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“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
Matthew 22:39
For us not to lose our reward from God, we need to pay close attention to the words He uses when He speaks to us. The words in the above scripture say, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself." and not “Act as though you love your neighbor as you love yourself." l have come to observe that the Christian life of many professed Christians has become a stage play. They act out characters that are completely different from who they really are. If God was to show the state of your heart to those you relate with, Will they still see you the same way you have always portrayed yourself to be?

God does not recognize humility by how many people you call “sir" or “ma"; He looks into your heart to see if you have a humble heart. He does not recognize love by the sweet words you say; He checks your intentions. God cannot be deceived, and even if you deceive your Pastor, my God sees your heart and knows those who are His and those who are not (2nd Timothy 2 :19). I wonder why a person will try to look holy when looking holy does not count at all before God? Looking holy will not take anyone to heaven, but being holy will. Which is most important to you: how God sees you or how your fellow human beings see you? To me, it does not matter how holy people say l am; l am only interested in what my God says. Sometime ago at a Christian conference, the organizers asked that soft music be played while we all meditate. While meditating, I went into a trance and saw myself in a place that looked like the throne room of God. All the angels were so pure that they were transparent, and l looked extremely dirty in their midst. When l got out of that trance, l determined that if I was to enter that room again in a trance, I would not look the way I saw myself that day. I was already a holiness preacher by then, and people all around said I was a holy man, but that did not matter to me. All that matters to me now is how Jesus sees me. Stop pretending to be holy; rather, live a holy life for real!

On the other hand, some people dress and act like unbelievers, and then they turn around to say their outward appearance does not matter; because God looks inward. This is true, but what is on the inside will show on the outside. Stop deceiving yourself; if you like to look and talk like an unbeliever, then you are just the same as them. It is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45). Your outward life needs to reflect the transformation you claim has occurred inside your heart. Is your life reflecting this transformation?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

There are so many con-artists in the Church and in the world today, so much so that the gift of discernment has become a necessity in the life of every believer. In your business dealings, if you do not want to fall victim to the canker-worm of cheats and frauds, you need to rely on the Holy Spirit to help you exercise discernment over business opportunities that are brought your way. In your job, if you do want to escape from agents of darkness looking for every opportunity to milk their employers dry and implicate innocent people along the way, you need the gift of discernment to begin to operate in your life. The stories narrated in Joshua 9:1-16 are good life lessons on the need for the gift of discernment. Joshua was hasty in entering into a pact with the Gibeonites without first consulting God, and he ended up falling for a lie; the impact of which continued to affect the Israelites generations after (2 Samuel 21:1-9). Be wary of any deal or matter that is brought before you which requires you to make a hasty commitment. Also, at your work place, be careful when a document is brought for your signature and pressure is being applied on you to sign it quickly without thoroughly scrutinizing its contents.

In contrast to Joshua who fell for the lies of the Gibeonites, we also read of Paul who was able to detect the spirit of divination at work in the supposed ‘public relations secretary” who volunteered to serve his missionary team in Thyatira. She followed Paul and his team for several days. Publicizing what Paul and his team came to do in that locality. Thank God that Paul, through the gift of discernment, detected after many days that it was a demonic spirit at work in her. If this was not found out, many people would have assumed that she was operating with the same spirit as Paul and his team, luring them to follow her and enabling the evil spirit in her to make merchandise of them. This would have brought shame to the Name of Jesus Christ, and the message of the gospel would have been adulterated. This is a great lesson for evangelist and missionaries: volunteers should be handled with caution. Free services may not be free at the end of the day. We have had such experiences in our ministry, where people have come to tell us that there are openings in some countries for missions, only for us to later find out that they were just trying to use the church to realize their dreams of getting out of the country, or even trying to swindle the church of her money. We therefore need the gift of discernment to be able to detect the wily moves of the enemy. This gift is freely given when you thirst and ask God for it in prayer. Ask for it today.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Imagine that a family goes on vacation for a couple of months, locking up their entire house. They eventually return home, only to meet workers and artisans going in and out of their house - some cleaning windows, some fixing electrical appliances and others painting the walls. The family will be shocked because they did not instruct anyone to work in their house. What would you do if this happened to you? I assume you would immediately call the police to assist in getting these intruders out of your house. The same thing needs to happen in the Church of God, as many workers there are intruders. This is the reason why the Lord said in Matthew 7:22-23:
“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, the Holy Spirit reveals to us the character of those who will receive divine commendation, saying:
“And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:”

To receive heaven’s commendation on the day of reckoning, you must be temperate in all things and run your course with certainty of purpose. Being temperate means being moderate and self-controlled, while to be certain is to be sure-minded and serious. In contrast to this, the attitude of “beating the air" is common place in our churches today. We have people who teach on missions but who don’t go on missions. Some teach on evangelism but do not go out to evangelise. Others are orators who can get money from the stingiest of persons, but they themselves are not givers. We need to be mindful of our ways so that we don’t end up being disappointed on the day of reckoning. Learn from Apostle Paul and apply the secret he reveals in 1 Corinthians 9:27 to your life:
“But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
May you not miss your divine commendation at the end of your life in Jesus’ Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

The word “Jubilee" is derived from the Hebrew word jobel, meaning “ram's horn", because a ram’s horn is used as a trumpet to announce the beginning of the year of jubilee. It is a year when slaves are released and debts forgiven unconditionally amongst the Israelite's. Describing the tenets of this ordinance, Leviticus 25:39-41 says:
“And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant: But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubilee: And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.”

Under the New Testament, we experience Jubilee when we surrender our lives to Jesus. An encounter with Jesus is the fulfilment of Jubilee in its fullness. He is our Kinsman-Redeemer who came to redeem us from the slavery which our spiritual poverty had imprisoned us in. The Spirit of life in Jesus Christ sets us free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). Jesus paid the price, repaid all of our debts and freed us from every form of bondage we were under through His death on the cross and His resurrection on the third day after His death. Through His work of salvation, we have access to a rest that is found only in Him. For those who have not experienced this rest, Jesus is calling out to you today, saying:
“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30

Whoever wants to experience genuine and complete freedom must come to Jesus Christ. He is the one who is able to grant all-round freedom: physically, spiritually and mentally. Beloved, if you are experiencing genuine Jubilee from the Lord, I congratulate you. However, if you know you are not experiencing complete freedom, today is the day of salvation. You need to decide today to surrender all that concerns you to His will and commit to living according to His will, and you will begin to experience the total freedom that He gives.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

The story narrated in John 21:3-12 contains some vital lessons for those who desire not to live in failure and frustration. From this story, we discover that our Lord Jesus Christ can choose to be humorous sometimes. Asking a group of frustrated fishermen whether they had food was a use of humor from the Lord in order to change the gloomy atmosphere of failure that had enveloped the disciples. As a gesture of gratitude for being of great service to me, I once gave a small gift to a young man to pass on to his children at home. Unknown to me, this young man had no child since he got married. The Lord turned the gift into a prophetic tool, because by the time I was visiting that country the following year, the miracle child this young man had been waiting for had come. I decree that God will spice up your life with pleasant humor today in Jesus’ Name. When the Lord asked the disciples whether they had caught anything, He was also teasing them with His question because they were no longer supposed to be in the fishing business. You will recall that in Luke 5:10, He had already said to Peter, in the presence of some of these disciples that from that moment he would be catching men and not fish. Peter and his team failed because they were operating on the wrong side of their destiny.

