Sun.’s Devo - God’s Examples

Read: 2 Kings 17:1-18:12; Acts 20:1-38; Psalm 148:1-14; Proverbs 18:6-7 Hoshea began to reign over Israel during Ahaz’s 12 year of reigning over Judah. Hosea was evil and worshipped idols so King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked Israel and forced them to pay heavy taxes to him. After a while, Hosea stopped paying the tribute and hired the king of Egypt to help him stand against Shalmaneser. When Shalmaneser found out what Israel had done, they attacked and besieged Samaria for three years. It finally fell to the Assyrians and the people of Israel were exiled to Assyria. *** This was the result of Israel’s continual determination to worship idols and rebel against the Lord. He had sent many prophets to warn them to turn back to the Lord and only worship him but they had refused to repent. God swept the tribes of Israel from his presence and only the tribe of Judah remained in their land. But, the tribe of Judah didn’t worship the Lord with all their heart either and chose to worship idols. *** The king of Assyria sent his own people to live in Samaria. They didn’t worship the Lord so God sent lions to live among them and kill some of them. They sent word to the king to send someone to teach them how to worship the god of the Hebrews so the lions would stop killing them. He sent one of the priests he had exiled to return and teach them how to worship the Lord. *** He returned to teach them how to worship the Lord, but they just added him along with all their other gods. *** Meanwhile in Judah, Hezekiah had come to reign and he was a good king who honored God and obeyed his commands. He got rid of the pagan worship in his land. It was in the sixth year of his reign that Samaria fell to the Assyrians and their people were exiled to the cities of the Medes. *** In Acts, the incident of the silversmith’s and the leaders of the believers was over so Paul encouraged the church and left for Macedonia. He encouraged the churches around Macedonia, then went to Greece and spend three months. *** When he was about to go back to Syria he discovered a plan to kill him so he went through Macedonia instead. He stopped in Troas and stayed a week. The night before he was leaving he preached until midnight. A young man named Eutychus was sitting in on the window sill and fell asleep. He fell three stories and died. Paul went down and held him till he came back to life. They all went back upstairs and shared the Lord’s Supper. Then Paul left stopping at Assos, Mitylene and then to the land of Kios where they stoped at the island of Amos and on to Miletus. *** Paul wanted to get to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. He met with the elders of the church at Ephesus and gave them this message: it was necessary that Jews and Greeks repent from their sins and turned to God and put their trust in Jesus. He was compelled to return to Jerusalem where he knew he would face jail and suffering but he was to determined to finish the work God had for him. He told them it was the last time they would see him again but had lived his life as an example for them to follow. He never took money from them but worked for himself. He had lived a life poured out for the sake of the Gospel and he wanted them to do the same. *** Lord, thank you for the example of Paul’s life and the example of Hezekiah who both stood for truth even when it was dangerous to do so. They were both servants who poured out their lives for the sake of others. May we walk in their footsteps. Jesus, you were the greatest example of truth because you are truth.

Sat.’s Devo - The Succession of Kings

Read: 2 Kings 15:1-16:20; Acts 19:13-41; Psalm 147:1-20; Proverbs 18:4-5 Uzziah ruled in Judah for 52 years and pleased the Lord, but didn’t destroy the pagan shrines. The Lord struck him with leprosy so he had to live in a separate house. He put his son Jotham in charge of his palace and governing the people. *** Meanwhile in Israel, they went through king after king. Zachariah ruled 6 months and was evil. He was assassinated by Shallum who became the next king. He only reigned one month before he was assassinated by Menahem who became the next king. He was an evil king who ruled Israel for 10 years. He paid the king of Assyria 37 tons of silver to keep Assyria from attacking them. He extorted the silver from the rich of Israel. *** Menahem’s son, Pekah became king and only reigned 2 years and was evil. He was assassinated by his own army commander, Remaliah. Remaliah became king and ruled 20 years. He was evil and lost much territory to the Assyrians. He was assassinated by Elah. *** During all these kings of Israel, Judah had had two kings: Uzziah and Jotham. Jotham was a good king who pleased the Lord only he didn’t destroy the pagan shrines. He rebuilt the upper gate of the Temple. During his reign, the Lord sent King Rezin of Aram and king Pekah of Israel to attack Judah. Jotham died and his son, Ahaz became king and reigned for 16 years. He did not please the Lord, but sacrificed to idols and even passed his own son through the fire of Molech. He was attacked and conquered by King Resin of Aram and King Pekah of Israel. *** King Ahaz sent messengers to the King of Assyria, Tiglath-pileser to come and help them. Ahaz gave him silver and gold from the Temple as payment. King Tiglath-pileser drove out the king of Israel and Aram. *** King Ahaz went to Assyria to meet with King Tiglath-pileser in Damascus and saw the altar he had in his pagan temple. He sent blueprints of it back to Jerusalem where they copied it. When he returned home, he sacrificed on it and replaced the altar in the Temple with this new altar. He also changed the basin that was on the backs of the oxen and placed it on a stone pavement. He removed the canopy that had been constructed in the palace to use on the Sabbath. He did all this to please the king of Assyria. Ahaz died and his son Hezekiah became the next king. *** In Acts, the seven sons of Sceva had been casting out demons in the name of the Jesus that Paul preached. They came across a principality greater than them that wouldn’t listen to them. It said that it knew Jesus and Paul, but not them. It violently attacked them and they fled, naked and battered. This story spread throughout Ephesus and the fear of the Lord fell on the people and they greatly honored the name of Jesus. Many who had sorcery books brought them to be burned. *** Trouble arose in Ephesus because the Gospel was hurting the idol-making industry. Demetrius, a silversmith was greatly hurt economically by the preaching of Jesus. He met with other craftsmen to discuss it. He riled them up to a riot defending their great god, Artemis and took Paul’s two traveling companions into the amphitheater. They shouted for two hours. *** Finally, the mayor was able to quiet the crowd and speak. He reminded them that their city was founded on the story that Artemis’ image had fallen down to them from heaven and no one could take that away. He also reminded them that these men had not stolen anything or spoken against their god. If Demetrius had a charge against them then he needed to do it legally through the courts. He warned them to go home or they might be charged with starting a riot. This caused them to disperse. *** Lord, your truth always causes disruption in the enemies’ camp. May we be aware of his tactics and not fall back into fear. May we boldly face our enemies knowing that greater is he that is in us than he who is in the world.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Crowning of God’s King

Read: 2 Kings 10:32-12:21; Acts 18:1-22; Psalm 145:1-21; Proverbs 18:1 God began to cut the size of Israel down according to the words of the prophets, because Israel had become so idolatrous. King Hazael of Aram conquered sections of land east of the Jordan River. *** When Jehu died he had reigned 28 years. He was buried in Samaria and his son, Jehoahaz became the next king. In Judah, when King Ahaziah died, his mother Athaliah began to destroy the rest of the royal family. Ahaziah’s sister, Jehosheba took Ahaziah’s infant son, Joash, and hid him in the Temple of the Lord for six years while Athalia ruled the land. When Joash was seven, the priest, Jehoiada, called all the commanders of the army, the Carite mercenaries, and the palace guards to come to the Temple of the Lord. He made them swear to be loyal to them, then showed them Joash. *** Jehoida told them his plan and they were supplied with weapons and stood around the Temple. Jehoiada brought out Joash, placed the crown on his head, and presented him with a copy of God’s laws. They anointed him and proclaimed him king while everyone clapped and shouted, “Long live the king!” *** Athaliah heard the noice and ran to the Temple to see what was happening. She saw what was going on and tore her close crying, “treason!” *** Jehoiada ordered the commanders to take her to the soldiers and to kill anyone who tried to help her. She was killed by the gate to the palace. *** Jehoiada led the people and the king to covenant with God that they would be his people. They went over to the temple of Baal and tore it down and killed all its priests. *** They then escorted Joash to the palace and sat him on the royal throne. All the people of the land rejoiced and that Athaliah had been killed. *** Joash ruled Judah 40 years and did what was right as long as Jehoiada was alive. He had the priests collect money to have the Temple repaired. *** King Hazael of Aram attacked Jerusalem and Joash collected all the sacred objects that the previous kings of Judah had stored away and gave them to King Hazael to make him call off his attack on Jerusalem. *** Joash’s own trusted advisers assassinated him at Beth-millo. His son, Amaziah became king. *** In Acts, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. He met the Jewish couple, Aquila and Priscilla who had been deported from Rome. Paul worked with them as tentmakers. *** Paul went to the Temple every Sabbath and taught that Jesus was the Messiah. Silas and Timothy joined him. Paul’s message was not received so he shook the dust off his clothes and told them he was going to preach to the Gentiles. Many Gentiles in the city became believers. God spoke to Paul in a vision and told him not to be afraid to speak out because many in the city were believers. Paul ended up staying there a year and a half. *** When Gallio became governor, some of the Jews brought Paul to him for judgment saying that Paul was convincing people to believe something contrary to their law. *** Gallio refused to judge it since it had to do with Jewish law. He told them to take care of it themselves and threw them out of his court. *** The crowd took Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue and beat him right there in the courtroom. They were on Paul’s side. Paul stayed there for a while before he set sail for Syria. He took Priscilla and Aquila with him. They went to Ephesus, Casarea, Jerusalem and then back to Antioch, preaching and teaching. *** Lord, thank you for being our faithful Shepherd and almighty God. With you nothing is impossible. Your Kingdom always wins.

