TODAY IN THE WORD

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Daniel 10:10-21
Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against . . . the spiritual forces of evil. - Ephesians 6:12
TODAY IN THE WORD

Not long ago, an American citizen returning to Florida from the Netherlands became the victim of a bizarre incident. As the man was preparing to board his flight in Amsterdam, a Dutch officer secretly put two explosive devices in his luggage to test airport security. Unfortunately, the officer was called away and forgot to remove the devices. The American flew to Orlando with his extra ""baggage"" and was detained when the explosives were found. The mess was straightened out, and Dutch officials were told to stop their ""bombs in the baggage"" tests.

Imagine how much different the story would have been if this passenger had been made aware of what was happening. Chances are he would never have boarded that plane without definitely knowing that the explosives had been removed from his bags.

There's someone trying to put bombs in our luggage too, only this isn't a test. Satan is trying to bring us down spiritually, as he did with Peter (see yesterday's study). The difference is that we are not ""unaware of his schemes"" (2 Cor. 2:11). God's Word clearly instructs us that we are in a spiritual battle.

What does this have to do with our prayer lives? Everything, judging by this intriguing incident in the life of Daniel. The setting for the story is the visions given to Daniel concerning the future. The prophet prayed intensely for wisdom to understand the awesome and overwhelming things he was seeing.

The angel sent to communicate with Daniel revealed to him the reason for the three-week delay in the answer. This angel had been withstood by an evil spirit called ""the prince of the Persian kingdom."" The conflict was so intense that the archangel Michael had to come and clear the way.

Someone might read this and say, ""Well, I'm no Daniel receiving heavenly visions. My prayers aren't important enough to attract this kind of heavenly attention.""

Really? The Bible doesn't say that. Every time the Word mentions spiritual warfare, we are included in the battle. We need to pray with persistence and power because the devil hates our prayers and would shoot them down if he could. But he can't!
TODAY ALONG THE WAY

Daniel 10 seems so far removed from our daily experience that it's hard for us to identify with the prayer battle described there.

But don't miss the point of the lesson. Prayer is not a private exercise we do to make ourselves feel better. Our prayers are not just little sentiments and requests we shoot up toward heaven. When we pray, we assault Satan's kingdom and arouse his opposition. So if you encounter resistance in your prayer life, that's a signal to keep at it instead of giving up.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Chronicles 29:20; Psalm 95:6-7; John
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. - Psalm 95:6
TODAY IN THE WORD

There is one detail of prayer we haven't said much about this month. We could call it the posture of prayer, and it's important since prayer involves our total being--body and spirit.

This can be a controversial subject, because our natural tendency is to think that the way we were taught to do things is the only way. You can test this yourself. Chances are that if you grew up in a Christian home and attended church regularly, you may still feel as though there is a spiritual law that requires you to keep your head bowed and your eyes closed when you or someone else is praying.

What does God's Word say about the posture we should take when praying? It says a good deal. Today's verses are just a sampling of what the Bible says about prayer posture. The most definitive conclusion we can draw is that the Bible does not give us one definitive prayer posture. God's people prayed in just about every position possible.

When he dedicated the temple, Solomon knelt down and spread out his hands toward heaven (2 Chron. 6:13), a posture that probably required him to lift his head up instead of lowering it. David fell prostrate on the ground before God, as Jesus did when He prayed in Gethsemane.

At other times, God's people prayed with their hands raised toward heaven (Ps. 28:2). When Jesus prayed at the tomb of Lazarus, He looked up toward heaven with His eyes open. David even says he prayed in bed (Ps. 63:6).

Since the Bible doesn't tell us how to pray in terms of our posture, we are drawn back to the issue of attitude. God looks at our hearts, not just at the position of our bodies. The position we assume in prayer can, however, help us in expressing the humility, dependence, joy, and confidence we want to communicate.

For example, kneeling puts us in a posture of submission to the Lord (see Phil. 2:10). In times of anguish, or perhaps in repentance and brokenness over sin, you may feel led to fall on your face before God. In public worship where prayer or praise is being offered, standing with faces turned toward God may be the best way to express the joy of the congregation. Whatever the posture, let's make sure it reflects the attitude of heart that God desires.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY

Variety of expression in prayer is one of the blessings of our freedom in Christ.

Many people use their daily commute to and from work to pray, using a list to pray for certain people, for God's work, and for various circumstances on certain days. You may also want to do a ""prayer walk"" around your neighborhood, praying for lost friends and neighbors as you pass their houses.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Samuel 8:1-18
If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. - Psalm 66:18
TODAY IN THE WORD

Have you ever thought about what would cause God to turn a deaf ear to a person's prayers?

The Bible doesn't say much about prayers that God turns His ears away from or that He doesn't answer. But when we are talking about God's Word, the volume of the information isn't important. Even if the Bible speaks on a subject in only a few places, each of those references carries the full authority of God.

Our study on the power of prayer would not be balanced if we did not take time to consider what could lead to powerless prayers. Today we will consider several of the conditions under which the Scripture says God refuses to hear prayer.

The verse for today gives us one condition--cherishing known sin, refusing to let it go. Trying to pray for other things in this situation is like a disobedient child asking for an allowance while his or her father is trying to correct the disobedience. Once God puts His finger on a sin, the discussion goes no further until the sin is removed.

The story in 1 Samuel 8 reveals another condition of unanswered prayer--flying directly in the face of God's revealed will and His clear warnings.

The nation of Israel already had a King, the King of kings. But the people looked at the kings of the nations around them and told Samuel, ""We want one of those."" The craving for a human king became such a national obsession that the people refused God's warnings about the hardships a king would impose on them.

Samuel was faithful in relaying the message, but it fell on deaf ears. So God turned the tables, telling Israel through Samuel that He would turn a deaf ear to their prayers when they cried out to Him in complaint at a later date.

In Job 35:12-13 we find a third sure-fire way to make sure that prayers do not get beyond the ceiling. Job's friend Elihu said God would not respond to the prayer of an arrogant, prideful person. Elihu did not mince words. ""God does not listen...the Almighty pays no attention."" Nothing sets a person in opposition to God faster than pride.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY

These are definitely a collection of problems to be avoided. On the encouraging side, consider the resources God has given us to deal with each of these conditions that lead to powerless prayer: 1. The remedy of confession and cleansing for sin (1 John 1:9, see the May 12 study); 2. His revealed will and clear warnings in Scripture; and 3. The cure for pride by humbling ourselves before God (James 4:7-10). As we draw on these resources, there is no reason that our prayers have to hit the ceiling and bounce back.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Acts 10:1-6
Your prayers...have come up as a memorial offering before God. - Acts 10:4
TODAY IN THE WORD

A.B. Simpson, founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, wrote concerning today's verse: ""What a beautiful expression the angel used with Cornelius...It would almost seem as if the supplications of the years had accumulated before the Throne, and at last the answer broke in blessing upon the head of Cornelius.""

The amazing thing about the prayer life of Cornelius, which God commended along with his giving, is that at this point in his life Cornelius was not yet a Christian. Neverthe-less, Cornelius's prayers served as a memorial, a reminder to God, of his sincere heart. And when the time was right, God remembered that sincerity by providing the way for Cornelius and his household to be saved.

Today, as we observe Memorial Day, it's appropriate that we offer up prayers that serve as a memorial to those who have given their lives to preserve our freedom. One of the powerful effects of prayer is what we might call its ""reminding"" ability. A serious, regular prayer life will help us remember the milestones in our spiritual journeys, such as God's goodness to us in days past and His promises for the future.

Even though Cornelius was a member of the occupying Roman army and thus in the enemy camp, his devotion to the God of Israel became the dominant theme in his life.

The Old Testament speaks of a memorial offering (Num. 5:26) that was part of the test for adultery, using the term because the offering brought the alleged iniquity to mind. And the Israelites were to blow trumpets as a memorial over certain offerings (Num. 10:10).

One way we remember those who have fallen in battle is by building memorials. But in addition to these visible remembrances, we can keep their memory alive by thanking God for their sacrifice and committing ourselves once again to the principles of God's Word on which this country was built.

