Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Elisha returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in that region. While the company of the prophets was meeting with him, he said to his servant, "Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these men."
One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine. He gathered some of its gourds and filled the fold of his cloak. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were.
The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, "O man of God, there is death in the pot!" And they could not eat it.
Elisha said, "Get some flour."
He put it into the pot and said, "Serve it to the people to eat."
And there was nothing harmful in the pot.
2 Kings 4:38-41
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
I’ve really enjoyed reading and writing through 2 Kings, Chapter 4. It’s a wonderful chapter filled with good news and wonderful miracles…all with great lessons for us to learn about life and how the Lord is there to help us deal with its circumstances.
In today’s passage, we read where hard times have fallen on the region around Gilgal. A famine has struck there, leaving the people to have to look hard for food to eat.
As Elisha returns to Gilgal, he meets with a company of prophets and during that meeting, he directs his servant to "Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these men."
And so the servant did as he was told. He “went out into the fields to gather herbs” and while he was out, he “found a wild vine” from which he “gathered some…gourds”, enough to fill “the fold of his cloak”. He returned to the meeting place, cut up the gourds and put them in a “pot of stew”. Of course, anyone who would soon eat the stew would have no idea of what had been placed in it.
When the prophets were ready to eat, the “stew was poured out” them and they began to eat it. Suddenly, the men cried out to Elisha as they tasted the stew saying, “O man of God, there is death in the pot!" With the gourds from the wild vine, the stew was so bad it couldn’t be eaten.
But Elisha, as he has shown other times before now, had a plan.
We read where he asks for some flour which he received and put in the pot. He then asked for the stew to be served again to the men to eat. And as the men tasted the stew, they experienced a great change. The stew that was once bad and inedible could now be eaten for “there was nothing harmful in the pot”.
In other words, what was bad was now good.
So did the flour have such a miraculous effect?
No…it wasn’t the flour that caused the miracle. It was the Lord…the Creator and Giver of all miracles.
You see, the Lord makes a business out of taking what is bad and making it good.
I know I am a living testament to this truth…and maybe you are as well. In fact, I know you are if you truly have accepted Jesus as your personal Savior.
Because all who are born into the world are sin-stricken…bad from birth and without hope minus the saving redemption that comes from Jesus…the One who shed His blood to atone for our sin penalty.
When it came to the stew, flour added…coupled with the Lord’s miraculous work…led to the stew becoming good. It became useful with a renewed purpose. And once good, the stew could do good, providing nourishment to the men who ate it.
When it comes to us, we become good when we are washed by the saving blood of Christ Jesus…washed white as snow…justified by the sacrifice He made. And you know the word “justified” breaks down to mean that it is “just as if I had never sinned”
Question: Have you been washed by the blood of the Lamb of God…Jesus Christ?
If so, then you have accepted Him as your Savior…and in the process become a new creation in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17). Once lost but now found…once bad but now good in and through Him.
And once good, then we become something useful…something the Lord can use to make a difference in the lives of those He “feeds” us to…using us to nourish others in His word, will and Spirit.
Question: Have you went from bad to good?
If the answer is no, now is the time to commit to change. Jesus is standing by to make you a new creation…taking you in as bad and sending you forth as good.
Thanks be to God for the gift of His Son!
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
WHEN TRAGEDY STRIKES
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers.
"My head! My head!" he said to his father.
His father told a servant, "Carry him to his mother."
After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died. She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out.
She called her husband and said, "Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can go to the man of God quickly and return."
"Why go to him today?" he asked. "It's not the New Moon or the Sabbath."
"It's all right," she said.
She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, "Lead on; don't slow down for me unless I tell you." So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.
When he saw her in the distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi, "Look! There's the Shunammite! Run to meet her and ask her, 'Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?' "
"Everything is all right," she said.
When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, "Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress, but the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me why."
"Did I ask you for a son, my lord?" she said. "Didn't I tell you, 'Don't raise my hopes'?"
Elisha said to Gehazi, "Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand and run. If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff on the boy's face."
But the child's mother said, "As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So he got up and followed her.
Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the boy's face, but there was no sound or response. So Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and told him, "The boy has not awakened."
When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the Lord. Then he got on the bed and lay upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out upon him, the boy's body grew warm. Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out upon him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.
Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, "Call the Shunammite." And he did.
When she came, he said, "Take your son." She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out.
2 Kings 4:18-37
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Sometimes tragedy strikes us with some warning like when a hurricane spends days building up power before it reaches landfall and wreaks destruction. Or maybe when a loved one is afflicted with a health condition that worsens over time like cancer until their body can function no more and they pass away.
Still other times, tragedy comes suddenly…unannounced…when we’re least prepared for it. Tornados are like that. We’re accustomed to severe thunderstorms but at times they spawn deadly twisters that quickly destroy everything in their path…often with no warning of their coming. And people every day die suddenly from heart attack or as a result of an accident…never thinking for a moment when they awoke that their last day of life was upon them.
So what do we do when tragedy strikes?
Hopefully, today’s passage gives us some insight.
For as today’s scripture begins, we find the Shunammite woman’s son has grown up.
You’ll recall earlier in Chapter 4 that the woman was granted the blessing of her son as a result of the loving hospitality she had shown to Elisha and his servant Gehazi.
Well, as we pick up on the story of the child all seems well at first. The boy goes out to meet his father who we’re told was in the fields with the reapers.
While there, the child begins to feel ill saying to his father, “My head! My head!" The father, not sensing any danger at that moment, asks his servant to “Carry him to his mother” and the servant carries out the order.
And so the Shumannite woman sat with her son on her lap. We’re not given any indication anything is seriously wrong at first…but then things quickly turn catastrophic when we read that the boy died at noon. I’ve never lost a child but as I read this, I couldn’t help but have tears well up in my eyes as I imagined what it might have been like if I did lose one of my daughters.
It would be devastating.
As we read in our passage, the mother took the boy up into the special room on the roof that had been built for Elisha (who scripture refers to as the “man of God”) before shutting the door and calling out to her husband to have a servant bring a donkey so she could “go to the man of God quickly and return."
Well, the husband is a bit surprised at her request because it wasn’t one of the days when she would typically go to Elisha such as the “New Moon or the Sabbath”. His wife puts him at ease by telling him not to worry…that everything was fall right.
Of course, we know the truth. Things couldn’t have been more wrong at that point.
So the Shunammite woman “saddled the donkey” and urged her servant to “Lead on; don't slow down for me unless I tell you." And with that they set out to meet Elisha who was at Mount Carmel.
As the woman and her servant approached, Elisha saw them “in the distance” and he sent his servant Gehazi to run and meet her asking if she and her family were all right.
So Gehazi did as Elisha instructed and the woman, just as she had told her husband, said that everything was all right.
Why didn’t the woman tell the servant her needs? Most probably, it was because she knew that it wasn’t he who could help her. Only Elisha possessed the power to save her son within him. And as the woman reached him “at the mountain”, we read where “she took hold of his feet”...an action that startled the servant who “came over to push her away” but was rebuffed by Elisha who told him, “Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress, but the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me why."
Note two distinct areas of concern for Elisha at this point.
First, he was concerned about the Shunammite woman being in such distress.
Second, he was concerned as to why the Lord hadn’t provided him a vision of what was coming and what he should do.
