Tue.’s Devo - Restoring the Temple

Read: 2 Chronicles 29:1-36; Romans 14:1-23; Psalm 24:1-10; Proverbs 20:12
Hezekiah started his reign running. He understood why Judah was like it was and how to change it to get God’s favor. He began by commanding the priests to open the doors of the house of the Lord and repair them. He did this on the first day of the year which is Roshashana. On this day, spiritually, the doors of heaven are opened and anyone can come in. It is the time of soul searching and repenting for the Jews. They believe that the doors of heaven close on the last day of the feast of Tabernacles and then it is too late to repent. The feast of tabernacles started on the 15th and went for 7 days. The priests finished sanctifying the temple on the 16th.
One day, these feasts will be literally fulfilled. Hezekiah was giving us the picture.
For the next days, the priests offered sacrifices and sang praises and worshipped the Lord. The king offered 7 bulls, 7 rams, 7 lambs, 7 goats. Seven means perfect; the perfect sacrifice was offered to the Lord by Hezekiah. Then the people brought so many animals to be sacrificed that the priests had to ask the Levites help them. God’s service in the Temple was reestablished and the people rejoiced. It is noted that this was done very quickly. When God gets ready to move, he does it suddenly.
In Romans, Paul talks about freedom and humbly loving one another. Not every Christian walks in the same freedom in Christ so the ones who are the freest need to honor the convictions of the weaker. Our freedom is not something we flaunt or judge another by but something that is personal to us. Everything we do should not be for anything but to honor God and his bride.
Lord, help us to walk in freedom but to love and respect other’s convictions. Help us to do everything to honor You.

Mon.’s Devo - Kings and Leaders

Read: 2 Chronicles 26:1-28:27; Romans 13:1-14; Psalm 23:1-6; Proverb 20:11
Amaziah’s life had not ended well. His sixteen year old son, Uzzah was made king. Uzzah means “he will strengthen”. He started out following the Lord under the leadership of Zechariah the prophet. As long as Zechariah was living, Uzzah had success. He defeated his enemies, rebuilt the wall that had been torn down during his father’s rule, restored the landscape and fortified his army and devised new weapons of war.
When he became famous and powerful, it all went to his head. His pride made him feel invincible so he decided he would burn incense in the temple like the priests. The priests tried to stop him but he broke out in rage against them as he was holding the censor to burn the incense. Immediately leprosy broke out on his head…the source of his pride. The priests saw it and rushed him out of the temple. The leprosy stayed with him till he died. His son, Jotham, had to take charge of running the palace and the land. He did what was right in God’s eyes, but the people did not. He grew powerful because of the favor of God and defeated his enemies and made them pay him tribute. He ruled sixteen years until he died and his son Ahaz became king. Ahaz means “possessor”. He was definitely possessed with the wrong spirit. He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and worshiped Baal and other idols. God handed him over to Aram who took many of his people prisoner to Damascus.
God turned him over to Israel who killed 120,000 of his soldiers in a day. Uzzah’s son, and his first commander were killed and 200,000 of his people were taken to Samaria. They were met by the prophet Oded who told them to send those captives back to Judah. He rebuked Israel for being just as evil as Judah and having no right to take their people. The leaders did not want to add any more guilt to what they already had so they tended to their wounds, clothed and fed them and sent them back to Judah.
Then, to add to their sins, Ahaz asked the Assyrians to come and help him fight the Edomites who had attacked them and carried some of their people away as prisoners. Instead of being help, the Assyrians came in and took things out of their temple but didn’t help them against the Edomites. Ahaz turned to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him. He thought he could get favor with their gods to help him.
It is amazing to see how walking away from the Lord clouds your thinking and you can’t make good decisions. Ahaz tried everything but God, who was the only one who could really help him.
Romans 13 speaks of the government of God. We don’t have to read long in the Kings and Chronicles to know that the way the leader goes, so goes the nation. We are wrong to think that just because a leader makes a law that we must follow it if it defies God’s laws. Our souls must be subject to the higher power because that is God’s (verse 1). The people that govern nations are put there by him to do his purpose. We obey the laws of the Lord and pray for God to take care of the leader.
As Christians, our job is to walk in the light and put on love. When we trust in the Lord as our Shepherd he will prepare a table for us in the presence of our enemies.
Surely goodness and love will follow us all the days of our lives and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Sun.’s Devo. - A Sad Ending to A Great Beginning

Read: 2 Chronicles 24:1-25:28; Romans 12:1-21; Psalm 22:19-31; Proverbs 20:8-10
Joash came to the kingdom at the age of seven. His name means “Jehovah has become man”. He was to be a picture of what Jesus would do when he came to earth. He and the priest, Jehoiadah worked hand in hand and restored the temple back to its original design and even stronger. They did it with the generous offerings of the people.
When Jehoiada died, it all went downhill. The people abandoned the temple of the Lord and God and started worshiping the Asherah’s and other idols.
God sent prophets to bring them back to the Lord, but they refused to listen. Jehoiada’s son, Zechariah finally stood before the people and told them that became they had abandoned Him, He had abandoned them. Joash had him stoned to death in the courtyard of the Temple.
God abandoned them which left them open to the enemy and they came in through the Armenean army. They defeated Judah with less men than Judah had. They killed all the leaders of the people, plundered their land and left Joash severely wounded. His own officers conspired against him and finished him off in his bed.
Joash’s son, Amaziah became the king and did what was right, but not with his whole heart. He had his father’s murderers killed but left their sons alive as the law said. He appointed new leaders for the families and drafted more men for his army. He also hired 100,000 warriors from Israel for 100 talents of silver.
After he had done this, God sent a prophet to tell him that these Israelites could not fight with them because they were God’s enemy and God would have to fight against them. The king was upset over the money he had used to pay them and the prophet answered, “The Lord can give you much more than that.”
Amaziah did what was right even though it seemed unwise - he sent the army from Israel home and took the financial loss. The men left dishonored and angry.
He then went to war against the Edomites and won a great victory. The angered Israelites caused havoc on their way home and killed 3,000 people and carried off their goods.
Amaziah fell when he brought back the gods of the Edomites and set them up as his own odds and burned sacrifices to them. God sent him a prophet to ask Amaziah why he would want their gods who couldn’t deliver them. The king had him silenced but not before he told him that God would destroy him for turning to the gods of Edom.
Amaziah set out to prove the prophecy wrong and picked a fight with Israel. Israel tried to warn him but he was blinded by pride. Israel totally defeated him, carried off the ark and much of the temple treasures and broke down the wall of Jerusalem. Amaziah was taken captive and was later killed when he tried to escape.
Paul tells us in Romans to have our mind renewed by the Holy Spirit. Then, we can walk in God’s grace and do what he has made us to do. We have all been given gifts according to the grace given us :prophecy, service, teaching, encouraging, giving, leading and mercy.
We do these with selfless love the kind that lays down it life for another. He gives us great practical advice on how to do this and sums it up with: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” A good reminder in our nation full of hate crimes.
Lord, help us to use the example of these kings to keep walking in righteousness to the very end of our lives. Help us to love with your love.

