Mark's Daily Reading Journal

2 Kings 17 summary

Israel, now stripped of the fertile lands of Galilee and Gilead, is ruled by Hoshea. Hoshea decides to stop his regular payments of tribute to Assyria, and tries to arrange for help from Egypt (17:1–4). This foolish act brings an Assyrian army down on Israel. Samaria is besieged and finally captured, and the remaining Israelites are deported (vv. 5–6).

At this point the writer incorporates an extensive sermon explaining the fall of Israel in theological terms. The ultimate cause of Israel’s downfall is not to be found in world politics, but in Israel’s adoption of Canaanite religious practices (vv. 7–18), and in the corruption of the Law introduced by Jeroboam at the founding of the Northern Kingdom and persisted in by Israel ever since (vv. 19–23). As for the Holy Land, the Assyrians resettled it with pagans. These peoples, who simply added Yahweh to their list of deities to be worshiped (vv. 24–41), were the ancestors of the Samaritans, so hated by the Jews of Jesus’ day.  Richards, L. O. (1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.) (254). Wheaton: Victor Books.

We can say the same thing about the United States, we can say the same thing about the church in the United States, but the church and the United States will not be changed until I say it about me and confess it and you say it about you and confess it.  Idolatry is rampant in our land.  The Apostle Paul would have the same problem in our churches today that he had in Athens.  Paul would be run out of our churches and we would be looking for ways to shut him down.

What was their great evil?  Their evil was horrific, but the heart issue is simply that They pursued worthless idols and became worthless themselves!

2 Kings 17:7 ⌊This disaster⌋ happened because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt  and because they had worshiped  other gods. 

2 Ki 17:13-17  Still, the Lord warned  Israel and Judah through every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments and statutes according to all the law I commanded your ancestors and sent to you through My servants the prophets.” 14 But they would not listen. Instead, they became obstinate like  their ancestors who did not believe the Lord their God.  15 They rejected His statutes and His covenant He had made with their ancestors  and the warnings He had given them. They pursued worthless idols and became worthless themselves,  following the surrounding nations the Lord had commanded them not to imitate. 16 They abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God. They made for themselves molded images—even two calves —and an Asherah pole.  They worshiped the whole heavenly host  and served Baal.  17 They made their sons and daughters pass through the fire  and practiced divination and interpreted omens.  They devoted themselves to do what was evil in the Lord’s sight and provoked Him.

We see this again in Jeremiah 2:5 "Here is what the Lord says: What fault did your fathers find in Me that they went so far from Me, followed worthless idols, and became worthless themselves?"  If that is not enough it is repeated in Psalm 115:8 "Those who make them are  just like them, as are all who trust in them."  We hear similar words from Paul in Romans 1:21 "For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds  were darkened."  In Romans 1 we repeatedly hear that they "exchanged the glory of God" for something less...every time exchange the glory of God, God allows us to have our way...it is our choice, however, the choice has horrific consequences...HE give us over!  If we want idols and sin HE will give us over to it...you and I would be wise to remember that the "wages of sin is death." 

We are free to pursue idols, but it is the most insane thing a person can do...and yet there is not one of us that is not guilty!  "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."

I love what Paul says in Acts 20:24, 26-28 "But I count my life of no value to myself, so that I may finish my course  and the ministry  I received from the Lord Jesus,  to testify to the gospel of God’s grace."  Think about some of Jesus words...my food is to do the will of Him who sent Me...and on the Cross, "IT IS FINISHED."

EACH CHILD OF GOD HAS RECEIVED A MINISTRY AND A COURSE TO RUN...HAVE YOU STARTED THE RACE?  ARE YOU IN THE RACE?  WILL YOU FINISH THE RACE?

HOW AMAZING FOR PAUL TO BE ABLE TO SAY IN VERSE 26 "Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent  of everyone’s blood,  27 for I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole plan of God." 

In verse 28 we have a clear statement that Jesus is God and that God shed HIS own blood for HIS OWN!   "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock,  among whom the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers,  to shepherd the church of God,  which He purchased with His own blood." 

Glory be to God who has called us out of darkness into HIS marvelous light...thank you Jesus!

love,

m

God is creator!  That makes you and me creatures...dependent creatures, dependent on God.  Since we are dependent on HIM we would do well to know something about HIM...what can we learn from our Psalm today?  We learn that the same God who heals hurting hearts also numbers and names the stars (147:4–6). The same God who sustains all of nature (147:7–18) has also revealed himself in a special way to his chosen people (147:19–20). God is both Creator and Redeemer, and HE takes incredible delight in those who hope in HIM for his redemption (147:11).

God, who heals the brokenhearted (147:1–3), sustains the universe itself by His power (vv. 4–6). God, who supplies the living on earth (vv. 7–9), takes delight in those who fear Him and grants them peace (vv. 10–15). God, who controls all by His Word (vv. 16–18), has blessed Israel with His commands and decrees (vv. 19–20). Praise the Lord.  Richards, L. O. (1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.) (381). Wheaton: Victor Books.

What Israel should do is the same thing that you and I should do because all that HE did for Israel was simply a shadow of what was to come in and through HIS precious Son Jesus Christ!  Let this be the cry of your heart before our creator and our redeemer!

love,

m

I. What Israel Should Do (147:1, 7, 12)

A. Praise God with your mouth (147:1, 12).

B. Praise God with your music (147:7) : Sing to God, accompanied by harps.

II. Why Israel Should Do It (147:2–6, 8–11, 13–20): The psalmist gives four reasons God should be praised.

A. For his work with Israel (147:2, 13–14, 19–20)

1. He rebuilds Jerusalem (147:2) .

2. He brings back the exiles (147:2) .

3. He fortifies the gates and sends peace across the nation (147:13–14).

4. He supplies the finest wheat for food (147:14) .

5. He gives his law to Israel alone (147:19–20).

B. For his work with nature (147:8–10, 15–18)

1. He sends rain for the grass (147:8) .

2. He feeds the wild animals (147:9–10).

3. He creates and controls the weather (147:15–18).

a. The cold snows, frosts, and hail of winter (147:15–17)

b. The warm winds of spring (147:18) : The ice melts at his command.

C. For his work with the heavens (147:4–5)

1. He counts and names the stars (147:4) .

2. He has absolute power over the heavens (147:5) .

D. For his work with the redeemed (147:3, 6, 11)

1. He heals the brokenhearted and binds their wounds (147:3) .

2. He supports the humble (147:6) .

3. He brings down the wicked (147:6) .

4. He delights in those who honor him and hope in his unfailing love (147:11) .

Willmington, H. L. (1999). The Outline Bible (Ps 147:11). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.

In the same vein as yesterday I was reminded in our reading today that the follower of Christ that is seeking to pursue Jesus with a heart that is white hot with passion, to seek HIM, know HIM, love HIM and share HIM will at times feel like Elijah.  Remember in 1 Kings 19:10, Elijah tells the LORD just before he hears HIM in the still small voice...I alone am left, and they are looking for me to take my life.  Later God will inform Elijah that actually there are 7,000 that have not bowed the knee to Baal. 

Regardless, at times it seems that there are so few that are truly going hard after God.  You expect opposition from those outside the church, but not from your own brothers and sisters in the Lord.  The struggle that can become the most discouraging to the child of God is the internal struggle.  I become incredibly frustrated with myself with how often it seems as though I am simply going through the motions, complacent...lukewarm!  AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!  Who will rescue me from this body of death?  Don't you just love God's Word?  There is an incredible transparency throughout God's Word.  The people of God are never portrayed as even close to being a perfect people.  Don't you just love Paul?  Romans 7:24-25 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Paul makes a profound statement in 2 Tim 3, he teaches us that there will be many in the last days that are evil and they actually hold "to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power."  We are warned to avoid such men.  See if the description fits our culture.

2 Tim 3:1-7 “Difficult Times Will Come”

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. 6 For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

I know you are shocked to know that the true child of God will not attain sinless perfection in this life...if ANYONE SAYS THAT THEY HAVE THEY ARE A LIAR!  Check out 1 John chapter 1.  What you can say for the true child of God is that when they do sin they will repent and ask for forgiveness.  If they continue for a period of time in sin, not yielding the prompting of the Spirit, then the Father WILL TAKE THEM TO THE WOODSHED!  You will be disciplined!  If you are praise God...why?  Because it means that you are a child of the most high God.  Anyone that is able to continue in sin is not a child of God!

Back to the thought of feeling alone.  It has always amazed me how few Kings "did what was right in the eyes of the LORD," and how many did "what was evil."

1 Kings 15:34  He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight and followed the example of Jeroboam and the sin he had caused Israel to commit.

1 Kings 22:52  He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He walked in the way of his father, in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin.

2 Kings 3:2  He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, but not like his father and mother, for he removed the sacred pillar of Baal his father had made.

2 Kings 8:18  He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for Ahab’s daughter was his wife. He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight.

2 Kings 13:2  He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight and followed the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.

2 Kings 13:11  He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He did not turn away from all the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit, but he walked in them.

2 Kings 14:24  He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He did not turn away from all the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.

2 Kings 15:9  He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight as his fathers had done. He did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.

2 Kings 15:18  He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. Throughout his reign, he did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.

2 Kings 15:24  He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight and did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.

2 Kings 15:28  He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.

2 Kings 17:2  He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him.

2 Kings 21:2  He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, imitating the abominations of the nations that the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites.

2 Kings 21:20  He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight as his father Manasseh had done.

2 Kings 23:32  He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight just as his ancestors had done.

2 Kings 23:37  He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight just as his ancestors had done.

2 Kings 24:9  He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight as his father had done.

Shortly following the fall in the Garden of Eden those that sought after the Lord God with singleness of heart have been greatly out numbered.  How often does it say "Jeroboam son of Nebat?"  THAT IS NOT THE LEGACY AND INHERITANCE I WANT TO LEAVE MY CHILDREN AND MY CHILDREN'S CHILDREN!

2 Kings 14:3  He did what was right in the Lord’s sight, but not like his ancestor David. He did everything his father Joash had done.

2 Kings 15:34  He did what was right in the Lord’s sight just as his father Uzziah had done.

2 Kings 18:3  He did what was right in the Lord’s sight just as his ancestor David had done.

2 Kings 22:2  He did what was right in the Lord’s sight and walked in all the ways of his ancestor David; he did not turn to the right or the left.

Matt 7:13-21 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. 15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 “So then, you will know them by their fruits. 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.

The Word of Jesus that follow out to strike fear in the heart of every human being.  Jesus teaches us that on the day of judgement many preachers will be cast into hell...yes preachers!

Mt 7:22-23 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’  23     “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

Father in heaven,

By YOUR Spirit enable us to love, worship, pursue YOU in a manner that matches YOUR excellent worth...in a manner that reflects that YOU are our greatest treasure!  Father enable us to be like YOUR servant Apollos..."powerful in the Scriptures."

Work this for YOUR glory and our joy in YOU!

love,

m

It would be a strange moment in life if you had been invited to the Super bowl this past year and in the closing moments when New York won the game if only a few hundred had jumped to their feet and began screaming and clapping.  You would have started to look around and wonder what was wrong with everyone.  You would have turned to the people next to you that were discussing a hang nail and say, "hey, hey, you missed it, you missed it...check out the replay, check it out!"  They look at you for a moment and then go back to their hang nail discussion seemingly oblivious to the incredible event that just took place.

Or what if you had the joy and pain of attending the championship game between Memphis and the Jawhawks!  Let's say somehow you end up sitting on the Jawhawks side and when Mario Chalmers hit his 3 point shot with 2 seconds left only 100 people jumped to their feet cheering, the rest seemed oblivious to what was happening.  Again, you turn to them and say,  "hey, hey, you missed it, you missed it...check out the replay, check it out!"  They look at you for a moment and then go back to their discussion seemingly oblivious to the incredible event that just took place.  Or say you are on the Memphis side and only 100 people collapse in grief and disappointment!  The rest of the people, you could not call them fans could you, sit ignoring what is happening on the court.

This is ridiculous right?  Absurd...it could never happen!  AND YET IT HAPPENS EVERY DAY!

As I read Psalm 145 this morning this is what came to mind...as I read verses 10-12All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord, And Your godly ones shall bless You. 11  They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom And talk of Your power; 12 To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.  

How many people act like madmen over football, basketball, baseball, NASCAR, soccer, golf...whatever it is...and then when it come to the things of God they yawn and turn away.  My great fear is that everyone of those will spend eternity in hell!  You may think that that sounds harsh, but how absurd is it that someone can see what God has done for us in the sending of HIS SON and not go wild with joy, gratitude, worship, praise and adoration.

Check out this quote from John Flavel...it is his version of how the conversation could have gone between the Father and the Son in the working out of our salvation.

Here you may suppose the Father to say, when driving his bargain with Christ for you: Father. My son, here is a company of poor miserable souls, that have utterly undone themselves, and now lie open to my justice! Justice demands satisfaction for them, or will satisfy itself in the eternal ruin of them: What shall be done for these souls And thus Christ returns.

Son: Oh my Father, such is my love to, and pity for them, that rather than they shall perish eternally, I will be responsible for them as their Surety; bring in all thy bills, that I may see what they owe thee; Lord, bring them all in, that there may be no after-reckonings with them; at my hand shalt thou require it. I will rather choose to suffer thy wrath than they should suffer it: upon me, my Father, upon me be all their debt.

Father: But, my Son, if thou undertake for them, thou must reckon to pay the last mite, expect no abatements; if I spare them, I will not spare thee.

Son: Content, Father, let it be so; charge it all upon me, I am able to discharge it: and though it prove a kind of undoing to me, though it impoverish all my riches, empty all my treasures, (for so indeed it did, 2 Corinthians 8:9. "Though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor") yet I am content to undertake it.

Blush, ungrateful believers, Oh let shame cover your faces; judge in yourselves now, has Christ deserved that you should stand with him for trifles, that you should shrink at a few petty difficulties, and complain, this is hard, and that is harsh? Oh if you knew the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in this his wonderful condescension for you, you could not do it.  (John Flavel 1627-1691)

If you can hear the gospel, if you can hear what Jesus has done for you and if you can read and hear of HIS glory, power, and might, and love, and mercy and grace AND NOT BE MOVED...WHAT ELSE CAN YOU CONCLUDE...YOU MUST BE SPIRITUALLY DEAD, YOU MUST NOT BE HEARING OR SEEING.

Can you imagine what Paul felt, the one who had an intimate encounter with the resurrected Lord on the road to Damascus?  Paul had encounters, visions, and dreams...no wonder he was provoked when he saw the idolatry in Athens.

