Tues.’s Devo - Judah, Simeon and Reuben

Read: 1 Chronicles 4:5-5:17; Acts 25:1-27; Psalm 5:1-12; Proverbs 18:19 We continue reading the genealogy of Judah and stop to eulogize Jabez for his sincere worship of God. It is recorded in Jewish writings that his reputation as a doctor of the law drew many scribes around him in the town that was named for him (1 Ch. 2:55). His name means “grief” which was experienced by his mother in his birth. His prayer that is recorded is more like a vow that he gave before he went on a critical mission, probably in fighting the Canaanites and possessing his land. He prayed that God would bless him, protect him, and help him take his territory. God answered his prayer and Jabez prospered. *** Next, we have the descendants of Simeon which it says they didn’t have many children so their clan didn’t multiply like Judah’s. When God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply, that is still our command. Simeon’s clan didn’t do this for some reason. They were still conquering their land when Hezekiah became king. *** The sons of Reuben were recorded next. Reuben lost his status as the first born when he slept with his father’s concubine. His birthright was given to Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh. Their chief was taken to Assyria by Tiglathpileser. They had opted to live east of the Jordan instead of in the land of Israel. In the days of Saul they defeated the Hagrites and lived in their tents in Gilead. *** The tribe of Gad settled next to the tribe of Reuben in the land of Bashan. They had gotten their land from King Og when Israel was journeying with Moses to the promised land. *** In Acts, it was time for Festus to hear the case the Jews were bringing against Paul. They asked to have the trial moved to Jerusalem with plans to kill Paul on the way. Festus said the trial would be in Caesarea and they had to go there to bring their charge. *** In Caesarea, Paul was ordered to come before Festus and hear the charges brought against him. The Jews brought their false charges against Paul and Festus asked Paul if he would like to go to Jerusalem to be tried. Paul told him that he had not committed any crime against the Jewish law, against the Temple or against Caesar. So since he had done no crime he appealed to Caesar. Festus granted his request and told him he would send him to Caesar. *** Festus had to send a letter telling Caesar what Paul was being charged for and had no idea what to write. Agrippa and his wife were coming to the city so he asked them to meet with Paul and help him write the letter. *** With much pomp and ceremony, Agrippa and Bernice entered the hall of the tribunal and Paul was brought in. Tomorrow we will read about what happened. *** Lord, help us to realize the importance of family and heritage. Help us to understand what really matters in life and keep the main thing the main thing. You are the main thing.

Mon.’s Devo - Paul’s Trial

Read: 1 Chronicles 2:18-4:4; Acts 24:1-27; Psalm 4:1-8; Proverbs 18:16-18 Today we read the lineage of Hezron from the tribe of Judah. The kings came from that line. David, Solomon and almost all of the kings of Israel were from the tribe of Judah. *** In Acts, Paul was brought to his trial. The high priest Ananias and some of the elders including Tertullus came down with their case against him. Ananias accused Paul of being a plague that stirs up riots everywhere he goes. They claimed Paul was a Nazarene who was trying to profane the temple before they stopped him. The Jews with him confirmed what he said. *** When it was Paul’s turn to testify to their accusations he testified that he had been going up to Jerusalem to worship for 12 days and never stirred up a riot in the temple or in the city. He believes everything in the law that the Jews hold as true and his hope is in the same God they claim to worship. He believes like them that there will one day be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. *** Paul had worshiped peacefully in the temple until some Jews from Asia who, he added ought to be here at the trial, brought accusations against him. The only disturbance he made was when he cried out that: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.’ *** Felix knew something about “Christians” and told them that when Lysias the tribune comes down, he would decide his case. Until then, Paul would be kept in custody with visiting rights. *** Felix’s wife was Jewish and she came with Felix to hear what Paul had to say about his faith in Christ. He reasoned with them about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment which convicted and scared Felix. He sent Paul back to his cell hoping he would bribe him. Paul didn’t and stayed in prison for 2 years. Felix was succeeded by Porcias Festus. As a favor to the Jews, he kept Paul in prison. Little did he know that Paul wrote many letters to the churches which we now read in our Bibles. *** Lord, I thank you that you work everything for the good of the gospel and for our own good. Thank you that you use our trials to mold and shape us into your image. May we give ourselves to your plan and find our joy in you.

Sun.’s Devo - The Chronicles

Read: 1 Chronicles 1:1-2:17; Acts 23:11-35; Psalm 3:1-8; Proverbs 18:14-15 The Kings had been written by the prophets who were mainly in Israel, so they highlighted the kings of Israel. The Chronicles where written about the same history but by the priests who were in Judah. So we get the same stories from different perspectives. The priests held the books about the genealogies of the people so the Chronicles open with the histories of the families from the time of Adam till their present time. Today, we read from the sons of Adam to the sons of Jacob or Israel. They also kept records of the kings who reigned in the land. *** In Acts, God visited Paul at night and told him not to be afraid that he had testified in Jerusalem and he would also testify in Rome. *** There was a conspiracy to kill Paul on the way to his trial but Paul’s nephew learned of it and came and told Paul. Paul sent him to the tribune and told them what he had overheard. They sent 200 soldiers with 70 horsemen and 200 spearmen to accompany Paul to leave that night to go to the governor Felix in Caesarea. They also sent a letter telling of how Paul had been arrested by the Jews and they had conspired to kill him that next day. The tribunal had questioned Paul and found he was not guilty of death, but he had been arrested because of something to do with Jewish law. Since Paul was a Roman citizen, they brought him safely to him. *** Felix put Paul safely under guard in Herod’s praetorian. *** Lord, thank you that you are our protector and safe place. You hide us under the shadow of your wings. We praise you for all the great and mighty acts you have done in the Bible and in our lives.

