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Topic: No Longer Medieval Mentality
[DCLM Daily Manna 6 July 2019 Daily Devotional by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi]
Text: Mark 8:10-21 (KJV)
Key Verse: “And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod” (Mark 8:15).
MESSAGE:
In the Middle Ages, monks and nuns lived in monasteries and nunneries, isolated religious settlements that they believed would give them all the time in the world to pray and study the Bible without sinful community and family distractions. Given to a vow of celibacy, they had no earthly ties that warranted visits of relations to their far-removed abodes. Nor were they motivated to take trips to the town. Their chief mission was to follow Christ’s solemn injunction: “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.”
These persons of the medieval times did not have a spiritual grasp of our Lord’s teaching. They got the message that the Pharisees’ philosophy was like the bakers’ yeast that bloated loaf without adding long-term or fundamental value to it. Herod’s politics was as evil, destroying the righteous followers of God and promoting wickedness in Israel. Jesus said these were carnal additives that must be avoided.
Our Saviour’s example, together with what He taught, should be the sincere heaven seeker’s compass. He did not separate himself from the masses; He and His disciples stuck with the people so they could not only teach them the principles of the kingdom of God, but also present exemplary lifestyle. This approach has stood the test of time over the ages with millions trooping into the Kingdom.
The evangelism project will only blossom if the ambassadors of Christ leave their comfort zones to undertake a search for the lost. We are not to share in their leaven of sin as we interact with them, just as the Lord did not. But we are to teach them to turn from sin and embrace the way of Christ. We must behave the way Paul, Silvanus and Timothy behaved during their missionary work in Thessalonica. They comported themselves “holily and justly and unblameably”.
Thought For The Day: Let others discover Christ in you.
The Bible In One Year: 2 Kings 11–13
