Sat.’s Devo - It is Finished

Read: 2 Samuel 17:1-29; John 19:23-42; Psalm 119:129-152; Proverbs 16:12-13 Absalom went to Ahithophel for advise which was to immediately go after David and his men and only kill David. Then he could bring all his followers back and they would follow him. All the elders agreed, but Absalom wanted to hear what Hushai advised before he made his decision. *** Hushai advised that they gather all Israel and that Absalom lead the army into battle. Absalom liked Hushai’s advise the best, so that was what they planned to do. Ahithophel was so upset that the king had not taken his advise, he went home and killed himself. *** Hushai got word to the priests and they sent the message through Jonathan and Ahimaaz. They finally made it to David who gathered his group and crossed the Jordan that night and went into the wilderness. *** David arrived at Mahanaim where he was greeted by Shobi, Makir and Barzillai who brought provisions for him and his men. Meanwhile Absalom was mobilizing his army. He appointed Amasa to command his army. Amasa was Joab’s cousin and David’s sister’s son. They set up camp in the land of Gilead. *** In John, the soldiers crucified Jesus, then gambled for his seamless robe. (Psalm 22:18) *** Jesus gave his mother to John to take care of as his own mother who took her into his own home. *** Jesus had finished his mission on earth and was now thirsty for God. But when he said he thirsted, they gave him vinegar, just like Psalm 69:21 says, “They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” Jesus tasted the vinegar then said “It is finished” and gave up his spirit. ** It was the day before the Sabbath so everyone had to prepare for it. The Jewish leaders didn’t want Jesus body left hanging on the Sabbath so they had him taken down. Thinking he would still be alive, they went to break his legs so he couldn’t push up to breathe. Jesus was already dead so they didn’t have to break his bones, fulfilling the scriptures (Psalm 34:20). They pierced his side with a spear and blood and water flowed out (Zechariah 12:10). *** Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate’s permission to take Jesus’ body down and put him in his grave. (Joseph’s grave would be emptied just as Joseph in the Old Testament’s grave was emptied and his bones taken to the promised land.) *** Nicodemus came with 75 pounds of spices and his body was covered with the spices and wrapped in the linen cloth. He was placed in a new tomb in a garden. *** Life started in a garden and Jesus’ body was placed in a garden. It would be in a garden that Jesus would appear risen and alive. We are going back to the garden here on earth. Right now we are getting the weeds out of God’s garden in our hearts and in our world. *** Thank you, Jesus for enduring the cross to save us. Thank you for all the suffering you went through to purchase our freedom. Lord, may we learn to live in your garden, in love and awe of you and all you have created for our pleasure. You are a good Father and an awesome God.

Fri.’s Devo - Yielding to God

Read: 2 Samuel 15:23-16:23; John 18:25-19:22; Psalm 119:113-128; Proverbs 16:10-11 As David and his followers fled Jerusalem, the people who loved him cried out. Zadok and all the priests accompanied David bringing the Ark with them. They set it down and offered sacrifices to the Lord, then David commanded that the Ark be taken back to Jerusalem. If it was the Lord’s will, God would bring him back to worship at the Ark again. *** David told Zadok and his sons where he would be hiding so they could bring him reports of what was going on in the palace. David continued in mourning to the Mount of Olives. David felt much like Jesus when he went that last night to the Mount of Olives. Both had lost their earthly kingdom and were close to losing their lives. *** David’s adviser, Ahithophel had betrayed him to follow Absalom much like Judas had betrayed Jesus to the Pharisees. David prayed that Ahithophel would give Absalom bad advice. He sent Hushai to be his spy. Hushai was an older man who had also been an advisor to David. Hushai went back and got there just before Absalom entered the city. *** Next, David met Ziba, the man David had set in place to serve Mephibosheth. He met David with two donkeys for David to ride on and food for him and his men. When David asked where Mephibosheth was, Ziba said he had stayed in Jerusalem to get back the kingdom of his grandfather, Saul. *** We are never told if this was a lie or the truth about Mephibosheth because when David returned, he was so glad to see him and said because he was crippled, he couldn’t follow David. Who knows but God! David did give Ziba all of Mephibosheth’s land. *** David next met Shimei who was from Saul’s clan. Shimei called David a murderer and told him he was getting what he deserved. He threw stones at him and cursed him. Abishai wanted to kill him but David would’t let him. He left it in God’s hands. They stopped to rest at the Jordan River. *** Meanwhile, Absalom arrived in Jerusalem with Ahithopel. Hushai met him and when Absalom asked why he abandoned David, he said he was here to support God’s chosen man, to be his advisor like he was to David. Absalom believed him. *** Absalom went to Ahithophel and asked him what he should do first. Ahithophel told him to set a tent on the palace roof and put David’s concubines in it. Then go sleep with them so all Israel could see that he had no plans of reconciling with his Father. This was an act of total disrespect and was the fulfillment of the prophecy that Nathan had given David because of what he did with Bathsheba. *** In John, Peter denied Jesus the last two times and the rooster crowed. They finished their mock trial at Caiaphas’ house early in the morning and took Jesus to Pilate. Pilate wanted to know Jesus’ crime. *** They didn’t have a good answer so they just said, “We wouldn’t be turning him over to you if he wasn’t a criminal.” Pilate told them to settle the matter themselves, but they couldn’t because the law of Mose didn’t allow them to crucify people, only Romans could do that and they wanted him crucified. *** Pilate wanted to do this legally so he set up court. He asked Jesus if he was the king of the Jews. That was the only thing he was interested in. Jesus asked him if this was his own question or did others tell him about him. Jesus knew that Pilate had his own questions about who Jesus was. Jesus was asking him a heart question, not a legal one. *** Pilate then backtracked and told him he wasn’t a Jew as if to say, don’t make this personal. He asked Jesus what he had done. *** Jesus then answered his first question. He told him that his kingdom was not on this earth. If it was, his followers would fight to keep him from being killed. His kingdom was not of this world. *** Pilate was confused, but he asked again, “So, you are a king?” Jesus said that he was born to bring the truth and all who love truth listen to him. *** Pilate went out and told the crowd that he did not find Jesus guilty of any crime. But, since they had a custom of asking him to release one prisoner each year at Passover, he could make it Jesus. *** They crowd shouted that they wanted Barabbas, the revolutionary to be released to them. *** Pilate had Jesus flogged and dressed him like a king with a crown of thorns on his head. He brought him out and presented him as the King of the Jews and told the crowd again that he found no fault in him. *** The crowd yelled for Pilate to crucify him. Pilate gave him over to them to crucify. The Jewish leaders told him that he was dying because he claimed to be God’s Son. This frightened Pilate even more so he brought Jesus back in to question him further. He asked him where he came from but Jesus wouldn’t answer him. When he told Jesus that he had the power to release him or crucify him, Jesus spoke up. He told Pilate he didn’t have any power over him unless God gives it to him. Pilate was even more afraid of what was happening and tried to release him but the people accused him of rebelling against Caesar. *** Pilate tried one last trick. He brought Jesus out and presented him as their king. When they yelled that their king was Caesar, not Jesus, he turned Jesus over to them. *** They took Jesus to Golgotha and nailed him to the cross. Two other men were crucified on either side of him. Pilate posted a sign that read, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. When the leading priest objected to the sign and wanted to change it to “he said he was the king of the Jews”, Pilate refused. Hatred leads to murder. People want to kill what they don’t understand. *** Lord, help us to not be impulsive. Even David refused to take retaliation in his hands but let the Lord fight his battle for him. Jesus did the same thing as he yielded himself to shame and humiliation and being wrongfully accused and misunderstood so that we would one day see the truth and invite him into our hearts. Thank you for the momentary shame and pain you endured to gain our salvation. May we walk in your salvation and wear your righteousness like a robe.

Thur.’s Devo - Jesus’ Trial

Read: 2 Samuel 14:1-15:22; John 18:1-24; Psalm 119:97-112; Proverbs 16:8-9 Joab could see that David longed to see Absalom but his pride would not let him invite Absalom to come home. So, Joab sent a wise woman to act as a woman who had two sons. They got into a fight and one of them killed the other. The relatives wanted the living son to be killed but then she would have no-one to carry on her name and receive her inheritance. David sided with her and promised she and her son would not be harmed. Then, she showed him how he was doing the same thing by not letting Absalom come back to him. David’s decision to ban Absalom would be used as a standard in others situations since the king had so much influence. David asked the lady if Joab had put her up to this and she admitted he had. *** David called Joab in and told him he could bring Absalom back to Jerusalem, but he was never to see him. *** Absalom returned to Jerusalem. He was handsome and had three sons and a daughter named after his violated sister, Tamar. *** Absalom tried to speak with Joab, but he kept ignoring him till Absalom caught his barley field on fire. Then Joab wanted to see Absalom. Absalom asked him why the king brought him back if he was never going to see him. Joab went to David and convinced him to see Absalom. They met and reconciled, somewhat. *** Absalom then bought himself a chariot and horses to look like a king. He wanted the people to be conditioned to seeing him as a king. He soon gained the favor of the people because he was such a smooth politician. He could be seen mingling with them and acted like he could help if only he was the king. *** After four years of his wooing the hearts of the people, Absalom asked David if he could go to Hebron to fulfill a vow he had made. This was not the real reason. He planned a coup to conspire against David and name himself as the king. It worked, and when David learned what he had done, he and his followers fled Jerusalem. Six hundred men from Gath followed David led by Ittai. *** Ittai had been a soldier in the Philistine army who had found David to be a trusted leader. He became one of David’s generals. David tried to get him to return to Jerusalem but he vowed to follow David to death if it meant that. That is devotion! *** In John, Jesus had gone to the garden in Gethsemene to pray. Judas knew Jesus would be there because he went there so often. He led a group of Roman soldiers and Temple guards with torches, lanterns, and weapons. They all ascended upon Jesus and his disciples. *** Jesus let them know right up front who was the more powerful. When he said who he was, they all fell down. Can you imagine the look on their faces as they picked themselves up from the ground. The only one to use a weapon was on Jesus’ side - Peter. He used his sword to cut off the ear of the slave of the high priest. Jesus healed it and the night continued as the most unusual night ever. It followed the narrative written in heaven. Peter denied the Lord three times right according to the script. *** Inside the courtyard of Annas, the father-in-law to Caiaphas, the high priest, Jesus was being interrogated by the priests. They asked Jesus what he taught the people. He told them they knew because he didn’t teach them in secret and they were there for every sermon. Jesus got slapped for being flippant with the high priest. Jesus replied he didn’t know he was the high priest. What Jesus was saying was that his Father didn’t recognize him as a high priest. He really wasn’t the high priest but then they bound Jesus and sent to Caiaphas, the high priest. (As you can see, they had totally messed up the priesthood and many of the priests were political assets appointed by man, not holy men of God.) *** Lord, may we clean up the temple in our hearts. Then, may we clean up the world around us by letting our light shine and living according to your Word. May your Word be the standard of our country.