Cornelius was building a memorial in heaven by his fervent prayers. Obviously, God does not need a reminder in the sense that He might forget who we are. But our prayers keep us and our requests before His throne. And judging by the case of Cornelius, our prayers incline God to act on our behalf.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY

Even if this Memorial Day observance does not touch you and your family directly, all of us have benefited from the sacrifices of others.

Because God has stretched His protective hand over this country, we are able to enjoy so much. Today, let's join together as His people to praise Him for His care, and to pray for His comfort on behalf of the families who are remembering loved ones lost in battle.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Psalm 55:1-8
Arise, cry out in the night...pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. - Lamentations 2:19
TODAY IN THE WORD

Thomas Paine's famous Revolutionary War pamphlet, The Crisis, includes these profound words: ""These are times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in the crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheaply, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value.""

Paine's insights take on even more meaning when you read them in the context of our study on prayer.

A person who is facing a crisis, not of war, but of intense spiritual turmoil, knows that times like these do in fact try our souls. And in times like these we learn the difference between being a ""sunshine patriot"" who shrinks back from trouble, and a soldier who stands strong during the conflict and experiences the joy of winning something of priceless value.

If today's devotional had a title, it would be ""The Agony of Prayer."" It's safe to say that most people who have prayed consistently have had times of agonizing prayer. This is another side of prayer we need to explore.

It's much more exciting to talk about answered prayer and prayer that flows out of deep joy. But there is also power in the prayer that comes from an anguished heart, when it seems that God is far away and the problem is pressing us to our limits.

Lamentations is filled with examples of agonizing prayer. Today's verse is part of Jeremiah's distressful cry to the Lord as he watches Jerusalem being besieged by the Babylonians and unthinkable horrors being committed.

David was no stranger to trouble himself. He had real enemies with real weapons hounding him. Even though most of us haven't faced that reality, who hasn't expressed a wish like the one David voiced (vv. 6-8)? We believe that honest, trustful, tenacious prayer in times of pain provides us with that refuge.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY

Another believer who experienced a time of agony wrote ""Near to the Heart of God,"" a beautiful hymn we can draw comfort and strength from today.

Cleland McAfee was a pastor in Chicago and wrote these lines at the double funeral of his nieces, who had died of diphtheria: ""There is a place of quiet rest, Near to the heart of God; A place where sin cannot molest, Near to the heart of God."" Why don't you sing these words to the Lord today?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. - 2 Corinthians 12:9
TODAY IN THE WORD

In one of God's wonderful ironies, Russia has provided a British Christian broadcasting company with radio frequencies once used by the Soviet Union to broadcast Communist propaganda. The frequencies will allow these Christian broadcasters to air the gospel to the British Isles and the rest of Europe. The transfer has been described as one of the great ""peace dividends"" to emerge from the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Stories like these are exciting to hear! They remind us that in the end, God is in control of people and nations, working all things together for the advancement of His work and the good of those who love Him.

What about the other side of the tapestry of events God is weaving--the side that looks as though it's just a jumble of threads? It's great to hear how God has turned someone else's trial into a triumph. But when you're in the middle of a severe test that doesn't seem to make sense and the answer to your prayer is ""no,"" what happens then?

Thankfully, we have an answer to this question from the life of Paul. No one prayed harder or with more faith than Paul did for relief of a problem that was like a ""stake"" in his flesh. God definitely heard and answered Paul's prayer. The apostle's problem was not that God had turned a deaf ear to him.

Instead, Paul's challenge was to accept the answer he received. God could simply have said, ""No, Paul. Do not ask again."" We can be sure Paul would have thanked God and moved on.

But God was much more gracious than that. He explained the reason for the thorn. One paradox of the Christian life is that we discover our greatest spiritual power when we admit our total inability to do anything in our strength. God taught Paul this lesson through his distressing problem.

So the issue for Paul was this: did he want relief more than he wanted God's power? Did he hunger for peaceful circumstances more than he hungered for spiritual strength? Paul's answer rings out: ""I delight in [my] weaknesses"" (v. 10). Can we do the same?
TODAY ALONG THE WAY

How many times have you told a child ""no,"" only to hear this response: ""That's not the answer I wanted?""

