Month: July 2024

Date: Tuesday, 30^th July, 2024

Text: Luke 17:11-19

Author: Pastor Adedeji Fadehan

Exhortation:

Sometimes we become so used to certain interventions of God that we take them for granted. We become so used to God’s house that we approach it casually and without the necessary reverence.

As Jesus went along, as usual, the people were crowding him from every side and touching him casually but a woman gave him a different touch. This woman had suffered from severe bleeding for twelve years; she had spent all she had on doctors, but no one had been able to cure her. She came up in the crowd behind Jesus and touched the edge of his cloak, and her bleeding stopped at once- Luke8:42-45. She gave Jesus a touch of faith and she drew power out of Him.

Some wonder why they remain the same after a church service- one of the reasons could be that you did not enter the service with faith and expectation- you entered casually and ended up having no personal encounter.

Familiarity, they say breeds contempt. Jesus could not do any miracle in his home town, except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them; because his people had lost respect for his anointing- Mark 6:4-13.

Many folks become so used to calling God’s name that they often call his name in vain even when cracking jokes. Therefore, the name of Christ has lost his power in the mouth of such people even when they pray.

A great number of Christians these days have become so used to testimonies that when people share their testimonies they are no longer moved to praise God.

 In today’s text, ten lepers cried to Jesus for mercy and they were cleansed. When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself to the ground at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan .Jesus spoke up, “There were ten who were healed; where are the other nine? Why is this foreigner the only one who came back to give thanks to God?” Luke 17: 11-19

The nine other lepers felt entitled to those miracles and they took Jesus’ miracle for granted. Unknowing to them they had become hardened in their hearts and had lost the sensitivity of gratitude.

Beware of hardness of the heart which could creep in gradually.

Prayer Nugget: Father, by your Spirit, help my heart to be soft and remain so in Jesus name.

Date: Sunday, 28^th July, 2024

Text: Daniel 3:16-18

Author: Pastor Adedeji Fadehan

Exhortation:

A friend of mine, back in the university undergraduate days, was very fervent and dutiful in God’s work. He was a pleasant and cool person that always wore a smile on his face. Then tragedy struck. His beloved younger brother was very sick to the point of death. He prayed and prayed, poured out his heart to God believing firmly that the sickness would go and his brother would be back on his feet. But unfortunately, the unexpected happened and his sick brother died!

Many friends and brethren from the church came to console him but he would not be consoled. The devil really used this occasion to dampen his faith. He began to backslide in his heart gradually. He would often say, “Where was God when my beloved brother was sick to the point of death? Didn’t I pray, pleading with God to spare his life?”

His faith was really shattered; he threw all spiritual cautions into the winds and he went full blown into a sinful lifestyle.

It is possible that someone that once had a soft heart loses its softness. The devil throws arrows of disappointments, failure, discouragement etc against God’s faithful children with the intention of making them lose their softness. Delay in answered prayers can lead to frustration and if care is not taken, could lead to loss of faith and eventual hardness of heart.

Please, understand that God is Sovereign; he does as he pleases and he knows the best. The word of God says, “The righteous perishes, and no man takes it to heart; Merciful men are taken away, while no one considers, that the righteous is taken away from evil. He shall enter into peace; they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.” Isaiah 57:1-2

In order to maintain the softness of your heart, let your faith in God be unconditional and resolute. As you relate with the Most High, love Him wholeheartedly.

Be like the Hebrew boys when their lives were threatened by King Nebuchadnezzar, the word of God says, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-18

Prophetic Nugget: Receive grace to remain soft-hearted in Jesus name.

Date: Saturday, 27^th July, 2024

Text: Ezekiel 36: 24-28

Author: Pastor Adedeji Fadehan

Exhortation:

Candle is solid at room temperature. But when exposed to heat it becomes soft and eventually melts into a liquid. Similarly, metal is solid naturally and cannot be easily bent. When heated to more than 930^OC, it is easily bent and formed into any shape by the blacksmith.

In the same vein, fire is equally very important in softening hardened hearts. The word of God is fire. In Jeremiah 23:29, the Lord told the prophet, saying, “Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?”

After the resurrection of Christ, the Lord appeared to the disciples and taught the word of God and later vanished from their sight. They commented on this as follows, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” Luke 24:32

The more exposed we are to the word of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit the more soften, willing, yielded and obedient we become. The opposite is also true- the less exposed we are to God’s word, the more hardened, unwilling, stubborn and disobedient we become.

The Lord has promised to do spiritual heart surgery for sinners whose hearts are damaged beyond repairs. In today’s text, he promised saying “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” Ezekiel 36:25-27

By all means make sure you do away with any form of hardened heart.

