by chrisaiken | Jun 28, 2015 | Devotions
“…Because the Arameans have said, ‘The Lord is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys,’ therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” 1 Kings 20:28, NASB.
Sometimes people ask me, “What is God up to?” They fail to understand the motivation of God’s action or inaction in a particular circumstance. This is not a new question. Peter addressed it to the church by telling them that God is not slow or slack in bringing judgment against evil…but is patient, so as to give opportunity for repentance.
Elijah, just a couple of chapters back sat under a juniper tree and declared that God should kill him because there were no other believers in God. He was perplexed that after such a great victory, Jezebel would seem to be so powerful in her threats.
The fact is, God operates with great mystery and we cannot manipulate Him or cause Him to act contrary to His own desire. There is an overarching theme though to God’s actions: He always acts in a manner that gives Him ultimate glory.
In this text the Arameans declared that their recent defeat at the hands of the much smaller force of Israel was due to the fact that Israel’s God is powerful on the mountains. He has super powers there. This is common in their idolatry. They had gods that were over the harvest, over childbearing, over war, etc. They painted the God of Israel in the same light and assumed that since He was powerful on the mountains, He must be a God fo the mountains; therefore, He would be powerless to help Ahab on the plains.
Before they spoke though, God had already told Ahab when they would attack next. Why is God helping Ahab? Isn’t he a wicked king married to a wicked woman who incited him toward idolatry and led much of the nation of Israel to embrace idolatry too? YES! So why did God help Ahab?
The question creates the difficulty in determining the answer. God’s aid benefitted Ahab but Ahab was not the motivation for God’s actions. God’s glory was His motivation. God desired to demonstrate His power before the Arameans and all of Israel so He used this engagement to do so.
This prompted me today in regard to our own country. I have read hundreds of statements about how we need God to bless America again. NEWS FLASH: America is not in Scripture. We are not the seat of morality nor are we the key players in Armageddon. We are a nation that experienced great blessings at one time…when we seemed to honor God as a religious people. We don’t NEED God to bless us again in our condition. We need to return to seeking the glory of God’s Name. As God always seeks His own honor, our doing so puts us on the right side of the equation again and we will experience God’s blessings…not because we are adorable, but because God is faithful to Himself and His own Namesake. He is God. He is God of the mountains and the plains…of heaven and earth…of America and Afghanistan and China and Monaco and Australia and Ireland and… He is GOD! Honor Him and you will find favor in His eyes. Resist Him and you will despise His greatness and be an obstacle to His glory…thus eliminationg yourself from the glorious redemptive purpose of Holy God!
Shalom, CA
Like this:
Like Loading...
by chrisaiken | Jun 25, 2015 | Devotions
The angel said to Elijah, “…Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you.” 1 Kings 19:7, NASB.
This is perhaps one of the most significant chapters of Scripture in my personal journey. I often return here as I wrestle with the conviction of God’s calling and the cost of obedience in my own life.
Elijah has just seen God move powerfully on Mt. Carmel. He has done a supernatural feat and must be on a spiritual high! Then Jezebel threatens him. He certainly believes the threat because he is afraid and flees to Beersheba. As Elijah lays down to die, he is ministered to by the Lord and it is only the provision of God that sustained him over the next 40 days to Mt. Horeb.
God chose to speak to Elijah there, but not until a couple of reflecting questions were posed. Every minister needs to hear and answer these questions from time to time. God chose to speak softly…not in the way He spoke at Mt. Carmel with fire from heaven. He spoke personally, privately, and prominently to His prophet…as He reminded him that his mission was not up until God said it was. Elijah was strengthened and returned to Damascus and played out the last chapter of his earthly life’s story.
What is significant to see today…is that God’s provision is sufficient. Apart from Him and IT…we cannot finish the course before us. We will fail. The journey is too great. But with God, we are amply supplied…even if we do not know it in the moment.
When you find yourself at the end of your rope, remember who holds the rope and take courage. Look for the provision of God. Consume it. Rest in it. Be restored to your mission. Finish your course.
Shalom, CA
Like this:
Like Loading...
by chrisaiken | Jun 21, 2015 | Devotions
“When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, ‘Is this you, you troubler of Israel?’ He said, ‘I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and you have followed the Baals.’ ” 1 Kings 18:17-18, NASB.
After 3 years of drought and all that goes with it for a nation and its leaders, Elijah comes out of hiding (at the Lord’s direction) and comes to Ahab. This evil king immediately assigns blame for all that Israel has incurred on the prophet who pronounced judgment. It is Elijah’s fault! He stopped up the rain!
Elijah though turns the focus back to its rightful cause…the sins of Ahab and his fathers are responsible for the troubles in the land. It is the forsaking of God and God’s covenant that is the cause of such tragic circumstance that Israel is experiencing.
Much the same way, this conversation plays out in our nation today. The “narrow-minded religious types” have stirred up trouble with their preaching on righteousness! It must be their fault. Really? Is it not the sins of excess? Of the murder of innocent babies in the womb? Of the forsaking of God and the pursuit of God? Is it not the sins of omission in not pursuing justice for all? These sins are real and prevalent in the eyes of God! He is watching the actions of His people and noting their sins of commission and omission!
