DCLM Daily Manna 2025: DCLM Daily Manna 29 September 2025: Take A Stand For the Lord
KEY VERSE:
“And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.” – (1 Kings 18:21).
READ: 1 Kings 18:17-29 (KJV)
17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”
18 “I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. 19 Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people said nothing.
22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”
Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
There could be many reasons people grow cold feet when circumstances demand that they take a stand for the Lord. It may be for fear of persecution or the desire to be accepted and rewarded by the largely heathen society. But whatever the reason may be, it cannot be a cogent excuse for any believer to neglect to identify with the Lord at all times.
Prophet Elijah amplified this fact when he challenged King Ahab and his coterie of false prophets to a public contest to determine who was serving the true God. Elijah had pronounced drought and famine on the land, as punishment for their sins. Three years on, he met King Ahab who accused the prophet of troubling Israel but Elijah retorted that it was Ahab and his family that had troubled the nation by rebelling against God’s command and worshipping the idol, Baalim. He asked the king to gather all of Israel, including his 850 idol-worshipping prophets and priests, and demanded that the people decide to follow God or Baalim.
But the people had become so spiritually indifferent that they “answered him not a word.” Still, Elijah proceeded with the contest, which involved offering sacrifice to their idols on one hand, and the Almighty God, on the other, emphasising that “the God that answereth by fire, let him be God.” All efforts made by the false prophets to get answers from the idols were futile, even after being mocked by Elijah, bleeding profusely from self-inflicted cuts, and shouting from morning to evening. It was proof of the futility of idol worship.
Whatever the world offers – riches, position, fame, power – we must not be ashamed or afraid to be recognised as Christians. To hide behind popular culture and follow the line of least spiritual resistance is to reject the love of God, undermine His mercy and neglect/contradict His word. Instead, we must always remember that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. We should live in righteousness, defend our faith in Christ in words and deeds, and show faithfulness to the One who gave His life to redeem us.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Spiritual indifference is a careless stroll to damnation.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Ecclesiastes 8-12
Daily Manna 29 September 2025
