DCLM Daily Manna 25 November 2021 — Don’t Ruin the Record
DCLM Daily Manna 25 November 2021 Devotional by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Don’t Ruin the Record
DON’T RUIN THE RECORD!
📜 TEXT:NUMBERS 6:1-12 📜
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD:
3 He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.
4 All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.
5 All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
6 All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body.
7 He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head.
8 All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD.
9 And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it.
10 And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:
11 And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make an atonement for him, for that he sinned by the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day.
12 And he shall consecrate unto the LORD the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering: but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled.
🔑📖KEY VERSE: “And he shall consecrate unto the LORD the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering: but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled” (NUMBERS 6:12).
MESSAGE:
When someone approaches his retirement age in the civil service or any other establishment, he tends to be more careful with his works as he does not want any act that would tarnish all the years he has put in. There have been cases of people who had kept a good record all through the many years they had served in an organisation only to have such clean record spoilt by a foolish act of crime or carelessness.
Our passage today focuses on the vow and consecration of a Nazarite. Emphasis is placed on what should characterise the lifestyle of such a person. Of particular note is the fact that the person must guard against everything that can get him defiled either deliberately or accidentally. He owes it a duty to seriously keep himself from defilement. If he, by chance, gets defiled either through a deliberate act or accidentally, he has voided his consecration and all the years he has put in are considered wasted. He will have to make atonement for his sins and start all over again.
It is appalling to realise that one wrong act of sin can completely ruin all the years of righteous records one has set. Sin cancels all the good account. God does not operate by the wrong idea of weighing our good acts against our bad acts. There must be no sin at all; no matter how small or insignificant it may appear before men. Again, no excuse will be tolerated for sin and defilement. It does not matter if it is deliberate, well calculated or it is unintentional. Sin is sin and it is polluting and damning.
Once we have made the decision to consecrate our lives to the Lord and live a righteous life, we must take it upon ourselves to consciously guard against sin. We cannot afford to be careless with our Christian lives. Yes, the grace of God is abundantly available to help us live the life that pleases Him but grace does not absolve us from our personal responsibilities. We must see to it that we are watchful at all times.
✍🏽THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Don’t waste your years of consecration by an act of sin!
📜THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: EZEKIEL 47-48📜
MEDITATION
CHRISTIANS AS NAZARITES OF GOD
1. Requirements
a. Nazarites voluntarily separate themselves to God in order to be close and be used of God, v2.
b. They are expected to separate from wine and alcoholic drinks as long as they are Nazarites, v3.
c. They are also to separate from any tree from which those drinks comes, v4.
d. Their hairs must not be shaven for that period.
e. They must keep themselves from all forms of defilements or else they loose the blessings of their consecration, vv9-12.
2. Examples
a. Samson, Judges 13:5. He finally lost the blessings of Nazirite, which was anointing or supernatural strength, when he did not keep to the terms. He allowed his hair to be shaven.
b. John the Baptist, Luke 1:15. The impact of his ministry is still being enjoyed today.
c. Paul the Apostle, Acts 18:18. We all know how he was used of God.
Note Consecration of a Nazarite was only for the Jews. For the Church, it is just a picture of Christian consecration.
3. The Christian consecration
a. It is a voluntary act of self denial from drinking, eating or partaking of legitimate things of this world which distract from or does not encourage a closer walk with God, vv2,3, Romans 12:1-3. His joy is only in the Lord, Phillipians 3:1;4:10.
b. They consciously abstain or separate from things that are not necessarily sinful or forbidden by God but also from things that are questionable or appearance of evil, v4, I Thessalonians 5:22.
c. The long hair for men is a symbol of shame and reproach, v5, I Corinthians 11:14. Christian consecration demands willingness to bear reproach and shame of the cross for the sake of Christ.
d. Uncleanness or defilements of any form is a taboo in Christian consecration, v8-12. Christian consecration and holiness are inseparable.
PRAYER POINTS
1. Ask God to take you deeper in Christian consecration🙏
2. Ask God for more understanding that will see the things of this world as nothing but dross🙏
3. Pray that you will have the love of God to be a true Nazirite for Him🙏
4. Ask for grace to every member not to be hearers of Christian consecration alone but to be doers🙏
HYMN
CLOSE TO THEE
1. Thou, my everlasting portion,
More than friend or life to me;
All along my pilgrim journey,
Savior, let me walk with Thee.
Refrain:
Close to Thee, Close to Thee,
Close to Thee, Close to Thee,
All along this tedious journey,
Savior, let me walk with Thee.
2 Not for ease or worldly pleasure,
Nor for fame my prayer shall be;
Gladly will I toil and suffer,
Only let me walk with Thee. Refrain
3. Lead me through the vale of shadows,
Bear me o’er life’s fitful sea;
Then the gate of life eternal
May I enter, Lord, with Thee.
Refrain:
Close to Thee, close to Thee,
Close to Thee, close to Thee,
Then the gate of life eternal
May I enter, Lord, with Thee.
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)