Wed.’s Devo - Promises Fulfilled

Read: 2 Kings 9:14-10:31; Acts 17:1-34; Psalm 144:1-15; Proverbs 17:27-28 Jehu had just been announced as king to the army but he warned not to let anyone go to Jezreel and report what they had done. Jehu left in a chariot to go to where King Ahaziah of Judah was visiting the wounded King Joram of Israel. *** Their watchmen reported someone coming and sent out a messenger to find out if they were coming in peace. Jehu told the messenger to get behind him, he didn’t know about peace, he was a warrior. A second messenger was sent out and he told him the same. *** King Joram and King Ahaziah rode in their chariots out to meet Jehu. They asked if he came in peace and he responded, “How can there be peace as long as the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother, Jezebel are all around us?” They knew they were in trouble and turned to run but Jehu shot Joram with an arrow and he died. Jehu told his officer to throw his body into the plot of land that belonged to Naboth of Jezebel to fulfill the prophecy. *** King Ahaziah was shot and killed at Megiddo and died there. His body was taken to Jerusalem and buried in the City of David. *** When Jezebel heard that Jehu had come to Jezreel, she painted her eyelids and fixed her hair and sat at a window. When Jehu approaced, she shouted down calling him a murderer - which was what she was. Jehu looked up and asked who was on his side. Two or three eunuchs looked out. He told them to throw her down, so they threw her out of the window and her blood spattered against the wall. Jehu trampled her body under his horses hooves. *** Later, Jehu told his men to go and bury her body but the only thing left was her hands and her skull, so Elijah’s prophecy about Jezebel came true. *** Ahab had seventy sons living in Samaria. Jehu sent letters to their guardians telling them to select the most qualified of the sons to be their king and prepare to fight him. They were too afraid to fight him, so they surrendered. Jehu asked for the heads of all the sons by the next day. They were presented in a basket in Jezebel. He had them piled by the city gate so all the people could see that there was nothing left of Ahab’s dynasty. *** Jehu set out for Samaria and met some relatives of King Ahaziah on there way to meet their cousins who were Ahab’s sons. There were 42 of them and Jehu had them all killed. Jehu then met the priest, Jehonadab and asked him if he was loyal to him and he said he was. *** Jehu told him to come with him and see how faithful he was to the Lord. He called a meeting in the city of all who worshipped Baal and told them Ahab’s worship of Baal was nothing compared to the way he was going to worship Baal. He was so right about that! *** Once he had gathered everyone, he had them put on a robe. He made sure only those who worshipped Baal were there. He offered the burnt offering then he commanded his 80 men he had standing outside to go in and kill them all. He then went into the temple of Baal and tore it down, burned its temple and replaced it with a public toilet. Jehu had destroyed every trace of Baal worship in the land but he didn’t take down the golden calves when ended up being his downfall. God promised that four of his descendants would be kings of Israel. *** Many prophets of today have said that Donald Trump is a type of Jehu who would rid our nation and other nations of the Deep State evil which is characterized by child sacrificing and worship of Baal. I believe he is. *** In Acts, Paul and Silas ended up in Thessalonica where they stayed teaching in the synagogue about how Jesus was the Messiah and teaching them how to be saved through his name. Many believed causing the Jewish leaders to be jealous. They stirred up a riot and went to Jason’s house where Paul and Silas were staying and when they couldn’t find them, they took Jason and his family. They accused them of treason against Caesar since they were claiming to worship another king - Jesus. *** Jason and his family posted bond and they sent Paul and Silas on to Berea. The people there were more open-minded and willing to research the scriptures to find the truth. Some of the Jews from Thessalonica came to Berea to stir up trouble for them. Silas and Timothy stayed there while Paul went with some believers to Athens. They came back to get Silas and Timothy. *** While Paul was waiting for them to come he walked the streets and saw all the Greek idols. He tried to convince a few to believe in Jesus. They brought him to the high council of the city and wanted him to debate his new religion with them. He stood before them and began. He had noticed that they were a very religious group. He commented on one of the altars he had seen that was inscribed with, “To an Unknown God”. This God was the one he was there to talk to them about. He was the one who made the world and everything in it. the Lord of heaven and earth. His purpose was for all the nations to seek after him and find him. God had in the past overlooked their ignorance of him but was now calling all to repentance and to turn to him. One day he would judge the whole earth by the man he sent to earth and rose from the dead. When he mentioned resurrection the crowd was split. Some rejected him and some wanted to hear more and eventually became believers. *** Lord, thank you for doing what you promise you will do. Your words never fall to the ground but they go forth and accomplish what you sent them forth to accomplish. We put all our trust in You.

Tues.’s Devo - Unfinished Business

Read: 2 Kings 8:1-9:13; Acts 16:16-40; Psalm 143:1-12; Proverbs 17:26 Elisha warned the woman who built him a room to take her family and move because a famine was coming to the land of Israel and it would last 7 years. So she took her family to the land of the Philistines where they lived for those 7 years. When the famine was over she came home to claim her land. *** She walked in to petition for her land right when Gehazi was telling stories of all the miraculous things Elisha had done. He was telling the king of the time Elisha raised her son from the dead. Gehazi looked up and saw her and told the king that this was the mother. *** The king had her tell her story and it matched the one Gehazi had just told so he commanded that she get back all her land and any proceeds that her land had yielded during the famine. The kindness that she had extended to Elijah continued to reap for her great rewards. *** Meanwhile, Elisha went to Damascus, the capital of Aram where King Ben-hadad was in his bed with an illness. The king had his servant Hazael take a gift to Elisha and ask him if he would recover. Elisha told him he would recover, but then he would die. Elisha stared at Hazael until he finally asked him why. Elisha told him that the Lord had shown him terrible things that he would do to God’s people. He would burn down their cities, kill their young men and their children and rip open the pregnant women. *** Hazael asked how someone as insignificant as him do something so big. Elisha told him because he would become the next king of Aram. *** When Hazael returned to the bedside of Ben-hadad he told him the man of God said he would recover. Then that night, he took a blanket and soaked it and smothered him with it. He became the next king of Aram. *** Jehoshaphat’s son, Jehoram became king after him and reigned eight years. He married one of Ahab’s daughters who brought her idolatry with her. During his reign, the Edomites revolted and crowned their own king. King Jehoram tried to get them back but was deserted by his own army. *** Jehoram’s son, Ahaziah became king over Judah while Joram was ruling Israel. He was 22 years old and only reigned a year. Ahaziah’s mother was the grandmother of King Omri of Israel who was Ahab’s father. Since he was related to the king of Israel, he joined him against King Hazel of Aram fighting for Ramoth-gilead. King Joram was wounded in the battle. *** Ahaziah went to visit Joram in Jezreel. Elisha sent one of his prophets to take a flask of oil to the battle field at Ramoth-Gilead. He was to find Jehu and take him into a private room and anoint him the next king of Israel, then flee. *** Jehu was the commander of the army. The prophet found him, called him into a private room and anointed him. He also spoke over him that he would avenge the murder of God’s prophets. and all the Lord’s servants who were killed by Jezebel. He would wipe out the entire family of Ahab and destroy all their descendants. The dogs would eat Jezebel at the plot of land in Jezebel and no one would bury her. Then he jumped up and fled. *** When Jehu came back to his group of officers, they asked him what the prophet had said. He finally told them and they spread out the cloaks for him, stood on the steps and blew the ram’s horn shouting, “Jehu is king.” *** Anointing Hazael as king over Syria and Jehu king over Israel were the first two things Elijah was told to do before he died (1 Kings 19:15-16). He didn’t do either. He anointed Elisha and Elisha finished it for him. *** In Acts, Paul and Luke and others were still in Macedonia. As they were going to the place where they met to pray, a slave girl met them. She had the spirit of divination and began following them yelling, “These men are servants of the Most High God and they have come to tell you how to be saved.” It became irritating, so finally Paul turned and cast out the demon of divination out of her. The man who had profited from her gift became very upset and grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the magistrate of the city. He accused them of causing chaos in the city and teaching doctrine that was illegal for Romans to practice. *** A mob formed and they stripped and beat Paul and Silas with wooden rods. Then they threw them in prison where they were clamped in stocks in the dungeon. *** Around midnight, Paul and Silas were singing hymns and praying when there was a massive earthquake. The prison was shaken and all the doors flew open and every prisoner’s chains fell off. The jailer awoke and saw the open doors and assumed all the prisoners had escaped. He was about to kill himself when Paul stopped him. *** The jailer brought them outside and asked them how he could be saved. They told him to believe on the Lord Jesus and he would be saved. He did as well as his whole household. He cared for their wounds and fed them then they returned to the jail. *** In the morning, the jailer was told to set them free, but Paul accused them of beating them without a trial even though they were Roman citizens. When they found out they were Roman citizens they came and apologized and set them free. Paul and Silas went back to meet one more time with the believers, then left the town. *** Lord, just like Elisha finished Elijah’s mandate, may we finish what Jesus came to do. May we set the prisoner free and break the yokes of bondage in the name of Jesus.

Mon.’s Devo - God’s Miracles

Read: 2 Kings 6:1-7:20; Acts 15:36-15; Psalm 142:1-7; Proverbs 17:24-25 Elisha had been training other men to hear from God and they were out-growing their building. They wanted to build a bigger place and asked Elisha to come with them. He agreed and as they were cutting down trees for lumber one of the men’s ax head fell into the water of the Jordan. He was very upset because he had borrowed it. Elisha cut a stick and threw it into the water and the ax head floated. The man was able to reach in and retrieve it. *** Israel was in constant war with Aram. Elisha would tell the king of Israel Aram’s plans and alert them of where they would be. The King of Aram accused his own officers of being traitors because of the obvious leak in security. One of his officers told him it was not them, but Elisha who told the king’s most intimate secrets. He commanded that his army go and seized Elisha. *** The army of Aram surrounded the city where Elisha was staying. His servant went outside early in the morning and saw the Aramean army and came back and told Elisha. Elisha told him not to be afraid, then prayed that his eyes be opened to see. When he looked the next time, he saw the hillside around Elisha filled with horses and chariots of fire. *** As the army of Aram advanced toward him. Elisha prayed that they would be blinded and God struck them with blindness. Elisha went out and told them that they were not in the right place, but he would lead then to the city where the man he was looking for. *** They let Elisha lead them, and he led them to the city of Samaria. Then Elisha prayed and God opened their eyes. The king asked Elisha what he should do to them and Elisha told him to feed them and send them home. The king prepared a feast for them and they returned home and the Aramean raiders stayed away from Israel from that time on. *** However, later King Ben-hadad of Aram mustered his entire army and came and besieged Samaria. It lasted so long that people were paying eighty pieces of silver just for a donkey’s head. Dove’s dung was selling for five pieces of silver. *** When the king heard of two women who were eating their new borns, he put on sack cloth. He wanted to kill Elisha because he thought he had something to do with it. He sent messengers to get Elisha. Elisha was with the elders of Israel and told them that a murderer (the king of Israel) was sending a man to cut his head off. He told them to shut his door and keep them out. His master would soon follow. *** While Elisha was saying this the messenger arrived and the king was right behind him. He blamed the whole famine on Elisha but Elisha gave him a word from the Lord. By this time tomorrow, six quarts of choice flour will cost only one pice of silver and twelve quarts of barley would cast only one piece of silver. *** The officer with the king said this couldn’t happen even if God opened the windows of heaven. Elisha told that man that he would see it with his eyes but not be able to eat any of it. *** There were four lepers who sat at the gates of the city. They were starving and decided to take try their luck and defect to the Aramean army in hopes of being fed. They left for their army camp but God had caused the army to hear the sound of horses and chariots of a great army. They had run in fear leaving all their plunder and supplies behind. The lepers went from tent to tent gathering food and supplies. They took what they wanted and buried it then felt bad that they weren’t sharing it with the people of Samaria. *** They went back in the middle of the night and told the men at the gate what they had found. The king was told and he sent spies to make sure it wasn’t a set-up. They came back with the good news. Then the people of Samaria ran out and plundered the Aramean camp. *** Everything Elisha had said about the market came true and the man who mocked him was trampled in the gate and died before he could taste of God’s goodness. *** In Acts, Paul asked Barnabas to go with him to visit the churches they had started and see how they were doing. He agreed to go but wanted to take John Mark with them. Paul didn’t want to since John Mark had deserted them before. They argued so sharply that they ended up going their own way. Paul took Silas with him. *** Paul and Silas went first to Derby, then Lystra where Timothy lived. Timothy joined them for the rest of the journey. They taught the decision of the elders in Jerusalem about circumcism, not eating food offered to idols or strangled, drinking blood or participating in sexual sins. *** They found the churches growing and encouraged them in the faith. They were not allowed in Asia or Bithynia but were allowed to go through Mysia. Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia which was in northern Greece. He was pleading with them to come to Macedonia and help them. *** They went by boat to Troas and to the island of Samothrace and then to Neapolis. They they went to the district of Macedonia which was a Roman colony and stayed for several days. *** On the Sabbath they went to a riverbank and sat with some women who had gathered there to pray. One of the women was Lydia who was a wealthy merchant of purple cloth. She listened to their preaching and became a believer. She and her household were baptized and she housed Paul and Silas while they were there. *** Lord, thank you for the amazing journeys you have yet for us to participate in. Walking with you is exciting and fulfilling. We live to honor you with our lives.

