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2 Kings 1:15 A Question of Control

2 Kings 1:15 (KJV)
And the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king.

God always intended that Elijah would go down to the king. God was not afraid of Ahaziah, nor should Elijah be.

Neither was it God’s intention that Elijah be a puppet of the king. Ahaziah was not in charge. Elijah was not in control. This was of God. Elijah served the LORD, not Ahaziah. One hundred men died to demonstrate this truth. The captains, and their men, were subjects of the wrong kingdom.

Captain number three understood this. He had a duty to perform, but he did it with appropriate respect.

A man of God does not have to call fire down from heaven to maintain his submission to the LORD. He may accomplish the same by simply ignoring the pressure of those who refuse his Master. No man of God is interested in being treated like an authority figure. But he is interested in reminding others who the Ultimate Authority is.

Of course, the man of God must be convinced his call is of God, or he might be tempted to assume authority. On the other hand, if he is truly a servant of God, he’ll have no trouble sorting out the difference.

As for those who approach him, a teachable spirit goes a long way toward allowing the man of God to minister rather than resist.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5900 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
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2 Kings 1:15 A Question of Control

Luke 9:5 Lose The Dirt

Luke 9:5 (KJV)
And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.

Some interesting cultural connections might be made of shaking off the dust of the feet.

In his comments about the parallel passage in Matthew 10:14, Gill quotes several Jewish writers saying to the effect, “all dust which comes from the land of the Gentiles, is reckoned by us as the rottenness of a dead carcass.”

He gives the following possible messages shaking off the dust might mean:

  • To show that they did not come to them with worldly views, with any design to amass riches and wealth to themselves, for they would not so much as carry away with them the dust on their feet, but it was purely with a view to their welfare
  • To testify that they had been among them, and that that very dust they shook off their feet would rise up in judgment against them, and declare that the Gospel had been preached among them, and they had rejected it
  • To observe to them, that such was their wickedness, that even the dust of their country was infected thereby, and therefore they shook it off, as though it defiled them
  • By this action they signified that they would have nothing more to do with them (this is the application I think I am most used to hearing)
  • To say to them, and that they looked upon them as impure and unholy, as any Heathen city or country

I wonder if a better and more personal testimony is that of removing the burden of it from ourselves. 

  • We leave the experience behind. 
  • We bear no grudge or ill feelings. 
  • We do not allow the incident, however unpleasant, to influence our service for the Lord or passion for others to come to know Christ as we know Him. 

How easy it would be to injure the soul of another if we project upon them the ill effects of a previous bad experience in our ministry.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5900 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Luke 9:5 Lose The Dirt

1 Kings 19:9 What Doest Thou Here?

1 Kings 19:9 (KJV)
And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?

“What doest thou here?” 
The question is of such significance that God puts it to the prophet twice.[1] The first was in Judah, a day’s journey from Israel. The second was at Mt Horeb, in the wilderness, where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Though God had sustained him on his trip to Horeb, neither place was where God had put him.

Gill writes,
“..this is not a proper place for a prophet to be in, in a wilderness, in a mountain, in a cave in it: what work could he do for God? or what service to his people? in the land of Israel he might bear his testimony against idolatry, and so be a means of reclaiming backsliders, and of establishing those that were in the true religion; but of what usefulness could he be here?”

We have a weakened view of faith whenever we take the view that we can practice our faith anywhere we choose. It’s as much as saying we are our own “god of location.”

Elijah felt justified in fleeing.

  • He had left Elisha there to continue the ministry
  • He had been threatened of life by Jezebel
  • He had gone to Horeb in the strength of God’s provision

He had gone first to Judah, where God’s Temple was, and then to Horeb, where the Ten Commandments had been delivered.[2] But none of this was where God had designed Elijah to serve. 

His flight as much as admitted his faith so strongly professed in chapter eighteen, was shallow, if not a show.[3]

  • God had a place for Abraham to move
  • God had a place Isaac was not to leave
  • God had a place Jacob must return
  • God had a place promised to Israel
  • God had a place designated for each of the tribes
  • God had a place Elijah was to serve

Who are we to believe God is pleased whenever we choose out our own place to serve?

