₦airaland Forum

Jesus is the greatest change agent that ever lived. A genuine encounter with Him always brings about positive change in the life a person. Not only does this encounter bring about change, it also transforms the changed individual into a change agent. In other words, after changing you, the Lord Jesus Christ can use you to change your city. In John 4:5-39, we see a woman who had been married and divorced five times, who was then living with a sixth man. At that point, she did not even bother with marriage. After she encountered Jesus, He changed the course of her life, and He used her to change her city. This is quite remarkable! How can you claim to have been born again for 10 years or more, and you have not introduced any level of change into your town or village? No matter how tiny the light may be, it will shine in the midst of darkness and overcome it. What impact have you made on your village, community, town or city? How many of your folks know you to be a Christian? A pastor died some time ago, and when his extended family members gathered to plan his burial, some of them thought of burying him the traditional way. His close relatives protested this and had to inform the other family members that he was a pastor. In your village, do people know you to be a born-again Christian? How many of them can say their lives have changed for the better since they encountered Jesus through you?

Moreover, if your encounter with Jesus is taken seriously, He can even use you to change your nation. Never underestimate the power of transformation that starts from just one fellow. Most of us are not pulling our weight spiritually in our nations. If you look at the Acts of the Apostles, you will find some change agents that God used to win whole cities and to turn around nations for Christ. Acts 13:43-44 says,
“Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. And the next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.”
However, the extent to which God can use you will be determined by the degree of change you have allowed Him to perform in you. It will also depend on your mindset, love for God, level of alignment of God’s desire with yours, and the level of sacrifice you are ready to make. While some people are only leading a few souls to Christ, some others are leading whole cities or nations to Him. How impactful do you want to be?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

The Lord of hosts never looses a war. If He gives up a battle, it is because He wants to use that medium to win a war. Our God is always full of surprises. When Daniel's enemies were plotting against him, God knew about it but He kept quiet. By the time Daniel fell into their trap and was thrown into the lions' den, God did nothing about it. After the entrance to the lion's den was shut behind Daniel, everyone thought he was finished. By the following morning however, God sprang some surprises on them all. The fellow they thought was dead and digested in the bellies of the lions came out alive. You are coming out from wherever the enemies placed you - alive, stronger, richer and better! All the mischief makers who thought Daniel's case was closed received a rude shock: his case was reopened, and what they thought was in their favour turned against them. That case that was decided against you in your office or in your extended family shall be revisited in Jesus' Name! What they thought was closed shall suddenly be reopened. The Lord will spring surprises on your enemies this season! In addition, the table turned for Daniel's enemies. Not only were they now to become food for the lions, so also were their family members. This season, all those plotting against you shall be completely wiped out! None of them shall escape in Jesus' Name!

Another surprise God sprang on the enemies of Daniel was that, by the reason of Daniel's miraculous deliverance from the lions' den, the God of Daniel became officially recognised and feared all over the kingdom as the true and living God. In Daniel 6:26, the king said,
"I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end."

Beyond this, after the coast was clear, Daniel prospered in the kingdom. He remained relevant in the corridors of power in successive governments and was recognised as a man that could not be ignored. Daniel 6:28 says,
"So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian."
If you are prepared to pay the utmost price for the Kingdom of God, you can be sure you will receive divine compensation beyond your imagination. How are you living today? Can you take a stand for the Lord in righteousness and refuse to compromise with sin?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

“And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”
Isaiah 65:24
The above scripture contains a very profound promise from God to His people. The Lord manifested His commitment to fulfilling this promise in Acts 10:30-44.
Acts 10:44 says,
“While Peter yet spake those words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.”

Before Peter finished his sermon, he had not even made any altar call or said any prayer when God poured out His Spirit, and the fire fell on all those hearing his voice. The answer to Cornelius’ prayer came while Peter was still speaking, in consonance with the promise of God in Isaiah 65:24. Do you know that the devil still delays prayers? This is why it is very important for us to be baptized in the Holy Spirit; this helps to expedite answers to our prayers (Romans 8:26). When you pray with your understanding or in a language the devil understands, he can take steps to hinder the answer to that prayer. In Daniel 10:1-14, when Daniel decided to set himself apart to seek God’s face in fasting and prayer, God immediately dispatched an angel to bring him the answer to his request that very day. However, the devil equally sent a principality to block the way of this angel for 21 days, until reinforcement was sent to help him. If you pray in the Spirit, the devil will be thrown into confusion, and he won’t know when the answer to your prayer is coming; neither will he know the angel bringing it. In that way, the answer to your prayer is not hindered.

In addition to answering the prayer of Cornelius, God also accepted his offerings. There is nothing as painful as offering something to God and He refuses to accept it. When Cain’s offering was rejected, he was so devastated that he murdered his younger brother (Genesis 4:3-5). On the other hand, when Solomon’s offering was accepted, he received a divine visitation (2nd Chronicles 1:6-12). Let me share what I normally do during offering time with you. When the minister says we should lift up our offering to God and pray, l ask God to send down His fire and take up the offering to Himself. So before I drop the offering in the basket, it is already gone. The cheque may be in the basket, but the actual offering has been taken by fire to Heaven. I pray that from today, God will accept all your offerings and sacrifices to Him!
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

One of the methods devised by the devil to impede our forward march on the straight and narrow way is to steal our joy and happiness. To achieve this, our enemy may make use of career burdens. The presence of a career burden might be the reason why you see some persons who were not as intelligent as you were during your school days, or even those who graduated several years after you did, now far ahead of you career-wise. A fellow under this yoke will want to hide his face when he or she comes face to face with an erstwhile junior, who is now better placed. Many years ago, while still lecturing at the University of Lagos, a professor applied for an advertised job and was invited for an interview. When he got to the boardroom where the interview panel was sitting, he soon discovered that the chairman of the panel was one of his students who had recently graduated. He therefore said to the panel, “I am sorry, it seems I came to the wrong room.” “You are not in the wrong room sir”, replied the ex-student. But he insisted and left.
You need to periodically take stock of your career to ensure you are where you ought to be. If you are deeply unhappy at your job because you are positioned at the level where you ought to be, the devil might be playing his dirty tricks on you. Are you in a situation where some people you interviewed for employment are now your superiors in the same office? Have you been denied your promotion for several years in spite of your hard work, and as a result, not only are your mates now your superiors, even your juniors have become your superiors? If you are experiencing any of these, you might be operating under a career burden from the pit of hell. The aim of this burden is to make you frustrated and disillusioned. Similarly, when your efforts are not receiving a commensurate reward like Peter in Luke 5:1-11, you might be carrying a career burden. Peter toiled all night long but caught nothing. I can relate with his experience because I love to fish. When I want to relax sometimes, I go fishing with my hook. From experience, within five minutes of casting the hook, a fish is taken; but occasionally, I spend hours without catching a single fish. Not too long ago, after spending some considerable time, I eventually caught a fish, but while pulling it out, it jumped back into the river, and there was nothing I could do about it. You might have failed in your career or business, not because you wanted to fail or because you were lazy: the presence of a career burden might be the cause. In the Name of Jesus, in any way you have been a victim of this wickedness of Satan, you are delivered today! That burden is destroyed and taken away from you! All you have lost over the years is restored to you this season!
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

An encounter with Jesus Christ is such a powerful experience that it can bring about a change of name (Mark 3:16). This change of name indicates a change of destiny. His power of transformation changes you from a sinner to a saint (Romans 1:7). There is no greater change than that of a changed life made possible by the redeeming power in the blood of Jesus Christ. If you were known as a night crawler before encountering Jesus, you will become known as a more responsible person after encountering Him. The truth is, if you really encounter Jesus Christ, you will loose most of your old friends because it would be difficult for them to relate with the new you. They won't understand you anymore, because you won't talk the way you used to talk, drink like you used to drink or even dress the way they dress. Following a definite encounter with the person of Jesus Christ, what you like and hate will change, so much so that if you fail to leave your old friends, they will be the ones to desert you. If you say you are born again, and all of your old pals still feel comfortable around you, your salvation is most likely not genuine.

