OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - MONDAY - 31/03/2014 - SHEPHERD OR WOLF? BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

SHEPHERD OR WOLF?

MEMORISE

Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

1 Peter 5:2

READ

Lamentations 4:1-5

1 How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street.

2 The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!

3 Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.

4 The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them.

5 They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets: they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills.

MESSAGE

Our Bible reading for today is a grim lamentation of Prophet Jeremiah. It concerns both the spiritual and physical state of affairs of the people of God of his time. This state of affairs sadly reflects the current state of affairs of God’s people in our time. The Bible says that all these were written as examples for those upon whom the ends of the world are come (1 Corinthians 10:11). This state of affairs is therefore indicative of the times we live in; these are the end-times. Let us learn one or two lessons from this lamentation to deliver our soul from impending doom. In this end-time, many pastors and preachers are no longer building with precious stones on the Sure Foundation – Jesus Christ. Rather, they are building with rubble, i.e. the philosophy of men and modern ideologies in order to make Christianity “intelligible” to a 21st century audience. Even the sea monsters draw out the breast and give suck to their young ones, but the teachers of God’s people have become cruel – denying the flock the sincere milk of the Word, not even when sincere seekers of truth demand for it.

Many modern day pastors and ministers of the gospel of all categories are failing to live by the injunction of the dying Apostle Paul to Timothy, his son in the Lord, and by extension, to all ministers of the gospel in 2 Timothy 4:2&5:

“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”

The Bible warns ministers of the gospel against negligence or dereliction of duty in Ezekiel 3:18-21. Ezekiel was also told not to consider the unfriendly countenance of his audience but rather to deliver the word as he was asked to (Ezekiel 2:6-7). The reason we have worship centres all over the place without godly impact is because God’s watchmen are not doing their duty right. Some pastors don’t consider if members of their congregation are heaven-bound or not. In as much as they keep on bringing their offerings, “all is well”. This is not right. As a Christian parent, you need to take today’s message as yours as well. Your home is your God-given flock. It is for you to nurture in the fear of the Lord. Are you a shepherd or a wolf? Think about this, and may the Lord grant you understanding in Jesus’ Name.

PRAYER POINT

Pray for all ministers of the gospel around the world, that God will grant them the grace to preach the gospel without fear or favour.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Ezekiel 33-34; 
Psalm 73:18-28

OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - SUNDAY - 30/03/2014 - BE GRATEFUL BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

BE GRATEFUL

MEMORISE

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

Luke 17:15

READ

Luke 17:12-19

12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

MESSAGE

It is not a big deal for God to perform miracles in the life of anybody. The problem that hinders the working of miracles lies with the children of men and is multifaceted in nature. It has to do with ignorance of what the Almighty is capable of doing and lack of faith among others. However, there is one problem that seems insignificant to many people but is a big hindrance to the manifestation of God’s power: It is ingratitude! Many times I have to compel people to clap in praise of the Almighty God when fantastic testimonies are being given during our big meetings. This problem is evident in the story of the ten lepers. Jesus in Luke 17:17b-18 asked in dismay:

“Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.”

Though all of the ten lepers were cleansed, only one was made perfectly whole! Why? The faith of the nine was lopsided! They had faith that Jesus Christ could heal them; that was why they cried to him for help in the first place. Unfortunately, their faith did not go beyond receiving their miracles, hence they discharged themselves prematurely! Instead of coming to show gratitude to the One who healed them and get their healing certified by the Infallible High Priest as required by the law of Moses (Leviticus 14:1-4), they went their own various ways. But to the one that returned to show gratitude, Jesus in Luke 17:19 said:

“Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.”

In other words, Jesus perfected the leper’s healing and certified him permanently healed.

Showing gratitude is one secret to receiving perfect miracles. You should show gratitude to the one and only Miracle Worker, Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. Let us cultivate the habit of worshiping God for Who He is, thanking Him for what He has done in the past, in anticipation of what He will continue to do. Never trivialise even the miracle of sleeping and waking. Like I often tell members of our church, when you see people who can’t use the toilet or ease themselves without the aid of medical gadgets, you will know how to praise and thank God. The good thing about being grateful to God is that you receive more blessings from the one from whom all blessings flow. One way of saying thank you to God for His providence is by paying your tithes according to Malachi 3:10. God bless you as you obey today in Jesus’ Name.

