Arise and Abide

Reading 1 Kings 18:16-40. We have this picture of the people of Israel who are wavering, hobbling back and forth between: Is it the Lord that is God, or is it Baal? We also have this picture of a God who hears and a God who answers, versus these idols who obviously can't do anything because they're manmade. We see that the heart of God in this contest is to bring the people back to Himself.  They're wobbling, they're back and forth and He is calling them back into that relationship because that's the heart of God. If you only look at the miracle you miss the heart of God behind the miracle, God is a God of love who is wooing His people back to Himself. God responds with such quickness because of his great love for these people who have been faltering. There are two opinions, and we know that Jezebel has led a lot of this other opinion. Jezebel saying, “is the Lord really God, my God is Baal.” I think people make idols. An easier way for us to think about it sometimes is thinking about how we put ourselves or somebody else on the throne that belongs to God, that we follow somebody else or follow our own selfish plan for our life. God is a God who answers. and God is a God who hears us. He sees us, He's moving, He's working. God is answering his people when He has their attention and they're listening. I think we know that God always sees and hears. God is always moving and working, and He has a plan and He's answering. But sometimes it requires us to listen and give him our attention.

Reading Psalms 87. The imagery of foreign and oppressive nations being counted as citizens of God’s Holy city is prophetic. Reminiscent of the account in Acts 10 Peter’s vision and God telling him not to call unclean what God has made clean. Being told to kill and eat was to prepare his mind to go to the gentiles and participate in what God was doing. the place where God's name would be known where everybody would come to worship. It was the place that the Lord picked for them to come and worship Him. He loves Jerusalem. It's this place dear to His heart that he establishes the place where his name would be known. It shows God's heart how He wanted everyone to know Him. Acts 11:15-18. “Who am I to get in God's way?” To receive something, I need to have my hands available to receive it. God’s Holy Spirit is not a physical object that we're receiving. However, to receive the Holy Spirit, we must let go of our way, whatever selfish temperament we might be in. Being citizens of Jerusalem, it's our life source, our source of joy. We're left with this promise. And this image of the joy that comes from God that He gives to all his citizens of Jerusalem.

Reading 1 Kings 18:1-15. The drought had been going on for three years and times had gotten desperate. King Ahab and Obadiah searching the land for the kings’ animals to have water.  This is the turning point. These two servants of the Lord who are in this hard situation and responding very differently. Obadiah who did something amazing for the Lord. He risked his own life, his own position in charge of the palace. He risks it all to save 100 prophets. In that act of service, he positions himself to live in fear, fear of someone finding out, fear that he's going to lose his own life. Elijah had every good reason to be afraid for his life, going and appearing before King Ahab. It’s a good picture of finding yourself living in fear because you have this feeling that you're kind of just hanging on and something's going to snap and then it'll all fall down. When we feel attacked by the enemy who wants us to live in fear, we forget, that’s why God is always reminding us and why we need established rhythms for redirecting ourselves back to God. Let God’s character define your circumstance and not the other way around. The price is that you're going to go through it, but there's options here, there's two paths you can take as you go through it. God is our resource. He is the bread of life. He's all that we need. God moves at the right time.  

Reading Psalms 86, a psalm of David. In verse 11, “Teach me your ways. Oh Lord, that I may live according to your truth, grant me purity of heart so that I may honor you.” David is looking to God for discipleship. In verse 15, he's speaking to God's character. “Oh Lord, you are a God of compassion and mercy, slowly get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.” Exodus 34:5-7. David wanted the closeness with God Moses had. This psalm is just such a great reminder of that character of God love just wanting to be there to help us just like those of us who are parents, we want to be there to help our Children. We're always ready to forgive them. And the Psalm is such a beautiful picture of God's character. Put in the time and the effort and seek the Lord with all your heart it's part of the discipline of learning to trust the Lord. It goes back to the beginning of the psalm where David is saying, help me because I need your help, protect me because I'm devoted to you. I serve you and I trust you. I'm calling on you constantly. And that's the position that we need to be in whatever circumstance we find ourselves in. He will answer this prayer of your heart. If you to ask God to teach you His ways that you can live according to His truth, that He will grant you purity of heart so that you will honor Him. God will do this in your life. It is a promise straight from God that describes himself and his character as slow to anger filled with unfailing love and faithfulness and he wants to lavish his love on 1000 generations.

