Purge All Sin (2 Chron 22, 2 Kings 9-10) – June 17

Jehu is an interesting character. We see that he purged the nation from all the evil sons of the kings before him. But then it says that he followed the ways of Jeroboam. How can both things be true? Can we be so intent on getting rid of evil and yet still have evil in our lives.? It seems that we can according to this portion of scripture.

We also see once again the amazing effect the women have on the men. Not only do wives cause their men to follow their own gods But Jezebel continued to have influence on her sons. It would seem to me that the then were really trying to please their wives and their mothers instead of following the Lord. Now, I’m not one to say that we should not please our wives. You know what they say, Happy wife, happy home. But our duty is to the Lord first. And we must give him all the glory that He is due and follow His commandments before we worry about going the ways that our wives might lead us away from God. I am blessed that I have a godly woman. For many years I did not know she was as godly as she was, and the Lord revealed this to me. When I was fighting for my life against pride she was, and always is, there to help me be humble. And I finally realized that in my life and I am so grateful that she’s stuck with me through those tough times. In Biblical times we often see that when they had a wife that worshipped false gods, they did not take them away from the wife. And it caused them to fall as well.

Now back to Jehu. He killed all of the King’s sons and heirs and family members that were male so that he could fulfill the word of the Lord that came to Ahab. He also had Jezebel thrown down and eaten by the dogs so that the word of the Lord came true. Hou had a great zeal for the Lord. And it showed in these actions. He had destroyed those men that God had told him to destroy. He had broken down the altars of Baal and destroyed all of their prophets. But yet it still says that he did not depart from the sense of Jeroboam, who had made Israel to sin. And I see my life in this.

I love to study the word of God. I like these morning sessions. I get together with my friends to read the Word of God and write out what I’ve learned from the passages of the day. I share these thoughts with you on my blog. And I have learned much this year. I also joined the Bible study regularly.  I have become a part of my church advisory Board. And yet there are still things in my life that I need to clean up. There are still things that I follow from my previous years. God is still working on me, and I am so glad that He is merciful and patient. I know that I need to leave these things behind, and they are getting less and less frequent all the time. And I know that one day they will not be there at all. What grace God has, and He pours his grace unto me.

The last verse of Hebrews says that our God is a consuming fire. He cleanses es and purges us, often just one sin at a time, even after our salvation experience. That is His patience and mercy working for us. We must do what all we can, and I say I must do all I can to rid ourselves of these things. It is God’s consuming fire that will win in the end if I am yielding myself to him. I pray that you are yielding to him too, so that those things which are not pleasing to him will be burned up in the furnace up his love. He loves you so much He sent his only son to die for us. He still sends His Son to us through his word to cleanse us and purge us from all unrighteousness. May we take a strong look at ourselves every single day. May we work each day to take sin out of our lives. And may we always praise the name of the Lord, who is worthy to be praised. I don’t want my life to be like Jehu’s. I want my life to be more like David’s. He was a man after God’s own heart.

Obedience is Our Sacrifice (2 Kings 5-8) – June 16

“I want to serve God my way1”  This is the cry of many in the church today. And it was the cry of Naaman the leper.  He was asked to do a simple thing, and he did not want to do it.  His own way was better.  “Why should I have to bathe in the Jordan River?  Aren’t the rivers in my own land greater than these?”  It doesnl;t matter if the other rivers are better, or clearer, or where they are placed.  God gave His instruction, and God expects those instructions to be followed.  Plain and simpler.  Dip seven times in the Jordan River.  Naaman was said to be an honorable and great man.  These things had also made him proud.  And his pride almost cost him his blessing!

We would do well to always remember the story of Naaman.  God is not impressed with anything we do or say. He is only impressed by obedience.  Look at the four lepers sitting at the gate.  ‘Why sit we here until we die?’  OH, how I love those words.  They show four men who were at their weakest, depend on God and bring a great victory..  They did not lift a si  ANd the victory was shared not onlyt with them, but with the whole army of Israel.ngle weapon of war in their hands.  They merely went by the Holy Spirit and relied on God.  Obedience was rewarded with victory and a great spoil.  I need to come to the place that, when I come to God, I come  humbly , and allow God to show me my salvation.  He may bring that victory in a strange way, but will bring it.

