CAC LIVING WATER DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR AUGUST 31, 2022 : TOPIC – HEAR AND HEED WHAT HE SAYS
CHRIST APOSTOLIC CHURCH THE LIVING WATER DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE
DATE: Wednesday, August 31, 2022.
(World Distance Learning Day & International Overdose Awareness Day)
TOPIC: HEAR AND HEED WHAT HE SAYS
READ: 1 Samuel 15:1-9
[1] Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD.
[2] Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.
[3] Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
[4] And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
[5] And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.
[6] And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
[7] And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.
[8] And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
[9] But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
MEMORISE:
Hear instruction and be wise, and do not disdain it. Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors (Proverbs 8:33-34).
EXPOSITION
Today is World Distance Learning Day and International Overdose Awareness Day. Listening and hearing are two verbs that are related in meaning and are aids to learning. Both have to do with audio perceptions. To hear represents automatic, unconscious or passive perception of sound, while listening portrays intentional, conscious or purposeful use of the sense of hearing. From this definitions, it is possible to listen but choose not to purposefully use the sense of hearing regarding what one listens to. Many Christians who attend church, during sermons, do listen while the preacher preaches, but many don’t hear. Your action after the sermon shows whether you heard and are ready to heed the message, or not.
In 1 Samuel 10:8; 13:8-14, king Saul disdained the God-ordained office of prophet Samuel in offering the sacrifice which was not his duty to do. Yet, he graciously had another chance which would have given Samuel a leverage to plead for him before God, but he also blew it away (1 Sam. 15:1-9). Saul listened to God’s instruction through Samuel, concerning the war he was to wage against the Amalekites, but he chose not to hear in the sense of paying careful attention to the details of the mission to utterly destroy the dedicated to the LORD. Hence, the LORD rejected him. May that not be our lot. Amen.
Your success lies in your passion not only to listen to, but also carefully hear and heed God’s instructions. There are blessings attached to listening, watching, waiting on, and heeding the Lord’s directives, daily (Prov. 8:33-34). Therefore, cultivate the habit to always converse with your Father in heaven, carefully listening to and hearing from Him before you interact with men on earth. Never be in haste to leave His presence.
PRAYER POINTS
1. Lord, give me listening ears to do all You expect of me.
2. Lord, endow me with the ability to watch and wait patiently on You, not being in haste in Your presence.
3. Jesus, open the ears of Your Church to always listen to and hearken Your instructions.
HYMN FOR TODAY:
CAC GHB 452
1. Just as God who reigns on high
Spake to men in days gone by,
So the Lord is calling men today,
And, my brother this is true,
Whatso-e’er He says to you
There is but one thing to do just obey
Chorus:
Just obey, just obey,
Is the way, God’s way;
When His message comes to you
There is but one thing to do,
Just obey just obey.
2. If you’re in the Saviour’s hand,
You must do as He commands
For there is no other gospel way;
Never put the message by,
Never stop to reason why,
When the Saviour speaks to you, just obey.
3. If for mansions fair you sigh
In that land beyond the sky,
After time with you has pass’d away;
Tho’ the way you may not see,
Christ is calling “Follow Me.”
Faith and duty both will cry just obey.
Amen.
EXTRA READING FOR TODAY:
Ezekiel 20 – 22
AUTHOR
C. A. C. Worldwide
Remain blessed