2 Kings 17:7-8 “7 Now this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and they had feared other gods 8 and walked in the customs of the nations whom the Lord had driven out before the sons of Israel, and in the customs of the kings of Israel which they had introduced.” 

JUDGMENT

As I read this passage in 2 Kings I couldn’t help but think about my country, the United States of America.  Ours is a country which was built on strong Judeo-Christian principles. Our founding fathers came here originally to escape religious persecution in Europe.  We stood proudly for generations as a Christian nation. Continue reading →

2 Kings 13:20-21 “20 Elisha died, and they buried him. Now the bands of the Moabites would invade the land in the spring of the year. 21 As they were burying a man, behold, they saw a marauding band; and they cast the man into the grave of Elisha. And when the man touched the bones of Elisha he revived and stood up on his feet.”

EVEN IN DEATH

Pardon me, but I find a little humor in this last story about Elisha.  All Elisha is doing is lying there in his grave.  He’s dead.  But God’s power was still evident.  What do you think those men thought when the guy they just threw in the grave jumped up on his feet?  That must a little bit surprising.  And how about the dead man?  What do you think he thought?  He had no idea what just happened. Continue reading →

2 Kings 11:21 “Jehoash was seven years old when he became king.”

Could you imagine your child becoming President at age 7?  Probably not!  But Jehoash was crowned king at age 7 after hiding for 6 years in the temple from the Queen Mother who had killed all the other sons.  The priest Jehoiada was the one who cared for him and prepared him to be one of the great kings of Judah. Continue reading →

2 Kings 8:19 “However, the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David His servant, since He had promised him to give a lamp to him through his sons always.”

ONLY GOD

There is only one true Promise Keeper – The Lord.  Try as we may, we are likely to break a promise to someone along the way.  Sometimes we make rash promises that we KNOW we cannot keep.  Other times the promises are made with the best of intentions, but things happen that bring change and can cause us to not keep that promise. Continue reading →

2 Kings 5:13 “Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, ‘My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, “Wash, and be clean’?”’”

FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS

Probably one of the most frustrating things on earth is putting together a child’s toy on Christmas eve.  Am I right?  I remember putting together a Power Wheel jeep for my son one year.  We didn’t have anywhere to hide it before Christmas, so I had to wait until the night before to put it all together.  There must have been 1,000 parts (I am exaggerating a little, lol).  Continue reading →

2 Kings 3:14 “Elisha said, ‘As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look at you nor see you.’”

REPUTATION

Jehoram, king of Israel, wasn’t exactly a godly king.  When he came, along with Jehoshaphat, to ask Elisha’s counsel, Elisha said these words which are here in verse 14.  Elisha would not have even talked to Jehoram, except for the presence of Jehoshaphat.  Elisha was quick to exact punishment on others.  Jehoram knew that.  That is probably why he took Jehoshaphat with him. Continue reading →

1 Kings 22:14 “But Micaiah said, ‘As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me, that I shall speak.’”

SPEAK THE TRUTH

As a Pastor, when I preach I have to be so careful to speak only what the Lord would have me to say.  As I prepare my message I pray that the Lord will give me the words to say.  I don’t want to espouse my words. I only want His.  Micaiah had been asked by the other prophets to agree with them and speak similar words.  But he knew he had to be true to the Lord and speak only what the Lord said, no matter the consequence. Continue reading →

1 Kings 18:34-35 “34 And he said, “Fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. 35 The water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water.”

PRECIOUS LIQUID

The story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal has been told over and over again.  You have probably read about it in Sunday School or heard sermons on it.  But many miss this part.  There was a drought.  It hadn’t rained in 3 years.  I saw that last year when I was in Kenya.  I was in an area that had not seen any kind of significant rainfall in 3 years.  People were dying.  Livestock was dying.  Crops wouldn’t grow.  People had to leave their homes and move to find water. It was horrible. Continue reading →

1 Kings 15:11, 14b “11Asa did what was right in the sight of the Lord, like David his father. 14b …nevertheless the heart of Asa was wholly devoted to the Lord all his days.” 

DEVOTION

Asa was the great, great grandson of David.  He was he first king of Judah, since David, who held true to the things of the Lord.  That took courage.  He had to shift the nation in a different direction.  But he did.  He stood for the right things and put away the wrong things. Continue reading →

1 Kings 12:24 “Thus says the Lord, ‘You must not go up and fight against your relatives the sons of Israel; return every man to his house, for this thing has come from Me.’ So they listened to the word of the Lord, and returned and went their way according to the word of the Lord.”

RASH DECISION

Here we are!  The kingdom of Solomon has been passed down to Rehoboam, but because of Solomon’s sins God had told him his kingdom would be divided.  Jeroboam rises up against the new king, and 10 tribes follow him.  Rehoboam, after taking the bad advice of the young men, wants to go to war to get back his kingdom. But God stops him.

Have you ever rushed to judgment and gotten angry before you knew all the facts?  Of course not.  You are more spiritual than me!  Lol.  Boy, I have.  I have started to “retaliate” against someone for a wrong committed, only to find out it wasn’t true.  How embarrassing.  We need to be sure before we act.

TEACHING MOMENT

Boy oh boy!  This is something that we have to be so careful to NOT teach our kids!  They will respond the same way we do, if we are hot headed.  Teaching restraint and patience is hard.  It’s practically impossible.  It requires that we practice it ourselves in front of our kids.  Count to ten (or maybe 1000) before reacting.  Don’t start plotting your response before you have sought the Lord.

If you will go back and read all of chapter 12 in 1 Kings, you will notice that Rehoboam never sought the Lord’s counsel.  Do you think that’s because the wisest man in the world, his father Solomon, had stopped seeking the Lord and had begun to follow false gods?  Solomon had NOT set the example for his son to follow.

Stop right now, if you are contemplating some type of revenge.  Make sure you have really been offended and then let the Lord handle it.  Forgive!  Extend grace.  After all, think of all the wrong you have done against the Lord.  He still loves you and extends you fresh grace every day.

O God my Father, forgive me for rushing to judgment of others.  Forgive me for getting angry about things that really have no eternal significance.  Forgive me for not setting the example for my children that You require.