THE PILGRIMS GUIDE SATURDAY AUGUST 8, 2026 THE CALL TO EXCLUSIVE DEVOTION A WORD FROM THE WORD: "The ark remained at Kiriath Jearim a long time - twenty years in all. Then all the people of Israel turned back to the LORD. So Samuel said to all the Israelites, 'If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.' So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only." 1 Samuel 7:2-4 NIV By natural inclination, the mortal man has the tendency to walk contrary to God and His ordained ways for him, only to remember Him whenever he encounters turbulent crisis. This is one of the major reasons you should readily accept God's call to translate us from the kingdom of darkness into His marvellous Light. Anyone who desires to please God and be a recipient of His ordained protection, deliverance and blessings, must as a matter of necessity put away every form of idolatry, and a stop to compromising God's righteous requirements for their life, this is because God demands exclusivity. People on regular basis like to receive the manifold blessings of God without caring or giving a hoot for the prerequisites, which could be deduced from the following: 1). Recourse To The LORD. This should be without any reservation whatsoever, half measures will not take anyone all the way on the journey of declared intention of walking with Him 2). Jettison Strange Gods. Anything or character trait that is contrary to God is a strange god and must be done away with, these includes and not limited to pride, immorality of any kind, bitterness, rancour, anger etc 3). Serve Only God. God is the only One deserving the lifting up of our hands and hearts in worship. We should serve Him willingly. He is the God of standards, and has set them forth in His Word. We can know surely that we have recoursed to Him when we take heed to His Word in obedience. PRAYER BULLETS: ABBA Father, as I return to You, enable and help me to serve you acceptably in Jesus precious name I pray. FURTHER READING: Deuteronomy 20:1-4; Joshua 1:6-9; Romans 12:1-2. __________________________________________ ©️ Amaobi Nwachukwu 2026. If you're blessed by this, please, do share with others. And if you'll like to partner with us, kindly check page 3 of our hard copy edition or better still send us a WhatsApp message or call on +234 8098421967. #ThePilgrimsGuide.