Thurs.’s Devo - God Tears Down and He Rebuilds

Read: Hosea 6:1-9:17; 3 John 1:1-15; Psalm 126:1-6; Proverbs 29:12-14 Hosea knew God’s pattern. He tears own and then he rebuilds. He encouraged Israel and Judah to quickly repent so that God could begin restoring them. God had sent his prophets to cut down the sin in their hearts and to show the people that God didn’t want just their sacrifices, he wanted their hearts. He wanted to know them and for them to know him as their king and father. Instead, they were like Adam who broke God’s covenant and betrayed his trust. *** They murdered as a part of their idol worship. The sins of Samaria were too great and the idol worship in Ephraim was detestable. The king desired wickedness for entertainment. Their sin blinded them to their dying condition. They were so arrogant they didn’t even try to find God. *** At first, they went to Egypt for help against their enemies and then they aligned with Assyria. They looked for help everywhere but to the Lord, the only one who could help them. Now, it is too late. *** God rejected the golden calf they made in Samaria and it must be smashed to bits. Their harvests are small and what they geo ended up in the enemies’ hands. *** Hosea defined the job of the prophet. Israel had thought the prophets were crazy and foolish.But Hosea described the prophet as a watchman over Israel for the Lord. He faced traps and hostility even in the house of the Lord. God will avenge the prophets because they said what he told them to say. *** Hosea saw their wickedness and how they refused to repent and prayed that they would be barren or if they did conceive, their children would be taken from them. *** The Lord said that their sin began at Gilgal. Gilgal was a place where they had made a covenant twice to return to the Lord. Now, it had become a place of idol worship and abomination. God promised to do what Hosea had prayed - slaughter their children. They would become wanderers and homeless among the nations. They would be a people without a country. *** John wrote his third letter to Gaius. He had gotten news that they were faithful and holding on to the truth. They made John elated with joy. He told them how it pleased God when they welcomed the traveling teachers. He encouraged them to support them so they could continue their ministry. There was one leader named Diotrephes who refused to welcome the traveling teachers. He was making evil accusations against them. John encouraged them not to follow his example. *** Lord, help us to be examples to the next generation of faithfulness, humility and truth. We pray for repentance in our nation and your restoration and healing for the nations.

Wed.’s Devo - The Charge

Read: Hosea 4:1-5:15; 2 John 1:1-13: Psalm 125:1-5: Proverbs 29:9-11 Hosea brought a charge to the people. God was charging them with being unfaithful, unkind and not knowing him. They lied, killed and committed adultery. The land God had given them mourned their sins and everyone was dying without God. Even the animals were dying. The priests worshiped idols insta of God. *** Their daughters became prostitutes and adulterers. Hosea addressed the priests, the leaders and members of the the orally family. They would be judged for leading Israel to worship idols. They were stubborn and rebellious and refused to repent and turn back to God. God would refuse to meet with them. *** The leaders had become thieves, but the people were just as determined as them to worship idols. They went to the Assyrians for help but they couldn’t help them. *** They world be left to themselves until they realized it was their own fault they were weak from their sins. When they were ready to admit it was their sins that made them sick, then they would begin to search for God once more. *** John addressed a letter to a woman named Martha. She and her family were prominent people of the city who the deceivers were trying to entice them away from the truth about Christ. The doctrine of these deceivers included their belief that Christ hadn’t come in the flesh. They were antichrists. John encouraged Martha and her family to receive their full reward and believe the truth of Christ. *** Anyone who remains in the truth has both the Father and the Son. They have no fellowship with people who believe otherwise. *** John had more to say, but would keep that till her returned in person. *** Lord, may we remain in the truth of your Word and your Spirit

