Mon.’s Devo - Reopening the Temple

Read: 2 Chronicles 29:1-36; Romans 14:1-23; Palm 24:1-10; Proverbs 20:12 Hezekiah brought back the worship of the Lord into the Temple. In the very first month of his kingship he reopened the doors of the Temple and repaired them. He met with the priests and Levites and had them purify themselves and the Temple. He told them that he would make a new covenant with the Lord to so that His anger would turn away from them. *** The leaders of the priests and Levites got right to work and summoned all their families and purified themselves then began the work in the Temple. They began to do this on the first day of Nisan, the month of Passover. It took eight days to cleanse the courtyard and take all the defiled things used to worship Baal and other gods. They carted them all out to the Kidron Valley where they would burn them. Then they began in the inside the the Temple. It took eight more days to cleanse it ending on the 16th of Nisan. Passover was suppose to start on the 15th. They sent news to Hezekiah that the job was done. *** Early the next morning Hezekiah gathered all the city officials to the Temple and offered 777 offings on the altar to the Lord. They used the blood of the offerings to sprinkle on the altar offering atonement for all Israel. *** They offered the burnt offerings to the sound of praise to the Lord accompanied by the trumpets and other instruments. Then the people brought their own offerings and the priests offered them to the Lord. There were so may offerings and so few priests so the priests had to get the Levites to help them. The Levites had been more diligent about purifying themselves than the priests had. *** Hezekiah and the people rejoiced that this had been done so quickly and how God had helped them become pure again in his sight. *** What a picture of how quickly a nation can go from evil to good, or corrupt to cleansed in such a short time. This is our hope for our nation. It just takes having the right leader. We pray for just and righteous leaders. *** In Romans Paul was dealing with merging two people into one: the Jew and the Gentile. The Jews came with their strict laws about everything and the Gentiles came with total freedom in their lives. Paul told them not to judge one another because all of that was trivial. Every man had to do what was right in their own heart. In the end God will judge everyone according to their hearts. He did tell them to live in a way that wouldn’t cause their brother to stumble. The Kingdom of God was not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Everyone needed to live by their own convictions. *** Lord, help us to judge ourselves and not others. Thank you that you are our king and your judgments are right and true.

Sun.’s Devo - Righteous Leadership

Read: 2 Chronicles 26:1-28:27; Romans 13:1-14; Psalm 23:1-6; Proverbs 20:11 After Amaziah’s assassination by his men, his son Uzziah became king. He was 16 years old and reigned 52 years doing what pleased the Lord. Because he feared the Lord, God gave him victory over the Philistines, the Arabs and the Meunites. He was able to fortify his towns and built up an amy of 307,500 men who are all elite troops. They were armed with every weapon imaginable. He built back the walls of Jerusalem that had been torn down by the Israelites. *** Sadly, his power and favor led to pride which destroyed him. He entered the Temple of the Lord and began to offer incense on the incense altar that only the priests were suppose to do. Eighty priests following after him and tried to stop him. He became furious at the priests but God struck him with leprosy and they rushed him out of the Temple. He had to live isolated from that time on. His son Jotham was put in charge of the palace and governing the people. *** Jotham was 25 years old when he became the king and ruled 16 years. He started out like his father Uzziah, following the Lord. He rebuilt the upper gate of the Temple and repaired more of the wall. He built towns and fortresses and towers to protected them against their enemies. His enemies paid him much tribute and when he became powerful, he stayed humble before the Lord. *** Jotham’s son, Ahaz became king after him. He did not follow the Lord but worshipped Baal and other gods and idols. God allowed the king of Aram to defeat him and exile many of his people to Damasucus. Israel also defeated Ahaz and killed over a third of his army in a single day. They also killed one of his sons and his commander and second commander. They took 200,000 women and children as slaves to Samaria. *** Obed the prophet met the army of Israel as they were returning home and told them that heaven was disturbed at what they had done to Judah. God allowed them to defeat Judah but not treat them savagely. He told them to return the women and children to Judah and not make them slaves. *** The warriors release the prisoners and handed them over to the leaders of Samaria. They clothed them, gave them sandals, food and drink and tended to their wounds. Then they returned them to Jericho. *** King Ahaz of Judah wanted to defend their country against the Edomites who were invading their land. They asked the Assyrians to help them When the king of Assyria, Tiglath-pileser arrived to help, he attacked Jerusalem instead. Ahaz took valuable items from the Lord’s Temple and from the wealthy leader’s homes and gave them to the king of Assyria but this didn’t help him. *** King Ahaz refused to turn to the Lord and began offering sacrifices to the gods of the Assyrians thinking their gods might help him. It led to his ruin and Judah’s. *** Ahaz destroyed items from the Temple and shut its doors so no one could worship there. He set up pagan altars all around Jerusalem and led Judah in worshipping other gods. When he died his son Hezekiah became the king. *** In Romans, it tells us that God is the one who places people in authority. He speaks of authority that is right and that honors you for going good. We are under an ungodly authority right now who commands us to do wrong. We have to obey God rather than man and know the difference between a godly leader and an ungodly leader. God will judge our leaders. Our job is to follow the Lord and his Word. *** Paul said that the law of God is love. If we fulfill the law of love, we will fulfill all of the law. We should live like we follow the Lord who is righteous in all his ways.

Sat.'s Devo - A Living Sacrifice

Read: 2 Chronicles 24:1-25:28; Romans 12:1-21; Psalm 22:19-31; Provebs 20:8-10 Joash was seven years old when he became the king and followed the advice of Jehoiada the priests who had raised him as long as Jehoiad lived. *** During the wicked rule of Athalia, she had taken all the sacred objects in the Temple and used them in worship to Baal and Ashterah. He had them restored and told the priests to collect the Temple tax of the people. When he learned they were not doing this, he took a chest to be made and set outside the gate leading to the Temple and the people could put their money there. He would then have the money used to restoring GOd’s Temple. The worship at the Temple was carried out according to the law as long as Jehoiada lived. When he died at 130 he had done so much good for Israel that he was buried with the kings in the City of David. *** After his death, the leaders came to Joash and persuaded him to abandon the Temple of the Lord and worship Ashram poles and idols. God sent Zechariah, Jeshoiada’s son to ask them why they had abandoned the Lord to worship idols because now He would abandon them. Joash ordered Zechariah stoned to death. His last words were, “May the Lord see what they are doing and avenge my death.” *** God would avenge his death. That Spring, the Arameans marched against Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the leaders of the nation. They took much plunder back to Damascus. They left Joash severely wounded and his own officials killed him in his bed for killing Zechariah. Amaziah, a son of Joash became the next king. *** He was a good king but didn’t follow the Lord with his whole heart. He executed the men who had killed Joash although he did not kill their innocent children. He took inventory of his own army and thought he needed more so he paid 7,500 pounds of silver to hire an extra 100,000 men from Israel. *** God sent a prophet who asked him why he had hired men of Israel when they were God’s enemy and he would not fight with them. When Azariah asked about what to do he told him to send them home and to rely on Him to repay the money spent. Amaziah obeyed and sent them home though they were very upset not to be able to fight. He met the army of the Edomites in the Valley of Salt and killed 10,000 Edomites and captured the same amount. The took the ones he had captured and threw them off a cliff. *** The disgruntled Isralites went home killing and pillaging the cities of Judah as they went. *** Amaziah had brought back the idols of Edom and set them up in the Temple greatly angering the Lord. He sent a prophet to ask him why he was worshiping a god who couldn’t even deliver its own people. Amaziah answered the prophet disrespectfully with anger. The prophet told him that since he had refused to take his advice, GOd would destroy him. *** Amaziah decided to challenge Israel’s king Jehoash to a battle. Jehoash tried to tell him he wouldn’t win but he was determined to fight feeling invincible after winning against Edom. Israel won a great victory in the battle and Amaziah was captured and brought to Jerusalem to see it demolished and plundered. Much of its wall was torn down and much of the treasures in the Temple were taken by Israel. Amaziah was assassinated by his own people in Lachish. His body was returned to Jerusalem where he was buried in the City of David. *** Paul urged the people to give their bodies to the Lord to honor him. He warned them not to copy the behavior and customs of this world but to let God transform their minds and the way they thought. He warned them to be humble in their estimation of themselves and to honor each other’s gifts. We are like a body with many parts and we work together when we let each do their part. *** Truly love one another and serve the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind. Be empathetic, helpful, humble, and kind. Never seek revenge or evil on anyone - that is God’s job. Try to live in peace with everyone. Rule over evil, don’t let it rule over you. *** All of this is such good advice in living the daily Christian life. May we put our hearts to seek God and what is good for his kingdom.

