IT SHALL BE WELL

MEMORISE

Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Isaiah 3:10

READ

Isaiah 3:10-11

10 Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.

11 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.

MESSAGE

The importance attributed to a statement depends on who is making it.

“Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.”

Isaiah 3:10

The person that made the above statement is none other than the Alpha and Omega Himself. He made this statement because He knows tomorrow. Of course, He knows that the tomorrow of the righteous is beautiful in Him. There is no way anyone can be righteous without being in Christ. Basically, Jesus is our righteousness. He makes us righteous so that we can continue to live in righteousness by His power. Hence, “the righteous” that this statement applies to, is not the one who says that because Christ has been made our righteousness, it does not matter how we continue to live. No, it is a mockery of the whole sacrifice of Jesus, if He saved us from sin only for us to continue to live in sin, because He is our righteousness. People who live by this understanding are self deluded and have allowed Satan to deceive them. For the child of God living uprightly, it doesn’t matter how things may be around you now, your Father says “It shall be well with you”.

Not only is He faithful to His promises, He also has the power to bring to pass whatever He says. This statement can mean different things to different people. To the sick, it means he will be healed; to the poor, it means his wealth is on the way, for it is He who gives power to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18) that says “all will be well”. To the captive, “all will be well” means freedom is here. His Name is the Lord of hosts (Psalm 24:10). He will destroy all the forces behind your captivity. To the barren it means you shall conceive, for He is the One able to bring children out of stones (Matthew 3:9). To the one who is a failure, it means success is coming: for He is the great promoter (Psalm 75:6-7). How can we be so sure that all will be well, you probably would ask? It is because anytime He wants to do anything, He sends His word. For you a true child of God, who lives right and desires to please God always, I believe strongly that God wants to do something special in your life; divine intervention is around the corner. If your way has not been right with Him however, go to Him now in prayer and completely turn over your life to Him.

 

ACTION POINT

Thank God for His deep concern, provision for your well being and for the assurance of a glorious tomorrow.

 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Daniel 7-8; 

Psalm 78:40-55

 

DIVINE CALL

MEMORISE

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Matthew 11:29

READ

Matthew 11:28-30

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

MESSAGE

A call is an invitation to something higher than an individual and there are two parties involved in it; these are the caller and the called. A classic example of the divine call is what we find in Matthew 11:28-29. Here God is the caller and the called is all men. This is a call unto salvation; it is universal in scope. It hinges on John 3:16. It is a call from the heart of God, out of deep concern for man to not self-destruct. He calls out to man, telling them that He has provided a means of escape from the wrath to come. It is popularly said: to be forewarned is to be forearmed. Only the wise would get prepared when warned ahead of danger. It is amazing how some who are considered to be wise and intelligent in this world by their level of education prove to be foolish when it comes to the divine warning on the destruction of man, unless he receives the divine call to salvation.

Congratulations to those who have received the divine call to salvation, for they are the children of the Most High God. They are in favour with the ultimate decider of the fate of men. They are now heirs of God and joint heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ. We all must understand that within the larger group of those that have received the universal basic call to salvation are some who are called for some specific purpose. Such includes those called to service as Pastors, Apostles, Evangelists, Prophets and Missionaries to specific locations, etc. Although you may not be so called, you should not be ignorant of the fact that some other divine calls are general to us all.

Every one of us is called to pray (1Thessalonians 5:17). The business of prayer is not to be left to a group of prayer warriors. Every one of us is called to watch (Matthew 24:42). You are called as a child of God to be on your toes and not to be careless. Not heeding this call can be disastrous. This will not be your experience in Jesus’ Name. Also, every one of us is called to fast (Matthew 9:14-15). There is no provision in the word of God for prayer and fast contracting. Besides, we are all called to be of helps to our leaders, particularly in prayers (1 Thessalonians 5:25, 2 Corinthians 10:11). Every one of us is called to win souls (Mark 16:15). Note that those who will survive in the time of trouble are soul winners. We all are called to be generous (Luke 6:38). Finally, every one of is called to holiness (1 Thessalonians 4:7).

ACTION POINT

Thank God for the salvation of your soul. If you are not yet saved, kneel down now and call upon the Lord as a sinner for salvation.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Daniel 4:34-6:28;

 Psalm 78:17-39

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

THE BREVITY OF TIME.

MEMORISE: The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light-Romans 13:12

READ: ROMANS 13: 11-14

11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: DANIEL 3:1-4 : 33; PSALM 78:9-16.

