Agape Devotions

READ : 2 Chronicles 7 Verses chosen for meditation: 2 Chronicles 7:14 14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. REFLECT Years after Solomon’s prayer of dedication, God appeared to Solomon, assuring that He has heard the prayer. He raised the inevitability of Israel’s disobedience (as a response to Solomon’s prayer), which will bring judgement, but offered forgiveness and healing if Israel repents in humility. He then followed that message of hope with a warning to Solomon, citing the dire consequences of continued disobedience (2 Chronicles 7:17-22). These verses fit the overall narrative of 2 Chronicles, emphasising the importance of faithfulness to God’s covenant and the consequences of disobedience. The dual message of judgement and redemption is also a recurring theme of the book. There is tension in this double ...

READ : 2 Chronicles 5:2 - 6:42 Verses chosen for meditation: 2 Chronicles 5:13b - 14. 13 … Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, 14 and the priests could not perform  their service because of the cloud,  for the glory  of the  Lord  filled the temple of God.   REFLECT During the Temple’s dedication, the Levites and priests celebrated in praise and worship and exuded a glorious moment . A visible manifestation of God’s glory filled the temple in response to their worship. This manifestation of His glory and presence was known in the later Judaism as the “Shekinah”. This “Shekinah Glory” is the tangible presence of God (meaning “dwelling’). The word “Shekinah” is not in the Bible, but the description is. The rabbis used the term “Shekinah” to describe the presence of God amongst His people (Exodus 19:16-18, Exodus 33:7-11; 40: 34-38, I Kings 6:13) to the Jewish people and the glory of God dwelling in the Temple (2 Chron 7:1). T...

Read 2 Chronicles 3-5:1  Verses for meditation: The whole passage Reflect Read the passage in its entirety and pay special attention to what it's saying. Imagine a visual tour, if you will. Open your hearts and minds to what's behind the details and descriptions. Ask what you can learn about Solomon? About the temple? About worship then, now, and in the future? Most of all, ask what you can learn about being the temple yourself, and with Christ as the gold standard (pun intended)?   Relate This is not the first time we're encountering a passage that's wholly dedicated to the building of the temple, with its attendant details and graphic descriptions. It's not even surprising that some of the things we read should fly over our heads. Or that we should have no clue as to what the cubit measurement talk is all about. If that’s the case, what about treating this reading as a visual or mental tour by trying to imagine the gold, the cherubim, the pillars, the altars, the ...

  READ: 2 Chronicles 1, 2 PASSAGE TO REFLECT The house that I am to build will be great, for our God is greater than all gods. 6 But who is able to build him a house, since heaven, even highest heaven, cannot contain him? Who am I to build a house for him, except as a place to make offerings before him? 1 Chron 2:5, 6 REFLECT I visited the Church of Mary of the Angels in Bukit Batok recently on a quiet weekday. It was just a random, curious visit as I had been there several times before to conduct funeral services but had never been into the worship hall. The splendour and the serenity of the sanctuary and its surroundings simply took my breath away. I marveled at the details with which this church had been built. The pews were of solid wood, the high ceiling gave the sanctuary a sense of grandeur, a model of the crucified Christ hung suspended from the ceiling, and a fountain/waterfall springing from the middle of the sanctuary led me to worship in silent awe. The entire atmospher...

Catch up on your readings day or read the good article through the hyperlink to get ready for 2nd Chronicles. https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-historical-books/second-chronicles

Catch up on your readings day or read the good article through the hyperlink to get ready for 2nd Chronicles. https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-historical-books/second-chronicles

READ: 1 Chronicles 29 Focus Verse: 1 Chronicles 29:9 Then the people rejoiced, because they had given willingly. For, with a whole heart they had offered freely to the Lord. David, the king also rejoiced greatly. REFLECT: That’s a great picture when people are giving offerings for the construction of the temple. They’re rejoicing as they give, like there is joy in giving when that giving is done willingly. That people rejoiced because they had given willingly. For, with a whole heart they are offered freely to the Lord. You see the descriptions of giving here, freely giving out of the overflow of their whole hearts, and this kind of giving leads to great joy. David, the king also rejoiced greatly. RELATE: So we see in 1 Chronicles 29:9, a principle, a truth that we see all over the Bible that goes totally against the grain of the way we are wired to think in this world. We are naturally wired to think that joy is found in getting and having more. If we want to be happy, if we want to e...

