Jehoshaphat strengthens Judah                          verse 1- 2

 

And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead

and strengthened himself against Israel

      and he placed forces in all the fenced cities of Judah

                  and set garrisons in the land of Judah

                              and in the cities of Ephraim

                                          which Asa his father had taken 

Jehoshaphat honors the LORD                           verse 3- 6 

And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat

BECAUSE he WALKED in the first ways of his father David

and sought not unto Baalim

            BUT sought to the LORD God of his father

                        and WALKED in HIS commandments

                                    and not after the doings of Israel

THEREFORE the LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand

            and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents

                        and he had riches and honor in abundance

                                    and his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD

                                                moreover he took away the high places

                                                            and groves out of Judah 

Jehoshaphat sent teachers throughout Judah     verse 7- 9 

Also in the third year of his reign he sent to his princes – even to

Ben-hail – Obadiah – Zechariah – Nethaneel – Michaiah

to TEACH in the cities of Judah

And with them he sent Levites – even

            Shemaiah – Nethaniah – Zebadiah – Asahel – Shemiramoth

                        Jehonathan – Adonijah – Tobijah – Tob-adonijah = Levites

                                    and with them- Elishama – Jehoram = priests

And they TAUGHT in Judah

            and had the book of the law of the LORD with them

                        and went about throughout all the cites of Judah

                                    and TAUGHT the people 

Fear of the LORD protected Jehoshaphat          verse 10- 11 

And the FEAR of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were

round about Judah – so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat

      also some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents

and tribute silver

      and the Arabians brought him flocks

                  seven thousand and seven hundred rams

                              seven thousand and seven hundred he goats 

Troops of Jehoshaphat                                        verse 12- 19 

And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly – and he built in Judah castles

and cities of store – and he had much business in the cities of Judah

      and the men of war – mighty men of valor were in Jerusalem

And these are the numbers of them according to the house of their fathers

of Judah – the captains of thousands

Adnah the chief – and with him mighty men of valor – three hundred thousand

and next to him was Jehohanan the captain

and with him two hundred and fourscore thousand

and next him was Amasiah the son of Zichri

who willingly offered himself unto the LORD

                                    and with him two hundred thousand mighty

men of valor

and of Benjamin – Eliada a mighty man of valor

                        and with him armed men with /bow and shield

two hundred thousand

            and next him was Jehozabad – and with him an hundred

and fourscore thousand ready prepared for the war

These waited on the king – beside those whom the king put in the

fenced cities throughout all Judah 

COMMENTARY:          

 

DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers           

 

: 3        And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim (1980 “walked” [halak] means to go, behave, grow, be at the point, proceed, or move)

DEVOTION:  In Psalm 1, we read that those who are headed in the right direction are blessed of the LORD. There are two directions given in the Bible. One is toward the LORD and the other is away from the LORD. There is no middle ground. No partial obedience. One direction that is pleasing to the LORD.

Our life on this earth is a process. We are either walking with God or walking with the devil. The Pharisees were told by the LORD Jesus Christ that their father was the devil. They thought they were following the LORD but it was all external.

David walked with God. He was not perfect. Here is a descendant that followed in David’s footsteps. Jehoshaphat proceeded in the way of the LORD that David had done at the first. He caused many reforms to happen in Judah.

One of the reforms was to teach the people the word of the LORD.  The priests and Levites moved from village to village training the people in the law of the LORD. This caused all the nations around him to fear the LORD. It caused him to have peace with his neighbors.

The church needs to teach the Word of the LORD, the Bible. There are many things happening in our churches but one of them is not the teaching of the Word of God. Many people in our Bible believing churches don’t know the basics of the Word of God.

We need a reform in the churches of the teaching of the Word of God. We need a revival in the people of God. When we have revival, God’s people will want to learn the Word of God. They will want to tell others about the LORD. This should be our prayer. Are we proceeding with the LORD in the right way?

Remember that parents are to train their children in the way of the LORD!!!