Sun.’s Devo - Sowing and Reaping

Read: 2 Kings 4:18-5:27; Acts 15:1-35: Psalm 141:1-10; Proverbs 17:23 The son of the widow was out helping his father with the harvest when he suddenly complained loudly about his head. His father had his servant take his son to his mother. *** She held him in her lap and at noon, the child died. She took him upstairs to the prophet’s bed, then sent a message to her husband that she was going to visit the man of God. *** She found him at Mt. Carmel. God hadn’t shown Elisha what was going on and she wouldn’t tell Gehazi, his servant. Instead she fell at Elisha’s feet and remind him that she had told him not to get her hopes up about a son. Elisha knew her son was in trouble. He followed her home and found the son lying on his bed, dead. *** He prayed and laid down on top of the son placing his mouth on the child’s mouth and his eyes on the child’s eyes and his hands on the child’s hands until his body heat and life flowed into the child’s. He did this twice and the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. *** Elisha told Gehazi to call the mother. She came in overwhelmed with gratitude and took her son downstairs. *** Elisha returned to Gilgal. There was a famine in the land. Elisha was teaching a group of young prophets. He told Gehazi to put a large pot on the fire and make some stew. One of the young men went out and gathered some gourds for the stew. They ended up being poisonous. When the men ate a few bites, they realized the stew was poisoned. Elisha threw some flour into the stew and it was fine. *** Another day, during the famine, a man brought a sack of fresh grain and 20 loaves of barley bread made from his first fruits. Elisha told his servant to feed all the people with it. Gehazi complained that there was no way this little food would feed a hundred people. Elisha told him it would not only feed them but there would be some left over. It was more than enough. *** In Aram, the king had a faithful servant, Naaman who had leprosy. Naaman had a young girl who was a captive from Israel that served his wife. She told her mistress that she wished Namaan would go to see the prophet in Samaria because he would heal Namaan. 
 *** Namaan told the king about what she said, so the king sent letters to the king of Israel along with gifts, telling him to heal Namaan. *** When he presented his letter to the king, he thought he was trying to pick a fight with him. The king tore his clothes in dismay and told him he was not a god that he could heal people. Elisha heard the the king was distraught and sent a message to send Naaman to him so the king did. *** When Naaman arrived at the house of Elisha, he sent Gehazi out to tell him to go and dip in the Jordan seven times and he would be healed. Naaman was insulted that Elisha wouldn’t come and meet him personally and that he would tell him to dip in the dirty water of the Jordan. *** His servants tried to convince him to do it anyway. He finally did and came out completely healed. He went back to Elisha’s house to reward him. This time Elisha went out to meet him. He refused to take any of his gifts. Naaman vowed to never again offer burnt offerings or sacrifices to any other god except the Lord and asked to take home some of the soil from that place. *** After he left, Gehazi lusted after the gifts he had offered Elisha. He ran after Naaman and lied saying Elisha had two guests who could use some money and clothes. Naaman gave him 150 pounds of silver and two changes of clothes and sent his servants to deliver it to Gehazi’s place. *** When Gehazi went back to Elisha, he asked him where he had gone. Gehazi lied and told him no where. Elisha told him that his spirit went with him to see those men. He told him that because he had received money and clothing, the leprosy that left Naaman would be upon him and his descendants forever. Gehazi left the room covered in leprosy. *** In Acts, the men from Judea came to Antioch in Syria and began preaching that the new converts had to be circumcised to be saved. Paul and Barnabas argued this was not true. It became such a big deal, that Paul and Barnabas were sent to Jerusalem to talk to the apostles there. The Pharisees there insisted that the Gentile converts had to be circumcised. *** Finally Peter stood up and addressed the meeting. He reminded them that he had been commissioned first to go and preach to the Gentile. He asked them why they were wanting to yoke them with a burden that their ancestors were not able to bear. They had all come to realize that salvation was the undeserved grace of Jesus, not their acts of righteousness. *** Then Paul and Barnabas told the stories of the miracles that they saw happen among the Gentiles. James stood and quoted Amos who predicted the saving of the Gentile. He thought they should not make it difficult to be saved. Instead, he said the Gentiles should be told to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating meat of strangled animals and from consuming blood. They all agreed to this and a letter was written to the churches in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. When the people in those churches heard the words of the letter they were happy and rejoiced. The church continued to grow. *** Lord, thank you for seed time and harvest. May we sow seeds of truth, love and forgiveness so that we might reap those same fruits.

Sat.’s Devo - God’s Grace is Sufficient

Read: 2 Kings 3:1-4:17; Acts 14:8-28; Psalm 140:1-13: Proverbs 17:22 Ahab’s son, Joram, still worshipped the golden calves that Jeroboam had built, but he wasn’t as evil as Ahab. He tore down the pillar of Baal that Ahab had set up. *** The king of Moab had paid tribute of lambs and wool to Israel but when Ahab died, he refused to continue paying it. King Joram gathered the army of Israel and went to fight King Mesha of Moab. He sent a message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah to come and join him. Jehoshaphat agreed to help him as well as the king of Edom. But, when they met in the wilderness they found there was no water. After seven days of no water, they feared for their lives. Jehoshaphat asked if their was a prophet among them so they could ask the Lord what to do. Elisha was near, so they sent delegates to bring him to them. Elisha asked the king of Israel why he was coming to God’s prophet for help when he had his own false prophets. *** Elisha told them that he wouldn’t have even bothered to come except that King Jehoshaphat was with them and Jehoshaphat feared God. Elisha asked for a harp to be brought so he could invite God’s Spirit. When the harpist played, the power of the Lord came upon Elisha. He told the kings that the dry ground around them would be filled with pools of water, but it would not rain. God would do this, and he would also give them victory over the army of Moab. They would conquer their best towns, cut down all their good trees, stop up all their springs, and ruin the good land with stones. *** The next day at the time of the morning sacrifice, water suddenly appeared flowing from the direction of Edom, and soon was in pools all around. them *** When the Moabites awoke, they saw the water. The sun reflected off of it, making it appear to be blood. The Moabites figured the armies had attacked each other and now all they had to do was to collect the plunder. They went straight to the armies. When they reached the Israelite camp, the army of Israel rushed out and chased them doing everything God said they would do. *** The king of Moab sacrificed his heir on the wall. This was their surrender, and the Israelites withdrew and returned home. *** One day, a widow woman of one of Elisha’s prophets came to him desperately asking for help. She couldn’t pay her bills so the creditors were coming to take her two sons as slaves. Elisha asked her what she had of value. She had a flask of olive oil. Elisha told her to borrow as many empty jars as she could, then go into her house with her sons and shut the door. Then she was to begin pouring from her flask of olive oil into these jars. She did and the oil continued to flow until the last jar was full. Elisha told her to sell the oil and pay her creditors and live on the rest. *** Later in the town of Shunem, there was a wealthy woman who would feed Elisha when he came to town. She and her husband eventually had a small room built on the roof of their house for him to stay in, furnishing it with a bed, table, chair and lamp. 
 *** One day, when Elisha was staying there he asked his servant, Gehazi what he could do to repay her for her kindness. Gehazi noticed that her husband was getting old and she didn’t have a son. The next day, Elisha called her in and told her that by that time next year, she would be holding a son. It happened just as Elisha had said. *** In Acts, Paul and Barnabas were in Lystra teaching. A man who had been crippled from birth was listening and Paul realized the man had faith to be healed, so he told him to stand up and walk. He did and the town went into an uproar. They claimed Paul was Zeus and Barnabas was Hermes. The priests of the temple brought bulls and wreaths of flowers to the town gates and prepared to offer sacrifices to the apostles. *** When Paul and Barnabas heard of what was happening they tore their clothes and proved to the people that they were just men. They had come to turn them away from these worthless idols and tell them the Good News about Christ. *** Jews arrived from the towns of Antioch and Iconium and swayed the crowd to their side. They took Paul out of town and stoned him. They thought he was dead, but the believers brought him back and he and Barnabas left the next day. *** They went on to Derbe and preached, then came back to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch strengthening the believers. They appointed elders to take care of the people and continue their walk with Jesus. *** Paul and Barnabas returned home to Syria and testified of all they had seen and done for the sake of Christ. *** Lord, may we remember the sacrifice that many have gone through before us and be encouraged. May we fellowship with Christ in our suffering knowing that he suffered way beyond anything we will ever suffer and his grace is sufficient.

