Mon.’s Devo - The Rise and Fall of the Kings

Read: 2 Kings 15:1-16:20; Acts 19:13-41; Psalm 147:1-20; Proverbs 18:4-5 Finally a good king! Azariah was a good king in Judah but died a leper after ruling 38 years. When he died Jotham his son ruled over Judah. *** Jeroboam 2.0 was ruling in Israel and he did evil. He only ruled 6 months because he was assassinated by Shallum who reigned in his place. Jeroboam was Jehu’s fourth generation to rule just as God had promised. Shallum was not of his kin. *** Shallum was assassinated by Menahem. Menahem was a merciless warrior who sacked the city of Tiphsah because they refused to let him in their city. He reigned over Israel for 10 years and was an evil king. When Pul the king of Assyria came against Israel, Menahem gave him 1,000 talents of silver to pay for peace. Menahem took the money from all the wealthy men of Israel. When he died, Pekahiah his son ruled Israel. *** Pekahiah was also evil and only reigned for 2 years. His own brother Pekah assassinated him and reigned in his place. Pekah ruled for 20 years in Israel and was also evil. *** During Pekah’s rule, Tiglath-pileser of Assyria came and captured many cities in the land of Naphtali and carried their people as captives to Assyria. Hosea killed Pekah and ruled in his place. *** At this time, Jotham began to rule in Judah. He ruled in Jerusalem for 16 years and did what was right in the eyes of the Lord like his father Uziah (Azariah) had done. But the people still worshipped idols and God began to send Rezin king of Syria and Pekah of Israel against Judah. When Jotham died, his son Ahaz ruled in his place. *** Ahaz ruled over Judah for 16 years and walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He sacrificed his own son to false gods and worshiped idols, leading Judah deeper into sin. *** Rezin of Syria and Pekah of Israel came against Jerusalem and besieged it. The king of Syria recovered some of the cities they had lost in other battles. Ahaz appealed to the king of Assyria to come and rescue him from the king of Syria and Israel. He bribed him with the silver and gold from the house of the Lord and his own house. The king of Assyria agreed to come and help. He took the city of Damascus and took its people captive and killed King Rezin. *** When Ahaz went to Damascus to meet with Tiglath-pileser the king of Assyria he took note of the altar there. He had a blueprint made of their altar and had it sent back to Jerusalem for the priest to duplicate. *** The altar was built to replace the bronze altar in the house of the Lord. He also did major changes in the Lord’s house to make it look like the temples of other gods. When he died, his son Hezekiah ruled in his place. *** In Acts, Paul was staying in Ephesus. Seven of the Jewish exorcists tried to use the name of Jesus to cast out the demons from a man. The evil spirits in the man told these priest that he knew who Jesus was and who Paul was, but they didn’t recognize these men. Then the man overpowered all seven of them. He beat them up and stripped them of their clothes and sent them running from the house. *** When news of this got around, the fear of the Lord fell on the people. Many repented and brought their books of sorcery to the disciples to burn. The word of the Lord grew mightily. *** Paul left and went to Macedonia and Achaia on his way to Jerusalem. His plan was to then go to Rome. Paul stayed with Timothy and Erastus in Asia for a while first. *** They met a man named Demetrius who was a silversmith who had become wealthy making silver shrines to false gods and Paul’s teaching had hurt his business. He formed a union of the other silversmiths to fight against Paul. They started a riot saying that Paul was belittling the great goddess of Artemis who they worshipped and the whole city fell into confusion. They gathered at the theater and dragged in Paul’s companions Gaius and Aristarchus. Paul wanted to go into the theater to help his friends but those with him wouldn’t let him. *** The town clerk finally got the crowd to be quiet and spoke to them. He explained that Paul and his men had not done anything sacrilegious nor had they blasphemed their goddess. So if Demetrius and the other craftsmen had a grievance against them they needed to do it orderly in court. He told the crowd that they needed to go home or be incited with causing a riot. The people went home peacefully. *** Satan does not like his kingdom being disrupted. God is so much more powerful than him and when we as God’s people recognize that and walk it out, all the kingdoms of Satan will fall. We are watching that happen in the world around us. Men of God are rising up and taking back the kingdom of the world from Satan and using it for God’s purposes. That is our commission. *** Lord, you said in Revelation that the kingdoms of the world will become your kingdoms. May we do what we are called to do to see that happen in our section of influence. May we not be afraid of what Satan can do because you have taken his power from him on the cross and defeated him. All glory to your name!

