GOFAMINT VICTORY MONTH PRAYER BULLETS: Giving - A master-key to access divine blessings

Day 17: Saturday,

January 18th 2014

Focus: Giving-A master-key to access divine blessings

TextS: LUkE 6:38; II CorINTHIANS 9:6-7

INSIGHT FOR EFFECTIVE PRAYING

Life, generally is based on principles, either spiritually or naturally. Understanding and applying any of the principle of life either in the spiritual or natural, leads to results. Giving, is such a God-given principle to man that is backed up by divine power meant for men to have access to good things of life and blessings. The uniqueness of this principle, unlike other principles; is that it works for both believers and unbelievers who practices it, though it is primarily meant for believers.

Ironically, majority of believers are not enlightened of the potentials of giving. Inspite of the fact that they read it in the Bible and hear of it from the preachers, yet they are not keen on practicing it. Satan, on the other hand, knows the power of giving. Like some other injunctions of God’s, he knows that if believers are allowed to practise it, their lives will be transformed, hence, he desuades and discourages them from practising it.

Take for example the scriptural text for our prayer today and compare it with Proverbs  11:24-26, it is clearly shown that great power of blessing resides in giving. Why are we not accessing these blessings today?  Simple answer; Satan’s device and deception. How many of us are not being deceived, cheated and deprived of divine provisions today? Only few. Something we should know for sure is that God is not a politician. He neither exaggerates or deceives people. What He says He would do, what He would do He says. Hear Him talking in I Cor. 11:35, “Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again’’. When God ask us to give, He takes responsibility to replenish the giver. No matter how and where we give, either through the Church or to individuals, He promises to pay you back in multi-folds.

The farmers who plant seeds on the ground know that the amount of crops to be harvested are far bigger and greater than the seeds sown. This is what encourages and motivates him to continue to sow. The same thing God wants us to do, to be sowers. The same power of God that multiplies the farmer’s seed in the soil and turn it to bumper harvest, is the one who also multiplies our spiritual seeds to turn them to abundance of blessings.

There are Churches whose members have understood and realized the importance of giving, such are always eager and looking forward to the time of giving, which is always their time of greatest joy during the service. The Opposite, seems to be the case in our own Church. Majority of our members complained that the contributions we do in our services were too much. Contributions for the work of God cannot be too much, unless it is too little. May God open our eyes to this reality in Jesus’ name.

LET US PRAY:

1.    Forgive us Oh Lord, in those areas where we have missed it as far as giving is concerned.

2.    Open our eyes, dear Lord, that we may fully comprehend the power of blessings embedded in giving.

3.        Help each of us that we may not allow Satan to deceive and disallow us from practising ‘giving’ as you commanded us on continual basis in Jesus’ name.

4.    Make  us true sowers, Oh Lord, to please you and to meet the need of the kingdom.

5.    Deliver us all, from the spirit of deception hindering our members from paying their tithes and other contributions as you want us to do oh Lord.

6.    Baptize each and everyone of us with the spirit of giving in Jesus mighty name.

7.    Love is the greatest factor of giving, fill our hearts with Your love and let giving becomes a natural phenomenal in our Church in Jesus’ name.

8.    Help  us to ‘prove’ you by our positive acts of giving that our lives may become living testimonies of your goodness.

9.    Let heaven open upon the lives of all faithful giver in the Church in Jesus’ name.

10. If there is anybody who has been giving and has not been receiving in multi-folds, we command, every hinderance in his or her life be broken in Jesus’ name.

11. Take us to another and higher level in financial matters in Jesus’ name.

12.     Let all locked doors of blessings of each and everyone of us in this Church be thrown open for us to have access to our blessings in Jesus’ name.

13. We decree that every debt owed us and also being owed by us be miraculously paid in Jesus’ name.

14. All our rights and blessings in the hands of others be released and given back to us by the power of resurrection in Jesus’ name.