Fri.’s Devo - The End of Ahab’s Dynasty

Read: 2 Chronicles 21:1-23:21; Romans 11:13-36; Psalm 22:1-18; Proverbs 20:7 After Jehoshaphat died, his son Jehoram ruled. He had his other six brothers killed as well as some of the leaders of Judah. He reigned only 8 years but led Judah into the sins of Israel. He was the one who had married Ahab’s daughter and was as evil as Ahab. *** The Edomites who had been under Judah’s control rebelled and crowned their own king. Libnah also rebelled and Jehoram was not able to get them back because he had abandoned the Lord. *** God sent Jehoram a message written by Elijah. God rebuked Jehoram for abandoning him and for killing his own brothers who were better than him. So the Lord was going to hit his family and his nation with a terrible blow. He would suffer an intestinal disease that would end in a painful death. *** God stirred up the Philistines and the Arabs to fight him. They plundered Jerusalem and the temple and took his wives and all his children save Ahaziah. *** He did get a terrible intestinal disease that finally killed him after suffering for two years. When he died, his people did not honor him. No one was sorry he had died. *** Azariah had been Jehoram’s youngest son and only reigned a year after Jehoram died. His mother was Athaliah, granddaughter of Omri who had been Ahab’s father. She was evil and encouraged Ahaziah to do evil. He was advised to join Joram of Israel in his war against King Hazael of Aram at Ramoth-gilead. King Joram was wounded in the battle and went to Jezreel to recover. Jehoram went to visit him and while he was there Jehu rode into town determined to kill Joram. God had appointed Jehu to end the dynasty of Ahab. Jehu also killed some of Judah’s officials and Ahaziah’s relatives. Jehu found Ahaziah hiding in Samaria and killed him also. *** When Ahaziah died, there were no men in his family capable of ruling so Athalia killed all the royal family so she could rule. Ahaziah’s sister took his infant son Joash and hid him in the Temple where he was raised by the priests until he was seven. *** In Athalia’s seventh reign, the priests planned a coup against Athalia with all the other priests. They stationed guards around the Temple and brought Joash out of hiding and crowned him king and yelled “Long live the king!” When Athaliah heard all the noise and saw the people running she ran to see what was happening. She saw Joash crowned as king standing in the place of authority by the pillar at the Temple entrance. She cried “Treason!” *** The priests told the commanders of the troops to take her in front of the Temple and kill any one who tried to stop them. She was to be killed outside the Temple. They took her to the entrance of the Horse Gate and killed her there. *** The priests renewed their covenant with the Lord to worship him alone. They went and tore down the temple of Baal and its altars. The priest of Baal, Mattan was killed in front of his Baal altars. *** Jehoiada, the high priest put the priests and Levites in charge of the Temple of the Lord and charged them to follow the Lord according to the law. *** They placed Joash on the throne and rejoiced and there was peace. *** In Romans, Paul gave a sobering point that the Jews were a branch that was cut off because of their unbelief and the Gentiles were grafted in . In the same way, if the Gentiles refuse to believe, they can be cut off also. The Gentiles were the wild branch grafted into a cultivated tree. This was against nature but God did it. In the same way he can graft in the cultivated branch back into the root. This is exactly what was promised. One day the Jewish nation will return to the Lord and be grafted back in. It is all for his glory. *** Lord, we are eternally grateful for being grafted into your root. May we bring you honor and be a beacon for your Jewish branch that they may see the light and come home.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Lord’s Battle

Read: 2 Chronicles 19:1-20:37; Romans 10:;14-11:12; Psalm 21:1-13; Proverbs 20:4-6 Jehoshaphat had allied with Ahab in his battle against the Syrians and when he got home God sent his messenger Hanani to rebuke him. He asked him why he went to help wicked Ahab give his son to love Ahab’s daughter. God was very angry with him but He would have mercy because he had removed the Asherah poles and committed himself to seek God. *** Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem but traveled throughout his kingdom encouraging the people to return to the Lord. He appointed honest judges telling them to fear God and not pervert justice or take bribes. He appointed the Levites and priests to help in judging the cases because they knew God’s laws. *** The armies of Moab, Ammon and some Menuites declared war on Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat sought the Lord and proclaimed a fast in Judah. People from the towns went to Jerusalem to seek the Lord’s help. Jehoshaphat stood before the people and prayed. He reminded God of how he chose them and what his word said about what he would do if they humbled themselves and faced the Temple and prayed. They asked the Lord to help them because he was their only hope. *** The Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men standing there named Jahaziel. He prophesied and told the people not to be afraid because this battle was not theirs, but God’s. All they had to do was to take their positions and stand still and watch God fight for them. The victory would be his alone. *** Early the next morning the army of Judah went out to meet the armies of their enemies. Their instruction from God was to show up, stand and believe what God had said through his prophets. Jehoshaphat appointed singers to walk ahead of the army singing “Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!” *** The moment they began singing, the armies of Moab, Ammon began fighting the Menuites. They killed them all then started attacking each other. By the time Judah’ army had arrived at the lookout point, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground. Not one single enemy had escaped. All Jehoshaphat’s army had to do was to pick up the plunder which was much. It took them three days to collect it. Then they gathered the fourth day and praised and thanked the Lord. They marched home to music and praise. All the surrounding kingdoms heard of their great victory and what God had done for them and none would come against them. *** Jehoshaphat reigned 25 years and was a good king who sought the Lord even though he didn’t remove all the pagan shrines. In the end of his life he made an alliance with King Ahaziah of Israel who was very wicked. They went into partnership making a fleet of trading ships. God sent Eliezer to prophecy that God would destroy his ships since he allied with Ahaziah. The endeavor was a disaster and the ships never sailed. *** In Romans. Paul explained that the Good News would not spread if it didn’t have people sent by God to tell others. Paul gave them the words of prophets who had seen the day the Gentiles would believe and the Jews would not. All through history, God has always had a remnant of his chosen people the Jews who believed in God when it wasn’t popular to do so. God hardened the hearts of the rest of his people and closed their ears so they couldn’t comprehend his great gift of grace. God will use the Gentiles to make the Jews jealous and return to their God and the whole earth will be blessed when this happens. *** Are we on the cusp of this great awakening of the Jews? I believe we are. We are living in exciting times when the wicked are being caught in their own traps and the things they planned for us are falling on them. God is fighting for us, our job is to rejoice and show up for the battle. God will fight it for us. *** Lord, thank you for your promises. Thank you for equipping us with your Word, your Spirit and your body of believers. Thank you for Your Army. We stand singing in expectation of a great victory!

Wed.’s Devo - We are Adopted!

Read: 2 Chronicles 17:1-18:34; Romans 9:25-10:13; Psalm 20:1-9; Proverbs 20:2-3 Jehoshaphat became king when his father Asa died. Jehoshaphat was a good king who honored the Lord and didn’t worship Baal. He fortified his kingdom and removed the Pagan shrines and Ashram poles from Judah. He sent his officials to teach in all the towns of Judah the Book of the Law of Moses. Because God was exalted in Judah, all the other nations feared him and none came to fight him. He grew his army more than twice the one his father had. *** Jehoshaphat became wealthy and famous in the world. Ahab of Israel sought an alliance with him giving his daughter to marry Jehoshaphat’s son. Jehoshaphat went to Samaria to a great banquet honoring him and his officials. Ahab enticed Jehoshaphat to join armies to recover Ramoth-gilead from the Syrians. Ramoth-gilead means the heights of an everlasting witness. *** Jehoshaphat agreed to go to war with Ahab but first wanted to ask the Lord said about it. He asked for a prophet they could ask. Ahab brought all his prophets of Baal and they did all sorts of rituals and told him he would be successful in his endeavor. Jehoshaphat asked if Ahab had a prophet of God and Ahab knew of one that he didn’t like because Michaiah never said anything nice to him. Jehoshaphat rebuked him for having such an attitude about God’s prophet so Ahab sent for him. *** Michaiah had been warned to go along with what the kings’ prophets said but he said he would only say what God told him to say. He told Ahab very sarcastically what his prophets had said and Ahab got upset with him and told him to say the truth. He told him that he saw all Israel scattered on the mountains and their master killed. When Ahab got mad, he explained that the Lord wanted Ahab to enter into battle so that he would be killed and the way to get him to do that would be if his prophets told him he would be successful. *** Ahab had Micaiah arrested and put in prison in Amon until he returned. He was to be fed nothing but bread and water. Micaiah told him that he would not return safely. *** Ahab and Jehoshaphat went into battle the next day. Ahab had disguised himself as a normal soldier. The Syrians had been told to only fight the king of Israel. When they couldn’t find him a man shot a random arrow at the forces of Israel and it hit the chink in Ahab’s armor. God drove that arrow to the exact spot. Ahab bleed out all day sitting in his chariot. He died that afternoon as the sun was setting. *** In Romans, Paul quoted Hosea and Isaiah who foretold the adopting of the Gentiles into God’s family. The Gentiles easily became a member of God’s family by faith while Israel struggled to be righteous enough by trying to keep the law. They stumbled over the rock in the road which was Jesus. The children of Israel refused to see Jesus as the way to salvation and kept trying to do it their own way. *** In the law in Dueteronomy it says that the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart. Paul explains that that was the message of faith that he preached. They must declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised him from the dead and they will be saved. Anyone, Jew or Gentile who believed in him would be saved. *** Lord, thank you for making it so simple and easy to be your child. Thank you for adopting us into your family.

Tues.’s Devo -Asa’s Reign

Read: 2 Chronicles 14:1-16:14; Romans 9:1-24; Psalm 19:1-14; Proverbs 20:1 Abijah died and his son Asa became the next king of Judah. Asa was a good king who removed the foreign altars and pagan shrines. He commanded the people of Judah to seek the Lord and obey his laws. God allowed Asa’s kingdom to live in peace and he was able to build up the fortified towns in Judah. He also built new towns and fortified them with walls, towers, gates and bars. He had a skilled army of 300,000 in Judah and 280,000 in Benjamin. *** Zerah from Ethiopia brought his army of one million men. Asa cried out to the Lord and the Lord defeated the Ethiopians. They were destroyed by God’s army and Asa’a army carried away the spoils. *** The prophet Azariah went to meet Asa as he was returning from the battle. He told him that God would stay with him as long as they stayed with the Lord. But if they abandoned the Lord, he would abandon them. There was so much unrest in all the other nations that it was unsafe to travel outside of Judah. God was troubling the other nations but God was blessing Judah. God wanted them to know that he saw them and would reward them for their walk and their courage. *** This word encouraged Asa to cleanse his land further of idols and the towns he had captured in Ephraim. He prepared the altar of the Lord in the Temple. *** Asa called to gather his the people under his influence and held a great feast during the days of Passover and Pentecost. He sacrificed 7,700 animals and had the people enter into a covenant to seek the Lord with all their hearts and soul. If they refused to seek the Lord then they would be put to death. They praised the Lord and blew the trumpets and all Judah was happy and there was peace in the kingdom. *** Asa deposed his own grandmother, Maacah from her position as queen mother because she made an obscene Ashram pole. He burned the pole in the Kidron Valley. Asa followed the Lord throughout his life and brought silver and gold into the Temple of God and there was no more war until the 35th year of his reign. The next year, King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and fortified Ramah to keep anyone from entering or leaving Judah. *** Asa took the gold and silver he had put in the Temple and sent it to King Ben-hadad of Aram to make an alliance with him over his alliance with Israel. It was to pay him off to align with Judah and break their covenant with Israel. This would make Israel back off of them. Ben-hadad could be bought so he sent an army to attack the towns of Israel and conquer some of the towns of Israel. When King Baasha of Israel found out Aram had covenanted with Judah, he backed off of Ramah and used the materials he had planned to use in Ramah to fortify Geba and Mizpah instead. *** God sent King Asa a message through Hanani rebuking him for asking Ben-hadad of Aram to help him instead of the Lord. Had he forgotten his battle with the Ethiopians and how the Lord helped him under the worse odds? God had planned to help them defeat the Arameans, not align with them. *** Asa got so upset over what Hanani told him that he put him in prison in stocks. He also lashed out at others under him. *** In Asa’s 39th year he develop a serious foot disease and refused to ask the Lord to heal him. He turned to his physicians instead. He died two years later and was celebrated by the people in his death. *** Asa had gotten proud in his latter years and was offended when God tried to discipline him. His pride and offense turned his heart from the Lord which affected his kingdom and his health. *** In Romans, Paul explained that just because they claimed to be a descendant of Abraham, they were not automatically saved from eternal damnation. The Scriptures say that Isaac was the son through whom Abraham’s descendants would be counted although Abraham had other sons. When Isaac married and had two sons, one was blessed and chosen and Esau was rejected. God decides who he will have mercy on and who he will not. God is the creator of all and has the right to choose his heirs. We are humbled and blessed to be chosen and redeemed by him. *** Lord, thank you for pouring your mercy and grace on us. We are so grateful. May our lives reflect our thankful hearts.

