December 25, 2012 Fully Opened Gift

Fully Opened Gift Luke 2: 36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. 39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. AS WE celebrate God’s miraculous gift for you, there’s one thought I‘d like to give with you. You can live the same kind of life Jesus did. Jesus lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. That same Spirit is available to live inside you and change your life. How does this happen? You confess your sins to Jesus and acknowledge him as your Lord, the highest authority in your life—and as your Savior—the One who cancels all the debt of the sin in your life. When Jesus’ Spirit lives in you, you will gradually gain a more clear understanding of God’s will in your life. When you follow his will, you will find that the Spirit fills you with power to take steps down new paths and strength to resist temptation. You will grow in your relationship with God day by day as you hear his voice from the Bible, from the Spirit and from those who teach his Word. You will fall in love with him, and you will know his deep love for you. And in this love relationship with the Almighty God, your heart will then live in peace because your life is focused on the Prince of Peace. You will live in joy knowing the God of the universe cares deeply for you. You will live in hope of a new life with him for eternity. May you joyfully celebrate Christmas, and faithfully anticipate your Savior coming again. Jesus loves you. It’s True! When you unwrap God’s gifts, you will fully receive his loving Savior, his gift for you. Merry Christmas.

December 26, 2012 Seeing God in the Book of Job

Seeing God in Job Job 1:20-22 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; 5 the name of the LORD be praised.” 22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. & Job 2:10 He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” I KNOW. Job’s (Jobes) story is nasty. It’s awful, heart-rending, sad, frustrating, weird and scary—to name a few. Someone said, “Do we have to read Job? I like to read through it as fast as I can.” Well, yes, if you want to get to know God much better, you do have to read Job. What other reason is there to read the Bible? And instead of racing through it, try spending some time in Job’s agony. Then you will more fully celebrate Job’s victory. The verses above are, I think, the foundation of Job’s story. From the Garden of Eden when Eve and Adam decided they deserved more than God had given them in the perfect Eden, humanity has been asking God for more. We blame God for the bad things. We accuse God of not loving or caring for us when life is tough. We turn from him to pursue other things because we think God has too little to offer. Worshiping God is often far from our minds—even if (and especially if) things are going well. But look. See Job’s heart. See Job’s submission. He knows that EVERYTHING is from God. He knows God has the power and the right and the privilege to do with our lives as he pleases. Hard lessons come to us reluctantly. We want to reject them. Most of us never do get it right. Job eventually did. He has some learning to do. Stay with me, and let’s learn with him. It’s True! Great lessons come with great awareness.

December 27, 2012 Turn On the Light

Turn On the Light! Job 3:1-5 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 He said: 3 “May the day of my birth perishes, and the night it was said, ‘A boy is born!’ 4 That day — may it turn to darkness; may God above not care about it; may no light shine upon it. 5 May darkness and deep shadow claim it once more; may a cloud settle over it; may blackness overwhelm its light. HAVE YOU ever felt this way? Your mind, heart and soul wrapped in a cloud of hurt and despair, depressed and hopeless? Life’s circumstances can get that way too quickly, can’t they? You can have a very difficult time seeing out of the cloud, can’t you? As Job lives in the darkness that has come into his life through the deaths of his children, the loss of his wealth and his health, he feels God has put a hedge of darkness around him. He says, in verse 26 “I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.” His emotions are a mess. What will he do? The story of Job is the story of a man who works through his grief, despair and depression to see that God really is waiting to help him. Job will assess his circumstances. His friends will accuse him of doing wrong and offer advice. Job will go to God with the intention to tell God why he doesn’t deserve all these problems. In the end, the light of God’s holiness and love will turn on in Job’s heart. He will turn from his pain to see God’s wonder and majesty. He will repent, breathe out his sadness and despair to God, and he will walk out of his dark, depressive cloud into the light of life in God. It’s True! God is bigger than life’s dark clouds.

December 28, 2012 Let Me Care for You

Come and Let Me Care for You Job 5:8-10 “If I were you, I would go to God and present my case to him. 9 He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles. 10 He gives rain for the earth and water for the fields.” IT HAS been an interesting week in ministry. God seems to be moving in hearts to seek him. It seems almost as if people have read these words and said to themselves, “I need help. I need a church. I need to talk to a pastor. I need to know more about Jesus.” I pray that is what is happening. There are so many reasons why people are feeling hopeless frustration, deep anger, imprisoning anxiety, and guilt. They’ve tried a myriad of “solutions” to find ease to their pain. But there is only one solution. Eliphaz is wise to direct Job to the sovereign LORD. Job wants to die. He curses his birth date. He moans for release from his affliction. He’s experiencing all the anguish I listed above and much more. ALL is GONE. Or is it? No, all is not gone. In fact, ALL is waiting for him when he calls on God to say, “I have nothing. You are everything. Can I come to you?” Of course, God will be delighted to say, “Of course you can, Job! I love you. You have lost your family and your wealth. But I am ALL you need. Come here and let me care for you.” It’s True! God offers his ALL to you.

December 29, 2012 Compassion from Heaven

Compassion from Heaven Job 7:17 “What is man that you make so much of him, that you give him so much attention, 18 that you examine him every morning and test him every moment?” HAVE YOU ever felt someone’s watchful eye constantly over you? Every time you do something or say something, that person seems to have a “suggestion” for you about how to do something better. That person causes you to feel judged and inadequate without mercy. Job has that feeling with God. He is miserable and feels that God has brought severe circumstances into his life through constant scrutiny in all he does. “Why are you watching me so closely, God? What have I done? Why not concern yourself with larger things in the world? Leave me alone.” We can feel that way in our relationship with our heavenly Father, can’t we? Often we view his laws and his teachings as restrictive judgment on our lives. We prefer he leaves us alone to live as we desire without sense of guilt or of God “watching” our every move. But isn’t it good to know that God does watch over your life? Everything that happens to you is under his guidance and care. Certainly he has a clear path for us to walk in a right way with him, and he makes the way clear because he is a God of compassion. He watches over you with his eyes of love to bring you to look back at him with your eyes of love. Yes, we often may not understand the reason for grief and trouble in our lives. But what do you say and do in response to those hard things? Do you complain to God? Or do you seek God’s compassion and mercy? It’s True! Your compassionate God will care for you as you seek him in the Bible and in prayer.

December 30, 3012 Secure Hope

Secure Hope Job 8:20 “Surely God does not reject a blameless man or strengthen the hands of evildoers. 21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. 22 Your enemies will be clothed in shame, and the tents of the wicked will be no more.” WHAT DO you think when you look at your life and the world around you? I get a mix of “life” reviews from people I talk with and to whom I minister. Some of you are really struggling with your life circumstances, desperate for hope that you or your loved ones will have a better life. Some of you live with a view that things could be better. You feel you’ve missed some things and long for the filling of those empty places. Some of you have an unquenchable hope for your life as you enter into each day. I think most of us are in the second category. How do we live into the life of true hope for our lives, our family and for our world? I’ll say to you what Bildad said to Job, “Surely God does not reject a blameless man or strengthen the hands of evildoers.” The essence of hope comes in the truth of God’s words for you. Throughout scripture, God promises you blessings of his care over you and hope for your life as follow his ways. God is a promise-keeper. He will do as he says. In God you have the righteous expectation, the true hope that he will guide your life to blessing as you follow him. He’s not promising you riches and comfort. He’s promising you much more—himself. Fix your heart on the Lord of all, and see his eternal truths are for you. It’s True! Hope in God is certain and eternal.

December 31, 2012 Rebuilding Hope

Rebuilding Hope Job 9:21 I am innocent, but it makes no difference to me— I despise my life. WOW. This is tough stuff. Job is at the bottom. He has gone from a satisfied, prosperous life showing a great love and worship for God to a life of bleak depression. He has no hope. He despises himself! That’s one of the reasons this book is hard to read. We see a man beaten down by life’s circumstances. His family is dead. His property is destroyed. All that has given him value is gone. He looks at what has happened to him and says, “Why me? I’m innocent. I’ve lived a life in fear of God. How could this happen? What’s wrong with you God you would let this happen? What did I do?” We often ask those questions, wondering why our sovereign God allows hard things in our lives. Where do we find the answers? Where will Job, and where will we find relief? Let’s look further into today’s reading. Here is good advice about what to do in the darkness: Job 11:13-18 “If only you would prepare your heart and lift up your hands to him in prayer! 14 Get rid of your sins, and leave all iniquity behind you. raid, 15 Then your face will brighten with innocence. You will be strong and free of fear. 16 You will forget your misery; it will be like water flowing away. 17 Your life will be brighter than the noonday. Even darkness will be as bright as morning. 18 Having hope will give you courage. You will be protected and will rest in safety. Creator, Redeemer, Restorer, God not only takes away our sins, he removes our darkness. He gives us hope. It’s True! Life gets better as God gets brighter.

