What a delight it is that we are approaching the 362 day, 1 year mark, for having our devotions. Thanks to those who are pursuing the Lord through His Word. Let's keep doing this! I pray for newness with God as we approach 2020.
2nd Kings chapter 2.
Elijah and Elisha are traveling together and Elijah is sad because he knows the Lord is going to take Elijah from the Earth. Elijah asks Elisha what he would want him to do for him. Elisha asks for double portion of the spirit that is within Elijah. Elijah says if you see me taken from this Earth it will be granted to you. Elisha saw him leave and was empowered by God through His spirit. As a result Elisha was able to do miracles that helps those in need and he also was able to curse evil. Many miracles happened through Elisha.
For us today, I see Jesus calling us to be more gracious and merciful to those who ridicule us or curse us, however we have the same Spirit living in us that was in Elijah and Elisha. Therefore, we are able to be a blessing to those around us. At the same time we can overcome any evil that comes against us. The same Holy Spirit wants to empower us so we are able to be a blessing to those around us including our enemies. The same Holy Spirit wants to empower us so we are able to overcome any evil that captivates us or comes against us.
Lord, help me to act in faith and confidence with the help of your Holy Spirit, believing you can use me to impact lives and live a victorious life in you.
As we celebrate the birth of Jesus today and think about how He came from heaven to earth to rescue us, we read about Elijah being taken up to heaven in this chapter. I speculate that Elijah and Enoch are the two witnesses that are written about in Revelation 11 since they haven’t actually died yet, but the Bible doesn’t say for certain who those two witnesses really are so I could be wrong. Whenever Jesus was transfigured, Elijah also appeared along with Moses in Matthew 17, Mark 9 and Luke 9, but Peter, James and John had to get their attention refocused on Jesus only. May our focus be centered on Jesus.
Elisha was teased for his baldness so he cursed the small boys and then 42 of them were torn up from two she-bears. What a warning to not ever be making fun of people because of their appearance! May we remember that we are each uniquely made in the image of God and He is the best designer of all.
I will close with Phillipians 2:1-11.
“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”