Mon.’s Devo - God's Great Love

Read: 2 Chronicles 11:1-13:22; Romans 8:26-39; Psalm 18:37-50; Proverbs 19:27-29 Rehoboam came back to Jerusalem and mobilized his army to fight Jeroboam and restore his kingdom. The prophet, Shemaiah came and gave him a message from God. He told him not to fight Jeroboam because this was His will. So, Rehoboam obeyed and went back home and fortified his towns in defense of Judah. He equipped the fortified cities with weapons. ***All the priests and Levites in Israel sided with Rehoboam so they all moved to Judah and Benjamin to serve at the Temple in Jerusalem. Jeroboam had refused to let the priests in his land serve as priests. He appointed his own priests to serve at the pagan shrines he set up all over Israel. They worshipped gods of calfs and goats which is Baal. The people who wanted to serve the Lord followed the priests and moved to Jerusalem strengthening the kingdom of Judah. Rehoboam faithfully followed the Lord for three years. *** He married his cousin Mahalath which means “making sick” and Maacah which means “pressure”. Rehoboam had other wives and concubines but he loved Maacah the most. He elevated one of her sons, Abidjan as the leader of his other children even though he was not the first born. He wisely gave all his sons positions in the fortified towns and paid them a generous salary keeping peace in the family *** But once Rehoboam was secure in his kingship he abandoned the Lord like Israel had, to worship idols and false gods. Because of their unfaithfulness to the Lord, King Shishak of Egypt came and attacked Jerusalem. He conquered Judah’s fortified towns and then went to attack Jerusalem. Shemaiah went a met with Rehoboam and his sons who had fled to Jerusalem. He told them that this happened because they abandoned Him. The king and his leaders humbled themselves and repented. When God saw their hearts had changed, he sent word that he would not completely destroy them but would still use Shishak to rule over them so they could see the difference between serving Him and serving earthly rulers. *** According to the word of the Lord, Shishak came and took all the treasury and the gold shields Solomon had made. Rehoboam later replaced them with bronze shields to protect him when he went to the temple to worship. *** The Egyptians eventually left them and Rehoboam ruled in Jerusalem for 17 years. God called him an evil king. He was constantly at war with Jeroboam and when Rehoboam died at 41 his son Abidjan became king. *** Jeroboam came up against Jerusalem with twice as many soldiers. Abidjan stood up and defended Judah telling the men of Israel how they in Judah worshiped the Lord as he instructed. Israel was led by a mere servant of Solomon’s that had rebelled against his master (speaking of Jeroboam). In Israel, they didn’t obey the Lord in anything they did so how did they think they could win against the Lord. *** While Abidjan was speaking, Jeroboam’s army was stationing some of their troops behind Jerusalem so they were now surrounded. When Abidjah realized what he had done, they cried out to the Lord. The priests blew the trumpets and the men of Judah began to shout. At the sound of their battle cry, God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel. They fled from Judah and lost 500,000 of their 800,000 men. Judah’s army captured some the their towns and Jeroboam never regained his power during Abidjan’s lifetime. God finally killed Jeroboam. Meanwhile, Abidjan continued to gain power. He married 14 wives and had 22 sons and 16 daughters. *** In Romans, Paul explained how the Holy Spirit prays through us the prayers we need to pray. He does this when we groan and pray in tongues. As his children we have the right to stand with him and share in his glory. God is with us and will give us everything. He proved that by giving us his son Jesus to die and be raised to life for us. *** The calamity and persecution and troubles we go through on the earth do not show that God doesn’t love us because Christ went through all these things before us. Nothing can separate us from his love. Nothing the devil throws at us can take away God’s love for us. *** God, your love is the greatest gift. You proved it at the cross and the tomb. Thank you for giving us your Spirit that we might participate with you in your work in heaven and on the earth.

Sun.’s Devo - The Best is Yet to Come

Read: 2 Chronicles 8:11-10:19; Romans 8:9-25; Psalm 18:16-36; Proverbs 19:26 Solomon finished the Temple and his new palace and moved his wife to the new palace he had built for her. *** Solomon kept all of God’s holy days and feasts in the new Temple. He followed David’s blueprints for all the service in the Temple and did not deviate from those plans. *** Solomon brought gold back from Ophir that weighed almost 17 tons. *** The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame and went to visit him with some hard questions. She brought a huge caravan of camels loaded with spices and gold. Solomon was able to help her with all her questions and showed her all in his kingdom. She was amazed at the opulence and beauty of his kingdom and how excellently he governed it. She gave him 9,000 pounds of gold and many spices and jewels. *** Hiram sent gold and sandalwood that Solomon used to make the steps for the Temple and his royal palace. and to construct the musical instruments. He made 200 large shields from the gold and 300 smaller ones. They were placed in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. The throne of Solomon’s was like none other. There were six steps with a gold footstool. The statue of a lion stood on each side of the throne and 12 other lions stood on the end of each of the six steps. This was a replica of God’s throne in heaven. Everything in the Temple was to show the glory of God. Solomon became the riches and wisest man in the world. He ruled from the Euphrates River to the Nile and all the kingdoms of the earth brought him gifts and feared his fame. *** When he died he had ruled for forty years. His son Rehoboam became the next king. He traveled to Shechem to be crowned king. Jeroboam learned of Solomon’s death and came to see his coronation. Jeroboam had been prophesied the next king of Israel over 10 tribes. He had fled to Egypt while he bade his time. *** The leaders of Israel asked Rehoboam if he was going to be the hard taskmaster that his father had been and asked that he lighten their load. Rehoboam told them he would give them his answer in three days. He went to his father’s advisors and asked them how he should answer them and they advised him to give them what they asked. In return, they would be faithful to him. He then asked his peers, his age and they told him to answer them roughly and tell them that he would be even tougher than his father. *** Rehoboam wrongly took the advice of his peers and answered them roughly. When Israel realized that the king had refused to hear them and their complaints, they refused to be ruled by him. *** Rehoboam sent Adoniram who was in charge of forced labor to restore order, but the people stoned him to death. When Rehoboam heard this he fled to Jerusalem. Israel split with Rehoboam ruling over Judah and Benjamin (the southern kingdom) and eventually Jeroboam ruled all of the rest of Israel. *** In Romans we learn that if we choose to be controlled by the Spirit of God then we have no obligation to do what our sinful nature urges us to do. If through the power of the Spirit living in us we put to death the deeds of our sinful nature, we will live and be called the children of God. *** The Spirit of God mades us confident in our position with God. We are his children who are heirs to his glory and kingdom. But if we share in his glory, we must also share in his sufferings. Our present suffering is nothing compared to the glory we will receive later.when God reveals us as his children. All creation was under God’s curse of sin and death and it is waiting for the day when we as God’s children are free from death and decay. One day, God will give us our new bodies as our full rights as his children. We look forward to that day. *** Lord, thank you that you have made a way for us to triumph over sin and death. May we choose to walk in righteousness and peace with God. Thank you for the wonderful promise of life and glory. We look forward to the fulfillment of your promises.

Sat.’s Devo - The Dedication of the Temple

Read: 2 Chronicles 6:12-8:10; Romans 7:14-8:8; Psalm 18:1-19; Proverbs 19:24-25 Solomon made a platform to speak from and had it placed in the middle of the outer courtyard. He knelt on it in front of all the people and lifted his hands toward heaven and prayed. He prayed God’s blessing on the Temple as he dedicated it to the Lord. He asked that when people prayed from this temple, that God would hear their prayer and answer their request. If someone wronged another person and they were required to take an oath of innocence then may God judge between them. If Israel was defeated by their enemies or there was no rain or there was a famine because they had sinned against the Lord and they repented, may God forgive them and restore his blessing on their land. He prayed that even foreigners who came to live in Jerusalem would be able to pray to Him and have their prayers answered if they feared and knew the Lord. If they were in war, or taken captive to another land and they repented and turned toward this Temple and prayed, may God hear their prayer and answer them. *** Then Solomon invited God into his Temple to rest in the Holy Place in his Ark. Lighting flashed and fire came down from heaven and burnt up the offerings and sacrifices and his presence filled the Temple so strongly that the people fell down on the ground and worshipped the Lord says, “He is good! His faithful love endures forever!” *** The priests sang the same song as they offered the 142,000 sacrifices. The Levites sand while the instruments were played and the priests blew trumpets. Then Solomon consecrated the courtyard in front of the Temple and for the next seven days they all celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles is the Feast that represents God tabernacling with his people. On the eighth day they had a closing ceremony and all went home. *** The Lord had finished building the Temple and his own palace and the Lord came to him and answered his prayer. He told him that if he did punish them with no rain or famine because of their rebellion and they came to this Temple and prayed and repented of their sin and turned back to him that he would hear and heal their land. *** God promised to hear every prayer prayed here. But, if the people abandoned him and disobeyed his decrees and commands and began to worship other gods then he will reject the Temple and make it an object of mockery among the other nations. All would recognize what happened and know why. *** Solomon took 20 years to build the Temple and then he began to rebuild the towns that King Hiram had given him and settle his people in them. He secured other towns and fortified others. He made supply centers and constructed towns to house his chariots and horses. The foreigners were conscripted to do the forced labor and he assigned Israelites as warriors and leaders over the people. *** In Romans, Paul explained the struggle over being a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness. It was a struggle but the answer was in Jesus Christ our Lord. There is no condemnation to us who belong to Christ. We have the power of God’s Spirit and the power over sin. We have the choice of being dominated by the sinful nature or being controlled by the Holy Spirit. Let’s choose the later so we can please God. *** Lord, we make a conscious effort to set our minds on thinking of ways to please you. Thank you for the power of the Holy Spirit that we can overcome our sinful desires and live to please you.