It would not be out of place to be puzzled by Jesus’ instruction to his disciples in john 21:6, when He had said “Cast out the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find”. This instruction should be seen as symbolic, because there was nothing at the other side of the ship. Immediately the disciples cast their net on the right side as instructed, they caught a multitude of fish. Beloved, when you operate on the wrong side of life, you are bound to get nothing out of it. The Lord’s side is the right side of life. He said in John 14:6:
“…l am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
He is still leading men to the right side of life today through His word and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, for you to continually stand on the right side of life, you must be addicted to the study of the Bible and be sure to listen to the Holy Spirit’s voice, guiding and leading you into all truth (John 16:13). However, having experienced the right side of life, it would be disastrous to abandon it for the wrong side of self-will. Jesus committed the work of the ministry to Simon Peter, but he and his team went fishing instead. What did they get out of their efforts? Nothing! Nevertheless, the compassionate Master went ahead to prepare a delicious breakfast for His errant disciples (John 21:9). There is no form of lack on the Lord’s side. Beloved, I appeal to you to come to the Lord’s side in perfect obedience to His word today, and failure will become alien to you and your generation.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

I have tasted both poverty and a little of God’s blessing and I can tell you that the difference is clear. I have concluded in my spirit that poverty is not a virtue rather, it is a vice. A vice is something evil. Poverty is evil and a root of iniquity which every child of God must pray against. No wonder Agur prayed in Proverbs 30:8-9, saying:
“Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.”
According to this scripture, a poor man is on the borderline between innocence and the crime of stealing.

1 Chronicles 4:9-10 gives a classic example of someone who did not see poverty as a virtue but rather as a vice, and he desperately prayed poverty out of his life. Jabez recognized poverty for what it is, and he asked God to enlarge his coast so that he could be kept from the evil that poverty brings. Every one of us needs to be like Jabez who acknowledged that the God of Israel was the one who could get him out of poverty. Promotion and increase comes from God, and He is the only one who can take away financial, mental and spiritual poverty all at once. Any other source will give you wealth but will take away your peace. For this reason, Deuteronomy 8:18 says:
“But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.”
Every believer needs to ask God for the power to create wealth. You need to ask God to open your eyes of understanding to see the opportunities He puts in front of you to produce wealth and move you out of poverty. Our Lord Jesus Christ has already paid the price for us to be free from poverty. 2 Corinthians 8:9 tells us that He became poor so that we can be rich. It is therefore a waste of God’s grace and a belittling of the price that Jesus paid for us to still live in poverty. You should however note that we are also expected to live a life of contentment (1st Timothy 6:6-. Today, pray like Jabez for God to enlarge your coast and open your eyes of understanding to see the opportunities He brings your way to create wealth.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

There is a big disconnect between the priorities many people set for themselves and the priorities the Almighty God has set for their lives. Unless we understand God’s priorities for our lives, we will stumble and tumble in life, and God forbid that we tumble out of His will for us in this world and in the hereafter. Matthew 6:33 clearly tells us that seeking the kingdom of God should be the basis of all our priorities in life. We have God’s promise that when this is the case, all other things will fall in line.

Philippians 2:5-13 reveals to us how our Lord Jesus Christ prioritized His mission of redeeming mankind through His death, so much so that He was ready to go through humbling and humiliating experiences for the purpose of fulfilling His assignment. Philippians 2:6-8 vividly describes the extent of the sacrifice Jesus made because of the priority He placed on His mission:
“Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross”.
What a great sacrifice! Even when Jesus went to be baptized by John the baptist, John did not want to baptize Him as he did not count himself worthy of even untying Jesus’ shoe lace, but Jesus insisted on being baptized because of the priority He placed on fulfilling His mission. To Him, His mission was important enough to set aside His status (Matthew 3:13-15). I pray that your mind will indeed reflect the mind of Christ in attitude, motive and priority in Jesus’ Name.

If you want God to take pre-eminence in your life, you need to seek His will and do it. Doing the will of God may appear foolish to the world, but unless we are ready to become foolish in the matters of this world, we will not be able to live by divine priority; rather, we will always end up putting the cart before the horse (1 Corinthians 1:18-21). Living according to divine priority entails courage. It took courage for Jesus Christ to face the Cross and die for the sins of mankind. This is why I am puzzled when I see children of God arguing with the word of God when the word is “encroaching” on their so-called right to live as they please. It is unfortunate that in the world today, a preacher becomes unpopular the moment he or she begins to preach against those things that distract from living according to divine priority, but this ought not to be so if we really want to enjoy the fullness of God in our lives. Beloved, seek first God’s interest in all our endeavors, and you will not make mistakes or be disappointed.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

In Psalm 65:1, the Psalmist assures God that praise awaits Him in Zion. How remarkable! When God Comes to your home or heart, will He find praises there or will He find complaints? For some people, He will meet with complaints, and so He will not stay. No one wants to be in an environment where all they hear is complaints. If you can have a place in your heart and home where God can find praise at all times, He will surely draw us close to you. Solomon did not ask God for anything when he became king, neither did he complain about all the issues his father left for him to resolve in the kingdom; all he did was to make a sacrifice of worship to God that no one had ever made before, and God paid him a visit with a blank cheque (1 Kings 3:4-5). When Paul and Silas were in prison, they didn’t complain and query God; rather, they turned the prison into a house of praise, and they got a special visit from God. As soon as God arrived in the prison, there was an earthquake and all their chains were broken (Acts 16:23-26). When the walls of Jericho stood before Joshua and the people of Israel did not begin to whine and question God; instead, they built a praise altar around the walls of Jericho, and the walls fell down flat (Joshua 6). Is there a problem giving you sleepless nights? Turn those sleepless nights into praise nights unto God and see all your problems fall down flat.

Do you know that whenever God looks upon the earth, He is looking for people praising Him in spirit and in truth? John 4:23 says:
“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.”
Those who are close to me know that as I go about my activities all through the day, I am always singing praises to my God. I do this because I want Him to know that anytime He looks in my direction, He will find praises there. I want Him to be with me all day and never leave, because He gets an unending dose of praises from me. Many years ago, I promised an elder in our church that l was going to visit him but that I would only be staying for five minutes, because I had a lot of things to attend to that day. The elder, based on his personal knowledge of me, knew very well how to make me stay longer than five minutes. Before I got to his house he had music playing - hymns and other sweet gospel music. I felt so comfortable in his house that l did not realize when I had spent more than an hour there! If I, as a child of God, could get carried away by praises to my father, how much more God Himself? Psalm 22:3 says God inhabits the praises of His people; so if you want Him to be with you always, make your heart an altar of praise for Him.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Our God is the Righteous and Merciful Judge who does not change. Although He cannot behold iniquity, He still forgives sin when all the conditions He has set for pardon are met. The Holy Spirit reveals these conditions in Isaiah 55:7, saying:
“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
From this scripture, it is clear that our God pardons iniquity. He does this because He loves sinners, even though He hates their sins. Those who profess to speak for God should have this truth at the back of their mind. Some religious zealots today cannot fathom why God will pardon the sins of those who have committed so much evil. I will refer such people to the words of the Holy Spirit in Isaiah 55:8:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.”

