God Comes Through.

When we are desperate, truly driven to the end, with no way out, God shows up.

When Israel was outnumbered, King Jehoshaphat prayed a desperate prayer:

“We do not know what to do, but we look to you.” 2 Chronicles 20:12.

God responded through a prophet:

“Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast number, for the battle is not yours but God’s… You do not have to fight this battle. Position yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord!” verse 17.

Can you imagine the relief they felt? Facing certain slaughter, now they can be spectators watching God work a miracle. God wiped out their enemies and Israel gathered plunder for three days. 

God can rescue you the same way. Take your problems to Him. Trust Him. Rely only on Him. Do your best, pray, study the word and pray using His word. And then trust Him. The battle belongs to the Lord. He is our rescue, our deliverance, our salvation. 

“Believe in Yahweh your God and you will be established, believe in His word and you will succeed.” 2 Chronicles 20:20.

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God is Interested.

God is interested in the details.  He cares about things some might think would be beneath Him.  How do we know? The Bible makes it clear. God is interested in justice, for example.  The Bible talks about those who give false testimony, about different aspects of civil and criminal trials, and the consequences of letting evil go unpunished.  And King Jehoshaphat spoke for the Lord about judges—a passage that applies to juries as well:

“Then he said to the judges, ‘Consider what you are doing, for you do not judge for man, but for the Lord, who is with you in the matter of judgment.  And now, may the terror of the Lord be on you.  Watch what you do, for there is no injustice or partiality or taking bribes with the Lord our God” 2 Chronicles 19:6-7.

Most will never be judges—but most WILL receive a jury summons.  Serving on a jury is a sacred calling and your highest civic duty.  Don’t avoid it—it is a greater service than voting because it will have a greater impact on the world than your vote ever will. 

Although some cannot serve due to being self-employed, or college students, or caregivers, those who can should welcome jury duty (or at least respond to the never-convenient summons with a willing heart).  God can use you: “YOU DO NOT JUDGE FOR MAN, BUT FOR THE LORD—WHO IS WITH YOU” AND WILL HELP YOU REACH THE CORRECT JUDGMENT.”  Judging or serving as a juror is an opportunity to serve God and your fellow man. It is an opportunity to make your community a better place—regardless of the outcome. A guilty verdict may remove evil from the streets, but acquittals and hung juries ensure the integrity of the system.  Civil jury verdicts are equally important.

Dear God, thank you that you care about the details of our lives and our communities. Send us good judges and strong, honest juries. Help our community honor You with just results in both criminal and civil cases.

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Whom Do You Serve?

King Jehoshaphat was not a perfect king. But God commended him for several things. One was the way he commissioned judges. The king told them:

“Consider what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the Lord, who is with you in the matter of judgment.” 2 Chronicles 19:6.

Think about that. You do your work for God—and God is with you as you do it. Have you ever thought that way about your life? In which of your activities does God seem to join you? And are you doing it for Him? Do you think about God as you do it? 

Whatever it is, “whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, AS UNTO GOD RATHER THAN MEN.” (Eccl.9:10; Col.3:23).

Do your best. Work hard. And remember that you are doing it for God! Whether teaching, babysitting, studying, exercising, playing baseball, playing guitar, painting, cooking, mowing… whatever. God is interested and wants you to do your BEST.

“IT IS THE LORD CHRIST WHOM YOU SERVE.” Colossians 3:24.

Pray. Dear God, help us remember that we serve you. We don’t study to please teachers, but Jesus. We don’t clean house to please parents, but Jesus. We don’t read books to please authorities, but Jesus. We work for you, we maintain our house and cars for you. We care for animals to please you. We develop our talents for you. We speak to give you honor. We post on social media with words that bring you glory. We want to serve you better every day. Fill us with your love, joy, hope, and grace. May everyone around us know YOU better because of our influence. Use us to build your kingdom. And give us a work ethic that glorifies Christ. Help us live these words of Jesus: “May your light so shine before men, that they may see your GOOD WORKS and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16. Remind us to honor you with our EFFORT and our ATTITUDE. We love you!

