God Over All.

1 Kings 20

Then a certain prophet came to see King Ahab of Israel and told him, "This is what the Lord says: Do you see all these enemy forces? Today I will hand them all over to you. Then you will know that I am the Lord." ­– 1 Kings 20:13 NLT

"Then you will know that I am the Lord." That is a familiar phrase in the Old Testament. You find it used repeatedly by God going all the way back to the time of the Exodus. God wants all men to know that He alone is God. So He reveals Himself in nature. He even places an awareness of His existence in the hearts of men. Paul reminds us over in his letter to the Romans: "But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who push the truth away from themselves. For the truth about God is known to them instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts. From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities -- his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God" (Romans 1:18-20 NLT). Yet, even though they are without excuse, God continues to reveal Himself to men. He reveals His power and His presence. In the case of Ahab, the wicked king of Israel, God intervened in a time of great need and attempted to reveal Himself by providing victory over the Arameans. Despite the wickedness of Ahab and his wife Jezebel, and their history of leading the people of Israel to rebel against God and worship Baal, God would mercifully intervene and provide them with a miraculous victory over superior forces. TWICE.

After the first victory, the Arameans determined that the Israelites had won simply because their "gods" were gods of the hills. They had made the mistake of fighting on the home turf of Israel's gods. So if they took the battle to the plains, all would go well. So they came back in even greater numbers. In fact, the passage tells us "the Israelite army looked like two little flocks of goats in comparison to the vast Aramean forces that filled the countryside (1 Kings 20:27 NLT). But that's just the kind of situation in which God likes to reveal Himself. Israel was out-manned. They were the underdogs. But God told them, "The Arameans have said, 'The Lord is a god of the hills and not of the plains.' So I will defeat this vast army for you. Then you will know that I am the Lord" (1 Kings 20:28 NLT). God was going to provide a second unlikely and unexpected victory against superior forces. So that through experience, the people of Israel would know that God is the one and only God. The Hebrew word for "know" is yada. It carries the idea to know by experience. It goes beyond academic understanding of the facts and includes an awareness that comes from actual experience. God is not content that we know about Him. He wants us to know Him through actual experience in our lives. He wants to reveal Himself in power in our lives. God is constantly intervening and acting on our behalf. He gives us victories, great and small. He constantly guides and protects us. He provides for us. He proves Himself to us. But too often we fail to see Him. We neglect to experience and know Him.

But the greatest revelation of God came in the form of His Son. John reminds us, "God's unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. But his only Son, who is himself God, is near to the Father's heart; he has told us about him." (John 1:17-18 NLT). Jesus Himself reveals to us the power, love and mercy of God. He was God in human flesh. He made the invisible – visible and knowable. He revealed God's love and mercy. He demonstrated God's power and plan for rescuing mankind from the affects of sin. God has revealed Himself in His Word. We see Him on every page. He gives us glimpses into His character. He shows us His unflinching holiness and unfailing love. He demonstrates His power in and over the lives of men. He gives victories and brings defeat. He lifts up and tears down. He delivers and destroys. He rescues, restores, redeems and reconciles. All so that men might know Him. Know Him as God over all. He is the God of the hills and the plains. He is the God of the Israelites and the Arameans. He is the God of the faithful and the faithless. He is God whether anyone wants to acknowledge Him as God. Ahab and Jezebel had spent their lives promoting a god other than God. They had seen their god's prophets destroyed by Elijah, the prophet of God. They had seen their god fail in a showdown with the one true God. Now they had seen God give them victory over their enemies. But they still did not know Him as God. They still refused to acknowledge Him as God. To acknowledge means "to admit to be real or true; recognize the existence, truth, or fact of." Even though they had seen God work, they refused to admit that God was truly God. They refused to recognize Him as God of their lives. They stubbornly refused to admit that He was God over all.

Father, You are God over all. Yet I sometimes fail to acknowledge that in my own life. I try to keep control over certain areas of my life. I want to be god. I want to make my own decisions. I want to run my life. And I also fail to recognize and appreciate your involvement in and around my life. You are so active, revealing Your power and presence on a daily and regular basis. But I sometimes fail to see You. And when I do see You, I can so easily take it for granted or try to take credit for it myself. Father, I want to know You experientially and acknowledge You regularly. You are God of the hills and the plains. You are God over all. Amen





A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

1 Kings 18-19

What are you doing here, Elijah? ­– 1 Kings 19:9 NLT

Have you ever had one of those moments in life where you feel all alone, under attack, or is nothing is going the way you expected? Oftentimes those kinds of days seem to follow close in the heels of times of victory. You can have experienced a season of spiritual success where God's presence and power was so readily apparent in your life, but then something negative happens and the next thing you know you're going through a period of inexplicable sadness, even depression. You find yourself having a pity party. That's exactly what we find happening to Elijah, the prophet of God.

These two chapters remind me of a story we used to read when our kids were young. It was the book, Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day. It is the story of a young boy who finds nothing in his life going right. Everything is always going wrong. "I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there's gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day." That is the kind of day Elijah was having. And it all came about right after he experienced an incredible victory over Ahab with the help of the Lord. Elijah had returned to Israel and challenged Ahab and his prophets of Baal to a showdown. It was going to be a dual to the finish between their god Baal, and his God, Yahweh. And it had ended in the defeat of Baal and the execution of the so-called prophets of Baal. God had miraculously answered Elijah's prayer and provided victory. Elijah then prayed for rain to end the drought, and God answered. But when Elijah receives news that Jezebel, the wife of Ahab has threatened to kill him, he panics and runs. He takes off. He becomes afraid and literally runs for his life. He even asks God to kill him. But instead, God miraculously provides for him again, commanding His angels to feed him. Elijah then travels forty days into the wilderness and winds up hiding in a cave. During his time there, God visits him two different times and asks Elijah the simple question, "What are you doing here Elijah?" Elijah responds with a sad tale of all that he has done for God and how he now stands all alone as God's representative in the land. He has a pity party. He wallows in self pity. He forgets all that he has just seen God do – through him!

In spite of Elijah's fear, God visits him at Horeb and reveals Himself to him. God gives him instructions. He lets Elijah know that his job is not done yet. He is not alone. Elijah was disillusioned and disappointed that things had not worked out the way he had expected. Even though he had won the victory against the prophets of Baal and had personally killed 450 of them, Jezebel was still alive and shrines to Baal still existed all over the land. He felt like a failure and seemed to be disappointed that God had not finished the job. But God was not through. He had more that He was going to do – and He had others who were going to play a role in His divine plan for Israel. Elijah's next job was to anoint those whom God was going to use in the next phase of His clean-up project for Israel. The pity party was over. It was time for Elijah to get his focus off of him and back on God. God was far from done. Elijah was a bit player in God's grand redemptive story. He was one character in one act in a much larger play. He had had a bad day. But God was not through. This story was not about Elijah. It was about God and it always has been.

Father, forgive me for allowing my terrible horrible no good very bad days to distract me from what You are doing in and around me. I can so easily fall into having a pity party and think about me and me only. This is all about You and Your plan. I am not the star of this show – You are. This is not about my plan, but Yours. Give me a bigger perspective. Help me to recall and remember what You have done and are doing in, through, and around me. You are at work. You are not done. Amen





"Yahweh Is God!"

1 Kings 17

But Ahab did what was evil in the LORD's sight, even more than any of the kings before him. And as though it were not enough to live like Jeroboam, he married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and he began to worship Baal. ­– 1 Kings 16:30-31 NLT

Things were bad in Israel and getting worse. A sad succession of kings had led the people of Israel deeper and deeper into apostasy, turning their backs on God and turning to other gods for their hope and help. And just when you think they've reached rock bottom, along comes yet another king who leads them even further down the road of spiritual rebellion. Ahab would prove to be one of the worst kings yet. He and his wife Jezebel made up a tag team that wreaked havoc on the spiritual condition of Israel. They officially replaced the worship of Yahweh with the worship of Baal – the Canaanite fertility god. This was especially distasteful to God because the Canaanites and their god were to have been wiped out when the people took over the Promised Land. Now Ahab was making Baal worship the government-sanctioned religion of his kingdom. This would go on for 14 years before God raised up a spokesman to stand up against King Ahab. Out of nowhere come Elijah the Tishbite. He boldly confronts the king and issues a decree against him that there will be no rain in the kingdom of Israel until he says so. Obviously, Elijah is speaking on behalf of God. God had warned the people repeatedly that if they turn against Him and worship other gods, He would bring drought on the land. "And if, in spite of this, you still disobey me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over. I will break down your arrogant spirit by making the skies above as unyielding as iron and the earth beneath as hard as bronze" (Leviticus 26:18-19 NLT). Now Elijah was reminding Ahab of the consequences of his sin.

