Understanding History by Knowing God's Agenda - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 8:16-19,

"In the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat began his reign as king of Judah. He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. 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. Nevertheless, for the sake of his servant David, the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah. He had promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever."

As we read of Jehoshaphat's son, Jehoram, ascending the throne in Judah, we find out he was one of the bad kings (most were). "He did evil in the eyes of the Lord." However, we are told here that the Lord did not destroy Judah because of it. The text tells us that the Lord had promised to "maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever."

The lineage of David would culminate in the birth of Jesus Christ. All of Israel's history points to that singular momentous event. Rather than viewing the Lord's reluctance to destroy Judah at the time of Jehoram due to a promise made in isolation, it must be remembered that the "lamp of David" for which the Lord withheld his judgment of Judah was with reference to the coming Messiah.

The Lord would later destroy Judah, but only when events presented themselves as propitious for God's agenda to bring about his plan of redemption. What we witness here is the Lord himself manipulating events in the sinful cesspool of mankind to bring about the coming of the Son of God to be a sacrifice of atonement for all who would believe.

When we recognize the agenda of God, when we begin to see his actions in light of his pursuit of his intentions, then we begin to understand the what and why of the things we read about in the historical accounts of Scripture. From my standpoint, the activities of Jesus Christ himself as provided in all four gospels are never really understood adequately until we recognize how his actions and activities, his miracles, his teachings, his manipulation of the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law, the scribes and the elders in Israel of his day, were with view of his intended sacrifice of himself and the inauguration of the ministry of the gospel to build his kingdom.

The sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins, qualifying all who will embrace him in faith, resulting in the building of his family, his kingdom, is key in understanding the flow of history in the Scriptures.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
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Certitude in the Words of the Prophets - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 7:20,

"And that is exactly what happened to him..."

This snippet comes from the account of the horrific famine in Samaria when the army of Aram besieged it. People were starving, resorting to cannibalism, even eating their own children! The king of Israel blamed Elisha for it, "May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today!" 2 Kings 6:31.

When the king came for Elisha, Elisha prophesied that the famine would end by the very next day. Just as Elisha had said, the following day food from the fleeing army of Aram provided all anyone in Samaria needed. Elisha even foretold what flour and barley would cost. It all turned out just exactly as he said it would.

Such are the prophets of God. God tells them what to say, and when these things are proclaimed, he who created the cosmos is precise in the telling of what is to come. Here is where all the miracles we read of associated with Elisha come in to play. Elisha's credentials were clearly manifested by the miracles he performed as a prophet of God and when he spoke, all should have had the presence of mind to listen.

Think of today. We have prophets that have told us of the second coming of Jesus Christ to establish his kingdom here on earth from Jerusalem. We have been told that all of the Lord's enemies will be vanquished and that a new era is on the horizon, a new age. We have been told that our Creator loves us and has made a way for us to live eternally in his presence, as members of his family, with a place at his table.

Who will listen? All who do will inherit all these things. All who doubt or reject the words of the prophets will find themselves consumed in the wrath of God's judgment, just as they have foretold. As it was said then, so it is true today... " And that is exactly what happened to him..."

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
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Where We Got Our Bibles - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Kings 6:6-7,

"The man of God [Elisha] asked, 'Where did it [an iron axhead] fall?' When he [another prophet] showed him the place [in the Jordan River], Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. 'Lift it out,' he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it."

Here Elisha defies the law of specific gravity. As we all know, iron does not float in water. But when an axhead accidentally landed in the river as the prophets were cutting down trees by the Jordan, Elisha made it happen. Actually, people cannot violate the laws the Lord created to govern his cosmos, but a prophet such as Elisha has connections. The Lord made it float at Elisha's involvement.

As remarkable as it is making iron float on water, the big story here is that Elisha's bona fides are well documented by the many miracles associated with him. Elisha was just a man, and in and of himself, unable to do anything anyone else might normally do. However, he was not only a man, he was a prophet of the living God, and as such, many miracles were performed by him. It was his enablement as a prophet of God that made it possible for him to see and do things the rest of us simply can't.

