July 7, 2012 … The Downfall of Success

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 2nd Kings 15 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link -
============

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 2nd Chronicles 26 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link -
============

Highlight Passage: 2nd Kings 15: 1-5:[NIV] … 1 In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam II, king of Israel, Uzziah, son of Amaziah, king of Judah began to reign. 2 He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother's name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem. 3 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. 4 The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. 5 The Lord afflicted the king with leprosy until the day he died; and he lived in a separate house. Jotham the king's son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.
============
Highlight Passage #2: 2nd Chronicles 26: 16-19 :[NIV] … 16 But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.17 Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in.18 They confronted King Uzziah and said, "It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God." 19 Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord's temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead.

My Journal for Today: A couple of days ago (July 5) in reading through 2nd Kings and 2nd Chronicles, I was reminded of the story of one of Judah’s kings, Amaziah, who had done a lot of good things in leading God’s people in the southern kingdoms of Israel; but he didn’t go far enough to rid the kingdom of the high places of idol worship. And also, in defeating the Edomites and their mountain stronghold, Amaziah became prideful; and it was his ultimate downfall. In that July 5th devotional [check it out!], I entitled my journal entry, ”Pride Goes Before A Fall” because Amaziah let his pride and arrogance get in the way of his complete surrender to God in leading God’s people. And he paid the price of God’s wrath in his time.

Well, apparently Amaziah’s son, Uzziah, didn’t learn a lot of Godly wisdom from observing his father, because when Uzziah became king in Judah, he ended up repeating a lot of his daddy’s mistakes as well as his successes. Uzziah, did a lot of good in his 52 year reign in Judah; but like his father, he let his pride and partial devotion to God’s will and ways get in the way of ruling as God’s word as well as from the advice of the priests who advised him.

It’s one thing as a follower of God to disobey and give only partial allegiance to God’s written word. But God’s anointed leaders and teachers are held to a higher standard by God’ and Uzziah, as it was with Amaziah, his father, were not able to give – voluntarily – what God demands of His leaders – i.e., the full and last measure of devotion. And as you can read in the highlight passages I’ve copied above, Uzziah ultimately was brought down for his half-hearted worship and prideful leadership by contracting (from the hand of God) leprosy, living out the last years of his rule in quarantine and having to have his son be the co-regent of Judah until Uzziah’s death.

Lesson: … We as Christians must give our all to our God – especially if we’ve been called out and/or raised up to be leaders in the kingdom of God. Really, Jesus said as much to His disciples in Luke 9: 23 (which I’m assuming by now you have memorized, since I have quoted it so often in my journal entries). Okay, I’ll remind you; … Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he (or she) must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”

Are you, as I am, doing a self inventory right now? Are we living up to what God wants of His disciples? Are we giving our 100% of devotion (i.e., worship) to God by the way we live? Are we being “living sacrifices,” as Paul wrote in Romans 12: 1-2, in the way we live … 24/7? My friend, as a called-out leader in God’s kingdom - as an Elder in my church and the leader of a discipleship ministry, I’m under deep conviction by God word, more specifically my devotional on July 5th and today, to give more and become the “living sacrifice” I’m called to be as the leader God has charged me to become. But merely as a follower of Jesus Christ, I need to do more to deny myself, to avoid prideful arrogance, and to simply and devotedly follow Jesus.

Are you with me?

My Prayer Today: … Lord, I pray that all who read with me here are doing all we can to be or become living sacrifices to Your calling for our lives. Amen

July 6, 2012 … Running From God’s Purpose

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Jonah, Chapters 1-4 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link - 
============

Highlight Passage: Jonah 1: 1-4 :[NIV] … 1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:2 "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." 3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. 4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 
============

Reference Passage #1: Matthew 12: 38-39 : … 38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” 39 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish; so, the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 

My Journal for Today: Well, in my chronological Bible reading, since I’ve been reading about some of the Kings in Israel and Judah in about 790BC, today my reading plan assigned me to read and meditate on the entire book of Jonah, one of God’s prophets at the time of King Jeroboam II in Israel and Uzziah (i.e., Azariah) in Judah. And reading through the historical narrative about this so-called “minor prophet,” there are many life lessons and spiritual applications which could come out of this book. Jesus, as I’ve copied above in Matthew 12, even used the story and the sign of Jonah to prophesy His being buried for three days before being spit forth by God from the ground to live again.

But today, I don’t need to go further than the first four verses of this book about Jonah to get a very pertinent life lesson – at least for myself. So, if you’re reading along with me here, let me ask you: “Have you ever been in a place in your Christian discipleship where you knew exactly where God wanted you to go or what to do; and instead, you resisted (at best) or [at worst] you simply bolted and ran the other way?” Aw, common! I’ll bet someone here has that t-shirt besides myself.

Jonah, who was a prophetic contemporary of Joel and Micah, also living in the times of Elisha, knew that he was a chosen prophet of God; and he had received his marching orders directly from the Lord – i.e., to go to probably the most hated and evil, God-hating peoples of the day (for the Israelites), the Assyrians, more specifically to their capital of Nineveh. That would be like God calling out someone today to be a Christian missionary to Iran or North Korea. The Ninevites were evil, godless people; and they were feared and hated by those in Israel in the days of Jonah.

Now, of course, having read the book of Jonah, you know the “rest of the story,” as Paul Harvey would say it. Jonah bolted on a ship headed west; and in doing so – that is, running away from God’s purpose for his life – Jonah put a lot of other folks in danger (i.e., the crew of the ship). And that’s a lesson we all need to remember. When God calls us, and we know it’s His calling and purpose, we very well could put others in jeopardy if we resist His calling and run toward the self-driven ways in our life.

Anybody else feeling a little bit of conviction at this point?

 For years in my life, I knew that being involved in selfish, sexual sin as well as into gluttonous eating habits were wrong. And after my conversion to Christ, I certainly knew these strongholds of sinful behavior were not God’s purpose for my life. But I continued to pursue those inward directions for my life. However, just like with Jonah, God had different plans for me; and the Lord gobbled me up in His own “big fish;” and then He spit me out in the face of the death of my family, my career, and even my physical well-being; and He took me where He had planned for me to serve Him.

And here I am today, having been delivered, by God’s mercy, from the mouth of my enormous big fish, which was my former denial of Christ and my obsessive/destructive lifestyle, to be able to serve the Lord in the direction and for the purposes He had set out for my life. And just like Jonah, all those years, when I was running from God’s purpose, I put many others in danger. My sexual sin put my marriage and family in jeopardy. My gluttony, and the resulting obesity, led me to contract type 2 diabetes, which put me in serious physical jeopardy.

The lesson today is pretty transparent, isn’t it? When we know where God wants us to go, the ONLY way to go is God’s way; and running and hiding from His purposes will only lead to emotional, spiritual, and maybe even physical pain or anguish. And having been mercifully delivered from the mouth of that big fish, I’m here to be a loud witness to this life lesson today.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, help me to stay tuned in to Your calling and to follow it faithfully. Amen

July 5, 2012 … Pride Goes Before a Fall

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 2nd Kings 14 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link -
============
 Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 2nd Chronicles 25 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link -
 ============

Highlight Passage: 2nd Kings 14: 1-4; 7-10 :[NIV] … 1 In the second year of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel, Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother's name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem. 3 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not as his father David had done. In everything he followed the example of his father Joash. 4 The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. … 7 He was the one who defeated ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt and captured Sela in battle, calling it Joktheel, the name it has to this day. 8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, with the challenge: "Come, let us face each other in battle." 9 But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: "A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, 'Give your daughter to my son in marriage.' Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle underfoot.10 You have indeed defeated Edom and now you are arrogant. Glory in your victory, but stay at home! Why ask for trouble and cause your own downfall and that of Judah also?"
============
Highlight Passage #2: 2nd Chronicles 25: 1-2; 14-15 :[NIV] … 1 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother's name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem.2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly. … 14 When Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people of Seir. He set them up as his own gods, bowed down to them and burned sacrifices to them.15 The anger of the Lord burned against Amaziah, and he sent a prophet to him, who said, "Why do you consult this people's gods, which could not save their own people from your hand?"
============
Reference Passage #1: Proverbs 3: 34 and James 4: 6 and 1Peter 5: 5 [paraphrased] : … God resists the proud; but gives grace to the humble. 