What is fascinating in this story is that God chooses to speak through a man whose name just so happens to mean, "Yahweh is God." As soon as Ahab heard the name of this man who had stormed into his palace issuing threats, he would have gotten the irony in it all. Here he was setting up Baal as god and in the door walks a man whose very name reminds him that Yahweh is God. Not only that, the punishment Elijah threatens Ahab with is drought – due to no rain. It just so happens that Baal is the god in charge of RAIN. He was the storm god, the god responsible for fertility and crops.  Now Ahab was going to see just how great his god really was. And Elijah, this obscure and unlikely spokesman for Yahweh was going to find out just how powerful his God was.

After giving Ahab the bad news, Elijah was sent into hiding by God. During this time, God would begin to reveal Himself to Elijah, preparing him for an even greater confrontation with Ahab to come. By the side of the brook Cherith, God shows Elijah his provisional power. He miraculously feeds Elijah using a common raven as his servant. When the brook dries up, God sends Elijah to the home of a Gentile widow who just happens to be a worshiper of Yahweh. This woman, a widow, is already poor but is now suffering even more due to the drought. Yet God show Elijah His inexhaustible power by miraculously multiplying the widow's resources so that she could live through the drought. When the widow's son suddenly dies, Elijah gets to see God's restorative power and the significance of prayer in the life God's children. In death, this boy represents the spiritual condition of Israel. They needed reviving at the hand of God. Only He could restore them to life and rescue them from their spiritual death. Elijah was learning to trust the one who had called him and sent him as His spokesman to Ahab. He would need to trust in the power of God in the days to come. He was going to be facing some difficult situations in the days to come and God was preparing him for battle.

Father, You want to prove Your power in my life each and every day. You want me to know that You can provide, that Your provision is inexhaustible, and that You are in the restoration business. Nothing is too difficult for You. The more I recognize Your power in my life, the more I will learn to trust and lean on You instead of myself. You are greater than all the little god-replacements we set up in our lives. Never let me forget that. Amen





Jumpin' Jehoshaphat!

2 Chronicles 17

They took copies of the Book of the Law of the LORD and traveled around through all the towns of Judah, teaching the people. ­– 2 Chronicles 17:9 NLT

Don't ask me where the phrase, "Jumpin' Jehoshaphat" comes from or what it means. No one really seems to know. But I couldn't help but think about it as I read today's chapter. Nowhere in the story of the life of Jehoshaphat do we see him jump, but we do see him take a leap of faith and decide to follow after God, something most of the kings of Judah and Israel seemed to have a hard time doing. When he became king of Judah, Jehoshaphat did what just about any king would do: he fortified the cities, strengthened his defenses, and prepared an army to protect his nation. But more importantly, he sought the God of David and served Him rather than the false gods of the nations around him. This guy instituted some pretty serious spiritual renewal efforts on behalf of the people of Judah. One of the most intriguing ones was his commissioning ofofficials from his administration to travel around the countryside with a copy of the law and a couple of Levites, teaching the people God's commands as revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai. Here was a king who took the law of God seriously and wanted his people to know it. Obviously, they must have needed a remedial lesson in the law or Jehoshaphat wouldn't have bothered sending out his own officials to make it happen. In teaching them the law, he was enabling the people to know the will of God. If they knew the will of God, they would be less likely to disobey it out of ignorance. So Jehoshaphat not only fortified his kingdom physically, he strengthened it spiritually.

God blessed his efforts. Not only did Jehoshaphat's kingdom grow strong, he grew rich. Even the pagan kings brought gifts to the king of Judah because the people of Judah were faithful to God. What an incredible reminder to us all of the need to make spiritual formation a foundational part of our lives. We will never know the will of God without the written Word of God. We will never know how to live in obedience to God if we never hear from Him. Jehoshaphat knew that a kingdom with military might was useless without the power of God made available through faithful obedience to His Word. We could learn a lot from the life of Jehoshaphat.

Father, without Your Word I am directionless and powerless. Never let me attempt to build my life on anything other than Your Word and Your will revealed in it. Amen





Can It Get Any Worse?

1 Kings 15-16

He followed the example of Jeroboam, continuing the sins of idolatry that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit. Thus, he aroused the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel."­– 1 Kings 16:26 NLT

Rebellion always looks so appealing in the beginning. It tempts us with images of freedom, self-sufficiency, and a life void of all those confining rules. Most people refuse God's offer of salvation because of all that they think they are going to have to give up if they accept it. They don't want to give up their "freedom" and autonomy, so they reject God's offer of grace for a life of independence and self-reliance. But rebellion against God has its price. And nowhere do you see this more clearly than in the history of the people of Israel. Their unfaithfulness to God and refusal to submit to Him as the only true God has led to a civil war and two divided kingdoms. In the north, Israel has continued its downward spiral of idolatry. Each successive king continues in the ways of Jeroboam, leading the people deeper and deeper into their rejection of God. But rather than learn from the mistakes of their predecessor, each king gets progressively worse. Chapter 16 of 1 Kings is full of murder, intrigue, plots, assassinations, suicide, military takeovers, and civil and political unrest. Their rebellion against God has led to anything but freedom. Basha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, and Ahab. Not exactly household names, but their actions would make a lasting impact on the people of Israel. Their reigns were short, but their legacies were long-lasting.

Over and over again we read that they "aroused the anger of the Lord." Why? Because they had rejected God and were making their own gods to worship. They had forsaken all that God had done for them and turned their backs on Him. A big part of their problem was ingratitude. They were ungrateful for God's deliverance, protection, and provision of the very land in which they lived. Their very existence as a nation was completely the result of God's call of Abraham hundreds and hundreds of years earlier. God had chosen to make them His people. He had redeemed them out of slavery in Egypt, guided them across the wilderness and delivered them into the Promised Land. And now they had turned their backs on Him – after all He had done for them. Their self-sufficiency and pride was intolerable. Their ingratitude was unacceptable. God would not allow His people to mock His name. Their rejection of Him would have consequences. Their desire for freedom would prove costly. But lest we look down our noses at the Israelites and judge them harshly for their actions, we need to remember that their story is our story. In many ways, our lives mirror theirs. We too can turn our backs on the very God who chose us, redeemed us, and delivered us into a new life of promise. We can make other gods to replace Him. We can turn our desire for freedom and autonomy into rebellion. It reminds me of the words of Peter:

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God's holy nation, his very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. "Once you were not a people; now you are the people of God. Once you received none of God's mercy; now you have received his mercy." Dear brothers and sisters, you are foreigners and aliens here. So I warn you to keep away from evil desires because they fight against your very souls. Be careful how you live among your unbelieving neighbors. Even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will believe and give honor to God when he comes to judge the world. – 1 Peter 2:9-12 NLT

We were once not a people, but now we are the people of God. And we are to live like it. We belong to Him. Our lives are to honor and respect Him. We are to live in obedience to Him, so that all those around us can see the difference in our lives and honor the One who makes it all possible. Israel was to be a light to the nations. So are we. Their light had dimmed because of rebellion. What about us?

Father, I am more like the Israelites than I want to admit at times. I can rebel with the worst of them. I can desire my freedom so strongly that I end up turning my back on You. And sometimes I don't even know I've done it. I erect replacements for You in my life and fail to recognize them for what they are – idols. Lord, never let me forget that I am what I am because of You. I was once dead in my sins, then You gave me new life through Your Son. I was a sinner, condemned and unclean, but You restored me, forgave me and cleansed me. Why would I ever turn my back on You? Amen





The Power of Weakness.

2 Chronicles 13-16

So Judah defeated Israel because they trusted in the LORD, the God of their ancestors. ­– 2 Chronicles 13:18 NLT

These are bleak times in the history of the nation of Israel. The nation has split in two. The tribe of Judah represents the southern kingdom, while the remaining tribes have broken off and formed their own nation with their own gods and places of worship. It is the beginning of a cycle of rebellion and unfaithfulness in both kingdoms. But occasionally we are given glimpses of light in the midst of the darkness. Chapter 13 of 2 Chronicles is just such a time. War has broken out between Judah and Israel. Judah has an army of 400,000 warriors, but is still outnumbered two to one by the northern kingdom. The odds are against them. They are facing an army of superior strength. Yet Abijah, king of Judah confronts King Jeroboam of Israel and warns him to think twice about sending his army against the army of Yahweh."Do you really think you can stand against the kingdom of the LORD that is led by the descendants of David? Your army is vast indeed, but with you are those gold calves that Jeroboam made as your gods!" (2 Chronicles 13:9 NLT). Abijah expresses his confidence in God even in the face of what appears to be insurmountable odds. "We are following the instructions of the LORD our God, but you have abandoned him. So you see, God is with us. He is our leader. His priests blow their trumpets and lead us into battle against you. O people of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed!" (2 Chronicles 13:11-12 NLT).