DAY 18: Sunday 19th January 2014

FOCUS: TOTAL SUCCESS OF G.D.F. AND TOTAL BLESSINGS FOR ALL GOFAMINT FINANCIERS

TEXT: Genesis 26:1-22

INSIGHT FOR EFFECTIVE PRAYING

Gospel Development Fund (G.D.F.) has become an annual event in GOFAMINT since the past few years. How do we see this programme as individuals? Do you not see it as a cunningly devised method by the Church leadership to extort money from members or as a God-given programme meant to advance the cause of the kingdom and promote the lives of the members.

God is a spirit, and they that worship Him must do so in truth and in the spirit. GOFAMINT members are favored people, in the sense that the leaders of the Church are genuine and sincere people who do not make merchandise of the lives of the members.

Anytime they make a call for contribution in the Church, it is because there is a genuine need to do so. What Paul said in II Cor. 4:2:  is very relevant, “but we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God”. 

G.D.F., is a spiritual programme which every member of the Church should buy into with joy,  just like this on-going victory month prayers. This Victory month prayer exercise calls for sacrifice in terms of fasting, praying, giving and coming to the Church everyday. Yet, majority of our members are gladly participating because they know there is blessing in it.

In the G.D.F., we are also expected to make sacrifices especially to give another one-tenth of our monthly income apart from our tithes for the first three months of the year (January-March). This is not meant to impoverish us but to replenish us, because it is a divine programme designed to launch us into abundance.

Here, the scripture reading for today comes into appropriation. Isaac, according to divine instruction, sowed in that land during dryness (famine season) and he reaped hundred-fold harvest. Why? He obeyed divine instruction and he was better for it. Sowing is giving and giving is sowing, biblically and spiritually. When you are sowing, like Isaac, you are queuing into Abrahamic blessings and the result will be phenomenal (Gen. 26:24).

You may not know this before, the General Overseer, Pastor Elijah Oludele Abina has a special but personal blessing prayer programme he does for every G.D.F. faithful payer. Every person who participates faithfully, automatically queues into that covenant. I wish no GOFAMINT member will miss this great opportunity. Don’t forget, G.D.F. is a God-given spiritual programme designed to launch you into the era of abundant blessing. See it that way, believe it that way, do it that way and it will come out that way for you!

LET US PRAY:

1.    Dear Father, like Isaac, I agree to sow in this land by paying my G.D.F. This year, give me all it takes to be faithful in Jesus’ name.

2.    As I sow this year, let the dew and the rain of heaven fall upon my land and life in Jesus’ name.

3.    Grant every GOFAMINT member sufficient grace to be faithful to the G.D.F. payment in Jesus’ name

4.    We decree hundred-fold harvest and abundance blessing upon every G.D.F. payer in GOFAMINT in Jesus’ name.

5.    Like Isaac, every well we dig (every undertaking) this year, help us to get water (blessings) in Jesus’ name.

6.    Like Isaac, all the enemies fighting against our blessings, help us to prevail over them in Jesus’ name.

7.    Because we are in partnership with You, let Your awesome presence characterize our lives and undertakings this year in Jesus’ name.

8.        Let all our handiwork be blessed beyond measure this year in Jesus’ name.

9.    Let the doors of opportunities be opened for all members of GOFAMINT this year in Jesus’ name.

10. Make this year an exceptional year in every assembly of the GOFAMINT in Jesus’ name.

11. Lead specific GOFAMINT members to unprecedented heights this year and help each of us to obey You to the letter, oh Lord.

12. Bless GOFAMINT and her sacrificial giving members financially this year that we may make unprecedented achievements in our national and local Church programmes.

13. Take us to our Rehoboth this year, individually and collectively that we may abound in serving You with joy in Jesus’ name.

14. Let us pray for those who have been faithful to this exercise in the past, and whose blessings are still pending that heaven will open for them in Jesus’ name.

15. Let us pray for those who have not been faithful in the past edition, that this year, they will be empowered to be faithful.