Prayer Nugget: Jehovah God let your word always be like fire that softens and melts my heart in Jesus name.

Date: Friday, 26^th July, 2024

Text: Matthew 19:1-9

Author: Pastor Adedeji Fadehan

Exhortation:

 Marriage is not meant to be endured but to be enjoyed. Your spouse is not supposed to be a cross you carry, but a life companion whose presence completes you and not compete with you. The marital union is designed to be Heaven on Earth; your home should be an abode of comfort and a shelter from the heat of life.

Your spouse should be your best friend, your confidant, prayer partner; a source of succour in the times of trouble; a source of encouragement and strength. Anything short of that is not God’s will.

One of the reasons why so many find marriage to be the opposite of the above description is unforgiveness occasioned by hardness of heart.

In today’s text, concerning divorce, some Israelites asked Christ,“Why then did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?” Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.” Matthew 19:7-8

As long as we breathe, we are not immune to offenses. A soul that trembles at the word of God, doing His will promptly and completely has a soft heart. Such a person finds it easy to let go and forgive his offenders.

The Holy Spirit through Apostle Peter wrote, “Likewise, ye husbands dwell with them according to knowledge (with proper understanding that they are more delicate than you; with great gentleness and tact, and with an intelligent regard for the marriage relationship), giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.” 1 Peter 3:7

The word of God also says, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord”- Hebrew 12:14. Do you desire that your prayers are answered quickly? Do you want to make Heaven at last? Then a soft and forgiving heart is mandatory.

Prayer Nugget: Lord, please, give me the grace to readily pardon others when they offend me.

Date: Thursday, 25^th July, 2024

Text: 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Author: Pastor Adedeji Fadehan

Exhortation:

One of other characteristics of a hardened heart is self-will and self-righteousness. His way seems right in his eyes. He lives his life based on some unwritten philosophies which are satanically inspired.

For example, beliefs like, “Somebody must go down for someone else to rise, therefore, I can do everything to pull my neighbour or colleague down for me to rise.” (Which part of the word of God says that?).

“The big fish must feed on the small fish in order to thrive in the river; therefore, it is okay to bully others.” (Are you a fish?)

“Something must kill someone therefore, it doesn’t matter whether I take health precautions or not.” “This is what is trending in the world now, so I don’t care what anybody says.”(The fact that it is popular before men does not make it acceptable before God, the judge of the whole Earth).

“I am not the first to have extra or premarital affairs; I am only being human, so what is the big deal?” (It is a serious matter before God; therefore, crucify the flesh and its desires.)

“Even concerning the so called Pastors; do you know what they do in secret?” (Why not leave God to handle that? He alone knows what everybody does in the secret)

“You, Mr Preacher, have you been to Heaven before? How are you so sure there is Heaven or Hell?” (The fact that you have never been to America before does not mean the nation does not exist; Jesus Christ has been to Heaven before and he is the Truth who preached a lot on the subject of Heaven and Hell)

All the above evil ideas and many more come from the devil. They cause doubts in the heart of people and harden them, making them unconcerned about doing God’s will.

The word of God says, “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

In order to prevent hardness of heart, you must not allow the seeds of doubt to take a stronghold in your heart, rather uproot them and cast out every ungodly thoughts and everything that is trying to compete with and nullify the word of God in your life. Make every thought bow to the authority of God’s word.

Let the word of God take root in your heart and let it grow mightily and prevail over other contending ideas from the devil. You are an overcomer in Jesus name.

Prayer Nugget: I pull down every stronghold of the devil competing with God’s word in my heart in Jesus name.

Date: Wednesday, 24^th July, 2024

Text: 1 Samuel 24:1-13

Author: Pastor Adedeji Fadehan

Exhortation:

If you are the type of person that habitually pick hot things with your bare hands, after a while, you would notice that your palms become thick and resistant to heat. Similarly, many have trained their hearts to do evil such that over time their hearts have become deadened; they don’t feel remorse anymore, if they do anything evil. This is the unfortunate state of the hearts of many souls in the world.

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate (depraved, corrupted, perverse) mind, to do those things which are not convenient.  Romans 1:28

Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Genesis 6:5-6 says, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.”

A heart that is alive and soft would be pricked if he ever does evil either by commission or omission. For example, David had a rare opportunity to kill his arch enemy, King Saul. His bodyguards pressurized him to take the king’s life while he was fast asleep, but he refused to fall into that temptation.

However, in order to prove to Saul that he actually had that opportunity, he decided to cut off part of the king’s skirt.  The word of God said, “And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt. And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.” 1 Samuel 24:5-6

Action Nugget: Examine yourself and ask the Lord to take away every stony heart from you and give you a heart of flesh.

