Today’s Open Heavens devotional, 18 March 2026, is REMEMBER YOUR CREATOR
The daily devotion guide is written by Pastor E. A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG).
OPEN HEAVENS 18 MARCH 2026 DEVOTIONAL
TOPIC: REMEMBER YOUR CREATOR
MEMORISE:
Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
Ecclesiastes 12:1
READ: Mark 11:12-20
12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:
13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.
14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;
16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.
17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.
19 And when even was come, he went out of the city.
20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
RCCG OPEN HEAVENS 18 MARCH 2026 MESSAGE TODAY
Today’s Bible reading tells the story of how Jesus saw a fig tree from afar and approached it because He was hungry. On getting to the tree, He discovered that it had no fruit on it even though it had many leaves, and He cursed it.
One lesson we can learn from this story is that God expects every living thing to be productive; He created everything for His pleasure (Revelation 4:11) and wants them to reveal His glory.
One detail that used to baffle me any time I read the passage in today’s Bible reading is that the time for figs had not yet come (Mark 11:13). I used to think to myself, “If it wasn’t the season for figs, why did Jesus expect the fig tree to have fruit?” I later realised that, where the issue of time is concerned, God’s time is always the right time. For instance, if God wakes you up at 3am or 4am, it is wrong to tell Him that it is too early for you to wake up. No matter how early the Sovereign God wakes you up, it means your day has begun – His time is always the right time.
In today’s memory verse, God instructs young people to remember Him while they are still in their youth. This means that the best time to serve God is when a person is young. It is best for people to surrender their hearts and lives to God in the morning of their years because those who seek God early will always find Him (Proverbs 8:17).
If you are a young person and you are reading this, Jesus wants your heart now; He wants you to bear fruits for His kingdom now that you’re still young.
He wants you to be fervent in spirit, serving Him (Romans 12:11). Don’t squander your youth on the altar of sin or waste it by pursuing unimportant things; seek God early. Do not be like the fig tree, which had nothing to offer Jesus when He came seeking fruit from it. God has commanded us to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28); however, to be fruitful, you must cultivate a vibrant relationship with Him because you can do nothing without Him (John 15:4).
Beloved, I plead with you to remember your Creator in the days of your youth. Even if you are no longer a youth, dedicate the rest of your life to serving Him, and He will beautify your life with His glory.
KEY POINT
Remember your Creator now.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR
Judges 14-16
Open Heavens HYMN 39: I AM THINE, O LORD
Open Heaven Devotional 18 March 2026 Commentary
MEMORISE: Ecclesiastes 12:1
“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.”
This verse is both an urgent command and a compassionate warning. To remember God early is to position oneself for a life of fruitfulness; to delay is to risk arriving at the tree of life only to find it barren.
BIBLE READING: Mark 11:12-20
This passage is one of the most provocative and instructive narratives in the Gospels:
v. 13: “And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.” The tree was outwardly impressive (leaves) but inwardly barren (no fruit). Its foliage promised sustenance but delivered disappointment.
v. 14: Jesus spoke to the tree: “No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever.” The curse was not an outburst of petulance but an enacted parable of divine judgment against empty profession.
v. 20: “And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.” The judgment was complete and irreversible. What appeared healthy was, in fact, already dead at its core.
The Fig Tree Generation: Called to Early and Abundant Fruitfulness
Pastor E.A. Adeboye wrestles with one of Scripture’s most puzzling details—Jesus cursing a fig tree when “the time of figs was not yet”—and extracts a profound revelation about divine timing and human responsibility. He declares that God’s time is always the right time. The call to fruitfulness is not conditioned on convenience, season, or readiness. When the Master approaches, He expects to find fruit. This is especially urgent for the young, whose “season” is now.
1. The Enigma of the Fig Tree Resolved
The Apparent Injustice:
- On the surface, Jesus appears unreasonable. Why curse a tree for failing to produce fruit out of season? This question has troubled many readers and, by Pastor Adeboye’s admission, once “baffled” him as well.
The Revelation:
- “Where the issue of time is concerned, God’s time is always the right time.” This is the interpretive key. The tree’s excuse (“it’s not the season”) is irrelevant to the Creator. When the Lord of the harvest walks through His vineyard, He has the sovereign right to expect fruit. His hunger establishes the season.
The Parabolic Meaning:
- The fig tree represents Israel—and by extension, every professing believer—clothed in the leaves of religious activity but destitute of the fruit of genuine righteousness. The tragedy is not that the tree failed to meet an arbitrary standard; it is that it appeared fruitful while being essentially barren. It was a liar in leaf form.
2. The Divine Expectation: Fruitfulness at All Times
The Creation Mandate (Genesis 1:28):
- “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it.” This is not a suggestion but a command, issued before the fall and reiterated throughout Scripture. God did not create beings for aesthetic display but for productive partnership in His purposes.
The Purpose of Creation (Revelation 4:11):
- “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” We exist for His pleasure—and His pleasure is found in our fruitfulness. A barren Christian, like a barren fig tree, is a contradiction of divine design.
The Condition of Fruitfulness (John 15:4):
- “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” Fruitfulness is not produced by human effort but flows from intimate connection with Christ. The leaves of religious activity are easily manufactured; the fruit of the Spirit is the product of abiding.
3. The Urgency of Youth
The Divine Preference for Early Seekers (Proverbs 8:17):
- “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.” God does not hide from sincere seekers, but He particularly honors those who seek Him in the “morning of their years.” Early seekers find not only salvation but also a lifetime of partnership with God.