READ : 1 Chronicles 27-28 Verses chosen for meditation: 1 Chronicles 28:2-3 2 Then King David rose to his feet and said: “Hear me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for the footstool of our God, and I made preparations for building. 3 But God said to me, ‘You may not build a house for my name, for you are a man of war and have shed blood.’ REFLECT David, soon to die, gathered the assembly of his key people, to speak about the building of the Temple. Previously, he had personally spoken to Solomon about it. Now he was addressing this publicly, calling for corporate responsibility and commitment towards this project. We already know of David’s desire to build the temple, but God commissioned Solomon to do it instead, because David had much blood on his hands as a man of war, albeit by the instructions of God. What’s telling was that David did not hide this reason from his whole assembly, ...

READ 1 Chronicles 25-26 REFLECT  These 2 chapters speak about the division of work to serve God. It is highly structured, detailed and organized according to drawing of sacred lots. Apparently people from the clan chosen to do the work were all very capable and qualified as well (1 Chronicles‬ ‭25‬:‭7‬, 1 Chronicles‬ ‭26‬:‭8‬). And God blesses those who serves Him so they can be a blessing to serve Him and others (1 Chronicles‬ ‭26‬:‭4‬-‭8‬). Indeed serving God in those days demanded a high level of attention to details, skills and talents . For example - for musicians, respective families were even supervised by their fathers and their fathers by the King himself (1 Chronicles‬ ‭25‬:‭6‬). Serving God then was a serious matter! Men of great abilities served the Lord with great honor (for example the gatekeepers) and in other roles (for eg treasurers) to maintain the house of the Lord. These were demanding roles with great responsibilities and expectations. RELATE In the modern days...

Read 1 Chronicles 23-24 Verses for meditation: 1 Chronicles 23:4-5 ESV "Twenty-four thousand of these,” David said, “shall have charge of the work in the house of the Lord, 6,000 shall be officers and judges, 4,000 gatekeepers, and 4,000 shall offer praises to the Lord with the instruments that I have made for praise.” Reflect What more is there to learn about David from these chapters? What lessons can be derived concerning serving in the temple? What could be the reason behind the lowering of age limit from thirty to twenty? What experiences can be drawn from being a makeshift as well as permanent temple? What strikes the most when reading the passage? Relate At first glance, what appear to the casual reader are a few long lists of names. There seems to be much credit given to those on the lists. It makes one wonder if they were well earned. And could this be how it looks like in the book of life. Anyway, that's for another day. In these chapters, David is mentioned for his ...

TEXT FOR REFLECTION   6 Then he called for Solomon his son and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon, “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house to the name of the Lord my God. 8 But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth. 9 Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies. For his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. 10 He shall build a house for my name. He shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel forever.’ 1 Chronicles 22:2-19 “‘The Lord also announces to you: “The Lord will himself build a house[o] for you. 12 When your life is complete and you go to join[q] your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring[r] after you, w...

Read 1 Chronicles 20.1-22.1 No devotionals today (Sunday)

Read 1 Chronicles 18-19 Verses chosen for meditation 1 Chronicles 18:14 " So David reigned over all Israel, and he administered justice and equity to all his people.   15  And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;   16  and Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests; and Shavsha was secretary;   17  and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were the chief officials in the service of the king." Reflect God was with David as he led personally in the battles against the enemies of God. Victories were given to his hands and he prospered in terms of territories, wealth and human resources. Apart from being wise and courageous in battles, God also gave David the righteousness and wisdom of being able to administer what he gained from these battles. This was especially so in the area of justice and equity for...

  READ : 1 Chronicles 17 REFLECT : David, the second king of Israel, after having enjoyed great success in battle and much wealth, one day sees his house and compares it to the place where the ark was held. He finds a very troubling reality. Now when David lived in his house, David said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under a tent.” (1 Chronicles 17:1) 1 Chronicles 17 deals with a covenant that God made with David about his children holding the kingdom forever; but there is something to learn here in v.1. David seems to be bothered that he has a palace built in cedar while the ark of the Lord is in a tent. How much time and dedication would have been required to build a whole palace out of cedar? Would it have been the same amount of time when setting up a tent? RELATE : I don’t know about you, but I love going camping. Every time I do so, however, I don’t get to sleep as well as I do at home. The comforts of a...

READ : 1 Chronicles 15-16 Verses chosen for meditation: 1 Chronicles 16:8-9 8  Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;     make known his deeds among the peoples! 9  Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! REFLECT With the ark set in its proper place in Israel, it was a time of celebration and worship, and David took care of every aspect. He neglected nothing when it came to the service of God. He had people giving burnt offerings regularly, morning and evening. He appointed others to attend to the service of song. Then he had another group, focused on recording what God had done, and still doing then. The important work of this group was to “bring to remembrance” God’s works. In David’s song, he emphasised speaking of God’s good deeds, to tell of all his wondrous works. We don’t do that enough and there’s many reasons. One of them being we don’t remember. His deeds don’t come to the forefront of our mind...