The will of God for sinners is that they should repent so that He can pardon their iniquity. Religious zealots are like Jonah who knew this truth and yet refused to go and preach to Nineveh. He actually wanted God to destroy them. Nevertheless, he was forced to preach to them, and even though their sins were great, God pardoned them when they repented. Jonah 3:10 says:
“And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.”
Surprisingly, Jonah was very angry with this outcome.
Jonah's attitude sounds shocking and unbecoming of a Prophet, but you need to ask our-self if you are not a Jonah in disguise. Are you like the Pharisees who rumbled whenever Jesus forgave any sinner? Do you look at unbelievers around you with disdain, believing that they are too beneath you for you to relate with or share the word of God with them? Do you find yourself getting upset when you hear that a really bad person has given his or her life to Christ, thinking that such a person deserves to suffer in hell? Do you write people off as being irredeemable? If you fit any these descriptions, then you are a 21st century Jonah and you need to repent too.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

While driving on a highway, you would often see a road sign that indicates “Bumps ahead” or “Sharp bend ahead”. Seeing such a sign, a wise fellow will immediately slow down while a foolish fellow will keep speeding. When the danger that should have been averted happens, everyone will consider such a driver to be foolish. This scenario describes the case of those who read the Bible and see some truths in it that will save their lives but choose not to act on what they have read.

James 1:21-25 tells us that the word of God is like a mirror which shows us what needs to be changed in our lives. It is a dangerous kind of foolishness to read or hear the word of God and not act on it. Some people hear the word and resolve to do something, but they procrastinate taking action until their resolve fades away with time. They are like a man dressed up to go out who sees in the mirror that his tie is a little too far to the right, but then leaves the front of the mirror without correcting it. If after a while he remembers that his tie is a little off to the right and then tries to adjust it to the left, he may adjust it a little too far to the left. The wise thing to do is to make the adjustment while still in front of the mirror. If you hear or read any word from God that requires you to make an adjustment in your life, you must do so immediately, because delay may be dangerous.

Many years ago, my Father in the Lord preached a message on keeping our environment clean if we wanted God to live in our homes. He also said that the kind of music we listened to would determine if the Spirit of God would be comfortable dwelling in our homes. My wife and I got home late and tired that day, but tired as we were, we raised up our mattress and swept off a lot of dirt from under our bed. We also broke and threw away all the secular tapes that we had in the house. We acted on the word immediately and we were better off for it. Matthew 13:23 says:
“But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
When you have heard a word that can change your life for the better, the devil knows it, and he immediately springs into action to steal it from you. You must be on guard, and your best strategy is to act on the word before he brings distractions and suggestions that will destroy the fruits that God intends the word to yield in you. Are you just a hearer of the word or a doer of it?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

It is surprising to see professing Christians fretting and cringing before agents of the devil. Some would not even want to go to their villages for fear of evil doers. Even when they visit, they literarily lie that all is not well with them in the city because they are afraid that if the villagers realize that they are making it, they may do something to affect them adversely. This is not right at all. For me, it was after I gave my life to Christ that I finally had the boldness to visit my village. In those days, witches were almost flying in broad daylight in my village, but thanks be to God that things have now changed so greatly that my village is now for Christ. Take a look at 1 Peter 3:13 and believe in the infallible word of God therein. Also believe these declarations of God to you in Deuteronomy 28:7:
“The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.”
lf you live by these words of God in faith, you become untouchable to the enemy, irrespective of whatever he throws at you.

However, to activate the power in God's word, you need to reverence the word. The proof of reverencing God’s word is obeying what it says. That is why Dueteronomy 28:7-13 clearly states that if we listen to the voice of the Lord and obey His commandments, only then will we be partakers of His promises. We therefore become untouchable when we live our lives in reverence to God’s word, which is quick, powerful, prevailing and sharper than any two-edged sword. Hebrews 4:12 says:
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
No wonder the Holy Spirit advised us to allow the word of God dwell in us richly in all wisdom (Colossians 3:16). The devil cannot destroy you if you live according to the Word of God, because the word will fight for you even without you knowing it. Some people don’t have a revelation of God’s word in Hebrews 4:12; this scripture means that the word is active, doing warfare silently without people even knowing that it is at work. For these reasons, you must pay attention to the word of God by meditating on it day and night. That is the secret to being untouchable indeed!
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

There is a different key that opens each door in a house. This fact of life also applies to things of God. There are certain things you must do in order to receive a miracle at any point in time. The most important key to open the door of miracles is the act of exercising faith. The fact that you have been in church for decades does not guarantee that you have the kind of faith that can get you the miracle you desire. In the story behind John 11:40, despite Mary and Martha’s closeness with Jesus Christ, their faith was so weak that they did not believe their brother could be raised from the dead. Jesus had to prop up their faith by admonishing them to believe in order to see the glory of God. In contrast to this, in Matthew 8:5-13, we see a manifestation of great faith that received commendation from our Lord. The centurion had faith that Jesus did not need to be physically present with his critically ill servant before He could heal him. Remarkably, it was the Lord Himself who described the centurion’s faith as “great”! I pray that you will also begin to walk in this type of faith in Jesus’ Name.

Do you know that there are times when the faith of a member of the congregation is greater than that of the pastor? There is this testimony of one of my daughters who came to me for prayer that God should change the sex of her baby from female to male because the husband said he would send her packing if she gave birth to another female child. As I tried to persuade her to accept the will of God for that baby, since it was already confirmed beyond reasonable doubt that the child in her womb was a girl, she told me,”Daddy, but you taught us that with God nothing shall be impossible!” At that point, I decided to agree with her in faith. Beloved, this daughter of mine got what she wanted because the Lord changed the sex of her fully grown foetus from female to male.

In addition to faith, humility could also be seen in the centurion. Despite his stature as a high ranking Roman officer, he did not see himself as worthy enough to have the Lord come into his house. This attitude of humility worked for the centurion, and it will work for you as well. If you have pending acts of repentance or restitution to fulfill, go ahead to do them in humility. Don’t forget to add the icing of praise to your prayer, and you will receive your miracle today in Jesus’ Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

“And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.”
Luke 18:40-42
It is intriguing that Jesus asked a man who was obviously blind the question that He did in the above scripture. This indicates to us that even though our cries may catch God’s attention, we still need to apply His principles in order to receive anything from Him. The blind man got Jesus’ attention through His persistent cries, but he still needed to fulfill the principle of asking to receive, before his eyes were opened.