Sat.’s Devo - The Last Kings of Judah

Happy Birthday America! May you enjoy freedom! Read: 2 Kings 23:31-25:30; Acts 22:17-23:10; Psalm 2:1-12; Proverbs 18:13 When Josiah died, his son Jehoahaz who was 23 years old began to reign over Judah. He was not good like his father Josiah. He did evil like the evil kings before him so Pharaoh Neco from Egypt came and put him in bonds and made Eliakim, Josiah’s brother the king. Neco changed his name to Jehoiakim. He was made to tax the people to give Egypt 100 talents of silver and a talent of gold every year. *** Two years later, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and made Jehoiakim serve him for three years. Jehoiakim rebelled against him so the Lord sent bands of Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites against Judah to destroy it just like God’s prophets said would happen. *** Jehoiakim was an evil king and filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which means that he sacrificed many babies to his gods. When Jehhoiakim died, his son Jeoiachin became the king. At that time, Babylon had raided Egypt and taken everything. *** Young Jehoiachin only reigned 3 months before he surrendered to the king of Babylon who came and besieged Jerusalem. The king of Babylon took the king, his officers and servants to Babylon and carried off the treasures of the house of the Lord and all the kings’ treasures. He dismantled the temple to take all its worth. He also carried away all the mighty men of valor, 10,000 captives and all the craftsmen in the land to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar made Josiah’s brother Mattaniah king and changed his name to Zedekiah. *** Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon so Nebuchadnezzar sent his army to besiege Jerusalem. In the second year of the siege, they broke through the wall and the king and his officers tried to escape at night through the wall. They were caught and brought to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah. There he slaughtered all of Zedikiah’s sons then had Zedikah’s eyes gouged out so the last thing he saw was his sons being killed. Then Zedikiah was taken blinded and in chains to Babylon. *** Nebuchadnezzar’s captain Nebuaradan came to Jerusalem and burned down the house of the Lord, the king’s house, and all the houses in Jerusalem. They broke down the walls around Jerusalem and took the rest of the people left in the city to Babylon. They left some of the poorest of the land to keep the vineyards and the fields. *** They carried away everything from the house of the Lord that had value. They brought the priests and the important people to Riblah where Nebuchadnezzar had them also killed. *** Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah to govern the people left in Jerusalem. Gedaliah met with all the captains left in the land of Judah at Mizpah. Gedaliah told them not to be afraid of the Chaldeans because if they would just serve the king of Babylon, things would go well for them. But, Ishmael of the royal family brought 10 men with him and struck down Gedaliah and all the people fled to Egypt because they were afraid of what Nebuchadnezzar would do to them. *** When king Jehoiachin had been in prison in Babylon for 37 years, Evil-Merodach became king of Babylon. He pardoned Jehoiachin and gave him a seat in his government. He was given royal clothes, a seat at the king’s table and a salary. *** In Acts, Paul was telling the people of Jerusalem his story. He was at the point where he went back to Jerusalem and was praying in the Temple when he went into a trance. The Lord told him to get out of Jerusalem at once because they would not believe his testimony because he had persecuted so many Christians. God sent him far away to witness to the Gentiles. *** They had been listening intently until he got to the part about going to preach to the Gentiles. Then they shouted that he should die. The tribune ordered him to be put in the prison and flogged to find out the truth. But when they were preparing to flog him, he reminded them that he was a Roman citizen by birth. Then they were afraid that they had bound him and took the straps off him. *** They sat Paul down to talk and he told them he had lived his life in good conscience. The high priest struck him on the mouth and Paul called him a whitewashed wall. When they told him he was the high priest, Paul said hd didn’t know or he wouldn’t have said what he said. *** Paul realized that he was speaking in front of a council full of Sadducees and Pharisees so he used that to his advantage. He said that he was on trial because he believed in the resurrection of the dead. This threw them into a tizzy because that was the great debate between the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Pharisees proclaimed Paul innocent because they believed in the resurrection of the dead, and the Sadducees disagreed. They had to rescue Paul from them and had him put in prison. *** Paul met misunderstanding and persecution everywhere he went because he was living in the days of great transition from law to grace. We are in the same place of transition from grace to kingdom. There will be many who will be misunderstood and persecuted for preaching the kingdom age but it is coming no matter how many people push against it. *** Lord, I thank you that your will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Nothing can stop what is coming.

Fri.’s Devo - Josiah’s Reform

Read: 2 Kings 22:3-23:30; Acts 21:37-22:16; Psalm 1:1-6; Proverbs 18:11 When Josiah had reigned for 18 years he sent his secretary Azaliah to meet with the high priest, Hilkiah to count the money to repair the house of the Lord. In the process of repairing the house of the Lord, Hilkiah found a copy of the Law and brought it to Josiah. When Josiah read it he tore his clothes because he read how the Lord felt about them worshiping any other god but him. He sent for the priest and his officers to inquire of the Lord to find out what they should do. They went to the prophetess Huldah and asked her what the Lord was saying. *** Huldah prophesied that God would bring disaster upon Judah and its people because they had forsaken him and worshiped other gods. But, because Josiah’s heart was repentant it would not happen during Josiah’s lifetime. *** Josiah called a meeting of all the people of Jerusalem, the elders, officers, and prophets. Josiah read the law to them and made a covenant before the Lord that he would keep his testimonies and follow his law with all his heart, mind and soul. All the people joined him in the covenant. *** Then they began a huge excavation of all the worship of false gods. They carried all their paraphernalia down to the Kidron brook and burned it and took the ashes and cast them on the graves of the common people. They brought the false priests out of the cities of Judah and defiled their high places. Josiah stopped the sacrificing of babies and the worship of the sun and moon. All false religions were banned. The land was cleansed of idolatry. Even the altar at Bethel where the golden calf was situated that Jeroboam had erected was taken down and burned. There, Josiah saw the tombs of the altars that were there and had the bones taken from them and burned. But he let the tomb of the prophet who had prophesied this would happen remain untouched. He sacrificed all the priests who offered profaned sacrifices to false gods on their altars and then returned to Jerusalem. *** Josiah did away with the mediums and necromancers and the household gods. No king had gone to this amount of care to remove the false worship of gods and declare the worship of the true God. But, God did not forget what Judah had done under the rule of Manasseh and promised to eventually judge them. *** Josiah was murdered by the king of Egypt at Megiddo and was brought back to Jerusalem and buried in his own tomb. His son, Jehoahaz was anointed king. *** In Acts, Paul and been arrested and was to stand before the tribunal. They thought he might be the Egyptian who had led a revolt, but Paul assured them he was a Jew from Tarsus. He asked for permission to speak to the people and was allowed to. He addressed them in Hebrew which got their attention. He told them who he was a where he was from and that he had learned the law from Gamaliel who was a well-respected Rabbi. He assured them he knew the law and followed it. He had persecuted those who were believers in Jesus and had them imprisoned and but to death. On his way to Damascus to continue ridding the land of these Christians, he was overcome by a great light and heard a voice asking him why he was persecuting him. When he asked who he was, he was told he was Jesus of Nazareth. He was told to go to Damascus where he would be told what to do. The light left him blinded so he was led to Damascus. *** There, a devout man named Ananias came and prayed that Paul would see and his eyes were opened. He told him that he would be a witness for Jesus everywhere he went. He rose and was baptized. *** Lord, give us boldness like Paul to proclaim the mighty things you have done for us. Thank you for our testimony of your goodness and faithfulness. We give you praise and honor.

Thurs.’s Devo - Hezekiah’s End

Read: 2 Kings 20:1-22:2; Acts 21:17-36; Psalm 150:1-6; Proverbs 18:9-10 Hezekiah became deathly sick and Isaiah came and told him to put his house in order because he was going to die. Hezekiah cried out to the Lord and reminded him of how he faithfully served him. Isaiah was sent back to tell Hezekiah that the Lord was giving him 15 years more to live. He also told him how to cure his illness. *** Hezekiah asked for a sign that he would be healed and Isaiah gave him the choice of letting the sun go forward or back ten steps on the sundial. He choose for them to go back, so time went back ten steps. *** Merodach-baladan the king of Babylon sent Hezekiah gifts and letters wishing him well. When his ambassadors came to present them to Hezekiah, he showed them all the riches in his kingdom. When they had gone, Isaiah came and told Hezekiah that Babylon would one day come and take all the treasures that he had shown them away to Babylon. Some of his sons would be taken away to become eunuchs in Babylon. Hezekiah was happy that it wouldn’t happen in his life time. You would think that Hezekiah would spend his remaining years preparing his son to follow after the Lord and delay the judgment of the nation, but Hezekiah became proud during these days and produced a son who would be the most evil of all kings before him. *** Hezekiah lived his 15 years and died. His son who was only 13 became king. His name was Manasseh. He reigned 55 years. He rebuilt all the temples to the foreign gods and shed much innocent blood. He led Judah astray to do more evil than all the nations before them had done. *** God’s prophets warned the people of the disaster that was coming because they had abandoned him for idols. Jerusalem’s fall would be worse than Samaria’s. Manasseh died and his son Amon became the king. *** Amon was 21 when he became king and only reigned 2 years. He was evil like his father and worshiped idols. His servants assassinated him in his own home. The people made Manasseh’s son Josiah the king. Josiah was only 8 years old and did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in the ways of David. *** In Acts, Paul, Luke and others met with James and the believers there in Jerusalem. Paul told them how the Lord was welcoming Gentiles into his family and they rejoiced. They warned Paul that men had spread rumors that he taught against Moses’ law and told Jews not to be circumcised. To show that Paul followed the Law, they told him to join with 4 men who were making a Nazarite vow to the Lord. They were hoping that when they see Paul following the Law they will understand that he still honors the Law. *** Paul did do this. But, when these Jews saw Paul in the Temple they tried to seize him because they thought he had brought his Gentile friend into the Temple. They dragged Paul out of the Temple and planned to kill him but the tribunal heard about it and sent soldiers to stop the crowd from killing Paul. They arrested Paul and asked him what he had done The crowd was shouting out their accusations but it was so chaotic the solders couldn’t get to the truth. They had Paul brought to the barracks so they could find out what was going on. *** Lord, may we learn from our past and not repeat the same mistakes. May our walk be blameless and pleasing in your sight. Forgive the leaders who have gone before us and grant us righteous leaders to lead our nation back to You.

Wed.’s Devo - God’s Great Deliverance

Read: 2 Kings 18:13-19:37; Acts 21:1-16; Psalm 149:1-9; Proverbs 18:8 In Hezekiah’s 14th year of reigning over Judah, Sennacherib of Assyria came to take the fortified cities of Judah. Hezekiah repented that he had stopped paying them tribute and asked what it would take to make them leave them in peace. Hezekiah gave Senacherib all the silver and gold he could find in his kingdom and took the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord and gave it to him. Sennacherib still sent his powerful army led by Rabshakeh against Jerusalem. *** Hezekiah sent his officers to speak to Rabshekeh. Rabshekeh rebuffed Hezekiah for thinking he could buy his way out of this, or hire Egypt to help him, or think the Lord would help them. He boasted that the Lord was the one who sent him to destroy them. *** Hezekiah’s officers asked him to speak to them in Aramaic so their soldiers couldn’t understand. He refused and addressed them instead. He told them that if they listened to Hezekiah they would be doomed to eat their own dung and drink their own urine, but if they surrendered to him, they would be taken to his land where they would have their own land and eat bread and drink wine. He told them not to listen to Hezekiah because the gods of other nations had not been able to save them. What makes them think that the Lord will not be able to deliver them out of their hands. *** Judah’s men remained quiet because they had been instructed not to answer. When Hezekiah heard what Rabshekeh said, he tore his clothes and wore sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord to pray. He sent his men to ask Isaiah what they should do. Isaiah told them not to be afraid of the words of Rabshekeh because he reviled the Lord with his words. God would put a spirit in him so he would hear a rumor and return to his ow land. He would die of the sword in his own land. *** Rabshekeh sent another letter to Hezekiah threatening him again and reminding him of all the nations he had defeated. Hezekiah took the letter and spread it out in the temple of the Lord. He prayed that God would save them so that all the kingdoms of the earth would know that he is the only God. *** Isaiah sent word to Hezekiah saying that the Lord heard his prayer and repeated a prophesy about Sennacherib. It was true that he would turn fortified cities into heaps of ruins and destroy nations, but he had defied the Holy One of Israel, and God would retaliate. God would put a hook in his nose and a bit in his mouth and he would return the way he came. *** For Judah, Isaiah prophesied, she would eat from what grows this year and the next year. In the third year, they will sow and reap and plant vineyards and eat from their fruit. A remnant would survive. *** God also said the king of Assyria would not return to harm the city because the Lord would defend it for his name sake and for the sake of David. *** That night the angel of death went and killed 185,000 Assyrians in their camp. Senecherib went back home to Nineveh and was assassinated by his own son in the temple of his god. Esarhaddon, another son ruled in his place. *** In Acts, Paul and Luke and their friends left Ephesus and traveled to Jerusalem. All the way people were prophesying over Paul and warning him not to go to Jerusalem because he would be persecuted and end up in prison. Paul had to trust the spirit of God inside him and kept going toward Jerusalem. He was not afraid of chains or imprisonment; he was more afraid of missing God’s plan for his life. *** When they finally arrived in Jerusalem, they stayed with Mnason who had been an early disciple of theirs. *** Lord, may we be like Paul who was not afraid of death or persecution. May we fear you above our comfort.

