Writing Through the Bible in a Year

How Far are You Willing to Go?

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Tamar


Deuteronomy 6:16-10:11

“And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commands or not.” Deuteronomy 8:2

I mentioned briefly last week, the not so small coincidence that Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’s first recorded test of faith was food; followed by much larger tests of faith, a furnace and a lion’s den. I then laughed at the “coincidence” this Sunday in service when our pastor gave his own personal story of his faith and obedience being tested in the grocery store parking lot. Would he be faithful in the small thing and put the cart away?

It’s just a fact of the Christian life; our own faithfulness is always being tested. The scripture today mentions that the purpose of the testing is to humble us, to know what is in our hearts and to see if we will obey Him (even when it’s hard).

I’ve got news for you, it’s always hard. And many of the times, the opposition to your faith comes from the least likely of places. Sometimes it comes from the people you hold in the highest of regard. Sometimes it comes from the people you love and cherish the most. Sometimes it comes from things that seem good at the time, making them a sneaky test, because they’re “good”.

Sunday night we were turning the DVD player off and headed to bed. It was already past 10 and it had been a big week. But when we turned the DVD player off the Satellite was still on and a show popped up on the TV. It was a movie version of the story of Joseph, a good one. You know how a lot of times Bible story movies aren’t always the highest quality of movies, this one wasn’t like that. It was GREAT! The acting was good, the sets, the costume, even the script was great. So great, that I couldn’t pull my eyes away. There were parts of me that were screaming inside going, “you have to get up at 6 in the morning and if you stay up any later you’re just not going to be able to do that properly.” But did I listen to that voice of reason? Sadly, no.

I stayed up until ONE in the morning watching this movie that we were recording. (sadly shaking head) I could have gone to bed and watched it later. But I stayed up anyway. Against the schedule God had given me to follow, a schedule I had asked Him for in the first place. And guess who has had to practically throw that schedule out the window this week because I stayed up so late on Sunday? Yup, me.

Tests are designed to show the teacher AND the student what the student knows, what level they have achieved mastery, and whether or not they’re ready to move on to a higher level. Now honestly, it’s going to be pretty hard to convince me that God doesn’t already know if I’m ready to move on or not. If He really is the all-knowing God that He claims to be, which I believe that He is, then His tests aren’t aimed for Him to find out the condition of our hearts. But rather, the tests are for us to discover the condition of our hearts. Tests are humbling experiences. They are those times in life when we come to fully see our inability to remain faithful in the smallest things, like going to bed at a decent hour. Personally, it’s usually the bigger tests that are easier, because they’re more obvious. I can tell you that despite the prompting of the voice of reason, at the time I didn’t view that movie as a test. But the more I look at it now, the more I realize that it was. It was a test in more things than I’d like to admit to you right now. And I’m pretty sure I failed in all of them.

But, like I said, that’s what tests are for. They are humbling experiences that provide greater heart knowledge of our willingness to obey the specific commands that the Father gives us through His Holy Spirit.

How far are you willing to go to obey Him? Are you willing to risk judgment and condemnation from a family member? Are you willing to be looked upon with scorn or shame from someone that you care about deeply? How about standing in the middle of a fire, or a lion’s den; where the situation is potentially HOTTER than you’ve ever experienced and there will be biting remarks intended to wound deeply but fall short of killing? How much is your own obedience worth to you? I can tell you it’s worth an awful lot to Him. He gave Adam and Eve one commandment and look what happened when they didn’t obey. Or Moses, he missed out on entering into the Promised Land because he struck a rock with a stick instead of just speaking to it. That’s what I call a small detail to be obedient to, yet it wasn’t small in God’s eyes. Now I’m not saying there isn’t Grace in all things, because we have that now and they didn’t then. However, we still have to realize the importance of keeping up our end of the bargain.

My one late night, may cost me dearly. I’m not sure how dearly, but most likely more than I want to pay. And it’s probably only payable in more time as I have to go through the class again and re-take that test until I pass it. Jesus help us!

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NEW BOOK RELEASE!!!!!

