Sun.’s Devo - Hezekiah’s Reform

Read: 2 Chronicles 29:1-36; Romans 14:1-23; Psalm 24:1-10; Proverbs 20:12 Hezekiah summoned the people to the Temple and explained that because Ahaz had led the nation into idolatry and abandoned the Lord, they had become on object of dread and ridicule. They had lost many men in war and their women and children had been taken captive. He led the people in a covenant to the Lord. He called the priests and Levites back to service. The Levites responded immediately. They began cleansing and repairing the Temple and had it back in working order in 16 days. They had it ready for sacrificing two days after the Passover. Hezekiah offered seven bull, seven rams, and seven male lambs. Satan’s number is 666. God’s number is 777. Singers were stationed at the Temple with their instruments just like it was in David’s day. Everyone sang songs of praise were sang and they bowed down in worship as the priests ordered their sacrifices. Then the Levites sang and the people offered their sacrifices to the Lord. Almost 4,000 animals were sacrificed that day. They had so few priests that they had to let relatives of the Levites help. Everyone rejoiced that the restoration could happen so quickly. Turning from the Lord usually takes a process of time but repentance is immediate and God restores quickly. In Romans, Paul was speaking to the mature believer. He told him to not judge or condemn a weaker Christian because of their beliefs about what it right and wrong. We have all been given a conscience and we must obey it. All consciences are not alike. Arguing over what to eat and not eat is a waste of time and effort. Everyone will answer to God for their own lives. We have enough to worry about ourselves to worry about what others think. God is so much more interested in our hearts and the way we worship him than what we eat or don’t eat. Lord, help us to prioritize things in our lives according to your standards. May we hold up the mirror to our own faces and not play God for others. We thank you for your great mercy and grace.

Sat.’s Devo - Uzziah, Jotham, and Ahaz

Read: 2 Chronicles 26:1-28:27; Romans 13:1-14; Psalm 23:1-6; Proverbs 20:11 Uzziah became king when he was only 16 years old. He was a good king until he got full of pride. When he was good, he followed the Lord and conquered his enemy, the Philistines and brought safety and confidence to his land. Other nations gave him gifts and were afraid to attack him and there was peace in the land and prosperity. As he got older, he got filled with pride and decided he wanted to offer incense on the incessant altar. He went into the Temple before the priests could stop him. When they tried, his forehead was already breaking out in leprosy. They rushed him out of the Temple but he remained a leper the rest of his life and had to live outside the palace. His son, Jotham became the next king at 25. His mother was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok, the priest. Jotham did what was pleasing to the Lord like his father Uzziah but he did’t offer up incense. But the people continued living in sin. Jotham rebuilt the upper gate of the Temple and restored the wall that had been torn down in Amaziah’s day. He fortified cities against attacks from the enemy. He went to war against he Ammonites and conquered them. He received much tribute from neighboring nations and was very powerful because he continued to obey the Lord. He reigned 16 years and when he died, his son Ahaz became king. Ahaz ws 21 when he came to the throne. He reigned 16 years also. He did not do what was pleasing to the Lord. He was a king like the kings of Israel. He made images to worship Baal and sacrificed his own sons to Baal. He sacrificed in pagan shrines and groves. So, God allowed the king of Aram to defeat him and exiled large numbers of his people to Damascus. Israel attacked them and killed 120,000 of their army all because they had abandoned the Lord. One of the soldiers from Israel’s army killed Ahah’s son, the palace commander and the king’s second-in-command and captured 200,000 women and children and took them back to Samaria. When they entered Samaria, Obed the prophet was there to meet them. He told them that God and all heaven was disturbed by the way they had barbarically killed their brothers and taken these people captive. God had let them do this to punish Judah for their sins but Israel’s sins were much worse. They needed to return these people or God would punish Israel even greater. Four of the leaders in Israel agreed and they had the captives clothed, tended to their wounds and sent them back to Jericho. King Ahaz of Judah asked the king of Assyria for help against he Edomites. They had invaded Judah and taken captives. The Philistines were also attacking and gaining territory. Instead of helping Ahaz, the king of Assyria came and attacked Judah. He took valuable items from the Lord’s Temple and the royal palace and all the wealthy homes. Even then, Ahaz did not ask the Lord for help. He asked for help from the gods who had defeated him thinking it would help but it only hurt him worse. He took things from the Temple and busted them then closed the doors so no one could worship God. He set up altars to foreign gods on every corner of the street in Jerusalem. He made pagan shrines in all the towns of Judah and made God even angrier. He died and wasn’t not buried in the royal cemetery of the kings of Judah. His son, Hezekiah became king, thank God. In Romans, God explains that he puts men in position of authority for his own purposes and we much honor them. In the story we read in the Old Testament we read that even though Jotham was a good king who honored the Lord, the people didn’t, so God gave them a king next who led them in every sin he could imagine. All this brought really bad consequences to the people. But God was trying to get their attention and show them that things do not go well for them when they choose any god but him. Paul explained that you honor the one in charge but you also keep a clear conscience. If they do evil things, you do not follow them. Always honor God’s laws first. We are to clothe ourselves in righteousness and be children of the day. Lord, help us to desire righteousness and not to fulfill the desires of our flesh. Thank you for cleansing our land of idolatry and returning us back to you.

Fri.’s Devo - Parts of the Body

Read: 2 Chronicles 24:1-25-28; Romans 12:1-21; Psalm 22:19-31; Proverbs 20:8-10 Joash was seven when he became the king and was a very good king as long as Jehoiada was alive. Jehoiada, the high priest had raised him and picked his two wives for him. He was Joash’s greatest advisor. Joash decided to repair and restore the Temple and took up money from the people. He was able to restore the Temple and provide all the articles for worship needed. The daily sacrifices were made to the Lord as long as Jehoiada lived. When he died at 30, things started going down hill. Leaders came to Joash and convinced him to abandon the Temple of the Lord and start worshipping Asherah poles and idols instead. This made God very angry. God sent prophets to turn his heart back to God but Joash refused to listen. One of them was Zechariah, Jehoida’s son. King Josah ordered his men to stone Zechariah. Zechariah died praying for revenge from God. God did send his revenge through the Aramean army. They attacked Judah with a small army but God helped them kill all of Judah’s leaders and took much plunder. Joash was wounded in the battle but his own officials assassinated him in his own bed. Amaziah, Joash’s son became the next king. He was 25 when he came to the throne. He reigned 29 years and did mostly what was pleasing to the Lord. He executed the men who assassinated his father but let their children live. Amaziah took inventory of his army and found he had 300,000 soldiers. He also hired 100,000 soldiers from Israel to join him. God sent a prophet to tell him not to hire the men from Israel because God would fight against him since God was not with Israel right now. Amaziah had spent 7,500 pieces of silver to hire them. He asked God about that and he said that he could give him so much more than that. So Amaziah let the army from Israel go home. They were so insulted when they heard they would not to be able to fight that they raided towns in Judah all the way back to Israel. Amaziah sent his army against Edom and killed 20,000 of them in the Valley of Salt. Amaziah brought plunder of the Edomites which included some of their idols. They began to worship them. God sent a prophet to ask them why they would worship the gods of a nation who they couldn’t save. Amaziah cut him off and asked him who made him his counselor. He refused to listen to the prophet. Next, Amaziah wanted to challenge the king of Israel to a battle. The king of Israel was King Jehoash. Jehoash tried to convince Amaziah not to go to war with him but he couldn’t change his mind. They drew up battle lines in Beth-shemesh. Judah was crushed by Israel’s army and 600 feet of Jerusalem’s wall was taken down. They took away gold and silver from the Temple and many of the sacred objects including what sounds like… the Ark. Because Amaziah turned away from the Lord, conspirators killed him in Lachish where he had fled. In Romans, Paul explains that when we become a Christian we give our bodies to God like Jesus gave his for us. We allow God to transform us into a new person by changing the way we think. We don’t need to think higher of ourselves but humbly judge ourselves in light of Jesus’ life. We are all different parts of Christ’s body so we all function together helping each other. Some can prophesy, some serve. Some are teachers and others encourage. Some are leaders and and others have the gift to show kindness. God’s kingdom works when we all do our part truly loving one another. Bless those who persecute you. Do everything you can do to live peacefully with one another. Let God take revenge for you. Don’t let evil conquer you but conquer it by doing good. Lord help us to do these things - to love everyone and let you take care of those who hurt us. May we do our part in your Body and may we do it in a way that is pleasing to You.

Thurs.’s Devo - God’s Plan Always Succeeds

Read: 2 Chronicles 21:1-23:21; Romans 11:13-36; Psalm 22:1-18; Proverbs 20:7 Jehoshaphat died and Jehoram his son became the next king. He had six other sons but Jehoram was the oldest. Once he secured his kingdom, he killed all his six brothers. He married Athaliah who was one of Ahab’s daughters who was a Baal worshipper. She led him and all Judah to worship other gods. Because Jehoram abandoned Him, God led the Edomites in a revolt. They won their independence from Judah. Elijah sent Jehoram a letter rebuking him for his deeds and telling him the Lord was about to strike him, his people, his children, wives and all that was his with a heavy blow. He would suffer a severe intestinal disease which would end in a painful death. The Arabs attacked him and took all these things Elijah warned about away from him and only his youngest son was spared. His name was Ahaziah. He was the son of Athaliah. When he came to the throne, his mother, Athaliah encouraged him to worship Baal and follow after the sins of Israel. He joined King Joram of Israel in a war against King Hazael of Aram at Ramoth-gilead. Joram was wounded in the battle. When he returned to Jezreel to recover, King Ahaziah went to visit him. God appointed Jehu to bring down the dynasty of Ahab so he happened to meet a group of Ahaziah’s men going to Jezreel. He killed them all then found Ahaziah hiding in Samaria and killed him also. When Athaliah found out about this she began to destroy the rest of Judah’s royal family so she would reign. Her sister-in-law took Ahaziah’s infant son, Joash and hid him in the Temple. The priests raised him till he was seven. Then they formed a plan to crown him the king. Five army commanders went from town to town throughout Judah gaining support of the Levites for Joash. They all came to the Temple to execute the plan. They divided into three groups. One surrounded Joash, the other third stood at the gates and the last third went to the royal palace. They were to kill anyone who tried to enter the Temple. They brought Joash out and crowned him king and presented him with a copy of God’s laws. They anointed and proclaimed him king and everyone shouted, “Long live the king!” Athaliah heard the noise and saw the people running to the Temple so she went to see what was happening. When she saw Josah with the crown on his head and saw all the Levites with weapons standing around him, she shouted, “Treason!” The high priest, Jehoiada had her brought out of the Temple and killed. Jehoiada had the people enter into a covenant with the Lord to follow Him alone. They went over to the Temple of Baal and tore it down and killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of his altars. The priests offered sacrifices to the Lord and worshipped him. They then led Joash to his palace where he became king. The people rejoiced that Athaliah was dead and the city was at peace. In Romans, Paul explains that the Jews rejected Jesus making them a wild branch on God’s tree. They were cut off and the Gentiles grafted on in their place but it doesn’t mean they can’t be grafted back on one day. Jew and Gentile were welcome to come to Jesus but as a whole the Israel nation rejected Jesus. Even so, there were many Jews who believed. Paul warned the Gentiles that if they didn’t stay true to the Lord, the same thing could happen to them. It all came back to believing in their hearts. The Gentiles were to so honor God and have a relationship with him in a way that the Jews would be jealous and want it too. A time will come when the Jewish nation will be grafted back on to their roots. Lord, thank you that you always have a plan. Thank you for the plan you have for our nation and thank you that we can see your plan emerging out of the dust.

