₦airaland Forum

The Bible is indeed a book of law. It is a user’s manual that gives instructions on how best to live our lives successfully. imagine buying a device you have never used before, only to discover later that its user’s manual is missing! You will either go back to the manufacturer for the manual or try to figure your way around using it. If you go with the latter option, you will have no idea of what you are doing, and if by chance you get the gadget working after playing around with it, you will never fully understand it in its entirety, and so you will not be able to fully optimize its use. That is how it is with our lives. Our lives are like the gadget, and the Bible is the manual meant to give us a step by step guide on how to live our lives. Unlike earthly manuals that you can master within a short time and discard eventually, the Bible is a manual that you will need till you breathe your last. As Christians, our physical and spiritual lives are not meant to be average. God expects us to live life at its best, and He has given us the Bible to instruct us on how to achieve this successfully (2nd Timothy 3:16-17).

The Bible is our book of solutions, containing answers to every problem we may face in this world. At a point in time, I was having issues solving a mathematical problem. I was on the right track, but I had so many equations and it was difficult finding a way to solve them all. I decided to take a break and read my Bible. The portion of the Bible I read was where Moses parted the Red Sea. There and then, God told me that I should solve the problem just as the Red Sea was parted in two. He opened my eyes to see that all the equations could be divided into two categories based on certain qualities. Going by this inspiration, I placed some of the equations on the left and some on the right, and having grouped them this way, the problem was easier to work out. I solved those on the left and those on the right independently, and then I brought them back together again, just as the Red Sea came back together. That was how I solved the difficult problem and got the correct answer.

The Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit and can only be understood by His help (2nd Corinthians 3:6).The more you chew on the word, the more you will see things like God and become like Him. You need to note however that it is not just about reading the Bible, but also about understanding it by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Whenever you want to study the Bible, ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand it, and before long, you will have deep insights and see things that no one else has seen. You also need to live by God’s Instructions in the Bible, for it is only then that the anointing of good success can be activated in your life (Joshua 1:.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

It is very unfortunate that many parents are the architects of the untimely demise of their children; not because they are witches or sorcerers, but because they are ignorant of God’s word that keeps people, especially innocent children, alive. The word of God in Exodus 20:12 is food for thought in this regard. At the initial stage of a child’s life, he or she is ignorant of this scripture; it is therefore the duty of parents to teach them the way of the Lord established in the word of God. It however becomes a compound problem when parents themselves don’t know the way of the Lord. Parents should serve as the voice of God in their children’s lives. Godly parents will echo the word of the Lord in Proverbs 3:5-6, which says:
“Trust in the lord with all thine heart: and lean not unto thine own understanding, in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
It is saddening to observe that instead of parents teaching their children to trust in the Lord their Maker, they rather teach them to trust in the knowledge derived from the education they spend a fortune to acquire. Some parents even see their children as being wiser than them, simply because these children can relate better with modern gadgets and appliances. Although these appliances can be deployed to serve beneficial purposes, they often mislead and introduce children to emotional, psychological and even spiritual trauma when the use of such devices by these children is not monitored and controlled. Some people read about Eli and his children but don’t seem to learn from it [1st Samuel 2:11-4:18]. Many parents are carefree whenever it comes to discipline, allowing their children to walk directly onto the path of destruction. The Lord was so grieved by the acts of Eli’s children that He declared this frightening judgment on Eli’s household in 1st Samuel 3:12-14:
“In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end. For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth: because his sons made themselves Vile, and he restrained them not, and therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever”
May your household never come under God’s judgment. Beloved, it is better not to bring children into this world than to bring them up without the fear of God. My prayer for you today is that your children will not fall prey to the devil’s destructive works in Jesus’ Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

The God that we serve is a Father who is always present and is ever ready to help. He is full of love, compassion and mercy for all His children, and He gives each one of them uninterrupted attention. As the Almighty Father He is capable of giving us everything that we ever need. He knows His children even more than they even know themselves - He knows their tomorrow and every single detail about them even before they were born .

No matter how great and good an earthly father is, he will still fall short and fail in some aspects of his children’s well-being. An earthly father cannot boast of being with his children always. An earthly father cannot boast of knowing his children so well that he knows how to comfort them at all times. Even when he says he is capable of giving his children everything they ask for, he cannot give them good health, retentive memory, safe journey, and other things that money can’t buy. Our heavenly Father is the Perfect Father to the fatherless, and He is a Father that other fathers run to in the times of troubles. His love for his children immeasurably surpasses the love that an earthly father has for his children. Some people frown when they hear me call God my Daddy. Well, I don’t know about you, but this God is my Daddy. He has shown so much care to me ever since I met Him that I cannot but see Him as my Daddy. He understand me, comforts me, protects me, heals me, corrects me, helps me and carries me. If God has been all these to you, I want you to take a moment, look up to heaven and just say, “Daddy I love you. “

Have you been fatherless? Have you been lonely? Has your earthly father been distant and cold? Then you need to experience the tender loving kindness of Abba Father. To belong to HIM, you need to be reborn by Him. His love is enough to wrap you in warmth for evermore. To enter into this special relationship with Him, confess these words:

Dear God, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived. Lord, I want to start afresh; come into my heart and be the Lord of my life. Make me a new creature in YOU. Thank you Abba Father for saving me.

After making these confessions in faith, you now need to find a Bible-believing church to attend so that you can build the relationship that has just begun between you and this Great Father.

Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Having access to the good life is not as difficult as some people make it seem. As a matter of fact, living a good life was factored into the creation of man. God first created everything that man would need for a good life before He made man in his own image and set him over all of his other creations (Genesis 1:26-28). The calamity of a life of struggle only came after Eve was deceived into believing the devil’s lies and Adam outrightly disobeyed God. God consequently withdrew aspects of his good life from them (Genesis 3:16-19). However, the good life of God was reinstated through the second Adam, Jesus Christ (Romans 5:12-15).

In 1st Peter 3:10-12, the Holy Spirit introduces us to how we can access the good life that Jesus Christ came to restore us to, saying:
“For he that will love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.”
It would be wise of you to pay attention to the three major things mentioned in this scripture as vital to experiencing the good life. First is your speech. No wonder the Bible says death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). The content and manner of your speech have a great impact on your relationship with God and man. Use the power that your tongue possesses to speak life to yourself and everything that concerns you every day. Don’t try to move ahead in life by speaking evil and lying about others. Learn to ask God and man of what you desire for yourself. I pray that God will illuminate your heart to understand the power of good that lies in your tongue. The second thing you must watch are your deeps. More often than not, what you will work towards in life is what will come to you. The types of problems you solve in this world through your deeds go a long way to determine the type of reward you will receive from God and men. May God give you wisdom to apply this truth towards increasing your reward in life. Third and last of these things is the type of influence you bring into your community. If you work towards peace in your family, community and country, you will also enjoy a good life of peace. What better way is there to influence your world than to preach the good news of the abundant life that Jesus Christ came to give (John 10:10)? When you influence workers of evil to begin to do good, you will definitely experience a good life around you. Are your speech, deeds and influence working together to establish the good life you have received from Jesus Christ?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

The sure defender of the oppressed is his Maker. David’s personal experience of this truth caused him to pen the words of Psalms 3:1-8. Is the Lord your defender? Your answer may be “yes”, but your action may say “no”, in the sense that the fellow you run to determines who your defender truly is. Here is David’s testimony in Psalm 3:4:
“I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill.”
Is this also your testimony? Who do you cry to when faced with challenges in life - your biological father, mother, friend or worst of all, a witchdoctor? The story was told of a man who went to consult a witchdoctor for help. The witchdoctor promised to help this man and told him to return in seven days for a charm that would subdue his enemies. When he arrived on the seventh day, he met a lot of people in mourning, and he thought that one of the witchdoctor’s in-patients must have died. To his shock however, when he asked to see the witchdoctor, he was told that the one who promised him victory over his enemies had just given up the ghost. This is the reason why Jeremiah 17:5 says:
“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maket flesh his arm, and whose heart departed from the LORD.”

