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Read 2 Kings 17:14-23
“Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only” (v. 18).

Having grown up in the 50’s and 60’s under the training of parents who believed in teaching us that children were responsible for behavior, sometimes the rod (maybe a yardstick or green switch) was employed. Sometimes we got the “brown chair treatment.” The brown chair was a place where we could sit and reflect upon our misdemeanors and consider how we might adjust our attitudes to be more conformable to the expectations of parents.
Admittedly, as a parent I sometimes counted to ten. Counting is condemned by those who may have it all together, but I was not one of those. Sometimes counting to ten gave me time to think of the next step. Sometimes a time-out chair was safer for the child than corporal discipline, and again, it gave me time to formulate a plan.
God gave Israel a “time-out” not because He was fearful that He would overreact nor because He did not have a next step in mind. He set Israel aside so they could reflect. He set them aside so they could reject those things which had displaced God. (Lonnie Witt)
God sometimes sets us aside so we can deal with carnal pride.
God sometimes sets us aside so that we can better accept Him as a guide. — Lonnie Witt

It is better to take a time-out voluntarily than it is for God to impose one on us.

This is the February 3, 2014 devotional from Opening the Word.
Photo Credit: "chair" by qmnonic used under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped and resampled.

Read Acts 17:22-31
“Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (v. 31).
As we listen to and watch the daily news reports, we cannot help being very well-acquainted with judgment days. Many of the trials that take place in our justice system drag on for weeks or months before a verdict is reached. When a guilty verdict is given, then a sentencing date is set. At that time, the person found guilty is again brought into the court for his “judgment day.”
As surely as the convicted criminal faces his “judgment day,” so each of us will face a Judgment Day. The criminal has his conviction decided by twelve of his peers who listen to the evidence presented, then, in the best of their judgment, make a decision as to the innocence or guilt of the accused, and a human judge makes and announces his sentence.
Regardless of our status as forgiven or unforgiven, we will all be present for our Judgment Day. It will not be presided over by a human judge who may be influenced by many factors including some that are not true, but by “that man whom he hath ordained,” who knows all the facts about and intents of the one to be judged. (LRD)
Our judgment at our appointed Judgment Day will be just, because it is pronounced by a judge who is impartial and fair.
This is the Friday, January 31, 2014, devotional from Opening the Word.
Photo Credit: "My Trusty Gavel" by Brian Turner used under CC BY / Cropped.

Read Luke 10:1-16
“Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves” (v. 3).
Lambs among wolves — what chance would they have? Jesus was sending His disciples into an environment in which they would be opposed by those who hated righteousness and loved evil. Persecution awaited them. Indeed, we only need to read the life of the Apostle Paul to know that this was true.
The Nicene Council was held in the fourth century to debate the nature of Christ. It was an important milestone in Church history — Jesus was declared to be one with the Father. Vance Havner, the well-known evangelist, reportedly declared that, of the 318 bishops who participated in the debates, fewer than a dozen had whole, healthy bodies. The rest, he said, had lost eyes or hands or had been severely hurt in other ways because of their faith in Christ.
That believers go forth as lambs among wolves is no less true today. Read the accounts of persecution in the Voice of the Martyrs magazine to acquaint yourself with modern fulfillments of Jesus’ ancient declaration. But note also that “it is the manifestation of a meek and lamblike spirit among ravenous and wolfish men which wins the battle for Christ and conquers the world” (Pulpit Comm.). Jesus does not win the world through armed conflict or coercion; He wins the hearts of men through meekness and love. (Steven E Hight)
Lambs among wolves ultimately overcome through Christ.
This is the January 20, 2014, devotional from Opening the Word.
Photo Credit: Jean-Léon Gérôme [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons