Are You Making God Mad?

2 Kings 21:3-6  -  He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also erected altars to Baal and made an Asherah pole, as Ahab king of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them.  He built altars in the temple of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, "In Jerusalem I will put my Name."  In both courts of the temple of the LORD, he built altars to all the starry hosts.  He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger.

 

Manasseh’s life was so steeped in the worship of other Gods…Baal…Asherah…mediums…fortune tellers…the sun…the moon...the stars… he searched for answers from everyone…and anything that he had ever been told had power. Any love he might have for God so totally displaced by his search for power…that he felt it was okay to place their images right beside the one true God…even inside the temple next to his holy ark. And what is even sadder…he didn’t have a clue how angry he had made God.

 

The list here is undeniable…spiritists….fortune telling…scorcery…divination…so that means that Ouija boards… astrology horoscopes …and tarot cards are all methods that we need to stay away from. They use power that is not of God…and they give us a false sense of what is God’s will for our life.  Their introduction to our lives will do nothing but begin a confusion …a confusion that satan will take and eventually twist into justifying the use of them in our lives. 

 

Let’s just be radical and say that TV shows and movies…or even books that glamorize the occult….use magic…or paint witches as good people…or depict vampires and werewolves as good things…they could all be tools that satan could use to eventually twist our mind into thinking that we might need some of that power…because we haven’t tapped into the power God gives us with the wisdom of his Bible. Shew…that is as dangerous as the run on sentence I just wrote to describe it! It will make God angry…because it separates us from the goodness and pure love he has waiting for us when we use only prayer and the wisdom of his word to tell us what to do with our lives.

 

I admit that I loved the Twilight series…I was sucked into its world…spent hours doing nothing but reading the next few words of the plot….and waited in line with friends to see the movies.  I watched the TV shows ‘Charmed’….  ‘Bewitched’… and ‘Medium.’  I played with a Quija board as a child…and read my horoscope each day…sometimes even thinking the words had merit.  Maybe I should have considered how angry and hurt I was making God when I justified these things ….thinking that they could never influence me in a permanent way…or replace my love for God.  Maybe they are more dangerous than I ever imagined…just because they made God mad.

 

God began his warnings about other gods in Exodus 20:5….when he gave Moses the ten commandments.  He told us …. “You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.”  Then in Deuteronomy 4:24 he repeated a warning to us… “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”  And just a few verses later in Deuteronomy 6:15 it repeats…. “for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land.” Sounds pretty cut and dry to me…if I play around with anything that God did not give me to live my life….I AM making him angry.

 

Father…thank you for reminding me today that you are a jealous God.  Help me to purge from my life everything that might influence me to take my relationship with you less serious. Show me how to keep my thoughts pure and focused on the guidance your word gives me.  Help me understand the words I read in your Bible...so that I can use them to guard my heart against other influences in my life…that you might consider another god. Amen.

Pray From The heart

2 kings 20:5-7 -   "Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, 'This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the LORD.  I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.' "  Then Isaiah said, "Prepare a poultice of figs." They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered.

 

Hezekiah was very sick…somehow from the infection of a boil. And Isaiah had come to tell him that he should get his house in order…he would not recover…he was dying …soon.  So Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed…just as he had done throughout the rest of his life.  He cried out to God…and asked him to remember that he had tried to follow his rules and please him all his life.

 

God heard his prayer….and saw his tears…and told Isaiah to go tell him that he had decided to not just heal him…but add 15 more years to his life. As a bonus he was going to hand him a victory over the Assyrian king…and defend the city against his attacks.  A simple poultice of crushed figs pulled the infection out of the boil…and Hezekiah had one more miracle to add to the stories he could tell those about his awesome God.

 

Hezekiah did not pray…spare me Lord….he said “remember me.” Like the criminal on the cross who used the same words….Hezekiah knew he was not worthy of asking God to heal him…so he simply ask him to remember him…so his close relationship with God could continue after he had died. Hezekiah could only handle dying…if he knew he could spend more time with his Lord.

 

 I believe it was the humbleness of his heart that caused God to change his mind. He restored his health and added even 15 years to his life. God saw straight into that humble heart…saw the love that Hezekiah had built over the years of his life…and his own heart broke when he saw the tears Hezekiah cried at the thought of being separated from his Lord.

 

It is a reminder to me to draw even closer to God….and love him with my whole heart and mind and soul. I need to love God so much that any tears I cry aren’t because I would miss the world…but because the thought of life without God would be unbearable.  The verses remind me that God sees straight into my heart when I hurt…and knows the reason for my tears. And if wiping the tears away will add purpose to my life…and give him glory…he might just wipe them away…and heal my hurt….and give me new life for a season…like he did Hezekiah.

 

Father…I thank you for the love Hezekiah modeled for me in this story.  Help me to love you with all that I have…so that when you look into my heart…you see the fear I have of life without you. I thank you for reminding me that my own pain has purpose…that you saw my tears and used them to draw me into a deeper relationship with you.  Remember me….and show me how to love you on the deepest level I can…so my heart is sold out to you and not the world. Amen.

