October 16, 2020 DCLM Daily Manna Devotional : Topic – Neither The Past Nor The Present
Topic: Neither The Past Nor The Present
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Text: Luke 17:20-37 (KJV)
20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
22 And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.
23 And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.
24 For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.
25 But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.
26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.
32 Remember Lot’s wife.
33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.
Key Verse: “Remember Lot’s wife.” – (Luke17:32)
MESSAGE:
Recently, there was public outcry in a country in West Africa when the authorities phased out the teaching of History in secondary schools. The government was accused of retarding national development which the people believed only tips from the past could offer. They held that the past should not be forgotten altogether; it possesses some nuggets of gold that can embellish the present and guide us into a golden future.
Also See: Open Heaven 16 October 2020 – The Commandos II
But not all peep into the past has left behind what is helpful. It can be fatal, as it was with Lot’s wife. She flouted God’s commandment not to gaze back at soon-to-be judged Sodom and Gomorrah. She set her sight on the twin cities of sin and became a pillar of salt. As our Lord Jesus Christ taught on His prophecy on the destruction of Jerusalem and later the end of time to be signalled by His Second Coming, it would be perilous to look back in nostalgia for the things of the world we ought to forsake.
The end of the age would witness the emergence of materialistic citizens who would be consumed by such seemingly harmless social activities: marriage, commerce, pursuit of education, burials, housewarming, politics, etc. Man would not have the time for the weightier issues of holiness, solemn watch for the sign of the Son of Man and relentless evangelism to halt the rush of the unsaved into hell.
The deep lesson the Master teaches in the passage is that we should not thirst for our past, its snatches of fleeting joys notwithstanding. Nor should we be rooted in the illusory euphoria of the present, with all its celebrated glitz. None of these has the power to lead one to heaven. Our Lord calls for an engaging daily relationship with Him through watchfulness for His return, sticking to His word, and above all, longing for our glorious future and eternity in heaven.
Thought For The Day: Don’t get stuck in the past or present; focus on your eternity with Jesus in heaven.
The Bible In One Year: Isaiah 42-45
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.