Joash said to the priests, "Collect all the money that is brought as sacred offerings to the temple of the Lord--The money collected in the census, the money received from personal vows and the money brought voluntarily to the temple."
2 Kings 12:4 NIV
Instructions were given to the priests to collect the three types of offerings; money collected from the census, from the personal vows, and money brought voluntarily to the temple. All of these offerings were sacred.
Being sacred, Webster tells us is being dedicated or devoted to a deity. Certainly offerings brought to God's temple would be devoted to God.
We can consider our devotion to God in many ways, the time we dedicate to Him in various ways, the talents we use during our time dedicated to Him, and the treasure we donate to Him.
In thinking about our offering one might remember some words from a hymn:
Take my silver and my gold,
not a mite would I withhold.
What might one think after a glance at your checkbook about your devotion to God?
Pray for the Spirit to guide you in generous, joyful giving.
In Christ,
David P
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Double Portion of the Spirit
First, a brief comment. If you think that kings behaving badly are things of the past, read this Wall Street Journal article about the ruling family of Tunisia. Once you've absorbed the level of corruption that family placed on its county, you will understand why Tunisia was the first of the Arab countries to rebel this past spring. Yet more proof that things haven't really changed much.
On a much brighter note, there are days when I know exactly what I'm going to write, because I've been waiting for that specific day (or more precisely, that part of the Bible), and this is one of them. We have the famous story of Elijah being taken to heaven in a chariot of fire, but I admire most what Elisha requested when asked by Elijah, which of course, was "a double portion of your spirit" (2 Kings 2:9). What a wonderful thing to ask for.
And we can still ask for it today. I used to add that request in my prayers, but realized that I was probably overusing the concept. We should by all means ask for a double portion of the spirit when we feel ourselves challenged, perplexed or simply confused by what is before us. There's nothing in the Bible to suggest that only Elisha will receive it. 2 Kings is going to be a rough read, and it will end with the people of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) taken captive by Assyria and never to be heard from again, and Judah will go into Babylonian captivity. We're quite a ways from reading about those events, because we're about to see how chronological the Bible is going to become as we jump all over it upon entry into the period of the Minor Prophets. Whenever we need it, we will be blessed just as Elisha was, and I challenge you to pay attention when you request that double portion--if you're like me, you can almost physically FEEL it.
Scott
A Robust Chapter (June 20)
But Elisha said, "As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to ...
From 2 Kings 2 NIV
Take time today to read 2 Kings, chapter 2. The chapter is rich with faith, parting of the Jordan twice, wisdom, healing of bad water, and judgement.
This verse seems to clearly point to the sealing of the Christian by the Holy Spirit and with Elisha's promise of never leaving Elijah and to the great commission with Elijah's traveling to Bethel, Jericho, and to the Jordan.
Elisha, in parting the water and crossing over the Jordan, shows his faith in the Lord to get him out and back into the promised land. By taking Elijah's cloak, Elisha is performing an action to show his acceptance of the responsibility, the duty, and role of prophet from Elijah.
By healing the bad water, Elijah is showing a new beginning. A new beginning is something we receive by accepting what Jesus has done for us. Christ took away our bitterness, our roughness, our original sin and made us acceptable to God.
The mockers are judged at Bethel, a center for idol worship. God's covenants need to be taken seriously.
What kind of calls have you received?
How does your Christianity show in your response?
Pray for those in leadership to be humble, courageous, and wise in the choices they make.
In Christ,
David P
From 2 Kings 2 NIV
Take time today to read 2 Kings, chapter 2. The chapter is rich with faith, parting of the Jordan twice, wisdom, healing of bad water, and judgement.
This verse seems to clearly point to the sealing of the Christian by the Holy Spirit and with Elisha's promise of never leaving Elijah and to the great commission with Elijah's traveling to Bethel, Jericho, and to the Jordan.
