DAILY MANNA THURSDAY 15TH AUGUST, 2019 NO EXCUSE, NO EXCEPTION BY PST.KUMUYI

DAILY MANNA
THURSDAY 15TH AUGUST, 2019
NO EXCUSE, NO EXCEPTION
TEXT: ACTS 8:1-8
KEY VERSE: “…And at that time there was a great persecution against the Church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles… Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word” (ACTS 8:1,4).
In 1914, the British Army had approximately 710,000 men enlisted and able to fight and more than 1 million soldiers volunteered to fight in the first months of the World War I. But by mid-1915. It was apparent that not enough men were signing up to replace the casualties from the front line. In response, a scheme was launched in 1915. It involved canvassers visiting eligible men’s houses and asking them to publicly declare whether or not they would attest to join the forces. However, the survey revealed that the number of single and married men who public refused outnumbered the volunteers required to sustain Britain’s fighting forces. Subsequently, the Military Service Act was introduced in January 1916 and by March 1916, compulsory conscription for all single men aged 18-41 was in place. In May 1916, the Act was extended to include conscription for married men.
The early Church was also faced with extinction and had to resort to drastic strategies to stay afloat to win against the enemies of the gospel.
The early Church had almost lost the vision given them by Christ before ascension (Acts 1:8). But instead of nursing their wounds, these early believers seized the day by turning their persecution into opportunities to preach and reach more people as they spread out from the erstwhile comfort zone of Jerusalem.
The Gospel message is so urgent that no excuse or exception is allowed from those who ought to take it to the needy. Just as the sorrow of death, lack of comfort, etc. could not deter those who were scattered abroad from preaching the gospel, we also must never allow anything or anyone make us recoil from the responsibility to show others the way to the celestial city.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: If our passion is to see God’s kingdom come, then nothing should stop the spread of the gospel!
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: JOB 11–15