1 Kings 15 bible reading and devotionals.

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Max Lucado: Living Water

It’s estimated our bodies are 80% fluid.  Apart from brains, bones, and a few organs, we’re walking water balloons!

Stop drinking water and see what happens.  Coherent thoughts vanish.  Skin gets clammy, and vital organs wrinkle.

Eyes need fluid to cry.  Your mouth needs moisture to swallow and your joints need fluid to stay lubricated.  Your body needs water the same way tires need air!

God wired you with thirst–a “low-fluid indicator.”  Let your fluid level grow low, and watch the signals flare.  Dry mouth.  Achy head.   Weak knees.  Deprive your body of fluid and your body will tell you.  Deprive your soul of spiritual water, and your soul will tell you.

Dehydrated hearts send desperate messages:  Snarling tempers.  Waves of worry.

Jesus said, “if anyone thirsts let him come to me and drink.  He who believes in me, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water! John 4:14?

From Come Thirsty

1 Kings 15

Abijah King of Judah

In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah[e] became king of Judah, 2 and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maakah daughter of Abishalom.[f]

3 He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been. 4 Nevertheless, for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong. 5 For David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not failed to keep any of the Lord’s commands all the days of his life—except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.

6 There was war between Abijah[g] and Jeroboam throughout Abijah’s lifetime. 7 As for the other events of Abijah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 8 And Abijah rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. And Asa his son succeeded him as king.

Asa King of Judah

9 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king of Judah, 10 and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother’s name was Maakah daughter of Abishalom.

11 Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done. 12 He expelled the male shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his ancestors had made. 13 He even deposed his grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah. Asa cut it down and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 14 Although he did not remove the high places, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life. 15 He brought into the temple of the Lord the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.

16 There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their reigns. 17 Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.

18 Asa then took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of his own palace. He entrusted it to his officials and sent them to Ben-Hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. 19 “Let there be a treaty between me and you,” he said, “as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you a gift of silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me.”

20 Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. He conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maakah and all Kinnereth in addition to Naphtali. 21 When Baasha heard this, he stopped building Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah. 22 Then King Asa issued an order to all Judah—no one was exempt—and they carried away from Ramah the stones and timber Baasha had been using there. With them King Asa built up Geba in Benjamin, and also Mizpah.

23 As for all the other events of Asa’s reign, all his achievements, all he did and the cities he built, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? In his old age, however, his feet became diseased. 24 Then Asa rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the city of his father David. And Jehoshaphat his son succeeded him as king.

Nadab King of Israel

25 Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. 26 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the ways of his father and committing the same sin his father had caused Israel to commit.

27 Baasha son of Ahijah from the tribe of Issachar plotted against him, and he struck him down at Gibbethon, a Philistine town, while Nadab and all Israel were besieging it. 28 Baasha killed Nadab in the third year of Asa king of Judah and succeeded him as king.

29 As soon as he began to reign, he killed Jeroboam’s whole family. He did not leave Jeroboam anyone that breathed, but destroyed them all, according to the word of the Lord given through his servant Ahijah the Shilonite. 30 This happened because of the sins Jeroboam had committed and had caused Israel to commit, and because he aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel.

31 As for the other events of Nadab’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? 32 There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their reigns.

Baasha King of Israel

33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king of all Israel in Tirzah, and he reigned twenty-four years. 34 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the ways of Jeroboam and committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Revelation 21:4-11

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or sadness. There will be no more crying or pain. Things are no longer the way they used to be."
 5 He who was sitting on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down. You can trust these words. They are true."

 6 He said to me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. I am the Beginning and the End. Anyone who is thirsty may drink from the spring of the water of life. It doesn't cost anything! 7 Anyone who overcomes will receive all this from me. I will be his God, and he will be my child.

 8 "But others will have their place in the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. Those who are afraid and those who do not believe will be there. Murderers and those who pollute themselves will join them. Those who commit sexual sins and those who practice witchcraft will go there. Those who worship statues of gods and all who tell lies will be there too. It is the second death."

 9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. The bowls were filled with the seven last plagues. The angel said, "Come. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb."

 10 Then he carried me away in a vision. The Spirit took me to a huge, high mountain. He showed me Jerusalem, the Holy City. It was coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God. It gleamed like a very valuable jewel. It was like a jasper, as clear as crystal.

A Better Place

June 6, 2012 — by Jennifer Benson Schuldt

God Himself will be with them and be their God. —Revelation 21:3

When my friend Marci’s father-in-law passed away, she stopped making his favorite dessert: pineapple salad. One day, her little boy asked why she no longer served it. She replied, “It reminds me of Papa, and it makes me sad; Papa really liked that dessert.” Her son replied in a chipper tone, “Not better than heaven!”

That little boy had the right idea. Heaven is a much better place. Remembering this can help ease our sadness when things on earth trigger memories of believing loved ones who have passed away. Our friends and family who have heavenly addresses are much happier there because:

• Heaven is God’s home. God’s followers will enjoy His presence for all eternity (Rev. 21:3-4).

