ASK THE LORD TODAY

3 Kingdoms 22:5 (1 Kings 22:5)

Also Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Ask the Lord today.”

Personal Challenge

This is how it is done. Israel and Judah have been split into two kingdoms for a while now. Each kingdom had their own king as well as many shared enemies around them that took turns attacking them. It had been three years of peace with Syria but it looked like that was coming to an end. Ahab, a very corrupt and contentious ruler, asked Jehoshaphat to join him in an attack on Syria. Jehoshaphat, the ruler of Judah, acknowledged that the Israelites and the Judites were one people and that, of course, he wanted to support his kinsmen. But he chooses to seek God’s guidance first. True leadership always submits to God and seeks His will in all decisions. We have come to a point in our society where every lender believes they are god and should have the say in what to do. This will always result in failed actions. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

FORSOOK THE LORD THEIR GOD

3 Kingdoms 18:17-18 (1 Kings 18:17-18)

When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Are you the one who is troubling Israel?” Elijah answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but rather you and the house of your father, in that you forsook the Lord your God and followed after the Baals.”

Personal Challenge

We enter into this story of the conflict within Israel between those following the true God and those following the false gods, or Baals. The times have not been good for the Israelites because they have forsaken the God of their fathers and turned to false gods. Ahab, the King of Israel, is blaming Elijah for the issues afflicting the nation and Elijah is reminding Ahab that it is because they have abandoned God. We are living in a time that is so similar to this time in ancient history. We have so many in leadership in our country, in our schools, and in our churches that have fallen for false gods, the Baals of today, labeled them as Christian, and are pursuing them for their salvation. This never ends well for these Baal worshippers. Christ would have us love our neighbor, the foreigner amongst us, the poor, the sick, the widow, the orphan, everyone, as we love ourselves, and treat them accordingly. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

KEEPING PROMISES

3 Kingdoms 8:22-24 (1 Kings 8:22-24)

You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth, and fulfilled it with Your hand, as today. Now, O Lord God of Israel, keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, so long as your people guard and keep their ways to walk before Me, as you walked before Me.’ So now, O Lord God of Israel, let the word be confirmed You spoke to Your servant David my father.

Personal Challenge

King Solomon, the son of David, has just finished building the temple for God. In his dedication prayer, he recalls how God has kept His promise to His chosen people. Throughout the scriptures we see that God often enters into agreements with His children. These agreements always have a promise of what will be received if the children uphold their part of the agreement, which they, we, often don’t. Yet, God always keeps His promise, His part of the agreement. We are fallen and sin. He is not. He is constant and always keeps His promises. We are the fortunate benefactors of this. Glory be to God!

Saint of the Week

St. Maximus the Confessor

THE COST

2 Kingdoms 24:24 (2 Samuel 24:24)

Then the king said to Orna, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with something that costs me nothing.” So David bought the threshing-floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

Personal Challenge

This verse comes from a story in the Old Testament where Orna, a Jebusite, is offering to David a piece of property, a threshing floor, as a gift for David to use as a place to build an altar on which to make a sacrifice to God. David shows his commitment to God by insisting that he pay for the property. He believed that the sacrifice was not complete unless it cost him something. So many of us who proclaim to be Christians have forgotten this mindset. Jesus paid the full price for our salvation and there is nothing that we can do to earn this. Thanks be to God for this. However our salvation came at a very expensive price and if we are to be sincere followers of Christ, we will be willing to respond out of love and gratitude with our own personal sacrifices, Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

OUR LORD

2 Kingdoms 22:2-3 (2 Samuel 22:2-3)

And he sang:
“O Lord, my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
My God will be my guardian, in whom I will trust;
My defender and the horn of my salvation,
My protector and the refuge of my salvation;
You will save me from unrighteousness.”

Encouraging Words

David was deemed a man after God’s own heart. Here we have the beginning of a song that he wrote after he was rescued from Saul and other enemies that were trying to kill him. Having this depth of relationship with God always leads us to this place of worship and appreciation. God is our solid rock and fortress. He is our deliverer and guardian. We can put our trust in Him. He does defend us and save us. He is our refuge, protector, and savior. Praise be to God!

IF ONLY…

1 Kingdoms 15:22 (1 Samuel 15:22)

Then Samuel said, “If only the desired whole burnt offerings and desired sacrifices were equal to the Lord, as compared to one who heeds the voice of the Lord! Behold! Hearing is better than a good sacrifice and obedience than the fat of rams.”

Personal Challenge

Throughou the Old Testament there are accounts where God rejects the sacrifices and rubrics of worship from His people. Why? It is so easy to get caught up in the trappings of religiosity and fail to have a heart that is alive and vibrant for God. He wants us to be doing His work, which is loving our neighbor, and not just acting like we are His followers. Feeding the hungry, welcoming the foreigner, clothing the naked and the poor, showing His love and compassion to others are the “if only…” things that He wants us to do. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me the sinner!

INWARD APPEARANCE

1 Kingdoms 16:7 (1 Samuel 16:7)

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Have no regard for his outward appearance, nor for the maturity of his stature, because I have refused him. For man does not see as God sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord sees into the heart.”

Personal Challenge

In the passage leading up to this verse, Samuel has been charged to go to the family of Jesse and select one of his eight sons to be the new king of Israel. As most of us would do, Samuel started selecting the strongest and most kingly looking man to be that king. But God said, “No!”. Samuel went through seven of the brothers with God rejecting each one. The eighth was David, a small, ruddy, young boy. God had selected him to be the king, not because of how he looked, but because of what God knew was in his heart. The lesson is for us to stop looking at outward appearances but at the person’s heart. We cannot see that like God does but we can see it in the fruit of the person’s life, which reveals the state of their heart. Glory be to God!

Saint of the Week

St. Clare of Assisi

WITH ALL OUR HEARTS

1 Kingdoms 7:3 (1 Samuel 7:3)

Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, if you put away the foreign gods and the sacred groves from among you, and if you prepare your hearts for the Lord and serve Him alone, He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”

Personal Challenge

Being a follower of Christ has nothing to do with wearing a cross or a WWJD bracelet. It is not about bumper stickers or license plate brackets. And, believe it or not, it has nothing to do with saying a one time, one-and-done, prayer and then continuing to act like everyone else in the world. As Samuel told the people of Israel, God expects us to turn to Him with our whole hearts and to serve Him alone. This means loving our neighbor, whether red, yellow, black, or white. It means getting righteously angry at the things that God abhors, such as lying, stealing from the poor, pedophilia, being a bully, and the list goes on. You cannot proclaim to love Christ and behave like the rest of the world. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!