OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: WEDNESDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017
THEME: GIVE FIRST
Memorise:
I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me. Psalm 13:6
Read: 1 Chronicles 16:2-3, Acts 20:35
16:2 And when David had made an end of offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord.
16:3 And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine.
Acts 20:35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Message:
Generous divine provision is the benefit of those in the sheepfold of the Great Shepherd. God prepares a table of abundance for His sheep (Psalm 23:5). No wonder David in Psalm 13:6 said:
“I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.”
This scripture is a personal testimony of David. After God had blessed him beyond measure, he began to testify of God’s goodness through songs. If you carefully study the life of David, you will discover that the secret of his prosperity lay in the principles he lived by. One of such principles is demonstrated in today’s Bible reading: he believed giving to be the key to receiving. Can you imagine a man giving a loaf of bread to every citizen of a country? This was what David did, and he even gave much more! We often wonder why most of us are not flowing in God’s abundance, even though God has resources to cater for more than we could ever need. One likely reason for this is that we do not strictly follow divine financial principles. Jesus, in Luke 6:38, said:
“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”
Let us draw a few lessons from this. Firstly, if you ever want to receive, it is your duty to first give. If you fail to sow, you would be deceiving yourself to expect a harvest. Many of us refuse to give, and yet we continue to pray, fast and do all other things right. If you want to receive, first give. It is important to note that God will never owe anyone. If you give, you will receive a harvest, no matter how long it takes, as long as the seed is not uprooted.
However, the way the harvest comes and when it will come are issues that may not be too clear to you. For instance, you may be expecting your harvest for a particular seed in form of physical cash, not knowing that God has already given it to you as a harvest of peace in the time of trouble, or as protection when the enemy came calling. Sometimes, you cannot tell how the harvest of a given seed will come, although if you key into the Holy Spirit, He can sometimes reveal to you that a particular harvest you receive was from a particular seed you sowed. Moreover, God who knows our needs should be given the freedom to determine when and how our harvest should come. Just make sure that a lifestyle of giving and sowing seeds is an indelible part of you. Do you give to His servants? Do you give to the needy? How often do you give?
Action Point:
Giving is an act. Giving is also a spirit. Pray that God will give you the spirit of giving.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Ezra 9-10
Ezekiel 44:1-14
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 10: THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING
1. There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Saviour above.
Refrain:
Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need:
Mercy-drops round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.
2. There shall be showers of blessing,
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain.
Refrain:
3. There shall be showers of blessing;
Send them upon us, O Lord;
Grant to us now a refreshing,
Come, and now honour Thy Word.
Refrain:
4. There shall be showers of blessing:
Oh, that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
Now as on Jesus we call!
Refrain:
5. There shall be showers of blessing,
If we but trust and obey;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
If we let God have His way.
Refrain:
Prayer Points on Today's Open Heavens: (Wednesday, September 20th, 2017) - GIVE FIRST
1.Thank you, Father, for your great and bountiful provisions for my life.
2.Thank you, Father for the gift of life, and for first, giving your precious son, to die for my sin.
3.Father, in anyway, l have fallen short of your glory, please, have mercy and forgive me, in Jesus' name.
4.Father, let the spirit of giving fall upon my life, and abide permanently, with me, in Jesus' name.
5.Father, give me a compassion and love for the poor, and open my hands to give generously to them, in Jesus' name.
6.Father, you give seeds to the sower; please, put into my hands, the seeds, that l will sow, regularly, into your kingdom business, in Jesus' name.
7.Father, empower me not only to give but to give, bountifully and generously, when l give, in Jesus' name.
8.Father, let no power be able to destroy or uproot the seeds, that l sow; and give me the patience to wait for my harvest, in Jesus' name.
9.Father, while giving to church projects and programmes, let me never be guilty of neglecting to give to your servants, who labour day and night, in your vineyard, in Jesus' name.
10.Father, please, let me spend and be spent, for the cause of your kingdom, in Jesus' name.
11.Father, as l give, let men give back unto me, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, in Jesus' name.
12.Your Personal petitions.
( Philippians 4:6)
13.In Jesus' name I pray.
(John 14:13-14; 15:16)
14.Thank you Father for answered prayers.
(1 Thessalonians 5:18).
#GodBlessOurNation
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR PASSAGES
Ezra: 9. 1. Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2. For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass. 3. And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied. 4. Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice. 5. And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God. 6. And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. 7. Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. 8. And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. 9. For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. 10. And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments, 11. Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness. 12. Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever. 13. And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this; 14. Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping? 15. O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.
Ezra: 10. 1. Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore. 2. And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. 3. Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. 4. Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it. 5. Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should do according to this word. And they sware. 6. Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away. 7. And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem; 8. And that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away. 9. Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain. 10. And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel. 11. Now therefore make confession unto the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives. 12. Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do. 13. But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing. 14. Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us. 15. Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them. 16. And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. 17. And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month. 18. And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah. 19. And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their trespass. 20. And of the sons of Immer; Hanani, and Zebadiah. 21. And of the sons of Harim; Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah. 22. And of the sons of Pashur; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah. 23. Also of the Levites; Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah, (the same is Kelita,) Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. 24. Of the singers also; Eliashib: and of the porters; Shallum, and Telem, and Uri. 25. Moreover of Israel: of the sons of Parosh; Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchiah, and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah. 26. And of the sons of Elam; Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Eliah. 27. And of the sons of Zattu; Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza. 28. Of the sons also of Bebai; Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai. 29. And of the sons of Bani; Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth. 30. And of the sons of Pahath-moab; Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh. 31. And of the sons of Harim; Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, 32. Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah. 33. Of the sons of Hashum; Mattenai, Mattathah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei. 34. Of the sons of Bani; Maadai, Amram, and Uel, 35. Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh, 36. Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, 37. Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasau, 38. And Bani, and Binnui, Shimei, 39. And Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah, 40. Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, 41. Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah, 42. Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph. 43. Of the sons of Nebo; Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, and Joel, Benaiah. 44. All these had taken strange wives: and some of them had wives by whom they had children.
Ezekiel: 44. 1. Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. 2. Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. 3. It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same. 4. Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell upon my face. 5. And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary. 6. And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations, 7. In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations. 8. And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves. 9. Thus saith the Lord GOD; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel. 10. And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity. 11. Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them. 12. Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity. 13. And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. 14. But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.
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