Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

 OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

 

DATE: SUNDAY 17TH JANUARY 2021.

 

THEME: MCY: LUST II.

 

MEMORISE:

 

Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.                                                                                            1 Corinthians 6:18

 

READ:  Judges 16: 4-20

4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.

5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.

6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.

7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.

9 Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.

10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.

11 And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.

13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.

14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.

15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.

16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;

17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.

19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.

20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.

 

 

MESSAGE:

 

A hungry and thirsty fellow is one who is desperate for food and water. Have you ever seen someone who has been stranded on a desert for a whole month? If he sees water anywhere, he would do anything, and I mean anything, to drink it. The same applies to a person who has been deprived of food for many

days. In the same vein, God expects us to hunger and thirst for righteousness. He expects us to desperately pursue righteousness. Jesus gave a parable in Matthew 13:44-46 that the kingdom of God is like a man who found treasure in a field and went to sell all that he had so he could buy that field and

own the treasure. Psalm 63:1 says:

           

"..... My soul thirsts for you, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water."

 

 

You should be willing to give up anything just to remain righteous. The reverse is the case these days; people are very quick to sacrifice their righteousness in order to gain some pleasures of this world.

 

Don't   deceive  yourself with contemporary Christianity. If you are not desperately hungry to live a holy life, you become easy meat for the devil. You need to be desperate enough to cut off your right hand if that hand is going to cause you to sin (Matthew 5:30). In other words, if social media is the means through which immoral thoughts get into your mind, then you must be ready to delete those social media apps from your phone. If you are lusting after your secretary, then you must be ready to let go of such a person. If being a staff in that organization causes you to stain your garment of holiness, then resign! Only the violent can take the kingdom of God and they must take it by force. Don't be afraid to be asked why you pursue this Jesus so much. Fear of what people may say will make many lose their righteousness and consequently, the kingdom of God. You must hunger and thirst for righteousness at all times.

 

 

KEY POINT:

 

Flee every appearance of the lust of the flesh!

 

 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Genesis 34-36

 

 

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE 

 

 

 

HYMN 29: WHAT CAN WASH AWAY MY STAIN?

 

 

1 What can wash away my sin?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

What can make me whole again?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

 

Refrain:

O precious is the flow

that makes me white as snow;

no other fount I know;

nothing but the blood of Jesus.

 

 

2 For my pardon this I see:

nothing but the blood of Jesus.

For my cleansing this my plea:

nothing but the blood of Jesus.

 

 

3 Nothing can for sin atone:

nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Naught of good that I have done:

nothing but the blood of Jesus.

 

 

4 This is all my hope and peace:

nothing but the blood of Jesus.

This is all my righteousness:

nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Open Heavens Prayer Points

 Prayer Points on Today’s Open Heavens 16 January 2021 – MCY: Lust I

Prayer Points:

1.Thank You, Father, for the salvation of of soul; thank You, for sending Your son, Jesus, to Calvary, that I could be a partaker of Your divine nature. 

2.Father, in anyway I have fallen short of your glory, please, have mercy and forgive me, in Jesus name.

3.Father, let Your love and commitment to Your work and kingdom, be my number one priorities in life, in Jesus name.

4.Father, give me the grace to place my affections on things that are above and not on the mundane and ephemeral things of this world, in Jesus name.

5.Father, please, deliver me from the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, in Jesus name.

6.Father, help me to control what I focus my eyes on; let me not look with approval or admiration, on anything vile, that could arouse the spirit of lust in me, in Jesus name.

7.I refuse to defile myself with the King’s meal or compromise my faith for things that have no eternal values, in Jesus name.

8.Father, You’re the source of true, lasting and divine prosperity, please, open the doors of Your prosperity for me; let me prosper, even, as my soul prospers, in Jesus name.

9.Father, when You shall come in Your glory, please, let me still be found in You, in Jesus name.

10.Father, bless your son, Pastor E.A.Adeboye, and grant all his heart’s desires and cries, in Jesus name.

11.Father, bless Your son, that You have been using to prepare these prayer points, beyond measures, and all those who have been rebroadcasting them, in Jesus name.

