Editor’s Note:  The AMI devotionals from July 13-19 are provided by Pastor Charles Choe of Tapestry LA.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

1 Kings 17:9-16

12 And she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.”

Have you ever felt like throwing the towel in, where your situation was utterly hopeless, where you felt like your back was up against the proverbial wall, and that no matter what you did, you weren’t going to make it? Such was the case of the widow in today’s reading. She, along with her son, was faced with starvation and was fixing their final meager meal when the prophet Elijah met her. And through this impossible situation, both Elijah and the poor widow would find out that God is the God of the impossible.

Imagine asking a widow, a single parent raising her son alone in the middle of a famine, for the last morsel of food she had. This is by all accounts an unreasonable, if not a ridiculous request. She was in a hopeless situation with no means of solving her dilemma. But here is what God wanted to show her: He wanted the widow to take the focus off of herself and the situation and focus on the Lord and His power. And for this to happen, she needed to first offer what she had –which was a jar of oil—to the Lord. Though she didn’t have much, she still had something that God could use.

God is going to do miracles—but first, He wants us to offer what we have. God can actually create something out of nothing, but He wants us to first see what He has given us and offer that to Him. We see this all throughout the Scriptures: Moses’ rod became the “rod of God,” and the little boy gave up the few loaves and two fishes to God. For Jesus taught: “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matt. 17:20). God will bless you respectively to the degree you empty yourself to Him.

The truth is, the Lord doesn’t always let us in on what He’s doing, but trust fills the gap when we don’t understand. We must give our good Father the benefit of the doubt: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Prov. 3:5-6).

Bible Reading for Today: Hosea 11

Lunch Break Study

Read 2 Corinthians 9:7-8

So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

Questions to Consider

1. Why does God love a “cheerful giver”?
2. Why are we not to give “grudgingly or of necessity”?
3. Consider how you give your offering to the church? Is it with a cheerful heart?

Notes

1. God loves joy-motivated giving to others because it expresses contentment in God’s gracious giving to us.
2. To give grudgingly—or out of a sense of obligation—is to not thoroughly understand God’s blessings, the way he has blessed us and continues blessing us.
3. Personal response.

 Evening Reflection

“As base a thing as money often is, yet it can be transmuted into everlasting treasure. It can be converted into food for the hungry and clothing for the poor. It can keep a missionary actively winning lost men to the light of the gospel and thus transmute itself into heavenly values. Any temporal possession can be turned into everlasting wealth. Whatever is given to Christ is immediately touched with immortality.” –A.W. Tozer

Editor’s Note:  The AMI devotionals from July 13-19 are provided by Pastor Charles Choe of Tapestry LA.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

1 Kings 17:6: And the ravens brought [Elijah] bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
Droughts and famines happen in every area of life. In baseball, when a player finds himself in a drought, it’s called a “slump.” And everyone has them—even the best of them. One time Mickey Mantle, the all-time great, went through a terrible slump that just would not end. One particular game, he struck out in all three at bats. Disgraced, he sat on the bench muttering to himself, when a young boy named Tommy Bera, the son of the great manager Yogi Bera, walked over to him. Upon reaching him, he tapped Mantle’s knee tenderly to say the words, “You stink!”

Droughts happen in every area of life, but spiritual droughts are the worst. When the brook runs dry in your soul, the easiest thing to do is to give up in despair. But despairing and quitting are not what God’s people do.

Elijah the great prophet is suffering right along with the entire nation of Israel through a famine, as part of the judgment for Israel’s idolatry. Elijah was called to be obedient in the midst of it, and we too are called to obey whether in plenty or famine. But we must understand this: God never calls us to endure a situation that He Himself is not prepared to sustain us through.

God provided for Elijah during the famine. God says, “I have ordered the ravens to feed you.” The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and evening. The ravens!—the dark, dirty, scavenging birds, close relatives to vultures, creatures the Law declared “unclean” (Leviticus 11:13-19). God used these greedy robbers known to snatch up dirty pieces from carcasses to provide sustenance for Elijah. God can and often will use the most unlikely source to supply his people when they are in need. Can you imagine the utter dumbfoundment on Elijah’s face the first time these birds dropped off his meal?