Fri.’s Devo - God’s Faithful Servants

Read: 2 Kings 1:1-2:25; Acts 13:42-14:7; Psalm 139:1-24; Proverbs 17:19-21 King Ahab had died and his son, Ahaziah was ruling. The land of Moab rebelled against Israel. Ahaziah hurt himself seriously when he fell through the latticework of his palace and sent messengers to the temple of Baal-zebub to ask if he would recover. *** An angel told Elijah to go and confront the messengers and ask why they were going to ask some foreign god. Was there no God in Israel? Then he told them to go back and tell the king that he would not recover, but die. *** When they told King Ahaziah what Elijah said he figured out who had said it and sent 50 men with a captain to arrest Elijah. They found him on top of a hill and commanded him to come down. Elijah sent fire from heaven and it destroyed them. Ahaziah sent another captain with 50 men and the same thing happened. The third time the king sent a captain with 50 men, the captain didn’t command Elijah to come down. He humbled him self on his knees and begged for mercy and favor. Elijah went with him to see Ahaziah. *** Elijah told the king that because he asked advice from Baal-zebub instead of God, he would never leave the bed he was lying on. He did die and didn’t have a son to succeed him, so his brother, Joram took his place as king. *** God was about to take Elijah to heaven and Elijah and Elisha knew it. Elijah told Elisha to stay at Gilgal; he was going to Bethel. Elisha refused to let him go alone, so they both went to Bethel. A group of prophets met Elisha and asked him if he knew God was going to take Elijah that day. He told them he knew. *** Elijah tried to get Elisha to stay there while he went to the Jordan but he refused to stay and followed him. There he met other prophets who told Elisha that Elijah was leaving that day. *** When Elijah got to the Jordan he folded his cloak and struck the water with it and the river divided and the two of them walked across on dry ground. *** Elijah asked Elisha what he wanted from him and he said he wanted to have a double portion of his spirit. Elijah said that if he saw him depart, he would get it. *** As they continued walking, a chariot of fire came between the two men and it took Elijah up in a whirlwind and Elisha saw it. Elisha picked up Elijah’s cloak and returned to the Jordan and struck it just as Elisha had done and cried out, “Where is the Lord the God of Elijah?” The river divided and he walked over on dry ground. A group of prophets watched from afar and saw that Elisha now had the spirit of Elijah. *** Some from this group of prophets begged Elisha to let them go and search for Elijah’s body. He finally gave in to them and let them go search but they found nothing just as Elisha had told them. *** Later one of the leaders of the town of Jericho came to Elisha and told him the water in their town was making the women and the ground unproductive. He put some salt into the water supply and it became pure. This was a picture of what Elisha’t ministry would do. It would purify the land. Elisha left Jericho and went to Bethel. Along the way a group of boys began moving him. Elisha cursed them in the name of the Lord and two bears came out of the woods and killed tow of them. Elisha then went to Mount Carmel before he returned to Samaria. This was another picture of what Elisha’s ministry would do. It would put the fear and respect of the prophet back in the land. *** In Acts, Paul and Barnabas left the synagogue and the people begged them to come back the next week and teach them more. The following week, almost the whole town came to hear them preach. The Jew became very jealous of the crowds they were getting and argued with what they were preaching. Paul and Barnabas told them that it was necessary that they preach first to the Jews, but since they had rejected their preaching, they would offer their services to the Gentiles. They would offer them salvation. The Gentiles were glad to hear this but the Jews stirred up the influential women and leaders of the city and incited a mob and ran Paul and Barnabas out of town. They shook the dust off their feet and went to the town of Iconium. *** The same thing happened there. They preached their message but were stoned and fled to Lycaonia and began preaching the Good News. *** Lord, may we have the tenacity that Paul and Barnabas had to fulfill their mission. May we not look as opposition as a reason to quit, but a reason to continue spreading the Good News.

Thurs.’s Devo - You Can’t Trick God

Read: 1 Kings 22:1-53; Acts 13:16-41; Psalm 138:1-8; Proverbs 17:17-18 Israel and Aram experienced three years of peace. During that third year, King Jehoshaphat went to visit King Ahab in Israel. King Jehoshaphat reminded Ahab that the town of Ramoth-gilead had been taken by Aram and nothing had been done about it. Ahab suggested they join together and go get it back. *** Jehoshaphat wanted to ask the Lord first. Ahab went and got about 400 prophets of Baal to ask them. They said they should go and they would have victory. Jehoshaphat asked if there was a prophet of God they could ask. Ahab told him he knew of one, but he never prophesied good for him. Jehoshaphat rebuked him for talking like that and asked to see him. *** They brought Micaiah to Ahab. Ahab and told him what all of the other prophets had said and warned him to agree with them. Micaiah told him to go fight because surely he would be victorious. The king caught his sarcasm and told him to speak the truth. Then Micaiah told him he had seen a vision and all Israel was scattered on the mountain and their leader was killed. *** Ahab looked at Jehoshaphat said, “didn’t I tell you he wouldn’t have anything good to say?” Then Micaiah told him the rest. He had seen the Lord and his army trying to decide what could convince Ahab to go to war with the army of Aram and one of them said that he could do it by lying through his prophets. God said that would work. *** One of the lying prophets named Zedikiah walked up to Micaiah and slapped him in the face and asked him when did the Spirit of the Lord leave him to speak through Micaiah. Micaiah answered that he would find out when he was looking for a room to hide in. *** Ahab ordered Micaiah arrested and sent back to Amon and put in prison and fed nothing but bread and water till he came home safely. Micaiah said that if he returned home safely that would mean he hadn’t spoken the truth from God. *** The kings led their armies against Aram to recover Ramoth-gilead. Ahab decided to disguise himself like a common soldier. The army of Aram had been given the command to find the king of Israel and kill him alone. *** During the battle some of the soldiers of Aram chased King Jehoshaphat thinking he was King Ahab but when he cried out, they realized he wasn’t Ahab and stopped chasing him. One of their soldiers shot a random arrow at the army of Israel and it hit Ahab between the joints of his armor and he was fatally wounded. *** They battle continued while he bled out on the very land that Naboth had died on. The dogs licked his blood, just as Elijah had said would happen. Ahab died and his son, Ahaziah became king during Jehoshaphat’s seventeenth year of reigning in Judah. Ahaziah only reigned for two years and did evil in God’s sight. He served Baal and invoked God’s anger. *** Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah 35 years and was a good king who pleased the Lord even though he didn’t remove all the pagan shrines where the people offered sacrifices and burned incense. He made peace with the king of Israel. *** Jehoshaphat built a fleet of trading ships that never left the harbor. When he died, his son, Jehoram became king. *** In Acts, Paul had been asked to speak at the synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia. He began with the conception of their nation with Abraham and went through Moses and Samuel, the judge and on to the kings. He explained how Jesus was the ancestor of David and the fulfillment of God’s promise. John the Baptist had been sent to prepare the people for his coming. Now, this salvation was being offered to all. Jesus had not been received or recognized as the one the prophets had spoken about, but was condemned to die even though there was no legal reason to execute him. When Jesus was placed in his tomb, God resurrected him and he appeared to many of his followers and they were his witnesses. *** Now, Paul was there to offer forgiveness for their sins through Jesus. Everyone who believes in him could be made right in God’s sight. Habakuk had said, “Look, you mockers, be amazed and die! For I am doing something in your own day., something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.” *** Lord, it is true your promises stand true and never die. You always do what you say you will do.

Wed.’s Devo - God’s Deliverance

Read: 1 Kings 20:1-21:29; Acts 12:24-13:15; Psalm 137:1-9; Proverbs 17:16 Benhadad and thirty-two allied kings agreed to attack Samaria. Ben-hadad sent messengers to Ahab and told him that he wanted all his silver, gold, his wives, and the best of his children. Ahab agreed to give him all of that. Then Ben-hadad said they also wanted to come and go through all the homes of his officials and take whatever they found of value. *** Ahab asked the elders how he should respond. They told him not to agree to his last demand. (Of course they did. This would personally affect them.) *** Ben-hadad didn’t like his response and tried to intimidate him with his threats. Ahab didn’t fall for it. *** God sent a prophet to King Ahab and told him that God was going to turn them all over to him. When Ahab asked him how God was going to do it, he told him he would do it through his provincial commanders. They should attack first. *** The kings of the army of the Arameans were all in their tents getting drunk when Israel attacked. Ahab’s provincial commanders led the attack and the entire Arabian army panicked and fled. King Ben-hadad and a few of his charioteers escaped but the others were killed. *** God sent the prophet back to Ahab to tell him that they would return in the Spring and he needed to be ready. *** Ben-hadad’s army did return in the Spring but this time they attacked in the plains instead of the hills. The prophet came back and told Ahab that God was both the god of the hills and the plains. They would attack in the plains this time. *** During the attack, Israel killed over 127,000 of their enemies. Ben-hadad hid out in a the town of Aphek in a secret room. His officers told him they had heard that the kings of Israel were merciful, so they put on burlap and robes and went to Ahab and begged for their lives. Ahab was hood-winked and extended mercy to Benhadad. He made a treaty with him and set him free. ‘ *** God sent another prophet to Ahab to rebuke him for setting free the man he had doomed for destruction. It would come back to haunt him and cost him his life and the lives of his people. *** Ahab decided he wanted the land next to his palace to plant a vegetable garden. The land belonged to Naboth and he and his family had planted vineyards on that land for generations. Ahab offered to pay Naboth for the land but Naboth didn’t want to sell his family’s inheritance. *** When Jezebel noticed Ahab was acting crabby, she asked him what the reason was. He told her he was upset that Naboth wouldn’t sell him his land. She was incensed that he was so soft. She told him she would get the land for him. *** She had Naboth accused of blaspheming God and the king and paid men to lie in court. They did and Naboth was found guilty, taken out and stoned. His land then went to the government. Jezebel went to Ahab and told him to go and get his land. One his way, God sent Elijah to meet him. The prophet asked him if it was enough he had killed Naboth, but now was he going to steal from him also? Because he had done this the dogs would lick his blood at the very place they licked the blood of Naboth. *** Ahab recognized Elijah. Elijah told him God would bring disaster on him and destroy every one of his male descendants, slave and free - just like he did to Jeroboam’s descendants because they both led Israel into sin. *** When Ahab heard his fate, he dressed in burlap and mourned and humbled himself. God sent another message to Ahab saying that since he repented as he did, this would not happen in his lifetime. *** In Acts, Saul and Barnabas returned to Antioch from Jerusalem, taking John Mark with them. During a prayer meeting, God told the elders to send Saul and Barnabas out to minister. They went down to the islands of Cyprus. They traveled from town to town preaching and doing miracles. At Paphos they met a Jewish sorcerer named Bar-Jesus. He had gotten in tight with the governor, Sergius Paphos. The governor asked Saul and Barnabus to visit him to hear the word of God, but the sorcerer urged the governor not to listen to them. *** Saul cursed Bar-Jesus with temporary blindness for trying to blind the governor with his lies. When the governor saw this happen, he listened to their teaching and became a believer. *** Paul/Saul and Barnabus went to the next port, but John Mark returned home to Jerusalem. Paul and Barnabas went to the synagogue on the Sabbath and were asked if they had any word of encouragement to give the people. Tomorrow we will read their response. *** Lord, there is a time for mercy and a time for judgment. May we discern your times. May we have mercy on who you want us to have mercy on and let you judge those you want to judge. When we feel like there is no way out, may we remember You are very creative in rescuing your people. You are our deliverer!