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Tamar

The first book of the new 365 Life devotional series is now available in print and will be up in the Kindle store within the next 24 hours! 365 Life Season 2 Book 1 Front CoverGo check it out and tell your friends!

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The Midst of the Fire

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Tamar

Deuteronomy 3:23-6:15

“Then the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire.” Deuteronomy 4:12

“Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire as you have heard, and still live?” Deuteronomy 4:33

“The LORD spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, while I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the LORD. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain.” Deuteronomy 5:4-5

“For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived? Go near and hear all that the LORD our God will say, and speak to us all that the LORD our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.” Deuteronomy 5:26-27

It never ceases to amaze me when a theme emerges from the reading that I so “randomly” put together. It always just proves to me how un-random God really is. He is such a God of order and design, guiding us each and every step of the way; even when we’re not paying attention.

Today’s theme is centered on the fire. The LORD is an all consuming fire and He speaks through it to us. What is He saying to you today? Are you avoiding the fire out of fear and allowing someone to stand between you and God allowing them to interpret His words for you?

Look at the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Where was God in that fire? Look at the story of Moses and the burning bush? Where was God in that fire?

There are plenty of fiery situations that we go through in life, need we be afraid of them knowing the likelihood that God is in the midst of them waiting for us to draw near to Him and hear what He has to say to us through the fire?

“To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him. Out of heaven He let you hear His voice that He might discipline you. And on earth He let you see His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire.” Deuteronomy 4:35-36

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Eyes that SEE

Posted on July 7, 2013 by Tamar


Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22

“Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done” Deuteronomy 3:21

“Your eyes have seen”, it’s such a powerful statement. It’s such a powerful concept, eyes that see. We take them for granted all too often, and yet some have eyes that are shut so tightly that even the brightest light has trouble penetrating.

There is so much that I long to say to you, things that I pray God opens your eyes to, today and every day. “Blessed are the eyes that see what [I] see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what [I] see, and did not see it and hear what [I] hear and did not hear it.” (Luke 10:23)

Do you know what I see?

I see the Word of God laid out before me filling my lap every morning. Do you know what I see in that Word?

I see God’s love for me. I see His deliverance from evil for me. I see His unshakable faith in me even when I have proven myself so untrustworthy. I see His willingness to put His good name on the line by attaching it with mine. I see His people coming to church to punch their time card and say they’ve been there only to rush back out the door in order to go do something else. I see His CHILDREN begging for bread at the doorsteps of idols because they’ve never been taught that they are God’s righteous children through Christ. I see the LORD’S Beloved Bride opening herself up to be ravaged time and time again by “lovers” who don’t care a bit for her; all because she doesn’t realize that she’s been bought with an un-payable price that has redeemed her beyond any human ability to pay. His Bride is YOU.

Right now you may be reading this nodding your head in agreement and thinking of someone else, but it’s YOU. I don’t want to see others walking through their lives without opening the gift that God has placed in their laps. There is POWER in the Word of God, a power beyond your wildest imagination. Sure, that sounds good, and you may believe it, but have you experienced it? I have. And I can tell you that even the little nibble I’ve experienced is nothing compared to the power and glory of Jesus that waits just beyond those simple books covers.

As Christians we were created to rule this world, just read the creation story. “Dominion over all the earth” it’s kind of a big deal. Yet how much ruling do you feel like you’re doing right now? God has given you the keys to an eternal kingdom. A place where His power and majesty lives and breathes and bestows upon you the strength and courage to keep moving forward through the sludge of life that we deal with day in and day out. Those keys lay in the palm of your hand in the middle of an open Bible. You need only take them out and USE THEM.

What good is having a car if you never drive it? What’s the point of buying that gorgeous new dress if you never wear it? Why spend time making that gourmet meal if you never eat it? What’s the point of having a Bible if you never read it? What’s the point of having eyes if you never use them or ears that don’t listen to the still soft voice of Jesus whispering through the turning pages of a Bible? If your spouse wrote you a love letter would you never read it? Or would you get it out time and time again to pour over their words of adoration for you?