Before I became born again, I had many friends, some of whom were sailors. When they returned from their trips, they brought me assorted alcoholic drinks. Therefore, when my friends wanted to drink alcohol, they would visit me because they knew I would have a lot in store. They sometimes said they could not pass by the house of the king without saying hello to the king. I never knew I was king of alcohol in those days. However, after my conversion, when my old friends visited me, I would offer them soft drinks. They would protest, saying that I already knew the choice alcoholic drinks they normally enjoyed, but I simply told them that I did not stock such anymore. Consequently, I lost most of my friends, but today, God has given me like-minded, godly people as replacements. Have you truly encountered Jesus? What changes have you noticed in your life? Are you still keeping all your old friends, or have they observed the changes in your life and dumped you? Sometimes, some people are afraid of loosing their old friends, and as a result, they do everything to hide their new found faith from them. This is unacceptable in the Kingdom of God. The reality is that if you have met Jesus, you are linked to the greatest Friend anyone could ever have. You should be proud of that and let all your friends know about it. If you are ashamed of Him here on earth, He too will be ashamed to talk about you in Heaven (Mark 8:38).
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Attaining maturity in the Kingdom of God is a process that occurs in stages, the first of which is babyhood. When a person becomes born again, he or she has to first learn the basic principles of life in Christ. Believers at this stage are fed with the milk of God’s word (1st Peter 2:2). They cannot take anything hard because they are babies. They depend on others to simplify processes for them. Just like babies in the natural realm, other people must carry them and clean them up; all they do is eat, play and sleep. If you are too dependent on others, you are most likely still in the babyhood stage spiritually, irrespective of your biological age. If you are very selective of the word of God you read, believe and practice, you are a baby. If you are always complaining about other people, what they did and how they did it, you could just be a baby. Spiritual babies are so dependent on the prayers of others. When confronted by the storms of life, if instead of going on your knees to pray, you find yourself pursuing one pastor or prophet around to pray for you, it is because you need to grow up.
Another level of maturity is adulthood. Christians in this stage are mature and no longer depend on milk but eat strong meat. Hebrews 5:14 says this about them:
“But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

One major difference between those in babyhood and those in the adulthood stage of maturity is their level of discernment. Babes cannot discern anything. Anywhere people erect a signpost and call it a church, a babe will go there to worship. To him or her, every church is a Church of God. On the other hand, adults are more discerning. They are able to test every spirit they come in contact with by comparing the character of such spirits with the Holy Scriptures. They are also able to apply the “fruit test”, for every tree will be identified by the fruit it produces. An adult Christian is able to differentiate between good and evil. He or she can tell who is a servant of God and who is not. Can you call yourself an adult Christian? How sharp is your ability to discern? Are you able to discern between right and wrong? It is amazing that some Christians, who claim to have been saved for several years, still cannot discern between true and false prophets. Are you fellowshipping with people you should not be fellowshipping with? Can you differentiate the Holy Spirit from unclean spirits at any point in time?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

The very first mandate of God to mankind is to be fruitful (Genesis 1:28). This tells you how important your fruitfulness is to God. I declare that this is your season of fruitfulness! Today, everything standing in your way to fruitfulness shall be uprooted and destroyed in Jesus’ Name. Speaking of fruitfulness, you can be fruitful in different areas of life. Do you know that it takes just an idea to become a billionaire? Yet there are people who receive idea after idea. Ideas just keep coming to them because they are fruitful. Every spiritual embargo hindering you from receiving workable, lucrative, life-changing ideas is destroyed today in Jesus’ Name! From now on, you are connected to God’s storehouse of ideas, and you will never run out of them!

The Shunammite woman in 2nd Kings 4:8-17 had everything: a good name, financial resources, political connections and a supportive extended family, but she did not have her own child. Sometimes, life turns out this way. You may be okay in every area of life, except one. You may be making progress in every area except one. Do you know that God is interested even in that area where you are challenged? Yes, He is. If you are experiencing such, today, the Lord will make a way for you! It is your turn to be fruitful.

I was in Britain not too long ago, and among the testimonies I heard was one from a friend of mine, who is a professor. This testimony made me dance. His secretary had been trusting God for the fruit of the womb for some time, and so he called me, requesting to bring her to me for prayers. However, I was already on my way out at this time, and so I asked him to give her the phone. I prayed with her, and the Almighty God backed up the voice of His servant. By the time he called again, she had delivered triplet! Are you trusting God for a baby? The door is opened to you now. Receive your children in Jesus’ Name! Has your intellect been unfruitful? Have you been struggling with poor grades in your academic work? Receive a touch from God today. I command your intellect to be fruitful from today! Draw closer to God. Show Him how much you love Him. Worship Him, praise and thank Him. Give to Him and minister to His servants. Make Him happy by winning souls. The Lord will arise for you today.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

If there is any single word that symbolises Jesus Christ, it is the word “Change”. While some changes are good, some others have negative consequences. Encountering Jesus Christ brings positive change to you. Everything about Jesus spells change. The moment He was born into this world, things began to change. Even the old calendar was changed to reflect the years before Christ was born (BC) and the years after (AD). By His virgin birth, He introduced change to the rules of childbirth. This is why “mono-pause” can become “mono-play”. By the change He brought, we have seen a 56 years-old woman testifying before the people of God with her newborn baby. No wonder Jesus said God can raise children out of stones (Matthew 3:9). Are you trusting God for the fruit of the womb but menopause is telling you that your time is past? Tell it that because your Saviour and Master, Jesus, stands for change, it cannot stand in your way. Shortly, you shall celebrate with your own baby!
If you are connected to Jesus, you cannot but experience glorious changes in your life. Nothing that He created can stand in your way. If what He created cannot stop you, how then can the evil forces and evil mechanisms that were designed by the hordes of hell stop you? They also answer to Him! Indeed, the moment He walked on water, He not only defiled the law of gravity, He also made it respond to His will (Matthew 14:23-27). By this act, the man who said what goes up must come down began to have problems with his postulates. If you encounter Jesus, you go up and stay up. This is why Deuteronomy 28:13 says,

“And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:”

Is the law of gravity affecting your business, ministry, academics, family or spiritual life? I command its downward effect to cease dragging you down from now on! From today you shall go up, and your ascent shall be unstoppable. You shall be the head and stay ahead. Ask for a definite encounter with Jesus today. If you have not accepted Jesus as your Lord and personal Saviour, that is the best place to start.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

A conspiracy can be defined as a secret plan by a group of persons to do something unlawful or mischievous. Whenever you agree or partner with one or more persons to do something against God's express word or will, you are guilty of conspiracy. The attitude of the Holy Spirit towards conspiracy is clear from His judgement against Ananias and Sapphira, who conspired to test Him with their lie (Act 5:1-11). Ahithophel and Absalom also engaged in conspiracy against the Lord's anointed, King David (2 Samuel 15:12). They paid for this sin with their lives, and they both died similar deaths through hanging (2 Samuel 17:23, 2 Samuel 18:9-14). Do you know that many people still conspire to lie to the Holy Spirit today? When auditors are visiting some churches, their pastors will connive with accountants to present doctored records. On arrival, when the auditor asks the accountant if the books presented are the actual financial records, they would affirm that they are. That is conspiring to lie to the Holy Spirit! Those who engage in conspiracy often die together, just like it happened to Ananias and Sapphira, Absalom and Ahithophel, and Korah, Dathan and Abiram (Numbers 26:9-10). This is where married couples need to be extremely cautious. If your spouse is going the way of destruction, never follow him or her. Do all you can to deliver him, but if the fellow refuses, let him or her take that evil step alone. Are you engaged in a conspiracy to defraud your employer or government? It's time to pull out of such schemes and repent.