This knowledge makes our reading in Acts 18 all the more amazing...in 18:9-11 Paul has a night vision, let's check it out..."the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10  for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”  11  And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

Let me quickly point out a few things here.  We know that the great Apostle Paul was afraid!  How do we know?  Because God told him...Do not be afraid any longer.  God would not say that unless Paul had been afraid.  It is good to know that even this great man of God had to deal with fear...like me!  Why does God tell him not to be afraid?  In verse 10 God says, "for I am with you."  We have the promise of the 23rd Psalm, knowing that the good shepherd is always with us, the great commission..."and I will be with you always"  In Hebrews HE promises never to leave us or forsake us...don't be afraid because HE is the ever present God.

This is Paul's second missionary journey, but his first time to Corinth!  Yet God tells Paul, don't be afraid for I am with you and then HE tells him that HE will protect because HE, God, has many people in this city.  I believe that the many were those THAT WERE GOING TO BE SAVED!

BROTHERS AND SISTERS BE ENCOURAGED...DON'T BE AFRAID, HE IS WITH US AND IF WE ARE FAITHFUL HE WILL USE US TO BRING OTHERS INTO HIS KINGDOM...FROM DARKNESS INTO HIS MARVELOUS LIGHT.

LET'S PROCLAIM HIS GREAT LOVE, MERCY, HIS GREAT WORKS TO ALL THAT WILL LISTEN AND BE SAVED!

love,

m

PSALM 145 

The Lord Extolled for His Goodness.

A Psalm of Praise, of David.

     1     I will extol You, my God, O King, And I will bless Your name forever and ever.

     2     Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever.

     3     Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable.

     4     One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.

     5     On the glorious splendor of Your majesty And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.

     6     Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts, And I will tell of Your greatness.

     7     They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.

     8     The Lord is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.

     9     The Lord is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works.

     10     All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord, And Your godly ones shall bless You.

     11     They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom And talk of Your power;

     12     To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.

     13     Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

     14     The Lord sustains all who fall And raises up all who are bowed down.

     15     The eyes of all look to You, And You give them their food in due time.

     16     You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

     17     The Lord is righteous in all His ways And kind in all His deeds.

     18     The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.

     19     He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them.

     20     The Lord keeps all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy.

     21     My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.

There is just too much!  There is too many amazing events packed into today's reading...it is amazing how frustrating this feels.  I remember back in the mid 90's when I was praying about becoming a Young Married teacher at Bellevue one of my great fears was will I have enough to say week after week!  Now the great frustration is that there is just soooo much in God's precious Word...there is not enough time or space to share my heart day after day.  Amazing!  How great is our God?

I want to point out two thoughts from our reading in Acts 17 and below I have included a summary of our reading in 2 Kings 9-10 and I have included a chart that might be helpful in keeping everything straight as we plow through the remaining chapters in 2 Kings.

What do we learn about the Beroeans in Acts 17?  We learn that they were more noble-minded, why were they called more noble-minded?  Take a look.  In Acts 17:11-12, we learn that the Beroeans "were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. 12 Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men."  Why were they more noble-minded?  They received the Word eagerness and they examined the scriptures daily!  For those of you that are still with me on this one year journey through God's Word, you can say that you are examining the scriptures daily, but are you excited about it?  Do you come to God's Word each morning expecting to experience God, expecting to have an encounter with the most High God, your Abba, our heavenly Father...do you?  Or are you going through the motions some mornings?  This past Sunday morning I was almost through the reading in the OT when I realized that I was just sitting and reading words, words that meant nothing to me.  Are you shocked?  What did I do?  I repented, asked for forgiveness and started the reading over expecting to hear from my heavenly Father...HE was faithful to speak!  I am praying that HE will continually enable me to LISTEN!

The second thought is concerning Paul's response to the idols as he walked though Athens.  We see in Acts 17:16-17 that while Paul was in Athens something happened when he saw the city filled with idols.  Check it out, "Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. 17 So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present."

Why was Paul so angry at the idolatry?  Let me cut to the chase, God's glory was being given to another.  Paul had an encounter on the Damascus road with the risen resurrected LORD Jesus, he had witnessed glory, he had come face to face with the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, with the King of kings and LORD of Lords, the Alpha and Omega...Paul understood the only sane thing to do in this life is to do everything for the glory of this ONE...Jesus! 

So when he witnessed people worshipping and giving glory to little idols, that have eyes, but cannot see, they have mouths, but they cannot speak it provoked him, it threw him into convulsions if you will, he burned with anger.

My question is this...Are you and I aware of one tenth of the idolatry around us?  The idolatry that we do see...does it bother us at all?  Or have we come to accept it?  What was Paul's response?  We see it in verse 17 So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present."

May we be more like Paul, may we be provoked in our spirit, and not because of what it does to us and our culture, but because glory is being stolen from the only ONE that is worthy!  God have mercy on us!

love,

m

2 Kings 9-10 summary

Elisha sends a prophet to anoint Jehu as Israel’s next king, and commission him to destroy the house (family) of Ahab (9:1–10). Jehu is acclaimed by his fellow army officers (vv. 11–13), and hurries to Jezreel where Joram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah are recovering from wounds (vv. 14–20). When the two kings go out to meet Jehu, he kills Joram and mortally wounds Ahaziah (vv. 21–29). Jehu then enters the city, where the aged Jezebel shouts out her defiance from an upstairs window (vv. 30–31). Jehu orders her thrown down to the street below. As Jehu celebrates his successful coup inside, the body of Jezebel is devoured by a pack of dogs (vv. 32–37). Elijah’s prediction is thus literally fulfilled (cf. 1 Kings 21:23). Jehu then proceeds to wipe out the rest of the family (2 Kings 10:1–11). He also assembles all officials of the Baal cult, supposedly to worship, but in fact to destroy them (vv. 12–35). The massacre is a political expedient intended to wipe out a religion closely linked with the royal house. Because Jehu fails to turn to the Lord, his rule is marked by a series of military defeats and by the gradual reduction in size of the Northern Kingdom.

Key verse. 9:7: God’s instruments are not necessarily godly.

Personal application. Judgment, like blessing, may be delayed. But each will surely come.

Richards, L. O. (1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.) (249). Wheaton: Victor Books.

Something caught my eye as I was reading in 2 Kings this morning.  I recently listened to a sermon where a preacher said that "no where in scripture does it say that God loves the sinner but hates the sin."  Initially, I took offense at his words.  He quoted Psalm 5:5 The boastful cannot stand in Your presence; You hate all evildoers."  What do you do with "You hate all evildoers?"  Then I ran across  Psalm 11:5 The Lord examines the righteous and the wicked. He hates the lover of violence.

A few days later I was reading Psalm 139, Psalm 139 is a beautiful Psalm...beautiful!  It has this one little part that I typically read over quickly and don't think much about:)  However, because of the sermon and the scriptures this time I had to pause, think, meditate and pray.  What is it Mark, what is it in Psalm 139?  Hear the prayer from the man who God said is a man after HIS own heart!   Psalm 139:19-22 God, if only You would kill the wicked— you bloodthirsty men, stay away from me — 20 who invoke You deceitfully. Your enemies swear ⌊by You⌋ falsely. 21 Lord, don’t I hate those who hate You, and detest those who rebel against You? 22 I hate them with extreme hatred; I consider them my enemies.

Please remember you are getting an incredibly short summary of my journey in thinking and praying through this.  So in today's reading in 2 Kings we see Elisha sends a prophet to anoint Jehu as king.  God's purpose in this is to annihilate the house of Ahab...annihilate ALL male HIS DESCENDENTS!  This includes men, boys, infants...!  Then verse 9 is where it hit me, God did the same thing to Jeroboam and to Baasha.  Why?  Because they were completely evil!

2 Kings 9:6-10 So Jehu got up and went into the house. The young prophet poured the oil on his head and said, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I anoint you king over the Lord’s people, Israel. 7 You are to strike down the house of your master Ahab so that I may avenge the blood shed by the hand of Jezebel—the blood of My servants the prophets and of all the servants of the Lord.  8 The whole house of Ahab will perish, and I will eliminate all of Ahab’s males,  both slave and free, in Israel.  9 I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah.  10 The dogs will eat Jezebel in the plot of land at Jezreel—no one will bury her. ’ ” Then the young prophet opened the door and escaped.

One commentator summarized it this way.

The prophet anointed Jehu and explained the purpose for which God had chosen him. Jehu was to destroy Ahab’s dynasty. This would avenge the blood of the Lord’s prophets and . . . servants which had been shed as a result of Jezebel’s influence. God would thoroughly annihilate Ahab’s line as Elijah had prophesied (1 Kings 21:21-22, 29), and Jezebel would also die as Elijah had foretold (1 Kings 21:23). Jeroboam’s dynasty and Baasha’s dynasty had ended violently (cf. 1 Kings 15:25, 28-29; 16:3-4) and so would Ahab’s.  Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (1:555). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Think back over our readings in Deuteronomy and Joshua...how many times did we read that God was annihilating the nations before Israel.  We know that they were being annihilated because of their great sins and their horrific practices, regardless, they were annihilated!

Deut 12:29  “When the Lord your God annihilates the nations before you, which you are entering to take possession of, and you drive them out and live in their land,

Deut 19:1  “When the Lord your God annihilates the nations whose land He is giving you, so that you drive them out and live in their cities and houses,

Josh 11:14  The Israelites plundered all the spoils and cattle of these cities for themselves. But they struck down every person with the sword until they had annihilated them, leaving no one alive.

Josh 11:20  For it was the Lord’s intention to harden their hearts, so that they would engage Israel in battle, be completely destroyed without mercy, and be annihilated, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Josh 23:15  Since every good thing the Lord your God promised you has come about, so He will bring on you every bad thing until He has annihilated you from this good land the Lord your God has given you.

Josh 24:8  “ ‘Later, I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan. They fought against you, but I handed them over to you. You possessed their land, and I annihilated them before you.

As I read our passage this morning Psalm 5:5 came back to heart and mind...Psalm 5:5 The boastful cannot stand in Your presence; You hate all evildoers."  I thought but Jesus loves sinners, HE spent time with sinners, he ate with them, HE communicated to them in a way that no RELIGIOUS PERSON every had...right? 

Think about every encounter Jesus had with a known sinner...which ones did HE always have kind, gentle, gracious life giving Words toward?  There is a word that you have to place in front of "sinner."  I don't believe that you will find an exception to this..."repentant sinner."  If you find one shoot me an email.  In the next phase of my struggle God took me to the Holiness of God and the Cross...ALL MY EXPERIENCES THERE HAVE RESULTED IN A CEASING OF MY QUESTIONING...BEING SILENCED, FILLED WITH AWE, AS I BECOME MORE AND MORE AWARE OF THE AWE STRIKING NATURE OF HINT OF HOLINESS I AM ALLOWD TO SEE, HE COULD SHOW ME MORE BUT I DON'T THINK I COULD TAKE IT...IN THE LIGHT OF HIS HOLINESS I ALSO SEE HOW SINFUL I AM.  THIS GIVES ME A CONTINUAL OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE IN REPENTANCE AND FAITH!

What was the question that the jailer asked in our reading in Acts?  What must I do to be saved?  Answer, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved!  If you believe unto salvation you will be changed, transformed, a new creature in Christ!  If you believe unto salvation you will begin to experience an insatiable hunger for HIM, for HIS Word, for prayer and for fellowship with other followers of Christ!

2 Kings 6-7 summary

Elisha causes a lost axhead to float, showing Israel God’s compassion for the individual (6:1–7). God also cares for the nation. Elisha continually advises the King of Israel of Syria’s military plans (vv. 8–12). The furious King of Syria sends an expedition to capture Elisha. Elisha is granted divine protection (vv. 13–17), and leads the enemy corps into Israel’s capital city itself. There the stunned Syrians are fed, and sent home (vv. 18–23). Later hostilities resume, and Samaria is under siege. The population is reduced to eating scraps and even to cannibalism (vv. 24–29). The despairing King of Israel decides to strike out at God by executing Elisha. Elisha pledges that despite the king’s lack of faith, the next day the finest of foods will be sold cheaply in the starving city (6:30–7:2). The pledge is kept when the Syrians hear a nonexistent army rushing down on them, panic, and abandon their camp with all its supplies (vv. 3–20). Thus in private and in very public ways, Elisha continues to demonstrate to Israel that the Lord is God, and that faith in Him is not foolishness, but wisdom.  Key verse. 6:33: Why wait for the Lord? He is God.  Personal application. Trust God in good times and in bad.  Richards, L. O. (1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.) (247). Wheaton: Victor Books.

In 2 Kings 6 we see the king of Aram infuriated with Elisha's ability to know his plans and warn the king of Israel so the king of Aram devises a plan to capture Elisha.  You have to wonder at the kings folly, if Elisha knows of his plans against Israel won't he know about his plans against him?  Remember how we were surprised that Elijah would run from Jezebel following a stunning victory at Mt. Carmel?  It would not be surprising to see his disciple flee after he learned that the king of Aram had sent an army to capture him.  However, Elisha does not run, he stays in Dothan while an enormous Aramean army surrounds the city.  So Elisha does not run, but he must be operating in panic mode...right! 

How often do you and I allow our circumstances to throw us into panic mode?  Be honest!

Elisha is cool, calm and collected...how can that be?  Was he insane?  That must be it, he was crazy...how else could you explain his calm in the midst of a life-storm?  HOW?

2 Kings 6:15-18 When the servant of the man of God got up early and went out, he discovered an army with horses and chariots surrounding the city. So he asked Elisha, “Oh, my master, what are we to do?”  [HOW OFTEN HAVE WE ASKED THAT QUESTION?  WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?  YOU CAN HEAR THE FEAR IN HIS VOICE] 16 Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid,  for those who are with us outnumber those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed, “Lord, please open his eyes and let him see.” So the Lord opened the servant’s eyes. He looked and saw that the mountain was covered with horses and chariots of fire  all around Elisha. 18 When the Arameans came against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Please strike this nation with blindness.” So He struck them with blindness,  according to Elisha’s word.

Do you see the stunning contrast here?  One has his eyes opened and is comforted by what he sees another group is blinded.  In the next episode we see Aramean's fleeing when no one is pursuing and Elisha is calmly walking through all of these events.  He is walking by faith!  You could not ask for a better example of Proverbs 28:1, The wicked flee when no one is pursuing, But the righteous are bold as a lion.   Remember the images in your mind of the lion on the African plains...lying around, relaxed, cool, calm and collected.  Nothing really disturbs them, they have no predators...neither do the righteous!  There is only ONE we are to fear and no other...Luke 12:5“But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!  IF JESUS TELL YOU TO FEAR HIM IT WOULD  BE WISE TO ACCEPT HIS COUNSEL! 

