Daily Encouragement

April 16 – Revive Us Again!

TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
Joshua 13:1-14:15
Luke 18:1-17
Psalm 85:1-13
Proverbs 13:7-8

Joshua 13:1 — A pastor and his wife called their kids together to let them know that the mother was expecting once again. Growing up with the KJV, one of the kids replied, “But mother, you’re well stricken in years!” We’ve seen Moses lead and pass on, and now it’s Joshua’s time to pass on. But there is still work to be done!

Joshua 14:6 — Notice some things about Caleb’s request of Joshua – he was asking for the scariest part of Canaan – the land of the children of Anak that scared off the other ten spies (Numbers 13:22). We have here an …

  • Old promise (Joshua 14:6) given to an …
  • Old man (Joshua 14:10) who was eventually buried in an …
  • Old tomb (Genesis 23:19, Genesis 25:9, Genesis 49:30, Genesis 50:13) … this was where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were buried 450 years ago!

Because of Caleb’s faithfulness, he regained the burial place of the Patriarchs and the monument to God’s faithfulness to His people. He left his descendants a legacy:

  • Place of refuge (Joshua 21:13)
  • Place of Miracles (Judges 16:3)
  • Throne of David (2 Samuel 2:11)

Joshua 14:12 — As we talked about earlier, Caleb waited 45 years to take the mountain. That inspired the song:

I want that mountain! I want that mountain!
Where the milk and honey flow, where the grapes of Eshcol grow,
I want that mountain! I want that mountain!
The mountain that my Lord has given me.

Luke 18:1 — From FaithLife:

GEORGE MUELLER, the great Victorian Christian and social reformer, tells a story of persistent prayer in his diary:

In November 1844, I began to pray for the conversion of five individuals. I prayed every day without a single intermission, whether sick or in health, on the land, on the sea, and whatever the pressure of my engagements might be. Eighteen months elapsed before the first of the five was converted. I thanked God and prayed on for the others. Five years elapsed, and then the second was converted. I thanked God for the second, and prayed on for the other three. Day by day, I continued to pray for them, and six years passed before the third was converted. I thanked God for the three, and went on praying for the other two. These two remained unconverted.

Thirty-six years later he wrote that the other two, sons of one of Mueller’s friends, were still not converted. He wrote, “But I hope in God, I pray on, and look for the answer. They are not converted yet, but they will be.” In 1897, fifty-two years after he began to pray daily, without interruption, for these two men, they were finally converted—but after he died! Mueller understood what Luke meant when he introduced a parable Jesus told about prayer, saying, “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1).

Are you crying day and night to Him?

Psalm 85:6 — Revive us again!

We praise Thee, O God!
For the Son of Thy love,
For Jesus Who died,
And is now gone above.

Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Hallelujah! Amen.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Revive us again.

Proverbs 13:7 — Riches are not obtained by accumulation.

Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *