Your Refreshing Daily Devotional

Joshua demonstrated authentic leadership. From when he took over from Moses, he focused on his assignment to possess the land and distribute it by lot among the children of Israel. He did not try to appropriate anything for himself. Our text reveals that it was after everyone got their inheritance that the children of Israel turned round to give him an inheritance out of their portion. The next verse gives us the exact location of the land given to him; it was in Timnath-Serah in Mount Ephraim. The word “Timnath” is interesting; it means that which remains. A good leader may be first in service, but he waits to be served out of only what remains.

A good leader may be first in service, but he waits to be served out of only what remains…Jesus served and died to give us our inheritance in God. It is high time we gave Him His due inheritance as well. That inheritance is worship.

Now, Joshua remains one of the Old Testament characters who foreshadowed Jesus Christ. To begin with, the name means Jehovah saved. Literally, it means a saviour. So he resembled Jesus both in name and mission. Besides this, he also reflected Jesus in attitude. We just observed that he did not use his privileged position to arrogate anything to himself. “For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.” Luke 22:27 NKJV. Jesus served and died to give us our inheritance in God. It is high time we gave Him His due inheritance as well. That inheritance is worship.

The lead scripture today provides a clear lesson on the importance of relying completely on the Lord to guide us to a logical conclusion. On hearing about the birth of Jesus, wise men came to look for Him. God led them supernaturally through a star in the sky all the way from the East until they came to the land of Israel. I have no doubt that the star knew that the Child was not in Jerusalem but Bethlehem. This is proven conclusively from our text as the same star eventually led them all the way through when they came out of the King’s court. The question is this: how did they end up in Jerusalem at first? I believe they shifted focus from the star that had guided them earlier. They tuned in to human reasoning.  They must have reasoned that if a King was born, the right place to find him would be in the King’s palace. As long as they reasoned that way, they entered a blind spot where God could no longer lead them. Whenever we shift to the flesh, the Holy Spirit becomes inactive.

Whenever we shift to the flesh, the Holy Spirit becomes inactive…We can’t take a bit of the Spirit and a bit of the flesh and hope for a positive outcome.

Whenever we approach God for anything, we must do so wholeheartedly. Half measure approach will not deliver positive results. The Lord is able to finish any work He started provided we allow Him, and remain attuned to the Spirit. The problem many people have is that they try to mix a bit of flesh with the doings of the Spirit, and the two cannot mix. Paul penned down an important truth for the Galatians, that the flesh and the Spirit lust against one another. He also questioned how they hoped to finish in the flesh what they had started in the Spirit. We can’t take a bit of the Spirit and a bit of the flesh and hope for a positive outcome.

Joseph’s story clearly demonstrates that those who are angry may soon switch to murderous intent. In two successive verses, we noticed the reasons why Joseph’s brothers hated him. Genesis 37:4 records that they noticed that their father had a liking for Joseph, and understandably so. He was a child of his old age, born after years of agonizing wait, and that coming from a beloved wife. Joseph’s brethren did not find that acceptable. Here comes Joseph again, sharing a dream which put him in a position of authority over his brethren. That took his brothers’ hatred for him to a new level. Unfolding events showed their plans to eliminate him.

Anger and hatred can be described as the two sides of the same coin. In all probability, you will detest what gets you angry and be angry about what you detest…Sin works as a web! Failure to conquer one at onset creates root for others to flourish.

Anger and hatred can be described as the two sides of the same coin. In all probability, you will detest what gets you angry and be angry about what you detest. Cain was angry because Abel’s offering was accepted by God and his own turned down. That culminated in the first murder case recorded. It is in this light too that we can recall the relationship between Saul and David. The moment Saul noticed that the women were singing the praise of the young champion, hatred welled up in him, and he began to seek ways to kill David. Murder is next door neighbor to hatred! John could not have put it in a better way when he said, “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1John 3:15). Envy was the root of the hatred which Jacob’s sons showed towards their brother, as was the case between Cain and Abel, and Saul and David. Sin works as a web! Failure to conquer one at onset creates root for others to flourish.

