Mon.’s Devo - The Spreading of the Gospel

Read: 1 Kings 12:20-13:34; Acts 9:26-43; Psalm 132:1-18; Proverbs 17:6 When the people of Israel realized Jeroboam had returned from Egypt, they made him their king and he reigned in Shechem. Rehoboam reigned over Benjamin and Judah in Jerusalem. Rehoboam mobilized his army to fight against Jeroboam but a prophet came and told him not to fight against his own brothers and that this division was from the Lord. Rehoboam obeyed. Jeroboam didn’t want his people traveling to Jerusalem three times a year for feasts so he set up two golden calves in Bethel and Dan and told the people to worship them. He changed the Feast of Tabernacles to a month later and appointed men who were not Levites to be priests. He also appointed priests for pagan shrines he had made. Jeroboam set up a counterfeit religion. God sent a prophet from Judah to Bethel who arrived just as Jeroboam was offering incense on his altar. The prophet cursed the altar and said that a child named Josiah would be born of David’s lineage who would sacrifice the pagan priests on it. To prove his message was from God, the altar would split and the ashes would be poured out on the ground. The king pointed at the man and shouted, “Seize that man!” Immediately, the altar split and ashes poured out on the ground. The kings arm was paralyzed in the outward position. He begged the prophet to pray for his arm and he did. It was restored and he was free to leave. An older prophet heard about what had happened and sent for the prophet. The prophet told the older man the same thing he had told the king: the Lord had told him not to stop and eat in Israel. The older prophet lied and told the prophet that the Lord told him he was to stay with him. So he spent the night with him then went his way. A lion attacked and killed him. The older prophet sent for his body and buried him. He told his servant that when he died he wanted to be buried beside him. This story is a mystery to me. I don’t know if the older man wanted fellowship so badly that he was willing to risk the young prophets life to get it, but I do know that what happened to the young prophet was a travesty. In Acts, Saul arrived in Jerusalem with the apostles but the believers were afraid of him. Saul was able to speak out in the open and even debated with some of the Greek-speaking Jews. When they tried to murder Saul, the believers realized that he was on their side. They helped Saul escape to Caesarea, then to Tarsus, his hometown. Now that Saul had become a believer, the Christians had some peace and safety; their main enemy had been converted. Peter went to Lydda and healed a man who had been paralyzed for 8 years. The whole population of Lydda was converted. In Joppa, a well respected woman named Tabitha died and the believers sent for Peter. He came and raised her from the dead causing many in Joppa to become believers. One was a tanner named Simon who housed Peter while he was there. Lord, thank you for the revival that is coming and is here on the earth. Thank you that we will walk in the works and miracles of Jesus just as the early believers did.