16 April
Joel 1:13-15
The reason for repentance
The prophet calls upon the people to repent because
of the imminence of the Lord’s Day (Joel 1:15). The people had forsaken the Lord,
and the Lord had promised a day in which He will judge them (Joel 1:15).
This judgment had already begun to take place in some measure (Joel 1:11-13).
Like in Joel’s day, the Lord has also a day in which He will judge
all mankind (Acts 17:31; cf. 2 Cor. 5:10). The most appropriate response
to the Lord’s Day to day as in Joel’s day is to repent and
turn to Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38-39; Acts 3:19-20). Anyone who refuses
to heed the call to repent will be condemned on that day (cf. Jn. 3:18).
For the repentant, the Lord’s Day is a day of salvation and joy.
For the unrepentant, it is a day of destruction and doom (see Joel 1:15).
As in the days of Joel, the need to repent is so urgent today, especially
in view of the imminence of the Lord’s Day (Acts 17:31; 2 Cor.
5:10). No one is truly ready for that day unless he repents and turns
to Christ (Acts 2:38-39; Acts 3:19-20).
PRAYER: 1. Father, please enable me to repent of
all my sins.
2. Father, take away whatever hinders me from repenting of all my
sins.
17 April
Deut. 30:7
The Lord takes care of the enemies of His obedient children
In his farewell address, Moses told the Israelites
that one of the blessings of returning to the Lord and obeying Him
with all their heart
and soul
was that the Lord will take the curses for disobedience from them
and put them on their enemies instead (Deut. 30:7). When they returned
to the Lord and obeyed Him with all their heart and souls, they were
no
longer going to be subject to the Lord’s curses for disobedience
(Deut. 28:15-68). Those curses will instead be put on their enemies (Deut.
30:7). This is true for us today as well. We do not have to bother about
our enemies. What we need to bother about is to return to the Lord and
obey Him with all our heart and soul. Our return to Him and complete
obedience will make Him deal adequately with our enemies on our behalf.
We need not fight for ourselves. All we need to do is to return to God
and obey Him with all our hearts and souls, and He will take care of
our enemies for us (Deut. 28:1-2, 7). Our responsibility is to return
to God and obey Him with all our heart and soul (Deut. 6:5; Deut. 28:1-2).
It is God’s responsibility to deal satisfactorily with our
enemies on our behalf (Deut. 28:7). The key to victory over our enemies
is
therefore our returning to God and obeying Him with all our heart
and soul (Deut.
28:1-2, 7).
PRAYER: 1. Father, please enable me to return to you
and obey you with all my heart
and soul.
2. Fathers, please deal with my enemies for me.
18 April
Ps. 11:4-7
Why the Lord hates the wicked
Why does the Lord hate the wicked? This passage gives
a most satisfying explanation (Ps. 11:7). According to this passage,
the Lord hates the
wicked because He
is righteous and loves justice (Ps. 11:7). The Lord is righteous and just
in His
being and has nothing to do with wickedness (Ps. 119:137-138;Ps.145:17).
The wicked have nothing in common with Him, thus His hatred of them
(see Rom. 8:7-8;
Jam. 4:4-5). In order to take away God’s enmity, the ground for the
enmity must be removed (Is. 55:7; Ezek. 18:21-23). The wicked must turn
from his wickedness
to God (Is. 55:7; Ezek. 18:21-23). The Lord does not delight in the death
of the wicked but in their repentance to life (Ezek. 18:23). The enmity
between
God and the wicked will not be removed unless the latter forsakes his ways
and returns to God wholeheartedly (Is. 55:7).
PRAYER: 1. Father, please make me just and righteous
like you.
2. Father, please take away whatever hinders me from being just and
righteous like you.
19 April
The Lord prospers those who return to Him and obey Him
During his farewell address to the Israelites, Moses
told them that when they returned to the Lord and obeyed Him with
all their heart
and soul, the Lord
will make them not just prosperous, but most prosperous, in all aspects of
life, including
family and business (Deut.30:1-5, 9-10). The Lord to whom they returned will
do it (Deut. 30:9-10). The promise applies exclusively to those who return
to the Lord and obey him with all their heart and soul (Deut.30:1-5,9-10;
cf. Lev.
26:3-13; Deut. 28:1-14). The disobedient are not entitled to the Lord’s
blessings but curses (Lev. 26:14-39; Deut. 28:15-68; Ps. 1:4-6). Once again the
Scripture here ties or links God’s own prosperity to our returning to Him
and obeying Him with all our heart and soul (Deut. 30:1-5,9-10;Lev.26:3-13; Deut.28:1-14;
Ps.1:1-3). The decree is the same for us as it was for the Israelites of that
time. The Lord’s own blessings are ours when we return to Him and obey
Him with all our heart and soul (Deut.30:1-5,9-10,Lev.26:3-13;Deut.28:1-14).
