Like Jesus

Saturday 1 September                        Bible in one year: Esther 1-3

Memorise: Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth unrighteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 1 John 3:7

Read: 1 John 3:7

The call to salvation is a call to holiness. After you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Saviour, it does not end there; the journey to heaven as only just began. Before you were saved, you manifested the works of flesh (Galatians 5:19-21). But now that you have encountered Jesus Christ at salvation, the fruit of the Spirit is expected from you (Galatians 5:22-23). Every attempt at righteousness before your salvation was equal to self righteousness which is as filthy rags to God ( Isaiah 64:6);hence Paul says his self –righteousness no longer counts but the righteousness by faith in Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:9). God has not only saved us and given us the spirit of righteousness, He also expects us to live a life in agreement with His standard. Today, some people think that it is enough to be born again and that nothing else is required. No! It is not enough! The truth is your new birth gives you the platform on which to build on, having secured God’s righteousness through your faith in Christ Jesus.

We are called to be like our Saviour Jesus Christ. In 1 John 2:1, Jesus is called the righteous, and verse 29 says

If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of him
This means that the fruit of righteousness that you bear will be used to determine whether you are born of God or not. 1 John 3:7 says

Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

God is not saying you should be holier than Jesus. Even Jesus says it is enough for a servant to be like his master (Luke 6:40). If God expected works or righteousness from Jesus, He expects the same from you. If you look at the letters the Lord wrote to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3, you will notice that He kept repeating that those who will qualify for those wonderful rewards are only the believers who overcome as he also over came. In every point Jesus overcame, you too should. You must live a life that manifests that victory Christ has given you over the flesh, Satan and the world. You must allow Him to live His righteous life through you. Are you daily living a life of righteousness?

KEY POINT: Jesus is God’s unchangeable standard for man. Be like Him in everything including living righteous living.

Excerpts from Open Heavens by Pastor E.A  Adeboye.

Pride erodes good record.

Friday 31 August                                Bible in one year: Hosea 11-14

Memorise: A man’s pride shall bring him low;but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit. Proverbs 29:23

Read : Revelations 3:14-22

In today’s reading , the Lord wrote a letter to the church in Laodicea. Let us briefly look at their background. Laodicea was a strong financial centre in those days.It had rich inhabitants who thought since they had virtually all they needed,they did not need God. It was the heart of textile manufacturing ,providing specialised medical care for eyes and ears. The church in Laodicea was equally inhabited by wealthy members who thought they could do anything with money.Being wealthy they could afford the best of clothes and medical care.Their comfort and affluence made them  proud people.

If you look closely, the church in Laodicea was the only one out of seven that the Lord had nothing good to say about.Even as bad as sardis was,it still had some good people.Meanwhile,they saw themselves as the happening church,the rich and the affluent church.Laodicea was a church that had all its physical needs met.They could afford the most fantastic auditorium,equipped with the best and most expensive musical instruments.They could afford to publicise every program on air and do glamorous banners. Their church could be said to be what most of our churches today dream to be.On Sundays, if you saw a sister there, you would think there was  a fashion parade  or beauty pageant. It was a prosperous church with all members physically prospering.The latest cars were parked in their parking lots.What a church without a need!Meanwhile as they were celebrating their “immense success”, the Lord was lamenting their wretchedness. In His eyes, they were the exact opposite of who they thought they were.May you never see yourself through your eyes bu His eyes.One lesson here is that we need to steer clear of pride as it erodes all the good works.Anyone who is adorned with any pride blocks God’s view of his or her deeds,except the object of pride. If you fill up a two storey building with good works but you are proud,it is only your pride that would be seen. Nothing will be recorded for your good.The proud is in competition with God.Are you proud?

ACTION POINT: Search yourself for any elements of pride and immediately deal with them before they spoil your work.

Excerpts from open heavens by pastor E.A Adeboye.

Prove your love

Thursday 30 August                             Bible in one year : Hosea 8-10
Memorise : By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples ,if ye have love one to another . John 13:35
Read : John 13:34-35
It is very expensive to love God except you do not really have an understanding of this. In John 14:15 Jesus said
if ye love me ,keep my commandments
Ordinarily, there is no big deal in this except when you realise one of His commandments you must keep is to turn the other cheek to the one who slaps you. This is hard. It is hard to have the capacity and resources to carry out revenge but refrain from doing so because of your faith in Jesus Christ. When some Christians found themselves in such situations , they wept as when they saw a rat biting the tail of a cat but the cat could not do anything. Also, John 13:35says : we should love one another as Christ has loved us. This is a difficult task because among those we are told to love are unlovable people.How do you love a so-called brother or sister who is constantly doing everything to provoke you and cause your downfall?How do you love a so-called leader who is a traitor and who discriminates against you? How do you love a pastor who sits on your progress for several years and warns you not to tell his superiors? It is hard.Yet, you have to love them because of Heaven. You have to love and forgive them or else you have gotten to your final bu stop in your Christian race.
Additionally, Psalms 97:10 says if you love the Lord,you must hate evil.To most Christians , that appears like what they regularly do until they isolate some cases and find out that they are not truly keeping this commandment. Some Christian parents see their children dress improperly and dismiss it with a wave of a hand saying : "Don't mind her : she is being childish",yet they do nothing about it. What of wives who dress in seductive manners, virtually showing to the world that they are "available for sale",yet their husbands cannot caution them?Or what of the prayer point the Lord gave to all believers in Matthew 5:43-45? Do you  know that based on this command,we should be praying for all our enemies daily? Did i hear an Amen? Not for the enemies to fall down and die but for God to open their eyes to know the truth and become converted. How many people are keeping this commandment today?
PRAYER POINT:
Lord ,no matter how hard it is, for as along as You have commanded me to obey your Word, grant me grace to obey without complaining.
Excerpts from opens heavens by pastor E.A Adeboye