The Psalmist was able to put his trust in the Lord because he refused to be afraid of men, in spite of their fiery looks and large number. In Psalm 3:6, He wrote:
“I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.”
Anyone who declares such words must have had access to God’s wisdom in Proverb 29:25, which says:
“The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.”
The psalmist also did something that I would like you to do today: he cried to the Lord. He did not pretend that all was well, like some people do. In Psalm 3:7, He prayed that God should arise to save him. This prayer worked for David, and it will work for you also if you will not have any other god besides the Almightily Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. After crying to God, David affirmed that salvation belonged to Him and that His blessing was upon his people (Psalm 3:. I pray that the Lord of hosts will defend you and your cause as you cry to Him today in Jesus' Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Every child of God is created to be great. Jesus, the forerunner of our faith and who our life is modelled after, was Himself great. Angel Gabriel spoke these prophetic words about Him in Luke 1:32;
“He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David;”
Although you might not feel like you are a great person in your present condition, do not lose sight of who you are. Irrespective of your current condition, God has promised to bring you to an expected end (Jeremiah 29:11). In other words, he will bring you to a place you have always dreamed of getting to. For this reason, you need to have a dream of what you want your future to look like. You must have dreams, ambitions, hopes and desires to do great things. The good news is that if your dreams are from God, they will surely come to pass if you don’t give up on them.

How does a dream possess a man’s heart? The seeds of dreams are planted in a man’s heart by God Himself. Your dream must be given to you by God for it to stand the test of time. God is the Alpha and Omega who sees the end of the thing from its beginning. He knows your future, and He knows what your capabilities are. If anyone can give you a dream that will come to pass, it is your heavenly Father. Joseph’s dreams were given to him by God, and they came to pass despite all the opposing circumstances he went through (Genesis 39:41). To receive a dream from God, let your mind be flooded with holy and righteous thoughts, so that it becomes very easy to hear and see what God has in store for you (Philippians 4:. You also have to fertilize and water your dreams by being persistent in prayers for their fulfilment. Furthermore, you have to work hard for your dreams to come to pass. Joseph was never idle. When he was in Potiphar’s house, he was so hard working that his master left the affairs of his entire household in his hands. Even when he was in prison, he maintained a good relationship with the other inmates and was known for interpreting dreams accurately. You can’t be idle and expect that your dreams will come to pass by prayers only, you are just joking. You have to work hard at it. Even if what you find yourself doing right now seems not to have any relevance to the attainment of your dreams, still do it diligently. Peter was a diligent fisherman, doing his job when he was linked to the fulfillment of his destiny (Mathew 4:18-19). Finally, you have to wait for your dreams to come true. No matter the situation, you are never to lose sight of the fact that your dreams will come to pass. Even when it seems like everything is working against the fulfillment of your dreams, hold on to that vision, for it will come to pass.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

In preparation for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, your involvement in soul-Winning is an indicator that shows how big your dream of heaven is. Anyone who has a big dream of the second coming will do everything within his or her power to ensure that not only is the gospel preached all over the world, but also that souls are won in multiple to the kingdom of God. In Matthew 24:14, Jesus said:
“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the entire world for a witness unto all nations and then shall the end come.”
In other words, our dream of a new heaven and a new earth cannot be realized until we have preached the gospel all over the world. It is therefore incumbent on us to pursue the actualization of our dream of the coming kingdom through aggressive evangelism, missionary works and soul-winning.

No matter how much we discuss and study the second coming of Christ, it is of no use if we do not do what will bring the kingdom of God back to the earth. The task ahead of us is very simple if we really want to be true to our Master. He has assigned the easier part of the assignment to us, which is reaping the harvest of fields we did not cultivate, and receiving the accompanying wages. John 4:36 & 38 says:
“And he that reapeth: receiveth wages and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth: may rejoice together. l sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors.”
Others, like the early apostles of Jesus Christ, have labored in the fields, expecting that we as reapers will bring in the harvest in the last days. The work ahead of us is easier than ever before; all we need to do is to make ourselves available for the ready-made harvest of souls, all over the world. Romans 8:19 says:
“For the earnest expectation of the creature waited for the manifestation of the sons of God.”
The world is waiting for us; if we do not fulfill our assignment as reapers, the harvest will be wasted. However, if we put in our sickles as commanded, we and the souls rescued from eternal damnation will be happy. If we choose to be complacent in soul Winning, our Lord’s return will be delayed, and this would prolong our suffering in this world (Romans 8:23). Therefore, put in your sickle today.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

In today’s world of social media, the real meaning of friendship is fast fading away. It is becoming more frightening to claim to have friends these days because there are so many deceitful friends out there. The magnitude of this problem increases when people have something to gain from their association with you. Are you one of such unfriendly friends? Is your friendship with people built around the furtherance of your interests? Before you begin to identify those who claim to be your friend but are not really so, ask yourself if you are truly friendly. The wisdom of God in Proverbs 18:24 says:
“A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”

One cannot but be amazed by the lamentation of the Psalmist in Psalm 41:9, where he said:
“Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.”
These words perfectly describe the typical character of an unfriendly friend. More often than not, they are very close to their victims. This makes one wonder if they deliberately got close to their victim in order to wreak their havoc. If that is the case, should we not avoid having close friends or any friend at all? I don’t think so; we only need to be prudent in our choice of close friends. An example of Jesus’ choice of associates should help us here. While there were multitudes of followers, He had seventy disciples (Luke 10:1). Among the seventy, He had His core of twelve disciples, and within in the twelve, He had three close friends (Mark 3:14, Mark 9:2). Finally, amongst the three, He had one beloved (John 19:26). Note that Judas lscariot was numbered among Christ’s close friends, so that His destiny as our Redeemer might be fulfilled according to the pattern indicated by scriptures (John 13:17-21).

We need to have friends, but the challenge is how to identify good ones. There is one antidote against choosing enemies as friends, which is prayer. Only God knows the hearts of men, and only He can shield us from treacherous friends. Also, the law of harvest applies in friendship. The Lord said you should do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Luke 6:31). If you are an unfaithful friend, some people will also be unfaithful to you. Friendship always comes with a price tag; therefore, for those you cannot relate with as friends, I recommend that you relate with them as brethren and co-pilgrims on the way to heaven, doing only that which is needful to help and assist them as God gives you strength.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

When I came into full-time ministry as the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), l was confronted with the challenge of accommodation, as I had to move out of the mansion provided for me by the university I resigned from. So l prayed to God for a ‘boys’ quarters’ of three rooms that could accommodate me and my family. However, the Almighty God who called me told me not to even ask for a whole house, because He would build me a city. Since l knew His voice - He is my Daddy and l Am His son - l believed what He said. Today, the city He spoke about, where nothing will be lacking, is built on the Lagos-lbadan Expressway, Nigeria. Beloved, how big is your dream? Is God in that dream? No matter how big that dream may be, if God is in it, it will surely come to pass.