Fri.’s Devo - The Glory of the New

Read: 2 Chronicles 4:1-6:11; Romans 7:1-13; Psalm 17:1-15; Proverbs 19:22-23 Solomon had constructed a new bronze altar much bigger than the old one. This was 30’ by 30’ and 15’ tall. The new basin was called the “Sea” and it was round, measuring 15’ across and 7.5’ deep. It was set on the backs of 12 bronze oxen in a circle. *** Ten smaller basins were made for washing the utensils used in sacrifices. Five of them were set on the north side and five on the south. The priests washed themselves in the Sea. *** Five gold lamp stands were placed on the south wall and five on the north so the priests could see to wash the utensils. Five tables for the shewbread were put on the south side and five on the north. A courtyard was made for the priests on the inside and another outer courtyard for the people. The entrances were overlaid with bronze to glow the glory of God. *** When Solomon had completed the Temple he brought all the gold and silver that David had given and put it in the treasury rooms. *** At the Feast of Tabernacles, Solomon had the Ark brought from Zion to the Temple and put in the Most Holy Place. The people brought so many animals to sacrifice they could not number them. The priests had all sanctified themselves and were wearing white linen. The Levites sang and played their instruments while the 120 priests played trumpets. They sang “He is good: His faithful love endures forever!” The glory of God filled the Temple and was so thick they could not continue. When Solomon saw the glory of God he praised Him then turned and led the people in praise to God. *** Paul explained that the law was like a marriage contract that is only effective when both parties are living. When one of them dies, the covenant dies with them. It is the same with the law of Moses. It died when Jesus died. His death brought a death to the contract with sin. Now we have a new covenant and we are released from the old. We are released from the power that sin had over us. Paul explained that the law that was suppose to bring life, brought spiritual death instead because there was no power to obey it until Christ died. The law brought condemnation and used God’s good commands for its own evil purposes. Tomorrow we will read the good news. *** Lord, we thank you for rescuing us from sin and death and making us righteous. May we walk in the freedom you purchased for us on the cross. You are the resurrection and the life.

Thurs.’s Devo - Solomon’s Prayer

Read: 2 Chronicles 1:1-3:17; Romans 6:1-23; Psalm 16:1-11; Proverbs 19:20-21 Solomon called all the leaders of Israel to Gibeon where the Tabernacle was to seek the Lord about what to do next. David had brought the Ark earlier. Solomon sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings on the bronze altar. *** That night, God appeared to Solomon and asked him what he wanted. Solomon asked for discernment and wisdom to lead the people of God. God was pleased with Solomon’s request and added riches, honor and fame to it. He would be wiser and wealthier than any other king before him. *** Solomon built up a huge army of chariots and horses and warriors. He began building the Temple and his own palace enlisting 70,000 laborers and 80,000 men to quarry stone in the hill country. These were from the foreigners living in Israel. Three thousand and six hundred men were over them as foremen. *** Solomon sent a message to King Hiram at Tyre to send him cedar logs as he had for his father, David. He told him that he was building a Temple to God who was greater than any other god and he would need lots of timber. He also asked for master craftsmen to work with the metal and cloth. In return he would send wheat, barley, wine and oil. King Hiram was elated. He had an abundance of wood but needed grain and oil and wine. It was a great trade for both. He sent him Huram-abi whose mother was from the tribe of Dan and his father from Tyre. He was a master craftsman in metal work and cloth. *** The building of the Temple began during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign. The dimensions of the temple was 90’ x 30’. The Most Holy place was 30’ x 30’ and was overlaid with 23 tons of gold. Even the nail were made of gold. The angels that stood on either side of the Ark had wingspans 15 feet each that touched each other and filled the whole room. The entrance of the Most Holy Place had a curtain of linen which was decorated with blue, purple and scarlet thread and embroidered with cherubim. *** The front of the Temple had two pillars 27’ tall with capitals extending another 7.5’. There were two pillars at the north and south entrance of the Temple. The one at the south was called Jakin meaning “He establishes” and one at the north named Boaz which means “in Him is strength”. *** Paul answers the question about sin. If we have died with Christ and resurrected a new person then we are not the sinners we used to be. Sin has no more power over us, we were set free from sin. Death has no more power over us either. So we should not let sin control our bodies. We are free to give ourselves totally to God and be instruments of righteousness. If we choose to sin then we choose to go back under the power of it as our master. It is our choice to be a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness. Being a slave to sin involves shame and fear. Its wages are death. Being a slave to righteousness rewards us with eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. *** Lord, may we be your slaves of righteousness and inheritors of your great promises and eternal life. May we, like Solomon request discernment and wisdom above riches and honor.

Wed.’s Devo - Solomon’s Great Commission

Read: 1 Chronicles 28:1-29:30; Romans 5:6-21; Psalm 15:1-5; Proverbs 19:18-19 David called a meeting with all the commanders and leaders of his nation and explained his desire to have a Temple where God would be worshipped. He had wanted to build it but it was God’s desire that his son, Solomon build it. He charged the people to keep God’s commandments so that their children would continue to possess their land as a permanent inheritance. It was his desire that Solomon come to know God and serve him intimately with his whole heart. He told Solomon that if he sought the Lord, he would find him. He told him that God had chosen him to build his Temple and encouraged him to be strong and faithful to complete it. *** David gave Solomon the blueprint for the Temple and instructions of how it should work and how many people it would take to run it. He gave him a budget and itemized how it should be spent. *** God called the two angels that would stretch their wings over the Ark of the Covenant his chariot. I guess they carried their prayers back and forth from earth to heaven. *** David encouraged Solomon that God would help him complete his task and be with him. The priests and the Levites would also be with him to help. The princes and all the people would be behind him. *** David addressed the people and told them that the task before Solomon was enormous and that the Temple he was to build was not for mere mortals but for God himself. David had made sure there was enough supplies to build it and he was giving his own private treasures of gold and silver to help which was more than 112 tons of gold and 262 tons of silver. He asked the people if there were any of them who would want to donate of their wealth to the Temple construction project. They gave about 188 tons of gold and 375 tons of silver as well as bronze iron, and precious stones. *** David offered up a prayer of praise and worship to the Lord as the source of all they had. The entire assembly joined in worship to the Lord. The next day they offered countless sacrifices and continued worshiping the Lord. They crowned Solomon again as their king and anointed him as their leader. They anointed Zadok as the priest. Solomon took the throne and was successful in everything he did and all Israel obeyed him. Solomon was given greater splendor than any king in Israel before him. David had reigned over Israel for forty years, seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. When he died, Solomon ruled in his place. *** By the time of Jesus, Israel was in a state of hopelessness. Jesus came and died for a people who were sinners and didn’t deserve his gift, but he gave it freely to save us from the condemnation due us. He restored our friendship with God and offered us eternal life. *** Adam’s sin led to sin and death for the whole world just as Jesus death brought forgiveness and life to the whole earth. Adam’s sin led to many becoming sinners just as Christ’s death led to many becoming reconciled to God and righteous. The law showed us how sinful we were so that we would accept God’s rule of grace gives us right standing with God and life through Christ. *** Lord, how grateful we are of your gift of grace and the sacrifice of Jesus our Christ.

Tues.’s Devo - The Law of Love

Read: 1 Chronicles 26:12- 27:34; Romans 4:13–5:5; Psalm 14:1-7; Proverbs 19:17 The gate keepers had to be men of great discernment and wisdom because they were the ones who watched over who came in and out of the Temple and watched over the treasuries in the Temple which were worth millions of dollars. They had to be trustworthy and honest men who feared the Lord. *** The generals and captains of the king’s army worked one month out of the year supervising 24,000 troops. There were men in charge of the palace treasures which were different than the Temple treasuries. There were also men in charge of the regional treasuries in the towns, villages and fortresses. Israel was very prosperous. *** Men were employed to work the king’s vineyards, olive groves, and sycamore-fig trees. Others were in charge of his cattle, camels, donkeys, sheep and goats. *** Jonathan, David’s uncles was David’s counselor and scribe and Jehiel was his son’s tutor. Ahithophel was David’s advisor and Hushai was his friend. Jehoiada and Aiathar became his advisors when Ahithopehl died. Joab was David’s army commander. *** The way David set up his kingdom is like God’s kingdom here on earth. We all have our role to play and our duty to serve and it is given to us according to our God-given bent and our willingness to submit. When everyone is doing their job the kingdom is run in peace and there is much joy. *** Paul was still explaining law and grace and he said that the only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break. How simple. *** We have been given a promise of peace on earth and in heaven which is received only by faith and has nothing to do with obeying the law of Moses. God’s law is the law of love. Abraham was righteous before the law because he believed in the resurrection of the dead. He believed that God could bring life from his dead body and he offered his son believing that God would resurrect him to fulfill his promise of nations. Through all of Abraham’s trials his faith only became stronger. *** We can have that same faith to believe that God will also raise us up to share in his glory. Our trials can work to make us stronger also. *** Lord, our hope is in your great love for us. We believe that you will fulfill every promise for us and wait in great expectation for your glory to be made manifest on the earth for all to see.

