[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR THURSDAY MAY 5

[Donnie Parrett]

DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR THURSDAY MAY 5

WORD OF WISDOM

If you are Heaven-born then you are Heaven-bound.

___

DAILY DEVOTION

Forgiven Much


And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee.
And he saith, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two
debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they
had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which
of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to
whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.
Luke 7:40-43

The story goes that a man came to the evangelist Sam Jones to complain about
how much his church expected him to give. "How much do they ask?" the
evangelist inquired. "Five dollars a year," the man answered. "Well,"
replied Mr. Jones, "how long have you been converted?" "About four years."
"What did you do before you were converted?" "I was a drunkard." "How much
did you spend for drink?" "About $250 a year." Jones asked, "How much were
you worth?" "I rented land and plowed with a steer." "What have you got
now?" "I have a good plantation and a span of horses." "Well," said the
evangelist emphatically, "you paid the devil $250 a year for the privilege
of plowing with a steer on rented land, and now you don't want to give to
God, who saved you, five dollars a year for the privilege of plowing with
horses on your own plantation. You're a rascal from the crown of your head
to the sole of your foot."
Every Christian has been forgiven a huge debt we could never repay. Yet too
often we begin to think that we really weren't that bad and that God had to
put out more effort to save others than He did us. That is a lie that the
devil loves. He knows that if our gratitude to God for our forgiveness
begins to wane, our love and service for Him will suffer as a result. Never
forget all that God has done for you, and never stop being thankful for it.
As we remember what God has done for us, our love for Him flourishes.

___

DAILY BIBLE READING

2 Chronicles 19-21 New King James Version
Jehoshaphat's Additional Reforms
19 Then Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned safely to his house in
Jerusalem. 2 And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and
said to King Jehoshaphat, "Should you help the wicked and love those who
hate the Lord? Therefore the wrath of the Lord is upon you. 3 Nevertheless
good things are found in you, in that you have removed the [a]wooden images
from the land, and have prepared your heart to seek God."

The Reforms of Jehoshaphat
4 So Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem; and he went out again among the people
from Beersheba to the mountains of Ephraim, and brought them back to the
Lord God of their fathers. 5 Then he set judges in the land throughout all
the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, 6 and said to the judges, "Take
heed to what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the Lord,
who is with you [b]in the judgment. 7 Now therefore, let the fear of the
Lord be upon you; take care and do it, for there is no iniquity with the
Lord our God, no partiality, nor taking of bribes."

8 Moreover in Jerusalem, for the judgment of the Lord and for controversies,
Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites and priests, and some of the chief
fathers of Israel, [c]when they returned to Jerusalem. 9 And he commanded
them, saying, "Thus you shall act in the fear of the Lord, faithfully and
with a loyal heart: 10 Whatever case comes to you from your brethren who
dwell in their cities, whether of bloodshed or offenses against law or
commandment, against statutes or ordinances, you shall warn them, lest they
trespass against the Lord and wrath come upon you and your brethren. Do
this, and you will not be guilty. 11 And take notice: Amariah the chief
priest is over you in all matters of the Lord; and Zebadiah the son of
Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, for all the king's matters; also
the Levites will be officials before you. Behave courageously, and the Lord
will be with the good."

Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir Defeated
20 It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon,
and others with them besides the Ammonites,[d] came to battle against
Jehoshaphat. 2 Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, "A great
multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from [e]Syria; and they
are in Hazazon Tamar" (which is En Gedi). 3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set
[f]himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4
So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the
cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the
house of the Lord, before the new court, 6 and said: "O Lord God of our
fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the
kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so
that no one is able to withstand You? 7 Are You not our God, who drove out
the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the
descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? 8 And they dwell in it, and have
built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, 9 'If disaster comes upon
us-sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine-we will stand before this temple
and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You
in our affliction, and You will hear and save.' 10 And now, here are the
people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir-whom You would not let Israel invade
when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did
not destroy them- 11 here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out
of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. 12 O our God, will
You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that
is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You."

13 Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children,
stood before the Lord.

14 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the
son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons
of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, "Listen, all you of
Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says
the Lord to you: 'Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great
multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's. 16 Tomorrow go down
against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will
find them at the end of the [g]brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You
will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and
see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!' Do
not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with
you."

18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah
and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.
19 Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of
the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and
high.

20 So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of
Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, O Judah
and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you
shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper." 21 And
when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to
the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out
before the army and were saying:

"Praise the Lord,
For His mercy endures forever."

22 Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against
the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and
they were defeated. 23 For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the
inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they
[h]had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one
another.