12.Father, let every challenge, hindrance and obstacle of getting these prayer points across to Your children, timely, and on daily basis be removed, in Jesus name.

13.Your Personal petitions. (Philippians 4:6)

14.In Jesus name I pray. (John 14:13-14; 15:16)

15.Thank you Father for answered prayers. (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Special Note:

These prayer points are not written by Pastor E. A. Adeboye, but by one his numerous disciples, for Christ, who was inspired and mandated by the Holy Spirit, about 5years ago, (effective January 1st, 2015), to start writing these prayer points, based on the Open Heavens Daily Devotional, authored by Pastor E. A. Adeboye.

Some of the prayer points are deep spiritually and may not be understood by carnal minds.

If you want to be blessed from these prayer points, you must first, surrender Your life, to the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, by saying this prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I come to You with a deeply repentant heart, please, forgive me all my sins. I surrender my life to you, today, and, I accept You, as my personal Lord and Saviour. Please, come into my life and save my soul from eternal destruction in hell fire. In Jesus name, I pray.”

These prayers have no expiry date! Please, pray them, irrespective of the time they get to you. Remain blessed, in Jesus name.

Kindly, purchase your own hard copy or online version of the Open Heavens Devotional & buy for your friends too, as a potent evangelism tool. God bless you, as you sow, into Pastor E.A. Adeboye’s book Ministry, in Jesus name.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

 OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.

DATE: SATURDAY 16TH JANUARY, 2021

THEME: MCY: LUST (1).

MEMORISE:

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father Is not in him.”

1 John 2:15

READ: 1 John 2:15-17 (KJV)

15. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

17. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

MESSAGE:

The fifth element in our equation for Resistance in the “Mathematics of Christ in You” (MCY) series is ‘L and it stands for Lust.

For today however, we will only focus on the lust of the eyes, Our Bible reading for today says the world and all that is in it will pass away. When you have a strong desire for material things, Christ cannot dwell and operate mightily in you. Many people will miss Heaven because of their love for this world.

Some people cut corners just because they also want to buy a new car like their colleagues. Thank God for cars, but a car can be a moving coffin if gotten through sinful means.

I had been preaching to a friend since the 1980s. I got the opportunity to talk to him about Christ again in 2014.

As soon as I started, he said “Hold on Pastor, you don’t need to worry anymore.

When you were talking to me some thirty years ago, I wasn’t listening because of my ambitions, but now I have seen it all and I know it is vanity”.

He also added “Whenever I want to drink alcohol or do some things I enjoy, you will say it is not allowed. Now, even if someone gives me a hundred million dollars, it will have no value before me. I am ready to give my life to Christ so my life can have real value”.

I didn’t have to preach anymore to win that soul for Christ. If you keep lusting after the material things of this world, you will soon discover that they are not worth the stress. The only thing worth having is the joy of knowing that you are serving the Lord. The fact that you are a Christian however doesn’t mean that you cannot enjoy life.

Rather, it means you will enjoy life to the fullest, only that you have to prioritise spiritual things.

(3 John 2) says: Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. God wants you to prosper, but it must be even as your soul prospers. Any prosperity that will cost your soul will destroy you (Matthew 16:26).

You must first seek the kingdom of God and live a righteous life, then you will never lack any good thing (Matthew 6:33).

This has been my experience with Christ. I focus on pleasing Him every day, and He supplies all my needs.

I remove every resistance to Him dwelling and operating in me, and He removes every hindrance to me accessing all-round prosperity.

KEY POINT:

Focus on the prosperity of your soul, leave the rest to Jesus to handle.

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Genesis 31-33

HYMN 7: HAVE YOU BEEN TO JESUS FOR THE CLEANSING POWER?

1. Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

REFRAIN:

Are you washed in the blood,

In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb?

Are your garments spotless?

Are they white as snow?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

2. Are you walking daily by the Saviour’s side?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

3. When the Bridegroom cometh will your robes be white?

Pure and white in the blood of the Lamb?

Will your soul be ready for the mansions bright,

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

4. Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin,

And be washed in the blood of the Lamb;

There’s a fountain flowing for the soul unclean,

O be washed in the blood of the Lamb!