While the people of Judah had been far from perfect in their faithfulness to God, they had not yet rejected Him fully or replaced Him with gods of their own making. They still worshiped at the temple erected by Solomon. They still called on Yahweh for help in time of need. Jeroboam and the people of Israel had replaced God with golden calves. As always, this was going to boil down to a difference in theology, not numerical advantage or military might. As is so often the case in the Bible, the story would not turn out the way most people would have expected. Like the people of Israel facing the Egyptians at the Red Sea or David facing Goliath on the field of battle, the victory would not go to the strongest or mightiest. Judah was going to rely on what God had done, but Israel would end up trusting in what she could do. Judah would trust in the power of God. Israel would trust in their own strength. In making their own gods and establishing their own places of worship, Israel had rejected God and His power and provision. Rather than trust in the grace of God, they decided to lean on their own understanding and rely on their own strength. But their superior numbers would prove no match for God.

This story reminds me of the words of Paul in his letter to the Corinthian believers: "Since I know it is all for Christ's good, I am quite content with my weaknesses and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10 NLT). When I am weak, then I am strong. What a clear summation of the Christian faith. Strength in weakness. With God, all things are possible. But to avail ourselves of His power, we must first reject any idea that we have what it takes to do what He has called us to do. Judah knew they were outnumbered. But they also knew they had God. This battle would not be won on the basis of their own strength, but on God's. "When Judah realized that they were being attacked from the front and the rear, they cried out to the LORD for help. Then the priests blew the trumpets, and the men of Judah began to shout. At the sound of their battle cry, God defeated Jeroboam and the Israelite army and routed them before Abijah and the army of Judah. The Israelite army fled from Judah, and God handed them over to Judah in defeat" (2 Chronicles 13:14-16 NLT). In a time of need, they cried out to God, and He answered. He fought on their behalf. He heard their cry and He answered their call. God is in the delivering business. He is the Lord of Hosts, the commander of armies. He wants to show Himself strong on behalf of His people. But we must first admit our weakness and cry out for His deliverance. We must rely on His infinite mercy and grace. Judah defeated Israel because they trusted in the Lord. What are the insurmountable odds you face in your life today? What battles do you find yourself in? Are you willing to admit your weakness and cry out to God for His deliverance? There is power in weakness.

Father, You are still in the delivering business. But I first need to admit my need for Your help and confess my own weakness. You want to show Your strength to me, not the other way around. Thank You for continually revealing my own weakness through the circumstances of life. May I increasingly turn to You for strength and victory in the battles I face. Amen





A Rare Breed.

1 Kings 15

Asa did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight, as his ancestor David had done. ­– 1 Kings 15:11 NLT

One of the saddest, yet most repeated phrases found in the Scriptures is "But he did what was evil in the LORD's sight and followed the example of his father" (1 Kings 15:26 NLT). You see it over and over again in the history of the kings of Israel and Judah. It seems that virtually every king these two nations ever had were unfaithful and worse than the one before them. And only occasionally was the long line of losers broken by someone like King Asa of Israel. And the writer of 1 Kings makes it clear that this was God's doing. "But for David's sake, the LORD his God allowed his dynasty to continue, and he gave Abijam a son to rule after him in Jerusalem. For David had done what was pleasing in the LORD's sight and had obeyed the LORD's commands throughout his life" (1 Kings 15:4-5 NLT). It was because of the faithfulness of David that God would allow an occasional king to rise up who would call the people back to a right relationship with Yahweh. Asa was that kind of a king. He breaks the pattern of apostasy and begins to do what was right in the eyes of God. Asa institutes a series of reforms, including the removal of the male cult prostitutes who "assisted" the men of Judah in their worship of false gods. He also removed the idols set up by his predecessors and took the bold step of removing his own grandmother as queen because she had assisted in the moral decline of Judah by erecting what was probably a highly obscene image or statue for the worship of Asherah.

Asa was swimming against the tide. He was battling a pattern of unfaithfulness and moral apathy that made his reforms especially hard to enact. The people would not have easily or eagerly embraced his reforms. Removing their idols and the myriad replacements for God they had grown used to turning to would have been met with skepticism and resistance. He probably was not popular in a lot of places within Judah. I doubt he had the best of relationships with his grandmother Maacah either. And while his reforms did not result in the complete iradication of idolatry from Judah, "Asa remained faithful to the LORD throughout his life" (1 Kings 15:14 NLT). He provided a 40-year respite from the pattern of moral and spiritual decay that plagued both Israel and Judah. During Asa's reign in Judah, Nadab would come to power in Israel and he "did what was evil in the LORD's sight and followed the example of his father, continuing the sins of idolatry that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit" (1 Kings 15:26 NLT). Nadab would be assassinated by Basha, who would take over the throne of Israel. "But he did what was evil in the LORD's sight and followed the example of Jeroboam, continuing the sins of idolatry that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit" (1 Kings 15:34 NLT). The pattern continues. Good and evil, faithful and unfaithful, righteous and unrighteous. But because God is in control and He has a plan for the people of Israel, He occasionally raises up a man after his own heart – a man who is willing to stand up for God and against the tide of moral and spiritual decay taking place all around him. God is still raising up individuals like that today – even with the church. Men and women who are willing to swim upstream and do the difficult job of calling the people of God back to faithfulness to God. The reality is, we can be just as prone to the erection of God-replacements in our lives as the people of Judah and Israel were. We can end up "worshiping" all kinds of things, turning to them instead of God for our comfort, encouragement, happiness, provision, protection, etc. Instead of trusting God, we can end up trusting a long list of other things that we expect to deliver what only God can. Like Asa, we need to do the hard task of removing the idols from our own lives and encouraging those around us to do the same thing. It won't be popular or pleasant. But the life of faithfulness seldom is. We are called to be salt and light – agents of influence and change in a dark and dying world. Will it be said of us, they did what was pleasing in the sight of God? I hope so.

Father, You are still raising up a faithful few who will stand in the gap and do what is right in Your eyes instead of their own. You are calling out a remnant of faithful followers who will do the right thing, even though it is the hard thing. May I be one of them. May I live my life in such a way that I challenge the status quo and model a life of faithfulness in the midst of the rampant unfaithfulness around me. May I be an Asa in my generation. Amen





You've Got To Serve Somebody

2 Chronicles 12

But they will become his subjects, so that they can learn how much better it is to serve me than to serve earthly rulers. ­– 2 Chronicles 12:8 NLT

The first verse of this chapter could be the description of the lives of many of us as God's children. "But when Rehoboam was firmly established and strong, he abandoned the law of the LORD, and all Israel followed him in this sin." Just when things began to stabilize in his kingdom after the nasty split with the northern tribes, Rehoboam finds himself getting fat and happy. Things had settles down. His kingdom began to stabilize and his confidence began to grow. He had lost a big part of his kingdom, but he still had the tribe of Judah and the city of Jerusalem with the temple of the Lord. So just as things were looking up, Rehoboam stopped looking up – at the Lord. He took His eyes off the very one who gave his life stability. It says he abandoned the law of the Lord. In other words, he decided to abandon God and His ways. The Hebrew word used for "abandoned" is azab and it means "to leave, abandon, forsake." It is the picture of a servant walking out on his master, abandoning his responsibilities, and deserting his post. Rehoboam had decided he did not want to serve God anymore. He wanted to serve himself. Isn't that what sin is all about? Self-serving. It is making everything about us. We become the focus of our world. We make ourselves the gods of our own lives. Our wills become more important than God's. But Rehoboam was going to find out the hard way that every man ends up serving somebody or something – and it is NEVER ourselves. For Rehoboam it would be King Shishak of Egypt. When he came against Jerusalem with his 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen, capturing with ease all the cities that Rehoboam had spent money and time fortifying, it got the peoples' attention. And they humbled themselves before the Lord. But God knew they had a lot to learn, so He was going to allow them to become slaves to King Shishak, all so that they could "learn the difference between serving me and serving human kings" (2 Chronicles 12:8 NLT).

Ultimately, God wants His people to serve Him. We exist for Him, not Him for us. We have been created by Him and for Him. Yet we so often buy into the lie that God exists for our benefit and to bring us glory. And when He doesn't serve us in the way we would like, we turn our backs on Him and decide to serve ourselves. We resort to "self-help" or better yet "self-service." We become the focus of our world. We become the star of our play. We become central and God becomes secondary. But Rehoboam was going to learn that when all is said and done, we all have to serve somebody. We are going to serve God or we are going to serve somebody or something else. We never really do get to serve ourselves. It reminds me of a song written by Bob Dylan during the period of his life when he supposedly "got saved." The lyrics are simple, yet profound.