In like manner, the Holy Spirit hates adultery and fornication. Why? It is because your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. You are His dwelling place. Adultery separates God from His temple. It keeps God outside His throne in your heart. Some people erroneously think that they can fornicate without affecting the presence of the Holy Spirit in them. No way! How can you expect the Holy Spirit, whose personality is defined by holiness, to dwell in a body yielded to filthiness? The Bible in James 4:4 says,
"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."

Fornication strips the glory of God away from you and clothes you in rags and shame. There is nothing glorious about sexual sin. It never adds anything to you; rather, it always takes away your prized possessions. Repent and flee fornication daily! Whatever separates God from you is something to resist by all means!
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Total obedience remains a major key to unlocking the doors of signs and wonders. In 2 Kings 4:1-7, when the man of God gave some instructions to the widow whose sons were about to be taken into slavery, she had every right to call them stupid instructions. He told her to go and borrow empty vessels from her neighbours. With the human understanding, one cannot see the relationship between borrowing empty containers and the money she needed. Also, she was asked to pour the oil in her little bottle into large containers. How can a small bottle of oil fill up one large container, not to mention several containers? That is exactly the point. Blessed are those who will not argue with God. If you ask about my greatest secret, it is simply that I do not argue with God. He has asked me to do many things that the rational mind will call “foolish”, and yet I never argue. Why? I discovered a long time ago that my brain is too little to understand this great God. The Bible in 1st Corinthians 1:27 says,
“But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;”


Many years ago, when God asked me to go to the current site of the Redemption Camp, which was still a dense bush then, I did not argue. I could have advanced several reasons for not going. I could have said it was the operational base of armed robbers, or that it was very far from Lagos, or that there was no electricity or water supply there. Back then, we needed a place where a lot of people could converge for our convention. By the grace of God, I did not argue. Today, the result is there for all to see. If you can be “foolish” enough to obey God completely, you will definitely become a candidate for signs and wonders. Many of the divine instructions that produce outstanding results do not make sense. It did make sense when an axe-head fell into the river and the servant of God sank a piece of wood into the river to make the axe-head float (2nd Kings 6:1-7). It did not make sense when a single march of four helpless and hopeless lepers towards the enemy’s camp became the thunderous hustling of thousands of chariots and horses, thereby chasing away the forces that had besieged Samaria (2nd Kings 7:1-7). It does not make sense when you are in need and God instructs you to give Him or His servant the last you have on you (1st Kings 17:10-14). It may not make sense to you, but it does to Him. The sooner you accept His “foolish” instructions the better for you. If you have to wait until it makes sense, then the miracle might be delayed indefinitely.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
Acts 2:38

For anyone who wants to partake of salvation from sin, Satan and the world, God requires genuine, heartfelt repentance. In Acts 2:37, after preaching to the multitudes, they asked Peter, "What shall we do?" He simply replied, "Repent and be water-baptized, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." From his response, we understand that the Spirit of life Himself is a gift, and that if you will have Him, you must start from the place of repentance. If you want to experience the move of the Spirit in your life, begin with repentance. Repentance is the foundation stone on which faith in Christ is built. Anyone who claims to be a servant of God but who did not start from the place of repentance is only engaging in self deception. Examine yourself today. Are you saved? Have you truly repented?

After you have successfully laid the foundation of repentance, your conscience will be purged by the Blood of Jesus and made to come alive through the prompting of the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 9:14, Romans 9:1); to the extent that if you as much as tell a lie, you won't get away with it. You will remain troubled until you confess and restitute the lie. If you are never under the pressure of the Holy Spirit to make right your wrong deeds, you can be sure that something is wrong with your foundation. Many years ago, while travelling to Lagos from Ilesha (South-West, Nigeria), I forgot to buy a gift for my father in the Lord. By the time I got to Surulere, Lagos, I realised this oversight and so I bought some oranges to give to him from there. As Papa peeled and sucked the oranges, he said, "These oranges are sweet. You must have bought them on the way." "Yes sir", I replied. The Holy Spirit said to me, "You just lied." My response to this was "How did I lie? Roadside is roadside, whether at Surulere or between Ilesha and Lagos." The Spirit then said, "You know his question meant whether you bought them on your way from Ilesha to Lagos." I replied, Does it matter? Does this affect the sweetness of the oranges?" The Spirit insisted, You have lied." So I turned to my father in the Lord and told him I bought the oranges at Surulere, Lagos and not on my way from Ilesha, and Papa exclaimed, "Holy Spirit!" He knew the Spirit was dealing with me. Does this same Holy Spirit deal with you when you lie or sin? If your conscience is not responding to the pricks of the Holy Spirit, it means you have strayed from Him.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Besides physical and material burdens, the devil also weighs people’s lives down with marital burdens. He does this in order to prevent them from actualising God’s plan and purpose for their lives. A person who is weighed down by a heavy load cannot think of moving forward. Mark 5:25-34 tells us the story of the woman with the issue of blood. According to Mosaic Law, the fact that her blood kept flowing continuously implied that she was permanently considered to be unclean. She was therefore ostracized from society. In that state, no man dared come near to propose to her. Even if some man was brave enough to marry her, she had very slim chances of bearing children. Hannah also faced a martial burden as she battled with barrenness, which her mate used in taunting her. She never planned to be barren but barrenness attached itself to her until the Burden-Bearer stepped in. Are you laden with a marital burden? Is there no peace in your home? Is the enemy turning your spouse against you because of the delay in conceiving? Have you been weeping quietly because of the marital burdens you are forced to bear? This season, the Burden-Bearer will intervene in your situation and turn things around for good!

Moreover, some people are battling with spiritual burdens. Mark 1:23-27 tells us of a man in the synagogue with an unclean spirit. Although this man was regularly attending church, a demon was still living inside him. He was like a time-bomb waiting to explode. He did not like what he was carrying, but he could not do anything about it until he met Jesus. Compared to the mad man of Gadara, his case was even tolerable (Mark 5:1-20). He would come to church, sit in the crowd, and yet nobody knew what he was going through. Many years ago, while visiting my mother, some people brought a man who looked almost normal to me. To demonstrate what was wrong with him to me, he simply scratched his head and brought out a cockroach. He dipped his hand into his hair again and another insect came out. He put his finger inside his ear and I could hear the sound of a motorcycle. After a short exhortation, I simply asked him to give his life to Jesus, and he did. I then called on the Burden-Bearer to intervene. When he returned two weeks later, everything had changed. Have you been secretly battling with some spiritual burdens? The Lord will deliver you today! Whatever is responsible for that strange burden in your life, I command it to return to where it came from. You are free from today!
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

As you go through life, the winds, waves and storms of life work against your progress, but be encouraged by the testimony of those who have successfully gone ahead of you in the Christian race. They serve as witnesses of God’s ability to keep His children from failing (Hebrews 12:1). God not only calls, He also keeps and sustains the called. Jude 1:24 says,
“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,”