Again I point out, it was not Elisha, in and of himself, that performed these many miracles, but the Lord performing them through Elisha. We get a glimpse of this in the following account of a vision given to a servant of Elisha of horses and chariots. When the servant expressed his fear in seeing the invading force of the King of Aram, Elisha asked the Lord to open his eyes to see the Lord's vast array of military might. It wasn't that Elisha opened the eyes of the servant, but that he asked the Lord to do so for the servant, "'Don't be afraid,' the prophet answered. 'Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.' And Elisha prayed, 'Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.' Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." 2 Kings 6:16-17.

Prophets have been able to do so many different things over the years. One remarkable observation made in this chapter is that whatever the king of Aram, the enemy of Israel had to say, even in the privacy of his bedroom, it was known to Elisha, who passed the important information on to the king of Israel.

How remarkable it is that our Creator chooses to manifest (in calculated ways) his presence at times through having his prophets do what cannot be done! When these miracles are performed, they testify to the existence of our Creator as well as his involvement in his creation. These miracles demonstrate who he has selected to represent himself, or communicate on his behalf.

For me, the greatest contribution of God's prophets (the Lord worked great things through all his prophets) that impacts me personally, is the work they performed that Peter speaks of in 2 Peter 1:20-21, "Above all, you must understandthat no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." Here is how we got our Bibles!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
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Assumptions About the Lord and His Ways - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 5:11-12,

"Naaman went away angry and said, 'I thought that he [Elisha] 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. 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."

Naaman was the commander of the army of Aram. He had contracted leprosy, heard of the prophet Elisha through a Jewish servant girl and set out to see if he could be healed by the Lord through Elisha.

Elisha told Naaman to go wash in the Jordan River and he would be healed. The passage above was Naaman's initial response. While he did eventually go wash in the Jordan and get healed, his first response was one of anger. When Elisha told Naaman to go wash in the Jordan, he did so through a messenger- he didn't even come out to see the afflicted Naaman. Naaman's assumption was that Elisha would act in a certain way to implore the Lord on his behalf. Finding Elisha's actions as not what he expected, he set himself to go back home, leprosy and all.

The account causes me to think of the many assumptions we all have about the Lord and his ways. To the degree we have not availed ourselves of the Lord's revelation of himself in the Bible, we make assumptions. I think most all of us do.

We all seem to have assumptions about the Lord, about the way he is, what he is like, how he does things. I have to admit to being somewhat startled of what I learn of the Lord from time to time as I read the Scriptures. Some accounts are just not consistent with my assumptions. In the pages of Scripture we have accounts of the Lord dictating genocide (see the overthrow of Jericho, Joshua 6), of Satan sitting in with the angels to present themselves to the Lord (see Job 1), of God singing for joy over us (see Zephaniah 3:17 - I just never pictured God singing!) - these kinds of things. I'm sure you can add to a list here.

Naaman had his assumptions of the Lord and I have mine as well. Those assumptions often do not serve me well as they did not serve Naaman well. The one advantage I have over Naaman is that I have sixty-six books that tell me all about what the Lord wants me to know of him. To ignore what the Lord provides me, dispelling my inaccurate assumptions of him, would be to my great loss.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
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God Speaks! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 4:43,

 

 "They will eat and have some left over."

 

This fascinating chapter in 2 Kings provides us with accounts of miracles that took place through Elisha:

 

- A miraculous production of olive oil

- A baby born to a barren Shunammite woman with an elderly husband

- A miraculous healing of the Shumammite's miracle boy

- A miraculous cleansing of a pot of poisonous stew

- A miraculous feeding of a hundred men from twenty loaves of barley bread

 

When the laws of physics that govern God's creation are transcended, we recognize the Author of creation is afoot. Such events are called miracles precisely because these events violate or negate God's design. Such an event can only take place at God's hand, whether directly, or through an intermediary.

 

If nothing else, this chapter confirms what was earlier confirmed: Elisha's bona fides as a prophet of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The chapter also reflects God's involvement and interaction with the prophets of the day along with the nation of Israel. Further miracles will be provided, but certainly the point is made here. God is with Elisha and God will speak through him.

