Month: January 2019

When Joram saw Jehu he asked, “Have you come in peace, Jehu?” “How can there be peace,” Jehu replied, “as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abounds?” II Kings 9:22 (II Kings 8-16)

The beautiful story of Elisha is set amidst the history of Israel and Judah’s kings. Ahab’s wickedness became the standard by which these men are defined, but not judged. We are all judged by God’s Holiness.  His wife Jezebel and their daughter Athaliah are the manipulators and motivators to a great deal of horror. Punishment was prophesied and fulfilled.

Jehu, a military officer, was anointed by Elisha for the purpose of eradicating the house of Ahab and all baalism of its priests and followers.  He was relentless and bloody, but remember, baalism was unspeakably vile. Jehu was not Godly, but God used him to carry out the consequences of sin as Israel became a weaker nation and grew smaller as neighboring governments began to absorb land.

This portion of the Bible is incredibly difficult to consume and process. The fall of Ahab’s house exempted no one, especially his wife and daughter. Hundreds were executed. Jezebel groomed herself in beauty as Jehu approached the palace. Her own slaves threw her off a balcony and dogs devoured her body. Neither baal nor her vixen ways could save her. II Kings 10:27 tells that the ruins of baal’s temple became a toilet. God is serious! Idolatry, no matter how big or small, will end badly. Have NO OTHER GODS! The consequences are certain, except for those who believe, repent and worship only, The One True Good, Good, God.

Love,

Gretchen

Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over according to the word of the LORD. II Kings 4:44 (II Kings 3-7)

Elisha was the people’s prophet.  Most of his miracles were of healing and kindness. His story began as part of God’s remedy to Elijah’s depression. Many of Elisha’s miracles were repeated in some way by Jesus. Jesus fed a multitude with one child’s lunch, but first Elisha fed 100 with 20 barley loaves, also with left overs to spare! Elisha healed a Syrian soldier. Jesus used this example to justify His own healing of non Jews.

The resume of this prophet certainly reads like a Biblical superhero.  He purified a well, then filled a valley with water to sustain Israel and Judah’s armies while using that same water to fool the king of Moab into defeat.  A widows oil was increased, the Shunammite’s  young son was raised from the dead, a poisonous vine was accidentally added to a stew and Elisha cleansed the food, loaves of bread were multiplied and Naaman, the Syrian, was cured of leprosy. An ax head defied gravity to save the borrower’s honor and Elisha’s invisible chariots saved Samaria.

These all were acts of mercy.  In a tumultuous time when wrong and right were obscured by false teachers and corrupt governments, Elisha showed God’s intimate love for people.

In time of famine, heartache, oppression or depression, when God is difficult to define, making Him even harder to see, and you find yourself curled up under the broom tree, in a fetal position, don’t despair. God is readying a miracle, custom designed for you. The best is still to come.

Love,

Gretchen

“Is it because there is no God in Israel for you to consult that you have sent messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? II Kings 1:4b (I Kings 22:41-II Kings 2)

Elijah was sent on a mission of hope in the face of unyielding rulers. These kings led their people in idolatry and debauchery of the most destructive and dysfunctional kind. All the while, God was patiently, but fervently, waiting and preparing for the best case scenario.

Three times the words above are stated in reference to an incident where Ahaziah, Ahab’s son and heir to Israel, injured himself and sought hope in Baal. The One True God’s response? “Why are you walking past healing into death?” Wickedness and arrogance followed Ahaziah and his parent to their graves, but God did not hold Elijah accountable. Elijah answered and acted every time God called.  He was taken into Heaven by a radiant Chariot to stand with Moses as a great hero of God’s message, a message for us today.

Don’t walk past hope. It is yours and you are worthy. Stop, receive and bask in all that God has for you. 

Love,

Gretchen

“I have had enough LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” I Kings 19:4b (I Kings 18-22:40) This is a story worth reading!

Baal was the god of Jezebel. Her weak husband Ahab, king of Israel, saw no problem with the One True God sharing a little space in the temples, just to keep peace in his household. These two gods were believed to have power over fertility, land, the weather. It is not random that God chose a drought as the consequence for Israel’s great sin. This adulterous worship involved temple prostitution among all genders and ages. Infant sacrifice was common. After God brings rain and ends the drought in Israel and the surrounding areas, Elijah has all 900 prophets of Baal and Ashtoreth, who were child molesters and murderers, killed.

