Open Heaven For Today 2024 Wednesday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Spend Time With Them (3)
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TOPIC: Spend Time With Them (3)
MEMORISE: “Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.” – 1 Timothy 3:12 (KJV)
READ: 1 Timothy 3:1-5 (KJV)
1 This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;
5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 81-88
Open Heaven For Today 2024 MESSAGE
Today, I will continue my teaching on the importance of spending time with children. Many ministers of God make the mistake of putting their ministries before their families – this is not how God wants it. Today’s Bible reading tells us that a man must first have his house in order before he takes up leadership in ministry. As far as God is concerned, your home must come first, then your ministry next. If your home is not in order, you have no business being in ministry.
If you are a minister, don’t neglect your family because you are helping to build other families. There are many ministers’ children who have serious issues that need attention while their parents are helping other children settle theirs – this is wrong. Do not ignore your children because you believe that you are already teaching them the word of God during family devotions and church services. Your children don’t see you only as a minister, they also need you to listen to them every now and then as their parent. When you are with them, don’t talk as a minister, talk as their parent, showing them love and care. The reason many ministers’ children become wayward is that they are living with a minister, not their parent. Make the work of ministry something they enjoy and not something they detest because it takes their parents away from them.
I realised that I needed to be with my children during festive seasons, and as such, even when we had church programmes at those times, I always ensured that they came along with me. On our way to such programmes, I would share jokes and riddles with them so that they would have fun and be relaxed. Whenever we arrived at the venue of the programmes, wherever I sleep is where they would also sleep. Even when things were quite tough and all I had to sleep on was a wooden bench, we would all sleep on it together. So, rather than see the programmes as things that took their father away from home during holidays, they became times of bonding and adventure for us.
When you are praying for great exploits in ministry, remember to pray for your family too. Put them first in the place of prayers. What you pray about shows what you prioritise.
KEY POINT
You must rule your home well first before taking up a leadership position in ministry.
HYMN 30 – When We Walk With The Lord
1 When we walk with the Lord
in the light of his word,
what a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will,
he abides with us still,
and with all who will trust and obey.
Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
2 Not a burden we bear,
not a sorrow we share,
but our toil he doth richly repay;
not a grief or a loss,
not a frown or a cross,
but is blest if we trust and obey.
3 But we never can prove
the delights of his love
until all on the altar we lay;
for the favor he shows,
for the joy he bestows,
are for them who will trust and obey.
4 Then in fellowship sweet
we will sit at his feet,
or we’ll walk by his side in the way;
what he says we will do,
where he sends we will go;
never fear, only trust and obey.
Open Heavens 2024 Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC. Open Heaven for Today 2024
Open Heavens Notice Board: Until you are born again, God ever abiding presence will never be with you. You must be born again to enjoy continuous victory. Please say the displayed prayer below in faith:
Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus’ name Amen.
If you just prayed the prayer of salvation online please send your testimonies and prayer request to [email protected], +234-1-8447340, +234-0-7098213112.
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Tuesday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Spend Time With Them (2)
Click HERE for the Previous Open Heaven Devotional
TOPIC: Spend Time With Them (2)
MEMORISE: “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” – 2 Corinthians 2:11 (KJV)
READ: Proverbs 1:10-16 (KJV)
10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
14 Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 78-80
Open Heaven For Today 2024 MESSAGE
Yesterday, I started discussing the importance of spending time with children. As parents spend time with their children, they must also spend time with what and whom their children spend time with. Parents should check the apps on their children’s phones to see what they are being exposed to. When they are watching movies or cartoons, they should watch with them to be sure that they are safe for them. They should check the websites they visit and ask them to invite their friends over so they can know the kind of friends they keep. They should visit their schools regularly to know the kind of people their teachers are. Parents should not see anything their children are involved in as too low or immature for them. Whatever or whomever children spend their time with will influence them, and parents must be there to ensure that they are influenced correctly. Solomon, in today’s Bible reading, spoke to his son about the people he should interact with. He knew that even after raising him the right way, other people and things could still influence him negatively.
There are things parents teach their children that the world will try to convince them to compromise on. Today’s memory verse tells us not to be ignorant of the enemy’s devices. Parents must pay attention to whatever their children are paying attention to. It will be unwise to teach them and then leave them to the world to corrupt them. Beyond that, parents should occupy their children with godly activities so that they can have things to spend their energy on. They should encourage them to join the workforce in their local assembly as well as Christian book clubs and associations. School activities and excursions are good, but parents must also prioritise spiritual engagements for their children. They shouldn’t ignore their children’s spiritual growth, but rather, they should teach them to build a connection with the Holy Spirit so that they can hear His voice telling them what and what not to do, even in their absence.