Mon.’s Devo - Walking By Faith

Read: 1 Chronicles 24:1-26:11; Romans 4:1-12; Psalm 13:1-6; Proverbs 19:15-16 The list of the priests, Aaron’s descendants were listed. Aaron had four sons but two of them died (Nadab and Abihu) when they presumptuously offered strange fire on the altar of incense in Leviticus 10. That left his other two sons Eleazar and Ithamar to carry on their line. Nadal and Abihu had no sons. Each of the 24 priests served for one month in the Temple then they would return home for two years. There month of service was determined by lots so no favoritism could be shown. *** Other Levites were given their duties by lots also. David and the army commanders appointed the teachers that would be accompanied with lyres, harps, and cymbals. Their family fathers were Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun. Asaph’s descendants were the prophets who were under the kings’ orders. Jeduthun’s descendants were the prophets who were accompanied by the lyre and offered praise and thanksgiving and Heman’s descendant were the king’s personal seer. They all made music at the Temple and reported directly to David. Their descendants were all trained in music and given their times of service according to lots. There were 24 of them and they each served a month like the priests. *** The gatekeepers were from the family of Kore. From his clan came Obed-edom. Obed-edom had been the keeper of the Ark before it was brought to Jerusalem. His family was given praise for being excellent in what they did. Sixty-two of his sons and grandsons followed his example. What a heritage! *** Hosah of the Merari’s clan appointed Shimri as their leader even though he was not the oldest. There were 13 of them who were gatekeepers. *** In Romans, Paul continued his speech to the religious Romans. Even Abraham was not right with God because of his good deeds. He was righteous because he believed God and God counted that as righteousness. His faith made him righteous. *** We have joy because we have been forgiven. Abraham was counted as righteous before he was circumcised so circumcision had nothing to do with him being acceptable to God. *** Walking down an aisle and joining a church doesn’t make you saved, you are saved by your faith and you show your faith by living it. *** Lord, may we show our faith by the way we live our lives. May we walk in your ways and not our own.

Sun.’s Devo - Solomon’s Commission

Read: 1 Chronicles 22:1-23:32; Romans 3:9-31; Psalm 12:1-8; Provers 19:13-14 On the threshing floor where God stopped the plague, David decided to built God’s Temple. He gathered 4,000 tons of gold and 40,000 tons of silver and countless amounts of timber, iron and bronze to be used. He gave the job of fishing the stone to all the foreigners. *** David called in Solomon and told him that the task of building the Temple would fall on him since God had said that David would not build it but one of his sons named Solomon would. David provided the blueprint, the craftsmen and all the supplies. He told Solomon that God was with him and would given him peace with all his surrounding nations. He admonished Solomon to seek the Lord with all his heart and obey his laws and it would go well with him. David prayed that Solomon would be given wisdom and understanding and that he would follow the Lord. *** When David was old, he appointed Solomon to be king over Israel. He called together all the leaders, priests and Levites to supervise the work at the Temple and others to officiate as judges, be gatekeepers, lead the worship and praise. *** The Levites worked in their divisions: the Gershonites, Kohaths, and Merari’s. They were to assist the priests, and serve at the house of the Lord. They took care of the courtyards and side rooms and helped perform the ceremonies of purification and other ways. They were in charge of the shewbread for the priests and assisting in all the sacrifices and festivals to the Lord. They were under the supervision of the priests. The priests were the sons of Aaron. *** No wonder Paul was so unpopular with the reigning Jews. He taught that they were no more important than any other person made by God. They along with every other person on the earth was born a sinner. The only thing that would ever set then apart for the Lord was to put their hope in Christ and accept his atoning sacrifice for their sins. All must repent to be saved and the offer was to all, not just the Jew. Salvation was based on faith and when we have faith, we fulfill the law. *** Lord, may our faith in you count for righteousness. May we embrace our own righteousness through Christ and live abundant overcoming lives.

Sat.’s Devo - The Plague of Sin

Read: 1 Chronicles 19:1-21:30; Romans 2:25-3:8; Psalm 11:1-7; Proverbs 19:10-12 King Nahash of Ammon died and his son, Hanun became the king. David had been allies with Nahash and sent his condolences to Hanun through his ambassadors. Hanun thought they were there to spy out his kingdom so he had them shaved and cut their robes to their rears. The men were so embarrassed because of their shaved heads that David let them stay in Jericho till they grew back. *** Hunan realized how much he had offended David so they hired the Ammonites to fight with them and went up against Israel. They met at Medeba and drew up battle lines at the entrance of the city and others met in the fields. David called Joab to send his army and fight them. Joab divided his army between him and his brother, Abishai. The Arameans ran from both of them and regrouped on the other side of the Euphrates. They hired more men to fight with them but were no challenge to David’s army. They surrendered. *** Israel’s army also had to go to war with some left-over giants of the Philistines and God gave them success also. *** Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census of the people. Joab tried to talk him out of it to no avail. God was very displeased with this and gave David three choices of punishment: three years of famine, three months of losing on the battle field or three days of a plague. David chose the three days hoping God would be a merciful advocate. The plague just happens to be the punishment of doing a census and not atoning for the people first (Exodus 30:12). *** The plague came toward Jerusalem. Araunah, a Jebusite owned a threshing floor there and saw the angel. David also saw it. David and his men all dressed in burlap to show their repentance and humility to the Lord. David cried out to the Lord and asked that He spare the innocent people and let the judgment fall on him and his family. God heard his prayer and stopped the plague. *** David bought Araunah’s threshing floor for 600 pieces of gold and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings on it. God sent the death angel away. *** Paul was in the middle of his address to Jerusalem’s Jews and Gentiles. He rebuked the Jews for touting their circumcision as if it could save their souls. He said that many uncircumcised Gentiles would be saved above them because they believed in the law in their hearts. Being a Jew was a heart issue not a birth issue. A true Jew was someone who obeyed God from their heart. *** Paul shot their silly doctrines in pieces. Some taught that the more sinful they were, the more righteous God looked. It was all an excuse to sin because their hearts were so hard. *** Lord, may we depend on you for our justification. May you judge the earth and bring truth and justice. May our actions consistently reflect your precepts.

Fri.’s Devo - God’s House

Read: 1 Chronicles 16:37-18:17 The Ark rested in a special tent David had prepared in the city of David, but the sacrificing and burnt offerings took place at the Tabernacle in Gibeon. It bothered David that he had this wonderful palace to live in and God’s house was in a tent so he summoned Nathan and told him how he felt. Nathan told him to do whatever was in his heart to do because God was with him. *** But that night, God spoke to Nathan and told him that he had always lived in a tent and moved with the people wherever they went. He had never asked them to build him a permanent house on earth. *** God was going to make David famous across the world and they would rest secure and peaceful. He would defeat all their enemies. God would build a house for him and it would be a dynasty of kings. One of his descendants would build him a temple and he would be a son to Him. He would never lose his favor with God and his kingdom would be secure forever. We know this to be Solomon for the short time and Jesus for forever. *** When Nathan told David what the Lord had said, David went apart to talk to God. He told him how humbled he was that God would choose him to exalt in the earth. He praised God for being the great Father of his people. He called to attention all God had done for Israel and now for his family. He ended his prayer with saying that when God grants a blessing, it is an eternal blessing. *** Then David went on to defeat Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia and Amalek. They all paid him tribute and he put their gifts in the royal treasury. *** In Romans, Paul had just given a list of the evil things that non-believers did. He told the believers that they had no business judging what the non-believers did when they were doing the same things. God’s kindness is meant to make them turn from their sin. By continuing their sin, they are storing up their own judgment. Everyone will be judged according to their deeds, good or evil. Glory and honor and peace is a promise to all who do good, but trouble and clarity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil. Everyone is subject to law. The Jews are subject to the written laws and the Gentiles are subject to the law of their own conscience. *** Paul rebuked the Roman Christians for teaching one thing and not living it in their own lives.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Presence of the Lord

Read: 1 Chronicles 15:1-16:36; Romans 1:18-32; Psalm 10:1-15; Proverbs 19:6-7 From the time that Uzzah was struck down when he touched the ark, David did some research into the law to find out what went wrong. He read that the Levites were to carry the Ark on their shoulders with the poles. No one else could touch it. He called all the Levites and priests together and gave them the instructions of how to carry the Ark. He ordered music and song to be done by the priests and Levites. *** When David felt like everything was in place, he and the elders and generals of the army went to the house of Obed-edom to bring the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant up to Jerusalem. He did it with much ceremony. He did not want to the people to forget how important God’s presence was and all he had done for them. This time David sacrificed seven bulls and rams and God helped them carry the Ark. *** David took off his kingly robes and dressed in the linen of the priests. David was prophet, priest and king just like Jesus. They brought the Ark up to the sound of ram’s horns and trumpets and shouts of joy and singing. David danced and skipped and laughed with joy. His wife, Saul’s daughter, Michal, watched him from her window and was filled with contempt for him. This would cost her her posterity. *** David gave all present gifts of a loaf of bread, a cake of dates, and a cake of raisins. He led them in a great song of praise reminding them of God’s covenant with them. God had taken them from a very small number and grew them to a great nation. He made other nations fear them and would not let them kill his prophets. (How sad that they killed their own prophets.) David called all creation to praise the Lord because he was coming to judge the earth. He reminded them they had nothing to fear because God was their salvation. *** Roman explains it in detail. God made it clear through his creation everything about him and his invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature. They are without excuse. Nature that showed this will also punish them. *** Through man’s rebellion, they were twisted in their minds and became utter fools. They began worshipping idols instead of God. They made images of all sorts of created things and worshipped them. Then they did shameful things with their bodies and turned to perverted sexual acts like homosexuality. *** Since they refused to worship Him, he abandoned them to themselves. They became insolent, proud and boastful inventing new ways of sinning and disobeying their parent. They were heartless and had no mercy. They had no fear of God and his power and encouraged others to join with them in their sin. *** Lord, how wonderful are the things that you have stored up for us, your righteous people who put their trust in you. We will not be ashamed or disappointed. Thank you for your presence that always goes before us.

