OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL SUNDAY JANUARY 7TH 2024

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL SUNDAY JANUARY 7TH 2024

THEME: NEW YEAR RESOLUTION VI

MEMORISE:

“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” 

James 4:8

BIBLE READING: JOHN 15:4-7

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

MESSAGE:

My sixth resolution is to walk more closely with God than ever before this year. The Bible says in James 4:8 that if you draw near to God, He will draw near to you. Our God is not a touch-and-go God; He is a God who wants you to abide in Him (John 15:4-7).

Some of us are Sunday-Sunday Christians; we go to church only on Sundays, and it is only then that we read our Bibles and pray. The Almighty God wants you to be close to Him, to draw nearer to Him each day. This year, like never before, I am going to draw close to God and ensure He is by my side daily. I have discovered from experience that there are problems you can solve with your efforts in a year, two years or even ten years, but if you draw near to God, He can solve them in minutes!

I studied for my PhD at the University of Lagos. To get a PhD in Mathematics, you must solve a problem nobody has solved before. Being a problem nobody has solved before, nobody knows whether it has a solution, and they don't give you a PhD for trying but for solving the problem. So, I began to work out the details of the problem I chose, and eventually, I ended up with 186 simultaneous equations! I had been working on the problem for 18 months and didn't know what to do next. One night, after struggling with the equations till around 10pm, I decided to go and sleep. I, however, decided to study the Bible before going to bed, and I studied Exodus 14:21-28 - the crossing of the Red Sea, and God suddenly spoke to me. He said, "Son, go and bring your mathematics problems." He began to guide me step by step to put the equations into two different groups - one on the right and the other on the left. Suddenly, I saw something I had not seen before. All the equations on the right had something in common, and all the ones on the left had another thing in common. Then the Lord spoke to me, "Solve the ones on the left together, the ones on the right together, and then bring the two together." In five hours, I finished the problem I had been tackling for 18 months!

Whatever problem you might be facing, draw near to God this year, and He will give you a solution, in Jesus' name.

*KEY POINT:*

Draw closer to God this year more than ever before, and He will give you solutions to long-standing problems.

*BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:*

GENESIS 24-25

*AUTHOR*

PASTOR E A ADEBOYE 

*HYMNAL: HYMN 10 - IN CHRIST ALONE*

1 In Christ alone my hope is found;

He is my light, my strength, my song;

This cornerstone, this solid ground,

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

My comforter, my all in all—

Here in the love of Christ I stand.

2 In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,

Fullness of God in helpless babe!

This gift of love and righteousness,

Scorned by the ones He came to save.

Till on that cross as Jesus died,

The wrath of God was satisfied;

For ev’ry sin on Him was laid—

Here in the death of Christ I live.

3 There in the ground His body lay,

Light of the world by darkness slain;

Then bursting forth in glorious day,

Up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory,

Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me;

For I am His and He is mine—

Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

4 No guilt in life, no fear in death—

This is the pow’r of Christ in me;

From life’s first cry to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny.

No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man,

Can ever pluck me from His hand;

Till He returns or calls me home—

Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand.