The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 8 March 2023 – Wholehearted Devotion Towards God
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TOPIC: Wholehearted Devotion Towards God
READ: Leviticus 26: 1-21(KJV)
1 Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the Lord your God.
2 Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.
3 If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;
4 Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
5 And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.
6 And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.
7 And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.
8 And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.
9 For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.
10 And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new.
11 And I set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you.
12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.
13 I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.
14 But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
15 And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
17 And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
18 And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
19 And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:
20 And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.
21 And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.
The MESSAGE:
In our reading today, God was preparing His people for the inheritance of the land flowing with milk and honey. He knew their human tendencies to make idols out of His gifts and warned them ahead of time. He assured them of His all-round blessings upon them, if they would follow Him wholeheartedly. He also warned them of the impending judgment that would come upon them mercilessly, if they became idolatrous.
The drifting nature of the heart makes it hard to know exactly, whether or not, one is beginning to make an idol out of what seems to be a gift to him/her from God. God commands man not to make idols. This is a call to guard our hearts from drifting from the Living God unto things created and given to us by Him. To this end, John warns “keep yourselves from idols”(1Jn.5:21). Paul also warns strongly, “Flee from idolatry” (1 Cor. 10:14).
Whatever and whosoever takes the place of God in your heart is considered, an idol whether they be carved things, the social media, powerful personalities and connections to solve your problems, money, education etc. We need to place our hearts on a constant check before God to ensure that it is not departing from the LORD (Jer.17:5)? Repent from any form of idolatry before it is too late.
PRAYER: Lord please, search my heart and make it perfect towards You in Jesus’ name. Amen
