“Where is the God of Elijah?” Elijah had performed many miracles. He stopped the rain. He made the widow woman’s flour and oil replenish itself. He called fire down from heaven at the contest with the priests of Baal. He raised the widow’s son from the dead. He started the rain again 3 years later. He prophesied destruction upon Ahab and Jezebel. He knew the unfaithfulness of Ahaziah. He parted the water of the Jordan. In short no less than seven miracles are recorded for him. Elisha desired a double portion of that spirit. Was it the Spirit of God that He desired?
He received the mantle of his master. Now was the time to test whether he had that Spirit or not. He voiced his thought, “Where is the God of Elijah?” Striking the water with the mantle with which Elijah had stricken the water, it parted. The sons of the prophets had all watched the amazing events. Yes, the Spirit of the Lord was now resting upon Elisha.
But what happened to Elijah? Surely they must go look for him. What does that say about what they thought about God? Here these sons of the prophets (prophets in training) believed that God is capricious enough that He would toss away his servant like a used rag doll. What kind of glory is that? But they pressed the issue because they believed it to be true. Elisha was beginning to feel embarrassed by their insistence. Did he not care about his master? Under pressure he sent them. He was beginning to look bad. He knew they would not find him. He knew exactly where Elijah was. He knew the glory of his God.
Sometimes I want to scream, “Where is the God of Elijah? Why aren’t you doing miracles here?” Maybe it is because I am more intent on my own glory rather than His glory. Maybe it is because I am wanting to draw attention to myself rather than to Him. After all, it is he who came in the spirit of Elijah that said, “He must increase, but I must decrease!” Maybe if I completely embraced that attitude, then I would see the miracles of the Living God. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Go to: http://genesistochroniclespictures.blogspot.com/ “Elisha Spring”
PSALM 112
I asked my mother about her paternal grandfather, Maxey. He was a simple farmer, but he seemed to have an inordinate number of descendants who were ministers, doctors, lawyers and educators. “Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who delights greatly in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed.” I never met him, but from what I have learned from my mother and my grandmother, my great grandfather left a mighty legacy concerning the glory of the Lord. It passed to my grandmother, my mother, and to me. Now that is not to say that all his descendants are saints; indeed, I have at least one scallywag for a cousin. Of my grandmother’s children 3 were educators, and one was a doctor. The fifth married an educator. Of my grandmother’s 20 grandchildren there are 4 pastors, one missionary, one college professor, 4 teachers, a lawyer, a medical field professional, a fireman, 2 accountants, a shoe salesperson, a shop owner, and 2 oil field workers. I would say that at least in that line of my great-grandfather’s descendants, there are a number of “mighty on earth” people.
My grandmother prayed constantly for her grand-children. I still possess a letter she sent me when I was in college. She wrote of how she prayed for me in particular and all her grandchildren in general. I have often wondered what the relationship was between her death and the plethora of bad things that happened to her children and grandchildren in the year after she died. I conclude that our prayer covering was gone, and until we awakened to that fact and began taking up the prayer slack, we suffered. I don’t pretend to be able to completely understand the relationship between a man fearing the Lord and his descendants being mighty in the earth, but it is clear that there is a principle (to which there are always exceptions) between the two. That is part of the glory of the Lord that He would honor his relationship with one person to extend to their descendants. And I, for one, am thankful for it. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
AMOS 4
Have you ever considered the sarcasm of God? Sarcasm is one of the most biting of humors. It is painful, and as such, it usually gets attention. This passage reeks of it. He calls the women ‘cows of Bashan.’ Bashan was known for its rich pasture land and therefore fat cows. It is a symbol of rich opulence. How would you like to be called a cow? The rich women of Israel had reached a place of hardness of heart that they crushed the poor and needy in order to continue enjoying their drunken parties. He calls them to worship at Bethel, one of the places where Jeroboam set up the golden calves to keep people from going to the appointed place of worship. He calls them to Gilgal, the place where Israel renewed the covenant after crossing the Jordan by circumcising all of the men. He calls them to offer thank offerings using leaven, a practice forbidden by the Lord in the Law. Leaven was a symbol of sin. Yes the passage drips with sarcasm.
Yet in the biting humor, He gives reason after reason why judgment is about to fall upon them. He gave them cleanness of teeth, lack of food to eat, lack of water to drink, blight & mildew upon their crops, plague and war. The refrain for each one is, “Yet you have not returned to Me.” He desires us to return. The bad things are designed to make us think, “What have I done wrong? What must I do to return to the Lord?” Yet, they did not, hence the sarcasm. It was meant to get their attention. But now He has one thing to say, “Prepare to meet your God!” He then describes Himself
For behold, He who forms mountains, And creates the wind, Who declares to man what his thought is, And makes the morning darkness, Who treads the high places of the earth— The LORD God of hosts is His name.
Wow! Man you talk about a majestic description! I wouldn’t want to meet Him when He has just shared His sarcasm concerning my absolute defiance of Him. Lord, help me to hear and heed Your warnings toward me. Do not let me experience Your warnings without repentance! You are the glorious King! You deserve all of my obedience! I need You. I need a good relationship with You! Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
1 TIMOTHY 1
"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." When we look at the glory of our Lord we each would join the apostle Paul in saying that very thing. At our first look at His glory we usually see the brilliance of His holiness. In the light of His holiness our sin becomes apparent. We begin to realize that we are lawless and insubordinate, ungodly and sinners, unholy and profane, murderers and manslayers, fornicators and sodomites, kidnappers, liars, perjurers, blasphemers, persecutors and insolent. We see His holy hatred of sin. Some reject that and run from Him, hiding their sin. But those who take a second look see something else. They see mercy and grace flowing from Him and His cross and resurrection that carries away and cleanses the sin, which we would seek to hide. The need to hide dissipates as we gaze upon Him, for we no longer see Him as the angry God. We see Him as the blessed God. He is happy. He is full of joy. Did you catch that? He is full of joy. His joy is because our sin is gone and replaced with the very righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. When you think of God or Jesus, do you think of Him with a smile on His face? If we have received His mercy and grace, we should, because that is exactly what is there. He is after all, the blessed God. He is pleased with Himself and what He is doing in us. It pleases Him to give us abundant grace. The next time some one asks you, "How are you doing?" Why not answer with, "How could I be doing any better than knowing that the Lord Jesus Christ is smiling upon me right now?" He is the blessed God. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
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