Tues.’s Devo - God Speaks

Read: Job 37:1-39:30; 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:10; Psalm 44:9-26; Proverbs 22:13 Elihu has his last words and I have to say he did a good job in talking about the majesty of God. Then he gets snippy and asks Job if he can do what God can do and suggests that Job teach them all of his knowledge since they are ignorant in his eyes. He accuses Job of being confused and Job would be wise to fear God. Finally God speaks to Job. He calls Job’s words ignorant and wants to know who is questioning his wisdom. Then God questions Job. Where was Job when he created the world? God meticulously goes through the formations of the earth questioning Job about them. He questions Job about where light came from and where darkness goes when the light comes. Does Job know the laws of the universe? Who puts wisdom in the inward parts of a man or gives understanding to the heart? And, what about the animals and their characteristics…did Job have anything to do with that? I can’t imaging what Job was feeling as God spoke to him. If he felt low before, he had to feel even lower now. Or maybe he was in such awe that God was speaking to him that he didn’t mind the rebukes. We don’t know but Job got his audience with God. He got what he had cried out for. In Corinthians, Paul gives us such encouraging words. Because we know that God raised Jesus from the dead, we know that he will raise us also. In all the trials we are facing in our bodies, our families and our nation we know that these are only going to last for a short time and then we will be delivered to heaven. Our troubles seem so great now but they will all be gone and the glory we will receive will so outweigh our troubles of this world. In heaven we will get new bodies that will endure forever. We will all stand before God’s throne and be judged for the things we did and receive our rewards for the good we did. Lord, thank you that we can hear your voice and know the thoughts of your heart. Thank you for the new covenant that we have been given.

Mon.’s Devo -Right Standing With God

Read: Job 34:1-36:33; 2 Corinthians 4:1-12; Psalm 44:1-8; Proverbs 22:10-12 Elihu is still on his rampage. He brings Job to their court and presents Job’s case for him. He testifies that Job claims to be innocent and it was God who took away his rights. Elihu then plays the devil’s advocate and says that Job chooses evil people as companions and spends his time with wicked men. That is funny because they are his closest friends. He goes on to say that Job states that God treats everyone as they deserve and will not twist justice. Elihu is building his case that Job doesn’t think God is just. Elihu argues that God watches how people live their lives and brings quick judgment on the guilty. He says that God prevents the godless from ruling so the people will not be snared. (He has not read his history books. God places many godless men in authority to turn the people back to Him.) Elihu says that wise people say that Job speaks ignorantly and that he deserves the maximum penalty for how he has talked. He added rebellion to his sin and is disrespectful and angry. (He doesn’t give Job a bit of mercy or the benefit of the doubt. In Job’s friend’s eyes, Job is guilty before being proven guilty.) Elihu continues to say that God exalts and blesses the innocent and punishes the sinners. He thinks that Job is obsessed with the fact that the wicked will not be judged. Elihu thinks that Job needs to worry about being one of the wicked ones. He instructs Job to turn from a life of evil. Paul didn’t have any problem proclaiming his righteousness in Christ Jesus. We live righteously to proclaim God’s goodness and glory to the world. We see our trials as fellowshipping with Christ in his sufferings. To serve Jesus was to face constant danger of death but he didn’t fear because he knew that death brings eternal life. Lord, thank you for making us righteous through your blood. Thank you that we can have confidence to come boldly before your throne of grace and receive mercy.

Sun.’s Devo - The Veil

Read: Job 31:1-33:33; 2 Corinthians 3:1-18; Psalm 43:1-5; Proverbs 22:8-9 Job has finally had it and defends his actions. He has covenanted with his eyes not to look at a woman with lust. (We should start that movement.) He hasn’t lied or cheated anyone. He has helped the poor and the widow and the orphan. He hasn’t put his trust in his wealth. He hasn’t worshiped the sun or the moon but only worshiped the Lord. He has no secret sins. Job swore he would sign his name to his statements and these were the final words of Job. Job’s fourth friend, Elihu who was younger than the three had been listening to all that was said between Job and his three friends. Elihu was chomping at the bit to talk and so upset that the three could not convince Job he was a sinner. He was angry and released a barrage of words on Job. Elihu felt led by his spirit to give Job his opinion and while it is full of wisdom in many areas, it is not the correct word in Job’s case. I do love what Elihu has to say about dreams because the people of that time had an understanding of how God speaks through dreams that we have lost. He explains that when God is trying to tell us something and we are too busy to stop and listen, he will talk to us in a dream. Sometimes these dreams are warnings to get us to turn from what we are doing which is bringing us harm. Sometimes they are to humble us and sometimes they can bring us to salvation and reveal Jesus to us. Elihu says that sometimes God sends an angel from heaven to declare a person’s righteousness and rescue them from death. Then the angel will heal the man and restore his youth and health to him. At that time man can have his prayers accepted by God. The man must then confess his sins to his friends and tell them that he had twisted the truth and repent. He will testify how God rescued him from his sin and death. Of course, he was alluding to Job and how Job needs to confess his sins to them. All of these friends were accusers of the brethren. (Revelation 12:10) Paul is like the new covenant Job. His stamp that his life well-lived is the Church. They are his testimony and letter from Christ showing the results of his ministry. This letter and his covenant is not written with ink but with the Spirit of Christ. The old way etched in stone led to death but the new way is that the Holy Spirit gives life. The old way brought condemnation but the new way makes us right with God. Moses had to veil his face because the people could not look at the glory of God that emanated from him. That veil remained until Jesus took it away. Now we can reflect God’s glory and be like him. Lord, may we reflect your glory and live in your light. Thank you that the veil has been taken away.

Sat.’s Devo - The Fear of the Lord

Read: Job 28:1-30:31; 2 Corinthians 2:122-17; Psalm 42:1-11; Proverbs 22:7 Job argues that man knows how to get the precious stones that are hidden deep within the earth, but no one knows how to find wisdom. Wisdom is not found among men. It is more valuable than all the gold and silver and precious gems but it can only come from God. He is the only one who knows how and where to find it. We can find it in him. To fear God is wisdom and to turn from evil is understanding. Job remembers the days when he felt like a friend to God and had the respect of honored leaders. He walked upright and helped those who needed help and was a friend of man. Everything changed when he lost everything. Now the lowest of the low mock him and spit on him. He has lost all honor and respect of men. Job cries to the Lord, but his cries fall to the ground as if God doesn’t hear them. In Corinthians, Paul shows his love for the church at Corinthians. He could have no peace of mind until he got the report from Titus about them. He finally left where he was, so he could go and find Titus. Paul summarizes his life. Paul’s life is ministry. He lives to be a sacrifice of praise to the Lord. He could care less about receiving money for his services, He lives his life with sincerity and the fear of the Lord. Lord, may we live our lives as offerings to you and may we proclaim the sincerity of your Word with authority.

Fri.’s Devo - Living For Eternity

Read: Job 23:1-27:23; 2 Corinthians 1:12-2:11; Psalm 41:1-13; Proverbs 22:5-6 Job is a long book of complaints and arguments. Today, Job wishes he could physically go to God’s courts and present his case. What a blessing to know that we can do just that because Jesus made a way for us. Job wants to hear what God would say about his case. He knows that God would hear him and be fair and just. Job does understand that at the end of this test, he will come out as gold because he has stayed on God’s paths. God controls his destiny. Job asks why God doesn’t bring the wicked to judgment. They are the ones who steal land and others livestock. They have no pity for the orphan, the widow or the poor. The wicked rebel against the light. The murderer and the thief do their deeds in darkness and ally themselves with the terrors of the night. But they are afraid in the light. The deeds they do in darkness are not hidden from God. He sees them all. Bildad speaks up and proclaims God’s power and dread. He sees God with his heavenly army waiting to pounce on people who are like maggots and worms to them. Job speaks up and sarcastically rebukes him for lifting up his soul with hope since Bildad offered no hope at all. Instead, Job proclaims God’s majesty over the earth. There is hope for the righteous and he is one of them. The wicked may do many evil things on the earth but their wealth is stored up for the righteous and the righteous will inherit it one day. Even Paul says that we can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have lived with a God-given holiness and have been sincere in our dealings. Job was looking forward into Paul’s day when because of Jesus, we can be the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. In this second letter to the Corinthians, Paul explains why he didn’t come. He knows they are not ready to see him because he would have to rebuke them if he did. He wants to wait and give them time to repent and clean up their mess so they can be proud of who they are when he comes. In the church at Corinth, there was a group that opposed Paul and the leader was especially obnoxious to him. Paul had gone to Corinth to see about the situation but was met with hostility from the leader. Paul had returned to Ephesus and written this letter. The people had sided with Paul but now he was encouraging them to forgive and comfort this person. He didn’t want the man to be overcome with discouragment. I can’t help but think this is the way God feels about us. God is so long-suffering and he will give people a long time to repent before he brings justice. I read about people who are in their seventies before they are brought to court for something they did in their thirties and wonder why they got to live their lives so long before justice was served but it is because God is merciful. He gives us a long time to think about eternity and how we want to spend it. Lord, help us to live for eternity because how we live our lives matters.