Wed.’s Devo - Christ in Us

Read: 2 Samuel 13:1-39; John 17:1-26; Psalm 119:81-96; Proverbs 16:6-7 David’s first born son was Amnon. His third born son was Absalom. Absolom had a sister named Tamar. Amnon lusted after Tamar to the point of depression. Amnon’s cousin Jonadab was the son of David’s brother Shimea. *** Jonadab was in the middle of this whole story controlling the narrative. He saw how affected Amnon was and orchestrated a deceptive plan so that Amnon could spend some time with Tamar. *** Absalom played sick and had Tamar come to his bedroom and feed him. As discerning as David was on the battlefield, he was oblivious to the battle going on in his own family. He approved Tamar going to take care of Amnon. *** Instead of wooing Tamar, Amnon raped her and then hated her and sent her out. She went home humiliated and disgraced. Absalom and David were both upset, though nothing was done about it for two years. *** Hatred leads to murder and Absalom had never forgiven his brother for what he did to Tamar. It was time to celebrate after the sheep-shearing. Absalom had sheep and asked David and his servants to come to his celebration. David was grateful for the invitation but declined because there were so many of his servants. Then Absalom asked if Amnon could come. David probably sensed something was up so he sent all his sons thinking Amnon would be safe if all his brothers were there. *** Absalom had Amnon killed but word came to David that all his sons had been killed. I wonder if Jonadab sent this message, because Jonadab showed up to then be the bearer of good news. Not all the king’s sons were killed - just Amnon. He explained to David that Absalom had been plotting Amnon’s death ever since he raped Tamar. *** If Jonadab knew that Absalom had been plotting Amnon’s death, why hadn’t he warned Amnon since he was supposed to be Amnon’s friend. *** Meanwhile, Absalom fled to his grandfather’s house in Geshur to stay with him, who just happened to be the son of the king there. He stayed in Geshur for three years. David mourned the death of Amnon, his first born but after a while longed to be reconciled with Absalom. *** In John, Jesus had told his disciples everything he needed to say so he then began talking to his Father so they could hear. He asked God to glorify him so he could give his glory back to Him. God had given him authority over everyone God had given him and he, Jesus had given eternal life to them by bringing them to God. *** Jesus had given glory to God on earth through his life, and now he longed to return to his Father in heaven. His prayer was that God protect his followers like he had kept him on the earth. Jesus had faithfully brought them out of the world and now the world hates them. Jesus prayed that God would keep them safe from the evil one. He prayed that God would make them holy by truth and teach them his word which is the truth. Jesus was giving himself as a sacrifice for them so they could be made holy. *** Jesus prayed this prayer not only for them, but for us and all who would follow him throughout all the generations. Jesus prayed that we would be one as he and the Father are one. This is how the world will believe Jesus came from God. *** We have been given the glory God gave Jesus. The Father’s love for Jesus has been given to us because Jesus is in us. He loves us as he loved Jesus. That is amazing! *** Lord, may our lives reflect our love for you. May Jesus be the one who shines brightest in our lives. May we never feel alone, because we are never alone.

Tues.’s Devo - God’s Great Love for Us

Read: 2 Samuel 12:1-31; John 16:1-33; Psalm 119:65-80; Proverbs 16:4-5 After David had Uriah killed in the battle, God sent Nathan to give David an allegory. He told him about a rich man who stole a poor man’s only lamb that he dearly loved. David was furious at the man for having no pity and said he must repay four lambs to the poor man, though he deserved to die. *** Nathan then told David that he was the man. He had stolen the love of Uriah’s life and then his own life when David had many wives and could have had any unmarried woman he wanted. The Lord’s penalty was that someone in his own household would rebel against him and take his wives and sleep with them and all Israel would see it. Because David had shown utter contempt for God’s word by doing this, the child Bathsheba was carrying would die. *** David did repent and when the child had became ill, David fasted for a week, praying God would change his mind about his death. When the child died, David went and changed his clothes from his mourning clothes to his royal clothes and went to the Tabernacle to worship the Lord. Then he ate. *** His amazed advisors asked him how he could eat now. David explained that he fasted hoping God would change his mind about the child dying. Now that the matter was settled, he could eat. There was nothing more he could do. *** Our prayers are important to God, but He is also sovereign and some things are set and can not be changed. But, God always has a plan of redemption. *** David comforted Bathsheba and slept with her and she had a son which David named Solomon. Nathan told David that God dearly loved this boy and his name should be Jedidiah which means “beloved of the Lord”. *** Even in discipline, we see the Lord’s mercy and love. God does not stay mad at us, but quickly punishes so he can quickly go back to blessing us. *** While David was cleaning up the mess he had made at home, Joab had been out fighting his battles with the Ammonites. He sent a message to David that he was about to capture the city of Rabbah and if David wanted the credit, he needed to come and fight in the last battle. David did and removed the crown from the king’s head and had it placed on his head. It was made of gold with many jewels and weighed 75 pounds. Crowns were symbols of royalty and heavenly rewards. *** David also took much plunder and forced the people of Rabbah into forced labor. *** In John, Jesus was talking to his disciples about leaving them. He told them he was leaving so they wouldn’t lose hope when he did leave. He didn’t want them to give up on all he had taught them. He commented that everyone was sad he was leaving, but no one was asking where he was going. He told them he was going to his Father and would be able to pray for them from where he was. *** Jesus explained that if he didn’t go, he couldn’t send the Comforter who will convict the people of sin, compare their sin to God’s righteousness and warn of the judgment to come. He would guide them into truth and tell them about what was coming. He would be the one who would be the middle man between us and Jesus. In all he does, he will bring glory to Jesus. *** We now pray to the Father through Jesus. God dearly loves us and wants our fellowship. We now have an audience with the king. *** Jesus left them with this: “here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows, But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” *** Lord, may we remember that you overcame the world so we can walk in victory and not shame and defeat. Thank you for your discipline because we know it leads to great rewards when we repent.

Mon.’s Devo - Remain in the Vine

Read: 2 Samuel 9:1-11:27; John 15:1-27; Psalm 119:49-64; Proverbs 16:1-3 Jonathan and David had made a pact to take care of each other’s families if anything happened to one of them. Jonathan was dead so David searched for any living soul in Jonathan’s family. David found one of Saul’s servants, Ziba who knew of a son of Jonathan’s named Mephibosheth who was crippled in both of his feet. David sent for him and gave him all of Saul’s land and invited him to eat his meals at David’s table. Mephibosheth was deeply humbled and grateful. David told Ziba and his sons to work Saul’s land for Mephibosheth and his son, Mica and to take care of them. Mephibosheth moved to Jerusalem and ate regularly at the king’s table. *** Meanwhile, King Nahash of the Ammonites died and his son, Hanun became king. David wanted to show his respect for Nahash so he sent ambassadors to express his sympathy. Hanun’s officers came to King Nahash and accused David’s ambassadors of being spies planning to take their land from them. They took David’s men and shaved off half of their beards and cut off their robes and sent them back to David. Hanun then hired 33,000 mercinary soldiers from the Ammonites and the Arameans and challenged David to a battle. They attacked from both sides but were no match for Joab’s troops. David came out with his forces and fought till the enemy surrendered to Israel and became their subjects. *** That spring, when David was supposed to be going out to war, he stayed home. He noticed a beautiful woman from his roof top and found out she was Bathsheba who was married to Uriah, the Hittite, one of David’s great warriors. David didn’t care that she was married to someone who was faithful to him and his country; he sent for her anyway. He slept with her that night and sent her home. She later learned she was pregnant and sent word to David. *** David sent for Uriah and did everything conniving he could do to get Uriah to go home and be with his wife so Uriah would think the baby was his. God would not let David’s sin be covered up. Uriah refused to go home so David now had to resort to murder. He sent a message by Uriah, the faithful servant, to tell his officer to put him on the front of the battle so he would be killed. It worked, but God was not happy. *** Bathsheba mourned her husband’s death and then David sent for her to come and be one of his wives. *** This is such a warning for us not to get complacent in our walk with the Lord. When we are supposed to be fighting, we need to be fighting. When we stop fighting, we are vulnerable to Satan’s pitfalls. *** In John, Jesus said that his true disciples grow on his vine. God prunes them regularly so they will produce more fruit. During the pruning process we need to remain on the vine, even when we don’t understand the process. If we don’t remain on the vine, we will be thrown away as useless. If we do remain on the vine, we have the right to ask for anything we want and it will be given us. We will produce fruit and it will bring glory to God. *** Jesus told his disciples that he loved them like the Father loved him and told them to remain in this love. This is a commandment to us also. We do this by obeying God’s commandments. This should bring us overflowing joy. We are to love each other like Jesus loved us and be willing to lay down our lives for our fellow brothers and sisters. *** It is important to love each other because the world hates us and will do all it can to persecute us. We need to stand with each other. We have the Spirit of truth who testifies for the truth. If we remain in the truth, he will testify for us. *** Lord, help us to be united in love. May we obey your Word and walk in it. Help us to remain in you.