If you are spiritually dry right now, if the brook is running dry, then take a moment and consider how God is sustaining you. Such a reflection may surprise you. God’s grace may be through an unexpected friend or perhaps through a struggle that you sense the Lord is allowing for your eventual good. In recognizing God’s provision, you might find yourself closer to revival than you think. In all, we must remember the promise that “…God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). God wants to sustain and refresh you.

Bible Reading for Today: Hosea 10

Lunch Break Study

Read Romans 8:28-30

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. [29] For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. [30] And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Questions to Consider

1. God weaves everything together for the good of His children. The “good” in this passage does not suggest earthly comfort, but conformity to whom (verse 29)?
2. What aspects of salvation are listed in this passage?
3. We are told that God has always been doing “good” for us, starting from creation to the day of Christ’s return. How does this comfort you today?

Notes

1.  The “good” is conformity to Christ. God works for our good as we strive to be more like Christ.
2. These are all aspects of salvation: justification (v.30), glorification (v.30) and sanctification (v.28 – in that God is working all things together for our good, presently).
3. Personal response.

 Evening Reflection

“Our heavenly Father understands our disappointment, suffering, pain, fear, and doubt. He is always there to encourage our hearts and help us understand that He’s sufficient for all of our needs. When I accepted this as an absolute truth in my life, I found that my worrying stopped.” – Charles Stanley

Editor’s Note:  The AMI devotionals from July 13-19 are provided by Pastor Charles Choe of Tapestry LA.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

1 Kings 16:21-28 

Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts. Half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed Omri. 22 But the people who followed Omri overcame the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. So Tibni died, and Omri became king. 23 In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri began to reign over Israel, and he reigned for twelve years; six years he reigned in Tirzah. 24 He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver, and he fortified the hill and called the name of the city that he built Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill. 25 Omri did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did more evil than all who were before him.

An enigma in Major League Baseball is Pete Rose. They don’t know what to do with him. As the all time hit-leader, he is clearly one of the best the game has known. But he bet on baseball games, as both player and manager, and for that reason he has been banned from MLB and the Hall of Fame. The most successful hitter in baseball is seen as a failure.

This brings us to King Omri. Of the many kings listed in this chapter, Omri stands out because he was one of the most successful kings to reign over the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He took the small nation in political turmoil and brought a long period of internal peace and stability. His family formed the longest lasting dynasty in Israel, holding the throne for a number of generations. He built Samaria, a brand new capital, which was considered one of the great cities of the day. He was rich and his country became more powerful. We know from archaeology that he conquered such formidable enemies like the Moabites and even managed to take parts of some of the Assyrian Empire’s territory.

Now it goes to reason, a book chronicling the kings of Israel would be full of praise for such a great king! But this is not the case at all. He only gets six verses and, far from being full of honor, they are scathing about him. He is not depicted as one the best, but one of the worst. How could he have accomplished so much, and yet, his own nation remembers him with such a negative view?

This has to with the fact that the book of Kings is ultimately written by God, although through human agents. So how success is measured is not by humans or nations—but by God. Great material and political success is not necessarily a sign of God’s blessing, for God measures success by one’s obedience to him.

We are told Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the ways of King Jeroboam, who set up two altars, one to God and one to a golden calf. Like Jeroboam, Omri ruled with his own selfish interest in mind. This is why God saw him as a failure— despite all his power and wealth and defeating the old enemies of his country and people, his reign was a failure.

If we are to be successful in life, we must not seek our own glory, but the glory of God. If we run around pursuing our own ambitions and doing what pleases ourselves and not seeking and obeying the will of God, then, no matter what we achieve in a worldly sense, God will deem as our one big failure.

Bible Reading for Today: Hosea 9

Lunch Break Study

Read 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 (NASB)

“Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight— 8 we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. 9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

Questions to Consider

1. We are called to live by faith and not by sight? What does look like in practice?
2. Ambition is not a vice; in fact, it can be a virtue. When is it a virtue?
3. What are some of your goals for school, career or life?

Notes

1.  This is not a reference to believing the unbelievable but to living all of one’s life based on confident trust in God’s promises for the future, even when one cannot yet see the fullness of the coming glory.
2. When we are using our ambition to please him (verse 7).
3. Personal response.

 Evening Reflection

Dedicate your study or work to be used for God’s purposes and it will succeed. Whatever you want God to bless, you give to him first. Dedicate it, consecrate it, sanctify it, and then God will bless it. “Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established” (Proverbs 16:3).