Sat.’s Devo - A Bad Branch

Read: 2 Chronicles 21:1-23:21; Romans 11:13-36; Psalm 22:1-18; Proverbs 20:7
The Chronicles are snippets of the kings lives. Jehoram’s snippets are not good. Here are a few: he killed all his brothers - men who God said were better than him. He walked in the way of Israel’s kings. He married a daughter or Ahab and did evil. He died in pain as his bowels fell out. When he died no one was sad. He was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings. What a sad obituary.
All of his sons had been killed by raiders except his youngest whose name was Ahaziah. His mother was the infamous Athaliah who was the grand daughter of Omri. Omri was Ahab’s father making Athaliah Ahab’s daughter.
She raised him to do evil like Israel was doing. Ahaziah was counseled to go to war with Israel against Syria. Israel’s king, Jehoram was hurt in the battle and went home to heal. Ahaziah went to visit Jehoram because he was sick and while he was there Jehu was being used by God to bring judgment on the house of Ahab. He killed Jehoram and chased Ahaziah till he caught and killed him. Ahaziah was buried only because his father Jehoshaphat had honored the Lord.
When Athaliah got news that Ahaziah had been killed she rose up and destroyed all the royal seed except the infant, Joash who was stolen away by his nurse, Jehoshabeath. The nurse was Jehoram’s (king of Israel) daughter and also Ahaziah’s (king of Judah) sister and also the priest - Jehoiada’s wife. So you can see that the kingdom’s had become crazily inmeshed.
Jehoshabeath and her husband, Jehoiada raised Joash in the temple for six years while Athaliah ran the kingdom of Judah.
In the seventh year, Jehoiada gathered the captains of the army and the Levites that had been scattered in Judah and the chief of the fathers and brought them to Jerusalem. They covenanted that the son of the king should reign. They divided into three groups. Jehoiada armed the soldiers with weapons from the spoils of David which were kept in the temple and the Levites surrounded Joash as they brought him out of hiding. They crowned him, gave him the law and anointed him king. Everyone let out a shout and blew trumpets. When Athaliah realized what had happened she cried, “Treason”.
The officers brought her out and slew her outside the temple. Joash was led to the king’s house and placed on the throne. Now, they could cleanse the nation of Baal worship and restore worship to the House of the Lord.
This is such a picture of what will happen on the seventh day of God’s week. He will restore Jesus whose glory has been hid from the earth these 6,000 years and restore him to his rightful place.
In Romans, Paul compares the Jewish heritage as a tree. The roots and the tree was good. It was the branches that have the problems. Some of the branches that grew from Abraham’s tree were good and some bad. The bad ones got cut off and the Gentiles were grafted in. Paul warned them not to be snug because the health and lifespan of our branch has to do with our faith just like it did theirs.
Our Psalms is the one Jesus was referring his disciples to when he said the first verse on the cross. Selah.
Lord, may our branches be shade to the weary and health to the nations.

Fri.’s Devo - The Victory is the Lord’s

Read: 2 Chronicles 19:1-20:37; Romans 10:14-11:12; Psalm 21:1-13; Proverbs 20:4-6
Jehoshaphat was sent Jehu the prophet to rebuke him for aligning with Israel because Israel did not love the Lord and were wicked. God did approve of his ridding the land of idols.
This must have turned Jehoshaphat around because he traveled his kingdom setting up just judges instructing them to fear God in all their decisions. In Jerusalem, he appointed the Levites to uphold the law of Moses and warn the people not to sin. He set Amariah, the chief priest over matters concerning the Lord, and Zebadiah to be the leader of the tribe of Judah and himself.
Once he had his government in place, the enemy came to make war with him. They came from near and far to fight him but in his fear, he called out to the Lord and proclaimed a fast. He stood up and proclaimed the goodness of God and praised His name to the people.
God gave a word through Hazazeal that they just needed to take the position of battle and watch because God was going to fight their battle for them. They sang and praised God all the way to their position of battle and as they were singing, the Lord sent ambushes and defeated their enemies. They destroyed one another. Jehoshaphat found everyone dead and carried off the plunder. They returned full of joy to Jerusalem and went straight to the temple to have a time of praise and worship. This caused the fear of the Lord to fall on the other countries and kingdoms of the earth and they left them alone.
At the end of Jehoshaphat’s life, the king of Israel asked him to join with him on a ship building venture. He agreed to invest with him but God was not pleased. He didn’t want him aligning with those that did wickedness so the ships wrecked and were never used to trade.
In Romans we read that the gospel was preached to the Israelites but not all of them believed. It had been prophesied that God would send his message to the ends of the earth and Israel would become envious of the Gentiles that sought the truth and found it.
God didn’t reject his people, most of them rejected him but he always had and will always have a remnant of Jewish believers hidden away. Since the nation rejected God, then he hardened their hearts making it hard for them to repent, but one day he will soften their hearts and they will return.
Our Psalm is a great one to claim over our nation and our president!
Lord, we trust in you to fight our battles for us. We will stand in the position of praise and will behold with our eyes the fall of your enemies. May Your name be exalted today!

Thurs.’s Devo. - Be The Light

Read: 2 Chronicles 17:1-18:34; Romans 9:22-10:13; Psalm 20:1-9; Proverbs 20:2-3
Asa’s son, Jehoshaphat became king and he started out devoted to the Lord. He removed the high places and Ashram poles from Judah cleansing it of idolatry. He even sent priests to all the cities to teach the people the Word of God. God put fear in the other nations so they honored and gave tribute to Judah.
Jehoshaphat’s downfall began when he aligned himself with Ahab and married one of her daughters making him obligated to fight with Ahab against the Syrians who had taken Ramoth Gilead. Jehoshaphat had enough spiritual sense to ask God whether they should fight them but not enough to follow the advise God gave. He followed the advise Ahab’s prophets gave instead. Ahab’s prophets told the kings that they would have great success. When Jehoshaphat insisted on finding a prophet of the Lord, they found Micaiah who finally told them that he saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd. This got Micaiah thrown in jail and Jehoshaphat and Ahab went out to war. Ahab told Jehoshaphat to dress like a king while he wore a disguise. What a set up! Syria was after the king. God saved Jehoshaphat but a random arrow killed Ahab. Jehoshaphat would be repromanded later.
In Romans, Paul asked a thought provoking question. He asked, “What if, God choosing to show his wrath and make his power know, bore with great patience the objects of this wrath - prepared for destruction, that me might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had prepared before time for glory?” In other words, God carefully and with much thought, crafted and created vessels (people) to carry on his wrath so that his glory would shine more brightly.
This reminds me of my painting classes. My teacher would always say when you paint light you always need to paint darkness so the light will have something to contrast it and make it stand out more. Dark people make God’s children of light stand out more.
God’s chosen people are both Gentile and Jew believers in Christ. Israel as a nation rejected grace and chose to follow the law and establish their own righteousness. But whoever finds their righteousness in Christ is saved.
Lord, remind us to turn to you in the midst of every battle because you have the victory and you have the answer.

Wed.’s Devo - God’s Great Mercy

Read: 2 Chronicles 14:1-16:14; Romans 9:1-21; Psalm 19:1-14; Proverbs 20:1
Abijah had been a good king, but his son, Asa was even better. He removed the idolatry from the land and commanded Judah to seek the Lord and obey the law. Because of this, the land prospered and they built and fortified their towns. He also built up his army and armed them.
When things were going good, the devil couldn’t stand it so he sent Zerah the Cushite. Zerah means “a rising” and Cush means “terror”. So the Cushiness went around causing fear to arise in their enemies. They came against Judah with their vast army full of chariots and met near Mareshah which means “headship”. The enemy will always attack the headship first.
Asa called on the Lord and God responded. The Cushiness were crushed before the Lord because the terror of the Lord had fallen on them. God used the very thing they were known for against them. Judah carried off much booty.
When the devil tries to scare or intimidate you, remember that God can turn the very thing that he is using against you back on him and we can leave with the plunder.
God sent Asa a prophet to tell him that God would always be with him when he was with God. The world was not safe at that time because of all the unrest in the nations but God told Asa that it was Him that was troubling the nations. And as for him, he could be strong and not be afraid or give up because his work would be rewarded. What a great word for us! Our world is in the same turmoil but we don’t have to be discouraged because our work will be rewarded.
Obed’s words strengthened Asa to have even more courage to continue cleansing the land and building up the work of the Lord. He assembled the people and sacrificed 700 cattle and 7,000 sheep from the plunder they had brought back from their victory. They determined to follow the Lord as a nation and God gave them rest on every side…in the midst of a world of turmoil.
In Asa’s 36th year, Israel started building Ramah which was the gateway from Judah to Israel. This was Israel’s way of keeping them out of their land. Instead of turning to the Lord, Asa hired Ben-hadad, king of Aram to keep Israel from building Ramah. They were successful but God was not happy and sent Hanani, the seer to ask Asa why he didn’t ask Him for help instead of hiring Ben-hadad. He reminded Asa for how He had fought for them against the Cushites. Asa was so angry, he took it out on the seer and his own people. He got a disease in his feet and refused to ask the Lord for help. Instead he sought the help of physicians. Asa’s walk had become polluted. It finally killed him. It was a sad ending to a mostly good king.
Romans 9 is one of the most misunderstood concepts. It takes control totally out of our hands and puts it in God’s. He is the one who decides who he will give mercy to and who he will not. This totally goes against what we think of as being just or fair, but it should make us more appreciative for our salvation. It has nothing to do with anything we did. God chose us from the foundation of the earth to be his children - period. We have control over how closely we will walk with him and how much of him we will allow to be manifest through us. It should make us love him more.
Lord, we don’t understand your selection but we are so honored to be called your children. May our lives, today, bring you glory.

