Make clean space for God and His great gifts

Thursday, October 10, 2013 Devotions: Ps 131-35; 2 Ki 23:4-25; 1 Cor 12:1-11; Mt 9:18-26 Lord, I am depressed; my heart is heavy and I can hardly raise my eyes to look up. I'm holding on, diving into Your word to get my bearings and my breath. I want to calm my soul, like a weaned child at his mother's breast. I know You Are my only hope. You have carried me through immense troubles, and I know You are God. And God Is good. You keep Your promises and shame Your enemies. It is wonderful when godly brothers dwell together in unity—like the anointing oil poured out on Aaron's head, flowing down his beard and onto his high-priestly vestments; like the dew God sheds on Mt. Hermon, that flows down to water Lebanon and Israel and Syria and Jordan. In this holy land, YHWH has ordained eternal life. So let all who attend the Lord lift up our hands toward His holy place and bless YHWH our God. Let all God's servants, all His creatures, praise His holy name, for He Is good, and He Is mighty. Our God does whatever pleases Him, and He has chosen and set apart a people for Himself. His Name endures forever, and He will vindicate His people. Other 'gods' are mere human handiwork, insentient idols. So let all be faithful to the true and living God, and praise Him, all His people! King Josiah, a reformer, commanded the high priest Hilkiah and those in charge of the temple to take out of God's temple all the profane objects devoted to other gods. These the king burned in the Kidron valley outside Jerusalem. And he carried their ashes to Bethel. He deposed the idolatrous priests whom earlier kings had stationed in high places around the kingdom. He brought out the Asherah from the temple, and burned it at the Kidron brook, beat the cinders to ash, and scattered the ashes over the graves of the people of the land. He broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes; he brought all the pagan priests out of the cities of Judah and defiled all the pagan shrines in high places from Geba to Beer-sheba. He broke down the high places of the gates at the entrance gate of Joshua the governor of the city. He defiled Topheth in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, where children had been immolated before Molech. He removed the horses dedicated the sun, which had been stabled outside the temple, and he burned the chariots of the sun. He pulled down and broke in pieces the pagan altars around the temple district, and cast the dust into the brook Kidron. He defiled the high places east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon had erected for Ashtoreth, Chemosh, and Milcom, respectively the pagan deities of Sidon, Moab and Ammon. He cut down the Asherim and filled their places with human bones. He pulled down the altar Jeroboam had erected at Bethel, and defiled it by burning bones on the altar. He did not disturb the grave of the prophet who. had foretold all that Josiah was doing to restore and purify the worship of YHWH. He removed every trace of foreign cults from the Holy Land. Then Josiah returned to Jerusalem and commanded the people to keep God's Passover—that had been neglected since the days of the judges! It was restored in the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign, the climax of Josiah's restoration of the nation's worship and service to YHWH. Paul wrote to the Corinthian disciples concerning spiritual gifts. First, no one speaking by God's Spirit could say 'Jesus is cursed,' or 'Jesus Is Lord.' God has distributed various gifts by the one Spirit; we have various tasks, but serve the same Lord; there are various good works prepared for us, all inspired by the same, the one God. Each of us has a manifestation of the Spirit, and these He imparts for the common good: utterance of wisdom, words of divine knowledge, faith, healing, working miracles, prophecy, discerning and distinguishing among spirits, various kinds of tongues, and interpretation of tongues. All these are inspired and apportioned by the Holy Spirit in accordance with God's sovereign will. A synagogue leader came and fell facedown before Jesus, saying, 'My daughter has just died; please, come and lay Your hand on her and she will live.' Jesus rose and He and his disciples followed the bereaved father. Along the way, a woman who had suffered from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind Jesus and touched the fringe of His garment. She had decided: 'If I just touch His garment, I shall be made well.' Jesus turned and saw her and said, 'Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.' And instantly, it was so—she was completely healed. When Jesus came to the synagogue official's house, a crowd and musicians were creating a tumult of mourning. Jesus told them all: 'Leave! The girl is not dead but sleeping.' They all laughed at Him. But when the crowd had been put outside, Jesus went in, took the girl's hand, and she got up! Reports of this quickly went through all that district.