Tuesday, Ordinary 13/Proper 8 -- July 1
HealthFitNow
Posts: 1,205 Member
Meditation
Tuesday, Ordinary 13/Proper 8, warned against false prophets. The Psalmist called for all nations to honor God with their hands, their music and all their lives because all nations belonged to God.
The visually compelling story of Elijah challenging the false prophets of Baal to a ‘sacrifice-off’ competition stirred the fervor when the all-powerful sovereign God waited until the false prophets had made complete fools of themselves, by taunting them and suggesting Baal was busy or couldn’t hear them because they weren’t loud enough. The 400 false prophets cut themselves as they danced around begging for Baal to burn the bull on the altar. All day passed before Elijah stepped up, rebuilt the broken altar of the Lord with 12 stones (one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel) and placed the cut up bull on the altar. He dug a small trough around the altar. Then he drove the point home by dousing the altar with water, not once, not twice, but three times.
He prayed a simple prayer. Not screaming but calling upon God to show the true nature of the Supreme God, so that PEOPLE would KNOW and RECOGNIZE the ONE TRUE GOD.
The test was not to show Elijah was a better prophet or that he was great. He wanted to prove to people that God was the One and Only True God. False prophets take credit instead of giving credit to God.
The Old Testament lesson proved without a shadow of doubt the power of God. Fire rained down from heaven and consumed the meat, the altar and the water in the trench around the altar. Everyone saw and believed in the true God.
The New Testament lesson specifically warned against false prophets. For John, the answer was simple: acknowledge Jesus Christ as the true Messiah and human Son of God.
For true believers, the knowledge that no battle is fought alone was an encouragement. The apostle reminded the New Testament churches, “Greater is the Spirit within you than the spirit of evil.” The source of all power—just like Elijah called down—meant that all believers could rely on power beyond theirs.
Of course, the temptation to take credit for it became another issue. False prophets emerged from the arrogance of someone taking credit for what God had done, or worse attributing to God things that were evil. Recognizing that Jesus was Lord, was human and God separated true believers from the false ones.
Our goal must be to test the spirits that they are from God. This becomes critical because there are cults like Jim Jones, who claim to be of God but are promoting their own doctrines over the truth of the Scriptures. Every person must be responsible to testing the words to see if they match up with Scripture. Of course, differing interpretations could cause dissension, but the core issues should unify all believers. Where there are differences, they should be downgraded in importance to the common bond between all believers. The core was what John spoke of: Jesus was human and God—the true Messiah.
The lesson today reminded all of the power given to true believers by the One True God.
Thanks be to God.¬¬
All Scriptures printed below are in King James Version for copyright purposes. However, clicking on the verse locations will take you to Biblegateway.com where the text is linked to more contemporary versions.
Prayer: Almighty God, Open my eyes that I might see. Open my mind that I might understand. Open my heart that I might make your words a part of me. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Amen
Ordinary 13/Proper 8Bible Readings
http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm 47;1 Kings 18:36-39;1 John 4:1-6&version=KJV;ERV;GNT;NCV;CEV (multiple versions)
Tuesday, Ordinary 13/Proper 8
Psalm 47
1 Kings 18:36-39
1 John 4:1-6
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
Romans 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Single Bible Study chapter to study
1 Kings 18:36-39
King James Version (KJV)
36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.
OBSERVE:
Take a moment and write three observations of the verses. What strikes you? An observation is an observable fact from the Word.
1.
2.
3.
INTERPRETATION:
What do you interpret these verses to mean for you today?
APPLY:
Today, I learned _____________________________________and apply it to my life.
Prayer of Encouragement
Almighty God, we praise your name for great prophets, like Elijah, who called upon your power so that people would believe. Help us to be faithful and call upon your power to teach others about you. In Jesus name, Amen
Conclusion
Tuesday, Ordinary 13/Proper 8 showed how God strengthened the faith of believers and turned non-believers into converts. Tapping into God’s power transforms the weak into the strong. Elijah was one against 400 and he was victorious because he called upon God to fight the battle.
We have the same God to fight the battles for us, when God’s name is being disparaged. Many times I have called upon God to do things so that I would not bring embarrassment to my Savior. Amazing things have happened so God’s name would be honored.
Did you notice, too, that the unbelievers believed because of the ‘show’ of God? I believe that unbelievers change their opinion when God is at work and demonstrates the power of the Almighty. When I have tried to take credit for myself, I undermined God’s glory and unbelievers were not persuaded.
I’ve quoted my Nana before, “You work like it all depends on you. You pray because it all depends on God.” When we give credit where credit is due amazing things happen.
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life—for the glory of God.*
Thank you for visiting ChapLynne’s Daily Encouragement and Bible Study. God bless you.
*If you do not know the Lord as your personal Savior and you are seeking, please contact me. A genuine and simple prayer, asking God into your heart for the forgiveness of your sins will also do.