Fight Your Battles With Payer

2 kings 19:14-16  -  Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD.  And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: "O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.  Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.

 

Hezekiah…burdened with the possible destruction of Judah….went to the temple ….for the second time in days. He had heard the ugly words that blasphemed Yahweh…and his heart was fixed on correcting the hostile words the king of Assyria had dared to speak over his nation. He wanted more than anything to know that God had heard the assault…and would never allow it to go unpunished.

 

Hezekiah did not care who spoke the correction to Sennacherib…..he just wanted God to speak. So he humbled himself…tore his royal robes and dressed in sack cloth as an outward sign to his people.  Then he sent for the prophet Isaiah….so he could hear God speak …and act an answer to his prayer. His faith….his close relationship with God…the confidence he had built in the father…. gave him the strength to wait on God...and not rashly go after this man in anger or simple retaliation.

 

Hezekiah’s close relationship with God gave him the confidence he needed to wait for God to deal with this man who dared to speak taunts to him. Hezekiah knew the truth…that God was the only true God…..and controlled every corner of the Earth. His prayer showed he believed with all his heart that God was in control the whole time….his humility allowing him to be still…and know that God would fix this horrible threat….his prayer asking God to show the king of Assyria the truth as well.

 

I want some of Hezekiah’s confidence.  I admit that I let satan scare me out of this kind of true humility when I am faced with such dangers. I can’t remember one time that I have torn my clothes…and dressed in sackcloth to pray and show my humility before God. And I sure haven’t spread my prayer journal over the altar at church when I really needed some strength to wait on an answer.

 

Maybe we aren’t supposed to literally do it the way Hezekiah did….but just grasp the concept of true humility when we pray.  To call out at the beginning of our prayer that we know… that we know ….that we know…the Lord is our only hope for any hardship we might need an answer to.  Then just ask him simply to fix it for us…the way he needs to…so that he can show the world that he is God. 

 

I know …that I know…that I know….in my heart that God has built my faith in the last years…because I have been studying his word…and praying more. I hope that is the start of a closer relationship with him. I want to pray like Hezekiah someday….with confidence…with faith to know that God will handle it.  I want to pray with God’s love and peace giving me the patience to wait for God to tell me what to do…all the time.

 

The amazing thing about this story is that God sent down an army of angels to fight Hezekiah’s battle with Sennacherib.  The Assyrians woke the next day to 185,000 dead soldiers in the camp….that the death angel had choked out of life through the night. Hezekiah had fought this battle with prayer….the humble prayer of a man who believed that his God held all the power…and waited on him to prove it to those who dared to mock him. Oh how he must have shouted praise to God for such an amazing victory…one that used no human finger of effort.

 

Father…thank you for the prayer of Hezekiah. Help me to model my own prayers after his …and lean on you for the strength I need to make it through the storms you allow in my life. Help me to build my relationship with you even closer…spending even more time with you each day. …so I can have the strength to let you fight my battles for me with your armies of angels.  Give me a clear sense of who you are…and embed it so deep in my heart that satan cannot find it…and ever remove it. Help me know…that I know…that I know…that you are in control and will show the rest of the world who you are...when ou are ready. Amen.

God Send A Revival

2 Kings 18:3-7 -  He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done.  He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan. )  Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him.  He held fast to the LORD and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses.  And the LORD was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.

 

King Hezekiah….the king that was like his father David….the king that was greater in God’s eyes than all the other kings of Judah…followed God. We are not told where he learned to be so strong in the Lord…just given a play by play of the results of his great faith. He cleaned the land of all idols…even the ones in the hills that other kings deemed okay to leave. He even destroyed the bronze serpent that Moses used to save those bitten by poisonous snakes….because the people had given it a name…and burned incense to it ….thinking it was a god in its own right.

 

It must have been one exciting time in history…Hezekiah’s excitement for the Lord and his laws giving him courage to purge the land of all remnants of satan’s influence.  His love of God must have touched all those around him…his success clearly a sign that he was following the laws of God with all his heart and soul…his efforts saving many lives in Judah during his reign.

 

It just goes to show you what can happen when you let God light a fire of passion in your heart. It spreads….like a wildfire…and consumes your whole being.  Then God uses the courage it forms in your soul to win others to his truth…because they see his love in everything you do…and are drawn to be transformed by it too.

 

That’s what we need folks…a fire lit in our hearts…that becomes a great wildfire…that God can direct and use to have a great revival in the world. And here’s a thought…if more than one of us become Hezekiah’s….there would be great revival’s all over the world. We could light a fire that would spread God’s word to the ends of the world…just like we were told to do when Jesus left us in Matthew 28:19.