Tues.’s Devo - Israel’s Fate -

Read: 2 Kings 17:1-18:12; Acts 20:1-38; Psalm 148:1-14; Proverbs 18:6-7 While Ahaz was ruling Judah, Hoshea became king of Israel. Hosea was an evil king. The king of Assyria came against him and ordered him to pay tribute to him. When Hosea refused, the king of Assyria took Hosea prisoner and invaded the land of Israel and besieged Samaria for three years before he captured it. He carried all the Israelites to his land and scattered them throughout the cities in Assyria. He brought his people to take their place. *** All of this happened because the people of Israel did what he told them not to do when he brought them from Egypt and gave them the land. They did not remain faithful to the Lord but took up the gods of the land. They worshiped Baal and Asherah and other gods. *** Judah also abandoned the Lord and followed Israel in the worship of false gods. When the kingdom divided and Israel made Jeroboam their king, he led them into great sin making golden calves for them to worship so they wouldn’t go to Jerusalem and worship the Lord. So they were exiled to the land of Assyria and remained there. *** The king of Assyria replaced them with people from Babylon and other cities. They lived in the cities the Israelites had built and did not fear the Lord. So, the Lord sent lions among them that killed some of them. The king of Assyria was told that the lions were there because the people didn’t know the law of the god of the land. So the king sent one of the priests that he carried away to go and teach them the law of the god of the land. So a priest came to Bethel and taught them how they should fear the Lord. *** But the people of Samaria still worshiped in all the shrines and high places the Israelites had built. The Babylonians brought their own gods with them and burned their children to these gods and did all manner of evil. They feared the Lord and they worshiped the false gods. *** Hezekiah became the king of Judah and reigned in Jerusalem for 29 years. He was righteous and feared the Lord all the days of his life. He removed all the places the people worshiped false gods and broke the serpent that Moses had made in the wilderness. He followed the Lord so closely that he prospered in everything he did. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him. He struck down the Philistines and God was with him in all he did. *** Samaria was taken in Hezekiah’s sixth year of ruling over Judah. *** In Acts, there had been a great riot because the silversmiths accused Paul and his people of speaking against the goddess Artemis. The silversmiths had incited the riot against them because they were converting their customers to Christ thus, hurting their business. *** When everyone left the scene, Paul left for Macedonia to encourage the churches there. He stayed in Greece for three months until he heard there was a plot against him by the Jews. Then he went to Syria and returned through Macedonia. *** Paul spent Passover in Troas and preached until midnight. They were in an upper room and a young man name Eutychus was sitting by a window. He went to sleep and fell from the third story and died. Paul went down and held him and he came back to life. They went back upstairs and Paul spoke and broke bread until the sun came up. Then he left in the ship for Jerusalem, hoping to be there on the day of Pentecost. *** When he came to Ephesus he spoke to them about what he knew would happen to him once he got to Jerusalem. He had gotten prophetic words that he would be met with imprisonment and afflictions in Jerusalem. He knew it was probably the last time he would see these people. He wanted them to know he was not afraid of the future for himself, but he was concerned for them. He warned them of wolves that would come and try to twist the truth and get them off track. He encouraged them to stay strong and walk in the grace of the Lord. He reminded them that he didn’t covet their silver or gold but there would be those who would come after him that would. He also encouraged them to help the weak and to be generous to the poor because it is more blessed to give than to receive. *** Paul prayed for them and embraced them with tears knowing he would not see them again. *** Lord, may we face our tomorrows like Paul faced his. May we walk steadfastly into the future with courage and confidence that you hold our lives in your hands. We praise you Lord! All the earth is yours!

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.

Mon.’s Devo - Signs That Make You Wonder -

Read: 2 Kings 3:1-4:17; Acts 14:8-28; Psalm 140:1-13; Proverbs 17:22 Jehoram, reigned over Israel for 12 years while Jehoshaphat was king of Judah. Jehoram did evil in God’s eyes but he did put away the pillar of Baal. *** The king of Moab had been supplying Israel every year with 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams but when Ahab died, they rebelled and stopped sending tribute to Israel. King Jehoram enlisted the help of Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom to come help him fight the Moabites. *** These three kings took their armies and marched for 7 days. They ran out of water and the king of Israel despaired for their lives. Jehoshaphat asked for a prophet of the Lord that they could ask what was to become of them. *** They found Elisha who made it clear that they only reason he came to help them was because he had respect for Jehoshaphat. He would have left the others to die. Elisha asked for a musician to play while he waited for God’s spirit to talk to him. The Lord told them that water would fill the stream bed, but it would not come as rain. He would also give the Moabites into their hand and when he did, they were to attack every fortified city and cut down every fruit tree and stop up all their springs of water and ruin their land with stones. *** The next morning, water came from Edom and filled the country with water. The Moabites came to attack them and saw the reflection of the sun on the water and thought it was blood. They reasoned that the three kings had rose up against one another and battled. When they came to get the spoil and were attacked by the Israelites. The Israelites did everything to their land that Elisha had told them to do. *** In an effort to win the battle, the king of Moab took his oldest son who was to be the next king and sacrificed him on the wall of the city. Israel retreated and went back to their own land. *** One of the widows of the prophets under Elisha came to him for help. She was broke and afraid that her creditors would take her two children as slaves. Elisha asked her what she had of any worth in her house. She had one jar of oil. He told her to borrow jars from her neighbors. When she obeyed that, he told her the next step. She was to pour from her jar into the other jars. When she had done that, he told her to go and sell it and it would pay off her debts and be enough for her family to live on. *** That is just the way the Lord leads us - step by step. It is one act of obedience followed by another act of obedience and when we get to the end, we see the result. *** Elisha traveled through Shunem often and a wealthy woman who lived there would invite him in to eat. She convinced her husband to build Elisha a room on to their house and supply it with a bed, table, chair and a lamp so he could stay there on his travels. *** Elisha and his servant, Gehazi spent many nights in that room. Elisha wanted to bless the woman for her kindness and asked Gehazi to find out what she might want. Gehazi noticed that she didn’t have a son and her husband was old and when he died she would be alone. Elisha called her in and told her that about this time next year, she would hold a son in her arms. The next spring, she bore a son. *** In Acts, Paul and Barnabas were in Lystra and as they were preaching, Paul noticed a man in the crowd who was crippled and saw that he had faith to be healed. This man had been born crippled, but Paul told him to stand up and he jumped up and began walking. The crowd went wild and thought the gods had come down as men. They called Barnabas - Zeus and Paul - Hermes. *** The priest from the temple of Zeus brought all the supplies to offer sacrifices to them. Paul tore his garments and tried to prove to them that he was a man just like them. He tried to convince them that it was God they should worship but he was having a hard time. *** Then Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and persuaded the fickle crowds to help them stone Paul. They stoned him and dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead. The believers gathered around him and he got up and went back with Barnabas to Derbe where they preached and made many disciples. Then they returned to Lystra and Iconium and encouraged the believers there. They appointed leaders in the churches and prayed and fasted for them to be faithful to the Lord. *** They preached their way to Antioch and gave testimony of all they had experienced in their travels. *** Lord, you are the God of miracles and signs that make us wonder. May we see your signs and wonder. May we obey You in the small things so we can advance to the next step.