Wed.’s Devo - The Battle is the Lord’s

Read: 2 Chronicles 19:1-20:37; Romans 10:14-11:12; Psalm 21:1-13; Proverbs 20:4-6 The battle was over. King Ahab was killed and King Jehoshaphat returned to Jerusalem. The prophet, Jehu met him on the way and asked him why he would leave his nation and go and help the wicked who hate the Lord. God was very angry with him for fighting with Ahab, but he was glad that he had removed the Asherah poles and that he had committed himself to seek God. Jehoshaphat traveled throughout his kingdom encouraging the people to return to the Lord. He appointed judges to judge the people fairly. In Jerusalem he appointed some of the Levites to serve as judges. Amariah the high priest would have the final say in all cases involving the Lord. The armies of the Ammonites and some of the Meunites declared war on Jehoshaphat. When he was told this, he was terrified and begged the Lord to help him. He proclaimed a fast in Jerusalem and people from all around came to meet in Jerusalem to seek the Lord’s help. Jehoshaphat stood and prayed for the nation. He humbly told the Lord that they were powerless without him. One of the men in the crowd was filled with God’s spirit and gave a response from the Lord. He told them not to be afraid because this battle was not theirs but the Lord’s. They were to march against them tomorrow, but they would not fight. All they would have to do was to stand and watch as the Lord and his army would get the victory for them. Then the people bowed in reverence and the Levites stood and praised the Lord with a very loud shout. The next morning as the army was leaving to stand where the Lord had instructed them, Jehoshaphat encouraged them to believe in God’s prophets and they would succeed. He appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord, “Give thanks to the Lord, his faithful love endures forever!” The moment they began to sing, God caused the enemy to start killing themselves. By the time Judah’s army reached them they were all dead on the ground. Not a single one escaped. King Jehoshaphat and his men went out to gather the plunder and took away great amounts - so much they couldn’t carry it all. They marched back home singing songs to the Lord. Jehoshaphat had been a very good king who honored God. There are times in our lives when we have to fight our battles and times when the Lord literally fights them for us and we just stand. Our job is to listen to the Holy Spirit and to respond to what he tells us to do. At the end of his reign he made an alliance with King Ahaziah of Israel who was very wicked. They joint together to build a fleet of trading ships. Eliezer the prophet prophesied against Jehoshaphat and told him that his alliance with Israel was wrong and the ships would never sail. They met disaster and were never put to sea. In Romans Paul gave God’s plan to spread his message. He would send his messengers to tell the people about Jesus. They can’t have faith in something they have never heard about. God had told Moses about the time when the message would go to the Gentiles. He confirmed it through Isaiah. God did not reject his people to take in the Gentiles. Paul was a Jew so he was proof that God still loved his chosen people; he was just expanding his kingdom to all people. That had been the plan all along. God has always had his people throughout history that were faithful to him. When Elijah thought he was the only one left who really trusted in Him, God told him he had 7,000 others who had not bowed to Baal. But, because Israel rejected Jesus when he came, God did put them to sleep spiritually so they could not see and shared his grace with the Gentiles who were eager to believe. Lord, thank you for your love endures forever. Thank you for salvation! May we share your gospel with those we meet today.

Tues.’s Devo - The Prophets Were Right

Read: 2 Chronicles 17:1-18:34; Romans 9:25-10-13; Psalm 20:1-9; Proverbs 20:2-3 Jehoshaphat became he king of Judah when his father Asa died. Jehoshaphat was a good king who honored God and rid his nation of the pagan shrines and Asherah poles. He sent leaders and Levites to teach the people in the towns the law of the Lord and how to worship Him. The other nations feared Judah and brought Jehoshaphat gifts. He made an alliance with Israel by letting his son marry Ahab’s daughter. King Ahab wanted to get Ramoth-gilead back under his control and asked Jehoshaphat if he would help him. Jehoshaphat gladly agreed to go with him in battle. First, he wanted to ask the Lord if they would succeed. King Ahab brought all his false prophets and they all told the king to go to battle because he would succeed. Jehoshaphat asked if there was a prophet of God they could ask. Ahab told him about Michaiah but he told him he despised him because he never prophesied anything good for him. Jehoshaphat rebuked Ahab for talking about God’s prophets with such little respect. Ahab sent for Michaiah. On the way back the officers instructed Michaiah to agree with their prophets. Michaiah sarcastically told Ahab to go to war. King Ahab angrily told him to tell him the truth. Michaiah told him that he saw all Israel scattered on the battle field and King Ahab was dead. He went on to tell him that there was a meeting in heaven and they were trying to decide how they could convince Ahab to go to battle so he could be killed. One of the angels came up with the idea of lying through his prophets which they all agreed it would work. Ahab was so angry he had Michaiah taken back to Samaria and put in prison and fed only bread and water until he returned. Micahiah reminded him he would not return. So, they went out to face the army of Aram. The army of Aram had been given the order to find the king of Israel and kill him. Ahab decided to not dress in his royal clothes but to dress as a regular soldier. When the battle began they chased Jehoshaphat because he was dressed in his royal robes. He called out and they realized he wasn’t Ahab so they quit chasing him. A soldier shot a random arrow toward the Israelite troops and it hit the chink in Ahab’s armor. He told his officers he was wounded so they sat him up in his chariot so all his men would think he was alive and they would fight. He sat and bled out the whole day and was dead as the sun was setting. In Romans, Paul quoted a prophecy of Hosea’s. He had prophesied that a people who had not been God’s people would become his people. He was speaking of the Gentile and of that day that Paul was living in. Isaiah had prophesied the same thing. He had said that a remnant of the Jews would be saved. Paul explained that even though the Gentiles were not trying to follow God’s laws, they were made right with God through their belief. The Jews were so bent on following the law that they missed the rock that came to save them. The whole law and prophets had spoken of that day when Jesus would come and fulfill every bit of the law. The Jews missed it and killed Jesus but the Gentile accepted him and believed in him. This counted as righteousness for them. Anyone who calls on the ahem of Jesus will be saved. Thank you, Lord for this great covenant of faith. Thank you for making a way for all to come to you.

Mon.’s Devo - King Asa’s Reign

Read: 2 Chronicles 14:1-16:14; Romans 9:1-24; Psalm 19:1-14; Provers 20:1 Abijah died and his son Asa became the king of Judah. He was a good king who trusted in the Lord. He removed the pagan shrines and the incense altars from all of Judah’s towns so they enjoyed peace and rest from their enemies. During the time of peace, Asa did what we should do when we have times of refreshing and rest from battles. He fortified the towns God had given him. We should take the times of rest as a time to build up our faith and strengthen ourselves for the next battle. He made sure his army was well trained. Asa’s next battle came from an Ethiopian named Zerah who attacked with one million warriors. Asa had half the army he had but he relied totally on the Lord, and God’s army fought with him to defeat them. On his way home God sent his prophet, Obed to commend him for turning to the Lord and to promise him that as long as he trusted in the Lord, he would be with him and help him. In the rest of the world things were very dark and unsafe but God promised that their work would be rewarded and for them to be strong and courageous. Asa took courage and removed all the detestable idols from the land of Judah and Benjamin and repaired the altar of the Lord. The people in Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon along with the people from Judah and Benjamin met at Jerusalem and Asa sacrificed 7,700 animals on the altar to the Lord. Asa deposed his grandmother, Maacah because she made an obscene Asherah pole. They enjoyed peace until Asah’s 35th year of his reign. King Baasha of Israel invaded and fortified the city of Ramah to prevent the people of Judah from coming to Israel and vice versa. Ramah was a gateway between the two countries. Asa responded by taking silver and gold from the treasuries of the Temple and sending them to King Ben-hadad of Aram to help him fight Israel. God sent his prophet Hananiah to rebuke him for hiring another country to help them instead of asking him to fight for them. Did he forget what God had done for them with Zerah? From now on they would be in constant war. Asa became so mad at Hananiah for rebuking him that he threw him into prison and put him in stocks. He also began to oppress some of his people. Four years later, Asa developed a serious foot disease and didn’t seek the Lord so he died a year later. In Romans, Paul tries to explain predestination. God destined some people for his glory and others for their destruction. He used Jacob and Esau as the example. They were twins born to Jacob, God’s patriarch but God chose to have favor on Jacob and reject Esau. God who is the maker of everything decides everyone’s fate no matter if they are Jew or Gentile. Our job is to respond to his will for our lives. Lord, some things are too high for us to understand with our carnal minds so we have to trust your Spirit as our loving Father. Thank you for choosing us to respond to You.