Editor’s Note:  The AMI devotionals from July 6-12 are provided by Cami King, who serves on the church staff of JCC, Raleigh.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

1 Kings 15:1-5, 9-14

Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah. ² He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. ³ And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father. ⁴ Nevertheless, for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem, ⁵ because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite… ⁹ In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah,¹⁰ and he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. ¹¹ And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as David his father had done. ¹² He put away the male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. ¹³ He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother because she had made an abominable image for Asherah. And Asa cut down her image and burned it at the brook Kidron. ¹⁴ But the high places were not taken away. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true to the Lord all his days. 

A local pastor told the following story: Ducking into confession with a turkey under his arms, a man said, “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. I stole this turkey to feed my family. Would you take it and settle my guilt?” “Certainly not,” said the priest. “As penance, you must return it to the one from whom you stole it.” “I tried,” the man sobbed, “but he refused. Oh, Father, what should I do?” “If what you say is true, then it is all right for you to keep it for your family.” Thanking the priest, the visitor hurried off. When confession was over, the priest returned to his residence. When he walked into the kitchen, he exclaimed, “Where’s my turkey?!”

In our Scripture passage for today, we see two examples of sons who grew up under wicked fathers. One chose to repeat patterns of wickedness and the other did not – he chose instead to be a reformer and leverage his life to accomplish God’s will instead of his own. When I look at the world around me, I see just how easy it is for us to repeat patterns of sin we grew up seeing. Parents make tons of mistakes and children often learn more from the mistakes than the successes. Even further, the Church in America is dealing with a lot of its mistakes at this point in history. Christianity has a reputation of bigotry when dealing with those who are different and a lack of compassion when dealing with those in need. The far political right certainly gives us a bad rap in these areas. But be it our earthly parents or Christians who’ve gone before us, our passage for today reminds us that we can choose. We can repeat the patterns of sins practiced over us or we can choose another way.

And at the end of the day it comes down to desire. How much do we honestly want to follow in the ways of the Lord? It has been said many times that if someone really wants to sin, he’ll find a way to do it. Like in the illustration above, we can maneuver our way out of doing the right thing when we want to. But I think the opposite is true. If we truly desire to honor the Lord, we will find that God provides ways for us, even as broken people with a tarnished history, to do just that. And like King Asa, if we look far back enough into our history or look hard enough at the world around us, we will find examples of believers to follow who walked in the way of righteousness. But ultimately the choice is ours.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for Your eagerness and willingness to lead me in the way of righteousness. I’ve learned a lot of bad habits from those who’ve gone before me, but my sincere desire is to honor You with my life. Please teach me the way I should go. Help me walk in a manner worthy of the calling of Christ in my life.

Bible Reading for Today: Hosea 8

Editor’s Note:  The AMI devotionals from July 6-12 are provided by Cami King, who serves on the church staff of JCC, Raleigh.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

1 Kings 14: 7-11, 14-16

⁷ Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: “Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over my people Israel ⁸ and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, and yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes, ⁹ but you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and made for yourself other gods and metal images, provoking me to anger, and have cast me behind your back, ¹⁰ therefore behold, I will bring harm upon the house of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both bond and free in Israel, and will burn up the house of Jeroboam, as a man burns up dung until it is all gone…  ¹⁴ Moreover, the Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam today. And henceforth, ¹⁵ the Lord will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, and root up Israel out of this good land that he gave to their fathers and scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their Asherim, provoking the Lord to anger. ¹⁶ And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and made Israel to sin.”

If I’ve learned one thing in recent years, it is that this world is passing away (see 1 John 2:15-17). I heard this growing up in church, but my heart has been thoroughly convinced of this truth as of late. Nearing the end of our journey with King Jeroboam, I can’t help but imagine that his heart was never convinced of this truth. In God’s final judgment of Jeroboam, He says something very interesting – that Jeroboam cast the Lord behind his back (v. 9). What does that mean? The king literally turned his back on God. How? I don’t think he actively tried to leave God behind, but what he failed to do was to love God with his whole heart by walking in full obedience. In so doing he turned away from God and toward another (the world). Through doing things his own way and seeking to fulfill his own desires, Jeroboam allowed his heart to be wooed away from the God who loved him and had given him everything (v. 7).