Be assured that God can keep you from falling. He can also keep you from failing. He can preserve you on your trip to destiny. He can keep you saved and living right before Him. Have you been unstable in your Christian faith? Have sin, Satan and the world been buffeting you, so much so that you are not experiencing the reality of a triumphant Christian life? The One who is able to keep you faultless will begin to strengthen you from today! By His grace, you will no longer be a victim of sin. The yoke of an inconsistent walk with God is broken today! Receive grace to live faultless before God’s throne in Jesus’ Name!
“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”
1st John 5:4

If you are truly born again, you have been placed in a position that is in opposition to sin, Satan and the world. These entities will come against you on a daily basis. However, you should not be afraid, because God has given you the faith that overcomes. It is your duty to feed this faith and make it grow. Faith is like your body that requires food daily. The right food will strengthen and increase it, enabling it to withstand opposing forces, while the wrong diet will cause it to grow weak, lean and even die. Don’t kill your faith! Separate yourself from all those who constantly tell you that you can’t make it. Put a distance between you and anyone that wants to lure you into sin. Also, watch your activities on the internet and social media, so that you do not destroy your faith. Feed and develop your faith daily by studying the Bible, listening to messages of true servants of God, listening to testimonies, seeking counsel from godly counsellors and by praying in the Holy Spirit. If there is one thing you need to jealously guard always, it is your faith.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Burdens are loads imposed on a person by the wicked forces of this world or by circumstances of life. They come under certain categories, one of these being physical burdens. Physical burdens are exemplified by the case of Naaman who had an incurable disease (2 Kings 5:1). Also, the woman with a spirit of infirmity, who could not straighten herself for years, is another case in point (Luke 13:11). No matter how much she tried, everywhere she went, she remained bent. Similarly, the man who had been at the pool of Bethesda for 38 years had a physical burden (John 5:2-9). Do you have a physical burden? Are you physically handicapped? Jesus Christ will lift your physical burdens today! You shall experience a turnaround in Jesus' Name!

Burdens could also be material in nature. The widow of Zarephath was carrying a material burden (1 Kings 17:8-16). Things used to be good for her, but her situation deteriorated to the point where she had only one meal to her credit. In addition, the heavily indebted widow of 2 Kings 4:1-7 was plagued by the debts left by her late husband. The creditors came calling and threatened to enslave her sons. Thank God she knew the place to run to. She cried to the prophet, who was connected to the Burden Bearer, and the tide turned for her and her children. What about the wedding feast in John 2:1-11? They thought they had everything in place, but midway through the celebration, they ran out of wine. They called on the Burden Bearer and He supplied what was lacking.

A very wealthy man with a fleet of 14cars once picked a quarrel with his wife, and she threatened that by the time she was done with him, he would be trekking about the streets of Lagos, Nigeria. The man laughed it off, not knowing the kind of woman he had as a wife. Not long after, his business began to nose-drive, and things became so bad that at a point, he had only one car left with 50 kobo in his pocket. Then he reasoned within himself, "If I buy petrol with this money, I will starve, and if I spend the money on food, then I would have to trek in fulfillment of my wife's evil decree." That was when he decided to run to Jesus Christ for help, and the Lord turned things around for him. By the time he was sharing this testimony, he was dedicating two new houses on the same day. What material burdens are you carrying presently? If you run to Jesus, He will help you carry it. Through Him all material burdens can be lifted.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

"But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!"
Matthew 8:27
Are you currently in a state of perplexity? Does it seem as if the devil has vowed to sink the boat of your life? I have good news for you: he is only joking. Why? One reason why the boat of your life cannot sink is because all the elements, wind, storm and waves working against your boat were created by God, and they must hear His voice and obey Him. The disciples could not believe their eyes when they saw the manifestation of this. Jesus spoke to the contrary wind and the waves of the sea, and they obeyed Him. This season, everything working contrary to your boat and sail will hear the voice of the Master and beat a retreat in Jesus' Name.

Everything God has created treats His voice with fear and awe. According to Psalm 29:3-9, this voice is so powerful and awesome that there is no one and nothing that can withstand it. When the Lord speaks, thunder and lightning follow (Isaiah 30:30). When He speaks, the world beholds the true majesty of God. When He speaks, mighty cedar trees are split in pieces. When He speaks, the hottest of fires is cooled. When He speaks, the earth shakes and the wilderness quakes. When He speaks, hidden secrets are exposed and the impossible become possible. What can resist God's voice? Nothing in or out of this world can! Today, the Lord will speak into your situation and every force or power actively working against you will take their flight. Yes, when He speaks, anything standing in His way will have to give way. At a point in time, the Philistines gathered together to invade Israel like they had done in times past. Samuel cried to the Lord and the voice of the Lord sounded from heaven to roundly defeat them. They never invaded Israel again after this (1 Samuel 7:8-13). As God speaks into your situation today, the speed at which your oppressors will disappear will be quite amazing. Look around you today, what are those things that have refused to let you go forward? Call on the Lord to speak into your situation now and there shall be change. The Lord will speak into your life, family, work place, finances and academics today, and all your enemies shall scatter.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

In the world we live in today, a lot of people are overwhelmed by sorrow and are living in depression. It is therefore no accident that one of the crucial assignments of the Holy Spirit is the work of comforting the sorrowful and uplifting the depressed (John 16:6-7). His comfort shifts your focus away from your fears, wipes away your tears, sets your mind on the bigger picture you should see, gives you peace in the midst of the storm and gives you a reason to live beyond that moment of depression. In the end, He also gives you strength to help others in similar situations. In any area you need comfort of the Holy Spirit, receive it today in Jesus’ Name!

Several years ago, while still lecturing at the University of Lagos, I had a particular student we referred to as Brother Moses. He was a passionate soul-winner. His passion for the lost endeared him to me. We became so close that you would even think he was my biological first-born son. After he graduated from the university, he was posted to the northern part of Nigeria for his mandatory one-year service in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme. Within a few months of his service year, his fellow corps members had fallen in love with him. Then suddenly, he died. His fellow corps members could not accept this, and so they began to pray. He died at about 10am and by 2pm he came back to life. He told the brethren the Lord asked him to come back to tell them that they were praying the wrong kind of prayers, and that their noise was disturbing Him. The Lord said they should not be praying for Brother Moses to return from glory to join them on earth; they should rather be praying for themselves to finish the race and end up in glory. As soon as he delivered this message, he lay back on the bed and off he zoomed back into glory! When I heard of this incident, I grieved so much. I tried to comport myself with dignity during the Church service but immediately after the service and at other times when I was alone, I wept over and over again. On the third day, the Lord asked me why I was crying. I told Him it was because Brother Moses had died, but He corrected me that I was weeping because Brother Moses left me behind. Then the Lord asked me this: “How would you feel if you travelled abroad to a place you have never been to and suddenly you bumped into someone you knew before?” I said I would be happy. Then He replied, “When you get to Heaven, Jesus will be there to receive you, but Brother Moses will be there to specially receive you.” That brought comfort to me like nothing else! Beloved, your loved ones who died in the Lord will be waiting for you at Heaven’s gate when your time on earth is up. Just fight the good fight of faith and pray that you finish well.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

For quite a long while in times past, I usually said that the Lord of Host never looses a battle, but quite recently, the Lord corrected me and said, "Son, I can loose a battle to win a war. I never loose a war." According to His divine wisdom, when it pleases the Lord, He can choose to loose a battle in order to win a war. He can give up a battle, but He has never lost a war. We need to tap into this divine wisdom and apply its principle in our lives. It's all about looking at the bigger picture. You will gain more from winning a war than from winning a battle. You will also loose more when you loose a war than when you loose a battle. Some people are not ready to loose any battle, and as a result, they loose the war that is more crucial. Take for instance, evangelism. If you go to preach to an individual about Christ and an argument ensues, you are faced with the choice of winning a battle (the argument) or winning the soul of the sinner (a war). If you choose to win the argument, you will most likely loose the soul. This is why you should not get involved in arguments when preaching the gospel to unbelievers. Time to evangelise is not a time to argue about whose religion is more superior. Faith in Christ Jesus is more than just a religion. Simply tell the sinner about Jesus and God's love towards him or her. Share your salvation experience with him or her. Stir up his or her interest in Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit will do the necessary work of conviction. After playing your part, you can then invite the person to surrender his or her life to Christ.