Sun.’s Devo - If God Be With Us

Read: 2 Chronicles 11:1-13:22; Romans 8:26-39; Psalm 18:37-50; Proverbs 19:27-29 When the kingdom divided, people were forced to take sides. Rehoboam mobilized his troops to go after Jeroboam and restore his kingdom. God sent his prophet Shemaiah to tell him to turn around and not to attack his own brothers. He obeyed and instead spent his resources fortifying his main towns in Judah and Benjamin. All the priests that lived in the different tribes of Israel came to Judah because they were not recognized in Jeroboam’s Israel. He appointed his own priests and there was no temple there. The priests who came back to Jerusalem worshipped the Lord the way David had set it up. Rehoboam remained faithful to the Lord for three years. He married his cousin Mahalath and had three sons. then he married another cousin, Maacah and had four sons. He ended up having 18 wives and 60 concubines who gave birth to 28 sons and 60 daughters. But, he loved Maacah the most and it was her son Abijah who he appointed to succeed him. When Rehoboam had established his kingdom he abandoned the Lord so He sent king Shishak of Egypt to attack Jerusalem. God sent Shemaiah, the prophet to let them know that God had abandoned them because they had abandoned him. The leaders of Judah repented so the Lord sent them relief and didn’t totally destroy them. Rehoboam died being known as an evil king because he did not seek the Lord with all his heart. During his reign he was in constant war with Jeroboam. When Rehoboam died his son Abijah became king. Jeroboam attacked Abijah and Judah. Rehoboam’s men surrounded Abijah’s but they stayed confident in the Lord. The proclaimed that the Lord was their God and they had not abandoned him. God fought for them and Jerobaom’s men ran in defeat. Jeroboam went home and was killed by the Lord. Abijah became more and more powerful and married 14 wives and had 22 sons and 16 daughters. Our reading in Romans is full of some of our favorite scriptures. Thank God for the Holy Spirit who prays through us according to what God wants when we don’t know ourselves. All things work together for our good if we love God and are called to his purposes. God has called us to be his children and will be with us in this life. God loves us so much he even gave us his Son so if He is for us, who can possibly be against us and stand. Nothing can separate us from God’s love. Our trials and pain don’s mean that God doesn’t love us because even Jesus had to experience all these things. God’s love is revealed to us through Jesus who gave up his life for us. We are truly loved by our heavenly Father and our brother, Jesus, our Lord. Lord, thank you for your great love for us. We see evidence of your love every day. May we acknowledge it and be ever thankful.

Sat.’s Devo - The Kingdom Splits

Read: 2 Chronicles 8:11-10:19; Romans 8:9-25; Psalm 18:16-36; Proverbs 19:26 Solomon had many many wives but the one that he considered his main wife was the Pharaoh’s daughter. He built her a new palace because the Ark had been in David’s palace and he considered it holy ground. Solomon followed the Lord at first and celebrated all the feasts the way the Lord intended them to be celebrated. He acquired tons of gold every year from different nations that paid him tribute and through trade and commerce. The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame and came to visit him. She brought tons of spices from her country. He showed her everything in his kingdom and gave her anything she asked. He gave her much more than she had brought him. She was amazed at the opulence and organization of his kingdom. Solomon made a huge throne for himself with lions sitting on either side and six steps leading up to the seat. It was decorated with ivory and overlaid with gold. Twelve lions stood, two on the end of each step. It was greater than anyone’s throne on the earth. Many other leaders of other nations came to glean from Solomon’s wisdom and to hear him speak on many subjects. Solomon ruled for 40 years in Jerusalem and when he died he was succeeded by Rehoboam his son. Rehoboam went to Shechem where they crowned kings. The people met and asked him what kind of king he would be. His father had imposed on them great taxes and hard labor. They wanted to know if he would lighten their load. Rehoboam told them to come back in three days and he would tell them. Rehoboam asked Solomon’s advisors what he should do and they told him to do what the people requested and they would serve him forever. Rehoboam didn’t like their advise and went to his young friends. They told him to be cruel and tell them he would be even harder than his father. When Solomon met with the people, he gave them the advise of his young friends. The people revolted and said they wanted nothing to do with the dynasty of David. Rehoboam sent Adoniram who was in charge of forced labor to restore order in the kingdom but they stoned him. When Rehoboam found out what they had done to Adoniram, he fled back to Jerusalem and ruled over Judah. This was the event that split the kingdom into Judah and Israel. In Romans, Paul proclaimed that we are not controlled by our sinful nature but by the Spirit of Christ so we should not let our bodies be under the power of sin. We are not doomed to sin but can chose not to sin. If we continue to sin, we will die but if we let the power of the Spirit in us put to death the deeds of our sinful nature, we will live. Only those who chose to be led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. God’s Spirit adopts us as God’s children and his spirit joins with ours to affirm that we are his. As his children, we are heirs with Christ of his glory. But just like Christ, we must first share his suffering. We suffer now for the glory that will be ours later. All creation is suffering with us because we were all cursed in the garden. We all groan as we wait for the future glory that has been promised to us. Then we will be completely released from sin and suffering and we will be given our full rights as his children, including new bodies. For now, we patiently wait for God’s promises. Lord, may we keep our eyes on the prize which is You and your plan to be fulfilled. Thank you for the promise of your great harvest which is coming. May we be ready to work in the fields and bring in the souls to your kingdoms.

Fri.’s Devo - God With Us

Read: 2 Chronicles 6:12-8:10; Romans 7:14-8:8; Psalm 18:1-15; Proverbs 19:24-25 King Solomon had made a platform for the bronze altar and he stood on it and prayed to the Lord before all the people. He praised God for who he was and all he had done for his people. He reminded the people what to do if they wronged a person or they had wronged God. They could come and humble raise their hands toward this Temple and pray for God to forgive them and help them to turn back to him so he could defeat their enemies. He sacrificed 142,000 sheep and cattle on the altar and they dedicated the Temple of God. They all sang that God’s faithful love endured forever. For seven days they celebrated the Feast of Shelters which represents God dwelling with his people on earth. At the end of the week, Solomon sent the people home with gifts. God appeared to Solomon again and told him his descendants would always rule over Israel as long as they stayed faithful to the Lord. It had taken Solomon 20 years to build the Temple and his palace. He had used slaves from other nations to do the manual labor on the Temple. He fortified his kingdom and other towns he needed for his kingdom. God blessed Solomon’s efforts with a great kingdom. In Romans, Paul explained that the trouble was not with the law but in the people. The law was good but because of people’s sinful nature, they had trouble following it. God does not condemn his own people who are trying to walk in his ways, but forgives them and works to help them do what is right. The only way to follow God’s heart is to let the Spirit control them instead of their heads. Lord, help us to die to our sinful nature and surrender to the Holy Spirit who came to give us power over sin.

Thurs.’s Devo - Heaven to Earth

Read: 2 Chronicles 4:1-6:11; Romans 7:1-13; Psalm 17:1-15; Proverbs 19:22-23 It is hard to imagine the greatness of the things in the Temple. The bronze altar where they burnt the sacrifices was 30 feet by 30 feet and 15 feet high. I wonder how they got animals in the center of the altar. I am imagining them throwing a bull off of a huge fork across the altar. They must have had some way to like a crane to get animals in the center of the altar. Who knows? Beside the altar was the Sea which was a huge basin to hold water for the priests to wash their hands in. It had a diameter of 15 feet and held 16,500 gallons of water. It resembled a huge little blossom held up by 12 oxen. Other basins were against the north and south wall for washing the utensils. Tables were placed along the north and south wall. When Solomon had all the furnishings and all that was needed for the service of the Temple done, he brought everything to his father, David and stored them in the Temple treasuries. He called all the elders of Israel to Jerusalem and all the heads of the tribes. The Ark was brought from Gibeon to Jerusalem on the Feast of Tabernacles. The community sacrificed offerings to the Lord then they put the Ark in the Temple along with all the other furnishings. They praised the Lord singing, “He is good, His faithful love endures forever!” Then a thick cloud of God’s glory filled the Temple. The priests had to stop what they were doing because of the cloud of God’s presence. Solomon turned and praised the Lord in front of the people and proclaimed God’s blessing on the Temple. During Solomon’s reign it was a small type of bringing heaven to earth. The people got to experience wealth like the nation had never seen and see a Temple built similar to God’s heavenly Temple. Everything was a type of heaven but it didn’t last long. It was like a snippet to keep us pressing forward to the end. In Romans, Paul explains the binding power of the law. It is only affective when a person is alive. He used the example of marriage. It is binding as long as both parties are alive. Once one of them dies, the living person is no longer married under the law. When a Jewish person who has bound themself to God’s law becomes a Christian, they die to their old nature so the law is no longer binding them. They are now free to live a new life by the law of the Spirit. The law was good in that it pointed out our sin. Then we had to fight the urge to do what it told us not to do. God had a better plan through Christ. Lord, thank you for the new covenant you gave given us through Jesus Christ.

Wed.’s Devo - New Beginnings

Read: 2 Chronicles 1:1-3:17; Romans 6:1-23; Psalm 16:1-11; Proverbs 19:20-21 God made Solomon very powerful. One of his first acts was to call together the leaders of the country to Gibeon where the Tabernacle of Moses had been. The Ark had been moved to Jerusalem but the bronze altar was still in Gibeon. There he offered 1,000 animals on the altar. That night God appeared to Solomon and told him to ask for anything and he would have it. Solomon asked for wisdom and knowledge to lead the people. God was so pleased with his request that he agreed to give him wisdom and knowledge greater than any other man had possessed and also wealth, riches, and fame. Solomon returned to Jerusalem and built up his army with horses and chariots. He began the building of the Temple. He contacted King Hiram at Tyre and requested cedar and craftsmen. In return he would give him wheat, barley, wine and olive oil. King Hiram was pleased with the trade and sent him Huram-abi who was talented in making things from all metals, also stone and wood. He could work with cloth and linen and was also an engraver. Solomon made a census of the foreigners in his land and put them to work doing the manual labor of building the Temple. The Temple would be 30’ by 90’ and all the inside walls would be overlaid with pure gold. The walls were decorated with jewels and gold. The beams and doors were also overlaid with gold and figures of cherubim were carved on the walls. The Holy of Holies where the Ark would be was 30’ by 30’. The angels on top of the Ark were constructed so that their wings were open and spread the entire width of the Holy of Holies. Two pillars stood at the entrance of the Temple which was on the west side. The pillar to the south was called Jakin meaning “he establishes”. The one to the north was called Boaz meaning “in him is strength.” Can you imagine the glory of this place? It was to be a picture of the garden of Eden in its splendor. In Romans, Paul explained that once we are saved, we shouldn’t want to continue in sin. We died with Christ and were buried with him by baptism. We were raised from the dead as Christ was to now live new lives by the power of the Father. Our old sinful selves lost its power in our lives and we are no longer its slave. Jesus set us free from the power of sin. Now he lives for the glory of God, so we can do the same. Sin only has the power we give it. Paul admonishes us not to let sin control the way we live or let any part of our body give in to sinful desires. We no longer have to serve sin, we are free to serve God with all our hearts. We can choose to become slaves of righteousness and be free of shame and guilt. Sin earns us death, but God’s free gift is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. We choose life! Thank you for defeating sin for us and making us overcomes and righteous.

