On "Rolling Your Own" Religion - 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 16:10-12,

"Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. He saw an altar in Damascus and sent to Uriah the priest a sketch of the altar, with detailed plans for its construction. So Uriah the priest built an altar in accordance with all the plans that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus and finished it before King Ahaz returned. When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings on it."

Ahaz was the twelfth of the twenty kings of Judah following the split of Israel after King Solomon's reign. He was one of the twelve considered as not doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord, verse 2. In this passage we see he applied himself to religion. He was a religious man and pursued his religion as he saw fit. He followed the religious activities of the nations Israel had displaced when they entered into the land the Lord gave them. He replaced the altar with a new one, one that he saw in Damascus that attracted his attention and instructed the priests to begin using it for the daily burnt and grain offerings.

However, the Lord had already given the Israelites instructions on how to worship him. He gave them the design for the tabernacle and its furnishings. He also provided Israel with the schedule of offerings for worship and a calendar for the religious feasts and holy days.

But King Ahaz decided to do it his way.

We have today a bizarre menu of "Christian religions", denominations, cults, sects, -isms, synods, etc. I suspect each has its own "King Ahaz" somewhere in its founding, someone who started with Christianity and decided to redefine it in his own image.

It is not difficult to see the Lord's disgust with King Ahaz in the words, "Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God." Verse 2b. Perhaps, if we took a notion to please the Lord in our own lives, we might consider leaving religion behind, as King Ahaz should have done, and turn to the Scriptures and worship our God in truth. Worship our God acceptably - in a manner he has revealed to us. What a radical idea that would be!

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our 'God is a consuming fire.'" Hebrews 12:28-29.

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.

What's the Big Deal About Idolatry? - 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 15:3,

"He [King Azariah of Judah, aka Uzziah] did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done."

When the text tells us that a certain king "did what was right in the eyes of the Lord" or "did evil in the eyes of the Lord", as in verse 9, what are we being told? What was it exactly these kings did to be adjudged one way or the other?

On the negative side, idolatry is pointed to, often with a phrase along the lines of, "He [Zechariah, the fourteenth king of northern Israel] did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his predecessors had done. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit." Verse 9. All 19 monarchs of northern Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the idolatry introduced to the northern kingdom by its first king, Jeroboam son of Nebat, following the split in Israel after Solomon's death.

On the positive side, doing "what was right in the eyes of the Lord" appears when a king comes along to reverse the darkness of idolatry. King Asa of Judah is an example of this, "Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done. He expelled the male shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his ancestors had made. He even deposed his grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah. Asa cut it down and burned it in the Kidron Valley." 1 Kings 15:11-13.

Idolatry was a defining issue for the leadership of Israel. Idolatry, of course, was the rejection of God in favor of anything else to take his rightful place as the focus of Israel's worship. Since God, in his own counsel, had determined that he would provide for the redemption of mankind, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on that miserable cross, providing for salvation based on faith, the issue of idolatry became paramount.

Israel was God's chosen covenanted people. The covenant the Lord entered into with Israel was to use Israel as his vehicle to bring redemption and salvation to the world. Paul reminds us of the important aspects the nation was to play in the Lord's agenda of redemption, "Theirs [Israel] is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen." Romans 9:4-5.

All of these Paul points to are with reference to the furtherance of God's agenda of redemption and the bringing of salvation to all mankind. For Israel to become immeshed in Idolatry, it would have sidelined her usefulness to the Lord to achieve his redemption of mankind. Something the Lord was not going to allow to deter his agenda.

All things in this life have their ultimate culmination in the Lord's agenda of redemption. He is building his kingdom and this age finds its fulfillment and completion when the new heavenly age dawns, populated by people who are redeemed from their sins by embracing Jesus Christ in faith.

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.

Re: Never Doubt a Prophet - Ruminating in the Word of God

Amen!

 

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Ephesians 4:2 Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love.

Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, let us argue this out" says the Lord. "No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. I can make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you white as wool. If you will only obey me and let me help you, then you will have food to eat. But if you keep turning away and refusing to listen, you will be destroyed by your enemies. I, the Lord, have spoken!"
Are you saved? Go to www.wayofthemaster.com to find out.

---

From: Trevor Fisk <trevor.fisk@gmail.com>
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Sent: Friday, January 27, 2017 10:38 AM
Subject: Never Doubt a Prophet - 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 14:25,

"He [King Jeroboam II of Israel] was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Dead Sea, in accordance with the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher."