How can we do this as we walk through this life with so many distractions?  So many things constantly pulling at us...HOW?

Paul hit the nail on the head when he said in Eph 1:18, "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints."  When we walk by faith, trusting not in ourselves, but in HIM, trusting in the hope of HIS calling and in the riches of the glory of HIS inheritance in the saints...we are at peace!  When our eyes are fixed on Jesus the AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF OUR FAITH we are filled with the Spirit, energy, passion and power...all flowing from HIM!

What God did for Lydia HE will do for the rest of HIS children!

Acts 16:14-15 A woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was spoken by Paul.  15 After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.”  And she persuaded us.

Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek Me  and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Father in heaven,

Open the eyes of our heart Lord, open the eyes of our heart...enable us to seek you and find you as YOU enable us by YOUR Spirit to seek YOU with ALL our heart, soul, mind and strength.

Please Father work this for YOUR glory and our JOY in YOU!

love,

m

Mass Gentile conversions created serious stress in the early church. Jewish Christians accepted the conversion of Cornelius, but did not consider implications. Now some believers from Jerusalem travel to Gentile churches teaching it is necessary to become a Jew in order to be a true Christian and be saved (15:1). Paul and Barnabas dispute this teaching and soon head a delegation to Jerusalem to “see the apostles and elders about this question” (vv. 2–5). There the church holds its first general council. After much discussion and prayer, a consensus is reached and is stated by James (vv. 6–13). Scripture foretells a day when Gentiles as Jews will bear God’s name (vv. 14–18). They should be free then to turn to God as Gentiles, without unnecessary hindrances (vv. 19–21). This conclusion is made official in a letter circulated to Gentile churches, where it is received with joy (vv. 22–35).

The church has resolved a major theological dispute harmoniously. Yet Paul and Barnabas find themselves entangled in a bitter personal dispute—which they do not resolve (vv. 36–41).  Key verse. 15:19: No hindrances.  Personal application. When you witness make the Gospel the only issue.  Richards, L. O. (1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.) (722). Wheaton: Victor Books.

If you recall the over arching metanarrative that we borrowed from Ken Easley pertaining to the summary of all of scripture is that "the Lord God through his Christ is graciously building a kingdom of redeemed people for their joy and for his own glory."  If you ask Dr. Easley he would profoundly state that God's glory is the highest good, he would agree with the apostle Paul and say, "whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31).

With that in mind you might imagine that the words "a people for His name," might catch my attention.  Especially since you and I fall into those coming from the Gentiles.  Check out this passage in Acts.

Act 15:12-18 Then the whole assembly fell silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul describing all the signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.  13 After they stopped speaking, James responded: “Brothers, listen to me! 14 Simeon  has reported how God first intervened to take from the Gentiles a people for His name.  15 And the words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written:

          16 After these things I will return

          and will rebuild David’s tent, which has fallen down.

          I will rebuild its ruins and will set it up again,

          17 so that those who are left of mankind may seek the Lord—

          even all the Gentiles who are called by My name,

          says the Lord who does these things,

          18 which have been known from long ago.  

It is important for us, the called, to remember that it is for HIS name sake, it is for HIS glory...HE is the highest good, humanity is not the center of the universe...God was, is, and will always be!

Ps 23:3--He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

Ps 148:13--Let them praise the name of the Lord, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above earth and heaven.

Acts 5:41--So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.

Acts 15:14--“Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name.

Rom 1:5--through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake,

1 John 2:12--I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake.

Isaiah 43:7  Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

Isaiah 48:9-11 I will delay My anger for the honor of My name, and I will restrain Myself for your benefit and ⌊for⌋ My praise, so that you will not be destroyed. 10 Look, I have refined you,  but not as silver; I have tested  you in the furnace of affliction. 11 I will act for My own sake, indeed, My own, for how can I  be defiled? I will not give My glory to another.

Actually this is very good news!  How is that you say?  I know that God will do mighty things for HIS glory and for HIS great name...HE will not allow HIS name to be defiled!  Since I belong to HIM and HIS name is at stake in my care I have absolute confidence that HIS grace power and might will bring me through!

John 17:9-11 I pray  for them.  I am not praying for the world  but for those You have given Me, because they are Yours. 10 All My things are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I have been glorified in them. 11 I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy  Father, protect  them by Your name that You have given Me, so that they may be one  as We are  one.

Jn 10:27-31 My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me. 28 I give them eternal life,  and they will never perish —ever! No one will snatch  them out of My hand. 29 My Father,  who has given them to Me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”  31 Again the Jews picked up rocks to stone Him.

As Jesus went to the Cross, you and I were on HIS heart and mind...indeed, HE came to seek and to save that which was lost...BUT HE DID NOT THINK OF US ABOVE ALL!  ABOVE ALL HE WENT TO THE CROSS TO DISPLAY THE GLORY OF THE TRIUNE GOD!  HE WILL NOT SHARE HIS GLORY WITH ANOTHER!

love,

m

Are you sure?  What are you passing through?

Crowd psychology has always amazed me.  Individuals have the potential to demonstrate great intellect and social savvy, but I cannot think of a time that a crowd is depicted in a positive light.  Typically, in crowds you witness people operating at the bottom.  Think about the crowds all though scripture and then think about the crowds in recent history...it is not a pretty picture.

At one moment the crowd in Lystra wants to worship Paul and Barnabus; because the rejected them and then the Jews turned the crowd against them they actually stoned Paul.  It is a little, no a lot schizophrenic..."we want to worship you...no we want to kill you."

Act 14:14-28 The apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their robes when they heard this and rushed into the crowd, shouting:  15 “Men! Why are you doing these things? We are men also, with the same nature as you, and we are proclaiming good news to you, that you should turn from these worthless things  to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them.   16 In past generations He allowed all the nations  to go their own way, 17 although He did not leave Himself without a witness,  since He did good: giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons,  and satisfying your  hearts with food and happiness.” 18 Even though they said these things, they barely stopped the crowds from sacrificing to them.

Paul and Barnabus stopped the crowd from sacrificing to them by the skin of their teeth.  It was close!  However, Paul paid dearly with many cuts, scrapes and bruises by being stoned.

19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and when they had won over the crowds and stoned Paul, they dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead.  20 After the disciples surrounded him, he got up and went into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.

This is amazing, Paul is the same guy that God used to heal the lame guy, he is the same guy they were ready to sacrifice to and now they attempt to kill him.  I don't know about you but I would not be excited about an opportunity to preach in that church:)  Try to imagine what Paul must have witnessed of Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus to be this bold, persistent and relentless.  Often times I hear preachers brag on Paul, I believe that they have missed it and Paul would be mad at them for not bragging on Jesus and proclaiming Christ alone, boasting in the cross alone!

After a short trip to Derby he returns to Lystra where they tried to stone him for the purpose of encouraging the disciples...Paul is not great, his GOD IS!

Acts 14:21 After they had evangelized that town and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch,  22 strengthening the hearts  of the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith,  and by telling them, “It is necessary to pass through many troubles  on our way into the kingdom of God.”

Most that claim to follow Christ in America do not like to hear this...“It is necessary to pass through many troubles  on our way into the kingdom of God.”   They want to hear of the health, wealth and prosperity and many will tell them if you do not have all that you want to have something is wrong with your faith!  That is a lie out of the pit of hell.  YOU CANNOT BE A TRUE FOLLOWER OF CHRIST AND BELIEVE THAT!  IF YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE ON THE BROAD ROAD WITH THE MANY...BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID!  IF THIS OFFENDS YOU PLEASE TELL ME WHAT TO DO WITH THE FOLLOWING VERSES. 

Mark 10:30 who will not receive 100 times  more, now at this time —houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions —and eternal life  in the age to come. 

John 15:18  “If the world hates  you, understand that it hated Me before it hated you.

John 15:20  Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A slave is not greater than his master. ’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word,  they will also keep yours.

John 16:33  I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

Acts 9:16 I will certainly show him how much he must suffer for My name!”

1 Thess 3:3 so that no one will be shaken by these persecutions. For you yourselves know that we are appointed to  this.

2 Tim 3:12 In fact, all those who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 

1 Peter 2:21 For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered  for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow  in His steps.

Rev 1:9  I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation, kingdom, and perseverance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of God’s word and the testimony about Jesus.   

Paul and Barnabus proclaimed the gospel to the crowd but they hung out and spent considerable time with the disciples.  They poured their lives into the lives of those that would build the church in that city. 

23 When they had appointed elders  in every church and prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. 24 Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. 25 After they spoke the message in Perga, they went down to Attalia. 26 From there they sailed back to Antioch where they had been entrusted to the grace of God for the work they had completed.  27 After they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported everything God had done with them,  and that He had opened the door  of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they spent a considerable time  with the disciples.

I have to ask my self regularly...who am I pouring my life into?  The only way I have anything worth pouring is if as a branch in Christ I am remaining, resting, and residing in HIM.  I am only useful to the point that what is being poured is Jesus.

Father in heaven accomplish this for your glory and our joy in YOU.

love,

m

Who can read Psalm 139 and not believe that God is deeply in love with each of us? Sadly, only those who have the Spirit of God dwelling within them, only those who have received the spirit of adoption as sons and daughters are able to cry Abba, Father and begin to know the love of our heavenly Father.  God the Father, creator of the heavens and the earth, delicately and intimately created each of us. He knew us intimately before we were conceived and knows our every thought, even before we think them. HE is the ever present God who walks with us whether we are in the lowest valley or on the highest mountain. He’s always there!

John 3:16 “For God loved  the world in this way: He gave His One and Only  Son,  so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. 

Heb 13:5 Your life should be free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for He Himself has said, I will never leave you or forsake you.  

Mt 28:20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember,  I am with you always,  to the end of the age.”

These next two verses are frightening.  God rejects HIS people because they don't know HIM and they have forgotten HIS Word!  There are severe consequences for not appropriately responding to the glory HE reveals to you.

Isaiah 5:13 Therefore My people go into exile because they lack knowledge; the  dignitaries are starving, and the  masses are parched with thirst.

Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you  from serving as My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your sons.

Who do you say that HE is?  Who do you say that HE is with your words?  Who do you say that HE is with your life?  Does your life and my life match our words?

Jeremiah 29:13  You will seek Me  and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Pursuing HIM together! 

love,

m

In our reading in 1 Kings we learn something very quickly about Jehoshaphat, he desires to follow and seek the LORD.  Check out 1 Kings 22:5, But Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “First, please ask what the Lord’s will is.”  In 2 Chronicles we will see Jehoshaphat rebuked for his alliance with Ahab.  2 Chronicles 19:2 Then Jehu  son of Hanani the seer went out to confront him  and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Do you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord?  Because of this, the Lord’s wrath is on you."  The LORD Jesus commands HIS followers to be wise in our dealings with others in this world.  Remember what HE said in Matt 10:16, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves."  As God's children we MUST BE WISE and sensitive to the Holy Spirit as we relate to people in the world!  We are to be in the world, but not of the world...there are times when it is difficult to discern the difference.  In this we are desperate for God's guidance, leading and continual direction.

Below is a summary of the life and leadership of Jehoshaphat.

King of Judah, son of Asa, succeeded to the throne b.c. 914, when he was 35 years old, and reigned 25 years. His history is to be found among the events recorded in 1 Kings 15:24; 2 Kings 8:16, or in a continuous narrative in 2 Chron. 17:1-21:3. He was contemporary with Ahab, Ahaziah, and Jehoram. He was one of the best, most pious, and prosperous kings of Judah, the greatest since Solomon. At first he strengthened himself against Israel; but soon afterward the two Hebrew kings formed an alliance. In his own kingdom Jehoshaphat ever showed himself a zealous follower of the commandments of God: he tried to put down the high places and groves in which the people of Judah burnt incense, and sent the wisest Levites through the cities and towns to instruct the people in true morality and religion. Riches and honors increased around him. He received tribute from the Philistines and Arabians, and kept up a large standing army in Jerusalem. It was probably about the 16th year of his reign, b.c. 898, when he became Ahab’s ally in the great battle of Ramoth-gilead, for which he was severely reproved by Jehu. 2 Chron. 19:2. He built at Ezion-geber, with the help of Ahaziah, a navy designed to go to Tarshish; but it was wrecked at Ezion-geber. Before the close of his reign he was engaged in two additional wars. He was miraculously delivered from a threatened attack of the people of Ammon, Moab, and Seir. After this, perhaps, must be dated the war which Jehoshaphat, in conjunction with Jehoram king of Israel and the king of Edom, carried on against the rebellious king of Moab. 2 Kings 3. In his declining years the administration of affairs was placed, probably b.c. 891, in the hands of his son Jehoram.  Smith, W. (1997). Smith's Bible dictionary. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Below is a frightening passage, at least in some respects.  We have the prophet Micaiah sharing a vision somewhat similar to the vision Isaiah describes in Isaiah chapter 6.  Micaiah is privy to a conversation in the heavenly throne room where Yahweh is asking ‘Who will entice Ahab to march up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?  Don't know about you, but verse 21-22 cause me great consternation!  The thought of Yahweh ultimately behind a lying spirit and the demise of Ahab is difficult to process.  What does the passage say?  Check it out...21 “Then a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will entice him.’ 22 “The Lord asked him, ‘How?’ “He said, ‘I will go and become a lying spirit  in the mouth of all his prophets.’ “Then He said, ‘You will certainly entice him and prevail.  Go and do that.’

1 Kings 22:19-23  Then Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne,  and the whole heavenly host  was standing by Him at His right hand and at His left hand. 20 And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab to march up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? ’ So one was saying this and another was saying that. 21 “Then a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will entice him.’ 22 “The Lord asked him, ‘How?’ “He said, ‘I will go and become a lying spirit  in the mouth of all his prophets.’ “Then He said, ‘You will certainly entice him and prevail.  Go and do that.’ 23 “You see, the Lord has put a lying spirit into the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the Lord has pronounced disaster against you.”

The amazing thing is that God revealed everything to Ahab through Micaiah and the King went ahead with his plan.  He tried to disguise himself to no avail.  You cannot hide from the judgement and justice of Almighty God.  Now we see the judgement of God spoken against Ahab in chapter 21 fulfilled.  Again and again we are given confirmation after confirmation that God's Word will not return void, it will be fulfilled, it will be done!

1 Kings 22:37-38 So the king died and was brought to Samaria. They buried the king in Samaria.  38 Then someone washed the chariot at the pool of Samaria. The dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes bathed ⌊in it⌋, according to the word of the Lord that He had spoken.

