OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: WEDNESDAY AUGUST 6TH 2025

TOPIC: OVERFLOWING MERCY

MEMORISE:
“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;).” - (Ephesians 2:4-5)

READ: MARK 1:40-45 (KJV)

40 And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.

42 And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

43 And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away;

45 And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

45 But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.

MESSAGE:
Many of God's attributes can be seen in the Bible, and one of them is that He is merciful. Today's memory verse says that He is rich in mercy, and this means that He has more than enough for everyone; hence, He can never run out of it. The Bible also says in Psalm 62:12:

Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy...

The Scripture above tells us that mercy belongs to God. When something belongs to someone who loves you, you can rest assured that he or she will give you that thing anytime you need it. This means that as long as you belong to God, you will always enjoy His mercy.

Today's Bible reading tells the story of a leper who came to Jesus and said, "If you will, you can make me clean." In other words, he was saying, "I know you are merciful, but I don't know if that mercy extends to me. If you will have mercy on me, then I know I will become clean." Jesus didn't get angry at him; He reached out to him and touched him. In those days, it was forbidden to touch a leper, but when mercy shows up for a man, it breaks human protocols. Jesus also corrected the leper's wrong mindset. He told him, "I will; be clean." Jesus showed him that mercy is always available to those who come to Him. God never withholds His mercy from those who cry out to Him for it. When Blind Bartimaeus cried for mercy in Mark 10:46-52, Jesus heard his cry and responded. When a father cried for mercy concerning his son who was tormented by a devil, Jesus responded and delivered the child (Matthew 17:14-18). When the Canaanite woman cried for mercy concerning her daughter, even though it wasn't yet time for the Gentiles to experience God's merciful gift of salvation, Jesus responded, and the girl was made whole (Matthew 15:22-28). In the name above every other name, I pray that God's mercy will locate you and make you whole in all areas of life.

God's mercy is great. Psalm 57:10 tells us that His mercy is great unto the heavens. However, as great as God's mercy is, it is only available to those who genuinely repent of their sins, surrender their lives to Jesus, and make a commitment to living a holy life. Only those who fear God will partake of His overflowing mercy (Psalm 103:11).

KEY POINT:
Those who fear God will always enjoy His overflowing mercy.

AUTHOR PASTOR E A ADEBOYE

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: JEREMIAH 9-11

HYMNAL: 15 - PASS ME NOT, O GENTLE SAVIOUR

1 Pass me not, O gentle Savior,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.

Savior, Savior,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.

2 Let me at Thy throne of mercy
Find a sweet relief;
Kneeling there in deep contrition,
Help my unbelief.

3 Trusting only in Thy merit,
Would I seek Thy face;
Heal my wounded, broken spirit,
Save me by Thy grace.

4 Thou the spring of all my comfort,
More than life to me;
Whom have I on earth beside Thee?
Whom in heaven but Thee?

"And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation, the fear of the Lord is his treasure." - Isaiah 33:6.

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: TUESDAY AUGUST 5TH 2025

TOPIC: OVERFLOWING PRAISE

MEMORISE:
“Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.” - (Psalm 147:1)

READ: 2 SAMUEL 6:14-16 (KJV)

14 And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.

15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.

16 And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.

MESSAGE:

In today's Bible reading, David praised God with all his might and danced with total abandon. This is a classic example of overflowing praise; no wonder God blessed Him beyond measure. When we overflow with praise towards God, He gives us blessings that are beyond measure. When you praise God, you please Him, and when you please Him, He makes even your enemies to be at peace with you (Proverbs 16:7). No wonder David never lost a battle; his overflowing praise always made God silence all his enemies before him. When you go out of your way to praise God, He goes out of His way to shower you with abundant blessings.

To really give overflowing praise to God, you cannot set limits to your praise; you have to praise Him without ceasing. This means that you keep praising Him everywhere you go and while going about your daily activities. This also means that your major preoccupation throughout all your days should be to give Him praise continually. This is why every time people see me, they notice that my mouth is always moving - I am always singing choruses to praise my God. I remember one time I travelled outside Nigeria; I went to a bookstore to buy some books. While picking the books, I was singing praises to God. A white man came into the bookstore, saw me, and made a joke about my singing. We laughed, shook hands, and as he was about to leave, he said, "Wait a minute, it is gone!" Apparently, he had been suffering from a backache for years. The moment I shook his hands in that mood of worship, the backache disappeared. If you want to experience constant miracles everywhere you go, even when you are not expecting it, then you should be giving God overflowing praise.