Sun.’s Devo - The Downfall of the Kings

Read: 2 Kings 13:1-14:29; Acts 18:23-19:12; Psalm 146:1-10; Proverbs 18:2-3 Jehu rid the land of Baal worship but worshipped the golden calves Jeroboam had set up in Bethel and Dan. The Lord was not happy with him and gave them over to the Syrians who oppressed them. When Jehu died, his son Jehoahaz reigned over Israel for 17 years. When he died, Joash his son reigned in his place. *** When Jehoash came to rule in Israel, Joash had been ruling in Judah sixteen years. Jehoash was also evil and walked in the sins of Israel. Israel and Judah had warred against each other now for years. *** Elisha became very sick and Joash went to see him and wept over him. Elisha told him to take a bow and arrow and shoot the arrow out the window toward Syria. When he did, Elisha told him that it was the Lord’s arrow of victory over Syria. Then Elisha told him to take the rest of the arrows and strike the ground. He only struck the ground three times so that was how many times he would defeat the Syrians. Elisha lamented that he should have struck it six or seven times and then they would have totally ended the Syrians. *** Just as the sign told them, Joash defeated the Syrians three times. In Judah, Amaziah became king and he reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. He was a good king who did what was right in God’s eyes, though not like David. The people still worshipped in the high places. When he had established his kingdom, he killed the people who had killed his father but he did not kill their children. *** Amaziah also killed 10,000 Edomites and took Sela and renamed it Joktheel. Then he sent a message to Jehoash in Israel saying he wanted to face off with his army. Jehoash warned him not to get so confident just because he had defeated Edom; he should be content with his victory and go home. *** Amaziah wound’t listen to his advice so Jehoash came with his army to meet him at Beth-shemesh in Judah. Israel defeated Judah and took Amaziah captive. The army of Israel entered Jerusalem and took down part of the wall and stole all the gold and silver and the vessels in the Temple and the king’s palace. They also took hostages. *** Jehoash died and his son Jeroboam became king of Israel. Amaziah lived 15 more years after Jehoash’s death. Amaziah was killed by his own men in Lachish and brought back to Jerusalem to be buried. The people of Judah made Azariah, his sixteen year old son king. Azariah built Elath and restored it to Judah. *** Jeroboam was reigning in Israel and reigned 41 years. He was an evil king and caused Israel to sin. He restored the border of Israel, Damascus and Hamath because of the mercy of God according to the words of Jonah the prophet. When he died, Zechariah his son reigned in Israel. *** In Acts, Paul left Antioch and went to Galatia and Phrygia encouraging the believers. *** Priscilla and Aquilla met Apollos who came to Ephesus and was a great teacher. He knew about Jesus and John’s baptism. Priscilla and Aquilla told him about the baptism in the Holy Spirit and he believed them. He wanted to go to Achaia and the church wrote him letters of recommendation. He took the letters and went to Corinth. Paul came to Ephesus and they had not heard about the baptism in the Holy Spirit. So he explained to them how the Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost to give them power and boldness to be witnesses. Then he laid his hands on them and prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit. About 12 of them did and spoke in tongues. Paul stayed there three months boldly speaking in the synagogue about Jesus and salvation. Some were stubborn and refused to believe. They spoke negatively about Jesus but Paul continued to preach for two years. *** God was doing miracles through Paul so that even handkerchiefs and aprons Paul had prayed over were sent to people that were sick and they were healed and delivered. *** Lord, we long to see that kind of power to save and deliver return to the church. Thank you that we will see that in our day.

