You’ll receive the greatest reward of all

BIBLE MEDITATION

“And I will give him the morning star”

Revelation 2:28

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

I remember reading a story about a wealthy Roman who had a lavish estate, and he had a servant named Marcellus. When the wealthy Roman died, he wrote his will and left everything to his slave. The Roman also had a son, and for some reason there had been a disagreement with him, so in the will he said, “I have left my entire estate to my slave Marcellus. To my son, I leave him only one thing. He can choose any one thing from my estate he wants, but that's all.” The son said, “Very well, I choose Marcellus.”

Here at the end of Revelation 2, our Lord gives another sweet promise to those who overcome: "And I will give him [the overcomer] the morning star." Jesus is that morning star. What He's saying is, “You'll receive the greatest reward of all. You'll receive Me, the morning star.” The morning star in the heavens is the star that appears just after the darkest hour of the night.

ACTION POINT

It's getting very dark. But praise God, it's getting gloriously dark, and before long, that morning star, Jesus, is going to appear. Choose Jesus, for with Him comes all the Father's wealth.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

God’s Grace in Spiritual Gifts

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace. (1 Peter 4:10)

When we use our spiritual gifts, we are stewarding grace — not yesterday’s grace, but today’s, arriving in every moment of need. And this future grace is “varied grace.” It comes in many colors and shapes and sizes. This is one of the reasons spiritual gifts in the body are so diverse. The prism of God’s gifts in your life will refract shades of divine glory that would never come through my prism.

There are as many future graces as there are needs in the body of Christ — and more. The purpose of spiritual gifts is to receive and dispense the future grace of God to those needs.

But someone may ask, “Why do you take Peter to refer to future grace? Doesn’t a steward manage a household store that is already on hand?”

The main reason I take Peter to refer to future grace is because the next verse illustrates how this works, and the reference there is to ongoing supplies of future grace. He says, “Whoever serves, [let him serve] by the strength that God supplies — in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 4:11). The word is “supplies,” not “supplied.” As you serve, serve in the power of the ongoing supply of God’s grace to do what you need to do.

When you fulfill your spiritual gift to serve someone tomorrow, you will be serving “by the strength that God supplies” — and the supply will be tomorrow, not today. “As your days, so shall your strength be” (Deuteronomy 33:25).

God goes on, day-by-day, moment-by-moment, supplying the “strength” in which we minister. He does this because the ongoing, inexhaustible supplier of power gets the glory. “Whoever serves, [let him serve] by the strength that God supplies — in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.”

John Piper 

July 18

14 Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled.

15 But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,"

16 while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven.

17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.

18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.

19 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.

20 But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe;

22 but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.

23 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

24 "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'

25 And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order.

26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first."

27 As he 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!" - Luke 11:14-28

12 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,

13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.

14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.

15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.

16 Rejoice always,

17 pray without ceasing,

18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

19 Do not quench the Spirit.

20 Do not despise prophecies,

21 but test everything; hold fast what is good.

22 Abstain from every form of evil.

23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

25 Brothers, pray for us.

26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

27 I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. - 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

1 Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! 

2 Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you. 

3 For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. 

4 Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled. 

5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. 

6 I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah 

7 Answer me quickly, O LORD! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. 

8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. 

9 Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD! I have fled to you for refuge. 

10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! 

11 For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble! 

12 And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am your servant.  - Psalms 143

1 In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah began to reign over Judah.

2 He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. Now there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 

3 Abijah went out to battle, having an army of valiant men of war, 400,000 chosen men. And Jeroboam drew up his line of battle against him with 800,000 chosen mighty warriors.

4 Then Abijah stood up on Mount Zemaraim that is in the hill country of Ephraim and said, "Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel!

5 Ought you not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt?

6 Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord,

7 and certain worthless scoundrels gathered about him and defied Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and irresolute and could not withstand them.

8 "And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made you for gods.

