DAILY MANNA MONDAY 27TH JANUARY, 2020 POINTLESS PURSUIT OF PLEASURE BY PST. KUMUYI

DAILY MANNA
MONDAY 27TH JANUARY, 2020
POINTLESS PURSUIT OF PLEASURE
TEXT: ISAIAH 5:11-17
KEY VERSE: “And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands” (ISAIAH 5:12).
Nero Claudius Caesar (37-68 A.D.) was the most infamous emperor that the Roman Empire produced while it lasted. Nero became infamous for many reasons. He pursued and promoted pleasure with a peculiar passion. But after fourteen years of a murderous rule, he committed suicide.
Like Nero, the people of Judah treaded the path of self-destruction when they capped their backsliding and wickedness with a pointless pursuit of pleasure. They went after wine from morning till evening – till it inflamed their passions. They were so committed to pleasure, music and amusement to the point of not retaining the knowledge of God in their hearts. Prophet Isaiah warned them about this and spelt out the consequences of their misplaced priority. Their punishment would be a series of disasters including, captivity, humiliation and massive deaths arising from famine.
People have never been more “lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God” than the present dispensation. The entertainment industry is thriving more by the day; licentious lifestyle is at its peak, and people are even shamelessly indulging in such perversions that were once regarded as socially abominable. Sinful aberrations have become matters of human rights and anyone who challenges them is called a religious bigot. But the popularisation of these sinful lifestyles will not reduce the fierceness of God’s judgment on those who indulge in them.
Believers are sufficiently warned to flee from the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Worldly pleasures will mar our fellowship with God and lead to spiritual destruction. There is hope for anyone who is already ensnared by sinful pleasures if he or she repents and embraces God’s grace which comes through faith in Christ.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: More temptations are tied to pleasure than to privation.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: EXODUS 37-38