Tues.’s Devo - Friendship With God

Read: 28:1-29:30; Romans 5:6-21: Psalm 15:1-5; Proverbs 19:18-19 David summoned all the leaders throughout Israel that served him to meet him in Jerusalem. He announced that his son Solomon would build a Temple to the Lord and he would supply the blueprints and all the furnishings. He had wanted to build it himself but because he had been a warrior and shed much blood, he would not be the one to build it. Solomon would be a king of peace. He admonished Solomon to stay loyal to the Lord and worship him alone as the only God and obey all his commands. He presented the plans to Solomon in the sight of the leaders and instructions concerning the service of the Temple and explained all the items in the Temple and their use. Every detail of the instruments and the furniture was given Solomon by David. Lastly he told him to be strong and not afraid because God was with him and would help him finish the Temple just as David had been shown. God would send just the right people with the skills needed for each task. David had supplied all the materials Solomon would need to build the Temple and David also gave all of his private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction. It was more than 112 tons of gold and 262 tons of silver. David asked the men if they would like to give also. They collected from the people and gave about 118 tons of gold, 10,000 gold coins, 375 tons of silver, 675 tons of bonze and 3,750 tons of iron. They also gave many precious stones. David lifted up a prayer to the Lord praising him for who he is and all he had done for them. They offered over 3000 animals on the altar to the Lord. and feasted with great joy. Solomon was again crowned as their new king and anointed as their leader and Zadok was anointed to be the priest. All the officials and warriors pledged their loyalty to King Solomon. David had reigned 40 years over Israel, 7 in Hebron and 33 in Jerusalem. He died having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor. In Romans, we see that by Jesus’ death our friendship with God was restored. Jesus died when we were enemies with God to make us his friend. God and Adam were friends before Adam sinned. When Adam died in his sin, we all died spiritually but Adam was a type of Christ. Jesus came to give us the gift of forgiveness and a restoration of our relationship with God. Jesus’ gift of his life gave us the gift of righteousness - right standing with God, and eternal life. Lord, thank you that you want to restore your friendship with us. Thank you that you chose to restore us and bring us back into fellowship with you. May we see you as our loving Father and our greatest friend.

Mon.s Devo - Hope Leads to Faith

Read: 1 Chronicles 26:12-27:34; Romans 4:13-5:5; Psalm 14:1-7; Proverbs 19:17 When David told Joab to take a census of the people, he not only counted them but recorded their names. This is the account of those who served in the Temple. The gatekeepers, officers of the treasuries, generals and captains and their officers, leaders of the tribes and those in charge of the everyday goings on in the temple were all listed in this reading. Joab refused to name and number the children under 20 because the Lord had promised to make the Israelites as numerous as the stars in heaven and they can’t be counted. Joab never finished counting the people so David never got a total number. In Romans, Paul was explaining faith which is seen in the life of Abraham. He believed in the God who brings the dead back to life. He was referring to Isaac who he was told to sacrifice then God saved him. Abraham knew that God creates new things out of nothing. He had taken Sarah’s barren womb and created a son from it. He had also taken a man and made a nation of him. Abraham hoped when he had no evidence that what he hoped for would happen. He never wavered in believing God’s promise. Abraham’s faith was counted to him as righteous meaning that it saved his soul eternally. He was our example of salvation even before Jesus came and died for our sins. Our salvation gives us peace with God and we can now come boldly before his throne of grace and get mercy and help. When we face trials we are not alone. Our trials help us develop the trust and faith that Abraham had as he waited for God to fulfill his promise of a son. In the end he was not disappointed and we will not be either if we confidently put our hope in God and wait for his results. Lord, strengthen our resolve to keep hope alive in our hearts. May we grow in our endurance and character as we wait on you. You never disappoint.

Sun.’s Devo - Righteousness By Faith

Read: 1 Chronicles 24:1-26:11; Romans 4:1-12; Psalm 13:1-6; Provers 19:15-16 Aaron’s descendants were the priests. Aaron had four sons but two died offering strange fire to the Lord. The two living sons were Eleazar and Ithamar. Zadok was a descenant of Eleazar and Ahimelech was a descendant of Ithamar. They took the place of the two sons Aaron lost. The descendants of these four were the priestly clans. Eleazar’s group was divided into 16 subgroups and Ithamar’s into eight. The tasks assigned to them were chosen by lot so there would be no favoritism. Semaiah was the secretary who wrote down all the names and assignments in the presence of the king and the priests. Other Levite family leaders were recorded. David and the army commanders appointed men from the families of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to proclaim God’s messages that came through worship and music. The prophetic musicians were all listed. They played instruments that David had had made and were all accomplished musicians. From the Korahites and the clan of Merari came the gatekeepers. Leaders were chosen by lot not according to their age or experience. God chose them. In Romans, Paul wrote that Abraham was not considered righteous by his deeds but because he had faith. Righteousness is not something we work for it is a gift from God and the way to receive it is by faith. God accepted Abraham before he was circumcised and circumcision was a sign that Abraham already had faith. Abraham became a picture to the Gentile that it was not circumcision that made them righteous, but faith in the one who was righteous. When Abraham got circumcised he was a picture of those who become righteous who are circumcised so he was a picture of the redeemed of both Jew and Gentile. Lord, thank you for your gift of salvation. Thank you for making us righteous in You because we put our trust in you and we believe you are who you say you are and you do what you say you will do.

Sat.’s Devo - The Building of the Temple

Read: 1 Chronicles 22:1-23:32; Romans 3:9-31; Psalm 12:1-8; Proverbs 19:13-14 David declared that the threshing floor he bought from Araunah would be the setting for the Temple. That was where the curse of the plague was reversed. David called for all the foreigners living in Israel to come and do the manual labor for the Temple. He knew that Solomon was inexperienced in being over such a massive building project so he prepared everything for him ahead of time and mentored him through it. David told Solomon his dream of building the Temple and how God had told him that he would not build it because of all the blood he had shed. But, his descendant would be a man of peace and he would build it. Solomon was the one God was talking about. He told Solomon to carefully obey the Lord’s laws given through Moses and to be strong and courageous. David provided all the materials for the Temple and all the craftsmen it would take to do the task. He ordered all the leaders in Israel to assist Solomon in the project. The last thing he told Solomon was to seek the Lord with all his heart and soul and build the sanctuary so he could bring all the holy vessels of God into it to bring honor to the Lord’s name. David appointed Solomon to be the king before he died. There were 38,000 Levites to carry out all the functions of the Temple. They served as supervisors, officials and judges, gatekeepers, and musicians. The Levites came from the families of Gershon, Kohath and Merari. The Levites assisted the priests in all their duties. The priests were from the descendants of Aaron. In Romans, Paul made it clear that the law was given to show man his sin and his need for God. In his new covenant, following the law is not the requirement - following Jesus is. Putting your trust in Jesus is the way to follow the heart of the law. Every man has sinned but Jesus was the sacrifice for sin to make us right before God. We are made right with God when we put our faith in him. Faith is our fulfillment of the law. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit and just like Solomon, we are building that temple. God has prepared everything we need to build it right and for it to bring glory to his name. Lord, may we walk in faith and fulfill the law of righteousness. May we be about building your temple inside us so that you may dwell with us and bring glory to the world.

Fri.’s Devo - Counting the People

Read: 1 Chronicles 19:1-21:30; Romans 2:25-3:8; Psalm 11:1-7; Proverbs 19:10-12 King Nahash of the Ammonites died and he had been loyal to David, so David sent messengers to console his son, Hanun. Hanun’s advisors told him that David had sent those men as spies because he was planning to attack his kingdom. They took David’s messengers, shaved off their beard, cut off their robes at the buttocks and sent them home in shame. David let the men stay in Jericho till their beards grew back. Hanun realized he had stirred up David’s anger so he hired the chariots of Aram-naharaim, Aram-maacha, and Zobah to fight with his army. David sent Joab with his army against them. The enemy arrived from two different directions so Joab split his army and put half of them in the command of his brother, Abishai. They won on both fronts and the enemies ran for their lives. David joined them for a counter-attack and they won again. Finally the enemy surrendered to David. In the spring, Joab went to war and David stayed home but when it came time to take the kings crown, David was summoned. The crown of the enemy weighed 75 pounds. This had to be a giant king. They had many battles with the Philistine giants and killed them also. Satan rose up against David and convinced David to want to count his people. Joab was so distressed about this that he left out Benjamin in the count. It wasn’t the counting that was so wrong it was the fact that the law said that if someone was counted, they must give a small amount to account for their soul. To count was to account for their soul like being judged at the end of your life. The atonement tax bought your righteousness and kept you from judgement. Jesus became that atonement tax for us - the ransom for our souls. The punishment for not paying the atonement was a plague. Here is the law found in Exodus 30:12 - “When you take the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord, when you number them; that there be no plague among them, when you number them.” How fitting that the plague was what David chose. I don’t know if he had read about counting the people and the plague but it played out that way. The angel of death came and began killing the people and when it came to the threshing floor of Araunah, the Jebusite, it was stopped. David bought this land and offered sacrifices on it. It became what we now call the Temple Mount. In Romans, Paul explained that circumcision is a heart matter. It represents repentance and salvation, but if it is just a ritual with no change of heart then it is meaningless. The Gentile who circumcised their hearts to the Lord were more righteous than the Jew who was ritualistically circumcised and it didn’t change his heart. It was like being baptized at birth. That doesn’t save a person, only a person whose heart is right with God will be saved. Lord, help us to have a pure heart that is right in your sight. May our hearts be circumcised.