MESSAGE 

How recklessly this age speeds on to self destruction! The word of God is accurate and authentic in its prediction of the latter end of the world and in warning His saints of the end times, so that they are not overtaken by the prevalence of evil in this age! In virtually every facet of life, there is an overturning of rightness. Theologically and philosophically, there is a denial of the absoluteness of truth, hence they talk of relativism i.e. right is relative; what is morally right to a people of culture A is not necessarily right to people of culture B. Thus, the culture of people is held higher and given prominence above the word of God. They stretch human rights beyond scripturally accepted limits – anything anybody’s warped mind desires should not be denied him though it is self destructive. Things that would receive outright condemnation some thirty years ago are now fashionable. Otherwise, what would you say about homosexuality, where presidents are giving public recognition and approval to gay practices? Not only that, they are threatening other nations that would not do same. There is an increasing degree of selfishness at the highest level, which makes few people in government enrich themselves and impoverish the masses. Domestic crimes have taken a worse turn, with incidents of husbands driving knives into the throat of their wife. Knowledge is increasing at an astronomical rate, giving rise to changing trends of technological sophistication. This in itself has affected human behaviour greatly, and sometimes, these technologies enable men to commit sophisticated dirty and wicked acts.

No doubt, the enemy knowing that his time is short is not sparing anything in his arsenal to destroy humanity and to infuriate God. In all these, you will not be a victim in Jesus’ Name. I pray for you that the dragnet of evil in this present time will not catch up with you in Jesus’ Name. The Bible says we are kept by the power of God (1Peter 1:5). You must realise that all these evil things that are rampant nowadays are indicative of the soon coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, you must live every moment in earnest expectation of Christ (Titus 2:11-14). As one of the five wise virgins (Matthew 25:1-9), you must have no time for idleness or idle talk. You should be busy serving the Lord, winning souls and living holy. You must also be prayerful, interceding for your family members and others.

ACTION POINT:

Check your commitment to Jesus and meditate on how you can fulfil the instructions in the memory verse. 

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

THE QUALIFIED

MEMORISE

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; 2 Corinthians 3:5

READ

Philippians 3:5-9

5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;

6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

MESSAGE

Any genuine child of God would want to be used by God for great things. God’s decision to use a person, or how far He would go in using an individual, rests on several factors, of which self-inadequacy is prominent. We need to realise straightaway that there is no adequacy anywhere apart from God. Many passages of scripture attest to this. He is the one that owns power (Psalm 62:11), and power according to scientists is the ability to do work. This has to do with adequacy. What about wisdom? He is the Source and the Giver (Colossians 2:2-3, James 1:5). How about strength? Isaiah 40:29-31 says that He gives strength and might. In light of these therefore, no man ought to think of himself as adequate. Whether it is knowledge, strength, power, wisdom, connections etc, none of these can qualify a person as adequate before God for divine choice. As a matter of fact, relying on your natural abilities before God amounts to pride.

When God called Moses to go for Him to set the Israelites free from the bondage of Egypt, the reply Moses gave was: “Who am I?” This shows a sense of inadequacy. He was saying: “Are you sure you are not picking the wrong person?” Beloved, until a man empties himself of all that he is, God cannot use him. Only empty vessels can be filled (2 Kings 4:3-4). Many of God’s people are still full of themselves or of something else apart from God’s resources. This is why God is not using them optimally. You need to take a look at yourself; maybe you are also still full of yourself. Maybe you think you can get the job done by your education, oratory prowess, human connections, charisma etc. This is not the way of God. God in reply said to Moses, “Moses you are right, you are forgotten at the backside of the desert, you are nothing, but that is why I AM picking you”. 

Beloved, if you go through scripture, you will discover that those used of God were those who either were nothing or those who reduced themselves to nothing. If at any time He picked anyone who seemed to be “something”, such persons had to empty themselves of what they were - Saul of Tarsus for instance (Philippians 3:8). If you are chosen by God while you are nothing, all you need is His presence. His assurance to you is this: “My presence will be with you”. That is all you need.

PRAYER POINT

Father, I empty myself of all my pride and personal acclaim, fill me up and use me for your glory.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Daniel 1-2; 

Psalm 78:1-8

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

WHY THE WORLD RAGES

MEMORISE

And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.Luke 21:17

READ

Luke 6:22-23

22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. 

23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

MESSAGE

The Psalmist in Psalm 69:8 wrote:

“I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children.”

Why this sorry situation? He gives the reason in Psalm 69:9:

“For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.”

This is equally the lamentation of those who would live a righteous life in this world. The world is becoming more ungodly than ever before. Wickedness is becoming the accepted norm of our society. Worldliness is the order of the day in present day Christianity. Ruminating on this reality, one cannot but ask the following questions: If this continues, is there any hope for godly living? For how long would the wicked continue to hold sway in our society? The answers to these questions are: this ugly situation will not continue perpetually, there is hope for those who are on the Lord’s side, and a doomsday of judgement awaits the ungodly.