Tuesday, Ordinary 13/Proper 8, warned against false prophets. The Psalmist called for all nations to honor God with their hands, their music and all their lives because all nations belonged to God.
The visually compelling story of Elijah challenging the false prophets of Baal to a ‘sacrifice-off’ competition stirred the fervor when the all-powerful sovereign God waited until the false prophets had made complete fools of themselves, by taunting them and suggesting Baal was busy or couldn’t hear them because they weren’t loud enough. The 400 false prophets cut themselves as they danced around begging for Baal to burn the bull on the altar. All day passed before Elijah stepped up, rebuilt the broken altar of the Lord with 12 stones (one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel) and placed the cut up bull on the altar. He dug a small trough around the altar. Then he drove the point home by dousing the altar with water, not once, not twice, but three times.
He prayed a simple prayer. Not screaming but calling upon God to show the true nature of the Supreme God, so that PEOPLE would KNOW and RECOGNIZE the ONE TRUE GOD.
The test was not to show Elijah was a better prophet or that he was great. He wanted to prove to people that God was the One and Only True God. False prophets take credit instead of giving credit to God.
The Old Testament lesson proved without a shadow of doubt the power of God. Fire rained down from heaven and consumed the meat, the altar and the water in the trench around the altar. Everyone saw and believed in the true God.
The New Testament lesson specifically warned against false prophets. For John, the answer was simple: acknowledge Jesus Christ as the true Messiah and human Son of God.
For true believers, the knowledge that no battle is fought alone was an encouragement. The apostle reminded the New Testament churches, “Greater is the Spirit within you than the spirit of evil.” The source of all power—just like Elijah called down—meant that all believers could rely on power beyond theirs.
Of course, the temptation to take credit for it became another issue. False prophets emerged from the arrogance of someone taking credit for what God had done, or worse attributing to God things that were evil. Recognizing that Jesus was Lord, was human and God separated true believers from the false ones.
Our goal must be to test the spirits that they are from God. This becomes critical because there are cults like Jim Jones, who claim to be of God but are promoting their own doctrines over the truth of the Scriptures. Every person must be responsible to testing the words to see if they match up with Scripture. Of course, differing interpretations could cause dissension, but the core issues should unify all believers. Where there are differences, they should be downgraded in importance to the common bond between all believers. The core was what John spoke of: Jesus was human and God—the true Messiah.
The lesson today reminded all of the power given to true believers by the One True God.
Thanks be to God.¬¬
All Scriptures printed below are in King James Version for copyright purposes. However, clicking on the verse locations will take you to Biblegateway.com where the text is linked to more contemporary versions.
Prayer: Almighty God, Open my eyes that I might see. Open my mind that I might understand. Open my heart that I might make your words a part of me. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Amen
Ordinary 13/Proper 8Bible Readings
http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm 47;1 Kings 18:36-39;1 John 4:1-6&version=KJV;ERV;GNT;NCV;CEV (multiple versions)
Tuesday, Ordinary 13/Proper 8
Psalm 47
1 Kings 18:36-39
1 John 4:1-6
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
Romans 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Single Bible Study chapter to study
1 Kings 18:36-39
King James Version (KJV)
36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.
OBSERVE:
Take a moment and write three observations of the verses. What strikes you? An observation is an observable fact from the Word.
1.
2.
3.
INTERPRETATION:
What do you interpret these verses to mean for you today?
APPLY:
Today, I learned _____________________________________and apply it to my life.
Prayer of Encouragement
Almighty God, we praise your name for great prophets, like Elijah, who called upon your power so that people would believe. Help us to be faithful and call upon your power to teach others about you. In Jesus name, Amen
Conclusion
Tuesday, Ordinary 13/Proper 8 showed how God strengthened the faith of believers and turned non-believers into converts. Tapping into God’s power transforms the weak into the strong. Elijah was one against 400 and he was victorious because he called upon God to fight the battle.
We have the same God to fight the battles for us, when God’s name is being disparaged. Many times I have called upon God to do things so that I would not bring embarrassment to my Savior. Amazing things have happened so God’s name would be honored.
Did you notice, too, that the unbelievers believed because of the ‘show’ of God? I believe that unbelievers change their opinion when God is at work and demonstrates the power of the Almighty. When I have tried to take credit for myself, I undermined God’s glory and unbelievers were not persuaded.
I’ve quoted my Nana before, “You work like it all depends on you. You pray because it all depends on God.” When we give credit where credit is due amazing things happen.
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life—for the glory of God.*
Thank you for visiting ChapLynne’s Daily Encouragement and Bible Study. God bless you.
*If you do not know the Lord as your personal Savior and you are seeking, please contact me. A genuine and simple prayer, asking God into your heart for the forgiveness of your sins will also do.
0
This discussion has been closed.