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Apples and Choices.

Jehoshaphat “walked in the way of his father Asa and did not depart from it, doing right in the sight of the Lord” 2 Chronicles 20:32.

Nadab “did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father Jeroboam” 1 Kings 15:26.

“Ahaziah … did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father and the way of his mother….” 1 Kings 22:51-52.

“The apple does not fall far from the tree.”

But everyone makes choices. Children are often independent; consider the families of our recent presidents. Some children rebel, forever separating them from the paths of their parents (for example, Ron Reagan and Patti Davis). Others align their lives with those of their parents (Maureen and Michael Reagan). 

What do most children do? Most take the path of least resistance—which often lands the apple close to the tree.  The easiest thing in life is probably to grow up to be like your parents, “more or less.” 

But we avoid HARD DECISIONS until life thrusts them upon us.  If you have high-achieving parents, you probably will not reach their level of achievement without a lot of suffering—because no one makes tough commitments until suffering drives them to it.  You don’t get serious about your grades until you are in danger of failing, for example.

Some of your children will follow your example.  Some will not.  You can’t control their decisions.  Your children will choose their own path.

What can you control?  Your EXAMPLE. 

All you can do is walk with the Lord and pray your children choose the best path.  Some will follow the lives of godly parents closely.  Some will rebel.  Perhaps most will be lazy and lukewarm, but will do okay because of the momentum of the generation that came before. 

And what can be done about the lazy and lukewarm?  PRAY.  Pray for those children to move from lives of simply “clean living” to lives that are SOLD OUT to Jesus, wholly devoted to Him, as in Romans 12:1-2.

“I urge you, brethren, in view of the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” Romans 12:1-2.

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Resentful and Angry.

Ever been “resentful and angry”? What did it lead to? Probably nothing good.

King Ahab, Israel’s most wicked king, let those feelings ruin him. First, he failed to kill the Lord’s enemy, the evil king of Aram.

The prophet told him God would take his life instead, and he “went home resentful and angry.” 1 Kings 20:43.

Then Ahab tried to force Naboth to trade him a vineyard and Naboth said no. “So Ahab went to his palace resentful and angry,” 1 Kings 21:4. 

But his anger led to the murder of Naboth, and for that, Ahab was punished. Not only would he and his evil wife Jezebel die, but they would not receive burial. And the same would go for all their descendants and servants: “He who dies in the city, the dogs will eat, he who dies in the country, the birds will eat.” That is a shameful punishment. In fact, Jezebel would later be thrown out a window and eaten by dogs so quickly, only her bony head, hands, and feet would even be found.

And THAT is why you cannot tolerate resentment and anger! It will destroy you! When people make you mad, deal with it. Talk to them, talk to God, get advice, pray for help forgiving them—do whatever it takes.

But—

“Do NOT let a “root of bitterness spring up, and by it many be defiled.” Hebrews 12:15.

Dear God, please teach us forgive, to have patience. Show us how to stand up for ourselves and speak for justice. But make us wise about forgiveness. Help us to have a Christlike attitude toward those who hurt us. Help us to forgive, even if it’s for selfish reasons. Remind us that unforgiveness ALWAYS causes a root of bitterness—and that always causes “many to be defiled.” Fill our hearts with your love, and help us forgive from a place of power and strength. We love you. Teach us to love your word, and to let it change us every day.

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Some Bad Marriages Do Not Involve Conflict.

It is easy for young people to ask about the basics: Is she hot? Does he have a great career? Does she laugh at my jokes? Does he listen to me? Is she affectionate? Is he romantic?  Traits like these are easy. 

But you must evaluate a potential spouse on a deeper level: does he love God? Is she a hard worker? Is he honest? Is she selfless? Will he put his family above his career? Can she serve without complaining? Is he committed to doing things the RIGHT way, or will he cut corners to get ahead? 

