Fri.'s Devo - The Downfall of Israel

Read: 2 Kings 17:1-18:12; Acts 20:1-38; Psalm 148:1-14; Proverbs 18:6-Hoshea began to rule over Israel while Ahaz was ruling over Judah. He was evil but not as evil as the kings of Israel before him. He was attacked by King Shalmaneser of Assyria and forced to pay heavy tribute. Hoshea got tired of paying it and hired King So of Egypt to help him stand against the king of Assyria. When the king of Assyria, Shalmanezer found out, he had Hoshea put in prison and beseiged the city of Samaria for three years. When it fell, the people were exiled to Assyria. They settled in colonies in Halah along the banks of the Habor River. *** All of this happened because Israel had chosen to follow Jeroboam into idolatry. They had perverted God's laws and chosen their own priests and their way of worship. All of this was evil and greatly offended God. God had sent prophets again and again to warn them to turn back to Him, but they refused to listen. They had set up the two golden calves and an Asherah pole. They even worshiped Baal and all the forces of heaven. They sacrificed their own sons and daughters in the fire of Molech and consulted fortune-tellers and practiced sorcery and sold themselves to evil. *** In God's anger, he drove them from the land he had promised them and only the tribe of Judah remained in the land. But even they refused to obey the commands of the Lord and they followed in the evil practices that Israel had introduced. *** The king of Assyria sent groups of people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sephavaim to settle in Israel to replace the Israelites. But these people didn't worship God so God sent lions to kill them. They sent word to the king of Assyria what was happening so the king sent back a priest of the Lord to teach these foreigners God's laws and how he wanted to be worshipped. But these people continued to worship their own gods also. *** While all this was going on in Israel, Hezekiah became king in Judah. He ruled over Judah for 25 years and did what was pleasing to the Lord and removed the pagan shrines and cut down the Asherah poles. He destoryed the bronze serpent that Moses had made in the wilderness becuase the people had began to worship it. He was true to the Lord like no other king in Judah. God gave him success in everything he did. He revolted against the king of Assyria and refused to pay tribute. He conquered the Philistines. He had ruled six years when Samaria fell to the Assyrians and Israel was taken into exile. *** In Acts, Paul's life was full of danger and threats but it never stopped him from preaching the truth. In Troas, Paul was preaching his last night before leaving. He preached late into the night and a man who was sitting next to a window, fell asleep and fell three stories down to his death. Paul went down and restored him and brothe him back up and they had the Lord's Supper and he left the next morning for Assos. Paul knew that he was bound for Jerusalem and that suffering and jail lay in his destiny but he was not afraid. He pressed on knowing this was his assignment and he wanted to do everything God had planned for his life. *** Paul shared all this with his followers and encouraged them to stay strong and faithful to what the Lord had called them to do. He warned them of false teacher who would arise and teach heresy. He prayed with them and hugged them good bye. *** Lord, may we have the determination of Paul to know our destiny and not be afraid of suffering and trials. May we press on toward the prize of our reward for obedience and faithfulness.

Thurs.'s Devo - The Kings

Read: 2 Kings 15:1-16:20; Acts 19:13-41; Psalm 147:1-20; Proverbs 18:4-5 Today's Old Testament scriptures read like the Cliff Notes of a soap opera. True to the prophecy given to Jehu, four of his descendents became kings of Israel. All four of them were evil. Jehoahaz reigned 17 years, Jehoash 16 years, Jeroboam 2 reigned 41 years and Zachariah 38 years. Zachariah was assassinated by Shallum in a public place. His name means "restitution". Shallum only reigned one month before he was a assassinated by Menahem. Menahem killed the population of a whole town becsue they refused to surrender to him. *** Menahem ruled 10 yuears and during his reign King Tiglath-Pileser from Assyria invaded the land. He charged Menahem 37 tons of silver. Menahem got the money to pay the tribute by making the rich pay 50 pieces of silver each. Menahem's son, Pekahiah ruled next and was also evil. He was assassinated by his own army officer, Pekah. Pekah was also evil. *** Meanwhile in Judah, Joash reigned for 40 years and pleased the Lord. He was succeeded by his son Amaziah who was also good and reigned 29 years. The next king was Uzziah who reigned 52 years and was good. At the end of his reign he got leprosy and his son, Jotham had to completed his rule. Jotham was also good like his father. Jotham was succededed by his son, Ahaz. *** Back in Israel, Pekah was attacked by Tiglath-pileser and and lost much land. All of Namhptali was taken captive. Pekah and King Rezin of Aran conspired together to attack Jerusalem while Ahaz was king of Judah. They attacked and recovered the town of Elath. Ahaz of Judah, sent messengers to Tiglath-Pilester promising to sered him if her would come help him agant Israsel and Aram. He paid Tiglath-Pilester gold and silver he took from the Temple. Tiglath-Pilester came and attacked Damascus, the capital of Aram, and carried its people into captivity and killed King Rezin. *** King Ahaz went to Damascus to thank Tiglath-Pilester and took note of the pagan altar there. He had a picture drawn with its demensions and took it back to Israel and had one made to replace the bronze one in the Temple. He said he would use the bronze one for his personal use but told the priests to use the new one for the nation. When King Ahaz died, his son Hezekiah became king of Judah. *** In Acts, the truth of the Gospel and the power of the resurrection was reeking habit in the realm of pwoer and pocketbooks. In Ephesis, several exhorcists decided to hyjack Jesus' name and use it in their incantations. It back-fired on them and they fled naked. The whole town heard about it and the fear of Jesus name and the fear of God fell on the people. *** The Gospel hit the pocketbook of Demetrius who was a silversmith. He mad much money selling silver shrines of the Greek goddess Artemis. He called a meeting of the other businessmen who made money off the worship of Artemis and it ended in a riot. It took the mayor to calm them down. Demetrius was told that this was no way to get his problem solved. - he needed to make formal charges in court. The mayor told them to dispense and not draw the attention of the Roman government. He dismissed them and they went home. *** The truth always riles up demons but Jesus didn't allow them to get the attention. He was always telling them to be quiet and we don't need to tolerate them either. *** Lord, we say, "peace be still" to the storms in our nation. We call the chaos to cease and the truth to be exposed and brought to justice.

Wed’s Devo - The Kings of Israel

Read: 2 Kings 13:1-14:29; Acts 18:23-19:12; Psalm 146:1-10; Proverbs 18:2-3 Jehoahaz, Jehu’s son began to reign over Israel but he was evil. God allowed King Hazael to defeat them over and over. Finally, Jehoahaz called out to the Lord for help and God sent some help. But, Israel continued in the idolatry that Jeroboam had introduced (the golden calves). Jeroboam had started a counterfeit religion with unLevite priests and a perversion to God’s ways. *** When Jehoahaz died after reigning for 17 years, his son Jehoash reigned over Israel. He ruled for 16 years. During his reign he went to visit Elisha because he was ill. Elisha told him to shoot an arrow out of the eastern window. This represented his defeat over the Arameans at Aphek. Then he told him to take the rest of the arrow and strike them against the ground. He struck them three times and Elisha said that he would only defeat the Arameans three times. In verse 25 we see that this was fulfilled. Elisha died after that visit. *** A dead man was hastily thrown in Elisha’s grave and instantly came back to life thus fulfilling Elisha’s desire for double Elijah’s anointing. He had now raised twice the persons from the dead as Elijah. Our legacy lives beyond the grave. *** Meanwhile in Judah, Amaziah became king after his father Joash. He executed the officials who had murdered his father but let their children live. He was a good king only he didn’t take down the pagan shrines and the people still worshipped idols at those shrines. *** He fought Edom and recovered a city named Sela. *** Feeling strong after his win over Edom, Amaziah challenged Israel to a battle. Jehoash told him to be content with his victory over Edom, but to mess with Israel would be a mistake. He was right. Amaziah was captured and 600 feet of Jerusalem’s wall was torn down. Many sacred objects as well as silver and gold was stolen. Amaziah was later assassinated and his 16 year old son was made king. His name was Uzziah. *** In Israel, Jeroboam II became king. He was rightly named because he continued in the sins of Jeroboam I. He did recover Damascus and Hamath which had belonged to Judah. God used Jeroboam II to save Israel by force because God remembered his covenant with Israel. *** In Acts, Paul went back and encouraged many of the churches he had began. In Ephesus the people had heard about John’s baptism but not Jesus’. Paul and Priscilla and Aquila were able to tell them about the Holy Spirit and his baptism. They received it and spoke in tongues and prophesied. *** Paul preached in the synagogue but they refused to accept his message so he moved his discussions to the hall of Tyrannus and where he taught daily for the next two years. Many heard and believed. God did many miracles through Paul and people were healed and delivered from demons. *** Paul said that he didn’t just come with words but a demonstration of power. He proved his message with the miracles he performed by the Holy Spirit. *** Lord, may we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and demonstrate your power. May your people be saved, healed, and delivered. Let your Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

Tues.’s Devo - Cleansing the Land of Baal Worship

Read: 2 Kings 10:32-12:21; Acts 187:1-22; Psalm 145:1-21; Proverbs 18:1 Jehu refused to turn from the sins of Jeroboam who had set up the golden calves in Israel so God began to cut down his territory. They lost all the land on the east side of the Jordan to King Hazael of Aram. Jehu died and was buried in Samaria. *** Meanwhile in Judah, King Ahaziah had been killed by Jehu so Ahaziah’s mother, Athalia destroyed the rest of his family and became the Queen of Judah. Ahaziah’s sister had managed to save Joash one of Ahaziah’s infant son. She hid him in the Temple where he was brought up by Jehoiada, the priest. When he was seven years old Jehoiada led a coup and crowned Joash king. They put the law of the Lord in his hands and everyone clapped their hands and proclaimed him king. They had Athalia killed outside the palace gates. *** Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people that they would be God’s people. All the people went and tore down the Temple of Baal and smashed all the altars. They walked Joash (Jehovah has become man) who was now called Jehoash (Jehovah hs founded) through the palace and set him on the throne. Everyone was glad that Athaliah was dead. *** Joash began to rule in Judah in Jehu’s 7th year of reigning in Israel which means that when Jehu killed Ahaziah, this child had just been born. Jehu had gotten rid of Baal worship in Israel and now Joash got rid of it in Judah. *** Joash was a good king as long as Jehoiada the priest lived to guide him. He brought accountability to the money collected by the priest and allocated it to restoring God’s Temple. He found honest and trustworhthy men to supervise the construction. *** King Hazael of Aram attacked the city of Gath and captured it then turned to attack Jerusalem. Joash sent gold from the Temple to pay Hazael off so he left Jerusalem alone. *** Joash was assassinated by his own officers. His son, Amaziah became king. *** In Acts, Paul went to Corinth and met Aquila and his wife, Priscilla from Italy. They were tent makers also. Paul would go to the synagogue every Sabbath and preach to convince the Jews and Gentiles that Jesus was the Messiah. When the Jews opposed him he would wipe the dust from his clothes and tell them that their blood was on their own heads. *** The leader of the synagogue was a believer and God showed Paul in a dream that there were many believers in that city so he should not be afraid of the opposition. *** A new governor came to power so the Jews saw it as an opportunity to bring Paul before him in hopes he would silence him. Instead, he refused to even judge their case and told them to take the matters into their own hands. They beat Sosthenes, who was a believer and the chief ruler of the synagogue right in front of the governor and he did nothing. *** Paul later left the and sailed to Syria taking Priscilla and Aquila with him. He came to Ephesus and taught in the synagogue. They asked him to stay but he didn’t want to miss the feast in Jerusalem so he sailed to Caesarea and then went down to Antioch.

