Sun.’s Devo - Jonah -

Read: Jonah 1:1-4:11; Revelation 5:1-14; Psalm 133:1-3; Proverbs 29:26-27 Today we read the whole book of Jonah and learn much about God’s character versus man’s character. Jonah knew God enough to know that if he went to Nineveh and told the people God was about to destroy them, then they might repent. If they did, God would forgive them and wouldn’t destroy them. Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrians who had been Israel’s enemy. They were know for their evil savagery. *** Jonah thought that he could run from the Lord and change God’s plans, but he was no match for the Lord. There was no where Jonah could hide from the Lord. Because God is love and wants all to be saved and come to the knowledge of who he is, God was able to use Jonah’s rebellion to save the hearts of the sailors on the boat. *** Jonah was in the belly of the fish for 3 days just like Jesus was in the depths of the grave for 3 days. They both resurrected to walk on the earth to proclaim God’s coming judgment and his mercy. *** Jonah’s prophecy did come true 200 years later when God destroyed Nineveh, but at this time, they repented. *** God used the vine to reveal Jonah’s heart to him so he could repent, also. God was just as interested in changing Jonah’s heart than he was the whole city of heathens. *** God has showed his love and concern for Gentiles all through the Bible and the story of Jonah is a big example of this. God’s heart is for the whole world. *** In Revelation, John was taken to the throne of God who was holding a scroll that was sealed with 7 seals. He asked who was worthy to open the scroll. No one was so John began to weep. One of the 24 elders told John to stop crying because there was one who was worthy. When John looked, it was a lamb that the elder was talking about. The lamb looked as if it had been slaughtered and it was standing among them. The lamb had seven horns and seven eyes and represented the sevenfold Spirit of God that was sent out to every part of the earth. The lamb stepped up and took the scroll while the four living beings and the elders fell down in worship. They were all holding golden bowls of incense which were the prayers of the people. They proclaimed that the lamb had made it possible for us to be God’s Kingdom of priests who will reign on the earth. *** They were joined with all the millions of angels in heaven singing praises to the lamb. Then the creatures in heaven and earth joined them in praises to the lamb. The four living creatures said, “Amen” and fell and worshipped with them. *** Lord, may we be quick to obey you, even when we don’t agree. May we lay down our lives for your better plan for the world. May we see the big picture instead of being short-sighted into just seeing how it affects us in our little world. May we rule and reign on the earth as your ambassadors, doing your will.

Sat.’s Devo - Obadiah -

Read: Obadiah 1:1-21; Revelation 4:1-11; Psalm 132:1-18; Proverbs 29:24-25 God gave Obadiah a word concerning Edom. Edom is another name for Esau and was his descendants. They refused to let the children of Israel pass through their land when leaving Egypt with Moses. They continued to be Israel’s enemy throughout their existence. They took part with the Chaldeans when Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem, and afterwards they invaded and held possession of the south of Palestine as far as Hebron. *** Obadiah called out their pride and the evil way they had treated Israel, their relatives. They had laughed when Israel fell to the Chaldeans but they would soon fall under the same power. *** The day was coming when all the nations would be judged according to how they treated Israel. Whatever they do to Israel will be done to them. God’s people would possess the land then owned by the Edomites when they return from exile. They will rule over all the seven mountains of Israel. *** In Revelation, John saw an open door in heaven and the voice that had been speaking to him told him to come and see what was about to happen. John saw the throne of God in all its glory and splendor. He saw the four living creatures around the throne - the first like a lion, the second like an ox, the third had a human face and the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each had six wings and their wings were covered with eyes. They continually cried out, “Holy holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty - the one who always was, who is and who is still to come.” Then the 24 elders would fall down and worship the Lord on his throne. They lay their crowns before the throne and praised the Lord who created all things. Lord, may we not rejoice when we see our enemy destroyed but fear the one who brought him down knowing that that could happen to us if we turn from the Lord. May we live in the reverential fear of you, knowing that you are love and kind also. Thank you that one day all the mountains of society will be under the power of godly people who will use their power to bless and not to control.