Reading 1 Kings 17 in the New Living Translation. Elijah declares that as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel lives the God. I serve, there will be no do or reign during the next few years until I give the word. Ahab had married Jezebel and they had started serving Baal who was a god who was supposed to bring the rain. God is faithful, God grows our faith and uses that growth in our life to increase the faith of others. Elijah, through his experiences, is telling her that God is a God that can be trusted and that she doesn't need to be afraid. She felt her sin was leaving her unworthy of the sustaining of life that God was giving her. God's presence does convict, and it does call for a change in our heart and we see this change in the woman's faith and her belief through the struggles and the trials that she's going through. Elijah understood his identity and his purpose. He was available to God and had his ear turned towards God. It's ok that we ask God and admit to God that our circumstances don't make sense to us and that we need his help. James 5:13. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Elijah’s example, the length of time and trials that he continued to pray through and the wonderful results that he saw. It's relying on God through difficult times that helps us persevere through the trials, and it's through the trials that God grows our faith. God is with you as you go through the hard times.

Reading Psalms 85 in the New Living Translation. Start your day as the psalmist begins this psalm, with praise and worship. Being intentional with our thoughts and placing them before Jesus. To follow Jesus, we must stop talking, and listen. Verse 13, Righteousness goes as a Herald before him preparing the way for his steps. When we are in right relationship with God, He can more effectively use us for His plan. God is both loving, but He always is speaking truth. Through Jesus we have this opportunity to be in right relationship with God because we do have this need for a savior to be restored. The cost of being a disciple is to submit our lives to the life and teaching of Jesus to walk life out in his footsteps. John 14:25 lines up well with Psalms 85:8. God is good. He sent the advocate to guide us, to lead us in what he would have us to do to love him and love others. To not just listen, but also follow. You can trust God that God is with you. You can trust God, that God is for you. You can trust God to His word as it says in verse 12 of Psalm 85. “Yes, the Lord pours down his blessings. Our land will yield its beautiful harvest. Righteousness goes as a herald before him preparing the way for His steps.”

Reading 1 Kings 15:32-16:34. God gave people free will in the garden and humanity has continued to choose their own way. As people continue in this pattern we move farther and farther away for the righteous standards of God. Omri did more evil than any king before him, until his son Ahab becomes king and outdoes his father’s sins. I see this picture that God is the one who places the king in their position. But it's followed by this story of the kings just trying to fight and take over the throne on their own power. And when they do that, it never turns out well for them. The mentality of ‘I'm going to make myself king’ isn't really that uncommon, considering all the people who want to make themselves kings of their own lives. Luke 14:35. We must give up everything to God. God was angry because the leaders were leading Israel to sin by building these calves like Jeroboam. We see with Ahab that he marries Jezebel and sets up places of worship to Baal. It was reminding me of when Jesus talked about leaders in Matthew chapter 18, verse six, he says, “if anyone causes one of these little ones, those who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large mill stone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”God is true to his word even when we don't see it fulfilled in our own lifetime.

Reading Psalms 84. Recognizing God’s goodness in life. It is in the presence of God that we experience the good life. We enter through repentance. Change perspective in the hard times back to the goodness of God. The picture of someone who wants to draw near to the LORD. The imagery of provision and protection. God’s heart is for people, and for people to experience the fullness of God’s goodness. All relationships require building trust. Jesus teaches us not to worry and instead trust God’s provision in the sermon on the mount. In Revelation 21:3 we see the promise of God dwelling with His people and now, while we wait for Jesus’ return, we get to experience being the dwelling place of God as His Holy Spirit dwells in us. Life is a trust building journey the Lord is carrying us through. Ephesians 2:19-22, we are God’s dwelling place together joined in the body of Christ.

