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.

Sun.’s Devo - The Acts of the Apostles

Read: 1 Kings 12:20-13:34; Acts 9:26-43; Psalm 132:1-18; Proverbs 17:6 Jereboam was made king over Israel while Rehoboam only reigned over Judah and Benjamin. Rehoboam started to send his army to restore the kingdom back to himself but was stopped by a prophet named Shemaiah. He told him that this was the Lord’s doing and he should not go and fight his own brothers. He obeyed the word of the Lord and returned home. *** Jeremiah was not faithful to the Lord. He built Shechem to live as king. He was afraid if the people returned to Jerusalem every year for the feasts, they would turn against him as their king, so he had two gold calves made and put one in Bethel and one in Dan. He told the people to worship them as the gods who brought them out of Egypt. He appointed priest of his choosing who were not from the tribe of Levi. *** Then Jereboam established a counterfeit Feast of Tabernacles one month after the original. He went to Bethel to celebrate this new feast. As he was offering sacrifices on the altar he had built, a man of God came from Judah and gave him a word. He spoke against the altar and said that a son would be born to the house of David whose name would be Josiah and he would sacrifice the bones of the priests of Jereboam on this altar. As a sign that what he was saying was true, the altar would split and the ashes would be poured out. *** Jereboam stretched out his hand to point to the prophet and told his men to seize him. But, his hand became stuck and he could’t move it. The altar broke and the ashes poured out. Then the king begged the prophet to pray for the Lord to restore his hand. *** The prophet did pray for Jereboam and his hand was restored, but his heart was not changed. Jereboam asked the prophet to come back and eat with him and he would give him a reward, but the prophet told him that God had told him not to eat here nor return the way he came. So, they parted. *** An old prophet was told by his sons what had happened and he went after the young prophet and told him that an angel had told him to bring him back to his house and feed him. The young prophet believed the lie and returned to his house. While they were eating the old prophet gave the young prophet a word. He told him that he had disobeyed the Lord by coming and eating with him. Because he did this he would not be buried in his family grave. *** The young prophet left and was attacked by a lion. The old prophet brought his body back and mourned his death. He laid him in his own tomb and told his sons to bury him beside him. *** None of this makes much sense to me, but it is a lesson to all of us to not ever honor a man’s words over God’s Word. We find out later that Josiah did come and have his men dig up the bones of the prophets and burned them on the altar that had been torn down. He stopped when he came to the tomb of the young prophet and his did not get dug up or burned. I wonder if the other prophet who asked to be buried with him didn’t get burned either. I have more questions than answers. *** In Acts, when Saul came to Jerusalem, he wanted to join the disciples but they were afraid of him. Barnabas defended Saul to the apostles and told them of Saul’s conversion and how he had preached boldly about Jesus in the synagogue at Damascus. *** Saul went throughout Jerusalem preaching boldly and debating with the Hellenists. They wanted to kill him, but the believers found out and sent Saul to Tarsus. *** Now that Saul was a believer, the church in Judea, Galilee and Samaria had peace and multiplied. *** Peter went down to Lydda and met a man who had been bedridden and paralyzed for 8 years. He told him to rise in the name of Jesus Christ and he rose and walked. All of Lydda witnessed this miracle and turned to the Lord. *** A pious woman named Tabitha who lived in Joppa died. They washed her body and laid it in an upper room. Peter was sent there and when he arrived he told the mourners to leave the room. He knelt and prayed, then told Tabitha to rise and she did. He brought her out to her friends, alive. Many in Joppa heard about this and became believers. Peter stayed in Joppa with Simon the tanner. *** Lord, we don’t have to understand everything to know that you are the Lord of everything. Your word stands through time and endures forever. May we hide your word in our hearts that we don’t sin against you.

Sat.’s Devo - The Fall of Solomon

Read: 1 Kings 11:1-12:19; Acts 9:1-25; Psalm 131:1-3; Proverbs 17:4-5 Solomon disobeyed the Lord’s command not to marry women who were not from Israel. He married the daughter of the Pharaoh of Egypt, and women from the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. They turned his heart away from the Lord and had him worship and build temples to their gods. *** The Lord became very angry with Solomon and told him that since he had not stayed true to the Lord, He would tear the kingdom from him and given it to one of his servants. God would not do it in his lifetime for David’s sake. He will save one tribe to follow his son, but the rest of Israel will be ruled by one of his servants. *** God also raised up three adversaries against Israel. One was Hadad the Edomite who had fled to Egypt when Israel’s army killed all the male in Edom. Hadad prospered in Egypt and when he heard that Solomon had died, he came back to Israel to cause trouble. *** The second adversary was Rezon who had fled from his master Hadadezer king of Zobah. He had many men who followed him to Damascus where he became king of Syria. He also hated Israel and wanted to do it harm. *** Jereboam was the third adversary. He had proved to Solomon that he was a great leader and a very hard worker when Solomon was building the Millo. Solomon promoted him to be in charge over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph. One day, when Jereboam left Jerusalem he was met by Ahijah the prophet. Ahijah took his robe he was wearing and ripped it into 12 parts and told Jereboam to take 10 of the pieces. He would rule 10 tribes of Israel because Solomon had gone after strange gods and stopped walking in his ways. He would leave one tribe for Solomon’s son to rule. If Jereboam would listen to the Lord and walk in his ways and do what is right, God would establish his name and his posterity. God would afflict the offspring of David, but not forever. *** Solomon must have heard of the prophecy because he sought to kill Jereboam who flee to Egypt until Solomon died. *** Solomon died and was buried in the city of David and Rehoboam, his son reigned in his place. He went to Shechem to be crowned the king. Jereboam heard about it and came to the celebration. *** Jereboam led a bunch of men to ask Rehoboam what kind of king would he be. Would he be a hard taskmaster like his father was or would he remove his yoke from the people. Rehoboam told him he would give them an answer in three days. *** Rehoboam went to his father’s counselors and asked them how he should answer them. They advised him to be a servant to the people and they would love and serve him forever. Great advice! *** Then Rehobaom went to his peers and asked them what he should do. They told him to tell the people that he would be even harder on them than his father was. *** Three days later, Rehoboam forsake the counsel of his elders and chose the counsel of his peers. He told them he would be harder than his father was and discipline them with scorpions. Needless to say, they abandoned him and the house of David. Rehoboam sent his taskmaster over his forced labor to get them in order, but they stoned him. Now it was King Rehoboam who fled. He went back to Jerusalem. *** In Acts, Saul was out arresting anyone he could find who followed the Way. He came to Damascus and was stopped by a light from heaven. He fell to the ground and heard the Lord asking him why he was persecuting him. Saul asked him who he was. He answered that he was Jesus, the one he was persecuting. Jesus told him to get up and go into the city and he would tell him what to do. The men with him heard the same thing. Saul was left blind with his eyes open. They had to lead him by the hand to Damascus where he couldn’t see for three days. Neither did he eat anything. *** Ananias, a follower of Christ lived in Damascus and the Lord gave him a vision where he told him to go the street called Straight and find Judas’ house. There was a man from Tarsus named Saul. He would find him praying. *** Ananias had heard about Saul and tried to argue with the Lord, but God told him that Saul was chosen by him to carry his name to the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. He will suffer much for his sake. So Ananias obeyed and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and told him that the Lord Jesus who had appeared to him on the road had sent him to pray that he would regain his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately the scales fell from Saul’s eyes and he could see. He was baptized and ate. *** Saul stayed with the disciples for days and went to the synagogue and proclaimed that Jesus was the Son of God. Everyone was amazed because they knew who he was. Some didn’t trust him, but as Saul grew in the Lord he proved to many that Jesus was the Christ. *** Jews who didn’t confess Christ, planned to kill Saul, but he found out and escaped through an opening in the wall of the city at night. *** The change in Saul was immediate and powerful. We are about to witness many who will have just as powerful of conversions. God is going to shake the heavens and the earth. It will be glorious. *** Lord, may we not be afraid when we see the death of the wicked and the shaking of the earth. May we rejoice to see your hand moving on the earth in power. May we have an answer to the hope we have.