Thurs.’s Devo - Comfort and Truth

Read: Job 20:1-22:30; 2 Corinthians 1:1-11; Psalm 40:11-17; Proverbs 22:2-4 Zophar fought back. He thought about all the insults Job threw at him and felt compelled to reply. His argument is that the triumph of the wicked is short-lived and temporary. So true! Their wealth will give them no joy. He argues that every wicked person will be judged here on earth and all will see it. Job doesn’t see it that way. He sees wicked and powerful people living their lives out to the full. Job would like to see God punish them on earth, but he sees plenty who are not punished here on earth. He doesn’t want God to punish their children, he wants the parents who did the sin to be punished. Both of them are right in that sometimes the wicked are punished in their lifetime and we see it and others are not. But a wicked person will experience no joy because joy is a spiritual gift. They experience entertainment and pleasure, but not joy. Inside they are miserable because everyone has a conscience and they are defiling theirs. Eliphaz puts in his two cents and says, what good does it do to God if Job is righteous. He accuses Job of thinking his calamity happened to him because he was too good. Eliphaz doesn’t think Job is good; in fact he thinks he is wicked and there is no limit to his sins. Then he gives him a list of things he must have done like demanding payment from someone who couldn’t pay, refusing water to the thirsty, taking land from the poor, sending widows away empty-handed and crushing the hopes of orphans. He accuses Job of having no fear of God and the consequences of sin. He advises Job to repent and to clean up his life and then God will hear him and deliver him from his troubles. With friends like these, who needs enemies. After reading Job it is nice to hear Paul pray grace and peace for his flock and to hear him calling them ‘holy’. Paul gives us the answer to Job. God is our comforter in all our troubles. The more we suffer for Christ the more God showers down his love through Christ. His comfort enables us to endure the trials so we can help others later when they go through the same trial. Paul told his story of coming close to death. His whole party thought they would die but they comforted each other with the thoughts of God and his power to raise them from the dead. They endured and God did rescue them and save their lives. Paul gave God the glory and thanked the people for their prayers which were greatly affective. Lord, thank you for the comfort of the Holy Spirit and friends. May we be people of encouragement and comfort.

Wed.’s - Job’s Response

Read: Job 16:1-19:29; 1 Corinthians 16:1-24; Psalm 40:1-10; Proverbs 22:1 Job tells us exactly what a person who has experienced great loss needs in verse 5. He tells them that what he really needs is their encouragement and for them to try to take away his Instead they have done everything to add to his grief. He has had to defend himself against their attacks on his character. Job does give a strong case of self-pity and God abuse. God will deal with that when he speaks at the end. For the second time, Job cries out for a mediator between him and God. He wants someone to defend his case. Thank God, we have that in Jesus and the Holy Spirit who are both advocates for us who plead our cause before the Father. The devil is a lot like Job’s friends. He is constantly accusing us day and night before God. Job speaks of having no hope so Bildad speaks up to snuff out any light he might still have. He gives a great description of the wicked implying that Job is one of them. Job has every right to be incensed with his accusations. He calls it torture. He tells them they should be ashamed of their insults. He cries out for his friends to have mercy on his misfortune instead of persecuting him. The people of Corinth asked Paul about offerings and he told them how they did it in Galatia. Everyone set aside an offering at the beginning of the week and then they had money to help people or to support missionaries and teachers. Paul told them to accept Timothy as their equal even though he was young. Apollos would come later when he can. He reminds them of his first converts Stephanas and his family. They were spending their lives serving in the ministry. He thanks them for sending Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus because they had been very helpful to Paul. He sends greeting to them from Aquila and Priscilla and encourages them to love the Lord. Lord, may we see how the ruthless the devil is in the words of Job’s friends and know that that is not at all how you encourage. May we know your loving kindnesses and feel your comfort.

Tues.’s Devo - Resurrected Bodies

Read: Job 12:1-15:35; 1 Corinthians 15:29-58; Psalm 39:1-13; Proverbs 21:30-31 Job sarcastically tells his friend that wisdom will die with them. Then he tells them that he knows some things also and that they are no better than him. You have to love his fighting spirit. He was confident that his disaster had come from the hand of the Lord. He proclaims that everything is in the hands of the Lord and all creation knows that. Job’s argument is that when God does something, there is nothing you can do to reverse it. No one can fight against God and win. Nothing he could do would get him out of the trouble he was in because it was God who put him there. Job accuses his friends of smearing him with lies and arguing God’s case against him. Job tells them to be quiet and leave him alone and let him face the consequences of his life. You have to admire Job’s defense of his walk with the Lord. He calls out to the Lord to visit him…just not scare him when he does. He begs for an audience with God and asks God to show him if he has done anything wrong. Eliphaz defends himself. He argues that a wise man wouldn’t talk like Job. He accused Job of having no fear of God and asks Job if he has a monopoly on wisdom. He asked how Job can say he is innocent when no man is innocent before God. In Corinthians Paul tried to put some common sense into the people. They were getting baptized for the dead and yet they questioned if there was a resurrection. Paul explained that that didn’t make sense. The reason Paul was not afraid of death and spent his life living for Jesus was the hope of the resurrection. The people were asking what kind of body would they have in the resurrection and Paul explained that these bodies were just seeds. They go into the ground and die and the new body is much better than the seed. It is just like a flower which is much more beautiful than the seed. Their new bodies will be glorious spiritual bodies. Adam was the first man and he was made from dust. Jesus, the second man was made from heaven. We are now like Adam but we will be like Christ when we rise. So Paul encouraged us to work enthusiastically for the Lord because nothing we do for the Lord is ever useless. Lord, remind us that we are only a traveler passing through. May our lives bring you glory.

Mon.’s Devo - The Power of the Resurrection

Read: Job 8:1-11:20; 1 Corinthians 15:1-28; Psalm 38:1-22; Provers 21:28-29 While reading Job I have to remind myself that their responses are not always right in that they are giving their interpretation of God and how he works. God has the final say in the end and he defends himself saying that none of them are totally right. But,we can learn some nuggets of truth in the midst of their conversations. Bildad speaks and his argument is that God doesn’t twist justice so somebody (Job) had to sin to result in Job’s calamity. He suggests that maybe it was Job’s children. He encourages Job to pray and seek God’s favor and if he is pure and lives with integrity, like he claims, things should turn around for him. Bildad alludes to what happens to those who forget God, but he tries to encourage Job with the promise of a good future if he lives in integrity. Job speaks and agrees with him in principle but argues who can stand innocent before God. Job only knows that in his own eyes, as far as he knows, he is innocent. He argues that no one could stand before God and be pure. Job wishes there was a mediator between him and God who could bring them together and speak for him. He wants to know what God’s charge is against him so he can fix it. He feels condemned without a cause. Zophar speaks up. He is ruthless and accuses Job of mocking God. He believes that God is punishing Job and it is less than he deserves. (Zophar is the worse comforter of all.) His answer is for Job to repent of his sin. In Corinthians, Paul adamantly preaches the resurrection. The resurrection is the rock we stand on. It is what we are living for and the power of the cross. Apparently, some in that day didn’t believe in the resurrection and Paul wanted to make it clear that to believe in Christ was not enough if they left out the resurrection. It is our hope and reward. We will all be resurrected after Jesus comes back. The first Adam brought sin and death and the second Adam brought righteousness and life. Jesus was the first to rise from the dead and all who belong to Christ are the harvest of that resurrection. God put everything under Jesus’ authority so he could destroy all of God’s enemies. Once that is accomplished, Jesus will the kingdom back under God’s authority and God will reign over everything everywhere. Lord, may we live under your authority and join you in bringing everything under you feet.

Sun.’s Devo - Job Defends Himself to Eliphaz

Read: Job 4:1-7:21; 1 Corinthians 14:18-40; Psalm 37:30-40; Proverbs 21:27 Job’s friend, Eliphaz spoke first. He reminds him of all he has done for others who were misfortunate, but now that misfortune has come to him, he is terrified. He points out that his experience has showed him that you reap what you sow. Then he gives this dramatic revelation he got in the middle of the night: Who was man that he thought he could be innocent before God. Even the angels sinned so how much less are we who are made of dust. It is fools that are one day successful and suddenly see disaster. He advised Job to present himself before God’s court and let Him correct him. He will rescue him if he is humble and repents. Job answers Eliphaz and stands up for his right to be sad and mourn. What Job needed from them was compassion and comfort, but what he got was judgment and answers. Job says, “One should be kind to a fainting friend, but you accuse me without any fear of the Almighty.” He finally tells them to stop assuming that he is guilty because he has done nothing wrong. Then Job goes into the truth about life. Life is a struggle. Jesus said, “In this world you will have tribulation.” Job just wants the right to be able to talk it out. He is expressing the depths of his loss. He ends with a prayer of anguish to God. In Corinthians Paul lets them know that he speaks in tongues much in his quiet time at home. He is speaking to God and He understands his tongues even when Paul can’t. But in church, he is speaking for the sake of people ,so he speaks in a language they can understand and agree with. On the day of Pentecost, tongues were given to the Jews to be a sign to the unbelievers that what they were saying was of God, since the foreigners knew they couldn’t know their language. But prophesy is for the believers. Prophesy reveals things about a person that no-one could know and is given to the believer to expose their hearts. When they meet together one has a psalm, another a teaching, another brings a revelation and another has the interpretation. It is a thread that brings edification to all. It is all to be done in way that has order and self-control. Apparently, their services were getting a little wild and everyone wanted to speak at the same time. So Paul was encouraging them to take turns and let everyone have the chance to give their part, but after two or three prophesies they could stop and let that sink in. Corinth was a Greek city where women were worshipped. This thought moved into the church and the women had become out of order so Paul had to tell them to listen and let the men speak. He was trying to teach them God’s order with man and women. This was a letter just to them in Corinth, but we now use it to shut down women’s voices that need to be heard. Lord, help us to do everything in your order and way. May we bring comfort to those who are in affliction.

Sat.’s Devo - Job’s Test

Read: Job 1:1-3:26; 1 1 Corinthians 14:1-17; Psalm 37:12-29; Proverbs 21:25-26 No one knows who wrote the book of Job but here are some of the possibilities: Moses, Solomon, or an ancient wise man. Scholars date the book from 2000-1800 B.C. Job was from Uz which means fertile land. It was probably located somewhere to the east or south-east of Palestine and north of Edom. Job means “the cry of woe”. He was upright and known for his integrity. Job and his wife had seven sons and three daughters. He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 donkeys. No wonder he needed to live in fertile land. No telling how many servants he had to help him. His sons would take turns having feasts and invite the rest of them. When the feast was over, Job ceremoniously offered a burnt offering for each of his children to purify them just in case one of them cursed the Lord in their hearts. God had his heavenly court meeting and Satan attended. When it came Satan’s time to report he told God he had been patrolling the earth. God asked him if he had observed Job who was blameless and feared Him. Satan told him that he feared God because God had walled him in and protected him. If God removed his wall, Job wouldn’t feel the same. He would curse God. God took up Satan’s challenge and told him he would remove the wall but he could not touch Job himself. Satan got right to that assignment. He killed his oxen, donkeys and all his farmhand except one, his sheep and all his servants except one, and all his sons and daughter. Job got this news in one day. But, in his sorrow, he did not blame his misfortune on God. The court met again in heaven and when it came Satan’s time to report, God asked Satan about Job. God commended Job again and said that even though Satan urged God to harm him without a cause, Job did not blame God. Satan said it was because he hadn’t touched his health. God put so much faith in Job’s integrity that he took up the challenge. He told him he could touch his health but he could not kill him. Satan got right to that assignment and put boils all over Job’s body. Still, Job did not curse God or blame him. He cursed the day he was born instead. His statement was, “Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” His three friends came to console him but when they saw Job, they were the ones who needed consoling. What a lesson for us. The minute something bad happens, I tend to think that it is my fault or somehow I have made God upset and this is my punishment. What if we saw every trial as a test which is what it is. A curse is something totally different. A curse cannot come without a cause. A curse comes because we or someone in our family has opened a door by sinning and we need to repent and close the door. Job had done everything to keep a curse from coming. God knew that in the end, Job was going to end up much better than he started but he couldn’t tell Job, that would be cheating in the test. God said we would have many trials and tribulations but to be of good cheer because He has overcome the world. In Corinthians, Paul explains that speaking in tongues empowers the person praying. Giving a prophesy empowers the one it is given to. In the church it is better to prophesy and build up the other members unless you give a message in tongues that is interpreted for the others. Paul has a remedy for everyone: pray in tongues and in languages others can understand. Sing in tongues and in English and that way everyone can be edified. Lord, may we edify You, ourselves and others in what we do and how we worship. Help us to understand our trials are to make us strong and work our spiritual muscles to prepare us for the next battle.

Fri.’s Devo - In A Day!

Read: Esther 8:1-10:3; 1 Corinthians 12:27-13:13; Psalm 37:1-11; Proverbs 21:23-24 This is how a nation was saved in a day. King Xerxes gave the property of Haman to Queen Esther. She introduced the king to her uncle, Mordecai. The king took off his signet ring that he had given to Haman and gave it to Mordecai. Esther put Mordecai in charge of Haman’s property. Esther went again to the king and he held out his scepter to her. She begged for the lives of her people. She asked for a decree to reverse his first decree about the Jews. He told her he couldn’t take it away but she was free to write another decree and seal it with his seal. So three months after the first decree, Mordecai sent another saying that on the day the Jews were to be killed, they would be able to defend themselves and keep the property of their enemies. In the next six months, Mordecai became so powerful in the kingdom that people were afraid to hurt the Jews because of him. Many people converted to Judaism for fear of being killed themselves. When the day came to fight, it was the Jews who overpowered their enemies. In the whole Persian empire 75,500 enemies of the Jews were killed, yet no one took plunder. That is amazing that the Jews were captive in a foreign kingdom and they defeated them within their own boundaries. The Jews celebrated on the next day and made those two days an annual feast and called it Purim which means “lot”. The lot had been against them but God reversed the lot in their favor. Haman and all his sons were empaled on the pole that he had set up for Mordecai. The lot did not fall well for him. Mordecai continued to serve the king as his prime minister for years. He was fair and just and worked for the good of his people and their welfare. In Corinthians, Paul gives us the parts of Christ’s body for the church. First is apostles which in the Greek means an ambassador of the Gospel, officially commissioned who has miraculous powers. The second in rank is the prophet who is an inspired speaker and foreteller. Third is the teacher who is an instructor, doctor or master. Fourth is the one who moves in miraculous power. Next is the healer. Then the government in the church or the director or administrator. Lastly is the one who speaks in a tongue that was not acquired naturally. Not everyone can be all of these things although we can operate in all of them throughout our personal lives. Paul is specifically talking here of the workings of the church. The next chapter tells how we move in each one of these gifts. If we don’t move through love our gift will be distorted and not bring the fruit of the Holy Spirit of God. God is love so he moves in love and we must also. God’s gifts work perfectly through love. Charity in the Greek means affection or benevolence, a love-feast. Lord, may we use the gifts you have given us through your love. Thank you that you can save a nation in a day and you can save this nation!

Thurs.’s Devo - Divine Reversals

Read: Esther 4:1-7:10; 1 Corinthians 12:1-26; Psalm 36:1-12; Proverbs 21:21-22 When Mordecai read the edict allowing the killing of his people he put on burlap and ashes and went into the city crying loudly. He went to the gate of the palace and stayed. Esther’s attendants told her how he was dressed and what he was doing, she sent him some clothes but her refused to put them on. He sent her back a copy of the edict and told the messengers to show it to Esther and tell her to go and beg for mercy from the king. Esther sent back a messaged saying that it might cost her her life to go to the king since he hadn’t asked for her in 30 days. Mordecai rebuked her and told her that she nor her relatives would live through this and who knows if she wasn’t made queen for this very moment. Esther replied that she would go to the king but for the Jews in Susa to fast for three days and she and her maids would also. He agreed. On the third day of the fast, Esther did go in before the king and he lifted his scepter and asked her what she wanted. She invited him and Haman to a banquet she was preparing that night. He accepted and Haman was thrilled. Haman left to go home but passed Mordecai, who didn’t bow to him. He complained about Mordecai to his friends and wife and they suggested he construct a 75 foot pole in his back yard to impale Mordecai on. He thought that sounded good and did it. Then he went to the banquet. They enjoyed a wonderful feast and when the king asked Esther what she requested, she asked him to please come again the next night for a banquet and then she would tell him then what she requested. They agreed. That night, Xerxes couldn’t sleep so he asked for the books about his reign be brought to him. He read the part about how Mordecai saved his life and asked if anything had been done to reward him. Nothing had been done. The next morning, Haman came to ask permission to impale Mordecai. The king asked him first what he should do for someone he wanted to honor. Mordecai thought he was talking about himself so he told him just what he would like: to wear the king’s robe and be led on the king’s horse that bore his seal throughout the city with someone yelling, “this is what the king does for those he honors.” The king thought that sounded good and told him to go do it to Mordecai. He was shocked but he had to obey. Haman went home and related his day to his advisors and family. The same friends that told him to erect the pole told him that since he had been humiliated by Mordecai, he would not win against him. At that moment the eunuch from the palace came to take him to the banquet. At the banquet the king again asked Esther what her request was. She asked for the life of herself and her people. She explained that they had been sold to those who would kill, slaughter and annihilate them. When the king asked who would do such a thing. She exposed Haman as the wicked man that he was. Hamans’ fate was sealed. The king went to get his guards and when they came back in, Haman was dropped over Esther begging for his life. This made the king even madder. The king’s’eunuchs told the king that Haman had constructed a pole to impale Mordecai on so the king told them to use it for Haman. Everything good that Haman wanted, Mordecai got - the honor and recognition and every evil thing that Haman planned for Mordecai came back on him. This is the law of God’s kingdom. It is God’s divine reversal. In Corinthians, Paul goes to great lengths to explain how each of us are a part of a whole. We are all uniquely made with different gifts so that we would all share our gifts and become a whole person. We cannot be whole without each other. The body works when all its parts are healthy. Lord, help us to be a healthy part of the Body. Thank you for being our head and leading us to victory.

Wed.’s Devo - Save Us!