Sun.’s Devo - God Fulfills His Word

Read: 2 Kings 1:1-2:25; Acts 13:42-14:7; Psalm 139:1-24; Proverbs 17:19-21 Ahab died, and God’s word came true concerning Israel’s downfall. Moab rebelled against Israel and Ahaziah, Ahab’s son fell through the lattice in his bedroom and became ill. He sent messengers to Ekron to ask them to pray to their god Baal-zebub to see if he would recover. They had not made it out of town when Elijah met them. He asked them if Israel had no god that they would have to go to Ekron and ask their god. Then he told them that the Lord said that Ahaziah would die and not recover. *** When Ahaziah’s messengers returned so soon he asked them what happened. They told him and he wanted them to describe the man who told them he would die. When they did, he knew it was Elijah. 
 *** Ahaziah sent an officer with 50 men to go get Elijah and bring him before him. Elijah called down fire and it consumed them. Ahaziah sent another officer with 50 men and the same thing happened. When he sent the third officer with his 50 men, this officer had enough sense to fall down and beg for mercy from Elijah. Then Elijah knew he could go with this man. *** He went to Ahaziah and told him the same thing he had told his messengers. He would die, and he did. Ahaziah had no son, so his brother Jehoram became king. *** It was time for Elijah to be taken from the earth and Elijah and Elisha both knew it. Elijah went first to Bethel, then Jericho then to the Jordan. He struck the Jordan with his cloak and the water parted and he went across. He kept trying to lose Elisha, but Elisha refused to leave him. Finally, Elijah asked him what he wanted. Elisha asked for a double portion of his spirit. Elijah told him that if he saw him leave, he would get what he asked. As they were talking, chariots of fire and horses of fire came between them. Elijah went up in a whirlwind to heaven and Elisha saw Elijah go up. *** Elisha tore his cloak in half and put on the cloak that Elijah and left and went back to the Jordan. He did exactly what Elijah had done and the water parted and he walked back into Israel. He retraced Elijah’s path going to Jericho, then Bethel. From there he went to Mount Carmel and then to Samaria. All of these places were strategic places where God had done great things for the people of Israel. While Elisha was at Jericho, he healed the waters that were causing miscarriages. At Bethel, he cursed boys who dishonored him and they were killed by bears. *** In Acts, everywhere Paul and Barnabas went the people were hungry and begged to be taught about Jesus. On the next Sabbath, the synagogue was full of people. The Jews who saw the crowds were jealous and began to contradict what Paul was teaching. Paul told them that because they didn’t want the truth, they would take the truth to the Gentiles, just like the prophets foretold. God’s salvation would be given to the world. *** The Gentiles rejoiced when they heard this and many of them were saved. But the Jews got a bunch of elite people of the city on their side and they began to persecute Paul and Barnabas. They drove them out of town, but Paul and Barnabas shook off the dust from their feet and went to Iconium. The disciples were full of joy and the Holy Spirit. *** In Iconium they spoke at the Jewish synagogue and many came to believe, both Jews and Gentiles. They stayed there for an extended amount of time with great freedom to proclaim Christ. Signs and wonders followed their teaching. The city was divided between those who sided with the Jews and those who sided with the apostles. Paul and Barnabas got news that they wanted to stone them so they fled to Lystra and Derby and continued to preach. *** Lord, may we have that much conviction that we would be willing to suffer harm, persecution, loss of reputation and life for the sake of the truth. Thank you that we have the truth within us and no one can take that from us. May we both live and die for you.

Sat.’s Devo - Ahab’s End -

Read: 1 Kings 22:1-53; Acts 13:16-41; Psalm 138:1-8; Proverbs 17:17-18 In verse 41 we learn that Jehoshaphat became the ruler of Judah in Ahab’s fourth year of his reign over Israel. Jehoshaphat made peace with Ahab, where his father Asa had been in constant wars with Israel. Jehoshaphat reigned for 25 years and walked with the Lord. He had the male prostitutes who served Baal exterminated from the land. *** Israel had experienced peace with Syria for three years. In Jehoshaphat’s third year of reigning over Judah he went to visit Ahab in Israel. Ahab asked Jehoshaphat if he would join him in getting Ramoth-gilead back from Syria. Jehoshaphat agreed to help him. When it came time to go to fight, Jehoshaphat asked if they could find a prophet of the Lord and ask him if they would have success. *** Ahab brought all of his false prophets out who all agreed that they would win. Jehoshaphat asked if their was a true prophet of the Lord they could ask. Ahab knew one named Micaiah but he said Micaiah didn’t like him and always prophesied evil against him. Jehoshaphat still wanted to ask him, so Ahab had him brought to them. *** Micaiah was prepped to agree with Ahab’s prophets who prophesied success. He said he would only say what the Lord says. But, he sarcastically told Ahab to go and he would triumph. Ahab knew he was lying and told him to give him the truth. Micaiah told him he saw the Lord on his throne asking his host who could entice Ahab to go to battle so that he might die. One of the host said he would go and be a lie in the mouth of his prophets. The Lord told him that that would work and sent him. *** Zedekiah, one of the false prophets struck Micaiah on the cheek and asked him if the Spirit of the Lord left him and went into Micaiah. Micaiah answered and told him that he would find out when he has to flee into an inner chamber. *** Ahab had Micaiah seized and taken back to the city and put in prison till he returned. Micaiah said if Ahab returns then what he said was not from the Lord. *** So Ahab and Jehoshaphat went to battle against Syria in Ramoth-gilead. Ahab told Jehoshaphat to go out in his royal robe and he would disguise himself as a regular soldier. Jehoshaphat fell for Ahab’s “set up.” But, the commander of the Syrian army had told his officers to only contend with the king of Israel. They thought Jehoshaphat was him until Jehoshaphat cried out. Then they knew he was not Ahab. *** One of the Syrian soldiers sent a random arrow into the midst of the battle and it hit Ahab right in the narrow space in his armor between the armor and the breastplate. He sat on the battlefield propped up in his chariot where he died watching the battle. They washed the blood from his chariot at the same place he had had Naboth stoned. The dogs came and licked his blood just like the prophet had prophesied. Ahaziah, Ahab’s son reigned in his place. He only reigned for two years because he was so evil. He served Baal just like his father had done. *** When Jehoshaphat died, Jehoram his son reigned over Judah. *** In Acts, Paul and his companions were in Antioch and had gone to the synagogue to hear the reading of the Law on the Sabbath. The rulers of the synagogues asked them to come and give the people a word of encouragement. Paul stood up and told them about God’s plan starting with God’s promise to give them the land of Israel. Then Moses led them out of Egypt into the land. They were led by judges and prophets. Then, they asked for a king and God gave them Saul for 40 years. Then he removed him and gave them David who was a man after his heart and did his will. Of David’s offspring, he gave Israel a Savior who was Jesus. John had prophesied his coming. *** The people of Jerusalem did not recognize him or understand the prophecies concerning him which they read every Sabbath. They condemned him just like the prophets said they would. Though they found no fault in him, they had him crucified and put in a tomb. He rose on the third day and appeared to those who had come from Galilee to Jerusalem and Paul and his companions were now his witnesses. Jesus was the first, not to die, but to have eternal life. Now he is offering forgiveness of sins to everyone and freedom from the law of Moses. Everything they were going through had been foretold by the prophets. *** We are going through a similar transition from the Church Age to the Kingdom Age. It has all be prophesied by the prophets and is written all through the Bible. We will see God’s changing of the guard and will see God’s people exalted to rule the mountains of society in the world. We will see a great revival of souls and the taking away of the evil followers of Satan. We will do the works of Christ and prosper on the earth. *** Lord, may we not grow weary in doing good, but endure till the end. Those that wait upon You will receive strength to rise up like eagles and fly. Thank you for your great promises.

