Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

 OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: FRIDAY 27TH NOVEMBER 2020.

THEME: LET GOD TAKE THE LEAD.

MEMORISE:

Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.  But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.

Genesis 13:12-13

READ: Genesis 14:8-16

8 And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim;

9 With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.

10 And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.

11 And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.

12 And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.

14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.

15 And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

MESSAGE:

I may not have achieved as much success and impact as I have today if I had travelled to a developed country as I wanted to when I was younger. I had applied for the Commonwealth scholarship programme abroad for masters. On the day of the interview in the University of Lagos (UNILAG), the members of the panel asked me questions so simple that I wondered if they knew I was an honors an honors student of Mathematics. I was confident I had passed the interview, until a member of the panel who had been dozing all along woke and asked “where is Entebbe?” I responded “Pardon me, I am here for a Mathematics interview, not Geography”. Unknown to me, he was the chairman of the committee. Everyone laughed in such a way that made me realize I would not be getting the scholarship.

When I got out of the interview hall, I ran into one of my lecturers from my alma mater who now worked in UNILAG. We exchanged pleasantries and I told him why I had come to UNILAG. He said to me “No, you don’t need to go abroad; I know your stuff. I will supervise you here for your postgraduate studies”. Thus I became a postgraduate student in UNILAG, eventually got an invitation to attend a service at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, encountered Christ, became born again and today, the Lord has made me the General Overseer of the Church.

Things may be tough now where God wants you to stay, but if you trust and obey Him, your tomorrow will be alright.

When Lot had the chance to choose where he would stay, he did not bother asking God, he just went straight for the seemingly better option. Little did he know he was going into a condemned city. At the end of the day, we see that Abraham who stayed put became far greater than Lot. In Genesis 14:14-16, when Lot was kidnapped because he did not have divine protection, Abraham and his men had to fight and defeat four armies to recue him. In the midst of all the complaints and struggles in developing countries, some people are still getting hug breakthroughs and fulfilling their destinies. You don’t have to tell lies and keep running from the police to become great in life; don’t compromise your eternity for a journey God did not send you on. Let God lead you.

PRAYER POINT:

Father, don’t let me abandon Your plans for my life in the mighty name of Jesus.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:  Acts 18:19-19:41

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE 

HYMN 2: ALL TO JESUS I SURRENDER.

1. All to Jesus I surrender,

All to Him I freely give;

I will ever love and trust Him,

In His presence daily live.

Refrain:

I surrender all,

I surrender all;

All to Thee, my blessed Savior,

I surrender all.

2. All to Jesus I surrender,

Humbly at His feet I bow;

Worldly pleasures all forsaken,

Take me, Jesus, take me now.

3. All to Jesus I surrender,

Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;

Let me feel the Holy Spirit,

Truly know that Thou art mine.

4. All to Jesus I surrender,

Lord, I give myself to Thee;

Fill me with Thy love and power,

Let Thy blessing fall on me.

5. All to Jesus I surrender,

Now I feel the sacred flame;

Oh, the joy of full salvation!

Glory, glory, to His Name!