Open Heaven 22 May  2023 Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – CHECK YOUR FRIENDS 

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Open Heavens 2023
Date: 2023-05-22
Topic: CHECK YOUR FRIENDS

Memory Verse: Proverbs 13:20 – He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: But a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
Bible Reading: Proverbs 1:10-19

Message: You should do a thorough check on your friends toy see if they are headed for heaven. There are some people who should clearly be avoided, While others may look good on the outside but deep inside, are not who they pretend to be. You need to stay away from such friends.

There are some character flaws you should look out for and ensure you do not keep people who have such as friends. For example, if your friend’s temper runs hot stay away from him or her, so you don’t learn his or heir ways and ensnare your soul (Proverbs 22:24-25).

Many years ago, I was working as a teacher and befriended a colleague who was from the same part of the country as I. I however, didn’t know much about him. One day on our way to Ibadan for a teachers’ programme, we got off the lorry in Ile-Ife, where we would board another to Ibadan. This friend of mine then said he wanted to say hello to a chief nearby and asked me to come along. I did, after all, we were friends. We got there, he knocked on a door and was asked a strange question from inside, “Is it a fish or a crab?” My friend answered and said, “One fish and one crab”. We were let in, but as we left, I began to wonder what this strange statement meant. When we arrived in Ibadan, he said he wanted to visit another fellow. I followed him, he knocked at the door and was asked, “Who is that, a goat or a sheep?” My friend answered, “One goat, one sheep”. By now, I was seriously troubled. I got home and asked the elders what the statements meant. They said, knowingly, “Ah, where did you hear that?”

That was the end of my friendship with that fellow. Up to today, I don’t understand what those statements really meant, but I didn’t have to be told that they were occultic and dangerous. Check your friends, be watchful and careful. The Bible says evil communication corrupts good manners (1 Corinthians 15:33). The Romans used to say, “As bad apples spoil good ones, so do bad friends spoil good boys”. Before today is out, do a thorough check on all your friends. If there are some that are not living a holy life, preach the word of God to them and if they refuse to change, please separate yourself from such persons immediately.

Hymn: When We Walk With The Lord

Points: Your friends are an indication of the influences that determine who you will become. Make and retain only godly friends.
Bible in one year: Nehemiah 4, Nehemiah 5, Nehemiah 6, Nehemiah 7

Title: When We Walk with the Lord.
Chorus: Trust and obey!
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey..

  1. When we walk with the Lord, 

In the light of His word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will
He abides with us still,
And with all
who will trust and obey.

  2. Not a shadow can rise, 

Not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt nor a fear,
Not a sigh nor a tear,
Can abide while
we trust and obey.

  3. Not a burden we bear, 

Not a sorrow we share
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief nor a loss,
Not a frown nor a cross,
But is blest
if we trust and obey

  4. But we never can prove

The delights of His love,
Until all on the altar we lay,
For the favour He shows
And the joy He bestows
Are for them
who will trust and obey.

  5. Then in fellowship sweet

We will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk
by His side in the way,
What He says we will do,
Where He sends we will go,
Never fear, only trust and obey.

Open Heavens 2023 Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.

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