What are we to make of this?  What are we to take away from this reading in 1 Kings?  BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID!  Remember Ahab lived an evil life, but is it very different than many people live today?

I believe the answer is very simple, but hard to do...remember the narrow way!  How many find it?  FEW!

FEAR GOD, REVERENCE, AWE, WONDER AND AMAZEMENT AT HIM AND HIS OFFER OF SALVATION, ADOPTION, JUSTIFICATION, GLORIFICATION, ETERNAL LIFE...AND THE REALLY HUGE GIFT...HIMSELF!!!

FEAR HIM, LOVE HIM AND PURSUE HIM.

Ac 13:16  Then standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and spoke: “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen! 

Ac 13:22  After removing him,  He raised up David as their king, of whom He testified: ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart,   who will carry out all My will.’

Ac 13:26  “Brothers, sons of Abraham’s race, and those among you who fear God, the message of this salvation has been sent to us. 

love,

m

The spiritual conflict that raged in the time of Elijah demanded decision. At Mt. Carmel and in the war with Syria God revealed His power. Now Ahab reveals his response. Ahab is driven by a desire to possess a nearby vineyard, which the owner, Naboth, will not sell (21:1–6). Jezebel promises to get the vineyard for Ahab anyway. She arranges false witnesses who accuse Naboth of blasphemy and treason (vv. 7–14). When Naboth is dead, Ahab hurries off to take possession of the vineyard. He is met by Elijah, who announces God’s judgment on the king and his house (vv. 15–26). But when Ahab humbles himself, God promises that the predicted disasters will not fall until the king is dead (vv. 27–29). In the invisible war, each person must choose good or evil, and face the consequences.  Richards, L. O. (1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.) (238). Wheaton: Victor Books.

I am constantly amazed how God works through evil men and continues to bless them in so many ways.  It only makes sense to me in the light of Romans 2:4,  "Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?"   I know for me personally it was continually seeing HIS grace, HIS mercy, HIS kindness toward me, a sinner.  As a young man I knew that HE was pursuing me and I continued to run from HIM...because I wanted to do what I wanted to do!  I foolishly thought that giving my life to Jesus would be confining and restrictive, I thought it would cramp my style...what an idiot I was...unfortunately I still have those moments:(  When Jesus saved me and made me a new creature in Christ, when the veil was torn from my heart and I could see for the first time I realized that I had been in bondage and in slavery all along to those things that I thought I had to have to be happy...and after coming to faith in Christ I realized that for the first time I was free to be what God had created me to be!  I was free to be a child of the most High God, I was free to be in a right relationship with the sovereign God of the universe, I was free from the sentence of spiritual death, eternal death and separation from the author and giver of life.  I was free to drink deeply of the pure, clean, ever fresh, springs of living-water!  I was free to delight in HIM in ways that I had never known or dreamed possible...I WAS AND AM FREE!

Gal 5:1--It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

Gal 5:13--For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another

John 8:36--“So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

Human nature is astounding to me!  My own human nature is frightening to me...God has allowed me to have a sense of how far I could fall apart from HIS sustaining grace...it is horrifying!  I am just as desperate for HIS saving and sustaining grace today as I was when HE saved me.

Here we have Ahab who God has blessed with victory in battle even though it appears every thought of his heart is evil.  After he is confronted by Elijah for killing Naboth and stealing his vineyard, actually Jezebel did it, God pronounces judgement and Ahab repents and God withholds HIS judgement for a time.  In the next few verses we learn that he continued his evil lifestyle.

1 Kings 21:25-26  Still, there was no one like Ahab, who devoted himself to do what was evil in the Lord’s sight, because his wife Jezebel incited him.  26 He committed the most detestable acts by going after idols  as the Amorites  had, whom the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites.

1 Ki 21:27-29  When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put sackcloth over his body, and fasted. He lay down in sackcloth  and walked around subdued. 28 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 29 “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? I will not bring the disaster during his lifetime,  because he has humbled himself before Me. I will bring the disaster on his house during his son’s lifetime.”

In one sense these verses are comforting...knowing that God relents from judgement when we repent and humble ourselves before HIM.  However the last words of verse 29 cause me much grief and pain...I will bring the disaster on his house during his son’s lifetime.  I do not want to be the instrument of pain in the lives of my children!   I long to be the instrument of blessing and joy in their lives.  The sins of the father are very real.

Those of you who are close to the Lord will say "Mark your grief ought to be over sinning against a holy and righteous God, not that your children will be pained."  You are right in saying that...HE has a way of working though them to get my attention and bring me back to my senses.

Oh Father in heaven,

enable us to be madly in love with YOU, pursuing YOU, DEVOTED TO YOU AND DEVOTED TO DOING YOUR WILL!

FILL US WITH YOUR HOLY SPIRIT IN JESUS NAME WE CRYOUT TO YOU OUR GREAT AND AWESOME GOD1

love

m

How awesome, majestic and awe-inspiring was the display of God's power in our reading yesterday in 1 Kings 18.  God's man Elijah makes an impressive entrance into the scene of God's story of redemption, into the unfolding of God's plan of graciously building a kingdom of redeemed people for their joy and for his own glory through HIS Christ.  The child of God cannot help but get excited, filled with awe and wonder as you read of this showdown between God and idols...American or otherwise!

1 Kings 18:36-41  At the time for offering the ⌊evening⌋ sacrifice,  Elijah the prophet approached ⌊the altar⌋ and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,  today let it be known  that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that at Your word I have done all these things. 37 Answer me, Lord! Answer me so that this people will know that You, Yahweh, are God  and that You have turned their hearts back.”

38 Then Yahweh’s fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 When all the people saw it, they fell facedown  and said, “Yahweh, He is God! Yahweh, He is God!”

40 Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal!  Do not let even one of them escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon  and slaughtered them there.  41 Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a rainstorm.”

Verse 37 caught my eye.  Who turned who's heart?  And aren't we supposed to be the ones to turn back to God?  I believe that is what we see all over God's Word, like in Deut 30:10 if you obey the Lord your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.  BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT 1 KINGS 18:37 SAYS...MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS TO GO CHECK OTHER TRANSLATIONS...BELOW ARE SEVERAL...THEN I THOUGHT, LET ME CHECK THE HEBREW...AND I DID, I TRIED TO PASTE IT FOR YOU, BUT MY FONTS TURNED IT INTO A MESS...REGARDLESS THIS IS WHAT IT SAYS...37 Answer me, Lord! Answer me so that this people will know that You, Yahweh, are God and that You have turned their hearts back.”  Personally, I like the Holman Christian Standard because it puts it as it is literally in the Hebrew "Yahweh, are God."  Why is that a big deal Mark?  I don't know that it is, but if you have been with me for some time in this journey you might remember our discussion that Yahweh is God's personal name.  It is like saying "Mark is a man"  "Yahweh is God and there is no other God"  there may be gods, but only one Yahweh! 

ESV 1 Kings 18:37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back."

KJV 1 Kings 18:37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.

NAU 1 Kings 18:37 "Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again."

NIV 1 Kings 18:37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."

NKJ 1 Kings 18:37 "Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again."

NLT 1 Kings 18:37 O LORD, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself."

What are we to make of this?  I believe it is that Yahweh through HIS orchestrated circumstances, beginning with the 3 year famine and culminating with the showdown at Mt. Carmel is actively working to turn the hearts of HIS people back to HIM!  Praise God!  HE DID THE SAME THING...IN A MUCH MORE GLORIOUS FASHION IN SENDING HIS SON TO PURCHASE a kingdom of redeemed people for their joy and for his own glory.  WE CAN KNOW IN CONFIDENCE that Yahweh is working and moving in and through the circumstances, orchestrating the circumstances of our lives to refine us as silver, if we have drifted, to bring our hearts back to the one true God.  If you are being disciplined...rejoice in the knowledge that you are a child of the King of kings!

What follows in 1 Kings 19 is equally astonishing and I am not referring to the "still small voice."  Let's summarize what happens in this chapter.  When Jezebel hears of the events on Mt. Carmel from Ahab(1 Kings 18) she is unmoved, possibly even more hardened, and vows to kill Elijah. When Elijah hears the threat, he is terrified, and flees (19:1–5a). God’s response to His Elijah is to speak to him in a still small voice. God gives Elijah strength to flee (5–8), speaks gently and tells him to go out on the mountain "in LORD'S presence" (9–13), listens to Elijah’s fears (14), encourages him (18), and also gives him his successor who will be his friend as well as student. 

What is so astonishing here?  Remember what Obadiah said to Elijah when Elijah told him to go to Ahab?  Obadiah was not very excited about the opportunity.  If you read his response carefully you realize that God had already been using Elijah in some astonishing ways.   What makes me say that?  Remember what Obadiah said in 1 Kings 18:11-12,  “Now you say, ‘Go tell your lord, “Elijah is here!” ’ 12 But when I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord may carry you off  to some place I don’t know. Then when I go report to Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. But ⌊I⌋, your servant, have feared the Lord from my youth." 

So here we have a prophet of Yahweh who has witnessed God work and move in amazing ways...most recently Yahweh's little demonstration of power at Mt. Carmel and NOW HE IS AFRAID AND IMMEDIATELY RUNS FOR HIS LIFE!

It is encouraging to me to see over and over again in scripture how those that God used in mighty and powerful ways had incredible moments of weakness and frailty.  Why is this encouraging...if HE is able to work through them, HE is able to work through a flawed and broken vessel like me.  In becoming broken by HIS grace HE made me a new creature in Christ, the old has passed away, behold new things have come!

PRAISE GOD...HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER!

love,

m

These are the days of Elijah
Declaring the Word of the Lord

And these are the days of your servant Moses
Righteousness being restored

And though these are days of great trials
Of famine and darkness and sword

Still we are the voice in the desert crying
Prepare ye the way of the Lord!

Behold He comes! Riding on the clouds!
Shining like the sun! At the trumpet call
Lift your voice! It's the year of Jubilee!
And out of Zion's hill salvation comes!

And these are the days of Ezekiel
The dry bones becoming as flesh

And these are the days of your servant David
Rebuilding a temple of praise

And these are the days of the harvest
The fields are as white in the world

And we are the labourers in your vineyard
Declaring the word of the Lord!

Behold He comes! Riding on the clouds!
Shining like the sun! At the trumpet call
Lift your voice! It's the year of Jubilee!
And out of Zion's hill salvation comes!

There's no God like Jehovah!

There's no God like Jehovah!

There's no God like Jehovah!

There's no God like Jehovah!
(Repeat 3 times)

Behold He comes! Riding on the clouds!
Shining like the sun! At the trumpet call
Lift your voice! It's the year of Jubilee!
And out of Zion's hill salvation comes!

Behold He comes! Riding on the clouds!
Shining like the sun! At the trumpet call
Lift your voice! It's the year of Jubilee!
And out of Zion's hill salvation comes!

And out of Zion's hill salvation comes!

And out of Zion's hill salvation comes!

I love 1 Kings 18!  You might ask why?  I am afraid that it is not out of a wonderful heart motive, but it could be...I will let you decide?  1 Kings 18 is where I get license to be sarcastic!  This is where the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob...Yahweh, faces off with with the most powerful gods of the Canaanites, Baal and Asherah.   The prophet Elijah is sent to confront Ahab and the prophets of Baal, 450 in number, when Baal fails to answer Elijah begins taunt them as we see in 1 Ki 18:27-29, About noontime Elijah began mocking them. “You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, “for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!” 28 So they shouted louder, and following their normal custom, they cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out. 29 They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but still there was no sound, no reply, no response.

Let's set the context of Elijah's sarcasm.  Three years of drought has devastated Israel.  Yahweh has orchestrated a show down, in reality it is a battle for the hearts of God's people.  God sends Elijah to Ahab (18:1). On the way he meets Obadiah, a court official who has remained faithful to the Lord, and arranges a meeting with the king (vv. 2–15). Elijah challenges Ahab to call the prophets of Baal and Asherah to a contest at Mount Carmel. The prophets, trailed by crowds of people, come from all over the land (vv. 16–19). There Elijah challengesthe wavering people of Israel to follow the deity who is truly God. Baal does not respond to the cries of his prophets. But the Lord does answer Elijah, with fire from heaven that consumes his sacrifice. Now the people decide! “The Lord, He is God!” (vv. 20–39) At Elijah’s command they slaughter the prophets of Baal (v. 40). A tiny cloud, the size of a mans hand, appears on the horizon, and soon a heavy rain falls at last on the parched land. God’s people have acknowledged Him again. And He is quick to bless them.

Who was Baal?  Who was Asherah?

Baal—the most significant male deity of the Canaanites—and his consort Asherah were the most alluring deities confronting Israel in the promised land following the conquest. The numerous references to Baal in the Old Testament indicate his attractiveness and influence on the Israelites. The Book of Judges chronicles the numerous times the people fell to the temptation to worship Baal. During the time of Ahab and Jezebel Baal was declared the official national deity. A temple and hundreds of officiants were established for Baal’s worship in Samaria (1 Kings 16:29–34). A final chapter concerning Baal worship was written during the reigns of Jehu and Josiah, when the southern kingdom and its capital were purged of the worship of Baal (2 Kings 10; 23:1–30).

Baal’s name derives from the Semitic word ba’lu, meaning “lord.” He was assumed to fulfill several significant roles by the peoples who worshiped him. As god of the storm the roar of his voice in the heavens was the thunder of the sky. He was the god who both created and granted fertility. He was the deity slain by enemies who thus fell into the hands of Death. During the time that Baal was under the control of Death, the vegetation wilted or ceased and procreation stopped. He was the god of justice, feared by evildoers.

The Book of Kings recounts that Jezebel used the plan of the Baal temple in Sidon for the construction of a similar temple in Samaria. Ahab agreed with her to make Baal worship the royal religion of the northern kingdom (1 Kings 16:29–31). Baal, like Asherah, was also worshiped at high places.

The cult of Baal involved the offering of many animal sacrifices. Priests would officiate on behalf of the persons presenting sacrificial animals to the god. Some of the northern kingdom rulers even “made their sons pass through fire”—offering their own sons as sacrifices to Baal. “Holy prostitutes”—both male and female—were available to worshipers, encouraging the fertility of both land and people.  Elwell, W. A., & Elwell, W. A. (1997, c1996). Evangelical dictionary of biblical theology (electronic ed.). Baker reference library; Logos Library System. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.

Elijah tells Ahab to assemble all the people for the showdown and Ahab complies.  Elijah confronts the people in 1 Kings 18:21, saying to them, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent.  The people were trying to worship both Yahweh and Baal. 

