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In 1 Corinthians 15:33, the wisdom of God warns us that evil communication corrupts good manners. A wise person would take this divine warning seriously in order to escape the corrupting influence that associating with evil people will have on his or her good manners. Some people have allowed overconfidence to destroy their lives through careless and even deadly associations. Some young people with bright and promising futures, sent to school to prepare them for fulfilled adult lives, have been derailed through evil association with destiny destroyers like secret cults, sex-for-hire rings, partying and clubbing friends, drinking, smoking and gambling pals. Proverbs 1:10-19 warns us against the enticement of sinners. The revelation here is that sinners are capable of enticing us; we must therefore be careful not to fall prey to their enticing antics. One bait sinners use in luring good souls into their fold is the promise of material gain and comfort. In Proverbs 1:13-14, the Holy Spirit warns that sinners will say sweet words like these to entice you:
“We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:”
But it’s all a lie; the target is your soul.

There are many channels of evil communication. One avenue is through business partnership. Children of God should be careful of the type of people they partner with in business. Someone who pays his or her tithe regularly may begin to default after forming a business alliance with someone who does not believe in giving God a tenth of his or her income. Gradually, such children or God would begin to rob God, and consequently, the blessing of Abraham they claim as their portion will begin to elude them until they lose it all. Another channel of evil communication is marriage. In Deuteronomy 7:3-4, the Lord gave the children of Israel this injunction on marriage with those who did not share their faith.
“Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.”
This principle also applies to the Body of Christ today. Those who disobey this injunction never have a good story to tell down the line (1st Kings 11:4). I pray that you will not be a victim of evil communication in Jesus’ Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

To conclude our reflection on the fruit of the Spirit, we shall today be considering temperance. To be temperate is to have self-control. Temperance enables you to remain cool, calm and collected in the midst of dire situations. Through the manifestations of temperance, you will save yourself the pain of hasty and rash pronouncements that you will later regret. Temperance will restrain you from overreacting in situations that could make you lose your integrity. It takes the restraint of Holy Spirit to turn the other cheek to those who despitefully use you (Luke 6:29). To better understand temperance, just picture Stephen in excruciating pain and about to die, praying for God’s mercy on those who stoned him to death. This is the hallmark of a life full of the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:55). The Lord Jesus Christ also manifested this same nature on the cross of Calvary (Luke 23:34). When He was arrested and tried, it was temperance that enabled Him to restrain Himself from putting up a defence. There would have been no redemption if Jesus Christ had defended Himself. Matthew 27:13-14 says,
“Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.”
I reckon that in the course of His trial, the Holy Spirit could have continually brought to His remembrance what was written concerning Him in Isaiah 53:7-8. When you cultivate a relationship with the Holy Spirit, whenever you are faced with a situation of conflict, in order to restrain you, the Holy Spirit will remind you of who you are and where you are going . He will also put words in your mouth if there is a need for you to respond. This is how His nature of temperance is manifested in our character.

As we conclude our study on the fruit of the Spirit, you need to be reminded that walking in the Spirit is the process that brings about the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit in us. The Holy Spirit is a Person and not a force, and so He will not compel you to fellowship with Him, even though He resides inside of you. You need to yield yourself to Him and cultivate His friendship for His fruit to manifest in your life. Here is the key to walking in the Spirit, from Amos 3:3:
Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
Your life needs to be in agreement with His principles for you to walk with Him. He is the Promise of the Father, and He is willing to abide with you if you will make your life habitable for Him.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

I trust God that over the past few days of our study on the fruit of the Spirit, your relationship with the Holy Spirit has been revolutionized. Yesterday, we reflected on gentleness and goodness, and today by God’s grace we will reflect on faith and meekness. What is faith? In simple terms, faith is taking God at His word and accepting His verdict in all situations. Let’s consider what the Holy Spirit has to say about faith in Hebrews 11:6:
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
This statement makes faith a fundamental virtue of the Christian life. Our God operates in the realm of the spirit, and so when He speaks, His words come across as foolishness to the natural man (1st Corinthians 2:14). How do you believe something that appears foolish? How can a natural man believe in what the senses cannot comprehend? Well, glory be to God, our Lord knows our frame and understands the limitations of the natural body we inhabit (Psalm 103:13-14). It is for this reason that He sent the Holy Spirit to live with us. Thereby empowering us to rise above our limitations (Romans 8:11, 26). It takes walking with the Holy Spirit to rise above the senses and operate in the realm of faith. Faith is the nature of the Holy Spirit, and so those who cultivate a relationship with Him are enrolled in the school of faith where their faith is developed to the level where they effortlessly manifest the character of faith (John 14:26). Faith in God opens the doors of possibilities beyond the wildest imagination.

What is meekness? When someone has the power to retaliate a wrong done against him or her but decides to let go in the spirit of forgiveness: that is meekness. A commander-in-chief who is insulted and laughs it off with the sincerity it takes to forgive and forget can be said to be meek. This character trait is necessary for peace to reign in the Body of Christ and for her to be one. If Christians manifest this nature and engage in governance, the world would be at peace. The meekness of our Lord Jesus Christ is perfectly described as a signpost for us in Isaiah 53:7:
“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”
May the Lord make you an embodiment of faith and meekness in Jesus’ Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

In continuation of our reflection on the fruit of the Spirit, we will be considering the following dimensions of the Holy Spirit’s character: gentleness and goodness. Gentleness is a nature that maintains the appropriate comportment in the face of provocative events. Only the Holy Spirit can help a mortal being behave correctly or appropriately in the face of an event that seems to threaten his or her peace, or which stands in his or her way to actualizing a desired goal. In Luke 22:47-53, we see the Lord Jesus Christ manifesting this character in the Garden of Gethsemane, in spite of Judas’ betrayal, the sorrow of bearing the burden of sin and the degrading treatment meted out to Him, He still healed the ear of Malchus, servant of the high priest, which Peter had chopped off in His defence. The gravity of the character exhibited here by the Lord becomes more sobering when we realise that He could have asked for more than twelve legions of angels to fight for Him and they would have been granted Him, but He chose not to do this in order to achieve His goal of finishing the work of salvation for mankind (Matthew 26:53-54). Beloved, we need to manifest the nature of gentleness if we will not take laws into our hands. Romans 12:19 says:
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
The Lord will always fight our battles for us, if only we allow Him do it in His own way.

“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you”
Matthew 5:44
How can a man obey these words? How can a person do good to those who hate him or her? The Lord Himself showed us the possibility of obeying this difficult injunction by doing good to those who out of hatred came to arrest and crucify Him. How was He able to do it? Acts 10:38 answers this question; it reveals that the Lord Jesus Christ went about doing good because He had a relationship with the Holy Spirit, and only by cultivating a relationship with Him can we manifest this character. If we don’t do good to others, our faith is useless and without meaning (James 2:14-26). I encourage you therefore to be a doer of good deeds, because by this your soul-winning efforts will be effective.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Yesterday we established that the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit in the life of a person is the result of cultivating a relationship with the Holy Spirit, a process which the Bible refers to as walking in the Spirit. We also started taking a closer look at the individual character traits that emanate from such a relationship. Together, these character traits form the totality of the character of the Holy Spirit. Today, we will consider the dimensions of this character that enables the Holy Spirit reach out to us as the Comforter: Joy; Peace and Longsuffering.

