26 March
Josh. 6:18-19; Josh. 7:10-13
What is devoted to God belongs to Him

God commanded the Israelites to keep away from things devoted to Him when they took Jericho (Josh. 6:18). These included silver, gold and articles of bronze and iron (Josh. 6:19). God told them that they will be liable to destruction if they took these things (Josh. 6:18). Achan took some of them (Josh. 7:1) and was stoned to death, along with his family (Josh. 7:24:26).Things devoted to God belong to Him and are wholly sacred unto Him (Josh. 6:19). To take even a part or portion of it is to sin, steal, and break the covenant (Josh. 7:11). God does not tolerate taking what belongs to Him (Josh.7:24-26; cf. 1 Sam.2:27-36). It has never been well with anyone who is guilty of taking that which belongs to God (Josh. 7:24-26; 1 Sam. 2:27-36). Church funds and property are things devoted to God. All of creation also belong to Him (Ps. 24:1-2). But the greatest and most important thing that is devoted to God is our life. The best thing for anyone who has taken what belongs to God to do is to remove and return it (Josh. 7:13). There can be no victory or success while keeping or withholding what belongs to God (Josh. 7:10-12; cf. Ps. 1:4-6). It is only by removing and returning that which belongs to God that our victory or success is guaranteed (Josh. 7:10-13).

PRAYER: 1. Father, please keep me away from taking, keeping or withholding whatever is devoted to you.
2. Father, please enable me to remove and return to you all that is devoted
to you in my life.

27 March
Amos 1:3-5
The reason for God’s judgment

The Lord gives reason why He intends to judge Damascus (Amos 1:3). Damascus is held to account because of her actions (Amos 1:3). The Lord’s promised judgment upon Damascus is therefore not unjustified (Amos 1:3; cf. Is. 8:5-10). Damascus was deserving of God’s judgment due to her actions as a nation (Amos 1:3). The Lord has never ever been unjust in His judgments. On the contrary, He has ever been just in all His judgments (Ps. 9:7-8). If anyone comes under His judgment, the blame is not due to God but to him. As far as God’s judgment is concerned, we always get what we deserve. Anyone who desires mercy must turn from sin to Him through Jesus Christ (Prov. 28:13; Acts 2:38-39). Anyone who persists in sin can only expect God’s judgment not mercy (Heb. 10:26-27).

PRAYER: 1. Father, please forgive all my sins.
2. Father, please overcome all my sins for me.

28 March
Joshua 6:27
God alone makes one famous

Joshua attained fame because God was with him (Josh. 6:29). It was the presence of the Lord with him that brought him fame (Josh. 6:27). His fame was a direct result of the Lord’s presence with him (Josh. 6:27). Joshua would not have had the fame he did if God was not with him (Josh. 6:27). Thus, it was the Lord who gave him fame (Joshua 6:27). It was God who made him famous (Josh. 6:27). And the kind of fame He gave him was both national and international (Josh. 6:27). God did the same for Solomon several years latter (I Chron. 29:25). It is the teaching of Scripture that fame comes from God (1 Sam. 2:6-8; Ps. 75:7). God alone has the power and strength to give fame (1 Chron. 29:12; Ps. 75:6-7). According to the Scripture, no man from the east or the west or from the desert can make one famous, except the Lord (Ps. 75:6-7). Thus, the sole path to fame is through Him (Ps. 75:6-7). It is vain to seek fame through any other means (Ps. 75:6-7). Anyone who desires fame must seek it from Him alone (Ps. 75:6-7). But one must first make Him his God and Lord and live for Him alone, for He only gives fame to those who are truly His own and are fully obedient to Him (see Ps. 75:10; Ps. 92:12-15; Deut. 28:1-14; cf. Phil.2:5-11)

PRAYER: 1. Father, please make me famous as you made Joshua
2. Father, please enable me to trust you alone for my fame and upliftment.

29 March
2 Thess. 1:5
The benefit of Christian suffering

Paul states that the Thessalonian believers will be counted worthy of God’s kingdom as a result of their perseverance and faith under suffering (2 Thess. 1:5).The Scripture makes this same assertion repeatedly, that whoever stands firm to the end while undergoing suffering, will receive the kingdom (Jam.1:12; Rev.2:7; Rev.3:12).Therefore the Kingdom of God belongs to those who persevere under suffering. There is no place whatever in the Kingdom for those who renounce Jesus Christ under suffering. Therefore, suffering is not in vain for believers who persevere under it. Those who suffer in vain are those who refuse to persevere and stand firm under it. The prize awaiting those who stand firm in suffering is incomparable with all their persecutions and trials (Rom.8:18; cf. 2 Cor. 4:17). The prize is indeed worth standing firm for.