Fri.’s Devo - God’s Goodness -

Read: 1 Kings 9:1-10:29; Acts 8:14-40; Psalm 130:1-8; Proverbs 17:2-3 God appeared to Solomon again and told him that He had heard Solomon’s prayer over the Temple he had built. God promised that as long as he walked uprightly with Him and obeyed his laws and commandments, he would be with him and his posterity would sit on the throne. But, if he or his children rebelled and began to worships false gods, then God would cut off Israel from the land he had given them and the house that he had built Him would become a heap of ruins. *** In 20 years, Solomon had finished building his two houses, the Temple and the king’s house. Hiram had supplied Solomon with as much cedar and cypress and gold as he desired, so Solomon gave Hiram 20 cities in the land of Galilee. When Hiram came to see the cities that Solomon had given him he said he was disappointed and called them “Cabul” which means “good for nothing.” *** Solomon used his forced labor to build many cities. The pharaoh of Egypt had given Solomon the Canaanite city of Gezer as a wedding gift when Solomon married his daughter. The Pharaoh had captured it and burned it down. Solomon used his forced labor group to rebuild it. He also built many other cities to store his treasures and horses and chariots throughout the land. Solomon had the resources to do whatever he wanted to do. But, Solomon didn’t make slaves of the Israelites. They were his officers and commanders. *** Solomon built the Millo which was a fortification or wall to the north that protected Israel from invasions. Three times a year Solomon offered up sacrifices and offerings to the Lord. *** Solomon had a fleet of ships built so he could bring in gold from Ophir. *** The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon and his great wealth and wisdom and came for a visit. She brought with her spices and gold and precious stones from her country. She sat with Solomon and asked him hard questions and Solomon freely shared with her everything he knew and showed her how his kingdom ran. She was overwhelmed and gave praise to God for all she saw and heard. Solomon gave the queen anything she desired and sent her home with a bounty. *** Solomon received much gold every year. He made 600 gold shields to hang in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. He also had a great throne with 12 lions on the steps leading to the throne and lions as his armrests. They were all covered with gold. *** His fleet of ships brought in gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. King Solomon was the richest and wisest king in all the earth. Everyone came from far and wide to hear his wisdom and bring him presents. The whole land was wealthy and prosperous. He imported chariots and horses from Egypt. Dueteronomy 17:16 says about the king, “Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he may multiply horses; forasmuch as Jehovah hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.” Solomon did all these things. *** In Acts, the apostles at Jerusalem heard about all Philip was doing in Samaria and how many there were receiving Jesus as their Lord. Peter and John went there to pray for them to receive the Holy Spirit. When Simon, the man who had been a magician, saw them laying their hands of the people to receive the Holy Spirit he offered them money to be able to do this. Peter rebuked him and told him the things of God couldn’t be bought with money. He told him to repent and pray for forgiveness. Simon asked them to pray for him. *** Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching throughout Samaria along the way. *** An angel came to Philip and told him to go south to the road that leads to Jerusalem. As he went, he met an Ethiopian eunuch who was a court official to Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians. He was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was on his way home. He was reading Chapter 53 of the book of Isaiah and the Spirit of God told Philip to go and listen. *** When Philip heard what he was reading, he asked him if he understood what he was reading. He didn’t and asked Philip to join him and teach him. He explained that the sheep that was lead to slaughter was Jesus. He told him the good news of the gospel. The Ethiopian received the word and saw some water and asked Philip to baptize him in it. Philip baptized him and when the came out of the water, Philip was translated to Azotus where he preached the gospel to the towns there. The Ethiopian went his way rejoicing. *** The queen of Sheba and the Ethiopian eunuch were both from the same region of the world. Both came seeking something from Israel and both left filled. The queen of Sheba left with wisdom and riches, but the Ethiopian eunuch left with eternal life. Both went home and shared their wealth with their country. *** Lord, your desire to get the Good News out to the world is great. May we do our part in sharing who Jesus is and what he came to do. Thank you for saving us.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Dedication of the Temple

Read: 1 Kings 8:1-66; Acts 7:51-8:13; Psalm 129:1-8; Proverbs 17:1 Solomon had finished the Temple in the 4th month of that year but waited till the seventh month to dedicate it. This time was their new year and it was a jubilee year. He brought everyone together a few days before the Feast of Tabernacles which, appropriately represented how God reigns on earth with us. *** The priests brought the ark up out of the tent in the city of David along with all the vessels. The men of Israel had come to Jerusalem for the feast, so it was a perfect time for the nation to celebrate the dedication of Temple. Inside the Ark was the tablets that God had written on for Moses. The priests placed the Ark in the Holy Place and when they came out, a cloud filled the house of the Lord. The priest had no strength to stand because of the cloud of glory filled the house. *** Solomon blessed the Lord and the people and told them why the Temple was built. It was in the heart of David to build God a house, but the Lord said that one of David’s sons would build it. Now, the Lord fulfilled that promise and Solomon had built the Lord a house. *** Solomon prayed a prayer exalting the name of the Lord and praying for God’s blessing on his family that they would always sit on the throne of Israel and walk before him. *** He prayed that God would honor this place of worship and in times when people need him to help them, if they would pray towards this place that God would hear their prayer and give them their request. Solomon gave every scenario he could think of that Israel would need the Lord. When he had finished praying, he knelt with his hands stretched toward heaven and blessed the people with peace and prayed that God would be with them always. He prayed that the people would have hearts to walk in God’s ways and keep his commandments, statutes and rules that he commanded their fathers. *** Solomon offered thousands of animals as peace offerings, burnt offerings and grain offerings. They celebrated the seven days of the feast, then on the eighth day he sent the people home full of joy and gladness celebrating the goodness of the Lord. *** In Acts, Stephen was at the end of his story. He told the people that they were stubborn and their hearts were evil because they resisted the Holy Spirit. They persecuted and killed the prophets who announced the coming of the Messiah, who they has now killed. They had received the law of Moses, yet didn’t keep it. *** When the leaders heard this, they were full of anger and hatred towards Stephen. But, Stephen looked to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at his right hand. He told them what he was seeing. They mobbed him and took him out of the city where they stoned him. *** The witnesses laid their garments at the feet of Saul, who was a young man at that time. As they were stoning Stephen, he fell on his knees and begged the Lord not to hold this sin against them. Then he fell asleep. *** Persecution became rampant from that day. Believers buried Stephen’s body, while Saul was ravaging the church and dragging men and women to prison for believing in Jesus. *** The apostles were scattered and began preaching about Christ where they went. Philip went to Samaria and brought healing and deliverance to those in the city. *** There was a man named Simon who lived in Samaria and practiced magic. He had many followers. But, when his followers saw what Philip was doing under the power of God, they were baptized under his teaching. Simon also came to believe in Jesus and was baptized. He was amazed at the miracles that Philip performed. *** It had always been God’s plan that the apostles go out and preach the good news everywhere, but they had stayed in Jerusalem. Persecution caused then to scatter and the good news to spread. Sometimes, what looks like a bad thing is really God’s intent all along. *** Lord, may we recognize You in everything. May we see that you can turn everything in our lives for something good if we let you. Thank you for your steadfast love.