If you are a parent, engage your children in conversations to know what they have in their hearts and the things that influence them. Matthew 15:11 says that it is what comes out of a person’s mouth that defiles him or her. Talk to them about anything and everything to hear what they will say and know what is in their hearts.
I pray that you will not fail God over your children, in Jesus’ name.
KEY POINT
Beyond spending time with children, it is also very important to spend time with the people and things that they spend their time with.
HYMN 28 – Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
1. Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,
Pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but Thou art mighty;
Hold me with Thy powerful hand.
Bread of heaven,
Feed me now and evermore;
Bread of heaven,
Feed me now and evermore.
2 Open now the crystal fountain,
Whence the healing waters flow;
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through.
Strong Deliverer,
Be Thou still my Strength and Shield.
Strong Deliverer,
Be Thou still my Strength and Shield.
3 When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Death of death, and hell’s destruction,
Land me safe on Canaan’s side.
Songs of praises, I will ever give to Thee;
Songs of praises, I will ever give to Thee.
Open Heavens 2024 Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC. Open Heaven for Today 2024
Open Heavens Notice Board: Until you are born again, God ever abiding presence will never be with you. You must be born again to enjoy continuous victory. Please say the displayed prayer below in faith:
Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus’ name Amen.
If you just prayed the prayer of salvation online please send your testimonies and prayer request to [email protected], +234-1-8447340, +234-0-7098213112.
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Monday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Spend Time With Them (1)
Click HERE for the Previous Open Heaven Devotional
TOPIC: Spend Time With Them (1)
MEMORISE: “Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.” – Proverbs 17:6 (KJV)
READ: Deuteronomy 11:19-21 (KJV)
19 And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
20 And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates:
21 That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 73-77
Open Heaven For Today 2024 MESSAGE
A major danger in this generation is that parents are so busy with work that they neglect their children. It is absolutely wrong for domestic helps or nannies to spend more time with children than their parents. (1 Corinthians 15:33) says that evil communication corrupts good manners. Whomever children communicate with the most is whom they learn from the most. If you are a parent, you owe it to God to raise the children He has given you and not hand that responsibility over to someone else.
Nowadays, it is almost as if couples are competing with each other on who makes the most money. So, while men are out working, women are also working, leaving children without proper care. Fathers and mothers must both be available to raise the children that God has given to them. Psalm 127:3 says that children are God’s heritage; in other words, when you leave this world, what God expects you to leave behind for Him are the children that He has brought under your care, and this is not limited to your biological children. Parents are only caretakers, and if they damage what has been placed under their care, they will pay dearly for it.
There were times I wanted to play football with my peers as a little boy, but thank God my mother was always home to send me inside the house to study my books. I thought she was being mean, but she built in me the ability to ignore distractions and focus on my goals. The fear of my father’s punishments also put me in check while growing up. My elder brother was quite strong, but the day I saw him crying when my father disciplined him, I determined never to do anything that will make my father discipline me.
Some children develop bad habits right under their parents’ roof. However, the parents only get to find out several years later, and at that time, it takes only the grace of God for them to change. If you are a parent, don’t be too busy to train the children that God has given you. When you leave this world, the cars you drove and houses you bought will not matter; what will matter are the children you left behind. There is an African adage that says, ‘If you refuse to build your child because you are building a house, the child you did not build will sell the house you built.’ As a parent, the children God has given to you must be your priority, not material possessions.
REFLECTION
How much time do you spend with your children every day?
HYMN 13 – Jesus Loves Me, This I Know
1 Jesus loves me, this I know,
for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong;
they are weak, but he is strong.
Refrain:
Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so.
2 Jesus loves me he who died
heaven’s gate to open wide.
He will wash away my sin,
let his little child come in.
3 Jesus loves me, this I know,
as he loved so long ago,
taking children on his knee,
saying, “Let them come to me.”
Open Heavens 2024 Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC. Open Heaven for Today 2024
Open Heavens Notice Board: Until you are born again, God ever abiding presence will never be with you. You must be born again to enjoy continuous victory. Please say the displayed prayer below in faith:
Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus’ name Amen.
If you just prayed the prayer of salvation online please send your testimonies and prayer request to [email protected], +234-1-8447340, +234-0-7098213112.