Tues.’s Devo - The Clash of Kingdoms

Read: 2 Chronicles 11:1-13:22; Romans 8:22-39; Psalm 18:37-50; Proverbs 19:27-29
The nation had split and Judah and Benjamin were all that was left of Solomon’s kingdom which was ruled by his son Rehoboam. The other tribes were ruled by Solomon’s servant, Jeroboam. The first thing king Rehoboam wanted to do was to defeat Jeroboam. As he was about to do this God sent the prophet Shemaiah to tell the not to march against Jeroboam. The prophet said that this split was of Him, so Rehoboam obeyed. Instead, he went home and greatly fortified what territory he had left by building up towns of defense. The Levites sided with Rehoboam because Jerusalem was in Judah. They left their homes which were all over Israel to come and live in Jerusalem. Jeroboam had rejected them as priests. When Jeroboam noticed his people traveling to Jerusalem to cerebrate the feasts he became insecure. He was afraid that if they traveled to Jerusalem to worship, they would decide to stay so he raised up two golden calves and told the people that whoever brought a young bull and seven rams they could become a priest.
In the meantime, Rehoboam married two wives and built up a heritage of children. He took his sons and dispersed them throughout Judah to serve him thus establishing his kingdom. Once it was established, he and all Judah became unfaithful to the Lord. Shishak, king of Egypt came with a host of warriors and captured all of Rehoboam’s fortified cities and made it as far as Jerusalem. Rehoboam and his leaders cried out to the Lord and God said that he would spare them from Shishak but they would serve him and see the difference of serving God as their king and another king. Shishak carried off the treasures of the temple and the gold shields Solomon had made. Shishak had taken down all of Rehoboam’s self-defense - his fortified cities and now his shields. That is what the devil does when we let down our defense. He takes it all away.
Rehoboam died after ruling Jerusalem for 17 years and his son, Abijah ruled Judah.
Jeroboam and Abijah went to battle. Jeroboam surrounded Abidja’s men but God came to Abijah’s defense when they cried out to the Lord and blew their trumpets. They even restored the towns of Bethel, Jeshanah and Ephron from Israel and grew in strength.
In Romans we read that we have been chosen from the foundation of the earth to walk as God’s children. God gives us his Spirit to help us in all our weaknesses so that we can be more than conquerors in this life. Nothing can separate us from God’s love and his Spirit.
Lord, help us to walk in power and confidence in You. May our nation worship You and be blessed.

Mon.’s Devo - The Nation is Split

Read: 2 Chronicles 11:1-13:22; Romans 8:22-39; Psalm 18:37-50; Proverbs 19:27-29
Of all of Solomon’s 600 wives, he considered the Pharoah’s daughter his main wife. He built her a special house to live in. This is significant because the Bride of Christ, like Ruth will be a bride brought out of Egypt, the place of slavery and be given the most prominent place.
Solomon’s fame and wealth was known all over the known world. Everyone who came to visit his city brought him gifts of gold and the best of their land. One of these visitors was the Queen of Sheba. She brought large quantities of gold and spices and precious stones. Solomon showed her his kingdom and every thing he had and gave her anything she wanted. He sent her home with more than she brought. In Solomon we see the lavishness of God.
His son, Rehoboam was to be crowned after him but he had an adversary named Jeroboam. His story is in 1 Kings 11. Jeroboam had been a servant to Solomon. Solomon saw his leadership skills and put him over repairing Millo which was a fortification or wall on the north side of Jerusalem.
One day, when Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem, a prophet found him and told him that God was going to rend the kingdom from the hand of Solomon (because he allowed the nation to worship the gods of the enemies) and give Jeroboam 10 of the tribes. When Solomon had found out, he sought to kill Jeroboam so he fled to Egypt where he had stayed until Solomon’s death. The people summoned him from Egypt to help them stand against the slavery that Solomon had put on them to build all his great buildings.
They give Rehoboam the chance to repent and become a more just king but he listened to the advise of his youthful friends and refused the advise of the elders. He threatened the people with harsher treatment. The people rebelled with Jeroboam as their leader and took 10 tribes with him just as was prophesied. Rehoboam became king of Judah and Jeroboam became king of Israel.
In Romans, Paul explains that the Spirit of Christ brings death to our bodies yet life to our spirit. But then it goes on to say that he quickens our bodies and resurrects it to walk in righteousness. By the Spirit we can crucify the flesh and call our flesh to obey the spirit instead of the other way around. We are now a son and daughter of God. All creation is waiting for us to manifest this great revelation that we are sons of Gods and coheirs with Christ.
Lord, help us to walk in the revelation of being your child and a coheir with Christ. Help us to change our culture through your Spirit.

Sun.’s Devo - The Law of Life

Read: 2 Chronicles 6:12-8:10; Romans 7:14-8:8; Psalm 18:1-15; Proverbs 19:24-25
Solomon had built a bronze platform about seven and a half feet by four and a half feet and put it in the middle of the outer court where the people assembled. He stood on this small platform in the midst of the huge body of people and bowed to his knees and lifted his hands to the Lord and prayed for mercy for his nation. The jest of his prayer was that if they sinned and turned back to Him in repentance that they could pray facing this temple and God’s would forgive them and bless them. He tried to cover every scenario he could think of then he invited God to come and rest in his house they had built for him. When he finished, fire from heaven came down, consumed the burnt offering and sacrifices and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. It was so thick that the priests could not enter. All the people fell to their knees and worshiped the Lord says, “he is good; his love endures forever.”
The people brought so many sacrifices and offering to the Lord - that the bronze alter could not hold them. Solomon had to extend the feast another week to have time to sacrifice everyones’ offerings.
When it was all over and Solomon had finished the temple, his palace and everything he wanted to build, the Lord visited him at night. He told him that he had heard his prayer and that he would heal the people if they repented and turned to him. He promised that his Name, his eyes and his heart would always be in Jerusalem. He promised to bless Solomon as long as he served him with all his heart but if he turned to other gods, he would uproot Israel from the land and reject the temple and it would become a disgrace.
Romans tells us that the law is spiritual which means that it means much more than the surface. It is alive and living and has power. The law is “rules” to our sinful nature that moves in the natural and condemns us to death, but the law becomes life to our spiritual nature and gives us life. If we see the law through the blood of Jesus, then it cannot condemn us because Jesus carried all our sins: past, present, and future to the cross. They are crucified that we might walk in the same spirit Jesus did.
Lord, help us to walk in freedom from our sinful nature and the law of sin and death.