Sat.’s Devo - Joash Comes to the Kingdom

Read: 2 Kings 10:32-12:21; Acts 18:1-22; Psalm 145:1-21; Proverbs 18:1 Jehu didn’t follow the Lord with all his heart and still worshipped false gods along with the Lord, so God began cutting off Israel’s land. He used Hazael king of Syria to do it. Hazael took the land east of the Jordan that had belonged to Gad, Manasseh and Rueben. When Jehu died, Jehoahaz his son reigned in his place. *** In Judah, Ahaziah had been killed so Athalia his mother ruled. She killed all the king’s sons and destroyed all the royal family. But, Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram and Ahaziah’s sister, took one of Ahaziah’s infant sons and hid him away in a bedroom where his nurse raised him in secrecy. When Joash was seven years old, Jehoiada the priest had the captains the guards meet him in the house of the Lord. He made a covenant with them to help him set Joash as the king. They were to come on the Sabbath and surround the house of the Lord and protect Joash. He would proclaim that he is king and they were to kill anyone who tries to stop them. *** On that day, Jehoiada the priest brought out Joash and put the crown on his head and gave them the testimony o the Lord. They proclaimed him and anointed him and clapped their hands crying “Long live the king!” *** Athaliah heard the noice and went to the house of the Lord to see what was going on. When she saw Joash’s standing in the place of the king and heard the trumpets and what the people were saying she tore her clothes and cried, “Treason!” Jehoiada ordered her to be killed, so they took her out of the house of the Lord and killed her. *** Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people, that they would be his people and worship him. They went and tore down the house of Baal and killed the priest of Baal. The soldiers brought the king from the house of the Lord to the king’s house. The people of the land rejoiced and there was peace in the city. *** Joash was seven years old when he began to reign over Judah and Jehu had been reigning for seven years over Israel. Jehu had rid Israel of Baal worship and now Joash rid Judah of it. *** A temple tax was taken every year and was supposed to be used for maintenance on the temple but after reigning for 23 years, Joash realized it was not being used for that. The priests refused to take responsibility so Jehoiada bore a hole in a chest and set guards over it. The people could put their money in there and it would be safe. When the chest got full, Jehoiada gave it to the repairmen and they did the work honestly and fairly. *** Hazael the king of Syria took Gath and was on his way to take Jerusalem. Joash took all the money in the temple treasury and paid them not to come. Joash was killed by his own servants and his son Amaziah took his place. *** In Acts, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met Aquila and Priscilla a couple who had been banned from Rome because they were Jews. They were also tent-makers and willingly they helped Paul in his ministry. *** Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia. Paul tried to convince the Jews about Jesus, but they refused to believe. Paul shook out his garments and told them he was going to the Gentiles. Paul did find Titius and Scrispus who believed in the Lord and became Christians. They were baptized. *** Paul had a dream telling him to keep speaking about Jesus because God would protect him from harm. God had many in this city who were his. So Paul stayed there another year and a half teaching the word of the Lord. *** When Gallio became proconsul of Achaia, the Jews joined to attack Paul and brought him before the tribunal. They accused Paul of teaching against the law. Paul was about to speak but Gallio interrupted and said that he refused to judge on questions concerning their law. He drove the Jews out of the tribunal. The people took Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue and beat him publicly, but Gallio didn’t care. *** Paul stayed longer then left for Syria taking Priscilla and Aquila with him. He left Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus and he went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews. Then he left Ephesus to go to Caesarea then to Antioch. *** Lord, thanks to Paul’s diligence and perseverance the Gospel was spread throughout the earth. May we continue in his work to spread the Good News to the world.

