23 TRUTH TO KNOW ABOUT SEX

1. You can never ever have the best of sex outside of marriage.

2. Only sex with your husband or wife is a sexual intercourse without shame and regret

3.There is always a spiritual force which pulls you to your sexual partners if you keep in touch with them after marriage

4.The memories of all your sexual escapade has a way of resurfacing when you are having sex with ...your spouse

5. You have a 95% tendency of comparing your spouse's libido with your Ex's

6. You can have a countless numbers of people you have had sex with before marriage if you don't stop NOW

7. The moment you are jilted/ heartbroken, you wish you have never had sex with the person

8. Men only have Raw, Wild and Rough sex with ladies who worth nothing to them, no responsible married man will treat his wife so. Real men make love with their wives

9. If he doesn't love you sex can never win his heart for you: he can always get sex anywhere

10. If he threatens to quit the relationship because you want to remain pure then he want nothing more from you than SEX SEX SEX

11. Abstinence doesn't kill, if it does I won't be here posting these messages.

12. You are in a bondage and need deliverance if he says he's leaving you and you are using sex to keep him staying

13. If a lady begs/seduces you for sex, you are dining with Pharaoh's wife or Delilah. Your matrimonial bed is not safe. Don't marry her.

14. God created sex and He wants you to enjoy it for life.

15. Very soon in your marriage, there will be nights when you will turn your back at your husband/wife and say "Honey please leave me, allow me to sleep'' I am not in the mood tonight'' You will get tired! hmmm

16. You can never ever enjoy sex with nylon or baloon call condom neither can you enjoy unsafe sex without fears

17. Condom cannot protect you from curses and soul tie

18. You become ONE FLESH, ONE SPIRIT with who you have sex with.Sex is a bond that ties a man and woman for life. God planned it so.

19. Stop sex for a season and see if he will still stay with you and love you MORE LIKE NEVER BEFORE. I doubt it.

20. Sad enough, some men wish for a virgin(fresh blood) when they are set to get married.

22. Sexually transmitable Diseases are not air-borne diseases, you contact them through human being.

23. There is no extra pain if you stay pure till marriage.A sweet pain! for no matter how painful the deflowering process is, the pain of abortion process is much more.

THINK AND ABSTAIN!

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Saturday 22 September INDEBTED?

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

Memorise: The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth. Psalms 37:21

Read: Hebrews 12:1-2

One way of identifying the righteous is by their attitude towards repaying what they borrowed. As stated in the memory verse, it is a wicked person that borrows and refuses to pay. Many Christians are guilty of this. Did you borrow some books or materials from the library, your office, church or an individual but have no intention of returning them? Or have you converted the properties of others kept in your care into your own? Then you are not righteous but wicked. Some people are assisted with a loan to start a business but when it is time to repay, they will start to either give excuses or deliberately avoid their creditors. Some will even wickedly refuse to take their calls or even change their SIM cards. Yet some of these people are pastors, ministers and workers in God’s vineyard. Are you not wicked? The unbelievers who have not known God are far better than such people. Do you know that debt is a weight? This is why we are commanded not to be indebted to anyone (Romans 13:8).

Debt is a weight. Anyone who intends to participate in a race and expects to win but is carrying a bag of rice will be kidding himself or herself. Do you know that if you are indebted to others, it will affect the way you run the Christian race?

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Hebrews 12:1

If you want your Christian race to be smooth, or to respond to the efforts you put in, make every effort to clear up all your debts. You cannot be a perpetual debtor and you open your mouth and say, I am a Christian. You will be portraying the kingdom of God in very bad light. Did Jesus owe anyone? When He was to die, who came to accuse Him of owing anything? Also at the latter part of Samuel’s ministry, when he re-presented Saul as king to the Israelites, he was able to beat his chest that he owes no man anything (1 Samuel 12:3). Do you know the debts you owe with intention of not paying back will not allow you to be raptured or to make it to Heaven? Debts can have far reaching consequences. As much as you can, try and live within your means. Do not overstretch yourself financially as this can cause you to go into debt. Do not expose yourself to too many risks that your assets cannot cover. Do not allow the prospects of gain from an investment blind your eyes to its associated risk. Live a life of contentment and it shall be well with you.

