adopt a Bible character today

The Word for today:
1 Kings 22

Micaiah is an absolutely wonderful character! He is cut from the very same cloth as Elijah--standing alone, facing down hundreds of prophets by himself. His sharp irony and caustic satire cut through the fog of lies that every other so-called prophet is spewing.

But we don't hear much about Micaiah. Why?

I think it's because we pay too much attention to the traditions of men. Everyone hears about certain Bible characters. You know the list.

But what about Micaiah? He is complex, fearless, with a personality and a style of speaking unlike anyone in the Bible.

But have Max Lucado, Dr. David Jeremiah, John Eldredge, Beth Moore, Chip Ingram--and whoever else happens to be on the top ten Christian bestseller list at a given moment--have any of them featured Micaiah? I honestly don't know.

But I know he has a place in my favorite Book. And I know he rubs people the wrong way because he won't compromise. I know that one of the political sycophants who called himself a prophet punched him in the face for telling the truth. I know that didn't faze Micaiah in the least.

I know he has a place in my heart. I find courage in his uncompromised word of the LORD. I take delight in his cutting-edge personality.

Others come to mind--big in my Bible but left off the bestseller book list--as I write this. In 2 Chronicles 20, a soaring faith is voiced by and through a man named Jahaziel (1), who rallied a nation in biblical times and has rallied individual souls ever since. I know a hundred people who can quote his faith-building lines in scripture. But no one--and I'm including myself--knows his name without looking it up.

Pastor Joe joins us regularly on this blog and possesses a rare devotion--an absolute love affair--with the Word of God. Together, a month or so ago when we were blogging our way through 2 Samuel, we were taken away--captivated--by the story of Mephibosheth (2). He is not a minor character by any means, but he is so much a picture of you and me and our relationship with our gracious God that he should be at the tip of every Bible student's tongue.

As you read, make your own list of Bible friends. Look for characters who don't seem to be on everyone else's list. Make the soaring faith of Jahaziel, the razor-sharp truth of Micaiah, and the glad-to-be-alive-in-the-King's-house gratitude of Mephibosheth part of your Bible--the Bible you carry in your heart.

Make your Bible your Bible by adopting a stray character or two today. Then draw from their inspiring faith, or their simple gratitude, or their fearless purpose.

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(1) 2 Chronicles 20:14-17; (2) see 2 Samuel 4:4 and 2 Samuel chapter 9.

hot, or not?

The Word for today:
1 Kings 21

Today, Stand in the Rain will field an excellent question submitted via Facebook:
"What do you make of the 100 prophets (1 Kings 18:4) who hid in the caves? Elijah doesn't even acknowledge them at all. I thought of Revelation 3:15,16-- they were lukewarm, neither hot nor cold... I'm not sure what to make of them."

Good question--because there is no definitive answer that I am aware of.

Elijah stood for God, but he took off on the run from Jezebel, ending up cowering under the broom tree in Beersheba (1). Then God picked the depleted prophet up, visited him in a still, small voice, and put him back into service.

To say that the 100 prophets were lukewarm could be true. But if they were, then Elijah was lukewarm for a while himself. Somehow, "lukewarm" and "Elijah" don't go together.

So I think there is a middle ground to be explored. Perhaps the 100 prophets are amongst the remnant of 7000 whom God extols for not bending the knee to Baal (2).

Thus, in descending order, some varying degrees of faith:

**Elijah--stood alone, but also succumbed to momentary despair.

**The remnant of 7000. Elijah was not aware of them, so they could not have been out front and active. I think Obadiah and the 100 prophets he hid were amongst these. God includes them amongst the faithful.

**The lukewarm of Revelation 3:15-16 are not in any way commended by the Lord Jesus Christ. They are vomited out of his mouth.

We slide on this scale from day to day. I find myself vacillating in my ability to stand on the bare Word of God from season to season. God understands and picks me up when I find myself, so to speak, under the broom tree in Beersheba. He whispers in my ear and sends me back into the front lines of service.

But the last state--the lukewarm condition--is to be avoided at all costs:
"Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." (3)

I know when I'm cold and I know when I'm hot. It's the lukewarm state which deceives us.

So keep the fire burning (2 Timothy 1:6, below) by whatever means we must:
be ever studying God's Word, seriously and systematically;
pray;
serve, using the gifts God gave you;
give--of your time, treasure, talents;
love--the LORD your God with all that you are, and your neighbor as yourself.