Joy is a nature of gladness in the spirit that is not imparted by external circumstances. How does a person manifest joy in the midst of sorrow and calamity? A person who walks in the Spirit is able to manifest joy because he or she is privy to heaven’s information and is therefore able to see the bigger picture of what God is doing in every situation. Due to his or her relationship with the Holy Spirit, such a person receives secret information from heaven on the true state of things (John 16:13). This was why Paul, even as a prisoner about to be shipwrecked was able to eat, drink and give thanks in the middle of a storm! The Holy Spirit had already revealed to him what was going to happen, and so he was full of good cheer, unmoved by the external circumstances around him. I pray that from today, you will be filled with joy in the Holy Ghost in Jesus’ Name. Similar to joy, peace is a nature of calmness that reflects a freedom from strife within. To understand peace, just watch a little child sleep. The Lord Jesus Christ manifested this nature when He was able to sleep in the midst of a raging storm. When He was awoken by the disciples, He was able to extend the nature of peace within Him to the stormy environment around Him (Mark 4:37-39). This is what He expects of us also (John 14:27). You can only manifest the peace of God when you are at peace with the Holy Spirit dwelling in you. You cannot be at peace with the Holy Spirit  if you are involved in anything that is contrary to His nature. If you confess that you are saved, yet you are not at peace, examine your ways and motives; there might be something contrary to the nature of the Holy Spirit hiding somewhere. Longsuffering is a nature built on the hope of a greater glory that lies ahead after enduring sufferings. How does a man hold on to His faith in the midst of adversity? When the Holy Spirit reveals to you the glory that is reserved for you after overcoming hardship, you will manifest a longsuffering nature. This nature continually propelled Paul in the face of adversities (Romans 8:18, 2nd Corinthians 11:23-27). How we need the Spirit in these perilous times!
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Over the next few days, we shall be taking a closer look at the important subject of the fruit of the Spirit. Our Bible text spells out the fruit of the Spirit as these; love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. In considering this important subject matter, the keywords to take hold of are “Fruit” and “Spirit”. From these keywords, we understand that the fruit of the Spirit have their origin in the Person of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, a person who has no relationship with the Holy Spirit cannot exhibit the fruit of the Spirit, no matter how hard he or she tries. The good news is, if you have given your life to Christ, the Holy Spirit dwells inside you. This truth is established in Romans 8:9b which says:
“Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his.”
However, for you to manifest the fruit of the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of you, you need to cultivate a relationship with the Holy Spirit by walking side by side with Him every day. This is the reason why, after outlining the fruit of the Spirit, Paul in Galatians 5:6
wrote,
“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
What does it mean to walk in the Spirit? It means interacting with the Holy Spirit like a friend that you can see. It means asking Him what His opinion is before making any move, and yielding to His directions even when they are contrary to yours. It means listening to His voice before wearing that outfit, taking that job or picking that spouse. It means speaking what He suggests to you as the appropriate thing to say to that person. It means keeping quite when He instructs you to shut your mouth. It means giving out what gift that He nudges you to bless that fellow with. It means yielding to His voice when He reminds you to forgive that person who wronged you. When you cultivate such a relationship, the fruit of the Spirit will no longer be a checklist of character traits to be worked on. It will become your nature, effortlessly flowing from within you.

Let’s take a closer look at each of the character traits that emanate from walking with the Holy Spirit. Today, we will begin with love. Without the manifestation of love, our confession of faith becomes hypocritical (1st John 3:16-18). To love can be tough and difficult sometimes, and this is why we need to daily ask the Holy Spirit to pour out His love into our hearts (Romans 5:5). We need to demonstrate the God kind of love for the world to know that we are Christ’s disciples indeed. This will motivates them to join us as we journey to heaven with joy unspeakable, full of glory.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

The power of choice is a great gift that God has given to every man. This gift is however a double-edged sword which can either make or mar a man’s destiny. You therefore have an obligation to be cautious while exercising its power. Wrong choices can lead to agony and end in eternal perdition, while right choices can bring joy and peace, and end in eternal bliss. Remarkably, even God’s directives are more often than not subject to human choices. When God gives a directive for our own good, we can either act on it or choose to ignore it. Those who ignore God's directives never have a good story to tell when the consequences of their choices begin to manifest. In Genesis 19:12-26 the Lord issued a command that Lot and his family should escape for their lives. The Bible says that when the angels of the Lord observed that Lot and his family were lingering, reluctant to leave Sodom because all their life investments were there, they took hold of their hands, dragged them outside the city and commanded them to escape for their lives by fleeing to the mountains. Yet, contrary to the directives of the angels that they should not look back, Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26). She chose to neglect the warning that provided a way of escape from the judgement of God. Just like Lot’s wife, many people in the world today have chosen to neglect the call to free salvation that Jesus Christ procured for us with His life. To such people, the Lord Jesus Christ in Luke 17:32 says:
“Remember Lot’s wife.”

God will never force His salvation on any man. Salvation is a free choice for those who want to escape the judgement of God that will surely come on the whole world (John 3:16-18). Apart from God’s judgement, there are many other unpleasant things we ought to make a choice to escape from. Poverty is one of such things. The Bible shows us the way out of poverty in Malachi 3:10. Sickness is another. The Lord told the children of Israel that if they would hearken diligently to His voice, He would keep sickness away from them (Exodus 15:26). Beloved, the Lord has made provision for all things that pertain to life and godliness, and He has made them accessible to you; you however need to choose to escape from the corruption that exists in this world, before you can have access to His provision (2nd Peter 1:3-4). Choose to escape today.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

If you possess anything of great value, you must be ready to protect and defend it against the onslaught of thieves who would want to take it away from you at all cost. Our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is a precious commodity which the devil and his agents desire to steal away from us (2nd Peter 1:1). In 1st Peter 1:7, The Holy Spirit describes our faith as being much more precious than gold:
“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ”
It is therefore not surprising that the kingdom of darkness will continue to attack our faith until we finish our course in this world. For this reason, you must be ready to continually fight to preserve, nurture and grow your faith. You must be ready to prevent all manner of assailants from stealing, killing and destroying it (John 10:10). This is what the good fight of faith is all about. Those who have gone ahead of us also had to contend for their faith in order to get a good report (Hebrews 11:2). You also must be ready to do all that is necessary to hold on to your faith and ensure that it is not shipwrecked (1st Timothy 1:19). Your ultimate goal should be that when it’s all been said and done, you will be able to declare like Paul in 2nd Timothy 4:7 that
“ I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith”

