Open Heavens 3 November 2015: Tuesday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Stealing By Lies: Not Allowed

Topic – Stealing By Lies: Not Allowed [Tuesday 3 November, 2015]

Memorise: But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. - Revelation 21:8

Read: Revelation 21:7-8 (KJV)

7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Bible in One Year: Deuteronomy 21:15-23:14; Philippians 3:1-4:1

MESSAGE:

In a particular church, some children and teenagers were asked to contribute some money for a specific purpose to their coordinator. After a while, the money contributed disappeared into thin air, and what was promised was never delivered. That is stealing! Such fraudulent actions can take Heaven away from its perpetrators. If you are guilty of such an act, go back and restitute, even if you have moved from that place to another. Do you know that some people need to restitute some items (for example, church-owned hymn books) and money to the churches they once attended in the past? Wherever you have a restitution to make, go and do so for the sake of making Heaven.

Moreover, stealing comes in different shades. Have you lied while filling your tax forms by declaring less than what you earn? You have defrauded the government. Do you have something that belongs to the government in your custody? Return it! Did you join others to share the proceeds of bribery, illegitimate deals and extortion in your office? Return it! Have you stolen a position from the rightful candidate through lying or mudslinging? Go and restitute your ways. Anything you fraudulently acquired must be returned to the rightful owner.

"The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death." -Proverbs 21: 6

As a dealer in used cars, do you tamper with the mileage figures of cars you sell just to deceive potential buyers? Repent. When asked to supply some goods in a contract, do you look for fairly used ones, refurbish them and present them as brand new? Restitute! When you go for a course outside your place of residence, do you lie that you lodged in an expensive hotel, whereas you stayed in a cheaper hotel or even lodged with a friend or relative? Do you falsify figures? Some pastors manipulate attendance to enhance their periodic performance assessment. If you can deceive man, can you deceive God? Even if you succeed with that deception and get what you wanted, does God's silence equal divine approval? Restitution is putting to rest something that is experiencing unrest. Until you restitute a pending matter, there can never be rest, no matter what else is done. God wants you holy. It must be His way and not yours.

Key Point: Every lie told is not gone into oblivion; rather, it is only waiting somewhere to implicate the liar.

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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