Taking food from poor widows is not an act that usually deserves praise. Although in Elijah’s case, that very act actually does warrant some praise. Elijah did not just take all the food the widow had, but Elijah asked for and received it, in obedience to God.
1 Kings 17:7-16
“I need just a little peace and quiet.” That’s something we’ve all said on occasion. It may seem innocent enough, but the truth is, deep down inside, we all long for peace... in our relationships, at our workplace, in our families. Often these areas of our lives have very little peace, even though we may work hard at it. The problem is, real, genuine peace in our lives only comes after we make peace with God.
The times we live in are difficult, some might even say tumultuous. If you look around you can find much to be afraid about...the economy, current world affairs, wars. We can let our fears get to us, or we can stop, and take a minute to look at what the Bible has to teach us about this world, fear, our future, and the courage we can have as we face all of those things.
Have you ever left a project unfinished? Our lives are filled with projects that we have never quite managed to complete. We have half-read books on our shelves and piles of junk left abandoned from hobbies we've started, but never finished. Thankfully Jesus Christ did not leave the great project of his life unfinished. He got the job done, He accomplished the mission.
Have you ever been at a place in your life where you felt forgotten or forsaken, totally alone? It’s a painful place to be, a place where you feel no one understands or “feels your pain.” But one person does understand, and has felt your pain and has conquered death for you so that you can have eternal life.
It’s hard for us to really embrace the idea that Jesus Christ was as much a man as he was God. But along with the miracles he performed as the Son of God, he also experienced humanity as deeply as we do...and one of the best examples we see is when he, while being crucified, was thirsty. Jesus was human after all, and if he was going save us, if he was going to die in our place, then he needed to be one of us to do it.
As Jesus was growing up, his unique identity as the Son of God and his unique ministry as the Savior of the world must have made for some very interesting family situations. Certainly these family ties were strained during the course of his life, and they were broken altogether at the cross.
The thief on the cross next to Jesus was a criminal in life, the lowest of the low. But he knew his Savior when he met him that day at the place of the Skull outside Jerusalem. Was he just lucky, to be dying next to Jesus? For just at the last possible moment in his earthly life he received the gift of eternal life.
While many millions have been saved already, millions more are still waiting to hear the message of salvation. God has not finished gathering that great multitude that will one day worship at his throne. If they are to hear the message of salvation, it is up to us to proclaim it.
Glory, the after life, is not a place we know in great detail, however, the book of Revelation offers us an interesting glimpse into Heaven. It describes an enormous number of people from all different ethnic groups and places worshipping the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
Suffering in the Christian life is not necessarily to be avoided and neither is it to be accepted with a defeated attitude. The life of the Christian is to be patterned after Jesus Christ’s.
The Bible calls us saints, which means holy ones, because God has separated us from sin and blessed us for His service. Most Christians would agree that we have a need for personal holiness, however, we have difficulty in agreeing as to how this holiness actually comes about.
Believing the message of salvation is not an end in itself, it is only the beginning. We are not merely saved from sin, but we are also saved for God’s glory. God’s glory is commonly revealed in genuine Christian community.
In our rebellion we put Jesus Christ, the son of God, to death. Now our lives are forfeit. But here we see the wonder of God’s adopting grace, that it turns rebels into princes. Through faith in Jesus Christ we become God’s own sons and daughters.
We are all on trial. The religious and the irreligious, believers and atheists, everyone must stand before God’s throne for judgment. The standard for justice is God’s perfect law. And it is by that standard, that everyone deserves to be condemned.
If you stop and think about it, most people ask the wrong questions about God. Does God exist? Why is there so much evil in the world? If God is loving, why is there suffering? What they are trying to figure out is if God is acceptable to them. Do you see that? But the real question is, are we acceptable to God? And the answer – apart from salvation in Jesus Christ – is no.
Do you know someone who doesn’t steal? Doesn’t run with a bad crowd. Gives thanks to God for his blessings. Prays. Fasts. And even gives generously to the church and to the poor? Someone who does all that is required and more, but for all the evident devotion, is not saved? That’s because pious acts don’t improve our standing before God.
What does it mean to be born again? For some, it implies a literal re-birth from the womb, whereas others think it is the name for a bunch of over-zealous believers. Well, Nicodemus confronted Jesus and asked him just that question.
It is the story of Christ Jesus dead, entombed, and resurrected that represents the full picture of what we are to know of His Easter sacrifice. Many shortchange Jesus’ significance by not telling or believing in His complete work. It is only those components, told together, that represent the true work of God.
If you stop and think about it, most people ask the wrong questions about God. Does God exist? Why is there so much evil in the world? If God is loving, why is there suffering? What they are trying to figure out is if God is acceptable to them. Do you see that? But the real question is, are we acceptable to God? And the answer – apart from salvation in Jesus Christ – is no.
Do you know someone who doesn’t steal? Doesn’t run with a bad crowd. Gives thanks to God for his blessings. Prays. Fasts. And even gives generously to the church and to the poor? Someone who does all that is required and more, but for all the evident devotion, is not saved? That’s because pious acts don’t improve our standing before God.
Why did the eternal Son of God have to become a man? It’s a good question. And it connects two very important things – the person of Jesus Christ and his work. Sound a bit too theological? It’s really quite simple. Redemption is a family matter, so the price to redeem us had to be paid by our own flesh and blood.
If you were to ask people you know to describe the Bible, what do you think they’d say? Probably, some would say it’s a story. Others a fable. You’ll also hear that it’s a collection of moral teachings. Or maybe just a piece of literature. Sometimes you hear it spoken of as the bestseller of all time. Well, the Bible is a story – but the important thing is whose story it is.