Chuck Swindoll tells the following story: I read this past week of a couple (let’s call them Carl and Clara) whose twenty-five year marriage was a good one. Not the most idyllic, but good. They now had three grown children who loved them dearly. They were also blessed with sufficient financial security to allow them room to dream about a lakeside retirement home. They began looking. A widower we’ll call Ben was selling his place. They liked it a lot and returned home to talk and plan. Months passed. Last fall, right out of the blue, Clara told Carl she wanted a divorce. He went numb. After all these years, why? And how could she deceive him…how could she have been nursing such a scheme while they were looking at a retirement home? She said she hadn’t been. Actually, this was a recent decision now that she had found another man. Who? Clara admitted it was Ben, the owner of the lake house, whom she inadvertently ran into several weeks after they had discussed the sale. They’d begun seeing each other. Since they were now “in love,” there was no turning back. Clara left Carl. Less than two weeks after she moved in with him, Ben was seized with a heart attack and died.

I remember hearing someone describe fulfilling our desires apart from God (or following the ways of the world) as a man who went to sleep desperately hungry and dreamed of a banquet feast where he enjoyed the richest of fare only to wake up and realize that it was only a dream. Likewise, as we walk in disobedience or partial obedience to God, we find ourselves drinking from dream waters whose satisfaction will, just as soon as we wake up, vanish before our eyes. Worst still, we will look up one day and find God in our rearview mirror heading in a very different direction than we are.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please help me to be a lover of You and not of the world. Help me to take a hard look at the choices I’m making and things I’m pursuing and surrender to you in full obedience, lest I wake up one day and find You behind me and moving in a different direction than I am. Convince my heart that all my efforts to satisfy my desires and all that I pursue apart from you will stop short in the end. You alone satisfy and the things of You alone will remain.

Bible Reading for Today: Hosea 6-7

Editor’s Note:  The AMI devotionals from July 6-12 are provided by Cami King, who serves on the church staff of JCC, Raleigh.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

1 Kings 14:1-6

At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. 2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Arise, and disguise yourself, that it not be known that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, who said of me that I should be king over this people. 3 Take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what shall happen to the child.” 4 Jeroboam’s wife did so. She arose and went to Shiloh and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age. 5 And the Lord said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus shall you say to her.” When she came, she pretended to be another woman. 6 But when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another? For I am charged with unbearable news for you. 

There are many examples in the Scripture of God striking people with blindness – usually these people are in some sort of sin and are not aware of their own spiritual blindness and so God uses physical blindness to illustrate in their bodies what’s going on in their hearts. Here we see the opposite going on: The prophet of God is physically blind but his spiritual sight couldn’t be clearer. Both of these examples of the symbolism of blindness found in the Scripture should help us see just how prone we are to over-value and over-emphasize that which is seen.

We are a people obsessed with appearances. We clothe ourselves meticulously, style our hair particularly, tweeze, clip, and spray ourselves into external presentability. And while I was raised in the South and indoctrinated with the familiar Bible Belt saying, “Look your best, do your best, be your best,” I do sometimes pause and wonder if too much emphasis is put on the first of those three.

Our passage for today reminds us of this tendency in our own heart to over-value external appearances. We spend more time beautifying our outside world (be it our physical bodies, our lifestyle, our possession, etc.) than we do our inside world. And we bring this tendency to our relationship with God as well. We come to Him with all types of posturing and disguising. But our story for today reminds us that God sees everything and knows us beyond our disguises. At first mention, this is a fearsome thought – there’s nowhere to run and nothing is hidden. But for those who’ve encountered the Gospel, we know that there couldn’t be better news. We are fully known and fully loved by Almighty God.

As we come to God today, may we come honestly – with our whole hearts, all our brokenness, all our confusion, all our sickness and need. And as we do so, may we find the peace and comfort that comes from being fully known and fully loved.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for knowing me beyond my disguises. I am so prone to focusing on that which is seen, but You see and know all the unseen things. Sometimes I’m even able to fool myself. Help me to be honest today – about who I am, where I am, and what I need. Help me to come to You honestly today and experience the blessings of Your unconditional love.

Bible Reading for Today: Hosea 5

Lunch Break Study

Hebrews 14:16
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 

Questions to Consider:

1. Why are we able to draw near to God with confidence?
2. Why do you think the writer of Hebrews needed to make these statements to the people of God?
3. Why is it important that we come to God confidently (and honestly)?

