Mon.’s Devo - The Promise of His Presence

Mon.’s Devo - The Promise of His Presence 6-11-18
Read: 1 Kings 8:1-66; Acts 7:51-8:13; Psalm 129:1-8; Proverbs 17:1
It is the feast of Tabernacles and time to bring up the ark of the Lord and let the Lord tabernacle with his people. This dream had been in David’s heart but now was manifested in the flesh in Solomon’s reign. This is a prophetic picture of the end time when we will reign with God literally being in his presence. He is in our hearts now as he was in David’s. Solomon even had a hard time believing God would dwell on earth (verse 27) but he knew that God had promised that his Name would be there. No matter what happened to them, Solomon established that God in his temple was the place to go to to find the answers. He was the one who would deliver, judge, bless, heal, forgive and save and that never changes.
In Acts, Stephen is at the end of his speech. He accused the spiritual leaders of being as blind as all the ones who had gone before them. The spiritual leaders had killed all of God’s prophets and refused to listen to their rebukes. He called them stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears. He asked them why they always resisted the Holy Spirit like their fathers. Stephen was not a people-pleaser and he didn’t love his life unto death. Stephen was sold out to the truth and was stoned for it.
Stephen prayed the same prayer that Jesus prayed when he died. He forgave his murderers and prayed mercy for them.
They laid his clothes at the feet of Saul. Little did he know that it was really Stephen’s mantle that was laid at his feet and he would one day pick it up and continue Stephen’s work.
Persecution was bumped up and so was the power of God. So much that a sorcerer coveted this power he was seeing the apostles do and started believing in the power of God. He followed Phillip wherever he went astonished.
When the church starts doing the works of Jesus, then the New Age community will take note.
Lord, thank you for your presence in our lives. Thank you that the temple of the Holy Spirit is within us. May we pick up the mantle you have for us and continue the work of the Spirit.