Sat.’s Devo - God’s Presence

Read: 2 Chronicles 4:1-6:11; Romans 7:1-13; PSalm 17:1-15; Proverbs 19:22-23
When Solomon had all the furnishings of the temple finished he placed them in the temple and called all the people of Israel to Jerusalem. It was the festival of the seventh month and they celebrated with trumpets and singing and praise. The ark was brought from the tent of meeting to the Temple and the cloud of God’s presence so filled the temple that the priests could not perform their service. The king turned and blessed the people and the Lord.
The feast of the seventh month has three feasts in it: trumpets, Yom Kipor, and tabernacles. These feasts are a picture of Jesus return at the sound of the last trumpet, the days of tribulation and when God creates the new heaven and earth. It has always been God’s desire to tabernacle with his people even now. He put his spirit inside of us and we are the temple. Our mouth is the trumpet that proclaims the coming of Jesus and Yom Kippor is our walk on earth - full of tribulations and tests. The feast of tabernacles represents how we can be filled with God’s presence every day so that we no longer work at being a Christian but we are Jesus representative here on earth.
Romans Seven is an amazing picture of salvation. Paul relates it to marriage. The first husband has to do with the law. We were first married to the law. When the law, the first husband, died, we were released from the law and married grace - Jesus, our second husband. To go back to the first husband is to commit spiritual adultery.
Paul made it clear that the law is holy, righteous and good but it causes us to recognize our sin. This is a good thing because it reminds us of our need for Jesus.
Lord, may we be the temple of the Holy Spirit and your trumpet of praise today.

Fri.’s Devo - Discernment

Read: 2 Chronicles 1:1-3:17; Romans 6:1-23; Psalm 16:1-11; Proverbs 19:20-21
Solomon began his kingship with God’s favor and God magnified him in the eyes of the people. He went back to the original tent of meeting and offered sacrifices to God in Gibeon which is where the tabernacle was resting till he could build the Temple. God received his gift of 1,000 burnt offerings and offered Solomon a gift in return. God asked Solomon what he wanted giving Solomon a blank check. Instead of asking for material things, Solomon asked for discernment to judge the people fairly. This was something that money could not buy. Discernment which is wisdom to know what to do with the knowledge you have is only gotten through God. God was so pleased with Solomon’s request that he added wealth and honor and riches to it. He would have more than any of the kings in all the earth had ever had and would ever had. Through his request all Israel and the world was blessed. Egypt, the Hittites, Syria and Tyre was blessed because he traded with them abundantly. When we please the Lord, God makes even our enemies to be at peace with us (Proverbs 16:7). Jesus tells us to even love our enemies and bless those that curse you…(Matthew 5:44).
Solomon had his heart in the right place and God sent him Hiram to help him do the things he couldn’t do like the carving and engraving and weaving. That is amazing to me that God would use the king from Tyre which was a Phoenician city known for its idolatry. But God wants us to do business with the heathen. How else will they see God and have a chance to repent?
Hiram crafted the cherubim that sat on the ark. Don’t you know he felt the Holy Spirit moving in him to craft something so holy? God puts his gifts in the most unexpected places and uses the most unlikely people.
In Romans, Paul continues his sermon on grace. He explains the difference of being a slave to sin and a slave to righteousness. We are one of the other. Being a slave to sin results in guilt and ultimately death. Being a slave to righteousness brings peace and eternal life. Sounds like a no-brainer to me!
Lord, help us to change the way we think and think the way you do. Help us to see people through your eyes and readjust our kingdom to yours. Give us discernment to use the knowledge we have with your wisdom.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Plan

Read: 1 Chronicles 28:1-29:30; Romans 5:6-21; Psalm 15:1-5; Proverbs 19:18-19
When David had an official meeting it was a convention. He called together all his tribal officers and the commanders of the divisions of those tribes, the
commanders of hundreds and those that were in charge of the property, the livestock, the palace officials, the mighty men and all the brave warriors. These are the men he had entrusted his goods and safety to and now he was giving them his heart for the future.
It had always been David’s heart to build God a magnificent house to place the ark. Because he had been a warrior and shed blood, God told him he was not the one to build this house. God had raised up his son Solomon, among all his many sons to become the king and build his house on earth. God wasn’t rebuking David but David’s kingdom was a kingdom representing the time of spiritual warfare. Solomon’s kingdom was to represent the kingdom of peace. This is the rest that Hebrews says we should labor to enter into. We can live in Solomon’s kingdom now by totally trusting the Lord and walking in peace and rest.
David commissioned Solomon to acknowledge the Lord and serve him with whole hearted devotion and purpose. He reminded him that God searches every heart and understands every motive behind our thoughts. If we seek him, he will make himself known to us but if we don’t he will reject us. God has commissioned us to build a house for him in our bodies so that he may dwell with us and be glorified through us.
David gave Solomon the blueprints and all the supplies he would need to do everything on the plans. The last thing he told him was to be strong and courageous and do the work fearlessly. God would never forsake him or fail him. This is the same thing he says to us. We were born with a blueprint printed to our DNA and it is our destiny. God has given us everything we need to do everything on the plan but we have to be strong and courageous and trust God. Faith is the fuel that drives our destiny.
In Romans, Paul reiterates over and over the fact that through Adam, sin and death entered the world. He was the first Adam which means “man”. The second Adam was Jesus. He was the new man and through him we receive eternal life. He conquered death and sin on the cross and put it out of our lives forever. All we have to do is put our trust in him and acknowledge him as our Savior. The law just made us aware of sin.
Our Psalm gives us a reason for walking in integrity and in holiness. When we do, the guilt of sin has no power over us and we will not be shaken.
Lord, help us to walk in the blueprints you have for us.

Wed.’s Devo - God’s Promises

Read: 1 Chronicles 26:12-27:34; Romans 4:13-5:5; Psalm 14:1-7; Proverbs 19:17
I wish I had the time to look up the meanings of all the names in today’s reading. We have a list of all the gatekeepers, the heads of the families and their officers who served the king in the army and the ones in charge of the royal storehouses. Each one of these men’s names mean something that is a clue to what was going on during that time and what will happen in the future.
In 26:24 the name “Shubael” means “the return of God.” He was a descendant of Gershom which means “a stranger there”. He was the son of Moses which means “drawn out or rescued”. We as children of the Lord are strangers on this earth because this is not our home. When Jesus returns we will be rescued to go to our eternal home.
In Romans we see that the law was given to show us our sin. Abraham was the father of faith and our example of what faith is. God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations even though his wife was past having babies and he was too old. He believed against the impossible. God gave him one son of promise - Isaac and told him that through him would come many nations. Interestingly, Isaac only had two sons and one of them was evil. Even against all the odds, Abraham believed that God would do what he said he would do. Multiplication didn’t start till Jacob and then it mushroomed into 12 tribes which became a number too big to count. That was exactly what God had said would happen which was another reason God hated it when they wanted to count the people.
God has put into us impossible dreams and promises in his Word that we have to stand on because they are ours by faith. We have to do our part which is to believe and obey. God will show us what to do. The rest is up to Him.
Lord, help us to be obedient to what you tell us to do. May we hear your voice loud and clear.

Tue.’s Devo - Called By Name

Read: 1 Chronicles 24:1-26:11; Romans 4:1-12; Psalm 13:1-6; Proverbs 19:15-16
Aaron’s family had been set apart to be God’s ministers to the people and to Him. Two of Aaron’s four sons had offered strange fire in Leviticus 10 and lost their lives. Aaron’s other two sons had sons that took their place.
Next we have lists of Levites and their offices and services. Their names were all recorded in the presence of the king and priests. God had called the Levites to be his people and their names being recorded was a picture of being set apart for the Lord and his work.
In Romans, Paul goes to great length to show us that salvation has always been about faith. Abraham was counted righteous because of his faith. Later, God gave him circumcision as a seal of his faith. Our faith is what makes us righteous and the Holy Spirit is what seals our salvation. Circumcision was a cutting away of the flesh naturally just as sanctification is spiritually. We are constantly growing in our walk with God. It is a work in progress.
Lord, remind us today that we have been called by name and set apart for service in your kingdom.