Wed.’s Devo - God’s Temple

Read: 1 Kings 7:1-51; Acts 7:30-50; Psalm 128:1-6; Proverbs 16:31-33 It took Solomon seven years to build the temple and 13 to build his own house. Then, he built the House of Forests to look like a forest. It was made of cedar and had windows between the pillars so that you felt like you were outside. He also built the Hall of Pillars and a Hall of the Throne also known as the Hall of Judgment. He made another Hall of Judgment for the Pharaoh’s daughter who he had married. *** All of his buildings had their foundations of costly stones and their walls were made of cedar. *** Solomon sent for Hiram of Tyre whose mother was from the tribe of Naphtali and his father from Tyre. He was not the Hiram who was king of Tyre. This Hiram was skilled in working with bronze. He did all of Solomon’s bronze work. He made the casts for the pillars for the entrance into the Temple. They were huge and very ornate. The one on the south was named Jachin and the one on the north called Boaz. Jachin means ‘he will establish.’ Boaz means ‘in him is strength.’ *** Hiram also designed and made the sea which was the basin to hold the water so the priest could wash before and after they sacrificed. The sea sat on the backs of 12 bronze oxen. Three oxen faced north, three east, three south and three faced west. He made 10 stands with panels that had lions, oxen and cherubim carved on them. They were used to hold smaller basins were on wheels like a chariot. Five of them were set on the south side of the house and five on the north. *** Hiram also made pots and shovels. When his work was finished, he had made so many that they couldn’t keep account of their weight. *** Solomon also had made the vessels to be used in the Temple: the golden altar, the golden table for the bread of the Presence, the lamp stands - five for the south side and five for the north side and all the utensils needed for the Temple. *** When the work was finished, Solomon brought in all the silver, gold and vessels that David had dedicated to the Lord and put them in treasury rooms in the house of the Lord. *** In Acts, Stephen was in the middle of his history lesson. God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and told him to return to Egypt and deliver his people out of bondage. Stephen made it clear that the same people who had rejected Moses were the same people he was to save. He was making the point that it was the same with Jesus. They had rejected Jesus, but could still save them. *** Moses led them out of Egypt with signs and wonders and told them that God was going to raise up a prophet like him from among them. Moses, like Jesus, had gone up on a mountain and received God’s laws for the people. Jesus would go up on the mountain often to receive his commands from the Lord. While Moses was up on the mountain speaking with God, the people were down on the ground making a golden calf to take God’s place. They worshiped false gods throughout their walk in the wilderness, in spite of the fact that God had given them a tent of witness to worship him. *** Israel continued in this state till David arose who pleased the Lord and asked to build a dwelling place for God on earth. It was his son, Solomon who built the Temple. But, God doesn’t dwell in a building - the whole earth is his footstool. He is the creator of everything and is all-encompassing. *** Lord, thank you that your love is long-suffering and perfect. Thank you that you love us even when we reject you and your laws. May we faithfully follow you as your witnesses to the world. Thank you for the Holy Spirit who enables us to walk in righteousness and holiness.