ACTION POINT

Count your blessings before God and appreciate Him for them.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Ezekiel 30:20-32:32; 

Psalm 73:1-17

OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - SATURDAY - 29/03/2014 - PRAYER: IN WHAT DIRECTION? BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

PRAYER: IN WHAT DIRECTION?

MEMORISE

Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.

Psalm 5:2

READ

Psalm 5:1-3

1 To the chief Musician upon Nehiloth, A Psalm of David. Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.

2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.

3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

MESSAGE

The Holy Spirit inspired men to write accounts of some of their experiences and of events that occurred in time past for a reason. The reason He did this is stated in 1 Corinthians 10:11:

“Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”

It is however unfortunate that those things written as examples to make us wiser are often not adhered to. The Psalmist discovered something fundamental to being victorious in life which is the power of prayer. Not only the power of prayer but also the right direction we should channel our prayers to. In 2 Kings 6:26-27, we read about a woman who misdirected her prayer to the king of Israel when she was in distress:

“And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king. And he said, If the LORD do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?”

The Psalmist got it right when he said: “unto thee will I pray”. In Luke 18:1-8, we see a clear picture of why we should direct our prayers to God. It took the judge an unknown number of days, months or even years, to heed the request of this helpless widow. He decided to help the woman only because she did not relent. Jesus Christ said:

“Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”

An often overlooked truth in this parable is that, if this woman had directed her prayers to God, she would not have gone through the pain of insensitivity she suffered.

Beloved of the Lord, to whom are you directing your prayers? When you discuss your problems with people as though they have the solution, you are making a god out of them. This is why you meet with disappointment more often than not. The Bible placed a curse on people who put their trust in men and whose hearts have strayed from God in Jeremiah 17:5:

“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.”

Let us put our trust in the Almighty God who gives liberally without upbraiding (James 1:5).

ACTION POINT

From now on, redirect your prayers from men to God. You will not be disappointed.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Ezekiel 28:1-30:19; 

Psalm 72

OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - FRIDAY - 28/03/2014 - YOU ARE A CARETAKER BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

YOU ARE A CARETAKER

MEMORISE

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

Psalm 127:3

READ

Psalm 127:3-5

3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

MESSAGE

The scripture in today’s Bible reading establishes one fundamental truth that all parents must accept: God owns all children. God laboured to create man, both male and female. He then pronounced His blessing upon them that they should be fruitful and multiply, so that they would reproduce after their own kind. The product of the union of the man and woman whom God created therefore became His own reward! It then follows that any man or woman who claims to own a child is exhibiting ignorance because they do not even have an idea of how the child was formed in the womb.

A case in point with respect to this principle is the story in Exodus 2:9b where the daughter of Pharaoh said:

“Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages.”

The Almighty God is so generous that he gave us children who in all respects belong to Him. He gave them to us as caretakers with the promise of a reward if we nurse them for Him and not for ourselves. Some parents nurture the children God gave to them with the sole aim of promoting their family name! For some others, they nurture them to carry on the customs of their family! Such people clearly think their children belong to them. They miss the point, and they will be rewarded accordingly. Contrary to such mindset, the Bible in Proverbs 22:6 says:

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

The question then is: In what way should a child be trained? The answer to this question is found in Psalm 34:11:

“Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.”

The fear of the Lord goes hand in hand with the knowledge of God. In fact, the fear of the Lord comes from knowing God and understanding His ways (Proverbs 9:10). The knowledge of The Holy One is found in His word. All parents should therefore train their children in the fear of the Lord through injunctions from the Holy Bible and not fables. As stated in Psalm 19:7, only the word of God is endued with power to change the heart of a man for good:

“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.”

PRAYER POINT

Pray for all parents in your church, that God will grant them the wisdom to take care of their children the way He expects them to. Pray also for those considered barren, that in nine months from today, their babies will be born.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Ezekiel 25-27; 

Psalm 71:14-24

OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - THURSDAY - 27/03/2014 - BE PATIENT BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

BE PATIENT

MEMORISE

That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Hebrews 6:12

READ

Matthew 4:1-4

1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

MESSAGE

One common point of weakness in the life of many believers today is impatience. It is unfortunate that this weak point is being exploited by the devil to prey on believers. The tempter sometimes capitalises on the fact that a believer is hungry, to tempt him or her to “turn stone into bread”. At such moments, the believer should react like his Master did in Matthew 4:4c by saying this in response:

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

But what do we see today? Some couples go all out in search of the fruit of the womb when there is an apparent delay. This they do in spite of numerous scriptural passages that enjoin us to patiently run the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1). The Bible in Genesis 41:1 says:

“And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.”

This scriptural passage speaks volumes and our understanding of its deep meaning will go a long way to cure us of the spiritual disease of impatience. Whatever and however terrible the situation a child of God is passing through, the promise of God is that it shall not last forever; rather it shall come to pass! Two full years passed from the commencement of Joseph’s expectation of release from prison to the time Pharaoh had the dream that would eventually set him free.

Why is the Christian life characterised by challenges? It is because the world hates the godly lifestyle of a believer. It takes determination for believers to stand in the face of adversities which the world puts as a stumbling block to cause their fall. This is why Jesus Christ prayed for believers in John 17:15-16 saying:

“I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”

Beloved, let us keep on looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who was once tempted like us, but remained determined to endure everything for our sake. And because he was victorious, we shall be victorious; for the scripture in Romans 8:37 says this concerning us:

“Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”

PRAYER POINT

Holy Spirit Divine, please see me through the challenges of life with your comfort and guidance.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Ezekiel 23-24; 

Psalm 71:1-13

OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - WEDNESDAY - 26/03/2014 - TRUE WORSHIP BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

TRUE WORSHIP

MEMORISE

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

John 4:24

READ

John 4:21-24

21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

MESSAGE

Today you will observe with dismay how some people counterfeit the true worship of God in the name of religion. The reason for this phenomenon is not farfetched. They worship in the flesh and not in the spirit. This is the reason Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:5b that:

“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

This also was the message of Jesus Christ to the religiously minded people of His days, as well as the message of the early apostles. They played down the paraphernalia of religious practices that did not connote spiritualism. They worshipped in truth and in spirit. How can we put an end to carnal religiosity in our churches today? The solution is simple: we must go back to the basics of Christian teaching as outlined in Acts 2:37-38:

“Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.“

It is a pity that people do not know or have forgotten that genuine repentance is the foundation of the faith that saves. Covering up our past misdeeds without repentance is a waste of time. The Holy Spirit emphasises this truth through Apostle John in 1 John 1:6-9:

“If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The problem with many 21st century so-called Christian worshippers is that they no longer admit sin to be sin; they trivialise sin and regard it as unavoidable “mistakes”, hence, they neither confess it as sin nor strive to live above it with the power of the Holy Ghost. This explains the carnal worship and “plenty-rascality” in the name of Pentecostalism that we observe in some of our churches. Remember the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:19-21. These are the things we must not entangle ourselves with if we would worship God in spirit and in truth. You must be born of the Spirit and live a life of change for acceptable worship in the sight of God.

ACTION POINT

Read Galatians 5:19-23, identify the works of the flesh still manifesting in your life and pray for power to live above them.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Ezekiel 21-22; 

Psalm 70

OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - MONDAY - 24/03/2014 - GOD’S REMEMBRANCE & DELIVERANCE III BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

GOD’S REMEMBRANCE & DELIVERANCE III

MEMORISE

Remember me, O my God, for good.

Nehemiah 13:31b

READ

1 Samuel 1:17-19

17 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.

18 And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.

19 And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her.

MESSAGE

One truth the children of God must continue to remember is that it takes divine remembrance to daily experience deliverance in their lives and ministries. The best way to explain this is to interpret “remembrance” as “attention”, because God is never forgetful. In Isaiah 49:15 God said:

“Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.”

So, God does not forget, but He may decide to ignore you if you continue to live in sin.

