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Rest in the Shadow…when anxious

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Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm 91:1)

Some scholars attribute Psalm 91 to David, and David had every reason to be anxious. After he slays Goliath, David becomes a great warrior in King Saul’s army. However, Saul becomes extremely jealous of David and chases David throughout the kingdom trying to kill him, even though David had been loyal to Saul. No doubt, David had some anxious days. With the king trying to kill him, I’m sure rest was scarce. However, David knew rest was anti-anxiety medicine, especially “rest in the shadow of the Almighty”.

Think about it. To rest in an object’s shadow, we must be close to it. Likewise, we need to be close to God (or have a close relationship with God) in order to rest in his shadow. Additionally, to rest in an object’s shadow, the object must be big. Likewise, God is plenty big enough to cast a large shadow. Consequently, Psalm 91:1 gives me a powerful view over my anxiety. For instance, I see any anxiety being in my shadow. It’s in my shadow because the specific things that make me anxious, apply only to me. In other words, the specific things that make me anxious don’t make other people anxious. Hence, my anxiety is in my shadow. Now I see God casting his shadow over me, and his shadow completely “overshadows” my anxiety. If we put everything in a row, I see a big God, a big shadow, a small me, and a teeny, tiny anxiety.  And it’s very powerful to see my anxiety as something small and insignificant compared to God.

I’m ending all my posts with an invitation to accept Jesus. If you would like to accept Jesus, simply pray the following prayer or one like it: “Dear Lord, I’m a sinner. I acknowledge that You sent Your son, Jesus, to die for my sins. I humbly accept Your son, Jesus, and I now further acknowledge that I am forgiven of my past sins, my present sins, and my future sins.” If you prayed that simple prayer, you are saved. Now, you need to follow Jesus. Start reading your Bible. I would suggest starting with Matthew, reading all of the New Testament, then reading the Old Testament. Also, find a good church. Christianity was never meant to be done alone. You need to be in community with other believers.

 

 

 

 

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What are you doing here? Part II

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The story of Elijah’s interaction with God needs a Part II blog. There’s just too much going on here. When we finished Part I, Elijah was hiding in a cave. He had forgotten how powerful God was and how faithful God had been to him. Now, I want to focus on how God responds to Elijah. His response says much about God’s character. God is powerful. He is patient, and He is faithful.  Here is the interaction between Elijah and God in 1Kings 19:9-17

9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.

Then the Lord spoke his word to Elijah. He asked, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

10 He answered, “Lord God of Armies, I have eagerly served you. The Israelites have abandoned your promises,[a] torn down your altars, and executed your prophets. I’m the only one left, and they’re trying to take my life.”

11 God said, “Go out and stand in front of the Lord on the mountain.”

As the Lord was passing by, a fierce wind tore mountains and shattered rocks ahead of the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake. But the Lord wasn’t in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake there was a fire. But the Lord wasn’t in the fire. And after the fire there was a quiet, whispering voice. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his coat, went out, and stood at the entrance of the cave.

Then the voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

14 He answered, “Lord God of Armies, I have eagerly served you. The Israelites have abandoned your promises, torn down your altars, and executed your prophets. I’m the only one left, and they’re trying to take my life.”

15 The Lord told him, “Go back to the wilderness near Damascus, the same way you came. When you get there, anoint Hazael as king of Aram. 16 Anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king of Israel. And anoint Elisha, son of Shaphat, from Abel Meholah as prophet to take your place. 17 If anyone escapes from Hazael’s sword, Jehu will kill him. And if anyone escapes from Jehu’s sword, Elisha will kill him. 18

So, God asks Elijah the rhetorical question, “What are you doing here?”, but Elijah doesn’t get it. He tells God that the situation is hopeless and that his people area trying to kill him. Then God shows him the fierce wind, the earthquake, and the fire. He shows Elijah these things not to scare him, but to remind Elijah about his power. He is basically letting Elijah know that he’s God, and He’s in control.

Then God asks Elijah the question again. What are you doing here? He could have asked it in the fierce wind, or in the earthquake, or in the fire. However, he didn’t want to scare Elijah. So, he asked him in a quiet, whispering voice. Nevertheless, Elijah still doesn’t get it. Look at how patient God has been with Elijah. God could have given up on Elijah before the cave incident. He had already shown Elijah His power before now. He could have given up on Elijah when He asked him the rhetorical question the first time. He could have given up on Elijah after He showed him the wind, the earthquake, and the fire. He could have given up on Elijah after He asked him the question a second time, but God was patient and gentle with Elijah.

In addition to being patient and gentle, God was faithful as well. Elijah never “got it”. Even though he never understood that God was in control and that he didn’t need to be hiding, God still faithfully provided a plan and direction. When Elijah left that cave, God gave him instructions that included a new king for Israel and a successor for Elijah. And Elijah was never harmed.