9 Have you not driven out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes for ordination with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of what are not gods.

10 But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him. We have priests ministering to the LORD who are sons of Aaron, and Levites for their service.

11 They offer to the LORD every morning and every evening burnt offerings and incense of sweet spices, set out the showbread on the table of pure gold, and care for the golden lampstand that its lamps may burn every evening. For we keep the charge of the LORD our God, but you have forsaken him.

12 Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed."

13 Jeroboam had sent an ambush around to come upon them from behind. Thus his troops were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them.

14 And when Judah looked, behold, the battle was in front of and behind them. And they cried to the LORD, and the priests blew the trumpets.

15 Then the men of Judah raised the battle shout. And when the men of Judah shouted, God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

16 The men of Israel fled before Judah, and God gave them into their hand.

17 Abijah and his people struck them with great force, so there fell slain of Israel 500,000 chosen men.

18 Thus the men of Israel were subdued at that time, and the men of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers.

19 And Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took cities from him, Bethel with its villages and Jeshanah with its villages and Ephron with its villages.

20 Jeroboam did not recover his power in the days of Abijah. And the LORD struck him down, and he died.

21 But Abijah grew mighty. And he took fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.

22 The rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways and his sayings, are written in the story of the prophet Iddo. - 2 Chronicles 13

1 Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land had rest for ten years.

2 And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God.

3 He took away the foreign altars and the high places and broke down the pillars and cut down the Asherim

4 and commanded Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment.

5 He also took out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the incense altars. And the kingdom had rest under him.

6 He built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest. He had no war in those years, for the LORD gave him peace.

7 And he said to Judah, "Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the LORD our God. We have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side." So they built and prospered.

8 And Asa had an army of 300,000 from Judah, armed with large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin that carried shields and drew bows. All these were mighty men of valor.

9 Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and came as far as Mareshah.

10 And Asa went out to meet him, and they drew up their lines of battle in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

11 And Asa cried to the LORD his God, "O LORD, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, you are our God; let not man prevail against you."

12 So the LORD defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.

13 Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as Gerar, and the Ethiopians fell until none remained alive, for they were broken before the LORD and his army. The men of Judah carried away very much spoil.

14 And they attacked all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of the LORD was upon them. They plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them.

15 And they struck down the tents of those who had livestock and carried away sheep in abundance and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem. - 2 Chronicles 14

1 The Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded,

2 and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The LORD is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.

3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law,

4 but when in their distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them.

5 In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for great disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands.

6 They were broken in pieces. Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every sort of distress.

7 But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded."

8 As soon as Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded, he took courage and put away the detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities that he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim, and he repaired the altar of the LORD that was in front of the vestibule of the house of the LORD.

9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing with them, for great numbers had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.

10 They were gathered at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.

11 They sacrificed to the LORD on that day from the spoil that they had brought 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep.

12 And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul,

13 but that whoever would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman.

14 They swore an oath to the LORD with a loud voice and with shouting and with trumpets and with horns.

15 And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and the LORD gave them rest all around.

16 Even Maacah, his mother, King Asa removed from being queen mother because she had made a detestable image for Asherah. Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron.

17 But the high places were not taken out of Israel. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true all his days.

18 And he brought into the house of God the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts, silver, and gold, and vessels.

19 And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa. - 2 Chronicles 15

1 In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.

2 Then Asa took silver and gold from the treasures of the house of the LORD and the king's house and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying,

3 "There is a covenant between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me."

4 And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the store cities of Naphtali.

5 And when Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah and let his work cease.

6 Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them he built Geba and Mizpah.

7 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, "Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you.

8 Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, he gave them into your hand.

9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars."

10 Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in the stocks in prison, for he was in a rage with him because of this. And Asa inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at the same time.

11 The acts of Asa, from first to last, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but sought help from physicians.

13 And Asa slept with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign.

14 They buried him in the tomb that he had cut for himself in the city of David. They laid him on a bier that had been filled with various kinds of spices prepared by the perfumer's art, and they made a very great fire in his honor. - 2 Chronicles 16

If you remain steadfast, one day you will rule

BIBLE MEDITATION

“But hold fast what you have till I come. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’— as I also have received from My Father” Revelation 2:25-27

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

In these days there will be more temptation to get away from the Word of God, the blood atonement, and salvation by grace through faith. Churches will be under attack by seducing spirits and doctrines of demons. Here in Jesus’ message to Thyatira He says, “You hold fast till I come.”

Even though it seems to be tough, remember this, dear friend—one of these days Jesus is going to come and rule this world. The saints are going to have their day. Look at Revelation 2:26. "He who overcomes and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations." God the Father has given to God the Son the right to rule and reign here upon this earth.

And when He does, we're going to rule and reign with Him. If we suffer with Him, we'll also reign with him (2 Timothy 2:12). We are even going to judge angels (1 Corinthians 6:3). It may not be long before Jesus comes and His millennial reign begins on this earth. The Bible clearly says that it's going to be a powerful reign (v. 27).

ACTION POINT

Don't give up, don't let down. Hold fast, stick to it, stay with the Word of God. Hold fast that truth. Hold fast to this Book and don't let go.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Power to Profess Christ

With great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. (Acts 4:33)

If our ministry is to witness to Christ tomorrow in some unsympathetic situation, the key will not be our brilliance; the key will be abundant future grace.

Of all people, the apostles seemed to need least help to give a compelling witness to the risen Christ. They had been with him for three years. They had seen him die. They had seen him alive after the crucifixion. In their witnessing arsenal they had “many proofs” (Acts 1:3). You might think that, of all people, their ministry of witnessing, in those early days, would sustain itself on the strength of the past glories that were still so fresh.

But that is not what the book of Acts tells us. The power to witness with faithfulness and effectiveness did not come mainly from memories of grace; it came from the new arrivals of “great grace.” “Great grace was upon them all.” That’s the way it was for the apostles, and that’s the way it will be for us in our ministry of witnessing.

Whatever added signs and wonders God may show to amplify our witness to Christ, they will come the same way they came for Stephen. “And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people” (Acts 6:8). Grace was arriving from God for all that Stephen needed — eventually all that he would need to die.

There is an extraordinary future grace and power that we may bank on in the crisis of special ministry need. It is a fresh act of power by which God “bore witness to the word of his grace” (Acts 14:3; see also Hebrews 2:4). The ever-arriving grace of power bears witness to the ever-given grace of truth.

John Piper 

July 17

1 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."

2 And he said to them, "When you pray, say: "Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 

3 Give us each day our daily bread, 

4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation." 

5 And he said to them, "Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves,

6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him';

7 and he will answer from within, 'Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything'?

8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.

9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent;

12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?

13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" - Luke 11:1-13

1 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you.

2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

3 While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.

5 For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.

6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.

7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night.

8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.

9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.

11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

1 With my voice I cry out to the LORD; with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD. 

2 I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. 

3 When my spirit faints within me, you know my way! In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me. 

4 Look to the right and see: there is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul. 

5 I cry to you, O LORD; I say, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living." 

6 Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me! 

7 Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name! The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me.  - Psalms 142

1 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.

2 And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt.

3 And they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all Israel came and said to Rehoboam,

4 "Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you."

5 He said to them, "Come to me again in three days." So the people went away.

6 Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, "How do you advise me to answer this people?"

7 And they said to him, "If you will be good to this people and please them and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever."

8 But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him.

9 And he said to them, "What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, 'Lighten the yoke that your father put on us'?"

10 And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, "Thus shall you speak to the people who said to you, 'Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us'; thus shall you say to them, 'My little finger is thicker than my father's thighs.

11 And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.'"

12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, "Come to me again the third day."

