Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: SUNDAY JANUARY 7TH, 2024.

THEME: NEW YEAR RESOLUTION VỊ

MEMORISE: 

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

James 4:8

READ: John 15:4-7  

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

MESSAGE:

My sixth resolution is to walk more closely with God than ever before this year. The Bible says in James 4:8 that if you draw near to God, He will draw near to you. Our God is not a touch-and-go God; He is a God who wants you to abide in Him  (John 15:4-7).

Some of us are Sunday-Sunday Christians; we go to church only on Sundays, and it is only then that we read our Bibles and pray. The Almighty God wants you to be close to Him, to draw nearer to Him each day. This year. like never before, I am going to draw close to God and ensure He is by my side daily. I have discovered from experience that there are problems you can solve with your efforts in a year, two years or even ten years, but if you draw near to God, He can solve them in minutes!

I studied for my PhD at the University of Lagos. To get a PhD in Mathematics, you must solve a problem nobody has solved before. Being a problem nobody has solved before, nobody knows whether it has a solution, and they don't give you a PhD for trying but for solving the problem. So, I began to work out the details of the problem I chose, and eventually, I ended up with 186 simultaneous equations! I had been working on the

problem for 18 months and didn't know what to do next. One night, after struggling with the equations till around 10pm, I decided to go and sleep. I, however, decided to study the Bible before going to bed, and I studied Exodus 14:21-28 - the crossing of the Red Sea, and God suddenly spoke to me. He said, "Son, go and bring your mathematics problems." He began to guide me step by step to put the eguations into two different groups - one

on the right and the other on the left. Suddenly, I saw something l had not seen before. AIl the equations on the right had something in common, and all the ones on the left had another thing in common. Then the Lord spoke to me, "Solve the ones on the left together, the ones on the right together, and then bring the two together." In five hours, I finished the problem I had been tackling for 18 months!

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Whatever problem you might be facing, draw near to God this year, and He will give you a solution, in Jesus' name

KEY POINT

Draw closer to God this year more than ever before, and He will give you solutions to long-standing problems.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Genesis 24-25

AUTHOR: PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 10: IN CHRIST ALONE

1 In Christ alone my hope is found 

He is my light, my strength, my song 

This cornerstone, this solid ground 

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm 

What heights of love, what depths of peace 

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease 

My comforter, my all in all 

Here in the love of Christ I stand  

2 In Christ alone who took on flesh 

Fullness of God in helpless babe 

This gift of love and righteousness 

Scorned by the ones He came to save 

Till on that cross as Jesus died 

The wrath of God was satisfied 

For every sin on Him was laid 

Here in the death of Christ I live  

There in the ground His body lay 

3 Light of the world by darkness slain 

Then bursting forth in glorious day 

Up from the grave He rose again 

And as He stands in victory 

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me 

For I am His and He is mine 

Bought with the precious blood of Christ  

4 No guilt in life, no fear in death 

This is the power of Christ in me 

life's first cry to final breath 

Jesus commands my destiny 

No power of hell, no scheme of man 

Can ever pluck me from His hand 

Till He returns or calls me home 

Here in the power of Christ I'll stand