Sun.’s Devo - God’s Temple

Read: 2 Samuel 7:1-8:18; John 14:15-31; Psalm 119:33-48; Proverbs 15:33 David had built his palace and was feeling bad that he was living in luxury, while God’s Ark was in a tent. He wanted to build God a Temple for his Ark to rest. He explained this to Nathan, the prophet and Nathan gave him the “go ahead”. *** That night, God spoke to Nathan and went over all God had done for David. He promised to make him famous and secure his kingdom for ever. God said David would not be the one to build a temple for his name; his son would do this. *** When Nathan told David this, he was so humbled that God would choose him and bless him in such a great way. *** God had promised to make David secure and he began with the Philistines. David conquered Gath, their largest town, then the land of Moab. He killed two-thirds of the people and spared the rest to be his servants and pay him tribute. *** He also conquered the Arameans and made them his subjects. King Toi of Hamath had been long-time enemies of the Arameans and was so thankful to David for conquering them that he brought gifts to David. David gave all the gifts to the Lord as he did all the gold and silver he had gotten from other nations. *** David conquered the Edomites and became more and more famous. God made David victorious wherever he went. David set up his kingdom and his leaders, letting his sons serve as priestly leaders. *** In John, Jesus told his disciples that if they obeyed his commandments he would ask his Father to send them the Holy Spirit to be their Advocate. He was the one who leads people to the truth. The world is not looking for truth so they won’t be able to see him, but true believers will recognize him. *** Jesus and the Father will come and make their home in the ones who love him and obey him. The Holy Spirit will sent by God to represent Jesus and he will teach and remind us of everything Jesus said. Jesus left them with the gift of peace. He was leaving, but would return. What he was about to do would show the world that he loved the Father. *** Lord, thank you for giving us the Holy Spirit and peace. May we build your Temple in our hearts to glorify you.

Sat.’s Devo - David’s Kingdom Established

Read: 2 Samuel 4:1-6:23; John 13:31-14:14; Psalm 119:17-32; Proverbs 15:31-32 Ishbosheth heard that his head army commander, Abner had died surrendering to David and this filled him with fear. Two of his other army commanders, Recab and Bannah, saw their opportunity to advance in David’s army so they murdered Ishbosheth in his own bedroom and took his head to David. Instead of getting the promotion they were seeking, David had them killed for murdering an innocent man. *** With Ishbosheth gone, there was no one standing in the way of David becoming the king of Israel. The people of Israel came to David at Hebron and made a covenant with him and anointed him king of Israel. David was 30 years old and reigned another 33 years over all Israel and Judah. *** David led in an attack on Jerusalem and though the Jebusites who lived there said he couldn’t even conquer the blind and lame, David won. He camptured the city of Zion and named it the City of David. *** King Hiram of Tyre sent cedar, carpenters and stonemasons to help David build his palace in Jerusalem. David married more wives and concubines and had eleven more sons in Jerusalem. *** The Philistines came to attack him and the Lord told David to go fight them and win. They returned later to fight again and this time the Lord told David not to attack them like before - straight on, but to attack from behind them at his signal. David obeyed and won again. *** David longed to bring the ark to Jerusalem so he had the army go to Baalah where the Ark was. The Ark was placed on a new cart and brought from Abinadab’s house. Uzzah and Ahio, Abinadad’s sons were guiding the cart since it was on a hill. All the people were there celebrating and singing praises to God. When they got to the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen carrying the ark stumbled. Uzzah reached out to steady the Ark so it wouldn’t fall and he was struck dead. *** David was mad at the Lord for killing Uzzah and ruining their celebration. He was now afraid to bring the Ark to Jerusalem so he left it at Obed-edom’s house for three months. During that time, God blessed Obed-edom’s whole household. When David saw that God was blessing and no longer mad, he found out how to carry the Ark correctly. He went to get the Ark and the priests carried the Ark with the poles on their shoulders. Every six steps they took, David would stop and sacrifice a bull and a calf. David danced before the Ark with the people. *** As the Ark and the people entered Jerusalem, Michal, his wife, watched from her window. She saw David leaping and dancing before the Lord and was filled with contempt for him. *** David sacrificed to the Lord, blessed the people and sent them home with gifts. When he got home, Michal met him with all her complaints. She told him he looked disgraceful out there dancing like a common person. David told her God was worthy of even more humiliation than he had given him. She reminded them that God had chosen him to rule Israel above her father. God cursed her with a barren womb. *** In John, Jesus was with his disciples in the upper room and Judas had just left to go betray Jesus to the Pharisees. Jesus told them he was soon leaving them. He gave them a new commandment to love others as he had loved them. This was even more stronger than loving someone as you love yourself. Jesus loved his disciples with God’s love that was willing to lay down his life for them. *** When Peter told Jesus he was willing to lay down his life for Jesus, Jesus assured him he wasn’t. He would deny him three times before the rooster crowed. *** Jesus told them again, that he had come from God, his Father, and was returning home. Any of them who believed in him could do the works he did and even greater ones. They were to ask in his name and He would do it. *** Jesus had given them a new commandment that is impossible to do without God’s Spirit and his grace. It was a command to receive the Spirit of God which was coming. *** Lord, help us to simplify all you told your disciples and just believe that you are who you say you are and you are a rewarder of those who diligently seek you.

Fri.’s Devo - Abner and Joab

Read: 2 Samuel 2:12-3:39; John 13:1-30; Psalm 119:1-16; Proverbs 15:29-30 Ishbosheth’s army commander was Abner who had been Saul’s uncle and commander. Joab was David’s nephew and commander of Judah. Abner and Joab met and decided to have a duel. Twelve of each of their best warriors would fight in man to man combat while they watched. They killed one another and no-one survived, so a battle ensued as a result. Joab, David’s commander had two brothers named Abishai and Asahel. The youngest one, Asahel ran after Abner relentlessly. Abner tried to get him to leave him alone so he wouldn’t have to kill him but Asahel kept chasing him. Finally, Abner thrust the butt end of his spear into Abner’s stomach and killed him. *** Abner’s troops stopped on the top of a hill and shouted down to Joab that they needed to stop this needless killing. Joab agreed and they stopped chasing them. Joab took the body of his brother and his troops back home where they buried Asahel in Bethlehem. *** The country was divided between those loyal to Saul and those loyal to David. David’s side got stronger and stronger while Saul’s dynasty got weaker and weaker. *** David had six sons born in Hebron. *** In Saul’s camp, Ishbosheth, the king accused Abner of sleeping with one of Saul’s concubines. Abner became so enraged for being called out, especially after all he had done for Ishbosheth that he decided to take all his support and give it to David. He sent a message to David saying he would like to join his side. David told him he would receive him if he would bring his wife back to him as a test he was loyal to him. Abner went and took Michal from her new husband, Palti who mourned her leaving. *** Abner went to the leaders of Israel and told them he was going to help them make David their king which was what they had wanted to do for a long time. *** Abner met David at Hebron and had a great celebration. Meanwhile, as Abner was leaving, Joab and his troops were coming home with plunder from the battles they had fought. When Joab heard of what had just happened, he sent for Abner to return and meet with him. When they met secretly, he stabbed Abner in the stomach for stabbing his brother in the stomach. *** David was so upset at Abner when he found out that he put a curse on every generation of Joab’s family to have open sources or leprosy, be crippled, die by the sword, or live in poverty. *** Then David had a great funeral honoring Abner and his life. He wrote a song for Abner and sang it at his funeral. All Israel saw that David had nothing to do with Abner’s death. *** David turned Joab and Abishai over to God to repay them for what they had done. *** In John, Jesus knew that this Passover he would die, so he took off his robe and washed the disciple’s feet. Peter started to protest when he came to him, but when Jesus explained that if he didn’t, Peter wouldn’t belong to him. Then Peter wanted Jesus to wash his hands and his head also. Jesus explained that a person who bathes his whole body, only needs to wash his feet. What he was referring to was when we are saved, we are totally cleansed. Then as we walk though life, we get little sins on us in our daily “walk” and we just have to wash off our feet to be clean again. He gave them the command to wash other’s feet - in other words, forgive them. *** Jesus told them that there was one with them who ate with them who would betray him. When this is all over, they would believe that he was the Messiah. He gave Judas the bread he dipped in the bowl and sent him out to do his dirty deed. This flew over the disciple’s head, but they understood later. *** So many battles could be stopped if people would just forgive. Asahel and Abner would have lived out their days if they had either forgiven or been forgiven. *** Lord, may we forgive like you forgive. May we not throw stones at people, but live in the fear of the Lord. May we be like David who turned those who were stronger than him over to the Lord to do as he sees fit.

Thurs.’s Devo - David is Made King

Read: 2 Samuel 1:1-2:11; John 12:20-50; Psalm 118:19-29; Proverbs 15:27 David fought the Amalekites and was the victor. He recovered everything that had been stolen from him and got his family returned to him alive and well. He and his men brought home more spoil than they could keep for themselves. Saul, on the other hand, lost his battle with the Philistines and lost his life and the life of his sons. *** An Amalekite that was at the battle Saul fought in came to David with the news of Saul and Jonathan’s death and took credit for killing Saul. He was expecting a reward but got killed instead. *** David mourned for the death of Saul and Jonathan and wrote a song which he taught to his men. God told David to move back to Judah and live in Hebron which means “communion”. Finally, he would be able to commune with his own people and live among them. They anointed David the king over Judah. *** Meanwhile, Abner, Saul’s army commander put Ishbosheth, Saul’s son as the king over the land of Israel. So Isbosheth ruled Israel from Mahanaim and David ruled Judah from Hebron for seven and a half years. *** In John, some Greeks who had come to the Passover celebration wanted to meet Jesus. They were from Jerusalem. It makes me wonder if that was a sign to Jesus that his time was up. It would be his disciples’ mandate to bring the good news to the Greeks, Romans and the uttermost parts of the earth. *** Jesus told the crowd that it was time for him to enter into his glory. He told them that to follow him they would also have to give up everything. His prayer was that his life would bring glory to his father. God spoke from heaven and answered him. God said that he had already brought glory to his name and he would do it again. Some heard it as a voice and others as thunder. (Those who had ears to hear could hear it clearly.) *** Jesus told them that the voice they heard was for their benefit. From the time he died, it would be a time of judging the world and casting Satan out as the ruler of the world. As Satan is being exposed, Jesus will become greater and greater and will draw people to him. We are seeing this accelerate in our day. *** The people asked Jesus, if the Messiah is to live forever, how can he say he is about to die? Jesus explained that his light on the earth was about to be put out so they must put their trust in his light before it is put out. If they walked in his light, the darkness would not overtake them. *** Many could not see that Jesus was the light of the world, but many did. Even some of the Jewish leaders believed that Jesus was the Messiah but for fear of losing their position, they kept quiet. *** Jesus explained once again that if they trust in him, they are trusting in God because they are one. He came to show them the light because everyone will be judged for what they did with the light that was shown to them. *** Lord, may we embrace your light and walk in it. May our light shine so bright that others would want to come and walk in the light also.