• Heaven is comfortable in every way. Heaven’s residents will never be sick or upset (21:4), hungry or thirsty (7:16).

• Heaven is a beautiful place. A “clear as crystal” river will flow from God’s throne (22:1), and God Himself will give heaven its light (22:5).

Do things in this world sometimes remind you of believers who have moved on to the next world? If so, it’s comforting to think that they are now enjoying heaven—a better place by far.

If God has made this world so fair,
Where sin and death abound,
How beautiful beyond compare
Will paradise be found! —Montgomery
The pleasures of earth cannot be compared to the joys of heaven.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
June 6, 2012

“Work Out” What God “Works in” You

. . . work out your own salvation . . . for it is God who works in you . . . —Philippians 2:12-13

Your will agrees with God, but in your flesh there is a nature that renders you powerless to do what you know you ought to do. When the Lord initially comes in contact with our conscience, the first thing our conscience does is awaken our will, and our will always agrees with God. Yet you say, “But I don’t know if my will is in agreement with God.” Look to Jesus and you will find that your will and your conscience are in agreement with Him every time. What causes you to say “I will not obey” is something less deep and penetrating than your will. It is perversity or stubbornness, and they are never in agreement with God. The most profound thing in a person is his will, not sin.

The will is the essential element in God’s creation of human beings— sin is a perverse nature which entered into people. In someone who has been born again, the source of the will is Almighty God. “. . . for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” With focused attention and great care, you have to “work out” what God “works in” you— not work to accomplish or earn “your own salvation,” but work it out so you will exhibit the evidence of a life based with determined, unshakable faith on the complete and perfect redemption of the Lord. As you do this, you do not bring an opposing will up against God’s will— God’s will is your will. Your natural choices will be in accordance with God’s will, and living this life will be as natural as breathing. Stubbornness is an unintelligent barrier, refusing enlightenment and blocking its flow. The only thing to do with this barrier of stubbornness is to blow it up with “dynamite,” and the “dynamite” is obedience to the Holy Spirit.

Do I believe that Almighty God is the Source of my will? God not only expects me to do His will, but He is in me to do it.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Delegated Life Saving - #6628

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Each of our three children learned the Heimlich maneuver in school. You probably know what that is. If someone is choking, you get behind them; you do the magic squeeze to dislodge whatever they are choking on. It keeps them from choking to death.

Now, can you imagine being in a restaurant and you see someone choking on a piece of food? You stand up immediately and say, "Is there a throat specialist in the house? We've got to have a throat specialist!" Well, there is none there, so you say, "Well, I guess we have to take him to the hospital."

So, as he's choking and turning several shades of colors, you get him in your car and you drive him to the hospital. By the time you get him to the specialist - to the person who knows the most about it - it's going to be too late probably. Tragically, many of us are making that mistake with someone's spiritual survival. Instead of treating them where they are, we keep waiting until they get to the specialist.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Delegated Life Saving."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God; it's about delegated life saving. It's in 2 Corinthians 5:19-20 - "God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God."

Now, Paul is saying here that the rescuing - the life saving - of people who don't know Christ isn't in the hands of some religious professionals. It's in our hands. If someone is choking to death in a restaurant, you need to have the training; you need to know how to rescue them. There's not time to get them to anyone else. The rescue is in your hands. You're there; you're close. You can't delegate life saving. The Heimlich maneuver, CPR, whatever it is, you can't just depend on a specialist being on the scene. You have to bring the help to the person, not wait for the person to come to the help.

You can't delegate spiritual life saving either. There's someone you know right now who needs to know your Jesus. They need to know that what happened on that middle cross was for them. And you very much, I know, when you get to heaven, want to see that they are going to be there with you. But maybe you've been depending on getting them to a Christian meeting where someone else can tell them the Good News, to go to church with you, to read some Christian book, go to some event, but they just won't go. You can't seem to get them to the help! They won't go to the emergency room, and they may never go.

Well, then, are they just going to be lost? See, it's up to you to let them know in a place where both of you are already together. Would you begin right now to pray by name for that person you care about? Pray specifically for an opening where you can extend some spiritual CPR on the spot. Say, "Lord, I know it is not up to some evangelist. It's not up to the church. It's not up to getting a Christian book in their hands. It's up to me in my body, my flesh, my life, to share what Christ has done."

Learn to pray on a daily basis that wonderful three-open prayer, "Lord, open a door." Which means, Lord, give me a natural opportunity to bring up my relationship with you; something going on in their life, my life, in the world. And then, "Lord, open their heart." Lord, get them ready for this. And then, "Lord, open my mouth." Give me the words; give me the approach, give me the courage. "Lord, open a door. Lord, open their heart. Lord, open my mouth." Because I understand I've been placed in their life. I'm the one to deliver the Good News.

See, you have more influence on that person than any Christian persuader could ever have - any specialist. So, don't wait for the specialist to tell them; the rescue is up to you.