Read: Esther 1:1-3:15; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34; Psalm 35:17-28; Proverbs 21:19-20 Esther is believed to have happened around 465 B.C. and takes place over four years. This would place it between the time of Ezra when they rebuilt the Temple and the time of Nehemiah when they came and rebuilt the wall. There were still Jews who had not returned to Jerusalem living in Persia. The story opens in a banquet that the King Xerxes gave in the capital of Susa of Persia. It was a huge event that lasted 180 days and all the military officers and the who’s who were invited. During the event, the king showed off the opulence of his kingdom. The queen, Vashti entertained the wives in a separate banquet. On the seventh day of the feast when the king was drunk he told his eunuchs to bring his wife over to his party so he could show her off. She refused to come which posed an embarrassing situation for the king. He was furious and wanted revenge. He consulted his wise men and they knew that if Vashti got away with not obeying her husband then their wives would follow suit, so they proposed to have Vashti exiled. The king agreed and sent Vashti away. After a while, the king missed his wife and the wise men knew they had to come up with a solution or the king might turn on them. They proposed a beauty contest of all the women worthy in the kingdom. He could choose his favorite. Meanwhile, there was a Jewish exile named Mordecai from the lineage of Saul. He had adopted his orphaned niece, Hadassah also called Esther who was very pretty. She was chosen and brought to the king’s harem for beauty treatments. Hegai was impressed with Esther and moved her to the top and gave her the best maids and treatments. Mordecai had warned Esther not to tell anyone that she was Jewish. When it was her time to go meet the king, he was so impressed with her that he set the royal crown on her head and declared her queen. He gave a great banquet in her honor and declared the day a holiday. Later, Mordecai was on his shift at the gate when he overheard two men plotting to murder the king. He got the information to Esther, who had the king warned. The two men were arrested and killed. King Xerxes elevated a man named Haman to top commander of all his nobles. Haman was a wicked man who was drunk on power. He wanted everyone to bow in respect to him but Mordecai refused to bow. Haman had Mordecai investigated and found out that he was a Jew. He decided to ruin and kill Mordecai and his people. Every year at the start of the year, they would cast lots (purim) for every event on the calendar. Haman told Xerxes that there were a group of people in his kingdom who separated them selves from everyone else and obeyed only their own laws. They refused to obey the king’s laws and it was not good for his kingdom to let them live. He wanted the king to issue a decree to kill them and Haman would donate 10,000 sacks of silver of his own to Xerxes bank account. (Talk about a political bribe!) The king agreed and gave him his ring to make it official (making it an executive order). The decree went out and like the lot or purim said, it would happen the last month of the year. The king and Human sat down to drink wine and the whole city was thrown into confusion. You can see the disconnect of the king and his people. Reminds me of America. In Corinthians, Paul says that divisions must come because they make God’s approval obvious. If we don’t disagree and bring it to the table, we will never know what God says. God will manifest his answer. Paul discussed their meeting for eating the Lord’s supper. They would all meet and bring food for a feast. The rich would bring enough to share with the poor. Either before the meal or after, they would partake of the Lord’s supper - the bread and the wine. Paul rebuked them of gorging themselves and getting drunk and not taking God’s supper seriously. They had no self-control and their hearts were not in the right place. Lord, we can see our nation right where the Jews found themselves. A decree has gone forth to kill all of your people and do them harm. We are crying out to you to save us and have mercy. We put all our trust in you.

Tues.’s Devo - Nehemiah’s Reforms

Read: Nehemiah 12:27-13:31; 1 Corinthians 11:1-16; Psalm 35:1-16; Proverbs 21:17-18 The dedication of the new wall was a joyous occasion. The singers brought their instruments and everyone went to the wall. The priests and Levites purified themselves then the people, the gates and the wall. Then Nehemiah led them to the top of the wall and organized two large choirs to give thanks One when one way on the wall and the other choir went the other way until they met on the other side. Many sacrifices were made and men were appointed to watch over the storerooms of the people’s offerings. They opened the book of the Law and it was read to the people. They learned that no Ammonites or Moabites were to be allowed in enter the assembly of God because they had not provided food and water when the Israelites were leaving Egypt and they hired Balaam to curse Israel. Tobiah was an Ammonite and was also a relative of the high priest, Eliashib. Nehemiah, who had been gone for a few years returned to find that Eliashib had allowed Tobiah a storage room in the Temple. When Nehemiah learned of that, he went and took all of Tobiah’s things he had stored in that room and threw them out. Remember that Tobiah had been one of Nehemiah’s adversaries in building the wall. Nehemiah also found that the Levites had not been paid so they had to return to work their fields to put food on their tables. Nehemiah restored the Levites to their Temple jobs and made sure they were paid. Nehemiah saw that the people were working their fields and selling their wares on the Sabbath. He reminded them that it was sin like this that got them into all their trouble. He had the gates of Jerusalem shut on the Sabbath to preserve the holiness of the day. He also noticed that men had married foreign wives and some of their children could not even speak Hebrew. He was so upset he called down curses on them and pulled out some of the hair and made them swear they would not let their children intermarry with the pagan people. This sin was even in the priesthood. one of the sons of the high priest, Eliashib had married a daughter of Sanballat (another one of Nehemiah’s enemies). Nehemiah banished him from his presence. Nehemiah got the Temple in working order again. Paul told the people to imitate himself because he would be imitating Christ. This sounds arrogant but Paul had seen the life of Christ and many of these people had not. He was telling them that he would live his life like Jesus did so they could see how Jesus lived. Paul explained that man represents God’s glory so his head should be left uncovered. There is no shame in God. Woman represents man’s glory so her head needs to be covered either with hair or a covering. In spiritual terms it means that we have to be covered with the blood of Christ to stand before God. His blood shows that we are under his authority. Lord, we submit ourselves to your authority. We choose to purify ourselves for your service.

Mon.’s Devo - Residents of Jerusalem 8-16-21

Read: Nehemiah 11:1-12:26; 1 Corinthians 10:14-33; Psalm 34:11-22; Proverbs 21:14-16 The residents of Jerusalem were either chosen by lots or volunteered. A tenth were chosen by sacred lots to leave their cities and come and live in Jerusalem. Many leaders chose to come and live in Jerusalem but many people, priests, Levites, Temple servants and descendants of Solomon’s servants continued to live in their own towns in Judah. A list is given of all the people by name that came to live in Jerusalem. They were commended for coming. A list was given of all the leaders of families that came while Joiakim was high priest. A record was taken of the Levite families during the service of the next few high priests: Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan,and Jaddua. This might seem unimportant to us, but it is like our names written in the Book of Life. These records validated their bloodlines and their rights to the priesthood just as our names written in God’s Book of Life qualifies us as sons of God and all the rights as heirs to Christ. Paul told the Corinthians to flee from idol worship. Idol worship is the worship of demons and you can’t serve Satan and God at the same time. Apparently they were taking of the Lord’s supper and also worshipping idols. They thought that grace covered them and allowed them to do anything they wanted but that is not what grace is. They also questioned him about going to someone’s house to eat when they suspected the food they were serving was food they also offered to idols. Paul said to eat what was put before you without question, but if they tell you it is offered to idols, then you have to make a decision if it will hurt others convictions or not. He explained that sometimes we have to forfeit doing things because it hinders someone else’s convictions. We refrain from doing it for love of that person, not because we are convicted ourselves. That is just considering others above ourselves. Lord, thank you that you have our names written in your eternal Book of Life. Thank you that we are spiritual residents of Jerusalem.

Sun.’s Devo - The Return

Read: Nehemiah 9:22-10:39; 1 Corinthians 9:19-10:13; Psalm 34:1-10; Proverbs 21:13 The story continued as the leaders reminded the Israelites of their history and all God had done for them. They told of the nations of the earth that God had conquered for them and given them their possessions and their land. But as soon as they were at peace, the people turned to sin and God let their enemies conquer them. When they cried out to the Lord, he rescued them. This viscous cycle continued over and over. That is where they were right now - under the rule of evil people who enslaved them. They all joined in an oath to obey the Law of God given by Moses and repent. They promised not to let their daughters marry the men of pagan people, not to do business on the Sabbath, to let the land rest and cancel all debts in the seventh year, and to pay the annual Temple tax for the care of the Temple. They scheduled a rotation of bringing wood to keep the fire burning on the altar and promised to bring the first fruits of their labor and their first born sons to the Lord. In Corinthians, Paul explained his life. Everything he did was to bring others to Christ. When he was with the Jews he honored their convictions and when he was with the Gentiles he enjoyed their freedoms with them. He obeyed the law of Christ which was to love God and others. He warned them not to be enticed back into sin like the Israelites were who traveled through the wilderness. They had been brought out of slavery and a land full of idol worship yet many of them returned to sin of their own free will. God is faithful and will not allow the temptations we face to be more than we can withstand. He always shows us a way out. He is our way of escape. Lord, help us to walk upright and without blame in this world.