I’m ending all my posts with an invitation to accept Jesus. If you would like to accept Jesus, simply pray the following prayer or one like it: “Dear Lord, I’m a sinner. I acknowledge that You sent Your son, Jesus, to die for my sins. I humbly accept Your son, Jesus, and I now further acknowledge that I am forgiven of my past sins, my present sins, and my future sins.” If you prayed that simple prayer, you are saved. Now, you need to follow Jesus. Start reading your Bible. I would suggest starting with Matthew, reading all of the New Testament, then reading the Old Testament. Also, find a good church. Christianity was never meant to be done alone. You need to be in community with other believers.

 

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What are you doing here? Part 1

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There he went into a cave and spent the night. Then the Lord spoke his word to Elijah. He asked, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 1 Kings 19:9

We see in the preceding verse that Elijah is basically hiding in a cave, and God asks him, “What are you doing here?” It’s somewhat of a rhetorical question, but we need to understand why Elijah is hiding. Earlier in 1 Kings, Elijah is a boss, a rock star prophet of God. He challenges Ahab and Jezebel, who rule Israel at the time, to bring the prophets of the false gods to Mount Carmel. There, he challenges the false prophets. He tells them to sacrifice a bull and call on their gods to answer with fire. As the false prophets are failing, Elijah makes fun of them. He says, “Shout louder, since he is a god. Maybe he’s thinking, relieving himself, or traveling! Maybe he’s sleeping, and you have to wake him!”

After making fun, Elijah made an altar with stones. Then he placed his bull on the wood. Then he poured water on it three times. He finally asked God to answer him. God sent down a fire that consumed not only the bull, but also the wood and the altar. Then, with the help of the people in attendance, he slaughtered 850 false prophets. It must have looked like something out of a Marvel comic movie…..except it really happened.

After the slaughter, Ahab ran away and told wife, Jezebel, because he didn’t have enough courage to deal with Elijah on his own. Jezebel sent a message to Elijah saying, “May the gods strike me dead if by this time tomorrow I don’t take your life the way you took the lives of Baal’s prophets.”. And amazingly, it worked. Elijah got scared, ran away, and we now find him hiding in a cave.

So, what happened? One minute Elijah is poking fun at 850 false prophets, prophets who would probably torture and kill him cheerfully. The next minute he is hiding in a cave because of the idle threat of one person. How could he forget how powerful God had been and how faithful God had been to him?

Well, Elijah forgot the same way I forget sometimes. At one time, I suffered with anxiety. There’s no other way to say it, but God has given me victory over anxiety for over 10 years now. However, every now and then, I can feel those anxious thoughts trying to creep back into my mind. And just the other day, I heard God say, “It’s been 10 years. Remember the 850 prophets? We’ve conquered this over and over. What are you doing here?” In other words, he was telling me to remember how powerful He is AND how faithful He has been to me.

I’m ending all my posts with an invitation to accept Jesus. If you would like to accept Jesus, simply pray the following prayer or one like it: “Dear Lord, I’m a sinner. I acknowledge that You sent Your son, Jesus, to die for my sins. I humbly accept Your son, Jesus, and I now further acknowledge that I am forgiven of my past sins, my present sins, and my future sins.” If you prayed that simple prayer, you are saved. Now, you need to follow Jesus. Start reading your Bible. I would suggest starting with Matthew, reading all of the New Testament, then reading the Old Testament. Also, find a good church. Christianity was never meant to be done alone. You need to be in community with other believers.

 

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Further Proof that Jesus was a Ladies’ Man

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While reading the Bible today, I came across a verse that I had read before. However, today the verse had new meaning to me. Genesis 29:9 says, “While he [Jacob] was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherd”. I wondered if it were unusual for women to be shepherds in ancient times. I soon learned that it was common for women, before they were married, to be shepherds for their father’s flocks.

So, when Jesus said in John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The Good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep”, the shepherd illustration would have instantly connected with woman as well as men. The Bible has been erroneously used to subjugate woman for years. However, a deeper understanding proves, yet again, that Jesus may have started the woman’s lib movement in the 1st century. For further proof, read my previous blog entitled “Paul Liked Women, but Jesus was a Ladies’ Man”.  

I’m ending all my posts with an invitation to accept Jesus. If you would like to accept Jesus, simply pray the following prayer or one like it: “Dear Lord, I’m a sinner. I acknowledge that You sent Your son, Jesus, to die for my sins. I humbly accept Your son, Jesus, and I now further acknowledge that I am forgiven of my past sins, my present sins, and my future sins.” If you prayed that simple prayer, you are saved. Now, you need to follow Jesus. Start reading your Bible. I would suggest starting with Matthew, reading all of the New Testament, then reading the Old Testament. Also, find a good church. Christianity was never meant to be done alone. You need to be in community with other believers.

 

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