My Journal for Today: Today in reading more about the kings in the northern Jewish kingdoms of Israel and the southern kingdom in Judah, I was led to study the living times of King Amaziah in Judah, who had conquered the seemingly impregnable peoples of Edom in the mountains of what is now Jordan.

I’ve been to that area of the world; and it’s impressive that anyone could defeat an organized army holding forth in that mountain kingdom of what is now the area of Petra in Jordan. But the Judean army, under Amaziah did just that. And following that conquest, Amaziah became prideful having this victory under his belt; and in the events which followed, as so often happens, documenting the truth I’ve delineated above in Proverbs 3: 34, we see that God will oppose the proud, ... only giving His grace to the humble.

Amaziah became filled with pride after his defeat of the Edomites; and mockingly, he even brought back idols to worship from the spoils of this so-called “victory.” And mocking God in that way was just, plain STUPID! And anytime we let our pride go before our humble worship of the Lord, we are stupid enough to think that we’re more important than God.  

WRONG! … DUMB!! … FOOLISH … !!!

But this may be the one pitfall which causes me to come up short in my life more than any other stronghold of sinfulness in my life, … i.e., letting my desire to look good in front of others and my pridefulness getting in the way of my ability to honor God (i.e., worship Him) with my life.

 I really don’t think I need to go on with this God-inflicted conviction bomb, coming out of this lesson today. The lesson is very straight-forward for all of us; … and that is to stay humble and worship God, in humility, avoiding letting my pride dampen God’s willingness to pour His grace in my life. And if you have benefited from this lesson today, to God be the glory!!

My Prayer Today: … Lord, I know that this is a risky prayer; but I pray for You to help me to live in humble worship of Your glory. Amen

July 4, 2012 … And the Beat Goes On … And On and On!

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 2nd Kings 12-13 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link - 
 ============  
 Passage of the Day #2: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 2nd Chronicles 24 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link - 
============

 Highlight Passage: 2nd Kings 12: 1-3:[NIV] … 1 In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother's name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba. 2 Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3 The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. 
============
Highlight Passage #2: 2nd Kings 13: 1-3; 22-23 :[NIV] … 1 In the twenty-third year of Joash son of Ahaziah king of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. 2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord by following the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit, and he did not turn away from them. 3 So the Lord's anger burned against Israel, and for a long time he kept them under the power of Hazael king of Aram and Ben-Hadad his son. … 22 Hazael king of Aram oppressed Israel throughout the reign of Jehoahaz. 23 But the Lord was gracious to them [the northern Israelites] and had compassion and showed concern for them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To this day he has been unwilling to destroy them or banish them from His presence. 

My Journal for Today: It’s July the 4th as I read though this segment of ancient Jewish history today in 2nd Kings 12-13 and 2nd Chronicles 24, two parallel passages of the historical accounts of the some of the later Kings of Israel and Judah. Today, and here in these times so-called “modern” times, we live in a day when we celebrate the birth of our nation; and here I am reading about how the Jewish nation, which was birthed by God for God’s glory just as we were in America, keeps reminding me, insidiously ingloriously, of God’s children and how they repetitively treated to the one, true God, the One Who gave birth to their nation. My historical and realistic question today is … “Are we any different now than Israel was then?”

And as the title of my journal entry implies, by repeating the title of an old Sonny and Cher song, the Jews, following their deliverance from Egypt under Moses, just kept recycling their selfish, disobedient, and idolatrous ways over and over and over again. Hence, is my remembrance of that old 60s song, “And the Beat Goes On!” And here, …. Today, on our remembrance of our country’s birthday, I harken back to that same title because of the way we, in America, keep doing so much of the same thing which Israel – and even Judah – kept repeating … over and over again … disobedience >> repentance >> selfishness >> repentance >> sinfulness >>  repentance.

 In the ministry I lead, I call this repetitive recycling of the same pattern, “The Repentance Roller-Coaster.” And we here in America are headed toward much the same idolatrous patterns which were being meted out in the life of the Jewish nation in the times I’m reading about in these scriptural passages. And I hope we all can see that we individual believers as well as we, here in America, can get caught in the repetitive chorus of “And the Beat Goes On” … just like nation of Israel, who got caught in the repentance roller-coaster centuries ago.

 Oh, don’t you wish, in reading through these repetitive patterns of sin and disobedience, that the Jews could see what they were doing and break through with a victory of obedience and righteousness. But, NOOOOOOOOOO .... !!! … the beat just kept going on and on and on for Israel in those days. We can only hope we, in the here-and-now, see where we’re headed this July 4th and break the cycle of sinfulness and selfishness in our government, perhaps voting for men with Godly values in our next major election this year; …and in that regard, let us pray that the beat will not keep going on!!!

My Prayer Today: … Help us, Lord, as a nation to see that Your way is the only way to go. Amen

July 3, 2012 … Half-hearted Leadership

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 2nd Kings 9-11 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link - 
 ============

Highlight Passage: 2nd Kings 9: 6-8; 36-38 :[NIV] … 6 Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the prophet poured the oil on Jehu's head and declared, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'I anoint you king over the Lord's people Israel. 7 You are to destroy the house of Ahab your master, and I will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all the Lord's servants shed by Jezebel. 8 The whole house of Ahab will perish. I will cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel—slave or free. … 36 They [the servants of the king Jehu] went back and told Jehu, who said, "This is the word of the Lord that he spoke through his servant Elijah the Tishbite: On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs will devour Jezebel's flesh. 37 Jezebel's body will be like dung on the ground in the plot at Jezreel, so that no one will be able to say, 'This is Jezebel.'"  
============
 Highlight Passage #2: 2nd Kings 10: 11; 28-29 :[NIV] … 11 So Jehu killed everyone in Jezreel who remained of the house of Ahab, as well as all his chief men, his close friends and his priests, leaving him no survivor. … 28 [After the overkill of destroying all of Ahab’s family] So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel. 29 However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.  
============

 Reference Passage #1: Hosea 1: 4-5 :[NIV] … 4 Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. 5 In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.

My Journal for Today: Today my reading focused on one of the later rulers in Israel, the northern kingdom of the Jews after the tribes of Israel/Judah had been divided. Today, millennia later, we see a living example that leadership in God’s kingdom cannot have one foot in Godliness and the other in worldliness. Our biblical example of this is Jehu, the northern kingdom ruler after Ahab, whom we read about in 2nd Kings, chapters 9-10.

Jehu was a piece of work who actually started to head in the right direction, following God’s command to eliminate Baal worship; but his methods were WAY TOO SEVERE, … for example, killing ever vestige of Ahab’s lineage to which God spoke through the Prophet Hosea (in the reference passage above) that the Lord would put an end to the northern kingdom due to Jehu’s cruelty. But that wasn’t all. Jehu also wiped out every vestige of Baal worship by slaughtering the prophets of Baal and all those who worshiped in the temple for Baal. But then, catering to worldly worship, he left the idol statutes of the golden calves in Bethel, probably because he felt that this would anger God’s people. Political leaders who cater to worldliness in selfishness will ultimately lead their followers down the garden path to death. (Remind you of anything going on today!)

All of this is an example of half-hearted leadership on the part of those who are called and/or ordained (i.e., anointed, as was Jehu) to be leaders in God’s kingdom.

Today, in God’s new covenant Church, we see religious leaders, whether in denominations of Christianity or in cults, like Mormonism or the Watchtower Society, setting up their own ideas of what “orthodox” worship of God should be like rather than simply following God’s word and doing worship God’s way. Worshiping God is an all-or-none thing. Either the Church is all in or it’s going to be all out. And that’s what Jehu couldn’t see. And those in the northern kingdom of Israel paid the price, with their lands ultimately being captured by pagan peoples – at least for a season.