Older adults are more perceptive about these deeper traits.  LISTEN to their counsel.

WHY?  Because the biggest influence in your adult life will be your spouse. 

Marriage pours your two lives into one cup and stirs.  Slowly he will become more like her—and she will become more like him.  Your spouse will be a HUGE influence on the next fifty years of your life!

Some do not choose wisely.  I’m not talking about conflicts within marriage.  Sometimes the two get along well enough, but their union produces evil results because they both have the same temptations.  Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are both are ambitious, for example, and it drives them to commit murder after murder.

Similarly, Israel suffered many evil kings, but only one with a wife like Jezebel. With her by his side, King Ahab became worse than all the others.

“There was no one like Ahab, who devoted himself to do what was evil in the Lord’s sight, BECAUSE HIS WIFE JEZEBEL INCITED HIM” 1 Kings 21:25.

God punished Ahab and Jezebel. Ahab was shot with an arrow and bled so much prostitutes bathed in his blood and the dogs licked up the rest, 1 Kings 22:38.  Later Jezebel was thrown out a window, run over by a chariot, and eaten by dogs so quickly that only her skull, feet, and palms could be found for burial, 2 Kings 9:35.

Ahab and Jezebel made a bad marriage. 

Pre-marital counseling is important. 

“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed” Proverbs 15:22.

*The pic above is stray dogs roaming the streets of Mumbai and was published in the India Times.

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The Sound of God’s Voice.

What does the voice of God sound like?  Most hear God’s voice only after we silence the voices around us. 

The God who created infinite space, who could choose to be the loudest sound in the universe, prefers to speak in the gentlest voice possible.

After Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal, he ran away from King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, crying out to God for mercy. And God told Elijah to go stand on the mountain in the Lord’s presence.  Elijah went up the mountain and hid in a cave:

“At that moment, the Lord passed by. A great and mighty wind was tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was a voice, a soft whisper.  When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.  Suddenly a voice came to him and said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’…” 1 Kings 19:11-13.

Elijah saw a wind that shattered mountain cliffs, but God was not in the wind. He saw an earthquake. God was not in the earthquake. He saw a fire. God was not in the fire.  Where was God’s voice? In a soft whisper. How do you hear a whisper? You silence other noises and draw as near as possible to the speaker. 

Do we silence noise? Do we experience quiet?  No radio or TV? No internet? No one texting? Two things I never expected were radios in the shower and telephones on the toilet.  You need QUIET if you want to hear from God. He speaks in a STILL, SMALL VOICE. He won’t shout. 

Dear God, help us be QUIET: in prayer, in the car, in the shower, etc. Never let us be so noisy we miss hearing You.

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Moderation is Not Following Christ.

Some conversion stories are dramatic: The boss of a motorcycle gang has raped, killed, and spread crime all over the nation. He lands in prison and finds Jesus—and his life is radically changed! He has seen the dark side, and he’s never going back! 

Most never see such highs and lows.  Many believers grew up in church, and when they rebel rarely end up criminals. 

But high school and college students often have to see the darkness before they fully embrace the LIGHT OF THE WORLD. 

But there is risk: some will see the darkness, enjoy the darkness, and EMBRACE the darkness. 

Others step back from darkness, but embrace something equally wrong, but socially acceptable: the pagan notion of MODERATION. 

Some of us are not walking with Jesus, we are merely living “in moderation.”  We are gluttons for Mexican food, but in moderation.  We drink wine, but in moderation.  We cuss, but not that much.  We read our Bible but only a little. 

We follow Jesus in moderation, arguing, ‘I don’t want to be a fanatic!’ 

We are judgmental and gossip in moderation.  We watch sex on TV, but in MODERATION—We’re not perverts like So-and-So.  We are ambitious, jealous, selfish, hateful—but in MODERATION.  Is that what being a Christian means—a life of MODERATION?  Is that what Jesus meant in Matthew 16:24 when He said “if any man wants to follow Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me”?

Elijah confronted his people:

“How long will you waver between two opinions!?” 1 Kings 18:21. 

