DCLM Daily Manna 21 December 2021 — Condition for God’s Presence
DCLM Daily Manna 21 December 2021 Devotional by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Condition for God’s Presence
TOPIC: CONDITION FOR GOD’S ABIDING PRESENCE
TEXT: Judges 1:21-36
21 And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.
22 And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel: and the LORD was with them.
23 And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)
24 And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy.
26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day.
27 Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
28 And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.
29 Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.
30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.
31 Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob:
32 But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out.
33 Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries unto them.
34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley:
35 But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries.
36 And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.
KEY VERSE:
“And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel: and the LORD was with them.” – (Judges 1:22)
MESSAGE:
When Leonard Wood, a physician who served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army visited the king of France, he got a special invitation to have a dinner with him the next day. A man of innate humility, Wood gladly honoured the invitation without formal expression. But the king, who was taken back when he saw him, asked, “Why, Sir Leonard? I did not expect to see you. How is it that you are here? Wood was surprisingly embarrassed and queried: “Did not Your Majesty invite me to dine with you? The king replied, “Yes, but you did not answer my invitation”. Then, Wood uttered, “A king’s invitation is never to be answered, but to be obeyed”.
God through Moses had instructed Israel as they possessed the Promised Land not to spare the former inhabitants of the land but to utterly destroy them so that they would not corrupt them. From the text, the house of Joseph obeyed completely and destroyed the city of Luz and renamed it Bethel. Therefore, the Lord was with them in their battles.
Obeying God is often a struggle to many. This is because more often, it always involves parting ways with something precious to us. The Bible expressly commands us, believers, to make God first in everything we do. He must always be the first recourse and not the last. Then it will be easy to obey His words. We also need the grace of God which comes through salvation.
Those who fail to acknowledge God in all they do, run the risk of being abandoned by Him at the hour they need Him most. We must therefore be obedient to His words in return for His faithfulness and continued presence in our lives.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Those who fail to obey God, risk being abandoned by heaven.
Also Read Half-Hearted Change
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Zechariah 10-14
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.
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)
