Tell the Story again and again

We've heard the Story about Jesus's birth before.  Typically every Christmas.  We've also heard the Story about His death, especially during the Easter season. These aren't the only Biblical stories told again and again.  Any of these ring a bell?

Jonah and the whale.

Daniel in the lion's den.

The creation story in Genesis.

Adam and Eve.

Noah's Ark.

Moses and the parting of the Red Sea.

Abraham and Sarah, and God's promise to them.

David and Goliath.

John the Baptist.

Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus.

Why do we do this?  Why is this important?

These seemingly simple stories give a record of God's story in humankind and His love toward us.  Each story is filled with those who had great faith, overcame odds, or even failed to do so and was dealt with the consequences.

Stories are the best ways of teaching principles.  And the best stories are ones that can be told simply, not complicated and difficult to remember.  Told so simply that even children can understand them--and we do in Sunday School class.

Delights of the Lord

Psalm 41 starts with a detailed protection plan by the Lord for those who are weak.  They are blessed, prosperous, the Lord protects them from troubles, and He aids to heal them from illness.

In the psalm, we plead to God, for we are slandered against by vile enemies, and even our most closest friends can turn against us.

But God never will.  He delights in us.

Musicians of the Lord's Temple

In the book of 1 Chronicles, chapter 6, we are told about the descendants of Levi: the Levites.  Many worked in the Lord's Temple.

The first mentioned was in verse 10.  Johanan served as a priest.

Starting in verse 13, we find the musicians David put in charge of the music for the Lord's Temple after the ark of the Covenant was placed there.  Everything David did was through music.

In verse 54, it was noted that many were given choice settlements across Israel as they were descendants of Aaron, from the days of Moses.

Reuben

In the book of 1 Chronicles, chapter 5, we are told starting in verse 1 about Reuben.

Those who are firstborn are given a special place among the family.  And the tale of Reuben was no exception.  His story is told way back in the book of Genesis.

He, however, was striped of his rights as firstborn when he was sexually deviant and his father gave the firstborn rights to his brother Joseph.

Much like the story of Jabez in chapter 4, Reuben was born into a prestigious role and dishonorably took advantage of that position.  He paid an enormous price as well as his ancestors, all because of a few moments of pleasure.

Pray to God that He shows you what is valuable in your life, so that the evils of sin won't cause a long life of pain and loneliness.

More wise counsel

Proverbs 14 starts with a verse about a wise woman.  If her house is built on a foundation of God, it thrives.  If one is foolish, it is torn down by their own hands.

And this is only the first verse.

Going deeper into this, one may ask about the foundation of God that one's house is built.  It may not be a literal house, but it could be too.  If one's life is based on adhering to deep Christian values, by worshiping Christ Jesus and His Ten Commandments, one's life is more richer.  If one ignores Christ and His teachings, there is no foundation and one's life crumbles.

Another interesting verse is 4.  "Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox come abundant harvests."  One has to think about a farmer back in times before tractors.  Oxen were used to plow fields.  If the oxen were in the fields, they were working.  Meaning, they were not in the barns, lounging around.  The same could be said of people.  If people are working, their strength provides for one's family.

Verse 23 goes like this: "All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty."  Again, we're talking about work.  Like Yoda from Star Wars was fond of saying, "Do.  Or do not.  There is no try."  If one works hard, they will be rewarded.  But just talking about work does nothing.  Get up.  Do something.

Lastly, let's look at the last verse: 35.  "A king delights in a wise servant, but a shameful servant arouses his fury."  Even those in leadership need wise counsel.  If that wisdom is from the love of God, your wise words will be delighted--I love that work too; delight.

Jabez

In the 4th chapter from the book of 1 Chronicles, we find the man named Jabez.  Interestingly enough, there are a series of books written about this particular man, which is written in verses 9-10 in chapter 4.  Keep in mind, for the rest of the chapter, it does its usual chronicling of families, with a few minor descriptions like in the first three chapters, but here it goes quite in depth.

It starts out by telling us that Jabez was more honorable than his brothers.  Out of his siblings, he was the only one to cause his mother great pain.  Later in life, Jabez did not want to live up to that name and asked God to bless him, to enlarge his territory, and to keep him from harm.

And God granted the request.

How amazing it was for God to answer his prayers.

The same could be said about you.  How many are told that they're not going to amount to anything special because of where they live, what they've done, or the fact that no one else in the family has accomplished anything good?  The story of Jabez is about a man who was dealt with a poor hand, but with his true faith in God, he prayed and rose about it, all with God's blessing.

Names, names, and Nimrod

"You're such a nimrod."