December 24, 2012 God's Word is Life

God’s Word is Life 2 Kings 23: 10 He desecrated Topheth, which was in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, so no one could use it to sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire to Molech. OFTENTIMES you read in the Bible of the worship of Baal and Molech and how these gods are detestable in the sight of the Lord. Too often, it’s easy to dismiss that view as a God-view. How bad can it be? This scripture tells you on bad it can be. Unbelievably, people of Jewish descent who knew of their wondrous God of life were convinced to kill a child—usually their oldest son—in a sacrificial worship of the evil. What happened in Israel and Judah to turn the hearts of God’s people so violently against life and to death? The main thing that happened is that God’s people became totally ignorant of his Word. His Law had been “lost” in the Temple. Generation after generation had failed to tell of God’s glorious deeds of deliverance for his people and the conquest of the very land in which they lived. God’s people had forgotten the blessings he had promised them and turned to the curses of the devil. Sadly we have the same problem today. You might say, “No one kills their son in the fire.” But stop to think that since Roe vs. Wade in 1973, 54,559,615 children have been killed by the abortionists in the United States. And we grievously mourn the death of 20 children in Connecticut, but who is mourning the 2,716–and counting—uunborn children who died in America today? What has happened? Oh, that’s right; we’ve ignored God’s Word. It’s True! When you hear, read and learn God’s Word, you will find life.

December 23, 2012 Discovery

Discovery 2 Kings 22:10-11 Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king. 11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes. KING JOSIAH had ordered repairs and remodeling to the Lord’s Temple in Jerusalem. As they men began their work, the high priest Hilkiah, apparently in a cleaning out process, made an amazing discovery – the Book of the Law of Moses. We call this the Pentateuch, the first 5 books of the Bible. Think about this. The priests had been doing their work in the temple, and the people had been coming to offer money and sacrifices to God, but they did not know the Word of the Lord! It’s as if you go into church, and the pastor reads from a story book of some mundane topic that teaches nothing of God. (I actually witnessed that once.) It’s as if you say you are a Christian, but you never read the word of God. (Have you ever seen anything like that?) It’s as if people gather in a church for a meeting about Jesus’ church, but they never read God’s Word and pray for guidance. (Could that be possible?) Note Josiah’s response to the Law’s discovery. He tore his clothes. He grieves in the discovery that God’s Law has been undiscovered in God’s House for about 200 years! In response to discovering the Law, Josiah begins a work throughout Judah that removes the worship of evil from the land. The Law of God becomes the law of the land. They celebrate Passover again and rightly remember the Sovereign Lord, who has called them to be his people. What must you do to discover God’s Word in your life? What must your church do to discover God’s Word in its life? It’s True! You need to know God’s Word.

December 22, 2012 A Prayer

A Prayer 2 Kings 19:15 And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “O Lord, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 Give ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God. 17 “It is true, O Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. 18 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by men's hands. 19 Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God.” JERUSALEM is besieged by the world’s strongest army. For nearly 300 years Assyria has violently dominated the Middle Eastern region and Egypt. Surely it is an army that will destroy one city. Hezekiah has only one place to go for rescue, and faithfully he goes to God. See his prayer. He praises God and acknowledges him as Lord of all. He speaks of how Assyria’s king has insulted God by saying God is the same as other nations’ gods. Then Hezekiah pleads for deliverance from the enemy for this reason: “so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God.” Hezekiah’s prayer points to God, acknowledging his Lordship over all the earth. Hezekiah prays for his own and his people’s deliverance not for their sake, but that God will be known to the nations. Let us pray: O Lord, may the people in our families, community and church see your magnificent power as you protect and guide them today. Amen” It’s True! Prayer is about praising and trusting God.

December 21, 2012 Hold Fast

Hold Fast 2 Kings 18:28-32 Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. 30 Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ 31 “Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 32 until I come and take you to a land like your own, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Choose life and not death! “Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’” YOU’VE been there. Temptation comes to say, “Listen to me. Give up God’s ways for my ways. You’ll find great pleasure if you listen to me. Surrender to me. You’ll have fun.” If you listen, you might have fun for a while, but very soon you learn you’ve made the wrong choice. Temptation’s ways are the ways of death to your relationships, your health, your joy and your peace. Assyria’s superbly trained army was at Jerusalem’s gates, demanding King Hezekiah’s surrender. They tempted the people to choose surrender and go with them to a supposed lush physical life. Of course, their purpose was to destroy Judah and her people. How do you trust the Lord and stay with Him when Temptation is so inviting? Here’s how: 2 Kings 18:6 Hezekiah held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. It’s True! Hold tightly to God, and Temptation will lose his grip.

December 20, 2012 God or Not?

God or Not? 2 Kings 17:35-41 When the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites, he commanded them: “Do not worship any other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them. 36 But the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt with mighty power and outstretched arm, is the one you must worship. To him you shall bow down and to him offer sacrifices. 37 You must always be careful to keep the decrees and ordinances, the laws and commands he wrote for you. Do not worship other gods. 38 Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other gods. 39 Rather, worship the Lord your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.” 40 They would not listen, however, but persisted in their former practices. 41 Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their fathers did. HOW MANY times do you need to instruct a child before he will obey you? How often do you speak helpful things to your friends before they will believe you? You get frustrated when people deny your helpful, even loving instructions, don’t you? Do you think God might be frustrated with you? After all, he has clearly spoken through the Bible of his commands to teach you how to worship, honor and love him. Those commands, too, guide you to loving relationships with family, friends and your “neighbors”. Jesus’ examples and parables of right living with the Lord are his instructions and helpful words to lead you to live in faith every day. What do you do with God’s commands, instructions and help? Ignore them or live in them? It’s True! Listening to the Lord is life.

December 19, 2012 Devotion

Devotion 2 Kings 15: 4 The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. WHAT YOU are reading right now is often called a “devotion”. Why? It is a reading that draws your attention to God’s Word and helps you commit your mind, spirit and soul more to God’s truth in your life. Devotion to God is your commitment to know Him and to faithfully live in his truth everyday as you commit to know God. This scripture today is a phrase that pops up in many places in 1 and 2 Kings. There is a sense of the king’s daily devotion to God, but many people in the land remain undevoted to God, committed still to pagan idols. God’s people did not display a devotion to God’s truth. What do you do with this devotion? What do you do with God’s Word? Do you read and discard it? Do you read it and consider God’s Word for your day? Or do you read it and consider God’s Word for your life? Do you bring God’s Word into your life each day to build up your devotion to God, to live in faith, to follow his ways, or not? What’s clear in scripture is that it is not enough to say no to sin; you must also say yes to a devoted life in God. An occasional or even a daily reading is not enough if you do not devote your spirit, mind and soul to know God’s words for your life and to live in his words. Be devoted to God’s Word and live in faith every day. It’s True! Devoted to God, you will have true life.

December 18, 2012 Helper

Helper 2 Kings 14:26-27 The Lord had seen how bitterly everyone in Israel, whether slave or free, was suffering; there was no one to help them. 27 And since the Lord had not said he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Jehoash. MANY of you have seen distress in your family, haven’t you? A son, a daughter or a sibling has faced difficult times because of their own decisions or as victims of circumstances. How do you respond? As a child of God, you ask yourself and the one in distress, “How can I help?” You have a helping heart for your loved one in distress. Who gives to you your helping heart? In today’s scripture you see the Lord’s heart to save his people, who had “no one to help them”. His heart is for his family, the people he had called to be his own. Many, many times he sent a savior to help them in their distress. Some he sent were good kings, great warriors, or godly prophets. One time he sent his Son. Your helping heart reflects God’s compassionate heart. As God desires to save, you also desire to save your loved ones from distress, don’t you? That is God’s heart in you. How do you help? Sometimes you can act in specific ways. Always, you can pray for God to relieve your loved one’s distress. You must pray, too, for God’s wisdom to know how to help. God’s wisdom will lead you to be a God-like helper. Are you under stress as your loved one is in distress? Then seek your God, the Helper. Let him be your strength and your guide. It’s True! Psalms 121:2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

December 17, 2012 Under the Influence

Under the Influence 2 Kings 12:1-3 In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother's name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba. 2 Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3 The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. ARE YOU a faithful priest of God’s Word? You see how Joash learned of God’s ways and ruled in God’s ways because the priest of the temple taught him. The priest was faithful to know God’s Word and to instruct Joash in God’s truth. He put a shield of truth around Joash to discern right and wrong. As a result, Joash, under the influence of the priest, ruled Judah under the influence of God’s laws. As I ask then, “Are you a priest?” I’m asking, “Do you represent God’s Word to people around you?” This priest, Jehoiada, is a good model for you. As the priest he was a man of great influence. If he taught the truth, they would receive it. If he taught lies, they would live in the lies. He could influence people for God or away from God. And so can you. Yes, it is true that your life has much influence over people around you. What would happen if you lived under the influence of the Gospel? As you know God’s Word and share God’s word with others, you would help them see how to live. They would see the truth in the Jesus-like ways you treat them, forgive them and love them. They would be under your influence as you brought God’s Word into their lives. Isn’t that a good way to influence someone? It’s True! Your life can and will influence others for Jesus.

December 16, 2012 God Acts to Save You

God Acts to Save You 2 Kings 11:21 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign. GREAT turmoil has infiltrated Judah, the Southern Kingdom. Ahaziah, Judah’s king, was killed by Jehu under God’s instruction because Ahaziah pursued evil. As a result Athaliah, Ahaziah’s mother, ordered all of the royal family in Judah destroyed to avenge her son’s death. To save Joash, an infant nephew of the dead king, a woman named Jehosheba, wife of the high priest, hid Joash and his nurse safely in the temple. That was a really smart thing to do, because the Baal-worshiping Athaliah would never go into the temple. Seven years later, God acted to complete the cleansing of Judah and to bring the boy Joash to the throne. Why is this worth considering? Can you think back to Moses? He, too, was under threat of a high official, Egypt’s Pharaoh, to be killed as a newborn Hebrew boy. He was saved by his quick-thinking mother and helpful sister. 80 years later, God anointed him to be Israel’s great Law Giver. God miraculously saved and used Moses to advance his plan of salvation for the world. Likewise, God miraculously saved and used Joash to advance his plan of salvation to the world. Why Joash? Joash is of the lineage of David in Judah. As God decreed his Savior would come from David in the nation of Judah, he preserved the one child left in Judah who carried David’s blood line. He preserved, too, his promise of a Savior to destroy sin forever. Joash was a boy king, but in the power of God, he would advance the purpose of God. Question: Do you feel limited to advance God’s purpose? Then pray to God to touch you with his power and trust him to use you as he will. It’s True! God has acted through specific time with specific people to save you.

December 14, 2012 Blessed to Bless

Blessed to Bless 2 Kings 8:1 Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the Lord has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years.” 2 The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years. THE STORY of Elisha’s connection with this Shunammite woman begins in 2 Kings 4:9-10 She said to her husband, "I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. 10 Let's make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us." From this gift of hospitality, God blesses this couple with a son. God then demonstrates his great blessing on them as he uses Elisha to resurrect her son from a sudden death. Then God’s blessings come to the woman as Elisha advises her to leave Israel to avoid a famine. What’s more, when she returns, her land and goods are fully restored to her. One good deed, one gift of the heart, one blessing to a man of God and God blesses the woman over a period of years. Although earthly wealth and comfort, good health, or resurrection from death isn’t the experience of everyone who is faithful to God, you can know that this woman’s life is an example of protection, peace and provision God offers to his own. There are many stories of faithful people I know who receive that surprise check in the mail, that great job offer, that house at a great deal and healing from disease. Certainly it is God’s choice to bless you as he desires. Scripture is clear, however, that his desire is to bless you as you live a life that blesses him and his people. It’s True! Proverbs 10:7 The memory of the righteous will be a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.

December 13, 2012 Dramatic Change

Dramatic Change 2 Kings 7:1 Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.” DO YOU believe God is a God of sudden change? Do you believe God can turn the darkest of days into the brightest of tomorrows? That’s what he does in this dramatic, life-changing account of how God redeems Samaria from starvation. The King of Aram had laid siege to the city. Famine became a hideous reality, and there was no limit to what people would do to eat. So when Elisha prophesied these words to say that food would be very cheap tomorrow, the king’s officer was in total disbelief and said, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?” As it is with so many of us, the officer had no faith in God. He had forgotten God created the heavens and the earth, redeemed Israel from Egypt and the many ways God had dramatically redeemed his people through the centuries. And so it happened. God caused the Arameans to desert their camp, and the next day the citizens of Samaria plundered the food and wealth the Aramean soldiers left behind in their tents. Indeed, food was suddenly very available and very cheap. Sadly, the officer missed the bounty. God punished his disbelief, causing his death as people ran over him for the plunder. What dramatic change do you need in your life? Stop your disbelief and go to God. Ask him for that change. Have faith that the God of dramatic change will, indeed, bring change to your life. It’s True! In 3 days Jesus changed the world.

December 12, 2012 Sadly Imperfect

Sadly Imperfect 2 Kings 5:25-27 “Where have you been, Gehazi?” Elisha asked. “Your servant didn't go anywhere,” Gehazi answered. 26 But Elisha said to him, “Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money, or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, flocks, herds, or menservants and maidservants? 27 Naaman's leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever.” Then Gehazi went from Elisha's presence and he was leprous, as white as snow. I’M VERY sad. Are you? After all, through the first 4 chapters of 2 Kings, you see Gehazi faithfully “in the mix”, ministering with Elisha. But then he makes this sad mistake. When Namaan, a commander of the army of the king of Aram was sick with leprosy, Elisha told him to dip 7 times into the Jordan River. Namaan reluctantly agreed. Healed, he then came to Elisha to offer gifts, but Elisha refused. When Namaan left, Gehazi pursued him, and Namaan happily gave much to Gehazi. But see Gehazi’s lies to his master. Who does he think he is dealing with? Elisha has an incredible anointing of the Holy Spirit over him. Does he think Elisha will not know he lied? Is your heart as Gehazi’s? Do you think you can faithfully follow God most of the time and then lie when temptation is too much? Sadly, one sin, tiny or huge, separates you from God as surely as Gehazi’s leprosy separated him from Elisha. When asked, “Where were you?” Gehazi needed to humble himself and repent before Elisha’s authority. Instead, his lie increased his sin and separated him from Elisha forever. No lie is worth your separation from your holy, loving God. Let the lies go. Live in the truth. It’s True! Lies you cannot hide. Get rid of them.

December 11, 2012 A Little Oil, Much Faith

A Little Oil, Much Faith 2 Kings 4:1 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.” 2 Elisha replied to her, “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 little oil.” 3 Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. 4 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.” 5 She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.” But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing. 7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.” IMAGINE you are the widow—no money, no hope for money and the threat of your sons sold as slaves. What would you do? Would you go to God? And when you heard his answer would you do what he said? Elisha’s ministry is full of remarkable acts of God on lives of people in Israel, Judah and in other countries. They common connection is that they act in faith. Some need to be coaxed into following Elisha’s instructions more than others. But eventually all that act in the ways he tells them see God heal, resurrect, conquer and provide for daily needs. It’s True! Faith guides you to God’s power.

December 10, 2012 A Loving Devoted Friend

A Loving Friend 2 Kings 2:1-2 When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. PLEASE take 2 minutes to read 2 Kings 2…Good. God really showed up, didn’t he? Did you also notice Elisha’s loving friendship with Elijah? In these verses above and twice more in 2 Kings 2, Elisha testifies, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” Elisha is adamant to stay with his mentor and friend. See, too, how Elisha refuses to discuss Elijah’s impending ascension and how he tears his clothes – the Hebrew sign of grief – as Elijah disappears into the sky. Elisha is truly a devoted, loving friend who mourns his mentor’s death. What I’d like you to learn from this is that it is okay to grieve the loss of a friend or loved one to death. Oftentimes we almost feel guilty mourning a loved one’s death. We feel we should be rejoicing as our loved one has entered Heaven. But think of this: Elisha saw God swoop his friend off the earth and into Heaven! He knew with the greatest certainty Elijah was alive with the Lord God. And yet, he mourned. Why? A void was in his life. He felt cheated out of a great relationship. He felt God had betrayed him. Elisha felt the same way you and I do when a loved one dies long before we’re ready to let him go. But amid his mourning, God shows up to empower Elisha with the same power that was in Elijah. The work goes on and so does Elisha. Elijah appropriately mourns. Then he willingly moves forward. It’s True! Mourning is good. Moving on is necessary.

December 9, 2012 Who's Your God?

Who’s Your God? 2 Kings 1:2-4 Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, “Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury.” 3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’ 4 Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!’” SAMARIA is the northern kingdom of the Jewish people, the kingdom called Israel. The ancestors of these people came out of Egypt, strained for 40 years in the Sinai Desert and entered the Promised Land. They saw and heard the power of God’s Word on his people generation after generation. Yet Ahaziah determines disdains the Living God and consults a non-existent, dead God. God’s judgment on him is sure and swift as he dies in his sin. What do you do, Christian? Do you consult dead gods of philosophy, self-help books, or take-the-next-pill remedy? The means of man are not the means of life’s eternal answers regardless of how hard we try to fit the temporary solutions into our eternal needs. In need of healing or help, we turn every which way but to the Way. Then we wonder why we’re dying inside. Why do we disdain Life Himself as our answer? Do we think there’ something new in the universe? Do you keep the Bible closed on the table because you think, “That’s not my God in the Bible.” Think again. It’s True! God’s eternal way is the only way.

