Monthly Archives: March 2021

(2 Kings 18-20) Generations To Come

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I’m not a big fan of King Hezekiah. Yes, he did some good things, and Scripture says he did right in the eyes of God. His prayer is an example, and a challenge to me. But I’m not sure I like him.

Verse 20:19 seals the deal for me when Hezekiah said all he cared about was his own comfort and safety. Too bad about his kids.

But I’m reminded he isn’t the only one looking out for #1, or living for the moment. I’ve been guilty of that, too. And you know what? I’m not sure I like me either, during those times.

If I’m not concerned about what life will be like when the babies in my family are grown, or if I have no passion for the kids in my church or neighborhood, or the dear ones in the school down the street, what does that say about me? I might as well pull the covers over my head and eat bonbons all day, get fat on my blessings, and die.

Because I certainly am not serving God unless I’m working toward making the world more Christlike by actively inviting people to know the Savior. I don’t have to be good with kids, teach a Sunday School for first graders, or even volunteer at the schools. But I can pray. I can support Bible-based children’s ministries, I can encourage parents, teachers, and caregivers in the name of Jesus. I can be an example of someone who is devoted to Jesus and interested in the souls of the next generation.

Do you know the percentage of people who give their hearts to the Lord as adults compared to that of children? It’s shocking. Someone recently showed me a statistic that said 2/3 of Christians say they accepted Jesus as a child. Children need to hear about Jesus and be given the opportunity to surrender to Him while they are young. I am not saying reaching out to adults isn’t important. It is. God is not willing ANY should die without Him. But let’s not neglect the next generation while reaching out to the present one.

I do not want to entertain the same attitude Hezekiah had. I’m not ok thinking the children alive today may have to face persecution and suffer for the Name. I’m not ok thinking the Gospel may not be recognizable in years to come. Yes, I most likely will be gone.

But can I be ok knowing that young people around me might have to live through God’s judgment for my decisions? Or that the same young people might become so hardened to the Truth that they never receive God’s grace?

We all have a responsibility in reaching children for Christ who will reach children for Christ for generations to come.

(2 Kings 16-17) What Do We Lose?

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I’m going to challenge you to read these two chapters today. I’ll let Scripture speak for itself. But if you can’t read both chapters, hear what I believe God would have us consider today:

“To satisfy the king of Assyria, he (King Ahaz) removed from the Lord’s temple the Sabbath canopy they had built in the palace, and he closed the outer entrance.” (16:18)

“They (the Jews) feared the Lord, but they also worshiped their own gods according to the practice of the nations from which they had been deported.” (17:33)

“They (the Jews) feared the Lord but also served their idols.” (17:41)

Do you recognize the Church, or maybe your own heart? Are we trying to worship God and still satisfy the world? What do we lose when we do that?

I once heard someone we commonly refer to as a “worship leader” say his goal was to make worship fun.

Fun for whom? God?

Really?

What do we lose if worship becomes about the enjoyment of the worshiper? What do we lose if we water down Scripture to make it more palatable for the listener? What do we do if we hide behind a cutsie name for our fellowship so the world will feel comfortable?

What do we lose? What does Scripture tell us?

(2 Kings 12) Integrity

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Now here’s something you don’t see every day. Any day, really.

Let me set the scene:

Scripture tells us there were repairs going on in the temple. The contractors and workers were paid with silver that came into the temple by way of the offerings from worshipers. The high priest and his secretary weighed, then bagged the offering silver.

“Then they would give the weighed silver to those doing the work – those who oversaw the Lord’s temple. They in turn would pay it out to those working on the Lord’s temple – the carpenters, the builders, the masons, and the stonecutters – and would use it to buy timber and quarried stone to repair the damage to the Lord’s temple and for all expenses for temple repairs.” (12:11-13)

It sounds like it would have been an accounting nightmare, especially without spreadsheets and Microsoft Office on their computers.