One person that experienced divine remembrance was Hannah. The Lord remembered Hannah by paying attention to her prayer in answer to Eli’s prayer. 1 Samuel 1:17 says:

“Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.”

Hannah was under the bondage of barrenness for several years, but when God remembered her, she was delivered from the bondage of unfruitfulness. To someone using this devotional, I pray that the Almighty will remember and deliver you from all forms of bondage today in Jesus’ Name. Let us learn from Hannah what she did to draw divine attention to herself and her situation. First, she prayed earnestly and fasted for God’s attention. At times we need to demonstrate our seriousness concerning what we really want God to do for us by embarking on prayer and fasting. Jesus taught His disciples this truth in Mark 9:29. In addition, for God to remember you in your unpleasant situation, you have to cooperate with Him by playing your own role. My experiences have revealed to me the mistakes some children of God make as they expect God to play their own roles together with His. This ended at Calvary where God suffered as a man, but there He declared: IT IS FINISHED. If you are looking for a job, write applications and go out to attend interviews because God will not write an application letter for you, neither will He attend the interview on your behalf. Sufficient is the fact that He will back you up during the interview. The Bible reveals something that many may not pay attention to which, of course, was fundamental to the divine remembrance of Hannah. What is it? 1 Samuel 1:19d says that:

“......and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her.”

What could have happened to Hannah’s prayer if she and her husband did not play their part in this regard? Beloved, let us cooperate with God, He will remember us for good in Jesus’ Name.

ACTION POINT

Pray, fast and take steps under the guidance of the Holy Spirit concerning that situation that is bothering you. You will experience divine remembrance and deliverance.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Ezekiel 17-18; 

Psalm 69:1-21

OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - SUNDAY - 23/03/2014 - GOD’S REMEMBRANCE & DELIVERANCE II BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

GOD’S REMEMBRANCE & DELIVERANCE II

MEMORISE

And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;

Genesis 8:1

READ

Genesis 8:1-4

1 And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;

2 The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;

3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.

4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.

MESSAGE

When the world was in enmity with God and He decided to destroy it by a flood, Noah found favour in the sight of the Lord according to Genesis 6:5-8. Though Noah and his family escaped from the flood, they were however caged in the ark, which of course would have become something else after some days of eating and passing of body waste in the ark. God remembered Noah and all the living things with him in the ark. May the Good Lord remember you for good today in Jesus’ Name. There are some revelations we can catch in this story. One of such is that when God remembers an individual in trouble and bondage, the following things would happen: the wind of the Holy Spirit will blow away all the challenging situations (Genesis 8:1); the terrible waters will be dried up and the fellow will escape being drowned (Genesis 8:2). Moreover, the tempestuous life will become peaceful (Genesis 8:4).

Beloved of the Lord, there are conditions for God’s remembrance to facilitate deliverance as experienced by Noah and his family. One of such conditions is godly living, even in the midst of a perverted generation of men. It is a pity that many children of God in the 21st century live ungodly lives with the excuse that the world is perverted. Jesus Christ said Noah will be a witness against these so-called children of God who would attribute their worldly and ungodly living to the fact that their world was ungodly (Matthew 24:37-39). Pay attention to God’s testimony concerning Noah:

“And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.”

Genesis 6:9

Another of these conditions is a life of worship. God must see in you the desire to worship Him before He can remember you for good, because He is a prudent investor (Genesis 8:20-22). I pray for you that the Almighty God will remember you for deliverance today in Jesus’ Name. Please ensure you live a godly life and cultivate the habit of intense worship. You will then experience divine remembrance.

PRAYER POINT

Father, remember me this day and deliver me from all my oppressors in Jesus’ Name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Ezekiel 16; 

Psalm 68:22-35

OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - SATURDAY - 22/03/2014 - GOD’S REMEMBRANCE & DELIVERANCE I BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

GOD’S REMEMBRANCE & DELIVERANCE I

MEMORISE

And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

Luke 23:42

READ

Luke 23:40-43

40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?

41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.

