Tag: 2 Kings 15

Getting it Twisted

One of the more surprising things in the Gospel of John is when Jesus says that He must be lifted up by God in the same way that Moses lifted up the snake in the desert. If we go back to that snake in the desert, we see that God used the instrument of destruction to bring about healing. We call that “redemption”. But here we see that King Hezekiah (the most righteous king of Judah) had to DESTROY the bronze serpent because people began to worship it. Seems like we will worship just about ANYTHING, if it doesn’t get the in way of us doing exactly what we want to do. And so the people took a thing originally designed for good and twisted it for evil. To the point where it had to be destroyed for the salvation of those very people.

Just because something was designed for good or accomplished good, doesn’t mean it will always be good for all time. We still need to evaluate those things. I know as a pastor I have done events that were a huge success the first time, but didn’t yield the same results the following year. I think it’s important that we bring everything back to God. And if that event, or job, or thing, or dream that God gave you has become twisted… it might be time to destroy it and start fresh.

Strong, Humble Leadership

Let me paint a picture: the King of Judah (not a good man) has just been attacked and ransacked by Kings Rezin & Pekah (of Aram/Syria & Israel, respectively) with many valuables and captives taken — though the people would be returned shortly afterward. And Isaiah comes to Ahaz, the aforementioned King of Judah, and tells him that the coup by Syria & Israel will be unsuccessful in their attempt to overthrow Judah and replace Ahaz with their own king. Given the sizeable losses that Judah just took, I wonder how the follow words of Isaiah were received…

[F]or Syria is no stronger than its capital, Damascus, and Damascus is no stronger than its king, Rezin. As for Israel, within sixty-five years it will be crushed and completely destroyed. Israel is no stronger than its capital, Samaria, and Samaria is no stronger than its king, Pekah son of Remaliah.

Isaiah 7:8-9a

Why is this? Because they stand against the purposes of God. He has said that He will preserve the line of David (from which Jesus will eventually come), and so anyone who tries to stand against the purposes of God will fail.

This is why I didn’t title this devotional “Strong Leadership”, but rather “Strong, Humble Leadership”. Strong to lead people in directions they sometimes do not want to go, but humble enough to be submitted to God as you lead. This is the kind of leadership exemplified by Jesus. This is the kind of leadership we should aspire to ourselves.

Consistency is King

I’m not sure where it came from — and don’t care to look it up — but over the years I’ve heard some variation of the phrase, “60% of the time, it works every time!” Of course the whole joke is that whatever the product or service is, it only works 60% of the time. No one wants something that only works 60% of the time! Let’s pop that thought in our pocket for a second and look at this verse in Amos

You can’t wait for the Sabbath day to be over and the religious festivals to end so you can get back to cheating the helpless.

Amos 8:5a, NLT

If you found that verse convicting, congratulations! The Holy Spirit is at work in your life! And that’s where we come back to that item in our pockets. No one wants something that only works 60% of the time. That includes God. Why would he want someone who comes to church on Sunday, but as soon as they leave those hallowed halls, they lie, they cheat, they steal?

Is your life segmented? This part for Jesus, but another for “real” life? I recently compared our lives to a hotel. When we say that we are “sold out” for Jesus, it means that every room is occupied by him. You love baseball? Is Jesus taking up residence in your “baseball” room? You love movies? Is Jesus living in your “movie” room? If there’s any room that He is not welcome in, then your life is segmented. You are just waiting for the Sabbath and religious festivals to end so you can get back to the Godless part of your life.

But the story doesn’t need to end there! renovate the room! Clear out the crap! And please, PLEASE, don’t suffer alone! Talk to a a brother, a sister, a friend, spouse, or pastor! Let us help you! Let us help you move the renovation from a “one day” project to an “in process” project! Let us help EACH OTHER be more consistent. Because consistency is king!

The Lord’s Glory in Our Failures

When we think of Jonah, we often think about the man and the “great fish” (most likely a sperm whale, if you’re interested) and Nineveh and Jonah’s temper tantrum at the end. But I’ve never heard anyone spend time talking about the sailors who threw him overboard.

They knew he had angered his God and caused the troubled sea they were dealing with, but they didn’t want to throw him overboard because they felt that meant certain death. Despite their best attempts there was no option but to throw the disobedient prophet overboard, hoping that his God would show them mercy. When they did throw him into the sea the storm stopped immediately.

Then what happened?

The sailors sacrificed to Yahweh and vowed to serve and worship only Him for the rest of their lives.

Here’s the thing: God has a plan. And you can’t do ANYTHING to frustrate the plans of God. Why not? Because he knew what you were going to do before you existed, and he planned for your behaviour. And He worked it out so that He would get the glory even if we decide to be disobedient and heard-headed.

Since God’s purposes are going to be achieved either way, you might as well get on board!