Today’s Scripture: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” – (Matthew 5:6, NIV)

Topic: Get Filled Up! [Thursday March 30, 2017]

Sometimes, it’s easy to get wrapped up in taking care of the people around us. You may find that you’re always giving, taking care of the children, working overtime at the office, or helping that friend who is struggling. And that’s all good. But if you’re not careful, you can end up feeling rundown. That’s why you have to take time every day to get filled back up. Your first priority should be taking care of yourself and making time to get into the presence of Jesus. Throughout scripture, we see that in God’s presence, there is fullness of joy, fullness of peace, and fullness of victory. In His presence, you’re refreshed and restored. That’s why it’s so important to take time every day to read your Bible and meditate on His promises. We have to be diligent to have quiet time with Him.

Today, take time to get alone with God and just say, “God, I love You today. Thank You for my life, for my family, for the opportunities You’ve given me. Lord, I know every good thing comes from You.” When you live like that, with your heart connected to His, you’ll be refreshed, restored and filled up for the journey of life ahead!

A Prayer for Today: “Father, thank you for filling me with Your strength. Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, so that I can be righteous in You. I hunger for Your truth and seek You first. Draw me to You and keep me close to You always in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Topic: The Cure to Offences [Thursday March 30, 2017]

These things have I spoken unto you that you should not be offended. – John 16:1

Offence is a master-killer.

Living in offence is living with death without knowing.

At first it looks friendly in satisfying your emotional need but suddenly turns into an unfriendly killer-cancer. Hebrews.12:15

The cure to offence is knowledge.

To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

Knowledge prepares us against every form of offence.

Knowledge will grant to you unexplainable peace and cheerfulness in the face of offences.

To be filled with knowledge is to live less and free of offence.

You cannot be filled with knowledge and at the same time be filled with offence.

So go for knowledge to go off offence lane. Increase your knowledge to decrease in offence.

Topic: Season of Dominion [Thursday 30, March 2017]

Memorise: He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. – Psalm 72:8

Read: Psalm 72:4-9 (KJV)

4 He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.

5 They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.

6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.

7 In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.

8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.

Bible in One Year: 37-38, Jeremiah 4:19-31

MESSAGE:

Beyond fruitfulness, part of the first mandates of God to mankind is to subdue and have dominion over all creatures He has made. Genesis 1:28 says,

“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

To dominate is to be in charge or to take control. If God did not want you to take charge, He would not have mandated you to dominate. By the time God stepped into the appalling slavery situation of the Israelites, Pharaoh, who was once in control, became the one begging for help (Exodus 12:30-32). He even asked Moses to pray for him. In that situation where you have been the underdog, God is turning things around and putting you in charge in Jesus’ Name. It is now time for you to suppress your oppressors and tormentors, and to subdue under your feet those who had earlier taken you captive. I command the tables to turn for your good today in Jesus’ Name!

Meanwhile, it is good to know that since God has once turned around the situation of the oppressed, He can do it again. Even if nobody has ever had dominion before in your family, it will start with you. Fear not! In Joshua 10:12-14, while fighting the Amorites, the sun was about to set when Joshua interrupted it. The problem is that most of us run from the enemy rather than confront him. David did not run away from the lion, the bear or even Goliath. Rather, he confronted and fought against them all. In January of a particular year, I went to preach in Denver, Colorado. At that time it was very cold, and I don’t like it cold. Maybe that is partly why God made me a Nigerian. I prefer the Nigerian weather. On receiving the invitation, I asked my Daddy if I should go, and He said yes. I asked Him, “What are we going to do about the cold?” God then assured me that He would go with me.  From the first day I arrived until the day I left, people were wearing T-shirt because summer replaced winter. To know that this was not just a coincidence, within two hours after my plane took off at 5pm, more than 10cm of snow fell. You too can tap into God’s mandate to dominate situations and circumstances around you from today. You will dominate sin, your passions, your body and your finances from today in Jesus’ Name.

Prayer Point: Father, because it is my season of dominion, please arise and subdue all contrary forces working against me.

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.

iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.

Topic: Iniquity Vs. Love [Wednesday March 29, 2017]

…Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. – Matthew 24:12

The ultimate intention of satan for introducing iniquity is to frustrate and destroy the love of God in the believer’s life.

Multiplication of iniquity is a sign of departure of the love of God.

The more one lives in sin the colder his love for God becomes.

Conversely, the love of God is the destroyer of iniquity. The more you love God, the more you hate sin.