Notes:

1. We can confidently approach God because of Jesus. Jesus not only bridges the gap of separation making a relationship with God possible, but He sympathizes with us in our struggles because He can honestly say He’s been there. Although Jesus did not give way to temptation, He did experience the temptations we feel. And although He did not sin, He did feel the full weight of sin on the cross. So, more than anyone, He knows where we are coming from.
2. We are prone to conceal and to hide when we are in need and especially when we are in sin. Just like Adam and Eve after the fall (Gen. 3), we cover ourselves and conceal out of shame. But Scripture teaches us that those are the very moments when we need to expose our needs to God and invite Him to come in and meet them as only He can.
3. It is important that we come to God confidently because we desperately need His help. If we don’t come to Him, if we insist upon concealing and hiding, we will miss out on the mercy and grace He wants to give us as a help in our times of need.

 Evening Reflection

The old hymn “Just As I Am” describes the privilege we have to approach God in all honesty and transparency. Spend sometime meditating on the lyrics below. Ask the Lord to convince your heart of the truth of these lyrics so that you’ll come to Him in full transparency.

Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidd’st me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, and waiting not
to rid my soul of one dark blot,
to thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, though tossed about
with many a conflict, many a doubt;
fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
sight, riches, healing of the mind,
yea, all I need, in thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, thou wilt receive;
wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve,
because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, thy love unknown
has broken every barrier down;
now to be thine, yea, thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, of that free love
the breadth, length, depth, and height to prove,
here for a season, then above:
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Editor’s Note:  The AMI devotionals from July 6-12 are provided by Cami King, who serves on the church staff of JCC, Raleigh.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

1 Kings 13:26-34

26 And when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word that the Lord spoke to him.” 27 And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it.28 And he went and found his body thrown in the road, and the donkey and the lion standing beside the body. The lion had not eaten the body or torn the donkey. 29 And the prophet took up the body of the man of God and laid it on the donkey and brought it back to the city to mourn and to bury him. 30 And he laid the body in his own grave. And they mourned over him, saying, “Alas, my brother!” 31 And after he had buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. 32 For the saying that he called out by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria shall surely come to pass.” 33 After this thing Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people. Any who would, he ordained to be priests of the high places. 34 And this thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, so as to cut it off and to destroy it from the face of the earth.

If I’m honest, passages like this always make me uncomfortable because of how harsh God seems. The man of God who we’ve read about for a few days now was disobedient to the strict command God gave him (to eat and drink nothing while on his journey). As a result God judged him and took his life. So accustomed to God’s grace, I often lose touch with His justice and am alarmed when I read about it. However, it is good to be reminded of the consequences of rebellion of any kind against God. This story serves as an object-lesson to us all of the destruction that sin inevitably accomplishes in our lives.

With that said, let us turn again to King Jeroboam. The man of God came to the king to warn him about his wicked deeds (building idols for God’s people to worship) and the judgment of the Lord that would come upon him as a result. Jeroboam refused to listen to the man, and so God supernaturally destroyed the altar Jeroboam had constructed right before his eyes. God also miraculously struck Jeroboam’s hand so that it withered when it was stretched out against the man of God. Two miraculous signs God had already done before the king to get him to listen—but he refused. Finally, the news of this prophet’s disobedience to God (to what seems like a much smaller degree than the king’s disobedience) and the punishment for his disobedience spread. But even after this, we find that King Jeroboam still refused to listen to the Lord.

From the outside looking in, it’s easy to grow frustrated with King Jeroboam. It is clear to us what he should do – turn away from the idols and worship the Lord properly. But the way that we should go, especially when our judgment is clouded by sinful desires, is often much more clear to others than to us. But God gives grace – in these moments He will often send warnings (through friends, through circumstances, through Scripture, even through signs and wonders) to help us choose His way. When this happens, may we have eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts to respond to the Lord, lest we find ourselves devoured by our sinful ways.

Prayer: Lord, help me to have eyes to see You at work, ears to hear Your words, and a heart to respond to Your prompting. I believe that You, through Your Holy Spirit, are leading me and guiding me daily. Help me to listen and obey. May I not harden my heart and insist upon my own way and so suffer the consequences for disobedience.

Bible Reading for Today: Hosea 4

Lunch Break Study

Psalm 95:6-11
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice,
8     do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your fathers put me to the test
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
10 For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
and they have not known my ways.”
11 Therefore I swore in my wrath,
“They shall not enter my rest.”

