Open Heaven 1 November 2022 TOPIC: Don’t Laugh
MEMORISE: “Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:” – Proverbs 24:17 (KJV)
READ: Proverbs 24:17-18 (KJV)
17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
18 Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Luke 13-14
God’s standards sometimes appear tough to live by, but when you adhere to them, you would soon discover that they ultimately work in your favour. One of such standards is in Matthew 5:44:
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
He said you should love your enemies. Believe me honestly, if you really have enemies and know them, you will agree with me that loving them would be a hard thing to do. Nevertheless, you must love them. In verse 45 of the same Matthew 5, the Lord said:
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
In other words, if you don’t love your enemies, then you are not a child of God. If you laugh at your enemies in their day of calamity, then you are not a child of God. That is why you cannot make fun of your enemies when things are going badly for them; it is an attribute of the devil. Worse still is if you are cursing the fellow and praying that things go bad for him; you cannot do that and still call yourself a child of God. In Romans 12:14-15, the Bible says:
Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
That passage did not say rejoice when your enemy is weeping, or weep when only your friends are weeping. Should there be days when your enemy is weeping, be there to comfort him or her. Pray for them that their weeping will end soon. Don’t be happy at the fall or calamity of someone else; that is not an attribute of a child of God. The Bible reading says that if you rejoice at a person’s downfall, God would be displeased with you.
Don’t annoy God.
Don’t laugh when your enemies fall.
1 Wonderful story of love!
Tell it to me again;
Wonderful story of love!
Wake the immortal strain.
Angels with rapture announce it,
Shepherds with wonder receive it;
Sinner, O won’t you believe it?
Wonderful story of love!
Refrain:
Wonderful! Wonderful!
Wonderful story, Wonderful story of love!
2 Wonderful story of love!
Though you are far away;
Wonderful story of love!
Still he doth call today.
Calling from Calvary’s mountain,
Down from the crystal bright fountain,
E’en from the dawn of creation;
Wonderful story of love!
3 Wonderful story of love!
Jesus provides a rest;
Wonderful story of love!
For all the pure and blest;
Rest in those mansions above us,
With those who’ve gone on before us,
Singing the rapturous chorus;
Wonderful story of love!
HAPPY NEW MONTH!!!
Open Heavens 2022 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. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC. Open Heaven for Today 2022