Maximise your glory

Wednesday 29 August                                    Bible in one year: Hosea 5-7

Memorize: There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon,and another glory of the stars : for one star differeth from another star in glory.1 Corinthians 15:41

Read: 1 Corinthians 15:40-41

God’s call is not for fun or frivolity. God has a definite purpose for calling you. It is important you acknowledge why He saved and called you because God does not just pour down His glory on people,He does so to assist you in fulfulling His call upon your life.As you respond and totally submit to that call, He will move you from one level of glory to another.According to 1 Corinthians 15:40-41, God has different glory moulds for the different things He created.The bodies of angels are different from  human bodies and both have different glories.Even among lights,there are different level of glory.Among believers in Christ,the story is not different.Believers radiate varying levels of glory due a number of reasons such as: the type of calling on that believer,the price paid to maximise that calling,the level of holiness or obedience the believer operates,prayerlife,Bible study life,worship,praise and thanksgiving life, the degree of pleasing God, etc. You can be a carrier of God’s higher levels of glory if only you are ready to pay the price.

God does not expect you to deviate from your calling as this will not only lead to failure but also make you unable to maximise God’s glory in your life.Moses was called primarily to lead the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage into their promised land.In doing this, the Lord sent him to Pharaoh to ask him to release God God’s people. This assignment was  both dangerous and tempting. It is possible for somebody like Moses who was brought from the bush and made to stand before the king to compromise because of the affluence associated with the palace.Many church leaders and Christian workers today who were given the opportunity to minister to the top brass of the society, have compromised the message or errand they were sent. They found it difficult to tell the truth because they wanted to remain in favour with those in authority. No wonder they cannot optimise God’s glory. If God sends you to the creme de la creme in the society ,you owe them the truth of God’s word. In wisdom deliver to them the Gospel message and where possible make an altar call. God wants you as His witness before panels  ,committees ,kings and the leaders of the society. Be a true witness!Don’t change your message!

KEY POINT: Jesus died for all classes of people ,if you have opportunity to reach any of these classes ,you are privileged; do it with all your might!

Excerpts from Open Heavens by Pastor E.A Adeboye

IDOLS FRUSTRATE EXPECTATIONS

Monday 27 August                         Bible in one year : Obadiah 1, John 1-4

Memorise: The hope of the righteous shall be gladness:but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.Proverbs 10:28

Read: Isaiah 44:10-18

Before you receive a prophetic declaration, check out the the fruit of the vessel-the prophet,pastor,or servant of God, whether the fellow is still in league with God. Some people say, “thus says the Lord, “but the Lord did not say anything to them. Some of them heard from themselves and spoke. Be careful of what you accept as being from God. In Jeremiah 28:1-4, Hananiah  a prophet prophesied that in two years God was going to set Israel free from the yoke of the King of Babylon, but it was all a lie! Imagine  the joy of the people when they heard that. But after two years, and the prophecy did not come to pass,all the expectations of the people failed.Instead of two years, they spent 70 years . In other words, the prophetic lies of prophets cannot change what God wants to do or alter its timing.Stick with genuine men of God and particularly the Word of God i.e. the Bible.

Apart from lies,expectations that are based on the support of an idol , another power or spirit will definitely be disappointed. Sincere Idol worshipers and cultist know that there are severe manipulations and falsehood regarding the predictions of their idols or deities.They also know that promises of fame, power and wealth made to them are actually in return for long life,health,the lives of their loved ones,etc.being taken from them. Satan does not offer any free gift but at the time of offer, he will make everything appear as if it’s free. The recipient of such offers would have been trapped before there is a realisation of what the devil would have in return ( Isaiah 40:19-20,24). The expectations of the wicked including idol worshipers shall fail (Proverbs 10:28). This involves confidence in local deities,charms,amulets,magic rings,love portions,anything and anyone you love to a point of taking the place of God in your hear. According to Psalms 92:7 and Isaiah 45:16, Idol worshippers with their hopes shall be dissapointed because they to share what God cannot with anyone - His glory. The prophets of Ball who contested with Elijah on Mount Carmel were disappointed and lost their lives (1 Kings 18:17-40). Are you using evil powers or contesting with a bona fide child of God? Your expectations shall fail and you may even lose your life. Repent today, and apologise to the child of God you are fighting before the Lord faces you.

