Wednesday, May 6, 2015

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL (THURSDAY 7 MAY 2015)

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye
Thursday May 7

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Memorise:
And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Luke 24:47

Read: Luke 1:30-35
30  And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.   
31  And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.    
32  He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:    
33  And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.    
34  Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?    
35  And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.


Message
God attaches great significance to names. It is unfortunate that many people don't pay attention to the importance of the names they bear or the names they give to their children. Africans, like the Jews, consider the meaning of a name before they give it to their children or to someone else. The Name that the Almighty God chose to give to His only begotten Son is very significant. It is a wonder-working Name. In Matthew 1:21, we are told the reason why the miracle child Mary would give birth to should bear the Name Jesus:
 "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."

Salvation from sin is the greatest wonder in the history of mankind because the Bible expressly declares sin as a plague affecting all men. Romans 3:23 says that:
 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
The Name Jesus therefore proclaims to the world thus: "Behold the Man who came to achieve the greatest wonder the world needs." 

This is where practitioners of some other religions get confused. They wonder how the Name of one Man can save another man; not to talk of the claim that this same Name can save all who believe in it. They wonder silently and loudly; they try to rationalise the workability of this declaration which God Almighty Himself made concerning His only begotten Son. Beloved, I encourage you not to bother about how it works. Evidence abounds as to how on the merit of this Name, souls have received and are receiving the forgiveness of sin. Not only that, the positive transformation that occurs in those who believe in this Name is indisputable proof of the wonders the Name of Jesus performs from generation to generation. 
One of my sons testified that when he believed in the Name of Jesus, not only was he forgiven, he was also miraculous transformed. He experienced the disappearance of curses and abusive words from his vocabulary. He testified that "The curse words could just not come out anymore even when I tried." To have this same experience, I encourage you to surrender your life totally to Him today. You need to identify with the Owner of this Name before it can work for you. God bless you as you do so today in Jesus' Name.

Action Point:
Make sure you know and belong to the Owner of the Name, JESUS. By this, you will experience transformational wonders, not only in your spiritual life but also in your family and business.

Bible in a year: 1 Samuel 10-11 & Mark 5:1-20... Read after the cut:

1 Samuel 10-11; 

1Sa 10:1  Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance? 
1Sa 10:2  When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son? 
1Sa 10:3  Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine: 
1Sa 10:4  And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands. 
1Sa 10:5  After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: 
1Sa 10:6  And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. 
1Sa 10:7  And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee. 
1Sa 10:8  And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do. 
1Sa 10:9  And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day. 
1Sa 10:10  And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. 
1Sa 10:11  And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets? 
1Sa 10:12  And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets? 
1Sa 10:13  And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place. 
1Sa 10:14  And Saul's uncle said unto him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses: and when we saw that they were no where, we came to Samuel. 
1Sa 10:15  And Saul's uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you. 
1Sa 10:16  And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not. 
1Sa 10:17  And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpeh; 
1Sa 10:18  And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you: 
1Sa 10:19  And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands. 
1Sa 10:20  And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. 
1Sa 10:21  When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found. 
1Sa 10:22  Therefore they enquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff. 
1Sa 10:23  And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. 
1Sa 10:24  And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king. 
1Sa 10:25  Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. 
1Sa 10:26  And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched. 
1Sa 10:27  But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace. 


1 Samuel 11; 

1Sa 11:1  Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabeshgilead: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee. 
1Sa 11:2  And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel. 
1Sa 11:3  And the elders of Jabesh said unto him, Give us seven days' respite, that we may send messengers unto all the coasts of Israel: and then, if there be no man to save us, we will come out to thee. 
1Sa 11:4  Then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and told the tidings in the ears of the people: and all the people lifted up their voices, and wept. 
1Sa 11:5  And, behold, Saul came after the herd out of the field; and Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh. 
1Sa 11:6  And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly. 
1Sa 11:7  And he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent. 
1Sa 11:8  And when he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. 
1Sa 11:9  And they said unto the messengers that came, Thus shall ye say unto the men of Jabeshgilead, To morrow, by that time the sun be hot, ye shall have help. And the messengers came and shewed it to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad. 
1Sa 11:10  Therefore the men of Jabesh said, To morrow we will come out unto you, and ye shall do with us all that seemeth good unto you. 
1Sa 11:11  And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch, and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they which remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together. 
1Sa 11:12  And the people said unto Samuel, Who is he that said, Shall Saul reign over us? bring the men, that we may put them to death. 
1Sa 11:13  And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for to day the LORD hath wrought salvation in Israel. 
1Sa 11:14  Then said Samuel to the people, Come, and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there. 
1Sa 11:15  And all the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal; and there they sacrificed sacrifices of peace offerings before the LORD; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly. 


Mark 5:1-20

Mar 5:1  And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. 
Mar 5:2  And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 
Mar 5:3  Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: 
Mar 5:4  Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. 
Mar 5:5  And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. 
Mar 5:6  But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, 
Mar 5:7  And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. 
Mar 5:8  For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. 
Mar 5:9  And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. 
Mar 5:10  And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. 
Mar 5:11  Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. 
Mar 5:12  And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. 
Mar 5:13  And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. 
Mar 5:14  And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. 
Mar 5:15  And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. 
Mar 5:16  And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. 
Mar 5:17  And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts. 
Mar 5:18  And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. 
Mar 5:19  Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. 
Mar 5:20  And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel. 

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