 

The idols we would tear down are not as obvious to the eyes as Hezekiah’s…for satan has hidden the idols of today deep in our minds. The love of material wealth could be transformed into the best welfare system that ever existed.  The lust for flesh could be transformed into a true love for all people…and cure diseases like depression. And people would realize that their hunger for power is futile…for God holds the only real power that anyone can use. Everyone in the world could hear about the love of Christ and usher in the new kingdom of God here on Earth.

 

Father…thank you for reminding me that my love of you can always be stronger.  Help me this morning to trust in you like Hezekiah…and follow your laws with my whole heart and soul and mind.  Give me the courage to stand in faith to speak against the idols of this world…and tear them down when you direct me too. Light a fire in my soul that spreads to others and starts a great revival in this town I live.  And start a fire in those around me…that will start fires everywhere your truth needs to be shared.  Let the love that overflows form our hearts as we follow you model and teach others the truth of your gospel…and transform lives…that transform the whole world….so we will all be ready for your return. Amen.

God Is Not Just A Good Luck Charm

2 Kings 17:7-9  - All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods and followed the practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced.  The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns.

 

Israel finally crumbled completely…God couldn’t stand their evil practices anymore….so he handed them over to Assyria to do as they pleased. It’s not like he hadn’t warned them with many prophets…or been super patient….what would happen if they did not follow Gods laws was even written down in Deuteronomy 28.  It describes the horrible conditions that would overtake them …if they failed to follow all the laws of God.

 

The king of Assyria scattered the Israelites and moved in other cultures among them.  They saw the power that God had to destroy them too…so they began to worship him ….but held to their other gods too. God was seen as a sort of good luck charm…not the one God who could bless and turn this bad situation into something good.

 

I’m going to just go ahead and say it…the world I live in today…resembles this scene quite strongly.  Evil has had its hand on America for some time now….Christians are scattered among other cultures that know who God is…and how powerful he is…but they have never accepted him fully. God has become a good luck charm to many…but he hasn’t captured their entire soul.  They go to church out of habit…or family tradition…they pray when they need something from God…or maybe offer up a petition for family and friends before their eyes close at night. We strive more to be politically correct…than to preach the pure word of the Bible.

 

I am guilty too…I am stepping on my own toes here as I write this morning. For I described my own weak prayer routine that I have known for some time is way too little effort for a God that gave everything to save me.  But I feel a new hope…for I set the alarm on my phone to pray for someone this morning.  They ask for a special prayer…at a special time…so I found myself pulling out the journal…and writing this one down.  May he give me strength and passion to move out of my routines more often….and bless others with the power of his love through prayer.

 

Father…I thank you for this story that reminds me that your blessings are always there if I choose to follow your ways.  Help me this morning to recommit my promise to you…to follow all your commands…so that your blessings will begin to flow through my life and change the hearts of those around me that see you as a mere good luck charm. Help me to see your power manifested in others because I take the time to really pray for them….and intercede on their behalf.  I pray this morning not just for me…but for everyone who sees you as just a good luck charm.  Give them a burden to know you in a deeper way…a passion to follow your commands in their purest form…so the world we live in can be a blessed nation once more. Amen.

Are You Worshiping God For Who He Is....Or What You Want Him To Be?

2 Kings 16:10-13 -  Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. He saw an altar in Damascus and sent to Uriah the priest a sketch of the altar, with detailed plans for its construction.  So Uriah the priest built an altar in accordance with all the plans that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus and finished it before King Ahaz returned.  When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings on it.  He offered up his burnt offering and grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his fellowship offerings on the altar.

 

King Ahaz was an evil king…worshiping idols…even sacrificing his own son on a pagan altar.  He encouraged the people around him to worship other gods...using the shrines in the hills to burn incense and bring sacrifices to whatever god he thought would help him at the time.  He went one step further than the other evil kings before him….for Ahaz took for himself the bronze altar of God’s Temple…and built a new altar patterned after one he saw in his travels to Damascus…. for the people of Israel to make their sacrifices on. 

 

Ahaz’s evil took root in his desire to please himself…and blossomed into full blown desecration of everything God had taught his people. He twisted and reconfigured his worship of God to fit his own needs…what he wanted to have…what would make him happiest…what he thought would achieve the greatest power from his throne.

 

I am reminded that we need to worship God for who he is...not what we selfishly want him to be. He wrote clear directions in his Bible of how we are to live our lives…and we should follow them without twisting or reconfiguring them to justify the things we don’t want to give up in our lives. Sex is an act reserved for a man and woman who have married....so adultery in any form is included in those ten commandments. Stealing…lying….and coveting the material wealth of those around you is covered…as well as treating your parents with the honor and respect they deserve. They also tell us to keep the Sabbath holy and not misuse the name of God…and love him only.

 

You can take every one of those 10 rules out of context…find a verse or two that twists its meaning to be what you want it to be…for God gave us the ability to choose our path in life. Sure leaves me with a reminder to be more careful…to check all my current activities against those rules…and make sure that everything I am involved in…. lines up with what God intended for us when he gave us those guidelines.