One commentator put it this way:

This suggests they had been trying to worship both Baal and Yahweh to secure the maximum advantages of both! Baal was primarily a weather-god and hence responsible for the harvest; Yahweh, on the other hand, may have been popularly thought of as a god from the desert regions of Sinai (cf. Hab. 3:3–7). Or perhaps, like the Arameans in ch. 20, they thought of Yahweh as ‘a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys’ (20:28). Either way, it would have seemed likely to the people that Yahweh was out of his depth where agriculture was concerned, so it made good sense also to worship Baal, the acknowledged expert in such matters. Elijah swept away such syncretistic thinking. The people must make a decision: Yahweh or Baal.  Carson, D. A. (1994). New Bible commentary : 21st century edition. Rev. ed. of: The new Bible commentary. 3rd ed. / edited by D. Guthrie, J.A. Motyer. 1970. (4th ed.) (1 Ki 18:20). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press.

Before you are quick to judge, think about your own heart (as I ask the Holy Spirit to search mine), where is your trust?  Where is your hope?  What is your initial reaction to a crisis or a tragedy?  Is it to run to Yahweh in prayer?  Or is that what you do after you have tried all of your own devices.  In a modern scientific world we may be a little more sophisticated, but we have just as many idols as they did.

Do you remember David's final instructions to Solomon?  We know that Solomon was brilliant, we know that he was given great wisdom from God and yet at the end of his life he failed horribly.  How did this happen?

1 Kings 2:1-4 David’s Final Instructions to Solomon

2 As the time of King David’s death approached, he gave this charge to his son Solomon: 2 “I am going where everyone on earth must someday go. Take courage and be a man. 3 Observe the requirements of the Lord your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go. 4 If you do this, then the Lord will keep the promise he made to me. He told me, ‘If your descendants live as they should and follow me faithfully with all their heart and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.’

Do you remember Solomon's Prayer of Dedication of the temple before Yahweh?

1 Kings 8:22-28 Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire community of Israel. He lifted his hands toward heaven, 23 and he prayed, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven above or on the earth below. You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion. 24 You have kept your promise to your servant David, my father. You made that promise with your own mouth, and with your own hands you have fulfilled it today. 25 “And now, O Lord, God of Israel, carry out the additional promise you made to your servant David, my father. For you said to him, ‘If your descendants guard their behavior and faithfully follow me as you have done, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.’ 26 Now, O God of Israel, fulfill this promise to your servant David, my father. 27 “But will God really live on earth? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built! 28 Nevertheless, listen to my prayer and my plea, O Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is making to you today.

From the time that David was recognized as King to King Ahab was about 125 years.  It only took 125 years for this chosen people of God, who had experienced so many astonishing miracles to adopt a new god, a new god that was no god at all.  Oh how the mighty have fallen!  God will not be mocked, a man will reap what he sows.  A nation will reap what it sows!

“How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent. 

Is there anything in your life or my life that receives more attention than God?  If you think about anything more than you think about God it is most likely an idol in your heart! 

Strange coincidence or bizarre phenomena that Psalm 135 teaches the effect of idolatry in a human heart...neither...God Almighty!

Psalm 135

The Lord Is Great

Hallelujah! Praise the name of the Lord. Give praise, you servants of the Lord 2     who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. 3     Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praise to His name, for it is delightful. 4     For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel as His treasured possession. 5     For I know that the Lord is great; our Lord is greater than all gods. 6     The Lord does whatever He pleases in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all the depths. 7     He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and brings the wind from His storehouses.      8     He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, both people and animals. 9     He sent signs and wonders against you, Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his officials.      10     He struck down many nations and slaughtered mighty kings: 11     Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan. 12     He gave their land as an inheritance, an inheritance to His people Israel. 13     Lord, Your name ⌊endures⌋ forever, Your reputation, Lord, through all generations.      14     For the Lord will judge His people and have compassion on His servants. 15     The idols of the nations are of silver and gold, made by human hands.      16     They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. 17     They have ears, but cannot hear; indeed, there is no breath in their mouths. 18     Those who make them are just like them, as are all who trust in them. 19     House of Israel, praise the Lord! House of Aaron, praise the Lord! 20     House of Levi, praise the Lord! You who revere the Lord, praise the Lord! 21     May the Lord be praised from Zion; He dwells in Jerusalem. Hallelujah!

Father in heaven,

Since we become like what we worship, enable us by YOUR indwelling Spirit to Worship YOU in Spirit and in Truth...please Lord accomplish this for YOUR glory and our joy in YOU.

love,

m

What happened to Cornelius has HUGE implications for you and me!  Why do you say that Mark?  Up to this time the converts to Christianity were mainly Jewish.  Around chapter 6 of Acts we see this begin to change...this is incredible news for you and me.  I don't know about you, but to my knowledge I do not have any Jewish blood flowing through my veins.  If the gospel does not go to the Gentiles I spend eternity in hell!  In tomorrows reading in Acts we see the Jewish believers in Jerusalem upset with Peter, saying to him, "You visited with uncircumcised men and at with them!" Acts 11:2  After Peter explains to them the events that led to his meeting God's Word tells us that they became silent.  As you read 11:18 you can hear the shock and surprise in the knowledge that God is going to save "even the Gentiles!"

Acts 11:18 When they heard this they became silent. Then they glorified God, saying, “So God has granted repentance resulting in life  to even the Gentiles!”

Remember In Acts 6:7 a large number of priests became obedient to the faith, and in chapter 8, the treasurer of a distant nation, cabinet member to a queen, trusted Christ. In chapter 9 we witness God choosing a persecuting rabbi and transforming him into the apostle to the Gentiles.  Here in Acts 10 Luke introduces us to a military leader, an officer who had worked his way up through the ranks to the status of centurion.

What do we know about Cornelius?  Acts 10:2 tells us that "He was a devout man and feared God along with his whole household. He did many charitable deeds for the ⌊Jewish⌋ people and always prayed to God.  Cornelius was devoted to God, he had a proper reverence, fear and respect of God from the knowledge that he did have of God.  Also, he was a generous man and he prayed all the time. 

What was Cornelius doing when God sent a messenger to him?  In Acts 10:30 Cornelius explaining to Peter why he sent for him tells him that he was praying when God's messenger appeared to him.  It is worth pointing out that several times through out God's Word that it is during prayer times that God sends messengers, gives new direction...in short God speaks during our prayer times.  Take a look at the following passages...Luke 3:21–22; 6:12–16; 9:18–22, 28–31; 22:39–46; Acts 1:14; 13:1–3.

It is important to notice that this was Cornelius practice...he had been praying in this manner for some time.  God did not show up in the first few minutes of his prayer life.  In the same way we must press in, we must be persistent and pursue HIM, go hard after HIM.  God's Word is clear in Hebrews 11:6 we learn that "without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."

My prayer is that at my funeral those that survive me will be able to say about me that "he was a devout man and feared God."

If we have a constant diet of God's precious and delicious Word and much time in prayer, much time in intimate conversations and sweet fellowship with the God of the universe, our creator, sustainer, maker...pursuing HIM, we will walk, live, breathe and delight in the Joy of the Lord.  We will experience much sweet fellowship with our Savior, our King and Master...the lover of our souls.

To God be the glory...great things HE has done!

love,

m

Yesterday we ended with noting that after everything that had happened Jeroboam did not repent, he did not turn and seek to walk in obedience after all that he had witnessed.

1 Kings 13:33-34  After all this  Jeroboam did not repent  of his evil way but again set up priests from every class of people for the high places.  Whoever so desired it, he ordained, and they became priests of the high places.  34 For the house of Jeroboam, this was the sin that caused it to be wiped out and annihilated from the face of the earth.

Jeroboam secretly sends his wife to Ahijah, the prophet, to find out what will happen to his sick son.  If you believe that God is gentle and kind to sinners and idolaters see HIS right judgement on Jeroboam in 1 Kings 14:9-11.  If you think about the gospels...who is it that Jesus always has a tender and kind message for?  It certainly was not the religious leaders and if you think about it he does not have a kind word for sinners...HIS kind and tender words are for repentant sinners. 

What is God's judgement on Jeroboam?

You behaved more wickedly than all who were before you.  In order to provoke Me, you have proceeded to make for yourself other gods and cast images,  but you have flung Me behind your back.  10 Because of all this, I am about to bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam:

          I will eliminate all of Jeroboam’s males,

          both slave and free,  in Israel;

          I will sweep away the house of Jeroboam

          as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone!

          11 Anyone who belongs to Jeroboam and dies in the city,

          the dogs will eat,

          and anyone who dies in the field,

          the birds of the sky will eat,

          for the Lord has said it!’

1 Kings 14:14  The Lord will raise up for Himself a king over Israel, who will eliminate the house of Jeroboam.  This is the day, yes,  even today!

If you think about why Jeroboam did what he did, he did it out of fear that the people would return to Judah and leave him.  He acted out of fear!  Remember King Saul?  Saul acted out of jealously and fear.  It is interesting that none of these men had orchestrated their rise to power, God put them there according to HIS own purpose and plan.  Yet most of them tried in vain to hold on to what they had been given by illegitimate means.  THE END NEVER JUSTIFIES THE MEANS, IF PART OF THE MEANS IS DISOBEDIENCE TO GOD!

Consider Asa's heart with me.

1 Kings 15:11-14  Asa did what was right in the Lord’s eyes, as his ancestor David had done.  12 He banished the male shrine prostitutes  from the land and removed all of the idols that his fathers had made.  13 He also  removed his grandmother  Maacah from being queen mother because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. Asa chopped down her obscene image and burned it  in the Kidron Valley.  14 The high places were not taken away;  but Asa’s heart was completely with the Lord his entire life. 

Oh Father in heaven that YOU would enable us by the filling of YOUR Holy Spirit to have a heart that is completely with YOU the remaining days of our lives.  That we would go hard after you, pursue YOU with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.

Please accomplish this for YOUR glory and our JOY in YOU!

love,

m

A man of God  came from Judah to Bethel by a revelation from the Lord while Jeroboam was standing beside the altar to burn incense.  2 The man of God cried out against the altar by a revelation from the Lord: “Altar, altar, this is what the Lord says, ‘A son will be born to the house of David, named Josiah, and he will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who are burning incense on you. Human bones will be burned on you. ’ ” 1 Kings 13:1-2

An anonymous man of God appears on the scene with a Word from the Lord a Word condemning the alter Jeroboams' idolatry.  Jeroboam commands that the prophet be arrested and God causes his outstretched arm to wither.  Jeroboam cries out for the man of God to pray for him, he does and his arm is restored immediately.  Jeroboam offers food and a reward and the man of God sternly rejects the offer out of OBEDIENCE to the Word of God he had received.

Now the story takes an unexpected turn and gives us what I believe is yet another stern warning for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear!

What are we to make of this strange and shocking story? We see a prophet [the old prophet] delivering a word which was a lie, and another prophet believing it in spite of the instructions God had previously given him. On one level, the story clearly illustrates the difficulty which is sometimes involved in discerning the true word of God. On another level, it underscores the importance of unswerving obedience. In this connection the man of God continued to be a sign to Jeroboam and to Israel; for his tragic end was a warning that disobedience could lead to death—the death of the whole nation. On a third level, the story shows that prophecy is irrevocable; the word of God has creative power, shaping events and moving them towards its fulfillment. This is the lesson learned by the prophet of Bethel (32).

The lesson was, however, not learned by Jeroboam. Events had shown beyond doubt that the altar at Bethel existed in defiance of God’s will, but Jeroboam persisted in his sin (33), a sin which would eventually lead to Israel’s total destruction (34).  Carson, D. A. (1994). New Bible commentary : 21st century edition. Rev. ed. of: The new Bible commentary. 3rd ed. / edited by D. Guthrie, J.A. Motyer. 1970. (4th ed.) (1 Ki 13:11). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press.

In 1 Kings 12:24 we witness Rehoboam obey the Word of the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord says: You are not to march up and fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Each of you must return home, for I have done this. ’ ” So they listened to what the Lord said and went back as He had told them.  Rehoboam did many things wrong, but in this instance he obeyed!

In contrast, we witness Jeroboam who experienced a withered and restored hand, his illegitimate alter split and the ashes spill out as the man of God predicted and then he saw the obedience and disobedience and its results on one of God's own prophets, what was his response to these events?  1 Kings 13:33-34 gives us the answer, "After all this  Jeroboam did not repent  of his evil way but again set up priests from every class of people for the high places.  Whoever so desired it, he ordained, and they became priests of the high places.  34 For the house of Jeroboam, this was the sin that caused it to be wiped out and annihilated from the face of the earth."

1 John 5:21  Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

1 Co 10:7 Don’t become idolaters  as some of them were; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to play.   

1 Co 10:14  Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.

1 Thess 1:9 For they themselves report about us what kind of reception  we had from you: how you turned  to God from idols  to serve the living  and true  God,

Acts 9:31  So the church  throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace, being built up and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, and it increased in numbers.

There it is!  There is the balance, there is the tension I was looking for, the Church in Acts had it, they had it...what were they doing?  Walking in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.  The were walking, living in the fear, reverence, respect and awe of the Lord and the ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!

Rom 8:15  For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

Gal 4:6  And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”

So in reverence, fear, respect and awe of the sovereign creator of the universe we ask for HIS help to flee idolatry and to worship the one true God AND THEN IN CHRIST BEING HIS HEIRS AND JOINT HEIRS WITH CHRIST WE REJOICE IN KNOWING THAT WE ARE ADOPTED CHILDREN OF THE MOST HIGH GOD AND WE KNOW HIM AS FATHER, ABBA, PAPP, DADDY...and we run to HIM with adoring childlike hearts.

As we run to HIM and pursue HIM in this humble state we become like HIM, we are conformed to HIS image and we too will continue to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was on us (Luke 2:40).

Pursuing HIM together!

love,

m

Contrast, tension, prosperity vs. desperation in the life of a saint.  To my Catholic friends, I'm sorry, but you are either a saint or an ain't.  Every child of God is a saint, everyone who believes on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is a saint.  If you have the Holy Spirit, the life of God dwelling within your soul you are a saint.  In a true saint you will begin to see fruit!  What kind of fruit the fruit of the Spirit...see Gal. 5:22.

OK, back to the contrast.    In 1 Kings we Solomon, a man who literally has everything, everything!  If you read Ecclesiastes, and you will, you will find that Solomon tried everything to fulfill himself, he tried everything to be satisfied, and nothing worked except a right relationship with God.  Solomon's closing words in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 make it clear...The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: (remember our discussion from yesterday on fear) fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. 14 For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

Not only did the King have it all we learn in 1 Kings 10:24 that,  All the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. 