Gotta Serve Somebody

You may be an ambassador to England or France You may like to gamble, you might like to dance You may be the heavyweight champion of the world You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls

You might be a rock ’n’ roll addict prancing on the stage You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage You may be a businessman or some high-degree thief They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief

You may be a state trooper, you might be a young Turk You may be the head of some big TV network You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame You may be living in another country under another name

You may be a construction worker working on a home You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome You might own guns and you might even own tanks You might be somebody’s landlord, you might even own banks

You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side You may be workin’ in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair You may be somebody’s mistress, may be somebody’s heir

Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed You’re gonna have to serve somebody Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

You're gonna have to serve somebody. The reality of life in this world is that even the things you think are there to serve you end up becoming your master. Your money ends up controlling you. Your possessions end up possessing you. We become slaves of the very things we thought would serve us. We end up not being able to live without them. It's all like taking a drug for pleasure only to have it become an addiction, controlling your life and destroying your future. We all have to serve somebody. Who are you going to serve? That was the question Joshua asked the people of Israel right before he died. And it's still the question that each of us needs to consider each day of our lives. "But if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:15 NLT).

Father, I have believed the lie so many times that I can be the center of my world. I convince myself so often that everything and everyone is here to serve me. But You have called me to serve You. You have called me to be a servant of others. Never let me lose sight of my role as Your servant. I exist for you and not vice versa. I don't want to spend my life serving anything or anyone else but You. Amen





Just How Sovereign Is God?

2 Chronicles 10-11

Go home, for what has happened is my doing. ­– 2 Chronicles 11:4 NLT

Chapters 10 and 11 of 2 Chronicles contains virtually the same information contained in 1 Kings 12 and 13, with a few exceptions. They literally chronicle the sad demise of Solomon's grand kingdom as it splits into two separate entities. No longer unified under the banner of Yahweh, the northern and southern kingdoms go their separate ways, yet both unified in their pursuit of false gods over the one true God. God had "warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the Lord's command" (1 Kings 11:16 NLT). God had told Solomon "I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants" (1 Kings 11:11 NLT), and that is exactly what He did. God orchestrated the entire thing. He raised up Jeroboam, a virtually unknown young man who was the son of a single mother. As he grew up, he became one of the workers helping to repair the walls of the city of Jerusalem, one of the many construction projects funded by Solomon. He was a hard worker and was later recognized by Solomon for his diligence and leadership. As a result, Solomon would make him a foreman over a team of workers. Little did Solomon know that this young man was going to be used by God to bring about the destruction of his own kingdom. When he did catch wind of Jeroboam's anointing by the prophet Ahijah (1 Kings 11:29), Solomon tried to have him killed. But Jeroboam would flee to Egypt, only to return at a later date, when Solomon's son Rehoboam was on the throne.

God was in charge. He always had been and always would be. He is in charge today. Nothing escapes His notice. Nothing is out from under His sovereign control and power. He rules and reigns over everyone and everything, whether we realize it or not – whether it looks like it or not. Rehoboam would go through all kinds of efforts to fortify against attack the cities remaining in his diminished kingdom. But little did he know that God was the one preserving the tribe of Judah. "But I will leave him (Solomon) one tribe for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel" (1 Kings 11:32 NLT). God didn't need Rehoboam's help in protecting Jerusalem or preserving the tribe of Judah. God had it covered.

At the end of the day, God's will was going to be done. The same thing is true in our world today. Tsunamis, earthquakes, nuclear disasters, wars, rebellions, egomaniacal despots, and well-armed military powers are no match for the sovereign will of God Almighty. He has been working His divine plan since before the creation of the world. He is never caught off guard, left empty handed, surprised or out of control. His will is always done and always done perfectly. The best schemes of men can not in any way alter the prefect plans of God. Rehoboam would declare war of Jeroboam. He could try and eliminate him as a threat. He could try and restore the kingdom to its former glory. But it would all be useless in light of God's much greater plan. This was about much more than Solomon's kingdom, Rehoboam's reign, or Israel's diminished influence in the Middle East. This was about God's much larger story of the redemption of man. God had chosen Israel as His people from all the nations of the earth. He had chosen the tribe of Judah out of all the tribes of Israel. He had chosen David out of all the sons of Jesse. He had chosen Bethlehem out of all the cities of Israel. He had chosen the time of Augustus Caesar, when Rome was at its zenith in terms of influence, to send His Son to be born to a young virgin girl who was a descendant of David herself. God's plan involved Solomon, Rehoboam, Jeroboam, Mary, Joseph, Herod, Pilate, Judas and so many others. But it was about so much more than them. It was about God. It always has been. This is His story of redemption, and the star has always been and will always be His Son Jesus Christ. "What has happened is my doing!" Everything that has ever happened is ultimately God's doing. Does God commit evil? Does God cause sin? Does God produce rebellion in the lives of those He creates? No. But He allows it. He tolerates it. He uses it. Man has always been free to choose his own way, to fulfill the desires of his heart, to make his own destiny. But at the end of the day, God is always in control. His will cannot be deterred or diminished. His way will always be accomplished. So when we face difficulties or trials, we can rest assured that God is in control. He is not asleep, away from His post, or unaware of what is going on. He is sovereign and He is at work. Rest easy. Relax. Rejoice.

Father, Your Word is a reminder of Your sovereign will. All the machinations of men cannot alter one inch the plan You have put into place for the world and all those who live in it. Earthquakes are no problem for You. Military powers are no match for You. Disobedient, rebellious individuals are no setback for You. What shocks and surprises us is nothing to You. You never worry, ring Your hands in anxiety, or cry Yourself to sleep at night in fear. Your plan is perfect and You are fulfilling it to perfection. Thank You! Amen





Divided Kingdom. Divided Allegiance.

1 Kings 13-14

There was constant war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. ­– 1 Kings 14:30 NLT

What a sad time in the history of the people of Israel. Gone are the glory days of Solomon. During his days, gold and silver were in abundance. Israel was wealthy, powerful, and influential. They enjoyed an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity. But now the kingdom was divided into north and south. The once powerful tribe of Judah was alone. The other tribes had split off and formed the northern kingdom of Israel. Their leader was Jeroboam, a former servant of Rehoboam, Solomon's son and heir to his throne. But in spite of their differences, the two kingdom shared one thing in common: They were both unfaithful to God. Rehoboam and Jeroboam had followed in Solomon's footsteps, erecting idols to other gods. Jeroboam had gone so far as to establish a completely separate worship system for the people in the northern kingdom. He chose and ordained his own priests and set up his own holy cities. There he erected altars to the gods he had made – two golden calves.

God was not happy. But He wasn't surprised either. He knew this was going to happen – after all, He's God. And because He is God, He had to deal with the divided allegiance of both Judah and Israel. To Jeroboam He said, "I promoted you from the ranks of the common people and made you ruler over my people Israel. I ripped the kingdom away from the family of David and gave it to you. But you have not been like my servant David, who obeyed my commands and followed me with all his heart and always did whatever I wanted him to do. You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made other gods and have made me furious with your gold calves. And since you have turned your back on me, I will bring disaster on your dynasty" (1 Kings 14:7-10 NLT). God had chosen Jeroboam and given him all he had. In return, Jeroboam had turned his back on God. He had disobeyed Him and chosen to serve gods of his own choosing. But Rehoboam was no better. "During Rehoboam's reign, the people of Judah did what was evil in the LORD's sight, arousing his anger with their sin, for it was even worse than that of their ancestors. They built pagan shrines and set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. There were even shrine prostitutes throughout the land. The people imitated the detestable practices of the pagan nations the LORD had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites" (1 Kings 14:22-24 NLT).

So God was forced to deal with their disobedience and apostasy. In fact, you see throughout these two chapters, that God is serious about the obedience of His chosen people. Even the young prophet, "the man of God" whom God sent with a word of warning for Jeroboam, suffered death because he refused to obey God completely. It would be easy to look at these two chapters and paint God as a vengeful, angry god who wipes out all those who disagree with Him. But what you have is a picture of the holiness of God in the face of the sinfulness of men. God graciously chooses these men and gives them places of prominence and importance in His kingdom. He makes them a part of His divine plan. In return, He asks for obedience. He reveals His power to them. He makes clear His expectations. The writer of the book of 1st Kings works hard to point out that disobedience brings a curse while obedience brings blessing. The reign of Solomon is described in great detail, pointing out the tremendous blessings of God on the people of God as long as they obeyed Him. But beginning with Solomon we see a pattern of willful rejection of the commands of God. And God is forced to deal with the divided allegiance of His people. He has chosen them, set them apart for His glory, and established them as His own. Their response? They reject Him. They disobey Him. They turn from Him.

