DCLM Daily Manna 22 September 2024 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — “Are You Listed In The Book?”
TOPIC: “Are You Listed In The Book?” (DCLM Daily Manna 22 September 2024)
KEY VERSE: “These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood” (Ezra 2:62).
TEXT: Ezra 2:61-63 (KJV)
61 And of the children of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai; which took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name:
62 These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.
63 And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.
MESSAGE:
The concept of eternal security has a tendency to lull people into self-delusion, but could eventually pull them into a damnable eternity. The result is a colossal loss from which people do not recover. It is worse when a person, by deception, gains entry into the office of a priest, when he is eminently unqualified.
Ezra had advisedly decided to conduct an audit of the priests who returned from Babylon to Jerusalem, and was surprised to discover that there were those serving in the temple but whose names could not be traced in the register of priests. “Therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood…that they should not eat of the most holy things.” Their careless disposition to the office of the priesthood probably prevented them from a constant self-check to ensure that their names were not missing from the genealogy of priests.
Having the opportunity to be part of the royal priesthood is indeed a great privilege. However, this must not be taken for granted. All who have been redeemed and called to be His priests are expected to maintain the sanctity of their calling. God will not condone and retain in the priesthood anyone that falls short of His holy standard.
While the priests in Jerusalem were registered in the book of genealogy, the book of life in heaven contains only the names of all redeemed souls. Careless Christians who do not take their calling seriously will discover to their disappointment, on the last day, that their names are not written in the book of life, and
therefore they are excluded from heaven. This is why true believers must relentlessly keep watch over their lives and rest on the grace of the Lord so they will not fall out of faith.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Enrolment in God’s book through cleansing in Christ’s blood qualifies us for acceptable service.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Numbers 35-36
Deeper Life 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.