Eventually God brought Elijah back to Israel. There was just no other place he could be an be what God where and what God designed for him to be.

[1] Again in verse 13

[2] Many Bible students believe Mt Horeb and Mt Sinai are the same.

[3] Very often what we profess with our mouths, and even what we boldly do with our hands is a ruse to cover what we sense in our heart.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5900 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

1 Kings 19:9 What Doest Thou Here?

Luke 7:7[1] The Basis of Great Faith

Luke 7:7 (KJV)
Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.

I see in this passage a contrast between the elders of the Jews and the centurion that provides a description of faith.

The centurion asked the Jews to send to Jesus a representative, requesting He come and heal his servant. The Jews seemed willing to grant this request and, approaching Jesus, explained why the centurion was worthy of such a favor.

  • He has loved our nation
  • He has built us a synagogue

As Christ neared the centurion’s home, he sent friends.[2] The friends, I believe, had been instructed to discount the worthiness of his deeds and express the unworthiness of his person. Nevertheless, he said he knew Jesus could say the word, and the servant would be healed.

Faith has nothing to do with our worthiness, or lack thereof. It has everything to do with the authority of Christ.

Too often, we base our requests before the Lord on either our worthiness or unworthiness. Yet, faith is all about the Lord.

I do not mean to suggest it is acceptable to live unworthy of the vocation of the Christian. Ours, is to put off the old man and put on the new. 

The basis of prayer, the asking, and the receiving, is the person and authority of Christ. Call upon Him not because you are worthy but because He is Christ. Don’t hesitate to call upon Him because of your unworthiness. He is Christ.

[1] This Daily Visit with God was written while I was in the hospital reception room as my wife underwent surgery to remove cancer. I am asking God to heal her not based on the worthiness of either of us, but the authority and care of Jesus Christ.

[2] Note that these were not the Jews but, this time, his personal friends.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5900 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Luke 7:7[1] The Basis of Great Faith

Exodus 28:1 One Wrong Choice

Exodus 28:1 (KJV)
And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.

My wife and I believe we are highly blessed. Our sons have turned into fine men. They are hard-working, successful, and dedicated children of the living God. They have sweet families. They are good husbands and fathers.

We strove to raise our children purposefully. We did not do it perfectly, but we did read books by Christians on parenting. We observed Christian families who had raised children to be of good character, and we asked questions of them. It paid off.

But whenever someone compliments us about our children, or behaves in some way envious of us because of them. My wife is very quick to point out, “The verdict is still out on them.” We don’t know for sure what their end will be. She then just as quickly reminds them, “The verdict is still out on all of us.”  We’re Christians and can’t lose our salvation. In the end, we’ll go to heaven. But, just as with anyone, we’re one wrong choice away from ruining our testimony.

I can’t help but read the future into this chapter. God repeatedly gives instructions for the priestly family. At this time, that was Aaron and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. We know that in the not-too-distant future, Nadab and Abihu would offer strange fire and be struck dead.

There is in this a lesson of the nature of God. He obviously knew ahead of time what Nadab and Abihu would do. But God did not plan their life around what He knew. He gave them the same opportunities for serving the Lord as Eleazar and Ithamar had.

This, in my mind, debunks the Calvinist concept of election. Every human being, regardless of what God knows will be their eventual end, has the same opportunities to come to God, to be saved, and to glorify God forever.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi provides a means for those who appreciate my content to leave me a “tip.” I would be thankful for it.

Exodus 28:1 One Wrong Choice

Proverbs 10:28 Happy and Sad

Proverbs 10:28 (KJV)
The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.

There would be, I am sure, some practical applications of this passage today. But the key words, hope and perish, lead me to believe that this passage is meant to put eternity in mind.

The Bible says that the Christian has hope but the one who is without Christ is also without hope.

Jesus promised that those who believe in him have everlasting life but that those who do not believe are condemned to perish.

