Compromise

Daily Reading: 1 Kings 13

Scripture Focus: And the man of God said to the king, “If you give me half your house, I will not go in with you. And I will not eat bread or drink water in this place, for so was it commanded me by the word of the Lord…" (1 Kings 13.8-9)

Devotional Thought: Yesterday, we saw the danger of refusing to compromise with one another. In today’s chapter, we see the danger of compromising with "the word of the Lord."

When the man of God's compromised, he did so at the cost of his life for he compromised with the word of the Lord, which is...

· Unchanging. The man of God was clear about God’s will in this situation. He had very specific instructions on how to conduct himself while in Bethel, which he obeyed at first. He knew better than to listen to the old prophet, but disobedience was looking more and more attractive as he grew hungrier and thirstier.

· True. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14.6). What is true of the Son is also true of the Father. His word is absolute – it is the measuring stick by which we can determine the rightness of any other thing. If any principle, morality, philosophy, action, or idea is contrary to the Word of God, then it is false.

· Authoritative. While we may pity the prophet who lost his life because of his disobedience, we can also be comforted that there is an absolute authority; right and wrong are not relative to human perspective, as some would have us believe. There is no guessing when the Lord has spoken. We can stand firmly on the promises of the Father, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change (James 1:17).

Let us look for ways to compromise with one another, but never compromise with the word of the Lord.

Jenny

Prayer: Lord, grant me a discerning spirit that I may see the difference between my opinions about the Word of God, and what the Word of God actually says. Help me to never compromise with the truth. Amen.

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 121.1-4

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.