And the pattern continues to this day. We love to enjoy the blessings of God. As the people of God, we expect them – even demand them. We pray for, and fully expect to enjoy peace, prosperity, abundance, joy, health, happiness, and a relatively care-free life. And for the most part, we do. But what is our response to the blessings of God? More often than not, it is disobedience. It is divided allegiance. We end up making other gods, replacements for the one true God. We turn to other things for our happiness, fulfillment, satisfaction, encouragement, peace of mind, and protection. We end up worshiping the gods of entertainment, money, materialism, pleasure, politics, career, sex, and even self. And then we are shocked and appalled when God is forced to deal with our unfaithfulness. We don't understand how a loving God can deal so unlovingly just because we have turned our back on Him. But God so often disciplines us because He loves us. Hebrews 12:6 reminds us, "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son he accepts." God wants us to obey Him because He wants to bless us. He wants us to enjoy His best for us. But He cannot tolerate our willful rebellion and rejection of Him. There are consequences for turning our backs on God. He continues to show grace and mercy, but He doesn't turn a blind eye to our rebellion. To do so would make Him less than God. So, "As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Whoever heard of a child who was never disciplined? If God doesn't discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children after all. Since we respect our earthly fathers who disciplined us, should we not all the more cheerfully submit to the discipline of our heavenly Father and live forever ? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God's discipline is always right and good for us because it means we will share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening -- it is painful! But afterward there will be a quiet harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way." (Hebrews 12:7-11 NLT).

Father, help me to realize that my allegiance to You can become so easily divided. I can walk away from You so quickly and pursue gods of my own making. And yet, when I do, I am shocked when I suffer the consequences. I almost demand that You bless me. I want the blessing without the obedience. But that is not the way You work. You demand obedience. You have already blessed me is so many ways. You have chosen me, saved me. redeemed me, and promised me eternal life. In return, you ask that I trust You, obey You, follow You, and remain faithful to You. But I don't want to obey You out of fear or some sense of obligation, but willingly and gratefully, because of all that You have done for me. Amen





Headed In The Wrong Direction.

1 Kings 12

After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt. ­– 1 Kings 12:28 NLT

Solomon is gone. But he has left behind a legacy far more significant than his wisdom, magnificent royal palace and powerful kingdom. His son, Rehoboam, would inherit his throne, but also his love of women and his habit of worshiping the gods of his foreign-born wives. We are told in 1 Kings 11 that while he was still alive, Solomon "followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done" (1 Kings 11:5-6 NLT). As a result, God warned Solomon of he consequences of his rebellion. "Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates" (1 Kings 11:11 NLT). God would choose Jeroboam, one of Solomon's servants, and give him ten of the tribes of Israel. Later the tribe of Simeon would later migrate north and join the northern tribes, leaving Rehoboam with only the tribe of Judah and the city of Jerusalem. Solomon's once powerful kingdom would be no more. And God makes it clear why all this was going to happen: "I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molech the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in my ways, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my statutes and laws as David, Solomon's father, did" (1 Kings 11:33 NLT).

In chapter 12 we see all that God had predicted taking place. It is almost painful to watch as Rehoboam, the son of the wisest man who ever lived, effectively destroys all that his father had spent years building. Rehoboam is the consummate expression of the fool lived out in real life. He refuses counsel, is wiser than his elders, and rash in his decision making. His foolish leadership causes the people to rebel, splitting the kingdom in two. Even in the northern kingdom, now led by Jeroboam, they end up walking away from God, worshiping gods of their own making. "After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, 'It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.' One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin; the people went even as far as Dan to worship the one there" (1 Kings 12:28-30 NLT). A split kingdom with two rulers, both with divided hearts. Somehow they both forgotten all that God had done for them. They had failed to remember that God had made them a people. He had given them this land. He had made them His own. He had set them apart for His use and for His glory. But they had made this story all about them. It was their will in place of His. It was their way rather than His. In their eyes, God was replaceable. They didn't stop worshiping. They just stopped worshiping Him alone. They turned to other gods, rather than to the one true God. They created gods they could control – gods of their own making. And that tendency is alive and well among men today. We are still finding ways to make replacements for God in our lives. We look elsewhere for someone or something to bring us comfort, peace, joy, fulfillment, pleasure, power, confidence, and acceptance. We end up making idols out of just about everything. We worship and adore all kinds of things besides God. And the easiest way to discover what it is we worship is to look at where we spend our time, money, and attention. What do you worry about the most? That is your god. What do you think about the most? That is your god. What do you look to to bring you pleasure? That is your god. Where do you turn when you are in trouble? That is your god. Rehoboam and Jeroboam were both guilty of turning from the one true God to seek after false gods. But their spirit of rebellion didn't die with them. We have inherited their tendencies. We are tempted to do the same thing. But do we recognize it? Will we turn from it? In his book, Counterfeit Gods, Tim Keller defines an idol this way, "It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give." Simple, straightforward and convicting. We could each stand to examine our lives and see what we have placed on the altar of our hearts in place of God.

Father, You alone are God. Forgive me for erecting my own gods in an attempt to meet my own needs and live my own life according to my own terms. Help me to learn from the lessons of Rehoboam and Jeroboam. Open our eyes so that we might see the replacements for You we have allowed to come into our lives. Amen





The Godly Woman.

Proverbs 31

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. ­– Proverbs 31:30 NLT

We are a surface-only society. We are intrigued by externals and have no desire to look too deep. Having grown up on a steady diet of TV and movies, we are prone to judge others by their looks, the clothes they wear, or the kind of car they drive. The usual thing we ask one another when we meet for the first time is, "What do you do?" At the grocery store checkout line we are surrounded by images of beautiful people on the cover of magazines that offer us solutions to all of life's problems – from how to have better sex to how to make millions with little investment or energy. We live in a society where image is everything. Andy Warhol's famous "15-minutes of fame" has stretched into the length of a 30-minute reality TV show, with everyone from lobstermen to ice-truck drivers turning into household names. Other than the tabloid rumors we hear about various celebrities, what do we know about these TV and movie stars we watch each day? How well do we really know the beautiful actresses and recording artists who grace the magazine covers or walk the red carpet at star-studded events? But it doesn't stop there. Think about the people you attend church with. Which ones tend to catch your eye? Probably the beautiful ones – those handsome, successful-looking individuals who wear the latest fashions, drive the nicest cars, and carry themselves with a sense of confidence. But what do we really know about them? What are they really like on the inside?

In this final Proverb, we read those famous lines about the "Proverbs 31 woman." This unnamed, unknown woman has become an icon of virtue for women around the world. She has been held up as the poster-woman of what it means to be a godly woman. For some she is a model to follow, providing them with motivation to pursue excellence as a woman. For others, this woman represents an unachievable and unrealistic picture of the godly woman that always leaves them lacking. For them, the Proverbs 31 woman sets too high a bar. But the real story behind this woman begins on the inside. Her accomplishments are impressive, but they are nothing compared to what really makes her tick – her fear of the Lord. She was first and foremost a godly woman not because of all that she DID, but because of who she KNEW. She knew God and feared Him. She loved God and worshiped Him. Her actions and activities flowed from a heart that loved and feared God. In our society, looks are everything. Beauty and attractiveness are what matters most. How we appear on the outside means far more than what we are like on the inside. But as the writer of Proverbs 31 states, "charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting." Looks can be deceiving. You can't judge a book by its cover – but we do – every day of our lives. Beauty doesn't last, but that doesn't stop us from making it the primary criteria upon which to build our relationships. We love beautiful, successful-looking people. But the woman of Proverbs 31 was successful on the inside. She was charming, but it was a charm that flowed from a truly loving heart. It was not fake or manufactured charm. She was probably beautiful, obviously hard-working, and highly successful. But without the fear of God, none of this would have had any value. She was a wife of noble character. Isn't that what our world really needs? Isn't that what the marriages in our churches really need? Isn't that what we should want for our daughters? But in our celebrity-saturated society, noble character is hard to come by and seldom even looked for. We live in a world where it's more important that you BE a character than have it. Charlie Sheen, Lindsey Lohan, Brittany Spears, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus – the list goes on and on. They're in the news. They are the news. They are the picture of what it means to be "successful" in our society. But King Lemuel reminds us what real success looks like. And it begins with integrity, character, and a fear of the Lord.

Father, we celebrate the wrong things in this world. We elevate the wrong behavior. We accentuate the temporal and downplay the eternal. Show us how to model godliness and promote it in the lives of our young people. Help us to understand the value of character that is based on a fear of You. We need depth in our lives. We need to know what really counts and what will really last. Charm can deceive and beauty fades away with time. But godly character lasts forever. Amen





Smarter Than He Thinks.