Mon’s Devo - Jezebel’s Fall

Read: 2 Kings 9:14-10:31; Acts 17:1-34; Psalm 144:1-15; Proverbs 17:27-28 King Joram of Israel had been wounded while fighting Hazael of Aram at Ramoth-gilead. He returned to Samaria to heal. King Ahaziah had come to visit King Joram. (King Ahaziah was Joram’s grand nephew and grandson to Ahab.) *** They saw a lone rider approaching the city and sent out a messenger to find out if the man was coming in peace. He told the first rider that he had nothing to do with peace and told him to join him. A second messenger was sent out and he was told the same. The watcher recognized the rider as Jehu because he was riding like a madman. (This was Trump in our day.) *** King Joram and King Ahaziah rode out on Naboth’s land to meet Jehu. When Jehu made it clear that there would be no peace as long as Jezebel was alive, they turned and fled. Jehu shot Joram between the shoulders and it pierced his heart. His body was a thrown on Naboth’s land to appeased the death of Naboth. This had been said of Ahab but when he repented the Lord said it would happen to his son instead. (1 Kings 21:19) *** Ahaziah fled as far as Medigo where he was killed and his body carried back to Jerusalem and buried there. *** Jezebel put on her thick eye-liner as a sign of dominance to intimidate Jehu. She looked out her window and asked if he had come in peace or was he like Zimri. Zimri had murdered Elah the king of Israel, only have the throne seven days. He was killed when Omri attacked and Zimri set fire to his own palace and died in the fire. All of this was Jezebel’s way of making Jehu feel small. *** Jehu was not intimidated. He asked if there was anyone up there on his side and two eunuchs looked out the window. Jehu told them to throw her down and they did. She died on the land of Naboth’s vineyard. Jehu trampled her under his feet then went into the palace and ate and drank. He later had men bury her but most of her body had been eaten by the dogs just like the prophet Elijah had said. *** Jehu then had the 70 sons of Ahab killed and their skulls brought to him and piled at the entrance of the city gate. He drove to Samaria and finished the job killing all of Ahah’s dynasty. To finish his destiny, he called all the prophets of Baal to meet him at the Temple of Baal in Samaria under the pretense of worshipping with them. When they all arrived he locked the door and had given orders to his men to kill them all when he gave the order. They dragged their bodies out as well as all the altars and things used in their worship. They turned the temple into a public bathroom. *** Jehu did all he was called to do except he didn’t take down the golden calves that were in Dan and Bethel. Sadly, Jehu didn’t obey the Law of the Lord and refused to turn from the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit. Nevertheless, God had promised that Jehu would have descendants for 4 generations on the throne of Israel. *** In Acts, Paul and Silas came to Thessalonica and preached for three Sabbaths in the synagogue about Jesus and his death and resurrection. He proved that Jesus was the Messiah. Many Jews and Greeks were converted to Christ. But, non-believing Jews were jealous and formed a mob. They attacked the house Jason where Paul and Silas were staying and dragged them out to face the crowd. They told the crowd that these were the men who were causing trouble everywhere they went. They accused them of treason against Caesar since they were proclaiming Jesus to be king (even though he was not alive on the earth). Silly! *** The believers posted bond and rescued Paul and Silas. They helped them escape and to Berea. They went to the Jewish synagogue there where the Bereans were open to hear their message. They were able to stay there for a while until the troublemakers in Thessalonica came. The believers escorted Paul first and and his men to Athens. *** Athens was full of idols. Paul spoke in raw public square every day and then was taken to the high council of the city so they could hear his teachings. Paul had noticed an idol to an “Unknown God” so he explained that he worshipped this “unknown God” and he was the creator of all the nations of the world and the earth itself. He wanted man to know him and worships him alone. He sent his son to live among them and die for their sins. In Him we live and move and exist. He wants all to turn to Him because there will be a judgment day one day. *** Some laughed at Paul but others wanted to hear more later. Some became believers. *** Lord, thank you that it is not up to us to change hearts but up to the Holy Spirit to do that. It is our job to present the truth. May we be truth tellers today and carry your anointing with us. In us you live and move and exist.

Sun.’s Devo - Our Sovereign God

Read: 2 Kings 8:1-9:13; Acts 16:16-40; Psalm 143:1=12; Proverbs 17:26 Elisha had warned the woman who housed him that there was going to be a famine in Israel for 7 years and she needed to move away. She obeyed and moved to the land of the Philistines. When the famine was over she came back to Israel and went to see the king about restoring her land back. The king had asked Gehazi to tell him some “Elijah stories” and he was telling him about the woman with the son he brought back to life when she walked in to make her appeal. He said, this is the woman. She gave her story and it confirmed what Gehazi had just said. The king not only restored her land but gave her the value of all the crops that had been harvested from her land while she was gone. (Talk about restoration!) *** It was time to finish Elijah’s unfinished business of 1Kings 19:15 to anoint Hazael the king of Aram. The reigning king was Ben-hadad who became sick and sent Hazael to ask Elisha if he would recover. Elisha said he would recover from the illness but he would also die. Then he stared at Hazael until it became uncomfortable for Hazael. Elisha had been shown the future of his life. He would bring God’s judgment on Aram but it would be violent and bloody. He told him that he would be the next king of Aram. *** When Hazael got back to Ben-hadad he told him that the prophet had said that he would recover. The next day, he murdered him and became the next king of Aram. *** The last unfinished business of Elijah”s was to anoint Jehu the king of Israel. This would be Elisha’s next assignment. When God told Elijah to anoint him the king, Ahab was king. Joram was never suppose to be the king. He usurped the timeline and if you understand that the kings of Israel coincide with the presidents of the United States then Joram would have been Obama. He should have never been our President for so many reasons. But, Elijah didn’t anoint him to be king so Joram became king. *** Meanwhile, Jehoram became king of Judah after Jehoshaphat. He was evil like the kings of Israel and worshipped idols. The Edomites, who had been subject to them, rebelled and appointed their own king. Jehoram took his army to attack Edom but his own army deserted him, so Edom gained their independence. His son, Ahaziah became king of Judah. *** Elisha sent a prophet to Ramoth-gilead to anoint Jehu king of Israel. Jehu was a son of Jehoshaphat (Judah’s king). He would have been Ahaziah’s uncle. At the time, Jehu was an army officer for Judah. He called Jehu into a private room and poured the oil Elisha had given him on his head and said that God was anointing him king over Israel. He was to destroy the family of Ahab to avenge the murder of His prophets that Jezebel had murdered. The entire family of Ahab was to be wiped out and destroyed. The dogs would lick her blood where they licked her husband’s blood - on the land they had stolen from Naboth. Then the prophet ran out the door. *** When Jehu went back into the room with his fellow officers, they asked him what the prophet had said. He finally told them that he had anointed him king of Israel so they blew the ram’s horn and shouted that he was king. *** In Acts, Luke and Paul and other believers went to the place they met for prayer. A sorceress met then and kept shouting that they were servant of the Most High God and had come to tell how to be saved. She did this for days until finally Paul turned and rebuked the fortune-telling demon out of her. It came out instantly and she could no longer make money by telling the future. Her handlers were so upset they dragged Paul and Silast before the authorities saying that they were teaching customs that were illegal to Romans. They were beaten and thrown into prison and their feet put in stocks. *** Around midnight Paul and Silas were praising the Lord in song when shook the ground and all the prison door flew open. The jailer woke up thinking all his prisoners had escaped. He went to kill himself when Paul stopped him and told him they were all there. *** The jailor ran down to the dungeon and fell before Paul and Silas. He brought them out and asked how he could be saved. (I wonder if he had heard the sorceress proclaiming that day after day.) *** Paul told him to believe in the Lord Jesus and he would be saved and all in his house would be saved also. He took them home with him to tell his family about Jesus. They believed. They cared for their wounds and fed them. *** The next day, the police came and told the jailor he could set them free but Paul objected because they had broken the law. He was a Roman citizen and shouldn’t have been beaten. He was standing up for his rights. The city officials went to the jail and personally apologized and asked them to please leave their town. They went back to the group of believers and gave them the good news of their release and then left town. *** Lord, may we be quick to obey and fulfill our destiny. Let us complete all you have called us to do.

Sat.’s Devo - God’s Abundant Provisions

Read: 2 Kings 6:1-7:20; Acts 15:36-16:15; Psalm 142:1-7; Proverbs 17:24-25 The school of prophets needed a larger place to meet, so they told Elisha about a place down the Jordan that had plenty of logs to build their building. Elisha agreed and they began cutting down trees to build. One of the prophets lost his ax head in the water and cried that it was borrowed. Elisha threw a piece of wood into the water and the ax head floated. He told him to grab it. *** Elisha’s ministry demonstrated God’s care for the individual in the midst of his troubles where Elijah’s ministry demonstrated God’s sovereignty over a nation. Elijah was called to rebuke kings and prove to the nation that there was a God in Israel. Elisha, whose name means “God is salvation” came with help and salvation. This is demonstrated in the next story. *** The king of Aram was getting frustrated that the Israelite army was always a step ahead of them and seemed to know their plans. He accused his own men of being double agents when one of them explained what was really happening. Elisha was telling the king what he was planning in secret. So now, the king of Aram wanted Elisha and sent troops to get him. *** They sent an army to Dothan to capture Elisha. Elisha’s servant woke up the nest morning and found that there were troops everywhere. He told Elisha but Elisha was not afraid. He prayed that God would open his eyes and let him see. When the servant looked out again he saw the hillside around Elisha filled with horses and chariots of fire. *** Elisha prayed that God would blind the Armenians and he did. Elisha went out and told the blind officers that this was the wrong city and led them to the middle of Samaria, then prayed that their eyes would be opened. He told the king of Israel to feed then and send them home. The king did. *** Years later, Ben-Hadad brought his army back and besieged Samaria and there was a famine in the city just like Elisha had said. It became so bad that two women each had a baby and ate one of the babies one day and were going to eat the other one the next day, but the mother hid her baby. The one who had lost her baby brought her grievance to the king. He was so upset with her story that he put on sackcloth and vowed to kill Elisha. *** Elisha told his servant that a murderer would be visiting them but he was not to let him in. His leader would be behind him and they would wait for him. Sure enough the messenger of the king came planning to kill him but Elisha sent out a message. By this time tomorrow the 6 quarts of flour would only cost one piece of silver. Inflation would totally reverse. The officer didn’t believe it and said even if God opened the windows of heaven it would never happen. Elisha said that he would see it but never taste it. What he meant for Elisha would come to him. *** Meanwhile 4 lepers sat outside the city gate and decided that their best fate would be to defect to the Arameans in order to live. They went to their camp and found it empty of men but full of supplies. After eating and drinking they decided to go and tell the men at the gates of Sarmaria their great discovery. *** When it was confirmed that the Arameans had left, the whole city rushed out to plunder the camp of the Arameans. There was more than enough for the whole city and 6 quarts of flour sold for one piece of silver. The man who had come to murder Elisha was trampled to death at the gate. *** In Acts we find that Paul and Barnabas had such a disagreement over whether to give John Mark another chance, they ended up splitting up and going their own way. We only know Paul’s story. He joined up with Silas and went back and encouraged all the churches they had started. *** One night, Paul and a vision of a man from Macedonia begging him to come and help him. No doubt this was an angel. *** When they arrived in Macedonia they went to a meeting by the river on the sabbath. some women had gathered there to worship God. One of the women was Lydia who became a believer as well as her whole family. Paul baptized them and then they went home to stay with her. *** Lord, thank you for abundantly taking care of us in time of uncertainty in the world. Thank you for stories that increase our faith and show us your love and power. We put our trust in You.

Fri.’s Devo - Prospering in the Famine

Read: 2 Kings 4:18-5:27; Acts 15:1-35; Psalm 1451:1-10; Proverbs 17;23 The child of the wealthy woman grew and went to help his father during harvest time. He suddenly got a terrible head ache and his father had him sent home to his mother. He died at noon and she took his body and put it on Elijah’s bed. Then she sent for a donkey to take her to Mt. Carmel to see Elijah. Elijah saw her coming but had no inkling from God why she was coming to see him. He sent Gehazi to find out if her husband and son were okay. She said that everything was fine. But when she reached Elijah, she fell on her face and held on to his feet. She asked Elijah why he had given her a son just to take him away. Elisha went with her, but sent Gehazi ahead to lay his staff on the boy. It didn’t do anything so when Elisha got there he went up and laid on the boy’s body until it became warm. Then he got up and prayed and laid on him again. This time the boy sneezed 7 times and sat up. *** Elisha called the woman to come and see her living son. She was so thankful. *** Elisha returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in the land. He was with the prophets-in-training who had gathered vegetables for some stew. When the first ones ate it they cried it was poisonous. Elisha asked for some flour and threw it into the pot and told them it was good now. *** Another time in the famine, a man brought a sack of fresh grain and 20 loaves of barley bread made from his first fruits. Elisha told them to use it to feed the prophets and their families which were 100 people. Gehazi exclaimed that it would never feed all of them. Elisha insisted that it would not only be enough but there would be leftovers and he was right. *** Famines happened because the leaders led the people into idolatry. God took care of his people that worshipped him, supernaturally. They prospered in the famines. *** The king of Aram had an army commander named Naaman that he greatly respected. Naaman suffered from leprosy. In their exploits, Naaman had brought back a young girl from Israel to serve his wife. One day the girl told her mistress that she wished Naaman would go see the prophet in Samaria and let him heal him. Naaman told his king what the girl had said and the king wrote a letter for him to take to the king of Israel so he would be safe. He also sent 250 pounds of silver and 150 pounds of gold and ten sets of clothing. *** When the king of Israel read the letter asking him to heal him of leprosy, he thought that the king of Aram was picking a fight with him. He couldn’t heal his leoprosy. *** Elisha sent a message to the king telling him to sent Naaman to him. He was the one he wanted to see anyway. So, Naaman went to Elijah’s house. Gehazi went out to tell him to dip in the Jordan 7 times and he would be healed. Naaman was offended that Elisha didn’t come out himself, and that he had wanted him to dip in the dirty Jordan. His pride almost lost him his healing but his servant reasoned with him that it was an easy thing he had told him to do. He saw his reasoning, so he did it and was healed. *** This reminds me of John’s message to be baptized and be clean. It is a small act of obedience that wields a great reward of cleansing of our souls. *** When the man came back the seventh time healed, he went back to Elisha and this time Elisha came out to meet him face to face. Naaman tried to give him his gifts of gold, silver and the clothes he had brought but Elisha refused. *** After he had gone, Gehazi was filled with lust for some of that money and clothes so he chased him down and concocted a story of why Elisha just needed a little of the reward for two prophets that had dropped in. Naaman gladly gave it to him and Gehazi took it back to Elisha’s and hid it in the ground. *** Elisha confronted Gehazi and he lied again to his face. Elisha told Gehazi that the leprosy that left Naaman would be on him and his descendants forever because of what he did. Reminds me of the verse: What does it gain a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? *** In Acts, the church was going through a major shift from law to grace and the transition was rough. The old was constantly rubbing the new. The old was full of laws that had to be met to please God and the new had to do with a total change of heart and a new law of love. The leaders of the old way caused much contention for the new followers. They hated the change and their loss of power over the people. They argued that the new Gentiles had to be circumcised like them. After much debate, the apostles prayed and felt that the only law they should impose on them was to not eat food offered to idols, not to drink blood, and not to engage in sexual immorality. These were all requirements of the pagan worship. *** The believers were elated when they got the news of freedom instead of slavery to laws. *** The Church today is going through a major shift also. Are we going to go into law to keep our tradition or are we going to let the Holy Spirit have reign in our lives and in our churches? We are fighting a battle between good and evil and we have all the weapons and power to defeat it. We can not back down in fear or retreat but we have to keep fighting in victory. We were once sinners saved by grace but we are now the righteousness of Christ Jesus. Sin and death have no power over us. We are to bring the Kingdom of God down to earth. *** Lord, may we walk in victory because the Victor reigns inside of us.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Power of the Truth

Read: 2 Kings 3:1-4:17; Acts 14:8-28’ Psalm 140:1-13; Proverbs 17:22 King Joram was an evil king and worshipped idols but he was not as evil as his father Ahab and his mother, Jezebel. He did tear down the sacred pillar of Baal. *** Once Ahab was dead, King Mesha of Moab decided he was not going to pay any more tribute to Israel. He had paid 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams annually to Ahab. Joram along with King Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom joined together to fight Moab. They took the route through the wilderness and after seven days, they had no water. Joram blamed it on the Lord but Jehoshaphat asked if there was a prophet of God they could ask for help. *** Elisha came but made it clear that the reason he came was only because of the respect he had for King Jehoshaphat. He asked for a harp to be played and when Gods power came to him he said that the dry valley they were in would be filled with water and it would be enough for the men and their animals. But, this was a small thing; he would also give them victory over their enemy. They would capture their best towns, even the ones with walls and they would cut down all their good trees, stop up all their springs and ruin all their good land with stones. *** Then next day, at the time of the morning sacrifice water appeared in the valley flowing from the direction of Edom. *** Meanwhile, Edom heard of their plans and mobilized against them. When they saw the water, they thought it was the blood of their enemies and ran to take the plunder. They met by the armies instead and everything Elisha said, happened. *** When the king of Moab saw that there was no hope, he took his son and sacrificed him on the wall. Israel went home the victors. *** One day, the widow of one of the prophets went to Elisha and told him that she was broke. Her creditor told her that if she didn’t pay her bills he was taking her two sons as his slaves. Elisha asked her what she did have. She had one bottle of oil. He told her to borrow as many bottles as she could. Then he told her to start filling them with the oil she had. She filled all of the bottles and then the oil stopped producing. She sold the oil, paid off her creditor and lived on the rest of it. *** Elisha often traveled through the town of Shunem and would stop and stay there. A wealthy woman who lived there told her husband about Elisha’s visits to their town and how he was a holy man. She wanted to build a room on to their house for him to stay in. Her husband agreed and they built a room on their roof and furnished it with a bed, lamp, table and chair. Elisha would stay with her every time he came to town. *** During one visit, Elisha asked his servant Gehazi to get the woman so he could speak to her. He asked her what he could give her in return for her kindness and she said that her family took good care of her. *** Later, Elisha asked Gehazi what he thought she might need or want. He said that she didn’t have a son and her husband was getting old. So, Elisha called the woman back in and told her that she would have a son by next year. She had a hard time believing it but she did have a son by the next year. *** In Acts, Paul and Barnabas were in Lystra and healed a man who had been born crippled. The people were so amazed they thought that Barnabas must be Zeus and Paul Hermes. There was a temple of Zeus right outside of town so the priest from the temple came with bulls and wreaths of flowers to the town gates to do sacrifices to the apostles. When Paul and Barnabas heard what was happening they tore their clothes and ran out yelling that they were mere men who had come to turn them from worshipping idols to worship the true God of heaven and earth. *** Their enemies from Antioch and Iconium arrived in the midst of all the chaos and had Paul taken out of town and stoned to death. After they left, Paul stood up and walked back into town. The next day, he and Barnabas left for Derbe. They made many converts there. Then they went back to the places they had the most opposition: Antioch Lystra, and Iconium. They strengthened the believers and encouraged them in their faith. They set in place elders in the church to help lead the church in truth. *** They traveled with the Good News to Pisidia, Pamphylia, Perga and down to Attalia. They returned to Antioch and reported to them their stories of how the Gentiles had become believers. They all rejoiced. *** Lord, your power is amazing and there is nothing you won’t do for those who love you and are yours. Thank you for your loving kindness. May we be bold like Paul and not afraid of opposition. May persecution just make us stronger in our resolve.