Tues.’s Devo - Solomon Builds the Temple

Read: 1 Kings 5:1-6:38; Acts 7:1-29; Psalm127:1-5; Proverbs 16:28-30 Hiram of Tyre had always loved David and when he found out Solomon his son had been anointed Israel’s next king he sent his servants to Solomon to help in anyway he needed them. Solomon sent back word to Hiram that he needed help building a house for the Lord. Since Hiram’s servants were best at cutting down cedar and construction, he would pay them whatever Hiram asked to built the Temple. *** This pleased Hiram greatly that they would be able to continue their good relationship. Israel had grain and oil that Hiram needed, so they would trade for cedar and woodcarvers. Solomon also drafted a crew of 30,000 men out of Israel. They would work a month in Lebanon cutting trees, then be home two months. He also had 70,000 men to haul stone and 80,000 to cut it. Three thousand and three hundred men officiated the work. They began this work 480 years after they had come out of Egypt with Moses. *** God sent word to Solomon saying that if he would walk in his ways and laws, then He would dwell among them and they would not be forsaken. *** The Temple was majestic and the inside was made to look like the Garden of Eden which was the earth’s reflection of heaven. The walls were covered in cedar with carved gourds, open flowers, palm trees and cherubim. Everything in the Temple was overlaid with gold to shine forth the glory of God. Two huge cherubim were made to sit in the inner sanctuary. They were made of olive wood and overlaid with gold. Even the floors were overlaid with gold. *** The Temple was completed in seven years and four months. *** In Acts, Stephen had been accused by false witnesses of preaching against the Temple and the law of Moses. They also accused Stephen of saying that Jesus would destroy this place and change the customs that Moses gave them. The high priest wanted to know if what they were saying about Stephen was true. Stephen then gave his long discourse of the history of their nation. *** Stephen began with how God appeared to Abraham and led him to the land of Israel, and gave him a son named Isaac, who had Jacob. Jacob had 12 sons who became the 12 tribes of Israel. *** Jacob and his family were brought to Egypt by Joseph so that they would be preserved during the famine. Jacob died, but his bones were taken back to Shechem where they were buried in the only land they owned in the promised land. *** In Egypt, Jacob’s family grew until a king came to power who didn’t know all Joseph had done for his kingdom. He began to greatly oppress the children of Israel. *** Moses was born in a time when the pharaoh of Egypt was killing all the baby boys because the Hebrews were multiplying too fast. Moses was a special baby. He was preserved and adopted by the Pharoah’s daughter. *** When Moses was 40, he went out to see how his brothers were doing. He ended up defending an Israelite who was being abused by an Egyptian. He thought he was secretly killing the Egyptian and no one would know, but the next day he learned the word was out.He fled to the land of Midian where he married and had two sons. *** To be continued… *** Lord, It is so important to remember where we came from and thank you for all you have done for us. May we study our past so we can make the right choices for the future. As a nation, may we look back and learn so we can prosper in the days to come. Thank you for saving us out of our sin and giving us a future filled with hope.

Mon.’s Devo - Solomon’s Request -

Read: 1 Kings 3:4-4:34; Acts 6:1-15; Psalm 126:1-6; Proverbs 16:26-27 Solomon went to Gibeon to sacrifice to the Lord on the high place there. The Lord appeared to him that night and wanted Solomon to ask him for what he wanted. Solomon praised God for blessing his father David and thanked him for sitting him on the throne, then he made his request. He was young and didn’t know how to rule a nation as large as Israel. He asked for understanding to govern them and discernment to know the difference between what was good and what was evil. *** Solomon’s request pleased the Lord and he told him he would grant his request and give him discernment and wisdom like no one else had had before. He would also give him what he didn’t ask for. He would give him riches and honor above all who had gone before him. If he continued to walk with Him, he would lengthen his days to live a long life. *** God gave Solomon a chance to showcase his wisdom when two women came. They lived together and both had a baby three days apart. One of the woman’s baby had died during the night and was accused of switching the babies so that she would have the live baby. The mother of the surviving baby woke to find her baby dead, then realized it was not her baby. They both claimed the live baby was their own. *** Solomon asked for a sword to cut the baby in half and give it to both the women. The real mother plead for the life of her son, while the other woman was willing to sacrifice him. Solomon then knew who the baby belonged to and gave it to the real mother. All Israel heard about this and knew the Solomon was a very wise king. *** Solomon was king over all Israel and Judah as one. He had trusted men who helped him run his kingdom. He put 12 officers from each tribe to be over Israel. Each officer was in charge of providing food for the king and his household one month out of the year. The country was wealthy and lived in peace with their enemies who brought them tribute each year. *** God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure and knowledge in every area of life. He was famous and known for his parables and songs he had written. He understood nature and people came from all over to sit and hear his wisdom. *** In Acts, the church was growing in number and some of the Hellenists who had become believers complained that they were not being treated fairly in the distribution to widows. The 12 apostles met with the other disciples and told them to pick seven from among them who were full of the Spirit of wisdom and appoint them to serve the people. One who was chosen was Stephen. The other six were named also. The apostles laid their hands on them and prayed for them. *** As the church grew, a great number of the priests became believers. *** There were also those of the synagogue of the Freedmen who were jealous of Stephen because he was doing great wonders and signs among the people. They could’t stand up to his wisdom and the Holy Spirit in him so they sent false witnesses to accuse him of blasphemy. They brought him before the council and had false witnesses who said that Stephen spoke against the temple. He said that Jesus would destroy the temple and change the customs that Moses gave them. As they spoke against Stephen, his face lit up like the face of an angel. *** In both of our reading we see how God gave his wisdom to Solomon and Stephen. They both gave honor to the Lord. Solomon’s wisdom would give him a long life and Stephen would die because of his. Both would have accomplished their mission on earth for God’s glory. *** Lord, thank you for reminding us that your plan is what matters and our hope is to walk in what you have designed for us. We are eternal so our days on earth are in your hands, we will live forever with you.

Sun.’s Devo - The New Has Come!