There are several lessons we can learn from the story narrated in Luke 18:35-43. Firstly, when we cry to God in the Name of Jesus Christ, we receive divine attention, as this blind man did. I pray that you will receive heaven’s attention as you cry to God today in Jesus’ Name. Secondly, the blind man knew what he needed, and he got it. Do you really know what you need from God or are you occupied with what you want? These are two different things. For example, the blind man needed his eyesight, though he might have also wanted food. Priorities differentiate between needs and wants. This is why the presence of the Holy Spirit is paramount in the life of a believer. We may not accurately know what we need, but the Holy Spirit helps us to pray aright in order to receive our petition. Teaching us this all important work of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life, Romans 8:26 says:
“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our Infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself Maketh intercession for us with groaning’s which cannot be uttered.”
Moreover, we also learn from this story that Jesus did not assume what the blind man wanted Him to do; instead, He asked and listened to what he had to say. The man might have desired to receive food or money, like the lame man at the gate of the temple in Acts 3:5-6. Another lesson we learn today is that the Father will give us whatever we ask in faith in the Name of Jesus Christ. The question is, do we really know what we need from God, and do we have enough faith to receive it from Him?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

The parable told by Jesus of the farm owner and his fruitless fig tree should make us realize that nothing goes for nothing. The farm owner was not keeping the fig tree on his farm for decorative purposes; he wanted it for fruits. After waiting for years, the tree remained fruitless, and so he decided to get rid of it. Beloved, are you fulfilling any purpose in God's kingdom? Are you just a statistic on the number of Christians alive or are you bearing fruit?

As long as you have breath, you have a purpose and cannot afford to stay fruitless, lest the farm owner decides it’s time to cut you down. The terrifying part of today’s story is that the farm owner was prepared to disregard his labour of past years over the fruitless fig tree and ignore the potential of getting any fruits from it in future. At that point, he only counted the tree as nothing but a waste of farmland.

In John 15:2, Jesus clearly stated that every branch in Him that does not bear fruit will be cut off. As a born-again Christian, you are one of His branches (John 15:1). Every believer needs to be the branch of the vine that yields fruit and is pruned to yield more fruit, particularly the fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. Our actions, purpose and attitude need to flow from the fruit of the Spirit for us to be considered fruitful.

The good news today is that the vine-dresser intervened on behalf of the fruitless fig tree, asking the owner to give him one more year to carefully manage it. If it still remained fruitless after one year, then the owner could finally decide to cut down the tree. Beloved, examine yourself today to determine if you are not currently fruitless. Perhaps you are even undergoing your one year grace period before being cutoff and replaced with a fruitful tree? What is the motive behind your actions and work for God today? Are you exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit in all that you do? In addition to manifesting the fruit of the Spirit, we are also expected to bear fruits of souls into God’s kingdom, and these fruits must remain. The fruit of souls you win to Christ will remain when you follow them up and teach them the ways of the kingdom. May the Lord strengthen you as you faithfully do all this in Jesus’ Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Revelation 14:9-13 and Numbers 23:10 reveal the blessings of dying the death of the righteous. As long as Jesus tarries, everyone, including Christians, will die. At the point of death, each person will either be in a state of righteousness or unrighteousness. The question you need to answer is which state you will be in when your time comes.

The Holy Spirit has made it clear that there is nothing we can do of our own accord to attain righteousness. In Isaiah 64:6, He said:
”But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”
Who then are the righteous? Paul, in his letter to the Romans, explains that we only become righteous when we submit ourselves to the righteousness of God made available through Jesus Christ. Romans 10:3-4 says:
“For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.”
Beloved, if the Lord calls for your soul today, will your death be that of the righteous? If we look at the other side of what the Spirit is saying in Revelation 14:13, He clearly warns that anyone who does not die in Christ will have everlasting unrest. This will not be our portion in Jesus’ Name.

Submitting to the righteousness of God is not just about giving your life to Christ, but rather a continuous journey of submitting to God’s will and living daily for Him. Beloved, can you boldly say that you are living a life that is in total submission to God’s will? Can you say you have a relationship with God where you commune with Him and know what He wants you to do with your life daily? The temple veil that prevented the children of God from having a direct relationship with Him was torn on the day of crucifixion, signifying that everyone can now relate with God personally (Matthew 27:51. Hebrews 4:16). This is the foundation of living a righteous life and the source of assurance that all you are doing is in line with His will for you. I pray that you will have a deeper relationship with God from today.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

As seen in Colossians 4:6, the Holy Spirit demands that our speech be seasoned with salt. When cooking, it does not matter how many delicious ingredients you have in the soup, if you don’t add salt, your food may taste bland. In the same way, no matter how holy or filled with the Holy Spirit you claim to be, if your speech is not seasoned with salt, you are distasteful to God and man. In fact, all your claims are lies, because Luke 6:45 says:
“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”
In other words, what comes out of your mouth is an indication of what is in your heart. If you are truly holy and filled with the Holy Spirit, it will reflect in your words and show in how you speak to others.

When you become born again, one of the first changes that will be noticed in you is your language. Evil words will no longer be able to come out of your mouth because they are no longer in your heart. From James 3:3-4, we understand that if our tongues can only be under the control of Jesus Christ, then we will walk in His perfect will:
“Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.”
If people complain about the way you talk, then you need to check your salvation. If your words are bringing sorrow to others, then your speech needs to be seasoned with salt. Are you using the same tongue that you use to praise God to also Insult people? Are you telling lies with your tongue and also quoting scriptures with that same tongue? If your tongue is not for Christ, it does not matter how much of His word you say, it is powerless and useless in your mouth. Some preachers preach for long hours and the word does not seem to have any effect in the lives of people; the reason is because the tongue preaching is not of God. If you can consecrate your tongue to God, you will see a serious transformation in the power of your words. Your words will begin to heal the sick, deliver captives, raise the dead and convict sinners.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

There is a natural feeling in every human being called nostalgia. It is the feeling you get when you miss someone or something that was once a part of your life. When you become born again, a lot of things about you change. Your friends, choice of drinks, fun spots, daily schedule, speech and many more things change. The difference between being born again and just keeping away from these things is that when you are born again, you are a new creature (2nd Corinthians 5:17). The old man dies and a new man with new appetites is born. You will begin to long for times of fellowship in church, and when you wake up in the morning, you will not be able to do anything else until you have read your Bible and have your quiet time with God. The bad things you used to do will begin to irritate you and you will now feel ashamed that you once did them. For this reason, when I see some Christians whose conduct suggests that they still miss the world, I begin to wonder if they ever really became born again.

Sometimes, people angrily say “He is very lucky that l have given my life to Christ; if it were in those days when l was in the world, I would have slapped him! ”They also say,” If we were not in church, I would have finished you!” People who speak this way about their days in the world are actually missing the world, and in their heart, they have already gone back to the world. If remedial steps are not taken, they will soon be completely backslidden. When you talk about those bad old days as if they were good old days, without any form of shame, you are missing the world. You need to pray to God to consecrate you afresh.

