“I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.” (John 9:4, NKJV) A friend of mine recently left to take the gospel to another nation. It was not a sudden decision at all. From the teen years on, we all recognized that missionary work was in his future. So why is he just now going more than a decade later? Two key words: preparation and timing. He spent those intervening years preparing himself, developing his ministry, and doing whatever he could in his local church. He stayed busy…
“Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.” (Hebrews 13:17, NLT) When Great Britian’s King Charles III ascended to the throne last year at the age of 73, it was the oldest age of any previous British ruler. Joash became king of Judah (or the southern kingdom) at the age of seven. What a contrast of ages. However, Joash was not the youngest ruler to ever take the throne. Legend says Shapur II, who ruled the Sasanian Empire of Persia, was crowned before his birth due to his father’s recent death. Alfonso XIII of Spain became king the day of his birth. Like any child that age, Joash would have lacked the experience and wisdom needed for such heavy responsibilities. How could such a young child lead a kingdom? Let’s look at his story, which begins in II Chronicles 22. When King Ahaziah (Joash’s father) died, Athaliah (Joash’s grandmother) seized power in the kingdom. An evil woman, she killed all the potential royal heirs of…
“Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (II Kings 6:16, NKJV) The king of Syria suspected a traitor among his men. Whatever plans he conceived against Israel, they somehow always knew where he planned to attack. This happened again and again. There had to be a spy among his men. When he confronted them, their answer was not what he expected. No one confessed guilt—quite the contrary. “And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” (II Kings 6:12, NKJV) The answer to the problem, he thought, was to capture Elisha. But he overlooked a major hole in his scheme. If God revealed his plans before, wouldn’t He do the same this time as well? How can you capture someone who always has insider knowledge? But the king discovered where Elisha was and sent a massive number of forces against one man. “Therefore he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.” (Verse 14) Elisha’s servant awoke early the next…
But Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “First, please ask what the LORD’s will is.” (II Chronicles 18:4, CSB) Have you ever jumped ahead of God when you had a decision to make? It’s easy to do. We think we know what is best or we “feel” like we are making the right choice, so we skip the most important thing. We forget to pray first. Prayer becomes an afterthought. If we are honest with ourselves, we have already decided on our course of action. In II Chronicles 18, we encounter two kings. Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, was…
Isaiah 55:8-11 MSG ” ‘I don’t think the way you think. The way you work isn’t the way I work.’ God’s Decree. For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think. Just as rain and snow descend from the skies and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth, Doing their work of making things grow and blossom, producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry, So will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed. They’ll do the work I sent them to do, they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.” Have you ever been faced with a problem that you knew for certain you could not solve? If you can’t think of any one particular occasion, you can look at our world as a whole and you will not come up short for examples. Unfortunately, I cannot fix all of the issues that plague our society, even though I so wish I could. Even if I could somehow mend and restore society to what it was created to be, I am neither wise nor…
1 Samuel 18:28-29 NLT “When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and how much his daughter Michal loved him, Saul became even more afraid of him, and he remained David’s enemy for the rest of his life.” As I read through the life of David, I can’t help but grow increasingly interested in Saul. Saul was the first chosen earthly king for the Israelite people, hand-picked by God, yet something went seriously wrong during his reign. Saul always appeared to have the best intentions, but many of his decisions went awry, which eventually led to David being appointed the new king and to Saul’s eventual downfall. Disobedience of course is one major element of Saul’s life story. Seemingly “small” mistakes and a good dose of arrogance combined, created the perfect storm for him. Before I continue, I want to mention the above scriptures again but in The Message Translation; “As Saul more and more realized that God was with David, and how much his daughter, Michal, loved him, his fear of David increased and settled into hate. Saul hated David.” What stands out to me is Saul’s fear, and how that fear translated as hate. What may appear to us as blind,…