But listen to this. This is what struck me today:

“No accounting was required from the men who received the silver to pay those doing the work, since they worked with integrity.” (vs 15, emphasis mine)

Have you ever had any remodeling done in your home? How did it go? You hire a contractor who hires workers to do the actual remodel, plumbers, painters, carpenters, tile workers. Or maybe the contractor actually does the work himself. Were you happy with the finished project? Was the job completed on time and within budget? Was the work done to your satisfaction? I bet some of you have horror stories.

Like my sister who, after she and her husband shelled out almost $30,000.00 for a remodeled bath and laundry room, continue to discover problems:

a toilet set too close to the wall

faulty (and dangerous) wiring

shower floor not caulked

closets without doors because they were mis-measured

a sump pump clogged with mortar dust because the worker emptied his bucket in the sump pump with water containing the dust from sanding the new drywall

Oh, there’s more. But you get the idea. My poor brother-in-law is outside digging a hole in their front yard, hoping to replace or reroute the pipe from the clogged sump pump before it rains today and ruins their new carpeting.

Integrity? I’m not seeing it here exactly. But here’s my point:

are any of us doing our jobs with integrity?

I play the organ at church. If I tell myself that if I hit a wrong note here and there no one will notice, am I playing with integrity?

If I teach a Sunday School and think, they’re just children so if I am not as prepared this week it’s no big deal, am I teaching with integrity?

Are you parenting with integrity? Are you working at your marriage with integrity? Representing Jesus with integrity? Driving your car, paying your taxes, being a neighbor, caring for your parents, serving on a committee at church, whatever… Are you working with integrity?

Do you need someone standing over you to make sure you are doing the job well and honestly? Or can they throw away the spreadsheets, like they did here in 2 Kings, because you do your work with integrity?

May each of us, no matter how big or small the task God gives us to do, be men and women with integrity. Then may we do the job as unto the Lord.

Integrity might be something we don’t see every day. But it should definitely be seen in you and me who know Jesus as our Savior.

Every day.

(I Kings 13-16) For Generations To Come

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Why did God not wipe out the blatantly disobedient people of Israel? One king after another – on both sides of the Israeli teams – obeyed God to differing degrees. Most disobeyed Him unashamedly. Their open rejection of everything God stood for would seem to be reason enough for God to wipe them off the face of the earth.

Why didn’t He do that? First of all, Scripture makes it clear God doesn’t delight in the deaths of His enemies, that His Sovereign will is that no one die without His saving grace. God didn’t – and doesn’t – destroy the Jews because of that one person whose heart is stirred, that one who is softening toward Jesus, and who will receive what the Messiah died to provide.

The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. (Psalm 103:8)

But here is what occurred to me this morning as I sat here praying about these chapters in I Kings: God had made promises about Israel’s preservation to Abraham and to King David. Why? Because these men had vital relationships with God based on complete surrender and great faith. Neither man was perfect. But both men trusted God, and confessed and repented of sin. They were faithful to God, and He was faithful to them.

I am sure we are all praying for our children. We want God to bless and protect them today and every day. But I’m wondering how many generations of our descendants will be touched by God’s hand of protection, His grace and mercy, because we are living lives of obedience here and now? How many of our children and grandchildren will be blessed because we ourselves are surrendered to God, and demonstrate complete faith in Him? How many years will God continue to answer our prayers long after we are gone from this earthly body?

Our lives are lived in a few decades on this earth. But our prayers live into eternity. Our example goes on without us in the hearts and minds of our children. Our influences influence them whose influence impacts our grandchildren who will have children and grandchildren of their own.

What example of obedience are those dear ones seeing in us today? More importantly, what is God seeing in us that would cause Him to want to answer our prayers for the next generation and the next?

Abraham’s and David’s prayers are still being answered today because they were faithful to God while they had that opportunity. May the same be said of us a few thousand years from now.

