One Year Bible, June 25

2 KINGS 8:1 - 9:13                                                                                                            
HAZAEL:  Elisha anointed Hazael to be king of Syria. Ben-hadad recovered from his illness, but died anyway (Hazael smothered him!)! Elisha wept because the prophet knew the evil that Hazael would bring to Israel.

SOUTHERN KINGDOM OF JUDAH: (8:16-29) Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat was married to Ahab's daughter.   EDOM (descendants of Esau, a type of the FLESH), was a perpetual problem to Judah.   Ahaziah replaced Jehoram - another wicked king like Ahab.

JEHU, NEXT KING OF ISRAEL: Elisha sent another prophet to anoint him king of Israel. The prophet also prophesied that Jehu would destroy the House of Ahab and Jezebel...and the dogs would eat Jezebel and there will be no one to bury her.

RESPONSE:    If it's evil, it has to go. Anything produced by the FLESH has to go too. If it isn't "crucified", it will plague us all our lives. (Gal 5:24; 5:17). I have thought that there are some things in my flesh, that if God didn't kill them off and burn them, I would have found a way to return to them! Actually, the further out I get from their "death", the easier it gets to deny them. God takes the destruction of evil and of hindrances very seriously, as seen is all this killing.

ACTS 16:16-40                                                                                                                      
Paul is learning the apostolic role of how to establish the Church in cities:

Acts 16:12-25: The importance of prayer and worship.  Actually the foundation of the church in Philippi was laid with prayer meetings.  Arrested for "troubling our city", Paul, beaten until his back was opened, put into the inner prison in stocks with Silas, learned firsthand the POWER of prayer and worship.

RESPONSE:   Paul and Silas must have been forgiving guys because they led their jailer to Jesus and baptized him!  In fact, they ate dinner and rejoiced together!  After being freed, Paul and Silas comforted the local church before leaving town.  We can read about prayer all we want, but until we actually go through some things, we don't really EXPERIENCE what prayer does.   Wouldn't you have loved to hear what Paul prayed?   I'll bet it had nothing to do with railing on his tormentors.   He probably even encouraged Silas while he was at it!   They were sharing in the sufferings of Jesus - so I think Paul was probably not just making the best of it - I think he was praising and thanking God for His goodness and His greatness.

PSALM 143:1-12                                                                                                                    
THE CRY OF AN OVERWHELMED SPIRIT: His son, Absalom's, revolt may have been the occasion of this Psalm. We can absolutely rely on God's faithfulness and His righteousness.   When we are "desolate" and "crushed" and "in darkness" and "thirsty", we cry out to God, "hear me...." "cause me to hear", "cause me to know", "deliver me", "teach me," "revive me".

PROVERBS 17:26                                                                                                                
It is ab awful perversion of justice to punish those who deserve commendation. The misuse or abuse of power is never right.

RESPONSE:   "Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God." ("Train me")  God shows me what pleases Him by His Spirit and by His Word.   I must instruct my heart that this is a trustworthy thing to do, that it is a GOOD and RIGHT thing to do.  "God's will" is what is pleasing to God. That should be the MOTIVE for everything we do - pleasing God.