In a precious few verses we go from a king who has everything, a king that the entire world is seeking an audience with to nothing, to devastation.  The very thing that Solomon warned against...HE DID!  THIS SHOULD BE A HUGE WARNING FOR US, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE IN THE MINISTRY...BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID...A GOOD DOSE OF THE FEAR OF GOD IS A GOOD AND HEALTHY THING!

1 Kings 11:4-13 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 5  For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites.   6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as David his father had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon. 8 Thus also he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. 9 Now the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not observe what the Lord had commanded. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant. 12 “Nevertheless I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 “However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”

This is amazing...centuries of building a nation, beginning with Abraham, reaching its pinnacle under Solomon and then immediately begins to fall apart. 

So what is the contrast I mentioned?  Saul, eventually Paul, could have had everything, he was a rising star among the religious leaders of his day...but then he met someone!  He met Jesus!  It is interesting to me that Paul was not pursuing Jesus, he was persecuting HIM.  He was not seeking God, he was seeking to destroy Jesus disciples.  Paul's heart was as hard as a rock and kaboom...God reached down and removed the heart of stone and gave him a heart of flesh...and WOW...talk about a transformed life!

Acts 9:15-16 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.”

Jesus kept HIS word, Paul understood that the Christian life would be a hard life with suffering...He puts it this way in 2 Tim 3:12...Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

2 Co 4:8-18

8 We are pressured in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; 9 we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. 10 We always carry the death of Jesus  in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who live are always given over to death  because of Jesus, so that Jesus’ life may also be revealed in our mortal flesh. 12 So death works in us, but life in you. 13 And since we have the same spirit of faith in accordance with what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke,   we also believe, and therefore speak, 14 knowing that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus,  and present us with you. 15 For all this is because of you, so that grace, extended through more and more people, may cause thanksgiving  to overflow to God’s glory.

16 Therefore we do not give up;  even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person  is being renewed day by day. 17 For our momentary light affliction   is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory.  18 So we do not focus on what is seen,  but on what is unseen; for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Paul, after seeing Jesus walked away from everything this world has to offer to pursue the true treasure, Jesus Christ, longing to bring as many with him as possible...oh that this would be the cry of our hearts...to take up our cross and follow HIM, seeking HIM, seeing HIM...that people would be able to tell that we had spent time with Jesus and they would seek to follow us as we follow Christ...for HIS GLORY AND OUR JOY IN HIM.

love,

m

I just briefly looked at my post from yesterday and the thought that came to me was how difficult it is to hold this incredible relationship with God through Jesus Christ in balance.  How can you FEAR, YES FEAR someone and be intimate with them at the same time?  It is important to know that the fear is a proper reverence and awe of our creator a proper respect for who HE is and all HE has done for us.  ON the other hand, HE is the one that called us to become children of the Most High God.  Jesus HIMSELF teaches us to pray "our Father."  This same God teaches us through HIS servant Paul that, (Rom 8:15) you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” and (Gal 4:6) Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”  Do you remember what we read in Proverbs 1:7?  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Mark, if I am supposed to KNOW FEAR then what do I make of 1 John 4:18, where John under the inspiration says, There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.

The best way that I know to understand scripture is scripture!  What does it mean to "fear the Lord?"  HERE IS THE TRICKY PART...IT WILL MEAN SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO SOMEONE WHO GREW UP IN A HEALTHY CHRISTIAN HOME WHERE THE LOVE OF GOD WAS shared by Mom and Dad with the children...where the children grew up in an environment of love, grace, peace, joy, forgiveness, acceptance...UNCONDITIONAL LOVE!  YOU ARE LOVED NO MATTER WHAT!  Children that grow up in a home like this will have a healthy fear of Mom and Dad, or respect for them.  Children that grow up in anything less will have a distorted view of God and what it means to fear God.  It grieves the soul to know that some children grow up...not just in a neutral environment, that would be bad enough...too many grow up in the opposite environment.  They have only experienced abuse and horrific conditions...when they think of "Father" they feel and sense fear alright, but it is anything but healthy.

My prayer is that our heavenly Father will begin to change that for those that struggle running to our heavenly Father...knowing that HE delights over us and sings over us with a loud voice...and when we run to HIM HE accepts us and loves us and the father accepted and loved the prodigal son.  Our heavenly Father is watching and waiting for us to return to HIM and when we begin to move toward HIM HE runs to us and embraces us and accepts us right where we are.

Read the following verses and see if you begin to detect the flavor, the scent, the smell of what it means to fear the Lord.

Genesis 20:11 Abraham said, "Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.
Samuel 23:3 "The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me, 'He who rules over men righteously, Who rules in the fear of God,
Job 28:28 "And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.'"
Psalm 19:9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.
Psalm 34:11 Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Psalm 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever.
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 2:5 Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God.
Proverbs 8:13 "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.
Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 10:27 The fear of the LORD prolongs life, But the years of the wicked will be shortened.
Proverbs 14:27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, That one may avoid the snares of death.
Proverbs 15:33 The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility.
Proverbs 19:23 The fear of the LORD leads to life, So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil.
Proverbs 22:4 The reward of humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches, honor and life.
Proverbs 31:30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
Isaiah 33:6 And He will be the stability of your times, A wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; The fear of the LORD is his treasure.

As you read those passages do you get the sense that the "fear of the Lord" is intended to protect?  To protect from evil!

How do you think a mother and a father feel about drugs as they sit holding their screaming son or daughter who is trying to detoxify from an addiction?  Do you think that they hate drugs?  If you walk in to pick up your 9 month old baby from a nap and you see a black widow spider on your babies arm do you hate the spider?  Yes and you KILL the spider:)  You don't take it outside and put it in a safe place...NO, YOU SMASH THE SPIDER:)

Remember the name of the tree that Adam and Eve ate from?  The tree of the knowledge of good and evil...we were not created to know evil...we were created to know God and to be in relationship with HIM.  We were not created with the equipment to handle evil, we have ZERO capacity for it.

WE WERE CREATED TO KNOW HIM, TO LOVE HIM, TO PURSUE HIM, TO WALK IN OBEDIENCE TO HIM.  Solomon had everything and failed as we will see tomorrow.  In our reading today in Acts we have a simple man named Philip.  We see in Acts 8:26-27 how Philip responds to instructions from the Lord.  An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) 27 So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship,

So he got up and went

So he got up and went

So he got up and went

Philip had a right view of God and all that God had done for the world and for him.  This enabled him to get up and go without hesitation!  He quickly obeyed without asking why?  He got up and went! 

Philip also KNEW his scriptures, and he knew them well!  How can you say that Mark, how do you know?  Acts 8:35 tells us that, "Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.  BECAUSE OF PHILIPS OBEDIENCE THE GOSPEL MESSAGE NOW HAD A NATIVE MISSIONARY IN Ethiopia...the Ethiopian Official!  How cool!

Oh Father, by the filling of your Holy Spirit enable us to know YOU as YOU are...not as we want YOU to be!  Through YOUR precious Word enable us to know, love, worship, adore, and fear YOU in a manner that is appropriate for who YOU are!  The sovereign King of the Universe and our Abba, our Father!

We love YOU,

m

In 1 Kings 8 Solomon and Israel dedicate the temple to God, the scriptures tell us that the number of animal sacrifices could not be numbered for they were too numerous.  It all began with God speaking to Abraham centuries before, the promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to make them into a great nation were fulfilled under the wise leadership of Solomon.

When the temple is complete, Solomon calls all Israel together (8:1–2). As the ark of the covenant is placed in the temple’s inner room, a cloud symbolizing God’s presence fills the temple (vv. 3–13). Solomon blesses the people in God’s name (v. 14) and, after giving a word of personal testimony (vv. 15–21), offers one of the Old Testament’s most notable prayers (vv. 22–53). He acknowledges that God is too great to be contained in any structure (8:22–28). Yet Solomon asks God to be aware of prayers directed to Him at the temple whether the worshiper comes for help or for forgiveness (vv. 29–53). Solomon again blesses the people, and reminds them that their hearts must be “fully committed to the Lord our God” (vv. 54–61). The temple is then dedicated (vv. 62–66).  Richards, L. O. (1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.) (226). Wheaton: Victor Books.

Solomon prays an incredible dedication prayer and follows with a blessing for the people.  Solomon proclaims in 1 Kings 8:56-61, “Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised; not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He promised through Moses His servant. 57  “May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; may He not leave us or forsake us, 58 that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances, which He commanded our fathers. 59 “And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day requires, 60 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no one else. 61 “Let your heart therefore be wholly devoted to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day.”

This is awesome RIGHT?  RIGHT!  In chapter 9, specifically verses 6-9 we see God respond to Solomon with a very stern warning to worship and serve HIM alone.  God speaks very clearly here and since HE has endowed Solomon with great wisdom we can be confident that Solomon understood.

I am jumping ahead to chapter 11, but you have to see the contrast.  The wisest man on earth goes from the mountain top to the bottom of the garbage heap in a few short chapters.  THAT IS WHAT MAKES THIS NEXT PART SO FRIGHTENING!  BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID...YOU BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND WHY THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS A HEALTHY THING! 

1 Kings 11:1-13

Solomon Turns from God

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, “You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods.” Solomon held fast to these in love.  3  He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away.  4 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites.  6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as David his father had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon. 8     Thus also he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.  9 Now the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not observe what the Lord had commanded. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant. 12 “Nevertheless I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son.  13 “However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”

What happened? What happened from the dedication of the temple to Solomon turning from God?  I hope we can unpack this over the next few days.

We cannot take the pursuit of God lightly, we must go hard after HIM, pursue HIM and when you think that you reach the mountain top in this life you had better be afraid, be very afraid...filled with a holy fear.

Revelation 2:5  ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.

love,

m

Acts 7 opens with Stephen being questioned by the high priest.  When asked if the charge of blasphemy against him was true, Stephen answered with a brief lesson in Israelite history. His point is simple...Israel had repeatedly resisted the people God sent to save them (7:2–50), in their rejection of Christ they were simply fulfilling the sins of their fathers (7:51–53).

In verse 60 we see Stephen being stoned by an enraged religious crowd and his response is to say “Lord, forgive them.”  I don't know if you have ever been hit by a rock, it is not a pleasant experience!  Stephen is being stoned to death and his response is "Lord, forgive them." How could he do this?  How could he maintain his composure when those around him are gnashing their teeth, screaming at the top of their lungs and throwing rocks at him?  How could he do it?  His eyes were on Jesus...not his horrific circumstances.  As he was being stoned, Stephen saw Jesus standing at God’s right hand and asked him to forgive his executioners. Saul, who would later, as Paul, become the leading missionary of the early church, assisted in Stephen’s stoning (7:58; see 8:1).

Stephen was the first of three people to see Jesus after his ascension (7:55; see 9:3–6; Rev. 1:10; 12–16). It is interesting that Stephen saw Jesus standing at God’s right hand. This is the only reference to the Savior standing (Post Ascension) until the book of Revelation. In all other descriptions he is said to be seated (see 2:34; Matt. 26:64; Eph. 1:20; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3; 13; 8:1; 10:12). Could it be that our Lord rises to welcome his saints home, possibly those who die for HIS name.

So back to the question, how did Stephen respond in the manner that he did facing certain death?  We have our answer in Acts 7:55, But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God;

Stephen had a reputation as being a man "full of faith and the Holy Spirit."  That is why he was chosen to be one of the seven servants.  It was the Holy Spirit dwelling within him that enabled him to faithfully walk as the Lord directed him.  Not only was he a man "full of faith and the Holy Spirit," but he was a man that knew his scriptures and his history.  I have a strong sense that Stephen knew what would happen after he recounted the Israelite history and then said, “You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you! 52 Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. 53 You deliberately disobeyed God’s law, even though you received it from the hands of angels" (Acts 7:51-53).

He was Spirit filled and he kept his eyes on Jesus!

PSALM 128 Blessedness of the Fear of the Lord.

How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, Who walks in His ways.  2 When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, You will be happy and it will be well with you. 3  Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine Within your house, Your children like olive plants Around your table.  4 Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed Who fears the Lord.  5 The Lord bless you from Zion, And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. 6 Indeed, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!

My prayer is that at my funeral that Diane, Zach, Kyle and Alexis will be able to say, my husband, my Dad, was a man full of the Spirit and of faith, he loved God's Word and he always sought to keep his eyes on Jesus...no matter what!  He could have done many things, but by God's grace he longed to go hard after God.  We know that he passionately loved Jesus and that he loved us.

love,

m

Monday, June 9

PSALM 127 A Song of Ascents, of Solomon.

Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain. 2 It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep. 3 Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth. 5 How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

I was having lunch with a friend a few months ago, he is a successful business man and is effective in ministry in and out of the life of our church.  Meaning that he ministers effectively in Bellevue, but his ministry is not limited to Bellevue.  As we talked at one point tears welled up in his eyes and he said, "I want my life to count for something, I want to make an impact for the Lord."  The negative way of saying this would be to say I don't want to waste my life! or I do not want to live my life in vain!

Several years ago a man ran up to me as I was walking through our church, it was a week day, and he said, Mark is there something in your life that you are passionate about?  Before I could answer he said, I have been asking many of my friends and those I respect if they are passionate about anything.  He said, I realized that I am 55 and I am not passionate about anything!  I don't want to live a passionless life!"  We spoke for a few minutes and he ran off in search of his passion.  He did not want to live his life in vain!  If you don't know what I am passionate about you have not been paying attention:)

King Solomon, the author of Psalm 127 and the author of Ecclesiastes teaches us that, "Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain. 2 It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors."  King Solomon at the end of it all, after trying everything, understood that without God it is all vanity of vanities...it is meaningless.  He opens and closes Ecclesiastes with the same sentence.

Ecclesiastes  1:2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”

Ecclesiastes 12:8 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “all is vanity!”

The wisest man on earth, excluding of course the Lord Jesus, gives us wise counsel with his closing words.  He understood that there is ONLY ONE WAY TO AVOID LIVING A VAIN AND MEANINGLESS LIFE!

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. 14 For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

127 covers three areas of human activity and potential anxiety—the house, the city (1) and the family (3–5)—and affirms that without the Lord we can do nothing. Vs 1–2 seem to suggest ‘Leave it all to God; let go and let God’, and enjoy a restful life. But in the Bible, the opposite of rest is not work but restlessness, and 3–5 add a corrective. The Lord has ordained the human activities of begetting, conceiving and bearing. Yet, the Bible insists, it is not human but divine agency that ‘opens the womb’ or, indeed, ‘closes’ it (Gn. 29:31; 30:2). Children are not our achievement but his gift (3). So is a completed house and a guarded city (1–2). All life must be lived to the full, all its joys enjoyed and its duties performed in unworried reliance on him who is the doer of all.(2d) Carson, D. A. (1994). New Bible commentary : 21st century edition. Rev. ed. of: The new Bible commentary. 3rd ed. / edited by D. Guthrie, J.A. Motyer. 1970. (4th ed.) (Ps 127:1). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press.