Fri.’s Devo - Jehu Saves Israel

Read: 2 Kings 9:14-10:31; Acts 171-34; Psalm 144:1-15; Proverbs 17:27-28 Elisha had gone to Ramoth-gilead where Israel had troops were guarding the city against Hazael of Syria. King Joram of Israel had returned to Jezreel to heal from being wounded in the war. Elisha found Jehu, and in secret, he anointed him to be the next king of Israel. Jehu’s assignment was to strike down the house of Ahab and kill every male, whether they were a servant or a free man and to avenge the blood of all God’s prophets that Jezebel had killed. *** Jehu told his men not to tell anyone he was taking the kingdom until he could get to Jezreel and kill Joram. He flew in his chariot to Jezreel. King Joram and King Ahaziah came in their chariots out to meet him. He shot Joram in the heart. *** When Ahaziah saw what Jehu did to Joram, he fled toward Beth-haggan. Jehu chased him and shot him also. He fled to Meddigo where he died. His servants carried his body to Jerusalem and buried him there. Jehu had Joram’s body thrown on the plot of ground that was Naboth’s vineyard. *** Jehu entered Jezreel and went straight to where Jezebel was. He had her thrown down from her window and the dogs drank her blood and ate most of her body before they came to bury her. Everything that happened to Jezebel and Joram had been prophesied. *** Jehu then sent letters to Samaria to the leaders of the city telling them to set up a king to fight him. They were afraid of Jehu who had killed the king of Israel and Judah and asked Jehu to be their king. He told them he would if they behead all the king’s sons. They beheaded all 70 of them and sent the heads in baskets to Jehu. He lay them in two piles by the entrance of the gate until the next day. *** The next day, Jehu stood with the heads and told the people that they were innocent of killing the kings, but they had killed his sons. Then he explained that the Lord had ordained this to happen by the words of Elijah. *** Jehu set out to go to Samaria and met 42 of Ahaziah’s relatives on the way. Jehu had them slaughtered also. Then he met Rechab and asked if he was loyal to him. Rechab said he was so Jehu told him to come with him and see his zeal for the Lord. *** Jehu gathered all the people of Samaria and sent news throughout Israel for all the worshipers of Baal to meet him so he could worship Baal with them. On the appointed day, Jehu went with them into the house of Baal and made sure there were no worshipers of the Lord present. He let them offer their sacrifices and burnt offerings, then he told the men he had stationed outside not to let one of them escape. They went in and put all the worshippers of Baal to death and brought out the pillar in the house of Baal and burnt it. They turned the temple into a public bathroom. *** Jehu rid Israel of Baal worship, but he still worshiped the gods of Jeroboam and was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord with all his heart. *** In Acts, Paul and Silas came to Thessalonica and taught at the synagogue for three Sabbaths explaining why Jesus was the Messiah. The Jews became jealous of their new converts and went to Jason’s house where they were staying to get Paul and Silas. When they didn’t find them there, they brought out Jason and some of his brothers instead. They accused them of housing Paul and Silas who were riling up the people to believe there was another king other than Caesar. *** They let Jason go on bond and the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea by night. They went to the synagogue there and the people were much more receptive. They listened to what Paul and Silas had to say until the instigators from Thessalonica came and stirred up the crowds against them. 
 *** Paul was sent to Athens and Silas and Timothy soon joined him. At Athens, Paul began debating with the Epicureans and the philosophers. He had noticed a statue that was inscribed with “To the unknown god.” All the Atheans and foreigners would meet to discuss politics, religion and any new thought. They wanted to hear what Paul had to say. He commented about the altar of the “unknown god” and said he would speak about him. He explained that God was the creator of everything they could see. He was the only God and the only one they should worship. He created all mankind and mankind is his offspring. God doesn’t live in man-made temples but the world is his temple. All people everywhere need to repent and turn to worship him because there will be a judgment day where every man will stand before him. Many scoffed at what Paul said, but some joined him and believed. *** Lord, you are the answer to every one and every thing. May we remember that one day we will all give an account for our lives. May we make the most of the days we have to live on the earth. May Jesus be exalted through us.

