Open Heaven For Today 2024 Wednesday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – The Snare Of The Fowler 3
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TOPIC: The Snare Of The Fowler 3
MEMORISE: "And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for its profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. Matthew 5:29
READ: Matthew 6:22-23 (KJV)
22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Chronicles 5-7
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
Yesterday, I promised to discuss the three major qualities that make the devil's baits effective.
The first bait the devil ever used was the forbidden fruit. When you read Genesis 3:6, you will see all the qualities of the devil's bait in the fruit.
Eve saw that the fruit was pleasant to the eyes. The fowler's bait is usually attractive and difficult to ignore.
The devil studies a fellow and knows the things that he or she is attracted to.
You will hardly see a man commit adultery with a woman he considers ugly.
The bait the enemy will use is usually attractive. Don't be fooled by its attractiveness; it has death in it.
In Judge 16:4, Samson 'fell in lust' with Delilah and threw all caution to the wind.
The devil used the attraction to her to bait him into a trap that eventually destroyed him.
There are probably things around you that you are attracted to that are sinful or that may cause you to sin.
It is a trap that you should beware of so that you will not become prey to the devil.
If a man is attracted to a light-skinned woman, the devil will put them all around him as temptations to commit fornication or adultery.
If he is attracted to flashy cars, the devil will keep bringing flashy cars his way.
If he lets his lust for flashy cars push him to steal, then the devil has caught him. This is why Christians must circumcise their hearts to change their affections.
Set you affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Colossians 3:2
Do not be too attracted to the things of the world. You must soak yourself in the word of God.
Let His word abide in you so much that the only things that are attractive to you are things that please Him.
Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it flows the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23).
Beware of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16).
If you discover that things of the world are becoming more attractive to you than the things of God, it means that you are vulnerable to the devil's snare.
Declare a fast for yourself, go on a retreat and spend quality time in God's presence till that lust dies.
Key Point
The Devil knows what you are attracted to, and he will use that as bait to get you. Beware!
HYMN 31: Yield Not To Temptation
1. When we walk with the Lord,
In the light of His word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Refrain:
Trust and obey!
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.
2. But we never can prove
The delights of His love,
Until all on the altar we lay,
For the favour He shows
And the joy He bestows
Are for them who will trust and obey. [Refrain]
3. Then in fellowship sweet
We will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way,
What He says we will do,
Where He sends we will go,
Never fear, only trust and obey. [Refrain]
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Tuesday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – The Snare Of The Fowler 2
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TOPIC: The Snare Of The Fowler 2
MEMORISE: "A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps." 1 John 2:16
READ: James 1:12-16 (KJV)
12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Chronicles 1-4
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? Isaiah 49:24
According to the word of God, anyone who catches prey with a trap like I described yesterday can legally lay claim to it.
There are lawful captives of the enemy. We have tried to cast demons out of people before, and they would say,
“You are trespassing because this fellow belongs to us. They walked into our trap.”
For example, I once had a student who was on his way to his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) station when he fell sick.
The doctor said he was allergic to rice. When they brought him to me, and as I was about to pray for him, the Lord said that he had to make restitution.
It turned out his father stole a neighbour’s bicycle to pay his school fees, and the owner placed a curse on the thief.
His father died from an allergic reaction to rice, and now the son was on the same path.
If that had not been revealed to me, we would have prayed in futility because the boy was a lawful captive.
I told him to buy a bicycle for the man’s son because the man was late. Incidentally, when he returned after doing so, I was about to eat rice.
He ate my rice, finished it, and nothing happened to him. Another boy was brought to me for prayers because he was barking.
This boy had been having sex with their dog in the house. I prayed, but the barking did not stop.
I advised the parents to keep bringing him for the Holy Ghost service every month and be hopeful that God will have mercy and deliver the lawful captive from his captor.
When a fellow walks into the trap of the enemy after being lured by his or her lust, the devil can lawfully lay a claim on the fellow.
In our Bible reading for today, Apostle James tells us clearly that God does not tempt anyone, but rather, people are tempted by their own lusts, which result in sin and then death eventually.
The bait the devil uses does not usually look like death.
The bait has three major qualities to make it effective: it is usually attractive to the prey, it is pleasant to the prey’s taste, and it invokes the prey’s pride.
I will discuss these qualities in detail in the following days because I believe God that after this study, you will never fall into the devil’s trap.
Key Point
Beware of the things you lust after; they are baits of the devil that will lead to death eventually.