Jesus loves you. YOU. But unless you’re reading your Bible on your own, it’s next to impossible to feel the full force of His love toward you. If I called you my friend, but never answered your phone calls am I really being your friend? Ring, ring, your Bible is calling…

“Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears and set your heart upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.” (Ezekiel 40:4) God is SHOWING you His love for you each and every day, are you opening your eyes to see it? God has brought you to this place in your life where you HAVE SEEN the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, are you declaring to the world what you have seen or are you keeping it hidden under a basket?

You have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, are you telling people about His goodness so that they may taste it too? How will they know if someone doesn’t tell them? How do you know that that someone isn’t you? What if God has placed you in this circumstance of life, for such a time as this, so that you can reach that one person who’s planted right next to you in the garden of life?

“Lord, I pray for eyes to see You and ears to hear Your voice loud and clear. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”

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Egypt in the Bible

Posted on July 6, 2013 by Tamar


Daniel 10:1-12:13

Last night I noticed a new app on my phone that I hadn’t put there myself – always interesting. But when you have two kids who play on your phone, it’s not unheard of. I tap on the icon and find out it’s a new social media app, fun! I’m a budding social media “expert” so let’s check this out. I start flipping through this new app, Flipboard, and it’s fun. The way you flick to get to the next story is gratifying. And it has news on there along with many many other features like a “trending” page. I noticed that #Egypt was going down in the trends and thought, “Egypt? What’s going on in Egypt?”

[photo courtesy of businessinsider.com]

(Give me a break, I don’t watch the news, like ever. I have my reasons.) So I click on the hash tag and find out about the coup going on over there.

[photo courtesy of www.cbc.ca]

The first thing I think about is the fact that it’s EGYPT. There are few places more Biblical than Egypt, except you know, like Jerusalem and Israel!

[photo courtesy of FoxNews]

[photo courtesy of MediaSalon]

Egypt was the original “bad guy” of the Bible. It was the place where the Hebrews were enslaved for 400 years before the mass exodus and is the symbolic “bad guy” throughout the rest of the Bible because of this very enslavement.

[Photo courtesy of TheBlaze]

So when I see news of this coup going on in Egypt my radar immediately is triggered, but not so much so that I couldn’t sleep last night. However, I am now wide awake at 5am on a Saturday morning. So I pull back the covers and grab my trusty Bible to go hang out with Jesus for a while before everyone else wakes up. As I’m perusing through my pages of Daniel searching for a Word for today I find it. But not the kind of Word I normally get, where it’s personal and sweet. No. This time God gave me a word that has thrown me knee deep into news feed and Google searches. (I’ll include some links at the end so that you can beef up more on what’s happening if you haven’t heard much yet.)

Honestly, what are the odds that I would read a news story about Egypt last night and then less than 5 hours later in my Bible!?! But not just any comment on Egypt, well, I’m going to let you read and make your own decisions. But I find this “God-incidence” veeeery interesting and I plan on keeping a closer eye on Egypt and Libya for a while.

(Daniel 11:40-12:13) 40 At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack him, but the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through. 41 He shall come into the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the Cushites shall follow in his train. 44 But news from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to destroy and devote many to destruction. 45 And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him.

The Time of the End

12 “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. 4 But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”

5 Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others stood, one on this bank of the stream and one on that bank of the stream. 6 And someone said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, “How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?” 7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished. 8 I heard, but I did not understand. Then I said, “O my lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?” 9 He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. 10 Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand. 11 And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days. 12 Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days. 13 But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.”