Reading 1 Kings 15:9-31. In this reading, we see a picture of two kings, one of Judah, one of Israel. Nadab who had a short-lived reign or reign of only two years compared to Asa who had a reign of 41 years. Nadab did what was evil in the Lord's sight and followed the example of his father. King Asa made a choice to follow after God. They thought they had come up with the solution they need, but nothing has changed. These idols are manmade things that are elevated instead of God. It's about humbling ourselves and lifting up God. 2 Chronicles, chapter 16, in verse 12, “In the 39th year of his reign, Asa developed a serious foot disease. Yet even with the severity of his disease, he did not seek the Lord's help but turned only to his physicians.” So, despite this long reign, a long life, in the end he's distracted, his eyes are taken off the Lord. He goes to the king of Aram for protection. He goes to doctors and physicians for healing when he should have been going to God. Without God's Holy Spirit to bring God's own word and truth back to remembrance, we are stuck in the same pattern. God is good. It's lowering these things that we make ourselves and elevating God, letting him bring us up, giving all of our cares and worries to him because he cares about us.

Reading Psalms 83. Written around the time of the exile in the tension of war and hardship. Wanting God to destroy God’s own enemies while making themselves an enemy of God. The tension of needing the Savior to come. The call for the nation of God to realize they serve God alone. Israel was called to represent God, now disciples are called. The need for believers to remain in the Lord in the face of difficult situations, circumstances, or in the face of difficult people. To set yourself up for success in these trials, enter them from a place of remaining in Christ. Increase your intentional time of prayer and devotion. Gain life from the Word of God just as God spoke life into existence. God is supreme over all the earth. When facing difficult people take encouragement in knowing they are acting out of a dark place in their heart from which they need to be set free, and that they too will learn the goodness of God. The memory of God will not be wiped out.  

Reading 1 Kings 15:1-8 and 2 Chronicles 13. During a Abijam's rule and the story that we read in chronicles, I see this example of how despite Abijah not being faithful, God remains faithful. Abijah was not faithful, he recognizes the promise that God had made to David. More importantly, he recognizes the difference between a living God and the man-made gods that Jeroboam had made for himself. It's in a moment of distress that Abijah starts to declare the goodness of God and the difference between Judah and Israel. There’s a big difference between knowing the Lord and knowing about the Lord. But God, is faithful to his promise no matter what. Sometimes people can see God's faithfulness in their life and then perhaps think that they're all good that they don't need to change their life at all because God's faithfulness is being experienced. But the reality is God's faithfulness should be drawing us to know God more. God's plan and promise to continue to use the descendants of David to shine like a lamp. Pointing to Jesus who is going to be the ultimate light that comes into the world to shine and represent the goodness of God and the faithfulness of God and be the king that sits on the throne forever.

Reading Psalms 82. God sitting in judgment, calling out what's going wrong. How the people in power are judging unjustly favoring the wicked. God understands our human condition that we have neither knowledge nor understanding and walk in darkness. Jesus quotes this psalm in John 10:34 confronting the Jewish leaders who were corrupt and oppressing the people of Israel. Humans have taken this role of leadership and forgot what their true role is, is to shepherd and care and tend to the needs to feed the sheep. Our opinion is our opinion because we believe it to be right. Because we believe our opinion is right, we often take that seat of judgment. Mark 1:15. “The kingdom of God is at hand repent and believe.” We need to change our mind that we have it all figured out and we need to submit it all to God and ask Him for the wisdom. Ask Him for the understanding. Ask Him for the proper judgment so that we can be free of that burden as well as that consequence of being the judge.

