I remember the story of Naboth's Vineyard from Sunday School when I was a little girl. It has never been my favorite story because the good guy loses to the bad guy. Let me sum it up.
Ahab has a pity party because Naboth won't sell him his vineyard. Naboth wanted to keep it because land was a very important inheritance to the Hebrew people. So Ahab's wife Jezebel had Naboth killed. I don't quite understand why she went to the trouble of declaring a day of fasting and having Naboth falsely accused by two scoundrels. But hey, Jezebel was evil, and that's the way evil people operate. After Naboth is stoned, Jezebel gives his vineyard to her wimpy husband. Then Elijah shows up and prophesies that Ahab's kingdom is doomed and that Jezebel will be fed to the dogs. Ahab humbles himself before God, and God postpones the punishment. Ahab dies in 1 Kings 22, and Jezebel meets her predicted death in 2 Kings 9.
What a pretty Sunday School story. It should reiterate to us that life on earth is not fair. The Bible never teaches that life was meant to be fair. Sometimes evil triumphs over good, but God is ultimately in control. I've read the end of the story, and our God wins!!!! His entire purpose is to bring glory to His Name, not to mine. My job is to trust Him no matter the circumstances I encounter in this earthly life. Let's keep our eyes focused on the finish line, where we will win the prize of eternity with Jesus Christ, our Savior and LORD! I'll race you to the end. :-)
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
I Kings 19
19:1—“Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done. . . .” Tattle-tale! I don’t think Ahab was the strong one in his marriage.
19:3—“Elijah was afraid and ran for his life.” Our Elijah? The guy we’ve been reading about? No way!
19:4—“Elijah prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, LORD,’ he said. ‘Take my life.’” What happened to our fearless prophet? I bet you’ve been there. I certainly have been. Elijah was exhausted. His mountain-top experience with God, followed by a marathon run, took every ounce of energy Elijah had. He was ready to give up, but I am so thankful God did not give up on Elijah. God gave Elijah a 40-day vacation. Then He called him back into action.
Have you ever done a study on all the 40-day stories in the Bible? Noah’s 40-days and nights in the flood, the Israelites wandering for 40 years, Moses’ 40 days and nights on Mt. Sinai, the spies in Canaan exploring for 40 days, Goliath challenged Israel every morning and evening for 40 days, Elijah and Jesus both spent 40 days in the wilderness. There are also a handful of kings who reigned 40 years, and God punished Israel for 40 years in other stories besides the Moses story. The pattern of 40 typically indicates a time of testing for God’s people, and after the testing, God shows up. Has God taken you through any 40-day experiences? I just celebrated my 40th birthday! The possibility of God doing something miraculous in my life is terribly exciting!
In verses 9-10 and 13-14, God and Elijah have the same conversation twice. “What are you doing here, Elijah?” “Poor me. I’m the only one left!” Elijah was having a major pity party, but God was not going to let him stay there in the cave of despair. Did you notice that Elijah readily recognized God’s voice? Elijah had spent plenty of time alone with his LORD, and he knew exactly what God sounded like. Can you hear God’s gentle whisper in your life? I must admit that my mind is in such a whirlwind most of the time that it drowns out what God is trying to tell me. I think that is why I am enjoying my Bible study blog so much. It lets me get alone with God, and He speaks to me through His Word, and the Holy Spirit talks to me as I write. I remind myself that whether or not anyone responds to the blog, my main goal is to sit at the feet of Jesus and to glorify His Name.
19:15—“Go back the way you came . . . .” I hate retracing my steps. It usually means I lost or forgot something. What was God’s purpose in having Elijah go back the way he came? Did he lose his faith along the journey? Did he forget his passion for communicating God’s Word to the people? Retracing our steps in our walk with God reminds us of His faithfulness in carrying us through the hard stuff of life. I encourage you to draw a timeline and let yourself remember all the times God has intervened on your behalf. How has He used you to minister to others? When has He shown up to you? Ask Him to do it again!
Elijah feels alone, but God reminds him he is not alone. God has preserved 7000 other faithful believers, and God tells Elijah to commission others to help him lead the fight against evil. Elijah is to anoint Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha. Do you want to feel like you are making a difference in God’s kingdom? Then become a mentor to someone. Pass on your faith to the next generation of leaders. The enemy is so good at isolating us and telling us we know nothing about God. The way to prove him wrong is to pour your life into someone else. Elijah became Elisha’s mentor, and what a powerful duo they were! Will you pray today about who you could mentor? Ask God to bring someone to mind, and then be obedient to approach that person and invite them to study the Bible with you. If you need ideas, please email me at tydyd_89@yahoo.com.
Verses 19-21 tell the story of Elisha’s call. Only three short verses. Have you written your testimony of answering God’s call on your life? Will you post it on the blog? I would love to hear your story!!! What I love about Elisha’s response is that he completely destroyed his oxen and his plowing equipment. There was no turning back. Wow! That challenges me.