December 8, 2012 A Moment for You

A Moment for You Luke 24:45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. THE DISCIPLES are hiding in a room, uncertain about their future, likely wondering if they, like their Master, will soon be crucified or stoned. Fear grips them in the gut! Then their loving Master appears to remove their fear. He is indeed the risen Son of God. As he speaks with them, they for the first time truly trust that Jesus is the one who saves. How often had the disciples heard Jesus teach the Scriptures? Many times they had heard his words; and yet, they did not comprehend. Only when the resurrected Jesus opened their eyes did they know. Have you heard Jesus’ message? I’m sure you have. How do you respond? Do you hold back from trusting him, especially with the big things in life, especially with your own life? Listen to Jesus’ truths. Receive him in trust, and he will replace your gut-gripping fears with heart-gripping faith. Yes, he enters into your presence in the midst of life’s most awful moments and says, “I’m here. You can know I am the Lord of life.” That moment changed the disciples’ lives. Fear disappeared and trust entered their hearts. That same moment awaits you and will change your life, too. It’s True! You can trust Jesus. He’s alive.  

December 7, 2012 Give It Up

Give It Up Luke 22:5-6 He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present. WHAT HAPPENS when you want to do something a “little” wrong? I’ve been dieting lately, and today I ate something for breakfast I shouldn’t have. I ate alone when “no crowd was present” and I can get away with it if I choose. But wait! There is evidence in the cupboard. Someone will wonder, “Where are the muffins?” The truth is, I can’t really hide it. The truth is, God sees everything I do. And if this were truly a sin to keep secret, He would certainly know my sin. Judas had something on his conscious. He knew he was acting secretly against his teacher who raised the dead, spoke what people were thinking and calmed the storm. Did he really think Jesus wouldn’t know what he was doing? He must have known Jesus knew. Judas’ conscious was telling him, “You are so wrong, Judas.” But Judas was gripped with deceit for his own purpose. Judas stepped into sin’s darkness. And he never saw Jesus’ light again. Often I talk with people who years ago went to a place their conscious said, “Don’t go.” The forbidden website, the bottle of booze, the cocaine or the lies were wrongs they knew they must avoid. But they went anyway. Now, they can’t escape the sin. People know. Their lives are encased in guilt because they’re too ashamed to go to Jesus, the Light of the world, and say, “Take my sin, Lord, it’s too big for me.” Is that you? Are you feeling shame in your sin? Give up the sin. Then give up the shame. He’s waiting lovingly for you to speak his name. It’s True! You’re guilty. Give it up to Jesus.

December 6, 2012 What is Rich?

What is Rich? Luke 21:1-6 As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3 “I tell you the truth,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” 5 Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 6 “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.” HERE we see great contrast between what God perceives as rich and mankind’s view of rich. The poor widow receives Jesus’ praise because she gave nearly all of her earthly goods. She was a “heart giver”. She gave of herself in love and devotion to God. Even though it looked weird to the world, her gift was beautiful to her Lord. Then the disciples praised the beauty of the buildings. But Jesus viewed the future. He knew the structures would fall against God’s judgment, and in his view, the beautiful stones and adornment symbolized destruction. This contrast in Jesus’ words shows us how vital our heart offerings are to God. Heart offerings are those things we give to God when we sacrifice. We give, and others say, “That’s weird.” It may be our time, spiritual gifts, talents, or money. When we “heart-give” to God, our offerings will make an eternal difference for our lives and for those we serve. Go ahead. Be a Kingdom of God builder. Use what he’s given you. Trust God with all you have—even if it looks weird to the world. It’s True! You are rich in God's gifts to you. Use them.

December 5, 2012 The Author's Authority

The Author’s Authority Luke 20:38-40 “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” 39 Some of the teachers of the law responded, “Well said, teacher!” 40 And no one dared to ask him any more questions. WHEN someone writes a book on a factual subject, the author is often given immediate credit as an expert. Even those who write fiction novels must have a wide and varied knowledge of their subject to give credit to the story line and its characters. Luke 20 is about the authority of Jesus to proclaim the Word of God. He is challenged by chief priests, teachers and elders of the temple. They are appropriately asking him, “Who gave you this authority?” The trouble is, they weren’t ready to accept the authority of the author of life. As he answered them with a question, he wanted these men to discover the answers for themselves. It is likely they knew the answer but were unwilling to say it. That is essentially what happens here. Jesus answers the authority question by first pointing to John the Baptist. Then he tells the parable of the land tenants who disdained the authority of the landowner and killed his servants and son. He points to the authority of Rome to tax and the authority of God to receive a tithe. And the chapter concludes with Jesus pointing to the ultimate authority – the Living God. My question for you is this: Are you willing to accept the authority of the Living God in your life? If you’re not, you’re the same as Jesus’ questioners—always asking questions but never willing to admit to the authority of the author of life over your life. If you are willing to accept God’s authority, what will change in your life? It’s True! Jesus is the Living Word, and his words are the authority of Heaven. Listen.

December 4, 2012 Your Protective Savior

Your Protective Lord Luke 19:45-46 Then he entered the temple area and began driving out those who were selling. 46 “It is written,” he said to them, “’My house will be a house of prayer'; but you have made it 'a den of robbers.’” AS YOU consider Jesus’ love for you, it is necessary for you to pause and consider Jesus’ great love for his temple, his “house”. God gave the Hebrews in the Sinai Desert his picture of the Savior in the Tabernacle. That picture grew and expanded with the temple in Jerusalem in Solomon’s reign. 1 Kings records how excited God was to have the Temple built that his people might worship him as the glory of the Lord filled the Temple. God is the King come to his throne to receive honor and worship from his own. Sadly, as God’s house is desecrated many times, God causes its destruction and rebuilding twice before Jesus comes, rebuilt a third time, then destroyed in 70 AD. Why? Vagrant sin had entered. Sin-wielding merchants turned the Temple into a profit center, cheating the devout with false rules. Money and prestige worship replaced God worship. When Jesus cleanses the Temple, he shows he is about to clean the human temple, the soul, from its vagrant occupiers that cheat people from their worship of the Lord. Once again, he is about to build a new temple but this time it’s different. Ephesians 2:21 In Jesus the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. The “whole building” is Jesus’ church, his new temple. The temple is gone, it’s irrelevant now. What matters is the church—that’s you—not a building but you. Are you caring for Jesus’ church, your very relationship with your Lord? You must keep the temple clean. Keep out the vagrants. Be filled with God’s glory and worship him only. It’s True! Jesus is very protective of his church. Keep it clean.

December 3, 2012 In His Time

In His Time, In His Will Luke 18:1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. DO YOU wonder “Why pray if God has everything planned?” Yes, God has his plans: Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” You see, God will give you what you desire, but it may not look like what you desire. Jesus’ point here is that as we pray, God will gradually answer your requests in the way it benefits you within his plan for you. For example, if a child comes to you requesting a treat before “treat time” you will say, “Not now. But at 10 o’clock you can have a piece of fruit.” You have a plan to nourish your child. But you will not put your plan into action if he doesn’t ask. Now he’s asked. You, as the all-knowing adult give to the child in order to answer his request within your plan to care for him. The child’s treat may not be as he originally wanted. But it will be an answer to his request. And it will be a gift to the child within your view of what’s good for him. Even if you say, “No, wait until lunch time.” you will still answer his request for food. In a like manner, God plans good things for you in his timing and in his purpose for you. He wants you to participate in his giving by requesting from him, so you see him as a loving Father in his giving to you. He may not give you what you want when you want. But Jesus says to persevere in your prayer and trust God’s answer in his time and in his will. It’s True! Your Creator God knows the best plans for you.

December 2, 2012 Jesus Loves You

Jesus Loves You Luke 16:24 “So (the Rich Man) called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’” I KNOW. You don’t need a description of Hell to inspire you. Life is troubled enough without this agonizing scene from the Good News of Luke. But maybe it is just what you and I need to be inspired. How many times have we warned someone about a danger or awful consequence if they do something wrong? “You’ll lose money if you gamble.” “Drinking and driving will kill you.” “Don’t text and drive, you’ll kill someone.” “Exercise, or you’ll get fat.” We say these things because consequences are real. We say them because we care about the people we warn. We say them, even in love, because we want our loved ones to live well. We know absolutely that if people purposely do bad things, bad things will happen to them. So, why don’t we tell people, “Believe in Jesus, or you’ll suffer the agony of unending thirst in hell?” Don’t we trust that the consequences of rejecting Jesus are really, really, really horrible? Do we think we might hurt their feelings, make them feel uncomfortable? Do we think they might not like us if we tell them the truth? The truth is, warning people about the true consequences of a life apart from Jesus is the most loving thing you can do. Are you inspired enough in your love for someone to tell them of Jesus? Do you love someone enough to point him or her to Jesus’ Heavenly promise? It’s True! Jesus loves you enough to warn you of Hell and promise you Heaven.  

