Fri.’s Devo - God’s Favor

Read:1 Chronicles 11:1-12-12:18; Acts 28:1-31; Psalm9:1-12; Proverbs 19:1-3 All the people of Israel met at Hebron and declared David their king. David made a covenant before the Lord with the elders. He was anointed king just like Samuel had prophesied. David led his men to take Jebus which became Jerusalem. They captured the fortress of Zion and named it the City of David. ***At Zion, Joab became his army commander because he led the attack. Joab was David’s nephew. *** David extended his territory and became very powerful because God was with him. ***David had three mightiest warriors. Two of them were mentioned by name and their exploits were described. The other one is not named. The leader of his thirty was also a nephew of David’s. Benaiah became captain of his body guard. *** I hope you read each name of the thirty. Uriah the Hittite was one of David’s mighty men who he had killed so he could have his wife. After David repented, God redeemed the situation causing Bathsheba’s next son, Solomon, to sit on David’s throne. God can redeem all of our mistakes no matter how large they are. *** Many of Saul’s relatives defected to David’s army when he was fighting Saul. Also, many of Gad’s famous warriors defected to David’s army. They became officers. *** In Acts, Paul’s ship had broken apart and it was each man for himself in getting to shore. The island they landed on was Malta. The people were friendly and built a fire to welcome them. As Paul and the men were gathering sticks, a snake bit Paul. The islanders saw it and superstitiously thought it meant he was a criminal, but when he shook it off and nothing happened to Paul they thought he was a god. *** The island chief, Pubius, took them into his home where they stayed three days. Pubius’ father was very sick. Paul prayed for him and God healed him. Others who were sick came to have Paul pray for them and they were healed. When they finally left, they left with everything they needed for their trip. What a blessing Paul was to that island and to his own men. *** All the way to Rome, Paul was honored and taken care of. When he reached Rome he was welcomed by all the believers there, too. Paul’s favor continued in Rome. He was given his own private lodging with only one soldier to watch him. He was able to meet with fellow believers safely. He told them his story. They were eager to hear his teachings because they had not heard them. A meeting was set up and many came to hear about the Kingdom of God. He went through the scriptures and the prophecies explaining how Jesus fulfilled them. Some of them could see it and others were spiritually blind. Paul told them that this salvation was being offered to the Gentiles and they would accept it. *** Paul was able to preach unhindered for two years. He was even allowed to support himself with working. *** Lord, thank you for your favor on our lives. Thank you for giving your salvation to all who call on your name. You are our strong tower.