When you observe that God is seemingly loosing a battle or battles, it is because there is a bigger war He wants to win. For instance, in the midst of intense persecution of the early Church, God allowed His beloved Stephen to be martyred. Why did He allow this? It's because He wanted to win the war of saving the ring leader of Stephen's murderers, Saul. Through Saul, He planned to convert whole cities and to virtually turn the world upside down, and He succeeded in this (Acts 17:6). At the end, it became a double gain for the Lord as Stephen had a triumphant entry into Heaven while Paul, who supervised his martyrdom, became a mightier instrument in the hand of God for the salvation of souls on a massive scale across the globe. This testimony about Paul in Acts 19:26 show the awesomeness of God's wisdom:
"Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:"
Anytime you follow God's wisdom, you will know when to loose a battle in order to win a war.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

God's voice is so powerful that it can bring about abundant increase. When He speaks in a situation of lack and acute shortage, whatever is responsible for the anomaly is arrested and there is bountiful provision. An example of this can be seen in the lives of the children of Israel. In Genesis 46:26-27, we read that all the people that Israel brought with him into Egypt including Joseph and his family were 70. However, when they were leaving Egypt, the men alone were numbered at 600,000 (Exodus 12:37). In fact, the Israelites' rate of multiplication in Egypt was so rapid that it became a source of worry to the Egyptians (Exodus 1:7-10). Sometimes, we think that such miracles can only occur in Bible times. By the grace of God, in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, we have seen God's faithfulness demonstrated in the area of multiplication. In 1952, the Church started with about 12 people. By the time I became the general overseer in 1981, we had only 40 parishes including the headquaters. The convention we had in 1980 had a little over 600 people in attendance, yet we thought that was quite large. Today, through the grace of the Almighty God, this same Church has spread to over 174 nations of the world! Why? It is simply because there is a God who can speak from Heaven to make something little increase abundantly. This shall be your portion today in Jesus' Name!

A blessing summons all the forces in heaven, on earth and underneath the earth to help an individual to succeed. To bless someone, you have to open your mouth to declare it. When God blesses you, all the angels of God will assist you, and even demons will fight one another to clear the way for you. In Genesis 48:8-20, Joseph, while visiting his father Jacob with his two sons, carefully guided his father to rest his right hand on the head of the elder son, Manasseh, and to rest his left hand on Ephraim the younger. At this time, Jacob was old and sick, and could no longer see. When Jacob crossed his hands over the two boys, Joseph protested but Jacob insisted, saying the younger will be greater than the elder, and then he blessed them. Within a short period of time, the younger son had become 10 times more blessed than his elder brother (Deuteronomy 33:17). This is what the declaration of a divine blessing can do in the life of a person. Ask God to declare His blessings on you. You can also seek the declaration of blessings from a father that is connected to God.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Besides sowing seeds, obedience is another key factor that can trigger a miraculous harvest in your life. May the Lord grant you grace to obey Him completely in Jesus’ Name. To enter into this realm of the miraculous, all you need to receive is the divine directive, and immediately you comply with it, you will have your miracle. In John 2:1-12, Jesus and His mother were invited to a wedding in Cana of Galilee. At some point, they ran out of wine. His mother came to tell Him of their need, but He simply said it was not yet time for a miracle. Pre-empting Jesus, maybe based on experience, Mary told the servants present to wait on Him, receive any instruction from Him and carry it out to the letter. Later, the Lord instructed them to fill up some water pots with water. The servants thought of arguing with Him that what was needed at the party was wine and not water, but remembering Mary’s strict instructions to do whatever He asked them to do, they complied. Thereafter, Jesus asked them to fetch some of the water and serve the chairman of the wedding feast. Again, they wanted to argue, but recalling what Mary said, they obeyed. They took it to the chairman but prepared a ready-made answer should he taste it and ask why they served him water. However, on their way, the water became wine.

One lesson from this story is that God searches for certain attributes in people before giving them their desired miracles. If you want a miracle, you must approach God in faith (Hebrews 11:6). Also, if there is no divine instruction or word from God backed up by total obedience from man, that miracle may never see the light of day. Before performing a miracle, God searches to see whether there is any word of His to honour by this miracle. In other words, if no prophetic word, word of revelation or promise of the Scripture is available concerning the situation, seeking for a miracle in such a case could lead to disappointment. No wonder the Psalmist in Psalm 138:2 said
“I will worship toward thy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving-kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

In addition, if you truly desire a miracle, you must first crave to be acquainted with the God of miracles. Our God is a God of relationship. He is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24, John 15:15). He can sustain His relationship with you even to generations after you depart from the earth. Lastly, after God has given an instruction, nothing short of total compliance is required to trigger your miracle. To get a miracle, God has His part to play, and so do you. How well are you playing your part?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Some people make all kinds of vows, pledges and promises before they receive the blessings of God, but after they experience the blessings, they make no move to keep their promise, redeem their vow or honour the verbal commitment they made to God. If you are one of such people, repent now and make good your promises. If we take a close look at the patriarchs of old, we will find really determined people to learn from amongst them. Take for instance David. He was just a shepherd boy when the Almighty God picked him up and blessed him. What did he do with the blessings? He determined in his heart to build a temple for God, but God said to him, “Your hands are full of blood because you are a warrior. I cannot allow a soldier like you to build me a temple.” Then he replied, “Lord, if you will not allow me to build you a temple, I will provide most of the money needed to do it, while you can set someone else to supervise the building.” In 1st Chronicles 22:14-16, we see David fulfilling his promise to God on this. His heart was there. Most of the gold, silver, bronze and other materials that Solomon needed to build the house of God were provided by David.

Moreover, if you look closely at the events in 2nd Samuel 24:22-24, you will discover something about David's attitude towards giving. As a matter of principle, he never gave God a casual offering. Any time he had the opportunity to give an offering to God, he gave substantially and did it sacrificially. He delighted in giving wholesomely to God. No wonder he was blessed beyond measure, financially and materially. If you add up what he single-handedly gave for the building of the temple in today’s terms, you can safely say he was a billionaire. He gave 3,400 metric tons of gold, 34,000 metric tons of slivers and so much bronze that it could not be weighed. What is your attitude towards giving? Do you wait to be pushed, compelled or begged before you give to God? What is the most valuable thing you have ever given to God? Are you still in the practice of giving to God only when you can afford to?

When you receive God’s exponential blessings, they will be more than what you can handle. They will go far beyond what you need. What then do you want to do with such blessings? Have you told God about it? Do you have a burden or a vision for the Kingdom of God that you will pursue?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

One crucial question that many people asking God to prosper them have not answered is: what will you do with the wealth you are asking for? While some people are sure of what to do with such wealth, many others are not so certain. Why do you want God to prosper you? Is it so that you can have multiple spouses, build multiple houses or buy a multitude of cars? If you really desire great wealth from God, what you plan to do with it to bring glory to His Name must not be far from you. May you have the right reasons, motives and goals that will be honoured by God in Jesus' Name!

Let us consider the case of Abraham our spiritual father. After God promised to bless Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 and repeating the same promise in Genesis 12:7-8, what did Abraham do? Abraham immediately built an altar and worshipped God. Note that at this time, all Abraham had was God's promise; there was no blessing yet. In other words, he was saying, "for promising to bless me at all, You deserve my worship." Down the line, in Genesis 13:1-4, after the blessings started pouring in, Abraham did not forget his resolve to worship God. He travelled quite some distance to an altar he had earlier built at Bethel to worship God. By the time you get to Genesis 22:1-18, although Abraham had become truly blessed, he still proved to God that he loved Him more than any blessing he had received from Him, including Isaac his beloved son. When God saw all these, He was so impressed that He released greater blessings on him; hence, Abraham's servant could testify that God had greatly blessed Abraham (Genesis 24:34-35). From the onset, Abraham was focused on worshipping God. As the blessings came, He remained committed to worshipping God. For this reason, the Holy Spirit in Isaiah 51:2 instructs us to learn from him:
"Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him."

Not many of us are like Father Abraham. When you allow the little blessings you received from God to derail you from the faith, how can you then convince God to give you more? If you truly want the exponential blessings that God has reserved for you, you must have a solid plan for how you will glorify Him with such wealth. How are you spending the little you have now?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

One law that applies to everyone is the law of harvest. The Holy Spirit in Galatians 6:7 says it is what you sow that you will reap. As a universal law, it holds true irrespective of your religious inclinations, race, colour or tribe. It applies, regardless of whether you believe it or not. Similarly, it is common knowledge that the kind of soil a seed is sown in will definitely affect and determine the harvest that will be taken from it. If the soil is good, the harvest will most likely be good, but if the soil is bad, the harvest will most likely be poor. If there are several farmers sowing the same type of seeds in the same kind of soil, is it possible for one farmer to have a more prosperous harvest than his colleagues? The Bible answers this in 2 Corinthians 9:6:
"But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully."

It is possible for one the farmers to reap a better harvest, if he or she increases the quantity of seeds sown or the frequency of sowing. In light of this, the preacher strongly advises us to engage in regular sowing of seeds. You should be prepared to sow by day and by night. You should also sow when you are young and continue sowing when you are old. Why? Nobody can determine how the harvest of the seeds he or she has sown will be. Some seeds may come up with a poor harvest, some with a good harvest while some others may not yield at all. All these are pointers to the fact that your input can greatly influence your harvest.

Some people sow once in a very long while and then wait to see the harvest before deciding to sow again. This is why their harvest is kept far away from them. Do you know that in spite of all God has done for us - He sowed His only begotten Son to obtain our redemption - He is still sowing seeds of mercy, love, forgiveness, protection, provision, etc into our lives on a daily basis? This is why He continues to take in harvest of souls every day. No wonder He tells us in Galatians 6:9:
"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."
How frequently do you sow into God's Kingdom? Have you stopped sowing because you are now old? Don't stop sowing! Scatter your seeds today!
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Holiness is so integral to the person of the Holy Spirit that the word "holy" is attached to His Name. You cannot live the Christian life without having a relationship with the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9); but to have a good relationship with the Holy Spirit, you need to understand that He detests sin. Part of His assignment in this world is to liberate you from the power of sin and to help you live above it (John 16:8, Romans 8:2, Galatians 5:16). Two sins entangling a lot of Christians today and fast eroding their character are stealing and lying. Stealing has its origin in covetousness and it leads to betrayal. The life of Judas Iscariot, a man who walked with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, is a case study of this (John 12:6). Today, due to covetousness, even ministers of God are stealing from the church purse, thereby betraying the huge trust reposed in them by God. Have you been stealing from God or from men? Repent, restitute and turn a new leaf today (Ephesians 4:28)!

In 2 Kings 5:20-27, Gehazi lied to Naaman and received the gifts his master had rejected. Thereafter, his master sent for him and asked him where he had been. He lied again saying he went nowhere. He however did not get away with that lie. There are lies you tell and it may appear you got away with them, but there are also lies you will tell that will leave their sting on you perpetually. Gehazi lied to his master and his life changed negatively and irreversibly from that day. Similarly, Ananias and Sapphira may have told lies in the past and escaped the consequences. However, on the day they lied to Peter, they never lived to tell another lie (Acts 5:1-10). If you consider the punishment that followed the supposedly "little" lie of this couple, many people would be of the opinion that it far exceeded their offence. Why? It is because they see lying as a regular, common sin that is inconsequential if weighed on a scale with "heavier" sins like murder. This is why many people engage in it, even those who profess faith in Jesus Christ. Some people have even categorised lies by colour and size! If God could bring leprosy on Gehazi and kill Ananias and Sapphira because of lies, it means that He does not take lies lightly as we do. God even says He will exclude all categories of liars from the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:8, Revelation 21:27). Run away from lies and embrace Jesus Christ, the Truth!
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

In Exodus 1:8-11, a generation of the children of Israel woke up one day and realised they had become slaves in a foreign land. From that moment, their children were born into slavery. Slavery became a burden that was attached to them for hundreds of years. Has something unsavoury been attached to you from birth? The Lord shall separate you from such burdens today in Jesus' Name! Thankfully, just as there are burdens, there are also burden-bearers. A burden-bearer is someone who sees you carrying some burden and offers to carry it for you, or gives you a helping hand. We see this demonstrated in Matthew 27:27-32. While leading Jesus to Golgotha where He would be crucified, the Roman soldiers made Him carry His heavy wooden cross. Even though He had been thoroughly beaten, was bleeding and was tired, He still had to carry this cross. As they began the journey, Simon of Cyrene came along and he was compelled by the soldiers to assist Jesus in carrying His cross.

Some years ago, we had an experience with one of our domestic workers. Whenever we asked her to suggest a chorus during our family devotion, she would always raise a particular song that says, "The fire is burning the bush but the bush is not consumed, how great is our God." One day, we curiously decided to find out about this fire she kept singing of. On interviewing her, we discovered that she became a housemaid because her parents were heavily indebted and could not pay. By the grace of God, we paid the debt. The following day, when asked to suggest a chorus during prayer time, she sang a new song which proclaimed "He has done it for me!" if you have carried a burden for so long and the burden gets lifted away, your song will indeed change. The burden-bearer is the one who sees you carrying a burden and empathises with you. He comes to say to you that the load you are carrying is too heavy for you, and then offers to help you. There is no greater burden-bearer than the Lord Jesus Christ! He wants to help you carry any load you are struggling with. Here is His call to you today:
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
Matthew 11:28
Accept His invitation, and call on Him for help.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Have you ever been on a journey and the opposition against your progress was so intense that you felt you would never get to your destination? If your answer is yes, then know that you are not alone. Life is like embarking on a journey to a destination. Every trip has its obstacles and hurdles. While on a journey, the disciples of Jesus once found themselves in this kind of tough situation. It was so bad that they felt their boat was going to sink. In fact, water was already entering their boat, and going by all they saw, it appeared nothing could be done. If you are facing a similar situation today, simply make this confession to yourself: my boat cannot sink, I shall reach my goal and nothing can stop my trip!