ACTION POINT:
Map out a strategy on how you will gradually repay all your debts. If there is a debt you cannot afford to pay back, pray, then go and ask for forgiveness or reduction of the debt.

Bible in one year: Ezekiel 22-24

Friday 21 September LUKEWARMNESS

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

Memorise: He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. Luke 11:23

Read: Matthew 12:29-31

One major problem of the church in Laodicea was their lukewarmness.

I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. Revelation 3:15

On the thermometer of God, He expects you to read cold or hot but not in-between. Usually, people do not like lukewarm water. If you are given lukewarm water to quench your thirst, your stomach might get filled up but your thirst will not be quenched, this is annoying. Whereas, if you took a few glasses of cold water, the thirst will be quenched even if your stomach is not filled. Lukewarmness brings about a lot of waste. If you are lukewarm in your attitude to God and the things of His kingdom, you will be a great waste to God’s kingdom. You may not be able to quench the thirst of the King of kings! Lukewarm water is not capable of brewing some herbal teas that require hot water. After soaking such tea in lukewarm water, very little will be received of what the tea has the potential of releasing. The tea will at best be termed coloured water. Any lover of tea will not be pleased with such tea. In the same way, when you are lukewarm, God may never be able to get you to tap into your hidden resources and develop them to His glory. At the end, the lukewarm worker will earn God’s rebuke and anger.

Every lukewarm person has elements of laziness. In the Kingdom of God, there is no middle place: it is either you are for Him or you are against Him. You cannot afford to be neutral. If you are not walking the narrow path to Heaven, you are on the broad way to hell. You will recognise the fellow who is lukewarm by his or her lack of zeal. Anybody that will achieve for God must be zealous. Jesus was consumed by zeal for kingdom assignments. Do you show zeal when it comes to paying tithes, giving offering, winning souls or obeying God in general? A zealous person is in a hurry to please God. Zeal brings speed. Zeal comes with positive expectations. Zeal has genuine interest in what is being done. Lukewarm Christians do not care about the time they come to church hence many of them are incurable latecomers. Lukewarm Christians cannot spend eternity with Christ.

KEY POINT:
If you can sit, eat, or chat with an unbeliever and not be bothered that he or she is going to hell, you are lukewarm.

Bible in one year: Ezekiel 19-21

Thursday 20 September AND JORDAN PARTED

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

Memorise: And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; 1 Thessalonians 4:11

Read: 2 Kings 7:3-11

When Elisha cried in desperation and smote the waters, the scripture says the river parted for him like it did for his spiritual father (2 Kings 2:14). This tells us that whatever happens to the father can happen to the son as long as the latter satisfies the conditions. For instance, Jesus walked on water and Peter did the same when he acted in faith but his colleagues could not do so because they failed to dare. One of the most exciting passages in the Bible is John 14:12. Here Jesus says:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

From the day I read this passage, I believed with every fibre of my being that before I die, I will do every work that He did. I also believe that whatsoever the Lord has done for me, He will repeat in the lives of my children. Are you ready to do what Jesus did and even greater works? Are you ready to pay the price?

Also, when the Jordan parted, Elisha went over it. An English proverb says, He that aims at nothing will always hit it. Anything done without purpose is a wasted effort. You must be certain about what you want from God and not just fight one who punches the air. Let your punches be directed at specific targets so that when you hit them, you will be sure you have them. When God opens a door to you, walk right through it (Revelation 3:7-8). Some people stood in front of their open doors for so long until they were shut. If you don’t enter in, you don’t get anything out of the open doors. Elisha did not begin to celebrate that Jordan parted for him, he simply went through it; he used the opportunity to change his location. What have you done with your open doors? The way you handle the opportunity God gives to you is very important to God. The four lepers got an opportunity and they maximised it. Not only did they become celebrities and national heroes, they never begged for the rest of their lives. If you know how to use opportunities to glorify God, more will continue to trail your path. Do something about your open doors today!