Dreams are a very important aspect of human life, because they influence the height a person will reach in life. It is an unfortunate thing for someone to dream small. It is like going to the river to fetch water with a table spoon. Only those who go to the river with big buckets and tanks will maximise the opportunity the trip to the river provides. In the same vein, the realm of eternal life in heaven with God should definitely influence your actions as a Christian. Hebrews 11:13-16 speaks about the heroes of faith and their dream of better citizenship in heaven, for which they considered themselves strangers and pilgrims on earth. They sought a country that was far better than any in this world. When you see a person who professes to be a Christian greedily amassing wealth at the expense of the expansion of God’s kingdom, don’t be surprised: such a fellow’s actions only indicate how earthy minded he or she is. In Matthew 6: 1 9-2 1, the Lord Jesus Christ said;
“Lay not up yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for themselves treasure in heaven, where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is there will your heart be also.”
Unless you are deceiving yourself, your dream of heaven should be big enough to swallow any earthly ambition you have. Our Lord promised us that He was going to heaven in order to prepare a place for us, after which He would come back to take us to Himself in eternal bliss. Let this dream drive you into godliness with contentment which is great gain indeed (1 Timothy 6:6).
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

The topic of today's devotional (Blessings Associated With Banqueting) may be surprising to you. Indeed, some Christian zealots discredit banqueting, and they tend to glory in not associating themselves with parties. Trying to justify themselves, you will hear some say, “I am not a party person.” Yes, there is no crime in not being a party person; am not a party person either. However, there are benefits associated with banqueting found in God’s word, and because of these blessings, I attend parties once a while and get blessed by doing so, because it is in the word of God. I thank God for my wife; even when she is fasting, you will always see her cooking. The word of God has inspired her to continually host banquets, culminating in the birth of an annual outreach programme christened ‘Feast of Esther’! The Lord be praised!

According to Proverbs 15:13, one of the blessings of banqueting is a cheerful spirit. The children of this world know this secret and they take advantage of the blessing of joy brought on by getting together. Although they mostly misuse the opportunity of merriment, they still get the associated blessing of a cheerful spirit because it is the word of God. In Esther 7:1-7, Queen Esther took advantage of the lesson associate with banqueting to fight a war that could otherwise have been lost If fought on the battlefield. Using her privilege as queen, she perfectly hosted the king to a sumptuous inner party and got his attention for the salvation of her people from annihilation.

The effect of good meals is obvious in the Bible. Good meals have either made or marred people’s destinies. Delicious pottage destroyed the destiny of Esau, while a good meal placed irreversible blessings on Jacob (Genesis 25:29-34, Genesis 27). Also, a good meal prescribed by God Himself delivered the Jews from Bondage in Egypt (Exodus 12:5-10). Beloved, when occasion warrants you to host a banquet, go ahead and do it. You can use Nehemiah 8:10 as a template of what festivities for children of God should look like. This scripture verse says:
...Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Are you planning to host a banquet and the devil is putting doubts in your heart? Go ahead with that joyful gathering, and there shall be no problem; rather you will come back with unimaginable testimonies of victories over those who don’t want you to celebrate in Jesus’ Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Great number of people fail to realize that a tree does not make a forest, and so they despise the blessings that come with having associates in their lives. God did not design man to attain his full potential as a lone ranger. Genesis 2:1 8 says:
“And the lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.”
We should however note that the associates we let into our lives must be worthy ones, and unfortunately, the problem of many leaders today is that they are short of worthy associates. For this reason, their organizations don't grow to their full potential. Abraham, the father of faith, had worthy associates who were ready to go to war with him when the need arose (Genesis 14: 24) Genesis 14:13 says:
“And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eschol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.”
I pray that the Lord will give you worthy associates in Jesus’ Name.

Even our Lord needed worthy associates when He was here on earth. The purpose of these associates was first and foremost, to be with Him, and secondly, to send them on assignments that would lead to the fulfillment of His mission here on earth.
Mark 3:14 says: “And he ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that he might send them forth to preach.”
Today, I prophesy into your life that worthy associates, whether in business, marriage or ministry, will come your way in Jesus' Name. Just as the Lord chose the twelve disciples, He has also chosen us to be His worthy associates and we must be worthy ones indeed. He said to us in John 15:16:
“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain:”
We must therefore bear the fruit of the Spirit, so that our Father in heaven may be glorified (Galatians 5:22-25). We must also bear the fruit of souls into God’s kingdom. When we do this, we will have our bountiful rewards, which include express answers to our prayers, and this alone is worth more than silver or gold. May God make you a worthy associate of His Son in Jesus’ Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Some Christians feel that they have outgrown the need for counselors in their lives, but nothing could be further from the truth. The unfortunate thing is that such Christians who erroneously think this way gradually graduate to the level of believing that they can also live their Christian lives in isolation. Resultant effect of this is that they stop fellowshipping with other believers, contrary to our Lord’s injunction in Hebrews 10:25, which says:
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
Every one of us will always need a counselor at one point in time or the other till we see Jesus in glory (l Corinthians 13:9-12). I recall the story of the first dump truck we bought at the Redemption Camp in Nigeria. It was a result of wise counsel I got from our Camp Manager. We had received some money that looked substantial to me, and I felt we should go ahead to execute some of our building projects. As I was contemplating on the next project to embark on, the Lord spoke to me, instructing me to seek counsel from our Camp Manager. When my commander in-Chief speaks, l don’t waste time in carrying out His bidding. I got to the Camp Manager, and contrary to what i had in mind, he recommended that we should buy dump truck for transporting sand from the quarry, where we could buy sand for construction at a cheaper price, instead of purchasing from resellers at an exorbitant rate as we had been doing. He was of the opinion that we would need a lot of sand for the projects at hand, and having our own truck for getting sand at a cheap price would reduce the cost of these building projects substantially. That was how we got the dump truck, and this opened our eyes to other opportunities that further reduced the cost of our construction projects drastically.

Isaiah 9:2 says that the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, and those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of Death have received the light of life. How did this happen? The Holy Spirit answers is in Isaiah 9:6 saying: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince 0f Peace.” Jesus is the Counselor of counselors. How yielded are you to the counsel He gives you through His word, through the voice of His Spirit inside you, and through the people He has placed around you? If you do not receive His counsel, His gentle Spirit will not force you, but you will bear the consequences that follow.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Adonai is one of our Heavenly Father’s numerous names, and it means Master and Owner. This Name encapsulates the sovereignty of our God. Indeed, our God is sovereign, because He owns everything and is in absolute control over the entire universe. He holds all the power in heaven and on earth in His hands. He is totally unlimited! Every other thing was created but He alone is self-existing. Because of this, He is not limited by resources, time, space or any other thing; whereas all other things, including the contraptions of men's hearts called gods, are limited by the laws He has installed in His sovereignty to govern the universe. He has the power to do whatever He likes however He likes and whenever He likes. What a great God He is!