December 1, 2012 Joy

Joy Luke 15:3-7 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. WHAT is joy? Sometimes joy is difficult to define because it has so many different forms. To one person joy could mean a gentle hug. To another joy is the grand celebration of a graduation. Joy is a mother’s response to holding her newborn baby. The Bible generally speaks of joy as an ecstatic response to a person or circumstances in one’s life. This passage from Luke 15 tells of how a good shepherd rejoices at finding one lost sheep. Read the entire chapter, and you’ll see joy also comes at the discovery of a lost coin and at the return of the prodigal son to his father. Jesus’ teachings on joy point to the discovery of a lost sheep, lost coin and a lost son. He designs his lessons to help you understand how profoundly God desires you go to him. Think of this: God is ecstatic when you come to him! He longs for your presence. He looks for your return as you are lost in a sinful land. He celebrates when you return. God expresses joy when you go home to him. It’s True! Your God is passionate for every person – you’re included.

November 30, 2012 Your First Love

Your First Love Luke 14:26-27 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters — yes, even his own life — he cannot be my disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” THIS IS a hard saying. It sounds so “anti-Jesus”. What is Jesus’ “anti-family” point? Today I hear many people who are called to minister in a certain place say, “I’ve decided to stay where I am because of my family.” They indicate the family is everything. But the truth is, they are saying to Jesus, “My family is more important than you.” Ouch. Yes, as difficult as it is, we are to give up everything, even our own family and put our Lord first in our heart. “Family first” means Jesus is less than first. Why does he require that much love from you? First of all, he loves you that much. Yes, Jesus submitted to God’s will, and he left his Father’s side in Heaven to come to earth and give his life to death on the cross for you. Second, that “Jesus first” love puts you into a deep, passionate place with him. When you love Jesus so much you sacrificially put him first, you will experience his wonder wherever you go. What’s more, you will be with your first love, Jesus Christ, and that’s the most wonderful place in life now and forever. Put Jesus first today. Proclaim your love for him and follow him wherever he invites you. Show the joy of his love to a love-lost world. It’s True! Jesus is must be your first love.  

November 29, 2012 BIG Kingdom View

Kingdom View—BIG View Luke 13:18 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches.” AS YOU read Jesus’ words here, do you think about doing BIG things with God? Sometimes in my sermons I refer to BIG things as Believing In God things. Kingdom living is living in expectation that God will do things in a manner and in a time only he can do. The parable of the mustard seed is a perfect example of a BIG thing. Mustard plants grow only 2-3 feet tall. To grow into a huge tree with nesting birds is a Kingdom of God event. The chapter speaks, too, of Jesus BIG healing of a woman crippled for 18 years. His Sabbath healing illustrates how God created the Sabbath for a time not only of rest but of restoration. Jesus talks also of the yeast that makes the dough grow to loaves of bread. And he makes it clear sin is intolerable in the Kingdom, urgently calling you to be ready for the Day of Judgment that you may eat of God’s great feast of eternal life. This is quite a BIG list isn’t it? The foundational truth of Kingdom of God living is faithfully Believing In God. You must in faith understand he is the God of the universe who can and who will do all things to form his righteous and holy plans to care for you right now and forever. It’s True! Kingdom of God living is believing in God’s power for your life.

November 28, 2012 Pray for Thousands

Pray for Thousands Luke 12:1 Meanwhile the crowds grew until thousands upon thousands were milling about and crushing each other. THE BIBLE records many, many miracles. But I think we miss this one. “Where’s the miracle?” you ask. Well, when was the last time you went to church and couldn’t find a parking space, couldn’t get in the door, couldn’t find a seat, couldn’t wait to get there, couldn’t wait to hear the Word preached or couldn’t wait to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit pour into your heart the truth of God’s spoken Word? Jesus spoke with no loudspeakers, no TV blitz, no radio campaign, internet or Facebook to announce his coming. But they came because nothing could stop them. Thousands came because they were hungry for the truth. Thousands came to witness signs and wonders. Thousands came to touch God. My friends, this can still happen today. In Jesus’ day he spoke and ministered in the power of the Holy Spirit. Those who preach God’s Word today must speak in the Power of the Spirit. Those who listen must listen in the Power of the Spirit. Pray for your own worship experience, that the Spirit will wrap your heart in love around God’s Word. Pray for your church, that thousands—yes thousands—will come. Pray for your minister that he or she will preach in the power of the Spirit. Watch the signs and wonders happen. It’s True! Praying for this week’s worship at church is what we all must do.  

November 27, 2012 Key to Knowledge

Use the Key of Knowledge Luke 11:52 “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.” AS PEOPLE called to serve God, I pray we will never hinder anyone from entering the Kingdom. Hindering means we are too ready to condemn. Hindering is not listening to what people say. Hindering is moving forward with our own agenda, not God’s. Hindering is forcing people to look at God’s condemnation and not God’s grace. Hindering is removing hope from people’s lives. Hindering is not listening to God to do what he tells us to do. Yes, we must be prepared to always give the gospel of Jesus Christ. Give it then, in love, in your actions, in your response to people, in your help to those in need, in your voice of compassion and in your love for Jesus. Hold the Gospel, the key of knowledge, in your heart, mind and soul. Then be ready to give this knowledge to unhinder, to release and free people into the Gospel forever. It’s True! How freely you can give Jesus as he has given to you.

November 26, 2012 Are You Sure?

Are You Sure? Luke 10:3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. “OKAY! I’m ready to go. Send me, Jesus. I’ll go and do what you want when you want. I’m yours! “Oh, wait a minute, Jesus. You said I’d be as a sheep among wolves? That’s pretty unsafe, isn’t it, Jesus? That sounds pretty risky to me. Wolves eat sheep. Have them for lunch—and any other meal they desire. Are you sure, Jesus, you want me to go where people might hurt me, turn on me or even kill me? I’m not sure now, Jesus. Let me think it over.” It sounds prudent, doesn’t it, to think about, to carefully consider those places Jesus wants you to go? Satan’s ravenous wolves have devoured many of Jesus’ sheep through the centuries. The list of martyrs grows steadily. The list of discouraged Christian workers grows even more dramatically. And certainly the “death rate” of pastors is alarming. Why would Jesus send his faithful into such deadly danger? Think of this. How do you conquer an enemy? You must go where the enemy is fortified. You have to meet the enemy and do battle with him. He will not be defeated if you stay home and wait for him to surrender. The tragic truth is that Kingdom of God victory requires dedicated workers willing to give their lives. Sin’s opposition will destroy some of those workers. As in war when a soldier sacrifices his life so others will live, Christ followers must always sacrifice their way of life. And sometimes they must sacrifice their physical life for Jesus. Faithfully following Jesus sometimes requires physical death to point others to the Lord of Life. It’s True! Your life belongs to Jesus.

November 25, 2012 Your Daily Bread

Your Daily Bread Luke 9:1-6, 10-13 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 He told them: “Take nothing for the journey — no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. 5 If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them.” 6 So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere…10 When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, 11 but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing. 12 Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.” 13 He replied, “You give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish — unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” JESUS sent his disciples to do miraculous healing. When they returned he took them to an isolated area where the crowds came. The disciples watched as Jesus “healed those who needed healing”. The disciples acted in and watched God’s power. Then they wondered, “How can we feed so many?” That’s what we do. We watch and hear of God’s power, then when we need him, we look at ourselves. It’s True! Your “daily bread” is a miracle—seek God for each step of your life.

November 24, 2012 Purposefull Process

Purposeful Process Luke 8:1-3 After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; 3 Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means. WHAT would you like to accomplish today, this coming week, month or year—even in your lifetime? What do you feel God might be pointing you to do or become in your life? If your answer is, “I just want to be happy.” Or “I just want to get through the day.” Then perhaps you might want to consider Jesus’ example of purposeful living. See how Jesus is in a process to “proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God”. Notice how purposeful he is to do so as he goes from town to town. See how he develops disciples to be the next kingdom messengers. Also, notice how the named women were “helping to support them out of their own means”. Jesus needed support material support of food and shelter to physically stay in his gospel process. Jesus’ preaching, the disciples and his supporters were the result of Jesus’ purposeful process to bring salvation to the world. What’s your life’s purpose? Don’t know? Then seek God’s leading. What is in your heart and your mind to do? Step into your desires and see where he directs you. When you do, you will enter into a process of purposeful living—just as Jesus did. It’s True! Purposeful living is a process with God.