Contending for the faith means defending the interest of God’s kingdom when the enemies of the Cross are on the loose. It means speaking up for the Lord Jesus Christ and speaking out against those that would oppose His person or principles. A classical example of contending for the faith is found in the encounter of Paul and Elymas the sorcerer in Acts 13:6-12. This sorcerer was trying to dissuade a potential convert from accepting the faith. Paul therefore rebuked him and placed him under God’s judgement. The result of this fight is glaring in Acts 13:12:
"Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.”
Beloved, the precious faith which you have obtained is worth defending, if you are determined that the devil will not wrest it away from you. Therefore, watch and pray, and be ready always to give an answer to every man who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear (1st Peter 3:15).
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

When Peter left the object of his first breakthrough in life – the big catch of fishes – to follow after a nomadic teacher, it was a sacrificial decision. However, that singular decision brought purpose and meaning to his life. I often credit Peter as one of the most popular men who ever lived, because in every continent of the world you will find at least one edifice or another named after him. How did he achieve this? He chose to live a life that was profitable to His Maker, even though it required a lot of sacrifice in the beginning. In like manner, it took a lot of sacrifice for Apostle Paul to abandon his doctorial title in law for the sake of evangelism the Way which he once opposed so vehemently.

A life that is profitable to God begins with the second birth. A fellow who gives his or her life to Christ is saying, “The marvellous grace of God, which Jesus Christ paid such a high price for, will not go to waste over me.” If you haven’t given your life to Christ, you need to start a profitable life today by surrendering your life to Him. Peter did this at the Lake of Gennesaret, in Luke 5:8
“When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ Knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”
Paul also did the same thing on the road to Damascus (Act 9:3-6). Beloved, God is also calling out to you. These are His words to you today:
“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”
Acts 3:19
However, if you are born again, you need to know that a life of sacrifice is what is expected of a disciple of Jesus Christ. The Lord expects you to be ready to give your all, and if required, lay down your life for the sake of the gospel. Here is His promise to those who do this:
“…. Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.”
Mark 10:29-30
May the Lord help your decision in Jesus’ Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Since Satan was cast out of heaven, he has been waging war against everything that represents God and godliness on the earth (Matthew 16:23, 2nd Timothy 3:12). Satan was cast out because he decided to rebel against the Almighty (Isaiah 14:12-15). His current game plan is to deceive as many people as possible into rebellion against God, so that they will also join him in the Lake of fire, which is the eternal place of punishment prepared for him and his cohorts (Matthew 25:41, Revelation 20:10). To destroy the works of the devil on earth and to manifest the plan of God for mankind, God has chosen to raise an army to Himself among men. If you have surrendered your life to Christ, you are part of this army. As a soldier in God’s army, in Jeremiah 51:20, God declares these words to you:
“Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;”
The nations and kingdoms in this declaration are not just physical, they are spiritual. The Holy Spirit made this clear to us in Ephesians 6:12, and He also teaches us that the weapons with which we wage war in God’s army are not physical weapons (2nd Corinthians 10:4-5)

As a soldier in God’s army, you need to take a cue from David in 1 Samuel 17:32-37. He presented himself as God’s battle-axe and he was mightily used of God to bring into captivity every thought and arrogance presented by Goliath. It is interesting to note that even Goliath, as huge as he was and as sophisticated as his weapons were, did not rely on his physical ability or weapons alone. 1st Samuel 17:43b says
“And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.”
As God’s foot-soldier, you need to know your God through and through, because only those who know their God can perform valiantly at the battlefront (Daniel 11:32). Because David knew his God, even without a sword in his hand, he boldly replied Goliath with those words of faith in 1st Samuel 17:45-46:
“…. I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defiled. This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and  I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee….”
Are you presently fighting a battle in your life? This should serve as a template for you. Turn to God for victory, and you shall be victorious through the Name, and Blood of Jesus Christ (Luke 10:17. Philippians 2:10, Revelation 2:11).
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

It is a statement of fact that the world is changing, and people are being changed by its evil whims and caprices. Irrespective of this fact, one truth that people, particularly children of God, must not allow to slip out of their minds is that although the world is changing, God does not change along with it (Malachi 3:6). His nature and standards are forever the same. Be aware that He will not judge you by what is acceptable in your world but by the standard He has set in His word (2nd Timothy 2:19). The Lord knew that the world would come to its present evil state, and so He forewarned us of the signs that will herald His coming judgement on this world. One of the signs that will herald His coming judgement on this world. One of the signs He gave to us is that in the last days, men and woman will lack natural affection (2nd Timothy 3:2-3). In other words, natural feelings, relationships and expression of love would no longer appeal to them. The lack of natural affection is a state of mind caused by the expunging of God from their so-called knowledge (Romans 1:28). Anyone who knows God as a consuming fire will dare not challenge Him to ideological arguments on morals. God dictates what He regards as moral or not. However, what do we see today? The philosophy of relativism argues that it is how you feel about yourself that matters; if as a man you feel you are a woman or if as a woman you feel you are a man, so be it! This is the reason why a man and a man would want to do what naturally a man should only do in a sexual relationship with a woman. Some women also prefer to engage in sexual perversions with other women. Such people choose to ignore the divine order set by God in the beginning. Genesis 1:27 tells us what this divine order is:
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
This Bible verse is at variance with the idea of homosexuality or being transgender. There is a distinction between male and female in the divine order. It is therefore rebellious and evil when a person, due to lust, is dragged out of his or her natural affection to abnormal instincts that pervert the original plan of God for his or her life. This exactly was what doomed Sodom and Gomorrah, and it must be avoided today. Beloved, do you have a feeling that there is a mix-up in your being, such that you want to change your natural or original makeup into another form? You need Jesus Christ urgently for restoration. You need the prayer of deliverance to restore you to your God-given personality. Do not be deceived: the world and everything in it are not the result of an arbitrary “big bang”. Everything was perfectly and methodically put in place by God. You are not a mistake; to think other wise is the age-old deceit of the devil. Come to Jesus Christ today and be free.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

The Lord revealed Himself to us as the God of abundance by declaring these profound words about Himself in Psalm 50:9-10:
“I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.”
Having experienced the reality of this truth, Apostle Paul, in Philippians 4:19, penned those words to bear witness to the Lord’s capacity as the God of abundance:
“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Through this scripture, the Holy Spirit also reveals to us that Jesus Christ is the channel through whom the abundance of God is made accessible. Why is this so? For you to understand the reason why, you need to know that Jesus Christ is the Living Word through whom all things were created. Hebrews 1:2 says this concerning Him:
“Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;”
This means that the earth and the fullness of it are His handwork – the handwork of the Word who became flesh (John 1:1-14). We can therefore get nothing in this world except through the Owner of it all. The story in Luke 5:1-7 demonstrates that this material world is indeed at the disposal of the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter had toiled all night long, but he caught nothing in his fishing net. However, when the God of abundance released His word, there was a great catch.