16. Help our leaders to do more capital projects this year than the previous years in Jesus’ name.

17. We decree unprecedented success on G.D.F. this year in Jesus’ name.

GOFAMINT VICTORY MONTH PRAYER POINTS: WAR AGAINST POVERTY AND EVIL DISEASE

WAR AGAINST POVERTY AND EVIL DISEASE

Texts: ProvERBS 10:15; PsALMS 41:8, 35:27; II CorINTHIANS 8:9

INSIGHT FOR EFFECTIVE PRAYING

God delights in the prosperity of His children. This simply means that God never has pleasure in the poverty of His children. Poverty does not glorify God in any form. Poverty is bad; it is not the will of God for His people and His Church.

Poverty is not a sin but a killer disease. Poverty limits and inhibits. It depresses and oppresses. It ruins, disfigures and devalues human life. Poverty frustrates and embarrasses.

Poverty is deadly and destructive. It is a forerunner of disgrace and shame.

Today, poverty is one of the most powerful instruments that Satan uses to torment and trouble the people of God. Poverty is a killer of good visions and dreams. Poverty is not a virtue but a vice. Poverty is in sizes. It’s associated with limitation, lamentation, wilderness, shame, causeless borrowing and frustration.

There is nothing good in poverty. It does not promote righteousness nor encourage holiness. Today, many believers are poor because of many factors and most of them are man-made. This simply means to overcome poverty is not consequential on prayer only. We need to understand the causes of poverty among believers and the biblical ways to overcoming them. This requires that we acquire the right financial education. It has been observed that to become rich is about 30% money and 70% idea. Most of our members want to overcome poverty through prayer alone. Is it really possible? You cannot overcome poverty if you lack proper education about making money, keeping and growing money. Many people today are trained in the areas of their weaknesses; where they don’t have comparative advantage over others. Our pulpits have much to do if our people must be liberated from poverty.

War Against Evil Disease (Ps. 41:8; Lk. 13:10-13; Mk. 5:25-34)

In Psalm 41:8 The Bible talks about an evil disease. This is a deadly illness. It is any kind of sickness that makes recovery too difficult and impossible from human perspective. However, our God is the God of all flesh. There is nothing impossible with Him. “He killeth and maketh alive”. We need to wake up and put an end to any form of untimely death through evil diseases.

Yes, we are right in our theology, we all know and preach that God can do the humanly impossible. This is time we need to activate the power of God to make the miraculous a normal and natural occurrence in our lives. Beloved, there is no problem that is beyond the power of God. We can enjoy divine health and divine healing. God is still the Almighty healer.

LET US PRAY:

1.       O Lord, open my eyes to see that area where I have brought the spirit of poverty and smallness upon myself.

2.       O Lord, help me to develop healthy habit for financial breakthrough and prosperity

3.       Holy Spirit, give me the sense to acquire the needed skill, training and principle that will liberate me from poverty to prosperity.

4.       Holy Spirit, excommunicate from my life the spirit of the prodigal son, which is a wasteful spirit.

5.       In Jesus name, I bind the spirit of poverty and smallness in my life and family

6.       O Lord, open my eyes to opportunities for prosperity that abound around me.

7.       O Lord, help me to be prompt in taking the right decision and not to procrastinate on maximizing opportunities that come my way.

8.       You spirit enacting the covenant of poverty and smallness in my life and family be bound in Jesus name.

9.       Holy Spirit, destroy everything set in motion within and around me to plunge and keep me in the pit and snare of poverty.

10.     I declare by the power of Jesus that in all my labor, I will reap the profit therein.

11.     Doctor Jesus, up root and destroy any seed of disease and infirmity that is still silent in my body.

12.     Lord Jesus, heal and replace any sickness and infected organ in any part of my body

13.     Lord Jesus, purge my entire body system with your blood from any deposit of sickness, infirmity and diseases.

14.     Lord Jesus, keep me and my family in perfect health and shield us from all forms of diseases plaguing people all over the world.

15.     Holy Spirit, cause me to be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:19).

16.     O Lord, pour out your spirit upon GOFAMINT until every wilderness becomes a fruitful field and the fruitful fields, a forest.

NOTE: There should be a special prayer for all our members that are suffering from any kind of evil diseases.

TUKUR: I HAVE NOT RESIGNED

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, has debunked the rumour going the rounds that he had resigned from his position.

Tukur, who is presiding over a deeply divided National Working Committee of the party, insisted that he still remains the national chairman of the party,

A statement by his Senior Media Assistant on Media, Mr. Oliver Okpala, said his boss had not tendered any resignation letter to anyone.

The statement said, “Be informed that contrary to the report making waves in the internet and other social media, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has not tendered any resignation letter to any person or quarter as the National Chairman of the Party.

“Please disregard any information or report in this regard since the National Chairman is busy fashioning out new structures and areas of taking the party to greater heights.”

GOFAMINT VICTORY MONTH: DAY 13: TUESDAY 14TH JANUARY 2014 "FROM UPPER ROOM TO EVERY LIVING ROOM – KEY TO TRUE CHURCH GROWTH AND BREAKTHROUGH"

DAY 13: TUESDAY

14TH JANUARY 2014

TOPIC: FROM UPPER ROOM TO EVERY LIVING ROOM – KEY TO TRUE CHURCH GROWTH AND BREAKTHROUGH

TEXTS: Acts 2:1 – 4, 42 – 47, 6:1-7; Isaiah 52:7; Matthew 28:19-20

 INSIGHT FOR EFFECTIVE PRAYING

The Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost to empower Christians to preach Christ with the accompanying signs and wonders, beginning from Jerusalem until the whole world is reached (Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit always manifests God’s power through Christians when they preach the gospel and minister to needs of people. As a result, the early apostles impacted the then known world through the activities of small group dynamics resulting from the upper room experience.

Disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem in following years after the Pentecost. The move of God spread to Antioch, five hundred kilometers in the north, within the next three years. The great move of God subdued all the prominent towns and cities of the Roman Empire in just twenty – two years,

“Now, the men were about twelve in all. …And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks” (Acts 19:7,10). The revival at Ephesus shook the entire province of Asia Minor. It started with twelve men whom Paul trained, in less than three years. Christ’s vision of evangelizing the whole world began with training twelve serious followers to perpetuate the process of multiplication (Matt. 9:35–10:4).

The Lord preached and ministered to the multitudes but called only twelve persons to be His disciples. He gave them spiritual authority over sickness and demons, and He named them apostles. He did not multiply the multitudes but launched the process of spiritual multiplication with twelve disciples. They are commissioned to make disciples in all nations similar to what the Lord had trained them for.

This came about through small group dynamics, working through the principles of spiritual multiplication (II Tim. 2:2). Paul spoke from the position of a mentor to Timothy, urging him to perpetuate the work of God with people who are able to teach others. Four ‘generations’ of able disciples are seen here in the process of spiritual multiplication. Paul (me) Timothy (you), faithful men and others. Selectively train faithful Christians who can pass on the training to many others, who will preserve the precious fruits of evangelism and govern the ministry to flourish from the upper room to every living room.

Churches were gathered in homes as the move of God spread from Jerusalem to the entire Mediterranean region.

§   People born again on Pentecost met daily in the Temple and from house to house (Acts 2:46).

§   Peter and the apostles taught and preached in every house (Acts 5:41-42).

§   Saul entered every Christian house and took the believers to prisons (Acts 8:3).

§   Many gathered at Mary’s house and prayed for Peter (Acts 12:12).

§      Paul taught in Ephesus publicly and from house to house (Acts 20:20).

§      Paul preached and taught for two years in his rented house at Rome (Acts 28:30-31).

§          Aquila and Priscilla had a Church in their house (Rom. 16:3-5; I Cor. 16:19).

§      Nymphas had a Church in his house (Col. 4:15).

§      Philemon had a Church in his house (Phil. 1:2).

LET US PRAY!

1.     As the early apostles multiplied greatly through bearing fruit from house to house, help our Churches O Lord to grow in the same similitude.

2.     Help us O Lord as a Church never to disconnect from the vital link with you so that we can continue to bear much fruits for You.

3.     As the Lord had promised before His allusion in John 14:12, help us Father to extend the frontiers of Your Kingdom through greater works of the Holy Spirit.

4.     O Lord, take us into a new realm of Church growth such that we will overflow and multiply exceedingly like the early apostles.

5.     Let the power of the word grow greatly in GOFAMINT accordingly to our Statement of Purpose and let it bring signs and wonders as well as multiplication of disciples (Acts 6:1-7).

6.     Lord, as we fulfil our divine purpose as a Church, let GOFAMINT begin to spread in all the continents of the world and hence subdue kingdoms to carry out the Great Commission.

7.     Father, we thank You for the enabling power of the Spirit which transforms our feelings and our services, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

8.     O God, arise and enlarge our vision, open our spiritual eyes to Your greatness, and let the power to obey You completely and live in Your way come upon us, in the name of Jesus.

9.     My feet shall be strengthened by the Lord to move into greatness, in the name of Jesus.

10.   Father, teach me through my reading and reflection of Your word, in the name of Jesus.

11.   O Lord, lead us to a greater awareness of Your love, touch us with Your love and change us by Your grace, in the name of Jesus.

12.   Father, help us to always desire Your Word more than our physical food as we continue to advance Your Kingdom.

13.   We bind and cast out of our lives, every spirit of disobedience to the voice of the Lord.

14.   O Lord, as it was in the days of the early Apostles, let there be overflow of the healing anointing among us in the name of Jesus.

15.   Father, visit us again with the anointing to raise the dead and heal the sick in the mighty name of Jesus.

16.   Let the anointing for the miraculous begins to flow from the General Overseer to every minister, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

17.   As Your ministers release Your words into the air, let it go forth to accomplish the purpose of God in the name of Jesus.

18.   Let there be manifestations that will advance Your kingdom in all our assemblies in the mighty          name of Jesus.

19.   According to Your word, whatever Your ministers bind shall remain bound and whatever they loose shall remain loosed in the name of Jesus.

20.   I receive the power for dominion and victory O Lord to turn the battle against my oppressors in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

21.   Release Your anointing for increase and growth upon all GOFAMINT assemblies in Jesus’ name.

22.   We take authority over every satanic activity, raging against the divine elevation of our assemblies in Jesus’ mighty name.

23.   Father, send angelic warriors to scatter all forces programmed to hinder the growth of GOFAMINT Churches in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

MINISTRATION:

Those who want special intervention to recover all missing miracles and the lost keys to growth and expansion in their assemblies.

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL For Monday 13 JANUARY 2014 "GOD HAS A SUBSTITUTE" BY PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL For Monday 13 JANUARY 2014 "GOD HAS A SUBSTITUTE" BY PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

Memory Verse:

And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.
1 Samuel 15:28

Read:
1 Samuel 16:1

1 And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.


Message:


One important thing we need to learn in today’s reading is that God always has a substitute. If God says He wants to use you, rejoice! However, be careful, because even as He is choosing you, He has already prepared a substitute. 1 Samuel 2:27-30 tells us about Eli. God chose Eli and his family to serve Him. God later changed His plans because He only honours those who honour Him. One thing about God’s rejection is that the devil takes the place of the resultant vacuum that is created. This was what happened to King Saul. We also have the case of Judas Iscariot in John 13:26-27. He was a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. The moment God rejected him, Satan entered him and he ended up hanging himself. Psalm 75:6-7 tells us something interesting:

“For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.”

Whenever God gives you an opportunity to serve Him, please humble yourself. It is better for God not to use you at all than to use you and then push you aside. Once He pushes you aside, this gives room for the devil to come in. I pray that God will never substitute you with someone else.

