June 29th readings

~ Click on this link for today's readings ~
2 Kings 15:1-16:20 ~ Acts 19:13-41
Psalm 147:1-20 ~ Proverbs 18:4-5

Old Testament - In 2 Kings 15 today we read about several kings in very short order!  The thing that amazed me was that things seemed to be going from bad to worse in Israel with the kings, whereas things appeared a bit more stable in Judah (for this chapter...).  We will see how this plays out in the near future.  There are definitely some ramifications coming for Israel based on how things are going down in these days.  Verses 13 & 14 today really showed how tough it was to be king in Israel in these days - "Shallum reigned in Samaria only one month. Then Menahem son of Gadi went to Samaria from Tirzah and assassinated him, and he became the next king."  Reading about Shallum only reigning one month reminds me of how the hearts of men and women are sometimes - that very thing in our world which we seek so strongly, sometimes can be our very downfall.  I have no doubt that Shallum wanted to be king very badly - he assassinated King Zechariah in public in verse 10!  And yet, becoming king for Shallum did not give him control over all things - he himself was killed just 1 month into his reign.  This all makes me think about us today - is there anything in this world that we are striving after that may not be all that it's cracked up to be?  Might we risk "gaining the whole world, but losing our soul" in some of our pursuits?  Is there anything in this world today that you are pursuing that you are putting above your relationship with God?  If so, will you let it go?  Will you focus primarily on your relationship with God first and foremost?  Will you follow the truths of Matthew 6:33 - "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

In 2 Kings 16 today King Ahaz of Judah messes up big time...  Whaddya think about his idea to remove the bronze altar from the Temple and install an altar that was designed in Damascus?  Think God will be happy about this?  Stay tuned to upcoming readings...  Again - I come back to our lives today.  Are we ever similar to King Ahaz in doing something in our lives that we know is not pleasing to God?  Do we know what is right and what is wrong and sometimes choose what it wrong?  Why do we do this?  Can we stop doing this?  If so, how?  Might it help us to stop doing wrong things if the #1 priority in our lives today were God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit?  What is the #1 priority in your life today?

New Testament - Wow - strong readings today in Acts 19 verses 13 to 16 about the power of Jesus' name - and how to incorrectly try to "use" his name too - "A team of Jews who were traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus. The incantation they used was this: "I command you by Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!" Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this. But when they tried it on a man possessed by an evil spirit, the spirit replied, "I know Jesus, and I know Paul. But who are you?" And he leaped on them and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and badly injured."  Jesus' name is the name above all other names - but we should never try to "use" Jesus' name as an incantation or spell.  We can call upon Jesus believing that he and his power will be there with us.  But we should not call upon his name as if his name was "magic" in some way.  It is holy.  It is not magic.

Sad stuff that Demetrius stirs up the Ephesians against Paul for one primary reason - his pocketbook.  Paul's preaching of the one true living God was cutting into D's profits of handmade gods.  And so D called on patriotism and loyalty to Artemis to go against Paul's truthful teaching.   I wonder if we in our lives today ever choose our finances over God? 

Bible.org's commentary on today's Acts readings titled "The Evangelization of Ephesus" is at this link.

Psalms - Today in Psalm 147 I liked verse 15 a lot - "how swiftly his word flies!"  Indeed, it is true!  I pray God's Word, the Bible, is flying swiftly in your life this year!

Proverbs - I love Proverbs 18 verse 4 - "A person's words can be life-giving water; words of true wisdom are as refreshing as a bubbling brook."  Have you ever received words of life-giving water from someone?  Have you ever given words of life-giving water to someone?  I love the analogy of true words of wisdom being as refreshing as a bubbling brook!  So true!

What verses or insights jumped out for you in today's readings?  Please post up in the Comments section below!

Grace,
Mike

Comments

[Colleen]

The situation between Paul and Demetrius is an all too familiar one in this day and age. It sometimes seems that all anyone is concerned about is the $$$ and NOT doing what is right and good in the eyes of God...I work in the healthcare field...I experience this all the time! Mike, I really appreciate your down-to-earth style of writing. This is my first time reading the Bible and some of the passeges can be really frustrating, but your comments seem to get me back on track. Thanks and God bless!

[Ramona]

II Kings 15-16:20

So many kings so little time to know them all. The history of Israel’s kings and its people can be summed up in Proverbs 28:2

2 When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers,
but a man of understanding and knowledge maintains order.

I’ve heard it stated that one must always find out how an organization or entity began because the threads of the motivation that gave it birth will always be woven through out it’s existence. Israel’s was birthed out of rebellion, Jeroboam took ten of the tribes out from under the rule of Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, and she continued in that rebellion throughout her existence with her kings as drum majors. If I compared my life to Israel how many kings have I allowed myself to follow, few or many. As a Christian my only king should be Jesus any other ruler brings chaos and strife, and many regime changes.

I find it interesting that nothing is really said abut King Uzziah, who reigned for fifty-two years, in this book. His place in this volume seems to be used as a time line to contrast his reign with the multiple numbers of kings Israel had which was five to one.

The other thing I noticed when Judah’s kings are introduced, at least the good ones, it states that what they did was pleasing to the Lord and then that “But” word enters the picture.

15 4But he did not destroy the pagan shrines, where the people offered sacrifices and burned incense

Is this representing the toleration of sin and its ultimate effect? Had they become so comfortable with deviant life style choices apostasy was accepted? If you play with sin it will play with you. Maybe at first it looks cute because it is small like a little baby lion. Then it grows up and eats you out of house and home, and then eventually it eats you: Dinner anyone?

Acts 19:13-41

I’ve always chuckled when reading about the seven sons of Sceva and their encounter with the evil spirit. Thier method must have worked for a while because if this incident happened when they first began their pseudo ministry, it would have been their last missionary trip. I wonder what tipped off the spirit that these guys were not entitled to use the name of Jesus. How can I apply this to what is going on today with false preachers, AKA, “Jack-leg preachers” and ministries?

Both the sons of Sceva and Demetrius share the same problem, love of money. The seven boys were probably collecting for their efforts and Demetrius was concerned that folks turning to Jesus would substantially decrease his revenue stream.

I’m wondering if we may be giving Demetrius too much credit for starting the riot. Yes, he may have used words to incite the crowds but if the crowd wasn’t receptive to his words and the emotions that are fed by manipulation, there would not have been a riot. The mob allowed themselves to be incited. God gave each person something called free will. We chose to allow ourselves to be carried along by emotional appeals or to allow our brains to critically think over situations we may find ourselves in and make choices based on truth and principles. Life is all about choices.

Psalm 147:1-20

5 How great is our Lord! His power is absolute!
His understanding is beyond comprehension!

I need to remember this verse every time I cry out to God, “Lord you just don’t know what I’m going through!” Not only does He know what I’m going through His understanding about my situations is far and away higher than my perceptive insight if I have any.

Proverbs 18:4-5

One of the stronger themes that run through this wonderful book is the power of words: The words we speak to ourselves, the words we speak to others, and the words spoken to us by others. In fact, in order to favor the guilty or to condemn the innocent, words must be spoken over and into the lives of people.

Grace and peace,
Ramona