Beloved, what are those needs that have been bothering your mind? Tell it to Jesus today. He is the God of abundance, and He is capable of meeting you at the points of your need. When He came into this world, He decided to become poor in your place so that His riches may come to you. The Bible, in 2nd Corinthians 8:9, says,
“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”
The only situation that can prevent you from benefiting from the self-imposed poverty of the Lord Jesus Christ is your refusal to accept Him as your Lord and Saviour, and your refusal to walk by His principles. I pray for you today that the abundance riches of God in Christ Jesus will be your portion in Jesus’ Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

“Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?”
Isaiah 45:9
Whenever I read the words of this scripture above, I tremble. It is quite astonishing to see mere mortals “flexing muscles” with the One who made them. You can be a ‘dare-devil’, but you better not dare the Almighty God; the end result will always be catastrophic for you. Daniel 3:14-30 narrates a classical example of someone who dared to challenge his Maker: King Nebuchadnezzar. When Nebuchadnezzar commanded all to bow before the golden image he had set up, the Hebrew boys refused to bow, daring the devil in King Nebuchadnezzar. In response, Nebuchadnezzar dared the God of heaven and threw His Children into a fiery furnace in defiance of God’s supremacy. However, the God of those Hebrew boys, who is also the God of all flesh, showed up in the furnace and rescued His children. It is unfortunate that those who, by the order of the king, threw them into the fiery furnace were all burnt to ashes. I decree that as it happened to those who threw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into the fiery furnace, so shall it be to all the enemies of God in your life in Jesus’ Name. Although Nebuchadnezzar temporarily repented of his folly after witnessing the awesome power of God, he still got a taste of God’s punishment down the line: he was turned into a beast for a season (Daniel 4:28-37)! May those who are challenging the Almighty God in your life be like Nebuchadnezzar, Pharaoh, Herod and all those who dared the King of glory throughout history.

How can a mere mortal possibly challenge the Almighty God? It seems ridiculous, but amazingly, this happens on a daily basis in the world that we live in today. We see nations making laws against the natural order set by God, judges redefining marriage contrary to what the Almighty God Himself instituted, and people calling to question the very existence of God. Such attitudes are not new. This defiant trend has persisted throughout all of history, but the sponsors of such assaults on the Divine have always paid dearly for their actions. Are you daring God in any way? I hope your answer is no. Please, never you dare the Almighty God, not even through subtle disobedience. May the Lord cause you to be wise enough never to dare Him.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Starting a journey to a great destination is such a nice experience, but it is of no use if the journey does not end at the expected destination. It is of utmost importance not just to finish a journey but to finish it well. It is not a trivial thing that of the about six hundred thousand adults who left the land of Egypt among the Israelites, only two of them got to the Promised Land (Exodus 12:37, Numbers 32:11-12). This should serve as an example and a warning to every child of God running the Christian race in these end-times (1st Corinthians 10:11). Ezekiel 33:18 should be food for thought for every child of God who plans to meet the Lord at the last trump (1st Corinthians 15:52). The ultimate goal of the Christian journey for every true child of God is to be transformed and meet the Lord in the air when the trumpet sounds (1st Thessalonians 4:17). I pray that you will not miss this great congregation of the saints in Jesus’ Name. There is however another destination, a place of eternal perdition, awaiting the devil, his demonic cohorts and all those who follow him to do evil among men. Matthew 25:41 says,
“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:”
Beloved, I pray that your portion will not be with the devil in Jesus’ Name.

What should be done to finish well in times as these? The Lord provides the answer in Mark 13:35-37:
“Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all. Watch.”
What must we watch? We must watch what goes into our heart and what comes out of it. We must watch what we feed our eyes and ears on. We must watch our speech, our mode of dressing, what we eat and drink, and the kind of company we keep. A Nigerian proverb says “The sheep that keeps company with dogs will soon develop an appetite for bones.” If you will end your journey well, you must be steadfast in goodliness. I pray that you will finish well and not fall by the wayside in Jesus’ Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

To live a fulfilled life worthy of their election, children of God must know their God as the Lord who is mighty in battle. The story of the three Hebrew boys is a classical example of what God is capable of doing for his children who know who He is (Daniel 3). They confronted the world emperor of their time, Nebuchadnezzar, with faith in the supremacy of the power of their God over the affairs of men. There is a lesson we must learn from the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, which the Lord spelt out for us in clear terms in Luke 17:33, saying:
“Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosever shall lose his life shall preserve it.”
Note that it was after King Nebuchadnezzar had threatened to burn the three Hebrew boys that they declared that they were not afraid for their lives, even if they had to die defending what they believed in, What an amazing statement of faith this is:
“If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.”
Daniel 3:17
It takes truly knowing God to make such a bold statement. No wonder Daniel 11:32 says,
“And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”

Do you know your God as a weakling or as a mighty warrior? To the three Hebrew boys, the God of Israel was more than able to deliver them, because they knew Him to be the Lord of hosts. He Specialises in fighting all manner of battles in all realms. On the ground, He fought for the children of Israel against the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8-16). In the midst of the sea, He fought for the Israelites against the Egyptians (Exodus 14:13-30). In the air, He fought for Joshua and the children of Israel against the forces of the five kings who gathered against them (Joshua 10:1-20). The awesomeness of this God made the Psalmist to describe Him as the Lord mighty in battle (Psalm 24:. Beloved, what is that battle confronting you? You would be wise to run to God Almighty to fight for you. He is mighty in battle and has never lost any war. He will be your sure Ally and you will be victorious in Jesus’ Name. Surrender your life to Him and hand over those battles of life to Him, and you will begin to enjoy victories without sweat through His involvement.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Mark 2:1-12 contains an interesting story that confirms Jesus Christ as the authentic Saviour of the body, soul and spirit of mankind. a four-man squad brought a paralytic man face to face with Jesus Christ while He was preaching in a house. Amazingly, in Mark 2:5b, the first thing Jesus Christ said to the young man was,
“Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.”
To the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, this was a strange and conceited statement, which should not be uttered by any man. As they reasoned in their hearts on how a man could proclaim another man’s sins to be forgiven, Jesus confronted them with the truth of sin as the origin of man’s troubles on earth. Hear what He said in Mark 2:9-11:
“Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy into thine house.”
On hearing this, the sick got healed; people were so happy for him, and they glorified God.

