2 Kings 3:7

“…And he said, “I will go up; I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”

Jehoshaphat made the same mistake we all make, he made a decision without first consulting the will of God. His decision seemed, on the surface, to be a wise one. The king of Moab was threatening Israel, and if not stopped, it would not be long before he was a threat to Judah. It seemed, joining forces with Israel to attack Moab, was the right thing to do. Soon it became apparent, the Lord was not behind their endeavor. After seven days of travel through the desert, the armies arrived, only to find the waters had dried up. In the heat of the desert, they found themselves seven days away from water. Without a miracle, the armies would perish before ever stepping onto the battlefield.

Psalm 77:7-9

“Will the Lord cast off forever?

And will He be favorable no more?

Has His mercy ceased forever?

Has His promise failed forevermore?

Has God forgotten to be gracious?

Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies?

Selah”

If these questions were posed to us on a theology test, we would all answer “No, no, six times no.” We know that He promises:

Hebrews 13:5 “…For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Lamentations 3:22-23 “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning.”

Mark 13:31 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”

Ephesians 2:7 “that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

His presence, mercy, promises, and…

2 Kings 2:14

“Where is the Lord God of Elijah?”

Looking back, we see that the ministry of Elijah was remarkable. He came out of obscurity, and was powerfully used as the voice of God for a nation. His ministry impacted kings, and stirred revival in a morally collapsing Israel. As he aged, the world knew it was losing one of the greatest men who ever walked its soil.

Elijah had taken the time to invest in a younger man named Elisha, who no doubt, would be filled with emotion as he watched his mentor pass through the heavens. What would happen to him? What would happen to Israel? Was there any hope for this falling nation? It is in this situation that Elisha speaks, and his words reveal to us the ways of God. “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” Elisha realized that the success behind the ministry…

2 Kings 2:14

“Where is the Lord God of Elijah?”

Looking back, we see that the ministry of Elijah was remarkable. He came out of obscurity, and was powerfully used as the voice of God for a nation. His ministry impacted kings, and stirred revival in a morally collapsing Israel. As he aged, the world knew it was losing one of the greatest men who ever walked its soil.

Elijah had taken the time to invest in a younger man named Elisha, who no doubt, would be filled with emotion as he watched his mentor pass through the heavens. What would happen to him? What would happen to Israel? Was there any hope for this falling nation? It is in this situation that Elisha speaks, and his words reveal to us the ways of God. “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” Elisha realized that the success behind the ministry…

Psalm 75:6-7

“For exaltation comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He puts down one, and exalts another.”

Things in the kingdom of God run very differently than they do in the kingdoms of men. This is particularly true of exaltation. The word exalted means “to raise in rank or power, to be elevated or lifted above.” What exaltation is, and how to achieve it, are different in God’s Kingdom.

Jesus declared, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave” Matthew 20:25-27

The greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven is the…

1 Kings 21:20

“I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord”

This is certainly not the only record of Ahab’s sin. He was a man who long ago had given up on any desire to live a life that honors the Lord. This passage does however illustrate, quite strongly, the question asked by Jesus, when He said, “What will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24)

We all know we will never gain the whole world, a few have tried, none have succeeded. Many, however, have traded eternity for some temporal pleasure or possession. Like Esau who gave his birth right for a bowl of soup, many give up eternity for something that lasts only a moment. For Ahab, it was a field. He wanted a garden he could enjoy from his palace window. There was…

Psalms73:2

“But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped.”

This psalm is the personal testimony of a man who almost fell away from the Lord. When he speaks of slipping, he is not talking about a little slip, but rather about throwing in the towel, and giving up on following the Lord.

His condition began when he bought into the lies of the devil. Jesus exposed who Satan really is, when He described him as the father of lies. His lies are always the same. He brings into question the goodness of God, and makes sin look like something it is not. He did it to Eve, when he convinced her that God forbid the fruit in order to keep something good from her; persuading her that the fruit was the secret to really enjoying life. He did the same with the Psalmist, when he convinced…

1 Kings 20:13-14

“Suddenly a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel, saying,’Thus says the Lord: “Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into your hand today, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”’”

So Ahab said, “By whom?” 

And he said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘By the young leaders of the provinces.’ ” 

Then he said, “Who will set the battle in order?” 

And he answered, “You.”

Israel was facing almost certain annihilation; the forces of Syria had mounted against them and poised to attack. The troops and resources of Syria far outweighed that of Israel, and in a word, things looked bleak. It was with this backdrop that we are introduced to an unnamed prophet, who brought an almost unbelievable message. The message was that God would deliver Israel from the threat and he would do it through the young and…

1 Kings 19:10

“So he said, ‘“I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”

Elijah was a man devoted to God. Publicly and privately, he showed commitment and faithfulness to the Lord. His most recent experiences had led him to a face-to-face conflict with the one who most opposed the ways of God. After experiencing great personal victory, Elijah was plagued with a deep depression. He felt as though he could no longer continue serving the Lord, for the opposition was simply too great. Instead of surrounding himself with others who loved and served the Lord, Elijah isolated himself, and his depression grew deeper and darker. The farther he ran, the worse things became, until…

Psalm 71:19

“Also Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You?”

We have four boys who are separated by only five years. When they were little, we, like so many others families, spent a lot of our time visiting amusement parks. As the older ones grew, they were attracted to the bigger rides, and their younger brother wanted to do whatever they did. The problem was, many of the rides had a standard. If you were not a certain height, you could not ride. At times, this created quite a controversy. We tried everything to make him just a little taller, we spiked his hair, we bought shoes called “Heelies”, that had a wheel in the back, and provided a couple extra inches to his height. However, time and time again, when we reached the entrance, he was excluded. He…