Fri.’s Devo - God’s Victories

Read: 1 Kings 20:1-21:29; Acts 12:24-13:15; Psalm 137:1-9; Proverbs 17:16 King Ben-hadad from Syria came with 32 other kings to threaten Ahab, king of Israel. They asked for the king’s silver and gold and his best wives and children. (I wonder if he would have taken Jezebel.) *** King Ahab agreed to his terms. Then Ben-hadad’s messengers added that they would go through his personal house and the house of his servants and take whatever they wanted. The servant of Ahab would not agree to this. They didn’t want their stuff taken. So Ahab told the messengers he would agree to the first thing, but not this. *** Ben-hadad boasted that he was coming and nothing would be left of Samaria when he was finished. Ahab answered that he shouldn’t boast so hastily. Then Ahab commanded his men to take their positions to defend the city. *** A prophet came to king Ahab and told him God would give the great mulitude of Ben-hadad’s army over to him so he would know he was the Lord. Ahab asked him who he should send into battle and he told him to send the governors of the districts and he should lead the charge. Ahab obeyed and got the 232 governors to come with him and his army. *** They attacked at noon while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in his tent. When Ben-hadad was told Israel was coming, he told his men to take them alive. Israel didn’t come to take prisoners, they were fighting for their lives so they began striking down the Syrians till they fled. Ben-hadad also fled. *** The prophet came back to Ahab and told him to get ready because in the spring, the Syrians would return. *** The servants of Ben-hadad told him that Israel’s god was only over the hills, so they needed to fight them in the plains. So, that was the plan. *** In the spring, Ben-hadad returned and Israel was ready for them. Israel looked like two little flocks of goats compared to the Syrian army that covered the land. *** A man of God came and told the king of Israel, because the Syrians have said that God can only fight in the hills, He was going to give them the victory. *** Israel camped opposite the Syrian army for 7 days and on the seventh day, they began fighting. The people of Israel struck down 100,000 Syrians in one day. The rest fled to Aphek where the wall there fell down and killed 27,000 of them. *** Ben-hadad fled and went into the inner chamber of the city. He told his men that he had heard the kings of Israel believed in mercy so they should humble themselves and ask for their lives. When Ahab said that he was his brother, they knew this was the sign that meant they would be saved. Sure enough, Ben-hadad promised to give back the cities that his father had taken from Israel and to let them sell their merchandise in Samaria. They made a covenant and Ahab let Ben-hadad go. *** The prophet came wounded to Ben-hadad and told him that he had been put in charge of guarding a Syrian solder with his life. He got busy and the man escaped. When Ahab heard this, he told him that he would have to die. The prophet took his bandage off his head and Ahab recognized him as one of the prophets. He told Ahab that he had just let Ben-hadad go and the Lord had meant him to die, so he would pay for it with his own life. *** Meanwhile, Ahab wanted the vineyard that was next to his house to make into a vegetable garden. But, the vineyard belonged to Naboth and had been his inheritance from generations of wine makers. He refused to sell to Ahab. When Jezebel found out she told Ahab she would get Naboth’s land for him. She wrote letters to the elders and leaders in Ahab’s name, sealed with his seal. They said to send Naboth to trial and pay two false witnesses to say he cursed God and the king. Then sentence him to die and stone him. *** When Naboth was dead, Jezebel told Ahab to go and take possession of his land. God sent Elijah to meet Ahab as he was coming to get Naboth’s land. He told him that because he had killed to take Naboth’s land, he would die in the place they stoned Naboth, and Jezebel would would die within the walls of Jezreel. Ahab’s house would end up like Jereboam and Baasha’s where they would all end up eaten by birds or dogs. (In other words, they would end up in hell.) *** When Ahab heard his fate he humbled himself and wore sackcloth and fasted and was very depressed. God saw this and promised this disaster would not happen in his lifetime but would fall upon his sons. *** In Acts, Barnabas and Saul had taken the gifts of the people to Jerusalem and then returned to Antioch. There, Barnabas and Saul were anointed and set apart to be missionaries. They went throughout Seleucia and Cyprus proclaiming the news of Christ in the synagogues of the Jews. At Paphos, they ran into a magician and false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He asked to hear from Saul, Barnabas and John. Another magical opposed the message. Saul called him a son of the devil, and enemy of all righteousness, full of deceit and villainy. He cursed him with blindness because he caused the people to be spiritually blind with his lies. He was immediately made blind and when the people saw this, they were astonished at the power of the Lord. *** Paul and Barnabas continued on their way till they came back to Antioch. As they sat in the synagogue that Sabbath, the leader read from the Law then asked if they had any words of encouragement. *** Today, we read how important the role of the prophet was in history. The prophet is still that important now. We need to hear the word of the Lord for our lives because he is still speaking though his prophets and to us by his Holy Spirit. *** Lord, may we hear the prompting of the Holy Spirit in our lives and follow it. We read and believe that you bring victories to the weak who trust in you. We believe we will see victories in our lives and in our land.

Thurs.’s Devo - Elijah Passes His Mantle to Elisha -

Read: 1 Kings 19:1-21; Acts 12:1-23; Psalm 136:1-26; Proverbs 17:14-15 When Ahab got to Jezreel where Jezebel was, he told her all Elijah and done and how he had killed all the prophets of Baal. She sent a message to Elijah saying by tomorrow at this time, she was going to do to him what he did to her prophets. He was afraid and fled to Beersheba in Judah. He left his servant there and went into the wilderness alone. He sat down under a broom tree and asked to die. He went to sleep and was awakened by an angel who told him to eat and drink. There was some hot bread cooking and a jar of water. He did, then went back to sleep. It happened again and he ate. This time the angel told him that it would sustain him for 40 days and nights till he got to Horeb, the mountain of God. *** He came to a cave and the Lord asked him what he was doing there. He told him the people of Israel had torn down his altars, killed his prophets and forsaken him. Now they wanted to kill him also. The voice told him to go and stand on the mountain to meet the Lord. *** The Lord brought a strong wind, that tore the mountains so that rocks fell, then there was an earthquake, and next there was fire. In all these things, he didn’t hear the word of the Lord. Then he heard a low whisper and went and stood in the entrance of the cave. *** Again, the Lord asked him what he was doing here. Elijah told God again what Israel had done and how they wanted to kill him. God told him to go to the wilderness of Damascus and anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. He was also to anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi to be king over Israel and he was to anoint Elisha to be the prophet in his place. Whoever escaped Hazael’s sword, Jehu would kill and whoever escaped Jehu, Elisha would kill. Seven thousand would survive in Israel who had not bowed to Baal. *** Apparently Elijah was so ready to die, he went first to anoint Elisha to take his place and left the other two requests for him to do. He found Elisha plowing his father’s field with 12 yoked oxen. Elisha was with the 12th one. Elijah cast his cloak on him and Elisha ran after Elijah begging him to wait till he told his family good-bye. He sacrificed his 12 oxen and gave it to the people, then followed Elijah and became his apprentice. *** In Acts, they were killing the believers also. Herod was king and became a persecutor of the church. He killed James and John and when he saw this pleased the Jews, he arrested Peter. It was the time of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. *** They put Peter in prison with four squads of soldiers guarding him till the end of the Passover, then he would be brought to trial and killed. The church prayed earnestly for him. The night before he was to be brought before Pilate, Peter was chained between two soldiers with sentries guarding the door of the prison. An angel of the Lord woke Peter and told him to put on his clothes and sandals and wrap his cloak around him and follow the angel. He did, thinking he was dreaming. They passed the guards and came to the gate leading to the city. It opened for them and when they had passed through it, the angel disappeared and Peter woke from his dream. He was at the house of Mary, John’s mother and knocked on the door. Many believers were there praying for him. The servant girl went to the door and came back telling the people that Peter was at the door. When Peter continued knocking they finally opened the door and were amazed to see him. He explained what had happened, then left town. *** The next day, at the prison there was chaos when they found Peter gone. The soldiers were killed, but Peter escaped to Caesarea. *** Later, the people of Tyre and Sidon came to beg Herod to make a covenant of peace with them because their country depended on Israel for food. Herod came to his throne to give them his decision and when he gave his speech, the people shouted that he was a god, not a man. Immediately, the angel of the Lord struck him down because he received their praises and didn’t give God the glory. His body was eaten by worms and he died. *** When God begins to move on the earth in signs and wonders, judgment comes to those who oppose it. We will witness this same move of God and judgement on the wicked very soon. *** Lord, may we fear you above our lives. May we not grow weary like Elijah, but endure till the end. Great victories are for those who endure. Give us strength and courage to stand in the whirlwinds, the shakings, and the fiery trials so we can hear your voice in the end.