Wed.’s Devo - God’s Hidden Blessings

Read: 1 Samuel 29:1-31:13; John 11:55-12:19; Psalm 118:1-18; Proverbs 15:24-26 The Philistine armies met at the fortress at Aphek to fight Israel who were camped at Jezreel. The other Philistine commanders saw David and his army and asked why they were there. King Ashish told them how loyal David had been to them and how he could find no fault in him. The commanders didn’t care what King Achish said, they refused to let David and his men fight with them. What if David decided to change sides in the middle of the battle and fight against them? They would be in a heap of trouble. *** They sent David home which was a huge blessing because then David wouldn’t be charged with killing Saul and his sons. It was also a blessing because when they got home they found their houses raided and their wives and children taken. *** God led them to an Egyptians slave who was able to tell them who had attacked Ziklag and where they were. They were able to overtake the Amalekites and recover all and more. They had so much plunder they were able to share with the exhausted men who had stayed with the supplies, and had enough to bless towns they had visited throughout their travels. *** Meanwhile, back at the battle between Israel and the Philistines Saul and his sons were killed, just like Samuel had predicted. The Philistines came in and took their towns. They took Saul and his sons bodies and fastened them on the wall in Bethshan. The Israelites in Jabesh-gilead traveled all night and took their bones and buried them at Jabesh and fasted for 7 days. *** Jabesh means “dry” and Gilead means “a heap of witness, an everlasting witness”. Could this be the place where Ezekiel was brought in the Spirit to prophecy over - the valley of dry bones of those who had fallen spiritually and fatally. Ezekiel was asked if these bones could live again. It was like asking if the vilest sinner could be saved. Only God knows. But, he raised them, breathed his life into them and they did rise to live. They became an army. We must never lose hope in praying for the lost. *** In John, it was the time of Passover and any one who saw Jesus was to report to the religious leaders so they could arrest him. Six days before the Passover, Jesus was at Lazarus’s house at a dinner in his honor. Mary anointed his feet with perfume for his burial. We find out that Judas is a thief who stole money from Jesus. *** The next day, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey while the crowd paved the way with palm branches and praises. He was fulfilling Zechariah 9:9. The Pharisees saw that this was not a good time to arrest him since he was so popular and was surrounded with people. *** Lord, thank you that while we might see hopelessness, you see rebirth. May we have faith to believe that you can rebuild ruined places, you can raise dead people to life, and bring freedom and hope to nations.

Tues.’s Devo - Resurrection Power

Read: 1 Samuel 26:1-28:25; John 11:1-54; Psalm 117:1-2; Proverbs 15:22-23 Saul found out where David was and came looking for him again. David learned of Saul’s plans and went to his camp at night to spy on them. God had put everyone in the camp into a deep sleep so David was able to get the spear and water bottle that was right beside Saul. *** When he got far enough away, he shouted to Abner, Saul’s commander in chief of his army. He asked him why he hadn’t guarded his king. He showed him the spear and water bottle. Saul recognized David’s voice and told him he was sorry for wanting to kill him and invited David to come back to Judah and live. He blessed David and told him he would do many heroic deeds and succeed. They parted, but David knew this would not be the last of Saul so he decided the only way to assure his safety of him, his men and their families would be to join with the Philistines. *** Achish, the King of Gath welcomed David and his men and eventually gave them the city of Ziklag to live in. David and his men would go out during the day and fight the Amelekites, the Geshurites and the Girzites which were allies with the Philistines but enemies of Judah. He made sure he killed everyone in the towns he attacked so there would be no witnesses. Then he told the king that he was attacking towns in Judah. *** The day came when the Philistines planned to attack Israel. David wanted to come with them. King Ashish wanted David to be his armor-bearer. *** Meanwhile, Saul was very afraid when he saw the vast army of the Philistines coming to attack him. God wasn’t answering him through his regular means to Saul asked his men if there was a medium who could bring someone up from the dead. He had outlawed all the mediums and sorcerers from the land but his men knew of a witch who lived in Endor. *** Saul disguised himself and they went to her house. When they told her what they wanted she was afraid of the law. Saul assured her they would not hurt her so she agreed to help them. He asked her to bring up Samuel who was not happy to be woken up. He told Saul that God had taken the kingdom from him and given it to David. He and his sons would be killed tomorrow in the battle and Israel would be defeated by the Philistines. *** When it was over, Saul was faint with fear and hunger. They convinced him to eat and the witch prepared his last supper. He probably ate the same food Jesus ate at his last supper only the atmosphere was completely different. Both Jesus and Saul knew they would die the next day but one was dying innocent - for the sins of the world, and the other was dying guilty for his own sins. *** In John, we have the story of another man who was brought out of his grave like Samuel was. His name was Lazareth, the brother of Martha and Mary and Jesus’ good friend. *** When Lazareth became deathly sick, Mary sent the message to Jesus telling him to come quickly. Jesus waited 2 days before he began his travel to see about Lazareth. By the time he got there, Lazareth had been dead for 4 days. Lazareth lived in Judea where they had tried to kill Jesus, but Jesus knew that if he was in God’s will, he was in the light and nothing would harm him. *** Mary and Martha knew that if Jesus had come sooner, Lazareth wouldn’t have died. Jesus told Martha that he was the resurrection and the life and anyone who believes in him would live. He asked Martha if she believed this. She did and she believed that Jesus was the Messiah. *** Jesus became angry when he saw the sadness and mourning of the ones who loved Lazareth. He became angry, probably at death because of the sorrow it brought. They all went to the grave where Jesus called them to roll away the stone. *** Jesus called Lazareth out of the grave and he came out wrapped in grave clothes. Jesus told them to take them off and the chains of death were taken from him and he was alive. This was a picture of what Jesus would do on the cross. He would set us free from death once and for all. *** When the religious leaders heard what had happened they wanted him dead more than ever. If he continued to live, their kingdom of power would be destroyed. *** Lord, thank you that you are the resurrection and the life. Thank you that you have delivered us from the fear of death. May we walk in confident fear of only you.

Mon.’s Devo - Exposing the Truth

Read: 1 Samuel 24:1-25:44; John 10:22-42; Psalm 116:1-19; Proverbs 15:20-21 Saul finished fighting the Philistines and came to look for David again. Saul went into a cave to relieve himself and it just happened to be the cave David and his men were hiding in. While Saul was doing his business, David crept up and cut a piece of the hem of his robe. *** Once Saul left the cave and was on his way, David shouted to him and showed him the piece of his robe and told him he could have killed him, but it had never been his intent to kill Saul, who God anointed to be king. *** Saul was humbled for a moment and even told David he knew he would be the next king and that the kingdom would prosper under his rule. Saul left for a season. *** Samuel died and was buried in Ramah. *** Meanwhile, David and his men went to Maon where the wealthy Nabal lived. He had a beautiful wife named Abigail. All during the time of raising Nabal’s sheep, David and his men were protection for the shepherds and their sheep. When it came sheep shearing time, David sent a message to Nabal asking if they could come and join with their festivities and get a good meal for his men. Nabal knew who David was. He knew that his father was Jesse and that he was running from Saul. He was clearly not interested in the kingdom but only his own life. He told them they couldn’t come. *** David told his men to strap on their swords because they were going to go and kill Nabal and his family for their lack of hospitality. It was an unwritten law that all who had anything to do with the raising of the sheep got to be invited to the sheep shearing feast. David and his men were the reason for their great success. *** Abigail heard what had gone down and hurried with supplies to feed David’s men and expressed her sincere apologies about what her husband had said. David thanked her and promised not to retaliate. *** When Abigail returned home, her husband had a party going on and was drunk. Then next day, she told him what she had done and he had a stroke. Ten days later, God struck him and he died. *** David found out and sent for Abigail to be his wife. She accepted and brought five servants and married David. He also married Ahinoam from Jezreel. Saul had given his wife, Michal to another man. *** Sheep shearing took place in the spring which would be the time of Passover. In this story, the one who died was the ungodly Nabal. In the first Passover, the ones to die were the first born of the ungodly Egyptians. In the fulfillment of Passover, Jesus died for the sins of all mankind. New life came for Abigail who got a new husband. We who believe in Jesus become the bride of Christ and get a new life just like Abigail. Later, in Acts, others came to be his bride just like Ahinoam and others became David’s wives. In John, it was the time of celebrating the Festival of Dedication or Hanukkah. This celebrated the reinstitution of the Temple as the worship of God. It centered around the oil that brought light to the Temple and how God supernaturally kept it lit till they could make more oil. *** Some of the people were begging him to tell them if he was the Messiah or not. Jesus discerned that they were not his sheep and told them that he had put the light right in their faces and they hadn’t seen it. He had done miracles and given them enough proof that if they were going to believe, they would. The ones God had given him were secure in him and no one would be able to snatch them out of his hand. This made the people so mad, they picked up stones to stone him with. Jesus asked them which good work were they stoning him for. *** They said they were stoning him for what he said, not what he did. Jesus told them that the Scriptures called those who received God’s message ‘gods’. So how could they say he is blaspheming when he says he is God’s son. They should see and understand that the works he does are God’s works. *** Then they tried to arrest him, but he got away and went to where John used to baptize and stayed there. This gave the people to think about what John had said about him. It had all come true, so some reconsidered and believed. *** Lord, may we reflect on all you have done and be strengthened to believe even more about who you are and who you want to be through us. May we yield ourselves as your servants to do your will.