Fri.’s Devo - The Visions of Amos

Read: Amos 7:1-9:15; Revelation 3:7-22; Psalm 131:1-3; Proverbs 29:23 God never does anything he doesn’t tell his prophets first. God showed Amos that he was planning to send locusts to devour their crops. Amos cried out for mercy saying they could not survive it, so God relented. *** Next, God showed Amos a vision of a great fire he would use to punish his people for their idolatry. Amos cried out again saying they would never survive it. So, God changed his mind about that. *** Then, God showed Amos a plumb line he would use to measure his people’s sins. He could no longer let Jeroboam’s dynasty continue in their idolatry. Jeroboam would be killed and the people would be sent into exile. *** Amaziah was the evil priest of Bethel where the golden calf was worshiped. He reported to Jeroboam all the things Amos was prophesying against him. Amaziah told Amos to take his prophecy business someplace else. Amos explained he wasn’t a professional prophet, he was just a farmer with a message from God. God said that Jeroboam’s wife would become a prostitute in their land and his sons and daughters would also be killed. Their land would be divided and Amaziah would die in a foreign land. The people would become captives and be taken far from home. *** Amos was shown a basket of ripe fruit which stood for Israel. They were ripe for punishment. God could not forget the pride of Israel. They mixed chaff with the grain and sold it. They cheated the buyer with dishonest scales. *** God would send a famine of hearing his words. They will go searching to hear what he was saying and not find it. There will be no place for them to hide from the judgement that is coming. Their very foundations will shake and the roof of the Temple will fall on their heads. The nation of Israel will be destroyed from the face of the earth but the family of Israel will not be completely destroyed. *** God will restore the fallen house of David and repair its damages. God will rebuilt and restore the Temple to its former glory. It will become very fruitful and prosperous once again never to be uprooted again. *** In Revelation, John was told to write a letter to the angel of the church of Philadelphia. Philadelphia was the church who had the key of David who could open and no one could close and what he closes, no one could open. They were people who understood spiritual warfare and intercession. God would cause the imposters of the Jewish nation to come and bow down to them and acknowledge that they are the true Jews. God will keep them in the time of great testing They will become pillars in the Temple of the Lord and be citizens in God’s city - when the Kingdom of heaven comes to earth. They will be given God’s new name. *** A letter was written to the angel of the church in Laodicea. They were the lukewarm ones who would be spit out of God’s mouth. They deceived themselves into thinking everything was okay, when it wasn’t. They were indifferent and didn’t take sides against evil or for righteousness. God warned them to turn from their indifference. He was waiting to be invited in to fellowship with them. *** Lord, may we not be indifferent towards you and what you are doing on the earth. May we be awake and aware of what you are doing and participate with you. May we put our hope in you alone.

Thurs.’s Devo - Amos’ Last Words

Read: Amos 4:1-6:14; Revelation 2:18-3:6; Psalm 130:1-8; Proverbs 29:21-22 Amos did not mince words. He called the women of Samaria “fat cows” because they lived in luxury at the expense of the poor. God would be throw them from their fortresses. *** God reminded them of the punishment he brought on them to turn them around, but it didn’t make any difference in their actions. They refused to turn to the Lord. God sent all the plagues he had promised in the curses of Deuteronomy. *** Amos listed their offenses. They oppressed the poor and the righteous. They twisted justice by taking bribes. They taxed the people unfairly and stole from the poor to build their mansions. Sounds like today. *** Amos advised them to love what was good and to turn their courts into true halls of justice. There would be weeping in the future for those who walk in darkness. All hope and joy would be gone. God would not pay attention or honor their pretenses of worship. They served their pagan gods even in the wilderness after he had delivered them from those same gods. He reminds them what happened at Calneh and Hamath when those cities were destroyed. They would face the same fate. All their homes from the greatest to the smallest would be destroyed and the enemy would not have mercy. Their enemies would be obeying the word of the Lord. *** In Revelation, John was told to write a letter to the angel of the church of Thyatira. They were commended for their love, faith, service and endurance. But, they were rebuked for allowing the woman with the spirit of Jezebel to teach. She taught them to commit sexual sins and to eat food offered to idols. She was given time to repent but refused. God would cause her to suffer with those she sinned with. Unless they repented, her children would die. *** But to those who didn’t succumb to her teaching, God asked them to hold tight till he comes to rescue them. They would be given authority to rule the nations with an iron rod. They would walk in the same authority Jesus had. They would also be given the morning star. *** John was given a message to the angel of the church of Sardis. They had a reputation of being alive when they were really dead. God admonished them to wake themselves up and remember what they had heard and believed at the first. Some of them had not participated in evil and they would be clothed in white and their names would not be erased from the Book of Life. Jesus would claim them as his own. Lord, as we see the fortresses of evil coming down, may we stay faithful till the end.