It is easy for man to think that life is all about him, and that God exists for his benefit. Nothing could be further from the truth. Everything God has done or has given to you is for His glory alone. For this reason, in Revelation 4:11, the twenty-four elders in heaven adore Him saying:
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and Honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
He made everything for His pleasure, even you. My advice to you is that you willingly put yourself under His lordship and leadership; if anything at all, learn from Pharaoh. Pharaoh resisted God, and so God decided to use him to show how much of a consuming fire He can be (Exodus 5:2, Exodus 14:4). A Christian is called into submission to our Heavenly Father’s will. When you submit to His will, He will ensure that everything else submits to you.

If the sovereign God is your Friend, you are immensely blessed, because He can overrule sicknesses, debts, curses, negative prophecies and even death! However, when this God is angry with anyone, that person is finished. In Acts 12:23, King Herod was eaten up by worms because God was angry with him. God is angry with the wicked everyday (Psalm 7:11)! The wicked is anyone who continues to live in sin and disobedience. Proverbs 29:1 says that anyone who refuses to change in spite of being corrected over and again will be destroyed suddenly. If you have never given your life to Jesus or if you claim to have given your life to Him but still live in sin, repent now! When the Sovereign God is angry with you, nobody can defend you. Sin makes you an enemy of God (James 4:4). You have to wholly yield yourself to Him by surrendering every single part of your life to Him, inviting Him to take over. He is always ready to take responsibility for our life; all He is waiting for is your invitation. Are you willing to Invite Him today?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

It is very important for every born-again child of God to have a relationship with Him. The importance of a relationship with Jesus Christ can never be overemphasized. Having a relationship with Him goes beyond accepting Him as Lord and Saviour; it means interacting with Him on a daily basis and involving Him in the running of your everyday life. It is expected of every child to have a cordial relationship with his or her father. This should also be the case with our Lord Jesus Christ, because He is referred to as the Everlasting Father in Isaiah 9:6. If Christ is the Everlasting Father, we must therefore have a beautiful relationship with Him. The Lord Jesus Christ is the best Father anybody can have, because He is loving, kind, tender, merciful and gracious. He is even more caring than any earthly father can ever be. He constantly seeks to have a close relationship with His children, but sadly, many of us are too busy to cultivate a loving relationship with Him. It is unfortunate that the relationship which most children of God have with their Father is a ‘take, take, take’ relationship instead of a ‘give and take’ relationship. Any Christian who has a revelation of the evil that God delivered us from through salvation will take his or her relationship with Jesus Christ more seriously. When I became born again and realized how close to hell I was before God saved me, I was ready to do anything for this God. I was grateful that He saved a sinner like me, so much so that all I cared about was pleasing Him.

Another reason why it is important to have a relationship with Christ is that our fate will be committed into His hands by God on the day of judgement. 2nd Corinthians 5:10 says:
”For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”
If we don’t have a relationship with Christ now, how will we be able to face Him on the day of judgement? Christ is still full of love and mercy now, and He is still knocking at the door of our hearts and gently asking to be let in. He is right now seated at the Father’s right hand, advocating for us. However, a time is coming when He will be seated on His Judgement seat to judge everyone who refused to accept His offer of mercy when it was available. At that time, His eyes will be full of fire and His entire countenance will be fiery (Daniel 7:9-10, Revelation 20:11-12). There will be no begging or excuses then - it will be judgement without mercy. My advice is that you cultivate a relationship with Him from today.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

One of the signs by which you know that God is with you or that His presence is in whatever you are doing is when you have peace in your heart. Peace is the state of harmony that is made available to the children of God through a right relationship with Him and a good relationship with their fellow human beings. Peace is associated with the presence of the Prince of Peace, Jesus. His presence is made manifest in the world today by the Holy Spirit. The absence of peace in a person’s life leads to fretful worry or anxiety. It is not God’s plan for a child of God to possess a distressed state of mind that is filled with concern over present or future challenges. For this reason, the Holy Spirit says to us in Philippians 4:6:
”Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
God knows that the pressure of the needs we face in this world can rob us of His peace, and so He sent us these words to help us recognize the right thing to do when confronted with challenges. Worrying about our needs or the challenges you are confronted with will not change anything; rather, it is a snare of the devil to cause sicknesses such as high blood pressure in people. I pray that you will not be a victim of hypertension, stroke or heart disease in Jesus’ Name.

The Bible reveals Jesus as the Prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6). This means that wherever there is turmoil or crisis, once Jesus is invited into the situation and the presence of the Holy Spirit is called upon, a sense of wellbeing, contentment and wholesomeness will be restored immediately. This is what happened in Mark 4:39, when Jesus rebuked the storm after the disciples called upon Him:
“And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”
The Name of Jesus and the presence of the Holy Spirit establish peace in God’s children, irrespective of the Outward circumstances around them. True peace is therefore an indication of the presence of Jesus, made manifest by the Holy Spirit, in any given situation. I pray that the presence of God that brings lasting peace will abide with you today in Jesus’ Name. If you are passing through a stressful and difficult time in your life, if you are going through a serious financial crisis or your marriage is in turmoil, if you are experiencing psychological or emotional trauma that defies solution, it is time to call on the Name of Jesus and invite the presence of the Holy Spirit into your life. As you do so, God will grant you all round peace today in Jesus’ Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

To look to Jesus means to rely on Him for help and to see Him as our example. He is our forerunner who has triumphantly gone through whatever we are passing through now. He knew the purpose of His coming into this world, and He stayed true to that purpose till it was fulfilled. Therefore, in the midst of trials and temptations, you only need to look up to Jesus and walk in the steps that He left for us to follow.

To look to Jesus is to look away from every other thing and focus on Him alone. Naturally, when you look up, it becomes impossible to see your surroundings at the same time. For this reason, your focus shifts from your surroundings and settles on the things above alone. So, to look up to Jesus means that no matter how fierce the storm is raging in our present situation, you must look away from it and fix your gaze only on Jesus Christ. The good thing is that it is only then that solutions will come and peace will be given to calm the raging storm. If you don’t believe me, ask Peter. When he had his eyes set on Jesus, he was walking on the stormy sea, but the moment he looked at his surroundings, he began to sink (Matthew 14:28-31). Matthew 14:30 says:
“But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, Saying, Lord, save me.”
You will not sink in Jesus’ Name.

To look to man is a fruitless effort. A person can only raise you as far as his or her hands can reach, and each person’s reach is limited. Also, someone can be in a position of authority today and be out of it tomorrow, and so what happens to you if you have been looking up to that person? In the little time i have spent on earth, I have come to discover that the only person you can trust totally is God. He is the one who never fails, has no limits and can never be dethroned.