(I Kings 8) Be Specific

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When King Solomon prayed, he covered all the bases, everything he could think of that would cause God to remove Himself from the people:

When a man takes an oath, when our enemies defeat us, when there is drought, or famine, when foreigners come, when we sin, when there is pestilence, blight, mildew, locusts, plague, illness… may your people return to You. Then God, hear our prayers and forgive.

I’m sitting here realizing that God would have me be more specific in my prayers, too. Not because He needs direction. But because it is a way of searching my heart, of putting my needs into words. It is identifying what I’m asking God to do, so that I will recognize His hand when answers to prayer come.

The Bible teaches that God hears… and answers… the prayers of His people. Let’s be specific.

(I Kings 3-7) Living In Splendor

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The Temple is built. I can only imagine the splendor. It was a house built for the King of Kings! It must have been breathtaking with all the gold, silver, cedar, carvings and sculptures. I’m glad God included those details in the passages I read today.

But as I read, I kept thinking about how, even after seven years of careful construction and at great expense, this temple will not survive. In a few short years, things will drastically change because of the disobedience of God’s people.

What does this tell us about God? After all, the Bible is given to us so that we can know Him. What does He want us to know?

As I sat here and thought about this, I recognized how this picture of the Temple, like all Scripture, paints a picture of how God blesses obedience; but He removes Himself and His protection when His people disobey. That was true in Solomon’s day. It’s still true today.

It’s true in our personal lives, and it’s true in a nation.

I want my walk with God to be in the splendor of His glorious Presence. Like the brick and mortar temple Solomon built with all it’s glory, every minute detail designed and blessed by God as I obey Him. I am able to do that because of His grace and mercy, as I continually submit to Him.

Sadly, I sometimes find myself walking in the rubble of a temple leveled by disobedience.

We will see in the chapters and books ahead how the Israelites will try time after time to rebuild or redecorate the temple. It will never be brought back to the glory we read about in these chapters in I Kings. However, unlike the temple Solomon built, I am able to return to that splendor when I confess and repent of sin. God’s Presence is renewed, my walk blessed by Him as I follow His blueprint for my life.

May my walk today be a life marked by the glorious Presence of God. May my heart be clean according to His plan. May I stand out as someone who is walking in the splendor which is God Himself. And may I be blessed, and a blessing, as I obey Him with all my heart.

(2 Samuel 12) Who’s Unfair?

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Before you tell God how unfair He was to take David’s newborn son, you need to stop. God is very clear to tell us in His Word that there are consequences for sin, and sometimes innocent people suffer.

God doesn’t want that.

How many times must He tell us to obey Him and be blessed, to trust Him and enjoy the good things He offers to His obedient children? And how many times must He tell us how much He hates, and punishes sin? I don’t know how much more clear God can be about that.

Then let me ask you this: are there innocents in your home who are suffering because of sin in your life?

We all know of children who live in poverty because their drunken fathers can’t hold a job. There are bruised and battered children whose mom can’t control her temper. There are children in foster care with parents in jail, on the streets, or dead because of sin. And there are people who suffer their whole lives with learning disabilities, even physical disabilities as a result of a mother who couldn’t stop shooting up, or couldn’t put down the alcohol and cigarettes while she was pregnant.

Is that fair? Are you going to blame God for that, too?

It grieves me that there are children growing up without any knowledge of God because parents choose golf over Sunday School, and brunch over going to church. The effect of the sin of rejecting God could reach into eternity for the innocents in those homes.

I know it’s the “woke” thing to do to blame everyone else for our struggles. I’m so over this whole thing. I will tell you, whether you want to hear it or not, that you – YOU – are responsible for your behavior. YOU are responsible for whether you obey God, or choose sin.

And here is the other side of that coin. Your sin can and does effect innocent people. It’s not God who is being unfair.

It’s you.

(2 Samuel 9) Dinner’s On

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Mephibosheth ate at King David’s table, was given land and protection, not because of anything he’d done, but because of whose son he was. Mephibosheth did not earn the right to be in the king’s presence by doing good deeds. The king extended grace because he loved Mephibosheth’s father.

