CAC Living Water Devotional For January 23, 2024 : Topic – TOPIC: WHAT DO YOU SEE?
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CHRIST APOSTOLIC CHURCH THE LIVING WATER (January-December, 2024)
DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE
DATE : Tuesday, January 23, 2024
TOPIC: WHAT DO YOU SEE?
MEMORISE
But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it (Numbers 14:24)
READ Numbers 14:20-38
[20] Then the Lord said: “I have pardoned, according to your word;
[21]. but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord—
[22]. because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice,
[23]. they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it.
[24]. But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.
[25]. Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valley; tomorrow turn and move out into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea.”
[26]. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
[27]. “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me.
[28]. Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you:
[29]. The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above.
[30]. Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in.
[31]. But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised.
[32]. But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness.
[33]. And your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness.
[34]. According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection.
[35]. I the Lord have spoken this. I will surely do so to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.’”
[36]. Now the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation complain against him by bringing a bad report of the land,
[37]. those very men who brought the evil report about the land, died by the plague before the Lord.
[38]. But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive, of the men who went to spy out the land.
EXPOSITION
Out of the 12 spies that explored Canaan, only two held distinctive visions and mission statements. All 12 spies were prominent leaders in their respective tribes and shared the same divine promise and experiences. However, the critical disparity lies in their internal views. The 10 spies exhibited a miserable attitude towards the mission, and their negative outlook was contagious among the people. They acknowledged that Canaan was indeed a land of abundance flowing with milk and honey. Still, they fixated on the presence of formidable giants, seeing themselves as insignificant grasshoppers in comparison.
Attitude makes all the difference. It determines our approach to life and reveals how effective our relationship with other people is. Although Joshua and Caleb took the very same trip and saw the same things witnessed by the other 10 spies, they returned with an enthusiastic, positive report. They saw Israel taking the land. They based their glowing report on God’s track record with the nation through the desert. They freely admitted the obstacles but knew nothing could stand in the way of God. They came back saying, “Yes there are giants in the land, but they’re midgets compared with our God. The attitude displayed at the beginning of a task will affect its outcome more than anything else. Joshua and Caleb stayed alive for new era, while the other 10 spies perished in the wilderness along with the rest of unbelieving adults. Faith comes by hearing but faith goes into action by saying! When the fruit of faith emerges, all oppositions submit.
SUGGESTED HYMN FOR TODAY:
CAC GHB: 628
1. Oh, for a faith that will not shrink
Though pressed by many foes
That will not tremble on the brink
Of poverty or woe.
2. That will not murmur nor complain
Beneath the chast’ning rod,
But, in the hour of grief or pain,
Can lean upon its God.
3. A faith that shines more bright and clear
When tempests rage without,
That when in danger knows no fear,
In darkness feels no doubt.
4. A faith that keeps the narrow way
Till life’s last spark is fled,
And with a pure and heav’nly ray
Lights up a dying bed.
5. Lord, give me such a faith as this,
And then, whate’er may come,
I taste e’en now the hallow’d bliss
Of an Eternal Home.
Amen.
PRAYER POINTS
1. Lord Jesus, deliver me from unbelief.
2. Open my spiritual eyes that I may see what others do not see, Oh Lord.
3. Pray for CAC Men Association, the Chairman and members as directed by the Spirit of God.
EXTRA READING FOR TODAY:
Exodus 14, 15, 16