Jeroboam II was the thirteenth king of the northern ten tribes of Israel. As with all nineteen kings of northern Israel, he "did evil in the eyes of the Lord", verse 24. Here we read that he had restored Israel's boundaries during his reign, according to the Lord's word.

This restoration of the boundaries of Israel was prophesied by the prophet Jonah (yes, the very same that spent three days in the belly of a fish.) The Lord foretold the expansion of the border of Israel through his prophet and that is precisely what happened.

I am reminded that when the Lord tells us he is going to do something, that very something will come about exactly as he says it will,

"As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:10,11.

The Lord has foretold many things through his prophets. Things he wants us to know, to be award of. In all of them he has demonstrated that he does exactly as he says he will do in the way he says he will it. 

The wise listen to the prophets. From the Lord's prophets we learn what the Lord has done, what he is doing today and what is to come. The prophets tell us of the coming resurrection and of the coming judgment of all mankind. They also tell us of the salvation the Lord provides from his own judgment of us for our sins.

Just as he promised to send the Messiah, and did so, so will he provide both the salvation he offers all who embrace him in faith, as well as the judgment of all who do not embrace him in faith - in that fiery lake of burning sulfur.

Since the Lord's batting average is a perfect 1000, why on earth would anyone question the veracity of what he has told us through the prophets?

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.

Never Doubt a Prophet - 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 14:25,

"He [King Jeroboam II of Israel] was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Dead Sea, in accordance with the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher."

Jeroboam II was the thirteenth king of the northern ten tribes of Israel. As with all nineteen kings of northern Israel, he "did evil in the eyes of the Lord", verse 24. Here we read that he had restored Israel's boundaries during his reign, according to the Lord's word.

This restoration of the boundaries of Israel was prophesied by the prophet Jonah (yes, the very same that spent three days in the belly of a fish.) The Lord foretold the expansion of the border of Israel through his prophet and that is precisely what happened.

I am reminded that when the Lord tells us he is going to do something, that very something will come about exactly as he says it will,

"As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:10,11.

The Lord has foretold many things through his prophets. Things he wants us to know, to be award of. In all of them he has demonstrated that he does exactly as he says he will do in the way he says he will it. 

The wise listen to the prophets. From the Lord's prophets we learn what the Lord has done, what he is doing today and what is to come. The prophets tell us of the coming resurrection and of the coming judgment of all mankind. They also tell us of the salvation the Lord provides from his own judgment of us for our sins.

Just as he promised to send the Messiah, and did so, so will he provide both the salvation he offers all who embrace him in faith, as well as the judgment of all who do not embrace him in faith - in that fiery lake of burning sulfur.

Since the Lord's batting average is a perfect 1000, why on earth would anyone question the veracity of what he has told us through the prophets?

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.

Life From the Bones of a Holy Man of 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 13:21,

"Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man's body into Elisha's tomb. When the body touched Elisha's bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet."

Here is a fascinating and bizarre account if there ever was one. Elisha had died and his body laid in a tomb. When another dead man's body was thrown into the same tomb, due to an emergency, the man came to life when his body touched Elisha's bones!

Beyond the telling of a startling reality of what happened, why is this account here in the Scriptures? What is it the Lord wants to communicate to us through it? What does this passage tell us about the Lord?

Elisha was a prophet of the Lord. He is referred to as "the man of God" many times in 2 Kings. Accounts are provided us that demonstrate he was imbued by God with the miraculous, and demonstrated on a number of occasions his identity with the Lord, a "oneness" that expressed itself in events that transcended the laws of physics the Lord designed his creation to function within. He spoke on the Lord's behalf and foretold many things that came to pass.

As such, we recognize Elisha as a holy man, a man identified with the Lord himself. When it comes to the account of this dead man coming back to life when his dead body touched the late Elisha's bones, some observations can be made.

The first is that God is life. He has life within him and he brings things to life. Out of shear nothing, our Creator God brings forth that which is live, "…the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not." Romans 4:17.

A second is that God gives life, "…he [God] himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else." Acts 17:25.

A third is the clear allusion to the resurrection that is ours because of our own touch of the Son of God, our embrace of him in faith. When we touch God, when we embrace him in faith, we become eternally alive.