In the book of 1 Chronicles, the first few chapters gives an account of the historical family records.  The majority of the records lists this father or mother had these sons or daughters, and so on.

In verse 10 of chapter 1, it reads: "Cush was the father of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on earth."  Nimrod appeared in Genesis.  However, one wonders why such a name became an insult.  Hence the quoted passage at the top of this post.  Oh, by the way, there is a small town in northern Minnesota named Nimrod.  Go figure.

Some even had their evil deeds put down in detail.  In chapter 2, verse 7, it reads: "Achar, who brought trouble on Israel for violating the ban on taking devoted things."

Let the Lord set your feet upon the rock

Psalm 40 starts with the speaker saying he waited patiently AND expectantly for the Lord.  We were in a pit of misery, but God heard us and set our feet upon the rock, keeping our steps steady.  He knows the path reserved for us and He helps us along the way.

Verse 8 is very powerful, for it says to take delight to do God's will.

Also, since us as Christians know the Good News, do not keep it to yourself.  Share in the news, either through words or actions.  Do not conceal from others the goodness that the Lord has done for you.

We may be in great need and afflicted by some malady.  At the very close of the psalm, it reads, "O my God, do not delay."  We do not want God to delay his thoughtfulness of us.  But we also must not delay in reading about his Word, about His Son Christ Jesus, and the good He does in the world.

Zedekiah rebels

In the final chapter of 2 Kings, chapter 25, we ended 24 with Zedekiah taking over as the king of Judah.  He was appointed by the king of Babylon.  Like all of the other kings of Judah, he did evil in the Lord's name.

But then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzsar surrounded Jerusalem with siege weapons.  He kept this up for close to two years, by which time there was a great famine in the city.  Somehow, the soldiers of Judah fled the city by night, all without the Babylon army knowing until they were long gone.  But it didn't take long before they were captured.  Zedekiah's sons were slaughtered and his eyes were put out.

Nebuchadnessar then burned the Lord's Temple and looted all of the treasures inside.  He then appointed Gedaliah governor of Judah and he swore an oath to the people that no harm would come to them if they served the king of Babylon.

But the people of Judah would have nothing of it.  They killed Gedaliah and then fled to Egypt.

Judah's punishment

In the book of 2 Kings, chapter 24, the Babylon king Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah.  The king of Judah, Jehoiakim, surrendered and even paid tribute for three years.  But then he stopped.

The Lord did this to Judah for the evils they had done in His name, just as He had promised.

The invasion continued until Jehoiakim's death and then his son was the next king.  His name was Jehoiachin.  He was eighteen and only reigned for three months.

During Nebuchanezzar's reign, he carried away all of Judah's treasures from the Lord's Temple.  He even took as slaves as many people as he could--they numbered ten thousand in all--and left only the poorest.

The value of silence

Psalm 39 starts with a statement about guarding one's ways, not speaking sinfully while in the presence of those who wish to do evil to us.  But the silence grew immense within us . . . to the point where we spit out vile words.

Have you ever held your tongue when someone speaks about something you don't believe in, over and over again, until one day you just snap?  I do.  And so do you.  In today's instant social media age, this is as true now and your comments can have wide implications.

Remember Psalm 39 whenever this happens and remember the Lord.  Our time on Earth is brief.  Place all of your hope with the Lord.  He will sort it all out.

The Lord knows what you are going through in these situations.  You are not alone, even though you may feel like it.  Be at peace that Christ Jesus and His Holy Spirit are with you.

The right tools in the toolbox

I was replacing a brake light on my vehicle this past weekend--I had known about it for some time but put it off due to the frigid Minnesota weather and now the time was right.  The tools I needed were simple.  Aside from the bulb, all I really needed was a Philips head screwdriver.  Two screws.  No problem.

I was wrong.

One of the screw heads was a little worn and I had to resort to a socket to remove it.  Again, no big deal, once I found the right tools.

Whenever I've encountered problems in my life, I've looked to God for answers as much as I could.  Many answers can be found in the Bible.  The stories and lessons in the Bible are numerous and seemingly never-ending.  Whatever the circumstances, the answers can always be found in prayer and in His Holy Word.

A month ago, I needed to have a difficult conversation with my sales team.  I didn't want to do it, but I needed to.  I put my complete trust in the Lord, even remembering how Moses wasn't prepared to speak to the multitude of Israelites but God gave him the ability.  My difficult conversation sparked a fire for my sales team, changing their negative attitudes that were poisoning their minds into a positive one.  And it was all thanks to God and His Word.

Spend time daily in prayer and in reading His Scriptures.  You will be amazed at the results.