But we must also remember that God’s covenant with His faithful was still in effect in Jehu’s time; as we flash forward in time and history (HIS-story), we see that God protected the covenant the LORD had made with King David; and that covenant was completely fulfilled in the coming of The Messiah, … our Lord, and Savior, Jesus, coming as the Lamb of God, … the One Who will one day sit on the throne of David in the New Jerusalem.

Oh, Lord, we tire of all the political intrigue and half-hearted worship leaders in Your now kingdom on earth.

My Prayer Today: … Come soon, Lord, Jesus!!! Amen

July 2, 2012 … Life Lessons from Elisha

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 2nd Kings, Chapters 5-8 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link -
 ============

Highlight Passage: 2nd Kings 5: 11-12 :[NIV] … 11 But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage. 
============
Highlight Passage #2: 2nd Kings 6: 4-7 :[NIV] … 4 And he [Elisha] went with them [his student priests]. … They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. 5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. "Oh no, my lord!" he cried out. "It was borrowed!" … 6 The man of God asked, "Where did it fall?" When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float.7 "Lift it out," he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it. 
============
Highlight Passage #3: 2nd Kings 7: 8-9 :[NIV] … 8 The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp, entered one of the tents and ate and drank. Then they took silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also. 9 Then they said to each other, "What we're doing is not right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let's go at once and report this to the royal palace." 
============
Highlight Passage #4: 2nd Kings 8: 12-13 :[NIV] … 12 "Why is my lord weeping?" asked Hazael. "Because I know the harm you will do to the Israelites," he answered. "You will set fire to their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women." 13 Hazael said, "How could your servant, a mere dog, accomplish such a feat?" "The Lord has shown me that you will become king of Aram," answered Elisha. 

My Journal for Today: Today, I’m back in 2nd Kings, Chapters 5-8, learning a number of life lessons from the life and times of the Prophet Elisha. These lessons were emboldened for me by the highlight passages which I’ve quoted above.

Life Lesson #1 from 2nd Kings 5: 11-12: Naaman, the mighty warrior and leader of the Aramean army was first unwilling to humble himself before God and Elisha, simply not being willing to try Elisha’s simple prescriptive bathing in the Jordan river to allow God to heal Naaman of his skin disease. But when Naaman was finally willing, in his brokenness, to humble himself before God and bathe as Elisha recommended in the Jordan, the healing was forthcoming. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to learn God’s lesson here. God simply doesn’t dole out His grace to the prideful (see also Prov. 3: 34).

Life Lesson #2 from 2nd Kings 6: 4-7: Elisha healed generals (Naaman) and delivered the Israelites from the Arameans; but this passage, shows the Prophet also attended to the needs of a group of simple student priests, which illustrates that God, through Elisha, will even float an axhead on behalf of a common student of Elisha who needed God’s intervention. We should never feel that we are not important enough for God to listen to our needs; and we so often think that our simple, common needs are not worthy of God’s attention. ……………. NOT!!!

Life Lesson #3 from 2nd Kings 7: 8-9: The story about the four desperate lepers who learned of the good news of God’s deliverance teaches us all to shout out the great news about God to others. The willingness of these men to break with deeply held fears and conventions involving their leprosy and to share the good news about God’s power is a lesson to us all that God’s great news – the greatest news, the Gospel – which should be shouted to all who will hear it no matter what it takes for us to get the message out.

Life Lesson #4 from 2nd Kings 8: 12-13: The Aramean leader, Hazael, who would become King of Aram and ultimately wipe out the northern tribes in Israel, balked when he heard Elisha’s, God-inspired – prophesy of Hazael one day doing things of unspeakable cruelty. This illustrates that mankind should never be in denial about how unspeakable the sin of any man (or woman) can be. That is why, when I see others committing horrible acts of evil, I force myself to realize – “There, but for the grace of God, go I!” These are great lessons from the life and times of Elisha; and may we all glean God’s wisdom, His will, and His ways from God’s Old Testament characters, like Elisha, … lessons for our lives; because these stories can shape our lives and allow us to be more powerful and effective disciples of our Lord, sharing God’s truth with all who will hear.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, thank you for reshaping my life from the life of Elisha. Amen

July 1, 2012 … The Torch of Discipleship Is Passed

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 2nd Kings 1-4 1 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link - 
 ============

Highlight Passage: 2nd Kings 1: 1-2; 15-16 :[NIV] … 1 After Ahab's death, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Now Ahaziah [the King in Israel] had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, "Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury." … 15 The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, "Go down with him [Ahaziah, the king]; do not be afraid of him." So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king. 16 He told the king, "This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel for you to consult that you have sent messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!"
============
Highlight Passage #2: Kings 2: 9 :[NIV] … 9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?" "Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied. 
============
Highlight Passage #3: Kings 3: 11-12 :[NIV] … 11 But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire of the Lord?" … An officer of the king of Israel answered, "Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah." 12 Jehoshaphat said, "The word of the Lord is with him." So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him. 12 Jehoshaphat said, "The word of the Lord is with him." So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
============
Highlight Passage #4: Kings 4: 32-35 :[NIV] … 32 When Elisha reached the house [of a Shunammite widow], there was the boy lying dead on his couch. 33 He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the Lord. 34 Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out on him, the boy's body grew warm. 35 Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out on him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. 

My Journal for Today: My chronological read today takes me into the book of 2nd Kings, Chapters 1-4, where we read of the torch of prophesy being passed from one great prophet and mentor, Elijah, to his mentee, Elisha. And as this light of God was moving forward, the darkness in which these two anointed prophets showed the power of God in their miracles and powerful words from God, the people of God, under the leadership of corrupted kings, withered in disobedience and disrespect of God’s authority.

 If you continue to read along with me, we’ll be reading about how the kings of God’s chosen people became more divided and disrespectful of God and His chosen prophets; and ultimately their division and disarray proved their demise with their falling into slavery to unGodly kingdoms.

 But in today’s reading, the story of two of God’s great spokesmen was chronicled, … Elijah and Elisha. And in a very personal sense, the relationship of these two men reminded me of the relationship I had years ago with an Elder in our church who became my mentor. “Dr. Bob,” as I called this Godly man, … him being a retired physician, undertook a challenging discipleship project when I asked him to help me grow in the Lord. I met with that man for seven years weekly and five years bi-weekly until he finally cut me loose and told me that the torch of discipleship had been passed; and it was then my responsibility to go and disciple others.

When I read, above, of Elisha asking for a double portion of the power exhibited by Elijah, it reminded me of how I sought to glean as much of God’s wisdom from my mentor, Dr. Bob, as I could get from him. And God used my “Elijah” to pass along a great deal of what I now carry with me as I mentor and disciple to other men of God who seek to become Godly men.

 If you, being like Elisha, seek to become more powerful from God’s Spirit in your life, using your God-given gifts for His glory, I hope you’ve had an “Elijah” (or like me a “Dr. Bob”), … one who will walk ahead of you in the footsteps of God, leading and teaching you, until you can glean as much power from that relationship as you can to pass God’s torch forward in discipling others.

 I’m afraid the model of discipleship exhibited in these chapters in the OT, as well as that modeled by the relationship between the Apostle Paul and the younger Timothy in the NT, is not seen as often as it should be in today’s church. And because of that, I don’t think the torch and light of Christ is being passed along from one generation of Christians to the next as it should be.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, help me to pass Your torch, imparted to me from my mentor, to others so that they can pick up Your light and shine it to the next generation of Christians. Amen

June 30, 2012 … Don’t Mess With God’s Chosen!

