afford to make sacrificial giving to the Lord. Many even claim the word of God in Philippians 4:19 but failed to understand what led Apostle Paul to pray such prayer for the Philippians as seen in verse 14-18 of that chapter. Please, listen to the voice of the Holyspirit concerning your giving and do not eat up the seed that will germinate and catapult your life to greatness. May the Lord help us in Jesus name. We pray that God will uphold our Father Pastor E.A Adeboye and help him as he tells us deeper truth from the word of God in Jesus name.

Prayer Point
Father, raise more Christ-like leaders to mentor your people, and make me one of such.
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: 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
Read: James 1:5-8
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Bible in one year: Numbers 30-31, Jeremiah 23:23-40

1. God can make you laugh when He decides to overrule your doubts.
2. Going by the standard set in today’s Bible reading, if you are double minded over an issue you brought before God, you should not expect anything from Him.
3. However, if you doubted God in a given situation and He overlooks your doubt and grants your petition, know for sure He is doing it solely because of His grace.
4. In Genesis 18:9-15, when God visited Abraham and said his wife Sarah was going to have a baby in nine months’ time, she laughed. She could not believe that she could ever be pregnant at age 90. She laughed because she had never seen such a thing happen before.
5. Are you laughing over God’s promises and declarations over your life? Are you laughing because you have never seen anyone who experienced that kind of miracle? Stop your laugh of doubt and believe God today! Why? If there is no precedent to follow, God can make yours the precedence that others would refer to.
6. A life of faith is so important to God that four different times in the Bible, He repeatedly said “The just shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38).
7. However, as a manifestation of His sovereignty, He also says that whenever He makes up His mind to do something, nobody and nothing can hinder Him – not even your doubts (Isaiah 43:13).
8. I pray that every good plan and purpose of God for your life shall be established in spite of your doubts in Jesus’ Name!
9. We see this truth demonstrated in 2nd Kings 4:8-17. When Elisha declared to the Shunammite woman that she would have a son after nine months, she replied, “Man of God, please don’t deceive me.” This meant that she did not believe him. Although Elisha did not say anything after that, God had already spoken, and so the matter was settled. She thereafter had her baby in accordance to Elisha’s declaration.
10. This season, God will overrule your doubts and give you that expected miracle!
11. There are some people who believe God’s promise for a little while and then fall into doubt again. Over the years, they have continuously swung back and forth between faith and doubt and so have not been able to receive God’s promise.
12. This season, by the mercy of the Most High God, the Lord will override your doubts and make the impossible possible in your life in Jesus’ Name. God’s mercy will show up for you today! Your laughing season starts now.

Doubt is of the devil and should not be found in the dictionary of believer. Doubt is the opposite of faith and without faith the Bible says it is impossible to please God. Hebrew 11:6. There are a lot of opportunities, blessings and miracles that we have lost in the past simply because of lack of faith. Consider Hebrew 11:1-2 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.”  The elders in this verse of the Bible were Heroes of faith like Abraham, who did not stagger at the promise of God. May the lord help us to live a life of faith without doubt in Jesus’ name. God bless and increase Pastor E.A Adeboye in Jesus name.

Prayer Point
Father, in Your mercy, override my doubts and every stumbling block on my way, and cause my laughter to begin today.
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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