There are lots of lessons to be learnt from this story, one of which is that sin brings about physical and spiritual calamity. Another lesson is that to overcome physical calamity, the issue of sin must be dealt with first. It becomes easier for healing to take place when the issue of sin has been settled, because the spiritual controls the physical. Sometimes we fail to look beyond the physical in our bid to solve spiritual-inflicted problems, and so we remain in these problems perpetually. Beloved, have you found out the root cause of the problems you are confronted with? Are they spiritual or physical in nature? The good news is that whether they are spiritual or physical, Jesus Christ is more than able to solve them today. In Luke 4:18-19, the Bible says this concerning Him:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Beloved, do you want salvation in every facet of life? Jesus Christ is the one that you need. To receive His salvation, all He requires of you is a total surrender of your heart to His Lordship. If you can do this today, He will save you completely.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Not many people know that the surest source of help is the God of heaven and earth, and for this reason, so many people struggle for a very long time without having anything to show for their efforts. No wonder wise King Solomon, in Psalm 127:1, confessed thus:
“Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”
If you have been struggling all your life, with little or nothing to show for it, your struggles have come to an end today in Jesus’ Name. One struggle a lot of people battle with throughout their lifetime is the struggle against the power of sin. Apostle Paul, before coming to the knowledge of the saving grace in the Lord Jesus Christ, found himself in this situation. In Romans 7:24, he bemoaned his spiritual condition, saying,
“O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”
The good news is that Paul found help from above and he is today, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, numbered among the saints. The same Jesus who did it for Paul can do it for you. The Lord is telling you to look up to Him for that help you seek, because looking elsewhere is an exercise in futility. The Lord Himself will send help from above to you today in Jesus’ Name. The Saviour who helped the woman caught in adultery to come out of her state of spiritual hopelessness, will set you free from the power of sin and empower you to sin no more in Jesus’ Name (John 8:3-11).

Beloved, let Jesus Christ help you. He is calling you today, saying,
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28
For you to receive help from above, you need to answer His call as a matter of urgency. You can do this by surrendering your life to Him. You must stop relying on your own ability and stop trusting in the arm of flesh (Jeremiah 17:5), As a child of God, you must put your trust in Him even as you call upon Him in prayer to come and help you. However, before calling on the Lord, first ensure that there is no impediment in your life that would deny you of His help, because in Isaiah 59:1-2, He says
“Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

One of the problems confronting some contemporary Christians today is accepting the infallibility of the Holy Scriptures. The truth of the matter is this: the Christian faith falls into disarray the moment the integrity of the bible is destroyed by any so-called logical argument. Glory be to God, our Christianity is not based on logic or human reasoning; rather, it is built on the wisdom of God and on the demonstration of His power. Hallelujah!. This is the foundation built upon by the prophets and apostles of the early Church. 1st Corinthians 2:4-5 says,
“And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

Is it not amazing that right from the time of the early apostles, some people crept into the Church to argue against some of the fundamental beliefs of the Christian faith, such as the resurrection of the dead (1st Corinthians 15:12, 2nd Timothy 2:18)? It should therefore be no surprise to any student of the Bible that today, even some so called clergy do not believe in the resurrection of Christ. Paul, in 1st Corinthians 15:13-20, used the wisdom of God to present the truth about the resurrection and it’s significant to the Christian faith. Some people choose to ignore such presentations of truth, and consider them to be fables or allegory. The early Church succeeded in subduing many heresies because they held unto the Scriptures as the infallible word of God. More than ever before, the sufficiency of the Bible for doctrine, for reproof, and for instruction in righteousness is being questioned and doubted today. Thank God, the Holy Spirit knew this would happen, and He, in 2nd Timothy 3:16, declared thus to all those who will listen and be saved:
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”
People argue against Scripture passages that attack their ego or their weaknesses, they pick what suits them in  the Old Testament, like the blessings listed in Deuteronomy 28:1-14, but when they get to Malachi 3:10 that speaks on tithing, they see it as an outdated instruction to the Jews only. Moreover, some people jump at Philippians 4:19 and appropriate it to their lives as infallible Scripture, but when they get to places like 2nd Corinthians 6:14-18, they will claim such passages were written only for the Church at Corinth. Such people choose to ignore the words of 1st Corinthians 10:11. All these are signs of the end-times. Know this for sure: the word of God is settled in heaven, forever, Amen.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

It is unfortunate that many children of God are ignorant of the truth that healing is part of the package of redemption. Neglecting what is their inheritance in Christ, such people seek after inferior channels for relief. My prayer is that God will open your eyes to comprehend in your spirit the reality of healing through the stripes of Jesus. I thank God that the realisation of this truth was one of the earliest testimonies I experienced in my Christian walk. Before I met Jesus Christ and received Him as my Personal Lord and Saviour, there was no month when I would not be attacked by fever. Any month I managed to escape breaking down as a result of fever, I would celebrate. However, when I met the Lord and He opened my eyes to His provision for healing, I grabbed it with both hands, and for many decades since, He has been my Healer.

What should you do if you desire to be healed? The Holy Spirit gives the answer in James 5:14:
“Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:”
Prayer is the Key here. Due to unbelief and unwillingness to pray, most people prefer other channels of healing, though very costly, to the healing that is freely provided through the stripes of Jesus. Beloved, if you desire to be healed of those sicknesses that have defied traditional and orthodox medicine, you must be ready to pray. Moreover, the truth is that more often than not, sickness is brought about by the sin of disobedience. For this reason, James 5:15 says,
“And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”
Disobedience to simple laws of hygiene can bring about sickness. Furthermore, failure to sleep properly, or working round the clock because you want more money, is disobeying the law of Sabbath (the law that governs taking a day of rest). In addition, according to James 5:16, if you desire healing, you must confess your faults to and pray for one another. There are lots of sicknesses and diseases in the Body of Christ that have defied all manner of prayers and medication. This could be the result of holding grudges against anyone. We refuse to forgive each other because we don’t want to admit our faults against one another. Beloved, if you want to be healed, take note of what the Lord is telling you today, and the healing virtue of His stripes shall flow through your body to make you whole.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

You will observe that parents often pass across their most important instructions to their children at the time they are about to leave the world. In like-manner, our Lord Jesus Christ, when He was about to leave this world, gave us the instructions contained in Matthew 28:19. The Body of Christ refers to this set of instructions as The Great Commission. Due to the place of this mandate in the heart of God, I always encourage my spiritual children not to be guilty of the error of neglecting to act upon it. Not only must we do the work of The Great Commission, we must also do it right. We must not be like a certain torch bearer at a railway crossing, whose responsibility it was to warn people from crossing the rail lines whenever a train was approaching. He indeed waved the torch at the sight of an approaching train, but alas, the torch had no light in it. You can be sure the result of such error of omission would be catastrophic. It is terrible to not engage in evangelism, but it is much more terrible to engage in it as an empty routine. On the other hand, it is life-giving when we engage in it with all due diligence.