24 So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked
toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth.
No one had escaped.

25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found
among them an abundance of valuables on the [i]dead bodies, and precious
jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry
away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so
much. 26 And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of [j]Berachah,
for there they blessed the Lord; therefore the name of that place was called
The Valley of Berachah until this day. 27 Then they returned, every man of
Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go back to
Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies.
28 So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and
trumpets, to the house of the Lord. 29 And the fear of God was on all the
kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against
the enemies of Israel. 30 Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his
God gave him rest all around.

The End of Jehoshaphat's Reign
31 So Jehoshaphat was king over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he
became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's
name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 32 And he walked in the way of his
father Asa, and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the
sight of the Lord. 33 Nevertheless the [k]high places were not taken away,
for as yet the people had not directed their hearts to the God of their
fathers.

34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, indeed they are
written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is mentioned in the
book of the kings of Israel.

35 After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of
Israel, who acted very wickedly. 36 And he allied himself with him to make
ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion Geber. 37 But
Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat,
saying, "Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the Lord has
destroyed your works." Then the ships were wrecked, so that they were not
able to go to Tarshish.

Jehoram Reigns in Judah
21 And Jehoshaphat [l]rested with his fathers, and was buried with his
fathers in the City of David. Then Jehoram his son reigned in his place. 2
He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah,
Azaryahu, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat
king of Israel. 3 Their father gave them great gifts of silver and gold and
precious things, with fortified cities in Judah; but he gave the kingdom to
Jehoram, because he was the firstborn.

4 Now when Jehoram [m]was established over the kingdom of his father, he
strengthened himself and killed all his brothers with the sword, and also
others of the princes of Israel.

5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight
years in Jerusalem. 6 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just
as the house of Ahab had done, for he had the daughter of Ahab as a wife;
and he did evil in the sight of the Lord. 7 Yet the Lord would not destroy
the house of David, because of the covenant that He had made with David, and
since He had promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever.

8 In his days Edom revolted against Judah's authority, and made a king over
themselves. 9 So Jehoram went out with his officers, and all his chariots
with him. And he rose by night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded
him and the captains of the chariots. 10 Thus Edom has been in revolt
against Judah's authority to this day. At that time Libnah revolted against
his rule, because he had forsaken the Lord God of his fathers. 11 Moreover
he made [n]high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants
of Jerusalem to commit harlotry, and led Judah astray.

12 And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying,

Thus says the Lord God of your father David:

Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in
the ways of Asa king of Judah, 13 but have walked in the way of the kings of
Israel, and have made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the
harlot like the harlotry of the house of Ahab, and also have killed your
brothers, those of your father's household, who were better than yourself,
14 behold, the Lord will strike your people with a serious affliction-your
children, your wives, and all your possessions; 15 and you will become very
sick with a disease of your intestines, until your intestines come out by
reason of the sickness, day by day.

16 Moreover the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the
Philistines and the Arabians who were near the Ethiopians. 17 And they came
up into Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions that were
found in the king's house, and also his sons and his wives, so that there
was not a son left to him except [o]Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.

18 After all this the Lord struck him in his intestines with an incurable
disease. 19 Then it happened in the course of time, after the end of two
years, that his intestines came out because of his sickness; so he died in
severe pain. And his people made no [p]burning for him, like the burning for
his fathers.

20 He was thirty-two years old when he became king. He reigned in Jerusalem
eight years and, to no one's sorrow, departed. However they buried him in
the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

Footnotes
2 Chronicles 19:3 Or Asherim, Heb. Asheroth
2 Chronicles 19:6 Lit. in the matter of the judgment
2 Chronicles 19:8 LXX, Vg. for the inhabitants of Jerusalem
2 Chronicles 20:1 So with MT, Vg.; LXX Meunites (cf. 2 Chr. 26:7)
2 Chronicles 20:2 So with MT, LXX, Vg.; Heb. mss., Old Lat. Edom
2 Chronicles 20:3 Lit. his face
2 Chronicles 20:16 streambed or wadi
2 Chronicles 20:23 had finished
2 Chronicles 20:25 A few Heb. mss., Old Lat., Vg. garments; LXX armor
2 Chronicles 20:26 Lit. Blessing
2 Chronicles 20:33 Places for pagan worship
2 Chronicles 21:1 Died and joined his ancestors
2 Chronicles 21:4 Lit. arose
2 Chronicles 21:11 Places for pagan worship
2 Chronicles 21:17 Ahaziah or Azariah, 2 Chr. 22:1
2 Chronicles 21:19 Burning of spices