Plenty During a Famine

Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 7

Focus Verse: 2 Kings 7:9  “Finally, they said to each other, This is not right. This is a day of good news and we aren’t sharing it with anyone.  If we wait until morning, some calamity will certainly fall upon us.  Come on, let’s go back and tell the people at the palace.”

What an odd story we find in 2 Kings 7.  Here are four men dying of leprosy at the city gate during a famine.  Not only are they starving, but everyone in the city is also starving.  So the four lepers decide to go visit the enemy camp to see if there is food there.  Thinking they may be killed by the enemy, but they thought it was a risk they should take to find some food.  Much to their surprise when they got to the enemy camp not a person was there.  All their food, gold, silver, and possessions were all there in their tents.  So the four men began eating their fill for food.  They took some of the gold and silver and hid it.  But there was so much they could not carry it all away. Then they began to feel guilty.  Here they were enjoying all these good things while the people back in their town are starving.  So they decided to go back and tell what they had found.  

This story reminds me of how we treat the Gospel message sometimes.  As believers in Christ we have found the truth of God’s Word and salvation.  And we sit around feasting on it, and rarely telling another person what we have found.  The world is out there starving spiritually.  Let us do as the lepers did and go back and tell of the riches we have found through a relationship with God.  We have plenty, so let’s share what we have found.  The best way you could show someone that you love them is to tell them about Jesus.   

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

Hope of Success

Scripture reading: Numbers 13

Focus verses: “The Lord said to Moses, "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites… Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." Numbers 13:1a, 30-31

The Lord told Moses to send some men to explore the promised land that He is giving to them.  (He didn't tell them to decide if they could take it, but that it was being given.)  After the appointed men explored, they saw that the land was very good, but most of them complained that it would be too difficult to take over the powerful people and fortified cities.  They began to spread lies about the land, saying that it was a bad land and the people were giants.  They lost their hope and treated God with contempt.

Caleb saw the good land and trusted in the God who said that He was giving them the land.  In Numbers 14 we see that Joshua joins Caleb in declaring the land to be good and trusting in God's protection and promise.

We may not always know what God is giving us, but we can trust God to deliver us if we are trusting in Him, even in the face of our own personal giants.  Do not give up hope in God.  Do not treat God with contempt and rebel against Him.  Walk in confidence as Caleb and Joshua did.

~Page Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

The Rewards of Humility

Bible reading: Luke 18Focus verse: "I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." Luke 18:14

 

Written by Greg Laurie:

The great evangelist Dwight L. Moody said, “I have had more trouble with D. L. Moody than with any other man who has crossed my path. If I can keep him right, I don’t have any trouble with other people.”

We love to blame things on other people when, in reality, the problem lies with us. We can point fingers and complain about this person doing that thing and that person doing another thing. But the truth is that our own hearts aren’t right.

It’s no different than Adam and Eve shifting blame in the Garden of Eden. Adam said, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” Then Eve said, “The serpent deceived me. . . . That’s why I ate it” (Genesis 3:12–13 NLT).

All too often we blame other people or our circumstances rather than admit that we’re responsible for what we do.

Jesus told a parable about two men who went into the temple to pray. One was a sinner, and the other was a Pharisee. The sinner would not even lift his eyes to Heaven. Instead, he said, “O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner” (Luke 18:13 NLT). This guy was bad, and he knew it.

Meanwhile, the Bible says, “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican” (verse 11 KJV).
Jesus said, “I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (verse 14 NLT).

The one who admitted his sin, the one who owned it, is the one who went home justified before God.

Written by Greg Laurie

Stay Close to the Shepherd

Stay Close to the Shepherd

Scripture Reading: Psalm 23

Focus Verse: Psalm 23:4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me, Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”

I have heard Psalm 23:4 quoted many times at funerals or to comfort someone who is on their deathbed.  It’s a great verse, but is this really the correct use of the verse?  Is that really how the Psalmist  David meant it when he wrote it?  David says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.”  He talks about walking.  What could this mean?

I picture this verse being used by a soldier that is walking through enemy territory.  He wants to keep walking.  He wants to keep moving and he’s calling on the Lord as his Shepherd to get him through this situation.  

Life takes us through valleys and over mountaintops.  Would it be nice if we stayed on the mountaintops all the time?  Here’s a quote from Greg Laurie, "Spiritual fruit doesn’t grow on mountaintops. It grows in valleys. And the real fruit and depth and character in your Christian life will not come through the good times. Instead, it will come from times of difficulty and suffering as you are being conformed into the image of Jesus Christ and are learning to completely trust Him.”   

If you find yourself in a valley stay close to the Shepherd.  He will never leave you and He will see you through to the other side.

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

Keep in Step

Bible Reading Daniel 1Focus verse: "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Galatians 5:24-25

In the Bible reading today, we see that Daniel and his friends have been taken up to serve in the King's palace.  This meant that they were going to be given all the richest of food and wine and walk in step with all that their world thought was good.  It is thought that the king's meal was not according to the laws of eating that God had given to the Israelites and that to violate that law would have been out of step with God.  Therefore, Daniel did not want to defile himself (to make himself unclean) with the king's food and wine and requested that they be given vegetables and water to drink.  They were granted the request and fed vegetables and water for ten days and were found to be stronger and in good health.  God gave them knowledge, skills and wisdom.

God desires that you keep in step with the Holy Spirit.  Sometimes that is very easy, but other times it is a challenge.  We can be challenged by friends and neighbors around us who are not in step with the Spirit.  We an also be challenged by our own passions and desires.  It is easier to just walk in step with everyone around you than to examine whether or not it is in step with the Spirit.  Every decision is a spiritual decision. Daniel didn't want to disturb his relationship with God and gave a firm rejection of the temptation.

When the Holy Spirit gives conviction, we must remember it. We can't be led astray by whispers of the enemy. We can't follow our passions and our own desires.  Even a little foot misplaced can lead us off into the wrong direction in our lives.  It takes a spiritual discipline and self sacrifice to remain in step with God.

Page Johnson
Interlocking Ministries