Wed.’s Devo - David Becomes the King

Read: 1 Chronicles 12:19-14:17; Romans 1:1-17; Psalm 9:13-20; Proverbs 19:4-5 When David was fleeing from Saul he had gone to the Philistines and joined with them. They decided to attack Israel but sent David and his men home and wouldn’t let them fight with them in case they changed allegiance in the middle of the battle and turned on them. As David and his men were returning home to Ziklag they went through Manasseh and over 7,000 of its warriors joined him. *** The numbers of soldiers from all the tribes were given who also deflected from Saul’s army to join David’s. Issachar only had 200 leaders that joined with David but they were men who understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take. They understood where they were in history and what God wanted to happen during their time on earth. *** This is valuable for us to know about today and what God is doing on the earth. I believe that this same thing is happening in our military. There are those who are realizing what is going on in the earth and how the evil is fighting God’s people. They are jumping ship to join with God’s military to fight the evil of our day. We are ramping up for the greatest battle in history but few even realize what is happening. This is one of the final battles against sin and death. *** All of these men went to Hebron with the sole purpose of making David their king. We are about to see that happen on the earth soon. *** David addressed them and wanted to invite all of Israel to come and join them and bring back the Ark of God that had been neglected during Saul’s reign. This is the return of the nation from evil to God. They all agreed it was the right thing to do. They put the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from Ballah of Judah or Kiriath-jearim. When they got to the threshing floor of Kidon, the oxen stumbled and Huzzah reached out his hand to steady the Ark. God struck him dead. David was upset with God for killing Uzzah and didn’t know what to do. He was afraid to take it to the city of David so he took it to the closest house which belonged to Obed-edom and it stayed there for three months. God blessed everything in his household. *** David busied himself building his own palace He married more wives in Jerusalem and had 13 sons. Solomon was one of them born in Jerusalem. *** When the Philistines heard that David had become Israel’s king, they came to attack. David asked the Lord if he should fight them and the Lord told him yes. It was a great defeat and David gave the honor to God. The Philistines had brought their gods with them and left them in haste. David had them all destroyed. *** The Philistines returned and God told David to set up an ambush and he did and defeated them again. David’s fame went thought out the land and all the nations feared him. *** Romans is divided into two parts. The first part, Chapters 1-11 are doctrine that Paul preached. The second half from Chapters 12-16 are the practical advice of how to live our lives. Paul’s main theme of Romans is how we are justified by faith and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. This is church talk for how we are made sinless because we believe that Jesus took our sins and put them to death on the cross. It is the Holy Spirit that cleanses us day by day as we seek the Lord and read his Word. *** Paul begins his letter to the believers in Rome by defending his belief about Jesus in the words of the prophets who told us this was coming. Jesus descended from David and proved himself the son of God when he rose from the dead. Jesus became our Christ and has called Jews and Gentiles to belong to him. *** Paul praised them for the testimony he had heard about them and their reputation of faith. Paul had prayed for them and longed to visit them for a long time and was thrilled to finally be with them. He defined the Good News as what makes us right with God. It is through faith that we are saved. *** Lord, thank you that you are and have always been over all the nations. You are our creator and you have called us to be your friend. It is overwhelming to think about. We are honored to be invited into your family and to know your presence and love. May we be offerings of your love today.

Tues.’s Devo - Warriors of the Faith

Read: 1 Chronicles 11:1-12:18; Acts 28:1-31; Psalm 9:1-12; Peters 19:1-3 Once Saul was dead, all Israel asked David to be their king. At Hebron, David made a covenant before the Lord with all the elders of Israel. They anointed him king and he went on to Jerusalem which was called Jebus then. David had captured Jebus from the Jebusites. He challenged his men that whoever led the attack would be his commanding officer of his army. Joab, his own nephew led the attack and became his commanding officer. A list of David’s mightiest men was written down along with some of their exploits. Three of them men were esteemed above the rest. Two of them were named, but the Third is not mentioned here. David’s original army of men that were with him when he was fleeing from Saul were recorded also. Warriors from Gad that had supported David when he was hiding in the wilderness were mentioned. They were expert warriors. *** Men from Judah and Benjamin came to David where he was staying and pledged their allegiance to him. *** Paul and his ship of sailors and Roman officers had landed on the island of Malta. The people of the island welcomed them and built a fire since it was cold and rainy. Paul helped gather wood for the fire and was bitten by a poisonous snake. It attached itself to his arm and he threw it into the fire. The Maltan’s were superstitious and thought he must be a bad man to have a snake bite him. When nothing happened to Paul, they changed their minds and decided he must be a god. *** Paul was invited to stay with Publius, the chief official of the island. Publius had a father who was very sick with fever and dysentery. Paul prayed for him and he was healed. Other people of the island brought their sick to him and they were also healed. They people were so thankful, they gave Paul and his shipmates everything they needed and more. They stayed there throughout the winter and left in the spring. They made several stops and met other believers. They finally made it to Rome where Paul was greeted by Jewish brothers and sisters. Paul was so grateful to meet them. When Paul had been there for three days, he called to gather the local Jewish leaders and told him his story. They were interested in hearing what Paul believed because they had not had it explained to them. They just knew that it was controversial. They set up a meeting and when the time came, many came to hear Paul’s teaching. He taught all day from scripture, explaining that Jesus was the fulfillment of that scripture. Many believed but some did not. When it was over and they were arguing, he quoted the scripture from Isaiah about the Jewish people’s hearts being hardened that they would not hear or understand. He explained to them that this salvation was not just offered to them but to the Gentiles also and they were believing it. *** Paul spent the next two years living in Rome and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with no opposition. *** Lord, may we be like Paul who could shake off that snake into the fire and not let the people who opposed him get to him. He set his heart toward his purpose and did not waver. May we be that strong and steadfast. May your name be exalted in our lives today.

Mon.’s Devo - Building a New Future

Read: 1 Chronicles 9:1-10:14; Act 27:21-44; Psalm 8:1-9; Proverbs 18:23-24 Everyone’s names was recorded in a book called The Book of the Kings of Israel. Our names are written in that book because we are kings and priests of God. *** The first to return from exile were priests, Levites, Temple servants and other Israelites. Some of these people were from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. This is so relevant to what is going on in our nation and lives. We have been in bondage to an evil system and we are waking up to the bondage we have been under. We had trusted our leaders to do what was best for us and our nation not realizing that they were only doing what was best for them and we were the slaves. We want to be the first to leave and go back to the way God had set up how we should live - in freedom and peace, owing nothing. *** The tribes that came back first were Judah - praise, Benjamin - son of God’s right hand; Ephraim - double fruit, and Manasseh - causing to forget. They were also the Levites who officiated the worship of God. As forerunners of this exodus from slavery, we need to realize our role. We come out with praise on our lips and walking with God, bearing fruit and forgetting our past and pressing on to the future. This is not the end but the beginning of a new future for God’s people in America and the rest of the world. *** Among the Levites were the gatekeepers which would represent the prophets, seers and teachers. They keep watch over the the worship of the Lord and its doors. They make sure what goes through the doors is holy. Our gatekeepers have fallen down over America and we have let all sorts of unclean things into our nation and into our churches. New gatekeepers are arising and speaking out against the sins of our nation and our churches. We love people but don’t allow sin to enter into our worship. *** At the end of chapter 10, we are given the genealogy of Saul, Israel’s first king. He was the king chosen by the people - their choice for a king. God’s choice was David. Saul and his three sons were killed on the battlefield. Saul was unfaithful to the Lord and consulted a medium instead of asking the Lord for guidance. So, God killed him and turned the kingdom over to David. *** In Acts, Paul and his shipmates were in a terrible storm. Paul called them all together to encourage them. They should have listened to his warning not to leave Crete at that time but they didn’t. Paul had been visited by an angel who told him that he would live and stand before Caesar and everyone with him would be safe also and shipwrecked on an island. He told them to put their faith in God. *** They fought the waves for four more days and when they realized they were getting close to land, the sailors were planning to escape in the lifeboat but Paul told them that if they did, they would die. Everyone needed to stay on board. The sailors listened and cut the lifeboat free. *** As the next day approached, Paul told everyone to eat to have strength. They all ate and a while later they came to a shore where their ship ran aground. It began to fall apart. Some of the soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners so they wouldn’t escape but the commanding officer didn’t want to kill Paul, so he stopped them. Everyone escaped to the shore. *** Paul was able to save everyone on the ship because of his faith in God. We have the same influence in the world. We can save and rescue all that are with us. *** Lord, may we get this ship, America, safely to the shore of freedom. May our lives consistently reflect your righteousness. Help us to build a new future for our nation and posterity.

Sun.’s Devo - Bound for Rome

Read: 1 Chronicles 7:1-8:40; Acts 27:1-20; Psalm 7:1-17; Proverbs 18:22 Today we read about the descendants of Issachar, Benjamin, Manasseh, Ephraim, and Benjamin. Some things that jumped out to me were that their warriors were counted by individual tribes where in Chapter 5 the armies of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh were all counted together. *** The other half of Manasseh was in our reading today. Manasseh had an Arabian concubine which makes me wonder about that love story. *** We are also given a short story of Ephraim’s descendants. Two of his nine sons were killed stealing livestock from the local farmers near Gath. His wife had another son after that named Beriah which sounds like the meaning of “tragedy”. Then he had a daughter named Sheeran. I guess that they were to take the place of the two they lost. *** In Acts, Paul had appealed to Caesar, so Paul, Luke and other believers as well as other prisoners boarded the same ship bound for Rome. The Roman officer in charge of Paul was named Julius and he was very respectful and kind to Paul. He gave him freedom at their stops to go and be taken care of by his friends. *** They changed ships at Myra and boarded an Egyptian ship. The weather was against them so they lost a lot of time. Winter was approaching which would make it more dangerous to sail. They were warned to not continue but the captain wanted to go on to Crete where there was a safer harbor than the one they were at. So they set sail for Phoenix and were met by a typhoon. It got worse and worse until they had to throw over cargo and gear. When the storm raged on, they thought all hope was gone. *** To be continued… *** Lord, you train our hands for battle and you go before us to do valiant things in your name. May your enemies be scattered and may justice prevail in our lives and in the nations of the world.