PRAYER: 1. Father, please enable me to persevere in suffering.
2. Father, please take away whatever hinders me from persevering in suffering.

30 March
Jos. 8:1
No fear and discouragement with God

Ai was part of the Promised land which Joshua needed to conquer. Joshua was to face Ai in battle, and fear was natural, especially in view of Ai’s earlier victory over the Israelites due to Achan’s sin (Jos. 7:2-5). But God commanded Joshua not to fear or be discouraged because He has delivered the land, the king, and the people of Ai into his hands (Jos. 8:1). There is no basis for fear or discouragement because the Lord has already given him victory in the battle (Jos. 8:1). The assurance of God’s victory made fear and discouragement on Joshua’s part completely unnecessary (Jos. 8:1). If we have God with us as Joshua did (Jos.1:5), then we are entitled to the same assurance like him (Jos. 8:1). The Lord indeed holds the key to our victory and courage (Ps. 60:12; Ps. 44:4-8). With Him, we do not only have the victory (Ps. 46:12; Ps. 44:4-8), with Him, all fear is gone (Ps. 46:1-2; Ps. 3:5-6). Therefore, with the Lord on our side, there is no basis for fear or discouragement whatever (Ps. 46:12; Ps. 44:4-8). It is His help that is dependable, whereas the help of man is wholly worthless (Ps.60:11; Ps. 146:3-4; Ps. 44:6). Like Joshua, we must make Him alone our God, live completely for Him, and depend wholly on Him for our victory and courage (Jos. 24:14-15). Blessed indeed is the one who makes the Lord alone his God and lives for Him alone and depends on Him alone (see Ps. 146:5-10; Rom. 10:11). With God , our victory and courage are assured, as was the case for Joshua and the Israelites (Jos. 8:1).

PRAYER: 1. Lord, please take away all fear and discouragement from my life.
2. Lord, please give me victory over all my enemies.

31 March
Joel 1:13-15
What repentance involves

When Joel called upon the people to repent, he called upon them to spend the night in sackcloth (Joel 1:13), declare a holy fast (Joel 1:14), call a sacred assembly (Joel 1:14), and cry out to the Lord (Joel 1:14). Further, he calls upon them to rend their hearts, and not their garments (Joel 2:13). It is only repentance that is from the heart that can turn away God’s wrath (see 1 Kgs. 8:46-51). Repentance that is not from the heart is no repentance at all. It is only the one who turns from sin to God with all his heart who can find Him and have his sins forgiven (Deut. 4:29). Unlike human beings, the Lord looks at the heart, not the outward appearance of men (1 Sam. 16:7). In fact, the Lord abhors those who come to Him with their mouths and lips instead of their hearts (see Is. 29:13-14). The Lord requires us to relate with Him with all our hearts (Deut. 6:5).

PRAYER: 1. Father, please enable me to be truly repentant.
2. Father, please take away whatever hinders me from being truly repentant.

1 April
Jos. 8:18
Victory comes from the Lord

God told Joshua that He will deliver the city of Ai into his hands (Jos. 8:18). He told Joshua exactly the same thing earlier on (Jos. 8:1). Joshua is to hold out his javelin towards the city, but it is the Lord who will deliver it into his hands (Jos. 8:18). It was neither Joshua’s javelin nor his army that brought the victory over the city, but the Lord (Jos. 8:18; cf. Jos. 8:1). Joshua would have had no victory over the city of Ai if the Lord did not grant it to him. Thus, here we find this fact once again, that it is not our weapons or fighting skills and strategy that gives us victory over our enemies, but the Lord (Ps. 44:1-7; cf. Deut. 20:4). Therefore, the best thing for us to do is to turn all our battles over to Him to fight them for us and give us the victory (see Deut. 20:4; Ps. 44:1-7). But we must first acknowledge and confess Him alone as our God and live in complete obedience to Him to be entitled to His victory (see Deut. 28:1-2, 7; Jos. 1:7-8). Those who do not acknowledge or confess Him as their God and are not living in full obedience to Him are not entitled to His victory but defeat (Deut. 28:15, 25).

PRAYER: 1. Father, please may you alone be my Lord and God.
2. Father, please fight all my battles for me and give me victory over all my enemies.

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