Key Verse: 1 Kings 14:22
Now Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked Him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, more than all that their fathers had done.
“Here we go again.” This was a defining line spoken by candidate Ronald Reagan to President Jimmy Carter in an election debate in 1980. As President, Reagan used the word “evil.” The chattering class was incredulous. An American President had actually used that word to describe the relationship between North Korea and Iran. He also used that word to describe the Soviet Union, calling it “the evil empire.” As Governor of California and before that as a young actor, he had benefited from the outstanding Bible teaching of a solid evangelical by the name of Henrietta Mears, as well as one of those she mentored, Reagan’s Pastor at the Bel Air Presbyterian church, Rev. Don Moomaw. Another one she mentored well was Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ. Reagan learned to tell it like it is, as the Bible does. In our reading today the “here we go again” cycle begins. But let us not be discouraged; every once in a while we’ll read stories about kings like Asa, who “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.” Imagine, a man with the fortitude to remove his own grandmother from the position of Queen Mother because she had created and erected a pornographic image of a pagan goddess. We’ll keep watching for the good guys in upcoming readings.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, the wheels of justice grind our deeds, as the saying goes, “exceedingly fine.” As Job 23:10 tells me, when You have tested me, may I “come forth as gold.” Grant me the grace to obey You as Job did, and most of all as Jesus, who lives within me, did. In His all-sufficient Name I pray, Amen!!!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
One story in my latest book is about my last grandson, Nathaniel Shaheen. The account is longer than I have space for here. You may be interested in ordering my book by calling Crossroads at 1-800-265-3100. He was born in the Hadassah hospital on Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem, in November of 2000. A serious bowel restriction almost took his life at birth, but his Dad, Nizar, and his Grandma, Norma-Jean, took a handkerchief, poured oil on it, and had our tour group, who were visiting Israel at that time, lay hands on the cloth and pray. At least one of our group touched God, because as the hanky was laid on Nathaniel, he began to improve. Five months later, his mother, Ellen, travelled to Canada to visit us, and Nathaniel was diagnosed with necrotizing enterocolitis. He was dying. He was rushed to McMaster Children’s Hospital for emergency surgery. As the surgeon came into the waiting room following the operation, I said, “Doctor, just before you tell us the results, take a look at the TV. There on CTS was a repeat of 100 Huntley Street which I had hosted earlier that day. The children in the studio audience were joining me in prayer for Nathaniel and his surgeon. Doctor Walton’s first words were, “Well it worked! I was able to remove the dead bowel tissue and connect perfect pink tissue. He will be fine.” Click here to see that video from 2001 (I want to thank Joan Rock of our Crossroads/CTS team for digging out the video from our archives).
Yours for knowing a personal God who cares about us all,
David
Up Next in Year 1 | May
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100 Words - YR1 May 5 - GODLY CHARACT...
Key Verses: 1 Kings 15:11 & 14b
Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did his father David……Asa’s heart was loyal to the Lord all his days.Here’s some encouragement for us all. While kings who did evil in God’s eyes came and went with frequency in the northern 10 tribes, now...
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100 Words - YR1 May 6 - ELIJAH
Key Verse: 1 Kings 18:22
Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are 450 men.”Who would have guessed that the odds favoured the one against so many formidable opponents? Yet that is precisely what happened. This dramatic confrontation has f...
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100 Words - YR1 May 7 - SUCCESSOR
Key Verse: 1 Kings 19:12
After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.Here we are brought to a standstill as we catch a glimpse of the stillness there is in God. Let us remember how Jesus slept while His disciples struggled with the storm...