A forth is that clearly, what can appear to be dead can have life once again - another allusion to the resurrection of the dead. What was once dead, what appeared to be dead, is now alive!

God the Father is pleased to have his Son, Jesus Christ give life, "For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it." John 5:21.

What comes to your mind when you read this account?

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.

We All Need a Jehoiada in Our Lives: 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 2 Kings 12:2,

"Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him."

Joash is considered to have been one of the eight good kings Judah had - out of twenty. We read in this verse that King Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord: all the years Jehoiada instructed him. Joash apparently was one who listened to wise counsel and that counsel came from Jehoiada the priest.

In Proverbs 19:20 we read, "Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise." Conversely, in that same chapter, verse 27 we read, "Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge." I wonder if the observation that Joash did good in the Lord's eyes "all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him" is a reference to the truth given us in Proverbs 19.

We can live our lives pleasing to God, lives lived that might be described as doing "what was right in the eyes of the Lord", but it requires something very simple: we need to avail ourselves of God's word for wise counsel and instruction. I say our Bibles, because we do not have a "Jehoiada the priest" in our hip pockets, and all too often, those who provide leadership within the church lack what Jehoiada was able to provide Joash.

When we neglect our Bibles, we lose a vital connection to heaven itself and we will find ourselves straying from living our lives in a way that is "right in the eyes of the Lord". Paul reminds us in his letter to Timothy, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

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.

Athaliah's Illegitimate Claim - 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 11:14c,

"Then Athaliah tore her robes and called out, 'Treason! Treason!'"

When King Ahaziah of Judah died of his wounds in Megiddo, his mother, Athaliah, killed the entire royal family (excepting one of Ahaziah's sons, Joash, who was hidden from Athaliah by Ahaziah's sister, Jehosheba). Athaliah seized the throne for herself and ruled for six years.

Joash was hidden with his nurse at the temple in Jerusalem, and in the seventh year, when Joash was seven years old, the priest Jehoiada arranged to bring Joash out, protected by the temple guard and crowned him king. Hearing the commotion of Joash being anointed as king with the people shouting and clapping, Athaliah came to the temple and uttered the above words.

It is a fascinating account and I'll let you look it up to see how it all turns out.

One thing that is clear from Athaliah's cries of "Treason! Treason!", is that she genuinely felt the kingdom of Judah belonged to her. She had established herself on the throne in Judah for six years and now the priest had anointed another. Certainly from her perspective, the move by Jehoiada to anoint another to ascend the throne was clearly an act of treason.

What was missed by Athaliah was that she did not have any legitimate right to the throne. She had seized it for herself and now sat on the throne over God's covenant people: the throne rightfully belonged to whomever the Lord desired to place upon it.

The account brings to mind that often there are those things that some people lay claim to, as if they held a legitimate ownership to them, a legitimate right to them. Often this takes place over things in life that rightfully belong to the Lord. God's covenanted people are his people. He and he alone has always held the authority and legitimacy to place on the throne of Israel whom he decides, for better (or for worse!) for his people.

Just because something has been seized, and held for a time, it never establishes a rightful claim to whatever it may be.

Athaliah found out the hard way that the throne she held claim to really belonged to another. I suspect there are many things in life that are like that - awaiting the time when all wrongs will be righted when the Lord returns - and possibly even before that.

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.

Jehu and the Lord'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 10:30,

"The Lord said to Jehu, 'Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.'"

Jehu was something of a "mixed bag". Although he eradicated the idolatrous Baal worship from Israel, he maintained the idolatrous worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan. However, he did please the Lord in completely destroying the house of the evil king Ahab. The above verse documents the Lord's satisfaction of what Jehu had done.

So, what did Jehu do? He had all seventy sons of Ahab beheaded, verse 7. We read in verse 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." Further on we read in verse 17, "When Jehu came to Samaria, he killed all who were left there of Ahab's family; he destroyed them, according to the word of the Lord spoken to Elijah."

Why all this bloodshed at the direction of the Lord? Ahab and his family had placed themselves at odds with the Lord's agenda - so the Lord had them entirely annihilated. The Lord's agenda at that time was to prepare the world for the coming of his Son to redeem mankind. His covenant with Israel was with the understanding that Israel would be the vehicle through which the Lord would make the preparation for this momentous event. Ahab and his entire family paid dearly for moving Israel in a different direction.