Whenever I remember my days in the world, I feel ashamed of myself. I see that old man as a great fool, and l detest the things he valued so highly then. Great fear comes on me when l consider that I would still have been on my way to hell if Jesus had not saved me. If this is not how you feel when you remember your days in the world, then something is wrong somewhere. The devil has begun luring you back into the world and you need to take heed lest you fall. The devil is very wily, and he knows how to make a person backslide without the fellow even realizing it. You must wake up from your slumber and push his ideas out of your mind with God’s help. Consume more of God’s word till you are sanctified. Keep away from those things and people who make your old lifestyle look attractive to you. Do not forsake the fellowship of the brethren, and pray without ceasing. You will not go back to the world in Jesus’ Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Without question, every man or woman born into this world needs help at one point or the other. Knowing what to do when the need for help arises is a factor that differentiates victors from defeated people. A fellow ends up being defeated and frustrated simply because he or she could not access the help needed to overcome the challenges of life at the appropriate time. I pray that help will come to you speedily this season in Jesus’ Name. Another factor that causes defeat is that some people don’t even know when they need help. This is a serious situation. They move in circles on the same spot, thinking that they are making progress. You need to continually examine whether you need help so that you don’t end up wasting precious time struggling alone. The great work the Lord committed into my hands as the General Overseer, of the Redeemed Christian Church of God has taught me this vital lesson. When I became the General Overseer, I suddenly realized that I could not do the work by my strength and resources alone. So, the first thing I did was to make the original Owner of the work, the Holy Trinity, my Senior Partner and Ally. The next thing I did was to raise ministry helpers so that the work could be done as quickly as possible. If God is ministering to you to be a ministry helper, don’t hesitate to obey Him.

Another thing you need to do when you suddenly realize that you need help is to know where the help will come from. In Deuteronomy 26:6-9, while under affliction and oppression, the Israelite's correctly identified the LORD God of their fathers as the sure source of their help. After you have identified the unfailing source of help, the next thing you must do to secure your needed help is to connect yourself to that source and abide by the principles of that source. For example, if you have identified God as your surest Source of help, Deuteronomy 28:1-14 should be your guiding principle. You should not allow anything to derail you - not even the world with its technological advancements and ‘modern’ way of doing things, because many civilizations have come and gone, but God and His principles remain unchanged (Hebrews 13:. In John 15:4, Jesus Christ told His disciples:
”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.”
Moreover, you must look up to God in prayer for the fulfillment of promises, like Daniel did in Daniel 9:1-3. When you do this, you can be sure that the testimony in Psalm 34:5 will become a reality in your life. It says:
“They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed”
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

One observable fact about human beings is that anytime they engage in wrong deeds that deserve to be punished and the punishment does not occur, they will assume that they can press forward with their evil deeds without any consequences. In other words, impunity reigns where justice does not take its full course. For example, if you commit a sin in secret, and you hear the pastor say, “There is nothing hidden that will not come into the open,” you will get worried with thoughts like ”Oh, I have done this thing and my secret will soon be out!” However, after you wait for a while and your secret is not exposed, you will then say to yourself, ”Oh! So they lied; i can continue enjoying myself in sin and no one will know!” Don’t be deceived; you are only enjoying God’s mercy for a while. You need to understand that the gate of mercy is a very wide gate. Speaking of its dimensions, Psalm 108:4 says:
”For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.”
Anybody can run through the gate of mercy, no matter how big his or her sins are, but this gate has a peculiar manner of closing. It closes very rapidly in a way no one can explain. As big as it is, this gate of mercy can snap shut within a split second. For this reason, Proverbs 29:1 says:
”He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”

Once the gate of mercy snaps shut for an individual, it can never be opened again, irrespective of how much anyone pleads. Someone very close to me was brought to us for prayers one day. She was very sick and close to death. As I laid my hand on her, I felt the anointing flow through my hand, but as it got to her head, it returned immediately. l asked God why, and He said,”I have had mercy and warned her several times, but she wouldn't listen. It is now my turn to refuse to heal her.” I ran to the altar and cried to God, saying ”Please Lord, You said You don’t want the destruction of a sinner and Your mercy endures forever; please have mercy!” I ran back to her and placed my hand on her head again. The anointing flowed through my hand, got to her head and returned again. I ran back to the altar, pleading for God to have mercy on her, but before long, she died. Although the gate of mercy is very large, please don’t take it for granted; it can suddenly close at any time! For every sinner, there is always a last chance. If you are in secret sin, you don’t know what time God has fixed as your own last chance. It might be the last time you got away with that sin. Why don’t you confess and forsake your sins today. Surely, no sin is worth the price of your eternity.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Life is crowded with a lot of mystery, and the secrets of these mysteries are in the hands of the One who created the world. Many times, a lack of knowledge or understanding of these mysteries not only brings trouble to an individual, but also spells doom for his or her destiny. This is why some people desperately and foolishly go after fortune tellers, stargazers and magicians who claim to have a ”third eye". However, if you are a genuine child of God, I congratulate you, because our Father in heaven is the custodian of all the mysteries and secrets of life.

“The secrets things belongs unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.”
Deuteronomy 29:29
It is pleasant to read the words of the above scripture. However, you must not lose sight of the great responsibility contained in it. God reveals secrets and mysteries to us so that we can be in a vantage position to do His will. In Matthew 13:10, the disciples of Jesus came to him and asked,”Why are you speaking to the people in parables?” Jesus answered them in Matthew 13: 11, Saying:
... Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.”
This truth accounts for the type of life the early disciples lived. They were able to turn their world over to God by preaching the mysteries of the gospel. Daniel and his colleagues also had access to the mysteries of heaven, so much so that they could reveal and interpret a dream that was forgotten by a king. None of the best astrologers of their time could unfold these mysteries, even though they tried. Take note of the declaration made by these children of God in Daniel 2:28a:
”But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.”
Beloved, if you want to have access to the secrets and mysteries of life, you must be ready to live by the commandments of God. God will always conceal His secrets and the mysteries of life from those who will make mockery or merchandise of them. However, He reveals these secrets to those who are genuine in their relationship with Him, like He did with Abraham (Genesis 18:17).
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Our God is a holy God. At the same time, He is Love. From time to time, the holiness of God and the love of God may clash. His holiness will direct Him to go one way while His love will direct Him to go the other way. These two divine attributes may therefore seem to be at odds with each other. When the love of God wins, we obtain mercy, but when His holiness triumphs, we get judgment. Many times, God’s holiness deliberately allows His love to keep winning. Why? Because it knows that it is already settled that without holiness, no man shall see God (Hebrews 12:14). Our deeds often deserve God’s judgment, but the love of God triumphs, and we obtain mercy. One thing is certain: it is because the love of God wins that we are able to see another day. Thank God for His mercies, because they are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). Love is optimistic, always saying to God, ”Don’t lose hope in him; he will get better; let’s give him another day to repent and become holy.” However, a day will come when God’s judgment will take its course.