Sat.’s Devo - Finishing Well 7–8-23

Read: 1 Chronicles 5-:18-6:81; Acts 26:1-32; Psalm 6:1-10; Proverbs 18:20-21 The tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh were all the skilled warriors. In today’s church they would be the spiritual warriors who interceded and did battle in the Spirit. They were the barrier to the Promised Land and kept the evil people from entering the land. They won because they cried out to the Lord. He answered them because they trusted in Him. But as time when on and new generations were born, they strayed from trusting the Lord and began to trust the gods of other nations that God had defeated. They were eventually taken prisoners to Halah, Habor, Tara, and the Gozan River by the Assyrians. *** Next we are given the sons of the tribe of Levi, the priests. Levi had three sons Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Kohath had a son named Amran who became the father of Moses and Aaron. Their descendants became the high priest’s in the Temple Solomon built. They were eventually sent to Babylon as captives. *** David assigned the sons of Levi to lead the music. Heman from Kohath was the head musician who was a descendant of Samuel. His first assistant was from the clan of Gershon and his second assistant was from the clan of Merari. *** Only the sons of Aaron were priests who presented the offerings on the brazen altar and the altar of incense. They served in the Holy Place. and made atonement for Israel. *** The Levites were not given a specific territory but were scattered throughout the tribes and given cities. They ran the cities of refuge. *** In Acts, Paul was asked to defend himself in front of Agrippa. He knew that King Agrippa knew the Jewish law so he began by giving him his credentials and explaining that he understood the fulfillment of all Moses had taught. He was a witness to the hope they had seen but not experianced. Paul told Agrippa how he had once hated and persecuted the followers of Jesus until he saw the light and was arrested by Jesus himself on the road to Damascus. Jesus called him to be his witness to his own people, the Jews and also to the Gentiles. He was called to open the eyes of the Gentiles so that they could turn from darkness to light and put their faith in him. *** Festus cried out that Paul was insane but Paul defended his sanity and the truth of his words. He turned to Agrippa knowing Agrippa understood. He asked Agrippa if he believed what the prophets spoke, knowing that he did. Agrippa was put on the spot so he asked Paul if he thought he could make him become a Christian that easily. *** Paul replied that he hoped they would become a Christian. Agrippa and his officers stood and walked out. They agreed that Paul hadn’t done anything worthy of death but he had appealed to Caesar so they had to let him go. *** Paul could have been set free if he had said the right thing and denied his calling, but Paul wasn’t interested in earthly freedom. He was already free in his heart. Chains were nothing but earthly trappings. He was set on finishing his race well. *** Lord, may fulfilling our destiny be our only reason for living. May we press on to the end with joy and boldness.

Fri.'s Devo - Expand Our Territory of Influence

We continue with the sons of Judah. Back in chapter 2 verse 24, we read that Hezron died and his wife gave birth to a son named Ashhur, the founder of Tekoa. Tekoa became known as a town of wise people. Ashhur had two wives named Helah meaning "disease: rust: scum" and the other named Naarah which means "a maiden". Some of their sons had good names but others had names that meant "a thorn", "a pit of shame". I write this because in the midst of all these men there was one who stood out in his day and his name was Jabez. He was more honorable than any of his brothers. He had prayed that God would bless him and expand his territory: that God would be with him in all he did and keep him from trouble and pain and God granted his prayer. It was God's will that all the tribes do as Jabez had in his heart to do and that was to expand their territories under the blessing of God. *** The children of Judah were not only the kings but the craftsmen. They made pottery and wove linen. *** The tribe of Simeon was in the midst of Judah like an island in the middle of Judah. Simeon had five sons but the only one who multiplied was the Shimei who had 16 sons and 6 daiughters. So Simeon remained small. Some of them did become wealthy and drove out the descendants of Ham from their land and took the good pastureland. *** Israel's oldest son was Reuben who lost his birthright to Joseph when he slept with his father's concubine. Next to Rueben was Gad who lived in the land of Bashan. They were divided into 7 clans. *** In Acts, Paul's case had become comical. The Jews hated him so much they were determined to kill him. Festus didn't know what to do with Paul. He had clearly done nothing wrong but the Jews are adamant that he had. The Jews wanted the trial moved to Jerusalem but Paul knew he would not get a fair trial there so he appealed to Caesar. *** Agrippa and his wife Bernice came to visit Festus and Festus asked his help to know what to write to Caesar about Paul. He felt silly sending him a case to try when there were no charges. Agrippa asked to meet with Paul and hear his testimony. *** I can't help but think how this applies to today and what is going on in our nation and government. People hate Trump without a cause. He has been accused of so many erronious things that had no truth to them. But God judges and he is always vindicated. *** Lord, you are our judge and you bring justice to your children. Thank you that our day is coming for blessing and the day of judgment is coming for the wicked. May you expand our territory of influence and cause us to be a blessing to the whole earth.

Thurs.'s Devo - Names

Read: 1 Chronicles 4:5-5:17; Acts 25:1-27; Psalm 18:19; Proverbs 18:19 Today we read the geneology of Hezron's three sons Caleb, Ram and Jerhmeel. Caleb founded the city of Hebron in which David was born. David had six sons in Hebron where he reigned seven and a half years. His sons born there were Amnon, Daniel, Absalom, Adonijah, Shephatiah, and Ithream. Then David reigned another 33 years in Jerusalem. In Jerusalme he had four sons: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon. Then he had nine other son including concubines and one daughter that was mentioned named Tamar. *** The sons of David became the kings of Israel and Judah. Josiah had four sons and all but the first born became the last kings of Judah. *** Chapter four is the sons of Judah. Judah had five sons. His descendants founded Bethlehem. *** Names are very important and have meaning. All of these names tell their story and our name tells our story. The most important name we have is Jesus who was given a name above all other names (Hebrews 1:4). *** In Acts, Paul had been taken to Caesarea for a fair trial before Felix, the gorvernor. THe high priest from Jerusalem came to present their case against Paul. He brought his lawyer, Terullus. He presented Paul as a troublemaker who stirred up riots among the Jews all over the world. He accused him of being the ringleader of the Nazarene cult who was trying to desecrate the Temple when he was arrested. *** Paul testified that they were lying. He had not caused any riot and he followed the Way which was not a cult. He believed everything in the Jewish law and what the prophets had written. He shared the same hope in God that his accusers boasted of. The only thing he said that caused a riot was that he believed in the resurrection of the dead. Felix was familiar with the Way and stopped the trial to wait until Lysias, the garrison commander arrived. He ordered Paul to be put in safe custody with freedom to visit his friends and be well taken care of. *** Felix brought his wife back to visit with Paul and hear about his views on his beliefs. They discussed righteousness, self-control and the coming day of judgment. Felix felt the fear of God but was hoping for a bribe to set him free. Paul never gave in to that. Felix did visit with Paul many times during his house arrest. Paul stayed in this way for two years until Felix was replaced by Porcius Festus. He left Paul in prison to get favor with the Jewish people. *** Lord, your plan is perfect. You care about every person you have made and write their name in your book. Thank you that our name will remain because of the blood of Jesus. May we not be afraid of opposition but stand firm as Paul did in our belief in You. Give us opportunities to speak your name today.

Wed.'s Devo - Chronicles

Read: 1 Chronicles 1:1-2:17; Acts 23:11-35; Psalm 3:1-8; Proverbs 18:14-15 The Kings we just finished reading were written by the prophets and featured the kings of Israel. The Chronicles were written by the priests and highlight the kings of Judah. Chronicles start with the gendeologies which I love to read because it is so interesting who is written down and who is left out. With Adam's family they start with Seth which means "appointed" Abel and Cain were not recorded as his children. Noah was the ninth descendant of Adam's and he had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham's ancestors became the inhabitants of Canaan and the ones who became the enemy of God's people. They were the Philistines and all the "ites" of Canaan. *** From Shem's line came Abraham and the children of God. Abraham had Isaac who had two sons, Jacob and Esau. They call Jacob, Israel. Israel had twelve sons which became the twelve tribes. Judah was the fourth born but the one the priests concentrate on because it was the tribe that housed Israel's Temple and the land they lived in. From Judah came David, God's anointed king. *** In Acts, Paul had been put in prison until they could decide what to do with him since he was a Roman citizen. God spoke to him that night and told him not to be worried because he would be God's witness in Jerusalem and also in Rome. Hatred leads to murder. Some of the Jews hated Paul so much they vowed not to eat until they had killed him. They plotted to ask the Romans to let them question Paul further with plans of killing him on the road to the trial. Their plan was found out and reported to the Romans. The Romans outsmarted them and sent Paul secretly ahead of them to Caesarea to stand before Governor Felix. A letter was sent with him saying that he was innocent and had done nothing to be imprisoned for or put to death but it had to do with Jewish religious law. *** God knows everything and can protect us from any plot or plan of Satan's. We don't need to worry about anything but live happy lives trusting God. *** Lord, we rejoice in your soverignty and love for us. We don't fear Satan's plan because your power reigns over heaven and earth. We put our trust in you.

Tues.'s Devo - The Final Kings

Read: 2 Kings 23:31-25:30; Acts 22:17-23:10; Psalm 2:1-12; Proverbs 18:13 In today's reading we learn about the lives of the last kings of Judah. They were all evil and received the punishment that God had long ago predicted would happen because they continued to rebel against him. Jehoahaz was the first king who was oppressed by Egypt and had to pay tribute to them. He was finally taken to Egypt as a prisoner. Pharoah Neco installed another of Josiah's sons named Eliakim as the king of Jerusalem. He changed his name to Jehoiakim. He was invaded by the Babylonians and made to pay tribute to them. WHen he died, his son, Jehoiachin became king. Nebuchadnezzar came up against Jerusalem and besieged it. Jehoiachin surrendered to the Babylonians. Jehoachin was taken captive to Babylon as well as all the officials and elite of Jerusalem. He stripped the Temple of all its remaining gold and took all the residents of Jerusalem captive. All the craftsmen and artisans and the best of the warriours were taken. The king of Bablon installed Mattaniah who was Jehoiachin's uncle as the next king. He changed his name to Zedekiah. He ruled in Jerusalem for 11 years. He rebelled against the king of Babylon which invoked the whole army of Babylon to come and beseige it. When the food was about gone, Zedikiah and a group of warrors tried to escape at night. They were overtaken by the Babylonian troops at Riblah. Zedekiah was given a trial and was made to watch his sons all killed then his own eyes were gouged out and he was taken in chains to Babylon. *** An official from Babylon came to Jerusalem and burned down the Temple and all the houses in Jerusalem. All the important buildings in the city were destroyed and the walls torn down on everry side. Exiles were taken to Babylon but the poorest were allowed to stay and care for the vineyards and fields. Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah as governor over the people left in Judah. Gedaliah met with the army commanders and their men. He told them that if they served the king of Babylon all would go well fort ehm. But one of the army officers along with 10 of his men killed Gedaliah and all the Babylonians who were there in Mizpah. The people of Judah panicked and fled to Egypt in fear that the Babylonians would seek revenge. ** A new king took the throne in Babylon named Evil-merodach. He promoted Jehoiachin out of prison and gave him new clothes to wear and allowed him to dine with him at his table. *** One of Babylon's tactics was to rename the king a Babylonian name and destroy all the history of their kingdom. In this way they were stealing their identity and trying to erase their memories of the past. THis is still Satan's tactic today. He wants to steal our identity in Christ and make us feel helpless, hopeless, and a nobody. Jesus said that we are kings and priests and his special chosen ones. He gave us a name that no one can take away and and identity in him. We are born again into his family. *** In Acts, Paul was addressing the crowd who wanted to kill him and was intently listening until he got to the part about taking his message to the Gentiles, then they went into another tirade calling for Paul's death. The Roman officers took Paul inside and tied him down to whip him but Paul asked them if it was legal to whip a Roman citizen. They stopped immediately and were afraid when they found out he was a citizen by birth. Paul was brought the next day before the Jewish sanhedrin and questioned. When Paul realized they were made up of Pharisees and Saduccees, the riled them up by bringing up his belief in the resurrection. That was their main topic of divide. The Sadduccees didn't believe their was a resurrection and the Pharisees did. The crowd got so aggressive, the council leaders had to save Paul and take him back to the fortress.

