Guarded And Mistaken

 May 24
 Daily Reading – 1 Kings 18-19 / John 8:1-30

GOD SAID:

1 Kings 18:21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

      Ok, now what do I do? Yup, we have all been there. A decision has to be made, yet we are just not sure what to do. Many times our problem in deciding something has a lot to do with the people that our decision may affect. If we do this, these people will be happy, but some others may not. If we go the other way, just the opposite is true. What should I do? It’s in these situations we find that many people will decide to guard their opinion and saying nothing at all. One big problem with that is, then both sides see you as indecisive and wishy washy. What to do?

Elijah has just given the children of Israel this same ultimatum. Follow God, or follow Baal. If they choose to follow the God of Elijah, then many of their friends and neighbors will be mad. They may not get invited to the next neighborhood barbecue. However, if they choose Baal, well then if Elijah’s God is real, they might become the next item barbecued. What to do, what to do. So they did what many people still do today when faced with a tough decision. They do nothing. Our verse today says; “…And the people answered him not a word.” They were not willing to stand up for God. Later, when God proves himself to everyone with fire from heaven we find them on their faces before God in 1 Kings 18:39 crying out; “…The LORD, he is God.” Why, well everyone was doing it and they were scared. When given a choice they followed the crowd.

GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

    Standing up for Christ may not always be easy. Guarding what we say may seem right. However, when we do, no one hears of our wonderful Saviour’s willingness to save. We live a guarded, but mistaken life.

What will you do?
Stand Up, Stand out, or stand mute?

 

     
Living In His Word Ministries
    “Getting people into the Word of God…
                               … and the Word of God into people.”

Dr. Franklin J. Senters Th.D.
Founder and Executive Director
Hebrews 2:12

Guaranteed A Meal

May 23
Daily Reading – 1 Kings 15-17 / John 7:37-53

GOD SAID:

1 Kings 17:14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.

GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

      Most people in the United States do not truly know what it’s like to be starving. Some have been hungry at times, but few are actually starving. Through the generosity of many people and organizations, there are Food Banks, Rescue Missions, and Soup Kitchens in almost every major metropolitan city in the US. Truth be told, most people in this great land toss out more food in a week, than some in third world countries eat in a year. Most of us can’t even imagine not having some idea of how to get some food, from somewhere, in the next few days. However, what if that were the case in your life? What if you had no prospect of any food, from anyone, anywhere, and you only had one sandwich left? Then a person walks up and says; “if you will give me part of your sandwich, I guarantee that you will not run out of bread and lunch meat for a long time.” What would you do?

     This is the situation the widow woman in 1 Kings 17 found herself in. Even worse, it was not only her last meal, but her son’s last meal as well. However, the man who walked up did not make the guarantee of a meal on his own. He said to her; “…thus saith the Lord God of Israel.” This woman really thought that she and her son were about to die. For her there was no hope, until the God of hope stepped in. She did not place her trust in Elijah, as much as she placed her trust in the God of Elijah and Israel. God’s guarantees are rock solid.

GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

    We too had no hope of escaping this world alive until the God of all hope stepped in. He is our Bread of Life. I once heard said that sharing the gospel is like one beggar, telling another beggar, where they had found bread.

Will you tell a hungry world about the Bread of Life?

     
Living In His Word Ministries
    “Getting people into the Word of God…
                               … and the Word of God into people.”

Dr. Franklin J. Senters Th.D.
Founder and Executive Director
Hebrews 2:12

God Still Matters

 May 22
 Daily Reading – 1 Kings 13-14 / John 7:1-36

GOD SAID:

1 Kings 14:1-2 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people.

GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

      The world today wants to try to shut God out of their lives. For many years now public prayer, led by a hired public servants, has been disallowed. Teaching about Christianity and Godly morality from the scripture has been opposed. While at the same time, they teach other religions from other cultures and call it diversity. They have opposed God’s word in public places. Removing plaques and monuments that displayed the 10 commandments from places such as court rooms. The argument has been that these words may influence peoples decision making abilities. Well let’s hope so. That’s why they were given to us in the first place. However, no matter how hard they try to remove God from our lives, when tragedy strikes they beg people to pray. Everyone who dies in these situations, are said to have gone to heaven. No matter what people do or say, God still matters.