Finally, to look up to Jesus is to focus on our destination and our reward. We are sojourners here on earth, only passing through on our way to our eternal home. If Heaven is your final destination, then it is only wise that you focus on The Way to that destination. The Bible says that He sits at the right hand of God’s throne. That is our finish line, and that is where your gaze should be permanently fixed.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

In Hebrews 13:8, the Lord Jesus Christ is revealed as never changing. If you can catch a revelation of what this means in your spirit, your life will never remain the same. One benefit of His eternal consistency is that the works He did over two thousand years ago, He can still do today in the lives of those who believe and are yielded to Him. Not only are His works unchanging, His word also never changes. No wonder the Holy Spirit said in Psalm 119:89:
“For ever O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.”
If you want your life to be built on a sure foundation in this world of uncertainties, then build your life on His word. When you live your life by the word of God which is forever settled in heaven, it will cause you to remain relevant forever. If you want your life endeavors to outlive you, make sure they are founded on God’s word. I am appealing to you today to embrace the word of God which is forever settled. The world we live in is changing but God never changes, and His standard never changes either. For example, thousands of years after God commanded Abraham to walk before Him and be perfect, Jesus Christ came and echoed the same words to His disciples (Genesis 17:1, Matthew 5:48).

In James 1:16-18, we have some fundamental truths that cannot be wished away if you want to forever remain relevant spiritually and in the kingdom of heaven. It says:
“Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he as with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”
One of the truths contained in this scripture is that every good and perfect gift is from God, the Father of lights. You know He is your Father indeed, when like Him you illuminate the darkness of this world. Another of these truths is that this Father of lights does not change, and there is no shadow of turning with Him. As human beings, we may restructure, modernize, amplify and contextualize His Printed word in our hands, but His original word is forever the same with Him in heaven. Lastly, the most effective instrument He has been using since the world began is His Word (John 1:1-3). Through this same word are we born again and made perfect. His word is indeed magnified above His Name (Psalm 138:2). Beloved, the extent of your relevance depends on the extent to which your life complies with the word of God. Do you abide by His words?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

The reason why some children of God miss their day of visitation is that they don’t take prophetic utterances from God seriously, whether written or spoken. For this reason, l encourage you to see the words of our devotional today as prophetic, coming to you from your Maker who can never lie. By the word of the Lord, I proclaim to you that this is the day of your freedom. It shall be unto you as it is written in Psalm 91:3, which says:
“Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler; and from the noisome pestilence.”

In Isaiah 49:24-26, the Lord as the Almighty specifically declares His ability to set the captives free, including lawful captives. Beloved, the meaning of this scripture is that those who willingly got themselves into bondage and are tired of staying there are candidates for God’s deliverance. Some people think that once someone willingly enters into witchcraft, the occult, secret societies, and the like, he or she can never be free again, but going by what the Lord declares in Isaiah 49:24, this is not true.

Isaiah 49:26 contains the key to experiencing the divine intervention that the Lord declares in the preceding verses, and this is where there could be a challenge. It reads in part:
“...and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.”
What constitutes the challenge in this verse? The promise to deliver is only for those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Redeemer. l once ministered deliverance to a traditional title holder in Nigeria, and it got to the point where he needed to accept Jesus as His Saviour. Amazingly, he refused. All he wanted was God's benefit of deliverance without submitting to His Lordship. Unfortunately, he died while still in the valley of indecision about accepting the Lord.

So, the choice is yours today. Isaiah 1:19 says:
“lf ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land”
If you willingly submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ over your life, He will not only set you free, He will also ensure that your freedom is permanent by destroying all your oppressors, as He did to the Egyptians in the Red Sea (Exodus 14:26-28). The Lord of Hosts be praised! Amen.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

The title of today’s devotional (Who Is My Neighbor?) is a question which precipitated the parable of the Good Samaritan. This question is even more relevant today because the character of good neighborliness is fast becoming a scarce commodity. It is even more astonishing to find out that the brotherly love that helped the Church to grow in the early days of the Christian faith is dwindling among 21st century believers, but this should not be so. In Galatians 6:10, the Holy Spirit answered the question of who our neighbor is when he admonished us thus:
‘’As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.’’
To prevent any ambiguity, the Holy Spirit also gives us practical examples of what He meant in the above scripture in James 2:15-16, saying:
‘’If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?’’
Through this scripture, the Holy Spirit is saying that there is no good neighborliness in theoretical spirituality that is not accompanied by action. In Luke 10:25-37, our Lord used the actions of the Samaritan to vividly illustrate good neighborliness, contrasting his charitable deeds against the selfish attitudes of the priest and the Levite. It is unfortunate that the actions of the latter two reflect what is happening among Christian brethren today. To the pastor, the sick child of the neighbor may die, as long as he is not late to preach somewhere. A chorister would not want to be late for choir practice, even though her fellow sister is critically ill somewhere.

Beloved, the Holy Spirit demands that we add virtue to our faith (2nd Peter 1:5). When we add the virtue of good deeds to our faith, the task of our evangelizing the word will become very easy to accomplish. The story was told of the General Overseer of a reputable church in Lagos, Nigeria, whose decision to accept Christ was motivated by the kindness of a Christian couple during the Nigeria civil war. He wondered what kind of people would give a bowl full of rice to him, a hungry fugitive who was about to die, at a time when food was terribly scarce. He found out that they where Christians, and there and then he decided to join them in serving Jesus. Beloved, let your faith come alive today with good works.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

One of the fallacies of life is the notion that when you have money, you have everything. How untrue this is! My experiences in ministry have taught me that there is so much that money cannot do. For example, money cannot make a barren woman conceive. If you doubt this, ask the wealthy Shunammite woman (2nd Kings 4:8-17). It is amazing that when Elisha asked this woman what she desired, she momentarily forgot or pretended to forget that there was something she lacked which her money could not buy, which was a child (2nd Kings 4:13 ). Irrespective of this, in 2nd Kings 4:16, Elisha declared to her:
‘’… About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.’’
Why did she doubt Elisha’s declaration? It was because she considered it too good to be true! She also probably felt that whatever money could not do, nothing else could do it. I have good news for a user of this devotional: that need that money has failed to meet in your life, which you have used good money to travel across several hospitals in the world to resolve to no avail, you will receive it this season in Jesus’ Name.

I was once invited to preach in an area where the ‘’who is who ‘’ in Nigeria reside. When I got to the particular house I was invited to and I saw money in action, I decided to change my sermon to something like ‘’ it is good to bless the Lord’’, because I could not imagine that family having a single need; but I was wrong. Before long, I realized that there was a problem that money could not solve in that family, so introduced them to the God with whom there is no impossiblity. At the end of the day, God resolved the problem that money could not solve for them. God will solve the problem that has defied the power of money in your life today in Jesus’ Name. Luke 12:15-23 narrates the interesting story of a man who was very successful in his farming business. Although most rich men are never satisfied with the amount of wealth they possess, this particular one was so rich that he planned to retire from creating more wealth. Unfortunately, he died the same night he conceived his plan. His money could not prevent death from snatching him away from enjoying his hard-earned wealth. Shame to money that cannot save its owner from death! If money cannot save from physical death, how would it save a person from eternal death? Jesus said the foolishness of this rich man is applicable to those who lay up earthly treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God (Luke 12:21). Are you one of such people?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Impatience is the younger sister of doubt because when someone is impatient, the fellow may not be able to operate under the divine time-table. Impatience can cause a person to doubt the integrity of the Ever Faithful God. The devil uses impatience as a tool to sow doubt in the minds of believers, so much so that some even begin to doubt the infallible word of God. For this reason, James 1:4 says:
‘’But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.’’
The blessings attached to being patient are many. For example, in James 1:4, the Holy Spirit reveals that a patience fellow will lack nothing good. This may sound foolish to the carnal mind, but it is the truth of God's word. The carnal mind is turned to believe that by being impatient, more can be achieved, and more can be amassed, but this is a lie of the devil.