Why will my boat not sink? The reason is because Jesus Christ is in the boat of my life. Nobody and nothing can "swallow the ship where lies the Master of ocean and earth and skies", a song-writer declared. The greatest mistake you can make is to embark on a journey without Jesus in your boat. It is important to note here that you should have Jesus Christ in the boat of your life, which you can do by receiving Him as your Lord and personal Saviour. In addition to this, you should also have Him in the boat of your endeavours. Do you know that if Jesus is in the boat of your life but not in the boat of your personal endeavours, these projects or plans can sink? Many believers today take it for granted that because they are saved, automatically they will scale through any rough waters, including projects in which they never involved the Lord. This is not faith but presumption. If you are a believer in Christ and you go ahead to start a business, a home or a career without God's involvement, you are on your own. This is why Proverbs 3:5 says you should trust God and not depend on your own limited understanding. Even when Jesus appears to be asleep in your boat, as long as He is in your boat, He is still in control. Hence Psalm 121:4 says,
"Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep."

Is God silent over your situation? Does it appear that He is unaware of what you are going through? Do you feel abandoned by God or even doubt whether He really loves you? Be comforted! God still loves you. He cares so much for you. He empathises with you in that present situation you are faced with, and He will surely make a way for you. In spite of how you feel, God is still in control. In spite of how distant God appears to be, God is right in the middle of your situation to bring you out. It does not matter what is happening around you, the Lord is in control. Very soon, you will testify of His intervention.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Our Heavenly Father expects us all to grow in our Christian faith (2 Peter 3:18). If you refuse to grow, you may end up keeping God in an endless state of waiting for you to grow. Unfortunately, while God waits for you to grow, you may end up losing certain crucial things to others who grow up faster. For how long will you remain a babe? How long do you expect God to wait for you? Keeping God waiting can definitely affect His original plan for the life of some of His children. The night is far spent, and the Lord's return is around the corner; therefore we cannot afford to slow down the growth process.

Your level of maturity determines the level of relationship you have with God, and in turn, the level of your relationship determines the communication channels that are open to you from heaven (Numbers 12:6-. It also determines your understanding of and response to God's word. As a result of this, you can expect different responses to the same word from God by different children of God. Take for instance, if you tell three Christians at different maturity levels that God loves them, they will see it in different ways. When a baby Christian hears "God loves you", he will rejoice because this reminds him of his triumphant state. He will remember Romans 8:37 which says,
"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."

When you tell an adult Christian "God loves you", he will inquisitively ask why you are saying this to him, because this reminds him of responsibility: for whosoever the Father loves, he chastises (Hebrews 12:6). On the other hand, when you tell a bone-cracking Christian "God loves you", he will be a lot more apprehensive. He will say "Amen; may God have mercy." He is saying this because it reminds him of sacrifice: for whosoever the Father loves, He sacrifices (Genesis 22:2, Ephesians 5:2). God the Father was so pleased with Jesus that He sacrificed Him to redeem the world (John 3:16). When God wanted to proved to the world that there was no God above Him, what did He do? He sent His outstanding sons, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abegnego, into fire. When He wanted to show His supremacy over lions, what did He do? He allowed His beloved Daniel to go into the lion's den. How will you respond now when I say to you that God loves you? Can God trust you enough to send you on tough assignments that will bring honour and praise to His Name?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

In addition to knowing God as the Father and as the Son, you also need to know Him as God the Holy Spirit. There are many marvelous things to know about the Holy Spirit. For example, He is the Source of our power (Acts 1:, a wonderful Teacher (John 14:26) and a Revealer of secrets and of the future (John 16:13). Although all these characteristics are wonderful, one characteristic I find so fascinating is that He is the Comforter (John 14:26). If you have experienced Him as the Comforter, you will be able to comfort others in their time of distress (2 Corinthians. 1:4). If you have not experienced sorrow, you cannot be of much use in comforting the sorrowful. When we encounter tragedies and sorrowful situations, the best people can do is to say comforting words like "take heart", "sorry", etc. In such situations, the ministry of the Comforter is needed to heal the hurt felt deep inside. Are you presently going through a sad circumstance? Are you so sorrowful that all human attempts at comforting you have failed? The Holy Spirit will reach out and comfort you today in Jesus' Name.

In times of sorrow, people do not expect some of us who occupy certain positions to express sorrow. This should not be so. I once visited a family who suffered a great loss, and I began to shed tears after seeing what they were going through. Some people began to say, "You are the General Overseer, you are not supposed to cry. We have come here to comfort those who are mourning; we should not be mourning." I simply told them, "Leave me alone. In a similar situation, Jesus wept. If Jesus can weep, I am free to cry also." One of my sons lost his mother, and it was extremely difficult to comfort him. His mother had suffered to train her three children and these children had plans to take good care of her. She however passed on while they were still trying to find their feet. This brother began to ask God why He called his mother home at a time when they had not been able to do anything for her. The Lord simply replied, saying "Your mother has come to be with Me. Can you take better care of her on earth than I am doing here in Heaven?" On hearing these words, he dried his tears, apologised to the Lord and moved on. Are you in a situation where you need the comfort of the Holy Spirit? He will reach out and touch you today. He will dry your tears, calm your fears and give you a greater hope.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

More often than not, we associate sowing with giving of money. For this reason, some people who do not have money believe they do not have anything to sow. This is far from the truth! If you do not have money, you can sow your time or talents into the work of the kingdom. Be it through praying, using your natural talents or your acquired skills/training, there is no one who has nothing to sow. Even if all you can do is smile, you can apply this in making new comers to church feel welcome. If you are a dramatic person, use it for the propagation of the gospel. Everyone has something to sow; all you need to do is to identify what you have. Romans 12:6-8 says,
"Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; OR ministry, let us wait on our ministring: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness."

When you sow a seed in tears, you will reap its yield in joy. Moreover, what you reap will be determined by what you have sown. You can sow towards the salvation of a loved one, telling God that he or she must not go to hell. To this end, you can sow prayers, fasting and witnessing to the fellow. The day such a soul eventually becomes saved, you will definitely reap the joy of heaven (Luke 15:7). I cannot forget the wife of one of my friends; I was his best man at their wedding. My friend's wife would say to me, "Please give your life to Christ and be born again." But I would tell her "I am already a Christian, and my Christian name is Enoch." She would reply, "That is not what I am talking about", and then she would begin to cry. I would look at her and wonder what was wrong with her, saying "I am not the worst fellow around; at least you can ask your husband. He knows I am a good person." However, she kept on praying and crying, sowing in tears for my salvation. Today, she is now laughing. When last did you sow towards the salvation of a loved one - family or friend? Some of us attempt to preach to such a fellow once or twice, but after being rebuffed, we say ". I have done my best; if you like, refuse to repent. Your blood can no longer be required from my hands." Yes, you have made attempts, but you have not yet done your best. You have to keep at it, and in Jesus' Name, you will reap in joy.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

The fact that God answers prayers is without doubt. Anytime you call on Him, as long as it is in the Name of Jesus, you can be sure the answer will come. Jesus in John 14:14 said,
"If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it."

To God, answering prayers is a question of keeping His word. He said if you call upon Him when you are in trouble, He will deliver you, and He is bound by His word (Psalm 50:15, Hebrews 6:18). There was once a contest between the prophet of God, Elijah, and 450 prophets of an idol called Baal (1 Kings 18:19-24). Each side was to call on their God or god; the goal was to see which side would receive a response by fire. The prophets of Baal called on their God from morning till afternoon, but there was no answer. The moment the man of God called on the Lord, fire fell from heaven. God is still in the business of answering prayers, but are you still in the business of obeying Him? Be assured that God is still in the business of stilling raging storms. If you remove iniquity from your heart, you will call on Him and He will answer and deliver you.