Open Heavens Prayer Points

 Prayer Points on Today’s Open Heavens: Friday, January 15, 2021

MCY: MEN-PLEASING.

Special Note:

These prayer points are not written by Pastor E. A. Adeboye, but by one of his numerous disciples, of Christ, who was inspired and mandated by the Holy Spirit, effective, January 1st, 2015,, to start writing these prayer points, based on the Open Heavens Daily Devotional, authored by Pastor E. A. Adeboye.

Some of the prayer points are deep spiritually and may not be understood by carnal minds.

If you want to be blessed from these prayer points, you must first, surrender Your life, to the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, by saying this prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I come to You with a deeply repentant heart, please, forgive me all my sins. I surrender my life to you, today, and, I accept You, as my personal Lord and Saviour. Please, come into my life and save my soul from eternal destruction in hell fire. In Jesus' name, I pray.”

Prayer Points:

1.I worship and adore, You, my Father, the Author and the Finisher of my faith; thank You for Your mercy and grace that have brought me thus far, in life.

2.Father, in anyway I have fallen short of your glory, please, have mercy and forgive me, in Jesus name.

3.Father, uproot from my life, every spirit of disobedience, incomplete obedience, self- will and stubbornness, in Jesus name.

4.Father, help me not to water down the truth of Your word, in order to please men and remain popular with the congregation, and then displease You, who has called me, in Jesus name.

5.Holy Spirit please, fill me to the brim and empower me to always walk in the spirit, that I may not fulfil the lust of the flesh, in Jesus name.

6.Father, help me to acknowledge You in all my ways and seek You and Your kingdom first, in all things, in Jesus name.

7.Father, please, take away every desire in me to be men-pleaser, in Jesus name.

8.Father, let my priority and focus in life at all times be, to make heaven, and to take as many as possible with me; in Jesus name.

9.Father, when I shall stand before You to give account of my stewardship, please, don't let me be found wanting, in Jesus name.

10.Father, bless your son, Pastor E.A.Adeboye, and, increase Your mercy, grace and anointing, over his life, in Jesus name.

11.Father, bless Your son, that You have been using to prepare these prayer points, beyond measures, and all those who have been rebroadcasting them, in Jesus name.

12.Father, let every challenge, hindrance and obstacle of getting these prayer points across to Your children, timely, and on daily basis be removed, in Jesus name.

13.Your Personal petitions.

( Philippians 4:6)

14.In Jesus name I pray.

(John 14:13-14; 15:16)

15.Thank you Father for answered prayers.

(1 Thessalonians 5:18).

# GodBlessOurNation   

These prayers have no expiry date! Please, pray them, irrespective of the time they get to you. Remain blessed, in Jesus' name.

Kindly, purchase your own hard copy or online version of the Open Heavens devotional & buy for your friends too, as a potent evangelism tool. God bless you, as you sow, into Pastor E.A. Adeboye's book Ministry, in Jesus' name.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

 OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

 

DATE:   FRIDAY 15TH JANUARY 2021.

 

THEME: MCY: MEN-PLEASING.

 

 

MEMORISE:

 

 

The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe .           Proverbs 29:25

 

 

 

READ:  1 Samuel 15:18 -30

 

18 And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.

 

19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord?

 

20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

 

21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.

 

22 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

 

24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

 

25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord.

 

26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.

 

27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.

 

28 And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.

 

29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.\

 

30 Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God.

 

 

MESSAGE:

 

The element' M' in our equation for Resistance in the "Mathematics of Christ in You" (MCV) series that started on the 11th of January, stands for Men­ Pleasing. Some people just want to be known by all. The problem with this however is that you will begin to pay too much attention to what people think of you and you will be scared to offend them even when you are on the side of truth.

