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.