2010 – June 22 – Prophets, Priests, and Kings

Study from God’s Word… Amos 7: 10 – 17; 2Kgs 14: 28 – 29, 15: 8 – 18; 2Kgs 15 [2Chron 26: 16 – 21] … Passage for Reflection: Amos 7: 10 … NIV 10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: "Amos [the Prophet] is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words.”

My Journal for Today: Today Dr. Smith uses the highlighted passage to call attention to three roles which were apparent as the political intrigue and power mongering went on in the times of Ancient Israel when Amos was a Prophet, Amaziah was the high Priest; and Jeroboam, the King. And in this regard, Dr. Smith calls attention to the three roles mentioned in this passage: Priest, Prophet, and King. And then the author/editor of my devotional book asks if I see myself in any of these roles, being aware of the strengths/weaknesses of that role.

He teaches here that PRIESTS have a tendency to maintain traditions and the status quo, where KINGS are into managing others, often seeing themselves as “movers or shakers.” Then there are the PROPHESTS, who seem like the troublemakers of the world, shaking things up by calling people to a higher standard. What about it, Dr. Smith asks, … do I fit any of these; and do I know what my strengths and weaknesses are? Well, I do know, from knowing and internalizing 2nd Cor. 13: 5 [linked] that I do need to examine myself periodically in the faith. The Bible demands this of me; but when I do this, I don’t try to “pigeon-hole” myself into any of the above categories. And some of the personality tools, which could help me to see myself as Type A or B, Phelgmatic or Sanguine, leader or follower, don’t really fit my goals in life either.

My only goal, as a follower (i.e., disciple) of Christ is to become more like my Lord today than yesterday and even more like Him tomorrow than today. And so, my only 2nd Cor. 13: 5 exam would allow me to see where my strengths/weaknesses lie with regard to CHRISTLIKENESS. And there are a number of ways that I do this. First, I simply get to know Jesus by reading about Him in Scripture and the way He went about life. In other words, if Jesus did life a certainly way, that’s a model I need to follow. Yeah, it’s sort of the “WWJD” thing, isn’t it?

Then, there were those characteristics listed by the Apostles, to which we should use as measuring sticks of Christlikeness. And years ago, my dear mentor taught me to take the lists put forth by Paul in Galatians 5: 22-23 (the Fruit of the Spirit) and by Peter in 2nd Peter 1: 5 – 9 to help us see if we have the characteristics of Christ which these Apostles felt were characters of Christ. But the simplest test I use is the one of examining whether I am growing in “humility” and “meekness,” because these are the only two character traits which Jesus used to describe Himself in Scripture (see Matt. 11: 29).

Therefore, by using these biblically based quality assurance tests, I can periodically do an inventory of myself to help stay on track and to grow in Christ the way I believe His Spirit desires to reshape me. “Prophet, Priest, or King” only interests me in that Jesus was all three; and I only desire to be like Him. So, I’ll continue to look in the mirror of God’s truth (i.e., God’s word), as I’m doing right here this morning, to see if I’m becoming more like Christ and wearing His robes of righteousness for all to see HIM or whether my rags of sinfulness are showing too much of the human side of me, hiding the light of Christ which He desires for others to see in me.
How about you? Whom do you want to be like and whom do you desire for others to see in you; … You … or Jesus?

My Prayer for Today: Lord, I want to be like You! Amen