DCLM Daily Manna 25 October 2021 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Growing Through Challenges

TOPIC: Growing Through Challenges

TEXT: 1 Samuel 17:12-37

12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.

13 And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

14 And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul.

15 But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.

16 And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.

17 And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp of thy brethren;

18 And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.

19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.

21 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army.

22 And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.

23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.

24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.

25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel.

26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

27 And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.

28 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.

29 And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?

30 And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.

31 And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him.

32 And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.

33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.

34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:

35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.

36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.

37 David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.

KEY VERSE: “And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.” – (1 Samuel 17:23)

MESSAGE:

A man of God declared: “If we desire our faith to be strengthened, we must not shirk from opportunities where our faith may be tried and therefore through that trial, may be strengthened”. Challenges abound in life from the earliest of times since the fall of man. But the attitude and response of the individual will determine either victory or defeat.

David in obedience to his father’s instruction had gone to see to the welfare of his elder brothers who went with Saul to battle against the Philistines. As he was talking with them, behold, the Philistine champion, Goliath who had been boasting unchallenged for days came up again with the same boasting, insisting that Israel should give him a man to fight with him. David decided to accept the challenge.

Battles come in various forms and shapes. For the children of Israel, Pharaoh with his army and chariots pursued them. Israel reacted in fear but Moses responded in faith; allaying their fears (Exodus 14:13). In the wilderness, ten out of the twelve spies sent to search out the Promised Land reacted in fear to the presence of the sons of Anak in Canaan but Caleb and Joshua responded in faith stating “we are well able to overcome [them]” (Numbers 13:30). Similarly, the storm rose as the disciples and Christ were crossing the lake. The Master was asleep on a pillow and the disciples panicked and reacted in fear thinking they were about to perish but the Lord rose up and responded in faith; rebuked and calmed the storm (Mark 4:37-39).

Life itself is a battlefield with Satan and his agents who are working relentlessly, seeking whom to devour. Many people react or respond in different ways. Some panic and react in fear like Saul and Israel did before Goliath. But all believers must know that “the battle is not [theirs], but God’s” (2 Chronicles 20:15), and therefore respond in faith.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Challenges and problems are opportunities for believers to exercise their faith in God.

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Jeremiah 10-12

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 24 October 2021 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Price Of Defiance And Pride

TOPIC: Price Of Defiance And Pride

TEXT: Isaiah 3:3-24

3 The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.

4 And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.

5 And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.

6 When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand:

7 In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people.

8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of his glory.

9 The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.

10 Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.

11 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.

12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.

13 The Lord standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.

14 The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses.

15 What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord God of hosts.

16 Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:

17 Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will discover their secret parts.

18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,

19 The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,

20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings,

21 The rings, and nose jewels,

22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,

23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.

24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.

KEY VERSE: “Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.” – (Isaiah 3:11)

MESSAGE:

Sunday School Times once featured the story of a little boy who came running to his mother, shouting, “Mother, I am nine feet tall!” His mother said, “Don’t talk such nonsense.” He answered, “I really am nine feet tall.” She said, “What makes you think so?” “Because I measured myself.” “How did you measure yourself?” “I took off my shoe and measured myself with that. It is just the same size as my foot, and I really am nine feet.” “Oh, I understand now” said his mother, “but, Sonny, your measure was not the right one. You may be nine feet tall measured by your shoe but you are not that tall measured by a twelve-inch ruler.”

Israel, in prophet Isaiah’s time apparently measured themselves with the wrong ruler. They had become defiant and had all classes of pride – pride of race, place and grace. In this backslidden state, they provoked God and incurred His wrath. Here, Isaiah announced the terrible price they would pay for their wickedness. God threatened to destroy all their sources of pride – the abundance of supplies available to them, the power of their military, their noble class and their government. God was going to mete out these desolations to Judah and Jerusalem by the hands of the Babylonians and the Romans.

God specifically referred to the pride of the daughters of Zion who instead of investing in godliness and character, wasted so much money and time on fashion and vanity. If God frowned at such showy and worldly clothes, who says it does not matter what we put on? The Lord threatened to subject them to humiliation as female slaves in exile. As the cup of the world’s iniquity gets full and brings down divine judgment, true servants of God have no cause to panic.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
The paycheque of a sinful career is a sorrowful cup.

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Jeremiah 7-9

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.