Wed.’s Devo -The Next Generation

Read: 2 Kings 1:1-2:25; Acts 13:42-14:7; Psalm 139:1-24; Provers 17:19-21 Ahaziah became king after Ahab. He was not king long when he fell through the latticework of an upper room in his palace. He sent some messengers to the temple of Baal-zebub, the god of Eckron to ask if he would recover. Eckron was in the land of the Philistines. *** Elijah intercepted the messengers and told gave them a message for the king. He asked him if there was not a God in Israel. Because Ahaziah had sought the Philistine’s pagan god instead of their God, he would not recover. When they gave Ahaziah the message he questioned them about the messenger. He recognized immediately that it was Elijah. He sent 50 men to arrest him. (The number 50 is found 7 times in today’s reading.) *** They found Elijah sitting on top of a hill and commanded him to come down. Elijah commanded fire to come down and consume them. It did. Ahaziah sent another 50 and the same thing happened. He sent a third group of 50 but this commander feared God and Elijah. He climbed up the hill and bowed down before Elijah begging for mercy. Elijah went with this man who humbled himself. He told Ahaziah the same exact thing he had said at the beginning. He would die and not recover. *** Ahaziah did die and had no son to succeed him so his brother Joram, another of Ahah’s son became king. *** It was time for Elijah to leave earth and all the prophets sensed it. Elisha and Elijah had just left Gilgal. Elijah told Elisha to stay there, an d he was going to Bethel alone. Bethel means “house of God”. Elisha refused to leave him so they both went. Once again Elijah tried to get rid of Elisha so he could go to heaven and Elisha refused to leave. Then went together to Jericho where Elijah folded his cloak and struck the water. It divided and the both crossed on dry ground. Fifty the prophets had been following them also. They stayed a distance away. When they reached the other side, Elijah asked what Elisha wanted. He told him he wanted a double portion of his Spirit. He told him if he saw him leave he would get his request. *** Suddenly a chariot of fire came and carried Elijah in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha saw it! When he was gone, Elisha picked up Elijah’s cloak he had left and returned to the Jordan. He struck the water with it and it parted. The fifty prophets saw this and asked if they could go and look for Elijah’s body. They begged him until he finally gave in and let them go look for it but, of course, they didn’t find it. *** The first miracle Elisha was asked to do was to heal the land. The water caused death and infertility. He asked for a new bowl and salt and poured it into the water. The water was healed. The next thing he did was to stop the disrespect of the younger generation. He cursed the young mockers and 42 of them were killed by 2 bears. *** Will this be what we will do when we get our nation back? Our land needs healing from all the poisons and chemicals they have put in them. And our media needs to be cursed for mocking God with all its disinformation and glorification of evil. May it be that our godly women are fertile and can replenish a godly generation. *** In Acts, Paul and Barnabas had preached their first message in the synagogue. The next Sabbath, the whole town showed up to hear their preaching. The Jews were jealous of their popularity and started to oppose their teaching. Paul proclaimed that since they rejected his message, he was going to the Gentiles who were gladly receiving the Good News about Jesus. The Jews incited a riot and ran Paul and Barnabas out of town. But, the believers were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. *** Paul and Barnabas went to Iconium where the same thing happened. There was a split and some received their words and those that opposed were violently opposed. They ran them out of town wanting to stone them. They went to Lystra and Derbe and continued to preached salvation to the Gentiles. *** Lord, we have been given the words of life. May we not bow down or be intimidated by those who oppose the truth. May this next generation of warriors have courage to stand for truth and spread your message and your love everywhere. Annoint us for this hour.

Tues.'s Devo - The Power of God's Word

Read: 1Kings 22:1-53; Acts 13:16-41; Psalm 138:1-8; Proverbs 17;17-18Ahab was king in Israel and Jehoshaphat was king in Judah. There had been peace between them for three years. Jehoshaphat went to visit Ahab and Ahab brought up the fact that Ramoth-gilead belonged to them. He asked Jehoshaphat if he wanted to help him get it back since it was land connecting Israel with Judah. He agreed to help him only shouldn’t they ask God first? *** Ahab agreed and brought out his pagan prophets. They all agreed they would have success in their battle. Jehoshaphat asked if Ahab had a prophet of God. Ahab told him he had one but he never said anything good to him. Jehoshaphat rebuked him for what he said about God’s prophet and waited till they heard from him. Ahab sent for Micaiah. *** Micaiah was asked if they should go against the Ramoth-gilead and get it back. He very sarcastically said, sure they should do it. Ahab got upset with him and told him to tell him the truth. Micaiah got very sober and said he had seen a vision and all Israel was scattered on the mountains without a leader because he had been killed. *** This answer made Ahab mad but Micaiah said he had seen God on his throne looking for a way to entice Ahab to go to battle so he could kill him. One of the spirits said that he would go and inspire all of Ahabs’s prophets to speak lies. God told him to go because that would work. *** That made Zedikiah, one of the false prophets so mad he went up and slapped Micaiah on the face. Micaiah turned to Zedikiah and said that when all this happened he would try to hide in some secret room. *** Ahab ordered Micaiah to be taken to Samaria and put in prison until he returned. Micaiah said that if he returned then it meant he had prophesied a lie. *** Ahab must have feared Micaiah’s words because he disguised himself like a normal soldier and told Jehoshaphat to wear his royal robes. (I guess he thought it would be better for Jehoshaphat to die than him.) His plan backfired because the orders of the Arameans was to only kill Ahab. They chased Jehoshaphat thinking he was Ahab but when they heard his voice, they knew it wasn’t Ahab. Then a random soldier shot a random arrow into the midst of the army of Israel and it landed in the only crack in Ahah’s armor. He died at the end of the day and the battle was over. He had bled in his chariot all day and when they got him back to Israel, they washed his blood in the place the prophet had said that the dogs would lick his blood. *** Jehoshaphat had been a good king who feared God like his father Asa had. He rid the land of male and female shrine prostitutes but failed to remove all the pagan shrines so the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there. *** When he died, his son, Jehoram became the next king of Judah. Azariah had succeeded Ahab in Israel. Azariah did evil like his father and worshipped Baal. *** In Acts, Paul and Barnabas were in Antioch and had gone into the synagogue that Sabbath. After they read from the Word, Paul was asked to give a word of encouragement and stood to speak. He took them from the time of Moses through the judges and the prophets down to the day of Jesus. Paul told of how John the Baptist had prophesied about Jesus but when Jesus appeared on the scene, the religious leaders refused to accept him as the Messiah and had him crucified. He rose from the dead and had appeared to them many times. The Psalms had said that God would not allow his holy one to rot in the grave. Paul urged them to accept Jesus and be saved. *** Lord, thank you for the power of the resurrection and your power through us. May we walk in authority and power and proclaim you Kingdom on the earth.

Mon.’s Devo - The Increase of His Government

Read: 1 Kings 20:1-21:29; Acts 12:24-13:15: Psalm 135:1-9; Proverbs 17:167 Ben-hadad of Aram mobilized his army along with 32 allied kings and their armies. Their plans were to besiege Samaria, the capital of Israel. He had already told Ahab that he was taking his gold and silver, his wives and the best of his children. Ahab had agreed to give him those. Now, he wanted to send his officials to go though his palace and the homes of his officials and take whatever they saw that was valuable. When he told his elders they were not ok with that. They were fine with Ahah’s things being taken but not their own. *** So, Ahab told Ben-Hadad that he would only agree to the first demand. This made Ben-Hadad furious and he was ready to come and take everything. *** God sent a prophet to tell Ahab that He was going to hand then all over to him that day and Ahab would know that He was the Lord. When Ahab asked the prophet how God was going to do it, he replied that it would be by the troops of the provincial commanders. There were 232 of them. They attacked that day while Ben-Hadad and his kings were all drinking in their tent. When they began to win, the rest of the Arabian army panicked an d fled. Israel chased them and slaughtered them. *** The prophet came back to Ahab and told him to ready his troops because the Arameans would return in the spring. When they did, Israel was ready. The prophet told Ahab that they would fight in the plains so Ahah’s army went to meet them in the plains. The Arameans had a vast army but Israel killed 100,000 in one day. Another 27,000 were killed when a wall fell on them. Ben-hadad surrendered to Ahab and instead of killing him, Ahab made a treaty with him and let him go home. God was not pleased and sent a prophet to tell him that since he set Ben-hadad free, he would die in his place. *** Ahab went home depressed and then became obsessed over a vineyard that was next to his house. It was owned by Naboth. Ahab offered to buy it from him to turn his vineyard into a vegetable garden. Naboth told him he couldn’t sell it to him because it had been in his family for generations. When Ahab became so depressed he couldn’t eat, Jezebel asked him what was making him so sad. He told her about the piece of land that Naboth wouldn’t sell him. She told him she would get it for him. *** Jezebel sent a message in Ahab’s name to his officials and had Naboth falsely accused of cursing God and the king. Then they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. She told Ahab to go and get his land. *** God sent Elijah to Ahab to meet Ahab when he went to claim Naboth’s land. He told him that because he had Naboth murdered, he would be murdered on the same land and the dogs would lick his blood. Everyone of his male descendants would be destroyed. Jezebel would be killed on the same plot of land and the dogs would eat her remains. *** When Ahab heard this message, he put on burlap and repented. God sent Elijah to tell him that since he was repentive, God would wait and destroy his dynasty after he died. *** In Acts, the church continued to grow. Saul and Barnabas were sent out by the Holy spirit to take the gospel to places that had not heard the Good News yet. They went first to Cyprus and then to Salamis and preached in the Jewish synagogues. John Mark assisted them. *** Then they went from town to town across the entire island until they came to Paphos where they met a false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He had gotten to be close friends with the governor, Sergius Paulus. When the governor invited them to his house to hear their message, the false prophet tried to deter him. Saul rebuked Bar-Jesus with blindness and he instantly lost his sight. When his power over the governor was stopped, Sergius was able to receive the message of Jesus. *** Paul and his men went on to Perga. John Mark left them and went back to Jerusalem. Paul and Barnabas traveled on to Antioch where they were asked to speak. *** It is interesting to note that Ahab became weaker and weaker the more he relied on his position while Paul became more and more powerful the more he leaned on the Holy Spirit. *** Lord, may our strength come from you. May you increase through our lives and may your kingdom spread across our nation and the world.