Looking forward to your responses!
Love ya! Dana
19:3—“Elijah was afraid and ran for his life.” Our Elijah? The guy we’ve been reading about? No way!
19:4—“Elijah prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, LORD,’ he said. ‘Take my life.’” What happened to our fearless prophet? I bet you’ve been there. I certainly have been. Elijah was exhausted. His mountain-top experience with God, followed by a marathon run, took every ounce of energy Elijah had. He was ready to give up, but I am so thankful God did not give up on Elijah. God gave Elijah a 40-day vacation. Then He called him back into action.
Have you ever done a study on all the 40-day stories in the Bible? Noah’s 40-days and nights in the flood, the Israelites wandering for 40 years, Moses’ 40 days and nights on Mt. Sinai, the spies in Canaan exploring for 40 days, Goliath challenged Israel every morning and evening for 40 days, Elijah and Jesus both spent 40 days in the wilderness. There are also a handful of kings who reigned 40 years, and God punished Israel for 40 years in other stories besides the Moses story. The pattern of 40 typically indicates a time of testing for God’s people, and after the testing, God shows up. Has God taken you through any 40-day experiences? I just celebrated my 40th birthday! The possibility of God doing something miraculous in my life is terribly exciting!
In verses 9-10 and 13-14, God and Elijah have the same conversation twice. “What are you doing here, Elijah?” “Poor me. I’m the only one left!” Elijah was having a major pity party, but God was not going to let him stay there in the cave of despair. Did you notice that Elijah readily recognized God’s voice? Elijah had spent plenty of time alone with his LORD, and he knew exactly what God sounded like. Can you hear God’s gentle whisper in your life? I must admit that my mind is in such a whirlwind most of the time that it drowns out what God is trying to tell me. I think that is why I am enjoying my Bible study blog so much. It lets me get alone with God, and He speaks to me through His Word, and the Holy Spirit talks to me as I write. I remind myself that whether or not anyone responds to the blog, my main goal is to sit at the feet of Jesus and to glorify His Name.
19:15—“Go back the way you came . . . .” I hate retracing my steps. It usually means I lost or forgot something. What was God’s purpose in having Elijah go back the way he came? Did he lose his faith along the journey? Did he forget his passion for communicating God’s Word to the people? Retracing our steps in our walk with God reminds us of His faithfulness in carrying us through the hard stuff of life. I encourage you to draw a timeline and let yourself remember all the times God has intervened on your behalf. How has He used you to minister to others? When has He shown up to you? Ask Him to do it again!
Elijah feels alone, but God reminds him he is not alone. God has preserved 7000 other faithful believers, and God tells Elijah to commission others to help him lead the fight against evil. Elijah is to anoint Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha. Do you want to feel like you are making a difference in God’s kingdom? Then become a mentor to someone. Pass on your faith to the next generation of leaders. The enemy is so good at isolating us and telling us we know nothing about God. The way to prove him wrong is to pour your life into someone else. Elijah became Elisha’s mentor, and what a powerful duo they were! Will you pray today about who you could mentor? Ask God to bring someone to mind, and then be obedient to approach that person and invite them to study the Bible with you. If you need ideas, please email me at tydyd_89@yahoo.com.
Verses 19-21 tell the story of Elisha’s call. Only three short verses. Have you written your testimony of answering God’s call on your life? Will you post it on the blog? I would love to hear your story!!! What I love about Elisha’s response is that he completely destroyed his oxen and his plowing equipment. There was no turning back. Wow! That challenges me.
Looking forward to your responses!
Love ya! Dana
Friday, October 17, 2008
I Kings 18:23-46
Even though Elijah felt like he was the only prophet of God left, it did not keep him from challenging the 450 prophets of Baal. He set up a contest, and the winner would be "the god who answers by fire." (vs. 24) How did Elijah know what would happen? Did God give him the game plan, or was Elijah following God with blind faith?
Something that has really leaped off the page at me is Elijah's faith in what God had promised He would do. For example, God told Elijah there would be a drought, and Elijah went and told King Ahab about it. Then God told Elijah the ravens would take care of him and that the widow's flour and oil would not run out. Now in this chapter, God promised to consume Elijah's sacrifice with fire, and after that God said the rain was coming again. I want to know how Elijah could be so sure-fire certain of what God said. Truly, if God told you there would be no rain or that you would never have to put flour and oil on your grocery list, how would you respond? Would you ever dream of challenging your antagonistic co-workers to a sacrificial BBQ Throwdown? Do I even slow down long enough to hear God say anything like that to me? Do I recognize His voice when He does speak? Do I have enough faith to share the word with anyone else, or am I too afraid they will think I'm looney?
