08-14-2020, 08:40 AM
THE LIVING WATER
DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE
Friday, August 14, 2020.
- World Lizard Day
TOPIC: IT MAY BE THE BAIT
Read Judges 16:1-21
1 Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her.
2 When the Gazites were told, “Samson has come here!” they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They were quiet all night, saying, “In the morning, when it is daylight, we will kill him.”
3 And Samson lay low till midnight; then he arose at midnight, took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two gateposts, pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.
4 Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
5 And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”
6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you.”
7 And Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”
8 So the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, and she bound him with them.
9 Now men were lying in wait, staying with her in the room. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he broke the bowstrings as a strand of yarn breaks when it touches fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.
10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “Look, you have mocked me and told me lies. Now, please tell me what you may be bound with.”
11 So he said to her, “If they bind me securely with new ropes that have never been used, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”
12 Therefore Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And men were lying in wait, staying in the room. But he broke them off his arms like a thread.
13 Delilah said to Samson, “Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me what you may be bound with.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head into the web of the loom”—
14 So she wove it tightly with the batten of the loom, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep, and pulled out the batten and the web from the loom.
15 Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies. ” 16 And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death,
17 that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”
18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand.
19 Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, a and his strength left him.
20 And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.
21 Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison.
MEMORISE:
So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you" (Judges 16:6)
EXPOSITION
Bait is any substance, especially food used in catching fish, or other animals by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap or net. It is an enticement or temptation to destroy.
It is usually appealing because it contains some irresistible substances. It's giver does not give it for the fun of it; it is to lure, to deceive, and to destroy. Watch it well. Lizards have a way of setting traps for their unsuspecting preys. This is World Lizard Day.
One of the potent instruments Satan uses today to get at Christians is his sinful allurements - bait. They include baits of lucrative jobs, positions, fame, etc. that allow one not to have ample time for his family and spiritual life. He makes Christians see it as something normal and harmless.
When the Philistines wanted to catch the powerful Samson, Delilah was the bait. He accepted the poisonous ravaging beauty of the godless harlot and his glorious destiny was truncated and life terminated (Prov. 23:27-35). Love for gift was the bait used to truncate the glorious future of the 'to be prophet' Gehazi.
Paul said in 2 Tim. 4:10 that Demas deserted him and the gospel which he once embraced for the bait of the pleasure of this present age - modernisation, materialism, etc. He loved worldly values and pleasures.
The same is the condition of many Christians, today. The beauty of the present age - fashion, music, riches, etc., is baits the devil is using to sweep many away from their Lord. Our love for the world should be Christ's type of love for it.
Satan once presented the baits of food, power and fame to Christ our Lord, but Christ was able to recognise and reject him by the Word that richly dwelled in Him (cf. Col. 3:16). The young slave boy and servant of Potiphar, Joseph, was at a time presented with the bait of fornication by his master's wife. His destiny would have been shattered, if he had fallen for it. His knowledge of the Lord God of Israel enabled him reject the ungodly advances of her madam.
A singer sang, "Whatever I love will not harm me, whatever will harm me I will not love, for not all that glitters is gold." The killing and destructive power of bait is not physical. It may be difficult to recognise. Only the Spirit-filled Christians would recognise it - those that have knowledge of the Word.
PRAYER POINTS
1. I refuse to fall into the enemy's trap, no matter how subtle they are, in the name of Jesus.
2. Every effort of the devil to derail me shall fail, in Jesus' name.
3. Lord, destroy all the baits set against Church leaders to make them lose focus and plunge the Church against God's purpose.
EXTRA READING FOR TODAY:
Psalms 30 - 33; Revelation 6.
Author: CAC WORLDWIDE
Remain blessed!
DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE
Friday, August 14, 2020.
- World Lizard Day
TOPIC: IT MAY BE THE BAIT
Read Judges 16:1-21
1 Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her.
2 When the Gazites were told, “Samson has come here!” they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They were quiet all night, saying, “In the morning, when it is daylight, we will kill him.”
3 And Samson lay low till midnight; then he arose at midnight, took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two gateposts, pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.
4 Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
5 And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”
6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you.”
7 And Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”
8 So the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, and she bound him with them.
9 Now men were lying in wait, staying with her in the room. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he broke the bowstrings as a strand of yarn breaks when it touches fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.
10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “Look, you have mocked me and told me lies. Now, please tell me what you may be bound with.”
11 So he said to her, “If they bind me securely with new ropes that have never been used, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”
12 Therefore Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And men were lying in wait, staying in the room. But he broke them off his arms like a thread.
13 Delilah said to Samson, “Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me what you may be bound with.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head into the web of the loom”—
14 So she wove it tightly with the batten of the loom, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep, and pulled out the batten and the web from the loom.
15 Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies. ” 16 And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death,
17 that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”
18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand.
19 Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, a and his strength left him.
20 And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.
21 Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison.
MEMORISE:
So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you" (Judges 16:6)
EXPOSITION
Bait is any substance, especially food used in catching fish, or other animals by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap or net. It is an enticement or temptation to destroy.
It is usually appealing because it contains some irresistible substances. It's giver does not give it for the fun of it; it is to lure, to deceive, and to destroy. Watch it well. Lizards have a way of setting traps for their unsuspecting preys. This is World Lizard Day.
One of the potent instruments Satan uses today to get at Christians is his sinful allurements - bait. They include baits of lucrative jobs, positions, fame, etc. that allow one not to have ample time for his family and spiritual life. He makes Christians see it as something normal and harmless.
When the Philistines wanted to catch the powerful Samson, Delilah was the bait. He accepted the poisonous ravaging beauty of the godless harlot and his glorious destiny was truncated and life terminated (Prov. 23:27-35). Love for gift was the bait used to truncate the glorious future of the 'to be prophet' Gehazi.
Paul said in 2 Tim. 4:10 that Demas deserted him and the gospel which he once embraced for the bait of the pleasure of this present age - modernisation, materialism, etc. He loved worldly values and pleasures.
The same is the condition of many Christians, today. The beauty of the present age - fashion, music, riches, etc., is baits the devil is using to sweep many away from their Lord. Our love for the world should be Christ's type of love for it.
Satan once presented the baits of food, power and fame to Christ our Lord, but Christ was able to recognise and reject him by the Word that richly dwelled in Him (cf. Col. 3:16). The young slave boy and servant of Potiphar, Joseph, was at a time presented with the bait of fornication by his master's wife. His destiny would have been shattered, if he had fallen for it. His knowledge of the Lord God of Israel enabled him reject the ungodly advances of her madam.
A singer sang, "Whatever I love will not harm me, whatever will harm me I will not love, for not all that glitters is gold." The killing and destructive power of bait is not physical. It may be difficult to recognise. Only the Spirit-filled Christians would recognise it - those that have knowledge of the Word.
PRAYER POINTS
1. I refuse to fall into the enemy's trap, no matter how subtle they are, in the name of Jesus.
2. Every effort of the devil to derail me shall fail, in Jesus' name.
3. Lord, destroy all the baits set against Church leaders to make them lose focus and plunge the Church against God's purpose.
EXTRA READING FOR TODAY:
Psalms 30 - 33; Revelation 6.
Author: CAC WORLDWIDE
Remain blessed!