Read: 1 Kings 2:1-3:3; Acts 5:1-42; Psalm 125:1-5; Proverbs 16:25 It was David’s time to die and he called in Solomon to give him his last words. He commanded him to be strong and to walk in God’s ways, following his commandments so that he would prosper. Then, there would always be one of David’s sons to sit on the throne of Israel. *** David gave Solomon commands about three people he needed Solomon to attend to after he died. Joab was the first. He had murdered Abner and Amasa in revenge. He was not to let him die in peace. *** Solomon was to honor the sons of Barzillai and let them always eat at his table for all the loyalty they showed to David. *** Then there was Shimei, the one who had cursed him when he was running from Absalom. David had promised not to kill him, but Solomon was to find a way to punish him by death. *** David died who had reigned seven years in Hebron and 33 in Jerusalem. *** Adonijah, the son of David who had tried to pronounce himself the king, tried to weasel his way back into the kingship. He would start with marrying David’s concubine, Abishag. He used Bathsheba to do it. He went to her and tried to convince her to ask Solomon if he could marry Abishag. *** When she brought Adonijah’s request to Solomon, he saw right through the facade and had Benaiah kill Adonijah. *** Solomon told Abiathar the priest who had sided with Adonijah to go home to Anathath. His honor was taken away as the priest just like the Lord had said would happen to Eli’s sons. *** When Joab heard that Solomon had killed Adonijah, he knew he was next. He ran and took hold of the horns of the altar. Solomon sent Benaiah to kill him. When Joab refused to leave the altar, Solomon had him killed right there. He was buried in the wilderness. Benaiah was put in charge of the army in place of Joab. *** Next, was Shimei. Solomon told him to build a house in Jerusalem and he was to promise never to leave Jerusalem or he would die. Shimei promised, but three years later two of his servants fled to Gath. He went to bring them back. He was brought before Solomon and rebuked and killed for breaking his promise. *** Now, Solomon’s kingdom was established. He made a marriage alliance with the Pharaoh of Egypt and married his daughter. He brought her into the city of David while he built his own house and the Temple. *** Solomon loved the Lord and walked with him, but sacrificed at the high places. *** In Acts, we had just learned that Barnabas had sold a piece of land and given all the proceeds to the apostles. Ananias also sold a piece of property. He and his wife conspired to keep some of the proceeds from the land, but tell the apostles they were giving all the proceeds to them. Ananias came alone and gave the money to Peter. Peter discerned that he was lying and confronted him. He told them that it didn’t matter that they withheld the money because it was their money, but it did matter greatly that he lied about it. He had lied to the Holy Spirit. When Peter said these things to Ananias, he dropped dead. They took him out and buried him. *** Three hours later, Sapphira his wife came, not knowing what had happened to her husband. They asked her about the land and she gave the same lie. She dropped dead also and was buried beside her husband. Great fear of the Lord fell on the church. *** The apostles were doing many signs and wonders adding many new converts. The people would bring their sick and lay them on mats in the streets so that Peter’s shadow might fall on them. People brought their sick and demon-possessed to the apostles and they were healed. *** All of this attention made the high priest very jealous. He and his followers were Sadducees who didn’t believe in the resurrection. They arrested the apostles and put them in a public prison, but during the night, an angel of the Lord opened their prison door and told them to go and stand in the temple and speak to the people about eternal life through Jesus. *** So the next day, when the high priest sent for them to be brought to them from the prison, they couldn’t find them and their was no evidence of a jail break. Someone reported that Peter and John were standing in the temple teaching the people. They had them peacefully arrested again and brought in for questioning. *** The council questioned them and asked them why they were doing what they had charged them not to do. Peter told them they had to obey God rather than them. God had raised Jesus, who they had crucified, and made him the Savior. Through him all sin can be forgiven. They were his witnesses to this great news. *** When the council heard their answer, they were so angry and wanted to kill Peter and John. But, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who was honored by the council had Peter and John taken out of the room. Then he warned the council about how they handled these men. He reminded them of Theudas who rose up and claimed to be someone great and got many followers. When he was killed, his followers dispersed and it all came to nothing. Then there was another named Judas the Galilean who rose up and drew people after him. He also died and nothing came of his followers. So, he counseled them to leave Peter and John alone because if what they are doing is in their own power, it will die with them. But, if this is the Lord, they will not be able to fight it and win. They took his advise and had the apostles beat and told them to stop preaching about Jesus. *** Peter and John left rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer for Jesus. They continued to preach in the temple and in homes that Jesus was the Christ. *** Lord, this reminds me of what is going on right now. Nothing can stop what You are doing. The devil has no power over you or your children. We are witnessing the fall of Satan’s kingdom on earth. Hallelujah! May your kingdom come to earth.

Sat.’s Devo - The Next King

Read: 1 Kings 1:1-53; Acts 4:1-37; Psalm 124:1-8; Proverbs 16:24 David was getting old and could not get warm. His servants proposed they find a young woman to take care of him and lie with him to keep him warm. They found Abishag who was young and beautiful. She attended after David and kept him warm till he died. *** Adonijah, David’s fourth son born in Hebron. He exalted himself and planned to be the next king. He made himself look like a king by having chariots and horsemen and fifty men to run in front of him wherever he went. *** Adonijah conspired with Joab and Abiathar the priest to help him become the next king. Zadok the priest, and Benaiah, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and David’s mighty men were not with Adonijah. *** Adonijah invited all his brothers and the king’s sons to come to the Serpent’s Stone were he made a great sacrifice of sheep and oxen. He didn’t invite the important people on David’s side. *** Nathan told Bathsheba to go tell King David that Adonijah had declared himself king without his knowledge. She was to remind David that he had promised that Solomon would be the next king after him. Nathan would come in after her and confirm what she had said. *** When David heard from both of them, he immediately called for Zadok, Nathan and Benaiah. He told them to take Solomon on his own mule and all the servants to Gihon. The priests were to anoint him with oil and blow the trumpet and say, “Long live King Solomon!” Then they were to bring him back and place him on his throne. *** Zadok and the others did just what David said to do and when the people rejoiced, the earth split by their noise. Adonijah and his crew had just finished eating when they heard the sound of the trumpet. When they found out what had happened and the response of the people in the city, all the people with Adonijah left fearing for their lives. Adonijah, especially feared for his life and went and took hold of the horns on the altar for mercy. King Solomon sent people to get him. He wouldn’t let go till he was promised he would not be killed. He was told as long as he proved himself honorable he would live, but if he didn’t, he would die. Adonijah came and paid homage to King Solomon and Solomon sent him home. *** In Acts, Peter and John had just finished speaking to the people about Jesus when the Saddusees came in. They were most upset that they were speaking of the resurrection of Christ since they didn’t believe in any kind of resurrection. They arrested them and put them in prison for the night. But, about 5,000 had come to believe what Peter and John had preached to them. *** The Sanhedrin met the next day and brought in Peter and John and asked them who had given them the authority to heal the cripple and say what they said. Peter, now filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, answered. He told them they did all this by the name of Christ Jesus, who they crucified. He was the stone that they rejected and now has become the cornerstone. Only in his name, may people be saved. *** The men in the Sanhedrin were amazed at their boldness and knowledge, since they were common and uneducated. The man who had been healed was standing beside them as a witness so they had no rebuttal. *** The men reasoned among themselves that they were between a rock and a hard place. All Jerusalem had witnessed the miracle. They couldn’t deny what had happened so they called Peter and John in and banned them from speaking in Jesus’ name. *** Peter and John answered and said that it they couldn’t deny what had happened nor stop speaking about it. God was their judge. The Sanhedrin were losing their power. They had no other recourse than to threaten them and let them go free. *** Peter and John returned to their friends and fellow believers and reported all that had been said. They prayed that God would see their threats and give them boldness to continue to speak the truth. They prayed that Jesus would continue to heal and do signs and wonders. As they prayed, the place they were in shook and all were filled with the Holy Spirit and boldness. *** The believers became a family who took care of one another’s needs. They continued to witness the power of Jesus’ name and his resurrection. One of the believer’s name was Barnabas who was a Levite. His given name was Joseph. He sold a field he owned and brought all its proceeds and gave it to the apostles. *** We are coming into that kind of fellowship where we will consider all we have to be the Lord’s. We will freely give to help others in their needs. We will be bold and see the power of God heal and do signs and wonders in our midst. It will be glorious! *** Lord, may we hunger and this for the Holy spirit to be alive and active in our lives. May we be good stewards of all you give us.