Elisha wasn’t the only one a bit confused. For we read the woman’s words filled with sadness and despair as she asks, “Did I ask you for a son, my lord?…Didn't I tell you, 'Don't raise my hopes'?" In essence, the woman was wondering why Elisha would bless her with the son only to take him away so suddenly.
Well, Elisha, now trying to assess what he should do gives his servant a direct order to “Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand and run. If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff on the boy's face." The woman, expected to go with the servant refused to go without Elisha coming as well saying, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you." And with that, Elisha “got up and followed her” as she returned to where her dead son was laying.
Meanwhile, Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, had “went on ahead” and as he reached the room where the boy was, he “laid the staff on the boy's face”. But nothing happened…”there was no sound or response”. So Gehazi “went back to meet Elisha” reporting that "The boy has not awakened."
Finally, Elisha “reached the house” and found the “boy lying dead” in the room and went in, shutting the door so that it was only the two of them there. And alone with the dead boy, Elisha “prayed to the Lord”.
After prayer, Elisha “got on the bed” and “lay upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands”. Scripture tells us that as Elisha “stretched himself out upon him, the boy's body grew warm” but the boy still did not come to life.
Undaunted, we read where Elisha “turned away and walked back and forth in the room” before he got back on the bed and stretched out upon the boy once more. And this time, a miracle happened.
For we read where the “boy sneezed seven times” before opening his eyes and coming alive. Elisha summoned his servant and asked him to call for the Shunammite woman and “when she came”, Elisha told her to "Take your son."
The sight must have been overwhelming. To see her son who was once dead, now back alive. There couldn’t be enough hallelujahs raised up at that point…not enough praise that could be spoken…not any way to properly measure the amount of joy felt…not enough words to express thanks.
In fact, the woman says nothing. She only comes into the room, falls at the feet of Elisha…the man of God…and bows down to the ground before him.
No words needed spoken. Her actions completely expressed her feelings…feelings solely centered on reverence and worship unto the only One who could and did resurrect her son.
So what do we learn from this passage regarding how to deal with tragedy?
It’s simple.
For it’s all about faith and trust.
Faith that things can work out, no matter the circumstances if you just trust in the One who can make all things possible.
The woman never doubted that she could find help from the man of God…Elisha.
And Elisha, like Elijah before him, delivered by channeling God’s miraculous power through his body into the boy…delivering him into new life…a renewed life delivered by the Lord.
So where does this message find you today? Are you in the midst of tragedy?
If so, my prayer is that you have been buoyed up with a new sense of hope…hope reincarnated through a restored faith and trust in the Almighty Creator and Maker of all things…past, present and future.
Won’t you have the faith of the Shunammite woman and trust Him today?
It worked for her. It can work for you.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers.
"My head! My head!" he said to his father.
His father told a servant, "Carry him to his mother."
After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died. She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out.
She called her husband and said, "Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can go to the man of God quickly and return."
"Why go to him today?" he asked. "It's not the New Moon or the Sabbath."
"It's all right," she said.
She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, "Lead on; don't slow down for me unless I tell you." So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.
When he saw her in the distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi, "Look! There's the Shunammite! Run to meet her and ask her, 'Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?' "
"Everything is all right," she said.
When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, "Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress, but the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me why."
"Did I ask you for a son, my lord?" she said. "Didn't I tell you, 'Don't raise my hopes'?"
Elisha said to Gehazi, "Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand and run. If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff on the boy's face."
But the child's mother said, "As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So he got up and followed her.
Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the boy's face, but there was no sound or response. So Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and told him, "The boy has not awakened."
When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the Lord. Then he got on the bed and lay upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out upon him, the boy's body grew warm. Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out upon him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.
Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, "Call the Shunammite." And he did.
When she came, he said, "Take your son." She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out.
2 Kings 4:18-37
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Sometimes tragedy strikes us with some warning like when a hurricane spends days building up power before it reaches landfall and wreaks destruction. Or maybe when a loved one is afflicted with a health condition that worsens over time like cancer until their body can function no more and they pass away.
Still other times, tragedy comes suddenly…unannounced…when we’re least prepared for it. Tornados are like that. We’re accustomed to severe thunderstorms but at times they spawn deadly twisters that quickly destroy everything in their path…often with no warning of their coming. And people every day die suddenly from heart attack or as a result of an accident…never thinking for a moment when they awoke that their last day of life was upon them.
So what do we do when tragedy strikes?
Hopefully, today’s passage gives us some insight.
For as today’s scripture begins, we find the Shunammite woman’s son has grown up.
You’ll recall earlier in Chapter 4 that the woman was granted the blessing of her son as a result of the loving hospitality she had shown to Elisha and his servant Gehazi.
Well, as we pick up on the story of the child all seems well at first. The boy goes out to meet his father who we’re told was in the fields with the reapers.
While there, the child begins to feel ill saying to his father, “My head! My head!" The father, not sensing any danger at that moment, asks his servant to “Carry him to his mother” and the servant carries out the order.
And so the Shumannite woman sat with her son on her lap. We’re not given any indication anything is seriously wrong at first…but then things quickly turn catastrophic when we read that the boy died at noon. I’ve never lost a child but as I read this, I couldn’t help but have tears well up in my eyes as I imagined what it might have been like if I did lose one of my daughters.
It would be devastating.
As we read in our passage, the mother took the boy up into the special room on the roof that had been built for Elisha (who scripture refers to as the “man of God”) before shutting the door and calling out to her husband to have a servant bring a donkey so she could “go to the man of God quickly and return."
Well, the husband is a bit surprised at her request because it wasn’t one of the days when she would typically go to Elisha such as the “New Moon or the Sabbath”. His wife puts him at ease by telling him not to worry…that everything was fall right.
Of course, we know the truth. Things couldn’t have been more wrong at that point.
So the Shunammite woman “saddled the donkey” and urged her servant to “Lead on; don't slow down for me unless I tell you." And with that they set out to meet Elisha who was at Mount Carmel.
As the woman and her servant approached, Elisha saw them “in the distance” and he sent his servant Gehazi to run and meet her asking if she and her family were all right.
So Gehazi did as Elisha instructed and the woman, just as she had told her husband, said that everything was all right.
Why didn’t the woman tell the servant her needs? Most probably, it was because she knew that it wasn’t he who could help her. Only Elisha possessed the power to save her son within him. And as the woman reached him “at the mountain”, we read where “she took hold of his feet”...an action that startled the servant who “came over to push her away” but was rebuffed by Elisha who told him, “Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress, but the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me why."
Note two distinct areas of concern for Elisha at this point.
First, he was concerned about the Shunammite woman being in such distress.
Second, he was concerned as to why the Lord hadn’t provided him a vision of what was coming and what he should do.
Elisha wasn’t the only one a bit confused. For we read the woman’s words filled with sadness and despair as she asks, “Did I ask you for a son, my lord?…Didn't I tell you, 'Don't raise my hopes'?" In essence, the woman was wondering why Elisha would bless her with the son only to take him away so suddenly.
Well, Elisha, now trying to assess what he should do gives his servant a direct order to “Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand and run. If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff on the boy's face." The woman, expected to go with the servant refused to go without Elisha coming as well saying, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you." And with that, Elisha “got up and followed her” as she returned to where her dead son was laying.
Meanwhile, Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, had “went on ahead” and as he reached the room where the boy was, he “laid the staff on the boy's face”. But nothing happened…”there was no sound or response”. So Gehazi “went back to meet Elisha” reporting that "The boy has not awakened."
Finally, Elisha “reached the house” and found the “boy lying dead” in the room and went in, shutting the door so that it was only the two of them there. And alone with the dead boy, Elisha “prayed to the Lord”.
After prayer, Elisha “got on the bed” and “lay upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands”. Scripture tells us that as Elisha “stretched himself out upon him, the boy's body grew warm” but the boy still did not come to life.
Undaunted, we read where Elisha “turned away and walked back and forth in the room” before he got back on the bed and stretched out upon the boy once more. And this time, a miracle happened.
For we read where the “boy sneezed seven times” before opening his eyes and coming alive. Elisha summoned his servant and asked him to call for the Shunammite woman and “when she came”, Elisha told her to "Take your son."
The sight must have been overwhelming. To see her son who was once dead, now back alive. There couldn’t be enough hallelujahs raised up at that point…not enough praise that could be spoken…not any way to properly measure the amount of joy felt…not enough words to express thanks.
In fact, the woman says nothing. She only comes into the room, falls at the feet of Elisha…the man of God…and bows down to the ground before him.
No words needed spoken. Her actions completely expressed her feelings…feelings solely centered on reverence and worship unto the only One who could and did resurrect her son.
So what do we learn from this passage regarding how to deal with tragedy?
It’s simple.
For it’s all about faith and trust.
Faith that things can work out, no matter the circumstances if you just trust in the One who can make all things possible.
The woman never doubted that she could find help from the man of God…Elisha.
And Elisha, like Elijah before him, delivered by channeling God’s miraculous power through his body into the boy…delivering him into new life…a renewed life delivered by the Lord.
So where does this message find you today? Are you in the midst of tragedy?
If so, my prayer is that you have been buoyed up with a new sense of hope…hope reincarnated through a restored faith and trust in the Almighty Creator and Maker of all things…past, present and future.
Won’t you have the faith of the Shunammite woman and trust Him today?
It worked for her. It can work for you.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Monday, October 5, 2009
BLESSINGS FROM HOSPITALITY
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. She said to her husband, "I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. 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."
One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. He said to his servant Gehazi, "Call the Shunammite." So he called her, and she stood before him. Elisha said to him, "Tell her, 'You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?' "
She replied, "I have a home among my own people."
"What can be done for her?" Elisha asked.
Gehazi said, "Well, she has no son and her husband is old."
Then Elisha said, "Call her." So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. "About this time next year," Elisha said, "you will hold a son in your arms."
"No, my lord," she objected. "Don't mislead your servant, O man of God!"
But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.
2 Kings 4:8-17
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In the last message, taken from the fourth chapter of 2 Kings, we saw how Elisha used the miraculous power of the Lord to help a widow gain an abundance from just a small amount of oil. Inside her home, the widow found the oil didn’t cease to flow until she had filled all the jars she collected from her neighbors. And through the sale of that oil, she would not only be able to pay off the debt left on her when her husband passed, saving her sons from enslavement, but she would also end up with money left over. What a blessing the Lord had bestowed upon her!
Well, as chapter 4 continues, we see that the miracles continue, blessing one who was in need.
This time, we find Elisha in Shunem where he encountered a “well-to-do woman” who “urged him to stay for a meal”. We read where she continued to feed Elisha on other occasions “whenever he came by”. In this, she showed fantastic hospitality to Elisha but she still felt impelled to do something more.
And so the Shunammite woman said to her husband:
"I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. 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."
And so this is what they did. They made Elisha, the “holy man of God”, a small room on the roof and furnished it for him. And Elisha again accepted the graciousness of the Shunammite woman and her husband, staying in the room regularly.
What a blessing this must have been to the prophet who spent so much time on the road doing the Lord’s work. To have a place to eat a good meal and get a good night’s sleep must have been so wonderful for him.
And it was…so much so that he felt he needed to do something for the woman in return.
For our scriptures tell us that “one day…when Elisha…went up to his room and lay down”, he said to his servant Gehazi, "Call the Shunammite." So Gehazi did as he was told and his host came and “stood before him”. It was then that Elisha, through his servant, asked what he could do for her now that she had done so much for Elisha and his servant.
At first, Elisha offers to speak to “the king or the commander of the army” on the woman’s behalf, seemingly to see if they might grant her a higher standard of living. But the woman rejects the offer saying, “I have a home among my own people." In other words, she was content living where she was.
Elisha would not be denied. He asked his servant again, “What can be done for her?"
This time, the servant did touch on one thing the woman lacked. For her husband was old and she had no son. And with no son, there would be no one to carry on the family name once her husband died.
Armed with this information, Elisha called the woman to return to him and as she stood in the doorway, he told her “About this time next year…you will hold a son in your arms." Well, the woman, like Sarah before her, refused to believe the words she had heard, pleading with Elisha to not mislead her while again proclaiming him as a “man of God”.
But words did not have to convince the woman of God’s goodness and providence…of the way He rewards His faithful servants who care for those he chooses to carry out His will.
For we read where the woman did become pregnant and gave birth to a son the “next year about that same time”…”just as Elisha had told her”.
The woman found herself blessed just as she had blessed Elisha with food and lodging…blessed from hospitality.
Question: How hospitable are you to others? Are you quick to offer a meal or a warm place to stay when you find someone in need?
God’s word today leaves little doubt that He favors those who exhibit loving kindness to others…blessing those richly who seek to bless His people. For when we do this, we exhibit the very selflessness that was found in His only Son Jesus the Christ...the One through which we know live and love and care for one another now and forever.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. She said to her husband, "I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. 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."
One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. He said to his servant Gehazi, "Call the Shunammite." So he called her, and she stood before him. Elisha said to him, "Tell her, 'You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?' "
She replied, "I have a home among my own people."
"What can be done for her?" Elisha asked.
Gehazi said, "Well, she has no son and her husband is old."
Then Elisha said, "Call her." So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. "About this time next year," Elisha said, "you will hold a son in your arms."
"No, my lord," she objected. "Don't mislead your servant, O man of God!"
But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.
2 Kings 4:8-17
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In the last message, taken from the fourth chapter of 2 Kings, we saw how Elisha used the miraculous power of the Lord to help a widow gain an abundance from just a small amount of oil. Inside her home, the widow found the oil didn’t cease to flow until she had filled all the jars she collected from her neighbors. And through the sale of that oil, she would not only be able to pay off the debt left on her when her husband passed, saving her sons from enslavement, but she would also end up with money left over. What a blessing the Lord had bestowed upon her!
Well, as chapter 4 continues, we see that the miracles continue, blessing one who was in need.
This time, we find Elisha in Shunem where he encountered a “well-to-do woman” who “urged him to stay for a meal”. We read where she continued to feed Elisha on other occasions “whenever he came by”. In this, she showed fantastic hospitality to Elisha but she still felt impelled to do something more.
And so the Shunammite woman said to her husband:
"I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. 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."
And so this is what they did. They made Elisha, the “holy man of God”, a small room on the roof and furnished it for him. And Elisha again accepted the graciousness of the Shunammite woman and her husband, staying in the room regularly.
What a blessing this must have been to the prophet who spent so much time on the road doing the Lord’s work. To have a place to eat a good meal and get a good night’s sleep must have been so wonderful for him.