Those who give God overflowing praise do not wait for Him to do anything for them before they praise Him. They praise Him in season and out of season. Just the fact that they get up from their beds in the morning is enough reason to give Him praise. In return, God ensures that He meets their needs even before they ask so that they can put more time and focus into praising Him. Before any trouble comes, He settles it so that the flow of praise does not stop.

Beloved, make it a habit to praise God everywhere you go, and He will beautify your life with His abundant blessings.

KEY POINT:
To give God overflowing praise, you must praise Him everywhere you go and at all times.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: JEREMIAH 6-8

AUTHOR PASTOR E A ADEBOYE

HYMNAL: 18 - PRAISE TO THE LORD, THE ALMIGHTY, THE KING OF CREATION

1 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,
the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy
health and salvation!
All ye who hear,
Now to His temple draw near;
Sing now in glad adoration!

2 Praise to the Lord, who o’er all
things so wondrously reigneth,
Who, as on wings of an eagle,
uplifteth, sustaineth.
Hast thou not seen
How thy desires all have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

3 Praise to the Lord, who hath fearfully,
wondrously, made thee!
Health hath vouchsafed and, when
heedlessly falling, hath stayed thee.
What need or grief
Ever hath failed of relief?
Wings of His mercy did shade thee.

4 Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper
thy work and defend thee,
Who from the heavens the streams of
His mercy doth send thee.
Ponder anew
What the Almighty can do,
Who with His love doth befriend thee.

5 Praise to the Lord! Oh, let all that
is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come
now with praises before Him!
Let the Amen
Sound from His people again;
Gladly for aye we adore Him.

*MEDITATIONS ON DAILY*
*ⓂANNA*

TUESDAY, AUGUST 5TH, 2025.

*DANGER OF HARDNESS OF HEART*

*TEXT:* EXODUS 7:14-25.

14.And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go.
15 Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river's brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand.
16 And thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear.
17 Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.
18 And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river.
19 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.
20 And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.
21 And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
22 And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said.
23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also.
24 And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.
25 And seven days were fulfilled, after that the LORD had smitten the river.

*Timeless Truth:*_"Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD"_ (Isaiah 26:10).

*INTRODUCTION*

*1. Warnings Ignored Rudely*

a. This is the first of a judgmental miracle in Egypt. It was understandable that Pharaoh would find it difficult to imagine that his national work force was released voluntarily without a fight. It would be too costly for him. However ,the problem with him was not his initial reluctance, but his unwillingness to open his mind to supernatural persuasion that would make him understand that the God Who is greater than all his idols was the one sending Moses. In the same vein, God seldom condemns and destroys a sinner because he sins. His problem with them is their unwillingness to open their eyes to the light of truth shining and their love for darkness rather than light.
*"And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go".* Pharaoh deliberately, hardened his heart and shut out the light that was shining at that time. Jesus also asserted that no sinner is condemned to hell because he sins, but because he refused to give in to the way of salvation or in other words, because he hardened his heart like Pharaoh did. *"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil"* (John 3:19).
b. The next thing that followed Pharaoh intransigence was warning.
*"Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood"*. This is always God's way. Refusal or rebellion against the truth is always followed with divine warnings. These warnings come through different ways to the wicked and to those who pose to be children of God. It may be directly through His Word and ministers and at times he may use circumstances or even dreams to give warnings. God used Balaam's ass to warn him as the ass collapsed under him mysteriously for two times. Balaam did not bulge (Numbers 22:21-38). Believers should be discernful to know when God decides to use circumstances to warn them of an impending danger due to a wrong decision they are bent on making. Warnings of the Lord to sinners or saints should not be taken for granted at any time regardless of how the warnings come. Divine warnings is the next stage of actions for those who are desperately bent on doing wrong. After divine warning, and the person still hardens his heart, he would have crossed the line of God's mercy. Think of Judas Iscariot. *"He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy"* (Proverbs 29:1).

*Question*

Give examples of a sinner and a believer in the Bible who refused God's warning and exhausted the mercy of God.