Each Christian is supposed to mature enough to teach others the truths of the Word of God. Each Christian is to move from basic doctrines to a more mature knowledge of doctrine.

CHALLENGE:  No one should stay with the milk of the Word of God. All are to seek the “meat” of the Word of God. Where are we? 

 

DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers

 

: 4        But sought to the LORD God of his father, and walked in HIS commandments, and not after the doings of Israel. (4639 “doings” [ma’aseh] means work, acts, labor, accomplishments, an accepted or habitual practice of long standing)

DEVOTION:  There was a division in the nation of Israel. There were two nations. One nation was called Judah and the other was called Israel. Judah was two tribes and the Levities.

The Levities were the ones who made sure that the people worshiped properly in the Temple in Jerusalem which was the capital of the nation of Judah. So we find that these two tribes were faithful to the LORD when their king was faithful to the LORD.

Jehoshaphat sought to obey the LORD as his father did at the beginning of his reign over Judah. The other nation of ten tribes was worshiping false gods from the beginning. They had set up false gods right at the beginning and told the priests and Levites to leave the land. They had set up anyone who wanted to be a priest as a priest to the false gods.

Now the division was plain to the people of the land. They were to worship only the ONE TRUE God if they expected the LORD to bless them. Jehoshaphat realized this truth and set up proper worship with instructions for the people.

He had to remove evil practice even from his land but he didn’t want to do it alone. He wanted there to be a genuine following of the LORD.

Today, we have so many different places of worship teaching people what God expects of them. They don’t agree sometimes but many times we find that the Bible is not the center of their worship times.

I have been in churches that have book reports in place of sermons from the Word of God. The people will not receive the truth of the Bible so they pretend to worship God when in reality they are worshiping a false god.

There are places of worship that accept evil practices today. They look religious but they are not following the LORD and HIS WORD, the Bible. Only those places that truly worship the LORD will hold the Bible in high regard and teach it as truth to the people who attend.

CHALLENGE:  If the one in the pulpit is not genuinely teaching the Word of God, you need to leave and find a church that does teach the truth of the Word of God.

_______________________________________________ 

: 6        And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah. (3820 “heart” [leb] means one’s inner self, disposition, determination, the locus of a person’s thoughts, or inclination)

DEVOTION:  A question we each have to ask ourselves on a regular basis is “Do I delight in the ways of the LORD?” This has to be a time when we genuinely look at our own heart and ask this question. We are the only ones who can answer in the quiet of our time of meditation on the Word of God.

Our prayer has to be that we will delight in the ways of the LORD each day. This can only happen if we are daily in the Word of God and asking the LORD to instruct us in HIS truth and how to genuinely worship HIM in spirit and in truth.

Too often we find individuals who are not committed to learning more about how to worship the LORD on a daily basis. Many think that they can go to church for one hour a week and that is enough until the next Sunday. It is never enough. God wants us to be walking with HIM every moment of every day.

We have to make sure that we are removing any false teaching or any false god from our life and concentrate on what it means to worship the LORD twenty-four seven each week.

Jehoshaphat dealt with false gods that could be seen, we have to deal with those that are active in society that sometimes don’t even look like false gods. These have to be removed from our life.

DEVOTION:  Ask the LORD to show you if there are any false gods in your life.

DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers

: 9        And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the LORD with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people. (3925 “taught” [lamad] means learn, instruct, to impart skills and knowledge to, be skillful, exercise in, learn, train, or cause to learn)

DEVOTION:  Jehoshaphat was a king that knew that just destroying the areas of false worship was not enough. The people would just set up new places of false worship. So he had a plan. He sent Levites, priests and princes to teach the people the Law of the LORD.

They would be going into villages and making sure that people understood that it was against the LORD to set up false worship. He made sure that they were instructed in the standard the LORD had set for HIS people in the wilderness. He had these teachers apply the truths of the Word of God found in the first five books of the Bible.

So, he not only destroyed places of worship that didn’t honor the LORD but instructed the people in proper worship of the LORD. This was necessary to make sure that the people knew why they couldn’t just worship any god and please the LORD. The LORD didn’t want to share worship with any false god.