And it was…so much so that he felt he needed to do something for the woman in return.
For our scriptures tell us that “one day…when Elisha…went up to his room and lay down”, he said to his servant Gehazi, "Call the Shunammite." So Gehazi did as he was told and his host came and “stood before him”. It was then that Elisha, through his servant, asked what he could do for her now that she had done so much for Elisha and his servant.
At first, Elisha offers to speak to “the king or the commander of the army” on the woman’s behalf, seemingly to see if they might grant her a higher standard of living. But the woman rejects the offer saying, “I have a home among my own people." In other words, she was content living where she was.
Elisha would not be denied. He asked his servant again, “What can be done for her?"
This time, the servant did touch on one thing the woman lacked. For her husband was old and she had no son. And with no son, there would be no one to carry on the family name once her husband died.
Armed with this information, Elisha called the woman to return to him and as she stood in the doorway, he told her “About this time next year…you will hold a son in your arms." Well, the woman, like Sarah before her, refused to believe the words she had heard, pleading with Elisha to not mislead her while again proclaiming him as a “man of God”.
But words did not have to convince the woman of God’s goodness and providence…of the way He rewards His faithful servants who care for those he chooses to carry out His will.
For we read where the woman did become pregnant and gave birth to a son the “next year about that same time”…”just as Elisha had told her”.
The woman found herself blessed just as she had blessed Elisha with food and lodging…blessed from hospitality.
Question: How hospitable are you to others? Are you quick to offer a meal or a warm place to stay when you find someone in need?
God’s word today leaves little doubt that He favors those who exhibit loving kindness to others…blessing those richly who seek to bless His people. For when we do this, we exhibit the very selflessness that was found in His only Son Jesus the Christ...the One through which we know live and love and care for one another now and forever.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Sunday, October 4, 2009
EXPERIENCING AN ABUNDANCE
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
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."
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."
Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side."
She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 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.
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."
2 Kings 4:1-7
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Have you ever found yourself in a time of need?
One thing is certain.
We all will at some time in our lives.
In fact, as we look at our world today, we find no shortage of headlines that underscore hardships that people are going through.
Mudslides wiping out parts of a Sicilian city. Typhoons and subsequent flooding wreaking havoc in the Philippines. Earthquakes striking Indonesia. Fires in California leaving many homeless.
A teenager is beaten to death on his way home from school in Chicago. A Yale student is abducted and senselessly killed. A US Census volunteer is murdered and found hanging from a tree in Kentucky.
And I could write volumes on the financial crisis people are experiencing today. So many unemployed. So many without benefits for proper health care. So many losing their homes to foreclosure. So many just struggling to make ends meet.
Yes…hardship is something we can relate to.
And in those times, we yearn for relief…for recovery…for comfort…for any good news we can cling to.
This is where the Lord can help…if we just turn to Him and trust Him.
To underscore this, we look at today’s scripture passage from 2 Kings.
As Chapter 4 opens, we find a woman who we’re told is the “wife of a man from the company of the prophets”. She is in obvious distress as she cries out to Elisha saying:
“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."
Now, a few points that need explaining to put this in cultural context.
First, the woman in losing her husband also lost her income source. And with no income, she found herself with no means by which to pay her indebtedness.
Under the Mosaic law of the day, a creditor could legally take away the widow’s two male children and make them work as slaves until either the debt was paid off or the Year of Jubilee occurred where forgiveness of debt was required. And this was exactly what was happening.
Obviously, the woman was distressed. Already having lost her husband, she now was in danger of losing her children too.
How could she possibly find a way out of her circumstance?
She needed a miracle…and she knew right where she could find it…from the Lord.
This is why she went to Elisha. He had already displayed the power of the Holy Spirit that the Lord placed within him…a double portion of what his predecessor Elijah had.
And so as she goes to the prophet, he asks the woman immediately, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?" We learn that all the woman had was a little oil. Nowhere near enough to help pay off what she owed.
So on the surface and from a worldly perspective, it appears that she has very little. But just watch what happens when the Lord gets involved. For remember that the scriptures remind us that nothing is impossible with Him (Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27, Luke 1:37).
You see…the Lord is in the business of making the impossible possible. Later on in the bible, we’ll read where he fed 5,000 with five loaves and two fish. He then fed 4,000 with seven loaves and a few small fish. He also took barrels of water and turned them into the finest wine for a wedding feast.
And now, he will take a little oil and turn it into an abundance for a widow in need.
For as we return to our passage, we find Elisha instructing the woman to collect empty jars from her neighbors…as many as she could find. She then was to take her two sons, go into her home and shut the door before starting to “pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled”, putting them aside.
So the woman did just what Elisha told her to do. She “left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons”. Once inside, the boys continued to bring jars to her and she kept pouring oil into them. And she poured…and she poured…and she poured…until every jar was full. Then and only then, did the oil stop flowing.
Amazed by what had just taken place, the widow left her home and went to Elisha about what had happened to which he replied, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left."
Can you imagine how this woman felt?
Relieved…grateful…blessed.
This is what happens when we turn our hearts fully to the only One capable of taking the impossible and making it possible. We need only trust in Him…and ask that His will and way be done in our lives, no matter our circumstances.
Where are you at today?
Are you in need of experiencing an abundance in your own life?
The Lord is standing by and awaiting your call.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
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."
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."
Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side."
She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 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.
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."
2 Kings 4:1-7
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Have you ever found yourself in a time of need?
One thing is certain.
We all will at some time in our lives.
In fact, as we look at our world today, we find no shortage of headlines that underscore hardships that people are going through.
Mudslides wiping out parts of a Sicilian city. Typhoons and subsequent flooding wreaking havoc in the Philippines. Earthquakes striking Indonesia. Fires in California leaving many homeless.
A teenager is beaten to death on his way home from school in Chicago. A Yale student is abducted and senselessly killed. A US Census volunteer is murdered and found hanging from a tree in Kentucky.
And I could write volumes on the financial crisis people are experiencing today. So many unemployed. So many without benefits for proper health care. So many losing their homes to foreclosure. So many just struggling to make ends meet.
Yes…hardship is something we can relate to.
And in those times, we yearn for relief…for recovery…for comfort…for any good news we can cling to.
This is where the Lord can help…if we just turn to Him and trust Him.
To underscore this, we look at today’s scripture passage from 2 Kings.
As Chapter 4 opens, we find a woman who we’re told is the “wife of a man from the company of the prophets”. She is in obvious distress as she cries out to Elisha saying:
“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."
Now, a few points that need explaining to put this in cultural context.
First, the woman in losing her husband also lost her income source. And with no income, she found herself with no means by which to pay her indebtedness.
Under the Mosaic law of the day, a creditor could legally take away the widow’s two male children and make them work as slaves until either the debt was paid off or the Year of Jubilee occurred where forgiveness of debt was required. And this was exactly what was happening.
Obviously, the woman was distressed. Already having lost her husband, she now was in danger of losing her children too.
How could she possibly find a way out of her circumstance?
She needed a miracle…and she knew right where she could find it…from the Lord.
This is why she went to Elisha. He had already displayed the power of the Holy Spirit that the Lord placed within him…a double portion of what his predecessor Elijah had.
And so as she goes to the prophet, he asks the woman immediately, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?" We learn that all the woman had was a little oil. Nowhere near enough to help pay off what she owed.