Tues.’s Devo - God’s Deliverance

Read: 1 Kings 19:1-21; Acts 12:1-23; Psalm 136:1-26; Proverbs 17:14-15 Ahab returned home and told Jezebel all that happened on Mt. Carmel and how Elijah killed all her prophets. She was so upset she put a curse on herself if she didn’t kill Elijah by that time the next day. When Elijah found out what she said, he fled for his life. *** He went to Beersheba and left his servant there then went alone into the wilderness. He had a big pity party under a broom tree and prayed to die. An angel touched him and told him to stand up an eat. There was a cake baked on the fire and a jar of water so he ate and drank. The angel came back a second time and told him the same thing. He ate and drank again. The angel told him the journey ahead was long and he would need the strength the food and drink gave him. Sure enough, it took 40 days and nights to get to Horeb, the mountain of God. Mt. Horeb is Mt. Sinai where Moses was given the law. *** When he got there, the Lord came to him and asked him what he was doing there. Elijah told him he had been zealous for his name, but the people had torn down his altars and killed his prophet and he was the only one left. *** The Lord told him to go out and stand and the Lord passed by. A great wind storm tore into the mountain knocking rocks into pieces. Then there was an earthquake and then a fire but God didn’t speak out of any of them. Elijah heard a still small voice and went out of the cave to hear it better. The Lord asked him again what he was doing there. He told him the same answer. *** God told him to return and on his way to Damascus, he was to anoint Hazael as king over Syria, Jehu as king over Israel and Elisha as prophet to take his place. Whoever escaped the sword of Hazael, would be killed by Jehu and whoever escaped the sword of Jehu, Elisha would kill. And… God had reserved 7,000 in Israel who had not bowed to Baal. *** Instead of doing what God said to do in His order, Elijah went straight to find Elisha to take his place. He never did the first two things. Elisha ended up finishing them in his ministry. *** Elijah found Elisha plowing with 12 yoke of oxen. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him. Elisha left his oxen and ran after Elijah. He begged him to let him go and tell his father and mother he was leaving and then he would follow him. He killed his oxen using the wood from their yokes as firewood. He fed the people with the meat from the oxen and followed Elijah. *** In Acts, the Roman government became involved in persecuting the Christians. King Herod Agrippa had James killed with the sword and when he saw how popular this made him with the Jews he also arrested Peter during the Passover celebration. He put him in prison with 16 guards assigned to watch him. *** The church prayed earnestly for Peter and the night before Peter’s trial, a bright light appeared in Peter’s cell. An angel woke him up and told him to get up and the chains fell off his wrists. The angel told him to get dressed and follow him. Peter followed the angel past all the guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened before him and then the angel left. *** Peter realized it wasn’t a dream and went to the home of Mary where the believers were gathered to pray. Rhoda answered Peter’s knock and was so excited she ran back and told the believers that Peter was at the door where she had left him. They didn’t believe her, but Peter continued to knock. When the finally opened the door they were so happy to see him and were amazed at his story. Then Peter went to another place to hide. *** The next morning, chaos arose at the prison when they couldn’t find Peter. The guards were interrogated and sentenced to die. Herod left Judea and went to Caesarea. *** The people of Tyre and Sidon had made Herod angry. They sent delegates to make peace with him since they depended upon him for food. He was convinced to meet with them. When the time of the meeting came, Herod put on his royal robes and sat on his royal throne and gave a speech. The people shouted that he was the voice of a god, not a man. *** Because Herod accepted their worship, he was instantly struck with sickness and died of worms. Yuck! *** Lord, you know how to protect those you need safety and deliver those in chains. You cannot be defeated! May we not despair but stand in faith, eat your Word and drink your Spirit. You give us supernatural strength to fulfill all the plans you have for us.

Mon.’s Devo- Let God Arise, and his Enemies Be Scattered 6-17-24

Read: 1 Kings 18:1-46; Acts 11:1-30; Psalm 135:1-21; Proverbs 17:12-13 In the third year of the drought, the Lord told Elijah to go and tell Ahab that he would soon send rain. *** The famine had become so severe that Ahab sent for Obadiah to help him fine enough grass in the land to save his horses. Obadiah was his palace administrator who feared the Lord. He also revered God’s prophets and had hidden 100 of them in caves when Jezebel tried to kill them. Ahab sent Obadiah one way and he went the other in search for grass. *** Elijah met Obadiah and told him he wanted to meet with Ahab. Obadiah was afraid to tell Ahab because he didn’t think Elijah would show up, then Obadiah would be killed. Elijah promised he would show, so Obadiah went to get Ahab. *** Ahab came to meet with Elijah and addressed him as the “troublemaker.” Ahab told him that all this was because of him and his idol worship. He was the troublemaker. He told him to bring the 450 Baal prophets and the 400 prophets of Asherah to Mt. Carmel along with the people. *** When they all arrived at Mt. Carmel, Ahab spoke to the people. He asked them how long were they going to waver between God and Baal. They had to choose one of them, they couldn’t have them both. Then he told the Baal prophets to prepare an altar and sacrifice a bull. He would do the same for the other bull. The god who answered in fire would be the true god. *** Elijah told the false prophets to go first. They prepared their altar and sacrificed their bull and hooped and hollered till noon. Nothing happened. Elijah mocked them asking if their god was asleep or going to the bathroom or daydreaming. They shouted louder, cut themselves and still no reply. When the time of the evening sacrifice was nearing, Elijah took over. *** Elijah prepared his altar with twelve stones - one for each tribe of Israel. Then he dug a trench around his altar. He piled wood on the altar, cut the bull into pieces and laid them on the wood. Then he asked for 4 large jars of precious water to be poured over the offering and the wood. He had them do this three times till the water filled the trench. *** Elijah walked up to the altar and prayed that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would prove today that He was the God of Israel and that Elijah was his servant. *** Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the dust. It licked up all the water in the trench. When the people saw this, the fell on their faces and cried out to the Lord. *** Elijah commanded that they seize all the prophets of Ball and took them down to the Kishon Valley and killed them. He told Ahab to get something to eat and drink because a mighty rainstorm was coming. While Ahab was eating, Elijah went on top of Mt. Carmel and bowed to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees. *** He sent his servant to go look toward the sea. He sent him seven times and the last time he came back saying he saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea. Elijah told him to run tell Ahab to get home quickly. The sky turned black with clouds and a rainstorm hit. God gave Elijah supernatural strength and he outran Ahab’s chariot, all the way back to Jezebel. *** In Acts, Peter returned to Jerusalem and they were not happy that he had stayed in the home of a Gentile and ate with them. Peter told them about the vision he had and how the Holy Spirit fell on the whole household of Cornelius. When they heard his testimony, they stopped objecting and praised the Lord. They saw that God was reaching out to save the Gentiles too. *** The Jews that had been scattered because of persecution went to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria and began preaching to the Jews about Jesus. Others came and preached to the Gentiles there. Many of the Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord. When the church at Jerusalem heard this they sent Barnabas to Antioch to encourage the believers. Many more came to the Lord. *** Barnabas left to go to Tarsus to find Saul. They brought him back to Antioch where they both stayed for a year teaching to the large crowds of people. While they were there the prophet, Agabus came and prophesied about a great famine that was about to come upon the entire Roman world. The believers in Antioch sent relief to their brothers and sisters in Judea and Jerusalem. *** Lord, we declare you are our God. May we live to see the prophets of Baal crushed and destroyed. Let Your truth reign.

Sun.’s Devo - God’s Supply

Read: 1 Kings 15:25-17:24; Acts 10:24-48; Psalm 134:1-3; Proverbs 17:9-11 When Jeroboam died, his son, Nadab ruled and he continued in the sins of his father. Baasha from the tribe of Issachar assassinated him while they were besieging the Philistine town of Gibbethon and became the king. He slaughtered all the royal family just as the prophet Ahihah had said would happen to Jeroboam’s descendants. *** There was constant war between king Asa of Judah and King Baasha of Israel. Baasha ruled from the town of Tirza and continued in the sins of Jeroboam. The prophet Jehu brought King Baasha a word from the Lord rebuking him for following the ways of Jeroboam who he had cursed. The curse of Jeroboam would fall on him and his family. When Baasha died, his son Elah became king. He was assassinated by the commmander of his chariots, Zimri. Zimri had all of Baasha’s family killed just as Jehu prophesied. ***Zimri’s rule only lasted 7 days because when the army found out Zimri had killed the king, they chose Omri, their commander to be king. Omri led the entire army of Israel to attack Tirzah where Zimri was ruling. When Zimri realized he was doomed, he fled to the citadel of the palace and burning it down with himself inside. *** Israel was divided. Half of the people wanted to make Tibni their king and the other half wanted to make Omri their king. Omri’s side defeated Tibia’s and Omri became king. He ruled 12 years and bought the hill of Samaria and built a city on it. He was more evil than Jeroboam and led Israel to worship worthless idols. *** When Omri died, his son, Ahab became king. He reigned in Samaria 22 years and was the most evil king Israel had had up till then. He married Jezebel who worshiped Baal. Ahab built a temple for Baal and set up an Asherah pole and provoked God’s anger. *** During this time Hiel, a man from Bethel, rebuilt Jericho. He lost his oldest son when the foundations were laid and his youngest son when the gates were set up just as Joshua had said would happen. *** Elijah told King Ahab that there would be no dew or rain until he gave the word. Then God told Elijah to hide at the Kerith Brook and it would supply his water. The ravens would bring him bread and meat every morning and evening. *** When the brook dried up, God told Elijah to go to the village of Zarephath and a widow would feed him. When he met her, she said she had enough flour and oil to make one last meal for her and her son and then they would die. Elijah told her to first make some for him and then the rest for them and they would never run out of flour or oil until the drought was over. She did what he said and God did what he said he would do. *** Elijah stayed with her and her son. One day the son became very sick and died. She bought the son to Elijah and he took the child’s body up the stairs to the room where he was staying. He laid his body on his own bed then cried out to the Lord for his life. He stretched his body over the child three times and prayed. God heard his prayer and the body came back to life. *** In Acts, Peter and Cornelius met and exchanged stories. Peter told Cornelius what he knew about Jesus and what the scriptures said about him. He told them about his resurrection and how he had appeared to them after he died on the cross. Jesus had ordered them to preach everywhere and testify that Jesus was the one God had sent and that all the prophets had talked about. *** As Peter preached to Cornelius and his household, the Holy Spirit fell upon them and they began to speak in tongues. Peter was amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit was being poured out on the Gentiles, too. He baptized them in the name of Jesus Christ and stayed with them for several days. *** Lord, may we learn from today’s scripture that we give first to You and your servants and then you supply all our needs. May we be willing to give of what we have to those in need.