Today we have our enemy working even more in the background within society. He wants everyone to believe that, all those standards, from the Old Testament and the teachings of the disciples are old-fashioned. He wants everyone to believe that we are living in a new age that doesn’t need the instructions from the Bible. It is an old book that can be forgotten.

            Many churches have stopped having Sunday School. Some of these churches even are not giving very much instruction during the worship service that seems to be preoccupied with music and personal testimonies rather than genuine instruction from the Word of God during a Biblical message.

There is still a need for good instruction today for all ages. There needs to be burden to learn more about what the LORD expects of HIS people on a day-to-day basis. That means every believer needs to learn from the Word of God daily whether it is on their own or through instructions from good Biblical Bible Teachers.

There are many books out there that are not really teaching the Word of God but one person’s interpretation of the Word of God which can be to promote their own teachings rather than God’s instructions.

If you want to follow someone who is way out there regarding what they think the LORD is doing – there are plenty of books that do that. New ideas are coming everyday that can cause people to move away from the Bible into other books that teach religious things but not Biblical truth.

These men took the first five books of the Bible with them to instruct the people. We need to take the Bible with us to instruct those who are under our influence.

CHALLENGE: Instruction needs to center on the Word of God not the views of men.

__________________________________________________________ 

: 19      These waited on the king, beside those whom the king put in the fenced cities throughout all Judah. (8334 “waited” [sharath] means to work for or be a servant to, minister, serve, attend to the service of God, or higher domestic servant)

DEVOTION: These were specifically the five commandeers who served the king in the city of Jerusalem. They had their responsibility like others had all over the nation. These were men that took their responsibility seriously.

We need to realize that once we become a genuine follower of Jesus Christ, we are HIS representatives in the city we live in for the rest of our lives. We are there to defend HIM to all comers. We have to inform people around us of our responsibility and that we are serious about doing our best to serve the LORD with our whole heart.

This need to be true today more than any other time as many are pretending to be followers of Jesus Christ and yet they live more for themselves than for the LORD. Our witness is important in reaching our world for the LORD.

What are we doing to work for the LORD today? What are we planning on doing for the LORD tomorrow? We have to think these thoughts and practice our faith before others, in order to, reach them for the LORD.

Defense is an important position in the service of the king. It was true in Judah and it is true in the country we live in today.

CHALLENGE: Do people around you know who you serve?

________________________________________________________

DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:

BODY

Chastity (Purity in living)

Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)

Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)

Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)

Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)

SOUL

Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)

Frugality (wise use of resources)

Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)

Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)

Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)

SPIRIT

Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)

Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)

Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)

Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)

Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group) 

          Levites                                                            verse 8

                        Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah

                        Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan,

                        Adonijah, Tobijah, Tob-adonijah

            Priests                                                             verse 8

                        Elishama and Jehoram

            Taught book of the law of the LORD            verse 9

                        Throughout all the cities of Judah

                                    to the people

______________________________________________________________

DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:

Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible) 

Commandments                                                        verse 4

Book of the law of the LORD                                    verse 9 

God the Father (First person of the Godhead) 

LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)   verse 3- 6, 9, 10, 16

God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign)                        verse 4

LORD God                                                                verse 4

Established the kingdom of Jehoshaphat               verse 5

Ways of the LORD                                                   verse 6

Book of the law of the LORD                                  verse 9

Fear of the LORD                                                     verse 10 

God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)

God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)

Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)    

Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)

Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation) 

Philistines                                                                   verse 11

Arabians                                                                    verse 11 

Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels) 

Seeking Baalim                                                          verse 3

Doings of Israel                                                          verse 4

Worshiping in the high places                                 verse 6

Worshipping in groves                                             verse 6 

Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins) 

LORD with us                                                           verse 3

Walked in the LORD                                                verse 3

Seeking the LORD                                                   verse 4

Walked in the commandments of the LORD         verse 4

Honor from others                                                 verse 5

Follow the ways of the LORD                                 verse 6

Teach others from book of the Law                      verse 7, 9

Fear of the LORD                                                   verse 10

Willingly offer self to the LORD                            verse 16 

Israel (Old Testament people of God) 

      Jehoshaphat                                                           verse 1- 12

                  Reigned as king in Judah

                  Strengthened himself against Israel

                  Garrisons in land of Judah and

                              cities of Ephraim

                  Walked in ways of the LORD

                  Sought not to Baalim

                  Walked in God’s commandments

                              not the doings of Israel

                  Had riches and honor in abundance

                  Heart lifted in ways of the LORD

                  Took away high places and groves

                  Sent Levites and priests to teach

                              all of Judah the law of the

                              LORD

                  Fear of LORD on all the people

                  No war

                  Gifts brought from other nations

                  Waxed great exceedingly

                  Much business in cities of Judah

                  Men of war were in Jerusalem                 

      David                                                                      verse 3

      Send to his princes: Ben-hail and Obadiah

                  Zechariah, Nethaneel , Michaiah

                              To teach in the cities of Judah       verse 7

      Men of War in Jerusalem                                       verse 13- 19

                  Adnah the chief

                              300,000 men

                  Jehohanan the captain

                              280,000 men

                  Amasiah – son of Zichri

                              200, 000 mighty men of valor

                   Eliada of Benjamin

                              200,000 men

                  Jehozabad                 

                              180,000 men

                  Were put in fenced cities throughout

                              all Judah                   

 

Church (New Testament people of God)

Last Things (Future Events)

_____________________________________________________________

DONATIONS:

Remember that all donations to Small Church Ministries are greatly appreciated. The treasurer will send a receipt, at the end of the year unless otherwise requested. Please be sure to make check out to “Small Church Ministries.” The address for the treasurer is P.O. Box 604, East Amherst, New York 14051. A second way to give to the ministry is through PayPal on the website: www.smallchurchministries.org  Also if you can support this ministry through your local church, please use that method.  Thank you.

__________________________________________________________________

QUOTES regarding passage

17:9 It is not certain whether the book of the law of the Lord was the book of the covenant or an edition of it (Exod 20:22–23:33; 34). It may have been a royal law code like other royal edicts. No firm conclusions can be arrived at although there is reason to think that it represents authoritative writings that regulated Israel’s life. What is clear from the text is that this group of men—officials, Levites, and priests—went around to all the cities of Judah and taught the people. In this way Israel’s faith was kept alive and nurtured. (Thompson, J. A. (1994). 1, 2 Chronicles (Vol. 9, p. 280). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers)

______________________________________________________________

17:3–9 Jehoshaphat made three strategic moves, spiritually speaking: 1) he obeyed the Lord (17:3–6); 2) he removed false worship from the land (17:6); and 3) he sent out teachers who taught the people the law of the Lord (17:7–9). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (2 Ch 17:3–9). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)

______________________________________________________________

9. There is no reasonable doubt that this “book of the law” was the Pentateuch—nearly, if not quite, in the shape in which we now have it. Copies of the whole Law were, no doubt, scarce; and therefore Jehoshaphat’s commission took care to carry a copy with them. (Barnes, A. (1879). Notes on the Old Testament: I Samuel to Esther. (F. C. Cook, J. M. Fuller, Eds.) (p. 394). London: John Murray.)

____________________________________________________________

Jehoshaphat seems to have had an inkling of this; he felt that the destruction of idolatrous sanctuaries and symbols was like mowing down weeds and leaving the roots in the soil. Ascordingly he made an attempt to deal more radically with the evil: he would take away the inclination as well as the opportunity for corrupt rites. A commission of princes, priests, and Levites was sent throughout all the cities of Judah to instruct the people in the law of Jehovah. Vice will always find opportunities; it is little use to suppress evil institutions unless the people are educated out of evil propensities. If, for instance, every public-house in England were closed to-morrow, and there were still millions of throats craving for drink, drunkenness would still prevail, and a new administration would promptly reopen gin-shops. (Bennett, W. H. (1903). The Books of Chronicles. In W. Robertson Nicoll (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible: Samuel to Job (Vol. 2, p. 559). Hartford, CT: S.S. Scranton Co.)