Thurs.’s Devo - Establishing the Kingdom

Read: 1 Chronicles 16:37-18:17; Psalm 10:16-18; Provers 19:8-9 Obed-edom was a Levite who was privileged to have housed the Ark for several months. He got to serve as a gatekeeper regularly before the Ark along with 68 other Levites. Zadok the priest and other priests were stationed at the Tabernacle to have continual worship go up to the Lord. Others were to proclaim “his faithful love endures forever” continually accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments. After the celebration, the people returned to their homes along with David. One day David called in Nathan the prophet and told him his heart to build God a Temple. Nathan thought it was a good idea, but that night God sent him a dream. He had to go back to David and tell him that God had never desired to have a great “house” on the earth. God would establish David’s kingdom and provide a homeland for His people in a secure place where they will never be disturbed. God would raise up David’s descendants, one of his sons to build the Temple and confirm him as king over his house and his kingdom for all time. When Nathan told all this to David, he was humbled and thanked the Lord for honoring him to be the king of the nation. David went on to defeat all his enemies. He conquered the Philistines by conquering their royal city Gath. Then he conquered the land of Moab who became his subjects and paid him tribute. He destroyed King Hadadezer, king of Zobah. He conquered the Arameans when they came to help King Hadadezer and made them his subjects who paid him tribute. David brought all the spoils of these wars into the treasures and built things for the Temple that his son would one day build. The bronze he took from Hadadezer he used to make the huge bronze basin called the Sea. He also used it to build great pillars that would go in the Temple. The Edomites were captured and became David’s subjects also. David was victorious wherever he went. He surrounded himself with wise leaders. In Romans, God had given a list of the very wicked people then he said that if we judge them we are really judging ourselves became we do the same things. God is extremely long-suffering towards sin and it is a blessing he is like this. He gives man a long time to repent and turn to him. Instead of wanting to see the wicked perish and be punished, we should pray for their repentance. Judgment day is coming and everyone will be judged according to their deeds. The wicked will be punished and the righteous will be justified. The Gentiles will be responsible for not following God’s laws even though they have never heard them. God’s law is written in our hearts which we call our conscience. God has given them natural instincts to know what is right and what it wrong. The Jew will be judged according to their law because they have it and there is no excuse for them. God will judge our secret life, our thoughts and intentions. Paul admonished the Jewish teachers to live what they taught. Their hypocrisy was causing the Gentiles to blaspheme God. Lord, we are so grateful for your forgiveness and grace. Help us not to judge the wicked but recognize our own sins and repent. Forgive me for wanting to see the guilty punished; may they repent and receive forgiveness for this sins as I have been forgiven. We pray for a great outpouring of your Spirit upon our nation and our own hearts.

Wed.’s Devo - Bringing the Ark into the City

Read: 1 Chronicles 15:1-16:36; Romans 1:18-32; Psalm 10:1-15; Proverbs 19:6-7 David set up a special tent for the Ark of God and had read up on how the Ark was to be carried. It must be carried by the poles on the shoulders of the Levites. He summoned all Israel to the place he had put the tent and appointed the Levites to carry the Ark to the tent. He ordered the Levite leaders to appoint a choir of Levites to sing and play joyful songs as the priests carried the Ark. Other Levites were chosen to guard the Ark. Some were to blow trumpets in front of the Ark and other priests sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. David dressed in a linen robe and a priestly garment and marched with the Levites. He danced and laughed with joy as the Ark entered the city. His wife, Michal, Saul’s daughter watched from her window and disapproved of David’s dress and outward show of worship. They placed the Ark inside the tent David had constructed and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord. Then David blessed the people and gave each a lot of bread, a cake of dates, and a cake of raisins. The Levites lead the people in worship blessing and worshipping and praising the Lord. They worshipped with cymbals, harps, lyres and singing. David had written a Psalm for the Levites to sing giving thanks and praise to God. It retold Israel’s story of how God chose them and had brought them this far. Paul continues in his letter to the church in Rome instructing them that wickedness suppresses the truth. Gods’ truth is made obvious to all through everything He made. We can see clearly his qualities, his power and divine nature through the things he made so that no one can be excused from knowing God. People have known God but they have refused to thank him or worship him as God. Instead, they made up things about God and what he was like. They worshiped idols of things he created rather than the one who created them. God abandoned them to their own wicked imaginations which caused them to distort and pervert everything. Homosexuality became acceptable. Sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior and gossip filled man’s minds. They became backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invented new ways of sinning and disobeyed their parents. They broke their promises, were heartless and had no mercy. They sinned and encouraged others to do so too. Sounds like today! In our Psalm it tells us that the wicked seem to think that God is dead and do not see his punishment awaiting them. They search for helpless victims. When they aren’t immediately punished they think God doesn’t see but He does and will punish them. Lord, thank you that You always have the final say and You always defend your Word. We are watching you move in our nation and are so thankful. Continue to root out evil and replace it with righteousness. Thank you for leaders who love You and honor your Word. Strengthen and justify your people.

Tues.’s Devo - God’s Plans

Read: 1 Chronicles 12:19-14:17; Romans 1:1-17: Psalm 9:13-20; Proverbs 19:4-5 So many had gotten disillusioned by Saul that they joined David’s army when they heard that the Philistines were going to be fighting Israel and David would be fighting with the Philistines. The Philistines sent them home because they were afraid that David might change loyalties in the middle of the battle and fight against them. As they were going back home to Ziklag, thousands from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, Levi, Benjamin, Ephraim and both halves of Manasseh, Issachar, Zebulun, Naphtali, Dan, Asher, Gad and Reuben joined with them to make David king. That is thousands from every tribe. They had a huge celebration and feasted. Saul and his sons had been killed in that battle against the Philistines making it possible for David to now become the king. David made a declaration that all Israel should come and celebrate with him as they brought the Ark into the city of David. David had the Ark put on a new cart and celebrated its arrival. The cart hit a bump in the road and it looked like the Ark was going to slide off, so Uzzah reached out to steady it. He was struck dead on the spot and the celebration came to an abrupt end and everyone went home in fear of God. David had the Ark taken to the closest house which was Obed-edom’s. There is set for three months while Obed-edom prospered in everything he did. In David’s zeal to honor the Lord and return Israel to worshipping Him, he didn’t stop to read about how to carry the Ark. It was to be carried by poles on the shoulders of the priests. The cart was how the Philistines carried the Ark. God had his own way. We can learn from this. Sometimes our best-laid plans are not God’s. He has his way of doing things and his ways are always the best. King Hiram of Tyre sent David cedar and stonemasons and carpenters to build his palace. David married more and more wives and had 13 sons in Jerusalem. When the Philistines heard that Israel had made David king, they came to attack. The Lord gave David victory over them and called the Lord, the God of the Breakthrough. The Philistines abandoned their gods there, so David burned them. The Philistines returned and they did a counter attack and ran them off. David’s fame spread across the world and all were afraid to challenge him. Paul wrote a letter to the Christians in Rome reminding them of the prophecies about one who would come from the line of David and be God’s Promise to them. This man was Jesus who proved himself when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirt. His message is to the Jew and the Gentile which includes the Romans. The church at Rome was known for their faith. Paul longed to visit them in person and bring them a spiritual gift to help them grow even stronger in the Lord. He wanted to encourage them and be encouraged by them. Lord, may we trust in your ways and know that your plans are always the best.

Mon.’s Devo - Paul’s Boldness

Read: 1 Chronicles 11:1-12:18; Acts 28:1-31; Psalm 9:1-12; Proverbs 19:1-3 David’s elite soldiers were listed. They were the mighty warriors who defected from Saul’s army. The thirty were all relatives of Saul from the tribe of Benjamin. Saul’s own family realized he was a bad king that shouldn’t have been the king. They supported David, who God had anointed to take his place since he couldn’t obey the Lord. It mentions two of the Three mightiest warriors. In 2 Samuel 23:11 the third warrior is named - Shamman. Other warriors came from Gad and Judah as well as those from Benjamin. His army grew by the day. In Acts, Paul and his shipmates swam ashore on the island of Malta. The people of Malta were very welcoming and built a fire to warm them since it was cold and rainy. As Paul was gathering firewood, a snake bit him and hung from his arm. He flung it into the fire. At first the islanders thought he was being punished for doing something bad but when he didn’t die, they decided he must be a god. The chief official of the island was Publius whose father was deathly ill. Paul prayed for him and he was healed. Then all the other sick people came to Paul to be healed and he healed them also. When it was time to leave, the people of the island gave them all they needed and they sailed the Alexandrian ship to Rome. They stopped at some cities along the way where they found some believers to encourage. Believers were waiting at Rome to welcome Paul. Three days after he had arrived in Rome, Paul called a meeting of the Jewish leaders. He told them of his story and how the Jews were pressing charges against him though he had done nothing wrong. Then he explained the scriptures and why he believed that Jesus was the Messiah. Some believed. Others could not see it just like Isaiah said would happen. Finally, Paul told them that the message is for all people and the Gentiles would hear it and accept it. Paul lived in Rome for two years at his own expense and boldly proclaimed the Kingdom of God without any opposition. Lord, may we be as determined as Paul that what we know about Jesus is true and worthy of sharing. May we boldly proclaim the gospel in all we do and say.