November 23, 2012 Celebrate

Celebrate! It’s Forever Luke 7:14-15 Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. WHAT DO you think the mother felt? Oh my, what would she feel but great release from grief! She would feel exalting joy and incredible wonder. She would be even more amazed than the day her son was first born. Now, he was born again! He was alive! He was made new! He was transformed from death! Let’s rejoice and have a party. Call the family. Call the friends. Call the town. Let everyone come who can! Now, what do you say when someone says, “I confess Jesus as my Lord and Savior.” Most of what I hear is “Great!” or “That’s good.” Or some mundane congratulations. When someone does confess Jesus as Lord it is better than this new life in this young man. It is eternal life! There should be shouting, singing, rejoicing, celebration, and wonder expressed throughout the community. Who do you know who is born again? Celebrate! It’s forever! It’s True! Being born again is an eternal joy!

november 22, 2012 Be Thankful, Cause Change

Be Thankful, Cause Change Luke 6:22 What happiness it is when others hate you and exclude you and insult you and smear your name because you are mine! HERE LUKE records some of the “Sermon on the Mount”, more commonly referred to in Matthew 5-7. This is one of Jesus’ “be happy” sayings or Beatitudes. It doesn’t fit our thinking of popularity does it? Have you ever felt left out or even abused because you talked about Jesus and stood for what was right? Then be happy about it! Yes, that is what Jesus is teaching. And it is a wonderful lesson to learn. One of the most difficult places to come to in our lives is the place of “eternal view”. In other words, when we decide what to do or say, we need to understand how our words and actions will affect our eternal view or someone else’s eternal life. For example, if you are ostracized because you take a stand for Jesus and are sad about it, no one will care. If you have a smile on your face and show joy amid trouble, someone will say, “What makes you so happy?” And you can say, “Jesus makes me happy, and here’s why.” In your response you have the opportunity to affect someone’s eternal life. You show them in your attitude that you really believe Jesus’ words. Yes, be happy in Jesus. Be thankful on this day that you have Jesus to trust and guide your life. Be thankful you have Jesus to assure you of all you need. Be thankful in your heart and mind toward the One who has saved your soul, and you will affect eternal change in people’s lives. It’s True! A happy, thankful attitude can change someone’s life—perhaps your own.

November 21, 2012 Mission Power

Mission Power Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” JESUS has been baptized by the Father through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit sent him to the desert to deal with Satan. Now Jesus begins his ministry to preach the God’s favor to all mankind in the Holy Spirit’s power. Why would the Holy Spirit need to empower the Son of God? After all, Jesus says at the close of his ministry in John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. Isn’t Jesus powerful enough to do his ministry on his own? No, he isn’t. He’s the Son of God come to earth to be fully man. He lives in the limitations of a human body. The Spirit of God must empower him to do the work of God for the purpose of God. Jesus, just as you and I do, needed the Spirit of God to empower him to minister. In the Spirit’s anointing he would do the good work of telling and showing to the world God’s favor of salvation. Does this stir you to hope? After all, the Spirit of God is available to work in you the same way he worked in Jesus. Jesus lived, preached, taught and healed in the Spirit’s power. You can, too. In faith seek God’s Spirit, and he will anoint you to speak the Lord’s favor to all you know. It’s True! The Spirit will empower you to speak and do God’s kingdom purpose.

November 20, 3012 God The Weaver

God the Weaver Luke 3:1-6 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar — when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. 5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. 6 And all mankind will see God's salvation.’” LUKE is known as an historian, a man of education, and you can see how he frames John the Baptist’s preaching in the context of historical events in Judah and Israel. He wants his reader, Theophilus (see chapter 1), to know the events he describes are real. Knowing how John’s ministry corresponded to Roman rule, Luke’s friend and many, many gospel readers since then have been able to believe that Luke was, indeed, (Luke 1:3) “carefully investigated everything from the beginning” and he has written an orderly account of what had happened. And what happened? God’s salvation promise to the world takes a giant step forward as John declares the kingdom come. He preaches God is moving mountains of despair to make the way smooth to life. He is straightening the highways for clear paths to salvation. Luke carefully records the Kingdom is about to come. It’s True! God weaves his salvation into history and into your life.

November 18, 2012 Prepared

Prepared Luke 1:16-17 Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous — to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. ON THE first day my twin granddaughters walked into school, they were in new surroundings and had a new “authority” person in their life. Their teacher began to guide them through lessons and habits to help them engage with her, with learning and with their classmates. It was a big change for them, or was it? Really, it wasn’t. Essentially for the prior 6 years of their lives, their mom, dad, grandparents, siblings, Sunday school teachers and pre-school teachers had prepared them for that day. They had learned about authority and learned it really is fun to learn! They had been prepared. And as they entered school, they found learning to be a joyful experience under the authority of their teacher. God wants you to joyfully learn about him and from him. He prepared his people for his Messiah through centuries of prophecies and his authority in the Law. Then God sent John the Baptist to make final preparations for Jesus. Those who believed God, the prophets and John expected the Messiah. As a result, they were ready for Jesus’ authority to teach, to heal, and to transform lives into salvation. And those who accepted his authority experienced salvation’s joy. They found learning of Jesus’ love and forgiveness to be a joyful experience under the authority of their Master. Are you prepared to follow Jesus? I hope so. He is Lord, and his authority is to save you into an incredibly joyful life. It’s True! A heart prepared for Jesus will live in faith in Jesus.

November 17, 2012 A Savior

A Savior Esther 10: 1 King Xerxes imposed tribute throughout the empire, to its distant shores. 2 And all his acts of power and might, together with a full account of the greatness of Mordecai to which the king had raised him, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Media and Persia? 3 Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews. COULD you call the book of Esther, the book Mordecai? His influence is felt throughout as he watches over Esther, and urges her on to speak to Xerxes to save her people. Mordecai is the man who saves Xerxes’ life as he unveils a plot to kill Xerxes. Also, Mordecai issues orders to the Jews to protect themselves, and you see he is raised to the second highest post in Xerxes’ kingdom. His kingdom stature and reputation among the Jews is similar to that of Joseph, who saved his people in another way in ancient Egypt. God raises men and women to save his people at various points in history. He acts mightily to position faithful people in strategic positions to turn evil rulers from their desire to destroy the Jews. Gideon and David are two examples. How about you? Could we write a book one day with your name as the title? Would the story be one of how God used you to turn evil from a friend’s or loved one’s life, perhaps from many lives, to save them from death into life? It’s True! If you call Jesus, “Savior”, he’s calling you to act as a Savior.

November 16, 2012 Remember & Celebrate

Remember & Celebrate Esther 9:24-29 For Haman had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the pur (that is, the lot) for their ruin and destruction. 25 But when the plot came to the king's attention, he issued written orders that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should come back onto his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. 26 Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur (meaning lot). Because of everything written in this letter and because of what they had seen and what had happened to them, 27 the Jews took it upon themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should without fail observe these two days every year, in the way prescribed and at the time appointed. 28 These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never cease to be celebrated by the Jews, nor should the memory of them die out among their descendants. WHEN Haman planned to kill the Jews, he cast a lot, determined by random choice a date for his murderous desires. The word for “lot” is “pur”. As God turned this day of evil into a day of salvation for the Jews, the Jews proclaimed a new holiday they call Purim to remember their deliverance. God’s Word often calls you to remember how he turns evil, intended to destroy God’s purposes, into good that advances God’s kingdom purposes. 1 Corinthians 11:24-25 and when Jesus had given thanks, he broke the bread and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” It’s True! The bread and the wine symbolize Jesus’ broken body and shed blood to deliver you from evil. Remember and celebrate this each time you eat.

November 15, 2012 Celebrate!

Joy of Deliverance Esther 8:16-17 For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor. 17 In every province and in every city, wherever the edict of the king went, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them. DELIVERANCE has come to the Jews in King Xerxes’ kingdom. God has used Esther and Mordecai to rescue his people from the evil plot of Haman to destroy them. The Jews can fight back to defend themselves, and they do so. The Jews living in exile defeat the enemy around them, and they joyfully celebrate God delivering them from death. In many ways, the book of Esther can be compared with the plight of mankind. Humans live in a foreign nation, the world. They are threatened with death from an evil person, Satan. They need a Savior, Jesus. Jesus gives them the authority to fight back in his power, and Satan is destroyed. In response, Jesus’ kingdom citizens rejoice in their deliverance from evil. Can you imagine how the Jews felt as they experienced the release from certain death at Haman’s hand? Death’s unbearable burden was gone, and the joy of life surrounded them. Do you think they made new commitments to their loved ones to live well? Do you think they focused on celebrating the opportunities now available to them in their freedom from the evil around them? Do you think they rejoiced in their newly secured lives? This is what your faith in Christ should feel like. You have been released from death’s burden to live the full life God has created for you. You are free from death’s fearsome bondage. You can live confidently that the Lord of life has you in his care without end. It’s True! You can celebrate your salvation.