It happens all the time, because being told ""no"" is hard for us to accept. But one sign of spiritual maturity is when God says ""no"" to a particular request and we bow before His wisdom because we know He is working another--and better--plan for us.

Are you there yet in your prayer life? This is worth thinking about today.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Luke 5:12-16; 6:12-15
Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. - Luke 5:16
TODAY IN THE WORD

Some of the greatest names in church history are also people who were powerful in prayer. John Wesley had an exemplary prayer life, and Martin Luther was said to spend two hours each morning in prayer. Maybe this is why Wesley became the founder of Methodism, and why Luther became the great reformer.

The link between prayer and power in ministry is evident in many lives, including the earthly life of Jesus. We want to take one more look at the Savior's prayer life and to see what lessons it holds for us.

Luke recorded Jesus at prayer on about half a dozen occasions in addition to His prayer in Gethsemane. Two are listed above, and we can learn from both. Luke's comment that Jesus often escaped the crowds to pray comes at the end of a healing that caused Jesus' fame to spread and that attracted large crowds.

Jesus knew that ministry, even miraculous ministry, was not a substitute for prayer. But our tendency would be to say: ""I can't withdraw and pray now. Look at all these people who need me."" And we would have exhausted ourselves trying to deal with everyone.

But we can't nourish someone else when our own spiritual life is starving for time with God. Jesus didn't let the urgent take the place of important .

Jesus also prayed before the selection of the apostles, at His baptism (Luke 3:21), and during His transfiguration (Luke 9:28-29). Matthew adds another prayer experience when He says that Jesus sent the disciples across the Sea of Galilee in a boat while He went to a mountain alone to pray (Matt. 14:22-23).

The most extended prayer experience of Jesus' life does not mention the word prayer. But we can be sure that Jesus prayed continually during the forty days He fasted in the wilderness preparing to meet Satan (Luke 4:1-13). Even the Son of God did not attempt to engage Satan without prayer.

We could say that private prayer was the secret behind Jesus' public ministry. He prayed not because of any weakness or sin, but to express His dependence on the Father. Since we are weak and sinful, our need to pray is infinitely greater.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY

These passages suggest several specific times when prayer is in order. Let's consider the first one we discussed.

Jesus got away to pray when the demands on Him were at their greatest. We often get it backwards, figuring we'll pray when things aren't so busy and we have more time. When was the last time that delightful state of affairs was true in your life? We can't afford to wait until all the crowds have gone home and our time is our own. Let's learn to develop a powerful, effective prayer life despite the demands that fill our days.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Matthew 6:5-8
When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. - Matthew 6:6
TODAY IN THE WORD

""The first thing the Lord teaches His disciples is that they must have a secret place for prayer,"" writes Andrew Murray in With Christ in the School of Prayer. ""Everyone must have some solitary spot ...to be alone with God. Every teacher must have a schoolroom. We have learned to know and accept Jesus as our only Teacher in the school of prayer.""

Once again, Murray has given us a helpful picture of prayer. In effect, every prayer we pray is in a ""secret place,"" because prayers come from the heart. And it is in our hearts that God meets us, and listens. It is in our hearts that God begins to teach us--our schoolroom--what He requires of us in offering our prayers: sincerity of heart. In this very schoolroom, the lessons of prayer are applied to our lives.

For, because our Father know what is in our hearts, what flows out of our mouths when we pray will show the state of our hearts.

To God, a simple prayer in the privacy of our hearts is much more desirable than a flamboyant prayer prayed for the ears of those around us. The secrecy of prayer stands in sharp contrast to the attitude of hypocrites, for whom prayer was a public demonstration of piety (see Luke 18:11-12). Because their hearts were filled with pride, it was revealed when they prayed.

The secret to the power of prayer we have been talking about is the Father who sees into our hearts and rewards us in keeping with our sincerity. As we have said before, there is nothing magical about prayer. It is a communication and communion between two living spirits: our spirit and our God, who is spirit (John 4:24).

