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Monday 13th April, 2015
Deut. 30:1-5
The Lord restores those who return to Him
Moses told the Israelites, that if they returned to God and obeyed Him
with all their heart and soul after they have forsaken Him, He will restore
their fortunes, have compassion on them and bring them back to their
land (Deut. 30:1-5). They must return with all their heart (Deut. 30:2).
When they do so, the Lord will gather them from wherever He scattered
them (Deut. 30:3-4). This is an everlasting decree. The decree is the same
for us today as it was for them. Forsaking the Lord and disobeying Him is
the reason for the Lord’s displeasure and wrath (Deut. 11:28; Deut. 28:1568). Returning to Him with all of one’s heart is the basis or condition for
forgiveness and restoration (Duet. 11:27; Deut. 28:1-14; Ps. 119:2; Acts
3:19-20). There is neither forgiveness nor restoration for those who persist
in forsaking and disobeying the Lord (Deut. 11:28; Deut. 28:15-68; Heb.
10:26-31).
PRAYER: 1. Father, please enable me to return to you and obey you with
all my heart and soul.
2. Father, please restore all my fortunes according to your
promise.
Tuesday 14th April, 2015
2 Thess. 1:6-7
God’s pay back time for the persecuted
Believers often worry about when God will avenge their persecutors and
tormentors (see Rev. 6:9-11). Here, Paul indicates the time when God will
do so for the Thessalonian believers (2 Thess. 1:6-7). According to him,
this pay back will take place at the second coming of Jesus Christ (2
Thess. 1:6-7; cf. Acts 17:31). Does Paul mean that those who persecute and
afflict the Thessalonian believers will not receive God’s pay back in any
form until they receive it at Jesus’ return? Paul’s focus is on the fullness of
God’s pay back which will take place when Jesus returns. Those who
persecute the Thessalonian believers are already objects of God’s wrath
(cf. Rom. 1:18-19). But the fullness of God’s pay back against them will
take place when Jesus returns. This is applicable to all believers who may
be persecuted and afflicted. God will pay back those who persecute and
afflict them fully when Jesus returns. Even if God does not pay them back
fully now, He will certainly do so when Jesus returns (see Acts 17:31; 2
Cor. 5:10). But as vengeance is His, so is its timing (see Rom. 12:17-21).
Suffering believers must leave not only vengeance but its timing to God
(Rom. 12:17-21; 1 Pet. 2:21-23).
PRAYER: 1. Father, please take care of all who persecute and afflict me.
2. Father, please enable me to entrust all vengeance to you.
Wednesday 15th April, 2015
Deut. 30:6
The Lord circumcises His children’s hearts
In his farewell address to the Israelites, Moses told them that the Lord
will circumcise their hearts and those of their descendants when they
return to Him and obey Him with all their heart and soul after forsaking
Him (Deut. 30:6). Their life depended on it (Deut. 30:6). A circumcised
heart is one that yields completely to God (see Deut. 6:5; cf. Deut. 10:16;
Deut. 30:6). The purpose for circumcising their hearts is to enable them to
love the Lord with all their heart and soul (Deut. 30:6). An uncircumcised
heart cannot please God (see Rom. 8:7-8). Only a circumcised heart can
please Him (Deut. 30:6). The Lord requires a circumcised heart (Deut.
10:16). Our life depends on it (see Deut. 30:6). But no one can circumcise
his own heart. Only the Lord can circumcise it (Deut. 30:6). If anyone
desires to have a circumcised heart as the Lord requires (Deut. 10:16), he
must return to the Lord and obey Him with all his heart and soul (Deut.
30:1-5). Once this is done, the Lord will do the other. The Lord will not
circumcise the heart that is unwilling to return to Him and obey Him
fully.
PRAYER: 1. Father, please enable me to return to you and obey you with
all my heart and soul.
2. Father, please circumcise my heart.
Thursday 16th April, 2015
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.
Friday 17th April, 2015
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.
Saturday 18th April, 2015
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.
Sunday 19th April, 2015
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. 26:1439; 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.