November 14, 2012 Are You Ready?

Moment of Truth Esther 5:1 On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king's hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. 2 When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. THIS seems so simple. Esther approaches the king, her husband, and he welcomes her. But this is, in fact, life-threatening. Esther approached the king without his request for her to come. By law, he could have condemned her to death, but by his grace, he allowed Esther to live. One day you will enter Christ the King’s throne room of heaven. See in Daniel 7:9 "As I looked, "thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. 10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened. 13 "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven... 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” By God’s law you are condemned. By God’s grace, Jesus’ blood saves you as you confess him your Lord and Savior. Are you prepared to enter into the King’s throne room? It’s True!

November 13, 2012 Go With God

Go With God Esther 4:13-14 “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” LET’S BE CLEAR about something: When God calls, you need to say, “Here am I.” Oops, didn’t’ mean to scare you. I know. It can be scary making that kind of commitment. You can take this scripture and applaud Esther because she would respond to God’s call for “such a time as this”. But she first had to really come to trust God. The previous verses record how she made an excuse to stay away from Xerxes. Her unwanted presence could cause the king to kill her. But even a death threat is no excuse when God calls. When God calls you to speak words of salvation, you need to go. God wants that person saved, and he wants you to be his partner in that salvation. If you say “No, I don’t want to go.” He will respond, “Okay, I’ll send someone else. But you will lose the blessing I had planned for you.” What is that blessing? It is a joy that comes when you join God as he calls you. Working with God is challenging, it can be scary, and it is often difficult. But in those things you see God strengthen you. Your faith grows, and most of all, your love for your Lord grows. The God who saved you from death commands you to speak his truth and offer eternal life to others. Trust God’s “Go!” call to you, even if you’re scared to death. It’s True! Overcoming great fear leads to great faith.

November 12, 2012 Big Issues

Big Issues Esther 1:1 This is what happened during the time of Xerxes, the Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush. I AM thinking about issues we face in our lives. Some are little and some are huge. Some come and go, and some stay around for a long time. How do you deal with them? To answer that question, you can look at a simple little girl whom God used in a most remarkable way. Esther was an orphan. Raised by her uncle Mordecai, a learned man, she seems to have had a strong sense of who she was. She was a Jew. She was one of God’s chosen people. She was special. And when God moved events to put her into Xerxes’ court, to become his Queen, she had a huge issue to face. Her people—all the Jews—were to be killed. And to stop this, she had to face the most powerful man in the world. This young girl from a simple background would have to enter the king’s throne room to plead for her people without invitation. Even though the king was her husband, doing such a thing could cause Esther’s death. So, you think you have big issues? Here’s death staring Esther in the face. What should she do? She wavered. But she stared back. She knew who to ultimately trust. She trusted her God. She fasted and prayed to prepare for her task. She had others fast and pray for her. She turned to God, and he used her for victory. Esther didn’t win the battle. God did. God then blessed Esther because she trusted him. Esther trusted and obeyed God, even with the big things in her life. That’s what Esther did with her big issue. What do you do? It’s True! God calls us to trust him with really big things sometimes.

November 11, 2012 What Do You Hear?

What Do You Hear? 1 Kings 22:7-8 But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there not a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?" 8 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah." HAVE you ever asked someone, “Tell me the truth, what do you think of me?” And you didn’t like what you heard? Your nature is to seek words that only affirm you, isn’t it? 1 Kings 22 is an account of a desperate King Ahab of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) seeking only good words from God. He has many “prophets” around him telling him what he wants to hear, but no prophet has told him the truth until King Jehoshaphat of Judah urges Ahab to seek a prophet of God. There’s a good idea—seek a truthful man who knows God’s truth. But Ahab doesn’t like the idea because that truthful man is Micalah, who always tells Ahab things he doesn’t what to hear. Odd, isn’t it, that Ahab would not listen to a prophet of God who proclaims the truth? Why would that be? Would Ahab be as one who goes to church to hear God’s Word but doesn’t like what he hears? Too often, you consider the Good News of God’s Word to be Bad News for your life, don’t you? You don’t like it when God calls you to change a harmful habit or repent of a sin. It’s bad news, isn’t it to be confronted with things you don’t want to hear? King Ahab rejected God’s truth and died. What will you do with God’s truth? It’s True! God’s Word is good news for your eternal soul.

November 10, 2012 God Wins

God Wins 1 Kings 21:17-19 & 25 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 18 “Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth's vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. 19 Say to him, ‘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!'“ …25 There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife. 26 He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the Lord drove out before Israel. IN 1 Kings 21, you read the story of how Jezebel, wife of King Ahab of Israel, plotted against Naboth. Naboth owned a vineyard Ahab desired, and Naboth refused to sell it to him. In response, Jezebel hired two men to falsely accuse Naboth of blasphemy and lying, and Naboth was stoned to death. Ahab then possessed Naboth’s vineyard. As verse 25 says, “he sold himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord”. In response, God brings Elijah back into Ahab’s life to pronounce God’s judgment over Ahab. Although Ahab at times seems to seek the Lord in his life, he does so at his own gain. And he often turns from the Lord for his own desires. Our lesson here is to understand as Jesus says in Luke 16:13-14 “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” As God commanded Ahab to follow in God’s way, Ahab followed his own way. Ahab’s sin brought God’s judgment on Ahab’s family. Ahab’s gain was his family’s fatal loss. It’s True! You cannot oppose God.

November 9, 2012 Ready to Quit?

Ready to Quit? 1 Kings 19:1-4 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” 3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” ELIJAH has been living under the complete care of God. For 3 ½ years God had demonstrated his power to Elijah in many ways. Why now is Elijah so fearful of Jezebel, so depressed and ready to die? Depression can do that to you—make you feel useless and worthless. You get depressed when you’re too tired, too discouraged, too weak to go on by yourself. You get depressed when you go off to be by yourself and focus too much on life’s hard obstacles instead of God’s great grace. Elijah had gone to the desert to escape Jezebel. But he came face-to-face with his own limitations as a man. He needed God to come to him to restore his strength and vitality. That’s exactly what God did. Elijah would rise up again to be an instrument for God in the power of God. It’s True! Psalms 40:17 Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay.

November 8, 2012 Decide

Decide 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. “HOW long will you waver between two opinions?” Elijah asks. That’s the question that has sounded through the ages. That was the problem in the Garden of Eden. That was the problem between Cain and Abel. That was the problem that caused the Great Flood. That was the problem that caused God to exile his people to Babylon. God called his creation to choose him, but mankind has not made up its collective mind to choose its creator. Hearing God’s commands, his love and his call to dwell in his blessing, humanity has listened for a time, but then we have looked for something “better”. But it’s never better is it? The devil led Eve to sin. Cain decided to kill his brother. Noah was the only righteous person on earth. Daniel, Jeremiah and a few others stayed loyal to God amid the exile. Some did make up their minds. They chose God’s ways, and God used them for extraordinary kingdom work we talk of today. Who do you choose? Joshua said (Joshua 24:15) But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” From Eden to today, God has given mankind a choice. Elijah called God’s people to the right choice. Some said, “No.” and they died. Some said, “Yes.” and they lived. What is your choice—death or life? It’s True! There is only one choice to life.

November 7, 2012 Powerful Prophet

Prophet Power 1 Kings 17: 1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” ELIJAH is one of scripture’s most remarkable prophets. His life would make a compelling movie, and reality TV would have a popular show displaying the 3 years of Elijah’s’ life described in 1 Kings 17 – 18. In today’s passage, Elijah speaks to Ahab of a severe drought to come on Israel, the Northern Kingdom. Ahab and his wife Jezebel are evil people, murderous of anyone of God, living only in the grasp of evil. They have controlled Israel with evil hearts, so God uses Elijah to bring their lives to an end. He begins with a drought. Notice no rain, no dew and no moisture of any kind on the land for the “next few years”. Elijah speaks God’s severe judgment. And notice Elijah says the drought will not end “except at my word”. Remarkably, God has given to Elijah the prerogative to call upon God for rain when he feels it is the right time to do so. (Read 1 Kings 18, and you’ll see how that happens.) Immediately Elijah becomes an enemy of the state. Ahab is enraged at Elijah’s’ curse on the land, and Elijah becomes a fugitive. The remainder of chapter 17 records how God cares for Elijah with birds and nature’s elements. Then he sends Elijah to a widow’s home to miraculously provide a constantly filled flask of flour. God uses Elijah in remarkable ways, including the resurrection of the widow’s son. In the end, Elijah will resurrect the worship of God in Israel because he faithfully, powerfully followed God. It’s True! Elijah’s story tells you God is in control.