Sat.’s Devo - Reading the Word

Read: Nehemiah 7:73b-9:21; 1 Corinthians 9:1-18; Psalm 33:12-22; Proverbs 21:11-12 Nehemiah called the people of Israel to assemble on the first day of Tishri which was the Feast of Trumpets. In this case, Ezra was the trumpet. He brought out the Book of the Law and began reading it from early morning until noon. When he stood to open the book, all the people stood. Ezra led them in praise to the Lord and they bowed down to the ground in worship. The Levites, then went back over what they had heard and explained to them what it meant. The people wept as they realized how far from the Law they had been living. Nehemiah encouraged them to not weep but to rejoice and feast because the joy of the Lord was their strength. This was a day of celebration and community. On the second day, the family leaders met with the priests and Levites to discuss the coming feast of Tabernacles. It was two weeks from then and the people were to live in shelters for a week. These shelters were to be made from specific branches. They released the people to go and begin making their shelters and they would meet back on the first day of the feast. Ezra read from the book every day of the feast and on the eighth day it was a solemn assembly. On this day the people fasted and repented for their sins and the sins of their ancestors. They stood for three hours while the Book of the Law was read aloud. For three more hours they confessed their sins and worshiped the Lord. The leaders called out to the people to stand up and praise the Lord. They went back through their history of all God had done for them and confessed their lack of obedience and repented. In Corinthians, we have the answers to the questions the people wrote Paul, we just don’t have the questions. Apparently Paul was asked what made him think he had authority over them. They probably didn’t like some of his rebukes over their lifestyle and wanted to put Paul in his place. But he put them in theirs. They also thought that since he was in prison, he wasn’t worthy of them listening to him. The reason they had the good news at all was because of him. He had never asked them for money or pay but they owed their lives to him. The priests got paid from the Temple taxes and other missionaries that came to their city were paid but he had never asked for a cent and never gotten one from them. He did what he did because he was compelled by the Holy Spirit to do it. Lord, I think of your grace and forgiveness that you have given us freely that we did nothing to receive and I feel a little like the people in Corinth. Forgive me for taking lightly what you have done for me and all mankind. You have graciously had compassion and mercy on us. We do not deserve your mercy but open our hearts to receive it. Forgive us, your people and forgive our nation and bring Your healing.

Fri.’s Devo - The Plots of the Enemy

Read: Nehemiah 5:14-7:73a; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13; Psalm 33:1-11; Proverbs 21:8-10 Nehemiah served as governor of Jerusalem for 12 years. He was not like the previous governors who taxed the people to pay for his expenses. Nehemiah did his share in building the wall and required his personal servants to give time to the wall. He fed 150 Jewish officials out of his own pay check and didn’t write it off on an expense account. Nehemiah did this because he feared God. Sanballat, Tobiah and Goshen the Arab learned that he had finished the wall all except for seeing the doors in the gates and sent a message for Nehemiah to meet with him. He had planned harm for Nehemiah, but Nehemiah learned of his plan and refused to meet with him. He told him he was too busy. After the fourth time, Sanballat sent an open message which said that they had learned that the Jews were planning to rebel against the king. It accused him of having prophets proclaim their sovereignty. It threatened that news would get back to the king so he had better come and talk to Sanballat about it. Nehemiah saw right through Sanballat’s manipulation and sent back a message saying that all his story was lies he had made up. Nehemiah continued working even harder on the wall. Nehemiah went to visit Shemaiah, a friend of his who was homebound. Shemaiah wanted Nehemiah to meet him inside the Temple behind locked doors. He warned Nehemiah to hide because his enemies were going to kill him that night. Nehemiah didn’t fall for it. He realized that Sanballat had done what he accused him of doing - hiring a prophet to say what he wanted him to say. Nehemiah refused to run in fear so they could discredit him. I love how Nehemiah was always reminding God to remember what he did for good, and to remember what his enemies were doing bad. Finally in the fall, on Evul 25 the wall was finished - 52 days after they began. Those 52 days were hard days for Nehemiah as Tobiah did everything he could think of to stop the work and frustrate Nehemiah’s plans. Many of the people of Judah sided with Tobiah who looked good on the outside and who was aligned with the elite of the land. The populous knew nothing of Tobiah’s evil letters and plots. (Sounds a lot like America’s politics.) Once the wall was finished, Nehemiah’s job was over so he gave his responsiblibty of governing Jerusalem to his brother Hanani. He appointed Hananiah commander of the fortress. Both feared God. He gave them strict orders to guard the gates. Since there were not many people living in Jerusalem at the time, God gave Nehemiah the idea to find the geneological records and see who were priests and who were Levites. They could live in the city and protect it. In Corinthians, they asked Paul about eating food that had been offered up to idols, eating with someone who worshiped idols, eating in someone’s home who had idols, etc. Paul told them that love had to be their motivation in everything. They also had to think about the example they were giving to new believers. All of that had to be taken in consideration. If they had questions about what to do then the best answer was, don’t do it. Love should be the motivation in all that we do. Lord, help us to live our lives not only for you but for others who are watching us. May all we do glorify you.

Thurs.’s Devo - Working with Weapons

Read: Nehemiah 3:15-5:13; 1 Corinthians 32:1-11; Psalm 32:1-11; Proverbs 21:5-7 Every district was in charge of a different section of the wall. The priests repaired the wall in front of their own houses so everyone took responsibility for the rebuilding of the wall. Sanballat was very angry when he realized the wall was being rebuilt. He did everything he could to discourage them. He mocked them in front of his friends and criticized their work. Ezra prayed that their words would fall back on them. Finally the wall was finished to half of its height all around the city. When Sanballat, Tobia, and the Arabs, Ammonites and Ashdodites heard of their progress and that the gaps had been repaired, they made plans to come and fight against them and confuse their work. Ezra and the people prayed for protection. The people of Judah started complaining about all the rubble that needed to be removed and that they would never finish. The enemies spread rumors of attacks and those who lived near them reported their threats to Ezra. Ezra placed armed guards behind the lowest parts of the wall in the exposed areas and stationed people to stand guard by the families. Ezra encouraged the people to not be afraid of the enemy but to trust in the Lord who is great and glorious. He told them to fight for their brothers, sons, daughters, wives and their homes. When the enemy realized that their schemes were found out and they didn’t work and the wall was still being built, they were frustrated. Work continued with armed guards. Everyone worked with a weapon belted to their side. The trumpeter stood ready to sound the alarm if their enemies tried to attack. Then they would all run to the sound of the trumpet and fight. If this wasn’t enough problems, the women started complaining that they didn’t have enough food to feed their families. There was a famine going on at the time. Others had such high taxes that they had to borrow money just to pay them. Some were selling their children to work for their rich relatives just to get enough to eat. When Ezra heard this he was ticked. He spoke out against the nobles and officials who were charging interest and hurting their own relatives. Ezra reminded them of the cost of buying them back from the pagan nations and now they were doing the same thing to their own. He rebuked them and told them to walk in the fear of the Lord. The people repented and said they would give back everything and demand nothing more from the people. Ezra made them swear to do what they promised or God would shake them from their homes and property. They promised. In Corinthians, it is important to understand this was a letter written in a time of crisis in the world and in the church. They had asked him what they should do during this crisis and he tells them it is not a time to make huge changes. If you are married, stay married. If you aren’t you might want to stay single for the time being. It was just a suggestion because of the state of affairs them were in. I think we could equate their instability with our state of transition now in our nation. These are not times to make huge changes unless God directs and then we follow God. He was telling them that to marry then would not be a sin, there would just be greater obstacles to face than normal. Paul was literally thinking they were facing the end of the ages and their focus had to be on more than just what was going on in their own home. They needed to focus on the Lord’s work because the time was short. If it was short then, it is much shorter now. I think it is wise to read what Paul says about marriage after you are saved… he says that if you marry after you are saved it must be “in the Lord”. In other words, you must marry a believer and be led to remarry. Lord, may our focus be on the big picture of what you are doing and rightly divid our attention. Help us to have wisdom and discernment into our actions and thoughts. We know that you are great and powerful and have great plans for our nation and the harvest. May we work with our full armor on holding the Sword of Truth.