There is also nothing mystical or magical about words spoken in prayer. The idea that a certain formula of words automatically achieves the desired effect, even apart from the spiritual standing of the person praying, may be one of the greatest misconceptions about prayer. This makes prayer seem like a ""vending machine:"" put in the right combination of words, and the desired request comes out.

Jesus turns our thinking in the opposite direction. It's not that God doesn't want to hear our prayers. But since He knows our needs, He is more interested in the heart attitude with which we ask than He is in the exact wording we use.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY

One of the age-old dilemmas of prayer is this: if God knows our needs even before we ask, why are we to ask?

One reason is that asking develops dependence. God wants us to ask for our daily needs (Matt. 6:11). Asking also generates gratitude when the Father meets our needs. In addition, asking helps us to clarify our thinking and gives the Holy Spirit a chance to help turn our desires toward God's will. Bring your needs to the Lord today in your private prayer place.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Exodus 3:1-6
Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. - Exodus 3:5
TODAY IN THE WORD

A researcher for the National Geographic learned more about Hawaii's Kilauea volcano than she planned to learn. After four hours of hiking across the heated soil of this active volcano, her feet felt too warm for comfort. The heat from Kilauea had melted the glue that held her hiking boots together.

The soil on which Moses stood when he met God on Mount Horeb was out of the ordinary, too. It was not volcanic heat, however, but the holy presence of God that made the ground very special that day. Moses at the burning bush is a powerful reminder that when we step into God's presence, we come into the presence of infinite majesty and holiness.

Why did Moses have to remove his sandals in God's presence? It was definitely a sign of respect for a superior. It has even been suggested that as Moses stood in this holy place, even being raised by the one-inch leather on his sandals was too much elevation for a sinful man before the God who was about to reveal Himself as ""I am who I AM"" (Exod. 3:14).

The text says the figure who appeared to Moses in the bush was the angel of the Lord. However, this was not merely an angel, but God Himself. Fire became a symbol of His presence on earth.

When Moses approached the strange sight of the bush that burned without being consumed, God called his name. When Moses responded to God's call, God identified Himself. At this, Moses was overcome and hid his face.

Does Exodus 3 teach that God wants us to be afraid when we come into His presence to pray? God is not looking for fear from us, but for a deep reverence that leads us to come to Him in awe and humility.

The Word urges us to humble ourselves before God. Humility comes about when we recognize who God is and who we are and when we put those two facts in perspective. When we realize whom we are approaching, we may even feel compelled to ""remove our sandals,"" as it were. What we must remember is to approach God with a proper heart attitude.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY

Everything about the scene on Mount Horeb suggested God's holy and awesome presence.

But you may pray in your car on a crowded freeway, bow your head at the breakfast table, or close your door at work for a few minutes with the Lord. In these modern settings, can we experience the same sense of God's holy presence that Moses felt?

Yes we can, because prayer and worship are matters of the heart. Israel's early worship center, the tabernacle, was portable. The people literally carried the presence of God with them wherever they went. You can do that yourself today, for you are a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19).

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Revelation 5:6-10; 8:3-4
Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. - Revelation 5:8
TODAY IN THE WORD

When a person touches others as profoundly as Christian author C.S. Lewis has touched this generation, the blessing of his work outlives him. Lewis's writings are more popular today than they were at his death in 1963. And in recent years, we have seen an outpouring of works probing his life, his conversion and faith, and offering analysis of his profound writings.

All of us know that God wants our work here on earth to count for something even after we are gone. Our prayers fall into this category in the sense that the people we have prayed for may still be having an impact for Christ long after we are with Him. So our prayers can have eternal effects.

These two brief references to ""the prayers of the saints"" in Revelation may suggest that our prayers themselves are being stored up in some fashion in heaven. Since John does not explain this portion of the vision, we can't know with certainty all that is meant by the golden bowls and censer (Rev. 5:8; 8:3).

But the simple description of these prayers seems to suggest that we should take the phrase at face value. Storing up the prayers of His people would certainly be no problem for God. He hears whenever one of His children cries out against evil and injustice, praying for His kingdom to come and His truth and righteousness to be vindicated.

