DCLM Daily Manna 19 May 2022 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — The End Matters Most

TOPIC: The End Matters Most (DCLM Daily Manna 19 May 2022)

TEXT: 2 Chronicles 16:1-14 (KJV)

1 In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.

2 Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house, and sent to Benhadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,

3 There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.

4 And Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelmaim, and all the store cities of Naphtali.

5 And it came to pass, when Baasha heard it, that he left off building of Ramah, and let his work cease.

6 Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha was building; and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah.

7 And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the Lord thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand.

8 Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the Lord, he delivered them into thine hand.

9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.

10 Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time.

11 And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

12 And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians.

13 And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign.

14 And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries’ art: and they made a very great burning for him.

KEY VERSE: “And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians. And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign” (2 Chronicles 16:12, 13).

MESSAGE:

It is expected that the nearer a person is to the end of his life, the more effort he should put to obeying God and preparing for eternity. Instead, we find many people becoming more reckless in their living and at the end, dying in such an ignoble manner. Though they may have had a good start, they end up messing up everything.

Such was the case of King Asa. He started off as a God-fearing king. His good deeds and trust in the Lord earned him a peaceful reign and victories over formidable enemy nations. But at the end of his reign and life, he veered off from God. Instead of trusting God when he faced a threat from a less enemy nation, he looked up to another nation for help. When he was rebuked for his foolish act, he became furious against the prophet and imprisoned him. Asa became very oppressive and aggressive on the people. Even when he became diseased in his feet, he ignored God and sought help from ungodly physicians.

We must be careful not to end our lives as Asa did. It is not enough to start well; we must ensure we end well because that is what matters most. Believers must constantly gauge their lives to see that they do not decrease in the grace of God.

To end well, we must constantly have our eyes on the prize that is set before us. We must not allow anything to derail us. Lastly, we should seek more grace to run the race successfully.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
It is not enough to start well; it is far more important to end well!

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
2 Samuel 20-22

DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.

DCLM Daily Manna 18 May 2022 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Power Of The Gospel

TOPIC: Power Of The Gospel (DCLM Daily Manna 18 May 2022)

TEXT: Psalm 112:1-10 (KJV)

1 Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

2 His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.

3 Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever.

4 Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.

5 A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.

6 Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.

7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.

8 His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.

9 He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.

10 The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.

KEY VERSE: “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.” – (Psalm 112:7)

MESSAGE:

When the panicking leaders of a nation decided they had had enough of a daily menu of what they called “nothing but evil news” from the local media, they wielded the big stick of shutting them down. The point however, was that what the proscribed media faithfully reported: banditry, kidnappings, cases of rape, armed robbery, communal clashes, child molestation, ritual murders, political instability among other security breaches, did not disappear with the disappearance of the media reports.

The believer should emulate the psalmist in our Bible passage. He must “not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart [should be] fixed, trusting in the LORD”. The true Christian will enjoy more peace in the midst of turmoil as he feeds himself with the comfort of the gospel of the Prince of peace.

What the world is getting in the form of evil is the result of what it is consuming: false philosophy and erroneous doctrines that are contrary to the teachings of Christ. These have not produced men and women who are “gracious, and full of compassion”. Filled with fear of worldly news instead of fear of the laws of God, and of looming judgment upon the sinner, “The wicked shall…be grieved.”

The Church must be more alive today to counter the evil news of the world with the comforting news of the gospel. With it, we can free the society from fear. That is the only way to defeat the onslaught of pernicious news in our society today.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
The solution to evil news is to spread the gospel news.

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
2 Samuel 18-19

DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.

DCLM Daily Manna 17 May 2022 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Profit Of Pleasing The Lord

TOPIC: Profit Of Pleasing The Lord (DCLM Daily Manna 17 May 2022)

TEXT: 2 Chronicles 14:1-15 (KJV)

1 So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years.

2 And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God:

3 For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves:

4 And commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.

5 Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him.

6 And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the Lord had given him rest.

7 Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.

8 And Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valour.

9 And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah.

10 Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

11 And Asa cried unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let no man prevail against thee.

12 So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled.

13 And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the Lord, and before his host; and they carried away very much spoil.

14 And they smote all the cities round about Gerar; for the fear of the Lord came upon them: and they spoiled all the cities; for there was exceeding much spoil in them.

15 They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem.

KEY VERSE: “And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God: For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves.” – (2 Chronicles 14:2,3)

MESSAGE:

A teacher was trying to teach his pupil about cause and effect; he said, “Has your mother or father ever told you that after you do a certain chore, then you can go get ice cream? If so, then you know a certain sequence, or order, was needed. First, you do the chore and then you get the ice cream.” Many things in life have cause and effect.

In our passage today, King Asa inherited from his father a lot of strange worships and idolatry in Judah. His father Abijah had tolerated such worships and images. Upon the death of his father and as soon as he became king, he wasted no time in taking down all the elevated altars that were at variance with the worship of the true God in Judah. God was pleased with him. It was recorded of him, that “Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God”.

Again, when he was confronted with a difficult situation – a war with Zerah the Ethiopian – he did not rely on his “mighty men of valour,” but he “cried unto the LORD his God”. He was victorious over his enemies because he recognised the only true God.

The solution to that long-standing challenge in your life could be found in your decision today to burn down all the evil altars in your life, and institute the true worship of God. Always acknowledge God’s omnipotence in every situation in your life, and avoid relying on self.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Living for God alone attracts greater blessings.

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
2 Samuel 15-17

DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.

DCLM Daily Manna 16 May 2022 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — You Have His Mandate

TOPIC: You Have His Mandate (DCLM Daily Manna 16 May 2022)

TEXT: Luke 12:49-59 (KJV)

49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?

50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!

51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:

52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.

53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

54 And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is.

55 And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass.

56 Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?

57 Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?

58 When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison.

59 I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.

KEY VERSE: “Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.” – (Luke 12:51,52)

MESSAGE:

The social media is awash today with stories of those who have become outcast simply because they turned from their former religion to embrace Christianity. Increasingly, many people are being rejected by their families on account of their decision to give their lives to Christ. It did not start today. Following and serving the Lord has never been a tea party.

No doubt, obedience to the gospel would cause religious division within families, among friends, and wherever men would seek to obey traditional religions and feelings instead of God’s word. Jesus pointedly told His listeners that the gospel would bring great division among Jewish families.

All who have decided to follow Christ must, therefore, count the cost, having been forewarned. Rather than regret their decision and complain as a result of the persecution they face in their families, they are to pray and have total reliance on God for the grace to carry on. Although Jesus had said there would be division, He is always present to help believers in times of need.

When Peter focused on Jesus, he walked with his shoulders high. He enjoyed the bliss of supernatural experience. But when he gave attention to the distraction of the wind, fear gripped him and he started to sink. Since you have stepped out in faith by deciding to serve Jesus, do not end up in fear. Stretch forth your hand to Him, and He will hold you up, always.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
There is corresponding grace for every responsibility God gives a believer.

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
2 Samuel 12-14

DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.