So on the surface and from a worldly perspective, it appears that she has very little. But just watch what happens when the Lord gets involved. For remember that the scriptures remind us that nothing is impossible with Him (Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27, Luke 1:37).
You see…the Lord is in the business of making the impossible possible. Later on in the bible, we’ll read where he fed 5,000 with five loaves and two fish. He then fed 4,000 with seven loaves and a few small fish. He also took barrels of water and turned them into the finest wine for a wedding feast.
And now, he will take a little oil and turn it into an abundance for a widow in need.
For as we return to our passage, we find Elisha instructing the woman to collect empty jars from her neighbors…as many as she could find. She then was to take her two sons, go into her home and shut the door before starting to “pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled”, putting them aside.
So the woman did just what Elisha told her to do. She “left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons”. Once inside, the boys continued to bring jars to her and she kept pouring oil into them. And she poured…and she poured…and she poured…until every jar was full. Then and only then, did the oil stop flowing.
Amazed by what had just taken place, the widow left her home and went to Elisha about what had happened to which he replied, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left."
Can you imagine how this woman felt?
Relieved…grateful…blessed.
This is what happens when we turn our hearts fully to the only One capable of taking the impossible and making it possible. We need only trust in Him…and ask that His will and way be done in our lives, no matter our circumstances.
Where are you at today?
Are you in need of experiencing an abundance in your own life?
The Lord is standing by and awaiting your call.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
PROPER PLANNING
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Joram son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but not as his father and mother had done. He got rid of the sacred stone of Baal that his father had made. Nevertheless he clung to the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.
Now Mesha king of Moab raised sheep, and he had to supply the king of Israel with a hundred thousand lambs and with the wool of a hundred thousand rams. But after Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. So at that time King Joram set out from Samaria and mobilized all Israel. He also sent this message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: "The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?"
"I will go with you," he replied. "I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses."
"By what route shall we attack?" he asked.
"Through the Desert of Edom," he answered.
So the king of Israel set out with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. After a roundabout march of seven days, the army had no more water for themselves or for the animals with them.
"What!" exclaimed the king of Israel. "Has the Lord called us three kings together only to hand us over to Moab?"
But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord through him?"
An officer of the king of Israel answered, "Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah."
Jehoshaphat said, "The word of the Lord is with him." So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What do we have to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother."
"No," the king of Israel answered, "because it was the Lord who called us three kings together to hand us over to Moab."
Elisha said, "As surely as the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or even notice you. But now bring me a harpist."
While the harpist was playing, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha and he said, "This is what the Lord says: Make this valley full of ditches. For this is what the Lord says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink. This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord; he will also hand Moab over to you. You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones."
The next morning, about the time for offering the sacrifice, there it was—water flowing from the direction of Edom! And the land was filled with water.
Now all the Moabites had heard that the kings had come to fight against them; so every man, young and old, who could bear arms was called up and stationed on the border. When they got up early in the morning, the sun was shining on the water. To the Moabites across the way, the water looked red — like blood. "That's blood!" they said. "Those kings must have fought and slaughtered each other. Now to the plunder, Moab!"
But when the Moabites came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and fought them until they fled. And the Israelites invaded the land and slaughtered the Moabites. They destroyed the towns, and each man threw a stone on every good field until it was covered. They stopped up all the springs and cut down every good tree. Only Kir Hareseth was left with its stones in place, but men armed with slings surrounded it and attacked it as well.
When the king of Moab saw that the battle had gone against him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom, but they failed. Then he took his firstborn son, who was to succeed him as king, and offered him as a sacrifice on the city wall. The fury against Israel was great; they withdrew and returned to their own land.
2 Kings 3:1-27
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Through the course of my nearly 50 years of living, I have made many plans. Some have succeeded. Some have failed miserably. Maybe you can relate.
Through the successes and failures, I have learned one very important lesson…one I feel we all need to learn as well.
The lesson?
When I try and do all my planning on my own, I always find that I mess things up. Any failure that I have experienced, I can tie it to me, myself and I.
Conversely, I have found that when I place the Lord in the midst of my planning…when I use Him as my sole Consultant and Guide, then guess what? I succeed.
Why the difference?
Because when I do the planning, it’s all about my will and way.
But when God is truly in the thick of the decision making process, then His will and way is what prevails. It is the key to being successful…not some of the time…but all of the time.
As we turn to the scriptures, we see how this lesson is played out after Moab, under the rule of King Mesha, revolted against Israel, refusing to pay the required tribute of a “hundred thousand lambs and with the wool of a hundred thousand rams”.
We see where “Joram, son of Ahab”, is king of Israel and scripture makes it a point to underscore that he “did evil in the eyes of the Lord”, clinging to “the sins of Jeroboam” and causing Israel to commit sins. Angered by Moab’s revolt, Joram “set out from Samaria and mobilized all Israel” also sending a “message to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah” asking if he would join in the fight. Jehoshaphat agrees to join forces with Joram saying, “I will go with you…I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses." And after siding with Joram, Jehoshaphat is told that the forces will travel a route to attack that will take them through the “Desert of Edom” and they indeed would be joined by the king of Edom.
So the plan was in place. Joram, Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom would take all their forces and march through the desert of Edom to attack and conquer King Mesha and the Moabites.
Notice anything missing from their plan?
Going back to my earlier words on planning, we can see where God is found nowhere in the planning process before the three kings and their troops head toward Moab.
And not surprisingly, they soon find their plan is failing.
For we read that after a “roundabout march of seven days, the army had no more water for themselves or for the animals with them”. They were sure to perish in the desert unless something changed…and quick.
Almost comically, we see where Joram, the one who had done evil in the eyes of the Lord, cry out, “What!…Has the Lord called us three kings together only to hand us over to Moab?" What makes this so humorous is that neither Joram or the other two kings had asked the Lord about what they should do. They didn’t ask what route He wanted them to travel. They didn’t ask Him what they might need for the battle. Most of all, they didn’t even ask God is He wanted them to attack Moab.
And so there they were, facing sure defeat…not at the hands of their enemy but at the hands of their own poor planning.
How would they survive this?
Well, it took Jehoshaphat to get things going back in the proper direction. For we read where he asks, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord through him?"
Aha! That’s it. Jehoshaphat sees that the only way they are going to get out of the predicament is to turn to the One they should have turned to in the first place…to the Lord.
So who would the kings turn to?
None other than the prophet Elisha who was along on the journey with them. An “officer of the king of Israel” reports about the presence of Elisha and connects him to his Spirit-filled predecessor Elijah. Jehoshaphat also speaks in his favor saying, “The word of the Lord is with him”.
And so the three kings went to Elisha and we get the sense that Joram, king of Israel, speaks to him first. This is because Elisha speaks to him first asking, “What do we have to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother." Or in other words, Elisha was saying in essence, “You have never come to the Lord before because you, like your father and mother, followed and bowed down before the false gods of Baal. Go back and ask Baal what you should do.”
Well…Joram didn’t like that answer and refused to leave. In fact, to show how completely detached he was from the Lord, he even goes as far to say that it was the Lord who had led the kings and subsequently their men to this place so they could be defeated by Moab. Joram could not face the truth that the three kings and their decisions had placed them in their circumstances…not the Lord.
How often does this happen with us? How often do we not involved the Lord in our plans and then blame Him when the plans we devise fail? Too often, I’m afraid because it’s easier to blame God than to blame ourselves.
