DCLM HIGHER EVERYDAY 1 March 2022 — Block Backsliding
DCLM Higher Everyday 1 March 2022 Devotional by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Block Backsliding
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TOPIC: BLOCK BACKSLIDING
TEXT: JEREMIAH 3:12-22
12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever.
13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.
15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.
17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.
19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me.
20 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.
21 A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD their God.
22 Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God.
MEMORY VERSE: “Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD…” (JEREMIAH 3:12).
MESSAGE:
Simply put, to “backslide” is to step backwards from following the Lord. When a true Christian goes back on his or her commitment to faithfully follow the Lord in holiness of life, such a person is said to have backslidden. That was the case with Demas in 2 Timothy 4:10.
Some Christians backslide by yielding to the pull of the temptation that the ungodly world presents. Many youths today are backsliding because they are too close to the sin-inviting persons or situations. A youth who goes for a picnic with the ungodly will surely backslide because they will pull him or her down through drinking, lust and fornication.
Once saved, earnestly pray for grace to consistently follow the Lord, without going back to your old sinful lifestyle. Resist the temptation of self-acclaimed independence from mature and God-fearing spiritual leaders like the Prodigal Son who strayed away from the father to a far country. Do not backslide.
Have you backslidden? Hope is not lost. Urgently return to the Lord by pleading for restoration before it is too late.
QUOTE: Do not backslide.
CHALLENGE: Let the backslidden be restored.
PRAYER: Lord, keep me from backsliding.
1. Admit that you are a sinner. "For all [humans] have sinned, and comes short of the glory of God....[and] the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 3:23)
2. Repent now. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out ...[for] if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness " (Acts 3:19, 1 John 1:9)
3. Believe that God loves you and Jesus died for you. "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet Sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
4. Invite Jesus into your life through prayer of faith. Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20)