Gehazi also went after his pride. He caught up with Naaman and asked for a gift under false pretenses.  He just flat out lied.  But Naaman believed him because he had seen Gehazi with Nathan.  When we are seen as men and women of God,  We must make sure we present ourselves in a good and honorable way.  Gehazi did not. He lied to Naaman about the reason he wanted the money, and that cost him his life, in a way.  The leprosy of Naaman was now on Gehazi, and it would remain there for life.  Pride causes us to do things we should not do, but when we repent and do as told, we are restored, just as the leper that came back to Jesus, was made whole.  Obedience rather than sacrifice.  A broken heart is God’s delight, and we cannot be broken if we maintain our prideful ways. May we each make obedience our sacrifice!

Make Disciples (2 Kings 2-4) – June 15

What a site this must have been.  A chariot of fire, led by horses of fire,  comes roaring out of heaven and comes right in between Elijah and Elisha.  Then it seems, by the story, that it turns into a whirlwind and Elijah is gone! He just went away in the whirlwind.  There is no other story in the Bible that is like this, except maybe Enoch who was just taken from the earth, never seeing death.  No wonder Elisha wanted to stay by him. He had been told three times to stay back, and yet he told him that the Lord was going to take him away that day, but ELisha told them to be quiet.   Several people told him the Lord would take him that day and Elisha told them to be silent, and he went with Elijah every step of the way, even across Jordan.  Elijah asked him what he wanted, and Elisha asked for his mantle, the one that touched the Jordan and the river parted.  That was his way back across the Jordan, spo he needed that.  My question is “How did all these men know that God was going to take him that day?” Even Elisha knew something was going on.

It is fascinating to me that this story is so dramatic.  Nothing like this had ever happened before, and it will never happen again, I don’t think.  This was the day he would leave, but they had no idea how or when,  just that it was this day.  Is this why Elisha wanted to stay next to him?  As his disciple,he wanted to glean everything he could from his master before he left.  For them to know this was the day the Lord would take him away is absurd.  Yet they did.  I think the Holy Spirit had told them he would be leaving them this day.  How else could they know?  There is no record of Elija saying anything to them, although I am pretty sure he knew it was coming. 

I remember the movie “Chariots of Fire” about Eric Liddle.  He was a missionary and a sprinter, and he was in the 1924 Olympics and took home a bronze medal in the 200 meter and a gold medal in the 400 meter.  First, he refused to race in the 100 meter race because it was running on a Sunday.  Most thought this was the end of his Olympics, because sprinters always did the three races.  When he only got Bronze in the 200, most thought he didn’t have a chance in the 400.  But Liddle knew that God would use his running for God’s glory, and he ran the race.  The scene where he lifts up his mouth and eyes to the Lord, and runs fast in front of all the crowds in the stands, and right past all the other runners,  is incredible.  He knew he would win that race, and gave God the glory while he was running!  The title of the movie came from a book by William Blake.  But the thought of the book came from Elisha. who also knew this was his day!

When will it be my turn, and how will I go?  Would I want God to tell me this?  It seems He told Elijah and some of those around him,  And he took it well!  He was ready to go, and he willingly passed on his ministry to his young friend Elisha.  He passed the mantle to him.  We still use this term today as a symbol of the passing of one to the next.  Elisha had run his race, just as Eric Liddle did. He ran it with all he had, and in the end he had a young man ready to take the mantle from him.  Paul had Timothy and others take the manele from him. Are we discipling anyone in the Lord? Do we stand as a mentor to someone else and discipline them for their future?  I think often we forget that this is a part of our calling – to make disciples of all men  not just to lead them to salvation and a love and knowledge of Jesus, but to actually discipline them so they can effectively run their race?  We are thrilled when someone gets saved, but then how often do we invest the time to help them learn the tenants of that faith.  I have to admit that I have not had many disciples in my life, although I was discipled by every Pastor I had, and several other great men of God. I am so thankful for them

I would rather not know the day I was going to be taken from this earth.  I want to boldly declare the love of God, just as Eric Liddle did. He was not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Elijah gave God glory right up until the time he was taken away. He never stopped working for the Lord.  There’s an old song that says “We’ll Work ‘Til Jesus Comes.”  Just like Elisha, and Paul and Etic Liddle, let us do that.  Lord, give me a disciple!  One who will follow me as I follow you, Lord. And let me be the one who shows them that Joy and Peace that can only come from knowing you!  And help me run my race and finish the course strong.