Reading 1 Kings 14:1-31. Jeroboam recognizes that he has separated himself from God, that he's turned his back on God. He can't approach Ahijah who’s the very one who gave him the prophecy that God was going to bless him and make him king. Jeroboam was right in recognizing that his sin had separated him from the right to approach God. And it points to our need for Jesus to give us that right, to approach God, to cleanse us and make us holy before God. Twice in the book of Judges in chapter 17:6 and in 21:12, it said, “In those days, Israel had no king, all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” And I see that continuing in Jeroboam's life and in Rehoboam’s life. 2 Chronicles chapter 12 verse 8, really stood out to me, “so that they will know the difference between serving me and serving earthly rulers.” God showing his people. Ok. These are the choices you made. So, experience life with an earthly king versus a heavenly king. Matthew 18:6, “If you cause any one of these little ones who trust me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.” When we have that divided loyalty, when we're not following after God, our life is lived as a bad example. The cost of being the disciple is the ultimate surrender of our perceived right, to be the king of our own life, to go where we want to go, to do whatever seems right in our own eyes. Ezekiel 34:23 says, “and I will set over them one shepherd, my servant David and he will feed them and be a shepherd to them. And I the Lord will be their God and my servant David will bring peace among my people. I the Lord have spoken.” God's heart is that somebody feed the sheep to care for them to nurture them. God's heart is that somebody feed the sheep to care for them to nurture them.

Reading Psalms 81. A picture of how things are supposed to be. A call to celebrate the Lord, to listen to, to focus on God, to live in that good life in that abundant life that God has for us as we press into God and turn from all the worthless things in life. Remembering that God is our strength. Verse six, “I heard an unknown voice say now I will take the load from your shoulders. I will set free your hands for their heavy tasks.” Like Jesus's words in Matthew chapter 11 verses 28 and 30 when he says, “Come to me, all who are weary and carry heavy burdens and I will give you rest, take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear. And the burden I give you is light.” If you are just going after what you want and how you want it. You are rejecting God and how God says it should be. We need to remember that God is more empathetic than we ever could be. Jesus came for everyone, so God is pursuing each and every one of us. Let him finish the good work, He started.

Reading from 1Kings 12:25-13:34. Jeroboam didn't trust God's promise to Him. He's thinking to himself about the people going to Jerusalem to worship at the temple and how they will kill him, and Rehoboam will become the king. He tries to take control of the situation himself. The human tendency to try to hold on to it for ourselves instead of seeking after God. The picture of a king who's been given a great promise, who chooses not to seek after the one who's made the promise but tries to hold on to that promise in his own strength. And the prophet who isn't trying to hold on to anything really. He's just trying to obey the Lord. And what I see in both stories is how we need a savior. When his hand instantly became paralyzed, he knew that he needed God to fix that. What we need to do is learn to trust God. Learn to trust His word and learn to walk it out. Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding, seek His will in all you do. And he will show you which path to take.” Take it to God. 1 Corinthians 13:12. “Now we see things imperfectly like puzzling reflections in a mirror. But then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete. But then I will know everything completely just as God knows me completely.” When Paul wrote that he was saying that God's plan was being revealed to us in the gospel. It does require trust because we're not going to have that perfect clarity.

Psalms written during the time of the exile are a picture of what life is like apart from God and an example for us to follow in those moments when we feel like God is far. It doesn't change the situation, but when we are in a bad situation or circumstance, we need to redirect our perspective, off of how it feels like God is far, to the goodness of God. They're asking God to listen and look down, like the sun shines down. And that repeating line reminds me of the priestly blessing from Number 6:24 that says, “May the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” I see the story of the prodigal son in this Psalm and this anticipation of coming back to the father, potentially being rejected because he had left. And yet the father is just there like he's always been waiting for the son and ready to receive him. We can see everything that's happening, but we don't always understand why. In John 15:6 it says “Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers, such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.” And in Psalm 80 verse 16, it says “for we are chopped up and burned by our enemies. May they perish at the site of your frown.” So the psalmist is talking about Israel being a grapevine that now feels chopped up and burned. And if we look at that in the context of Jesus' teaching, it was because they were trying to live apart from the vine.

Today’s reading is 1Kings chapter 12 verse 1 through 24. God's plan prevails, God's true to his word, and what God says will come to pass. Both David's firstborn and Solomon's firstborn follow bad advice. Because of his lack of seeking God's wisdom or God's advice in this situation, he chooses the advice that he believes will make him appear strong. Rehoboam has forgotten that his true strength come from God and to have success as king, he needs to rely on God's strength. It's a good story to look on and reflect on. Are we willing to serve in the places that God puts us? Are we going to God for the advice? Are we relying on God's strength or are we trying to position ourselves in a way that we can gain confidence in our own strength? Neither Absalom nor Rehoboam went to God for any sort of counsel or direction. We should be seeking that advice and be listening to the Holy Spirit for that right answer. Not the right answer that sits best with me, but the right answer that when I hear it, I know that God was speaking it to me. Sometimes we read in scripture about people that are more concerned about pleasing people. So this speaks to the leadership situation where it's pointing out that this leader paid no attention to the people and he refused to listen to them. I need God's strength, wisdom and power in front of me and I need to follow in behind the Lord. Despite the whole story being such an example of Rehoboam not listening, not taking the advice he should. It concludes with him listening and the people of Judah and Benjamin listening and returning home, not continuing on fighting against the relatives.

This Psalm describes the situation after Jerusalem's fall to the Babylonian armies in 586 BC. This was the time of Zedekiah's rule as king 2 Chronicles chapter 36, reading from verse 12. In Psalm 79 we see that the Babylonian army had come showing no mercy to the Israelites. God had done so much for Isael and they turned their back on God. all people have this tendency to lose track to get distracted, to chase after something other than God's presence, God's will, and God's word. He knows this about us, but He loves us and He sent a savior for us. The tragedy of all of this is that the Israelites were there to represent God to give glory to God's name and for them to be a light to all the surrounding nations. But instead, they took on the darkness from the surrounding nations and began to scoff God themselves. When we're busy chasing after our own glory, thinking about our own name or legacy, we lose track of the purpose behind being the light for God's glory and surrendering our way to follow his way. If you genuinely love somebody, then you want them to be able to receive the fullness of your love and for them to receive that, I will need to speak their language. So why do people only want to show God love the way they want to love God when God has done so much for us? Call on God during the hard times but be at a place in your relationship with God where when those times come, God is close, and you are close to God's heart as well. God will respond. God does come to the rescue. He has in my life continuously and I know that He will in years as well.

The picture I see in this passage is how God continues to work and be faithful to his promises while letting the consequences of our human choices play out in our future or present circumstances. I see in the scripture how we're at a point in time where God's favor is conditional upon the people's obedience, especially the king. There's that truth, that there's things that we're going to experience that aren't our fault. But what I see in this is the situations when God allows us to be challenged or come against opposition to get our attention so that we might go to God. God's correction and discipline, He describes it himself here like a father would do for his son. And we see that playing out in Solomon's life just as God had promised. That image of the descendant of David shining like a lamp pointing to Jesus and also pointing to the role that the Israelites served during that time as a light to the rest of the world representing God. God gives peace. And as Jesus said, the peace he gives is not the peace, the world gives, he gives us peace of heart, of mind, of soul. When I feel the headaches of life coming at me, when things just aren't going the way I think they should, I can take comfort in the truth that God provides the peace and I can repent of the way I'm seeing it. I can change my perspective and look to God, I can enter his peace again. And so can you!

The opening, “O my people listen to my instructions. Open your ears to what I am saying for. I will speak to you in a parable. I will teach you hidden lessons from our past stories we have heard and known stories our ancestors handed down to us,” screams of Jesus inn Matthew 13:34&35. we're supposed to continually go to the word reminding ourselves so that we can teach it to our Children so that it will be ingrained in them. It will be their source for answers also because it is a relationship that God has with us and all people. This relationship with God is ongoing guidance and relationship. We can't put our children's faith into the Lord. The Lord is drawing them to himself and wants them to open their heart to him so that they can have an intimate relationship that God wants with all people. the story of the people of Israel isn't just a story so that we can be like, wow, they really messed up a lot. It's a story to see our own human nature and how we fail to put our trust in God. Because of our own failings and our choices, we're separated from God. Yet he always comes back, rescues us, and forgives us. God hears all, God sees all, and God is looking for me to look to him. John 16:33 where Jesus says to his disciples, “I have told you all this that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows but take heart because I have overcome the world.” there's this bit of hope left at the end of this Psalm and where we are positioned today day, seeing the fruit of that hope and the promise that came true in that Jesus has overcome the world.