____________________________________________________________

(piel) teach, instruct, train, i.e., impart information in a formal or informal setting, with a focus that the information will be responded to, so be a training of the object (Dt 4:1) (Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.)

_____________________________________________________________

7–9 Though Jehoshaphat’s “reign” (v.7) is said to have covered twenty-five years (20:31), 872–848 b.c., it can also be said to have terminated in only twenty-two years (eighteen, in 2 Kings 3:1, plus four more, in 8:16), i.e., from the death of his father Asa in 869. Jehoshaphat must therefore have enjoyed an additional three-year coregency, commencing in 872, a procedure that was probably necessary because of Asa’s illness, which became increasingly serious in the following year (cf. on 16:12). Yet his dispatch of a religious teaching mission (17:7–9; cf. Notes) seems sufficiently independent to suggest that what v.7 calls his “third year” must have been that “of his” sole “reign,” or 867.

The mission consisted of five government officials, nine Levites, and two priests, as named (v.8). For Jehoshaphat seems to have recognized how important it was for all the leaders of God’s people (cf. Matt 28:20) “to teach” them “the Book of the Law of the Lord” (v.9; the Pentateuch, or at least Deuteronomy, though it could by this time have included the historical books through 2 Samuel and much of the Davidic and Solomonic poetry as well). Teaching was not limited to the professional Levites (Deut 33:10) and priests (Lev 10:11). They “went around to all the towns … and taught” (cf. the traveling evangelists mentioned in NT times, 3 John 7–8). (Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 497). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)

___________________________________________________________

Ver. 9. And they taught in Judah, &c.] The people their duty to God and man: and had the book of the law of the Lord with them; as the rule of their instruction, and the people’s obedience; out of this they taught them, and by it confirmed what they taught, and enforced it with the divine authority: and went about throughout all the cities of Judah; not only their own cities, the Levitical ones, but all others: and taught the people; the law of the Lord, the fear and worship of God. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 3, p. 65). London: Mathews and Leigh.)

_______________________________________________________________ 

FROM MY READING: 

(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)

_____________________________________________________________

PREACHING

Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. Mark 1:14
The word preaching came in this way. When a son and heir was born to the emperor, a proclamation was made, and the word that was used for that very process was the word translated “preaching.” It was an announcement; it happened when the heir was born, when he came of age, and at his accession to the throne or to the imperial power. So what we are told here is that when John the Baptist was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee announcing, proclaiming, heralding. It was the particular work of the herald to do this very thing.
The word preaching is interesting, therefore, because it at once conveys this notion and idea. A herald does not make an uncertain announcement or get up and blow his trumpet and say, “Listen, we do not quite know what’s happening or what is going to take place, but…well, we hope that something is going to happen!” That is not heralding! No; the herald has a definite, specific message, and that is why he gets up and blows his trumpet. “Listen,” he says, “I have something to tell you.” Now that is the term that is used here about what our Lord did. It is also the term that is used about what the apostles did afterwards, and it is the word that has been used about preaching in the Christian church ever since.
So you see we start with a note of certainty, issued from the Imperial Palace. That was the first word uttered, not just a man getting up and saying, “Well, my opinion is that before long there will be an announcement.” No! He stood up with a bit of paper in his hand and said, “Issued by the Imperial Palace at such and such a time, we have the honor to inform you…” That is it. Preaching–the very word carries with it the whole notion of authority, an absolute unequivocal statement.
A Thought to Ponder: Jesus came into Galilee announcing, proclaiming, heralding.
             (From The Kingdom of God, pp. 11-12, by Dr. Martyn  Lloyd-Jones)