Elisha, in parting the water and crossing over the Jordan, shows his faith in the Lord to get him out and back into the promised land. By taking Elijah's cloak, Elisha is performing an action to show his acceptance of the responsibility, the duty, and role of prophet from Elijah.
By healing the bad water, Elijah is showing a new beginning. A new beginning is something we receive by accepting what Jesus has done for us. Christ took away our bitterness, our roughness, our original sin and made us acceptable to God.
The mockers are judged at Bethel, a center for idol worship. God's covenants need to be taken seriously.
What kind of calls have you received?
How does your Christianity show in your response?
Pray for those in leadership to be humble, courageous, and wise in the choices they make.
In Christ,
David P
Sunday, June 19, 2011
What Would YOU Do?
First, for those readers who were at my presentation today on Trinity's history, thanks for the kind words, and I hope you enjoyed it. I'm going to get it up on the Trinity YouTube site, but I really don't like the way the video turned out, so I'm going to try something different.
The part of today's reading I enjoyed the most is how King Ahaziah kept sending men to Elijah, and God consumed those men with fire. When I read stories like this, I try to imagine what my reaction would have been. If I was the first captain, I would have been surprised since all I did was ask Elijah to come down. If I was the second captain, I would have been nervous, since I knew what had already happened. If I was the third captain, I would have been TERRIFIED. When God is batting 2 for 2 in the consuming companies category, I'm thinking I'd have little interest in being number 3.
To his credit, the third captain appeared to have something that kept his ears from touching each other, since he immediately appealed to Elijah's mercy. We've already read many instances where man has fought against God, and it hasn't turned out well for man in any instance to date (Jacob, Pharaoh, Baal's 450 priests), and we have more to come (Jonah, Paul), and that's a lesson we all know, but we all need to live. We fight God at our own risk, and at this point in history, we don't have any excuse--we KNOW better--we have his word, the gift of his Son and 2,000+ years of history. So, the next time someone thinks it's a GREAT idea to go against the will of the Lord, think back to this reading, and remember how it turned out for those who would fight God.
Scott
Friday, June 17, 2011
I Hate Him
In today's reading, we read about a war between Israel, Judah and Aram. David's post describes how this battle ends, but I was more intrigued by 1 Kings 22:8:
"There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the LORD,"
That's the beginning of the verse, but not the part I liked--that would be this part:
"...but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad."
That just cracked me up. Imagine if you're the king of Israel (and the Chronicles version states it was Ahab), and you have a court full of toadies who spend their every waking minute telling you what you want to hear, and yet one person continually tells you the opposite. If you're confident in your ways, you ignore that person, but if you have doubts and harbor deep-down thoughts that you're not going down the right road, you get irritated. Why change a perfectly good life of evil just because one prophet is a thorn in your side?
It's really no different today. We don't talk about the Law too much in church, content to tell ourselves that Jesus' death and resurrection freed us from the strictures of the law, but that doesn't change the fact that we still sin, or that the wages of sin is still death. We like hearing the Gospel and how we are saved, but don't consider the fact that it was our own sin that necessitated salvation in the first place. We celebrate Christmas joyously every year, but do we stop to think that the only reason Christ was born was to be the payment for our sin? No, that doesn't make for happy church services...
We still need Micaiahs in our church today to remind us that we are sinners with absolutely no recourse except through the redemption of Christ. The fact we might not like the message doesn't mean we don't need to hear it and live it. Our goal should be to thank the Michaiahs in our lives for pointing out our shortcomings. Mirrors are just as important in bad times as in good.
Scott
Sing Praises (June 18)
After consulting the people, Jehosaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: " Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever."
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.
He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.
Consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation.
From 2 Chronicles 20
Psalm 46, 47 48 NIV
The verses of today do point to many of God's attributes: love, peace, power, provider and others may come to mind without much effort.
Jehoshaphat, in his victory appoints men to sing praise for God's love does endure forever. His love is one of the many unchanging attributes of God.
God, in His power, does cause wars to end. God does break, shatter and burn weapons of destruction.