In 2nd Timothy 4:2, the Holy Spirit gave us a template for what the mode of our evangelism and content of our message should be:
“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”
From this scripture, we understand that the gospel should be preached when it is convenient (in season), and also when it sounds offensive to the society we live in (out of season). We also understand from this scripture that our gospel message should contain reproof, rebuke, exhortation and doctrine. Many preachers today chose not to dabble into doctrinal issues because they would not want to be caught in controversies. You hear them saying, “I am sent to preach prosperity or deliverance and not doctrine!” One wonders whether they are preaching the same message given by the Holy Spirit to the early disciples, which put Stephen and James to death. Are they preaching the same gospel that landed Paul and Silas in the midst of controversies and ultimately in jail? Should we, because of the fear of controversies, imprisonment or even death, fail to preach the word as we ought to? God forbid (Revelation 2:10)! I encourage you, if you have encountered the saving grace of Jesus Christ, to rise up for the salvation of others, in season and out of season, preaching the unadulterated word of God to them.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

“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.”
                         John 10:10
For you to reap the full benefits of the abundant life that Jesus Christ came to give, you need to understand the character of this life. Many children of God short-change themselves because they do not know that the redemption which Jesus Christ earned for us through His Blood is an all-round redemption that touches every aspect of our lives (Colossians 1:14; 20). For example, not only did He redeem us from the power of sin, He also translated us to become citizens of God’s kingdom. As kingdom citizens, we are lifted above the principalities and powers of this world. The Holy Spirit makes this truth clear through these verses of Scripture:
“Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:”
                    Ephesians 1:20-21
“And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places  in Christ Jesus:”
                       Ephesians 2:5

The implication of this is that the devil should no longer dominate, buffet or torment us anymore because we are no longer under his feet, where sin had previously kept us. We have been bought with a price that frees us from the tyrant master (1st Corinthians 7:23, Hebrews 2:14). We are divinely promoted as kings and priests, as declared in Revelation 5:10:
“And hast made us unto our God kings and priest: and we shall reign on the earth.”
We are redeemed and promoted above sorrow, poverty sickness and every form of oppression of the devil. Beloved, learn to celebrate and enforce the divine promotion you have obtained through redemption. Moreover, if you desire promotion in any facet of your life, our text tells us that only God promotes. Therefore, put your trust in God, and your promotion will manifest sooner rather than later, and it will be beyond your widest imagination in Jesus’ Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Shame is an undesirable experience of life. It is the outcome of disgrace, humiliation, reproach or degradation. It can simply be described as the loss of honour or respect as a result of wrongdoing or failure. The Bible reveals that shame has its origin in the fall of man in the Garden of Eden:
“And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.”
                       Genesis 3:7
When Adam and Eve engaged in gross disobedience to the commandment of God, the end result was shame. Shame is inevitable for whosoever will not give due regard to the commandments or instructions that come from the Lord. The devil delights in using the spirit of rebellion as a tool to knock people down from grace to grass. This was the case with King Saul. When he acted contrary to God’s clear instructions, the end result was the shame of rejection. God rejected him as king over His people, Israel. 1st Samuel 15:26 says:
“And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.”

Are you experiencing any form of shame in your life? Has the devil succeeded in dragging you from grace to grass? I have good news for you today: No matter how terrible your past life has been, the Lord will wipe away your shame today in Jesus’ Name. In Isaiah 54:4-5, the Almighty God expressly gives you the assurance that beginning from now, your shame shall become history. To enforce the fulfilment of this prophetic message in your life, you must make a heartfelt cry for mercy through genuine repentance of those sins that have brought you shame. Proverbs 28:13 says,
“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
Furthermore, you need to call upon the Lord like the Psalmist did in Psalm 119:31. What is that shame in your life right now? Is it the shame of sin, sickness, barrenness, or loneliness as a result of a broken home or ailing marriage? An end has come to it today; only believe! Be assured that the God who said you shall forget your shame is well able to do what He said in His word. Indeed your shame shall become a thing of the past in Jesus' Name!
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
Matthew 27:46
The above verse of scripture vividly captures what spiritual separation is and the agony that accompanies it. The Lord Jesus Christ experienced it on the cross of Calvary on behalf all mankind, when He carried the sins of the entire world upon Himself, and the Father turned His face away from Him for the first and only time. My prayer for everyone who is spiritually separated from God is that their eyes of understanding will be opened to see their pitiable state, and that they will realise the agony that awaits them in eternity if they do not reconcile with God.

Sin is the root cause of spiritual separation. The reason is that the Almighty God cannot look at or interact with sin (Habakkuk 1:13). If you are living a life of sin, you are spiritually separated from Him. Genesis chapter 3 narrates to us how the first man and woman experienced spiritual separation. After they sinned, they became empty and naked. They felt so worthless that even when God tried to reach out to them, they were too ashamed to show up. A sense of guilt and self-condemnation overwhelmed their hearts. We thank God that today there is a remedy for spiritual separation: the Blood of Jesus (Colossians 1:19-22). However, there is an eternal spiritual separation that is coming for which there is no remedy; the Bible refers to this as the second death. Revelation 21:8 tells us some of those who will partake in this terrible experience, and the first of these is the fearful. Proverbs 29:25 says,
“The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.”
Saul, the first king of Israel, lost his throne because of the fear of man. Just like King Saul, many leaders have lost their God-given leadership position because of the fear of men. The unbelieving are next on that list. Unbelief was the bedrock of Adam and Eve’s disobedience. Other practices such as lying, murder, adultery, incest, homosexuality, as well as witchcraft and sorcery, are the pathway to external spiritual separation. Beloved, spiritual separation from one’s Maker brings about untold agony and frustration because without God, you can do nothing (John 15:5). If you are in the state of spiritual separation today, close the gap between you and your Maker through genuine repentance and by applying the Blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. Blessed are you if you do this because you will escape the agony of eternal separation from God in the Lake of fire.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Whenever I ruminate over the many-sided blessings embedded in the Good News that came through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, my heart is filled with great joy. I equally find it fascinating that no elaborate process involving complexities is required for us to access these blessings. Jesus did the hard work and made things simple for us. One of such blessings is freedom from condemnation. The righteous judgement of God against sin has brought all of mankind under condemnation. This is the reason why no man can escape the pain of guilt that results from sin, or the consequences that follow it. Romans 3:23 says,
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
Romans 6:23a further says,
“For the wages of sin is death;”
However, the Good News is that Jesus Christ gives us freedom from the condemnation that had put a seal on the destiny of all mankind. In Romans 8:1, this Good News says,
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
Those who are in Christ Jesus can now live a life free from the guilt of sin or the feeling of inadequacy resulting from past misdeeds. Their conscience is liberated from condemnation because they know their sins have been washed away by the precious Blood of Jesus (Revelation 1:5). What does it take to access this blessing of freedom? Only believe! Believe in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, believe He is who He says He is, and believe in the work of salvation He has completed. How do you know you truly believe all these? When your actions and confessions reflect what you claim to believe, that is when you truly believe.