Others translate it:

How long will you hesitate between two sides? How long will you sit on the fence? How long will you hobble back and forth? How long will you try to have it both ways?

Have you seen enough darkness? Many of us have seen enough to step back.  But don’t step back to a life of moderation. 

Embrace Jesus to the extreme! 

He give you purpose and joy.  Moderation is selfish. Jesus calls you to selflessness.  Deny yourself. Take up your cross.  You cannot serve Jesus in moderation.

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Can You Hear the Whisper of God?  1 Kings 19:11-12.

Imagine you and I head into the wilderness to spend time with God. Life slows down when we leave the city where we are stressed, anxious, and too busy. In the wilderness, there are no honking horns. Phones don’t ring.  Notifications are off. No one looks at email or social media. It’s freedom and peace.

One day we find a cave.  It’s cool inside and we sit down. Then as we get up to leave, it’s suddenly too dangerous. A roaring wind picks up, loud as a passing locomotive. The mountain is coming apart, rocks are falling and bouncing, the cliffs above are breaking off, boulders crushing trees.  We cannot take another step.

Suddenly the wind stops and things are quiet.  Until the earthquakes begin. The earth pitches and rolls like a ship in a storm.    

But suddenly the earth is still and the wind is still.

“What just happened?”

“I don’t know. You want to get out of this cave?”

But before we can answer, fire breaks out.  Suddenly everything is red and smoky. There is a forest fire in all directions, but we are safe inside the cave.  We stand there staring until the heat makes us turn away.

“What is God doing? He sure got my attention.”

Suddenly the fire goes out.  All is still and quiet.  We look at each other and we hear a still, small voice. God speaks quietly, explaining that He was not in the wind, though He controls the wind. He was not in the earthquake, though He controls the earthquake. He was not in the fire, though He controls fire. God was in the still, small voice.  1 Kings 19:11-12.

A week later we are back in the city—stressed, anxious, and too busy. But we learned something: if we want to hear God’s voice, we need to get away from the wind, the earthquakes, and the fires—all the noisy distractions—and find a quiet place where we can hear His STILL, SMALL VOICE.

That’s why they call it A QUIET TIME.  God will not compete for your attention: you must regularly give Him 100% of your attention or you will rarely hear His voice.

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WE CAN PRACTICE JOY AND TEACH JOY.  2 Chronicles 17:6-7.

Everything Andrew touched turned to gold. After college he rented a funky space in downtown New Orleans. He poured money into it and transformed it into a restaurant he called “The Grotto.”  The Grotto became the city’s hot spot.  It was wildly successful, and Andrew was the owner and chef. Then the landlord raised the rent and put The Grotto out of business.  Andrew was suddenly the owner of a restaurant that failed.  Andrew failed. 

Worse still, Andrew’s father, a jeweler and preacher, died when Andrew was in second grade.  Andrew never recovered.  Andrew was not a talker.  He buried the loss inside himself like an abscess.  Then his restaurant failed and Andrew bounced around the food industry for twenty years, never finding the right fit and always blaming everyone else. Then one day Andrew drank himself to death.

Andrew achieved great successes but he suffered too, and he had no father to teach him what to do with grief and failure.  Andrew needed to be taught joy.

Perhaps his preacher father would have pointed to Ecclesiastes: Life is hard and unfair, but you can find the joy of the Lord in anything.

King Jehoshaphat understood. “His mind rejoiced in the Lord’s ways” and the king sent his top officials to TEACH God’s joy-filled ways to the people. 2 Chronicles 17:6-7.  If only Andrew could have learned God’s way to find joy during grief and failure.  Andrew was wry and funny, but no one would ever describe him as happy.  He needed a teacher to teach him about joy. 

God, teach us to find joy in all things, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Most of all, to find joy in Your ways.  Help us find joy in our work, our meals, our family and friends, in nice days and stormy days, and in all things. Help us live it and teach it: “find joy in the Lord always!” Philippians 4:4.

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