*2. Wonders through "Insignificant" Rod*

a. The judgment was very strategic. All the nine plagues did not directly involve the loss of life except the 10th when their firstborns died. The judgment was targeted at the gods of the Egyptians in answer to Pharaoh who sincerely questioned, *"who is that God?"*. This first plague was to show Pharaoh that God is greater than all the prized and adored gods of the Egyptians. The first was River Nile. The Nile was worshipped as a god and ancient records show that they used to sing hymns and songs in its praise. Furthermore, there were gods worshipped as guardians of the Nile, the spirit of Nile and the bloodstream of Nile. All those gods could not help the Nile at all. They were all helpless. *"And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt"*. That was a clear signal to Pharaoh who loved many gods that this God of the Hebrews is superior by all standards to his national and personal gods. Sinners also manifest the same foolishness. They can hear or see mighty miracles of deliverance, healing and blessings through the name of Jesus. Instead of totally submitting and accepting Jesus as their only Saviour and God, they still cling to their religions, idols, sins and the love of the world. The hardened heart will not behold the majesty of God no matter how strong God's glory is shining. What Pharaoh saw was enough for him to have had to rethink and retrace his way back to God, but he did not. We will see later how he succeeded in deceiving his heart the most.
b. *"And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood"*. It is good to think a little about this rod which was an "insignificant" shepherd rod of Moses. It soon turned out to be an instrument of mighty miracles by God. It shows how God can lay His hand on seemingly insignificant persons, properties and possessions, anoint them with the Holy Ghost and use them beyond human imagination. The only thing needed is to surrender that life or thing to God. None should ever underrate how God can use him because of his birth, background, colour, race, status or any demanding thing. Yield yourself to Jesus and you will be surprised how impactful your life will be in life. DL Moody was an unlettered shoe maker who became a mighty revivalist. Apostle Ayo Babalola was an ordinary government stream roller operator. After about 70 years, his great impact and power packed revival could not be erased. With faith and obedience to the Spirit of God, the sky is the limit for anyone who desires to live a highly impactful life.

*Question*

Mention some insignificant things and seemingly insignificant people that God turned to mighty weapons in His hand.

*3. Wicked and Imitating Rebellion*

a. Apart from the fact that Pharaoh himself hardened his heart and he bore the full responsibility, the deceivers, magicians, evil counsellors and false preachers and prophets of his day added to the hardness of the heart. *"And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said"*. What did the magicians do? They dug into the ground for fresh water and turned it to blood through the power of Satan. The fact that it emboldened Pharaoh the more showed that it was not natural, but supernatural. It showed that it was not figurative, but physically real. The magicians could turn fresh water to blood, but could not turn bloody water into fresh as Moses did later. This is just the character of Satan. All he does is to imitate God and His works to deceive people. Furthermore, Satan is only interested in destroying people. Doing good and helping people out of their problems are never part of his economy. Even when he appears to do something good, the plan is to turn it to a razor bone in the mouth and throat of those who swallow it. That is how Satan brings different religions and offers under the camouflage of helping someone, but alas, the end result is to destroy. He has done this and sent multitudes to hell. Don't allow him to catch you with his deception. There is no single good in him.
b. Beware of false prophets, counsellors, companions, helpers, spouses and friends who smile at you as helpers and may even want to kiss you in love, but deadly poisons are in their mouth. Only Jesus is the truest and the most trustworthy Friend. *"And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also"*. Beware of all those preachers who always pour water of confusion on the Word of God with "it does not matter". Well, we all saw the end of Pharaoh.
*"And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river"*. Pharaoh was so hardened that he did not care about the plight of his citizens. *"And seven days were fulfilled, after that the LORD had smitten the river"*. A devilish leader thinks more of his ego, self and power than the welfare of people he is expected to lead and care for.

*Question*

What are the things giving you false security that you don't take some important teachings of the Bible seriously?

*Prayer Points*

1.Ask God to search your heart with His Word and Holy Ghost, reveal and remove any form of hardness in your heart .
2.Ask God to lay hands on you and use you mightily in this generation .
3.Ask God to deliver you and keep you from every form of deception that will damn your soul .
4.Pray that every believer will chose the path of wisdom and obedience to the Lord

*HYMN* Have you counted the cost

*BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:*
NEHEMIAH 9-11.

Buy the truth and sell it not. Your eternity and holiness is not for sale.

And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation.

Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.