Sun.’s Devo - David Escapes Saul

Read: 1 Samuel 22:1-23:29; John 10:1-21; Psalm 115:1-18; Proverbs 15:18-19 David’s men grew to about 400 men which included his family and those who were dissatisfied with Saul’s reign. David had to move around so much just to stay ahead of Saul that he decided to find a place for his parents to stay. He found a refuge in Mizpeh in Moab. They king agreed to let David’s parents live there safely. *** Gad, a prophet told David to move back to the land of Judah. Saul got news he was back in Judah and reminded his men that David had nothing to give them if they joined him. He, Saul could promise them promotion and land. He accused them of helping David who was trying to kill him. (Satan always accuses God’s people of what he is doing.) David was not trying to kill Saul, Saul was trying to kill David, without a cause. Saul accused Jonathan of telling David to kill Saul, which was also a lie. *** Doeg saw his chance to take Jonathan’s place and told Saul what he saw in Nob. Saul sent for Ahimelech and accused him of siding with David. Ahimelech proclaimed his innocence, but Saul told his men to kill him and his family anyway. None of his men would kill the priest, so Doeg had to do it. He had to kill 85 priests and their families. Once Doeg had made the choice to deliver David he crossed the line, and once he murdered the priest, murder consumed him. He killed probably over 200 innocent people that day. This also was a fulfillment of prophecy over Eli’s family that they would all die before their time. *** One priest, Abiathar, escaped and made it to David. He told him everything that happened and David took him in. Abiathar had brought the ephod with him with the Ummin and the Thummin which was used to get answers from God. *** Meanwhile the Philistines were stealing the harvest from the people in the city of Keilah. God told them to go help them and they did. God gave them victory but when Saul found out where they were he went to capture David. David asked the Lord if the people of Keilah would give him up and God said they would, so David and his men escaped before Saul could get there. *** Jonathan met with David and encouraged him to stay strong in his faith in God because David was going to be the next king. Jonathan promised to stand with him and be his second in command. *** David was in the area of Zith and the men of Zith betrayed where he was to Saul. They promised to capture David and turn him over to Saul. Saul was so glad that finally he had met someone loyal to him. *** Saul and his army were so close to David and were about to discover him and his men when Saul received an urgent call to come home because the Philistines were attacking Israel. Saul left for home. God saved David and his men at the last moment. *** In John, Jesus told them about the thief and the robber who is Satan. He would try to infiltrate the sheep but the real sheep know the voice of the Shepherd and they won’t be deceived by him. Every epistle in the New Testament warned of false teachers and false prophets. They were the ones who try to look like the sheep but their desire is to benefit themselves and to deceive the sheep. Satan’s desire is to steal, kill and destroy the sheep. Jesus wants us to have an abundant life. *** Here is how you can know the difference: the good shepherd will lay down his life for his sheep, but the one who works for the enemy will run when he sees trouble coming. He will abandon his sheep and look out for himself instead. *** Jesus would voluntarily lay down his life for the sheep which he did on the cross. All of this talk was over whether Jesus healed the blind man by the name of the Lord or whether he did it by Satan’s power. This miracle was the deciding issue to either prove he was the Messiah or he wasn’t. The people had a hard time thinking he had healed the blind man by the power of the devil. They asked, “Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” Finally, they were thinking for themselves. *** Lord, may we not be blinded or deceived by intruders into your church. May we have discernment and recognize the truth. Thank you that you are our great Shepherd.

Sat.’s Devo - The Hard Truth

Read: 1 Samuel 20:1-21:15; John 9:1-41; Psalm 113:1-114:8; Proverbs 15:15-17 David had to flee Saul’s wrath or stay and be killed. He ran to Ramah to find Jonathan. He asked Jonathan why Saul was so mad at him and wanted him dead. Jonathan was oblivious to any reason his father would want to kill David, but they devised a plan to find out. *** When David didn’t show up for the new moon celebration, Saul finally questioned Jonathan about it. Jonathan gave Saul David’s excuse and it didn’t set well with Saul, especially that his son was defending David. The truth came out. Saul accused Jonathan of wanting David to be king over himself and told him he was a disgrace to him and his mother. Saul told Jonathan to bring in David so he could kill him. Now Jonathan saw clearly that his father wanted to kill David over his jealousy and fear of him. *** Jonathan went to where David was hiding and gave him the signal that meant David was right and he needed to flee for his life. They met one last time and embraced and wept. Jonathan reminded David of their vow to be loyal to each other. This vow would pass to their children forever. Then they separated and David went to Nob to see Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech was a grandchild of Eli’s. David asked for food and a sword. He didn’t tell him he was running from Saul but that he was on a special mission for Saul. Ahimelech gave him the old bread from the priest’s table and Goliath’s sword. *** Doeg, Saul’s chief officer was there and saw him. David left immediately and fled to King Achish of Gath in Philistine territory. He had to act like he was insane to keep from being killed by the king. *** David had done nothing but serve Saul faithfully, and now he was having to flee for his life. Seems unfair, but God’s trials are his school. David was being trained to be the next king and he would have to face many more trials to get him ready for his destiny. We go through trials for the same reason - God is training us for our next assignment. That is why we should “count it all joy.” *** In John, Jesus met a man who had been blind from birth. The Pharisees and religious leaders believed that the true Messiah would be able to do these three things: heal a Jewish leper, heal a man deaf and dumb and a man who was born blind. That is why Jesus sent the lepers he healed to the priests to show them. He had also healed the man who was both deaf and dumb. Now he is met with a man who was born blind. When his disciples asked him if he was blind because of his own sin (duh, he was born blind) or his parent’s sin, Jesus answered, “neither.” This was for the glory of God. This was the third sign. Jesus explained he had a short time to bring light to the world. He made mud from dirt and his own saliva then told him to go to the pool of Siloam and wash it off. He came back seeing! *** The people took this man to the Pharisees to show them. This is what made some of the Pharisees believe Jesus was the Messiah. It caused a division in their ranks. *** The Pharisees questioned his parents but they were afraid of being kicked out of the synagogue because they understood what this meant. They wouldn’t take responsibility for their son’s healing. The Pharisees went back to the man and questioned him again. They tried to get him to give the glory to God and not Jesus. He told them that all he knew was that he was blind, and now he sees. They countered that they were disciples of Moses and not Jesus. They didn’t even know where Jesus came from, how could he be the Messiah. The man said, how strange, Jesus healed his eyes and no one since the world began has been able to do that. *** The Pharisees were offended that this common man would try to teach them and they threw him out of the synagogue. It was probably the first time he had ever been allowed to go into the synagogue. *** Jesus heard what happened to the man and went and spoke with him. He asked him if he believed in the Son of Man. The man said he wanted to, but he didn’t know who he was. Jesus told him he was the man. The man told him he believed. Jesus told the man that he came into the world to bring sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind. *** When some of the Pharisees heard this they asked if he was talking about them. Jesus told them if they were blind, they wouldn’t be guilty, but they remain guilty because they claimed to be able to see. This had to make them livid. *** Lord, may we not be like the Pharisees and think we have all the answers when there is so much we still don’t know and don’t see. Open our eyes to see your truths even if they are painful to look upon. May we repent of our arrogance and humble our hearts to receive your truth.

Fri.’s Devo - Jealousy Leads to Murder

Read: 1 Samuel 18:5-19:24; John 8:31-59; Psalm 112:1-10; Proverbs 15:12-14 Reading about how Saul’s jealousy grew and grew because of David’s successes reminds me of President Trump and how jealous the Deep State has been of him. Just like David, he has been more successful and righteous than any other president in our time. Just like David, the majority of the people love him and stand behind him. And, just like David there has been many assassination attempts on him. *** God protects his anointed leaders and David and Donald Trump are both his anointed leaders. *** Saul, on the other hand, promises David his daughter in marriage, then doesn’t deliver. When his other daughter falls in love with David, Saul tries to use that promise to bring David down rather than to reward him. It doesn’t work, of course, and she ends up saving his life, instead of ending it. *** David becomes stronger and stronger, while Saul is loosing his mind over it, literally. Jealousy leads to murder, but it is usually the one who is jealous that dies. *** In John, Jesus tells them that the truth will set them free. Saul was a slave to sin and a slave is not a permanent member of the family. Saul was never a permanent member of God’s family. David was a son who was full of truth and free from Saul’s hands. Jesus was facing the same threat David was facing with Saul. People were trying to kill him because of the truth. The people claimed to be children of Abraham but Jesus said they weren’t Abraham’s children or they would act like him. They were acting like their real father, the devil. *** God’s children are free to love others. They know the truth when they hear it. The people couldn’t hear or understand what Jesus was saying because they didn’t belong to God. *** The people accused Jesus of having a demon because that is what Satan does - he accuses others of what he is doing. If you want to know what the haters of President Trump are doing themselves, just listen to what they accuse Trump of doing. *** When Jesus told them that Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to his coming to earth the people were completely upset. They picked up stones to throw at him but he was hidden from them and escaped. *** Lord, thank you that we and our godly leaders are hidden in you and the stones of the enemies will not hurt us. Thank you for the truth, may we remain in your truth and may it set us free.

Thurs.’s Devo - David and Goliath

Read: 1 Samuel 17:1-18:4; John 111:1-10; Proverbs 15:11 Israel was fighting the Philistines and had come to an impasse. The armies had gathered on two hills with a valley between them. The Philistines had a giant champion who daily taunted the Israelites challenging one of their warriors to come out and fight him. Whoever won, won for their whole army and the losing army would become slaves of the other army. Israel had no giant so they were paralyzed in fear. *** David’s older brothers were in the army and their father sent David with grain, bread and cheese to give to his brothers and find out how the battle was going. When David arrived, he heard the taunts of Goliath and saw the fear in Israel’s army. He also found out that the reward for killing the giant was marriage with one of Saul’s daughters, and tax exemption for the man’s entire family. *** David kept asking people what the man would get who killed Goliath. David was obsessed with the prize, not the obstacle standing between him getting the prize. His brother’s tried to intimidate him, but David didn’t give in. He finally offered to go and kill Goliath. *** He was taken to Saul who was clearly not impressed with David’s size or age. David told how he had killed lions and bears that came to get his sheep, so what would this pagan be to God? It was the Lord who helped him before, and it would be the Lord who would help him now. *** Saul, reluctantly let him go. He tried to give him his own armor and helmet which didn’t fit David so he gave them back. He would go as himself. He took off with his shepherd’s staff and sling and five smooth stones. *** Goliath began walking towards David cursing him by his gods. He told David he would give his flesh to the birds and wild animals. David was not deterred. He ran towards Goliath cursing him in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. He told him that today the Lord would conquer him and then he would kill him by cutting off his head. It will be his dead body that the birds and wild animals eat. This was the Lord’s battle and He will give it to them - the Israelites. *** It took one stone to fell Goliath. David used Goliath’s sword to kill him and cut his head off. Now, it was the Philistines who ran in fear, with the Israelites hot on their trail. *** Saul wanted to know about David’s father. Who had raised this boy to be so courageous. *** David was a type of Jesus, also born in Bethlehem. Everything about Jesus pointed to God, his father, just as what David did made Saul want to know who his father was. David had to conquer his fear of death to face Goliath who stood in the way of Israel’s victory just as Jesus had to go to the cross and conquer fear and death to gain our salvation which leads to our eternal life. *** David told Saul about his father, then met Saul’s son, Jonathan. He and Jonathan bonded immediately. Jonathan made a pact with David to protect one another with their lives. Jonathan gave David his own robe, his tunic, sword, bow and belt to seal the covenant. He was symbolically giving him his place in line to the throne. He loved him as he loved himself. To me, Jonathan is a picture of John the Baptist who knew his mission was to prepare the people to be introduced to the Messiah. John knew that he must decrease while Jesus increased. Jonathan seemed to know this also. *** In John, Jesus was trying to explain to his followers that he was from heaven and was about to return. The only way they would be able to follow him would be through their belief in him. Otherwise, they would die in their sins. He told them they would understand it better once he was lifted up on the cross. *** Lord, may we be like Jonathan who sees the great potential in others and gives them what they need to succeed. May we also do that for Jesus. May we decrease in our lives and may Jesus be increased.