It simply does not pay to be at odds with what the Lord is doing. It behooves us all to be intimately acquainted with what the Lord is doing and to get on board.

Do you know what the Lord's agenda is today? If we don't, how could we possibly, on the one hand, avoid being at odds with it, and on the other, contribute our time, treasure and talents toward it?

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.

Who Hacked the Election? - 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 9:3,

"This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel."

This is the message the Lord had Elisha give to one of the prophets to take to Jehu. The Lord had decided to end the rule of King Joram in Israel and replace him with Jehu. The normal succession of the throne from the king to his first born son would not take place.

The Lord decided who would lead the northern kingdom. As Paul says, the Lord decides who will lead each nation,

"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience."

We should not assume the selection of the Lord is designed to bring peace and prosperity to a nation, but to further his agenda of redemption: God is building his family in this age. A leader might be good for a people - he or she might be for the worse for the people. It all depends on how the Lord is advancing his kingdom.

Whether it be President Obama, or President Trump, all of our leaders are established by God. That is what the Scriptures tell us and so on this Inauguration Day, I am reminded of the Lord's hands that really hacked the election!

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.

Timing for the Shunammite - 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 8:4-6a,

"The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God [Elisha], and had said, 'Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done.' Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to appeal to the king for her house and land."

We read of the Shunammite woman in chapter 4. There she is described as a woman of faith, a "well-to-do" woman who went out of her way to provide for the prophet Elisha. In the account, Elisha prophesied she would have a son (the one thing she did not have), and the following year she gave birth. The narrative goes on to say the boy died, Elisha prayed, and the boy was brought back to life in a very dramatic fashion.

Here in chapter 8 we read that Elisha had told the Shunammite to leave Shunem because the Lord had decreed a crippling seven year famine for the area. She and her family left and spent the seven years in the land of the Philistines. At the end of the seven year famine she returned and went to the king to appeal to him for her house and land.

At just this very time the king had asked Elisha's servant, Gehazi, to tell him of the amazing exploits of the prophet Elisha. As Gehazi was telling the king about Elisha bringing the dead to life, the Shunammite arrived to make her appeal! Gehazi said, "This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life." Verse 5b.

The timing of this could not have been more amazing! The king decreed that everything that belonged to her be restored, as well as the income her land had made from the day she left Shunem.

The accounts in Scripture of the Lord's dealings are simply fascinating! Here is one where the timing was of obvious divine origin, and, apparently, unbeknownst to those involved. The Lord took care of this great woman of faith (we don't read anything about her husband...) and from our vantage point in the Scriptures we learn the Lord can be and often is behind the events folks experienced.

All this causes me to think of our own lives today. What might be going on in my life, even right now, that has its origins in the things the Lord is busy doing? How about your life? Are you quite certain the Lord is not in fact behind those things you are wrestling with? It sure seems to me the Scriptures are telling us the Lord has his hands in many things, even of a personal nature, in the lives of those of faith - and we may just not be aware of it!

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.

The 4 Lepers - 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 7:9,

"They [the four lepers of Samaria] 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.'"

The king of Aram, Ben-Hadad, laid siege to Samaria, where the throne of the northern ten tribes of Israel was located. It caused a great famine in the city such that people were killing and eating their children. It was horrific.

According to the prophetic declaration of Elisha, the Lord declared a miraculous deliverance of the city. We are told in verses 6-7, "The Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, 'Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!' So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives."

That very evening there were four men with leprosy at the city gate who decided to go to the Aramean camp and ask for mercy since the city was in such desperation. When they arrived at the camp they found it empty of all the soldiers, with only their animals, equipment and possessions remaining.

Initially the four lepers entered one of the tents and ate and drank. They took silver, gold and clothing and hid it and went back to plunder the camp some more. It was a huge encampment and as they were helping themselves, they came to their senses and decided to take the message of the Lord's deliverance into the city for all to partake.

Four men of desperation. Four men who faced death. Four men who found deliverance the Lord provided. These four men took the message of the Lord's deliverance to an unknowing people.

I can't help but think of all of us today who have found the Lord's deliverance. Do we partake in the wonderful provision of the Lord and fail to take the message of it to the unknowing? Or, like these four lepers, will we take the message into the city to proclaim the Lord's deliverance and his lavish provision for all who will embrace him in faith?

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!

