Open Heaven 22 September 2024 – True Love
Open Heaven 22 September 2024 Sunday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – True Love
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Open Heaven 22 September 2024 TOPIC: True Love
MEMORISE: “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, 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 (KJV)
READ: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (KJV)
4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Micah 5-7
Open Heaven 22 September 2024 MESSAGE
The Bible says that husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25). This analogy alone is enough to tell us straightaway that love is not an emotion or feeling, but a decision to consistently act in the best interest of your spouse. In other words, the best interest of your spouse should become a priority to you.
In Luke 22:42, Jesus did not feel like dying for the church. He tried to convince God to let the impending suffering and death pass over Him. He prayed so hard that His sweat was like blood, but what had to be done, had to be done. He went to the cross, suffered shame, pain, and death for the ones He loved. That is what husbands are to do for their wives; love them as Christ loves the church and gave Himself for her. Husband, can you do this for your wife?
Also Read: Open Heaven 21 September 2024 – Submission vs Cooperation
When I see Christian husbands buying new clothes and shoes for themselves while their wives wear old, worn out clothes, I wonder if they even read their Bibles at all. Worse still are the men who beat their wives. As a husband, if you love your wife, you will take good care of her and put her interests above yours. Money will be too small to sacrifice to make her happy. In Nigeria, men of the Igbo tribe are renowned for truly caring for their wives. In Igbo land, any man that beats his wife or does not take care of her is called an Efulefu. An Efulefu is someone who is way below useless, empty, and who has nothing good to offer. This is a generally held belief among people who are not all believers, how much more Christians who have been directed by God to take care of their wives and families (1 Timothy 5:8).
So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. – Ephesians 5:28
The Scripture above instructs husbands to love their wives as they love their own bodies. Just as they eat good food, put on good clothes, and do not allow any harm to come to their bodies, they are to treat their wives the same way. As a husband, you should use the best of your resources, words, and actions to show your wife that you love her. When you do this, you are a good husband indeed, and one advantage that a good husband has, according to today’s memory verse, is that God hears his prayers.
Open Heaven 22 September 2024 REFLECTION
As a husband, are you taking good care of your wife? Can anyone see her and tell that you truly love her?
Open Heaven 22 September 2024 HYMN 13 – Jesus Loves, This I Know
1 Jesus loves me! This I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong,
They are weak but He is strong.
Refrain:
Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so.
2 Jesus loves me! He who died,
Heaven’s gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.
3 Jesus loves me, loves me still
Tho’ I’m very weak and ill
From His shinning throne on high
He will watch me wwhere I lie.
4 Jesus Loves Me! He Will Stay
Close Beside Me All The Way;
If I love Him when I die.
He will take me home on high.
Open Heavens 2024 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. Open Heaven for Today 2024
1. Admit that you are a sinner. "For all [humans] have sinned, and comes short of the glory of God....[and] the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 3:23)
2. Repent now. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out ...[for] if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness " (Acts 3:19, 1 John 1:9)
3. Believe that God loves you and Jesus died for you. "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet Sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
4. Invite Jesus into your life through prayer of faith. Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20)