_______________________________________________________________

The Reverend God
“He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.” (Psalm 111:9)
It is most interesting that the adjective “reverend” is used only this once in the entire King James Bible. And there it applies to God, not to any man!
However, the Hebrew word so translated in this verse (yârê’) occurs therein frequently, usually being translated (some 30 times) as “terrible.” The first time it is applied to God was by Moses. “Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible” (Deuteronomy 7:21). Note also Moses’ testimony in Deuteronomy 10:17: “For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward.”
For those who would deny or oppose Him, “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). But God is also uniquely a God of love. He is a merciful and forgiving God; He is “the God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10) and of many other wonderful attributes.
“He looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth” (God is thus omnipresent). “He fashioneth their hearts alike” (He is omnipotent). “He considereth all their works” (He is omniscient) (Psalm 33:14-15).
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). If a person truly believes the first verse of the Bible, he should be able to believe all other verses in the Bible, no matter what men or devils can say to the contrary. Our God, who has also become our Redeemer and Savior, is “eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God” (1 Timothy 1:17).
He is indeed a God of many attributes. (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)

_____________________________________________________________

Ezra 3
The priests restore the altar and worship of the Lord.
INSIGHT

The basis of most discontent is comparison. We could be happy with our cars if the neighbors didn’t have better ones. We would be satisfied with our houses if they were as nice as everyone else’s. Yet, were we to have our present possessions in Africa, we would be considered rich. Once our basic needs are met, the issue is not “how are we,” but rather, “how are we compared to how everyone else is.” When the foundation of the new temple is laid, the new generation rejoices at the work of God; but the older generation laments that the new temple is not as impressive as the old one. We should be content with what God has chosen to give us and not make comparisons. He is rich who rejoices in his portion.   (Quiet Walk).

                                    

______________________________________________________________     

No Complaints
“And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.” (Numbers 11:1)
The Lord is not pleased when we complain about our circumstances, no matter how grievous they may seem to us. Our example is Christ, always. “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps” (1 Peter 2:21).
The children of Israel complained once too much. Forgetting all of God’s blessings in miraculously freeing them from slavery and providing all their needs, they repeatedly complained about their lot, one thing after another. “But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted….Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer” (1 Corinthians 10:5-6, 10).
God may not deal with a complaining Christian as severely as He did with His chosen people, Israel, but we can be sure He is displeased when we, who have received the blessing of eternal salvation by His gracious gift through Christ, forget His benefits and complain about His testing. “Do all things without mumurings and disputings,” He has commanded (Philippians 2:14)—that is, without complaining and arguing about our treatment.
We can be confident that He is allowing these difficulties for some good purpose in preparing us for our service for Him in eternity. We should not forget what happened to the complainers in ancient Israel. “Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition” (1 Corinthians 10:11).

              (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)

______________________________________________________________

ANNOUNCING THE PLAN

We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory. 1 Corinthians 2:7
Christian preaching announces a plan and a purpose. “Where do you find that?” asks someone. Well, look at Mark 1:14: “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled.” The Bible says that God had made this plan even before the foundation of the world itself. The apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:7, “We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory.” That is it.
That is the essence of this proclamation that is being made, the essence of Christian preaching. It does not say to us, “There is truth in that uncharted ocean…get out onto it, take your soundings, try to get your bearings, try to find out. Yes, you have discovered a little bit! You may go for weeks and find nothing; months, years pass, then just another little glimmer. But at last. .ah, it won’t happen in your time; it will happen perhaps in your grandchildren’s, or it may be even longer than that. But go on, it is marvelous, keep on.”
No! Christian preaching is the exact opposite to that. The message of the Bible is not to urge us to try to find truth; it is to ask us to listen to the truth, to God’s truth. For its whole point is to say that God, knowing Himself, knowing man, knowing everything, has devised and schemed a plan whereby men and women can be delivered out of their failure and sin and can be made citizens and worthy citizens of God’s kingdom. This is God’s plan!
We are also told that God made this plan known. “God…hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son” (Hebrews 1:1-2).
A Thought to Ponder: The message of the Bible is to ask us to listen to the truth, to God’s truth. (From The Kingdom of God, pp. 14-15, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

_____________________________________________________

Choosing to Honor God

To the faithful you show yourself faithful. Psalm 18:25

________________________________________________________________

WHAT IS LEGITIMATE IN PRAYER?

