June 19, 2020 CAC Living Water Devotional :- VENGEANCE IS OF THE LORD
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CAC LIVING WATER DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE.
Friday, June 19, 2020.
VENGEANCE IS OF THE LORD
Read Romans 12:17-21
17. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
18. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
20. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
21. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
MEMORISE: Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men (Romans 12:17)
EXPOSITION
You may not know how to stop evil, but the quickest way to spread evil all over is to continue to pay evil with evil. A man of wisdom said, “If we all literally follow the old tradition of leg for leg, eye for eye, everybody will eventually remain with one leg and one eye.” The truth is, there is nothing good about human vengeance. But the problem all human beings face is that our fallen nature always demands revenge, when something unpalatable is meted out to us. That is why every Christian needs total spiritual breakdown, and remoulding, with a view to living beyond ourselves.
Joseph is an important biblical example to follow in this regard. What his brothers did to him was so terrible. They attempted terminating his life, but for divine intervention. When Jacob, their father, died, they sent message, and later appeared before Joseph themselves, in the name of their father, to seek his favour, thinking that he might repay them for all rhetorically: Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? (v. 19).
Joseph’s response reflects maturity and insight. We need to learn our lessons from him, today. What do you do when you are insulted, slandered, or injured? Is your first instinct to seek revenge? God does not want any of us to try repaying the one who hurts us with any evil act on our past (Deut. 32:35; Nahum 1:2-3). We need to follow the way of forgiveness instead of revenge, and allow the righteous judge (God) to handle our case (1 Sam. 2:6-7; Psa. 9:16; 94:1).
PRAYER POINTS:
1. Lord, help me to trust in your perfect justice and to forgive others.
2. Lord forgive me of my wrong steps of paying evil for evil.
3. Lord, circumcise the hearts of ministers who repay evil for evil among themselves, in our mission houses to desist from this ungodly act, as vengeance belongs to You.
EXTRA READING FOR TODAY: 1 Chronicles 15 & 16 & Philippians 3