Another blessing of the Good News that you can have access to by faith is the truth that Jesus Christ, though rich, became poor, so that through his poverty, you might  be rich (2nd Corinthians 8:9). Your faith in this article of the Good News will prevent you from doing diabolical or criminal things to get rich, because you know that your prosperity lies in the sacrificial life that the Master has lived. Believing in the words and works of Jesus gives us contentment, the absence of which brings many sorrows to those who want to be rich by any means (1st Timothy 6:6-10). Beloved, do you believe all these? If you do, live your life by the ideals of the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ and you will forever be free from condemnation, now and in eternity.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

“For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men for if I yet please men, I should not be the servant of Christ”
Galatians 1:10
God’s expectation concerning your service towards His kingdom and your service in your workplace is that in both cases, you serve with the mindset of one serving God and not man.  He expects you to render excellent service and to serve without hypocrisy. One mark of hypocritical service is the desire to please men rather than God. A hypocritical worker is more concerned about entering and remaining in the good books of his or her superiors but really does not care whether God is pleased or not. You will commonly find eye-service in such people. Eye-service is service rendered only when the employer is watching. Eye-service is unacceptable to God, especially in His vineyard, and for this reason, the Holy Spirit warns us against it in Ephesians 6:6, saying:
“Not with eye service, as men pleasers; but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;”
In the sight of God, a fellow given to eye-service is a hypocrite. When such people do some work for God, it is not from their heart. They are not bothered about if the work being done is in line with God’s will. All they are concerned about is being seen to be ‘doing something’ by their superiors. They love to be praised by their Pastor or supervisor as being dutiful, diligent and supportive, but is that the record that God has of them?

If you love the praise of men more than the commendation of God, you do not yet know what it is to serve the Lord. The truth is, work or service rendered with eye-service will definitely miss heaven’s mark, and runs the risk of losing heaven’s rewards! How faithful are you to God and His work? Also, how faithful are you to your employer and the objectives for your jobs?  Eye-service is characterized by deception, lies and pretense. If you work in this way, your service is unto the leader whose favour you seek and not unto Christ. You cannot serve Jesus Christ and still have the target to please men. Colossians 3:22 says your service should be backed by the fear of God. If you truly love and fear God, you will serve Him and do whatever He asks you to do, whether your superiors are there or not. If you still see traces of eye-service in your life, repent and turn a new leaf today.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Yesterday, the Lord spoke to us about His intention for Christian homes not just to add to the population of the earth through procreation, but to produce children that meet heaven’s specification of a godly seed, who will represent God everywhere they go and obey Him to the letter. May your homes produce such godly seed in Jesus’ Name! Another reason why God established the institution of marriage is to prevent fornication. 1st Corinthians 7:2 says,
“Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.”
This scripture speaks of the need for husband and wife to be intimate so as not to fall into the pit of sexual immorality. It is common in some homes today for the wife to deny her husband intimacy just because he has not fulfilled certain requests she made, or for the husband to deny his wife intimacy because he is not happy with her. This is at variance with God’s expectation and an abuse of the purpose of sexual intimacy. It is wrong to use sex as a tool for punishing your spouse. People should learn to isolate issues and not mix them up. Neither the Husband nor the Wife has the power to deny sexual intimacy except it is a temporal arrangement, for the purpose of prayer and fasting, and this must be by mutual consent. Denial of sexual intimacy is viewed as fraud from God’ perspective (1st Corinthians 7:4-5).

Both the wife and the husband should strive towards fulfilling the godly sexual desires of their spouse. This is necessary because it is one way the couple will be protected from the hawks outside their home. It is only a foolish woman who will give conditions for intimacy. When you starve your spouse of intimacy, you expose him to external dangers and temptations. Some women who are married to Pastors and ministers of God take it for granted that their husbands can never go out of their matrimonial homes, and as a result, they begin to deny them sexual intimacy at will. Going by recent realities, such women may get the shock of their lives! There are those who use spirituality as basis for starving their spouses. I don’t suppose such people can be more spiritual than Apostle Paul, who wrote the admonition in 1st Corinthians 7:4-5. Some of these people are almost always fasting and praying. Please control your fast before you cause irreparable damage to your home.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Marriage between a man and a woman is approved by God. Besides companionship and receiving a life-time helper, another reason why God established marriage is for the continuity of the human race. Genesis 1:28 says,
“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
After Creation, God blessed man to be fruitful, to multiply and to refill the earth. Similarly in Genesis 9:1, after the great flood that wiped out all of mankind except Noah and his family, God pronounced this same blessing on them. Beloved, God loves fruitfulness, and that is one reason why He instituted marriage. He wants the human race to multiply and spread all over the earth. His desire is for the earth to be subdued and dominated by man whom He has created in His own image. However, this does not justify raising a family without planning for it. If you are married, you and your spouse should prayerfully decide how many children you would add to populate the earth. Never bring children you are not able or prepared to take care of into this world.

While God wants all of mankind to multiply, He particularly wants those who are His own to bring forth godly seeds. In other words, while regular inhabitants of the earth are reproducing and adding to the world’s general population, believers are expected to raise godly seeds that would later reach out to the rest of the world. In Malachi 2:14-15, the Lord plainly stated that He allowed His children to marry so as to produce special children: a godly breed. God wants children who meet ‘heaven’s specifications’ from the homes of His people. Can He say that He has found them in your own home? Not every Christian family can raise these special breed of children, even though they have the potential to. It takes a deliberate collaborative effort between the Holy Spirit and parents to raise children who meet God’s specification of a godly seed. These are heaven-bound children who will walk closely with the Holy Spirit in their lifetime. Their foundations are laid in God’s word and doctrine. They are grounded in the knowledge of God and are carriers of His light. May God help us raise godly seed for His glory in Jesus’ Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

On the 23rd of this month, the Lord took us to the beginning of His creation to learn that companionship is one major reason why He established the institution of marriage (genesis 2:18). God does not want adults to be alone. After marriage, some people refuse to stay in the company of their spouse, giving excuses such as not being “compatible” with their spouse. If you knew you were not compatible with your spouse, why did you venture into marriage with him or her in the first place? Sometimes, the untold underlying reason behind this incompatibility is the gap in educational qualifications, social status or financial power of the couple. In such cases, God expects that the one in the advantage position in the relationship would assist the other to climb up until the gap is bridged. Your wife is your number-one companion. Some men are always in the company of other women. This is a violation of God’s law on companionship.

Moreover, another reason why God established marriage is to raise a permanent helper for the man and vice versa. The term ‘help meet’ used in Genesis 2:18 refers to adequate and appropriate help. In other words, if you obtain your wife or husband from God, you can be assured that God has given you an appropriate destiny helper. Do you know that the fortunes of some people improve tremendously after marriage? Adam could say he had a helpmate because Eve was the bone of his bone, and Flesh of his flesh (Genesis 2:21-23). If you marry the right woman God has for you, favour will suddenly reside in your home (Proverbs18:22). She will prevent waste of resources in your home and load you with good throughout your lifetime (Proverbs 31:11, Proverbs 31:12). This also applies to a woman who marries the right husband. For this reason, it is very important to go to God for your spouse, like Adam received Eve from God. If you get a spouse from God as His child, it enhances your prospects of making Heaven (1st kings 21:25). However, if you get your spouse from friends, relations, computerized match-making services, date clubs, or by your own self will, you may be getting a destroyer instead of a helper. When you have the right man as a husband, he will be a crown over you and help you become what God has in store for you. Help is reciprocal. The reason why some people were plunged into ‘hell’ from the day their marriage started is because they refused to go to the Creator for Him to help them take that crucial decision that has the potential of determining lives and destinies.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

What you focus on will seriously affect your ability to achieve your destiny, realize your goals and glorify God. Many children of God were focused on Jesus Christ before they became exposed to luxurious cars, mansions and exotic lifestyles , but after the Lord prospered them, They  began to ask the Lord questions as to why they should live their lives in accordance with His principles, which got them to where they are in the first place. While prosperity is good, it is only beneficial for as long as it is balanced with a lifestyle of godliness. Prosperity that does not have Christ as its centre is vain and only a passing shadow. A beautiful mansion without Jesus is Hell, while a hut with Jesus in it is Heaven on earth.