Sun.’s Devo - God’s Power on the Earth Displayed

Read: 1 Kings 19:1-21; Acts 12:1-23; Psalm 136:1-26: Proverbs 17:14-15 Ahab returned to Jezreel and told Jezebel all that had happened on Mt. Carmel and how Elijah had killed all of her false prophets. Instead of being impressed, she was very mad at Elijah and sent word to him that she was going to do to him what he did to her prophets. He fled in fear. (Amazing that Elijah would be so afraid after what he had seen God do.) *** Elijah’s plan was to go to Mt. Sinai and meet with God and die. Angels were sent to give him the strength to get there. They woke him up twice and gave him supernatural food to nourish him for his 40 day journey to Sinai, the mountain of God. *** God asked him why he had come and Elijah told him Israel had broken their covenant with him, torn down his altars and killed everyone one of his prophets. He was the only one left and they were trying to kill him also. God sent him out to stand before him on the mountain. When he did, a mighty wind storm hit the mountain, then an earthquake hit the earth. Next, a fire was started. After the fire, Elijah heard God’s whisper. He came out of the cave he was hiding in to meet with God. God asked him again what he was doing there. *** Elijah gave God his complaint again and the Lord gave him one last big assignment to do before he could leave the earth. He was to go to Damascus and anoint Hazael to be the king of Aram. Then he was to anoint Jehu, Nimshi’s grandson to be king of Israel and lastly, he was to anoint Elisha to replace him as God’s prophet. These three men would execute God’s judgment on the earth. Then he added that he had 7,000 other prophets who had not bowed their head to Baal. *** If you follow Elijah’s life you will find that he only anointed Elisha to replace him. It was Elisha who anointed the other two men. ***Elijah was to go back the way he came and when he came to Elisha’s, he was plowing in his father’s field. There were 12 team of oxen in the field. Elijah threw his cloak across Elisha’s soldiers and walked away. Elisha ran after him and begged him to let him kiss his family good-bye. Elijah told him he could but he needed to count the cost of leaving all to follow him. Elisha slaughtered all the oxen and burned his plow to build a fire and roast the oxen. He had a great celebration and invited all the townspeople to the feast then he went with Elijah and became his assistant. *** King Herod Agrippa, the nephew of Herod Antipas and grandson of Herod the Great began to persecute the Christians. He had James killed and saw how much this pleased the Jews so he imprisoned Peter also. *** That night, an angel came to Peter in jail and led him out of the prison then opened the gates of the city and led him out of the city. Peter had thought it was a dream but then realized it was real. He went to the home of John Mark’s where the disciples were hiding out. *** That mourning in the jail there was much excitement when they couldn’t find Peter. The guards were executed and Herod left for Caesarea to handle other problems. He had gotten mad at the people of Tyre and Sidon and stopped sending them grain and oil. They sent delegates to make peace with him so he would send them what they needed to survive. Tyre and Sidon didn’t have a means to produce grain or oil. *** Herod put on his royal robes and sat on his throne to meet with the delegates of Tyre and Sidon. The people gave him a great ovation, shouting that he had the voice of a god and not a man. Herod received their praises and was instantly struck with sickness. *** In both of these stories God showed up and conquered his enemies. God is still the same God and he will conquer our enemies also. *** Lord, may we stand firm against all the plans of Satan and not allow him to do his plan. It is your plan that will stand and we are on your side. We declare victory on the earth! Your faithful love endures forever.

Sat.’s Devo - The Power of God

Read: 1 Kings 18:1-46; Acts 11:1-30; Psalm 135:1-21; Proverbs 17:P12-13 There had been no rain in Israel for three years when God told Elijah to go tell King Ahab that God was soon sending rain. *** The famine had become so severe Ahab had called in Obadiah his commander in charge of his palace. He wanted him to help him find enough grass to keep his horses and mules alive. Obadiah feared and served the Lord. He sent Obadiah one way and he went the opposite. Obadiah ran into Elijah and bowed down in honor. He told Elijah how he had hidden 100 prophets of God when Jezebel was seeking to kill all of God’s prophets. *** Elijah told him to tell Ahab he wanted to meet with him. At first, Obadiah was afraid that if he did, God would hide Elijah and Ahab would kill him instead, but Elijah promised he would meet with Ahab. ***When Ahab saw Elijah he exclaimed, “So is it really you, you troublemaker of Israel?” *** Elijah answered it wasn’t him who had made trouble for Israel but him and his idol worship. He told him to call all Israel and all the prophets of Baal and Asherah to Mt. Carmel. Four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and four hundred prophets of Asherah met him at Carmel. He took the two bulls he had ordered and gave one to them. They were each to prepare an altar to their god and the one who burned the bull with fire would be the true god. The prophets of Baal agreed to the challenge. They prepared their altar and prayed first. For hours they did their dances, quoted their spells and cut themselves while Elijah mocked them. *** When they were exhausted and had no fire, Elijah prepared his altar. He dug a trance around his and poured precious water on the altar till it was overflowing. Then he called out to the Lord in one prayer and immediately fire came down from heaven and burned up the bull and licked up all the water in the trench. The people fell on their faces in fear and reverence to God. Elijah immediately had all the false prophets seized and taken down to the Kidron Valley where they were killed. Elijah told Ahab to eat something because a mighty rainstorm was coming and he would need the strength to get home. *** Elijah went back up Mt. Carmel and bowed down to pray. He sent his servant seven times to see if he saw rain. When finally, he saw a small rain cloud Elijah shouted to Ahab to hurry home to beat the storm. Soon the sky was black with clouds and a terrific rainstorm hit. God gave Elijah supernatural strength and he was able to outrun Elijah to Jezreel. *** Elijah had been one against 850 prophets and one king, yet he was not afraid. We have got to have this kind of courage against the evil of our day. Our voice counts no matter how small we think it is. *** In Acts, Peter went back to Jerusalem and was rebuked by the apostles and believers in Judah for entering the home of a Gentile (Cornelius). Peter told them about the vision he had been shown three times with the sheet of all the unclean animals on it. God had spoken and said not to call unclean if God had made it clean. *** At that same time, three men had come to his house to summon him to Cornelius’ house. God had given Cornelius Peter’s name and address and told him to get him to come and tell him his message of Christ. As he was preaching to them the Holy Spirit fell and baptized all of them in the Holy Spirit. Who was Peter to argue with what God was doing? *** When they heard the story, they stopped complaining and begin to praise God for what he was doing. They realized that Jesus’ salvation was for the Gentiles also. *** Other believers who had scattered during the persecution ended up in Gentile territories and began sharing with them the power of salvation through Christ. They had received him also. This was happening in Antioch so the apostles sent Barnabas to see and report back. He was full of stories of salvation and went to bring Saul there to help with all the new believers. Saul came and stayed a full year discipling the new believers. This was where the term “Christians” was first coined. *** Agabus came to Antioch and prophesied that a great famine was coming to the entire Roman world so they were able to prepare. Saul and Barnabas sent relief to the believers in Judea. *** We are to prosper in times of famine and have plenty in times of lack because our God supplies all we need. *** Lord, thank you for always taking care of us. We have nothing to fear. Help us to be generous and courageous.

Fri.’s Devo - The Evil Kings of Israel

Read: 1 Kings 15L25-17:24; Acts 10:24-48; Psalm 134:1-3; Proverbs 17:9-11 Asa ruled over Judah and Nadab Jeroboam’s son reigned over Israel. After two years, Baasha from the tribe of Issachar assassinated Nadab and became king. He was also evil. He killed all of Jeroboam’s family fulfilling the words of Ahijah the prophet. Baasha was in constant war with Asa. He reigned for 24 years and then God sent the prophet Jehu to tell him that because of his evil ways, he and his descendants would all die in the city and be eaten by the dogs and vultures. *** When Baasha was killed, his son Elah became king. He only reigned two years. He was assassinated by his chariot commander Zimri, while he was at home getting drunk. Zimri immediately killed all of the family of Baasha and even distant relatives and friends. He only reigned seven days because when he proclaimed himself king, his army proclaimed Omri king. Omri led the whole army of Israel to attack Tirzah which was Israel’s capital and where Zimri was. When Zimri realized what was happening, he went into the citadel of the palace and let it burn with him in it. *** Israel was split in their allegiance. Some wanted to make Tibni their king while the other half supported Omri. Omri’s supporters defeated the supporters of Tibni, so Omri became king and Tibni was killed. Asa had been king of Judah for 31 years. *** Omri moved Israel’s capital to Samaria and did more evil than the kings before him had. He reigned 12 years and his son, Ahab succeeded him. Asa was in his 38th year of reign in Judah when Ahah became king in Israel. *** Ahab was the most evil of all of Israel’s kings yet. His wife was Jezebel who introduced the worship of Baal. *** The curse of Jericho fell on Hiel who tried to rebuild Jericho. He lost his first son when he laid the foundation and his youngest son when he set up the gates. This was prophesied by Joshua many years ago. *** God sent Elijah to tell King Ahab that it would not rain for a few years until he gave the word. Then God told Elijah to go and hide by the Brook Kerith near the Jordan. God had commanded the ravens to bring him food. The brook eventually dried up and God sent Elijah to live in the village of Zarephath where a wideow would feed him. *** When he arrived, the widow that was suppose to feed him was gathering sticks for her last meal. Elijah told her to fix him something first and she would always have flour and olive oil. She did and God replenished her flour and oil until the famine was over. *** The widow’s son became sick and died. She asked Elijah if he had come there to kill her son and point out her sins. Elijah took the child’s body and carried him up to his own bed. He cried out to the Lord and stretched himself out on the child three times. The Lord brought the boy back to life and he gave him back to his mother. She now knew that he was sent by God and God spoke through him. *** In Acts, Peter arrived at Cornelius’ house and was greatly welcomed. When Peter realized he was sent to tell Cornelius about Jesus, he shared the whole gospel with him. Cornelius and his friends and family received the message and were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues, praising God. Peter baptized them in water and stayed with them several days. *** Lord, may we not judge who is worthy of knowing you but freely share with all you send us to. May you be glorified in us today.

Thurs.’s Devo - God Always Makes a Way

Read: 1 Kings 14:1-15:24; Acts 10:1-23; Psalm 133:1-3; Proverbs 17:7-8 Jeroboams’ son, Abidjah became very sick so Jeroboam told his wife to disguise herself and go see the prophet, Ahijah who had prophesied his rise to the kingship. She did but God had told Abijah that she was coming disquised and told him what to say. *** Ahijah was blind but he could see in the Spirit. He exposed her and told her that God was not pleased with what Jeroboam had done in Israel by setting up the golden calves and leading Israel into idolatry. Because of his wickedness, the child would die when she set foot into her house. All of Abijah’s dependents would die in disasters. God was even now bringing an adversary against Abijah to destroy him and his dynasty. *** Meanwhile in Judah, Rehoboam was not much better than Jeroboam. He had built altars to pagan gods and led Judah into idolatry. Shishak, King of Egypt came and attacked Jerusalem taking the gold shields Solomon had made. They were placed by bronzed shields. There was constant war between Jeroboam and Rehoboam. He reigned 17 years then was succeeded by his son, Abidjan. His mother was Maacah, the granddaughter of Absalom. She was wicked and powerful in the kingdom. Rehoboam also had many wars against Jeroboam during his lifetime. His son, Asa became king over Judah. His grandmother, Maacah was still very powerful in Judah. Asa was not like his father or grandfather. He got rid of the idols in Judah and disposed his grandmother, Maacah. He threw all the instruments of pagan worship into the Kidron Valley where it was burned and he worshiped the Lord. He brought all the silver and gold back into the Temple. Baasha became king of Israel and he and Asa were in constant war. Baasha fortified Ramah, the place of crossing from Judah into Israel and wouldn’t allow travel from Judah to Israel. Asa took some of the gold from the Temple and sent it to Ben-hadad to get him to break his treaty with Israel and join with him instead. He did join with Judah and attacked Israel from the north. Israel had to abandon building their fort in Ramah. Ben-hadad helped Judah win some of the the northern territory of Israel. They took the building supplies from Ramah and used them in Geba and Mizpah to fortify them instead. *** When Asa died, his son, Jehoshaphat became the next king. *** In Acts there was a man named Cornelius. He was a Roman army officer who feared God and gave generously to the poor. An angel came to visit him to tell him to send for Peter who was staying with Simon. He was to hear his message. ***At that same time, Peter was up on the top of the roof praying when he went into a trance. He saw a big sheet being lowered and all sorts of animals, reptiles and birds were one it. A voice told him to kill and eat them. They were not clean animals and Peter opposed eating them. The voice told him he should not call something unclean if God has made it clean. The vision happened three time. The sheet was pulled up and while Peter was contemplating what he had seen, the men sent by Cornelius showed up. God told Peter to go with them without wavering. Peter welcomed them into his house. *** When the Holy Spirit is moving there is no division among people and their prejudices. We all become one. *** Lord, may we be one as you and your Father are one. May we walk in love and do the works you have for us to do.

Wed.’s Devo - Israel Goes into Idolatry

Read: 1 Kings 12:20-13:34; Acts 9:26-43; Psalm 132:1-18; Proverbs 17:6 Judah was joined by the tribe of Benjamin in staying loyal to Rehoboam. Rehoboam had gone back to Jerusalem to rally his army to fight Jeroboam when the prophet Shemaiah went to Rehoboam and told him not to fight his own brothers because what happened was from God. Rehoboam obeyed. *** The other tribes of Israel made Jeroboam their king. To keep the people of Israel from going to Jerusalem to worship, he set up two golden calves in Bethel and Dan. He appointed non-Levites to be priests and declared a counterfeit Feast of Tabernacles on the fifteenth day of the eighth month. God had set it up on the seventh month. Jeroboam burned incense at that festival to the golden calf. This led Israel into idolatry…more idolatry. *** God sent a prophet to the festival where Jeroboam was offering incense and he prophesied against the altar. He said that a boy named Josiah would one day burn the pagan priest’s bones on this altar. As a sign that this would come true, the altar would split apart and its ashes would pour on the ground. *** Jeroboam pointed his finger at Jeroboam and shouted to seize him. When he did, his hand was paralyzed in that position. The altar split spilling the ashes to the ground. Then he cried to the prophet to restore his hand. He did pray and he could move his hand. The king invited him to his palace to eat… probably planning to kill him there. God had told the prophet not to return the way he came and not to eat or drink with anyone in Israel. So he left and went another way. *** One of the attendees at the ceremony went home and told his father what had happened and the father wanted to know which way the prophet left. He went after him and found him. He lied and told the young prophet that he was also a prophet and an angel had come and told him to bring him home to his house to eat. The young prophet believed him and did. After eating, he was attacked by a lion and killed. When the older prophet heard of his death, he went to get his body and bury it. He found the prophet dead with the lion and his donkey standing guard over his body. *** The deceptive prophet buried him and requested that when he died that his bones be buried beside his. *** What a sad story. This older prophet will probably get a greater judgment than most. He was probably a prophet of Baal and not of God. It never said he was a prophet of God. It sounds to me like he had a power issue and wanted to exercise power over God’s prophet. Satan is all about power and death. He then wanted to take advantage of his godliness and be buried next to him. This was a very selfish narcissistic man. *** In Acts, Saul returned to Jerusalem a believer. He wanted to meet with the believers there but they were afraid of him. The apostles heard his testimony and they supported him. Some of the Greek-speaking Jews tried to kill Saul so the apostles took Saul to Caesarea. There was peace throughout the region and the church grew in numbers. *** Peter traveled to Lydda where he healed a paralyzed man who had been bed-ridden for eight years. One of Joppa’s widows who had been faithful and generous to others died. The people of Joppa heard that Peter was in Lydda and went to get him to come raise her from the dead. They had washed her body and it was prepared for burial when Peter arrived. Peter had everyone leave the room and he knelt to pray. Tabitha came back to life and was presented to her friends. *** Peter stayed in Lydda living with Simon the tanner. *** Lord, may we do the greater works you talk about in John. May your Church rise up and heal the sick, cleanse lepers, cast out demons and raise the dead in your name.

Tues.’s Devo - The Kingdom Divides

Read: 1 Kings 11:1-12:19; Acts 9:1-25: Psa1ms 131:1-3; Proverbs 17:4-5 Solomon married many foreign wives of royalty from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon and from the Hittites. They turned him away from God and he worshiped their gods of Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Moleck. He built shrines to these detestable gods that required human sacrifices. God had specifically told him not to do this, but he feared his wives more than God. *** God was so angry with Solomon that he told him He would tear the kingdom from him. He would not do it in his days but in the days of his son. The Lord raised up adversaries against Solomon like Hadad the Edomite who had escaped to Egypt. There he waited until David and Joab were killed, then he returned for revenge. God also raised up Rezon as an adversary of Solomon. The third enemy was Jeroboam who was in charge of Solomon’s work force. *** One day, when Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem to do his job, he was met by the prophet, Ahijah. He told him that God was going to take the kingdom of Israel from Solomon and give him 10 of the tribes of Israel. Solomon would be left with one tribe. (I don’t know where the twelfth tribe was or who it is.) Ahijah told Jeroboam that God was rending the kingdom from Solomon because he worshipped Ashtoreth, Chemosh and Moleck. This must not have made a big impression on him because he ended up leading the nation into idolatry. God gave him the opportunity to have an everlasting kingdom if he would follow his commands and worship him only. Sadly, he didn’t. ***Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam but he fled to Egypt and stayed until Solomon died. When that day came, his kingdom was given to his son, Rehoboam. The leaders of Israel along with Jeroboam met with Rehoboam to ask him for mercy. They asked him to lessen their taxes and lighten the load of their work. Rehoboam asked for three days to give them an answer. In the three days, he asked the council of his father’s advisors and his own advisors. His father’s advisors were older and wiser. They told him that if he would lighten their load, they would be faithful to him. His younger advisors told him to tell the people that he would be harsher than his father. He took the advice of his friends and told the people he would make their lives even more painful. This split the kingdom. The only tribe to stay with Rehoboam was Judah. Rehoboam had to flee back to Jerusalem to save his own life. *** In Acts, there was an abrupt change of events also. The kingdom of Satan was about to take a big hit. *** Saul was having people taken from their homes in persecution. He was on his way to Damascus when God shone a blinding light on him. He fell to the ground and heard God ask him why he was persecuting him. Saul asked him who he was and he told him he was Jesus, the one he was persecuting. Jesus told him to get up and go into the city and he would be told what to do. The men around him heard the voice and were afraid also. They picked up Saul from the ground and led him to Damascus, blind. *** Meanwhile, God spoke to a devout believer in Damascus called Ananias. He told him to go to Straight Street to Judas’ house and asked for Saul. He was preparing him for his visit. *** Ananias knew who Saul was and was afraid to go. God told him that Saul was his chosen instrument to take the message to the Gentiles and to kings. *** Ananias went and found blind Saul. He told him that he was there so that he might see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Instantly the scales fell from Saul’s eyes and he could see. He got up and was baptized. He stayed with the believers in Damascus then went and preach about Jesus in the synagogues saying Jesus was the Son of God. *** Saul’s preaching was so powerful that many Jews believed. Others sought to kill him but Saul was warned and lowered in a basket out of an opening ing the city wall. *** Lord, how exciting it is to be in your kingdom and read about the wonderful things you did in Acts. May we be bold and not afraid of death. May we proclaim your Gospel and always follow your commands.