The Wastage of Youth:
- Pastor Adeboye issues a passionate plea: “Don’t squander your youth on the altar of sin or waste it by pursuing unimportant things.” Youth is not a license for indulgence but a stewardship for impact. The energy, idealism, and resilience of youth are resources to be invested in the kingdom, not dissipated in the pursuit of empty pleasures.
The Tragedy of the Barren Fig Tree:
- The tree had leaves—it looked promising. It occupied space in the vineyard, consumed nutrients from the soil, and absorbed sunlight and rain. Yet when the Master came seeking fruit, it had nothing to offer. It was a consumer, not a contributor.
- The Warning: Young people who fill their lives with the leaves of education, career, relationships, and entertainment but neglect the fruit of righteousness, service, and intimacy with God will one day face the Master’s inspection—and find themselves barren.
4. No Expiration Date on the Call
For Those Beyond Youth:
- “Even if you are no longer a youth, dedicate the rest of your life to serving Him, and He will beautify your life with His glory.” The fig tree’s judgment was irreversible, but God’s grace extends to human lives until the final breath.
- The Principle: While early fruitfulness is God’s ideal, late fruitfulness is still fruitfulness. The eleventh-hour worker receives the same wage as the all-day laborer (Matthew 20:1-16). It is never too late to begin bearing fruit.
5. The Testimony of Daddy Adeboye (Implied)
A Life of Early and Continuous Fruitfulness:
- Though not explicitly stated in this passage, Pastor Adeboye’s own testimony embodies this truth. He surrendered his life to Christ in his youth and has spent decades bearing fruit that remains. The global expansion of RCCG is not the result of late-life diligence but of early surrender followed by lifelong abiding.
How to Answer the Master’s Hunger
For the Young:
- Surrender Now: Do not wait until you are “older” or “more settled” to give your life to Christ. The best time to remember your Creator is now. Pray the prayer of surrender today.
- Invest Your Youth: Your strength, your time, your creativity, your influence—these are not yours to spend on yourself. They are resources entrusted to you for kingdom purposes. Ask God: “How do You want me to use my youth for Your glory?”
- Abide Early, Abide Always: Cultivate the habit of abiding in Christ now, while your spiritual roots are still forming. A tree that grows deep roots in its early years will withstand the storms of its later years.
For the Older:
- Redeem the Time: You cannot recover the years you have wasted, but you can dedicate the years that remain. Moses was 80 when he led Israel out of Egypt. Caleb was 85 when he asked for his mountain. Your best fruit may still be ahead.
- Fruitfulness Without Resentment: Do not look back at your wasted youth with paralyzing regret. Accept God’s forgiveness for the barren years and ask Him to make the remaining years extraordinarily fruitful.
For All:
- Examine Your Leaves: Are you busy with religious activity but barren of spiritual fruit? Do you attend services, serve in ministries, and affirm orthodox doctrine—yet lack the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience)? Leaves are not fruit. Ask the Spirit to reveal the difference.
- Cultivate the Root: You cannot produce fruit by attaching fake fruit to your branches. Fruit grows from the root. Your root is your relationship with Christ through His Word, prayer, and obedience. Tend the root, and the fruit will come.
Warning: The Danger of Deceptive Foliage
The Leaves of Religious Performance:
- It is possible to maintain an impressive exterior of Christian activity while being inwardly barren. The Pharisees were masters of this deception—meticulous in tithing but negligent in justice, mercy, and faith (Matthew 23:23). Leaves deceive others; only fruitlessness reveals the truth to the Master.
The Presumption of Tomorrow:
- The young man who says, “I will serve God later, when I have enjoyed my youth,” is making a dangerous assumption. He assumes he will have a “later.” He assumes his heart will remain soft. He assumes the Master’s patience is infinite. The fig tree did not expect to be cursed; it simply expected another season. There was no other season.
Conclusion: Found Fruitful at His Coming
Pray this:
“Lord Jesus, I hear Your voice calling me to fruitfulness. I confess the years I have wasted—my youth squandered on empty pursuits, my energy spent on things that do not matter, my leaves of religious activity masking a heart of barrenness. Forgive me. Today, I remember my Creator in the days of my youth—or in the days that remain. I surrender my life to You without reservation. Abide in me, and I in You. Produce in me the fruit that remains: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Use my life to bring glory to Your name. When You come seeking fruit from my tree, may You find abundance. Let me not be a disappointment to the Master who hungers for righteousness in His vineyard. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.”
Action Steps:
- The Fruit Audit: Take an honest inventory of your life. Distinguish between “leaves” (religious activities, knowledge, reputation) and “fruit” (Christlike character, souls won, service rendered, obedience manifested). Ask: “What fruit does Jesus find when He comes to me?”
- The Early Covenant: If you are under 30, write a formal covenant with God dedicating your youth to His service. Be specific: “I will use my energy for ____; I will invest my time in ____; I will pursue ____ for Your kingdom.” Place it in your Bible as a memorial.
- The Late Harvest Declaration: If you are beyond your youth, write a declaration of dedication for your remaining years. “Though I come late to the vineyard, I will work with all my strength. Make these years my most fruitful.”
- The Abiding Practice: Commit to John 15:4. Each morning, before any activity, spend time simply “abiding”—reading Scripture, praying, silencing your heart before God. Fruitfulness flows from presence, not performance.
Remember: The Master is walking through His vineyard today. He is hungry. He is approaching your tree. What will He find? A display of impressive leaves—or the sweet fruit of a life lived in intimate union with Him?
“Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.” (John 15:8). Let Him find fruit on you—not in your own season, but in His.
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