Fri.’s Devo - Numbering the People

Read: 2 Samuel 23:24-24:25; Acts 3:1-26; Psalm 123:1-4; Proverbs 16:21-23 David had 37 mighty men who are listed and Uriah the Hittite was the 37th. *** Israel went into sin and the Lord was not pleased. He put it in David’s heart to number the people so he could bring judgment to the nation for their sins. 
 *** David instructed Joab to go and number all who were able to fight in his army. Joab tried to talk him out of it, but David was the king and his command stood. Joab and his army began counting in Gad on the other side of the Jordan, then crossed the Jordan into Dan and the other tribes. It took him nine months and 20 days. Joab found 800,000 valiant men in Israel and 500,000 in Judah. *** When Joab was done, David repented that he had numbered the people. The law says in Exodus 30:12, “When thou take the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou number them; that there be no plague among them, when thou number them.” To number the people was to bring them to account for their sins and since David didn’t collect the ransom money, they couldn’t pay the ransom for their sins, meaning they would die in their sin. *** Sure enough, the prophet Gad came for a visit and gave him the choice of three judgments. Israel could have three years of famine, three months of their enemies winning battles against them, or three days of plagues. He chose the three days of plagues because he would rather fall under God’s hand and pray for his mercy. *** The plague killed 70,000 men from Dan to Beersheba. When the death angel came to Jerusalem and was about to destroy it, the Lord stopped it. The angel was beside the threshing floor of Araunah. David could see the angel who was killing the people and asked him to have mercy on the innocent people. *** God sent Gad to tell David to raise up an altar at the place the angel stopped the plague. David insisted on paying the full price of 50 shekels of silver for the threshing floor from Araunah. There he built an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offering and peace offering and the Lord heard his prayer and stopped the plague. *** In Acts, there was a man who had been lame all his life who regularly begged at the gate of the temple. When Peter and John met him, Peter told him he had no money, but he would give him what he had, which was the power of God to heal him. He told him to rise and walk in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Peter and John helped him stand and he walked into the temple leaping and praising the Lord. The people recognized him as the beggar they had seen all their lives and were amazed. *** Peter took the opportunity to witness to the crowd. He told them that he and John had nothing to do with this man’s healing. God, the father of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob glorified Jesus who they had delivered over to Pilate and denied as their own. They chose to let a murderer live and killed the Author of life. But, God raised him up and they witnessed his resurrection. By his name, this man was made whole and now they are witnesses of his power. *** Peter continued that they had killed Jesus out of their ignorance just like the prophets had said. Jesus suffered for their sins. All they have to do is repent to have their sins blotted out. Jesus will come to them and refresh their spirits. They were living in the days all the prophets had spoken about. They and their offspring will bless the earth if they turn from their wickedness and turn to Jesus. *** We are also living in the days the prophets spoke about. God is pouring out his Spirit once again on his people and visiting us with victory. He is bringing justice and victory against his enemies. We can be ignorant and miss it like many did when Jesus came the first time, or we can have eyes to see and rejoice and participate with God. *** Lord, thank you for what you did when you sent your son to die for our sins, and thank you for what you are doing right now on the earth. We see your light becoming brighter and darkness being exposed. The truth is setting us free. May we finish the work that you have sent us here to do.

Thurs.’s Devo - David’s Prayer

Read: 2 Samuel 22:21-23:23; Acts 2:1-47; Psalm 122:1-9; Proverbs 16:19-20 David continues his praise of God. He doesn’t mention his sin with Bathsheba, which shows that he knows he was completely forgiven. David didn’t live in condemnation or fear. He knew that everything he had accomplished was because of the Lord. God’s enemies were David’s enemies. All his victories were God’s victories. He understood when a king rules fearing the Lord, God will bring his blessings. *** David had many mighty warriors who fought for him and the Lord. He sang their praises and told of their exploits. Once while on a crusade, he became very thirsty and commented that he would love a drink from the well beside the gate at Bethlehem. Three of his men broke through the Philistine camp and drew water from the well and brought it to David. He refused to drink it because these men had risked their lives to get it. He saw it as their blood and poured it out on the ground. *** The strangest story was of Benaiah who was the son of Jehoiada. He struck down two ariels of Moab. Ariels??? My commentary said they were “lionlike men.” Sounds like a demonic hybrid. Then he went and killed a real lion in a pit. *** In Acts, the day of Pentecost had arrived and just like Jesus had promised - his gift arrived. It came as a sound like rushing wind and filled the house they were in. Divided tongues of fire rested on the heads of each of them and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other tongues by the Spirit of God. *** Many men had come from all over Israel to celebrate Pentecost, They heard the disciples speaking in their language and knew they were locals who wouldn’t know their language. They were amazed because, in their language, the disciples were telling the mighty works of God. *** Some thought the disciples were drunk, but some one pointed out that it was 9:00 in the morning, so they probably weren’t drunk. Peter stood up and explained what was happening. He quoted the prophet Joel who said that in the last days, God would pour out his Spirit on all flesh and their sons and daughters would prophesy and their old men dream dreams. Even the servants would prophesy and they would all see wonders in the heavens and on the earth. Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. *** Peter explained that Jesus was sent to earth and did the mighty works of God, but they delivered him up to be crucified. God raised Jesus up and loosed him from death. David had prophesied and prayed that God would not abandon him to stay in Hades, but bring him into life. *** But, David did die and was buried. David was seeing ahead to the resurrection of Christ. Peter and his disciples were witnesses of Christ’ resurrection and now experiencing his promise to send his Spirit. *** Peter said, “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, the Jesus whom you crucified.” *** The people were broken-hearted when they realized Peter was telling the truth. They asked what they could do and Peter told them to repent and be baptized in Jesus name to forgive there sins, then they would also receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Three thousand agreed and accepted Jesus and were baptized in water and in spirit. *** Then, the new converts devoted themselves to learn from the apostles and fellowship with believers. They saw many signs and miracles at the hands of the apostles. They lived as one family eating and fellowshipping daily. Their numbers grew as they lifted up the Lord. *** Lord, we look forward to the day we will be see this same hunger for You and your Word. We pray for revival in our nation and in our cities. Let it start in our hearts.