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Conviction Wasn’t Always a Bad Word
2 Kings 22 Josiah heard the Book of the Law read and then tore his clothes. He was broken. He allowed the words of the Lord to tear into his heart. He didn’t sit stroking his chin and contemplating the words. “Well, should I obey or not?” His heart was shredded. We work so hard to make sure we don’t…
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Why We Don’t Want Another Move of God
Call it revival, call it a “fresh outpouring,” call it a new move of God… What we generally want these days is the benefits of that move without the costs of that move. In the stories of Hezekiah and Josiah, the costs of a move of God aren’t just in prayer. If it was time in prayer, we would think about it… maybe. It’s the cost…
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Half Baked Asking
Compare two stories about asking in 2 Kings. In the first story we have Elisha. Elijah asks him what he wanted and Elisha immediately stated boldly, “A double portion.” He wanted the inheritance of the first born. He wanted the legacy of Elijah to rest with him. Bold. Decisive. The second story is the end of Elisha’s life and Jehoash…
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Sometimes You Just Need to Get Fed Up
Good kings were rare in Judah. They were non-existent in the northern kingdom of Israel. 2 Kings 18 begins the story of Hezekiah. He is not the first righteous king, but he takes serving the Lord to another level. When good kings followed God, they usually left the “high places.” They didn’t tear down everything that didn’t point Judah to the…
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Keeping Track of the Kings in Kings
Reading 2 Kings after the stories of Elisha could get a bit confusing. Who was in Israel? Who was in Judah? What is Samaria? One way to at least try and stay on task that has been helpful for me is to notice when a new king comes in the picture. I look for a few things that get mentioned…
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Living in the Current Anointing of God
In reading through the story of Elisha I am struck by the ease with which Elisha moves in each situation. The miraculous pours from him. He has not looked back since he struck the Jordan River with Elijah’s cloak. There is almost the mundane situation of having the stew taste funny and he knew what to do. Then there is…
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The Church in Egypt
Events in Egypt, or anywhere outside the U.S., so often go unnoticed by us. What is under-reported most of the time is how Christians are treated. So, I was totally shocked to see THIS STORY on the front of the New York Times page this afternoon! Read these shocking paragraphs slowly, and pray! CAIRO — The military’s ouster of President Mohamed Morsi…
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Microsoft’s New Department
Read carefully from this memo. See if anything stands out to you: (CEO Steve) Ballmer also talked about the company’s future plans, while detailing the functions that form the basis of Microsoft’s transformation — Engineering, Marketing, Business Development and Evangelism, Advanced Strategy and Research, Finance, HR, Legal, and COO. Who knew Microsoft was evangelical?
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Can You Stand as a Prophetic Witness?
2 Kings 2 When Elijah and Elisha came to Bethel, a company of prophets came to greet them. Bethel was a place of rebellion. Jeroboam had set up one of the golden calves to lead Israel from the worship of God in Jerusalem. Elijah and Elisha themselves were prophets in Israel, the northern tribes, in an era when Israel had…