 

In 2 Kings 7:1 we read, "Elisha replied, 'Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says...'" If I was living at the time of these events, I would be listening to every last syllable Elisha spoke. Clearly, the Lord was speaking through him.

 

In fact, the entire Bible is just such. Peter tells us, "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1:20-21.

This being the case, why would I not be listening to every last syllable spoken within the Bible's pages? It all comes from our Creator, it is all truthful, and we can learn so much about our God, about us, about what is to come, and, most importantly, how we can participate in eternal life as a child of God with a place at his table.

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

 

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

 

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

 

True Desperation Draws Us To The True God - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 3:13,

"Elisha said to the king of Israel, 'Why do you want to involve me? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother.'"

Three kings set out to destroy the king of Moab because he had rebelled against King Joram of the northern ten tribes of Israel. Moab had been paying a tribute to Israel, but when Joram ascended the throne of Israel, the king of Moab, Mesha, stopped the payments. Joram secured the aid of Judah's king, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom to rectify this.

As the three kings with their armies set out to attack the King of Moab, they ran out of water and found themselves in such a predicament they despaired of their lives. "Has the Lord called us three kings together only to deliver us into the hands of Moab?" In the midst of this catastrophe they decided to inquire of the Lord.

When the three kings approached the true prophet Elisha to seek the Lord for them, these are the words Elisha responded with. His point is a truth that has remained with mankind over the millenia. When the chips are down, all the nonsense mankind invents for himself to remove the Lord from his mind gets swept away. In this case, Elisha pointed to the false prophets of the idols Joram's parents, as well as Joram himself, employed. Desperation has a way of bringing clarity, it has a way of snapping us all back to reality. It is when we find ourselves in a real fix, the Lord becomes a priority in our lives. With those "fox hole conversions" often the reasons anyone has to reject the Lord become quite unimportant when danger advances.

Elisha responded in a way to communicate the truth. Since the king of the northern ten tribes followed his idols, just look to those idols... see how that works for ya! Joram's idols were cast aside in that moment of despair.

At times the Lord brings us all to our knees in a time of desperation to help us find our deliverance in him. He is our Savior. He is our refuge in times of trouble. He is the only One that can deliver us from his own wrath for the sin in our lives. In his love, he draws us to himself and sometimes that is not so comfortable.

Since only God can deliver us, and because it often takes a serious desperation to prompt us to seek him, expect a healthy dose of desperation to come… these times are certainly headed our way.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
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Give Credit to Whom It Is Due - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 2:13-14,

"Elisha then picked up Elijah's cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. 'Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?' he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over."

This event took place when Elijah was taken from this earth. In a dramatic and startling fashion Elijah was taken from this life, not by death, but by "a chariot of fire and horses of fire". We are told that Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.

Elijah's coming departure from this life was well known both to him and the companies of prophets we read of in this chapter. Prior to that departure, he had asked his protege, Elisha, what he could do for him. Elisha responded he wanted "a double portion of your spirit." This request signified Elisha wanted to be heir to the special work of ministry for the Lord that occupied Elijah. When Elisha struck the Jordan with Elijah's cloak and it parted for him, it demonstrated the transfer of that ministry of Elijah to Elisha. The whole of it witnessed to by the company of prophets from Jericho.

Elijah was a great man, a great prophet of God. Indeed, Elisha was as well, As we see this specific prophetic ministry pass from Elijah to Elisha, I am reminded that what enabled Elijah and Elisha both to be great prophets was the Lord himself. In that the enablement was passed from the one to the other, it manifests that the source of this enablement resided outside of the men themselves. As Elisha said, as he performed his first miracle of prophetic ministry, "Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" This is a clear confession of Elisha citing the source of the ministry that was now to come to him.

All this points to the truth that if anyone accomplishes great things for the Lord's agenda, regardless of point in history, they owe their ability, their enablement to the Lord himself. It is the Lord who enables. It is the Lord who strengthens. It is the Lord who accomplishes great things through his servants.

