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.