This is worth saying again, "All life must be lived to the full, all its joys enjoyed and its duties performed in unworried reliance on him who is the doer of all."

What is your treasure, where is your treasure?  Who is your treasure?  Remember what Jesus said in Matt 6:21, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  Remember, anything that you love, serve, fear, desire more than Jesus is an idol in your life and you and I are guilty of idolatry and must repent.  REPENT, call it what it is, it is evil, it is vanity of vanities to desire anything more than Jesus!

A little later in Matthew Jesus teaches us not to worry...easy to say right, but HE teaches us how to do it!  It is so easy a cave man can do it! ALL TEASING ASIDE, IT IS EASY FOR YOU AND ME, BUT IT CAME AT AN inconceivable price!  THE PRICE WAS THE BLOOD SACRAFICE OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST.  JESUS PAID IT ALL, ALL TO HIM I OWE!  On our side we pursue HIM!  HE IS MY PASSION IF YOU MUST KNOW...KNOWING HIM, DELIGHTING IN HIM, ENJOYING HIM.  HOW DO I DO THIS?  SIMPLY BY...Matt 6:33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Father in heaven,

Please protect me from living my life in vain...enable me to live a life that is pleasing to YOU, a life that brings YOU glory and fills me with YOUR JOY...the joy of my Master.

love,

m

Sunday, June 8

1 Kings 4:34  Men came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

1 Kings 10:23  So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.

2 Chron 9:22  So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

In the last verse in 1 Kings 4 we learn that people are coming from everywhere, literally from the ends of the earth, to hear the wisdom of Solomon.  Do you remember Jesus words in Luke 11?  “The Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here (Luke 11:31).

What is the something greater?  Or should we say who is greater than Solomon?  Clearly Jesus is speaking of Himself!  It is amazing that people, dignitaries, the Queen of Sheba came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon.  In reality they were hearing the wisdom that God had imparted to Solomon AND IN JESUS CHRIST WE HAVE THE UNDILUTED WISDOM OF GOD!

What do we learn in John 1?  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  In Revelation John puts it another way, "He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God (Rev. 19:13).

In our reading in Acts 6 today a problem has come up concerning the care of widows.  This issue presses the Apostles to delegate some of their responsibilities so that they can focus on the ministry they were called to.  They prayed and recruited 7 faithful, spirit filled men to serve the widows so that they could continue to spread the gospel.  Acts 6:4 tells us what they will devote themselves to...“But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

What was the fruit of this decision?  The good news of Jesus continued to spread and countless people got saved, even many among those who were enemies of the faith!

Ac 6:7  The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.

Ac 12:24 But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.

Ac 19:20 So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.

I must confess that in my early 30's, after the Lord Jesus got my attention and began to radically work and move in our lives my first impulse was to try to do everything.  If you continue on that path very long you will eventually burn out, move to a new church and then try and hide because you think that the life of Christian service is too overwhelming and too much.

The problem is that we start doing things without praying about them and we end up doing a lot of good things, but we often miss the very best because we are too busy.  I am still learning to say no to good opportunities to serve.

HOW DO YOU KNOW?  THERE IS A KEY!  A secret mystery to knowing what God would have you to do and not to do!  Are you ready?  Do you think that you can take it?  It might be too much for you to process!

Many of you will not like the answer!  It is very simple and yet hard.  IF SOMETHING GREATER THAN SOLOMON IS HERE, GREATER WISDOM, AND IF WE HAVE SOMETHING EVEN BETTER...WE HAVE THE FULL COUNSEL OF GOD'S WORD FROM BEGINNING TO END.  The answer is simply to devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”  

Devote yourself to pressing hard after Jesus, go hard after God through prayer and HIS precious Word.  How is this the key?  If you know HIM intimately, if you know HIM you will trust HIM.  What does God's Word teach us in Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

If you want the God of the universe to direct your steps then press in to trust HIM, to trust HIM you must press in to know HIM and to know HIM you MUST devote yourself to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”   What does God teach us through HIS servant Paul in Romans 10:17?  So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.

Let's press in together to know HIM, to love HIM...to love God, love people, share Jesus and make disciples...for HIS glory and for our Joy in HIM.

love,

m

(Sat June 7th) Lying to the Holy Spirit?  Really, really bad idea!  Before we jump on Ananias and Sapphira too hard, we must be careful, we could be calling judgement down on ourselves.  You might be thinking, "WELL, I NEVER!"  My response to you is simple, WELL YOU SHOULD SOME TIME!  SHOULD WHAT?  Remember what Jeremiah 17:9 teaches us about the condition of our heart,  “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?  Some may say that Jeremiah is talking about a pre-salvation heart...I don't think so!  I know that by God's amazing grace I am a new creature in Christ, (2 Cor. 5:17)  and I know that "when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55  “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? (1 Cor. 15:54-55).” 

I also know my own heart well enough to know that if God removed HIS grace from me...it fills me with horror to consider the depths that MY own heart would carry me apart from God's saving and keeping grace!  Following Paul's schizophrenic episode in Romans 7 he says this in Romans 7:21-25  I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!"  So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.  The 1/2 brother of our Lord puts it this way in James 1:15, when he says, "Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death."

How then should we live and love in the life of the Church and in life period?  Paul gives us our purpose clearly in 1 Thessalonians 2:4  For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.

The following commentary is a little lengthy, but worth the effort.

Acts 5:1–6

What Luke has described so far shows that the people who were gathered together in the name of Christ were more like angels than men. It was an incredible virtue that rich people should voluntarily give not only their money but also their property, so that the poor might be relieved. Now Luke shows that Satan entered this holy group under the guise of commendable behavior. Satan attacks the church in this way when he cannot win by open warfare. We must pay special attention to the work of the Holy Spirit in this incident. Through this event the Holy Spirit shows, first, how singleness of heart is acceptable to God and hypocrisy is loathsome in his sight, and, second, how he greatly approves of holy and pure government in his church. This is the principal point about God’s punishment of Ananias and his wife. Great fear seized the whole church (verse 11) as a result. This shows us that God cannot stand unfaithfulness, and pretending to be holy is contemptible mockery.

In summary, Luke finds no other fault in Ananias than this: he meant to deceive God and the church with his deceitful offering. Other evils lie buried as well. There was contempt for God—whom he did not fear even though he was aware of his own wickedness, perverse ambition because he boasted in front of people, and a lack of faith because he would never have done this if he had trusted God; also, the hypocrisy itself was a great offense.

Ananias did well even though he only gave away half his land. It is no small virtue for a rich man to bestow half his goods to the poor. But “the Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked” (Proverbs 15:8). Nothing can please God that does not spring from wholeheartedness. That is why Christ praised the widow’s offering of two tiny coins more than the great offerings of the wealthy (see Luke 21:2–3). This is why God shows the punishment of Ananias to be such an example for us. We will now look at the incident itself.

2. [Ananias] put it at the apostles’ feet. Look what ambition does! Ananias cannot stand not to be thought of as one of the best. Although he is greedy over money, he is prepared to spend some of his wealth in order to purchase a name for himself. He does not care that he is lying and deceiving in God’s sight and that God will punish him for this lie. He is more concerned over the apostles’ praise than God’s. We must take care not to seek to be praised by others when we do well. That is why Christ says, “When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret” (Matthew 6:3–4).

3. Then Peter said. How did Peter know about Ananias’ fraud? Undoubtedly, the Spirit revealed it to him. Luke depicts the apostles representing God here. If God’s Spirit, through a human being, accuses a hypocrite, how can the depraved withstand the voice of God himself, along with the sounding trumpet, as they appear before his judgment-seat? Peter points to the atrocity of the crime in his question: “How is it that Satan has so filled your heart … ?” No one is immune from Satan’s attack; his temptations assault everyone’s mind.

4. “Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold?” This makes the offense even worse, because there was no need for Ananias to sin like this. While it is no excuse to be provoked into sin, it is worse to deliberately and voluntarily walk into sin with, as it were, the intention of pulling down God’s vengeance. From this we deduce that nobody was under pressure to sell their goods or lands. Peter said that Ananias was quite at liberty to keep his land and his money. Ananias could have kept the money from the sale of the land. He would have still been a faithful person if he had kept what belonged to him. So people who say that it is wrong for the faithful to own anything are out of their minds.

“You have not lied to men but to God.” Ananias had deceived the church. But Ananias should have remembered that “where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20). Ananias should have behaved in the assembly as if he could see God with his eyes. Since God rules in the church, if we reverence God we must reverence the rule that he exercises through his Word. The apostles were indeed men, but not just men, for they represented God. Note also that Peter said that anyone who lies to God lies to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s divinity is clear from these words. In a similar way Paul said, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16; see also 1 Corinthians 3:17; 6:19).

5. When Ananias heard this. Ananias’ death underlines Paul’s words: “To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life” (2 Corinthians 2:16). Paul is referring to the spiritual death of the soul, but Ananias’ punishment was a visible sign that could be observed. Ananias was not killed by a sword or any violence, but he was struck dead through hearing a voice. When we realize this, let the warnings of the Gospel make us stand in awe and humble us in time so that we do not go through a similar experience. “With the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked” (Isaiah 11:4) refers to Christ, but it does not just apply to the very wicked but to every person. Anyone who refuses the salvation that is offered in God’s Word receives death.

If you think it was absurd to punish Ananias in his body, I answer: first, this was an extraordinary event. Second, the discernment Peter used is one of the gifts of the Spirit: see 1 Corinthians 12:10. A parallel instance is Elymas the sorcerer’s being struck blind by Paul (see Acts 13:11). Peter was not acting beyond his authority when he struck the blow that the Holy Spirit had given him. Some people believe this punishment was too cruel. This is because they weigh Ananias on their own scales and not on God’s. They view this very serious crime as a trivial offense. Other people think this was an unbelievable event because every day hypocrites go unpunished. They mock God, just as Ananias did; they despise God and suffer no punishment for their wickedness. We know God’s presence with us through his Spirit from the visible graces he poured out on his church at the beginning. He showed through external signs what we experience internally by faith. Through the public punishment of two people God showed what terrible judgment awaits all hypocrites who despise him and the church.

Great fear seized all. God intended to bring fear on everyone through punishing one person, in order to encourage them to reverently refrain from all deceit. What Luke says about their fear applies to us as well. God wanted to give a general warning to successive generations at that time, so that everyone would learn to be upright with God. The punishment of this wicked person should have encouraged more liberality among the godly, to set apart their goods for the poor and for God. They could see how important giving money is in God’s sight, from the severe punishment given to those who desecrated this.  C, J. (1995). Acts. The Crossway classic commentaries (Ac 5:1). Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books.

Take some time now and ask God to examine your heart and to reveal areas where you have acted deceitfully.  Have you ever shared a story or some information with someone and left out part of the story or just slightly changed the story to present yourself in a more positive light?  That is lying!  I am going to do business with the one who came to seek and to save me. 

Create in me a clean heart Lord...to know you, to love you, to pursue you with a whit-hot passion.

love,

m

One of the most beautiful passages displaying the heart and soul of the gospel could well be ?1 Corinthians 15:1–4?. Paul said that in declaring the gospel, “?what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.?” The death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ make up the contents of the gospel.

All throughout the book of Acts the Apostles confirm that this is the heart of the gospel.  They talked about a living Christ who is the source of life and at a point in history was crucified, and who is now alive.  In ?Acts 2?, Peter said of Jesus, “?This man was handed over to you by God?’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death?” (verse ?23–24?).  In ?Acts 3?, Peter preached again: “?You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead?” (verse ?15?).  In today's reading in ?Acts 4?, Peter proclaimed “?the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead?” (verse ?10?).  In ?Acts 5?, Peter and the other apostles said, “?The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead-whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel?” (verses ?30–31?).  All the way through Acts we find this message of a living Christ who at one point in history died for our sins and was resurrected.

When Paul in ?Acts 16? had a vision of a man from Macedonia begging him to come and help, Paul knew that God had called them to go to Macedonia for one purpose: “?to preach the gospel to them?” (verse ?10?). For the apostles, the single, all-important thing in life was to live out and give out the gospel message.

“?Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘?The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent , and believe the gospel?’?”(?Mark 1:14–15?). He told them the gospel, because without the gospel people are eternally lost.

Our own faith is built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, with Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. Jesus Christ preached the gospel, and the apostles preached the gospel, and as we learn what God expects of us, we understand that God expects us, by the enabling of the Holy Spirit, to live out and give out the gospel, the good news.

Do you remember we talked about what this good news means.  The scriptures give us the content but the fruit of Jesus death, burial and resurrection is a restored relationship with God and restored relationships with our brothers and sisters in the Lord.  What is that called?  Spiritual Community!

The Spiritual Community of God’s people is to be the community of the broken: humble people who are pursuing intimacy with God and depend on Him for everything good; repentant people who love holiness more than sin; passionate people who understand that their deepest desire is for God. People who make a spiritual community have taken their place as those called out of darkness into HIS marvelous light, as those who were dead in their sins and trespasses called into life, and now long to spread the GOOD news that broken people can live.  We are called to live unto God, loving people, sharing Jesus, making disciples to the glory of God.

Acts 4:13  Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

Oh, that people would be able to tell that I spend time with Jesus by the fruit of my life...as I seek HIM, longing to live out and give out the gospel message.

Acts 4:19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge.

Acts 4:12  Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Acts 4:31  And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

 

Father in heaven,

Enable us by the filling of the Holy Spirit to live, love, serve in a manner that people may know that we have been with Jesus...may we in boldness, in love and in grace proclaim that Jesus is the only way to God...repent, believe and be saved from this crooked generation.

Please work this for YOUR glory and our joy in you.

love,

m

Does anyone remember the metanarrative that we borrowed from Ken Easley?  What is a metanarrative?  It is the BIG PICTURE, it is the big overarching story that connects all the smaller stories.  Without the metanarrative the Bible is just a bunch of individual stories that stand alone...with the metanarrative all of those same stories connect to tell the story that..."the Lord God through his Christ is graciously building a kingdom of redeemed people for their joy and for his own glory."  At its simplest, the word metanarrative means "Big Story." The metanarrative of the Bible is its story about God.