Back to the scriptures…
For although Elisha was angry with Joram, he decided to help the kings because of Jehoshaphat, a man who was touted as doing “right in the eyes of the Lord” (1 Kings 22:43). In fact, Elisha tells Joram, “As surely as the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or even notice you.” Ouch. Strong words but ones that Joram needed to hear. The Lord doesn’t take kindly to people who only cry out to Him when it’s convenient.
Elisha calls for a harpist and then stated the following as “hand of the Lord came upon” him:
“This is what the Lord says: Make this valley full of ditches. For this is what the Lord says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink. This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord; he will also hand Moab over to you. You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones."
And so the forces of the three kings did as the Lord commanded through Elisha and when the next morning came, scripture tells us that “there it was—water flowing from the direction of Edom”…so much so that the “land was filled with water”.
Friends this is what the Lord can do after we get ourselves in a mess. He can come and renew and restore…bringing fresh water onto the dry landscape of our circumstances to refresh us and draw us back toward Him. And hopefully as we are restored, we learn our lesson and refuse to plan again without Him being involved.
Well, the end result of the quenching waters in the desert wasn’t just about helping the three kings and their men to survive. No...the Lord did so much more than that for Israel.
For we read where the Moabites, having heard that the three “had come to fight against them”, assembled “every man, young and old, who could bear arms” and stationed them “on the border”. And as they “got up early in the morning”, they looked out and, from their vantage point, saw the water looking red like blood and assumed that the kings and their men had turned on one another leading to a slaughter. The Moabite troops advance toward the men of Israel, Judah and Edom, thinking they would be able to easily plunder what was left behind.
But much to their surprise, the Moabites “came to the camp of Israel” and found the Israelites, not dead, but very much alive…and ready to fight, causing the Moabites to flee. The Israelites pursued, “invaded the land and slaughtered the Moabites”, destroying the towns and covering the good fields with stones, thus bringing them to ruin. They also “stopped up all the springs and cut down every good tree”. Even the well protected “Kir Hareseth” was not safe as “men armed with slings surrounded it and attacked”.
In the wake of a defeated plan…one that wasn’t guided by God either…we read where the king of Moab does the unthinkable, taking his firstborn son and offering him as “a sacrifice on the city wall”…an action so heinous that the people of Israel “withdrew and returned to their own land”.
Friends, the Lord is speaking to us powerfully in this message today. Every day, people find themselves in predicaments that were of their own doing…then they either blame God for it or decide to hurt themselves or other close to them when they don’t see any other way out.
Sadly, God was there for them all the time. All they had to do was turn to Him. Just as He helped the three kings who had gotten themselves and their people into a jam, so too can he help you, I or anyone else in accordance with His will and way.
But the overarching message here is to turn to God every time you need to plan anything. Rely on Him to lead you in the right direction…ask and then listen to His counsel…obey Him when He tells you what to do, even if His way is contrary to the way you would go if it were up to you.
Success is all about proper planning. Proper planning is all predicated on having God involved in every phase of it.
Thanks be to God that in Him we have such a Wise and Holy Advisor.
It’s our good news today and every day.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Joram son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but not as his father and mother had done. He got rid of the sacred stone of Baal that his father had made. Nevertheless he clung to the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.
Now Mesha king of Moab raised sheep, and he had to supply the king of Israel with a hundred thousand lambs and with the wool of a hundred thousand rams. But after Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. So at that time King Joram set out from Samaria and mobilized all Israel. He also sent this message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: "The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?"
"I will go with you," he replied. "I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses."
"By what route shall we attack?" he asked.
"Through the Desert of Edom," he answered.
So the king of Israel set out with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. After a roundabout march of seven days, the army had no more water for themselves or for the animals with them.
"What!" exclaimed the king of Israel. "Has the Lord called us three kings together only to hand us over to Moab?"
But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord through him?"
An officer of the king of Israel answered, "Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah."
Jehoshaphat said, "The word of the Lord is with him." So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What do we have to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother."
"No," the king of Israel answered, "because it was the Lord who called us three kings together to hand us over to Moab."
Elisha said, "As surely as the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or even notice you. But now bring me a harpist."
While the harpist was playing, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha and he said, "This is what the Lord says: Make this valley full of ditches. For this is what the Lord says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink. This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord; he will also hand Moab over to you. You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones."
The next morning, about the time for offering the sacrifice, there it was—water flowing from the direction of Edom! And the land was filled with water.
Now all the Moabites had heard that the kings had come to fight against them; so every man, young and old, who could bear arms was called up and stationed on the border. When they got up early in the morning, the sun was shining on the water. To the Moabites across the way, the water looked red — like blood. "That's blood!" they said. "Those kings must have fought and slaughtered each other. Now to the plunder, Moab!"
But when the Moabites came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and fought them until they fled. And the Israelites invaded the land and slaughtered the Moabites. They destroyed the towns, and each man threw a stone on every good field until it was covered. They stopped up all the springs and cut down every good tree. Only Kir Hareseth was left with its stones in place, but men armed with slings surrounded it and attacked it as well.
When the king of Moab saw that the battle had gone against him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom, but they failed. Then he took his firstborn son, who was to succeed him as king, and offered him as a sacrifice on the city wall. The fury against Israel was great; they withdrew and returned to their own land.
2 Kings 3:1-27
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Through the course of my nearly 50 years of living, I have made many plans. Some have succeeded. Some have failed miserably. Maybe you can relate.
Through the successes and failures, I have learned one very important lesson…one I feel we all need to learn as well.
The lesson?
When I try and do all my planning on my own, I always find that I mess things up. Any failure that I have experienced, I can tie it to me, myself and I.
Conversely, I have found that when I place the Lord in the midst of my planning…when I use Him as my sole Consultant and Guide, then guess what? I succeed.
Why the difference?
Because when I do the planning, it’s all about my will and way.
But when God is truly in the thick of the decision making process, then His will and way is what prevails. It is the key to being successful…not some of the time…but all of the time.
As we turn to the scriptures, we see how this lesson is played out after Moab, under the rule of King Mesha, revolted against Israel, refusing to pay the required tribute of a “hundred thousand lambs and with the wool of a hundred thousand rams”.
We see where “Joram, son of Ahab”, is king of Israel and scripture makes it a point to underscore that he “did evil in the eyes of the Lord”, clinging to “the sins of Jeroboam” and causing Israel to commit sins. Angered by Moab’s revolt, Joram “set out from Samaria and mobilized all Israel” also sending a “message to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah” asking if he would join in the fight. Jehoshaphat agrees to join forces with Joram saying, “I will go with you…I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses." And after siding with Joram, Jehoshaphat is told that the forces will travel a route to attack that will take them through the “Desert of Edom” and they indeed would be joined by the king of Edom.
So the plan was in place. Joram, Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom would take all their forces and march through the desert of Edom to attack and conquer King Mesha and the Moabites.
Notice anything missing from their plan?
Going back to my earlier words on planning, we can see where God is found nowhere in the planning process before the three kings and their troops head toward Moab.
And not surprisingly, they soon find their plan is failing.
For we read that after a “roundabout march of seven days, the army had no more water for themselves or for the animals with them”. They were sure to perish in the desert unless something changed…and quick.