Wed.’s Devo - Amos -

Read: Amos 1:1-3:15; Revelation 2:1-17; Psalm 129:1-8; Proverbs 29:19-20 Amos was a shepherd in Tekoa which is 5 miles south of Bethlehem. He prophesied when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam II was the king of Israel. *** Amos spoke first to the people of Damascus in Syria. God was not happy with them because they beat down his people. God would break down their gates and kill their people. He would destroy their ruler and take them captive to Kir. This prophecy became true when Tiglath-pileser carried the Syrians captive after he had taken the city of Damascus (2 Kings 16:9). *** Amos spoke to the people of Tyre and they would be burned to the ground because they broke their treaty of peace with Israel. *** The people of Edom would also be destroyed with fire because they chased down their Israelite relatives with swords and showed them no mercy. *** The people of Ammon would go to battle and be taken into exile because they attacked Gilead to take its land. They also ripped open the pregnant women with their swords. *** The people of Moab desecrated the bones of Edom’s king so they would be destroyed in war. *** The people of Judah rejected God’s laws and refused to obey him. They let themselves be deceived by lies of their ancestors so they would be destroyed with fire. *** The people of Israel sold their rich people for money and sold their poor in exchange for sandals. They oppressed the poor and showed total disregard for others possessions. *** God reminded them of the giants he delivered them from, and how he was with them 40 years through the desert. He gave them the land for their possession and chose some their sons to be prophets and others to be Nazarites. But, they made the Nazarites drink wine and told the prophets to shut their mouths. So they would not be able to save themselves from what was coming. The strongest among them would run in fear. *** God uses his prophets to warn the people what he is about to do. This cause and effect was because of their sin. Israel would be punished and its pagan altars in Bethel destroyed. The mansions of the wealthy who got their money extorting others would be destroyed. *** In Revelation, John writes a letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. They were commended for their discernment and labor for the gospel. They hated the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans just like God did. But, God had one thing against them - they had lost their first love. If they don’t turn back and repent, their lamp stand would be removed. Those who were victorious would be given fruit from the tree of life in God’s paradise. *** The next letter was written to the angel of the church in Smyrna. Their suffering had given them many spiritual riches. They had suffered the persecution of the ones who claimed to be Jews, yet they were not. These imposters had thrown believers into jail and God tested them there. Those who remained faithful through the testing would be given the crown of life. *** The third letter was to the angel of the church in Pergamum. Pergamum was the city where the Throne of Satan was. They were commended for their faith even when one of them, Antipas, was martyred. *** There were teachers who had the same spirit Balaam had who showed Balak how to penetrate the Israelites by enticing them to worship idols. These were the same teaching of the Nicolaitans. Those who made it through all these roadblocks and remained faithful would receive a white stone with a new name engraved on it. *** Lord, thank you for being a God of Justice and punishing the evil and bringing mercy, grace and salvation to your faithful. May we remain faithful to you through all our trials and persecutions. Thank you for your promises of a better day.

Tues.’s Devo - Joel’s Warning -

Read: Joel 1:1-3:21; Revelation 1:1-20: Psalm 128:1-6; Proverbs 29:18 Joel describes a plague of locusts that devoured the land of Judah. It destroyed the animals, that year’s crops, and the seed of the next year. It was exactly what Deuteronomy 28:38-46 describes in the curses which were promised by God if they broke their covenant with him. *** Joel warns them to sound the trumpet and bring everyone together to repent and ask God to restore his covenant with them once again. Instead, the people were terrified and had nowhere to turn. Joel begs them to return to the Lord, weep, fast, mourn their sins. Then, maybe the Lord will hear and forgive them and have mercy on them. *** This plague was bad, but nothing compared to final judgment when all the nations would be called to give an account before the Lord. If Israel repents, then the Lord will have mercy and return to them and give them what had been stolen from them. They will be blessed and he will pour out his Spirit upon them - all of them from the least to the greatest. Their sons and daughters will prophecy and dream dreams. God will send wonders in the heavens and on the earth. They will see signs in the heavens and those who call on the Lord will be saved. God will restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem. He will gather the armies of the world to the valley of Jehoshaphat and judge them for harming his people. *** God had a special warning to Tyre and Sidon who had ravaged Jerusalem and taken their people as slaves. *** The valley of Jehoshaphat was the Valley of Decision where God would decide their fate. Those who are guilty will be judged and their land would become a wasteland. But those who trusted in the Lord would be saved and blessed abundantly. God will tabernacle with his people and be their God. He will pardon those not yet pardoned. Judah will be filled with people and Jerusalem will endure through all generations. *** Revelation is the book of the revelation of who Jesus Christ is. This revelation was given to John while he was a prisoner for his testimony about Jesus. He was on the island of Patmos. God blesses everyone who reads this book to the church and those who listen and obey it. *** It is a letter to the churches in Asia. Jesus is the witness to the world of this letter. Jesus has made us a Kingdom of priest for God. When Jesus returns, he will be seen from the clouds by everyone - even those who killed him with their words of unbelief. *** The Lord proclaims that he is the beginning and the end, the one who has always been and will always be. *** It was the Lord’s Day when he heard a loud voice telling him to write in a book everything he was about to see and hear. Then he was to send the book to the churches in the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. *** John turned to see who was talking and it was the Lord Jesus standing in the middle of the lamp stand. He was dressed in his radiant heavenly glory. He held seven stars in his right hand and a two-edged sword in his mouth. *** When John saw him he fell to the ground and the Lord had to lift him up. He told John not to be afraid that he was the First and the Last. He died but came to life and now holds the keys to death and the grave. He was to write down the meaning of the mystery of the seven stars he was holding and the seven gold lamp stands. The seven stars were the angels of the seven churches and the seven lamp stands were the seven churches. *** Lord, as we see your kingdom coming closer and closer, may we understand this last book and comprehend our role in our day. May we not fear tomorrow because it is so wonderful we cannot even comprehend. Help us through the last phase of this battle we are in against sin. May we use the weapons of our warfare to pray victory for our warriors in heaven and on earth. May we rise victorious and bring your kingdom to earth.