Elijah lived on the run, surviving on God’s miraculous power and provision.  He was fed by ravens, and a jar of oil and flour that did not empty. He raised the dead, called down thunder and lightening from Heaven, and brought rain to a barren land. All of this failed to turn Ahab and Jezebel toward correct behavior. Jezebel’s anger sent Elijah running once again. He fell exhausted, under a broom tree. There, angels ministered to him with rest and food.

When Elijah was able, God called him to the same mountain top where Moses had received the Law.  There, Elijah confessed, “I’ve done no good, Israel still doesn’t believe. Now I’m all alone and they want me dead.”  Instead of declaring Elijah washed up and worthless, God gave him a higher calling, a hope for the future.  He sent him to anoint, not only the next king of Israel, but the king of a neighboring country as well. And best of all, Elijah ordained his successor, Elisha.

Don’t ask more of yourself than God does.  He knows your limits and doesn’t exploit them or your resources.  Being tired doesn’t mean done.  Lacking spiritual vision doesn’t imply the absence of a call. God would say, “Get some rest, let’s talk in the morning, for the best is yet to come!”

Love,

Gretchen

As a public school teacher the weather forecast is a very important part of my morning.  There is a constant struggle with the seasons, temperature and precipitation in the child/weather formula. A stormy morning means children standing at a bus stop with lightening approaching. Bundling up for cold means extra time to stow coats and gloves to begin the day and allowing minutes for finding missing mittens before we go home. In and out of buildings is a challenge when the young delight in rain dancing, but grown-ups respect the importance of warm and dry. Weather is an ever changing variable that disturbs my rigid routine. Sometimes….a lot of times…..I resent it.

As I list my climate concerns, I remind myself of the wonder of childhood. Children take delight in all things.  When it rains they marvel at the polka-dot patterns on the sidewalk. Autumn leaves, winter snow, summer sun, it matters not to a child. They find a reason to delight and make a party, but three days after a good ‘frog choker,’ all those muddy little shoes begin smelling like a gym locker. Consecutive days of inside recess means every child has developed a strategy to enhance their odds of winning Candy Land.… Fun’s over. Bah Humbug!

One gray, drizzly morning, as I was trying to disguise my age with Maybelline, a gentle tone from my phone drew my attention to its glowing screen that said,  “Good morning mommy, how are you?”  I replied to my collegiate daughter, “Yuck! It’s an inside recess day!”   Moments later she responded, “Don’t be sad, pretend you’re in a Thomas Kinkade painting.” 

Melissa, my daughter, found promise in a new day, rain or shine. I envied her mind and heart, so full of optimism, and realized, the wrinkles on my face might tell the age of my body, but the choice to see the world through a lens of childish joy was and always would be mine. I stepped out of my house determined to let my heart sing.

Later that morning my students and I were walking through an alley from one building to the next. It was windy and cold, but a small voice called, “Look at the rainbow.”  I looked up. They all looked down.  In the middle of the street a school bus had left a drop of oil. Now there were dancing colors where water and petrol refused to mix. We circled around our puddle of wonder and just enjoyed the moment.

See the ugly and inconvenient, or see good. It’s a choice. God is Good, but it takes faith, hope and love to see it on the days when it is less obvious.

Love,

Gretchen

You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you. I Kings 17:4 (I Kings 16-17)

With Asa and his son Jehoshaphat, Judah remained mostly faithful to God. Israel refused moral enlightenment and turned further and further into idolatry. King Ahab did more evil than any before him, with a trivial attitude toward offending God. He martyred God’s prophets and along with his spiteful and vengeful wife Jezebel, turned God’s people toward the worship of Baal.

God’s answer to these despicable behaviors was the obedient and courageous Elijah. This amazing Biblical figure is first found being fed by ravens and a babbling brook, amidst a devastating drought throughout Israel. When the stream dried up God sent Elijah to a widow.  The widow had only enough flour and oil to feed her young son one last time, but Elijah instructed her to go home and make everyone some food. Miraculously, her supply did not diminish for the length of time she fed God’s messenger. As time went on, the young boy became ill and brushed death. His mother cried out to Elijah. Elijah took to boy to his room, called to the LORD and the child lived.

God answered evil! He did not react with oblivion to man’s pain, need or despair, but with a mighty, purposeful and relevant response. For those who chose to hear with their ears, see with their eyes and trust with their mind, God WILL change the course of calamity.

Have a Great Weekend,

Gretchen

You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made for yourself other gods, idols made of metal; you have provoked Me to anger and thrust Me behind your back. I Kings 14:9 (I Kings 14-15 and II Chronicles 11-13)

Israel’s king, Jeroboam turned out to be a wicked king. He and his wife devised a plan to trick God’s prophet. They failed and their son, the only thing good found in their house, died. In response to obedience God promised peace and prosperity. The wonder of God’s love was put aside for the passing moments of earthly self rule.