42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

MESSAGE

When God remembers a sinner for good, He forgives that sinner, forgets his past sins and delivers him or her completely from the power of sin that has enslaved him or her for a long time. When God remembered the mercies He promised His people - Luke 1:72-75, He forgave the woman caught in adultery and empowered her to “go and sin no more” (John 8:10-11). A very important thing to note here is that two different types of divine remembrance cannot clash in an individual’s life. It is either God remembers the sins of an individual, closes the door of mercy and gets the individual punished, or He remembers His mercies and forgets the sins the individual has committed after genuine repentance (Ezekiel 33:13-16).

The robber in our Bible reading was remembered and was saved. There are lessons to be learnt from the robber on the right hand of the Cross. One of such lessons is that God is not only capable to save but is ever ready to save. The robber said: “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom”, and Jesus responded immediately: “Today you will be with me in paradise”. It was as if Jesus was waiting for the robber to speak. Certainly Jesus wanted to rubbish the devil who might have been rejoicing that he was about to receive one more soul into the kingdom of hell. Jesus however snatched that soul from hell at the last minute. The good thing was that the One who paid the price in full was also the One who appropriated the benefit of the atonement on the robber. So there was nothing the devil could do. Another good thing about divine remembrance for salvation is that the process is simple. Genuine turn-around from wickedness to godliness (i.e. repentance) will earn earnest seekers of salvation divine remembrance. Zacchaeus was one of such seekers who genuinely repented after meeting the Lord. As a mark or repentance, of his own volition, he said to the Lord in Luke 19:8b:

“Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.”

Immediately the Lord in Luke 19:9-10 replied:

“...This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

How pleasant it would be, if as many as are reading this devotional, who are yet to experience salvation through Christ, would cry to Jesus today and say, “Lord remember me for your salvation”. No doubt, there would be joy in heaven today (Luke 15:7)!

PRAYER POINT

Pray that the Almighty God will touch all members of your family for genuine salvation today.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Ezekiel 13-15; 

Psalm 68:7-21

OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - FRIDAY - 21/03/2014 - SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS

MEMORISE

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

2 Timothy 4:2

READ

Luke 8:38-40

38 Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying,

39 Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.

40 And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him.

MESSAGE

There is one great sin of omission that contemporary followers of Jesus Christ are guilty of. We enjoy God’s grace, forgiveness, healing, breakthrough, peace and joy but fail to share the good news with others so that they may become beneficiaries of the benevolence of the Almighty God. We tend to take interest in staying in our beautiful cathedrals. When we are sent to go out and pioneer Churches in rural areas where people are in need of the gospel, we see it as punishment! We tend to enjoy listening to powerful, motivational sermons from our fathers in the Lord and their associates – tapping from their anointing on daily basis but refusing to go and share part of what we have received. What a crime of omission.

Our Bible reading reveals one fundamental obligation of every genuine Christian which unfortunately, many children of God do not pay close attention to. A demoniac encountered Jesus Christ in this story and immediately fell in love with Jesus and His company. This man wanted to stay with Jesus, but He commissioned him to go and spread the good news of his deliverance among his people. This is exactly what our Lord expects of us as His followers. This injunction however, does not encourage forsaking Jesus Christ to become independent or to begin to do whatever we like; Jesus spoke against such attitude in John 15:4-5. In Mark 16:15b He also said:

“Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

Whenever we comply with this injunction, we do not only make our Lord happy, we also make His benevolence known. After the witnessing of the demoniac, the Bible reports in Luke 8:40 that:

“And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him.”

When we do what we ought to do on the field of evangelism, many good things will happen. First, darkness will give way for the light of the gospel. Secondly, Jesus Christ will be Lord wherever the gospel is preached. Thirdly, in anticipation of the second coming of our Lord, people will be conscious of what they do in the society. Lastly, the world will be a better place to live in. Therefore beloved of the Lord, I encourage you to begin to spread the good news of what the Lord has done for you and what He is capable of doing for others too, all in the light of His gospel. God bless you as you do so in Jesus’ Name.

ACTION POINT

Decide today that you will not sleep until you witness to at least one person about the goodness of Jesus Christ.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Ezekiel 10-12; 

Psalm 67:1-68:6