Thurs.’s Devo - God is Sovereign Over All

Read: 2 Kings 8:1-9:13; Acts 16:16-40; Psalm 143:1-12; Proverbs 17:26 Elisha warned the woman who he had raised to life that there was a famine coming that would last for seven years. She should go to another country to live it out. She went to the land of the Philistines. *** After the famine, she returned to get her land back. The king just happened to be talking to Gehazi about all the miracles Elisha had done. He was telling the story of this woman and her son Elisha had brought back from death when she walked in. He recognized her as the woman. She told her story to confirm it. The king ordered that all her land be given back to her and also, all the proceeds gotten from her land over the last seven years should be returned to her. *** Remember how God had given Elijah three things to do before he died and he only did the third one, which was to anoint Elisha to take his place. Today we will see how Elisha fulfilled the other two. One was to anoint Hazael king over Syria. *** Ben-hadad was king of Syria and had become very sick. He sent his servant Hazael to ask Elisha if he would recover or die. Elisha told him that he would recover from the sickness, but he would also die. Then, he told Hazael he would be the next king and he would do horrible things as king. *** Hazael went back to Ben-hadad, but he only told him he would recover. He killed him that night and ruled in his place. *** Meanwhile in Israel, Joram the son of Ahab was ruling. Jehoshaphat and Ahab had become friends and Ahab had given his daughter to marry Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram. When Jehoshaphat died, Jehoram reigned over Judah. His wife led him to worship idols and sin. *** Edom rebelled against Judah and set up their own king so Jehoram went to get them back under his rule. His mission was unsuccessful and he had to flee Edom. *** Jehoram died and Ahaziah his son became king of Judah. He was also evil. Ahaziah went with the king of Israel, Joram to fight Hazael king of Syria. Joram was wounded in the battle and had to return to Jezreel to heal. Ahaziah went to visit him. *** Elisha sent one of the prophets from his school to go to Ramoth-gilead and find Jehu. (This was the second thing God had told Elijah to do before he died.) He was to take Jehu alone and anoint him king of Israel. Jehu was to strike down the house of Ahab to avenge the blood of God’s prophets that Jezebel had killed. The dogs would eat Jezebel in Jezreel and no one would bury her. After he told Jehu this, he was to flee. The prophet obeyed Elisha and did it just like he was told. *** When Jehu heard what the prophet had said, he came back to his men and told them. They blew the trumpet and proclaimed Jehu the king. *** In Acts, Silas and Paul were traveling together. They met a girl who was a fortune teller who discerned that they were men of God. She kept yelling that they were servants of the Most High God so much that Paul finally turned around and rebuked the divination spirit in her and told it to come out. *** Her handlers were not happy because they made a lot of money through her. They seized Paul and Silas and brought them before their rulers. They accused them of causing trouble and teaching against obeying the Roman laws. The magistrates had them beaten and thrown into prison. The jailer put them in the inner prison and put their feet in stocks. *** At midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing to the Lord while the other prisoners listened. Suddenly, there was an earthquake which shook the prison. The doors were opened and everyone’s chains were broken. The jailer woke up and was about to kill himself because he thought all his prisoners had escaped. Paul told him not to harm himself because they were all here. *** The jailer had them bring lights and he fell before Paul and Silas asking them how he could be saved. They told him to believe on the Lord Jesus and he and his whole household would be saved. They told him and his family about Jesus and they ministered to their wounds. Paul and Silas baptized the jailor and he fed them in his house. His whole household became believers. *** The next day, the magistrate sent for Paul and Silas and wanted to set them free. When they told Paul they could go, Paul told them that he was not leaving. He was a Roman citizen and they had publicly beaten him and put him in prison. He was not letting them get away with this by freeing them. Paul made them apologize and set them free. They asked Paul and Silas to please leave the city. They went first to visit with Lydia and the brothers there and encouraged them before they left. *** God will use anything the devil brings against us for His good if we let him. Paul and Silas were willing to suffer for Christ so that a jailor and his household would get saved. God restored the woman’s land to her who had honored Elijah and housed him all those years. God will reward our good works. *** Lord, may we be willing to suffer for the cause of your kingdom. Thank you that your will will be done and Satan has no power to stop it.