Therefore, if we desire His own blessings, which cover all aspects of life,
then we must return to Him and obey Him with all our heart and soul (Deut.
30:1-5,
9-10; Lev. 26:3-13; Deut:28:1-14). We forgo His blessings when we refuse
to return to Him and obey Him with all our heart and soul (Lev.26:14-39;
Deut.
28:15-68;
Ps. 1:4-6).
PRAYER: 1. Father, please enable me to return to you
and obey you with all my heart
and soul.
2. Father, please make me most prosperous in all aspects of my life.
20 April
Deut. 30:15-20
The two choices before humanity
In his farewell address to the Israelites before his
death, Moses set two clear choices before them namely, the choice
of life and prosperity
and that of
death and destruction (Deut. 30:15, 19). The choice of life and prosperity
is made
when one chooses to love the Lord, walk in His ways and keep His commands,
decrees and laws (Deut. 30:16). The choice of death and destruction is
made when one
turns his heart away from the Lord to worship other gods and disobey
Him (Deut. 30:17-18). As one would expect, Moses recommended life
for them (Deut.
30:19-20).
This is another instance in which the Scripture makes the same point
that the Lord’s blessings belong to the obedient (see Lev.
26:3-13; Deut. 28:1-14; Deut. 30:9-10), while the disobedient are
objects not of His blessings but
curses (Lev. 26:14-39; Deut. 28:15-68; Ps. 1:4-6). These same choices
are also set before
us today. In fact, all of humanity will continue to be faced with these
two choices till the end of the age. The choice that Moses recommended
for them
is the right
and worthwhile choice for us today as well (Deut. 30:19-20). It is indeed
wise to choose life and prosperity (cf. Prov. 1:7). On the other
hand, it is foolish
to choose death and destruction (see Ps. 14:1). How to choose one or
the other is clearly spelt out (Deut. 30:15-18).
PRAYER: 1. Father, please enable me to love you, to
walk in your ways, and to obey
your commands, decrees, and laws wholeheartedly.
2. Father, please keep my heart from turning away from you to other gods
and from disobeying you.
3. Father, please do give me live and prosperity.
21 April
2 Thess. 1:6-10
The nature of God’s pay back for persecutors
God has promised that He will pay back those who persecute
and afflict the Thessalonian believers (2 Thess.1:6). But what form
will this pay
back take?
Here Paul explains
that they will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from
God’s
presence and majesty (2 Thess.1:8-10). This means that their eternal place will
be in the lake of fire, not in God’s kingdom (Rev.20:15; Rev.21:8). This
is also true for all believers. This is a dreadful price to pay for persecuting
and afflicting God’s children. The persecutions and afflictions people
carry out against believers will earn them nothing but an eternal place
in hell (Rev.20:15; Rev.21:8). However, those who persecute and afflict
believers
can
be forgiven and spared of this eternal punishment if they turn from their
acts to Christ (Acts 2:38-39; Acts 3:19-20; Rom. 10:9-10). However, should
they
refuse to turn from their acts to Christ and persist in them, then this
everlasting destruction and separation from God will come to pass for them
(see Heb. 10:26-31).
PRAYER: 1. Father, please enable me to endure all
suffering.
2. Father, please enable me to entrust all judgments to you alone.
22 April
Deut. 31:3-6
The Lord goes ahead of His children
Moses told the Israelites that although he will not
be able to lead them any longer (Deut. 31:1-2), the Lord himself
will cross over ahead
of them
(Deut.
31:3). They will not be crossing alone, but with the Lord ahead of them
(Deut. 31:3). The Lord will not only cross over with them but ahead
of them (Deut.
31:3). He will not cross ahead of them by proxy but by Himself (Deut.
31:3). The result
of the Lord crossing over ahead of them is victory and courage (Deut.
31:4-6). The Lord does the same for His children today. He has promised
to be with
us who belong to Him (Matt. 28:20). In fact, His presence is one of the
benefits of belonging to Him. He is not only present with us but
goes ahead of us
in
every matter that concerns us (cf. Acts 18:9-11). And the result for
us as well is
victory and courage (Deut. 31:3-6). Believers can surely count on His
presence wherever they may be and whatever they may do (see Matt.
28:20; cf. Ps. 139:7-12).
Believers are never ever alone at any moment in time (Matt. 28:20; Deut.
31:8; see Dan. 3:24-25). With the assurance of the Lord’s presence,
our victory and courage are assured (Deut. 31:3-6).
PRAYER: 1. Father, please go over ahead of me in
everything, always.
2. Father, please fight for me against all my enemies.
3. Father, please give me victory and courage over my enemies.
4. Father, please give me possession of all that you ordained or
destined for
me.
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