OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL. THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 1 2016.

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 1 2016.

THEME : NO ROOM FOR THE DEVIL.

MEMORISE : Abstain from all appearance of evil. 1THESSALONIANS 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 1 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 : PASTOR 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.