November 6, 2012 Be An Asa

Be An Asa 1 Kings 15:9-11 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king of Judah, 10 and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother's name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom. 11 Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done. YOU might get confused. Israel, once the name of the country where all 12 tribes of Israel lived is now the northern kingdom consisting of 10 of the 12 tribes of the people known as Israel. Judah is made of 2 tribes, Benjamin and Judah, the tribe of David, the tribe from which Jesus is born. The capital of Judah is Jerusalem. Jerusalem no longer is in Israel. The list of Judah’s and Israel’s kings in 1 & 2 Kings tells you that most of Judah’s and Israel’s leaders turned from God. There were often wars between the two nations, and God’s once unified nation became like all the pagan nations around them. It is difficult in these conflicts to see God at work to continue his plan of salvation to the world. Unfortunately this could describe Jesus’ church today. We fight among ourselves over issues of music, preaching style, purpose, ministries, theology, building, tithing, evangelism and so much more. We get complacent about our faith. We act as the world acts, unforgiving, jealous and self-centered. We show to the unchurched we look just like them. It’s difficult sometimes to see Jesus’ hand on his church. Let’s consider being as Asa. He stands out in the litany of apostasy to be a man who faithfully followed God. He stood against the norm and did what was right in God’s sight. That’s the only way a church should be. It’s True! Jesus’ church must focus on Jesus.

November 5, 2012 Deadly Wealth

Deadly Wealth 1 Kings 14:25-26 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. 26 He carried off the treasures of the temple of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. THE FIRST half of 1 Kings is about God’s great blessings over Solomon in the form of a vast kingdom with great wealth. The second half of 1 Kings is how God takes the wealth away because first Solomon, then his son Rehoboam amid their vast wealth turns their hearts from God. It’s easy to get comfortable in your wealth, isn’t it? Oh, I’m not talking about a vast fortune. I’m talking about Middle Class, average American wealth. Enjoying the benefits of a nice home, a decent car, clothes to wear and food regularly on the table can cause you to get comfortable in your life. Yes, you likely have to work hard for what you have and what you want. But isn’t that too often the problem? You focus on those things. You forget that God has delivered these things of comfort to you. You start to spend too much time accumulating more things or working too hard to keep what you have. You don’t think about it, but slowly and steadily you begin to put those things above your God. Or perhaps God was never actually your greatest priority. Perhaps your main life’s goal has been to accumulate wealth, to gather in things you want because it’s these things the culture defines as marks of success. Who brings to you your wealth? Of course, it is the Lord God, who brings all things to you. Do you put your wealth above God? Do you let it turn your mind from God? That is a dangerous road that will lead to your soul’s destruction. It’s True! Wealth is too often an idol. Worship only the Lord God.

November 4, 2012 Obey God or Die

Obey God or Die 1 Kings 13:7 The king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift.” 8 But the man of God answered the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here. 9 For I was commanded by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’” 10 So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel. I KNOW. The title of this meditation is dramatic, and it might cause you to say, “Really?” My answer is, “Yes, really.” Read 1 Kings 12 & 13. You will see how God judges two very different men turn from absolute obedience to God. The first is King Rehoboam, Solomon’s son. Although God raises him up to be king of Israel, Rehoboam chooses to leave God behind. Everything he does as king opposes God’s will for his people. As a result, God divides the Kingdom of Israel into Israel and Judah. A nation died because one man disobeyed God. In 1 Kings 13, you see a prophet, a Man of God, powerfully prophesy for the Lord. As in the scripture above, he is inclined to obey God. But then he believes a man’s word over God’s word. God judges him with death from a lion along a road. A man of God must never turn from his sovereign Lord. In God’s New Testament of grace under Jesus, it is difficult to understand God’s harsh judgment. But you must know that turning from God will destroy your life. You may not die in your disobedience, but you will lose the blessings God desires to offer you. If your disobedience persists, God will judge you eternally. After all, he is Lord. It’s True! God will not tolerate disobedience.

November 3, 2012 It's Not About You

It’s Not All About You 1 Kings 11:1-6 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter — Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2 They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 5 He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done. YOU read here one of the most tragic paragraphs in the Bible. 1 Kings is primarily the story of how God blesses this man with extraordinary wisdom that leads to incredible wealth for himself and his nation. Under Solomon’s reign, Israel experiences peace, bounty and respect among the earth’s nations. Solomon’s reign is a picture of the fullness of God’s promise to bless his people. But then you read this. Solomon’s wisdom left him when it came to women. He thought he could disobey God and still receive God’s blessings. He thought he could worship God while worshiping horrible idols. He thought he could have life both ways, the ways he wanted it. “Wise” Solomon thought wrong. As a result of Solomon’s sin, God would remove his blessing from Solomon’s family. Solomon’s sin raged through the generations. People suffered and died, and a Kingdom was divided because one man let go of God’s wisdom. It’s True! Your sin is never only about you.

October 21, 2012 Your High Value

Your High Value Heb 9:14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! THE HEBREWS writer is focused on connecting the Old Testament, the Old Promise, with the New Testament, the New Promise that Jesus gives us. This is a vital demonstration here of God’s sacrificial requirements. With the Old he required the blood from animals. With the new, he required the blood from his very own son. Pause on that a minute or two minutes… Welcome back. What do you think? Is there any sense of awe in your heart as you consider the Creator Father God killing his Son for you? Yes. That’s what he did. We don’t say it like that. We use “sacrifice”, “death” and “blood”, but who caused it? God the Father caused it, didn’t’ he? Why? He loves you that much, good friend. He loves you beyond your understanding. He was willing, he was planning to take his own Son—the Messiah, Redeemer, Son of Man, Glory, and King, to the altar and kill him for you. That’s what he did. Jesus died on a cross. The Living Water bled to death on a cross for you. Yes, he did. What will you do for him? It’s True! You are worth so very, very much to God—even his own Son’s life.

Octobe4r 20, 2012 Jesus the Priest

Forever Priest Hebrews 7:23-27 Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; 24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. 26 Such a high priest meets our need — one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. WHEN you speak of Jesus, you hopefully speak of him as Savior, friend, Lord and King to name a few. But do you ever call him, “My Priest.” Hebrews discusses an order of priesthood through the Old Testament that points to Jesus. The purpose of the priestly office was to serve as a mediator between the holy God’s and sinful mankind. After he repented of his own sin, the priest would oversee the sacrifices people offered to repent of their sins. These human priests pointed to the eternal priest, Jesus Christ. Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice to God for your sin. Free of sin, Jesus did not have offer sacrifices for himself. Instead, he atoned for the sin of all mankind as he died on the cross. Jesus, your priest now mediates your sin before the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit. When you repent of your sins before him and confess him as your Lord, he is your priest whose sacrifice opens your life to Heaven. It’s True! You have access to the throne of grace through Jesus, the Priest.

October 19, 2012 GPS

Two-Edged Truth Hebrews 4:12-14 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. THE GPS, global positioning system, has become a must device in our vehicles to help get where we’re going. This scripture today proclaims the Bible as your eternal GPS, God’s Positioning Scripture to point you to God’s eternal Heaven. Put these verses on your heart to be a constant reminder of how the Bible directs your step each day on your road to eternity. Too often, though, you might not like God’s positioning for your life. You might reject loving your neighbor or turn away from taking a Sabbath’s rest. You might put the brakes on your journey with God and turn to your own route preferring your own route. But before you go your way remember this. “Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” God’s Word is abundantly clear that he holds you accountable for your life’s steps. I pray that gives you cause to carefully consider your steps. Do you need to get back into God’s positioning for your life? Thankfully, you have Jesus, your great high priest. Submit your will under God’s will and he will position your life in step with eternal life – every step, every day. It’s True! God positions you to enter into eternal life. Are you on track?

October 18, 2012 Your Life's Work

Your Life’s Work Heb 3:12-14 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. “LIFE is a challenge. Be careful and be alert. Help each other stay true to God.” That in essence is what the writer of Hebrews is saying. These are words that we in the 21st century church must heed. The assaults on your walk with God are huge today. It’s as if you’re walking on a pathway with Jesus, and every person you meet is a threat to shove you off the trail. Sometimes the threats are from within you—your pride, lack of discipline to pray, unresolved anger, or unforgiveness. Sometimes the attacks come from the culture’s disregard for God. “The church is irrelevant. The church is old-fashioned. The church is too boring.” Sometimes the attacks come from within the church. “I don’t like the music. The sermons are too long. Too much change. Not enough change. There’s too much liturgy. There’s not enough liturgy.” So what do you do to stay on the path of your walk with Jesus? You focus on him. It’s about him, not about you. Find a faithful friend you can trust to help your walk. Be honest with your struggles, doubts and fears. Walk with others to help each other stay alongside your Savior Jesus. Yes, “hold firmly till the end the confidence” you had when you first said, “I believe.” And your faith walk will be a joyous walk with your Lord. It’s True! Your faith walk is your life’s work.