Without these spiritual exercises, some individuals and churches fall into a lukewarm condition from which there is no recovery. God does not put them back into the ranks of service. He spits them out.

As churches and as individuals, we are either fading or gaining at any given moment. Paul's advice is to keep the water boiling hot:
"For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God." (2 Timothy 1:6)

Are you hot, or not?

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(1) 1 Kings 19:4; (2) 1 Kings 19:18; (3) 2 Timothy 3:5

because of the valley

The Word for today:
1 Kings 20

mark this : 1 Kings 20:23, 28 --
Then the servants of the king of Syria said to him, "Their gods are gods of the hills. Therefore they were stronger than we; but if we fight against them in the plain, surely we will be stronger than they."
Then a man of God came and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, "Thus says the Lord: 'Because the Syrians have said, "The Lord is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys," therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.' "

We've heard this charge before, when Satan told God that Job was faithful only because God blessed him. Satan insisted that Job would turn away from God if he were made to go through "valley" circumstances (Job 1:6-11). So God temporarily took away Job's riches and his health in order to prove that Job trusted Him even when blessings were withdrawn.

In the same way, God chooses some of us to walk with Him through the dark valleys:
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me (1).

If you're in the valley, then it may be that you've been chosen --
chosen to walk with God, who walked up the slopes of Mt. Moriah beneath the shadow of his cross;
chosen to demonstrate that the valley of the shadow is the mountaintop of our faith.

We don't trust Jesus despite the valley. We trust Him because of the valley.

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(1) Psalm 23:4

A Pocket Full of Miracles

(by Pastor Joe)

The Word for today:
1 Kings 17-19

I don't presume to understand the "whys," but it is clear from the record of history and Scripture that "miracles" are few and far between. There are a good number of them in there, but it was not an every day occurrence (unless you were a child of Israel being led & fed in the wilderness.) [1]

In reality, the Biblical miracles seemed to be clustered to specific time periods and people. There is the age of Moses and Joshua with miracles such as the Egyptian plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and the sun standing still. [2] That is a time period of 45-60 years. We are currently reading about the second "era" as we hear theses amazing stories concerning Elijah. Next month, we will see this ministry continued with his successor: Elisha. Once again, we see a concentration of miracles in a relatively short time period.

From that point on, there are a few scattered miracles here and there, but not much until the time of Jesus Christ and then what He empowers His church to do. This is not to say God is somehow restricted with miracles in any way, but rather, that He seems to allow for more during certain time periods and less in other time periods.

The more important matter is the fact that miracles are always secondary- they are always pointing to something greater than themselves. As I read Elijah, I am certainly stirred by what God does through him- sending food via avian air mail, sending fire from heaven, sending rain to end a drought. But even more so, I am grateful for the fact that these miracles prefigure and foreshadow one much greater than Elijah. One who not only raises the dead, but defeats death itself. One who not only multiplies food for others, but also sustains us spiritually. One who sends the greatest fire there is- the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Elijah -- like so many others in the Bible -- is merely the opening act for the real reason we are all here- Jesus Christ.

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[1] Exodus
[2] Exodus 7- 14, Joshua 10

for little Elijahs, everywhere

The Word for today:
1 Kings 19

mark this: 1 Kings 19:9-12 --

Behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
So he said, "I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life."
Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord." And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake;
and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

First Kings chapter 19 is a Bible chapter for you to hang onto. I know a man who keeps it under his pillow.

Elation, depression, self-pity, exhaustion, despair, wavering faith--all of these are making an emotional wreck of the great prophet...

until God steps in to restore him.

Elijah experienced numerous intense emotions within a few short hours. First he challenged 850 false prophets on Mt. Carmel, calling down fire from heaven. Then he eliminated 450 of those prophets. Then he watched a demonstration of God's power as the long drought came to an abrupt end.

Running--about 25 miles--ahead of King Ahab's chariot all the way to Jezreel, the man who had single-handedly faced down more than 800 pagan prophets suddenly found himself running for his life from Queen Jezebel's death threats.

Physically and emotionally and spiritually spent, Elijah crashed. He asked God to end his life, because he viewed the situation as hopeless. He considered himself alone, the only one still standing for the LORD.

Are you standing for the LORD against the opposition of your culture, your family, or against a church that is falling away from the Word of God? Has the fight sapped your strength and enthusiasm and even your measure of faith?