Almost comically, we see where Joram, the one who had done evil in the eyes of the Lord, cry out, “What!…Has the Lord called us three kings together only to hand us over to Moab?" What makes this so humorous is that neither Joram or the other two kings had asked the Lord about what they should do. They didn’t ask what route He wanted them to travel. They didn’t ask Him what they might need for the battle. Most of all, they didn’t even ask God is He wanted them to attack Moab.
And so there they were, facing sure defeat…not at the hands of their enemy but at the hands of their own poor planning.
How would they survive this?
Well, it took Jehoshaphat to get things going back in the proper direction. For we read where he asks, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord through him?"
Aha! That’s it. Jehoshaphat sees that the only way they are going to get out of the predicament is to turn to the One they should have turned to in the first place…to the Lord.
So who would the kings turn to?
None other than the prophet Elisha who was along on the journey with them. An “officer of the king of Israel” reports about the presence of Elisha and connects him to his Spirit-filled predecessor Elijah. Jehoshaphat also speaks in his favor saying, “The word of the Lord is with him”.
And so the three kings went to Elisha and we get the sense that Joram, king of Israel, speaks to him first. This is because Elisha speaks to him first asking, “What do we have to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother." Or in other words, Elisha was saying in essence, “You have never come to the Lord before because you, like your father and mother, followed and bowed down before the false gods of Baal. Go back and ask Baal what you should do.”
Well…Joram didn’t like that answer and refused to leave. In fact, to show how completely detached he was from the Lord, he even goes as far to say that it was the Lord who had led the kings and subsequently their men to this place so they could be defeated by Moab. Joram could not face the truth that the three kings and their decisions had placed them in their circumstances…not the Lord.
How often does this happen with us? How often do we not involved the Lord in our plans and then blame Him when the plans we devise fail? Too often, I’m afraid because it’s easier to blame God than to blame ourselves.
Back to the scriptures…
For although Elisha was angry with Joram, he decided to help the kings because of Jehoshaphat, a man who was touted as doing “right in the eyes of the Lord” (1 Kings 22:43). In fact, Elisha tells Joram, “As surely as the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or even notice you.” Ouch. Strong words but ones that Joram needed to hear. The Lord doesn’t take kindly to people who only cry out to Him when it’s convenient.
Elisha calls for a harpist and then stated the following as “hand of the Lord came upon” him:
“This is what the Lord says: Make this valley full of ditches. For this is what the Lord says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink. This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord; he will also hand Moab over to you. You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones."
And so the forces of the three kings did as the Lord commanded through Elisha and when the next morning came, scripture tells us that “there it was—water flowing from the direction of Edom”…so much so that the “land was filled with water”.
Friends this is what the Lord can do after we get ourselves in a mess. He can come and renew and restore…bringing fresh water onto the dry landscape of our circumstances to refresh us and draw us back toward Him. And hopefully as we are restored, we learn our lesson and refuse to plan again without Him being involved.
Well, the end result of the quenching waters in the desert wasn’t just about helping the three kings and their men to survive. No...the Lord did so much more than that for Israel.
For we read where the Moabites, having heard that the three “had come to fight against them”, assembled “every man, young and old, who could bear arms” and stationed them “on the border”. And as they “got up early in the morning”, they looked out and, from their vantage point, saw the water looking red like blood and assumed that the kings and their men had turned on one another leading to a slaughter. The Moabite troops advance toward the men of Israel, Judah and Edom, thinking they would be able to easily plunder what was left behind.
But much to their surprise, the Moabites “came to the camp of Israel” and found the Israelites, not dead, but very much alive…and ready to fight, causing the Moabites to flee. The Israelites pursued, “invaded the land and slaughtered the Moabites”, destroying the towns and covering the good fields with stones, thus bringing them to ruin. They also “stopped up all the springs and cut down every good tree”. Even the well protected “Kir Hareseth” was not safe as “men armed with slings surrounded it and attacked”.
In the wake of a defeated plan…one that wasn’t guided by God either…we read where the king of Moab does the unthinkable, taking his firstborn son and offering him as “a sacrifice on the city wall”…an action so heinous that the people of Israel “withdrew and returned to their own land”.
Friends, the Lord is speaking to us powerfully in this message today. Every day, people find themselves in predicaments that were of their own doing…then they either blame God for it or decide to hurt themselves or other close to them when they don’t see any other way out.
Sadly, God was there for them all the time. All they had to do was turn to Him. Just as He helped the three kings who had gotten themselves and their people into a jam, so too can he help you, I or anyone else in accordance with His will and way.
But the overarching message here is to turn to God every time you need to plan anything. Rely on Him to lead you in the right direction…ask and then listen to His counsel…obey Him when He tells you what to do, even if His way is contrary to the way you would go if it were up to you.
Success is all about proper planning. Proper planning is all predicated on having God involved in every phase of it.
Thanks be to God that in Him we have such a Wise and Holy Advisor.
It’s our good news today and every day.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Friday, October 2, 2009
THE DANGER IN DISRESPECT
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
From there Elisha went up to Bethel.
As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. "Go on up, you baldhead!" they said. "Go on up, you baldhead!" He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord.
Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.
2 Kings 2:23-25
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
One of the worst things a person can do to another is insult or disrespect them purposely. For words used in certain ways are just as dangerous when wielded as a weapon…and can often permanently injure or scar their victims. Just ask anyone who has been verbally abused in their lives.
So what does God think about verbal abuse…about contemptuous words spoken toward another…about mockery and ridicule and derision?
One thing is certain as we look at today’s passage. He doesn’t like any of it.
For as Elisha, God’s chosen messenger, is along the road to Bethel, we read where “some youths came out of the town and jeered at him” saying, "Go on up, you baldhead!" to him twice.
Now, two things were evident in their words.
First, they knew who they were talking to. In other words, they knew Elisha was a representative of the Lord and he had taken the place of Elijah. We know this because they told Elisha to “Go on up…”. That is, to leave and go up into heaven as Elijah had done. And they put an exclamation on their rude words by resorting to name calling…referring to Elisha as “you baldhead”.
Question: Have you ever called someone a name that was meant to be less than complimentary?
If so, this scripture lesson is speaking to you.
The second thing we know is that the youths had no problem raining derogatory words on a person who was representing the Lord. In other words, they didn’t have anymore respect for the Lord than they did for Elisha.
This happens all the time today as people decide to put down and judge others who serve Him. Persecution is as alive and well today as it was in the earliest days of the bible. And God doesn’t like anymore today than He did then.
So what happened next that let us know how God feels about this kind of sinful behavior?
Well, we read where Elisha, after hearing the youth’s insults, “turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord”. And right after that moment, “two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths”. And we don’t hear anymore words from them. God had silenced their wicked lips.
So next time you feel compelled to speak badly about another, particularly someone who is a person of the Lord, think about the bears coming out of the woods and carrying out God’s judgment on the youths.
What might he use to correct you?
I think it would be better to not have to find out.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
From there Elisha went up to Bethel.
As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. "Go on up, you baldhead!" they said. "Go on up, you baldhead!" He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord.
Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.
2 Kings 2:23-25
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
One of the worst things a person can do to another is insult or disrespect them purposely. For words used in certain ways are just as dangerous when wielded as a weapon…and can often permanently injure or scar their victims. Just ask anyone who has been verbally abused in their lives.