Wed.’s Devo -Saul’s Disobedience

Read: 1 Samuel 15:1-16:23; John 8:1-20; Psalm 110:1-7; Proverbs 15:8-10 Samuel gave Saul a message from the Lord. God wanted to settle his accounts with the Amelekites because they attacked Israel when they came out of Egypt. Saul was to attack them and completely destroy them because they were so wicked. *** Saul and his army did, but they kept the best of the animals and they captured the king, Agag. God was not pleased and told Samuel he was sorry he ever made Saul the king. *** Samuel found Saul and asked him why he didn’t kill the animals like he had told him to. Saul pulled a fast one and told Samuel he had kept the best animals to sacrifice to the Lord. He had obeyed the Lord in his own way. Samuel told him that obedience was better than sacrifices. *** Then, the real answer came out. Saul let them keep the animals because he was afraid of his own people and losing their favor. Saul begged Samuel to come back with him to sacrifice to the Lord so the people would see that Samuel honored him. Samuel refused and when Saul tried to make him stay he tore the hem of his robe. Samuel said that the Lord had torn the kingdom from him that day and chosen someone better than him. *** Saul still begged Samuel to return with him to sacrifice so the people could see that Samuel honored him. I think that by that time, Samuel felt sorry for Saul and returned with him. *** Samuel took Agag and cut him into pieces - he did what Saul should have done. Samuel went back to Ramah and mourned for Saul. *** God came to Samuel and told him to stop mourning over Saul and get up and go anoint the next king. He was to find a man named Jesse and anoint one of his sons. He was to call a sacrifice and ask Jesse to come and bring his sons. *** Jesse came and when Samuel looked through all his sons, he realized though some of them looked the part, none of them were the one God had chosen. He finally asked Jesse if he had another son. Jesse had one more who was the youngest. He was out in the field watching the sheep. When he arrived, the Lord said, he was the one. Jesse anointed David with oil and the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that time on. *** Meanwhile, the Spirit of the Lord left Saul leaving him tormented by spirits. His advisors looked for someone who could come in with a musical instrument and calm him down when he had his episodes of insanity. David was chosen to do this because he could play the harp so well. His music was able to calm Saul down. How ironic that the very one who would drive him crazy later was able to calm him down now. *** In John, it was the day after the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. They call this day Simbat Torah where they celebrate the Torah. They begin at the beginning reading in Genesis. The Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus who was caught in the act of adultery. The law in Leviticus 20:10 says that the man and woman were to be put to death. They just brought the woman showing again that they didn’t know the law. *** They were trying to trap him but he stooped and wrote in the dust with his finger. He stood up and said, let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone. Then he stooped and wrote in the dust again. *** When they HEARD what he said, they begin to leave from the oldest to the youngest. It never says they read what he wrote or if he even wrote anything to them. In Jeremiah, it says “O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.” (Jeremiah 17:13) *** I don’t know if he wrote names of people who were cursed in history or their names or this verse, or something else, but it was what he said that made them turn away. The oldest left first because he had more sins than the youngest, plus, he had more wisdom to know when he had been whipped. *** Then, the only one without sin who could have accused the woman asked the woman where her accusers were. There were none. Jesus told her that he didn’t accuse her either. He did tell her to go and sin no more. *** Lord, may we always remember that there is a day of judgement coming and all be judged or rewarded. Thank you, Jesus that because of you, we will be rewarded but there are many who will be judged if they don’t hear the truth through us. May we be diligent to share the hope that is in us.

Tues.’s Devo - Victory

Read: 1 Samuel 14:1-52; John 7:31-53; Psalm 109:1-31; Proverbs 15:5-7 Israel was still fighting the Philistines. Saul and his 600 men were camped at Gibeah. Jonathan took his armor-bearer to scout out where the Philistines were hiding. He didn’t tell anyone what he was doing. They found a small outpost of Philistines up on a cliff. Jonathan was ready to fight them whether there was a few or many because God was with him. His armor bearer was totally supportive of whatever he wanted to do. Jonathan came up with a plan. They would show themselves to the Philistines and if they asked them to come up to where they were, they would know God was going to give them the victory, but if they said they would come down to them, they would know to run. *** The Philistines told them to come up so they could teach then a lesson. That backfired on them. Jonathan and his armor-bearer climbed up and killed all 20 of them. This caused a break-through in the Spirit and the Philistines that were in the camp panicked. God shook the ground with an earthquake and they were terrified. The Philistines scattered killing each other as they went. *** Meanwhile, back at Saul’s camp, they did a roll call to see who had caused this great occurrence and found that Jonathan and his armor-bearer were missing. They rushed out to the fight and saw what was happening. Even those who had defected to the Philistines were now returning to fight for Israel. It was a great victory for Israel that day. *** Saul’s army fought the whole day and were exhausted. Saul had put them under a curse if they ate anything all day. Jonathan hadn’t been there to hear the command so he ate some honey he found in the forest and was revived. When he tried to give some to his men, they told him about the curse. Jonathan thought it was a foolish command because they needed their strength to fight. *** At the end of the day, Saul build an altar to sacrifice to the Lord. Saul wanted to go back out and fight all night, but the priest said they should ask God first. God wouldn’t answer so they knew something was wrong. They cast lots and it fell on Jonathan. Jonathan admitted he had eaten honey because he didn’t know about the curse Saul had put on them to not eat. Saul said Jonathan had to die, but the men saved him. *** They didn’t continue to fight but went home. Saul had victory against his enemies on every side for years. He continued to fight the Philistines and and draft every able man into his army. *** In John the people began to believe he was the Messiah because of all the miracles he did. The priests sent the Temple guards to arrest Jesus but they listened to his sermons. Jesus told them that he was only going to be with them for a little while longer, then he was going back to the one who sent him. They wouldn’t be able to find him then. They were so intrigued with his message, they didn’t arrest him. *** On the last day of the festival, the priests would do a water libation where six priests went down to the pool of Siloam and brought back pitchers of water and poured it around the altar. Jesus stood up and proclaimed that if anyone was thirsty, they could come to him because he was the living water. When he did this, there was much debate whether he was the Messiah or not. *** When the temple guards returned without Jesus, they told the very upset priests and Pharisees that no one spoke like Jesus did. The religious leaders mocked the guards for being afraid to arrest Jesus. They told them they were foolish, but they were the foolish ones. Nicodemus suggested they should give Jesus a trial before they convicted him. *** Lord, thank you for sending us Jesus. May we remember how hard the ground was for him when we complain about our circumstances. May we count it joy to suffer for the sake of Christ.

Mon.’s Devo - Changing of the Guards

Read: 1 Samuel 12:1-13:23; John 7:1-30; Psalm 108:1-13; Proverbs 15:4 Samuel stood before the people to testify that he had never deceived them, committed fraud against them or lied to them. The Lord and Saul were his witnesses that his hands were clean. *** He reminded them of what God had done for them through the leaders God had sent them like Moses and Aaron, Gideon, Bedan, Jephthah and himself. But, they rebelled and wanted a king so God has given them one. To show them how wicked they had been for asking for a king, God was going to cause it to rain and thunder that day even though it was not the rainy season. This terrified the people and they begged Samuel to pray for them that God not kill them. *** Samuel assured them they would not die, but warned them not to turn back to worthless idols or they and their king would be swept away. *** Saul was 30 years old and reigned 42 years in all. He picked 3,000 men from his army to stay and fight the Philistines sent the rest home. Saul took 2,000 of them with him to Mishmash and the others went with his son, Jonathan to Gibeah. Jonathan’s 1,000 attacked and defeated the Philistines at Gibeah which roused the Philistines to fight back. *** Saul called in all the men who had gone home to join him at Gilgal. The Philistines came with 3,000 chariots and 6,000 charioteers plus a multitude of warriors. They drove the Israelites to hide wherever they could find and some even crossed the Jordan into the land of Gad and Gilead. *** Samuel had told Saul to meet him at Gilgal and he would come and offer sacrifices to the Lord. Saul waited 7 days and was losing his men because they were afraid for their lives. Saul decided to offer the sacrifice himself for fear he would lose all his army. As soon as he finished, Samuel showed up and was very upset at Saul. He told him that this would cost him his kingdom. God was seeking a man after his own heart who he has already chosen to be the leader of Israel. Then Samuel left. *** Saul was reduced to 600 men. Only he and Jonathan had swords against the whole Philistine army. (Not good odds, especially when you have just offended the Lord.) *** In John, it was time for the Feast of Tabernacles and the disciples urged Jesus to go and show them his miracles so he could become famous and be their king. (People are always looking for a king!) *** Jesus explained that it wasn’t his time yet, but they could go. Jesus ended up going secretly and hid until the middle of the festival, then he began to preach at the Temple. People wondered why the religious leaders weren’t stopping him. *** Jesus told them that he was from God and so was his message. I love the part where he told them that Moses gave them the law, but none of them obeyed it. And, they were trying to kill him - the Word. *** The crowd asked who was trying to kill him. He wasn’t talking to them - he was talking to the religious order. He didn’t answer them directly but what he did say gave away who he was talking about. He told them that he did one miracle on the Sabbath while they circumcised on the Sabbath. The religious leaders wanted to arrest him for exposing them, but his time was not yet come. *** God keeps the calendar, not man and he does things on his calendar - not ours. *** Both of these stories show the changing of the guard from the people’s choice, to God’s choice. Saul and the religious order were the people’s choice. David and Jesus were God’s chosen leaders. We are seeing this same things happen in our day and it is glorious to see. *** Lord, our lives are in your hands. We submit ourselves to your timing and trust you.

