The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 13 June 2024 – Sin Brings Anguish And Shame
TOPIC: Sin Brings Anguish And Shame
READ: Genesis 3: 8-24 (NKJV)
- And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
- Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where [are] you?”
- So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
- And He said, “Who told you that you [were] naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”
- Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave [to be] with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
- And the LORD God said to the woman, “What [is] this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
- So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You [are] cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life.
- And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”
- To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire [shall be] for your husband, And he shall rule over you.”
- Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed [is] the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat [of] it All the days of your life.
- Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field.
- In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you [are,] And to dust you shall return.”
- And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
- Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
- Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” —
- therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.
- So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
THE MESSAGE:
Our text today shows that the disobedience of Adam and Eve brought them shame, anguish and reproach. Their sin filled their hearts with great fear and also broke their relationship with God – they started hiding away from God because they were naked. When they both ate the forbidden fruit, their eyes became truly opened to shame, fear and terror. They soon realised that they had been deceived by the Serpent. Fear, shame and reproach replaced their boldness, glory and prestige as God’s image. Finally, they were driven out of the blessed Garden of Eden to start labouring hard on earth before they could make ends meet; it was the beginning of woe and travail of mankind.
Beloved, temptation in itself is not a sin, but yielding to it, is. God desires that you run away from sin and sinful tendencies. This is because the moment you commit sin, your relationship with God is broken. Your prayer to God becomes irritating except you ask for forgiveness and repent. Sin exposes its victim to both physical and spiritual shame and reproach. Therefore, we must run away from every form of sinful attitude or habits.
PRAYER: Lord, I ask for divine strength to say no to temptations today, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
PRAYER POINTS ON TODAY’S DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL
DATE: THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2024
TOPIC: SIN BRINGS ANGUISH AND SHAME
- Father in the name of Jesus, thank You for the grace to see this new day in good health and sound mind.
- Father, thank You for the special gift of life, many wished to see this day, but they couldn’t.
- Thank You Jesus for being there for us, Your children.
- Thank You Lord for Your plans for me this year. They are plans of good, not of evil, to give me a successful and good end.
- Father, please forgive me all my known and unknown sins, and give me power to overcome sin and its lustful desires, in Jesus’ name.
- I will not experience shame, anguish and reproach, and my boldness shall not be replaced by them, in Jesus’ name
- Help me, Holy Spirit, to obey and keep all God’s laws, in Jesus’ name.
- I pray that sin will not break my relationship with God, in Jesus’ name.
- My life shall not be open to shame, fear and terror, in Jesus’ name.
- I receive grace to run away from every form of sinful attitude or habit, in Jesus’ name.
- LORD, help us to get it right in Nigeria, and let Your perfect will be enforced on us in Jesus’ name.
- Heavenly Father, let Your peace reign in this country,
- Whether the devil likes it or not, I will make heaven and receive my eternal rewards in Jesus’ Name.
- This is the day the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.
- Personal and family prayer requests.
- Confession: God bless the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), God bless the Universal Church, and bless our country Nigeria -1 Chronicles 17:27.
- Thank You Lord for answered prayers, in Jesus’ Mighty Name we pray. Amen.