Sun.’s Devo - The Shift

Read: 1 Chronicles 9:1-10:14; Acts 27:21-44; Psalm 8:1-9; Proverbs 18:23-24 Every Israelite was recorded in “The Book of the Kings of Israel”. The people of Judah were exiled to Babylon because they had abandoned the Lord. The first exiles returned when Cyrus became king of Persia and God put it upon his heart to build a temple to the Lord. He asked for volunteers among the exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple and live there (Ezra 1). People from the tribe of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi volunteered to return. From the Levites, people from the clan of Merari and Kohath returned but I didn’t see any from the clan of Gershom. There were many gatekeepers and musicians. Then we are given a detailed list of Saul’s genealogy and the last day of Saul’s life. His dynasty was ended. Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord. The kingdom was given to David. This switch to David’s dynasty was repeated over and over throughout history. We are at that “switch” right now. Saul’s kingdom is coming down and David’s is rising but it always comes through much hardship and struggle. The transition is a slow turning of the Titanic. It all began to be apparent when Roe vs. Wade came down. Now, I think we will see things accellerate. The doors of change have been opened. Revival is coming! In Acts, things had shifted also. The commander hadn’t listened to Paul in the past but now that everything happened just as he said it would, he was listening. Paul told the men to take courage because none of the people would lose their lives. An angel had appeared to Paul and told him that he would stand trial before Caesar and everyone sailing with him would be safe. They would be shipwrecked on an island. The storm continued and they were quickly coming to shore - too quickly. The commander was afraid they would be thrown on the rocks and die so he put men in a life boat. Paul told him that if they left in the life boat, they would all die. They needed to stay in the boat to live. They cut the life boat free and stayed in the boat. They hadn’t eaten for two weeks so Paul suggested they all eat and they had a time of prayer and eating of bread. Then they threw the remaining wheat overboard. The next morning they saw the shore of the island. They ran the boat aground off the shore. The officers wanted to kill the prisoners so they wouldn’t swim ashore and escape, but the captain of the ship forbade them in order to save Paul’s life. They all swam safely to shore. God used Paul to physically save all the men on his boat and I wonder how many of them went on to live eternally because of their encounter with Paul. I wonder how many people we meet during our lives will obtain eternal salvation because of their encounter with us. Lord, may we be an example of You and Your great glory. Thank you for the great shift we are sensing in our nation. May we not lose heart and be afraid, but may we boldly proclaim your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

Sat.’s Devo - God’s Plan

Read: 1 Chronicles 7:1-8:40; Acts 27:1-20; Psalm 7:1-17; Proverbs 18:22 Issacar had four sons who grew into 87,000 mighty warriors by the time David became king. Benjamin had three sons who eventually produced 59,434 warriors. Of Naphtali, we are reminded that he came from Jacob’s concubine Bilhah. He had four sons and that is all that was recorded of them at this place. Much more was recorded about Manasseh and Ephraim. Manasseh had two sons where Ephraim had nine. Ephraim and Manasseh were the two sons of Joseph who Jacob adopted. Jacob had prophesied that though Manasseh was the oldest, Ephraim would be the leader and the more powerful of the two. Two of Ephraim’s sons were killed trying to steal livestock from the local farmers near Gath. Ephraim greatly mourned their deaths. He had one more son after them. Joshua who led Israel into the promised land was from the tribe of Ephraim. Asher had four sons and a daughter. They produced 26,000 warriors. It is also said of Asher’s clan that they produced select warriors and outstanding leaders. Benjamin was the last son of Jacob. He had five sons. We see the first recorded divorce in his line. Shaharaim divorced his two wives and remarried. Saul and Jonathan were Benjamites. In Acts, Paul is put on a ship for Rome along with other prisoners. They were placed under the custody of the Roman officer, Julius. Julius was very kind to Paul and let him have freedom to visit his friends when they stopped in Sidon. From then on they met storm after storm. They changed ships in Myra and boarded an Egyptian ship from Alexandria that was bound for Italy. Paul felt that if they kept going they would shipwreck and lose lots of cargo and maybe their lives. He told the officer in charge of the prisoners but he listened to the ship’s captain instead and they kept going. The light wind turned into a typhoon and they fought for days to keep the ship together. They threw off cargo and gear. The storm was so great it blocked the sun and the stars so they couldn’t navigate. All hope was gone. I can relate to those kind of storms in life. When all hope is gone, God always has a plan. When our sun and stars and tools we use to navigate through life is no longer useful, God has a plan. He has a way when there seems no way. Lord, thank you for your ways are higher than ours. We choose your plan.

Fri.’s Devo - The Levites

Read: 1 Chronicles 5:18-6:81; Acts 26:1-32; Psalm 6:1-10; Proverbs 18:20-21 The tribes east of the Jordan formed their own army and worked together to drive out the inhabitants of their land. They prospered as long as they put their faith in God but after a while they took up the gods of the nations around them. God sent King Pul of Assyria to invade their land and take them as captives. Levi had three sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Aaron, Moses and Miriam came from the clan of Kohath. The lead musician, Heman was also from the clan of Kohath. His first assistant was Asaph from the clan of Gershon and his second assistant was Ethan from the clan of Merari. Only Aaron and his descendants served as priest and offered offerings on the altars. The Kohath’s were given cities in the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim and the half tribe of Manasseh on the west side of the Jordan. The clan of Gershon was given towns in the territories of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Manasseh on the east side of the Jordan. The clan of Merari was given towns in Reuben Gad, and Zebulan.. Levites were given cities in Simeon also but Dan is not mentioned. Dan means “to judge” and it was much like Judas Iscariot was in the 12 disciples. Dan is not mentioned in Revelation 7 when it talks about the sealed ones from each of the tribes. Joseph was mentioned in Dan’s place. In Acts, Agrippa gave Paul permission to state his defense. Paul began by commenting that he was glad it was Agrippa trying his case since he was very knowledgeable about the Jewish laws. Then Paul gave his own educational credentials which were very impressive. He stated that he was on trial because of the fulfillment of God’s promises made by their ancestors, so why does it seem so incredible that God could raise the dead? Then Paul told his personal testimony of how God appeared to him and spoke to him on the way to Damascus. God told him that he would rescue him from his own people and the Gentiles, but he was to take his message to the Gentiles. They would receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people who believe in God. Paul had been obeying that commission ever since. Festus yelled that Paul was insane and all his studying had made him crazy. Paul defended himself and said he was not crazy and Agrippa should know that. He asked Agrippa if he believed the prophets. Agrippa became defensive and asked him if he thought he could persuade him to become a Christian so quickly. Paul said he prayed that all of them would become a Christian and experience the freedom he had, except for his chains. All the officers got up to leave. They all agreed that Paul had not committed a crime and if he hadn’t appealed to Caesar, they could have set him free. Lord, the truth does set us free. Thank you that no matter what happens in the world around us, we are free in our spirits to worship you. Our hope is not on this earth but our hope is in You.

Thurs.’s Devo - Judah, Simeon, Gad and Reuben

Read: 1 Chronicles 4:5-5:17; Acts 25:1-27; Psalm 5:1-12; Proverbs 18:19 Ashhur was the son who was born to Hezron after Hezron died. This son founded the city of Tekoa. Tekoa which means “a trumpet blast” lies 12 miles south of Jerusalem and was the home of the woman Joab used to convince King David to let Absalom back into the city (2 Samuel 14) and Tekoa was the home of the prophet Amos. We have all heard of Jabez thanks to a man who wrote a whole book on these two verses (4:9,10). Jabez was born painfully but prayed that God would bless him and expand his territory and keep him from anymore trouble or pain. God granted his request and healed him of whatever pain he was born into. Jabez means “affliction” so I guess he was born with a painful disease or handicap. It also says of Jabez that he was honorable. Othniel was the son of Kenaz. When Caleb needed a man to volunteer to lead his army in a battle he promised his daughter in marriage to whoever spoke up first. Othniel did and led the army to victory and married Caleb’s daughter (Judges 1:12,13). Judah’s clan were kings and craftsmen for the kings. Next, the genealogy of the tribe of Simeon were recorded. The tribe didn’t grow large because only Shimei had a large family. The tribe of Simeon was right in the middle of the tribe of Judah. The people of the tribe of Simeon were shepherds and soldiers. Reuben was Jacob’s oldest but dishonored his father when he slept with one of his father’s concubines. His birthright was given to his brother Joseph. Reuben’s descendants became the most powerful tribe and provided a ruler for the nation but the birthright belonged to Joseph. The tribe of Gad lived next to the Reubenites. Joel was their leader and there were seven clans of their family. They lived in the land of Gilead. In Acts, Paul was still in prison and the guards had changed. Felix was replaced by Festus. One of his first things on his agenda was to visit Jerusalem. The Jewish leaders were waiting to meet with him and give him their accusations against Paul. They wanted Festus to transfer Paul to Jerusalem so they could kill him on the way. Festus told them Paul was in Caesarea and he was on his way there now. They could come too and present their accusations there. They all met in Caesarea and brought Paul out to defend himself. Paul denied all charges, but Festus wanted to gain the favor of the Jews so he asked Paul if he was willing to be tried in Jerusalem. Paul said, “No” because he knew he would not get a fair trial there. He wanted to be tried right there. Then he appealed to Caesar. Festus and his advisors decided that since Paul had appealed to Caesar, he should go and let Caesar decide his fate. King Agrippa came to visit Festus and Festus told him about Paul’s case. He found it interesting and asked to speak with Paul himself. The next day Paul was brought out before them so they could question him and decide how to word his charges to Caesar. Festus sounded like a weak leader who feared man and needed approval. Lord, help us not to fear man but only You. You have the power over life and death. You are the creator of everything so we honor you and your opinion.

Wed.’s Devo -Descendants of Hezron -

Read: 1 Chronicles 2:18-4:4; Acts 24:1-27; Psalm 4:1-8; Proverbs 28:16-18 Yesterday we read where Judah had three son Er, Onan, and Shelah. Er and Onan were both so wicked that God killed them. Shelah was suppose to be given to his brother’s wife Tamar, to have children through for his brother’s name but Judah never followed through. Tamar took matters into her own hands and tricked Judah into having sex with her and had twins named Perez and Zerah. Perez’s first born was Hezron. Boaz, and Jesse came from his line. Jesse was the father of David. Today, we continue reading about Hezron’s line. We start reading about his son Caleb who married two women. He had three sons and then died. His second wife Epharathah had a son named Hur. The last line of our reading mentions Hur again and his mother and says that they are the ancestor of Bethlehem. Hezron died in the town of Caleb-ephrathah named for his son, Caleb and his wife, Ephrathah. Before Hezron died, he married again at the age of 60. He married a woman from the tribe of Manasseh even though he was from the tribe of Judah. From that time on he was incorporated into the tribe of Manasseh and all his land went to that tribe. When Hezron died, his wife was pregnant. She birthed Ashhur who never saw his father. Jehu, who usurped the kingdom from Jezebel came from Hezron’s son Ram. From Caleb’s descendants we have the father of Hebron. Hebron became a city of refuge. Caleb’s first born of Ephrathath was Hur and his son Salma founded Bethlehem. They became the Kenites and the Recabites. The Recabites were the family that Jeremiah used in his example in Jeremiah 25. They had been told not to drink wine and had obeyed for generations. Next we are given the sons of David. We read about all the sons born in Hebron except the second one Daniel. He was the son of Abigail from Carmel. He had six sons in 7.5 years then moved to Jerusalem where he had nine other sons. David had a sister named Tamar. She was the “Tamar” that was raped and the sister of Absalom. Solomon’s line was the kingly line and we can recognize all his son’s names. Chapter Four gives the descendants of Judah from his fifth son, Shobal. In Acts, Paul’s case was to be tried. The high priest, Ananias came from Jerusalem with his lawyer, Tertullus to testify against Paul. Tertullus presented his case first. He called Paul a troublemaker who constantly stirred up riots all over the world. He also called him the ringleader of the cult known as the Nazarenes. And thirdly, Paul was caught trying to desecrate the Temple when they arrested him. (Sounds like accusations being used today against patriots.) Next, Paul spoke. He reminded them that he had been in Rome 12 days and had yet to stir up a riot in the Temple. His accusers had no proof to anything they were saying. Paul told them about his meeting in Jerusalem and how it was quiet until he mentioned the resurrection of the dead. When Paul said this, Felix called a recess and delayed the trial until Lysias could arrive. Paul was kept in custody with some freedom and visits. They reconvened when Drusilla, Felix’s wife arrived. She was a Jew and Felix wanted her input. Paul met with them and told them about his faith in Jesus. He covered the topics of righteousness, self-control and the day of judgment. Conviction hit Felix and he called a recess. He hoped that Paul would bribe him so he sent for him time after time. They met for two years until Feld was succeeded by Porcius Festus. Festus kept Paul in jail to gain the favor of the Jews. Lord, may it be said of you that we built a foundation of righteousness for our descendants to follow. May we bless your name.

