A Sweet Little Girl!

Reading:  II Kings 1 - 5
My Verse:  "She said to her mistress, "Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria!  He would cure him of his leprosy" (5:3).

This little Israelite girl was a slave.  She had been taken from her home, "now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel." She now worked in the home of Naaman, an important man.  "Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria.  He was a mighty man of valor" (5:1,2).  This little girl "worked in the service of Naaman's wife."  So, she was a slave, far from home.  Yet, we see how sweet her spirit was.

She chose to continue to believe that God was the God of the universe.  She chose to believe that the prophet Elisha was a prophet of the one and true God.  And so she was not angry and bitter.  She chose to be kind and caring for those around her.  This one little verse says so much.  Her master, Naaman, the great man was a leper. She was concerned and so shared what she knew.  She spoke of someone who could help Naaman be healed.

This, of course, lead to this most wonderful story of Naaman's going to Elisha.  Elisha appearing to be rude but telling Naaman what he had to do to be healed.  Naaman was offended that Elisha did not speak directly to him but through a messenger.  He was also too proud at first to "wash in the Jordan seven times."  It was not a grand gesture as Naaman expected.  He had to be very humble and wash himself seven times in the dirty waters of the Jordan.  It took his servants convincing him to do it.

When he did finally do as Elisha told him he was miraculously healed!  The wonderful thing is that it was not just his body that was healed but his spirit as well. Naaman went back to Elisha and said, "Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel" (5:15).  He also asked for prayer and and pardon because he knew that when he returned home he would still, as part of his duties, have to enter the temple of Rimmon, the Syrian god.  Elisha seemed to assure him that he would be pardoned this duty by saying, "Go in peace" (5:19).

This wonderful story was made possible by the sweet spirit of a little girl who chose to do the right thing.  Thank You, LORD God for this reminder of how we are to behave in difficult circumstances.  We do need to make a choice.  We cannot blame our circumstances for bad behavior.  You are at work in our lives, continuously.  I need to ever be aware of that.

"God will instruct me and teach me in the way I should go.  He will guide me with His eye" (Psalm 32:8).

"The LORD will guide me continually" (Isaiah 58:11).

Thank You for this sweet little Israelite girl!

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

God Wants To Forgive Us!

Reading:  I Kings 20 - 22
My Verse:  "Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me?  Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son's days I will bring the disaster upon his house" (I Kings 21:29).

Wow!  LORD God, this really speaks to me!  Ahab was one of the worst evil kings ever.  "For there was no one who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD as did Ahab, incited by his wife Jezebel" (21:25).  And yet, when Ahab admitted his sin and humbled himself You, LORD God relented and put off his punishment.  You responded to someone as evil as King Ahab.

This tells me that You want so much to forgive us, to save us, and to do good for us; that as soon as we  humble ourselves before you, You respond to us immediately!  You respond to our change of heart.  It pleases You to have us repent, to turn away from our sin.  It pleases You to relent and forgive us.

All You require is that we confess.  If we do that, no matter the sin You will forgive us our sin!
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9).

There is no sin that You would not forgive.  Too many think they have crossed the line and are beyond saving.  but that is a lie and a deception for You tell us in Your Word that You will forgive ALL sin.
Titus 2:14 speaks of how You, Jesus, gave yourself to that end.  "who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness."

We cannot hide our sin for You are omniscient.  You know all.  If we want peace we need to acknowledge that we are sinners.  "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy" (Proverbs 28:13).

Thank You, LORD God for Your wonderful love for us.  How You want us to willingly come to You, to seek You out, to allow You to do for us.  I love all the verses that tell of this great love You have for me!

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

"but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

Here is an especially wonderful verse that tells me how very much You love us, LORD God! It makes my heart feel like singing!
"The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one Who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing" (Zephaniah 3:17).

Yes, King Ahab was evil and his life was a terrible tragedy.  Yet, here You, LORD God show something wonderful even in the midst of  Ahab's ugly life.  You show that even one as evil as Ahab realized Who You were.  You showed that no matter how evil and ugly we have become You want us to ask You to forgive us, to clean us and free us from those awful chains that bind us to a life of slavery to our selfishness.  And You show that You will forgive us immediately!  You will wrap us up in Your loving and cleansing arms!  Thank You!

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

An Angel Touched Him

Reading:  I Kings 17 - 19
My Verse:  "As he lay asleep under the broom or juniper tree, behold, an angel touched him and said to him. Arise and eat" (19:5).

What a sweet beautiful picture!  Here is Elijah, so spent and dejected, that he asks for death. "Oh LORD. take away my life."   Yet, You LORD God do not get angry with him. You send an angel to minister unto him.  A ministering angel brought Elijah nourishment and encouragement. After Elijah eats and drinks he lies down again.  And the angel comes again. "The angel of the LORD came the second time and touched him and said, Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you" (19:7).

We are shown how Elijah, that towering figure of the Bible was capable of fear and depression just like the rest of us. LORD God, You show us that Elijah, a great servant of Yours,  was also a fallible man, especially when he forgot to look to You.

You miraculously provided Elijah safety and provision at the brook of Cherith. A raven brought him food and water twice daily.

You had him go to Zarephath where a poor widow and her son expected to die of starvation because all she had was a small handful of  meal and a little oil.  Yet when asked by Elijah to share this with him, she did and You LORD God miraculously fed them from that for many days.  "She did as Elijah said, And she and he and her household ate for many days.  The jar of meal was not spent nor did the bottle of oil fail, according to the word which the LORD spoke through Elijah" (17:15,16).

The widow's boy sickened and died.  Elijah cried unto You LORD God to "let this child's soul come back into him."  And You did this, the child lived.

