06-21-2019, 02:33 PM
THE LIVING WATER DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE
Friday, June 21, 2019.
SPEAK TO THE FISH, FATHER
READ: Jonah 1:1-17
1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.”
3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
4 But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.
5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.
6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”
7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
8 Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”
9 So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.
11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous.
12 And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.”
13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them.
14 Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, “We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.”
15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.
16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows.
17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
MEMORISE:
And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. (Jonah 2:10)
EXPOSITION
Disobeying God can be very ruinous. We stand a chance of forfeiting a lot of fortunes, facing terrible challenges when we choose to disobey God. Prophet Jonah disobeyed God and spent three days and three nights in the belly of a fish, as penalty for his disobedience. The man of God repented and prayed, God spoke to the fish, and the letter vomited him (John 2:1-10).
The fish could do nothing short of obeying it's Creator. Imagine the needless pain Jonah subjected himself to, all because of disobedience. Definitely, the fish could only hold him at the Lord's command or permission. No one escapes the consequences of disobedience, most especially, when such refuses to repent (Prov. 11:20,21;16:5).
The fish in the context of today's Living Water is whatever trouble, affliction, misfortunes someone is going through, consequent on his disobedient to divine instructions. It is the power holding somebody else captive, because such person has failed God somewhere. It can be anything that has swallowed a Christian's fortune or causing untold hardship/suffering on the Christian for avoiding or neglecting God's assignment, or failing to admit his/her fault with respect to a misdeed.
Repentance provokes divine acceptance and restoration (2 Chro. 7:14-15; Isa. 1:17-20; John 2:1-10). Our repentance from our disobedience and the seeking of God's face provoke Him to speak to the powers holding us and our fortunes down. And when God speaks, everything submits to Him. What is the fish you need the Heavenly Father to speak to in your life, today? First settle grounds with God. Then, petition God regarding such fishes. You can't imagine how God would defend you powerfully.
PRAYER POINTS
1. Forgive me heavenly Father, and deliver me from the troubles my disobedience to You has introduced in my life, in Jesus name.
2. Heavenly Father, speak to the power holding my fortunes to release them to me, now, in Jesus name.
3. O Lord, have mercy on this nation and restore our fortunes. Deliver us from every agent of torment and torture, occasioned by our transgressions.
EXTRA READING FOR TODAY: 1 CHRONICLES 19:16-23:2; JOHN 21:9-21:25; ACTS 1:1-1:5
Friday, June 21, 2019.
SPEAK TO THE FISH, FATHER
READ: Jonah 1:1-17
1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.”
3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
4 But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.
5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.
6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”
7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
8 Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”
9 So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.
11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous.
12 And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.”
13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them.
14 Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, “We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.”
15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.
16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows.
17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
MEMORISE:
And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. (Jonah 2:10)
EXPOSITION
Disobeying God can be very ruinous. We stand a chance of forfeiting a lot of fortunes, facing terrible challenges when we choose to disobey God. Prophet Jonah disobeyed God and spent three days and three nights in the belly of a fish, as penalty for his disobedience. The man of God repented and prayed, God spoke to the fish, and the letter vomited him (John 2:1-10).
The fish could do nothing short of obeying it's Creator. Imagine the needless pain Jonah subjected himself to, all because of disobedience. Definitely, the fish could only hold him at the Lord's command or permission. No one escapes the consequences of disobedience, most especially, when such refuses to repent (Prov. 11:20,21;16:5).
The fish in the context of today's Living Water is whatever trouble, affliction, misfortunes someone is going through, consequent on his disobedient to divine instructions. It is the power holding somebody else captive, because such person has failed God somewhere. It can be anything that has swallowed a Christian's fortune or causing untold hardship/suffering on the Christian for avoiding or neglecting God's assignment, or failing to admit his/her fault with respect to a misdeed.
Repentance provokes divine acceptance and restoration (2 Chro. 7:14-15; Isa. 1:17-20; John 2:1-10). Our repentance from our disobedience and the seeking of God's face provoke Him to speak to the powers holding us and our fortunes down. And when God speaks, everything submits to Him. What is the fish you need the Heavenly Father to speak to in your life, today? First settle grounds with God. Then, petition God regarding such fishes. You can't imagine how God would defend you powerfully.
PRAYER POINTS
1. Forgive me heavenly Father, and deliver me from the troubles my disobedience to You has introduced in my life, in Jesus name.
2. Heavenly Father, speak to the power holding my fortunes to release them to me, now, in Jesus name.
3. O Lord, have mercy on this nation and restore our fortunes. Deliver us from every agent of torment and torture, occasioned by our transgressions.
EXTRA READING FOR TODAY: 1 CHRONICLES 19:16-23:2; JOHN 21:9-21:25; ACTS 1:1-1:5