Tues.’s Devo - Hosea

Read: Hosea 1:1-3:5; 1 John 5:1-21; Psalm 124:1-8; Prov. 29:5-8 Hosea prophesied during the time when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekieah were kings in Judah and Jeorboam was king in Israel. At the beginning of Hosea’s ministry, God told him to marry a prostitute and have some children born out of her prostitution. Hosea chose Gomer as his wife. Their relationship would illustrate to the people how Israel had acted toward God. *** Gomer became pregnant and God told Hosea to name the son Jezebel. God was going to begin to punish the dynasty of Jehu for the murders he committed at Jezebel. God was bringing an end to Israel’s independence. Its military power would be brought down in the Jezebel Valley. *** Gomer became pregnant again and had a daughter. God said she would be called Lo-ruhamah which means “not loved”. God would no longer show love to the people of Judeah. He would not longer free them from their enemies in war. *** Gomer had another son and he was to name him Lo-ammi which means “not my people” for Israel is not Gods people and God was not their God. *** Israel would become a great populous nation and at the place where God said they were not his people, it would be said that they were his people. Then Judah and Israel would unite as one and choose one leader. They would drop the “Lo” from their names and become “loved” and “his people”. *** To Israel, God said for her to take off all her idyllic symbols and repent. If she refused, then God would leave her to die in her spiritual wasteland. Israel didn’t remember that it was the Lord who blessed her and made her great. She forgot him and followed after Baal instead. *** But, the Lord would win her back and she would claim the Lord as her God. GOd would make a covenant with the wild animals so they wouldn’t hurt them and he would remove their weapons of war from the land. Ashe would be his wife forever. God would plant a new crop of Israelite and God would love the as His people. God told Hosea to go and buy his wife out of prostitution and love her again as a sign, He told Gomer she had to stay in his house and stop her prostitution. She was not to have sex with anyone, even him for a time. This was to show that Israel would go a long time without a king, but one day, they would return. In the last days they would tremble in awe of the Lord and his good ness. *** John continues his teaching on love. Going God means that we keep his commandments. Every child of God defeats evil with his faith. We have been given three witnesses that Jesus Christ is the Son of God - the Spirit, the water and the blood. God’s Spirit came visibly upon Jesus at his baptism in water. Jesus shed his blood on the cross. God himself testified about his son many times with voices from heaven ad all the words of the prophets. *** If we believe in Jesus Christ, we can have confidence in our salvation. We can know that he hears and answers our prayers. *** John talks about a sin that leads to death which is entering. As God’s children we will not have to worry about that. We don not make a practice of sinning because we re being held in Jesus’ hands. *** Lord, may we keep away from anything that might try to take the place of God in our hearts.

Mon.’s Devo - The Glorious End

Read: Daniel 1136-12:13; 1 John 4:1-21; Psalm 123:1-4; Proverbs 29:2-4 Antiochus made himself to be the god of gods and forbade the worship of Jehovah and even the women-worship of Venus. He honored those who agreed with him and attacked any nation who didn’t. Strangely, he defended those who believed in saint worship. *** He appointed his men to rule over Israel and divided up its land for his purposes. He died in the Persian town Tabes in 164 B.C. *** Daniel sees the last battles that bring down the Greek empire and bring the rise of the Roman empire. Antiochus battles till the end but will not be able to stop his own death. He dies never having accomplished world dominance. *** Then Michael stands up to defend Israel. It will be a great and terrible time, but all whose names are written in God’s book will be rescued. People will awaken out of their stupor and either come to repentance or choose everlasting contempt. Those that are wise will choose Christ. *** Daniel was told to seal up the meaning of this prophecy until closer to the time. Then, people’s awareness would increase. God will have his angels on both sides of the equation and in between. The one in the middle above the waters answered the question to how long this oppression would continue. He said it would be for times, times and half a time. Then the shattering of the holy people would finally come to an end. *** Many would be cleansed through all their trials and many would remain wicked. From the time Antiochus offered the pig on the altar until Judas Maccabeus restored the worship of God was 1,290 days. Forty-five days later, Antiochus died making it 1335 days. *** Daniel was told to rest and at the end of the days, he would rise again to receive the inheritance set aside for him. *** John tells us how we can know if a person is a false prophet. A true prophet must claim Jesus was God’s son sent to save the world through the death and resurrection. If they can’t claim that, then they are false prophets. They have the spirit of Antichrist. That spirit is coming again in the end. *** Those who belong to God have already won a victory because the Spirit lives inside of us. Those that belong to God listen to the truth and it resonates with them. *** We are to occupy until Christ comes and we do that by loving others as Christ loves us. God is love and He is in us so we can love others through Him. *** Lord, may we be aware of the times we are living in and stay awake and aware. Thank you for people who have risen to bring us truth and clarity. Thank you for putting clues for us in your Word and giving us hope and encouragement. You never leave us or forsake us.