Sun.’s Devo - The New Man

Read: 1 Samuel 10:1-11:15; John 6:43-71; Psalm 107:1-43; Proverbs 15:1-3 Samuel had taken Saul aside to give him the word of the Lord. He anointed him to be the ruler over Israel by pouring a flask of oil on his head. Then he gave him specific details about what would happen on his way home. The events happened just like he said. *** Saul met the group of prophets in Gibeah. They were prophesying and the Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul and he prophesied with them and become a new man. Saul became a new man as he agreed with his own mouth what God was saying about him and what He would do. *** That is how we transform into the “new man” God want us to be. We agree with what scriptures and prophecies say about us. *** Then Saul went to the place of worship where he saw his uncle. His uncle wanted to know where he had been since they had been looking everywhere for him. He told him he had met with Samuel who told him the donkeys had been found. He left off the rest of the story. *** Later, Samuel called all the people of Israel to come to Mizpah and hear the Lord’s response for a king. He chose Saul by lot and found Saul hiding among the baggage. Samuel presented Saul as the one the Lord was chosen because they asked for a king. The people shouted “Long live the king”, but there were a few who were not impressed with Saul and scorned him. *** The Ammorites had gouged out the right eye of the people living in Gad and Reuben on the east of the Jordan River. About 7,000 of them had escaped to the other side of the Jordan and settled in Jabesh-gilead. Nahash, the king of the Ammonites was determined to get these men back and came with an army to Jabesh-gilead. Jabesh begged to make a covenant of peace with them. The Ammonites said they would if they let them gouge out their right eyes. The men of Jabesh asked for seven days to see if anyone would come to their rescue. *** They sent messengers to Gibeah begging for help. Saul was there and the Spirit of God came upon him. He took two oxen and cut them into pieces and threatened to do this to the oxen of the person who didn’t show up to fight for Jabesh-gilead. God made the people afraid of Saul and 330,000 showed up to fight. *** The men of Jabesh told the Ammonites that they would surrender the next day. When the Ammonites came, they were met with Saul’s army and greatly defeated. *** The people then wanted to kill the men who had scorned Saul when he was anointed king. Saul wouldn’t let them and led the people to Gilgal to renew their covenant with the Lord. In John, Jesus continued his speech explaining who he was. He explained that no one can come to him unless they are drawn by the Father. They will be raised up in the last day and they will be taught the Scriptures by God. They were the people who accept him who God sent. All who believe in Jesus will receive eternal life because He is the bread of life sent down from heaven. The people who ate manna in the wilderness still died even though the manna was a picture of Jesus. But, now anyone who eats the bread Jesus gives will never die. *** This teaching was a stumbling block to many of them who thought he actually meant they had to eat his flesh. Jesus told them those who ate his flesh and drank his blood would receive eternal life. If they couldn’t make the leap to understand what he was saying spiritually, they would not receive the benefits. *** Even the disciples had a hard time with what Jesus said. He told them that if they were offended by this then what will they think when they see Jesus ascending to heaven again. He explained that his words were spirit and life and had to be understood spiritually. That is why they had to be given access by God to understand. *** Many did turn away from believing in Jesus. When Jesus asked his 12 if they would leave also, Peter spoke up for the rest and said that only He had the words of eternal life. Jesus then exposed the fact that one of his twelve was a devil, speaking of Judas Iscarot. *** Lord, thank you for giving us eyes to see and the ability to see your words are truth and life. Open the eyes of the unbelievers to be able to accept your words of life. Help us to become the “new man”. Read: 1 Samuel 10:1-11:15; John 6:43-71; Psalm 107:1-43; Proverbs 15:1-3 Samuel had taken Saul aside to give him the word of the Lord. He anointed him to be the ruler over Israel by pouring a flask of oil on his head. Then he gave him specific details about what would happen on his way home. The events happened just like he said. *** Saul met the group of prophets in Gibeah. They were prophesying and the Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul and he prophesied with them and become a new man. Saul became a new man as he agreed with his own mouth what God was saying about him and what He would do. *** That is how we transform into the “new man” God want us to be. We agree with what scriptures and prophecies say about us. *** Then Saul went to the place of worship where he saw his uncle. His uncle wanted to know where he had been since they had been looking everywhere for him. He told him he had met with Samuel who told him the donkeys had been found. He left off the rest of the story. *** Later, Samuel called all the people of Israel to come to Mizpah and hear the Lord’s response for a king. He chose Saul by lot and found Saul hiding among the baggage. Samuel presented Saul as the one the Lord was chosen because they asked for a king. The people shouted “Long live the king”, but there were a few who were not impressed with Saul and scorned him. *** The Ammorites had gouged out the right eye of the people living in Gad and Reuben on the east of the Jordan River. About 7,000 of them had escaped to the other side of the Jordan and settled in Jabesh-gilead. Nahash, the king of the Ammonites was determined to get these men back and came with an army to Jabesh-gilead. Jabesh begged to make a covenant of peace with them. The Ammonites said they would if they let them gouge out their right eyes. The men of Jabesh asked for seven days to see if anyone would come to their rescue. *** They sent messengers to Gibeah begging for help. Saul was there and the Spirit of God came upon him. He took two oxen and cut them into pieces and threatened to do this to the oxen of the person who didn’t show up to fight for Jabesh-gilead. God made the people afraid of Saul and 330,000 showed up to fight. *** The men of Jabesh told the Ammonites that they would surrender the next day. When the Ammonites came, they were met with Saul’s army and greatly defeated. *** The people then wanted to kill the men who had scorned Saul when he was anointed king. Saul wouldn’t let them and led the people to Gilgal to renew their covenant with the Lord. In John, Jesus continued his speech explaining who he was. He explained that no one can come to him unless they are drawn by the Father. They will be raised up in the last day and they will be taught the Scriptures by God. They were the people who accept him who God sent. All who believe in Jesus will receive eternal life because He is the bread of life sent down from heaven. The people who ate manna in the wilderness still died even though the manna was a picture of Jesus. But, now anyone who eats the bread Jesus gives will never die. *** This teaching was a stumbling block to many of them who thought he actually meant they had to eat his flesh. Jesus told them those who ate his flesh and drank his blood would receive eternal life. If they couldn’t make the leap to understand what he was saying spiritually, they would not receive the benefits. *** Even the disciples had a hard time with what Jesus said. He told them that if they were offended by this then what will they think when they see Jesus ascending to heaven again. He explained that his words were spirit and life and had to be understood spiritually. That is why they had to be given access by God to understand. *** Many did turn away from believing in Jesus. When Jesus asked his 12 if they would leave also, Peter spoke up for the rest and said that only He had the words of eternal life. Jesus then exposed the fact that one of his twelve was a devil, speaking of Judas Iscarot. *** Lord, thank you for giving us eyes to see and the ability to see your words are truth and life. Open the eyes of the unbelievers to be able to accept your words of life. Help us to become the “new man”.

Sat.’s Devo - Jesus, the Bread of Life

Read: 1 Samuel 8:1-9:27; John 6:22-42; Psalm 106:32-48; Proverbs 14:34-35 Samuel had sons and like Eli they didn’t share his devotion to the Lord. They used their position to gain wealth unlawfully. *** Samuel was getting old, so the elders of Israel met with Samuel to discuss Israel’s future. They wanted a king like the other nations had. Samuel went to the Lord with their request and he told Samuel not to worry because they were not rejecting him, but the Lord. They had repeatedly abandoned the Lord for other gods so he was to give them what they wanted, but first he must warn them what a king would do. A king would draft their sons into his army, force them into labor to take care of his property, take their daughters and force them to serve him and take a tenth of their income to run his government. He warned the people, but they still wanted a king, so Samuel agreed to give them one and sent them home. *** Meanwhile, there was a wealthy man named Kish from the tribe of Benjamin who had a son named Saul. Saul was tall and handsome and looked like a king. His father sent him to look for his donkeys that had strayed away. His servant went with him throughout the land but they didn’t find the donkeys. He decided to go home before his father began to worry about him. His servant remembered that Samuel lived close by and they could ask him since he was a seer. They scrounged up some silver to give him as a present. *** God had prepared Samuel for Saul’s visit. He told him to anoint him to be the leader over Israel. He would rescue them from the Philistines. *** There was to be a public sacrifice at the place of worship and Samuel was officiating. He met Saul just as the Lord had said would happen and asked Saul to eat with him. He told him the donkeys he had been looking for were found and that he and his family were the hope of all Israel. 
 *** This got Saul’s attention. He stayed for the sacrifice and was given the finest cut of meat and was seated in the place of honor. After the meal, Samuel brought Saul to his house to stay the night. In the morning he woke him up to send him on his way. He took him aside to give him the word the Lord had given him. *** In John, the people who had been fed the day before were looking for Jesus. They had seen the disciples get in their boats and go across the lake. They couldn’t find Jesus so they went to see the disciples. They found Jesus on the other side and asked him how he got there. Jesus didn’t tell them he walked across the water, instead, he addressed the real reason they were following him. They wanted what he could give them naturally, like food. He tried to get them to believe in Him who God sent. They wanted a miraculous sign, as if he hadn’t just showed them one. They brought up the fact that Moses gave them bread from heaven every day. Jesus told them that Moses didn’t give them anything, God did, and now God was offering them the real bread. They didn’t get it. Jesus explained that he was that real bread - the bread of life. He came down from heaven to save the ones God had given him. If they believe in him they could have eternal life. They had a hard time with this statement. *** In both of our readings, the people wanted a leader to rule over them and give them benefits. In the Old Testament God wanted to be their king, but they wanted a natural king. In the New Testament, Jesus wanted to be their salvation, but they wanted tangible evidence. They both could not see that the spiritual brings the natural, not the other way around. *** Lord, thank you that you have opened our eyes to see and given us a heart to believe in you. Thank you for the gift of eternal life. May we feast on all the things you say and do and may we enjoy living in your presence.

