by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“And the Lord smote the king, so that he was a leper unto the day of his death.” 2Kings 15:5 God considered Azariah, king of Judah, a good king – not as good as King David, but not wicked like the kings of Israel. God considered Ahaz, the grandson of Azariah, wicked, for “he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even burned his son as an offering, according to the abominable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.”1 Ahaz prospered as a wicked king for many years. The Bible does not say that Azariah “became ill” with leprosy; it was not the fickle finger of fate, but the hand of God that gave this good king leprosy. Although he reigned 52 years, we have no idea how many of them he spent as a leper. God “smote the king” for no apparent reason, at least no reason that He wishes to share with His people. His wicked grandson, Ahaz, reigned over Judah for a seemingly sixteen trouble-free years. Just as there is no necessary relationship between God blessing a person and His approving of that person, so also, there is no necessary relationship between God smiting a person and His disapproving of that person. When God brings circumstances into your life not to your liking (and you can be confident that He will), do not question His goodness. 1 2Kings...
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
God has blessed our family with a lovely home and garden. Through the years I have battled the pernicious omnipresence of weeds; it matters not how hard I try eradicating them, they always seem to return. In my never-ending battle, I use a systemic weed killer called “Round-Up.” Once applied, the weeds appear normal, even though they are in the process of dying; they may reproduce, but they are dead. I suggest that this is analogous to life. All people are like weeds in God’s beautiful garden of life. The live and they die, but they always reproduce after their kind. Weeds reproduce weeds and sinners reproduce sinners. What the sinner does not realize, however, is that God judges sin with a systemic poison that always kills the sinner. Solomon, king of Israel, illustrates this truth. By God’s grace, He takes the son of an adulterous relationship and makes him the object of His favor. Realizing his inadequacies, Solomon asks God for wisdom to rule properly His people. God grants his request, and not only makes him the wisest of men, but also rich and powerful. As you know, these are the three measures of worldly success: wisdom, wealth, and power. Applying God’s wisdom, Solomon writes three of the OT books. Applying God’s wisdom, he also thought he could compromise the clear teachings of God. God said, do not marry foreign wives; Solomon had many pagan wives. God said, do not accrue many wives; Solomon had 1000 wives and concubines. God said, do not accumulate horses; Solomon violated this clear command. These were “wise” decisions on Solomon’s part. After...
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“For we…worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” Philippians 3:3 The events surrounding the Exodus give more information regarding Egypt than any other place in Scripture: “Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we. Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.” Fear of their presence caused Egypt’s oppression of the Hebrews. For this reason, Pharaoh sought to kill the potential warriors, and made slaves of the rest of the people. When Moses returned from Midian with God’s command to free the Hebrews, Pharaoh resisted, fearing that he would lose his slaves. Evidently, his fear of their joining Egypt’s enemy was tempered by his desire to use them as slaves. People often fear that which they want. Commitment without knowing produces fear. Men enjoy skydiving and other extreme sports, while fearing getting hurt. Other examples include promiscuous sex, using alcohol and drugs, and gambling. Every businessman takes risks with his assets, while at the same time fearing loss. Since we define faith as risk-taking, we cannot avoid this phenomenon. However, we can minimize the risks by obeying God’s commandments, and by expressing dependence upon Him for guidance. The only safe posture with God is surrender coupled with perpetual brokenness and...
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, ‘There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.’” Luke 13:14 God heals people. If God were displeased with a healing taking place on the Sabbath, it would not have happened. Evidently the miraculous works of Jesus had become so commonplace that people lost their sense of awe. With the passing of time two things can easily happen if you are not careful: 1) – The truly miraculous begins to appear mundane. 2) – Gratitude moves to indifference. You can easily see this in conversion. When a person becomes a Christian, he is filled with awe and a deep affection toward God for so great a salvation. Gratitude flows from every pour of his being. The longer he walks with Christ, if he is not careful, the less miraculous his conversion appears as he accommodates himself to the cares of the world. He loses his hunger for the Word of God, and in the process gets lost in the velocity of life. Cultivate a spirit of perpetual gratitude to God, and never lose your sense of wonder at what God has done for you. This will not “just happen.” You must make a conscious effort to take time from your busy schedule to spend time with the...
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“…he touched the hollow of his thigh; and Jacob’s thigh was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.” Genesis 32:25 Genesis 32-33 records Jacob’s encounter with his brother Esau as Jacob returns to the Promised Land. Twenty years earlier, he fled from Esau, who, in a state of rage, wanted to kill Jacob for stealing the birthright. Note the strategy employed by Jacob as he anticipates meeting his brother: He sends a letter assuring Esau he has no need or intention of seeking part of Isaac’s inheritance (32: 4-6). Jacob divides his possessions in two and separates them (32: 8-9). He pleads his case before God, reminding Him of His promise to Abraham and Isaac (32:10-13). He then selects a generous gift for Esau and sends them ahead (32:14-22). Then Jacob separates his family from his possessions and divides them so as to best protect the wife of his choice (32:23-24; 33:1-2). He humbles himself before his brother when they meet (33:3-11). Finally, Jacob disassociates himself from Esau and his men lest Esau changes his mind and becomes angry once again with Jacob (33:12-17). In the midst of this ordeal, God comes to Jacob and makes him lame, after which He blesses him (32:25-33). It seems that God assisted Jacob as he laid out his strategy by ensuring that Jacob would approach his brother, a broken, crippled man (possibly one to be pitied). Proverbs 16:9 says, “A man’s mind plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.” Each of us, in a spirit of dependence upon God, must live by his wits. But the Lord takes...
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