Mon.’s Devo - The Days of Solomon

Read: 1Kings 9:1-10:29; Acts 8:14-40; Psalm 130:1-8; Proverbs 17:2-3 When Solomon had finished building the Temple and his royal palace, God appeared to Solomon again and gave his approval to what Solomon had built. He promised that as long as Solomon obeyed his law and kept his commandments he would always have a descendant to sit on the throne of Israel, but if he abandoned Him and his laws God would reject this Temple and make Israel a mockery and ridicule among the nations. *** It had taken Solomon 20 years to complete the buildings and at that time he sent word to King Hiram of Tyre that he was giving him 20 towns. When Hiram went to see the towns he called them “cabul” which means “worthless”. According to Josephus, these lands were probably rejected because they were occupied by Canaanites and were inland which weren’t suitable for Tyre’s offshore trading. Solomon ended up taking these cities for himself and repairing them and filling them with Hebrews. They were in the promised land so this was better for Israel. Solomon appeased Hiram another way. *** Solomon did not use Hebrews in his forced labor but foreigners of lands he had conquered. He assigned Israelites as soldiers, government officers, captains of his army commanders of his chariots and charioteers. He appointed 550 of them to supervise the labor force. *** Solomon moved his wife from the city of David to her new palace in Jerusalem. He sacrificed three times a year (Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles) to the Lord and burned incense on the Day of Atonement to the Lord. *** He built a fleet of ships to carry gold from Ophir, the lands of the east. *** The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame and came to see for herself. Solomon showed her everything in his kingdom and explained how he ran his kingdom. He answered all her questions about the universe. She was overwhelmed by what she saw and heard. She presented Solomon with 9,000 pound of gold and spices and jewels. Solomon gave her anything she asked for. *** Each year Solomon received about 25 tons of gold as well as gold brought by merchants and traders. With this gold he had 200 large shields and 300 smaller shields made and placed in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. He had a huge throne made decorated with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. The throne had six seeps with lion statues on either side of the steps. There was a lion on the sides of the throne. No other throne in all the world could be compared with it. *** Solomon drank from gold cups and all his utensils in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were made of gold. Silver was considered worthless because of its abundance in Solomon’s day. *** Solomon became known as the wisest man on the earth and many leaders of nations came to hear his wisdom and ask advice. They all brought gifts of silver, gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules. He had the greatest army in the world. *** The days of Solomon are what we are about to walk in but first, we have to rid the land of the enemies of God. Our enemies are not flesh and blood but the Spirits that had taken over the seed of Satan. God will fight our enemies, our job is to believe, proclaim and obey. *** In Acts, the Gospel was the most valuable thing, with the Holy Spirit being like the gold of Solomon’s day. As the good news traveled throughout Samaria, many Gentiles were being save and filled with the Holy Spirit. Simon the sorcerer saw this happening and asked the apostles if he could buy some of this power from them. They told him to repent from thinking God’s Spirit could be bought with money. Simon did repent. and continued with them. *** An angel told Philip to go down a specific road that led south. As he did, he met the treasurer to Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. Many scholars believe that he was the offspring of Solomon and the queen of Sheba we read about today. This eunuch was reading aloud from the scroll of Isaiah and was at the part in Isaiah 53 that prophecies about the first coming of Jesus. Philip ran over to him and asked him if he understood what he was reading. He invited Philip to join him in his carriage and Philip opened up to him the scriptures about Jesus. When they came to some water, the eunuch asked Philip to baptize him. When he came out of the water, the Spirit snatched Philip up and he found himself farther north at the town of Axotus and continued to preach the Gospel there and all the towns along the way until he came to Caesarea. Lord, it is amazing to see how you watch over your Word and your people. Your plan is amazing and your ways are perfect. Thank you that we are a part of your great marvelous plan. Be a lamp to our feet today to lead us down the right paths. Open our eyes to the people we meet along the way.

Sun.’s Devo - The Dedication of the Temple

Read: 1 Kings 8:1-66; Acts 7:51-*:13; Psalm 129:1-8; Proverbs 17:1 Solomon had finally finished his buildings and summoned the men of Israel to Jerusalem to dedicate the Temple of the Lord. It was the Festival of Shelters, the festival that symbolized God coming to set up his kingdom among us. Solomon had the priests bring the Ark from Zion, the city of David, into Jerusalem. Before the Ark, they sacrificed many animals - so many they couldn’t keep count. *** Then the priests carried the Ark into the Holy of Holies of the Temple Solomon had built. They placed it under the wings of the cherubim that spread their wings from one end of the room to the other. Inside the Ark were the stone tablets given to Moses. These wings represented how God always watches and protects his Word. *** When the priests came out of the Holy of Holies, the glory of God in a thick cloud filled the Temple. It was so thick that the priests couldn’t continue their service. *** Solomon blessed the Lord, then he turned to the crowd of people and prayed a blessing on them. He reminded them of all God had done to make this moment possible. He began with their exodus from Egypt. God had never had a place to build a Temple until now. David had wanted to build the Temple, but God said one of his sons would build the Temple. Now, that day had come. *** Solomon lifted his hands to heaven and prayed. He blessed God for keeping all his promises and his covenant with his people. He prayed that God would hear every prayer prayed from this place whether that person was innocent or guilty, in trouble or a foreigner. As long as they repented and prayed to Him, he would hear their prayer, forgive their sins and come to their aid. *** Solomon blessed the people with a prayer that God would continue to keep his promises toward his people and be with them. He prayed that they would have the desire to do his will and obey all his commands. He prayed for the Lord’s justice and that they would be a testimony to the world that the Lord is the only God and there is no other. They blessed the Lord and celebrated for 14 days - 7 for the dedication of the Temple and 7 for the Festival of Tabernacles. *** In Acts, Stephen was at the punch line of his testimony. He told the religious leaders that they were stubborn and heathen at heart - deaf to the truth. He asked them if they were going to forever resist the Holy Spirit like their ancestors did. He accused them of killing the Messiah and deliberately disobeying God’s law. *** Needless to say, the Jewish leaders were irate and shook their fists at him in rage. Stephen looked to heaven and saw Jesus standing at God’s right hand and told them what he was seeing. They dragged him out of the city and stoned him. They laid their coats at the feet of Saul who stood agreeing with what was being done. *** This opened a wave of persecution scattering the apostles throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria. Saul led this persecution dragging people out of their home and throwing them into prison. *** The scattering of the believers caused the Gospel to spread. Phillip went to Samaria and preached with signs and wonders and many believed. Simon had been a sorcerer there for years and did much magic. When he saw the miracles of Phillip, he believed and was baptized. Lord, thank you for your promises are all good for those who follow after you. May we be joyful and expectant, not fearful and sorrowful. You always keep your Word.

Sat.’s Devo - Building the Temple

Read: 1 Kings 7:1-51; Acts 7:30-50; Psalm 128:1-6; Proverbs 16:31-33 Solomon finished his palace in 13 years. Some construction! He had a Palace of the Forest of Lebanon which was to be a replica of that forest. He also built a Hall of Pillars which was just a really long hall with pillars facing one another. He built to Hall of Justice where he would sit on a throne and judge legal matters. Solomon’s palace was behind the Hall of Justice. He also built a separate living quarters for Pharoah’s daughter who was his wife. *** The foundation and walls of these buildings were made of huge blocks of stone cut with saws to measure exactly. Some of the foundation stones measured 15 feet long. Can you imagine the logistics of moving these stones! *** Solomon commissioned Huram who was a skilled artisan from Tyre to come and make the bronze casts for everything he needed in brass. Hiram’s mother was Jewish and she had married a craftsman from Tyre. His father was now dead but he had taught Hiram his skill. *** Huram made and casted the bronze for the capitals at the tops of the pillars. They had latticework, rows of pomegranates and water lilies on them. they measured 27 feet tall and the capitals that were put on pillars were 7.5 feet tall. They were put on the south side and the north side of the Temple. These two columns were placed at the entrances of the Temple and the one at the south was called Jakim meaning “He will set up”. The one at the north entrance was called Boaz meaning “In Him is strength”. *** Huram cast a huge basin for the middle of the room. It was called the Sea with a radius of 15 feet and was 75 feet deep. Around the rim were two rows of engraved gourds. The Sea was for the priest to wash their hands in before and after the sacrifices. Huram made ten smaller basins on carts that were put five on the north and south side of the Temple. The Sea was placed on top twelve bronze oxen all facing outward - three facing south, three facing east, three facing north and three facing west. The sea held about 11,000 gallons of water. *** Huram made many other implements and things for the Temple. *** When the Temple was complete, Solomon brought all the things his father David had dedicated to the Lord and stored them in the treasuries open the Lord’s Temple. *** In Acts, Stephen was in the middle of is recounting of Israel’s history. He was at the part forty years from the time Moses left Egypt. God spoke to Moses near Mt. Sinai from a burning bush and told him to go back to Egypt and lead his people out across the Red Sea. Moses had told the people about a Prophet that God would raise up among them. He was speaking of Jesus. *** The children of Israel refused to listen to Moses and rejected him in the wilderness. They wanted to return to Egypt. They made a golden calf to worship so God abandoned them to worship the gods of the stars, Molech and the star of Rephan which were gods they had brought from Egypt *** They continued to carry the Tabernacle through the wilderness and Joshua led them into their promised land. There, the Tabernacle sat until the time when David became king. He asked God for the privilege of building a permanent Temple for the God of Jacob. It was Solomon who actually built it as we are reading about in Kings. *** Lord, it is no surprise that you would lose patience with the human race. We are a fickle people who are easily led astray. Thank you for the Holy Spirit that leads us into all truth. Help us to keep your focus our focus and lead us on paths of righteousness.

Fri.’s Devo - Remember

Read: 1 Kings 5:1-6:38; Acts 7:1-29; Psalm 127:1-5; Provers 16:28-30 When King Hiram of Tyre learned that David had died and his son, Solomon was now the king, he sent ambassadors to send his condolences and to congratulate him as king. King Hiram and David had always been allies and Solomon wisely took advantage of this friendship. He needed lumber to build the Temple and his other building projects and Hiram needed produce to feed his kingdom. They made a trade and every year, Hiram sent logs floating down the river and David sent back wheat and olive oil. *** Solomon began the building of the temple in the month of Ziv or Nisan which was the seventh month on the civil calendar and the first month of the religious calendar. It was the month that the Passover was in. It was exactly 480 years since they left Egypt on the day after the Passover. *** The Temple was built with three stories and many rooms attached. Every piece, including the walls was made of cedar and covered with gold. The walls were carved with gourds and open flowers. The double doors were covered with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. Everything was covered with gold and was a replica of the Garden of Eden in all its glory. That is where we are headed. We are to bring heaven to earth and return to the Garden of the Lord. In Acts the high priest asked Stephen for his testimony - his side of the story. He had been accused of blasphemy against the law of Moses and the Temple. Instead of defending himself, he defended God. He began at the beginning of the story of the Jewish people which began with Abraham and his calling. God told Abraham to leave his native land and walk the land of Israel. Though none of the land was his yet, God told him that one day his descendants would have the whole land. First they would be slaves in Egypt for 400 years. Then God would lead them out to worship him in their land. He gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. Abraham had Isaac and Isaac had Jacob. Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs of Israel. *** The brothers became jealous of their youngest brother, Joseph and sold him. He ended up in Pharaoh’s palace. When a famine came upon the land, Jacob and his sons were forced to go to Egypt for food. Joseph was there to meet then and supply them with provision which saved their lives. They prospered and increased until a king came to power in Egypt that didn’t remember what Joseph had done for them. He was afraid of the Hebrew people and oppressed them miserably making them slaves. God sent a boy named Moses to set them free. *** Moses was a special child born when the king of Egypt was having all the babies killed. His mother preserved him in a basket that was found by the Pharaoh’s daughter. She adopted Moses and brought him into the palace to live. Moses became powerful and one day went to see how the Hebrews were being treated. He saw an Egyptian beat a Hebrew slave and he killed the Egyptian hiding his body in the sand. When he realized his murder was found out, he fled the country and lived in Midian. He married and had two sons. The story will continue tomorrow. *** Stephen recounted their history to the because they had gotten so far from their roots. God wants us to remember where we came from so we won’t repeat the same mistakes and so we will know our calling. *** Lord, may we remember all you have done for us and not forget the cross and the resurrection.