13 And the king answered them harshly; and forsaking the counsel of the old men,

14 King Rehoboam spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions."

15 So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by God that the LORD might fulfill his word, which he spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

16 And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, "What portion have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Each of you to your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David." So all Israel went to their tents.

17 But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah.

18 Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and the people of Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam quickly mounted his chariot to flee to Jerusalem.

19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. - 2 Chronicles 10

1 When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.

2 But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God:

3 "Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin,

4 'Thus says the LORD, You shall not go up or fight against your relatives. Return every man to his home, for this thing is from me.'" So they listened to the word of the LORD and returned and did not go against Jeroboam.

5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, and he built cities for defense in Judah.

6 He built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,

7 Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam,

8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph,

9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,

10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, fortified cities that are in Judah and in Benjamin.

11 He made the fortresses strong, and put commanders in them, and stores of food, oil, and wine.

12 And he put shields and spears in all the cities and made them very strong. So he held Judah and Benjamin.

13 And the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel presented themselves to him from all places where they lived.

14 For the Levites left their common lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the LORD,

15 and he appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat idols and for the calves that he had made.

16 And those who had set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came after them from all the tribes of Israel to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the LORD, the God of their fathers.

17 They strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and for three years they made Rehoboam the son of Solomon secure, for they walked for three years in the way of David and Solomon.

18 Rehoboam took as wife Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse,

19 and she bore him sons, Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.

20 After her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom, who bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.

21 Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and concubines (he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters).

22 And Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah as chief prince among his brothers, for he intended to make him king.

23 And he dealt wisely and distributed some of his sons through all the districts of Judah and Benjamin, in all the fortified cities, and he gave them abundant provisions and procured wives for them. - 2 Chronicles 11

1 When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him.

2 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, because they had been unfaithful to the LORD, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem

3 with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. And the people were without number who came with him from Egypt-Libyans, Sukkiim, and Ethiopians.

4 And he took the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.

5 Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, "Thus says the LORD, 'You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak.'"

6 Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, "The LORD is righteous."

7 When the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah: "They have humbled themselves. I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.

8 Nevertheless, they shall be servants to him, that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries."

9 So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. He took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house. He took away everything. He also took away the shields of gold that Solomon had made,

10 and King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king's house.

11 And as often as the king went into the house of the LORD, the guard came and carried them and brought them back to the guardroom.

12 And when he humbled himself the wrath of the LORD turned from him, so as not to make a complete destruction. Moreover, conditions were good in Judah.

13 So King Rehoboam grew strong in Jerusalem and reigned. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite.

14 And he did evil, for he did not set his heart to seek the LORD.

15 Now the acts of Rehoboam, from first to last, are they not written in the chronicles of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer? There were continual wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam.

16 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David, and Abijah his son reigned in his place. - 2 Chronicles 12

Will You Be Faithful?

BIBLE MEDITATION

“…and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” Revelation 2:10b

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

If others in past centuries—and some even today—have reddened the mouths of lions, faced firing squads, languished in prisons, and been scorched in the flames, can’t we go out today, back to school, back to the office, and live for Jesus Christ? God help us if we don’t. God empower us to do it!

In this evil hour, sin-bound, self-bound, hell-bound men and women need a Savior. And we need revival. We’ll have it when there are Christians with burning hearts, brimming eyes, and bursting lips, who fear nothing but sin and who love nothing but Jesus Christ.

Who among us will be faithful unto death? We’re not to be fearful; we’re to be faithful. God help us that we shall.

ACTION POINT

Pray with me: We realize, Lord, that most of our lives we’ve had it relatively easy. Help us not to be ashamed of Jesus. Help us not to deny Him. Help us to fear none of the things that shall happen, but to be faithful to death. Lord, we are so grateful for the good times we have and for the joy we have. We don’t want to be morose about whatever is to come, but help us that we might see things clearly and understand Your Word. In the name of Jesus we pray, amen.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers