Mon.’s Devo - Our Source of Grace

Read: 2 Kings 4:18-27, Acts 15:1-35, Ps. 14:1-10, Pr. 17:23 The woman of Shunem was a woman of great insight and faith. She had perceived that Elijah was a prophet and willingly built him a place to stay asking nothing in return. When the son he promised her died she refused to let anyone know till she had spoken to Elijah first. Her response to everyone else was always that everything was all right, even when it wasn’t. She was putting her faith in the only one who could help her and he was the only one she was going to tell the truth to. We need to have this kind of faith. The first person we run to needs to be the one who can do something about it…our Source. The servant of Naaman’s knew where the source could be found also. Elijah wasn’t God, he was the one who was carrying God’s power. When people recognize the power of God in you, they will come to you. We can learn a lesson from Gehazi. He had been a faithful servant of Elijah’s for years and must have gotten tired of seeing the power that Elijah possessed go unrewarded. He let the physical reward blind him to the truth. A gift or position that God gives us is not for our gain, it is for the kingdom’s gain. It cost Gehazi his health. In Acts, the Jews must have been jealous of the Gentiles coming into their kingdom of God. They had not fully understand the new dispensation they were now in and tried to bring the old with them. They wanted the Gentiles to have to go through what they had to go through to come to God. They wanted the Gentiles to have to be circumcised and follow the law. They were now free from all that, but somehow they wanted the Gentiles to have to go through what they had had to suffer. The apostles received God’s wisdom and explained that now to enter the kingdom it just takes faith. Thank God! Lord, thank you for the freedom of grace and mercy that we live in. Thank you that our salvation doesn’t depend on what we have done to deserve it, but it has to do with what You have done. We are grateful!