Tues.’s Devo - Man’s Geneology

Read: 1 Chronicles 1:1-2:17; Acts 23:11-35; Psalm 3:1-8; Proverbs 18:14-15 We are given the chronological list of the Jewish nation traced from the first man that God created, Adam through the sons of Israel. Some of the things I noticed was that Cain was not mentioned as Adam’s son because Cain was’t his son. Cain was the seed of Lucifer and Eve’s. Also, because Cain killed Abel, Abel wasn’t mentioned. Seth means “substituted”. He was substituted in Abel’s place. Every name tells the story of his generation. Noah’s name means “rest” because during his day the earth had rest from the evil deeds of man. The Ark “rested” on Mt. Ararat and man began again. Noah had three sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth who spread across the world with their descendants. Ham’s line was where the Canaanites came from. Shem’s line brought us Abraham. Japheth’s line went north and ended up in Arabia and central Asia. We follow Abraham’s line to his sons Isaac and Ishmael. Each of them had 12 sons who became leaders or princes. Abraham also had eight sons through his concubine Keturah. When it mentions the kings who ruled in the land of Edom, Jobab is named. He is thought to be Job. Today’s line takes us to David who was the seventh son of Jesse. Reading all these names, it is hard to think of them as real people with real lives and they are all part or our heritage as the human race. When we die, we will be a name in a genealogy but we know the details of our lives that no one else will ever know. It is thought provoking. we pass to the next generation a blessing or a curse. That is our choice. In Acts, we read Paul’s account of the Lord’s encouragement to him in the middle of the night. There were people who hated him so much the vowed to kill him, but God had plans for him. He would preach in Rome. None of their plans against Paul would succeed. The murderous plot to kill Paul was exposed and Paul was rescued and safely taken to Rome with 200 spearmen and 70 mounted troops surrounding him. Claudius sent a letter with Paul to Felix the Governor. In the letter he wrote that he found no reason for charges for punishment for Paul. He was safely sent to Herod’s prison where Felix promised to hear his case the next day. Lord, may you bring justice to our land and all who are tried and are innocent. Free your people from bondage.

Mon.’s Devo - The Last Few Kings

Read: 2 Kings 23:31-25:30; Acts 22:17-23:10; Psalm 2:1-12; Proverbs 18:13 Today is July 4th when we celebrate our independence. Today’s reading is about anything but independence. It is about bondage and lose of freedom for the Israelites. There are so may details, I am going to try to simplify it. Josiah was the last good king of Judah and had brought about so many great reforms to turn the people’s hearts toward the Lord. In all his efforts, he couldn’t change the people’s hearts or the words that God had spoken. Judah’s sins had piled up so high, judgment was inevitable. Jehoahaz became king after Josiah died and he was evil. The Pharaoh of Egypt had Jehoahaz put in prison at Riblah so he couldn’t rule his land. Then he demanded that Judah pay 7,500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold. Neco of Egypt installed Eliakim (one of Josiah’s sons) as the king and changed his name to Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim reigned in Jerusalem 11 years and was evil. Nebuchadnezar of Babylon came against him and demanded tribute from him for 3 years. When Jehoiakim died, Jehoiachin became the next king. He only reigned 3 months because Nebuchadnezzar himself came to besiege Jerusalem and Jehoiachin along with his officers tried to escape. They were caught and put into prison in Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar took the most fit and gifted people of the land to Babylon as refugees and installed Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle as the next king. He changed his name to Zedekiah. Zedekiah would be Judah’s last king. Zedekiah’s evil reign lasted 11 years. During his 9th year, the Babylonians returned and besieged Jerusalem again. It lasted 2 years until the people were starving. When the Babylonians finally broke through the wall, Zedekiah and some of his men tried to escape like Jehoiachin had tried. He was captured also and taken to Babylon. The Temple was burned to the ground along with the royal palace and all the nice homes in Jerusalem. Important buildings came down also. Then the walls came down and the people were taken to Babylon. Some of the poorest people were allowed to stay behind to care for the vineyards and fields. Anything of worth was taken from the city to Babylon. The leaders of the Temple and the government were taken to Babylon and killed. King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah as governor over the people left in Judah. He tried to get the people to live under Babylonian rule and be at peace. But Ishmael who was of David’s royal blood killed Gedaliah and all the Judeans and Babylonians who were helping him rule Babylonian style. The people fled in panic to Egypt. They were afraid of what Nebuchadnezzar’s response was going to be for them killing their men. Jehoiachin had been in prison in Babylon for 37 years. A new king came to rule who befriended Jehoiachin and exalted him above all the other exiled kings in his prison. He released him from prison and gave him new clothes and allowed him to eat with him for the rest of his life and gave him a food allowance as long as he lived. This was a picture of what would happen to Israel one day. They would be brought out of bondage and given the privilege of eating with the Messiah at his table. His food would be spiritual food that this world knows nothing about. In Acts we find Paul stirring up the crowd again. Paul was not afraid of a fight. He was at the end of his speech to the crowd when they arrested him. All was quiet and well until he got to the part about God sending him to the Gentiles then the riot broke out again. Paul was whisked away to be beaten. Paul asked if it was legal to whip a Roman citizen before he was tried. This got their attention. They dropped him like a hot potato. The next day, the Roman commander met with the leading priests and the Jewish high council. He released Paul to stand before them. Paul spoke first. He began by saying that he had lived his life before God with a clear conscience. Ananias commanded the closest one to Paul to slap him on the mouth. Paul responded, “God will slap you, you corrupt hypocrite!” LOL! When Paul found out he was the high priest, he apologized since God said that you must respect those in authority. Then Paul realized that he had Pharisees and Sadducees so he made a comment about being on trial because of his hope in the resurrection of the dead. This threw up an immediate wall with the Pharisees on his side and the Sadducees against him. It became so heated that the commander rescued Paul from being mauled and put him back in prison. Israel was facing its near extinction just as we are facing warnings of an alien invasion and the CDC warning us of a virus X that is going to give us a zombie apocalypse, crazy things are going on in our world also. We have nothing to fear because all their lies will not stand to what the Lord says about America. It was stand and endure and God will fight for us. We need only to trust God without fear or intimidation. Lord, we do look to You as the author and finisher of our faith. All the kingdoms of the world are yours.

Tues.’s Devo - Josiah’s Reform

Read: 2 Chronicles 33:14-34:33; Romans 16:10-27; Psalms 26:1-12; Proverbs 20:19 Manasseh began cleansing the land when he repented. He took out the idol from the Temple and rebuilt the altar to the Lord and sacrificed on it. He took away all the altars he had built in Jerusalem and cast them out of the city. The people continued to sacrifice on the high places to other gods. When Manasseh died, his son Amon became king. He was evil and sacrificed to all the carved images which his father had made. He continued in sin until his servants killed him in his own home. The people of the land rose up and killed all his assassins and made his son Josiah the king. Josiah was eight years old when he became king. He followed after David and did what was right. At the age of 16, he began to seek the Lord. At 20, he began to purify Judah and Jerusalem of all the pagan shrines, the Asherah poles and carved idols and images. He had the altar of Baal demolished and the incense altars taken down. He scattered the dust of the images over the graves of those who worshipped them. At 26, Josiah appointed Shaphan, Maaseiah, and Joah to repair the house of the Lord who was his god. They took the tithe money and began reconstructing the Temple and getting it back into working condition. While they were repairing the Temple, they found a copy of the law. When Josiah heard the words of the law he rent his clothes because Judah had been guilty of so much sin. Josiah realized that they had made God very angry by the way they had lived. He asked his men to go and pray for the land and to go to Hilkiah the prophetess and see if she had a word for them. She told them to tell Josiah that God was angry because Judah had forsaken him. Because Josiah’s heart was tender, he would not live to see the disaster that would fall on Judah and Jerusalem. Josiah made a covenant with the Lord to serve him with all he heart, soul and deeds. He made all who were present join him. He took away all the abominations from the country and made all serve the Lord. They stayed true to the Lord as long as Josiah lived. In Romans, Paul continues his list of the men and women he served along side of, praising them for their lives. Then he gives us a warning to stay away from people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things not in the heart of God. They are serving themselves and not God, so they use smooth convincing words to deceive the innocent people. All glory to you, Lord because it is you who make us strong. You are the only wise God and you will soon crush Satan under you feet.

