OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL: TUESDAY, JANUARY 31ST2017-UNDER A DIVINE CURSE?

Memorise: And Cain said unto the LORD, my punishment is greater than I can bear. Genesis 4:13
Read: Genesis 4:1-15 (KJV)
1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.
2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?
10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.
11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;
12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
15 And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
Bible in one year: Luke 10-11, Isaiah 28:1-13

1. Do you know that besides physical death there is also material death? One of the most dreaded and avoided passages in the Bible is Deuteronomy 28:15-68.
2. Ironically, one of the best loved and most read passages of Scriptures come from the first 14 verses of that same chapter.
3. People want to read about God’s blessings but they never want to be told about the curses. However, it is very instructive to read the passages that talk about the curses too, so that you can discern if your life is manifesting any of the curses and to seek spiritual help if that is the case.
4. These passages also help us to know what the God who blesses His obedient children can do to those who disobey Him.
5. It is also good to take a careful study of those who were placed under a divine curse in the Bible, so that you can steadfastly avoid their errors.
6. One repercussion for disobeying God is material death brought about by several agents of death.
7. According to Deuteronomy 28:15-68, for the act of disobedience, the disobedient fellow shall be cursed everywhere he or she goes. That means, spiritually, such a fellow is wearing the garment of curses!
8. When a person is cursed by God, wherever he or she goes, people will just find themselves opposing him or her, even without real provocation. Divine curses attract other types of curses to the fellow who is cursed.
9. Also, when an individual is under a divine curse, the curses that men placed on him will require no demonic power to make them work; they will just ride on the existing cursed climate surrounding the fellow.
10. It is a terrible thing to come under a divine curse! If you are under a divine curse, do everything possible today to come out of it!
11. For a fellow under a divine curse, everything God has made will begin to fight against that fellow. Friends will turn against him or her. Opportunity will shut its door. Good health will take its flight. Promotion will be on vacation. Success will run away. The life of that individual will attract all kinds of evils: disappointments, unending struggles, frustrations, sorrow, losses, wasted efforts, and every unpleasant experience.
12. When Cain was cursed by God in Genesis 4:11-12, he understood the spiritual implication of this and he immediately began to pray for divine mercy. If he did not do this, everything and everyone would have worked against him.
13. Does it appear like everyone and everything is fighting against you? Find out if you are under a divine curse and immediately go to God in repentance and ask for His mercy.

According to Hebrews 10:31-It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Yet in His anger He is merciful and kind. Cain was cursed but God still placed a protective mark on him. There are certain things every believer must be very careful about. One of which is rejection from God however, if anyone falls in the hands of God to the extent of curse, such fellow is doom. Whatsoever God curses, it remains permanent such that only God himself can revert it. We have seen instances in the Bible due to disobedience that God released curse upon some characters and everything became miserable for them, example of such was the first man He created. After the curse upon the ground against Adam , the remaining years he spent on earth was useless without relevance. In bid to reverse this curse and redeem man, God in His mercy gave His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. Beloved, the key to being free as revealed by our Father Pastor E.A Adeboye in today’s devotional is to immediately go to God in repentance and ask for His mercy. His mercy will truimp over every divine curse in our lives in Jesus’ name. We are daily blessed as we study the Open Heavens devotional and our prayer is that God should strengthen Pastor E.A Adeboye daily in Jesus’ name.

Action Point
Are you under a divine curse and you desire to be free? Release anyone you have placed under a curse and ask for God’s mercy.
HYMN
Deeper, deeper in the love of Jesus
Daily let me go;
Higher, higher in the school of wisdom,
More of grace to know.
Refrain:
Oh, deeper yet, I pray,
And higher every day,
And wiser, blessed Lord,
In Thy precious, holy Word.
Deeper, deeper, blessed Holy Spirit,
Take me deeper still,
Till my life is wholly lost in Jesus,
And His perfect will.
Deeper, deeper! though it cost hard trials,
Deeper let me go!
Rooted in the holy love of Jesus,
Let me fruitful grow.
Deeper, higher, every day in Jesus,
Till all conflict past,
Finds me conqu’ror, and in His own image
Perfected at last.
Deeper, deeper in the faith of Jesus,
Holy faith and true;
In His pow’r and soul exulting wisdom
Let

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