We don't see Elijah's kind of faith in our society, girls. Will you share your thoughts on why you think this is the case?
The humor in this Mount Carmel story is fabulous. Elijah has a great time taunting the prophets of Baal! And then Elijah adds insult to injury when he douses his sacrifice with 12 large jars (4 jars x 3 times) of water. No way was that gonna burn, the prophets thought. "Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench." (vs. 38). Ha. Guess I showed you, boys. My God is way bigger than your god!
Elijah's prayer in verses 36 & 37 should be a pattern we follow. What did Elijah ask for? Did he ask for fire? Did he ask for fame for himself? Did he ask God to put the prophets of Baal to shame? No, those would have been selfish requests. Instead, Elijah asked God to prove Himself so that the people would come to believe that He is God. I believe the Bible teaches that God is willing to answer this type of prayer. This prayer of faith does not dictate our wishes to God; it invites Him to display His power in our lives. Asking God to prove Himself in the midst of our difficult circumstances means that we are willing to accept His answer even when it doesn't match our expectations. It means we offer ourselves as a vessel God can use however He pleases. It means we make ourselves available so that God can shine His light into the lives of other people. The outcome we should desire most is for people all around us to fall prostrate and cry out, "The LORD--he is God! The LORD--he is God!" (vs. 39)
In verse 41, Elijah told Ahab "there is the sound of a heavy rain." What? Elijah's spiritual ears are far more keen than mine. It wasn't until after Elijah prayed 7 times that "a cloud as small as a man's hand" rose from the sea. (vs. 44) Was Elijah grasping at straws, or did He really have a promise from God that the black clouds and heavy rain were on the way? At any rate, God's power falls on Elijah, and he runs 20 miles down Mount Carmel to Jezreel.
Will you join me in praying that God will display His power in our lives? It will take a true commitment on our part to be still and wait on His answer. We can't throw a fit when He does not answer on our time schedule or according to our wishes. I'm not certain what to look for, but I'm pretty sure we will know it when our God shows up!
Something that has really leaped off the page at me is Elijah's faith in what God had promised He would do. For example, God told Elijah there would be a drought, and Elijah went and told King Ahab about it. Then God told Elijah the ravens would take care of him and that the widow's flour and oil would not run out. Now in this chapter, God promised to consume Elijah's sacrifice with fire, and after that God said the rain was coming again. I want to know how Elijah could be so sure-fire certain of what God said. Truly, if God told you there would be no rain or that you would never have to put flour and oil on your grocery list, how would you respond? Would you ever dream of challenging your antagonistic co-workers to a sacrificial BBQ Throwdown? Do I even slow down long enough to hear God say anything like that to me? Do I recognize His voice when He does speak? Do I have enough faith to share the word with anyone else, or am I too afraid they will think I'm looney?
We don't see Elijah's kind of faith in our society, girls. Will you share your thoughts on why you think this is the case?
The humor in this Mount Carmel story is fabulous. Elijah has a great time taunting the prophets of Baal! And then Elijah adds insult to injury when he douses his sacrifice with 12 large jars (4 jars x 3 times) of water. No way was that gonna burn, the prophets thought. "Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench." (vs. 38). Ha. Guess I showed you, boys. My God is way bigger than your god!
Elijah's prayer in verses 36 & 37 should be a pattern we follow. What did Elijah ask for? Did he ask for fire? Did he ask for fame for himself? Did he ask God to put the prophets of Baal to shame? No, those would have been selfish requests. Instead, Elijah asked God to prove Himself so that the people would come to believe that He is God. I believe the Bible teaches that God is willing to answer this type of prayer. This prayer of faith does not dictate our wishes to God; it invites Him to display His power in our lives. Asking God to prove Himself in the midst of our difficult circumstances means that we are willing to accept His answer even when it doesn't match our expectations. It means we offer ourselves as a vessel God can use however He pleases. It means we make ourselves available so that God can shine His light into the lives of other people. The outcome we should desire most is for people all around us to fall prostrate and cry out, "The LORD--he is God! The LORD--he is God!" (vs. 39)
In verse 41, Elijah told Ahab "there is the sound of a heavy rain." What? Elijah's spiritual ears are far more keen than mine. It wasn't until after Elijah prayed 7 times that "a cloud as small as a man's hand" rose from the sea. (vs. 44) Was Elijah grasping at straws, or did He really have a promise from God that the black clouds and heavy rain were on the way? At any rate, God's power falls on Elijah, and he runs 20 miles down Mount Carmel to Jezreel.
Will you join me in praying that God will display His power in our lives? It will take a true commitment on our part to be still and wait on His answer. We can't throw a fit when He does not answer on our time schedule or according to our wishes. I'm not certain what to look for, but I'm pretty sure we will know it when our God shows up!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)