While I am quite confident the various servants of the Lord were unique people within themselves, their accomplishments and their successful work for the kingdom of God was something the Lord enabled them to do... and, that enablement can be and has been granted to others.

The point is that where a good man or a good woman does great things for God, there is a great God behind them that enabled them to do what it is they have done. Where we may revere great preachers, great teachers of the things of God, people who do great things for the sake of the gospel, for the sake of the kingdom of God, it really is the Lord himself we need to revere for providing these great and wonderfully gifted people performing these wonderful works.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

The Rampant Idolatry of Today - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 1:3,

"Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?"

This is the message the Lord gave Elijah to pass on to King Ahaziah of the northern kingdom of Israel. Ahaziah had fallen through a lattice of his upper room and was apparently severely injured. He sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub, a false god of idol worship, to see if he would recover. The Lord intervened and sent the messengers back to Ahaziah with the above message.

The essence of idolatry is a rejection, an abandonment of God. When rebellious people go their own way, they find something else to replace him. Here is a list of things our God is that folks today have replaced him with in our nation, in our thinking, in our rebellion:

God: Jehovah - the One we should bow to and worship.

Our rebellious nation: the state. All are to subordinate themselves to the interests of the state.

God: Jehovah-M'Kaddesh - the God who sanctifies - he makes us right.

Our rebellious nation: political correctness - the elites of our day dictate what it is we are to think, say and do to be appropriate. We don't need God to make us right anymore (as we "evolve" on gay marriage, etc.)

God: Jehovah-jireh - the God who provides.

Our rebellious nation: the "social safety net". The state will provide all anyone needs- food stamps, welfare, socialism, etc.We don't need God to provide for us any longer.

God: Jehovah-rophe - the God who heals.

Our rebellious nation: Obamacare. The state will take care of all of our health needs.

God: El-Shaddai - the Almighty One.

Our rebellious nation: political power. We actually grant others power in our lives and accept the dictates of those who assume that power.

God: Elohim - strength or power.

Our rebellious nation: "It takes a village". Strength in the rent-a-mobs, strength in numbers, strength in political connectedness.

God: Creator and Sustainer of the cosmos.

Our rebellious naiton: We will control and maintain the environment in which we live. We will control the alleged "man-made climate change." We will lower the oceans and control the weather.

God: the Giver of life - only he gives life.

Our rebellious nation: abortion. We will decide who gets to live and who doesn't.

God: Designer of mankind, creating them male and female.

Our rebellious nation: LGBTQ. We will decide if we are male or female through our behavior, through surgery, etc.

God: Jehovah Sabaoth - God rules in power and brings that power to bear to effectuate what is necessary.

Our rebellious nation: The United Nations. This super-body of godless power brokers is looked to, to maintain control over the nations.

Unfortunately, King Ahaziah and his godless ilk have nothing on our nation today when it comes to idolatry. We have turned our backs on God as a nation and idolatry has come full bloom!

How did that work out for Ahaziah? How did that work out for Israel? How will that work out for us?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Irony in the Lord's Dealings - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Kings 22:19-22,

"I [Micaiah] saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. And the Lord said, 'Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?' One suggested this, and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, 'I will entice him.' 'By what means?' the Lord asked. 'I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,' he said. 'You will succeed in enticing him,' said the Lord. 'Go and do it.'"

Here is a fascinating view of God's court through the prophet Micaiah. The Lord is seated on his throne "with all the multitudes of heaven" surrounding him. I suspect this multitude is not made up of the faithful who had passed on from this life, as at this time, when the godly died, they went to that place called "Abraham's bosom", "Paradise", the place where the beggar, Lazarus, went when he died that we read of in Luke 16:19-31. It wouldn't be until Jesus ascended into heaven when the faithful accompanied him there that humans arrived.

The "multitudes of heaven" in this passage makes me think of Revelation 5:11 where we read of "ten thousand times ten thousand" angels that encircled the throne in heaven together with "living creatures" and "elders". These angels surely are those we read of in the account of Jacob's dream. "He [Jacob] had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it." Genesis 28:12. That account causes one to muse on the purpose of these angels traversing to and from earth to heaven.

