Gift | Open Heavens

RCCG Open Heaven Devotion 2012 – Pastor E. A. Adeboye (ISBN: 978-36079-4-4)
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(Previously available online @: http://www.rccgna.org/Resources/BibleStudy/Devotionals.aspx)

Monday 26 November

Bible in one year: Ezekiel 43-45

A SINNER’S SPECIAL OFFER

Memorise: Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. Luke 7:47

Read: Luke 7:36-50

The wealthy woman of 2 Kings 4:8-17 got her desired change through giving. If you can correctly use the powerful tool of giving, there is hardly any door it cannot open to you. The question is: Are you ready to give what can deliver your desired change? Not only was the woman changed from barrenness to fruitfulness, her family name that was to become extinct was preserved by the birth of a baby boy! Another person that effectively used giving was Cornelius. In Acts 10:1-48, he was told that his prayers and alms giving have been remembered by God and as a result, salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ was granted him and his household.

A sinful woman once came to Jesus and wept much at His feet, washing them with her tears and wiping them with her hair. This was what nobody had done to Him before. Usually, it was their custom to provide water to wash the feet of your visitor but she felt water was just too cheap so she used her tears and instead of a towel to wipe, it was her hair which God gave her for glory. Then she kissed His feet severally instead of His hands and brought her alabaster box of ointment and began to anoint His feet instead of His head. By the time the Lord compared his host Simeon the Pharisee with the sinner, it was evident that what His host did not give to Him, she offered willingly to Him and this paved way for her. She got forgiveness of all her many sins. Also from this story we learn that to stand out and receive something great from the Lord, you must not just give what all others are giving but give in a different manner. Be creative in your giving. Give what no one else will ordinarily give. If you can prayerfully think of it, the Holy Ghost can give it to you. Through her special giving, she got what many could not buy. She entered Simeon’s house a chief sinner but left a saint. Initiate your change today!

KEY POINT:

Giving to God in an unusual manner uncovers God’s extraordinary benevolence.

NB: Copyright is a benefit to society. It’s not just about financial gain.
One of the chief purposes of copyright law is to ensure the authenticity and accuracy of the text.
Please learn more about the subject by referring to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_Convention_for_the_Protection_of_Literary_and_Artistic_Works
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorized_King_James_Version#Copyright_status

Saturday 27 October

Bible in one year: Psalms 100-102

LET GIFT REFLECT OCCASION

Memorise: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Hebrew 9:14

Read: Hebrews 9:11-22

You need to understand one important fact about giving; which is that your gift must agree with the particular occasion for which it is meant. In Genesis 4:1-7, when two brothers came to offer to God, one was accepted and the other was rejected. Hebrews 11:4 says;

By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

After the fall of Adam and Eve, God introduced them to receiving forgiveness through the shedding of blood. He demonstrated it to them and thereafter used the animal hide to clothe them (Genesis 3:21). They must have passed this information to their children. Cain and Abel would have been told of what to sacrifice to obtain forgiveness but Cain decided to do something else. He offered the fruit of the ground to God for the atonement of his sins. Ordinarily, if it were to be a regular offering, it would have been received but for sin, tubers of yam, fruit and other farm produce cannot atone. Moreover, the earth had been cursed and so tendering produce from a cursed earth equally made his offering unacceptable.

Just as Cain’s offering was rejected because it failed to satisfy the requirement for the atonement of sin, the offerings of many across the world today are still being rejected. If you give God money or material things or you sacrifice goat, ram, your body or any human being for the washing away of your sins, that offering will be rejected. Hebrews 9:22 says blood must be shed for sins to be forgiven, so Abel’s sacrifice and those done under the Mosaic covenant were accepted for the covering of sins only (Psalms 85:2, Psalms 32:1); that was why there was need to do them over and over again. But such shedding of blood could not wash away or take away sins (Hebrews 10:4); only the blood of Jesus can wash away sins (Revelations 1:5). He has brought a better covenant which He sealed with His righteous blood (Matthew 26:28). In some religions today, when someone sins and desires forgiveness, he or she will be served some penance – punishment. No penance can take away your sins! When such an individual dies, he will find that all the sins he was told had been cleansed were still intact. Only the blood of Jesus can save a soul. No ram’s blood can cleanse you from the slightest of sins.

KEY POINT:

The blood of animals cannot truly erase sins. Without appropriating the blood of Jesus, sinners will remain in their sins.

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Open Heavens Devotional

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Open Heavens: A Sinner’s Special Offer

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