Do you see a parallel? I am ushered into the Presence of the King through grace, not of myself, it is a gift of God. I can’t earn a place at the table, but I am blessed because God loves His Son, and I belong to His Son. God extends grace to me because He loves Jesus.

I realize Mephibosheth wasn’t healed. He remained a cripple. And God doesn’t always take away my problems, either. God’s grace doesn’t guarantee a trouble-free life. But I never want my problems to overshadow the blessings of God’s Presence and protection, or the fellowship He extends to me. Mephibosheth was blessed, and so am I.

I love living in God’s Presence. I hear Him say to me, “Pull up a chair, Connie. Dinner’s on.”

And I do.

(I Samuel 25-27) Me Time, or Our Time

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It’s hard to reconcile David, a man after God’s own heart, with the liar we read about here in I Samuel. David had placed himself in a difficult situation when he made himself at home with the enemy. It was easy to sin, surrounded by sin.

But my question is, why did he go there in the first place? God had proven Himself to be firmly on the side of David against Saul. David admitted God had delivered Saul into his hands – twice! David could easily have rid himself of the man who wanted him dead, yet David spared Saul both times, not wanting to sin against God or God’s anointed.

It sounds like, even after the obvious hand of God on his life, David was tired of running. And even though he probably knew God would continue to give him victory, David was weary of the battle, and didn’t see an end to his trouble.

He needed some “me time.” And he found it in the territory of the real enemy – sin. David learned you can’t surround yourself with sin and expect it not to rub off. And if you choose to live with the enemy, you are inviting some serious problems.

So, where are you living? With whom have you surrounded yourself? We are to go into the world and share the Gospel, but we are not to be comfortable there. What fellowship does the light have with darkness? The two cannot exist together.

What we read here in I Samuel is a very dark time in David’s life. I think the sad thing about it is, he is living with the enemy because of his lack of faith in God, who had only proven Himself faithful. Maybe God just wasn’t moving fast enough for David.

“Me time” is a popular concept today. And I’m not going to say whether or not I think it’s a good thing. I will, however, boldly say it is wrong if the “me time” moves you away from God, and closer to the enemy. You might be discouraged, weary, frustrated, disappointed, or burned out. And maybe God is nudging you to take a step back for a time. But, dear one, don’t use that as an excuse to dabble in the things of this world. Don’t allow yourself to feel at home with the enemy.

I’m not saying David was wrong to want to get away. The problem began with where he went. He didn’t go to God. Instead, he snuggled up with God’s enemy.

If you are needing some “me time,” spend it with God. Get to know Him better by reading your Bible and asking Him to reveal Himself. I would suggest you don’t go to self-help books or sit yourself in front of the TV, or turn to alcohol or partying or anything like that. I don’t believe there is any better “me time” than the time you share in a private encounter with God.

There is nothing sweeter than turning “Me Time” into “Our Time” with the Lord.

(I Samuel 20-24) My Enemy, and Your’s

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The whole Saul and David thing reminds me that I have an enemy, too. My enemy pursues me with the same determination Saul pursued David. My enemy wants to see me dead every bit as much as Saul wanted to see David dead.

My enemy is God’s enemy. My enemy hates me, simply for the fact I choose God. My enemy hates me because I love God, whom my enemy hates with a hate far greater than I know. My enemy’s hate for God is played out in my life with temptations, attacks, hardships, doubts, disease. My enemy is relentless, like Saul was relentless in his pursuit of David.

Whenever I read what David said to Abiathar, I hear God say to me:

“Stay with me. Don’t be afraid, for the one who wants to take my life wants to take your life. YOU WILL BE SAFE WITH ME.” ( 22:23, emphasis mine)

My enemy, and your’s, has no power over God. My enemy, and your’s, cannot touch us when we stay with God, when we become His children through the blood of Jesus, and choose to obey Him each and every day.

Stay with God, my friend. You will be safe with Him!