ACTION POINT:
Examine yourself and your surroundings to identify opportunities God has given to you which you have not taken advantage of. Do something about such today.

Bible in one year: Ezekiel 15-18

Wednesday 19 September SCHOOL OF OBEDIENCE

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

Memorise: If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures. Job 36:11

Read: Exodus 4:2-4

In Exodus 3:10-14, after God asked Moses to go and deliver a message to Pharaoh, Moses objected giving excuses. He argued about his unworthiness for the assignment and said he did not have enough information about God’s identity. It is good to have sufficient knowledge about God but waiting until you know everything about God or the assignment may just be a wait in futility. God’s revelation comes to us in phases and stages. You may not know everything about an assignment before you start. Even Jesus left the disciples without disclosing some information to them because they were not mature enough to handle them. However, for Moses to go on this assignment, knowing God as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was enough, as God’s dealing with them at this point was hinged on these three patriarchs. Today, that knowledge is quite inadequate. If you know Jesus Christ as the Saviour, Healer, Sanctifier, Deliverer, Protector, Provider, and the only begotten Son, you have more than enough message to reach your world. As a young convert, do not wait until you know the whole Bible before you start to preach to others. Simply sharing your testimonies can open the door of salvation to your listeners.

Moreover, where divine mandate is concerned, no argument will be accepted by God for human disobedience. If God did not accept the excuses of Moses, neither will He accept yours. Immediately after dismissing those arguments, Moses began his training on implicit obedience. He was asked to drop his rod without prior knowledge of what the result will be. Moses did so without questioning and it became a snake. Moses enrolled in God’s school of obedience and had to become like a child, meek and ever ready to learn. God told him to pick the snake by its tail even though as an adult one should have expected him to know that. You will notice that Moses later had to turn a rod into serpent. This tells us that God’s training is in preparation for your assignment and therefore not in vain. At the end, all Moses had to do in ministry was simply to hear from God and obey no matter what anybody had to say. Have you enrolled in God’s school of obedience? Have you learnt to be meek and to comply with God’s instructions always?

KEY POINT:
In any Kingdom assignment, two things are paramount: hearing from God and obeying Him. Your success in life and ministry lies in your ability to do these two things.

Bible in one year: Ezekiel 12-14

Tuesday 18 September SUPREMACY OF GOD’S FINGER

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

Memorise: For thou has girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me. Psalms 18:39

Read: Exodus 8:18-19

The finger of God can write upon tablets of stone, upon a man and in his heart. Besides these, another significance of the finger of God is that it speaks of the enemy’s limitations vis-à-vis God’s supremacy. In Exodus 8:16-19, Moses went to deliver God’s request to Pharaoh to release the children of God. As a sign of being sent by God, he turned his rod into a snake. In defiance, Pharaoh summoned his sorcerers, wise men and magician who used their magical powers to do the same (Exodus 7:8-12). After he turned water into blood they repeated the same (Exodus 7:14-22). When he brought frogs from the river upon the land, the magicians did something similar (Exodus 8:1-7). For every plague that the magicians were able to repeat, the heart of Pharaoh was hardened the more. Then came the next plague: Moses was asked to strike the ground with his rod. He did so and the sand suddenly began to move – all turned into lice! The magicians tried but could not repeat this miracle and they concluded it was the finger of God.

Until your enemies see the finger of God, they might be deceived into thinking that what your God can do, theirs also can do. Today, in many places, fake prophets and their likes are trying to copy the miracles that God is doing. Satan never performs miracles only magic. There is a difference between the two: Miracles are supernatural occurrences that take place by the finger of God while magic are supernatural occurrences that are empowered by spirits other than the Holy Spirit. Many claims of healing through the powers of darkness are false. Those occurrences are normally pre-arranged in many instances. If you want the original, ask for the finger of God. Also, the presence of the finger of God tells the enemy, you have reached your limits and you can go no further! It tells the enemy in very clear terms that God is at work and what He can do, no other spirit, force or power can do the same. This season, all those who are contending with you will see the finger of God and bow to your God. They will disappear after that encounter. Ask for God’s finger in your life and circumstance.