In John 11:18-26, impatience almost destroyed the faith of Mary and Martha. As a matter of fact, they indirectly indicted Jesus of their brother’s death because He came to them at a time they considered to be too late, after he had received their message notifying him of Lazarus’ sickness. John 11:21 say:
‘’Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.’’
What an indictment! By this comment, they doubted the extent to which Jesus actually loved their family. This probably account for why Jesus wept in John 11:35, after Mary repeated the same accusation (John 11:32). It is dangerous to be a ‘’microwave Christian’’ who always expects things to happen when you feel they must happen. A microwave Christian is like an infant who reacts to and cries for everything that cause discomfort. The Holy Spirit describes the state of such Christians in 1st Corinthian 3:1-2. Some brethren feel offended and therefore decide to leave a church when the promotion they believe they are due for is not forthcoming from the church authorities. Some others feel victimized when they are transferred from their station of comfort, even resorting to blackmail in some cases. Some even give God an ultimatum on when a miracle must ‘’drop’’, or else they won’t serve him anymore. All these examples may sound unbelievable, but they are true life experiences. Beloved, it is time to grow up from the stage of infancy. God expects you to become not just a meat eater but a bone cracker. May the Lord cause you to grow in Jesus’ Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

It is unfortunate that sin abounds in the Church today because we do not collectively abhor evil deeds anymore. Instead of hating what is evil, we actually celebrate sinners, and by so doing, we ignorantly become accomplices of their evil deeds. We no longer follow the instruction of the Holy Spirit in 1st Timothy 5:20, which says:
‘’Them that sin rebuke before all that others also may fear.”
Our modern approach is contrary to this scripture because we want to do church in a “civilized” manner. Adam and Eve also desired to be civilized, and they ended up becoming corrupted. Proverbs 24:23-25 says:
‘’These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment. He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him: But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.’’
This scripture reveals the danger of being the accomplice of an evil doer and also the blessing attached to detesting and rebuking evil. Romans 12:9b also says:
‘’Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.’’
This is what is missing in the church today. My prayer is that the Almighty God will revive the Church, and evil deeds shall become alien to the body of Christ in Jesus’ Name.

The task of rebuking evil is divine, and whoever will perform this task must live above reproach (Romans 2:22-23). He or she must also be ready for persecution and blackmail. However, we should not be deterred by these, because evildoers also did the same to the prophets of old. In Mathew 5:10-12, our lord Jesus Christ said:
‘’ Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.’’
Jeremiah is a classic example of someone who was maligned for rebuking evil in high places. He was indeed a sad prophet. He lamented the evil of his time so much that a whole book out of the 66 books of the Bible was dedicated to his lamentation. Similarly, even though John the Baptist was the greatest of all men that lived before Christ, his head ended up on a plate because he spoke out against evildoers. (Mathew 11:11, Mark 6:25-28). Nevertheless beloved, these sufferings are more tolerable than the judgment reserved for being the accomplice of evildoers. May the Lord help you in this regard in Jesus’ Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Temptation is the pressure to yield to influences that can lead a person away from God and into sin. It is also the means by which the loyalty, commitment and obedience of a child of God is tested and proved. Temptation is a part of life that no one can escape from, because nobody is protected or exempted from its influence. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself experienced temptation (Hebrews 4:15). The one who orchestrates temptations, also known as the tempter, is the devil (Mathew 4:3). He has perfected highly deceptive means of carrying out His evil enterprise, because he has been long at it. However, glory be to God because the Lord has developed a way of escape for every type of temptation the devil can come up with (1st Corinthians 10:13). If we refuse to use the means of escape provided by God, we will end up falling for the devil’s trick and disobeying God. This can have devastating repercussions, as seen in the fall of mankind through temptation and the judgment of God which followed (Genesis 3:1-24). It is therefore important for us to learn how to overcome temptation and also reduce our exposure to it by applying the antidote provided by the Lord.

In the last few hours before our Lord Jesus Christ was arrested, knowing what was about to happen shortly, He gave the disciples the antidote to temptation, saying in Mathew 24:26:
‘’Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak.’’
In this verse of scripture, He named watchfulness and prayer as the antidotes of temptation. Watchfulness is the state of being alert and expectant while carefully observing a person or situation. The word of God lays particular emphasis on the need to keep watch for two important events: The second coming of our Lord and the devil’s temptation, which is our focus today. We are called to be alert to the dangers posed to our Christian life by false teachings, worldliness, love of money, inordinate ambition, sinful pleasure, sexual immorality, and all other forms of temptation. Your watchfulness should begin with the admonition of proverbs 4:23, which say:
‘’Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.’’
Romans 12:2 also speaks about renewing your mind, and this is best done by filling your heart with the undiluted word of God. Another aspect of watching is bridling our tongue in order not to sin with it (1st Peter 3:10, James 1:26). For your faith is not to suffer shipwreck due to temptation, you are called by God to soberly watch and be prayerful (1st Peter 4:7). Are you keeping watch?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Many Christians believe that it is humanly impossible to be perfect because of the limitations of our flesh, but Jesus said that we should be perfect, just as our Father in Heaven is perfect (Mathew 5:48). For Jesus to have said this, it means that perfection is attainable. However, the only way to attain the level of perfection that God requires of us is to follow the example which He has set, and that example is the Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus was on earth, He lived a life of perfection. Hebrew 4:15 testifies to this, saying:
‘’For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.’’
Just as Jesus was able to live a spotless life while He was on earth, it is also possible for us to live a life of absolute purity and holiness, which is pleasing to God.

In Luke 9:23, our Lord told us how to follow His example to live a holy life, saying:
‘’…If any man come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’’
In other words, you must fist deny yourself if you will follow His lead. Denying yourself means letting go of your old nature. To live holy, you may have to change your friends, some places you go to, websites you visit and your old habits. You will also need to deny your body some of the pleasures it used to enjoy. No matter how much the flesh craves alcohol, hard drug, illicit sex, stealing, lying and the like, you must not let it have its way. To successfully live as a new creature you are, your old man must die first. When you slap a dead man, he does not get up to retaliate because there is no more life in him. In the same way, you must deny yourself to the point where your former cravings become completely dead.