He does choose for us our inheritance, and has given us our path to salvation by His Son's death on the cross to redeem us and provide us entry into heaven.
In view of all He has done, we are tasked to tell of His great provision to the next generation, our children. The battle is not ours, but rather the Lord's.
How do you praise the Lord with your time, talent and treasure?
Where do you look for peace, inheritance?
Do you tell the story to your children?
Pray for the Spirit to guide you through this day.
In Christ,
David P
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.
He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.
Consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation.
From 2 Chronicles 20
Psalm 46, 47 48 NIV
The verses of today do point to many of God's attributes: love, peace, power, provider and others may come to mind without much effort.
Jehoshaphat, in his victory appoints men to sing praise for God's love does endure forever. His love is one of the many unchanging attributes of God.
God, in His power, does cause wars to end. God does break, shatter and burn weapons of destruction.
He does choose for us our inheritance, and has given us our path to salvation by His Son's death on the cross to redeem us and provide us entry into heaven.
In view of all He has done, we are tasked to tell of His great provision to the next generation, our children. The battle is not ours, but rather the Lord's.
How do you praise the Lord with your time, talent and treasure?
Where do you look for peace, inheritance?
Do you tell the story to your children?
Pray for the Spirit to guide you through this day.
In Christ,
David P
Drawn Bows (June 17)
But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor. The king told the chariot driver, "Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I've been wounded."
1 Kings 22:34 NIV
God is a God of order, peace, control, perfection, and light. In our fractured world, there is much darkness where randomness, chance, evil, and suffering occur. Our challenges are not against powers and principalities, but rather against the forces of evil.
To participate in the battles we face, we must as Paul explains in Ephesians 6, put on the armor of God. To put on the armor of God, we must remain in God, in Christ, and in Spirit. The word abide, with the meaning to dwell or stay, comes to mind.
In view of this fallen world there are many drawn bows, attractions, or idols that can potentially draw us away from the true path, draw us off the path to the right or to the left. To remain in Christ, we must rely on His grace, work, and gift of communion for forgiveness of our sin.
We are told in John 6:56 that whoever takes communion remains in Christ and Christ in him.
It is only by grace that we can remain in the battle. It is only by grace that we do not have to daily utter the words, "Wheel me around and get me out of the fighting, I've been wounded."
Give thanks for restoration and be vigilant for snares that can entangle. Put on the full armor of God and with the Spirit's guidance...abide in Christ.
How do you deal with random bow draws or arrows?
What kinds of actions might weaken, or place a hole in God's armor?
What actions might strengthen God's armor?
What are you doing with God's armor?
Pray for guidance and discernment in your daily walk.
In Christ,
David P
1 Kings 22:34 NIV
God is a God of order, peace, control, perfection, and light. In our fractured world, there is much darkness where randomness, chance, evil, and suffering occur. Our challenges are not against powers and principalities, but rather against the forces of evil.
To participate in the battles we face, we must as Paul explains in Ephesians 6, put on the armor of God. To put on the armor of God, we must remain in God, in Christ, and in Spirit. The word abide, with the meaning to dwell or stay, comes to mind.
In view of this fallen world there are many drawn bows, attractions, or idols that can potentially draw us away from the true path, draw us off the path to the right or to the left. To remain in Christ, we must rely on His grace, work, and gift of communion for forgiveness of our sin.
We are told in John 6:56 that whoever takes communion remains in Christ and Christ in him.
It is only by grace that we can remain in the battle. It is only by grace that we do not have to daily utter the words, "Wheel me around and get me out of the fighting, I've been wounded."
Give thanks for restoration and be vigilant for snares that can entangle. Put on the full armor of God and with the Spirit's guidance...abide in Christ.
How do you deal with random bow draws or arrows?
What kinds of actions might weaken, or place a hole in God's armor?
What actions might strengthen God's armor?
What are you doing with God's armor?
Pray for guidance and discernment in your daily walk.
In Christ,
David P
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