DCLM Daily Manna 29 October 2021 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Retribution For Impenitence

TOPIC: Retribution For Impenitence

TEXT: Jeremiah 13:1-14

1 Thus saith the Lord unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water.

2 So I got a girdle according to the word of the Lord, and put it on my loins.

3 And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying,

4 Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.

5 So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me.

6 And it came to pass after many days, that the Lord said unto me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there.

7 Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing.

8 Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

9 Thus saith the Lord, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.

10 This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing.

11 For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the Lord; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.

12 Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?

13 Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David’s throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.

14 And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the Lord: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.

KEY VERSE: “This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing.” – (Jeremiah 13:10)

MESSAGE:

One of the most effective tools in teaching is the use of aids. This involves the use of visual, audio, audio-visual or life samples that learners can easily relate with and that can help drive the lesson home to the learners and help them understand and retain the knowledge and experience gained for a long time.

In the text, Jeremiah was commanded to take a linen girdle to River Euphrates and hide it there. When later he was instructed to go and retrieve it, the girdle had become marred and “good for nothing”. He was then commanded to go and prophesy to the people that just as the girdle had become good for nothing and useless, so shall they be when God would bring His judgment upon them for their idol worship and disobedience.

The unfortunate story of Israel’s continual backslidings, which started in the wilderness had made them unable to fulfil God’s destiny for them. In our study and in many other instances, one would see God’s displeasure at their conduct and obstinacy. It is for the benefit of man that he fears God and keeps His commandments. Every member of Christ’s Church ought to, by benefit of hindsight, learn from Israel’s mistakes and avoid all those pitfalls that crippled their walk with God.

The expectancy of an endless joy in Christ’s everlasting kingdom must keep the believer alive and vigilant against anything that may soil his garment of righteousness. Only then will he be counted worthy to walk with Christ in white (Revelation 3:4).

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Judgment inevitably comes when the sinner fails to repent.

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Jeremiah 22-24

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 28 October 2021 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Uplifting The Discouraged

TOPIC: Uplifting The Discouraged

TEXT: 1 Kings 19:1-10

1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.

2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.

3 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.

4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.

5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.

6 And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.

7 And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.

8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.

9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?

10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

KEY VERSE: “And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.” – (1 Kings 19:7)

MESSAGE:

A brother had just prepared to go for a vigil. Suddenly he felt a strong urge to visit a Christian couple. “By this time?” he asked aloud. But the impression was so strong and persistent. “But why will the Lord want me to visit this people by this time?” He asked again looking at his wristwatch. He knew they were leaders in the church, still he went. He kept on imagining what the problem might be. On getting there, he met them completely downcast and discouraged. They were complaining of everything they were going through. He then prayerfully led them through some relevant Scripture passages and promises of God. Before he left 30 minutes later, the couple had gotten themselves together and were back on their feet.

From the text, Prophet Elijah had just done a series of great and astounding miracles in Israel. He had prayed back the rain that had ceased for 3½ years. He had called down fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice at Mount Carmel to prove that Jehovah is the only true God and the people had fallen down in worship. He also had authorised the execution of 450 prophets of Baal. The wicked queen, Jezebel heard about it all and threatened to kill him. He then ran for his life into the wilderness of Judah where God sent an angel to feed and strengthen him in his discouragement.

Discouragement comes to all men; to the rich and to the poor, to the high and low. Moses, Joshua, Job, David, Jeremiah, etc., were all discouraged at one time or the other. When discouragement comes, we should look to God who is able to save us. We must never give in to despondency, regret or self-pity. A songwriter wrote, “It is always darkest before the dawn, don’t be discouraged but carry on…”

As believers, let us learn to lift up our brethren when they are discouraged and not to judge or condemn them like the friends of Job.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
During discouragement, look to God alone who can lift you up.

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Jeremiah 19-21

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 27 October 2021 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Judgment In God’s House

TOPIC: Judgment In God’s House

TEXT: 1 Peter 4:17-19

KEY VERSE: “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” – (1 Peter 4:17)

MESSAGE:

The story was told of a certain Christian man living in adultery with a married woman. God revealed the matter to his pastor who called him and asked him about it. He looked at the pastor eyeball to eyeball and asked him; “Is it that you do not trust me?” He denied flatly. Again, God told the pastor, “This man is living in adultery.” The pastor called him the second time and asked him, he still denied. This happened three times. One day he went as usual to the woman’s house where they used to commit the sin, (because the woman’s husband used to travel for business). But unknown to them this time, the man did not travel having gotten the hint of what was happening in his absence. He waited in town until he was sure they were together and then came and knocked at the front door. The wife, unsuspecting that it was her husband came and opened the door. The man entered, went straight to the bedroom and with his loaded revolver shot the man twice on the head to end his life.

The teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ and other Scriptures warn continuously of the possibilities of being lost even after one had been saved. Peter, in our text, reminds us of the coming judgment of God which would start at the house of God. “And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?”

Many people today are out of the race because they do not know how to handle some stubborn sins to which they have strong attachment. Unfortunately, the situation in the church today, with all the strife, envy, tribalism, worldliness, prayerlessness, etc. cannot be said to be an ideal one.

Believers must take the warnings of Scripture very seriously. Only those who “endure to the end” will make it. The heaven-bound believer must remain focused, undistracted and sober to finish well.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
God has zero tolerance for sin.

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Jeremiah 15-18

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.