Sat.’s Devo - The Cost of Disobedience and the Rewards of Obedience

Read: 1 Kings 14:1-15:24; Acts 10:1-23; Psalm 133:1-3; Proverbs17:7-8 Jeroboam’s son became very sick so Jeroboam told his wife to disguise herself and go visit the prophet, Ahijah who had told him he would be the next king. He gave her gifts to give him and ask him if their son would recover. *** God warned Ahijah, who was now blind, that Jeroboam’s wife was coming incognito. He exposed her as soon as she walked in the room. He told her what God had told him to say. God had taken the kingdom from David’s descendants and given it to Jeroboam and He was not pleased with how Jeroboam had run the nation. He had done more wicked than any of the kings before him and had made God furious with his golden calves. Since he had turned from God, God would destroy every male descendant, slave or free anywhere in Israel and burn up his royal dynasty like trash is burned. No one except his dying son would get a proper burial. He would die when she entered the city. *** God would then raise up a king over Israel who would destroy Jeroboam’s family and drive them out of Israel because they had angered Him with the Asherah poles and their idolatry. *** Jeroboam’s wife returned home and her son died as soon as she walked through the door of her home. He was buried and all Israel mourned for him. Jeroboam reigned in Israel 22 years and his son, Nadab, became king in his place. *** In Judah, Rehoboam was king at the age of 41 and reigned 17 years in Jerusalem. His mother was Naamah. *** During Rehoboam’s reign, the people of Judah also provoked God’s anger with their idolatry. They worship at Asherah poles and in pagan shrines. In his fifth year, the king of Egypt, Shishak attacked Jerusalem. He stole everything from the Temple treasury and even gold shields Solomon had made. Rehoboam replaced them with bronze shields. His guards used them to guard the king when he went to the Temple to worship. When Rehoboam died, his son, Abijam became the next king. *** Abijam only ruled three years and worshiped the same false gods his father had worshiped. For David’s sake, God allowed his descendants to reign. While Abijam ruled, there was constant war with Israel. When he died, his son, Asa became king of Judah. Jeroboam was in his 20th year of ruling Israel. *** Asa obeyed the Lord and banished the male and female shrine prostitutes from the land. He got rid of all the idols and deposed his grandmother, Maacah from her position of queen mother because she made an obscene Asherah pole. Asa had it cut down and burned it in the Kidron Valley. Asa’s heart remained faithful to the Lord throughout his life. He had constant war with Israel. *** King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and began fortifying Ramah which was the gateway from Israel to Judah. He wanted to prevent the people from entering or leaving Judah. *** Asa retaliated by sending gold and silver to Ben-hadad, the king of Aram. He asked him to break his treaty with Israel and to form a treaty instead with Judah. He did and attacked some of Israel’s towns. When Baasha of Israel heard of what was happening, he gave up his building project in Ramah. Asa took all his building materials and used them to fortify Geba and Mizpah in Benjamin. *** When Asa was old, he became diseased in his feet and died. His son, Jehoshaphat became king of Judah. *** In Acts, God wanted to bring salvation to a god-fearing Italian family. The head of the family was a captain of the Italian Regiment. God gave him a vision of an angel who told him to send some men to Joppa and ask for a man named Simon Peter who would be staying with Simon the tanner. *** Then God sent his angel to Peter to get rid of his prejudice. While Peter was waiting for his lunch, he went on the roof to pray and went into a trance. He saw the sky open up and a screen come down with a projection of all kinds of animals on it that were unclean according to the law. A voice told him to kill them and eat them. He protested that they were unclean. The voice told him not to call something unclean that God has made clean. The same vision happened three times. Then the screen was taken away. *** While Peter was contemplating what it might mean, the men from Cornelius showed up looking for Peter. The Holy Spirit told him that three men had come looking for him and he was to go with them without hesitation. *** They told Peter that an angel had told Cornelius to bring him to his house so he could hear his message. He put them up for the night and went with them the next morning. *** Lord, so much was happening in Acts because you were bringing about a total change in the heart and minds of your people. You are doing the same thing now in our land. You are bringing about a change in everything we once viewed as government and church. May we make the shift into the new plan of yours. May we let go of the old and embrace the new.

Fri.’s Devo - Resurrection Power

Read: 1 Kings 12:20-13:34; Acts 9:26-43; Psalm 132:1-18; Proverbs 17:6 The people of Israel learned that Jeroboam had returned from Egypt and they made him their king. Rehoboam returned to Jerusalem and mobilized his army of 18,000 men to restore the kingdom to himself. But God sent a prophet named Shemaiah to Rehoboam telling him not to fight against his own people, but to go home because this division was the Lord’s doing. Rehoboam had the know-it-all to return home. *** Jeroboam built up the city of Shechem which became his capital. He was afraid that his people would go to worship the Lord in Jerusalem and decide to stay and give their allegiance to Rehoboam and come back and kill him. So, he had two golden calves made and placed them in Dan and Bethel. He told the people that these were the gods who brought them out of Egypt. He also erected other pagan shrines and buildings and appointed common people to be the priests. He instituted a counterfeit festival to mimic the Feast of Tabernacles exactly one month after the real date. On that date, the fifteenth day of the 8th month he went to offer incense on a new altar he had built. *** At the festival, God sent his prophet from Judah to give a word to Jeroboam. As Jeroboam was walking up to the altar to burn his incense, the Prophet shouted about a future king named Josiah that would one day burn pagan priests and the bones of the evil priests who offered incense on this altar now. As a sign this would happen the altar would split and the ashes would be poured out on the ground. *** King Jeroboam heard the man and pointed at him shouting for his men to seize him. When he did, his arm froze and he couldn’t bring it down. The altar split at that moment and the ashes poured out on the ground. *** Jeroboam then cried out for the prophet to pray for him that he arm would be free. Shemaiah did and his arm was released. Jeroboam asked him to come home with him and he would feed him and give him a gift, but the prophet told him that God would not allow it. He was told to come and give the message then to leave a different way and not to eat until he was home. *** An old prophet heard of what had happened and pursued the prophet. When he caught up with him he deceived him by telling him he was a prophet and that an angel had appeared to him and told him to bring the prophet back to his house and feed him. He convinced the younger man to disobey the Lord and after they ate together, a lion attacked him and he was killed. The lying prophet went and and found his body. His donkey and the lion were still standing beside it because the lion had not eaten him. The prophet took his body and buried him in his own grave. He told his sons to bury him next to the prophet because he was a true prophet and what he had said would happen. *** Even after this great sign, Jeroboam didn’t turn from his evil ways to the Lord. He continued to let anyone become a priest of his pagan shrines. *** In Acts, Saul who was now Paul, went back to Jerusalem a changed man. He tried to meet with the church in Jerusalem but they were not convinced he wasn’t trying to trick them to persecute them. Barnabas brought Saul to the apostles and told them how he was saved in Damascus and how he had preached boldly about Jesus. The Greek-speaking Jews tried to murder him so the believers sent Paul toTarsus, his home town. With Saul, now a believer, the Christians grew stronger. *** Peter went to Lydda and healed a man who had been paralyzed for eight years. The whole population of Lydia and Sharon saw this and turned to the Lord. *** In Joppa, a much loved widow by the name of Tabitha died, they sent for Peter and took him up to where they had laid her body for burial. He told everyone to leave the room and laid his hand on her and told her to get up. She opened her eyes and sat up. Peter helped her up and presented her to her people alive. News spread fast and many believed on the Lord. Peter stayed in Joppa and lived with Simon, the tanner. *** Lord, may we walk in the resurrection power of Christ. May we lay hands on the sick and they recover and on the dead and they raise back to life. May we walk in the works of Jesus and see people turn back to You.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Shifting of Kingdoms