Secondly, you must carry your cross daily. Many Christians make the mistake of planning to live a holy life without consciously taking it a day at a time. The reason you don’t have bad breath is because you brush your teeth daily. Your body remains clean because you take your bath daily. Similarly, the way to keep your spirit clean is to carry your cross daily. When you wake up every morning, turn to God and tell Him to help you live holy throughout that day; then say to yourself with determination,” Throughout today, I must not commit any sin.” When you make this a habit, you will discover after some time that you have been successfully living a holy life.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

The term ‘overcomer’ is used in Christian parlance to describe a champion, victor or conqueror. It describes a person who has run the Christian race and finished it triumphantly. In His letters to the seven churches of Asia, the Lord revealed seven different rewards He would give to those who fit this description (Revelation 2-3). Beyond these seven rewards, in Revelation 21:7, the Father Himself promised one final reward for overcomers, saying:
‘’He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son”
How amazing! If I were you, I would strive very hard to partake of these rewards. To qualify as an overcomer, I recommend that you first take a look at the life of those who ran the Christian race before you and overcame. This will help you understand the secrets of how they succeeded, and you can then apply those principles in your own heavenly race. Let’s take a look at the greatest of these overcomers, in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 3:21). Of all the battles He won, He triumphed over the devil in two spectacular ways that are worthy of mention. First, in Matthew 4:1-11, He was engage by the devil in a crucial contest and He knocked the devil out through the power of God’s word. Secondly, although the devil masterminded His arrest, trial and execution, the Lord still triumphantly worked out the miracle of His resurrection from the dead. Colossians 2:15 says,
‘’and having spoiled principalities and power, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”
Through his death, the Lord defeated the devil in hell and paraded him and his cohorts in an open show of shame, confirming His supremacy over the kingdom of darkness. I pray that you will comprehend and begin to work in the victory of Jesus from today in Jesus ‘name.

While He was in the world, what was the main weapon used by the Lord in overcoming? It is God’s word. Several times’ He quoted the Scriptures as a weapon against the devil. God gave us His word as tool of developing strong faith and confidence in Him. We are nurtured in faith and brought to spiritual maturity through His word. Remembering God’s great deeds in the past build up our hope in Him (Romans 15:4). Besides giving us hope, God’s word is also a potent weapon of warfare against the kingdom of darkness (2nd Corinthians 10:4). It is empowerful to pull down the strongholds of sin, sickness, generational curses and death. It also has the power to break the yokes of failure, barrenness and poverty. I therefore decree that the power in the word of God will completely destroy every yoke in your life today in Jesus ‘Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

In John 14:6, the Lord Jesus Christ made a declarative statement to Thomas, which even today some archbishops cannot fathom. He said.
‘’I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’’
What did Jesus mean when he called Himself the Way? After Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden, there was a break in the connection that existed between God and man. From that moment, mankind has continually made efforts to find God because of the emptiness that exits in us without God. Revealing this emptiness and the resulting search for God, In Acts 17:26-27, the Holy Spirit said:
‘’And hath made of one blood all nation of men for to dwell on all the face of earth, and hath determined the time before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That should seek for the lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be no far from every one of us:” The drive to fill this void is seen in the abundance of different religions in the world today, with each one recommending its own way to God. Having seen the end from the beginning, Jesus knew that this time would come, and so he said very clearly to all who will listen, ‘I Am the Way.’’ He is the only way to God, and there is no other way to get to God except through Him.

Because of diverse doctrines around, you need to be careful and ensure that you have found the true God. You need to be sure that you are not just deluded into thinking you have obtained salvation and that you are on your way to heaven. Any other way to God that is not through the Lord Jesus Christ is counterfeit. Are you in any religion that doesn’t recognize Jesus Christ as the way to God? Are you in any church that glorifies her General Overseer or leader and rather than the Lord Jesus Christ? Does your church propagate its own doctrine rather than the word of God as written in the Bible? It is time to come out of such an assembly and seek the one true God through Jesus Christ.

Another thing Jesus meant when He said He is the Way is that He is the perfect example to follow if you want to please God. Don’t make any man your standard because man will disappoint you. Our standard is Jesus Christ and Him alone. It is possible to attain Christ’s level of perfection here on earth, and this is why He gave us the Holy Spirit when He was leaving the earth. Are you going to Heaven through the Way, and are you walking in His footsteps?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Discipline is the act of training a person to obey rules and follow instructions, which sometimes involves corrective punishment for wrongdoing. The bible clearly establish that God excepts parents to discipline their children (Proverbs 23:13-14, Ephesians 6:4). Parents who failed in this responsibility suffered grave consequences, as seen in the example of Eli (1st Samuel 2:27-34). Being a just God, He cannot require discipline from earthly parents and fail in His responsibility to discipline His own children, as the Heavenly Father. All act of disciplining God’s children ultimately come from God, and the methods used are determined by Him. However, His motive is always love, while His goals remain making us partakers of His holiness (Hebrew 12:10). God disciplines His children as part of His covenant with them. Consequently, only disciplined children of God has access to His covenant blessings. Job 36:10-11 says:
‘’He openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity. If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.’’

Interestingly, God in his infinite wisdom has set discipline as the number one criteria for ascertaining true children of God. Hebrew 12:8 says,
‘’But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.’’
Consequently, if you notice that you are getting away with sin and immorality without any type of warning or discipline from God, then you can be sure that heaven does not recognize you as a true child of God. As soon as a person accepts the Lordship of Jesus Christ, he or she becomes a genuine member of God’s family, and the love of God will immediately kick-start the process of discipline in order to bring the new convert to perfection in due time. May you always cooperate with God for the purpose of receiving proper discipline in Jesus’ Name.
As a child of God, receiving divine discipline with humility comes with great benefits. Discipline prevents children of God from going astray and brings us to perfection. It also makes us humble, wise and successful, helping us acquire spiritual growth and maturity. Disciplined Christians easily overcome temptation. They are like smooth stones in the hands of God and are mightily used by Him against the Kingdom of darkness. Open your heart to receive godly discipline and correction today.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

In these perilous times, life is so full of struggles and hard labour that do not always result in success. All around the world, people invest precious time and money into obtaining high school and college education, only to graduate and discover that jobs are nonexistent. In some case, people invest years into specialized training in various crafts and trades, only to graduate and begin to source for financial backing and start-up capital without success. There are some who manage to gain employment with private companies or who succeed in starting small scale businesses, but some years down the line, they find themselves back in the labour market due to harsh economic realities. These hardships have made the availability of ready-made provision very attractive to the average person, especially in developing countries like we have in Africa. The dire economic situation in different parts of the world has led some Christians to wrongly assume that every opportunity that comes their why is Gods providence, not realizing their error until contrary events begin to happen to them in the process of exploiting these ‘’ opportunities’’. I pray that no matter the prevailing conditions in your community, the Lord will divinely open doors of genuine opportunities to you in Jesus’ name.

