DCLM Daily Manna 24 August 2023 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — The Living Hope
TOPIC: The Living Hope (DCLM Daily Manna 24 August 2023)
KEY VERSE: “For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven” (Mark 12:25).
TEXT: Mark 12:18-27 (KJV)
18 Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,
19 Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man’s brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
20 Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed.
21 And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise.
22 And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also.
23 In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife.
24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?
25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.
26 And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?
27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.
MESSAGE:
In an outreach, a Christian lady spoke to a woman of another religion, asking her if she believed there is heaven. “Of course, I believe there is”, she answered. The sister then asked again, “Will you like to be there?” The woman said “Yes”, and added that “everybody wants to go to heaven”. The sister then asked again, “Will everybody go to heaven?” and the woman said she did not know. Of course, the Christian lady went ahead to explain to her God’s conditions of admitting people into heaven, pointing out that everyone has equal opportunity to desire it and to get there, since salvation is freely available through Christ.
The Sadducees who never believed in resurrection had come to Christ with a story bordering on levirate marriage, about seven brothers who married the same woman. They all died without an offspring. The woman also died and they wanted to know who would marry her eventually “at the resurrection”. The Lord denounced their error and ignorance of the Scriptures and of the power of God, pointing out there will be no marriage at the resurrection.
Believers’ hope that one day they shall be resurrected like their Master to be with Him in heaven, is the anchor of the soul and the ultimate reward for a life lived in conformity to God’s will. Such blessedness is a living hope that dims the effects of the pressures of all present challenges and afflictions the believer is going through.
Certainly there is a rest for the people of God. Though for now, we have to labour to enter that rest through faith, righteousness, watchfulness, prayerfulness and perseverance. Let us be patient; that day will come soon.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
He who serves God with perseverance invests greatly for time and eternity.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Psalm 24–30
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.