Wed.’s Devo - Signs and Wonders -

Read: 2 Kings 6:1-7:20; Acts 15:36-16:15; Psalm 142:1-7; Proverbs 17:24-25 Today we read more exploits of Elisha. Elisha mentored many younger prophets just like Elijah did. The school of the prophets became too small so they wanted to built a bigger place by the Jordan. As they were cutting down the trees to build, one of the prophet’s axe head came off and fell into the water. He was very upset because he had borrowed it. Elisha cut a stick and threw it into the water and the iron axe head floated to the top. *** The king of Syria was very perplexed and believed he had a mole among his soldiers because the king of Israel always was a step ahead of him. When he went to his servants to ask them about it, they said there was no mole, it was Elisha the prophet who told the king everything he was planning. *** The king of Syria sent his army to go to Dothan and seize Elisha. They surrounded the city of Dothan and Elisha’s servants saw them. He told Elisha they were surrounded and Elisha told him that there were more with them than with the Syrians. Elisha prayed that God would open his servant’s eyes. When his servants went to look again, he saw that surrounding the army of Syria was the army of God. The mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. *** When the Syrians came to Elisha, he prayed that God would blind their eyes and he led them to the middle of Samaria. Then he prayed that God would open their eyes and they realized where they were. The king of Israel asked Elisha what he should do with the Syrian soldiers and Elisha told him to feed them, then send them home. *** Later, Benhadad, the king of Syria came and besieged Samaria. The people were starving. When the king heard of a woman eating her own baby he became so mad and planned to kill Elisha, blaming him for the famine. *** The king sent for Elisha and Elisha knew he was coming. He had his servant hold the door to keep the king’s messenger from taking him. He was waiting for the king to arrive. The king wanted to know when God was going to save them. Elisha told him that tomorrow about this same time, 7 quarts of flour would sell for a shekel (which is not very much money). When the king’s captain laughed at this, Elisha told him he would see it with his eyes but never eat it. *** There were four lepers who decided to surrender to the Syrians because they were dying and had nothing to lose. *** At the Syrian camp, the soldiers had heard the sound of a great army coming and feared Israel had hired the Hittites and the Egyptians to fight them. They ran for their lives leaving all their supplies behind. *** When the four lepers came to the Syrian camp they found it abandoned, but all their supplies there. They began plundering the tents and hiding it, then realized they shouldn’t keep this to themselves. They went to the gate of Samaria and told the gatekeepers to tell the king what they saw. *** The king sent messengers to see if what they had said was true or just a trap. When they saw how the army had fled, they came back and told the king it was safe to plunder their camp. The people went and plundered the Syrian camp and the guy who had mocked what Elisha said was trampled in the gate just as Elisha said would happen. *** In Acts, Paul and Barnabas returned to visit all the churches they had ministered in. Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them but Paul didn’t because John Mark had left them during the first journey. Barnabas and Paul argued and finally, Barnabas took John Mark and went to Cyprus, and Paul took Silas and went to Syria with the blessing of the church. *** Paul met Timothy in Derbe and took him with him the rest of the trip. He circumcised him because of the Jews who were in the places they would visit. They shared with all the people what the decision of the church in Jerusalem was about circumcision and encouraged them in their walk. Many came to believe. *** They traveled on throughout Phrygia and Galtia. The Holy Spirit wound’t allow them to go to Asia or into Bithynia so they went to Troas. Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia standing there asking him to come there to help them. So they set sail and went to Philippi which was a leading city in Macedonia. They met with the women who had a prayer group that met outside the city. One of the ladies who attended was Lydia who was from Thyatira and sold purple goods. She believed and was baptized. She invited them to come stay at her house. *** Lord, thank you that your Word confirms that signs and wonders will follow those who believer. Thank you for the signs and wonders you show us every day. May our eyes be open to see your work in the earth.