Proverbs 30

Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, "Who is the LORD?" Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God. ­– Proverbs 30:7-9 NLT

Agur, the author of this Proverb, had a somewhat diminished view of himself. He begins his proverb with the self-deprecating words, "I am the most ignorant of men; I do not have a man's understanding. I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One" (Proverbs 30:2-3 NLT). It has been speculated that Ithiel and Ucal were his two sons and that they were claiming, as sons are prone to do, to be wiser than their dear old dad. In response, Agur agrees with them, painting himself as lacking in wisdom and limited in his knowledge of God. But he is not claiming to be ignorant or a fool. He is simply admitting the limited nature of his knowledge and understanding when compared to that of God. He has a humble view of himself and a high view of God. He asks Ithiel and Ucal, "Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and the name of his son? Tell me if you know! (Proverbs 30:4 NLT). For Agur, everything there is to know about God is wrapped up in the name of God. The answer to all of his questions is Yahweh, but he acts as if Ithiel and Ucal don't know the obvious. In their pride and arrogance, they appear to have forgotten about the greatness of God.

Agur has a humility about him that is refreshing. He knows his place. He is painfully aware of his limitations. And he knows that his needs are few. All he really wants is to know his God and to live a life that is free from anything that might tempt him to forget God or dishonor Him. That is his prayer in verses 7-9 – the only prayer found in the Proverbs. Agur asks God for two things. He asks God to keep falsehood and lies far from him. I think this is a request for protection from the falsehood and lies of others, but also the elimination of these things in his own life. The second request is for a life devoid of wealth of poverty. Why? Because he knows that both bring with them certain temptations that he wants to avoid. When we find ourselves blessed with abundance we can be tempted to become self-sufficient (Deuteronomy 8:11-14; John 15:5). When we experience the opposite extreme of poverty, we can be tempted to doubt God's goodness and to lose trust in Him. When that happens, we end up taking matters into our own hands in order to solve our problem. Agur wanted neither wealth or poverty. His real request was that he might live a life focused on God, trusting and relying on Him alone. Agur was a wise man. The kind of man most sons don't appreciate until they are much older. We need more men and women like in our world today.

Father, give me the heart of Agur. Let me learn to be satisfied with You and You alone. Don't let me long for wealth or fear poverty. Give me a life of simplicity, where You are all I need. Keep me from living self-sufficiently or self-reliantly. Help me to recognize each day that You are my sole provider and protector. Amen





You Can't Take It With You.

2 Chronicles 9

Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. When he died, he was buried in the city of his father, David. Then his son Rehoboam became the next king. ­– 2 Chronicles 9:30-31 NLT

Chapter nine of 2nd Chronicles is an almost word-for-word copy of chapter 10 of 1st Kings. In it we read about the incredible wealth and wisdom of Solomon. It seems almost over the top and too good to be true. He was able to answer all the questions of the Queen of Sheba with ease. The opulence is palace left her breathless. This would be like Rupert Murdoch being impressed with the wealth and wisdom of Bill Gates. She was blown away. "Everything I heard in my country about your achievements and wisdom is true! I didn't believe it until I arrived here and saw it with my own eyes. Truly I had not heard the half of it! Your wisdom is far greater than what I was told" (2 Chronicles 9:5-6 NLT). The amount of gold described in this passage is mind-boggling. His throne alone was worth a small fortune. Solomon had it all. Including a reign that lasted 40 years. But then the chapter ends abruptly. Solomon dies.

He knew this day would come. In fact, he wrote about it. "Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly. What more can the king's successor do than what has already been done? I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness. The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both. Then I thought in my heart, 'The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?' I said in my heart, 'This too is meaningless.' For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten. Like the fool, the wise man too must die!" (Ecclesiastes 2:12-16 NLT). Solomon knew death was inevitable, and all his wealth and wisdom couldn't prevent it. He would leave it all behind, including his wisdom – in the form of the Proverbs and the book of Ecclesiastes. His son Rehoboam would have the legacy of his father to live up to and his magnificent palace to live in. But Solomon left behind more than he could have ever imagined. We find out later that Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king and his reign would last 17 years. For the first three years of his reign he would follow in the steps of David and Solomon. But he shared some of his father's weaknesses, including his love of women. He had 18 wives and 60 concubines, 28 sons and 60 daughters. Idolatry would be a continual problem during his reign.

"And Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, whom they provoked to jealousy with the sins they committed, above all that their fathers had done. For they also built themselves [idolatrous] high places, pillars, and Asherim [idolatrous symbols of the goddess Asherah] on every high hill and under every green tree. There were also sodomites (male cult prostitutes) in the land. They did all the abominations of the nations whom the Lord cast out before the Israelites.” – 1 Kings 14:22-24 Amplified Bible

Rehoboam would not inherit his father's God-given wisdom and would end up making decisions that split the kingdom in half. The halcyon days of Israel would become a memory. The glory days would end. The writer of 2nd Chronicles sets up the rest of the story with a reminder of just how good things were right before Solomon died. He describes the good old days. But things were about to take a dramatic change for the worst. Solomon had built himself quite a kingdom. He had established for himself quite a reputation. But he couldn't take any of it with him. He would leave it all behind. Would Solomon have been better off spending his time preparing his son to reign than amassing a fortune and turning Jerusalem into a show place? Rather than putting all his wisdom on paper, would he have been better off pouring it into his children? There's an old saying that says when it comes to our children "more is caught than taught." Rehoboam was watching his dad. He would try to emulate his father's wisdom and ways. He would try to rule like Solomon. But he would eventually fail. Solomon left behind a lot more than he ever imagined. What about me? What am I leaving behind?

Father, I don't want to leave behind a reputation or a portfolio of achievements and assets. I want to leave behind children who love You and who know how to obediently serve You. I want them to know how to live wise and Spirit-filled lives. I want them to live in dependence on You, not themselves. Help me not spend my years on this earth obsessed with myself and my own achievements. Give me an eternal perspective that looks beyond my days here on earth. May my children be my greatest legacy. Amen





Now Is The Time To Be Careful.

1 Kings 10

All of King Solomon's drinking cups were solid gold, as were all the utensils in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. They were not made of silver because silver was considered of little value in Solomon's day! ­– 1 Kings 10:21 NLT

What a time to be alive in the land of Israel. This nation had seen a lot of change take place in a very short period of time. No longer the poor, ragamuffin former slaves who had left Egypt, Israel had become a great nation with a powerful king and a growing reputation. They were a force to be reckoned with in the region. Their king was wise and extremely wealthy. They had a strong army. They sat at a strategic crossroads when it came to trade and commerce, occupying the land bridge that connected three continents. Money and goods flowed through their land and, as a result, the wealth of the Israelites increased greatly. So much so that silver was considered of little value! The abundance of gold made silver virtually commonplace and worthless. These were heady times in the life of Israel.

On her royal visit to Jerusalem, the Queen of Sheba recognized the hand of God in all that she saw. "The LORD your God is great indeed! He delights in you and has placed you on the throne of Israel. Because the LORD loves Israel with an eternal love, he has made you king so you can rule with justice and righteousness" (1 Kings 10:9 NLT). She was impressed with Solomon and his God. So much so that she made Solomon even wealthier by sending him nine thousand pounds of gold, and great quantities of spices and precious jewels. Solomon and the people of Israel had been blessed by God. They enjoyed peace, prosperity and, more importantly the presence of God. But all this reminds me of the words of Jesus recorded in Luke 12:48: "Much is required from those to whom much is given, and much more is required from those to whom much more is given." Was Solomon becoming distracted by his own celebrity and wealth? Were the people of Israel beginning to think that they were indestructible and untouchable? Was there a level of complacency and cockiness settling into the people and their wise king? The answer is yes. Chapter 10 is a set-up to chapter 11 of 1 Kings. We're going to see that all was not well in Solomon's Camelot. On the surface all looked well. But like a cancer that spreads unseen and undetected in the body, there was a subtle spirit of rebellion slowly infiltrating the people of Israel, and it began at the top. Success was breeding complacency. The abundant blessings of God were resulting in a loss of the fear of God. Solomon and his people were becoming self-sufficient and self-reliant. They were losing their sense of dependence on God. Years later, after Solomon's kingdom split in two, the prophet Hosea would end up giving the people of Israel a warning from the lips of God, "I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from your slavery in Egypt. You have no God but me, for there is no other savior. I took care of you in the wilderness, in that dry and thirsty land. But when you had eaten and were satisfied, then you became proud and forgot me" (Hosea 13:4-6 NLT). Prosperity was breeding pride. Ease and comfort was resulting in short-term memory loss and an inability to remember all that God had done. God had warned them that this might happen.

"When you have eaten your fill, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the LORD your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and laws. For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, that is the time to be careful. Do not become proud at that time and forget the LORD your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt." – Deuteronomy 8:10-14 NLT

That is the time to be careful! Could the same be said to us today? Are we enjoying the abundant blessings of God, but subtly turning away from our dependence upon God? Are we just as guilty as Solomon of accepting the gifts of God, while disobeying the Word of God? That is the time to be careful.