Mon.’s Devo - Building The Temple

Read: 1 Chronicles 22:1-23:32; Romans 3:9-31; Psalm 12:1-8; Proverbs 19:13-14
Before David died he prepared everything Solomon would need to build the Temple even down to the nails. Then he called in Solomon and gave him the charge of building God’s house. David had saved up 100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, bronze and iron too great to be weighed and wood and stone. Then he told him he could add to it if he wanted to . He had provided the workforce to do everything that would be needed. He ordered the leaders of Israel to support Solomon an help him and made a very profound statement. He said, “the land is subject to the Lord and to his people.”
Think about that! God has given each of us a dream to build something whether it is a family, a business, a relationship, whatever and he has lavishly supplied everything we will need to do it. We can even add to it! The land is subject to the Lord and to us. We can command it to comply with the plans God has put in our hearts. God made it clear that whatever we are building it is so that we can fill it with God’s presence and it will be built for his Name.
He gathered all the leaders and the priests and Levites and put them over the work of the temple. Many of them got new assignments since they wouldn’t need to put up a tent any more. One of their duties was just to stand every morning and evening to thank and praise the Lord. Sounds like a great job…that is our job!
Paul gave a list of every man’s sins whether they are Jew or Gentile then he concluded that the law wasn’t given to make us righteous but to make us conscious of our sin. Man could not gain righteousness by following the law, because it was impossible to do. It proved that they needed a savior. Righteousness became available to man through faith in Jesus. It has nothing to do with our pedigree, status or goodness, but the love of God. Loving Jesus makes us want to obey his laws. The law is still good because we are blessed by keeping it. It is God’s manual for man to live by.
Lord, help us to understand grace and mercy without throwing out your nature and your commands.

Sun.’s Devo - Satan’s Revenge

Read: 1 Chronicles 19:1-21:30; Romans 2:25-3:8; Psalm 11:1-7; Proverbs 19:10-12
There are some things that David did that he should have asked the Lord about and honoring Nahash’s death was one of them. Nahash means “a serpent”. He is the king that came against Israel in 1 Samuel 11 and 12 and told them that they would spare them if they would cut out all of their right eyes to be a reproach upon all Israel. Saul rose up and rallied all Israel to fight for them and they won and Saul was made king. We don’t hear about Nahash again until now so he must have given David peace making David think they were friends. You can’t make friends with a serpent. Satan doesn’t make friends.
David’s act of sympathy turned into a full scaled war against the Ammonites and the hired Armenians. Israel won.
Chapter 20 starts out “In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war…David remained in Jerusalem.” Joab went out for him to Rabbah where the Ammonite king lived and took the city and killed the king and took his crown. He took many more Ammonite cities and made the people servants of Israel. Joab then fought the Philistines and took them also.
Since Satan, the arch-enemy of good, couldn’t win on the battlefield, he came up with a new strategy which was pride. He invoked David to number his fighting men across the land. Joab tried to talk him out of it but David insisted, so Joab traveled across Israel counting the fit men.
What is so bad about numbering the fighting men? God told Moses to number the men over 20 in Numbers and nothing happened. In Exodus 30:12 it says that when you number the people you are to take a ransom for their souls from them. They were to give an offering because they had been counted. Again, in Numbers 31, Moses counted the men of war and every man gave gold, chains, bracelets, rings, etc. as an atonement for their souls. David wasn’t requiring anything for their souls. To be counted was to be reckoned before the Lord. These men were not given the chance to give an atonement for their soul. Not to do this would bring a plague which was what happened in David’s time. He chose the plague as his punishment. The plague stopped at the very place that Jesus would make atonement for all sin.
In Romans, Paul is continuing his teaching on the law. If you live by the law, then the law will condemn you if you break it. Circumcision was a commandment of the law to represent a spiritual truth. Paul was trying to tell them that it is not the one who is a believer in the heart is more important than a native born Jew. The truth was first given to the Jew, but they have to receive God’s truth just like the Gentile.
Our Proverbs warrants repeating: “A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.”
Lord, thank you for your grace and your mercy toward all people. Help us to overlook offenses.

Sat.’s Devo - The Law

Read: 1 Chronicles 16:37-18:17; Romans 2:1-24; Psalm 10:16-18; Proverbs 19:8-9
David allowed Obed-edom and his family to continue caring for the ark since they had done such a good job when it was on their land. After David arranged for the ark and tabernacle to be maintained, he went back to his palace. He compared the luxury of his house to the tent of God’s house and got the idea of building God a beautiful house to dwell in. He called his prophet and advisor, Nathan in and told him his plan. It was one of those plans that surely God would be for so they didn’t bother even asking. But as Nathan rested that night, the Lord came and talked to him about David’s plan to build him a house. He reminded Nathan that he had never dwelt in a house from the time he brought Israel out of Egypt and he had never asked for a house. God told Nathan to tell David that he would not build a house for him but his off-spring would. David’s job would be to subdue all his enemies and prepare for the building of God’s house. Nathan told David and all David could do was praise God for his plan.
In Romans, Paul explains that the law just spelled out what their conscience told them so the Gentiles had the law also, it was just in their hearts. They would both be judged or approved by that law. Paul was trying to level the field and show them that they were all basically the same. They both sinned and broke the law whether the written law or the one on their hearts and they both needed a savior.
Lord, help us to realize our need for a savior. We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory but there is hope for us. Jesus loves sinners and died to set them free. Help us to walk in that freedom.

Fri.’s Devo - Bringing Up the Ark

Read: 1 Chronicles 15:1-16:36; Romans 1:18-32; Psalm 10:1-15; Proverbs 19:6-7
David saw how the ark had blessed the house of Obed-Edom and knew that the ark was God’s presence but he had done something wrong in his process of bringing the ark to Jerusalem. He went back to the law and found out that the ark had to be carried by Levites with poles on their shoulders. This time he wanted to do it right.
He assigned Levites who could sing, play lyres, harps, and cymbals and who could blow the ram’s horn and the trumpet. He supplied animals for sacrificing and the Levites brought up the ark with great celebration and praise. He wore a linen ephod and danced before the ark as it came into the city.
His wife, Michal who was the daughter of Saul, saw him dancing in his linen robe and hated him in her heart. She hated that he humbled himself before God when he was the king. David knew who the real king was and that he was worthy of all his praise.
David led all Israel in a psalm to the Lord. It reminded Israel of who they were and what God had done for them.
In Romans we find that we are without excuse in knowing there is a God. He reveals who he is and his attributes through the things he has made. His invisible qualities, eternal power and divine nature are all shown us in nature. But, because men rejected God and his power and chose to make their own foolish gods, God turned them over to their own devices. They abandoned natural affection to homosexuality. Their heart became full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They became gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful. They did evil and disobeyed their parents; becoming senseless, faithless, heartless and ruthless. We can look at what is going on in our world and see this. The gray is gone and things have become more black and white. Everyone has an opinion and the only one that is right is God’s. Our Psalms tells us that the wicked with be called to account for he deeds one day.
Lord, help us to see your invisible attributes to day through the things you have made. Great is your Name!

