₦airaland Forum

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.

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.