Thurs.’s Devo - Arise and Shine!

Read: 2 Samuel 23:24-25; Acts 3:1-26; Psalm 123:1-4; Proverbs 16:21-23 David’s Thirty warriors where listed and where they were from. The last one on the list was Uriah the Hittite. David killed one of his most valuable men for lust. *** God was angry at Israel and we are not told why. Usually it was for following after other gods, but the last famine was because of what Saul had done to the Gibeonites. To punish the people, God put in David’s mind to count the people which is to “bring them to an account.” It is like bringing a person to the throne of God after they had died and having them account for their lives. Since Jesus had not come yet, the sentence would be death. *** In Exodus 30:12-16 it explains that if you count the people, they were to pay a half shekel to redeem themselves back. This would keep them from being judged by a plague. It was their redemption before Jesus came and paid it all. David did not required this of them which brought the plague. Seventy thousand people died in the plague. David saw the angel about to strike Jerusalem and fell on his face and interceded for the people. God did stop the plague and told David to build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah. Araunah means “make you shine and shout joyfully.” David asked to pay for the land from Araunah who was willing to give it to David. David insisted on paying so his offering to the Lord would cost him something. David built the altar and God answered the prayer for the nation and the plague was stopped. *** In Acts, Peter and John were going to the Temple for the evening hour of prayer. They passed a man who lay at the gate of the Temple every day. He had been born lame. When Peter and John passed him he asked them for money. They looked at him and Peter told him they didn’t have any silver or gold but they would give them what they had. In the name of Jesus they told him to get up and walk. He did get up and walked right into the Temple praising God. The people saw and heard him coming in and were amazed. Peter took the opportunity to witness about Christ. He began at the prophecies of Samuel and brought them through all the things said about the Messiah by the prophets and explained how Jesus fulfilled every one of them. He explained their future to be a blessing on the earth to all people. But, they must repent and turn to the Lord and believe in his son, Jesus Christ. *** Peter took every opportunity he had to testify of Christ. Lord, may we be so bold as to let our light shine everywhere we go.