Scripture Union Daily Guide 20 August 2024 For Today’s Devotional (Tuesday) Forgiven And Restored!
TOPIC: FORGIVEN AND RESTORED!
OPENING PRAYER: Let me know more of you today dear Lord as I meditate on your word.
Before you continue Study Yesterday’s Devotional: Scripture Union Daily Guide 19 August 2024
SCRIPTURE: JOSHUA 8:1-17
8 And the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land:
2 And thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves: lay thee an ambush for the city behind it.
3 So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai: and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valour, and sent them away by night.
4 And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city: go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready:
5 And I, and all the people that are with me, will approach unto the city: and it shall come to pass, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them,
6 (For they will come out after us) till we have drawn them from the city; for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first: therefore we will flee before them.
7 Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize upon the city: for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand.
8 And it shall be, when ye have taken the city, that ye shall set the city on fire: according to the commandment of the Lord shall ye do. See, I have commanded you.
9 Joshua therefore sent them forth: and they went to lie in ambush, and abode between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among the people.
10 And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and numbered the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.
11 And all the people, even the people of war that were with him, went up, and drew nigh, and came before the city, and pitched on the north side of Ai: now there was a valley between them and Ai.
12 And he took about five thousand men, and set them to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.
13 And when they had set the people, even all the host that was on the north of the city, and their liers in wait on the west of the city, Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley.
14 And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hasted and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at a time appointed, before the plain; but he wist not that there were liers in ambush against him behind the city.
15 And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.
16 And all the people that were in Ai were called together to pursue after them: and they pursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city.
17 And there was not a man left in Ai or Bethel, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel.
Question(s) for Reflection
* Q 1: What does the passage teach about God the Father, or God the Son or God the Holy Spirit?
Scripture Union Daily Guide 20 August 2024 Outline:
Having dealt with the sin in Chapter 7, God, in v.1, dealt with the discouragement that the loss of battle had caused (see 7:5b). Failure in some areas of our lives does not mean we are complete failure even when the failure is caused by our own sinfulness. When we confess and truly repent from our sin, God does not only forgive us but cleanses us and restores us to our place (1 John 1:9). Confession is powerful!
Unlike Jericho where the soldiers simply marched around the city several times and the wall fell, Ai was defeated through a more traditional military operation. Yet it is the same God who planned both operations and both were equally successful.
God does not have to use one formula to deal with every situation or individual. This time, what was to be done to the plunder (vs.2; compare 6:18 and 7:1)? Is there something you badly want, and you feel it’s taking too long to come? Remember God’s timing is the best.
Practice/Word Application
Reflection: The people of Ai, because of their earlier victory, thought they still had the upper hand over Israel (vs.6,14-17). What does this say about the importance of reflection and evaluation after success or failure?
* Any new insight or reinforcement of what you already know?
Closing Prayer
Father, help me to always return to you for fresh instructions and anointing.
You Can Connect to Rhapsody of Realities for Today’s Lesson Here: Rhapsody of Realities 20th August 2024: We’re the Limbs of Christ
Offer a prayer of faith in line with Romans 15:13
“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading Plan: Day 233- Jeremiah 41-45
NATIONAL PRAYER BULLETIN 20TH AUGUST 2024
PRAYER FOCUS
STAFF SPOUSES
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Ps 46:1
THANK GOD FOR:
‣ The lives of the spouses of all the staff and the support they give to their husbands.
PRAY FOR:
‣ Grace and strength to continue to play their roles in the family as help- meet to their spouses, caring parents to their children, strong pillars to their spouses’ ministries.
‣ Preservation, protection and provision for their family members and their children to know the Lord and excel in life.
PRAY AGAINST:
‣ Every distraction and discouragement.
