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!
Open Heavens 2024 Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries.
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