Mon.’s Devo - God of Justice

Read: Hosea 10:1-14:9; Jude 1:1-25; Psalm 127:1-5; Proverbs 29:15-17 God said that no matter how much God blessed Israel, she spent her money on beautifying her idols and building more pagan altars. When God destroys their altars, they will say it happened because they had no king to protect them. *** Because they left God, injustice now abounds. They trusted in their golden calf, but it would be carted away to Assyria. They will lose all hope and wish to die. They will be punished by the armies of foreign nations. They will be forced to face their sins. Hosea begs them to exchange their hard hearts for tender hearts of repentance. *** They would be made to eat the fruit of their labor. They had sowed seeds of wickedness and sin and they would reap judgment and shame. *** God reminds them that he is their Father who called them out of Egypt. But, they refused to act as his children. They went after Baal and so they would be made to return to Egypt and serve Assyria. They will live through war and famine. God laments their destruction. He won’t destroy them all, because one day their people will return to him. *** God exposed their hypocrisy. Israel was making alliances with Assyria against Egypt and also buying Egypt’s support against Assyria. Israel had long ago left the Lord and Judah had stayed faithful to the Lord. But, now Judah had also turned from the Lord and was going after false gods. God was going to cause her to live in tents again just like she does during the Feast of Tabernacles. Judah would be sentenced to death for their sins. *** God had delivered them from bondage, but they became prosperous and forgot the Lord. God had given them kings and now was taking them away. Ephraim had been the most prosperous of all and would become barren and dry. *** Hosea begs them one more time to return to the Lord and let him save, heal and forgive them. When they do return to the Lord he will make them prosperous again. *** Jude is one of the most interesting books in the Bible to me. Jude begins by exposing the lies of false teaching which allows them to live in sin because of God’s grace. *** He reminds them of the people God judged: the children of Israel that he rescued from Egypt but refused to be faithful to God; then the angles who came down to earth to procreate with human women in Genesis 6. He reminded them of Sodom and Gomorrah who were filled with immorality and sexual perversion. They were judged with fire. *** In the same way, the teachers of Jude’s day were claiming to have authority given to them in dreams. They defied authority and lived immoral lives. They scoffed at supernatural beings. Even Michael didn’t use his authority to rebuke Satan but did it in God’s name. He did this when he was arguing with Satan about Moses’ body. But, these people were not afraid to boast in authority greater than God. *** Jude accuses the people of his day of being murderers like Cain, extortioners like Balaam, and rebels like Korah. These shameless shepherds had been allowed to eat and fellowship with them but they would only bring them down. *** Enoch had prophesied about these very people. He reminded them that God was coming to judge the world and he would convict them of their sins. These people used flattery and lies to con the people into listening to them. Their only goal was to please themselves and their sinful hearts. *** The goal of godly leaders should be to build up the body in faith. They should feel safe in God’s love and with fellow believers. Those who were mature in the faith were to help those wavering in their faith and draw them out of judgment and into truth. *** Lord, may we be people of righteousness and truth. May we help others to be strong in their faith and feel safe with us and in your love. Thank you for your care and love.