On the basis of the scripture that says “the mercy of God endures forever”, some people make several ridiculous claims. Some of them say “I can do whatever I like; the mercy of God that has helped me thus far will keep forgiving me forever." Some even prepare their confessional plea before they commit sin! They say to God,”Please forgive me for this lie I am about to tell.” Such people are only deceiving themselves. The fact that God’s love grants us access to His mercy does not mean that God is stupid. Yes, the mercy of God endures forever, but not for those who do not fear Him. Psalm 103:17-18 says:
”But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children; To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.”
Those who fear God are wise enough to know that any pleasure derived from sin is actually poisoned. If you fear Him, you will know that although He is a very good friend, He can also be a very dangerous enemy. If He decides to fight you, no one can rescue you from His hands. It is folly for a child to keep annoying his or her father just because he or she was forgiven yesterday. One day, the father will turn to that child with a rod, and because the child has been steadily building up annoyance in the heart of the father, that rod will do some serious havoc. I pray that God will touch your heart and take away every appetite for sin in you in Jesus' Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

The title of our reflection today is “Divine Promotion”, because experience has shown that there are evil ways of getting promoted. However, promotion gotten through diabolical means does not last, and neither does it do any good to its beneficiary. The history of mankind confirms that getting promoted diabolically always has its adverse effects, so much so that its beneficiary would regret it in the end. A classic example of someone who wickedly promoted himself to be king was Macbeth in one of the Shakespearean plays. Although he got to the throne, he never enjoyed it. Also, the story of Absalom who deviously stole the hearts of his father’s subjects to become king confirms that only those who are divinely promoted are actually promoted (2nd Samuel 15-18). His diabolical climb to the top tragically led to his untimely death. His body was tossed into a pit, and a very great heap of stones was placed upon him. Your story will not end in tragedy in Jesus’ Name.

A good example of a person divinely promoted is King Solomon. There was no manipulation of any kind by him to be king. His anxiety towards the throne and its responsibilities confirm that he did not see himself as qualified. It was God who qualified him. When God calls you, He knows that you are not qualified; it is His mercy that qualifies you and begins the work of reconstructing your life to meet His standard. Revealing Solomon’s mindset, 2nd Chronicles 1:7-10 says:
”In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said unto God, Thou hast showed great mercy unto David my father; and hast made me to reign in his stead. Now, O LORD God, let thy promise unto David my father be established: for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great?”
Here we see gratitude in the one that is divinely promoted. Solomon saw his elevation to the throne as an act of God. He celebrated the faithfulness of God to his father, because by his ascension to the throne, a royal dynasty was established for the first time in the history of Israel. We also see humility in Solomon - he asked for wisdom because he knew he lacked the wisdom and understanding needed to manage his divine promotion. Those who diabolically scheme their way to a position of authority never perform well, and their end is always disastrous. Beloved, what is that promotion you desire? Wait for divine intervention and don’t manipulate anything. God will promote you in such a way that will bring glory to His holy Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

In Deuteronomy 15:11, the Holy Spirit revealed that there would always be poor people in the land. The Lord also confirmed this in Matthew 26:11. Nevertheless, according to Deuteronomy 28:1-12, we also understand that the will of God is for His children to live in abundance and even lend to nations. So, while the poor will always be in the land, the wealthy will also be there always. The choice of remaining poor or becoming wealthy is therefore yours to make. To help you make your choice, remember Proverbs 22:7 says that the borrower is servant to the lender, and that the rich will always rule over the poor. Do you want to be the ruler or the ruled? Do you want to be the lender or the borrower? Do you want to spend the rest of your life as a servant? The choice is all yours. The sad thing is, many Christians are even afraid to prosper. They believe that once they prosper they won’t go to heaven. This is a lie from the pit of hell. If this is a notion you have lived with, you have to discard it immediately, or else the devil will continually use it as a weapon to hold you back from prospering. You may be the poorest man in the world, but if you are not born again and living holy, you will go to hell. You can also be the richest man in the world and still make heaven: provided you are born again, living holy and serving God. Moreover, it is God’s will for you to prosper, so don't insult God by choosing to be poor. There is no humility in being poor. A poor man is a servant and I refuse to be a servant. Nothing in poverty will bring glory to God. God cannot be glorified by your wearing rags. God is not glorified by you being a tenant till you die. If your Father has mansions in heaven, you should at least have a bungalow here on earth. He has all it takes to prosper you.

Now that you know God wants you to prosper, you may be wondering what you have to do to be prosperous. Very simple: be a friend of God. It’s as simple as that. If you know who will help you to succeed, wisdom demands that you draw near to such a person. Secondly, you must fear God. Psalm 25:14 reveals that God’s secrets are with those who fear Him. If you fear God, He will reveal the secrets of wealth to you. Also, you must meditate on the word of God day and night, so that you can be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. It is not enough to be willing to prosper; you must also be willing to obey God. There is one other point that is very important: many Christians want to prosper but they don’t want to work. God is not a fraudulent person; He will give you the ideas and tell you what to do, but nothing will happen or change if you don’t actually do what He says. If you don’t want to work hard, then don't ask God for a financial breakthrough. There is a difference between magic and miracles. My Father is a miracle-worker and not a magician. Are you ready to prosper?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Ignorance means a lack of knowledge. It is a state of being uninformed, and this is a very dangerous thing. People sometimes say that ignorance is bliss, but this is very wrong. Knowledge is power, while ignorance on the other hand is death. It is what you don't know that can kill you. A person who doesn’t know how dangerous a snake is can decide to stroke its beautiful body to his or her own peril. A worker who fails to learn about the requirements peculiar to his or her job will in no time lose that job. Those who don’t learn about what to eat and what not to eat will one day poison themselves. Ignorance is indeed very dangerous. As a business person, never invest your money in what you know nothing about. Don’t be in a haste to invest in anything or anyone. Rather take your time to carry out due diligence so as to avoid losing the resources God had deposited in your care.

To be ignorant about God and spiritual life is also very dangerous. The worst end result of other forms of ignorance is physical death. However, to be Ignorant about the things of God can lead to eternal damnation. Apart from the things they hear from pastors’ sermons, many Christians have never really sat down with the Bible with a desire to learn one new thing about God. Thus, ignorance has kept many people at the back side of their breakthroughs. You cannot demand for something you do not know exists. Instead of being ignorant, we are expected to be like the Jews in Berea, of who Acts 17:11 says:
"These were noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

Laziness is one of the major reasons why people are ignorant. Some people are just too lazy to explore the word of God in order to know God by themselves. 2nd Timothy 2:15 says:
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
There is no knowledge as impactful as that which you research by yourself. Silly arguments and fallacies stem from lazy and ignorant Christians who have not taken out time to properly study God’s word. Every Christian who wants to be armed with the right knowledge of God has to be diligent and consciously make out time to study the Bible so as to know God more.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

It’s not so hard to mourn with those who mourn. It is relatively easy to feel the loss of a grieving person and to express genuine sadness for their loss. Job 2:11-13 gives us an example of what it means to mourn with those who mourn. It says:
”Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came everyone from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.”
These verses of scripture show that it’s a part of human nature to mourn with those who mourn. There are even times when you do not personally know the person who has experienced a great loss, but after hearing their story, you become very sad. However, it is also part of human nature to be selfish. A natural man is very satisfied as long as no one around him gets anything better than what he has. Every person wants the best for himself or herself. When that best goes to someone else, it becomes very hard to be genuinely happy for that person. This is a very dangerous human trait that every Christian must not allow in his or her life. The nature of God that we bear does not have such character trait. His instruction to us in Romans 12:15 clearly shows what He expects of us in such circumstances, and we should take it very seriously.

