OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL...

DATE: THURSDAY 1 SEPTEMBER 2016

THEME: NO ROOM FOR THE DEVIL

Memorise:
Abstain from all appearance of evil. 1st Thessalonians 5:22

Read: Psalms 15:1-5

1 Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.

3 He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.

4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

5 He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

Message

‘Looking unto Jesus’ are three very important words of salvation, encouragement and direction for daily Christian living. Nicodemus, in his search for the true God and eternal life, approached Jesus for possible understanding. The Lord Jesus made the new birth very plain by using an Old Testament illustration of the fiery serpents of brass put on a pole for the Israelites to look upon as recorded in the book of Numbers 21:8-9.

The fall of Adam and Eve, and the temptation of Jesus Christ, exposes humanity to two important realities among many others. First of all, the devil is out to destroy all human beings without exception. Secondly, the devil cannot do a perfect Job at destroying a person without the consensual agreement of that individual. Consequently, the devil seeks the permission of an individual to have the access required to destroy his life. That is why the Bible in Ephesians 4:27, admonishes us not to give way to the devil.

Moreover, the devil does not make this request directly; neither does he require a clear answer from anyone. The language of the devil is always implied and shrouded in ambiguity, such that no one is ever fully aware of the implications of any transaction with the devil until reality dawns on them. For these reasons, children of God should be mindful of their responses to any proposal by the devil because ordinary interest is usually taken as consent or approval by the devil. Men and women who showed interest in various proposals of the devil in the past were soon captured and enslaved to the point of being addicted to such harmful practices like alcoholism, gambling, illicit sex, hard drugs, prostitution, etc. For these reasons, the Bible outlines several ways in which believers should respond to the devil. Evil is to be avoided at all cost as indicated in Psalms 1:1:
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful”

And in Proverbs 4:14:
“Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.”

And 1st Thessalonians 5:22 says:
“Abstain from all appearance of evil.”

Evil is to be hated with passion and resisted with everything we have in line with proverbs 1:10:
“My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.”

And James 4:7,
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Above all, children of God should pray every day in response to evil, Matthew 6:13 says,
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”

I pray that you will not be a victim of evil in Jesus’ name.

Prayer Point:

Father, please keep evil far away from me and my entire family in Jesus' name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Jeremiah 10-12 and Psalms 46

AUTHOR: Pst E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN 1: O LORD MY GOD

1. O LORD my God! When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works Thy hand hath made;
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
Thy pow’r throughout the universe displayed:

Chorus:
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

2. When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
And hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze:

Chorus:

3. And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die - I scarce can take it in:
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin:

Chorus:

4. When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home - what joy shall fill my heart!
Then shall I bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim, my God how great Thou art!

Chorus.

YOU CAN'T BE CURSED!

There is therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit (Romans 8:1).

I encountered a Christian woman recently who, on account of certain misfortune she suffered over a period of time, came to the conclusion that her predicament was the result of a curse. She wanted to know from me if it was possible for a Christian to be under a curse. I explained to her from the Word that a Christian can’t be under a curse because the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, that if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation; superior to satan; and so cannot be under a curse.
The Christian has been called to inherit a blessing and not a curse (1 Peter 3:9). This was the promise of God to Abraham in Genesis 12:3: “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” As believers in Christ, we have inherited the blessing of Abraham. So the Bible teaches in Galatians 3:29: “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Ignorance of this is however the problem of all those who believe the reason they’re not doing well in life is because they are under the influence of a curse or some voodoo spell.
If you’re born again and filled with the Holy Spirit, no one can place a curse on you! Even if they tried, it wouldn’t work, for the Bible says no weapon fashioned against you shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17). Numbers 23:23 says, “Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel…” So you see, you don’t need any deliverance or special prayers for a curse to be lifted from your life, for the truth is, you cannot be cursed.
Look at it this way, if you were to be cursed as a child of God, who is to see to it that the curse produces result? Is it the devil? You’re more powerful than the devil. Is it God? God is your heavenly Father, why would He supervise a curse against you? The only Christian, however, who can be under a curse, is the one who is at variance with the Word of God. When you ignore the Word of God, you take yourself outside the protective cover of the Word, and that in itself is a curse. But as long as you stay in the Word, you’ll be like a tree planted by the rivers of water; fruitful and productive for eternity! Praise God!

Prayer

Dear Father, I thank you for your Word. It’s in my heart and my mouth today! I meditate upon it day and night and thereby make my way prosperous. I cannot be cursed because your Word is my life and your blessing remains my portion, in Jesus’ Name. Amen
Galatians 3:13-14
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith

Read, share and also leave comments on today's devotional. Let's keep spreading until we get into every man's world...God bless you.
LoveWorld Publishing Ministry : Christian Book Publisher

Prayer Points on Today's Open Heavens - ( Thursday, September 1st, 2016) - NO ROOM FOR THE DEVIL
1.Thank you Father because you are my shield, buckler, fortress and my present help in the time of trouble.
2.Father, in anyway l have fallen short of your glory, please, have mercy and forgive me.
3.Father, lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil.
4.Father, let every satanic agenda "to steal, to kill, and to destroy", in my life, be frustrated, in Jesus' name.
5.Father, frustrate the tokens of liars and activities of diviners, in my life, such that they will not be able to perform their enterprise, in Jesus' name.
6.Father, let every demonic lion of this world, roaring and seeking to devour me, be silenced and caged, forever, by the lion of the tribe of Judah.
7.Every evil waiting to happen, concerning me and any member of my family, as we enter the "ember" months today, is hereby cancelled, by the blood of Jesus.
8.I resist and overcome you satan, in my life, family, ministry, business, etc, by the blood of Jesus name, that was shed at Calvary.
9.I renounce and cancel every permission, consent agreement, or covenant, given and entered into with any demon, principality and powers, in Jesus' name.
10.Father, take me away, by your mercy, from every path leading to destruction, that l am currently treading.
11.Father, please keep evil far away from me and my entire family in Jesus' name.
12.Your Personal petitions. ( Phil 4:6)
13.In Jesus' name I pray.
(Jn 14:13-14; 15:16)
14.Thank you Father for answered prayers.
(1 Thes 5:18).