Sat.’s Devo - Following God, Not Man

Read: 1 Kings 12:20-13:34, Acts 9:26-43, Ps. 132:1-18, Pr. 17:6 Jeroboam is made king over ten of the tribes of Israel and Rehoboam is king over Benjamin and Judah. As soon as Jeroboam is crowned king, Rehoboam rally’s his army to fight him. God intervenes and sends a prophet to tell the king not to fight because this is God’s doing. Rehoboam actually listens and obeys. In the meantime, Jeroboam sets up places of worship in his land so the people won’t go to Jerusalem to worship and become loyal to Rehoboam. Of all things, Jeroboam makes two golden calves for them to worship and places one in Bethel (house of God) and the other in Dan (judge). Then he made priests of anyone who wanted to be a priest. He ordains a feast in a non-feast month and offers sacrifices on the altar in Bethel. God sends a prophet to prophecy about a child named Josiah that would come and make things right. As a sign he was from God the altar split in two and all the ashes poured out on the ground. When Jeroboam went to stop the prophet, his hand turned leprous. Jeroboam sobered up and begged the prophet to heal his hand. He did, but refused to stay and be rewarded or to stay and eat food from the feast. He was to leave a different way than he came so he did. Another prophet heard of the signs the prophet did and what he said and ran after him. He told him he was a prophet also and begged him to come to his house and eat with him. He lied and told the prophet that God had told him to bring the man home and eat with him. I don’t know if prophet number two just wanted some fellowship or wanted to glean some of his power or what but it cost the first prophet his life. He was eaten by a lion and laid to rest in the second prophet’s grave instead of with his own family. The saddest part is that Jeroboam didn’t repent in his heart and became more and more sinful. In Acts, the apostles are going all over Judea, Galilee, and Samaria where Jesus had taught, doing the same miraculous things He did. Even the threat of death couldn’t stop them. Lord, help us to learn to follow what You say above the most powerful of men.

Fri.’s Devo - The Difference

Read: 1 Kings 11:1-12:19, Acts 9:1-25, Ps. 131:1-3, Pr. 17:4-5 When I think of the contrast of Solomon and Paul I wonder what made the difference. Both of these men had an encounter with God and heard his voice. One became more and more earthly and the other became more and more sold out to heavenly things. The difference is the Holy Spirit. Paul had the Holy Spirit inside him where Solomon only had him on the outside. Solomon grew bored and loved women more than God. The women he chose worshipped demonic gods and Solomon let theses wives turn his heart away from the one true God. Solomon participated in the worship of their gods which consisted of sexual perversion and orgies. God was not happy and it cost Solomon his kingdom. Solomon’s kingdom was ripped apart with Judah and Benjamin against all the other tribes. Rehoboam, Solomon’s son would reign over Judah and Benjamin and Jeroboam would rule over the other tribes of Israel. They would stay divided enemies for years. Acts is one of my favorite books. It is so exciting to see how God talks to his people specifically. Our lives should look like the lives in the book of Acts. God called Ananias in a vision and told him the street address, the man’s name of the owner of the house and who to ask for when he went to the door. Then God told him what to do once he found this man. When Ananias heard who he was to heal, he was astonished. He’d heard about Saul from man, but God had a different description. God called Saul a chosen vessel of His that would testify before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. God’s opinion was the only one that mattered to Ananias. He did just as God told him and Saul was healed and filled with the Holy Spirit. He spent a few days with the disciples and then Saul was on the streets preaching Christ crucified. What if Ananias had said ‘no’ to God? God would have found another way but Ananias would have missed out on a huge blessing. Lord, cause us to hear your voice. We chose to obey.

Thurs.’s Devo - God’s Abundance

Read: 1 Kings 9:1-10:29, Acts 8:14-40, Ps. 130:1-8, Pr. 17:2-3 God appeared to Solomon and put his stamp of approval on his house and temple. He promised to dwell there as long as Israel stayed true to Him. Sadly, Israel didn’t and God cut them off and cast them out of His sight. In 1948, there time of exile was over and God blessed them once again and brought them back to their land. Notice all the “6’s” in this reading. Solomon paid Hiram 666 talents of gold for helping him build all this buildings. The gold Solomon gave the queen of Sheba was 666 talents of gold, 600 shekels of gold went into each target, the throne had 6 steps, and the chariot from Egypt cost 600 shekels. Six is the number of man since man was created on the sixth day. Is Solomon becoming full of himself? Solomon made slaves of all his enemies and paid his own people to be in his army and his leaders. He also established a navy which brought him gold, peacocks, clothes, silver, armor, spices, horses and mules every year - not like any navy I’ve heard of :). Bottom line: Solomon was the richest man on the earth because God blessed him. He was a picture of God’s abundance. He couldn’t seem to keep his glory to himself and shared it with God’s enemies which brought him problems. In Acts, we see the apostles laying hands on the people so they could receive the Holy Ghost. When Simon, the once magician, saw this power he wanted it for all the wrong reasons. He was used to wowing the people with his magic and missed the power he once had. The devil does have power to do miracles and even good things, but his agenda is always to destroy. He’ll do anything for trust but he is the great deceiver. Simon had to be taught this new power that couldn’t be bought with man’s money. Interesting note is that the Ethiopian was from a place where queens rule like the queen of Sheba. They could have been from the same general place. Lord, help us to stay humble when You choose to bless us with Your abundance. Everything comes from You.