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Obadiah, Chapter 1 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link -
 ============

Highlight Passage: Obadiah 1: 1-4 :[NIV] … 1 The vision of Obadiah. This is what the Sovereign Lord says about Edom — We have heard a message from the Lord: An envoy was sent to the nations to say, "Rise, let us go against her for battle" — 2 "See, I will make you small among the nations; you will be utterly despised. 3 The pride of your heart has deceived you; … you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, 'Who can bring me down to the ground?' 4 Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down," declares the Lord. 
============
 Highlight Passage #2: Obadiah 1: 8-10 :[NIV] … 8 "In that day," declares the Lord, "will I not destroy the wise men of Edom, those of understanding in the mountains of Esau? 9 Your warriors, Teman, will be terrified, and everyone in Esau's mountains will be cut down in the slaughter. 10 Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever. 

My Journal for Today: Today in my chronological read, I was taken from the historical failings of God’s chosen people described in 1st Kings and 2nd Chronicles to the little poetic and prophetic book of Obadiah, the shortest of the books in the Old Testament. But though called one of the “minor prophets,” Obadiah spoke words of truth in the times of King Jehorham, as a contemporary of Elijah, speaking to the neighboring nation of Edom, … words which ring with warning even today.

The Edomites where neighboring tribesman to Judah. They were descendants of Esau and lived in what is now Jordan in the mountains around their capital of Sela, which today is known as Petra. If you’ve ever seen the Indiana Jones movies, you may remember the remarkable area of Petra, where the Edomites carved a city out of the side of a mountain; and you can see what my wife and I were privileged to see a few years ago by going to this link for a You Tube clip showing Petra. I have put my own picture of the dwellings in Petra attached to this blog.

But in today’s reading of the one chapter poem of Obadiah’s prophesy, we read that God spoke words of curse for the Edomites. They had become prideful and felt that no one could invade their tribes in the mountains of Sela; and they hated and came against their cousins and blood brothers, the tribes in Judah. For this God, through Obadiah, prophesied their doom. And we now know that these mountain-dwelling warriors were decimated for encouraging the Babylonians to overtake Israel; and in Obadiah’s poem we read God’s warning to any people, on their own, who would come against God’s chosen peoples.

 And today, the descendants of Esau, the Arab nations, still hate the Jews and Israel; and they war against them. And, as Obadiah prophesied, somewhere around 853 BC, any nation who comes against God’s chosen peoples may have temporary and temporal victories; but ultimately God’s justice from His eternal covenant with Israel – His Holy Nation – will bring down His final curse upon any who come against God’s chosen ones.

In other words, to paraphrase Obadiah’s warning into modern language, God is saying, “Don’t mess with My people!” And if you are a Christian today, my friend, you have been grafted into God’s family; and anyone who comes against you, as a remnant of God’s chosen nation, will ultimately experience doom and you will have God’s eternal protection God said it; … Jesus sealed it; … “It is finished!”

My Prayer Today: … Lord, we read Your warning; and we hear Your truth being spoken. May we always love and speak in support of Your chosen ones, of which we are a grafted remnant. Amen

June 29, 2012 … Promises … promises!!

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 2nd Chronicles, Chapter 18 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link -
 ============

Highlight Passage: 2ND Chronicles 19: 4-7 :[NIV] … 4 Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and turned them back to the Lord, the God of their ancestors.5 He appointed judges in the land, in each of the fortified cities of Judah.6 He told them, "Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for mere mortals but for the Lord, who is with you whenever you give a verdict.7 Now let the fear of the Lord be on you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery." 
============
Highlight Passage #2: 2ND Chronicles 20: 3, 6, 15, 21, 24, 32-33 :[NIV] … 3 Alarmed [at the prospects of war with strong neighboring armies], Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4 The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him. … 6 And [Jehoshaphat] said: "Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. …15  [And Jahaziel, anointed of God, said to Jehoshaphat and the people] … "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's.’ “ …21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: "Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever." … 24 When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army [after God’s deliverance from battle] …32 He [Jehoshaphat] followed the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.33 The high places, however, were not removed, and the people still had not set their hearts on the God of their ancestors. , they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. 
============
Highlight Passage #3: 2ND Chronicles 21: 6-7; 16-17 :[NIV] … 5 Jehoram [son of Jehoshaphat] was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. 6 He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord.7 Nevertheless, because of the covenant the Lord had made with David, the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David. He had promised to maintain a lamp for him and his descendants forever. … 16 The Lord aroused against Jehoram the hostility of the Philistines and of the Arabs who lived near the Cushites. 17 They attacked Judah, invaded it and carried off all the goods found in the king's palace, together with his sons and wives. Not a son was left to him except Ahaziah, the youngest….
============
Highlight Passage #4: 2ND Chronicles 22: 2-4: :[NIV] … 2 Ahaziah [youngest son of Jehoram] was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother's name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri. … 3 He too followed the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother encouraged him to act wickedly. 4 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for after his father's death they became his advisers, to his undoing.
============
Highlight Passage #5: 2ND Chronicles 23: 18-20 :[NIV] … 16 Jehoiada [a leader among the Levite priests] then made a covenant that he, the people and the king [Joash, son of Ahaziah] would be the Lord's people. 17 All the people went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols and killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars. 18 Then Jehoiada placed the oversight of the temple of the Lord in the hands of the Levitical priests, to whom David had made assignments in the temple, to present the burnt offerings of the Lord as written in the Law of Moses, with rejoicing and singing, as David had ordered. 

My Journal for Today: My chronological reading assignments from YouVersion.com are getting lengthier and a bit historically complex. I hope, if you’re following my journaling, you are not put off by the lengthier citations, in this case from 2nd Chronicles, Chapters 19-23, where a succession of kings of Judah is chronicled, illustrating that God’s covenant that David’s lineage of kingship would eternally be protected.

As you can read above from the highlight passages, various of the kings of Judah, from Jehoshaphat to Joash, allowed the throne in Judah to become politically and spiritually polluted, letting pagan and idol worship back into the southern kingdoms; and this ultimately led to the weakening of the throne in Judah, even to the point of defeat at the hands of Israel’s old nemesis, the Philistines.

But through all of this, God’s covenant with David’s line remained in tact, even though various of the kings allowed for their part of the covenant (i.e., obedience to God’s will/ways) to be desecrated and dissolved, God’s promises prevailed. However, as I hope you have read (at least from the highlight passages cited above) that God saw fit to protect David’s line of the throne; and even though, as one reads ahead in Scripture, though the political line of the kings of Israel and the temple would ultimately be destroyed, the line of David’s kingship was reestablished and forever restored in the coming of Jesus, the Christ and Messiah, …Who has, with His blood, renewed the line of David and will one day sit on God’s throne in Jerusalem forever.

 It is a story of God’s promises (i.e., His covenant with His people) being established in the line of David and ultimately fulfilled in the person of the Son of God, … Jesus Christ.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, Jesus, … You are the King of kings and Lord of lords … forever! Amen

June 28, 2012 … Compromising With Evil

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 1st Kings, Chapter 22 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link - 
 ============
Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 2nd Chronicles, Chapter 18 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link - 

 Highlight Passage: 1st Kings 22: 41-44: 51-53 :[NIV] … 41 Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king of Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother's name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. 43 In everything he followed the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. The high places, however, were not removed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. 44 Jehoshaphat was also at peace with the king of Israel. … 51 Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years.52 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, because he followed the ways of his father and mother and of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.53 He served and worshiped Baal and aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, just as his father had done. 

My Journal for Today: This entry from today’s parallel passages in 1st Kings 22 and 2nd Chronicles 18 may not be very long; and if you follow my habitually verbose blogs, you’re probably saying, “Whew; … finally, … some brevity!” But there’s really not much to say about this historical lesson.

Here we have two Israeli kings, Jehoshaphat and Ahab negotiating with each other and getting advice from a bunch of fools, calling themselves prophets; and we see these leaders ignoring the one prophet, Micaiah, who was the only prophet really tuned into the Lord. And the result … well, Ahab is killed, even though the Jews defeat their powerful enemies, the Arameans. And then Jehoshaphat consorts with the northern tribes in Israel by having his son marry into Ahab’s family, which ultimately leads from division to disaster for these recalcitrant and resistant children of God, … foolish followers of God who let themselves become politically polluted by idolatry and selfishness, … unwilling to live up to their part of the covenant God made with David, … and paying the price for their disobedience.

