Open heavens
Open Heaven For Today 2023 Friday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Let Your Light Shine
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TOPIC: Let Your Light Shine
MEMORISE: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:16 (KJV)
READ: Acts 13:42-52 (KJV)
42 And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.
43 Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
44 And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.
45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
49 And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.
50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.
51 But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.
52 And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Chronicles 1-2
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE:
In John 9:5, Jesus Christ said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world”. He also said in Matthew 5:14, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid”. If you are a child of God, it means you are qualified to be called light. Jesus went further to say, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven”(Matthew 5:1-6).
Everything God does, He does excellently. It means His shining is extraordinary. He wants you also to shine extraordinarily. God wants you to shine like Joseph did. In Genesis 41:1-44, when Joseph gave the interpretations of Pharaoh’s dreams, the latter said, “We cannot find another man like this in whom the Spirit of God dwells”. The Lord wants us to shine like Moses. In Numbers 12:3, the Bible said, “There’s no man as meek as Moses”. He shone in his meekness. He wants us to shine like Deborah; In Judges 4:1-14, when it was time to go to war, even the captain said, ‘I won’t go unless Deborah comes along’ and she went with him.
He wants us to shine like Daniel. In Daniel 6:1-3, the Bible tells us that even though there were three people chosen to supervise other officers of the kingdom, Daniel excelled amongst them. An excellent spirit was found in him; he shone.
Now as Christians, we will shine by sharing the gospel and turning men to righteousness through the power of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 6:1-8, some people were chosen to be the original deacons, but if I ask you today, “Who is Prochorus? Who is Nicanor? Who is Timon?” you will most likely say, “I don’t know”. They were among the seven deacons; they were chosen but didn’t shine. God called you to shine. May you shine so brightly that the name of the Almighty God will be praised continually in your life.
PRAYER POINT:
Father, please let me shine brightly for You.
HYMN 20: Stand Up! Stand Up For Jesus
1 Stand up! stand up for Jesus,
Ye soldiers of the Cross!
Lift high His royal banner;
It must not suffer loss.
From vict’ry unto vict’ry
His army shall He lead,
Till ev’ry foe is vanquished,
And Christ is Lord indeed.
2 Stand up! stand up for Jesus,
The trumpet call obey;
Forth to the mighty conflict,
In this His glorious day;
Ye that are men now serve Him
Against unnumbered foes;
Let courage rise with danger,
And strength to strength oppose.
3 Stand up! stand up for Jesus!
Stand in His strength alone;
The arm of flesh will fail you,
Ye dare not trust your own:
Put on the gospel armor,
Each piece put on with prayer;
Where duty calls or danger,
Be never wanting there.
4 Stand up! stand up for Jesus!
The strife will not be long;
This day the noise of battle,
The next the victor’s song;
To him that overcometh,
A crown of life shall be;
He with the King of glory
Shall reign eternally.
Open Heavens 2023 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. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC. Open Heaven for Today 2023
Open Heaven For Today 2023 Thursday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Are You A Witness?
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TOPIC: Are You A Witness?
MEMORISE: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:16 (KJV)
READ: Mark 16:15-18 (KJV)
15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Kings 24-25
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE:
The Lord Jesus Christ said all commandments from God could be summarised into two: One, you must love God with all your heart, soul and mind, and two, love your neighbour as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40). It is however easy to say, “I love God” with your mouth but what will really show your love for God is your obedience to all His commandments (John 14:15). You also cannot say you love your neighbour without showing it in your actions.
All followers of Christ have been commissioned to preach the gospel to all creatures (Mark 16:15) so, if you truly love God and your neighbours, everything you do will be to tell them about Jesus. We are enjoying Christ now because somebody told us about Him.
We were taught that Jesus is the burden-bearer (Matthew 11:28) Many of us came to Jesus because of our burdens. Nothing could have dragged me to that little building they were calling the headquarters of The Redeemed Christian Church of God but a big problem. Someone invited me to the church and said, “The Lord Jesus will carry your burden”. I never would have imagined myself worshipping in a small church built with wood, rather than a cathedral, if not for the burden I had.
Tell your friends that God is the great provider. Philippians 4:19 says, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus”. Tell your friends that Jesus Christ is the great enabler. He can help you and grant you all round success because you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13).
As far as God is concerned, there are no two ways. You either love Him or hate Him. If you love Him, you will love your neighbours and tell them all you know about Jesus.
PRAYER POINT:
Lord, please grant me the grace and enablement to witness effectively for You at all times, in Jesus’ name.
HYMN 2: Amazing Grace
1 Amazing grace! How sweet the sound!
That saved a wretch like me!
I was once lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
2 Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
‘Tis grace that brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
3 The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures.
4 Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.
5 The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.
6 When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise,
Than when we’d first begun.
Open Heavens 2023 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. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC. Open Heaven for Today 2023
Open Heaven For Today 2023 Wednesday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Who Is Your Head?
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TOPIC: Who Is Your Head?
MEMORISE: “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” – Colossians 1:18 (KJV)
READ: Ephesians 4:1-12 (KJV)
1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Kings 22-23
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE:
It is common knowledge that the Church is meant to be for people called out by God. Christ is the Head of the Church because the most important part of anybody is the head. The head is so important that when you want to take a passport photograph, all you take is a picture of your head. The heart, kidney and liver can be transplanted, but there has never been a successful head transplant.
Is Christ your head? If your answer is yes, is He your vision? The eyes are a major part of the head and we know how important vision is. Where there’s no vision, the people perish (Proverbs 29:18).
Is Christ your hearing? If Christ is your hearing, then your faith will continue to grow because Romans 10:17 says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. That Word is Jesus Christ (John 1:1,14).
That will lead us to the nose. What you breathe in and out counts because according to Acts 17:28, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being…” You are alive as a Christian if you’re breathing in and breathing out Christ.
Who controls your brain? What do you allow your mind to dwell on? Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” Philippians 4:8 tells us the kind of thoughts we should have: pure, lovely, virtuous, good and praise-worthy thoughts.
Who controls your mouth? What do you eat? Who do you praise – God or man? John 4:24 says, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth”. How do you pray? Who controls you in prayer? John 14:14 says, “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it”.
You will be a successful Christian if Christ is your Head – the Controller. Our prayer should thus be, “Christ, please be my head”, because if all is well with the head, you can handle whatever is before you. If something goes wrong with the head, every other thing will go wrong.
PRAYER POINT:
Lord, please be my head from now, in Jesus’ name.
HYMN 7: I Am Thine O Lord
1 I am Thine, O Lord
I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith
And be closer drawn to Thee.
Refrain:
Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
2 Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord
By the power of grace divine
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.
3 Oh, the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God
I commune as friend with friend!
4 There are depths of love that I cannot know
Till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach
Till I rest in peace with Thee.
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