Thurs.’s Devo Wisdom and Discernment

Read: 1 Kings 3:3-4:34; Acts 6:1-15; Psalm 126:1-6; Proverbs 16:26-27 Solomon began his reign loving the Lord and following the ways of his father, David. But, he offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places of worship. At Gibeon, he offered 1,000 burnt offerings and the Lord visited him that night in a dream. God asked Solomon what he wanted. Solomon asked for wisdom to lead the people of Israel and discernment to know what was good or bad. God was so pleased with Solomon’s request that he promised him what he asked and added riches and long life to it. *** Solomon had the opportunity to show God’s wisdom when the two mothers brought the baby to him. He discerned the answer and it exposed the real mother. It also was a witness to the people his wisdom. *** Solomon chose godly men to help him lead his nation. Solomon’s kingdom was a prosperous blessed time. Every family had its own home and garden. *** People came from all over the world to hear Solomon’s wisdom. *** In Acts, as the church grew, so did the every day problems. The Greek-speaking believers complained that their widows were not being treated as well as the Hebrew-speaking believers. The apostles met and appointed men to take over the ministry of helps. One of the men who was appointed was Stephen, He was full of God’s power and performed signs and miracles. Some of the men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves came to debate with Stephen. They were Jews from other cities in Asia. They brought Stephen before the high council accusing Stephen of blasphemy. They said that he spoke against the Temple and the law of Moses. Stephen’s face lit up like an angel’s. *** Lord, let Your light shine through us like it did in Stephen. May we be the light of the world for you. May we have wisdom and discernment to lead us today.

Wed.’s Devo - Justice Establishes the Kingdom

Read: 1 Kings 2:1-3:2; Acts 5:1-42; Psalm 125:1-5; Proverbs 16:25 Before David died he charged Solomon to be courageous and observe all the requirements of God. If he followed all God’s ways and kept his laws written in the Law of Moses, he would be successful in all he did and wherever he went. God asked him to bring justice on Joab who killed his two army officers Abner and Amasa in a time of peace because they had killed his brothers in a time of war. *** David told Solomon to reward Barzillai with food from his table because he had supplied David and his men food from his table when they were fleeing Absalom. *** Solomon was also to find a way to legally kill Shemei who had cursed David. *** Remember yesterday when we talked about David’s desire to have the man who took the lamb repay fourfold. Well, here we see the fourth son of David having to die. Adonijah went to Bathsheba to ask her to get permission from Solomon for him to marry Abishag. Abishag was the beautiful girl who had been brought to keep David warm at night. Solomon saw this request as a crafty way to work his way to the throne. Solomon ordered him to be put to death for this. Solomon also knew that Joab had something to do with this scheme. Sure enough, when he had Adonijah put to death, Joab ran and grabbed the horns of the altar in the Temple for mercy. Solomon had his men kill him right there. *** Solomon put Shimei on house arrest where he could not leave Jerusalem or he would be put to death. Three years later, Shimei’s slaves escaped and he went after them to Gaza. He brought them back but it cost him his death. *** Now, that Solomon had rid his kingdom of the “Deep State”of his time, the kingdom was established in his hands. He then made an alliance with the king of Egypt and married one of his daughters. He brought her to live in the city of David until he could finish building his palace and the Temple. *** Solomon married a Gentile bride - one out of bondage (Egypt) and made her his bride. He prepared a place for her just as Jesus is preparing a place for us, his Gentile bride. *** In Acts we read of the seriousness and the joy of the times they were living in. While everyone was giving to the Lord, A couple named Ananias and Sapphire sold some of their property and gave some of it to the Lord. Then they lied and said that they were giving all of the proceeds to the Lord. The Holy Spirit showed Peter that they were lying and they both died. *** The disciples continued teaching and healing people at the Temple in Solomon’s Colonnade. The high priest and officials were jealous of their popularity and power so they arrested the apostles and put them in jail. That night, an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the jail and brought them out. He told them to go back to the Temple and preach. *** When the high priest convened to their judgement seats, they called for the apostles to be brought from prison. They found that they were not there but their guards were and the prison was locked. Then they learned that the apostles were back preaching at the Temple. They brought them back in and questioned them as to why they were still preaching when they were ordered not to. They said that they had to obey God over them. The high priest was furious and wanted to kill them, but Gamaliel stood up for them. Gamaliel reasoned with the high priest that the movement of Jesus’ disciples would die by itself if it was not of God, but if it was and they tried to stop it, they would be fighting against God himself. *** Instead of killing them, they had the disciples flogged and set them free. The disciples rejoiced to be worthy to suffer for Christ. The Church continued to grow, but moved to the houses to meet. *** Lord, may we see that we are moving toward Solomon’s reign on the earth. May we be bold and not bow down to the fear the world would like us to be under. May we see that we are about to win and they are about to experience the judgment of God. Give us great courage and resolve to stand for truth and justice.

Tues.’s Devo - Solomon Comes to the Throne

Read: 1 Kings 1:1-53; Acts 4:1-37; Psalm 124:1-8; Proverbs 16:24 David was getting old and couldn’t get warm at night, even though he had many blankets. His advisors offered to find a young virgin for him to sleep with him and keep him warm. They found Abishag who slept with David but never had sexual relations with him1. *** Adonijah was David’s fourth son born in Hebron. I can’t help but remember the curse David put on the rich man who had taken the lamb from the poor man (2 Samuel 12). He said that he had to restore the lamb fourfold. Nathan had told him that he was the man. David lost that baby, his first born son Amnon, Absalom and Adonijah was the fourth. *** Adonijah saw that his father was getting old and had not yet proclaimed the next king so he decided he should be king. He invited all the other sons, except Solomon to the Stone of Zoheleth where he sacrificed and proclaimed himself the next king. He also didn’t invite Nathan and Benaian the kings body guard. This Stone of Zobeleth means “the serpentine one.” *** Nathan sent Bathsheba to tell David what Adonijah had done and to ask him if this was his will. Nathan would come behind her and confirm it. David had promised Bathsheba that Solomon would be the next king long ago. *** David called his priest, prophet and body guard to take Solomon to Gihon Spring riding on his own mule. There, they were to anoint him king over Israel. They were to blow the ram’s horn and shout, “Long live King Solomon!” Then they were to escort him back and place him on the throne. *** When the people who had assembled for Adonijah heard all the celebration over Solomon they scattered. Adonijah ran to the Temple and took hold of the horns of the altar for mercy. Solomon had him brought before him and told him that he would not kill him as long as he didn’t cause any trouble. He set him free to go home. *** In Acts, Peter was still preaching to the crowds about Jesus and his resurrection. The leaders of the Temple came and arrested Peter and John but by now 5,000 of the people had become believers. The religious leaders met to decide what they should do to Peter and John. *** Then next day they called Peter and John in to hear their testimony. Peter told them that they had healed the crippled man by the power of Jesus’ name - the one they crucified. The man who had been healed was standing there so they could not deny it. They told Peter and John not to speak or teach in Jesus’ name again. Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you or him? We can’t stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.” *** All they could do was to threatened Peter and John so they set them free. They went back to where the believers were meeting and prayed for more boldness to preach the truth. The place shook and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began preaching about the resurrection with boldness. Because of the many needy people, others were selling property to give to the apostles to help those in need. One particular man who did this was Joseph, nicknamed Barnabas which means “son of Encouragement.” Lord, may we receive the power of your Holy Spirit to preach the power of God with boldness and manifest your power. May we be sons and daughters of encouragement to the body.

Mon.’s Devo - Numbering the People

Read: 2 Samuel 23:24-24:25; Acts 3:1-26; Psalm 123:1-4; Proverbs 16:21-23 David’s 37 mighty warriors were written down - their names and where they were from as a remembrance of their service to the Lord and to David. *** Israel did something to arouse the anger of the Lord. To get their attention, God put in David’s heart to number the people. To “number” the people means to bring them to accountability as we will when we stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ and be judged. If we are covered with his blood we are set aside for rewards, but those are not will have to listen to all their sins and God’s sentence. *** In Exodus 30:12 it says, “When thou 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 thou number them; that there be no plague among them, when thou number them.”KJV *** David didn’t ask for the half a shekel that was the ransom money for each soul. The result was a plague that killed 70,000. David repented for the nation and paid the price for the field and offered scarifies to the Lord and the plague was stopped. *** Jesus paid he price for our sins on that same piece of land and made the atonement for every soul who would come to believe he was their savior. David bought this land and it would be the place he would build the temple for God. *** In Acts, Peter and John were going to the Temple to pray. A man who had been lame since birth was being carried to sit and beg by the gate. When he saw Peter and John coming, he asked them for money. Peter stopped and told the man he had no money but what he had he would give him. In the name of Jesus, he told him to stand up and walk. He took the man by the hand and helped him to rise. Healing came to his legs and he could walk. He entered the Temple with them walking and leaping and praising God. People heard the commotion and ran to see the man. They recognized him as the beggar who was lame. *** Peter took the opportunity to preach Jesus who they had rejected out of ignorance. They were being given a second chance to believe and be saved. Peter began with Samuel and reminded them of what the prophets had said about Jesus. *** Lord, our eyes are on you. Help us, like the Psalm, to notice your slightest signal and obey.