How can we rejoice with those who rejoice? First, you have to stop comparing yourself with others. The moment you start looking at others and comparing what they have with what you have, you will soon meet with destruction. In Matthew 20:1-16, Jesus told a very interesting story of several men hired at different hours of the day. The men who were hired first were very satisfied with being paid a penny each. However, at the end of the work day, they were unhappy when they received this exact amount. Why? It was because they were comparing themselves with the other hired men who had worked for shorter hours and got paid the same amount as them. The master told them to take what had been given to them and go their own way, rather than focus negatively on what he had chosen to do for the others. Secondly, pray for those you envy. When you genuinely pray for someone frequently and long enough, it becomes hard to nurse any hard feelings towards them. Finally, be thankful at all times. Always remember that there are people in worse situations compared to you; therefore be grateful and content always.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

It is amazing that some people go to the house of God without any expectation. Believe me sincerely, there are regular attendees of church services who for a very long time have conditioned themselves to be onlookers. They listen to fantastic testimonies and applaud the testifiers. They even help to spread the news of the great things God is doing in their churches, but they never experience any miracle themselves because they have no expectation at all, to talk less of great expectations. You will not be numbered among such People in Jesus’ Name. As the poor in spirit, God assures believers that their expectations will be realized. Psalm 9:18 say:
”For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever”
Nevertheless only the poor who have expectations can experience a better future, because their expectations will come to pass. The good news for you today is that your expected miracle is nearer to you than you can ever imagine.

Mark 5:24-29 narrated the story of a woman with great expectations. She had been plagued with the issue of blood for twelve years and has spent all that she had on medication to no avail. When she heard that the Great Physician was in her neighborhood, she pressed through crowd to meet Him with great expectations of miraculous healing. She expected and believed that Jesus would do for her what the physicians could not do, and so she found her way to Jesus and touched the hem of His garment. Mark 5:29 tells us the result of her great expectation:”
“And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.”
Beloved, what do you expect from the Lord today? How great is your expectation? Trust in the Lord like this woman did, and just as her expectation did not fail, your expectation will not perish. This was also the testimony of the lame man at the gate of the temple (Acts 31-. The Bible says he had expectations, but as God would have it, he got more than he bargained for. Indeed, his expectation was the foundation for the miracle he experienced. Acts 3:5 says:
”And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them."
Are you expecting something from the Lord today? In Proverbs 23:17-18, the Lord says to you:
“Let not thin heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long. For surly there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.”
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Our God is a God of purpose, and He demonstrated this through the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. There was purpose attached to everything about Jesus when He was here on earth. Ending His mission in Jerusalem, the location of His crucifixion, and the type of death He died: all these have deep spiritual significance which the wise will seek to understand and enjoy the benefits attached (Hebrews 13:1 1-1 3, Galatians 3:13-14). There are several reasons why Jesus had to die on a cross, and one of these is so that we can look to Him on the cross. Looking unto Jesus with the eyes of faith as He hangs on the cross has many benefits. One of these benefits is that when you see Him agonizing on the cross of Calvary for your sins, your attitude and commitment to Him as a serious-minded Christian will be revitalized. A hymn writer once wrote that when he beheld the cross where the King of glory was crucified, he counted all that seemed gain to him as dung. The allure of the world will lose its value to you when you look to the cross of Calvary.

The experience of the children of Israel in Numbers 21:5-9 was a shadow of what we would experience under the New Testament. When the Israelite's became stubborn in the wilderness and God sent deadly serpents to them, a lot of them died. As usual, they cried unto God and God instructed Moses to make a fiery serpent of brass to be hung on a pole. Numbers 21:9 tell us the result of this saying:
“And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it come to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.”

In John 3:14, the Lord declared to us that His death on the cross was foreshadowed by this hanging of the brass serpent on a pole in the wilderness. How amazing! This means that coming to Calvary and looking to Jesus on the cross can produce physical healing and spiritual salvation in the life of a person. Therefore, for anyone who has been bitten by the serpent of sin, if you look to Jesus on the cross of Calvary and believe in Him, you will live and not die. You will not only experience abundant life on earth, you will also have eternal life. Beloved, in whatever adverse circumstances you may find yourself, whether physical or spiritual, Jesus has paid for your healing in full. Therefore, come to the place of His cross in submission and look up to Him for salvation and healing. Accept Him, not only as your Savior, but also as your Lord. Let Him begin to direct the affairs of your life from today. It is interesting to note that some children of Israel refuse to look up to the serpent of brass, and they died in their thousands. Only those who looked lived. Don’t be numbered among the unbelievers who died in their sin of unbelief.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

An altar could mean a lot of things depending on who built it and the purpose for which it was built. Here in Exodus 17:14-16, we realize that an altar might be built not only to worship and sacrifice to the Almighty God, but also to serve as a memorial. Man is susceptible to forgetting what the Lord has done in times past, and for this reason, an altar can be built as a means of remembering God’s works and faithfulness. Many times, God commanded the children of Israel to never forget Him, His ways and His works (Deuteronomy 8:18, Exodus 20:8, Psalm 105:5-6). May you and your children never forget God or what He has done for you in Jesus’ Name.

Not only do altars of memorial bring us to remember what God has done in the past, they also bring God to remember His promises and covenant with His people, especially when they are at crossroads. After securing victory over the Amalekites, Moses built an altar for the peculiar reason stated in Exodus 17:15-16:
”And Moses built an altar; and called the name of it lehovahnissi: For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
Generations after, we see God remembering what He had sworn to do against the Amalekites. 1st Samuel 15:2 says:
“Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.”
I pray that God will remember His covenant and promises to you today in Jesus’ Name.

Beloved, as Christians, we need to build memorial altars. One classic example of a memorial altar is the altar of the Holy Communion. Our Lord Jesus Christ instructed us to continually partake of it in remembrance of Him. When we do this, we remind Him of His finished work on the cross of Calvary, and this activates His power against anything that negates this finished work in our lives. Do you partake of this meal? Do you call to remembrance the death and resurrection of our Lord in your home by sharing this meal with your family? If you have not been doing so, begin to do it from today and watch God arise to enforce His covenant over your life.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Our God is the Compassionate Father that everyone should desire to have. He is the strength of those who have no strength. Speaking about His compassionate nature, Isaiah 40:28-29 says:
”Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.”
It is however unfortunate that we allow the devil to deceive us into thinking that our Father is not as loving and compassionate as He says He is, especially in challenging times. The devil also maligns God in the area of His commandments. We need to understand that His commandments are for our own good. When God commanded Adam not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam did not realise that it was for his own good (Genesis 2:16-17). The devil deceived Eve into thinking that God gave this commandment out of wickedness. Even today, the devil is still in the business of attacking the integrity of God and His word through different false doctrines, but the devil is a liar. May you not fall victim to the devil’s deception that maligns God’s character in Jesus’ Name.

