Open Heaven 18 October
MEMORISE: I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King. Isaiah 43:15
BIBLE READING: Daniel 4:30-37 (KJV)
30 The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”
31 While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! 32 And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.”
33 That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.
Nebuchadnezzar Praises God
34 And at the end of the [b]time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever:
For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
And His kingdom is from generation to generation.
35 All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing;
He does according to His will in the army of heaven
And among the inhabitants of the earth.
No one can restrain His hand
Or say to Him, “What have You done?”
36 At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me, I was restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.
Read yesterday’s Open Heaven Devotional here
Seven years after Nebuchadnezzar was deposed from his throne and disgraced to the point of eating grass like an ox, he realised that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men. Nebuchadnezzar had erroneously thought that he became great by the might of his power (Daniel 4:30 ), but later realised that it was God who made him great. Many people commit this same error today by proclaiming that their success came by dint of hard work. Beloved, what is it that a man has that he did not receive (1 Corinthians 4:7 )? Any achievement that will not lead us back to the original Achiever – the Almighty God, is deadly.The Bible warns against being boastful without giving glory to God, in James 4:13-15
“Go to now, ye that say, To day or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.”
It is the Almighty God who has the power to will and to do because He is Sovereign. It is an abominable thing in the sight of the sovereign God for anyone to boast of not only what he has achieved as though it were by his ability, but even what he would do in the future.
James 4:16 says But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.We should never ascribe to ourselves the glory due to God as King Herod did. All he had to do was redirect the glory to God but he failed to do so and this cost him his life, as we see in Acts 12:21-23
“And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.”
Glory belongs to God. Make it a habit to return all glory to God always and He will keep promoting you, in the mighty name of Jesus.
PRAYER POINT: Are there times you have ascribed Gods glory to yourself? Repent now and return all glory to Him.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Chronicles 6:1-81 , 1 Chronicles 7:1-40 , 1 Chronicles 8:1-40 , 1 Chronicles 9:1-44 , 1 Chronicles 10:1-14
Thank you for studying today’s Open Heaven – Glory Belongs to God – written by Pastor Enoch A.
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Open Heaven 18 October 2021
