Christina – Page 2512 – I'm Following Jesus

KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Friday, June 30, 2017
Chapters: II Chronicles 20-23
Message: Power In Prayer

Hello My Friend,

Praying is direct communication with God, at one time, while anyone could pray to God, He did not answer each person individually, He actually used prophets, priests, and seers to related messages to the ones who prayed. We are deeply privileged today to be able to have a one on one conversation with God and actually get Him to respond directly to us. And if you think that God does not talk to you, think again, He listens and speaks to us all day long, to hear Him we just have to get rid of all the noise in our heads. “And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” – I Kings 19:11-12.

It is no surprise that there is power in prayer, one person praying with the faith of a mustard seed can move mountains, imagine what would happen if an entire congregation prayed by faith? Jehoshaphat found out first hand what happens when the entire congregation prays to the Almighty.

“And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever? And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying, If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help. And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation; And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” – II Chronicles 20:5-9,13-15.

“for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” When we come together as one, putting our faith and trust in God, there is no battle that cannot be won for that battle is not ours, but God’s. While our faith alone does wonders, when we all come together with prayer and fasting, we not only see our own lives blessed, but an entire nation. Did you ever wonder why the United States is not on constant attack right now as corrupt as it is getting? There are still many saved, born again Christians in our country who have not turned to Baal and are praying to keep us safe. Be warned, prayer only goes so far, if the nation does not turn back to God no amount of prayer can save it unless the entire nation turns back to Him. Now, we are about to see the repercussions of what happens when we align ourselves with the ungodly and condone the corruption. Since Jehoshaphat allowed his son to marry Ahab’s daughter, and apparently a few others married into the family as well, it did not take long before Jehoram, Jehoshaphat’s son, corrupted by his wife, made Judah more corrupt than Israel.

“Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself, and slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel. Jehoram was thirty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, like as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife: and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD. Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and compelled Judah thereto. And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of David thy father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah, But hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring, like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father’s house, which were better than thyself: Behold, with a great plague will the LORD smite thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods: And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day.” – II Chronicles 21:4-6,11-15.

“which were better than thyself:” It is a strange thing, but there are some in hell right now that were good and decent people, while some wicked as could be are in heaven. How is this possible? Salvation is not based on our works or our past, it is based on our faith. We all come short of the glory of God, in our eyes, every person that does evil ought to be in hell, but God does not see the flesh, He sees the soul, because after all, there is none that are righteous all the time. This was true back then, look at how many of the kings turned on God, yet He saved them from hell because they humbled themselves before Him. And it is true today, only now we do not have to sacrifice animals for redemption, we just need Jesus Christ, who sacrificed Himself for us. “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:” – Romans 3:10-12,23-24.

Remember Omri, he was Ahab’s father, well his daughter, Athaliah was mother to Ahaziah, Jehoram’s remaining living son. Athaliah turned Judah upside down, after she found out her son was dead she killed all of her grand kids and took the throne for herself.

“Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri. He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly. Wherefore he did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab: for they were his counsellors after the death of his father to his destruction. And it came to pass, that, when Jehu was executing judgment upon the house of Ahab, and found the princes of Judah, and the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah, that ministered to Ahaziah, he slew them. And he sought Ahaziah: and they caught him, (for he was hid in Samaria,) and brought him to Jehu: and when they had slain him, they buried him: Because, said they, he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart. So the house of Ahaziah had no power to keep still the kingdom. But when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah. But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons that were slain, and put him and his nurse in a bedchamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, (for she was the sister of Ahaziah,) hid him from Athaliah, so that she slew him not. And he was with them hid in the house of God six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land.” – II Chronicles 22:2-4,8-12.

“she arose and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah.” Athaliah did everything she could to keep God out of the picture, this was probably orchestrated by the devil in an attempt keep Jesus from descending through David’s seed, but God will always prevail. While true Christians are not that great at confrontations, and often compromise with the world in an effort to bring peace, eventually they will say, enough is enough, and join together to get the evil out of their country. All it takes is one person willing to step up, even if that means the threat of persecution. Joash was hid for eight years, enough time for the nation to prepare and get rid of Athaliah once and for all. Jehoiada the priest got everyone together and came up a plan to make Joash king.

“Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people into the house of the LORD: And she looked, and, behold, the king stood at his pillar at the entering in, and the princes and the trumpets by the king: and all the people of the land rejoiced, and sounded with trumpets, also the singers with instruments of musick, and such as taught to sing praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, Treason, Treason. Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds that were set over the host, and said unto them, Have her forth of the ranges: and whoso followeth her, let him be slain with the sword. For the priest said, Slay her not in the house of the LORD. So they laid hands on her; and when she was come to the entering of the horse gate by the king’s house, they slew her there. And he set the porters at the gates of the house of the LORD, that none which was unclean in any thing should enter in. And he took the captains of hundreds, and the nobles, and the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought down the king from the house of the LORD: and they came through the high gate into the king’s house, and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom. And all the people of the land rejoiced: and the city was quiet, after that they had slain Athaliah with the sword.” – II Chronicles 23:12-15,19-21.

“that none which was unclean in any thing should enter in.” You know, in order to get God to hear us we need to get in His house, but in order to do that we need to be clean. Jesus Christ is the only one who can clean us, He cleans the soul first so He can come in and clean us from the inside out. I never can praise God enough for taking me out of the life I lived before I decided to live my life with Christ in it. Once in a while I think, “How did I ever let things get so far out of hand?” Then I realized something, God was with me even when I was at my worse, He allowed me to fall, but was there the whole time, ready to catch me when I called on Him. I vow to God to never let myself get to that point again, but I know that no matter how strong my faith in God, in the blink of an eye I could fall, it is not that I do not trust myself, but I know my flesh is weak. Therefore, I am not trusting in my flesh to keep me out of trouble, but Christ to do it. “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” – I Corinthians 10:12,13.

Jesus Christ Magnified: Today, Jesus is revealed through Jehoshabeath, who risked her life to save Joash. Jesus risked and gave His life for man, that none should perish. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16.

Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You again for loving me and not giving up on me, even when I was at my worse, You still saw the best in me, and never let go of me. I can never thank You enough for catching me from my fall, and for the life You have given me since I made the choice to live my life with Your Son in it. You are my strength, and I know that I mess up a lot, but You never stop catching me. Thank You for Your endless mercy and grace, and for never letting me go. Lead me and guide me, keep me grounded in Your Word and help me to keep my eyes on You at all times. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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