Wed.’s Devo - Rebuilding the Walls

Read: Nehemiah 1:1-3:14; 1 Corinthians 7:1-24; Psalm 31:19-24; Proverbs 21:4 Nehemiah starts his journal about 13 years after Ezra’s last writing. Some think that Ezra co-wrote Nehemiah with him. Ezra is also credited with writing Ezra, 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles. Nehemiah was a cup-bearer to King Artaxerxes. Nehemiah had just learned from men who had come from Jerusalem that things were not well there. The people were under much reproach and distress and the wall of Jerusalem was broken down and the gates burned. This news upset Nehemiah greatly, who grieved and prayed for God to remember his covenant with his people. He wore his grief on his face when he came to bring wine to the king. Obviously, the king greatly loved and respected Nehemiah to have placed him in such a high honor so he asked why Nehemiah was sad. Nehemiah said a quick prayer then told the king of the news of his country and how bad things were there. The king asked what he could do and Nehemiah had a ready answer. He asked to be able to return and help rebuild the wall and for supplies to do it and enough to build himself a house while he would be staying there. He also asked for letters for safe passage. The king granted him everything he requested and sent captains of his army and horsemen with him. Satan’s men were waiting for him. Sanballat, which means “hatred in secret” and Tobiah, which means “the goodness of Jehovah” were Ammonite officials who were enemies of the Jews. They were most upset that anyone was coming to help the Jews. When Nehemiah reached Jerusalem he rode around the city for three days and observed it situation by night. He didn’t want anyone to know he was there and why. Then he met with the leaders of Jerusalem and rallied them to rebuild the wall. They agreed to rebuild When Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem heard what they were doing they laughed at them and tried to discourage them. They accused them of rebelling against the king. Despite their ridicule, different groups rebuilt their section of the wall and its gates. People from all walks of life worked on the wall: from the priests to perfumers. They all had a mind to work. In Corinthians, Paul had to teach them what a husband and wife were suppose to do for each other. They lived in such a sexually promiscuous society that didn’t know God’s laws of marriage. He encouraged them to stay with their spouse and work things out if possible. He encouraged widows to stay single unless they needed a husband, then remarry. If they were married to unbelievers, he encouraged them to stay and be an example of Godly love and holiness. If the spouse who is not a believer divorced his believing wife, then she was free to go. God has called us to live in peace. Paul explained that you don’t change your situation yourself just because you get saved. When God calls you to a situation, you stay there until He changes it. For example, if you get saved and are in a second marriage, you don’t try to change that. You stay and work from there. That is your beginning of your new life. You can’t change your past. But he does say that if God gives you the chance to be free if you are a slave, you should take it. Selah! God wants us to be a free as we can to serve Him. Lord, help us to endure till the end. Thank you for the grace you give us to live each day. Thank you for our eternal covenant of peace we have with you.

Tues.’s Devo - True Repentance

Read: Ezra 10:1-44; 1 Corinthians 6:1-20; Psalm 31:9-18; Proverbs 21:3 Many other people repented with Ezra in front of the Temple of the Lord. Shecaniah, one of the guilty came to Ezra with a plan to redeem Israel. He offered to make a covenant with God to divorce their wives and send them and their children away. He encouraged Ezra to lead them in this process. So Ezra got up and demanded that the leaders and all the people swear to do what Shecaniah had said. They all swore they would. A proclamation was made that all the exiles of Judah should come to Jerusalem in three days. If they didn’t come they would forfeit their prophets and be expelled from the assembly of the exiles. All of Judah and Benjamin gathered. It was winter and raining. The people trembled because of their fear of the Lord and the cold. Ezra stood before them telling them the seriousness of their sin of marrying pagan women and what they must do to fix the problem. He told them to confess their sin and separate themselves from these pagan women. They set up scheduled times to come and do a legal divorce ceremony. The list of offenders were written down. Some of them even had children. True repentance is not just being sorry for what you did, but fixing it by making a change. That is what they did. In Ezra we have an example of how the church should handle its problems but in Corinthians they were having secular courts handle their problems. Paul rebuked them for not understanding who they were and their authority. He explained that one day the believers will judge the world and angels so they should not be going to pagan lawyers to settle disputes among themselves. They were guilty of bringing other believers to court to sue them. He told them they should just take the injustice and let themselves be cheated since it was their brothers. Some of them were the ones doing the wrong. People who indulge in sinful lifestyles will not inherit the kingdom of God. Paul explained that just because we have forgiveness does not mean that sin is good for us and won’t hurt us because it will. Our bodies are actually parts of Christ. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. We have been bought with a high price - the price of the body and blood of Jesus. Lord, may we honor you today in our spirits and our bodies.

Mon’s Devo - Dealing With Sin -

Read: Ezra 8:21-9:15; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; Psalm 31:1-8; Proverbs 21:1-2 Before Ezra led his people to Jerusalem, he called a fast to pray for their safe journey. They would be traveling four months through unsafe territory and were carrying tons of silver and pounds of gold. He was ashamed to ask for the king’s soldiers to accompany them because he had told the king that God’s hand of protection was on all who worship him. Now he had to live his words. Ezra appointed 12 leaders of the priests to be in charge of the gold and silver. It was their job to get the gold and silver to the priests in Jerusalem to be weighed there. They left three days before Passover and arrived in Jerusalem safely. They rested three days then took the gold and silver and had it weighed at the Temple. Nothing had been taken. The exiles sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord and presented 12 bulls, 96 rams, and 77 male lambs. They also offered 12 male goats as a sin offering. They told the highest officers and governors what he king had told them concerning the Temple. Man of the Jewish leaders gave them reports about the sins of the people and even some of the priests. They had intermarried with the people in the land and had joined in their idol worship. The holy race had been polluted. This meant that the human race had once again mingled its DNA with other than human DNA. The Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites had demonic blood in them. That is why they worshipped demons. When Ezra heard this, he tore his cloak and shirt, pulled hair from his head and beard and sat down utterly shocked. This was a big deal! The people who felt the same as he did came and sat with him. He stayed there until the time of the evening sacrifice. Then he fell to his knees and lifted his hands to the Lord and prayed. He repented for the whole Jewish race. God had chosen Abraham’s line to set apart as a family and a people unto himself but at every turn, they chose to go back into sin. In God’s unfailing love, God refused to give up on them. God had revived them to rebuild the Temple and repair its ruins, yet once again, they had abandoned God’s commands. They had been told not to let their daughters marry the sons of the heathen or take their daughters as wives for their sons. They were not to promote the peace and prosperity of the other nations, yet they had done all of these things. Ezra repented and prayed for mercy for his people, knowing that they didn’t deserve it. Paul found out the same things going on in the church in Corinth. He was hearing reports of sexual immorality among the church members. A man in the church was living in sin with his stepmother. The church was proud of their acceptance of him when they should have been rebuking him and removing him from their fellowship. To approve of someone’s sin allows them to keep doing it. To address it and discipline it brings it to the light so the person has to make the decision whether to repent or keep sinning. Paul told them exactly what they needed to do. They should call a meeting and throw the man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sin nature will be destroyed and he will be saved in the day of the Lord. Paul makes it clear that as Christians we are not to condone other Christians who live in sin. We are to remove the sin in our spiritual family. The people we are not to judge is the world. They don’t have the spirit of Christ in them so they have no obligation or responsibility to obey God’s laws. We are to love them and let our light shine in their lives so they can see Christ and repent. Lord, may we keep unspotted from the world in the midst of such uncleanness. Help us to walk as lambs among wolves and let our light shine. Thank you for this great outpouring of your Holy Spirit that is coming to our nation.

Sun.’s Devo - The Return

Read: Ezra 7:1-8:20; 1 Corinthians 4:1-21; Psalm 30:1-12; Proverbs 20:28-30 Ezra’s events happened 60 years after Cyrus gave the decree to build the Temple in Chapter one. Ezra was the 17th in the line of Aaron the high priest. He was a scribe and teacher of the law living in Babylon. King Artaxerxes was the King of Persia and he blessed Ezra to return to Jerusalem and gave him everything he asked for. Artaxerxes sent Ezra to further beautify the Temple. He encouraged Ezra to take with him as many exiles as would go. On the first day of their spiritual calendar which would have been Nisan 1, the month of Passover and Unleavened Bread, they left Babylon to go to Jerusalem. It took them 4 months to get there on foot. Ezra was given a letter from the King and his council of seven to see how Jerusalem was lining up with God’s law. The were also to take silver and gold to offer to the God of Israel. The people were allowed to take gold and silver that they had amassed in Babylon as well as any offerings people wanted to give them. These offerings would be used to purchase sacrificial animals and any silver and gold left over could be used as Ezra felt led. Anything else they needed would be supplied by the royal treasury. This letter was his passage through all the provinces he traveled through. They were instructed how much to give him up to 7,500 pounds of silver, 500 bushels of wheat, 550 gallons of wine, 550 gallons of olive oil and an unlimited supply of salt. Artaxerxes made it clear to them to fear Ezra’s God. He also decreed that no priest, Levite, singer, gatekeeper, Temple servant, or other worker in the Temple of God would be required to pay tribute, customs or tolls of any kind. He told Ezra to use the wisdom God had given him to appoint magistrates and judges who knew God’s laws to govern the people west of the Euphrates River. Anyone who refused to obey the law of God and the law of the king would be punished immediately by death, banishment, confiscation of goods, or imprisonment. About 1,500 people volunteered to go with Ezra but when he was reading over the list he realized that not one Levite was on the list. He sent a letter to Iddo who was in charge of the Levites asking for some volunteers. He was sent Serebiah and 18 of his sons and brothers which were all Levites. They also sent 22 from the family of Merari and 220 Temple servants who assisted the Levites. In Corinthians, Paul tells the people how they should see them. He and Apollos were just servants of Christ who had been put in charge of explaining God’s mysteries. They were not to be worshipped or put on a pedestal. Everything they had came from God as a gift. Paul tried to let them see him and all spiritual leaders as just men, trying the best they knew to walk holy before the Lord. Paul said that his conscience was clear but that didn’t mean that he was right, he was just right as far as he knew. God is the ultimate judge who will judge all our motives in the end. He warned us not to make judgments about anyone before he returns. Paul compares the ones like him on the front line of battle like God’s prisoners of war at the end of a victors parade. They are the ones convicted to die. Their dedication leads to ridicule and scoffing. They are the ones who go hungry and thirsty, are beaten and ridiculed and have no home. They are the cursed and abused ones who are treated like garbage for the sake of the Gospel while the rest of the people are comfortable and filled. He knew that some of the churches had become arrogant and thought they would never see him again but he reminded them that he was their spiritual father in the faith and he urged them to imitate his example of faith. He would return to visit them and see if they were remaining faithful to God. Lord, thank you for persistent leaders like Paul because he reminds us of your unrelenting love for us. You are the perfect Father that loves and disciplines us in your love. We want to be ready to meet you.

Sat.’s Devo - The Great Reversal -

Read: Ezra 4:24-6:22; 1 Corinthians 3:5-23: Psalm 29:1-11; Proverbs 20:26-27 The building of the Temple had stopped, but the words of Haggai and Zechariah hadn’t. Zechariah begged them to not be like their forefathers who forgot the Lord and did evil. The Lord was determined to have his Temple built in Jerusalem. Haggai rebuked them for coming back to Jerusalem and building their own houses but not building the Lord’s house. Their words stirred up the heart of Zerubbabel who was the governor of Judah and Joshua who was the high priest and together with the prophets they began to rebuild the Temple. Judah was presided over by a satrap or viceroy, who at this time resided at Damascus. Though superior to the native governors of the Jews appointed by the Persian king, he never interfered with their internal government except when there was a threat against their peace. Tatnai, the satrap had probably been incited by the complaints and outrages of the Samaritans against the Jews. When he arrived, he asked them by whose authority were they building and what their names were. He was using intimidation tactics but they kept their courage. They told him that King Cyrus had issued a decree that the Temple should be rebuilt and had given them all the utensils Babylon had taken. He had instructed them to return and rebuild the Temple so that was what they we’re doing. Tatani told them they could keep rebuilding until he had heard back from King Darius his decision. He sent a letter to Darius telling him all this and Darius had his men search the archives to find out if there was such a decree ordered. They found the decree and sent back a memorandum stating that the decree did go out and a Temple to God was to be build on the site it was originally. Its height was to be ninety feet and its width ninety feet. Three layers of stone would be topped by a layer of timber all built at the expense of the royal treasury. He commanded that they leave them alone and not disturb the construction of God’s Temple. They were also to help them in anyway they could and pay for all the expenses and to give the priest whatever they needed in the way of sacrifices, animals, meal, oil and wine. Anyone who hindered them would have a plank taken from their own house and they would be empaled on it. Talk about a reversal! God not only defended them but caused their enemies to fear them and pay their way. The temple was completed on Adar three (March 12), the sixth year of Dariu’s reign. It was dedicated with great joy and many sacrifices. On Nisan 15 (April 21) they celebrated their first Passover meal and celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. In Corinthians, Paul continued his sermon. He explained the different roles of people in the Body of Christ. It is not the individual that we worship, but the God who enables us to work in the ministry. Paul laid the foundation for God’s building but the building was in each of them. We are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. We all build on the foundation of Christ in us. In the end it will stand the test of fire and what remains is the gold. Lord, thank you for divine reversals. We are praying for something as extraordinary as what you did in Ezra to happen in our nation.

Fri.’s Devo - The Mind of Christ

Read: Ezra 3:1-4:23; 1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4; Psalm 28:1-9; Proverbs 20:24-25 In the season of Tabernacles, the Israelites met in Jerusalem for a united purpose. They met to rebuilt the altar to sacrifice on. Even though they were afraid of the non-Jews living among them, they built the altar on its original site and began sacrificing on it. They celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles as was written in the law. Fifteen days before it (Feast of Trumpets) they began offering burnt offerings to the Lord. They hadn’t even layed the foundation of the Temple yet. They hired masons and carpenters and bought cedar lots from Tyre. They floated the logs down the Mediterranean Sea just as Solomon had done in his day. They began construction at Pentecost. All of the exiles were involved in some part of the rebuilding process. Those 20 and older were put in charge of rebuilding the Temple. When they had the foundation layed, the priests took their places and blew the trumpets. The Levites clashed their cymbals and sang about the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord. All the people gave a great shout of praise. The older people who remembered the great Temple that Solomon built wept that the new Temple was so small but the others shouted for joy. The sound could be heard for miles. When their enemies heard that they were rebuilding a Temple to the Lord, they approached Zerubbabel to ask if they could help. Zerrbbbabel had descernment and wouldn’t let them help. So then they resorted to trying to discourage and frighten the people of Judah from completing their work. They bribed agents to work against them and to cause frustration and chaos. This went on until King Darius became king of Persia. Years later, Xerxes came to reign in Persia and the enemies of Judah sent a letter to the king. One of these enemies was Mithredath. He was mentioned in Ezra 1 as King Cyrus’s treasurer so he knew the edict to let them build a Temple, yet here he is trying to stop it. The letter was full of propaganda and lies. The letter called the city of Jerusalem rebellious and evil. It told the king that the builders had already built the foundation of the city and were building its walls. If it was allowed to continue the people would stop paying tribute to him. Since they were the king’s loyal subjects they challenged him to look back in the history of Jerusalem and they would see how rebellious the Jews had been in the past. The king sent back his reply. He had had his men search the history of Jerusalem and in fact found that what they wrote was true. It had been a hotbed of wars and insurrections. He ordered the building to stop and not be rebuilt except at his express command. As soon as they received the letter, they took it to the builders and commanded them to stop. In Corinthians, Paul explained that the world’s wisdom is soon forgotten. God’s wisdom is a mystery that was previously hidden but now it is ours to have because his spirit lives in us. We can know God’s thoughts and have his wisdom. He gives us his words to explain spiritual truths. People who aren’t spiritual cannot receive them or understand them. The wisdom of God sounds like foolishness to them. But we have the mind of Christ. Paul addressed their behavior when he visited them. They were like children who were jealous of one another and cliquey. He told them that that was how the world acted. Now he was giving them meat to eat because they were ready. Lord, may we walk in Your wisdom having the thoughts of Christ.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Return of the Captives

Read: Ezra 1:1-2:70; 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5; Psalm 27:7-14; Proverbs 20:22-23 The first year Cyrus came to rule, God stirred his heart to send the Israelites back to their land to build a Temple to the Lord. God moved the heart of an unbeliever to fulfill his Word for his people. That should encourage us all. Cyrus not only blessed them to return to their land but he gave back all the articles from the Temple that Nebuchadnezzar had taken. Cyrus told his treasurer to give these items to Sheshbazzar, the leader of the exiles. Sheshbazzar was Zerubbabel’s Persian name. There were 5,400 articles of gold and silver. Cyrus set the captives free to return to their homes after 70 years in Babylon. The meanings of the names of the leaders read like this: The ones who had been born in Babylon, God will save. God’s consolation for them is that he has prevailed and made His enemy tremble. The bitterness of God’s oppressed and slandered have been numbered and God is compassionate in their affliction. The meanings of the other names describe the different kinds of people that came out of Babylon. It is everything from the blessed to the maimed. Many were Priests and Levites who had to prove their genealogy so they could serve as priests. There were also the Nethinim who were temple servants under Solomon’s rule. They were not Levites or priests but servants given to the Levites to help in serving in the temple. They were given special quarters in Jerusalem to live in a district near the Temple. The people who returned also gave gifts and were very prosperous just like Jeremiah had told them they would be. They gave freely to their nation and the Temple. The priests, Levites and Nethinim settled near Jerusalem and the others went to the towns of their ancestors. Corinth reminds me of what we are living in in America. Sin and debauchery are all around us and we are trying to walk upright for the Lord. Paul explains it so well. We look like fools to the philosophers and scholars and the word’s brilliant debaters. Our doctrine looks silly that we would still believe that a man who died 2,000 years ago rose from the dead and we will rise with him because we believe. But, it makes perfect sense to us because we have been blessed to have spiritual eyes that see. In Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. The plan of God is wiser than the wisest plan of human’s and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength. Lord, we do not put our trust in human wisdom but in Your power. Lead us where we are to go and show us what we are to see and tell us what we are to do.

Wed.’s Devo - The Last Kings of Judah

Read: 2 Chronicles 35:1-36:23; 1 Chronicles 1:1-17; Psalm 27:1-6; Proverbs 20:20-21 Josiah led the last revival in Judah. He instituted the Passover again and assigned the priests to teach all Israel the law and how to follow the Lord in carrying out the feast. He gave 30,000 lambs to be sacrificed and cooked for the people to eat. They celebrated the Passover and Unleavened Bread for seven days just like Moses had instituted in the law. After Josiah had restored the Temple, King Neco led his army to do battle at Carchemish on the Euphrates River. He was on his way to fight the Assyrians but Josiah led his army out to meet him. The king of Egypt asked him why he came because he didn’t want to fight Judah. He told him he was on an assignment from God and Josiah was getting in his way. Josiah refused to listen to what Neco had to say and led his army into battle on the plain of Megiddo. Josiah was wounded in the battle and died on the way back from Jerusalem. All Israel mourned his death. Josiah’s son, Jehoahaz became the next king. He only reign three months before he was taken to Egypt as a prisoner by Neco. Neco installed Eliakim, Jehoahaz’s brother as the king. Neco changed his name to Jehoiakim. He reigned 11 years and did evil. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came and captured Jerusalem taking Jehoiakim away in chains to Babylon. He also took treasures from the Temple to put in his palace. Jehoiakim’s son, Jehoiachin became king and reigned 3 months and ten days. He was also evil and Nebuchadnezzar took him to Babylon also. Nebuchadnezzar installed Jehoiachins’s uncle, Zedekiah as the king. He reigned 11 years. He was also evil and refused to humble himself even when Jeremiah gave him words from the Lord. The priests became more and more rebellious also. The people refused to listen to the words of the prophets and scoffed at God’s words. God turned them over to the king of Babylon who killed Judah’s young men and women and had no pity on the people. They took anything of worth from the Temple of God and the people. They took the survivors to Babylon as slaves. This lasted until the kingdom of Persia came to power. All of Jeremiah’s words came true. The land was able to finally enjoy its Sabbath rest. It lay desolate for 70 years. Then King Cyrus came to rule in Persia and God moved the heart of Cyrus to build him a Temple at Jerusalem. He invited any of the people of Judah to participate and blessed them. Paul established the church at Corinth and spent 18 months there. He then left and went to start other churches and communicated by letter and occasional visits. Corinth was a Greek city known for their idolatry, divisive philosophies, spirit of litigation and rejection of a bodily resurrection. It was a huge commercial city which controlled much of the shipping between the East and the West. It was famous for its sensuality and sacred prostitution. “To Corinthianize” meant to practice prostitution. Their chief deity was Diana who was the goddess of licentious love. A thousand professional prostitutes served in the temple dedicated to her worship. This all explains the problems that the church in Corinth faced. Paul had to deal with their problems of incest, lawsuits, fornication, marriage and divorce, eating food offered to idols, wearing of the veil, the Lord’s Supper, spiritual gifts and the resurrection of the body. Paul addressed them as a people who had been called by God to be his own holy people. He told them that they had every spiritual gift they needed to keep them strong and free from blame when Christ returned. He dealt with their division and sectarianism. They all had their favorite leaders and Paul tried to bring them together under Christ. Lord, help us to walk in the freedom you have given us. We are free to walk in righteousness and holiness because of the power of the Holy Spirit living inside us.

Tues.’s Devo - Cleansing the Land

Read: 2 Chronicles 33:14-34:33; Romans 16:10-27; Psalm 26:1-12; Proverbs 20:19 When Manasseh came back to Jerusalem he rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David and stationed his military around the towns of Judah. He tore down the pagan altars in Jerusalem and restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed on it but he didn’t cleanse the land of idolatry. Manasseh encouraged the people to worship the Lord, but they worshiped their idols on their pagan shrines that he had built. When he died his son Amon became king. He only reigned 2 years and worshipped idols. His own officials assassinated him in his palace. The people rose up and killed his assassins and put Manasseh’s son Josiah as king. Josiah was only eight when he came to the throne. He followed the Lord like David and did not turn from doing what was right. In his twelfth year he started cleansing the land of idols. He burned the bones of the pagan priests on their own altars. He went throughout the land of Israel cleansing the land of idols. After he had cleansed the land he restored the Temple and appointed officials over the Temple. He renovated the things that had been neglected in the Temple and got it back in operation. While they were working in the Temple they came upon a copy of the law. They brought the copy to Josiah who read it. He was so grieved by what it said and realized that they would be cursed for not following it. He sent his men to consult with Huldah a prophetess in Jerusalem. She told them that God was extremely angry because they had turned from him but because the king had humbled himself before the Lord, God’s destruction would not happen in his lifetime. Josiah summoned all the people and read the entire book of the law for them to hear. He led the people in reestablishing a covenant to follow the Lord. Then he continued cleansing the land of idols and did not turn from the Lord all of his days. In Romans, Paul ends his lists of people that he wanted to personally thank and honor for their hard work in the ministry. He understood that it was the body who made his success possible. He left them with a warning not to listen to people who caused division and upset people’s faith by teaching something other than the Word. He told them to stay innocent in their actions and have courage because the God of peace will soon curse Satan under our feet. All glory to You, Lord for you make us strong. You are the only wise God.

Mon.’s Devo - Hezekiah’s Downfall

Read: 2 Chronicles 32:1-33:13; Romans 15:23-16:9; Psalm 25:16-22; Proverbs 20:16-18 Of course, Satan was not happy about Hezekiah restoring the Temple, so he sent his army against them. He used the Assyrian’s to fight on earth for him. When Hezekiah heard their intentions, he fortified his wall and even built another wall outside the other to double fortify his city. Then he had large numbers of weapons and shield made and appointed military officers over the people and encouraged them in the Lord. He reminded them that even though the Assyrians had a powerful army, greater was the Lord who was with them then Satan who was with the Assyrians. The Assyrians were mere men. King Sennacherb of Assyria sent his officers to Jerusalem to intimidate the people and spread fear. Fear is one of the biggest tactics of Satan. The officers taunted them by saying, “How do you think you can stand against us and say that your god can deliver you. Hezekiah has misled you by destroying all the Lord’s shrines and altars and commanded you to only worship at the altar at the Temple. Surely you have heard of all the Assyrians have done to all the gods of the other nations. Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you. Your god cannot stand against King Senacherib.” They shouted these lies in Hebrew so the people on the wall could understand and be afraid and lose their power. King Hezekiah and Isaish stood and cried out to God in heaven and God sent his angel to destroy the Assyrian army with all its commanders and officers so Sennacherib was forced to return home in disgrace. When he got home, his own sons killed him with a sword. There was peace in Judah and King Hezekiah became highly respected among all the surrounding nations and many gifts for the Lord and the king came to Jerusalem. Hezekiah became sick and cried out tot he Lord. God heard his prayer and gave him 15 more years to live. When God healed him he did not respond correctly and instead became proud. When ambassadors came from Babylon to see his kingdom, he showed them everything because he was so proud of what he had done. God told him it would cost him his kingdom. When he died, his son, Manasseh became the king. Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king and he was as pagan as his father was godly. He led the nation in idolatry worse than the other kings of Judah. God sent prophets to turn them back to the Lord, but they refused to repent. The Assyrians came and took Manasseh captive to Babylon. He humbled himself and repented and the Lord heard him and brought him back to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh realized that the Lord was the only God. In Romans, Paul was finally going to get to come to Rome and visit the church there. First, he was going to Jerusalem to take a gift to the believers there. The Christians in Macedonia and Achaia had taken up an offering to give them. Paul asked the church in Rome to pray for his travels. He would go to Spain on his way and preach to the people there who had not heard the gospel. Then he would be there to encourage them in their walk. Paul gave a list of people who had been faithful to help him in his ministry. Lord, thank you for faithful people who continue to spread your Good News. Thank you for the revival that is happening right now in our land. May we be faithful to share your good news everywhere we go.

Sun.’s Devo - The Return to the Lord

Read: 2 Chronicles 30:1-31:21; Romans 15:1-22; Psalm 25:1-15; Proverbs 20:13-15 Hezekiah had restored the Temple one day late for Passover, but instead of waiting another year, he just decided they would celebrate the Passover a month later. He sent out invitations to the people of Ephraim and Manasseh asking everyone to come. Then he sent a proclamation to Israel also. The runners carried letters that called the people back to the Lord. It was a call to repentance for the nation. Many laughed and made fun of the runners, but a remnant from Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. The priests and Levites celebrated the Passover as the law required. Since the people had not purified themselves as the law had required, the Levites had to offer their animals for them. King Hezekiah prayed for the people to be sanctified so they could eat the Passover meal with them. There was great and joyous celebration for seven days. They enjoyed the presence of the Lord so much, they decided to celebrate another seven days. Hezekiah gave them 19,000 animals to sacrifice as more priest purified themselves to officiate. When it was over, the priests and Levites stood and blessed the people and God was pleased. When the festival was over, the Israelites who had attended went home and smashed all the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherah poles, and removed the pagan shrines and altars in Judah. Then they returned home. Hezekiah instituted the morning and evening sacrifices in the Temple and got the Temple functioning the way the law instructed. The people were told what they were to contribute to keep the Temple going and complied eagerly. They gave so much that the priest were able to sustain themselves with their gifts and the people prospered. They were able to fill the storerooms once again with the offerings of the people. With these gifts they could distribute to the priests so their job became the Temple as was written in the Law. Hezekiah sought the Lord with all his heart and his kingdom prospered. Just as following the Lord caused the people to rejoice in Chronicles, Paul taught them the same thing in Romans. Following the Lord causes everyone to be glad and prosper. Helping others was the way Christ lived and God blessed the one helped and the giver. God came to the Jews first to have them show the Gentile God’s goodness so they would want it also. God wants us to join one another in praise. He wants us to live in harmony with the Jews. Paul was writing to the Gentile church in Rome that he had never met but longed to visit. He had heard about them and knew they had been taught the truth, but he felt led to remind them about loving the Jews as well as the Gentiles. Paul went to places where they had never heard the Gospel but he wrote to the church in Rome to encourage the believers there. Lord, thank you for stories where the people return to You. It encourages us for our own country that we can turn back to You and You can heal our land.