So what does God think about verbal abuse…about contemptuous words spoken toward another…about mockery and ridicule and derision?
One thing is certain as we look at today’s passage. He doesn’t like any of it.
For as Elisha, God’s chosen messenger, is along the road to Bethel, we read where “some youths came out of the town and jeered at him” saying, "Go on up, you baldhead!" to him twice.
Now, two things were evident in their words.
First, they knew who they were talking to. In other words, they knew Elisha was a representative of the Lord and he had taken the place of Elijah. We know this because they told Elisha to “Go on up…”. That is, to leave and go up into heaven as Elijah had done. And they put an exclamation on their rude words by resorting to name calling…referring to Elisha as “you baldhead”.
Question: Have you ever called someone a name that was meant to be less than complimentary?
If so, this scripture lesson is speaking to you.
The second thing we know is that the youths had no problem raining derogatory words on a person who was representing the Lord. In other words, they didn’t have anymore respect for the Lord than they did for Elisha.
This happens all the time today as people decide to put down and judge others who serve Him. Persecution is as alive and well today as it was in the earliest days of the bible. And God doesn’t like anymore today than He did then.
So what happened next that let us know how God feels about this kind of sinful behavior?
Well, we read where Elisha, after hearing the youth’s insults, “turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord”. And right after that moment, “two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths”. And we don’t hear anymore words from them. God had silenced their wicked lips.
So next time you feel compelled to speak badly about another, particularly someone who is a person of the Lord, think about the bears coming out of the woods and carrying out God’s judgment on the youths.
What might he use to correct you?
I think it would be better to not have to find out.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Thursday, October 1, 2009
HEALING POWER
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The men of the city said to Elisha, "Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive."
"Bring me a new bowl," he said, "and put salt in it." So they brought it to him.
Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, "This is what the Lord says: 'I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.' "
And the water has remained wholesome to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken.
2 Kings 2:19-22
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
If the Lord were to assess you, would he see you as having a lot of potential but with problems that were stunting your ability to be effective and productive for Him?
And if He did find you in that state, would you feel you could turn to Him for healing and correction, trusting and knowing that He could mend you and put you on the path to recovery and restoration?
Friends, we should have a great comfort and assurance in knowing we serve the Almighty God…the Maker and Creator of all things…the One who formed us and the One who can truly reform us when the need arises. No one…absolutely no one…can do the things that our Heavenly Father can do for us. All we need to do is turn to Him and believe He can make a way…even when there appears there is no way.
As we turn to our scriptures, we sense that the men of Jericho knew God could help them. They knew His Spirit was with Elisha who had just inherited the prophetic responsibility and mission of his predecessor and mentor Elijah.
And so, the “men of the city” went to Elisha and said, "Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive." In other words, Jericho itself was primed and ready for greatness but the bad water in and around the city was a hindrance to what it could become.
Likewise, sin pollutes every man and woman that God creates. It invades people who the Lord has marked for great things in and through Him and causes them to turn toward evil ways…ways that cause them to be as bad and unproductive as the water and land around Jericho.
Without some form of rescue, healing and restoration, we would be doomed to destruction...just as Jericho would have withered and become only a shell of what it could have been if its water problem went uncorrected.
Enter the power of the Lord…a power that brings miracles…a power that brings change…a power that renews and cures.
Jericho needed the power of the Lord to heal the water problem. Only a miracle would do. So the Lord did just that, working through His prophet servant Elisha.
For we read where Elisha asks the men of Jericho to “Bring me a new bowl…and put salt in it." And they do just as he asks, giving him the bowl of salt which he throws into the spring before saying, “This is what the Lord says: 'I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.' "
And guess what?
That’s exactly what happened. For Jericho’s water was healed that day by the Lord and as scripture tells us, it has “remained wholesome to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken”.
Now…one bowl of salt could never cure an entire water supply on its own merit. But turn a little salt over to the power of the Lord and anything can happen…and it did in Jericho.
Friends, is this not a major encouragement for us today?
The Lord…our Savior, Redeemer and Friend…has the power to heal and restore in even the worst circumstances. Nothing is beyond the works of His hands. His will prevails always.
Where are you today? Are you in need of the Lord’s healing power? Do you yearn for renewal, restoral and recovery?
If so, won’t you turn to the Lord right now and pray for Him to bring healing to you…to rid you of all that is bad…and to return your body, mind and soul to be the productive means by which you can serve Him obediently and be used as instruments of His will each and every day?
God’s healing power awaits you. Call on Him and watch how He delivers.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The men of the city said to Elisha, "Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive."
"Bring me a new bowl," he said, "and put salt in it." So they brought it to him.
Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, "This is what the Lord says: 'I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.' "
And the water has remained wholesome to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken.
2 Kings 2:19-22
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
If the Lord were to assess you, would he see you as having a lot of potential but with problems that were stunting your ability to be effective and productive for Him?
And if He did find you in that state, would you feel you could turn to Him for healing and correction, trusting and knowing that He could mend you and put you on the path to recovery and restoration?
Friends, we should have a great comfort and assurance in knowing we serve the Almighty God…the Maker and Creator of all things…the One who formed us and the One who can truly reform us when the need arises. No one…absolutely no one…can do the things that our Heavenly Father can do for us. All we need to do is turn to Him and believe He can make a way…even when there appears there is no way.
As we turn to our scriptures, we sense that the men of Jericho knew God could help them. They knew His Spirit was with Elisha who had just inherited the prophetic responsibility and mission of his predecessor and mentor Elijah.
And so, the “men of the city” went to Elisha and said, "Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive." In other words, Jericho itself was primed and ready for greatness but the bad water in and around the city was a hindrance to what it could become.
Likewise, sin pollutes every man and woman that God creates. It invades people who the Lord has marked for great things in and through Him and causes them to turn toward evil ways…ways that cause them to be as bad and unproductive as the water and land around Jericho.
Without some form of rescue, healing and restoration, we would be doomed to destruction...just as Jericho would have withered and become only a shell of what it could have been if its water problem went uncorrected.
Enter the power of the Lord…a power that brings miracles…a power that brings change…a power that renews and cures.
Jericho needed the power of the Lord to heal the water problem. Only a miracle would do. So the Lord did just that, working through His prophet servant Elisha.
For we read where Elisha asks the men of Jericho to “Bring me a new bowl…and put salt in it." And they do just as he asks, giving him the bowl of salt which he throws into the spring before saying, “This is what the Lord says: 'I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.' "
And guess what?
That’s exactly what happened. For Jericho’s water was healed that day by the Lord and as scripture tells us, it has “remained wholesome to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken”.
Now…one bowl of salt could never cure an entire water supply on its own merit. But turn a little salt over to the power of the Lord and anything can happen…and it did in Jericho.
Friends, is this not a major encouragement for us today?
The Lord…our Savior, Redeemer and Friend…has the power to heal and restore in even the worst circumstances. Nothing is beyond the works of His hands. His will prevails always.
Where are you today? Are you in need of the Lord’s healing power? Do you yearn for renewal, restoral and recovery?
If so, won’t you turn to the Lord right now and pray for Him to bring healing to you…to rid you of all that is bad…and to return your body, mind and soul to be the productive means by which you can serve Him obediently and be used as instruments of His will each and every day?
God’s healing power awaits you. Call on Him and watch how He delivers.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
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