Wed.’s Devo - Dwelling in the Secret Place

Read 1 Kings 8:1-66, Acts 7:51-8:13, Ps. 129:1-8, Pr. 17:1 The ark of the covenant was brought to the temple to be placed in the Holy of Holies in the month of the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles will be the fulfillment of God establishing his kingdom on earth and this was a type of that day. When the ark was laid in its place the cloud of God’s presence so filled the temple that them priests could not perform their duties. It was God’s presence dwelling under the shadow of the angel’s wings. 1 Co. 6:19 says that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Psalms 91:1 says, “He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” We house the Holy presence of God in our own bodies and when we dwell in God’s presence then we are protected and nothing can offend or harm us. There is no fear in God’s presence. In Acts, Stephen finishes his sermon with fire. He calls the Jew’s finest stiff-necked and uncircumcised of heart. Needless to say, they were greatly offended and broke out against Stephen but Stephen was dwelling in the secret place of the most High and he saw the glory of God. His body was stoned but something tells me, he didn’t feel a single hit. He was concentrated on seeing into heaven. They threw his clothes at Saul’s feet who would soon take up Stephen’s mantle much like Elisha took up Elijah’s and do even more harm to Satan’s kingdom. Lord, when all looks bad, may we, like Stephen, look up to heaven and see You. May we dwell in Your secret place today.

Tues.’s Devo - God’s Splendor

Read: 1 Kings 7:1-51, Acts 7:30-50, Ps 128:1-6, Pr. 16:31-33 It took Solomon 7 years to build the temple and 13 years to build his own palace. In his palace he had a Hall of Justice where he judged the people. Solomon hired Huram of Tyre to do his metal work. This is not the same Hiram of Tyre that supplied Solomon with cedar. I wonder if we will see a replica of Solomon’s Temple and Palace in heaven. God would not have given us such an elaborate description of Solomon’s temple if it wasn’t important. It was all to show the splendor of God. In Acts, Stephen is still giving the history of the Israelite people. He ends telling of the house Solomon built for God and says…however… the Most High does not live in houses made by men. Heaven is God’s throne, and the earth is his footstool. He asks the question: “What kind of house will you build for me?” As I think of that question I have to ask myself the same thing. If our bodies are to be the temple of the Holy Spirit then what kind of house am I building for God? In Matthew 16:18 Jesus told Peter that upon the Rock of Jesus He was going to build the church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. He also promised to give us the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever we should bind on earth would be bound in heaven: and whatsoever we should loose on earth should be loosed in heaven. In Mark 14:58 Jesus said that this temple would not be made of hands. Solomon’s temple was made of hands and it was splendid. How much more splendid is the temple that God is building in us! Lord, today, help us to build Your kingdom.

Mon.’s Devo -Building the Temple

Read: 1 Kings 5:1-6:38, Acts 7:1-29, Ps. 127:1-5, Pr. 16:28-30 Solomon didn’t use his position to get something for free. He could have demanded that Hiram give him cedar since he was the king and had a much more powerful kingdom. Instead, he gave Hiram what he wanted in exchange. It was a fair trade. Hiram gave Solomon all the cedar he needed to build the temple and Solomon gave Hiram wheat and oil. Solomon sent his own men to cut the cedars and haul them home. They worked one month away and two months at home. No work was done in the temple itself. It was all done outside and brought in. The cedar was covered with gold. What a picture of the temple of God in our hearts. Our salvation was not built on works, but grace. Everything God has put into our hearts is a sweet smelling aroma to Him. He covers it with His glory. The cedar was the sweet-smelling aroma and it was covered with gold, the picture of glory. The angels in the Holy of Holies were seven and a half feet tall and wide. They were a picture of God’s holy presence. It took seven years to build it just like it will take 7,000 years to complete God’s promises about earth. In Acts, Stephen is giving his speech before the Sanhedrin. He starts at the beginning of the whole Jewish nation and is telling them of their history. I’m sure everyone was fine about what he was saying…so far. Lord, our Psalms goes right along with the building of the temple. Unless You build the house, we labor in vain. Please let our labor be fruitful and according to Your plan.

Sun.’s Devo - The Power of Wisdom

Read 1 Kings 3:4-4:34, Acts 6:1-15, Ps. 126:1-6, Pr. 16:26-27 God appeared to Solomon in a dream and asked him what he wanted. Solomon wanted discernment to rule the people with justice. God was pleased that he chose so wisely and added fame and riches to it. Solomon became the wisest man in history giving talks about science and human nature throughout the kingdom. People came from afar to hear his words and proverbs. Solomon was proficient in business and set up twelve able men to help him administer his twelve districts. These men were a type of the twelve apostles in Acts. The New Testament twelve traveled around to the churches to make sure things were going according to God’s Word. When they were told that the widows were being neglected, they chose seven men to be in charge of this duty. These men were to be full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. One of the men they chose was Stephen. Stephen was full of God’s grace and power and he did miracles in Jesus’ name. The leaders of the synagogue grew jealous of Stephen’s popularity and power and called him in on false charges. He was brought before the Sanhedrin where before their eyes, his face radiated like an angel. We’ll read tomorrow what happened to Stephen. Lord, may we be like today’s proverb and may our appetite for You drive us on.