 

"And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice."                                                                                                                                                  1 Samuel 1 5 :24

 

 

In the Scripture above, Saul disobeyed God because he wanted to maintain his popularity amongst men. Fame can create a major problem for you, and that is why I do not like it. You cannot live the life that you love to live; you cannot just stop by the road and buy roasted plantain when you feel like eating some. There are a lot of eyes on you. Left to me, if I could do the work of God without showing my face everywhere, I would gladly do it. I thank God I am not after fame, so when people criticize me on social media because of my Bible-based beliefs, I don't pay attention. Some preachers can't preach the truth anymore because they want to remain popular with the congregation. The fear of man brings a snare (Proverbs 2 9: 25). Beware!

 

 

Sometime ago, I went to minister in a Church for a three-day programme. I had preached on faith and other topics and many souls had been saved. I then told the Pastor that I would like to preach a sermon on restitution on the last day. He pleaded with me not to do so, tagging it 'hard teaching'. He also added

that some of the people I had gathered would leave because of this. I told him I did not care about a big congregation headed for hell. What matters most is preparing these people to get to Heaven. I have always told my children that I am a holiness preacher and so I will teach holiness until I die. This will never change even if people decide to leave the Church because of the 'hard teaching'. What I am after is ensuring that you make it to Heaven. You can call me old-fashioned; I don't care. If we get to Heaven together, you will thank me over there for teaching you holiness.

 

 

Men-pleasers seek fame at the expense of pleasing God and this ultimately leads to destruction.

 

 

Don't please people and displease God. Put Him first always (Matthew 6:33).

 

 

 

PRAYER POINT:

 

Ask God to take away every desire in you to be a men-pleaser.

 

 

 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Genesis 28-30

 

 

 

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE 

 

 

 

HYMN 24: TAKE MY LIFE AND LET IT BE.

1.       Take my life and let it be

Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.

Take my moments and my days,

Let them flow in endless praise.

 

2.       Take my hands and let them move

At the impulse of Thy love.

Take my feet and let them be

Swift and beautiful for Thee.

 

3.       Take my voice and let me sing,

Always, only for my King.

Take my lips and let them be

Filled with messages from Thee.

 

4.       Take my silver and my gold,

Not a mite would I withhold.

Take my intellect and use

Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.

 

5.       Take my will and make it Thine,

It shall be no longer mine.

Take my heart, it is Thine own,

It shall be Thy royal throne.

 

6.       Take my love, my Lord, I pour

At Thy feet its treasure store.

Take myself and I will be

Ever, only, all for Thee.

Open Heavens Prayer Points

 Prayer Points on Today’s Open Heavens: (Thursday, January 14, 2021) - 

MCY: PAST GLORIES 

Special Note:

These prayer points are not written by Pastor E. A. Adeboye, but by one of his numerous disciples, of Christ, who was inspired and mandated by the Holy Spirit, effective, January 1st, 2015,, to start writing these prayer points, based on the Open Heavens Daily Devotional, authored by Pastor E. A. Adeboye.

Some of the prayer points are deep spiritually and may not be understood by carnal minds.

If you want to be blessed from these prayer points, you must first, surrender Your life, to the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, by saying this prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I come to You with a deeply repentant heart, please, forgive me all my sins. I surrender my life to you, today, and, I accept You, as my personal Lord and Saviour. Please, come into my life and save my soul from eternal destruction in hell fire. In Jesus' name, I pray.”

Prayer Points:

1.Thank You, Father, for taking me out of Egypt; please, let Egypt be  completely taken out of me, in Jesus' name.

2.Father, in anyway I have fallen short of your glory, please, have mercy and forgive me, in Jesus' name.

3.Father, empower me not to dwell on past glories, but to look forward to those things that are ahead of me, in Jesus' name.

4.Father, empower me to press forward towards the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, instead of dwelling on past glories and achievements, in Jesus' name.

5.Father, please, take away the desires of my past from me, and help me to focus on the future, and on the new things You have promised to do in my life, in Jesus' name.

6.Father, uphold me till the end by Your right hand of righteousness, please, dont let me backslide; dont let me go back to my vomit, in Jesus' name.

7.Father, I have laid my hands on the plough, please, don't let me look back, that I may be fit for Your kingdom, in Jesus' name.

8.Father, release upon me the 'prayer anointing'; give me the grace to spend quality and ample time in prayers, and to preach the gospel, in season and out of season, in Jesus' name.