In 1 Kings 19:4-8, we read about the travails of Elijah, a great prophet of God. While he was on the run for his dear life, he became so exhausted that he asked God to kill him! Discouragement and fatigue caused some fundamental things to go wrong in Elijah’s mindset here. First and foremost, God does not kill without a just cause. Secondly, He is not an ingrate: how could He kill a useful and effective vessel who had been fighting valiantly on His side? God will not do that. If you are in this same situation Elijah was in, the Almighty God asked me to tell you that instead of killing you, He will rather encourage you, just as He encouraged Elijah. In his state of despondency, Elijah slept off, but before he woke up, there was a cake backed on coals and a cruse of water waiting for him to eat and drink. Elijah ate and sleep off again, only for God’s angel to wake him up a second time, instructing him to”Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee” (1st Kings 19:7). Our Father is so caring!

Beloved, no matter what the devil may be telling you about our Father in heaven, I stand to debunk it in the Name of our loving Savior: it is not true. Our God is good, all the time. Believe only what the scriptures say about Him and it shall be well with you.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Anyone who has a revelation of what worship does to true and genuine worshippers is blessed indeed. The story in Matthew 15:21-28 reveals the practical impact of worship. In that story, our Lord Jesus Christ was approached for help by a Syro-Phoenician woman whose daughter was grievously possessed by a demon. The Bible says He did not pay any attention to her, and so His disciples advised that He should just send her away. However, instead of sending her away, Jesus 0pened the door of opportunity to dialogue with her and bring her to the saving knowledge of the God of Israel. He said,”I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” This was the hint this woman needed to turn the situation around. On hearing this, she did something which is the focus of our reflection today. Matthew 15:25 says:
”Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.”
This action by the Syros-Phoenician woman ensured that Jesus continued to hear her. In their ensuing dialogue, she demonstrated persistent faith which the Lord’s anointing could not resist. Jesus commended her faith which was borne out of spiritual humility, saying to her:
”O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.”
Matthew 15:28b

There are many lessons to learn from this story, but central to these lessons is the art of worship. We should always remember that all men are the same before God, and the purpose of their existence is to worship their Maker. Whether mankind likes it or not, a day is coming when we shall all worship before God. Speaking concerning this, Psalms 86:9 says:
”All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.”
John 4:23 reveals that the Father seeks those who worship Him. Beloved, worship does what no other thing can do in the place of prayer. What can anyone do that could make God do what He wouldn’t have done otherwise? The answer is worship. David worshipped God and God established a dynasty for him. His son worshipped God through unprecedented sacrifice and got more than he bargained for (1st Kings 3:4-13). The Syro-Phoenician woman worshipped Jesus Christ and a dog outside the kingdom became a child of the kingdom. As a matter of fact, some dogs worship their owners and eventually eat from their master’s table! Beloved, I want to encourage you to always engage in genuine worship, and you will be amazed by the great breakthroughs you will begin to experience.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

To glory in self is to exalt one’s own worth above what it really is. It is the act of perceiving yourself as overly important. A person who glories in self is a person who thinks he stands on his own merits and by his own power. This is the reason why the father of lies, Satan, was cast down from heaven. Indeed, Satan is a classic example of someone who gloried in self. He exalted himself above what he really was, and he started to think of himself as better than everyone else, including God. Glorying in self has its roots in self-deception; it starts when a man deceives himself into thinking and believing in a false idea of himself.

Glorying in self might not be obvious at first. It is a very dangerous character flaw that sometimes creeps in on children of God until it leads them to doom. What then are the signs that a person glories in self? One indicator is when you feel the need to parade in public what should and can be done in private. This was one of the issues Jesus had with the Pharisees. They would rather pray in public than pray behind closed doors, and when they fasted, they ensured that it showed on their faces, just so that everyone knew they were fasting. Even today, some people ensure that every good thing they do is done from the rooftops, so that people will see and praise them. In addition, people who glory in self tend to talk about themselves a lot. This is majorly because they feel the need to constantly list out their accomplishments and achievements. They are always quick to say ”I” even when”we” is the appropriate thing to say. People who glory in self honestly feel that they are better than everyone else.

Luke 18:10-13 shows a clear difference between a self glorifying person and a humble person. While humble people see themselves as needing God’s grace and mercy, self-glorifying people think that their actions are perfect enough to dignify them before God and man.

A self-glorifying person will never get anything from God. Only a person who recognizes his or her need for God’s help and asks for it will get it. Glorying in self is very dangerous because at the end of the day, every single thing that person thinks he or she has accomplished will be taken away, and shame, disappointment and humiliation will be the portion 0f such a follow.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

The children of Israel experienced a new dawn when they left Egypt in circumstances that only God could have made possible. If the Lord could give a new dawn to a nation of slaves, I know that you will also experience a new dawn this season in Jesus’ Name. The Lord told Moses and Aaron that the month at their exodus from Egypt would be the beginning of months to them. In other words, it would become the first month of a new year to them. To someone reading this devotional, regardless of the fact that we are in November, this shall be the beginning of months to you because you are entering into your new year this month. You cannot afford to wait till the last day of this year to receive that miracle you desire so much, because the Lord is able and willing to do it now. He has done it before and He will still do it again. We experienced this dimension of the Lord’s move in Nigeria a couple of years ago. The country was severely under the siege of a totalitarian ruler, and the children of God were seriously praying for the country’s deliverance. During one of our monthly Holy Ghost Service meetings, the Lord suddenly spoke to me that I should instruct the congregation to greet each other ”Happy New Year”! Amazingly, this was the middle of the year. As usual, I obeyed my Commander-in-Chief; the brethren greeted each other “Happy New Year”, and we closed the meeting. Barely 48 hours afterwards, the siege over the nation lifted. Announce to yourself or to those around you that it is a new dawn, and so shall it be in Jesus’ Name.

After declaring a new dawn for the Israelite's, God dealt with the enemies that held them bound, so much so that their king called for Moses and Aaron in the middle of the night, begging them to lead the Israelite's out of his land. These were the same people he had held in captivity for years (Exodus 12:31-33). Beloved, Psalm 126:1 says:
“When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion; we were like them that dream.”
When the Lord brings you to a new dawn, even your neighbors may not easily recognize you, because our level would have changed drastically. Can you believe that Pharaoh even asked Moses to pray for him! I decree into your life this day, by the time the Lord accomplishes what He intends to do for you, your enemies will come begging for intercessory prayers in Jesus’ Name. Beloved, l announce to you today, it is a new dawn. All that is required of you is to keep to the precepts of God's word, and don’t ever let it cross your mind to go back to the Egypt of sin again.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.