Thurs.’s Devo - Your Kingdom Come

Read: 1 Chronicles 12:19-14:17; Romans 1:1-17; Psalm 9:13-20; Proverbs 19:4-5
Chronicles is the just what the name says: it is the chronicles of the kings. It recaps 1 and 2nd Kings. Since we have already talked about the story, I’d like to point out some hidden treasures. One is found in 12:22 which says that David had a great army, like the army of God. It then goes on to describe David’s men which give us a picture of the members of God’s army. They carry shields and spears for battle. We know that the shield is faith and the spear is the Word of God according to Ephesians 6. They are brave and are designated by name with one goal and that is to make Jesus king. They understand the times and know what we as God’s children should do. They are experienced in war and prepared with every type of weapon. They fight for Jesus with undivided loyalty.
We are living in the kingdom age where this army is very significant for us to know about. Our mission is to fulfill Jesus’ prayer that his kingdom come to earth like it is in heaven. This is that time. Our goal should be to make Jesus king over the earth. We do that with the help of his army.
David’s first goal was to bring the ark back to Jerusalem. He ran into a temporary set back when he didn’t understand what the Word had said about carrying the ark. The Levites were to carry it on poles instead of a cart.
The first thing we have to do in this new kingdom age is to bring the presence of the Lord back into the church. It is not done with programs and gimmicks but with true praise and worship. Then God will bless our households and all we have.
Going back to the army of God… when the Philistines found out David had been made king, they came in full force to find him. They were fine with him as long as he lived among them and fought with them but not as Israel’s king. God told David to circle his men around the back of the Philistine army and as soon as they heard marching in the tops of the balsam trees they could move out. That sound would be their sign that God’s army had gone before them.
Locust gather in the tops of balsam trees and make the sound of marching. God created nature to respond to his command. They gave the sign and I’m sure the sound of the locusts marching put fear in the hearts of the Philistines. God’s army fought in front and David’s in the rear. That is always the way we want to fight the enemy.
Today we start Romans which was written by Paul before he got to Rome. It is to teach us about the righteousness of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ. This was so contrary to the Jewish religion that was based on following the law to the letter and making sacrifices to atone for their own sin. They were used to works to make themselves clean, but Paul was teaching them that Jesus was the power of God that leads to right standing with God. It was the only way to be righteous. This took major shifting of their theology which was why it was so much easier for the Gentile to accept. They didn’t have to undo generations of tradition like the Jews did. Salvation was definitely a test of faith.
Lord, help us to use your army in our lives and make you king over our lives. We want to bring your kingdom to earth as it is in heaven. Show us how to do that.

Wed.’s Devo - God’s Army

Read: 1 Chronicles 11:1-12:18; Acts 28:1-31; Psalm 9:1-12; Proverbs 19:1-3
Hebron was the place where kings were anointed. It is also the place that Abraham stayed much of his life and bought the cave to bury Sarah. All the patriarchs were buried near Hebron which later became a city of refuge. Hebron means “a community; alliance” Here David made an alliance with the community of people before the Lord to lead them according to the Lord’s ways. They anointed him king over Israel just as Samuel had prophesied when he anointed him. He then had to fight and capture Jerusalem from the Jebusites. The Jebusites told David, “You will not get in here,” so David told his men that whoever lead the attack would be his commander in chief. They took Jerusalem. David’s mighty men equated to his guardian angels that were there to help him fulfill his destiny. We have mighty men appointed to us too.
Some of the men who were in his company when he was fleeing from Saul were actually Saul’s kinsmen. God promises to make even our enemies to be at peace with us (Proverbs 16:7). We are all enemies of the cross until we die to our sins and become a son of God’s.
These men were converts. David accepted their confession and made them leaders of his army. Paul was an enemy of God who converted and became a leader in God’s army.
In Acts, Paul and his fellow prisoners and captains landed safely on the island of Malta which means “escaping”. Paul and his men had just escaped death.
The people of the island were very hospitable to the men until they saw a snake come out of the wood and attach itself to Paul’s arm. They took it as a sign that he was a murderer. But as they waited for him to die and nothing happened, they changed their verdict to thinking Paul was a god. God gave Paul favor and he was able to pray and witness God heal the chief’s father who was dying. He was able to pray for many others on the island and see them healed as well.
After three months, they were able to leave and arrived at Rome where Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him. How awesome is that! He not only was free but protected. God promises to prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies. Paul was able to stay there and preach the kingdom without any hindrance. He went to the Jews first but most of them chose to remain blind.
Lord, help us to have eyes to see. Thank you for the great company of your army that surrounds us and fights for us.

Tues.’s Devo - A Curse or a Blessing

Read: 1 Chronicles 9:1-10:14; Acts 27:21-44; Psalm 8:1-9; Proverbs 18:23-24
We are given an list of the first people to return to Israel after being deported to Babylon because of their sin. It was a mixed group of heads of the families, porters, Levites, keepers of the gates of the tabernacle, those that were over the chambers and treasuries of the house of God, and the singers.
Gibson had been a royal city that the Israelites made a covenant with when they first entered the land. They had been tricked by the the Gideonites into thinking they were from a far away place when really they were next in their line of passage. Instead of killing them, Joshua defended them against their enemies and then made the inhabitants of Gieon slaves of the Israelites. The tabernacle was put here and remained until Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem. The father of Gibeon was Jehiel who had 10 sons. His fifth son was Ner who had a son named Kish who had Saul. Saul was the first king of Israel and he was killed in battle against the Philistines. His son, Jonathan was killed in the same battle. The Philistines took their heads and armor and put it in the temples of their gods. Saul’s head was placed in the temple of Dagon. Saul’s men took the bones of Saul and Jonathan’s body and buried them in Jabesh.
Saul died because of his sin and the fact that he asked a witch instead of God. So, God gave the kingdom to David.
In Acts, God saved the whole crew because of him. He told them that God had shown him that he would testify before Caesar and all of them would live. Fourteen days later, all 276 men swam ashore and were saved.
Our right standing with God can save people and our rebellion can cause a curse on the land. Saul of the Old Testament brought a curse on the land, but Saul of the New Testament was given a new name and became a new creature. He brought salvation to the land and the people.
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Help us to be a blessing to the earth.

Mon.’s Devo - Weapons of Our Warfare

Read: 1 Chronicles 7:1-8:40; Acts 27:1-20; Psalm 7:1-17; Proverbs 18:22
Issachar means “he will bring a reward”. The names of his sons mean respectively: “worm”, “a blast”, “he will return”, and “guardianship”. It says in 1 Chronicles 12:32 that the children Issachar were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do. Jesus was born of earth like a worm and will return at the blast of the trumpet where he will take those who are his with him as his reward.
Issachar had some mighty warriors who knew how to fight.
The next tribe is Benjamin. His name means “son of the right hand”. His son’s names mean “flowing”, “a dromedary: after the first born”, “knowing God”, “quietude”, “he healed”. A dromedary is a runner. So the second son tried hard to copy the first. That is interesting since Benjamin is a picture of the bride of Christ.
They were men of strong physical and character. Interestingly, the tribe of Benjamin reads like a soap opera which is much like the church. Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin. There are always tares that are sowed among the wheat but that is up to the angels in the end to divide them out.
In Acts, Paul is under the care of the centurion, Julius. Paul gave them a prophecy of what God had shown him that would happen if they left. He saw that they would meet much damage and might even lose their lives if they set sail then. Julius listened, instead, to the owner of the ship who had much more sea experience than Paul. It didn’t make sense to him to stay where they were for the winter. He thought they should get to Phenice and that the wind was favorable for the trip. He could not have seen the storm that was going to arise except by the spirit of God. Paul had seen it in the spirit. It did arise and it was called a Euroclydon which is also called a Levanter in which we get the name Leviathan… meaning a coiled serpent. Satan did not want Paul to get to Rome and testify just as he did not want Jesus to get to the other side of the lake and deliver the man with of all the demons in Mark 4:35-5:20.
Just because we meet opposition if our walk with the Lord, we should not see it as a deadend but a reason to keep pushing forward. If we are walking in the spirit then we will have opposition. We have to learn how to use the weapons God has given us. He has given us the Word as our sword, and the blood of Jesus which is our power. The Holy Spirit is our guide. No weapon forged against us shall prosper.
Lord, help us to use the weapons of our warfare and bring down strongholds in your name.