ACTION POINT: Make this confession: Every idol taking God’s place in my hear, i tear you down and enthrone the Lord Jesus Christ at the centre of my life.

Excerpts from open Heavens by Pastor E.A Adeboye.

Among the dead?

Saturday 26 August                     Bible in one year: Amos 7-9

Memorise: The man  that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead. Proverbs 21:16

Read: Ephesians 2:1-3

Knowing your spiritual standing is very important at any point in time. But one challenge is how to judge where you are,whether you are dead, sleeping, sitting, standing, running or flying.Who is a dead fellow? A dead man is one that has no feelings. If your conscience is hardened,you are spiritually dead. There are some pastors who are dead. No matter what they hear like: stop stealing,falsifying church records,committing adultery, etc they will say, Amen; but when they return to their parishes, they will continue with their evil deeds. This they do because they are dead spiritually . Ephesians 2:1-3 speaks of those who are dead in sins and trespasses.  The dead are those who sin and take pleasure in it. They enjoy living in sin which makes no different from unbelievers.

It is a sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom. Proverbs 10:23

The pastor who verbally runs down his senior pastor and sees nothing wrong with it is dead.It is a dead fellow who will witch-hunt other believers with the motive of replacing them.There is a growing congregation of dead people in the church today. If you want to stay alive, you must avoid them  like a plague.Avoid any group in your church that promotes rebellion, gossiping, backbiting,segregation and any other evil. The day God’s wrath will fall on them, if you are with them, you will not be excluded.

If you have no feeling for your brother or sister ,your conscience is dead. if you sin or do anything wrong and you do not feel anything,you are probably not only dead but buried in sin.If you oppress others,particularly your brethren that you were asked to do good to ,it is because your conscience is dead or seared with a hot iron. Jesus says let the dead bury their dead. if you are dead,it is people like yourself that will finally nail your spiritual coffin-that is they will ensure you never rise again spiritually. This means if you  are part of the congregation of the dead,in order not to be buried by them,run back to Jesus today. Cry out to God to change your heart. Ask for a heart of flesh and make all necessary restitution. Are you dead? The Lord says to you arise and He will heal your backsliding(Jeremiah 3:22)

PRAYER POINT:  Father in any way i have become insentitive to your pricks,cause me to arise today.

Excerpts from open heavens by Pastor E.A Adeboye.

Rejecting Jubilee

Saturday 25 August                                    Bible in one year: Amos 4-6

Memorise: Our soul waiteth for the Lord:He is our help and shield. Psalms 33:20

Read: Psalms 33:13-22

What is Jubilee? Jubilee is a new beginning where the fellow who was once rich but lost his wealth gets it back;where the house that was filled with empty vessels begins to have those vessels filled (2 Kings 4:1-7). What makes jubilee beautiful is the fact that it is by divine decree. It is not as if the slave owner really wants the slave to go, but because God has decreed it, the slave must go. Nobody can stand in His way. God does not need to take permission or plead with your captors to release you on the day of your jubilee. Has God decreed your release? Then you must be freed! He decreed light and light came into existence ( Genesis 1:3). Psalms 33:8-9 says God should be feared because when He speaks, it is done. Your release is settled because God has said it.

Moreover, when you talk of the year of Jubilee, people generally think it must be every 50 years. But when i studied the Bible, I discovered that people experience Jubilee at different times.For example , the man at the pool of Bethesda was in captivity but got his Jubilee after 38 years (John 5:2-9). Also , for the man born blind recorded in John 9:1-7, his jubilee dawned and he regained his sight after 40 years. In Luke 13:10-17, the woman was bent got her jubilee after 18 years.According to Exodus 21:1-6, the year of Jubilee could come to some after 7 years because God is the One who controls times and seasons, and He is the One who will decide when He wants to intervene in a matter ( Daniel 2:20-21). Your age will not stop your Jubilee. Our God is the God of Jubilee and He loves to set the captives free although He will never violate  your will. In Exodus 21:1-6, when Jubilee is offered, captives are free to void it and remain as captives. In a town in Osun State (South West Nigeria), there was a very wealthy man who amasssed much wealth through evil means. One day, out of mercy , God wanted to save him so He sent a preacher to tell him about salvation. After listening for some time,he thanked the preacher and asked him to lead all his children to Christ , but as for him he had gone too far with the devil that he had chosen to end up with him. Even when he was told it was not too late for him, the man resisted. He turned down his jubilee. Will you accept or turn down your jubilee?

PRAYER POINT: Pray that God will open the eyes of all those who are rejecting jubilee to see things from God’s perspective and accept His salvation.

Excerpts from Open Heavens by Pastor E.A Adeboye.