The context of these two passages suggests that this is the focus of the prayers being poured out. When the risen Christ takes the scroll from the hand of God and prepares to open it (Rev. 5:7), the heavenly creatures are holding their bowls of prayer.

The scroll contains God's righteous judgments that will be unleashed against evil, and the prayers seem to echo heaven's cry for the Lamb to carry out His ministry. The context in Revelation 8 is similar.

Will other prayers be offered in this manner in the last days? That remains with God. But we can take comfort in knowing that no prayer, delivered in the name of Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit, is ever wasted!
TODAY ALONG THE WAY

Back on May 1, we suggested that you write out your greatest prayer need and keep the card with you this month as you prayed.

Has God chosen to meet the need? Praise Him for His graciousness. Has God shown over the past few weeks that your greatest prayer need is something different from what you thought? Thank Him for this insight. And if nothing has changed, humanly speaking, in the need you recorded on your card, keep praying--God-honoring prayer is never wasted!

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Kings 12:1-24
A wise king winnows out the wicked - Proverbs 20:26
TODAY IN THE WORD
At the outbreak of the Civil War, northern newspapers were filled with advice to Abraham Lincoln on how to conduct the war. One day, a newspaper correspondent called on Lincoln to offer his own unsolicited war strategy. The president listened patiently, then told the man a story. The punch line of the story made it clear that all the unasked-for advice amounted to a lot of heat and very little insight.

Ignoring bad advice is pretty easy to do when it comes from outsiders. But what happens when not just bad, but truly evil, advice comes from a king's circle of trusted advisors? It can produce disastrous results if the king listens to his advisors.

Disaster is exactly what happened in Israel when Solomon's son, King Rehoboam, followed the evil counsel of his younger ""cabinet members."" Their decision to lay an even heavier load of taxation on the people caused a fault line to break open, splitting the nation into two kingdoms.

We are going to follow that split this month as we undertake a fascinating study of biblical kings and prophets in the divided nation. We'll make stops from 1 Kings 12 to the end of 2 Kings--by which time both the northern kingdom (known as Israel) and the southern kingdom (called Judah) had been conquered and led away into captivity.

Along the way, we will meet some of the most godly, ungodly, and colorful people in Scripture: Jeroboam, Elijah, Manasseh, Elisha, and Isaiah.

Although Rehoboam's bad choice precipitated the split, David's dynasty was already starting to crack by the time of Solomon's death. God told Solomon He was going to tear the kingdom out of his hand after Solomon's death (1 Kings 11:11-13). The prophet Ahijah then relayed this prophecy to Jeroboam (11:29-40).

Rehoboam's rejection of his elders' advice was followed by another bad decision: to send Adoniram to the people (1 Kings 12:18). This man was stoned, and Rehoboam barely escaped with his life.

Rehoboam went back to Jerusalem and mustered 180ꯠ troops from Judah and Benjamin, the tribes that remained loyal to him and comprised the southern kingdom. But the prophet Shemaiah told the king to give it up, and Rehoboam wisely listened.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
This month is filled with lessons for us to learn from the real-life world of Old Testament kings and prophets.

One way you can maximize the benefit of these lessons is to begin each day with this simple prayer: ""Lord, show me what You want me to know, do, or say as a result of this lesson, and I will obey You."" Why not write this prayer on a Post-it note and attach it to each day's study as a reminder?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Kings 12:25-33
You shall have no other gods before me. - Exodus 20:3
TODAY IN THE WORD
If we were to write an epitaph for the life of the Israelite leader, Jeroboam, an appropriate title might be ""What Could Have Been."" Outside of King David himself, there probably wasn't a ruler in Israel who was given the promises that God made to Jeroboam-but Jeroboam squandered them all, revealing an evil heart in the process.

In their rebellion against Rehoboam, the people named Jeroboam king of the northern kingdom of Israel.

God said He would allow David's house to retain ""one tribe"" (1 Kings 11:36). This tribe was actually Judah and Benjamin combined, because Benjamin's tribe was so small.

Now, look at what God told Jeroboam in the following verses. ""You will rule over all that your heart desires"" (v. 37). If Jeroboam would serve God and keep His ""statutes and commands,"" God promised, ""I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you"" (v. 38).