PRAYER POINT:
Father, by Your finger, let every battle against my life be silenced permanently.

Bible in one year: Ezekiel 8-11

Monday 17 September NOT A CLOWN

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye

Memorise: For with God nothing shall be impossible. Luke 1:37

Read: Luke 1:26-37

Promises determine expectations. For instance, if a father makes a promise of a toy car to his child while leaving for work, the hope and expectation of that child will be based on that promise. You can be sure the child will announce it to his friends at school that day. In addiction, promises also define the scope of expectations. A particular child can expect one toy while another child might expect three based on the promises made to them by their respective fathers. In the same vein, we base our expectations of God upon the promises He has given to us. Unlike earthly parents who are limited in resources with which to fulfil their promises, our God is not.

One striking thing about God is that because of His infinite ability, He is able to make incredible promises, yet He is both willing and able to perform them. Human minds find it difficult to believe God, but if only they can appreciate the Personality of God, they will not doubt His ability to do those things that sound impossible. By comparison, it is like a man who owns the oceans, would it be difficult for him to give you a drop of water? I don't think so. So are all the things that seem impossible with us to our God; it's like giving you a drop of water from an ocean! Mary is an example of someone that experienced this. God promised that she was going to conceive without copulation and that the result of that uncommon pregnancy was going to save the world. How impossible these sounded! But Mary had enough faith to believe these promises. Naturally, she was just waiting for the day her marriage to Joseph would be consummated and she will have children. But now, her expectations moved from the natural to the supernatural realm of faith. She was not just expecting a baby by sight but expecting the Saviour of the world by faith, without any input from a man. If she ever shared her expectations with friends or relations, they would have asked her to see a psychiatrist. Yet God fulfilled His promises to Mary. Has God made you any mind-blowing promise that made you laugh in unbelief? You had better start believing Him today. As incredible as His promises may appear, God is not a clown. He means what He says and so He says only what He means. He will fulfil His promises to you based on your faith. No faith, no fulfilment. Believe Him today!

ACTION POINT:
Identify those seemingly impossible or humanly difficult promises the Lord has given you and profusely thank Him for them. They shall come to pass.

Bible in one year: Ezekiel 4-7

Sunday 16 September FAVOURABLE MISTAKES

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye

Memorise: And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land. Jeremiah 42:12

Read: 1 Samuel 9:1-10, 17

When you go by the road side, you may meet a beggar asking for alms. He did not work for you at any time and you probably already have plans for the money on you, yet mercy compels you to suspend your needs and give something to meet his need. Mercy makes an individual to get what he or she did not deserve just like beggar. May mercy work in your favour from today in Jesus name.

In 1956, while living with my uncle, we had our fair share of poverty. He was poor but I was poorer. We mutually shared whatever we had. One day, we were very hungry and there was no food in sight. Then all of a sudden a young girl approached us and said her sister asked her to give us the food she was carrying - pounded Yam and vegetable soup and chicken. My uncle told her he did not know her sister and asked if she was sure we were the right people the food was meant for. She replied in the affirmative, so we received the gift and my uncle told her he will be expecting more gifts from her sister like this one she brought. Immediately the girl left, we pounced on the food. As soon as we were done eating the food, the girl resurfaced and said it was all a mistake that the food was not for us. Who will give a hungry lion a goat and expect to get it back? The mercy of God can corner what was meant for somebody else for the recipient of His mercy. This season, the mercy of God will bring you blessings and opportunities including the ones not initially meant for you. Some people can go to a place for a particular thing or go there by "mistake", not knowing that the mercy of God had propelled their legs to that place, right there an opportunity to change their lives will meet them. One of such beneficiaries of this kind of mercy was Saul. He went out in search of the missing asses of his father and there mercy met him and connected him with a chain of events that culminated in him becoming a king. By an unplanned move or deed, mercy will connect you to your destiny. Mercy turns mistakes into appointments.