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Unseen Spiritual Realities - 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 6:17,

"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."

The king of Aram was at war with Israel and found that his movements were known by the king of Israel. Elisha, as a prophet of God, had the "inside scoop" and so informed the king of Israel of the Arameans plans, movements and activities. When the king of Aram realized how this military intelligence against him was being provided, he set out to capture Elisha in Dothan.

One morning Elisha's servant discovered the city was surrounded by the Arameans and exclaimed his alarm to Elisha. Elisha told the man not to be concerned, "'Don't be afraid,' the prophet answered. 'Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.'" And, then, to allay the servant's alarm, Elisha asked the Lord to open the servants eyes to see things he was normally unable to. What he saw was the forces of heaven in array to protect Elisha and those with him. The hills were full of horses and chariots of fire!

Quite naturally, this account causes me to think of the spiritual realities that surround us all. Elisha could point to these and I am fully persuaded they are in existence around us today. Angels, the host of heaven, the Holy Spirit... all around us! 

In an environmental context where faith is possible, the things of heaven on earth are shrouded from us. They are here, they are real, and they are ready to do the Lord's bidding.

The children of God are not alone in this world!

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!

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I Know Some Things of the Lord, Not All Things - 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 5:17-19,

"... your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the Lord. But may the Lord forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I have to bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this." "'Go in peace,' Elisha said."

Namaan was the commander of Aram's army. Aram had been an enemy of Israel and from one of the Aramean raids on Israel, a young girl from Israel had been taken and was made a servant for Namaan's wife. Namaan had contracted leprosy and the Israeli servant girl told her mistress about the prophet Elisha, that he could heal Namaan of his leprosy.

Namaan took leave, went to Israel and met Elisha. Following the fascinating account of Namaan's lack of faith that eventually turned into his embrace of the Lord in faith, we read Namaan's confession of that faith in our passage above. In it he declares he would never worship an idol again. However, because of his duties as the king's commander, he appealed to Elisha for the Lord's understanding that he will be forced to accompany the Aramean king when he went to worship the idol in the temple of Rimmon.

In a tight spot! Between a rock and a hard place! Healed of his life-threatening illness by the Lord, he vows to never worship anything again except for the Lord. However, he would be required to perform a function his heart would not be in due to the position he held in Aram.

Notice Elisha's response! Where we might assume that it be best for Namaan to refuse his king and face the king's wrath, surely at the cost of his life, Elisha sends him off with his blessing: "Go in peace".

We read in Jeremiah 9:24, "'...let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,' declares the Lord."

My perspective on Namaan's story is that the Lord expressed his kindness to Namaan, both in healing him of his leprosy and in understanding the predicament Namaan found himself in. It was the kindness aspect of the Lord's nature rather than the "justice and righteousness" I might assume that Namaan might find when he raised his concern over his anticipated duties involving the idol worship of his king.

I am reminded that it should always remain far from me to assume I know how the Lord responds to many of the given predicaments folks find themselves in. Both the kindness as well as the justice and righteousness aspects of the Lord's nature are always present in his dealings with mankind. He and he only possesses the wisdom of how he may respond to any specific situation - and he isn't asking me what I think.

With certainty we know the Lord's perspective on many things, as he has revealed these things of himself to us in the pages of Scripture. However, there are some things we might find ourselves surprised about!

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!

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The Message of Miracles - 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 4:2-5,

"Elisha replied to her [the widow of a prophet], 'How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?' 'Your servant has nothing there at all,' she said, 'except a small jar of olive oil.' Elisha said, 'Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.' She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring."

A widow of a prophet, "a man from the company of the prophets", went to Elisha for help. When he died, her husband left her with a debt she could not pay and the creditor was coming to take her two sons as his slaves. Elisha intervened and told the widow to take the only thing she had, a small jar of olive oil, and pour it out into as many empty jars as she could get her hands on. In a miraculous way, the small jar of olive oil did not run out until all the empty jars were filled. Elisha then told her to sell the oil and payoff the debt which freed her sons from the impending enslavement.

Miracles have always been closely associated with God's prophets, the people who have been selected by God to represent him. The supernatural nature of empowerment the Lord imbued his prophets with demonstrated the authenticity of the prophet's bona fides, and pointed to the reality that the God who called these prophets was the Creator himself. Only the Creator of all things can violate the physical laws that he himself established to govern his creation.