In the assembly of God's court he asks who will entice the wicked Ahab to attack Ramoth Gilead-- to go to his death. Of the many in heaven who had suggestions for the Lord to consider, the one God sent to accomplish this is one who said he would do it through deceit. He would be "a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his [Ahab's] prophets". These are the false prophets of idols Ahab consulted, "So the king of Israel brought together the prophets—about four hundred men—and asked them, 'Shall I go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?' 'Go,' they answered, 'for the Lord will give it into the king's hand.' But Jehoshaphat asked, 'Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?'" 1 Kings 22:7. The Lord used Ahab's own rebellious ways against him in using these false  prophets.

Imagine the Lord deceiving a rebellious man [Ahab], to lead him to his death, through the instruments of his own idolatry! The irony!

The book of Kings (both 1 and 2) is such a treasure trove of fascination into the heart, the mind, the dealings, and the throne of our Lord!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

The Lord Reponds! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Kings 21:28-29,

"Have you [Elijah] noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me [the Lord]? 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.'"

In their horrific actions of murdering Naboth to seize his vineyard, King Ahab, and his wife, Jezebel, angered the Lord. "This is what the Lord says: 'Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?' Then say to him, 'This is what the Lord says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth's blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!'" Verse 19. We also read of Ahab, "There was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife. He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the Lord drove out before Israel." Verses 25-26.

When Ahab heard the words of the Lord's judgment against him through Elijah, however, we see a wonderful example of the Lord's grace extended to a truly wicked man. That grace was expressed by the Lord's delaying until later his judgment of Ahab. The judgment did eventually take place, but not without the Lord recognizing Ahab's humbling himself before the Lord.

Where many see the Lord as having predetermining all things that take place within his creation, this is not what I read of in the Scriptures. Ahab humbled himself and the Lord responded to that posture, however temporary it might have been. Ahab made a decision to humble himself and the Lord likewise, in real time, made a decision to recognize that humility.

This is not just the stuff of kings. Our God is interactive with all of us! He responds to our prayers. He responds to the choices we make. Most importantly, when we respond to the gospel message, the Lord gives us a place at his table, he bestows upon us his lavish riches of the inheritance of his saints! All this with the choice we make!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

The Lord's Agenda, Not Mine - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Kings 20:42,

"You [Ahab] have set free a man I [the Lord] had determined should die. Therefore it is your life for his life, your people for his people."

This is the word the Lord spoke to King Ahab through a prophet. The Lord tells Ahab of his judgment following Ahab's actions regarding the king of Aram, Ben-Hadad. The Lord intended for Ahab to kill King Ben-Hadad, but following the Lord's action in giving Ahab victory over the army of Ben-Hadad, Ahab let him live. Ahab had extracted an apparently very favorable treaty with Ben-Hadad.

Ahab had his eyes on what he wanted, not what the Lord wanted. Ahab set himself to follow his own agenda, not the Lord's agenda. Ahab sought his desires and not the Lord's desires.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Most everyone these days (including those in the church) seek what they desire, not what it is the Lord desires. So many prayers requesting the Lord do this and do that. So many prayers requesting the Lord provide this or provide that. And, so many of these requests reflect the agenda of the requester, not the Lord. So many of these requests reveal the desires of those praying as quite apart from the Lord's desires.

It appears the words of James are fitting here, "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." James 4:1-3.

May I, and may all of us, endeavor to seek the Lord's desires, the Lord's agenda, the Lord's will in all matters. May he strengthen us all that we might approach the spiritual heights of those faithful believers the writer of Hebrews spoke of, who subordinated their desires, their passions, their agenda for the Lord's. "Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions." Hebrews 10:32-34.

How strong and broad the shoulders of those magnificent early believers, upon which we stand today!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Who Or What Do We Worship? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Kings 18:21,

"Elijah went before the people and said, 'How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.' But the people said nothing."

This challenge brought by Elijah against the people of Israel comes in a passage that is perhaps one of the most dramatic scenes the Bible documents.