In Africa and several developing countries, the difficult political and economic situation coupled with security challenges has led a lot of people, especially youths, into traps that initially appeared like ready-made provision. These traps could come in form of employment with very attractive pay packages, ’juicy' marriage offers, 'fantastic’ business opportunities or even invitations to travel abroad. Hidden behind these seemingly great offers are terrible vices like prostitution, drug trafficking, criminal syndicates, fraud, occultism and the like. For example, many young people have honored invitations to travel abroad only to get get trapped in sex trafficking or being used as drug couriers. Some people have entered neck deep into what they thought was an ordinary business relationship, only for them to later discover that they have been initiated into powerful occult groups. Many vulnerable youths are enticed into armed gangs which eventually result in untimely death for so many. As seen in Proverbs 7:6-23, you must recognize that the devil’s ready-made provisions are nothing but deadly traps. God has assured you that He will provide for all your needs and settle all your problems (Hebrews 13:5, 1st Peter 5:7). Therefore, beware of the devil’s traps.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

In ancient times, a ransom was a price paid to secure the freedom of a slave, captive or prisoner. It had to be paid in full in order to cancel a debt or obligation, set one free from liabilities and charges, or secures an exemption from punishment. A ransom is associated with redemption, atonement, deliverance and salvation. In every situation requiring the payment of a ransom, victims are helpless because they cannot effect the payment of their own ransom. In the same sense, humanity was in a hopeless and helpless situation because we lacked what was requiring to pay the price for our liberation from the penalty of sin. Thank God that Jesus Christ stepped in as a substitute for all humanity, paying our ransom in full. The ransom he paid is effective for anyone on the face of the earth who by faith in the word of God receives salvation as a gift of God through Jesus Christ. Matthew 20:28, Jesus said;
‘’Even as the Son of man came not to be ministerd unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.’’
Through His suffering, painful death on the cross and glorious resurrection on the third day, He paid in full every price demanded for the redemption, atonement, deliverance and salvation of humanity. Therefore, if you are still under any form of bondage, receive your freedom now in the mighty name of Jesus.
Now that Jesus Christ has paid our ransom in full and completely wiped away everything contrary to our destiny in God, what next? The answer is found in Romans 6:22: “
But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.’’
God expects that having freed you from the shackles of sin, you will not return to its bondage again. You ought to remain free by walking in holiness, exercising the power to live above sin that God has deposited in you (Romans 6:14). The end result of staying true to this is everlasting life. 1st Peter 1:15-16 says,
‘’But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy.’’
We are called out of sin to live a holy life. Jesus paid your ransom in full; now, show appreciation and reciprocate His love by living holy as from today.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Trusting God is one of the best things a child of God can ever learn to do. The moment you learn to trust God, life will become beautiful because you will begin to experience a kind of peace you never knew existed. Initially, it can be quite hard for us to trust God due to the fact that His ways are higher than our ways, and until we get to know Him well, His instructions and commands might seem strange. Nevertheless, as a child of God, it is important that you learn to trust God blindly. Even if you cannot see around the bend, you should trust Him enough to know that he will always lead you aright. No matter how unconventional God’s ways are, one thing is sure: He has your best interest at heart. Jerusalem 29:11 says.
‘’For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, said the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.’’
Trusting God involves taking the backseat and letting God handle the major decisions and suitations in your life. It involve letting your will be so lost in His will until you start to see things from His perspective and feel things through His heart. It takes a lot of trust in another individual to be able to let go of your own will and let that person’s will prevail in your life. You can only trust someone that you love; so if you don’t love God genuinely, you cannot trust Him.

There was a day I was driving down from llorin to Lagos and my fuel tank was almost empty. Unknown to me, a fuel scarcity was on, and so all the filling stations I saw along the way had no fuel. I cried to God and he asked me to take my eyes off the fuel gauge and continue driving to Lagos. Although my fuel tank was already on reserve at the time he told me to do this, I said to Him ‘’Yes Lord’’ and I kept on driving. To the glory of God, I kept on driving on till I got to my house in Lagos. After I parked the car, I looked at the fuel gauge and it read empty! If I did not trust God completely, I would have parked my car in a safe place along the way and gone through the stress of finding an alternative means of getting home, instead of taking the risk of getting stranded along the way.

The devil specializes in sowing seeds of doubt in our hearts so that our faith in God will diminish, because he knows that the moment you start doubting God, you will not be able to receive anything from Him (James 1:6-7). For this reason, it is very important to remind yourself of the good things God has done for you and others in the past. Encourage yourself with these testimonies in order to rekindle your faith. Learn to trust God, because it shows your love for Him.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

For us as human beings, mercy is one of the most essential attributes of God, because this is God’s character by which He faithfully keeps His covenant, fulfils His promises and maintains His relationship with His children, despite our shortcomings, unworthiness and unfaithfulness [Romans 9:15-16]. Mercy connotes goodness, grace, favour and steadfast love [Ephesians 2:4]. The most prominent aspect of mercy is the compassionate disposition to forgive an offender in order to help his or her sorry situation.

The Bible shows that Jesus is God’s mercy personified, and by his death and resurrection, we have open access to God’s mercy. I Peter 1:3 Says:
“BLESSED be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”
God’s mercy brings about the conversion of sinners, instructs the ignorant, counsels the doubtful and comforts the sorrowful. It also forgives and overlooks injurious acts, and patiently puts up with human errors and weaknesses. The mercy of Jesus Christ earns us his free legal representation before the Father, and secures the spirit's continued intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Against this background, we can boldly say that God’s mercy prevails over judgment, as stated in James 2:13. interestingly, two terms are commonly used to explain the relationship between mercy and judgment in this passage. One says mercy “rejoices against “judgment, while the other says mercy “triumphs over “judgment. Both descriptions paint vivid pictures of victory and celebration in a hopeless situation.

Knowing that judgment is the deserved consequence for sin, the intervention of divine mercy that turns things around and makes culprit “ rejoice against ‘ and ‘triumph over ‘ judgment is indeed a miracle. The ultimate act of God’s mercy is the work of substitution that Jesus Christ performed on the cross of Calvary. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says:
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin: that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
God's mercy is still flowing from the throne of grace today. irrespective of your shortcomings, go before this throne in humility, and you will receive mercy to triumph over sin, sickness, failure, poverty and everything that is working against your peace.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

The greatest battle that has ever been fought and is still being fought is in the heart of man. This battle is being fought by God on one side and the devil on the opposing side. Whoever wins this ultimately wins control over the soul of the individual over whom the battle is being fought. The devil has been interested in the souls of men ever since God created us, and his plan has always been to destroy as many of us as possible. Our Lord Jesus Christ revealed the devil’s plan to us and offers us God’s solution, saying in john 10:10:
“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.”
Through the ages, the devil has succeeded in taking over the lives of so many people, and for this reason, the Lord said in Matthew 7:13:
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:”
In spite of all that the devil may try, my prayer for you is that I will see you in heaven in Jesus ‘name.

In the world today, there is so much wickedness and confusion everywhere. Sin has become so common place that it is very strange and rare to see someone who is pure and refuses to be part of the evil of the day. These are some of the signs of Jesus spoke about in Matthew 24:3-31.

In order to further achieve his aims, the devil has employed false prophets into his service. They go around disseminating false doctrines which are even more dangerous to Christians, because they can make a person think that he or she is saved and safe while they are actually on their way to hell. One of the reasons why many of these false prophets are so successful is that they keep telling people what they want to hear and not what the Bible says (2 timothy 4:3). The Bible is the written word of God, and so, anyone who deviates from it by as much as a dot is not of God and doesn’t have your best interest at heart (2 peter 1:20-21). God’s word is absolute, and it must be preached in its pure form. The best way to guide your heart in these perilous time is to fill it with the word of God and to constantly meditate on the word as much as possible. Once you give your life to Christ and are sanctified by God, it is important to ask for the baptism of the Holy Spirit so that Jesus Himself can fill you to overflow with his spirit and mark you for Himself.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.