News links for stories on Egypt and Lybia:

Fear, panic grip Libyan capital as unknown fighters wage battle in Tripoli

By Jomana Karadsheh, CNN

updated 6:49 AM EDT, Thu June 27, 2013

With Egypt unrest growing, U.S. Marines placed on ready as precaution

By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent

updated 6:03 PM EDT, Fri June 28, 2013

Showdown? Egypt’s Morsy defies military ‘ultimatum’

From Hamdi Alkhshali. Reza Sayah and Chelsea J. Carter, CNN

updated 11:39 PM EDT, Tue July 2, 2013

26 dead, more than 850 wounded as post-coup violence hits Egypt

By Ben Wedeman. Reza Sayah and Chelsea J. Carter, CNN

updated 10:30 PM EDT, Fri July 5, 2013

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YOU are Someone Worth Dying For

Posted on July 4, 2013 by Tamar

070213_1513_OnlyYOU1.jpg Daniel 7:1-9:27
I can’t think of a better way to end this week than with Mike’s Chair’s song, Someone Worth Dying For. Listen to the words and let them sink deep into your soul. They are Truth and Life. YOU are Someone Worth Dying For! At least Jesus seems to think so anyway!

Categories: 2 Chronicles, 365 Life, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Tags: , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Only YOU

Posted on July 2, 2013 by Tamar


Daniel 4:19-6:28

For the past few weeks I’ve been emphasizing the importance of doing what God has called you to do and being who God has made you to be. Last night I found out why I’ve been doing that. I received an email that confirmed everything. It was a Women of Faith Devotional, forwarded from a friend of mine, and written by Thelma Wells. In it she recounted the story of a dream that God had given to Rick Howard a dream that you need to hear about.

“Rick had a dream that he went to the judgment seat of Christ and was surrounded by people he knew. When it was his time to stand before the Lord, he thought he would be rewarded as the pastor of a megachurch and having fame in the media that surpasses many. He stepped up to Jesus sitting in the Judge’s seat and presented his works.

In this dream, Jesus tried Rick’s works in the fire—and they burned and burned and burned until nothing was left but a deep, black hole. The pastor stood there with a broken heart and asked Jesus why all of his works were burned because he had worked for the Lord all his career. Jesus told him that, no, he had not worked for the glory of God because God had told him to go into ministry on foreign fields. But because his wife refused to marry him if he went, the pastor had selected the woman over God. He had been responsible for millions accepting Jesus and for many great and wonderful works, but because the pastor did not accept the real calling of God and instead pleased his wife, his works were burned up like wood, hay, and stubble. Sure, the pastor entered into the kingdom of God in heaven, but he lost his rewards for the work he did on earth.

Rich also saw an old lady of no acclaim. Someone who was never written up in the paper, never appeared on television, did no radio interviews, and never spoke for a conference of any size. As she walked up to the judgment seat of Christ and presented her works to Jesus, they begin to burn. When they finished burning, what was left were stacks of gold, silver, and precious stones. This nobody on earth was rewarded at the judgment for edifying people while glorifying God. She received the rewards that Jesus will bestow at his judgment seat.

As Rich stood before the judgment seat waiting for Jesus to talk to him, there was a period of total silence and no activity. Disappointed and wondering, he woke up from the dream with no precise results.”*

What kind of pressure are you under today? Are you being pressured to eat the king’s food (worldly wisdom and media)? Are you being pressured to worship false idols (money, medicine, possessions)? Are you feeling pressured to be someone you’re not, do something you don’t feel is quite right? DON’T CAVE UNDER THE PRESSURE!!! Stand firm, be strong and courageous. Look at that fiery furnace before you and say, “O (fill in a name here), I have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18)

I think it’s always important with the story of the furnace to point out the “But if not”, for those circumstances where God doesn’t do what we hope and expect of Him. This doesn’t mean He’s not faithful and true and just and real. It simply means that He has a better plan that we can’t understand with our finite minds and perspective. If He doesn’t save in the way WE want Him to, does that make Him less God? No.

When we stand firm in our faith we have to stand firm with a “But if not” attitude, where come what may, we will still stand strong for God and HIS glory, knowing full well that it will not be easy.

In Rick’s dream his works were burned up because he chose his wife’s plan for his life instead of God’s plan. When I stand before that judgment seat of God and He asks me why I didn’t do what He told me to do; “because my husband told me not to”, will not be an acceptable answer. Ultimately, I’m responsible for my own life and how I live it.