In this account, Elijah had wicked King Ahab bring the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah to a challenge he set before them. The idolatrous priests were to build an altar with an offering and Elijah would do the same. Elijah's challenge was that they would call on their worthless idols to light the fire under their offering and Elijah would call on the Lord to light the offering he made.

The scene is breath-taking as we read how Elijah gave the idolaters every advantage, but where there was no answer from the idols, the Lord completely consumed Elijah's offering.

Perhaps the question asked above is a good one for today. "If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." While we don't have Baal worship today, idols abound nevertheless. People worship the imaginary Allah of Muhammad. People worship twisted concepts of who God is and what he is like in so many cults, and "-isms". People worship their things, their wealth, their dreams of prosperity and health. People worship both power and the powerful. People worship their political perspectives.

All kinds of worship going on in our society today, but how often do you here the one true God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob worshiped in truth in the public square today? How often do you hear the extolling of God's pristine and wonderful character and nature? How often do you hear the extolling of the amazing things God has done and is doing today?

I am not suggesting we don't hear any public expressions of praise for the one true God, but compared to how often we hear how great a sports team or player is, or a movie or a music group, an actor or movie, or the food at a certain restaurant, the politician we may like, (or, what I am so often heard extolling) how great some IPA is - we might want to ask ourselves (certainly I do) the question, "If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him."

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Great Stories of Faith - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Kings 17:13-14,

"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. 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.'"

If this chapter is about anything, it is about faith. A prophet, Elijah, was sent to the evil king of Israel, Ahab. The Lord told Ahab through Elijah there would be a great drought causing famine in the land. The drought would last until at Elijah's word. Think of being in Elijah's shoes for a minute - sent to the king with a message of disaster for the kingdom, with no relief in sight until Elijah said so! Elijah did just as the Lord asked and exercised that faith of knowing the Lord would do exactly as he said he would.

How many today, even in the church, struggle with trusting the Lord to do exactly as he says he will!

This was by no means an easy task. Elijah would have to go into hiding (I think we can be quite certain King Ahab had in mind to have Elijah killed on sight), and trust in the Lord for his daily provisions brought by birds of the air! 1 Kings 17:3-4.

Next we see Elijah being sent to a widow in Zarephath. As he found her, she was preparing to make a last meal for herself and her son, with the thought in mind of dying of starvation afterward, so desperate was the drought and how little she had. Elijah told her that her food supply would miraculously not be depleted as she used it, however, take what little she did have and make a loaf of bread for him - first!

This she did, manifesting a tremendous faith. With just enough food for one last meal, she was told to feed Elijah with it first and trust the Lord to then supply her with what she would need to survive the drought. Again, what faith!

We are told that we can acquire a righteous standing with God if we trust in him. "He [Abraham] did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why 'it was credited to him as righteousness.' The words 'it was credited to him' were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead." Romans 4:20-24.

The message of all of Scripture is that the Lord is looking for those who will embrace him in faith, those who will trust in him. All who do so are provided a place in his family, a place at his table for all eternity following Resurrection Day. So many examples of faith, what faith in the Lord looks like, what faith in the Lord prompts us to do, what faith in the Lord provides us, are given us in the pages of Scripture.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Finding a Rich Treasure - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Kings 16:34,

"In Ahab's time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken by Joshua son of Nun."

Here is a small snippet of reality found with the Scriptures. The Scriptures are cohesive, consistent and they always, without fail, deliver truth. Just ask Hiel.

In this example above, we read of a curse Joshua, nearly a half millennium earlier, had made regarding Jericho. "At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: 'Cursed before the Lord is the one who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho: At the cost of his firstborn son he will lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.' So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land." Joshua 6:26-27.

Why study our Bibles? Because they are reliable, and provide us truth in a day where truth seems to be in short supply. I can't think of any other pursuit in life that delivers such rich treasure - a treasure found no where else. We neglect it to our own detriment.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Turning Our Backs on God - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Kings 15:33-34,

"In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king of all Israel in Tirzah, and he reigned twenty-four years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the ways of Jeroboam and committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit."

