Galatians 6:8
“For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”
INSIGHT
-Corruption in Hebrew is written as mishchath and in Greek phtheiró. It means to embezzle, steal, degrade, destroy, kill, pervert and sin. Corruption is often referred to as embezzlement of funds by a person in a position of power or any person(s) in the organization for personal gain. Corruption in the Bible manifests in diverse ways including: – the earth was corrupt before God (Gen 6:11-12), idol worship as a form of corruption (Deu 4:15-19; Deu 13:13), sons of Eli were corrupt and did not know God (1 Sam 2:12), mount of corruption (2 Kin 23:13), corruption of a nation (Isa 1:4), corruption as a father (Job 17:14), those who say there is no God are foolish and corrupt in their ways (Ps 14:1-3), evil company corrupts good morals (1 Cor 15:33), extortion turns a wise person into a fool and a bribe corrupts the heart (Ecc 7:7), one whose heart is corrupt does not prosper (Prov 17:20), Daniel was trustworthy and he was not corrupt in his conduct in governmental affairs (Dan 6:4), the Father did not let His Holy One/Jesus to see corruption (Ps 16:10-11, Acts 13:36-38) and God has lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption by redemption of sin (Isa 38:17), creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God (Rom 8:20-23), the body that is sown in corruption will be raised in incorruption (1 Cor 15:42), people of corrupt mind have been robbed of the truth and think that godliness is a means to financial gain (1 Tim 6:3-10), some leaders follow their corrupt desires of the flesh to gain power (2 Pet 2:10-11), put off your former conduct which grows corrupt according to deceitful lusts but be renewed in the spirit of your mind (Eph 4:22-24), let not any corrupt word proceed out of your mouth but what is good for necessary edification (Eph 4:29; Jam 3:6) and creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption (Rom 8:20-23) etc.
-There is a distinction between the flesh and the Spirit which have conflicting interests. The flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that we do not do whatever we want (Gal 5:17). While the flesh pursues evil yielding corruption, the Spirit pursued good yielding everlasting life. Colossians 3:1-10, reminds us that we should focus on the things above and not on earthly things like sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language and telling lies, for we died with Christ and we have been raised with Him, and will appear with Him in glory. We should therefore focus on love for God and one another which yields life, putting away our old man and be renewed in our hearts and minds, as we awake to righteousness. We can choose to look at these scriptures in a fleshly or spiritual dimension, but if today we listed to His voice let us not harden our hearts.
PRAYER
Thank You Lord for this beautiful day that You have made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. Thank You for the rains that You continue to shower unto us, may they be a source of blessings and not disaster, a means to plenty of food and not death and losses. Cover us Jesus with Your precious blood especially during this Christmas festivities that many are travelling. Protect our families and our entire nation that no one will be injured or die because of road accidents and any kind of disaster. We place our anxieties, cared and troubles into Your hands Lord. We place our ideas, vision and goals into Your wisdom. We place our lives, families, leaders, work, businesses, economy and nation into Your love. Bestow unto all leaders in our churches, corporate bodies, government institutions, and all the citizens the gift of wisdom so that corruption may come to an end in our nation. Renew our hearts and minds Holy Spirit and uplift our spirits so that we may always be conformed to Your holy will. Amen
Daniel 6:4
“At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.”