Judah, with Rehoboam on the throne, did no better. Using tax money for debauchery is a proven way to please the masses and temple prostitution became a practice. Abijah followed in all the evil of his predecessor.  In honor of David, Abijah’s son, Asa, became his heir. Asa did right in the eyes of the LORD. He cleaned the perversions and idolatry out of the Temple and in spite of an ongoing war with Israel, Judah prospered.

These kings really (I mean REALLY) expected God to adjust His definition of justice and Holiness with respect to their desires. God did not. For those who wish to negotiate right and wrong, God Law can seem incredibly frustrating and brutal, but for those who accept Him as Sovereign and Savior, He is Love, Mercy and Grace is amazing. Chose wisely!

Love,

Gretchen

If you do whatever I command you and walk in My ways and do what is right in My eyes by keeping My statutes and commands, as David My servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. I Kings 11:38 (I Kings 11-13 and II Chronicles 10-11)

For all Solomon’s glorious beginning, his ending was one of failure.  Idolatry made a pathway for adversaries to interrupt Israel’s peace. His heir, Rehoboam, rejected the early advise of Solomon’s elders and turned to the words of the young and entitled. Rehoboam oppressed his own people who in turn rebelled and joined Jeroboam. The prophecy of Ahijah the priest of Shiloh was complete.

Israel lasted 120 years. Throughout this time petty rivalries led to unrest and civil war created an atmosphere for the splitting of the Kingdom. 10 tribes formed the Northern Kingdom, ‘Israel’ leaving Judah and Benjamin to form the Southern Kingdom, ‘Judah’. Jerusalem was in geographical confines of Judah, so in an act of insecurity, Jeroboam set up a temple of worship with golden calves and idols of baal and created a unordained priesthood (out side the tribe of Levi) leading the people away from Jerusalem and the One True God.

The words above were spoken to Rehoboam. Obviously he did not heed God’s call. Moving forward as two nations, each kingdom had some good kings that were a little bad and some bad kings that were good from time to time. The problem is, good and bad cannot coexist. There is no such thing as ‘sort of holy.’

A monarchy is no substitute for a Theocracy. God will not share your heart with any other resident, but the rewards of His complete habitation is filled with hope, promise and assurance. He won’t rent a room, it’s all you own, or nothing at all.

Love,

Gretchen

There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under Heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1 (Ecclesiastes)

The author is most likely Solomon. If not, a scribe wrote these words to honor Solomon and the things he taught. This book of wisdom is the opposite of Proverbs whose portrayal of humanity is somewhat optimistic. ‘All is vain,’ is the pervading theme of this book, and may indicate the writer suffered the consequences of a great sin, which would apply to Solomon’s idolatry.

Chapters 1 and 2 outline the meaninglessness of man’s endeavors.  All things of earth will pass away, especially us, so what’s the point?

God does not toy with our lives. We were made for joy. Only the Creator of the universe can know our true needs and so our provision and fulfillment must come from Him. Nothing on earth is worthy of our trust, so don’t put life’s energy into futile accomplishments. There is a balance to all things, a time to live and a time to die, a time to keep and a time to throw away. So, eat, drink, rejoice, do good, do with might what your hands find to do and live knowing that God is God and you are not.

God is not selfish, He is love, but He is also sovereign. This is a foundation for great faith, not rebellion. All Good comes from Him and is given to you. Enjoy it!

Love,

Gretchen

How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes are doves. Song of Songs 1:15 (Song of Songs)

Song of Songs, a Hebrew expression meaning “the greatest song,” celebrates human love. Although this book never mentions God and is not associated with Jewish Law or history, it suggests that all life, including human sexuality is holy because it is part of God’s created plan. The speakers portray a sexuality within the bonds of marriage meant to procreate and provide human companionship throughout life and through the trauma of death, exclusively between a man and a woman. Sexuality outside of marriage or in unnatural ways perverts God’s gift.

While seen by many as an allegory of Christ and His Church, this collection of love songs may have been used in a week long wedding feast. Whatever the purpose, Song of Song’s presence in the Bible enables us to see an appropriate view of sexuality when others try to cheapen, denigrate or pervert what God has ordained.

All that God wove into mankind was done for His glory and our joy. Don’t let shame/satan’s voice, take the wonder and beauty that you have been given. Those that God has given you deserve, and are in need of, your unbridled love and devotion.

LOVE,

Gretchen