In Matthew 2:1-11, we are told that some wise men came to seek Jesus. According to Bible scholars, these men must have traveled for at least two years before they got to their destination. They did not arrive immediately Jesus was born, as it is popularly depicted. From Herod’s enquiries on what time they first saw the guiding star, he could calculate that Jesus could be up to two years old when the wise men arrived. This was why in an attempt to kill the child, he decreed that children who were two years old and younger be killed (Matthew 2:16). When the wise men eventually arrived at the place where Jesus was, they worshipped Him and gave Him gifts. Worship is incomplete without an offering. Proverbs 13:20 says,
“He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed”
If you want to be wise like these men, you will back your worship with good offering. Come before His presence with joy and singing; bring Him gifts and worship Him, and you will be glad you did. Why? Everyone who ever saw Jesus and worshipped Him benefited from it. The wise men did not travel for two years in vain. After they saw the young Jesus and offered Him gifts, their deed was immortalized. For over 2000 years, their story is still being told around the world wherever the gospel of Jesus Christ is preached. Who or what would you really love to see? I want to see Jesus. After working with God for several years, Moses still asked God to show him His glory (Exodus 33:17-23). I often wondered why, before I got the revelation. Job equally had the rare privilege of seeing God (Job 42:1-6). If you search for Him and truly desire Him this Christmas season, you will surely find Him. Are you focused on the reason for the season or lost in the vanity that the world seeks?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

One of the greatest invitations we have from the Lord Jesus is the call to love Him. In Matthew 10:37 he says,
“ He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” 
This invitation is not just to love Jesus, but to love him supremely. It is a call to love Him above everyone who is precious to us: parents, children, family and friends. If you truly love someone, you would be ready to defend your love for that person at any cost. Sometimes, when you love two different people and the two parties are in disagreement over an issue, you will find yourself supporting the person you love more against the one you love less. When the Lord’s instruction are in conflict with the beliefs of loved ones, most people would choose to please their loved ones rather than obey the Lord’s instructions. Do you love Jesus above everyone and everything else? Do you love him above your career, work, academic pursuits, etc?

There are great benefits for those who follow Jesus supremely. First, Jesus says they will be regarded as being worthy to Him. They will be qualified to carry His banner everywhere they go, they are assured of the backing of the Most High God. Also, according to John 14:21, if you love Jesus supremely, God the Father will make you the target of His love and you will be bask in it. In addition, the Lord will manifest Himself to you. Check out all those who experience a manifestation of the Lord, like Saul of Tarsus; their lives never remained the same (1st Corinthians 15: 5-. Furthermore, John 14:23 says,
“Jesus answered and said unto him, if a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
From this scripture, another benefit of you loving Jesus supremely is that both Jesus Christ and God the Father will make your heart their permanent residence. If you experience the reality of this truth, you will enter into the realm of Heaven on earth, where no devil or demons dares to come near you (Deuteronomy 11:21). Are you satisfied with your relationship with the Godhead? Why stay where you are when you can take your love for Christ to the limits and have the Godhead fully living with you?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Quite a number of people today enter into marriage for all the wrong reasons, which is why we need  to ask ourselves this question: Why marriage? The first reason is companionship. To fully understand God’s purpose, let’s take look at the beginning. After God created the firmament, the seas, all the plants and animals, He afterwards made man in the Garden of the Eden. However, as He watched life unfold, He realized that of all the creatures, it was only Adam who had no one of his kind. The trees could produce through their seeds; the animals also had male and female species and thereby multiply. Adam only was the lone ranger in this earthly paradise. Yes, he was in charge. Agreed, he was the god of the whole earth as at that time. Indeed, all animals, birds and fish submitted to him, and true, he had great relationship with them all, but God still saw that there was an issue of loneliness with Adam that no pet or animal could solve. In Genesis 2:18, the Bible 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.” 

God categorically said it is not good for a man to be alone. It is great to go through bachelorhood and spinsterhood during your youthful days. It is an experience you may never get back after going past that stage in life. Nevertheless, at some point, God wants you to be married. He wants you to have a worthy companion. Today, in many homes, companionship is still lacking even after marriage. This is quite unfortunate! Couples marry and stay far apart from each other, this is recipe for disaster and negates the basis for marriage in the first place. A marriage relationship cannot be what it was meant to be as long as the vital ingredient of companionship is missing. For this reason, if a couple who have been married for 30 years become separated  for some 10 to 15 years, by the time they come together again, they would be like total strangers to each other. Are you married? Is your spouse your companion? Some people are ashamed to attend social outing with their wives; why then did you marry her? Do you spend time in each other’s company? Do you enjoy the company of your spouse or do you prefer to keep company with other people? Your legally wedded spouse should be your ideal companion! Is it so with you?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Not every seemingly negative situation is as bad as it looks or sound. In fact, for those called according to God’s purpose, who love God and are in His will, every event works to deliver something good to them (Romans 8:28). This is why we are told that we walk by faith and not by sight (2nd Corinthians 5:7). If you view every incident with your limited understanding, you will be deceived. God can bring out something good from the evil works of your enemies, and in the end, they will end up being fooled, deceived or misguided. If you walk with the Holy Spirit allow Him shed His light on events happening around you, you will see what He is working out for you, and you will react differently to seemingly unpleasant things. Instead of sorrowing or being aggrieved, you would be rejoicing and celebrating. Why? It is because you have begun to see as the Holy Spirit sees.

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
Philippians 2:13
Beloved, if you are saved and standing in God’s will, please know that whatever God allows to come your way is for your good. In the various situations of life you are confronted with, God is working out something for you. He is always in control. The devil may brag, shake the whole place and get everyone afraid, but God is the one at the helm of affairs. He is the One holding the rudder of the ship. He is fully in control and He never stops working. As the devil is scheming, God tampers with his plans. By the time his plans materialize, instead of working against you as originally designed, the devil will see them working for your good and in your favour. Even in very bad situations, God can still work out something good. Can you imagine anything good ever coming out of Samson’s fall? After he fell and was arrested, he was shaved, blinded and made an object of the mockery by the philistines (Judges 16:17-30). However, when he repented, God tinkered with his situation, and at the end of it all, the enemies he killed in his pitiable state where more than all those he killed while he had his eyes and freedom. Beloved, just submit to God in whatever situation you find yourself and you will be shocked at what great feat God can still achieve through you in that situation.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.