 

Father…I thank you for the reminder to search my heart to make sure you are there…in everything I choose to do.  Help me to examine the things I do…and make sure that I have not twisted any of your commands to fit what I want for myself. Open my eyes to see anything that I am doing that might be displeasing to you. Amen.

Good Isn't Good Enough

2 kings 15:1-4 -  In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah began to reign.  He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother's name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem.  He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Amaziah had done.  The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

 

King after king in Israel was allowed to reign…be killed or assassinated by their successor…and be replaced be another evil king.  The kingdom of Israel declined and declined as each evil king took his turn at trying to control what was God’s. God allowed evil to destroy evil…and the people to fall further into sin as each king encouraged the worship of other gods.

 

King Azariah of Judah ….tried to be good….tried to do what was right in God’s eyes. But even his eyes and heart for God failed to see into the hills where idol worship still existed.  And because he failed to purge this sin from Israel…God allowed him to be afflicted with leprosy.  He was banned to live in a house by himself…while his son sat on the throne and relayed his father’s orders to the kingdom.

 

Good is just not good enough…because good does not buy us salvation.  Salvation is given as a gift to those who ask for God to come rule in their hearts.  God’s love and mercy is showered on us the very minute we ask him into our heart…so that we want to do nothing else but please him so he can complete his work in us.

 

The gift he gives us is only available because Jesus came and paid the last blood sacrifice that would ever be needed again…when he gave his life willingly on that cross so long ago.  He conquered death…and rose from the grave to walk with his disciples and give them directions for the season of time we continue to wait on his return.  That glorious day when all shall watch him ride the clouds down to meet all of those who have admitted that we will never be good enough on our own.  Jesus will open his arms to those of us that have admitted we need his help…to those of us that have asked him to be our savior.

 

Father…I thank you for the precious gift you gave me in your son.  I thank you that you reminded me today that I could never earn your love by being good.  Help me to completely surrender my will and heart to you...open my eyes to see the high places that satan has hidden away from my view….so I can follow you completely to the job you put me here to do. Amen.

God Can Use Evil For Good

2 Kings 14:23-25 -  In the fifteenth year of Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel became king in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years.  He did evil in the eyes of the LORD and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.  He was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, in accordance with the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher.

 

Many evil kings were allowed to reign on the thrones of Judah and Israel. God allowed their evil but eventually used it to discipline his people.  The evil kings were not allowed to reign forever…..but were usually captured or assassinated by another ….their subjects being held in captivity.  Then God used the hard times they endured to speak humility and restoration of his word into their lives.

 

But this evil king…Jeroboam ll…was allowed to reign for 41 years…God tolerating his worship of the golden calves he had made.  His evil was so great that many referred to it in later writings.  His evil became the benchmark for measuring evil in the world….other kings being judged as being ‘as evil as’ king Jeroboam ll.

 

Here’s the thing that caught my heart this morning….even though Jeroboam was evil….God was still in charge.  Just because God was allowing evil to have its way with the world…he knew what was going on…and was using it to accomplish something great.  For this evil king…in his tyrants and rampages against the neighboring countries…was capturing up land and restoring the boundaries lost by other kings.  God was in total control of his evil heart …and even used it to restore the boundaries of Israel.

 

It gives me great comfort to be reminded of God’s sovereign power over evil this morning.  I hesitate to turn on any news these days….so I don’t have to listen to the great evil that surrounds me. But this scripture contains the promise God made to us…that we as a people would never be completely destroyed…and his great love is always listening to our pleas for protection and help.

 

Father…thank you for reminding me that you are in total control of the chaos I see and hear around me each day.  Help me to rest in your wonderful love and feel the peace that surpasses my human understanding when I am surrounded by the evil you are allowing and using to accomplish something great in my life.  Show me how to spend more time with you in prayer over the things I see that I feel are evil…and ask your help to overcome and deal with the chaos. Amen.

More...Requires More Effort

2 Kings 13:17-19 - "Open the east window," he said, and he opened it. "Shoot!" Elisha said, and he shot. "The LORD's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!" Elisha declared. "You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek."  Then he said, "Take the arrows," and the king took them. Elisha told him, "Strike the ground." He struck it three times and stopped.  The man of God was angry with him and said, "You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times."

 

King after king took the thrones of Israel and Judah.  They ruled the land without consulting God…or the great prophet Elisha.  Times of war allowed them to be taken into captivity…but because of the promise God made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob….they were never completely destroyed.

 

One king….Jehoash…was compelled to go see Elisha as he lay sick.  He wept over him and cried out over the armies and chariots of Israel.  So Elisha rallied in his last days to tell him to open a window…and shoot an arrow …to represent the arrow of God that would go before them in battle.

 

Then Elisha told him to take the remaining arrows and strike them on the ground.  But he was very angry at Jehoash for his half-hearted effort…and told him because he only struck the arrows three times…he would only be victorious in battle 3 times.

