Empoweredby God

11/05/2024

Open Heaven For Today 2024 Saturday

TOPIC: He Has A Plan For You

MEMORISE: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” – Jeremiah 29:11 (KJV)

READ: Jeremiah 29:1-14 (KJV)

1 Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon;

2 (After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;)

3 By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying,

4 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;

5 Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;

6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.

7 And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

8 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.

9 For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the Lord.

10 For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

14 And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Chronicles 17-20

Open Heaven For Today 2024 MESSAGE

Whether you believe it or not, God has a plan for your life. Even if your parents weren’t planning to have a baby when they had you, as long as God formed you in your mother’s belly and made you come out of the womb alive, He has a plan for you. Jeremiah 1:5 illustrates this clearly:

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

Believe me, the plan that God has for you is a good one. He made that known in Jeremiah 29:11. The question now is, are you walking in line with His plan for you? It is not enough for God to have a good plan for your life; if you refuse to live according to His plan, it will look like there was none in the first place.

And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. – Isaiah 30:21

God is willing to guide you in the direction you should go at every point of your life; He is willing to be your compass all through life. Another question you must answer is, are you willing to draw close to Him enough to hear His voice? After you have heard His voice, are you willing to obey Him, even when He asks you to do something that seems foolish? Only those who draw close to God, listen to Him, and obey Him completely will fulfil His plan for their lives.

I thought I was on the right path when I was trying to become the youngest Vice Chancellor in Africa. I thought that was a good plan until I met God and drew close to Him. Thereafter, He began to whisper into my ears which way to go at every point. When He told me to leave my job and become the General Overseer of a church whose total monthly income was not up to my salary, that was a hard thing to do – thank God I obeyed. I did not become the youngest Vice Chancellor in Africa, but today, many Vice Chancellors call me Daddy. The Redeemed Christian Church of God also owns a university that has been rated as the second overall best in the country. God’s plans will always be far greater than anything you can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

REFLECTION

Are you close to God enough to hear His voice leading you in line with His plan for your life?

10/05/2024

OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL

TOPIC: The Snare Of The Fowler (5)

MEMORISE: “For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.” – 2 Corinthians 10:18 (KJV)

READ: Judges 16:4-21 (KJV)

4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.

5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.

6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.

7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.

9 Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.

10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.

11 And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.

13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.

14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.

15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.

16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;

17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.

19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.

20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.

21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Chronicles 12-16

Open Heaven For Today 2024 MESSAGE

Today, I will conclude my discussion on the qualities that make the devil’s bait effective: the devil ensures that his bait invokes his prey’s pride. In Genesis 3:6, Eve ate the forbidden fruit because she felt that it could make her wise. When you are lured to do something to show off, beware!

Usually, the enemy catches people who think that they can never be caught (1 Corinthians 10:12). When a fellow says, “I believe in holiness, and I practise it, so the devil can never get me,” he or she should take heed. For example, in Luke 22:31-34, the Lord said to Peter, “Satan desires to have you.” Peter said, “Lord, even if it involves death, the devil will not overpower me.” Jesus replied, “Before the c**k crows twice, you will deny me three times.”

In today’s Bible reading, we discovered that Samson fell because he was over-confident. Delilah did not hide her intentions, she clearly asked for the secret of his power to know how to overpower him. Samson thought that with his track record, he could not be captured and so, he decided to play a game with the devil. Don’t play games with the devil, he has been around for a long while. His track record shows how many great people he has destroyed. (1 Thessalonians 5:22) says, “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” If it looks like evil, don’t think that you can withstand it. Run!

I know someone who said that he joined one of the secret cults on his campus because he was curious. He said he did it for fun, believing that he would not get involved in the terrible things they do as if that were possible. Don’t joke with the devil. The Bible says in Proverbs 16:18 that pride goes before destruction. Proverbs 29:23 says that a man’s pride shall bring him low.

Some years ago, a lady was to be employed as my private secretary, and I said, “No way!” I know the nature of my work; I work day and night. What will I say I am doing alone in my office at night with another man’s wife. Some people came later and said, “Sir, we thought you were anointed.” I said, “I know, but does the anointing turn your body to stone?”

If you think you cannot fall, you are already on your way down because your pride will make you get close to the trap enough for it to eventually catch you. Pride goes before a fall.

KEY POINT:

Let he that thinks he stands take heed lest he falls (1 Corinthians 10:12).

08/05/2024

TOPIC: The Snare Of The Fowler 3

MEMORISE: “And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” – Matthew 5:29 (KJV)

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

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 Judges 16:4, Samson ‘fell in lust’ with Delilah and threw all caution to the wind. The devil used his 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 light-skinned women, 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 your 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 the 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!

07/05/2024

TOPIC: The Snare Of The Fowler 2

MEMORISE: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” – 1 John 2:16 (KJV)

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 2024 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 s*x 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.

06/05/2024

Open Heaven 6 May 2024 Monday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – The Snare Of The Fowler 1

Open Heaven 6 May 2024 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 (KJV)

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 6 May 2024 MESSAGE
The Bible teaches that there are some people called fowlers who hunt for souls. A very 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 kept sinning until they got 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 s*x 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 pray. 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.

Open Heaven 6 May 2024 KEY POINT
If you don’t pray, you will become prey to the devil.

02/05/2024

TOPIC: Alpha And Omega

MEMORISE: “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:” – Isaiah 46:10 (KJV)

READ: John 1:1-5 (KJV)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Chronicles 13-16

Open Heaven For Today 2024 MESSAGE

In Revelation 1:8, our Lord Jesus Christ reveals Himself as the Alpha and the Omega. Later on in Revelation 21:6, He describes Himself as the Beginning and the End. For further emphasis, in Revelation 22:13, He said, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” This means that everything starts and ends with Him.

From the Scriptures above, you will clearly see that you cannot start anything without God’s permission, and you cannot finish anything without His approval. This is good news for you, especially if you are about to embark on a project. Just talk to the Alpha and Omega about it.

God is the One who began this world, and He is the One who will end it. In other words, everything in this world is under His control, therefore, when you are close to Him and let Him guide you throughout your life, you will have a better quality of life because the One in control is your guide. This is why Proverbs 3:5 says:

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

God knows what will happen before it happens. He knows where there is danger and where your blessings are hiding. He said in Isaiah 45:3 that He will show you the treasures of darkness and the hidden riches in secret places. He knows these things because He is the Beginning and the End. This is why David wrote confidently:

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. – Psalm 23:1-2

If I may ask, who is your shepherd? Who guides you through life? For me, I know that I am too foolish to go through life on my own, and this is why I have made the Beginning and the End my shepherd. When I was looking to buy land for the Redeemed Christian Church of God’s campground, I admired a particular location because it was on a major road, and in my own limited mind, it was perfect. However, God guided us to the location we are now, which has now proven to be so much better because He is the End. Those who let Him guide their decisions never regret it.

ACTION POINT

Let God guide your every move and decision. He knows the end from the beginning.

09/03/2024

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