DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR THURSDAY APRIL 27:
WORD OF WISDOM
To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the
target.
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DAILY DEVOTION
Living on Purpose
By Paul Chappell
"Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of
this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to
the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto
him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To
this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should
bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my
voice."
John 18:36-37
Social scientists tell us that one of the most common questions people ask
is, "Why am I here?" Christians and the unsaved alike have the innate
knowledge that we were created for a reason, even though some go to great
lengths to deny even the existence of God. There is still something within
us that longs for meaning and purpose in life. There was no question in the
heart and mind of Jesus as to what He was meant to accomplish. He had the
confidence in His mission that kept Him going in the face of obstacles and
opposition. We need that same level of intentional living so that our lives
are not wasted on things that do not matter.
Nearly twenty-five years ago, when our children were still young, Terrie and
I wrote out a purpose statement for our family. When it was complete, each
member of the family signed it. The Chappell Family Purpose Statement says,
"The purpose of our family is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ through
obedience to His Word, and by edifying and exhorting one another."
You might not write out a purpose statement, but it is vital that you
understand that you have a purpose, and that purpose is to glorify God with
your life. It is easy to go through life aimlessly, unless we remember that
God created us with a purpose to glorify Him.
Having a definite purpose for your life is vital to staying on task.
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DAILY BIBLE READING
1 Chronicles 22-25New King James Version (NKJV)
David Prepares to Build the Temple
22 Then David said, "This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the
altar of burnt offering for Israel." 2 So David commanded to gather the
aliens who were in the land of Israel; and he appointed masons to cut hewn
stones to build the house of God. 3 And David prepared iron in abundance
for the nails of the doors of the gates and for the joints, and bronze in
abundance beyond measure, 4 and cedar trees in abundance; for the Sidonians
and those from Tyre brought much cedar wood to David.
5 Now David said, "Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house
to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, famous and
glorious throughout all countries. I will now make preparation for it." So
David made abundant preparations before his death.
6 Then he called for his son Solomon, and charged him to build a house for
the Lord God of Israel. 7 And David said to Solomon: "My son, as for me, it
was in my mind 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 made
great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed
much blood on the earth in My sight. 9 Behold, a son shall be born to you,
who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies
all around. His name shall be Solomon,[a] for I will give peace and
quietness to Israel in his days. 10 He shall build a house for My name, and
he shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I will establish the
throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.' 11 Now, my son, may the Lord be
with you; and may you prosper, and build the house of the Lord your God, as
He has said to you. 12 Only may the Lord give you wisdom and understanding,
and give you charge concerning Israel, that you may keep the law of the Lord
your God. 13 Then you will prosper, if you take care to fulfill the
statutes and judgments with which the Lord charged Moses concerning Israel.
Be strong and of good courage; do not fear nor be dismayed. 14 Indeed I
have taken much trouble to prepare for the house of the Lord one hundred
thousand talents of gold and one million talents of silver, and bronze and
iron beyond measure, for it is so abundant. I have prepared timber and stone
also, and you may add to them. 15 Moreover there are workmen with you in
abundance: woodsmen and stonecutters, and all types of skillful men for
every kind of work. 16 Of gold and silver and bronze and iron there is no
limit. Arise and begin working, and the Lord be with you."
17 David also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son,
saying, 18 "Is not the Lord your God with you? And has He not given you
rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my
hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and before His people. 19 Now
set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God. Therefore arise and
build the sanctuary of the Lord God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the
Lord and the holy articles of God into the house that is to be built for the
name of the Lord."
The Divisions of the Levites
23 So when David was old and full of days, he made his son Solomon king over
Israel.
2 And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and
the Levites. 3 Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years
and above; and the number of individual males was thirty-eight thousand. 4
Of these, twenty-four thousand were to look after the work of the house of
the Lord, six thousand were officers and judges, 5 four thousand were
gatekeepers, and four thousand praised the Lord with musical instruments,
"which I made," said David, "for giving praise."
6 Also David separated them into divisions among the sons of Levi: Gershon,
Kohath, and Merari.
7 Of the Gershonites: Laadan[b] and Shimei. 8 The sons of Laadan: the first
Jehiel, then Zetham and Joel-three in all. 9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomith,
Haziel, and Haran-three in all. These were the heads of the fathers' houses
of Laadan. 10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina,[c] Jeush, and Beriah.
These were the four sons of Shimei. 11 Jahath was the first and Zizah the
second. But Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; therefore they were
assigned as one father's house.
12 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel-four in all. 13 The
sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was set apart, he and his sons
forever, that he should sanctify the most holy things, to burn incense
before the Lord, to minister to Him, and to give the blessing in His name
forever. 14 Now the sons of Moses the man of God were reckoned to the tribe
of Levi. 15 The sons of Moses were Gershon[d] and Eliezer. 16 Of the sons
of Gershon, Shebuel[e] was the first. 17 Of the descendants of Eliezer,
Rehabiah was the first. And Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of
Rehabiah were very many. 18 Of the sons of Izhar, Shelomith was the first.
19 Of the sons of Hebron, Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel
the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 20 Of the sons of Uzziel, Michah was
the first and Jesshiah the second.
21 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar
and Kish. 22 And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but only daughters; and
their brethren, the sons of Kish, took them as wives. 23 The sons of Mushi
were Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth-three in all.
24 These were the sons of Levi by their fathers' houses-the heads of the
fathers' houses as they were counted individually by the number of their
names, who did the work for the service of the house of the Lord, from the
age of twenty years and above.
25 For David said, "The Lord God of Israel has given rest to His people,
that they may dwell in Jerusalem forever"; 26 and also to the Levites,
"They shall no longer carry the tabernacle, or any of the articles for its
service." 27 For by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from
twenty years old and above; 28 because their duty was to help the sons of
Aaron in the service of the house of the Lord, in the courts and in the
chambers, in the purifying of all holy things and the work of the service of
the house of God, 29 both with the showbread and the fine flour for the
grain offering, with the unleavened cakes and what is baked in the pan, with
what is mixed and with all kinds of measures and sizes; 30 to stand every
morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at evening; 31 and at
every presentation of a burnt offering to the Lord on the Sabbaths and on
the New Moons and on the set feasts, by number according to the ordinance
governing them, regularly before the Lord; 32 and that they should attend
to the needs of the tabernacle of meeting, the needs of the holy place, and
the needs of the sons of Aaron their brethren in the work of the house of
the Lord.
The Divisions of the Priests
24 Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron. The sons of Aaron were
Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 2 And Nadab and Abihu died before their
father, and had no children; therefore Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as
priests. 3 Then David with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of
the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to the schedule of their
service.
4 There were more leaders found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of
Ithamar, and thus they were divided. Among the sons of Eleazar were sixteen
heads of their fathers' houses, and eight heads of their fathers' houses
among the sons of Ithamar. 5 Thus they were divided by lot, one group as
another, for there were officials of the sanctuary and officials of the
house of God, from the sons of Eleazar and from the sons of Ithamar. 6 And
the scribe, Shemaiah the son of Nethanel, one of the Levites, wrote them
down before the king, the leaders, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech the son of
Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers' houses of the priests and Levites,
one father's house taken for Eleazar and one for Ithamar.
7 Now the first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah, 8 the third
to Harim, the fourth to Seorim, 9 the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to
Mijamin, 10 the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah, 11 the ninth to
Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah, 12 the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to
Jakim, 13 the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab, 14 the
fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer, 15 the seventeenth to Hezir,
the eighteenth to Happizzez,[f] 16 the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the
twentieth to Jehezekel,[g] 17 the twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second
to Gamul, 18 the twenty-third to Delaiah, the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.
19 This was the schedule of their service for coming into the house of the
Lord according to their ordinance by the hand of Aaron their father, as the
Lord God of Israel had commanded him.
Other Levites
20 And the rest of the sons of Levi: of the sons of Amram, Shubael;[h] of
the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah. 21 Concerning Rehabiah, of the sons of
Rehabiah, the first was Isshiah. 22 Of the Izharites, Shelomoth;[i] of the
sons of Shelomoth, Jahath. 23 Of the sons of Hebron,[j] Jeriah was the
first, [k] Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
24 Of the sons of Uzziel, Michah; of the sons of Michah, Shamir. 25 The
brother of Michah, Isshiah; of the sons of Isshiah, Zechariah. 26 The sons
of Merari were Mahli and Mushi; the son of Jaaziah, Beno. 27 The sons of
Merari by Jaaziah were Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri. 28 Of Mahli:
Eleazar, who had no sons. 29 Of Kish: the son of Kish, Jerahmeel.
30 Also the sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the
sons of the Levites according to their fathers' houses.
31 These also cast lots just as their brothers the sons of Aaron did, in the
presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the fathers'
houses of the priests and Levites. The chief fathers did just as their
younger brethren.
The Musicians
25 Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service
some of the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy
with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals. And the number of the skilled
men performing their service was: 2 Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph,
Nethaniah, and Asharelah;[l] the sons of Asaph were under the direction of
Asaph, who prophesied according to the order of the king. 3 Of Jeduthun,
the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri,[m] Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and
Mattithiah, six,[n] under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who
prophesied with a harp to give thanks and to praise the Lord. 4 Of Heman,
the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel,[o] Shebuel,[p] Jerimoth,[q]
Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi,
Hothir, and Mahazioth. 5 All these were the sons of Heman the king's seer
in the words of God, to exalt his horn.[r] For God gave Heman fourteen sons
and three daughters.
6 All these were under the direction of their father for the music in the
house of the Lord, with cymbals, stringed instruments, and harps, for the
service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the
authority of the king. 7 So the number of them, with their brethren who
were instructed in the songs of the Lord, all who were skillful, was two
hundred and eighty-eight.
8 And they cast lots for their duty, the small as well as the great, the
teacher with the student.
9 Now the first lot for Asaph came out for Joseph; the second for Gedaliah,
him with his brethren and sons, twelve; 10 the third for Zaccur, his sons
and his brethren, twelve; 11 the fourth for Jizri,[s] his sons and his
brethren, twelve; 12 the fifth for Nethaniah, his sons and his brethren,
twelve; 13 the sixth for Bukkiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 14
the seventh for Jesharelah,[t] his sons and his brethren, twelve; 15 the
eighth for Jeshaiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 16 the ninth for
Mattaniah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 17 the tenth for Shimei, his
sons and his brethren, twelve; 18 the eleventh for Azarel,[u] his sons and
his brethren, twelve; 19 the twelfth for Hashabiah, his sons and his
brethren, twelve; 20 the thirteenth for Shubael,[v] his sons and his
brethren, twelve; 21 the fourteenth for Mattithiah, his sons and his
brethren, twelve; 22 the fifteenth for Jeremoth,[w] his sons and his
brethren, twelve; 23 the sixteenth for Hananiah, his sons and his brethren,
twelve; 24 the seventeenth for Joshbekashah, his sons and his brethren,
twelve; 25 the eighteenth for Hanani, his sons and his brethren, twelve;
26 the nineteenth for Mallothi, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 27 the
twentieth for Eliathah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 28 the
twenty-first for Hothir, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 29 the
twenty-second for Giddalti, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 30 the
twenty-third for Mahazioth, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 31 the
twenty-fourth for Romamti-Ezer, his sons and his brethren, twelve.
Footnotes:
a.1 Chronicles 22:9 Literally Peaceful
b.1 Chronicles 23:7 Spelled Libni in Exodus 6:17
c.1 Chronicles 23:10 Septuagint and Vulgate read Zizah (compare verse 11).
d.1 Chronicles 23:15 Hebrew Gershom (compare 6:16)
e.1 Chronicles 23:16 Spelled Shubael in 24:20
f.1 Chronicles 24:15 Septuagint and Vulgate read Aphses.
g.1 Chronicles 24:16 Masoretic Text reads Jehezkel.
h.1 Chronicles 24:20 Spelled Shebuel in 23:16
i.1 Chronicles 24:22 Spelled Shelomith in 23:18
j.1 Chronicles 24:23 Supplied from 23:19 (following some Hebrew manuscripts
and Septuagint manuscripts)
k.1 Chronicles 24:23 Supplied from 23:19 (following some Hebrew manuscripts
and Septuagint manuscripts)
l.1 Chronicles 25:2 Spelled Jesharelah in verse 14
m.1 Chronicles 25:3 Spelled Jizri in verse 11
n.1 Chronicles 25:3 Shimei, appearing in one Hebrew and several Septuagint
manuscripts, completes the total of six sons (compare verse 17).
o.1 Chronicles 25:4 Spelled Azarel in verse 18
p.1 Chronicles 25:4 Spelled Shubael in verse 20
q.1 Chronicles 25:4 Spelled Jeremoth in verse 22
r.1 Chronicles 25:5 That is, to increase his power or influence
s.1 Chronicles 25:11 Spelled Zeri in verse 3
t.1 Chronicles 25:14 Spelled Asharelah in verse 2
u.1 Chronicles 25:18 Spelled Uzziel in verse 4
v.1 Chronicles 25:20 Spelled Shebuel in verse 4
w.1 Chronicles 25:22 Spelled Jerimoth in verse 4
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James VersionR. Copyright C 1982 by Thomas
Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