 

It is a lesson to me to put more effort into the things God gives me to do.  I am so like king Jehoash…working hard till I get tired or disheartened…then giving up. I need to pray for the spirit  Elisha called upon …to carry me when my human strength gives out.  I need to remember that 13^th verse in Phillipians 4…for God can give me the strength to do anything…if I ask.

 

Father…thank you for this story that reminds me to call on you when my human strength fails …and let you place in me your living water that never runs out.  Help me today to stop thinking that I can only accomplish things within the parameters of human understanding…and begin to use your eyes to see the things I could accomplish with your power inside my heart and mind and soul.  Help me to be more…because I put more effort into the work you give me to do. Amen.

People Are More Important ThanThings

2 Kings 12:17-18 -  About this time Hazael king of Aram went up and attacked Gath and captured it. Then he turned to attack Jerusalem.  But Joash king of Judah took all the sacred objects dedicated by his fathers--Jehoshaphat, Jehoram and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah--and the gifts he himself had dedicated and all the gold found in the treasuries of the temple of the LORD and of the royal palace, and he sent them to Hazael king of Aram, who then withdrew from Jerusalem.

 

Joash’s reign brought back a reverence and love of God to the Israelites….his 6 years of life in the temple teaching him more than just how to run a kingdom.  The training he received from Jehoiada…instilled in him a love of God and the house in which people came to worship him….devising a way to collect money to pay the workmen for any needed repairs.

 

Joash’s training must have taught him that the love of God went beyond the love of the temple and its belongings…and must be extended to include caring for the people he ruled.  For Joash separated himself from the ‘things’ he loved to ransom the ‘people’ he cared for….when he collected the sacred things and used them to pay off their attackers.

 

His sacrifice saved many people ….and models for me how to keep my priorities in order. The lives of the people we are placed with should come first…end of statement.  Nothing in our life should ever replace our desire to care for those around us…nothing should ever be more important that upholding their ability to worship God and feel his love. Plain and simple….people are more important than things.

 

Father…thank you for this story that reminds me that people are more important than things.  Help me to be like Joash…and be able to separate myself form even the most precious of ‘things’   if they can save the live of a more precious ‘person.’  Show me how to order my priorities so that I can use the blessings you gave me to help others. Amen.

Take A Stand....And Watch Others Grow In God's Love

2 Kings 11:1-3 -  And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the children of King Ahaziah.    But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons which were killed that day;  and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain.   And he was with her hid in the house of the LORD six years.   And Athaliah did reign over the land.  

 

It was one of those rare moments in Israel’s history when God allowed a woman to be in control of the throne.  She was a brutal woman….driven by the emotions and grief of her murdered son….to destroy any other heirs to the throne of Israel in king Ahaziah’s family. 

 

The writer of this story doesn’t concentrate on the loss of life here…but the saving of one small boy….and the courage…cunning…and heart of the nurse Jehosheba.  Somehow she managed to take the small one year old child from among the many waiting to be killed…and hid him in the temple… for 6 long years.

 

God touched the heart of this nurse…to save one descendant of King David…so he could keep his promise to him.  It was not a mere act of compassion…but an urging of God that compelled this dedicated nurse to grab her charge…..and run to the place where she knew he would be safe. God covered her effort to steal the child away…then gave her the strength and provisions she needed to care for him the 6 years she his him.

 

Her heart of compassion combined with the wisdom of the priest ….allowed Joash to be taught about the ways of God in his purest sense.  His wisdom of the scriptures….his love of God…and his passion to turn the nation of Israel back to God at the age of seven surpassed what most kings accomplished in their adult ages.  The people rallied behind him to tear down the idols of Baal and usher in a time of peace for Israel.

 

Sure does hit me smack in the heart this morning…to realize that this 7 year old embraced the effort of this nurse to save his life and choose to use the time to learn about God. And it reminds me that I never know whose life I may be influencing when I take a stand for God like Jehosheba did. God has a plan for our lives…and it may require some courage at times…and some perseverance at others.

 

Father…thank you for this story that reminds me to take a stand for what is right…and listen closely to the urges of the holy spirit tell me what you need me to do.  Help me embrace the surrounding you have placed me in this season of life…and learn what you need me to learn…so I can be a strong servant for you after I am trained.  Make the situations you have placed me in training grounds to help others come to know your wonderful love. Amen.

Sell Out Completely To God

2 Kings 10:26-29 - And they brought the sacred pillars out of the temple of Baal and burned them.  Then they broke down the sacred pillar of Baal, and tore down the temple of Baal and made it a refuse dump to this day.  Thus Jehu destroyed Baal from Israel.  However Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin, that is, from the golden calves that were at Bethel and Dan.

 

Jehu continued to follow the harsh directions of God and destroyed all 70 sons of Ahab….his personal  priests and even the friends of the family.  Then he set off to destroy the temples of Baal…and anyone who worshiped them.  His passion to complete God’s directions and follow his commands pleased God so that he blessed the next three generations of his family with the continued possession of the throne.

 

But sadly…Jehu’s passion for God stopped with the purging of the land from the idols of Baal.  He did not turn completely away from the sins of Jeroboam…and continued to worship the golden calves at bethel and Dan. God had not captured his entire heart…just the part that God needed to destroy Ahab’s family.

 

It is plainly written more than one place in the Bible…beginning with the 10 commandments given to Moses in Exodus to Jesus’ own words recorded in Matthew 22:37… “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”  God will not settle for anything else…and he will continue to chase us until we place the passion Jesus had for his father in our own hearts.

 

This morning I will need to do some personal reflecting…and seriously consider if I have given everything to God.  Like Paul wrote in Romans 7:21…I struggle with the carnal spirit that satan tricks me with. Paul said “ So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.”  That must have been Jehu’s issue too…he wasn’t just battling Ahab’s family…but the evil satan had planted there to deceive them.

 

Father…thank you for reminding me this morning that I need to continue to reflect on a daily basis on how much I love you.  Help me to identify anything in my life that satan has tricked me into controlling…and show me how to turn that area over to you.  Show me today how to sell out to you on a deeper level…so that satan’s attacks on me will be as ineffective as they were on Jesus. Amen.

Let Justice Be Of God

2 Kings 9:6-9 -  Then he arose and went into the house. And he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, "Thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'I have anointed you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel.  You shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, at the hand of Jezebel.  For the whole house of Ahab shall perish; and I will cut off from Ahab all the males in Israel, both bond and free.  So I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah.

 

The job God gave Jehu to do was not easy…the purpose of his reign was so gruesome it was delivered behind closed doors …while the holy anointing oil confirmed him as king.  The prophetic words he heard in that moment must have cut deep into Jehu’s soul...for they described much bloodshed. God was asking him to deliver justice to Ahab’s immoral family…including his evil wife Jezebel.  

 

It is so hard to imagine a time in the world’s history when the only way to purge evil from among the people of God was to destroy those who took part in it.  God simply couldn’t watch as his nation of people was being led farther and farther away from the love he wanted to give them.  God had to raise up a brave and courageous king…ready to stand for God and do everything he asked….even if it involved bloodshed.

 

I think of all those who sit in that ominous seat at the front of a courtroom…and have the sole responsibility for deciding the fate of anyone who has been accused of breaking the laws man has made to govern our country.  It can’t be easy to sit in that seat day after day…and listen to the pleas of those accused….or watch many of the accused passed in front of him more than once.

 

Maybe they are thankful for a jury of others to share the responsibility of the choices that must be made. Maybe God made them with a special heart to make decisions without emotional involvement…like he must have made Jehu. For it is only by the strength and courage of God that anyone can make these tough decisions…the ones that confine one for life…or worse yet demand a life be taken.

 

We all know how it turned out when Jesus stood on trial…no one wanting to be the responsible one for his death.  I think in their heart they knew he was innocent…but they were too controlled by the shouts of the crowd to make a decision on their own.  And I am even more thankful that God used even their indecision to bring about good…for an innocent man...shed his blood to save me and you that day.

 

Father….I thank you for the courage and heart of those you have placed in positions of great power.  I pray for them today…that you would keep them honest ….and have them consider what you would have them do before they pass down a verdict.  If any of these judges do not know you…I pray that you send someone to speak your words …like the prophet that Elisha sent to Jehu.   Let them sit behind closed doors….and discuss how important it is for them to do your will…so less of the world can be controlled by evil. Thank you for creating us all different…and putting each of us in just the right job …that you know we can do the best. Amen.

Love On A Deeper Level

2 Kings 8: 1-3 -  Then Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, "Arise and go, you and your household, and stay wherever you can; for the Lord has called for a famine, and furthermore, it will come upon the land for seven years."  So the woman arose and did according to the saying of the man of God, and she went with her household and dwelt in the land of the Philistines seven years.  It came to pass, at the end of seven years, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went to make an appeal to the king for her house and for her land.

 

Elisha was a very busy prophet….calling on the power of God wherever he went. He was anointed to channel the love of God to do great things for the people he was sent to.  This time Elisha went to someone from his past… to warn her of the famine to come...and tell her it would be better for her if she went to live in another country for the next seven years. She trusted this man who had saved her son…but risked losing everything she owned.

 

It was no accident that she returned to town the exact day the miracle Elisha had carried out for her son was being discussed at the king’s palace.  It was her great pleasure to be a witness to the events that had brought her son back to life.  And as a result the king reestablished her home and land….he even paid her for the crops that had been harvested on her property from the last seven years.

 

God establishes relationships in our lives for a reason.  We are called to build them into lasting bonds that commit us to caring for each other in times of crisis. The emotions we feel bind us not to just their present smile….but the very heart that beats inside.  We are drawn to care for them…no matter where they are…or what God has called any of us to do. 