Questions to Consider:

1. What is the psalmist calling God’s people to do and why?
2. What is the warning the psalmist gives to those who hear God’s voice.
3. What example does he use to illustrate his point? Why do you think he makes this reference?

Notes:

1. The psalmist calls the people of God to worship Him and acknowledge who He is (kneel down before Him). We do this precisely because of who God is. The Bible tells us that once we see God and truly understand who He is, our only reasonable response is to bow down and worship Him – not just in songs or prayers on Sunday morning, but with our whole lives.
2. When God speaks, the people of God have to be careful to listen. The psalmist says not to “harden your hearts” – this is a warning not to be callous to God and His instructions. We want to have soft hearts that are convicted by the words of God, so moved internally by His voice that we act accordingly.
3. The psalmist uses an example from their own history to illustrate his point. In the wilderness, God’s people demanded that He provide for them on His own terms (see Exodus 17) – they did things their own way and did not trust God enough to soften their hearts toward Him. The psalmist mentions this to remind them just how prone they are to this kind of behavior. This should be a warning to us as well, for we are equally as prone to harden our hearts to God’s voice.

 Evening Reflection

Are you a person who struggles with a hardness of heart? Think back to the last time you heard God speak – as your read Scripture, spent time in prayer, listened to a sermon on Sunday, sang a worship song, received instruction or correction from a brother or sister in Christ. How did you respond? Was your heart moved with conviction? Or did you feel apathetic? Did you walk in obedience or did you continue in the same paths as before? Pray and ask God to give you a softened heart that is responsive to His voice.

Editor’s Note:  The AMI devotionals from July 6-12 are provided by Cami King, who serves on the church staff of JCC, Raleigh.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

1 Kings 13:11-19

Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to the king. 12 Their father asked them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken. 13 So he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it 14 and rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” “I am,” he replied. 15 So the prophet said to him, “Come home with me and eat.” 16 The man of God said, “I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. 17 I have been told by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.’”18 The old prophet answered, “I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the Lord: ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.’” (But he was lying to him.) 19 So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house.

George Washington once said, “Associate yourself with men of good quality, if you esteem your own reputation; for ‘tis better to be alone than in bad company.” I wonder if he learned this from the Apostle Paul who warned the Corinthian church that, “bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33). Most of us can think of times when we foolishly or ignorantly listened to bad advice and of the calamity that ensued thereafter. In these moments, we quickly learn to be more selective about those from whom we receive counsel.

In our passage for today, the man of God (who, in his defense, had been doing a great job up to this point of following the Lord’s commands faithfully) takes some bad advice. A self-proclaimed prophet comes to him and lies, saying he’s received a word from the Lord that blatantly contradicted the word God had already spoken. The man of God listens and finds himself in trouble with God because of His disobedience. It may seem a bit like an unfair situation for the man of God. After all, how was he to know that the prophet was lying? It seems like an honest mistake.

Oftentimes in life, it is hard to tell the good advice from the bad. But there are a few clues that can usually help. In our story for today, the second prophet is living in an idolatrous land (where the king had erected idols to be worship in lieu of God). Most commentators say that this points to a compromise in the lifestyle of the prophet – for he remained among an idolatrous people. Furthermore, God had not chosen to use this second prophet to deliver His message (the reason why the man of God came to the land in the first place). Lastly, the prophet’s words were in direct contradiction to what the Lord had already said. All of these things should have been red flags for the man of God.

As we look at our own lives, we can learn much from this story. We must ask ourselves, “From whom am I receiving advice?” The character and life’s witness of a person deems him worthy to speak into our lives. We are always more likely to receive good advice from a person with life lived for God and a heart submitted to Him.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please give me discernment as I listen to the advice of those around me. In every decision I make, give me a heart that is humble enough to hear from those walking faithfully with You as well as the conviction to resist the guidance of those speaking in contradiction to Your word.

Bible Reading for Today: Hosea 3

Lunch Break Study

Psalm 1:1-3

Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
² but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

³ He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.

Questions to Consider:

1. Why do you think delighting in the law of the Lord helps us not to walk in the counsel of the wicked (or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of scoffers)?
2. Why do you think it’s important to meditate on the law of the Lord day and night?

