- And he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will help you.” 1 Chronicles 19:12 – We need to be ready to help our brother when the battle gets too much for him to handle. This means we’re going to have to keep our eyes on each other watching to see if the other begins to fall. That will look like asking one another about how they are truly doing, not just taking the typical “fine” response. It will also look like readily sacrificing time and/or resources of your own that you know will help them keep moving. I know this seems like a lot when you think of how many people you may have in your close church family, yet see the flip side to it. You have that many people willing to do all that for you as well. Let’s strive to have this type of culture in our churches, one where we are willing to go to battle for each other and are intently watching out for each other. That sort of community is what will attract so many people to Jesus. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1382
- And when the servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became subject to him. So the Syrians were not willing to save the Ammonites anymore. 1 Chronicles 19:19 – Israel’s power was well known by this time; this enemy should have known that coming against King David and his army would not end well for them. Yet, despite the facts in front of them, they fought against Israel and learned for themselves just how powerful their foe was. They surrendered, made peace with David, and served him. Look though at where we are at today with God. God, who is all powerful, who has no chance of losing a battle, is so often the One we fight against. We also have no chance of finding peace with God on our own, for nothing we have to offer God can bring us that peace. We can’t even be followers of Him without Him! Scripture even reveals that we wouldn’t pursue a following of God or such things as peace with God on our own even if we could pursue such things. Yet what do we have in front of us today, freely available to all? Peace with God and the ability to follow Him. God defeated our enemy of sin and death for us, and God made peace with us when we couldn’t make peace with Him. He made it possible for us to follow Him even when we weren’t seeking to follow Him. Like the servants of Hadadezer in our passage, we have learned who truly is the most powerful and the most worthy to follow. Let’s follow the One who carries both those titles. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2572
Daily DEVO 