INSIGHT
-King Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem during the third year of king Jehoiakim and took away the temple treasures along with some young men from the royal family of Israel and those without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand and qualified to serve in his palace. Among them was Daniel who was set apart in conduct and rulership for he had an excellent spirit. He was among the three governors under king Darius who was the ruler then. Daniel was intelligent and had outstanding wisdom which made the king to admire his qualities and contemplated making him ruler over the entire empire, but the administrators and satraps sort to destroy him. When they could not find any fault in him, and made a decree that only king Darius should be worshiped; but Daniel defiled that law and prayed to God three times a day. He was then cast into the den of lions but the Lord delivered him. Joseph like Daniel was excellent in leadership and the Lord exulted him to become governor over the whole nation of Egypt under king Pharaoh. Corrupt leaders deprives the people hope of the future. Their corrupt ways result is poor infrastructure, lack of social amenities, high unemployment rates, low productivity, massive debt levels, high inflation levels, high taxes, slow economic growth and many other adverse effects. The Lord says; where there is no vision, the people perish (Pro 29:18). Leaders should then have a clear vision for their respective areas of governance which is not geared towards benefiting a few influential individuals but majority of the citizens. Unfortunately, due to corruption many politicians both young and old have joined the political arena to plunder the nation of their resources like king Nebuchadnezzar and rob the citizens off their birth right. Let us pray persistently for our nation so that the Lord may grant us leaders who have an excellent spirit which only comes from Him.
PRAYER
Only You are worthy Lord, all creation bows down before You. All glory, honor, power and authority belongs to You Father. Grant us leaders who have not given themselves to corruption like Daniel but have an excellent spirit. Leaders who have a vision to take our country forward from a corporate perspective and not a personal perspective and those who can only do Your holy will. You are the King of kings Father and Lord of lords and all authority belongs to You. Only You Lord know what is best for our country. Only You Lord know who will be our next president; all honor belongs to You. Only You have authority and power, and our wisdom is foolishness to You, hear our cry Dear Jesus. Give us intelligent and outstanding wisdom Lord and shepherd us in Your purposes for us. Train our hearts to be still and to wait on You Lord despite the high political temperatures in our nation. Save us from corrupt leaders and prosper our nation with all good things for the glory of Your name. Thank You Lord for the good plans You have for our nation, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future. Thank You for loving our nation nation Jesus, all glory and power belongs to You, now and forever. Amen
2 Kings 23:13
”Then the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, which were on the south of the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the people of Ammon.”
INSIGHT
-The Lord cautioned Israelites against intermarrying with foreign wives who would turn their hearts after their gods. King Solomon however, took wives among the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. He made altars on a hill east of Jerusalem where they worshipped Chemosh god of the Moabites, Milcom god of the Ammonites and Ashtoreth god of the Sidonians. On this mount of corruption; they burnt incense and offered sacrifices to their gods and the Lord became angry with king Solomon and swore to tear down his kingdom during the reign of his son (1 Kin 11:1-12). The Lord has commanded us saying that we should worship no other god but Him alone. Like in the Biblical times, idolatry is still prevalent today among some nations and communities around us which is detestable to the Lord. Idolatry could also occur in form of worship of demons (Rev 9:20), witchcraft (Gal 5:19), money (Mat 6:24), sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed (Col 3:5). Idolatry turns our hearts away from God but God commands us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
PRAYER
Only You are Sovereign Lord and Ruler over all things, we give You all the adoration and praise. Only You are Holy Lord and all creation rightfully gives You praise. Your throne is everlasting and You rule from generation to generation. Thank You Father for Your everlasting love, nothing can separate us from Your love. Cleanse us from all unrighteousness merciful Father and lead us in the way we should go. Deliver us Jesus from any mountain of corruption and idolatry in our hearts and cover us with Your precious blood. Fill us Holy Spirit with Your fruit and gifts so that we may follow You with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. All glory, honor, power and salvation belongs to You Lord; now and forever. Amen
Proverbs 17:20
”One whose heart is corrupt does not prosper; one whose tongue is perverse falls into trouble.”
INSIGHT
-Good people are guided by honesty but dishonesty will destroy those who are not trustworthy (Pro 11:3). When the hearts of Ananias and Sapphira yielded to corruption and they conspired to lie to the Holy Spirit by returning a lower amount than was required to the church, they both fell down dead and were buried (Acts 5:1-11). Often times in the political scene, we have seen leaders entrusted by the people; fall and are forgotten because of corruption. It is a common occurrence especially in our nation where governors have been charged with corruption and their political careers come to an end. Sometimes when we read the Bible it is not very clear but when we see such events happening, we then confirm the truth. The truth that the word of God cannot return empty, for one whose heart is corrupt does not prosper. Those in the public and private sectors alike; who gain their wealth by dishonesty will be diminished, but those who gather by labor will increase (Pro 13:11). Let us always remember therefore to do what is right and pleasing in the eyes of the Lord.
PRAYER
We thank You Lord for Your mercies and graces upon our lives and our nation. Thank You for granting us an opportunity to govern our nation independently, all glory and praise belongs to You. Help us Dear Father to realize total independence by providing for us the resources, wisdom, power and skills required to achieve a self sustaining economy. You are the Alpha and Omega Lord, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last Lord, nothing is too hard for You. Deliver is Jesus from every evil and forgive us all our sins. Lord show us the path of life and do not leave our souls to see corruption nor face the way to Sheol. In Your presence Holy Spirit is fullness of joy, at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore, draw us closer to You we humbly ask You. Oh God of all creation; bless this our land and nation; justice be our shield and defender; may we dwell in unity, peace and liberty; and may plenty be found within our borders. Amen
Ephesians 4:29
“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”
INSIGHT
-There is power in the tongue and our words should always be geared towards edifying the hearers and imparting grace upon them. Christ was given all authority by the Father both in heaven and on earth (Mat 28:18) and He gave us authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy so that nothing can harm us (Lk 10:19). Having this realization then, whatever we speak forth in authority becomes. Corrupt words have the ability to bring a curse on us and other peoples lives as the tongue is a fire and corrupts the whole body. It has the ability to sets the whole course of one’s life on fire and is itself set on fire by hell (Jam 3:6). We are therefore called to speak a blessing upon our own lives and other peoples lives having faith that it will come to pass according to the riches of God’s glory.
SUMMARY
Corruption has been brought out clearly in the Bible to outline several aspects of life. First is that; the human heart and mind have the ability to manifest corruption by breeding evil deeds like sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language and telling lies. We are reminded that we should put away these earthly things for we died with Christ and we have been raised with Him, and will appear with Him in glory (Col 3:1-10). Corruption as a form of idol worship was one of the core element in the Old Testament among the Israelites and other nations. King Solomon also practiced idolatry when he allowed his heart to be drawn away from God by his foreign wives and together they offered sacrifices to their gods on the mount of corruption. This was a section on the mount of Olives which reveals that corruption is also predominant in some churches. Corruption in governmental affairs is also found during the Babylonian captivity where the satraps and administrators plotted against Daniel who was trustworthy to the king, the people and God. Daniel was intelligent and had outstanding wisdom and prayed three times a day. The Lord tells us that one whose heart is corrupt will not prosper. Corruption has hindered development and prosperity of many nations as it is an enemy of progress. Those who are corrupt focus on embezzlement of resources and deprive the majority of their future ambitions and hope. Their end is not rosy as their wealth and life diminishes but those who labor and trust in the Lord He will renew their strength. Through Gods’ gift of salvation we hold fast our hope in Him and at the last day during the resurrection of the dead, our bodies which are sown in corruption will be raised in incorruption and we will live with Christ in victory forevermore (1 Cor 15:42).
PRAYER
Thank You Lord for this far that You have brought us, we exult Your name on high. You have been there with us, in us and have dwelt among us we glorify Your name forever. Thank You Holy Spirit for providing for all our needs, sustaining us, restoring us, healing our wounds and filling our hearts with the joy of salvation, all glory and honor belongs to You. Heal our land Jesus from the vice of corruption we turn to You with hearts filled with repentance and deliver us from all evil. Purify our hearts and minds Dear Father so that we may be conformed to Your image and always follow Your will. Thank You Jesus for loving us with Your everlasting love, increase in us Your wisdom, knowledge, understanding, faith, power and might so that we may operate on earth as You desire us to. Bestow unto our homes and nation the flame of salvation that many may know You and come to You. Help us to seek first Your kingdom and righteousness and add unto our lives all other things. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forevermore. Amen