Power Behind the Throne

One of the traits that made David a Man After God’s Own Heart was his realization that the strength of his throne and his whole life was the Lord his God.  God actually told him so himself in 1 Chronicles 17.7-8: “Thus says the LORD of hosts,  I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people Israel, and I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you.  And I will make for you a name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.”

The Chronicler had a clear picture of the situation (14.17): “And the fame of David went out into all lands, and the LORD brought the fear of him upon all nations.”

And David knew the favor had been true forever, as he included the following thoughts in his thanksgiving song after the Ark was moved to Jerusalem (16.19-22).  Speaking of the nation of Israel, David sang, “When you were few in number, and of little account, and sojourners in [the land], wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people, he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account, saying, ‘touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!’”

Just as it was true for David, so it is true for us.  Jesus explains in John 15.5: “I am the vine; you are the branches.  Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” Good to know it, and even better to believe it.

God Works

I have been leading the Tuesday morning prayer meetings this past month.  The cycle of events at our church ramps up in August when college, international and youth ministries get back into full swing.  So, for the first Tuesday, I contacted the ministry leaders, asked for their fall start-up dates and put together a chronological list.

I am thinking, “What a great tool for prayer!”  That day, only Keith showed up and we spent the time praying for the upcoming move of his mother-in-law to an assisted care facility. Good, I say, we can use that same ministry list next week.  And it worked well, providing information and topics for the group of five assembled that day.

Using the same list one more time seemed a bit repetitive, but it was still very relevant, so it was relegated to page 2.  But what to put on page 1? A couple of seemingly lame ideas popped up – Ask a Question, and pull items from the Church Prayer Chain.  Best I got on a Monday night.  How many copies to make?  I’ll go with the normal number, glad that I have lots of paper and a printer that makes double-sided copies. The Question was pulled from what I considered a short and weak blog post (8/18/14): “What do you do in your daily devotion time that helps your participation in group prayer?”   I hoped this would go ok.

On Tuesday morning, it was once again clear that God can set the table for an event and make the leader, the materials, and the plan secondary.  One event NOT on the ministry list was the first seminar for the new interns, to be held right after they attended the Tuesday morning prayer time!  The staff members leading the training showed up for the first day, and their topic would be Personal Devotions!

The Question had relevance for the seminar topic. The Prayer Chain included people the interns knew well.  The ministry list was appropriate for staff and interns.  The prayer was rich and warm.  And, as wise men and women answered the Question, an addendum made the weak blog post stronger.  PTL.

THE Good Shepherd

On Monday we saw God’s metaphorical list of ways the leaders / shepherds of Israel had neglected their responsibilities and abused their power.  God’s solution is to take over and be the shepherd himself.  In Ezekiel 34.11-16, God says He will:

-Seek out his sheep

-Rescue them from where they have been scattered

-Bring them out from the peoples

-Gather them from the countries

-Bring them into their own land

-Feed them on the mountains, ravines, and all the inhabited places of their country

-Feed them with good pasture( echoed in Psalm 23)

-Make them lie down (also echoed in Psalm 23)

-Seek the lost

-Bring back the strayed

-Bind up the injured

-Strengthen the weak

-Destroy the fat and the strong

-Feed them in justice

These are all the things that the bad leader/shepherds of Israel had not been doing.

Understand that when Jesus said “I am the Good Shepherd,” he was not only telling WHAT he would be doing, he was proclaiming WHO he was – God!

Baaaad Shepherds

God tells Ezekiel how angry he is with the leaders, the priests, the shepherds of Israel in Chapter 34:2-4.

Why is He angry?  These are the ways the leaders used their power for their own gain, rather than for the good of the people:

-They have been feeding themselves, and not the sheep

– They eat the fat

– They clothe themselves with wool

– They slaughter the fat ones, but do not feed the sheep

– They do not strengthen the weak

– They do not heal the sick

– They do not bind up the injured

– They do not bring back the strays

– They do not seek the lost

– They rule with force and harshness.

What has happened?   The sheep have been scattered; the Babylonians came; and the Israelites were exiled. (Verses 5-6)

Is there any hope?  Yes! God is going to search for the sheep and rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered (Vs 11-12.  And God himself will be the good shepherd (Verses 13-16).

Elementary

Carbon.  Don’t date without it.

 

When chemists die, they barium.

 

Periodic BaCoN  (Barium, Cobalt, Nitrogen)

 

Element of Surprise  Ah

 

 

Let’s talk about potassium.      

K.