O God, how long shall the adversary reproach?Psalm 74:10
Pleas and arguments and requests are perfectly legitimate in prayer. Have you noticed how men of God prayed? They knew God was omniscient; so they not only made their requests known to Him but also pleaded with Him. And what I like above everything else is the way they argued with Him. Moses, for example, did so. On one occasion he came down from the Mount and found the people rebellious, and when he found God threatening to disown them and leave them to their own devices, Moses said to God, “You cannot do this.”
Look too at the man in Psalm 74. “O God, how long shall the adversary reproach?” (Psalm 74:10). He says in effect, “Lord, why do You allow men to do these things?” I believe God as Father delights in listening to such pleas and reasonings and arguments. This flabby generation of Christians seems to have forgotten what our fathers used to delight in when they talked about “pleading the promises.” They did not regard that as offensive. They had no sort of mock humility, but they felt they were entitled, according to this teaching, to go to God as the psalmist did and remind him of His own promises. They said, “Lord, I do not understand. I know it is my imperfection, but I am certain of these promises. Lord, help me to see how the promises are to be related to these perplexities.”
So it is perfectly right to plead with God; our Lord pleaded with Him. In His great prayer in John 17 our Lord argued with God by bringing His requests. He reminded God of His own promises and of His own character. I believe God delights in this as Father, and as we do these things in this way our hearts will be reassured before Him, and often we shall be amazed and astonished at the answers that we receive.
A Thought to Ponder: Pleas and arguments and requests are perfectly legitimate in prayer. (From Saved in Eternity, p. 37, by Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

____________________________________________________________

Robert Mueller says “Let me get this straight: A party that supports abortion over life, Illegals over it’s own citizens, and Refugees over it’s homeless veterans, is going to lecture me on morals? I don’t think so Cupcake

___________________________________________________________-

During World War II, a US Marine was separated from his unit on a Pacific island. The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and the crossfire, he had lost touch with his comrades.

Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock. Quickly he crawled inside one of the caves. Although safe for the moment, he realized that once the enemy soldiers looking for him swept up the ridge, they would quickly search all the caves and he would be killed. As he waited, he prayed, “Lord, if it be your will, please protect me. Whatever your will though, I love you and trust you. Amen.”

After praying, he lay quietly listening to the enemy begin to draw close. He thought, “Well, I guess the Lord isn’t going to help me out of this one.”

Just then he saw a spider begin to build a web over the front of his cave. As he watched, listening to the enemy searching for him all the while, the spider layered strand after strand of web across the opening of the cave.

“Hah” he thought, “what I need is a brick wall and what the Lord has sent me is a spider web. God does have a sense of humor.”

As the enemy drew closer, he watched from the darkness of his hideout and could see them searching one cave after another. As they came to him, he got ready to make his last stand. To his amazement, however, after glancing in the direction of his cave, they moved on.

Suddenly, he realized that with the spider web over the entrance, his cave looked as if no one had entered it for quite a while.

“Lord, forgive me,” prayed the young man, “I had forgotten that in you a spider’s web is stronger than a brick wall.”  (by Ricky Shelton)

___________________________________________________________________________

Barbara DeSomer writes (IL): A College Professor got up and said, “If GOD really exists then let him knock me out of my chair, “Nothing Happened! The class was quiet. He said, now I will give it 2 more minutes. A Marine Vet stood up, punched him in the face knocking him out and off his chair, then sat back down. As the Professor came to he looked at his student and said, WHY DID YOU DO THAT? The Marine said, GOD was busy protecting my buddies still fighting for your right to say and od stupid stuff like this so, He sent me! (AMEN)

________________________________________________________________

We’ve been conditioned to think that only politicians can solve our problems. But at some point, maybe we will wake up and recognize that it was the politicians who created our problems. – Ben Carson

_____________________________________________________________

We now have a Facebook page for Small Church Ministries – please invite others to join us on Facebook. Thank you. Look for the logo from the devotionals.