Date: Tuesday, 23^rd July, 2024

Text: Mark 8:13-21

Author: Pastor Adedeji Fadehan

Exhortation:

The condition of the heart is of paramount importance to God because the heart is the seat or center of decision making and thoughts which eventually influence or controls our actions. The heart is a strategic focal point which acts as a battleground between the human (sinful) nature and the divine nature. Who wins the battle of your heart depends on whose side you are on.

The word of God says, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Proverbs4:23.

A spiritually healthy heart is broken, soft, teachable and yielded to doing the will of God. But unfortunately, most people are spiritually diagnosed to possess hardened hearts. A hardened heart is cold and unresponsive to the control of the Holy Spirit.

One of the characteristics of living things is sensitivity or irritability; that is, ability to respond to stimuli. A dead body is no longer able to respond to any form of external touches. The remains of a dead animal or human gradually become stiff (hard) and cold; as times goes on decay sets in.

Similarly, a hardened heart is dead, unyielding, unresponsive and disobedient to the will of God. In today’s text the Lord Jesus Christ rebuked even his own disciples for demonstrating hardness of heart. He said to them, “Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?” Mark 8:17-18.

How about your heart?

Prayer Nugget: By the power of the Resurrection and Life of Christ we receive a reawakening from every spiritual deadness and hardness of the heart in Jesus name.

Date: Monday, 22^nd July, 2024

Text: Psalm 103:8-14

Author: Pastor Adedeji Fadehan

Exhortation:

Mercy is one of the qualities of the Most High. If not for this divine attribute, the world would probably have been destroyed long ago because of the wickedness of Mankind. But his mercy brings forgiveness when God sees evidence of repentance.

We enjoy a lot of things by God’s mercy. Prophet Jeremiah said, “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23

In today’s text, the Psalmist also confirmed saying, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.

^“For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” Psalm 103:8-14

The implication of enjoying God’s mercy is to reciprocate his kind gesture by not taking it for granted.

Psalm 103 verse 13 says, “As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him.” This signifies that there is a strong connection between the fear of God and his mercy. The more you fear God the more of His mercy you will enjoy. The reverse is also true- the less you fear God the less of his mercy you will enjoy.  So the ball is actually in our courts.

Another implication of his mercies which we enjoy is that we are obligated to extend the same kind gesture to our fellow men. If God has forgiven our unrighteousness by His mercy, we should do the same to those who offend us. It is only then we can successfully pray saying, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Matthew 6:12

Prayer Nugget: Father, thank you for your mercy which I am enjoying; I ask for the grace to always extend your mercy to others in Jesus name.

Sunday, 21^st July, 2024

Text: Proverbs 3:5-9

Author: Pastor Adedeji Fadehan

Exhortation:

There is nothing we have that God did not give us (1 Corinthians 4:7). Without Him we can do nothing. If indeed you believe that all your achievements could not have been possible without God’s support and blessings, then it is very necessary for you to show gratitude.

We must not take His blessings for granted. Those that take him for granted may find their blessings being reversed; they may suddenly discover that the door God opened before them suddenly becomes shut. May those not be your portion in Jesus name.   

In today’s text, the word of God says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.” Proverbs 3:5-7,9

You should honour God by sacrificing your first fruits, tithes and offerings. When you do so, you acknowledge Him to be your source of provisions; secondly you are thanking Him for providing for you; thirdly you are asking God to do more. Fourthly, you are asking the Lord to bless the remaining substance in your care so that the enemy will not steal them from you through incurable sickness, scammers etc

However, for God to accept your offerings, tithes and firstfruits, surrender your heart to God and live a holy life.

Prayer Nugget: Father, I receive the grace to always honour you with my substance in Jesus name.

Date: Thursday, 18^th July, 2024

Text: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12

Author: Pastor Adedeji Fadehan

Exhortation:

Apostle Paul is a sterling example of a man of God, who though was highly anointed and very busy with the work of evangelism, chose to work on a part time basis as a tentmaker to earn a living- Acts 18:1-3.

In his second epistle to the Thessalonians church he wrote, “We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies (A busybody is someone who loves to poke his nose into other person’s affairs without being invited. He does not mind his own business but loves to meddle in other person’s matters.). Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat.

“In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you,nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

“We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat”- 2 Thessalonians 3:11, 12; 6-10.

Again in his epistle to the Ephesians church he said, “Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need”- Ephesians 4:28.

Indeed there is dignity in labour. No matter how little you earn, you are far better than a beggar.

Every child of God must be an asset (a problem solver) to the church and the society at large; not a liability (a problem to be solved).

Action Nugget: Be a problem solver and not a problem to be solved.