As a believer in the same God who promised protection to king David for His people if they were obedient and followed His will and His ways from His word, do you ever find yourself compromising with what you know is ungodly in the world? Do you ever go off and make allies with pagan forces in the world like Jehoshaphat, … a marginalized believer in God, consorting and bargaining with idolatry?

It’s easy to read these two chapters today and become self-righteous, seeing how much of a fool Ahab was to be sucked into idolatry by his wicked wife Jezebel. And it’s easy to see that Jehoshaphat was unwilling to give His God 100% allegiance, foolishly promoting the marriage of his son to Ahab’s daughter. Oh how easy is it to see how the kings of the northern tribes, who became divided from the southern Israeli kingdom, letting themselves become sucked into worshiping idols; and we can see how the divisions and spiritual compromises with evil led Israel and Judah down a path of disaster for God’s chosen nation.

 But then, as we’re pointing a finger of discerning blame at these foolish ancients, are we really looking at how we compromise with evil in our world? How often do we find ourselves making alliances with unGodly forces such as the media, choosing to watch evil influences on TV or by choosing to pay to see movies which mock God with hypersexual images? How often do we choose to pollute the Temple of God – our bodies – because we are sucked in by TV ads or by other “friends” who offer us tempting, but somewhat poisonous, dietary choices?

Oh, I know … I’m meddling now, aren’t I? … But that’s what this study today has done to me in conviction. God’s word often “meddles” with my soul when I really go deep into God’s messages of personal meaning and His direction for my life (as, for example, it says in Psalm 119: 105), becoming a “light unto my path.” And quite simply – and powerfully – these chapters from 1st Kings and 2nd Chronicles have shined a light on my tendency to let the world influence my choices when I should be seeking, finding, and holding on to God’s way for my life.

I’ll leave it to you to decide how deeply and how strongly you’re holding to God’s will and way and whether the world has become too much of an influence in your life. I’m just going to be taking the conviction from my study today into God’s word and trying to let God’s light of truth guide my way more clearly in the f
uture.

 My Prayer Today: … Lord, as I so often pray, shine Your light brightly on my path, especially from Your word that I might clearly follow You in ALL things. Amen

June 27, 2012 … God Hears Repentance

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 1st Kings, Chapter 20-21 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link - 

============
Highlight Passage: 1st Kings 20: 41-43 :[NIV] … 41 Then the prophet quickly removed the headband from his eyes, and the king of Israel [Ahab] recognized him as one of the prophets. 42 He said to the king, "This is what the Lord says: 'You have set free a man I had determined should die. Therefore it is your life for his life, your people for his people.'" 43 Sullen and angry, the king of Israel went to his palace in Samaria.
============
Highlight Passage #2: 1st Kings 21: 27-29 :[NIV] … 27 When Ahab heard these words [i.e., the prophesy of Elijah as to the elimination of Ahab and Jezebel], he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly. 28 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 29 "Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son." 

My Journal for Today: If you’re reading along with me in this journal entry of my chronological reading plan today, I charge you to read and mediate on the two chapters from 1st Kings which I was led to study this day and to which I link you above. And when you do, I think you’ll be impressed, as was I, as to the reality of the Bible, not pulling any punches about what was going on during the reign of Ahab and Jezebel in the times of Elijah, God’s prophet.

In these chapters we read how God was trying to teach Ahab a lesson. The Lord allowed Ahab to overwhelm a vastly superior enemy force, the Arameans; and God even gave Ahab this lesson twice, the last time really showing Ahab that following God’s will and His way is the ONLY WAY to success in life. But Ahab was totally bamboozled by his queen Jezebel, the crafty weasel of a wife who had Ahab totally wrapped around her selfish and manipulative fingers. And in these chapters we read how this idolatrous wench even maneuvered a Godly man, Naboth, to be murdered and to take his ancestor’s lands. Jezebel was relentless and ruthless in influencing Ahab into following her worship of Baal and Asherah; and Ahab simply followed her influence down the wretched path of idolatry, leading the Northern Kingdom of Israel to disaster.

 However, right at the end of Chapter 21 of 1st Kings, in verses 27-29, we read a very revealing passage about the loving and forgiving nature of our God. Ahab heard the prophesy of doom, which Elijah was led to speak to the northern king; and Elijah’s proclamation caused Ahab to repent in true brokenness. And we read of his honest repentance in this passage; and we see God’s response, being willing to reduce the punishment of death which would be put upon Jezebel and the rest of Ahab’s family.

The lessons from these two chapters, and especially from this latter passage, is that absolute and total surrender to the one, true God is essential as we live, surrounded by a world of idolatry and evil; and God will not tolerate any who war with Him and mock His holiness with their unholy surrender to selfishness and evil and worthless gods.  However, there is a second – incredibly hopeful – message which comes out loud and clear in these last two verses of Chapter 21; and that is that God’s loving grace is always available, along with His willingness to dole it out as a free gift, to any who come to Him with a truly repentant heart, surrendering and seeking the Lord’s mercy.

Now, did God ultimately spare Ahab, in this temporary episode of repentance, forever? No; and if one reads on ahead in 1st Kings, Chapter 22, as a student of God’s truth, one will see that Ahab’s repentance was later eclipsed by a backsliding of selfishness as he had one of God’s prophets, Micaiah, imprisoned, trying to force him to take back God’s prophesy of Ahab’s death. And even though God had held off Ahab’s demise for a period of time because the repentance we read about above, ultimately Ahab’s selfish and God-ignoring ways became his undoing.

Again my lesions today - #1 … Obey God’s way AT ALL TIMES and IN ALL WAYS!! And #2, when I’m convicted of breeching God’s will, REPENT HONESTLY AND COMPLETELY!! …

And if we, as saved and Sainted sinners, can live, as much as we can, by these two provisions of truth, as illustrated by today’s history lesson, we can – and will – walk in the victory Christ has won for us on the cross. And may God have mercy on all of us who are the remnant of believers in this very idolatrous and unbelieving world.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, have mercy on Your people, struggling to follow Your ways and surrounded by forces mocking Your truth daily. Amen

June 26, 2012 … Listen for God’s Still, Small Voice

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 1st Kings, Chapter 17-19 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link -

============
Highlight Passage: 1st Kings 17: 1; 13-14; 22-24 :[NIV] … 1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbet in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word." … 13 Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.'" … 22 The Lord heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned to him, and he lived.23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, "Look, your son is alive!" 24 Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth." 
============
Highlight Passage #2: 1st Kings 18: 36-39 :[NIV] … 36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again." 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. … 39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!"
 ============
Highlight Passage #3: 1st Kings 19: 1-4; 11-12; 18-19; 21:[NIV] … 1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them." … 3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, Lord," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." … 11 The Lord said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." … Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. … [And God told Elijah] 18 “Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him." … 19 So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. … 21 So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.

My Journal for Today: Another big gulp from God’s pool of wisdom in His word. And today’s reading plan, in Chapters 17-19 of 1st Kings gives the historical account of the Prophet Elijah and even a brief introduction to his mentee, Elisha. And this character story is a rich one to learn a lot about our relationship with God. But in Elijah’s story we might have a tendency to be a bit overwhelmed by the way-big miracles and lose sight of God’s still, small voice … which can be a big part of our relationship with God and not just part of Elijah’s story.

The overriding lesson of these chapters, at least for me from the account of Elijah’s life, is the on-going and deepening relationship of faith that Elijah had with God. It’s very easy to be awed by all that Elijah did as God’s anointed prophet, … events such as Elijah bringing a child back from the dead in Chapter 17 or calling rain and fire down from heaven in Chapter 18 or Elijah interacting with God in Chapters 19 on the same mountain which Moses had received God’s word.

