OPEN HEAVENS 2016: Friday January 8 DRESS IT AND KEEP IT PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE

Friday January 8
                                              
DRESS IT AND KEEP IT

Memorise:
And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 
Genesis 2:15      

Read: Deuteronomy 18:9-13
9  When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
10  There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
11  Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12  For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
13  Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.

Message
The Almighty God is the most efficient conservationist. With Him, there is no wastage or corruption unlike many so-called children of God. Right from Genesis, we read about how God commanded Adam to make sure the beautiful garden did not suffer decay or any pollution. There are many ways in which one can preserve or pollute a God-given gift.  The 'land' can be polluted by sin of all sorts particularly idolatry and/or witchcraft. In the text of today, we are confronted with the seriousness God attaches to the preservation of His creation. 
"When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanger, or a witch."
Deuteronomy 18:9-10

HEAVEN HAS SMILED ON YOU. THIS IS THE REASON

According to Exodus 20:3, idolatry is the most grievous sin against God. Adam automatically chose another god for himself when he decided to obey the devil rather than God. This is what many people don't know; they think until they put an image on the ground and they begin to bow to it, they have not committed idolatry. It is obvious that there are idolaters in the Church; they always attend Church programmes but they never do what God wants them to do. The Bible says:
"And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness."
Ezekiel 33:31

By disobeying the Word of God, people pollute the land and bring eternal curses upon themselves and generations after them. This was exactly what the first man did and God cursed the land for his sake (Genesis 3:17). To keep the land which the Lord has given us to inhabit, we must obey Him and live according to His Word. When we do this, our land will be free from evil and it will yield great increase for our pleasure (Deuteronomy 28). I encourage you reading this devotional to give your life to Jesus Christ today and begin to live according to His Word from now on. The seemingly barren or polluted land upon which you are living will turn out to be fruitful and blessed. 

Hymn 2

O Jesus, I Have Promised

1.O Jesus, I have promised
to serve thee to the end;
be thou forever near me,
my Master and my friend.
I shall not fear the battle
if thou art by my side,
nor wander from the pathway
if thou wilt be my guide.

2.    O let me feel thee near me!
The world is ever near;
I see the sights that dazzle,
the tempting sounds I hear;
my foes are ever near me,
around me and within;
but Jesus, draw thou nearer,
and shield my soul from sin.

3.    O let me hear thee speaking
in accents clear and still,
above the storms of passion,
the murmurs of self-will.
O speak to reassure me,
to hasten or control;
O speak, and make me listen,
thou guardian of my soul.

4.    O Jesus, thou hast promised
to all who follow thee
that where thou art in glory
there shall thy servant be.
And Jesus, I have promised
to serve thee to the end;
O give me grace to follow,
my Master and my Friend.



Action Point:
Think about how you have lived your life in the past; see if you have polluted the land in anyway, repent and call on God for forgiveness so that God's time of refreshing will come upon your life.