Father, I am so abundantly blessed. You have been so good to me and yet I can so easily forget You and just bask in the blessings. I almost come to expect it, even demand it. Never let me forget that I am what I am because of You. I would be nothing without You. I deserve nothing on my own. I don't merit any of the good things you shower on me every day. Don't let me become proud, arrogant and complacent in my walk with You. Remind me daily that now is the time to be careful. Amen





Remember God – While You Still Can.

Ecclesiastes 10-12

Don't let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and no longer enjoy living. ­– Ecclesiastes 12:1 NLT

It was George Bernard Shaw who said, "Youth is wasted on the young." They have all the energy, enthusiasm, mental capacity, and vigor for life. They have years ahead of them to experience life in all its fullness. And for those of us whose hair is turning gray or simply turning loose, we find ourselves jealous of the young. We sometimes wish we were young again. Some of us spend way too much time trying to appear young in a vain attempt to hang on to something that is no longer there. Solomon seemed to hate the idea of getting older. It was a topic he discussed at length in his writings in Ecclesiastes. He knew his days were numbered. He was experiencing the effects of old age. His memory was not what it once was and he no longer had the energy he once had. He probably found himself exhausted, both mentally and physically, at the end of the day. And yet he probably found himself surrounded by young people. After all, he had 700 wives and 300 concubines, so there is no telling how many kids he had running around the palace.

So Solomon had a lot to say to young people. The Proverbs are full of messages to the young, and in the closing chapter of Ecclesiastes we read more admonitions and warnings from the pen of Solomon to youth. He writes from the perspective of one who has seen the years fly by and is now looking back in retrospect. He encourages the young to remember God while they can. Old age can bring diminished capacities of all kinds. Memory loss, decreased attention span, poor vision, and weakened strength are just a few of the things that young people have to look forward to. So while they are young, Solomon warns, they need to remember God. They need to use their energy, enthusiasm, strength, and mental capacity to think about the One who made them. "Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don't wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well" (Ecclesiastes 12:6 NLT). Solomon uses poetic language to portray the fragility of life and the inevitable end we all face.

But Solomon is not all doom and gloom. He encourages the young to enjoy life. To take advantage of the years they have ahead of them. "Young man, it's wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do. So banish grief and pain, but remember that youth, with a whole life before it, still faces the threat of meaninglessness" (Ecclesiastes 11:9-10 NLT). Solomon teaches balance. Enjoy life, but remember that all life ends in death. And none of us know when that time will come. Only God does. Youth is only wasted on the young if they refuse to live with wisdom and in the fear of God. That really seems to be Solomon's point. The lessons of Proverbs and the book of Ecclesiastes are really for the young. They have the time to put them into practice and make their lives count. These are the same messages we need to convey to the youth of our day. Sometimes we think they can't handle it. We treat them as if they are too young and too immature to deal with deeper truth. But Solomon wanted to reach the young while they were young. He wanted them to make the most of their lives "under the sun." He wanted them to enjoy their lives, but to do so with a certain degree of soberness and seriousness. He concludes his writings with the following thought: "Here is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad" (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NLT). Encouraging our young people to live their lives with God as the focus is the duty of us all. But we need to do more than talk about it. We need to model it. Life is to be enjoyed – with God at the center of it. Life is to be lived to the full – with God at the center of it. Life is to be rich and rewarding – with God at the center of it. Otherwise, if God is left out of the equation – life becomes meaningless.

Father, give me an increased desire to share these thoughts with the youth in my life – including my own kids. But more than anything else, help me to live out the truths found in this book in my own life. Show me how to model a life of wisdom and the fear of God. I want to increasingly make You the center of all that I do – so that my life has meaning. Amen





His Ways Are Not Our Ways.

Ecclesiastes 7-9

I saw every work of God, I concluded that man cannot discover the work which has been done under the sun. Even though man should seek laboriously, he will not discover ; and though the wise man should say, 'I know,' he cannot discover. ­– Ecclesiastes 8:17 NASB

There was a limit to Solomon's wisdom. He was extremely wise, but he didn't know everything. Solomon was still a man who found himself limited in his understanding. He could not understand the inner workings of God's divine plan. He couldn't comprehend the confusing nature of life on this world. Why do the wicked seem to prosper and the righteous seem to suffer? We don't know. We can't answer those kinds of questions. But in his pursuit to know Solomon asks. He wants answers. And because he can't find them, it can lead to the conclusion that life is futile, meaningless and like chasing the wind. Solomon asks rhetorically and with a hint of frustration, "If no one knows what will happen, who can tell him when it will happen?" (Ecclesiastes 8:7 NASB). We are limited. We don't know what is going to happen. We don't know when we are going to die. We don't know how relationships are going to turn out. We don't know if adversity or prosperity is our lot. A life of righteousness can't guarantee one or prevent the other. Only God knows. And His ways are inscrutable, unknowable, unsearchable. There are things going on here "under the sun" that we will never understand this side of eternity. We have a limited perspective. We have limited knowledge. We are finite creatures. But our God is infinite in power, wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. He is in control. He has a plan. And He doesn't always let us in on it.

Paul understood this. "Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods! For who can know what the Lord is thinking? Who knows enough to be his counselor? And who could ever give him so much that he would have to pay it back? For everything comes from him; everything exists by his power and is intended for his glory. To him be glory evermore. Amen" (Romans 11:33-36 NLT).  God reminded the prophet Isaiah of the same thing. "'My thoughts are completely different from yours,' says the LORD. 'And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts'" (Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT).

So what should be our reaction to the fact that God's ways are greater than we can ever understand? How do we respond when we finally realize that not everything on this earth is cut and dried, with the wicked always losing and the righteous always winning? Well, on the one hand, we could resign ourselves to a life of futility and determine to make the most out of this mess. That seems to be what Solomon did. He adopted the "eat, drink and be merry" philosophy – a life of hedonism. We could take a more restrained approach and simply tell ourselves to enjoy what you've got and not worry about the rest. "Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun ; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 9:9 NLT). Or we could learn to rest in the fact that God's ways, while impossible for us to know or understand, are always trustworthy and right. He knows what He is doing. We can learn to accept adversity or prosperity as both potential options in God's divine plan for our lives.

In his "Notes on Ecclesiastes," Dr. Thomas L. Constable says, "We cannot understand why God uses adversity and prosperity as He does. A man or woman of faith trusts God nonetheless (Romans 8:28). Therefore we should enjoy the times of prosperity and remember in the times of adversity that God is in control." Warren Wiersbe puts it this way, "God balances our lives by giving us enough blessings to keep us happy and enough burdens to keep us humble." In the end, we need to trust that He knows what He is doing. Life "under the sun" can be confusing, frustrating, and at times, demotivating. It doesn't always make sense. It isn't always fun. There are things that happen that we can't understand or make sense of. But if we maintain a God-focused perspective and remember to keep Him as part of our equation, it can help us understand that trust sometimes has to take precedence over knowing. Faith has to stand in the place of understanding.

Father, what a life this can be at times. So many things happen even in a given day that confuse and confound us. And if we maintain a purely horizontal perspective it can become debilitating and frustrating. But Your ways are greater than my ways. Your knowledge is beyond anything I can begin to understand. Help me learn to trust You, even when things don't seem to be going the way I think they should. Don't let me try and measure Your goodness based solely on circumstances. Don't let me measure reality based solely on what I see going on around me. You have a greater plan. Amen





It's All About Perspective.

Ecclesiastes 4-6

Then I observed that most people are motivated to success by their envy of their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless, like chasing the wind. ­– Ecclesiastes 4:4 NLT

Remember, the real theme of the book of Ecclesiastes seems to be about havinga God-centered worldview than a me-focused one. It is about learning to see life from God's perspective, not our own. We are limited in what we can see. We don't know what God is up to or what He has planned. So when we try to live our lives focused only on the horizontal, we end up with a warped perspective, and it skews just about everything we do. For instance, even our motivation to succeed in life is based on envy and jealousy. We take a look around us and see what others have achieved and the lifestyle their achievements have made possible, and we decide to work harder so that we can enjoy the same things. In the end, this kind of motivation proves futile and meaningless. It's a vapor that fades away. Why? Because our perspective is wrong. Solomon goes on to warn us,  "Those who love money will never have enough. How absurd to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what is the advantage of wealth -- except perhaps to watch it run through your fingers! People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich are always worrying and seldom get a good night's sleep. There is another serious problem I have seen in the world. Riches are sometimes hoarded to the harm of the saver, or they are put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one's children. People who live only for wealth come to the end of their lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day they were born" (Ecclesiastes 5:10-15 NLT). So is Solomon saying hard work and wealth are wrong? No, he was a very wealthy man who worked hard at being the king of Israel. But he had learned that his wealth and hard work didn't bring him joy and fulfillment. When he made those things his focus and demanded that they meet his needs, he discovered that they could never deliver.