HYMN 28: Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah
1 Guide me, O my great Redeemer,
pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but you are mighty;
hold me with your powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me now and evermore,
feed me now and evermore.
2 Open now the crystal fountain,
where the healing waters flow.
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through.
Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
ever be my strength and shield,
ever be my strength and shield.
3 When I tread the verge of Jordan,
bid my anxious fears subside.
Death of death, and hell’s Destruction,
land me safe on Canaan’s side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises
I will ever sing to you,
I will ever sing to you.
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Monday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – The Snare Of The Fowler 1
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TOPIC: The Snare Of The Fowler 1
MEMORISE: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour". 1 Peter 5:8
READ: Psalm 124:6-8(KJV)
6 Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.
7 Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Chronicles 27-29
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
The Bible teaches that there are some people called fowlers who hunt for souls.
A good example of a fowler is an adulteress (Proverbs 6:26).
The Bible says that she hunts for precious life. The chief of all fowlers is the devil (1 Peter 5:8)
A fowler uses a snare to entrap prey.
I grew up on a farm, and we used to get our meat by trapping animals.
In the evenings, we would get traps, dig into the soil, put the traps in the hole, cover them with leaves, and sprinkle soil on the leaves so that everything would look normal.
After setting the traps, we would put baits (usually corn) on both sides of the traps and then go to bed.
At night, when an animal sees the baits around a trap, it will go close and eat some of the corn.
When it sees that nothing happens, it moves forward, eats a little more and then goes on until it finishes all the corn on one side.
Since it has eaten all the corn on one side, it ignorantly attempts to cross over to eat the corn on the other side, and suddenly, as it steps on the trap, it snaps shut and catches the animal.
By morning, it is in our cooking pot.
There are countless people in hell today because they tasted sin and nothing seemed to happen, so they keep shinning until they get caught in the devil's trap.
Many young ladies from good homes who were taught to keep their virginity have ended up badly because they had sex once, and since nothing happened, they continued until they got pregnant, contracted a disease, or became fully immersed in that terrible lifestyle.
One thing a trapped animal experiences when the trap snaps shut is great fear. Likewise, one of the signs that a fellow is in trouble is fear.
The one who is caught in the trap of the fowler is called prey. Interestingly, prey sounds like prey.
If a Christian does not pray, he or she will become prey.
Psalm 91:3 says that the one who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will be delivered from the snare of the fowler.
If you don't want to fall into the snare of the fowler, your secret place with your Father must be on fire.
If your altar grows cold, you may soon find yourself in the devil's cooking pot.
Pray fervently for at least one hour every day, and it will be difficult for you to be the devil's prey.
Key Point
If you don't pray, you will become prey to the devil.
HYMN 22: Sweet Hour of Prayer
1. Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
that calls me from a world of care,
and bids me at my Father’s throne
make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
my soul has often found relief,
and oft escaped the tempter’s snare
by thy return, sweet hour of prayer!
2. Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
the joys I feel, the bliss I share
of those whose anxious spirits burn
with strong desires for thy return!
With such I hasten to the place
where God my Savior shows his face,
and gladly take my station there,
and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
3. Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
thy wings shall my petition bear
to him whose truth and faithfulness
engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since he bids me seek his face,
believe his word, and trust his grace,
I’ll cast on him my every care,
and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Sunday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Protocol Breaker
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TOPIC: Protocol Breaker
MEMORISE: "I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him." Ezekiel 21:27
READ: Matthew 15:22-28(KJV)
22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Chronicles 24-26
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
God broke protocols when Solomon became king in 1 Kings 1 as he was not the heir apparent.
Adonijah strongly believed that he was the rightful heir to the throne, and he even attempted to coronate himself while David was still alive.
In spite of Adonijah’s actions and all other factors that seemed to disqualify Solomon, God moved in the latter’s favour and ensured that he was crowned king.
Some years ago, one of my sons came to me and said, “Daddy, I need a new job, and I have been invited for an interview.
I applied for the Deputy Managing Director position, and I will be going for the interview soon.”
I was about to pray for him when he said,
“No, don’t pray, just say a word.”
So, I said,
“The interview will go well.”
He said, “Amen,” and left. He returned the following day, excited.
He said, “Daddy, when I got to the interview, they directed me to the boardroom and asked me only three questions, ‘What is your name?
What post have you applied for, and when can you start?’ I told them I will start tomorrow.”