Sun.’s Devo - Josiah’s Reforms

Read: 2 Kings 22:3-23:30; Acts 21:37-22:16; Psalm 1:1-6; Proverbs 18:11-12 In Josiah’s 18th year he sent Shaphan, the court secretary to the Temple of the Lord. He was to ask Hilkiah the high priest for an account of the money they had collected from the people at the Temple. They were to hire workmen to repair all the things that needed repairing in the Temple. While the workmen were working in the Temple, they came upon a copy of the law and sent it to Josiah to read. Josiah realized how far from God’s law they had fallen. They worshipped Baal in the Temple of the Lord and the law gave the penalty for disobeying God’s commands. Josiah sent the copy to the priests and told them to pray for them as a nation. The priests went to inquire of a prophetess named Huldah what God would say to them. The Lord replied that he was going to bring disaster on Jerusalem. All the words written in the scroll - the curses to a nation that didn’t follow God’s commands - would come true. Because Josiah repented, they wouldn’t happen until he died. Josiah then lead the most widespread campaign ever to cleanse the land of idol worship. They cleaned up the Temple then went and tore down every evidence of idol worship throughout the land. When they came to the altar at Bethel, he burned down its altar and burned the bones of the false prophets who were buried by the altar. When he came to the prophet who had prophesied that Josiah would burn down that altar, he did not let them burn his bones. Josiah re-instituted the celebration of Passover. God was still angry over the past sins of Manasseh and those who worshipped false gods. Judah would be punished just like Israel was. Josiah was killed when he went out to fight Egypt and the Assyrians at Megiddo. He was succeeded by his son, Jehoahaz. In Acts, Paul had been arrested for the riot caused by the men who came from Asia. He spoke to the commander in Greek which surprised him. The commander had mistaken Paul for a rebel assassin from Egypt. Paul told him he was a Jew from Tarsus and asked to speak to the people. The commander agreed to let him speak. Paul stood on the steps and quieted the crowd. He spoke to them in Aramaic which was their language. Paul stood and gave his testimony of how God arrested him on the road to Damascus to persecute Christians. They listened in wrapt silence. Paul had the god-given ability to speak to people in their own languages both naturally and spiritually. Lord, help us to boldly proclaim our testimony of what you have done for us. May we be able to speak the language of the people around us in order to proclaim the gospel to them in a way they can receive it. May you exalt leaders to reform our nation like Josiah did his

Sat.’s Devo - Righteousness Reigns

Read: 2 Kings 20:1-22:2; Acts 21:18-36; Psalm 150:1-6; Proverbs 18:9-10 Hezekiah became deathly sick and Isaiah was sent to tell him to set his affairs in order. Hezekiah cried out to the Lord and reminded him all he had done for him. Before Isaiah could leave the palace, God told him to turn around and go back to Hezekiah with a new message. God had heard his prayer and would heal him in three days. He would extend his life another 15 years. He would rescue him and Jerusalem from the Assyrians for His name sake and the sake of David. Isaiah told Hezekiah to make an ointment from figs and spread it over his boil and it would be healed. Hezekiah asked for a sign to prove what he was saying. Isaiah asked if he wanted the sundial to go forward 10 steps or back. Hezekiah said “back” and it did. Time was altered forever. I read of a famous mathematician who was an atheist but his desire was to calculate how old the earth was. He was missing a few hours and minutes in his study. A friend told him about the story of Joshua when the sun stayed shining so he could fight and about this particular story. These stories added the exact time he was missing and he became a believer. Satan always has to mess things up. He sent ambassadors from Babylon to give Hezekiah a gift and congratulate him from getting well. When they left ,God sent Isaiah to Hezekiah. He asked Hezekiah what he had shown them and Hezekiah said everything he had. God said they would come and take it one day - everything. His own sons would become eunuchs in Babylon. Hezekiah was just glad it wouldn’t happen in his day. In his last 15 years he had a son named Manasseh who he would pass the kingdom to. Hezekiah didn’t live out his last days for the Lord and his son wasn’t taught to lead the nation in righteousness. When Hezekiah died, Manasseh became one of the most evil kings yet. He rebuilt the pagan shrines his dad had torn down. He raised up every kind of altar to false gods and was more heathen than the heathen. God swore to wipe his name off the face of the earth. He had murdered so many innocent people that it polluted Jerusalem. He was not buried in the city of David, but the garden of Uzza. His son, Amon became king but he was assassinated by his own officials. The people of the land rose up and killed his assassins and made Amon’s son, Josiah king. Josiah was only 8 years old at the time, but he was a good king who pleased the Lord like David. In Acts, Paul finally reached Jerusalem. He met with the church there and gave them a detailed account of all he had seen God do while on his journeys. There had been such a division about the law. Now that Gentiles were coming to the Lord, the Jews were confused about whether to still hold to the law of Moses or not. Paul taught that the law was good and that they should follow both. To prove it he participated in a Jewish purification ceremony for some Jews. It was to last seven days but before it was over, some of the Jews from Asia came and stirred up a riot against Paul. They accused Paul of teaching people to not follow the law. They falsely accused him of taking Gentiles into the Temple. During the riot, they drug Paul out of the Temple and tried to kill him. Roman officers came and put a stop to what was happening. The soldiers had to lift Paul to their shoulders to keep the crowd from killing him. As we see in our day, the truth makes evil-hearted people very angry and they do violent things to protect what they deem as truth. But, truth always prevails. Lord, thank you for raising up your standard in the land. May your standard be lifted up over America and may we stop the killing of innocent people.

Fri.’s Devo - The All-Powerful God

Read: 2 Chronicles 32: 1-33:13; Romans 15:23-16:9; Psalm 25:16-22; Proverbs 20:16-18 King Sennacherib of Assyria came to invade Judah. They conquered the towns on the way to Jerusalem. Hezekiah fortified Jerusalem preparing the wall and building another wall around it. He cut off the flow of water so the Assyrian army would have no water for their horses and themselves. Hezekiah encouraged his men that their army might be large, but they were mere humans. When the Assyrians got there they used intimidation and mockery. They taunted that no other nation was able to stand against them ever, so why would they think they could defeat them. They taunted God as if he was a mere statue made of wood. King Hezekiah cried out to the Lord in prayer and God sent an angel who destroyed the whole Assyrian army. Sennacherib went home disgraced and was killed by his own sons in temple to his god. God showed himself strong for Hezekiah. His fame caused him to became proud. Hezekiah became deathly ill and cried out again to the Lord. God healed him but he did not respond appropriately to the kindness of the Lord. He died 15 years later and his son Manasseh became king. He was only 12 and must have had terrible advisors. He rebuilt all the high places that his father had torn down. He reinstitute the worship of Baal and Asherah. He totally abandoned the Lord and was more evil than any king before him. God sent many prophets to warn him to repent but he refused to turn. Finally God sent the Assyrian army. They put a ring through his nose and bound him in chains and led him to Bablyon. There he repented and God brought him back to Jerusalem. In Romans, Paul is not afraid to talk about money. He tells the Roman church that they need to pay for his journey there. Then he talks about the believers at the church at Macedonia and Achaia. They are very poor but they took up an offering for the church at Jerusalem because they felt they owed them a debt for sending them Paul with the Good News. Paul asks for prayer for safety for himself because of the enemies of the truth in Judah. He also wants prayer that the church in Jerusalem would accept the gift he was bringing them from the other churches. He was sending a group ahead of himself and he names them by name and tells them about each of them so they will honor them and see them as a treasure. Lord, thank you that you sent the Good News to us and you see us as a treasure. Thank you that we don’t have to worry about the enemies we face because your army can defeat them with one angel.

Fri.’s Devo - Victory is the Lord’s

Read: 2 Kings 18:13-19:37; Acts 21:1-17; Psalm 149:1-9; Provers 18:8 In Hezekiah’s fourteenth year, King Sennacherib of Assyria came and besieged the fortified towns of Judah. He was on a campaign to take over the world. Hezekiah had stopped paying tribute to Assyria and now they were taking their revenge. Hezekiah tried to pay him to leave them alone, taking all the gold and silver he could find in the Temple. This could not stop the plans of the Assyrians. The Assyrian chief of staff sent a message to Hezekiah boasting of their strength and telling them that if they were trusting in Egypt to help them, Egypt doesn’t keep their promises. They were right about that. If they were trusting in the Lord their God, that was useless too because they had offended Him by taking down the high places in the land and making the people only worship him in Jerusalem. (They didn’t know God’s laws or understand his worship. God was pleased that Hezekiah took down the high places because that was where pagan worship was happening. And, God told the people to come to Jerusalem to worship him.) They even said that God had sent them to attack Israel. The chief of staff used intimidation and lies to beat down their morale. It was working because the Israelite commander asked him to speak in Aramaic so his soldiers couldn’t understand what he was saying. He replied that he wanted them to understand him. Then he spoke directly to the soldiers trying to intimidate them and tell them that their king would not be able to rescue them and neither would their God. He told them that if they made peace with them, they would be given land and vineyards, food and life. (What lies!) He reminded them that the gods of the other nations they conquered had not been able to save them so why did they think theirs would. The Israelites kept silent as they were instructed. When Hezekiah was told what was said, he put on burlap and went into the Temple to pray. He sent his officers dressed in burlap to tell Isaiah what was happening so he would also pray. Isaiah sent word back to tell Hezekiah not to worry about what the Assyrian officer said, God was going to fight him and the Assyrian king would get a message that he is needed at home. When he arrived, he would be killed. King Sennacherib then received word that the Ethiopians were coming to fight him so he was needed at home. He sent a message to Hezekiah saying that none of the other countries were able to save themselves and neither would they. Hezekiah took the message into the Lord’s Temple and laid it would before the Lord. He praised the Lord as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and maker of all things. He asked the Lord to rescue them. Isaiah message came to Hezekiah saying that the Lord heard his prayer. The haughty and arrogant Assyrians had offended him with their boasts and he would defend his name. He told them the proof would be that this year they would eat what grew by itself and the next year, but the third year, they would plant and harvest. God would preserve a remnant who would grow and flourish. As for the king of Assyria, he would not enter Jerusalem or even shoot one arrow at it. The king would return to his own country but not enter his city. That night, God moved and his army killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. Sennacherib and the survivors went home to Nineveh and one day, while worshipping in his temple to Nisroch, his two sons killed him with their swords. They escaped to the land of Ararat and their brother, Esarhaddon became the next king of Assyria. In Acts, Paul’s face was set toward Jerusalem. No prophecy or warning of dangers ahead or persuasion of the people could keep him from his destiny. He finally told them that he was not afraid to die or suffer for Christ’s sake. Paul’s life was to be an example of bold determination to see the kingdom of God come to the earth. He laid down his life for his mission. Lord, may we have Paul’s heart to follow you no matter how rough the road is. May we be like Hezekiah who turned to You when there was no hope and believed You were the only answer. May we see you move in our nation like you did for Jerusalem in today’s story. You are the captain of your army and you can not be defeated.