Do you know that God’s saving grace is either anticipated, accomplished, or applied on every page of the Bible? Christ is our salvation. It is in Christ that we are called, redeemed, forgiven, adopted, reconciled, sanctified, and finally, glorified. It’s God’s work from beginning to end. And not only that, but God planned our salvation before the foundation of time. God knew the solution even before we caused the problem.
Have you thought about the sinfulness of sin? Sounds redundant, doesn’t it? But sin has a compounding effect. It makes us ashamed. It shows us to be guilty. It separates us from God. And even though we’re the ones who actually sin, we even blame it on God. And we’ve been doing that since Adam and Eve ate the apple.
Sin brings real consequences. It brings guilt and shame. It’s not something we can cover over or hide. So what do we do? How do we pay the price? We don’t.
There are times when we each need to face the big questions of life. Regardless of where we are in life, even Christians need to be reminded that we are saved by grace, and saved by a God who is good.
Do you know of many resurrections? Most everyone knows of Christ Jesus’ resurrection from tomb, but few know of the resurrections in the Old Testament that point towards that work of God on the cross.
Do you struggle with money? Many folks have trouble managing their personal finances and in addition to that have no clue as to how best serve God with the gifts he has given them.
Old Testament trivia tell us that King Joash was the youngest king of Israel. What it doesn’t tell us is that he would be the last hope for the birth line of David and he was hunted to see that God’s promised heritage would not continue or lead to the birth of our greatest ruler, King Jesus.
Giving our whole-heart to the Lord is difficult in times when the self and its desires of pleasure, entertainment, and money are so prominent. However, Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.
Who are you accountable to? As we concentrate on tending to our gardens, watching sports, reading magazines, or preparing to go to Church, too few people in this life feel accountable to God or understand his divine justice.
The presence of evil is something in which we all are very well aware. While kings and rulers vary in degree as to who is more or less evil or good, the Bible gives us basic principles to understand a good ruler from a bad one.
In our culture there tends to be a major emphasis on the individual’s importance above all else. What this leads to for Christians is an overemphasis on individual conversion and experience. This overemphasis hasn’t always been helpful as it has led to an unhealthy view of the Christian life.
All throughout the Bible we hear about good news. We hear this from the Old Testament declarations of some hungry lepers through to the accounts of the New Testament apostles.
Often it seems like we are alone during life’s difficult times. This is especially true when we are blind to the realities of God and are engulfed in spiritual darkness. However, by the prophet Elisha’s example we can see that turning to God in prayer provides all spiritual light we need against the forces of evil.
Money is the root of all evil! You may have heard this before, and there is some truth to it. The love of money can easily become the object of someone’s greed, and therefore, lead them into gross sin, and eventually death.
Isn’t it much easier to forget the gifts we receive than to remember them with a grateful heart? This is a regular problem for those following Jesus, because we quickly forget that the grace we received was free. We didn’t earn it! And that same free grace we received is what we are called to give others.
Regardless of what we may think of our present possessions and daily food, we must realize that they are from God. It is out of God’s great providence that we are provided for regularly.
Many people spend their lives guarding against disappointment. Success always comes as something of a surprise to them, and failure confirms their suspicions. Now in some cases, not getting one’s hopes up may be prudent. But not when it comes to the promises of God.
Widows and orphans have always had a special place in God’s heart. This means that they should also have a special place in the life and heart of the church.
Where do we go to weather life’s storms? Do we turn to false gods and attempt to find refuge and peace through their passing pleasures? Or, do we do what we are taught in the Bible, that is, to go to the Father, through the Lord Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit?
People who call themselves “God’s servants” have a lot to live up to in terms of truly doing the Lord’s Kingdom work. They also have to deal with the worldly adversity that usually comes with trying to do what is right.
Without a father we miss out on a protector, provider, role model, and many of the positive benefits of a Dad. Going without such an important figure in our lives could be very destructive to our upbringing. However, following the traits of Elijah, any father can be more prepared and any child may know their father in Heaven.
No one is able to please the Lord without the Spirit of the Lord. So how can we go about pleasing Him? We need to call upon the Lord in order to pour out His spirit upon us, much like Elisha the prophet did at the end of his mentor Elijah’s ministry.
Ultimate questions of meaning and purpose quickly surface when we are confronted with our own mortality. It is something that no one will escape in the present. How do we understand our lives and our deaths? These ultimate issues the Scriptures speak to clearly.
The Word of God is readily available to just about any American. The question is though, “Will any one hear, understand, and follow its ways?” In the biblical story of King Ahab’s death, we have an obviously tragic example of someone who disregarded the Word of God.
Coveting is the tenth commandment. It has to do with desire and is often felt to be the least or amongst the least significant commandment. But what the Bible teaches is that it is the root of the most horrific sins.
The way we conceive God to be determines how we behave. In Elijah’s day the King of Syria believed it possible to defeat the Israelites in the valley, because he thought Israel’s God was just a god of the hills.
The question of “calling” is raised by everyone. It does not matter what the issue is, it can be vocation, place of residence, or spirituality. This question of calling is answered in part through the story of Elijah’s anointing Elisha to replace him as prophet.
Spiritual depression comes upon us all. Its possible causes are many, so how can a Christian seek to get out of it? In the story of Elijah we have a good example of how God deals with the spiritually low.
| 05/26/13 | The New Humanity |
| 05/26/13 | A Word for the Skeptical |