Holiness is hot love for God and perfect hatred for sin.

You can’t truly love Him and be comfortable living in sin.

Love for God will certainly make you develop hatred for sin.

Get back on love track and you will depart from sin lane.

Topic: Enjoy the Pursuit [Wednesday March 29, 2017]

Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is he who considers the weak and the poor; the Lord will deliver him in the time of evil and trouble. — Psalm 41:1

Do you ever feel that no matter where you go, somebody pursues you and hunts you down? Does someone seem to need something every time you start doing what you set out to do? Someone needs a ride to school, or somebody forgets their lunch, and before you know it, half your day is wasted.

Jesus knows what it is like to be pursued, but He was never upset by it. As soon as He ministered to everyone in one place, He went to the next town to find more people who needed Him. He never said, “Leave Me alone.” Ask God to show you the needs of people through the eyes of Jesus today, and your days will never be wasted.

Topic: The Mix [Wednesday 29, March 2017]

Memorise: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: – John 10:27

Read: Matthew 25:31-46 (KJV)

31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Bible in One Year: Exodus 35-36, Jeremiah 4:3-18

MESSAGE:

“But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” – Matthew 10:6

The Lord deliberately refers to His own as “sheep”. He affectionately calls them “My sheep”. From the above scripture, we can see that even when He is referring to sinners or those yet to be saved, He calls them the “lost sheep”. The Lord’s parable in Luke 15:3-7 makes it clear that His sheep can get lost. It also illustrates that the shepherd goes looking for the lost sheep until they are found. This means it is possible for sheep to go astray, but when the shepherd goes searching for them, he finds them and brings them back to the fold. In John 21:15-17, in His post-resurrection appearance to Peter, Jesus repeatedly asked him to feed His sheep and His lambs. A lamb is a baby sheep. Jesus does not pastor goats but sheep. He never said, “Feed my goats.” Never! This is why I tell my children not to call themselves “Pastor’s kids”, because kids are offspring of goats and rams. God has no place for goats.

However, in our Bible reading today, you will observe that the sheep and the goats got mixed up together. This is so because wherever the sheep gather, goats would subtly infiltrate their fold (Matthew 13:24-30). This is why some people are heading for Heaven while some others are heading for Hell in the Church. The final separation will take place on the last day. God allows the goats to coexist with the sheep, but on the last day, He will separate them: the sheep will be on His right hand, while the goats will be on the left. He will address them separately and send them to their separate eternal destinations. This is very serious! Furthermore, this co-existence of sheep and goats gives room for pretence. That means the fellow sitting next to you might be a goat pretending to be a sheep. You also might be a goat pretending to be a sheep. This calls for self examination. Jesus gave the criteria for discerning a goat from a sheep in John 10:27. He said:

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:”

Do you pass the test of hearing His voice and following in His footsteps? Does He know you? I was telling one of my sons recently how my father in the Lord use to ask me to pray for patience. In those days, when I saw someone not fully complying with what we were taught, I would go to Papa, compelling him to do something about it. He would just ask me to pray for more patience. Today, I understand better. God allows goats and sheep to coexist. Are you a goat or a sheep?

Action Point: Use the criteria set by Jesus in John 10:27 to judge yourself to whether you are His sheep. If you have strayed from the fold, return to His loving arms and surrender your life to Him.

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.

iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.

Topic: Cleansed by the Blood [Wednesday March 29, 2017]

. . . unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. — Revelation 1:5

Blood is mentioned 460 times in the Bible. Fourteen times in the New Testament Jesus spoke of His own blood. Why? Because by the shedding of His blood, He accomplished the possibility of our salvation. He paid the penalty for our sin and redeemed us. The penalty for our sin and rebellion is death; Jesus stepped out and said, “I’ll take that death.” He voluntarily laid down His life and took the penalty we deserve. That’s what the cross is all about.

The blood of Jesus Christ not only redeems us, it justifies us. Being justified means more than being forgiven. I can say, “I forgive you,” but I can’t justify you. But God not only forgives the past, He clothes you in righteousness as though you had never committed a sin. Yet it cost the blood of His Son on the cross.

Prayer for the day: Lord Jesus, with a deeply grateful heart I thank You for Your sacrifice upon the cross. Your blood has cleansed my sin and made me worthy of forgiveness.

Written by Billy Graham, Founder of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association(BGEA). BGEA exists to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ by every effective means and to equip the church and others to do the same.