Fools who reject God call into question whether these miracles ever took place. However, it is these very miracles that call into question their rejection of God. You simply cannot have the miraculous without a miracle maker, God himself. The denial of these miracles is nothing other than simple rejection of God.

As Jesus told Nicodemus, many reject God. Not because there is any problem with the documentation or reasonableness of the revelation of God, but because they have made a choice to cling to their sin. John 3:19-20, "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed."

Here is why the documentation of the miracles in the pages of Scripture is rejected by so many: it is not on academic or historically accurate grounds, but on the same old grounds of morality. Many prefer to continue in sin rather than embrace Jesus Christ in faith.

What a huge surprise this many will have when they leave this life!

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!

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God's Word Never Ever Fails - 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 3:23,

"Those kings must have fought and slaughtered each other. Now to the plunder, Moab!"

The kings of Israel, Judah and Edom joined forces to fight against Moab. When the soldiers of Moab got up in the morning they saw what looked to them like blood on the land between them and the advancing three kings. Moab's army thought it was the blood of their enemies and decided to plunder their camp.

But... (and it is a very big "but"!) the Lord had announced through the prophet Elisha that the kings of Israel, Judah and Edom would be victorious over Moab. What appeared to be blood was actually a flood of water the Lord foretold would come. Moab launched its plunder of the armies of Israel, Judah and Edom and were destroyed.

Perhaps it is mentioned often - but I think it cannot be stated too often: nothing, absolutely nothing can thwart the word of the Lord. What he says will always, without fail come to pass! It is a reality we should rightfully cling to as we live our lives. Recognizing this should be of great benefit to us as we order our own lives.

"As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my [the Lord's] word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:10-11.

It certainly is a truth that should drive us to the word of God, our Bibles, where we can learn how things work in this life, and how to live our lives here with a view to our lives in the next age. Since the word of God never fails, why foolishly fail to avail ourselves of it?

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!

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Real Hope and Real Change! - 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 2:11,

"As they [the prophets Elijah and Elisha] were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind."

We read in Hebrews 9:27 that people are destined to die once (and afterward to face judgment). Not so for Elijah, the prophet of God. He was one man that did not experience a physical death as the rest of us. As we read in the above text, he left this life without a physical death. 

He will not be the only one. We read that believers who are alive and remain in this life at the end of the age when Jesus returns will not experience death either, but will be transformed into the bodies all believers will have in the next age - bodies that will never see death.

This account of Elijah reminds me of these things and the realities of things unseen in this world. It brings to mind a very encouraging passage from Paul, "According to the Lord's word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep [experienced their physical death]. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever." 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17.

The excitement this inspires within me is beyond words to express! How wonderful the hope we believers have in the 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!

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Don't Become Toast: Have Reverence for the Things of 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 1:13-14,

"So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. 'Man of God,' he begged, 'please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!'"

King Ahaziah, an ungodly king of northern Israel (all the kings of northern Israel were bad) fell through the lattice of his upper room and was severely injured. So he sent messengers to go and inquire of the worthless idol, Baal-Zebub. The Lord, through Elijah, intercepted these messengers and sent them back to Ahaziah with the message, "Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub,, the god of Ekron?" Verse 7.

In response Ahaziah sent a military captain with fifty men to drag Elijah back to give an explanation. The text leaves me with the impression that Ahaziah thought he might demand an explanation from Elijah and sent the company of soldiers to force Elijah to give an account. But... Elijah was a man of God. Ahaziah placed himself in the horrific position of demanding an account from God through his prophet.

I am reminded of what the writer of Hebrews says, "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Hebrews 10:31 Ahaziah's problem was that he did not hold God in with the reverence and awe with which he should have: no fear of the Lord. The writer of Hebrews went on to say a couple of chapters later, "... worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our 'God is a consuming fire.'" Hebrews 12:28-29.

Given this set of events, when the first captain and his company of soldiers approached Elijah, recognizing him as "man of God", Elijah greeted them with the frightful words, "If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!" Verse 10. This is exactly what happened. "Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.". Due to Ahaziah's lack of reverence for who and what he was dealing with, he repeated his actions and the Lord his. A second captain with a company of fifty soldiers were sent and consumed by fire from heaven at Elijah's word.