 

When you decide to live a godly life, there is bound to be persecution from the ungodly. The most painful aspect of this is that, the ungodly who once were outside the Church are not just in Church today, but are also taking positions and are “persecuting” those who are trying to go the extra mile for the Master. The Lord in our Bible reading foretold the persecutions, shunning and reproach that will befall those who will live godly lives in this world. He did this in order to comfort us. The Psalmist also was perplexed by this situation until he received insight from God.

 

“Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.”
Psalm 73:12&16-18

 

  Our Lord Jesus Christ explained to us the reason why the world will hate us in John 15:19:

“If ye were of the world, the world would love is own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”

Beloved, in spite of all these, keep your eyes on the Lord. Every persecution ends at His coming. To someone using this devotional, the Lord is encouraging you to endure the present persecution you are facing. The next phase of your life is all-round promotion. Praise the Lord.

 

PRAYER POINT

Father, give me the grace to identify with you in this evil generation in Jesus’ Name.

 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Ezekiel 42:1-44:14; 

Psalm 76

 

AUTHOR: Pst E . A ADEBOYE. 

DESIRING LONGEVITY & PROSPERITY?

MEMORISE

Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Ephesians 6:1

READ

Ephesians 6:1-3

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)

3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

 

MESSAGE

Most people want to live long on the earth no matter what their current situation is; be it good, bad or ugly. Why is this so? The reason is that most people hope that their tomorrow will be alright, and they do not want to die before that tomorrow comes. It is unfortunate that many people, especially the youths, do not know and are not shown the secret of long life and prosperity. This is hidden in the word of God. From our scripture reading, apart from saying it is right to obey our parents in the Lord, the word of God goes further to announce the rewards of doing so. Of all the commandments God gave to mankind, this is the first commandment with promises attached. Promises of what? Promises of long life and prosperity! This is interesting, particularly for those who want to live long and prosper on this earth which the Lord has given to us to occupy.

 

What other things apart from honouring father and mother must I do to prosper, you may ask? You must get revelations on what to do per time by meditating on the word of God. The Bible in Joshua 1:8 says:

 

“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

 

The word of God contains several principles of God that will guarantee your prosperity. It contains wisdom on what to do in every situation of life. You however unlock the treasures hidden in the word by meditating on it. This is the reason why every child of God must not only read but also meditate in order to do the things that are written in the word of God.

 

It is a blessing to live our lives according to the word of God. I pray for you that you will not miss out on this blessing in Jesus’ Name. Failure, frustration and death will be far from you if you can live in the fear of the Lord. Beloved, it is your time to experience astonishing prosperity with long life. This type of prosperity does not kill. Make sure you live in perfect obedience to your parents, particularly in the Lord. That is, obey your biological parents as they teach you the way of the Lord. Also, you need to obey your spiritual parents as they feed you with the undiluted word of God. It is well with you in Jesus’ Name.

 

ACTION POINT

Ensure you follow the Bible in One Year reading plan contained in this devotional.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Ezekiel 40-41;  Psalm 75

 

AUTHOR : Pst E. A ADEBOYE

DIVINE INSURANCE

MEMORISE

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Isaiah 26:3

READ

Isaiah 26:1-3

1 In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.

2 Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.

3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

MESSAGE

The promises of God in Christ are yea, and in Him, Amen. This means that any promise that God makes to all believers in Christ will definitely come to pass (2 Corinthians 1:20). Some promises of God to His genuine children include: the assurance of eternal salvation, safety in the face of imminent calamities and perfect peace of mind. In our Bible reading for today, the Lord made some wonderful promises concerning peace of mind that comes from dwelling in a place secured by God. For a fellow to enjoy these benevolent benefits, some conditions must be met. First and foremost, you must be righteous. Righteousness is a gift you receive from the Lord Jesus Christ when you give your life to Him (Romans 5:17), this gift then empowers you to live a life of righteousness. Simply put, you must be born-again (John 3:3&5). Secondly, you must believe every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. It is the word of God that you believe that can work for you. How can you prove that you believe God’s word? Simply, by doing according to what the word says.

When a man does the will of God as contained in His word, he is emboldened to trust the Lord for miracles, and his faith will make him whole. The story of Daniel is a case in point. When the king erroneously made a decree that affected his friend Daniel, the latter went boldly to the den of lions and nothing harmful happened to him. When the king went early in the morning to verify how great and mighty the God of Daniel was, he asked:

“O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?”

Daniel 6:20c

Instead of the lions roaring back at the king, it was Daniel who roared back in triumph. He said:

“O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.”

Daniel 6:21b-22

This shall be your portion in Jesus’ Name. However, be sure you are dwelling in the secret place of the Most High in righteousness.

PRAYER POINT

Father, please keep me in your perfect peace; I trust in you.

Bible in one Year  
Ezekiel 37:15-39:29;  Psalm 74:12-23

AUTHOR : Pst E. A ADEBOYE