Open Heavens 20 December 2015: Sunday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Bearing false witness II

Topic: Bearing false witness II [Sunday 20 December, 2015]

Memorise: A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish - Proverbs 19:9.

Read: Genesis 39:7-20 (KJV)

7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.

8 But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;

9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

10 And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.

11 And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within.

12 And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.

13 And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,

14 That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice:

15 And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out.

16 And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home.

17 And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me:

18 And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out.

19 And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled.

20 And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.

Bible in One Year: Proverbs 8:1-11:15: 1 Peter 4:12-5:14

MESSAGE:

"And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;" - Revelation 3 : 14.

In the above Scripture, Jesus Christ is called the Faithful and True witness. Because He is the Truth, He hates lies. A false witness is a liar. It therefore implies that Jesus hates the bearing of false witness. If you are a false witness, your nature is at variance with that of Jesus who is the Faithful and True witness. If you claim you belong to Him and yet you bear false witness, you lie, and the truth is not in you. If you lied against someone and got the fellow into trouble before you were saved, although God has forgiven you your sins at the point of salvation, you still need to make right that wrong deed. It is very worrisome to hear that false witnesses exist in the Body of Christ today. It is reported that some people arrange for some fellows to testify against particular individuals in order to discredit them or their ministry. Such testimonies have ridiculed and even disqualified some people from a particular office, position or imminent promotion. If you are guilty of such act, you must be prepared to restitute to the fellow you lied against. Yes, it could be humiliating, but you have to do it.

Another area where people are guilty of bearing false witness in the body of Christ today concerns the issue of sexual harassment. There are ladies who, for one reason or another, decide to blackmail a servant of God. They may come to that servant of God with an issue, arrange a scenario of compromise, and then allege that he was about to rape them. They are like Potiphar's wife, who consistently tried to entice Joseph into adultery, but he kept resisting her. Eventually, when all her antics had failed, she falsely accused him of trying to rape her. Joseph went to prison because of that lie. Some pastors have lost their ministries to false witnesses. Some people have been demoted because someone lied against them. Some families are suffering because of the lies a member of the extended family told against them. Some church leaders are fighting some innocent workers and ministers because of the lies told by somebody. Are you a false witness? God can expose your evil deeds. Go and straighten your crooked path or else, the journey you thought would lead you to Heaven will end in Hell.

Action Point: Are you a victim of false witnesses? Ask God to vindicate you and restore whatever you have lost.

Open Heavens 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.

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