PRAYER POINT:
When mercy is involved, there are no mistakes! Father, let Your mercy compel mistakes to work in my favour.

Bible in one year: Ezekiel 1-3

Saturday 15 September NO MORE COMPROMISE

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye

Memorise: My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. Proverbs 1:10

Read: Daniel 3:12-18

Besides loving righteousness and hating evil, the righteous are identified by their zero tolerance for compromise. during hard and trying times, while some Christians use the situation as excuses for compromising their faith, the righteous happily use such times as opportunities to stand up for Jesus. Job 17:9 says:

The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.

The righteous will prefer to lose his or her job than compromise the faith. In Daniel 3, the three Hebrew children stood tall for Jesus. When their colleagues bowed to the golden image out of fear, they told the king, "O king, we respect you but we choose the fire to bowing down to a lifeless image". God watches with keen interest whenever His children are asked to compromise. Your ability to say "No" to compromise is what gives you a standing before God. Some believers have no standing before God because they will compromise their faith for just anything. Such people are yet to know what it is to be a Christian. A compromising Christian is like cloud without rain, or candle without a flame. The fellow has lost his worth. Standing for Jesus adds value to your faith and gives you respect before God, demons and men.

You can resolve not to compromise again in the same areas you once disappointed God. Resolve to have some respect before God from today. When that lady comes again, tell her "No more!" When that brother comes calling and wants you to sin for just the last time, tell him, "No more!" Those who compromise are afraid of the wrong thing. They fear what they should not be afraid of and what they should fear, i.e. God, they do not. Also, they are too lazy to exercise their faith. Your boss threatens that if you do not dance to his evil music you will be sacked and you are panicking? No way! Not anymore! Tell him you cannot sin against God because you are in love with God. God can remove any boss at any time. You can only be sacked from there if God allows it. Stand up for Jesus today! No more compromise.

KEY POINT:
A woman who easily agrees to sleep with a man loses her value and would be treated like a whore. The woman who insists on sex only on marriage will be highly priced by God and men.

Bible in one year: Psalms 49-51

Friday 14 September DIVINE INTRODUCTION

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye

Memorise: For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. 2 Corinthians 1:20

Read: 2 Corinthians 1:19-20

When the Lord wrote to the church in Laodicea, He introduced Himself to them as the Amen, the Faithful Witness and the Beginning of the Creation of God (Revelation 3:14). You will notice that He introduced Himself using different titles and abilities from church to church. Every church is peculiar and known to its Owner. Every church deserved the type of introduction they got. The way the Lord will introduce Himself to you might be quite different from how He will introduce Himself to another brother, depending on your works, relationship with Him and your needs. If the Lord were to introduce Himself to you today, what titles will He use? Also, the way He introduces Himself speaks of His next line of action as well as His expected response from you to prevent that action if it is negative, or to provoke the action if it is positive. Have you truly responded to His introductions?

The Lord called Himself Amen which means so let it be. In those days, Amen was as a signature. Amen is God's signature on all His promises.

For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. 2 Corinthians 1:20

This means if only you have Jesus Christ as the signature to your requests, all the promises of God will be fulfilled in your life. No wonder Jesus says in John 16:23-24 that anything you ask the Father through His name will be granted. Any prayer you make without using the Name of Jesus, will not be taken to Heaven, let alone receive an answer. In addition, the Lord called Himself the Faithful Witness. Some people speculate on how Heaven will be like, but. Jesus clearly tells us of what He knows, what He has seen and felt in Heaven. He is no stranger to the Heavenly realm because Colossians 1:15-17 says it was through Him the heaven and the earth was created. So anything He tells you about Heaven is just as it is, being the Faithful Witness. Lastly, He also called Himself the Beginning of the Creation of God and He will give you the inspiration, the push and the wisdom to do them. Being the beginning of all things, you can get fresh supply of body parts to replace any defective ones.