Wed.’s Devo - The Clash of Prophets -

Read: 1 Kings 18:1-46; Acts 11:1-30; Psalm 135:1-21; Proverbs 17:12-13 The famine in Israel had lasted 3 years and it was so severe that Ahab called in his household commander, Obadiah to help find a little grass to save their horses and mules. They set off in opposite directions looking for grass. *** Obadiah greatly feared the Lord and honored the prophets. When Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, he hid one hundred of them and kept them alive with food and water. While he was looking for grass, he ran into Elijah. Elijah told him to tell Ahab he wanted to meet with him. Obadiah was skeptical at first, but Elijah promised him he would show up for the meeting. *** When Ahab saw Elijah, he blamed him for the famine but Elijah made it clear that the fault of the famine rested on Ahab and his worship of idols. Elijah told Ahab to bring all Israel and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah and meet him at Mount Carmel. *** Ahab gathered all the people, except Jezebel who surprisingly didn’t know about this meeting. *** Elijah asked the people how long they were going to waver between worshipping God or Baal. He told them to bring out two bulls and each of them would pray to their god and the one who answered by fire is the real God. The people liked this idea. *** They brought out the bulls and Elijah let the false prophets choose their bull and go first. They prayed to Baal from morning till noon. Nothing happened so Elijah began to mock them saying maybe their God was entertaining himself, or using the bathroom, or asleep, or on a trip. The false prophets cut themselves and raved till the afternoon. *** Then it was Elijah’s turn. He repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down. He took 12 stones for each of the tribes of Israel and built an altar. He put the wood on the altar and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he dug a trench around the altar that would hold about 14 quarts of water. Then he had them fill four jars of water and pour it on the wood. (Remember, water was like gold at that time.) He had them do it three times until the water overflowed the altar and filled the trench he had dug. *** At the time when they would be offering up the evening sacrifice in Jerusalem, Elijah prayed to the Lord to make himself known so the people would turn their hearts back to him. Fire fell and consumed the burnt offering. When the people saw this, they fell on their faces and proclaimed that God was the Lord. Elijah called for the prophets of Baal to be seized and had them taken to the Kishon brook where he slaughtered them. *** Elijah told Ahab to go and eat and drink because he was hearing the sound of rain. Ahab obeyed, while Elijah went to pray. Seven times he sent his servant to see if there was a cloud in the sky and the seventh time, he came back and reported that there was a small cloud rising from the sea. *** Elijah told him to go tell Ahab to get home quickly or he would be stopped by the rain. In a little while, the sky grew dark and there was much wind and rain. God allowed Elijah to outrun Ahab’s chariot and he beat Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. *** This story is like David against Goliath, only it is one prophet of God against 950 prophets of Satan. It doesn’t matter how many there were, God would still win. We serve the God who create the universe and made man to dwell on it. If God be for us, who can be against us! *** In Acts, the apostles and believers began to hear the reports of how the Gentiles were receiving the good news of the gospel. Some of the devout Jews in Jerusalem rebuked Peter for eating with Cornelius who was uncircumcised. He explained to them the vision the Lord gave him and what happened at Cornelius’ house and they had nothing else to say except to praise God that he was giving salvation to the Gentiles also. *** The Jews had scattered after Stephen had been martyred and they went to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch. There they spread the news about Jesus. Many received the good news and became believers. When the believers in Jerusalem heard about this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. He was greatly encouraged when he saw their faith and told them to continue being faithful. Barnabas went to Tarsus and found Saul and brought him to Antioch and they stayed there for a year teaching the people and disciplining them. The believers were called ‘Christians.’ *** Prophets came to Antioch and Agabus prophesied that a world-wide famine was coming over the world. The disciples determined to give what they could to the believers in Judea. They sent their gifts through Barnabas and Saul. *** Lord, thank you for always showing us how powerful you are. You are afraid of nothing. Help us to have that courage in our daily walk. May we fear nothing but You.