 

It is a call for me to take more time with each person that crosses my path….to build a relationship that is lasting…that has emotional connections.  It is those emotional…personal feelings of love that will help my heart remember to lift them up in prayer…or hear the spirit guide me to help them in some way.  I have many acquaintances….some I know well…and some I need to get to know better….so I can begin to call them friends.

 

Father….thank you for this story that helps me understand that you have called me to love everyone that you have placed in my life on a deeper level.  Show me how to care like your son Jesus cared…for the simple needs in people’s lives.  Teach me how to be like Elisha…and remember the people who have cared for me in same way…so I can care for them when they need it. Amen.

Do Your Feet Move?

2 Kings 7:3-5 -  Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, "Why are we sitting here until we die?  If we say, 'We will enter the city,' the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die."  And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there.

 

There were these four lepers ….that found themselves outcasts in a great time of famine. The city could not feed itself…let alone send even crumbs from their table to these beggars. So they sat at the city gate….desperate to figure out a way to have maybe one more day of life.

 

They decided to turn themselves in to the Syrian army….maybe they would feed them and keep them alive as a slave.  So they left the gate at twilight….not knowing that God had sent the sound of a great army to scare the Syrians right out of their own camp.  They left everything they had brought with them…food…silver…clothes…right there in their tents.

 

The lepers wasted no time filling their stomachs….and plundering what they could carry and hide. But then they remembered the city gate they used to sit at…and the people inside that were starving just like them. So they returned with their good news…and after the king checked out their story…to make sure it was not a trick….Elisha’s prophesy that barley and flour would be sold very cheaply in the next 24 hours came true.

 

My spirit immediately began to think of all the times I sit and do nothing…fearful. My fear might be brought about by ignorance…or doubt…or selfishness. It could be simple laziness or even the heaviness of some situation beyond my control…but that fear keeps my feet still….only allowing my mind to continue to over analyze the situation.  It is those moments when I let my feet carry me to the place of my fear…that I find the rich blessing God has prepared for me.

 

Oh how I need to remember this story…of those 4 desperate men…who decided to stop sitting at the city gate…just waiting to die…and move into the fear…..so I can receive more of God’s blessings for my life.  And then I need to share the blessings with others around me….for their actions did not just save themselves…but the decision to return to the city…and share the good news…saved a whole city that day.

 

It was the disciple James who wrote later that our faith must always be accompanied by the action of our feet.  His words in James 2:20…. “But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?” ….were spoken because he saw Jesus model them for him daily.  Jesus constantly moved his feet toward his mission in life….and the many people he healed along the way to his death on that cross…show us what true humility looks like in action.

 

Father…I thank you for reminding me that my faith in you requires action.  Help me to hear your words of direction so my feet are always moving toward the purpose you have for my life. Help me to conquer the fear that satan places in my heart….so my feet do not stay in one place…but rather move quickly to do your work.  And God…help me to remember that the blessings you shower down on me are not mine alone…but are meant to be shared with others.  Give my eyes clear visions of where I am to go…and who I am to minister to with all that you have given me to share. Amen.

Do You Have Scales On Your Eyes?

2 Kings 6:15-17 -   And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?"  So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them."  And Elisha prayed, and said, "Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

 

Elisha …trained by the great Elijah…had a heart that could see the very love of God manifested in the things around him.  He had no longer calmed the fear of one of his student’s ….who thought he had lost a friends ax head…than he had to counsel his own servant. The servant was afraid that they would lose the battle that was to happen that day….when he saw the many soldiers surrounding the city. So Elisha prayed for God to open his eyes ….so he could see the chariots of fire that surrounded the army that waited to attack them.

 

Sometimes our fears grip us so solidly that we fail to open our eyes to the protection and provision of the father. We stop thinking with our heart…the one that we gave to God…and begin to let satan manipulate us with our head. Then our head rationalizes and twists the love of God into forgetting the power God has to take care of our needs.  The fear grows scales over our eyes….and keeps us from seeing and feeling the great power of God in our lives. 

 

I sure need to pray like Elisha…that God open my eyes to the chariots of fire around me….so I can stop being held back by my own fears of failure and loneliness.  I need a fresh look at the world of hope that awaits me… so I can step out in boldness to speak about his love to others who are trapped by satan in their fears.

 

It also reminds me that having open eyes might just help me see satan coming at me the next time….and I might just recognize him for what he is…a liar …and father of confusion.  If my eyes are open….my heart will see the scales of his next ploy to take my focus off of God…and I will stand strong against his attack as I cling to the father …and hold his hand even tighter.

 

I am thinking of that blind man Jesus healed in Acts 9…you know…Saul.  His scales were so thick his heart had turned completely cold….and satan had him murdering the saints ….the ones God was raising to spread the gospel story of his sacrifice on the cross.  God had to completely blind him…..and send Ananias to pray over him.  I love the part where the scales dropped from his eyes….and his heart was completely transformed ….so that he became the new man…Paul.  The thick scales satan had covered his eyes with …..fell to the ground so Paul could see the love of God.  Oh what we could do if we allowed the scales to drop from our own eyes…and embrace the call of God to spread his love through the word of God.

