DCLM Daily Manna 7 January 2020 – Tongues Of Deceit

Topic: Tongues Of Deceit
[DCLM Daily Manna 7 January 2020 Daily Devotional by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi]

Text: Psalm 12:1-8
1 Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.

2 They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.

3 The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:

4 Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?

5 For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.

6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

7 Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.

8 The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.

Key Verse: “They speak vanity every one with his neighbor: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak” (Psalm 12:2).

MESSAGE:
One summer morning in the 1920s, a Scottish man named Arthur Ferguson stood idly in London’s Trafalgar Square. As he watched, an obviously well-to-do American began admiring the statue of Admiral Lord Nelson and the column it rested on. Struck with a sudden inspiration, Ferguson put his remarkable selling ability to work and ‘sold’ Nelson’s column to the American for about $30, 000. Ferguson went on from there to sell the famous London clock, Big Ben to another American for $5,000, and took $10, 000 from yet another as down payment on Buckingham Palace.

Today’s passage focuses mainly on the danger of deceitful men in society. The psamist begins by lamenting the apparent scarcity of godly and faithful people. Ungodly people can be easily recognised by the rashness of their tongues. They speak false and proud words to mislead and oppress the unsuspecting and simple people in society. Their words contrast with the pureness of God’s word.

The world is full of deceit. Many people behave what they are not. The activities of deceivers and fraudulent people who collect advance fees from unsuspecting people are so rampant that some countries have enacted special laws to bring them to book. It has become very dangerous nowadays to trust people, especially strangers. Even those who claim to be ‘born again’ are no more taken by their words. Many people have lost their valuable and even their lives while trusting people they met and did business with on the social media.

Deception starts from the heart (Mark 7:21-23). The mind of the unregenerate is a reservoir of evil. We must expose the heart to the undiluted word of God and the precious blood of Jesus for cleaning before any change can occur.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Jesus in the heart weeds out the deceitful old man.

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Genesis 21-23