Sun.’s Devo -The Charges of the Priests

Read: 1 Chronicles 5:18-6:81; Acts 26:1-32; Psalms 6:1-10
Proverbs 18:20-21
If we could see our lives in retrospect we would see what we see in the children of Israel. When they trusted he Lord, he fought for them and the won their battles. When they were unfaithful to God’s and worshipped other gods, then they lost their battles and their enemies controlled them.
The Levites were the people who were to be in charge of ministering to the Lord and interceding for the people. They were divided into three divisions according to Levi’s three sons: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
Gershon means “a stranger here”. We are all pilgrims passing through this thing called life. Our natural tabernacle is our body, but our spiritual body is in heaven with God. Gershon’s sons, Libni and Shemei mean “holiness” and “my report”. They were in charge of the tabernacle and it’s structure. Spiritually, they are the ones who carry the anointing of the Holy Spirit. They were to take the things they understood about God and tell them to the people.
The next son was Kohath. His name means “waiting: obedient: assembly”. He had four sons whose names mean: exalted people, oil, communion, my strength is God. Their job was to be in charge of the holy things of God like the veil, the coverings of the tables, the utensils used in the tabernacle. I think of these people as spiritually being the ones who spend much time before God and drawing very near. They are the intercessors.
The third son was Merari. His name means “my bitterness”. His son’s names mean “my sickness” and “my yielding: my departure”. Merari and his family was to carry the boards, bars and pillars and all the vessels of the tabernacle. They are the burden carriers.
Jesus did all three of these things. He was a stranger passing through to show us the kingdom of God. He taught the people how to commune with God and pray. He carried our burdens to the cross and died for our sins.
In Acts, King Agrippa and his wife listen to Paul’s testimony of his salvation. He realizes that Paul has done nothing worthy of death and would have been set free if not for the fact that he appealed to Caesar.
Lord, help us to see that we have the same responsibilities as the priests did because we are priests unto the Lord too.

Sat.’s Devo - Leave a Spiritual Legacy

Read: 1 Chronicles 4:5-5:17; Acts 25:1-27; Psalm 5:1-12; Proverbs 18:19
In today’s reading we have the famous prayer of Jabez. His name means “mire swept away” and that is what he did in his family. He was more honorable than any of his brothers which means they were the mire that he was born in. He prayed for God’s blessings on himself and his land and God granted his request.
We also read one of the saddest stories of a family and that was Reuben’s. Reuben was Jacob’s first born who would have gotten the birthright of the firstborn which according to Deuteronomy 21:17 was a double portion. Reuben forfeited this when he went into his father’s concubines. His double portion went to Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh. They were to divide this double portion giving them each the same as the other tribes. This story tells us how important it is how we live our lives because what he do does affect generations to come. We leave a legacy behind us that lives on whether it is a good one or a bad one.
In the Old Testament, they built towns and cities and named them after the founder so that their name would live on. The meaning of their name described the spirit of that place. When a new nation would take it over, they would change the name but the power of the first name still prevailed in that place. The only way to change the power was to drive out all the inhabitants carrying that power. It is a key to spiritual warfare. We have to know the original name of the spirit before we can drive it out. If we are dealing with a recurring sin in our lineage then we need to find the source of its entrance before we can adequately cast it out. God can show you that if you just ask.
In Acts, the leaders of Caesarea have changed and Paul’s enemies are hoping that the new leadership will bring him back to Jerusalem so they can prosecute him there. Fetus listened to Paul’s defense and didn’t know what to do with him since he hadn’t broken any of the Roman laws but to appease the Jews he asked if Paul would be willing to go back to Jerusalem and stand trial. Paul knew that would be fatal for him so he appealed to Caesar.
King Agrippa and his wife came to visit Festus and he told them about Paul and was in a dilemma because he didn’t know what to write in the papers he would send with Paul. He needed to give a written reason Paul was being charged when he couldn’t come up with anything. They agreed to listen to Paul’s defense.
This is a classic case of the world’s court trying to settle a spiritual case. There is no rules in the natural that make sense in the spiritual because the law can’t judge grace.
Lord, thank you that we walk in your grace and are no longer judged by the law. Help us to leave a spiritual legacy for our family.

Fri.’s Devo - David’s Life

Read: 1 Chronicles 2:18-4:4; Acts 24:1-27; Psalm 4:1-8; Proverbs 18:16-18
Let’s look at David’s genealogy. He had six sons born in Hebron from six different women. He reigned in Hebron seven and six months. Seven being the length of the days of God’s week and six being the number of man. Man will be on the earth a whole seven days (in God’s counting). In God’s counting a day is equal to 1,000 years. According to the Hebrew calendar we are at around 5777 giving us 223 more years before the last millennium. I know a lot of people believe we are checking out soon but we have just finished the church age and are beginning the kingdom age where we bring heaven down to earth. We are at Revelation Chapter 4 where the door is open in heaven for us to come up and for heaven to come down. We have the most glorious, fun years ahead of us so lets plan for the future.
David reigned in Jerusalem 30 and three years which is how many souls Jacob had in Padan-Aram and the age of Jesus when he was crucified. David had four sons by Bathsheba which is the most children recorded that he had from one wife. Bathsheba means “daughter of the oath”. She was married to David who was a type of Jesus on earth and had a son named Solomon which was a picture of Jesus resurrected.
In Acts, the high priest had sent their lawyer, Tertullus to testify against Paul. He said that he was a troublemaker that stirred up riots among the Jews everywhere he went and that he tried to desecrate the temple. Next, Paul was able to give testimony and defended himself against the erroneous things they had said about him. Felix had heard about the Christian faith but he wanted his Jewish wife to hear also so he put Paul back in prison till she could come and hear him. He was also hoping Paul’s followers would offer him a bribe to free him. Paul was put under house arrest for 2 years until the new governor was appointed to succeed Felix. To gain the favor of the Jews, Felix kept Paul in prison. His friends could visit him and meed his needs and he had some freedom but he could not leave Rome.
So, Paul had the protection of the Roman government and the freedom to minister as he willed. That sounds like freedom to me!
Lord, help us to see that everything that comes our way when we are walking with You is an opportunity for growth and to propel us forward. Help us not to grumble in the hard times but prosper in grace.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Inside Scoop

Read: 1 Chronicles 1:1-2:17; Acts 23:11-35; Psalm 3:1-8; Proverbs 18:14-15
I looked up the word “chronicle” in the dictionary and it means “a historical record or register of facts or event arranged in the order in which they happened.” That is exactly what 1st and 2nd Chronicles is. It starts all the way back to Adam and gives us the genealogies up to that present time. It is a great tool for seeing what God highlights in the lists. Very little commentary is given among the names so what is given is important. The first he tells us about it Nimrod. He grew to be a might warrior on earth. Nimrod means “we will rebel” which tells us that Ham started the rebellion in his heart and it manifested in his grandson. Ham means “rage”. His son Seth’s name means “terror” which is so true that anger leads to wanting to act out that anger in terrorizing which leads to rebellion.
I thought another interesting thing was that the Casluhites which means “forgiven ones” was who the Philistines came from.
In verse 19 we read about Eber’s two sons: Peleg and Joktan. There was an earthquake that divided the earth during their time and these two sons represent the two sides. Joktan represents the side of evil and his name means “he will be made small”. Peleg represents the side that crossed over to righteousness. His name means “beyond; the other side as having crossed over”. If you read the names and meanings of their sons you will get an even greater picture. One side is blessed and the other cursed much like Jacob and Esau.
The last commentary we get is about Judah’s sons who were so evil that God had to kill his first son was so wicked the Lord put him to death and used his wife to bring seed through her father-in-law. She had twins: Perez and Zerah. That is an interesting story to say the least.
In Acts, God has one more place for Paul to go and that is Rome. Rome will be the seat of the False Prophet in Revelation so it was necessary that Paul not die where all the other prophets had died which was Jerusalem but that he die in Rome. He was the first of the New Testament prophets. Satan didn’t want Paul to get to Rome and it took secret intel and 200 soldiers, 70 horsemen, and 200 spearmen to get him there! God will make sure we get to our destination.
Lord, thank you for your wonderful Word. Let it be a lamp unto our path today.