 But with all of those wondrous events and God’s calling out Elijah as His prophet to a rebellious and wayward people, we should not lose sight of many of the very human parts of Elijah’s story with which any of us can identify. … For example, there was the time (from 1st Kings 19: 3-4) when Elijah, being pursued by the wicked queen Jezebel, that Elijah became so fatigued and wracked by despair that he actually prayed to God to die; but God had other things in his will for Elijah; and aren’t we glad that God will answer our prayers with what we need and not necessarily what we want or feel?

And then, there was the time (also in 1st Kings 19, verses 11-12) that Elijah was having trouble hearing God with all the clamor of the disbelieving world around him; and God gave the Prophet a listening lesson. And here we learn to listen for and even watch for the messages of God in the quiet, small things of life, where God may be speaking big messages in a quieting, small voice. That’s why Jesus so often went off to quiet places in the mornings to be with His Father; and it’s why we should have a quiet place to end or start each day where we might be able to listen for God’s still, small voice speaking His mind and His will for our lives. Do you have such a place in your life and in your regular, preferably daily, relationship with God, … a place where you, as where I’m writing this, can get alone and not be interrupted or confused by all the noise of the world? I hope you do; because I so covet the solitude of each morning where I can be here with my God and quietly listen for His still, small voice.

Finally, we see how God, at the end of Chapter 19 of 1st Kings, shows Elijah that he’s not alone, where the Prophet had felt so alone in his calling from God. God showed Elijah that He, the Lord, would always protect a remnant of the faithful; and He would even provide the Prophet with a disciple, who was to be Elisha, to come along side Elijah as he was to speak truth to God’s rebellious people and to confront the idolatrous world. It’s easy these days to think that we’re totally engulfed and overwhelmed by an pleasure-seeking, idol-worshiping world, isn’t it? But God will always watch over and hold out protection for those who truly love Him and are THE CALLED according to His purpose; and if you seek out an Elisha to your being an Elijah … or maybe a Timothy or a Barnabas to your being a Paul, … God will send you someone to walk through the minefields of life together.

Do you have an Elisha in your life if you are a leader in God’s kingdom? Do you have a Paul if you are a growing disciple, like Timothy? Do you have a Barnabas if you need encouragement as a follower of Christ? It’s a powerful lesson to learn from this story of Elijah today. We all need what I call “power-partners” in this life of discipleship; because finding them and holding on to them gives God a relational vessel to keep us going when we feel weak … to encourage us when we feel discouraged … and to have our backs in the battles of life. I pray that if you are an Elisha that you find an Elijah; and if you are an Elijah, I pray that you are led to an Elisha to walk with you in the trials of life.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, I’m so grateful for the Elishas and the Elijahs in my life. Amen

June 25, 2012 … Ahab or Jehoshaphat?? … We Choose!

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 1st Kings, Chapter 16 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link -
 ============
Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 2nd Chronicles, Chapter 17 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link -
============

Highlight Passage: 1st Kings 16: 29-33 :[NIV] … 29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years.30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him.31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him.32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria.33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.
============
Highlight Passage #2: 2nd Chronicles 17: 1; 7-9 :[NIV] … 1 Jehoshaphat his son succeeded him [Asa] as king and strengthened himself against Israel. … 7 In the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah to teach in the towns of Judah.8 With them were certain Levites—Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah and Tob-Adonijah—and the priests Elishama and Jehoram. 9 They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the Lord; they went around to all the towns of Judah and taught the people.

My Journal for Today: I really love the way this chronological reading plan takes me through the characters of the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, teaching me, from the characters in God’s word – i.e., HISTORY … His Story – about who we are in God’s kingdom. Today, I learn, from the contrast of what was going on the northern kingdom of Israel and southern kingdom of Judah, two vastly different approaches to life (i.e., world views), and how these two, personified in Ahab and Jehoshaphat, dictate how we live and move and have our being in this world and times as overseen by the God of all of life; and that is Jehovah, … Whom we know of as Jesus in our time and dispensation of living.

There could not have been two more different men, kings, or rulers than these two. Both were definitely influenced by how they were raised by their own earthly fathers, Ahab being raised and influenced by his evil daddy, Omri; and Jehoshaphat, being raised by his, imperfect, but Godly-directed, father, Asa. They were molded by God and the parenting of their fathers to become contrasting lessons in character and world views, teaching us that the one, who learns from God’s word and pursues God’s truth, will ultimately prevail in life.

So, we take note of how Jehoshaphat lived, seeing in 2nd Chronicles 17: 7-9 how the leader of God’s people in Judah tried to insure that God’s people followed God’s way by having them instructed and steeped in God’s word. Ahab, on the other hand, fell prey to his wife, Jezebel’s, idolatry and did all he could, by building a temple to Baal and constructing Asherah poles for the worship of evil idols, leading the people unto a life of destructive false worship. The former was doing all he could to lead his people to the life-giving message of the one, true God; and the latter choosing to be duped, by his own flesh and deceit-ridden heart, into the path leading to anti-god, deathly influences.

And we, like Ahab and Jehoshaphat, make the same ultimate choice, don’t we? We either choose to pursue God’s way, led by His word unto life; or we choose the anti-God way, led by our flesh unto death. Yes, history – HIS STORY – shows us that even though we live in these post NT times, the choices remain much the same.

So, my dear one, are we choosing to follow the ways of Ahab and live for the glory of self, by following Satan; or are we choosing to follow the ways of Jehoshaphat and to live for God’s glory, learning to and living by God’s word?

We choose!!!

My Prayer Today: … I choose Your way, Lord! Amen

June 24, 2012 … Always Vigilant; … Never Quit!!

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 1st Kings, Chapter 15 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link -
 ============
Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 2nd Chronicles, Chapters 13-16 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link -
 ============

Highlight Passage: 2nd Chronicles 13: 18-20 :[NIV] … 18 The Israelites [under King Jeroboam] were subdued on that occasion, and the people of Judah [under their King, Abijah, and in the line of David] were victorious because they relied on the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 19 Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took from him the towns of Bethel, Jeshanah and Ephron, with their surrounding villages. 20 Jeroboam did not regain power during the time of Abijah. And the Lord struck him down and he died. 
============
Highlight Passage #2: 2nd Chronicles 14: 1-7; 11-12 :[NIV] … 1 And Abijah rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. Asa his son succeeded him as king, and in his days the country was at peace for ten years. 2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. 3 He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. 4 He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands. 5 He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him. 6 He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. No one was at war with him during those years, for the Lord gave him rest. 7 "Let us build up these towns," he said to Judah, "and put walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God; we sought him and he has given us rest on every side." So they built and prospered. 11 Then [when Judah was attacked by over a million Ethiopian Cushites] Asa called to the Lord his God and said, "Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you." 12 The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, …
============
Highlight Passage #3: 2nd Chronicles 15: 1-2; 8; 17 :[NIV] … 1 The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded.2 He went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. … 8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son oft Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord's temple. … 17 Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa's heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life. 
 ============
Highlight Passage #4: 2nd Chronicles 16: 9-10 :[NIV] … 9 “… [Hanani, the prophet, to Asa, the King of Judah] For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war." 10 Asa was angry with the seer because of this; he was so enraged that he put him in prison. At the same time Asa brutally oppressed some of the people.

My Journal for Today: A lot of reading and study in today’s chronological reading plan; but it was well worth it; and if you’re reading along with me, I challenge you to at least read the highlight passages I’ve copied/pasted above from 2nd Chronicles 13-16, where the life of two kings of Judah are related historically; and there are important lessons we can learn from the life of these two, especially that of King Asa, the King of Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel, who turned the tribes of Judah and Benjamin back to the worship of God, helping them to learn to remain vigilant in their worship of the God of their ancestors, … the one, true God, … Jehovah.

But then, sadly, as one reads on toward the end of this assigned reading, we learn that Asa lapsed in his vigilance, even warned by the prophet/seer, Azariah, that God’s kings must remain strong in the ways of the Lord. Yet, Asa’s vigilance for worship waned; and once again God’s people paid the price of letting their worship lapse into selfish and sinful living.

I’m going to make my comments brief today; primarily because the reading of these chapters in 2nd Chronicles and 1st Kings are enough to get the point across. It is all too easy for us to let our guard of worship down and to let our fleshly feelings taint our attitude of worship for our God. Satan knows this; and he will do anything he can, as I’m sure was the case with Asa, to divert our attention from our disciplines of worship, to distract us with worldly urgencies, and to discourage us with feelings of inadequacy.

Go to this link and hear the brief, but powerful, words of Winston Churchill as he spoke them in his famous “never quit” speech; and remember that it is only in taking the high ground of life with our faith in God that we can – and must – remain vigilant and “never quit” in our daily battles against our spiritual foes. We must stand the ground, … knowing, … as it says in 2nd Cor. 12: 9 that God’s empowering grace is “always sufficient” for us to keep on keeping on in Christ.

My Prayer Today: … Yes, Lord, that is my goal and my choice … to remain in You and to know that You are in me as I fight my battles this day in Your Name and for Your glory. Amen

June 23, 2012 … Wise Leaders Learn and Lead Lovingly

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 2nd Chronicles, Chapters 10-12 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link -

 ============  
Highlight Passage: 2nd Chronicles 10: 6-8; 13-14 :[NIV] … 6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. "How would you advise me to answer these people?" he asked. … 7 They replied, "If you will be kind to these people and please them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants." …8 But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. … 13 The king answered them [the people, led by Jeroboam] harshly. Rejecting the advice of the elders,14 he followed the advice of the young men and said, "My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions." 
============  
Highlight Passage #2: 2nd Chronicles 11: 1; 13-17 :[NIV] … 1 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered Judah and Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand able young men—to go to war against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam. … 13 The priests and Levites from all their districts throughout Israel sided with him.14 The Levites even abandoned their pasturelands and property and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as priests of the Lord15 when he appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat and calf idols he had made.16 Those from every tribe of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the Lord, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the Lord, the God of their ancestors.17 They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon three years, following the ways of David and Solomon during this time. 
============  
Highlight Passage #3: 2nd Chronicles 12: 1-2 :[NIV] … 1 After Rehoboam's position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him [i.e., the Southern Kingdom of Judah] abandoned the law of the Lord. 2 Because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam.  

My Journal for Today: Yesterday, in my chronological read of 1st Kings, Chapters 12-14, I was led to study about Rehoboam and Jeroboam, whose squabble for power in Israel following the death of Solomon led to division and a weakening of the kingdom of Israel, with Rehoboam moving to the southern portion of the kingdom to rule of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. The Levites also came with Rehoboam as well as many people from the northern tribes in Israel because of the Temple being in Jerusalem.

 But today’s parallel historical reading in 2nd Chronicles, chapters 10-12 reinforced my application conclusions from my journal entry yesterday, … that the nation of Israel was weakened and became vulnerable to an invasion from Israel’s old, arch nemesis, Egypt, primarily because Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, and the proper anointed king of Israel, took bad advice from the younger men in Israel at the time rather than listening to the more Godly elders of the tribes [see the reading from 2nd Chronicles 10 above]; and then Rehoboam let his selfish ego get in the way of seeking and leading as God would have him lead Israel; and we see the result in the three chapters of today’s reading assignment.

 Israel became fragmented, divided, and weakened because they were led by unGodly leadership and by worldly idol worship; and God simply lifted His hand of protection from His chosen nation; and the Egyptians, who were no where nearly as powerful as the nation which had enslaved them prior to the deliverance by Moses, swooped in and took charge of Israel. And this had to be the ultimate slap-in-the-face for Israel, who had been subjugated by and delivered from Egypt in their glorious past.

 I’ll not belabor, but I will repeat, the obvious application to today’s world and our nation. Yesterday, I made reference to a New Testament passage - Romans 1: 18-32 - where the Apostle Paul in post-resurrection Israel was warning, primarily Jewish Christian believers, who had been enslaved by Rome, that God cannot continue to mercifully protect a people who “go over to the dark side,” to use Trekky language. When leaders leading, and people following, are unwilling to do life and worship God’s way, as given to us in His word, God will lift His hand of protection and the results will be disastrous for a nation founded and built upon God’s will and His ways as spelled out in His word.

My friends, it doesn’t take the brains of a rocket-scientist, nor the training of a Christian theologian, to see what is going on in our country today, moving SO away from the principles of our American Christian founding-fathers, who desired that we become a land where Christianity could thrive and where people could live and worship under the Biblical principles upon which this nation was founded. But we now have a leader – our President – who has openly disavowed that this is a “Christian nation;” and so many in our country are following him away from our Christian/Biblical moorings.

 Dear ones, if we don’t have a revival soon in this land – for which we Christians should be praying – I’m afraid we’re going to experience a cataclysmic disaster of the type described in today’s study of 2nd Chronicles involving Israel. I’ll leave it to your own prayer-life; but personally I repeat my continual prayer from 2nd Chronicles 7: 14; and I’ll leave it to you to pray for our nation as God leads you.

 My Prayer Today: … Lord, help us, heal us, … have mercy on us. Amen

June 22, 2012 … Remaining Loyal To Our King

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 1st Kings, Chapters 12-14 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link - 
============  

Highlight Passage: 1st Kings 12: 18-20 :[NIV] … 18 King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem.19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. … 20 When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David.  
============
Highlight Passage #2: 1st Kings 13: 33-34 :[NIV] … 33 Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways, but once more appointed priests for the high places from all sorts of people. Anyone who wanted to become a priest he consecrated for the high places.34 This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction from the face of the earth.
============  
Highlight Passage #3: 1st Kings 14: 22-26 :[NIV] … 22 Judah did evil in the eyes of the Lord. By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger more than those who were before them had done.23 They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree.24 There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. … 25 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem.26 He carried off the treasures of the temple of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made.  
==============  

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Romans 1: 18-32 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link -   

My Journal for Today: Reading and meditating on my chronological reading assignment for today is very scary when I consider what’s going on in the world today. In Chapters 12-14 of 1st Kings one reads of what happened when a mighty and supposedly wise king, like Solomon, wavers from steadfast devotion to our Lord and succumbs, as he did, to idols. Literally, in reading about what happened between Rehoboam and Jeroboam, “all hell breaks loose” when leaders and societies ignore God’s way and go it on their own, worshiping idols and spurning God’s written will from His word.

When one reads and studies what happened in just five short years after Solomon died, with the Temple he had built under David’s instruction being ransacked and desecrated, we can see what can happen when a nation let’s idol worship lead them away from God’s way, which is clearly written in His word.

Again, as I did a few days ago [see my journal entry for June 20], my heart was taken to Romans 1: 18-32, linked above for your study if you’re following here, … where the Apostle Paul, inspired by God’s Spirit, writes of what happens when God’s people, or a nation, ignore, or, even worse, spurn God’s will and worship idols in their lives. God turns them over to their own wickedness; and they become vulnerable to Satan and his worldly ways. And here is where my deep concern lies as I see what is happening in this country and our world these times.

I see a worldly leader, … our President, … spurning God’s will, as clearly spelled out in His word; and the President and his followers are totally turning away from the principles and purposes upon which this nation was founded, … that being the perpetuation of the Gospel and our foundation of laws based on God’s word. And many, many are falling prey to the forces of idolatry, which are leading us away from God. And in seeing what God did to His own, chosen, people in the days following Solomon’s death, and in reading Paul’s warning, from God’s own word (in Romans 1), how would we not expect God not to lift His hand of protection from this nation as He did with Israel?

It’s scary business! And it’s most worthy of the remnant of believers, i.e., Christians who still desire to follow the real King, … our Lord, Jesus Christ, … to pray as we’re instructed to humbly pray in 2nd Chronicles 7: 14, that God would somehow – in His way and timing – forgive us and restore us to follow His greatness, turning away from the idols of this world.  

My Prayer Today: … Lord, have mercy on Your remnant, … the ones who follow You and seek Your will and ways from Your word. Amen

June 21, 2012 … A Fire-hydrant of Wisdom

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Proverbs, Chapters 30-31 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link - 
 ============  

Highlight Passage: Proverbs 30: 1, 3, 5-6 :[NIV] … 1 The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh—an inspired utterance. This man's utterance to Ithiel: "I am weary, God, but I can prevail. … 3 I have not learned wisdom, nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One…. 5 "Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. 6 Do not add to His words, or He will rebuke you and prove you a liar”. 
============  
Highlight Passage #2: Proverbs 31: 1 :[NIV] … The sayings of King Lemuel—an inspired utterance his mother taught him. 
  ============  
Highlight Passage #3: Proverbs 31: 10-31 :[NIV] … To study this passage, go to this link -  ============  

Reference Passage #1: Ephesians 5: 22 :[NKJV] …  Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.  

My Journal for Today: Wow! … Way wow!!! … My reading plan today had me read, study, and mediate on Proverbs 30 and 31; but that’s like trying to get a drink of refreshing water from a fire hydrant. It’s just WAY TOO MUCH wisdom to take in and write about in one morning!

Most certainly the section of these two chapters of proverbs which would grab the eye/heart of most Christians would be that one from Proverbs 31: 10-31 to which I’ve linked any of you to read above. Apparently a King Lemuel from one of the northern Arabic kingdoms, wrote down some of the musings of his mother about Godly womanhood; and in this passage we have one of the clearest pictures in God’s word of what a “Godly woman” might look like. And it certainly refutes the stereotype that many get – inaccurately – from Paul’s picture of the surrendered wife in a marriage of mutual submission.

That passage, to which I’ve quoted above, seems to create an image of Godly womanhood, especially married women, as being passive and not actively and assertively working in life, … always looking to the husband for guidance. But as one reads in Proverbs 31, the woman of God, who is actively living her life out in surrender to God, is pictured as industrious, creative, and self-assured. And the key to understanding God’s picture of womanhood is to merge these two images into a biblical understanding of how God pictures the woman in relation to Godly manhood; and how they must be mutually submissive – first to God and then to one another [especially in marriage]. Books and books have been written on this subject; and I’ll not attempt to even blog about it here today.

 But for my own edification and journal entry today, I’d like to focus on Proverb 30, apparently written by a man named Agur, about whom little is known. Scholars have speculated that he was a wise man who may have been a subject of King Lemuel, the author of Proverbs 31. But in reading Chapter 30 of Proverbs, we read that Agur hardly felt like a wise man. He was rather self-deprecating early in chapter 30, reporting that he really knew nothing. But then he gives those who are reading his ancient scriptural blog some incredibly insightful wisdom, … the first being that God’s word is the main source of our human insights (see Prov. 30: 5-6, copied above). And then Agur goes on to give us some very powerful word pictures, primarily taken from observations about God’s creation and nature, which help us to gain great insights into how we should live.

Have you ever thought that we could learn lessons in life from leeches, ants, locusts, or lizards? Well, when Agur paints pictures of how these creatures of God live and have their being, they become lessons in living life with more purpose, industriousness, and productivity; and we see just how much more we could glean from life if we lived by learning and applying the lessons God teaches us through the creatures He has created. I certainly got a lot more out of the lessons of life from Proverbs 30 this morning than I ever had in my past readings of this chapter; and I hope, with your meditation on this chapter, you did as well.

Now, having gone through all the proverbs again in these past few weeks of my reading plan, I see why Christian teachers will say that’s is a good discipline to read one chapter of Proverbs per day on the date number of the chapter we study. Being that there are 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs, one would read and meditate on the first 30 chapters twelve times in a year and Chapter 31 eight times. That’s putting a lot of Godly wisdom in front of us every day during a year of devotions; and I might suggest that one add to this exercise in Godly discipline, reading these chapters ALOUD each day after praying that God would give you (or me) His mind/heart (i.e., wisdom) from this exercise of faith (see James 1: 5-6). If we did this, … for one year, I would predict, based on the truth of Isaiah 55; 11, all of Psalm 119, and 2nd Timothy 3: 16-17 that we’d experience God’s transforming grace by this commitment to His word in seeking His will and His way in life. A worthy exercise, I would say.  

My Prayer Today: … Lord, thank You for Your wisdom in the Proverbs. Help me to incorporate Your mind and to follow Your wise ways from Your word. Amen

June 20, 2012 … The Wise One Blew It !!

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 1st Kings, Chapters 10-11 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link - 
============  
Passage of the Day #2: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 2nd Chronicles, Chapters 9 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link -   

Highlight Passage: 1st Kings 10: 23-25 :[NIV] … 23 King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. 24 The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 25 Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift—articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.
============  
Highlight Passage #2: 1st Kings 11: 1-13 : [NIV] To study this passage, go to this link -  ============  

Reference Passage #1: Romans 1: 18-32 :[NKJV] … Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Romans 1: 18-32 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link -   

My Journal for Today: Back to the parallel accounts of Solomon’s reign as King in 1st Kings 10-11 and 2nd Chronicles 9; and reading these historical records and stories is most revealing and should be a red-flag warning for all of us.

 Solomon had an incredible opportunity to take the promises which God had given to his father, David, and to watch over God’s people, using the wisdom, wealth, and power which God had given Solomon to be God’s emissary on earth, … a shining light of God’s glory in the world in those days. And to some degree he did that; and kings, queens (like the Queen of Sheba), and potentates from all over the world came to see this light of God, shining with God’s glory in the world.

BUT … (and here’s another of those big “buts” in the Bible); … what happened? Solomon let what God had given the King, for God’s glory, to become a reflection of Solomon’s pride; and slowly – but very certainly – Solomon began ignoring God’s way; and he did life, as king, his own (very pride-filled) way. He let his flesh and sinful arrogance get in the way of the very wisdom God had given him to rule. He simply – but flagrantly – ignored God’s clear instructions for kings (found in Deut. 17: 14-20); and slowly but surely, taking many wives and building up coffers of God and silver and chariots and horses, God watched Solomon become corrupted, seeking after his (Solomon’s) own way rather than living for Gods’ way and glory. In a nutshell … Solomon, the wisest man on earth, … blew it!!

And this reading today caused me to return to the New Testament reference passage, to which I’ve linked you above; and I charge you to meditate on it as well as the OT passages we’re studying today. The passage Paul wrote to Christians in Romans 1: 18-32 is one which, historically in our own times, I see God doing what He told Solomon he would do for Israel in those ancient days, … to let them be overwhelmed by other nations, giving His chosen people over to their own sinful pursuits and being weakened to the point of not being able to resist the wiles and power of Satan. And that, my dear ones, is what is happening to this nation, founded on Godly pursuits and God’s principles, but being corrupted to the core by political leaders who seek after their own selfish and flesh-driven pursuits rather than following the clear dictates (in God’s word) of how God’s leaders must rule over God’s people.

If one reads what happened to Solomon – believing in the truth of God’s word as witnessed in 2nd Timothy 3: 16-17 – and then reads the Romans 1 passage linked above, you have to be able to see that God is only going to keep His hand of protection on this country for so long; and He will ultimately visit this nation with His “wrath of abandonment,” as John MacArthur calls it, on American the way we read the Lord promised He would do to Israel following Solomon’s reign. And when one reads what transpired later in Israel’s history, we know that’s exactly the scenario we can expect as we head down this road today. And my friend, it will also happen just as we read in Romans 1 to America if those we put in power here in the USA lead as Solomon led and let their pride ignore the warnings of God from His word.

May God have mercy on His remnant, i.e., those who recognize what is happening and who pray for leaders to come into power who’ll live by God’s word, seek His will, and lead our country in His ways.  

My Prayer Today: … Lord, have mercy on us; as we humbly pray in the Spirit as You charged Your peoples in 2nd Chronicles 7: 14. Amen