I congratulated him, and he said, “Daddy, speak another word.” I said, “The Almighty God who has given you the job will promote you rapidly.”
The following day, he returned, trembling. He said,
“Daddy, I got to my new workplace, and the same people that interviewed me said that after I left, the Managing Director resigned. They asked if I was ready to become the new Managing Director, and I said yes.”
I congratulated him again, and he said, “Daddy, speak another word.” So I said,
“The God who has begun a good work in you will perfect it.”
Believe it or not, the following day, he was back. This time, he was almost speechless.
He said,
“Daddy, I got to my workplace, and I was told that they discovered that the former Managing Director resigned because their competitor offered him double the salary they were paying him, and since they didn’t want me to leave, they had doubled my salary.”
I congratulated him again, and he said,
“Daddy, speak another word.”
This time, I said jokingly,
“Do you want to take over the company from the owners?”
My God does not need to follow protocols when He wants to promote His children. Psalms 115:3 says that He does as He pleases.
I pray for you today that God will break all protocols and take you to the very top, in Jesus’ name.
Prayer Point
Father, break any protocol that needs to be broken and bless me, in Jesus’ name.
HYMN 26: There Shall Be Showers of Blessing
1 There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Saviour above.
Refrain:
Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need;
Mercy drops round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.
2 There shall be showers of blessing,
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain.
3 There shall be showers of blessing:
Send them upon us, O Lord!
Grant to us now a refreshing;
Come, and now honour Thy Word.
4 There shall be showers of blessing,
Oh, that to-day they might fall,
Now, as to God, we’re confessing.
Now as on Jesus we call!
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Saturday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Where Is Your Vision?
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TOPIC: Where Is Your Vision?
MEMORISE: "And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. Habakkuk 2:2
READ: Habakkuk 2:2-3(KJV)
2 And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
Light can be shining brightly outside, but if your eyes have grown dim, it will not matter because you will be unable its brightness.
Genesis 27:1 says that Isaac waxed old, and his eyes became dim that he could not see.
This tells you that when a person's vision dies, it means old age has set in.
In Ecclesiastes 12:1-3, when Solomon said, ".... those that looked out of the windows be darkened," that was his way of saying, "When your eyes can no longer see as a result of old age".
So, one of the ways you will know you are in your old age is when you no longer have visions. Joel 2:28 tells us that you get to an old age when visions become replaced with dreams.
The right visions drive people to run (Habakkuk2:2) to ensure that they are fulfilled, while those who dream usually do nothing to bring their dreams to reality.
Some years ago, I was talking to some three elders who are also my special friends, and I told them that the definition of old age is 'dreamers'.
As long as you still have a vision you are pursuing, it means you are not yet old.
This is why I sometimes joke that only those who are older than me are elders because I am still pursuing my vision.
So, I am still young, even at 82.
It is pathetic to see young people who are already old because they have no vision.
Yes, they talk about dreams for their future, but they are mere wishes because you don't see them pursuing them at all.
When I see such young people, I often think to myself,
" Young fellow, where is your vision?"
When a person becomes a dreamer instead of a visioner, then the fellow is old.
Such a person's day, which is the time he or she has to spend on the earth, is almost over.
The word of God says in Proverbs 29:18, "Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he."
In other words, when a person's vision is gone, the fellow is on his or her way out.
I believe God is talking to a specific reader of this devotional. You had great visions, but now, you have forgotten about them. Wake up!
Reflection
What is the vision you have been actively pursuing?
HYMN 12: Onward Christian Soldiers!
1 Onward, Christian soldiers,
marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
going on before!
Christ, the royal Master,
leads against the foe;
Forward into battle,
see his banner go!
Refrain:
Onward, Christian soldiers,
marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
going on before!
2 At the sign of triumph
Satan’s host doth flee;
On, then, Christian soldiers,
on to victory!
Hell’s foundations quiver
at the shout of praise;
Brothers, lift your voices,
loud your anthems raise!
3 Like a mighty army
moves the church of God;
Brothers, we are treading
where the saints have trod;
We are not divided;
all one body we,
One in hope and doctrine,
one in charity.
4 Onward, then, ye people,
join our happy throng,
Blend with ours your voices
in the triumph song;
Glory, laud, and honor,
unto Christ the King;
This thro’ countless ages
men and angels sing.
5 Onward, then, ye people!
Join our happy throng;
Blend with ours your voices
In the triumph song.
Glory, laud and honor
Unto Christ, the King;
This through countless ages
Men and angels sing.
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