I watched a stock market analyst taking his audience through a case study. He picked a man who invested in the shares of an old generation bank in 2007. The investor put in about three hundred and seventy one thousand Naira to buy the shares. About 19 years later, the value of his investment stood at about two million nine hundred and fifty one Naira (#2,951,000.00) only. The goal of the analysis was to determine if the investment has created wealth for the investor, protected his investment, and conquered inflation. The answer was no. Adjusting for inflation, there is no real value in the man’s investment.

Investing in heaven frees us from distractions of this world. When we give to the poor, we invest in heaven…Giving for mission or any other thing that advances the kingdom of God are safe investments.

Jesus spoke about the treasures of this world, that they are prone to many dangers.  They may be destroyed by moth or preyed on by thieves. Alternatively, their values could drop as with the case under review. On the other hand, treasures laid up in heaven are beyond the reach of destructive forces that are common to earth. This is where our treasures should be. Treasures stored up in heaven are not only secured, but they also help in re-directing our focus. A man’s heart will certainly be focused where he has his investment. Investing in heaven frees us from distractions of this world. When we give to the poor, we invest in heaven. The Bible says that giving to the poor equates to lending to the Lord, and it comes with the assurance of reward. Giving for mission or any other thing that advances the kingdom of God are safe investments.

A cardinal key to success that you will find in all the scriptures is the presence of the Lord. However you interpret it, the presence of the Lord will always culminate into divine help. It is God’s input into the affairs of men which cannot be discounted. Whether it is Isaac weathering through famine, Jacob triumphing over the wiles of Laban, or Joseph overcoming the odds to become a leader in Egypt, God’s input remains a common denominator. This reality has not changed even now. Divine input into our affairs can come in a wide variety of ways, but one critical aspect involves guidance. God’s guidance serves as light. Job in his days of adversity reminisced on the season of his life when he enjoyed prosperity. It is interesting to note that he described that prosperous season as a time when he walked by God’s light. “Oh, that I were as in months past, As in the days when God watched over me; When His lamp shone upon my head, And when by His light I walked through darkness”Job 29:2-3 NKJV.

Divine input into our affairs can come in a wide variety of ways, but one critical aspect involves guidance. God’s guidance serves as light.

Darkness is antithetical to progress; it impedes speed and also makes for stumbling. To avoid these dangers, God has fitted everyone with a candle. Our passage describes this candle as the “spirit of man”. This candle is lit when we give attention to reading and meditation in the word of God. We must keep in mind that the word of God itself is described as lamp and light. Psalm 1 clearly associates success with meditation in the word of God. Not only will the word of God supply you with the direction to follow, it will also energize you to follow through. If a man will keep pace with his spirit that is lit by the word and follow every prompt, such will never stumble or fail.

A comforting truth that all believers should revel in is the fact that God is sovereign. His sovereignty implies that He has what it takes to redeem every condition to fit into His original plan. This is one solid ground we have to commit everything to Him in prayer. Prayer is like commissioning God to work things out for our benefit and His glory. Learning to shape everything that comes our way into prayers is the route to staying happy and blessed.

Prayer is like commissioning God to work things out for our benefit and His glory. Learning to shape everything that comes our way into prayers is the route to staying happy and blessed…The greater the challenge we are confronting, the more we should be fervent in prayer.

The writing of James on prayer is also an affirmation of this truth. He describes prayer as God’s prescription for our woes. “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms” James 5:13 NKJV. In difficult moments, human beings are tempted to complain, grow cold and bitter. However, God desires that His children would go about it differently by praying. Jesus showed us an example in this. When He was faced with the agony of the impending Cross, He prayed. For Jesus, the imminent agony was an occasion to be more earnest in prayer. The greater the challenge we are confronting, the more we should be fervent in prayer. Given the fact that everyone has their load of care, prayer should be the most ardent of spiritual exercises that people engage in. We should be inspired to pray over all things because it is God Himself who invites us to cast all burdens on Him. If He would not answer, He wouldn’t ask us to pray in the first place.