No Odds - part 2 Like Father Like Son

Asa was a king who soared to victory as he followed God with his life and kingdom. In 2 Chronicles 14 Abijah’s son takes the throne and builds on his father’s tradition of following God. Look what he did:

“Asa pleased the LORD, his God, by doing what was right and good.
He removed the foreign altars and the pagan places of worship,
broke down the sacred stone columns, and cut down the symbols of the goddess Asherah.
He commanded the people of Judah to do the will of the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his teachings and commands.
Because he abolished the pagan places of worship and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, the kingdom was at peace under his rule.”

He was dedicated to the God of his fathers. All seemed to be going very well. And then it happened. A one million man army descended on Judah from, of all places, Ethiopia. Zerah and his troops came with 300 chariots; the drones of his day. Doom was certain.

Why when someone is doing as God commands and directs do things like this happen? Never had Saul faced a million man army! He did everything wrong, reigned for 40 years and never came into a situation like this one. Can you imagine looking out over a million warriors ready for battle? The odds again were against Judah. A horrendous battle was about to take place between the million and the 580,000.

What could Asa’s battle strategy possibly be ? It was a stroke of genius! He cried out to God! “LORD it is nothing for you to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, o LORD God, for we rest on you, and in your name we go against this multitude o LORD you are God; do not let men prevail against you!”

We look back on this account and say GO GET EM ASA! YOU DA DUDE! SEND THOSE BAD GUYS BACK TO WHERE THEY CAME FROM! THEY HAVE NO POSSESSION IN ISRAEL! WHO DO THEY THINK THAT THEY ARE MESSING WITH? Whew... let me catch my breath!

We we shout this because we know what is about to happen. We know that EVERY STINKING ONE OF THOSE bad dudes is gonna die! They are doomed. They are toast. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Asa wasn’t privy to that information. This was a do or die proposition. He spoke with tremendous confidence and trust in Jehovah. “God it is nothing for you to help, whether with many or with those who have no power...”. He automatically put himself into that latter category.

But wait! He was a king! He had power. He was a descendent of David, of Solomon! He was God’s chosen. He had been following God’s will. All of which was true. Was it easier to face the million because of these truths? I doubt it.

How could Asa trust? Actually, trust was all that he had. The million were on his doorstep. They weren't going away anytime soon. God would prove himself or he wouldn’t.

And He did! In a BIG way. How exactly we don't know. But one million died as a direct result of Asa’s prayer and confidence in his God.

Am I so confident? Are you?

Caught up to Paradise - 2 Corinthians 12

Residing in Michigan for over half my life, I had heard about Paradise. Because Paradise is a small town in the Upper Peninsula, you may have never visited there in your life, but you knew it existed. It was WAY up there next to Tahquamenon Falls and nothing else. Where's Tahquamenon Falls? Next to Paradise and nothing else. It's a long way from home. Why all of the talk about Paradise? Because Paul talks about it in 2 Corinthians 12. There was this guy who had been caught up to Paradise. Not in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, but into the REAL Paradise. While there, he'd heard things that he was unable to repeat. What on earth was this? Who was this guy? Here's what was going on. Paul defended his position of Apostleship in chapter eleven and gave the Corinthians an idea of what Apostleship looked like in chapter twelve. It came with great wonders, like seeing or instead hearing unimaginable things. But, too, that position came with a terrible cost. God gave Paul a &q

What to get God for Christmas

Jesus left perfect surroundings, relationships and glory to be born into squalor. He was homeless before birth. His father was a carpenter in a culture where carpentry was a despised trade. His, mother though young and giving birth to her firstborn, had no attendant nurses, helpers or friends. Rather than a pristine hospital, birth was given in the filthy stench of a stable. Romantic? Hardly. This sacrifice brought a life of hardship. Why? Why this odd story? Obedience. God's gift to humanity was His son. Jesus' gift was obedience to the Father. He paid the greatest price. Not because we are special but because he loves His Father. His gift was the perfect gift. Our Father wants obedience for Christmas and every other day for that matter. In Brazil Christmas is becoming commercialized. A phenomenon familiar for years in the United States tickles a growing economy. There is little time for meditation on God's Gift. There are no chestnuts roasting or Jack Frost nippin

Stop Trusting

Isaiah 2:22 says Isaiah 2:22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of? The Prophet is saying that we shouldn't put our trust in humankind because they are so finite. They are not like God, who is infinite. People are fickle. They change their minds. They love you and then hate you in moments. God invites us to trust him completely with everything that we have. He doesn't show himself to us physically or as a spirit. He demands that we have faith. However, he also gives us the faith to trust him. The universe shouts "Creator!" and yet we often ignore the proclamation. This ignorance does not make God's creation any less a physical demonstration of his grandeur. God's boundless being becomes more amazing in his presence within us. How can the infinite God dwell in the mortals he commands us not to trust? Jesus said, "with man it is impossible but with God, all things are possible."

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