What a future Jeroboam could have had! But he proved to be unworthy of God's promises. Instead of believing and obeying God, Jeroboam started worrying about how he could hold on to the people's loyalty. He reasoned that if the Israelites continued to worship in Jerusalem-the center of the southern kingdom-their hearts would be drawn back to David's dynasty and to Rehoboam.

Interestingly, Jeroboam also sought counsel (1 Kings 12:28) concerning the best course of action. Like Rehoboam, he got bad advice-and like Rehoboam, he followed it. Jeroboam built two golden calves and put them at Dan and Bethel, cities at the far north and far south of his kingdom. Then he established a substitute Day of Atonement, exactly one month after the God-ordained sacrifice in Jerusalem. Jeroboam completed his idolatry by randomly selecting people who were not Levites to become priests.

The system that Jeroboam thus set in motion in Israel was like a spiritual atom bomb detonating in the nation. The idolatry Jeroboam encouraged, primarily for political reasons, would plague Israel for generations to come. Things would get so bad that God would judge His people by removing them from the land of promise.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Convenience and compromise are the best words to describe the course of action Jeroboam took. Keeping power was a higher priority for him than spiritual purity and principle.

Jeroboam's sin was shocking-but then, sin is always shocking. Given the lavish grace and love God has showered on us, it's shocking whenever one of His children compromises. Today would be a good time to take a reading of your spiritual integrity. Is there anything that you're putting ahead of your relationship with God? Prayerfully search your heart and life, and plan to deal with any budding compromise or unfaithfulness He may reveal to you.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Kings 13:1-10
What fellowship can light have with darkness? - 2 Corinthians 6:14
TODAY IN THE WORD
As we mentioned on Monday, we are studying an action-packed section of Scripture this month. The kings we will meet did some remarkable and horrible things. The prophets we'll study were fearless spokesmen for God who, in many cases, stared down the kings with a word from the Lord.

Today's story is a great example of that. The unnamed prophet who confronted King Jeroboam delivered his message with such directness that Jeroboam was immediately incensed and ordered the prophet's arrest. We can assume that if the order had been carried out, the prophet would have paid for his courage with his life.

Jeroboam's deliberate defiance of the true worship of God was an affront that God did not leave unchallenged. One writer has called this a prophecy of a coming Davidic king, named Josiah, one of the most remarkable prophecies in Scripture.

What makes it so remarkable is that Josiah's reign was prophesied by name, even though he would not arrive for almost 300 years! Notice that God did not use a prophet from Jeroboam's idolatrous territory, but one from Judah, where God's worship was still carried on according to His commandments.

God often gave His prophets a sign to verify the truth of their message. This prophet announced such a sign, and Jeroboam's illegitimate altar at Bethel split apart before his eyes. God even gave Jeroboam a personal object lesson by making his outstretched hand shrivel up.

With his own health at stake, Jeroboam was suddenly reduced from a raging king into a whimpering petitioner. He called the Lord ""your God"" (v. 6)-a real giveaway as to the attitude of his heart. But in spite of this, God chose to answer the prophet's prayer to heal Jeroboam's hand.

By offering the prophet a reward and a meal in his palace, Jeroboam was extending the protection of his kingdom to the man. But the age-old spiritual principle of today's verse was in effect then: God's prophet was in Bethel on business, not on a social call.

Jeroboam, unfortunately, had shown that he had no regard for God or for the purity of His worship.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
It required obedience for that prophet to turn down the chance for dinner with a king and a reward from the royal treasury.

How many of us would be willing to obey God, even if this meant a financial or social disadvantage? That's a question each of us must answer, because God is still calling us as believers to come out from the world. This question makes a good follow-up to the spiritual inventory we suggested you take yesterday. Today, each of us should give this some prayerful thought.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Kings 13:11-32
Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. - Jeremiah 7:23
TODAY IN THE WORD
A classic Moody Institute of Science film called Signposts Aloft tells the tragic story of a military aircraft in World War II that was flying to Benghazi in Libya, North Africa. The crew, unaware that a strong tail wind was pushing the plane along, refused to believe their instruments when the readings indicated they were approaching Benghazi. It was far too soon to look for the Benghazi beacon light, the crew reasoned, so they kept flying-straight to their doom. The plane flew far past its destination, ran out of fuel, and crashed in the desert. The four crewmen died, even though the plane's instruments were still working perfectly when the wreckage was found.

