SIMPLY BELIEVE Monday 4 April

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

MEMORIZE: “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,” (Eph. 3:20).

READ: Ephesians 3:20-21

“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4).
We can have great expectations because God has given us great promises. According to the above scripture, some promises of God to us are far more than just great. This season, you will be a beneficiary of these wonderful promises in Jesus name. Deuteronomy 7:14 says, “Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle”. God is not a liar. Since the Word has gone out of His mouth, He is committed to fulfilling it. He surely will deploy His every resource at your disposal. This also means that if you are a child of God and you are going through a situation of barrenness, it is only a phase; it is just for a limited time. Soon, God’s Word shall prevail over that situation and you shall be fruitful.

Similarly, in Deuteronomy 28:11-12, He promised to open Heaven’s treasury and rain down blessings upon us. That’s another great promise. He said instead of borrowing, we shall lend to nations. That’s another great promise! Every promise God has made to you shall come to pass. One important thing about promises, however, is that a promise and the one who makes it always go together. The value placed on a promise is determined by the worth of the one who made it. If you make promises but fail to keep them, it means that you have zero credibility. You have no self-worth. Some leaders make promises but show no commitment. Such people can hardly be believed. Today, some church members find it difficult to believe their pastors because they lack integrity. Do you have pending promises you have not made good on? Go ahead and fulfil them today! Nonetheless, God remains faithful. He has the ability, capacity and integrity to fulfil any promise He makes—even beyond our expectation. Hence, He should be believed. If it means bending the rule or suspending a law in order to meet your need, He will do it. The issue is: how far can you go in believing God? Do you take Him at His Word, or do you just fold your arms waiting to see before believing, like doubting Thomas?

KEY POINT
Without believing there is no receiving. Without faith there is no Christianity.

Bible in One year: Isa. 25-27

WASTING OR REDEEMING? Saturday 2 April

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

MEMORIZE: “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:16).

READ: Ephesians 5:15-16

To effectively utilize your time, there is need to tie-up assignments and tasks against seconds, minutes, hours and days. If you can do this effectively, you will avoid waste and achieve more. This is the logic behind the Psalmist asking us to number our days, not our years (Psalm 90:12). May God answer the prayer of the Psalmist in your life! Waste reduction is a very significant part of effective time management. Across the globe, many people indulge in activities that eat up their time, without getting any good dividend in return. Your time is an asset you must carefully trade with. So, if you spend it on what will not give you good returns, it is a waste. I feel sad when I see people wasting time on the phone. This year is already on the move. No matter the level of anointing in your life, you cannot bring back the hours, days, weeks or months that have passed. They are forever gone! Soon, you will be greeting ‘Happy new year’ and while doing so, you will discover that the New Year is fast becoming old.

What is your attitude to time? There are definite assignments that the Lord would want you to accomplish this year. If you use your time properly, they will all be achieved. But if you misuse your time, many of them will be left undone by the end of the year. Do you know that there are believers who have continuously carried over tasks from year to year, now spanning several years? No matter how anointed you are, if you cannot effectively plan your time, and accomplish your tasks, you are a great Kingdom waster. If you were to borrow one million naira with 20% interest from the bank without repaying, you will be amazed at what your debt will be in two years, Hence, Ephesians 5:15-16 says you need to apply wisdom. You should be redeeming your time rather than wasting more. To redeem is to buy back, to recover lost time. Are you taking steps to recover lost grounds? One of my daughters understands this very well. She was saved at 60 years old. Since she had lost so many years to the devil as a sinner, she employed some measures to redeem her time. One of such measures was to pay 20% tithe for the rest of her life. What steps are you taking towards the time wasted in Satan’s kingdom? You can set high goals for soul winning such as leading 10 to 20 souls to Christ monthly. You can also choose to be of more service to God’s Kingdom by attending diligently to Kingdom projects.

ACTION POINT
List 15 time-wasters peculiar to you. Ask God for grace to prayerfully and practically avoid them from today.

Bible in One year: Isa. 19-21