Elijah stood up to Baal's and Asherah's prophets, 950 of them!  He challenged them in a sacrificial dual.  "you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the One Who answers by fire, let Him be God."  He mocked them when their god would not respond to them. Finally, he called on You LORD God to consume his sacrifice after dousing it with water.  You responded! "Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust, and also licked up the water that was in the trench" (18:38). Elijah then through the power You gave him slew all 950 of the prophets!

Yet after all this Elijah was filled with fear when Queen Jezebel threatened him!  "Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow. Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life" (19:2,3).   Previously, he only gone where You, LORD God directed him.  In this case he blindly fled some 120 miles south to get as far away from the Queen as possible.  And so we are brought to him sitting under the juniper tree, exhausted and afraid, asking for death.

It does not seem to matter the heights we go to in our relationship with You, LORD God.  We are ever capable of crashing and burning as Elijah did here.  He was a towering embodiment of what a follower of You could be and yet all it took was a threat to his life and he fled in deathly fear when he took his eyes off You!

Oh, LORD God, thank You for this story.  This story of Your deep abiding love for Your own!  When I fail and am in need You send a ministering angel to touch me, encourage me and bring me along.

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

Doing Right In the Eyes of the LORD!

Reading: I Kings 12 - 16
My Verse:  "And Asa did right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father" (15:11).

So, because Solomon turned from You, LORD God, You told him, "Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, Because you are doing this and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely rend the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant!" (11:11)  The consequence of Solomon's disobedience was a dividing of the kingdom of Israel into two nations - Judah and Israel.  Each would have its own king.  In these first four chapters of the divided kingdom there are 6 different kings between the two countries.  Sadly only one of those six kings did the right thing - "Asa did right in the eyes of the LORD."  King Asa alone stood for You, LORD God.

All the other kings did evil - their kingdoms were tumultuous and short.  Asa's lasted the longest - 41 years.  Bravely Asa "put away the sodomites"  and "removed all the idols that his fathers had made."  He even removed his own mother from her position as Queen Mother because she "made an abominable image for Asherah." What courage and steadfastness!

Oh, LORD God, how encouraging it is to read about a man like King Asa.  A man who would stand up bravely for You.  A man willing to do whatever it takes to do "right in the eyes of the LORD."  Even if it means being alone in the crowd.  I think of Noah and what that must have been like to be so alone in his fallen messed up world.  He had to withstand mockery and ridicule to obey You.  I think of Nicodemas and Joseph of Arimathea stepping forward to claim Your body LORD Jesus.  I think of Paul who was willing to leave all - his status and friends, for You when he realized that You, LORD Jesus were the truth he was seeking!  Thank you for the examples of these followers of You.

So many believe that Christianity is a crutch and only for the weak.  That is so much a lie, perpetuated by the father of all lies!  Taking a stand for You, Lord God, requires the utmost courage.  And we are not able to do "right in the eyes of the LORD" without Your help.

As a Christian one can very easily get discouraged by the events of the world, of family and friends.  I have thought this was wrong or a defect and yet You, LORD God speak to this need so very often in Your Word.  This tells me that feeling down is not necessarily wrong.  "Why are you cast down, O my inner self?  and why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me?  Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the help of my [sad] countenance, and my God" (Psalm 43:5).  Yes, it is how I deal with difficulty and sadness that is key.  Like every decision I make I must allow You to keep me, to lift me up and carry me.  I must not, like all the those many kings, let myself go with the world and do evil in Your eyes.

Help me LORD God to "Wait and hope for and expect the LORD; be brave and of good courage and let (my) heart be stout and enduring.  Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the LORD" (Psalm 27:14).

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

Solomon's Slide From God's Fellowship!

Reading:  I Kings 5 - 11
My Verse:  "For Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as David his father did" (11:6).

Solomon was one of the greatest men earth has ever seen.  "So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.  And all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had put in his  mind" (10:23,24).  How does so great a man turn from You, LORD God?  He did not have to deal with adversity.  He was blessed many times over.  And yet, he strayed.

The Queen of Sheba traveled a great distance to meet and talk with him.  After meeting him she was, "breathless and overcome."  She said, "I did not believe it until I came and my eyes had seen.  Behold, the half was not told me.  You have added wisdom and goodness exceeding the fame I heard."  She said, "Blessed be the LORD your God, Who delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel!"(10:5 - 9). She was indeed a perceptive woman.  She realized that all that Solomon was came from God.  Luke 11:31 states that she said, "here is more than Solomon." Yes, she knew that You, LORD God made Solomon what he was.  It is just so sad that Solomon forgot that.

Yes, Solomon had it all and yet slowly, gradually he slid away from You, LORD God.  He placed his focus on collecting and acquiring much - silver and gold, garments, equipment, spices, chariots, horsemen.  All this you had forbidden in Deuteronomy 17:16-17. He acquired 700 wives and 300 concubines.  "But King Solomon [defiantly] loved many foreign women" (11:1)  He did this defiantly because this too You, LORD God warned against.  You have always meant that marriage be between one man and one woman. And so these many women "turned away his heart after other gods" (11:4).  Solomon stopped looking up.  He looked only to what would pleasure him at the moment!

Ecclesiastes, that great book of wisdom echoes the sadness of Solomon's slide from Your fellowship.   Ecclesiastes chapter 2 records how he tries to quench his thirst for worldly experiences, desperately trying to make himself happy.  In the end he concludes:  "This is also vanity" (2:23).

Oh, LORD God, You offer us so much and yet we on our part must make specific, definite steps - actions to walk in the path You plan for us.  You provide each of us the wisdom and skills needed to seek out Your fellowship, we need to purpose in our hearts to seek You out each and every day.  We can never allow ourselves to become slack in this.  Solomon's life illustrates why. 

Solomon's conclusion:  "The end of the matter, all has been heard.  "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgement with every secret thing, whether good or evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:13,14).

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!