Read: 1 Kings 11:1-12:19; Acts 9:1-25; Psalm 131:1-3; Proverbs 17:4-5 King Solomon strayed away from the Lord because he married foreign women who worshiped foreign gods. They enticed him to do so also. He made temples for their gods like Molech, Chemesh, and Astoreth. These required him to offer human sacrifices and do all sorts of sexual impure acts. *** God, who had appeared to Solomon two times to warn him not to worship other gods, became very angry at Solomon. He sent word to Solomon that because he had turned away from him and broken their covenant, he would take the kingdom from him. But for David’s sake, he would not do it while he was alive. It would happen during the life of his son. His son’s name was Reoboam. *** God raised up three men to be Solomon’s adversaries: Haddad of Edom, Rezon of Eliada and Nebat, one of Solomon’s own officials. *** Joab had killed most of the Edomites, but Haddad had escaped to Egypt where the Pharaoh took him in and gave him his daughter in marriage. Hadad asked to return to his own country and the Pharaoh finally agreed to let him go. *** Rezon had fled from Hadadezer when David conquered it. He had become a leader of a band of rebels who ended up in Damascus where he became king. He made trouble for Solomon and hated Israel greatly. *** Jeroboam had come from very humble beginnings and worked in David’s labor force. When David saw how talented he was, he promoted him to be head of his labor force over the men from the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim. *** One day, when Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah met him and tore his robe into 12 pieces. He gave 10 of them to Jeroboam and told him that God was rending the kingdom from Solomon because he refused to worship him alone. He would keep Solomon the ruler the rest of his life, but then he would give the 10 tribes to him. God promised to be with Jeroboam all the days of his life if he worshipped him alone. *** Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam but he fled to Egypt and King Shishak protected him. until Solomon’s death. Then he returned to Israel. *** Solomon died after ruling Israel for 40 years. He was buried in the City of David and his son, Rehoboam was to be the next king. Rehoboam went to Shechem to be crowned king. The people of Israel came to hear what kind of king he would be. They petitioned him to be kind to them and lessen the load of labor and taxes that Solomon had put on them. He told then to come back in three days and he would give then his answer. *** He went to Solomon’s advisors and asked them what he should do. They told him to listen to the people and lighten their load and they would love him and follow him forever. Then he went to his friends and asked them what he should do. They told him not to give in to the people but to tell then that he would be even stronger and harder than his father. *** Solomon met with the people and took the advise of his friends. When he told then he would be harsher than his father they cursed the dynasty of David and when back home. Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the towns of Judah and sent Adoniram who was in charge of forced laborite restore order but the people of Israel stoned him to death. When Rehoboam found out what they had done to him, he fled for his own life and went back to Jerusalem. *** In Acts, Saul was spreading persecution as fast as the gospel was spreading. He followed the apostles with his heavy hand and would bring the Christians back to Jerusalem in chains. He was on his way to Damascus, when a bright light blinded him and he fell to the ground. He hear a voice asking him why he was persecuting him. When Saul asked the voice who he was, it said, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” *** The men with Saul heard the voice but saw no one. Saul was blind so they had to lead him by the hand to Damascus. He stayed there for three days and didn’t eat or drink. *** Meanwhile, there was a believer in Damascus by the name of Ananias. God spoke to him and told him to go to Straight Street to the house of Judas and ask for a man named Saul from Tarsus. He was praying right them and God would tell him he was coming. *** Ananias had heard of Saul and resisted going to meet him but God told him that he had chosen Saul to take his message to the Gentiles and to kings as well as to the people of Israel. He would suffer much for God’s kingdom. *** Ananias obeyed and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and healed his eyes. He baptized him and then Saul broke his fast. Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus a few days then began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues proclaiming that Jesus was the Messiah. The people who heard him were amazed he had so changed his mind. His preaching became so strong, some of the Jews of the city plotted to kill him when he left town but Saul was warned. They put him in a basket and lowered it through an opening in the wall and he escaped. *** Lord, may your kingdom come in power!

Wed.’s Devo - The Coming Kingdom

Read: 1 Kings 9:1-10:29; Acts 8:14-40; Psalm 130:1-8; Proverbs 17:2-3 Solomon had completed his building projects and the Lord appeared to him again at Gibeon. He told Solomon that he had heard his prayer and He had set the Temple apart as holy to honor his name. He promised to be with Solomon if he followed him as David had. He would establish his throne over Israel forever. But if he or his descendants abandoned the Lord and disobeyed his commands and served other gods, He would uproot Israel from the land and reject the Temple. He would make Israel an object of mockery and ridicule and people who visited Jerusalem would be amazed at what had happened to their Temple. *** It had taken Solomon 20 years to complete his building projects and then he gave 20 towns to Hiram who had provided all the cypress timber and gold that Solomon had bought. When Hiram came to see the towns he had been given, he called them worthless - Cabul. But, he did pay Solomon 9,000 pounds of gold for them so he must not have thought they weren’t too worthless. *** Solomon married the daughter of the Pharaoh of Egypt. As a wedding gift the Pharaoh gave him back the town of Gezer that he had captured and burned down during David’s reign. Solomon had it rebuilt along with Lower Beth-horon, Baalath, and Tamar. He used non-Israelites to do his hard labor but gave Israelites the honor of being soldiers, officers, captains, and supervisors over his building projects. *** Solomon built a palace for his wife, the Pharoah’s daughter and moved her from the city of David to Jerusalem. *** Solomon’s fame reached Sheba and the queen came to visit to see if all she had heard was true. She brought caravans of spices, gold and precious jewels. She asked Solomon many questions and saw all he had built and how he ran his kingdom. When she left, Solomon sent her away loaded with gifts. *** Solomon received about 25 tons os gold from other nations. He traded with people from all over the world. He had 200 large shields of hammered gold made and hung in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. *** Solomon had a huge throne made overlaid with gold and decorated with ivory. The throne had six steps. The seat had a rounded back and armrests on both sides. The figure of a lion stood on each sides of the throne. Twelve other lions stood on either side of the six steps. *** Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king on earth. Peopler from every nation came to console with him and hear his wisdom. He build up a huge force of chariots and horses and stationed them all around Jerusalem. *** In Acts, the apostles heard what was happening in Samaria and sent Peter and John to join Philip there. They laid hands on the new believers and prayed for them to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. When Simon, the one who had been the magician saw this transfer of power, he tried to offer them money to buy this power. He was rebuked for wanting power for his own name’s sake. He repented and asked for Peter to pray for him. *** Peter and John fulfilled their mission in Samaria and began their journey back home to Jerusalem. They stopped and preached in many Samaritan villages along the way. An angel told Philip to go south to Gaza so he did. He met a man from Ethiopia who was the treasurer to Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. He had been to Jerusalem to worship. He was in his carriage reading aloud from the book of the Isaiah. The Holy Spirit told Philip to walk over and listen to what he was reading. *** When he heard it he asked him if he understood what he was reading. He was reading from Isaiah 53 where it gave the description of Jesus as the suffering servant. He asked Philip to come up on his carriage and explain it to him. Philip explained that it was foretelling the coming of Jesus the Messiah who came and died for them. Philip believed and wanted to be baptized. They passed some water and Philip baptized him. When the man came out of the water, God transported Philip and he woke up in the town of Azotos north of there. He preached there until he came to Caesarea. *** Solomon’s kingdom is a picture of what is to come in the natural and what was going on in the New Testament with the apostles is a picture of what is coming in the spiritual. It is all so exciting. *** Lord, may we have our hearts right to handle the power and the wealth you want to give us to help others. May we keep in mind that it is all for your glory.

Tue.’s Devo - The Presence of the Lord

Read: 1 Kings 8:1-66; Acts 7:51-8:13; Psalm 129:1-8; Proverbs 17:1 The Ark of the Covenant was brought to the Temple at the Festival of Shelters or Tabernacles in the month of Tishri or Ethanim. All the furniture that had been in the Tabernacle in Zion was brought and put in the Temple of Solomon. *** Solomon and the people offered so many sacrifices it was impossible to keep count. The Ark was carried by the priests on poles and placed under the mercy seat with the cherubim. When the priests came out of the Holy Place a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord and the priests could not continue their service because of the presence of the Lord. *** Solomon stood and addressed the people. He told them how this had always been the dream of his father, David, to build a Temple for the Lord. Solomon was honored to carry out his request. Solomon praised the Lord with all his heart. He knew that this Temple couldn’t contain God but he prayed that He would watch over the Temple and hear the prayers of his people when they prayed toward this place. He asked God to be their judge and forgive them when they had sinned. *** If they sinned against him and brought righteous judgement against themselves then they could repent and pray from this place and be heard. God’s judgments for turning from him were: defeat by their enemies, famine, draught, and plague. All of these could be forgiven and then God would act on their behalf if they repented and prayed toward this place. Foreigners would hear of their God and his power, and come to learn of him and accept him as their God. *** If Israel was ever taken captive to another nation and they repented and petitioned heaven for their cause, God would forgive them and make their captors show mercy to them. *** Last of all, Solomon prayed that God’s presence would never leave them or abandon him. He asked God to give them the desire to do his will in everything they did and that they would always obey all his laws. And, may he give them justice every day. He prayed that the people would be faithful to do his will. *** Then they offered more sacrifices and peace offerings and they dedicated the Temple of the Lord. This celebration went on for 14 days - seven days for the dedication of the altar and seven for the Feast of Tabernacles. Then the people went home blessing the king and full of joy. *** In Acts, Stephen had gotten to the end of his speech where he began preaching to the leaders. He called them a stubborn people, heathens, and deaf to the truth. He asked them if they were always going to resist the Holy Spirit like their ancestors who had persecuted every prophet God sent to them. *** The Jewish leaders didn’t take to this well. They shook their fists at him in anger. But Stephen gazed into the heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at his right hand. He told them what he was looking at and they put their hands over their ears. They dragged him out of the city and began stoning him. They took their coats off to throw their stones and laid their coats at the feet of Saul. 
 *** As Stephen was dying, he asked the Lord to receive his spirt but not to charge them for the sin of killing him. Then he died. *** Saul approved of the death of Stephen and began persecuting Christians everywhere to destroy the church. Saul went from house to house dragging Christians out of their homes and throwing the into prison. But the Christians continued to spread the Good News of Jesus the Messiah. Philip went to Samaria and preached to them and saw many miracles happen as he prayed. *** A man called Simon who had been a sorcerer for many years had claimed to be the Great One - the Power of God, because of his magic. When Philip came to his town and began baptizing in the name of Jesus Christ, many believed what he said. Simon was one of them. He was amazed by the signs and great miracles Philip did. *** Lord, may you grant us a heart to want to do your will and follow you in all we do. Thank you for your presence that goes with us everywhere. May we be the ones to follow after you.

