Open Heavens 23 July 2015: Thursday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – The Spiritual Marathon

Thursday, 23 July 2015

Topic: The Spiritual Marathon [Thursday July 23, 2015]

Memorise: But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. - Mathew 24:13

Read: Hebrews 12:1-3 (KJV)

1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

Bible In One Year: 2 Chronicles 32:1-33:9; John 3:1-21

MESSAGE:

The day you genuinely gave your life to Christ, you began a race. It is a spiritual race. The race to Heaven is not a sprint but a marathon. It is not something you run with all your strength for just one day and it ends there. Unlike the regular marathon that goes through streets and paths already marked out, you may have to take unmarked routes and paths hitherto unknown while running this race. Also, unlike in regular marathons where you can meet someone who has successfully finished the race for tips, those who have run this peculiar race to the end are definitely not around on earth for people to consult with.

By the grace of God, as young as I am in Christ, I have been running this race for more than forty years now, and I am yet to reach the finishing line. There are people who joined this race some fifty or sixty years ago, and they are still on it till now. Every race has its peculiar nature. If you need patience and a lot of tact while running an earthly marathon, you will need much more of these while running the heavenly race. No wonder Hebrews 12:1 says,

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed, about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us”

However, just like it happens in earthly marathons, there are several casualties in the heavenly race. Some people start a marathon like a sprint. They run far ahead of others, but after some time, they lose steam and begin to retrogress while those they left behind overtaken them. Also, there are those who fall and injure themselves, ending up in an ambulance. There are also those who out of exhaustion are unable to continue the race, and so they drop out. There are even those who after running for a while, gradually step out of the path, and are disqualified. All these scenarios are applicable to the spiritual marathon. Since you started the race to Heaven, have you been affected by any of these? Have you stepped out of the path of the race? Have you run out of steam? Have you fallen and refused to rise up? Get up today! The Lord will give you strength. Persist some more. Take it one day at a time. Call on the Lord to help you. Never give up. Each day that passes draws you closer to the finishing line. You will make it in Jesus’ Name!

Prayer Point: Father, grant me grace to run the race to Heaven with wisdom, patience and perseverance.

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Open Heavens 22 July 2015: Wednesday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Unforgiveness & Its Restitution

Topic: Unforgiveness & Its Restitution [Wednesday July 22, 2015]

Memorise: Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. - 1 John 3:15

Read: 1 John 2:9-11 (KJV)

9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.

10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

Bible In One Year: 2 Chronicles 30-31; John 2

MESSAGE:

As children of God, we must always be watchful of pitfalls capable of nullifying all our efforts towards making Heaven. For example, God expects you to make restitution when you have told a lie incriminating an innocent person. In the same vain, if you have injured someone, you need to restitute. An example of this can be found in Acts 16:33-34, where the jailor who had contributed to the predicament of Paul and Silas took them to his house, treated their injuries and gave them decent food. Have you injured someone physically, emotionally or psychologically? Restitute your ways. In addition, if someone offends you so hard that you promised never to forgive the fellow, there is a need to forgive and release that individual so that you can make Heaven at last. Anyone who hates his brother has stepped out of God’s light into darkness and is seen as a murderer in the sight of God (1 John 3:15). If you are in hatred, you are out of eternal life. Has anyone offended you to the extent that you resolved not to forgive? You must change that decision now if you do not want it to hinder your trip to Heaven. I once hated a particular man very much, because of the way he maltreated my family and I. But after I gave my life to Christ, I did not only forgive him, I also went to tell him he was forgiven. It was not an easy thing for me to do, but by the grace of God, I did it.

Is there un-forgiveness in your heart over some hurt or offence done to you? If you love yourself, forgive today. Forgiveness must be communicated to the one you have forgiven except it is done without sincerity. Some people say, “I have forgiven my offender but I will not tell him so.” How will the fellow you forgave know that he or she is forgiven? When a person is offended, it is like being owed some kind of debt. It is when forgiveness is released that the debt is paid. Refusing to forgive your offender sustains the debt, and we are commanded not to owe any man anything but love (Romans 13:8). The irony of un-forgiveness is that the one who refuses to forgive hurts himself or herself the most. The offender may be going about with a free mind, but the offended carries a heavy heart. Also, by begrudging the offender, the offended cannot move beyond where he or she is. Unforgiveness ties the offended to the same spot. I hope you are not the one pegging your rise by not releasing your offender?

Action Point: List the names of people you hold a grudge against or who hold a grudge against you, and prayerfully reconcile with them immediately.