Fri.’s Devo - From Victory to Victory

Read: 1 Samuel 5:1-7:17; John 6:1-21; Psalm 106:13-31; Proverbs 14:32-33 The Philistines took the Ark of God from the battleground where they captured it to the town of Ashdod. Ashdod means “powerful” but it was no match for the Almighty! They placed the Ark in their temple of Dagon beside Dagon’s statue. Dagon was their god of fertility and was represented with the face and hands of a man and the tail of a fish. *** The next morning Dagon’s representative was face down in front of the Ark. They must have had a battle that night and Dagon lost. The Philistines set him back up for another bout and the next morning they found that Dagon had lost his head and hands and was lying face down in front of the doorway. (He was probably trying to escape the power of God.) *** Then the Lord’s hand fell upon the people and they got tumors. They knew it was because of the Ark, so they sent the Ark to Gath. They got tumors too, so they tried to pass the Ark on to Ekron, but the people saw it coming. They begged the Philistine rulers to send the Ark back to the Israelites before it killed them all. *** The Ark stayed with the Philistines for 7 months and they learned to fear the Lord. They sought a way to send the Ark back as to not offend God any further. They knew they needed to send an offering with it so they make five gold tumors and five gold rats like those who had spread the plague among them. They sent five to represent the five main cities of the Philistines to cover all their bases. They put the Ark on a new cart and let two cows drive the cart. They chose cows who had just given birth and that had never had a yoke on them before. They put their new calves in a pen and hitched the mothers to the cart. Naturally, this would have been a complete disaster, but because God was in control, the cows steadily walked the cart down the road straight to the border of the Israelites. *** Bethshemesh was the nearest town to the border and the cows went to a field owned by Joshua. The people saw it coming and were elated. The Levites took the Ark down and the chest of gold and set them on a rock. They took the cart and broke it apart to make a fire and offered the two cows on the altar as a sacrifice to the Lord. *** The Lord killed 70 of the men from Bethshemesh because they looked into the Ark. This brought the fear of the Lord upon the people of Bethshemesh. They called for the men to Kiriath-jearim to come and get the Ark. It stayed in Kiriath-jearim at the home of Abinadab for twenty years. *** The people felt that God had abandoned them. Samuel told them that if they really wanted to return to the Lord they had to get rid of all their false gods and images of Ashtoreth and turn their hearts to the Lord and make him their only God. *** Samuel had everyone meet in Mizpah and renew their covenant with the Lord. As they were celebrating and sacrificing to the Lord, the Philistines attacked. God fought for Israel and used thunder to confuse the Philistines. Israel defeated them. They restored the Israel the towns of Ekron and Gath and other land that the Philistines had stolen from them years before. *** This is such an important observation. When we recommit ourselves to the Lord, the devil will attack us immediately to regain the ground he is losing. For us, it is a great opportunity to not only win but to get back all he has stolen from us. Attacks are God’s way of getting us to fight for what we have lost and reclaim it. *** Samuel moved a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah and called the rock Ebenezer which means “the stone of help”. Samuel judged Israel for the rest of his life. *** In John, Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem for the Passover and stopped to preach to a group on the far side of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus asked Philip where they could buy bread to feed all these people. Philip said they would have to work for months to be able to feed them. Peter spoke up and said that there was a boy there with a lunch of five loaves and two fish, but what was that to this huge crowd. *** Once they realized the impossibility of the situation, Jesus told everyone to sit. He thanked God for what they had and began breaking it and giving it out. Five thousand ate that day and they picked up 12 baskets of leftovers. With man, things are impossible, but with God - NOTHING is impossible. *** The people saw this sign and wanted to make him their king but he slipped away. *** Once again, God does some great thing and the devil comes to steal their victory. It came in the form of a storm. The disciples quickly forgot the miracle of the bread and fish and were fighting for their lives, but Jesus showed up walking on the water and as soon as he stepped into the boat, the storm stopped. Not only that but they were immediately at their destination. They not only overcame the storm but gained distance and didn’t have to strive anymore. *** Lord, help us to remember that worrying is exhausting and steals our strength and our faith. May we stand on your promises and not back down. The victory is yours!

Thur.’s Devo - The Rise of Samuel - a True Prophet

Read: 1 Samuel 2:22-4:22; John 5:24-47; Psalm 106:1-12; Proverbs 14:30-31 Eli had heard of all the terrible things his sons were doing. They were blaspheming the Lord by seducing the young women who assisted at the entrance of the Tabernacle. We already read where they stole the meat to be sacrificed for themselves. Eli told them to stop but he never disciplined their actions so they just continued. *** God sent a prophet to rebuke Eli for not disciplining his sons and told him that God was going end his family dynasty as the priests. All the members of his family would die young and would miss the prosperity that he was going to pour out on Israel. The ones who lived would grow blind and their hearts be broken. They would see their children die a violent death. In fact, his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas would die on the same day. *** God would give the honor of the priesthood to someone who would be faithful to Him and serve the kings he anoints forever. This person was Samuel who was growing up in the Tabernacle to fear and honor the Lord. *** God spoke to Samuel one night for the first time. Thinking it was Eli who called him, he went to his bed to ask what he wanted. Eli finally understood that God was trying to talk to Samuel so he sent him back to ask God to speak to him. *** God did speak to Samuel and told him that he was going to carry out the words the prophet had told Eli. Judgement was coming upon his family and there is no sacrifice that will save them. *** The next morning, Eli got Samuel to tell him what the Lord said. Eli knew it would come true. In fact, Samuel became a renown prophet whose words always came true. *** Meanwhile, Israel was at war with the Philistines and they were defeating Israel so badly that Israel decided to take the Ark with them into battle. Instead of it helping them win, they were greatly defeated and the Ark was taken by the Philistines. Hophni and Phinehas were both killed that same day in battle. *** When Eli hear the new, he fell over and died. When Phinehas’ pregnant wife heard the news she went into labor and died giving birth to a son she had named Ichabod. Ichabod means “the glory has gone”. *** God’s Word is true and just. When people obey it, their nation prospers and is safe. When they allow sin and turn from God, their nation is judged and is cursed. We have been a nation just like Israel who turned from God and his Word and allowed wickedness to rule. We are turning that around in great measures. This year our President offered prayers and praise to God for the death and resurrection of Jesus. Last year, the president declared the same day as a day of the celebration of sin. Thank God, we are headed in the right direction and we will see how God prospers a nation who makes the Lord their God. *** In John, Jesus talked of the day when the dead would rise from their graves to experience resurrection. This happened when Jesus resurrected. He went to hell and preached to those who were in chains waiting his death. He took all who believed to heaven with him. *** By the testimony of two, a thing is established. Jesus was one and John the Baptist was the other witness. John told the people what Jesus would do, and now he was doing it, proving that John was right. *** The religious leaders searched the scriptures thinking their knowledge would bring them salvation, but they rejected the one the Scriptures was talking about so all their knowledge would do them no good. One day, Moses will stand and accuse them for not believing who he wrote about, which was Jesus. *** Lord, help us to see with our spiritual eyes and not believe the traditions of men. You are doing a new thing in the land, may we not miss it.

Wed.’s Devo - Hannah and Samuel

Read: 1 Samuel 1:1-2:21; John 5:1-23; Psalm 105:37-45; Proverbs 14:28-29 This was the time of the judges when everyone did what was right in their own eyes. Elkanah had two wives named Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah was barren. Every year this became very obvious when they went to Shiloh to worship the Lord and bring their sacrifice. Elkanah gave meat for Hannah and Peninnah to offer only Peninnah was give more to cover her children. Peninnah would always make a big deal about how small Hannah’s sacrifice was since she had no children. This upset her so much she was unable to eat. *** One year, Hannah left the feasting and went to pray. Eli the high priest saw her and thought she was drunk. She explained she was not drunk, but in great turmoil and was praying. Eli told her to go in peace and may God grant the request she had asked him for. Hannah got up and joyfully went back to enjoy the festivities. *** She returned home and soon became pregnant. She had vowed to give the baby to the Lord. Samuel was born and when he had weaned, she took him to the Tabernacle and offered him to Eli. Eli had two sons who were now men and they didn’t honor God or the people. They stole people’s sacrifices for themselves. Samuel became like Eli’s son and grew up in the Tabernacle. Hannah visited every year and brought him a coat she had made. *** God blessed Hannah with three more sons and two daughters. Hannah prayed a prayer that Mary, the mother of Jesus, would quote from many years later. *** In John, Jesus went to Jerusalem for the feast and went to the pool of Bethesda where the blind, lame, and paralyzed gathered waiting for the pool to bubble up. They believed that when it did, the first one into the pool would be healed. Jesus saw a man who had been sick for 38 years. He asked him if her would like to get well. He explained that he would but he couldn’t get to the water quick enough when the water bubbled up. Jesus told him to stand up and pick up his mat and walk. The man was instantly healed. He rolled up his mat and began walking. The Jewish leaders saw him carrying his mat on the Sabbath and rebuked him. He told them he was just doing what the man who healed him told him to do. When they asked who healed him, he didn’t even know. Later, Jesus found him and told him to stop sinning or something even worse may happen to him. *** The man went to the leaders of the Jews and told him it was Jesus who had healed him so they came to Jesus to rebuke him for healing on the Sabbath. Jesus told them that his Father was always working and he was just doing what he saw Him do. Jesus was calling God his Father and healing on the Sabbath, giving the religious leaders two reasons for wanting to kill him. *** Jesus told them that God was going to show him how to do even greater things than what they had just seen. God, the Father gives life to the dead, but the Son gives life to the living. God is not the one who will judge because he has given that right to Jesus. So everyone will honor the Son as their judge just like the honor God, the Father. If they don’t honor the son, they cannot honor the Father. That statement confronts every religion who doesn’t worship Jesus. Jesus is the only way to the Father. *** Lord, we honor you by honoring Jesus as our Christ, the only begotten son of yours. Through Him, we become your sons and daughters. May we see what you are doing and follow your lead.