We all have eternal life… somewhere. We have to live with today’s choices for eternity, no matter where we’re going.

God made YOU for a reason. YOU have a purpose, a position, a job that ONLY YOU can fulfill in this world. If you are not doing it then who will? If you’re not living out the dream that God placed deep in your heart then how will you answer Him on that day? The judgment seat isn’t for condemnation of sins – those have already been judged in the flesh of Jesus. The judgment seat is the day of REWARD. What will yours look like? You don’t have to do big things in human eyes to get your reward. You only have to do one thing – TRUST GOD. Trust His opinion of YOU. Trust His love for YOU. Trust His forgiveness of YOU. Trust His plans for YOU. They are plans for hope and a future not harm and destruction. The God of Love made these plans for you so they MUST be good! Good for YOU. Trust Him. Jesus loves YOU.

Lord, after weighing me in the balances of life, may I never be found wanting in Your eyes! In Jesus’ name, Amen!

* Devotionals Daily FaithGateway. Refining Grace by Thelma Wells. Copyright © 2013 HarperCollins Christian Publishing, 501 Nelson Place, Nashville, TN, United States. All Rights Reserved. http://www.faithgateway.com/refining-grace/

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Resisting Compromise

Posted on July 2, 2013 by Tamar


Daniel 2:1-4:18

“Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” Daniel 3:15

Wow! Is anybody else noticing a pattern here? “Who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” Now where have we heard that before? Hmmmm… Oh Yeah! Just two days ago from the mouth of the king of Assyria, Sennacherib! It’s almost as if it’s not the kings saying it, but perhaps someone behind them. Someone… sinister and evil, and hell-bent on driving God’s people to extinction… someone devilish like, oh I don’t know, Satan perhaps?

You see, Satan is doing his utmost best to destroy us. But what Satan intends for our destruction, God intends for our GOOD. In today’s reading we find the beloved story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Three men of God, friends of Daniel’s, who refused to bow to the pressure of the king.

Yesterday we talked about the pressure that Daniel had to withstand in order to “just say no” to the king’s food and now today we find his friends (who also resisted the king’s food) in an even bigger pickle than before. Before it was just the food that they were eating, that was a big test at the time. But this, this was WAAAAY bigger than food. This was bowing to an enormous idol. And not doing so would result in death by fire! I mean, what food to eat, that’s one thing. But worshiping another god, that’s just unthinkable!

Or is it?

We tend to do it every day without ever giving it another thought. In Who Do You Trust I talked about some of the idols that we worship (money, doctors, medicine a hospital); the things or people that we place our trust in to save us from our difficult situations.

Let’s take Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego for instance. They could have bent under the peer pressure and done what EVERY OTHER Hebrew there was doing to save their own skin and they could have bowed and worshiped the golden idol. But they didn’t do that.

They were friends with Daniel, who at this point had risen pretty high in the ranks among the king’s officials. They could have played their friend card with Daniel and tried to use his influence to get out of this situation. But they didn’t do that either.

Under the greatest of pressure they didn’t cave and they didn’t compromise, they trusted in God. Period. They stood firm in their faith. Which was no easy task, I might add!

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Only God

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Tamar

2 Chronicles 35:1-36:23 & Daniel 1:1-21

OK, today I especially loved the “coincidence” that we went from reading about the exile from Jerusalem to Babylon and then followed Daniel into the Babylonian king’s court. How cool was that? That doesn’t happen often when we’re reading alphabetically. Anyway, I feel I need to pull more on Daniel’s story today than on Josiah and Jehoahaz.

Daniel had just been sitting around in Jerusalem, minding his own business, doing his own thing when out of the blue he finds himself exiled to Babylon. Once in Babylon he is told that he has been chosen to “stand in the king’s palace” where he will learn “the literature and language of the Chaldeans”. Intimidating, but exciting none the less. Hey, it’s not slave work right? But then there’s something else. Mealtime rolls around and Daniel sits down to the table, his stomach rumbling and his mouth is watering from the smells that are coming from the palace kitchen. He was probably thinking, “This hasn’t been nearly as bad of a day as I had expected.” I can only imagine how crestfallen he felt when they brought in the trays filled with food that he couldn’t eat. Like a sweet-toothed diabetic in a candy factory, he couldn’t eat a thing. Then he probably thought, “I’m going to starve. I’ll be the smartest dead guy around.” The pressure to eat that steaming food before him had to have been incredible. Yet he stood firm in his faith and refused to eat it.