Open Heavens 21 July 2015: Tuesday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – The Principal Personality

Topic: The Principal Personality [Tuesday July 21, 2015]

Memorise: Wisdom is the principal thing: therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. - Proverbs 4:7

Read: Proverbs 4:5-9 (KJV)

5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.

6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.

7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.

9 She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

Bible In One Year: 2 Chronicles 28:5-29:36; John 1:29-51

MESSAGE:

Today's Bible reading defines wisdom as the principal thing in life. Wisdom is most important because you need it to relate effectively with God, the devil and his cohorts. You also need wisdom to govern your relationships with friends and foes. At work, at school and in the ministry, you need wisdom. With wisdom, you can successfully handle all your life's pursuits. Wisdom connects everything you do. Wisdom can mean the difference between life and death, success and failure, wealth and poverty, growth and retardation. Everything you can ever ask for will come to you if you have wisdom. There are different types of wisdom operating in the natural and spiritual realms. There is devilish wisdom, human wisdom and divine wisdom. Jesus Christ is declared to be the Wisdom of God in 1 Corinthians 1:24:

"But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God."

If wisdom is the principal thing, and Jesus Christ is the Wisdom of God, it therefore follows that Jesus Christ is the Principal Person. There is a link between the principal thing and the Principal Person. But why is wisdom so crucial? Proverbs 3:35 says,

"The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools."

Your pursuit of wisdom will deliver you glory. No wonder the Bible says if you have Jesus Christ, you automatically receive glory (Colossians 1:27).Conversely, if you lack wisdom, shame will be waiting at around the corner for you. There is a direct link between wisdom and a glorious future. Glory is the opposite of shame. Sickness, disease, failure, defeat, poverty, barrenness, stagnation, disappointment are all products of shame. When you have Jesus, you receive wisdom, and when you get wisdom, you have access to glory, which makes every token of shame disappear. As the principal thing, getting every other thing without getting wisdom amounts to a waste of time. In the same vein, acquiring material wealth, academic degrees and attaining heights in any field without having a personal relationship with the Principal Person converts one's gains into one big loss! In all that you strive for, never stop seeking for more of Jesus and His wisdom!

Key Point: Having Jesus can deliver every other thing to you, but getting every other thing cannot give you Jesus.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.

Open Heavens 20 July 2015: Monday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Regression and Repression

Topic: Regression and Repression [Monday July 20, 2015]

Memorise: And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.-Isaiah 65:21

Read: Judges 6:1-6 (KJV)

1 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.

3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;

4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.

6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.

Bible In One Year: 2 Chronicles 25:14-28:4; John 1:1-28

MESSAGE:

A man's state of progress can be classified into seven basic categories; one of which is regression. The state of regression is that in which mean forces beyond one's control continuously push one backward. An example of this is the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:25-34). She went through a lot in the process of seeking help from different doctors. She spent all she had but instead of getting better, she grew worse, because unseen forces kept on pushing her backward. Have you found yourself in a similar situation, where every effort you put in to take you forward moves you backward, or where every effort you put in to improve your lot only complicates matters? The Lord will step into your situation today and deliver you. Every regressive force working against your life, health, progress or destiny is terminated today in Jesus' Name.

Another state of progress is repression. This refers to a state in which negative forces push a person down and try to hold him or her down, frustrating every attempt to move up. This can manifest in the hearing of voices that lead one to the other side of progress. In Judges 6:3-6, the children of Israel encountered repression from a particular group of people who decided to afflict them. Whenever the Israelites were sowing in the fields, this group of people pretended not to notice. They never stopped them from exerting their energy or from expending their time and money on their farms. But as soon as their crops were harvested, they swarmed in like locusts and destroyed everything. Thereafter, the Israelites will have to start all over again, after which these enemies would again waste or destroy their harvest in a vicious cycle.

When I was very young, there was a very notorious thief who gained so much notoriety that musicians waxed a song about him. His name was Anikura. The lyrics of the song said: "Anikura won't ask you not to trade. He won't ask you not to gain, but he will ensure that you do not take the gain." This epitomises repression! If you are in a state of repression, you will continue to work for devourers and never benefit from your labours. Are you a victim of repression? Do you labour and yet you are unable to enter into your harvest? That repressive force is paralysed today in Jesus' Name. Jesus sets you free from repression! You will eat from your labours from now on in Jesus' Name.

Prayer Point: Father, today, let your fire consume every force working against me and trying to stop me from taking the good harvest of my labours, in Jesus' Name!

Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.