ACTION POINT:
Ask the Lord to introduce Himself to you by His titles in Revelation 3:14

Bible in one year: Psalms 46-48

Thursday 13 September DESPERATION IS ALLOWED

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye

Memorise: And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Luke 11:9

Read: Luke 11:5-10

When Elisha cried to God in 2 Kings 2:14, River Jordan parted for him as soon as he smote the waters. You must realise his cry was out of distress. He was desperate. The Psalmist says in Psalms 120:1:

In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me.

God attends to distress calls and He answers the desperate. Elisha's outburst was out of desperation and he had every reason to be desperate. Since he left his home, he never went back. Even if he returned home, he could never return to his farming profession because he had earlier killed all his oxen and destroyed his farming tools. He had burnt the bridges and there was no looking back. Besides, he was at the bank of River Jordan where he had no ship or boat. There was no bridge across the river and he did not know how to swim. Boy! He couldn't have been more desperate!

When a man is desperate, he easily gets God attention. Check out erstwhile blind Bartimaeus or the paralytic who was lowered through the roof to meet Jesus. In both cases, the Lord had to suspend what He was doing in order to attend to them. How desperate are you? Several millions and even billions of people pray to God daily. One criteria the angels use in selecting who gets attended to now, who can wait a little and who would have to wait much longer is the level of their desperation. Many fail to receive attention today because their prayers are too sophisticated and couched in Queen's English, satisfying all laws of Grammar. At the end, their focus is more on grafting the prayer than on God. A desperate man does not care whether his grammar is correct or not as long as he is conversing with God. A woman in labour does not remember whether she has a Ph.D. or she is a bank manager. All she cares about is to be delivered of her baby safe and sound. How desperate are you in getting your desired answer? Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). If you can call on Him and show Him you are making a distress call, He will make a way for you. This season, the Lord will create a way for you to go through. You are coming out of that fix! Call on Him now, call out in desperation and He will answer you.

Key Point:
According to Matthew 11:12, there are certain spiritual blessings that may never be obtained except through spiritual violence. How desperate are you?

Bible in one year: Psalms 43-45

Wednesday 12 September MANDATE: NO NEGOTIATIONS!

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye

Memorise: Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God. 1 Corinthians 7:24

Read: 1 Corinthians 7:18-24

If there was one Bible character who was sure of his divine calling and followed it to the end, it was Moses. He gave no room for negotiation with Pharaoh. But supposing after the initial demonstration of power at the palace, Pharaoh reminded Moses of his childhood days when they both grew up as princes in the same palace, and based on his antecedents offered Moses a big reward or position in Egypt in place of his God-given mission to liberate the israelites? What would have become the fate of the Israelites if Moses had compromised? Today, several fire-brand preachers of salvation, holiness, and deliverance have negotiated their calling with the devil and received in its place pleasure, worldly fame, glory, wealth and position. Have you dumped your high calling and specific assignment for some worldly considerations? Did God anoint you and send you to the streets or mission fields and villages to win souls to Him as an evangelist but you accepted the offer of some church to occupy mandate? Remember, one day, you will account for the original mandate and not the fake one the flesh or devil has given to you.

Any position, promotion or offer that takes you out of God's original mandate is simply a negotiation for your calling and must be rejected. It is worthy to note that your divine assignment is rooted in God's covenant. For instance, the assignment of Moses was deeply rooted in God's covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and any failure would have affected God's covenant for Israel. God has a total plan for the Body of Christ but gives every member of this body a piece of the plan - the one just meant for the fellow. If you dump your original mandate for any reason, there will be a vacuum. Just imagine as part of the body, a leg is missing, movement of the whole body will be seriously impeded. God may have to do some juggling or reassign someone else to do your assignment and this is why you must not forsake your assignment. Be true and faithful to it and do not let God's Kingdom be at a disadvantage as a result.