The Bible contains many stories, all woven together in a tapestry with the great theme of God's self-revelation to the world. This Story of God does not come to us in the neat packaging of systematic theology. Don't miss understand, I like systematic theology, but the bible comes to us in the stories of a chosen people who encountered a Holy God. So, if someone were to ask you, "What is the Bible all about?" you could answer, "the Bible is the story of God's self-revelation to the world through a chosen people.  How does the story end?  John tells us in Revelation 21:3-7, I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” 5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.

F. F. Bruce argues:

“… the Christian gospel . . .  tells how for the world’s redemption God entered into history, the eternal came into time, the kingdom of heaven invaded the realm of earth, in the great events of the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. ” F. F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? 5^th ed. (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity, 1960), 7-8.

What does this have to do with today's reading?  Why are you making a big deal about the big story?  Well, it has nothing to do with it and it has everything to do with it!  Oh thanks, that really helped!  The point is simply it is really easy to get lost in all the wonderful stories as we quickly move through God's precious Word.  I want to exhort you to keep the BIG STORY, THE BIG PICTURE in mind as we continue.

Remember Peter?  "You are one of His disciples too!"  "I AM NOT, I AM NOT, I AM NOT!"  Jesus asked Peter, "Peter do you love ME? Peter do you love ME? Peter, do you love ME?"  "Peter responds, "yes Lord, yes Lord, yes Lord, You know all things, You know that I love You."  God the Holy Spirit has transformed this man into a mighty preacher of the gospel.  You know I bet Peter was not a great orator, do you think he practiced his delivery of his message in front of a mirror?  I don't think so!  Here we have God working extraordinary works through an ordinary man...and who get the glory?  God does!  This is really good news for you and me.

Peter confronts the crowd with the fact that they crucified the Lord of glory, that they "killed the source of life, whom God raised from the dead."  I would add here that you and I are just as guilty before God.  What is the answer?  Peter tell us...faith.

Acts 3:13-16  The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. 16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

Jesus worked through ordinary Peter to make this man whole, to restore his health to point to the power of the source of life in Jesus Christ.  Isaiah foretold this in Isaiah 35:6 The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland.

The incredible thing is not the physical healing, but the spiritual healing.  Yes, praise God the man could walk, the deaf could hear, the lepers were healed, the blind did see...but they all still died and if they missed Jesus they only incurred more guilt on themselves to be sent to hell with!  Praise HIM for your health, BUT PURSUE HIM WITH YOUR HEART...GO HARD AFTER HIM...TASTE AND SEE, REALLY SEE, THAT THE LORD IS GOOD.

Acts 3:6  Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

It is reported that Thomas Aquinas was in conversation with Pope Innocent IV, and the Pope said to him, "no longer can it be said silver and gold I do not have."  Aquinas responded, "no longer can you say get up and walk."  The church had lost it's power to impact the culture for God.  Wealth is very dangerous to the soul...hold it very loosely.

Walking by faith, running after HIM together!

love,

m

You cannot help but love the book of Acts!  We find ourselves walking dusty, dirty city roads filled with clamoring chaos, people searching, groping in the dark, out of the darkness comes a clarion call of God, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”.  Acts 2:38-40 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is to you, and to your children, and even to the Gentiles—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” 40 Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”

The call is the same today, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”  How did Peter get their undivided attention?  God the Holy Spirit took care of that project:)

Acts 2:4-13 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. 5 At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. 6 When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. 7 They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, 8 and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! 9 Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” 12 They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other. 13 But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!”

It is frequently said that this passage is a reversal of the story of Babel, but it is even more remarkable than that. Judaism already constituted a reversal of Babel. The fact that God-fearing people from every corner of the earth were gathered together in one place to worship during the festival was already a reversal of that scattering and confusion. What was new, however, about the Christian reversal was that people did not need to come back to some centre, but rather the word would go out to every corner of the earth. Even more significant than the languages, of course, is the gift of the Holy Spirit. At its core, Pentecost, like the incarnation itself, is about God coming to us in our fallen condition more than it is about us finally getting to God. Babel and Eden are not ‘undone’ as much as they are redeemed and their negative effects nullified.  Carson, D. A. (1994). New Bible commentary : 21st century edition. Rev. ed. of: The new Bible commentary. 3rd ed. / edited by D. Guthrie, J.A. Motyer. 1970. (4th ed.) (Ac 2:1). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press.

We hear and yield to the exhortation to “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”  Once we are saved from this crooked generation where do I go?  Do I have to go it alone?  All my friends are in the crooked generation and they won't talk to me any more!  With Babel and Eden redeemed an amazing thing happens...community, real community...spiritual community.  What is a Spiritual Community?  I believe that we see it pictured for us here in Acts and Paul describes spiritual community under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  Paul exhorts us to be devoted to one another in brotherly love; to give preference to one another in honor; understanding that we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another (Rom. 12:5,10). The body is simply the Church, God’s people; each of us must belong to a spiritual community to understand our meaning, function and purpose as part of His body. As a part of His body, we learn to be good friends who love deeply giving preference to one another, accepting one another.  The author of Hebrews exhorts us to "consider how to stir up [provoke] one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together… encouraging one another… (Heb. 10:24-25)."

Acts 2:42-47

The Believers Form a Community

42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. 43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— 47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

 To the apostles’ teaching. Luke not only commends them for their strong faith and godliness, but also for their devotion to the spiritual exercises that strengthen their faith. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

What is meant by the apostles’ teaching and prayer is clear enough. People interpret the breaking of bread in different ways. Some think it means the Lord’s Supper, others think it means giving money away, and others think it means a grand meal. Some people think fellowship means celebrating the holy Supper, although I think that the breaking of bread means the Lord’s Supper, for fellowship by itself never refers to the Lord’s Supper. I think fellowship refers to the mutual support, giving of money, and other actions among the Christian fellowship. I think the breaking of bread means the Lord’s Supper here because Luke is listing the items in which the church engaged. He shows four characteristics by which the true church can be judged. Do we look for the true church of Christ? It is pictured here. It starts with teaching, which is the soul of the church. Luke does not mention every kind of teaching but just the teaching of the apostles, that which the Son of God had given to them. So wherever the pure voice of the Gospel rings out, where people continue to profess the Christian faith, where they listen and benefit from what they hear, there undoubtedly is the church.

To the fellowship. This is the fruit of the apostles’ teaching. Teaching binds Christian brethren in fellowship and opens the way to God so that we may pray. The Supper is added to the teaching because it strengthens us. In these four things Luke describes the well-ordered state of the church. We must keep to these things if God and the angels are to judge us as the true church and not just boast to be such before men. Clearly, Luke is referring to public prayer. So it is not enough for people just to pray at home by themselves, unless they also meet together to pray, which is in itself a profession of faith.  Calvin, J. (1995). Acts. The Crossway classic commentaries (Ac 2:42). Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books.

The Spiritual Community of God’s people is to be the community of the broken: humble people who are pursuing intimacy with God and depend on Him for everything good; repentant people who love holiness more than sin; passionate people who understand that their deepest desire is for God. People who make a spiritual community have taken their place as those called out of darkness into HIS marvelous light, as those who were dead in their sins and trespasses called into life, and now long to spread the news that broken people can live.  We are called to live unto God, loving people, sharing Jesus, making disciples to the glory of God.

Praise YOU in this Storm--Casting Crowns

I was sure by now, God You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.
Chorus:

This has been a favorite song of mine for a few years now, I believe that it was released in 2005.  My sister who recently lost her son, Matthew 27, tragically had found this song a few months before his death and wondered why the LORD would impress this song upon her heart.  She had printed the lyrics out a few months earlier, pondered their meaning, and them tucked them away.  When she arrived in Houston to help with the arrangements for Matthew's funeral she found the lyrics in a pair of jeans that she had forgotten about.  Then she knew why the LORD had given her this song...God knew that she would need this encouragement to make it through.

That is just like our heavenly Father to make provisions like that for HIS children.  HE does it over and over and over.  I could sit here for hours and record times when God had made provisions for me.  I am sure that if you stopped and thought about it you could too.  The lyrics of the chorus come directly from Psalm 121!  I love it when artist set scripture to music.

Psalm 121

The Lord Our Protector 

     1     I raise my eyes toward the mountains.  Where will my help come from?

     2     My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

     3     He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber.

     4     Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep.

     5     The Lord protects you; the Lord is a shelter right by your side. 

     6     The sun will not strike you by day, or the moon by night.

     7     The Lord will protect you from all harm; He will protect your life.

     8     The Lord will protect your coming and going both now and forever.

Habakkuk is saying, LORD You can take everything, You can desolate us, devastate us and demolish us AND 18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.   THE QUESTION I HAD TO ASK MYSELF IS AM I ABLE TO GIVE THE SAME TESTIMONY?  ARE YOU?

Habakkuk 3:17-19 Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail,  And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls— 18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19 The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet,  And He will make me walk on my high hills. 

IS THERE ANYTHING IN YOUR LIFE THAT IF GOD TOOK IT YOU WOULD CALL HIM INTO JUDGEMENT?  THAT YOU WOULD SEEK TO BECOME THE JUDGE AND PROSECUTING ATTORNEY?

Job appears to have a schizophrenic moment in Job 13:15, AND I WOULD TOO WITH EVERYTHING THAT HE WENT THROUGH...“Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him.

You see Job on one hand surrendering to the LORD...though He slay me, I will hope in HIM and then Job seeks to justify himself.  If you go to the end of the story Job gives up on defending himself and finds himself in awe of the ALMIGHTY!  Job 42:5-6 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. 6 Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.”

When God allows us a glimpse of HIS glory two things happen, at least two things happen...as one of HIS creatures, created in HIS image you cannot help but be awed, overwhelmed, blow away with the glory, HIS HOLINESS, HIS MAJESTY, and then in the light of HIS glory and grace I become painfully aware of my sinfulness...it is painful, but this provides an opportunity to repent and be healed and then I am free to Worship my King in spirit and in truth.  GLORY!

John 16:33
“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

2 Pet 2:20
For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

1 John 4:4
You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

1 John 5:4
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

1 John 5:5
Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Pursuing HIM together!

love,

m

Through the synoptic gospels, (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) we have been given the two greatest commandments and the great commission, these words of Jesus are powerful motivators that shape and form much of how we minister and server others. 

Matt 22:37, 39  And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  “The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

Mt 28:18-20  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

John paints a beautiful picture for us at the Sea of Tiberius, Jesus last words to Peter in the gospel of John.  I like to call this passage the great motivation!  Only a few chapters earlier we witness Peter deny Jesus three times.

John 18:17  The woman asked Peter, “You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you?” “No,” he said, “I am not.”

Jn 18:25-27  Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.” 26 But one of the household slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Didn’t I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?” 27 Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed.

For those of us who have lived lukewarm days, or longer, and who have out and out failed our Lord this encounter is very exciting and encouraging.  Jesus, reinstates and restores Peter to full and vibrant ministry following his horrific failure.  If you think through the history of those we have encountered so far in our reading of the One Year Bible I can only think of one person who has not failed in some horrible manner, that being Joseph.  Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, all had significant failures and character flaws.  Praise God each of them still was used of God!  This gives me great hope that HE can and will still use someone like me.

What do I mean by the great motivation?  Our great motivation in ministry has to be out of our love for Jesus! 

Jn 21:15-19 15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. 16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. 17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep. 18 “I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”

As we stand on the shore of the Sea of Tiberius with our LORD and the disciples we are blessed to witness a brother restored to service and ministry.  Three times Jesus asks Peter, "do you love me?"  What is Jesus telling Peter and the others and what is HE telling you and me?  If you love me you will be feeding my lambs, the babes in Christ, if you love ME you will take care of My sheep, if you love Me you will feed My sheep.

I don't know how else to say it...ministry is hard work, you will frequently be attacked from where you least expect it and it will be painful...IF YOU ARE IN MINISTRY FOR ANY OTHER REASON OTHER THAN THE LOVE OF JESUS YOU WILL NOT SURVIVE...PERIOD...YOU WILL NOT SURVIVE!

I love this quote from one of God's servants concerning ministry and especially service that is quite unpleasant!

[Our spiritual service simply] falls apart if there is no passion for God. Deep and abiding devotion to Jesus energizes service that is tiring or rigorous. Affection that is warm and heartfelt can give boundless joy to a difficult task. Fervent love for the Lord takes the squeamishness out of duty that’s distasteful.  If we recognize that we are actually partakers of Christ’s nature, that we have a share within and a portion of Jesus, we will have His heart for service! This is life that energizes service. Intimacy with Jesus gives passion to every small and great task done in His name (Joni Erickson Tada).

What is it that drives you, what is it that gives fuel to your passion?  When circumstances get hard, real hard what is it that compels you?  I pray that you and I may answer with Paul, "the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 2 Cor. 5:14

Oswald Chambers equates John 20:21 with a call to be a missionary!  I would agree in as much as every child of God is called to be a missionary!  It might be a missionary in your neighborhood, work place, school, family etc.  Every child of God is called...called and sent!

As My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you. John 20:21.

A missionary is one sent by Jesus Christ as He was sent by God. The great dominant note is not the needs of men, but the command of Jesus. The source of our inspiration in work for God is behind, not before. The tendency to-day is to put the inspiration ahead, to sweep everything in front of us and bring it all out to our conception of success. In the New Testament the inspiration is put behind us, the Lord Jesus. The ideal is to be true to Him, to carry out His enterprises.

Personal attachment to the Lord Jesus and His point of view is the one thing that must not be overlooked. In missionary enterprise the great danger is that God’s call is effaced by the needs of the people until human sympathy absolutely overwhelms the meaning of being sent by Jesus. The needs are so enormous, the conditions so perplexing, that every power of mind falters and fails. We forget that the one great reason underneath all missionary enterprise is not first the elevation of the people, nor the education of the people, nor their needs; but first and foremost the command of Jesus Christ—“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations.”

When looking back on the lives of men and women of God the tendency is to say—‘What wonderfully astute wisdom they had! How perfectly they understood all God wanted!’ The astute mind behind is the Mind of God, not human wisdom at all. We give credit to human wisdom when we should give credit to the Divine guidance of God through childlike people who were foolish enough to trust God’s wisdom and the supernatural equipment of God.  Chambers, O. (1993, c1935). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (October 26). Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers.

If we believe that Jesus is who HE claims to be, if we believe the testimony given by John the Baptist, God the Father, the Holy Spirit and the miracles Jesus performed then in our hearts we respond as did Thomas in John 20:28...“My Lord and my God!”

Jesus message to you and I and to every child of God is clear, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me,  I also send you.” 

Father in heaven,

enable us to walk in obedience to YOUR command to go...to go hard after God, to love people, to share Jesus and to go and make disciples.

for you glory and our JOY in YOU.

love,

m