The prophet we met yesterday also refused to believe what his ""instruments"" were telling him, and the result was his doom. This is one of those unusual stories that leave many Bible readers puzzled. Let's see if we can determine what God was doing in this sad incident.

Obviously, this prophet started out in obedience to God. He courageously delivered his message to Jeroboam and followed God's orders by starting back home without pausing for food or water.

But ""a certain old prophet"" living in Bethel complicated things. We can't be sure whether the old prophet simply wanted to visit with the prophet from Judah or whether he was envious of the man's ministry and wanted to bring him down. Either way, the old prophet lied about receiving a word from God, and the prophet from Judah believed his story. His agreement to go home with the Bethel prophet was an act of direct disobedience to God's instructions to him. This helps explain why God dealt with His prophet so severely. His failure to completely obey cost him his life.

What about the old prophet? He seemed to get away with lying. Yet in one sense, he was already under God's judgment for living complacently in the very place where Jeroboam was guilty of terrible apostasy against God.

This man seemed to feel remorse over having caused the other prophet's death, and he believed the word of doom against Israel's places of worship (vv. 31-32). But his actions reveal the depth of spiritual unfaithfulness into which Israel had fallen. There is only one way to follow God-completely.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The sin of partial obedience has plagued God's people in every generation.

Actually, a better word for partial obedience would be disobedience. With the complete Word of God in our hands, we have every resource we need to fully obey God. Today, we urge you to evaluate your own life and to help others in your circle of influence to follow God in complete obedience as well.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Kings 13:33-14:20
I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. - Deuteronomy 5:9
TODAY IN THE WORD
In recent months we have had plenty of reminders that the ability to look the other way in the face of truth is an all-too-common human trait. The life of King Jeroboam of Israel is Exhibit A of this tendency.

Jeroboam never got the picture, spiritually speaking. As we learned earlier, God brought the king face-to-face with some incredible promises. But evidently, Jeroboam did not consider God's promises worth the necessary obedience on his part. He looked the other way, plunging the northern kingdom into idolatry and false worship that would cling to them for several centuries.

Since Jeroboam rejected God's goodness, God confronted the king with the truth of His judgment through the prophecy of 1 Kings 13. But ""even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways"" (13:33). He rejected God's word and warning. All that was left was for the sentence of judgment to be carried out.

That judgment fell first on Jeroboam's son, Abijah, who fell sick (interestingly, his enemy, Rehoboam, also had a son named Abijah, 1 Kings 15:1).

It's not hard to understand why Jeroboam sent his wife to the prophet, Ahijah. It was Ahijah who had delivered God's original promise of blessing to Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:29-39). This fact and the gift Jeroboam sent with his wife were designed to produce a good word concerning the fate of Abijah.

But why did Jeroboam tell his wife to disguise herself? Perhaps he didn't want it known that a member of his family went to visit a prophet of the Lord. If this is the reason, it would be typical of Jeroboam's unbelief.

But while Jeroboam looked the other way, God's gaze was steady. Although the king reigned for twenty-two years in Israel, nothing else he did is recorded. Jeroboam's apostasy, his departure from the truth, brought disaster on his entire family and even on the nation (1 Kings 14:15). His descendants would not even get a decent burial, and Israel itself would one day be uprooted from its land.

Jeroboam's demise, and the damage he left behind, is a graphic answer to the question of whether integrity matters in a nation's leaders.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
We need continually to be reminded that praying for those in authority is, according to the apostle Paul, a top priority for God's people (1 Tim. 2:1-2).

Let's do that today, specifically praying that moral and ethical integrity, and spiritual sensitivity, will be restored to their proper place of importance in American public life. Pray also that God will raise up people at every level of leadership who will bring His righteous standards to bear on decisions that affect each of us.