Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL 

DATE: MONDAY MAY 22ND, 2023.

THEME: CHECK YOUR FRIENDS

MEMORISE: 

He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. 

Proverbs 13:20

READ: Proverbs 1:10 -19

10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:

12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:

13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:

14 Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:

15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:

16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.

17 Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.

18 And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.

19 So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

MESSAGE

You should do a thorough check on your friends to see if they are headed for heaven. There are some people who should clearly be avoided, while others may look good on the outside but deep inside, are not who they pretend to be. You need to stay away from such friends.

There are some character flaws you should look out for and ensure you do not keep people who have such as friends. For example, if your friend's temper runs hot, stay away from him or her, so you don't learn his or her ways and ensnare your soul (Proverbs 22:24-25).

Many years ago. I was working as a teacher and befriended a colleague who was from the same part of the country as l. I however, didn't know much about him. One day on our way to Ibadan for a teachers' programme, we got off the lorry in Ile-Ife, where we would board another to Ibadan. This friend of mine then said he wanted to say hello to a chief nearby and asked me to come along. I did, after all, we were friends. We got there, he knocked on a door and was asked a strange question from inside, "is it fish or a crab?" My friend answered and said, "One fish and one crab". We were let in, but as we left, l begin to wonder what this strange statement meant. When we arrived in Ibadan, he said he wanted to visit another fellow. I followed him, he knocked at the door and was asked, "Who is that, a goat or a sheep?" My friend answered, "One goat, one sheep". By now, l was seriously troubled. I got home and asked the elders what the statements meant. They said, knowingly, "Ah, where did you hear that?"

That was the end of my friendship with that fellow. Up to today, l don't understand what those statements really meant, but l didn't have to be told that they were occultic and dangerous. Check your friends, be watchful and careful. The Bible says evil communication corrupts good manners (1 Corinthians 15:23). The Romans used to say, "As bad apples spoil good ones, so do bad friends spoil good boys". Before today is out, do a thorough check on all your friends. If there are some that are not living a holy life, preach the word of God to them and if they refuse to change, please separate yourself from such persons immediately.

KEY POINT 

Your friends are an indication of the influences that determine who you will become. Make and retain only godly friends.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Nehemiah 4-7

AUTHOR: PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 30: WHEN WE WALK WITH THE LORD 

1 When we walk with the Lord 

in the light of his word, 

what a glory he sheds on our way! 

While we do his good will, 

he abides with us still, 

and with all who will trust and obey. 

Refrain:

Trust and obey, for there's no other way 

to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. 

2 Not a burden we bear, 

not a sorrow we share, 

but our toil he doth richly repay; 

not a grief or a loss, 

not a frown or a cross, 

but is blest if we trust and obey. 

3 But we never can prove 

the delights of his love 

until all on the altar we lay; 

for the favor he shows, 

for the joy he bestows, 

are for them who will trust and obey. 

4 Then in fellowship sweet 

we will sit at his feet, 

or we'll walk by his side in the way; 

what he says we will do, 

where he sends we will go; 

never fear, only trust and obey.