DCLM Daily Manna 19 March 2025 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Invisible Battleground
TOPIC: Invisible Battleground (DCLM Daily Manna 19 March 2025)
KEY VERSE: “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matthew 15:19).
TEXT: Matthew 15:10-20 (KJV)
10 And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:
11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
13 But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
15 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.
16 And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
MESSAGE:
Psychologists declare that ten thousand thoughts go through the human mind in one day. These approximate to three million, five hundred thousand a year. Robert H. Schuller asserts that “It takes but one positive thought when given a chance to survive and thrive to overpower an entire army of negative thoughts.”
The mind is Satan’s battleground. He knows how important it is to have a clean, renewed and victorious mind, and strives daily to prevent that from happening. The extent to which Satan can influence our thoughts is the extent to which he can control our actions, and hinder us from receiving from God. Many people are influenced by what they see, hear, feel, or think. Jesus pointedly affirms that what defiles a person before God is not the failure to follow some ceremonial law, but the willingness to incline towards depraved disposition in the heart such as evil thoughts, adulteries, fornication, murder, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, pride, and foolishness. The passage thus shows the seriousness of sin in the heart of man, and that can only be neutralised through regeneration and the cleansing by the blood of Jesus.
This age of the Internet and social media has increased the pressure that Satan exerts on the minds of the average person through the circulation of unsolicited negative videos, disinformation, misinformation, and concocted online stories capable of polluting the mind, enslaving our thoughts and weakening our faith in God. If we are to have and maintain the victory in this invisible warfare, the Bible challenges us to guide our hearts with all diligence because out of our hearts are the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23). Equally, we are expected to cast “down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Make up your mind and pray for victory!
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Christ has since won the battle; we’re only administering the victory.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR
Numbers 33-34
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.