Mon.'s Devo - Restoration of Holiness

Read 2 Kings 22:3-23:30; Acts 21:37-22:16; Psalm 1:1-6; Preovervs 18:11-12 Josiah had reigned 18 years when he sent his court secretary to the Temple to count the money the gate keepers had collected. He wanted them to use the money to restore the Lord's Temple. He trusted the supervisors so much that he didn't evern require them to keep an account of the moeny the received because he had chosen honest men. As they were restoring the Temple, they found a written copy of the law and brought it to the king. He read the words and was distraught becuase he realized the Lord was greatly angry with them because they had not obeyed his commandments. He was angry with all the pagan gods they worshipped. The king summoned the elders and all the people of Jerusalem and Judah to come to the Temple where he read to them all the words of the book. The king renewed his covenant with the Lord that they would keep God's commands with all their heart and soul. Then the king told the high priest, Hilkiah, to remove all the articles of Baal and Asherah worship out of the Temple. They carried them down to the Kidron Valley and got rid of the idolatrous priests that had been set up by the previous kings of Judah. They tore down all the pagan places of worship and brought all the priests of the Lord back to Jerusalem. The priests who had officiated at the pagan shrines were only allowed to eat unleavened bread with the other priests but they were not allowed to serve in the temple. They removed all the places where they had done child sacrifices to worship Molech and all the altars that Ahaz and Manasseh had built and the shrines that King Solomon had built to worship the gods of the Sidoniians, Moabites and Ammonites. He desecrated these evil places of worship by scattering human bones over them. Josiah even burned the golden calf at Bethel that Jeroboam had set up. When Josiah came to the tomb of the man of God that had prophesied all these things, he told them not to disturbe his bones. When Joshiah had rid the land of idolatry, he returned to Jerusalem and told all the people that they must celebrate the Passover to the Lord, their God. They had a Passover that was greater than all the Passovers ever celebrtated in Jerusalem. Even so, God was not happy with all the wicked things Manasseh had led Judah to do. God had already planned Judah's destruction. Josiah was killed when the king of Egypt and Assyria met at Megiddo. After Josiah died, his son Jehoahaz became king. In Acts, Paul had been arrested in Jerusalem for causeing a riot. As he was being led away, he asked the Roman commander if he might have a word with the people. He asked him in Greek which surprised the officer since he thought Paul was an Egyptian who had led a rebellion against the Assyrians. Paul told him he was a Jew so the commander allowed him to talk. Paul quieted the crowd then gave them his testimony. He spoke in Aramic, their language. Paul told them who he was and how he had become what he was now. He had been a devote Pharisee but had become a passionate believer in Jesus. He had been called to tell people everywhere about Jesus and how to be saved and baptized. We will read about their response tomorrow. Lord, may our repentence for our nation bring a change of the heart and the soul. May we return to the God of our nation and our Creator and Lord.

Sun.''s Devo - Ten Steps Backwards

Read: 2 Kings 20:1-22:2; Acts 21:18-36; Psalm 150:1-6; Proverbs 18:9-10 King Hezekiah became termanally ill so Isaiah went to visit him and tell him to put his affairs in order because he would die. When Isaiah left, Hezekiah cried out to the Lord and reminded him of his faithfulness to Him. *** Before Isaih could leave the courtyard, God told him to return and tell Hezekiah that he had heard his prayer and seen his tears. God would heal him and give him 15 more years. He would also rescue him and Jerusalem from the Assyriahs who had promised to return. *** Hezekiah asked Isaiah for a sign that this would happen and Isaiah gave him the choice of the shadow on the sundial going forward or backwards. He chose for the shadow to go 10 steps backward. This was prophetic about his life. He went backwards into the sins of his fathers. *** Soon after he was healed, Merodack-Baladan, the king of Babylon sent ambassadors to congradulate him for recovering and sent him a gift. Unwisely, Hezekiah showed off all the wealth of his kingdom to them. When they had gone, Isalah came and questioned him about what they had seen. He told him all he had showed them. Isaiah told him that everything he had showed them would one day be taken by them and they would be taken to Babyon as their captors. *** After his 15 years, Hezekiah did die and his son who was born during his 10 steps backward became king. His name was Manasseh. He was one of Judah's worse kings that led Judah into perverse idolatry. He defiled God's Temple by bringing pagan altars into it. He sacrificed his own sons and did detestable acts. The prophets warned that God would judge Judah like he had Israel and even the remnant would be plunder for their enemies. When Manasseh died, he was buried in the garden of Uzza and his son, Amon became king. He was evil like his father Manasseh and only ruled 2 years. His own officers killed him in his palace. The people of the land killed his assasins and made his son Josiah the next king. Josiah was only 8 when he became king and reigned for 31 years. Surprisingly, he was good and pleased God following the example of David. *** In Acts, Paul met with the other believers in Jerusalem and testified about his ministry to the Gentiles. They received this news with joy. They told Paul about all the false rumors they had heard about him preaching against circumcism and Moses' law. They urged him to prove his allegiance to the law by paying for the purification ceremony of four of their men who had made a vow. Then everyone would see that Paul followed the law. *** Paul agreed to do this but when he went ito the Temple, he was met by a mob and thrown out. They intended to kill him but were stopped by Roman officers. They arrested Paul and had him chained. When they asked the crowd what he had done, the crowd went into an uproar shouting to "kill him." *** The Jews were going through a massive transition from law to grace and many were not making the transition smoothly. Many never made it and became enemies of Christ and his followers. But those who had the truth of Christ and had received the Holy Spirit were filled with boldness and joy and nothing could disuade them from the truth in their hearts. *** Lord, may we be like these believers who have given our soul to you. May we be bold in the face of opposition and true to your Word.

Sat.'s Devo -0 7-1-23

Read: 2 Kings 18:13-19:37; Acts 21:1-17; Psalm 149:1-9; Proverbs 18:8 Hezekiah had stopped paying tribute to King Sennacherib of Assyria and Sennacherib started attacking cities in Judah. Hezekiah was sorry he had rebelled and asked him what he could do to pay him off. Sennacherib wanted more than 11 tons of silver and one ton of gold. Hezekiah had to stip the gold from the doors of the Temple to send him. Sennacherib was still not appeased and came to take them all captive. *** His army arrived telling the people to surrender and he would take them to a land where they would have everything there that they had in their land. He was lying and Hezekiah had given his men orders not to answer them. He tried to get the Assyrian officer to not speak in Hebrew so the people wouldn't hear his threats but the officer said he was deliberately speaking in Hebrew so they would hear his threats. He was hoping for a rebellion of the people against Hezekiah. But the people stayed true to Hezekiah. *** Hezekiah was distraught and wore sackcloth. He sent for Isaiah to hear what God wanted them to do. Isaiah sent word to Hezekiah not to worry about Assyria's threats. He would hear a message that he is needed at home and return where God would have him killed with the sword. He did hear news that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was leading an army to fight against him so he went home. Before he left, he sent a message telling Hezekiah that he should not think his God was saving him because he would be back. And, what makes Hezekiah think that his God was greater than the gods of the nations he had defeated. Their gods had not been able to save them. *** Hezekiah took his message into the Temple and laid it before the Lord. He told God that he was a living God, not like the gods of other nations. He asked God to rescue them from the power of Sennacherib then all the kingdoms of the earth would know that he was God alone. *** God sent Isaiah back to Hezekiah saying that he had heard Hezekiah's prayer and he had something to say about King Sennacherib. It was true that Senacherib had conquered many nations and thought that his power on the earth was great, but God's power was greater. Sennacherib had defied the Creator of the Universe and he was not happy. He would put a hook in his nose and a bit in his mouth and make him return to his nation. To prove that what Isaiah was saying was true, they would eat only what grew up by itself and the next year they would do the same thing. But, the third year they would plant and harvest their own crops. Those who would be left would prosper in the land. Sennacherib would not enter Jerusalem or shoot an arrow against it. He would return to his own country the same way he came and be killed before he entered his city. *** That night the angel of the Lord went out and killed 185,000 of the Assyrians. The survivors woke up to corpses all around them. The king went home to Nineveh and was killed by his own two sons in the temple of his god Nisroch. *** God always protects his faithful servants who ask for his help. *** In Acts Paul was on his way to Jerusalem. All the way, he received words from prophetic people about the inprisonment he would face there. They tried to dissuade him from going but Paul was not afraid of persecution. He knew that that was his lot and that he was called of God to go to Jerusalem. When he arrived in Jerusalem, the believers were so glad to see him. *** James tells us that in their world we will have trials and persecution but to be of good cheer becuase Jesus has overcome the world. *** Lord, may we not fear the future because you have already been in the future and you never leave us. We are here on earth to glorify you and see your Kingdom come to earth. May we boldly walk today where you lead us without fear.