Mon.’s Devo - Solomon’s Palaces

Read: 1 Kings 7:1-51; Acts 7:30-50; Psalm 128:1-6; Proverbs 16:31-33 It had taken Solomon 7 years to build the Temple and now 13 years to build his own palace. His palace included many buildings: the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon, the Hall of Pillars, and the Hall of Justice where his throne sat. The descriptions of the different buildings is amazing and all reflected God’s heavenly home. He also make the pieces of furniture for the Temple like the Sea which was a huge basin filled with water for the priests who did the sacrifices. It was placed on the base of twelve bronze oxen all facing out. Three faced north, three - south, three - east, and three - west. There were also 10 carts that held smaller basins for washing. Five of the carts were placed at the south side of the Temple and five on the north side. *** All the metal work was done by Huram from Tyre who was half Israelite because his mother was from the tribe of Naphtali. *** When it was all completed, Solomon brought all the gifts that David had dedicated to the Lord and put it in the treasury of the Temple. *** In Acts, Stephen continued his history lesson. He told of how God called to Moses out of the burning bush and told him to go back to Egypt and rescue the people who had rejected him in the past. Through many signs wonders and plagues, God led them out of Egypt into the wilderness for 40 years. *** Moses told them of a Prophet like him that would come from their own people. The people refused to listen to Moses and rejected him again. They wanted to return to Egypt. They had Aaron make a golden calf for them to worship. They turned away from God. God abandoned them to serve the stars of heaven as their gods. They carried their gods of Molech, Rohan and others with them all through the wilderness as well as the Tabernacle of the Lord. *** God drove out the enemies in the land he had promised them. They took the Tabernacle with them and stayed in the land until the time of King David. David had great favor with God and He allowed David’s son, Solomon to build him a Temple on earth. However, God doesn’t live in temples made by human hands. Heaven is his throne and earth is his footstool (Isa. 66:1-2).

Sun.’s Devo - Building God's Temple

Read: 1 Kings 5:1-6:38; Acts 7:1-29; Psalm 127:1-5; Provers 16:28-30 When King Hiram learned Solomon was now king, he sent his congratulations to Solomon. Hiram had been a loyal friend of David’s. Solomon told him of his desire to build a Temple to his God, the Lord which had been David’s desire. He asked him if he could buy cedar from him and use his men to carve the wood for his Temple. Hiram was very pleased and asked for grain and oil in return. They worked out an agreeable trade that blessed both nations. *** Solomon began building in the seventh month of Ziv and it took seven years to complete. It had been 480 years since God had rescued them from the land of Egypt. They had been in Egypt 430 years (Ex. 12:40). *** The Temple was 90 feet long and 30 feet wide and 45 feet tall. The back 30 feet was sectioned off as the Most Holy Place where the Ark of the Covenant and the mercy seat was. The front 60 feet was the Holy Place and the entrance was an additional 15 feet in front of the Temple. *** On the outer wall of the Temple three stories of rooms were built. Each story was one and a half feet wider than the one below it. Winding stairs were used to get the second floor and another flight of stairs to the third. *** None of the construction was done at the Temple sight, but done in a quarry and carried there so that there was no sound of hammers or iron tools used around the Temple sight. *** God promised that if they kept all his decrees and regulations and obeyed all his commands, He would live among the Israelites and never abandon the people of Israel. *** The inside of the Temple was paneled in cedar wood with cypress wood on the floor. The walls of the Most Holy Place was paneled in cedar with carvings of gourds and open flowers. It was then overlaid with solid gold and gold chains protected the entrance to the Most Holy Place. The altar and the two cherubim were made of wood and covered with gold. *** The inner sanctuary was paneled with cedar that had palm trees, flowers and cherubim carved on them. They were covered in gold. It was all to represent the Garden of Eden. *** In Acts, Stephen had been accused of blaspheming the law of Moses and the Lord. Stephen was asked to give his side of the story. He began by teaching them about the history of the Israelite people beginning with God’s call to Abraham to leave and go to a land he had never been. He told of Jacob, Joseph and Moses. We will continue in tomorrow’s reading. *** Stephen was establishing his knowledge of their foundation and God’s overall purpose for their people in hopes that they would see it also. *** Lord, help us to see that you are building your temple inside us and we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Just like our Psalm says, “unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted.” May we allow you to build in us a temple to honor your name.

Sat.’s Devo - The Wisdom of God

Read: 1 Kings 3:3-4:34; Acts 6:1-15; Psalm 126:1-6; Proverbs 16:26-27 Solomon loved the Lord, but he offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places of worship. One of these was at Gibeon. As he was there sacrificing 1,000 burnt offerings, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream and asked him what he wanted. *** Solomon honored the Lord for giving his father, David the kingdom and then passing it to him. He asked for an understanding heart to govern the people with justice and discernment to know the difference between good and evil. *** God was very pleased with his request. He told him he would make him wiser than any one had ever been. He would also give him riches and fame and he would be greater than any other king that had existed till then. *** Solomon woke from his dream and returned to Jerusalem where he sacrificed more offerings before the Ark of the Lord. *** God confirmed his gift to Solomon and to the people soon after that. Two prostitutes came to Solomon to render judgment for their case. One of them had had a baby, then three days later the other had a baby. The second woman accidentally lay on her son and he died in the night. She exchanged her dead son for the living son. When the mother of the living son woke she realized the baby with her was dead. Then she saw that he wasn’t her son. They both claimed the living baby as theirs. *** Solomon judged that the baby should be divided in half and given a part to each woman. The real mother asked for mercy and offered to give him to the other woman but the woman who wasn’t the mother said the judgment was right. *** Solomon knew that the woman who would want her son to live no matter how, was the real mother and had the child given to her. This story was told all over Israel and they knew that Solomon was a wise and righteous judge. *** Solomon’s cabinet comprised of the off-spring of the leaders during David’s rule. There were also 12 district judges who were in charge of a month’s supply to the king every year. *** His kingdom was very populous and the people were prosperous and had plenty to eat. There was peace on all of their borders. Everyone lived in safety. *** God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding and knowledge. His fame went out throughout the surrounding nations. He wrote some 3,000 proverbs and 1,500 songs. Solomon had great wisdom in the area of plants, animals, birds, insects and fish. The kings from every nation sent ambassadors to listen to his wisdom. *** In Acts, instead of their movement dying out, it was growing and expanding. But, there were also problems. The Greek-speaking believers felt their widows were not being treated as well as the Hebrew-speaking widows in the distribution of food. The Twelve disciples called a meeting of all the believers and selected seven men who were well respected and full of the Spirit and wisdom. They gave them the responsibility of dispersing food to the widows so that they could spend their time in prayer and teaching the world. *** Everyone thought this was a good idea. Stephen, Philip, Procures, Nicanor, Timon, Parmesan and Nicolas were chosen. *** As the church grew, many of the Jewish priests were converted also. Stephen performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. A man from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves debated with Stephen but couldn’t win against the wisdom and the Spirit of God in Stephen. *** They persuaded some men to lie about Stephen’s teaching and say that he blasphemed Moses and God. The leaders of the law arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council. *** The witness said that he had spoken against the law of Moses and said that Jesus would change the customs of Moses’ law. Everyone looked at Stephen because his face became as bright as an angel’s. It was the glory of God. *** Lord, you are the great defender of your people. It is your justice that prevails. Bring your justice to our land and render righteousness in America and in the world. May your name be great!

Fri.’s Devo - Justice for All

Read: 1 Kings 2:1-3:2; Acts 5:1-42; Psalm 125:1-5; Proverbs 16:25 The transition of David’s kingdom to Solomon’s kingdom is a picture of the transition from Trump’s first term compared to his second one to come. In his first four years, President Trump was bombarded with battle after battle with the Deep State with Covid, impeachments, threats, and now indictments…the list goes on and on. It was like David’s term of war after war. But Solomon’s term was about justice and tying up all the loose ends and getting rid of all the bad players. Then the nation was able to enjoy peace and prosperity like Israel had never seen. Trump’s next term will be about judging all the evil and bringing justice. It will be a time of the greatest prosperity America and the world have seen yet. *** David gave Solomon three assignments. He was to deal with Joab who killed Abner and Amasa who were innocent. He claimed it was an act of war but it was really an act of personal revenge. The second assignment was to reward Barzillai for feeding his men when he ran from Absalom. He rewarded him with always having a place to eat at his table. *** The third assignment had to do with Shimei, the man who had cursed him when he crossed the Jordan. Solomon called him in and told him he must live in Jerusalem and if he ever left the city, he would die. Shimei told him it was a fair decision but three years later two of his slaves escaped. He left to find them and when he returned, Solomon had him killed. *** David hadn’t mentioned what to do with Adonijah who had tried to take the kingdom. But God had a plan. Adonijah came to Bathsheba and asked her to ask Solomon if he could marry Abishag, David’s nurse. When Bathsheba asked Solomon he saw right through the request. He had Adonijah killed. *** When Joab heard that Adonijah had been killed, he knew he was next, so he went and took hold of the horns of the altar. Solomon had him killed right there. *** Now Solomon’s kingdom was established. Solomon made an alliance with Egypt and sealed it in marriage to the Pharoah’s daughter. He began his great building projects. *** In Acts, Ananias and his wife sold a piece of property and Ananias brought half of their proceeds to the apostles like Barnabas had, but claimed it was the whole amount. It was his to do as they wanted, but since he tried to lie to the Holy Spirit, he was killed and his body buried immediately. *** About three hours later, his wife, Sapphire came to the apostles. They asked her if the price her husband had given was the amount they sold their property for and she agreed. They told her what had happened to her husband who told the same lie and she immediately fell to the floor dead. The fear of the Lord fell on the entire church. *** The believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area called Solomon’s Colonnade. There they did many miracles and were greatly respected by the people. More and more were brought to the Lord through them. People from miles around brought their sick and laid them in the streets in hope that Peter’s shadow would fall across them and heal them. *** The high priest and his group were very jealous of their popularity and had the apostles arrested and put in jail. But an angel of the Lord came at night and opened the gates of the jail and bought them out. He sent them to the Temple and told them to continue preaching. When the high priest sent for the apostles to be brought from prison and appear before them for their trial, they were not there. They got news that they were preaching at the Temple. *** They went and arrested them again and brought them before the high priest. They asked the apostles why they were preaching when they told them not to. Peter told then that they had to obey God above them. They had crucified Jesus, but God had raised him up to the place of honor at his right hand. He did this so they would repent of their sins and turn to God. When they heard this, the high council was furious and wanted to kill them. *** One of the Pharisee’s, Gamaliel, stood up and ordered that the apostles be sent out of the chamber. He then addressed the men and reminded them of another rebellion that eventually died out. If they killed the apostles, it would just stir it up the movement and it would become stronger, but if they gave it time, it would die out on its own. But, if the movement was from God, there was nothing they would be able to do to stop it. *** They called the apostles in and had them flogged then set them free. They left rejoicing that they had been counted worthy to suffer for Christ. They continued to preach in the Temple and in houses every day. The theme of their message was “Jesus is the Messiah.” *** That is still your message, Jesus. May we boldly proclaim your majesty and who you are. May we never be ashamed or lose hope. You are king over all.