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?

What Are You Worth?

What are you Worth? Have you ever thought about what you are worth? In investing circles there is a term used to gauge this exact question, it's called Net Worth. You take all of your assets, like property owned, funds in your bank account, clothes, jewelry, car, etc.. You total all of these things. You then take everything you owe, like mortgage, car loan, and credit card debt, and you subtract these items from the first total. This gives you your net worth. That number represents where you are financially. Most people never stop to think about this number because they don't understand anything about it. They never have two nickels to rub together. They live from hand to mouth and know (or at least believe) nothing will ever change so, they fall into the "daily grind" mentality. Psalm 49 should be a great encouragement to such as these. The sons of Korah write about them. These sons write about all of us. They call all people everywhere to listen to their wisdom. Bo...

Grazi and Cris Are Getting Baptized!

Graziele / Cris Grazilele (hard to pronounce if you are not a Brazilian) and Cris are getting baptized on Saturday night. Baptism is a big step of faith and these young ladies are ready. Grazi accepted the Lord several years ago when Company C was in it's infancy. She was invited to club by a friend, who has since left, and not long afterwards she opened her heart to the Savior. She is a determined twelve going on twenty year old. When Grazi sets her mind on a task she usually gets it done. Dawn has been teaching her Bible lessons and sewing skills recently and she's noted Grazi's abilities. Grazi plays the recorder in o ur orchestra. Cris is Alexandre's youngest sister. She accepted Christ when her older sister Dani shared her own personal decision a few years back. Cris always has a smile on her face and is a ready helper too. She is quiet but gifted. She is learning to play the violin and is also a part of our growing orchestra. Both of these gi...

God Made Clothes

And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. Gen 3:21 I have always heard the following explanation of this verse. Because Adam and Eve had sinned, they died spiritually. They also lost the right to be in the Garden of Eden and were cursed in other ways. For example, they had made clothes out of fig leaves, but God sacrificed a lamb; thus, God shed blood and made clothes. This sacrifice of an innocent lamb symbolized what Jesus Christ would do in the distant future. Is this what you have heard? I don't know; it seems like this interpretation is stretching what Moses wrote in the above text. The text says that God made clothes for Adam and his wife from skins. We see no blood, we don't know what kind of skins, nor can I imagine God making an animal sacrifice. Did God have to skin animals to make these clothes? Or could he have just made them like he had everything else in the universe just a little while earlier? To th...

jewellpage.com

Search This Blog