Tues.’s Devo - The Acts of Elisha -

Read: 2 Kings 4:18-5:27; Acts 15:1-35; Psalm 141:1-10; Proverbs 17:23 The boy who Elisha had promised to the woman was out working with his father and got such a bad headache, he had his servants take him home. He died in his mother’s lap. She place him in Elisha’s bed and took off to Mount Carmel to find Elisha. *** She found Elisha and told him what had happened. She begged him to come home with her. He came and prayed for the boy to come to life. He finally laid on the boy, transferring his own life into the child. The boy awoke an sneezed 7 times. Then Elisha gave the boy back to his mother, alive. *** There was a famine in the land and Elisha went to visit the sons of the prophets in Gilgal. The prophets were gathering herbs and whatever they could find to make a big stew. One of them accidentally brought back a poisonous gourd and put it in the pot. They realized it was deadly to eat, so Elisha asked for some flour. He put it in the pot, then it was fit to eat. *** A man arrived bringing his firstfruits of barley to the Lord. It was the time of Pentecost. Elisha gave his small 20 loaves to feed the prophets. God multiplied the 20 loaves so that it fed 100 hungry prophets and they even had some left over, just as Elisha had said. *** The commander of the Syrian army was a very popular and mighty man in Syria. His name was Naaman and he had leprosy. He had taken an Israelite girl from Israel on one of his raids. She live with him and his wife and served his wife. *** The little girl noticed his leprosy and mentioned that there was a prophet in Samaria that could cure him. Naaman told his king who sent a letter to the king of Israel offering him gifts to heal his servant of his leprosy. The king of Israel read it and thought the king of Syria was trying to stir up trouble. He was so upset he tore his clothes. He knew he couldn’t cure this man’s leprosy. *** Elisha heard about it and told the king to send the man to him, so he may know that there is a prophet in Israel. Naaman came to Elisha’s house, but Elisha didn’t even come out to meet him. He sent out Gehazi to tell him to go wash in the Jordan seven times and he would be healed. *** Naaman was disgraced that Elisha wouldn’t even come out and meet him personally, and that he told him to go and wash in dirty water. They had cleaner lakes in Syria. As he left angry, his servant stopped him and told him that it was an easy thing that the prophet had told him to do. He humbled himself and went and washed seven times and came out with skin like a baby’s. *** Naaman went back to Elisha’s house and wanted to give him gifts for healing him, but Elisha wouldn’t accept them. Naaman asked if it would be okay to take home some of the dirt from Israel. He promised not to worship any other god but the Lord of Israel and he asked for forgiveness when he had to take his master into the house of Rimmon. Elisha sent him home with his blessing of peace. *** Gehazi coveted the gifts they could have gotten from Naaman so he secretly went after him. He lied and told him that two men had come to visit and Elisha would like to give them some of the silver and clothes he had offered Elisha. Naaman gladly gave him two talents of silver and two changes of clothes. *** When Gehazi returned and Elisha asked him where he had gone, he lied and told him nowhere. Elisha told him what he had done and told him it was not the time to accept gifts. Elisha said that the leprosy that left Naaman would now be on Gehazi and his family forever. Gehazi’s body turned white with leprosy. *** Gehazi had seen Elisha multiply food in the famine, bring the dead back to life and countless other signs and wonders. He got the privilege of walking with the most powerful man on the earth and yet, he still lusted after what the world thought was precious. He got it through lies, and along with it the curses of the world. *** In Acts, there was much debate about whether the new Christians needed to be circumcised because of Moses’ law. Paul and Barnabas took their question to the church in Jerusalem. The church in Jerusalem rejoiced when they heard all God had done through them. *** The Pharisees rose up and argued that these new believers had to be circumcised. After much debate, Peter stood up and explained that they all agreed it was God’s will that Gentiles come to God, so why would they put on them the yoke of the law that they were not able to bear. They all believed that they were saved by grace, not by works. *** Then they listened to the stories that Paul and Barnabas told them of all the conversions of the Gentiles and the signs and wonders that happened on their trip. He quoted what the prophet said about the Gentiles and concluded that the only yoke they should put on the Gentiles is that they keep away from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from eating meat that had been strangled and from eating blood. *** The apostles agree with what Paul said and sent Judas and Silas with Paul and Barnabas to give the church their answer to the question of circumcision. They took the letter to Antioch where it was received with joy. Judas and Silas spent some time there encouraging and prophesying over them before returning to Jerusalem. Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch teaching and preaching the word of God. *** Lord, help us to keep our eyes on you and your grace to save. Thank you for giving us hearts that want to do right because you have written your Word on our hearts. Thank you for your Holy Spirit which leads us into all truth.