Only God reigns, and only through Jesus the Messiah

Saturday, October 19, 2013 Devotions: Ps 20, 21, 110, 116, 117; 2 Ki 25:8-26; 1 Cor 15:12-29; Mt 11:7-15 May God respond when we're in trouble; may His name protect us. And may He grant our hearts' desires and fulfill all our plans. May we shout together over God's victory and set up banners in God's name. I know God watches over His anointed. We boast in our God, not in human force or skill. All mortal factors will collapse, but we will rise and remain upright. Lord, we rejoice in Your strength. We share in Your eternal abundance, in Your holy love. Be exalted, my God, in Your strength as we celebrate and praise Your power. The Father says to our Lord Jesus: sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a stool for Your feet. Rule in My power. For God has sworn an unchanging oath: You Are a Priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. And He shall reign forever, executing God's judgment on all the nations. Glory to our God! My Lord has heard my supplications and freed me from death He Is gracious and righteous, merciful and kind. He has delivered me from death, from tears, from stumbling. And so I praise Him now and always. Lord, I am Your servant, freed to be Your bondslave. Great is God's steadfast love to us; His faithfulness endures forever. Hallelu Yah! In King Nebuchadnezzar's 19th year, his captain Nebuzaradan burned the Jerusalem temple, the king's house, and all the main houses of the city. The Chaldean army broke down Jerusalem's wall, and carried most of the residents into exile. He left behind the poorest people to be vinedressers and plowmen. He carried back to Babylon spoils including the bronze from the temple pillars, the temple's furnishing and vessels, and all the silver and gold. And the king of Babylon executed the high priest, the second priest, the keepers of the temple threshold and many other leading men of the city and of the temple. The Babylonian king appointed Gedaliah as governor over the province now under Babylon's rule. After ten months, Gedaliah was executed by patriots led by Ishmael son of Nethaniah, a scion of the Hebrew royal family. Then, fearing Babylon's reprisals, the surviving Jewish remnant fled to exile in Egypt. Paul explains and defends the resurrection of Jesus: If Christ were not raised from death, our preaching and your faith would be in vain, and we are liars and fools. But Christ HAS been raised, the first fruits of those who sleep. As in the first Adam, death came to humankind due to sin, so by the second Adam, Jesus the Messiah, has come also resurrection from death. In Adam, all die; in Christ, all shall be made forever alive—but each in proper order. Christ first; at His coming, those who belong to Him. And then He will deliver the kingdom to God the Father, after destroying every rule, authority and power. He must reign until He has put every enemy under His feet. The last enemy to fall is death. Jesus spoke to onlookers concerning John the Baptizer: What did you go into the wilderness to see? A prophet? Yes, and more: John was the one mentioned in scripture: 'Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, to prepare Your way.' Among those born of women, none has arisen that is greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he! Until now, the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence and men of violence seize it by force. All the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; and he is the Elijah who was to come. Let all who can hear take note of this