     This is nothing new. King Jeroboam had formed his own religion. He made fake idols to substitute as gods to be worshiped. He even made up a new narrative on the history of Israel. Yet, when his son was dying he did not run to a golden cow to ask for help and advice. Embarrassed by his own behavior and recognizing his sinfulness, in 1 Kings 14:2, he sends his wife in a disguise to ask of God’s man what was going to happen to his son. When trouble comes, and it will, the world admits by their own actions, God still matters.

GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

    When trials come, the world looks for a Godly person to talk with. What a great time to be a witness and share Christ. Do they see you as that person?

When the lost world looks for a God fearing person,
do they ask you to pray,
or ask that you help find someone to pray?

     
Living In His Word Ministries
    “Getting people into the Word of God…
                               … and the Word of God into people.”

Dr. Franklin J. Senters Th.D.
Founder and Executive Director
Hebrews 2:12

Guiding Their Memories

 May 21
 Daily Reading – 1 Kings 11-12 / John 6:34-71

GOD SAID:

1 Kings 12:28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

      Our brain is a wonderful, unparalleled organ. All our daily bodily functions, that happen without much conscious thought, take root there. Simple little things such as breathing, our heart beating, the sense of touch, smell, and taste, all originate from the brain. It’s also the central storage area for our thought processes. We can program this brain to learn to read, write, ride a bike, or drive a car. None of these things are pre-programmed in the brain, yet God created it so that we can program things into it. Another thing our brain does is to store our memories. Things from our past that we want to remember. However, just like programming it to drive, it can also be brainwashed, or reprogrammed, into believing in things that never happened. Someone once said, if you say something often enough, and loud enough, to enough people, eventually people will believe it’s true.

     Israel falls for the miss-guiding of their memories in 1 Kings 12:28. Jeroboam becomes afraid of Israel’s loyalty to him if they go to worship the real God in Jerusalem. Because of this, he changes their religion, creates a fake feast day and month, made two false calves as gods, and also rewrites their history. Saying “…behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.” These people wanted their own way so badly, they were willing to believe that everything they knew to be true, was wrong.

GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

    Today we have people rewriting the meaning of scripture. For centuries the church has known what God’s word has meant. Yet, now there are some who teach multitudes, that all they have known is wrong. They say that they have a new, better understanding.

Does real truth change?

 

     
Living In His Word Ministries
    “Getting people into the Word of God…
                               … and the Word of God into people.”

Dr. Franklin J. Senters Th.D.
Founder and Executive Director
Hebrews 2:12

Given Even More

 May 20
 Daily Reading – 1 Kings 9-10 / John 6:1-33

GOD SAID:

1 Kings 10:23-24 So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom. And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

      Sometimes I just can’t sleep. I toss and turn until finally I just get up. Most often I find this is a good time to read my bible and pray. I have at times turned on the TV only to find the channels filled with infomercial. You know, the kind that is trying to sell you the latest greatest gadget that will revolutionize your life. Perhaps they think if they can catch you half awake you’ll buy that stuff. The ending pitch is always the same. Here is the product, here is the price, “BUT WAIT,” if you will act right now, we will toss in even more, and more and more. Trust me, you’re paying for all the extra stuff somehow.

     In most cases in life, you never get anything for free. There is always a catch somehow. However, when it comes to God and His grace, it’s just the opposite. We have a great picture of this in the life of Solomon. Back in 1 Kings 3:5 God asked Solomon; “…what I shall give thee.” Solomon could have asked for anything. However what he asked for wisdom to rule and lead the children of Israel. God was so pleased with Solomon’s unselfish request that He said, I will give you that wisdom, and more. In 1 Kings 3:13 God said; “And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.” In today’s passage in 1 Kings 10, we see that God has given Solomon wisdom, and then He has given him even more.

GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

    As if saving our souls from eternity in hell was not enough, God has also promised us a home in heaven, a place at the table with His Son Jesus, and then, even more. As you can see, God keeps His promises.

In your time of prayer, will you thank God for giving you EVEN MORE?

     
Living In His Word Ministries
    “Getting people into the Word of God…
                               … and the Word of God into people.”

Dr. Franklin J. Senters Th.D.
Founder and Executive Director
Hebrews 2:12