Wed.’s Devo - The Pains of Disobedience and the Joys of Obeying

Read: 2 Kings 23:31-25:30; Acts 22:17-23:10; Psalm 2:1-12; Proverbs 18:13
I found it interesting that Jehoahaz and Zedikiah had the same mother, Hamutal from Libnah. Jehoahaz only reigned 3 months before Pharaoh Neco put him in chains. His brother, Jehoiakim was put in his place by Pharaoh Neco and he reigned 11 years paying tribute to the pharaoh. Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon also invaded Judah and they had to pay him also. Jehoiakim rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar causing a war. This was God’s judgement on Judah for all her sin. Jehoiakim died and his son, Jehoiachin succeeded him as king. He reigned 3 months until he was taken prisoner by Nebuchadnezzar along with his mother, wives, officials, and leading men of the land. Seven thousand fighting men and a thousand craftsmen were also taken to Babylon and Zedekiah was made king of Judah by the king of Babylon. He rebelled against the king of Babylon so Nebuchadnezzar came and laid siege to Jerusalem. King Zedekiah tried to escape but was captured and taken to Babylon where his sons were killed before his eyes and then he was blinded and put in shackles. Babylon was ransacked and all the treasuries of the temple were striped and taken to Babylon. The priests were taken prisoner to Babylon where they were executed.
Nebuchadnezzar appointed his man, Gedaliah to be over the people left in Judah. He was assassinated by Ishmael who was of royal blood. Surprisingly, Jehoiachin was released from prison in Babylon by the new king Evil-Merodach and was supplied food and money the remainder of his life.
In Acts, Paul seems to like a good argument. He was at the end of his testimony and had the audience in the palm of his hand until he told them that since they didn’t want to receive him, he was sent to the Gentiles. This caused a riot and the commander took Paul away to be flogged. As he was putting him on the stretcher, Paul asked him if it was legal to flog a Roman citizen before he was tried. This got their attention. They quickly untied him and were alarmed especially when they found out he was a natural citizen. He was released and able to stand trial the next day in front of the Sanhedrin. He roused them up by bringing up the resurrection knowing that this was such a hot topic with them. He won over the Pharisees but caused a great split between them and the Sadducees who didn’t believe in a resurrection or angels.
It is amazing how fickle we as humans are. Paul’s life was full of fickle people who loved him one moment and hated him the next. It changed when they were offended by what he said. The truth is very offensive to those who love themselves and don’t want to be challenged. We have to soften our hearts to be able to let God refine and teach us new things. We all see through a glass darkly so we are all searching for truth. No one has the whole truth which is why we need to learn from one another.
Lord, help us to be teachable and humble. Show us new things about your goodness and help us to desire to conform to your image.

Tue.’s Devo - Spiritual Reform

Read: 2 Kings 22:3-23:30; Acts 21:37-22:16; Psalm 1:1-6; Proverbs 18:11-12
King Josiah had the temple repaired with the money the people gave in the offering. In the remodel they found a copy of the law and brought it to Josiah who had it read to him. He was appalled at what it said and how they had disobeyed it so blatantly. He was distraught so the priest sent him a priestess named Huldah to tell him what the Lord would say to him. She told him that God was indeed angry with the nation because of all the idolatry and hardness of their hearts yet he had seen Josiah’s heart and would delay his judgment till he was gone.
Josiah then did a massive spiritual reform in Jerusalem. He cleaned out every trace of false worship along with its altars, poles, images, priests, and false doctrines. He reinstated the Passover and had a huge celebration. When they were destroying the altar at Bethel that Jeroboam had set up. They came to the tombstone of the prophet that had prophesied 326 years ago that a man by the name of Josiah would rise and burn the bones of all the priests of the high places. (1 Kings 13:2) Josiah wouldn’t let them dig up his bones but let them rest.
At the end of his reign Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt and the king of Assyria went up against Josiah at Megiddo and killed him in his chariot. He was buried in his own tomb and his son, Jehoahaz was made king in his place.
In Acts, Paul was being led to prison and asked the commanding officer if he could speak to the people. He allowed him to do this and Paul began giving them his story of how God had spoken to him and brought him to the truth about who Jesus was and is. They listened intently when he spoke to them in Arabic. Paul took every opportunity he could to tell his story of salvation and explain who Jesus is.
Lord, May we be like a tree planted by streams of water which yield fruit in our season.

Mon.’s Devo - The Law of Love

Read: 2 Kings 20:1-22:2; Acts 21:17-36; Psalm 150:1-6; Proverbs 18:9-10
Hezekiah was told by Isaiah that he was not going to recover from his sickness so he needed to get his house in order. Hezekiah cried out to the Lord reminding him of all he had done for him and the Lord relented and sent Isaiah back to tell him he would give him 15 more years to live. As a sign, he was given the choice of having the light go forward on the steps of time or backward. He should have said forward. It was a foreshadow of his rule because it went backward for sure. He obviously had no heir because his son, Manasseh was only 13 when he died 15 years later. This son led Judah backward into sin in such an evil way. He built altars in the two houses of the Lord to worship the stars. He set graven images inside God’s temple and totally desecrated the altar. He shed much innocent blood which means he sacrificed infants. He led Judah to do more evil than the nations that they had destroyed. Now, Judah would get the same judgment that Israel and Ahab’s house had gotten which was the total wipe out of their name.
Manasseh did his evil for 55 years and when he died, he was buried in a garden of Uzza in his own house. Uzza means “his own strength”. His 22 year old son Amon ruled two years and was buried the same place. Josiah became king at the age of eight and he did right in the Lord’s eyes. That means that his father, Amon was 16 when Josiah was born.
In Acts we have all the things that Paul had been shown would happen. The Jews there had heard how Paul had ministered to the Gentiles and taught them they didn’t need to be circumcised. They were outraged that Paul had fallen away from the truth of the law and wanted to kill him. If not for the Roman officers, he would have been killed, but instead he was taken to prison.
Religion will put up a fight for its laws where grace has only one law and that is the law of love. Paul was operating under the latter.
Lord, help us to operate our lives under the law of grace and love and not religion.

Sun.’s Devo - Freedom From Intimidation

Read: 2 Kings 18:13-19:37; Acts 21:1-16; Psalm 149:1-9; Procebs 18:8
King Hezekiah had rebelled against paying the king of Assyriah any more tribute so Sennacherib sent his own personal army against Jerusalem. They came in pomp and force and intimidation. Hezekiah repented to him and gave him silver and gold, but that was not enough for Sennacherib. He wanted total surrender. Hezekiah was distraught and went to his spiritual leaders for advice.
Isaiah sent a message to Hezekiah saying that heaven was aroused by Sennacherib and his lying threats. God would come to their rescue because they were God’s children and Sennacherib was exalting himself against God by saying he was more powerful than God. God took the challenge and would fight him with his own army. He did and killed 185,000 in one night. Sennacherib left with his tail between his legs and was killed by his own son when he got home.
This is a picture of spiritual warfare. The devil is the great intimidator and if you look with natural eyes, he looks pretty scary. But, with the eyes of God, he is already defeated and just a bag of hot air. He wants to put fear in us so we don’t do the things God has called us to do because of his threats. God has an army that is waiting to fight for us if we just have faith.
We see this same spirit of intimidation trying to keep Paul from going to Jerusalem. He had prophet after prophet tell him what awaited him. The people saw it with their natural eyes and didn’t want Paul to have to suffer. Paul saw it as a picture of what awaited him but not a reason to avoid it. He knew he would suffer but his eyes were not on this world’s comfort but the finish of his race. He was willing to do whatever it took to win the prize. Satan did not want him to make it to Jerusalem, but Paul knew it was his destiny. Jesus’ disciples did not want Jesus to die on the cross but he knew it was his destiny.
Lord, help us to be fearless against death and pain and let us boldly march to our own destiny. Let us not listen to the intimidation of the enemy but rest in your words of love.