DCLM Daily Manna 21 June 2022 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Seek God Always

TOPIC: Seek God Always (DCLM Daily Manna 21 June 2022)

TEXT: 2 Kings 13:1-25 (KJV)

1 In the three and twentieth year of Joash the son of Ahaziah king of Judah Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned seventeen years.

2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.

3 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael, all their days.

4 And Jehoahaz besought the Lord, and the Lord hearkened unto him: for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them.

5 (And the Lord gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians: and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents, as beforetime.

6 Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked therein: and there remained the grove also in Samaria.)

7 Neither did he leave of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like the dust by threshing.

8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

9 And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria: and Joash his son reigned in his stead.

10 In the thirty and seventh year of Joash king of Judah began Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years.

11 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord; he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin: but he walked therein.

12 And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and his might wherewith he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

13 And Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat upon his throne: and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

14 Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.

15 And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows.

16 And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands.

17 And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them.

18 And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed.

19 And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.

20 And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.

21 And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.

22 But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.

23 And the Lord was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet.

24 So Hazael king of Syria died; and Benhadad his son reigned in his stead.

25 And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael the cities, which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times did Joash beat him, and recovered the cities of Israel.

KEY VERSE: “Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.” – (2 Kings 13:14)

MESSAGE:

It is strange how people wait until they run into trouble before scrambling to seek help from God. Usually, for much of their lives, such people disregard God and His laws. They set their own principles and live by it. Then, as all they depended upon begins to crumble, they dump their pride, run to God and start weeping for help.

Jehoahaz, king of Israel had faced war with Syria because he forsook God. In their anguish, Jehoahaz pleaded with God for mercy, and He sent help. Yet, once their problem was solved, they turned away again from Him. After Jehoahaz, his son Joash, continued in his footsteps. At this time, Prophet Elisha was sick unto death. In panic, Joash hurried to the prophet, weeping for help, believing he would bring their needs to God, something that he hardly did. Weak, Elisha directed him to open the window and fire arrows eastward. He did so. Elisha then commanded him to take the arrows and start hitting the ground. Joash did so thrice and stopped. This infuriated Elisha. He told him that had he hit the arrow on the ground five or six times, he would have got permanent victory over Syria. But now, he would have only three victories. True to Elisha’s word, Joash defeated Benhadad in battle thrice and recovered all the cities the King of Syria’s father, Hazael, had seized from Israel.

We must not wait until problems arise before seeking God. The proof of our faith in God is that under all circumstances, at all times, we must never waver in obedience to Him.

Our dependence on God must be total. Whatever He commands us through His servants must be done in faith. Therein lies the blessings of God.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Trusting God at all times rains down His blessings upon us.

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
2 Timothy 1-4

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 20 June 2022 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — How To Escape God’s Judgment

TOPIC: How To Escape God’s Judgment (DCLM Daily Manna 20 June 2022)

TEXT: Jeremiah 22:1-12 (KJV)

1 Thus saith the Lord; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,

2 And say, Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:

3 Thus saith the Lord; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.

4 For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.

5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation.

6 For thus saith the Lord unto the king’s house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.

7 And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.

8 And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this great city?

9 Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.

10 Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.

11 For thus saith the Lord touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more:

12 But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.

KEY VERSE: “Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor…” (Jeremiah 22:3, 4).

MESSAGE:

Leaders of nations and great men among their citizens often spend long periods wondering and working at how best to rebuild their countries and improve the wellbeing of their people. Most times, they are unsuccessful; and when it works at all, it is only for a brief period before the rot sets in, and the country gets into distress. The corruption and disobedience ultimately court divine displeasure and judgment.

God alone has the blueprint for sustained peace, progress, development and prosperity of nations. From the text, He told the king of Judah to be just, execute judgment in righteousness, protect the weak among his subjects, treat strangers with love, care and respect, and defend the orphans and widows. He would not allow violence and bloodshed to reign in the land. If the king upheld these directives, his nation would prosper, his reign would be peaceful and his successors would ascend the throne in orderly manner and for long time to come. But if he rejected the command of God, the nation shall be invaded and ravaged, the cities shall not be inhabited, the land would be burnt down and turned into a desert. Passers-by would be shocked at the extent of the devastation.

To escape God’s judgment, sinners must repent, confess and forsake all their sins, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. God desires that all men should obey His entreaties. Those who reject it today will face His judgment at the end of life.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Repentance opens the door of escape from God’s anger.

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
1 Timothy 1-6

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 June 2022 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — End-Time Christianity

TOPIC: End-Time Christianity (DCLM Daily Manna 18 June 2022)

TEXT: Ezekiel 16:44-52 (KJV)

44 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.

45 Thou art thy mother’s daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite.

46 And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.

47 Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways.

48 As I live, saith the Lord God, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.

49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.

51 Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done.

52 Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.

KEY VERSE: “Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done” (EZEKIEL 16:51).

MESSAGE:

Technology has made a lot of impact in the life of modern man. Gone are the days when people walk from one town to the other to transact business. Now, they ride or fly to move around. Intercontinental trips used to take weeks and months. These days one can traverse continents in hours. Technology has made things easy, but has also created more avenues for man to invent and practise more evil.

Prophet Ezekiel, in our text, shows Jerusalem her abominations, by comparing her with well-known bad places. This means that she was worse than any of them, and therefore should, like them, be utterly and irreparably ruined. He calls her a bad mother and one who, compared to her sisters, Samaria and Sodom, was worse off.

The church today is like Jerusalem that has lost her glory. Whenever Sodom is mentioned, one thinks of immorality and sexual perversion. Even Ezekiel accused her of abundance of idleness and pride. These and more are attributes that one sees in the church today. The advancement of technology has introduced new dimensions of ease making some assemblies to spend more time on “prosperity issues” than on evangelism.

Born again believers must not emulate the practices and systems of the world. Instead, we should always examine our lives to know if we are still on the path that leads to heaven. We must be different because true Christianity abhors corruption and evil. As believers, our light and life should shine forth the transforming power of the glorious gospel.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Sodom had no Bible, but we do; no excuse not to be different!

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
1 Thessalonians 1-5

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.