 

Father…thank you for this story that reminds me that satan has controlled me long enough.  Open my eyes….and remove the scales of satan that keep me from seeing the path ahead of me.  Show me your great provisions so I do not let fear grip me….and prevent me from doing your work.  Help me to see satan coming toward me so I can call on you to strengthen and give me courage…and keep my focus on what you have placed me here to do for you. Amen.

Bloom Where You Are Planted....And Plant at Least One Seed

2 Kings 5:2-5 -  And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman's wife.  Then she said to her mistress, "If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy."  And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, "Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel."  Then the king of Syria said, "Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing.

 

It was a time of complicated dynamics between the people of Israel and their neighbor…. the Syrians. The King of Syria would not accept that Israel was in complete control of his country…so from time to time he would send his army to raid a town…and plunder it…and bring back captives.  And so a young girl found herself…far away from home….the servant of the mistress of Naaman…the military leader of Syria’s army.

 

When the family was devastated by the news that he had leprosy…she offered the help of her God.  She told them to seek the counsel of the prophet Elisha…and ask him to use the power God had given him to heal her master. The story ended happily…with Naaman being touched by the healing words and waters of Israel’s God…deciding before he left to worship God himself.

 

I do not believe it was an accident that this young girl became a slave in Naaman’s home.  God lined up the pieces of two completely different families…so he could show his power and use it to change the lives of both. God planted her there so he could use her strong faith to plant a seed of truth and wisdom in Naaman.

 

I admire the faith and strength of this young lady….for her life could not have been easy…far away from home….no friends or family that shared her faith.  No one to talk to about the pain and loneliness she must have felt. She must have loved God very much…and believed in him with her whole heart and soul and mind…to be brave enough to share his power with her mistress. Her mistress must have believed her…because she saw the hard work of her slave girl….who did her work with her whole heart and soul and mind…even though she may not have understood why.

 

It is a lesson to me to never question where God places me at any one given time. I need to embrace the work he gives me to do no matter how menial or ugly. I might have been placed there to plant a seed in someone’s heart…..and if they do not see me working with all my heart and soul and mind…my words might not be believable to them when they are spoken.

 

Father….thank you for this simple servant girl…who modeled for me how to love you wherever I am placed.  Give me the strength to do any work you ask me to do with all my ability….and show others around me the great love you have given to me. Give me the courage to speak about you at just the right time…so that others can see your power to heal unleashed in their own lives…and begin their own relationship with you. Amen.

 

How Many Vessels Would You Have gathered?

2 Kings 4:3-6 -  Then he said, "Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors--empty vessels; do not gather just a few.  And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones."  So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out.  Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, "Bring me another vessel." And he said to her, "There is not another vessel." So the oil ceased.

 

She was the first of many believers to seek the Godly counsel of Elisha.  He had been trained by the master prophet Elijah…and even held Elijah’s mantel. This widow….desperate to keep her family together….did exactly as Elisha had told her.  She gathered her neighbors and friends containers….shut her doors…and poured the oil from her one small jar ….and filled every one.  The money she earned from selling them….paid her debt in full …and provided a daily life for her family for the rest of their life.

 

She must have split them all up….to go and borrow the vessels…each of them bringing back as many as they could carry into the house where they lived.  It must have been one cool scene inside that house…after they shut the doors….and the children’s eyes widened to behold the miracle  …the one small vessel their mother held in her hands…never seeming to run out of oil….till at last they had filled every container in the room.

 

It was her faith in the power of God… that produced enough oil to provide for her family’s needs forever.  She did not limit his power to provide to just a few vessels….she boldly went to her neighbors and ask for what she needed….and the results of her faith showed God’s great provision….to provide exactly what she needed….and more.

 

I’ll be honest and admit…I limit God most days.  I would have been so wrapped up in my desperation that I would have struggled to even go see Elisha…..let alone go knocking on my neighbors and friend’s doors asking for vessels.  I would have been worried about what they thought I was going to do with all those vessels….not just doing it because I knew in my heart it would take care of everything I was worried about.

 

It is a reminder to me that I have this same power….God can provide everything I ask him for…if I have the faith of this widow….and do exactly what he tells me to do.  His venue of delivery might not be a prophet…that I can talk to face to face…but his power is still there…just waiting for me to go and inquire of him.  I have the privilege of speaking to him in my prayers…and studying his Bible daily to know his will for my life. And I believe he still uses our Godly friends and family to speak his directions into our life as well.

 

 

Father….thank you for this story of faith ….that reminds me of the power you have to help us with all our needs.  Go with me today and help me to build my faith….to study your word and seek your direction in prayer.  Show me father how to tap into the never ending vessel of your precious oil that can provide for my needs….blessings so great they will overflow to others around me…so they can see your great love and mercy.  Give me the boldness and courage to go out and ask for what I need….when you give me your clear directions. Amen.