Sun.’s Devo - The Antichrist

Read: Daniel 11:2-35; 1 John 3:7-24; Psalm 122:1-9; Proverbs 29:1 As Daniel continues his vision of the future it becomes very detailed. He describes to a tee the next kings and the rise of the Antichrist. *** The narrative shifts to only the part that includes Israel and tells of the battle between Egypt and Syria. Israel was sandwiched between them and became a battlefield of many of their wars. *** When Antiochus Epiphanies of Syria comes to reign he has a definite hate toward the Jewish people and their capital. He attacked Jerusalem on one of his expeditions killing 50,000, taking another 40,000 prisoners and selling another 40,000 as slaves. He also entered the sanctuary shouting blasphemies and took the gold and silver vessels. He sacrificed a pig on the altar and sprinkled the altar with pig broth throughout the Temple. *** They cleaned up the Temple but the high priest at the time was very evil. He stopped the practice of circumcism and the holy days. He instigated the worship of Greek idol worship. All of this was to please Antiochus Epiphanies. Antiohus had a temple to the god Jupiter Olympus constructed where the temple once was and claimed to be Jupiter. He had planned that the worship of himself would become the one world religion. *** But, God always has a remnant and they were the Maccabbees. They prevailed against the Antichrist of their day and won. Many were persecuted and Jerusalem eventually fell to the Romans. *** John makes it very clear that a Christian cannot practice sinning because God’s life or DNA is now in them. IF they do, they show that they are the children of the devil. *** He gives us the example of Abel and Cain. Cain was a murderer from the beginning. Abel blessed God and was righteous. If we love God, the world will hate us. *** We prove we love God by loving our brothers and sisters in the Lord. We act this out with acts of compassion and generosity. *** Lord, we believe that you sent your son, Jesus Christ to die for us and save us for your glory. May we love one another in a way that pleases you.