In our passage above we have the account of the third captain sent with his fifty soldiers. Having witnessed what had taken place with his two predecessors, he wisely approached Elijah with an appropriate humility and reverence that was due the Lord from anyone, the humility and reverence with which King Ahaziah should have ordered his throne by. Having failed to do so, Ahaziah died apart from the Lord's blessing after sitting on the throne for a paltry two years - as a failed king.

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!

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Who Really Speaks for the Lord? - 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 22:7,

"Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?"

The setting of this question was quite remarkable. The king of Judah was asked by the king of Israel to help him fight the Arameans. The king of Judah wanted to seek the counsel of the Lord through a prophet first. Before both kings, about four hundred prophets were already prophesying when the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat, asked this question of the king of Israel, Ahab.

Ahab reluctantly asked that a true prophet of the Lord, Micaiah, be summoned. The four hundred prophets clearly were not of the Lord and, contrary to their claims, could not obtain the counsel of the Lord any more than anyone else. In other words, even though they held the office of prophet, even though they were recognized within Israel as prophets, they simply were not. In spite of the four hundred prophets already prophesying, there was only one real prophet to call upon. Only one who could obtain the counsel of the Lord.

Should not this question be asked today? There are countless men and women today who claim to speak for the Lord. Countless "ministries", countless churches, countless Christian authors, popes, priests, elders, pastors, evangelists, all who claim to speak for the Lord today. What is fascinating is that so many are saying differing and conflicting things. Should not their "credentials" as true spokespeople for the Lord be questioned?

Just because someone has advanced to some sort of leadership position, has advanced in some sort of recognition as being an "expert" in the things of the Lord, has a seminary degree, a best selling Christian book, why should their "credentials" in speaking for the Lord not be questioned?

The events of Jehoshaphat's and Ahab's day should teach us today that not all who claim to speak for the Lord really speak for him. The Scriptures, our Bible, is the place to go to validate anyone's credentials to truly speak for the 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!

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God's People: the Objects of Hate - 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 21:20,

"Ahab said to Elijah, 'So you have found me, my enemy!'"

King Ahab considered the man of God, the prophet Elijah, his enemy. Ahab was a wicked man and as such lived his life in opposition to the things of God. We are told in verses 25-26, "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."

Those who live their lives apart from the Lord inevitably find themselves living in opposition to the things of the Lord. Ahab was no exception and as he made his choices in life, he found himself not only estranged from the Lord, but also in opposition to the Lord. It is from this perspective that Ahab considered Elijah his enemy.

Where we may find this not to be surprising, it is helpful to note that this dynamic exists yet within our lives today. This is something that has always existed. In Proverbs 29:27 we read, "The righteous detest the dishonest; the wicked detest the upright." Those who love the Lord quite naturally detest those who oppose the Lord. You might think those who even claim the Lord doesn't even exist could care less, but their comments betray otherwise.

All you and I need to do to be hated and reviled by most people of the world is to simply live our lives for the Lord and express our faith in him. You might think that the first amendment to the constitution of the United States might reflect and provide for the tolerance of our Christian beliefs and our love of the Lord here in our country. However, that is not the case and never will be. We might be on good legal ground, but from a cultural perspective, we believers are hated.

Never forget: those who have given themselves to the Lord will always be hated by those who have not. Our embrace of the Lord is a reminder to all who have not embraced him of their failure to do so. It matters not why someone may have not embraced the Lord, it is enough that they have not and our decision to embrace the Lord points directly to judgment day and the poor choice they have made.

Why would a king consider a man of God his enemy? When God is his enemy, God's man is as well.

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!

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How Well Do You Really Know 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 20:40-43,

"Then the prophet [an unknown prophet] quickly removed the headband from his eyes, and the king of Israel [King Ahab] recognized him as one of the prophets. 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."' Sullen and angry, the king of Israel went to his palace in Samaria."

The Lord had provided King Ahab of Israel a victory over the king of Aram, Ben-Hadad. When Ben-Hadad lost the military conflict, suffering huge losses (a hundred thousand KIAs), he pleaded with Ahab for his life. As we see in the above passage, the Lord intended Ahab put Ben-Hadad to death, but instead entered into a treaty with him and let him free, verse 34.

How well do you know God? How well do you think you know God? King Ahab obviously did not know or understand the Lord well - and it cost him dearly.