Sometimes in life God plants us into situations where we are forced to make a choice, his ways or the world’s, God’s food or the Babylonian king’s. We’re placed at a fork in the road where whichever path we choose will change life dramatically and neither really looks to be that fun. But we can’t stand at the fork forever; we have to choose one or the other. The pressure to take the World’s way is incredible, yet the eternal resentment of not taking God’s way is equally unbearable. But there is hope. 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 tells us,

“Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

Do you remember in yesterday’s reading when the king of Assyria (Sennacherib) had been attacking Judah and “sent his servants to Jerusalem to Hezekiah king of Judah and to all the people of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying, “Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria, ‘On what are you trusting, that you endure the siege in Jerusalem?'” (2 Chronicles 32:9-10) The Enemy of Judah was attacking the cities of Judah and putting intense pressure on the people. Yet they were enduring it and that infuriated Sennacherib causing him to turn his cause of frustration into a taunt. “On what are you trusting, that you endure the siege?” I talked about it yesterday and how there is always SOMETHING we are trusting in to save us, whether it’s money, medicine, doctors, or God. But of all these options, and the many more that I didn’t take the time to list, which of them is able to help you endure the siege? Which of them is able to help you withstand the pressure of the World to eat the king’s food? Which of them is able to help you locate the trap door hidden within every single temptation of life?

Only God.

Only God can be our source of salvation from the siege. Jesus is our shield and refuge, our shelter in times of trouble and in times of glee. Only the power of His Holy Spirit can hold us up in our human weakness.

Only God.

Hallelujah!

Categories: 2 Chronicles, 365 Life, Daniel, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Tags: , , , , | 2 Comments

Who do You Trust?

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Tamar

image

2 Chronicles 32:1-34:33
Hezekiah’s reign was an interesting one.  He worked with all his might to restore the leadership of God into their family. And yet as we start today’s reading what do we find? “After these things and the acts of faithfulness, Sennecherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah.” (2 Chronicles 32:1)
What did Hezekiah’s faithfulness bring him? An attack.
Have you been there? Are you familiar with this at all? Or am I alone here when I say I know how this guy feels! I get so weary of doing something good and then being attacked for it. I mean, yeah, I know why I’m being attacked, I’ve just leapt over into the Enemy’s territory and taken it from under him. It’s only natural that he fights to try and gain it back. Unfortunately for him, he doesn’t ever think about who he’s dealing with. First of all, he’s dealing with me, one of the most bull-headed people you could ever meet. I don’t give up, ever. But on top of that, and much more importantly, he’s not even really fighting me. He’s fighting the Spirit behind me – Jehovah.
Jesus fights my battles, not just with me but for me! Because the battle was never mine in the first place. It’s always been His. From the beginning of time this very battle between good and evil has been waged, with Satan taunting us, “on what are you trusting, that you endure the seige?”
So I ask you, on what are you trusting today?  There is something that you are looking to to bring you peace, comfort, joy, fulfillment and security, what is it? Are you trusting in an “arm of flesh” or God – whose name includes salvation? Be honest with yourself when you answer that question because if you’re not honest it could hurt you.
What are you trusting? Where is your hope finding its resting point? Does it lie in the LORD and His infinite love and grace, mercy and favor? Or does it lie with money, a person, a medicine, or a hospital? Yes, those things may appear to be your only hope but they’re not. Our ONLY hope is unmerited favor from God. And guess what! He’s serving it up daily through the Word of God just for YOU! What a mighty God we serve!
Ask and He delivers!

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Categories: 2 Chronicles, 365 Life, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment

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