Chapter 19 is for you, because--tower of power that people expect you to be--God knows you as just a kid in need of a cool drink, a good supper, a sweet nap and a reassuring lullaby.

Chapter 19 is for Elijahs everywhere. The struggle goes on, but your fight is not in vain. Your Father has noted your bravery. He takes great delight in you. The whisper you hear is His.

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Elijah

The Word for today:
1 Kings 17, 18

mark this: 1 Kings 17:1 --
Now Elijah the Tishbite...

Elijah is one of the Bible's unforgettable characters.

He enters the Bible all at once, at a single stride: Now Elijah the Tishbite...
He leaves the Bible just as suddenly--in a whirlwind, caught up into heaven on a chariot of fire drawn by horses of fire. (Only Elijah and Enoch were taken up to heaven--"raptured"-- without experiencing death. Many Bible commentators think the church will be raptured to heaven prior to the second coming of Jesus.)

He doesn't occupy a lot of space in your Bible, but we get the feeling that he's about to pop up just about anywhere!

Here in 1 Kings he called Israel back to the LORD and demonstrated that the LORD is the one true God:

Under Ahab and Jezebel, Israel worshiped Baal, the Canaanite god of storm and rain. So God sent a drought upon Israel (17:1)--to show who was actually in control! Elijah hid until the drought ended, and he was sustained by God. During that time, he lived with a widow in Zarephath. The widow’s son died, but Elijah prayed for him and he was revived (17:8-24).

In the third year of drought, Elijah challenged Baal’s prophets on Mount Carmel to a contest to demonstrate the identity of the true God (18:1-40). The prophets of Baal called on Baal in vain, becoming frantic to induce him to appear, while Elijah made fun of Baal. When it was Elijah’s turn, he poured water over his sacrifice and prayed a simple, powerful prayer. Fire immediately consumed the offering. The people of Israel worshiped the LORD and, at Elijah’s direction, killed Baal’s prophets. Then Elijah prayed for rain, and the drought ended (18:41-46).

The Old Testament closes with the expectation that Elijah would return before the day of the LORD (Malachi 4:5-6), an expectation that John the Baptist fulfilled, at least in part (see Matt 11:14; 17:10-13; Luke 1:17).

Elijah appeared with Moses at Jesus’ transfiguration (Matt 17:1-13; Luke 9:28-36).

In Rev 11:3-12, one of the two witnesses is either Elijah himself or is modeled after Elijah.

He is the ever-ready prophet who keeps going and going and going and going. Be on the lookout for this radical tower of power. He enters and re-enters without knocking, and without introduction.

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I've Got The Power!

(by Pastor Joe)

1 Kings 16

It has been said that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The last six chapters of 1 Kings are strong evidence for the truth of this statement.

- Despite all his great wisdom, Solomon wastes his power in self-indulgence.

- His son Rehoboam is so puffed up with pride, he allows power to blind him to his own political weakness

- Jeroboam squanders his opportunity with power in idolatry

- Baasha murders a king to gain his power, yet his own son Elah is himself murdered by the usurper Zimri

- Zimri's reign of power lasts a whole week before his life is swallowed up in a fiery suicide.

- Omri takes his power and somehow manages to do worse than every king before him (16:25)

- Ahab marries perhaps the most infamous and power-hungry woman in history- Jezebel, and even outdoes his father Omri in evil (16:33).

What a legacy! What a mess!

Who wants that kind of power? Can you handle it without getting seriously burned?

But despite a clear history of power destroying those who have it, mankind has sought it out with a fervent lust. Whether it is on top of the heap like a Pharaoh or a Caesar, or merely a local magistrate or ruler, to have authority over others has been the standard goal for many.

And into this environment enters Jesus Christ. The only one who ever really had absolute power. The only real King and Master. And what does he do? He says He "did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45)." He tells his followers that fighting about the usual pecking order was not for them, that instead "whoever wants to be first must be slave of all (Mark 10:44)." He refuses to be made king by a well fed mob (John 6:15). He humbly washes feet, and call us to do the same (John 13). He backs up his words and commands by willingly laying down his life for others as he dies upon a cruel cross.

That's my King! I want to be like Him! Every other emperor, general, admiral, cardinal, president, czar, pope, prime minister, chancellor, and monarch pales in comparison.

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