Key Point:
Father, let me never lose focus of Your mandate upon my life.

Bible in one year: Psalms 40-42

Tuesday 11 September ENGRAVED IN THE HEART

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye

Memorise: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. Hebrews 8:11

Read: Hebrews 8:9-13

The finger of God is an agent of creation and a mark of God's authority. They were also used in writing His laws. Deuteronomy 9:9-11 says God wrote the Ten Commandments with His finger on tablets of stone. Every author writes a book or puts words and sentences together in order to convey certain ideas or opinions for other to read. The fact that God wrote the Ten Commandments with His own fingers established the fact that He and not Moses is not the Author. God not only writes on stones, He writes on men. After Cain killed his brother Abel and God judged him, he requested for a reduction in the punishment, being scared that anyone who sights him might kill him. As a result, God wrote on him - He put a mark of "untouchable" on him so that anyone who saw him from that day would not touch him. With God's mark on Cain, he was free to serve his punishment without anyone touching him. Even today, God can put a mark upon you which will make you untouchable. Paul had this mark. He says:

From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Galatians 6:17

This mark is also a mark of divine ownership. In other words, when the finger of God writes on you, the enemy will immediately realise that you are a property of the King of kings and so they cannot just toy with you. Paul got his divine branding in the course of being persecuted for Christ. Have you been so branded? Apart from this, God said a time was coming when He would write His commandments on the tables of the hearts of men and they shall serve Him with ease. That time is now! Today, as you study His Word daily, ask Him to inscribe His laws upon the tables of your heart so that you will no more stray from His will (Hebrews 8:9-13). Servants are branded and their owners recognise them by the mark on them. Do you have any mark that identifies you as God's property? Is His mark of ownership vivid ? Are His laws written in your heart? Have you become untouchable? If any of these is lacking, run to the cross today!

Prayer Point:
Father, give me hatred for sin. Help me to hate sin as much as You hate it.

Bible in one year: Psalms 37-39

Monday 10 September FRIENDS: HOW TRUSTWORTHY?

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye

Memorise: trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. Micah 7:5

Read: Micah 7:2-7

A king is a prime target in any war between two kingdoms. The moment he is captured, all his subjects become captives of the victorious king. In Hosea 10:13-15, the Lord told Israel that their expectation for national defence through their men of war would fail and their king would die. It is wrong to invest your expectations, hopes and aspirations in your leader, or men of wealth. They will fail you.

Another reason expectations are disappointed is when they are placed on friends. The truth is those individuals most people take as friend are not truly their friends. Some people may be close to you because of mutual interest. These are your associates. By reason of further interactions, you could see them as friends but do you know their hearts? True friends will express a love that is stronger than that of blood brothers (Proverbs 18:24). Also, a true friend loves at all times (Proverbs 17:17). David and Jonathan were true friends and they were ready to do anything to protect their friendship. When you become rich, some people will attach themselves to you and some of them will be suckers - those who just want to benefit from your wealth (Proverbs 19:4; 14:20). You will be making a mistake to think such people are your friends. The day your wealth disappears, so will they. Then there are those who associate with you because you are of the same social status. To this end, the rich befriend rich people like themselves, but in their midst there is a lot of rivalry, envy and competition. Those you are richer than or those you are more brilliant than as a student or those you are prettier than as a lady would secretly be wishing that something would happen that will dwindle your competence and make them better than you. Yet you think they are your friends and you tell them your secrets. Why will such "friends" not be happy to disappoint you when you really need them, especially if that would help them have an edge over you? So Micah 7:5 warns that you do not put your trust in your friends. The only friends you can have that will always be with you and will never betray you is Jesus Christ. As you receive Him into your heart today, He will be always with you, helping you in all you do. He is genuinely interested in every area of your life so do not hide anything from Him.

Key Point:
If you have all friends in the world but do not have Jesus Christ as your friend, you will never experience what true friendship is.

Bible in one year: Psalms 34-36