The sinful condition of mankind is certainly represented in the many kings of both the northern ten tribes in Israel from 931 BC to 722 BC and the southern two tribes in Judah from 931 BC to 586 BC. A few in Judah were good kings, such as Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, etc. All the kings of Israel, the northern ten tribes, appeared as evil in the eyes of the Lord.

Baasha, the third king of the northern ten tribes of divided Israel, "did evil in the eyes of the Lord." We are told his evil followed the pattern of Jeroboam, the first king of the northern ten tribes. So, what exactly was the evil King Jeroboam committed that Baasha emulated?

In his pronouncement of judgment upon Jeroboam's throne, the Lord made this accusation, "You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made for yourself other gods, idols made of metal; you have aroused my anger and turned your back on me." 1 Kings 14:9. This was the Lord's view following his observations of Jeroboam's activities, "Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings." 1 Kings 12:31-33.

In the church today sin is often (and appropriately) reviled and preached against amongst the brethren, with warnings of the consequences it may have on our personal lives, the vitality of the fellowship, our communion with the Lord and one another. Often the sins in view are of sexual immorality, addictions, gossip, arrogance, unforgiveness and so forth. What of the sins represented in the kings of Israel?

Very simply, Jeroboam, whom Baasha followed, turned his back on the Lord, "you have aroused my anger and turned your back on me." Sin is simply turning our backs on the Lord as we allow it to find its expression in our lives. All sin is condemned by the Lord, as it has as its very nature a turning from him. To engage in sin requires the sin of Jeroboam in our lives- turning our backs on God.

And what of the religious pursuits of Jeroboam? As a very religious man he instituted his own flavor as he pursued the idolatry of the pagans around him. Are we engaged in these kinds of things today? Do we follow "priests" that are really no priests at all? Do we engage in "sacraments", follow doctrines and engage in religious activities never encouraged by God that may actually take our eyes off the Lord or distort our view of him? How about all the differences encountered in doctrine among all the denominations and fellowships we see today? Somebody clearly is following in Jeroboam's and Baasha's footsteps.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

A Global Community of Nations Is Not In the Cards - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Kings 14:8,

"I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you..."

This is a part of what the Lord had to say through his prophet to the wife of King Jeroboam when she went to the prophet to inquire about their terminally ill son. The Lord reminds Jeroboam that he had torn the ten northern tribes from the house of David and gave them to him.

There is an unmistakable pattern to the workings of the Lord if we follow what he does throughout Israel's history as well as the history recorded for us of others. When it comes time to gain the attention of a people (any people - not just Israel), the Lord brings about insufferable circumstances to them. This, he often does by bringing others against them, creating very difficult circumstances in the hope that folks will reach out to the Lord in their desperation.

Who looks for deliverance when no need for a deliverer is felt? Who reaches out for saving when not feeling a threat? I am entirely convinced the Lord scattered folks at the tower of Babel for just this purpose and I am convinced that the tearing apart of Israel by the Lord, in addition to his judgment of them, was to provide a context for drawing them back to himself.

Whether Israel returned to the Lord or not (which, for the most part they did not), this he left up to them. However, it may be viewed that in his efforts to reach out to the nation, he went far past half way to draw sinful Israel to himself. The Lord's efforts are always well beyond what anyone might consider to be "fair".

As a principle, this strategy has been used by the Lord over the years. The community of nations was created by the Lord as the environment he works in to draw mankind to himself. He generates fear, anxiety, a felt need for rescue in his efforts to draw us all to himself.

This anxiety, fear and frustration is seen in passages such as Romans 8:20-21, "The creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God."

Note what Paul had to say about the Lord bringing about the institution of nations, "From one man he [God] made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us." Acts 17:26-27.

Not understanding the Lord and how he works, it is often thought the Lord would want all the nations to come together in peaceful union, an expression that mankind has somehow evolved to a point where he has overcome his sinful passions and proclivities.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Mankind is sinful and requires deliverance and salvation, bought at the price Jesus Christ paid on the cross. Having secured the price of our deliverance from his own justice, God now draws us to himself by helping us "feel the need."

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com