In today’s reading we see the rejection of King Saul and his replacement by David. No one would have heard of David if King Saul had not lost his crown and position; just as nobody would have heard of Esther if Vashti had not lost her position. God has given us these examples so that we can learn a lesson. God told Samuel to stop mourning over King Saul because He had already rejected him. He told Samuel to fill his horn with oil and go anoint one of the sons of Jesse as king. Samuel said Saul would kill him if he found out about his mission. This is an interesting statement because it shows clearly that Saul had degenerated so badly that he could kill a servant of God. It is a terrible thing to backslide. This is why you must never touch sin. We need to study the lives of the people that God rejected in the Bible so that we can learn one or two lessons from their cases. We have to know what God saw in their lives to make Him reject them, so that we can run away from their mistakes. Why was Esau rejected? The Bible tells us in Hebrews 12:15-17 that he was rejected because he could not control his appetite. I pray that your stomach would not send you to Hell. Some people have never fasted since they became Christians. I pray that your appetite would not put you into trouble to the point where God would reject you in Jesus’ Name.

Prayer Point:

Father, have mercy on me. Help me not to embark on a path that will lead to my rejection and replacement in Jesus’ Name. If I’m on such a path, please salvage me from it now.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : 2 CORINTHIANS 10 - 13 and PSALM 15 - 16

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL For Monday 2 December 2013 ” ANY QUERY FROM SATAN?” BY PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

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OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL For Monday 2 December 2013 “ ANY QUERY FROM SATAN?” BY PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

Memory Verse: 1 Peter 3:15  ”But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

Read: Daniel 3:14-30 : 14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?

15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

17 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.

18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.

20 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

22 Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flames of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.

25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.

27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.

28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.

29 Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.

30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.

Message

A divine midwife must be in control of his or her choices and ensure that they are God-centred and not self-centred. They must be ready to take decisions even when it hurts them. They must also be prepared to respond to Satan’s queries.

“And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?”

Exodus 1:18

When the plot to murder the Hebrew male babies failed, the king summoned the midwives and issued them a query. In other words, he was asking them: ‘Whose side are you on? Mine or theirs?’ Do you know that Satan is not bothered about querying many believers? Why? It’s because he More

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL For Friday 8 November 2013 "FACING MOUNTAINS" BY PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL For Friday 8 November 2013 "FACING MOUNTAINS" BY PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE

Memory Verse: Zechariah 4:7 "Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it."

Read: Numbers 14:1-4:  And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.

Message

Once in a while we are faced with mountains, but the question is: How do you handle the mountain confronting you? It is possible while facing a mountain to turn back and refuse to continue moving forward. This was the initial response of the children of Israel in Numbers 14:1-4. They encountered a mountain and they decided to go back to Egypt. This is a very wrong way to handle a mountain. Is somebody standing in your way, hindering you from achieving success on a given project? Have you resolved to dump the project because of that? Those who give up after encountering a mountain are feeble hearted and still relying on their limited strength. Hebrews 10:38 says if you turn back from a divine course, you will cease to be God's delight. He will no longer have pleasure in you. Have you down tools, stopped work, returned from your field of assignment or gone into your shell because you met a mountain on your way? Immediately go back to that assignment and restart what you stopped before God changes His mind concerning you! Never quit an assignment, good deed or project because of a mountain. It is just too negligible compared to our God!

Another response to progress challenging mountains is to walk along the base of such mountains. Such response is a wasted effort. When you have a problem and you do nothing about it other than to keep staring at it and wondering what to do about the problem, you are simply walking along its base. Also, when you have a problem but you either ignore it or say disheartened prayers about it, you are only walking along its base. Such weak efforts will be wasted. Closely allied to this, is a situation where you try to solve a problem by applying the wrong measures. You will surely get nothing out of such efforts! Turn your problem to the Lord and He will take care of them.

Action Point

It is the right step that gives you result, not just any step. Ask for grace to always take the right step in handling mountains.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : PSALM 46 - 48