Sat.’s Devo - Daniel’s Vision

Read: Daniel 9:1-11:1; 1 John 2:18-3:6; Psalm 121:1-8; Proverbs 28: 27-28 It was the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede who became the king of Babylon. Daniel had just read in Jeremiah’s prophecies that Jerusalem would lie desolate for 70 years. It upset Daniel so much that he fasted and prayed. He repented for his people’s rebellion and how they had scorned the prophets and their words. He confessed that they had sinned and were so ashamed. All the curses in Deuteronomy had fallen on them because of their sins. He cried out for mercy for Jerusalem and its people. *** That evening at the time of the evening sacrifice, Gabriel came to talk with Daniel. He confirmed that Jerusalem had to lay dormant for 70 years to end their atonement of their sins. From the time the commandment is given to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Messiah comes will be 67 weeks. The street and the wall will be built in troublous times. *** After 62 weeks the Messiah would be killed appearing to have accomplished nothing. A ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. Miseries are decreed from that time to the very end. The ruler will make a treaty with the people for one set of seven but in the middle of the time, he will stop all the sacrifices and offerings. He will set up a sacreligious object that causes desecration until the end of this mans life, which is determined by God. *** In the third year of Cyrus reign, Daniel had another vision about the end times. He had fasted for three weeks. *** At the end of the fast he was standing on the bank of the Tigris River when he saw a man dressed in linen with a belt of pure gold,. His body looked like a precious gem and his face flared like lightning. His eyes flamed like torches. His arms and feet looked like polished bronze. *** The men with Daniel saw it and ran to hide. Daniel fainted and lay on the ground until the man touched him and lifted him up. He told him to stand and hear what he had to say. It had taken him 21 days to get there because he had to fight the Prince of Persia. Michael came to help him and they prevailed. He came to tell him what would happen in the latter days. When he left he would have to fight the Prince of Persia again and then the Prince of Greece which was the next ruling power to come. He told him that Michael was the only one who helped him and called Michael, Daniel’s spirit prince. He had been standing and supporting Michael since Darius the Mede had come to power. *** John calls the people who left the church, antichrists. He warned them of many more antichrists that would come. He identifies an antichrist as anyone who denies the Son and doesn’t have the Father. *** John encourages us to remain faithful to the basic truths of the Bible. We also have the Holy Spirit that lives inside us to teach us what is true. It teaches us all we need to know. We have nothing to worry about if we remain in fellowship with Christ. *** We are God’s children and one day will get our heavenly bodies and we will see God as he really is. Now, we are to remain pure like God. Since sin is contrary to the law of God, anyone who continues to live in Christ will not sin But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is. *** Lord, may we get this in our hearts so that we will fight without any hindrances and condemnation. We accept the atonement that Christ made for us on the cross and we will walk in victory.

Fri.’s Devo - The Last Kingdoms

Read: Daniel 8:1-27; 1 John 2:1-17; Psalm 120:1-7; Proverbs 28:25-26 It was the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign. Daniel was taken in the Spirit to the fortress of Susa which was located beside the Ulai River in the province of Elam. *** He saw a ram with two long horns. One of the horns was longer than the other and with his horns he butted everything to the west, north and south. No one could stand against him or aid his victims. He became very powerful. *** Suddenly a male goat appeared from the west traveling so fast it didn’t touch the ground. With its one horn, it attacked the two-horned ram in a rage. The got broke off both the horns of the ram and knocked him the ground and trampled him. The goat became very powerful. *** In the height of its power, its horn was broken off and four horns grew in its place. They ruled a different direction of the earth. A smaller horn grew from one of these horns and became very great and its power grew toward the south and east and toward the land of Israel. Because of this, war was waged in the heavenlies and this man opposed God himself. He cancelled the daily sacrifices and destroyed the Temple. The army of heaven was restrained from responding. *** Daniel heard two holy ones asking how long this would be allowed to go on and the answer they got was: 2,300 evenings. Then the Temple would be made right again. *** While Daniel was trying to make some sense of this, Gabriel was sent to tell him the interpretation. Daniel lay flat on the ground until Gabriel lifted him to his feet. He explained that the two-horned ram was the kings of Media and Persia. The goat was the king of Greece (Alexander the Great). The large horn was the first king of the Greek Empire. It would break into four kingdoms. *** At the end of their rule, when sin is at its height, a fierce king will rise to power. He will become very powerful and be a master of intrigue and description. He will take on the Prince of princes in battle but will lose. *** This man was Antiochus Epiphanies who was a ruthless hater of God’s people. He sacrificed a pig on God’s altar in Jerusalem and was full of Satan’s power. *** Daniel was to seal up this vision because it would not happen for a long time. Daniel was physically sick after he had this vision. *** John gives us a test to see who loves God. It is those who obey his laws. If we truly love God, we will live as Jesus did. Another test is if a person hates a fellow believer. If he does, he is still walking in darkness. Those who love other believers are walking in the light. ***The third test is a person’s love of the world. The world offers only a craving for physical pleasure and the things we see. To love God above all this is the only way to true salvation and joy. *** Lord, may our affections be for you and your kingdom above all else. Open our eyes to the deception of everything that glitters and shines.