But with a slight change in perspective, things can take on a different light. "Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat well, drink a good glass of wine, and enjoy their work -- whatever they do under the sun -- for however long God lets them live. And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life -- that is indeed a gift from God. People who do this rarely look with sorrow on the past, for God has given them reasons for joy" (Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 NLT). The ability to work is a gift from God. Any wealth I gain from working is a gift from God. Any pleasures that my hard work afford me are a gift from God. The food I eat, the home I live in, the friends I have, are all gifts from God. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life – that is indeed a gift from God. How many of us work, but rarely enjoy it? How often do we complain about how hard we work and how little time we have to relax and enjoy the benefits of our labor? When we sit down and eat a meal, we probably don't stop and think about the fact that the food we are eating was made possible by our hard work. We don't make that connection. We don't savor the moment. If we lived in an agrarian culture where we labored all day to plant, tend, and harvest the food we eat, we would probably more readily enjoy the consumption of the fruit of our labors. God used our labor along with His creative power to produce the food we are eating. It is a gift from Him.

I love Solomon's advice in chapter six: "Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don't have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless; it is like chasing the wind" (Ecclesiastes 6:9 NLT). One of the curses of this world is our constant dissatisfaction and desire for more. We are in a constant pursuit for the next thing. The next job, the next relationship, the next new technological toy, the next great book, the next new diet, the next great vacation spot, the next …  And when we get that next new thing, we rarely sit back and enjoy it, because we are immediately distracted by something else we don't have. So Solomon says, "Enjoy what you have!" Savor the moment. Enjoy the meal you're eating, the friendships you have, the moment you're in, the home you're living in, the health you're enjoying. Remember that everything is a gift from God. The next new thing will never satisfy, if the old thing never did. Only God can bring satisfaction. Keep your eyes focused on Him.

Father, what a temptation it is to keep looking for more and never enjoy what we already have. I spend so much time thinking about what I don't have instead of enjoying what I do have. Help me to rest in You and be satisfied with what You provide. The constant quest for more is not only tiring, it is ultimately unfulfilling. It can't deliver. Thank You for all You have already given me. Help me learn to enjoy every moment of life as a gift from You. Amen





Chasing the Wind.

Ecclesiastes 1-3

I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem. I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done in the world. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race. Everything under the sun is meaningless, like chasing the wind. ­– Ecclesiastes 1:12-14 NLT

Chasing the wind. Futility. Vanity. Meaninglessness. These are just a few of the words the wise man Solomon uses to describe life. At first glance, you would think these are surprising words coming from the pen of a man who seemingly had it all – health, wealth, wisdom, success, fame, and the respect and admiration of men near and far. But Solomon was human. He may have been rich, but he was still susceptible to the conditions that plague all mankind – fear of man, the desire for more, discontentment, dissatisfaction, jealousy, and the ever-present reality of sin. Solomon didn't live in a vacuum. He was surrounded by individuals who tested and tried him, sought to defeat him, played up to him just to get something out of him, lived off of him, and revealed the worst about him. In other words, Solomon lived in a fallen world. He may have been king of the people of God, but his life was not that much different than yours or mine. And when he looked at life from his own human vantage point, things could begin to look dim indeed. He could become disappointed and disillusioned.

But the book of Ecclesiastes is really designed to give the reader a God-centered perspective. It shows the futility of life when viewed from the vantage point of self. If we view life from our limited perspective, we will constantly find ourselves in a state of confusion. This life does not make sense. Good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people. We can work hard all our lives and end up with nothing to show for it in the end. Life is not always fair. Justice doesn't always seem to win out in the end. The unjust do not always seem to get their just desserts. In fact, many of the most wicked in this world seem to get away with murder – literally. Evil men rise to power and grow wealthy as they abuse and exploit their own people. Corrupt corporate executives get filthy rich while their investors lose everything. Injustice and inequity are everywhere.

But one of the phrases Solomon uses over and over again is "under the sun." He is basically referring to life on the planet earth. It refers to a temporal mindset that can easily focus on the horizontal and leave out the vertical. Rather than living life with a God-centered worldview, we become fixated on a self-centered, me-focused worldview. It becomes life as I see it – limited, myopic, and incapable of seeing the bigger picture. One of the recurring themes of Ecclesiastes seems to be that life without God lacks real substance. There is no real value or permanence to it all. It's like a vapor or fog that is here one minute, then gone the other. It's transitory and futile. Solomon had all that life had to offer. But he seemed to know that all the wealth in the world was going to satisfy him in the end. You can't take it with you. And you could lose it all in the blink of an eye. Years of hard work and labor could be easily squandered, stolen, or wind up never delivering what you thought they would. It's the house that's never clean. The yard that continues to need mowing. The bills that are never finished being paid. The pain that never goes away. The hurt that never seems to get healed.

Solomon put it this way: " …as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless. It was like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere" (Ecclesiastes 2:11 NLT). But in the midst of all the doom and gloom, there is good news. God is in control. He has a bigger and much larger perspective. He views life from a better vantage point. Solomon says, "God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end" (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT). We can't see what God can see. We don't know what He knows. We aren't privy to His plans. He doesn't consult or seek our approval for His actions. For Solomon it was a simple as, "I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God's purpose in this is that people should fear him" (Ecclesiastes 3:14 NLT).

Life is like chasing the wind, but only if you choose to ignore God's bigger plan. When we leave Him out of the equation, nothing adds up. It doesn't make sense. Nothing works. Nothing. No amount of money can make us happy. Nothing we can purchase or own can fulfill us. Nothing we eat or drink can fully satisfy us. But God can. It is a life lived without a God-centered perspective that ends up being like chasing the wind. But when we keep God at the focus of life and His will as the motivation for our obedience, life becomes meaning-full. It becomes rich, complete, fulfilling, satisfying, and worth living.

Father, help me to keep You at the center of my thoughts. Give me a growing You-centeredness instead of a me-centeredness. Open my eyes to Your divine perspective. Help me see life from Your higher vantage point instead of my earth-bound one. You are in control. You have a plan. Never let me forget that. Amen





The Fear of Man.

Proverbs 29

The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted. ­– Proverbs 29:25 NASB

Virtually all of the Proverbs are relationship-based. They have to do with how we interact with others. And much of the negative behavior portrayed in these wise sayings is driven by the fear of man. To fear man is to be consumed about what another individual thinks about me, which can lead to flattery, pretense and show, as well as jealousy. Fear of man is an inordinate concern for acceptance. It is an unhealthy obsession with status and achievement. Fear of man is behind our need to impress and improve. Even those who the Bible describes as wicked are motivated by the fear of man. The oppress and mistreat others, fearing that if they don't they will somehow lose power and control. The manipulate and take advantage of others in order to prevent the same thing from happening to them. Fear of man is a powerful force in our lives. It can cause us to do things we wouldn't normally do. When we fear man we cease to fear God. In fact, we put man in the place of God, fearing more what man might do to us or think about us, than God Himself.

Fear of man is a lack of trust in God. We lie because we are trying to protect ourselves, somehow doubting that God can watch over us if we just tell the truth. Abraham did this on a number of occasions, telling lies that were motivated by the fear of man. His fear of man was greater than his trust in God. We flatter others, telling them how great they are, even when we don't really mean it – all because we think it might get us what we want or what we think we need. Again, when we do this we are expressing to God our doubt that He can or will meet our needs. We sometimes do unethical or questionable things in order to accomplish a certain goal. We bend the rules and fudge the facts, justifying our actions as necessary and acceptable. But when we do these things, we are not only showing God we don't trust Him to provide, we don't fear Him. He must not be serious about our holiness and obedience. He won't do anything. We fear man more than God.

The fear of man is powerful and ultimately destructive. Especially to those who call themselves followers of Christ. Over in the book of John we are told about some of the religious leaders who had become convinced that Jesus really was who He said He was. They began to believe in Him as the Messiah of Israel. But sadly, we are told, "…many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God" (John 12:42-43 NASB). They loved the approval of men more than the approval of God. Have you ever refused to pray over your meal in public for fear of what others might think of you? Have you ever decided not to share your faith with a co-worker out of fear of what they might say about you? Have you ever struggled with obeying what God has told you to do because you have feared that it might diminish your reputation in the eyes of others? That is the fear of man. And it is alive and well in our lives today. The alternative is to trust God and seek His approval. Men are fickle. God is not. Men can never be pleased. God doesn't have to be. Men will never love us as much as we would like. God loves us unconditionally and completely. Trust Him.

Father, the fear of man is a powerful force in my life. It makes me do things I don't want to do and it tempts me to doubt and disobey You. Help me to see that there is no need to fear man. You are on my side. You love me and care for me. You have my best in store. I can trust You. Amen