9.Father, reveal more of Yourself to me, and strengthen me to do exploits for You and Your kingdom, in Jesus' name.

10.Father, bless your son, Pastor E.A.Adeboye, do a new thing in His life and take him to greater heights in all areas of his life and ministry, in Jesus' name.

11.Father, bless Your son, that You have been using to prepare these prayer points, beyond measures, and all those who have been rebroadcasting them, in Jesus' name.

12.Father, let every challenge, hindrance and obstacle of getting these prayer points across to Your children, timely, and on daily basis be removed, in Jesus name.

13.Your Personal petitions.

( Philippians 4:6)

14.In Jesus' name I pray.

(John 14:13-14; 15:16)

15.Thank you Father for answered prayers.

(1 Thessalonians 5:18).

#GodBlessOurNation

These prayers have no expiry date! Please, pray them, irrespective of the time they get to you. Remain blessed, in Jesus' name.

Kindly, purchase your own hard copy or online version of the Open Heavens devotional & buy for your friends too, as a potent evangelism tool. God bless you, as you sow, into Pastor E.A. Adeboye's book Ministry, in Jesus' name.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

 OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

 

DATE:   THURSDAY 14TH JANUARY 2021.

 

THEME: MCY:PAST GLORIES.

 

 

MEMORISE:

 

 

Brethren , I count not myself to hove apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.                                              

Philippians 3:13

 

 

READ:  Philippians 3:11-16

 

 

11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

 

12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

 

13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

 

14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

 

15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

 

16 Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.

 

 

 

MESSAGE:

 

We have been examining the "Mathematics of Christ in You" (MCY) since January 11 and the' PG' in the equation for Resistance stands for Past Glories. Sometimes, people allow the beauty of the "good old days" to hinder Christ from working mightily through them today. Some are so stuck in the past that they are unable to move on from there.

 

As we see from today's memory verse, the Lord expects us to keep moving forward. It doesn't matter how glorious the past was, let it go! Luke 17:32 says " Remember Lot's wife". It is a very brief sentence, but one loaded with deep meanings. Lot's wife looked back simply because she was undecided about her past. Christ cannot operate in the lives of many people today for the same reason: they keep on looking back.

 

 

Occasionally, some 'believers' see the advert of a beer brand and say "Hmm, thank God for salvation". What does that mean? An urge to drink? When some believers are offended, they say "If not that I have given my life to Christ, I would have shown you that I am a tiger." Oh, so you, are having thoughts of fighting with the fellow? Are you really sure that your life has been given to Christ? If you keep looking at the past, you might end up going back. In Luke 9:62, Jesus Christ said clearly:

 

            "...No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

 

 

When you study the armor of God as listed in Ephesians 6:13-17, you will see that there is no protection for the back. This is simply because you must not look back· The moment you turn around; you have given the enemy a very clear chance to destroy you. True soldiers of Christ, those who Christ will dwell in and do exploit through do not look back. They forget the things that are behind and press on for more. They spend time studying the word of God and live by it. They pray for long hours and are committed to spreading the gospel. They don't go around boasting about what they achieved yesterday, instead they are always talking about how much more they want to do for God.

 

 

Determine to do more for God from today.

 

 

 

 

KEY POINT:

 

Forget the past, press forward for more of God.

 

 

 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Genesis 25-27

 

 

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE 

 

 

 

HYMN 10: I'M PRESSING ON THE UPWARD WAY.

 

 

1.       I’m pressing on the upward way,

New heights I’m gaining every day;

Still praying as I’m onward bound,

“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

Refrain:

Lord, lift me up and let me stand,

By faith, on Heaven’s tableland,

A higher plane than I have found;

Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

 

2.       My heart has no desire to stay

Where doubts arise and fears dismay;

Though some may dwell where those abound,

My prayer, my aim, is higher ground.

 

3.       I want to live above the world,

Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled;

For faith has caught the joyful sound,

The song of saints on higher ground.

 

4.       I want to scale the utmost height

And catch a gleam of glory bright;

But still I’ll pray till heav’n I’ve found,

“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”