The preacher who declares God’s displeasure with homosexuality, murder, lying, covetousness, idolatry, and so on…is not responsible for the consequences of sin; rather, he should be seen as the watchman who cries from the guard tower a message of warning…”Turn back to God even now before you know His wrath!”
Could it be that this is not only true of a nation…but also applies in a personal way in your life? Is it possible that the suffering you are experiencing is not due to someone else but is a direct result of your own sins?
If so, what is the cure? Only one cure for sin and it is aWHO…not a WHAT! Run to Jesus! Repent of your sin. Seek His forgiveness and redemption. Rest in His unfailing promises. He alone is good and He alone can restore you to abundant life!
Like this:
Like Loading...
by chrisaiken | Jun 18, 2015 | Devotions
“God away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. It shall be that you will drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.” 1 Kings 17:3-4, NASB.
Even the most devout and pious among us struggle with faith from time to time. We know God says He will meet our needs as a loving Father…we know God will never leave us nor forsake us…we know that God has plans for us to prosper us and not to do us harm. All of these things are a matter of faith in the revealed Word of God, yet knowing them is different from having faith in them.
Faith is intentional action based on knowledge. We “know” our car will crank so we sit down and buckle up before we ever turn the ignition switch. That’s faith. We know the stove works so we put a pan or pot on it, turn it on and go about gathering our dinner ingredients even before the pan is hot. That’s faith.
So, knowledge without action is merely knowledge. It is not faith. What Elijah exhibits here is faith. God said…Elijah did…God provided…Elijah benefited. Simple as that.
So what of the times when we say we know and we believe (have faith) and yet we don’t see provision? This is a looming question in many minds so I want to point out a key element that we’d do well not to miss: God provided for Elijah AFTER Elijah obeyed the Word of the Lord. [NOTE: I am not speaking of God’s common grace provision or how He provided a Word to Elijah…but I am specifically speaking of God’s promise of food and water.]
God said to Elijah…Go to the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan, hide there…I will feed you. None of these commands are ambiguous. None are negotiable. None are too difficult to obey even if they might seem crazy in the mind of the hearer. Simply stated…”Obey My Word…and I will care for you.”
I think at times…we miss the mark on “Obey” and then wonder why God doesn’t care for us. He said____ and we ignored or rebelled while trying to cash in the marker on the promise. Is God a man that He should be manipulated by our actions? NO! He knows what we are doing and is not mocked. What we sow (rebellion and self-sufficiency) is what we reap.
I think at times, when asked about things of God…my response is sometimes passed over simply because it sounds too simple or straightforward. Here is the counsel fo God’s Word…If you want to know the protection of God and want to experience His daily provision in your life…simply Go where He says, when He says, and do what He says.
Could you imagine the 12-year-old boy coming to his mother at 8PM after a long day of video games? He declares that he is hungry and charges that his mother has neglected him. She reminds him that dinner is at 6…that she prepared a meal, set the table, fixed his plate and called him to dinner. He neglected to come and therefore he was hungry. Our complaints against God are often similar and God’s response is also much the same.
Shalom, CA.
Like this:
Like Loading...
by chrisaiken | Jun 16, 2015 | Devotions
“Thus Zimri destroyed all the household of Baasha, according to the word of the Lord, which He spoke against Baasha through Jehu the prophet, for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, which they sinned and which they made Israel sin, provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their idols.” 1 Kings 16:12-13, NASB.
These chapter in this book may be some of the bloodiest in all of Scripture. The detail widespread judgment and destruction in summary form giving both cause and effect for the judgment.
In Israel, the northern kingdom, the kings were particularly wicked (as juxtaposed against Asa king of Judah in the South). They not only embraced idolatry but promoted it among God’s people through implication and edict. They named the “Lord God of Israel” as their own but worshipped as the inhabitants of the land that God had given them.
In the verses above, God wiped out a king and all his family because of their sin. Their sin! I know it sounds incredible…since many of us embrace a picture of “hippie Jesus” who eats granola, preaches peace, and lets people choose their own course without consequence; however, the Scripture portrays God far more accurately.
God hates sin and judges sinners. Not just everyone elses sins…and not just the “big” sins…but our sins and every sin. He hates sin. He has no tolerance for it and the only way a righteous and holy God can deal with sin is to destroy it utterly.
A couple of quick reflections:
- God is the author of this destruction of Baasha and his household because of his unrepentant idolatry and wickedness before the Lord. God is a righteous judge.
- Baasha knew judgment was coming because He knew the instructions of God, the Law of God and the prophesy of God…yet he refused to repent.
- God executed justice swiftly but not immediately. Time lapsed from the prophesy to the judgment, but once judgment started, it was overwhelming.
- God is still the Lord God of Israel even though their king sinned and the people sinned and idolatry was rampant.
The parallels are incredible in my mind. God loves us, is patient with us, desires our repentance…but is also righteous and holy and a swift executor of judgment against our sin. We should and even MUST view ourselves, our culture, and our sin as “seriously as God.” Only then can we experience the redemptive mercy fo God. If not, we will experience only His judgment…for He is a righteous judge.
Like this:
Like Loading...
“…Because the Arameans have said, ‘The Lord is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys,’ therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” 1 Kings 20:28, NASB.
Recent Comments