Notes:

1. If our delight is in the law of the Lord, we will not find enjoyment in doing things contrary to his commands. Part of becoming like Jesus is allowing the Holy Spirit to cultivate in us a heart that actually enjoys doing the things of God. The more this happens, the more likely we are to resist bad counsel and sinful paths.
2. Even though our goal is to have a transformed heart and to delight in that which is good, we know from experience that this is not always the case. Therefore, it is all the more important to meditate on (read and re-read, learn and recite) the law of the Lord. When we are tempted to turn to the left or the right of the narrow path, the practice will help keep us on track.

 Evening Reflection

When you have to make a decision, how do you go about receiving advice? Are there people in your life through whom you can hear from the Lord? Have you been receiving advice from others that contradicts the Word of God? Oftentimes, we seek the advice of people whose lives model whatever it is we desire. If we desire the things of God, we are much more likely to receive godly advice from godly people. But if we desire the things of this world (money, power, success, etc.), we are much more likely to take the advice from people who’ve achieved those things. Ultimately, it is God (through his Holy Spirit and His word) who gives the best counsel. Spend some time with the Wonderful Counselor, asking Him to lead you in any upcoming decisions you have to make.

Editor’s Note:  The AMI devotionals from July 6-12 are provided by Cami King, who serves on the church staff of JCC, Raleigh.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

1 Kings 13:7-10

 The king said to the man of God, “Come home with me for a meal, and I will give you a gift.”8 But the man of God answered the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here.9 For I was commanded by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’” 10 So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.

Yesterday we reflected on those times in life when the instructions of the Lord conflict with our own way of doing things. When we find ourselves at the crossroad of God’s ways and our ways, which road will we choose? For most believers, the answer to that question is fairly easy – God’s way. Even though we don’t always follow right away, most of us know in our hearts that God’s ways are best. With this conviction, we are able to take the right turn at this crucial crossroad and follow the Lord’s ways over and against our own.

Unlike King Jeroboam, the prophet (“the man of God”) in this chapter has chosen to walk in obedience to the Lord. Instead of doing things his own way, he has instead followed God’s instructions (and brought God’s message to the king). But isn’t it true that as we walk in obedience to the Lord, we find temptations luring us to do the very thing about which God commanded us not to do? After his journey to meet the king and a successful delivery of the divine message, I’m sure this prophet was both hungry and thirsty. And he was not only given an opportunity to eat and drink at some random person’s home, but in the royal palace, at the table of the king – a feast of all feasts. But God had given instructions to neither eat nor drink. Although we don’t know exactly why God told him this, commentators point out that if onlookers had seen the prophet eating and drinking with the king, they would have likely seen it as the prophet giving the king his stamp of approval. Regardless of the reason why – the command was clear and the prophet had a choice to make.

These are the moments in life when our trust of the Lord is truly tested. Starting the race well is important and taking that initial step of obedience is crucial, but neither is as important as finishing well. You may have heard it said before that partial obedience is disobedience. On the path of following God, we will have to choose obedience again and again in the same area of our life, and often in the face of continual and escalating opposition.

Prayer: Lord, help me to resist the temptation toward partial obedience. Remind me daily through Your Holy Spirit of the things about which You’ve commanded me and help me to choose again and again to say “yes” to You and to Your ways. Give me eyes to see temptation as it comes and the conviction to be faithful no matter what.

Bible Reading for Today: Hosea 2

Lunch Break Study

Deuteronomy 28:1-2: If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:

Luke 11:27-28:  As he [Jesus] said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him,“ Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” 28 But he said,“ Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

1 Corinthians 15:58: Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Questions to Consider:

1. Notice the two qualifiers (the adverbs) of the two commands given in Deut. 28:1. Why are these qualifiers important?
2. How does Jesus’ words encourage you toward obedience to God?
3. What, if any, are the obstacles or temptations threatening to “move you” or making it difficult for you to “stand firm” in obedience to God?

Notes:

1. God didn’t call his people to simply obey and follow, but to do so “fully” and “carefully.” This is important because of our tendency toward partial obedience. Following God takes intentionality and commitment on our part.
2. The woman in the crowd was expressing her delight and blessing to have Jesus standing before her and doing miracles (casting out demons in the preceding verses). But Jesus said that those who obey God’s words are far more blessed. We should be encouraged because there is great blessing in the path of obedience!
3. It is important that we are aware of the things that threaten our full obedience. Whether they are things within us (wrong desires, lies we’ve believed, etc.) or things outside us (pressures from others, difficult circumstances, etc.), we want be aware and to remind ourselves that our labor is not in vain.

 Evening Reflection

Are there areas in your life where you’ve given way to partial obedience? Did you start out well by making choices to follow God, but now find yourself tempted to compromise? Spend some time offering these areas to the Lord. Reflect on the ways God has already called you to obey in these areas of your life (try to be specific) and recommit to following Him. Remember the Holy Spirit within give us the power to not only say “Yes!” to God once, but to choose daily to walk faithfully in obedience to Him and finish the race well.

Editor’s Note:  The AMI devotionals from July 6-12 are provided by Cami King, who serves on the church staff of JCC, Raleigh.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

1 Kings 13:1-6

¹ By the word of the Lord a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. ² By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’” ³ That same day the man of God gave a sign: “This is the sign the Lord has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.”

⁴ When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. ⁵ Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the Lord.

⁶ Then the king said to the man of God, “Intercede with the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored and became as it was before.

God’s message through the prophet in this passage is one of judgment. He is rejecting the sacrificial system the king has put in place because it is wicked and idolatrous. Israel had been divided into a Northern and Southern Kingdom (as a result of sin of the former king), with Jerusalem (the place where God’s people worshiped Him) now located in the Southern Kingdom. In fear of losing the allegiance of the people and control over them whenever they went to the South to worship, King Jeroboam erected idols in the Northern Kingdom, called them god, and encouraged the people of God to worship them (in lieu of traveling to Jerusalem to worship). For this he was condemned.

But what exactly did King Jeroboam do wrong (other than the obvious idolatry of constructing golden calves)? He knew it was important to worship God, but he did it in his own way – ignoring the way and even the place God called His people to worship Him. It’s easy for us to think of wickedness as something malicious and sinister – an active and intentional rebelling against what we know to be right or an outright abandonment of the things of God. For most of us, however, wickedness is as simple as doing things our own way, instead of God’s way; that is, doing what seems good to us and right in our eyes, instead of conforming to the thoughts of God and trusting what He says is enough to follow in obedience. It is possible to try to do the “right” things the wrong way.

As we understand our lives as “worship” to God, we want to make sure we are doing things God’s way and not our own way. There are reasons God calls us to live in certain ways – He knows far more than we do and can see consequences and results of our actions that we can’t predict. He is also pure in heart; whereas we are not. When we do what we think is right in our own eyes (especially in opposition to what we know God would have us do), even if we are not outright rejecting God, we are certainly not pleasing Him and will often find ourselves in trouble. May we be eager to honor the Lord fully – doing things His way, because we trust that He truly knows what is best for us.

Prayer: Gracious Father, help me to do things Your way. Help me to know the ways You would have me to walk in any given situation and to trust You enough to obey fully. At work, in my family, in my leisure time, as I make plans for my future – through prayer and knowing Your word – help me to walk in the ways You would have me to go, not merely trying to do good things my way, but truly doing good as I follow You in obedience.

Bible Reading for Today: Hosea 1

Lunch Break Study

Proverbs 3:5-8

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.

⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes;
    fear the Lord and shun evil.
⁸ This will bring health to your body
    and nourishment to your bones.

Questions to Consider:

1. What is the result of leaning on our own understanding?
2. What do you think it means to be “wise in your own eyes”?
3. Why is the fear of the Lord important in what Solomon calls us to do in these verses?

Notes:

1. Our paths will be crooked. We will not experience true success in our endeavors or the abundant life that God makes available to us when we lean on our own understanding. Because we are so limited in our vision and understanding, we have to completely trust God in our hearts and in our actions.
2. Solomon uses this phrase a lot through the book, and it points to our tendency to do things our own way, thinking that we know best. If we trust that our way is best, especially in opposition to what God prescribes, we will always find ourselves in a bad spot.
3. If we truly fear God – have complete reverence and awe for who He is – it will put us and our ways into perspective. It almost seems silly to rely on our own understanding and trust ourselves more so than we trust the all-knowing and all-powerful God who loves us and will good for us.

 Evening Reflection

Are you a person who understands what it means to fear the Lord? Do you see Him in His greatness and yourself in a proper perspective as a result? How does this reality of who God truly is affect your willingness to do things God’s way in your life? Reflect on the areas in your life where you really struggle to do things God’s way? Pray and ask the Lord to help you fully submit these areas to Him as you learn to fear Him and trust that He not only knows better than you, but only wants the best for you.