As much as God desires to answer your prayers, if you still enjoy a life of sin, your prayers cannot be answered. We must make conscious efforts to remove all impediments to our prayers. Such impediments include what the Bible describes as "the sin which doth so easily beset us" (Hebrews 12:1). The pleasure of the flesh run against God's expectations (Galatians 5:17). Such pleasures will not allow us to receive answers to our prayers. We must be weary of gossip because their is great danger in every idle word we speak (Matthew 12:36). Jesting should also be avoided (Ephesians 5:4). Jesting refers to unholy jokes. God is not against laughter and humour as some people wrongly believe. He is pleasantly humorous, but we must keep ourselves from unhealthy jokes that hinder holy living or make fun of the Holy Spirit. The Lord is not just looking for those who are calling on Him for miracles and signs; He is searching for those who will lift up holy hands and a pure heart before Him (Psalm 24:3-5). He is looking for those who are ready and committed to walking in His footsteps. God is holy, and He has called us to holy living. We are to do as He commands because we are the light of the world. God in Heaven is glorified when our light shines in the midst of the darkness of this world. If you don't want any impediment to your prayers from now on, you must amend your ways. If you have been stealing, repent and steal no more. If you have been involved in questionable transactions and dealings, you have to repent and forsake such ways. If your life is right with God, your prayers will not be hindered.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Insincerity is one of the greatest reasons behind the downfall of many believers today. Some people claim to love God, but the kind of fruit they manifest makes people question the genuineness of their salvation. Loving God is not just by words, it must reflect in all that we do and in our approach to life. The moment we are saved, we should no longer walk as those who are heading for eternal damnation. The word of God must be obeyed in its entirety. There are believers today who cherry-pick the aspects of the Bible they want to obey. This should not be so! After we are saved, it is expected of us to immediately renounce all the hidden things of dishonesty (2 Corinthians 4:2). We cannot afford to be careless in our Christian walk, because we have an adversary (1 Peter 5:. To be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, we must be sincere with ourselves. One of the things that gave David victory over Goliath was his sincerity. Although King Saul offered David his armour, David was sincere enough to admit that he had never tried that approach (1 Sameul 17:38-39). His sincerity made him stick to his familiar strategy of using smooth stones and a catapult, rather than wasting his time on an untested line of attack that would not produce results.

Today, there are many ministers of the gospel who have abandoned the true gospel for a social message. They believe that people are not interested in hearing the truth. This is false! Some believe that if they preach the true gospel to people, they will find it very hard and most will turn away, hence, they water down their messages. Such ministers need to learn from Jesus (John 6:60-67). If Samson had been sincere with himself, he would not have died the kind of death he died (Judges 16:21-30). The devil had tested Samson several times and had found out that he had no wisdom. Samson knew he had a weakness for women, but he refused to admit it. He felt things would always remain as they were (Judges 16:20). If he was sincere, he would have built a wall of defence between himself and his weaknesses. He kept a relationship he knew God did not approve of. He kept visiting places he should not visit, just like some Christians today who visit bars; even though they know ungodly things happen there. Are you finding it difficult to stop stealing, yet you still join others in counting offering money? Are you finding it difficult to keep your eyes off your female secretary, despite speaking in tongues, and yet you have not eased her out? Are you competing with the grace of God in other people's lives, despite the fact that God has told you your own area of strength? If any of these describes you, then you are not being sincere with yourself!
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

One of the characteristics which the Holy Spirit warns us will be rife in the last days is hypocrisy (1 Timothy 4:2). No wonder the Lord Jesus Christ made it very clear that many who expect to be granted access through the pearly gates will be turned back on the last day (Luke 13:24-27). Do you know that many bishops, pastors, general overseers, apostles, etc who are professing Christ today will not make it on the day of judgement? May that not be your lot in Jesus' Name. To prevent this from happening to you, you need to periodically examine yourself to see if you are still in the faith, as received from the Lord. 2 Corinthians 13:5 says,
"Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?"

Ask yourself if your name is still written in the Book of Life. Does the Spirit of God still bear witness with your spirit that you are a bona fide child of God? Is your conscience free from guilt and dead works? Can the devil and his agents testify that truly, you are no longer in their camp? Don't pretend to be a child of God when you know you are on your way to perdition.

The greatest challenge Jesus had with the Pharisees was the issue of their mindset. They appeared to have good intentions, but it was all a lie. Jesus knew the state of their hearts. The human heart is like a computer. Whatever you feed it with will determine what comes out of it. The heart of a man is what shapes his destiny. The reason why some people come to church and are still not blessed is the state of their heart. Their hypocritical hearts are hardened, and so they cannot receive anything from God. If the Pharisees had allowed the message of Jesus Christ to penetrate their hearts, their perception would have been different. If you allow God to work on your heart, your breakthrough will be immeasurable. Our heart is a reflection of who we are. Every time Jesus performed a miracle, instead of being happy that someone in need had received help from God, the Scribes and Pharisees would rather question by what authority He did it (John 9:13-27, Luke 20:1-2). That is what a hypocritical heart looks like. I wish we all knew that God is watching not just our actions but also our motives. He hears and watches everything we do behind closed doors. There is nothing hidden from Him that will not be exposed on the last day. Hypocrites know how to find faults in the lives of others, but their own lives are like sepulchres which appear beautiful on the outside but are full of dead men's bones (Matthew 23:27). God wants us to reflect a life of righteousness and transparency, a life that radiates the glory of God, a life of virtue and of good works.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

God plays a prominent role in every successful endeavour (Lamentations 3:37). No human effort would suffice if God is not involved (Psalm 127:1). This is why you need to be grateful to God for every achievement you experience. Nabal, his household and everyone around him lived in prosperity. In spite of all the battles raging around them, Nabal's workers were all secure and his goods intact. He enjoyed safety and prosperity because the men of David's band shielded him and all he had from attacks. At a crucial point, David and his men needed his help in providing food for their sustenance, but he denied them this. He disdained David and his men because he saw them as misfits and fugitives who did not deserve his generosity. Many children of God also feel this way when they are asked to give. Some people disdain God each time they are asked to give offerings to Him. They wonder why they have to give 10% of their profit or income to God. They see this as irrational. Yes, irrational minds cannot see the fruitfulness of God. We should be grateful to God, and our gratitude should be expressed through our actions to Him and to our fellow men. Every time we bless others with our possessions out of a sincere heart, we are saying to God that we are grateful He made us a channel of blessing.

You can move God to do more for you through the heart of gratitude. Those who show gratitude to God achieve significant things in life. Solomon showed his gratitude to God through his offerings (1 Kings 3:3-15). He remembered and reflected on all the intrigues and battles that led to his emergence as king, and he was moved to give thanks. Also, King David was so grateful to God that he expressed it in his dance, to the point where he was disdained (2 Samuel 6:16). He forgot he was a king, because he was demonstrating his gratitude to the King of kings. For those with a heart of gratitude to God, when things are working, they praise God, and when things are not going in the direction they envisaged, they still praise God, knowing well that the faithfulness of God will never allow them to suffer loss. Are you surrounded by enemies you can't number? Don't be troubled. Trust in the Lord, and you will see His salvation. Are you going through situations that you can't see yourself overcoming? Put your trust in God, and you will have total victory. Just take the step of faith and begin to bless the Name of the Lord. Even if a sack letter from your job was handed over to you yesterday, just begin to bless the Lord because something awesome is about to happen to you, and the world will hear your testimony.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.