By The Word of The Lord

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

BY THE WORD OF THE LORD

1 Kings 13:4-10

4 When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, "Seize him!" But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. 5 Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the LORD. 6 Then the king said to the man of God, "Intercede with the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored." So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king's hand was restored and became as it was before. 7 The king said to the man of God, "Come home with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift." 8 But the man of God answered the king, "Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here. 9 For I was commanded by the word of the LORD: 'You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.'" 10 So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.

NIV

Jeroboam had built the two golden calves, made priests from men who were not Levites, and offered sacrifices on false altars; everything he was doing was against the word of the LORD, and this man of God cried out against him by the word of the LORD. Did Jeroboam repent? Nope! Instead, he rebelled against the word of the LORD and stretched out his hand, and ordered the man of God to be seized. However, the LORD did not allow this to happen, but shriveled Jeroboam's hand, and the altar was split in two. It never goes well to rebel against the word of the LORD. We should learn this lesson well, put it deep within our hearts, because the word of the Lord will always be truth, and our words may at times contain some truth, but they can also contain untruth. It is not that we outright lie; it is just that we are convinced that we are not always right in thought, words, and deeds. When we live by our own ideas, even religious or spiritual ideas, they are still our thoughts, which drive our words and deeds. As followers of Jesus, we should be living by the word of the Lord. Sometimes, this might seem complicated because there are so many views or doctrines as to how the word of the Lord is interpreted. We also have to separate traditions from the truth of the word of the Lord. Our lives should be based solely on the word of the Lord. We have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, who guides us into all truth. He is always faithful to His own word. The Spirit will never guide us to our thoughts, words, or deeds, but only to the thoughts, words, and deeds of God Almighty, the Father, Son, and the Spirit. Truth is always truth and is not open to discussion or interpretation, unless we interject our thoughts, words, and deeds. That is what makes life so complicated. We want what we want, rather than what God wants for our lives. Let us remember the word of the Lord is always right, all the time, in every situation. Let us bend our will, just as we pray that His will be done in our lives, just as His will is done in heaven. When we live following Jesus, then we are following; He is leading. Then we will be living by the word of the Lord.