Tues.’s Devo - The Price of Disobedience and the Power of God

Read: 1 Kings 15:25-17:24; Acts 10:23b-48; Psalm 134:1-3; Proverbs 17:9-11 Israel’s kings fell into a pattern of sin and death. Jeroboam’s son Nadab reigned over Israel while Asa was in his second year of ruling Judah. (Asa was a good king who honored the Lord.) Nadab walked in wickedness and sin like his father Jeroboam. Baasha of Issachar killed Nadab while they were fighting against Gibbethon and reigned in his place. Baasha had all the family of Nadab killed just like the prophet had said. *** In Asa’s third year of ruling Judah, Baasha reigned over Israel and he was evil just like Jeroboam. Nadab died and his son Elah came to power. God sent Jehu the prophet to tell him that because his father had led Israel to sin and idolatry, he and his house would be killed just like his father had killed the household of Nadab for the same reason. *** Twenty-three years had passed since Asa became king in Judah and Elah only ruled two years in Israel. In Asa’s 27th year of ruling Judah, Elah was killed by his servant Zimri who was one of his chief army commanders. Just like the prophet had said, Elah killed all of Nadab’s household. Zimri reigned only seven days because the troops who were fighting for Israel didn’t like what Zimri had done by killing their king. Led by Omri, the army of Israel went to Tirzah where Zimri was and besieged the town Tirzah. When they took the city, Zimri went into the citadel of the king’s house and set it on fire with him in it. *** Israel was divided - half of them supported Tibni as king and the other half supported Omri. Omri’s side won and Tibni was killed. Asa had now reigned 31 years in Judah when Omri became king of Israel. He reigned over Israel for 12 years, six in Tirzah and six in Samaria which he bought for 2 talents of silver. *** Omri was a very evil king who led Israel into the idolatrous sins of Jeroboam. When he died, his son Ahab became king. Asa had now reigned 38 years in Judah. Ahab reigned for 22 years in Samaria. He took foreign wives and introduced Israel to the worship of Baal and Ashterah. These practices included child sacrifice and all manner of sexual perversion. He did more to provoke God’s anger than any other king had so far. *** A man named Hiel of Bethel went to rebuild Jericho but his firstborn died when he laid the foundation and his youngest son died when he set up the gates, just like Joshua had prophesied. *** Elijah the prophet from Tishbe told Ahab that there would be no dew or rain until he said it would come. Then Elijah went and hid himself by the brook Cherish. God told him that the brook would supply his water and the ravens would bring him meat and bread. He stayed there till the brook dried up. Meanwhile, in the whole land of Israel, there was no rain. *** When the brook dried up, God told Elijah to go to Zerephath because there was a widow there who would feed him. But, when he found her, she had enough flour to feed her and her son and then she was planning to die. Elijah told her to prepare the bread and feed him first, then feed them because her flour and oil would always be full. She obeyed his word and fed Elijah and it was just as Elijah said. *** Time went by and the widow’s only son became very ill and died. She blamed Elijah. Elijah took the dead son up in his chamber and laid him on the bed. Then he stretched himself on the child three times and the child came back to life an Elijah presented him to his mother. She was a total believer in Elijah’s words after that. *** In this reading, God keeps reminding us of what is going on in Judah while there is so much overturning and unrest in Israel. Asa was a God-fearing man so there was peace in Judah, where Israel’s kings had abandoned the Lord and their lives were filled with chaos, murder and deceit. That is the way it is in our lives. When we live our lives for ourselves and leave God out, our lives quickly turn to chaos, but when we honor the Lord first, He brings peace and order even in the midst of chaos in the world. *** In Acts, Peter had agreed to go with Cornelius’ servants to meet him at his house. When they arrived, Cornelius had invited his whole family to come and hear what Peter had to say to them. Cornelius fell on his knees before Peter when he arrived, but Peter quickly told him he was just a man and told him to stand. *** Peter told them about his vision, and Cornelius shared his. Peter realized that God’s plan was to save people of all nations. Then Peter told them the whole story of Jesus and what he did. He explains that all who believe in him will receive forgiveness of their sins. While Peter was preaching, the Holy Spirit fell on all who were there. Peter’s men were amazed as they saw them speaking in tongues and exalting the name of Christ. Peter commanded them to be baptized. They stayed there for several days fellowshipping and teaching them of the way of Christ. *** Acts, is the most exciting book and it is my belief that we are about to enter days much like the days in Acts. People will seek out those who walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and just like God’s Word says, the whole earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord. *** Lord, may we prepare our hearts for those days. May we have an answer for the hope we have in you. May your signs and wonders follow us and bring many to know you and your power.

Mon.’s Devo - The Fall of Nations

Read: 1 Kings 14:1-15:24; Acts 10:1-23a; Psalm 133:1-3; Proverbs 17:7-8 Jeroboam had a son who became terminally ill. Jeroboam had his wife disguise herself and go to Ahijah the prophet in Shiloah who had prophesied his kingship. *** God told Ahijah she was coming and would be disguised even though Ahijah was almost completely blind. He called her out the minute she walked in the door and told her he had some bad news for her husband, Jeroboam. God had placed him as king and told him to follow him and yet he had turned his back on the Lord and followed other gods and done evil things. So, God was going to bring harm on Jeroboam’s house and every male would be destroyed. None of them would be buried except the child that she had come to inquire about. The rest of them would either be eaten by dogs or birds. Then God would raise up a king over Israel that would cut off Jeroboam’s house, God would root up Israel out of the land that he had given them and scatter them on the other side of the Euphrates because Jeroboam had led them to worship other gods. The child that she had come to ask about would die when her feet enter her house. *** It happened just as Ahijah had said, her child died the moment her feet crossed her threshold. All Israel mourned his death and he was buried in Israel. Jeroboam reigned 22 years. When he died, his son Nadab reigned in his place. *** Rehoboam reigned in Judah only 17 years and Judah did evil in the Lord’s eyes, also. They provoked the Lord with their idolatry and worship of Asherah. They did the same thing the nations had done who lived there before them. *** In Rehoboam’s 5th year, the king of Egypt came and took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the king’s house. He also took away the gold shields that Solomon had made. Rehoboam replaced them with bronze shields. *** Everything Rehoboam did was written in the Book of the Chronicles of the kings. There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. *** When Rehoboam died, his son, Abijam reigned over Judah. He only reigned over Jerusalem three years and did not follow after the Lord but continued in the sins of his father. When he died, his son Asa reigned. Jeroboam was in his 20th year of reigning over Israel. *** Asa did what was right in God’s eyes and put away the worship of Asherah. He removed Maacah, his own mother from being the queen because she made a disgusting image for Asherah. He took down her image and burned it in the Kidron Valley. Asa’s heart was true to the Lord even though Judah still offered on the high places. *** There was continual wars between King Asa and King Baasha of Israel. Baasha built Ramah between Israel and Judah and wouldn’t allow anyone to travel to Judah. Asa took all the gold and treasures of the temple and and his house and sent it to Ben-hadad of Syria to persuade him to break his covenant with Israel and make a covenant with him. Ben-hadad agreed and began taking territory from northern Israel. Israel got the message and stopped building Ramah. *** King Asa had everyone in Judah help carry the stones Baasha had used to build Ramah to Geba in the land of Benjamin. They also used them to build Mizpah. *** In Asa’s old age, he became diseased in his feet and died. Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place. *** In Acts, there was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius. He was a centurion of the Italian Cohort. He greatly feared and worshipped the Lord as well as his household. One day, he saw a vision of an angel of God. The angel told him that his prayers had been heard and he was sending him a teacher named Simon Peter who was staying with Simon the tanner. When Cornelius came out of the vision he told his servant who was also a devout soldier to go to Joppa and bring back Peter. *** The next day, Peter was praying and went into a trance. He was hungry and was shown a screen with all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds. A voice told him to rise up and kill and eat them. He was alarmed because these animals were not kosher and clean, but the voice told him not to call anything unclean that the Lord calls clean. This happened three times. *** While Peter was contemplating what the vision meant Cornelius’ men arrived and asked for Peter. The Spirit told Peter that three men were looking for him and he was to go down and go with them because God had sent them. *** Peter asked them why they had come and they told him that Cornelius, a centurion who feared God and was respected by the Jewish community was directed by an angel to send for him and ask him to come to his house as his guest. *** For a Jewish person to go and stay with a Gentile would have been taboo, but because the Lord had just given Peter the vision, he understood that he was to go. *** Lord, may we follow you into unchartered territory if you call us there. May we not be afraid of things that go against our traditions. May we be sensitive to your Spirit and what you are doing on the earth. Thank you that you never lead us to where your Spirit has not been.