2 Kings – Chapter 9

But when they went to bury her, they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. 2 Kings 9:35 – This is a disturbing verse to share, and even more this chapter is a disturbing one to read. Kings are killed, queens are thrown out a high window to die and be eaten by dogs. Again, truly a disturbing chapter to read and write a devotion over. Yet the disturbing nature of what is covered is simply the consequences God foretold would come to this family as a result of their deep sinfulness. Exactly what took place is exactly what God said years prior would happen. Sure, the king and queen blew off such warnings from the Lord and continued in their wicked ways for years, seeing no real consequences to their choices. It appeared to them that God was just throwing out punishments that He couldn’t bring about. Yet what they discovered in this chapter was while God is patient to move, what He says will happen will happen. My heart goes out to you today pleading with you to turn from whatever sins may still be active in your story. If you’ve never accepted Jesus, realize the things God has said about Hell and eternal condemnation are real. Seek forgiveness and life from Jesus to be saved from all that. And if you are a believer, see what God says about the effects of sin in our life. See how it strips away at the blessings God is seeking to provide, see how it blinds us to how God is working, and see how it destroys our witness. Yes, maybe you haven’t seen those results yet, but as with the royalty in our chapter, know if God said consequences will come, they’ll come. Make the holy choice today to step away from the sin like God is calling you to do. What sin has for you is only death, but what God has is far better. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3075

And when Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” He answered, “What peace can there be, so long as the whorings and the sorceries of your mother Jezebel are so many?” 2 Kings 9:22 – While the language may be different if we were to ask the question, Jehu has a strong point here. What peace can we truly have when our life is so full of flagrant sin. God promises His follower true peace inside their life, but how can we claim to be a follower of Him when we still have active sin in our life. It’s like saying you are on a diet and want the losing of weight all while eating a bag of Oreos. It’s contradicts itself! Granted, know I’m not saying you’ll never have peace until you completely rid yourself of sinful behavior. We do mess up in life and sin still after we accept Christ, but that shouldn’t be an excuse to not strive after living a life free of sin. Just because you know you may eat an Oreo sometime on your diet doesn’t mean it’s ok to always have a bag of Oreos in your backpack. Strive to separate yourself from the sin around so you can taste the peace from God instead. Sin and God don’t mix at all so if you want the results in your life that comes from living for God, strive to not mix sin into that life. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 380

Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says the Lord, I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and flee; do not linger. 2 Kings 9:3 – Sometimes our role is staying for the long haul of helping someone navigate this life of faith they have once they trust in Jesus. In fact, scripture leads us to stay and help young disciples mature in the faith. Here though we see an example of someone sharing the message of God, then leaving the rest to someone else. We need to be open to stepping aside if that’s what God leads. This is not us getting an excuse to not disciple people, this is us being humble enough to say I may not be the right person to lead you so I’m going to let someone else have that role. I’m not sure how this message may play a role in your story, but just be willing to step aside if God says to step aside. The end goal is people following Jesus more, not you having the accolades. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1032

And when Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” He answered, “What peace can there be, so long as the whorings and the sorceries of your mother Jezebel are so many?” 2 Kings 9:22 – It’s far too easy to simply read this chapter and neglect the reality of what was happening in this season for God’s people. We have kings being assassinated, a queen being murdered and eaten by dogs, and we have a new king taking the throne. If something like this happened today it would be on worldwide news! Yet what Jehu, this new king, says in our passage reveals why the land found itself in such a season. No peace could be found as long as their sin remained. The sins of the people during this time of Israel’s history was truly one of the worst departures from God the nation ever experienced. What we see God pointing out through all this is that when sin is actively pursued peace cannot be found. So how are you seeing that truth play out in your story? Is there some sin you are not setting aside and as a result are you noticing a lack of peace? Are you noticing more levels of peace in your story because you are choosing to let go of sin? Know sin is your enemy to your peace, but intimacy with the Father is your answer to peace. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2215