Here is an example of this today: we live in a day where it is simply assumed that God wants peace among all nations. He wants us to "all get along together." Really? Is that true? Where has the Lord ever expressed that for the nations of this age? On the contrary, he who never changes has revealed himself to have a specific agenda in this lost and fallen world. A part of that agenda includes his use of nations against one another.

The fairy tale of misunderstood Christmas cards, "On earth peace among men" is a reference to Luke 2:14, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests." This is what the company of the heavenly host said to the shepherds on Christmas day. What the heavenly host was saying was that there could now be, because of the coming of the Son of God to earth, peace between God and man, not man and man. In this life, peace was now available to sinful mankind with God because of the payment for sins the Savior would make.

On the contrary, Jesus said, "Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division." God has his agenda and is not tolerant of any perversion of it. The Lord "is the same yesterday and today and forever." Hebrews 13:8.

If King Ahab thought he knew the Lord, he learned the hard way he really did not. Fortunately, we do not have to make the same mistake... as long as we exchange our fairy tales about God for the revelation of himself 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!

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The Remnant - 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 19:10,

"The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."

This is Elijah's complaint to the Lord as he fled the infamous and wicked Jezebel, King Ahab's wife. Following what is one of the most dramatic of all accounts in the pages of Scripture, where Elijah's work as a prophet of the Lord led to the deaths of 850 priests of idolatry, Jezebel looked to take Elijah's life. Elijah fled from Jezebel to a cave on Mount Horeb where the Lord confronted Elijah and asked what he was doing, hiding in the cave.

The account is a fascinating one where a monumental victory of God's prophet over the 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah is followed by his hiding in a cave, fearful and ready to die.

Paul uses this account to make a point in Romans 11:2-5, "Don't you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: 'Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me'? And what was God's answer to him? 'I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.' So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace."

Paul uses the passage to point out that the Lord has always had a remnant of people of faith. The question Paul addressed was: since Israel, as a nation, did not embrace the Son of God, was God then done with Israel? Paul's answer was no - although it may have appeared to his questioner there were no Jewish believers, they existed nonetheless. Just as certain as the sinful condition of everyone who has ever lived, so, likewise, there has always been a remnant of people who have embraced the Lord in faith - there is always a manifestation of God's wonderful work of grace on planet earth represented in those who have fled to him for refuge from his horrific judgment.

When things look stark and forbidding, when it seems you are the only one in your orbit that has a heart for the Lord, know there are others! We are never alone as there are wonderful brothers and sisters that surround us no matter how things may look. 

A dogged, persevering and tenacious company of believers surrounds us! This is one of the many ways our loving Lord provides us encouragement and strength. Each one of us believers comprise that faithful remnant the Lord holds as his in this life... as we look to our unfathomable inheritance in the next.

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!

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The Blame Game - 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 18:17-18,

"When he [King Ahab] saw Elijah, he said to him, 'Is that you, you troubler of Israel?' 'I have not made trouble for Israel,' Elijah replied. 'But you and your father's family have. You have abandoned the Lord's commands and have followed the Baals.'"

Ahab was the seventh king over the ten northern tribes of Israel. He was a man rife with sin. I note here he blamed the prophet of God, Elijah, for a severe famine that gripped the land. Elijah refuted the claim he was a "troubler" of Israel, that, in fact, it was King Ahab himself that had brought trouble to the nation by his leading them in idolatry. The famine was due to Ahab's sin, yet Ahab blamed the man of God for the suffering.

Is it not quite a familiar thing we find? Sinful people bring trouble to themselves, and everyone around them, yet blame those who could point the way?

Sinful little man shakes his puny fist against his Creator, God Almighty. Sinful man earns his Maker's judgment by turning from God and suffers. And in his little tirade against his maker for his suffering, he learns absolutely nothing. The deceit in the heart of sinful mankind is blinding.

I am reminded of Proverbs 19:3, "A person's own folly leads to their ruin, yet their heart rages against the Lord."

Here is how pathetic sinful man looks in Psalm 2:1-6, 

"Why do the nations conspire
    and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise up
    and the rulers band together
    against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
'Let us break their chains
    and throw off their shackles.'
The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
    the Lord scoffs at them.
He rebukes them in his anger
    and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
'I have installed my king
    on Zion, my holy mountain.'"

I see this all about me today. I am certain you do as well. Whether it be in politics, religion, the conversation in the public square, in social media, where ever people are, this is still in full bloom 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!

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