Now consider the expectation of the wicked concerning eternity. It might take one of three forms:

  • It does not matter
  • We just die and turn to dust
  • God will not send anyone to hell

I want to say it does matter.
Death and hell are serious matters. Eternity lasts forever. This brief life is over in a breath. What happens beyond that grace is forever.

I want to say that there is something after death
The Bible assures it to be so. The resurrection of Christ proves it to be so. Every fiber of human being demands it to be so.

I want to say that soul will be and are now in hell.
Jesus’ account of the rich man and Lazarus informs us that souls do go to eternal hell.

The wicked man’s expectations about his future will perish. They will be dashed to pieces in the rocks of eternal reality. But that same wicked man can be made righteous by coming to Jesus. What gladness awaits him at the foot of the cross of Jesus!

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Proverbs 10:28 Happy and Sad

2 Chronicles 28:1 So, What Happened?

2 Chronicles 28:1 (KJV)
Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father:

Ahaz was arguably the most wicked of the kings of Judah, certainly among the most sinful. Interestingly his father, Jotham, was a good king, and so was his son, Hezekiah. 

So, what happened?

I understand this is speculation, but it is supported in scripture. Jotham did what was right in the sight of the Lord except that he would not go to the Temple of the Lord. 

Uzziah, his father, had been judged at the Temple. He assumed to burn incense, a duty belonging only to the priests. The priests withstood him. When he became angry at the priests, God smote him with leprosy. Jotham didn’t hold it against God (at least not publicly), but he did hold it against the house of God. As much as he did right otherwise, he did not get this right. 

I think it showed up in his son. 

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5400 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

2 Chronicles 28:1 So, What Happened?

Ecclesiastes 12:5-7 Going Home

Ecclesiastes 12:5-7 (KJV)
Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

The older I get the more at peace I am with going to my “long home.” Today’s reflection is on the phrases describing death.

The silver cord be loosed
Life is a thread on which we hold. As the years go on our strength to hang on grows weaker. The cord of life is not weaker. It continues on for generations unknown. We simply lose our hold.

The golden bowl be broken
How precious we view our life. The body which contains it is treasured as godlike to some. Youth often see their vessel as invincible. Eventually that bowl loses its luster and finally succumbs. 

The pitcher broken at the fountain 
In youth, we serve as a channel. We not only contain life but reproduce life, enable life, train equip, and feed life. At some point we lose the ability to reproduce and not much after we are no longer those who serve as vessels to sustain life. 

The wheel broken at the cistern
The wheel denotes work, production. In youth our hands and feet produce goods and services deemed valuable to others. One day that wheel will break. 

God gave us life. One day we who are saved, enter into the presence of God. 

Are you ready to go to your long home?

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and more than 5000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
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My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
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Ecclesiastes 12:5-7 Going Home

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1 Corinthians 8:2 Knowledge = Liberty

1 Corinthians 8:2 (KJV)
And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.

There is a sermon here for sure. Just some thoughts. 

Knowledge =liberty
Lack of knowledge = weak

Knowledge can become pride
Liberty can create stumblingblocks 

Reality = as much as we might know, we know very little. 

Solution = charity, seek to edify rather than use liberty. 

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and more than 4800 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
My author spotlight at Lulu.com:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/marvinmckenzie

My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/author/marvinmckenzie

1 Corinthians 8:2 Knowledge = Liberty 

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1 Samuel 2:27 A Man of God

1 Samuel 2:27 (KJV)
And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house?

Exactly who this man of God was, we must be content not to know until we reach eternity. What is apparent is the difference between religion and a relationship with God. 

I take it that men of God were rare but not unheard of in those days. There was one mentioned in the account of Deborah. 

The priesthood – religion – was not wrong. It had its place and still does. 

James 1:27 (KJV) 
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. 

If religion is the action of a Christian, then our relationship with the Lord is the life that moves the action. Religion without life is death. Life without action is meaningless. 

There always seems to be few who are men of God, who possess the life of God in them and thus are moved to action on behalf of God. 

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4700 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
My author spotlight at Lulu.com:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/marvinmckenzie

My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/author/marvinmckenzie

1 Samuel 2:27 A Man of God

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